#is some form of cashgrab

[abyssalzones]

at the end of the day alex is just some guy. he’s said some objectively stupid things but he doesn’t deserve to get like. beat with hammers or something. especially when he’s probably not as involved with gf’s creative design as everyone thinks he is

yeah agreed. I don't know. I used to spend so much of my life being anxious about what the creator of my Favorite Thing had to say, and I think in a way it was to avoid thinking about aspects of my real life that were contributing far more meaningfully to that stress and anxiety. this is mostly because gf has been a very important thing to me over the years, so any time there was some incongruence between what it meant to me and what was being said about it, it would feel like the end of the world. but I feel like after reading tbob and "the worst" coming to pass in a lot of ways, it's like I've broken out of that weird spell a bit. it just objectively doesn't matter to me anymore if alex says something stupid or annoying outside of official material, and even within official material I think I've found a lot more closure by acknowledging the things that used to bother me than turning away from them and going Well that's not how /I/ would've done it!!! which makes sense for a show that has a lot of themes about avoidance, in an oddly full-circle way.

I'm getting a little off topic from what your ask was about I think. I've been kind of hesitant to bring it up publicly since I don't want it to seem like I'm his #1 fan or doing a big heel turn or anything but I don't claim to hate alex at all anymore, I disagree with his perspective sometimes but I think that's healthy in terms of having a meaningful, personal dialogue with a story. a creator cannot perfectly convey to an audience and have their intention be universally understood, nor should they! it's vital that art remains subjective, and that there's an infinite number of interpretations- regardless of whether they're supported by the text in some capacity or are totally bullshit. and just in general as I've grown up a bit I think dedicating energy to making myself anxious on the internet is a waste of time when I could be making art that is truer to my feelings about something. I respect and uphold everyone's right to be a #hater but I think being a #lover is vitally important to keeping criticism meaningful, as well as keeping perspective on Why you're hating something.

please god nobody take any of this in bad faith btw I love complaining I think complaining is great I just don't want to do it as much anymore. I want to live!!!!!!

[dashcon-two]

Our First Update!

Hi everyone! Wow, the reception to DashCon 2 online has been insane. We are so incredibly grateful for the support! We know that there haven’t been a ton of updates in these past few weeks, but we promise that we’ve been planning a bunch behind the scenes. We're going to be going over a lot of information here that we covered in our newsletter, along with some more behind-the-scenes details. 

If you haven’t subscribed to our newsletter, please consider doing so! We’ll be putting out monthly summaries of important updates, alongside regular short posts here on our blog and these longer summaries.

NOTICE 07/9/2024: We're currently having some trouble with the newsletter and cannot guarantee that you'll receive our summary right away. We're sorry for the inconvenience and working hard to resolve the matter

WHY HAVEN’T THERE BEEN MORE UPDATES 

Frankly, a lot of the stuff we’ve been working on is pretty boring. We’ve been working a lot on budgeting and logistics, what you’d expect from a con that’s still pretty early on in development. We also haven’t wanted to rush announcing anything just to have something to put out; we don’t want to make promises that we can’t keep. We have more in the works, we promise, but we’ve been taking time to make sure that we’re laying a strong foundation for all future plans. 

To be completely honest, we originally planned on publically announcing our plans in mid-September, which has definitely impacted our publication schedule. When we learned of Strange Aeons’ DashCon video we realized that it would be a great time to reach out to her (which we’d already planned on doing), and go public with our plans. We were also concerned that if we went public after her video it would be assumed that this was a cashgrab aiming to ride the hype from her video. Because of this, we’ve had far less to announce than we would’ve necessarily liked. However, we’re now at the stage where we’ll have a more consistent update schedule going forward. 

OUR TEAM

To start, we have received a lot of questions about our team and experience. The DashCon 2 team is a mishmash of people in and around the convention world. For specifics you can consult our  About Us page, but as a collective we have people who have worked professionally as event/programming coordinators, volunteered at conventions/festivals/renaissance fairs, and of course, we've all been attending conventions as guests for over a decade. 

If you’re interested in potentially joining our team, we’ve now opened up volunteer applications for people interested in helping organize DashCon Two. Please fill out this form, and we’ll be in touch soon!

Our team is also working hard to connect with other people in the con scene, especially in our local area. We’d like to give a big thanks to Jenn from Dangerous Ladies for consulting with us and shouting us out on Twitter. Please check her out on Twitter @dangerousladies!  If you’ve been involved in con organization and wouldn’t mind having a quick chat with us, we’d love to hear your two cents! Please contact us through this form.

VENUE

Unfortunately we don't have a specific venue confirmed yet. We’ve been in contact with a variety of venues available around our preferred date, but we're still negotiating the details. We cannot confirm anything until paperwork has been signed, but know that not matter what, we will be paying for our venue in advance.

Because of some new venue updates (that we can't talk about yet), the date of our event may be subject to change, but will remain within the month of July.

VENDOR APPLICATIONS

The team is thrilled by the excitement so many Canadian artists have for vending at DashCon 2. Vendor applications are not open yet because we haven't yet signed for the venue. Once the venue is confirmed we'll be able to finalize our numbers, including attendee expectations and price.

Thanks for reading! The DashCon 2 Team

[tyrantisterror]

So I Saw Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

...and listen, I went in fully expecting it to suck ass. I was expecting my nostalgia to actually make me hate it even more for sucking ass than I would have if I had never seen Beetlejuice before. I figured it would be a lazy, heartless cashgrab, with tired actors awkwardly forcing themselves to play a caricature of their old roles and young actors given nothing to work with beyond oooing and aaahing at references to a movie that was made before they were born, directed by Tim Burton, a man who hasn't made a good movie since at least 2007, if not even longer.

So I feel really weird about saying it was actually... good? Somehow? Against all odds, it was good?

Like, I assumed it'd be a lazy rehash of the original, but no, it has a very distinct plot from the first film. It takes Lydia and Deelia Deetz and not only allows them to have grown from where they were in the original film, but keep growing to the end of this one. It uses Beetlejuice himself sparingly, shows new aspects of the entertainingly weird and surreal bureaucratic nightmare afterlife of the original, and actually makes a really strong theme about escaping from manipulative and predatory relationships.

There are references to the original, yes, but overall far fewer than I expected - like, there were so many iconic gags from the first film I expected them to repeat in a "See? It's like the first one!" nostalgia moment that just... didn't get repeated at all. On the other hand, there were clear jabs at the stupid bullshit OTHER legacy sequels have been doing - like, you know how the trailer had the groan-worthy "serious" cover of Day-O? Yeah, in the movie itself, the "serious" cover is sung in-universe in what is clearly meant to be a moment of comedic tonal dissonance - the very idea of using that fun song in a serious context is the joke. They also have a "baby Beetlejuice" gag where the baby version of the pre-existing characrer in question is a horrid little ghoul who spends every second of screentime being as repulsive and awful as possible. It's like it knew what I, personally, expected from a shitty Beeltejuice legacy sequel, and decided to goof on those tropes for my entertainment.

It's not perfect or anything - it has a shitload of subplots which it mostly manages to juggle really well but has, like, just one too many, but that one easily cut-able subplot also revolves around having a Monica Bellucci frankenstein, and I'm enough of a freak to admit I can understand not wanting to cut the Monica Bellucci frankenstein even if it added nothing to the movie beyond the pleasure of seeing a Monica Bellucci frankenstein.

But, like, it was funny, it explored a fantasy setting that honestly is ripe for more exploration, and it had surprisingly more heart than I expected. Like, it actually had more sympathy for both Lydia and Delia Deetz than the original, which is one of the flaws of the first movie in my opinion - it understands that Delia is kind of a great artist instead of maing her just a joke, and that Lydia's anxiety and grief actually has some true pain in it beyond "lol teenage girls are so overdramatic amirite," and it lets those two actually form a really great bond while ALSO adding Jenna Ortega's character into the mix kind of seamlessly? It helps that all three of these women have great chemistry together as actresses - Winona Ryder and Catherine O'hara play off each other so well, and Jenna Ortega adds this great third point to the dynamic the former two had in the original film, it's kind of inspired? And Michael Keaton's Bettlegeuse is used just sparingly enough, as he was in the first film, to be funny and threatening without wearing out his welcome.

