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ljsarts · 8 months ago

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Here’s a big old infodump on Mari Matilla an AW 2 oc who's little plot and background I kept on adding to for the last month or so till it spiralled into a fully fleshed character-

I briefly mentioned Samy and Mari’s dynamic in this post so this is more focused on Mari as the remaining Matilla sister.

Warning its a long post I've tried to section out but I thought i better post it now or i never will so oops here we go ALSO spoilers for the entirety of AW2 just to cover my bases

Tldr basic info-

Name: Mari Matilla

Nickname/mean rumour name: ‘Mary Shell-y'

(Anglicised her name to Mary if people mispronounce it enough)

Close Relatives:

[Deceased] twin Sister Sam Matilla.

Estranged Mother Francesca Matilla. [Alive]

Stepfather Micheal Matilla. [Annoyingly Alive]

Name: Samy matilla

Nickname: ‘samwich’ a highschool nickname that Samy tried to spread herself that Mari will not let her live down.

Close Relatives: (same as above but was secretly still in contact with their mother Fran)

Died : 2022 spring swimming in cauldron lake.

The duo moved to bright falls in Spring 2019.

Works at the summer general store before the lake is closed off to the public.

Samy Drowns and she moves into the general store basement in 2022. (Year before the nightingale murder and the events of AW2).

Additional oc Outside the Matilla family:-

Name: Satu Barkley

Nickname: Sparky

Works for Biltmore’s Logging camps, mostly delivers the logs but won't skip the opportunity to do some log splitting. Her Hobbies vary from wood carving to hiking and darts. She met and ended up dating Mari after getting set up on a blind date with her via their shared friend Rose Marigold.

Family:-

Recently Mari Lost their twin sister Samy Matilla violently to ‘the cult of the tree’.

Her ‘murder’ happened a year before Saga and Casey arrived to investigate Nightingales murder.

This death in the family leaves her alone in Watery with only the company of their senior dog Charlie, a greying jack Russel with a laziness problem.

Mari makes do with the little family she has left (literally little Charlie is tiny even for his breed she jokes he's shrunk as he's got older)- not having many relatives nearby as a support system considering she ran to bright falls after cutting contact with everyone but her sister in 2019.

Before her Grimm passing the twins had very little other family than distant (both physically and emotionally) aunts and uncles as well as having a mother and stepfather they'd cut contact with for good reason.

The ’murder‘

The grizzly ritualistic murder of Miss Matilla and Mari’s trauma from discovering the gruesome aftermath (only being drawn outside by Charlie howling at the cultists outside) has led to her becoming an elective Mute when encountering about 90% of the town.

Because of the cult's anonymity Mari lacks any kind of mutual trust in the majority of the town growing paranoid that anyone could be a cult member after her too to finish off the whole family.

This paranoia in turn led the non cult members of the town to be suspicious of her being that she somehow didn't hear the murder happening right outside her home at the time (staying for the summer in the general store by the lake).

All they'd heard was that her sister had been murdered right on her doorstep and she'd just slept through the ordeal only waking when it was too late.

The truth being that Mari had been up the last two nights looking for her sister who'd set out to go swimming in the lake despite her protests that those waters were not safe.

See She'd been too swept up on scouring every inch of the woods after finding Sam's bag, shoes and phone sat on the edge of the lake just abandoned that she hadn't called her in missing in town (not daring to leave the woods) . And even after spending the full day searching she didn't trust the police to come looking for her either.

This lack of sleep from searching day and night meant she had passed out on day 3 and slept through the cults ‘murder’ ritual never knowing that her sister was long dead before the cult began attempting to carved her heart out (Samy having been drawn into and drowning in the lake while trying to disprove her sisters worries about her. Samy following a ‘figure’ into the waves).

The town also was not aware that at that time the three of them (Samy, Mari and Charlie) slept in the basement of the old general store, meaning even if Mari had been awake she wouldn't have heard a thing anyways. (This doesn't stop her blaming herself though).

They also didn't know that Mari had stirred that night at the sound of the howling and barking making it out of the general store door rifle in hand a moment too late only seeing deer masked figures fleeing into the woods and the telltale pattern of her sister's dress covering a bloodied and water trodden body splayed out on the picnic bench. She'd rush out not realising she was screaming already and try to shake her sister awake to no avail.

Seeing a body

something there ,

not her sister

not anymore.

The sun would rise by the time she called into the sheriff's office. Hand still wrapped around her sisters, hair wiped off her bloodied face with loving care and blanket pulled over her so she wouldn't get cold.

They'd come within the hour and cordon off the area.

She'd only let go of her sister’s now Ice cold hand when another would grab hers leading her off to the car park in silence.

Mari had been taken to the police station to fill out all the reports and witness forms not really saying a word just in shock. They'd ask if anyone could come collect her and when they received a shake no offer a lift back up to the store to get her things.

Later on she'd be silent still as she begrudgingly brewed coffees for the sheriff and deputies up at the general store while they took the body and photographed the crime scene.

They'd comment on how the heart had been half carved out sliced open shoddily but not removed properly like the other victims and that the noise of the dog howling and the lights of the store turning on must have put off the ‘killers’ assuming someone nearby was watching them (at least that's their running theory).

Aftermath-

Mari gets very intense surrounding the investigation into Samy’s death. She finds out from her autopsy some key facts that don't add up -

Samy's lungs were filled with lake water - logically yes she drowned in the lake so how did she walk up back to the general store where she got murdered.

Her mottled skin and appearance applies more to a body that's been in the water for weeks not mere days at most.

The cult still seemed to have tied down Samy’s body but the marks on the body would coincide with her being alive at the time of the ‘murder’ and pulling against said restraints.

In Mari’s mind she can only comprehend two ideas-

Either one : Samy almost drowned in the lake barely surviving and after being lost in the woods for two days finally struggled back home to the general store getting picked off like a wounded animal .

Or worse, the cult tortured her by waterboarding her in the lake only to grow ‘ bored ’and kill her up by the general store as a threat.

In either of these options one thing remains - guilt Mari feels such a deep gnawing guilt at not running after her sister after Their fight at not checking up on her sooner knowing the lake had a history of drownings.

It had to be her fault , hers and the cults.

The police (well really just the Sheriff since he's the only one who can relate to Mary having hallucinations having his own about shapes in the night) considered making a recommendation to go to the cauldron lake clinic after some pretty horrendous ptsd episodes and bouts of insomnia began occurring more frequently to Mari leading up to deer fest.

These recommendations definitely did not arise because she accidentally punched a newbie cop in the face who mistakenly jumped out at her from a dark corner with a deer fest mask on while trying to prank their coworker).

These episodes are all being triggered by the surrounding deer imagery of all things. Why'd the cult have to pick the town's mascot of all things, why not a wolf or something scary?.

Mari denies the help initially. Partially on lack of trust and partially because in her own words-

‘Im not fucking crazy Breaker alright! I just get spooked by y’all running up on me all the time with this stupid deer fest shit it's every day and it's it's everywhere in town already the festival’s not for another month and a half alright! Why? why are they rushing?’

It takes one pretty rough breakdown and waking up in an open holding cell on a Sunday morning with no recollection of the *last ten hours for her to finally realise yeah getting help might be the best thing for her sanity and safety right now. That or moving out of town forever and that's not an option in her mind.

*Those missing ten hours consisting of her actually getting the courage to shoot at a cult member missing by an inch, fleeing badly on foot , getting caught , kicking screaming and exchanging punches, just to then in a fit of rage screaming at them to go ahead kill her like her sister only to get *bonk* knocked out cause a taken was approaching and they didn't have time to explain to her what actually happened with her sister. A cult member dropping her off at the station steps as a ‘drunk and disorderly’, their fellow cult members in the police station getting her inside and checked over.

Satu the lumberjack picks her up from the station in the morning with coffee , an ice pack for that possibly broken nose and therapy enrollment forms alike in hand.

These outbursts lead to her becoming even more of a social pariah, seemingly an outsider against small town customs .

But In Spite of said episodes she still aims to be polite when she does choose to speak to the townsfolk.

She always pays promptly and tips well in the dinner;

she'll smile back at the townsfolk as she walks by when taking Charlie to the town park to chase pigeons.

When she stocks up She nods along with cashiers gossip trying to remember who's who and waits while they give Charlie all the fuss his old little face can handle. (Which is surprisingly a lot , he loves all the attention).

Most of all when she heads back to the woods she's never late for work.

Not that she could be late considering she works alone as pest control and wildlife management in the acres surrounding the lake.

She only visits town to stock up on supplies every month or so and since Rose in the Dinner is about the only person she’ll hold a full length conversation with in town , her social skills have been lacking as of late. (Not that she has great ones to begin with)

She thinks Rose is ‘weird’ (heavy quotes weird) like she is , changed by all the weirdness in this town.

She’d never admit it but she feels Like something is following rose around too, a darkness that dims the usual sparkle in her eyes sometimes or a daydream on the air she gets lost in.

