#like the coming chapter represents the major shift in not just style's relationship but also plot-wise

[iridescentmirrorsgenshin]

i love reading your fic thoughts!!

are there any fics you'd recommend or read where you like the way they are characterized? i'm a writer and hope i accurately represent them but i'm never sure, but it's fun to see you doing similar things (going over voice lines and scenes to get their voice down and stuff)

and i think inspiration can help!

hiya! ahh thank you so much, i'm glad you found them interesting! and i perfectly understand your struggle :( it's a ritual at this point to watch their interactions so i can get a feel of them for ongoing fics, i'm considering rewatching a parade of providence at some point as a treat <3

and !! i agree! the fanfiction community is a circle of never ending ideas, so it's amazing how we all inspire each other! for characterisation here are some that stand out to me in my mind <3

Patron of the Arts - nevergreengale, volansvultar - ongoing and (hopefully not) discontinued, but a really interesting take in alhaitham asking kaveh to be his architect for him to move in! kaveh's inner monologue is just him, i especially love his musings about altruism, and the rift between him and alhaitham. a nice mystery going on with whatever is occupying alhaitham as well!

Strawberry High - etherealnara - this IS the drunk alhaitham fic for me, i love seeing him interact with inazuma characters, as well as being competitive. the dynamic between alhaitham and kaveh here is sighworthy, you can really feel the strain towards the end!

The City of Gold and Dust - Amayax - ongoing. pov switch with each chapter, mishaps with time and a really intriguing mystery! both voices truly shine here, i particularly love the prose of alhaitham dealing with grief, and how you can feel how much kaveh means to him, whereas kaveh can feel the burden of missing something obvious, but not knowing what. the contrast is lovely!

(self-recommendation) Change is Imp(ur)rative - completed. mentioning this because this is my fav piece of work i've done for them so far! really hoping the characterisation works, this is a slowbuild into the progression of their relationship, i'm a sucker for them actually talking and what them airing their grievances could look like <3

Old Habits, New Beginnings - thvndaga - completed. amnesiac alhaitham. this is such a lovely lovely fic with alhaitham entirely forgetting himself, but knowing that he's in love with kaveh, but kaveh refusing to believe it? very addictive to read and an incredible journey!

in the market for forgiveness - chaoticloutral - this is so cute, the rising tension over the mundane, the major misunderstanding based around (1) interaction. kaveh's perspective is perfectly rationalised, and alhaitham dogging after him to explain himself! also the atmosphere here! lovely!

best of r/relationship_advice - farozaan - completed. reddit style fic, this is HILARIOUS! kaveh coming to terms with his feelings about alhaitham (but really knowing all along) and alhaitham's quiet patinece is just so ahhh it's them <3

When Sun and Moon Align - Undercover_Owl - ongoing. a time travel fic with kaveh being flung back into his days as a student, attempting to fix his vision with his inquisitive best friend/junior alhaitham, all the while alhaitham is struggling to adjust to kaveh's disappearance in present day. LOVELY! the mystery and prose are enticing, and kaveh's shifting understanding of current alhaitham is so scrummy!

To Dream in Shades of Green - Intensely_Reading - completed. this is such an addictive fic, with kaveh being involved in an experiment (courtesy of yae miko) where his dreams become light novels, only for his dream to take the form of an otome game! so fun and the development between dream alhaitham and kaveh, with him comparing this relationship to real alhaitham is so well done! and real alhaitham going about to locate the cause of kaveh's anxiety is so real <3

six ways to friday - mousiekosmos - completed. this fic is INSANE. the prose is so lovely and alhaitham's perspective makes me want to eat my hand. so rational and logical and yet completely overthinking when it comes to matters concerning kaveh. the hesitance and misunderstanding in their initial relationship is so gutwrenching, and kaveh being the one to chase it !!! i thoroughly recommend

bad days, good days - emigmatic - a wonderful oneshot, kaveh's voice really shines through here, the uncertainties and his anxieties and tiptoeing around alhaitham, while alhaitham is so patient, just MWAH.

flower of my flower - bringingglory - completed. hanahaki alhaitham time. the mounting struggle of alhaitham's rationale in not telling kaveh and seeing kaveh worry from the side culminates perfectly! a very addictive read!

Briars and Roses 'Round Your Heart - sonotfine - completed. hanahaki kaveh time. one of my fav hanahaki aus! i love love the tension building from alhaitham's side as kaveh tries to downplay the progression of his sickness. the confrontation scene lives in my head, the suspense culminates perfectly!

[chaotic-guinea-pig]

For those following my fic: hi hello, just posting to let you all that I'm alive and well. :) Rest assured that it's nowhere near abandoned; I've just been busy with real life obligations. If I get lucky, we'll see an update this week. 😁 And if I get even more lucky this year, hopefully we'll return to regular updates (1-3 per month, maybe?) But we'll see. Thank you all for your patience, and see you all on AO3 very soon! ❤

[experimentaldragonfire-fics]

experimentaldragonfire’s SU Fic Rec List

Stuck at home? Running out of stuff to read? I figured I’d put together a semi-comprehensive series of fanfic recommendations so that all the hours I’ve spent on AO3 over the years can be considered at least vaguely useful. A lot of these are quite old, so if you’ve only read more recent fics, you might find something that you haven’t seen here!

Please feel free to add your own links and recommendations--I personally would love more reading material! This list will focus on SU fics, but I’ll probably make more for other fandoms going forward if anyone’s interested. Bear in mind that, as I’ve mentioned, since many (most) of these were written a while ago, they might not represent exactly how the plot of the show progressed (though they now provide a pretty interesting look at the older fanfic tropes/theories!)

Also, upfront: most of these, when ships do appear, are Lapidot or PearlRose--clearly, I’m very narrowly-focused on what I read. And if one of your fics is on here and you want to be tagged, let me know and I will do so!

Steven Universe Fic Recs

General (None or canonical/background/multiple ships):

histories by avulle (T, F/F, Gen)

“Pearl (pearl) is born in what would have been the year 100,492 BCE. (She is not older than the entire human race—but only just.)”

An introspective look at the Crystal Gems through the years, written in a style that’s practically poetic and absolutely gorgeous.

Inferior Blue by hTeDruknenPotaT (M, Gen)

"Your name is Lapis Lazuli. Lapis is a fun thing to name your child when your last name is Lazuli, and when your name is Lapis Lazuli, blue seem like a nice color to dye your hair. It's fortunate that blue is your favorite color, that you manage not to despise it after all the blue you've been surrounded by all your life."

Lapis Lazuli meets a strange young boy who helps to heal the scars of her past.

The first time I read this fic, I stayed up until 5AM and cried into my pillow through the final chapters. And it continued to make me cry every time I reread it. Massive angst warning, but if you can handle fics that are beautiful but tragic, this is for you.

capacity by broken_halleluiah (G, F/F)

After a routine council meeting, Pink Diamond insists on repairing a broken piece of equipment. The result is far more than she bargained for.

A fic speculating on the nature of Pearls in Homeworld society, written well before we got to see any of that in canon. As such, it isn’t entirely in-line with later canon, but is still entirely worth reading.

Breaking Down by PTlikesTea (M, multi)

Rose's world view is shattered by a black market pearl and the realization that everything she knows about them is wrong.

An extensively long series of shorter mostly-self-contained stories exploring a version of Homeworld society where Pearls are considered as little more than disposable property. Major warnings for Pretty Much Everything--definitely keep an eye on the tags--but this is an iconic series of works, started in 2015 and predating many of the later revelations about canon Homeworld. 

A Gem and Her Pearl (Rose) by Potential Violet (G, gen)

Blue Diamond forces Rose Quartz to get a pearl, changing Rose's life, the pearl's life and the course of Gem history. All relationships begin somewhere, this is the beginning of Rose and Pearl's.

Another take on Rose and Pearl’s meeting, and the status of Pearls in Homeworld society (there’s a bit of a theme here with these recommendations). Again, predates most canon revelations regarding the topics, and predates all of the canon information about the Diamonds.

Pearl, Interrupted by AceyEnn (E, multi)

In August, Steven Quartz Universe was born.

In August, Rose Quartz died in childbirth.

In December, Pearl decides she can't handle any of it.

