#this is the first show since better call saul in which my favorite character is the main character

[ninjiniz]

Everyone's talking about Gi hun repeating word for word what Sang woo said in the first season, when he reminds the guards that the players can vote to go home, but I haven't seen anyone mention this other parallel.

Gi-hun was the first to advance after the massacre in the Red Light Green Light game. Does that remind you of anyone?

That's right. The people who are most confident in this game are those who already know it.

Gi hun despite himself taking over the actions of two people whose respect he has gradually lost and whose ideals run counter to his own, that hurts 😞

[gregorovitch-adler]

AO3 Wrapped (Writers' Edition).

Thanks for tagging me, @lisbeth-kk and @gaylilsherlock!

1. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

That I developed a genuine hyperfixation over an OT3 (Sherlock x John x Mariana). Enough that I wrote several fics (including a smutty one) about it.

I'm not even that big of a shipper in most fandoms (I tend to be a non-shipper generally), but even when I do start shipping something, it usually just involves 2 characters at a time.

Especially with the case of John Watson and Sherlock Holmes.

A year ago, I never would have imagined shipping either of them with anyone else apart from each other (because I'm generally not a multi-shipper).

It changed this year because the friendship among these three in the canon of the podcast Sherlock & co is just that good.

It was a very pleasant surprise to me. :))

Expanding my usual writing style from writing about strictly monogamous relationships (and that too usually just about Johnlock) to including a third character - and thus a polyam relationship in my fic writing - was a little challenging though.

A very interesting challenge, of course. ;)

2. How many WIP's do you have in your docs for next year?

Just one case fic right now. It's definitely going to increase.

3. Your favorite character to write this year?

Gustavo Fring from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul!

I know I didn't write a lot of fics about him this year, I'm just featuring him during this December fluff (fluffcember) prompts challenge, but still.

He'll always be my favourite antagonist.

If you've watched these two shows, you'll realise he's not even a villain. All significant characters (especially Walter White) have various degrees of villainy under their belts.

Something about him being such a no-nonsense kinda guy on the surface, never saying a word beyond what's necessary in the source material (especially in Breaking Bad), but all of that just being a façade to cover up his human side (i.e., his feelings for Max, his determination to avenge Max's death, his genuine respect for his employees at Los Pollos Hermanos and everything else) is extremely interesting and delightful to me.

In Tumblr-speak, I want to place Gustavo Fring under my microscope. 🤭

And then there's John Watson, of course. He's my all time favourite. But this year, I just felt the need to write about Gustavo Fring too a bit more.

Also, Irene Adler is my wife. ☺ I loved writing Mollrene ficlets in December this year.

Here's to featuring her in my stories even more.

4. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

I can't think of anyone in particular at the moment, but I did find capturing John's voice in The Veiled Lodger (my first ever Sherlock & co fanfic) a bit challenging in the beginning. Because I was only getting started with my Sherlock & co fic writing journey, and I wanted everything to be perfect.

5. What's one pairing you want to explore next year?

Gus/Max.

I'll continue to write about Sherlock x John x Mariana (and even about just Holmes/Watson), too, obviously, but yeah.

I used to be a bit hesitant about this pairing before, even though I've always loved Gus ever since I first watched Breaking Bad (in 2020).

That's because we don't see Max in canon at all, save for that one (1) flashback scene which lasts for just 5 minutes (and Max dies brutally in that one...)

So, featuring Max in a fic at all would just mean writing an OC from scratch at this point. And making an OC feel like a fleshed out character makes me feel a little nervous sometimes.

But I broke all that hesitation this year, and I hope I continue to do that next year too!

6. Did you receive any gifts this year?

Yes! I received 3 beautiful art pieces (including the one in my header image) from my friend as gifts. It was lovely. 🥰 @jamielovesjam

7. Did you do any collaborative works this year?

I did! @nowiamcoveredinyou and I wrote this fic based on ACD canon this year. We had fun.

8. What do you listen to while writing?

Nothing much, to be honest. I prefer a quiet environment.

9. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Hard to choose, but if I have to, then here you go:

Sherlock stepped forward and took John’s hands in his own.

“Watson, I’ve said this before, and I’ll repeat it now: fear is a sickness. Fear is seemingly ordinary but insidious enough to eventually put one in the shackles of one’s own imagination. Never let it get to you. I can very well face Moriarty alone. He did ask to meet me, anyway. So, this is my battle. I’ll fight it.” Sherlock visibly swallowed. “Please, go now. The lady will never find a doctor as good as you.”

From my Sherlock & co fic Dilemma. It's a modern day re-write of that one scene from The Final Problem (where Watson cannot decide whether to help the old lady or to go with Holmes to meet Moriarty with him).

I wrote it just after the Part- 1 of The Shoscombe Old Place (Sherlock & co) had aired on Spotify and YouTube (and on other platforms).

Moriarty's name had been (not so) casually dropped for the first time in the podcast when John was going through all the shoutouts.

We still don't know where they'll go with that... 👀

Enough with my rambling.

Tags: @helloliriels , @nowiamcoveredinyou , and anyone else who sees this! (No pressure).

[depressopax]

Hiii I saw ur brbcs masterlist and I was thinking on if you could tackle on Howard Hamlin if so, can I request on a cuddling scenario with him? It can be both sfw or nsfw (I’m ok with all of them ^^)

HII thank you sm for your request! I decided to do relationship headcanons too! Hope that works too!(Might be a bit OOC, I’m yet to figure out his character in the show lol 😭) Enjoyyyy <3

Howard Hamlin relationship headcanons

Fandom - Better call Saul

Howard x gn!reader || HC'S

Pairing: Howard Hamlin x gender neutral reader Genre: Fluff, smut, headcanons Warning(s): Sexual content further down (titled NSFW), MDNI! Cuss words, a bit of possessiveness. Reader is gender neutral!  Words: 1.4K Summary: Dating Howard Hamlin would include…  English is not my main language, if I make any spelling mistakes please let me know so I can improve my writing! <3 || AO3 link || Masterlist || Request ||

SFW

First of all… I feel like Howard is a cheesy mf lol

He saw you for the first time when out for lunch between meetings with clients.

It took a couple seconds of eye-contact and he immediately fell in love. 

Absolutely dumbfounded by your beauty, he watches you walk to the entrance of the restaurant

He can’t stand the thought of you slipping through his fingers.

Barely knowing what to say or do, he leaves the table (whilst his co-workers staring at him like he was crazy lmao)

When you look at him in confusion, he gives you a sheepish grin, trying to gather his thoughts.

He introduces himself, maybe tells you some damn cheesy pick-up line 

Lucky thing for him you find it adorable lmao

He successfully charms you.

Howard then walks back to his co-workers with a stupid grin and a note with your phone number on it.

He’s the person to take you out on fancy restaurant dates (his treat ofc)

Howard spends days before the date - He’s a perfectionist.

First date goes beyond expectations and he starts planning for a second date shortly after.

After a few dates and getting to know each other, Howard’s feelings for you grow stronger.

Luckily so do your feelings for him.

He becomes your boyfriend officially a while after that. 

He’s the first one to say “I love you”, which he’s known since the first date.

His work takes up a lot of his spare-time.

Before meeting you, he didn’t care.

He’s a workaholic and working overtime was his way to escape the void of loneliness. 

Basically the man that says: “I’m married to my job”

But with you in the picture, he spends less time in the office, and more time with you.

He tries finding a good balance between work and love.

…But eventually he realizes that you are so much more important to him than work.

You make him feel things he hasn’t felt in a very long time.

Seriously, you’ll have to force him to focus on work sometimes or else he’ll totally forget about it lol

As for cuddling…

He  L O V E S  it

After long days of work, when watching movies, when sleeping, at restaurants… 

Basically - Anywhere, any time.

If you have long hair, he twirls his fingers through your hair or simply just brushes strands of hair from your face.

I feel like he gives the best hugs too 

If he’s taller than you he likes to hold against his chest and then rest his chin on your head.

Having you in his lap as he wraps his arms around you and holds you close.

It’s his way to relax after a long day at work

When cuddling in bed - Howard likes being the big spoon. 

He likes to think he’s protecting you from nightmares and the dangers of the world when holding you - his body being the shield.

Another favorite cuddling position being his head against your chest - the sound of your heartbeat makes him feel calm

He’s a good listener. And also good at reading people, especially you.

He knows if something is wrong and has learnt how to get you to talk without being to pushy about it

Communication is key to him. The worst thing to him is when you shut him out - he wants to be your rock. 

Same thing goes for him. When he’s having trouble at work, you’re the first one he goes to for support. 

He has a lot of anger and anxiety pent up and you’re one of the few people he trusts enough to vent to.

Howard is VERY overprotective.

He hates it when other people look/hit on you.

He trusts you, but it makes him insecure that you’ll find “someone better” than him.

One of the reasons to why he loves PDA

Holds your hand in public without shame.

Same goes for hugs and kisses.

…Alright, maybe it’s because he likes to brag, too. 

He likes it when people see the two of you together. He wants them to envy what he has, that they never can get. *cough* especially around Jimmy *cough*

Like I said earlier… He is cheesy.

He likes buying you flowers and chocolate

Maybe even sending them to your office

He fantasizes about what your wedding will be like. 

If you want it too - he’d love to start a family with you one day. 

He wants to be a dad one day.

If you were to not want kids tho, he’d suggest getting a cat or dog instead lol

Random headcanon: He’s a cat-lover

To summarize: This workaholic to a man absolutely adores and loves you in all ways possible. Having you around makes him feel a bit more interesting and you never fail to make him feel loved and appreciated.

NSFW

As for the sex-life… 👀

Howard doesn’t have a preference when it comes to being dominant/submissive or top/bottom.

Very adaptable and keen to your preferences.

He doesn’t have that high of a sex drive - he honestly enjoys cuddling and sex equally (bonus points for combining the two)

He sucks at telling you he’s horny tho lmao

Not because he’s good at hiding it. 

You’ve learnt what the lust in his eyes means and knows when he’s in the mood. 

It doesn’t take much effort for him to get turned on either lmao

Just you doing the most simple things is enough for him to get turned on tbh.

He’s pretty vanilla tbh. 

Prefers the classic ol’ positions

Doggy, 69, missionary, cowgirl… You name it

He likes trying new things but also wants to keep it simple.

I feel like he lowkey is a service top 👀

He likes being on top, but merely to focus on your pleasure. 

