#and honestly the format felt very unnecessary

[grinchwrapsupreme]

there's this thing in theatre called "cue-to-cue" where you go through the play with minimal to no actual acting or lines, just the actors moving to the spots they will be in when certain lighting and sound effect happen, in order to line things up tech-wise, so watching it has the feel of watching the play with none of the content or meaning and the whole thing is supposed to be done very quickly. Certain parts of Netflix's The Witcher felt like watching a cue-to-cue in that it felt like the characters were just arriving at a place they were supposed to be in, muttering out parts of the scene, and then quickly moving to the next spot they're supposed to be in, like the writers of the show were cue-to-cuing the books, knowing where the characters were "supposed to be" without actually displaying why to a useful degree

the one that particularly stood out to me was the confrontation between Ciri and Cahir where, first of all, Ciri finding Geralt and Yennifer after leaving Jaskier was already very abrupt and lacking reaction, but then running into Cahir and him begging Ciri to kill him? That bit bothered me. Specifically because it all felt very quick and surface level, like the writers knew where the characters were supposed to be and what they were meant to be doing without really giving it space to be examined, so we get that tension between Ciri and Cahir as she holds the sword to his throat and then, just as abruptly, the people on horseback are approaching and Cahir just gets up and goes to fight them off without really any acknowledgment of his desire to be killed literal seconds ago beyond i guess the implication that he's willing to die here, and then he's face to face with these 5 horseback riders, brandishing his sword, and it's so obvious there's nothing he can really do to fight them off, there's literally 5 of them and they already look like they're just gonna brush right past, like Cahir is hitting invisible cues without the substance behind it

and I do think this feeling was worse in the third season than in the first two, but it did bother me enough that i sort of immediately lost interest in Cahir, because the quickness of that scene removed the intensity of it for me, and there were many scenes like it (Jaskier and Radovid's scenes for example) that gave the feeling that what should have been a whole play was reduced to a quick 15 minute run through where the cast are just moving from one spot to the next and it's okay because we'll do the whole thing at the dress rehearsal later

#the witcher #sorry i'm being so picky i did enjoy the show but season 3 bothered me so so much for so many reasons #including this one #also the whole episode with the ball was just very poorly executed imo #i get what they were going for but it felt clumsy to me and actively confused me at one point #and honestly the format felt very unnecessary #like take some of that time you're spending on repeating scenes and give it to plot that's missing depth i'm begging you #thanks for letting me watch geralt fake annoyance at istredd 3 times #but i'd really rather you put some of that effort into figuring out how to make the cahir and radovid plots more satisfying and substantial

[onlyjaeyun]

i’ve been following ur writing for some time now and i do have to agree with that anon who said you did CH dirty. you are a very talented writer so it’s just hard to watch.

you started off CH so strong with the lore and little chapters here and there but as it progressed you kind of just got lazy and it shows. when important events happened in the story, they weren’t conveyed through writing but through the texts (ie the riki and yn fight, that was definitely worth a written chapter) and it was honestly disappointing.

the ending isn’t much to say about either. yn and hoon barely go through development after the letter incident and all of a sudden they’re dating and married with a kid like two chapters later?

idk, if it was a mental health issue then i get that but even then you should’ve just gave it a break and thought everything out more. you could do so much better.

thank you for the feedback!

i wanna put you through the progess of a piece of writing from the POV of a writer okay? now keep in mind: i work two jobs, am a fulltime uni student and the daughter of an immigrant household with two parents who still work most of the day just so you know what else i have to deal with, besides my mental health okay?

now, i started off CH strong right? yes. i uploaded on the daily, fine i chose that. a chapter usually takes me around one hour if i actually sit down and focus on nothing but the chapter itself, which includes IG stories, editing, formatting etc. alright

on top of the daily chapters, i constantly replied to 40+ asks a day, a blessing in disguise because no matter how much i enjoy talking to you guys, the pressure does get worse the bigger that number of my inbox becomes, i hope this makes sense

now, i started CH back in october, right when my semester started, thats why i started off strong but as time went on, my assignments and private life got too busy and i guess i felt entitled enough as a writer to skip a few certain chaps and make life a little easier for me by making them regular chapters instead of written ones.

and this is gonna be my main point: i'm not a machine. i wrote a minimum of 5 THOUSAND words per written chapter, MINIMUM. we're talking about a 5-9 THOUSANDED worded chapter EACH WEEK. which usually took me about 6-7 hours, even allnighters.

yes, i chose to do that and maybe my time management wasn't the best but i had to create a compromise where i wouldnt have let you guys wait for over two months which would have resulted in me losing my motivation completely, and yet still focusing on EXAMS. because you know, i'm a fulltime uni student with TWO jobs 😮‍💨

if YOU think i did CH dirty go write an alternative ending yourself but it should be a minimum of 15 chapters including 5 written ones, with at LEAST 9k words each yeah? i wanna see you manage it all, pls prove me wrong snd show me you're better than me i'm genuinely begging bc it might inspire me to do "better" next time.

as a writer/artist/creator, and i can tell you probably arent one yourself or havent been one for long, the longer smth takes to come to an end the worse the pressure becomes which results in a blockage i dont wish upon my worst enemy i'm being deadass. i dealt with some of the worst writer's block ive had since i started writing literally 12 years ago and you're telling me i should have just "taken a break" and do "better"

i never, ever expected anything from anyone but some of you are so entitled to a writer's time and skill it's giving me a headache. maybe you didn't like the timing and writing of the last few chapters of CH and i guess that's unfortunate but this was so unnecessary because you completely dismissed everything else that could have been going on in my life and even belittled my mental health issues like im some fucking AI writing machine

do better, be nicer, write it yourself if you don't like it i'm so fucking over this

if i had gotten out of my own comfort and wellbeing and have actually written another set of written chapters i would have burned myself completely out. ive been in this fandom for not even a year and have already finished FOUR smaus with 50 chapters each, you do NOT get to tell me what i should or could have done better because you dont even give a fuck about me as a person this is just about receiving what YOU think YOURE entitled to but this is MY art and I will do what I see fit even if it's not what was expected of it because i'm a fucking human being with a life before i'm a writer on tumblr

oh, also: i do this for free ㅤ:) just a reminder :) this is my HOBBY :)

and don't you EVER call me lazy again when it comes to writing because i'm not gonna pour my heart and soul into a fic just for you to call me lazy when i literally wrote 50 THOUSAND words for this fucking fic just for the written chapters

goodbye

#; mailbox 📬 #; cold hearts

[windchimesgames]

End of Year Recap + Plans for 2024

Hey everyone!

Belated Happy New Year to everyone! I know this is a very late end of year recap 😂Unfortunately, the past week ended up much busier for me than expected, so I could only get around to doing this now that things have calmed down a little.

This is a crosspost of a public post I made on Patreon a few days ago, so if you prefer the formatting there, you can read the post at this link:

PS: I do free monthly devlogs / posts there on Patreon, so consider joining the free tier of the Patreon even if you aren't interested in the paid tiers!

For those who'd rather read the post here, I'll leave the extraordinarily long ramble in a Read More cut below!

Let's start with a quick recap of the highlights / achievements accomplished in 2023!

Okay, this one may be slightly cheating. While Emberfate only launched on Steam in Jan 2023 so the 92 positive reviews came in in the year of 2023, it was up on Itch.io since mid 2022, so not all 383 Itch.io ratings came in in 2023.

Still, I'm pretty proud of these stats! Perhaps the numbers are nothing compared to some other amazing games' out there, but it's still something I'm proud of. It makes me happy that my silly experimental nostalgic little game struck a chord in so many players — much more than I expected given how niche the topic was!

Now, unfortunately, I could not get Emberfate's DLC for Potato's route out by end of 2023 like I had hoped. Porting the game to mobile also ended up much more difficult than I expected because of just how much of the UI I'm going to have to redesign — and hence, programming to be redone — if I wanted to make the game fit a small mobile screen. So both plans are going to have to be postponed to 2024.

The other notable highlight of 2023 is that both Lyrissa's and Kierdan's routes for Reanimation Scheme were released for beta access! That put the game at 3/5 routes complete, with a total of 431,786 words for the script.

