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insertdisc5 · 1 year

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Devlog #11: Localization and Organizing Notes

Hello everyone! Welcome to this month’s devlog!

If you just stumbled upon this, I am Adrienne, also known as insertdisc5! I’m the developer, writer, artist, main programmer, etc of the game. The game being In Stars and Time, a timeloop RPG, which is the next and final game in the START AGAIN series, following START AGAIN: a prologue (available here!). You can find out more about In Stars and Time here!!!

LET’S GET TO IT. This month's devlog is about localizations and how I organize my notes!

The month of January has, once again, been all about bug fixing. My producer once told me QA and bug fixing would take forever and I didn’t believe her, but it is true. You kill one bug and three take its place.

Bugs aside, the first pass of the localization of the game into Japanese has been completed (thanks Kakehashi Games!) ! Wait did we even mention officially that the game will be in English and Japanese at release. Well there you go! In Stars and Time will be released in both English and Japanese!!!

Now that the first pass is over, it’s time for the very time intensive work of adding all that translated text into the game, as well as translating any illustrations. And after that, the localization team will take over QA, and will play the game from beginning to end in Japanese, making sure everything works well in context!

I can’t wait for Japanese speakers to try out the game as well!!!

Oh! Also, speaking of words, I wrote a post on how I approach worldbuilding, more specifically expressions and swear words and about how Jesus Christ is not canonical to the ISAT universe. Mayhaps it could tickle your fancy?

Uuuuuh this devlog is so short. I feel bad. Well uh (thinks very hard) how about you come with me on a journey, and look at how I organize my notes? Yeah? YEAH!!! (This section will feature: blocked out text) (Also: I realized after writing all this that I did talk about my writing process a bit in my #2 devlog. Well uh you get writing process: 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I use OneNote for all my ISAT notes! I use it because quite frankly this was the first software I tried and it works. I like how it has tabs within tabs within tabs, so I can easily (ISH?) find any notes I’m looking for!

If you look at the colored tabs, the first one is “demo”, which is everything related to START AGAIN: a prologue (aka: has not been looked at for a year). It contains all the text in the game, as well as general gameplay notes and musings like “hey wouldnt it be fun if I used rock/paper/scissors.” You might notice the text here isn’t in the correct order. That’s a feature not a bug, thats just how my brain works OK!!!!!

The second tab is “Game”, which is the big In Stars And Time tab. It’s divided into a lot of sections, including:

General Dev Notes, which contains general reminders (“ADD MORE PUNS”).

Random Dialogue Corner, which, as the name implies, contains a lot of random dialogues between the characters. They’re also divided into different sections, depending on what kind of dialogue it is- is it a funny scene, or a more serious one? Is it between characters, or just Siffrin going on a big monologue? Etc. This dialogue may or may not be in the game, its main reason for existing is “hee hee I like when my little guys talk in my head”.

Gameplay and Stuff, which is all about the rpg part of the game. What are the skills? How does each enemy behave? What quests are available? How does the game over screen work? Etc

And finally, a big section filled with The Story, which is divided into acts. From the very start, I knew ISAT would have very delimited story beats, which made it easy to just go “ok, this scene goes into Act 3”, etc. For the text, I make sure to keep all the different drafts I had of a specific scene, partly because I sometimes lose a nugget of Fun Stuff by rewriting a scene, and partly because it’s fun to see how a scene has evolved. I tend to write important story scenes 3 times, each time without looking at earlier drafts to see what comes out, and then frankenstein the scene from what I have.

In general I try to keep as many of my notes as possible, because I deleted a lot of my notes for START AGAIN: a prologue and it makes me sad I can’t look at my thought process on a lot of things anymore. KEEP YOUR NOTES KIDS

Going back to the big tabs, next we have “World”, which is everything related to worldbuilding, relationships between characters, the general timeline, more detailed notes on the culture, etc. I used this tab a lot less as time went on, but at the start it was very useful to be able to refer to it, especially for all the city names and their spelling…

After that, we have the “Devlog” tab, which is my own private devlog! I find it very useful to keep a private devlog for myself, because it helps me see clearly that YES, the game is coming along. Every week, I try to write down where I’m at, any problems that I have, as well as screenshots of what the game looks like.

I also give myself space to write how I feel about the game! How is it going? Is it fun to work on this? What do I think about the story, about this character, about this development? I think it’s important to write those things down in the moment- I always keep in mind this post by Wreden, the creator of the Stanley Parable- in it, he talks about the reaction to the Stanley Parable, and how getting so many Thoughts thrown his way about what his game means meant that he lost sight of what his game meant to him. In Stars and Time means a lot to me, and I want to make sure future me remembers why!

Next is “meta”, which is mostly coding references. The way rpgmaker (and, I guess, most video game software???) works is by using variables to keep track of quests and whatnot, and so I used this tab to write down “if this variable equals 5, it means we’re at that point in this quest”! I also used it for code I always use but can’t be bothered to remember, like the conditional code that checks if a switch is ON or not. Aka the simplest most basic code. LISTEN I DON’T WANNA REMEMBER CODE OK

After that is the “To Do” tab, which is pretty self explanatory. I try to divide it into chunks like “To do (localization)”, so I don’t have a massive to-do list, but instead lots of small ones, teehee. This is also where I keep my changelog, to write down any changes I make between builds.

And last, but definitely not least, is my “Messy File” tab! This is where I put ALL MY NOTES. It needs different parts because I made a new part every time opening a tab made my computer chug like crazy. Because it has so many words.

I get an idea for a scene in the middle of the night? GOES INTO THE MESSY SCENE. Oh, I realized when I was grocery shopping that I should fix this small bug by doing this! MESSY FILE. Hehe what if I drew Siffrin baldMESSY FILE. Everything goes there, and then every couple weeks I go through it and put all those little nuggets of ideas into their actual tab. I find it useful to have a file that is allowed to be messy as hell, so the other tabs can be clean and neat!

The Messy File tab also contains the “Entire Story”, which is something I wrote in August 2021 when I started thinking I had no idea where I was going. I took like 4 hours to write down the entire story, from beginning to end, and if I had no idea what would happen, I would just make it up on the spot even if I thought it was bad. And guess what. After that, I knew where I was going. CRAZY!!! I did that a couple more times when I felt stuck at a specific point in the story, and it helped me every time. Would recommend.

And, that’s it! That’s how I organize my notes! I hope! This was! Insightful! Somehow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s all I have to say for today! Let me know if you have any questions, or if there’s any aspect of the game development struggle you’d like me to talk about! See you next time!!!

AND DON’T FORGET TO WISHLIST THE GAME ON STEAM ALSO IT REALLY HELPS BECAUSE STEAM’S ALGORITHM IS MORE LIKELY TO SHOW OFF GAMES WITH A HIGH AMOUNT OF WISHLISTS THAT’S THE REASON WHY GAME DEVS ALWAYS ASK TO WISHLIST!!! OKAY BYE!!!!

#devlog #in stars and time #start again start again start again #game dev #indie game #indie dev #reference

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cloveroctobers · 4 months

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DECEMBER PROMPTS 🧊 — 4. NERON “CREEPER” VARGAS

A/N: idea inspired by a required outing for me and encouraged by @darqchilddaydreamz 🤭 this is so unserious but not at the same time? I also don’t like how I learned to appreciate creeper after the fact? This is my first time ever writing for the man with a heart of gold. Smh. Him and Coco deserved better and in AU…Creeper & Coco would be the true besties. This is also somewhat that. Enjoy!

Synopsis: As a pizza chef you’re bound to keep your house just as stocked as your restaurant. However with a ice storm heading your way in two days…you persuade your husband, Neron to take you to the store to grab just a few extra things but soon find yourself in a battle with another shopper, who doesn’t know the first thing about personal space.

ADDED PROMPTS FROM HERE + I’m using: 3.) Shopping + 6.) “You’re really making me wear matching pajamas with you?”

WARNINGS: language + “reader” is given a name but not physically described yet I always have a black or woc in mind. + a sexual/steamy moment towards the end ;)

⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙ ‧͙*̩̩͙❆ ͙͛ ˚₊⋆ ⋆꙳•̩̩͙❅*̩̩͙‧͙

What was supposed to be more of a in and out kind of thing, turned into at least a thirty minute adventure. Sure Mariatu could blame it on the tasteful playlist the grocery store was playing—currently, “let it snow,” by Boyz II Men & Brian McPetty but she’d take the blame when she got back outside to her husband.

The original plan was to run in and get five items: a pack of mineral water full of electrolytes for Neron, a pack of cocoa powder, eggs, toilet paper rolls, and disinfectant wipes.

With the way prices are in this economy?

Mariatu knew it was probably best for Neron to run in grab everything but he suddenly got a call from Coco that had to do with business—which the founded brothers always stood on—so she did the honors of slipping out. She honestly didn’t mind, shopping was always thrilling to her because she knows regardless of what she picked up—whether she needed it or not—the items would always be put to good use. Mariatu was never one to let anything go to waste, it was something her parents always instilled.

Perhaps that’s why the carriage was getting heavier as she explored every other aisle, ending up in the international section, just for some lady to eye the contents of her carriage before settling her judgmental eyes on Mariatu. Their eyes connected but one was less friendly than the other, which was enough for Mariatu to pick up the speed. The previous aisle was more of a game of “chicken,” since one boulder of a man thought the aisle was a one way, the frozen section had one of its fridges leaking onto the floor and the constant call to, “clean up aisle 21,” seemed to go unheard, and just from entering the store a mother had to excuse herself and her screaming child who thought it would be best to start knocking over one of the displays.

Those should have been enough signs for Mariatu to do what she was supposed to do. Although the upbeat Christmas music was enough motivation to just make this a speed round, Mariatu couldn’t help that she spent longer than expected; even if she had a mental list of what they needed. Soon she found herself making a circle in the store towards the organic and produce section.

Eyeing the pomegranate seeds, Mariatu makes a bee-line for the fruit. Parking her carriage upwards from herself, she picks up the container eyeing the expiration date and then the quality of the red toned fruit. From her peripheral she sees someone leaning by the front of her carriage. She thinks not much of it figuring that they’re simply looking at a item that aligns with the end of her carriage. Silently debating over the snack for a moment longer, she opts for the larger pack instead before adding it to the carriage.

Seconds after, the handle of her carriage digs harshly into her stomach as the customer pushes their hip into the end of the carriage to reach for a bag of jumbo grapes. Mariatu blinks to herself in astonishment as the man holds the bag up to the light and moves his hips to do the same movement again!

This time Mariatu yanks on the carriage and goes around the man but not without muttering, “this is how you say excuse me,” on her way as she continues on up ahead. Eyeing the bag of baby spinach, she decides against it after grabbing a few green juices not long ago and just as she goes to push away from the section, she can hear the irritating sound of a broken carriage wheel pushing behind her.

Ever since Mariatu was a little girl she had great senses. Some may call it a gift while others maybe oblivious but she’s almost always right in judging distances and sensing presences that may or may not physically be there. In this present time as Mariatu is briefly glancing from the cart to make sure she’s not forgetting something and watching where she’s going, she can feel and hear the carriage behind her getting too close for her liking. Just as she’s reaching the corner, she peers over her shoulder to the pale as ice skinned man with a beanie that barely covers his thin salt colored hair and in that moment they come to some sort of understanding.

His shoulders relax, his lips pursed, grip still strong on the handle, he seems to slow down as his eyes connect with Mariatu’s. The side-eye game was always strong and she whips her head back, ringlets of curls bouncing with her underneath her beret as she does, a satisfying smile begins to grace her lipstick painted lips while she gets ready to turn the corner.

That’s short lived as a bump of the carriage from behind pressed into her backside first, thrashing her forward, followed by the knocking wheel which clips her ankle. A yelp escapes her lips, gaining the attention of a cashier who’s handling the handicap section and Mariatu has to exhale the steam that’s probably seeping from her eardrums.

Rubbing at the stinging skin above her ankle socks in her trainers, she glares at the older man who looks sheepish at the fact that his carriage actually interacted with his target.

“What’s your problem? You bump my carriage out of the way instead of using your manners, which you clearly lack and now you wanna play bumper cars with my ankle?” Mariatu questions the man who lifts his shoulders nonchalantly.

