Tbh Dark Souls 2 feels more like a spinoff of Dark Souls 1 than an actual sequel
Like DS2 is off doing it's own thing, in it's own setting, with it's own story and themes largely divorced from the main plot, which is by no means a bad thing, I think it's really cool actually, a story about the exploration of the self and self-identity is always rad
Dark Souls 3 however, feels more like it actually returns to the themes and lore of the original and expands on the story and themes it told, but I also recognize that with as open-ended as these games are that's sort of subjective lmao
But to me, Dark Souls 1 and 3 were, to me, both about the ruling class and, much like a flame, their need to rampantly consume to survive, and when their power starts to wane, everybody suffers for it. It was always Gwyn's war against the dragons, Lordran was the land of the gods in which Gwyn was king. Even after he links the fire and sacrifices himself, all his power stays with Gwyn's family and allies (and not even evenly, I mean Nito and The Witch of Izalith kinda got shafted tbh). Even when the fire is fading look at the state of Anor Londo and the Duke's Archives compared to literally anywhere else in DS1. The royal family all want to stay in power so they conscript you to literally burn yourself to death to prolong their reign, and while they dress it all up with fancy titles and grandiose presentation in the end, to them, you are nothing more than fuel for the machine that is their rule, ever-churning and consuming all it touches, like the flame it sprouted from.
And in Dark Souls 3, you see that to the extreme. You see this already-failing system withered to the breaking point. The gods and the kings have consumed too much and Gwyn's system can't bear that weight any longer. No longer does it take just one powerful being to keep that flame going, you trudge through the ashes of kingdoms that all burned for the sake of whoever holds the crown, all burned to prolong the reign of royalty you never knew. Everyone knows that flame is fading and nobody is sure how much longer it has. Even the sacrifices that came before you and even rose with you know the system is failing, and has been for a very long time. The sacrificial renewal is barely working anymore, but you are still sent off to die a most painful death to keep the wheels churning, to stave off the change that you can be sure will happen eventually.
You are a bandaid being applied to a severed limb at this point, a far cry from the "this will surely fix everything" linking the fire was sold as in DS1. Compare the explosive flourish of power the Link the Fire ending was in DS1 vs how it is in DS3, how small and quiet it is now, with dark still creeping in around the edges.
And people know that it's all falling apart, fanatical cults have taken over large sections of what was once Lordran, The faith in the gods' system is wavering and the gods themselves have lost their power. And yet, even without a figurehead to run it anymore, that system still raises you. Still herds you like cattle through to the end to burn yourself to death. The world itself has been so disgustingly and irrevocably poisoned by the effects of Gwyn's reign that even without him the system is so automated that the sky itself becomes a symbol of your shackles, of the duty to him you never asked for.
But who, at this point, does that death even serve? The old royal family is dead, the kingdom that sprouted out of their ruins is surely falling now that you've killed their royal family. The cult church of the Deep as far as we can tell is too concerned with their vision of a post-flame future to care one way or another.
Maybe, you can let the hollows you mowed through can find their peace, finally free of this endless purgatory their lords and masters shackled them too. Perhaps you will burn, reforge the chains that keep them bound. Perhaps you'll enslave them, keeping their deathless purgatory but with the lights turned off, the same power-hungry monarch as Gwyn but manipulated, repackaged and Kaathe-flavoured. Perhaps you'll make a nice haven for them, far away in a small painting tucked away in a withering world after the great machine that shackles the world finally breaks down for good. Or perhaps you'll simply let the dark fall. Let the fetid, rotted corpse of a monarchy finally die after the uncountable number of years more than it should have; not to take control, not to subjugate, but simply to be. To finally, finally, let hollows, let humanity, be free. No gods, No masters, No Gwyn.
... Or that's how I interpreted those games, at least.
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Velvety Rich and Sickly Sweet
Once there was an African American girl who lived in a big city. Her name was Venessa. As a little girl, she loved playing with dolls and getting dressed up. Tea parties with her friends were a favorite pastime. She adored candy, cake and anything sweet, a craving that lasted for the rest of her life. She dreamed of becoming a famous celebrity.