Not that she'd admit to spending way too much time staring into Roses' silvery eyes though.

But she knows Mr Wake writer extraordinaire is Rose’s ~ one true love~ and she's only a pinch jealous . Though she does love to hear her excited reviews and ratings of - ’the best Casey novel in her opinion , or are we talking about most engaging ?or ooh! the one that the critics like the most? cause that's a controversial pick in my opinion~’.

(Oh and Mari totally didn't get accidently spoiled by Rose about Casey dying in the last book when she’d just decided to start reading them.)

After her sort of one way crush faded a bit and Rose and her became more besties , Rose tried and succeeded to set her up on a blind date with a local lumber worker who Mari had met in the past delivering logs up to the general store - Satu Barkley.

A broad shouldered gentle giant of a lady who Mari sees as way out of her league but who seems to be pine-ing (pun fully intended) just as much as her.

They bond over a shared love of woodwork with Satu carving a little wooden raven to go on Samy's grave and a little wooden wolf for Mari to wear as a necklace Mari immediately swooning.

Satu becoming the second person she feels safe enough around to talk to freely when she comes to visit the lake and deliver logs.

Work-

Work has been weird too lately.

She used to work in the bustling old general store with their sister before the whole park got shut down.

It was a dream I mean sure the summer rush was always hard to stay on top of but the work kept her mind occupied and sharp , it was a challenge and made the quiet evenings afterwards so much more rewarding.

Worth the struggle just to get to see the sunsets and hear the full array of seasonal birdsong , the cool breeze through the woods slightly chilling the skin.

Her sister always the overachiever would spend the summertime working by Maris side part time shopkeep but full time most days ‘idiot supervisor’ (her own words) or rather doctor and emergency first aider. (Spending the rest of the year working in the wellness centre)

Having worked in emergency medicine in a Vancouver hospital before moving to Bright falls to live with her ‘runaway’ sister, Samy knows her way around your miscellaneous woodland injuries handling the splinters to sprained ankles and the more grizzly injuries too with equal measures of care.

Those summer days in the store by her side the lake and the woods felt even

brighter,

warmer,

kinder than usual.

The woods used to be alive with a beating heart of campers and birdwatchers, the odd ‘guided adventure tour’ by the Koskela Brothers too travelling down the trails like veins through the woods.

Now they're just too quiet.

The only harsh sound being the consistent clanging and buzz of the monitoring station in the hill a crude noise cutting through the bird song in the morning

Moving on-wards-

When the general store got shut down the two of them had moved back into an old cabin their aunt owned that they'd inherited after she passed in 2019 , (this inheritance prompted Mari cutting contact and moving).

The cabins Situated just outside the town's borders up in Watery, but the two secretly keep the keys to visit the general store every summer and fish the lake.

Mari couldn’t bear going back to the cabin without her sister ; all her clothes laid out for work tomorrow , all the sticky notes reminders the plants in the window unwatered. That whole cabin just felt like an open unhealed wound .A living tomb dedicated to a woman who'd never step foot in it again.

She'd slept in her truck that night and sold the place to whoever would move in the quickest, this person ironically being Satu who was a little shocked to see Mari just up and leaving.

After she'd gathered all her sister's and her stuff on the back of the pickup truck she'd left for the woods.

And Once she'd found the old store keys and some solid padlocks she'd set out to bunker down in the basement of the abandoned general store. It was the warmest down there and had been least hit by the elements being some old bunker design from way back when the caldera in the lake was more of an active threat.

(Listen please okay , I sleep deprived Luc editing this backstory right now knows that there isn't a basement but I forgot that the first cult encounter happens in the general store and it's inferred they chill out in there too so we're shifting from the og idea of living in the general store to a second location , for story purposes she's hiding out in the fictional basement keeping Charlie entertained with a bunch of tennis balls and chew toys while the cults lurking above like a fox beneath the hunters, she's covered the hatch to the basement with moss and scrap wood it's all good alright… at least for now).

The store itself is broken down in patches, it's overgrown in others and the patches between those two variables aren't looking too good either.

But It's familiar , it's safe enough

If only it wasn't close to where it happened.

She keeps envisioning that day over and over , rushing out to Charlie's howling , seeing shadows scatter into every corner of the woods.

Seeing her.

Trying to perform CPR on someone , something long gone, a bloodied chest and empty eyes. Just a shadow of the bright bubbly sister she'd angrily yelled goodbye to a few days prior.

The blood on her hands grew as cold as the one she clasped.

It's always the same nightmare , the same moment until eventually it's just silent rest .

Maybe she hopes deep down by staying in that dingy building by letting it rot around her bit by bit.

By being in that right place at all times she can stop the cult using the woods for their murders and make them slip up somehow.

That she can be there when she wasn't before awake and watching.

It was a stupid and under-thought out plan but it's all she can think about now , the what ifs that might have saved her sister , that could save another soul eat her alive in the silence like rust through iron slow moving but persistent till the end.

She spends weeks out at night tracking , documenting and trying to hype herself up to take a shot at these cult members. Trying to detach herself from reality by hyping herself up going ‘deer hunting’ never quite having the bravery to pull the trigger once and for all. Hell when she finds an old Halloween mask- a wolf while clearing out boxes for memories she dons that imitating the very cult she's trying to catch out.

Her days, unlike her nights, are monotonously spent culling ‘ diseased ‘ wildlife for the weird company she's found herself working under. They say their pest control and testing wildlife so they can provide treatment and preserve the species in the woods. She doesn't ask questions , the pay is a little too good to be true but it's paid on time and she doesn't have to worry about being late.

This constant prowling of the woods A dedication to surrounding the lake is why she kicks herself when she returns from a monthly supply run to find the area cordoned off with a dead FBI agent there splayed out contorted just like her sister was.

Nicknames-

After a few days of near encounters with the cult she hangs tripwires at the front doors attached to chimes she makes from razor clamshells taken from the lake, the one on the front door additionally bearing the old door's entrance bell in its centre for extra volume.

Gossip, well more a cruel mythos started spreading of a ‘Mari shell-y’ a week after the Chimes went up.

The story goes that when two rangers came to check on the abandoned store after seeing smoke in the forest that they reached for the doors and were ambushed by tripwires of shells wrapping tightly around their arms, the chimes breaking in the process.

That ‘Mari the shell lady , the weirdo in the woods who lost their voice in the lake, had finally gone looney and is collecting shells to fight off the “witch's powers”’.

She persuaded the rangers that she was just lighting a fire to mask her scent, and that she was on the job- tracking some weird wolves in the woods with rabies , emphasising how rabid and uncontrollable these wolves were to the rangers, this task putting them at enough unease to leave promptly with a ‘-good luck with that’.

Interaction/encounter wise within AW2

(Disclaimer I wrote the majority of this stuff while watching a play through of aw2 and was only on the first few chapters of the game so there's some bits that are out of sync with the main plot)

Overarching plotline of Mari like most Bright Falls inhabitants is just a ‘so bad very bad day worst day of their life’ plot. She doesn't influence the progression of the main story and is more just another victim of the horror genre narrative demanding sacrifices barely surviving it's attacks on her ‘Until Dawn style’ (Emily from until dawn my beloved inspiration).

So Mari’s arc Aka ‘Mari will not die in spite of the world trying it's best to axe her’ (wink wink) begins with a nice calm start in the oh deer diner:

After Rose gives her ‘remember me? , weird your back cause…’ speech to Saga and she's gone through both conversation roots, Mari can lightheartedly bantering with Rose at the counter of the oh deer dinner about how-

M- ‘the animals in the park, well around the whole lake are acting weirder than usual lately like really off putting, more aggressive, almost rabid, think it's just the changing of the seasons getting to them?’

R- ‘must be that volcanic ash in the air their studying down there, you should mask up breathing all that dust in all day and night oh and get a little doggy sized mask for Charlie to wear you'd match’

M- ‘we would (she grins) , you worry about me too much though Rose’

R-‘well someone's got to , I mean just look at you’

M-‘hey!, I'll have you know this is my best shirt I ironed it and everything’

R- ‘oh really? So that's why you wear it every time you're in town hmm? S’got to be the fourth time I've seen it this year’

M- ‘you try living in the woods with a senior dog who's always needing carrying I'm sure all your clothes would be finely pressed and smell like daisies’

R- ‘daisies and roses. well, at least I know what to get you for your birthday’

M-’ a new shirt?’

R- ‘shush you'll ruin the surprise’

Mari doesn't really speak to Saga in the dinner but will nod when noticing her and smile genuinely (if a little anxiously) at her if approached before turning back to the counter and the paper sat on it before her. Giving Charlie scritches behind his old scruffy ears, who sits next to her on a pulled across diner chair.

General Store Basement introduction-

Saga and Casey can encounter and interact fully with Mari in a night-time/late evening cycle of exploring around cauldron lake anytime after the first overlap events/ first encounter with the cult occurs.

