#this year is the year of the dragon. C'mon Disney

[nonokoko13]

If the devs don't take advantage of this chance and release New Year Malleus SSR at the end of 2024, I will blacklist them alongside with the senate.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Primos

It was the summer of 2023. We got the opening to Disney's new cartoon. Then it was bullied into releasing next year. Primos is one of those cases where culturally, you could smell the Americana from it in spite of intentions, and when you get around to it the hate wasn't fully deserved. It was funny, but to me this was like if Japanese Americans shitted on Dragon Ball Z for characters being named after veggies. Then again, nobody hates shit harder than Mexicans and Latinos and the PR wasn't the best, Tater's VA definitely didn't help. But, I'm grateful Disney didn't pull a Zaslav and shelf this as if this was the damnedest thing to ever happen to Hispanics. Now that the wait is over, is the show good?

it's far better than Latinx Loud House Cleveland Show, credit where due

The comparison to Loud House/Casagrandes isn't far off, but Primos has the advantage of it feeling like the time Tater spends with her extended family will have a start and end to it. We're in the same headspace as Latka who's not only adapting but revaluing her perspectives regarding her family. Nothing groundbreaking, but reminds me of Clarence where it has that messier but more homey charm as opposed to Loud House where over time it felt too plain and overstayed its welcome. Primos I feel will work as a limited season show like Gravity Falls as you can see well paced progress with both Spud's self-discovery mission and her familial relationships to not too overstay as if it needed to be Disney's answer to Loud House. I overall appreciate DTVA for looking to do less inherently story heavy shows.

We could've had a Katz Cafe too, Disney

Now to get a tad personal, I am Mexican American (Afro-Hispanic specifically) and I can relate to Tuber to a minor extent, given this is based on the creator's own life. Primos doesn't really hit those deep cuts though when despite the heritage I bear, making your show about growing up a gringo or gabacho is not a mirroring experience I'm that into watching. This show isn't like Victor and Valentino or the Puss in Boots cartoon where its representation is purely into its core elements like the folklore and presentation. It's more akin to saying you proudly grew up on Del Taco joints and the ability to grasp subtitles. This is more Disney's overall ethnocentric MO when it comes to other cultures: more for those who want to feel aware than anyone that lived or is living it. I'm not here to chastise Natasha's authenticity in producing this nor act like this is a very patronizing kids cartoon. I'm just saying relatability only goes so far here and we otherwise have a very okay cartoon that had intentions on a perspective we're well aware.

And c'mon, nothing has overthrown the GOAT

Again, I appreciate the small shift to more episodic and grounded shows as opposed to serial adventures to keep track off. While not unique, Primos has a sweet blend of comical and comforting to be worth a watch. French Fry is an enjoyable protag (while Nellie is better) among a good, less archetypal family that overall makes episodes feel as easy-going as Kiff. I won't pretend to say I hated this originally nor did I ever hold any resentment to say this doesn't now deserves more of a chance.

7 Out Of 10, like your average stoner trip to Taco Bell

[datcloudboi]

List of video games turning 10 years old in 2023:

Aliens: Colonial Marines (the godawful FPS from Gearbox)

Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs

Animal Crossing: New Leaf (do people still like New Horizons? I genuinely don't know...)

Antichamber

Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (the one where you play as a pirate)

Batman: Arkham Origins (IMO, not bad at all)

Call of Duty: Ghosts

Company of Heroes 2

Disney Infinity

DmC: Devil May Cry (the reboot. PS, c'mon, guys, this game wasn't bad at all)

Don't Starve

Dragon's Crown (developed by Vanillaware, who would go on to make 13 Sentinels, which is one of the best games I've ever played.)

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (the director's cut version of Dragon's Dogma and pretty much the best way to play the game)

Dynasty Warriors 8

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (the relaunch of what is now one of the most successful MMOs of all time)

Fire Emblem: Awakening (in the West)

Fuse

Gears of War: Judgment

God of War: Ascension (the last game in the series before Dad of Boi)

Grand Theft Auto V (old_man.gif)

Killer Instinct (the reboot)

Killer is Dead (a decent hack & slash from Grasshopper Manufacture, the devs behind No More Heroes)

Killzone: Shadow Fall (a launch title for the PlayStation 4)

The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon (as part of the Year of Luigi™️)

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (as part of the Year of Luigi™️)

Marvel Puzzle Quest

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance (don't fuck with THIS senator!)

Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (an excellent JRPG from Level-5 that was also animated by Studio Ghibli)

Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Pandora's Tower (one of the last big name games to release on the Wii)

Papers, Please

Plants vs. Zombies 2: It's About Time

The PlayStation 4

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity (the first Pokémon game on 3DS)

Pokémon X and Y (the first 3D mainline Pokémon games)

Project × Zone (a crossover between Capcom, Sega, and Bandai Namco properties)

Remember Me (the first game developed by Dontnod, who would go on to create Life is Strange)

Rune Factory 4

Ryse: Son of Rome (a launch title for the Xbox One)

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner - Soul Hackers

Shin Megami Tensei IV

SimCity (the one that was always online for some godforsaken reason)

Slender: The Arrival

Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time (the only Sly game not made by the original devs)

Splinter Cell: Blacklist (so far, the last Splinter Cell game to release)

The Stanley Parable

Super Mario 3D World

Tales of Xillia (is this one of the good Tales games or no? I thought it was decent.)