As Venessa got older, computers and phones started to arrive. It wasn’t long before she got into social media. She pursued a career in fashion and posted videos of herself in velvet dresses baking cakes and seductively sucking on candies for the males. Her videos went viral and she basked in the online limelight.
But the more well-known she got, the more she distanced herself from her former family and friends. Venessa soon partook in gossip, laughing at other women and being a self-centered bully. She enjoyed the reactions of hurt people less well-off than her. This was especially true when she became a risqué model and dancer.
Soon enough, all of Venessa’s actions came back full circle. Venessa soon found herself as a target of bullying and racism. She received one hate comment after another…from the n word, to bad things about her black curly ponytails. Some even called her fat and fake.
Venessa was furious…so furious that she began to track down the bullies and kill them with knives. Childish laughter could be heard among the screaming victims. Venessa covered her tracks well…after all, no one suspected famous model to be a killer. However, she kept pictures of herself posing with her victims holding her knife.
But she was soon found out, and almost got arrested. Venessa soon spiraled down into madness, having a crazed breakdown. Distraught over the mean comments, she overdosed on skinny creating drugs. Her body couldn’t take the amount and she died before she was discovered by the police. A mirror was in one hand while a headless doll was in another. Venessa died at age 22 in 2012, the same year as Vaggie.
Venessa soon arrived in Hell and became known as Velvet. Velvet was a fitting name, due to both her wealth and her fondness for red velvet cakes. She even made an Instagram account called radvelvetcakes. Rad was a word meaning “cool” and “trendy,” the things she always aspired to be. With her status as an overlord, it was…well, a piece of cake.
Velvet would’ve been demon food if not for two Overlords who decided to take her in. Velvet soon had two friends and fellow Overlords: “Daddy” Vox and “Daddy” Valentino. The former was a wealthy TV demon, who owned all the TV stations in Hell. The latter was a moth pimp, who owned Hell’s number one porn studio. Together, the three Overlords made a near unstoppable fearsome force to be reckoned with. They become known as the Triple Vs. The three of them often hosted lavish parties on yachts and in fancy soirees, electronic music and dubstep pulsing through the air. All three of them controlled the “stimulants” of Hell: TV, drugs, porn, social media and food.
Vox had a flat screen TV for a head and wore a black suit with a large red bow tie and blue stripes going down the suit. He wore a black top hat with antennas and a teal Wi-Fi symbol on it, the same symbol on his chest. When he first came down to Hell in the 1950s, he had an old boxy TV head. But thanks to his power over electricity, he upgraded himself as the years went on. In his full demon form, the red eyed, sharp blue-toothed man could cause entire blackouts. Formerly a white man named Vincent, with black hair and icy blue eyes, Vox died from a TV falling and crushing his face. In Hell, he continued his sinful actions he did when he was alive: hooking up, doing drugs, and hosting gruesome TV shows for entertainment. TV towers were everywhere, looming like impenetrable metal fortresses. With his showman personality, he stood equal to Alastor in power, if not more.
Valentino was a light purple moth pimp with antennas and fancy coats. He had a ring of fluff around his neck with small red hearts on it. His glasses were pink and heart-shaped. He was often found lounging on couches with female “clients’ in his lap, smoking red smoke from a cigarette. The smoke itself could drug demons and make them doped up. Cruel and greedy, he enjoyed using and abusing people for his own pleasure, in particular, his porn star and worker Angel Dust. He promised love and pleasure, both of them illusions in the long run. His victims would be helpless and obedient, unable to leave and think for themselves. Valentino was originally Vasilis, a dark-skinned man from Brooklyn who also did drugs, smoked and participated in human trafficking. Valentino had died in the 1970s…and his distant relative was none other than fellow moth demon Vaggie!
