#But man the gameplay could be better

[maareyas]

Ok so Bittercold and Dark Matter. I am not over this.

(This became a sort of analysis of GTI's themes too LMAO)

My issue with Dark Matter is that there was little build up to it. I'm not talking about it's actual presence, but rather what it represents. "The negative feelings of all pokemon" then where was this negativity in the story?

I understand that the main theme of Super was connections and all. The protag duo helping and being helped by different pokemon are a consistent Thing in the plot. The climactic fight with Dark Matter involves pokemon coming together to stop its ascent.

But I ask again, where was the negativity that Dark Matter was apparently born from within the story? Krookodile?? The Partner having self-doubt?? Pancham and Shelmet being mean?? Nuzleaf and co??? These are all less "incidents of negativity the Dark Matter was born from" and more "general plot events/stuff the villains do".

So it feels like the concept of the Dark Matter feels like it came out of nowhere.

Compare it to how GTI handles the Bittercold. It's the manifestation of all pokemon's collective desire for the end of everything. The loss of hope for better circumstances. And is there narrative build up to this? As a matter of fact, yes!

From the beginning, it's established that the pokemon world in GTI is becoming more and more selfish/dangerous/distrustful etc etc. Gurdurr's and Verizion's arcs connect to this, with both of them choosing to close themselves off from the world. Dunsparce's arc too, to a lesser extent. His first few attempts to get "stronger" end in trouble, almost as if being discourages from having hope to achieving his dream. It isn't until they meet the Protag duo that they have their Character Development™

It all connects to the overall theme of "Believing in other people" and having hope in the face of uncertain circumstances and pessimistic fatalism--which is the opposite "side" in the story, represented by the Bittercold itself, as well as Kyurem and Munna's gang.

We get to see the effects/source of the Bittercold ourselves because we got dialogue like this:

(screenshot courtesy of @rutabga)

AND because characters losing hope/being unwilling to trust others happens several times in the story. Even during the climax.

In other words, the feelings that makes up that the Bittercold is composed of is present throughout the story. So when the Bittercold itself was actually introduced, it made sense for when it was explained what it truly was.

THIS is the build up I was looking for with Dark Matter.

The final stretch of the Player being supported by the voices of the Partner and other pokemon in Paradise/Post Town hits SO much harder compared to Super because of this, despite having less people.

And you know what else? The Bittercold itself could be considered a narrative foil to the Partner. Partner's goal is to make a pokemon Paradise and help others--the ideological opposite of the Bittercold (or rather, what it represents). AND IT'S GOOD!! it gives the Partner so much more Narrative Depth and I love it.

Even the concept of it specifically being ice and found within a glacier dome is sorta neat? A "cold" person is someone who remains closed off from others. It's literally ice. It's found in the heart of a glacier that's isolated from the rest of the world by 1.) A castle (and Kyurem) 2.) A HUGE DOME 3.) "uncrossable" crevasses--once again tying into the idea of staying isolated from the rest of the world.

In conclusion: Dark Matter/the stuff it represents doesn't have much of a presence in the narrative and thus makes Super's narrative as a whole weaker. Meanwhile, I hate the Bittercold as a boss fight but goddamn is it great as a symbolic entity and ties together the themes of the game.

#rey rambles #pmd gti #this is mostly me going on a stream-of-consciousness rant but akjsdjkasd #Bittercold my dearly detested #I could make another post about how Protag not being 'special' also enhances the narrative but eh #I can talk so much about GTI's story man. #I wish the gameplay was better because I feel like the story could be just as good or even surpass EoS

[loregoddess]

so I've been watching the KH Union Cross stuff (in order, thank goodness, this would be so confusing to piece together otherwise), and like, I knew enough about UX that the appearance of the foretellers at the end of KH3 wasn't confusing bc I knew who they all were, but getting the expanded, explained lore and I'm like okay, actually these weirdos in animal masks are pretty cool, glad to know they'll show up (presumably) in future games

also I'm glad that memorizing the Latin names for the seven deadly sins is finally paying off

