#we're just zooming right through this part of the game

[corfidbizna]

KHIII Chapter 34 (Eng): https://www.mediafire.com/file/chzljkfluz4zcey/KH3_Ch34.zip/file Chapter List

Sora's missed a few memos.

[felassan]

John Epler in the BioWare Discord (August 7th) -

John: "You can disable/enable helmets for cutscenes or at all times." --- User: "Will we be able to collect codex entries again?" John: "Absolutely. Codex entries are part of the series' DNA - plus, they're really fun to write." --- User: "Are there long curly hair options?" John: "There are!" --- User: "Are sub-classes locked to the faction you’re in?" John: "No. They're themed towards factions, but you can choose a specialization from a separate faction than your own." --- User: "Will subtitles from companions be on screen with their icons lit up like in Inquisition?" John: "Subtitles will appear center-screen and have the speaker name attached. So you'll see who's saying what." --- User: "Regarding the cutscenes findable in the game, will a gallery be available for re-watch?" John: "Not at present, no. Since our cutscenes are (almost all) real-time in-engine, this would be nearly impossible with our tech."

[character limit text break!]

User: "What are the chances for a third World of Thedas volume after The Veilguard's release?" John: "I can't comment on specific plans, but World of Thedas is close to my heart and I'd love to do more in general with our ancillary books and products, once we're able to come up for air from the game." --- User: "Can we edit our race during character creator freely or are we locked in by choosing race first like in inquisition?" John: "Lineage informs a number of options after that choice - you can always go back in CC and change it, but it's the first decision you will make and changing it will reset the following decisions." --- User: "I did have a follow-up on lineage - do the other lineages/races also have background choices the way elves do with city/dalish? CAN we play a qunari raised within the Qun?" John: "So a couple of things, just to be super clear on this. There is no 'city elf/dalish elf' switch (for example) that you can pick in character creator. Each lineage can be each faction, though, and that will provide a baseline for your character you can further refine through role playing. For Elves, as an example - Veil Jumper elves tend to be more 'Dalish' to reflect that background, while Shadow Dragon elves tend to have a background that reflects being an Elf in Minrathous. Other factions have their own nuance. Importantly, those things tend to be more focused on how you relate to that faction, while leaving more general 'Elf' topics as something you have more freedom with. Or, TLDR - while choices at CC define some baselines around your character, we like to give you the opportunity to build your character's background and beliefs through in-game RP. Hopefully all that makes sense." User: "That does, and is right in line with what Corinne said during the Q&A! I was asking whether we would see the same background variety in the non-elven lineages." John: "Yes! Sorry, that's what I was trying to answer - there will be plenty of opportunities to RP who you are/were as the other lineages as well."

[character limit text break!]

User: "are there companions gifts again" John: "Isn't the gift of your presence enough? More seriously, though - you very well might find things in the world that certain companions would appreciate!" --- John: "Rook is generally assumed to be anywhere from late 20s to late 40s, but ultimately we don't give Rook a specific age. You can RP them to be however old you want." --- User: "will conversations be zoomed in like a cutscene type or zoomed out like in DAI?" John: "While we do have some 'lighter' conversations for specific types of content, they use a more traditional over-the-shoulder cinematic camera. I created the simple conversation system in DAI and while it did what we needed it to do, we heard the feedback on the camera loud and clear." --- User: "The darkspawn look fairly different in veilguard. Is ot a simple redisgn like the demons or is it due to them being enhanced by red lyrium?" John: "I'm not going to tell you WHAT it is that's making them look different, since that's a spoiler, but it's more than just a visual redesign." --- John: "Need and inspiration, mostly. We can't bring in every single animal out there, especially since we want the ones we DO put in the game to be at the right level of quality. So we pick the ones that we know make sense in the spaces we're building, and also it's based on what the team wants to do. If someone is incredibly passionate about bringing in a specific creature, it's something we want to give opportunities to pursue wherever possible. As to the general ecology of Thedas - there are absolutely similarities, but it's not 1:1. A world where megafauna still exist as apex predators (dragons) is going to have some pretty significant impact on what else exists." --- User: "does the lighthouse have a kitchen, can we eat and drink? what sort interactables are there at the home base" John: "Not going to get into specifics on interactables, but there is more to do in the Lighthouse than conversations with companions. The Lighthouse does have a kitchen, and your companions acknowledge it/use it both narratively and ambiently. Some maybe better than others." John: "A little more expansion on this - we want the Lighthouse to feel like a 'real space' as much as possible. That means making it a space that makes sense and, eventually, feels like home to you and your team. It also means spending a little extra time on how the companions (and Rook) use and exist in the space. At this point we've made a LOT of personal hub spaces in DA and ME, and we've learned a lot from doing so." --- John: "It wouldn't be a DA game if we didn't have some returning characters. We've shown some of the more obvious ones, and hinted at others, but we want to keep some surprises for launch."

[source: the official BioWare Discord]

[sublimecatgalaxy]

Finnick and maybe like arguing in the arena that turns into a kiss?👀

It's been a few months since I got this but since I'm in my Finnick era, I thought I'd finally write this!

"You need to slow down," Finnick mutters under his breath and reaches out to grab at my wrist, stopping me in my tracks as I nearly trip over a branch that's stuck in our path. My head whips around to look at him with a deadly look at he pauses before his cocky grin takes over once more.

"Maybe you need to pick up the speed." I snap, tilting my head at him in a calculated way and he laughs, shrugging his shoulders brifely before looking around at the others with a tired look on his face. We're twenty minutes into the games and we're already at each others throats.

You should've seen us in training.

"You know, when I agreed to team up with you and the others, I didn't think I'd be bullied the whole time." He crosses his arms across his chest with his nose in the air and I scoff, rolling my eyes at his taunting behavior.

"I'm not bullying you. Pointing out that you're too fast is a fact." He shots back and laughs and I turn to look at Katniss with a dumbfounded look but she just gives me a shrug but I can see Peeta attempting to hold back an obvious laugh.

"Finnick, shut up." I finally say, huffing shortly.

"You guys sound like a married couple." Peeta adds and I look to him with wide eyes and Finnick gives him a similar look with a small gasp.

"Shut up!"

I let the thought infiltrate my head for a moment, picturing Finnick and I, standing hand in hand, smiling instead of biting each other's head off every five seconds whenever we're in the same room together. We've known each other for years, through the capital and what they used us for, but now that I think of it, I don't think we've ever had a serious conversation.

"You guys can go ahead, I need to slap some sense into this kid." I wave the rest of the group away from us and they all give the two of us a hesitant nod before moving along the trail, still ever so careful, leaving Finnick and I behind.

"You have me alone. It's what you've always wanted, right sweetheart?" He flirts and I can't deny the way it makes my stomach flip and for a moment I can feel my cheeks heat up under his weighted gaze and I swallow deeply.

"You're insufferable." The words come out more breathy than I want them too and I almost want to tell them that now is not the time to decide to flirt with me and sweep me off my feet. There's more time for that, when we're free and the revolution has begun. But apart of me is selfish.

"You're beautiful." He takes a step towards me with a sinister smile and I feel my breath being sucked from my lungs as his hand reaches up to cradle my cheek softly and he gives me a small wink before leaning in and I panic.

"Finnick." I place my hand on his chest and he pauses for a moment but I don't push him away, instead, after just a moment of hesitation, I give him a gentle nod.

He leans in and presses his lips to mine, my lips instinctively parting to deepen the kiss with a smile, his other hand wraps around my back, pulling me closer to him and I can only imagine the cameras zooming in on us and all our sponsors cheering and sending us goods as we kiss.

He pulls away with a smile, his eyes staying closed for just a moment before they open, blue hues focusing on mine as I raise my hands to my cheeks, concealing my giddy smile.

"Shut up."

[landossnorriss]

back to life | lando x older!she

Pairing: lando x older!she. Summary: with a new job on the line and a new adventure on her own for the very first time, she can't afford to risk putting a foot step wrong. it's a shame the younger f1 driver is used to living his life at 200 miles per hour and he's not afraid to pull her along for the ride. Word Count: 2.4ishk Warning: nothing yet... AN: this was going to be a one shot but i think we're looking more around 3-4 parts? i get word vomit and i simply can't stop myself. my intention with this script will be to keep her as non-descript as possible so that people can self insert at their own indulgence, the only thing is she's older than our fave number four. all the older!reader credit inspo goes to the lovely @coff33andb00ks <3

There was a high chance she was going to be sick. Why she had thought that she was ready to be in this position she didn’t know. The Mclaren account was not one that anyone wanted to mess with and at 29 she was officially the youngest person to manage it for Ashurst. Yep, she was going to throw up. When the promotion opportunity had come up she had thrown her hat in the ring for the experience, to test herself and see if she could make it through the interviews for such a role. She had prepped the best she could and told herself any feedback she got would just serve her for when she was well and truly ready to take on an account as large as this one. 

