#setpiece

[cityfolkferal]

#TBT to a #selfie I forgot I had. A #cobra #SetPiece we had for one set that looked real in the peripheral. Haha #Snake #GayBrisbane #GayGoldCoast https://www.instagram.com/p/CmLWZXpyimu/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[thedreadvampy]

people seriously pretending EEAAO is overrated suddenly bc it swept awards? it swept awards largely because it is very very very good. I cried like someone who's just had a religious revelation BOTH times I watched it bc it touched something raw and real and beautiful but it was also just very, very funny. everyone's performance kills and the concept is creative and interesting and doesn't distract from the emotional core. you guys are just contrarian.

[valtsv]

So let’s fast-track the inevitable. We can take you down to the hallowing-sites today, you can fight and scream and be as courageous as you like, and your seat on the council, that can be freed up for someone who lacks your hero’s spirit.

love saint shrue for sacha @unbloodiedmartyr

[internetskiff]

something something It's very interesting to me how Aperture is consistently a sort of mirror to the Combine Citadel. Two buildings built by entirely different hands, one not even of earthly origin, yet both fulfilling the same purpose - dehumanize, control, conceal.

Both facilities treat humans as a resource. As some kind of cargo to be stored as efficiently as possible, later to be processed and discarded. They both cram people picked off the streets into tiny boxes where they're then preserved for god knows how long, denied even the dignity of death.

They both shift restlessly, uncaring for who or what their many writhing arms may crush They build themselves out of themselves, countless corridors and chasms built seemingly for no one to ever traverse. The buildings feel as if they weren't even built with humans in mind, sparse catwalks scattered about as a mere afterthought.

Even the people who are meant to be in control are barely accounted for. Offices feel like either the bare minimum, or a strange alien approximation of an environment a human could work within. In neither cases were they built for comfort. Only for utility.

Aperture as both a company and a facility shows that humanity, under the right conditions, would have come a little too close to becoming a perfect mirror image of the Combine. If things hadn't gone wrong, it's safe to say humanity was on track for exactly that. Black Mesa wanted to exploit Xen, just like the Combine wanted to exploit Earth. Hell, while those two were at it, Aperture was too busy exploiting itself, and doing a damn good job at it. Both Aperture and the Universal Union are systems where literally no one was benefitting from the status quo, because they were too busy slaving away maintaining it. The Combine is just what Humanity would have become if it wasn't stopped at the very first hurdle. Flesh and machine, living and functional - both turned synonymous.

[trainingdummyrabbit]

though i do gotta say, the state of affairs on yt is Rather Dire, I Think. trying to look for anything interesting at all and its "THE BEST GAME YOUVE NEVER PLAYED??" "THE THING ABOUT [popularseries] NOBODY KNOWS??" "I GOT CREATORS TO DO THING????" "CAN YOU [videogame] WHILE [scenario]????" that same thumbnail artstyle, big red arrows and over-the-top surprised expressions and and and its so disingenuous. like yeah i know it works and all but. oil in water. it all smudges together yknow.

and then over edited captions spinning and bobbing across the entire screen, those same few background music tracks (that are absolutely never credited), smug commentary that comes across as the audio equivalent of a dreamworks face, constant cut ins of meme images as bits about as entertaining as 'haha dont you recognize this image? theres character in this image instead, isnt that so funny?' like arent you tired? arent you all so tired? are we not all so fucking tired??

[rawliverandgoronspice]

Beyond surface appeal, what makes Ganon a compelling antagonist

I think cruising my blog would provide a good number of possible answers, but I guess my tl:dr would be (otherwise I could probably make a full 24h conference about it at this point): because he does reveal (if one is willing to look) the brutality of a world in which gods uphold a natural order through a given kingdom that will not budge on its god-given right to rule, and him as both a rebellious disorder to that status quo which also ends up devoured by said status quo as just one natural part of a cycle of creation and destruction that ultimately always kind of stays the same.

Also, I find the setup of a man born to a tribe of outcast women, considered exceptional by birth while also having to figure himself out + the role he needs to play in that kind of structure and in a very difficult context, someone who both is being granted a lot of natural power while also still being sneered at and considered lesser and/or inherently evil by those blessed by the gods (while also carrying a lot of unexamined baggage of their own), is just so juicy and interesting and brimming with potential psychologically speaking (especially when applied to his motivations of: why does he want power, why does he always alter his own body, his uncanny resilience, etc). It does come with a lot of baggage, as "the evil man from the desert" is far from being a neutral concept coming from a neutral historical place --but examining what kind of world would come to such conclusions is also deeply revealing of said world.

