#its like they swapped roles from games to movies

[chloesimaginationthings]

The FNAF Mikes and Vanessas would get along (sorta)

#myart #chloesimagination #comic #michael afton #fnaf vanessa #vanessa afton #fnaf vanny #mike schmidt #fnaf #fnaf movie #security breach #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #finally … game Vanessa is here #TBH it’s funny I think similar to how Michael and Vanessa Afton are similar #I think Mike and game Vanessa are similar #its like they swapped roles from games to movies #which is pretty neat I love them all

[jyedthrry6]

#myart #chloesimagination #comic #michael afton #fnaf vanessa #vanessa afton #fnaf vanny #mike schmidt #fnaf #fnaf movie #security breach #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #finally … game Vanessa is here #TBH it’s funny I think similar to how Michael and Vanessa Afton are similar #I think Mike and game Vanessa are similar #its like they swapped roles from games to movies #which is pretty neat I love them all

[mrmorsh]

Information about the characters (Swap au —Chaotic swap. The idea of au is simple, the characters change roles, but their characters remain unchanged. And their appearance is changing thanks to the skins and costumes from the Sonic games.)

Agent Shadow is an elite agent of the Gun organization. His specialties are espionage and theft of important data. Trained by the best special forces fighters, thanks to which he is able to fight back even the strongest robot. His rocket boots allow him to temporarily levitate as well as make a series of short but fast jerks. During his time at Gun, his senses had dulled and Shadow had become more cool-headed. The hedgehog has a side type of earnings — the New Babylon Casino as well as a series of bars. Loves :Successfully completed tasks, money, as well as strong girls. He usually acts with cold and businesslike indifference, only occasionally showing his vulnerable side. It has a set of different types of gadgets, bombs, special glasses and pistols. Despite his cold nature, Shadow has a narrow circle of personalities that he can call friends without doubt or sarcasm. Just that the hedgehog hides his real emotions behind the mask of a harsh and cold agent. Of all of them, perhaps only two saw the real emotions of the hedgehog. Most often, it separates the eternally arguing Rouge and Lien-da, Which is why most often it becomes a beacon of reason for Rouge and Lien-da.

Rouge is a perfect life form created by Professor Gerald Robotnik as a universal medicine. Extremely dangerous due to the power to control the energy of Chaos, as well as because of the abilities that were added thanks to the altered dna. She is able to destroy stones and metal with her scream, but this ability requires great strength and concentration. Her element is air, so anyone who decides to arrange a fight in flight will instantly fall to the ground due to a barrage of attacks. She is a little obsessed with the power of Chaos Emeralds, so she tries to collect them. Rouge communicates quite easily and playfully—this behavior is associated with watching a lot of old movies on vhs, in which the main roles were played by spy girls. Rouge took the manner of her communication and behavior from the heroines of similar Films and TV series. Despite her cheerful demeanor, Rouge is still plagued by nightmares about the Ark colony, perhaps she has post-traumatic stress disorder. Her main connection is that Agent Shadow is her personal psychologist, he often calms Rouge at night when she wakes up from Another nightmare. Agent Shadow may be Rouge's main love interest, but due to her inexperience, all she can do is flirt. She is very proud and ready to fight dirty when faced with a formidable opponent. The carefree and playful attitude of the bat, due to its abilities, can strain some characters. To most people, Rouge seems brave, ambitious, independent, flirtatious, calculating narcissist who thinks only of herself. Although in fact this is just an image that she plays out in public, her closest friends know that the girl is actually kind, although she has moments of depression.

E.G.G-123—The most dangerous and intelligent of the E-series robots, is the creation of Dr. Vanilla, which as a result got out of control. It has a large arsenal of weapons and ammunition.Initially, E. G. G -123 was created as a guard for Rouge, which was in stasis at one of Vanilla's bases. However, the rapidly developing intelligence of the robot rebelled against Vanilla, wanting power as well as revenge for being locked underground for three years. In his arsenal there is :Rockets, miniguns, flamethrowers, plasma and laser weapons. In addition, the robot is very smart, which allows it to create its own weapons, which often work against its master due to mortality. E. G. G -123 likes to gloat and joke during battle, praising his fighting qualities as well as his mind. He often underestimates his enemies because of too much confidence in his abilities. The robot likes to compete with those individuals whose powers are not inferior to his own. He likes to arrange friendly fights with Rouge, considers her a worthy opponent. Despite his hidden desire to take over the world, E-123 himself wants Agent Shadow and Rouge to share the board with him. As a result, he tends to be extremely headstrong, reckless, aggressive and destructive - destroying everything that gets in his way.

---

Dr. Vanilla is a brilliant scientist and a villain with the biggest ego. Her main goal is to take over the world and prove that she is the greatest genius. Its main weapon is intelligence, which allows you to create robots and various equipment. However, her main weakness is her confidence in her invincibility and because of this, she sometimes underestimates her opponents during combat. Arrogant and narcissistic, she creates countless technological wonders that fuel her huge ego, usually bolstered by her goal to finally build an empire, and she doesn't care where it starts. Single-mindedness and stubbornness can be called a strong character trait, because she never gives up when most would accept defeat. Rare moments of losing control of anger turn Vanilla into a dangerous tornado of rage that threatens both allies and her enemies. Basically, he behaves calmly and coolly, showing emotions only in times of victory or defeat.

Gemerl is a robot created to copy other people's abilities as well as destroy the heroine cat Blaze.Jimerl is as fast as Blaze, and is also able to copy the abilities of other heroes, but he cannot copy more complex ones such as Chaos control. He is very restrained and calm; he never seems to be in a hurry, but he manages everywhere. On the surface, he seems quiet and modest, but in fact, he is probably no less insidious than Vanilla, with the only difference that he is very good at hiding his true feelings, thoughts and intentions.Other robots know that he is vindictive and vindictive, and will always figure out how to ruin the offender's life. Therefore, everyone tries to maintain the appearance of a good relationship with him. Jimerl himself is quite satisfied with this state of affairs. The only thing that can break his usual equanimity is the appearance of a possible competitor.He is a violent, aggressive, cold-blooded and intelligent killing machine with a great superiority complex. However, from the very beginning, he had a habit of imitating Blaze's gestures, if not in a mocking manner.Jimerl's most dominant trait is his hatred and obsession with Blaze the cat. Programmed with the sole purpose of surpassing and destroying the cat, the robot is obsessed with the belief that it surpasses Blaze in all parameters. The robot considers itself as it says:"Jimerl is excellent, Blaze is insignificant!"

Agent Vector is Dr. Vanilla's devoted assistant, who may be in love with her. As a rule, he performs secondary work, collecting materials for the construction of bases, checking factories for the production of robots and making coffeeAgent Vector is the most calm of their henchmen Dr. Vanilla.Vector is used to Vanilla's not always obvious plans and understands her better than most other people. He obeys the doctor, taking all insults in his direction and doing some humiliating things without unnecessary questions. Vector tends to consider himself the smartest in any situation. This may not always be true, but he is really quite smart, considering that he lasted the longest as Dr. Vanilla's assistant.Vector usually shows a calm side of himself. However, he speaks in a rude tone and may not pay attention to the details of the conversation. At the same time, Vector himself does not mind and frankly deceive and mislead, imitating Dr. Vanilla, whom he admires and respects.

---

Amy Rose is a combat soldier created by former subordinate Vanilla -Tails. Amy was originally created to destroy Blaze the Cat, but then Tails directed his forces to create his empire. Rose has become a leading force that helps Tails with his plans. Amy is gloomy, speaks little and is cold-blooded towards any battle or opponent. It can release lightning bolts from its body and also move at equal speeds with the Blaze cat. Her main ability is dark inspiration, which causes the worst and most evil in the personality to wake up. She does not show emotions even during the battle, because she is gnawed that she is just a living weapon created for destruction. But despite this, she finds the company of the robot convenient for her, to some extent she considers the Metal unit her only friend. She is ready to listen to the ideas of others when she admits that she does not really have a special plan of her own that could be implemented, which makes her more open to suggestions. In the future, she will hate Tails and will be obsessed with finding her real family, although it is still unknown whether she was created in a laboratory or was kidnapped for experiments. He likes to use a bat that can absorb energy from Emp or other sources and then release it in the form of lightning. She hides that she likes to be read bedtime stories.

---

Metal unit v.3.0—Was created as an attempt to replace Jimerl, but now monitors the state of the Emp. He was programmed to take care of Amy, but then the program turned into true emotions. He likes to cook , but because of the imperfection of his program, the food he prepares becomes a biological weapon. The unit is able to use its powers to control water, is able to create whole storms and even tornadoes. However, he can be too obsessed with Amy's safety, which is why, after her defeat, he can retreat, taking the hedgehog with him. He speaks politely and formally, addressing others as "sir" or "ma'am." Despite his restrained behavior, he is capable of moments of strong emotions: when he thought that Amy had been fatally injured, he flew into a rage and destroyed everything he saw.

Tails Miles Prower is a former fan of Dr. Vanilla, who decided that he would outgrow his idol and that he would be able to take over the world. He has a lot of knowledge in the field of creating cyborgs, mutants and robots. Uses Warp Topaz and its energy to open portals, hypnosis, and energy shots from a prosthetic eye. He voluntarily replaced some parts of his body, which is why he received additional abilities:Shooting a laser beam from the eye, hacking techniques, strengthening strength thanks to a robo hand. Initially admired the work of Dr. Vanilla, an unrecognized scientific genius and a big ego forced Tails to enter the road of crime. In addition to his intelligence, the fox is a pretty dexterous manipulator. He could masterfully use other people to his advantage to get them to cooperate with him or lure them into traps, and he knew exactly how to strike his enemies where it hurt the most.The fact that he had been an outcast for so many years made him bitter and cynical. A selfish genius who puts his own well-being above everything else.He is very easily ready to say goodbye to the life of another living being, so he immediately put Amy in front of a choice either she serves him or dies. Tails managed to sew a device inside Amy's heart that can stop the girl's heartbeat. He has absolutely no sympathy and considers Emp and Metal as ordinary instruments that can be replaced.

#sonic au #sonic fanart #rouge the bat #shadow the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog #shadouge #swap au #chaotic swap #vanilla the rabbit #vector the crocodile #gmerl #amy rose #miles tails prower #tails the fox #sth #metal sonic #amy rose the hedgehog #metamy

[pico-digital-studios]

Into, Across and Beyond!: Character Charts

Today, I'd like to introduce you all to most of the major cast line-up for Into, Across and Beyond!.