It was a good job she had been sitting down when the call had come through to join her boss in the office and celebrate the good news they had to offer her. The job would require a team she knew that, there was no way that she would be able to do it all on her own and the next stages would be deciding on any changes she needed to make and working on the team that would represent Ashurst for Mclaren but it was her name on the door, her choices that would make all the difference. Her say would always be the final one and she was ready to crumble at any given moment at the weight of it all on her shoulders. Impostor syndrome was being a real bitch right now. 

This morning she had been so sure that she could manage it, the meetings that she had held so far over Teams and Zoom had all gone swimmingly. Zak was charming and easy to work with, her team seemed to respect her despite the fact she was younger than at least half of them but all the confidence she had managed to muster that she could do this, seemed to leave her as she headed into the Mclaren center for the first time. She had been on a visit just once before, as nothing more than a fan before but now as she felt eyes on her the shirt she had made sure was pristine this morning suddenly didn’t feel smart enough, the click of her heels was too much and she was ready for throwing up all over again. 

Today likely hadn’t been the smartest day for her to be introduced to the key players in the game given how overwhelmed she had felt about the account already, but Zak had been insistent. Everyone would be on sight today and it would give her a chance to say hi before everyone vanished for the summer break she knew the team needed. Thank god as the team’s lawyer she wouldn’t be required to travel around with them all that often and most of her work could be done from home. She would miss her bed far too much to be away as often as the rest of the team were. Zak hadn’t been lying either, when he had said that everyone was here and she had given up trying to count the sea of people from where she was tucked into the center waiting for the stars of the show to arrive. 

She had never met either driver despite her time working with the team previously and she would keep her excitement over the matter buried deep. There would be no fawning and swooning, no acting star struck. She was a professional, a damn weapon in her field and she would be respected as a perfectly good lawyer, there was nothing and no one that would take her determination to smash everything about this promotion. 

Certainly not the green eyed driver currently climbing from his car as the rest of the team cheered for them. She had seen him plenty on the TV and always thought he was handsome, even if he was younger than her, but seeing him in person? Good god she needed to get it together. Day one, it was only day one in the damn office. There was no room to be mesmerized as Lando spoke to the crowds, taunted his team mate and generally seemed to be the center of attention in the room despite the fact there were two papaya boys in the room. This was his home, that much was obvious and these were his people. It filled her chest with an odd sense of pride that these were the groups of people she would be protecting and keeping in line, even from the background. 

For his part, Lando wasn’t doing much better at keeping his attention where it needed to be. He’d seen her as soon as he had stepped out of the car, eyes on the woman that stood just behind Zak. In her business-like attire she stood out like a sore thumb in the swarms of papaya and he didn’t mind it one bit. He’d never seen such a pretty face in this damn factory and before he could stop himself he let his eyes trail over her frame, she was older, not by much he assumed but just enough and were it not for the nudge in his side from Oscar he might have continued to stare at her. Who the hell was she? The question had continued to taunt him through the rest of the afternoon as he mingled, took so many photos and smiled so much his face hurt but his eyes had always managed to stray back to her. She had stuck by Zak’s side for most of the afternoon and he felt a flare of something unusual for him, even though it was obvious Zak was introducing her to people. 

“If you don’t stop staring at her, she’s going to get a restraining order against you before you’ve even met.” Oscar warned with another jab of his elbow into Landos side, the shorter driver whipping his head back to the younger with a scowl. 

“I’m not staring…just - who is she?” He found himself asking and he was unable to hide the tone his question held. 

“New team lawyer, or account manager I heard, she works for Ashurst but is our contact.” 

Lando frowned once more at the aussie before his green eyes inevitably found themselves looking for her again, desperate to trace over every curve hidden in that pencil skirt. How did Oscar always know everything first and more importantly how did he make that skirt a part of her everyday uniform? Despite everything that had gone on in the season so far, he had still been looking forward to the summer break celebrations and being back at the MTC. It always filled him with some sense of pride but any thoughts of team celebrations were now tucked firmly at the back of his mind because he wasn’t going to be able to concentrate if he didn’t find a way to be introduced to her soon. 

“What’s her – “

“Lando, Oscar, you got a second?” Zak called as he finally made his way to his driver pairing, a nervous lawyer in tow with him. 

Oscar could only roll his eyes at the expression that had formed on Lando’s face, that boy had never been able to hide anything a day in his life. Zak, squinting at his older driver, stopped allowing her past as they came to a stop in front of the boys. “Boys, this is our new lawyer from Ashurst, she comes with glowing recommendations and she is going to be around more and more so I expect you to be nice.” He offered with a beaming smile as Oscar stepped in first, given the frozen state of Lando, hand held out to the pretty lawyer. She was Lando’s type for sure. “Hi I’m Oscar, or Osc according to this guy, nice to meet you.” Turning his gaze between her and Lando he paused for just a second, the appreciation apparently mutual, before he gave a small cough as Zak was already busy calling someone else over. “And this here is Lando…he’s not a mute I swear.” 

She couldn’t help but smile at Oscar for just a moment, a flush on her cheeks as she noted the sarcasm in his tone before her soft gaze returned to Lando. First of all, where was his mother so she could thank her for his creation, and what the hell was he wearing because he smelt incredible. Holding out her hand to the older of the two men she waited for a moment before she felt his rougher hand slip into her own. “Right - I’m Lando, welcome aboard.” God could he sound any more awkward if he tried?

Luckily for both of them, Zak slapped a hand on Landos back, reinserting himself into the moment. “All introduced? I’ve invited our new lovely lawyer to the team dinner tonight when there are a few less of us so we can all get to know each other. How does that sound?” He beamed as he looked between everyone, a little slow on the uptake. 

“Yes, yes!” Lando beamed, god he knew he loved Zak for a reason. “I think that’s a great idea you should come with us!” 

“Oh I don’t want to intrude and I don’t, I don’t actually drive, where is the dinner tonight?” She flushed furiously at the idea she worked for a company like Mclaren now and still couldn’t drive. It simply wasn’t her fault that the clutch hated her. 

Lando, oblivious to the looks Oscar and now Zak were giving him, was already beaming with ideas forming in his head. Hot older woman, he could drive, a practical date. Win, win, win. Before Zak could even offer her a car Lando was already stepping closer to her. “I can pick you up, don't worry, it will do you good to arrive with a friend, arriving on your own might be a lot.” 

“Oh no Lando, you really don’t have to.” 

“Please.” The young driver scoffed with a wave of his hand. “Is that your phone, I’ll put my number in.” 

Feeling the blush she wore deepend she nodded, handing over her phone to the driver. He was being sweet, that was all she told herself because there was no way in hell it was anything more. He was, god he was gorgeous and she had seen the women he went for, younger, tiny, famous. She didn’t fit a single piece of his usual type, likely just an inch shorter than him in the heels she wore, her hips wider than most women cared for and five years older than him. 

“There you go, text me your address and I’ll pick you up at six thirty?” He offered, full charm in swing as he looked back at her. She was pretty from afar, but upclose? Lando just wanted to count each of her freckles and bumble over his words as he tried to flatter her. 

She needed a moment to compose herself and recenter, she had been flirted with before, she was pretty she knew that, but the men had never been, well fucking Lando Norris and big red flags that she was not allowed to flirt with in return. “Thank you, Mr Norris, I’m just going to go find the bathroom I’ll text you my address for later.” Maybe, she might still pull out if she could think of a good enough reason to do so. With the most awkward wave she could muster she found herself spinning on her heels, a string of curses sounding in her head as she tried to look calm whilst she was scurrying away to any form of locked bathroom door she could find for a very real mental breakdown. This was bad, this was very, very bad. 

Watching as she left Lando was pretty sure he let out an audible sigh. God what a fucking woman. Only the cough behind him brought him back to his current surroundings and he spun to face the questioning gaze of his boss and amusement of his teammate. “You’re not fucking the new lawyer.” Zak confronted boldly, that would be a can of worms he did not want to deal with. “End of, drive her to dinner, play nice, be ready to never be allowed to be alone with her ever again.” 