“I needed grapes,” the man started, “you could have done what I did and placed your carriage to the right so that way you’re not blocking other items that fellow customers need.”

Mariatu scoffs in disbelief, “well I’m not you and the proper thing to do if you need to get something is say excuse me or patiently wait until I’m done.”

“Sorry…but no?”

“No?” Mariatu felt her eye twitch and just to think, she was having a pretty solid day off, considering it was only twelve in the afternoon but still!

“Yeah,” the man continued, “you’re in my way and I have places to be too. Don’t know if you know this but a ice storm is coming and I need—

“Excuse me, I don’t give two shits what you need. Everybody that’s in here needs something, so honestly you can take that entitlement and shove it up right your ass, Mr.” Mariatu stated to the man without raising her voice but her brows definitely did, which means she meant that shit, “and happy holidays.”

With that she sorta limps from the man, enjoying that she had the last say and that his presence was no longer felt as he scrambles to go to one of the other aisles instead of to the self-check out area, which Mariatu was headed to.

Mariatu braced herself heading back into the breezy sixty degree weather, slowly letting out a sigh to herself as she crossed through the parking lot. She spots Neron waiting outside of her bronco and jumps into action as he looks up in time. “Ten minutes huh?” He teases with a shake of his head as he unlocks the trunk.

She scrunches her nose at him as they maneuver around the cart, taking turns adding the bags into the back. It doesn’t take Neron long to pick up on the way Mariatu is walking different once they get down to the the last few bags. “What’s up?” He asks.

Mariatu shakes her head as Neron points at her leg, “I’ll tell you in the car.”

The hoodie wearing man dips his head and takes the task of bringing the carriage back to its spot after opening the door for Mariatu. Neron doesn’t miss a certain man looking over in his wife’s direction as Neron crosses the parking lot one more. Once he gets into the driver’s seat, it’s Neron’s turn to have his eyes in slits as the strange man starts tossing his bags into his station wagon.

“That man with the pedophile car…you know ‘em?”

Mariatu hums, looking up from her phone to follow Neron’s trail and immediately scoffs, “oh yeah, we got friendly not too long ago. That’s the man who tried to run me over after I told him he basically needs to learn some manners.”

Neron flicks his eyes to his right, “what happened?” He pressed and Mariatu has no issue giving her husband the quick rundown of what just occurred.

He’s rubbing at his lengthy beard in slight irritation but also pride. “Put your seatbelt on,” he commands and Mariatu tilts her head to the side at this.

However the hardened stare Neron shoots her way and then back out the window shield was enough for her to listen this time. The tatted man places one hand on the steering wheel, tightening his grip and sitting up straight—which was always enough indication that someone was about to float their ride…so Mariatu braced herself.

Rightfully so.

As soon as she blinked, they were across the parking lot blocking the man’s path from completely backing out from the parking space.

“Neron,” Mariatu hissed as he pressed his brimmed hat further down on his head then flung the door open, leaving it wide open as he walked in between the cars to get to the man’s driver’s side, knocking on his window.

Mariatu couldn’t exactly hear what Neron was saying to the strange man as he was crouched over, talking to him in a manner that would send a chill down anyone’s spine. Her heart rate picked up as she saw Neron reach into the rolled down window, possibly snatching the man up by the throat and then shoving him forward that his horn announced his face made contact with it.

With that Neron sniffs as he turns back to the bronco, holding a bag now as he climbs back into the driver’s seat. He plops the bag of grapes into Mariatu’s lap and says, “Poe Cramer sends his apologizes. Eat up.”

“Neron, what did you do that for? I thought I told you that I handled it.” Mariatu brings her eyes up from the fruit in her lap to the profile of her husband’s face who begins driving through the parking lot.

Neron dips his head, “and I’m proud of you, Cariño. But he assaulted you so I returned the favor. Roughed him up a bit, he’s lucky that’s all he got and that’s out of respect for my lady being somewhat a witness…that I didn’t take it further. got his name from his license—just in case you run into him again and he decides to start some more shit but I doubt it. I clocked his ass—that’s all. No harm, no foul.”

“I can’t,” Mariatu snorts resting a hand against her edges, “I love you and I don’t need you locked up before Christmas.”

“I’m just contributing to society so I know Santa would forgive me,” Neron shrugs with a slow smirk appearing on his lips.

Mariatu laughs, “Oh that’s what you want to call it?” Before kicking her ankle up and over her opposite knee to examine, “don’t know why some people get so shitty during the holiday season, especially if you didn’t do anything wrong to them! They just feel like it’s okay to take it out on strangers. Like? What you say fuck me for?”

“You don’t even gotta worry about him no more, trust me,” Neron laughs at the joke, “you good though?”

Mariatu nods reaching over to feed Neron a grape before pecking his cheek, “always with you by my side, baby.”

“Likewise,” Neron winks over at the woman he was ecstatic to call his wife, resting the palm of his hand on her thigh.

Back in the gated, yes gated! suburbs of their coastal mobile home after unloading and packing the groceries, the married couple made it their mission that today would be a easy day. They rarely had days off at the same time so Neron and Mariatu wanted to take advantage of this with Mariatu persuading Neron to go shopping today rather than putting it off for the busiest day—Saturday. Now they had the rest of the day just to be up in each others faces, spending quality time together.

She’s in the bathroom, tending to her night time skin routine, already solidifying they were in for the rest of the day, while Neron’s perched on the edge of the bed tuned into the weather channel. The bathroom door’s wide open as Neron says, “you know your pa is trying to get coco and I to come out to Wyoming, huh?”

Mariatu frowns, “that’s where he snuck off to? The hell is he doing out there?”

The woman knew exactly what her father was doing out there. He made it a mission to travel more after the lost of his wife three years ago but…Wyoming? Really? Very Kanye coded but a lot less unhinged.

“Starting a new business adventure. Plans to do something either with construction or a food truck for a rest stop…he’s weighing his options based on how those meetings go.” Neron informed, “he sounds real determined and said he’ll keep me posted while also sending his love to you.”

Neron and Johnny had their own business together that consisted of mechanics and all things restoration, computers and guns, you name it! After things went terribly south (she often found it hard at times that they both made it out alive) with the club, they figured this would be their best option and Mariatu couldn’t be more supportive of the two. In whatever way she was often confused on her father bringing up his multiple business ideas to her husband and good friend. Neron and Coco seemed quite comfortable making their roots here and not all over the place like her father commonly did.

Yet of course she understood networking being a business owner herself…she just couldn’t picture Neron or Johnny elsewhere now that they were secure here and out of the tainted Santo Padre.

Mariatu rolls her eyes at this, loving how Neron threw that in there but she knew this was true with the way her father’s brain was constantly running with ideas. He’s always been a hardworking, successful man but he also didn’t know when to slow down. He was getting older and it’s like Mariatu was always fighting to have time with him, she valued that considering the lost of her mother but perhaps this was all his way of grieving?

You tend to do that sometimes at the end of the year they say.

“Will he back for Christmas? Kwanzaa, maybe?”

Neron wouldn’t lie and he knew how important Mariatu’s relationship was with her parents, which he did not receive personally but he always had his sisters so he understood to some degree, “he didn’t say honey but I’m sure he’ll try.”

“Right,” Mariatu is quiet for some time before starting up her spin brush again for a few minutes before rinsing her face and continuing the rest of her work.

The room is thicker now with Mariatu’s inner feelings about it all but Neron knows not to push it. They were similar in that way, holding everything in but Mariatu was better in letting it out when she was ready while Neron struggled with his own issues of people not hearing him when he did speak. However he knew not to feel that way with his wife, they confided in each other countless of times and felt seen being vulnerable with each other. It’s what drove them forward through the hardships.

Neron’s not sure how long he’s dazed off but a pair of pants smack across his face, followed by a snort of laughter that belonged to no other than his wife. He blinks, gripping onto the printed pants and scowls as he eyes the same print that Mariatu is sporting. Except her’s are shorts and he gets to eye her smooth legs in them.

Licking his lips Neron rubs at his beard, fighting to keep his thoughts clean as she slips a printed long sleeve set over her camisole, “You’re really making me wear matching pajamas with you?”

“Uh huh,” Mariatu nods her head with a smile, “we’ll be cozy and cute.”

Neron mumbles, “And lookin’ like the elves on the fucken shelf.”

Mariatu cackles as Neron shakes his head in disagreement. She stands before him, resting her hands across his shoulders, massaging them while staring down into his tense but loving brown eyes. Neron doesn’t hesitate to wrap his solid tatted arms around her waist, while she gets comfortable locking her legs right around his hips so they’re face to face now.

“I think you need a little more persuading and a thank you.”

“A thank you?” Neron ponders as Mariatu nuzzles her nose against the man’s, who breathes her in.

Mariatu pecks his lips, then trails those kisses along his jaw and up to his large ear, whispering, “for always looking out for me and especially for today. Will you let me take care of you?”

She can feel Neron shudder against her and she knew that Neron just wanted to be loved in return for the love that he gave out. Mariatu had no problem providing that and the confirmation of his fingertips digging into her waist was all she needed to make their lips collide. The scratch of his beard against her chin, the weight of her clung to his body, the force of shoving him back against the sheets, scrape of her stiletto nails that greeted his skin briefly as she helped him out of his tops, kissing of his wounds that were buried beneath his tats, the trick of her tongue against the round of his raised flesh which contained a hooped piercing that always evoked a breathy moan from his lips, the teasing and pleasing to his lower region with only her mouth was enough to bring joy right out of Neron’s heart.

Mariatu took the reigns but Neron couldn’t let that slide without getting his hands on her in the way he wanted and the way they both needed as well. A shower and clean up routine later, both now sporting red festive wear, they’re lounging against the headboard together, container of pomegranate seeds placed in between them while the skies in San Didacus continue filling in with a gray haze.

Neron and Mariatu both meet each other’s eyes after the dark haired man settled on, one of his favorites, “Krampus,” (2015) after finding one of the cheesy romantic Christmas movies to be too corny for their tastes.

“Ready to keep the festive spirit going?” Neron asks, wrist draped over Mariatu’s shoulder while she curls into him, leg tossed over his torso.

Mariatu covers her yawn, “yeah I am, I don’t know about you but I don’t want any demons hunting this house, especially once some kids come along.”

“Nah, krampus don’t got nothin’ on me.” Neron tells with a grin, “he better ask Poe and check my resume.”

“I haven’t even seen that resume.”

“I’m keepin’ it that way. Like I said when we took those vows, you don’t got to worry about nothing on that end. Just the restaurant and the good parts of life that we’re building together only.” Neron reassured in which Mariatu nodded with a smile.

Neron leans forward capturing Mariatu’s lips in a brief kiss before brushing his lips against her forehead then tunes back into the movie.

One thing is true, this holiday, equally the pair hopes this season brings further blessings to their table after growing what they both went through. The little moments mean just as much as the big ones and when they frequently stare into each other’s eyes…maybe in the end they can always say that’s the best gift the universe could have ever gave them.

Continue the rest of my~5 days of Xmas~December anthology prompts here.

#Mayans mc #mayans fx #Mayans #mayans mc x reader #mayans imagine #mayans x reader #neron creeper vargas #creeper vargas #creeper Vargas x oc #creeper Vargas x reader #neron vargas x reader #johnny coco cruz #coco cruz #december prompts #queued #Joseph raymond lucero

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claireclaymore · 4 months

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Everlark on movies

or why I just can't hate the movies - Part 1

This post will be polemic, and I am sure everyone will disagree, but I came here to defend romance aspect on the movies.

But first, some important points:

-I do agree the books were totally better while the movies failed in insert romance organically in the storytelling.

-And yes, everlark community is right in be pissed of with the director. He really didn't get the purpose of Peeta and Katniss relationship and that's shows.

-The producers forced the Team Gale and Team Peeta thing to increase the engagement. More Gale and Katniss were their crimes.

That said, what I strongly disagree are following accusations:

-"The movies are Everthorne propaganda and made that ship more popular than the canon one."

-"Peeta and Katniss didn't have chemistry on the movies."

-"On the movies, Katniss was actually in love with Gale, Peeta was rebound."

So this post will cover this fist accusation.

