#new pc has me lacking some stuff

[verdemoth]

And the last of my Flondon PCs, making her tumblr debut, my guy Dr. Narramore! Lucy to his friends. He's a freak and he sucks <3 she exists because I did want to experience the Seeking storyline but I'd never put Mel or Knoll through all that. So, Ulysses is designed to be locked in the torment nexus and experience the horrors and she can only get worse from here! But actually I'm yet to get to any of the Seeking stuff since I haven't been super focused on building up his account yet.

He's also an excuse to explore the Great Game content, and that gives me some direction to take his character. Speaking of characters, Darling Lark (mentioned on this sheet) belongs to my friend @skies-seas ! Also a character belonging to Sky is the one and only person in the world who Ulysses considers indispensable: childhood friend and mad scientist Rajendra Narod, also a Seeking PC who Sky made so we can do our favourite activity of making Fucked Up Guys together <3 <3 <3

Also yeah Horticulture Hell! I was brainstorming what my Seeking character should be like for months in advance, and I had the idea that instead of going through New-Newgate he'd start off in a different Menace location (fucking dying lol). Then Horticulture Hell happened and the idea of being new to the Neath while all that was going on was so funny to me, so that's when I made the account :]

i have some more notes on his character than I can share, but I'll do so in a reblog probably so this isn't TOO long. Transcripts to follow under the readmore

Text Transcripts:

In the top left are some quick details. Lucy's full name and title is Doctor Ulysses B. Narramore. In the style of other Fallen London characters, Lucy's epithet is 'the Mercurial Pawn'. Lucy uses both she/her and he/him pronouns interchangeably, he's 31 years old and 5 feet 8 inches tall. She resides in a handsome townhouse around Ladybones Road. Her profession is as a physician but she's also a spy in the making, and the faction she's closest to is The Great Game.

Next to these are some notable player attributes. Of the main attributes, Lucy has high Persuasive and Dangerous, but low Watchful. Of the quirks, she has high Ruthless, Heartless, Forceful, and Subtle, but low Magnanimous and Steadfast. He also has another notable quality: that he's Seeking the Name.

In the top right is this note: "Ulysses wasn't (knowingly) a Player in the Great Game before arriving in the Neath. He was inducted by a woman named Darling Lark, operator of a local speakeasy and go-between for spy and criminal activities."

Paired with the art of Lucy covered in blood are these notes: "Though lacking in training, discipline, and real practical experience, Lucy is a formidably aggressive foe. He doesn't fight gracefully and he doesn't fight fair. She won't shy away from blood, and isn't above kicking someone who's already down. ...He might be a bit too into bloodshed. The cane is also for stability, Ulysses has been having weak spells with a bit of a fall risk. But mostly it's a convenient, socially acceptable way to have a good bludgeoning weapon on hand."

With the last illustration of Lucy climbing from a well are these notes: "It is the case that many new residents of London come by way of New-Newgate, but Lucy's arrival was rather more dramatic. Amidst what is occasionally, by some individuals, still referred to as the London Horticultural Show, he found himself tumbling into the Neath through a weak bit of roof. She died, of course, and was in for quite the shock when she'd recovered."

End of text transcripts.

[propertyofwhitney67]

One thing that kills me a little about dols writing is how the characters (especially the LIs) are kind of being left behind in the wake of game play gimmicks (that seem fun until you realize they're just a grind) and supernatural lore (that doesn't even directly tie into any of the LIs).

For example, cooking could have been a fun inclusion in the game, but its a real slog to get through and it doesn't actually progress any of the storylines or lead to really fun scenes with the love interests. Like, cooking could be tied into the cafe, or certain ingredients could be used in a food play context, or utilize cooking for dates with the LIs, because right now cooking is extremely under-developed (which is deserving of criticism imo. If the game or story aspect of a new mechanic isn't finished it probably shouldn't be pushed out, because there's no guarantee that any of the developers will actually get around to doing anything with it in the future).

Some of the lore is cool, but it isn't very well integrated with the characters. With the snake painting and the multi-ending gimmick it could have been a fun quest for the PC to discover new endings by talking to other characters. Like, maybe Winter knows one ending, but Sydney (or Jordan) has heard another, and Avery/Remy/Wren know another version of the events, so you get to learn more about the world while also learning about a character and their thoughts on the painting. Admittedly, I don't really care that much about the temple, but I attribute that to the writing not doing a great job at tying the temple into... anything, really lmao

The lack of dates and holiday events with the LIs is something I also find frustrating. Maybe it's just me, but doing Christmas and Valentine's events with all of the love interests seems like a really easy thing to plan for, and they're events that feel meaty enough that most people would be okay with getting a few big events like that every year. Not to mention you could have events that delve into lore while also focusing on LIs. The temple follows a made up pseudo pagan religion. Throw in festivals for the summer and winter solstices. Make a harvest festival that involves the PC and Alex needing to do something.

Somehow dol just feels like an incredibly strange game when I actually think about it. The LIs don't feel fleshed out enough for an actual dating sim adjacent game, but the lore isn't consistent enough for the game to be focused on that either (like what even is the island? why is it tribal? why not have it take vague inspiration from more Celtic mythology or English folklore instead, because the island just feels really gross the way it exists now).

The cooking def needs work, a lot of work. It takes so fucking long to get recipes to even make a fucking meal, they really gotta come up with a better way of doing the cooking. Like you said using it for dates and stuff would be really cool, there also needs to be more variety in scenes when you do give them food bc it's the same shit every time. I agree, if it isn't finished don't put it out. You can hint at it or even openly talk about it but don't give us halfassed shit.

Some of the lore is quite interesting and I used to be obsessed with it, all the things Winter would tell you about the antiques is cool. But now it just feels off? Idk there's just something different, it might be the writing.

We do need more dates and holidays, like what do you mean I can't give other LI's Christmas gifts? Why is Eden the only one with a valentines event? I also really love your idea of those events, they would be so cool. It really shouldn't be hard to implement more events, like sure it'll take a bit to write everything but I'm more than willing to wait for actually good content. I'm willing to wait months if it means the writing is better, just please.

There's some inconsistencies and things that have just been completely changed and/or removed. The characters genuinely need to be fleshed out and I say this with my whole fucking chest, do fucking better devs and writers

The island is fucking awful and kinda hella racist if you really think about it. It needs a whole rework or just be removed bc it serves no purpose aside from like 4 artifacts and a temple quest.