Tomb Raider (the reboot)

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct (an absolutely terrible spin-off of the TV show centered on Daryl)

The Walking Dead: Season Two (or, at least, the first episode of the series)

The Wolf Among Us (or at least, the first episode of the series)

The Xbox One

Ys: Memories of Celceta

[the-sinking-feeling-starts]

imagine being stuck in a time warp where you are stuck in 5 years ago but then an hour later its 2 years ago and then thirty minutes later its a year ago with no hope for the future. what if this is all i will be known for? my past? who i have come across? who i have loved and lost?

ive been having non stop nightmares and premenitions. i used to not dream. sleep was my escape from this cruel reality. now i wake up and get reminded of the dreams everywhere i go. the ghosts are throwing a underground concert and the cliffsides are tumblind down. the eggshells are planted around the house. we cant stop. im living in a fucked up purgatory haze where nothing is as it seems

if i speak up against this; i get tortured emotionally and physically. i do not have a voice anymore. i can not express myself thru art or music anymore. writing this alone makes me horrified that of the repercussions

i have no body to talk to, to help carry this baggage that weighs heavy upon my soul. i cant break these chains that hold me hostage

the voices inside scream that i am not enough that i am worthless that i fuck everything up. theres been an error, a malfucntion

i am constantly reminded of my past thru the movies and the top 40 hits and books and advertisments. while i struggle to survive

ive relapsed into self harm, i feel so numb, i beg for help but everybody stays silent. they look at me like a sad dog thats been kicked. "they cant look me in the eyes; its like their scared of me"

what was i made for? a doll to be put on the shelf and taken down when needed or bored or to be used for a creative muse

its a victim of circumstance. i want to run away. like my mother used to joke how we would run away to disney world so they couldnt find us. i dont understand how they know that. i used to be young. they design the women and slay the dragons

c'mon barbie, lets go party. the show must go on. the spiral must continue.

its bleak but its how i feel, i dont think anybody cares or reads this, but its my blog and my words and i have to have freedom of speech somehow.

im afraid and scared and lonely and heartbroken and pray that things can change and a new "era" can arrise, insted of constantly living in my past.

we need to be saved. we need action to be put in place. before its too late. we need proper communication and saftey. we need to be able to use online technology without algorithims terrifing us.. we need to be able to watch the tv without being mind read. we need to be able to use telecommunications without having our ears shot sending us to the bathroom floor screaming in pain. we need to be able to express ourselves without having it taken from us and used as creative muses. we need privacy and support and love and for people to be more kind and caring. they kick us while we are down and then say we are manipuative and crybabies

Note to self

[seansilv25]

So that June Direct, huh?

Not gonna lie, that was pretty wild. But let's not waste any time as I dive into my thoughts on it!

Mario & Luigi: Brothership; Alpha Dream's baby has been pulled from the grave, and visually looks amazing NES World Championship; time to sweat like the try-hardiest tryhard out there Fairy Tail 2; Never cared about Fairy Tail, don't intend to Fantasian Neo Dimension; It was there, I guess Switch Sports Basketball; Show of hands, who even remembered this game exists? Memories in Orbit; Huh... well that was... strange Disney Illusion Island update; Tbh, this just seems like holdover for Rebrushed a tad bit Hello Kitty Island Adventure; Oh yeah, hello kitty is a thing Looney Tunes: Wacky World of Sports; That visual style... god it looks insultingly cheap Among Us new roles; Anyone else think Among Us just... fell off? Farmagia; Honestly, I thought this was just more Fairy Tail for a hot sec Donkey Kong Country Returns HD; I'd prefer a new title, but I'll take it Dragon Quest HD-2D remakes; Feel like you should have dropped the Remake from the title and just stuck with the "HD-2D" part. It flows way better that way Funko Fusion; Anyone else just... not get the hype of funkos? Luigi's Mansion 2 HD; How many times have we seen Dark Moon HD in directs again? The New Denpa Men; What are these, poor men's Miis? Metal Slug Attack Reloaded; Alright, which is better: Metal Slug or Contra? Darkest Dungeon 2; A lot of my friends were excited about this. Personally, eh new NSO games; Don't have NSO, so why should I care? Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero; It was there, I guess MVC Fighting Collection; WE GETTIN TAKEN FOR A RIDE WITH THIS ONE!! IT'S MAHVEL TIME, BAYBEEE!! Super Mario Party Jamboree; C'mon Nintendo, we haven't seen Wario's Battle Canyon in years! where's the Wario take on Remember the Alamo? Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom; It's cool and all that Zelds gets her own game and all, but I think you all have gotten my stance on the Zelda series by this point Just Dance 2025; OH MY GOD, THEY HAVE A FACE?! Lego Horizons Adventures; I'd probably be more interested if this wasn't shown at SGF about two weeks ago Stray; Cute cat is cute. Need I say more? Tales of the Shire; So that stuff about living in a Hobbit hole and getting lit 24/7? I think someone just found a way to live their dream Ace Attorney Investigations Collection; OBJECTION!! This looks cool, but I'm not that interested The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy; Group of 10-20 kids stuck in a school? Death around every corner? That artstyle? Let's face it, they are never beating the Danganronpa allegations (Why did the trailer's start remind me of the Shadow Fandub?" Romancing Saga 2; It was there, I guess Metroid Prime 4: Beyond; THE PRIME 4!!! THE PRIME 4 IS REAAAAAAALLLLL!!!

I think Nontendo is finally starting to pick themselves up. After a couple of generally mediocre directs in recent memory, we finally had something of banger substance!

(Ok who wants to bet whether Prime 4 is on Switch or the next console?)