I recruited a handful of beta testers to test the three completed routes a few months ago, and so far, the feedback has been positive overall. That's been a huge relief and lifted a massive weight off my chest — due to the controversial reception of the demo, I've been extremely anxious that the game would be hated by the players, and I've done so many rounds of editing and honestly perhaps somewhat unnecessary and obsessive rewriting of the script, but none of it felt good enough 😂 So hearing the positive comments has been a huge motivation / morale booster. Perhaps I should have done beta testing sooner… LOL

There are two more achievements unrelated to a specific game project that I'd like to mention:

2023 is the year that I became more interested in and better at Ren'Py programming! Most of it is thanks to my amazing programmer friend and Ren'Py wizard, Feniks (whom you may know as the programmer for Our Life series), who sparked my interest in programming and helped teach me a LOT. While I'm by no means a professional now at coding, I feel much more comfortable navigating around Ren'Py code and setting up what I need to in the backend of the games I'm developing, which opens up new doors for me for future projects in terms of what kind of features (big or small) that I may be able to include! Though the side effect of that is I looked back at the code I did for Reanimation Scheme from previous years and was immediately horrified by how ugly and inefficient it was. 😂I did redo the backend code of the Gallery and Achievements system a bit, but the rest will just have to stay for now.

I made quite a few new connections within the indie VN dev sphere in 2023! I made a shocking discovery that there's enough number of indie VN developers from Hong Kong to fill half a minibus, and I was lucky enough to connect with them and share our experiences and learn from each other! Due to new project commissions I took on for $$$ (real life financial needs suck), as well as a couple of small game jam projects I joined as programmer to buff up my programming portfolio, I also made some new VN dev friends unexpectedly. It's been really nice, because honestly, solo dev can be a really lonely and isolating endeavor sometimes. I'm super grateful for the new connections I found myself making in 2023!

Looking Ahead: 2024

Okay, that was a lot of rambling for the recap. More than I thought I would write. Now let's move forward to what the future will look like for this studio in 2024 and what goals I'm setting for myself this year!

Priority #1: Finishing Reanimation Scheme

Of course it's Reanimation Scheme. As mentioned above, we're currently at 3 out of 5 routes completed (sans partial voice acting). So the biggest goal for 2024 will be to get the game done. and out. Finally.

I won't be giving a concrete release date until we're like, literally in beta phase for all 5 routes, just so I won't have to announce a delay and let people down. But given the current progress and pace of work, I'd say probably around mid-year — maybe Q3 latest.

I'll be keeping up with the episodic updates of Reanimation Scheme's beta build on Patreon (and Kickstarter) from this month onwards, beginning with Jori's route and then followed by Sebastien's.

The remaining Kickstarter rewards may take a little longer — but ideally, all of them (artbook / lorebook / short stories collections, etc.) will be done by end of the year as well.

Priority #2: Potato's Route DLC for Emberfate

Potato, poor Potato. His DLC had to be put on the sidelines until Reanimation Scheme is done.

Half of the art has already been commissioned and completed by the amazing Remnantation — we're just missing his selfie CG & his MMO character sprite! So the next step would be the script and then the voice acting for the calls part. I won't be able to start on the script until mid-2024 earliest, but given the fact that his route won't be that long if it's parallel in length compared to the existing three routes, it probably won't take too long to do. Perhaps 2-3 months for the development process of the DLC?

I'll likely be releasing his DLC early on Patreon, potentially also episodically as it's completed, like I did with Emberfate. So if you're interested, keep an eye out for it when the time comes!

Something Secretly Brewing in the Shadows?

If you're pledged to this Patreon on $10 tier or above, you'll probably already know what I'm alluding to.

I won't be announcing or talking much about this for now, since I don't know when I'll be able to start working on this project properly (i.e. I need to meet my above two goals first). For all I know, it might end up being not a 2024 thing but a 2025 thing. So I'll only tease it slightly for now here.

Bonus Goal: Market, for the Love of God

If you follow Wind Chimes Games on either Twitter or Tumblr, you'll probably have noticed the sorry state of my social media. I… really do not like marketing or posting on social media. I never know what to post or say. I'm too unfunny and uncreative to meme or write humorous captions that get engagement. 😂It kind of feels like I'm shouting into the void, and nobody really cares about what I have to say on my projects when there's so many cooler and more interesting things out there. So I always try for a brief period of time, and then I give up 😭

This year though, I really really need to take marketing more seriously. With two releases planned for 2024, marketing is going to be important if I want the games to sell more than like 20 copies LOL

So I guess, uh, hold me to it and call me out if I don't start posting regularly after all 🥹

Conclusion

If you've made it this far on this post, thank you so much for listening to me ramble. 🥹 2024 is going to be a very busy year, but hopefully, a productive one that will end with me meeting all of the above listed goals.

Thank you so much for joining me on the wild and bumpy journey that was 2023, and I hope you'll stick around for the exciting things to come this year too! Here's to a great year ahead of all of us!

#otome #visual novel #interactive fiction #dating sim #otome game #otoge #if #vn #english otome #english otome game #indie otome #renpy #lgbtq #english visual novel #amare #reanimation scheme #emberfate #announcement

[ghost-town-dwellers]

im writing a full smpronpa review because honestly that fic kinda changed my brain chemistry. this will be bullet point format as i am lazy

okay, so disclaimer- i havent seen smplive so i cant talk about those streamers characterizations. HOWEVER, i had a 3 year long derange danganronpa phase and have been abnormal about technoblade since 2017 so i do consider myself a bit of an expert on those aspects. oh also im taking the poke route and replacing that guy with yahi 👍

- gettin the techno things outta the way. first off, really likes his characterization and how it didnt fall into the trap of “overly bloodthirsty and unemotional” technoblade while still keeping his hitman status from tekkitlive i believe? and his deadpan demeaner. A+

- on the negative side, i will never get forgive the author for missing out his speech quirks like dropping the “g” at the end of words or constant use of “bruh”. additionally, plotwise, i feel like technoblade as the hitman sent after schlatt and co was disregarded a bit too quickly? and also came off as weird considering no one was meant to have any memories?? like why did schlatt and co and techno remember that part??? idk that just confused me but its danganronpa so whatevs

- the talents. they didnt.. feel like they had much of a purpose? like they didnt feel like they added much to the characterization, but that does add something interesting to the fact that the talents were a fake concept all along so i will not say if this was good or bad and will leave it up to you

- speaking of, was there a reason we never found out ty or travis’ talents? like they died and we just never found out what they were or why we didnt know. like. that confused me

- on the OTHER hand. the fake talents imply that yahi made HIMSELF the ultimate comedian which is objectively hilarious. big obama giving obama a medal energy

- poke. girl they did so little with him that i REGULARLY forgot he was there. bro just do SOMETHING with him. however, this is also a classic danganronpa experience so i will accept it

- the third trial kinda went crazy. i liked the twist on two victims to instead be two killers. genuinely an interesting version of the third chapter, and ryan was like.. a weirdly compelling character, especially after that trial

- half of the end twists were just straight ridiculous. im not.. really a fan of the “it was joko actually it was yahi actually it was cooper” thing, but its very sdr2 core so tbh thats fair. on the other hand, what in the world exactly happened to joko????? like he was at the final trial for like a Minute but he was dead beforehand in the flashbacks???? was he a robot????????? im so confused

- also, what was the purpose of charlie fakin his death? once again, very danganronpa of them but fundamentally kinda weird and unnecessary. i understand the in universe explanation but like.. out of universe why was that decision made?