Or: Pearl Tries To Kill Herself And Ends Up In A Therapy Group Run By Her Best Friend's Mom (Well, One Of Her Moms).

Human AU focusing on Pearl dealing with Rose's death--or rather, not dealing with Rose’s death. Major content warnings for suicide attempts, self-harm, etc (please read the tags), but overall a very well-written story. Still updating, despite being first posted in 2016! 

Lapidot:

in which Peridot is Not At All Surprised by the sudden appearance of a new waiter by gaySpaceRock_exe (G, F/F)

Peridot meets the new waiter at her regular restaurant and immediately falls head-first in love. 

Cute and fluffy, what more do you need in a fic? 

Homesick by DrPaine (G, F/F)

An encounter at the Galaxy Warp.

Short oneshot predating the Peridemption/Barn Arc, can be read as friendship rather than romantic. 

Observation by DrPaine (G, F/F)

Peridot is a technician, meant to catch every detail. Not something she’s very fond of, but making yourself aware of your surroundings can be helpful, when you’re slipping into troublesome thoughts.

Incomplete but very much an introspective look at Peri’s character as perceived back in 2015-ish. Not as much focused on romance as on concepts of identity and anxiety. 

Of Stage Lights and Stage Fright by AcrylicPaint (M, F/F)

All Lapis wanted was to participate in the local production, but there was a minor element she hadn't taken into consideration when she agreed to take the leading role, and that was; dealing with the cute techie's constant staring.

That, and the fact she was beginning to stare too.

Human theatre AU, and an excellent completed multichapter fic. I remember that when I first read this, I was in high school and part of the musical, so it was a very topical read--and now it’s the height of nostalgia. 

No Regrets by Raptor_Red (E, F/F)

No Regrets, or, the story of how Peridot tried to romance the blue-haired tattoo artist from the parlor across the street

A personal favorite! The writing in this fic is just so nice to read, and though I’m not usually a fan of tattoo artist AUs, this one really managed to make the whole concept make sense within the story. I can’t count how many times I’ve read this fic. Please read this.

12 O’Clock at Your Local King Soopers by InsomniacArrest (T, F/F)

Lapis works late night shifts, Peridot is somebody's overworked assistant, they both need more sleep and better people skills: the grocery store story.

Is it a Lapidot fic rec list if I don’t include 12KS? Probably the most iconic fic for this pairing, with good reason. Also, consider this a recommendation for literally everything IA has ever written--there are too many good fics to name them all individually, otherwise they’d comprise half of this entire list.

Of Meteors and Minimal Speech by Waypaststrange (moonbeatblues)(F/F)

In which things at the barn settle down, nobody speaks much, and strange lights appear in the sky.

Vaguely fluffy oneshot, very cute!!

Awkward Office Encounters by SilverEyedRukia (T, F/F) 

Due to a broken down air conditioner on a scorching hot day the computers' overheated systems need fixing. Luckily for everyone a blonde technician is up for the job, but unbeknowst to them the IT nerd turns out to be someone they didn't expect her to be, especially not Lapis who kind of asked her out on a date already.

Human workplace AU, starts off relatively comedic but gets into Emotional Territory towards the end.

Camp Pining Hearts by kamanzi (M, F/F)

Peridot and Jasper return to summer camp after their freshmen year of college--this time, as counselors. Peridot is disappointed to learn that nothing is quite the same, especially her relationship with her best friend. Whose fault is this? She blames Jasper's girlfriend.

“‘Let’s go back next year and be counselors,’ she said. ‘It’ll be fun,’ she said.”

Human summer camp counselors AU that’s definitely long enough to use up some stuck-at-home-self-isolating time.

A Week by teamchaosprez  (E, F/F)

Who knew that a single night of drunken sex could push Peridot and Lapis from being roommates with a mutual crush to regularly fucking and maybe - just maybe - eventually becoming girlfriends and standing up to the homophobia surrounding both of their family lives.

A human college AU focusing a lot on working through interpersonal relationships and coming to terms with emotions

Set Me Free by cym70 (T, F/F) 

Being roommates gives Lapis and Peridot a lot of time to get to know each other and, despite their rocky history, they might just be able to make something entirely new.

A friends-to-lovers fic, post-Barn Mates. Very sweet!

Waltz of the Nian by QuickYoke (T, F/F)

Lapis doesn't understand fusion at heart, but she does know she's an unideal partner for it.

 Lapis' relationship with fusion, and also Peridot. A fic that basically encapsulates the ideal of profound prose that makes you feel things, even if you don’t precisely know how or why.

Pushing by Like Hearts by mautadite (T, F/F)

“Sounds like you’re really counting on that road trip magic.”

(Peridot and Lapis do Midway City, and Empire City, and Plateau Ville, and all the places in between.)

Canonverse road trip, because every rec list needs a “the characters go on a long journey together and find themselves, and each other” fic. And because this fic made me feel so many emotions.

A thousand years (F/F)

I have died a thousand years, waiting for you.

 Childhood friends-to-adult-lovers human AU, one of the fic tropes that always just punches me in the face with feelings.

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE SERIES: My Favorite One Piece Arc with Steve Yurko

  I love One Piece and I love talking to people who love One Piece. And with the series going on 23 years now, there is a whole lot to talk about. As the series is about to publish its 1000th chapter, a true feat in and of itself, we thought we should reflect upon the high-seas adventure and sit down with some notable names in the One Piece fan community and chat about the arcs they found to be especially important, or just ones they really, really liked.

  Welcome to the next article in the series "My Favorite One Piece Arc!"

  My next guest in this series is Steve Yurko, co-host of The One Piece Podcast, a podcast with a subject you can probably guess. He's also a former storyboard artist for Rick & Morty and is currently working for Netflix Animation. As a ride-or-die Sanji fan, Steve chose the Baratie Arc, where Luffy and the gang run into an East Blue restaurant with a cool chef that loves to cook and kick.

  A note on spoilers: If you haven't seen the Baratie arc yet, this interview does contain major plot points. Watch the Arlong Park arc starting RIGHT HERE if you'd like to catch up or rewatch!

    Dan Dockery: So a friend tells you, "I'm done with the Syrup Village arc and I'm not sure if I want to watch this next one. I think I might be tapped out on this whole One Piece thing. In one sentence, how do you get them to stay and watch the Baratie arc?

  Steve Yurko: The Baratie arc laid down the foundation and created the formula of the One Piece arc as we know it.

  That's pretty good!

  Yeah, I’d say that, when I first started it, One Piece was my third favorite. I was more of a fan of series like Shaman King and Naruto, but after Baratie, things shifted. It was a turning point for me. I would hope that it would do the same for anyone who’s, say, previously apathetic towards the series.

    How old were you when you first read it? Or watched it?

  It feels weird to say this, but my introduction to One Piece was Chapter 1. Like Dragon Ball Z, the first episode I can remember watching was, like, Yamcha training on King Kai’s planet, and I’d get Goku and Yamcha confused and stuff, because I had just dived in. So for me to start a story like One Piece from the beginning is kind of rare. I was 15, I think.

  So, we're jumping into Baratie, and we first see the guy with the brass knuckles, Fullbody. He's trying to act cool on a date and he's being mean to everyone else. And then we have Sanji being typical Cool Sanji and Fullbody acts up and Sanji just tears through him. How did you react? Did you know immediately that you'd like this waiter?

  Well, I don't want to alarm you here, but my first thought was “Sanji’s cool!” I’d seen images of him before, and I saw his black suit and blond hair and I figured, “Oh, another crew member, probably. Looks distinct enough.” So I often have to look back and wonder “Did I like him because of his edgy coolness?” but I think now it’s because there were more layers to him. Like, he definitely stands out from the other Straw Hats, but he also has this distinct fighting style with cool reasoning. He’s a cook and he doesn’t want to bust up his hands trying to punch people in the face, so he uses his feet. So, he does like these cool capoeira kicks, which only gets better as they go along because I feel like so many anime characters, the stronger they get, the more they start to fight the same with fast volleys of punches and laser blasts. So Sanji’s kicks are a great way to differentiate himself from the main cast and other anime heroes. 