[the-scrapyard]

Heyy, what packs would you reccomend the most for the sims, like your favorite ones?

oh boy this is a long one, strap in. i like a lot of different packs for a lot of different reasons, so i added some notes!

expansions:

city living (apartments, neighbor system is fun) cats and dogs (self-explanatory + i LOVE brindleton bay) seasons!!! (calendar system + scouts + weather = love of my life) cottage living (henford-on-bagley is BEAUTIFUL and the gameplay is so nice if you prefer something slower but equally as chaotic) growing together (essential to my gameplay + stay overs alone are such a cool feature + san sequoia my goat) for rent (love the rental system i can't live without it but DO NOT GET IT until they fix the broken saves issue!) life and death (ravenwood is gorg, if you play with occults this is an incredible pack to add to your game) businesses and hobbies (you can make a business out of virtually anything. it's so sims 3 ambitions coded)

game packs:

outdoor retreat (i'm a big camping fan and i love sending my sims on vacations) dine out (i can't function without this one. the restaurants are so buggy but i love it regardless) parenthood!!! (again, essential to gameplay if you play with families!)

stuff packs:

spooky stuff (great if you want an add-on to seasons, otherwise it's just cute for makeshift seasonal decorating!) kids room (all the items in this pack are SO CUTE and i love the voidcritter battle station) laundry day (I LOVE DOING LAUNDRY + great if you like ur sims doing menial tasks) paranormal (incredible build/buy, the haunted house system is so cool, reminds me of ts3 supernatural so +10 points for that) home chef hustle (honestly not crazy good, but i do like the new appliances and the food stands)

kits:

bust the dust (vacuuming yay! the dust system is so cute) little campers (another children + toddler kit that comes with super cute objects. the dollhouse WILL be used in every build) everyday clutter (self-explanatory + i love clutter) bathroom clutter (again, self-explanatory. also i love clutter!) basements treasures (this kit calls to me from my pc like the green goblin mask + have i told you i love clutter) greenhouse haven (great if you like gardening + the windows and doors are so so so good if you like making screened in porches) grunge revival (great if your game is lacking darker, grungier clothes!) urban homage (SO good. has a mix of cultural items + classic pieces, the overalls + jerseys + basketball shorts go triple platinum in my game) party essentials (well it is called party ESSENTIALS... so if you plan events often this is the one for you) artist studio (love the objects that come with this one and it's very useful if you tend to have artistically inclined sims!) restoration workshop (just did a live overview of this + the two other kits that came out with it on youtube so if you want a closer look at the objects check it out!!! but i LOVE the little restore feature and the appliances and objects are so good for older homes + garages!) kitchen clutter (yet another clutter kit... can you guess what i'm gonna say) golden years (if you play with elders this kit is SO GOOD. even if you don't play with elders, a lot of the items are super versatile and work for sims of other ages!)

creator kits:

sweet slumber party (the items in this are so cute i would buy it 60 times over) cozy kitsch (myshunosun is one of my all-time favorite creators and this kit is so versatile) comfy gamer (simsie outdid herself because this kit is one of my all time favs. the objects speak to a very niche part of the gaming community i love them)

[badvgopinions]

I'm not getting a Switch 2 brand new. My main worry isn't the price hikes as much as it's about the possibility of the lack of inclusive titles.

I mean, the hikes are a big reason for it, since I'm uncertain of the economy's future and I'd rather be prepared. But also this has been a trend with their handhelds, anyway. Not so much their consoles, but since the Switch and Switch 2 are both this is a bit of a worry for me.

Lemme explain.

So for just about every single console there has been some major changes that makes it impossible for there NOT to be exclusives, especially since the Wii.

If they wanted to make games that used motion controls they couldn't port the games to the Gamecube. If they wanted to make a game that uses the Wii U Pad they couldn't port them to the Wii, etc. This was barely the case for their handhelds.

There were games made for the Gameboy Color that you could play on the Gameboy. The DSi was basically just a DS with a handful of eShop games. (That I'm pretty sure were on the 3DS later anyway.)

The New 3DS only had a handful of exclusive games that you can't play on the 3DS, and only four of them were physical. (For some of the games on the list includes games that you can play on other platforms, but the New 3DS versions has exclusive features.)

The first major Switch 2 Nintendo Live event mostly focused on the extra stuff you can get for your original Switch games, and like, three exclusives? (MAYBE four if Duskbloods doesn't get ported to the PC later on.)

Plus the PS5 took forever to have any games exclusively made for it. If I bought one I'd have some major buyer's remorse. I felt like I dodged a bullet with that and I feel like I'll be dodging a bullet here, too. (Honestly at this point I'm probably just going to skip right to the PS6 if it's backwards compatible.)

So all of these things made me a bit worried about how many exclusives are actually going to be on the Switch 2, and how many of them I'll even want.

So I'm going to wait. I'll likely buy one (and any game I want) used. (Probably through something like Craigslist.)

[getstickbugdlol]

nuance haters dni

essentially, after doing personal research on this, here's where i stand:

ai is a neutral tool

ai is also more than chatgpt. a lot of the stuff you use on a day to day basis is ai but is NOT a large language learning model like chatgpt

capitalism is the problem

it should stay out of art and any business implementing it to steal from artists or replace labor should explode

it has genuine potential, particularly for accessibility

so many fucking privacy concerns oh my god

environmental effects are not great but have little to do with AI itself as a tool and mostly to do with exacerbations of our preexisting fossil fuel sources and what the AI is being used for. to be clear i'm not saying there's no environmental impact. there is. but it's a bit more complex than what people are envisioning - much the same way people don't think about the plastic in their phones when thinking about waste. there's simply not enough data collected on electricity output yet to run an actual regression, but major concerns are concerns that apply to the entire tech industry. the study most people are quoting when they talk about energy consumption is by alex devries in 2023. most environmental research peformed on LLMs is performed on their training phase and not their output phase, and the results of the output phase largely depend on the model being used. These data are also from 2023, and I'd wager some new data will become available soon. There is this one article that claims ChatGPT uses LESS energy than a google search - I do think this study is a bit biased, but they quote scholarly sources and have peer review. my conclusion here is: we need more data, but if anything, AI only makes me think the pressure and urgency for renewable energy is urgent - if these things were powered on solar or nuclear energy it would be negligible. the water cooling is a closed loop system, so it's the energy being used to cool the water that's a concern. AI is also housed within regular datacenters, it's not like it's a specific AI datacenter.

chatgpt/openAI specifically is concerning due to the lack of. regulation - reminds me of early hollywood days with studios with film monopolies

i used it once or twice to scope it out back when it came out thought it wasnt worth it, i think its lame that students are relying on it and its having negative effects on education but thats also a natural evolution for the ipad baby generation

i think whether or not you use AI largely comes down to a personal moral stance but that "the robots will kill us" is obviously a very prevalent factor in personal panic towards it. i personally don't use it bc it hasn't been very helpful, but i understand why some people would.

if you use it to generate big titty girl art or write books or whatever, PERISH

tl;dr: there are a ton of things that use a ton of energy and are bad for the planet. gaming PCs, for one, use a lot of energy! Certainly not as much as an entire data center, but all our regular google searches and cloud saves are going on in those data centers too, not to mention the environmental impact of mining for the materials that make up our chips, phones, computers, etc. AI illuminates some pressing needs for energy reform, but those aren't related to the nature of AI tools themselves. AI is legitimately concerning in privacy violations and lack of regulation, as well as what the tools are being used for. It should be regulated against quickly in art and education. in a perfect world, AI uses renewable energy to perform tasks that supplement human activity, not replace it

[rollingforchoices]

The implication brought by Ify’s choice to have Vic speak is something I really have been mulling over. And the thoughts @spiralsublime brought on how Paula may change Jack Manhatten really touches on one of the main things I’ve been thinking of.