The changes for the love triangule

First movie did insert hits about Gale have a crush on Katniss (the book made this too, but it was implied). In movies Gale is a decent friend (he was there with Prim wait for her, alike on canon), so he is shippable and this create a interesting conflict on the audience, cause her looks like a good match, right?

But then there is Peeta. This guy that happened to be genuinely kind, and was willing to let Katniss win. And in script was implied he did knows it was an act whole time. So in the end of story feels like the audience is strongly divided between two good men, adding the political mess, we do have an exciting cliffhanger.

Then second movies happens and all doubts go away! Again edition cut iconic lines from Peeta, but Josh killed it in all his scenes. Peeta's essential kindness was well portrayed, in my opinion, and made audience really care for him.

It was criminal that they didn't delve deeper into the everlark bed scenes and add new everthorne scenes (that no one asked for), but rewatching it I didn't see much emotions on those kisses (and thanks Liam for having the expressiveness of a door).

In the other hand, the everlark scenes during the games were EVERYTHING! All the drama that was missing in the first film came in full force in the second! The force field scene is so much more theatrical!

And they made the beach kiss sweeter (and personally I love how heartwarming the scene was). I do remember applauding in theater (so... no chemistry my ass)

In short, my reading of the film is that Peeta is not just a cute and passionate friend who Katniss is afraid of hurting by rejecting him. She's falling in love with him. The desperation, the devotion, all of this is perfectly translated in Jennefer's performance. I seriously don't get how someone can see their interactions on arena and think he is the third wheel (and thank you director for don't include Gale's sad face to ruin the moment here).

Feral and in love (overdramatic? overreacted? Yes, but it follows the intensity of Katniss in canon). Will historians say that she is acting like this because of a friend?

Then the two last movies. They finally allowed show Gale being a asshole (I liked that change with calling Peeta a coward, they cut Gale's bullshit in Catching Fire, they had to put in some place). We still have to endure some Gale and Katniss scenes, but again, their ton are pale (basic soundtrack, no creative angles).

But what continues selling the ship is the adversity, the longing. Wherever Peeta appears Katniss just sees him! Gale stay on background or the camera forget him, he is just a desperate man looking at an amazing couple.

You are excellent door Liam!

And all angst, the forbidden love thing make people root even more for Everlark! So no! The movies didnt' sell Everthone or this attempt backfired (or if you disagree, at least see Jennefer isn't on board).

In conclusion, yes the movies made little for the ship, but this little was enough to introduce people to this amazing franchise. The details, the performing, soundtrack, edition all came together to the tip of the iceberg of everlark.

#everlark #the hunger games movies #people tray to gaslight me saying the movies was team gale #the movies was always team money #and what bring money?#our top!#jennifer lawrence #josh hutcherson #sorry Liam fans I know he was leaning that time #must be hard act along with Oscar winner #peeta x katniss #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark

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tricitymonsters · 10 months

Text

This is mostly taken from my kickstarter update but I wanted to post it here for yall too.

Tri City Monsters has funded at 141% with the help of 273 backers! The total raised was $7,064!!

Firstly, I want to say thank you from the absolute bottom of my heart for helping me make this game. For backers to trust and believe in the project to make pledges literally just makes my stupid little goblin heart swell. I had someone pledge over $300. I had an ARMY of $2 and $5 pledges that did so much heavy lifting together and everything in between. I had snipers down at the last second putting pledges in. It's insane!

Beyond pledges though, I want to specifically thank everyone who took time to play the game on itch, who wishlisted on steam, who talked about it on socials, who drew or made posts or wrote about it. Your effort to get the game seen was fucking HUGE. And it WORKED. TCM doesn't have a formal marketing budget- while I did save up and set aside some specific money this month for blaze posts and some other ad runs, the fact of the matter is that you guys did a ton of heavy lifting and I don't make the kind of money it would take to buy those numbers. (Not a lot of indies do, that's how much you guys pushed).

I want to cringe call out/ profusely thank @booket-png as the game's lead artist but also as a huge and wonderful help in all the design work that's constantly being done with this thing, @epoch-smog for tolerating me posting their drawings constantly, plus @coyoxxtl, @rainmonarch, @mineshaft-birdie, @gedankenmoon ALL of whom are a constant support team and also blorbo crucible who tell me to keep making Kazu taller and his tits bigger like a little pack of shoulder devils when I waffle.

Sometimes they say raising a kid takes a village and I'd like to add that making indie games takes a community. So! Not to belabor the point but THANK YOU!

To business:

As mentioned in during the campaign, I will be using Pledgebox to help me organize orders and move ahead with logistics way later down the line when we get to that point. To reiterate some important dates, here's what the immediate future is kinda going to look like:

I'm happy to report that I've already got a head start on some of the digital rewards

Backer surveys will go out towards the end of July at the earliest, I may push it back a little bit depending but I want to give Kickstarter the full 14 days to collect payments with some buffer.

These surveys will be where you can choose variants for what products you purchased. So if you backed for a daki, you'll be able to choose your character at this point.

Digital rewards will begin filling in July as well. I hope to have the discord space ready for you within a week or two (the tcm server is chill to hang out in anyway but a backer dedicated space will give you instant updates and banter with me as I'm working plus you'll be able to talk about love letter contents and pinups and stuff like that without a lot of worry about spoilers or anything. I hope to see yall there soon!)

The wallpaper pack will be quick to follow this.

I would like to finish all the love letters before I begin releasing them, right now that's also looking to be a late July delivery, possibly early August delivery. I've gotten a couple done already and they're very fun to work on, I think yall will enjoy them a lot! >:3c

Pinups will be on a longer time scale. I have one of three artists confirmed (Atlas will be doing Mori's!) and we're going to go through their schedule to see what their timeframe looks like. Regardless, you can expect updates on that as I make progress.

As far as the physical merch, remember that fulfillment is slated to begin Q1 2024. The process to produce physical goods is long and I want to have plenty of time to carefully go over samples and get through packing and shipping.

Also slated for Q1 is the prologue release! The prologue will be one long introductory chapter featuring all three ROs and will segue into the route of your choosing.

And then, my goal is to update the game each subsequent month with a chapter update to one character's route, cycling through all of them in turn until we can wrap them up.

SO this is my plan for the latter half of 2023 now that the Kickstarter is over but I'm going to pull a Nintendo Direct because I have one final announcement to make.

The Pledgebox will continue to sell TCM merch, including digital stretch goal access, for the next few months while I prepare all of this stuff.

If there's something you missed, you'll be able to add it to pick it up through TCM's Preorder Page

Please be sure to contact me if you have any questions or need clarification regarding the Pledgebox page, you can find me on discord 99% of the time (i'm pockatuck) or message me here!

As always, transparency is a huge priority for me so please expect more updates as all of these tasks get underway!

in TOTAL gratitude,

cloud

#SORRY I'M LONG WINDED I'M A WRITER #i'm SO FUCKING TIRED #if i forgot anyone by name its because i have swiss cheese brain and like 2 braincells #the coffee did not help this morning #but know that i love you

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rottentiger-art · 8 months

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I hope you don’t mind me, but I’m inspired to organize the whole anon asks regarding PCA into one and adding some stuff. Here’s basically my take of what I think happened:

Pacific Coast Academy was actually accredited by the Department of Education of California. Originally, it was an all-boy’s school until that changed when girls where allowed. Thus, becoming a coed boarding school. The last dean, Charles Rivers, goes through a hard time in his personal life and borrows some money from the school, swearing to himself that he’ll pay it back. Then, him borrowing money repeats again and again.

The school board starts noticing inconstancies in the school finances and an investigation is done, which reveals that the school is basically near bankruptcy. The media somehow catches wind of it and has a field day, twisting things for their own purposes. There’s uproar and backlash from the public. Then, the rumors start floating around that PCA is a diploma mill. There are even pictures from events that happened at PCA that are taken out of context to explain why PCA is a scam. Some parents who have their children in the school get worried about this and make the decision to start pulling their children from the school.

The media, the public backlash and parents pulling their children from PCA leads to the downfall of the school. It has no choice but to close its doors. 15 years later, everyone still believes that PCA was a diploma mill and let teenagers loose in the campus. None of the students do anything to dismiss the rumors, because no one believes them when they tell the truth.

Fast forward a little to after Logan and Quinn’s marriage. Logan buys the PCA campus out of impulse, then gives it to Quinn as a wedding gift. Quinn just sighs at her husband, asking what was his intention in buying it and he’s like, we rebuild PCA back to its former glory…? Quinn doesn’t think it’s a bad idea, so she runs with it and pulls a few strings here and there from people she knows in the science field, talking about how she’d like a STEM curriculum for her new school. People are on board with her idea, because, duh, Dr. Quinn Pensky is like a big deal and she’s legit so, of course, the new PCA campus won’t go to hell like the last one.

Long story short, Quinn works from the ground up to make sure that PCA is up to standards, hiring qualified people, making sure to do background checks, etcetera. When everything looks good, Quinn steps back and lets the people she hired take over, only making sure that they come to her for funding and such. Logan gets involved and talks the staff into setting up a scholarship for talented students who can’t afford PCA and proposes that it’d be called the Pensky Scholarship.

And when it’s time to inaugurate the new and improve PCA campus, Logan and Quinn are there to cut the ribbon. Both are known as the patrons of the PCA campus.

If one Stacy Del Figalo causes a storm over her investigation over what truly happened on the old PCA campus, then that’s another story. The End.

This was so good, so sorry it took me a while to answer it. But I loved it. You did a great job at putting it all together and honestly, I'd 100% read a fic like that.

Some things I'd like to add to this AU. Mostly headcanons.

I really want their friends to get involved on this AU too, damn, even Zoey. Like I said, I think Chase being a teacher shouldn't go to waste, I'd like to see him teaching at PCA.

I definitely need Lola to appear, in whatever way she could help. I doubt she would take on a teaching role, but I'd like for her to be an inversionist (bc I refuse to believe she's not a famous and successful actress now). Maybe even make special appearances at the school, support and help build the Drama Class (idk the name). I bet the theater kids would freak out about her.

Same thing for Michael, I'd like for him to be an investor and be involved in the music department. As a producer he must know a lot of artist and the kind. Maybe he recommends a some people to take on the teaching role there (a failed artist that desperately needed a job could be a fun character lol)

I really don't think Zoey would leave her job as a producer, but let's pretend: I think Zoey would work as an Art Teacher, since that was more her thing than being a producer. And/or a temporary dorm advisor, until the school is fully staffed (I'd be funny to see her take on the role Coco had, specially considering she kinda acted like her on the movie)

Lola and Michael could do the same too, take temporary roles, if their schedule lets them.

idk what Stacey and Mark would be doing tbh, I'll leave that to anyone else who wants to add lol

probably still chasing the Malibu murderer.

now, about Quogan:

I really want a pregnancy plot to emerge at some point during this AU, and it motivates them to create the school they want their future children to go one day.

So maybe they were kinda like "what do we do with this place now?" but when they found out they're pregnant they got motivated af and emotional about it.

Obviously, Logan wouldn't let Quinn overwork herself and Quinn would keep Logan at bay so he didn't go overboard like he did with the wedding. Tho I assume by then he had learned his lesson, I'm gonna give him credit.

I like to think being able to work together, having a project of their own, specially while expecting, brought them closer (if that's possible). Like all the process was stressful at times and there probably were some disagreement/fights, but overall, it was an enjoyable time, precious memories to recall later one.

I also just love the idea of Quogan working as a team.

I did have the hc that Logan restored and engraved their bench, I'd like to see this on this AU too, I always loved engraved and dedicated benches (@honeyflower15 wrote something similar on their story "Quogan at PCA", fully recommend that fic, it's my s5 now)

PCA now would also be adapted to modern times, equipped with TEKMATE technology, I'm sure.