It was good. I can't believe I'm saying it, but it was good. I enjoyed it, and I'm still kind of baffled by the fact that I did so. I can't believe I'm writing this in 2024, but Tim Burton finally made a good movie again.

[skittlewaffle]

SUNSPOT AND COLD FUSION LORE BECAUSE FORTNITE PREFERS CROSSOVER CASHGRABS INSTEAD OF BEING ORIGINAL AND MAYBE PAYING ATTENTION TO THEIR OWN CHARACTERS AND INSTEAD LEAVING IT UP TO FAN INTERPRETATION !!! WOOHOO !!!!!!

TLDR: Sunspot, being born from a supernova in another solar system, befriends a tiny lifeform of one of the planet's moons. They get separated by flying debris on their way into the Earth's atmosphere, landing in different parts of the world. They cross paths again years later and commence goofy shenanigans and chaos :)

It all started in a different solar system, not too far from our own. Its dying star gave in and left behind a sentient lifeform, supposedly forming somewhere in the sun, feeding off of its radiation. Only when the mother star gave in and exploded did the newborn star, no bigger than a human child, slowly gain sentience.

On one of the planets moons lived an alien species, one of the most resilient and intelligent lifeforms for something that could so easily fit in the palm of your hand. It could survive off of little sustenance and extreme temperatures. With their deceptively tough limbs, they could also form their own armor out of just about any material they could find to protect themselves from predators, and even attack them. Cold Fusion (aka Snowspot) was one of them.

Once the supernova occurred and Snowy's home was destroyed, he was sent flying out into space, same direction Sunspot was going. Neither of these aliens from outer space knew how to communicate, but they seemed to understand each other nonetheless.

For a while they kept each other company, until after a little nap they noticed what they were headed towards: the planet Earth. Just barely missing the asteroid belt, some scattered debris from the rocks abruptly separated them on the way towards the planet. By the time they had reached the atmosphere, they were falling thousands of miles apart, on completely different parts of the globe. Sunspot's destination was the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, where he wandered the ocean floor for several months before finding California's shore. Cold Fusion, on the other hand, landed in the mountains of northern Canada, where he found a village within days and closely observed interactions between humans.

I wonder what happens next !! tbh im typing this in my bed rn and considering a nap after i queue this; y'all let me know if you want me to continue some of the story and i'll reblog it with more! (swear I'm just explaining and not writing it in the actual style of a book im a better writer than this i sweaR DFHGSJKL)

[itsanotheridiot]

Alrightly as someone who owns LiS, BTS, LiS 2, and TC. I also had given the benefit of the doubt to DeckNine but after seeing multiple clips and leaked information about development from a confirmed ex employee of DN I am officially not buying double exposure.

For anyone in the unknown or don’t want to read my long rant. TLDR: Life is Strange felt victims to Corporation greed ruining game franchise and character alienation

Also side note I do have to be vague about specific of the leaked content due to post with it getting taken down. Also DO NOT HARASS THE VOICE ACTORS OR DEVELOPERS BLAME DECKNINE, SQUARE ENIX, NARRATIVE TEAM AND EXECUTIVES

First thing first the narrative team did not give a fuck about the game from the starts and didn’t do any research and never attempted to understand the characters or their stories so yup just bringing max back for one big old cashgrab and due to their egos of a executive producer and the lack of media analysis and literacy from the narrative team they decided to cut Chloe from the story all together but should we be surprised this is coming from the DN the company that had a controversy about one of their developers trying to sneak into racist symbols into the game and DN who fought against their team from having Alex be the first confirmed bi lead in LiS (saying this cause it’s obvious the male love interest Warren, Elliot ,and Finn was there to appeal to audience but their interest with the lead isn’t as flesh out as the women love interest Chloe, Rachel, and Cassidy)

Anyways How did they write Chloe out you may ask? They had Chloe tell max “she can’t move on so I has to go” and broke them up like that is the most OOC shit ever Chloe the girl who journal entries from 5 years in the form unsend letters to Max. Chloe who canonically in the comic waits 2 years for max to come back to her.

There is a reason they are called partners in time their relationship is crucial to the story and their characters arcs they are linked to take away one of them fundamentally breaks the story because the relationship is at the center of it all

Now I am aware some argue the sacrificing Bae is the moral choice but canonical max by the time of episode 5 wants the town to burn and everyone in it she doesn’t care anymore max is more fucked up then people allow her to be cause she is quiet but while we would sacrificed the bae. Max would never. And trust me this is from someone who also sacrificed Bae but I still understand how important Chloe is to Max’s character

These are a few canon max journals entries these ain’t even all the evidence max has dialogue expressing disgust and hatred for Acadia Bay.

While yes LiS handles heavy topics and tells stories about children with supernatural powers that’s what it is a story and what makes a good story is characters relationship that’s what we connect with not the that’s what makes these heavy topics more personal or easier to handle

LiS wouldn’t be what it is without Chloe and Max’s relationship

LiS 2 wouldn’t be a good story without the wolf brother relationship

BTS expanded the amberprice relationship to make the reveal in the original game hit harder

TC was a interesting case because Alex didn’t have any connects but throughout the story she builds some

LiS is about outcasts craving and finding connect in extreme situations chaos was happening but love still prevailed (romantic, platonic, familial) 

Now away from all the shipping stuff for the moment. The writing in DE from the footage I seen is something like the way they try to make the game seem mature is by making sexual jokes targeted at max but it feels like they are trying to be adult like it feels like jojo siwa’s rebrand the being super sexual because that’s adult like no that’s not (also I’m aware people who experience sexual violence could become hyper sexual due to the trauma but from what I seen in the leaked footage this ain’t it) The pacing is also wonky from what I seen stuff that needed time to set in didn’t get that or they breeze by quickly.

Like comparing DeckNine’s LiS games (BTS and TC) to DONTNOD (LiS and LiS2). BTS to me kinda feel like a fanfic they had a whole game to build off of and expanded on the complexities of the Amberprice relationship which I did really enjoy while having Rachel father be a DA was definitely a writing choice it was vague enough where we can ignore it and it didn’t break the base of LiS too much just made little plot holes Now TC I do think TC is a decent game but is also the blandest out of the LiS games there was a lot of missing potential I feel like they could have done but it does work enough and gave us some nice lore like explaining why Steph and Mike wasn’t in the original game they were out of town or wasn’t at the school. Nice little story moments without stepping on the original too much.

Making a sequel with a beloved character like was a super risky choice one they could have achieved if they had actually cared about the stories and characters. I genuinely thought DeckNine was just hiding Chloe and we was going to get the memorable detective duo again and we could have had a very interesting story about a traumatized max regretting her decision all those years ago and exploring different timelines to revalue if she made the right choice that could have been a good way to expand of how the OG story effect the characters while still respecting both ends but also respecting who the characters are at their core

My last point is also how disrespectful the oversexualized and axing of pricefield is. I would like to remind you that LiS came out in 2015 this was around the time female gaming and female characters in video games were started to be taken seriously JMax and Luc even revealed how at the time Square Enix who gave the game a chance with a female lead that looked like a normal teenage

Also because this game came out in 2015 It was a massive achievement for the LGBT+ community a video game with explicit queer content at the center of the story won 3 categories at the game awards. At the global game awards it won 2 categories and came in second for globe game of the year. life is strange won 6 awards at the golden joystick. That was massive process in 2015 especially since LiS came out January 30, 2015. Gay marriage wasn’t even legal then gay content was barely anywhere this was a important game to people at the time and still is. It’s hard to imagine that now considering how much progress and content we have now.

