#dunno. there’s also an element of like. i think i have a distinct feeling for it but no idea how to interpret or visualize that?????

[that-gay-guy-from-hell]

So I want to babble about somethin real quick: Why when designing or talking about Pact Marks for Obey Me, why are they always in small spots? Or like super simple? Why wouldn't they be more than that? (more below the line)

I have a WIP of me (attached below) with two distinct pacts; Satan's and Lucifer's (and Barb's on the neck). Please ignore how unfinished this is (and how weird the face is lmao)

Just hear me out for a minute: Y'all really think Lucifer, the avatar of PRIDE, would give you a small mark? I feel like he'd want it to be super obvious and visible, something you could show off. Satan would do the same, just to spite Lucifer. I feel like the pact marks would typically be something that, in the human world, could pass as tattoos (given they might be weird tats, like my Satan one for example). I also feel like the pact makers could change them. For example, we'll use the one I made for Satan again. I could see him changing the type of cat or the size of the dark ink--maybe even based on mood, in his case anyway.

This isn't just about those two though; you think that any of the seven lords would be okay with something small (okay maybe Beel/Belphie would be okay with it--and maybe Levi). I could see Mammon making some sort of elaborate raven design that has golden elements to it. Asmo would make sure it was something super pretty; something to reflect the Avatar of Lust's view of himself.

I know in the game that Diavolo and Barbatos don't have a pact with MC but I like the idea of having one with them. Dia would make it something formal; so his might be simple like the royal crest or something. Barbatos's mark would be small but decorative.

I dunno I just wanted to talk about it because I have seen so many posts about pact marks lately; which I love PLEASE don't take this as me hating on anyone. So, I wanted to talk about this. Please if you have any thoughts let me know! I'd love to hear them!! :)))

#obey me #obey me one master to rule them all #om #om pact marks #obey me pacts #discussion #headcanon #obey me lucifer #obey me satan #obey me art #obey me pact marks #obey me shall we date #obey me brothers #obey me fanart #obey me hcs #obey me headcanons #obey me mc #obey me swd #omswd #obey me nb #obey me fandom #obey me shitpost #MC #please I want to know #Am I nuts #or does this make sense?

[wyrdwulf]

I've been looking at Palworld discourse as I come across it because it's something that interests me in a few ways. Discussions of AI usage and of plagiarism in media affects artists, and I am a big Pokemon guy even if I am highly critical of the games and company practices rnow. I think there's a lot of valid reason not to support Palworld/studio that made it, and to criticize the game-- the dev being a huge fan of using AI in making games and Cryptobro is enough for me, tbh. But I also feel like there are some arguments and reactions being had about why the game is bad where there's like, validity to them to an extent, but that people are working on assumptions or being overly reactive in a way that muddies valid arguments that can and should be made? And I think overlooking that is. I dunno. Not helpful in trying to have conversations on what is and isn't bad form in making art.

One of the big things is the whole accusation that the monster designs in Palworld are AI generated. I will be perfectly upfront with my take-- based on comments and tweets made by the dev, (especially the one below) I really do suspect that AI could have been used to either make monster designs wholesale, or to 'help' the process along. However, there is no definitive proof of this. This has not been confirmed. But I see so many people spreading that 'fact' as if it is. And again, I really do suspect that could be the case, but like. It's not helpful to spread misinformation, even if it's for a cause that might be good. Both because misinfo is just generally harmful and because it can do so much harm to your argument when you include falsities or state conjecture as fact to people.

Side note-- I've been seeing now that there are claims that the Palworld models are either direct rips of or heavily copy Pokemon models. For that, too, I've already been seeing that the claims of them being full rips can be proven false, but that it is very arguable that there are some severe similarities between elements of certain models, etc. I'm no 3D modelling expert, so for me I really just want to take this information with a grain of salt and wait until I see definitive proof one way or another.

Another thing I've been thinking about is the claims of the monsters fully plagiarizing existing Pokemon... To start, there's a whole question of parody and what constitutes being fair parody versus just stealing which I feel could be debated here. From what I've seen, the game was kinda marketed as parody, and looking at for example the Salazzle clone, its description really seems like it's parodying Salazzle to me. But moving past that, I do really feel that some of the Palworld monster designs are blatantly ripping off Pokemon-- however, I think that it's like, WAY less than I see a lot of people asserting. I've seen some people arguing that the Palmons are legally distinct enough that none are ripoffs but like, c'mon--

I genuinely think someone who argues that this guy doesn't look like Luxray is lacking observational skills.

This is another one for me that like, yes, the silhouette and certain features are different enough to make it 'distinct', but I feel like anyone with pattern recognition should be able to see the colors and design elements being waay too similar here to be a coincidence.

Also, there are definitely designs that feel like mashups of multiple Pokemon features to me, like this guy feeling like it's got Meganium, Serperior, Lilligant, Goodra in it--

But then there are some that I see people using as examples of plagiarism where I'm just like. Brother. That's just Common JRPG Mob Design.

I'll just use this guy as my one example but like. Claims that this is just a Wooloo rip are wild to me. This looks like I can find it in like half of fantasy JRPGs. There's other examples like this where I'm just like... I get that because a good amount of these monsters ARE very likely ripoffs/inspired by existing Pokemon, people are trying to find the Pokemon 'in' each Palmon, but I feel like so many of the comparisons are stretches which can weaken genuine argument.

Also this is an aside but a very petty thing-- I'll be seeing people claim X palmon is a ripoff of Y Pokemon when there's a different Pokemon that feels like a better comparison, like this guy?

So much closer to the unreleased water starter line from gen 2 than Lapras. C'mooooon.

I guess tl;dr though, I think there are genuine issues about artistic integrity, plagiarism, possible AI use and such which should be discussed about this game, and again, the company's ties with AI and crypto are reason enough to not support them, but. I feel like when having these conversations it's best to critically think about what's proven fact and what's speculation, and to consider what's a strong argument for why it might suck and what's not.

#I can't believe I'm using my blog to actually blog. #Sorry to the viewers I've just been thinking about this and wanted to get it out. #ora ora oratories #Palworld

[parab0mb]

So, now that I finished the game (again) and the DLC chapters, I'm going to ramble about Crosscode C:

This game is really bizarre in the sense that, to be completely 100% honest, there isn't any particular part of the game that I think is all that mind-blowing. But all the individual elements (heh) of the game come together so well that the resulting product ends up being so much stronger and memorable than the sum of its parts.

Like, most indie games have one or several notable flaws or shortcomings (and understandably so) but this game is such an airtight experience that I can't help thinking about it and just being like "the how HECK is this game so GOOD?!"

...I am of course just getting started, I've got a wall of text of things I liked and thought her just "meh" under the 'keep reading' if you're interested (you've been warned (also spoilers obviously)):

The combat is definitely one of the strongest elements of the game and probably one of my personal favorites; its brutally difficult and sometimes feels like bullshit (and maybe there is one or two instances where it actually is just bullshit) but once you get the hang of it is really is flashy and satisfying and makes you feel badass to pull off. Plus its got the whole easy to learn, hard to master thing going on (like most of it is just charging SP and pressing the space bar, but knowing what moves to use and when def play into things).

I dunno how much of a hot take this is, but I really liked the puzzles in this game! I won't deny that they can sometimes drag on and interrupt the pacing of a temple, but personally I didn't mind. And just like the combat they're so well constructed that, while you'll spend minutes staring blankly reminded that you're a simple-minded creature and that the human mind wasn't made for this and you should be foraging for mushrooms in the woods and risking death over your next meal, they rarely feel impossible to solve without having to resort to a playthrough and are really satisfying to finally figure out (not to brag but there was exactly one puzzle in the game where I had to look up the solution and another where I did solve it on my own but then looked it up cause I thought I cheesed it by mistake). At first I wasn't a huge fan of how fast/precise you have to be for some puzzles on top of just finding out the solution in the first place, but after a while you kinda get used to it (and there is an option to slow things down which is really nice of the devs to include).

The story is... pretty alright. Yeah. I honestly don't have much to say about it. Bit of a slow pace, does the job, and has it's share of twists and emotional moments, but the narrative itself doesn't really do anything mind-blowing either so... you know. I definitely think it's the characters themselves that are memorable and prop up an otherwise average story. I mean every single one of them is just the hugest goober and even characters who initially seem forgettable or one-dimensional end up subverting your expectations and being super endearing/compelling/layered. Oh yeah, and Lea is a character that can only say like 10 words and SHE DESERVES THE WORLD I WOULD KILL FOR H-

Also, since the DLC is brand new to me I do wanna say that the ending was the tiniest bit underwhelming. Like you break into Vermillion Wasteland, fight a (surprisingly easy) boss, and that's... just it. Like 20 minutes top. I dunno, it feels like... something was missing. Still thoroughly enjoyed the entire thing and it is nice for the cast to get their happy ending (not quite as emotionally impactful as the base game's end imo, but still great and I'm glad they gave us more time with these dorks).