Maybe they both go a little over the top there, adding stuff they wished the school had when they were younger and maybe exaggerating the vision :p

Imagine, they keep a journal together, documenting their journey of building and transforming PCA. They write down their memories, challenges, and triumphs, creating a beautiful story that they can share with their future children with photos and all *sobs*

I'd like to see Lyric get involved too! omg I can see her invite herself on the project, maybe trying to convince Quinn and Logan to hire her as a musical teacher/art teacher or smth and throw a fit those jobs are occupied and Logan finding something else for her to do XD

For the inauguration day, Logan and Quinn cut the ribbon together, it'd be so cute, Quinn holding the scissors and him behind her, placing his hands over hers, ahhhh

I imagine their speeches are like, heartfelt, emotional, they would talk about their own experience at PCA (in general) and how they hope this new generation [camera dramatically pans out to their baby/toddler (who I assume it's already born bc school building and organizing takes a loooot of time) in the arms of their aunty Lyric] has the same experiences as they did. And obviously promises of not letting PCA fall again like it did and keep everything in check.

the order of the speeches go like this on my head: first Zoey (bc, of course), Chase, Michael, Lola, Logan and then Quinn. Or maybe Logan and Quinn gave the speech together.

There would probably be stands to showcast the different subjects that would be teached at PCA, for the science, chemistry, engendering and all that stands I think Quinn would had given the opportunity to some interns of her to organize those (she paid them, of course)

Quinn's success (as well as Michael, Lola, Zoey and Logan's) would definitely drive parents to trust this new PCA, wanting their children to reach that level one day. So, it'd give them good publicity or smth.

I feel like Zoey would offer to give the Facility Tour, idk why.

Lola and Michael would handle the performances and demonstrations. I assume because of their fame, there were a lot of willing participants and aspiring students that took the chance to perform under their guidance.

Quinn and Chase would deal with the Parent and Students Orientation. Quinn would deal mostly with the Q&As, since she's more informed about the School's insight, administration, etc. Chase would offer his insight as one of the Teachers and all that, telling them of his teaching methods and stuffs.

Logan would have organized the Celebratory Gathering (yes, I had to look up what a school inauguration day looks like shhh)

I promise, he learned his lesson, not over the top celebration this time. But he definitely left them impressed.

I imagine a cute moment at the end, where when the day is done and the guest and parents have left already (I'm assuming the Inauguration Day is a day before the first day of School, so the new students must be settling in their dorms and going to bed by then and classes would start the next day, idk), and Logan and Quinn are sitting on their bench, with their kid in arms, sleeping, just quietly enjoying the moment, satisfied with how they day turned out like and just so happy *sobs, an exaggerated amount*

Like, such a cute picture, they're sitting on the same bech where they shared their first kiss, on the place they met, now with a kid of their own, happily married and having rebuild their school, allowing other children to have what they did *sobbing but like so fucking much omg*

I suppose Zoey and Chase would be having a little moment somewhere too, but wgaf about them.

and an extra headcanon: their bench becomes like a urban legend now, some school lore idk, where there's the rumor that If you kiss on that bench, a timeless bond will be sealed, and your love will endure for eternity. Or some corny shit like that, idk. It has to be a first kiss tho.

Okay, that's all I got for now. Still don't know who they'd hire as dean, but definitely someone trustworthy, not just anyone, like you said, Quinn would have ran a bg check. There's much more to add and I invite anyone to keep contributing to this lovely AU.

And thank you again, anon. I loved what you did!

#ask box #anon #zoey 102 #quogan #zoey 101 #logan reese #quinn pensky #quinn x logan #lola martinez #michael barret #zoey brooks #chase matthew #Rebuilding PCA au #quogan baby

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destiny-smasher · 3 months

Text

Stuff From 2023!

List of things of note I experienced in 2023! A few things didn't technically release in 2023, I'm sure, but yea. Will contain my 'Top 10 Games I Played in 2023' as well.

Firstly, something I played a lot of this year in bursts but doesn't quite crack my Top 10 is Vampire Survivors. Very addicting, did some very fun goofy shit that had me laughing and engaged in a lizard brain way. Appreciated the many Castlevania references and jokes, too.

A couple of games I played every weekend for a few hours across many weeks this year were Project Zomboid and Roots of Pacha, both in a group 4. We had lots of fun with those two, and I think they're both great co-op time-sink games. Zomboid is a zombie survival sim that has way more attention to detail than its graphics may imply. It's still in early access but the depth to its is honestly pretty dang impressive. Pacha iterates on the Stardew Valley formula in a ton of small but deliberate, thoughtful ways that make for a nice twist on that Harvest Moon style game.

REMAKES

There were so many great remakes this year, on top of just amazing games in general, I can't fit them all into my Top 10. So here's a segment dedicated to most of the remakes I loved this year.

The remake of Super Mario RPG was such a surprise, and turned out very damn well. That game, turns out, is very near and dear to my heart and I did not fully appreciate that until this remake was revealed. It comes just shy of cracking my Top 10 list and that's honestly only because I finished Mother 3 finally right at the tail end of the year. This game manages to still feel weirdly fresh even today just due to how fucking strange it is, and the remake speeds up the pacing a bit while also adding in some new mechanics and a chunk of new post-game content. Everything was handled so well. This is like the new gold standard of complete one-to-one remakes of sprite-based games imo. I will admit the artstyle is a bit 'off' in some ways but I think it's very clean looking and captures that 90's CGI spirit really well, all things considered. And the music, OOF, so damn good.

The remake of Dead Space I don't have much to talk about, but it's very well produced. It's remade so well, in fact, that it felt like my memories of the original, even though I know it's not an exact recreation. Very well done and still holds up as a great horror action game with these improvements.

The remaster of Metroid Prime is so impressive it feels like a remake, even if the game is identical to the original aside from presentation and some control changes. It's an iconic classic, and yet I have no patience to do the Chozo Artifact stuff, so I actually did not roll credits on this version BUT still thoroughly enjoyed reliving the game with a very nice new coat of paint. It makes me excited to see what Prime 4 will look like on, I expect, more powerful hardware.

SHOWS/MOVIES

The year started strong with a TV adaptation of The Last of Us. While I've come to have conflicted feelings with the franchise at large, mainly due to its leading boss man, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this series. Very well done adaptation that picked and chose what to keep and what to change and honestly makes for a better story as a whole if you ask me, while not really replacing the game's tactile interactive tensions. Cannot wait to see what they do with Part 2 tbqh. I loved that game more than the original but also felt it was worse as an overall game/experience/narrative. But a fresh take on that same plot could potentially address a lot of the issues I had with Part 2, while simultaneously not really 'replacing' it, either.

The Bear. If you haven't seen it, it's just. Very good television. Two seasons in and it's sitting up there chasing Mr. Robot and Better Call Saul as one of the best live action series I've ever seen. Season 2 did such a great job of giving us deeper dives on the various characters and building toward an organic and rewarding conclusion that still leaves room for another season to theoretically wrap things up. Nothing too crazy with this show, it's super down to earth, and it owns that very well with editing and pacing that varies per episode, kind of in line with the different character perspectives.

Super Mario Bros.: The Movie had me worried for a while, mainly due to the animation studio and casting. And while I'm still not 100% sold on this celebrity casting, I will admit it didn't weight the experience down -- even if it's still the second weakest element by far. The weakest element is the writing. It's not, like, offense -- it's loyal to the source material and works, it functions. But it's not doing anything beyond pushing us from set piece to set piece. If anything, the movie is a bit too short for all of the stuff it's cramming in. But on the upside, there is a lot of amazingly rendered visuals and music to take in. A real treat for fans of the franchise, and the most loyal gaming adaptation in movie form, I would say.

Across the Spiderverse is in essence the first half of a two part film. That makes it kind of difficult to talk about, especially when it's also a sequel, and the production sounds like it was marred with bad management and crunch. But the results they came up with actually met my hopes and expectations for a sequel, and that is saying something, as I had very high expectations. I completely adore this film's stupendous sense of style, editing, framing, writing, and the way it's making meta-commentary on multiple levels on top of just being an effective narrative on its own. This is animated storytelling running at full capacity in my opinion, and in general just film doing all of the kinds of things film can do. So it's no wonder that there's still a rub -- this is the first half of the story they planned. The editing, animation, framing, effects, acting, action sequences, music, writing, theming, just Farore's sake, this is SUCH a damn banger of a film and one of the best movies I've ever seen, which, again, is kind of insane given the circumstances. I can only hope they don't fuck up the conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was quite the surprise announcement, and as it turns out, quite the surprise adaptation. I won't spoil much but I will say that by the end of the first episode, it becomes very apparent that this series is no mere by-the-books adaptation, and does something unique and edifying, even if it still maintains a certain surface-level depth I wish the franchise would push beyond. Either way, I enjoyed it way more than I expected to going in, and I think it makes for a great companion to the rest of the series. The animation style was super fun, as well, with some great action sequences.

But Blue Eye Samurai sucker-punched me, having released before I'd even known about it. This show is something else, something unlike any other animated show I've seen besides Arcane. And it's not like it's mimicking Arcane, it's just the closest I can think to compare it to: a quality, thoughtfully framed, thoughtfully written, made-for-adults animated series. It tows the line between fantasy and realism in a refreshing way, its protagonist is great, its cast is compelling, its plot goes to some neat places, and things just feel very well thought-out and well-executed. Slap this in second place behind Arcane as the TV series I am the most excited to see more of in the future, just ahead of The Bear.

Something I did near the end of the year was watch The Hunger Games movies, back to back over the course of like, a week. Have not read the books but man, watching these sure made me interested in doing so at some point. I totally get why people were so enamored with this franchise, and honestly, I think its themes and messages are more relevant now than they were when this franchise was at the peak of its popularity. The films certainly have glaring issues for my tastes but yea, I managed to really enjoy them as a whole despite my lack of mainstream sensibilities. Looking forward to reading the books eventually.

Another thing my wife shared with me was 花ざかりの君たちへ (often called 'Hana-Kimi' for short). Specifically, the 2007 version, as, uh, apparently there are multiple adaptations of this. It was a live action Japanese drama about a high schooler who was born female but transfers into an all-boys school, identifying as a boy while she is there. There's more to it than that, and I won't say it handles everything the best (it's from the mid 2000's) or concludes things in quite the way I'd have preferred. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing many tropes I'm used to seeing in anime rendered by physical, real actors. BUT it was overall a really sweet, adorable, funny, heartfelt, and reached for pro-queer expression in a time and place when that wasn't mainstream yet (and honestly kinda still isn't depending on who you ask).

Good Omens Season 3 also dropped this year. I actually don't have much to say partly because I think a big element of it is just not knowing what to expect going into it! But it was also very good, very fun, pretty damn gay, I really enjoyed it and am crossing my fingers hard they get to wrap it up the way they want.

All right! Onto my personal top 10 GOTYs.

TOP 11 GAMES

(I played and finished in 2023)

11) Mother 3

The one entry on this list that did not actually come out this year -- in fact, it's never technically released outside of Japan. Originally release in 2007 on the Game Boy Advance, this quirky RPG has developed quite the reputation. I started playing the fan translation back in like 2020, and only got around to finally finishing it this year. While that likely did tarnish the experience a bit for me, so does the final third or so -- it kind of drags on a bit, and any old school format RPG that requires grinding to progress can become a bit of a chore.

Thankfully, Mother 3 did earn its hallowed reputation in my eyes now that I have experienced it. I totally get the passion for this game now, and I am a convert. It makes me want to finally finish Mother 2, aka Earthbound. But here's the biggest thing about Mother 3 I weirdly did not expect going in, yet smashed my face in like a hammer by the time I finished it:

without Mother 3, there is no way Undertale/deltarune would exist.

The DNA for Toby Fox's works is achingly obvious in its relation to this game, specifically. I won't spoil anything and I won't go into my long list of evidence like an Ace Attorney case, but trust me, there is ample evidence to make this claim.

And that also means that Mother 3 stands on its own merits as doing things that RPGs just plain were not doing in 2007, and in some ways still aren't today. Aside from some pacing issues further in, the characters in your party aren't as developed as much as I'd like. BUT the overall narrative it tells, especially in those opening chapters, have a rare kind of earnest, human magic to them that most games just don't let themselves fall into. And it concludes in ways I did not expect and yet offered clarity as to why it is so beloved, and how Toby Fox was so inspired to put his own mark on the gaming landscape.

I owe a great deal to Undertale, personally, and as such, I also owe a great deal to Mother 3. You don't need to have played others in the series to enjoy it, you'll just be missing some referential stuff here and there. It's quite playable and unique by today's standards and I strongly recommend it if you want an RPG that is heartfelt, funny, fun mechanically, and has some simple but hard-hitting things to say about the world we live in, and what we are doing to ourselves and that world.