- i would like the give the author massive kudos for the actual murders and trials. as someone who has participated in and even RAN danganronpa fangame rps, that shits HARD. it was pretty well done! not perfect, and some parts were hard to follow but i have ABSOLUTELY seen worse

- i also started really liking angel as a character. i liked the choice to have her actually be a detective lying about her “ultimate” and she felt very genuine and interesting. schlatt also came across as a pretty interesting antagonist with canon-typical confusing motives

- also whatever the fuck joko and cooper had going was gay as HELL. like idk what was up but it was deeply homosexual

- i also liked the way the ending had a sort of commentary on fan culture and the increasing escalation of entertainment for the cruel enjoyment of the masses. very yugioh arc v z-arc core for the like two people who get that reference. im not entirely sure on how WELL it was executed especially within the wider context, but i still found it interesting

thats the general review! ill update this if i realize i forgot stuff but all in all thats what i wanted to say

#smpronpa #sorry i have diseases

[idwisp]

hihi I'm new to posting on Tumblr (I've always just used this site to read good fics 😭 so I'm sorry if it's not formatted well)

anyways!! yummy angsty Scaramouche fic I made during work bc it was a slow day (it was meant to be a drabble,, but it just kept growing over the day)

Kind of imagined the reader being an isekaid genshin player who is a giant simp 🧍‍♂️bc that is 100% how I felt when writing this after watching that one Catch Me animatic abt Scara (u know the one)

this is mainly from Scara's POV! (3rd person)

From Heaven to Hell

Fatui Reader × Scaramouche

TW: gender neutral reader (they/it used throughout), mentioned gore/pain, Dottore shenanigans (canon stuff/not the good kind), body modification (horror kind), monsterification (horror kind)

Words: 2,043 • Pages: 8.1

The newest batch of recruits seemed less than ideal, at least to the majority of the Harbingers, and Scaramouche was no exception. They were weak in spirit and bland in style, with none more varied in combat or writing than the recruits from the years prior. It make him shuffle in his seat and glare at every single one that so much as glanced at him during their welcoming ceremony into the Fatui. He left the grand hall of the almighty Tsaritsa's castle the moment he could; it would be a waste of his precious time to loiter around such a worthless cast of new soldiers. He brushed past many on his way out, and only stopped to say farewell to the Tsaritsa herself.

  A week later and he found himself appalled when some of said new recruits were assigned to his sector for further training (aka, the mind-numbing paperwork that comes with being a giant organization.) He kept a keen eye on the additions to his team, yelling at them all for every minor mistake. Almost all of those soldiers quit before the next week, which gave him a sense of relief and hard-earned satisfaction to know he chased off the lowlives. However, he was a bit ticked that he couldn't shake the last one off. They took all his vicious words and harsh tasks at full force, and yet never disappointed with their work. They were the only recruit under him that had yet to make a mistake that he could use against them. He was almost impressed.

  One day, he actually got a clear look at them. The Fatui had a strict uniform for underlings, especially in his sector, so it was rare to see what one of them actually looked like under the mask and hood. They stood out enough that he was taken aback, not because they were particularly good looking (they were above average, but not really the model-type pretty that was honestly rather common with vision-bearers--It makes him wonder if Celestia has a type,) but because he didn't expect it. They were quiet, followed his orders to a T, and only ever spoke to relay information or ask a work-related question. He knew humans didn't always look as they actually were, but that often was the overly sweet people who would pull a knife the moment they found it safe to attack. This last member wasn't like that, and Scaramouche has gotten curious.

  Months later, they fell into a comfortable routine. Scaramouche gives them work, the recruit finishes it flawlessly and in record time, and they spend the rest of the day together. Of course, pseudo-unwillingly on Scaramouche's part, as the recruit follows him around like a lost puppy that's eager to please, but it's gotten him more productive lately so he hasn't told them off just yet. The recruit accompanies him like a bodyguard (it makes him laugh, as they are so, so much weaker than him,) to all his missions and tasks, including his games of death with certain traitors of the Fatui. They aren't very scary, but the obvious uniform paired with Scaramouche's nigh-iconic attire easily scares most of the unnecessary people away from their targets. It's efficient.

  In one assignment, he actually got to see them fight. It was a wonder that they weren't promoted sooner, from how they stripped the enemy of their advantage and turned it on them. They took the traitor's weapon and killed the bastard with it in one swift move, almost like a practiced dance. He was enamored with the sight, if just for a moment, watching as they kneeled before his feet with the bloody tool sat to their side like an afterthought.

"Sir," They had muttered, facing the ground.

"How far are you planning to go for me?" He couldn't help but bark out the question--even the combat-focused footsoldiers hesitate to kill, yet this one did so without warning.

"From Celestia to the Abyss, I will follow you, my lord." They did not move or stutter, and Scaramouche didn't say anything after.

  A while later and he notices a vision on their hip, dangling like a precious gem that taunts him. When he asked the recruit about it, they merely shrugged and said they got it one night before bed. He couldn't read their expression (that mask was starting to irritate him, for reasons he couldn't understand,) and clenched his fists as they wandered off with their daily dose of paperwork, intent to finish their work quickly. He doesn't speak about the vision again, and neither does the recruit, both content to ignore the divine gift of elemental power. He catches them looking at it every now and then, examining it like an infant does with a new toy, before letting go of it and turning away as if embarrassed. He catches himself smiling in those moments.

  Shortly after, he gets tasked with something in the Abyss (likely just collecting samples for Dottore's disgusting experiments, or trying to figure out something about the stars,) and the recruit dumbly follows him. They almost begged to come with him, repeatedly asking until he caved. In the Abyss, they didn't show their suffering. They were only human, not to mention the vision on their side reacted violently to all things Abyssal (sometimes it would scare the warped creatures off, but most of the time it would backfire on them and unleash bursts of elemental energy through their body--he doesn't blame them for biting their lip open in their attempts to swallow the screams,) and the Abyss slowly seeped into their skin. When the group got back to Teyvat, the recruit wasn't the same.

  Dottore appeared on Scaramouche's doorstep one day, grinning like a shark and with a proposition on his tongue. His recruit was suffering from side effects and the taller man wanted to try an experimental treatment on them. If it worked, the soldier would be good as new, if not better, and could continue to serve. Scaramouche pondered for a second, faintly remembering how all the other experiments of Dottore's ended up, before shaking the thought and agreeing to hand the recruit over to the doctor. The recruit was useful, sure, but he had plenty of other subordinates like that. They weren't special. They cast him one last glance before following the doctor into his lab. In the time they were gone, something felt hollow in Scaramouche. He found himself looking to his side, where they'd stand, only to find it empty.

  Years passed and they never returned, and he slowly got used to the absence. He once asked Dottore about the progress, but the doctor merely showed his sharp teeth and chuckled, saying something about serums taking time to work. Scaramouche didn't believe him, but he didn't care enough to chase the absolute folly in that logic (or, maybe he did care? He doesn't know why he would've asked otherwise, his recruits go missing all the time and he's never batted an eye before.) He didn't ask again and eventually went out of his way to start ignoring the doctor. He only began to listen to Dottore again when the blue-haired menace began talking about rebuilding Scaramouche as a god, just as he was meant to be. He hasn't been this excited in a long time (something still feels off, like he's missing something important.)

  In Dottore's Sumeru lab, during the time he spent fixing his body to ready it for divinity, Scaramouche wandered into a giant room filled with tubes glowing a sickly gold. Monsters were trapped inside every one, each with horrific disfigurations in their bodies. They didn't look like anything he came across in the Abyss, but some seemed similar. He glanced at all the ones he came across, only stopping when he saw a familiar name on one of the tanks. A beast, far more coherent and humane than the rest, floated idly inside the large tube. Dottore's awful grin grew larger at the pit stop, also gazing at the creature caught in the ugly liquid. The doctor rattled on about how this ex-recruit is the best experiment he's had so far, but he's been unable to replicate such a perfect result since. Something in Scaramouche shifted, akin to fear.

  He visited that specific test tube often, often pressing his hand against the glass and taking in the sight of the monster. It was distorted, too warped to properly be called ex-human and still sound sensible, with claws and teeth to maim, its inhuman feet inches above the tube's flooring, and its old vision glowing brightly from under its skin as the element curls around them. It never responded to him or his words, sitting in the fluid like a corpse that was put on display. He eventually had to leave, he always did, but he would always come back. Meeting with the slumbering beast kept him rushing through the experiment as the doctor's painful procedures rung through him day after day. Dottore took notice of Scaramouche's fascination, and offered to let him have it as a pet once he arose again as a god. Scaramouche didn't think twice.

  The day before his ascension, the beast finally responded to his prodding from beyond the tube's barrier. It opened its eyes and acknowledged him (it looked at him, and he felt like it knew the secrets of the universe--they were just as mysterious as he remembers them to be. He never smiled wider, nor did he cry so much.) Dottore had come soon after to check on the tube, making sure the beast wasn't violent and was strong enough to exit the tube soon. He prattled off about perhaps easing it out of the liquid so it could learn to walk properly, but Scaramouche was too busy pressing his hands against the glass to pay attention (and their distorted hands pressed back.) He had to leave eventually to be set up for his day of divinity, but he kept his eyes on the beast as it watched him exit.