[wall-legion]

Character OST: Odetta Swanheart

Personal Story: "When Will My Life Begin", Mandy Moore C'mon: girl's basically a Disney princess. She steals her foster mother's wand and focus, runs away, finally gets to meet races other than human, and goes to kill a dragon. And she finally gets to wear pants!

LWS1: "Get Back Up Again", Anna Kendrick

LWS2: "Could Have Been Me", Halsey Living World Seasons 1 and 2 are basically about Odetta figuring herself out after running away from the only home she really knew and after helping to kill a dragon. For a while she wanders around and adventures on her own, but after the siege of Lion's Arch by Scarlet Briar she goes there to help with the rebuilding and falls in love with the community.

Heart of Thorns: "Come Alive", Hugh Jackman & Keala Seattle By this point she's settled into LA, she's got the soap shop, things seem to be going well for her.

LWS3: "God Help the Outcasts", Heidi Mollenhauer Odetta's not particularly religious, and she's definitely not a devotee of Balthazar- you're more likely to find her praying to Kormir or Dwayna- but the fact that one of the Six came back to Tyria and it's not for a good time is, in a word, terrifying. But what can she do?

Path of Fire: "The Next Right Thing", Kristen Bell Kasmeer is a lot of things, and well-meaning is one of them. Thinking things the whole way through, though... jury might still be out on that. Hence how Odetta received a letter from her letting her know that Vezz, as well as Garrus, had been killed by Balthazar in combat. Thankfully she finds out soon that they are both brought back and able to defeat Balthazar, but it was a harrowing time for her.

LWS4: "Speechless", Naomi Scott; "The Last Unicorn", Ninja Sex Party Odetta volunteers for the defense force to protect Lion's Arch from Palawa Joko's forces, while her new friend Sheridan watches the soap shop. She hasn't fought in an organized group since Zhaitan. She's terrified. She pushes through. Later, she gets word that Kralkatorrik has been defeated and Aurene has ascended to the role of Elder Dragon.

Icebrood Saga: "POWER", Dilja; "Iron" by Within Temptation This is when Odetta, with @ratasum's Vezz's help, goes to confront (and ultimately kill) her adoptive mother and the Duke. After seven years, she can finally and regretfully close that chapter of her life. Did she ever love Lady Jeffer? No, but she did long for that scrap of affection that she hoped might one day come and never did. Sheridan makes her favorite scones, lemon blueberry, for a week afterwards to try and make her feel better.

End of Dragons: "Into the Open Air", Julie Fowlis; "Invisible", Zara Larsson At this point she's also welcomed Leyya into her home and Odetta is, slowly, recovering from her "trip to Divinity's Reach" and everything that has happened to her friends in her guild. She helps out Vezz and Rissia with their twins, her soap shop is doing well, but knowing that the dragons are now gone from Tyria leaves Odetta feeling... hollow.

Secrets of the Obscure: "Still Here", Forts, 2WEI, Tiffany Aris A twenty-eight-year old Odetta, accompanied by Leyya, goes to Garenhoff at the request of Queen Jennah (and only because Odetta doesn't trust Countess Anise to pick someone else more xenophobic for their "alternate" human). This leads to them being trapped in Amnytas to serve the interests of Isgarren, and then getting sent into the Realm of Dreams to fight there. It would be easier to be the meek little girl she had been, but Odetta has found there's iron in her that's waiting for be forged into something more- and she's standing at the anvil, ready with a hammer.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

THE WILD ROBOT, the new Chris Sanders animated adventure from DreamWorks - adapted from Peter Brown's book series, finally carries a rock-solid official release date, and it's one a lot of us were suspecting for a while:

September 20, 2024...

Nice to see a DreamWorks movie actually get a concrete release date. Everything else is still weirdly up in the air. *But* it's actually good to get the date when you KNOW you're going to make it, otherwise, you're just whetting the mouths of investors. It appears the movie is full speed ahead, and the only thing that could possibly upset its final months of production is a possible animators/VFX strike when the Animation Guild contract is up in July. Maybe the movie will be finished by then? Who knows.

Anyways, it's probably smart that they locked the date around this time, instead of saying 2-3 years out that it's going to be released on a very specific date... And that's how you get the "c'mon, whaaaa?" when, say, Pixar delays something for a full year and a half. DreamWorks movies moved back years tons of times, they're quieter nowadays on what's on the horizon. If it were like 2013-times, we'd see a slate that goes up to 2028 and would be stacked to the brim with titles.

We don't even know if half of the titles DreamWorks announced were the works over the past 3-5 years are still even happening. THE WILD ROBOT announcement came right out of nowhere, throwing off *any* predictions I might've had about what the 2024 not-sequel movie from them would be. (I previously predicted RONAN BOYLE, from director Fergal Reilly.)

While there are rumblings of Universal/DreamWorks releasing movies on specific dates, some of which are unsourced as far as I'm concerned, the Universal website is up to date and only lists the studio's two 2024 movies. Nothing is hard-set for 2025 and beyond.

So... Anyways, fantastic news!

On the other hand...

Either Walt Disney Animation Studios is buckling up for an animator/vfx strike, or they are set to do some course-correction...

They appear to be, via an updated release schedule, skipping 2024 altogether. This comes from a pretty reliable scooper, but I want to take it with a grain of salt 'til the trades themselves or Disney say something:

Now, it could be a small error, because Pixar's Disney+ series WIN OR LOSE is entirely absent from the list... and this list includes a bunch of undated Disney+ shows... and that series is supposed to be out next year... Plus... There are some typing errors here and there, too, and usually Disney's theatrical slates are just for theatrical - no streaming. The presentation here isn't clean: There are some hyphens next to titles, no hyphens at all, some that are a combination of two. Usually the Disney slates have a nice clean presentation. Like this, for example...