Your pleasure goes before his own - but honestly? He gets turned on by being able to satisfy you

The type of person to come undone from making you orgasm tbh

Howards wants you to push him around a bit - telling what to do and how to do it. 

And he’s a quick learner ;)

He’s good at foreplay and knows which buttons to push to drive you wild. 

He can and will spend hours exploring your body with his fingers and lips

Make sure to let him know you enjoy what he’s doing tho.

He has a praise kink. 

Sure, hearing your moans and making you cum is rewarding enough, but if you praise him too?

Homeboy will be a flustered mess - and it raises his confidence too.

When it comes to oral pleasure, he prefers giving.

There’s something about being on his knees for you, or laying down with his head between your thighs that excites him. 

He feels in control when he goes down on you. He can grip you however he wants, tease you for hours and have you completely at his mercy.

If you move and squirm too much, he can easily hold you to his liking.

He becomes more of a dom when he performs oral sex. 

Not that you can complain, you’ll be too busy screaming his name as he absolutely destroys you (in a good way dw)

He'll tease you about it afterwards too and not be shy to remind you of how good he made you feel. 

Turns into a smug mf after sex

When it comes to receiving head?

It’s one of his favorite things.

It’s satisfying to just lean back and have you take care of his needs. 

Sorry but def a head-pusher 

…And very sorry and ashamed about if afterwards 😭

Besides that, he trusts you fully and is not picky about how you use your mouth to satisfy him. 

As long as it feels good AND he can see your pretty face he’ll love it.

He prefers slow and passionate sex.

That’s why he wants to do it in the bedroom.

Only exception is doing it on the couch or maybe shower if he’s horny enough. 

That AND his office for a quickie.

But sometimes, after a long day at work or when frustrated about something, he likes rough sex.

One of the best therapies is thrusting into you with power ;)

Aftercare KING

He makes sure you’re ok and not hurt.

This is also where his bad confidence/insecurities shine through.

“Was it good for you?”, “Did I satisfy you?”

He helps you clean up afterwards and brings you something to drink etc.

Also likes massaging you and bringing you comfort.

He cuddles up to you afterwards, holding you close to him whilst whispering his love and devotion for you. 

He falls asleep soon afterwards, but only when he’s sure you’re ok and about to fall asleep too.

Me: Hmmm idk about Howard... This will prob be a short fic! 1.4k words later: Ohh shiii- Also had to fight the urge to spell his name "Hamling" instead because apparently that's what my brain thinks his name is?? 💀

[muqingapologist]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

this is such a hard question because i’ve gone through so many phases of obsessing over pieces of media in my life, and sometimes it’s really hard for me to parse which characters are lasting favorites and which are just part of that phase. but i’ll try! keep in mind, lots of sentimentality ahead…

and this is in no particular order.

1. wei wuxian (the untamed)

ok so this kind of goes along with a previous post i made discussing my feelings of the mdzs book vs. the untamed. when i first watched the untamed at the recommendation of a friend, it was so unlike anything i’d ever seen before. and wei wuxian was so unlike any protagonist i’d ever encountered before. his determination to do what’s right no matter what others do, but also not being above experiencing doubt and uncertainty about his decisions, really touched me. also of course his carefree attitude toward life is something i repeatedly try and fail to achieve myself. it might also have to do with xiao zhan’s acting choices, but he really touched me as a character. it’s hard for me to say if the wwx of the book did the same organically because i read it over a long period of time after watching the show, so im just going to count the untamed version.

2. shizuku tsukishima (whisper of the heart)

this one is probably pretty niche but allow me to give my most heartfelt recommendation of whisper of the heart, my favorite ghibli movie and one of my favorite films of all time. shizuku is the protagonist of the film. she’s a young girl, probably about 14, and so far, her life has been defined by satisfying her imagination by always reading fiction, immersing herself in stories. inspired by the love interest of the film seiji, she decides she wants to try to be a writer. the film is kind of like a slice of life over a few months of this time, and we see shizuku struggle with perfectionism and wanting to follow her dreams and inability to take criticism, etc. i rarely cry over movies but i cried at this one because i had just never felt so seen by a character. everyone please watch whisper of the heart!🙏

3. prince zuko (avatar: the last airbender)

i think 50% of the reason he’s on here is sentimentality since avatar was a show i watched so much throughout my childhood and of course again more recently with its resurgence in popularity, but also what can i say? his character arc is unmatched. i won’t rehash the details. i will say uncle iroh would probably be here instead if we knew any more about his past because he’s off-screen journey is just so fascinating to me.

4. percy jackson (percy jackson & the 12 olympians)

PURE sentimentality but ya know….also im only considering this character how he exists in the original series. he kind of lost me in heroes of olympus. but yeah percy jackson was the first character that really impacted me back when i was 9, and i think i still carry that impact to this day. i also think the original series still holds up reading it as an adult.

5. kim wexler (better call saul)

kim nation!!! reveal yourselves!! i watched better call saul a little over a year ago and damn, it’s so rare to find such interesting, well-developed, flawed within reason female characters in a tv drama like this. her intelligence and her tendency to get carried away with jimmy don’t contradict each other but work together. her emotional journey….UGH!! kim x post-prison jimmy, who else hopes?

6. xie lian (tgcf/heaven official’s blessing)

so this one is new and i’m not completely sure the deep impression will last yet, but i’ll explain. when i first read tgcf about two years ago, i kind of skimmed because it was so long, and the feelings i had toward xie lian were…not super favorable. i was kind of bored by him and….i saw him as a lesser wei wuxian. AND I WAS WRONG!!! because i reread tgcf finally a couple of months ago, no skimming, really thinking about what i was reading and now i love him. his journey from optimistic prince who had never before suffered to carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders to nearly collapsing under that weight but despite all odds, pulling through and once again finding that optimism, or at least hope. it touched me so much this time around!!! also i don’t know why i thought he was boring first time around. this guy is funny as hell! anyway, lots of lessons to apply to my own life and whatnot.

7. ninth doctor (doctor who)

guys….hear me out. notice im not saying “the doctor” because i think most of doctor who is just nonsense. but that one season with the ninth doctor (and okay i like the tenth doctor’s seasons well enough, or i did really love them. less so these days…). so much potential. so when i say he’s one of my favorite characters ever, i accept that it’s mostly the version of the doctor that lives in my head and isn’t subject to the bad writing decisions made later in the show. it’s a lot of sentimentality, but i am really fascinated by this traumatized alien guy who just lost his entire people, finding himself devolving into more violent, unforgiving tendencies, but meeting rose, jack, whoever else along the way is able to remind him of not who he was but who he could be. of course doctor who is forever ongoing though so character development can only go too far lol.

8. nozue (old-fashioned cupcake)

this is also brand new so not sure if lasting because i only just read and watched ofc, but man. this guy’s journey from being defeatist about getting older and turning 40, being afraid of trying anything new, to allowing himself to experience new things, one of those things being falling in love! his whole concept of using regret as fuel for happiness, transmitting that idea to togawa who transmits it back to nozue later!! ahhh!! so like my love for this character might actually just be love for the entire story but i can’t not mention it every five seconds rn so….

9. isabel archer (portrait of a lady)

so this is the protagonist of henry james’s portrait of a lady, which i finally finished reading last month. and gosh! well the book itself was amazing, but i was especially touched by isabel’s character, mainly because she just felt so realistic. her motivations, her goals, her shift, her sorrows, they all feel earned, creating an incredibly vivid character that i think most people can find something in there to relate to, especially other women who have always been told they are clever and imaginative and yet find themselves struggling internally to live up to those expectations.

10. natasha rostova (war and peace)

it’s been years since i read war and peace in my university freshman seminar, so it’s hard for me to speak on the details of why exactly this character is here. but also it’s no surprise because this is a character that continues to be the star of russian literature. what i can say, she’s another bright, carefree character (clearly symbolizing aspects of russian culture but even beyond that) who it’s impossible not to feel deeply connected to. she goes through some pretty life-altering stuff in war and peace (everyone listen to the musical called natasha, pierre, and the great comet of 1812 for those details!!) and as the reader, you just really feel for her. idk man she still stands out in my mind, but also this is also much thanks to the musical i just mentioned above.

i kind of came up with these on the spot so like…who knows how accurate this is, but i like to talk about the things i like so sue me. thank you for the question though!!

[tanatola]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks....

Oh um! Thank you for the question, I do love that kind of thing, love writing it out... Honestly I think I can track almost a lot of my fav characters to just yaoi but whatever, I'm valid!! Also there might be some spoilers here since it's difficult to write 'why' without them. Sorry for long text, I like rambling about my favs. 1) Currently as is obvious it's Geto Suguru from JJK, I think he just combined a lot of the things I like in a way that really works for him and for the story... The inherent romance in being dead before the main plot even starts, ahh. Also the complexity behind his fall into villainy is sooo well-written, having so many reasons and chains of consequences that lead him to it, a slow and easily preventable descent into tragedy, it's so appealing... I truly believe he could have been saved and dissuaded at any point in his life, even during the events of jjk0, but people who cared about him didn't understand him, while people who did understand him didn't care enough (or actively planned to take advantage).

2) Kaeya from Genshin, similarly because he's a very contradictory character with a lot of inner demons and a tendency towards self-destructive behavior. Also back then the kaeluc of it all forced me deep into researching chinese terminology and similar examples in fiction which made playing Genshin a much more educational experience than one would expect lmao... Honestly I didn't love what the game did with him in the last few years, mostly ignoring the more serious and cunning aspects of his personality and story and focusing on the cute and insecure little trickster persona, it's very ehh to me. But in my heart I still love the version of him that made me obsess for over a year.

3) Jimmy McGill from Better Call Saul. Again, something about preventable tragedy and how difficult it is to tell where his actions can be traced back to his childhood and family relations, where he was forced and where he chose to make bad decisions himself, he is my poor meow meow 100%. Also has the benefit of being in a well-written show.

4) Princess Carolyn from Bojack, honestly it should have been Diane but Diane struck too close to home for me, while PC is a 'safer' to love option. Highly competent in professional areas, utterly delulu in others, one of the most caring characters in the cast... <З I also just liked her VA a lot, plus she's like a power fantasy in a lot of ways... Super great at her career, loving partner, realising her dream of having a baby, I mean yeah. Not that I want a baby, just that she got everything she wanted by the end, nice.