BLUR GANG

The Blur Gang is a bunch of multidimensional heroes from many universes all ganged together with the equal purpose of keeping things safe. The members of this team include:

OMT!Tails (the Tails of the Sonic.exe One More Time games by Mr. Pixel Productions)

CR!Sonic (an alternate version of the blue blur by @becdoesthings)

OMT!Mina (an alternate version of Mina from a parallel timeline to Tails)

Mini Sonic (from the Sonic the Hedgehog Parts 1 & 2 game)

Mr. Needlemouse (a cartoon-like Sonic made by @mcgamejolter)

EX!Alice (an alternate version of Xenophanes' right-hand girl by AetherAsterisk) and her robot mech, E4-R6:3

D-Sides Mighty (from the FNF D-Sides mod)

BK!Amy Rose (an alternate role swap version of Amy for Sonic and the Black Knight, conceptualised by @sstorminghearts)

CU!Sonic and CU!Sonia (a father and daughter from the ChaosIIUniverse by ToonsiteComics)

Nine (from Sonic Prime)

Nitro (my own original character)

Antho (from SFG1235's Mobiverse AU)

Ex-Prince Brian (from the Mobius' Freedom Fighters AU by jordangaming101 and @becdoesthings)

Hog the Tenrec (a bootleg Sonic character by Jack Gore on Twitter)

Wacky the Hedgehog (another bootleg Sonic character by danicorelove on Twitter)

Devy the Rabbit (character and sprite by NotSoDevy)

Trip the Sungazer Lizard

QUILL SOCIETY

The Quill Society are a group of multiversal characters responsible for protecting the very fabric of the Sonic and SEGA multiverse. Note in advance that only five of its members are on a bad side, and most of them are solely good. Their members include:

Lost Memory Sonic (from What if Sonic Lost his Memory? by The Sega Scourge)

Amy Rouge (from that Sonic Adventure 2 mod with everyone wearing Rouge's outfit)

Turbo the Alien Hedgehog (that one alien rival from the Fleetway comics)

Fiona Fox

Tekno the Canary (from the Fleetway comics)

Zonic the Zone Cop (from the Archie universe)

CD Alt Ending Sonic (from Sonic CD: Alternative Ending by Lucsan 2015)

Underground Sonic

Emperor Metallix

Errorverse Sonic (from the same AU Nitro originates from)

LEGO Sonic

Sunky and Tlels

Carol Tea (from Freedom Planet)

Sarah Henderson (from the Needlem0use series by ShutUpJojo)

Barry the Quokka (from The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog)

E-21 (a modified robot from the Movie universe)

Milly Prower (by SallyAc63038470 on Twitter; SFW in this AU)

Blitz!Tails (from the Sonic/Avalice Blitz AU by BobTheGUYYYYY on Twitter)

Sonic.RAW (a Sonic.exe character made by randidesu)

Superstars / Discovery Omega Amy

OVA Knuckles

Rob o' the Hedge

Water Sonic (from that one Sonamy fanart based on Elemental; designed by @xblueshin)

Fleetway Amy

Stella Hoshine the Cat

Pana Der Hejhog

Bunnie Rabbot

Nicky Parlouzer

Somari

Warrior Feline Honey

VILLAINS

These are the various villains present throughout the stories. These include, in the Spider-Verse set:

Eggman Nega

Shadow Emerl / Uma Arachnis

Zeera the Zeti

Surge the Tenrec

Johnny the Shark Robot

Snively

Crimtake (the EXE from NotSoDevy's SONIC Lost Drive trilogy)

Gemerl / Anti-Miles

Dr. Beeman (Mr. Needlemouse's arch-nemesis)

The More than One Universe set includes:

Shalian (an alternate version of Toxinfect)

Crossover Realm Corrupt

Talrareth

Animator vs. Animation Corrupt

Richard Ambersilve

Sonath

Curse (my version of the character)

The Into the Sonic-verse villains include, from this list:

Dr. Finitevus

The Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad (Scratch, Grounder and Coconuts)

Scourge the Hedgehog

Rosy the Rascal

Walter Naugus

And finally, we've some members of the AU's supporting cast, those being the OMT versions of Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Sally, Cream and Robotnik, alongside three other OCs of mine, Lucia, Karilvatch and Amelia, and the Mobiverse version of Tails.

Other supporting characters include:

The Errorverse counterparts of Tails, Amy, Knuckles and Eggman

Exeller (from the Spirits of Hell duology)

Team Lilac

Extraterrestrial Encounter Sonic / XE!Sonic and Xenomorphic (this AU's version of Eddie Brock and Venom)

The FNF trio from the Errorverse (alongside Bentonly/Bently Forceloyed and Isabella Fondsmith from New Identity, New Life)

The Prower Kids (Melody and Skye Prower)

Fellow SEGA and Capcom characters include:

Alex Kidd

Ristar

NiGHTS

Opa-Opa

Arle Nadja

Billy Hatcher

Mega Man / Rock Light

Over the next days, I'll drop some bios to explain who all these people are and their role in this AU. Do note that NONE of this is canon to the pre-existing AUs or official universes unless their creators deem it as such.

I apologise in advance if your favourite AU or a favourite OC didn't get in, but do know that this is only the surface level of how massive the multiverse can be. And just remember the one golden rule of the multiverse:

In the multiverse, everything is canon!

Yeah, we don't talk about THAT stuff, though.

Sprite credits:

CartoonsAnimate22 (OMT!Tails, OMT!Sonic, OMT!Knux, OMT!Amy and OMT!Robotnik)

Nebula / Cylent Nite (CR!Sonic and Lost Memory Sonic)

Cylent Nite (OMT!Mina, Tekno and Warrior Feline Honey)

jrm10071322 (Mini Sonic)

Octluigi (Mr. Needlemouse base; edit by Pico231)

deltaConduit (EX!Alice and CD!Sonic; edits by Pico231)

Sergey E.S.N. (front-facing Big Arms sprite)

Dolphman (S2 Mighty sprite; edit by Pico231)

Mod.Gen (BK!Amy, Nitro (edit and design by KoolTimYT, BroadwayBash123 and Pico231), Wacky (edits by Pico231), Fiona, Fleetway Amy, EV!Sonic/Tails/Amy/Eggman/Knuckles, Bunnie, Snively, Scourge, Rosy, Naugus and the Prower Kids)

paveldechev0604 (CU!Sonic; edits by Pico231)

SEGA (CU!Sonia, Crimtake and Shalian bases; edits by Pico231) (SS!Amy)

Deebs and Xeric (Alt Mod.Gen Tails sprite; edit by Pico231)

@mcgamejolter (Custom Nitro, Amelia and Bently sprites, alongside original sprites for AVA!Corrupt and Richard)

Antho and BECDoesDA/JordanGaming101 (sprites for Antho and Brian)

Gavin’s Golden Entertainment (Hog sprite; tweaks and edits by Pico231)

NotSoDevy (his character’s sprite)

miniluv73 (Trip sprite)

SuperGoku809 (Amy Rouge sprite)

RatherNoiceSprites (Turbo, Somari and XE!Sonic sprites)

khalifax10 and Xeric (Zonic sprite)

Deebs (UG!Sonic and OMT!Sally sprites)

DerZocker (Emperor Metallix sprite)

LegoLoco7 (LEGO Sonic sprite; recreation by Pico231)

Miles The Duck (Sunky and Tlels sprites)

GalaxyTrail (Carol and Lilac sprites)

SFG1235 (Antho, Barry and MV!Tails sprites)

KostyaGame the Fox (E-21 sprite)

JunkeyBot (Milly sprite; edits by Pico231)

Nebula (Super Tails sprite; edits by Pico231)

randidesu (RAW sprite)

Gardow and Overbound (OVA!Knux sprite)

Gabriel_aka_Frag (Rob o’ and OMT!Cheese sprites)

TheCrushedJoycon (TTS sprite; edit by Pico231)

MarkeyJester (Pana sprite)

NickyFan7 (Nicky sprite)

Shinbaloonba (Eggman Nega sprite)

Xeric (Uma sprite)

Teh2Chao2 (Zeena sprite)

ManiaMadness91 (Surge sprite)

mtallic (Sonic.OMT sprite)

Rosabelle (S1 Extended sprite; edits by BECDoesDA and PrimalKoopaPictures)

NotSoDevy and NightAkio (Talrareth sprites)

paveldechev0604 (Original Sonic 1-based sprite; edits by Pico231)

Louplayer (Ohshima Eggman sprite; edits by Pico231)

Tonberry2k (S.S.S.S.S. Squad sprites)

Smoke-the-Pyroling (OMT!Cream sprite)

KoolTimYT (Dr. Beeman and Exeller sprites)

LiefBnuy (SMA Milla sprite)

HyperTails12 and LillyDragon (Carrie sprite)

NICKtendo DS (Time Eater sprite; edit by Pico231)

RaulHedgeBomber (FNF trio sprites’ palettes)

Hyperknux6 (custom NiGHTS sprite)

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic exe #sth au #sth #sonic #amy rose #knuckles the echidna #spider verse #spiderman #sonic prime #sonic fandom #sonic oc #dr. eggman

[nirgilis]

SRNHNR 2 - KH and FNC

Part 1

1) KH and Unreality, aka now Final Fantasy within KH, might have certain concepts in common and theirs colors.

Using KH's theories like Necklace theory, Riku being the Light and him kinda being a personification of Kingdom Key L.

Baldr looks like another personification of Kingdom Key L, but inverted due to bigger presence of white and black in clothes.

There's another character from not that distant game, who shares yellow-blue colors. Also in his design from the first part, like Ventus he recembles X-Blade a lot.

FF13 Hope, Riku and for this case Baldr, all look quite like they're Bhunivelze's boysband from different universes. Their likeness to him mght be also reflected in their names and for some in stories.

Hope - throughout FF13 he was called the hope (of humanity) numerous times, and while his project couldn't come to fruition due to what other characters were going through, his merits didn't go unnoticed.

Baldr - in Norse mythology Baldr is the god of light, radiance, sun, summer etc. The spring won't come until he will be revived or he will be revived when ragnarok will pass. That's pretty close to the theme of Bhunivelze as the God of Light in FNC being related to dawn or light returning to world, as he is the one who can rebuild it.

Riku - he doesn't outright represent light-releated aspect in name as Hope and Baldr do, but as Bhunivelze is the ruler of everything that has physical/material form, Riku's name meaning "land," so earth, might tie him to Bhunivelze through that.

2) This scene of Noctis and Stella from VS13's trailers with opposite or complimenting colors is compared a lot to the scene of Sora and Riku combined keyblade from DDD and KH3.

Due to FNC's termynology needed to be changed for FF15, Bahamut might've taken Bhunivelze's place. He has Bhunivelze's colors and has similar to him worldview, making allowance for the fact that concepts of life and death aren't the same in FNC and FF15.

Like Hope having similar colors to Bhinivelze, Luna for FF15 might've been given "Bahamut's" yellow and blue, in the game through her eyes being changed to blue, in the movie through the colors which Oracles seem to wear.

Stella may have yellow seal of deity opposing to Noctis' one, but like her eyes, glowing that appears when she enters and still present when the seal is active is purple, so exactly yellow and blue might not be initial colors reserved for this character, or not in this meaning.

There's no 100% way to tell since in the end Ravus wasn't shown, but for FF15 Fleuret siblings might have swapped colors and roles to a degree along with them.

3) In KH Kingdom Hearts represents the brightest light in the darkness, as itself it's a very powerful light with surrounding it equally powerful darkness. It's a conglomerate of all hearts, and located beyond the Door to Darkness.

What might be the closest analog to both KH and tDtD is Etro's Gate, which like in KH separates realms of light and darkness, in FNC's terms real world and unseen realm.