When returning to the murder site A trail of fresh blood not washed away by the rain can be found and observed leading from bushes nearby to the general store.

Meeting Shelley for the first time she'll be hunkered down in the deepest corner of the general store basement

To get in you'll need A key for the front door that can be found using the flashlight as its hiding spot on a small metal tin is marked by fluorescent paint.

Several shell tripwires can be inspected and disarmed outside the doors and windows, some of the windows are hammered shut shoddily with long nails sticking out of the frames.

Unlocking the front door and delving into the general store again , several objects are disrupted

- a table is shattered, legs strewn apart , several frames off the walls smashed on the ground and a cult mask sits on the floor brandishing some dog sized chew marks.

-Following the trail of blood leads further into the store and to the attached laundromat room where one washing machine has been pushed out of place revealing a hatch concealed below it.

Below the general store in its basement Mari is found on her last tether.

Being guarded by a quietly growling charlie (you know that sort of old dog rumbly growl they have?) And with A shotgun raised shakily she crouches in the farthest corner of the store wide eyed at the intrusion and visibly bleeding. Having been shot in the shoulder , rough gauze is wrapped haphazardly around the wounded area but She looks palpably pale and clammy.

The shotgun is leaning awkwardly against her stiff bracing shoulder twitching much to her dismay and Charlie the jack Russel sits tucked onto her lap.

Saga can de-escalate the situation by showing Mari her badge and introducing herself and Casey, commenting on recognising her from the dinner in town earlier and asking about her dog.

‘She's Charlie , She's harmless, really more talk than bite. Not that she could bite with her old teeth, give her one of these biscuits off the counter and she'll be your best friend’

A dog biscuit can be retrieved and given to Charlie who softens up at the approach.(And yes you can pet the dog)

When Mari finally calms down she'll crumble a little bit from the stress and alot-a bit from the general blood loss.

Saga can then ask her name and ask about the gunshot wound :

Asking about the name triggers her to recognise the last name Matilla as one of the previous victims of the cult commenting on the incident occurring around a year and a month ago and how the victim looked identical to her minus the haircut.

Mari winces at the comparison, combing a hand through her hair she clarifies Samy was, is , her twins sister and almost spitefully asks why they've turned up now of all times to look into the murders,she calms though saying it's atleast better late than never.

Asking about the bullet wound prompts Mari to comment on it not being as bad as it looks,

‘I was just bunkering down for the night getting Charlie her dinner when I got ambushed by this smokey figure? Like not smoking burning like an enveloping aura of sooty air must be the fucking volcanic ash shit from the lake’ , she quietly adds “I haven't been drinking I swear.’ when Casey's eyes fall on the array of cans on the table.

‘The shot though that went clean through and it's missed the brachial plexus see’ ,

holding up her hand she clenches and unclenches her fingers a few times it's weird though there's two of her fingers on this held up hand missing old wounds scarred over.

‘It all still works just hurts like a bitch , missed the subclavian artery too, still made a mess of my good shirt though and Im supposed to wear this to date night tonight :( ’. Mari is scarily calm for someone who's been shot.

Casey comments on the formal medical knowledge Mari seems to possess but rather lacking medical application of the gauze on her shoulder.

She divulges that her sister used to pop quiz her on the parts of the body, the challenge growing along with her growing up from bones to muscle systems to arteries and where they are a great way to pass time on long summer days.

All great fun at the time but in hindsight it would have been better in this case to have been taught how to bandage said body parts.

Casey has some medical training from a previous operational medicine program he gestures for her to approach so he can adjust the gauze and the two agree to answer some questions in exchange for them just double checking that shoulder wound and rewrapping it (concerned by how pale Mari looks).

While Casey's sorting out that shoulder wound Saga can explore this corner of the basement further around where Mari has crumpled down She has several frankensteined together sketches of the cultists faces from memory watching the cultists hiding in the different areas around the lake, noting down details when they'd lift masks to take sips of beers or drunkenly letting them slip off entirely.

Yellow and pink post it notes , receipt paper ripped from the cash register , and lined stationary paper are stuck haphazardly to a corkboard against the wall with whatever Is available .

(Casey's pretty sure there's a few empty pens stabbed into the cork in more than one spot.)

While Saga is looking around Casey can ask about Mari’s hand if it's a ‘New wound? , looks old from the scarring, that from a cult attack too? ‘

She clarifies no an old wound from when she was a kid , an accident with an unsafe bear trap, not that there is a safe bear trap for a child to be left around and supervised by a ‘distracted’ stepfather on a hunting trip.

She changed the subject pretty quickly and apologises for the shell alarms out front. Commenting on the rumours and nicknames around her,

Casey in turn comments on the choice of names saying it's cruel when a nickname sticks , mari sympathises making a guess that having the same name as a fictional character must come with a lot of jokes and jabs.

Casey asks how she can be staying in the general store and not have heard the murder happening right outside.

Saga, equally confused, clarifies their here because of an FBI agent being murdered on the picnic table outside.

Mari stumbles back up to her feet and with some assistance closes the hatch door , the room immediately falling deathly silent of the sounds of the outdoors now locked away.

Didn't hear a thing. I'm afraid it's an old bunker design sturdy as anything but soundproof too.

Mari promises to head into town to get the shoulder looked at and as Saga and Casey head out to explore the cauldron Lake area she can be heard calling up Satu to come and pick her up trying her best to downplay her injury and saying it was an ‘accident’ while cleaning her rifle.

Escalation /second worse encounter:( aka the angst zone of Samy the dead sister returning.)

Her sister was buried in the woods near the lake wanting to be surrounded by the very nature she coveted . Her grave being marked by some small memorial rocks from mirrors peak and carvings of a crow , a bear , a little wooden duck and other trinkets left by visitors. Fresh flowers sit picked from the surrounding area.

Saga can on her travels around bright falls encounter a manuscript page that details a horrifying encounter - an empty grave and a taken soul rising up to lay it's last family member to rest beside her in that woodland tomb.

Of a shadow imbued figure clawing out of the dirt handful by gritty handful and brandishing an axe ripped out of a cedar tree stump, carving its way through the general store's front door like a horror cliche , the shell chimes rattling a final death rattle.

(this next bits a little messily written i won't lie i love all the manuscript pages and the style of writing in the game but i cannot imitate it i do visual art not written so shoutout fanfic and authors this is harddd.)

“Beyond the door , her last remaining protection Mari Matilla , still recovering from her bullet wound burning a hole in her shoulder, is frozen in place staring in wide eyed abject horror at the looming figure on the other side of the splintering wood.

This figure who shares the same face , the same blood now cold no longer pumping through dead veins looms forward through the gash in the door.

A single white eye peers through the crack sunken into it's hollow socket, the creature smiles a sickly grin too wide for it's face.

She swings her axe bringing the door down with it charging through the threshold , with each slamming step Mari snaps out of the ever growing fear in her heart willing herself to just move! as the axe comes slashing down again.

Finally it makes contact, clipping her ankle with a sickening thump. Bone exposed She screams the world all crashing back down around her at once.

‘The light , the basement. The light will keep me safe’ she thinks and so she dives for that sunken room.

Gunshots ring out in the distance , safety , a chance at survival; she knew who it was, the only one brave enough to be out in these woods alone , Saga Anderson, her hero.

she screams again louder than before:

‘SAGA she's Here Help me!’ she just had to hold on a few moments more. Just a few moments longer. The creature a mirror of her lurches forward for the basement door and-”

The rest is scratched out.

The page ends before anything else can occur saga sets off back to the lodge as the day draws to an end.

On the way to cauldron lake she calls Casey and tells him where she's going, chasing after another page by our best selling author friend she's pissed she asks why he'd write something like this into reality.

He tries to explain that he doesn't remember writing this but writing in the escape , writing in that saga is there to save her and that the basement full of lights is the safest place for her to be. That sounds like what he'd write , from what he knows that that is how he can help.

‘its a horror story all of this is I have to stay within the narrative tropes but you can change it's ending it's not written yet there's always a final girl right who barely escapes but not unscathed?’

When she arrives at cauldron lake it's dark the sun's setting , as she approaches down the hill from the parking lot she encounters several taken , gunshots ring out and she hears from the general stores direction screams for help exactly as written she just prays Charlie and Mari have reached the basement , sprinting towards the store.

The sister's warped and ritually sacrificed body has become a taken a hollow hole in her chest, hair slicked to her face and hands bloodied .

((I have two visual ideas for this currently. One is that she sort of floats above the ground like a body floating face down in the water. Or alternatively upright usual axe swinging but her hairs sort of floating behind her and clothes slightly flowing in a current we can't see)).

She has dirt across her arms and under her fingernails having crawled and clawed her way out of the grave. Stumbling back to her place of death hearing Mari whistling as she cooked, her attention drawn and a rage at her own death bubbling up inside her.