5) Wei Wuxian from MDZS, same with being dead before the story starts djkgdkjg, also a necromancer and a disaster, need I say more. I think for me a big factor of why I like him is that despite being a talented genius with a steady moral compass he absolutely failed at... everything? Lost everything he held dear or wanted to protect, when revived he doesn't even have any specific goals in the new life he was given. But his endless positivity means that he didn't mind taking that second chance anyway, and as a reward at least learned in detail why his first life fell apart, and also gained a devoted husband in the process, good for him. A rare happy end among things I like actually,, I mean I actually have words to say about the 'happy' part of it but well, as happy as it could have been for him.

6) Grantaire from Les Mis, this one is just very personal I think, a cynical drunk who never accomplished anything in his life, am I right dfjgnkdfg...,, Him being a typical asshole but well-educated and sentimental, loving Enjolras and all of his friends but giving 0 effort to actually supporting their cause, still managing to do the right thing in the end, it's ahh т_т Also I'm still obsessed with him mentioning studying under Antoine-Jean Gros in one sentence which led me down the rabbit hole of researching what real life Gros was like, spoilers he drowned himself in Seine after his artistic career went into decline. You can really see why looking at his works but that makes it all the more upsetting... Like not because of some 1 specific failure but just a lack of artistic progress overall, which his mentor, peers and students couldn't help but comment on... Anyway this isn't about Grantaire anymore but also kind of still is! 7) Vriska, I named my second cat after her!! Honestly one of the better written characters in Homestuck I think (im thinking the first five acts), just everything about her is perfect to me. A huge bitch of course, but at her core just a teenager with pure ambition and insecurities born from consequences of her actions, always trying to prove herself no matter how much she hurts people around her. And yeah like always with characters I like, so many opportunities for her to go off the doomed course, but either herself or manipulative adults always redirected her back, and that was always supposed to be the 'main' timeline, doomed by the narrative etc. The tragic nature of her friends-to-rivals-to-enemies with Terezi was also just sooo... And that Terezi didn't even care about that rivalry as much as Vriska did, or at least pretended that she didn't... Sighh....

8) Granny Weatherwax from Discworld, my favorite old woman. What's so great about her to me is that she's like all those other characters I like, an asshole who wants to solve everyone's problems, always tempted to react emotionally, do the wrong thing,... But she just doesn't, and she's been choosing to be good ever since she was young. The appeal of a powerful witch holding herself in check, mmm, she's just so much more introspective, complex and relatable than say Gandalf in LOTR who had the same issues. Iconic role model honestly.

9) Harry Du Bois from Disco Elysium, or at least specifically the communist well-natured version of him you can play as djkfgdfkfg, not that it erases his complexities and masculine asshole ways but... I mean yeah, he's a cop and an asshole no matter what, but the sheer potential he holds... No matter how low he's fallen, his sentimentality and his empathy, being so in-tune with people and the city, it all leads to a blooming hope for humanity I suppose. That you can get better, always, and not only a-la Grantaire by dying. Of course, you can also always get worse, too, but that's the other inevitable side of the coin (I still haven't played the fascist route since it makes me too sad).

10) Leo from Pandora Hearts! Again I didn't really love how he ended up, but ahhh :^) His unlikely friendship with Elliot, agreeing to becoming his servant to stay by his side more, not realising that he's dooming his friend by doing so, yandere-ish personality plus secret pretty eyes, I mean. Classic flavor.

[crow-of-paradise]

10 characters | 10 fandoms | 10 tags (we'll see about that last one) I haven't made a text post in so long how's everyone doing. Thank you, rj (@sidprescot), for the tag! This was a nice surprise. :)

Gosh do I have a type and they're all Old Men and Tragic Ladies my beloved. Let's go!! 1. Varric Tethras (Dragon Age 2): he shot right through my heart with that crossbow THE LITERAL SECOND he came on screen and I've been cursing Bioware ever since. He is a nonromanceable short king and I have never wanted anyone more thx. 2. Nakmor Drack (Mass Effect Andromeda): the Tempest Crew is so freaking charming, and while I love my jelly fish cat aliens the Angara, my favorite character is absolutely this old cantakerous grandpa Krogan. Whom, much like Wrex, I wish I could romance. (p.s. there is a TEASE of a flirt option and u can imagine how little that helped my case) 3. Spock (literally every Star Trek iteration): He is my Everything. Nemoy, Quinto, and Peck all bring something unique to the character's portrayal. I love him in every universe and I can never get enough of this EMOTIONALLY COMPROMISED NERD.

4. Alicent Hightower (House of the Dragon): one half of my divorced lesbinems and I feel so much for her and the tragedy/complexity of both her character and the heartwrenching slow decay of her r/s with Rhaenyra. I cannot wait for S2. 5. Aerith Gainsborough (Final Fantasy VII): ooooough, beautiful, tragic, kind, funny, cool flower seller of my life. Remake!Aerith particularly stole my heart along with the show. There is this sad, beguiling mystery about her that draws you in, and she is so cheerful in spite of it all. I can't wait for Rebirth but also I am terrified lol. 6. Yennefer of Vengerberg (The Witcher): "How ravishing she is, he thought. Everything about her is ravishing. And menacing. Those colours of hers; that contrast of black and white. Beauty and menace. Her raven-black, natural curls. Her cheekbones, pronounced, emphasising a wrinkle, which her smile – if she deigned to smile – created beside her mouth, wonderfully narrow and pale beneath her lipstick…" I mean. C'mon. That is MY WIFE etc, copy paste rj's exact blurb. Anya Chalotra is the perfect Yen. She is everything and deserves the world and I will glady let her burn it all down and murder me if she wants to. 7. Zero (Final Fantasy XIV): [Endwalker patch spoilers!] who doesn't love an autistic badass goth half-human half-voidsent who has lived as a monster for so long she forgot her own identity and is learning how to be human again and finding her humanity via the power of friendship and delicious food, like. I needed more of her and I miss her already!!!

8. Kim Wexler (Better Call Saul): omg so hard to pick just one from this show (ilu nacho), but Kim Wexler SUCKER PUNCHES U IN THE THROAT with her awesomeness. She is this extremely competent, understated cool, calculating yet caring and earnest character who compliments Jimmy so well and whose nuances her amazing actress Rhea Seehorn manages to convey so masterfully. She is also tragic af, but hello it's Breaking Bad prequel lol. On that note... 9. Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium): DOUBLE KIM WHAMMY!!! They're so alike it's not even funny. I'd say Kim has the stronger moral center between the two, but I love them for many of the same reasons. He is also extremely competent, understated cool, with a side of being totally game for Harry's antics once he warms up to him (my Harry build was 'himbo' so he did a lot of dumb shit but he was nice). 10. Irving Bailiff (Severance): firstable, if you haven't seen Severance yet, please do yourself the favor and don't let me spoil this for u!! Irving Bailiff is an Experience. He is a stickler for the rules and very much a stick in the mud compared to his colleagues, but his true self leaks into this version of himself slowly at first, then in surprising bursts of rebellion that become clear at the end when it is shown that his Outtie/true self is actively trying to bring Lumon down like a TOTAL FUCKING BADASS in the most delightful reveal. Also he has a whirlwind romance with another old man played by Christopher Walken.

phew!! this was fun. lol @ my answers getting longer. I'm not tagging anyone but consider this an invitation to join in on the fun anyway!

[variantoutcast]

Get to know the blogger game!

I was tagged by: @dinluke 💙 [blue heart emoji]

• Share your wallpaper:

My redflag is that my laptop always has the default and I haven't set my phone background since I got a new one last year

• Last song you listened to:

"bad reputation" by Joan Jett. @psionicowl has a CD and that was playing last time we were in the car together <3

• Currently reading:

"Devotions" by Mary Oliver! It's the first time I've read a poetry book before, and several months later I'm 90% of the way through it! I like most of her stuff I've read so far. I also finished "Time is the Simplest Thing" by Clifford Simak, which I really loved! It's a sci fi novel published in the 60's. I'm going to start "Borne" by Jeff VanderMeer. I like most of his other stuff I've read so far, so I'm looking forward to cracking it open.

• Last movie:

"Logan" (2017), which was a few months ago. I really prefer TV shows to movies most of the time. Logan is one of my favorite movies though

• Last show:

The last show I finished was "Shadow and Bone", and I'm currently (re)watching "Better Call Saul" (with an odd "House M.D." or "Psych" episode thrown in here and there)

• Craving:

Human companionship 😭[crying emoji]. Also artisan mills farmhouse cheddar crackers [link]

• What are you wearing:

A dark green short sleeve tshirt and brick red sweat shorts, and wristwatch (digital, black, and definitely not smart)

• How tall are you?

5 feet 8 inches

• Piercings:

I have an eyebrow piericing and an industrial piercing! I'd love to get my lobes pierced (again...) and maybe a second eyebrow piercing!

• Tattoos

I have the solar system across my left collar bone and a blackwork cloud with lightning coming out of it, and an eye through the center (almost an exact, just slightly cleaned up reproduction of a sketch I did!) On my left shoulder. I want to get a sleeve on that arm of cryptids and vines, and I'd love to tattoo my scalp some day with vines.

• Glasses/contacts:

I can only see 4 inches from my face without glasses, so I wear mine constantly! Sometimes I will get contacts during the summer to make outdoorsy activities easier

• Last thing you ate:

Those goodie girl thin mint knock offs [link]

• Favorite color:

Navy blue is my favorite, but I also love brick red, dark green, and yellow!

• Current obsession:

Having a sewing kick! Media wise I'm coming off "Shadow and Bone" lockdown and reigniting "Better Call Saul" brain. I have some lingering "Severance" and "Andor" brainworms too. "The Mandalorian" has been so disappointing lately that I barely care about it all.

• Pets:

I have a halloween moon crab named Candy Corn and an asian spiny toad named Breaker

• Favorite fictional character:

Fuck. Evil question. Castiel from "Supernatural" and Ahsoka from "Star Wars" probably

• Last place you traveled:

To work 😭[crying emoji]

No pressure tags!

@stormikins @butchghostbird @vampgf @meshla @rogueninja @tamayokny @dykefagz

[0aurelion-sol0]

Finally watched Better Call Saul's Season 6 Two Episodes Premiere and I have to say:

This was insanely good. Hooked from the beginning compared to season 5 which I had a harder time to get into. Everything was interesting from the cartel plot involving the game played between Lalo and Gus to Nacho's escape from Mexico plus Kim and Jimmy's shenanigans against Howard. At some point I think BCS should be shown in schools, it is that good. Like this is an example of what good writing and directing looks like.

