#i'm really starting to feel that lack of fun party content

[solar-wing]

okay, just so you guys know...

I'm still working on Shadowing Nightwing. Just making edits and doing my best to tone down the length because it's well over 40k words and I–... I just can't.

Also, I'm trying to make sure that it's good and spicy enough for what y'all are expecting, but also something that won't get taken down on patreon, tumblr, etc. the literal second it's up—because again, it's spicy. Honestly, what I might end up doing is posting the first part of it, and then doing what I did with 'One Kent Was Enough,' linking the rest of the story to AO3 cause I'm tired of having to jump through hoops and loops with these platforms.

like Patreon is taking forever to "review" and put back one of my stories for "violating" community guidelines. And don't even get me started with Tumblr and their nonsense because I just saw one of my mutuals get his post hidden on here due to "explicit sexual content" that was "outside" of user guidelines.

and the crazy part is, his fic was under 1,500 words and was nowhere near as bad as some of the fem!reader content I've seen on here. Like I know I keep ranting about this (and I'll damn sure continue to), but I'm so sick of the bias against m!reader content, especially when it's explicit.

We already get a bunch of fem readers getting mad at us for not wanting to write content that includes them even when we explicitly state that we are m!reader authors and only write for male or gen!neutral readers. Then, the content we do write for our audience always ends up getting flagged or taken down for being outside of user guidelines, when it's barely anything bad.

Like the amount of abduction, non-con/CNC that could be considered borderline grape without the g, coercion, manipulation, Stockholm Syndrome, YANDERE, etc. f!reader fics I've read on this platform and others that have no warnings, flags, or shadowbans from what I can tell is truly something ridiculous. Matter of fact, they'll literally have the most likes, reblogs, and engagement I've ever seen. But, our male reader fics get flagged for using the word bussy instead of pussy...I'm not even joking.

but, I digress.

ANYWAY, with all that being said, once Shadowing Nightwing is posted, I'm gonna take a break away from smut and Omegaverse fics for a minute only because trying to do that specific stuff has started to feel more like a job than something I enjoy and have fun with, and I don't want to burn myself out or give y'all content that I'm not proud of or feel like it's half-assed.

Plus, I'll be honest, this past week has been really hard mentally, emotionally, and creatively for me given the results of this election, I can't even say I'm surprised, but I can damn well say I'm pissed off. Like, I can barely write without sitting there thinking about the fact that this orange peel of a FELON AND THUG—yeah I said it for you sibling and cousin fucking, buck-tooth, bobblehead, ding-dong, dropped ON your heads, mindless little minions—ahem—I mean, conservatives (if conservative means conversing brain cells that is) and his adult sid phillips looking ass v.p. cheated like someone trapped in a room with all their favorite foods while being on a diet, or more than half this country is really that stupid.

keep in mind, we're talking about a country with a lacking education system paired with a population of *checks note* sibling and cousin fucking, buck-tooth, bobblehead, DING-DONG, SLAMMED on their heads, mindless little minion bitches—AHEM—conservatives so that last part really wouldn't be surprising.

but again, I digress.

Shadowing Nightwing will be out soon, and we'll be returning to some PG-13 content for some time until I can wrap my head around this—or find the cheapest and quickest flight to Saturn—whichever comes first.

anyways, pls stay safe out there guys in these next four years, especially my minorities out there WHO VOTED FOR KAMALA AND TIM. If you voted third-party, didn't vote, or voted for the felon and adult sid phillips, I PRAY you get everything you voted for 😉. no seriously, I'm really rooting for you 😊

MWAH 😘 kisses, bitches 💛

to the rest of my lovelies, I love you all, stay safe and shine bright, and I'll be here soon with Shadowing Nightwing (that is if I haven't found a direct flight to Saturn first...fingers crossed🤞🏽)

[sprintingowl]

BEANJACKERS

Hey. We need to talk about BEANJACKERS.

BEANJACKERS is a tabletop roleplaying game that looks like Jack And The Beanstalk and plays like One Piece.

It is twenty pages. It is easy to read. And it's got about as many rules as DnD 5e. They're all packed densely into it, and you can read them and learn the whole system in about fifteen minutes.

From a design perspective, I'm angry. When you make one of these things you're supposed to have to pick between having detailed rules and having easy to comprehend rules and having a short book. BEANJACKERS casually picks all three. It's a triumph of miniaturization. And worse, it's fun.

Character creation includes multiple classes and multiple professions, each with branching choices, plus a full equipment list and a spell list. This makes characters quick to roll up and unique---but the most compelling part of making a new character is somehow assigning their stats.

Each stat is split into a Guard and a Boost. Your Guard is your defense with the stat and your Boost is a pool you can spend to buff rolls. This gives you a *lot* of control over the dice during play---but then a bunch of things like how many objects you can conceal on your person scale off of how many points are currently in your relevant Boost pool, so you're constantly weighing your ability to stay safe vs your ability to go loud and take big risks.

Also the writing is great.

BEANJACKERS takes itself seriously, even while knowing that it's called BEANJACKERS. But the setting's currency is in pulses (gold pulses are GP, silver pulses are SP, etc.) The world exists in a sort of post-beanstalkpocalyptic airship feudalism. Beans are basically Devil Fruit, and they bestow great powers on those who find them.

My only complaint about BEANJACKERS is that it came out this year (2024), and so there's currently only the core book. It feels like a game that desperately needs a wave of third party content---not because anything in core is lacking, but because I desperately want to see how big this setting can get.

It's also not a game that I think *replaces* any other system. It's not a 5e killer. It doesn't outdate Into The Odd. It's dang good in its own right, but you're going to want to sit down and write an adventure and do some worldbuilding before you run it.

I think anyone who likes osr is going to have their brain light up when they read BEANJACKERS---same as with anyone who likes Shadowrun or One Piece. I also think folks who homebrew 5e will *really* want to take a look, as it's almost a best practices guide. Lastly, I think anyone who likes games with goofy concepts (this is how it got me) will be very pleasantly bowled over by BEANJACKERS, which starts with a zany premise and uses it to become one of the best games I've read this year.

[puhpandas]

Cassie and Gregory's first meeting, and how it might've gone in your eyes! OwO I'm curious~

Happy Birthday Cassie

(2532 words)

Technically, it's not the first time they've met.

They had been face to face a few times, but only with fleeting glances and little words. Standing next to eachother while they wait for the bathroom here, met eachother in the nurses office there, sitting next to eachother in class always.

But even then, Cassie had never really given Gregory a second thought. Sure, the kids in class talk about him, or more like how hes almost never present. One thing, and one of the only things Cassie knew about Gregory is that he only came to class half the time.

Another thing she knows is that when he does come to class, hes always dirty and ruffled, like he was in a fight or crawled through something dirty and small, and hair a mess, like he doesnt spare it any thought. Cassie herself could never imagine letting her hair get that tangled and messy.

Not only that, but despite Gregory's attendance, of lack thereof, he somehow has incredible grades. Cassie only shares her Math class with Gregory, but shes ever only seen A's from him.

Cassie would be lying if she said she'd never been curious. The other kids would always whisper and gossip about him, and nobody could ignore someone that notorious.

Not to mention how mysterious he is.

But Gregory, like a lot of things, had been shoved to the back of her mind when her birthday party at the Pizzaplex was only days away.

Cassie beams when shes the first one in their class, hands drumming on her desk and legs wiggling as she eyes all of the sparkly pink envelopes she put on everyones desks.

This party is going to be legendary! She thinks, unable to stop the bolt of excitement that shoots through her when kids start spilling into the classroom. Its gonna be awesome when everyone shows up. We'll play Fazerblast, go through the maze in Mazercise, maybe I can even meet Roxy!

She shoves the thoughts of her party that have been making her loose sleep from excitement the past week or so into the back of her mind, trying to keep her face neutral when kids start sitting down at their desks and noticing her party invite on their tables.

Just when she thinks the last kid had filed through, curiously, surprisingly, Gregory is one of the people attending class today.

He looks just like he always does; same blue shirt he always seems to have on with wild, tangled brown hair. His knees are smudged with dirt, but with tracks in them as if he attempted to wipe them down with a wet napkin.

Cassie suddenly feels self conscious of her decision to leave an invite on Gregory's table, just in case, when he comes to a stop in front of his desk and takes notice of it, right next to her.

She averts her eyes, and takes to watching the other kids. She sees some people eye her invite, and only give it a few twirls when they pick it up before shoving in their backpacks. Some people open up the envelope and read the contents, and some people ignore it all together.

But one cluster of reactions really gets her attention.

The area of the classroom that house the more popular girls, coincidentally all seated right by eachother, all eye the invite in almost incredulous curiosity, before each of them lean over to their queen bee when she rips it open and the contents Cassie had hand-written are out for the world to see.

Cassie feels her cheeks burn when the girls all whisper in hushed conversation, mean grins on their faces as they giggle not-so inconspicuously, looking over their shoulders directly at her.