Unlike its analogs in FNC which are only the source of such power, KH has another property to be able to create new universe, the next world. In FNC's terms, KH is as if it's own Bhunivelze or fal'Cie he created.

Bhunivelze exerts that much light to the point of being blinding, similar to Riku's light blinding Sora in KH1's OP.

There's a theory based on Re:Coded's plot, that in a way it propheses future events of KH, and KH will make Riku its avatar. With the fact that that's kinda what happens to Hope in FF13-3, it might add to the possibility of that happening.

Bhuniveze is the highest deity in FNC by time events in games' stories take place, but he's not omnipotient. He can build worlds, but the natural order of death and rebirth is systeined by chaos, which he can't see and control.

In ways Data-Riku is similar to him. He's the journal/data-world himself, kinda the ruler of digital world, being able to separate the data which is supposed to and not to be in the journal. But it's quite interesting that as a program he can't repair himself and the moment he tried to fight, Maleficent captured him. So there's something in data-world beyond his control and he needs Sora to solve this problem for him.

Both FNC games and KH have a story of a prophesized messiah, who will banish the darkness and restore the light. Savior/Agito/King of Light and Child of Destiny. With Verum Rex adding to the roster, by logic of Agito and KH, in that world the role might be called either "King of Truth" or "Verum Rex." But it's also possible that those titles will be how the highest deity analogous to KH or Bhunivelze will be referred to.

As FF13 is the only FNC game which managed to release with Bhunivelze's awakening from his slumber. What might await that prophesized messiah isn't becoming the light themselves, but becoming the chaos/darkness to help the highest deity to sustain the balance of the world.

4.1) White coat Strelitzia was showed to wear in UX is similar to the coat Ravus wore in one of VS13 trailers. And both of them remind assassin's robes.

Between Pulse and Lindzei, as they both represent Bhunivelze in some ways, Lindzei is the one who has heavenly portrayal. "Commanding from his throne on high. The Solemn Ruler."

VS13/FF15 is supposed to be closer to reality, so a country flying in the sky like Cocoon is probably impossible in that world, but Tenebrae having an illusion of its islands floating and its buildings as if reaching out to the sky might be close to it being Cocoon's analog. Fenestala Manor possibly derives from "Fenestella" - "small window," and "small window" is what's depicted on Lindzei's playing card. Image-wise Tenebrae might've been a nation founded by Lindzei.

Scala ad Caelum being "Stairway to Heaven" somehow seems to be close to Tenebrae.

As Lindzei's methods of operating are more on manipulating humans side, both in encouraging mind work-way and sacrificial-way, he's viewed both as protector of mankind and untrustworthy trickster.

Assassins robes, like the one Noctis has from collab, especially its hood, might allow wearer to blend-in with scholars or people with religious calling. If like in FF15 in VS13 Tenebrae had an image of being a country with its rulers being religious leaders in the world. That might make Ravus Lindzei's representative at some points in the story in both ways Lindzei is viewed, as protector/religious leader and untrustworthy trickster/assassin.

4.2) In VS13/FF15 Noctis had a degree of subtety of him being red, as his eyes only glowed red and red soles of his boots weren't something which could be seen outright. As Yozora now, through his heterochromia, his outfit having red and red glow from weapons and powers, he's parading it quite freely.

Yozora and Riku may have very similar clothes, but color-wise theirs meaning might have to be opposite.

Like Ravus has similarities with Riku and Hope, Yozora might share similarities not only with Sora, but with Noel too.

Pulse and Lindzei were given the task to search for Etro's Gate, with Pulse searching by corporeal means. Lindzei was also given another task, to wake Bhunivelze when the Gate would be found.

In FF13 it wasn't stated what actually woke Bhunivelze up. Hope rising new cocoon called "Bhunivelze" might in a way symbolize him fulfilling task given to Lindzei to wake Bhunivelze up.

"Gaze held aloft, his strides bring ruin," words on Pulse's playing card refer to Pulse destroying the world to search for the Gate.

Noel by killing Etro's heart, thus unleashing Chaos from Etro's Gate, might've fulfilled Pulse's task to find the Gate through corporeal means.

"If the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain." Pulse and Lindzei couldn't find a way how to enter the Gate, so they brought what was in the Gate into the real world.

On Pulse's playing card it might be depicted Cocoon, but it also looks like red moon.

4.3) Since VS13 as its name suggests in many ways was supposed to be the opposite of FF13, and if it was really supposed to be a tragedy.

While Lightning in FF13 resisted Bhunivelze's offer to become Etro, VS13 might've ended pretty similar to FF15 in regards to Noctis' fate, but with lots of meanings being switched. Noctis might've supposed to accept Bhunivelze's offer and become new Etro.

Despite Lightining being Etro's Champion, she never got submerged into Chaos on different levels as much as Noel, Caius or Yeul did, or as Noctis might've been. So, Noctis might've not been the Light that will banish the darkness, but darkness that will take Chaos with him to the Unseen Realm back. That might be the result of his actions, i.e. him really being the antagonist of his own game, or in way similar to FF15 becoming the King of people's hearts in FNC's terms quite literally.

As conclusion of a sort, author would like to say, that especially the last point is just a theory and author's personal guess based on everything described before.

Author's thoughts on Sora's mini-existential crisis "is Yozora him or Riku," is that Yozora is neither Sora or Riku, he's "Sora," but different kind of "Sora."

Since Stella or "Stella," which is for now mostly called Nameless Star, doesn't seem to be a character fulfilling yellow-blue-green-white palette quota, a "Riku"-character, Yozora's "Ravus" has to exist.

#Kingdom Hearts #KH #KH theory #Verum Rex #Yozora

[submissivegayfrenchboy]

18 / 11 / 2023

HERCULES PLAYED BY MICHAEL B. JORDAN? 🤨 WHAT I THINK ABOUT IT 🧐

Hey dear readers! 😁

So... You probably read it somewhere else, or not, but it seems the gorgeous American actor Michael B. Jordan will probably plays the role of Prince Hercules in the future live-action movie adapted from the amazing Disney animated movie HERCULES (1997).

I wanted to tell you my top list of my favorite on-screen Hercules and ask you who is yours, but since i can't makes two games in one post, I want to ask you first what you thinks of Michael B. Jordan chosen by Disney as Prince Hercules for the live-action.

I love Hercules from Disney, to me he is really well written : physically he is handsome and hot, but he is more than that, he is also kind, funny, shy which makes him relatable. Even though he becomes stronger than everyone, he just wants to know what he is good for, where is his place, what he should do in life to be useful to others and happy for himself. That's things most people (especially young, but not only) can relate to. And the movie in itself helped going through bad things, whether for its message and good vibes, and also thanks to the humor, the songs, the characters (Megara is an amazing heroine, Hades is one of my favorite Disney vilain)!

If you want to know what i like about Michael B. Jordan, don't hesitate to read this article.

Apparently the executive producers have to chose between him and the handsome British actor Taron Egerton. Even though i like Taron Egerton as an actor, i don't think he is muscled or tall enough to plays Hercules. However, he would be better as playing Hercules as skinny and as muscled, because the protagonist is supposed to become stronger (unless they do what has been done for Steve Rogers before being Captain America, which is taking a skinny actor to play the role). He isn't that skinny too, so if he do exercise he could play him.

Michael B. Jordan is absolutely gorgeous, so of course I'm happy that he'll play in a Disney live-action, and we live in a time where this news isn't surprising.

In the MCU, it isn't the first time a Black person plays a White character (Nick Fury, Heimdall, Valkyrie, and now Namor played by a Latino actor and soon Sentry by an Asian man). I doesn't complain about race swapping in the MCU because it's adaptation and fictional characters. As for Michael B. Jordan, he already played a white character : Johnny Storm / Human Torch in the FANTASTIC 4 movie.

If you want to read a story about Michael B. Jordan as a dominant gay man and an interracial love story where, for once, the white man isn't a weak submissive, read this :

The thing is that Disney is more famous and probably more loved than Marvel so a single change in the characters will be analyzed. Hercules is not only a great Disney character, he is first a Hero in the Greek mythology (known as Herakles), and the God of Strength in the Roman mythology. And i know History and Mythology so believe me when i tell you there wasn't so many Black people in Grece at that time. That doesn't mean we can't include Black actors in movies. For example, in the (horrible) Netflix series TROY - FALL OF A CITY, Achilles, Patroklus, Eneus and even Zeus has been played by Black actors for the first time ever!

We are far from Brad Pitt who played Achilles in the movie TROY.

But, believe me, Greek people - and maybe Italian too - will complain again when they'll see a Black man playing one of their most known character.

Disney already did race-swapping with Ariel and her sisters in the live-action THE LITTLE MERMAID, so I'm not surprised anymore. We have to ask ourselves if Disney hire Michael B. Jordan for his (obvious) talent, his (incredible) celebrity, his (stunning) strength, his (beautiful) body, or juste because he is a Black man and Disney want to change mentalities? Does Black men would even feel more represented by seeing a Black actor chosen to play a white character instead of creating a new Black hero with his own story?

Or they could also make live action about Black characters instead of doing race swap because that will create more racism, to my opinion, or more division between races : some white persons wants him to play Hercules and some Black people thinks a white man should plays a white man. So, who is right? Who should be listened? 🤔 Maybe what's racist is to give to Black actors white characters to plays as if Black men weren't inspiring enough. It's only my opinion.

Here is a list of actors who could play Hercules

Even if there is many Black actors who would be awesome in this role, at least Michael B. Jordan would be great as Prince Naveen of Maldonia from Princess and the Frog (2009) if Disney decided to make a live action of it. He is handsome, cocky, kind and funny so it wouldn't be difficult to imagine. Right? 🤨

If there is Black character who would be amazing if he was played by Michael B. Jordan, it's undoubtedly Val-Zod from DC. Mostly known as the "Black Superman", I considers him worthy of being in cinema. Apparently there was a project of this movie and i even wanted to write a story about him.

That would be incredible to see a new black superhero, and these fanarts are inpiring! If you have any plot idea about Val-Zod, tell me! I've thought of an interracial gay love story since he is supposed to love Supergirl, but maybe Val-Zod could love a male Lois Lane!

What's disturbing with the choice of Michael B. Jordan as Prince Hercules (again, if that happen) is that white men seems to be voluntary erased by Disney to show Black men as betters. Think about it : if a white man is cast as Hades (despite being Hercules's uncle) and a black man as Zeus, that would clearly mean that white men are the devil and black men are our saviors! It was already my problem with the THE LITTLE MERMAID live action (Ursula, King Triton and his daughters being almost all non-white persons), which isn't realistic. And tell me that you can do everything you want with fiction, you have to stay at least logical.

The reason why i am not sure that I'm against Michael B. Jordan hired to play Hercules is that I'm a brainwashed snowbunny whiteboy interracial addict who clearly worship Black men so i am so confused and don't know if it's treason or stupidity to like this choice, or if it being acceptive and liking Black men. I honestly don't know what to think until I'll see Michael B. Jordan as Hercules.

That's why i makes you plays this game.