The characters and the pcs are all on this journey together. Just like the pcs will change from this experience, it makes sense that so would the characters, I really hope they touch on that.

Being the driving force is something they all have in common.

They go out and do stuff, create an empire, stop a terrorist attack, hack into an enemy’s system, you name, rather than quiet support, giving advice, or standing on the sidelines.

But now, these incredibly proactive people, are forced to be in the passenger seat for this journey.

They have to watch someone with a wildly different personality, skillset, and experiences inhabit their space and life, making different choices and approaching the issues and details of their life with brand-new eyes and perspective.

They have to watch this perspective play out.

Vic looking out for the scared, confused teen he saw, whose tossed into the wild life of Vic with no experience, and being unable to take the driver’s seat himself, has to instead be a guide.

G13, a guy whose been said to be “angry as hell”, has to watch over the oldest lady ever, going through his high-speed, high-stress life, tackling issues entirely different (and at times, entirely wrong), who requires patience and calm ("yelling...").

Watching someone inept at technology handle an important issue, while you know how to do it, can be infuriating but watching over this with pride instead of anger. (And also, she keeps insulting him. That’s not the point but I love that choice from Rekha)

Kingskin is going to watch this perfect-height teen girl stumble her way through his tasks. This ruthless guy whose inspired such deep fear in his men, watching a much kinder teen possibly bonding with one of these men, forming bonds of trust with a group.

And, if my reading of Liv isn’t totally off, the dynamic of watching a teen who is this valedictorian that got into Stanford and is seen as someone who can “escape this town”, who might feel a lack of control in her own life, trying to reclaim some power through shoplifting, suddenly in a position of complete power and control.

How it must be to watch Ms. Liv “I guess I feel fantastic” Skyler, Navigating through having actual agency and control in her life for the first time, as someone who’s always been very authoritative as Kingskin.

Maybe even someone as morally bankrupt as Kingskin can end up guiding Liv, in taking reigns of her own life.

Okay, this is already way too long (Alex’s characters always make me have so many thoughts lol), and I didn’t even go into the others, like Dang and Russel have so much going on there, just know that I am going to think obsessively about all of this.

[toxictac]

Welp, took a bit of time but i finished with the drawing (somehow)

Sooo for context i been kinda relapse into fate brainroot, due to 1 finishing fate zero and 2 getting fate go to work in my pc... so i kinda decided why not and with some random generator stuff decided to make and oc

So here she is Silvia Winfree and her servant durga,i think it turn pretty nice but i might do some digitilisation and other stuff with her since i have some ideas for her

Also i am going to yap about this gal for a bit if you excuse me (i spend a day researching stuff of fate and irl i need to put the brainworms somewhere)

So first off, this gal as i said is Silvia (as in nature of forest/ queen of nature) Winfree ("wini" as friend in old german and "free" as in the english word, aka friend of the free), is part of the Winfree family, a the fourth generation of magus family that specialises in astrology, specificly in regards with the magical effects of outside forces of space (like commets, asteroids, moons, ect.)

Originaly the Winfree family was part of the more religiously incline Winfried, a magus german family suspected to be active since the holy roman empire as astrolgoist and clerics. This family while a magus family due to their unique history keep tight ties with the holy church as direct protectors of "the peace of god", helping the church as mercenaries and assasins in service of god However in 1985, the next in line to be the lead of the Winfried family fell in love with a woman outside the creed, this eventually left this man and others like him to migrate to the americas, separing their ties with the Winfried family changing their surname intecionaly to Winfree as mockery of their original family name

The Winfree family established themselfs in Argentina Rio negro, there they begain to take to the land, stablising a very renowned fruit company, mostly known for their apples, in there the new magus family would take a more agnostic desire to undestand the stars and a much more free form view of magus, setting freedom as the paradigm of their philosophy The winfree family due to their previous connections with the holy church had a hard time fitting in the magas associaton, tho due to the fact they posses some of the knownlage of their previous family some menbers were allowed on the clock tower, while not outstanding they did get quite the reputacion for their multiphased spells and their help in research in the astromy deparment, tho due to their belive of "freedom" had mix relations with the menbers in said deparment, despite this over the fourth generations they have become quite the part of the deparment of astrology

Silvia Winfree was born 1984, tecnicly the second in line her brother stand out of his possition (this is normal in the Winfree family due to their general polocies of individualaty and freedom) making her the lead of the house of Winfree, however she always is quite the controversial figure in her family, despite being an execellent magus and her suprising innate talent to simply spells to conjure them faster and accident an early age and a faithfull encounter made her a christian beliver, due to this part of her family while acknolage her capacities despises her due to her religuos affiliations and how they echo old wounds of the separation of the main family Still Silvia has take it in strive, being quite a talented mage and her blatan lack of self awareness socialy has made little to divert for her own goals, taking the mantel of head of family very seriously, going at the age of 16 to the clock tower (even tho she was tecnicly not invited yet, but it didnt matter much to her), since then she study as much as she could trying to perfect her family (and secretly her own) magical abilities

However there is something more to this entusiam, in her faithfull life or death encounter she learned of the holy grail world, unknown to her family she has dedicated herself to learn as much as she can of it, in the ideal of participating in the next holy grail war She belives with the power of the holy grail war she could recrated a litteral bing bang of magical energy, bringing the age of myth back from the past, this is because ,despite respecting the rules of the clock tower, she belives all human should be able to do magic, because to her magic is the means of which one defies their destiny (their *fate* if you will)

While in my mind the Holy grail war she is a part of hasnt happen, she is destine (ironicly), to summon durga which she would have a complicated relation to (a destructor god meets a mortal that wants to defy gods and is intrincly facinated by life, so you know toxic yur-)

Andddddddddd that more or less it, sorry i ramble for like 10 years, i need it to get out of my system

[zeondraws]

Notes, to remember

- I need to flesh out the environment from Nightfall AU that the crewmembers walk around in before establishing something in drawings. Might as well continue writing more until I can start drawing more.

- I have big urges (the urges are very big) to focus on the analysis vid, maybe I can insert fandom inside jokes. I need to wait for artbook thooo

- Make a video about External Resources Unused files and DLG Temp files

- Remember to make a timeline for the lore, by using the clocks ingame. And research when the sun goes down in this region irl

- Make fmodel tutorial thingy, or do I make a video so I can practice speaking more.

- Work on paintings, but go back to comfort zone if it's too scary for me. And then try again when I have energy

- Work on mod in January? Or will the Unused soundfiles use up my time. This ties together with figuring out UE5, I also need to give realistic Roper his ingame clothes. Once he is perfect I can try to recreate the other characters. Do I need to bake Roper's model? Or how do I get his EXACT ingame model? How do I recreate the steps.