She feels shame coat her stomach, any trace of excitement for her birthday replaced with humiliation and embarrassment mixing together like an ugly poison.

She hides her face in her sweater, avoiding eye contact, and tries to ignore the hushed giggles that she knows are making fun of her.

Of course. What was she thinking, inviting them like that? They're notorious for being mean, especially to unpopular people like Cassie, but she guesses she just wanted them to feel included, like how Cassie wishes she did.

She dares to peek open an eye when the sound of an envelope rustling catches her attention nearby, and she glances over to her right.

Gregory is sitting down at his desk, carefully peeling the sparkly envelope open, all while giving the girls at the front a death stare.

Cassie dares to watch as inconspicuously as possible, watching in curiosity to see how Gregory, the most mysterious boy in class, who always felt just one step above them, busied and dirtied from events nobody knows about, will react.

He doesn't seem to notice her just yet, just continuing to try to explode the girls with his mind, until he looks down at the card, putting the still intact envelope to the side.

Some kind of embarrassment shoots through her stomach when she watches Gregory's eyes trail over each word, and she only has half the mind to look away when he reaches the end.

She was just in time, because from the corner of her eye, she can see him looking at her.

She doesn't dare look over at him. Lest she make eye contact, but she does acknowledge how he gently folds the card back up, slips it inside the envelope, and puts it in the smaller, more isolated pocket in his backpack.

🐺

This has been the worst birthday ever.

That's the only thing Cassie can think as she hides in as she sits at a table in one of the party rooms, mascara running down her cheeks as fat tears roll out of her eyes.

An empty party room.

Nobody had shown up to her birthday.

She had put the instructions on the card, already knowing exactly which party room she'd be using. She put the room number and even directions on how to find it inside. She thought of everything.

Which meant nobody's here not becuase they got lost, but because they had deliberately not come. Even her Dad had ruffled her hair and told her to have fun, before leaving her to wait for her guests to go off to work at some other part of the Pizzaplex.

Cassie is completely, utterly, gut wrenchingly alone on her birthday.

The thought sends her into another round of tears, and she can feel how her face is scrunched up, despair wrinkling her chin, and all she can do about it is wipe away the tears with the sleeve of her sweater.

Today was supposed to be perfect. She was supposed to have fun with her friends. She was supposed to cut the carrot cake her Dad had ordered for her and share slices with them. She was supposed to race against them at Roxy Racers, and maybe even meet Roxy herself.

As she sits in the empty, gloomy room, sad and alone, she thinks its safe to say today is not perfect.

After another round of tears, shes suprised to hear the sound shes been waiting for all day.

The door to her party room slides open, clunking against the wall, and Cassie can only catch the shadow on the table before she finally looks over, half-hazardously wiping away the bullets of tears still staining her cheeks.

The air is stolen out of her lungs when the last person she had expected to come to her party stands in the doorway.

Gregory takes a step into the room, the same Gregory from math class that nobody has ever seemed to see at school two days in a row, that Cassie had always felt so curious about. The door slides shut and once again throws the room into complete silence, save for some cheery music to the theme of 'Fazbear Birthday' playing quietly on the speakers.

Gregory takes a look around, looking at the floating balloons and empty chairs and the sole, untouched carrot cake sitting in the middle of the table, empty places littering the table in front of each seat.

Cassie feels self consciousness redden her cheeks, when he finally looks at her, and Cassie tenses, scrambling to find something to wipe away all remnants of her previous breakdown so Gregory doesnt see how much of a weirdo she is and walk right back out that door.

"Um- I-- Gregory!" She finally stutters out, resorting to using the tablecloth as a tissue as she wipes at her eyes, and Cassie has no idea if its helping at all or making her definitely smudged makeup worse. "Haha, hi! Um, I'm sorry, I didnt expect you--"

"To show up?" Gregory finishes, and Cassie startles when she sees him smile for the very first time ever. "You invited me, why would I not come?"

Cassie finds that shes unable to answer, and she just pauses, unsubtlety glancing towards the rows of empty chairs as a crestfallen look undoubtedly appears on her face.

She tries to shake it off, not wanting to look like shes fishing for pity or sympathy in front of Gregory, but she cant help it when the complete lack of people in the room besides herself and the one, only person who came to her party overwhelms her again.

She can see Gregory startle when she promptly bursts into tears again, and she abandons trying to clean up her ruined makeup, just hiding her face in her hands as she let's out almost cartoonish weeps.

She feels shame build in her stomach when the tears don't stop, nor does the burning, aching feeling in her chest, and she feels Gregorys presence shift from the middle of the room to the plastic chair at her side.

"Im-Im sorry." She says in between sobs. "Y-You shouldn't have to deal with me. I'm a m-mess."

She feels Gregory lay a hand on her shoulder, and only then does she finally lower her hands ever so slightly, peeking through her fingers.

Gregory is just looking at her in a way shes never seen before. He looks sympathetic, but in the most <i>non</i> judgey way possible. Hes offering her a soft, comforting smile, and it stretches wider when she finally makes eye contact with him.

"Its okay to be a mess. I mean, nobody came to your birthday party." Gregory tells her, and she feels embarrassed in the same way she did before, but also almost... relieved? Appreciative? That Gregory didnt beat around the bush and just said straight up what happened.

It feels less like somebody is trying to calm her down because it's what they're supposed to do and more like she has somebody else in it with her.

"If you didnt cry about it, I'd be confused for sure. I saw all of those invites on the other kids' desks." He says, and turns around to fish something out of his backpack. "'M not surprised those girls didn't come. They seem like pretty big assholes."

A startled laugh bursts out of Cassies chest, and the shame dissipates just a little bit. "Y-Yeah. They've always sucked. Always rude to me, too."

"I sure wouldn't doubt it. I've never been around to see it, though." He says, and then finally finds whatever he was looking for in his bag.

She tries not to get even more emotional when she sees the stark sight of pink sparkle against Gregory's dirty, Glamrock Freddy themed backpack, tucked neatly inside the pocket when he turns back around.

When she finally looks towards him, he's handing her a cloth with that same look on his face, that makes Cassie feel almost immediately at ease.

"I wish I could give you a cleaner one..." He says, almost sheepish, but Cassie is still caught up in the thoughtfulness to notice. "But hey, better than nothing!"

The cloth is a bit dirty; its white and has a smudge of pale yellow that looks like an old stain, but Cassie still takes the cloth gingerly, using it to wipe away some of the mascara tracks on her face and smudged purple.

"Thanks." She says, and when she tries to hand it back to Gregory, he just pushes her hand back to her chest.

"Keep it." He insists. "Not the best gift, but... I hope itll help you feel just a bit less gross on your birthday if you end up crying again."

Cassie definitely does not tear up again at the almost jarring understanding and non-ridicule. Gregory points out that she might cry again, and that's it okay. It's a sad day.

So she just uses the gift (because that's what it is; a gift) to wipe at her eyes, stopping any more makeup that caked up her face before from running again.

"Thank you" She says genuinely, and Gregory grins at her when a smile breaks out on her own face.

"No problem." He says. "Now, instead of moping around, how about we eat some of that cake and then go race in some go-karts?" Gregory throws out, pointing a finger at her Roxy colored stars clipped to her sweater.

She sniffs, rubbing away the rest of the upset that plagued her when she had been all alone (because she isnt anymore).

Cassie smiles, and she can still taste the salt on her lips, but she grabs her own plate and Gregory's, and goes to cut the cake.

"Wait!" Gregory stops her. "Arent you gonna make a wish?"

He gestures to the unlit candles, molded as the number twelve, and she pauses.

"They arent lit, though..." She points out.

"Leave it to me." is all Gregory says, and he pulls out a lighter from one of his pockets without a single elaboration as to why he even has one on him. He lights the candles, and pockets the lighter, grinning at her when he pulls back and then taking a deep breath.

"Happy Fazbear birthday, pizza games and cakes!" He starts singing, and Cassie cant help but burst into laughter when he exaggerates his voice in the same was Freddy does in the song.

Cassie almost cant blow out the candles because she keeps smiling, and it interrupts her every time she tries to blow, but eventually, the lights from the candles fizzle out, and Gregory's clapping along with his cheering echoes through the room, and Cassie cant help but feel her cheeks redden.

"Happy birthday, Cassie." Gregory grins, and Cassie, for once today, is happy.

Gregory wastes no time grabbing a frankly huge slice of carrot cake and stuffing his face, but Cassie lingers for just a moment longer, pausing.

I wish, She begins, ignoring how sappy her wish is about to be. that Gregory and I stay friends after today.

When Cassie grabs her own slice, an edge piece with a lot of frosting on it, Gregory starts jabbering to her with jokes and clever quips, and Cassie feels tears prick her eyes. This time not from the entirely silent room clouding her with sorrow, but from Gregory's boisterous laughter that sends her own stomach cramping from joining in.

ao3 link

[blackbloodteeth]

March of Madness – Fandom Creative Event!!