She screams out at her in its distorted voice ‘ why weren't you there ? Why did you leave me to die? What sister lets her sister die in the cold in the dark ? Look at me, You wretched bitch look at me!’

When saga arrives to save Mari she can look around and find the shallow grave empty and flooded with lake water, the coffin floating atop and ripped open. Reaching the general store front door is destroyed , Mari surprisingly isn't dead but has barely contained ‘what was samy’ in the basement of the general store. Rattling and slamming can be heard against the basement hatch upon arrival that goes scarily quiet when Mari calls out to saga again.

She's blood splattered and with one arm weakly cuddling Charlie and is pretty sure like 90% her ankles fully broken (saga is more than sure it's broken she's pretty sure it's been slashed by an axe swing and maybe broken too who knows but she's trying not to panic despite being able to see bone) saga quickly sets to scouting around finding something to splint the leg with and something to cover the basement hatch with that's heavy.

Mari's struggling in the sort of blood loss delirium but asks saga (when she brandishes her weapon of choice and flashlight to go head down into the basement with) to please please leave her be,

Mari asks why she's like that why she came back like that,

She confesses quietly that she hopes that whatever has brought her back can purify her if , if they just wait long enough right , keep her in the light? She doesn't know how she knows but she just knows the light will fix her. It's a fact in her mind now the light is safe and she can be safe again.

She has to be right? .

M: ‘I just , I mean , she's talking. She's breathing what she's saying is cruel, sure but it's better than silence. Please don't hurt her, what would you do ? What would you do if Logan came back out of the Lake please just leave her be’

It seems the story has warped Maris memory of events aligning it with Logan drowning too.

Saga sympathises with Maris grief but stands firm on Logan's condition ,with both hands on Maris shoulders reminds her that -

‘Logan isn't dead. Your sister down there? she’ doesn't have a heart ,

theres post mortem autopsy incisions across her chest Mari , the woman she was, your sister , who you cared about so deeply , that you feel so guilty about not being there to save that version of her she is gone and that thing in the basement is just a vessel being puppeted around, a shadow of who she once was . whatever that is now it is not your sister it's a monster , it's dangerous and it will kill you if we don't kill it’

The Frankenstein's monster - part beloved body - park lake darkness, trapped in Mari ‘Shelly's’ basement and wanting revenge upon her misguided ‘creator’- Mari feeling solely responsible for the argument that led to Samy going to the lake.

(Am I forcing this concept too hard? Yeah absolutely, probably but oh well it's fun and stupid too something something seeing the humanity in someone you've lost coming back wrong even if this vision is clouded by your own remorse).

Ultimately Samy ends up breaking out of the basement if Saga approaches and/or leaves the area and Saga has to put her down fighting in the limited space of the general store trying to lead her away from where Mari and Charlie are cornered.

After defeating Samy , Mari will be in tears but gather herself as the trio make a break for the car park , the escape sequence set off by a loud rattling of all the shell chimes outside and a growing dark presence outside warping the scenery. Mari can carry her own flashlight helping to stun enemies and throwing out the odd flare but is slow moving due to the ankle wound and dog on her hip.

(no she will not leave the dog she'd rather die )

(I'm imagining Kind of like the AW1 section where you're getting Barry Wheeler across Anderson's farm - defeat a wave or two of taken and then rush for the exit no cool rock number though but alot of ambient sound - storm , shell wind charms etc).

After getting their leg seen to properly, splinted stitched, wrapped and painkillers prescribed by Doc Nelson and an ambulance called .she gives the excuse some poachers put bear traps up in the woods and that luckily Saga was in the area following a lead and was able to open the trap for her.

He half buys it considering there's a record that Mari lost two fingers as a teen to a bear trap but doesn't ask further questions considering she's been escorted to him by an FBI agent who still has some blood splatter on her coat.

After aftermath:

It takes a few days to overall emotionally recover from the horrors ™. But once she does recover Mari can then be found half the time hiding out in a makeshift room in the ‘employees only’ room in the back of the oh deer diner.

She refuses to stay in a hotel or home saying she's not getting taken out in her sleep after surviving all this. It takes s while for Satu to persuade her to move back to the cabin with her (mari joking they’ve only been together 6 months and already moving in how forward~)

Rose agrees to watch over her when she’s in the diner she can until everything's sorted out.

(And lend her some actually daisy smelling shirts joking she bought the detergent just to prove her wrong)

The reward for getting Mari alive out of the taken onslaught is a charm she offers that reduces the damage you take from axes (thrown or melee) by 50 percent. It's shaped like a little shell and hook.

Eventually Mari starts spending her daytime out of the back room and in a corner booth of the diner. She doesn’t want to be idle so spends some time folding napkins and cleaning cutlery whistling little simplified versions of the chapter songs as the story progresses.

Charlie settles really well into her corner booth of the dinner enjoying pancake scraps from the chef and scratches from the patrons equally.

I think at some point after the events of AW2 when she finds out about everything (the cult, the taken etc) she ends up having a bit of a fighty argument with Ilmo only to falter when finding out his brother's death.

She gets closure from knowing while her sister probably did suffer drowning in the lake she wasn't tortured or aware (as far as she knows) as a taken when the ‘cult’ got her.

Other little details/ miscellaneous plot beats i didn’t know where to put:-

Mari feels like the failure of the family in her eyes. Her golden child sister got her degree worked in a hospital and seemed to have her life together while she just struggled to figure out what she wanted. That's why she feels so bad that Sam died, not her because she feels she wasn't doing enough with her life while Sam had so much more to give. She learns to push through this guilt and live for the both of them by the end.

Mari lost two of her fingers ( pinky and ring) in an accident with a bear trap when she was little. Her stepdad at the time forced the two twins out in the snow to go hunting despite their protests. Mari was a good shot but didn't enjoy the cold. She'd never seen a bear trap before and then suddenly bam no pinky or ring finger. Stepdad freaked out calling for help and scrambling while Sam stayed calm checking on Mari and talking to her to keep her from going into shock. Since that day Sam's always been Maris' hero. And since that day Samys always knew she wanted to be a doctor to help people like her sister in crisis.

While Mari was born before Sam , Sam has always been the ‘ older’ sister of the twins. More mature in nature and in ego.

The day after Sam dies Mari lops half her hair off because she looks too much like her sister. In turn this makes her look just the same as she did when they first moved to bright falls (partially symbolising how she's set herself back in time healing wise by not confronting her grief). It only kind of works so she gets rid of the mirrors in the cabin.

Maris' fatal flaw was her devotion to killing the cult, it drove her to insomnia, dehydration and overall not taking care of herself .

She obsessed over unmasking a group that she'd fallen for the publicity of.

Spending months in total out in the woods at night , a wolf mask worn to conceal her face stalking the cult never brave enough to pull the trigger and take one out but Internalising the same ideology the cult used to detach themself from the rituals (telling herself ‘ it's just deer hunting , their not people just pull the fucking trigger’) even at times almost getting caught after hallucinating her sister by her side taunting her to take the shot.

she thought they were evil and had murdered her sister but she ultimately (by the end of the game/her character arc) ends up being told the truth and convinced to either work with the cult to take down taken (as a parallel to Ilmo losing a sibling but having the community for support) or teaming up with rose as a body disposal guy. (Since The hardest part is hiding the bodies ; D) she laughs about it in hindsight if only she'd known from the start how different things could have been.

#alan wake oc #remedyverse oc #cult of the tree #its an oc infodump babeyyyyy #oc tag: Mari Mattilla #tw gore #tw body horror #long post #alan wake 2 spoilers

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apocalypticavolition · 9 months ago

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Film Thoughts

So in an effort to become more cultured and whatnot I figured I might as well get the streaming service for film nerds. Way too many essential films I haven't seen, so why not knock a bunch out? Here's what I watched in the last week.

The Graduate

It's rare for a romantic comedy (well, dramedy, but still, it's hilarious) to be aware that its male protagonist is a horrible person whose only virtue, if you can call it that, is an unrelenting persistence in getting what he wants. It's even rarer for those with incompatible romantic leads to be aware of exactly how miserable they're going to make each other once the honeymoon phase wears off. The Graduate is famous for its ending that makes it very clear exactly how badly its protagonists have torpedoed their lives. But I'd really like to highlight that delightfully horrible moment in the middle, when Dustin Hoffman's character drags Katharine Ross to the front row of a strip club and - for basically the only time in the film until the ending - feels something resembling the human emotion of regret as she is humiliated by the dancer and brought to tears. Anne Bancroft is a fantastic Mrs. Robinson, a woman whose initial affair with Hoffman and perpetually caustic attitude don't quite manage to hide how desperately depressed she really is. A+, should have seen it a lot sooner.