So, to me, a Black actor shouldn't be prevented to play a white hero, but when this one is very famous for having a particular body (and for once a white hero could be a strong alpha male), i don't find this choice clever. However, Michael B. Jordan have the good personality like Hercules and his life has been almost the same : from nothing and a skinny underestimated boy, he became a hot famous actor (he already have his star on the Walk of Fame : read my Man Of The Day article if you want to know more about it), thirsted on by almost everyone! He is Hercules! But should he be the Disney Hercules? I don't know. I still wait to know it.

Here is another game with Michael B. Jordan

And another one

The Disney movie inspired me this story

Part 1

Part 2

And here is a story about Hercules in Marvel

@michaelbjordan @michaelbjordans @michaelbjordan-news @michaelbjordanrps @leftprogrammingroadtripdean @tidodore2 @blacksuperiororer @ir-4-life @ir-beauty @blacksupremacyforever @blackmenrule @whiteboyscantfuck @innerpiratefun @gayhopefullove @lovefanfiction01 @whiteboylovesblack @blackmenrevenge @snowbunnysfantasies @blackmasculinitywhitefemininity

#Michael B Jordan #Michael B. Jordan #Black Panther #Panthère Noire #MCU #Disney #Hercules #Prince #King #Roi #Dieu #God #Mythology #Acteur #Actor #Homme noir #Black man #florian munteanu #Interracial #Gay #Game #Jeu #Article #Post personnel #Personal post #Movie #Cinema

[waateeystein]

Frankenstein Adaptation Review #2: Frankenstein (1931)

Masterpost of my Frankenstein Reviews

Title: Frankenstein

Year: 1931

Medium: Film

Director: James Whale

Produced by: Universal Pictures

Synopsis/Intro

One of Universal Pictures original monster films, Frankenstein (1931) sets a precedent for many future adaptations of Shelley’s story. It is also responsible for creating many of the iconic symbols that we associate with the mythos of Frankenstein (even if those symbols have little to do with the original story.) I went in mostly blind, but was very pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this film, and better appreciate the creative license it took when adapting the novel. This is the first in a long series of Frankenstein-based Universal monster movies, and I am very curious to see where the films go from here! Buckle in because this is a long one…

Grading

Faithfulness to the Source Material

First off, this film is extremely different from the book. I didn’t realize this going in, I knew there would be some differences obviously, but even just from the opening credits I was so surprised at just how different it was. Right off the bat, we establish that our main character is actually named Henry Frankenstein, and Victor takes the role of what would loosely be Henry in the novel. (Elizabeth does stay the same and I think that is very iconic of her.) I think this name swapping is really interesting, and I’m sure some film/literary scholar has a much deeper thematic analysis on this than I could write. My take is that it was a way of distancing this version of the story from the novel right from the get-go, letting audiences know before the first line of dialogue is even spoken, that this story will be a very different story from its inspiration, and your expectations of this story will be literally flipped. Henry also now has a sidekick/apprentice named Fritz, who I assume is the original version of “Igor” that we see in other adaptations (but I guess I must continue watching more movies to prove that assumption!) I won’t go through every single character here, but those to me were the stand-outs worth mentioning in my own game of spot the difference.

Like the novel, Henry is indeed a college drop-out, although here he leaves academia to create his creature, rather than as a result of his creation. This adaptation also makes our Frankenstein more open to sharing his creation with others, although he still does this begrudgingly. And in general this Henry is not too dissimilar in characterization to the novel’s Victor. They are both obsessive scientists who crave the power of great discovery, and want to overcome the state of death and create life from it. They also both put their work before their love, ignoring Elizabeth and their father in the name of their occupation and obsession. I think Frankenstein’s characterization here, although not one-to-one with the novel, does the most work of relating this film back to the novel, especially when so much else of the plot and characters are completely different. Frankenstein the novel, and Frankenstein the Universal Monster movie are two very different mythos that I am coming to understand are often conflated. I want to better understand and explain how this film created its own modern mythos, but I also want to specifically highlight that Frankenstein himself is very similar between the two. 

More on that modern mythos I was talking about, this film is responsible for so much of what we today associate with Frankenstein. The lighting table hoisted into the sky to give life to the creature, the hunchbacked sidekick of Frankenstein, the very iconic “it’s alive!” line, and of course the creature design itself. Most of these are not present in the book at all, or at best are very loosely based on certain descriptions in the novel. But I also don’t hate that they exist here! The lighting table is an homage to the lighting strike that book Frankenstein witnessed as a child that helps spark (pun-intended) his interest in science. Fritz here could be interpreted as a loose allegory for Henry Clervil in the book. Frankenstein’s gleeful “it’s alive!” is also a great foil to the immediate regret and fear that book Frankenstein feels at the successful creation of his creature. I think the film pays a lot of respect to its source material while still being its own creature (once again pun-intended). “Frankenstein”, in my opinion, is a very difficult novel to 100% faithfully adapt. This version chose to completely change the story to serve its own artistic goals and resources, their goals being to create a more horror-oriented and visually-minded adaptation of Shelley’s novel. And we know they were successful because it is one of the most iconic and famous monster films of all time. 

So to conclude this section, no, this film had very little accuracy to the novel, but for all the reasons above, I do think in many ways it was still a good and somewhat faithful adaptation in its own right.

Total Category Score: 7/10 points

Production Design

There is so much to say here about this film’s design, both scenically and costume-wise. Starting with the production design, this film distinguishes itself from the novel by putting our setting in a German village set at about the film's release of 1931. Obviously this is another big change from the source material, but I like this decision for two reasons. Firstly, it was probably more practical from a production/costume design perspective, because with all of the other special elements of creature creation in play, adding a period setting on top of that would have an added difficulty that would not be present by just setting it in their modern day. Secondly, I think setting this film in a modern time to its original viewers makes the horror feel more plausible and real to those original viewers. Obviously us viewers over 90 years later won’t feel the same way with this exact film, but it’s probably a similar feeling to what we feel when we watch contemporary horror films today. On the other hand, I am not a huge fan of setting this film in what I presume to be Germany. There are a few different European countries that play a role in the novel, and Frankenstein is a very German-sounding name (I don’t have the linguistics knowledge to tell if if it actually is or not), and some of the creatures time in the book is spent in Germany, so I understand where the decision probably came from. However, I still wish it was set in Switzerland instead. I think this is another way that the mythos of this film tends to overshadow the actual events of the novel, and although it is a minor point, the backdrop of the Swiss alps where Frankenstein lived and where much of the actual conflict between Frankenstein and his creature took place would have been so cool and beautiful to have from a design standpoint. And without doing more research, I don’t have the off-hand knowledge to say how accurate the design of this German town/costumes were, but as a viewer it was beautiful and it did give a strong sense of the given setting. Finally, I want to acknowledge how interesting the windmill was as a choice of setting for Frankenstein’s laboratory. Many adaptations put him in some kind of castle situation, but the windmill feels right for the setting they chose. It gives the impression that Frankenstein cobbled together this somewhat remote lab as to be far enough from the village to have privacy and a high elevation, but also still be close to home and Elizabeth for their upcoming wedding. And the imagery of this burning windmill at the film’s ending is just so epic and even gives a somewhat ambiguous ending as to if the creature was able to escape or not. Although, upon further inspection, the interior was almost entirely stone and the exterior was entirely wooden, so with this continuity error I don’t know how well it would have actually burned, but maybe that’s for me to do more historical research on. (Also I am very excited to one day visit the Frankenstein windmill restaurant that is being built in Universal’s new park in Orlando.)

And now the obvious star of the show, the costume and creature design. Another reason I like their choice of time period is because we get to see these late 20’s/early 30’s garments that tend to get forgotten for the more stereotypical 20’s and 30’s silhouettes. In particular, I was in love with every costume we see in the wedding scenes. Elizabeth’s wedding dress was so beautiful, and the way her veil/train would drape across entire rooms when she moved evoked art nouveau fashion plates which I am obsessed with. The menswear also did not disappoint, I love the outfit he changes into for the final scenes of the film with the flare-hipped breeches. I did a little bit of research and learned that although these garments were mostly associated with motorcycle policemen, they were also associated with big-game hunters, which is perfect for Frankenstein as he is attempting to literally hunt his creation in these scenes (fun fact this garment is also called a “Jodhpur”.) They are a big goofy considering he is not wearing them while horseback riding, but it makes sense thematically so it gets a pass from me. 

The creature design gets its own paragraph because there is so much to unpack here. Going in to watching this film, I knew what the creature design would be. It is extremely iconic, and it is what most people associate with the character and is the basis for most adaptations after it. Conversely, because it is so iconic, I was seeing it out of its original context and I was actually not a huge fan of the design in terms of faithfulness to the novel. But now having seen the film and seeing this design in context, I think I’ve mostly changed my mind. The novel only gives us a vague description of the creature, but we know that Frankenstein built him to be beautiful but he ended up being terrifying to all that saw him. I was surprised to realize that the film's design balances this pretty well. He is obviously still grotesque, with his elongated head (a possible nod to the creature design of the 1910 silent film version), neck screws, darkened facial features and scars across his body. But he is also very well-kept and handsome in many ways. His hair is neatly and intentionally styled, the scars are symmetrical and surprisingly neat for being a bunch of separate body parts stitched together. Even his outfit, which is intentionally designed to be too small in some proportions to make him appear larger and more hulking, is a clean suit and pants. The designer has managed to give him these humanizing aspects, while still making him appear horrifying and other-worldly. And it is a testament to the genius of these design decisions that this creature’s design has stood the test of time. The only things I might have changed would be putting his screws at his temples rather than his neck, and changing out his dark t-shirt looking garment for some kind of collared shirt (only because he unintentionally looks like he’s from the 80’s, but I guess it is kind of cool that this creature dressed in trends 50 years before they actually happened.) Obviously that is me being nitpicky, but I absolutely get the obsession with this creature design now, and I am excited to see how or if it evolves in this film’s sequels. 

Total Category Score: 9/10 points

Entertainment value

Despite the extensive creative liberties that this film took in adapting Shelley’s novel, I still had a great time watching it. There is always a worry with watching these old films that they will automatically be boring to a modern eye, but I don’t think this film had that issue. I was always anxious to see what Frankenstein or the creature would do next, and knowing the plot of the book, I was always surprised because the plot of the film was so different. The creature’s kill-count is much lower than in the book, here he is only responsible for killing the doctor and a young girl named Maria. The scene with the creature and Maria was one of my favorites. It was a necessary moment to show the creature’s humanity, and that it only really meant to hurt those who had antagonized him first. He accidentally and very suddenly kills the young Maria, and this is what ignites the village to hunt him down.  [edit: I had a later realization that this scene parallels a scene in the book where the creature saves a young girl from drowning. It’s interesting that in both mediums, whether the creature saves her or accidentally dooms her, he is persecuted. Another example of how this movie literally flips the script of the book.] Like the novel, he is continuously misunderstood and mistreated by everyone he meets. But unlike the novel, where the young William immediately distrusts the creature, little Maria only shows him immediate kindness, and reminds us of the innocence of children. I like that the film implies that children are not born with hatred, but learn it instead, a theme that we mostly don’t see in the novel. And that’s the great thing about film adaptation, we get to explore themes and ideas that might have been glossed over or missed in the source material, and I am very glad that this film did that. And obviously the horror of this very old film will not feel the same watching it today as it would have when it was originally released, but at times I still found myself feeling the horror which was surprising. 