And then there was Velvet herself. She was a black-skinned doll demon, short but very deadly. One of her favorite outfits was a velvet laced white dress with small hearts around it and black shapes. She wore black stockings and pink shoes with white puff balls on it. Her hair was dark pink and in two thick pigtails. She had red sclera and white irises with black pupils. Although she looked and acted like a child, she was in her twenties. Velvet was the Overlord of sweets and social media. If Harley Quinn turned into an animated doll who loved gossiping and tea parties, then that would adequately describe what Velvet was like. Velvet once sat with Vox and Valentino safe in the porn studio during the Extermination. She eagerly checked her phone and took selfies while sitting next to Vox.
Velvet could go full demon form like the other Overlords, but her power was laced with an extra dose of insanity. For in her most powerful form, she could make deadly potions to use against her enemies. Velvet was skilled enough making regular potion for perfume and to use as beauty products. But she could also make poisons and noxious gas to defeat any demon who dared disobey her and her fellow Overlords. In her most extreme form, she could magically turn her victims into sweets, absorbing their souls as she ate them! Even Vox and Valentino steered clear from her when she was in that form.
Like a doll, Velvet was doted on by Vox and Valentino, as well as her many followers. All three of them went back and forth from doting their workers to abusing them with deadly threats. Although Velvet enjoyed being spoiled, she often felt like she was treated like a child too much. She was perfectly capable of taking care of herself, even meeting up with Rosie and other wealthy ladies to eat demons in the streets. Velvet was also infamous for sometimes using demons’ blood and organs in her baking.
Yes, Velvet was living a life of luxury, perhaps second to the royal Magne family and the Eldritch family. Imagine her surprise when she found out that the princess was running a hotel to redeem sinners. She laughed it off, calling Charlie absurd. In many ways, she was similar to Seviathan, Helsa and Katie Killjoy: self-centered individuals who lived on gossip, trends, fashion and putting others down.
Velvet was frequently seen on and searched many media platforms in Hell: Voxtube, Voxflix, Voxbook, and Voxtagram. The movie and social media sites were all run by Vox, of course. His dimensional monopoly was getting closer to becoming permanent.
There was her Instagram account: “radvelvetcakes. Fun with the Overlords! Follow and comment to keep up on moth-pimp, voxtagram 8k and me!”
On July 6, 2020, Velvet posted a selfie of herself smiling on what appeared to be a dance floor decorated with green neon candy tiles.
“This is my newest account! Be sure to tell your friends! Ain’t I a cutie?”
On the same day, Velvet posted a selfie of her and Vox. Vox didn’t look very happy.
Vox said, “Chillin in the studio. Rad photo by my girl radvelvetcakes.”
On July 7, 2020, Velvet posted a picture of Valentino and Vox eating hamburgers at Hell’s version of McDonalds. Vox had his TV mouth open, a hamburger and French fries on his lap.
“Lol. Voxtagram8k is one to talk. He’s hardly as cool as he thinks he is.”
A later picture showed Valentino eating a giant chicken sandwich messily.
Valentino posted, “Picking up the goods,” as Vox and a smiling Velvet got into their limo after going to McDonalds. Vox had a bag in his hand, while Velvet carried two drinks. The McDonald’s M logo was upside down.
On July 9, 2020, Velvet posted a picture of herself showing off her manicured nails. Her sharp nails were decorated with sparkles, diamonds and little bows. The nails were extended ones. In the background, it looked like Vox’s leg was breaking down a door.
Later, Valentino mentioned that he would fuck up Velvet for posting bad pictures of him and Vox.
“Bored and missing the boys so I decided to do my nails up pretty!”
On July 10, 2020, Valentino posted a picture of Vox letting his pet shark loose on a tripping Velvet.
Valentino said, “Got her. This is the only time I’ll say this, but Vox having a giant demon pet shark actually comes in handy.”
On July 13, 2020, Velvet was seen beaming in a picture along with Vox, Valentino and their blue pet hammerhead shark.
On July 20, 2020, Valentino posted a selfie at his new club.
Valentino: “New club, new pole, anyone else wanna give it a whirl?”
Stolas: “No thank you. I’m sure even if things are new, the same slime is still around.”
When asked if Blitzo would do a dance on the pole for Valentino…
Blitzo: “No, no that won’t happen. I’m too busy with my horses and business.