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen

I've seen Time Bandits, so I'm honestly not sure why I expected anything different. Terry Gilliam adapts a German novel about a tall-tale-telling nobleman (played by John Neville) who fought in the Russo-Turkish War of the 1730s. It's... well, with just a little effort you could easily make it a sequel to Time Bandits. The big differences are that the Baron's obligatory child companion is a girl this time (Sarah Polley) and that he only has one dwarf (Jack Purvis) in the party instead of six, with his other companions being a variety of dudes with extraordinary abilities. Like the Bandits, the Baron jumps from fantastic location to location, visiting a city under siege, Greek myths, and a distant ocean. Finding Robin Williams as the King of Space on the moon is a new touch at least. But sadly, where Bandits's strange ending is almost entirely based on how its plot unfolded bar Sean Connery's unexplained presence in the present, Baron doubles down on the inexplicable at the last minute and deliberately muddles its own finale. I'm not sure Gilliam really ever knew how to end stories. Everything else was quite fun though.

The Delta

An obscure indie film about a young man (Shayne Gray) in Tennessee who embraces his queer leanings and goes boating with a black Vietnamese immigrant (Thang Chan). It's the kind of indie film I often find myself bouncing off of, avoiding a clear dramatic arc in favor of atmosphere and subtle characterization, but on the whole I was drawn in. Chan was a particular delight, demonstrating the difficulties his character had as a queer immigrant of unusual heritage navigating the south in the 90s. It's obvious their relationship is going to fall apart, but I rooted for it anyway. I also enjoyed an earlier scene in the film in which Gray hooks up with a middle-aged man with fetishes that end the encounter prematurely, despite the man's begging as Gray prepares to leave. Sadly, this is another film with ending problems, escalating to a violent conflict that feels more like it was about shocking the audience that anything else. It's still worth watching for Chan's performance.

Inside Llewyn Davis

I really enjoy the Coen Brothers. Oscar Isaac plays the titular character, the Coens' take on real folk singer Dave van Ronk, a talented musician whose impulsiveness and pride consistently prevent him from ever finding real success. Davis remains a more sympathetic character than the company he keeps in part because of the grief of his former musical (and romantic?) partner's death and in part because he does consistently try to do right by his friends even as he makes poor decision after poor decision. Other strong performances in the film include Carey Mulligan, who is almost completely unlikable but dominates every scene she's in, and of course John Goodman who could play a decayed corpse and still be nominated for several awards. In this case he plays a complete asshole of a jazz musician with a heroin problem. It's a fun look at a fictitious variant of the New York folk music scene, but honestly "Coen Brothers" should have already told you whether or not you'd like it.

The Lady Vanishes

Since the Criterion Channel cycles their roster monthly and Hitchcock is being kicked off the streams at the end of this month, I figured I'd give him a bit of attention. The Lady Vanishes offers up a simple enough story: bride-to-be Iris Henderson (Margaret Lockwood) crosses paths with Miss Froy (May Whitty) on a train, but Miss Froy vanishes and Iris has to team up with Gilbert (Michael Redgrave) when no one will admit to having seen the woman, some for merely selfish reasons and others for far more sinister ones. It's a bit too "civilized Brits keeping their chins up amid wicked foreigners" for my liking, but the mystery is a good one and the suspense keeps up even as the characters unravel it. Apparently side characters Charters and Caldicott (who were kinda gay for each other, just saying) were so popular that the BBC just kept using them, which I... do not understand at all. A fun movie, but not Hitchcock's best.

Rear Window

Okay I've already seen this one, but it's been years so it was time to watch it again dammit. I don't know if Rear Window is Hitchcock's best, but it's my favorite. A film that's as much about film as it is about spying on your neighbors, Rear Window is a technical marvel. James Stewart and *checks notes* future princess of Monaco, Grace Kelly-

*checks notes again*

Nope, that's what it says. Hell of a career move.

-star in this thriller about a man who tragically broke his leg about five years before TV became popular and so had to turn to voyeurism to pass the time instead. When he's not spying on the hot dancer or the lonely over-30 woman who is about ready to kill herself from the loneliness, he solves crime! Seriously, just watch it, unless you don't like movies where the dog doesn't live. (Spoiler alert: the dog does not live and its owners are fucking distraught.)

The Cat from Outer Space

Imagine crossing E.T. with Hocus Pocus and adding some of the cast of M*A*S*H, then carefully distilling all of that quality entertainment, tossing it in the trash, and turning the dregs into film. I cannot even begin to fathom why the Criterion Channel has this movie. Its individual scenes are blandly predictable while its overall plot veers wildly from concept to concept (the military reacts to an extraterrestrial probe! the heroes need to gamble on sports and then at a pool hall to get gold! there's an air rescue scene!) in a mishmash of ideas that are each almost but not quite interesting. Since it does predate the kids films it so strongly resembles I won't ding it for having a scene where our alien cat levitates a bike for our hero to ride to safety, but I was so uninterested in this movie that I still kind of want to. Show this to your young kids, ideally when you don't have to be in the same room, but otherwise skip.

Rope

So this was a Hitchcock that I thought I hadn't seen but realized very shortly that I definitely had back in high school. Struggling against the limitations of the era, it's a Hays Code movie starring John Dall and Farley Granger as a murderous gay couple and it's shot to look like a single take despite the fact that they literally couldn't fit more than ten minutes of film into the cameras back then. The title refers both to the literal murder weapon and to the metaphorical noose tightening around the main characters' necks as they try to flaunt their criminal genius by throwing a dinner party with all of their victim's family and friends while he's stuffed into the table they're eating off of. Dall, the sociopathic dom of the relationship, is all too pleased with himself and confident they have everyone (including James Stewart) fooled, while Granger, the obedient sub, slowly cracks under the guilt. You should definitely watch this, especially if you somehow didn't notice how gay it was.

#criterion channel #the graduate #the adventures of baron munchausen #the delta #inside llewyn davis #the lady vanishes #rear window #the cat from outer space #rope

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skelleste · 11 months ago

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2023 Art Summary

Some of the many things I worked on over the past 365 days. More details below.

Happy New Year!

Just like last year, 2023 was full of even more character art, including a brand spanking new OC. You haven't seen much of the comic yet, because it's not done, but there's been progress on that in the background as well. I also started commissions last March. None are featured in this post so I could focus more on original art, but I wanted to give a special thank-you to all my past commissioners. Not a single one of you were a customer service nightmare, in fact it was quite the opposite. I appreciate everyone who's been kind enough to give me work and treat me well.

The rest of this post is going to be some of my favorite pieces by month, and a little about them. I usually spare my followers from most details in my posts, because there's often not much of interest to the public to say, so this is mostly self indulgent.

January

I decided to revisit Tom and Maudlin, as I hadn't drawn them much since creating them. Whenever I make a new character of importance, I try to go out of my way to put them in varied poses and expressions so that I am able to understand how their bodies work by the time I need them for a real project. It's also a great way to explore their personalities, although I feel that I'll have to push Tom's emotional side more in the future.

February

Props for the comic! It sucks to have to design things on the fly, so it helps to have notable objects designed beforehand. Especially if it's important to the plot. Some of these appear in more panels than others, but it smooths out the comic process nevertheless to have ample references on hand.

March

More character designs to spare me from designing mid-comic production. If they don't have lines in the comic, then I ask random people to assign names to them to make it fun, and because it's easier to keep straight who's who when they're not named Man 1 and Man 2. Left to right, they are Johnifer (you can already see why I name the ones with dialogue myself), Wanda, Jean Vincent, Booker, Charles, Maribelle, and Gertrude.

April

It'd be silly of me to pretend as if 90% of my output isn't shitposts. When you dedicate most of your art time to a project, then you're not going to end up making any other art unless you satisfy primitive monkey brain somehow. In my case, that's usually addressed by drawing funny shit. Early this year is when I discovered how easy it is to crack jokes with Scatterbrain. This goofiness is now embedded into her personality permanently. Expect more of this.

May

April-June is when I do my Art Fight preppin', which usually consists of me making a list of my most neglected OCs and giving them some attention. I also try to get around to eventually making all of them a reference sheet in this style, just so they have something standardized between them. This year, Walla Walla had her turn. She's a shitpost character, so I won't be drawing her much again, but she's a good excuse to draw some J-fashion doodles. My interests outside of cartoon stupidity don't really make it into my art often, so she's a minor outlet for some of it.

June

I've made even more character designs this year than last year, but they were all background characters, making Raoul the only new important one. He's been officially-unofficially written into the story since 2022, but it's very hard for me to make OCs that are written before they are designed. Everyone else was designed first and assigned a role in the plot later, so he got put off for a good while. I finally got around to it though, after I killed some darlings. He is now an all-new species, and I modified the chain design to something less clunky compared to what would be historically accurate.

July

July is, of course, Art Fight month. All other art is put on pause. This year, my favorite attack was a drawing of Enchanted Bones for my friend Bugles. I drew the character independently from the background, which is why the lighting situation is as unfortunate as it is, but we don't talk about that. Thank you to everyone who attacked me and made awesome art, I'll revenge you maybe in a few years. Sorry for the wait, but the backlog is mighty long.