Total Category Score: 8/10 points

Bonus Points

Character(s) included/mentioned (1 point each):

- Robert Walton and/or Henry Clerval: no. - The DeLacey Family: no (Maria and her father are a close allegory though.) - Justine Moritz: no. - William and/or Ernest Frankenstein: no.

Victor(y) points (1 point each):

- Is Victor aged 18-26 years old: Yes! - Is Victor a college dropout: Yes! - Does Victor have an accent that is not American or British: no.

Miscellaneous (1 point each):

- Setting is primarily in Switzerland: no. - Are there homoerotic undertones: no. - Does the Creature have intelligence: no.

Total Category Score: 2/10 points

Final Score: 26/40 points

[Housekeeping notes: I had to change to the legacy post editor because this review was literally too long for the new editor to handle. If anyone has some tips for that let me know, in the meantime the text formatting might just look slightly different. Also I’ve been making slight review formatting changes, so I may go back and update previous posts to reflect those changes, although the content of the review will be the same. Thanks y’all!]

#frankenstein #frankenstein or the modern prometheus #mary shelley #victor frankenstein #Frankenstein movie #universal monsters #universal monsters frankenstein #movie review #frankenstein adaptation #waateeystein reviews

[leori-the-unlearned]

Full Tangle AU List (aka the Tangleverse)

Finally it’s compiled!!! I have here for you a list of 22 different Tangles for you to browse and rotate in your brain :3 A bunch of these come with content for other characters, though, so if you’re not as Tangle-focused as I am you could probably find something neat to look at.

Each listing is entered under its designated AU name, if there is a relevant link to the AU’s original source it’ll be linked within the title, and I’ll add a short summary or blurb about the Tangle or AU as a whole. I’ll also make distinctions for if an AU has art.

None of these AUs are my own creations, unless they’ve got a ~Leori signature after them - follow the link to their individual creators! In the case of my own AUs, I usually don’t have much content for them because I don’t know what to say, so feel free to send in asks. Or for the ones with very little content, do whatever you’d like with them, they’re basically open prompts.

The numbers don’t matter, they’re just for tallying up how many there are. I’m not ranking these.

This is long, so I’m putting everything after the table of contents under a ‘read more’. ○ Swap AUs ○ Future AUs ○ General AUs ○ Crossover AUs ○ Jokesy AUs

=:= • Swap AUs Shifts around Tangle’s story role, or shuffles canon aspects together.

   > 1: Sonic Switcharoo AU • Swaps out the roles of various canon characters - Tangle is the protagonist now, Espio takes Jet’s role as her racing rival, and Starline is her Big Bad like Eggman. Has designs for Tangle and a majority of the characters in the pinned google doc!

   > 2: Stella Fulgur / Crash AU • AU of an AU! ParzivalBo uses the setting and dynamics of Pantalion’s Sonic Crash AU and builds Tangle and Whisper their own unique backstories and storylines. Most interestingly... this Tangle is somewhat of a fusion with Surge and Fiona, having a way different (but still recognizably Tangle!) personality! She can’t stretch her tail, instead using electricity powers based on Surge’s lightning and being able to assume control of robots! As far as I know, there’s no art of this Tangle (or Whisper), except my own old interpretation of her design, and a meme I drew for this Tangle’s hatred of Shadow. Also, this Tangle has a motorcycle.

   > 3: Tangle’s Log / Sonic X AU • What if Tangle was in Sonic X..? That’s this fic! A whole 77k+ words following Tangle’s inclusion in Sonic X from the start, stretching into some of the games, like Sonic Adventure 1 & 2, plus an original Tangle backstory also featured in some of 77XFire’s other works! Has some cute slice of life, plus some ludicrous Tangle feats, even if this Tangle is only 12-13. (She punches a boulder in half with her tail. And manages to hold up a collapsing building all alone.) There is also an old interpretation I drew of an alt. outfit she gets later in the fic, as well as a meme of a certain... situation that comes to be.

   > 4: Movieverse Tangle & Jewel • Stick Tangle and Jewel into the movieverse YEEEAAAHH !! Doesn’t change the existing movie plots, and gives the girls their own guardian.

   > 5: Heroswap!Tangle • My own ‘protagonist Tangle’ AU, sort of a ‘what if they settled on Tangle’s design rather than Sonic’s for Sega’s mascot’ while still retaining any games I like, like Unleashed. Includes Metal Tangle and Weretangle... once I design them. Tails is Tangle’s lil buddy. ~Leori

   > 6: Knuckles!Tangle • Swaps Tangle’s and Knuckles’ story roles, with Tangle being the last of her species and at first an antagonist to Sonic - usually tripping him up with her tail - before becoming begrudging friends. Somewhat inspired by this meme... ~Leori

=:= • Future AUs Speculation or just for funsies years-future versions of Tangle (and usually Whisper).

   > 7: Milolunde 10 years AU • I’ve linked right to the Tangle and Whisper designs, but those are a part of their ‘10 years later’ AU as a whole, which also has Sonic and Tails stuff.

   > 8: Arsworld Future AU • The link leads to the one comic I found their designs through, haha. I’m not certain how far in the future this AU is, but it’s at least a few years? The design are really sweet though, I like the biker look for Tangle.

=:= • General AUs The miscellaneous category, usually AUs that stick close to canon with a little change.

   > 9: Red Wisp Buddy • mercyofempty’s ‘tangle gets a Wisp’ AU, which doesn’t seem to have much posted on it but is beloved all the same.

   > 10: Yellow Wisp Buddy • modderkin64/moddersayethstuff’s ‘tangle gets a Wisp’ AU, content in the link!

   > 11: Continuation AU / Jade Wisp Buddy • questionedentity’s AU following Tangle and Whisper tentatively rejoining, despite Whisper’s lingering worries over Mimic’s freedom... and Tangle befriends a Jade Wisp!

   > 12: Emo!Tangle / Lemursib!Tangle • AU where Shadow and Tangle are biological siblings and half-hedgehog, half-lemur, I haven’t figured out how it works. They have a close sibling relationship, and Tangle has chaos powers in addition to her own. This AU started out as just ‘what if Tangle had hair covering her eye also’ (first link) and became the whole thing. ~Leori

   > 13: Zombot!Tangle AU • AU where Tangle isn’t... fully cured of the Metal Virus. She returns to normal, but there’s actually still mutated virus inside of her that remains passive unless its host is threatened, and then just makes her made of goopy metal. Angsty over the visuals of Whisper seeing Tangle looking like a zombot, but she’s a way more silvery color than her copper zombot form, and doesn’t go brainless or bloodthirsty. ~Leori

=:= • Crossover AUs These mix continuities with something non-Sonic.

   > 14: Digimon!Tangle AU • So hey what if Tangle and Whisper were Digimon? Now they are!! Currently only has Champion forms for either of them, but I plan to give them Ultimate forms at least, then mayyyybe Rookie or Mega. ~Leori

   > 15: Ninja!Tangle AU • Tangle is the Ninja of Norrisville Spiral Hill! She spends her days normally, except for when Stanked monsters attack town and she has to fight them to return them to normal civilians... all while keeping her secret identity with only a thin barrier of glamour magic preventing her being immediately recognized. So, just a Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja AU. ~Leori

   > 16: KH Sonic AU Tangle • Basically replacing everyone in KH with Sonic characters, original personalities intact and dynamics changed to reflect the new personalities. I replaced Sora with Sonic and Roxas with Tangle, and if you know KH lore you know that’s not all but that’s all I have figured out to say. Also, Shadow is Vanitas. ~Leori

=:= • Jokesy AUs May not have entire narratives, and may be or start out as a gag... but can still be beloved.

   > 17: Tangoodle • A mod for Sonic Robo Blast 2 Kart, adding not one but TWO Tangle-themed characters: Tangle herself... and Tangoodle. Look at her, she’s adorable!!

   > 18: Tangle II • Origin post here. Tangle but again and smaller and the Whispangle daughter <3 she’s been confused for canon and is incredibly fierce and beloved. Technically not a Tangle herself, since she has distinct origins and personality - more like Xion or Roxas, to use a KH analogy. However, the Tangle I who takes care of Toongle counts as her own Tangle, since she is a mother who drives Toongle to soccer practice and does mom things like grounding her daughter and baking for her daughter’s bake sale.

   > 19: Speciesswap!Tangle • AU shapeshifter Tangle who can assume the form of any species with a ringed tail - such as raccoons, genets, ringtailed cats, red pandas, and tigers. No art yet... but she’s on the list. ~Leori

   > 20: Paletteswap!Tangle • You’ll want to look at the image before reading the description, otherwise this is incomprehensible. The visual gag is the entirety of the AU, but I like to think the mask on paletteswap!Tangle is some sort of hallucination or vaguely self-recurring illusion that has haunted her all her life, so seeing the real version of the thing that keeps covering half her face for no reason immediately draws her to Whisper... to steal it. They have a kismessitude and this may or may not have inspired a potential fic?? ~Leori

   > 21: Deadpool!Tangle • She’s not actually Deadpool, she’s just borrowing that brand of humor and meta-knowledge. She reaches her tail around comic panels and is hyperaware of the Sega mandates on character writing, even telling Jewel not to mention her parents too often so she can have more ‘screen time’ and be a ‘main character’. Jewel has no idea what that means, but Tangle’s been talking about ‘becoming a main character someday’ their whole lives and the whole switch to ‘finally BEING a main character’ isn’t that much more obnoxious. ~Leori

   > 22: No Tail Tangle • What it says on the tin. :) ~Leori

#long post #tangle the lemur #tangleverse #the tangleverse #fic rec #sth fic rec #leori words #leori art moment #it's been days since i made the decision to make this.... #finally got all the source links together

[x--daughters-of-darkness--x]

Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia: "in the music world, if being sexy is the only thing that you have to offer, that’s kind of sad.”

Cristina Scabbia faces your questions on 'female-fronted' metal (sigh), videogames and life in Lacuna Coil

She may share vocal duties with the growling Andrea Ferro in Lacuna Coil, but Cristina Scabbia has always attracted the spotlight. For a quarter of a century, she’s been Milan’s most gothic export, flooring crowds with her soaring voice. Such is her charisma that she’s in demand all over the world, and has collaborated with everyone from Megadeth to Alter Bridge. She also uses her downtime to stream on Twitch and is a bona fide videogame know-it-all. Does she even sleep?!

Here's how she fared when we threw some of your most pressing questions at her.

What is your favourite Final Fantasy game? @CMilesRacer

“VII, without a shadow of a doubt. The first one I played and the most iconic. It was the first one on PS1. It changed the world of videogames, especially in the RPG genre! I was really into the story and it came out when my love of videogames was getting even bigger. And I had a huge crush on Sephiroth.”

If you and Andrea had to swap roles, who’d sing the other’s parts best? Rhiannon Clark, email

“Probably me, because they call me a parrot in the band; I like to imitate other people’s voices. I wouldn’t be as good as he is with growling, but I would definitely try my best to imitate him.”

