#zeta.txt

[cimmerian-chaos]

Kidnapper who just inaverdently finds that they've accumulated hostages not because they're particularly good at kidnapping, but because they have kittens.

#zeta.txt

[bp-best-froggo]

Soo, uhh, the Arknights anime...

(fyi, this might be obvious, but I’m gonna spoil the first episode now. If you haven’t seen it, go watch it. Then come back. Or don’t. I’m not your mom. I’m going to dump my thoughts here. This isn’t going to be very structured, very sorry if it’s incomprehensible rambling. It’s a long one. I’m not even kidding.)

First of all: What is this show supposed to be?

This might be an obvious one. An adaption of Arknights main story, in particular its first couple of chapters. The show is called “Prelude to Dawn” which does imply, also based on the material they have shown so far, that they will adapt Chapters 0 - 3 (as these chapters are also displayed together in the game’s story hub). Currently the show is listed with 8 episodes, which is shorter than most other shows.

With that out of the way, what kind of adaption is Arknights: Prelude to Dawn? Is it attempting to simply transfer its story to a different medium? Market the game to a new audience? Or is it trying to improve on a story, which was flawed on release, due to a lack of experience?

Or to frame the question differently: Why adapt Arknights into an anime show at all?

There are a couple of reasons for that. First of all: Expectations. If you’re releasing an anime-style game (or a manga or probably also a light novel), and it gains decent popularity, it’s a given that your fanbase will expect to see an anime adaption. Most fans are dreaming of that perfect adaption, that captures everything they love about a piece of media and looks stellar. Which I think is understandable, but also, when it comes to video games, near impossible to do right. Games are interactive art - you can only transfer a fraction of that experience into a visual/auditive medium.

Basically, you can tell me the story, but you can never capture the frustration of trying to clear NL-S-3 CM. Don’t get me wrong, I love the story, but I also love the gameplay. You can’t capture the gameplay, because I’m not the one doing it. In an anime, I watch someone else doing it. This makes it, by default, impossible to deliver on the expectations set by the community.

If you’re making it so hard on yourself to deliver a satisfying product then, why bother? Reason #2: You can make money off of it. If you have a bunch of people, who are by default willing to spend money on your product, because there’s a familiar name on the tin.

I cut this one short: I don’t know how profitable making this show is. You can watch it on Crunchyroll and I don’t know how much HG is making by selling the liscense. But then they’re also sharing it on YouTube which... I mean, it’s nice, don’t get me wrong, but like... for free? I mean they are getting ad revenue too, but... is that enough to make up for the production cost or even turn a profit? I guess you could also sell physical copies, the fans are gonna love those. But is that enough? I have honestly no idea.

Reason #3: You can market your game. A lot of manga and light novels used to do this and probably still do (don’t know for sure, I don’t watch as many animes anymore), where they get adapet for a single 12-ep season, only to push sales on the original work. No Game No Life, Btooom!, Baccano! come to mind for me. Decent shows, but will probably never have another season aired, even though the show is far from concluded.

If you wanted to make an Arknights show, to have more people pick up your game, selling them a story is one way to do it. But frankly, is that going to work? Remember you’re selling a gacha game. Peeps like me are here for the story, sure - but also for the characters. And if you want to haul in new customers, you might want to sell me your characters.

I know this is going to sound cynical, but if you’re not showing me at least 6* waifus only obtainable by gacha in the first 2 minutes, what’s the point? EP1 features exactly one character who is (not even exclusively) obtainable by gacha: Dobermann, a 4*. So honestly, either HG has no idea how to market their game (which looking at some of their ads might be a somewhat valid take) or that’s not what they were going for. Or they have a lot of faith that the story ends on strong enough of a cliffhanger to pull in the players then. (Which I don’t think either? Like, there’s a Limited Banner coming up both on CN and Global. Why wouldn’t you want to pull in players now?)

Which leaves me only with Reason #4: You create it because you can.