  When he properly ascended, he didn't expect the beast to be there, waiting for him on the sidelines of his grand arena within its great tube. The traveler appeared and wholly ignored them, and they merely kept watch as the blond outlander fought him. When the traveler triumphed, he fell out of the mecha holding him, his eyes wide open as he reached for his heart that had been stolen from him once again. He expected to die like that--to crack his head open on the ground and nobody in the vicinity to care as he bleeds his non-human yet non-divine blood. However, the shattering of glass filled the room and the beast leaped at him. A flurry of panic filled him, worried he also angered whatever they were to him anymore. That one damn recruit, that one almost-friend, that one sacrifice.

  The beast took him in their arms and landed nearby, cradling him comfortably as they slowly lowered him to the ground. He stared at them blankly, almost shocked that they didn't take this chance to betray him as well. He expected them to open those monstrous jaws and bite his head off as mercilessly as they used to kill other traitors, or at least just calmly watch as he fell to his death just like they used to with his other subordinates that disobeyed. But, they caught him. Held him and admired him the same way they used to do with their vision--a shiny, beautiful gift from powers far beyond them. Their element pricks and bites at his skin as he embraces the creature's touch, wrapping his arms around their neck and hugging them. The beast freezes, only to let out what sounds like a sigh and hug him back. He doesn't hold back the tears.

"Why? Why did you save me?" Scaramouche wept as he clung to them, burying his face in whatever mess of a neck they had left.

"From Celestia to the Abyss," They began, the sound of their voice wholly unknown but deeply familiar, "I will follow you, my lord."

He hiccupped and held onto them tighter. For a second time, Scaramouche did not say anything after.

pls help I am so not used to making things fit the Tumblr style 😭 anyways sorry if there's any errors or dramatic drop in quality near the end, I was literally fighting to stay awake in the second half of my shift when I was making this

#genshin x reader #gn reader #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #genshin angst #fatui reader #Biblically accurate Dottore #monster transformation #soft gore warning

[likesunsetorange]

something I loved about TBOSAB was the sardonic humor, like from the very beginning. He's so mean and funny like "high as a kite bottom?" in another life he's a comedian.

Obviously the movie his character felt different because you don't get his inner monologues to better know his character, I've even heard some people say his decent into madness in the movie felt more sudden.

It goes to show no matter how good a movie will be, the books will always have something the movies don't. A deeper insight to the character(s)

SAME!! he’s actually so fuckinf funny omg 😭😭 im so fucking mad bc my freaking ebook deleted ALL OF MY HIGHLIGHTS i almost actually had a meltdown about it i can’t lie 😭 but there were so many good lines of him just being fucking hilarious for one, but also you just see his mentality change so much!!

i also think there’s a limitation in media formats bc the pro of the book was internal monologue and the book was literally so perfect in that aspect bc you truly get to see ever component of him and the movie takes that away! i don’t fault the actors on that, that’s just a hindrance of cross format story telling unfortunately. but i think tbosas was just such an amazing story and i think it added such an extra layer into the trilogy that didn’t feel like it was unnecessary or like a cash grab, but truly added so much to the universe in such a thoughtful way. like it really gave so much perspective to the games and all the foreshadowing like honestly it’s so close behind catching fire as one of my favorite books of all time bc i loved it so much.

#asks #tbosas #thg

[forabeatofadrum]

an ask game for writers to procrastinate working on your WIP(s)

Thanks for tagging me @wellbelesbian! Better late than never, eh?

1. 🦈Tell us the name of your/ one of your WIP(s):

Just Some Guy and Ljubili se. Those are my "active" WIPs now, because if I had to list all of them... oh boy. Although I'm working on Just Some Guy more.

2. 🍄Describe your WIP/one of your WIP(s) in the format of “___ + ___ =___”

Outsider POV + Chosen One shit = disinterest

Queer journey + long distance = chaos (I think???)

3. 🌍What tags or warnings will one of your WIP(s) need if you intend to share it?

For these two, none. I know Matt is MCD, but it stands for Matt Christopher Davis.

4. 🧭An alternative title to one of your WIP(s)?

I don't really have alternative titles, but they do have nicknames. I call Just Some Guy "MCD" because it's just funny to me and Ljubili se "Klaine in Ljubljana 2" which is ridiculous cause they're no longer in Ljubljana.

5. ⚠️Which WIP your most likely to finish or update next?

Just Some Guy. I only need to finish one more chapter and I've been updating it weekly.

6. 💾What is your document of your WIP/ a WIP called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

Ljubili se is in "drabbles and oneshots" and Just Some Guy in "Non-glee drabbles and oneshots" because I am chaotic and put all my writing in those two docs, unless something becomes too big, then it gets its own doc.

7. 🖍Post Any sentence(s) from your WIP.

I’ve heard stories of physical fights between them, but I kind of don’t care. Just let me play chess in peace. If they want to knock each other’s brains out, be my guest. One time I walked to class and Simon almost shoved Baz against the wall in anger, and I just passed them. I think more students are kind of used to their escalations. So, no, I don’t care. Arnold says it’s rude of me to think that way, but it’s not out of malice. It’s out of disinterest. “Really, I don’t get politics,” I sigh.

8. ♻️A scrapped idea for your current WIP.

I scrapped two scenes in Just Some Guy. The whole premise of the fic is that Matt honestly doesn't care that much about what the fuck is going in with Simon Snow and entourage. Originally, the kidnapping of the Mage in the 6th year had an entire scene where he, Leslie and John discuss it. And in the 8th year, there was an entire scene where Matt and his dad learn about the Mage's death, because once again, John and Leslie show up to discuss it. But in the end, I realised that Matt just... doesn't care. And those two scenes therefore felt very forced and it dragged the chapters down. The snippets aren't bad. They're just woefully unnecessary. I was like "I need Matt to acknowledge this" and I realised I didn't. I put both of them under the cut at the end of this post.

Hey, it ain't spoilers, cause everyone who's read Carry On knows what happens to good ole Davy.

9. 🤔What’s a story you’d love to write but haven’t even started yet?

Unfortunately for me, my mind's already started planning for this year's Klaine Advent/December Fanworks Challenge. Why is this unfortunate? Well, I still have to finish the 2023 one, Ljubili se.

But this idea is pretty neat. It's inspired by J.M. Frey's Accidental Turn series. That's all I'm sayin.

10. 🤡How many WIPS are you actively working on?

Actively, 2. Maybe 3, since bamboo ceiling is rotating in my brain. Don't ask me about the others in my WIP Hospital.

11. 🛠Is there a scene or anything in the WIP you are struggling with right now?

I AM FUCKING STUCK ON LJUBILI SE BECAUSE JUST LIKE LJUBIM TE I JUST FIND KURT'S POV HARDER/LESS INTERESTING TO WRITE.

12. ❤️Not a question, just a second Kudos to send.

Kudos back!

I think this post has been passed around in the Snowbaz fandom, so I am passing it to the Gleeks: @thnxforknowingme @caramelcoffeeaddict @coffeegleek @quizasvivamos @bitbybitwrites @shame-is-a-wasted-emotion @rockitmans @special-bc-ur-part-of-it and whoever else!

Year 6: Mage's kidnapping

When I come home from Christmas break, something is definitely up.

“Did I miss anything?” I whisper to Leslie. We’re walking towards the Dining Hall to meet up with the others.

Leslie looks around.

“I heard this from John,” she leans in, “that the Mage got kidnapped over Christmas.”

“What?!” I exclaim.

“Shut it,” Leslie hisses. Some people are indeed staring at us. “The Coven is keeping it quiet at the Mage’s request. He cannot afford to look weak in front of the Old Families and the Dark Creatures.”

“Then how does John know?” I ask, but I think I already know the answer. John just knows stuff. And so far he’s always right. Maybe he’s a Seer, or something. Not that those are real, but damn, John is a strong contender.

And yes, Leslie tells me that John just knows.