Just from the first shot alone, my analysis and theories were confirmed about the meaning of certain things and I was very pleased with that but THEN!!! Literally so much of what we've seen in the trailers is in those two episodes. We've already seen 3/4 of the trailers already and it's just the first two episodes.

And I also got so many things wrong too, the trailers tricked us so much especially the ending of the main one. But there was one thing I was intrigued about which was that I thought another Salamanca would join the show but I was so wrong about this. X) I laughed my ass off when I watched the episode and saw what they did with him. I was like "WELP!". This was very well played on their part thought, they deceived me very well and I liked it alot, pleasantly surprised by the small role of this dude even if quite tragic in the end.

There's others but it would be too long to get into. Reviews will probably come soon enough though.

My six favorite things since it's season 6:

1. "Days Of Wine And Roses" being used. It's such a good song and represents this show so well. Especially what we saw during the opening.

2. Kim's transformation in what looks like to be, right now at least or for me if you want, an anti-hero. And she is fully taking from Saul's wardrobe aesthetic too. Rhea is selling it with her acting. If she doesn't get an emmy this year, I will be surprised.

3. Michael Mando's performance. This man is literally dehydrating himself playing this character. XD Everything is so intense about this character arc and he is selling it too.

4. MIKE AND GUS GOING AT IT!!! We got "the" badass soundtrack coming back too, you know which one I'm talking about. 😈This relationship and the way it's been unfolding since 2x10 or at least 3x03 (in the flesh this time) is so entertaining to watch. There so many twists and turns there too.

5. THE CINEMATOGRAPHY!!! I mean this is no surprise but WOW, they outdid themselves with those two episodes which brings me to my 6th point.

This shot... which I have no words to describe how beautiful it is. Like... how were they able to do a shot like this one ? This is mighty fine work right here.

So excited for the rest of this season, especially if all the rest of it is on the same level as those first two episodes.

[vonderbarr]

I'm making my way through Breaking Bad after Better Call Saul, and it honestly blows my mind (though it really shouldn't) that Jane, Lydia, Sky and Marie are the least loved characters.

You probably didn't intend for me to write a small essay on my thoughts about each character, but that's what I ended up doing! I really seem to be unable to answer an ask without writing kind of an embarrassing amount.

I'm not surprised that these women aren't liked, but I am disappointed. I saw Breaking Bad as it aired and I haven't really watched it since. It took me a long time to warm up to Skyler, but I blame that mostly on being young with some unexamined internal misogyny (before I even knew that was a thing). I like her so much more after re-watching some of the early episodes and I really hate some of the terrible takes I've seen about her. She just kept getting pushed into worse and worse situations by a man that looked like an antihero, but was actually a straight up villain. She tried so hard to keep the household running like normal and didn't realize the genre of the show she was in. She did her best and, for the most part, was successful in keeping her family together and her kids safe.

Marie, though, I've loved since the beginning. She also keeps getting put into shitty positions, and has some unhealthy coping mechanisms, but she's also incredibly strong and loving. Even when Hank was being awful to her, it was obvious that they loved and understood each other which is really nice to see in a show like this. I found myself really rooting for her, especially when she turned on Walt. Seeing her tell Walt to kill himself was a highlight of that. She's definitely one of my favorite characters.

I have mixed feelings about Jane. I really liked her at first, but after she relapsed and started doing harder drugs with Jesse I knew it was going to end tragically. I found myself trying not to care about her as much, but her death was so awful and the fallout of it was so shocking and far-reaching. Her death is all the more tragic because it was preventable. She's really a pivotal character and her death is one of the most important in the series. I see a lot of people saying that she deserved it like people give up their basic humanity when they start doing drugs and it's really awful.

Lydia was amazing and I hated her and I was kind of terrified whenever she came on screen. Even when she was panicking or pleading for her life she had this calculating undertone and you knew that she would sacrifice whoever she needed to get away clean. She represented that corporate kind of everyday evil, and her anxiety and seeming panic attacks actually added to it all. I felt like it made her just unpredictable enough to be a danger to everybody. And her murder was really brilliantly done. They Chekov's Gunned that ricin perfectly.

Aside from the obvious misogyny, I feel like a lot of problems people have with these characters has to do with not seeing their influence on the plot as a whole. It seems like some of them would rather these characters didn't exist even though these women are incredibly important to the show and all have a hand in really pivotal plot points. Even if you don't like the characters you have to acknowledge that without them a lot of important or cool story beats (like that awesome train heist) wouldn't have happened. Breaking Bad would have been a very different and incomplete show without them.

Thanks for the ask, I had a good time writing it! I don't often get a chance to really get into it with other fans.

[pandirpus]

Tagged by @northernscruffycat!

Tagging anyone who wants to do this, since it’s kinda long! :D

How many works do you have on AO3?

73! Which is not all fic I’ve ever written by a long shot, but mostly everything I’ve written since 2013.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

172573 words - I mostly write oneshots...

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

20 fandoms! I usually only write 1-3 fics per fandom, but there are some outliers.

Shows / Animes: Yu-Gi-Oh! DM, Gravity Falls, Better Call Saul, Boku no Hero Academia,  Kuroshitsuji I + II Games: Dragon Age, Metal Gear Solid 3, Ace Attorney: Apollo Justice, Monkey Island, Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Skyrim / Ties of Lapis Movies: The Amazing Spider-Man, Collateral, The Hobbit, Fantastic Beasts, Edge of Tomorrow, Thor, Deadpool, The Devil Wears Prada

Oh, and Homestuck.

 What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Going for the Kill (Bosselot, MGS, very smutty kinky PWP)

Weak Spots (Andy/Emily, The Devil Wears Prada, sweet & short fic)

In Tune (Klapollo, Ace Attorney, slightly shippy Gen fic about Klavier’s relationships)

In Literal Pieces, Not In The Melodramatic Sense (Wade/Francis, Deadpool, gory fun little trash fic that I still love)

Quicksand (Bosselot, MGS, another smutty PWP)

(it’s kinda cool and unexpected that these don’t have much in common - there’s fluff, gore, smut and gen! :D)

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

Yes! Comments always make my day, I love re-reading them when I don’t feel so confident about my writing and even though I’m terribly awkward, I always try to convey my joy to the commenters :D

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Swallow It Down (Lalo/Nacho, Non-Con/Rape), maybe, since there’s this terrible resignation to the abuse at the end and it’s probably one of the bleakest, whumpiest fics I’ve ever written.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, I guess I tag my stuff well and it’s definitely not popular enough to attract any kind of ire and unwanted attention.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yup, sometimes I do! I do love writing kinky and extremely horny fics that don’t feature any smut, but I’ve written a couple of explicit smutty fics and I tend to write more of those lately. It’s mostly slash, but some f/m, too.

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Probably not.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, in Chinese and Russian! I’d love to be able to read and appreciate them, but either way, it’s amazing!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I’ve written a very fun Amnesia AU fic with @krokonoko - Tabula Rasa - and to this day, it’s the longest and most research-intensive fic I’ve ever written in English.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

My first OTP that I wrote tons of fics for as a teen was Yami/Seto from YGO DM, and I kept writing fics for them into my 20s, which probably already makes it my most-written ship. Then thee YGO movie in 2017 rekindled my love and I wrote another batch of fics! So I think there’s no competition here.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Too many.

What are your writing strengths?

Making not all that sexy things very sensual and horny. Writing self-destructive and very much not self-aware asshats. Writing aesthetically pleasing gore. And dialogue, I think.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I only feel comfortable writing in German and English, any other language I’d only include if a native speaker gave me feedback - and even then, I’m kind of nervous. I asked a friend for help with the Russian dirty talk in Going for a Kill, and I’m still anxious about it...

So personally, I prefer not to use languages I don’t speak myself. I do like it in fics if it’s fitting and properly proof-read! But there’s really nothing wrong with just writing it in English if you don’t know much about the language the character is speaking. It’s better than writing something utterly ridiculous and making all readers who speak that language cringe super hard...

What was the first fandom you ever wrote for?

YGO DM. Though I did try to write a Lord of the Rings fic way back when...

What’s your favorite fic you’ve ever written?

Oof, that’s a tough one because I’m fond of a lot of my fics for different reasons. I think for aesthetics and mood I like The Spaces in Between (Billford, Gravity Falls) and Not His Equal (Gozaburo&Seto, YGO) most.

[aion-rsa]

Better Call Saul Confronts Its Legacy in Season 6

https://ift.tt/3gM97md

As Better Call Saul heads into its sixth and final season, the AMC hit has found a way to carve out its own path beyond the enormous shadow of its big brother, Breaking Bad. The series combines incredible cinematography, outstanding acting, and intelligent storytelling in a peerless fashion. 

As we continue to anticipate the show’s final episodes, we were lucky enough to get the chance to talk with executive producer Thomas Schnauz about how much the drama has already accomplished, how instrumental actors like Rhea Seehorn and Tony Dalton have been to the program’s success, and what the show’s lasting legacy will hopefully be. 

Den of Geek: Do you have any inklings of information on whether AMC is going to split the sixth season into two parts? This has been a rumor for quite some time and I know Peter Gould said he had hoped it would be aired as a single entity. 

Thomas Schnauz: I don’t know. Because of the COVID delays, and then Bob’s heart attack and recovery, I have zero idea when or how the episodes will be aired. Everything with production is moving forward, steady but slow. We’re filming scenes that don’t involve Bob right now. I just finished editing my director’s cut of episode 607, and I addressed some notes on my script for 611. I’m still waiting to hear the dates of when I’ll prep and direct 611.

Heading into the final season, Better Call Saul is different from a lot of other shows in that we already know what Jimmy McGill’s fate is going to be. What we don’t know is what Gene Takovic’s closure represents. How much more prevalent will those scenes be in the sixth season?

We will of course address Gene’s future, but I’m not at liberty to say how much or how little will be in the show. We talked about it a ton when we were breaking the episodes, and all we writers can do is go with our gut about how much Gene we see. Everyone chimed in with thoughts, and Peter Gould had the ultimate choice, and I think he picked an amount that we’re all happy with.

The fifth season of the show got a lot more action-oriented than past installments as Jimmy and Kim themselves go a little too close to the cartel. Can we expect the violence to be ramped up even more in the final season? How do you balance keeping the same tone the show has always had while realizing that things change as you get close to the finish line?