  So, then we have Luffy, he shows up by damaging the Baratie. Enter: Zeff. Full disclosure: In my infinite naivete when I first watched One Piece, I thought Zeff was going to be the new crew member. And then I thought Gin was going to join the Straw Hat crew. And then when Sanji finally joined, I was like, "This guy? Really? Dark horse candidate over here."

  You didn’t know yet?

    I guess I hadn't watched the first ED yet — when the crew slowly shows up and stands beside one another.

  You saw Usopp’s silhouette appear and thought, “Eh, I’ve seen enough.”

  "That must be all of them."

  It happens.

  So, you meet Zeff, and you learn about Sanji and Zeff's relationship, and we get a big One Piece flashback. What do you think of that? Because it would become a staple of the series to kinda pause, see what happened to an important guy, and then come back.

  Such an incredible story and so gruesome and terrifying. Sanji’s original flashback is so underrated because it could happen to anyone! Like, you’d have to go out of your way to get stranded on an island, but going days and weeks without food or any real comfort? I think people underestimate how traumatizing that would be. And then Zeff losing his leg because he hacked it off for food, it’s brutal. Just thinkin’ about that, I feel it in my shins. Because that almost happened to me with a minor injury. I let a minor injury get infected, and I could’ve been close to losing a leg.

    Wait, what? Gahd.

  I was doing box jumps at a gym, and my shin hit the corner of this wooden crate.

  Yeah, those things have no give in them.

  Absolutely. And at the time, I thought it was just this dark spot on my shin. And I figured it was, ya know a bruise. So I let it be. And then I picked at the scab and I realized “Wow, that’s a little deeper than I thought. I guess I’ll go to the doctor if it gets worse.” And I kept going to the gym, wearing pants over like this open wound. And my left leg is so swollen. So I went to two different doctors, as the first one did tests and then sent me to another one. And when this doctor saw me, the look on her face said “Oh, this is bad.” So I laughed out loud about how dumb I was and the doctor turned to me and said “This isn’t funny. This IS SERIOUS.” It had gotten infected with bacteria and it was spreading, and she just took a sharpie and drew around the infected area, and gave me antibiotics and was like “You have to keep this elevated, and if the redness goes outside of this line, go to the hospital.” But luckily, I recovered, even though the doctors were like “Honestly, we thought you’d go to the hospital.” So when Zeff severs his foot with a rock, how does anyone not feel that? 

  Do you think that's one of the reasons Luffy is fascinated by Sanji at first? His mentor, Shanks, lost his arm and was cool about it. Zeff lost his leg and was cool about it. Basically twins.

  That’d be an interesting conversation that we never got to see. Just two dudes talking about how weird it is that both their father figures did that, with only Luffy thinking it’s cool. 

    Don Krieg's ship gets blown in half by an incomprehensibly cool character, Mihawk, the first Warlord to appear in the show. You see Mihawk arrive — what is your reaction to him? Because it's not a case of "The villain of the villain is my friend," but rather "Oh, he did that to the villain? I hope he does not do that to us, as that would suck."

  It’s almost like the good guys meeting the bad guys, and then a tornado comes in. But here’s the thing: I missed the issue of Jump where Zoro fought Mihawk. So I assumed that Zoro had just won. The greatest swordsman in the world shows up and Zoro beats him. Boom. The climax of his character arc has been achieved. Nothing left for Zoro. 

  He just did it.

  I didn’t find out until so much later that Zoro lost. I wasn’t quite aware of what made for a captivating story yet. At that time, an obstacle appears, an obstacle gets taken out, ya move on. I almost want to apologize to Mihawk. 

  I love how One Piece does this though. They do it with Smoker and Aokiji and the like. It reminds me of The Witcher III when you go off the path a little bit, and you're at a Level 4 and then a Level 39 Gryphon swoops down and decapitates you. It keeps the "power levels" interesting.

  Luffy starts up Breath of the Wild and goes right for Calamity Ganon. But Mihawk is like the analogy for the Grand Line. He represents it, without revealing too much. Mihawk is like a Pizza Hut demo disc of danger.

  I really like that. And no one knows, to this day, exactly how powerful he is. Over 20 years later, and we're still wondering how he matches up against Shanks or Blackbeard or whatever. One Piece has so many characters where Oda hasn't shown his full hand in regards to them, yet we're totally emotionally invested in them. That's good storytelling.

  He’s doing something right. And I love that Mihawk has a little character arc here, too, where he shows up nonchalantly slicing up Krieg’s ships, probably doesn’t expect much, and then he’s taken aback by Zoro’s gusto, because he hasn’t seen anyone like that in a while. And he slices Zoro down. But he respects him, when in the beginning, he clearly didn’t respect anyone around. Mihawk wants to see him be better and try to take him down one day. For him to willingly build someone up like that is rare. Like Frieza wouldn’t do that.

    So, Don Krieg — what were your opinions of him at the time? Because he's a really bad guy surrounded by more morally grey guys like Mihawk and Gin.

  What I like about the East Blue saga is that every main villain is an antithesis of Luffy and what makes Luffy a truly great captain. Buggy is all about treasure. Kuro is about ambition and the fortitude to be a pirate. Krieg is about might and strength, and Krieg thinks he has both of those because of his weapons and armor. But Luffy has willpower and ambition and doesn’t let the world change his views. Luffy is incorruptible whereas Krieg is willing to poison his own crew when stuff starts going south. Krieg isn’t fondly remembered, but he really serves his purpose in the story.

  So, after Krieg is defeated, Sanji turns down Luffy's offer to join the Straw Hat crew. Now, he knows this is a bad idea. He's not gonna find the All Blue floating around on the Baratie. Why doesn't he go immediately?

  Well, he knows it’s a bad idea but he’s completely misinterpreting Zeff’s sacrifice. He feels that since Zeff sacrificed his leg, he has to repay him by working for him indefinitely. But the reason that Zeff did that was because he wants Sanji to live on and chase his dream. That’s why Zeff took pity on him in the first place. He’s an older, worn-down man now, and he stopped chasing his dream. And now he wants to see Sanji or someone get a win. It lifts his spirit to see Sanji and live kinda vicariously through him. 

  So, the second time I ever cried over One Piece was during Sanji's goodbye and Zeff's "Don't catch a cold." The first time was when that little dog was trying to protect his dead owner's shop in Orange Town, but that's a different story. But this shot of Sanji on his knees thanking Zeff with all the cooks surrounding them is so iconic, and Sanji's acting like it's a gift that Zeff gave him that Sanji could never repay, while as you said, Zeff just wants Sanji to be happy. What did you get out of that? I assume that you're a human with human emotions.

  I cry every time I watch that. When I first saw it, I was like “How? How is a series this good?” And there’s so much to that ending sequence. Because the Baratie is built on this rough, angry masculinity. Just these dudes being mean and fighting each other and customers all the time. There’s never a time or a place for lending a shoulder to someone else. No emotional embraces of any kind. Just everyone berating everyone. No one can open up — just stupid man babies. And then you get to this moment where Sanji is leaving and they’re all trying to be cool while playing it off. Especially Zeff, who can’t give a legitimate goodbye, but rather a “Don’t catch a cold.” But there’s so much to that statement and the facade crumbles. All these grown men start bawling. 

    I've never thought about it that way. There's all these little hints of kindness, like feeding the bad guys, and it's a masculinity powder keg. And then Sanji, in an ultimate display of putting his heart out there, bows to the man who saved him and the keg explodes. That's really cool.

  ONE PIECE LIGHTNING ROUND!

  Favorite One Piece character?

  Sanji

  Favorite One Piece villain?

  Enel

  Favorite One Piece moment?

  March to Arlong Park

  Favorite Straw Hat Crew pairing?

  Luffy and Zoro

  Favorite moment of the new Wano anime arc?

  Soba Mask’s debut

  If you could eat one Devil Fruit, what would it be?

  Whatever Kanjuro’s fruit is

  Moment that made you cry the hardest?

  Sanji leaving the Baratie

  Moment that made you cheer the loudest?

  Straw Hats at the Tower of Justice standing across from Robin

  One Piece location that you'd like to live in?

  Whole Cake Island. Ya eat well, ya know, you can survive Big Mom

  Favorite fight scene?

  Sanji vs Mr. 2, of course

      Stay tuned for the next installment of "My Favorite One Piece Arc" as we speak with Botchamania creator Maffew about his favorite One Piece arc: Alabasta!!

        Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: Daniel Dockery

[sparda3g]

Food Wars! Shokugeki no Soma Chapter 282 Review

BLUE is officially happening. While the evil Noirs continue to roam around, the next major tourney is the main focus. It doesn’t stop the likes of Saiba to place a selfish bet under personal manner. That leaves to Soma, who has yet to be invited. That’s Joichiro’s cue to make his return. With Erina and Saiba placing their challenge on the table, it’s Soma’s time to place one for himself that is more than being the best.

This is purely a Soma chapter, so keep that in mind. Why did I have to mention it? It’s because it’s uncertain on who exactly is participating BLUE or when in storytelling will it happen. This is a form of declaration from the protagonist before the story completely shifts focus on BLUE. The last chapter was the start of a fire; this one is the blaze that has signal a new start. We’re not supposed to jump to conclusion until everything is completely set. In the meantime, this is Soma’s chapter that needed to happen to address his goal that is more than a prestige.

Soma and Joichiro reunites once again, but Soma apparently channeled E. Honda from Street Fighter and does a flying head-butt. I bet it’s something fans wanted to do after him losing to Saiba. They demand answers, you know. For the record and rather unfortunately, nothing about his match against Saiba was addressed, let alone his knife. When I said it’s a Soma chapter, I really meant it. It’s a shame since I was hoping to get more insight about the knife, more so than his defeat. Yes, it is still iffy, but why bet on it. I don’t know if it was ever addressed in their discussion, so either flashback or never discussed.

Just before they discuss about Saiba, Joichiro has a “gift” for Soma. It’s the invitation notice to BLUE. It’s pretty evident that the last chapter and this one are a two-parter setup. Then they discuss about Saiba, which is the same thing we heard from Gin, only it is said in a recap, so less time was wasted. Judging by that, I would believe the topic about Joichiro’s loss wasn’t discussed, but it’s unconfirmed. Soma would probably feel emotional about the relationship of theirs. Well, not exactly.

Instead, he is all fired up; not literally of course. He has a great shot to defeat not just Saiba, but Erina as well. Two birds with one stone. That’s one way to look at to be excited over grief. I should mention that despite no real info on the relationship, it does clear out the mystery of Suzuki for every character at the beach. However, they stick around to hear Soma’s next pledge. Just before Joichiro hands over the letter, this is when it gets personal.

Soma has accomplished many things, including becoming First Seat of Elite Ten, even though he was given more so than earned. That being said it begs the question: is there any point on having Yukihira Diner around if he’s more than that? He’s good enough to open a restaurant in a fancy city and his place will be treated special. I recalled World Gourmet Organization don’t have any record of the diner, but how could they? It’s just a diner in some town. If Soma opens up a restaurant in the future with the prestige title of BLUE Champion, he can be set for life.

It’s surprising that Joichiro would say something like this. There’s an underline tone of his that perhaps reads shaky. It’s as if he doesn’t want to say it, especially if there’s a great chance that it was opened for his wife. Now that she’s gone, Soma is improving and received an invitation to a very crucial moment of young Chef’s life, is there any need for the diner? If anything, it would hold Soma back from going beyond if he remains there.

Soma reminds him that going to Tootsuki Academy was his idea and Soma was set to graduate and return home to open back the diner. However, Joichiro counters his argument by stating it was really Senzaemon’s idea, which is true. After all, he needed him to save Erina and that’s done. Everything else is “eye for the prize.” In other words, Soma is there for himself now. Joichiro didn’t have any intention to make his son famous, but now, he’s a rising star. I bet he didn’t want to due to bad memories, so I don’t fault him for never intending his son to join the academy.

The part I like the most from this conversation is how you can tell Joichiro love his son. Although Soma eventually attend the academy at high school grade, the time he spent before was with his father. If it wasn’t for Joichiro’s request to delay, they wouldn’t be rivals; more importantly, they wouldn’t have that special father-son dynamic. Joichiro jokes about how he “never” expect his son to be amazing as well as poking fun that he would crawl back to him and beg on his knee. But really, he’s really proud of him. He’s always filled with charisma, so this is a welcoming mood.

Soma is being Soma when he breaks the mood with his silly expression; even calling his own father a dumbass. Yeah, that’s him all right. Despite being told that he should go on to greater things, he found a way to turn it around against Joichiro’s wish. If Soma doesn’t win, then he won’t take over Yukihira. It’s literally a perfect balance when you think about it. Soma could earn the fame, but he’s going to “downplay” it by resuming his time at the diner. If he does lose, well at least he will still be recognized, but the diner is gone for good.

Fortunately, Soma kept his way on handling things; never letting others cloud his style. It’s the same thing with Senzaemon, since he already has a reason to meet Erina. In this case, he maintains his reason for attending the academy. Being the best is great and all, but his main intention remains the same; to reopen the diner. It’s very much like his character to use the grand prize as his own motivation to do this or that.

This sit-down conversation between father and son was charming. It’s one of the most warming dynamic of the series. Even though we don’t know the story behind Joichiro and Saiba’s duel back then, the two of them discussing was nice enough. Soma ends up helping Joichiro to feel better, which could indicate that it was hard for Joichiro to go through with this topic. It tops it with him looking at the sky, clearly speaking to his wife about Soma being something else. We also got an indication of Soma being closer to his mother’s personality. How nice. I can see why he’s deeply attached to him; I mean yes, they’re family, but the reminder of someone you loved is always sad and happy.

The stage is set for Soma as he is now officially part of BLUE, along with Erina and Saiba. BLUE begins now. I don’t think it will start immediately in the next chapter, though I believe the prelude could begin next. It’s unclear on who else is joining BLUE, considering Joichiro himself deliver the news only for Soma. Who knows if and how other Elite Ten members receive their invitation. This chapter’s goal is to (re)establish Soma’s goal(s) and nothing will change his mind. It’s his time to rise up and shine.

Overall, this was a nice chapter for what it had to do. It’s disappointing to not address the battle between Joichiro and Saiba back then, especially since that special knife was on the line. However, it was filled with nice moments between father and son. The art is solid and comforting. The chapter’s cover is adorable; a fitting image to represent the theme. The teases of Soma’s mother continue to surface many times as of late, so I am growing anxious to see her and her backstory. For now, BLUE is coming and a battle royale is upon them.

[tbogost]

Alex Garland as Auteur: Apathetic Existentialism

Film attempts to use emotion to reinforce the notion that mankind is the greatest product of the universe – that everything revolves around what we want and what we need. No matter the genre or the style, most film obeys a generic structure that, over its runtime, follows a hero’s ordinary life, a sudden conflict, and their overcoming that conflict so that the world can carry on either as it did before, or better. But filmmaker Alex Garland has a different perspective that defines his auteur style – one that is grim enough to be called cynical, but that might be intellectual enough to be termed apathetic instead. Garland’s films indicate that humans are so inherently materialistic that we cannot work together even when our own goals are the same. We are bound to turn to conflict, usually to find ways to be self-serving quickly, which ultimately leads to self-destruction instead. Garland’s philosophy combats the innate belief that humans cannot not exist, and instead offers up a different question: Is it really so bad that mankind, like all things, will eventually come to an end?

He may have only just begun to explore these ideas of existentialism as a director recently, but as a screenwriter, Garland’s themes reach all the way back to his first project, British zombie drama 28 Days Later (2002). Near the end of 28 Days, during a dinner scene in between zombie attacks, one soldier seems to dictate Garland’s philosophy out loud: “If you look at the whole life of the planet, we… you know, man, has only been around for a few blinks of an eye. So if the infection wipes us all out … that is a return to normality.” While this somewhat ominous line is not further explored in 28 Days, its message seems to glisten towards the end of Garland’s Ex Machina (2014), a film about AI succeeding humanity, and becomes the central theme throughout his most recent Annihilation (2018), which has a team of female scientists exploring a supernatural ‘shimmer’ that threatens to biologically modify the entire globe. Other aspects representative of Garland’s narrative style as an auteur are also rooted in 28 Days but become more fully fledged in these later films of his. Namely, unconventional methods of storytelling broken into a prologue, epilogue, and several sequences or chapters in between, unnecessary conflicts between characters who fail to intercommunicate, and unexpected feelings of nuanced hope in seemingly despondent situations.