August

Stanson got a slight redesign in the last year, so he can fit with the style of the comic better. He's actually the oldest character out of the bunch. I had no purpose for Scott when I made him and threw them together in the same folder. I had a few one-off designs that I figured I'd keep around in case I ever did an OCT, but these two got yoinked out of it when I started getting story ideas for the them. Stanson is a cowboy (not really), so it became a western setting to make sense of it. I plan on giving him the same sketchpage treatment the other characters have gotten, but I've been putting it off purposely for a while. You'll just have to wait.

September

And there it is, the inevitable page of Raoul getting into various mischief (and subsequently getting his ass beat half of the time). He has a very abrasive personality that gets him into trouble. I don't want the comic to be heavily action-based, but he naturally lands himself in these positions and it lets me draw characters in new situations. His introduction to the story is still a long way off at this point, but I can't wait to pit him against Scott in some slapstick shenanigans.

October

Spooky month is incredibly busy for me in real life, so there isn't as much time for art as I'd like there to be. That's why I dedicated all my time that month to trying to get Halloween art done in time. I've been a fan of Homestar Runner since childhood, and as soon as I thought that Raoul would pull off a Jigen Daisuke look, I knew I wanted to do a full Homestar-esque set of costumes. The other ideas quickly fell into place. My version came out way more detailed than theirs usually are though. The spirit of Halloween possessed me.

November

I started going full gear on the comic around this time (I think 28 hours in one week when I stayed home), so there's an absence of polished personal art here. Scatterbrain eating some spaghetti is my placeholder art for "I worked on a website a bunch instead". It's far from done, but I've made major strides since then.

December

A secret santa gift for my friend, Toby! I continued doing mostly comic work, but I also made room for a secret santa and scheduled a bunch of art trades to complete between December and March. The rest still have to be completed, so you'll see that throughout 2024. Anyway, Toby's OC, Thomas, is based on the state of Michigan. I plastered him on a postcard in front of a highway sign with some Robins because they're the state bird.

There were many more drawings of course, and you can find them scrolling through my Tumblr, or on my DeviantART (I switched to Tumblr as my main site in late August). I hope the new year brings many improvements and happiness for everyone. Last year my goal was simply to start on the comic, which I did, but it was also to get it uploadable, which I didn't. I'm gonna have to aim for the same goal again. Life things were largely fine but still tumultuous enough to throw me off-course, but now my most dangerous family member has moved out and it should be somewhat safer to live here. Not 100% safe though. It never will be. I generally avoid talking about the comic extensively as I won't have a solid release date for some time, so this is the last you'll hear of it for now outside of the rare WIP screenshot. Wish me luck and have a wonderful new year!

#art #artists on Tumblr #Happy New Year #long post #art summary #2023 summary #summary of art #summary of art 2023

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unpopularly-opinionated · 10 months ago

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lol the Crunchyroll Anime Awards started and MMM boy do I have some thoughts but before I go all spastic about it here's my TL;DR:

What the fuck is BOCCHI THE ROCK! and how the fuck was it nominated for so many god damned things despite me never once even hearing about it?

Oshi no Ko was extremely overrated and over-nominated for a show that falls off after the very first episode.

Actually LOL'd when Hange was nominated as Best Supporting Character in Attack on Titan over Mikasa or fuck even Armin. BUT SHE DESERVES IT SO IT'S COOL.

There's no planet where JUJUTSU KAISEN doesn't sweep.

One Piece was actually robbed of Best Animation by not even being nominated, especially when compared with most of the other nominees.

Okay but no seriously, what the fuck is BOCCHI THE ROCK!? Judging by the categories it was nominated for (alongside fucking Anime of the Year) it's presumably a Slice of Life Comedy, I guess, with an uWu "must protect them at all cost" protagonist.

I'd "heard" of it only in the sense that I've seen it occasionally on Crunchyroll's site, but I've never clicked on it. I've also never heard about it from any sort of anime YouTuber or Tiktoker which I shamefully watch.

It just surprised me to see an anime that's more or less unknown be suddenly nominated for Anime of the Year, but I digress. Probably deserves to be up there more than Oshi no Ko.

Also regarding One Piece being robbed, look I get that it's copium to think it would be nominated for Anime of the Year. With it being as long as it is, totally understandable. All the insane moments are drawn out over a long period of time, where all of the significantly shorter anime tend to have one cool moment after the next, like JJK or Demon Slayer.

That being said, I genuinely think it was robbed for Best Animation by not even being nominated. I get that it's Best Animation overall and not just in individual episodes, but when comparing the numerous episodes of high-quality animation that One Piece gave us last year to the likes of the Attack on Titan Finale, Mob Psycho, or Chainsaw Man? Yeah, there's no question One Piece triumphs over those. The only comparable anime is JJK and Demon Slayer, and then I don't personally know about TRIGUN STAMPEDE since I haven't seen it.

Genuinely, Chainsaw Man being on there above One Piece really threw me because, as much as I like Chainsaw Man, the animation in the first season pales in comparison to most of what Toei put out last year in One Piece. I can't help but feel like it's up there purely because MAPPA made it and they're admittedly God's greatest gift to animation.

But anyways, oh no, another salty One Piece fan upset that their two decades-long anime didn't beat out an itty bitty 2-3 season anime. Fuck me, I guess.

That being said, this list has reminded me once again that I should probably give Vinland Saga another chance. I've heard S2 is exceptional, but I struggled to get halfway through S1 before I dropped it. It's not bad, it's just that I couldn't help but feel like I'd seen it before since I've watched 90% of the entire Vikings series, and this just feels like that but animated lol.

#random rant #anime #Crunchyroll #Anime Awards #One Piece #Attack on Titan #Jujutsu Kaisen #Chainsaw Man #Oshi no Ko #Demon Slayer #Mob Psycho

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viva-la-topknot · 1 year ago

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Rabbit rabbit, Happy August! Here's all the Art Fight drawings I drew in July. :D As per usual my goal was to whatever characters looked interesting, with no particular theme or care any for team in mind. I like to use Art Fight as an excuse to draw characters I normally wouldn't. My comfort zone is furries so while I did pick an draw a few of those, I also drew feral bodied characters and what Art Fight calls "Simple Shaped Characters". Which I feel like is sort of a misnomer, because I find characters that don't rely on anatomy I can reference outside of what their creators have drawn to be a pretty big challenge! I wanted to take the time to hit a few of my faves, which I made sure to do, and mutuals too. Beyond that I spent most of June looking up key words that interest me on Art Fight's Tag Search [ "neopets", "90s", "rainbow", "thylacine", "stars", "worm on a string", among many others] and bookmarking anyone that looked interesting. I then saved all the refs of people I wanted to draw with the character ID in the file name. One step I didn't do this year that I will for sure have to do next year is to then double check those IDs once the event actually stars. Lots of people hide their characters last minute, right before the event starts! Or say they will participate and then don't. Which is okay, it just means I need to be better about checking next time. This meant I drew two attacks that couldn't be submitted to the site [And a third that when I messaged the person saying, "oops I drew a hidden character of yours where would you like me to send you the drawing?" they un-hid the character for me. So kind!] but I've included them here anyway. I think 18 [plus one sketch I didn't get done in time] is a pretty admirable number of attacks considering we also had a two hour move this month, and some events to attend!

Just like last year I learned a lot! Last year the chief lesson I walked away from Art Fight was speed. I am not, and have never been, a quick artist, but in 2021 I was a "It takes me several days to finish a sketch" artist. I used to be very persnickety about that step of the drawing process and it soaked up a lot of time. Through wanting to be as efficient as possible with only a month to participate I learned to use my sketch a way to just get the idea for the drawing down to be refined as I go, instead of getting a "perfect" sketch down. Made me a much more efficient artist! This year I really had the "finished is better than perfect" mantra I've been trying to use drilled into my head, as I attempted to tackle anatomy and poses that where very unfamiliar to me. Particularly simplifying anatomy into something more cartoony makes figuring out what markings go where a challenge. But it doesn't matter! I'm not getting graded, and this is for fun. Should this spot be over here or should it be a smidge to the left? Slap it in between the two points and move on. Finish your art!

👊 ArtFight. https://artfight.net/~viva_la_topknot 👊 Other ArtFight attacks.🎨 General art tag.

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queen-of-my-goofball-army · 3 years ago

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"Comfort characters are a special are a special breed of characters to me. They're the ones that make any day better, that make me laugh openly, that make me fall in love with their personality. One of the characters that I rely on for comfort that 90% of my friends identify with me is Denki Kaminari."

Soo me talking about my love of this character is really nothing new. I've done it a couple of times on my blog defending his character in the series canon. I want to do something more specific with this one though. I want to talk about what I look for in a comfort character and why Kaminari is my favorite comfort character in all of anime.