#I'm still going to have to comb the wiki or something later to figure out some lingering questions #which I probably still have bc I got a condensed version of all the games for just the story content #so any weird bits of minor worldbuilding that occur due to like gameplay stuff I'd totally miss out on #or I just simply Don't Remember what something was when it was explained bc I was distracted by the outfit designs or something #(I am so distracted by character designs all the time and KH outfits are off-the-wall distracting) #but like overall actually the UX stuff is very interesting! #love to see that lack of communication and poor decision making is not just limited to the old men of the series #(except Merlin he's fine actually he's the only old man who does not seem to make poor life choices) #like wow so many issues might have been avoided if decisions were made differently #which I mean the story works great bc the tragedy is knowing that things could have been better but would never be #bc the characters wouldn't have made the decisions differently bc of their characterization #and UX being Oops All Prequels means it was fated to be tragic in some way or another bc like #you do not get the setting of KH w/out the tragedy of the first Keyblad War (and possibly other things?) #so like I'm fine with the characters making poor decisions bc it makes a good story but also Hot Damn #KH is just generations of mistakes and poor life decisions #and the kids are actually really doing their best at every turn even if they're against the absolute worst odds #and still the theme of the power of friendships persists...absolutely excellent #oracle of lore

[fluffypichu876]

I have finally beaten Dishonored 2 for the first time! It was a great game, and everything that was good about the first game remained and sometimes even better!

I did kind of miss the whole dark and grim atmosphere of the first game, though.

#man i really could write longer and more elaborate game reviews but i'm too lazy for that xD #but yeah i really enjoyed this game! #the level design was awesome and the overall gameplay was even better than dishonored 1 #dishonored

[thatwashhingmashine]

I wanna write a crossover of Brave and BoTW so fucking bad.

#yes i mean brave the disney movie #like the vibes are so fucking similar man #the fact that nobody has done it surprises me #it could be anything please #shut up it’s 2022 i can write whatever i want #princess merida #princess zelda #botw link #brave 2012 #the legend of zelda breath of the wild #breath of the wild #disney princess #i guess #this was caused because i saw a gameplay of the brave game and i thought what if it had better graphics #and botw just popped in my head

[nightingaletrash]

just doing some assassinations, don’t mind me :)

#oblivion #aerrun #man the oblivion dark brotherhood has such good contracts #just wish the gameplay wasn't quite so... floaty? i dunno a better way to describe it #stealth in these games is never as good as it could be. yeah they're not dedicated stealth games #but hey if tesvi ever comes out i'd like to think that maybe those systems be more indepth #probably not but eh i can hope

[jasminesilk]

5:11 PM | Fall 4th | San Myshuno - Arts Quarter

After a nice, hot soak in his premium bathtub, Leon gets dressed and sits down at his desk. He still feels uneasy and tense but is otherwise fine.

He searches online for a possible answer to what happened to him last night, but aside from the weird occult conspiracy blogs he finds nothing.

#psssh as if werewolves are real please #what he saw was just an abnormally large wolf! #that could stand upright on his hind legs like a man! #yeah! that's it! #and he's starting to feel better so all will be fine! #narrator: all was not fine. #uoc:sour #augustusleon #ultimateoccult #ultimate occult challenge #ts4 gameplay #ts4 story #ts4 #sims story #sims

[gamebunny-advance]

#pacman #pac man #pac-man #pac-man world 3 #i've been doing a lot of pac-posting lately #i've never played this game #but i really like the characterization in it #it only the original character designs were more appealing #they just don't mesh together with the pac people and ghosts #but i think they're from another dimension #so maybe that's the excuse #nonetheless they could have been better #the dialogue is there #it's just the art direction #and i can't speak for the gameplay #video #i dunno if they'd even bother remaking world 3 given how bad its reception is #but if they do i hope they can grab the original voice cast #or find good replacements #i like all of the voicework in this game #gbunny scraps

[wickedghxst]

finally finished sottr. 4.6/10 that marketing campaign did this game dirty by making me think it’d be good. no wonder i ignored it for 6 years…

#like i get you don’t wanna reveal Everything about a story in the trailers but My God. this feels like false advertising. #like. on a lawasuit level. & the thing is the stuff from the trailers when it finally lets you do that Is good! but it’s not always that! #like the story is nonesense first of all. none of these characters have an arc or any actual motivations except the villian. #& he’s barely even a villian bc to be quite honest i’m more on his side than lara’s. what even Is her motivation??? revenge???? #this entire fucking narrative makes no fucking sense like quite frankly she could’ve gone back to a normal life after the first game. #& even if she couldn’t there’s like a billion ways they could’ve taken the story & been way more interesting! like come On man! #you can keep the weird obsession/death wish thing if you really want to & even the stupid dead dad narrative but are you fr? #This is all they could come up with???? i’d write a better sequel to 13 in my sleep. #all i’m saying is if you want your protagonist to be a thrill seeker with suicidal ideation there’s ways to make it interesting. #especially when you toe the line of “oooooooh our hero kinda has a tendency for violence ooooh’’ I KNOW ALL ABOUT THIS STUFF MAN. augh. #whatever. point is if your game makes me wanna play 3 other similar games instead you’ve failed & should go back to the drawing board. #and the worst part is there Are really cool parts in this! when it’s the game i Thought i was buying it’s Really good! #but the stuff i like is only like. 30% of the game??? the rest is complete fucking nonsense. #also arguably the parts i Do like are all extremely reliant on 13’s dna bc they haven’t changed the gameplay at all since then LOL

