#ninja november

[okretrozone]

Reflecting on Ghost of Tsushima

I've been playing Ghost of Tsushima...I started it for Ninja November and then was playing offline just doing side quests when I wasn't feeling well and now I'm in approximately 60 hours in and in Act 3.

I think Sucker Punch has made something really special. At first I was annoyed with being pulled into duels to fight with my samurai skills after I've done so many missions as stealthily as possible but it makes sense. It is a mechanical and physical response I have to the situation Jin Sakai is in.

And perhaps I have just played my quests/missions in such a way that it reinforces these feelings. But the writing is dynamic and somber and somehow really relatable. And no I'm not a 13th century samurai. But see Jin wrestle with the expectations of his upbringing, family, and community, while trying to do what he thinks is right...or the way he can protect and save his home...is...devastating.

You see Jin really grapple with being referred to as a demon or ghost...he's just a samurai trying to save his home...and over time you see the impact from the community and hope he brings as the ghost...a folk hero who's pushing back the mongols and bringing hope to Tsushima...

I am not done with the game yet. But I'm also very interested to see where the secondary cast ends their quests of revenge and retribution and if they can ever find peace in a place that no longer looks like their home.

And perhaps I'm just a silly little guy. In between me playing Tear of the Kingdom, a handful of retro titles, and always revisiting Shovel Knight and Cyber Shadow...this game has just left in some sort of way. It is like a book I can't put down. Its somewhat predictable and has also taken me off guard. My last play session has left me distraught with the events that occurred and I know I'm creeping up on the end and I'm torn with doing all the side missions or mainlining the story to get to the conclusion. But perhaps that is another sign of well crafted writing. Me, the player is also hurt and upset and want a resolution...

I did not expect to have such big feels. I'll report back once I've completed the game. But I do know right now that this game is very special and while it isn't a Tenchu game...it does scratch that itch with a variety of items, story, and character.

[terribletoonietuesday]

We added a feature length watch along to Patreon. patreon.com/riotatthemovies , You should totally join . Its a full watch through of Kindergarten Ninja as tiss the season. Hope you watched last weeks trailer show episode as it leads into some of the references we make here. Sure would be sweeelll if you joined us on Patreon so I can buy some cold and sinus drugs for Morgan. Also whenever we do a watch along I dedicated it to specific members of my Patreon. This episode is dedicated to both Devlan Nicholson and Gary W Olson Stay Awesome everybody

[mintghostko]

The Trix Foot Clan! 

I suppose if the boys get to be vaguely winx inspired magical girls so does the foot clan (^^ゞ

Wanted to do this for Rise August and I finally got around to drawing them :) pretty late but i had fun ♪(´▽｀)

original Rise August prompt list by @sariphantom :)

individual pictures under the cut :p

[pinetreevillain]

I Trust You Part 1/3

Next

[mutantmayhems]

RAPH + THE AKIRA SLIDE

[citristik]

Some turtle doodles I managed to color :]

[dysfunctional-doodle]

I took Donatello and made him confused for once.

-> My Kofi/Tip Jar :) <-

This is another rough doodle! Sorry but I’m super busy right now, gotta love uni work -_-

And thanks for all the asks for prompts! I’ll start working through them, ya’ll got some crazy themes for me to do in 5 minutes. Whoever said “chicken nuggets” I salute you.

[weibenwolken]

Danny: We need to distract these guys.

Randy: Leave it to me.

Randy: Centaurs have six limbs and are therefore insects. Discuss!

Dipper and Hermione: *immediately begin arguing*

Edward, after he found out what is a centaur: *flashback*

Dazai, refute everything Chuuya said everytime he said something:

Elf and Alba, having a detailed report on WHY a centaur is not an insect:

Ross, immediately burning said report:

The fire spreads to the forest, make everyone panic:

Randy and Danny: ...

Randy: ...oops, too much distraction.

Danny, making a side eyes toward Randy: You think?

[blue-tailed-artist]

Their year of completed inktobers, this one was one of my favorites. Thank you guys for everything.

Day 31 was fire

[okretrozone]

Ninja November / Game Dev Update

Welp I got sick in November...and proceeded to have wild Bronchitis most of December...I still have a neat cough...but its less frequent. So Ninja November was inadvertently cut short...but on the upside...you know how many ninja games I have?! So the ninjas persist.

I'll be streaming on Thursday as long as my cough allows. And surprise...it will be ninja games, games with ninjas, or dev streams...(which The Skeleton King does have ninjas) sooooo yeah.

With not feeling great I decided to really put some work in on The Skeleton King. And I'm very proud with how far I've made it thus far. My goal was to have the first level fleshed out and traversable by the end of November...With being sick that didn't happen. But it is mostly fleshed out...just not in anyway connected. BUT I did flesh out the State Machine for the hero and the level. So with animations I need to make...The Skeleton King will look like a real thing in no time.

I've also taken to working on pixel art on my iPad. Which is really nice. I also periodically work on level mockups for when I'm designing the UI or just working on the readability of the tiles. I want the color palettes to be distinct so you don't have to guess if its a platform or not.

So I'm hoping by the end of January that the first level will be explorable and maybe have some basic enemies.

Thanks for going on this wild game dev journey with me. I understand The Skeleton King wont be anything groundbreaking for anyone or gaming except for me. I've already learned so much. I can't wait to continue to learn and make things and The Skeleton King is just the start.

[blu3cl0v3rs]

Summary: Morro attends his first movie night!

Warnings: Morro is not as angry, I am mad at myself for not finishing this in October

Prompt: Day 28 - TV

Extra: Set in a generic "Redeemed Morro Lives w/ the Ninja" AU, between Seasons 5 and 6. Morro thoughts!