10) Super Mario Bros. Wonder

What can be said that hasn't been said already? Nintendo knocked it out the park with this one. This was everything I've wanted in a 2D Mario for like 15 years. The only thing 'missing' from it is playable Rosalina, but hey, we finally got Daisy in a mainline Mario game, so I'll take it. After a decade or so of dragging their feet with low-effort but enjoyable 2D games, Super Mario Wonder finally, at long last, captures what makes Nintendo games great and with their best foot forward. They haven't done 2D Mario this well since World on the SNES in 1991. And they have never put this level of production into a 2D game since... ever?

This is one of the all-time best 2D platformers out there, and for once it finally feels like 2D Mario is running on all cylinders as a big budget passion project kind of game. You love to see it.

9) Scarlet Hollow

This game isn't technically finished yet, as it is episodic, and its developers wanted to release Slay the Princess in the interim, but that doesn't stop its quality from being good enough to make my list. This game is doing the kinds of things visual novels should be doing, the kinds of things I wish to do in a sense with my own visual novel development.

It's a horror themed experience but balances the high tension with actual real stakes very well against mostly down-to-earth conversations, with lots of great tricks and touches of presentation you don't typically see in indie visual novels, along with a fantastic art style, charming characters (my favorite character has turned out to be the one I immediately disliked at first, and that's rare for me), and meaningful choices.

I can't wait to see how this one wraps up but even as it stands it's one of the best things I experienced in 2023.

8) Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed

I will admit I skipped Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after giving it an honest go in like, 2019 or so. A few hours in and i couldn't stomach it, the tonal whiplash from Xenoblade 1 (one of the best RPGs I've ever played) was too much for me. But then Xenoblade 3 came out last year, and is also one of the best RPGs I've ever played, even better than the original for my tastes.

But I wasn't prepared for the DLC to drop a whole ass side-game on us, a self-contained prequel to 3 that serves as narrative cohesion to tie the whole trilogy together with a bow on top, complete with perfectly tuned fanservice (and not the sexy kind, although grown-up Rex and Shulk, well, yes) that really respects its fanbase for investing hundreds of hours in this franchise.

Matthew is easily one of my all-time fav RPG main characters, probably the favorite RPG main character when I think of it (as main characters specifically go, anyway), and his game is a fraction of the length of many RPGs out there. But as usual, the entire cast had their charms, the story was nicely paced, the gameplay and overall length was just about damn perfect for what I could want from the genre.

As an expansion to a pre-existing game, this is one of the top 3 best expansions/DLCs I've ever played. When taken as a side story to an overarching trilogy, I'm not even 100% in on the lore and I still enjoyed the hell out of it, it's just the kind of thing that hits a tone of 'damn, video games are a fucking unique medium that we can do specific narrative things with across years of telling a story.'

I don't know where Monolith Soft is going next, though the ending certainly offers some intriguing teasing, but I suspect I will be there day one to see it, and am looking forward to it.

7) Pikmin 4

Given the long wait (10 years!) one might understand fan concern over the state of Pikmin 4. Turns out, that extra time was spent making this game fucking good. It's not the largest, most impressive, most complex, most inspiring, most 'anything' game I played this year, and yet I can't help saying that this is a damned good video game. It really nailed what it set out to do as a sequel, incorporating just the right ideas to spice up the formula while bringing things back to how Pikmin 2 was, and improving on the series in basically every way -- including stuff to do!

This is easily the most Pikmin game... in a Pikmin game. I still haven't 100%'d it. Without giving away any details, I'll just say that when a game rolls credits and you're only like, halfway through its content, and it just keeps going, that's just kind of wild. It would've felt like a great game even then, but the breadth and depth it ends up going to in order to keep giving you ways to engage with its wonderfully detailed world and addictive mechanics, I love it.

I just want more of it. Give me DLC with more Dandori content, the formula and feel just works so well at this point.

6) Sea of Stars

How the hell I forgot to include this one on my list initially is boggling. Easily one of the best indie games I've ever experienced. The writing is nothing to, well, write home about, but it's not bad. And in fact the story has a lot of great things going on, from an interesting world to a very potent arc with the leading support character (who, let's face it, is kind of more the main character than your two main characters).

The game's art and music are phenomenal, capturing the essence of 90's era RPGs but clearly doing things not capable back then. Made even sweeter, the game is a prequel to the studio's prior work, The Messenger, which I also played and adored in tandem, kind of going back and forth between the two once I was partway into Sea of Stars. The way this RPG repurposes songs from Messenger as well as all kinds of seemingly superfluous elements but makes it feel cohesive is pretty great.

The game also trims a lot of the fat you'd find in older RPGs, as well as lets you customize your experience in a modern way using collectibles you can toggle on and off to grant all kinds of effects, like increasing or decreasing the difficulty in various ways.

The homage paid to classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG is clear but it's not at all copy-cat-ing, instead wearing those inspirations proudly on its sleeves and forging its own path with its own ideas. A fantastic collection of party members, a wonderful world, amazing presentation, and environments and pacing that help it stand apart from the genre that inspired it. I wish we got to know the leads better, there is a lack of character growth in many ways, but that's me grasping at straws to critique, it's just a fantastic experience and the studio should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

5) Hi-Fi Rush

This is gonna be a running trend from here on out, but on any other year, Hi-Fi Rush would've been my GOTY, easy. From this point on, we're talking measures of inches rather than miles in terms of my love for these games.

Hi-Fi Rush finally delivered on something I have waited like 20 years for: a rhythm action adventure where playing the game in sync with the music felt fucking cool and gave me emotional resonance in a way only this medium can. The humor was charmng. The visual aesthetic is almost peak 'my taste.' The music was groovy with a few tracks I did not see coming but loved seeing how they were incorporated. The story was surprisingly fun! The characters were fantastic, I loved the entire main crew in a way I rarely ever do and would jump at the chance to spend more time with (and hey, there's a whole bunch of post-game I have yet to do, so I intend to in 2024).

The only real thing I could reasonably ask for from this game is a way to play as those other party members in post-game content or new-game plus or something. And who knows, maybe we get that some day. Even if we don't, what they came up with here is the next best thing besides. And what we got is one the most video-gamey video games I have ever played, a real classic and one I think will go down as one of my all-time favs. A passion project given meaningful time, budget, and creatives to bring it to life.

Had this game offered multiple playable characters, a bit more development in its story, and maybe a stronger climax, it'd be higher. I still love it to death and want more games like it regardless.

Hi-Fi Rush is exactly what kind of game we could have gotten more of if the Internet hadn't pushed gaming into a 'live service' direction. It is literally the spirit of a PS2/GameCube game given modern form. And either way, we did get it, at least, in that form, and it fucking rocks.

4) Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

This year was big for remakes and remasters, but one stands tall above the rest, if you ask me. The original RE4 has stood as my fav in the franchise, the one that got me into the franchise, the one that got me into M-rated games in the first place. Lots of nostalgia, but it's held up surprisingly well over the years despite some limitations of the time (mainly the controls) and some older-fashioned sensibilities ("with ballistics, too~").

But Capcom fucking nailed it with this reimagining. Like Final Fantasy VII: Remake, this game is not a remaster, or a one-to-one recreation. It is a brand new game, built from the ground up, reimagining the original entirely, complete with new mechanics and story. But unlike with FF7, this is also shockingly authentic and loyal to the original at the same time. It remixes elements from the original game, maintains most of the original's map design, adds in new stuff, removes some of the more goofy shit -- and even 90% of what feels 'removed' is revealed to be repurposed for the Ada side story DLC.

It looks great, it sounds great, the adjustments to characters and story are improvements across the board, (except for Hunnigan, RIP) the gameplay is improved in intensity and feel and action and replayability. And yet despite all of this, it balances that campy tone of the original just enough to still evoke what I loved about the original's tone. And it doesn't outright replace the original game, either. The two are now like different recipes of the same sandwich or something. There's reasons to revisit the original, though for me this has now replaced the remake of RE2 as my fav in the franchise.

I really don't know where they go from here but I will look forward to it, and regardless, they fucking nailed this one.

3) Street Fighter 6

Two Capcom games, back-to-back? They had a fucking good year in my eyes. The interesting thing about this particular entry is that unlike the others on this list, I will be continuing to play this one for hours and hours into 2024, especially with more fighters still planned. And in another year, this would've easily been my GOTY.

After all, Street Fighter 6 is the single-best traditional fighting game I think I've ever played. And while fighting games are my overall personal favorite genre, I'm more of a Smash player who also loves the hell out of Street Fighter and then dabbles in Tekken and whatever else releases. Street Fighter has always been one of my go-to top multiplayer games since I got into the franchise with SF4 in 2010. While I did enjoy SF5 well enough, it just didn't keep me hungry to come back for more like 4 did. SF6 has fixed that problem by way of a multitude of changes.

It has easily the most fun single player mode I've seen any fighting game have. Like, yea, The Subspace Emmisary (and even then, I don't love that mode like other folks do, I kinda think it's... fine?) but tbqh World Tour is just better in most every way. You get to build your own fighter, earn and mix and match different costumes and individual character special moves with each fighter's fight style. You get to just hang out with the SF characters, get to know them as people, their hobbies, their fears, their insecurities, their passions besides just beating the shit out of each other. On top of this, the realistic art style shift (a by-product of the RE Engine) seals the deal on what Street Fighter 6 is aiming to do: humanize its cast.

Is it still wacky as fuck? Is it still comical and weird and goofy? Hell yes, it is. Is the story mode deep in its narrative? Not in the slightest. But it's still stepping confidently in a direction fighting games should be trying to, not being too self-serious, but also being earnest.

And I haven't even touched on the mechanics! The Drive System alone is a brilliant addition that adds a sort of 'stamina' system that works so well to add an extra layer of decision making and tension. The game's not perfectly balance imo but for how much is here it is surprisingly damn well balanced, especially given they have insisted on not pushing out a single balance patch since it launched in June. For most any other competitive game, that would be like suicide for the scene, but the game seems to be thriving and selling extremely well for the franchise. And it's earned it.

I will absolutely be continuing my warrior's journey into 2024 and I can't wait to see what else Capcom has in store for this game.

2) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Out of every game I played in 2023, Tears of the Kingdom is easily the most technically impressive. From a design standpoint, from a 'how in the hell is the Switch doing all of this without exploding' standpoint. From a 'holy hell how is there this much stuff in a single player game' standpoint. From a 'oh my goddesses that stupid batshit idea I had 100% worked because it actually did make sense' standpoint.

Where Breath of the Wild opened our minds as to what an open world game could be -- fully designed like one giant interconnected 'level' -- Tears of the Kingdom replied in much the way I expected: it pulled a Super Mario Galaxy 2. What I mean by that is that this is a direct sequel, building directly off the foundation of the original. You know. Like video game sequels almost always used to. And which many very successful ones still absolutely do.

But Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to wow me all over again by adding to that open world's verticality in insane ways -- the Depths alone are probably my favorite 'mechanic' from any Zelda game ever besides the time loop of Majora's Mask (and what that did for the story and gameplay). But beyond the scale of the world basically doubling and then some (floating islands and caves on top of Depths), I was curious how this game could stand tall after Elden Ring, which is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time at this point. Elden Ring was Fromsoft's reply to BOTW. And yet Tears of the Kingdom still managed to have something new to say in spite of that very strong reply.

Tears of the Kingdom opened the door to let players essentially create their own mechanics. By removing the abilities Link had to engage with the world before, and replacing them with a brand new toolset that includes abilities you just... don't see games give you, because they'd be 'overpowered,' TOTK designs its massive world in ways that invite you to use those 'overpowered' abilities however you see fit.

Being able to interact with the world and objects in this way, being able to fuse them together to create all kinds of effects, or new methods of transportation, even interacting with things not just spacially but in respect to time, it's nuts and fun and I've already poured like 130 hours with still so much I haven't done. And that's the thing: this game wasn't designed to be 100%'d. It was designed to just... be experienced, as much or as little as you want. And games on this level of scale/budget just do not have the guts to let so, so much 'content' be missed out on. And this game does.