Lando wanted to protest straight away, that wasn’t fair, they couldn’t dangle something so sweet in front of him like that and then tell him that he wasn’t allowed to have it! Opening his mouth to protest Lando was met with a strong shake of his head as Zak took his leave, Oscar still fighting back laughter at the whole situation. “You’re so, so screwed mate. So screwed.”

[thirteenthdoor]

Wu Qi opens up his phone in the last episode to reveal the charming mobile game he calls "the Spirealm," even though nothing about the game itself seems to indicate that it's supposed to be called that. He says it's a great stress reliever!

Somebody put so much work into these three screens, and in two seconds flat, Wu Qi flips through them:

The title screen, as I mentioned in the assorted doors post, features chibi Lin Qiushi, Ruan Nanzhu (whose hair is parted on the wrong side), Toast, and Chestnut, all posed adorably in front of a chibi version of the Snow Village door. It is important to me to note that if you zoom in, you can see Chibi Nanzhu still has the beauty marks under his right eye.

Featuring Lin Qiushi in his starting outfit and Ruan Nanzhu in his New Year's special costume, perfect for staring dreamily at your beloved while he makes you dumplings.

I'm wondering why the ❤ meter and the ♂ meter at the top both seem to have ... oh, that's a key, not a Mars symbol. And you can buy more keys in the points store over to the left, not more maleness. You have to understand, I'm not doing a bit here. I literally just realized that that's not supposed to be a BL meter up at the top there. Because of course I was just like, well, yeah, of course Lin Qiushi's yaoi score would be off the charts.

Flip over to screen two for the logo! Friends On An Adventure! (At least, if the subtitles I have are to be trusted.) The logo goes through a little door, and there's a kaleidoscope there with it. The little chibi heads of Qiushi and Nanzhi tile the background. There is text down at the bottom, but it is far too tiny for me to make heads or tails of.

And on screen 3, we see the relaxing game itself! Playing in front of the Snow Village door -- which is now appropriately snowy -- we get a litle game screen filled with familiar monster friends.

Zooming in for the appreciation factor here: We're apparenly playing a match-3 game with the Woman in the Rain, the Snow Village girl, the Sunny Doll teacher, the nurse from Waverly Hills (even though her outfit is blue), and Sako's left leg. There's also little yellow kaleidoscope squares and ... whatever the pink thing is. What's the pink thing? Someone else help me identify the pink thing. It looks like it has a little face on it. There seems to be one down at the bottom of the screen, like some kind of power-up, but there it lacks a face.

And that's it! So much work put into a such a briefly shown gag! So again, please enjoy me in appreciating it through the much slower medium of screenshots.

[demonslayedher]

Today I went to the Zenshuuchuu-ten (Total Concentration Exhibition) for the Swordsmith Village and Hashira Training arcs today!

This is basically a chance for Ufotable to be like, "remember that cool thing we did?" and for we the fans to be like, "yup, sure do, that's why we're here."

It's not quite as extensive as other KnY events I've been to, and it doesn't particularly provide any new information, but it's fun to see some glimpses of the process from animation cells to finished clips. There's always a handful of fun displays to interact with, scrolls of character designs, and nice panels to display screenshots, especially centered around character arcs and impactful moments.

This time it was roughly as follows:

1. A room with large screen shots of Muzan the Upper Moons that appear in time with lines from the show and twangs of a biwa

2. A small room with a small swordsmithing game that they hurry everyone through. You need to strike the sword with just the right amount of force to get a ball into the middle of three slots, which I did, so I got handed a little piece of paper which is my certification as a master. I mentioned this to a friend afterword and her response was "of course you did."

3. A room in two parts dedicated to Muichiro's arc in SSV, with a hazy curtain you pass through sort of like Muichiro gaining his memories, and a model of his sword backlit in turquoise

4. A room dedicated to Mitsuri's arc in SSV, including a model of her sword which curves all the way across the room, and a little Mitsuri whom you could challenge to arm wrestling. She beat me pretty easily.

5. A Genya room of screenshots, and models of both his short little sword and his gun. Forgot to mention that their lines were playing overheard in each room!

6. A Gyokko and Hantengu room. A Gyokko only appeared over a model of the vase if you took a photo with flash, and there was a little Hantengu figure to look for, and if you found it, they'd give you a piece of origami paper on your way out of the gallery (pretty much everybody found it, but it was tiny).

8. The dedicated to Nezuko's mastery was not in-your-face triumph, but instead had a TV screen playing the Nezuko tribute music video version of her song, with the lyrics as scattered across the grey walls as the stream-of-consciousness lyrics.

9. Right after that, the staff ushers you in to the Hashira meeting, as though you were late.

Next to the meeting taking place, there is a model of Tanjiro's new old sword.

8. After that is a room dedicated to Giyuu's back story. I liked the design of the hanging screenshots in this one. Although the overall image is "water" because of the blue, the water design with light cast on the floor, and water droplet sounds mixed in with Giyuu's lines, the half-and-half effect was perhaps not intentional, but it was there. When you turn back to look through this room, the hanging screenshots--memories of Sabito and Tsutako--are all black.

9. The rest is a room dedicated to the different stages of Hashira training, with 3-D displays like riceballs, paper airplanes, pancakes with honeycomb and a ribbon, a board with ropes and sword cut marks (yikes), scuffed wooden swords, and a boulder you could push on. Along the tops of these displays were some eyeballs scoping everything out...

10. After that they put you in a theater room with three wide screens and headphones. At the last Zenshuuchuuten they did a reedit of the Akaza and Rengoku fight across three screens, so I figured this would have has plunging into the Infinity Fortress. After a preview review of Hashira Training highlights and Muzan's walk, yup, sure enough things got explosive and they plunged us in via the big screen, including some extra disorientation by zooming really closely in on some moving shots, or having multiple things happen at once across the screens.

11. Then they funnel you into a place with a TV playing the announcement for the Infinity Castle movies. No new content or news.

12. After that, these things tend to have a bright and happy Kimetsu Academy room! You could take photos, but there was a chalkboard with the voice actors have let their signatures and messages for the fans. I appreciated how they seemed to reflect their characters in their comments and handwriting, to some extent (certainly not Matsuoka (Inosuke) or none of it would be legible, but Hayami (Shinobu) has very legible, handwriting, and Hanae (Tanjiro) has comments like "I hope you'll feel like GUWAAA and GAAAAA!"). You could not take photos of the signatures, but you could take a photo of Mitsuri's art and figment of her imagination who says disparaging things to her (despite how she wants her art to make the world happy?? Oh, the irony):

13. The gallery concludes with a hall eyecatch illustrations, and a hall of Ufotable staff art paying homage to their favorite characters and scenes. Always treat seeing things in Ufotable style, but with individual craft and taste!

14. After that, you buy things. This is where they get ya.

Kind of thankfully, it's late enough in the exhibition's run that they've already run out of a lot of the smaller items I was intrigued by, so I behaved myself. I got the t-shirts I was planning on (I love the simplicity of them so so much, and really had to resist getting the paper airplane one too), a Daki ribbon item leftover from the last exhibition (though what I really wanted was Daki shoelaces), and an official pamphlet of the event. My friend got a couple Osaka-only badges,but since she got doubles of Zenitsuup the Umeda Sky Building, she gave one to me.

I really love that "nanikore" ("what the...?") design. It's so simple, and if you don’t know KnY, you might think they're just silly little circus dudes. But people who know will be like, "!!!" and their day will be a little brighter for having seen it.

Gonna do a quick self-reblog now with some extra photos!

[expirisims]

A New Outlook on Life

Oh, Boy! Another new baby and some more stalking followed up by some rebound canoodling! Andrew, get it together dude!

With town drama out of the way, it's back to our actual household!

Just a little skill building to start the new day.

And a whole new lighting mod! I know I hinted at this weeks ago, and here we finally are! I started testing out different lighting mods for the remainder of my time in St. Bernie. I've been using Fresh Cut Day by @brntwaffles with @gelinagelina's Lighting Tweaks, but had been toying with the idea of using different lighting for different world play throughs.

Up first is the BEAUTIFUL Sims 3 Beta Lighting Mod by @boringbones. Seriously! It looks like I have some Reshade or HD mod going on, it is so clear and bright and the shadows are absolutely gorgeous!