I know, the example I used is very outdated, I'm just illustrating a point. So yeah, it could very well be fake...

But, given how STRANGE WORLD and WISH turned out at the box office, maybe course-correction is happening at that studio. Whatever that may look like... Evaluation on why the last two films didn't connect? The way they were released? Jennifer Lee stepping down as CCO? Less baby-ifying their movies during test screenings? I don't know. Whatever decision they make, I don't work there, I can't protest it, but I'll probably have my piece to say on here lol.

Either way, if true, that'll be a historic skip. Disney Animation only missed fall 2020 by a hair because of COVID-19, RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON would've been a Thanksgiving release that year but ended up opening in March 2021, sharing the year with the studio's fall title ENCANTO. So that's more of a world circumstances-driven thing than a creative/management one.

Disney Animation sat 2015 and 2017 out, as Pixar put out two those years: One in the summer, and one in WDAS' usual Thanksgiving slot. WDAS released two films in 2016 (ZOOTOPIA and MOANA), and they were *supposed* to release two in 2018 as well, but only released one: RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET. So that was a gap right there.

But ever since MEET THE ROBINSONS in 2007, they try to get one out a year, and typically in the Thanksgiving slot. The two exceptions were THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG (an inexplicable early December release, should've went to Thanksgiving instead that OLD DOGS movie, could've probably had more ground to run) and WINNIE THE POOH. (spring in Europe, in the summer against HARRY POTTER 8 in North America) But they don't always have to aim for that frame, and I think that sometimes hinders them. And as STRANGE WORLD and WISH show, it's not always a lucrative time to open something. If audiences don't want to see it, the choice of release date really does not matter.

But again, we'll see. I'd like them to take a breather and figure out how the next of batch of films will be, but I'll wait til official word gets out on this...

[stormypaint]

okay rewatching earlier snanders snides, i'm noticing things

-where each side stood was not too consistent -thomas used to physically step up for the "PEACE OUT!" (he also doesn't do the wink at "nonbinary pals" and i hate it) -SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT. -roman started with an accent of sorts (i can't place it exactly) -the lighting is much brighter. -patton was the one who was bad at internet (youtube) slang -logan gave his emotions to patton in exchange for all sense -patton seemed to develop the more intense arachnophobia we see from him AFTER virgil appeared (p:"can you handle disposing bugs, spiders, or creatures you may find in your house?" t:"c'mon." p:"yeah, that's a no.") -thomas talked to US, not the sides, for more than the beginning & end -thomas could leave his area too -their voices were very very similar. (nowadays you can pick them out even as background noise) -virgil was a fuckin bastard. he did NOT give a fuck. he was so sarcastic and CHILL? -*virgil voice* k i d -CHARACTER THOMAS ONCE KNEW WHAT WAS GOING ON -virgil has very spindly legs -the first videos were more one-on-one (chr thomas & a side) -the earliest episodes (2016) were around the same time of moana's release. feel old? -nobody fucking liked each other -virgil seems to be taking better care of himself -virgil's opinion on deception is more "haha go on lie to yourself coward" than "HISS" -virgil: YOU SICKEN ME. you can't always rely on a catchy tune to solve your problems! (YOU ONCE KNEW ME AS REAL GLOOMY-) -roman did a little dance in A New Year of Lying to Myself and i'm dying -logan made the others leave for the outro so it was still "his video". literally everyone was confused, i don't even know if logan knew what was going on -virgil had self-confidence once -he's also like "bitch i'm here to help shut up i'm not leaving" vs the Self-Doubt and questioning of now -I FINALLY FOUND WHERE THOMAS SAYS HE HATES CARROTS -roman pops up twice in a row with the line "did someone say prince??" -okay i know i said chr thomas knows what's going on but he's still so clueless -virgil has grown less cynical about frozen. roman grew MORE cynical. he was hesitant then, he's a flat-out critic now -thomas loves aladdin -"merlawyer" -logan: clickbait works -roman: you're the STORYTIME GUY. -patton physically stole some of thomas' pizza wtf -wholesome endcards. so wholesome. -roman's so excited and a mood -someone find the thomas-dressing-up-as-an-old-man-for-comiccon thing -"anxiety leave him alone, he gets excited." says patton. who also gets super excited. -logan was BOUNCING, guys, he, "emotionless", bouncing in place from excitement. -closed captions said "princie" and i don't know what to think of it -once, chr thomathy didn't have weekly crisises -again. they didn't really like each other. -virgil's the only one who seems to know thomas' limits -logan: one more clickbait idea? "I KILLED THE ENTIRE CAST OF A DISNEY SHOW??!" -patton: misleading comments are just insults to clickbait -thomas pronounces it "pajah-mas" -patton @ logan about thommy boy: our little guy -chr thomas, in tMvtH: "sides arguing is bad." chr thomas, in LNTAO: *sips juice as everyone screeches* -patton @ logan: wHAT DO Y O U KNOW ABOUT LOVE?? -thomas about himself: the child -THOMAS. THOMAS USED TO SOLVE/NEGOTIATE PROBLEMS. WOW. -virgil: moralityyyyy, don't LIE to him~ -virgil: i've got an idea. DON'T. DON'T EVEN TRY. -thomas: that's not how people work. -AEYO ZIPPITZ TU PLARP. -meepso globay.   -OH, WABSO, SAL PLOPLANOOOOO -valerie, clearly struggling to not laugh: wow, this is horrible! i never realized how stupid and untalented you are! -(he never really was good at art.) -the dragon witch has a masculine voice and two lines (F*CK YOU VALERIE/my sPLEEN) -next to thomas, valerie is TINY. talyn-sized. -VIRGIL DOES SAY "weddings are outdated, expensive pageantry"... 19 episodes before SVS! valerietine's day . . i'm going to bed