Leslie and I enter the Dining Hall and John waves. Everyone’s already here. I look to Leslie to say something about it, but she’s already run to Sam to catch up. I shrug. Leslie can be mysterious as well.

I sit next to John and I inquire about the Mage’s disappearance.

“Yeah, Simon Snow saved him and all that jazz,” John says quietly.

“Shouldn’t the Mage be the one protecting him, not the other way around?”

“You’d think, huh?” John sighs.

I look around. I assume others know as well, but no one discusses it openly. Even the Old Family kids don’t taunt Simon Snow about his mentor allegedly being kidnapped.

“Why did you tell Leslie?” I ask.

“Because I knew she’d tell you.”

“Why is it important that I know?” I ask, “You know I don’t care about Chosen One stuff.”

I care more about the pudding that’s in front of me. Fuck yeah, pudding. Both my mum and my dad are decent cooks, but they have nothing on cook Pritchard.

John shrugs.

“I needed you to react to it for story reasons,” he says.

“… Okay,” I say and I scoop some pudding on my plate, “Did it work?”

John nods with a smile.

“Yes, it did.”

--

Year 8: Mage's death

“Okay, so, the Humdrum attacked the Pitch Manor, where Simon Snow so happened to be. The day after, it attacks Watford. Simon and the Mage are there. Simon defeats the Humdrum and lost his magic. He kills the Mage. Is that… all?”

“In a nutshell,” Leslie says.

“Why would Simon Snow kill the Mage?” my dad wonders out loud. That is indeed the most surprising part, not even the fact that the Mage killed Ebb, the goatherd.

“The investigation is still in its beginning phase,” John says, “But it sounds like the Mage maybe wasn’t a good man after all.”

“Huh,” my dad says. That’s all. But it summarises it perfectly. Look, my dad and I are just some guys. We don’t have big opinions on the status quo, so we never really questioned how things are.

“So, what now?” I ask.

“There will be an inquiry into the Mage’s death,” Leslie explains, “Mitali Bunce is interim headmistress. Rumour has it that Simon Snow’s magic hasn’t returned, so who knows if he’ll come back to school.”

Damn.

This dude just saved the world, and he has to think about school?

I mean, I do too, but I am no Chosen One.

Bruh, it must suck to be Simon Snow

#tag game

[tiredfoxtf]

yeahh i felt the same way though i don't particularly like heavily modded mc in general. all the new crafting recipes felt like it over complicated everything and just added unnecessary bloat. the mod did make it more interesting than just plain vanilla pvp but i feel like they couldve balanced out what items were put in and which ones were kept out. and yeah lmao i hated the stamina and food/thirst mechanics too.

Yeahhhh, hard agree. As someone who used to play and watch heavy modded mc, I still can FEEL the way they just wanted to make the game progression slower. And I do not get the intent, to be honest. Like sure, your even must be certain amount of hours, but then design a better event. Like this was MADE to artificially stretch out the in-game hours and it felt horrible.

Like, I'm sorry, okay, but the Hunger Games format is just extremely fucking boring in minecraft. People can't watch this bs in MCC for like 10 and this is a 4 day 12 hours event. AND HONESTLY? The best viewing experience you'll get is to watch day 1 and day 4 exclusively.

Day 1 was just more fun, because of formating. Like imagine if it was more of this the rest of the game? Like 3-4 rounds of some minigame and then bottom 20 fight for the spot. Very similar to Squid Craft 2 I guess, BUT that would be just way more fun. For both, players and viewers.

I HONESTLY DON'T GET STAMINA AND THIRST/FOOD. LIKE WHAT DID THEY WERE TRYING TO ACHIEVE WITH IT. It was VERY stupid. Honestly, I would take away natural regen entirely and replace it with stuff they ADDED SPECIFICALLY TO RESTORE HEALTH.

Bundles were stupid, like if you gonna have mods add ones where you can get stuff in and out directly from backpack.

#> tired asks #> tired anons

[walmart-sekai]

Okay I finished Leo/Need. Final thoughts below the break.

Stuff I liked:

It feels very realistic.

I mean not the part about hatsune miku taking you to a pocket dimension created by your feelings, but like. I remember being a lonely teenage girl and, in many ways, Leo/Need captures that experience very well. The conflicts, the characterizations, and (with a few exceptions) the dialogue all feel very familiar.

The end wraps things up nicely.

There are some Project SEKAI stories (cough VIVID Bad cough) where the end feels a little rushed or anticlimactic, like the writers were fighting against that 20 episode format.

Leo/Need, on the other hand, felt very satisfying to finish. The band is back together, Honami has come clean to her other friends, Ichika told the others she and Saki have written their first song. They’ve tied up the loose threads while still leaving a lot to be explored in event and side stories. It’s very “the end of this chapter, the beginning of the journey,” vibes.

Saki’s fucking fantastic.

I love, love, love Saki. Her design, her characterization, her motivation is everything to me. The other characters I needed a bit to warm up to, but they do a very good job of making Saki bubbly, energetic, and endearing from beginning to end. She was, hands down, my favorite thing about this story.

Stuff I did not love:

It feels very realistic.

“But Walmart, you said you liked the realism! Why would it be a pro AND a con?” Well gimme a fuckin second here, let me explain.

Leo/Need is very true to the depressed teenager experience. There is miscommunication, there is weird, illogical snap decisions, there’s jumping to conclusions. It’s true to life—but that doesn’t mean it’s interesting.

For many of us, myself included, being a teenager was/is frustrating. It’s confusing, and lonely, and honestly, very annoying. It was annoying to live through and as much as I hate to say it, it was annoying to read.

There is no conflict.

The opening of Leo/Need sets you up to think these characters have had some huge fight. It’s heavily implied that Ichika in particular said something to piss Honamori and Shiho off. This would explain why she’s so hesitant to tell Saki what happened, because she doesn’t want her friend to see her as the villain.

The problem is, nothing happened.

There was no fight. There was no huge, explosive event. There was just three teenagers miss-communicating. This is supposed to be a twist, but it reads like a cop-out. It’s boring.

Again, this isn’t unrealistic—I’ve seen friendships fall apart over miscommunications and good intentions like this, especially when I was younger. It happens in real life all the time.

It’s realistic. But that doesn’t mean it’s compelling storytelling.

Saki’s fucking fantastic.

“Wait, you already did this one too, why did you put two things in both pro and con—“ shut up, it’s my list.

Saki’s great. She’s interesting, she’s multi-faceted, she has an in depth backstory.

Her returning to school is the catalyst for the entire story. I’m nearly every episode, her actions are what drive the narrative forward.

So why isn’t she the main character?

Reading from Ichika’s POV gives us a lot of flashbacks from when Saki was gone, but since the conflict is basically nonexistent, these flashbacks are arguably unnecessary.

Imagine this story reframed from Saki’s POV. Imagine hearing her inner monologue when Honamori and Shiho brush her off when she gets to school. Imagine her practicing that song to impress Shiho, knowing she’s pushing herself too hard, but thinking getting her friends back together is more important.

Imagine getting this sinking feeling in your gut knowing she’s going to push herself too far, knowing somethings going to happen. Then imagine that scene where she collapses from fever while they’re playing hitting that much harder, because you’d been dreading that moment happening.

Cool, did you imagine it? Did it make you feel stuff? Did it feel compelling and heartbreaking?

Cool, so I ask you again, why didn’t we get that?

Final thoughts:

Overall, I enjoyed this story. Really, I did.

Is it my favorite PJSK main story? No. Do I have a lot of criticisms of it? Yes.

But I like it. I like Saki, especially. And I think with the way the last few episodes wrapped up, I’ll enjoy the event stories a lot.

So yeah. If Leo/Need is your favorite, I definitely see the appeal, no disrespect at all. I didn’t come here to start shit, just sharing my thoughts.

#really though I did like it #it’s just definitely not my favorite is all #leo/need #final thoughts #pjsk #live tweeting #saki tenma #project sekai

[banana-milk-enthusiast]

beat Forspoken, and while I probably will write an in-depth review down the line cuz i have many thoughts, I'm just going to pointform my basic thoughts while it's still fresh.

PROS

Great designs all around, the Tantas look so breathtaking with their extravagant designs and yet it doesn't take away from their world, it fits just right in. Absolutely love it.