Double exposure had so much potential I feel like there was so many interesting ideas the fandom has only to learn the game never stood a chance from the start because of a bunch of greedy egocentric executives that would rather destroy the hearts of their story than make a good game

I guess the only bright side is that alternate universe exist in life is strange in a different universe we didn’t get this shit cash grab game we actually got a game that how real love and care put into it the characters weren’t alienated and the heart wasn’t torn out in alternate universe pricefield is thriving after everything romantic or not

[inkymari]

My final thoughts on Sybilt

I actually like Sybilt as a character. I like that he is unapologetically evil. Didnt mind the tragic backstory. He's such a menace and I really think his plushie form encapsulates it. Plushie Sybilt is such a gremlin and I am HERE FOR IT. Even with the facial limitations, Plushie Sybilt manages to be expressive and exhibit brat energy. I also love that he's a foil to Akina. He relinquishes in selfish desires for fun as opposed to Akina wanting to help others. Sybilt is such a fun antagonist.

HOWEVER, I absolutely despise Sybilt Nao. Sybilt Nao is a poor excuse of waifu cashgrab slop with little to no proper buildup whatsoever. The design was obviously intended to pander to those types of fans (especially with those 'insane' expressions in the s2 finale). Furthermore, it's a misogynistic writing decision because it made Nao more 'relevant' to the story by relegating her to the damsel in distress position. She's just there to give Akina some stakes and just for him to save her. It's just really bad imo.

Plushie Sybilt solos Sybilt Nao.

[madaras-tits]

I feel like when I watch videos explaining what's currently going on in Boruto, you can kind of tell that their trying to separate Boruto from Naruto; the plot focusses on weird aliens a lot more, the older characters are slowly starting to get killed off, and all that fun stuff. Generally, I'm a fan of when the next story an author writes tries to stand on its own two feet, and tries to be its own thing.

There's own issue (specifically with Boruto) though: what other reasons does anybody have to watch it? Boruto is inherently not a separate work (as in opposition to Fullmetal alchemist and Gin no Saji; the latter doesn't rely on the former for setting and story, and can therefore stand on its own), since it plays in the same village, and the main character is the son of the prequel's main character.

Boruto is inherently a sequel, and will always be one. Trying to stand on its own and be its own separate story is not only stupid, but impossible; Boruto will always be Naruto's son. There's no point in trying to separate the stories by adding new weird villains, because Boruto is inseparable from Naruto in the first place.

This is how Boruto generally fails its writing. It's obvious that Boruto is a cashgrab, and only exists to milk more money out of its predecessor. But then why do the writers try to make it anything but the spin-off of Naruto, which it objectively is? No one cares about what happens to Boruto most of the time, the only time I ever hear something related to Boruto is when people think that a Naruto character (ex. Sasuke, Sakura etc.) Died.

It's even funnier when you consider that there basically isn't any target audience for Boruto anymore. Most Sasuke fans are largely disappointed to see what happened with Sasuke, Sasuke/Sakura Shippers are also disappointed because Sasuke is an absent father, and the same goes for Naruhina. Meaning, they completely failed they're target audience, which should've been shippers (since a lot of shippers would love seeing their couple together at the end).

Instead, Boruto should've been a slice of life, not a one shot, but maybe like five volumes max. You could've gone into the relationships that formed over time, show how Naruto made Konoha a better place when he became Hokage (which they don't do in Boruto for some fucking reason), and how the main characters children would interact. There's no need to start this whole bullshit all over again, Boruto shouldn't have been a goddamn Shounen.

[kiwikipedia]

You were mad about Jalter being in fsr but you’re fine with everyone else?

Yep. Jalter was mostly just because I initially was thinking about the circumstances surrounding Jeanne as an Alter in specifics. I’m OK about her now since it looks like she’s actually gonna be written in way she was initially introduced instead of as the tsundere cashgrab that she became in FGO.

And to be perfectly clear: I am Biased as Hell. I’m the li shuwen person, I love this guy. He’s my favorite character and one of the first Servants I lvl. 100 /10/10/10’d in fate. His lancer self is 102 and I’m grinding to get him to 120 one day. I’m biased. I also adore Circe and to round it out, I’m not Jalter’s biggest fan.

But outside of my personal bias, this will be Circe’s FIRST appearance outside of GO on mobile but in a different way than Jalter. Yes this is also the case for Jalter but in terms of content appearance in GO? Jalter is a special summon, had two singularities where she was a prominent figure, multiple events where she’s a major player (summer, CBD, etc), and makes token appearances in other events along with getting a costume change and a Jancer Lily ver (technically they’re both Jalter). Circe has had one singularity and one event where she’s a prominent figure and only shown up with minor appearances in a handful of other events. Circe is not as popular as Jalter, that’s a fact.

Similarly to Circe, Li Shuwen is not as popular. While he has a stronger stake than Circe by virtue of having a younger form and thus having appearances both young and old in multiple fate instances, his popularity is not as high as Cu, Gil, Arjuna, and so on. To the point of the fact that there was a joke for a while in JP about li shuwen being called ShuWho? Since he has a trend of kinda just showing up and disappearing. He’s not as popular, that’s a fact. He’s gaining popularity because of Redline but ultimately he’s probably the least popular of the Redline bunch in FGO with Nobu and Okita taking the top spots ofc.

To see a less popular duo of characters (Circe and Li) appear alongside of major flagship characters like Cu and Jalter is PHENOMENAL to me.

Also, the situation around li shuwen is FUNNY as fuck and mirrors his redline/KA appearance in a way. In RL/KA, he shows up roughly ten ish years after he was killed, he’s KNOWN and recognized still. Here he’s 200 years in the PAST. It’s funny as fuck.

Also, Cu and Gil I expected to see, or at least, I expected to see a FSN/FZ rep, and Gil isn’t even a servant servant as of now, only Cu is and Arjuna is cool and i have no qualms about him.

Tamamo Baby ver, and the mystery Saber and Berserker idk much about so it’s fine. I expected to see some sort of Tamamo anyways.

TLDR:

I’m biased, and I was wary about the pandering surrounding Jalter. As of now though I’ve accepted it and moved on. Circe and Li being in fsr is just amazing to me though.

[lavenderlemonrose]

here, have a late night rambling post, courtesy of my college-anxiety-induced insomnia. thoughts on the legacy of jkr and harry potter below.

I just saw a post that said gen z ppl are pretending they never had a harry potter phase, and it made me deeply sad. obviously I’m no longer supporting the author - I will be damned if she gets another cent of my money, and I’ve severely cut down on how active I am in the fandom. I only occasionally interact with hp posts (mostly marauders, which seem less tainted than the rest), and I haven’t reread the books in at least a year. and I’m happy to do it! this is, quite literally, the least I can do, and as a mostly cis woman I think it’s incredibly important to stand in solidarity with trans people.

but it makes me so terribly sad. these books and these characters and this world were such a formative part of my youth. I was very young and I felt so very alone and they soothed me in a time when few other things did. they were the first real bit of media that I fell in love with in the way I do now, the first I was truly a fangirl for. and the magic of it was that I was at an age when I thought it was all real - that Harry and Hermione and Ron could be waiting at my house for me when I got home. in my darkest moments, I *still* think of these characters, among others, to give me the strength to get up and keep going.

but now they’re tainted. irrevocably. I could even use the word “ruined”. I will never experience them in the same way, and not just because I’m an adult now and I know Harry isn’t going to be waiting around the corner from me. this one hateful woman has the incredible, awful power to give us this magical world and then quite literally rip it from our hands. and I’m still able to think about it in some marginally untarnished way, but I know there are people who can’t, who can’t interact with it at all. and that, to me, is all the more tragic.

so I don’t agree with those posts making fun of people for having a harry potter stage, or scoffing at people who have a hard time letting it go, or saying “you know there are other series out there, right?” yeah, I do know. yeah, I have other favorites. but this was my first favorite. there is an intrinsic part of my girlhood, my childhood, tied up in this that is now lost to me forever, because of one person.

of course you should boycott her and her stupid cashgrab new movies and shows and video games. of course you should prioritize promoting other, more inclusive books. but no one should have to hide that they ever had a harry potter phase. most of us who are here today did. instead, I think this should be something we can bond over. a shared pain, a shared tragedy, that we all feel the effects from in different ways. it’s an experience we all had, and I don’t think we should be made to minimize it.