Welcome to the first event (possibly of its kind) of March of Madness – A reverse-exchange challenge of sorts where you create writing or art for a randomly selected idea! Why an idea of mine, you may ask? Well, I come up with too many all of the time and I figured it would be a fun challenge to see what other people do with them haha, plus it's a fun way to put more of that sweet delicious Soul Eater content out into the world.

Do note, as I am the funny Soul Evans multiverse man, that these ideas will be largely Soul-centric. There may be other characters present of course (and you can opt-out of Soul x Maka related ideas in the sign-up form), but Soul will almost always be an integral part of these ideas. Who knows, maybe you can get some practice in with his character if you haven't been as familiar.

Now, the rules are this:

After the sign-up period has ended, you will receive a randomly selected idea (with your given preferences kept in mind) to secretly work on for all of March, with posting starting in April. You still have time to work on it for the rest of April, but if you aren't finished by the start of May then you will become an after-party entry (which will still be able to be shared, just make sure to contact me haha). ---

Writers will have a word count minimum of 1,500 words to complete their fics (as that is about my one-shot average). Artists will need to complete a coherent-looking piece of art that clearly conveys the idea, however if you don't want to work alone, you may choose to collaborate with a writer and create art for the same idea that they're working on (either may opt-in for collabing in the sign-up form). ---

While creative interpretations and liberties are freely allowed to express your vision of the idea, you will need to at least stick to the bare bones of the given premise in spirit of the event. If you find you need a new idea if yours isn't working for you (or you'd like to write more than one as a small collection), you are allowed to reroll for a new idea, however please make sure to communicate this change with your partner if you have one (as well as communicating with me if you feel you need to drop out of the event or such). ---

As these ideas aren't really made with suggestive content in mind, I would prefer that event creations don't contain any explicit content. Please remember to tag/mark your posts if they happen to contain blood/gore, body horror, death, etc.

Sign-ups last from February 18th to 29th!

Once posting starts I will reblog all event creations with the "Soul Eater March Madness 2024" tag, and add any fics posted to AO3 in a March of Madness collection that were okay with being added.

This event is mostly just for fun, so don't sweat it if you find yourself too busy or lacking energy for a good chunk of it. Either way I'm looking forward to seeing how the event will go!

[malicedafirenze]

I unintentionally skipped a lot of the romance content in Baldur's Gate 3 and I want others to learn from my mistakes:

So: I managed to lock myself out of romance entirely and ended up alone, which was a huge bummer and a serious crack in my motivation to play the game. I finished my playthrough (because I was already close to the end of Act 3 when I realized it), and plan to do another one eventually. I'm making this post in hopes of a) keeping others from making the same mistakes and b) to possibly get some additional insight re. what to watch out for in my next playthrough.

PSA: Pick a Partner before Act 3

The key learning here for me was this explanation from the poly mod

In BG3, romance is divided into 2 steps: dating and relationship(also called partner). Dating is basically where you are at after the 1st romance scene. Relationship is where you are at after the 2nd romance scene (relationship also unlocks the kissing menu). BTW, If you enter A3, all dates will break up with you (partners won't, ofc).

I hadn't realized this until well into Act 3, at a point where going back to a save to properly fix it would have meant replaying large parts of Act 2 as well - I decided to finish my run instead and then start a completely new one later.

Note: lots of spoilers below. (click here to read this post on reddit instead)

My Romance Woes

I read in advance that you couldn't romance multiple people (except for the specific Halsin combos with Shadowheart and Astarion) and therefore turned down Gale and Lae'Zel early in the game (not realizing you could just date/bonk them without fully committing or getting anyone upset)

I didn't take approval all that seriously, thought I'd have more opportunity to fix things later. I was playing pretty good guy, and ended up with high approval for Karlach and Shadowheart, but low for Astarion. Weirdly, I don't recall an option to romance Shadowheart (no clue what I missed?) and the only option I had for Karlach was at the Tiefling party, where I went with Astarion instead. I had a scene or two with him, but then didn't progress further in the relationship, without really realizing what I was missing.

I wanted to romance everyone, sat on the fence for too long, and ended up not romancing anyone at all, by missing a thing or two in act 1 and 2 and being too late to fix it in act 3. Don't be like me, it feels bad man.

Early Act 3, I got Astarion's breakup dialogue ("we haven't spent a night together in some time" --> him explaining it was just transactional and he doesn't see the value in it anymore) and got super worried, but when trying to look up if I'd messed up, I didn't find a clear answer for without more spoilers, so I just continued playing Act 3, including all of the companion quests.

I later learned that I missed out on at least one important Astarion romance interaction by not going to Moonrise Towers until after freeing Nightsong. (when the Towers are already on high alert, i.e. I could only fight and not have a lot of conversations)

After realizing I had messed up companions romance, I instead fucked everyone it was unwise to fuck (Emperor, Mizora, Harleep...) for fun and to see what would happen... but chickened out and reloaded after Emperor and Mizora. Still, got to enjoy some fun content that way!

The ending I got (going to Avernus with Karlach) was really cool and made me cry a lot. I then did try to reload my last save though, to see if I'd get any other epilogue content if I didn't go to the Hells, but... apparently that scene on the docks (Astarion goofily running off, everyone kinda agreeing to go party after this, no other conversations with anyone again.... is just... it?

Idk how much of this is the lack of romance, but I really felt like something was missing there. I at least wanted to talk to everyone again one last time.

This is a post about my romance failures and regrets so I'm not gonna talk about everything else that I loved about the game, but just in case this is getting a bit too negative: I had an absolute blast with the whole game regardless, I'm stoked to give it another go the "proper" way (i.e. with romance). I also generally think it's really fucking cool that this game's romance options depend on how you behave, and that you can't just e.g. give someone the right kind of gift 20 times in a row to make them love you, like it works in games like Stardew Valley.

Next Playthrough Plans

I'll probably wait for another patch or two - considering how much got fixed and tweaked with the first three patches, I suppose it's worth to wait a bit and see what's coming

I'll play with the Poly mod next time and try to romance all of the Origin characters.

I plan to play with the camp notifications mod, as well as the approval ratings in dialogue mod. Both in hopes of being able to game the romance a bit better and get much of the romance in one playthrough

I'll play Dark Urge (haven't seen any of that so far!), but probably still go for a "good" playthrough mostly

I plan on equipping & levelling all Origin companions and switch them out more freely, in order to get approval from everyone and edit my party as makes sense depending on story events (e.g. take Lae'Zel to the Creche, take Gale to the Ketheric fight...)

I want to romance everyone. I already saw some tips for early game Astarion approval and assume the aforementioned mods will help in optimizing this

Am probably not gonna do anything all that differently otherwise because my heart can't take an actually evil playthrough

Aand that's about it. As mentioned, I'm mostly posting in case this helps anyone else.

I was really damn sad when I realized I had locked myself out of all romance, because the romance was a significant part of my motivation to start playing this in the first place. At the same time, I loved so much about the game that I still got a lot out of it in 110+ hours even with minimal romance content.

If you see any red flags about my plans for the next playthrough (or if you have experience with the mentioned mods!), I'd appreciate comments and insights. Other than that, here's hoping others can learn from my mistakes. Thank you for reading <3

[red-bat-arse]

steddie musician AU where Eddie makes it big after s4 and invites Robin and Steve to live with him in Chicago so he can tour and always have a home base -and now he has the resources to buy a bit more for himself so he makes sure a good studio space gets installed in the house

and ofc Robin's already musically inclined so she likes to help Eddie fuck around with weird trumpet solos for experimental songs, and Steve learnt piano as a kid but never had the opportunity to get creative with it -so when Eddie's gone and Robin's in class, he putters around the studio, learning guitar from Eddie's books and adapting to a keyboard and having fun with synths and singing. that lack of expectations and freedom to have fun is what trips him into making his own music

he puts together a few songs and asks Nancy to listen to them -he knows she'll be honest about whether he's wasting his time with this, since he at least wants to make music Robin or Eddie could give a pass to. but to his surprise she tells him he's good, and if he wanted to he could make a little extra money playing alternative nights at clubs. needing a second, more objective from a personal connection standpoint, opinion, he asks Argyle, who actually worked at a record store for a bit