[leguin]

my other starfield gripes include 1) the intro is really bloodless, metaphorically speaking, and so fucking long 2) the companions imo are decent but too tied to constellation and feel like a step down from fallout 4 companions and 3) the few systems that are deep (shipbuilding, outposts) are gated behind leveling and resource/money sinks in a really unhelpful way (especially compared again to the settlement building in fallout 4, where yeah you could spend hours looking for an aluminum can, but you could also jump into it within 20 minutes of starting the game). and there is of course the fast traveling issue...

#and again i have enjoyed a lot of it. including the main story! but man...it seems like it could have and should have been better #i think some kind of survival mode that's deeply integrated into the gameplay could help a lot but...

[followerofmercy]

I think Freminet has some of the most interesting dissonance in his self perception of any Genshin character.

Like, of the Hearthlings we know, he's one of the most emotionally mature and intelligent. Lynette might still have him beat, but after playing her hangout... I dunno. I think they're tied. Lyney is Crumbling, Alrecchino is. Well. Arlecchino. Everyone else is a deeply traumatized child or adult and Freminet seems to pretty regularly be people's emotional support. His character stories talk about getting his vision by saving a bunch of other kids on a dive that went bad. The Selkie event literally had him being a therapist for a grownass woman, citing his past experiences with all the other Hearthlings that have died or killed themselves. And he handled that situation WELL. Yeah, he seems to live in a fantasy, but goddamn he's alive and a lot of people in his position aren't so clearly something is working.

Either his or Lyney's character story talks about the time Freminet had reached out to Lyney to try to ease his burdens, which resulted in Lyney blowing up at him. That probably contributed to Freminet thinking he's not good at it, but I think the reason Lyney reacted so badly was BECAUSE Freminet is actually a good support. He can't allow himself that from the little brother he's supposed to protect.

Freminet seems to both cry and dissociate often, but like... Kiddo you are in fact the only person in this family actually processing your emotions. Lynette dissociates 24/7. Arlecchino. Lyney lies and tells everyone he's fine and would literally rather die than admit otherwise. In comparison, Freminet is doing FANTASTIC

Freminet also gets a lot out of helping people! Like anyone, he needs to feel useful and needed. He seems to be an excellent mentor to the younger Hearthlings and perfectly competent on his own, but when you put him in a room with Lyney and Lynette who baby him and insist that THEY take care of HIM, he withdraws into himself.

Like, Freminet by himself feels like a young man and Freminet with the magician twins feels like a teenager. I have no idea how old he actually is. Logically, he would be OLDER than them! He's been with the House much, much longer and his experience shows. I think it's fascinating that they love him SO MUCH and yet, they just Cannot let him help them. Which is hurting him.

(Lynette is much better about not babying him and that is probably why their relationship is so much better than Freminet and Lyney's. Also why she keeps having to mediate between them. Because Lyney charges off trying to Fix Everything and that just makes Freminet feel useless and he doesn't want to get in the way and- you get the point)

Idk. It's hard to tell what things the previous director said to him vs what Arlecchino has said to him. I'm inclined to think our Arlecchino was the one that said he cries too much, but in a "crying in front of your enemies will get you killed" way and she herself is too fucked up to realize how "you cry too much" could be damaging.

Also I try not to consider gameplay stuff when it comes to story, but Freminet also has some of the most BRUTAL animations. He SMASHES HIS EMOTIONAL SUPPORT METAL PENGUIN INTO HIS ENEMY'S FACE. He doesn't think he's the most amazing fighter, and by Fatui standards he probably isn't, but he is winning fights against most grown men.