The platforming and navigating the overworld is tedious, which sucks a bit since that makes up a good chunk of the game. Idk man, having to scale different elevations of platforms is made frustrating by the fixed camera and the fact that the different "levels" of platforms aren't distinct from each other at all, so its easy to get duped by the perspective and jump to something you can't actually reach (yes you can use projectiles to check but it still isn't fun). Even without everything blending into each other visually, trying to find which obscure paths from four rooms ago will bring you to a chest just isn't all that enjoyable (some of the later maps like Sapphire Ridge were okay though, if only cause they started to have actually interesting puzzles to do). Basically they're just... there, between the actually fun stuff.

The trading system and farming for resources is confusing and kind of a chore. That's all I got.

Guess I'll touch on the art/music since I don't have too much to say about them. To be perfectly honest I'm not actually super crazy about the artstyle (blasphemy!), but I won't deny that the sprite-work and overall aesthetic are still super-well done, even if they aren't my personal taste (tl;dr I'm neutral on it). The soundtrack isn't something I'd put on my phone and listen to in the car, but like the art it's still well-made and perfectly suits the mood of/drives the emotional impact of the game, and there are still a handful of standout bangers (Lea's theme will live rent-free in my brain of course).

One last thing I'll say (that I mentioned before) is that as fun as this game is, it feels like a commitment to get through at times. Even when I first played it and had more free time, sometimes this game just felt "imposing" to pick back up after a break. Idk its hard to describe, but at least for me it was hard to play any other games alongside this (especially with my limited free time) which kinda sucked a bit.

To wrap things up, if I had to give the game an arbitrary number rating, I have to give Crosscode a 0/10 because its an indie game that doesn't have a fishing game (smh honestly how could they make such an obvious mistake 😔).

#like I said I don't have any super deep analyses of the characters or the game to offer #just wanted to ramble about THE EXPERIENCE and what I thought this game did fantastically and slightly less fantastically #ya know #while i still got the brainrot #also reading what I wrote kinda makes me sound more critical of the game than I really am #i do wanna be clear that a lot of this is just me nitpicking #even the “worst” stuff in the game (*cough* the overworld) is still solid #also opinions #crosscode spoilers #crosscode #rambling #long post #game review (i guess)

[quibbs126]

Alright, I finished this kid, her name is Licorice Cream Cookie

I recognize nobody actually asked for me to make her, but whatever, she’s been rotating in my mind and I just needed to get her drawn

So the name comes from these candies called (I believe) licorice cream rocks, or licorice rockies. I just stuck with Licorice Cream since I didn’t think fitting the whole name worked, or calling her Licorice Rocky. I suppose Cream Rock could have also worked, but it doesn’t really have the “licorice” bit to make her sound related to them. What am I saying? I don’t know at this point. Honestly thinking about it more Cream Rock might work better. If that’s the name you end up seeing in the description, know that I ended up changing it

Licorice cream rock:

I’ve mentioned elements of her design in past posts, but to reiterate. So the one thing I knew I wanted to have was for her to have red eyes (I give a lot of Dark Choco kids red eyes). Then I was trying to think of ways to make her without looking too much like Dark Choco, and I stuck with making her more licorice to have that differentiation. Then I thought to make her dough grey and hair black so that she’d have a combination of both, but also look distinct enough on her own, plus it makes her eyes stand out all the more. Then I just gave her a simple dress to go with, I guess just because. I’ll be honest, while I was fine with her design yesterday when I drew it, I’m not so sure it looks that great right now. Maybe it’s just the face, because nothing else looks particularly off. Or I just feel like this wasn’t worth it, I dunno

Also full disclosure, I made her a kid because I haven’t really fleshed out her herself. To be honest, my thoughts about her have been less about her as a character, and more about shenanigans that ensue with her parents and members of the CoD when she’s accidentally baked, so when she’s a baby

Anyways, so on to Licorice Cream. So as suggested by an anon yesterday, whose idea I really liked, basically she’s the product of a spell gone wrong by Licorice. I imagine Dark Choco’s genes got in there because Licorice needed some dark chocolate for the spell and Dark Choco was in the room, so he just decided it would be easier to get some from him and just threw in a lock of his hair. They were dating at the time, but not to the extent that they were considering parenthood yet, so basically they got sent into a panic at the fact that they kind of now have a kid. I imagine this taking place sometime between the Vanilla Kingdom story and the Hollyberry Kingdom one, so when that story rolls around, Licorice would be there taking care of Licorice Cream, since I imagine that story isn’t dangerous enough for Licorice that it’s okay to bring a freshly baked Cookie. Also it means the Gingerbrave squad can meet her, which I just think would be cute. Also this makes it so she was baked while Dark Choco was in the Cookies of Darkness, which would certainly complicate him leaving the group, as his daughter and partner are still part of that group. However I haven’t really figured out how that whole thing works out, so just assume that if he leaves, not too long after (like less than a year or so I mean) the CoD is defeated and the three going back to being together. I dunno. Before this idea came up, I didn’t have a set way as to how she came to be, but I had sort of come up with the idea that perhaps Dark Choco and Licorice (along with a few other members that work with Licorice, like Bat-Cat, Choco Werehound Brute and possibly Poison Mushroom) decide to leave the CoD with her at around that same time and decide to lay low, so that Dark Choco doesn’t actually end up confronting his father and leaving the group, at least not until Gingerbrave and friends find out where these guys are, and not knowing their intentions seeks them out, possibly including Dark Cacao as he’s been informed his son is a member, which leads to him learning he’s a grandfather now. But this wasn’t the version I went with for this current version, so I don’t know how it all goes down with Dark Choco. Also not sure they bring Licorice Cream to the Dark Cacao Kingdom in this new version, as this area is much more dangerous, but also it means Dark Cacao has the potential to meet his granddaughter and possibly this new knowledge of Dark Choco’s current life could change things about how he approaches their interactions. I dunno

Edit: oh, I just thought of a potential spell that could have caused this. Maybe after their defeat in the Vanilla Kingdom, Licorice thought to make more powerful servants, and knowing that Dark Choco was pretty strong, and just that in general dark chocolate in their world seems pretty physically strong, decided to incorporate some dark chocolate in his spell, using Dark Choco’s hair. Dark Choco might have thought it was a bit odd of a choice instead of just actual dark chocolate, but he doesn’t know magic, so he can’t really argue

I’ve been talking too much about the stuff surrounding Licorice Cream and not much about her herself. I should do that

So as I tried to show in her expression, Licorice Cream is a very friendly child and a bit outgoing. She’s also just generally an absolute sweetheart. Basically the idea is that Dark Choco and Licorice both looked at each other and were like, “okay we CANNOT mess her up like we might be” and tried to raise her as best as possible. She might have been an accident but they still wanted to raise her since she is kind of theirs, and they do genuinely love her. Granted she does also believe that if someone is making fun of her, she should beat them up and stand her ground, which wasn’t exactly the lesson Dark Choco wanted her to learn. She’s also taken an interest in magic like Licorice, though I’m not sure whether dessert magic or dark magic

Also another thing, so as you can see with the sketch, I had this idea that Pomegranate is just terrified of this child, like it’s the one thing that scares her. No one’s entirely sure what it is about her, it’s just that she genuinely scares Pomegranate, calling her some sort of “demon child”. Originally this was going to manifest in that when she sees Pomegranate, even as a baby (since this is where it started), she would go dead silent and just stare at her, her red eyes seeing through her, and it genuinely unsettled Pomegranate, like she was convinced this kid would kill her someday. I’ve more changed it so that Licorice Cream hasn’t actually done anything weird, and rather she acts friendly towards Pomegranate, but something about this kid just feels wrong to Pomegranate and she stays away from it as much as possible. I had another idea yesterday (likely because I was watching cartoons), that Pomegranate would secretly try to get rid of this kid so that she wouldn’t bother her anymore, only for her to keep turning back up one way or another, with her parents getting increasingly protective to prevent this, meaning Pomegranate has no escape from this kid. I mean, technically Pomegranate is half right, this kid is not normal, but she’s not intentionally malicious towards her or anything. She just thinks she’s a demon child, and this was made more for comedy than anything. Also fun fact, Pomegranate’s magic has no effect on Licorice Cream, meaning Pomegranate can’t force her to go away with it