It's a technical achievement and while I had my doubts with how strangely little Nintendo had to show, I am very glad that the experience itself manages to breathe new life into one of my all-time favorite games while improving on it in so many ways. It won't convert you if you didn't love the original -- this is a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style sequel, after all. But it's essentially replaced the original in ways I didn't think would be possible.

The story? Oof. Uh, not so much the story, let's ignore that part. That's what Nintendo wants you to usually do, anyway. But everything else, just. Din-damn.

It expands upon the first game's already fairly open-ended nature in an exponential way that I suspect developers will spend years to come trying to pin down, much like how they've spend the past 6 or 7 years trying to replicate BOTW's open world design.

For much of this year, I thought this was personal GOTY. And for many it will be, because it's just an extremely impressive video game.

Number 1...?

Going into this list, I kept telling myself, 'man, on any other year, this would be my GOTY. And if you know me personally you likely have already figured out what my GOTY is by omission. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how close these top 5 games are, it really is like centimeters instead of inches, and they each -- well, every game I've mentioned here, beyond the Top 10, as well -- offered something edifying that I was very satisfied with.

And no, it's not Baldur's Gate 3. While I have spent hours playing it in co-op and a little bit solo, that game's just not really for me, exactly. Like, I can enjoy it, and I have massive respect for the dev team and what they accomplished with it. But I don't much care for D&D, and the game just didn't do very much for me personally, I lack the motivation to finish it. Remove Karlach from the game and I have next to nothing to really attach myself to, personally. I definitely get why it's many people's favorite game of 2023, though, and I do think it's a bit of a wakeup call for what can be accomplished by just making a GAME instead of struggling to contort it into a service etc.

Street Fighter 6 is fucking fantastic but it could still use some more actual fighters and incentives to keep playing besides monetizing its players in weird ways. I love it, and it will be the game from 2023 I end up playing the most (it already is, I think). But if it ended as it is, I would be very satisfied.

Hi-Fi Rush is oozing with originality and style and I adore it to death, and when I finished it, I was very satisfied.

Resident Evil 4 kept me addicted for over 100 hours, had an amazing DLC expansion, oozes replaybility in the specific ways I like for a single player action game (rogue-likes besides). I am extremely satisfied by it.

Tears of the Kingdom is so massive and fun to just explore that I know I will continue to play more in the months to come. Will I ever revisit it entirely? I'm actually not sure! That massive length does lend some repetition, even if it's the kind I find therapeutic and satisfying.

And that's what made me realize something. My personal GOTY did not just satisfy me. It made me hungry. It filled me up in a way I didn't think was possible and yet I still hunger for more, because I enjoyed it that fucking much. I played through it twice and still hunger for more. I know I will play it a third time eventually, but mainly I just have not been to remove from my brain the particular ways it made me feel, ways that only a video game can. Nothing about it felt like it needed to be overlooked.

SF6 and RE4 had dubious monetization, TOTK had a story I found to be like 90% boring and it still maintains many of the flaws of the original. And Hi-Fi Rush, while amazing, just didn't scratch the particular itch this game did for me.

1) Lies of P

If you told me that Lies of P was a game developed by some sub-division of FromSoft, I'd believe you. Which is to say I would also believe that it was made by people who wanted to break free from some of the shackles of the now infamous 'soulslike' genre.

A narrative that actually makes sense by the end? Opening up options for the player without requiring specific stat levels? Encounters and boss fights that feel ravenously challenging without just feeling like cheap bullshit? Music that crosses borders beyond 'angry chorus, angrier orchestra'?

Lies of P doesn't quite eclipse Elden Ring, but that's an absolutely unfair comparison given the utter scope and scale and variety that game packs. But Lies of P improves at the FromSoft formula in specific ways, while making concessions in others, and as a result it's just an experience that seeped into my brain like no other game this year, not even Tears of the Kingdom, despite that I put half the hours into this one.

I love all of the games I have mentioned here, you could honestly swap around the order of this top 5 and I could mentally meander a way to justify why, no, actually, this one was my favorite game of 2023. In a year so awful for the people who make games, yet so amazing for games themselves, Lies of P is exactly the kind of game I needed. I needed someone to show me that you can make something directly inspired by someone else's work, yet fine tune it in all the right ways to make it stand just as tall in terms of quality and design. Lies of P made me feel things in ways only a handful of games ever do -- and I would actually count Hi-Fi Rush among those in a regard.

But Lies of P also told a story I found compelling. It had mystery, tension, buildup, it started off seeming like it would do the vague FromSoft schtick only to 100% come together, make sense, be rewarding, and offer a 'true ending' that I got on the first playthrough, organically, without looking things up, because it just... felt right. Not only is the game adapting FromSoft's formula into something its own, it's also doing that with the story of Pinocchio. The gameplay and the story congeal together not in the 'perfect' way that it does with games like Celeste or Undertale, but rather in a more... messy way, like a puppet aching to become a real boy.

The game is full of loss, in its world and for you as the player, who will die many times. But unlike much of FromSoft's catalogue, I never once felt like I died because of bullshit. Was I trolled? Sure, the game definitely 'trolls' you in classic FromSoft fashion, lulling you into a sense of security only to sweep you off your feet. But unlike how FromSoft does it, these circumstances can always be avoided if you're cautious. And if you're not? Hey, 'We got you! We gooottt youuu, haha' and you lose a couple minutes of progress, rather than like fifteen minutes and also an entire level's worth of souls because oh right, this section you just got through is kind of bullshit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Souls. But the thing is, Lies of P takes the parts I love about Dark Souls, admits it can't pull off quite the intricate web of level design, but then throws away everything I do not like about Dark Souls, improves on the things I already liked, and then pushes me to meet it on its level.

The satisfaction of being a boss you spend an hour, two hours on, cannot be understated. It's a feeling unlike any other, and one only this medium can provide. And Lies of P kept me motivated, like Sekiro before it, to keep improving, keep growing, keep trying. And unlike Sekiro, it gave me so many more tools to play with, to learn, to balance in an arsenal with intent. Enemies have elemental weaknesses if I so choose to exploit them, the moveset of one weapon's handle can be applied to a completely different blade, my robotic arm can leverage things in a pinch, or be the backbone to dealing with a boss. Mastery is rewarded with practice. A vicious boss that annihilates you in five seconds can be defeated without a single scratch if you practice enough. Mastery, creativity, quick thinking, and reacting are all rewarded here.

I am more than the hands pulling the strings, I am more than a puppet, I am human. And games like this can only be made by humans, who get that specific itch that only video games that challenge us can scratch. It's not an itch everyone has, but that's why it's my GOTY and not yours, innit?

With its unique setting, its wonderful music, its cozy hub area, its narrative that offers just enough to make me care, but not so much that I am bored or feel misled, its amazing boss designs, and its wonderfully tactile and engaging combat, Lies of P is a game I just can't stop feeling something about whenever I am reminded of it.

It epitomizes so much -- not all, but much -- of what I love about what video games can do, what adaptations can do, and much like how Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, what people can do when they are inspired by someone else's work.

As far as I can tell, this is developer Round8's debut game, and just. Holy hell, what a way to come out swinging. I haven't seen a debut game hit this hard since, I don't know, Bastion.

Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right.

I did, and I do, and given what you teased at the end of this game, I have extremely high hopes of what you come up with next. And in a landscape where things feel more difficult to get excited for with each passing year, much less new IP, it's so damn refreshing to have both Hi-Fi Rush and this game standing out as signals that, hey, some folks are still willing to invest bigger budgets into new games, new ideas.

Again, a battle of centimeters here and at this point I should wrap this up and go to bed.

But yea, Lies of P reminded me of what makes me, specifically, human, in a very particular way that only it has. And I honestly think out of all of single player games of 2023, I think it will actively stand out in my heart the most in the years to come.

#GOTY 2023 #goty #video games #gaming #Mother 3 #scarlet hollow #super mario wonder #future redeemed #Pikmin 4 #Hi-Fi Rush #re4 remake #TOTK #LOZ TOTK #Tears of the Kingdom #Lies of P #long post #Sea of Stars

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meowcatsposts · 2 years

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Payment [Tang Xuan]

Overview

Tang Xuan wants to get to know you better, so being the extrovert he is, he walks right up to you and is like, hi nice to meet you

You’re so fascinated by the orbs floating around him

They’re shiny and look like mini moons-

Then the two of you develop this relationship where you pay him with strawberry pudding to touch his things

Lmao it’s just so he can spend more time with you

“Sorry I don’t have your pudding today…”

“Then pay him with a kiss-” says Li Ling

But in the end it’s all good

To Tang Xuan you were an enigma, veiled by an aroma he wanted to delve into. Whenever he passed by you in the Union halls, or when he’d catch you sneaking snacks from the cafeteria, or during any occasion, really, his cheery self would always greet you with a sun-radiating smile. Sometimes, he’d even go out of his way to lend a helping hand, justifying his reasoning with chivalry, and today was no different.

“Hey (Y/N)!” he exclaimed, bouncing atop his staff.

“Hi Tang Xuan.” As he plopped down on your table with a smile, you couldn’t help but notice the orbs floating around his shoulders, warming his complexion. They always left you in awe, but you never asked him for a touch out of respect, though, on numerous occasions, you considered requesting for one.

“So, uh…” Tang Xuan trailed, producing a pudding cup from behind his back. “How’s your day been going?”

The bright-eyed redhead never failed to make you feel afloat. Suppressing a growing smile, you replied, “I don’t know…normal? How’s yours?”

Tang Xuan thoughtfully gazed at the ceiling as he eagerly dug into his little dessert. Normal, huh, he pondered to himself. What is (Y/N)’s normal anyway? As he scooped the remaining bits of strawberry pudding off the corners of his cup, he said, “It’s been good so far, since I got to talk with you…” He paused, innocently blurting out the question poking at his mind. “What do you mean by 'normal’?”

Now, that was a refreshing question; Tang Xuan’s queries always pushed you to dig deeper within the labyrinth that was your mind, something not many bothered to do. Steadily, you listed things in your daily routine, mindlessly murmuring, “Paperwork, organizing files, missions…”

Tang Xuan nodded vigorously at your response, chuckling softly as you talked down the list. It was only fair that he wanted to get acquainted with you, and he felt as though he hit the jackpot. “Sounds like me! The paperwork is such a pain, though.”

As the both of you continued mindless banter, your eyes flitted from Tang Xuan’s ruby eyes to the necklace floating aimlessly around him. It seemed like the spheres had a mind of their own, spinning in place and bobbing around, yet somehow, they orbited uniformly around him, as though he were the sun. But, the more you delved into the thought, he was the sun that shone in the Union, shining his blazing light upon everyone he met, lighting up the ground he walked. Truly, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Immediately, Tang Xuan took notice of your flickering gaze. Wondering what was taking up so much of your attention, he followed your line of sight, turning rosy when he discovered it was him (or, rather, a part of him) who stole it away.

“Um…are you staring at these?” he asked softly, pointing to the mini light bulbs hovering at his neck.

“Uh…” It was as if he caught you naked. His sudden question shot precisely through your constant wonder, and pinned it against the hard walls of confession. Nervously, you nodded, adding on shyly, “I thought they looked cool, and…” Mustering up a shot of courage you asked, “Can I touch them…if you don’t mind?”

Tang Xuan was beyond elated. To him, it seemed like you were finally showing interest, different from the polite ‘how are you?’s you usually gave him. “Sure! I don’t mind, go ahead.”

Timidly, you brushed your fingers against a glowing orb, surprised at the smooth, marble-like coolness that stroked your skin. Seeing that you were enjoying yourself, Tang Xuan said, as if reading your mind, “They’re detachable, if you were wondering.”

“Really?”

“Really. Here, I’ll show you!” Grinning, Tang Xuan pulled off an orb with ease, tossing it up and down like it was a mere toy. The rest bobbled and adjusted their positions, and, as if nothing happened, they continued to float along an invisible cord. You watched, awestruck, fingers itching. Then, perhaps Tang Xuan read your mind, because he pressed his sphere into your hands, asking giddily, “Pretty cool, right? What do you think?”

All you could do was nod vigorously, as most of your attention was drawn to the glowing orb sitting perfectly on your palms. Imitating Tang Xuan, you played with the ball in your hands, flinging and rolling it between your fingers with childlike wonder. How did these objects work, anyway?