At both the beginning and the end of 28 Days, not counting Garland’s signature prologue and epilogue scenes, the main character wakes up in a hospital bed, creating a symmetrical structure throughout the story. The middle of the film is vaguely divided up into two sequences, one inside London, and the other outside the city at a military house. Conflict between allies is introduced in the prologue when a scientist fights with animal activists to keep an infected chimpanzee quarantined, in the middle when survivors argue over whether to remain at or leave their current hideout, and near the end when the protagonists and the military clash with each other rather than uniting against the zombies. In all of the situations, each respective party thinks they are doing what is necessary to survive, but each is also guilty of failing to reason with the other. Every time conflict arises, no one is capable of stepping back, analyzing the situation, and communicating individual logic to placate it. Instead, chaos reigns supreme. While some might angrily disregard this as an example of lazy character design, that would be missing the point that Garland is trying to make. We are so quick to defend our actions that we do not care to be proven wrong. In tense situations, humans are prone to act on impulse, something that makes us not much smarter than a zombie anyway. It is for this reason – that humans are too selfish and too foolish – that Garland hypothesizes we should not expect to last forever.

Ex Machina and Annihilation take Garland’s narrative structure to a whole new level by using actual transitions to divide and title sequences onscreen as if they were part of a storybook. While this design choice might add a certain artistic flair to Garland’s films, it also acts to underline the significance of the beginnings and endings of his stories. If the titled sequences are the individual chapters of a novel, the first and last scenes are the hard book covers. The most important function of these sequences is to either divert from or highlight the events that take place at either end of both films. Each prologue takes place in medias res, acting as a hook to draw the audience in, and each epilogue is ambiguous and open-ended, meant to provoke controversial discussion. For example, the majority of Ex Machina focuses on Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson), an amateur programmer, performing an advanced Turing Test on an AI, Ava (Alicia Vikander), over the course of about a week. White font on a black screen orients the audience during Caleb and Ava’s meetings together: “Ava: Session 1,” “Ava: Session 2,” etc. But it is the first and last scenes, not the sequenced meetings, that embody the message of the film as a whole. The former introduces us to Caleb’s departure from life and his arrival at Ava’s birthplace, the research facility hidden in the mountains. The latter presents the inverse, with Ava escaping from her home, replacing Caleb in the helicopter, and potentially replacing humanity on the Earth. Like Ava tricks Caleb into helping her escape, the title sequences trick the audience into viewing Ava as a harmless test, allowing her to pave her way into their hearts and thus into a new civilization where AI are the rulers of the modern world.

The same exact style is used for transitions in Annihilation, but of course with more relevant titles such as “Area X,” “The Shimmer,” and “The Lighthouse.” In this case, the purpose of the titles is almost the opposite as in Ex Machina: not to divert audiences, but to assist them instead. Annihilation is so nonlinear, confusing, and obscure that at times even it seems unsure of what it is trying to say. Lest audiences get frustrated with the apparent lack of progress that the characters in the film verbally acknowledge, these titles help emphasize that there is a final act with a sufficient payoff coming in the future. Of course, this could simply be keeping with the theme of sequences that Garland employed in his previous film, but perhaps it is a continuation of his writing off the human race as ignorant and needy instead. Perhaps Garland thought that he could not hold general audiences to the end of Annihilation without offering some trail of breadcrumbs to nibble on as they anticipate Lena’s fate in The Shimmer.

Another way that both Ex Machina and Annihilation expand on themes from 28 Days is through their use of time and lighting. Both films follow a particular day/night cycle, with important exposition moving the story forward and building tension during the daytime so that one simple conversation or discovery can instantly initiate a climactic dispute amongst allies at night. In this way, Garland evolves his original theme into more than just a narrative device, but a visual one as well. The Day represents a time when new discoveries and relationships invoke fascination and wonder about the changing world, but The Night represents a parallel perspective when those same discoveries can seem unnatural, wrong, or downright evil. In other words, the day/night cycle indicates that there are no true protagonists or antagonists in either film, but that the changing surroundings and circumstances of the characters distorts their perceptions of each other.

In Ex Machina, Caleb asks Ava questions, exchanges friendly banter with her creator Nathan (Oscar Isaac), and explores the environment during the day, but it is during his intense discussions at night with Nathan that the audience feels most anxious, like they, along with Caleb, are the ones being watched and interrogated. The gradual shifts in lighting play a large role in distorting that feeling too, with the audience feeling more trusting of characters flooded by daylight or fluorescents and more anxious when pale tungsten or bright red highlights the space. In fact, the only times when Ava’s motives are directly indicated are when she turns off the main power and activates the red glow that is representative of the iconic HAL 9000. Nevertheless, Caleb is too in love with her to notice. When Nathan and Caleb finally realize that they have been meddling with each other while Ava has been playing them both, it is too late to go back and readjust their perspectives to make amends. The sheer feelings of conflict between them evoked by the surrounding circumstances have already overpowered any logic, and Caleb’s impulses to free Ava rather than to tap into his knowledge on the danger of AI leads to his unfortunate fate, even though the ethics of his decision might have seemed moral.

Correspondingly, in Annihilation, Lena (Natalie Portman) and the other scientists struggle to differentiate between their relationship with their surroundings and with each other. They travel deeper and deeper into The Shimmer during the daytime, witnessing both the strange beauty and the horror of a space with otherworldly biological rules, but at night, when darkness hides the contours of each other’s faces, the scientists cannot help but turn on one another. Garland is extremely conscious of the tone of his conversations, stressed by the overwhelming amount of scenes containing silence instead. Dialogue which begins as purely expositional gradually shifts into the realm of confrontational as the film progresses. While Lena and the other scientists do have a few run-ins with monsters, it is their failure to trust each other that ultimately destroys the team. In one particular instance, for example, a terrific beast clearly inspired by Cronenburg shrieks with the exact voice of its dead victim, the anthropologist Cassie (Tuva Novotny). As the beast kills Anya (Gina Rodriguez), the paramedic who had just turned on her own allies in a frenzied state, the triumphant screams of a Cass-long-gone remind the team that it is not the monsters, but their own inability to work together, that is leading them towards death.

Some aspects of Ex Machina and Annihilation that point to Alex Garland as an up-and-coming auteur have less to do with his fatalistic themes on the human race and more to do with the stylistic choices acquired by means of his consistent use of similar cast and crew. The director of photography Rob Hardy, production designer Mark Digby, costume designer Sammy Sheldon, set decorator Michelle Day, and musicians Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury, for example, were all employed in both films, and their expertise comes together nicely to create atmospheres that manage to feel melancholy yet warm and dystopian yet beautiful in each. Ex Machina is filled with juxtaposition, taking place in an exquisite home that is also a horrifying research center, surrounded by rivers but imprisoned by mountains. Likewise, Annihilation explores contrasted wildlife where stags can grow flowers on their antlers but alligators can develop the teeth of a shark in their mouths. Subtle visual effects are important aspects of Garland’s film too because they enhance a world we live in now to create subjects that are nonexistent but not implausible. Ava moves more realistically than any artificially intelligent robot known today, but we would not be surprised to see a major corporation like Amazon or Google unveil a model just like her at any time. Garland addresses this in an interview with IndieWire: “’When is this taking place, I’d say it’s 10 minutes in the future’” (Whale). Similarly, there are no actual creatures or plants on Earth like the ones in Annihilation, but the film never presents something so alien that it would be immediately dismissed as unbelievable. The only thing that is purely extraterrestrial is the meteorite itself; everything else is a product of crossbreeding between objects from our world made possible by another.

The most refined relationship on set is clearly between Garland and his DOP, Rob Hardy, since the most comparable technical aspect of the two films is the pattern of the camera. Close-ups point to the ‘threat against humanity’ in each film – Ava’s brain in the first and the cells duplicating inside The Shimmer in the second. Important artifacts like these are placed in the center of the frame as the camera slowly moves closer and closer to them, almost seductively. In a style similar to that of David Fincher, slight movements of the camera continue in other scenes as well, like a person’s slow breaths, following characters as they sit, move, or speak in order to track them without drawing too much attention to the presence of a camera itself. In fact, the only times when the camera stays immobile is during wide-shots of nature that link the main sequences but provide a bit of breathing room in between important moments in the narrative.