We don’t really pay attention to matching the tone or the amount of violence that came before in previous seasons. We just do what’s right for the current story. The show has always been violent in my eyes, since season 1, with Tuco and the skate twins, Nacho’s threats to Jimmy, Mike in Philly… and also emotionally violent, with Chuck betraying his brother. So there will be more physical and emotional violence in season 6, but I can’t swear that it’s any more than we had before. We’re coming to the end, so whatever happens will probably hit harder.

Many people have come to view Lalo Salamanca (Tony Dalton) as the best antagonist in the entire Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul universe. Will his role be even larger in the final season than before and do you and the other writers regret not bringing the character into the fold earlier in the series? 

Season 5 felt really special to me. I just felt like we were clicking on all cylinders, and Tony Dalton was a big part of that. We certainly talked about bringing in the character Lalo as far back as season 1, but now with 20/20 hindsight it feels he came in at the perfect time. I can’t say if Lalo’s role will be bigger or smaller in season 6, but he was certainly pissed off and a man on a mission in the season 5 finale.

Last season you wrote one of the most acclaimed episodes in the series, “Bad Choice Road”. How much of the iconic scene with Lalo interrogating Jimmy and Kim at home came from your own imagination and how much of it was a group effort from the whole team? 

We writers all work together on all of the episodes, and it’s just too hard to remember who came up with what beat/line/idea. On my Twitter page (@tomschnauz) I post the boards that we work on (index cards with all the story beats), which is a good indication of what we came up with in the room. I want to say that I did pitch the Lalo interrogation technique of having your prisoner repeat the same story over and over until there’s a discrepancy, but I can’t swear to it. When it comes time to write, we use the cards to help guide us, so the “writer” of the episode puts his/her spin onto it, but even after that, a writer will sit with Peter and often another writer to either streamline or, sometimes, bulk up a scene if it’s feeling thin.

Did anybody realize what an asset Kim Wexler was going to be to Better Call Saul when the show first started? Was it always the intent to make her a de-facto lead, or did Rhea Seehorn impress so much that it just came about naturally as the plot and the themes kept progressing and calling for exploration of her character?

We had zero idea what Kim’s role would be in the series. In fact, I think the writers were still debating into season 2 if Kim and Jimmy had an intimate relationship prior to us meeting her in season 1, or were they just friends? I wrote the line about the “sex robot voice” in episode 3, so I was in the camp of: “they started something but career took over and it didn’t quite go anywhere.” We knew Rhea was good when we saw her audition tape, but then seeing her in the role as we were filming season 1 — all the nuance, the humor, the gleam in her eyes — we knew we had a special combination with her and Bob. 

Read more

TV

Better Call Saul: Rhea Seehorn Shares Her Favorite Kim Theory in Exclusive New Clip

By Alec Bojalad

TV

Better Call Saul Season 5 Reveals Kim Wexler’s Heart of Darkness

By Alec Bojalad

These actors share that indescribable thing when you watch them — when the characters struggle against a system stacked against them, you root for them, but then… when they start “breaking bad” and doing things they shouldn’t, you still root for them!  Maybe you’re not rooting for them to succeed in the horrible thing they’re doing, but you’re still with them and shouting, “No, turn back!  Don’t get caught!”  So, to answer the question, the series is what it is and Kim is who she is because Rhea worked so hard and brought so much to the character. It definitely helped the writers make choices about where the plot should go.

What do you want Better Call Saul to be remembered for What element should be considered its lasting legacy? Do you think this has been a show that has the ability for people to continue to discover for many years to come?

When we started this show, I thought we’d have very limited viewership — a small percentage of the people who watched Breaking Bad. I would have been thrilled with 50% of that audience. But I’ve been delighted to meet and hear from fans who have never seen the original show. I’m hoping people will go back and rewatch both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul because of the way we wrote them: we didn’t go in with an overall plan, and when we finished writing one episode, we weren’t exactly sure what was going to happen next. 

So the writing was a struggle and we put ourselves into tight corners, and when searching for an answer for these problems we created, we were often surprised, and I hope that comes through in the viewing. The plot is not predictable, and the answers are hard to get to, so I hope both series stand up to repeated viewing.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Better Call Saul season 6 is expected to premiere in 2022. Check back with Den of Geek tomorrow for more BCS tidbits from Thomas Schnauz. 

The post Better Call Saul Confronts Its Legacy in Season 6 appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3zAgjt8

[aaronmaurer]

TV I Liked in 2020

Every year I reflect on the pop culture I enjoyed and put it in some sort of order.

Was there ever a year more unpredictably tailor-made for peak TV than 2020? Lockdowns/quarantines/stay-at-home orders meant a lot more time at home and the occasion to check out new and old favorites. (I recognize that if you’re lucky enough to have kids or roommates or a S.O., your amount of actual downtime may have been wildly different). While the pandemic resulted in production delays and truncated seasons for many shows, the continued streaming-era trends of limited series and 8-13 episode seasons mean that a lot of great and satisfying storytelling still made its way to the screen. As always, I in no way lay any claims to “best-ness” or completeness – this is just a list of the shows that brought me the most joy and escapism in a tough year and therefore might be worth putting on your radar.

10 Favorites

10. The Right Stuff: Season 1 (Disney+)

As a space program enthusiast, even I had to wonder, does the world really need another retelling of NASA’s early days? Especially since Tom Wolfe’s book has already been adapted as the riveting and iconoclastic Philip Kaufman film of the same name? While some may disagree, I find that this Disney+ series does justify its existence by focusing more on the relationships of the astronauts and their personal lives than the technical science (which may be partially attributable to budget limitations?). The series is kind of like Mad Men but with NASA instead of advertising (and real people, of course), so if that sounds intriguing, I encourage you to give it a whirl.

9. Fargo: Season 4 (FX)

As a big fan of Noah Hawley’s Coen Brothers pastiche/crime anthology series, I was somewhat let down by this latest season. Drawing its influence primarily from the likes of gangster drama Miller’s Crossing – one of the Coens’ least comedic/idiosyncratic efforts – this season is more straightforward than its predecessors and includes a lot of characters and plot-threads that never quite cohere. That said, it is still amongst the year’s most ambitious television with another stacked cast, and the (more-or-less) standalone episode “East/West” is enough to make the season worthwhile.

8. The Last Dance (ESPN)

Ostensibly a 10-episode documentary about the 1990s Chicago Bulls’ sixth and final NBA Championship run, The Last Dance actually broadens that scope to survey the entire history of Michael Jordan and coach Phil Jackson’s careers with the team. Cleverly structured with twin narratives that chart that final season as well as an earlier timeframe, each episode also shifts the spotlight to a different person, which provides focus and variety throughout the series. And frankly, it’s also just an incredible ride to relive the Jordan era and bask in his immeasurable talent and charisma – while also getting a snapshot of his outsized ego and vices (though he had sign-off on everything, so it’s not exactly a warts-and-all telling).

7. The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)

This miniseries adaptation of the Walter Tevis coming-of-age novel about a chess prodigy and her various addictions is compulsively watchable and avoids the bloat of many other streaming series (both in running time and number of episodes). The 1960s production design is stunning and the performances, including Anya Taylor-Joy in the lead role, are convincing and compelling.

6. The Great: Season 1 (hulu)

Much like his screenplay for The Favourite, Tony McNamara’s series about Catherine the Great rewrites history with a thoroughly modern and irreverent sensibility (see also: Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette). Elle Fanning brings a winning charm and strength to the title role and Nicholas Hoult is riotously entertaining as her absurdly clueless and ribald husband, Emperor Peter III. Its 10-episodes occasionally tilt into repetitiveness, but when the ride is this fun, why complain? Huzzah!

  5. Dispatches From Elsewhere (AMC)

A limited (but possibly anthology-to-be?) series from creator/writer/director/actor Jason Segal, Dispatches From Elsewhere is a beautiful and creative affirmation of life and celebration of humanity. The first 9 episodes form a fulfilling and complete arc, while the tenth branches into fourth wall-breaking meta territory, which may be a bridge too far for some (but is certainly ambitious if nothing else). Either way, it’s a movingly realized portrait of honesty, vulnerability and empathy, and I highly recommend visiting whenever it inevitably makes its way to Netflix, or elsewhere…

4. What We Do in the Shadows: Season 2 (FX)

The second season of WWDITS is more self-assured and expansive than the first, extending a premise I loved from its antecedent film – but was skeptical could be sustained – to new and reinvigorated (after)life. Each episode packs plenty of laughs, but for my money, there is no better encapsulation of the series’ potential and Matt Berry’s comic genius than “On The Run,” which guest-stars Mark Hamill and features Laszlo’s alter ego Jackie Daytona, regular human bartender.

3. Ted Lasso: Season 1 (AppleTV+)

Much more than your average fish-out-of-water comedy, Jason Sudeikis’ Ted Lasso is a brilliant tribute to humaneness, decency, emotional intelligence and good coaching – not just on the field. The fact that its backdrop is English Premier League Soccer is just gravy (even if that’s not necessarily represented 100% proficiently). A true surprise and gem of the year.

2. Mrs. America (hulu)

This FX miniseries explores the women’s liberation movement and fight for the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and its opposition by conservative women including Phyllis Schlafly. One of the most ingenious aspects of the series is centering each episode on a different character, which rotates the point of view and helps things from getting same-y. With a slate of directors including Ryan Bowden and Anna Fleck (Half-Nelson, Sugar, Captain Marvel) and an A-List cast including Cate Blanchett, Rose Byrne, Uzo Aduba, Sarah Paulson, Margo Martindale, Tracey Ulman and Elizabeth Banks, its quality is right up there with anything on the big screen. And its message remains (sadly) relevant as ever in our current era.

1. The Good Place: Season 4 (NBC)

It was tempting to omit The Good Place this year or shunt it to a side category since only the final 4 episodes aired in 2020, but that would have been disingenuous. This show is one of my all-time favorites and it ended perfectly. The series finale is a representative mix of absurdist humor and tear-jerking emotion, built on themes of morality, self-improvement, community and humanity. (And this last run of eps also includes a pretty fantastic Timothy Olyphant/Justified quasi-crossover.) Now that the entire series is available to stream on Netflix (or purchase in a nice Blu-ray set), it’s a perfect time to revisit the Good Place, or check it out for the first time if you’ve never had the pleasure.