Good world building most questions i had were answered either through the main story or extra archive stuff. Nothing felt too weird yknow

Gameplay gameplay gameplay. The magic system is literally amazing. I dont think I've had this much fun fighting in an rpg in a long time. Theres so much fun variety so you can focus on whats comfortable for you while also looking sick as fuck. Have i mentioned how good the battle system is cuz i avoid playing mage in every game because its such a slog but here its so fast paced and hits hard. Perfect for me.

The music is soooo good, I love the main theme and find myself humming it literally all the time.

Great graphics but maybe a lil too many particle effects but otherwise really pretty.

The story is technically a pro. Like its good, not bad, not great, just good. Basically something you'd find in the YA Fantasy section, thats the kinda quality it was. Which isn't a insult I did enjoy the story and characters. It just needed polish, fix up the dialogue and trim some of the story fat and i wouldn't have any complaints tbh. Probably would do better as a book series tho ngl, not sure what game format would have saved it.

Shoutout to the accessibility options. I'm glad more games are including these. I'll never understand complaints about them though, like just dont use them if you dont want/need to thats it.

ALMOST FORGOT THE COOLEST THING. THE NAILS. I'm sorry but the idea of using nail art to inscribe magic runes to give you buffs is the coolest fucking idea ever, why has this concept not been used till now. We always see rune tatoos or written on gear and stuff im fantasy media but this is such a neat ideaaaa and im forever thankful for it. Her capes are cool too I guess, with there was more variety rather than recolors tho. Kinda wish we could also get different outfits for her tho. Those jeans probably chafe.

CONS

THE OPEN WORLD IS SO BIG FOR NO GODDAMN REASON. I honestly wish this wasn't an open world game tbh, its so unnecessary. Halfway through the game, i got so frustrated and ignored everything that wasn't story points cuz getting everywhere takes so damn long, especially early on when you dont have fancy parkour or stamina. Easily its biggest fault for me.

I understand they thought it'd do way better than what happened but planning out a story as a trilogy in the gaming industry is not a smart move. I've yet to play the dlc so idk if we get closure but the loose ends werent a great way for the game to end.

Oh, the dialogue. Its easily one of the gamest weakest points. Like the type of dialogue i was writing in my original stories when i was 13 (not that ive gotten any better tbh). Basically, it's not what you expect from such a vaunted company. Frey is great when shes excited or angry, which is most of the time, but occasionally, they'll hit me with the cheesiest line I've heard in years, and idk how to handle it. Like the stuff she says in the final chapter is honestly so robotic, there is no natural flow present. Which is a pity cuz the actress was killing it tbh, like she definitely carried the lines with her emotion. Unfortunately, it couldn't save them. Like if it was something they dropped on ps3 or wii, it honestly would have done fine. What i mean to say is the dialogue is very outdated in this age of gaming. im actually surprised how out of touch it feels. Especially since otherwise its a solid game all around. Regarding Cuff and Frey banter you do have the option to make it less frequent or just turn it off but i never really found them annoying regardless.

Maybe its just me but the control scheme feels so weird, the games makes you feel like you should be gliding most of the time but holding O while spaming all those trigger buttons feels so awkward to me. But then again I also didnt care enough to change the control scheme so.

#migght come back and edit this as i think of stuff #can genuinely say i like the game though absolutely worth the 30 dollars i got it on sale for any more is a robbery #will probably come back to this when i finish the dlc to see if my mind changed on anything #forspoken #forspoken spoilers #long post #cannot post break on mobile so sorry to ya'll timeline

[faultychips]

It Begins (Again)!! Switching it up with Picross and Pokémon

Hello and welcome to the new format I'll be using to review game content!! (Those who know me outside of Tumblr know I have a personal site on Neocities where I’ve been posting mini game reviews for a while now. Thankfully this new format lets me start cross-posting to Tumblr, in addition to my own site!) While the old format was fun, it felt a little too restrictive. I want to be able to just talk about video games without putting them into categories; plus I realized it was kind of silly to have categories labeling games as "bad" or whatnot. I've decided that if I simply don't like a game, I just won't talk about it here. But almost every game has something I *do* like in them somewhere, and as much as I'm sure to complain and criticize, I'll include games here because they're worth playing one way or another.

Starting with something I wish I had checked out sooner (and definitely a game worth playing), Picross is a pleasantly fun puzzle game that I recently picked up (I'm playing Picross S8 on the Switch, but you can play it for free on sites like http://liouh.com/picross). Each Picross title will give you a large number of nonograms to solve, which reveals a cute little pixel art image when you've completed it! It's a fairly simple concept but the puzzles in Picross S are a fun challege and there's a variety of kinds of puzzles to choose from (such as Regular, Big Picross, and Color Picross) that keeps each type feeling fresh. I haven't played a true, pure puzzle game in a while so I was expecting to be a little bored with Picross but I think the straightforwardness actually lends a lot to how enjoyable Picross is; it's easy to pick up whenever, whether for a long session of puzzle cracking or for when you need a quick 20-ish minute break. There are a lot of different Picross games, but if you'll pick up any of them, I've seen it recommended that you start from the most recent title and then work your way backwards in release order. I think I agree with that, since Picross S8 has a lot of helpful tutorials and general gameplay polish that I really enjoyed having, and which might not be available in earlier games.

...And also, speaking of complaining, I finished the new Pokémon Violet game that came out last month. I'm in a place where I've decided I'm not going to be buying Pokémon games anymore because their release schedule and quality drops have really started to grind on me, but thankfully I have found ways to play Violet without...spending 60 dollars...so I did that. Without that price tag I was technically able to play the game without the pressure of large personal investment, but that didn't stop the cracks from showing on this one. Honestly it's a perfectly fine game; I had plenty of fun with it, and would end each session excited to get back to playing later. I sunk a good 30+ hours into this thing, so there's definitely something there. Any way you go about it, Pokémon has always had a pretty solid and enjoyable gameplay formula, and despite the new open world feature that element is still very much intact here. However, as much as I enjoyed it, I feel a fair amount of my enjoyment was centered on the story, my favorite parts being the animated cutscenes, which look genuinely amazing. In contrast, when I had to do Pokémon battles inbetween this unraveling story, I found myself getting increasingly irritated, as it started to feel like unengaging and unnecessary padding. The ending of the whole thing is brilliant, and generally feels worth the time I spend getting there, but I can't help but wonder if I could have gotten the same amount of enjoyment out of watching someone else play, or better yet, a highlight reel that cuts out all the slog and boring bits (which there is plenty of). I definitely did not run through all the content and side-quests, but after the credits rolled, any urge I had to ever pick it up again just kind of evaporated. If I ever do, it will probably be when the DLC is released, which I will maybe play, and either way gleefully not pay for.

Aaaand that about wraps it up for my games played over the last few weeks! Not much to talk about for now but with school workloads I haven't had a lot of time to play or to get into new stuff. Hopefully during the next few weeks I can get to some indies I've had my eyes on for a while.... >:-]!

AND LASTLY, THE GAMES:

Picross S8 is available for $9.99 on: Nintendo Switch

Pokémon Violet is available for $59.99 on: Nintendo Switch

or...cough...romslab...dotcom...or somethin...cough...

Thanks for reading!! And see you next week!

#game review #faultychipsgamereviews #hello and hi....hi and hello <3

[indecisivepsyche]

Murray Mysteries Thoughts

Alright, I made a post noting that I don't really like Murray Mysteries, so I thought I should expand on that. I'll go ahead and note that if you've just learnt of the podcast, don't let this discourage you from giving it a try. There are quite a few good moments in the podcast, and it's cool seeing how they've adapted Stoker's plot to modern times. From here, there's going to be a few spoilers for the podcast.

For me, it really came down to the fact that there were many times where I had the thought that I'd rather be reading Dracula or listening to Cryptic Canticles' adaptation instead. The innovations in Murray Mysteries with the format and characters weren't enough to prevent me from yearning to hear the lines they were adapting, not the modernized and simplified versions of them. I missed Stoker's prose.