*bows awkwardly and leaves soapbox*

[normal-looking-male]

Not people making art of Barten Of Ganban!! Hypocrisy out the wazoo, yeah, yeah, but just. Really? The most soulless and effortless """game""" on the market? The one without an ounce of personality or originality?? The one with THOSE designs that wouldn't pass for some YouTube Kids knockoff shit???

Rant incoming.

It's so unfair how these incredibly skilled artists and writers seem to have way more passion and care for these miserable """characters""" than the developers of the game. It's nothing new that 70% of the actual story and characters is carried by fandom in an indie project. We've seen it with Nive Fights Fat Reddy's, Nello Heighbour, Pendy, and now Bobby Blaytime especially. Fainbow Rriends from way back when already felt like one of the lazier examples of that kind of bait. But this... This is irrationally upsetting.

It's genuinely touching how fandoms can form around the things you least expect. Just talking about something, analysing it, sharing it with others is a precious experience, it is a form of art. But all of it feels so thoroughly wasted on things like this, where maybe two or three people behind the original project had any love for it, and the community survives on just those crumbs of love for it, doing most of the legwork. Fans end up making so much good, amazing stuff even, with so much heart and character in it, they may as well just take full ownership of the media, because they clearly care more about it than the actual people behind it.

But the reason they could make it was because they were offered this barebones foundation. One with just enough shits given for the gears to turn in people's brains, and get them to pump out storytelling and content for the developers. I struggle to find an example outside of gaming, but Uneven Stiverse reads to me like a similar situation as well, where the community literally made up several "AU's" with far better stories and themes than the showrunner halfway in, while the breadcrumbs of "lore" they were tossed to theorise about were quickly and hastily finished after skimming some quirkier fan-theories.

Projects like this just have no worth without the people that care. Obviously, if nobody is there for any story, nobody will know about that story, but a good... Thing. Just thing. Movie, book, podcast, show, game, legend, that thing can stand on its own, if it has something to say, if it has a heart, if it's used as a vessel to speak by the person who made it, and who genuinely cares about it as something more than just a quick cashgrab, using an impressionable and exciteable fanbase, ravenous for more content.

Barten Of Ganban is worthless. It does not deserve any positive or negative attention. There is no care or love put into it. It has nothing to bring to this world. I sincerely hope it's forgotten by the people that were unfortunate enough to give a damn about it, and that they can find better ways to pour their creative hearts out.

Side Note: I feel like people attribute all the "bad" parts of a fandom to just the younger fans getting too excited and therefore "cringe", but sometimes we need to stop and take a hard look at the media we so furiously want to "protect" from children. See if it's actually geared towards general audiences, or just kids. I don't think it's a bad thing that kids like horror or cute'ify it. Horror is just a genre, some people like it, some don't. Coraline is very much a horror movie made for kids, and I'm happy for everyone that fell in love with it, and everyone that figured out the genre wasn't for them, and everyone that tried to adjust it to cater more to their preferences in media. Even if those preferneces are far away from horror, and lean more towards. I dunno, romance and comedy.

Hell, teens and adults can engage with spooks in a similar way, too. People should be able to have fun, and engage with the things they like without being mocked and bullied for it. But I do wish they got to engage more with projects that actually have some heart behind them. Otherwise it's just another forgettable piece of content, that attracts the attention of the least "weathered" demographic online. A demographic that's easy to exploit, making merch for parents to waste their money on, spinning mysteries upon mysteries and vague shit upon vague shit to keep people talking about it. And just because some adults also fell for it doesn't mean it was ever geared towards them.

[ciderjacks]

Ok I’m gonna try anyways.

It just feels like for most people women are much easier to hate and sensationalize and use as ragebait or a punchline. Women’s faces, forms of expression, voices etc are used as a cheap cashgrab by men of every background and political view.

And like irl too, it’s just like everything about you is infuriating in a way it wouldn’t be if you were a man. I’ve literally seen dudes say that female voices and faces make them angry, some even say that like when a woman makes a “smug” face they want to beat it her.

the way we talk, walk, look, dress, everything associated with us is so easy to hate. I feel like even with my friends and family, I’m in a constant uphill battle to be treated the same as everyone else, and my mistakes are amplified to a million times larger than the mens are, but if I point it out I get treated like I’m being paranoid and crazy.

everywhere I turn it’s like being a woman is in itself an offense, and a joke, and an insult to humanity. I can’t escape it, leftists do it just as much as everyone else. Everything is just subtly or not so subtly telling you that you’re less than human, and that everyone loves to hate you and that you will never be able to undo that feeling.

eventually after 19 years of that you start to really hate yourself. I can’t help but that think that’s why so many women hate themselves so deeply, but that because its so engrained into social norms that women are to be treated as subhuman, that we internalize it instead of blaming the obvious problem. When misogyny is so rampant that it’s considered part of the foundation of a normal society, then when misogyny makes you hate yourself, you blame anything besides that because anything else is easier to fix. Does any of this make sense.

like, I think almost every woman reading this has dealt with self hate that probably really stems from how society treats women, but she’s blamed herself for it bc it’s so ingrained as being “normal” That u don’t even notice how it wears u down slowly. like as if culture and society and every person around you actively pushing the narrative that you’re unfunny, boring, useless, stupid, dramatic, punchable, a sexual object, less than human, basic, shrill, annoying, whiny, self absorbed, pathetic, unfun — and just inherently less worthy of respect than men, wouldn’t fuck you up and make you hate yourself.

and then, guess what, they make fun of how you hate yourself too. And simultaneously they complain about how “hating yourself is a womans thing :(” and “women are privileged to be allowed to hate themselves and be sad all the time :(“ like honest to god man just stop. Stop.

Having feelings about. Like. Sexism. But I lack words to communicate them without sounding stupid.

[sepublic]

Darius and Alador’s Rivalry

            It is HIGHLY funny to think of Alador and Darius as bitter exes (mostly on one side perhaps)… Especially if you consider that Alador and Odalia were an item as early as their teenage years, which implies that Darius is so petty as to hold a grudge over a failed childhood fling for over THIRTY years…!

         But I also get the vibes of. Darius calling Alador a ‘hack’, dismissing his Abomatons as ugly… I get the vibes of some kind of pretentious artist, who is incredibly opinionated on the ‘purity’ and ‘integrity’ of Abominations as an art-form, kind of a snob in a sense?

         Like, look at Darius. He’s graceful, he’s beautiful, he’s outgoing and normally elegant- He looks like he does yoga and abomination skincare routines in his spare time. He very much prizes aesthetic, and his Abomination magic is internalized, a part of him- A natural extension of who he is as a witch!

         Abominations aren’t some separate entity, they are as much the witch themselves, and so a true Abomination Witch would self-actualize by incorporating their goop into their own body! They are one with it… They are graceful, and their magic is practically an intimate art form that is a part of themselves.

         …Alador, on the other hand? This dude cares nothing for appearances nor aesthetic. He is cold and impersonal, straightforward and practical- He doesn’t care for ‘art’, just function. While Darius sees Abominations as a part of himself, Alador sees them more as tools to tinker with and control and experiment upon- He externalizes his magic, focusing on creating a wide variety of minions. He’s arguably a quantity over quality type of person…

         (Warning: LOTS of text below!!!)