[turkiyeecom]

E3 2019 in photos: Gooigi, crazy arcade machines, and a DOOM museum

"Great work!" — Plus, the National Videogame Museum returns with some of its craziest rarities yet. Sam Machkovech and Kyle Orland - Jun 16, 2019 1:00 pm UTC LOS ANGELES—If you couldn't or didn't make it to E3 2019, you're not the only one. Anecdotal evidence suggests this was the most poorly attended E3 in some time (though its organizers at the ESA insist that this E3 had only 3,000 fewer attendees than 2018's jam-packed affair), owing perhaps to Sony's no-show or the abundance of live-streamed options for enjoying the event at your own home. Luigi and Gooigi attracted hordes of attendees excited to pose for photos. Sam Machkovech Inside the Luigi's Mansion 3 booth, fans could pose with a guy in a Luigi costume. Nintendo went all-out building a haunted house for these kiosks, but my photos of it turned out terribly. It was easier to get photos of the toy dioramas built around the Link's Awakening gameplay kiosks. Nintendo built four of them in all. A closer zoom on the plastic minis Nintendo built just for this occasion. Link delves into a dungeon. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" "Wrong series, dude." I'll admit, I kinda lost my mind seeing this adorable Link and Marin meet-cute diorama. Marin in Smash Bros. Ultimate? A guy can dream, right? The EA Play event at the Hollywood Palladium included this impressive cast of paid Apex Legends cosplayers. Yes, the person cosplaying as Octane is a bilateral amputee. You couldn't buy these impressive 10" Apex Legends statues at EA Play. But you could buy a ton of shirts and hoodies. As an Apex Legends fan, Ars's Sam Machkovech nearly bought the "bamboozled" one. For some reason, EA Play hosted an Anthem gameplay session... and for some reason, attendees actually waited for it. FIFA '20 hosted an arena-soccer match. The McLaren Senna features in the new LEGO Speed expansion pack for Forza Horizon 4, so naturally, Microsoft had someone make a life-sized McLaren Serra model out of LEGO bricks. They went to pretty insane trouble to include significant elements from the real deal. Real wheels, real LEGO blocks. This refreshed version of the Xbox Elite Controller (dubbed "version 2") will launch in November for $180 and features such perks as a rechargeable battery, a controller-charging case, increased hair-trigger responsiveness, and more. We couldn't test the new XEC with any games, but its newly texturized grip and significant heft felt good to hold on its own. C'mon, Xbox, you think we're gonna steal this thing? How dare you. Say hello to one of Gears 5's newest, most disgusting monsters. It's not a Gears of War character if it doesn't have chest-high cover nearby. The best thing about Gears 5's new "Escape" mode is that it supports three-player split-screen co-op. More of this kinda thing, please, Xbox Game Studios. The newest LEGO Star Wars release this coming holiday season revolves around the "Skywalker Saga," so naturally, it's time to trot out the old LEGO Han in LEGO carbonite statue again. Coach's Pac-Man line of bags and accessories. For the discerning, fancypants gamer. More Pac-Man and classic-Namco swag. Pretty solid 10" Tekken statues. The entire Bandai Namco fancy-collectible wall was pretty great, honestly. I couldn't take photos of the Final Fantasy VII Remake gameplay kiosks, but I could take photos of the series' Shinra Corporation stuff all around it. For example, this recreation of an iconic FFVII backdrop. Square Enix put up a few Shinra advertisements around the kiosks. See? They have Midgar's best interests at heart! I really hope there's a full cartoon series hidden inside of FFVII Remake starring this cartoon dog. Someone please translate this for us. A small detail of the amazing theater room for Psychonauts 2. TEETH! Arcade1UP had a significant E3 presence with its home-friendly versions of classic arcade machines. The manufacturer used E3 to reveal its newest product: a Star Wars Atari arcade trilogy collection, coming "late 2019." Another look at its handsome side cabinet art. I had to stand on a stool to get a better look at the screen and controller. Because this cabinet was set up on a precarious platform, it was not playable at E3. An Arcade1UP representative said it collaborated with Disney and Lucasfilm in the making of this cabinet, then studied original classic arcade hardware to recreate the controller. Rather than answer my technical questions about how the controller was constructed in this modern version, the Arcade1UP rep insisted that it sought input from arcade cabinet collectors to confirm that its version nailed the original cabinets' feel and mechanical action. Another new Arcade1UP cabinet: the TMNT collection, which includes both of Konami's four-player brawlers in one cabinet. (Most of their cabs include at least two games, if not a few more.) It seems to comfortably support four players, but I liked this group's tweak: letting the middle player simultaneously control two turtles. Then there was this absolutely ridiculous thing that Arcade1UP built for the heckuvit. That's intrepid Ars Technica editor Sam Machkovech up there pretending to play the game. I hope the hand on the joystick makes clear how stupidly massive this whole rig was. But it worked... and Sam won his match. Really, Sam? Be professional. Sega's booth had its own oversized-controller gimmick to celebrate the impending launch of the Sega Genesis Mini this September. It's not really E3 until Ubisoft has a stage full of professional dancers and average fans getting down to Just Dance as one awkward collective. A peek at the poster-covered walls inside of Cyberpunk 2077's behind-closed-doors booth. Capcom had a relatively meager showing at E3, with this new Monster Hunter World expansion taking up most of the company's booth. But, hey, at least they had some nice 10" dragons under glass. Hold me closer, tiny draaaagonnnnns. Sorry, Street Fighter fans. Capcom didn't come to E3 2019 with any news about either SFV or any new fighting games. Just 10" figurines. Chun-Li and Cammy, kicking ass beneath glass. Larger than life. Just like Borderlands should be. Kyle Orland This was by far the best part of the Destroy All Humans revival attempt. Kyle Orland Pixl Cube was one of the more inventive games at the Indiecade booth, a tilt-sensitive box with LED dots that moved through a maze as if pulled by gravity. Kyle Orland In the entryway for Youtube Gaming's creator space, blocks from the show floor, a Google Stadia controller sits behind glass with a mock-up of a retro game store. Kyle Orland The YouTube Gaming space also featured some streamers on old-school CRT TVs, which was a weird look. Kyle Orland Cute. Kyle Orland The YouTube Gaming logo sits on a fake cartridge alongside... Hyper Chroma Ultra? Kyle Orland Nothing says "E3" like a guy in a Yoshi/Mario costume livestreaming himself as he balks loudly at the show floor's $6 pretzels. Kyle Orland New Wave Toys is expanding its Replicade line of authentic miniature cabinets with the likes of these two Capcom classics. Kyle Orland MyArcade is expanding from miniature cabinets