Realistic Roper is too small when imported into Blender, multiple versions of his model appear and skeletal mesh is not where it is supposed to be. This is prolly because I am a newbie in this stuff

- The metahumans all lack 12 bones in their skeletal mesh in blender. I can't import their animations. Remember to ask friend who knows blender, otherwise find some way to fix

- Put umodel and that other program on my pc, I have both on laptop but then often forget about it. Other program helps me directly search for any file, is why I found out about CazYeet filename. I forgor name of program but I'll remember when I check again.

- People in the MW community are able to pose character inside the environments. Why is SWTD difficult to recreate this. Other UE games work better? Or maybe people just have more knowledge than me.

- How to I give Caz his head back

- Please remember to play game in all 3 versions because the toilet room you enter from crew lounge has a slight change in 1.4. One of the Toilet stall walls is GONE. It was there in 1.3, someone from the TCR team did this tiny change, what do I do with this information.

- Scooby noted the food (peas) textures in canteen changed, I need to check when I have the energy. Which means there must be a lot of tiny changes in ver 1.4

I usually can't sleep well when it's my birthday, takes a few hours to get tired, so I figured I'll write down some "To-Dos" It's quite overwhelming how much it is.. I have a full time job so it's always like, how much of my free time can I use before I usually end up too tired on one day. (My new job is also very fun so I am like, oooohh, so excited about job and hobby but I only have so much energy)

I think I'll go to the cinema today, hhmmm

Okay I am finally tired enough, I'm listening someone in a monotone voice talk about spongebob lore for 2h.

[jasper-unofficial]

for the game - phum 🤲

you said i should do all of them, which is insane, but also thank you weeeee ✨🫶

i'm gonna put the headcanons under the cut though, y'all can send asks with other characters (& emojis) from here

🏳️‍🌈 a sexuality headcanon

i personally definitely headcanon him as gay.

🏳️‍⚧️ a gender headcanon

a good ol' cis boy.

😇 a headcanon about their religion/lack thereof

hmmm... i'd imagine he's probably not religious, because he was shipped off from thailand at a really early age, and no one was socialising him and really involving him in the culture oversees either, so religion probably just kind of naturally passed him by. at this stage, i also can't imagine when he would discover it later in life on his own either.

🧸 a headcanon about their childhood

well 💀 horrors beyond our comprehension, basically. tbh, we know quite a bit about it, but just to solidify, i think 1) his parents and oldest brother genuinely never called to talk to him; 2) fang did call almost every day, but it got to this slightly weird juxtaposition of like "oh, you're calling me, but then if i start complaining about the horrific situation i'm in, you shut me down", so it wasn't Great, 3) the distant relatives he lived with did not care about him at all, it was truly unimaginable levels of neglect; 4) he had zero friends and the "i cried every day" thing was not an exaggeration.

👻 a headcanon about what scares them

well, we know about heights. for some reason, i also think darkness. that's if we're talking specifically classic fears. if we're talking more psychological - definitely fear of rejection and abandonment.

👽 a headcanon about a weird quirk of theirs

i do not think he sleeps with his plushies, that's not really their function. they are a comfort item during the day and also just a special interest on their own, as a collection.

💤 a headcanon about their sleep

i actually think he has a really hard time falling asleep, specifically because he isn't used to feeling safe, and that's also why he wakes up at the smallest sound.

🦾 a disability headcanon

autism in the biggest boldest letters.

💝 a headcanon about their love language

i'm gonna be honest, it's all of them equally. he is very acts of service, he starts driving peem around everywhere almost right away, he exchanges food with both peem and fang, so they wouldn't eat what they don't like. crossing over into gift-giving as well, he bought peem a bunch of seafood even though he doesn't eat it because they were at sea and peem would have wanted to eat it, he buys peem stuff all the time tbh, he pays for toey as well. quality time is also up there - he follows peem around everywhere and doesn't mind just sitting there in silence while peem works on his art. physical touch, of course, he can't stop touching and kissing peem. finally, words of affirmation, he is really good at compliments and just talking about how much he loves spending time with his friends etc. like i always say, his heart is the size of a skyscraper, and he has so much love to give.

🫂 a friendship headcanon

he still has a really hard time making friends and i think it will take him a long time to actually start hanging out with his new friends from peem's friend group separately and not when everyone is invited.

💔 an angsty headcanon

his self-worth is incredibly shakey, it's truly like a game of tumble tower, when you can see that it's gonna fall on the next player's turn. and i think that, though it will get better, especially if the family thing is resolved correctly, it will genuinely take decades to deal with it fully.

🪢 a headcanon about their family

his parents are gonna get hit by a bus that will be driven by someone who looks suspiciously like me :)

📓 a headcanon about their hobbies

i think he definitely has a hobby that involves a lot of reality-escaping. probably not video games, because i can't remember seeing a good pc/console at his apartment. i am leaning more towards books and/or movies/series, something like that.

👗 a headcanon about their clothes

he does not really care about fashion rip 😔

🔪 a headcanon relating to fighting/violence

unlike fang, i actually don't think he was ever that big into it. he ended up in a couple of fights anyway, because of fang, but he himself is very 👉👈

🌟 a headcanon about their desires/wishes

i think he wants kids, but is afraid he is going to make a terrible father, because he hasn't really had any good examples of parenting throughout his childhood.

🥇 a headcanon about what they’re best at

perhaps a slightly weird answer to a question that's probably leaning more towards skills and achievements, but i'm gonna say taking care of people. he is very attentive and loving, he is genuinely just incredibly good at the small gestures and remembering things about other people and giving the right gifts and saying the right thing at the right time, etc. etc.

🍫 a headcanon about food

he eats a very limited amount of food, which is also why fang can only cook spaghetti - he learned to cook it specifically for phum, and phum just kept asking for the same thing every day. i wouldn't be surprised, if he isn't actually allergic to seafood as well, but just says that, because it's easier than explaining that he eats exactly seven foods and nothing else.

🎭 a headcanon about what they lie about

his exact feelings about his parents. i think he's been shamed a lot for feeling the way he does towards them, so he keeps making things up and skirting around the conversation, so he wouldn't have to directly say "i do not want to see them anymore".

❤️‍🔥 a romantic headcanon

he is extremely romantic in my opinion. i think he believes in soulmateism and true love and the whole shebang. i think he watches lots of romcoms and has probably seen every mlm storyline in existence, dreaming of his own gay little relationship. he has all the proper romantic gestures down to a fine art too, obviously.

💄 an appearance headcanon

yes, he did dye his hair that shade of brown to look more like a teddy bear. slash srs

🖕 a headcanon relating to anger

anger is his mortal enemy. he has a lot of it pent up inside (understandably so), but he thinks it's a very ugly feeling he is "not supposed to feel", so he suppresses it. whenever he feels angry, he just kind of goes inside his shell and leaves the situation.

😺 an animal related headcanon

he is a cat person (hence, peem).

😬 a headcanon about the worst thing they’ve done

straight up the agreement he made with peem at the beginning.

😭 a headcanon about the worst thing that happened to them

being abandoned by his parents at five years old.