Along with testing new lighting mods, I installed Tree and Plant Replacements (also by boringbones); Reworked And Improved EA Lights by simsi45; More Light Coming Through Windows by Blyss; the Electrical Storm Mod by @mathmodder; and TS3 HD Texture Series-Terrain Pack by @greenplumbboblover.

And here we are! It's a sunny spring day, perfect for a trip to the town plaza to meet up with Gerald!

I can't get over how crisp everything looks!

Hey! We're outside in the sun and you can ACTUALLY see Simili's face! She's not all washed out or too dark to distinguish! I haven't gone for Reshade or Gshade yet, because my main focus is gameplay and I've always been a little afraid that keeping either of those programs going in the background would cause my usually smooth gameplay to stutter or crash so for me and my screenshots, this lighting mod is seriously game changing. I couldn't stop zooming around looking at everything!

Simili has been waiting for a while here...where is Gerald?

Of course it did...Well, this doesn't exactly bode well for their relationship, now does it?

Guess it's back home for Simili...I wonder what was so important for Gerald anyway?

Oh look...protesting healthcare in the ocean...seems a logical place for that! Facepalm...

At least he's got principles I guess, maybe he's concerned about how much the medical bills will be for the birth of that baby...Still doesn't explain the location, but you know...Sims...

I went to see what was going on at the City Park. How adorable! Pablo is teaching little Stevie to talk! In his pajamas, that I discovered from this point on he was always wearing LOL! And who's that? Guy Summersville and one of his dogs playing drums dressed as a robot? Again with the Sims logic! Bahahaha!!

Oh wait! I hear some commotion!

Who is that!!?? Never a dull moment in St. Bernie!

O...M...G!! Bahahahaha! A burglar and a mime!!?? Why is this so funny to me?!

Nothing like a couple of random townies brawling in the park! This, right here, is the beauty of an open world with story progression! I don't even know who these two are and neither Simili, nor Barky was even here today! This is just what was randomly going on in the park while my sims are doing whatever they're doing! Same with the protest Gerald was attending! This is the best part of TS3, there is ALWAYS something going on somewhere in town!

[sam-keeper]

The Vourdalak (2023)

The metatextual commentary on the horror genre looms large when people talk about Funny Games (1997), and understandably so. It doesn't take long after the first literal wink to the camera for meta stuff to take over, and for the commentary on horror fans to get pointed. But I was struck, while watching, by a different aspect of the film: politeness and middle class social convention setting traps as diabolical as any Jigsaw ever designed. The characters sleepwalk their way into their gruesome torturous deaths in part through politeness and forbearance. indeed the serial killing duo that torments them seem almost like an infection spread from one household to the next via the same social niceties, polite introductions transmitting them from one group to the next.

So: The Vourdalak.

The titular monster in The Vourdalak is a puppet, and an almost muppet-esque one at that. Like, we're not talking near-naturalistic animatronics here, we're talking a puppet that can flare his eyes open, and open and close his mouth, and otherwise acts through the body language artistry of puppeteers. It's incredible to look at, and totally not even remotely a little bit believable as a person. And yet, the entire family that Ambassador from the King of France Marquis Jacques Antoine Saturnin d’Urfe encounters in the wilderness of (maybe) Serbia seems paralyzed by the apparition of the household's patriarch. Despite the man's own firm warning not to trust whatever comes back from the woods wearing his guise, they sit this grotesque, obviously dead puppet down at the table, offer it food, and force the family closeted transsexual to shoot the family dog at its behest, all while Jacques Antoine Saturnin d'Urfe sits there in his poncy white makeup and blush and wig all but looking right at the camera helplessly. It's horrific, and also completely ludicrous.

The absurdity of it is part of what makes it horrible: even though everyone involved (except perhaps the drunken, pathologically devoted son Jegor) can see something has gone catastrophically wrong with grandfather Gorcha, their filial duties render them powerless to halt what's happening. They're also profoundly vulnerable: Piotr is at minimum a cross dresser, Anja is cowed by her husband Jegor and must look after her young son Vlad, and Sdenka is trapped in a futureless morass after the murder of the stranger who promised to take her away from the village. Also, the village has been seemingly wiped out by bandits, making the Vourdalak's presentation of the bandit leader's head impressive but pointless, and rendering the cast profoundly isolated.

Even Jacques Antoine Saturnin d'Urfe is hampered by being just the wettest protagonist. The man is a floppy noodle in period accurate caked on makeup. Wildly out of his element, he summons periodically the gumption to chase after Sdenka (she responds by nearly tricking him into falling off a cliff) but otherwise just minces about rather aimlessly, too out of his depth and paralyzed by social convention to put up much resistance to the blood sucking revenant. I didn't hate him, mind--part of the humor and horror of the story comes from watching this high society guy bumble around in the 18th century equivalent of a backwoods hick horror film. It's clear he wants to do the right thing, and shows the Vourdalak's prospective victims sympathy alien both to the monster and to Jegor. He just happens to be about as effectual and plausible an opponent to the undead as a peacock dipped in a particularly muddy puddle.

This year we also watched the 2001 French adventure horror period film Brotherhood of the Wolf, and it's interesting that for all its attempts to feel contemporary to 2001, it mostly feels… very contemporary to 2001, if you get me. I mean, credit where it's due, it CLEARLY inspired a significant part of the look of Bloodborne, but in trying for a modern glitz it winds up embodying not just a bunch of aesthetics (ZOOMS! FAST CUTS! THE MATRIX JUST CAME OUT EVERYBODY LET'S SPEED UP AND SLOW DOWN THE ACTION SCENES!) that are very locked into their time, but a bunch of tropes that feel similarly dated (the Wise Native American Sidekick, the love interest menaced by a disfigured and incestuous brother, sssssome sort of position on the French Revolution that's kind of hard to figure out?).

The Vourdalak, in embracing an already "outmoded" form of puppetry, and cleaving closer to the alien high class aesthetics of the 18th century that Brotherhood replaces with their more hip take, feels like it's destined to age a bit better. The strength of the fable helps. When in one of the most truly wretched scenes of the film the Vourdalak picks up a shotgun and blasts a hole in poor Piotr's skull, it feels discordant that this gothic horror should be wielding modern weaponry. But it also feels perversely fitting: the patriarch simply makes use of whatever tools are at his disposal to keep the family disciplined. The Vourdalak is said to prey first on its closest loved ones. Jacques Antoine Saturnin d'Urfe does such a good job of being a polite guest who doesn't make waves that the Vourdalak can't help but see him as one of the family. I don't expect this narrative of being sucked (hah) into complicity losing its bite anytime soon.

[vivifrage]

I think with Lightfall like. It's fun. I had a good time. A blast, even! Especially with the gameplay, even when I got frustrated because I was playing Legendary and I'm not a good gamer.

It's action movie fun. Which is what it intended to be, really, from all the tropes and the pacing of it. But it got bodied with sudden roadmap changes and Witch Queen as video game Oscar bait.

Yeah, I think it could have used a breather to bond more with Rohan especially, but there was in-game justification for going fast and I'm sure the format A Destiny Expansion(tm) limited the team. We saw it bad in Witch Queen's seasons, and Bungie acknowledged that yeah the seasons structure was limiting them. As someone who works in software dev, nobody likes having to make things worse. But it happens a lot. Sometimes in really bullshit ways that the software folks wouldn't expect to be that level of bullshit, let alone anyone who isn't working with the software day in and day out. And by bullshit I mean "massive overhaul of the entire system just to make one tiny change" kinds of bullshit. Again, nobody likes it. I promise you.

Back to Lightfall. It's a fun action movie. It's also the plot point we'd been hurtling towards since Witch Queen, and probably even well before that: The Darkest Hour. We're struggling to use this new power in time, the mysteries around us have unraveled but in the end it's too late for us to get the upper hand, and it nearly costs us everything. In the year beforehand, we'd been losing in one way or another at the end of the seasons: Crow kills the Psion, our rituals fail to stop Calus, Eramis gets away, Rasputin dies. The Witness accesses the Traveler.

What it also does is it sets up the rest of the year for our Triumphant Finale. We get a thread to follow - how to get into the Traveler - and chase it through the year, alongside other threads like what the Veil is and how we're gonna deal with Xivu Arath. As of the end(ish) of Wish, we've got our answer and are primed for The Final Shape as our finale.