With gleaming eyes Tang Xuan teased, “Come see me if you want to play with them again, I’ll always be happy to lend some to you!”

From that day on, your relationship with him blossomed, but there was a little catch–to touch any of his stuff, you needed to pay him in strawberry pudding. The reason? He refused to confess. His gaming buddies, Li Ling and Lewis, would tease him about it, but he paid them no mind; after all, that meant spending more time with you, and it was all he could ever ask for.

Aside from Tang Xuan’s floating necklace, his fiery crimson hair and brilliantly embroidered pole became the sources of your wonderment as well. How could someone be so vividly attractive? As you were busy pondering if it was appropriate to comb your fingers through those wild locks, or run them along his textured staff, said redhead materialized in front of you, wearing a big grin. Startled, a small scream escaped your lips.

“Oh, sorry!” he apologized, sheepishly thumbing his staff. “…I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s ok.” You paused thoughtfully, adding, “How do you always find me?”

Tang Xuan’s steady gaze clouded with dilemma, brain slowly turning to mush. He didn’t mean to follow you around that much, nor did he realize he was doing so, but it was only for good intentions–

“Tang Xuan, there you are!”

Saved.

Just then, Li Ling, atop his flaming wheels, casually floated over. He waved to you in acknowledgement, playfully including the arms floating around his back.

“You’re with (Y/N) again?” he observed, glancing your way.

Tang Xuan nodded as dread pooled in his stomach. Not here, he thought, throwing an exasperated gaze to his friend. “Yeah, we were hanging out just now.”

“You know…” Li Ling trailed, a smirk lining his lips. “Lewis told me to come get you, but I think I won’t.” He grinned at you, before adding, “Take care of this dork for us.”

Then, as quickly as he appeared, Li Ling vanished. From Tang Xuan’s lips escaped a small sigh of relief.

“Anyway,” he continued, “what would you like to touch test today?”

“Um…it’s several things, actually,” you replied, thoughts buzzing about the softness of his hair. Tang Xuan’s eyes widened at your statement; excitement did somersaults in his heart. However, this time, your pockets were empty and you had nothing to offer. Holding your bare hands out, you trailed a bit dejectedly, “...but I don’t have your pudding today.”

Albeit a little surprised, Tang Xuan insisted, “Oh, it’s okay! I’ll give you a discount!”

“Wait, really-”

“Just pay him with kisses!” Li Ling’s voice echoed through the walls.

Oddly, his brazen words spurred your confidence. Heart hammering against your ribs, you cupped Tang Xuan’s face, and, only for a brief moment, pressed your lips against his.

Tang Xuan short-circuited. Dazed, he failed to process what happened, mind hollering, as he poorly hid his scarlet face and beaming smile. Abashed, he wrapped his arms around you and squeezed your body flush against his, burying his face in your shoulder and pressing his lips against your collarbones. After what seemed like an eternity, Tang Xuan cooled his burning face, calmed his racing heart, and being the cutie he is, peppered kisses on your face, fluttering over your cheeks, eyelids, nose, and lips in no particular order. He giggled, seeing you smile.

Pressing his lips on your skin, he mumbled softly, “Can you pay me in kisses next time?”

Smooth mf-

#dislyte #dislyte tang xuan #dislyte tang xuan x reader #dislyte x reader

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acetechne · 4 months

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You know, every year I constantly think "oh I'm not doing enough x, but I should be doing more y, but but but-" and it turns out I still do a lot of stuff I like, I challenge myself, and I experiment more than I realize, so I'd say it's a success.

[ Template ]

What was my aim last year...? Figure drawing (sort of), more fan art / redraws (check). I still haven't found something I like as much as I liked croquis cafe (yknow, before they went off the deep end) though I would very much recommend Love Life Drawing for anyone looking to improve their gesture/anatomy/figure drawing.

So what did I do this year, let's see. My art trailed off quite sharply after early January, I got very sick with covid and that sent me into a pretty serious depression, but I recovered alright and was anxious to get back to drawing again. I worked a little on Condensed Milk which I still have yet to wrap up in a satisfactory way. I answered a lot of asks for @battle-of-alberta and took on a lot of ambitious projects, not all of which are represented here, but I tried to push my storytelling and infographics a little there.

I was able to draw a lot in the spring because I was starting a new job and had a lot of podcasts and videos to get through while I drew, but it was harder to keep up the momentum afterwards since I work from home doing research and I got very sick of sitting at my desk after I was done for the day. I tried to spend more time outside with traditional art as a result, though there were certainly challenges.

Despite the horrible amount of smoke and evacuations this year, I did get some travel sketching done over the summer. Quite a few people looked at my travel sketchbook either as I was creating or after the fact, and it's one of the few sketchbooks I have that I let people flip through, so that's a major confidence booster. The June drawing here is the page that a Vulcan local watched me adding to and came over to sit next to me to encourage me to print postcards, which was very sweet ;~;

I wasn't as ambitious in completing challenges such as World Watercolour Month this year, but I still produced a lot of things I was happy with.

Some things I'd like to do in 2024

more life drawing / urban sketching as the weather allows

use some of the zillions of CSP assets I downloaded! (or at least make them a little more organized)

use pencil crayons and gouache more in my work (and break out some of my new prismacolours...)

the usual stress of "i should create some merch" that i always grapple with needs to be addressed in a more concrete way.

Wrap up Condensed Milk, flesh out AaSA Chapter 9, and of course clear out that BoAB ask box :]

#artists on tumblr #art meme #summary of art #2023 art summary #2023 summary of art #art summary 2023 #digital art #traditional art

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foundtherightwords · 7 months

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Sunlight Through the Mist - Chapter 3

Pairing: Hellcheer (Eddie Munson x Chrissy Cunningham) Regency AU

Summary: Having witnessed the broken marriage of his parents, Edward Munson, Baron Hurstfield, always regards love with a cynical eye. When circumstances compel him to marry and produce an heir, he quickly proposes to Christine Conyngham, a debutante whose reputation is hanging by a threat after an ill-fated affair. All Edward wants is to save his family estate, but as beautiful, fragile Christine finds her way into his wary heart, their marriage of convenience may become something neither of them ever expects - a union of love.

Warnings: angst, past domestic violence, suicide attempt, smut (non-explicit)

Chapter warnings: awkward attempts at sex (slight dub con?)

Chapter word count: 3.9k

Chapter 1 - Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Christine. Her name was Christine.

A rather unusual, French-sounding name for an English lady. Perhaps one of her parents had been a Francophile, before the war with France had broken out and anti-French sentiment had permeated every aspect of life in England. Edward wondered if he could ask Miss Conyngham—Christine—about that, without sounding impertinent.

He had learned her name from Lady Harrington. He'd written to that lady under the guise of thanking her for inviting him to her ball, and, only at the very end, almost as an afterthought, he'd dropped a line about how much he'd enjoyed making Miss Conyngham's acquaintance. Lady Harrington's reply had been full of praises for Christine's beauty and virtues and sweet nature, as well as laments for her lack of fortune. It was from her letter that Edward learned Mrs. Conyngham was the second wife of Colonel Phillip Conyngham, and since the Colonel's estate was entailed to his sons, his death had left Christine with no fortune to speak of.

Nothing he'd learned about Christine made Edward regret his proposal to her, but his fear of her rejection only increased. What did he have to offer her, save for an empty title and an empty, drafty house in the middle of nowhere? She had said it was of no importance to her, but that was then. And even if it was of no importance to her, it may be of great importance to her snob of a mother.

Edward spent the two days waiting for a message from Christine expressing her regret. When it didn't come, he breathed a sigh of relief and steeled himself for an interview with Mrs. Conyngham.

He arrived at the Conyngham's townhouse a little after 12 o'clock—too early for a visit, perhaps but he could not abide the Londoners' habit of making calls so late in the afternoon. He knocked, was met by a maid, and, after presenting his card, inquired after Mrs. and Miss Conyngham. The maid disappeared into the house for a minute, before returning and bidding him inside.

"Miss Conyngham will receive you in the garden, sir," she said hesitantly, making no mention of Mrs. Conyngham.

Edward frowned slightly. He may not be well-versed in the intricate etiquettes and rituals of polite society, but receiving a man alone in the garden sounded quite unusual, even if that man had recently proposed. Did she mean to reject him after all? His frown deepened when he found his way barred by Mrs. Conyngham herself, looking rather vexed.

"Lord Hurstfield," she said, in response to his bow. "To what do we owe the honor?" Her tone implied that this was no honor at all; rather the opposite.

"Mrs. Conyngham." Edward tried to look past her into the parlor, hoping to get a glimpse of Christine and see what this was all about, but she was nowhere in sight. He turned back to her indignant mother. "Ma'am, Miss Conyngham will doubtless explain everything to your satisfaction. But for now, if you'll excuse me, I have important matters to discuss with her. In private, please," he added, when Mrs. Conyngham made to follow him. He nodded to the maid to lead him to the garden, leaving Mrs. Conyngham spluttering in his wake.

In the pocket-sized yard behind the house, he found Christine in a morning dress of blue serge, attacking some pitiful-looking rosebushes with a pair of pruning shears. He bowed to her, but she didn't seem to see him.

"Your mother has no idea why I'm here," he said, as soon as the maid was gone. "I thought you had spoken with her?"

Snip, snip, snip, went the shears, while Christine bent her head over them with rather too much concentration.

"My rosebushes are hopeless," she said. "I prune and water and cover them in the winter, but nothing works. There is no light, no room for them to breathe. It's so frustrating, trying to grow a garden in London, don't you agree?"

She kept glancing at him while she rambled on, looking both afraid and eager. Edward went to her and put a hand on the shears.

"If you keep pruning them like that, there would be nothing left to grow," he said.

Finally, she lifted her eyes to him, and he saw at once the fear and nervousness in them. He could only hope that he was not the cause. "What is it?" he asked, as one might speak to a child.

Again, there was that hint of steel in her eyes, in her posture. "You have asked for my honesty, Lord Hurstfield," she began.

"Please, call me Edward," he said, but she went on as though he hadn't spoken at all.

"I'm going to be honest with you now. And if you want to retract your proposal afterward, I would understand. That's why I haven't spoken to my mother." She was speaking rapidly, apparently afraid that if she paused, she would lose the courage to continue. Edward braced himself for the rejection. "When I said I've... put my trust in the other man, I mean..." A flush was creeping over her forehead and cheeks, extending all the way to her ears and down her neck, and she kept squeezing the shears until her knuckles turned white. "I've trusted him completely. With... with..."

It took him a moment to grasp her meaning. He was struck with a sense of anti-climax and almost blurted out "Is that all?" but checked himself in time, when he realized she must have put a great deal of trust in him to reveal this.

"Miss Conyngham," he said. Then, in a softer voice, "Christine." She turned her beseeching, teary eyes to him. Perhaps he should have asked for permission to address her so familiarly, but this was no time for formality. "I understand. And it is of no importance to me." It was true. Other men may set great store by the virginity of their brides, but not he. Nobody demands that the groom be a virgin, do they? And if he could be a virgin by choice, why should she not be a virgin by choice as well?

Christine visibly sagged with relief. Her lips quivered, and the tears threatened to spill, but she held them off. That show of strength tugged at Edward's heart, making him long to gather her into his arms and tell her that she had nothing to worry about, that she was safe with him, but he didn't want to be presumptuous. Instead, he gave her a smile, a rather inadequate reciprocation of what had just transpired between them. She had not rejected him. She had trusted him with her deepest, most humiliating secret. The least he could do was to reassure her of his intention.

Then he remembered. Reaching into the inner pocket of his waistcoat, he withdrew the one thing that was almost as precious to him as Hurstfield Hall itself—his mother's ring. It was made in the shape and colors of her favorite flower, the humble love-in-a-mist, set with five small diamonds surrounding a sapphire. He had never seen his mother's hand without it. After the funeral, it was Mrs. Wayne who had handed it to him. "Keep it safe, Master Edward," the housekeeper had said, tears streaming down her face. "It won't fetch much, but God forbid, one day His Lordship may be desperate enough to sell it."

From that moment on, Edward had taken the ring with him wherever he went. Still, he'd never dreamed one day he would use it to propose.

"This was my mother's," he said, suddenly feeling shy. "May I?"