😶 a random headcanon!

he isn't as close to toey as he'd like to be, because he is 1) autistic and 2) not particularly well-socialised, so he has a hard time really understanding what social rules to follow for their particular relationship. in his head, he definitely considers toey his younger brother and would absolutely just spoil him rotten and hang out with him a lot, but not a lot of that gets actualised in reality, because he's a little afraid of making any sudden big moves or actively saying that he feels about toey the same way fang feels about him.

[xandezsims]

Sims 4 Castle Estate Kit: An Honest Review

Xan here. I do a fair amount of historical builds, fortresses and castles included—but having to hand-draw parapets as half-walls, the lack of appropriate windows, and the mismatched wall textures regularly drive me up the wall. So when I heard they were releasing the castle kit, I was hype. But, then it came out, and the collective response online seemed to be an overwhelming ‘meh’. Still, I’m committed now, so I bought it to check it out.

And I sort of agree? But I also…don’t. Stay with me, I’ll explain.

First of all, here’s what you get with the kit: 25 items: 1 wallpaper, 1 floor, a foundation, 2 fences, stairs, railing, pillars, 2 wall trims, spandrel, and 2 wall decors, plus windows and doors.

…I have a few observations.

Let’s start with the worst bits:

The Bad:

The swatches are…underwhelming. There are seven, five with variations. The white and black are standalone. The tan (left) and cream (right) are almost identical in some lighting. There’s also one tan swatch with greenery on it, not seen elsewhere. (It has flowers. Why would there be flowers on a castle wall? Maybe that’s just me.) Rest assured, it matches nothing else in the game but the floor that came with it. The brown is…very brown—but there’s a good thing about it, I’ll get there.

So. The spandrels. They look okay up-close, if a little jagged sometimes. But the jaggedness blooms like mold when you zoom out. (At least on my PC.) Probably not using these.

We did get a new foundation, though it doesn’t quite seem to match the walls, due to the light border. Unfortunately, as usual, we did not get a new platform to match it. It’s like EA forgot that feature…

Nitpick with the wall emblem we got: the “clean” swatches are the knight helmet, and the “dirty” ones are a goofy heraldry. No option to have clean heraldry or dirty knight helmet. Also, note that the black and white come with dirty swatches, but we didn’t get dirty walls.

And this is really petty, but these beautiful windows? These ones, here?

Only come with two—count ‘em, two—stained glass swatches, in either gray or tan. That’s all you get. So that black cathedral with stained glass windows you wanted? You’re out of luck. Not fond of the art either. It’s cute, but that means I won’t use it. (Sidenote: that tiny window is not 'an arrow slit', EA.)

That was a lot. Now let’s get to:

The Good:

The windows and doors themselves are amazing. Just look at them! They’re appropriately grand for a castle, and they included sizes for all wall-heights. The best ones are locked to the tallest wall, but for a reason. They’re enormous. Probably the biggest ones we got.

The crenelation fence is a Godsend. (No more drawing half-walls for hours!) It’s adaptive, meaning it changes where the bigger support is based on how long the fence is, where it’s bent, etc. And it looks phenomenal. The wall trims are ornamental as hell, but they are also very cool.

Fun bonus: despite the stereotype regarding EA swatches not matching, the stone textures do sort of match some of the walls we already have! (Shown: Get Together, Bowling Stuff, Fitness Stuff, Jungle Adventure, Cottage Living; Castle Estate walls at the bottom.) This means you can mix and match the new trims, parapets, pillars, windows, doors, all of it, to a degree. And it works pretty well!

Final Verdict: Is it Worth it?

So, when I first got it, I wasn’t super sold. Then, I ran a test on a build I was struggling with and…well, you saw the cover. Needless to say, for five dollars, that’s not bad.

If you’re a historical builder or just really want some grand objects to use, it’s worth the money. There are issues, and the low price tag doesn’t excuse that, but it doesn’t change the fact that the Kit itself is pretty good.

(Now all I need is for them to give us a privy. If you live in a castle, you shouldn’t have to pee in a bush.)

[iwitch-plus]

Heya :) it's been a while!

Hi, my name is Dolly (she/her) and I've had this blog for quite some time! In the past I've done things like open up free readings, or create discord servers as a way to feel a sense of community, but this time around I think I'm okay with just being here instead of seeking attention and validation. A new era of this blog marks my first steps toward ACTUAL self-discovery and growth.

This was initially a side blog but now it's the main one I use. But since it's technically a side blog, if you see any likes/follows from @ibitch-plus that's me lol!

I just thought I'd make a pinned post sharing a little about myself, and I'll try to keep it brief but I'm bad at that.

The direction this blog is going to be going is ideally going to be personal, intimate, focused on my own growth as a person, and focused on my growth in my practice. I plan on being vulnerable and fairly open but not to the point where it's a burden on followers. I just want this to become a safe space for myself and others to share if they have been feeling like they're lacking in personal growth/their practice. You're not alone! And you're welcome to follow me and join me on my journey to help inspire your own journey!

I'm 23, I'm a Virgo sun, Gemini moon, Gemini rising, and I have an air dominant chart with a Gemini stellium!

I started researching and learning about Witchcraft in 2014/2015, so I guess I’ve been practicing on and off for 8-ish years. Still feel like a baby witch though, and ready to keep learning.

While I do love witchy aesthetics, my witchy blog has always been more dedicated to research, resources, and text posts along with my own personal photos, anecdotes, spells, and journey.

My witchy interests include:

Tarot

Herbalism

Botany

Kitchen Witchery

Astrology

The Moon

Sigils

Glamour Magic

Low effort Witchcraft

Natural products (making my own salves, tinctures, balms, etc!)

Aphrodite

All Greek pantheon, honestly

Spirits/Entities/Demons/Deities of all kinds

Crystals

Pendulums, and most other forms of divination

Mixology

Probably so many more but I can't think of any more specific ones!

My non witchy interests include:

Video games! Mostly Nintendo Switch gaming and cozy games but I play a lot of stuff on PC and some on other consoles, too!

Cartoons! Kids cartoons, adult cartoons, anime. I just like it better when it doesn't have real people in it. I love Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, recently been into Bob's Burgers, I'm just a big cartoon fan!

Cats! I have 2 boy kitties, a little black one and a big ol' orange dude. They're my favorite, and I love pretty much all cats in general.

Piercings and tattoos! I work in a tattoo shop, currently working on my piercing apprenticeship!

Mixology! Again, lol! I find the art of making and creating cocktails to be very witchy, but also just super fun in non-witchy ways.

Fashion! I love clothes and shoes, and I can never stick to one aesthetic

Pool! Like, as in billiards! Super random but it's fun and I've gotten a lot better over the past couple years!

Pretty much any hobby ever! Soap making, candle making, baking, embroidery, hand sewing, cosmetic making, jewelry making, singing, makeup, playing instruments, I just love to do it all.