Argyle, without asking bc he thought it went without saying, passes the cassette on to a few buddies of his in the local live music scene and later introduces them to Steve when they want to have him at one of their regular places. Steve goes with Robin who he asks not to tell anyone -he doesn't want to distract Eddie while the guy's making a big name of himself, and maybe Steve feels embarrassed or inadequate about being late to the game and doing it as a hobby, so he also uses a pseudonym. 'Zdev' maybe, if we want to parallel 'Djo'

he finds out he really likes it, so he starts doing small gigs for bars or parties Jonathan connects him with. puts a short album on cassette that he recorded at home, has fun with it even as the songs become more personal. but by then 'Zdev' has a little local fame and one of his cassettes is picked up by some label and they reach out -Steve definitely doesn't expect it, because psychedelic rock kind of faded from radio play after the 70s, but now he's being faced with a record deal he isn't sure he wants and no idea how to handle it

so he calls Eddie, who comes racing back from recording with the band out in LA, thankfully not ditching at too inconvenient a point

and Eddie nearly doesn't believe it at first but once he gets his hands on a tape so he can get an idea of the sound, he's obsessed. while he's a metalhead to the core, he's never heard Steve sing before (let's use twenty twenty as the album here) and there's something about the way Steve ties the groove to a sense of melancholy that digs into his skull. it also doesn't help that some of the songs set off alarm bells bc they talk about loving a girl or packing up and leaving or feeling adrift and they make him want to stick as close as possible lest they turn out to be true

he helps Steve through it, pretty well versed in the industry by now (i'm thinking its about 5 years post Vecna) but he's quietly worrying over the album's content the whole time. they go through the re-recording process, which ofc Eddie really wants to hear, but with Steve still being embarrassed he doesn't end up sitting in on any; but they talk over each song before and after and its so easy to drift back into hinting at the mutual attraction they'd each independently resigned to pass them by, back when Eddie first moved away after 86. and eventually it comes out that the album was Steve's way of, yeah, having fun, but also exorcising feelings from his past in Hawkins. that there's only one song that's really about his life now, and he didn't put it on the cassette but he's planning on including it on the LP

by now its pretty obvious to Steve that Eddie is flirting back, not to mention the guy put a hold on recording his own work to help Steve out, which is easy to read into. so he finally invites Eddie to sit in for the recording of the last song, which he's hoping will be subtle enough that he can bluff if it doesn't go well, but if Eddie is on the same page, it'll be clear. the song he plays is Mutual Future (Repeat)

it's got a long winding intro of just guitar that Eddie sits through, unaware, and Steve starts singing low, almost just his speaking voice the croon is so subtle, and when he meets Eddie's eyes through the glass to ask will you be mine?

well, Eddie gets it. and while there's not a lot of privacy in a recording studio, he eventually finds a small filing room he can kiss Steve stupid in until quitting time for the day comes and goes

[ingravinoveritas]

Is it just me or does it seem like Anna doesn’t have anything about Michael on her IG? I think the last thing I saw was when she and Michael went to see David’s play last year. Georgia hasn’t had anything about Michael either lately, but it just seems different. Or I’m reading too much into it. At least Georgia does have David on hers.

Hi there! I know you sent this several days ago and I've been a bit swamped, so apologies for taking so long to answer.

You are not at all reading too much into things, as a lot of what you mentioned is what many of us have noticed over the last few years, too. Anna puts Michael on her Insta when it's convenient/when there is something to sell (their relationship, typically). The most recent thing (before today, at least) was a picture from Mabli's first birthday party in May. Though she also posted this photo in a story on the same day that GO 2 was released (again, something to promote/sell):

This was obviously an old picture (likely taken midway through filming season 2, during the holiday break--so December 2021/January 2022), but it's telling that this is what she chose to post, instead of something new. And this again continues AL's pattern of posting terrible pictures of Michael, where he looks miserable and she looks smug. It seems like he was caught off-guard, too, as if she wanted a picture before he could put on his "game" face. There were so many choices happening here, and I'm genuinely confused by all of them.

Which then brings us today, and the bunch of photos/videos AL just posted for her birthday weekend, to again brag/show her "celebrating" with Michael. She posted multiple things, but I'm going to highlight these two in particular, as they stood out to me:

For those who can't tell, on the left is video of Michael at a parking meter machine, going to pay for parking. AL is making fun of him (again, which she has done multiple times previously), likely in an attempt to mimic the way Georgia pokes fun at David, yet lacking any of the underlying respect or affection that Georgia seems to have for David.

This (and AL's other stories from today) also continue her pattern of filming Michael surreptitiously/from a distance in order to generate content. In the story on the right, Michael is shooting basketballs and AL is standing behind him filming, rather than actually being in the moment, which gives the feeling of her wanting attention for herself more than wanting to enjoy her birthday with Michael. What also struck me about this and the other stories she posted is how cold and distant they seem. Pictures of empty drink glasses, a table, her sitting on the floor alone. The vibes are just completely "off" somehow, in my opinion, and it's noticeable.

What really stands out to me as well is that it doesn't look like either one of them were having that much fun. One thing we can say for certain about Michael and David--whether you ship them or not, whether you think something is going on between them or not--they always have fun together. We see it in the interviews they do, the interactions they have, how both of them are constantly smiling/laughing and there is never the feeling of one person monopolizing the spotlight--it's them, together, genuinely enjoying each other's company. Making each other laugh. And I just don't feel like that is the case with Michael and AL, because what I get from those stories today is a sense of obligation, rather than fun.

(I also think it's very telling and worth noting that in all of the stories AL posted, the only face that is full-on visible is her own...)

So yes, those are my thoughts on Michael being on AL's Insta and these new developments. As I've always said, I could be completely wrong about everything, but the fact that I've been getting more asks and comments about this makes me think others are starting to notice the questionable optics as well...

[milesandmorales]

I'm kind of disappointed about the direction they are going with the new DA game. I guess I just love the old lore of Origins too much - I sort of wish they were implementing some of the old features in there that made it so magical for me.

** I still think having several opening beginnings (whether they be just 20 minutes long or less) was GENIUS and still hasn't been done again. It just makes the replay factor of the game SO good. Especially when that very specific background comes into play at the tail end of the game. It just brings it to a satisfying full circle and ensures you replay the game several times to its completion to see how that other character's story shall end.

Second - I'm not particularly interested in the fade/tearing the veil conflict. It feels very Marvel - there is a big hole in the sky and an outside threat that we don't feel particularly attached to. Given we did make friends with a couple of spirits in Inquisition - but it still feels a little alien.

It lacks that more internal - base conflict like the conflict of Darkspawn - people can turn into one from being tainted. They are a constant threat banging on the doors of Dwarves. The contaminate old Gods - one began to speak in Awakening. It is a disease that affects EVERYONE even if they'd rather ignore it.

I also really enjoyed the politics of the mages and templars - that was very well done as each side has pros and cons. And finding a solution is neither simple or easy.

Third - protagonist - I loved the Grey Wardens as a protagonist because they are essentially the anti-hero - come from any background but their cause is noble. And yet they are also tainted as well - a great twist.

Hawke was an interesting experiment as it was very interesting to live as someone caught in the turmoil going on around them, but not necessarily they center piece. I also really enjoyed the time progressing feature that they introduced - seeing all the characters grow and change through the years.

The Inquisitor is where it starts to decline - none of your original background matter at all. Your race - maybe - but who or what you were before does not matter. Shit - if you believe you're the Herald or not really doesn't matter that much either. It is your character accidentally being the most useful tool. While the growing of your power is cool cinematically - you do not earn it - therefore it does not feel rewarding.

I just hope the new protagonist isn't another character that just happens to be there at the right time - where their backstory has no options and ultimately means nothing. It just feels stale.

Fourth - dialogue - the simplification of it is so unnecessary/annoying. Baldur's Gate 3 showed that people were perfectly fine/content reading lines of dialogue to decide exactly how they wanted to react. Why do we need a vague wheel?

Lastly - The graphics - I'm not terribly upset about. I would play it regardless of how it looked - although I do enjoy the gritty - old look. I do prefer the old combat - it was a lot more fun to experiment with different builds as a mage or as a rogue/thief. As well as controlling your party. Though - I could see past the combat if the story is more compelling.

ALTHOUGH - if the new game does look like your bag of tea - I truly hope that you enjoy it thoroughly. These are just my thoughts and opinions - nothing more.

[dipcifica-bingo-month]

Here are the prompts for the dipcifica bingo 2024!

Sorry for the delayed response, but with university starting and everything, I haven't had time to invest fully into this. Also, there was a glitch so I did not see some of the submissions until recently.

So these prompts are based from what were submitted in the asks. I apologize for not running a poll, but given the lack of time, I decided to head straight into announcing the themes for this year.

For this event, try to fulfill any four prompts in the bingo card above. Each work can only fulfil one of the prompts. It doesn't have to be a line (though it will be a fun added challenge!)

The list of prompts are:

Party

Gaming session

Meet the parents

Letter/Postcard

Beach

Stargazing

Ghost

Hot chocolate

Reflection

Camera

Journal

Mystery

"I miss you"

Costumes

Rescue

Hugs

Any form of content is encouraged: art, fics, graphics, crafts, etc. Don’t forget to ping this blog so I can reblog and people can see and reblog them too!

You can contribute as much or as little as you want for a certain prompt! If you only have enough time or energy to draw a doodle on a sticky note or write a 100-word fic drabble, that’s perfectly fine! If you can’t or don’t plan on participating, I’d really appreciate you reblogging this post to spread the word anyway!

Please feel free to drop any questions that aren't covered in this post. I'm fairly new to running a fandom event, so feel free to drop suggestions and so on.

Once again, have fun!