I did have some fun listening to it! The podcast was at its best for me in the first season, when the characters were intentionally working together to create a podcast rather than leaving the recorder on for events and uploading them as a record of occurrences. Mina and Lucy's interactions were great, and it was enjoyable to learn how their backstories differed from their book counterparts. Diversifying the team by introducing Jane Seward and Lucy's nonbinary partner Art made sense for a modern adaptation. Later on, the Christmas Special and the developing relationship between Art and Jane (scenes without precedents in Stoker's work) were great listens.

I also have to commend the start of Jonathan Harker's travel segment! His love for Mina is evident, and his enthusiasm really filled me with the "my good friend Jonathan Harker!" joy. Drac was also so funny. I'm not 100% on board with what they did to him. He ends up lacking menace, which is very evident in #32 - they didn't even try to adapt what Dracula said to Mina when he attacked her on October 3rd. Still, there are many delightful moments from him, like his justifications for the off-the-grid nature of Castle Dracula and the mocking message he sent to the party to make it clear he was listening to their podcast.

Ah, the podcast. There are moments where the conceit of the show works against it for me. This is most egregious for me in all of Jane's segments discussing R's case. Jane, despite the fact that you're censoring the dude's name and I'm not sure if you're violating any privacy laws, this rubs me the wrong way. And what's up with them killing him off with a phone call after he received medical care in the hospital? Seemed unnecessary.

One last thing: their writing for Quincey rubbed me the wrong way. In Dracula, Quincey demonstrates with his courting of Lucy that he's quite willing to play the fool for his friends. It's clear he has depth beyond that, however, like with his comparison of Lucy's situation to vampire bats as well as Jack and Arthur looking to him for a plan of action. In Murray Mysteries, however, it really felt like his main purpose was comedic relief. Also, what's up with Van Helsing mentioning sacred bullets in Episode 28 and that never coming into play? The stake bullets don't count.

I could speak more and go into my complicated feelings over their Van Helsing, but I honestly need to get to sleep. Here's my current ranking of Dracula adaptations:

#1. Dracula (1931)

#2. Murray Mysteries

#3. Horror of Dracula (1958) (apologies to Van Helsing's amazing fur coat)

I have around 30 minutes of Nosferatu left, and I think it might claim #1.

#murray mysteries #dracula #spoilers

[runimanio]

2024 Game Clear #18 Ranma ½: Treasure of the Red Cat Gang

I've been really getting into Ranma½ lately, and after learning that there was a RPG with an English fan translation I knew I had to play through it as it is my god given duty to play through every turn based RPG licensed after a property I like and .... it's just okay

The fan translation has two versions one for fans of the anime and one for the manga, I chose the anime version because at this time that is the version of Ranma I'm more familiar with, I'm don't know what all the changes are in the manga patch as their doesn't seem to be a place online that documents all the differences. The translation seems pretty good especially for a early 2000s fan translation, there's perhaps one grip I have with it and it that they chose to name an equippable armor for the girls as just "bitch" which I feel is unnecessary and unprofessional (and frankly a bit confusing like what exactly am I equipping here?) I do lack the knowledge to properly criticizes the translation here but the guide I was using did choose to translate it to "Angry Dress" instead so I felt it was worth bringing up.

Now for the actual game itself. The Jusenkyo guide accidently broke a seal releasing The Ghost King Cat Nekomaou upon the world who seeks strong men to rebuild his Red Cat Gang and wishes acquire the three sacred treasures that can grant any wish when brought together. The Red Cat Gang kidnaps Ranma father Genma, Mousse and the students of Furinkan High to use as muscle. Ranma, Akane & Shampoo (Ryoga too but of course he immediately gets lost and separated from the party) sets off to save everyone and to acquire the three treasures in hopes of using the wish to cure Ranma of his curse.

I think it's a pretty strong set up for a Ranma RPG honestly, but in practice alot of the writting feels like a reheated version of what you know, if you watched even a couple of episodes of Ranma, you've seen all the jokes before just now it's in a pretty static form which doesn't really lend much strength to all the running gags, even the ghost cat stuff isn't really that special since Maomolin exists but weirdly unless I missed something they never actually point that out.

The party also doesn't banter among themselves as much as you'd hope, only really speaking up when it's time to do their running gag. Akane suffers the most from this I think, as perhaps 95% of her dialogue is getting angry at Ranma which very little moments (if any) that explore her more tender side. It's a Akane completely removed of nuance and I think that's lame

That said there was gags that I did think translated well into the RPG format, Having a party member like Ryoga who will just... keep walking unaware that he's leaving the party is pretty funny joke for a RPG, Genma continues to be the world worst dad, and Cat Fu gets to be a mechanic in a boss fight (though Ranma fear of cats isn't really brought up as much as you might think it would be considering the plot)

On the the actual gameplay side...I like a fair bit about it! It's pretty simple but I appreciate that it doesn't waste your time, a lot of other licensed rpgs that i've played try to hide the fact that they likely made the game in 8 months by forcing a brutal grind or by splitting up the party to hid a lack of meaningful progression.(looking at you Sailor Moon Another Story) I only really had to grind once at the end and it was a pretty light grind, the party does split up a bunch but it never feels like a tactic to artificially increase difficulty and therefore extend the game length then more the product of the Ranma cast being chaotic, it's a miracle that a party of these characters can hold together for 5 minutes.

That said I do wonder if they purposely made your movement speed in the overworld slow to compensate, it not that bad and you get used to it but it's pretty noticeably slow when you first start playing but even with that it's a very short rpg, I got through half the game in like 4 hours unquestionable the shortest tradition rpg i've ever beaten but I actually think it's to the game strength that it doesn't overstay it's welcome.

I general I don't look the look of this game but I do like how battles look, the special moves are flashy and I love that characters fly out of the arena when K.O, battle are pretty easy though you can pretty much get through everything by just spamming attacks, start doing basic rpg stratagems like using stat boosting abilities and your pretty much invincible, being too easy might seem like a detriment but i vastly prefer that to the likely alternate of a grindfest so it's fine

Last note on the gameplay is the UI isn't the best, visually it looks fine but it lacks a lot of information that would be useful to know, items & abilities don't have descriptions which can makes it hard to parse what something actually does even after using it if the effect isn't visually obvious which is why I kept a guide open to reference. you can also only see your ki amount in battles which isn't a big deal but a little annoying when you want to check if your ready before a boss fight

Ultimately though I think a RPG is just kinda a weird choice for a Ranma game, turning the chaotic gender swapping martial arts romance gag manga™ into a slow turn based rpg isn't the most natural match, there's probably way to make it work really well but It probably would take a longer timetable then the dev team probably had. There are Ranma fighting games and visual novels which seem like a better fit but i'm surprised out of all the IP in the 90's that got beat em ups Ranma wasn't one of them, somewhere out there there's a world with a banging Konami or River City style Ranma beat em up and im sad I don't live in that world lol.

With all that said and all my criticism aside... I do still recommend it for Ranma fans, it more time in this world and with these characters and it's a short painless experience so it's not a huge time sink, it's just whenever you merge a property I like with this genre I'm always gonna come in with higher expectations then I probably should have lol

#runi's gamelogs 2024 #Ranma 1/2 #Treasure of the Red Cat Gang

[tomes-of-fenwyrm]

October Wrap-Up

The Graveyard Book - Neli Gaiman

4/5: Lovely writing as usual, and a perfect cozy tale to get into the spooky spirit. I loved the characters especially, and the style of telling individual stories was really well done. Solid read.

The Halloween Tree - Ray Bradbury

3/5: I usually love Ray Bradbury but this one just didn't thrill me. I don't know if it was just me not being in the right frame of mind but I just wasn't vibing. It had some fun moments but it was just ok for me.

Batman: Arkham Asylum- A Serious House on Serious Earth - Grant Morrison

4/5: Beautiful art by Dave McKean once again which bumps up the rating considerably for me. The writing was really nice at times if not a little too pretentious at times. Also, not being super knowledgeable about Batman previously makes it a little bit of a difficult read sometimes. Characters that aren't clearly named, etc. The plot was also a little confusing at times but honestly, I was just excited to see the art so...

If We Were Villains - M. L. Rio

3/5: This was a little meh for me. It's often compared to Secret History and it is extremely similar. I didn't connect with any of these characters as much as Secret History and it felt a little forced. I do like the use of quotes from Shakespeare being used in conversation as if it's their own words so the line between actor and character is blurred. I enjoyed those moments especially. But, otherwise, I found it predictable. Still a solid read.