And then, Wind Waker gives him even more of a window to reflect on his own rage while also never apologizing for the horrors he commited, mourning what he wanted and what he became while also being the only one calling the gods of Hyrule out for being terrifyingly cold entities --far more than he could ever hope to become.

Yeah, I think Nintendo has been sleeping on Ganondorf ever since (even if I defend his TP appearance). But he has a fascinating cross-game story(ies), and I find him to be a deeply tragic --if horrendously flawed-- figure, which is partially why TotK was so disappointing to me, because TotK saw nothing but the surface level + the fact that putting him in a game sells and makes people horny.

(you'll notice I didn't mention Demise, because I think that, while the whole cycle thing wasn't bad or not that interesting, fans really overly simplify this concept in a way that has contributed to make Ganondorf extremely flat, which I am not here for.)

[bluecoffeebeanz]

There'd better be a mirrorball 🪩✨

Prints

[maeve-is-annoying-about-books]

I watched Damsel last night and I gotta say, the depiction of the dragon was immaculate. Like this is really inspiring stuff for a DM to pick up on.

Like it's the complete package. The flaming birds announcing her presence and apparent cruelty? Ohhhh and the fire breath itself was amazing. Like something between fire and napalm and how it melts the rock partially where it hits. This isn't something you can just put a shield up to, it'll ooze around and stick and warp the metal.

Moon above, the lair too. I feel like recent fantasy has kind of built up the expectation that you go through trap-filled caverns to get to a dragon's lair, which is where you actually fight her. But no the entire mountain is her lair in Damsel. You never know where she's going to turn up, her voice carries strangely, and there are few places she can't get to. Oooh how she just dives in out of nowhere at the "window" (iykyk), apex falcon behaviour. I fucking love that she probably could have just flown up the singing crystals or melted them with fire to end it, she keeps them intact. Like they're probably the only thing she could call entertainment for decades and it's not like it goes anywhere anyway. I don't know why but that's such a neat detail to me.

The whippy tail? Fantastic. The way she uses her wing to support a limp? Perfect. I love the twist on the dragon's horde too. It's just bits the princesses carried on them, brought back to the long-cooled golden albumen of her clutch. Fucking... the kingdom had more gold than her, but her horde was a hundred times more personally precious. It meant something other than wealth. And I bought it completely, Shohreh Aghdashloo's performance was so fucking feline and motherly in the same stroke. I never got tired of hearing her taunt and roar and even calmly speak.

The sheer show of power that was the firestorm, though. The actual height of her depiction. Wreathing the mountain in flaming clouds to rain cataclysm on the surroundings was incredible to see. That's the moment, right there. That's a fucking DRAGON. You think flyby fire breath attacks are what raining hellfire is? Cute. Here's Meteor III because I'm ticked off.

Actually perfect. I could spend the rest of my time talking about how the rest of the movie was kinda mid but I honestly don't care when it gave me this much Dragon.

[daily-slugplush]

day 98: cool forest region

[ot3]

Hi I hope this isn't a dumb question but I saw ur post again about LOK and can I ask how does your typical mecha anime show "unpack the horrors of war" I don't really watch mecha anime

this is the opposite of a dumb question in that it's a question you would need like a graduate level paper to answer properly. im not a huge mecha person either so im not qualified to give you an in depth answer here but. i would say in extremely broad strokes a lot of the way mech anime deals with War Horrors is by exploring the way advanced technology makes war much more catastrophically violent while simultaneously distancing people from the violence they are committing

[moonsinkfoxgirl]

controversial take probably, but like the single greatest flaw in Dark Souls 2 (which is still an excellent game though btw) is that the entire game is designed around you being able to bonfire warp from the very beginning

[brontios-helm]

Destiny 2: Gnarled; Entangled

[superchat]

Azling4 art appreciate post

[wetcatspellcaster]

there's a scene coming up in an honest lie and it's the first time i've ever done any kind of multiversal nod and rewritten a scene from another fic. but i think it's quite fun, and i hope it will put any 'is pieces an AU?' fears to bed :')))

[xiewho]

the full faith brennan had in the cast that they were going to 100% try and interact with another vulture setpiece is something quite beautiful actually

[graff-aganda]

Reminiscing about my HOA phase again. . .