to massive portable systems capable of playing actual NES and SNES cartridges. Kyle Orland MyArcade's upcoming Contra cabinet even includes link cable support for two player action. Don't you DARE touch this actual Contra cabinet in the MyArcade booth, though. Kyle Orland That being said, we attended, and Ars Technica came back from Los Angeles with plenty to show for it. In addition to a few more hands-on previews coming (which will build upon the best-of E3 2019 list we already filed), we took our cameras out at both the official E3 halls and nearby events (Xbox Fan Fest, EA Play). I gotta say, in this modern political climate, I have been calling every year "the year of doom." A very nice pencil sketch taken from the original PC game's box art. I'd never seen these minis before, but now I want to play DOOM-opoly. A better zoom on these metal beasts. Collect me plenty. Now for some impressive 3D molds of famed DOOM demons. See? It's like a museum. Funnily enough, this is my "I don't know what to do with my hands" pose when I stand for photos. The secret for awkward photo poses: turn your arms into massive rocket launchers. Way less awkward! As one of DOOM 64's longtime fans, I stood at this specific panel for a while. This might be the least-blurry these N64 sprites have ever looked. (The N64 famously smothered its sprites in a disgusting, smeary blur.) More figurines on display. More figurines on display. More swag on display. More swag on display. The result is a whopping three image galleries here. The first is a catch-all for most of the basic, expected fare, while the second and third focus on retro elements: a DOOM-specific mini-museum, and a curated collection of very rare gaming hardware and collectibles courtesy of the National Videogame Museum in Frisco, Tex. (If you've never been to that physical location before, we strongly encourage you to book a trip.) You know the retro portion of E3 is serious when they put this thing behind a rope. Truly one of a kind. Click the image to get a better look at the information placard. Yep, those are traditional Saturn controller ports. We'd never seen these Vectrex prototypes and variants before. The innards of a prototype color Vectrex system that never saw production. Kyle Orland Anybody think they can repair this thing? Yes, the only scoring cart that remains from this Super Nintendo championship event. Also, a killer Vectrex jacket. How the heck does the NVM keep finding and showing off such incredible game-history rarities? Some cool mementos from the original Mortal Kombat. The placard explains how rare this system is... ... based on this specific message signed by none other than Bill Gates. I don't care how puffy this jacket is. I'd wear it. Every year, the National Video Game Museum trots out at least one previously confidential binder taken from a major gaming company. This year's was Nintendo. I'm always fascinated by internal '80s and '90s documentation about piracy and cartridge backup systems. This section went on for a few more pages and even included grainy photos of various cartridge-copying devices. Video games: the board game! Video games: the, uh, VHS game! Well before the Game Boy revolutionized portable gaming, kids of the '70s and '80s were stuck with these clunkers. One wall was dedicated to particularly rare game consoles that launched solely in Japan. Eat your heart out, Donkey Konga. This is one of Gunpei Yokoi's classic electronic games that he designed for Nintendo in the '70s. This makes me wish Ulala was in an actual '80s cartoon. Kyle Orland In addition to popular and common fare in the coin-op section, the NVM trotted out a few machines we rarely see at classic gaming expos, like this fetching Jungle King cab. True story: we asked Double Fine studio founder and creative director Tim Schafer if he could step back for a second so we could take a photo of this handsome Omega Race cabinet. "I used to play this game all the time as a kid," he remarked before stepping away slowly. (If you're wondering, he signs his name "TIM" in high-score tables.) And we couldn't leave E3 without a walk through the almost carnival-like selection of vendors and inventions in the expo's very back hall. Look below at the show's weird "et cetera" section. Here's a gallery of E3 2019's oddest booths and products. "Wow, how nice and COOL!" we're sure you are saying to yourself. Kyle Orland Thermoreal uses superconductors (?!) to simulate a cold or hot feeling in metal. The company integrated this tech into VR-compatible gloves and a VR headset. As the VR environment changes, so does the sensation of real-life temperature. Trippy! Kyle Orland This 1,000 MaH battery pack for the Switch was heavy, but the harness made it pretty easy to slide on and off to use only when it's needed. Kyle Orland Some extremely generic-looking custom chip boards for use in mini-arcade devices and portable emulation devices. If anybody reading this has the rights to the Atari Jaguar Mini, look them up. Kyle Orland Why stream games to a smartphone with Google Stadia when the Smach Z packs an entire 1080p gaming PC with a 6" screen into a rather bulky portable package? Doom (2016) ran with noticeable judders, and the unit got noticeably hot in our test. But the fact that it works at all was impressive. Kyle Orland The Tactsuit haptic system jolts your body when playing compatible VR games and software. Kyle Orland The Vuvana system has something to do with using a new blockchain cryptocurrency to buy and "own" items in virtual reality, which you can view on a cell phone with this included viewer, apparently. Kyle Orland Oversized controllers were all the rage at E3 2019, but this one went to the trouble of building in a monitor for its game, Street Fighter 2. Kyle Orland Remember the iCade Mini? Someone sure does... Kyle Orland GameBoks is just like it sounds—a wooden box that houses a monitor, power supply, and a space to hold and connect your game console. Between this and the new Atari VCS, wood paneling is apparently the hot new retro-hardware trend. Kyle Orland Proximat is being sold as a "mousepad for your virtual reality feet." It gives VR players a physical indication of their play space's center point, complete with high-grade gel for foot comfort. Kyle Orland If this is a thing you're looking for (for some reason), E3 has you covered. Kyle Orland Amazingly, a product with "360 ONE X" in its name has nothing to do with Xbox (it's a 360 degree camera designed for VR) Kyle Orland Neither vinyl nor fidget spinners are dead at E3 2019. Kyle Orland I need some quick energy after seeing all of these amazing products. It's my lucky day! Kyle Orland How do you make money selling $100 worth of stuff for $40? It's an economic miracle! Kyle Orland This balance board is mainly meant for some easy exercise while at a standing desk, but its producers were marketing it to gamers with a Mortal Kombat 11 display. Kyle Orland And the award for "most dystopian sounding slogan at E3" goes to... Kyle Orland "In the 1989 Future" is a legitimately great tagline, we have to admit. Kyle Orland Listing image by Sam Machkovech Read More Read the full article