Stola: It would be quite the sight. But I wouldn’t wish to see Blitzy working in Mr. Valentino’s establishment.
Stolas: Why would I ever want the rat to want such an excellent business venture?
Valentino: Watch yourself, bird.
Stolas: That’s a lot of talk for an insect.
Velvet laughed out loud as she read the comments.
On July 21, 2020, Velvet posted a selfie of herself about to eat a dirty green lollipop with a fly on it. Valentino stared in horror with wide pink eyes under his heart glasses.
“Val stopped me from eating a lollipop I found on the ground. But what he doesn’t know is that I grabbed it after he tossed it in the bin! #FreeCandy. #LivingFree. #RatsEatShitOffTheGroundAllTheTime.”
Valentino replied, “Stop, we have money! We can get you another one!”
Velvet: “It’s mystery flavored! We can do what we want!”
Vox said to Valentino: “I will not be the one cleaning the toilet tonight.”
Stolas said, “Wonderful parenting there,” and added a thumbs down.
Moxxie the imp added, “Why would anyone eat something that was on the ground?”
On July 23, 2020, Valentino posted a selfie of himself smoking, his eyes glowing pink under his shades.
Valentino said, “Dealing with Angel always puts me in a bad mood. Gonna go have some fucked up fun.”
Velvet eagerly asked, “Oooh, oooh, can I join?”
Valentino replied, “Sure, why the fuck not?”
On July 25th, Velvet went on a killing mission with Vox and Valentino. Velvet was seen in a picture, beaming while holding a knife in her hands. The blade was stained with purple cake frosting.
Valentino said, “Thanks for the backup today, baby doll.”
Velvet responded, “It was so much fun! Wish we could do it more often.”
Valentino added, “Always up for a little messy fun.”
On July 26th, Velvet posted a picture of herself doing a “duck” face while holding a piece of pink and teal cake on a plate. The rest of the cake was on a plate on a table, with suspicious bloodstains in the frosting. Nearby, a blue demon stood holding a piece while his right shoulder had a bloody bandage on it.
“So it turned out it was cake!” Velvet posted. Apparently, Velvet had thought that the demon was made of cake, so she had used a knife to slice his shoulder. Then she sliced up the cake and to her delight, it was, indeed, cake. Velvet had gleefully watched videos on VoxTube that showed artistically made cakes that looked like ordinary objects. This led to a meme or an online joke that everything was secretly cake. Velvet briefly wondered if she was cake herself.
On August 4, 2020, Velvet posted a video of a blue Vox writing down notes and a red Valentino screaming at him. Vox remained unfazed.
Velvet said: “Laughing my fucking ass off!”
Valentino wasn’t happy and said, “The fuck? You were supposed to advertise my company, not, whatever the fuck this is. Cute drawings, though.”
Velvet: “Thank you.”
Valentino: “Lucky you’re a crazy cute bitch.”
Vox said, “Ur lucky I have a built in mute button. Also, this is perfect! <3.” Vox was the more easygoing, “dad” type individual in comparison to Valentino.
On August 5, 2020, Velvet happily posed in a picture, holding a pink balloon she was about to pop with a pin. In front of her was an illuminated cake that read “Happy Birthday Gasu,” in reference to an artist who made character art for the show. Valentino had a scowl on his face as his red jacket got messy, the hearts on his fluff turning into broken hearts.
“Celebrated Gasuguma’s birthday with cake! Love his amazing pictures of Vox, Valentino and me! Happy Birthday!”
Valentino complained, “Yeah some celebration, stained my fucking jacket. Cake was good, though.”
On August 6, 2020, valentine posted a picture of Vox in a dark room with two cups of soda in his hands.
Valentino: “5:30 am. I asked Vox to get me a strawberry iced coffee several hours ago. The fucker shows up now with half a finished diet soda! Do I kill him, yes or no?”
Velvet was annoyed. “So that’s where my fucking diet soda went.”
Valentino: “Oh my fucking god, he didn’t even buy it for me.”
Vox: “I’ll send Vark the Shark to deliver your drink next time.”
Valentino: “You just wanted to see me.”
