#which is on brand for the thematic I guess.

[dontbotherwiththepronunciation]

I would love something on Kyra (personally I always wanted to know what her dreams in life were, but we only ever get so few lines on her through Theon’s POV), or on the relationship between Aeron and Theon, or if those are both too grim, I’d be happy with something on Asha and Qarl!

It's not too grim at all and I like thinking about Kyra!!! (Also here's Asha & Qarl and Aeron & Theon)

I am just afraid I will disappoint you because I admittedly lack creative skills so imagining what those dreams and life could have been is difficult, even if I have strong feelings about her being a satellite-character and what that tells us both about Theon, the society they live(d) in, and the author.

+ this very beautiful and evoking piece here because reposting art that was originally posted on Tumblr feels unethical

(Sources: "Girl covering face with her hand" by Egon Schiele, "Minor Detail" by Adania Shibli, unnamed sketch by Egon Schiele, Edited audio of "Run" by Timber Timbre, Onion article, screenshot of "Belladonna of Sadness", "Fake Fliers" by Nathaniel Russel, sadly couldn't find the source for Game of the Week, "The Key in the Hand" by Chiharu Siota)

[archibaldtuttle]

Alien : Romulus - a 7/10 reason to stop making Alien films

This review will be spoiler-free

When I came out of the theater yesterday, after having gone through a viewing of Alien Romulus, I caught myself agreeing with my friends - this was pretty good!

And I am beyond poisoned about the Alien franchise since Ridley Scott got his grubby paws all over it with Prometheus. The only reason I made the effort to move my ass to the theater to see this one was because he wasn't directing (and also I didn't have to pay for it) (thanks sib).

I knew Alvarez from two of his previous films, the 2013 remake of Evil Dead and Don't Breathe. I am pretty mixed on both - they demonstrate solid filmmaking abilities and (in the case of Evil Dead), a deep respect for franchises he's adding to. However they are also a little heavy on the jumpscares for my taste, and in the case of Don't Breathe I just can't praise the film without having to mention that the third act twist is gross in an entirely unnecessary, shock-value way, that does nothing for the film thematically.

That did give me some hope for Romulus however, because that third act twist told me Alvarez likes talking about rape and impregnation. And contrary to Don't Breathe... that's right at home in Alien.

So what about the film then? It's good. Solid premise, I like that we're finally, finally, seven films in, seeing the planet-side society that births all those rundown spaceships. Good pair of main characters with on one side a demonstrably resourceful Rain and on the other a very nuanced look at the franchise's synthetics with Andy. The others are more forgettable but I can't blame that too much on the film - they're well characterized in a few short scenes and that's all I can expect really. The build-up is solid, the various ticking clocks and sources of tensions well established.

What I find particularly notable is the really good setpieces and the use of facehuggers in a way I've wanted to see for a long time. Very good physical effects supplemented by good to ok-ish CGI. The writing is very heavy-handed - I wish more people looked at what O'Bannon did with exposition before they write their own Alien scripts. I do give credit to Alvarez and his co-writer Sayagues for the cool concepts explored and the way they thread Andy's character exploration through them.

The editing is mostly blameless - I wouldn't call it great or even that good, especially with how hectic it gets during some more action-ey scenes, but you can tell Roberts isn't specialized or even used to horror films. I guess he took from his experience on Pressure which would explain a lot... The score is really good, one of the highlights of the film in my opinion - I've liked almost all I've heard from Wallfisch so I wasn't surprised to find out he did this one.

So why did I give this review a very baitey title. It became clear as I was watching the fourth, then the inevitable fifth act unfold, that we were, collectively, scraping the barrel on what can be done with Alien. Prometheus and Covenant, beyond the fact that they were garbage movies, were already trying desperately to find new things to do with the concept. Romulus succeeded, for the most part, in finding new ways to twist it into something interesting, something we hadn't seen before (or at least not entirely). And I'm pretty sure that's it.

I don't want more directors to spend months racking their brains to try and find three or more scene setups that haven't already been done in seven main films, two AVP films and countless video games, in order to string them together into a coherent 2 and a half hour flick. I don't think it's impossible, Alvarez clearly demonstrated that he could do it and I'm pretty sure other people could. But why waste so much time, talent and energy on a series that objectively does not need expanding upon?

I know why, it's because the current studio system is allergic to anything that doesn't have brand recognition. But I think it's sad. And I think it would be a lot more gracious to put an end to a franchise after a pretty good film that did all it could to honor its predecessors rather than try to keep squeezing more out of it until it turns into the horror version of Star Wars.

[redhoodinternaldialectical]

Thoughts on Jason Todd’s choice of weaponry?

:D an ask! Yay!

Oooh, lets see, I'll start with the crowbars because I appear to be like one of three people on the entire planet who actually likes them.

They're a tacky as fuck riff on the fact that Jason's death is central to his character. They overemphasize the manner in which he died, muddy the waters about what part of his death is important to him, and strangely cheapens the manner in which he died through the parody feel of it.

No one seems to really disagree with my analysis here, but I happen to enjoy that about them and think it's very on brand for Jason. What can I say? They're fun!

Best Quality - His Wiggles

This ultra-sharp curved blade used to be his signature character design feature, the way the white streak in his hair is now, and I'm really not sure why it didn't stick!

Best weapon he's ever had, bring it back please!!!!!

The All-Blades

hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM...

I have mixed feelings about the All-Blades. Like much of Lobdell's work: phenomenal idea, poor execution. Giving the guy who is most known for being morally grey a set of powers that is exclusively based on moral absolutes sucks shit, I gotta be honest, and the trick he pulled on the blood blade was cool but ultimately does nothing to solve those problems.

HOWEVER

I want to love them so fucking badly. A set of glowy soul blades is a dope sicknasty off the chain concept and I wish the well wasn't poisoned with the moral implications and the restrictions to use them only on the "Untitled", a set of enemies that only exist for Jason so far as I can tell. If someone seriously took Jason down a magic based path that removed the DnD alignment chart bullshit, I would be so game to see them come back! Hell I wouldn't even insist on a better cooler design for them!

...though uh, yeah those are the least interesting magic sword designs I've ever seen tbh

Normal Ass Swords

They're alright I guess. Like, there's nothing in it really, but it's not bad?

Guns - Real Bullets

Excellent, evocative yet simple, straightforwards and to the point. It makes hella sense thematically to boot, love this for him, please give him back his pistols and miniguns and shit

Guns - Rubber Bullets

Hate. HATE. hate ick disgusting bad NO.

I just fucking hate rubber bullets, like, as a concept. I refuse to accept "non-lethal" bullets as a valid use of gun, either in real life or in fiction. Guns are for putting many holes in things very fast!!!! If you're gonna use a gun, fucking well own up to that!!! Do not play this silly ass game of pretending that you can change out the material and do the same things as with lead bullets but with the video game status effect of "non-lethal" applied. YOU ARE GIVING PEOPLE SMALL CIRCULAR BRUISES. This is still harmful, yes, ooph ouchie, but it is not even slightly a good use of a gun, you are wasting holster space, and carry weight, and the physical materials used to make it all!!

JUST USE A FUCKING STICK! YOU DON'T RUN OUT OF STICK AMMO!