But first we had to have The Darkest Hour. Which, in the short term, being what it is, is a bummer. No getting around it. It's also part of why comparisons to Witch Queen went awry, IMO.

Witch Queen is, as I said before, the Oscar bait, insofar as an MMO looter-shooter has Oscar bait. It puts the tangled web front and center instead of tracing one thread and then zooming out to show the whole thing. It's more philosophical in nature, sitting back and asking us whether we think we're special and what really separates us from one of the enemies we hadn't forged alliances with yet: the Hive. And, of course, if we'd noticed the puppetmaster behind it all. It ties up the question that's been going on since Forsaken: are we the bad guys? (No, not really, we're struggling to survive the way everyone else is. Which, nobody else we've been fighting is really "the bad guy" either.)

It's a really good storyline! I loved it, even if, honestly, I didn't like the gameplay as much as Lightfall. I think it's earned its good reviews and positive reception.

But it is the Oscar bait. And unlike Lightfall, its plot role didn't require the same downer ending. It could sprawl, and honestly? I don't think it would have worked as our Darkest Hour. Not without screwing up the story and making a jumbled mess. Seriously, I don't think Destiny's "everyone gets a second chance" philosophy would have carried well at all if The Darkest Hour was when the Hive got Ghosts. Instead it would have reinforced our misconception at the beginning of Lightfall - that we are the sole rightful Lightbearers and that the Hive getting the Light was a wrongdoing.

Destiny did need something between Witch Queen and The Final Shape. And they moved things - but announced it less than a year before Lightfall released. At their big press conference-y deal, but still. Limited time for folks to get the news.

And then it came out and it was an action movie, not Oscar bait. But it followed Oscar bait, so that's what the expectation was.

Personally, I'm fond of, say, Moonlight. Fantastic movie. Beautiful and heartfelt. I enjoyed it and I think it is worthy of its high praise. But if you ask me what my favorite movie is, I'll say it's a tossup between Pacific Rim and Mad Max: Fury Road. They fit different niches in the cultural ecosystem - Moonlight isn't a bad Pacific Rim and Pacific Rim isn't a bad Moonlight. Not unless you pit them against each other despite their vast differences.

Also I remember there was lots of complaining about how empty Neomuna was at first, but everything about the CloudArk and especially the lorebook is such early pandemic-era fiction.

Lightfall is a good action movie. Witch Queen is good Oscar bait. Both of them have their strong points and weak points. There are technical factors that limit things. There are other external factors that limit things (looking at you, upper management).

It's fair to critique a story but like, I dunno. Bungie's devs, writers, and artists aren't idiots or evil or out to get you specifically. Lightfall is fine but you can't - and shouldn't - expect it to be Witch Queen.

Please, for the love of everything holy, don't let us repeat the nasty bitchy maelstrom we got around Lightfall. Or I'll start shitting in ovens.

[curiositythecryptid]

stop thinking about You.

Ris rambles about DRS2E7 because it made me cry. Do not read if you haven't watched DRS2P1 yet.

Let's start from the beginning.

They're trying to learn a new technique, the Rising Dragon, that is their only chance against a new foe. In order to do it, they need to master the principle of Motion, which is all about moving in harmony with the universe around you. They're going through a training course, taking turns trying to get the technique right, and it's Kai's turn. Kai fails, Egalt criticizes him, and this is where the scene starts.

"Who are you saying lacks spirit?" Fire is sometimes associated with spirit- with what's vibrant and intense. Kai is like that, he's full of spirit, it's one of his main marking traits as a character, to be vivid and confident. Just like his hair, Kai holds on tightly to anything that makes him feel unique. "Ah, you better not be talking about me!"

Nya asks to do the course as a pair for Kai's sake. Kai realizes that and quickly goes "I can do this myself, Nya!" He has to be able to! Just like he Has To Be Able To Light A Fire*, he has to Figure The Thing Out, he has to solve the problem because there's no mom or dad around- ah whoops.

(*TLDR: Lighting a fire is a survival skill, and survival doesn't listen to "excuses". What is needed in the moment is needed and that's it- either he figures it out or his family gets hurt, that's the logic he's used to.)

"I know what's holding you back." "What?" "You. Stop thinking about you. Start thinking about Counter Shot."

This is an old song. "Kai, start thinking about yourself as part of a team!" This is an OLD song. The smith siblings are very independent, self-confident people, and they're very hard on themselves. Independence is not a bad thing, but it can get in the way. Nya understands that better than Kai does, because she had an arc around it. Around not being able to solve everything herself, but rolling with the punches and trusting others to continue what she started.

Stop thinking about you. Start thinking about Counter Shot.

Stop thinking about how you need to Handle It. Start thinking about the thing that needs to be handled, start thinking about the goal, not about the price of failure.

In the end, the drill stays the same. They're doing the same course they would do if they were alone. The only difference is just the mindset of doing it together instead of Being The One To Handle It. It goes from "I'M gonna do it!" to "we're DOING IT!"

And then we get the flashback- and this is what we see:

That house.

That frame of the blacksmith shop is so important to me. They look so small in front of the house, and they ARE small, and for a while they were the only people living in it. This has almost the same vibe as someone looking at the mountain they're going to climb, standing before a challenge.

This is where the map is hidden. This is where Maya and Ray will be taken from. This is where they learn to blacksmith. This is where they're going to grow up. This is where will take care of eachother and this is where they will inevitably hurt eachother.

This is where Nya will be kidnapped. This is where the entire series started.

When I see that house, I can't help but see that history. The camera has them holding hands, looking nervous to complete the challenge. It zooms out, but INSTEAD of focusing on the horseshoes- the game they're getting ready for- it pans out to focus on THE ENTIRE HOUSE. Growing up is a challenge they will face together.

sure, it's an establishing shot. But coupled with their body language, it's. Something. They're standing together, holding hands, nervous about getting the course right. They're facing the house where all of that history will happen. This draws a parallel between Counter Shot (we're DOING IT!) and that house (growing up, surviving and everything that came with it).

It's saying, "this is a game they will play as a team."

But growing up, running the family business, lighting up the forge to work every morning, heating up their food in time for lunch, taking charge and coming up with a solution whenever there isn't an adult around to do it... that doesn't feel very much like a game anymore.

If HE doesn't Do The Thing, who will? Nya. At least, that's how it used to work- if he fails, he's giving Nya more work, and she's just a kid and younger than him, so he can't let that happen. He's giving those around him more work and he can't have that happen because they've already got too much on their plates.

"[what's holding you back is] You. Stop thinking about You. Start thinking about Counter Shot."

Start thinking about getting this done regardless of how you need to do it- there's no shame asking for help. (There's no shame in loving yourself, there's no shame in self-care- things he proudly does and states!)

Nya knows Kai very well, and in this moment she knows exactly the kind of mindset that he's sinking back into, visible in how worked up and defensive he's getting about it. So she comes up with a plan. Something from way back, some situation in which he didn't have that mindset nagging at him.

Seeing Kai and Nya have fun as kids is so healing to me. From the way he looks and sounds thinking about it, it's healing to Kai, too.

The establishing shot draws a parallel between their history and the game, and Nya sets a parallel between the game and Kai finding harmony with the world around him. But what is that harmony?

"I am perfectly still, Master." "Wrong!"

Egalt estabilishes that you're never still, even if you try to, because your body moves of its own accord, and because the world around you pushes and moves you.

Your body moves of its own accord. No matter empty the world, the house might have felt, it was still where they lived, where they were alive to make memories, memories he grows up to find special.

The world around you moves you, whether you see it or not. Nya looks after him, too, no matter how alone he thinks he is, he can't escape the fact that there will be things others will help him with. He can't escape the fact he isn't alone, all he needs is to do is see that.

Kai is not moving alone: that's Motion, and that's the Rising Dragon.

[fountainpenguin]

Zombiewood, my beloved...

Man... thinking about how much I love Double Life Martyn & his interactions with Cleo again. There is... so much silliness going on there. Legit, they can barely hold a conversation without giggling. And the drama... Just existing together under the drama umbrella makes them fantastic story material. 10/10 soulmate pair.

Martyn's terrible game show flop. Devastating. Him getting in a fistfight with Cleo at the end of it. That little fast-paced vent he does while ranting to Jimmy about how Cleo is really into building bridges with Scott but not him, which pitches up into a scream. I love how 'into character' he gets there; it's so good...