One of the most evident similarities bridging the connection between Ex Machina and Annihilation is through actor Oscar Isaac, who was utilized in both films for more than just his stellar acting, but for his significance in Garland’s underlying themes as well. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Isaac functions as a metaphor for higher power in each of Garland’s films: “In Ex Machina, Isaac’s Nathan likens himself to God, providing his ability to create true artificial intelligence pans out. In Annihilation, it’s once again Isaac, this time portraying Lena’s husband, Kane, who opens up the subject of the divine and leads Lena to state, without hesitation, that ‘God makes mistakes.’” (Newby). It is ironic to consider films penned and directed by someone who identifies as an atheist as being religious, but Newby has a point that can be sufficiently validated by the intense saturation of Eden-like paradises and the open-ended epilogues of all three Alex Garland films discussed in this essay. No matter how cynical Garland’s beliefs about mankind’s future might be, a certain theme of hope – not the kind of hope one expects or wishes for, but hope nonetheless – is persistent in all three endings. At the end of 28 Days Later, the protagonists finally signal their location to an overhead jet and anticipate freedom. What exactly is waiting for them outside of Britain is ambiguous (the film ends before we get a chance to see); for all they know, the rest of the world could be infected too, but there is a possibility that life still exists somewhere. The final scene in Ex Machina depicts the AI, Ava, abandoning Caleb and blending into mundane human life at an ordinary crossroad. While this image definitely provokes a feeling of existential dread at the thought of a robot transcending the role of mankind, it is also pleasing to consider that some evolved form of being might replace Homo Sapiens in the future as we did the Neanderthals before us. Annihilation’s final shot of Lena and her husband as potentially alien or genetically mutated beings conjures up a similar notion about existentialism that actually seems to reject Darwinism: it is not evolution that exists, but simply adaptation.

These films hypothesize that eventually, the world as we know it will likely come to an end, replaced by science, technology, evolution, or a divine power. But who are we to know? Perhaps the details of the next step do not matter. Of course, it is up for debate whether this apathetic ambivalence about the future of mankind is unethical. After all, should we not preserve our own species by fighting against current world dangers such as artificial intelligence and global warming? Some would say yes, and Garland might even agree, but it is clear that he believes his purpose is to raise these questions, not to answer them. In his films, just as in religion itself, the prospect of abandoning the present and moving on to some new reality, whatever that might be, is inevitable, and to Alex Garland, there is nothing wrong with that.

Newby, Richard. “'Annihilation' and 'Ex Machina' Are a Double Feature in the Making.” The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2018, www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/annihilation-machina-are-a-double-feature-making-1088109. Accessed 8 March 2018.

Whale, Chase. “Interview: Alex Garland Talks Lo-Fi Approach To 'Ex Machina,' Auteur Theory, And Much More.” IndieWire, 7 Apr. 2015, www.indiewire.com/2015/04/interview-alex-garland-talks-lo-fi-approach-to-ex-machina-auteur-theory-and-much-more-265335/. Accessed 8 March 2018.

[c-ornflowertea]

BTS WORLD: A Game Built on a Community

I had been listening to a lot of stories from my brother about the different game communities he has had the pleasure (?) of joining around the time I was researching for this blog. For example, a few years ago, he had played Pokémon competitively both online and offline. His days back then were spent on grinding for good Pokémon stats and natures (did anyone actually understand that back when they played Pokémon as a kid? Like that is seriously a thing?), craftily building mono-type parties to become a community’s Gym Leader, and he even opened a quite reputable Pokémon trade shop to support his eagerness to play in the competitive scene. Compared to the times when he played Pokémon for fun or modded the MissingNo.’s out of the Pokémon Emerald ROM, he had a completely different experience playing the very same game.

At some point, he went on a tangent about another Nintendo franchise, the Super Smash Bros. series. He noted that the game was never really intended to be a part of any competitive scene; the idea was to make a party game, “that was more party than Mario Party.” However, when Super Smash Bros. Melee came out, players saw the opportunity to take the game to another level and created the esports scene around it today. The developers seemed to still be keen on their original direction with their release of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. The game stripped away the more competitive mechanics such as the Wave Dash, guiding players to experience the game within simpler mechanics. The reception around the third installment became mixed; at this point, the competitive scene brewed a specialized community who were primarily invested in fast-paced competitive play. The new game suited players who were more casual and the fact that it was released along with the Wii made it a potential entry point for players new to gaming as well. Super Smash Bros. Brawl simply did not fulfill existing fans’ expectations. Still, the game brought in new fans and expanded the fanbase, albeit having segregation between those who liked Melee (a.k.a. competitive players) and those who liked Brawl (a.k.a. casual players) (Scott The Woz 2018). Future iterations of the game try to strike a balance between these two scenes in the community but still tries to stay true to the developers’ initial vision of an accessible party game.

Through both Pokémon and the Super Smash Bros. series, we can see how a game community influences gameplay experience. Pokémon’s simple premise attracts many children who have just started playing games, but its depth in mechanics allows for more complex gameplay. Depending on who players interact with and how they interact, the community can gear a player towards one playstyle or another, shaping their experience into many forms. On the other hand, the community Super Smash Bros. built up in one installment sets up players’ expectations of their experience. As a result, instead of putting forward initial intentions, developers must also be aware of what fans are attracted to—why do they play the game in the first place—in order to tap into an existing fanbase. It shifts the perspective of why developers make games from creating a game of their dreams into constructing a game that people will play.

This leads to the question of whether or not a developer should stay true to their intentions. Developers want their games to be played a specific way because they want their players to experience specific things, so wouldn’t community input ruin the game itself? Depending on what the game is and what are the intentions of those behind the game, it can make or break a player’s experience. So, following that train of thought, what if, instead of developing a game based on a developer’s personal vision, a game is developed based around a community that isn’t necessarily related to games? What would it be like, what would it take, and why would it be a good idea?

The most obvious reason to create such a game would, of course, be money. There is a community that is already invested in something, and to incorporate that something into other mediums is more or less the 101 of selling more using fewer resources. In a reversed setting, it would be akin to games selling merchandise of their franchise in order to gain more income. The game’s story, characters, and its impression is already deep-rooted in players’ minds. Selling merchandise evokes these impressions without actually having to deliver the actual experience. Utilizing existing properties as a base for a game is, essentially, the same thing.

Another probable reason to develop a community-based game would be to expand a brand. As many have argued, the value of games lies in their ability to create an experience. Having players connect with a brand through a unique experience further develops the brand identity and potentially, a player’s loyalty towards the brand. The brand can introduce new ideas they would like to associate themselves with, but these ideas are also developed through player interaction and interpretation of their experience.

I believe that BTS WORLD is a product of the culmination of these reasons.

The game was released on June 26, 2019, and have since tapped into many channels of BTS fans. As a group that has been operating for more than six years, their fans vary in age, race, gender, interests, and most of all, opinions regarding the band themselves. To be able to cater to a majority of the fanbase requires a product that not only showcases the group’s familiar branding but also integrates a unified idea that represents the group as a whole. The group does not originally represent a body of experienced players so mechanics needed to be relatively simple, but it has to have enough challenge, variety, and depth in order to sell itself as a justified part of the brand rather than merely a shameless cash-grab. Fans’ behaviors would also need to be thoroughly investigated in order to deliver a compelling experience. Any one-note gone wrong and the whole game would be under fire—just like with Super Smash Bros., the community has expectations and they expect developers to deliver (because, y’know, they kinda have the money). The game did actually receive strong criticism for their lack of gender-neutral pronouns, although it was more of a fault on the localization team’s side than the original writers, and was later fixed in an update patch. Being able to monitor community response and adapt accordingly is perhaps one of the reasons that the game launched so successfully as well.