On August 7, 2020, Vox’s picture showed his TV screen cracked and one of his antennas crooked. Vox’s screen turned to colored bars and Valentino was grinning in the picture.
Valentino: “Thanks for the soda, Voxy. Don’t fuck up my order next time.”
Velvet sadly says: “My dads are fighting.”
Valentino: “Don’t worry baby doll, not my fault, Vox is a dumbass.”
Vox: “Velvet, you’re literally the same age as us, wtf?”
Sir Pentious: “Ha ha ha, that’s hilariously evil, Valentino. Or may I call you Val, we should “hang” soon?”
Stolas: “You can do better.”
Vox: “Time to get a new screen. Ungrateful rat. #notmyboyfriend.”
Valentino: “You woke me up. Sorry not sorry.”
Stolas said to Vox: “I would say you could do better, but I’m not entirely sure you can.”
Valentino: “Go fuck an imp.”
Stolas: Gladly.
Valentino: Sad.
Stolas: What’s sad is traipsing around in a giant tacky coat trying too hard to be intimidating.
Valentino: What’s sadder is watching you thirst over a tiny-dicked imp 24/7.
Stolas: From what I’ve heard, he has a bigger dick than whatever you have between your legs.
Valentino: From who? Lol. You obviously don’t have anyone, I don’t see nothing on your insta other than a thirsty dried old man.
Stolas: …
Stolas: You only like Vox because he can display glowing lamps on his screen, dirty moth.
Velvet laughed out loud, this was the most fun she had in a while.
On August 17 2020, Valentino posted another selfie.
Valentino: “Got some business to take care of.”
Stolas: I knew disco was dead, but I didn’t know it went to Hell.” Another successful roast.
Velvet said: “Looking pretty dapper, Val. Don’t worry, I know Vox will see it!”
Valentino said to Stolas, “Don’t hate me ‘cause you ain’t me, imp fucker.”
Stolas replied, “Why would I want to be a rat?”
Valentino: “Why are you so obsessed with me, baby cake? Want me to stop by? Help remove the stick from your ass.”
Stolas: The stuck up my ass would be more pleasurable than anything you’ve got.
Velvet was laughing so hard, tears came from her eyes.
Valentino: Don’t knock it till you try it, baby. You know what they say about moths.
Stolas: That they’re little pests obsessed with light bulbs? Owls eat insects, you know.
Valentino: They can go all night.
Stolas: Well owls eat rats. Wait this came out from the wrong particular situation…
Valentino made an erotic face.
Stolas: No.
Sir Pentious to Valentino: “I own the same shirt, maybe we can do business and hang.”
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Why Isn't There a Mortal Kombat Anime Yet?
On April 23, 2019, Mortal Kombat 11 was released. The latest in a series of fighting games that basically serve as lessons to medical students about what happens to the human body when you light it on fire and kick it enough, it immediately enveloped my whole life. I dove into the tutorial and then the story mode and have been replaying through the various battle towers in order to unlock stuff and get slightly-better-than-mediocre at it. I don't need to become good, mind you. I just need to know that, if I was challenged to a round of Kombat by a stranger or a cat or a house plant, I could stand a chance of winning.
But what do I love about it? I love the array of characters - ninjas and demons and conquerors that take themselves super seriously even when they're carrying around comically-sized hammers and spouting off so much complicated lore that it would make J.R.R. Tolkien blush. And speaking of the lore, I love the mythology, which has expanded from "there's a tournament and ya just gotta win" to "YOU MUST SAVE (INSERT REALM HERE) FROM (INSERT NEW VILLAIN HERE) WHILE WATCHING OUT FOR AND POSSIBLY TEAMING UP WITH (INSERT OLD VILLAIN HERE.) BUT FIRST, SOME MORE BACKSTORY." There's so much of it, and I adore the fact that everyone has a grudge against everyone else. No one in Mortal Kombat is anything less than nine levels of pissed off at someone, and they handle it all through conflict resolution courses and admitting mistakes.