Tldr Freminet thinks he cries too much and is a burden and isn't good at helping people when he's actually the most mentally stable Hearthling send tweet

#freminet #genshin #house of hearth #character analysis #this is all over the lplace bc I'm on my phone #many freminet thoughts today #I don't wanna talk about trailer spoilers but also #this young man is a physical MONSTER #he's so similar but so different to Kaveh #where a lot of people Do perceive Freminet as a little... off #and he is #but he is a beacon of hope for all the other fucked up kids that are lost and alone #and I just think that's neat #kiddo benefits a lot from helping others #you can see how he lights up #even the hydro dragon hydro dragon don't cry #I'm sorry #this kid is comforting GOD #i think that says something

[aleenuhs]

Arthur comforting crying/ upset reader

���� Always Here

thank u anon <3

word count: 1,099

paring: Arthur x GN!reader

a lil bit of angst if u will.

You had accompanied Arthur, Charles, and Sadie on an outing to Saint Denis, to go play some poker at the Saloon.

Sadie had forced you to go, though you'd wanted to stay at camp finishing up your chores for the night.

But you went.

It was crowded and stuffy in the room, sitting across from the table they were playing at, eating some of the beef jerky you had in your pocket. A bit bored, you looked at the people in the room just watching, careful not to stare because people were easily offended by the gaze of another human being.

Arthur and the others were fully engrossed in their gameplay, which you'd opted out of cause you never understood it, or liked it for that matter. You wanted to go back to camp, not be here with a bunch of drunk men and working girls.

Your eyes fluttered, through all the noise, you somehow fell asleep for a bit.

When you woke back up, you were still sitting in the same chair. Surprisingly, you weren't robbed or anything bad.

You looked around the room again, spotting the table that Arthur, Charles and Sadie were once playing at, and they weren't there. Your heart rate immediately spiked, had they left without you?

You sprung up from the chair that you were sitting at and walked outside to see if they were out there, no clue where they'd went from the time you were awake, till now, not to mention, how long had you been asleep?

You walked around, in search for any of them, and no luck.

You knew Shady belle was within walking distance from where you were, but it was dangerous. And you didn't have your horse, so you couldn't ride back. The worst part was that they'd forgotten all about you, Sadie and Charles. But worst of all, Arthur had forgotten. It made you slightly angry that your own significant other would do such a thing. You walked up to a random person, who you saw had a pocket watch.

"Mister?" You spoke quietly, tapping him on the shoulder.

The man looked you up and down, before nodding.

"You know what time it is?"

"1:20."

Your eyes widened, "1:20, thank you." You repeated before walking off, damn it was late.

No stagecoaches were out at this time of night. What could you even do?

You walked around for a moment before you were met with a overwhelming urge to just walk all the way back to Shady Belle.

So you did. Holding yourself, as it was cold, you walked all the way back, shivering slightly. The tears left your eyes, but you didn't sob, no, they were silent tears.

When you arrived after 30 minutes of walking, you immediately walked into the house and went up to Arthurs room and stood before the bed, watching him sleep. he woke up to you. You looked wrecked, tear stained cheeks and bleary eyes, he could hardly see with just the small lantern lighting up the room.

He rubbed his eyes and sat up next to you. "Why aren't you in bed?" He asked, obliviously, maybe he was drunk.

You wanted to yell at him, but instead your words came out in a soft tone. "You left me, Arthur."

His eyes went back to their cold gaze. "Huh?"

"What is not to understand, Arthur? You left me at the saloon in Saint Denis!" Your words were more charged now, but not exactly yelling, just a bit more angry you felt.

"Jesus... Im sorry, I didn't mean to- er.. Leave you there darlin'." His eyes widening after he realized just what he had did. He gets up and puts his hands on your shoulders, and with this. You start to cry.

You don't even lift your head up to look at him, you play with your fingers.

His eyes fixed on how broken you looked, tears streaming down your face, he hardly knew what to do.

"I am so sorry." He speaks, almost silent. He brings you in, hugging you tightly, his big arms wrapped around you made you feel slightly better. But not entirely.

"I had to walk here, Arthur." You murmured.

His breath hitched. "Nobody... did anythin' to you, right?" He would curse himself if you said yes, but luckily, you shook your head. He sighed a breath of relief. "Good, but I truly am sorry, that I left you there, that we left you there."

You didn't respond, the tears still falling from your eyes. His warmth surrounds you, almost overheating your body. "Arthur promise me this won't happen again."

He looked at you, "I promise to try, I never intended for this to happen." He notices your lip trembling, he brings you even closer. "C'mere." He lays down on the bed signaling for you to join him there.

You hesitate for a moment, but end up laying right next to him, you nuzzled yourself right into his neck and sighed deeply. His calloused hand reached up to your face, fingers on your chin. "Look at me, darlin." He spoke softly, a difference in his voice, the voice that was usually brash and loud was somehow comforting you as you cried. "I love you, so much."