My belief in his capacity to take out enemies is shattered the instant those fuckers are on panel. Maybe this ain't entirely rational, or realistic to how fights go with rubber bullets IRL, but I hate them so much on principle that I will ignore any counterargument you might have that they'd work. I will die on this hill. Rubber bullets BAD. Please stop making him use this!!

Bombs

Love it, give him more bombs forever

ka-BOOM!!!!

His Brain

This is actually his best weapon - sorry wiggly knife, you're being shunted down to number 2 on a last minute technicality! I think Jason is at his best when he's outsmarting people and making long term fucked up schemes to ruin people's lives.

He's so good at it! It's so fun to watch him do it!

Genuinely a shame that this facet of him was mostly lost after Flashpoint, though to give credit where it is due, in Rebirth Jason did ruin the Penguin's life in an impressively elaborate way, which I did really enjoy. I want to see him be a tactical deliberate menace to one person in specific again idk, that's part of why I do kinda agree that he works better as an antagonist than a protagonist - which it should be noted does not mean I think he works better as a villain necessarily, his ethics aren't what matter here - he's just had his best moments as the schemer, and it's hard to have a protagonist schemer even when you make them ethically the good guy.

I hope you enjoyed my nattering on about Jason's weapons :D thank ye again for ask!

[felassan]

remember that wild Dragon Age theme park ride (Dragon Age: Flight of the Wardens), originally located in Dubai until it randomly turned up years later (now also oddly-rebranded as "[Not Dragon Age We Swears It]: The Guardian") in, of all places, Skegness England? well, I had to satisfy my curiosity and obsession with obscure pieces of Dragon Age media & archival thereof. and so - actually quite some time ago now - I finally got around to going on a pilgrimage there (which was this whole, like.. heinous harrowing in and of itself, that I will not go into), and I rode it

and to my surprise the original Dragon Age in-ride movie is still part of the ride experience! - complete with references to darkspawn, a Pride demon, dragons, green "rifts", Discount Anders (a Grey Warden[?] mage called 'Eldron'), Discount Yavanna (a Witch of the Wilds called 'Alexia') and Dragon Age: Inquisition soundtrack music. there is also now a new pre-ride movie which replaces the old Dragon Age pre-ride movie as part of the ride's rebranding, and i simply ?¿?

there are also still quite a lot of identifiable Dragon Age props in the fantasy-themed queue-area of the ride (so these must have been part of the whole purchase between parks), including multiple iconic Inquisitor helmets, Grey Warden shields, a Dragon Age dragon (now with DA-dragon identifiable horns.. sawn off??), and several Dragon Age banners, including the Inquisition hairy eyeball, the templar symbol and the Circle symbol. here's some pictures.

[^this image is taken from the video linked below]

I also captured the new pre-ride movie, and you can see it along with the Dragon Age in-ride movie here ⬇️. and so now, with this epilogue to the.. most odyssey of all time, more than two years after the first message about the ride was ever sent to Ghil Dirthalen, this adventure in obscurity and the strange fever-dream meta story of the Dragon Age: Flight of the Wardens era in Dragon Age history is finally complete.

Ghil Dirthalen: The Guardian??? {Overview. - Spoilers All}

[video source & link: Ghil Dirthalen, posted here w/ permission]

some further notes, thoughts and commentary under the cut -

there's a few seconds missing from this capture of the in-ride movie. for the sake of the curious and completion: in them, you're still in the fort and you see lots of 'Wardens' walking and milling around.

a camera in the ride takes two photos of the riders during the ride, which are displayed on a screen on the way out. you can choose to buy these from the Fantasy Island merchandise store. you know those photos of people on log flume rides? it's like those, only of the four riders in a row in the seats. the photos have Fantasy Island branding on them and fire along the bottom, then in two corners there's a bit of a dragon's head and that's about it. the ride photo is the only Guardian-specific merch available at the park.

some of the queue area props appear to be from random other places. like there was a barrel which had something like "1850 distillery" written on it, which is obviously temporally/thematically and universe-ly out of place (not that that's at all unreasonable given the rest of the rideworld lore, there's totally a way it could have gotten there easily hh, see below), and I guess it's a spare or leftover prop from a Western-themed ride or something? others were generic sword'n'sorcery fantasy props (some of these are from the ride's previous life in Dubai though). there are also some pretty random props, like a dead stuffed roe deer's head on the wall and a.. comically large spoon.

there's music playing in the queue area, but it's not DA music, it's generic ye olde fantasy world music.

some folks there mistakenly thought that the long themed lead-up (it was pretty darn long) queue area with the props was the entrance to or start of something completely different, like a haunted house or maze type thing, or was the ride 'experience' in and of itself.

the ride attendant gives you the option of watching the new pre-ride movie or not. I guess they get sick of putting it on and listening to it 9000 times a day (valid), and also cutting it out reduces queue times as it's about five minutes long. it's screened in a little enclosed room at the end of the queue area. you go in and sit down, they show it to you, then you go through another door to the chair machine.

the in-ride movie is blurry and poor quality. I heard someone else who rode it say that it was so blurry that they had no idea what was going on hhh

Now about the new pre-ride movie. first of all, here's the transcript.

Pre-ride movie transcript "Welcome, my friends, to the gates of our kingdom, and the start of your adventure. I know your journey has been a long and arduous climb to get here, but we are grateful that you are the ones that have stepped forward to help us in our quest. I should probably start at the beginning. My name is King Aethelswyth [sp?] and I am the ruler of Elvia [sp?] - at least, what's left of it. You see, six months ago, our world was invaded by giant demons and creatures from another dimension, which now plunder our lands, and continue to destroy our kingdom piece by piece. They came, through a time-rift, from another world, leaving much destruction in their wake. Ever since they came, our people have defended as best they are able, but, we were once a peaceful race, and sadly no match for the giant demons and dragons. Luckily, a few days ago, help arrived. They came through the rift, human in form but with incredible powers, and the ability to not only fly but transform into dragon-like creatures. That's where you all come in. You see, not only have they brought hope to our lands, but also gifted us with technology, the likes of which we have never seen before. This communication device for example - it enables us to talk to each other from great distances without being in the same room. And there is something else, and the reason why you are here. They provided us with plans to create our own machine, which as we speak is being prepared for your mission. I should explain. The machine, although made of metal and advanced technologies we can't even begin to understand, requires biological matter to function; a very specific amount of oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and calcium, all of which you are made from my friends. Once you are connected to the machine, you will be lifted into the portal and instantly dropped into the outer world. You'll be able to fight alongside the guardians and help close the rift once and for all. I won't lie. The mission will be dangerous, but with your help, we can defeat the giant demons, close the rift and save the kingdom. Hahahaha! [dragon roars] Ah, do not be afraid! This is Mia [sp?], one of the dragon guardians. She will help you on your quest and guide you to the rift. There it will be up to you to find a way to close it. My friends, it is almost time for you to enter the machine, and become the guardians! [inaudible] a safe journey. Save Elvia, become the heroes you're destined to be! The gates will open momentarily, as soon as the machine is ready for you. Good luck my friends, and I'll see you on the other side!"