Speaking of which, so I mentioned her having red eyes being an intentional choice. Basically, sort of like Mallomar, I wanted the Strawberry Jam Sword to have some influence on Licorice Cream, though more than Mallomar. Her eyes are red less because of Dark Choco (though that is his red), and more because of SJS influence. I haven’t necessarily worked out the details, but ideas of it are that she’s immune to magic, or at least dark magic, that it’s potentially part of the reason she has such a strong interest in dark magic, maybe that because of it, if you tick her off enough she goes from friendly to eerily aggressive within a split second (though that part’s a definite maybe), and that she sometimes hears a voice in her head, or at least in her dreams, and has felt some sort of calling to find this being, though she’s not sure what it is. Also, since Dark Choco would have had the SJS at some point while she’s alive, during that time, she had a bit of an obsession with the sword, which Dark Choco found concerning, but saw it as nothing more than her innocent curiosity about the big thing that sometimes glows, similar to how he had an obsession with his father’s sword. He was more concerned about the fact that her curiosity might lead her to touch it, which ended up cursing him when he did, and is adamant to make sure his mistakes don’t repeat with her. Though later on in life, he’s noted some of her odd traits, and while he’s not sure whether the sword actually has anything to do with it, he is a bit concerned. Though not in the way that he’s afraid of her, mostly in that he’s becoming increasingly concerned that his use of Strawberry Jam Sword may have unintentionally corrupted her and he feels horribly guilty at the thought that his mistakes might have ruined/corrupted his child right from the start. She doesn’t know about it, and Licorice might have some idea, but he only thinks that these are just thoughts in his head, since Dark Choco’s prone to making himself guilty for things that aren’t his fault

Oh yeah also side note, for her relation to Gancao, despite her being younger in this drawing, Licorice Cream would be older, considering she was baked while Dark Choco was still in the group

But yeah, I think that’s about it for Licorice Cream, I hope you enjoy her

#when I started writing this I was thinking “why did I make this” #which you can probably see in the design portion #but as I went on I was more fine with it #though I should probably get back to doing actual requests #cookie run #cookie run kingdom #cookie run oc #dark choco cookie #licorice cookie #darklico #fankid #fanchild #licorice cream cookie #no the more I say it the more it sounds like a skin product #I’ll have to ask my friend if Cream Rock sounds better #my ocs #my art

[homosexualmorelikehomiesexual]

:) thank you for responding on my poll!! I think your answer kinda encapsulates what my theory for why people view it as being comedic/a black comedy but we (my parents and I) for the majority of the film didn't. You touched on the absurdity of the film, and what we kind of came to a conclusion on when watching was that other people (as in not my parents or me) found things in the Film to be absurd or over the top, where as we didn't really find much of it to be that over the top (we kinda viewed it as relatively accurate satire, but not so much comedy) minus the lunch scene after the death which we did all laugh at (we don't need your american emotions was very funny).

Anyway, you didn't say you saw it as a comedy, more so that it had aspects that were comedic, but your response did help solidify the theory a bit, even if it's the only one I have so far and therefore can't be used as accurate data lol

youre welcome :) im glad to see other ppl as invested in this as i am. and yeah, thats fair! i feel like theres also a distinction to be made between satire or comedy as genres, and satire or comedy as like...elements within a story. and i dunno that id categorize saltburn into any one genre. which, for me, is part of the appeal! i love genrebending and stories that dont fit into an easily categorizable box. i think it absolutely contains elements of satire and comedy, though i suppse theres a nitpicky point to be made that satire as a whole is generally humorous and therefore falls under the umbrella of comedy anyway. as for it being over the top...eh, yea thats up to viewer interpretation. ngl i find it pretty interesting how half the audience seems to be shocked speechless, and the other half are either lapping it up and/or deriding the first half for their reaction. to me, the thing with saltburn is it does not let you have one without the other. you cant purely find it funny or hot without having to forcibly ignore how very fucked up the context is. (which is very meta since thats what the cattons do for like.....everything, expecially the lunch scene, and i fucking love it) but you also cant romanticize the tragedy of it either - its too absurd and awkward and horny and messy. its an unflinchingly human film, and i love it dearly for that.

#finnposting #finn answers asks

[bryastar]

word salad #4

happy twilight Thursday!

today is a work day and something I'm thinking about right now is, yes just because this may be a daily blog doesn't necessarily mean I need to go into full detail about how every part of my days go. otherwise I'd be ranting about work for a vast majority of these entires.

so instead I wanna talk about... retro 3D platformers

a while back I came across a game called Cavern of Dreams. it claims itself to be inspired by retro 3D platformers. it features low poly graphics and textures with simple lighting effects, reminiscent of late N64 games. the gameplay feels very much like if Conker's Bad fur day was lighthearted and wholesome. what's also neat is camera controls are more reminiscent of later games, Mario sunshine and Zelda wind waker immediately come to mind for me. I've gotten through the first part of the game and really loving it so far, and the controls are probably the best I've seen in a long time.

but while thinking about this, I sorta made a bit of a realization... growing up, games like this were referred to as adventure games instead of 3d platformers. heck, I don't think I've seen the term "platformer" until around the mid 2000s. even Mario games I think we're more well known as action adventure games, or Zelda games being a puzzle adventure. PC adventure games tend to be point and click games, which is vastly different than what consoles typically offered. I personally think that NSMB for the DS may be in part why we now make this distinction as the 2D Mario games play vastly different than their 3D games, notably being easier to pick up and play.

but while on this thought train, I sorta began to wonder what sort of similarities that 3D platformers from this era had vs a point and click adventure game. what I ended up deciding on was: exploration. point and click games, you topically make progress by exploring the world around you and finding clues and solving puzzles by exploring the environment and talking to npcs. 3d platformers is... actually kinda the same, while typically focusing on item collecting, many similar elements show up such as exploring worlds and finding ways to progress by interacting with the levels and different characters.

while on that thought about collecting items...

a lot of late 90s and early 2000s platformers would feature collecting a long list of items. one prominent example is donkey Kong 64, which tends to be known as the game that killed collectathons. I have some thoughts on but I'll save for another entry, but I guess I will say that calling such games a collectathon very much misses the point of what the game is actually about. is it a game where you are sent out into a level and made to collect all the random items scattered on the ground, or is it a game where you're friends have been captured and your hoard of bananas have been stolen and you must rescue your friends and recover your bananas in order to progress while learning new moves and meeting interesting creatures who either help you or try to intervene. I dunno about most, but I like the latter premise better. (or maybe I out much more weight on a storyline for a game as opposed to the gameplay)

I hope this entry wasn't too hard or confusing to read, I guess I'm mostly rambling and jotting down bits and pieces of what's in my mind when I get a couple minutes of free time.

uhm..

pineapples (I need a better way to end these aa)

#mlp #my little pony #bryastart #twilight sparkle #bryart #journal #word salad #3d platformers #adventure games #action games #collectathon #nintendo #n64 #retro video games #retro gaming #retro aesthetic #banjo kazooie #super mario 64 #super mario sunshine #zelda #point and click

[elytrafemme]

hello it is me the same annon who was too tired for their own good last night talking about cough syrup!

so hi, i’m still not fully caught up and i’m a little scared to be left off at a cliff hanger at this point (i just finished chapter 20)

but i’m here once again to say holy smaker doodle i love your writing soooo much!!!! like it’s hard for me to pin down but like every character feels so full??? i guess three dimensional but that just makes me think of floating geometric 3-d models.

this is one of the first things i’ve read where i’ve imagined distinct houses! huzzah!!

also i am loving cs!beeduo (the dynamic and the individual characters)

a random note is that when reading chapter 20?? 18??? (i’m forgetting which chapter has what specific event but i think it was 20) i noticed the random note that cs!ranboo had like been blessed with extra testosterone. and i was like yo!!! because im afab and actually have like a large “excess” of testosterone and for a bit i was put on hormone pills to counteract it? idk it was a while ago and i don’t go to the doctor about it because i don’t care about the side effects (got that not cis swag or whatever)

anyway the point of this (which i apologize if this above is tmi, i’m bad at recognizing stuff) is that i keep finding more and more ways to relate to cs!ranboo in very obscure ways but also i feel seen in obscure ways so hey, that’s a win!

also just everything in cough syrup feels so colorful??? like the descriptions and stuff, specifically of emotions and internal thoughts. colorful is the best word i can think of to describe it

i’m just having a great deal of fun and stuff reading, so i’m ever so grateful that it was written! i’m very excited to see this series through to the end!