[red-dia]

It feels like the pacing for this arc and past arcs after the “Phos Goes to the Moon” arc starts to go faster and faster so there is a lot to be desired in between. It feels like the story goes from A to Z without putting in the other letters in between. I really wanted to see how the Gems would react to becoming Lunarians, because their fast acceptance was something I just can’t understand why it was so easy to undergo such a drastic transformation without any qualms. There were also interactions I wanted between some characters that did not happen or were written in an unsatisfying way that felt like the nuance in them just disappears.

I understand that time skips with the length of decades to centuries to millennia means that Gems can change drastically, especially in the setting of the Moon, where the Lunarian world allows the Gems to have more freedom to find themselves and find their own resolutions. Now I just have to hope and pray “The Party at the End” book added in with the special edition Vol 12 preorder will give me some answers and explanations. But part of me also is expecting mostly Cairnmea content in it per usual.

I dunno, part of me feels like Ichikawa is going through both burn out for this series and also wanting to move onto other projects aside from HNK, considering she works with Nintendo and is a character designer for Pokémon.

Agreed to a lot of this; the thing that bothers me the most is that there's so many characters that seem like they're set up to get some kind of development, and then the story kinda leaves it hanging, and for a while I had assumed there would be conflicts and resolutions and closure, but these issues dropped off the face of the earth....

The shift from the gems being hunted for sport for their entire existence only to be integrated among the lunarians, and nobody has hard feelings about it, everybody is happy to have left the earth where they've lived forever, everybody just kinda 👍 their way though it, fine we are lunarians now, okay we can restore dead gems because we changed our minds this is fine actually, whatever happened to Ghost and Lapis though, or whatever complex situation Rutile & Padparadscha had, or whatever are the ramifications of dusted gems coming back to life only to find almost everything they knew is gone and they have to live a new way of life without ever having asked for this :/

Not saying she shouldn't have done it at all, but the lack of extra time to introduce it made it feel pretty ooc to me. Especially given that "everybody has to die at some point" has been admitted as a plot point for a long time, so rushing it wasn't necessary at all. It also feels like there's a lot of missed opportunities...

That's not even mentioning things like the admirabilis, or earth stuff like the ice floes, but i'm still holding onto the hope there might be some more answers for that in the upcoming chapters. I'm also waiting to see if there's interesting stuff in the vol 12 booklet (though i'm not getting my hands on it, so i'm not sure if anything will be shared), but i'm not expecting much either though, but at least it might be fun!

+ regarding ichikawa being burned out, i'm not sure. I do think hnk is important to her because she put a lot of effort into it even when it's not necessary (cf artbooks, updated pages for manga releases, etc). If i had to guess, either she 1. happened to have a different vision of the story and she's fine with that, and/or decided on a deadline (ch108?) and eventually realized she was running late and had to scrap things/rush the story a bit and couldnt say everything she wanted to. The second option seems doesn't seem unlikely to me since hnk can only go so far with 20 pages per month, and she's trying to supplement it with additional material.

Either way yeah, i don't exactly know how hard hnk is on her since she takes hiatuses pretty liberally when she's working on other projects. A hiatus is still pretty different from a finished series though, so you may be onto something if she is trying to diversify her line of work...?

[bergeronprocess]

My Winter 2023 anime reviews! I was waiting to write these until UniteUp! finished its run, which it now has, so...here we go!

Discussed below the cut: UniteUp!, Nijiyon Animation, The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague, Handyman Saitou in Another World, Buddy Daddies, Soaring Sky Pretty Cure

This past season, I actually watched a lot of shows that were primarily about men or boys! That's kind of unusual for me, but I had a good time. I even tried watching an isekai. More on that later.

I'll start with UniteUp! actually. This is my sleeper hit of the season. It was plagued by covid related production delays - which actually led to them putting out some interesting "behind the scenes" episodes to fill the air time that had already been set aside for the show. It's an idol show, but it's different because I feel like they are a bit more realistic about the Idol Business compared to, say, Love Live (which I am also a fan of, I'm not hating). The characters are all really charming, even if sometimes I forgot all of their names lol ensemble cast problems, and the music is really good (especially the Crossfire theme song). The concerts and dancing are animated really well - they're of course using CGI there, but that makes it look really realistic and accurate. I haven't heard much chatter about this show, although Cy from Anime Feminist was effusive in their praise of it, and I just want more people to watch UniteUp!

Since I just mentioned Love Live, I also watched Nijiyon Animation. Cute, super-short length episodes based on 4koma comics. lt was like a fun little dessert every week lol. Nijigasaki is my favorite Love Live, so of course I loved it. It was also a nice farewell to Tomori Kusunoki as Setsuna.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague was a big ole nothingburger. Pretty much no character development actually happens and we're never really sure if the titular characters are even dating in the end. Basically the only thing that happens is the passage of a year. Anime Feminist also pointed out the weirdness of the "if Himuro gets a fever, he turns into a little boy" thing, especially that scene where he is in little boy form and then accidentally pins Fuyutsuki to the bed in her hotel room and they have that blushing "ooh, oh no~" reaction that would be just...much less weird...if the guy wasn't literally in a child's body at that moment. At least there was a lot of cat content in this show, but near the end of its run I was just like "ugh, I'm frustrated with the lack of progression here but I feel like I need to see it through to the end."

Another show that had some pacing issues was Handyman Saitou in Another World, the one isekai I watched! It did have a cool premise and I like how Saitou can apply his practical 21st century knowledge of locksmithing and such to the generic medieval high fantasy style premise place. I liked Raelza too (she's played by Ai Fairouz, who is fabulous in every role I've heard her in) and there were some interesting elements. I just feel like we spent too long on the side story with the ninja and the witch. This guy loves this woman so much even though their "meet cute" wasn't so much cute as kinda creepy?! He steps on her shadow so she can't move and then kisses her? Yikes! Their story takes multiple episodes to resolve and I'm just like can we get back to the main quartet PLEASE? I did like the other adventuring parties we meet, especially the big buff dude who has a crush on Saitou. Now, the fact that death can potentially be reversed in this world did lead to some of the "oh no! This character died" story beats feeling hollow since they were always followed by "well hold on, we'll just do a revival spell" or whatever. And there is some fanservice that might as well have come with a big ole "You're not the target audience here, Emma" sign on it. Overall, I am not sorry I watched it, and I think it's a cut above the dime-a-dozen isekais that are pumped out every season, but it had its issues.

I loved Buddy Daddies. It's so much more than just "modern Spy x Family"! Kazuki and Rei are both relatable in very different ways, Miri is probably a more realistic depiction of a child her age compared to Anya (I am not a parent though), it was always fun to play "Which car is this person driving" (Ogino's Chrysler 300 is definitely an odd choice still lol) and I feel like it had a nice ending. It didn't treat its adult women characters super well - when Anime Feminist described Yuzuko as getting fridged, I was like yeah...you're right. And then Misaki was really trying to do better and atone for her mistakes, but she gets hit with the double whammy of cancer and her sudden murder. Damn. At least Miss Anna got out okay. I like to wonder what happens when Rei's dad kicks the bucket. Does he then immediately inherit the organization and the giant estate? He obviously has no interest in it, so what would he do with it all? Probably just burn down the estate and disband the organization, right?

And finally, it's the Pretty Cure series that finally did it, that finally got me Precurepilled...it's Soaring Sky Pretty Cure! I tried watching Delicious Party episode 1 last year, but between the art style and the "weird magical desert place that the battle happens in," I just couldn't vibe with it. But phew, Soaring Sky is SO good. I love the art, I love the characters, it's all just so much fun and enjoyable. I like to try to watch it first thing on Sunday mornings. It's obviously still running right now and we haven't even been introduced to Cure Butterfly yet, let alone the midseason Cure (an aged-up Ellee maybe?), which means there is a lot still to do. Also I have a theory that Yoyo is the mysterious hero who inspired Sora back in the day. Like she used to be a Cure herself, perhaps. That would be fun.

Other than Skip and Loafer and the second part of G-Witch, spring is looking pretty sparse for me, so...all the more reason to keep watching older Pretty Cure seasons, right? I'm working on Kira Kira and want to watch Star Twinkle after that!

[kevincow]

My top 10 games of 2022

1) Splatoon 3

I usually don't do well with online shooters. I tried the first two Splatoons and had to put them down because I just got too frustrated. After trying the Testfire and giving up after two matches, I thought this game would be the same, and didn't think I'd even get it.

But I did, for some reason. And somehow, it clicked with me this time. It quickly became my most played game of the year. I still have to put it down occasionally if I go on a particularly bad losing streak, but having Salmon Run always available helps keep me coming back even when I'm not feeling like PvP.

2) Pokemon Legends Arceus/Scarlet & Violet

I can't really justify giving Pokemon two spots here - especially games with such glaring flaws - but I also can't choose just one of them because they both have ways they're better than the other. The action RPG stuff in Legends was great, but so was the open world of S/V. Legends wasn't nearly as much of a technical disaster, but I thought S/V had a more interesting story and characters. Legends had cool boss fights, but S/V actually had a whole selection of new Pokemon and not just a handful of regional variants. The Pokedex in Legends was really interesting, but I also loved how S/V just gave you a bunch of objectives and let you loose to tackle them in whatever order you want.