in the linked video, the start of the new pre-ride movie isn't included in full at normal speed as it seemed to be a compilation of whatever random fantasy-themed stock footage the video creator could find, stitched together. but again for the curious and the sake of completion: it starts out panning randomly around SPACE, like at the solar system and of planets and at the Milky Way. for a sec I wondered if it was made up of random old Mass Effect assets. then it shows dragons (FROM SPACE) invading an Earth-like planet where I suppose the Ferelden-y kindgom (formerly called "Noathen", now called "Elvia" or something) setting in the rideworld is now supposed to be set. these invading dragons invade either from space or.. another dimension?? or maybe from the future or both?? [see below], entering through a big green rift. (and they still have the green coloring for the rifts and call it/them "rifts" like in DA, which was honestly so funny to me for some reason). the whole panning in from space start to the movie reminded me a lot of the Easter eggs in the DA and ME games that, while they're just Easter eggs for fun and I don't subscribe to this theory myself (as DA is its own great, self-contained thing), could light-heartedly imply that the planet with Thedas on it is a planet in the MEverse (like the krogan head in the Winter Palace in DAI or the ogre in that ME dlc).

in the pre-ride movie, the kingdom of "Elvia" might have actually been called "Albion", which is the earliest-known name for the island of Britain. (it was hard to make out exactly what the king was saying there) the new pre-ride movie seems like it was made in England and ofc thats a common fantasy setting, so I could see it, especially since the king character's name was something like Aethylswyth, which sounded very "Old English". for me personally, if it was "Albion", it adds fuel to the fire of Caitie's cracktheory/"trying to make this fit"-headcanon for the ride story/lore (see Caitie's original video on the ride's previous life for this), that it's set somewhere obscure and backwatery in Ferelden, which is kinda England- or Britain-inspired. (dont take these thoughts or other thoughts in this post about the lore/canon etc too srsly pls hh, it's just crack for fun and I know tis just an off-brand themepark ride)

on the whole the new pre-ride movie is pretty random. there's a giant in it, but it doesn't look like a DAI giant. (is it his big spoon??) it shows a fortress in part of it which looks a bit like Skyhold if you squint, with the long bridge approaching it as the entrance. at one point one of the dragons that pops up is a dragon designed more in the style of a dragon as they are sometimes depicted in, for example, Chinese mythology and folklore. the "communication device" the king described had me rolling, it's exactly like a Dragon Age Skype Crystal or a working set of eluvians from Thedas.. I wondered if the video creator was inspired some by DAI promo images and took cues from the Inquisitor's green hand/the Anchor, since the king has a green glowing thing on (or in?) his chest. and when the king started listing the elements humans are made of, I was reminded of Fullmetal Alchemist.

also, "through a time rift".. I mean technically Dorian's involvement in DAI DOES show green space-time magic right? Where is this other dimension? ofc I know it's not literally Dragon Age, but it's funny to think about and to try and make it "fit" skhskdhfjhe. is it the Fade? the Void? from somewhere in-between like Tevinter Nights implies exists? or is it the dimension which has Thedas's mundane world itself in it - like maybe the dragons are invading this poor guy's kingdom dimension from Thedas? if so what tf is going on in Thedas?? did Solas' explosion at the Conclave ripple through spacetime and rip holes in the fabrics of other worlds as well - like is Solas out here accidentally causing interdimensional Space Dragon invasions? like, theoretically.. the new pre-ride move does reference the in-ride movie, and in turn the in-ride movie is still Dragon Age (!), so technically the new pre-ride movie IS.. kind of.. weirdly.. canon.

((the pre-ride movie references an "outerworld", implying that even in THAT dimension there's an outer world and an inner world, definitely more than one at least. and back on the dimensions thing, I'm not clear - are the dragons coming from Thedas dimension? or are they coming to Thedas dimension? "they came through the rift, human in form but with powers, the ability to fly [that's Eldron] and the ability to transform into dragon-like creatures [that's Alexia]" implies that the dimension on the other side of the rift - if the helpers came through the same rift as the invading dragons - is Thedas, because that's Eldron and Alexia from the Dragon Age in-ride movie being referred to, and Noathen where they're from is in Thedas somewhere. so some Thedosians have travelled to another world to save it?? Dragons are escaping out of Thedas? but.. from space? but also - the narration is telling us that Eldron and Alexia and the other Guardians brought with them from where they came from, as a gift, incredible advanced technology that the people of Elvia have never seen before. he then gives the example of "this communication device" which could be read meta-ly as meaning the television screen, and of plans to build a machine made of metal and advanced technology (meaning the ride machine you go sit on, which is a themepark machine irl obviously and in the 'world' of the ride, some kind of flying machine). so like.. are Eldron and Alexia from Future Thedas (think Avatar Aang/Korra, when by Korra's time there's like lots more machinery and a more modern feel), a Thedas which has advanced complex machines like idk, AEROPLANES? is that what they mean by "time-rift"? because they specifically did say "time". is that to try and explain the modern machinery? does that mean the invading dragons also came from the future, not just from space or another dimension? the other option: Eldron and Alexia came from alternate universe Thedas, which has more modern technology in it. but Thedosians Time-Travelling From The Future And Also Space And Another Dimension is so funny to me so lets go with that. my headcanon is that on the way to Elvia they also timetravelled through a Westernthemed time period and thats why theres a recent-modern period whisky barrel)).

in the ride's previous life, the explanatory hook was that Eldron made you a special harness or saddle thing with which to ride a dragon, which was what the ride machine was simulating. however now, the hook to explain the machine is that it's a gift of advanced technology powered by carbon, hydrogen, organic matter (Big Oil lmao?) etc. (I enjoyed that this explanatory hook got wackier between eras of the ride's life, much like the whole meta story of this piece of media itself. it was already weird because riding dragons isn't really part of DA. though I don't understand meta-ly speaking this convoluted explanation for the machine. dragon-riding isn't an identifiable or key part of the Dragon Age franchise, so they could have kept the idea that you're sitting on a dragon's back and flying around on that in instead of having this wacky explanation about a flying machine gifted from magical strangers from Back To The Future and it would have been fine. I love it though bc its so absurd)

And Tiny Dragon Alexia from the original ride experience is kinda referenced (unintentionally?) when the king introduces the dragon "Guardian" "Mia", as when she comes on-screen her size or scaling looks small/kinda off, so maybe Tiny Dragon lives on. so now we have Tiny Dragon Alexia, Tiny Dragon Mia, and Tiny Dragon queue prop. it's a Tiny Dragon Conference.