         Which, to Darius- Alador is probably some sellout who has no concept of the sacredness behind one’s Abominations. Darius focuses inward on himself, on honing a particular Abomination- Himself! But Alador, they’re all just products… Like his children, his Abomatons aren’t personal creations that he feels a kinship towards! Just products to mass-produce on a soulless scale, creating designs for others to blindly follow and reproduce for him on a factory level.

         Alador subsidizes his work to others, coming up with the initial design, and then passing it on for lower-level workers and even factory machines to mindlessly replicate- And then Alador profits off of all of that like some sort of parasite. He’s not actively involved in creating each Abomination, most of his job is just telling others what to do, and then laying back as he feeds off of their eternal efforts, after only the brief and initial work he had to put in himself- At least, I imagine that’s how Darius sees it.

         And to Darius, there’s nothing personal about that! Alador has commodified Abominations as an art form into capital, and in the form of ugly, gaudy weapons, that any loser can wield without question! Alador has deprived Abominations of their meaning and bond, and further tainted them with his cold machinery! I bet Darius is kind of a purist in regards to what’s really ‘strong’ Abomination magic, and he sees Alador as relying on technology as a crutch.

         Darius’ Abomination magic is supplemented with himself, warm and personal, flesh and blood and graceful, creative with a fluidity to them that adapts- But Alador focuses on just replicating the bare basics of what Abominations are, and not really experiming past that in a sense, for all his genius and creativity. His Abominations aren’t a part of him, they’re melded with cold, impersonal metal, mostly stiff and unchanging and unyielding, that anyone can use- There is no more of a sacred bond, there is no connection here.

         Alador has capitalized Abominations and turned them into a cashgrab industry to mass-produce and cheaply make, and it disgusts Darius. It disgusts Darius that Alador has to ‘cheat’ with his Abomatons, melding them with technology- This may as well be mixed magic at that point! As for Alador, he doesn’t really care… What Abomination magic he DOES incorporate does its job well enough to supplement the machinery, and be supported in return, yielding the harmonic fusion that is the Abomaton.

         Alador probably sees his Abominations as a cold science, whereas Darius is more graceful and sees them as art! Abominations are alive to him, they’re a personal and intimate connection that can’t be overridden by someone else- And yet here is Alador, mass-producing them as cheap, mindless copies of one another, repeating the same thing, over and over again! Using technology as a crutch, no longer pure- A product, to be wielded by anyone else, because Alador is a sellout who supplies his magic to the highest bidder, with no concept of loyalty nor integrity! Packing his magic and trading it in for money… It is, to Darius, frankly disgusting.

         …And I LOVE this??? I’ve always wondered how Darius felt about the Abomatons and seeing Emperor Belos stock up on so many of them into his personal ranks, and it’s great to see this kind of creative dispute? Magic is so wide and diverse, and even within just one coven, there are so many different ways to approach it, to utilize and make the most of it! And this leads to natural disagreements amongst witches on the best way to use that magic…

         Darius being kind of a purist fits with his allegiance with Belos- Who also thinks magic must be ‘purified’, that there’s only one ‘proper’ way to utilize it. They both have ideas on what ‘counts’ as true magic, and are disgusted by anything else… So I feel like Belos may have appointed Darius, in part because he recognized this shared type of ideal, and how it’d easily translate into the general persecution of the coven system, and its desire for control.

         Plus, I LOVE the trope/dynamic, of two pretentious artists whose methods are both valid, and you can’t really replace one with the other- But these mad geniuses are incessantly arguing like the petty snobs they are, accusing the other of being a hack who doesn’t know what they’re talking about, who has completely missed the point and defiled art as a concept for it! Sasori and Deidara, Mutran and Chirox… I’d really love to see Darius and Alador interact on-screen.

         Is the rivalry mutual, and to what end? Is Alador just completely apathetic about Darius’ passionate views- To him, it’s all just pragmatic work, with no emotional attachment? He disagrees with Darius to an extent, or at least recognizes that Darius’ take on Abominations is also valid… It’s just not what Al is looking for, so while he’s not on the same page as Darius, there’s not really that attachment there. He’s just another obstacle and problem to fix and analyze.

         Alador is just here to get a job done- He seeks to supplant Darius with his own child, but just for the sake of power, nothing personal. Or, maybe it IS personal, and it’s one of the few things that Alador gets genuinely, emotionally invested into, riled up over- One of the only things that he has ‘pride’ and ‘integrity’ over? Does he trash Darius’ pretentious magic, the way a capitalist would sneer at the arts?

         Did he always really want Amity as a means of ousting Darius, and when Odalia was freaking out over her loss of control, Alador saw her strength in Abominations, and saw his opportunity to get what HE wanted for her, all along? I do think he still respects his wife of course, he let Odalia place Amity in the direction of the Emperor’s Coven for years… But I think this could’ve been one of their biggest disagreements, even if one partner ultimately chose to yield, perhaps seeing the ‘logic’ of the situation, and putting aside his own feelings on the matter.

         Then there’s the idea that others have suggested, that Alador and Darius have competed to be head of the Abomination Coven, with an obvious winner here… Which, it sure does make it kind of hilarious in hindsight, how Odalia preens and prizes her husband as the greatest Abomination witch of the era! She definitely supports Alador, not just from her own perspective with Blight Industries as something she holds stake in… But again, Darius has made things personal, and Odalia IS much more readily spiteful than her husband.

         Maybe Odalia even returned Darius’ spite on her husband’s apathetic behalf, seeing it as defending Alador’s honor, while Al just went to work and forgot about Darius whenever he wasn’t immediately relevant. It definitely adds a new level of appreciation to Odalia’s boasts of questionable validity- Which again, is another huge strength of this show, its rewatch value where innocuous details suddenly change and are bolstered completely with new revelations. Details that already made sense on their own, but then have a new explanation clarified that makes you appreciate them in hindsight…!

         And I have to wonder… How does Darius feel about Blight Industries as a subsidiary of the Abomination Coven? I always wondered about that, and how that’d work… Looking at Darius now, maybe him and Alador DID dispute over head of the coven, with Darius winning- And Al’s response was basically to say “Well fine, I’ll make my OWN Abomination Coven, with technology and capitalism!” And because his take on Abominations is so radically different…

         Who knows? Alador may have indeed single-handedly pioneered an entire new field of Abominations in the form of this magitech- Something that would no doubt infuriate Darius and leave him aghast… And it’s even worse when Belos allows the creation of Blight Industries, so they can consolidate and focus Abomination Witches between those who follow the more traditional form, and those who fit into the cold, mechanical factories and engineering of Alador’s style.

         With how Gilbert and his husband encouraged Willow to join the Abominations track, because it had ‘more opportunities’… Did they mean opportunities in regards to Abomatons? Did Alador lead to Abominations as a magic form and coven being turned into a tech industry- So while it’s more popular than ever as a track… It’s all for the purpose of creating machines, and most witches there are focusing on that instead, for the money and prestige?

         That’d make Darius even more understandably resentful towards Alador, and his mindless weapons of death and destruction, uncreative and unthinking like their inventor- Not creative and adaptable and a part of the artistic genius that should be their creator! Seeing his own prized field and study be bastardized and commodified into a corporate industry like this, after Darius thought he’d won and ‘maintained the integrity’ of Abominations by preventing Alador’s influence as Coven Head…

         Yeah, I can see why he’d REALLY gag at Kikimora using an Abomaton, and it’s salt in the wound that Belos probably prefers Alador’s take on Abominations, honestly! Because while Darius has the purist ideals that Belos resonates with, compared to Alador who is at least operating on common sense, and sees no reason to pick a pointless fight over petty ideas…

         It’s Alador’s Abomination tech that fits with Belos’ aesthetic as well- His desire to consolidate magic into staffs that he can control and tinker with. Because Belos likes turning witch society into a well-oiled, running machine, where every gear does its job and just that, fitting right into place- No room for anything else. He likes turning people into mindless workers, dehumanizing them as resources and slaves as part of the larger coven mechanism.