The entire hilarity of Martyn building a giant heart in front of Cleo in an attempt to win her back, which she loathes and ignores while he spends the series fighting with the HOA for the right to keep it. Everyone constantly yells at him for dropping their property value. All he wants is Cleo's attention and Cleo just... is not impressed. so funny.

"It's small, but it's enough. Just like me." - Martyn, what??

The way Martyn builds his base "in Cleo's front yard." That's so nuts. From an in-universe perspective, I love that swivel from denial and anger in Episode 1 to bargaining in 2.

So many good tidbits throughout their 5-episode relationship... Martyn peeping at Cleo through his spyglass at night and muttering "She seems safe; she seems happy; she seems healthy" before zooming in all "Wait, she has to use the furnace OUTSIDE?? Take it inside! Look, he's ruining you!" Like... Okay, Martyn.

"This is all her fault, 100%!!" He's a needy, angry man grasping at straws. I love dumb roleplay drama. Ugh, the commitment to the bit is so glorious. What a great arc.

The way Martyn thoroughly convinces himself that Scott's the shoulder devil who swayed Cleo away from him, so he shows up to speak his mind ("We can be real, proper soulmates, but right now you're being really selfish. You let him speak in your ear! You let him tell you that I was off not caring about my soulmate! I was providing!" and Cleo hits him with "Martyn... I was the one who brought it up first."

Just... idk, the way he freezes right then is great. The "emotional damage" clip he plays right then just makes it for me. That right there is the moment that Character Martyn splinters. It's so good. And yet he doesn't give up?? astounding.

I really enjoy how Pearl took the divorce quartet situation and spun it into clingy 'crazy ex' roleplay with Scott, and Martyn went the complete opposite route and tried to woo Cleo over with grandiose gestures of affection, really playing up the "I'm a provider; I didn't want to show up emptyhanded" angle. They were so different in how they handled the break-up and I still think that's cool. They did such a good job. Fantastic season.

Martyn: I care about us! I bring the skill; you bring the vibes- That's what I was signing up for! Cleo: If you look at it this way- You don't have to watch out for me. I've got somebody else who's willing to lay down their life for me.

Like??

Martyn wants someone he can share affection with. Cleo wants stability and trust. The whole "This is better for both of us" is so good... Hilarious.

The part that really makes it for me is Martyn starting to protest "So this is what we're doing?" and Cleo softly shushes him, just like "Shhh... They're coming over."

They kick off a secret alliance they don't discuss in public... Cleo apologizing for misjudging him and extending a hand. Martyn playing the part of jealous lover who's got an open door waiting for him if he'll meet her halfway, which he can choose to do at any time if he swallows his pride... It's SO GOOD... What a set-up!

Martyn & Cleo, my beloveds... Where else can I find the goofy 'jealous ex with a flair for art and drama' + 'Annoyed ex who moved on with their life and got a new partner and a home' health-sharing soulmate combo with this much commitment to the anger and grief and forgiveness and regret... They're great.

Martyn: I don't know where I stand with her. She sort of seems to be looking out for me but absolutely wants nothing to do with me. It's all very confusing... and maybe Cleo will come back to me one day.

Well, I've got good news and bad news, boss...

Cleo giving Martyn a heart-to-heart and he quietly wanders back to his base, turns to look at them, and tells the audience "Maybe me and Cleo are more on the same page than I initially thought" while in Cleo's POV a moment later, she's like "Look, sometimes you just have to speak to him in a way he'll understand" [gameplay strats] ??? slkdjf

Cleo sending Martyn on his way with his first diamonds of the series to craft a sword with... the "Don't die" / "I promise; I'll do us proud- Don't you worry" / "[Sigh]... Do yourself proud" exchange just kills me. Martyn swivels to his softer 'serious roleplay voice' to 'pledge loyalty' to her and Cleo just Is Not Having It With Him and shuts that down so fast.

Cleo: You don't need to worry about me. I've got my partner. Martyn to the audience, so Cleo can hear: She's saying that even when there's nobody around. I am VERY confused."

Two dead, many injured.

Cleo tossing a flower in his inventory when he wasn't looking. Cleo offering to let Martyn stay with her after his base gets griefed. Also ??? Martyn and Cleo getting a house together when they were constantly fighting?? why did they do that.

Cleo and Scott on their bridge above the ravine, doing their daily axe crit to the chest... Martyn in Ep 3 whips around and yells "Do you two mind??" Cleo tells him it's their way of showing affection and Martyn immediately gets out his enchanted axe and goes for her. He looks Scott in the eye and says "At least I've got a heart" and Scott's instant reply is "Do you??"

Martyn later refusing to use the bridge because it would be "awkward"... Martyn sneaking around Cleo's house and getting upset that she joined the HOA, immediately followed by her chasing him out of her yard insisting that she didn't. Martyn's swap into bubbly music when he's in the panda reserve. "The admission fee is love!" / "Oh, I come with buckets of that because somebody isn't accepting mine."

On the way out the door, Scar tells Cleo and Martyn that he'll find more romantic music to play the next time they visit and Martyn doubles back and says "Yeah, if you could." Love that for him. All the man wants is a partner who doesn't want to kick him in the teeth. What a great episode.

I love how Martyn and Cleo interact on their weird stepping stone bridge above the ravine... He keeps pushing for "I'll take your gear and go down to the ancient city to get your enchantments sorted out," trying to kill two birds with one stone and play up that role of being "the provider," and Cleo just... keeps trying to reel him back.

"No, no, no! You don't even have to do that! All you have to do is say 'I'm sorry for abandoning you on the first day.'" / "Mmmmm... I don't understand." sldkfj. "All it takes is an apology, Martyn." / "You're not getting one. We both know you're not getting one."

Delicious self-inflicted drama. Cleo's so willing to bend and he's so dang stubborn. I love them...

Personal highlight for me is right after Martyn kills both Cleo and himself by punching them off a cliff. Scott puts himself between the two of them while Cleo seethes and Martyn apologizes profusely and he just keeps saying "You have ruined every chance of ever being with her as your soulmate. You have lost every opportunity." Cleo following it up with "Remember when I said Martyn would be a good person to have on our team?

Yeah, just drive that sense of "Nobody wants you" into the one guy who's been so desperately roleplaying affection... topped off by the fact that when they're alone, Cleo drops the loud angry voice and cracks up laughing. Your honor, they are literally just some guys.

The fact that Cleo had to save him from an enderman while he shrieked and buried under her bedroom floor. I cannot get over the mental image of "Take me back, babe" immediately followed by them almost dying twice in 5 minutes. Martyn literally runs inside and hides under Cleo's bed... they can't stop giggling. Yep. He's here: the perfect man.

DL!Martyn is so funny to me... He explicitly uses the phrase "I'm breaking up with you too" when he dumps Pearl at the end of Episode 1, and then he does it AGAIN when Ren says they should bring Pearl into the Broken Hearts club.

The whole "Uh... I broke up with Pearl, so this might take some convincing" bit just cracks me up. Ren so wanted this alliance to work and Martyn is like "... ah. Yeah, about that..."

Semi-related, but thinking about that one Reacts clip where IRL Martyn said "See, this is why me and Cleo are soulmates" while listening to them talk about his LimLife finale betrayal...

idk; that's funny to me- I like the in-universe image that character Martyn is still hung up on Cleo (and/or the mental image of character Martyn hanging out with her at a post-LimLife party, trying to study her and figure out why they were paired).

Martyn and Cleo are on the same page in so many ways... but they have different communication styles / preferences and they crashed and burnt so hard... Ah, the sweet tragedy of it all. I'd have loved to see how well they could've fared together as a team.

Cleo losing their Yellow life because Martyn scrambled towards her begging her to eat and she forgot she was drowning as she opened inventory to check her pockets... His "Leave her alone!" and "Cleo, we good? We good?" during the ancient city fight. Cleo inviting Martyn into her Red Life base. Yeah. Them... Messy to the end.

Anyway, they're hilarious. GG to them on the improv and the commitment to it, even though the break-up was probably a scary roleplay / gameplay choice...

Also that moment where Bdubs casually says hello to them while they're walking home from the panda reserve and they immediately go for their weapons and start threatening him "Your money or your life" is so perfect... Love me a couple improv troublemakers in total sync. They're my favorites.

I love them and their silly donkeys Glen and Schmoobles... Nothing like two soulmates both picking the same companion animal without coordinating and both giving them silly names in the complete opposite directions from each other. They're great.