Death of the Endless #1-2 - Neil Gaiman

4/5: This is a compilation of comics about Death from the Sandman series. She's my favorite character so by default, I'm going to enjoy it a lot. Most of the stories were very engaging but a few didn't hold my interest as much. Overall, had a great time.

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski

5/5: This is one of the most unique reading experiences I've ever had and I really loved it. Was I scared? Not really. But if you love things like Cain's Jawbone, research, or puzzling, this is an excellent book. The format was totally unique and it made it hard to put down. I do feel like this is another one that really benefits from reading it multiple times (as is evident by the community for it on Reddit) but even on this read through I can see all the possible solutions to the mystery inside. I love how philosophical it got most of the time and it really delves into how we perceive horror. Some of the sections did drag a bit, but arguably, that's part of the point. This was a world I was excited to escape to. I also listened to the album his sister Poe wrote alongside the book and I highly recommend it as well. It became my favorite album to listen to this month. :)

Long Live the Pumpkin Queen - Shea Ernshaw

2/5: I gave this a very generous 2/5 which is honestly too much. I didn't like it. It has some nice writing at times but it felt rushed and forced and ugh. Also (SPOILERS) why does Sally need a backstory? And a predictable one at that? It was totally unnecessary and I just felt bored the whole time. It doesn't feel like my Nightmare Before Christmas. I feel like Disney was really pushing this one and maybe Ernshaw didn't have enough freedom or passion to make it truly good.

The Sandman Book 3 - Nell Gaiman

4/5: Excellent as always. Lots of good stories!

The Hellbound Heart - Clive Barker

3/5: This was a suggestion from my brother who loves the Hellraiser movie. I read it. I enjoyed it. It's not my usual bag and honestly, I liked basically no one in it. Kristy was nice though. I couldn't help feeling that everyone deserved exactly what they got. The mood was pretty good but I guess I was expecting there to be a bit more? It is meant to be more of a pulp horror though, so at face value, it's solid for what it is. That being said, I don't have any huge desire to read more Clive Barker.

The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman

5/5: Wonderful! I loved the writing, and I loved the way the story slowly progresses. I prefer a psychological horror style so this was an absolute delight. Excellent discussion on mental health, women's roles, etc. It was also a perfect size to read one morning with my coffee. This was an instant favorite and I'll be reading it again.

I read a lot more than I thought I would be able to! I have a lot more I wish I could've fit into the Halloween season so I may continue reading a few into November.

#october wrap up #tomes of fenwyrm #reading #books #october 2022 #reading wrap up

[missnight0wl]

Lmaoo JC must be so stressed about Hogwarts Legacy releasing this year because they know they'll lose so much of their player base and they're probably trying to do anything to keep people in their game

I honestly doubt they are, or at least they shouldn’t – because it’d be quite unreasonable.

Here’s the thing: HPHM and HPHL are two VERY different games. And they target a different audience. Sure, you can qualify them as Potterheads in general, but it’s really not that simple.

HPHM is a free mobile game. You can play it anytime, anywhere, even if you’re totally broke. I remember seeing people saying that they play it on their way to school or work etc. It’s just a quick and simple way to entertain yourself during the day, and I imagine quite a lot of people might find it appealing.

When it comes to HPHL, you’ll have to buy the game, first of all. I don’t know what the price is gonna be, but it doesn’t look cheap. I also don’t know about the technical requirements, but it doesn’t look like you’re gonna be able to play it on any computer or laptop. The gameplay will probably require investing more time as well, which not everyone will see as a plus.

Now, considering that many HPHM players are young people who probably don’t have their own income yet, do you really think that so many of them will go to their parents, demanding a new gaming PC because they want to play some HP game? Sure, some of them probably will. Some probably already have it. Some are adults and can afford whatever they desire. Still, I really wouldn’t say that Jam City is gonna lose “so much of their player base”. Even if some players will abandon HPHM entirely for HPHL, JC probably won’t even notice it, considering how much money they make on this title. There will also be people simply playing both games, for example.

Seriously, HPHL is no threat to HPHM. If anything, JC might be worried about HPMA since they’re both mobile games. But even here, I think they might appeal to different players, or people will keep playing both games again.

Either way, the biggest threat for HPHM right now is Jam City themselves. And that was kind of the point of my previous post. Because instead of taking advantage of their mobile format, they keep making the game more and more demanding. People complain about lagging for months now, and what JC does about it? And frankly, I’m really not sure if it has much to do with them being stressed by either of the games mentioned above. In my opinion, it seems to be their strategy for a long time now: distract with new things instead of fixing old ones. Even the Clubs felt like an unnecessary addition already. But “Oh!, it’s so new, and shiny, and we can use it to promote the game!”. They do the same thing with the characters, too, introducing new ones all the time, instead of fleshing out the old crew. Because why would they, right? New things make people talk, and that’s what JC wants.

#hogwarts mystery #hphm #jam city #hogwarts legacy #ask #anonymous

[maxbernini]

I really dislike the pov switch. The whole format of skam og was centred around one person's pov. We were supposed to see what they saw, feel what they felt, because we were only exposed to their side of the story, including all the complications and misunderstanding that comes with only having one side of a story. And that intense immersion into one person and one person only, you find yourself ending up empathising with them so so much, because you are crazy absorbed in their world and their world only, and it created such an intense connection to a character and one of the reasons the show was such a hit. Instead, seeing others pov beside maya, we understand why e.g. Lola, is acting a certain way or saying certain things. But maya doesn't. She isn't privy to lolas conversation or messages, but because we are, it's easier to understand lolas actions and feelings. And so it takes us out of mayas head, which is the only place we should be given she is the main, thereby losing the intensity of the connection . Having this mixed pov completely detracts from the what the format was all about.

long post so read more :-)

ok first about pov switches: i honestly don't mind occasional ones? like when tiff ~conveniently ran to the bathroom in s7 so we could hear la mif talk about their own non-tiff problems for a sec lmao, or the first clip of s9 being from their pov, or when we heard max, redouane & jo's convo at bowling when realistically we shouldn't have (and i like how the last 2 were times when maya was massively in denial and shutting everyone out; they also don’t take away from her pov, only add to it, helps that she’s actually in the clip and present). and i think the format can be played with in interesting ways when something happens to the main like daphné’s pov when lola went missing (i mean i have separate #thoughts on that whole plot but the transition itself worked for me), or ekam s3′s double viri/nora pov, which is a little different since viri’s were bonus clips, but the point still stands bc unrelated to pov switches specifically, “this is how the og did it, so the remakes should as well” is generally not an argument i really like tbh, i think that’s a very slippery slope, though i get what you’re saying and mostly agree.

second about this situation: i really don’t like it either, and i don’t like whole episode pov switches. the fact that this always happens to their mains of color (when it didn’t in 6/7, i can’t speak to pre-6) aside, it’s also just wholly unnecessary? what i enjoy most about being in maya’s pov is how immersive it’s been so far. i love all the work the lighting, flashbacks, sound editing etc does, i love the whole ‘the audience knows something maya doesn’t’ thing, dramatic irony allows you to really feel for her, and is a good way of writing a main who does questionable things imo (not bad things, just stuff you as a viewer know isn’t the right choice). i think lola’s perspective has also been very clear despite maya underestimating her re: clement and the relapse, and the fact that we’re sometimes also unsure is another way they’re nailing maya’s pov...like ofc logically lola is sad and isn’t actually dating clement, but maya suspects it, so we do too. if they wanted to do the reverse which i mentioned earlier where lola is now the one underestimating maya, just do bonus clips (smth i really wish they’d done with max too re: his legal case; not in s8 bc i think the HIV plot was too large for a co-main or bonus clips) or weave it into your narrative organically through the writing...in fact they already did djakdsdak this set perfectly captures that disconnect and unspoken miscommunication, all from maya’s pov, whereas this switch doesn’t really add anything. even if it did it still shouldn’t have happened but my point is that it’s so unnecessary anyways. as you said, the focus should come through maya, she (and bilal) deserve/d their full ten eps.

anyways tl;dr: i agree with you!! 

#long post #ask #anon #french posting #don't ask me about those hashtag thoughts on that other switch though aandkasdkas