         And I think Darius may or may not realize Belos’ partialty to Alador’s ideas… And it of course disgusts him as it should. Who knows, with how Belos is going so far as to use Abomatons as personal bodyguards, during intimate one-on-one meetings with his nephew Hunter… Maybe we’ll see him appoint Alador as the NEW head of the Abomination Coven, because ultimately Alador’s style fits the vision of his mechanized society more!

         Sure, Darius has the sort of artistic pride and purist ideals that Belos likes… But those ideas can become a liability should Darius disagree with him, and he’s already beginning to in this respect. He needs someone who can blindly follow and obey him, and do so because it’s the practical thing to do- Someone that Belos can count on to do the ‘smart’ thing, hence Alador. And if Alador does end up blindsiding Darius with a promotion, which would be allegorical to the arts being shafted for STEM…

         I could actually see Darius joining the rebellion for his own purposes- Not wholly moral, but at the same time, kind of? He definitely agrees that there is some concept of integrity, of something sacred to magic… Which, given how he played a role in Raine’s capture and brainwashing, could make Eda VERY testy and reluctant! But on the other hand, she’ll do whatever it takes to take down Belos, her and Raine had agreed on that- And if that will lead to Raine’s freedom, then Eda will accept Darius without question.

         Of course, in spite of Belos’ shift in priorities… He might still stick with Darius anyway, because Hunter implies at the end of Escaping Expulsion that Alador and Odalia are contributing to a rebellion- Some of the customers at their presentation can be seen among wild witches that the BATTs free! Alador is driven by practicality, but this means that he would betray Alador if it was for his own benefit- Which, as unyielding as Darius’ personality can be, he has true loyalty and integrity that is VERY helpful when it’s on Belos’ side.

         Maybe Alador wants a rebellion for personal power, so he can take over the Abomination Coven entirely- Maybe he’s just playing both sides, playing to the highest bidder to see who comes out on top, before latching onto them. Compare this to Darius, who we see enforcing Belos’ persecution of wild witches personally, tracking down a traitor like Raine and working to apprehend them.

         Like their takes on Abomination magic, Alador and Darius have their pros and cons as minions for Belos, so he’ll need to figure out which one he needs more, and play his cards right. Maybe let them compete, to prove themselves to him… And of course, this does leave the question of where Amity comes into all of this!

         Amity is now being set up to displace Darius as the new head of the Abomination Coven, no more Emperor’s Coven for her… There’s definitely a lot of character motifs regarding Abominations, and for a while, Amity has felt like one, the way Alador would treat an Abomination- As a creation and mindless slave for him to experiment with and command as he pleases, for Odalia’s sake.

         But now she’s begun to self-actualize. Amity has begun to look inward and has reclaimed her physical autonomy, more and more… And as someone with actual morals, I feel she’d stand counter to Alador and Odalia’s arms business, which profits off of death and destruction. With the narrative’s support for the arts as actually being important too, I could see Amity, a protagonist, aligning with Darius on some of his beliefs!

         Maybe not to that overzealous, purist extent that he does… But overall, Darius makes the more compelling point about how to handle Abomination magic. Which, if Amity were to join his coven and interact with Darius, it’d be really fun to see her continue to defy her parents, by actively joining up with Darius and even becoming something like an apprentice to him! Or at least a rival he CAN respect, because Amity actually engages with him in that same manner of Abominations.

         We could see Amity change course in how she learns Abominations, so even if she is joining that coven after all, she still manages to rebel in her own way against Alador- Not learning Abominations for the cold, utilitarian purpose of creating Abomatons and weapons and profit… But instead pursuing it as a personal art form to express herself! We could very well see Amity perform that same type of spell that Darius did, turning himself into an Abomination, if it’s not the result of a permanent change to oneself.

         It fits how Amity is becoming a more graceful and expressive character, compared to the stilted and monotone machine she was around her parents, whenever she was acting as their proxy. She gets to think about herself and her change in magic reflects that, because it’s directed inward now. That matches with how the intro, Amity is twirling around with the grace and finesse of a dancer- And Darius’ physique and look also resembles that of a dancer, too! They definitely look like they practice self-care for themselves more.

         Not gonna lie, it’d be such a power move and comeback for Amity AND Darius, if the latter were to like. Lowkey adopt the former, as Amity rejects her parents for some more of that found family deliciousness! Of course, with what I mentioned earlier about Alador and Darius having differences in allegiance to Belos, and how that can flip around based on their values as witches…

         This could lead to Amity actually becoming a bit more privy to the coven system’s side, at least for a bit- Because having Darius in control means that he can prevent Alador’s takeover from a rebellion, and Amity would hate to see magic distorted like that into a soulless corporation. But on the other hand, as I said… Perhaps Darius’ beliefs will compel him to betray Belos, especially if the Emperor initiates this rejection by appointing Alador. In that case, Amity and Darius’ friendship would just be solidified, because now they BOTH hate Belos…

         And, now they can help each other in a sense, like how Eda and Luz help each other? Darius encourages Amity’s pursual of the arts, her creativity and her passion, tells her those feelings and hyperfixations ARE valid, that she should express herself- And her parents do indeed suck! And Amity helps open Darius’ heart to some extra morality… Helps him realize just how flawed the coven system was from the start, how miserable it made everyone, and how it was always built upon this soulless concept that he despised.

         Amity could help Darius develop a more open mind, towards different ideas… She herself used to be kind of pretentious and elitist about what a ‘real’ witch is, holding onto those ideas of how the strong should rule, etc. With her improving that with Luz, it’d be fun to see Amity transmit that more open mind to Darius, even as he doubles down on his very valid criticisms of Alador’s system.

         Even if he still has his preferences, Darius can now appreciate technology and how it can also still be incorporated as an art form, too! They aren’t necessarily a ‘crutch’, which is a lowkey ableist idea, it’s good to combine Abominations that way and experiment, and redefine! That could enhance Darius’ views as an artist, and give him a whole new appreciation for his field of magic that’ll improve his quality of life and happiness.

         Incorporating machinery into Abominations doesn’t necessarily mean creating a capitalistic war industry, it can be turned around for good and constructive things, too! You’re not ‘tainting’ Abominations by adding in technology, in some ways you’re enhancing them, even if the traditional method is just as valid as well. Darius seems obsessed with a personal concept of cleanliness, and is deeply insulted when mud is hurled onto him…

         Only to turn into a being of mud himself- Because even if it’s technically all mud by the end of the day, Darius DOES have that certain mindset of purity, of not tainting Abominations (and by extension himself as we’ve discussed), so it’d be fun if Amity made a point that… If it really is all just mud by the end of the day, just different types- Would this principle not apply to magic? Is Darius not just limiting himself creatively, when he’s all about that expression?

         Darius can combine and cooperate his magic with others, especially without the mandated distinction of Belos’ covens… So who knows? Maybe we COULD see Darius actually get a bit of a character arc where he becomes a protagonist, after all- I’d love to see that! And while Darius IS capable of being cruel to others, just as Alador abuses his kids… It’s also possible that Darius is still capable of being nice and kind with those he cares about, again, like Alador, and even like Warden Wrath!

         So, Darius lowkey adopting the Blight kids when??? Or would Eda do it… Or Eda AND Raine, married together, with Hunter thrown into the mix as well? Let’s just make this one huge happy found family, and thread some connections through Luz, because she’s the one who really pulls everyone together too! I’d love to see Darius meet Luz.

        Just… Darius has barely appeared for an episode and he’s ALREADY one of my favorite characters! I guess I just adore the dynamic in media of two artistic geniuses whose arguments with one another are half-rooted in valid points, and half-rooted in pretentious snobbery. Just an episode and I’m already writing so much meta and implicit connection and dynamics between him and Alador, Darius is a lot of fun!