A smile reached your lips when he told you that. "I love you too."

"I will always be here for you, I can't believe I let myself do what I did back there." He admits. "I'm sure Sadie and Charles meant no harm by it as well."

You nod, knowing that there was no mailce behind this.

His hand runs up and down your back, soothing you, calming you down, taking away all your worries. He adjusted you, making sure that you were more than comfortable with him. He just held you.

At once, you were just sniffling, no more tears to shed. He had calmed you down, one of the only people who could.

He was truly the definition of duality, he could go from brutal to plain out kind and caring, and it was all for you. Everything he did, was for you, so you didn't have to worry. You could imagine that he was still constantly cursing himself now that he'd left you at the saloon, then walk all the way back to Shady Belle by yourself.

But now that you were safe in his arms, all those worries went away. "Shhh, shh. Rest, you can sleep now." He cooed, rubbing your neck and placing kisses on your forehead and nose.

You fell asleep shortly after.

a/n if u enjoyed it, smash the like and subscribe! jk, feel free to req more honey!

#red dead redemption 2 #fluff #rdr2 #arthur morgan #rdr2 fanfic #rdr2 x reader #arthur morgan x reader #rdr

[onsweetpeahill]

Regarding the current state of Sims 4:

It's going to get to a point where it will be required to only load certain - and sparse - packs when playing Sims 4, if not the case already. The problem with that is 1) the game is boring and shallow and less packs means even more boring gameplay and 2) the way EA cut and dispersed gameplay across packs also means that some functionality of key features, including toddlers and family gameplay and milestones, will be lacking/missing entirely without certain packs installed. We do indeed have a pack that's useless without another pack (looking at you My First Pet).

This game was never meant to be so expanded upon. Had they not cut so many packs into 74 or so DLC, not only would the game be easier to test across all life stages and with all packs, but we wouldn't have so much weighing down the game and breaking it beyond the stage of even being playable. The bottom line is that greed got in the way of common sense and quality.

This game is essentially going up in flames. Modders alone are what's keeping this game afloat, but for console players....what's the answer here? Modders should not be responsible for making a game simply work as intended. I'm seeing videos of people hyping up what could be coming packs. I don't see why anyone cares at all at this point. People saying they now wait until packs go on sale don't seem to realize that either way, buying is buying. Paying for broken packs and endless bugs is outrageous, whether it's at full price or 50% off.

I don't see how this can get any better. The rate at which packs are released compared to the rate at which bugs are fixed is not balancing; we still have packs that do not work without mods, and with every buggy patch those essential mods get broken. It's just a train wreck, man. I don't see how more people aren't livid at this point.

#watching dollars and an entire franchise go up in flames #the sorry state of the sims #rambles #delete soon #unfortunate #the sims #ts4

[shuttershocky]

Consider, Barret.

I'm always considering Barret!

He's my favorite FF7 character and his design in Remake is outstanding.

Parts of Barret didn't age too well (his original character concept is "big and scary man" and he's the only major black character so uhhhhh) but I love that he's an unapologetic revolutionary and a genuinely charismatic leader that cares for the people under him as much as for his cause, whether or not they're even his responsibility.

One of the more endearing parts of the Remake is all the ways that Barret still cares for Cloud despite Cloud only being a hired merc instead of being a true believer in Avalanche; he gets worried when Cloud doesn't make it back immediately after they bomb Mako Reactor 1, and when they bomb Mako Reactor 5 and Barret thinks Cloud is about to fall to his death, Barret immediately says "Listen merc, I was wrong about you!" because he won't let anyone under his command die without him doing everything he could, even if all he can do is tell them they made him proud. He even offers to to stay behind and help Cloud battle Rufus Shinra, expecting Rufus to cheat (he does) and not wanting Cloud to sacrifice himself just to buy the party time to escape when that should be his responsibility as Avalanche leader.

He's even a loving father that spoils his daughter Marlene, but instead of making that detail something that contrasts his hardass personality, it's because he has a child that he's a hardcore eco-terrorist—his child's future is on the line.

I love that he's obviously the most well-read party member, quoting books about planetology and social justice in between all of his other lines being a Mr. T caricature. When the likes of Tifa grow uncomfortable with Avalanche's mission because of the ordinary people whose lives they disrupt too, he's always there to steady her and remind them all that their fight is literally for the planet's life; most Shinra employees are ordinary people just trying to do their best for their families, but Shinra itself is slowly destroying the planet and will kill them all, this fight must be done for everyone's sakes. A good man that serves an evil master must recognize his complicity before he can redeem himself.