Okay that's enough about me, like I said I'm bad at keeping it brief but there ya go! Can't wait to get back into the community. <3

[theghostwithin5591]

Rutger Hauer Talks About Batman Begins

March 30th 2004

Rutger Hauer who is in London working on Batman Begins has an interesting daily post about his work in this film. Read on, here is what he says. I am staying in the London hotel that I really like. Apartment hotel. Service is great. They know our biz. Some of you may recall my bathtub adventures. The living room is like a home. This time I have one at street level and it's almost like as if I lived here. Classy decorations and furniture. The cables, connections & plugs have been sorted out. Stuff's organized. I spent days to clean up the pc as well. Later at night I get company. Walt D would have enjoyed. Along the edge of the carpet is a mouse who's checking out the new tenant. After having taken a good look Minnie/Mickey does a quick 180° and disappears. I'm wondering what pissed her/him off but over the next three days I get other encounters. Just like this. Show up, look, think and gone. Maybe he's on his way to the kitchen. But that's one lower floor. All week the hours were spent in the excited "acting the part" fashion last few days. The cameo has a good solid structure but lacks character and I was able to drift to a horizon I saw in the back of my head because the director pushed me to explore and go there. Which is always exciting & scary. Exciting because you are allowed to go there and scary because your are not that secure. I found the "key" to my position/part at the end of the second day. That is so great as well. It's one of the things I enjoy with vigour. "The key" is all you need, after that it is about balance and refinement. Big, sensational grand sets. Moody, art deco, impressive. Art department worked miracles for the great visual richness. Had some smirkyness going with Christian Bale. We have one big problem that occurs. Noise. It interferes. It seems to be coming from a natural cause and I'm not talking about rain/hail/or broken limbs. We are inside. On the studio sound stage in Shepperton. It's a beautiful day outside. About to become spring here. That's what it is. We'd try shooting with the noise but the sound department has problems. It's too loud. Seems to come from high up somewhere. Stage-hands climb up to the ceiling, between cables, lights and set-pieces. I turns out that way above us, under the same roof, pigeons are having a little foreplay. This can stretch into days as thousands of dollars keep "flying" away. One of the boys figures that a blast of the loud heaters may bring a momentary halt in "lovers lane". At least long enough to get a few takes! We try and finally we get what we need in the can. The pigeons may have heard the producers prayers. When I go to bed, exhausted, that night and have shut off the lights there is a new noise in the room. How to describe it. Not like the pigeons. More like champagne corks in a boxing match. X rated. I figure it out. It's almost spring. Minnie and Mickey have decided that my bedroom is the best place to make more mice. I won't tell anyone. Not. Now I have a few weeks off....

[spidine]

Brighter Shores: Early Thoughts

I've put about 10 hours into brighter shores now. I've gotten far enough into the second area that i've unlocked a faction (hammermage) and with the amount of time I have currently available to me I don't expect to put much more than casual dabbles into it but I think I get the idea of what it's overall image would be.

Brighter Shores is definitely in the same family as runescape but i think it uses those mechanics to make something that feels more like a late web 2.0 mmorpg than a graphicMUD. The way screens work is reminiscent of maplestory or aqworlds, but the activities you do are more reminiscent of runescape. So let me just get some thoughts out of the way by answering some basic questions:

Is it worth playing?

For the most part, I think so! The writing is well enough and the gameplay is very chill. The membership is also a very fair $5 so it's not a big monetary investment.

How does it compare to runescape?

It is even more of an idle game than runescape. It might not seem so at first glance with all the clicking but once you get into the game it becomes clear a lot of the skilling systems are grinds are grinding's sake and there even activity your character can do while you're logged out. The fact all your health comes back between fights and the lack of inventory management/prayers leads me to believe this game will never have stuff like raids or pvp, this game is very much a mobile mmo (even if it's only on pc right now). Shifting my perspective on this game from a runescape successsor to a runescape inspired mmo experience for touch screens really improved my view of it. I think your mom would probably love Brighter Shores, I can very clearly see her tapping away at it on her ipad at work.

Brighter shores seeks to emulate early game runescape/early mmo chill vibes exclusively and i think it has a lot of value in that.

What's up with the episodic combat skills???!

It's just a different way of displaying the progression you always have to do in mmo's. It's a way of letting you do zones adjacently in a way where they'll both be compelling. Is regearing for a new area a bit tedious? a little. But really it doesn't feel any different from going to a new zone/expansion in an mmo and needing to gear up/fight basic ass dudes again for a bit.

It's clear Andrew Gower likes low level mmo play more than max level play and built this system to prolong that state of play. I think any ludonarrative dissonance it causes is totally excusable for the amount of gameplay it provides.

I mean, we play these games because deep down we enjoy the grind, why not present a system that makes it easier to expand on that?

What's actually bad about it?

The tight corridor maps are sort of a slog to move through. Catching enemy aggro and needing to escape feels weird, like not a bad idea really but the way it physically feels is like... ugly. Needing two clicks to do everything is.... annoying.

The game world doesn't really breath either. While i don't mind the episode specific skills there's just a feeling of disconnect between everything. It feels like a modern mmo in that way.

What's good about it?

I love the look of it. the diorama look of the world is very pleasing. even if the gear/enemies so far don't look that interesting moving around scenes and seeing the town has a pleasing feel.

What would I change?

I don't think I'd change anything. This is clearly fitting the vision of a small team and i think the way's it's wonky/different will help it stand out and fit in better with older audiences who like slower games.

But having a one click to attack/fish/forage/etc would be highly appreciated.

Will I keep playing it?

probably nooooot? I just love the big, interconnected feel of runescape's world. I think if this came to mobile i could see it being something i poke at in my downtime at work but it's not really an immersive experience, it's an experience for people who love to watch number go up. If that's the only reason you played runescape this might be for you!

[hollowspaced]

It's not cold but it's still my fav season, and with Life & Death and Agatha All Along I'm excited for once. Strange. And after a sad summer's end. My computer glitched, fried my hard drives, and I lost everything: my sims, my cc, my work, my mind. Anyways, it's been a time for sure, back to Sims.

EPs are back? New dance, new pet, new book type, new aspiration, two careers: active and rabbithole, meaningful life and death journeys, new skill, new side hustle (? maybe two), classic sim lore, new collectable and traits, cemeteries and crypts, funerals and condolences, wills and inheritance, good grief system, heirlooms, ghost occult update, interactive world with new quest townies (?), hidden lot (?), reincarnation, and there's more!?! This pack is fat af (as it should be) and they've been teasing it for years! I'm so ready for Halloween.

As per usual, thoughts and rant!:

Love the Romanian World, can't wait to update my SimNation map! I just wish the world name reflected it's inspiration.

With wills and inheritance, will someone related always read it or will it be a lawyer townie (possibly from DU?) I can't wait to learn the process of setting one up, filling it, and retrieving it.

The house/portal, reminds me of Grim's Manor from S3, will this be headquarters for the active career?

How did the ghost child die, and any relation to Temperance?

With rebirth, how long will the "special ties" connect families? 2 gens? 3? 5?

Will the crypts cull gravestones in the worlds? [My biggest annoyance was always going to a random house and finding like 6 gravestones]

Will sims finally stop going into despair at random stranger's death?

Can I charge for tarot readings? Can I use the cards on the seance table from Paranormal Stuff?