(also as a last note im in love with the qpr rep and stuff because i never see it often, and i rarely see it portrayed in a relatable way)

OMG HIIII ANON HI!!! good 2 see u again!

fwiw the chapter coming out on tuesday isnt too much of a cliffhanger i would say? i am not great at cliffhangers so i dont tend to do them a lot LMFAO

OH MY GOD THANK U SO MUCH!!!!! i try to flesh out the characters as much as possible-- i felt honestly a bit bad having secondary characters just being flat, so i tried my best to give all of them a bit of story whether they're static characters (like techno) or dynamic ones (like niki)!! so that means a lot thank u so so much!

my pal sophia told me a while ago that they envisioned like a specific house too and thats honestly so so cool to hear cos like i only barely have a vision of what everyone's place looks like? so hearing that means loads <333

YES YES YES YES I'M SO GLAD U NOTICED THAT DETAIL! not too ramble too much about myself but i also have some health issues that may possibly pertain to my chemicals (that's yet to be seen) but that kind of set me thinking, like. i dunno i never really read anything that talked too much about that and i wanted to see how that element would intersect with cs!ranboo's perceptions of his own gender (not in like that being what controls these perceptions, rather if that gives him euphoria/dysphoria/nothing etc)! i'm trying to work on including more like diverse perspectives and experiences especially ones i haven't fully had and i do think in some ways that cough syrup lacks a lot of representation (wish i had written more physically disabled characters but i definitely think retconning in that is worse, just kind of a note for future me to work on) i've been working on that. and that's just something that i felt very alone in with my own experiences but even though it's not the same for csranboo as it is me i think that's even more reason to include it. if that makes sense? anyway i'm just glad u liked that <333

ohhhh im so glad... i love colors :D

im so grateful for U this made me so so happy thank u friend!!!

(ofc! i never knew a ton about qprs until i got into this fandom and learning that helped me with figuring out i'm arospec! i definitely try my best to write them as realistically as possible, there's a lot of variation in qprs but i def do my best yeah!!! really happy people like it ik everyone has their own thoughts on how cbeeduo is best portrayed in terms of relationships but i like switching it up and for what cough syrup is about and how i wrote those characters that felt really important to me.)

#nightmare.ask #nightmare.cough-syrup #nightmare.fave #this gen means so so so so so much to me #long post #srrry i rambled a LOT

[rhyske]

the only horror game I've ever played was Alien Isolation and I got so scared I cried hahah. but yeah, I can watch some playthroughs on youtube because it feels like it's a bit more of a distance to it. sometimes even that is too scary for me and I just look up explained or theory videos haha. zombies, however, are something that I have little interest in, partly because of a phobia I struggled with for some years. a phobia of decaying things and zombies are kinda close to that! even playing Halo (which I love) has some zombie-ish elements and I just remember feeling really nauseous while playing those levels. 😅

yeah, Ikemen Sengoku was a mobile game, while monetization was egregious, I liked the concept with the story and the romance.

people should be able to enjoy what they want without shame IMO. My brother often makes fun of me for my hyper fixations so I've learned not to care what others think.

what are your top 5 otome games? ^^ 💜

Oh man I remember when Alien Isolation came out. I can't even imagine playing it. The stress alone would kill me! 😆 A lot of horror games have really interesting lore. Have you heard of Outlast? That was a wild one.

Oh no! D: That sucks you have a phobia like that, but it's also kinda a healthy one? At least you won't be exposing yourself to bad stuff, y'know? I used to have a lot of zombie dreams as a kid, and in almost every one I'd kill myself before the zombies could get to me. If I ever did face zombies in real life, I feel that phobia. I wouldn't want them anywhere near me.

I will never forget the utter terror and confusion the Flood had to little middle school me playing Halo for the first time.

Yeah mobile games are notorious for their absolutely terrible monetization practices, which does suck cause some have really good ideas.

I always get self aware of my hyper fixations. At the very least I try to not drown other people in it, since that has to get annoying for others. I'm glad you decided to not care 💕 Learning how to just let people be mean and not take it personally is such a life changer.

Oh gosh. Okay, uh. Code:Realize and Hakuoki I will always sing praises for. Hakuoki was my first ever otome, and was also the first officially localized Japanese otome to ever be brought to the west, so it has a very near and dear place in my heart. Code:Realize has the best MC I've ever seen in the genre. Her character development, the fact that she isn't some helpless girl and in fact saves herself and others is such a breath of fresh air. Her horologium is actually one of my tattoos! Code:Realize also has a great steampunk medieval London setting going too, and it actually was the first time I was introduced to steampunk!

Let's see... Aloners by @sonnet009games is a game I come back to at least every year. There's such a charm to it, and Trash is such a deep, fascinating character. The personality options are amazing, and Trash actually responds to those personalities. This is one of the few games where no choice except one very obvious one changes what ending you get, so there's no stress on choosing a "correct" option.

A more recent one that gripped my mind for weeks is Gilded Shadows by @steamberrystudio. New routes are still being released as free DLC, but my gods is the world building alone just absolutely fascinating. Like, I was that one meme of the guy in front of a wall trying to connect everything together 😆 Each route would add something to the lore and I'd be that other meme of the guy pointing. Each route too has such a distinct love interest, and the banter. The banter.

I have one more to finish the list. Hmmm... I dunno if I'll ever actually play this game again, but Cafe Enchanté is one I will absolutely never forget. It had such a sharp genre change that still to this day has me shaken. It makes you think it's all happy and light and it'll be like, a cute cafe slice of life with supernaturals involved but everything about that game is fucked up. Each love interest comes from a world that has something so intrinsically wrong with it, and piecing the overall mystery and history together blew my mind. Every new route I started had me anxious to see just how dark and messed up it was going to go, and I was never left disappointed. The final, unlockable route had me sobbing so hard that I had to put my Switch down for a little bit because I couldn't see past my tears.

This ended up being kinda more of a review of my top 5, like a "you should play these and this is why." Oops 😅

(adding on that Animal Lover is also really good and recently got a port for all consoles and is also one I highly enjoy)

#asks #i answer #i talk #purple heart anon #sweetheart anon

[seveneyesoup]

was gonna reblog some gender angst post i made a while ago bc i am feeling it once again but i can’t find it so now this is a post complaining about the tumblr search function instead. boooo tumblr search function let me find my own posts that i know i made.

#don’t reblog this? idk why you’d want to in the first place but #a Lot of the resources for questioning people are for like. people who are just now questioning and previously thought they were cis? #and mostly for binary trans people and it’s stuff like if you could wake up tomorrow and be a sex of your choosing what would it be? #and there’s a lot of like. posts from people who are like considering using a different gender than the already-trans one they’d been using #but it’s just like. haha relatable posts right vs like. more helpful stuff ig #and it’s not anyone’s job to help me w this yk so it’s whatever but it would be nice yk #dunno. there’s also an element of like. i think i have a distinct feeling for it but no idea how to interpret or visualize that????? #so while it would help to like try presenting in a style more aligned w that i don’t know what that might Be #idk. right now it’s not like. serious but i’ve felt these kinds of vibes before and over time they will be #and. not to be vulnerable on main or in fact anywhere. but i kind of don’t want it to be. i Like my current gender and presentation yk #and. the really fun part is whatever the new stuff is i think it’s gonna come with dysphoria. so that’s lovely. #again feel free to ignore this it doesn’t really require a response #but like last time if you. know me personally and would like to talk about this w me you are free to #you’re under no obligation either way i’ll figure it out eventually

[darktypeimagines]

Another little thing

So, I found another thing that may be of interest.  I haven’t seen anyone talking about it, so here we go:

Now, the roaring.  In Ralsei’s explanation, we see what are (apparently) three titans:

Notice their “faces.”  I’m pretty sure this has been pointed out, but it looks awfully familiar..

(You’re filled with determination!)

Or perhaps?

“Power?”

As far as I can tell, the distinction between “power” and “determination” has not be cleared up yet.  Regardless though...

Have you checked out some of the official merch?  In particular, a certain T-shirt (that Toby apparently designed with a ball point mouse?!)

I’d zoom in, but I don’t think it’s necessary.  Again, look at the face.  It’s a little distorted (prolly cause Toby was drawing with a mouse), but doesn’t that look oddly similar to the Titans?  The shirt is called Stay Determined, which you can find on the Fangamer site.  Another link to determination!  However, I find the fact that this design element is not just used HERE for Asriel, but also for the Titans.  It’s one of those things that doesn’t seem to be a coincidence.

Now, what does that mean?  I dunno.  I know a lot of people who post these kinds of things like to make predictions, but I’m not really going that far. Obviously, you could draw some potential theories, but this is just a weird, tiny thing I wanted to point out, so I’m not doing major predictions.