In order for me to find comfort in anything, it has to make me laugh. That's just the way that my brain works. If something makes me laugh I'll automatically love it forever. There is just something so heartwarming about idiots that can make me laugh. I get into the way that they're usually drawn happy, cute, and smiling or with adorable facial expressions. To me, most of the facial expressions that I love on the show are given to Denki my baby. I love so many of his faces that can either be moods or just be so adorably sweet. The first time that went stunned stupid I laughed so hard that I cried for a solid two minutes afterwards. It's my favorite running joke in the entire show. Getting to see that cheaply drawn face followed by Kyle Phillips adorable "yeh's" never fail to make me laugh.

The comfort character's personality is another huge thing for me. They have to be lovable, sometimes flirty, sometimes just plain happy, and I have to be able to want to hang out with them if I was a character in the show. Most of my friends tease me that I'd either date Denki or just be his best friend because I just love him that much. There was something in that bright smile and precious nature that drew me in automatically. While my favorite comfort characters are debatable between him and Sero and for comfort character month I eventually chose Tape Spider-Man that was only because I couldn't get the Denki edit to work with me otherwise he would've been in that slot. To me, Denki is just so full of life. He's everything that's good and pure in the show for the most part. He's what keeps me coming back for more as the seasons go on despite the fact that sometimes I take long breaks.

Comfort characters are something that is so important to me. Denki is something that I wanted to spend the day with. This is where I'm going to defend him against the critics. I really, really hate the toxic MHA fans out there. I've interacted with a good chunk of them over the years because of my love of my favorite lightning goofball. There was something unique about his personality that combined with his character design. When I first saw him he both made me laugh and smile within a matter of a few minutes. He became such an important to my life from that first cute and sweet sentence. There is just something inside of me that loves goofballs. This has always been the case for me ever since I was a kid. They compel me to fall even deeper in love with them every time that I see them. It's why my Haikyuu obsession was so disastrous and lethal to my health. Goofballs became such a big part of how I defined myself as a person. They're the type that I always tell people that I fawn over the most above all else. I think that they also helped me come into my own as a woman in a funny way. They became one of the things that I relied on the most. My crutch away from the rest of the world. Denki Kaminari became one of my best friends over the last four years that I've been watching My Hero Academia. I don't know where I would be without his impact on my life.

#denki kaminari #favorite characters #comfort characters #comfort husbandos #my hero academia

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clownkiwi · 3 years ago

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actually, this post will be useful for nintendo fans because i got some obscure game recommendations to make!!! if you're tired of having to wait for a new zelda/kirby/mario/pokemon etc etc, here's some obscure games you should check out that Aren't mario or zelda. some of these will include announcements made at last night's direct, but i will try to diversify and include some more obscure games Nobody talks about

ok actually this post is getting really long so if you wanna see the recs, click the link down below

(tldr, i recommend wario land, dkc, klonoa & other games, i really didnt realize how big this post would get)

also, if you guys wanna leave your own recommendations of obscure games nobody talks about, feel free to do so in the replies!!! or in my askbox, dms, reblog, idc lol

these will be divided up into three two categories, "the Not mario/sonic" & "the Not zelda/obscube rpgs", and the "other obscure games that don't fit into the last 2 categories"

and, if you'd like, you can always list your recommendations for obscure video games that nobody really seems to talk about if you want at the bottom of this post!!

so, let's begin!! here are some not mario/sonics that you should check out

wario land

ok, so out of all the mario franchise spinoffs that i'd consider severely underrated and obscure would have to be the wario land series, since these were all released on the game boy (advanced) mostly, with the last title being a wii release in 2007. and i know this sounds like a shitpost that i'm starting off this list with wario, but trust me when i say that these wario land games are gold. you got really solid platforming, and unique for a nintendo platformer, the goal this time isn't to simply reach the other side of the level, but to explore your area and collect as much as treasure as you may find. these games got a really great style (take a look at wario land: shake it for the wii, a game with fully hand drawn animation), they've got a good sense of humor, one of these titles were called the best virtual boy game (which is something you'd never expect to come from the controversial virtual boy), and the gameplay is just fun. certainly check this out if you're more familiar with mario, but want to play as wario instead

donkey kong country

would it be safe to call donkey kong country as a whole obscure??? in terms of nintendo games, i'd say so.

i mean, yea, you can't ignore the cultural milestone that was the DK rap, that's for sure, but besides that, nobodys really seem to play the games. they're historically significant in the fact that the first game blew up with it's ahead of time pre-rendered 3d models on an otherwise early 90s console. each game is packed to the brim with so many unique characters (from funky kong, to dk's cranky old dad cranky kong, to everyones favorite colonist croc, king k rool), and this series was popular enough to even have a cartoon show.

and the show, just like the games, were ahead of their time for featuring 3d motion capture animation that wouldn't even be used extensively in movies until the lord of the rings captured everybody's imagination with gollum. the soundtrack, beyond the dk rap, is really killer too, and i'd highly recommend checking it out

now, i'd call this obscure, as even though the donkey kong country had a healthy life in the 90s, by the 2000s & 2010s, dk content was really running dry. the latest dk games, donkey kong country returns for the wii, and even donkey kong country: tropical freeze for the wii u, have been called some of the best 2d platformers in recent years; and yet, nobody bought tropical freeze as it was only on the wii u. thankfully, tropical freeze did get a port to the switch starring funky kong, so if you ever wanted to play what many have considered one of the best platformers in recent years, you may be able to

(also. i've realized at this point i'm not giving quick enough blurbs, so i shall try to shorten them from this point onwards)

klonoa

literally the reason why i created this post, and you've certainly seen this announced at last night's nintendo direct (as well as me posting about it last night, hehe). i'd still highly recommend checking out these games: klonoa's the most little guy ever, these are really unique 2.5d platformers that play more like a combination of kirby and yoshi's island if you're a fan of those games, and there's just a certain warmness and familiarity to these games that you'd never feel quite right with modern nintendo releases (quite ironic, seeing as how these games were originally released on the playstation). definitely give these games a try if you're down for an easier experience than say. mario sunshine.

if you've got a switch, then you should be able to try these remakes out when they drop on july 8th!!

plok!

ok, Now we're talking about real obscure titles that nobody ever talks about!!! plok may seem like nothing too unremarkable; it's a game where you play as this blob guy where you throw your body parts to attack enemies. the graphics look appealing for what they may look like on the snes. what makes this truly stand out from the rest on this post???

the soundtrack. the soundtrack is a very good reason to check out this game.

this game's soundtrack is composed by tim follin. if that name may seem recognizable, it's because he composed the soundtrack for solstice: a game purely remembered for this post right here. (if you're scared of links, its the title music for an nes game that goes way too hard for the hardware it was on)

tim follin would absolutely go for some bangers on plok! for the super nintendo and absolutely test the limits of the system: here's a little taste. definitely check out this game's soundtrack if you're interested

nights into dreams

yea. if you've followed my blog for about a year, you've heard me talk about nights into dreams. and if you haven't, all i can say is to check it out. it's without a doubt one of the most unique platformer games i've ever played and one of the most obscure to come from sega. all the characters in the game are canonically nonbinary (the only exceptions are the kids), it's probably one of the few games that i'd say play with the dream concept to it's fullest for the hardware it was made for, the character designs were very creative, there's just a lot to love about this game.

if you wanna check it out, good news, it's on steam!!

ristar

now we're truly jumping into the world of obscure sega games nobody ever talks about with ristar!! built off of sonic 1's engine, this is a beautifully unique game for the sega genesis where you're main abilities are your long, stretchable arms that you can use to attack enemies. i'd call this sega's answer to donkey kong country and kirby, but it's way more unique than that; down to it's character designs, music, and world. i'd highly recommend checking it out if you wanna play a sega genesis/mega drive platformer that isnt sonic

here are some other quick mentions since this post is getting too long (and im not super familiar with these other ones)!!! and i still want to give rpgs their own section:

rocket knight adventures: a game where you play as an opossum knight flying around with a rocket!! i've heard the control scheme is really good for the sega genesis/mega drive and the rocket knight himself looks like another little guy

pulseman: ironically enough, this is a game made by game freak!! you may have known these as the pokemon people, but before they made pokemon, they also made games for the nes & snes and yes, the sega genesis. this is one of them!!