and like I just have so many questions. in her original video on the ride, Ghil Dirthalen wondered at length where in Ferelden/Thedas Noathen could be. where is Elvia? why does the pov of the pre-ride movie proceed downstairs into the room where the king is - like why does the king have his throne in a basement? is he in an underground bunker for safety because of the Space Dragon invasion? why does he say we "climbed" up when we have just gone down into his dungeon? why is the tiny dragon introduced as "Mia" when the tiny dragon witch lady in the in-ride movie is called "Alexia"? does the king's green glowing chest thing work like the Anchor - does he have a chest Anchor.. a Chanchor? where did they get Discount Gandalf from the queue area and why is he exactly like the Ghil Dirthalen Stock Theatre Wizards in her original video? why did they change the kingdom's name from "Noathen" to "Elvia" in the pre-ride movie when "Noathen" was already non-existent in Dragon Age lore? why did they scrub Dragon Age from or avoid Dragon Age in the pre-ride movie but leave the whole Dragon Age in-ride movie intact? are the "Guardians" Discount Grey Wardens? is the king's whole schpeel secretly an evil plot so he that can use our bodies for like necromancy-alchemy? why does the ride run on your flesh and are we about to be sacrificed in a blood magic ritual? do we end up like the husks in Mass Effect after our organic forms are broken down into compounds to fuel the King of Elvia's flying anti-dragon defense tank? is the actor of the king a park staffer who is into larping, or someone's fun nerd uncle who likes DnD? does Caitie not in fact agree that I am very handsome and smart, indeed the World's Most Interesting Guy? 😤 why go to the trouble of sawing off the dragon's DA-dragon horns when the in-ride movie is still Dragon Age?? why are the dragons invading from space anyway like what do they want??? how can I obtain the king actor guy's autograph? where are EA's lawyers? and why is there a giant spoon?

[oneslimybastard]

Another underutilized aspect of N, Natural Harmonia Gropius himself, is that he's conceptualized as not just a Math Guy, but a Math Genius if we go by some interview trivia notated on Bulbapedia.

It clearly shows in the way he speaks since his (translated) dialogue (idk about the original japanese one) is full of hamfisted references to formulas and frustration expressed when the chaos of the world does not align with them — which to me is like, the core of his character, something that makes him both An Asshole to deal with but also a very intellectually curios and creative individual. It's just a brand of creativity not a lot of people can keep up with nor understand.

N likes math because a lot of math is about clearly defined variables and their relationship to one another. If you come across an inconsistency that doesn't fit any prior definitions, you iron out a new definition and suddenly the field has expanded upon itself tenfold. It aligns with how his Very Autistic Brain functions, x + y = z, if I do x to y then z will happen. If z doesn't happen, then that just means I have to identify the hidden variables within the exchange and rewrite the formula to be more accurate.

Black and White's quality of writing is. Like pokémon often is. Questionable at best. The foundations are there but the execution is dumbed down and corny because it's still aimed at kids, BW in specific really cutting the theme of pokémon trainer ethics short in favor of just "dang u beat me in the pogiebattle guess ur right!". How-ev-er. In my head, and the reason why I still find the plot of those games compelling (aside for my unhinged thirst for goth man-milf Ghetsis) is that to me they're about local cult-raised autist Normal Henry Gropus bashing his head against the world over and over to desperately try and make the formulas make sense, to distill it into variables he can understand and predict on a consistent basis, and failing miserably at it. Because even if the world is Technically made up of a bunch of chemistry that you could, in theory, predict, there's just a lot of random noise in there from microscopic complexities that fuck everything up.

Pokémon are simpler creatures (discounting the eerily intelligent ones) who will be nice enough to behave like math problems most of the time. Humans rarely extend that grace, the more N studies them like a science project the more contradictory variables pop up. They have a million thoughts in their head he doesn't have access to, that brew into feelings he doesn't understand, which leads to actions he can't do a proper traceback through. Which is frustrating, devastatingly frustrating. At least at first.

Due to how BW2 pans out and my own yearning for thematic mirroring, whereas Ghetsis gives in to the Autistic Bitterness over all these NTs he doesn't fuckign understand, I like to think N develops a sort of joy in studying people like the impossibly complex math problems we are. Because he likes math, he likes figuring shit out, he likes buying a nightmare rubik's cube and charting the squares out on a nightmare variable graph (listen i am not a math guy. i respect the hustle but my skill level is too low to accurately attempt to simulate the process in writing. im sorry math guys) so he has a home-made flexible cheat code on how to solve any possible mix-up of it. It's fun for him, it stimulates his brain and he is so stupid good at it that he can only share that joy with like a stray alakazam or metagross because he's a bit of a tarzan just hanging out in the wilderness, he doesn't know any high end mathematicians he can casually geek out about combinatorial game theory with, and the normies just do not get it .

I think this math enjoying is kind of a big part of his ~Innocence~ as well, since there's a lot of childlike glee to being a Math Guy. It's the love of problem solving as a process rather than a means to an end, it's playful, but severely misunderstood to the point where people kinda might assume things about you if you are a math guy.

N's love of math helps him love the world but it also isolates him. He's a genius, but since he can't communicate it in a palatable way it'll get overlooked in favor of him just being a loomy weirdo on the street chatting up the local patrats.

If introduced to DnD though he'd spend so much time on forging ridiculously optimized multiclass builds, then migrate to digging through old obscure sci-fi ttrpgs from the 80s with hellishly complex systems just for the funsies of learning how the presented variables behave within a variety of frameworks, but then if you actually invited him to play with your group he'd look at you like you'd just called his mom a llama.

He's a neat guy to me, STEM guy who's also one of those animal rights activists who's a little too PETA-coded, I like him :)

[lillified]

Just curious, why do you ship Megastar?

[long post incoming, apologies, you activated my sleeper phrase]

Short answer: I like these characters and their potential. I like the idea of them, and I made up new versions because I want to see their dynamic and subtext taken seriously, and not flanderized/made into a meanspirited joke by media that is supposed to be "mature"

Long answer:

when i was watching transformers as a kid i was really interested in the dynamic of two characters who are mean and jaded and instinctively push eachother away, but work extremely well together. i didn't really understand coding yet, but in my interest in the decepticons as an entity with an ideological identity that wasn't just "bad guy" (transformers was like. the first time i really started thinking about deeper meanings and propaganda in media, which probably explains why i am as obnoxious as I am) I was always sad with how megatron and starscream never really got the chance to have their dynamic approached in a different way. in a lot of ways those two are the heart and soul of the decepticons, and I've always thought that putting more care and attention into their relationship and not just writing it off as a cruel plot device would be the first step in having a more nuanced view of the Decepticons as a whole

personally I believe that, in a similar way to batman and the joker, those two have always had a dynamic that kind of blurs the lines, and at times is outright suggested. unfortunately though, like batman and the joker, over time an unwillingness to engage with the reality of that uncomfortable, sort of meanspirited coding just led to the near-sighted stereotyping becoming crueler and more abusive. acknowledging that it exists at all means acknowledging there was that bias, so the "joke" was just repeated until it became the only thing their interactions were really known for. it's an act of flanderization, and that makes me sad

i guess my case in point is--they have a lot of potential that just isn't realized. even in places where their relationship is given depth there's still almost always this really tonally dissonant violence to their interactions that's never unpacked, not really, because how are you going to sell toys of that? moreover, how are you going to make megatron "redeemable" after that? what could be considered strange, poorly executed slapstick in its origin became aesthetically worse and worse, but was never given serious thought--and I think that makes the story, overall, worse! "maturing" the brand didn't make it smarter, it just made an elephant in the room, and now Transformers is so locked in to its decided status quo that we haven't had a different perspective on any of these characters since Animated.