If I'm a spellcaster, can I summon a murder to my enemies?

Will the pet crow actually operate like a pet? Needing to be feed? How many crows can I have? Will multiple crows interact?

Kissing a ghost, okay... but woohoo? Ghost baby?

Nervous and Olive either better be townies or be on the Gallery!

Will the wreaths be craftable on flower arranging table? [not really holding out for this as they didn't add the flowers from Lovestruck to the table]

Is the music box a hint? Also will it be craftable on woodworking table [they really forget about this thing, but with the new kit maybe it crossed their minds?]

If you die with an atrocious reputation will you automatically go up a tier on the poltergeist track?

If you record yourself while a haunting is happening with a drone, could there be a new video type?

Will there be funeral activities custom to occults?

Probably won't be an option but the option to send the ashes off to become a diamond/jewelry piece or "seed" to plant would've been *chef's kiss*

There isn't much to this rant because imo the team actually did really good for once. And some of the things I want from the pack are so nuanced they're grains of sand. This beats all sims packs hands down and not just because I'm goth. It has something for family players, challenge players, and occult players like any good EP should... and makes Lovestruck look really weak in comparison. It just came out!

I'm a bit disappointed by the lack of zodiac signs but not only is that what mods are for [since I'm fortunate enough to have fixed my PC] but also many more years of the Sims so maybe one day. Spooky/Metaphysical content can always be added - zodiac signs +. horoscopes, oneirology, taxidermy, reiki, haunted woods, spiders, return of "watchers", and covens [ie group spells]. I'm actually happy they went down the rebirth route instead of juggling the politics of good/bad place gameplay [which they could still do in the future if they're brave enough or desperate enough for content].

Also still waiting for Fairies [and Zombies].

Gameplay Trailer Update:

Love, love, love this pack! It's massive on BB and CAS alone. The build/buy hits nearly every category. The CAS has items for nearly all ages (idk if I saw anything for infants). I can't think of a single pack that even comes close to being that full.

The world is good. 14 lots (I thought they'd hide the netherworld/headquarters away but it's just on the map... but thinking about it, makes sense, I believe they characterized the world as a place where life and death intermingle) and I hope that bell tower rings when in that neighborhood!

There is a lawyer townie/npc... kinda bummer that it'll probably have no DU compatibility but I'll live. I wonder if it's tied to the event or the desk? Can I move them indoors?

Still have questions about the tarot - there was a suspicious tent setup in the trailer - can I hire a tarot reader? Can I randomly go get a reading? Will this effect me?

Yes to Woohoo and Have a baby with Grim! .... but ghosts?

Ghost powers look amazing, but not deadly? The evil ghost looks mildly inconvenient at best.

Was that a new craftable planter, or have I just not even looked at the woodworking table in forever?

Coffin woohoo being for humans, makes me wonder if the new coffins will be usable for vampires?

What was with that extra hexagon in CAS? New category? If we ever get zodiac, I wonder if that's how they'll implement it?

All my spooky CC gravestones/urns, plz be an easy update/batchfix!

I hope the soul's journey isn't too easy and I have questions about being reborn into a household (do they know me? Is this like Billy/Willam situation in the Sims?)

The will being in the inventory; can I store it in a chest and hide it in the attic to be discovered when the sim dies... or is it stuck there?

8 humans graves + 6 for the occults (whomp whomp plantsims), what about the Snowy Escape one? And the debug ones? Is this officially more graves than umbrellas?

Are the skeleton hands accessories in CAS or....?

It would've been cool if I don't make/find enough money as a ghost sim to pay my bills, my house gets "repossessed"/npc sims move in and I got to haunt them.

No new ghost occult plumbob?

[squarebracket-trickster]

Writer Q&A Tag Game

Thank you @sunset-a-story for ALSO tagging me way back in August. I AM SO SORRY

1. What motivates you to write?

It itchy, itchy urge to create something. I NEED it OUT. I MUST make sense of it ALL. The thoughts need ordering and putting together to maximize the happy chemicals. I see something I like that someone else made and I get jealous so I must do something like that, but MY way, and BETTER. It all makes me very itchy (restless).

2. A line/short snippet of your writing that you are most proud/happy of. If not maybe share a line of someone else's work you love (just please credit them)

I skimmed my entire 3rd draft (so far) to pick a line. There are a lot of good ones but none I liked more than the rest - I couldn't choose. So... I know I've already shared this one but dammit. It is a kickass line. It's also the first line of WIPVII - and you do not know what devils I sold my soul to to escape THAT writer's block.

I will live, I tell myself through the salt water in my eyes and the sting of the south wind on my face. This will make for a good story one day.

5. What part of writing do you think you are the best at? (Yes stroke your own ego it's okay)

Banter and wit. Which is funny because I always thought that was the thing I would struggle most with - I was the academic overachiever who took herself too seriously in school. But when I reread my drafts there is something that makes me laugh in nearly every scene. Most of my highlighted lines are banter or retorts.

6. What do you enjoy most about the Writeblr community?

I love seeing writeblr content on my dash and I looooove getting interactions when I liveblog my writing. It is so nice to be able to share this with people who love it too (rather than inflicting it on my poor irl friends who are not writers). I just love all you Writeblr friends so much!

7. A writing tool/device you use that helps you with writing? (It could be speech to text, a writing program etc)

A 2x3.5' and a 3x5.5' whiteboard with a rainbow's worth of whiteboard markers in different thicknesses for brainstorming, family trees, timelines. My sketchbook, a mechanical pencil, and YouTube drawing tutorials for my maps and concept art. MS Word, dark mode, Times New Roman pt 11, with comments enabled for my manuscripts, outlines (bullet points), and worldbuilding notes. Subfolders within subfolders stored on my PC to organize all my Word docs. Two separate USBs which my completed manuscripts are saved to (in case something happens to my computer AND one of the USBs).

I have yet to find any worldbuilding or map making software (and it hasn't been for lack of looking) that gives me enough flexibility. I have yet to find any writing software that has features Word doesn't but that would actually help my process rather than overwhelm me.

I do want to write out a draft of WIPVII by hand at some point (though with my penchant for writing hand cramps this might be doomed). I also want to try an electric typewriter.

8. A piece of worldbuilding that you like in your own story? (It could be the magic system, a particular place in the story, a law etc)

WIPVII doesn't have very complex worldbuilding (there is no magic and most of it is ripped from real world history) but I do always love it when authors tell us what way the wind is coming, what smells it carries, what the view is in the distance, whose lands those are... that kind of stuff. Really creates a sense of place. I spent a lot of time mapping all this out in my own novel and I am very happy with it! The description feels so rich!

9. What piece of advice would you say to encourage others to write if they are having a rough patch?

Learn more about the craft. Writing is problem solving. If you aren't happy with something figure out why - the mechanics and technique behind writing. If you're still stuck learn even more. There are so many great, free resources on tumblr, youtube, blogs, pinterest (though it is most stolen from tumblr) even twitter and tiktok.