Between the two, this is the freshest Pokemon's felt since I was a kid. The finally delivered the game that I imagined I was playing on my Game Boy in 1998.

3) Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope

If this was a less ambitious sequel, it probably still would've made my list. Just the first game again, with a different set of Rabbid-ized Mario characters and villains? Going by the first game's DK DLC, that would've been an easy recipe for success.

But they didn't do that. They went the extra mile. Completely reworked the battle system, ditching the grid and letting you run freely around the battlefield. Fleshed out the Mario + Rabbids world to really be its own thing - not just Rabbid versions of Mario characters in Rabbid versions of Mario worlds, but original characters and locations that capture the general vibe of both Mario and Rabbids.

This easily could've gone wrong, but they pulled it off. One of the 3 new characters, for example, is one of these original characters, and that easily could've left a bad taste in my mouth, made me say, "Man, I really wish we'd gotten Daisy or even Rabbid Daisy instead of this dumb original character." But I didn't, because Edge is great.

And on top of that, they addressed just about every complaint I had about the first game. There's more substantial side content. Worlds are more interesting to explore. Characters are more customizable. Your party isn't stuck with Mario in the lead and always forced to include a Rabbid. There's more incentive to experiment with your full party instead of sticking to the characters you feel comfortable with.

And I've already written enough, so I won't get into how great the music is. But it's great.

4) PowerWash Simulator

This would've probably made my list even if it'd just played the whole thing straight. Give me a bunch of dirty stuff, powerwasher go brrrrrr, 10/10.

That's all I thought this was for like half the game. Then I started actually paying attention to the text notifications that pop up. And wait, what, this game has a story? And it gets really weird?? And it actually has a really satisfying finale???

So yeah, this was my most played PC game of the year by far.

5) Sonic Frontiers

It's weird. As I was playing this, I felt like I constantly had complaints and frustrations. A lack of polish here, a questionable decision there.

But thinking about the game after the fact, I mostly remember how much fun I had. How great it felt to run around the open world. How the cyberspace level encouraged me to actually go for good times and collectibles in a way other Sonic games never have. How the combat is actually kinda okay. How epic the Super Sonic fights were.

I think this is the 3D Sonic I can praise with the fewest caveats. It's not just good for a Sonic game. It's not just good for its time. It's not good but way too short. It's just straight up good.

Please, Sonic Team, don't try to reinvent the series again next time. You have something good. Really good! Now for the next game, polish up this style and make it something GREAT.

6) Patrick's Parabox

I haven't had my brain destroyed by a puzzle game like this since Baba is You.

7) Kirby and the Forgotten Land

Kirby finally makes the jump to 3D, and it's… basically exactly what I imagined Kirby would be like in 3D. Basically a kid-friendly character action game. Baby's first Bayonetta. But more than that, this game just has passion and creativity that's been missing from the series for years. It's not just Return to Dream Land with a new gimmick. The levels don't feel like they were made in a level editor. Combat practically feels like baby's first Bayonetta. And they somehow took Needle, a power that I've always avoided, and made it my favorite one in the game.

8) Neon White

I don't know how to really explain why, but this looked like a game that would really frustrate me, so I avoided it for a while despite the praise. Something about having to discard weapons to use movement abilities while precisely aiming at enemies just sounded like it would get overwhelming. But the recent GMTK video on it made me give it a shot, and I was happy to find that the it isn't nearly as unforgiving as I worried.

It's a first-person platformer with an emphasis on speedrunning, encouraging you to replay every level at least a few times to get a Gold or Ace medal. It's fun and addictive, and it feels great to find a good shortcut that the game doesn't even tell you about. Though it starts to get less fun later in the game, as levels get longer. Doing a 30 second level a few times isn't bad, but doing a 2 minute level a few times? Eh…

The story, though… well, it's told almost entirely through really cringey visual novel sequences that go on for way too long. Thankfully the game lets you fast-forward them (but not outright skip, for some reason) - but then the game just feels like a level pack with no story. So you either let the dialogue waste your time so you actually know what's happening, or you play the game with no motivation or connection to the world. Just seems like a weird place to drop the ball in an otherwise masterfully designed game.

9) Marvel Snap

A collectible card game with bite-sized matches. An addictive game loop that encourages experimentation with new cards and new types of decks. Marvel characters, both popular and obscure. I don't really play mobile games and I've never really been into card games so this wasn't even on my radar, but I gave it a shot when I saw people talking about it, and it took over my life for a month.

10) The Last Clockwinder

I tried this game on a whim when looking at recent VR games and being a bit depressed that the space isn't as ambitious and experimental as it was when VR was new and exciting.

This is a VR game that feels ambitious and experimental, and actually has somewhat decent production values.

At its core, the game is like a Zachtronics assembly line puzzle game, but in a way that could only work in VR. You record yourself doing a short action - like picking a fruit and tossing it - and then a robot clone appears and repeats that action infinitely. Then you record yourself catching the fruit that was tossed and depositing it in a bucket to harvest it. Repeat until you have a room full of robots harvesting fruits. And if you want to challenge yourself, every room has efficiency goals, so you can try to produce more than X amount of fruit with fewer than Y amount of robots.

And a game that was just a series of levels like that would already be pretty cool. But Clockwinder goes beyond that. For one thing, your robots keep collecting fruit when you're in other levels, and harvested fruits are used to open new levels, where you can get more seeds, which you can use to speed up harvesting in another level - so it's got a bit of an idle game element. But it's also got kind of an adventure game thing going on. Rooms aren't entirely independent. You'll find a room that's askind for blue fruits but has no plants, and you have to find the room to grow blue plants before you can progress. You'll have multi-room puzzles where fruits collected in one room aren't immediately harvested, but instead sent to another level, where you have to complete another puzzle to actually harvest them.

This might all sound like a lot, but it's introduced gradually enough that it's not overwhelming. Tying it together is an actually okay story, told mostly through audio logs with voice acting and writing that surprisingly don't make me cringe and mash the Skip button, a rarity for VR games.

Honorable mentions:

Panic Porcupine: I feel weird mentioning this since I know the devs and playtested it, so I'm obviously really biased. But it's a game I've played a bit of here and there over the past few years, and I was happy that it finally came out, and I had a lot of fun with it.

Grapple Dog: Just a thoroughly solid platformer with fun grappling hook physics and a cute dog.

God of War Ragnarok: There was a time in my life when this would've probably topped my list. It's well-made, very polished, looks amazing, every character's performance is great, and overall I enjoyed it… but I dunno, it just didn't excite me. It made me say, "Yep, that was a pretty good game."

Stray: There are a lot of things I think this game could've done to better capture the premise of playing as a cat. But at the end of the day, Cyberpunk Cat Game was still plenty cute and charming.

Lunistice: A 3D platformer that's short and to the point with a price to match.

Tinykin: What if Pikmin, but a 3D platformer? A great premise, and an overall cute and charming game, but I just wish it had more substance. The strategy elements of Pikmin are almost entirely absent, the platforming is basic, there are no enemies or really any threats at all, the puzzles practically solve themselves… it's decently fun to explore the worlds, but it definitely feels like a game that could've been something more.

Melatonin: Rhythm Heaven, but it takes place in the dreams of a burnt-out Millennial. Fun, but it does make me realize how much of the appeal of Rhythm Heaven comes from that uniquely Nintendo charm.

Hell Pie: A 3D platformer with really cool and fun movement mechanics that might have placed in the top 10 if its aesthetics and sense of humor didn't disgust me. And I don't mean "disgust" as just an exaggeration for dislike, but it's a game full of gross-out humor, and it just doesn't land.

Games that seemed pretty cool but I didn't play enough to place them:

Sports Story: I liked Golf Story but never beat it. This game is also fun, but it came out so late in the year and I've been playing so many other games that I'm not very far yet.

Ragnarock: A VR rhythm game about vikings racing longboats. The music selection really makes you FEEL like a viking drummer.

What the Bat?: What the Golf?, but in VR, and everything is baseball because your hands are bats. I've only played a bit, but I loved What the Golf, and this game has also made me laugh a bunch.

[creepy-spooghetti]

Hello! I would like a matchup if you have the time!

First of, I am 5'7, ISFP, a pisces, my favorite color is red, I am curvy and I have shoulder length, red dyed hair. I have grey-blue eyes, wear glasses because I'm pretty much blind without them. My makeup and clothes take a lot of inspiration from alternative subcultures like goth and grunge.