5 of the Best Things I Caught Up With

Anne With An E (Netflix/CBC)

Another example of classic literature I had no prior knowledge of (see also Little Women and Emma), this Netflix/CBC adaptation of Anne of Green Gables was strongly recommended by several friends so I finally gave it a shot. While this is apparently slightly more grown-up than the source material, it’s not overly grimdark or self-serious but rather humane and heartfelt, expanding the story’s scope to include Black and First Nations peoples in early 1800s Canada, among other identities and themes. It has sadly been canceled, but the three seasons that exist are heart-warming and life-affirming storytelling. Fingers crossed that someday we’ll be gifted with a follow-up movie or two to tie up some of the dangling threads.

Better Call Saul (AMC)

I liked Breaking Bad, but I didn’t have much interest in an extended “Breaking Bad Universe,” as much as I appreciate star Bob Odenkirk’s multitalents. Multiple recommendations and lockdown finally provided me the opportunity to catch up on this prequel series and I’m glad I did. Just as expertly plotted and acted as its predecessor, the series follows Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman on his own journey to disrepute but really makes it hard not to root for his redemption (even as you know that’s not where this story ends).

Joe Pera Talks With You (Adult Swim)

It’s hard to really describe the deadpan and oddly soothing humor of comedian Joe Pera whose persona, in the series at least, combines something like the earnestness of Mr. Rogers with the calm enthusiasm of Bob Ross. Sharing his knowledge on the likes of how to get the best bite out of your breakfast combo, growing a bean arch and this amazing song “Baba O’Reilly” by the Who – have you heard it?!? – Pera provides arch comfort that remains solidly on the side of sincerity. The surprise special he released during lockdown, “Relaxing Old Footage with Joe Pera,” was a true gift in the middle of a strange and isolated year.

The Mandalorian (Disney+)

One of the few recent Star Wars properties that lives up to its potential, the adventures of Mando and Grogu is a real thrill-ride of a series with outstanding production values (you definitely want to check out the behind-the-scenes documentary series if you haven’t). I personally prefer the first season, appreciating its Western-influenced vibes and somewhat-more-siloed story. The back half of the second season veers a little too much into fan service and video game-y plotting IMHO but still has several excellent episodes on offer, especially the Timothy Olyphant-infused energy of premiere “The Marshall” and stunning cinematography of “The Jedi.” And, you know, Grogu.

The Tick (Amazon Prime)

I’ve been a fan of the Tick since the character’s Fox cartoon and indie comic book days and also loved the short-lived Patrick Warburton series from 2001. I was skeptical about this Amazon Prime reboot, especially upon seeing the pilot episode’s off-putting costumes. Finally gaining access to Prime this year, I decided to catch up and it gets quite good!, especially in Season 2. First, the costumes are upgraded; second, Peter Serafinowicz’s initially shaky characterization improves; and third, it begins to come into its own identity. The only real issue is yet another premature cancellation for the property, meaning Season 2’s tease of interdimensional alien Thrakkorzog will never be fulfilled. 😢

Bonus! 5 More Honorable Mentions:

City So Real (National Geographic)

The Good Lord Bird (Showtime)

How To with John Wilson: Season 1 (HBO)

Kidding: Season 2 (Showtime)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs The Reverend (Netflix)

[gaiapaia]

Kermit and Friends: Lucas 6:27

But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you. - Luke 6:27-36

This Bible verse is essentially the ‘Golden Rule’ we’re all taught in elementary school - treat others how you want to be treated. However, treating others kindly is very hard to do when the other person is bad to you. Perhaps the toughest part about being a Christian is the fact we’re supposed to love and pray for our enemies like Jesus would.

Elisa apparently has an enemy in Lucas, Andy Dick’s lover and ex-boyfriend. Lucas has been on the show a couple of times now but their animosity has taken place away from Kermit and Friends.

When Elisa first met Lucas, she heard a lot of good things about him from Andy and they seemed to get along fine. Unfortunately, Andy would throw fits any time Elisa and Lucas were around each other, with Andy accusing Elisa of sleeping with Lucas. Elisa would invite Andy somewhere and Andy would show up with Lucas, only then to berate Elisa later for always inviting Lucas on their dates.

Elisa could tell Lucas was in a bad spot and had some connections to get him a job interview. She set it up for him and sadly, Lucas wasn’t hired. Elisa claims this led to Lucas screaming at her at a Hookah Bar earlier this week, with Lucas blaming Elisa as to why he didn’t get the job. Elisa ended up screaming back at Lucas this time instead of just taking his abuse. Knowing Elisa like I do, it takes a LOT to get her fired up for her to get into a confrontation in public, so she definitely reached her boiling point with Lucas that night.

What’s Elisa to do at this point? The Bible tells her not to hold resentment, to stay kind, to pray for Lucas, etc. It’s very, very tough, but the best way to handle it my opinion is to avoid Lucas at all cost from this point on. Say one little prayer for his well being and then eliminate him out of your life. And if you come across him again, be cordial and just walk away if his behavior starts to bring you out of your true character. That’s my advice.

Anyway, this incident between Elisa and Lucas is where the show got its title from this week. Luke is obviously short for Lucas, and I thought it was creative the way Elisa tied the situation together. Further on in the show, Elisa would play a clip from Andy Dick’s new podcast aDICKted where Andy explained his toxic relationship with Lucas. Andy alleges that Lucas beats him, beats up all of Andy’s male lovers, has stolen from him, etc. Just because Andy says it doesn’t necessarily make it true (like when Andy says Elisa sleeps with Lucas), but if those allegations are true, Lucas is a very bad guy and I would personally prefer Elisa not to hang out with Andy anymore if Lucas is forced into the arrangement. But Elisa is a big girl and can take care of herself - I trust her to stay out of bad situations.

In better news, Elisa’s new song My Fiancé is a huge hit among the KAF fanbase. Literally everyone loved it, except for Andy that is. Regardless of Andy’s irrelevant feelings, the song is now available on Itunes, Spotify, Amazon, and anywhere else you can listen to music.

My Fiancé was such a huge hit that it got three remixes in just a week! Two were from Eric Riggs, one from Andy Dick. Eric’s first remix was him just masturbating to the video, while the second remix was Eric singing about dancing like Michael Jackson. Andy’s remix was simply Andy cursing Elisa out to the beat of the song. Andy really needs to work on his songwriting ability, his version of My Fiancé wasn’t flattering at all!

Sharmin Smith ended up being the main focus of the show this week. She opened up to Elisa about the hardships she’s faced since she decided to run for President of the United States in 2020.

According to Sharmin, she was accused of sex trafficking and orchestrating a gang rape by QAnon members she hired from LinkedIn to help her with her presidential campaign. Sharmin’s teenaged kids somehow ended up hearing about these accusations and have had little contact with Sharmin since.

Sharmin bared her soul and you could tell how grief stricken she is over this, rightfully so. Sharmin obviously loves her kids very much and it’s not just the fact that they’re forced away from her that hurts, it’s the fact that they were led to believe these horrible things about Sharmin that aren’t true.

I wish there was something I could write to make Sharmin feel better about her situation. I do admire her strength to be so honest and sincere, and I appreciate she’s so willing to share her story with the Kermit and Friends audience despite how painful it is. But Sharmin if you’re reading this... it is very important to remain patient. I know it’s hard, especially this past year when we’ve had so much downtime to just ourselves, but you will be rewarded if you sit tight and allow the truth to be revealed naturally. You can’t force anything. Let God or fate or the universe, anything you want to call it, run its course and eventually justice will prevail and the good guys will win. You’re one of the good ones, Sharmin.

One positive note from Sharmin’s explosive interview this week was her acknowledgement of how Kermit and Friends entered her life at the perfect time. Sharmin emphasized how much fun KAF has been for her and how badly she needed some fun in her life. Kermit and Friends brings a lot of joy to the people who regularly watch and participate in it, and that alone makes the show a massive success if you ask me.

If you love Kermit and Friends, you can now donate during the show to have a comment displayed on stream. Elisa monetized her Youtube last week and received some nice donations. Capt Muttley, KAF’s dashing pilot, kicked things off and then Supertramp, Kleenex, and SaiyanZ Entertainment all generously contributed too. There’s so much going on during a KAF broadcast that Elisa can’t properly acknowledge the donations each time, but I know she appreciates it, and I also appreciate anyone supporting Elisa and KAF to such a strong degree. If you donate, you will always get a shout out in my reviews.

Chris Christine blessed Kermit and Friends with another appearance. She said a prayer for Elisa and Sharmin, and then let God choose a Bible verse to share. His finger landed on 1 Samuel 17, which is about brothers David and Saul coming together. Christine then beautifully correlated the verse to her, Elisa, and Sharmin as sisters coming together. Chris is wonderful every appearance she makes.

There were lots of awesome musical guests this week. We met a nice guy named Hud Isaacson, a rapper who Elisa claims is Andy Dick’s most normal friend. He performed a couple for raps for us and then shared how mean Lucas was to Elisa last week. Click soundcloud and Instagram to hear Ian’s songs and to follow him on social media.

Another new musical guest was Miranda Moore, who performed two beautiful original songs. You can check her out on Youtube and also follow her on Instagram.

Lastly, Johnny B returned to perform two karaoke classics, including one of my all time favorite songs, Hurt by Johnny Cash.

I really enjoyed this week’s show. It had less comedy than your typical Kermit and Friends episode, but the way the show was filled with love, thoughtfulness, deep conversations and interesting stories made it a really enjoyable experience to watch. Please be sure to tune in next week for a potential big guest and a huge update on Trumpster Bob that you absolutely do not want to miss.

[macgyvertape]

50 or so hours into Cyberpunk 2077

This should be roughly the correct amount of time, ive been leaving the game running as I get up to get food or do stretches. Quests are roughly in order I did them

non spoilers above cut:

 i haven't found a single hat/helmet i like, and since you can't hide them I just am not wearing any. It matters that much.

I posted the other day about bugs, every few hours I play I find new bugs. some require me to go back and reload a save others I honestly can’t tell if it’s a bug or just really poor development

there are several perks that don’t quite do what the description says, like the Anamesis perk. Based on reddit and trying it out it seems to just not do anything.

sometimes in car chase segments the passenger will say “look out” as cars spawn in my path and hit me. Can’t tell if that was deliberate or a pop in issue

Yeah I’ve just totally given up on doing pacifist things unless required by a mission. Given up on doing stealth too unless a mission objective, except for sneaking around to set up a fight.