Hammer: Is there ever a point, when you’re playing live and he’s singing, where you go “I wish I had this bit!”?

“I want to try growling, because I’ve never done it. I feel that, if I knew the technique, I’d be really good because I have a lot of volume on my diaphragm. There was one time in Atlanta where I had to sing the whole show because Andrea was in the hospital with a dislocated shoulder. We didn’t want to cancel the show. It was a lot of fun and extremely special, because I was singing those parts in a different way.”

Did it piss you off to be lumped in with the whole symphonic thing in the early 2000s and all the ‘female-fronted metal’ shit? Lexi Johnson, Facebook

“It doesn’t really piss me off, because I understand that many people don’t know the kind of music we play. If you say ‘female-fronted band’, they kind of have an idea of the music you’re playing, even if every band is different. What I hate is when they put you in one category: ‘OK, the girl is gonna sing this way.’ You don’t ask a guy: ‘Are you part of a male-fronted band?’ It’s not a genre; it’s an indication that there’s a female who sings. So, if you like female voices, you’ll like it, but it’s not a genre.”

Are there any people/artists you would like to collaborate with that you haven’t already? @Leonski700

“A million artists! But I’ve always liked Korn. I know Jonathan Davis as a person and he’s awesome, and I’ve always found his vocal lines very interesting. I like the way he writes, even when he’s alone and writing soundtracks. I love music that was written for movies and videogames. I get a lot of inspiration from soundtracks. So, there are many artists I’d love to collaborate with and Jonathan is definitely one of them.”

Hammer: What franchise soundtrack would you love to do?

“Final Fantasy, although I don’t know if I could do ‘proper’ music for it, because it’s very classical. I’d love to do something for an action series or movie. Not Marvel or DC, though – maybe something more like John Wick, and especially the villain parts.”

Are there any more Italian-language songs on the horizon? Comalies was so beautiful! @jennyalaking

“Not at the moment. We are writing new music and we just recorded for a special project. When we do write Italian parts, we don’t do it on purpose. For us, the sound of the words we’re singing is really important. Italian is perfect for traditional music, but if you use it in metal, it sounds weird.”

Hammer: What’s the special project? “We’re basically redoing Comalies from scratch. We wanted to celebrate its 20th anniversary but not in a nostalgic way. We were very against a remastered version. We asked: ‘How can we celebrate it while being fresh and modern?’, so we rewrote it as we would have written it in 2022. We’ve changed the music; most of the parts are completely different.”

You’re a tour guide in Milan for the day. What’s on the agenda? Joe Stile, email

“Definitely the Dome. It’s in the city centre, so it’s the first thing you see when you get out of the underground in Duomo. The view is stunning! It’s one of the most beautiful cathedrals you will ever see. Then I’d take them to eat panzerotti [a smaller version of calzone] at Luini. Everybody would be really impressed, because it’s really good. I’d also take them to [Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting] The Last Supper. We have the original in Milan, so that’d be cool. Then I’d take them out for a good pizza.”

Who are the king and queen of the goths? Alex Carr, Facebook

“Peter Steele and Siouxsie Sioux.”

As a former winner, should there be a future for magazine features like ‘Hottest Chicks in Metal’? Jo Fleischer, Facebook

“I’m honestly split. I hate when the image of a woman is completely sexualised, especially if there is talent behind her. But, at the same time, if you are in complete control of that sexualisation and you are the one deciding to present yourself in that way, it’s actually really empowering. There’s nothing wrong with liking yourself or feeling sexy and beautiful and showing it. Put it this way: in the music world, if being sexy is the only thing that you have to offer, that’s kind of sad.”

When was the last time you thought Lacuna Coil might break up? James Young, email

“It happened at the beginning of our career. Our first line-up split right after the first tour. Our EP wasn’t even out! That was the only time that I thought it could end. Marco [Coti Zelati, bass], Andrea and I decided to go on because we wanted to and the label [Century Media] asked us to. It never happened again. We’ve never had any doubts.”

Are you an Interista or a Milanista? @TimeTr4veller

“Are you really asking?! AC Milan! I Rossoneri forever!”

Who’s the metal band that should be way bigger than they are? Caren Poccok, email

“Twelve Foot Ninja. They remind me of Faith No More. I think they could be and should be much more popular.”

Would you ever consider a solo album? What would it sound like? Sam Petersson, Facebook

“Not at the moment. I think it would make sense if you could do something totally different to what you do in the band and, in Lacuna Coil, I am free to express myself. One day I will do it, but just to see if I’m actually able to put together something cool.”

What was your favourite Lacuna Coil record to make and why? Bindi Louise, Facebook

“I don’t have a favourite record, but maybe [2019’s] Black Anima, the last one; it’s fresher to my ears. I certainly know which one is my least favourite. It’s not because of the music or songwriting, but it’s [2016’s] Delirium. My life was a mess, with a lot of illness around me. If you want to look at the positives, it made the vibe of the record more intense, but it was very difficult to rehearse and record that album.”

What is your favourite Lacuna Coil song? So many to choose from! @Rustymoon88

“I’d say it’s between Veneficium [from Black Anima] and Blood, Tears, Dust [from Delirium]. I don’t have favourites, but they’re the ones that I’m enjoying on stage very much at the moment. You might as well be asking a mum to name their favourite son or daughter!”

What videogame are you most excited about that’s coming out?  Leianna Smith, email

“God Of War: Ragnarök. That is definitely the one that I am looking forward to. There’s a great collectors’ edition coming out in a few days with Mjölnir as well. I really hope that I’m going to be able to get it. I still regret that I didn’t get the Elden Ring collectors’ edition with the helmet. My boyfriend got it, so I said, ‘What do I need it for?’ Then I saw the helmet. Now I want one!”

#Cristina Scabbia #Lacuna Coil #2022 interviews

[the-monkey-ruler]

how many times has tripitaka been played by a beautiful girl? my gran’s watching monkey magic and i’m :0

From what I can tell it’s kinda iffy. Usually, it’s a Japanese live-action movie/tv show that was inspired by Monkey (1978) cause that is the biggest influencer there def. That def touched the Saiyuki Starzinger (1978) or the Saiyuki TV series (1993) and in (1994), Patalliro Saiyuki (1978). There is a few video games a well, the most popular is the Saiyuiki Journey West (1999) where you play as Sanzo and choose your gender as either a girl or a boy. The Australian tv show The Legends of the Monkey King (2018) is actually inspired by that series more so than Xiyouji itself. Also in some of the old 70s anime, he is seen as a girl to fit the “token girl” role. Funny enough in the Monkey Magic (1999) animation based on the game Sanzang is a guy but BaiLong is a girl instead… there are quite a few gender swaps in order to fit in some girl tropes.

There is also Korean Odessey (2017) that I know makes Sanzang a girl and also the Saiyuki Starzinger-inspired Korean Sun Wukong and the War of the Stars (1978).

But the overall amount of time is either surprisingly less than you would think but more than seems real. Most of the time they either have Sanzang, BaiLong, or even Wujing as a gender swap for the sake of having a girl character. Or I see some media where Wukong is changed depending on the movie. And otherwise, Bajie seems to have the least amount of changes unless it’s one of those “everyone is a girl” gender swaps that has happened.

I can’t say for certain how many gender swaps there are since I haven’t really been keeping a tally but there is a good few def.

I think the latest fem Sanzang I've been has been in Nanbaka (2016) and from what you can see more femme Saznags are from Japan cause it is mostly Monkey 1978-inspired because of its location.

The only femme Sanzang I've been in Chinese media personally is Pink Journey to the West (2015) where it looks like it's just Journey to the West but they are all girls for no reason. Haven't seen this one just know about it.

Have to say considering they are all about to kill each other on sight with just pointy sticks and rocks already makes me really think this the most valid. Not an ounce of mercy to be seen and Wukong has a fucking rock ready.

Amazing.

#jttw #anon #anonymous #anon ask #journey to the west #xiyouji #xiyouji media #tang sanzang #monk tripitaka #In the overall reach of things having like six femme Sanzangs isn't a lot but like #but still enough to think 'huh that's quite a bit' #Ive seen more chinese media where Bailong is played by a girl #Or even Wujing in about... 2 movies? #It kinda flips flops depending #More Wukong as fem for sure #Only 1 where Bajie is the only girl and that is also Japanese #ask

[okidenshi]

Welp, watched the first episode of tlou. Overall I did like it, here’s some thoughts

Thing i liked:

Ellie’s introduction immediately set up her personality very well- like just up and kicking the food tray and being a fucking bitch to the Fireflies... i laughed out loud like, YEA she does act like that- even as fans of the game we know she acts like that with David later on. Bella’s honestly doing a pretty good job at carrying the role so far- i don’t think anyone could ever top Ashley’s performance for me, like her voice/acting is just SO much of who ellie is to begin with, but Bella really is doing well and i’m excited to see her personality grow even more, and to see how Pedro’s character grows along side her.

I really loved when Sarah was in the back of the car when the Outbreak hits, It’s pretty similar to the sequence in the game- but honestly it translated over pretty nicely to film/tv- and i don’t think i’ve seen something filmed like that for tv, at least in awhile. That was the moment i MOST felt like i was in Sarah’s shoes and was scared to hell and back.

It was really fun to see/hear Merle Dandrige play Marlene. Pedro and a lot of the actors do a pretty good job of fitting each characters voice, but man it was nice to hear her voice and see her on screen- she just looks so much like Marlene too and i loved hearing that voice again :D

Fun to see the world of The Last of Us again- it really does stand out against other apocalyptic genre’s like TWD in it’s own way. I got a big kick out of the “WELCOME” sign on the Boston quarantine zone, but like, just everything is SO fucking broken and awful there... just visually a funny world building thing lmao.

OH, The opening credits were great- hearing Gustavo’s iconic theme again to the growing Fungi visual was very nostalgic, and gave me the same chills it did back in the day. Just in general, the music is so nice to hear in a show setting- like it really reminds me that’s a huge reason why the original game felt so cinematic was because of the music.

Things I was  “eh” about:

I think the actress for Tess is fine, but she’s just... casted a little too old imo. In the game, she’s obviously an adult, but is younger than Joel, which i think helps display that Joel’s fatherly instincts/role is still intact, even before he meets Ellie- it just like, silently helps convey to the player/watcher about his character. In the show, she seems to be same age as Joel, if not older, which is surface level fine, but ugh, idk, there’s something about her being younger that i liked- especially since she was like, “The Boss” to Joel, and like knew her way around the city and people at a younger age- and in the show, she feels less like that Boss Lady and more... just your average woman. She really goes into it though, i think it’s more of a writing issue.

I... wanted more emotion from Sarah’s actress. Again, a difficult role to play for the weight it needs to carry, but also be the “goggles” that the audience see’s through- and the first bits with her and Joel are pretty good- but from the time she leaves school, gets the watch fixed, goes home- she feels really flat.