Ha, no. They handle it through fighting. Characters have different styles that range from "I'm a fiery guy that knows martial arts and can throw a spear attached to a chain" to "I'm drunk, I'm Australian, but most importantly, I'm the worst." But what does this have to do with anime? Everything, actually, because I think it's a crime against humanity that we haven't gotten an anime based on Mortal Kombat yet.
Why? Well, let's go through the points that I laid out. First, the character selection in Mortal Kombat reminds me a lot of Naruto, except with more beheadings. There are various warring clans and legendary fighters and everyone, somehow, is pretty good at doing spinkicks. Sure, the lead character of Mortal Kombat can be a little bland (Liu Kang is a good guy! I just wouldn't want to watch his stand-up comedy special,) but luckily there's dozens of others that pick up the slack. It's one of the best things about Naruto and Dragon Ball Z (when you get sick of Goku or Naruto, there's always Vegeta and Rock Lee,) and it's one of the best things about Mortal Kombat. If you get tired of Liu Kang or sick of Johnny Cage, you can always find solace in whatever Bo Rai Cho or Kitana is doing.
What's more is that these characters come with an absolute avalanche of backstory and mythology. I know some of you are saying "What's the point of story in a fighting game? I just want to do punches!" and I get you. I don't do it with Mortal Kombat, but I've visited the cutscene hell of fighting games where I'm desperately pressing "A" through a bunch of buff dudes yelling "NO, you CAN'T be my REAL FATHER." And with 11 main series titles in the Mortal Kombat franchise so far, the current stories can feel less like complicated tales that have been built up over time and more like a bunch of guys in masks babbling with each other about the various fates of the universe.
But while I recommend just Wikipedia-ing it if you don't understand what Shao Kahn's going on about, imagine, for a second, if Mortal Kombat had an anime like One Piece. In One Piece, the lore is massive and threatens to crush its readers on every page. But...it doesn't. And Mortal Kombat, with the right kind of pacing and arc structure could do that, too. Distill the main game stories down to their best parts (the tournament from MK1, the fight against Emperor Shao Kahn in MK2, the battle with disgraced Elder God Shinnok in MK4, the team-up of Shang Tsung and Quan Chi in Deadly Alliance, etc.) and you have plotlines that are tailor made to be rad anime arcs. I just want to say that I'm watching the "Deadly Alliance" arc but I'll be getting to the "Deception" arc soon to someone. At least give me that, Ed Boon and Pierrot Studios, probably.
And what about the fighting? Well, remember the granddaddy of all tournament arcs, the Dark Tournament from Yu Yu Hakusho? Mortal Kombat is a lot like that, except with an even wider cast of heroes and villains. Even when it's not specifically about a tournament, you still get a bunch of people that are eager to rip heads off and look entertaining while they do it. You have the swaggering, sadistic style of Kano and the animalistic, creepy style of Reptile (my two favorite characters.) You have Johnny Cage's flash and Baraka's brutality. You have Sonya Blade's efficiency and Jax's power. You have Goro's might and Jade's slyness. You have Raiden's supernatural abilities and Sub Zero's freezing powers. And finally, you have Scorpion yelling "GET OVER HERE!" a bunch, along with, like, 40 more.
I don't use "This should be an anime!" very freely, because 1) I don't know what else an anime could do for the franchise some times. For example, I've had my fill of action-packed Batman cartoons with an anime-esque style. And 2) I don't want to confuse my lust for an anime adaptation with my primal lust for more anime in general. Honestly, I think my last trip to the grocery store would be a cool anime ("EPISODE 147: DANIEL VS CASHIER! THE MANGOES WEREN'T ON SALE.") But with Mortal Kombat, the stars kind of align. Will it ever happen? Maybe! I must admit, the announcement that Crunchyroll is now streaming Mortal Kombat would be pretty sweet.
Oh, and go play Mortal Kombat 11! 9 out of 10 doctors recommend it as a cure for, um, not playing Mortal Kombat 11.
Would you want to see a Mortal Kombat anime? Who is your favorite Mortal Kombat character? What other games would make for cool shows? Let us know in the komments!
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Daniel Dockery is a writer for Crunchyroll. You can find him on Twitter.
Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!
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