It could be a link to Asriel, who is called “The G*d of Hyperde*th,” after all.  Or, perhaps its a link to “g*d-like” beings in general?  From what little we know of the Titans, they seems to possess incredible power. Thus, this could be a symbolic visual (the determination/power symbol on the face) that Toby is using to indicate “g*dlike” power, whatever that may end up meaning.  There’s certainly enough references to G*d, ang*ls, and the like in this game.  Or, as I said earlier, it could be some sort of Asriel link.  OR it could be both.  

Or... maybe it’s nothing at all. :)

Either way, I just figured I’d point it out.  I only poke into the DR tag every once in a while, so feel free to let me know if this has already been discussed!

#asriel #deltarune #undertale #deltarune theory #i guess #deltarune spoilers #delta rune spoilers #utdr #not-an-imagine #sorry if you saw this twice #the asterisks are so hopefully tumblr doesn't block this #like it did before #please tumblr just let me post things... #either that or it was the link to the shirt which I removed...

[sepublic]

My Coven Head Autobiography Dream

           Last night I had an incredibly insane dream. It was one of those really huge, spanning dreams with transitions that make no sense, but within the dream you never questioned it, and multiple phases and ‘arcs’ that are completely disconnected. But one part in particular caught my attention, because…

           There was a bit where I was in this HUGE library for this university of sorts. Emira and Edric were trying to do some sort of inane project/assignment for the Head of the Oracle Coven (dunno why, they’re in Illusions) and of course they can’t do anything about him putting them through a ton of frustrating antics. The assignment was for Edric technically, but Emira felt obligated to help out, and also because Edric begged her; As did KING, because it was an assignment for King AND Edric? They were doing this together? Within the dream, I was glad to see those two interact, it was an interaction and dynamic I hoped to see, but regardless… 

          There was a bit where far off, Emira spotted a book they were looking for and lashed out with an illusion lasso like from Adventures in the Elements, snagging onto it before anyone else could take it, as she reached out with all of her strength, stretching her arm so Edric and King could grab it; Only to realize it was the wrong book, the actual book was on the other side of the shelf as she was exasperated and frustrated with the two.

            Eventually they got past the Oracle Head’s smugness over the thing, and once the assignment was done, they were no longer beholden to him- So then the twins began tormenting the Oracle Head with their illusions and pranks. While that dude was trying to survive, I remembered something I saw in the midst of the twins and King’s antics in the library, and I glimpsed what seemed to be an autobiography… But with the Oracle Head’s face on it, complete with his sharp-toothed grin! I went around the shelf and located it and was ecstatic for the lore;

           It WAS an autobiography from him, with his name something along the lines of B-something, Van something-ican. I can’t remember the exact name, alas. The first few pages curiously showed an illustration and description of the Oracle Head’s daughter, some very goth, emo, edgy teenager; Who was now dead! And I wondered if the Oracle Head was aligned with Belos to resurrect his daughter, and/or if his study in Oracle magic had something to do with communing with the dead, in this case his deceased child…

           Anyhow I went on, as I got a closer look at the Oracle Head with an illustration. He had a necklace with large orbs strung on it, each one with a swirl-like pattern, each somewhat distinct. Morbidly, the Oracle Head explained that in the past, he’d done multiple campaigns to get elected for a certain position; I don’t think the dream specified, but it was probably for his placement as Head of the Oracle Coven. Turns out, each time he campaigned, he sacrificed another witch’s soul to create one of those orbs, which would grant him good luck and protection- But the orb only lasted until the election was over. Lo and behold, the Oracle Head failed a couple of elections, so he had to go through multiple souls before he finally succeeded…

           It was some ghastly stuff, and I wondered if one of those orbs was made from his daughter’s soul; If despite his remorse and regret, the Oracle Head sacrificed his own child just to succeed! And I wondered if this was meant to be some dark parallel between him and Lilith, who both threw a loved one under the bus- But Lilith never went that far and didn’t always meant to, at least… The Oracle Head, on the other hand, had the audacity to go through with it anyway, and then mourn his fallen daughter as if HE hadn’t killed her! Likewise, I speculated as to why the Oracle Head held onto his previous orbs, now that they were burnt out; As a tribute to those who’d given their lives for him, unwillingly? Or as some sick and twisted trophy of victory?

           I rushed to the TOH wikia –because I was somehow a part of and separate from the in-universe world- and I was the first to record the lore dump from the Oracle Head’s autobiography. As I got to work learning how to cite sources and whatnot, I wondered if perhaps all of the other Coven Heads were like this, as dark parallels to Lilith… What if they had ALL been young witches, who were faced with a moral dilemma to achieve a dream; And like Lilith, they remembered what Belos said about greatness requiring sacrifices, and so went through with it? The exact circumstances and heinousness of their ‘sacrifices’ likely varied, with some more guilty and remorseless than others, but the underlying them was the same; Lilith could’ve been them, and vice-versa. Each Head was influenced as a kid to do that, to follow in Belos’ footsteps…

           Anyhow, I became obsessed with finding the rest of the autobiographies for each Coven Head. I consulted a science teacher from an earlier part of my dream (she vaguely resembled my eight-grade science teacher), and she explained in a mystical, mysterious tone that while these books were in the school, no one had ever found them, hidden as they were amidst countless other books and whatnot; But I surmised that if it was alphabetically ordered, then I just needed to use the names of the Coven Heads I knew for reference! I only knew one another Coven Head’s name, the head of the Plant Coven; Botanica, a name that was actually from some other franchise I knew in real life, that had found its way into my dream. I reasoned that Botanica’s autobiography should be near the Oracle Head’s because they both started with a B.

           The teacher was impressed and decided to be level and give me a hint on my quest; Botanica’s autobiography was actually elsewhere. She gave me a hint or two about it not being in the library, outside, and I ‘remembered’ (I’d never actually encountered this location before in my dream) a small little garden outside, on the outskirts of the building. I rushed off, hitched a ride on some giant wagon-transport travelling around the building, and hopped off to a humble little area with a few benches and little stairs leading up to one another, and a BUNCH of fallen leaves.

           I knew I had to do a bunch of side quests essentially to unlock these autobiographies, and I guess also out of the goodness of my heart, I began to help clean up the leaves and dump them into a bin. Another witch showed up, SHE resembled a piece of fanart I’d seen earlier in real life of this other character (I have it saved on my phone), and she was clearly affiliated with Botanica, possibly an aide or apprentice. She noted my good work and began to help me, and it was clear that this would lead to an encounter with Botanica herself, or at least her autobiography as a sidequest reward. I got the feeling that despite being affiliated with Belos, Botanica legit had a loving, nurturing care for her plants, and I wondered how this conflicted and worked with Belos’ crueler conquests and control. Did Botanica ally with Belos because his coven system would protect her plants? I wasn’t sure.

           …Anyhow, then I woke up, etc. It was an incredibly surreal dream that makes me all the more eager to get to know the Coven Heads, their relationship to Belos, their backstory, their motives and whatnot, how they feel about Lilith and vice-versa; And any potential parallels between characters among them.

#the owl house #the owl house edric #edric blight #the owl house emira #emira blight #the owl house king #coven heads #oracle coven #plant coven #dreams #one time i dreamt #speculation

[incomingalbatross]

If I can still offer suggestions for the "things I'd like to see you write" ask meme: Starfleet chaplain Father Brown. What Holmes was really up to during retirement. And I'm still curious about the "RTD doesn't understand hobbits" meta you mentioned ages ago.

Thank you!

I will say that I do not feel remotely qualified to write Starfleet chaplain Father Brown, but I love that concept so much... I do definitely want to read it.

---

I do want to develop a theory I can stand by on Holmes’ retirement!! Currently I am trying to restrict myself to things that could fit into canon without too obviously catering to my tastes specifically. :P (I have an answer that fits my Modern Holmes AU, but that incorporates fantasy/supernatural elements, and I don’t want to make those essential to any of the original Canon as it lives in my head. It’s hard to articulate the distinction, but it’s there.)

---

...So. I started to write some bullet points for that essay, and...here it is. Or at least here’s a decent first draft. I have’t watched any 10 in a while, so it’s not as well-sourced as I’d like, but it’s here!

(WARNING: Anti-RTD content ahead. If you’re a fan of his era, maybe just scroll past this post.)

So, the essence of hobbit-ness is that 

they love the mundane, prosaic and ordinary with a deep love, 

this love is not incompatible with a love for the extraordinary, the wondrous, or adventures, 

the best and strongest heroes are motivated by their love for the ordinary, 

you don’t have to be cool or special or Set Apart to be a hero, you just have to do the job in front of you and keep doing it.