I know it’s an adaptation, and this it’s a criticism even limited to the show, but god, i want the camera to focus on something for longer than 2 seconds. Like the scene where Joel & Tess find out Ellie’s infected, goes by too quickly- there’s some other scenes like that too but i just think that’s a lot of how television/movies are produced today.

I was honestly a little confused as to why they swapped a few things around from the game’s story (i know that feels like it would be obvious because its an adaptation but i have a point to this)... like instead of Robert stealing Tess & Joel’s guns that they smuggle, it’s a car Battery, and Joel wants the car Battery to go see Tommy (which is the most confusing thing to me so far because he and Tommy are on bad terms at this point, idk why Joel wants to go see him so suddenly at this point in the story, but maybe that’ll be expanded upon later), and like, Tess and Joel don’t even kill Robert.... but like they still end up meetng Marline... idk it’s hard to explain, but basically they change a few things around int he story to like... just...get to exactly what happens in the game... like i’m not sure why they didn’t just. Keep the series of events from the game if they were... just gonna get to the same point of smuggling ellie? Idk, it’s an adaptation, maybe they have a reason, but yea that kidna tripped me up, at least as a long time fan.

Anywho, definitely not a bad start!

#okidenshi randomness #tlou show spoilers #(? i guess we all know what this damn game is lol)

[jyedthrry6]

#myart #chloesimagination #comic #michael afton #fnaf vanessa #vanessa afton #fnaf vanny #mike schmidt #fnaf #fnaf movie #security breach #fnaf fanart #five nights at freddy's #finally … game Vanessa is here #TBH it’s funny I think similar to how Michael and Vanessa Afton are similar #I think Mike and game Vanessa are similar #its like they swapped roles from games to movies #which is pretty neat I love them all

[waywardccd2023]

The Best PS-5 Games

The Best PS-5 Games

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Like Origins and Odyssey before it, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla continues the franchise's transformation into an epic, open-world, role-playing game. As Viking warrior Eivor, you sail through 9th century England and stomp everything in your path. Beyond raiding and pillaging, you’ll also build and nurture a settlement, as well as get wrapped up in the larger Assassin’s Creed mythology shenanigans.

hpi spec check free-Enter the registration number of any vehicle, car, motorbike, or lorry and click the check button. You'll get comprehensive and free vehicle information

Astro's Playroom

Astro’s Playroom may be a free PlayStation 5 pack-in title, but it’s still one of the best games on the system. Building upon Team Asobi’s great work on past Astro Bot games, this 3D platformer takes you through PlayStation’s rich history, from a museum dedicated to the PS1 to a demonstration of all the innovative, immersive haptic features you’ll enjoy with the PS5 DualSense controller.

Demon's Souls

Back in 2009, the PS3-exclusive Demon’s Souls birthed an entirely new genre of inscrutable, brutally difficult action-RPGs. Without it, we wouldn’t have Dark Souls, Bloodborne, or the recently released Elden Ring. Now, Bluepoint Games has remade FromSoftware’s original nightmare. Enjoy the same great punishment with a shiny, new coat of PS5 paint.

Death Stranding: 

After severing ties with Konami, Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima let his freak flag truly fly with Death Stranding. This is a game where Norman Reedus carries a baby in a jar to rebuild America by delivering packages and defeating time ghosts. The PS5 Director’s Cut spruces up the graphics, tweaks a few mechanics, and adds new story missions. But we’re really just here for more Mads Mikkelsen.

Deathloop

You know what you’re getting into when you play an Arkane game. Titles like Dishonored and Prey give you fascinating powers that let you creatively approach and disrupt their intricately designed clockwork worlds. Deathloop takes this to the next level. Trapped on an island caught in a time loop, you play as an assassin who must figure out how to murder all your targets in one day. Through repeated runs, you gain the skills and knowledge necessary to make time itself bend to your will.

Devil May Cry 5: 

Devil May Cry invented the “stylish action” genre by letting you slash and shoot your way through hordes of monsters, while looking as cool as possible. This next-gen Devil May Cry 5 upgrade shows why no franchise (except for maybe Bayonetta) does the genre better. Swap between different characters (Dante, Nero, and V), each with their own unique demon-slaying powers. The underworld doesn’t stand a chance.

Ghost of Tsushima: 

Sony returns to its Japanese roots with Ghost of Tsushima, a majestic open-world action-adventure set during the Mongol invasions of the 13th century. Travel through windswept fields pulled straight out of Kurosawa movies. Engage in precise sword duels and stealthy takedowns. This PS5 upgrade even adds an entirely new region, Iki Island, to explore.

God of War Ragnarok

Kratos may be an iconic game hero, but the 2018 God of War reboot miraculously turned the wrathful god into an actual character instead of just an avatar of divine destruction. God of War Ragnarok delivers more of the same as Kratos and his son Atreus face fend off more Norse gods as the end of days approaches. The already stellar combat system gains new depth and creativity, while the vast levels look even more stunning as they're presented as a single take.

[mechristopheles]

Everything Wrong with The Last Jedi

The Last Jedi earned writer-director Rian Johnson a fountain of rage from the internet. What was the problem precisely and why did it manifest in Johnson's movie?

The problem started way back with Episode IV: A New Hope. In the late 1970s, a debut science fiction movie by unknown George Lucas blew away his audience. He took what was derided as a tacky homage to serial shows screened at matinées, and embedded it into public consciousness, overwriting the Western as the bedrock of American mythology in the same way Nirvana's grunge murdered hair metal.

Star Wars launched careers. It was a powerhouse. Even nonsense like holiday specials and ewok movies were forgiven and brushed aside. Two other films followed and completed an epic but satisfying story of tragedy, action and soap opera. Sure, there were glitches and silly nonsense like teddy bears at war, but it was all fun.

Then there were prequels which, while a cultural event, never kept the high of the first trilogy. They were clumsy and patched together with new CGI technology. The faults were plenty. The strength of the original trilogy was that Lucas was part of a creative team. With the prequels, Lucas was the high priest surrounded by an entourage who couldn't say no. It was a dismal failure. The prequels became what critics called the original trilogy tacky. The internet channelled toxic fan nostalgia towards Lucas and the prequels. Lucas, defeated by the backlash, sold off his property to Disney and walked away.    

The news of a new trilogy was heard with trepidation. The prequels existed and fans learned to deal with them. The Force Awakens, helmed by JJ Abrams, was met with thunderous approval from the fan base. This was the Star Wars they wanted to see. It had the spirit of the original with less reliance on CGI and incredible sets. The Force Awakens crushed the box office and earned billions. Star Wars was back at the top of its game. However, there was a small problem. The Force Awakens is shit.

Don't get me wrong, The Force Awakens has excellent production, a great cast and engaging visuals -- everything about it looks and sounds excellent -- but at its heart, it was creatively bankrupt. A Force Awakens is A New Hope fan fiction. The premise is simple: "what if Luke and Leia were swapped at birth so that Leia grew up on Tatooine and Luke was raised as royalty and was discovered by the emperor after he entered the Imperial academy as a teen?" That's all it is. Numerous critics have noticed the beats of A Force Awakens match A New Hope almost precisely. A Force Awakens is boring. JJ Abrams can only raise tension if the characters run on screen and scream dialogue at each other.

As much hate as the prequels got, they were original stories. They had character arcs, drama and plot. Star Wars fans loved A Force Awakens because they sat in a train riding A New Hope's rails. They were suckered. It had another cantina scene, another Yoda and another Death Star. Nobody brought anything new to that show apart from Finn, and he was relegated to side antics as a goofy comic role. The more people thought about the movie, the less sense it made.

Rian Johnson broke A Force Awakens and was right to do so. He made the right decision. Johnson is an accomplished filmmaker. He made great movies before The Last Jedi and continues to do so. Johnson also showed the audience that Star Wars was a setting people could use to tell a million new stories. Rather than make another Skywalker movie, he destroyed it with a hammer. The crappy Emperor 2.0 was killed by Leia and Luke. The rebel empire 2.0 was scattered.

Johnson also showed new stories. He had Rose Tico and Finn engage in an adventure that wasn't a shitty retread of Empire Strikes Back, and fans bitched because it wasn't a shitty retread. If Johnson didn't break the new Star Wars trilogy, maybe the Mandalorian and Andor would have never been made. It's possible Disney's new direction to create new Star Wars content that diverges from the original trilogy came from Johnson.

Everything wrong about The Last Jedi is everything right about Johnson as a creative filmmaker and Star Wars fan.

#Star Wars The Last Jedi A Force Awakens

[jcmarchi]

Vomit And Ginger Candy: Inside The VR QA Process

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/vomit-and-ginger-candy-inside-the-vr-qa-process/

Vomit And Ginger Candy: Inside The VR QA Process

Introduction

Climbing a skyscraper for the 25th time in a day quickly erodes the novelty of virtual reality.

For over three years, Attila Kardos was one of the quality assurance testers at PlayStation Liverpool, one of the testing centers of Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe. During his tenure, he worked on first-party behemoths like God of War, Horizon: Zero Dawn, and Detroit: Become Human. But today, heʼs talking about a different type of testing involving a headset and physically mimicking movements for multiple hours at your office desk.

In games like Blood & Truth, where you take a starring role in action movie-esque setpieces, the fun factor of virtual reality quickly makes itself apparent. However, experiences like this can be taxing. A player can stop at any time. A tester doesnʼt have that luxury. It doesnʼt take long for the monotonous physical effort to take a toll. And then they have to show up at work the next day and do it all again.

Job Simulator

“Eventually, you start feeling your shoulders,” Kardos laughs. “You feel the extra muscle pain.”

On average, he spent five to six hours a day in VR. He says it was “pretty intense,” to the extent that some colleagues asked management to swap to non-VR projects. Eventually, Kardos got acclimatized to working in virtual reality and recalls the experience fondly. However, during the first two weeks, heʼd often feel “detached from reality” whenever he moved his head around after clocking out from work.

As companies continue to iterate on past foundations or release new platforms altogether, from PlayStation to Apple, VR is constantly innovating. But the work conditions for QA folks who learn the inside out of these technologies rarely are. Game Informer spoke to testers, artists, and engineers who worked on VR games like Beat Saber, Job Simulator, Cosmonious High, Resident Evil 4 VR, and Blood & Truth about the differences with regular testing, how elements like physicality and hygiene come into play, unorthodox workarounds, and the unsung tradition of ginger candy.

Rift

Into Another Dimension

Into Another Dimension

VR leaping into the mainstream meant new considerations for game development. And, as a consequence, testing. In order to understand the differences with traditional QA practices, itʼs important to look back at the technologyʼs origins to understand how impactful of a precedent it would set.

Few studios have the institutional knowledge of Owlchemy Labs. Based in Austin, Texas, the team began experimenting with the technology when the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift were only prototypes. There was no documentation or beginnerʼs manual. As promising as this empty virtual canvas was, it was a long time until the studio saw that potential materialized. “We had a very early headset that would shock you if you touched it on the wrong part of the circuit board,” says Graeme Borland, gameplay director at Owlchemy since 2013. “[It was] that level of true prototype.”

Multiple new considerations quickly came into play. Comfort, both inside and outside the headset, was paramount. As a principle, it intertwined with everything: locomotion methods, figuring out how elements like framerate and draw distances could make or break the experience, and the fact that visual bugs could lead to immediate discomfort.