You can also call this one wishful thinking. I certainly think it is. Nowadays it’s hard for me not to look at PieceOfMedia(tm) and immediately think about what it’s trying to sell me. Even Arknights to an extend, isn’t only trying to tell me story. Every event comes with a new banner, so I can waste money on the newest 6* Blorbo. But I wouldn’t like Arknights if I didn’t see an earnest attempt between all the gacha banners and marketable characters to create something meaningful.

Earlier this week I got Glaucus’ module. I don’t think she’s a super popular character, so her module text will probably go unnoticed by most players. It made me tear up, because whoever wrote these few sentences wanted to express a kind of joy and happiness that not everyone can or will experience. This is why I play Arknights.

It’s these kind of things that make wonder, if this anime really only does exist, because there are a couple of people who care so much about something they have created, they want even more people to experience it. Even if gacha or tower defense isn’t their cup of tea. Even if it doesn’t turn a profit. Even if it goes largely unnoticed or unappreciated.

The truth is, probably, somewhere in between these four reasons. That’s why this adaption exists.

And it’s actually pretty good. Admittedly, it has been a while since I’ve read Arknights first chapters, but I still remember that at the time I skipped through most of them. They weren’t the reason I stuck with the game. The reason came way later. If anything, Arknights was a welcome distraction from the absolute hellhole that ‘Rona was at the time.

There’s a strange sense of comfort in a story about a world ravaged by an illness, too poorly understood to be cured, and people yet fighting to help those who suffer from it. Because at the time, when I looked at the outside world, all I could see was selfishness and fear. It was probably, curiously, the best possible time when the game had come out. At least for me.

I think what sums up this episode is that it was simply: Solid. Unspectular, but solid. The animation was good. It looked well-made and it was clear to see, that the animators put a lot of care into every scene. The dark scenes hit pretty hard. The voice acting was really good and I especially adore the Doctor’s voice. There was only one fight scene, but it was well done. I liked how they portraied the Doctor’s tactical thinking, using the drones and all that stuff.

But overall, the pacing was pretty slow and the exposition felt a little... clumsy. The Doctor’s amnesia and weak physical state is a good explanation to have all the characters explain a lot of stuff to them. But it slows the story down in a situation where it would otherwise be adviceable to... hurry up and get the fuck out of there? We know from the beginning that Amiya and her companions are in enemy territory, so having them stop every other minute to tell the Doctor all the stuff they have forgotten takes out the urgency from the story. Not completely, most of the time they are still hiding somewhere. But apparently it’s not urgent enough to not save Ursus mom and her daughter from Reunion.

A faster pacing definitely would have helped deliver the story. I’m not sure how much of the exposition was actually necessary, a lot of it felt like it was mentioned twice, but that might also be just me. I’m already familiar with the setting afterall. I’m still curious how good the setting was actually explained though. I will try to convince a friend, who has no idea what Arknights is about, to watch the first episode. Just morbid curiosity.

A lot of this might read like I have mixed feelings about the show, but that’s not exactly true. In fact, I love it and enjoyed the first episode so much, I will probably rewatch it at least once or twice over the next week. Most of my thoughts are just... uncertainty. This is afterall HG’s first attempt at an adaption. So far, it’s really good. It has honestly surpassed all my expectations and I was expecting something less polished than that. But I want to be careful about setting my expectations too high.

On the other hand I can’t help but wonder if this show is what will inevitably make Arknights pop culture - if such a thing can even be called inevitable. Maybe Arknights isn’t meant to appeal to everyone. A part of me would much prefer that over a slow decline into mediocrity that usually comes with increased marketability.

I have long since made peace with the fact that even Arknights might only be a phase for me. Right now, I still love the game and I play it every day and talk to people about it all the time. I know this can’t last forever, and I can’t help but wonder, whether my love for Arknights has already peaked or if it’s still going to last for a long time. Times feel uncertain to me so I find it though to believe in an eternity.

Regardless, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting for this to last just a little longer.

Frankly, I don’t think this show was made to market the game. I feel like it was made for me, and people like me. I’m probably wrong about this, but this is what I choose to believe right now.