[impracticaldemon]

Tales of Iron & Paper: Gajevy #1 Fiction of the Iron Slayer

Author's Note: The first of my Gajevy (or Gale) drabbles & short stories.  These will be published under the overall title “Tales of Iron & Paper”.

Prompt: [from @eliz1313 / eliz1369]  Gajeel & Levy in college... maybe stuck in an English/creative writing course together? :)

Words: ~ 1600  || Fanfiction Link

Fiction of the Iron Dragon (or, Secret Art of the Iron Dragon)

Levy was undeniably excited about her creative writing course. It was an invitation-only class, and invitations were only issued to students in their second or third year at Magnolia University who had demonstrated a talent for and an interest in writing during a prior year. Levy had always been a shoo-in, along with her best friend Lucy, but she hadn't fully believed she'd get in until the letter from the Chair of the English Department had arrived in the mail over the summer.

Levy and Lucy arrived early for the class and grabbed good spots by the windows not too far from the front. There was only one other student in the room, a guy a little older than they were who looked like he'd probably just stayed after an earlier class. They assumed that he would be heading out as soon as more of their own classmates arrived. Nothing about his multiple piercings, sleeveless navy T-shirt, or elaborate black Mohawk suggested an honours English student. He eyed them as they came in, but then went back to his book.

The rest of the students arrived in twos and threes, and Lucy eventually noticed that she'd lost her friend's attention. Levy kept looking back at Black Mohawk.

"What's up, Levy? I'm sure he'll figure it out once the class starts. Why do you keep staring at him?"

"I'm not staring," Levy replied, frowning. "It's more that… I recognize him now, and I feel kind of weird that I didn't say hi when we walked in."

"Um, he kind of stands out—how come you only remember him now?"

Levy huffed in exasperation. "Maybe because he had fewer piercings and no Mohawk last time? Geez, Luce, give me some credit. The point is, he's actually a local artist; he does amazingly delicate metalwork, real showpieces. Mostly for rich folks, I assume."

"And now he wants to learn how to write novels?"

"This class isn't just about novels," Levy pointed out. "You're just fixated."

"Moving right along, your point is?"

Levy turned a little pink. "Ah, well, he has this really cute—"

"Cat?" asked Lucy, sighing. "Levy, just because a guy has a cat—"

"Says you. You never would've met Natsu if I hadn't noticed Happy, am I right?"

Lucy sighed. "Yeah. But… it's not like he's asked me on a date."

Levy rolled her eyes. "So why don't you ask him? And it's not like you haven't been out to movies and dinner and stuff. He's just kind of… clueless, you know?"

"Yeah," repeated Lucy.

The prof arrived at that point, gave an enthusiastic outline of the course, and then explained that they weren't going to do introductions the usual way.

"Because that's boring, especially for a class full of budding creative geniuses." Lucy and Levy exchanged looks—they honestly couldn't tell from the prof's tone whether he meant it seriously, or in a joking way, or in a bitter, sarcastic way. Then the man grinned and raised his eyebrows. "Not sure how to take that? Well keep that in mind during the first part of today's first exercise: I'm going to assign partners, and you have ten minutes to get to know each other. You can say anything you want, but you both have to keep your eyes closed the whole time. There should be time to meet five or six other students—we'll take an hour—and then everyone will write down everything they can remember about who they met."