Cosmonious High

During the first few years of the main headset companies, trial and error and experimentation led to different ideas. Unlike Owlchemyʼs Job Simulator, which had sold over a million copies by 2020, not every early project managed to successfully combine its ideas with this emerging technology. Such was the case of Rigs: Mechanized Combat League, developed by Guerrilla Cambridge and published by Sony.

“It was the first version of PlayStation VR, so we had resolution problems, sweaty eyes, everything was very fresh,” Kardos says. Rigs was his first project. In it, youʼre sitting in the cockpit of a mech – the movement of the robotʼs head, and as a result, your view direction, was controlled with the VR headset, while the body relied on the controller. Kardos thinks thatʼs one of the things that compromised the end result, as it was “absolutely dreadful” to run around and fight in arenas. As a fast-paced shooter with multiplayer modes, there were many things happening on screen at all times. It didnʼt take long to feel dizzy.

According to Kardos, there was a market research report dictating that “there are not many people interested in these kinds of games.” Initial feedback was fairly rough, too, pinpointing the complicated control scheme and proneness to motion sickness as weak points. Sony closed Guerilla Cambridge in 2017, a year after Rigs’ release.

Go Move

Go Move

In terms of the testing itself, most of the regular QA processes are compatible. Tasks such as bug reports or running test cases – checklists of specific elements to test in different environments – largely apply to VR. The problem is that even mundane actions such as switching to a second monitor to take notes or sending a Slack message turn cumbersome.

Both Borland and Ben Hopkins, principal graphics engineer at Owlchemy, reinforce that the human experience of being inside a game is a significant factor of developing for VR. To try and mitigate constant usage of the headset, the team implemented a debug system, which essentially allows them to play the game with mouse and keyboard. “Itʼs good for a fast iteration, but there are so many things you canʼt actually understand whether they work or not unless youʼre actually in the headset,” he says.

When asking the QA testers at Owlchemy if they ever use the debug editor, they reply with laughter. “The approach is very different,” says Jessica Fly, senior QA specialist. Previously, she worked at Cloud Imperium Games testing Star Citizen. All she needed was to boot up the game on a flat screen, and she was set. The routine now involves putting on the headset and ensuring the room is set up properly to avoid tripping over anything. And thatʼs before the actual physicality of the job.

Blood & Truth

A clear example arises when doing full regression testing. During this stage, testers go through the game after an update or new version to ensure nothing is broken. In the case of Cosmonious High, one of the tasks involves testing all 18 recipes, each requiring a mixing-in-a-bowl type of movement. “Itʼs really murder on the arms,” Fly says. “Thereʼs this physical part of VR testing that is honestly one of the things that interest me.”

“Before Owlchemy, I was at Blizzard working on Hearthstone, and I canʼt think of a stronger differential between testing a fully immersive VR video game and testing a digital card game,” says Paul Henderson, QA tester 1 at Owlchemy. “You go from a game that is the most basic inputs; you drag a card to the slot, you drag it to your opponent to how can you move? Thatʼs your inputs! Go move.”

Through the Motions

Through the Motions

Mayank Lal joined Keywords Studios in Gurgaon, India, back in early 2017. He started as a QA games tester. Almost seven years later, heʼs a quality assurance test lead. During this time, Lal witnessed VR gaining more relevance in the studioʼs portfolio. This, thankfully, led to better conditions for the 40 dedicated VR testers out of around 200 employees.

In the beginning, things were messy. It started with a partnership with Oculus back when Meta (formerly Facebook) wasnʼt involved. Testers quickly realized some issues needed to be addressed. “One of the most common things that we observed as testers in that particular time was feeling nausea in longer periods of use,” he says. “Headsets also heat up and that actually affects the skin on the face. Sometimes headsets are shared between testers, which increases the probability of getting infections.”

One of the policies that came up was about breaks. For every 20 minutes using the headset, testers are encouraged, not mandated, to take a 10-minute “break” to file any bugs, report issues, and so on. Over time, they realized the platform just isnʼt for everyone. Employees can present a doctorʼs note to HR so theyʼre no longer deployed into VR projects. Nowadays, the studio doesnʼt immediately assign a tester to VR. After six months with other platforms, theyʼre given training and, eventually, see if theyʼre comfortable with virtual reality.

Beat Saber

“People actually leave here,” Lal says. “When it comes to health, people donʼt think, ‘I will not have another opportunity,ʼ because in this company youʼre already learning things and adding them to your CV. So if they feel weʼre exerting them, theyʼd not even give a letter of resignation. Next day theyʼd call and not come back.”

During the pandemic, the studio got each tester a separate foam attachment, which mitigated the infection problem. Now, testers are back in the office – only people at a managerial level can opt for a hybrid model – where they have a floor dedicated solely to VR projects. On average, they spend half of their eight-hour shifts in the headset.

All these elements vary depending on the studioʼs internal rules or even across different branches. In the Québec, Montreal, branches of Keywords Studios, former functional QA tester Sammy Fox says you were expected to do “as much VR as you could tolerate,” as long as it didnʼt take time from actual bug reporting or assigned tasks for the day. That being said, breaks were regulated, with two paid short breaks and one unpaid but longer lunch break.

Another former tester, who requested anonymity, says even though everyone is legally an employee on file, almost all testers were on an “on-call basis.” Basically, theyʼd find out if theyʼre working the next day through email, receiving a new notice on a daily basis.

While they were lucky enough to get fairly consistent work, pay was a letdown. Doing the conversion from Canadian to American dollars, the source says they peaked at around $10.50 USD an hour, back when the local minimum wage was around $9 USD an hour. They add that, for comparison, test leads were making more than $30,000 USD a year around the same time.

During busy periods, it was common for a single tester to work on multiple projects per day. While the source didnʼt do much overtime, there were morning, afternoon, and, on occasion, so-called “graveyard” shifts that occurred overnight during the week and weekends. Employees would receive bonus pay for doing so. “The worst memory was once a stress test over the weekend, and someone projectile vomited all over a busy shared bathroom,” the source says. “It wasnʼt cleaned until Monday morning because maintenance wasnʼt available on the weekend. You could imagine the smell.”

Resident Evil 4 VR

Waving

Waving

In a 2017 report from CNN, experts say that the cause behind eye strain, headaches, and nausea is due to the way VR affects the eye-brain connection. In real life, the eyes and brain simultaneously focus on a point in space. In virtual reality, the responses arenʼt coupled together, but separated. “The way we look and interact is changed because we may be projecting onto the eyes something that looks far away, but in reality, it’s only a few centimeters from the eye,” behavioral neuroscientist Walter Greenleaf said in the report.

These conditions are aggravated when testing games still in development. While the teams try to ensure that builds are hitting a stable frame‑ rate before involving QA, often opting for excluding some assets entirely in the early stages of a project, it can be challenging.

“I remember a racing game I tested where the camera went haywire and I almost fell to the ground,” says Fox. In the office, there was always a supply of ginger and anti-nausea pills to help with motion sickness and in-game “accidents” like this. “When that happened, I would remove the headset, go ask my team lead for a Gravol, and then do desk work until nausea subsides and you feel fine enough to resume doing physical VR testing,” he adds.

Eric Kozlowsky, former senior environment artist at Armature Studio, recalls a similar tradition when working on Resident Evil 4 VR. “I get motion sickness pretty easily in real life, let alone in VR, so working with in-development software was challenging,” he says. “I did get nauseous, but that was mitigated by limited time spent in the headset and using homeopathic remedies. So if I ever got motion sick, ginger candy would help a bit.”

Even though testers usually spend the most time using headsets, the job leads them to find creative workarounds in their routines. Archie Crampton, lead QA technician at Universally Speaking and gingernut biscuit advocator, finds changing his height in-game from two to 15 feet tall, as hilarious as it is, helpful. In addition, he says most people in the studio test Beat Saber seated. As theyʼve gotten quite good at it, theyʼre able to complete levels with less movement than youʼd expect.

Hopkins says there have been many random helpful items in the Owlchemy office. This includes Bob, a mannequin head attached to the top of a camera tripod. Instead of pushing a real person in a chair, the team would put the headset on Bob and rotate it around to get different shots of a scene. “You have to be open-minded to things like that if youʼre gonna figure out solutions,” Borland adds.

Alongside sheer creativity, almost everyone I spoke to shares excitement about VRʼs future. Sure, new technologies also bring new processes – Owlchemy, in particular, found not everybody waves equally while testing hand-tracking – but also keep QA fresh.

Next time you play a VR game with comfortable controls and a lack of visual glitches, you can thank the testers. After all, theyʼre the ones who crouched, waved, mixed, and climbed a skyscraper dozens of times to ensure the best result. “Towards the end of Cosmonious High, developers would come to me as an expert on the game cause I spent so much time in there,” Fly says. “It makes me feel really good that they recognize that QA is extremely important and knowledgeable.”

This article originally appeared in Issue 360 of Game Informer

#000 #amp #apple #approach #Article #artists #assets #Blizzard #blood #board #Brain #bugs #canvas #Cloud #cockpit #Companies #comparison #creativity #CV #developers #development #direction #email #Emerging Technology #employees #Engineer #engineers #entertainment #Environment #Europe

[unterwaesche]

You know honestly, all these people who think that certain policies put forth by legislatures, in particular Republican ones, in order to cause as much misery as possible probably have about the same emotional maturity when they were 8 years old as they do at whatever age they happen to be now, and I imagine most of the people who say this are grown-ass adults.

Literally it’s the mindset of a child, getting stopped from doing something stupid and then saying, “Rules set by my parents are made specifically with me in mind and are custom-tailored to cause me as much misery as possible and prevent me from having a good time.”

It’s one of the reasons why I say that the group that we call liberals aren’t actually liberals at all.  They have this government-as-the-parent mindset except that once you’re grown you get to swap your parents out every now and then, and therefore it’s of the utmost importance that Mommy and Daddy have the preferred letter next to their name.  It’s not about making the choices that will ensure that we remain free to practice self determination and not be bogged down by a bunch of laws and regulations.  It’s that they want the government to let them.  It’s why they stand by and wait for instructions to be handed down the way they did with COVID, why they fervently obeyed all the rules and tried to enforce them upon other people, and also why they feel like they’re only being controlled when it’s something they don’t like or they don’t agree with.

So then when a law comes down that restricts something they like, it’s like if Mom or Dad told them they could only play video games for an hour a day, or they weren’t allowed to watch a movie because of its rating.  Then and only then is it because they want to control them.  They just don’t want them to have fun.  They only want to make life boring and miserable.

They don’t make any effort to understand why there might be that restriction, don’t acknowledge that there could possibly be any reasonable viewpoint other than their own, because they literally did not mature emotionally past the point where their parents were putting limiters on them.

And it’s ridiculous because they almost get it and yet they are still so far removed from the reality of their situation that they think that the right person will come and save them if only they can get voted into that parental role.

Meanwhile social mores continue to deteriorate due to their belief that if the government allows it, then it’s okay.

We need to just get rid of it all, but I wonder if they could even move without it.