Everyone was sprawled about the soft surfaces in the living room. Jay argued with Lloyd, one cuddled close to his girlfriend while the other was wrapped up like a burrito on a bean bag, over which order to watch the Starfarer films.

"We should start with #5!" Jay yelled. "It's the chronological beginning of their story!"

"No, we should start with #1, so characters mentioned in #5 make sense! When first introducing someone, you should always follow the release order," Lloyd countered. "It's the order they were made with.'

"Bu-"

"No buts," Lloyd put the DVD into the player.

Jay groaned, but accepted defeat.

Morro, meanwhile, was tightly curled up on one end of the couch, trying to create as much distance as he could between him and the blue-themed lovebirds. Kai watched Morro carefully, even as the opening theme played.

The rest of the movie went well; the Ninja made comments as they usually did, Jay and Lloyd acted out some scenes, at one point Cole threw popcorn at Kai for being boring and not paying attention, and, in general, they all enjoyed it.

"Fair? Fair's not a word where I came from!" Jay declared, striking a cheesy hero pose.

It was almost normal. Morro stared at the screen as the credits rolled by. He hated that he could see himself living here, slotting himself into this life. The lonely child in him yearned for it; for connection. He despised that he missed something as simple and stupid as friends. He doesn't need anyone.

Wu's words echoed in his head, "You're strong, Morro, but it takes others to make us stronger."

Maybe, just maybe, he could get used to this. His shoulders loosened.

Maybe.

[tokyo-daaaamn-ji-gang]

My very expensive Mikey figure just arrived in the mail. Now I'm waiting for the plushie.

I'm boutta build a bigger Mikey shrine than anyone's never seen.

Yeah! You build your Mikey shrine I'll be here cheering you on! Build the biggest Mikey shrine to ever exist!!!!!

[personne-writes]

Links to my main blog and my ao3 page

My stuff

(All can be found under the tag #writing)

(Latest additions in color)

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Forward - chap. 1 - 2 - 3

My take on what happens between the Krang invasion and the time gateway. [Insert fic for the movie's bad future - Beta by @crosshatchedaces, @skelenova and @luxtoony - Work in progress]

Dad material [abandoned] - part 1 - 2 (comic & ficlet) - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 (ficlet)

Collab with @leosmasktails (deactivated) about future Leo, Casey Junior, and how one learns to read in the middle of an apocalypse. Comics are from Tails, ficlets are from me!

(the links to Tails' comics are broken, but the links to my ficlets should still be working)

Challenges, zines, etc.

for the @autismswagsummit 2023- Autistic Sweep and the follow-up Third challenger

for the rise-august-art-challenge: Weird (now with amazing fanart by @luxtoony!)

for the Sunset Duo Zine: Rise and fall

for the @turtlestogetherzine: Alternate realities (poem)

for the @tmnt-write-fight: All over the news

Tributes

to @somerandomdudelmao - Ignoring some rules

to @chiscribbs - Spin that record, babe

to @luxtoony - Job description (poem)

to @abbeyofcyn - Their colors (DTIYS + ficlet)

One Punch Man

Parallel Universe - chap. 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6

Two Saitamas fight over Genos, basically. [Villain AU based on @tr333333 's comic - Beta by @anonymousedward - Currently on hiatus] I've actually received a gift from Bleedingsoul01 for this fic and it absolutely didn't make me cry!! French version here

A Ghost Story

Badd is haunted by a very flirty ghost, yeah that's Garou. [One-shot - Prompted by Little1993Lamb]

Adolescence

Saitama is worried about Genos but it's just Shitty Teen Squad shenanigans, really. [One-shot - Gift for @rayadraws]

I have two other OPM prompts in my drafts lmao

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Tributes

to @jenirodraws - Lost woods (poem)

Detroit: Become Human

The Conversation

Hank isn't getting any younger and his yet-to-be adoptive son takes action. [One-shot - My participation to @julientel 's DBH found family week] French version here

I also have a DBH collab in my drafts. Whoopsies

Mass Effect

Life goes on

One shots about Shepard and Vakarian living their life after the Destruction ending. Only one chapter now, might add others later if I feel like it.

French version here

Personal

Halloween

That's all bitches!

[carlarte]

i blacked out and when i woke up this was done. it was never meant to be finished. it just is. context is maybe he found the shirt in an abandoned mall and kept it and uses it unironically as the dad that he is.

[twin-disaster-tutel-brainrot]

Guess who finished their fanfic and sent it to their beta readers??? 👀👀👀

(I'll give you a hint. It's me. I'm probably gonna post it in the following week.)

[okretrozone]

Ninja November

It's been a weird one with getting sick and family visiting for the holidays. But I think the ninja games may just be my identity at this point because Ninja November is rolling into December too.

I have really been enjoying my time with Ghost of Tsushima as well. I enjoy how the world feels alive and how it has revealed stories large and small to me. And the stealth feels good but I do get impatient with the enemies which ends up being fine because the game forces you into combat scenarios so you might as well fight sometimes.

I think, at this time at least, that is my only complaint. The game forces these narrative beats with this one on one sword fights...fit for a samurai. But as I continue to learn into my Ghost techniques they don't necessarily help me in those combat moments (I mean...they do) but I can never get the upper hand out of the gate. I'm not saying I need to assassinate the enemy and never fight, but I also don't get to sneak up on them and land a critical hit. It is nice to creep around Mongol territory and watch a leader practice and then get a critical hit on them. That feels satisfying. But I think the game, like Jin Sakai, is struggling to identify as the Ghost narrative and forces you to cling to Samurai resolutions to situations that feel like they could be avoided...

But with that being said, I do love this game. Just not when I feel like it pulls back control from me. But It is also hard to come by a stealth game that isn't an Ass Creed with this level of production. So I'll take it.

More Ninja November is happening. More ninjas all the time really.