RTD’s era occasionally pays lip service to these ideas, but on a deeper level consistently goes against them.

His companions often dislike their normal lives (Rose in particular), and certainly think them inferior to TARDIS life.

Ordinary people who are content with ordinary lives are often portrayed as comical, small-minded, less worth taking seriously: see Jackie, and post-memory-wipe Donna, who we’re supposed to feel is jarringly diminished by having lost memories of the TARDIS even though she is still herself. 

Our heroes are often separated from what they’re fighting for, sometimes in a tragic Frodo-ish way but also, often, because they seem to care more for the fight than the cause: see Rose and 10 treating Queen Victoria like a fun tourist attraction instead of a real actual person (I can absolutely see why she got fed up with them). The narrative is more likely to dismiss the great mass of people the Doctor just saved than to show us that, “Wow, they were so absolutely worth it.”

The human characters become Cool and Real Heroes in direct proportion to how much they are distanced from their roots and made like the Doctor. This is particularly evident in S4, with Rose appearing in a leather jacket spouting technobabble (I’ve seen multiple Rose fans highlight those echoes of the Doctor, and I think they’re right to consider it a conscious decision on RTD’s part), and with Donna. DONNA. She gets her Summit of Coolness, when “for one moment, one shining moment, she was the most important woman in the whole wide universe”... and how does she get there? What’s the best Donna’s ever been, according to the show? The DoctorDonna. The absolute best version of Donna RTD could come up with is the one where her self is half-overwritten by the Doctor’s.

A couple moments that I think illustrate these themes especially well:

ROSE: Get up, catch the bus, go to work, come back home, eat chips and go to bed? Is that it? MICKEY: It's what the rest of us do. ROSE: But I can't! MICKEY: Why, because you're better than us? ROSE: No, I didn't mean that. But it was. It was a better life. And I don't mean all the travelling and seeing aliens and spaceships and things. That don't matter. The Doctor showed me a better way of living your life. You know he showed you too. That you don't just give up. You don't just let things happen. You make a stand. You say no. You have the guts to do what's right when everyone else just runs away, and I just can't (Rose runs out of the cafe.)

The idea that “going to work, coming back home” is somehow a downgrade instead of the fundamental beauty and worth of human life is...characteristic, I think. And while Rose does follow that by saying that she “can’t” be normal not because it was “a better life” on account of the adventures, but because it involved making a stand and doing what’s right... that just pushes the fallacy a little deeper, because now she’s saying that you can only make a stand and do what’s right in any meaningful way away from home, as an adventure. That there are no battles to be fought, nothing to fight for, in the course of “going to work, coming back home.”

Then there’s “End of Time”:

WILF: No really, just leave me. I'm an old man, Doctor. I've had my time. DOCTOR: Well, exactly. Look at you. Not remotely important. But me? I could do so much more. So much more! But this is what I get. My reward. And it's not fair! Oh. Oh. I've lived too long.

I know the Doctor follows this by making the sacrifice. But...what kind of hero says things like that out loud? What kind of hero thinks “I ought to live instead of you”? And the thing is...I feel like we’re supposed to feel it’s tragically unjust. We’re supposed to feel the Doctor is worth more, because...what? The man he’s saving won’t live as long as the Doctor would have? The man he’s saving is human?

Those lines should never have been said, because they never should have been presented as a perspective with any validity. The Doctor should have enough love and reverence for life that he jumps to save this life for its own sake, sacrificing himself because he feels Wilf is worth it, and not because he feels the unjust universe is somehow making him do it. That’s not necessary to being a good person, but it is necessary to being the type of hero that the Doctor usually is.

And “School Reunion”:

SARAH: I waited for you. I missed you. DOCTOR: Oh, you didn't need me. You were getting on with your life. SARAH: You were my life. You know what the most difficult thing was? Coping with what happens next, or with what doesn't happen next. You took me to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, you showed me supernovas, intergalactic battles, and then you just dropped me back on Earth. How could anything compare to that? DOCTOR: All those things you saw, do you want me to apologise for that? SARAH: No, but we get a taste of that splendour and then we have to go back.

...I have SUCH conflicted feelings about this episode. On the one hand, I adore Sarah, and K-9, and seeing those reunions, and I really love how much this episode meant to David Tennant, and this basically got us the Sarah Jane Adventures which are way up there on my favorite DW content ever. On the other hand...this is such an injustice to Sarah. They took one of the strongest, most independently adventurous characters in all of Classic Who and reduced her to this...droopy, pining figure, who it’s implied spent the last thirty years moping around because Nothing On Earth Can Compare To The Doctor’s Life! :( :( :(

(And then of course SJA itself proved that wasn’t the case, by presenting her as having a life full of adventures and contacts and importance entirely without the Doctor. Which is part of why I love it--although the other part is that everyday life is presented as precious and important, because she has a kid and the problems of Kids and Family and Parenthood are given full weight. <3 )

In short: I think that, on the whole, RTD’s era expresses his own biases towards believing that Cool Adventures and Special Powers and Being Important are inherently worth more than Normal Life and Normal People and Home--which is the antithesis of everything Tolkien embodied in hobbits and the Shire. It’s also not Chestertonian, incidentally, or Narnian (see Rose’s speech above--there’s a reason the Pevensies had to go home eventually, and learn to see Aslan and His work in their own world).

(It’s not entirely like that, of course, but I feel like even the episodes that revolve around the Doctor being Tragically Unable to have a Normal Life do so by...exoticizing the idea? I dunno. We always know it’s not going to happen, and it’s not supposed to happen, so I feel like it’s always a little hollow. And it’s definitely outweighed, in terms of quantity, by the sheer number of instances where being a normie is completely dismissed.)

So there’s my essay! :P

[365days365movies]

January 17, 2021: Atomic Blonde (Epilogue)

I genuinely really enjoyed this film! And then...about 2 minutes after it ended...I started to think. And I continued to think. I wrote those two posts, and then took a little bit more time to think.

And then...I came to my final realization.

John Wick REALLY screwed this movie. Because the perception of this movie for most, myself included, was that of a new John Wick, with a female protagonist. A lot of people referred to it as “Jane Wick.” But it’s definitely not John Wick. It’s trying to be a spy movie, especially like James Bond films.

But the problem is...it isn’t either. To be a spy movie, it tries a little too hard with a pretty standard plot. And then, it intercuts that with John Wick-caliber fight sequences, detracting from the spy movie aesthetic. And then, because you do have those fight scenes, but still need to fit in the spy stuff, it creates a distinct disparity in tone and pace throughout the movie.

In other words...let’s get to the Recap. I have some more thoughts. And don’t worry! Many of them are positive. Just...not all of them.

Recap

Cast and Acting

Let’s start, of course, with Charlize Theron. Outside of the action sequences, Theron goes well as Broughton, portraying the tough character traits we see in spy characters like her and James Bond. And with the character she’s given, Theron does wonderfully. James McAvoy, on the other hand, seems like he’s having a HELL of a lot of fun with his role. He’s an underrated actor, honestly, and it’s very cool to see him play this sort-of anarchist punk spy. Sofia Boutella also deserves a shout-out for Delphine, playing her character’s naivete well, as well as remaining likeable. Also, Bill Skarsgård deserves a shout-out! I liked Merkel a lot, even despite his shorter screentime. Goodman, Jones, Marsan all do fine in their roles. The USSR characters...eh. They aren’t really given much spotlight...which is weird, given the fact that this is a Cold War drama, but OK. Basically, we’re going with an 9/10. Great; not the best I’ve ever seen all around, but still great!

Plot and Writing

Yeah...here’s the thing. I might like this movie, but the plot’s kind of a massive mess. Writing’s fine, but the plot is both extremely cliche spy movie, while also being extremely muddled in terms of story. Remember what I said up there about this film trying to be both a spy movie and John Wick, and that not working really well? Yeah, basically that. It attempts to balance the two concepts, but also corrupts what makes those concepts work in the first place. The Bourne Identity is arguably a better version of that combination. It’s too bad, because elements of the plot really take away from the rest of the movie. 

And then...there’s the tacked on ending. Because, yeah, the whole American spy thing? Wasn’t in the original graphic novel. What I genuinely think they should’ve done was end it RIGHT at the interview’s terminus. Or, at least, right as she greets Bremovych as Satchel, as is done in the original novel. And, just to be clear, I thought this BEFORE reading the book. That ending feels...pander-y, for lack of a better term. I realize that we always want our protagonists to be heroic, but how great would it have been if Lorraine actually was kind of a villain? I dunno, I think not adding that extra twist at the end makes the movie stronger and more provocative, in a good way. Sorry, Kurt Johnstad, I know you did a good job on a technical standpoint, but...5/10 here.