As far as my personality is concerned, I try to be as generous, helpful and friendly as I can. I do my best to involve everyone in a conversation or activity and I yearn for close connections and bonds. I am very reactive, though. I cry and scream and get angry but always apologize if and when I hurt someone. Something less known about me is my lack of empathy. It's not that I don't care about people in my life, I just have a hard time feeling for them in even the worst of situations. I also don't really have any sensibility about death; I'm just not that affected. My love languages are physichal touch, acts of service and gift giving/receiving. I am a bit of a masochist and I don’t mind getting hurt, either through my own reckless actions or love bites from my partner. I need my partner to be able to express their affection, feelings and thoughts; I need someone assertive but still caring in their own way.

I have a bit of a bad memory and I tend to forget most events. Usually I just nod along to whatever story my friends are telling because if it sounds like something I would do, I probably did it and just don't remember.

I enjoy swimming and summer, painting, writing, theatre and music. I paint a lot of abstract things and I try to express exactly what feelings inspired that specific piece. I usually write poetry if I'm in the mood but I lean more towards painting. Aside from that, I've been told I would make a good actor. I like listening to a lot of metal music, pop punk, darkwave (some of my favorite bands are System Of a Down, Nice ice kills, Skillet, Vandal Moon, Children on Stun and don't tell anyone but I have a soft spot for Alec Benjamin)

Some of my favorite things are my spiked bracelet, my dark red nail polish and parties. I would say I'm an ambivert. I love spending time with others, although I also like to enjoy my personal space often. I like amusement parks, water parks, the forest, the beach, I find fun in most places.

Finally, I absolutely love horror. Horror manga like Junji Ito, horror movies or stories; they are all my favorites. My favorite book and movies are Frankenstein and Scream 1996 and Hush 2016. Manga and books don't scare me a lot but movies are what I enjoy most, even though I'm scared to watch them alone. My ideal date would be a horror movie marathon with lots of scares so I can hold on to my partner and cuddle. On the topic of horror, I have a pretty embarassing but totally reasonable fear of zombies. I have nightmares often and I swear my fear came from plants vs zombies.

I didn't mean for this to get so long ^^ Have a good one!

I match you with...

Brian!

The first thing Brian observed about you was your appearance - he thought you looked very cute, besides he is shamelessly attracted to those that wear glasses so that gave you some bonus points for sure.

The moment he really started to notice you, however, was when you went with him on a mission, and he realized how capable you were if given the right assignment. The two of you worked well together, and he didn't have a problem at all with teaming up again sometime in the future.

He'd see you wandering around the manor, doing your own thing, headphones over your ears, completely content with the situation, and discreetly admire you from a distance - he wouldn't have admitted that to anyone, though.

You seemed to be very in touch with your emotions, judging by how expressive you were with them when communicating with any of the other residents, and he could tell that you wouldn't hold back if something ever angered or upset you. Therefore, he made a mental note never to cross you if it was unnecessary.

Over time, his feelings blossomed and became something more than a fleeting crush. Everything about you reeled him in, even though he didn't know that much about you. So, he decided to change that.

It started with a passing conversation here and there; he'd inquire about your day or comment on something random, and that would spark further interaction. The more you talked, the more that little flame in his chest grew. He looked forward to seeing you each day, even if just for a couple of minutes. He hadn't felt this lively since he was in college, and it showed through in his voice and actions. His apathetic demeanor was slowly melting away, and you were to thank for that.

When the two of you first got together, he was a little hesitant and unsure; after all, he hadn’t dated anyone since he was in college. But with your lovable and affectionate demeanor, his doubts were quick to fade.

Brian personally is not a huge fan of horror, but whenever he’s free and you want to watch something, he’s down to do it with you. It’s quality time together, and he wouldn’t miss that for the world.

Plus, he finds it quite amusing when you get frightened and end up essentially using him as your own personal body pillow.

If it’s an open partner that you want, it’s an open partner that you’ll get; contrary to popular belief, Brian is very connected with his feelings, emotions, thoughts, etc, even though he doesn’t like expressing that in his day-to-day life with everybody else.

If he has a problem, with your relationship or otherwise, he will be very honest with you about it, as well as admitting when he was wrong. He’s a mature guy and definitely would not date anyone that isn’t willing to face trouble head-on or own up to their mistakes. He doesn’t like to dwell on past problems either, so as long as you make it clear you’re sorry for whatever it was you did, and will do better in the future, he’ll forgive you.

If you ever have a nightmare, feel free to call him up in the middle of the night. He’s used to being woken up from slumber anyway, being one of Slenderman’s most trusted puppets, so if he has to talk to someone this late, he wants it to be you.

He too enjoys writing poetry, and even though he doesn’t consider himself an expert by any means, it’s one way he’s able to release his stress and negativity. Believe it or not; being forced to hurt people doesn’t do much to help his mental state.

He would rather not go full-on PDA if it can be helped; it isn’t that he doesn’t relish your touch, or finds you embarrassing to be around, it’s simply because if he lets the others in the house know he can be soft, they won’t take him seriously. And he can’t have that.

So if you start clinging to his arm when he’s in the middle of something, he’ll nudge you off and mutter that he loves you, but the cuddles will have to wait.

Obviously he’ll make it up to you when you have some alone time together.

If you ever get emotional, for whatever reason, don’t worry about receiving judgement - he understands that everyone deals with things in their own ways. Especially if you’re in the middle of a disagreement, and he sees you’re beginning to get upset, he will shelf his own agenda and make sure you calm down before either of you continue.

He isn’t a huge fan of most of the music you listen to (he’s more of a classic rock guy) but he can vibe with some of the songs.

He occasionally likes to tease you about how scared you are of zombies, but if you seem like you aren’t receptive, he won’t take it any farther. He doesn’t want to be mean and make you feel bad.  

He loves the color of your eyes and he compliments how pretty they are all the time. One of his favorite things to do is stare into them; he says it’s like getting lost in a stormy ocean. 

[herefortheships]

Some thoughts on the music industry as it is today

Vanessa Carlton's song "White Houses" has been in my mind since last night and it has got me thinking about how they really don't make music like that anymore. Or it's not that this type of music isn't being produced; the truth is that we wouldn't find this kind of lyrics on the radio. Music with honest, meaningful, lyrics. I think the closest I've found to make such profound music AND reach the popular media streams today might be Mitski.

And Vanessa wasn't an exception in the early 2000s, but she was among the last we saw, I think. Her contemporary Avril Lavigne had several profound songs in her arsenal as well, but the media gave the most attention to her more fun songs like "Sk8ter Boi" and "Complicated" with more commercial appeal, I guess. She had such songs as "Tomorrow" in her first album that really touched me. "Naked", "Mobile" were also lovely songs, but they didn't get as much attention as the aforementioned.

Before Vanessa and Avril's time, though, in the 90s, there were many more musicians producing exceptional, creative music, with beautiful, inspired, and profound lyrics that MEANT something, hitting the popular streams of music and reaching wide audiences. Profound lyrics and creativity in music weren't elements confined to the more indie music spaces. At the top of my head, among the musicians putting out lyrics with meaning there was Jewel, Seal, Brandy, No Doubt even had a few songs that were more than a fun quick jam, and heck even some more pop and clubby songs had some meaningful lyrics like the song "Gypsy Woman" by Crystal Waters and several songs by the band Letters to Cleo ("I see", "Here and now" come to mind), even rock bands like Pearl Jam were putting out some profound lyrics The song "Jeremy" comes to mind. And that's just at the top of my head, as I'm here sipping my tea and writing this completely impromptu "essay" on this Wednesday morning.

I feel like more artists had a mind to create lyrics with meaning back then, and that's probably because it was required to compete in how the industry was back then. TPTB in the music industry were actively pushing this kind of music around that time.

Until they weren't.

I feel that although the kind of lyrics devoid of all sense of meaning, apart from creating a fun or party environment, or stirring certain universal emotions like the sadness of a break-up, the fleeting nature of a summer love, the excitement of a fling, etc, were ALWAYS present and will always exist (and I'm glad for it, don't get me wrong! We all need a good Taylor Swift hyper-commercial song to vibe to every now and then. I know I do and I consume that like it's oxygen sometimes), I feel like we don't get enough of this content in the popular streams of music nowadays.

I feel like this decline in the quality of popular music started (or at least became more prevalent) around 2002-2004, when there was a noticeable shift in the kind of lyrics and the kind of environment or "aesthetic" the music industry was pushing. Lyrics were focusing more and more on drinking, partying, getting high, being "dirty" and promiscuous. Singers whose musical message was sexy but which maintained an air of more "innocent" playfulness like Britney Spears, for example, were now showing up a lot more sexualized and, for lack of a better word, "dirtified" into this "sexy-dirty club girl" aesthetic that became popular around that time. And let's not forget the orange-y bronzers, super thin eyebrows and super low jeans hanging at the hip that went with that aesthetic. Even artists like Avril Lavigne were making music videos dressed in sexy corsets at some point (video "Hot" from 2007). And this wouldn't be an issue (again, fun music is always welcome) if it weren't for the fact that this movement started opaquing anything else. This wasn't a problem with the audience and their tastes having changed; this was/is a problem with TPTB and what they intend to promote and the environment they want to create at any given time in the industry.