I apologize for the rant, but it's something I think about alot and your question is somewhat related to that. I'm frustrated by how dismissively these characters are written in versions of Transformers that are supposed to "smart" and "mature", I'm frustrated by how that negatively impacts the story, and I'm frustrated by how the people who like these characters can be dismissive of it. I think there's a lot of story potential and thematic insight into the decepticons that can be gained by looking at these two as characters with a history, and not just a bad joke! I think that you can have all the best parts--the sabotage, betrayal, bitterness, and the irony of someone you refuse to trust who still manages to know you better than anyone else, and have that shown through actions and character development, and actually written instead of having to be overscored by unintelligible violence for the sake of being "dark" and reaffirming, in the cheapest way possible, that you're looking at characters who are evil! I want to see that in a story!

my work is honestly not really about what I think transformers IS, or HAS to be, but what I think it has the potential to be, and what my interpretation of the themes means to me. I want to see all of the Decepticons viewed with a different lens, and these two are probably the most important Decepticons, both on a story/thematic level and a cultural one. transformers was the first piece of media I was really consciously critically thinking about, entirely by chance, and in the interest of art and human expression I want to make something different that is interested in being more thoughtful

anyway, sorry again for rambling. I might delete this later to keep my page clean, but I appreciate the question! I'd give more specific examples of why I like the stuff I made up but those would be spoilers.

[gretchensinister]

Babylon 5 rewatch, S1 E20: Babylon Squared

I'm STOKED for this, I remember loving the Babylon 4 stuff

Sinclair and Garibaldi being morning-people trolls to Ivanova (fucking around with perception of time--thematic???)

Oh he ded

Ooh, such pretty spaceship controls in the Minbari ship

B4!!! I like how Garibaldi can say so casually that it vanished without a trace because that is FUCKING WEIRD

Yes, command staff, this DOESN'T just happen. I mean, it's only the first season, I think they should be freaking out a little bit more about this.

I wonder if their different colored uniforms are for their different squadrons, or ranks (or what the costume department had)

This episode is reminding me that the command staff is like...not that different in age from me, now.

Okay enough of those thoughts it's time for the Grey Council

It's TIME FOR RESPONSIBILITY.

I do remember the line "prophecy will take care of itself"

I know Delenn will get out of this adroitly, after the soul hunter and the body snatching and the unauthorized trip to Epsilon 3...she has a brand of bonkers that can only thrive on Babylon 5

Okay, the guns don't make marks on inanimate objects, which is good when you want your station to not get holes in it, but how do they actually work?

Delenn: Well what if I just say no?

ZATHRAS hi Zathras

If Babylon 4 was the largest Babylon station then I guess they scaled down a little bit for B5 after B4 just disappeared

I remember this...I think...that person in the space suit isn't who we're meant to think it is at first?

Of course you got whammied, man

Yes, Delenn, how are you going to continue to study humans? 👀

"Either way, is bad for Zathras." Yes, I remember this also

Man, this B4 Commander is CHEWING the scenery

Sinclair: Shit, destiny again?

Oh no it was who I thought it was in the space suit. I mean, I couldn't have guessed when I first watched it, but it's who I remembered.

TRILUMINARY

Every species on Babylon 5 is living in a slightly different genre

[seaofreverie]

Sparkstember Day 11: Angst In My Pants (The Decline And Fall Of Me)

Album two of two in the series of Sparks' immaculate new wave releases! Iconic in every way imaginable from the music to the artwork to ONE music video. I think it's more musically (and lyrically!) varied and mature in tone (besides... a couple exceptions. Yes, an album called Angst In My Pants) than its predecessor, which is a very good development. These songs will leave you chuckling and bopping along and also pondering the intricacies of human existence. Ok, maybe that's a bit of a stretch, but it can't be denied that behind much of the earnestness and theatricality here, there's lots of quite emotional, introspective and thought-provoking stuff to be found.

Thematically, this album goes everywhere. One moment we are in Sextown U.S.A, the next we're visiting Disneyland, California where we make friends among people and animals. On a more serious note though, I think the biggest emotional whiplash one could experience between different songs on an album is between Mickey Mouse and Sherlock Holmes. And yet there's still a very prominent element of humour, even in those songs that are on the more serious or dramatic end of the scale.

I said a few days ago that I'd try to return to the topic of Sparks' brand of humour and how it works, but I don't feel intelligent enough to analyse that today. And I'm pretty sure that from what I've seen, Other People And The Maels Themselves (Said It Better Than Me). So instead, as a little send-off, please remember: if a mouse can be special, well, SO CAN YOU!!! 🫵

Favourite songs (and other highlights):

Angst In My Pants: literally no other song like this one in this world. I can't tell why that is but it's just. So great

I Predict: I had a weird kind of effect where I heard this song in my early days of Sparking and it felt VEEERY familiar to me. I think it was due to the genre / style here, it reminded me of something specific, at first I thought it was very glam rock but I'm pretty sure that this is not it but something else (and I don't know what to call it in that case!). Anyway, banger song

Tarzan And Jane: whoa wait, am I already skipping to the third-to-last song on the tracklist?? I guess I am. This one's great and one of my early favs too (I wonder how long it will take until I run out of things to say about my fav songs and it all just becomes this list of 'it's very good and I like it a lot. next.')

The Decline And Fall Of Me: it's great!! I like it!! And, of course, "check out my pizzas"

Eaten By The Monster Of Love: personal reasons that lead to a printed and framed mini-comic of my making appearing on my desk, which features some of the lyrics of this song, which caused me to have it permanently stuck in my head for a pretty long period of time. And this way I ended up liking it much much more than I did in the beginning, when it still seemed somehow pretty unremarkable to me

[prof-ramses]

Alright, since the spooky month is upon us, I wanted to share a Mammon thought.

Now, it goes without saying that Mammon’s whole animal motif is a spider, which is evident in his full demon form (which admittedly also has scant earwig features) and the heavy usage of webs throughout his theater. Well, recently I saw a post (which I unfortunately can’t find) which posited an alternative animal motif for the King of Greed: a tick.

Now, as much as I love Mammon being a clown-spider, that idea struck a cord with me and I think him being a tick is also rather fitting thematically:

Mammon has an insatiable desire to accrue more wealth like how ticks greedily engorge themselves on blood until they’re fit to burst.

Mammon finds up and coming stars to cling on to and profit off of much like how ticks search for hosts to live on, both of which comes at the brand’s face/host’s expense and wellbeing.

I honestly feel like you could draw parallels to the design of Mammon’s full demon form and what an engorged tick looks like. Large lower body, eight sharp legs, and a disproportionately small head (this is more pronounced on ticks, all things considered).

Ticks are a type of arachnid, so even if Mammon isn’t one you can draw a sort of connection.

All of this said, given he’s an ancient demonic being, it’s just as possibly he id a chimeric list of different arthropods, which would line up pretty well with Bee being a demonic fox/bee and Ozzie having the heads of a r and a bull on top of his obvious rooster traits.

Now, none of this is meant as a condemnation of Mammon, if anything I’m just running with a random idea that I just think adds some interesting layers to his design and how it fits thematically with the sin he embodies.

I guess what I’m trying to say is this:

Vampire Mammon

Yeah, I think that, all things considered, Mammon isn't any one thing, he very intentionally has elements of spider, tick, and earwig.