I love them...

[botmilf]

so I finally started watching the Halo tv series and I have some thoughts

Not Transformers related, but FUCKIN HELL I need to vent this SOMEWHERE because none of my friends have watched it. Ok.

The acting is ok, but no one's winning any awards, that's for sure lol.

The world building does *not* feel grounded in the Halo universe tbh. It feels more like a Star Wars setting, what with all the whacky haircuts and outfits, which I found pretty jarring because part of what grounded the Halo games was that the humans--even the ones that lived on planets other than Earth--were more utilitarian-centered in terms of fashion.

They want me to root for Kwan so badly, but they've given me no solid reason to so far, and I'm halfway through Season 1. I get that the writers are trying to make her seem like an edgy teenager, but tbh she just comes across as shitty, rude, and entitled most of the time? Which is, of course, no fault of the actress's whatsoever. This is purely the fault of the writers--Kwan's actress is just doing her best with the lackluster material she's been given, and our girl deserves nothing short of admiration for that lol.

Another thing about Kwan's story: it feels mind-numbingly boring and predictable when it's placed beside the Master Chief's arc--which is the one we're all HERE FOR IN THE FIRST PLACE. We're not here to watch an edgy teenage girl with a bad haircut (as a former professional hairstylist I see what they were going for, but man, did they NOT hit it lol) have her coming of age Katness Everdeen moment, and yeah I kinda feel like one of those sweaty asshole film critics just saying that...ugh...but it's the hard truth I guess.

One last thing concerning Kwan: I feel like a core issue that is also at play here is the fact that the writers--who are both men--clearly do not know how to write women outside the perimeters of "edgelord bitchy" "soulless bitchy" and "nerdy bitchy." Makee is the only character showing some potential for depth beyond that, but I'm not ready to give 'em that yet. It's unfortunately a prevalent thing in film/games when it comes to male writers writing women.

The FINAL thing that I want to say is that the camera work for this show is BORING as FUCK. The Sangheili fights fell short, not because of the CGI, or the writing or the acting, but purely because of the stiff camera work. A good camera shake when a Sangheili hits something and some motion-tracking during the battles would've gone a long way here because it helps you feel like you're right in it. Most of the shots stay zoomed out and still, which also ends up making the CG of the Spartans/Sangheili look worse.

Idk..that's my thoughts on the Halo show lol

[riley-coyotl]

I know dalmatians need a lot of exercise but I was wondering how long your walks are?

Disclaimer: Kelpie is just a puppy still so I can't comment on how her exercise needs will be when she grows up, but.

Kelpie is a pretty high energy pup, but I would not use the length of our walks to gauge that--right now actual leash walks with her have been fairly short since I am currently just using them to work on loose leash walk training for the most part, and we are working through some pretty intense FOMO with Juni, one of my other dogs, right now (and Juni is reactive and so she cannot necessarily go with us for every outing) so I've had to keep outings with Kelpie pretty short recently.

Kelpie gets most of her exercise either running and playing in the yard with my other two dogs, or playing in the house bouncing off the walls with Juni and/or playing with us humans. Her favorite games include zoom, tug, fetch, and biting-you-biting-you-biting-you. xD She also gets a lot of chews and frozen stuffed treats, and has a billion toys she loves to play with! And we're working on lots of training on how to be a well-adjusted doggie who is easy to work with and live with. :)

All that said, I also should caution that while it is true that Dalmatians are typically a higher energy breed, I am a firm believer in that even high energy/high drive dogs do not need endless hours of exercise to be fulfilled. Dogs are incredibly adaptable. Dalmatians are built for endurance, but this doesn't mean they have to be ON all the time. I am certain that Kelpie would be capable of adapting to far more exercise than I am capable of providing, but she does not need that much in order to be fulfilled, well-adjusted, and content. Just as physical exercise is important, mental stimulation is at least equally as important, as is learning how to chill and relax during down time. It is important to me (and to my dogs' well-being) that they learn how to to have an "off switch" so to speak. So in between bouts of play and training and bouncing off the walls in joyful puppy abandon, Kelpie gets plenty of chill/sleep time too--dogs need a lot of rest and sleep, especially growing puppies! 🥰

[powdermelonkeg]

Tears of the Kingdom: The Final Analysis

Part 13: The Finale

Part 12 here

So, Sidon's tear.

I backed up a few frames to see if I could get a better look at the etchings on it while it was close up.

It looks...like an eye?

Almost like an Eye of Truth, but not quite. Given that Zelda's tear had Recall on it, I wonder if this tear gives a power unique to it, as well.

When we zoom out, we can see that Sidon, at this point in the game, is wearing a fitted version of his father's crown.

Which, of course, begs the question—what happened to Dorephan? When last we saw him, he was in good health and spirit, if mourning his daughter. Is he hurt? Did the Calamity injure him? Did Sidon prove himself mature? What is going on?

Tulin comes into view. He's only here very briefly, so it was hard to catch him properly, but-

Right here, he's now holding the Great Eagle Bow instead of his old Swallow. Which, if you didn't know—in order to make the Great Eagle Bow in Breath of the Wild, after you've broken the original, you need to take Harth a Swallow Bow, five bundles of wood, and a diamond. Little buddy possibly crafted the upgrade himself.

Now let's look at his tear.

This one is much more abstract than Sidon's, so I haven't any guesses as to what it could mean.

Once Tulin flies by, Link races to fight an enemy, a HUGE shard on his back.

Despite its size, however, he wields it as a one-handed weapon, fused to the hilt of a Rusty Broadsword:

The material doesn't look like anything I've seen before, and given its glow and the fiery Gleeok he's about to face-

I'd say it's embued with the power of ice, if not outright made from the interior of one of Naydra's horns.

Speaking of Gleeok! For those unfamiliar, Gleeok is a classic Zelda boss. And by classic, I mean actually classic.

This guy, from the original Legend of Zelda, has made so many appearances.

Oracle of Seasons had Gleeok like this.

In Phantom Hourglass, it was a two headed water serpent.

This isn't even counting the variants and spinoffs, Gleerok from Minish Cap or Gleeokenspiel from Cadence of Hyrule. This guy is recurring, just like Dodongo is.

The number of heads Gleeok has varies—even in Legend of Zelda, the boss showed up twice, first with two heads and then with four. And in its official art from back then

He has three.

This guy has three huge, unhinged jaws, fire blazing out of the crest of its heads, and its eyes are all malice slits.

Despite the fire, though, the background is a dull teal, with snow falling. The only other place in the trailer we've seen this environment is in the Thunderhead that we've explored with Tulin.

We're reaching the end now. Zelda holds the Master Sword, says that Link is "our final hope."

"Our last line of defense will be Link."

After what? What is Link a contingency for? Plans falling through? Ganondorf breaking free?

Tears of the Kingdom. The filled in, red edge of the mural we saw in the last trailer.

Ganondorf commands his forces, a towering figure above the rest.

Soldiers stand bravely against him in battle.

There are enemies new long with the old.

And among the chaos, right at Ganon's feet, one person has managed to slip past the hordes, with no weapon or shield to protect them.

Zelda, scuffed from battle, calls our name-

The Master Sword clutched tightly in her hands, hilt barely visible.

"You must find me," she says, seated on her altar

Her face toward the southern sea

From a place we've seen before.

I'd like to bring your attention to one last thing, before I end this analysis.

We've encountered five tears thus far in the trailer, each with different colors, each different significance.

We're still missing two.

[punsmaster69]

8/FEB/20XX

"I'M NOT."

"you are."

"I'M NOT."

"you are."

"I'M N O T."

"you are."

"I'M NOT A ROBOT, AND NEITHER ARE YOU!!!"

"yuh huh."

"NUH UH!!"

me and frisk have spent the past hour trying to convince my brother that we skeletons have actually been robots this whole time.

it's so stupid and pointless, but we're in too deep to stop now. it's hilarious.

this started when we came home from hanging out with everyone at the park all day. he and frisk were ready to continue our night by playing games, but i'm definitely too tired for that.

"WHY WON'T YOU JOIN US??"

"i'm all outta batteries for the day."

as a joke, frisk tossed a battery into each of my eyesockets. i sat up, like i was recharged.

"oh, thanks kid. just what i needed."

papyrus' slightly bewildered look told me i immediately had to lean into this as hard as possible.

"what?"

"YOU DON'T TAKE 𝘉𝘈𝘛𝘛𝘌𝘙𝘐𝘌𝘚."