[superchat]

im still just. so amazed at the creation of the silent hill frachise. like, resident evil 1 comes out in 1996, its a hit. and konami is like "uhhh shit. these RE games are pretty popular huh, we need a game to compete with that and cash in on horror." and literally 7 months later after RE1 was released, had a team made called "team silent" and started production of silent hill. like, this is just a "oh horror games are big? uhh, lets make one too haha get in on the craze while we're ahead." apparently the team consisted of konami employees who failed at previous projects who planned to leave. so it was just like a "idk, last ditch effort to these guys."

And silent hill couldve been anything. couldve been a spooky town haunted by an evil spirit that makes zombies, or a vampires, or some like just lazily done and obvious cashgrab.

But like, instead we got this game with incredibly dark and heavy themes, where the monsters and environment is full of metaphors and references and physical depictions of abuse and trauma. (not only that but coding of the game was incredibly well done and used so many tricks with the limited hardware of the PS1).

Like, idk how to express how cool that is to me, the game couldve been so easily forgettable and only known by people who scroll through konamis games list on wikipedia. but the developers just made this game thats so much more fuckin weird and more deeply intimate and scary than even resident evil was known for (thats not to downtalk to RE at all). like. its just this fundamentally different form of horror that i vibe with so hard

This isnt even getting into silent hill 2. silent hill 2 is a game im really obsessed with and the entire setup of SH1 just elevates every aspect of SH2. like, i cannot get over how incredibly good it is to set up expectations of SH with the first game, and then subvert expectations (HE SAID SUBVERT EXPECTATIONS) because. in SH2 there is no cult, or ritual. the town is just....Existing, and passively tormenting these characters. tormenting THE main character. it just gives the lore a much deeper, more haunting depth to whatever god sleeps there.

Theres soo much to say about the story and lore of SH2 but im not gonna rant abt that rn, i justewanted to focus on appreciating how we got what we did from passionate and clever and smart and talented writers, art designers, developers, programmers, composers, sound engineers etc. you can see the care and thought put into the games and its incredible we got them

[teaveetamer]

Why I hate mega evolution

@angeloftheeasterngate said

PLEASE DO ELABORATE. I liked them as a concept to give some Pokémon like Pinsir some extra love and usefulness, but then they gave half the mega-evolutions to Pokémon that were already popular and strong so they lost me there

So basically:

1) Megas, as a concept, were always going to be unsustainable. If they stuck with their guns and kept introducing new ones every game, then we would eventually get to the point where they just had to give every 'mon in the dex a new mega form (in which case they've de facto created an extra evolution stage). People might piss and moan about Gamefreak taking away a feature from them, but I think megas were a design decision made without a lot of foresight and I 100% completely understand why they got rid of it. I think it was better to rip the bandaid off after one gen than try to keep it up for several and finally have to axe it when it becomes really unsustainable. (See also: Dexit)

You can tell that GF knows this, too, because IIRC Z-Moves were never explicitly stated to be Alola specific but they're so tied to the region's island trials I'm not sure how they would be introduced anywhere else, and they were veeeery careful to point out that Dynamaxing is a specifically Galar thing so we know not to expect it in future generations.

2) I hate how overdesigned most of them look. It's basically just "here's a pokemon you like, but with some extra crap stuck on." Like it's a nitpick but there's very few mega designs I actually enjoy.

This isn't just a problem with megas, btw, I hate the really overdesigned looking Pokemon in general. Picking a Galar starter was painful, trust me, especially with those final forms. And good lord what did they do to poor Litten. Incineroar is dreadful.

3) Like you said, I hate how it basically just became a way to give already popular pokemon more versions to sell to people. Like it was such blatant cashgrabbing to give Charizard not one but two megas.

4) They actually gave megas to some of my niche(ish) faves (Mawile, Banette, Sharpedo, Lopunny), but honestly I wish they'd just given them actual boosts. Either in the form of better stats or an additional permanent evolution, since most of those Pokemon are only one or two stagers anyways. I don't like giving up an item slot to the mega stone and I don't like being forced to use a gimmick mechanic for some of my faves to be actually good. An actual evolution is more permanent and more fun. Heck, I'd even take a regional form like what Farfetch'd got.

Also, even though megas gave some of those less impressive 'mons new life, they still can't compare to some of the already good pokemon they gave another extra boost to.

5) Even though I'm happy Mega evolutions are gone, the good Pokemon that got them are still good without them and my niche faves go back to sucking. Worse still, they're unlikely to get anything else because GameFreak was already like "well you got a mega for two and a half games so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯"

Like losing mega evolution really isn't that detrimental to Charizard or Rayquaza or Mewtwo. But now Banette, for instance, is basically just right back in the same position it was in before Gen 6 happened. Also with Banette it's kind of just twisting the knife, since the Duskull line from the same gen got a permanent evolution in DPPt.

[loreintheaether]

i agree completely about the world-building. i think, especially after having read adult fantasy, shannon could do so much with the foundation she’s set, and i don’t think most of us mind if it is a little late into the series. unlocked would have been the PERFECT opportunity, and i suppose she did flesh out the world a bit, but it was personally super difficult at times to get through that kind of writing. i would’ve been so happy if those same details were expressed in the form of short stories instead, from different character povs or SOMETHING. hell, i would’ve taken like throwaway scenes that didn’t make it to the og series. ANYTHING

you’re right, the matchmaking system is the best confirmation of how it works to pass on abilities. and thank you for bringing up eugenics bc i, like, KNOW matchmaking is supposed to make us as human readers uncomfortable, and it makes sophie uncomfortable to an extent, though for adjacent reasons, but like… shannon…?? 😭😭😭 where exactly were you going with that little bit of worldbuilding???

BUT YEAH I WANT ELVIN HISTORY!!!!! publish a history book next when the series is done like all the other middle grade series do plpslpsls i don’t care if its a cashgrab plspslpslps. also is there an available timeline for the series that anyone has made yet??? bc yeah, why DO they only go for a human length of time? sure, they age fast until they get to their twenties i guess, but like. THEN what do they do? 😭 the only jobs we’re really shown that adults have are rebel leader, teacher, councillor or council assistant, potion maker, and animal caretaker. and even then, if they live for as long as is implied, why would they only do that one job for so long? i would be making career switches every like every 30-40 yrs

for some reason i’ve always been too intimidated by the series to try to write fanfiction for it, but a possible elf and human story (or tragedy oooo) would be actually so fun to delve into.

question. if empaths take on the emotions of the person they’re reading and the sencens have incredibly strong abilities where they can feel strong emotions without touch, does that mean keefe and cassius are feeding off each others emotions when they fight? like cassius gets mad so keefe gets mad so cassius gets madder etc.?

[hitodama89]

Okay, I think my Christmas preparations are finally more or less back on schedule, so I can’t keep the Sword/Shield rant inside any longer! I’m sure this’ll get long, so sorry mobile users. =‘D

First the disclaimers: these are just my feelings about the games and I don’t present them as absolute truths. You better not come hunt for my head if you disagree, as I’m not going to do it for you either! Let’s keep everything civil here, okay?

So... How was the game? (I’m gonna talk just about a single game as I’ve only played Sword, but I have no doubt this all is true for Shield, too.) Eh, I had my fun with it - it IS a Pokémon game after all. There are some great aspects that I even loved! Battle musics are the best part, as there were several tracks that sounded good as all heckaroni and set the mood perfectly. I found the graphics to be easily good enough, as they never bothered me and some scenes even looked really nice. Characters had a ton of potential, but in a true Pokémon game fashion they were of course pretty simple caricatures of what they could’ve been - still not bad at all! A couple of characters even went through a surpsiring amount of development throughout the story! Same with the region, as it had a lot of potential and I adored the Arthurian vibes used in it, and the region’s variant of Pokémon League as a “sport tournament” was also an interesting consept. I have my bone to pick with Dynamaxing, but the things I were worried about in advance were actually proven to be wrong. I feared that the mechanic would be overused and feel just plain stupid, but the game surprised me by explaining it decently enough (If Pokémon can shrink to fit into Pokeball why couldn’t they also do the opposite?), using it sparingly in the main story and making the instances when it was used just really cool. So yeah, the game absolutely has its good side! But of boy, the bad side is... Truly something else.