To the two people who chose to read all of this: .... thanks for reading, but also, why?

#arknights #prelude to dawn #long post #arknights spoilers #i guess not really i rambled about everything but the show I feel like - #zeta.txt

[gelatocircus]

Tundraman please :)

I really like Tundra Man. He has such a funky design.

#mega man classic #tundra man #mega man 11 #zeta.txt #zeta.art

[junko-enoshima-in-dark-souls]

honestly say what you want about cars and car infrastructure i agree as much as the next commie that it sucks

but cars very much have an important use case, that *cant* be solved by public transportation

personal freight. driving a heavy piece of furniture or equipment literally anywhere that a public transport line doesnt directly go. even an alley slightly off to the side of a bus or tram stop is already far away that carrying a fridge would become a huge issue

more than that, cars can go where a bus or tram can't- along winding tiny roads to a remote place, anywhere

theres very much a *use case* for cars. the ideal solution is probably to have freighters for hire everywhere, but honestly, i think im just tired of hearing people say that cars shouldn't exist altogether

but then again, give me 'popular and unopposed opinions outside of this specific ideology clique' for 500

#zeta.txt

[zeta-is-writing]

It has gotten dusty here.

I think it's been a while since I've actively used this blog. I have no idea, who's still on this site and will see this post. But I think I want to revive this blog. Now is probably a better time than ever with NaNoWriMo coming up.

So I figured, why not make a serious attempt this time? And actually, you know, get somewhere with what I'm working on? And actually share some of my writing, aka yell into the void?

So, if you're a) a Writeblr, b) know a Writeblr, c) plan to do NaNoWriMo next month and/or d) really like french fries, please reblog this, so I can get an idea on who's still around (and drop you a follow :D)!

#writeblr #are writeblrs even still a thing? #if no let's bring them back! #not writing #nanowrimo #zeta.txt

[crycowboy-moved]

#ok reblog this now please😋😋 #hannibal #zeta.txt

[gayaziraphale]

also i read little beast by siken again and i‘m pointedly NOT thinking about crowley

#zeta.txt

[cryptidennis]

glenn howerton BEST screaming compliation is the only thing holding me to this astral plane

#zeta.txt #it's always sunny in philadelphia #iasip

[ghostfanclub]

preorder now bitches

https://store.florenceandthemachine.net/

#zeta.txt

[cimmerian-chaos]

We have booped @the-creative-crow for 30 mins straight we will boop everyone we are so powerful fate decided we had to be nerfed and gave us a migrane today

#zeta.txt

[bp-best-froggo]

Chapters: 4/? Fandom: 明日方舟 | Arknights (Video Game) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Blue Poison/Glaucus (Arknights) Summary:

Blue Poison would be a lovely person - if there weren't so many rumors about her being "toxic". After her old room mate left, Blue Poison is now about to get a new one in Glaucus. Time to make a good first impression - before Glaucus catches wind of the rumors.

*inflicts this on you and leaves*

#arknights #blue poison #best froggo #glaucus #best sluggo #zeta.txt

[gelatocircus]

ℤ𝕖𝕥𝕒’𝕤 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤 - 𝕍𝕠𝕝 𝟙

ℂ𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕒𝕦𝕣 𝕄𝕒𝕟

Okay. So. I just want to start this by saying I have never really shared headcanons so publicly before and I am nervous 🧍🏽‍♂️

Also!! An important note is that all interpretations are valid, and you don’t have to agree with me! :]

These are just my thoughts!

•◌•◌•〚 ☻ 〛•◌•◌•

So, a bit of canon info that is relevant, for those who don’t know.

Centaur works at a museum, and entered the first annual robot tournament as a means to refurbish it with the prize money. He also likes gambling.

Headcanons under the cut cuz this is a long one

Also I added doodles to make this more fun ig, haha.

•◌•◌•〚 ☻ 〛•◌•◌•

- When first built, the museum Centaur Man is from was pretty well off! It was during this time they commissioned a robotics company to create him as their robotic tour guide. He specializes in Greek myth.