I feel that around 2007-2015 there was another small shift in which finally the club party people music started to die out, and more creative music started making it into the radio and other popular streams of music consumption. Even in 2005 we had some few musicians making music that broke that party aesthetic, like KT Tunstall. That said, there were (and still are) too few musicians creating music with meaningful lyrics that are making it to the radio, TV, etc.

Recently, even though the clubbing, drinking music is less prevalent now, I've seen an increase in short songs with empty lyrics enjoying great success, becoming popularized through quick-content media such as TikTok. "Nasty Girl" and "I like the way you kiss me" (by the way I'm totally obsessed with that last one) come to mind. Again, I will EAT some of this music up; the fact that this music is fun to consume and dance to, and vibe to, is not what this essay is about; this essay is about the lack of exposure great lyricists and musicians who create and excel at this kind of profound music are getting, and how lyrics that mean nothing other than stirring sexual images or other more "carnal" reactions and superficial emotions rather than those which explore experiences are getting, such as the experience of losing your virginity (and realizing how "common" instead of "magical" it often is in reality) explored in Vanessa Carlton's "White Houses", which prompted this entire essay,

Music, also, was not viewed as "content" in the 90s and previous decades. This is something else that's hurting the industry. Putting creative products such as music, movies, TV shows, all under the quickly consumed and discarded umbrella of "content", under its modern connotation, has also harmed the quality of these products overall, but that's a conversation for another time! Quick-content media begs for "meme-worthy" songs and other songs which can be adapted to addictive one-minute videos.

I am sure that no doubt about it there are hundreds if not thousands of musicians out there creating music independently that have lyrics that are worth listening to, but unfortunately, unless the YouTube or Spotify algorithms randomly suggest such songs at some point, it's unlikely to discover these artists, and I just find that incredibly unfair. There is simply no such thing as meritocracy in which artists and which songs make it into the modern streams of media (and likely there never has been), but I think that as music becomes content, more and more, and as TPTB keep pushing empty lyrics, the appreciation for music with more profound lyrics, exploring human experiences at a deeper level, is going to continue to dwindle.

Today's media might not see artists like Vanessa Carlton making it big with their songs that sound like stories, speaking of the human experience, but we can all still make an effort to find these independent musicians and support their creations instead of following the game TPTB in the music industries want us to play all the time. It's also true, however, that the level of depth in song lyrics is dependent on the consumer's perception. What is profound to someone, might be hard to understand or even meaningless to someone else; what is meaningless to someone might be the most moving song to someone else. I think I've had that experience with Adult Child's "Star", which is extremely profound to me, personally, but I'm sure lots of people would say "what even is that song saying?" There may be a hidden meaning in a particular line that I might be keenly aware of, but a friend might not even notice. So take this essay with the knowledge that there is also an element of personal perception and that I'm speaking solely on general terms.

[inkofamethyst]

April 26, 2024

I impulse bought two indie patterns from etsy and I'm actually so excited to try them omg. Like the images in the reviews look SO GOOD and I'm kind of hoping that I can eventually modify it for a basic block because I've had so little luck making one on my own. But before that, I'm just excited to have a springy, summery midi dress. Also hoping that I can make the bust area fitted enough to forgo a bra without sacrificing comfort. A big ask, but perhaps possible.

I feel so bad for my CS prof. Basically no one shows up to class anymore. Maybe 10-20 percent the past two weeks? Which I understand that people are getting busy and that the lectures are available online and that the lack of a final exam/homework that tests the content of the last two weeks does not incentivize getting on a bus to get to the engineering school from the main campus, but ughhhh it's just so awkward.

Investing is only fun while stock market go up. I lost something like 5% of my portfolio in just two weeks which kind of hurt a little because that's a significant portion of what I've put in there the last few months! I know, I know, it's all about time in the market, not short-term fluctuations. And I've been doing well with not peeking and just leaving well enough alone. It's just that I was excited to hit a milestone, but my balance dipped right before I hit it.

Excited to bring my uke up this summer! For fingerpicking and learning new chords and brushing up on other things I'd learned previously. Lots of new songs to try since I started listening to my daylist. Wonder if I could fit my sewing machine into a carryon...

Oh oh also! Severance was really really really good! Excellent, even! Combines some of my favorite elements from shows like Stranger Things (I've only seen s1 tho lol), Lost, Pantheon... a thoroughly entertaining work that can also be overanalyzed to my liking. Big fan of science fiction that's a little unsettling. Big big fan of scifi that asks what it means to be human and who/what is deserving of human rights.

Today I'm thankful for students who are infinitely braver than me. Students across all fifty states. At my undergrad institution and my current institution. I am so proud of them.

With the current political climate, the themes of THG feels especially... relevant. Uncomfortably relevant. Power, revolution, mass movement, conversation, connection over division. I feel and have felt frustrated for months. For years, sure, but my frustrations have built especially quickly over the last several months. It has come to a head with the most recent big federal bill being passed. It's not that I don't believe that there is a threat of "foreign adversaries maliciously using my data", but I also try to be anti-sinophobic, because sometimes ""China!!!1!"" just comes off as a lazy scapegoat, kinda propaganda-y (not that I dismiss how the tiktok algorithm can also be propagandized for its own purposes). I am not immune to propaganda, but I can try to critically consider why someone might want me to see one narrative over another. That was a tangent. Just overthinking about my game :/ Maybe I should've done some zombie thing (but even The Last of Us has underlying political themes, so).

I am also thankful for kindhearted strangers. I need to more regularly meet and converse with strangers. Unfortunately, I have granny tendencies and get tired early. I was supposed to go to a grad student party tonight. Did not happen. Maybe some other time.

Anyway, bonk the police.

[mirrorballwhoistrying]

Sky Blue January (02.02.2024)

Hey, it's me again! I can't believe a month of 2024 is gone already. Who said January was moving slowly didn't make sense. I never feel like time ever moves slowly. It moves a little a time then all at once. Oop! Just like growing up!

I had a countdown party at my cousin's house on New Year's Eve. It was fun until the topic of marriage was constantly brought up. I wasn't even surprised. My brother was the main target. He left early and never came back. Good for him as I would do the same.

I woke up to New Year late as I should. I had a haircut. That's already the norm, right?

The next day, January 2nd I went to Chef Nak's house with BKT and BSR for photoshooting. The main purpose was not only for the photo shoot but also to talk about the unfinished work. Things were going okay until discussing with BSR. What I could hear from him was that my work is not worthy for him to pay a lot. A side of me wanted to prove him wrong and tried to do my best, but then on the way home, I became mad and decided that if people not going to see value in my work, then I was not wasting time trying to prove them. Did I do the right thing? Is this a sign of my lack of communication skill and collaboration skills? Is this what's costing me all the good opportunities?

On the first weekend, I went on a trip with BKT and BKL. This is definitely another occasion that sent me into another existential crisis. They lived in a very different world from my usual circle and that's somehow all my friend groups are. They are rich and talk about businesses and having fun. Money isn't their concern, but it's about love and friendship. I had fun of course but a different kind of fun, but a good thing is I know they are people I can count on, right?

I also started posting content back on social media. In a way, I feel so lost in direction. Am I doing the right thing? Do people even care what I'm saying? Am I not trying hard enough? Am I trying hard in the right direction? What does it all lead up to? Why do I have to question so much instead of putting effort into making it good and happen?

I finally announced my resignation to my teammates. They were so sad and really wanted me to stay. I feel so lucky to have them for real.

I have to address the elephant in the room. I was selected for YSEALI AFP! Damn! My 5 years of effort finally paid off! I was so happy, but I also hated another part of me that immediately started asking "What's next?" Why can't I live in the moment instead of always constantly looking for what's next? I really need to enjoy the moment and appreciate my efforts. I know for sure that I'm the oldest in my cohort but I don't care as long as I'm going to the US!

I went to G sauna and on a date. It was nice and I'm glad and I put myself out there again. Workwise, it's also really hectic at the workplace as it's still the peak season. I sent a message to VT to separate PPUB but she hasn't responded yet. I made up my mind and she's not going to change that.

I'm 25 this year. I feel such an existential crisis. Most of my peers are either in their family era or cooperate era because they finished their academic era already. I feel like I'm still starting. This is a hard thing I have to constantly tell myself to stop living my life based on society's pressure, and limited belief... I can travel around, enjoy the view, and arrive at the destination. I should enjoy the journey instead of rushing to finish the race. It was always about the journey.

I feel so old when there are these young upcoming youths lately. Maybe that's what I shouldn't worry about. It's not about competition. It's about helping one another win.

I feel lost, to be honest on what I should focus on now. Should I focus on switching my career? Should I focus on building my project? Should I focus on academic things?

Or maybe I shouldn't be stressed out too much. I learned from Taylor that I can switch from one era to another era any time. I really just have to focus on choosing one thing in front of me and focus on it and make it the best I can. It's easier said than done, but I'd do the best I can for 2024 because I'm in my 1989 era!