Also, learn how to filter out what advice is helpful now versus what should wait for later so you don't get overwhelmed. If you haven't even written a first draft yet don't bother with pacing, exposition, line editing, or let alone how to query. Just focus on the macro-stuff like plot and character arcs.

Tagging with the lightest brush on the shoulder these nine alleged humans: @cheeto-flavoured-pasta, @alnaperera, @bluberimufim, @daisywords, @boundedsea, @full-on-sam, @writernopal, @ashen-crest, @surroundedbypearls

[bro3256]

Predictions for Nintendo Switch Online

I think it goes without saying that the Nintendo Switch Online (or NSO) service has been controversial to say the least. The fact that we now have to pay for what used to be free online and the lack of benefits you get to subscribing has led to this service being received very poorly at least at launch. It's been about 5 years since NSO launched and a lot of that controversy has seemingly dried up either by new additions to the game library or simply the fact that we're just used to it at this point.

Now don't get me wrong there are still detractors to NSO, but it seems as if this service has been accepted for what it is despite its flaws, although I do have to agree with some of the things said by folks regarding how the service launched and how it currently is.

Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I want to lay down some predictions regarding the future of this service as I've seen some wild things being proposed by fans that sound completely unrealistic and nothing Nintendo would ever regularly do. Starting with the obvious, what future platforms will Nintendo add to the game library?

First things first, GameCube is not going to happen at least for a long time. I suspect Nintendo may add it once the Switch's successor is out but at this very moment it is laughable to consider GameCube right now. The biggest main issue is the fact that Nintendo themselves has been rereleasing GameCube games as full price Switch games. Metroid Prime Remastered and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door come to mind. I know for the most part the whole "things releasing outside of NSO means it will never come to NSO" myth has more or less died at this point but GameCube tends to be a special case here since these games still feel modern enough to resell as new games.

Another thing is to completely throw out any consideration of any mainline Pokémon games appearing on the Game Boy apps. The spinoffs sure, but actual mainline games is a bit silly. If they were somehow to be added they would need to do a lot of backend stuff to get these games properly working and so players don't cheat with the regular tools NSO offers such as rewind and restore points. It's not impossible but I see this as too much work to be worth it if simply putting these out as digital eShop releases sounds much easier. Besides if every version was put out on NSO then you'd lose the magic of Pokémon just like that, and that wouldn't be fun would it?

Okay so what do I actually think NSO is gonna add to its game library? Well unless Nintendo puts out a Virtual Boy or a Game & Watch app then I suspect we will probably see more third party apps. One consideration I don't see a ton of people talking about is the PC-Engine and TurboGrafx-16.

Games from these consoles have appeared on Virtual Console in the past on Wii and Wii U and a very limited number of PC-Engine games did release on 3DS only in Japan. I wouldn't doubt that Nintendo would add this as apart of their Expansion Pack, heck maybe even regular NSO if we're lucky. I would just love to see more NEC love (or well Konami love now).

But why stop there when the Mark III and Master System could be added too? Sega is already on board with NSO with their Mega Drive and Genesis apps so this would be a great addition especially since these games have not been given enough love even by Sega. SG-1000 would also be cool but that might be a bit too niche for a service like NSO but who knows.

As for games, while there is quite a bit already on the service there are certainly omissions that are quite baffling so let's get some of the more obvious ones out of the way and in no particular order.

Gomoku Narabe Renju, Mahjong, Golf, Urban Champion, SimCity, Mario Paint, Super Smash Bros., Ridge Racer 64, Banjo-Tooie, Super Mario Land, Qix, X, Balloon Kid, Mole Mania, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Pokémon Pinball, Densetsu no Stafy 1-3, Mother 3, and Rhythm Tengoku just to name a few.

So lets start with one that might not be interesting at a glance but would be a great addition to the service.

Tetris for the NES (no, not the Tengen version) is one of the more iconic versions of this beloved puzzle game, but why go back to this version specifically? I mean we already have Tetris on the Game Boy app and plenty of other Tetris games on Switch so what's the deal here?

Well for one, this version has never seen any kind of rerelease... kind of. This version in terms of how it played was ported over to Tetris Effect: Connected as a side mode but unless you knew about it I'd imagine not a whole lot of folks have dabbled with it and it's still technically not the original game.

But secondly, the main reason why this mode even exists and also why I personally would like to see it on NSO is purely to make the game accessible to a wider audience considering the competitive scene of this specific classic version of Tetris.

Being able to play this on NSO would mean a ton more people get to experience how this version plays and more importantly gives players another option of playing this without resorting to unofficial PC emulation. Obviously pro players are going to stick to original hardware but if you just wanted to practice or wanted a taste of this version then it's no wonder that having it on Switch would be a dream. Hopefully with the Game Boy version already being on the service this will increase the chances of this one happening.

So this next one is already planned to release for NSO in Japan but there's no word on it releasing internationally but regardless...

...Kaeru no tame ni Kane wa Naru or as its unofficially known as The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls. It's an action RPG that's often compared to Link's Awakening to the point where in said Zelda game there's a cameo appearance featuring Prince Richard from Bell Tolls. This is one of the more well known Nintendo developed games that never left Japan and as of writing has never seen an official English localization of any kind and unfortunately there seems to be a trend with international NSO releases having Japanese games that have not been translated. So the likelihood of this not only releasing outside of Japan but getting a new localization for NSO is very unlikely but it's more than possible given Nintendo puts in the work to translating this in English. I'd imagine a remake of this game being far more likely to getting an international release if that were to happen and hey if it's in the style of the Link's Awakening remake that would be pretty cool.

So let's move away to one that might actually happen.

This one's pretty straight forward and don't be scared by this being Japan exclusive as outside of some story cutscenes this one's perfectly playable as its mainly a puzzle game. It has seen rereleases in the past on Virtual Console and if it were to release on NSO it's very likely that it would release internationally since the benefit of Nintendo not putting in effort to localize these games means they can just drop this on the SNES app no problem. Also good time to mention that this also includes the original Wrecking Crew so it would be funny to see Wrecking Crew on the service twice.

So let's end this game prediction saga with one that probably will never happen but if it were to happen I'd be curious how it would be implemented.

So let's get this out of the way, this is an M rated game. For a while it was believed that Nintendo would shy away from more mature games from appearing on the service but GoldenEye 007 on N64 at least in Japan indicates that Nintendo's solution is purely to bump up the rating of the overall app. So I'd imagine if this were to drop on NSO we'd not only see a rating bump for the N64 app but hopefully some kind of parental control option to stop players under 17 from playing this one. While it would be cool to see this on NSO in terms of being able to play it on a Nintendo platform again, I purely would like to see this get added just to see what they'd do to the app in response to this M rated addition to the service.

And there are my NSO predictions as of November 2023. I do wonder when the next Nintendo platform releases if we'll see an uptick in support for the service but its likely that this slow trickle of games will continue as usual. I'd normally would wish for more platforms to be represented on NSO but the problem is that some of the ones already on the service are very lacking especially Game Boy and Game Boy Advance. Hopefully those libraries get beefed up soon.