One of the coolest things the Yuffie DLC does is expand more on Avalanche as a resistance group with different factions, with the main faction receiving support from Wutai. Barret's group is called "the splinter cell" because the other Avalanche factions don't want to associate with them since they think bombing the Mako reactors goes too far. The rest of Avalanche don't want to destroy Shinra entirely and ruin the lives of many people in the process, they want to force it into reforms.

Sonon and Yuffie end up chatting about this and Sonon says "The problem is, Avalanche is made of good people. They're soft. They want things like better work conditions, fair elections, equality for the undercity members. They can't do what needs to be done, and will eventually be against us. If you ask me, those guys in the splinter cell are who we should be supporting." Sonon is speaking as a Wutai agent out to destabilize Midgar in vengeance for Midgar burning Wutai to the ground back in the war, but it also really highlights how Barret is the only real force for change inside Avalanche, if all the other Avalanche factions are getting support from other countries and doing nothing while Barret is waging a full on war and earning victories against Shinra with only a gun, a girl that can punch good, and a twink with a big sword.

Also gameplay-wise Barret carries this fucking team on his back. Steelskin and his huge healthpool make Barret a tank (very important when many enemies can decide to give you the finger and wipe the entire team), and Lifesaver allows Barret to take damage meant for his teammates, which is critical for surviving many tough fights, but also makes gimmick/joke builds like Nailbat Cloud viable where you want to keep him on 25% health to have that crit chance and damage boost, but can't let him get slapped once or he dies.

That's on top of Barret's skills being your best ranged options in Remake that isn't spending MP (Aerith can do way more damage with spells but also dies to a sneeze without spending materia slots on HP Up), which is also highly important as half the enemies are flying around and Cloud can barely air attack until Rebirth reworked him. There's also bossfight gimmicks like The Arsenal's guns being interrupted by Focus Shot (you normally need Thundaga to stop it and Hard mode doesn't let you use items, making MP conservation really important) Maximum Fury being amazing at building stagger on bosses from the sheer hitcount and being very satisfying to use, and Barret's incredible Deadly Dodge allowing you to cheese the super annoying Brainpod fight because he swings his gun and hits all the Brainpods at once.

Finally, it's really funny how the Remake added in a big cosmic fate force called the Whispers that have the ability to raise the dead and cause or prevent disasters as fate demands it only for them to be destroyed by Barret and Red XIII shooting it repeatedly. Capital D Destiny, a fundamental force of the multiverse, was slain by the power of a guy with a gun and a weird dog.

[fiapartridge]

catching fire au | the underdog

jack hughes x hockey!player

summary: training camp

warning(s): cursing, jack's an asshole!!

a/n: send in some asks for the au <3 i kinda hate this, but hey im done w/ college apps and am ready to write woo

taglist (send in an ask or dm me if u wanna be on the taglist for this au!): @hockeyboysarehot

THERE’S A REASON no one takes a chance on the underdog. “She’s not fast enough, she’s not strong enough, she’ll get hurt.” But they don’t know Riley Dell. No one knew Riley Dell; of her capabilities, her strengths, her weaknesses. 

But this year, she was going to make a name of herself—no matter what, or who, stood in her way. 

SECT. I: TRAINING CAMP.

Media day was a living hell. The interviews consisted of the same tasteless questions: “How do you feel being the first female player in the NHL?” and “How are you going to measure up to the physicality of the other players in the league?” While everyone else was getting questions about their actual gameplay; how they’ll navigate their weaknesses and hone in on their strengths, Riley was getting compared to every single player imaginable.

And the pictures and videos weren’t any better. The photographers suggested that she layed off on the gloves and stick and instead held makeup—fucking makeup. Why the the fuck would she be holding a mascara wand on the ice? The entire day felt pointless. Not a single person took her seriously, and if she called them out, they would accuse her of complaining. She already got the “privilege” of being drafted, and now she wants to complain? Doesn’t look too great. 

The day after, everyone hit the ice for actual training. Finally, a time where she could prove that she deserved to be there; that she earned her spot; that Riley Dell was a force to be reckoned with.

The training camp roster was split into three groups: A, B, and C. Throughout the weekend, the groups were to scrimmage, playing each team once. Group A was the one to keep your eye on. The goaltenders consisted of Tyler Brennan and Vitek Vanecek; defenseman being Brendan Smith, Colin Miller, Luke Hughes, Cal Foote, Michael Vukojevic, Kevin Bahl, and Joe Gambardella; and forwards being Tyce Thompson, Michael McLeod, Curtis Lazar, Max Willman, Jesper Bratt, Tyler Toffoli, Flip Engras, Tomas Nosek, Jack Hughes, and Riley Dell.