:readmore:

the delemain car quest is fun. From the shock of the one going "beep beep motherfucker" and doing a hit and run to start it off, to the GLADOS car i see a lot of people talking about. It was fun to explore the city when i might have missed places like the landfill apparently there is follow up on T-bug's death if you go back to the quick hack shop in Kabuki. It's not much but better than nothing I made the pass with Panam of "what if the room just had one bed". I know she won't do a wlw romance, which is fine since I wouldn’t have chosen her.  I enjoy her as a character, don’t get me wrong, my V considers her as a friend, but it seems like theres always drama going on which would be tiring. I would have gone for a fling, i like her leotard-pants combo with all the straps

but also her questline was buggy as hell. Multiple cases of having to reload due to clipping into objects, including her in a driving section, or just insta-dying when collision physics with some rocks broke "your neural network can no longer function independantly of the chip" me slapping my desk: s y m b i o te!!! come on lets have some s y m b i o s i s

in the scene with hellman i really liked how Johnny moved around the room. It made him feel like he was really there. it was hard to follow the convo as I left the room, i would not have understood it without subtitles. But i guess Takemura fucking waterboarded hellman. :|

lol I hope the dialogue is different b/c i refuse to smoke for Johnny

i am level 18 and still can't beat the first opponents in the fist fighting quest. ffs

I looked up the romances options so I went to do the I fought the law quest as soon as i got it. ACAB, but like I literally just met River Ward 2 minutes ago, and I really like him. His earring and cyborg eye, his big fluffy coat. I'm definitely gonna sleep with him Ok i like how when River Ward is dealing with the tiger claws if you interject it leads to a fight. It goes better if you follow his instructions and let him deal with it. Seriously I enjoy that sometimes its good to not pick a dialogue choice.

during the red queen club part, there was no dialogue over the phone. So i reloaded a save and got myself spotted and attacked. Then River showed up to help me <3 and it was more enjoyable having him there. I honestly am not sure if him not going to the club level is bug or not.

then uuuuuugh the worst of irl police "cops are my family" from Detective Han. Again ACAB "FRATERNITY OF CITY COPS RESEMBLES A [Nomad] CLAN NOT AT ALL" ok a few minutes ago i was complaining about bugs, but the character modeling in this game is good (when they're there). You can see body posture, characters jiggle their legs when they are nervous. Like I though character A was just throwing a cigarette on the ground, but then character B flinches back; I realize Char A threw it at B as a fuck you

I'm honestly curious if "I fought the Law" quest will have any impact later on. My choices were that I thought there was more going on than Holt being the only person behind this (based on how complicated the main questline heist is, and keeping an eye on some of the in game news), and told him not to take it to internal affairs, and I loved his response of how he doesn't give a shit what we think, he's doing it anyway.

In the elevator to report in, Johnny said "this muck is deeper than you think, tell them nothing", so i just said that the case was complicated. anyway i love how much of a sarcastic asshole V is

I thought i was being nonlethal with the monk quest, but it seems i accidently killed someone. RIP, but thats kind of the problem with this game. Like when i do the non lethal cyberpychosis quests I equip my non lethal modded gun and hope for the est. I like how a go here kill things quest led to Charles the ripperdoc. He's getting all his parts from scav gang members so I felt obligated to take him out. I got a police bounty for it but w/e.

I merged the Delemain fragments with the whole. Guess he's the meta now. (Side note: some of my favorite rvb fanfic plots are Ai consiousness/memory merging with the humans, so I’m having fun with this game and look foward to introspective fanfic)

Honestly Jonny made some good points, the fragments didn't deserve to die; but also destroying the core and freeing the fragments, they couldn't really function alone.

I was able to rescue Saul fine with stealth. Using cameras and the synapse overload really made it easy.  Can't use the sniper rifle reward b/c I don't have the stats for it, and while it has a silencer the fact that it's a ricochette weapon and not a shoot through walls weapons, makes it not as good imo; and theres a legendary one that is stats free for only 100k.

Lol made a pass again at Panam, and she immediately shut me down. I then did Mitch's quest and I love every time someone tells V they area  good person.

I hacked the operation carpe noctem shard, and wow the corporations are using ai to make people have cyberpsychosis, or something like that. What a shocker /s, I've played Deus Ex HR before

lol driving through the unifinished interstate, past the fight from Panam's first quest I found a "batcave" with a very nice car, and a manifesto written by "muckman'. But here's my complaint about the loot, there is a legendary top, but it had 16 armor. My current top has 84 armor, like why would i switch?? then later i found a bunker with soviet spies in it. Wild

Doing River's second quest, love the timing of as soon as you ask, why are we breaking in, someone shows up to tell you he got kicked off the force. It's funny how Johnny comments how maybe River's into you, and V just doubts Johnny's words. Love how the first kid asks River if I'm his girlfriend. also wow like oof both the second parts of Judy and River's quest are SUPER fucked UP!! oof like i stopped doing first person mode on the braindances for those quests as soon as i could, just made me too uncomfortable seeing that in first person.

DRIVING IN THE GAME IS BAD! nowhere is it more apparent than the sinnerman quest, which took me 3 times to get the driving section done, as cars spawned out of nowhere to hit me. Then when you restart, there is a bunch of dialogue it doesn't let you fast forward through. The rest of the Sinnerman questline is interesting. My V took every option to tell the dude that he was messed up, and what he was doing was wrong. idk, I was surprised how much dialogue there was that let you buy into his whole "forgiveness thing" and how there wasn't any real dialogue to call him the fuck out, that in seeking forgiveness he continues to do harm both emotional to the mother of the man he killed, but also that he got the husband killed via cop. The later follow up quest, I told him that what he is doing is crazy, studio is just going to profit off this vid. Then I refused to join him prayer, and told him fuck no i wasn't going to hammer him to the cross, or even watch. Yes, the man is scared of dying, and the corporation is exploiting him, but he keeps creating burdens for others.  I think the discussion on this quest will be interesting to read, it's definitely my own personal experience with religion coloring my view. Anyway back to a main quest, yeah i don't trust Placide, especially in that scene where he grabs my hand, then jacks in. I ran off to do most of the sidequests here and got some criticism from him. I do love how in the cinema the western movie switches to a mission brief as the netwatch agent talks. its a fun enviromental detail.  I took the netwatch offer, i don't think he's being fully honest with me, but he didn't put a virus in my head. As I told Placide later, I didn't pick a side. I like how you can then talk with the agent, who is a fan of Western movies, b/c they show "a simpler time where all good guys carry badges" :eyeroll:, and then V recommends Unforgiven, which from the wiki summary goes against that theme.

Looks like the Voodoo boys all got killed by Netwatch, but I as revenge for them trying to set me up I'm fine with it. Honestly after speaking with ai!Alt I don’t believe their plan of trying to be on good relations with AI would work. 

doing the johnny flashback 2, and wow Johnny really is an asshole. Like I had gotten so used to him in side missions I forgot how self centered and unlikable he was.You constantly get prompts to drink or do drugs, which I ignored. But i do love the goth/punk love Rogue and others have.

lol i called it, when Hellman said that the engram would seek to override the host, put V on the engram. I really like how as the relic malfunctions, you wind up in the chair with a cigarette, which you can either smoke and say you are turning into Johnny or throw away. My dialogue "your problem is the ends justify the means", which is true!!! He and Rogue detonated a nuke downtown, does anyone know that, and like ask Rogue about it????

(Funny you can ask Rouge about Johnny silverhand, over the phone, then the game bugs out and spawns her npc where you are. She doens't say much about the nuke, but she does say no one trusts you for jobs). The line of no one trusting you for jobs is pretty funny at level 46 street cred where im at “respected” status. really loving the family atmosphere at River's 3rd quest. Also his big strong arms, and the fact he is no longer a cop. I totally let the kids win, and wow the family dinner where they GRILL YOU over the relationship and try to set the two of you up, then the water tower scene!!!!! I don't love the first person sex cutscenes but they do have personality. I'm glad afterwards you got to tell River about the biochip and that you might die. Because he's so far removed from your personal plot. So I took that option to back out of a relationship.

I do love that you wake up with "river's tanktop" that says "fuck the police" It actually has extremely good armor stats, so thats what I'll wear now.

panam 3rd quest, when shes like why did you help me, I'm like "because it's important to you". Basically the closest you can get to "when a friend asks for help you help them", which as an ex-nomad backstory I really choose the nomad options when ever i can Paralezes quest part 2! I love the piano song but I always think of it as ocean's 11 music. It's also fun to see the computer and see Judy recommended you for the first quest. The emails talk about "forgetting" to hire a staffer, on the balocony a strange antennia was scannable, the color of the roses was remembered wrong...  lol guess i was right with those giant wall screens. Its fun environmental details that spell things out before you can notice, and it ties into some other quests where people's behavior is being altered. Actually, this quest "Dream On" I love it! For a while I've been like "wheres the illuminati conspiracy! Here it IS! I chose to follow Elisabeth's wishes and not tell her husband he was being brainwashed. In best case they program him to forget again, in worst case he ends up dead. The gaslighting Elisabeth described is CHILLING, her husband describes a vacation she can't remember and she doesn't know whose memories have been messed with. On your way to the plaza you get a call from someone/something that says the know exactly WHAT you are, any you black out!!! It's such a great feeling of helplessness that you're just one person in a world so big that you can't fight every power. As Johnny said, could be a corporation, could be a rogue ai, either way Jefferson is fucked (and so are you).

[listdepot]

Top 10 Indie Games of the Decade (10 - 6)

Boy oh boy, video games sure did happen this decade, huh? A lot of stuff with a whole lot of video games and, most importantly, the independent game scene became far more pronounced, previously just confined to PC, the increasing presence of the online marketplace on consoles has greatly expanded the scope to which indie games reach players, putting these games on the same level as AAA. Anyway this is 10 of this games that I liked this year.

An honorable mention goes out to Firewatch because I still don’t know what is Firewatch.

10. Stacking

Double Fine are undoubtedly my favorite game company. Tim Schaefer’s company has not only created my favorite game of all time (Psychonauts), but all their games have such a fun creativity to them. Whether its a turn-based RPG where children fight based on their Halloween costumes or an action/strategy game set in a world based on hard rock and metal, Double Fine have proven to be such a company that embraces fun and whimsy, that Sesame Street of all people let them develop their most recent game.