As for him being a vampire, I raise you this: You know that idea you mentioned that Mammon has the ability of tearing out souls and manifesting them as physical coins? What if he uses his teeth to drain to soul and then it trickles out of his fangs and congeals into a coin?

Another idea is that he has vampiric powers to do with electricity, since it's his element. He can sink his teeth into anything with a charge and drain it into himself.

I think I actually like the second idea more, but I'll leave both of them here, just cause.

Have fun with these, everyone 8}

[bradassholemajors]

Wtf Is Shock Treatment’s Deal? (Or, Local Critic Discovers Escapism and Having Fun In The Midst of Late Stage Capitalistic Dread)

Watched Shock Treatment for the first time this week, and I am a changed man lol. Here are some disorganized thoughts:

I think something that makes Rocky Horror so special is that it can be as deep or not-deep as you want it to be. Like, if you want to think about the cultural implications of the themes portrayed (hedonism, gay & trans liberation, gender roles, the Invasion-of-the-Body-snatchers style infiltration of outside queer forces, the downfall of the safety contained within a collective identity), you can absolutely do that! There’s so much to be interpreted there!! But if you are just here to see Tim Curry looking incredibly sexy and violently thrust along to the Time Warp at a midnight showing with a bunch of cool strangers, that is absolutely awesome, too. Slay!! Take what you want.

BUT SHOCK TREATMENT MANNNN??? Shock Treatment is a whole different ballgame lol. Like, it is also a thematically rich goldmine, if you’re willing to squint a little— in terms of content included, not necessarily how it’s portrayed within the narrative. In the words of Barry Bostwick here, “it was a statement about the future that we weren't quite ready to explore. We didn't really even have the mental emotional vocabulary to understand what Richard [O’Brien, the creator] was trying to say.” I think this is spot-fucking-on!!! It’s absolutely frighteningly prescient, especially today in terms of the commodification of mental health. Like, woah. Janet being crowned “Miss Mental Health” felt like such a Gwyneth Paltrow moment. Cultural prophet Richard O’Brien saw the dark cloud of Betterhelp and wellness culture galloping over in the horizon in the distance of the American landscape, and he set out to warn us.

I still don’t quite understand what happened in the movie. I still don’t know what my takeaway was supposed to be. And I guess if you’re a little insane and love having fun doing thematic analysis with weird media (like me), taking Shock Treatment seriously may be right for you, lol. But thematically overall I think it’s safe to say: it’s a lot less coherent than its predecessor. It’s messy. It’s not interested in being flawless. It’s not interested in appealing to an audience. It’s barely interested in being a sequel. Shock Treatment is lowkey pointing and laughing in the face of those who showed up expecting a masterpiece— which admittedly was me, because I take Rocky Horror pretty seriously. (I put off watching Shock Treatment for a while bc I wasn’t sure about how it would affect the Rocky Horror Universe I had in my head.) If not for the internet reviews prepping me, I would have walked in completely expecting another nuanced perfect symphony of a movie to measure up to Rocky Horror’s magic.

But the thing was? Watching Shock Treatment, it ended up I did not really care!!!!! I was having the time of my life!!!!!

(more under the cut whoops)

Wtf was going on!!!!!!!!!!! Who knows!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I still don’t quite know!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And I loved it!!!

This reaction of such joy, just letting myself vibe out made me think because when did I start getting surprised when watching a movie is more pleasurable than not??? Isn’t that the entire point of media??

I think with the modern commodification of media analysis and examining pop culture up close, I’d argue that Fun Media without a message is actually pretty hard to come by— at least in mainstream culture. Even stuff as sanitized as Disney movies are now digging into like generational trauma, appealing to what seems to be a collective search for depth (or at least the appearance of depth.) Modern neo-nazi brands of fascism wields power like never before, horrific images of violence follow everyone left and right. Sometimes it seems like this open secret, that everyone knows there’s this looming darkness at the forefront of our minds at all times.

So this transition from Rocky Horror to Shock Treatment felt actually sort of powerful to me. Rocky Horror’s generation-long reverberations of shamelessly depicting sensual revelry are so powerful; it’s bold even for today! (Of course, we all know transvestite isn’t a term commonly used today, but looking at it through the lens of its time, it becomes clear what a miracle the movie is. Knowing what it must have meant to queer people at the time it became a phenomenon— giving them a real space to be themselves in a hostile world criminalizing who they were, in a time of oppressive pressure to stay silent — that is the type of brave blatant acceptance hard to come by in any era.) Rocky Horror is something I don’t know if will ever happen again, and its sequel seems to concur.

Shock Treatment has been called a cash grab but I beg to differ. If you’ve seen it, no offense: but does this seem marketable to you??? It seems like it’s a Richard O’Brien project (already wacky) that went through several levels of development hell and heavy modifications through the creative process. Said with the utmost respect… it may have got away from them a bit. Put lovingly, Shock Treatment lowkey kinda sucks a little at times. It’s silly, it’s got a huge cast and musical fun galore. It’s serving B-movie realness. I don’t say this to bash on it, I say this with a bemused respect— I think the existence of Shock Treatment is as much a miracle as Rocky Horror (aren’t all creations???)

So in the first iteration, we have advocacy and fighting for freedom for those long silenced… but also, Shock Treatment seems to allow the creators to just let themselves have fun. Aren’t they both revolutions in their own right? Does everything have to be lasting cultural milestones or does our enjoyment matter in the moment? I’d argue we need both as human beings to thrive. It comes back to that Rocky-Horror-experience philosophy I covered where you’re taking what you feel you need most from the media you consume: a message or a celebration of just being here.

In conclusion, sometimes shit doesn’t have to be that deep. More movies should just say “fuck it, we ball” and give you the most absolutely incoherent fun time of your life. I love not taking things seriously, and I love creators willing to not take their work seriously. Perhaps Richard O’Brien also had a premonition with Shock Treatment in the sense of how he just had fun with it! Maybe we need less attempts at masterpieces and more attempts at just creation for the joy of it— or both, because joyful creation makes masterpieces!!! I’d love to see more creators of every skill level and every background, known and not known, say fuck you to capitalism and expectation and marketability and just say, we’re gonna do it anyhow, anyhow!!!

[shera-dnd]

If you want a very simple and obvious bit of media analysis for G Witch (which is I guess my brand now)

Prospera is the most straight forward case of "the eyes are the window to the soul" ever

We see her eyes when she's the sweet and caring mom in the prologue, and we see her eyes when she has her more emotional moments at the end of the series

During the rest of the show she's wearing her mask

Like this is tremendously blunt. When her mask is off (again like this line isn't drenched in thematic resonance) she's human, she has emotions, and a soul

When the mask is on she's cold, uncaring and soulless

Add on top of that the fact she uses the mask to communicate with Eri, and congrats now the mask represents how she's being haunted by the memories of her daughter

This is profoundly blatant and unsubtle, but some times blatant is exactly what you need

[summonerluna]

✍️ Fic authors self rec!

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to other writers you know. Let's spread some self-love! 💛

Ooooh this one could be tricky because I don't actually like a lot of what I write, but let's see...

Fifteen Minutes Old - FFVIII, Squinoa. This story will probably always be my #1 piece of fanfic because it's very personal for me, and is probably the closest I have come in writing to actually getting into words how I headcanon their early relationship.