- Centaur is a huge nerd for Greek mythology, being both what he was built to resemble, and his job. When asked questions about it, particularly outside of work, he is likely to ramble for quite some time — though, he ends up embarrassed and apologetic when he realizes he’s been talking for too long.

His favorite character in Greek myth is Chiron, the wise centaur who taught many heroes, such as Heracles and Achilles.

- After some time, the museum became less popular. Centaur Man began looking for ways to get it back on the map, deciding, he’d need a good amount of money to do so. He took up the habit of gambling in hopes to earn this money.

- This hanging around casinos introduced Centaur to alcohol and smoking as well. Habits he quickly picked up on. He unfortunately is quick to get addicted to such things, another fun tidbit he found out about himself during this time.

He chooses to pretend he doesn’t have a problem when around others. Insists he only does these things casually and could stop whenever. This is definitely not true.

He is also pretty rowdy when drunk, which is something he finds himself particularly embarrassed about.

With a habit of jumping from bar to bar- he accidentally ran into Flash Man a few times. These two have since become drinking buddies, and will go out together for alcohol.

Unfortunately, they are both embarrassed of their drunk behavior, and pretend they don’t know each other outside of that.

- The only one who knows about Flash and Centaur’s friendship is Yamato Man

Yamato Man and Centaur are really close. And Yamato will come with centaur to bars and casinos. Not because he actually enjoys them, but more to stop centaur man from getting wasted or losing a bunch of money. Centaur causes problems and Yamato tries to get him out of them. As besties do.

- Working with tourists, Centaur is programmed with the ability to speak several languages. He was actually quite the translator for the MM6 bots before they could all understand each other.

Yamato however, still doesn’t like to speak English much, so he and Centaur communicate largely in Japanese.

- Translating ended up having him spend a lot of time with everyone from the tournament, so he became buds with them all, and tries to keep in contact. He is largely the glue that keeps them together.

- Hair hc! He has long brown hair that matches his tail in color. He keeps it in a braid. Goes down to about his mid back. (Was going to draw this for the post, but still can’t settle on a bang design 💔)

- I hc Centaur as Trans Man. He’s also Omniromantic. Doesn’t have a preference between men or women, but does feel like each is a different experience.

- After the tournament, Centaur found out he had a love for combat. He still gets together with Yamato and Knight for friendly duals.

- No one got any prize money because the tournament was a fake, and centaur is still salty about this.

- Does NOT like being treated like a horse. Do not ask to ride his back. It’s a no. If you’re really close, he might let you, but don’t expect it.

Doesn’t mind genuine questions about being a centaur most of the time tho. But can sometimes get annoyed with it as he does get asked most of them a lot.

Despite this he definitely does make jokes about him being a centaur. And will sometimes laugh if others do. Just depends on how he’s feeling.

•◌•◌•〚 ☻ 〛•◌•◌•

That’s all for now! Lemme know if you guys liked this post 👍

I have a lot of headcanons, so might submit more later if people are interested.

Thanks for reading 😎🤙

#long post #zeta.hcs #Centaur Man #Mega man 6 #centaur man mega man 6 #zeta.txt

[junko-enoshima-in-dark-souls]

i think its really Funny the towas called monaca monaca it's like naming your child croissanthony. eclaire

#zeta.txt #dr

[zeta-is-writing]

NaNoWriMo 2021 - Day 18

Words written: 1.853

Progress: 49.496 / 50.000

Notes: Nothing really to share today. Wrote a fight scene, but most of it is still sort of incoherent. Have to clean it up at some point. I'll probably be at 50k tomorrow, so that's a yay.

I didn't get enough sleep the last couple of days, so very important! Remember to take breaks and get some rest!

#nanowrimo 2021 #nanowrimo #essence #zeta.txt

[crycowboy-moved]

stop calling howl a man he literally wears earrings

#hiiiiiiii hmc girlies :-) #howls moving castle #hmc #zeta.txt

[gayaziraphale]

it‘s 3am girls

#broadchurch #zeta.txt