Several hands shot into the air, and some students just started calling out questions. The prof waited for the shouters to tail off and then picked up a sheet of paper. He ignored the waving hands just as thoroughly.

"When I call your name, please stand up. Like the animals of Noah's ark, you will get together two by two. I will inform you when time is up and who the next partners are. All set? Excellent."

He read out the first two names, ignoring a final, feebly waving hand. The two students named stood up, smiled a little awkwardly at each other, and walked away to the corner of the room not occupied by Black Mohawk. Speaking of whom…

For some reason, Levy wasn't remotely surprised when she found herself paired up with Black Mohawk, whose real name was Gajeel Redfox. Since he had a back corner of the room to himself, Levy walked over, trying not to stare. She was glad that the prof had read out the names. She could remember the cat's name—Pantherlily—but she wasn't all that good with people names, unless they came out of a book.

"Um, hi Gajeel, I'm Levy. You probably don't remember—"

The man grinned at her. He was big, and rather scary-looking, but Levy kept picturing the tears he'd blinked hastily away when she'd brought him his cat, in answer to a "Lost" ad posted on a tree.

"Ain't ya supposed to close yer eyes or something Levy? I wouldn't want ta mess up my first time in a university class by breakin the rules."

Levy stared at him. How did he even get into this course? What was he doing here?

Gajeel took in Levy's stunned expression. "C'mon, sit down, shorty. We don't want to waste our ten minutes, right?" He indicated a chair with a tilt of his head, and Levy sank into it, still confused.

Gajeel had seemed like a really good guy when they'd met before, but not exactly the Creative Writing course type, even without the mohawk. They'd kind of traded favours, in a way—she'd brought him his cat and he'd beaten the crap out of the guy who'd jumped her a couple of days later on her way back from a late class. She'd been lucky that Gajeel had been in the area. With the clock running now, Levy opted for the direct route.

"So, Gajeel," she said, obediently closing her eyes "how did you get into this class if you weren't attending Magnolia U last year?"

"Bribed the Dean," Gajeel responded immediately.

"You what?!" Levy's eyes flew open. There was an odd expression on her partner's face and a hint of a blush on his cheeks, but he made a big production of looking away until she closed her eyes again.

"Offered him two pieces of my art for the university if I could take this course. It was a good deal for him—my art's pretty pricey these days."

"Um, okay, yeah… I know it's gotten really popular, but why did you want to take this course."

There was the sound of a chair scraping against the floor, and Levy could picture the big artist twisting in his seat.

"Well… seemed like a good way ta meet ya. Under better circumstances, so to speak."

"What?!" This time Levy kept her eyes closed, but she could feel the heat of the blush spreading across her cheeks. "You bribed the Dean of MU to let you take an invite-only class just so that you could meet me?"

"Kind of. I figured that this was the one class I could do okay in—on account of my song-writing, right?—and that way I'd get a chance to see you more often."

"You write songs?!" Levy asked, grasping at facts like a swimmer trying to grab a raft so they don't drown.

"Yeah. The band made me get the stupid Mohawk, but my hair's never been exactly normal anyway."

Gajeel sounded like he was on the verge of laughing. The more flustered Levy became, the more he relaxed. Levy debated asking him why he had gone to so much trouble to take a course with her, but she could only think of one answer and it made her too shy to ask.

"How, um, how much of this did you set up?" Levy squeaked instead.

"Gihi! Most of it, to be honest. It's how I demonstrated my creative ability to construct a viable plot with interesting and moderately rational characters." Gajeel was clearly quoting somebody, and his mimicry was perfect—he sounded exactly like their current prof. Levy wished she could open her eyes to see whether anybody else was paying attention to this bizarre scene out of a cut rate Disney movie.

In an eerie coincidence, their prof called out a two minute warning—although Levy was sure that it had been at least ten minutes already. She could only suppose that the Dean was a fan of Gajeel's artwork.

"Gajeel?"

"Yeah?"

"Aren't you supposed to ask me questions?" Levy asked a little timidly.

"Nah, that's okay. Although, uh… I do have one." He cleared his throat. "Would you go out with me on Thursday night? Just dinner, nothing weird, I promise. I'll, uh, try ta fix the hair, but no guarantees on that."

This time Levy opened her eyes on purpose and fixed Gajeel with her best 'don't mess with me' glare. It was surprisingly good for somebody who only reached five foot two in two-inch heels.

"I barely know you, Mr. Redfox," she said severely.

"But you had ten minutes to ask anything you wanted," he protested. "Not my fault you got stuck on irrelevant details."

"Irrelevant details?!"

"Is that a maybe?"

Levy stood up haughtily, took one look at Gajeel's wistful expression and sat down again.

"Fine. Thursday night?"

"Yes!" Levy turned red and tried not to grin when the artist-songwriter-maybe-boyfriend pumped a fist in the air in a universal expression of victory.

At the front of the class, the prof looked up from whatever he was writing.

"Ah. Very good then. Time to switch partners, class. Two-by-two if you please…"

[END]

A/Note: I have no idea where this came from. I just... I don't know. I hope you enjoyed this! Please leave a note or review if you can. :)

Tag: @shell-senji @pocketwoman7 @sanguine-fairy @sassyhazelowl @miss-zei @unashamed-shipper @faerieshrimp @thesweateristoobig @strawberrysweetlove35