So with that said, how did the developers manifest the community’s investment towards BTS into the game? First of all, they incorporated many of the concepts fans associate with BTS. In the game’s narrative, the player becomes BTS’s manager before their debut, progressing through the chapters with hopes of bringing the group together and helping them to perform under a spotlight for the first time. The experience is very reminiscent of the relationship between BTS and their fans: in many ways, their following had presented them with the many opportunities they have today. The narrative may seem like a superficial, fantastical romance delusional fans would eat up, but the game’s narrative goal keeps the player’s motivation in focus. Instead of pursuing a character in a game, the player is pushed to help BTS to achieve their dreams and become who they are today. Progressing through obstacles, both through narrative and gameplay mechanics becomes an expression of experiencing moments together, which is another concept BTS emphasizes to their fans.

BTS also invested a lot of their primary source of income—as in music and performance—into the game, tying it back to their prevalent branding. OSTs, cut scenes, and even the promotional MV was created with a polish no half-hearted work could have. They brought in collaborators for some of the songs and added references to theories about their MVs’ lore, showing that the game is an extension of their craft, which fans already adore. Seeing the developers put so much effort into the game motivates fans to appreciate the hard work and explore the content, trusting that they will be served with a familiar enjoyment they experience through BTS’s pre-existing works.

And then there is the “Another Story” section to the game; a side-story collection featuring individual members of the group. It can be said that the whole section is a quality recreation of fan fiction (which is probably where most of its appeal comes from), but developers also made sure to include themes of personal growth that BTS is known for in each storyline. In that sense, even though players are given the opportunity to experience a closer relationship with each member, they are also reminded that the player’s support through the narrative is pretty much what they have been doing as fans: giving support and helping the group’s members progress through their lives. Being able to relive the same experiences through the side-story helps to tie the game’s different narratives together.

In terms of gameplay, their solution to the whole ordeal was to use trading card gacha mechanics. Simple, keep people invested even through loses because it’s a game of chance, and could easily be assimilated with BTS’s visual identity. Player progression is not necessarily locked to these mechanics, but securing better gacha items helps players progress quickly and obtain lucrative bonuses. I personally think that this system is very familiar to BTS fans who play a violent game of chance to get tickets, buy multiple different versions of their albums to complete their photocard collection, and spend a hefty amount to obtain an object representing the member they connect the most to. The developers basically migrated that system into a virtual game space to structure their potential cash flow.

True to their visual novel style, there are also affinity meters players can fill by interacting with the characters through texts and social media, as well as choosing dialogue that would appeal to each individual member. Although in all honesty, I have not found a single reason that makes the affinity meter have as much of a significance towards the narrative as they stereotypically would (more cut scenes, story progression, etc.) aside from unlocking side-story chapters. I suppose that can be attributed to the fact that it gives a reason for the fans to focus on the main narrative, arguably the experiences that are most relevant to them.

Classic energy-based mechanics are also implemented to encourage (or maybe even force) short bursts of play over a long period of time over hours and hours of short-term play. I personally swore off this type of mechanics for a long time, but I found myself working around it because of one, I am interested in the content, and two, limited energy (or wings, as they are called in-game) isn’t the only resource preventing player progression. After I’ve spent all my wings in one sitting, I could level up cards, increase stat bonuses, or gacha my in-game money away to ensure my progress the next time I can play wings-restricted content. Instead of feeling like I had to wait hours to do barely anything, waiting resembles the feeling of discerning the perfect timing to seize the day. It took me some time to realize this but the gameplay structure fits the narrative of waiting for the perfect chance to debut: working, progressing, and having off-times to rest and recover, patiently anticipating the arrival of the day. Perhaps because of its simpler mechanics, some fans even choose to lay out a spreadsheet and calculate the most optimal way to play the game, further enhancing the game of chance into a more elaborate strategic play.

What is interesting about the game is that it gives players enough wings to progress through the first chapter seamlessly. This gives players the starting satisfaction of the narrative and BTS-related content the game boasts of while providing enough motivation for the players to strive for the end goal. In the middle of a torturous grind to complete their launch event, I found myself repeatedly thinking that I’ve come so far and there is no way that I could (read: would) stop now, finally realizing that they’ve got me hook, line and sinker. Using BTS as the bait as well as the end goal, somehow everything in-between can be tied to a journey necessary to develop one’s soul.

Lastly, and by far an observation I am most keen on seeing through, is how the game’s narrative, design, and mechanics can appeal to the many types of BTS fans. Those who casually enjoy BTS’s music might be attracted to the OSTs and sound design, and those attracted to their visual branding will find exclusive new content by progressing through the game. I have seen a fair share of players who claim that they play the game so they can draw visually stunning four-star cards instead of actually progressing through the game, which funnily enough, looked like they were faring better than players who were more invested in the gameplay. There are also fans who could relate to the more personal side-stories, earning an emotional investment separate from the group’s debut story. The side-stories developed on the idea of who they were and who they could be, but essentially adding another layer of depth to the fans’ understanding of the members’ characters and personalities. As I’ve said above, it wouldn’t be strange to see players who go above and beyond to play the game as efficiently as possible either, calculating all their moves to not let one resource go to waste. And, even to those who doubt the narrative of the game and worry that it is a way for fans to step outside of their boundaries and affirm delusional fantasies that should not be encouraged, can see that those ideas are not at the core of the game. Despite the title of “Manager” and chances to interact more with the members’ virtual persona, the game is, as a whole, created for their fans, and arguably, because of their fans. Each fan’s way of interpreting the narrative and progressing through the game is as valid of an experience as any other. In a way, even though the game was created through the representation of a brand and the community surrounding it, the experience of playing through the game is personal to each player. And that, I believe, is why and how a game developed based on an existing community can work to a developer’s interests.

In conclusion, there are countless ways in which a game community can influence a developer’s vision of a game. Players invested in a specific style of game and play may contribute to the developers’ and other players’ decisions and alter a game’s experience. Sometimes, this may be detrimental as the development of the game becomes a fight of balance between intentions and what will essentially sell. However, if taken advantage of, such in the case of BTS WORLD, the game opens up to the possibilities of an alternate stream of income and development of brand identity in exchange for the community’s investment. Even though the community is not primarily based around gaming, the narrative, design, and mechanics all contribute to unique yet familiar experience fans would not be able to obtain otherwise—the perfect merchandise for their ever-growing brand and fans.

References RandomTens 2014, Is Melee Better Than Brawl? - A Super Smash Bros. Love Story, Youtube, 6 February, viewed 13 July 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhHTF3_pON8>. Scott The Woz 2018, Super Smash Bros. Brawl | The Worst One, Apparently - Scott The Woz, Youtube, 29 July, viewed 13 July 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhRx-FHiIvc>.

[thehallofgame]

Review: Dragon Age 2

Release: 2011

My Rating: 8/10

              Dragon Age is a series that inspires some passionate and very divided opinions. Dragon Age 2 embodies that. Developed in a painfully tight two-year window, Dragon Age 2 aimed to get a sequel to Dragon Age Origins ou as soon as possible and, also, to tell a different, more intimate sort of dark fantasy story. The game was ambitious in what it attempted to accomplish in a minimal development window and it succeeded in some areas, but not in others. Dragon Age 2 managed to be a character-driven, politically intense and truly dark narrative told over the course of a decade but it also took place almost entirely in one city, reused the same maps and assets endlessly, and relied far too heavy on using waves of enemies to make combat encounters difficult.

              The game begins during one of the most important events of its predecessor, the dacking of Lothering. The main character of Dragon Age 2, Hawke, and his family, are refugees fleeing the blight. With a little bit of help from new friends, and draconic intervention, what remains of the family survives to begin a new life in the city-state of Kirkwall. Kirkwall, part of a collection of city-states known as the Free Marches, is a former center of the slave trade. It’s grim, dark, crowded, violent, and the Hawkes have to build a home there. What follows is the intertwined story of a city in social collapse, a refugee’s rise to fame and their relationship with all the most powerful players on the local political scene.

              Framed as a retelling by Hawke’s close friend Varric, the story of the Champion of Kirkwall is designed to be taken with a grain of salt. As one of the companions Hawke gains earliest in the game, it is established right away that Varric Tethras is a dwarf with a heart of gold and a penchant for grossly exaggerated story-telling. That can excuse a lot of nonsense that takes place in the game but not all. The narrative structure of Dragon Age 2 is vastly different than its predecessor. Instead of a tale of a hero overcoming a singular, huge threat, Dragon Age 2 is broken into a prologue and three arcs, each of which chronicles Hawke’s journey through a major life event or political shift in the city.