tembo the badass elephant: yes, you read that title right, and yes, this is a game also made by game freak that sega released. this game was actually made by the first american pokemon designer, james turner, who designed the fan favorites shadow lugia & obstagoon from sword/shield (as well as a few more pokemon from black & white, like the golett, vanillite, and vullaby line)

drill dozer: yes, another platformer made by game freak, but this one has been called the best platformer for the game boy advance, so hey!! that's something (idk much about this game, i just think it looks pretty)

mad rat dead: a Very unique beat rhythm platformer that i'd highly recommend off the art style and soundtrack alone. its currently on switch & ps4!!! (ps5 ig through backwards compatiblity)

psychonauts: yes, even though people have been going crazy for it's sequel last year, mind you. its literally the third game in the series (if you count the vr spinoff as its own game), so i'd consider it obscure enough that it isnt as recognizable as mario/sonic

now time for the Not zeldas, aka obscure rpgs that arent final fantasy

secret of evermore

now, for sure, this would have to be one of square's most obscure and often underlooked rpgs released for the super nintendo before they moved to the playstation. not only was this released around the end of the super nintendo's life at the time, but this was one of the few games made exclusively in america, and as such, it actually had the reverse situation for many obscure square games at the time; instead of it being released exclusively in japan, this was released around the world Except for japan. a japanese release was planned, but was cancelled at the last minute. so, we got a rather unique case for a 90s square rpg

not only that, but it has some rather unique connections to secret of mana without it being directly a sequel to it, like bringing back the ring menu system from that game, as well as introducing a very unique alchemy system to the game. and; ok, while i truly don't know much about the game, as i'm writing this, i'm listening to the soundtrack, and the ambience is just. mwah!!! it's nothing that you've quite heard in a square game at that time. so if you wanna play one of the only few square games made in the west, then this is surely your pick

the mother/earthbound series

yes, you may know earthbound. yes, ness has appeared in smash with lucas and does a bow, saying "OKAY!". yes, you heard about how influential this game was to undertale, arguably one of the most biggest and important games in the past decade. but have you actually played it???

i would argue that, even when compared to some of nintendo's bigger series, the mother series would definitely have to be pretty obscure. its one of the only few original rpg series nintendo themselves have published before pokemon or even fire emblem, the only game to have gotten a western release at the time was mother 2, aka, earthbound, and mother 3 still hasn't gotten released outside of japan yet. yes, the wikipedia page talking about earthbound is still correct in saying that earthbound only has a cult following simply because nintendo would rather want to ignore the series as much as possible when compared to mario or pokemon or zelda

despite that, earthbound has gotten acclaim for being quite a unique rpg released at the time for the super nintendo and has been incredibly influential to so so so so many important indie games (famous examples including undertale and yume nikki), and thankfully these games are still available on the wii u & switch (through the nso nes & snes service), save for mother 3. but yea!! definitely check out these games if you want a true obscure nintendo experience

final fantasy mystic quest

ok, yes, i said i wouldn't bring up final fantasy in here since there are the obscure games to check out that Aren't final fantasy. however, even in the final fantasy series, this game in particular is a "black sheep" as it was designed with the main intention of getting more people into playing final fantasy. and as such, this game was designed to be a lot more easier and simpler than the likes of final fantasy 4, with a simple plot, a small cast, and an even simpler battle system. so, ok, this game isn't as highly regarded as some other snes-era square games, but this game is notable as it's one of the few easier final fantasy titles by design as well as having a pretty metal soundtrack when compared to other rpgs at the time. so hey!! another good soundtrack to check out, even if you dont wanna check out the game its from

bahamut lagoon

now, i'll be entirely honest with you. i don't know anything about this game. the most i know about this game is that it's a mid 90s square tactical rpg where you raise dragons and command them to fight other dragons. ok, that actually seems really cool, but i figured i should bahamut lagoon it's own section solely because of the story connected to the fan translation to this

as this game was japan-only at the time, it never got a proper translation. that was, until a couple years later, when a programmer by the name "Near" began working on a fan translation for it while they worked on the infamous bsnes emulator. if you wanna read up on the whole story, here's a link to it. it's extremely interesting and really gives you depth to the history of not only super nintendo emulation in the late 90s, but even attempting to translate a game that never got released outside of japan. if you'd like to celebrate their life's accomplishments (as they have cut theirs short last year), then absolutely check out their translation of bahamut lagoon whenever youre able to

final fantasy 5

ok, ok, so i know i said no final fantasy before, but i would consider final fantasy 5 to be. the most overlooked of the final fantasy snes trilogy. and this is coming from a huge final fantasy 6 fan. uniquely for an snes ff game, you're able to customize your partys class's just like in final fantasy 3 (although, your characters will be predetermined at the start, compared to the character creation from ff 1, 3 & 14). and overall, ive just heard really good things about this one. people have called this one of the best final fantasy games up there with final fantasy 6, which is saying alot to me personally. besides that, this game doesn't really seem to get the huge following games like final fantasy 4 & 6 get. thankfully, it was just released on steam not too long ago if you wanna try it out!!

(i'll be honest, idk much about ff5. my apologies)

live a live

figured i should give this game another shout out after the remake announcement from last night's direct. not only does this game have a unique of telling it's narrative in an rpg at the time (said narrative is split between 8 different characters), but it would be the first major game yoko shimomura would compose: she'd later compose the soundtracks for super mario rpg, kingdom hearts, & the mario & luigi games. so, if you'd like to check out this remake on the switch, then definitely keep your calendars updated for july 22nd

on another side note, one of the songs from this game, megalomania, directly inspired toby fox's most popular creation ever, as well as the impact this song would leave on popular culture for at least the past decade

moon: remix rpg adventure

i wanna give this game another shout out. it wasn't announced in a recent direct, but i'd figure since we're talking about undertale, i'd better bring up another underappreciated rpg that heavily inspired it

not actually developed by square, but by another smaller company, moon remix rpg adventure would be groundbreaking at the time for breaking many of the conventions and tropes popularized in rpgs. in this game, you gain love by being nice to the villagers and monsters around you, and "the hero" is the villain of the story: by ransacking people's houses without permission to find "items", and slaying every monster that stands in his way, even if they mean no harm

the various tropes this game would break would heavily inspire toby fox to develop undertale's main defining antirpg characteristics its known for, and one of the main devs from this game - yoshiro kimura - would later go on to make chulip for the ps2 & little king's story for the wii, later developing his own indie studio.

but if youre worried over how you wont be able to play this anymore (since it was a ps1 japan-exclusive game), don't worry. the original developer not only released a port and a localization to the west for the switch, but it just got a release on steam right now, with a ps4 & ps5 release planned in the future

so if you wanna check it out, now you're able to!!

here's some more quick mentions because there's really way too many obscure rpgs that people don't seem to talk about as much as say. final fantasy or person of a:

other: her loving embrace: OMG OMG OMG OMG i just need to talk about this game again. its an rpg where battles are done platformer style, which is already quite unique, but the best part about it would have to be the soundtrack. holy shit, if you haven't listened to the other demo soundtrack, i'd highly recommend checking it out. the genesis/mega drive never sounded better (the games not out yet, but the steam page said it should come out this year)

super robot wars: if youre a mecha anime fan and want a tactical rpg, then look no further than super robot wars!! a series thats been going on since 1991, this is a tactical rpg series thats the smash of mecha anime: except there are even more of them and none of them have been released to the west til the latest one, as its on steam

trials of mana (the 2d original): another obscure square snes game, this was the third game made for the mana series that never got a proper release outside of japan. thankfully, when the original trilogy was ported to the switch, it would get a proper translation before the 3d remake. what makes this game stand out in particular was how beautiful it looked for a snes game, which i can stand by (this would be a great time to drop a screenshot of the snes original game. if only i could post more than 10 pics in a reblog)

parasite eve: a very unique rpg made by square in the 90s, this would combine survival horror aspects seen in games at the time (like resident evil) with the battle system of your typical square game. this really does stand out as one of the only few horror rpgs square would make at the time, but it currently only has two sequels, a book and a film to its name

racing lagoon: ok, idk anything about this game, i'll be straight forward with you, but from what i read its a racing game with rpg battles??? ok, thats new. its another square game that never got released outside of japan, although it did get a fan translation not too long ago

the world ends with you/neo twewy: unfortunately, even though the ds game was beloved and well known, apparently the sequel didn't sell well??? ??????? would this new game count as obscure?????? idek, but if you want to play a unique rpg with a unique art style made by mr kingdom hearts tetsuya nomura himself, uhhh go crazy go stupid!!! the first two games are currently available on switch, ps4, and the epic games store if you wanna check them out!!!

and honestly, if you wanna support newer obscure games, then just check out what indie developers recommend. they generally have great tastes, and they get inspired by games nobody generally cares or talks about, while they also share their friends/fellow devs new projects. who knows if the new game your favorite indie dev shares on their twitter could be the next big thing!!!

anyways nintendo fans should expand their tastes i think

play a japan-exclusive snes rpg that never got released in the west yet

check out an obscure platformer if you got the time

it shouldnt have to be all mario or zelda or animal crossing or smash or pokemon or kirby, it could be More

#ruby says clown shit #long post #YEA ok as im writing this this post is already pretty long #maybe i'll cut down on some of the quick little blurbs for some games past dkc #OK done. i was gonna give a section dedicated to panzer dragoon #but this post has gone on way too long and i feel like i recommended as many obscure games as i know #THANK GOD i put the ''read below'' sign there because my followers wouldve read a mile long post #but yea!!! feel free to read through all of that if you want. im sure you'll find something that'll interest you #id also highly recommend any game i play on stream as well. a majority of them are good and i handpick them out personally #ya know so there can be more undertales!!! and less wild woody

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