“Lindy fucking hates us,” Jack groaned upon seeing Riley tying her laces on the bench as groups A and B skated around the practice facility, getting ready to battle in their first scrimmage of the training camp. “That’s why he gave us Riley, right? To get back at us for not winning in the playoffs.”

Luke skated around his older brother, watching as Jack eyes Riley. “I don’t know why you hate her so much. She hasn’t even stepped foot on the ice yet, Jacky.”

“It’s more than the ice, Luke,” Jack turned to the younger boy, annoyance laced in his voice. “Once she joins the team, the entire dynamic will be off. What will happen to the locker room, Luke, or what will happen when we celebrate our wins? Is she gonna come to the bars with us? It’s stupid, Luke.”

“It’s one girl, Jack. The locker room will be fine, and what’s wrong with her coming to the bars? If anything’s stupid, it’s you, man,” Luke scoffed. “Now come on, being an asshole isn’t gonna win us this game,” Luke said, skating towards the rest of the team.

Once Riley’s laces were tired, she jetted off towards the ice, landing in front of their star player. “Hi, I’m Riley. You must be Jack,” she smiled softly, hand out for him to shake, but when he never stuck out his, she retracted it quickly. “So, I heard you had a career-high last season. Sounds like a dream.”

“Yeah,” Jack grumbled, skating beside her. 

“Um,” Riley bit her cheek, thinking up things to say. Jack wasn’t much of a conversationalist, she thought. “Are you more of a toe-to-heel guy or heel-to-toe?”

Tired of hearing her voice, Jack spun around, stopping Riley in her tracks. “I don’t care that you got drafted to this team. Fitzgerald, and Lindy, and everyone else in this organization are going to realize they made a mistake and send you back to wherever you came from.” Venom pricked his tongue as the words smacked Riley one by one. Even the team didn’t like her. Driving his shoulder into hers, Jack watched her face turn from shock to complete anger. “Hope you didn’t unpack your bags, rookie.”

Swallowing the lump in her throat, Riley stood there, unmoveable. She wasn’t going to cry. She wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction, prove everything he assumed about her. She wasn’t going to let him win. Closing her eyes, she breathed in, out, and thought about every way she could make Jack Hughes’ life a living hell. Dramatic, but who knew there were real devils on this team?

“Nice job out there, Dell,” Nico smiled at Riley, nudging her shoulder as they bounded into the locker room. “Don’t worry about Hughesy, he’s a softie once you get to know him.”

“If he ever gives me the chance to know him,” Riley sighed. 

The game was a total train-wreck. I mean, their team won, but Riley was practically fighting for her life out there. Every single time she made it on the ice, Jack smashed her into the boards, or stole the puck from her, or never gave her the puck at all. His hate was evident and the entire team, not just team A but the entire Devils organization, could see it. How were they supposed to play an entire season together, when they could barely play one scrimmage?

“Don’t let that asshole win, Ri,” Luke stumbled into the conversation, placing his gear down by hers. Luke’s been playing with Riley for the past two years at the University of Michigan, and while they lost against Quinnipiac at the Frozen Four semifinals and Luke immediately left for the Devils after, their bond never deterred. Coming to the Devils felt like coming home (if home consisted of an egotistical jerk and a sexist media team).

Shaking her head, Riley held her practice jersey in her hands. “Promise me, that’ll be the last thing I do.”

#catching fire au #jack hughes #jack hughes x reader

[cyber-corp]

I finished Metal Gear Solid yesterday, and I can absolutely tell what the fuss is about with these games.

Like most kids from the late 00’s/early 10’s, I learnt about the Metal Gear series and Solid Snake through Smash Bros, and he always had this mystique quality around him. Who even is this rugged man? Why is he fighting with Luigi? What does he do?

It turns out Snake knew just about himself as much as I did when I first saw him.

Metal Gear Solid is a game about a man literally made for war struggling with his own identity, to the point where he doesn’t even have a real name, only his codename, Solid Snake. He was only brought into this world to genetically replicate the greatest solider before him, and now he has to make a decision: face his future or drown in his past. On Shadow Moses Island, he is tasked with tracking down a weapon known as Metal Gear REX, which is capable of launching nuclear weapons like someone firing a pistol. It’s in the hands of a group of terrorists, which is demanding a ransom of 1 billion dollars and the body of legendary soldier Big Boss, which just so happens to be where Snake comes in.