Turn the Page - FFVIII, Selvine. Mostly for the vibes, and because I really love writing Irvine's POV. It's surreal and creepy and I'm generally just really proud of it, even though going back and reading it there are some things I could clean up if I felt so inclined.

in the tide of her breathing - TotK, puppet zelda horror/zelink. First attempt at writing erotic horror and...I think I more or less pulled it off? But since finding out about the puppet zelda storyline I SO wanted to write something for it because it's my favorite brand of trying to break the unbreakable hero, and the angst is too good. Plus she's hot. And writing this led to getting to be friends with @sheikfangirl which is worth it in and of itself!

Unforgiven - FFVIII, Irvine. Another horror piece, I debated between this and the Quistis horror one I wrote so I guess I actually write this genre more than I think I do? Even though I think I'm still really mild when it comes to what actually counts as horror. But this went to a VERY dark place I wasn't sure I could actually do, and is heavily inspired by Charles deLint who is one of my favorite authors.

the stars lean in - BotW, queenbosa & zelink. Two of my favorite ships, told through the POV of one of my favorite characters, and deals with themes of grief, motherhood, longing, and taking the chances you get? I'll never be able to say my writing is good because I will always find all the problems in it, but if you want to know what to expect from me thematically this is a pretty good example of what I'm about.

Thanks so much @angelosearch for the ask! I'll work on sending this out as well to share the love! <3

[palant1r]

why don’t you like the shinigami light theory

OKAY SO

For me, for something to be a good theory as opposed to a fun headcanon or AU, it has to fit two stipulations. First, it must make the events of canon make more sense. Second, it must enhance the thematic resonance of those events. Basically, a good theory answers questions the source material asks, and does so in a way that's satisfying and makes the source material Hit.

A good example of a good theory is Matsuda's chapter 108 theory that Near wrote Mikami's name in the notebook. It makes Near seem a lot less stupid and resolves a few plot holes in the finale, plus it offers a satisfying dimension to Near's character.

Shinigami Light is a fun AU. It's a fun headcanon. It's a fun new way to explore characters, and I've read a few fics that I find pretty good with that premise. But it is NOT a good theory.

First of all, it makes the story make less sense, not more sense. If Light becomes a shinigami, why don't we ever see anything from him again, especially considering we have stories after post-canon? Does it really make sense for light yagami to suddenly gain absolute power and be like "nah im just gonna let the world go back to how it was before kira?" I don't think it does. Also, we're told in canon that all humans go to nothingness after they die. I guess Mu could be the shinigami realm? But there sure are things there. Doesn't seem very nothingness to me. There is also just like. No canon suggested mechanism by which a human could become a shinigami. Obviously not all humans become shinigami, or else there would be billions of them. Can the shinigami king make humans into shinigami? I doubt he'd make Light into a shinigami — considering he interferes with the plan to sell the death note to Literal Donald Trump, I don't think he'd endorse light's particular brand of chaos by giving Light way more power. I guess you could argue that shinigami have to be born somehow since they can die — but I honestly think it makes more sense to say that there used to be far more shinigami and they're dying out.

Second of all, it completely ruins the ending. Like, COMPLETELY. In the manga, the warehouse scene turns Light's character on its head. We are shown that he's always known there's nothing after death, and he's desperately afraid to die. We're shown that, in the end, he was a human like everyone else. His crime was not a grand blasphemy or an overturning of the natural order. He was just a murderer who led those close to him to their deaths — a stupid, senseless, human crime. And that's what makes the ending so satisfying and sad. We're left like Matsuda — gazing with both contempt and pity at a man who used the corpses of ten thousand evildoers to run from his own terribly mundane fear and guilt. But if Light ascends to godhood, what are we even left with? A world for him to look down to from above. Light's vindication. It's the kind of ending that would appear in Light's own childish delusion, a kind of "when I'm dead, they'll all see." It's an ending where Light gets exactly what he wants BECAUSE of his actions with the death note. And I find that ending completely and utterly boring. It doesn't just ruin the ending — there are a lot of lines sprinkled in about the distinction between human and shinigami, and how Ryuk thinks Light is a fine shinigami simply because of the death he deals. That's interesting, and I think the significance of that blurred line gets neutered if Light actually becomes a shinigami.

So, yeah. I'm fine with it as a headcanon. But to me, the shinigami light theory isn't compatible with the best parts of death note. It makes the source material's strengths irrelevant and its weaknesses exacerbated. Do not like this theory.

[amrv-5]

20 Questions for Fic Authors

HELLO DELLA @fieryphrazes and thank you for the tag, this was fun!!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

30! quite a number of anonymous 🤨

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

689,182.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

MASH! experiencing a beejhawk lockdown. for life

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

If I am being fully honest?

- A Be More Chill fic I wrote at age 16 and don’t want to link (<3)

- Somewhere to Get To

- Anonymous Fic

- Anonymous Fic

- Aspirin or Sorrow. But for fics in my fandom with my name on ‘em:

- Somewhere to Get To

- Aspirin or Sorrow

- Crosswalks, Crossroads

- Nothing is Real

- Moved on Memory

5. Do you respond to comments?

I try to!! I was better about it prior to getting back into classes—not had a lot of time to respond thoughtfully lately but know that I DO see comments and love and appreciate everyone who took the time to read a fic of mine!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Probably Aspirin or Sorrow, depending on your definition of angst. I think that one’s a happy ending, kind of, but I can also see how it’s not.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Sailed Calmly On, I think. It’s more explicitly bright than Somewhere to Get To’s end, and (I hope) sort of affirming.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

A few vagueposts. Only maybe twice to my (digital) face! People are usually on the whole pretty nice :)

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

Which kind… not quite sure how to Categorize Them? Anyway the answer is: Yes, absolutely! I guess I’d say the throughline of “kind” is a focus on mutuality, decadence of experience (indulging in a fantasy, in sensation, warmth / luxury / soft treatment), and togetherness heightening relaxation and comfort. Or maybe I have a brand of smut I’m not aware of. I’ll take genre feedback, pls chime in.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

Nope!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Also no.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Before? No. But…👀 watch this space 🤨

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Newt/Hermann pacific rim close to my heart but I think BeejHawk is my forever ship now.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Golden age of radio beejhawk AU…

16. What are your writing strengths?

Maybe drawing out thematic or symbolic resonances? Otherwise I’d say I’m pretty comfortable with thoughts/internal narration (navel gazing?).

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Concision.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Not good enough yet at another language to feel confident in it myself unless a character’s quoting a text or a few simple phrases I know well, but think it’s great when others do!

19. First fandom you wrote for?

RWBY kind of. Middle school friends would trade notebooks in the lunchroom and write fic of each other’s show OCs.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

Hard to pick. The S2G2 ‘verse is very special to me, and seems the obvious choice, but for one-and-done fav fic? I might go with End of All Octobers, which I’m still pretty happy with over five months later, and find occasionally comforting.

I’m tagging @machihunnicutt @catgrub @catgirladjacent @persianflaw @draftdodgerag @kejfeblintz (if you want!! no pressure :) ) and anybody who sees this and wants to!!!