Where to even begin with... I guess I just say this right at the start: the game is unbeleavably unfinished. Corners have been cut in every possible way you can think of, and even in ways that will surprise you. For example what do you think about a city where you aren’t able to access any single other building aside from Pokecenter? Or about the only two caves of the games that are just straight corridors instead of mazes? There are no puzzles, no HMs or anything that would replace the vast majority of them (only fly and surf are present in the most boring way ever seen), no cities where you could even pretend to get lost in, no stationary special Pokémon waiting to be challenged (like Sudowoodo in gen two), no... Anything. The game is just void of any extra content aside from going from place A to place B - and even that is executed in such a horrifying way it makes me want to shake my head in despair. You are constantly on a very, VERY narrow railroad and you are not allowed to take even two steps to check out anything else than what you are meant to see next. The game has other absurd limitations, too, like just plain hard limits on what level Pokémon you are allowed to catch in each part of the game. You see a Pokémon that’s on higher level? Nope, you can’t throw a ball at it. There sure is the wild area where you are supposed to be able to do what you want and go wherever you desire, but the level limitations are present also there and aside from Pokémon, there isn’t really anything in the whole big place to see or do. I have heard some people have loved exploring the wild area, but I personally can’t understand what there even is to explore! A few items scattered here and there and wild Pokémon - and oh, the Max Raid Battles. The fucking Max Raid Battles.

I was extremely cautious about Max Raid Battles from the very beginning, because they sound like something straight out of PoGo, and I was not wrong - they capture very well the feeling of trying to win a Raid on your own because you have no one else to do it with you! You can challenge the Max Raid Battles with computer allies, too, but especially on higher levels the allies are just ridiculosuly bad. Most of the time you would do better if you were there on your own, but that on the other hand is impossible; you have to have a team of four players in the battle. You can try to recruit other real players to participate in the battle, but I have managed to get someone to come with me literally once. One big reason for this might be that the game doesn’t explain how do you even join the battle, and it is far from self-explanatory! Other online functions aren’t much better, and the game doesn’t even have a GTS - the only thing that allowed a lone player like me to have a chance of completing the Pokedex. We have had GTS since gen four, for goodness sake! Now we are left to make 1243255425 wonder trades (/surprise trades) in the hope of getting all the version exclusive Pokémon to the other version. It’s plain unbelievable.

But oh, I’m not even done with Max Raid Battles yet! Because you know what? Even seeing one is RARE. For the last week I’ve seen one per day, and all of them have had extremely uninteresting Pokémon in them. You can use a certain item to make one appear, but that is more gambling than the slot machines in the old games ever were. First you make a dice roll to decide if you get a normal or rare battle - if it’s normal, haha, good luck, there’s almost never anything interesting there! In rare battles there might be, but they are, well, rare. And truly rare Pokémon in them are even more rare - and rarest of them all are the reason why I have negative feelings towards Dynamaxing even if the story made good effort to sell the idea to me. The thing is you can Dynamax any Pokémon, but some species have a special Gigantamax forms with special appearances and attacks. But not every Pokémon of the species can do it - far, faaaar from it! The Gigantamax form Pokémon are the rarest things you can find from Max Raid Battles and they are rare enough to make me feel desperate even thinking about the odds of finding - and then catching, as you only get one throw - one! There are a few I would love to have, but I’ve found a shiny Pokémon and caught Pokerus before I’ve seen a single one of the Gigantamax Pokémon I’m looking for in the wild.

There are still two major things I feel like I need to mention about the games, one of them being difficulty. Other than the odds of finding a Gigantamax Pokémon, there isn’t any sort of difficulty at all. Your Exp Share is permanently turned on so your team will sooner rather than later be overleveled enough to oneshot literally anything you meet. I spent a good while wondering why the heck was the option of turning the Exp Share off taken away, and I think I have an answer: it’s just one more symptom of the game being unfinished. The thing is almost every route in the game is really short and there are really, really few trainers to actually battle with. There’s also no way to re-challenge normal trainers (and barely anyone for that matter) so I think the Exp Share is permanently on to not make the game a ridiculous grindfest. But then no one actually tested (or cared) how balanced the exp gaining rate is and now we are at the opposite end of the problem. The game’s AI doesn’t seem that smart to me either, as every time an enemy Pokémon survives an attack due to miss or some other miracle all they do is use moves that raises their stats - like that was going to help them in any way! Catching wild Pokémon isn’t any more difficult either, and finding them is even less of a problem. The whole game is full of fully evolved Pokémon, including strong dragons and even things like Eeveelutions, just wandering around! And their catch rate is far from anything you’d expect from such monsters: most of the time I just threw one Quick Ball at them and was done with it. Such excitement. I also caught the version mascot Legendary into Premier ball in order to imagine for a little while that there was at keast some challenge in the game. Oh, and the game has literally two Legendaries in it, and I think the first one was likely an auto catch. Yeeeeey!

Then there’s the last big thing: the tiny-ass Pokedex. You aren’t allowed to have more than half of the existing Pokémon in your game, even as transferred from older versions like previously. This is one of three reasons why I feel like someone(s) at some point of the command chain of making Pokémon games is getting maddeningly greedy. The first thing is the pattern that latest games seem to be forming: SuMo 2 was just a pure cashgrab, Let’s Go games were clearly meant for bringing the cash of PoGo players to the main company and now we are getting a new gen opener games that are, like I’ve stated a thousand times, just not ready in the launch day. The second reason is also the reason why I believe SwSh was so rushed: it had to be launched in time for this year’s Christmas market no matter the consequences. They could’ve taken a few more months like Animal Crossing is doing, but that seemed never to be an option. And the third reason is the Pokedex. It would be easy to think that the Pokedex is just another victim of the rush, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. First of all we’ve known about the cut for a long time - it seems like there was never an intention to include all the Pokémon in the game. Secondly Game Freak has blatantly lied about the reasons of making the cut (”we need more time to build these Pokémon models”, when in truth apparently many of the models were just reused and polished versions taken from the last gen) so the real reason of not having all Pokémon available must be something they’d rather not tell to the players. Thirdly, and where this all comes together, is the launch of Pokémon Home. Now that the Pokémon many players have taken from game to game ever since gen three can’t be transferred to a main series game anymore, the only solutions are to either leave them behind or transfer them to Pokémon Home - a monthly subscription service. There was a similar service before, Pokémon Bank, but apparently they weren’t making enough money with it when people bought it, transferred everything they wanted through it, and cancelled the service after one month. So now they are making sure you can’t cancel Home, unless you want your, what, 15 years old Pokémon to simply vanish to thing air. They are boldly taking advantage of the same thing they have utilized in many advertisements recently - people’s nostalgy towards the Pokémon they have owned for so, so many years.

So yeah, that’s about it. There are other things that bother me about these games, inluding their story that has the most unbalanced pacing I might have ever seen and how it leaves so, so many questions open, but I think I want to start closing this rant at this point. Because it leaves things to the same note as what is playing most loudly in my head after finishing the game: I’m worried about the future of this franchise, and for completely new reasons than ever before. Previously I and many others have been worried about the direction of the Pokémon designs, increasingly gimmicky game mechanics and similar things, but all those seem such tiny worries compared to how badly things are now. Now I’m worried about if all the future games will be made short-sighted monetary gains as their main goal. Because that, my friends, would be what finally could kill Pokémon.