"i do."

"YOU'RE A 𝘚𝘒𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘛𝘖𝘕."

"Don't skeletons take batteries?"

"NO???"

"jeez, you don't even remember that we take 'em?"

"when's the last time you changed your batteries, bro?"

"N."

"NEVER??"

"BECAUSE WE DON'T TAKE BATTERIES!! WE'RE NOT ROBOTS!!!"

"You are."

"ARE NOT!!"

"not fully. just partly."

"NOT PARTLY, ZERO-LY! WE AREN'T ROBOTS!"

"You definitely are, it's so obvious."

"I'M NOT A ROBOT!"

"i'm a robot."

"LISTEN!"

"I'M NOT A ROBOT, AND YOU'RE NOT ONE EITHER!!"

"sounds exactly like what a robot would say."

"ARGH! WE'RE NOT EVEN PARTLY ELECTRONIC!!"

"It's okay, Papyrus. We still accept you and Sans in your totally robotic glory."

"WE'RE NOT ROBOT-"

"wow, you're getting weirdly defensive for someone who claims not to be a robot."

"BBBECAUSE WE'RE NOT ROBOTS?!?!?!"

this continued on for....

far too long, but me and frisk were trying not to laugh our asses off the whole time.

not as convincing if you're saying it through giggles, y'know?

——

"ROBOTS EAT BATTERIES, RIGHT?"

"right."

he zoomed around the house until he found another battery.

papyrus shot his hand forward to hold the battery in front of my face.

"IF WE'RE REALLY ROBOTS AS YOU SAY WE ARE, YOU'LL EAT THIS WITH NO PROBLEM!!"

"i just got my batteries changed. don't need any more power."

"BALONEY!"

"YOU DON'T WANT TO EAT THE BATTERY BECAUSE YOU'RE NOT A ROBOT!!!"

i looked at the battery, pinched between his forefinger and thumb.

a battle was fought internally.

there's part of me willing to eat batteries for the bit, and the other part of me that tells me not to 𝗲𝗮𝘁 a 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙮 over a joke.

"...you eat it."

". . ."

"WHAT??"

"you're a robot too. 𝘆𝗼𝘂 eat it."

"I'M NOT EATING IT! I ALREADY KNOW I'M NOT A ROBOT, SO I DON'T NEED TO PROVE IT!"

"we-"

"BESIDES, IF WE'RE ROBOTS, HOW WOULD WE HAVE SURVIVED SHOWERS AND POOL PARTIES AND BEACHES?!"

"uhh... we have..."

"really good waterproofing."

"BOGUS!!!"

"YOU'RE JUST MAKING THINGS UP NOW!"

sometimes, you gotta know when to throw in the towel.

that time is when it's approaching three in the morning, and the towel is realizing frisk fell asleep about an hour and thirty minutes ago.

"...yeah."

"I KNEW IT!!"

"THIS WAS... ENTIRELY POINTLESS..!?"

"it was kinda funny tricking you for a while."

"I WASN'T CONVINCED FOR EVEN A SECOND! NOTHING GETS PAST THE GREAT PAPYRUS!!"

"i don't know, you s-"

"I KNOW WE'RE NOT ROBOTS! I KNEW YOU WERE TRICKING ME-"

frisk stirred when papyrus' voice got louder.

"..AND I KNOW IT'S DEFINITELY TIME QUIET DOWN AND GO TO BED."

[joka13]

FANFICTION (REQUEST): Weasley Twins x Reader (Hufflepuff Girl) - Lovesick - Part 2/5

WARNINGS: none

Night fell over the castle, and, as usual, Fred and George stayed up far longer than they should have working on the next product to go in their skiving snack boxes. Though the twins appeared busy, their minds were intensely preoccupied by something (or rather someone) else.

George had taken upon himself the dull task of reading through library books to get enough information about a certain magical plant, but he quickly found himself struggling to concentrate. No matter how hard he tried to fight it, his thoughts frustratingly continued to drift towards you.

Fred became stuck in a similar predicament, and at one point caught himself stirring the cauldron for too long after replaying in his head the day's interaction with you in Filch's office.

Both Fred and George ended up going to bed early (at least earlier than what was typical for them), though neither of the twins admitted that it was because they were too distracted to work.

"I can't sleep," George grumbled after he had been tossing and turning in his bottom bunk for almost half an hour.

"I know. I can feel you wriggling like a snake lit on fire," Fred chuckled from the top bunk.

George laughed. "Sorry."

"It's no problem. I can't sleep either."

The twins lay in silence for a long moment.

"I bet I can guess what you're thinking about," said Fred eventually.

"No bet. You can always guess what I'm thinking about," George snorted. "It's probably the same thing you are thinking about."

"You're probably right," Fred chuckled.

More silence.

"And... What exactly are you thinking about?" asked George.

"You tell me!" Fred laughed.

"Fine, fine," George snickered. "We're thinking about... that Hufflepuff girl."

"Y/n," Fred sighed.

"Yeah, y/n... I can't believe I've never noticed her until now. She doesn't look like a first year."

"That's for sure."

Both twins chuckled knowingly.

"We should hang out with her," George said.

"We should have breakfast with her tomorrow," said Fred.

"And lunch. And dinner."

Fred and George laughed together.

"Look..." a disgruntled voice said from the top bunk to Fred's right. Lee Jordan sat up and rubbed his eyes, and Fred had to hold back a laugh once he saw Lee's severe bed-head. "I'm happy that you guys have a nice lady friend or whatever... but could you maybe fantasize about her in your heads?"

"We've been doing that all day," Fred huffed.

"Hmm... I don't know if I've been exactly fantasizing..." George chuckled mischievously.

"Then there will be plenty of room for it in your dreams," Lee sighed, irritated. "Just make an effort not to talk in your sleep. I don't wanna hear any of that." There was a fwump as Lee's head made contact with his pillow once again, and the twins snickered in unison.

The twins eventually fell asleep and did, in fact, dream about you.

Fred dreamt he was back home, back at the burrow. He sat on the sofa in the living room, wrapped in a soft blanket. On the side table next to him was a hot cup of tea. It was early enough in the morning that anyone else in the house was still asleep, so it was peacefully quiet. All that could be heard was the faint tweeting of birds outside and the crackle of dancing flames in the fireplace.

All of these things were great, wonderful even, but what made this dream so perfect was the precious girl Fred held in his arms under the blanket. Her head rested on his chest as she slept soundly, her breathing steady. Fred kissed the side of her pretty head, though ever so lightly so as not to disturb her. She smelled like chocolate. She smiled contently in her sleep, and Fred's heart melted. He hoped that this moment would never end...

George dreamt he was playing a serious game of quidditch. He zoomed across the field on his broom, beater's bat in hand, to wack a bludger aside just before it could make contact with his teammate's head. Deafening cheers rang throughout the stadium as George laughed triumphantly. He appreciated the praise, but there was only one person he really cared to hear cheering.

Though the roaring audience completely filled the surrounding stands, George easily spotted her in the crowd. She jumped up and down for him, waving a small Gryffindor flag like her life dependended on it. Her voice was lost amongst the other whoops and hollers, but her beautiful, smiling lips mouthed, "Geor-gie! Geor-gie! Geor-gie!"...

And then, all at once, the twins' sweet dreams turned into nightmares.

Fred closed his eyes and sighed, totally cherishing the happiness that he felt. He had never before had someone like her to love in such a way as this, and he wasn't going to take it for granted.

Suddenly, the wonderful weight of her body leaning against his disappeared, and Fred's eyes snapped open. She was gone.

George grinned like a fool, but he didn't care. He didn't have a single care in the world as long as she was cheering in the stands for him.

But the merry moment was not to last. The bludger that George had previously batted came back for revenge, catching him off guard and breaking his broom entirely in half on impact. And as George fell, all he could wonder about was what she must think of him.

Fred and George sat up in their beds at exactly the same time, choking and unable to breathe for a short while before coughing up whatever was blocking their airways.

The twins sat clutching their chests and panting heavily as they recovered from the shock. Down in his bottom bunk, George eventually reached over the side of and under the bed for his wand.

"F-Fred?" George breathed. "Are you alright?"

"I think so... You?" Fred whispered from above.

"Yeah... I... couldn't breathe... Lumos." The tip of George's wand began to glow and illuminate the strange scene before him. Strewn across the bed cover were light pink flower petals.

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