[hollowtones]

what are your thoughts on other nintendo ips like zelda or metroid? if mario's your favorite, which of their franchises would be second place?

The "other" here makes me think there's missing context; if there was, I don't remember it. Sorry!

I like a lot of Nintendo's IPs well enough, yeah. I don't think it's terribly unexpected to say "they play it very safe sometimes and that's not very interesting", but that's the nature of the beast when you're making something for a big corporation.

I suppose they've been less bad about it recently, though. "Splatoon" is a very mechanically interesting and compelling shooter with a lot of style and substance. VERY strong art and audio direction. I'm glad these games were allowed to exist & I'm hopeful that they'll be emblematic of the kinds of things the devs there are allowed to make in the future.

I think I'm not terribly interested in, like... I don't know how to word this, but the "continuity" of any given franchise? Less in the sense of narrative continuity & more like... I'm less interested in a game franchise Trying To Be Itself & more interested in how an individual game holds up on its own & in the context of how it was made. Like I'll sometimes see people go "well this game is a good game, but it's not a good [franchise] game / but it's not really a [franchise] game" and I do not understand it at all, because to me the only thing that defines a franchise is branding. The "Splatoon" sequels, to me, feel iterative on the previous games in interesting and compelling ways, in terms of mechanics and thematics and narrative and overall structure (both for single player and multiplayer); meanwhile, "Twilight Princess" feels like one of the least interesting "Legend of Zelda" games to me, in spite of solid foundations, because it just feels like "Another Zelda Game" in a lot of ways. "Kirby & the Amazing Mirror" is a weird game that's structured in a very compelling and interesting way, while something like "Kirby: Squeak Squad" feels Fine, but Very Same-y when you hold it up to other prior games in the series.

I don't know if I'm really wording this in a way that makes much sense, sorry. I guess the short version is that I care less about any given franchise and more about the individual games & the folks who made 'em. I don't think I have any one specific favourite.

[automatisma]

Discovered the allure of Topsters & made a chart of the games that significantly influenced my tastes. Not really a top 25 although I believe most of the games of the list are good. Ramblings under the cut.

TLOZ: Twilight Princess was my first Zelda as a child & while not a particularly interesting Zelda gameplay-wise it cemented my fascination with that kind of dark and decadent aesthetic.

Persona 3 is again the first Persona I've ever played. Not the best & with many larger-than-life sterotypical characters but it does have a lovely apocalyptic atmosphere and the sexiest dungeon concept bar none (sorry persona 4 tv world you were not It)

Hexcells is my favourite puzzle game. Perfect difficulty curve, minimal & functional aesthetic, little spatiality sense required to finish it. The whole trilogy is honestly brilliant.

Disco Elysium literally what is there to say about DE that hasn't already been said. Masterful dialogues and characters, deeply political while being smart and complex about it, it has one of the most interesting fantasy worldbuildings of recent memory.

Final Fantasy X was my first FF. Bizarre & unique if nonsensical world, great party interactions and often dumb but really really rich with overarching thematical meanings so

We Know The Devil I believe it's up to personal taste in the end whether you'll like this or Heaven Will be Mine more, but to me the minimal religious setup & the very realistic teenage dialogue take the cake. Also Saturn is #so me #releatable #girlsbeinggirls

Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 I bet everyone's sick of seeing it on their dash but what can I say I adore its day-to-day routine and the character subplots and its sound design and the beetle battles and

The House in Fata Morgana is maybe my favourite visual novel of all time. Often cheesy, frequently melodramatic, the epic highs and lows of its writing did not stop me from loving its intricate fantasy plot and multifacted characters.

Valhalla cyberpunk ok too long of a name. The bartending part was fun, the fauxanime thing is well MY thing and the #quiet cyberpunk adult disillusionment of its dialogues stuck with me in some way. Not great but really solid & it worked a lot for me for reasons I am not entirely sure of to this day.

Danganronpa is a terrible and complicated horror b-movie with cartoon characters and stupid but captivating mysteries. I genuinely believe the trials are absolutely cool and adrenaline inducing though & I would love more of this except better I guess

Darkest Dungeon a game in which every inch of its systems and aesthetic choices works in perfect synch to convey the hopelessness of this brand of lovecraftian horror. Also the turn-based combat is soooo fucking good

Final Fantasy VII THE final fantasy ecc ecc what can I say. One of the few games I played when the stereotypical version of the characters I saw in popular culture was so much less interesting than the actual story beats and the direction the plot went in. Packed with genre-defining moments and lovingly mystic at times.

Pyre is probably my favourite Supergiant game even though Hades is far superior in gameplay terms. The peculiar worldbuilding and the choices you make are really something unique to this one and they very much stick with you during your playthrough and even after that.

The World Ends with You when I played it Neku and Joshua were on my mind 24/7 I was on that fujoshi grindset which is quite peculiar for me. Weird and fun gameplay too but to me the main thing was the killer premise, its characters and its commitment to peculiarity in the JRPG landscape at every turn.

Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria weird ass sequel of a game I didn't play that spawned my love for this kind of combat. Perfect blend of tactical and reaction-based that's usually a mess but here it works and its glorious. The story was whatever but frankly who cares

Black Closet is probably the most obscure game on this list & I love it. I adore the setting, the writing of some of the subplots, the tight mechanics and even its wonky UI designs. Try it and be captivated by the playful eroticism of mystery and power NOW

Ib foundational as everyone knows. Kind of tied with Yume Nikki in my mind but in the end I played Ib more and I was in awe of its finale systems and the genuinely anxiety inducing gameplay moments. Epitome of you're a kid and something fucked up happens.

Analogue: A Hate Story my favourite Love game even though it's only vaguely sci-fi. Funniest thing about it it's probably that its title works even if it's a silly pun on her previous game

999 I like Danganronpa so this one was a given since it's even less stupid. Puzzles are ok but I was here for the characters & plot because I am a mystery junkie at heart.

Lisa: The Painful managed to work with the legacy of Earthbound without making a lol so random uninspired clone. Profoundly different in its subject matter while incorporating a lot of the bizarre & offbeat humor of its inspiration. It also deals with its themes in a quite brutal and blunt if not at all tactful way which i really respect.

The Stanley Parable is one of the first things I've played as a returned prodigal PC gamer and it blew me away at the time. Full of neat little secrets & mysteries and with a lot to say about the relationship between the player, the game and the narrative frameworks we encase our lives in.

Earthbound is my love and joy and nothing else will ever come close to recreate what I experienced playing it, which is why I never played Mother 3.

Digital Devil Saga yeah I've never played an SMT to the end but I played this duology and I was deeply impressed by its combat system and its weirdass apocalyptic world and even my party of broken people. I was on board for that Gainax ending baby

Dragon Age: Origins was the only good DA actually. I am also the only person who hasn't played it for the worldbuilding and the lore because I'll be frank it's run of the mill fantasy stuff except for some things but I adored my party and the choices I could make and some plot moments so yeah. Still a fan of the saga despite everything

Opus Magnum is the only Zachtronics game I've played but I'll have to play Hackers one of these days. I still have all the gifs saved and I am NOT a minmaxing person irl but this one sinked its claws into my skin and for thirty hours I was an engineer