              Hawke’s companions are a ragtag group of warriors, rogues, and mages each representing different political and social backgrounds. Their relationship to Hawke swings wildly on a bar from friend to rival in response to actions and dialogue choices the player makes with each party member in the party. All the companions have a great deal of interest and depth to explore, and with one companion quest for each of the three acts of the game, the player gets to see a lot of that depth. It’s a shame, then, that the relationship building is boiled down to what is essentially a point-based system. The player has to be constantly mindful of what threshold they’re at (but of course, there’s only a visually represented bar and no numbers, so the player can only eyeball where they stand) because not exceeding certain percentages of friendship or rivalry can result in party members abandoning the party, or a romance the player was interested in pursuing not beginning despite the player’s best efforts. It doesn’t help that the game is slightly glitch-prone and sometimes certain events just don’t occur for no discernable reason.

              Meanwhile, customization opinions for the player character are markedly decreased since the first game. The player is still free to play as a male or female hero, but they now must be human. There are also pre-built faces for Garret and Marian Hawke that can’t be re-created in the actual character customization engine, so if you were interested in tweaking anything about Garret or Marian’s face without changing it entirely… you can’t. The player can also choose one of the three standard classes for Hawke: Warrior, rogue or mage. However, as both the game and the Hawke family history are heavily invested in the conflict between brutal church led segregation of mages and what happens when people are desperate to be free, it makes a great deal of sense to play Hawke as a mage. There’s no reason not to play as the other classes, but the mage route adds the most personal stake in the narrative to Hawke.

              Each of the three classes begins the game with access to several branching skill trees. Many of the skills have come over directly from the first game, but the new presentation makes them easier to identify and use. Each of the trees is composed of complementary techniques that form a magic or fighting style. As they level up, each of Hawke’s companions will unlock a tree unique to them and their story which contains their most powerful techniques and strongest abilities. Hawke will eventually be able to choose two of three possible specialization trees, though theirs are more generic and most are specializations ported directly from the first game.

              As abilities are gained the player will probably want to map them to the tactics system, because while the player can switch between characters during combat, nobody has time to manage four characters during real-time RPG combat. Based again on a tiered, priority based system, new options and more specific toggles make the tactics system better. It is still inherently limited by being a simple if-then statement based system that relies on the player to organize actions correctly so that they’ll trigger in order of priority (i.e. you probably want to have healing moves be command 1, rather than below any sort of attack move). It’s not a very adaptive system, but unlike in Dragon Age Origins, I didn’t experience any instances of abilities activating incorrectly. More abilities, such as area of effect techniques, can now be used without worry through the tactics system.

              Before getting into combat, a quick word on the inventory and equipment system. Once again, the player is gonna get a lot of backtracking in. traveling back and forth to the store to sell the literal junk (seriously, junk is now an item category) that clogs the small inventory space. Every character has a slot for two rings, one necklace and one belt that all provide stat bonuses and other conditional effects. They all, except Varric who has a special weapon, can have their weapons switched out and customized with runes to deal extra or elemental damage. However, Hawke has the only armor in the game that can changed out, and as every class can only equip certain item types, most of the armor Hawke finds in the field is useless and has to be sold. Meanwhile, each party member ‘dresses themselves’ in a signature outfit/armor that Hawke can find upgrades for in the field as well as enchant with runes to increase its effectiveness. Every single character has the same body type as every other member of their race and gender. This isn’t so egregious for elves, dwarves or quanari, but for humans it’s downright obnoxious. All the men in the game have tiny hips, broad shoulders, and six-pack abs. All the woman have comically large breasts and walk with an exaggerated hip-sway. The worst example of this is a party member named Isabela. She’s well beloved, and for good reason, but her design is ridiculous. She wears thigh high boots, a thong, and an under-bust corset with just enough excess fabric to cover the bottom half of her breasts, her crotch and her bottom. As a curvy, female, martial artist I have it on good authority any warrior worth their salt would not fight in this. I don’t care that Isabela’s character ��justifies it”, video game characters don’t get to dress themselves. She’s a pirate captain and expert duelist before she’s a sex object, even in her own in-game descriptions of herself. I frankly find the way she’s dressed, and the way some fans defend that choice, insulting. Please forgive the outburst, but I believe it’s relevant and worth discussing.

              To return to the subject at hand: combat. Faster paced than Dragon Age Origins, Dragon Age 2 uses snappy auto-attack animations and flashy lighting effects to achieve dramatic combat encounters. Left clicking an enemy will cause a character to auto-attack them until one of their abilities is activated. Whoever the player is controlling will not use their tactics system, and instead, the player will have to trigger their abilities by mapping them to the number buttons or by selecting them manually. Once used, each will be unusable for a short period while it cools down. Luckily, the player will soon have plenty to choose from, and it will be the extent of their stamina/mana pool that limits them. It costs either stamina or mana to use any ability, and in long battles, the reserves will quickly run down. HP, mana, and stamina all have consumables that can restore them, but they too have cooldowns, which incentivizes resolving combats quickly.

              Combat becomes the core gameplay mechanism, as due to the small map sizes, both exploration and puzzle solving aspects become minimal. Each chapter has a strong core story, and most of the companion quests are also strong and add plenty of depth to the off-time. Unfortunately, most of the game’s other side quests don’t hold up. Many of them are simple fetch and/or slay quests in the same repetitive environments, fighting the same enemy types. It’s really obvious padding, and the game didn’t need it. Maybe without it, the game would’ve been significantly shorter, but that may well have been a good thing for those exasperated with Dragon Age 2.

              This game is deeply flawed but not inherently bad. Where it really stumbled was not meeting fan’s high expectations of a follow up to Dragon Age Origins. Bioware shot themselves in the foot three times over on this one with the short development time, changing the scope, and changing the core feel of this game. While set in the same world, with the same gameplay, and the same core themes, Dragon Age 2 doesn’t feel like Dragon Age Origins and that disappointed a lot of people. I think the story and the characters, my favorite grouping in any Bioware game, is more than worth those changes. Not everyone does. I wholeheartedly insist that Dragon Age 2 is worth at least one play. Trust me. Though the game itself doesn’t always play like a triple A title, there’s something so alive and so endearing about these characters that they’re not worth missing over some clunky mechanics.

 The Exiled Prince (🆗): I really want to like this DLC, or more accurately, this new party member. Sebastian Vael is an archer, priest and former prince of a nearby city-state that has recently suffered a coup that eliminated his whole family, save him. His character, focusing on both the politics of the Free Marches and the point of view of a devotee to the dominant religion, feels like it fills a niche in the party. Likewise, it’s nice that he also adds a new romance option for a female Hawke. Yet, despite these things, Sebastian doesn’t feel as fully realized as the other characters. He’ll often refuse to go on story-missions, presumably because he wasn’t written into them, and also seems to have fewer or less interesting party-banter than other companions. The idea for the Exiled Prince was good but, unlike the DLC character Shale from Dragon Age Origins, Sebastian doesn’t slide into the story and instead remains something of an outsider.

Legacy (👍🏻): This is the best DLC that came out for Dragon Age 2 by a long shot. Its story actually contributes to the world-building and advances the overall plot of the Dragon Age world. Perhaps too much, some have said, because the villain introduced solely in this DLC becomes the main antagonist of Dragon Age Inquisition. That aside, however, the Legacy DLC provides much-wanted expansion on the story of Hawke’s dead father and a chance to reconnect with any surviving Hawke siblings after they’ve parted ways. It’s also long, has some decent but not punishing puzzles, and a solid, twisting and turning story.

Mark of The Assassin (🆗): Considering the most major selling point for this DLC was the fact that nerd-show-staple actress Felicia Day lent her voice and likeness to it, I wasn’t expecting much from Mark of the Assassin. To its credit, it’s more fun and meatier than expected. The basic premise is that Hawke gets talked into going on a jewel heist at a high society party in the French-themed empire of Orlais. The only thing of consequence that occurs is some expansion of the Qunari belief system, which makes this DLC entirely skippable. Especially because an eye-roll inducing stealth system and a story that encourages you to miss the best rewards for the mission all conspire to make the DLC occasionally irritating despite fun combats and some truly funny gags and side quests.