Directing and Action

David Leitch, Jonathan Sela, and Sam Hargrave, the director, cinematographer, and stunt coordinator/fight choreographer, respectively. Full points for the action sequences, because MAN, those were some good action sequences! Rough and gritty, but extremely well-choreographed and shot at the same time, the action deserves the praise that it’s gotten. How about the cinematography? Stylistic, and very bold colors make this film very memorable. But...they don’t have much clear tie-in to the theming, and I think there’s some missed opportunity there. And the direction overall is great, even if I don’t think it’s perfect. It is Leitch’s first film as solo director, after all. 8/10!

Production and Art Design

Changed the title of this section! Turns out that I’ve been conflating the two concepts, so let’s include them both from now on, shall we? But OK, what did I think of it? Costume design was iconic...in the case for Charlize Theron, at least. James McAvoy a little bit, too, but it’s clear that Cindy Evans focused more upon Charlize than anyone else in the film, really. Which, for a spy, isn’t the best of ideas. Still, that combined with Zsuzsa Kismarty-Lechner’s art direction for the sets and set pieces (almost all of which are splashed with graffiti, in a very 1980′s flair) do bring you back to the time period in which the film is set. This, of course, is also due to the work of David Scheunmann, the production designer who’s actually from Berlin, and whose experiences were vital into making this film look as good as it does. If you’re not sold on the set design, check out the differences, obvious and subtle, between West and East Germany in the film. While some of it is clear, some of it carries some surprisingly subtle messaging (Stalker and Tetris, for example). So, even if Charlize got most of the costume attention, a lot of credit should be given to this movie. 8/10 for this one!

Music and Editing

Maybe the most well-known aspect of this movie, outside of the dramatic lighting, is the ‘80s soundtrack. Some love it, some criticize it quite a bit for overwhelming the film. And honestly...I think they’re both right? Here’s the thing, the music is great, and some of it is used in unexpectedly creative ways that critics didn’t seem to pick up on. Biggest and best example of this is Nena’s 99 Luftballons. That song if you didn’t know, is inspired by the separation between East and West Berlin. It’s literally a song about the cost of political strife, leading to war between countries over something as trivial as a red balloon. And when do they play it during the movie? When Bremovych is waging interrogating young East Berliners celebrating the culture of the west. It’s surprisingly profound! However...using Flock of Seagulls’ I Ran during a chase scene is...less so. That’s one’s a little on the nose, let’s be honest here. And that basically sums up the music for the movie. It’s all good music, but it’s either used well, or it just isn’t. Also, there actually is music composed for this movie, by Tyler Bates, and it is good...but I had to listen to the soundtrack to remember that it was even in the movie. So, yeah, not fantastic.

OK, how about the editing? The flashback sequence intercuts as part of the movie have been criticized by some for interfering with the pace and tone. And...eh. Wasn’t too much of a problem for me, to be honest. And other than that, it didn’t stand out too much to me. I’m finding that editing is the hardest thing to judge in these movies, but who knows? I think this little project might improve my film judgment skills. Also, those long shots? Not true long shots, as they were edited in post. So, good job to Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir! Overall, though, this category’s getting a 7/10 from me.

That’d be a...68% Really?

I’m legitimately surprised, because I do like this movie! Really, I do! But breaking it up piece by piece...it’s only really OK. My personal preference doesn’t necessarily dictate my score, and vice verse. So, I like this movie...even if it’s not as good as it can be. It’s a distinctive and stylish film with great action, and if you wanna see Charlize Theron be cool and kick ass, then WATCH THIS MOVIE! 

And by the way, I didn’t touch too much upon the fact that this is the rare bisexual protagonist, and this is Tumblr, so I know that that’s something you guys know. And honestly...eh. Fact of the matter is that it’s a part of her character, but...we don’t really get to know the real her throughout the entire movie, so...is it? I’m honestly not sure. But, representation is representation, I get it. Also, fun fact, Delphine actually is in the graphic novel, but as a guy. So, interesting change, that!

OK, I think we’re done with the spy movies for a bit, now. Let’s switch subgenres a day. Let’s inject a little more adventure into this month, and let’s trade fists...with swords. It’s swashbuckler time.

January 18, 2021: The Mask of Zorro

#Atomic Blonde #David Leitch #Charlize Theron #Lorraine Broughton #James McAvoy #David Percival #Eddie Marsan #John Goodman #Toby Jones #sofia boutella #Bill Skarsgård #roland møller #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #user365 #movie challenge #action january

[notwhatiam]

Tumblr Questions Meme

I was tagged by @missroserose and this looked like fun. Bear in mind that it's 3am and I have two needy cats by my side, so my answers might not be entirely coherent.

How did you choose your URL?

One of the most fulfilling roles that I have ever played was Viola in Twelfth Night (not just because of the play and character, but because some of my best friends and memories came from that production). For those unfamiliar with the story, there's a moment in Act III, scene i where Olivia is hardcore flirting with Viola (who is disguised as a man). Viola tells Olivia that she thinks she is "not what she is", Olivia retorts that she thinks the same of Viola, to which Viola responds, "then think you right; I am NOT what I am." I always found that line hilarious, because ha-ha, she's actually a woman, but also because there's an element of metatheatricality to it: it's being said by an actor who is, inevitably, not what they are. Plus, ambiguous gender stuff is very fitting.

(Iago also says a similar line in Othello, but I don't have personal memories associated with that instance--yet.)

2. any side-blogs? if you have them, name them and why you have them.

Not... officially? I have distinct memories of making at least three other accounts, but they're either inactive now or related to specific projects, so I don't really count them as "side blogs", per se.

3. how long have you been on tumblr?

I dunno, like... six months? Not long.

4. do you have a queue tag?

No, but I definitely know what a "queue" is and what people use them for.

5. why did you start your blog in the first place?

I had always kind of wanted to start one, but never kept up with it. The thing that finally got me to stick around was my passing interest (ahem, complete obsession) with the Locked Tomb, and my desire to view amazing fanart and fics.

6. why did you choose your icon/pfp?

It was the best thing to come out of my Harrow photoshoot back in December. It was 2am, I was in full costume, and I'd been fully possessed by the spirit of a trash-making soup goblin... I mean, a soup-making trash goblin. In a moment of (completely unplanned) photographic serendipity, the picture came out EXACTLY how I picture that scene. I still kind of lose my shit every time I look at it.

7. why did you choose your header?

Because black coffee is my lifeblood, and I relate to Five Hargreeves way more than I should.

8. what’s your post with the most notes?

I can't remember off the top of my head, and I don't know how to do that thing where you link to another post in-text, but it's either my post about Tamsyn Muir writing an Eeby Deeby joke or my meme of that kid's tiger poem except it's about Alecto.

9. how many mutuals do you have?

I dunno... twelve? What's a normal amount of mutuals to have? How do you even find that information on this godforsaken website?

10. how many followers do you have?

No clue, but rest assured, it's not that many.

11. how many people do you follow?

It feels like a lot, but I'm not entirely sure.

12. have you ever made a shitpost?

If you're here, you already know the answer to that. The question is whether I've ever made a post that WASN'T shitty (and the answer is no).

13. how often do you use tumblr each day?

How OFTEN? I mean, I open the app at least a few times a day, but I usually don't do much. I probably spend a half an hour to an hour on here every day, depending on how much is going on in my fandoms.

14. did you have a fight/argument with another blog once? who won?

Not yet, but I would fight each and every one of you (*as a joke, and only about stupid shit-- please don't come for me. I WILL cry*).

15. how do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Fuck you. Don't tell me what to do. My awful blog is mine and mine alone.

16. do you like tag games?

I like participating, but not tagging, because I don't have that many real-life friends on here and I feel awkward about tagging relative strangers.

17. do you like ask games?

Yeah. Ask me stuff.

18. which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

"Tumblr famous" is quite relative, don't you think?

19. do you have a crush on a mutual?

Romantically? No. I have some squishes, though.

20. tags?

Like I said, I don't tag people, but do it if you want.