Stacking, as you can tell from the screenshot, is a world populated by matroyshka stacking dolls, and you play as Charlie Blackmore, the smallest of all the stacking dolls, who sets out on an adventure to stop an evil Industrial Age baron called The Baron, who has enslaved his siblings. To do that, he stacks into other dolls, only able to go up in size one at a time. Most characters have their own unique abilities and Charlie uses those abilities to solve adventure game puzzles. And that’s where Stacking gets really cool.

Every single puzzle in the game has multiple solutions, if you can’t figure out one version of how to do it, there’s usually two more solutions. While you only HAVE to do one, the puzzles reset once you finish them, letting you take your time trying to figure the others. Its an adventure game that forgoes classic tropes of that genre, also replacing your standard point and click with the quick to pick up stacking mechanic that lets you pick and choose how you want to do things. Its a game that combines interesting ideas with an anticapitalist story and visually is both early 1900s set design while those sets are comprised of everyday household items. Its like playing a diorama from 1915. Not a lot of games are like that.

9. The Stanley Parable

The story of The Stanley Parable is simple. A narrative-driven walking simulator, you control Stanley, a boring office drone that’s tasked with monitoring data on a computer, pressing buttons and not asking questions. One day, that monitor goes blank and Stanley goes to fix it, suddenly discovering the office he works in is completely empty.

But that’s not the real story of The Stanley Parable. The narrator that describes Stanley’s actions, storybook-style, doesn’t control Stanley’s narrative. You do. And you have every opportunity, every step of the story, to go against the grain of what you’re told happens.

The Stanley Parable is a game that, as soon as you do anything it doesn’t want you to, begs you to continue following the path laid out for you then berates you for not following that path then continues to just complain to you, trying to regain control of the story. Every variation of Stanley’s story is maybe 10 - 15 minutes long but each one is a fun and weird surprise and Kevan Brighting’s soft friendly British narrator is an all time great voice acting role. One so good, Valve’s DOTA 2 MOBA game features an announcer pack that fully replaces the game’s announcer with Brighting’s narrator. DIGITAL SPORTS.

8. Observer

A digital plague called a nanophage has infected and claimed the lives of countless augmented people in this cyberpunk hellscape of Krakow, leading to war and rampant drug use. The Chiron Corporation stepped in soon after and took control, turning Poland into even more of a nightmare than it had been, condemning those on the lower rung of society to poorly kept together tenement buildings, while also creating a police force known as Observers, detectives given free reign to hack the minds of citizens. Its 2084 and you are Daniel Lazarski, an Observer who receives a message from his estranged son Adam to come to a tenement, where he discovers Adam’s body, dead from long before the call was made. And that’s when things get weird.

The more I think about it, the more I think Bloober Team’s more recent horror game, Layers of Fear 2, should take the place on the list. The only issue is I only played Layers 2 a month ago and, no matter how much I love it, my first exposure to this company was through Observer, and more than that, this was a game I did not stop thinking about for like a year and a half. While Layers 2 plays with color and black & white in a game about the early days of film, Observer is clearly influenced by classic works of cyberpunk (the most obvious being Blade Runner), the bright neon buzzing endlessly in this dark, miserable nightmare. 

Even the real stars of this game, the minds of the dead you dive into as you solve this murder mystery, embrace that look as your setting is warped around you constantly. Rooms that look normal start stretching endlessly, doors open into other memories. And as Dan gets deeper into the mystery, the line between the real of the world around him and the memories of those he’s probing begin to blend until his own memories get mixed up among them, showing what lead to the current sad life he lives. Its a game that oozes misery even as it tries to jumpscare you around every corner. And its why it still keeps showing up in my thoughts.

7. Gone Home

What exactly is a walking simulator? Dumb, that’s what. The idea that a game isn’t a game simply because it follows more of an adventure game aesthetic without any real challenges is absurd and, frankly, a childish view of what a game can be. And no game broke gamers’ brains more than the “walking simulator” Gone Home.

In 1995, Katie Greenbriar returns from a trip overseas on a stormy night to find her family home completely abandoned, moving boxes still unpacked. The unnerving quiet of the house mixed with the constant rain and occasional thunder feels like something out of a Resident Evil game. But instead of horror, the game uses this to make you feel confused, something to make you want to solve what happened. And it turns out its not a horror story, but a love story.

As Katie progresses through her house, she finds plenty of objects she can interact with, many that often unlock other areas in this large rural Oregon home. Along with many of those unlockables comes narration from Katie’s sister Sam, who details the awkwardness of moving into this new house, frequently thought to be haunted, and her life in a new school where she can’t connect with too many other people. Until she meets Lonnie. The two young women bond and fall in love. And the more you explore the home, the more this story gets fleshed out. Gone Home is a pure delight of a video game and one that not only spawned the pejorative term of “walking simulator” but became a gold standard for them, a term that the gaming industry has since embraced. There is no shame in using interactive media to simply tell a story, and Gone Home knows it.

6. Jazzpunk

Its the late 1950s in the country of Japanada and Agent Polyblank must-  I’m going to be honest with you guys. I don’t know what Jazzpunk is. I’m not entirely sure what its about. I’ve played it multiple times and loved every moment of it but I’m not going to pretend its a game that makes any sense. And that’s just what it wants to be.

Heavily adopting the style of mid-century spy and cyberpunk fiction, Jazzpunk is a game that overly prefers making you laugh over any qualitative form of actual gameplay. Sure there are puzzles to solve to move the story along, but those puzzles task you with collecting giant spiders that are better rendered than anything else in this game, or hacking into a Soviet consulate which involves using a telephone to dial “Kremlin 2: The New Batch”. 

And the puzzles that make up the story stuff isn’t even 1/5th of the general dumb garbage you can do in this game. Jazzpunk exists for gags like the wedding cake that opens into a console that lets you play the multiplayer wedding-based FPS Wedding Qake. Jazzpunk exists to make you help a woman swat down flies in her store of very expensive vases. Jazzpunk will make you suddenly stop what you’re doing to do a first person version of the car bonus stage from Street Fighter 2, or suddenly put you into a cyberpunk heist in a Blade Runner-like city. 

Jazzpunk is Saul Bass on laughing gas. An intentionally stupid and disorienting experience purely designed to have you explore every inch of this weird world just so you can dig up weird crap on the beach with a metal detector and experience a pizza-themed Evil Dead 2 parody. Jazzpunk exists to be Jazzpunk. And in a lot of ways, it fully lives up to its nonsense name. Its a game of subversion in a way so impossibly dumb that it entirely feels improvised. That’s Jazzpunk.

[krokonoko]

got tagged by the amazing @ssjumi!

Fanfic Writer Game

How would you describe your fanfic style?

Fuck if I know to be honest. I’d say pretty descriptive? I’m very concerned with pacing, establishing and not rushing things. There’s a lot of focus on the proper beats of actions and dialogue. I’m pretty good at setting a mood, or a certain atmosphere. Other than that I like to think that my style is relatively direct and pragmatic. There is not much philosophizing or ornamentation going on.

Most people tell me my writing style is kinda scenic, and that reading my stories is a bit like watching a movie or a show. 

What tropes would you never use?

I rarely write anything that’s just happy with little to no conflict whatsoever. Not that there’s anything wrong with these kinda stories, but I’m not interested in reading or writing them. There is little emotional openness in my fics. Almost everyone will be emotionally stunted in one way or another, or have hangups they’re not willing to talk about. Ppl openly communicating their actual feelings and talking them through can be good stuff, and it’s cool that a lot of people like it, but it’s rarely something I enjoy. My favorite thing to write are characters that aren’t even aware of the problems they’re having, or live in denial about them.

Another thing you’ll rarely see me produce is stories in which the power dynamics are absolutely clear 100% of the time. While I absolutely adore power play, or maybe because of that, I usually don’t enjoy a character being absolutely in control all the time, just as much as I dislike a character being nothing but demure or a punching bag. There always has to be a twist in there, an unforeseen way in which the seemingly outgunned character gets the upper hand, if only just a little bit. There has to be some form of push and pull there, or else I quickly lose interest.

What tropes do you ALWAYS use? 

I rarely write anything that doesn’t contain some form of violence. And in turn, there’s always some focus on the vulnerability resulting from that.

I am very into angst and poetic justice, characters getting lost in or even turned on by situations that are absolutely terrible for them but that they are too proud or unwilling to free themselves from, and just. all that dirtybadwrong toxic stuff the 🐜s warned u about.

Where do you write?

AO3 mostly. Still got a couple of my German fics up on Animexx lmao. I also posted some fics only on here, but that’s usually just the really short ficlets.

How many names do you write under? Why? 

I changed my AO3 name to Rrismo earlier this year cuz of the stuff I got on there. I was scared ppl would come for my ass over it. But then I realized that at least in this fandom, nobody who matters gives a damn 💕 

Coulda changed my AO3 nick back, but tbh I like Rrismo way more than I like krokorobin. Unfortunately, I can’t really change the latter cuz that’s what it says on all my fanart and that’s the name most people know me as, so I guess I’m stuck with krokorobin for now lmao

What’s your usual rating level? 

It used to be Gen/Teen all the way, man! But than BCS happened and suddenly p much everything I post is M/E, either for the level of violence or the sexual content orz

First fandom you wrote for? 

Pokemon, back when I was about 10yo! Just, not about the actual Pokemon characters. I used to write half a dozen fics that were about various OCs or self-inserts going on Pokemon journeys together! Good times.

How long did you read fics before you started writing them?

Didn’t take long after I discovered Bisafans. Back then, they had a fanfic archive that was full of exactly these kinda fanfics, just people writing about themselves and their Pokemon journeys, and I loved that so much that I pretty much immediately started working on my own!

Do you usually write chapter fics or one shots? 

Oneshots. It’s not that I don’t like writing multi-chapters, but the commitment is very scary to my poor ADHD ass (another problem is the fact that I rarely get invested in concepts enough to commit more than three days to writing about it. The kinda stuff I do wanna write multichapters about is often kind of. Unusual. Like Amnesia kidfic or Lacho time loop AU orz).

Your fandoms: 

Better Call Saul atm! I don’t think I’ve written this much fanfic for a fandom since... I don’t know, my hayday in the Yugioh fandom? The only other fandoms I’ve written more than one fic for throughout the past ten years are Collateral and Amnesia.

tagging: ....as always I’m late to the party, so I think everyone I know who writes has already been tagged? If you haven’t, please feel tagged now!