Christine gave him her hand, and he slid the ring onto her slim finger. It was a perfect fit. He let out a breath. It would have been quite embarrassing if the ring hadn't fitted, but now, he felt as though their union had received his mother's blessing.

"It's beautiful," Christine said, sounding like she meant it. "When may I meet her, your mother?"

There was a twinge in Edward's heart when he realized Christine didn't know. "She is dead," he said shortly.

"Oh." A moment, then she laid a gentle hand on his sleeve. "I am so sorry."

Her touch brought Edward out of the dark thoughts he was always in danger of sinking into whenever his mother was mentioned. This was no time to dwell in the tragedy of the past. It should be a happy occasion, and he was determined to make it so. He put on a smile and offered Christine his arm.

"Shall we announce the happy news to your mother?"

***

Within a single night, Edward had gotten engaged, and within three weeks, he had become a married man. The news of his wedding had caught everyone by surprise, even his Oxford friends who knew of his plan but didn't expect him to carry it out with such expedition.

Even Edward himself was surprised at how fast things had proceeded. Mrs. Conyngham had been understandably shocked and tried to raise the usual protests, but Christine had managed to calm her somehow. He left most of the planning of the wedding to them, as he was too busy settling his father's debts and putting the accounts in order. He hardly even had time to think about his betrothed, or, rather, his thoughts for her were all practical ones, such as sending instructions for Mrs. Wayne to prepare Hurstfield Hall and Wheeler to hire some horses and bring the carriage to London. For Christine's feelings, he paid no attention.

But now, after the ceremony had been performed and the vows exchanged, after the wedding breakfast had been eaten and all the guests had gone home, after even the packing had been done, ready for their trip back to Yorkshire early the next morning, there was nothing else for him to think about but her and what it meant to be married.

He would have to perform his marital duties, he knew. In her will, Great Aunt Munson had put emphasis on the production of an heir. But how could he manage it, when he felt very little attachment and attraction to his wife? Even those two words, his wife, sounded strange to him. Oh, he didn't deny that there had been something there when they'd first met, and it had played a part in his decision to propose, but that tiny spark was gone now, forgotten in the three weeks of anxious preparations and hectic arrangements. If they had some time together, perhaps he could rediscover some of that warmth...

Well, they were going to have the rest of their lives together, were they not? Would that not be enough time to know someone? And in this, they were not an exceptional case. Many couples hardly knew each other at all before they were married, and it bore no ill effect on their marriage. Intimacy would come in time, and if not that, then at least they would have some form of connection and understanding.

Walton had had the right of it when he said Edward was prone to overthinking. All this pondering got him nowhere. He would simply have to go through with it and take things as they come.

With that thought, Edward left the dressing room where he'd been put up for the wedding, and knocked on Christine's door.

"Come in," came the quiet reply. He opened the door but didn't step inside. Christine was sitting at her dressing table, brushing out her long, blonde hair with short, jerky movements. Edward was reminded of Rapunzel imprisoned in her tower. He certainly hoped their fates would be a sight better than those of that maiden and her prince.

Seeing him, Christine slowly put her brush down, while her fingers gripped the edge of the table tightly, as though afraid she might float away if she let go. She was careful not to look at him, so all he saw was her pale cheek. That whole day, she had been the same. When she first entered the church, she had looked calm enough, but as the ceremony progressed, she had gone paler and stiller, until she resembled a marble statue. That impression was only heightened by her wedding gown, the same silver one she'd worn the night they met. At first, Edward had thought it was a sweet gesture from Christine, to deliberately choose that gown for the wedding as a reminder, but when he asked, she'd looked confused, making him feel rather foolish, so he hadn't pressed the matter.

He'd supposed her strange behavior was mere wedding nerves. But now here she was, looking like a prisoner about to face the gallows. And he was the hangman.

"Look here, Christine," he said, fumbling for words. "I can see that you're not... We don't have to do this. Not until... you feel ready."

She turned to him then, her eyes glittering strangely in the candlelight. "Doesn't your great aunt's will stipulate that we must produce an heir?" she asked.

He blushed. "Within five years. Or the inheritance goes to someone else." He didn't tell her about the orphanage, not wanting her to think they were taking money away from needy children.

"Then I'm ready."

In a calm, matter-of-fact manner, quite unlike her nervousness when he first entered the room, she got into bed and looked at him expectantly. Now it was his turn to feel apprehensive. He wished he hadn't eaten so much cheese at supper. He wished he'd drunk a bit more. Wine could have loosened his nerves. He wondered if he could have rung a servant up and asked for a glass now. But no, it would not do to keep his bride waiting. With a shrug, he slipped under the cover and lay down next to her, while she blew out the candle. They didn't touch, but he could feel her next to him and smell the scent of lavender from her hair, and nearly lost his courage again.

He glanced at Christine. She was lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling.

"Is this... your first time?" she asked, not looking at him.

Damnation. He hadn't thought about that. This was his first time, but not hers. What would she think? Would she find his inexperienced attempts clumsy and pathetic, or would she grit her teeth and bear it because it was her wifely duty? He didn't want her to be uncomfortable with him.

Without knowing why, he blurted out, "No."

He immediately regretted it. He had promised to be honest with her, and now, in this most intimate moment at the start of their life together, he couldn't even keep his words. But it was too late to go back on it now.

"You do know what to do, don't you?" She sounded a little exasperated, and he didn't blame her.

"... Yes." Just not with another person.

Christine turned to her side. Their eyes met, and her hard, businesslike look softened a little with... what? Pity? Sympathy? She leaned over, closing the gap between them, and brushed her lips over his, which had gone dry. He remembered wondering about kissing her. Whatever he'd conjured up in his imagination, fueled by scant experiences of the few kisses he'd stolen at childhood parties and from the ladies of Covent Garden, this wasn't it. This barely counted as a kiss, especially when she seemed to change her mind at the last moment and turned her head abruptly to the side, causing his mouth to land on her chin instead.

Oh well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Perhaps it would ease them both, if he could touch her... He edged a little closer, fumbling through the layers of linen and cotton until his fingers found bare skin. The unfamiliar sensation of another person's flesh, a woman's, under his hand, was startling. She was soft but cold, as cold as her lips. Why was she so cold? The room was warm, almost stiflingly so. He was burning, with embarrassment more than anything. Yet she remained cold, unresponsive, aloof. He hardly knew what he was touching, her legs, her hips, or her waist, trying to find a place, a way to get her to look at him, to react to him, instead of turning away from him as far as she could, burying her face in the pillow as though he was hurting her.

His arms could no longer hold his body up from her. One slipped, causing his hips to dig painfully into hers. He could feel himself hardening just from the contact with her skin, but tried as he might, he couldn't feel anything from her. She was there in body only.

"Christine, look at me," he pleaded, his voice shaking. "Please." She didn't move, but he could see tears gleaming in the corners of her eyes, and under him, her chest shook with silent sobs. At the sight of those tears, the physical arousal he'd felt disappeared instantly, to be replaced by a sense of disgust and self-loathing. Christine didn't want this but couldn't say so. And here he was, pawing at her and forcing himself on her like those drunken brutes that frequented Covent Garden. No, even worse, because they knew they were drunken brutes and they were paying for a service, whereas he was doing this in the name of his husbandly rights. He was no better than his father.

"This isn't right," he mumbled. "I'm sorry."

He got out of bed and fled into the dressing room without looking back.

***

And so Edward spent his wedding night on a sofa in the dressing room, flagellating himself over the shambles he had made of the whole thing. Why oh why hadn't he married some simple peasant girl, or one of those vapid debutantes who didn't have much to say for themselves? With such a wife, married life may be dull, but it would be safe. But no, he had to fancy himself some knight in shining armor coming to the rescue of a fair maiden. Only she was no maid, and he was no knight either. Just an ungainly, untried boy who didn't even know his own mind.

But it was no use regretting it now. They were man and wife, and they had to act accordingly. Doubtless, other couples had disastrous wedding nights as well, only no one talked about it. He would tell her the truth in the morning and apologize and reassure her that he was willing to wait until she was comfortable with him.

However, the next morning, when Christine emerged from her room, pale and hollow-eyed, Edward's resolution failed him. In their rush to depart for Yorkshire, there was no time to bring up the matter. Christine said a quick goodbye to her mother, asked one of the maids to take care of her rosebushes, and entered the carriage. As soon as Edward followed her in, she settled down amongst the cushions and wraps and promptly closed her eyes, preventing any attempt at conversation. With a sigh, Edward pulled out a book—an English translation of Gargantua and Pantagruel—and endeavored to lose himself in the story. Perhaps he only needed to give her time.

Occasionally, he would look up from the book to study Christine. She wasn't really sleeping, he knew. She was too still, her eyes closed too tightly. What was she thinking? What did she feel about him? Repulsion, hate, or simply contempt? Did she regret marrying him? For the first time, Edward felt some curiosity about her unknown lover and why he had cast her aside. She couldn't love that man still, could she? Edward wondered why it should be of any importance to him.

They journeyed in silence for most of that day. After a brief stop at Biggleswade for some luncheon, Christine no longer pretended to sleep, but she spent the rest of the day staring out the window with such a melancholy look that Edward could hardly stand it.

The only thing that broke the monotony was the moment the carriage lurched over a pothole in the road and sent Christine into his lap. As they tried to disentangle themselves, Edward tried not to notice how her breasts were pressed against his chest or how her hands brushed across his thighs. He had to push her away, rather more roughly than he intended, before their proximity became too uncomfortable a reminder of their botched wedding night. Christine may find his brusqueness offensive, but he had no choice.

They stopped at Peterborough for the night. When the landlord asked how many rooms they required, Edward said firmly, "Two, please," and saw Christine visibly relax.

A good night's sleep must have calmed her somewhat, for the next morning, Christine seemed a little more alive, if not exactly cheery. She watched the landscape with a keener interest, and even asked him about his book and Hurstfield Hall. However, when Edward tried to breach the subject of their wedding night, her face turned to stone.

"We don't have to discuss it," she said rather sharply.

Edward clammed up. He'd wanted to tell her the truth to show that he trusted her, just as she had trusted him with the truth about her virginity, but it appeared she didn't welcome such trust. So he said lamely, "All right. But I meant what I said. We don't have to... Not until you're ready." Hopefully, that'll allow me time to be ready as well.

When the familiar shapes of the Pennines appeared on the horizon late that afternoon, Edward could feel strength returning to his mind and body. He glanced at Christine, who was watching the approaching mountains, looking more and more melancholy by the minute, and realized he had miscalculated in bringing her here at this time of day and this time of year. He had the advantage of a local, being able to see the beauty of Yorkshire even in the gathering gloom, under that gray March sky heavy with raincloud, but for her, it must be all wildness and desolation.

When the carriage stopped so the lamps could be lit, Edward saw Christine eyeing the footman tucking a pistol and a cudgel into his coat.

"There have been reports of highwaymen along these roads," he explained. "Better be safe than sorry." A look at Christine's face made him realize he'd made another blunder. Talk of highwaymen in this landscape would be the last thing to put her mind at ease.

Gradually, the lights of Hurstfield Hall appeared in the distance like a beacon. Edward bounced in his seat, eager to show off his ancestral home to his bride. As the carriage rolled to a stop on the gravel drive at the front, Christine got out first without waiting for his help. Following her, Edward saw her looking up at the house with an almost frightened expression. He took her limp, cold hand in his and walked with her toward the door, where Mrs. Wayne stood waiting, with all the maids and footmen lined up behind her, ready to welcome the new mistress of Hurstfield Hall.

After a brief introduction, Edward led Christine into the front hall. He could see that Mrs. Wayne and the staff had outdone themselves. All the windows, previously boarded up to avoid taxation, were now opened, their glass panes gleaming. The oak panels had been polished to a mirror shine, the tapestries showed off their rich colors, and a cheerful fire roared in the hearth.

"Welcome home," he said, beaming at Christine.

His smile disappeared when he saw her dull eyes. She is probably just tired, he told himself. But he couldn't shake the feeling that she had been considering him and the Hall, and had found both wanting.

Chapter 4

#hellcheer #hellcheer fic #hellcheer au #eddissy #hellcheersource #eddie x chrissy #eddie munson #chrissy cunningham #joseph quinn #joseph quinn fic

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