#tag #tag meme #tags #tagged #about me #tag games #tumblr games #my stuff

[lilyhoshikawa]

I know there’s a growing trend on the internet as persona becomes more mainstream and broadly popular as a franchise to consider it cringe to like persona or make fun of ppl who are really into persona 5, but just like… fuck, man. Persona is so good. The aesthetic is SO strong, when u load up any persona game u are instantly hit with its vibes and it’s infectious. P5 has the strongest aesthetic throughline thanks to modern graphics but every game I’ve played has had a really strong thematic sense and it’s just extremely endearing

This isn’t even getting into like. The story, themes and characters, the music (which also has a very strong throughline for each respective game with each persona game following 3 devoting itself to a particular musical genre) are all really compelling, to the point where even when plots feel contrived and stupid or gameplay gets monotonous or I’m faced with a bunch of bland social links or even in the worst case of the plot being outright offensive and gross, there’s a lot to love in every persona game for its positive elements in spite of its bad elements. There’s a lot of stuff I still love about Persona 4, a game that I think is the weakest in the series on almost all fronts and find extremely frustrating

Obviously the games aren’t perfect and I have loads of problems with every game in the series but like, that aside, the reason these games have such staying power is bc of the strong and distinct aesthetic and thematic character they’ve taken on. The work that goes into designing everything around that central aesthetic really sells it, and makes for games that are infectiously enjoyable, and I dunno, I think that’s really neat. It’s interesting seeing a series I’ve loved for a long time that has played an important role in my life, for better or for worse at times, continue to grow and be recognized by pop culture, and to examine the reasons people love it, and why I love it. I just think it’s nifty, yknow?

#I have no clue what the fuck I’m talking abt I’m just ramblin #rambles

[tyrantisterror]

TT’S GONNA RECOMMEND SOME SELF-PUBLISHED KAIJU FICTION

Because the mood struck me

(and also because I’ve been meaning to give these a full fledged reviews for a RIDICULOUSLY LONG TIME and I’m kind of embarrassed how long it’s been taking so I figure if I do some quickies I’ll feel less bad about myself as a person ok LET’S GO)

I’m gonna start with the Daikaiju Yuki series by Raffael Coronelli, because its first entry was also the first self published kaiju novel I read.  This series is fun and fast paced, with wonderful characters and dynamic storylines in a highly unique setting: a post-post apocaylptic world, where humanity has rebuilt civilization after a kaiju war hundreds of years ago destroyed the old one (i.e. ours).  The protagonist of the series, Yuki, partners up with one of the few kaiju who decided to defend humanity back in the kaiju war, a grouchy old bipedal lion named Narajin, and the two essentially fuse to fight various threats to their world with the other remaining members of the Pantheon Colossi (i.e. the protector kaiju).

(Our heroes, Yuki and Narajin, ready to conquer your kaiju-fan heart)

For newbies, this series covers a lot of kaiju tropes in an engaging and unique way that actually serves as a pretty decent primer for how this genre stands out from other monster fiction.  For experienced kaiju fans, the new twists author Raffael Coronelli has put on the old tropes and the innovations he’s added solely of his own invention make for a take on the genre that is astoundingly fresh, managing the difficult task of paying homage to what came before while crafting something very new and distinct from it.

I also can’t stress enough how fun these books are.  The characters grow on you very quickly, and the stories move at a lively pace that makes the books very easy to digest while still having a lot of substance.  Also there’s a LOT of content to consume here, so if you find you like the first book, you’re in luck - because not only is there a lot more of what you liked in the other entries, but Coronelli’s writing has gotten even better with each installment.

Buy them here:

Daikaiju Yuki

Yuki Conquers the World

Yuki vs. Fleshworld

Mokwa: The Lifesblood of the Earth (a spinoff focusing on another member of the Pantheon Colossi - also has the best villain of the whole series IMO)

Scythian Frost (short story anthology in the same universe as Daikaiju Yuki)

Pharoah of Eels (novella in the same universe as Daikaiju Yuki)

BONUS: I’m gonna link Coronelli’s Big Egg here because while it’s arguably more of a Weird West story than a kaiju story and not part of the Daikaiju Yuki series, it’s nonetheless VERY GOOD and kaiju-adjacent enough to feel relevant.

If you love it when kaiju stories go dark and experiment with body horror - and I know a good chunk of my followers here do, both from the posts you make and from the sheer number of body horror-riffic entries you’ve submitted to my Create a Kaiju Contests in the past - you owe it to yourself to read All Your Ruins by Alex Gayhart.  It is a bleak kaiju story that leans as far into the horror as kaiju stories can, while still retaining many of a kaiju story’s hallmarks.  You’ve got experimental robots, you’ve got a big lizard who shoots lasers from his mouth and has a few suprisingly poignant and tragic moments of pathos, you’ve got scenes of massive property damage - and you’ve also got scenes of people being torn apart by swarms of giant bugs, poisoned by toxic kaiju blood, assimilated into piles of fungus, and all other sorts of horrifying demises.  If you want a kaiju story to send chills down your spine, this is your book.

I’m emphasizing the grim aspects of this story, but I also want to note that it avoids one of the pitfalls a lot of modern horror falls into, in that it balances all the horrific shit by having characters in it that you actually care about.  It’s a tragedy, you know from the start things won’t end well, but some of the people involved in the conflict are so lovable and try so hard to survive that you root for them despite the prevailing sense of dread.  It’s a gloomy story, but it’s not the sort that makes everyone relentlessly awful - more George Romero Day of the Dead in tone than, say, the all consuming bleakness of The Walking Dead.

Also it’s got some killer illustrations.  The main monster even takes the “bipedal lizard with dorsal spikes” visual in a direction so unique that it actually stands out against the progenitor of that design concept.  That’s not the say the book depends on those illustrations, mind you - Gayhart’s prose isn’t afraid of laying it on thick every now and then to paint an appropriately distinct and horrific image with words.  That might not be for all tastes, but as a person who’s read a LOT of classic horror literature, I personally appreciate it - a dash of melodrama in the description of the horrific, when used well, can make it very effective, and Gayhart put just enough in there to work very well for my tastes.

Buy it here:

All Your Ruins

BONUS: I’m going to recommend the two books in author Alex Gayhart’s Black Star Saga here as well.  I haven’t actually fully read them yet - I bought the initial release where the two volumes were bundled together as one, and got sidetracked by LIFE BULLSHIT shortly after I started it (this happens to me too often while reading - I still need to finish Stephen King’s It and Marie Kondo’s books too), but I liked what I read, and from what I’ve heard the more recent editions made some big improvements to the story’s pacing.  It’s the same quality of writing as Gayhart’s All Your Ruins, but with a less grim tone - more Ultraman and less Shin Godzilla.

The Black Star Saga Volume 1: 2525

The Black Star Saga Volume 2: Moonage Daydream

A lot of classic kaiju movies bring up the threat of giant monsters destroying all of civilization if they aren’t stopped, but almost none have shown them carry that threat through.  In the Shadow of Extinction let’s that threat actually play out - you see the kaiju apocalypse begin and civilization as we know it end in the first third of the book.  The remaining two thirds focuses on survivors picking up the pieces in a world now ruled by giants.  It’s the kind of story you’d think there’d be more of in our genre, but outside of All Your Ruins and, uh, the Godzilla anime trilogy, there really aren’t that other takes out there.

While Gayhart’s All Your Ruins focuses on the horror aspect of a kaiju apocalypse, Kyle Warner’s In the Shadow of Extinction focuses on a political/crisis management angle.  It’s like if Shin Godzilla had a baby with George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, and that baby had the “bureaucratic failings of big governments in the wake of national disasters” elements of the former and the “multiple different perspectives via a large cast of characters” format of the later.  There’s no one protagonist in this one - you follow a large and diverse cast of characters from around the world and from pretty much all walks of life as they try to navigate a disaster that destroys society as it once was.

Once the civilization effectively ends in the first third of the novel, In the Shadow of Extinction transition from “disaster movie” to “post apocalyptic thriller,” like The Stand, Day of the Triffids, 28 Days Later, or, I dunno, a toned down version of Mad Max (but, y’know, with giant monsters, so I guess not THAT toned down).  I bring this up because the content of the last two thirds takes after the tropes of post apocalyptic thrillers as much if not more so than kaiju stories - that is to say, there is some Triggering Content in this one.  That’s not something to dissuade you - the characters and story remains very solid and unique for the kaiju genre - but it is something I feel you should be aware of, and if you want a more explicit description of what kind of Triggers I mean here, shoot me a message.  Suffice to say, kaiju aren’t the only monsters when civilization breaks down here.

But Kaiju do remain prominent in the book nonetheless - it is ultimately a kaiju story more than anything else, and it’s impressive how the book manages to incorporate all those other influences as well as a heaping dose of political commentary without ever diminishing the presence of its monster stars.

Buy it here:

In the Shadow of Extinction

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to do what I should have done years ago and write some damn Amazon reviews for these so the authors can have a boost in Amazon’s search algorithms.

#Daikaiju Yuki #All Your Ruins #In the Shadow of Extinction