You see, Snake (Solid) isn’t like the other guys. He was developed as a government project to make the bestest solider the world has ever known, the Les Enfante Terribles project. He and his brother Snake (Liquid) were the aftermath of the project, and Snake (Liquid) also happens to be the puppermaster behind Shadow Moses Island.

Eventually, Solid Snake is helped out a man who worked on Metal Gear REX, who is such a wet soggy cat that it’s impossible not to enjoy his screen presence. His name is Otacon, which means Otaku Convention, which is so ridiculous that it kind of works.

The gameplay is definitely unlike anything I’ve experienced before. It pushes the boundaries between the game world and the player so far you might as well be literally him fr. There’s a scene where Snake gets a medicinal shot and you have to put the controller on your arm to feel it! It’s insanely cool details like this that I wish games today could incorporate.

Anyway, the game is very good, worthy of its praise, and apparently it only gets better from here.

I guess you could say….The Best Is Yet To Come

B)

#metal gear #metal gear solid #mgs #mgs1 #solid snake #liquid snake #otacon #he also eats cigarettes #did i mention #gecko boy #Youtube

[fernsnailz]

Not sure how much meat this question has to it but if back in 2006 you were the one that spearheaded the shadow the hedgehog game, how would you have done it?

i'd want ShTH 2005 to keep the same core energy its final form ended up with, but tbh there's a lot i would have done differently lol. here's my 3 step plan for how i would have directed it previously/would direct any sort of reboot or remaster

1. TIMELOOP!!!!!!

i'm not the first person to come up with this idea and i won't be the last to talk about it, but the gist of this point is that ShTH's story makes WAY more sense when you treat it like a timeloop. you finished a story path and end up back in westopolis? great job, you're at the beginning of the timeloop again. it's a smart way to make this wack story a little more cohesive.

i would LOVE to further utilize the timeloop concept for this game because it could be a very simple addition to add flavor OR it be the core of the game's story and gameplay. small things like shadow going "hey wait, have i seen this before?" when he's going through westopolis for the third time can hint at the narrative, and once shadow realizes he's in a loop he's motivated to find EVERY path in search of the full truth. every new story path could be treated as a new game+ as shadow starts to consistently remember more from previous timeloops, carrying over certain weapons, abilities, and memories from his previous experiences.

one really cool idea i saw a while ago on here (edit: FOUND IT! i'm talking about this post) is someone's ShTH timeloop pitch where after a few resets, silver starts to show up and tells shadow to stop messing with the timeline. this continues, and eventually silver becomes a final boss of some of the paths. this idea has never left my mind since i saw it and i need to find the person that came up with it they mean so much to me

i have more timeloop thoughts but i will move on for now

2. simplify or rework the morality system and levels

this is my big gameplay critique - there is A Lot to do in ShTH and very little of it is consistently fun. i have grievances with the morality system i talked about a while ago, the gist of my opinion boiling down to "the system removes agency from shadow and the story doesn't fit within the morals you choose anyway." i'd either MASSIVELY rework the morality system to make it feel worthwhile or just throw the whole thing away. unfortunately i don't have many pitches for what to replace it with since i haven't played that many games with branching stories - maybe the story paths you go down are based on BIG story decisions shadow makes during boss battles or in cutscenes (?) like choosing which boss to fight, which characters to save, what moves or weapons to use, stuff like that. i just want the stuff that leads to branching stories to be more impactful and a little simpler.

this also applies to the levels, of which there are... a lot. and maybe there should be less? i think it would be smart to cut down or combine some of the levels, then really flesh out the ones that matter. and given the non-linear nature of ShTH, i think a version with levels more focused on exploration and combat would fit the game better than the linear mission-based gameplay of the original.

3. MORE GUN

listen man. they advertised this as the sonic game with guns and in my opinion i think they could've done better. i mostly just want a more fleshed out weapons system with upgrades, a little customization, better controls, etc. just put the merchant from resident evil 4 in there and have him accept rings and i would be happy

-------------------------

those are the big points i would personally stick to, but i do have smaller points i would consider as well, including:

make black doom seem competent

explain who the chaotix are working for and fit it into the story

no more "kill this many enemies to progress" missions. please

super shadow can have a gun now

#I LOVE YOU SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG 2005 TIMELOOP YOU MEAN SO MUCH TO ME #sonic loreposting #fernasks #long post