#Long island web design

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Design MSL, a leading new york based web development agency specializing in creating high quality sites optimized to help take businesses to the next level.

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Synopsis: You had your entire life just beginning, fresh into college, and as a treat, you were going on a trip across the world where you find out what your father truly does for work and why you were able to move into a nice new home. A normal young girl thrust into a world where she needed to relearn everything she ever knew and escape the clutches of an assassin clan who wanted her as a wife.

The next few days following your run-in with Raian in his hotel room left you uneasy. As time flew by in a blur, you tried your best to stay in your hotel room with your mother. Making eye contact with your mother every time she needed to go somewhere made you feel like a dog waiting to be adopted in the pound.

The island, with its golden sands and crystal-clear waters, now felt suffocating, like an elaborate cage designed for your entrapment. Your mother, despite all the stress and her growing suspicions about your father’s involvement in this web of chaos, kept her usual facade of politeness up, not fully understanding the danger you were in. 

But you knew. You felt it in every look Raian gave you, in every near encounter you had when you tried to escape him. He never gave up. Even when you were alone, you felt his presence looming in the background. It was a constant asphyxiating reminder that you couldn’t hide, not for long that is. 

It was late evening when the inevitable happened. You were walking to the lobby, trying to sneak away to the beach for some brief solace, when you turned a corner and found yourself face-to-face with Raian. The hallway was empty, but you could feel the weight of his stare like he had been waiting for this moment. He was dressed in all black once again, his presence imposing, his gaze dark and intense. "Where do you think you're going?" His voice was low, almost a growl as if he was daring you to lie.

You froze, panic rising in your chest. Every fiber of your being screamed at you to run, to get away from him. But you knew that wouldn’t work. He’d just chase you down again. So, you stood your ground, defiant yet trembling on the inside.

"I'm going for a walk," you muttered, but it sounded weak even to your own ears.

Raian stepped closer, his height towering over you. He seemed almost unfazed by your resistance as if he already knew how this would end.

"I think you're missing the point, wife," he said, his lips curling into a faint, dangerous smile. "You belong to me now, and no matter where you go, I'll always find you." His voice softened for a moment as if savoring the words. "I told you, you can't escape me. You're mine."

You took a step back, eyes wide with fear, but there was nowhere to retreat. He was blocking the exit.

“I’m not your wife,” you snapped, your words biting despite the knot in your throat. “And I’m not yours to claim.”

Raian's grin only grew wider, more predatory. “You’ll learn soon enough.”

Before you could react, he grabbed your wrist, his grip hard enough to bruise. “We’re going back to the room,” he insisted, his voice a growl as if the conversation was over. He didn’t give you a chance to protest, dragging you toward the elevator with the ease of someone accustomed to getting his way.

"Raian, please," you pleaded, your voice trembling. "Don't do this."

You wanted to slap yourself silly, you had never in life been a woman who backed down—especially when it came to men, no matter how big, how strong, and how much they tried to mold you into being this docile little thing they get to control. You struggled in his grip, reaching out and grasping the walls and anything in your vicinity. He laughed at you when you slipped, almost colliding face-first with the shiny patterned flooring. In the last moment, he yanked you by your already bruised wrist into his chest.

“ See wife, you need me.” 

The moment you stepped foot inside the room, he slammed the door behind you, locking it with a click that made your heart race.

“Sit down,” Raian commanded, his tone a stark contrast to the softness he’d shown earlier when he’d dried your hair. He was done playing nice.

“I’m not going to stay here,” you said, defiance creeping into your voice. “I’ll leave if I have to.”

Raian’s eyes darkened further, his jaw tightening. “You’re not fucking going anywhere.” His words were simple, yet they carried the weight of an unspoken threat.

Before you could react, the door to the suite opened, and a voice you recognized—though barely—cut through the tension.

"Raian."

Your breath caught in your throat. The man who stepped into the room was an older version of Raian, his posture commanding, his eyes sharp with authority. The resemblance between the two was undeniable, but this man exuded something darker, something more terrifying. The way he surveyed you, his gaze not just critical but calculating, sent a chill down your spine.

The older man was calm, his presence heavy with the kind of power that made the room feel small and it slowly crept into your chest to smother you. 

"Grandfather," Raian murmured, his voice taking on a more respectful tone than you’d ever heard him use. 

The old man’s gaze flickered briefly to you, taking in your shaking form, before turning back to his grandson. "Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice smooth but laced with an edge. "She doesn’t seem to be cooperating and her mother is even more of a hassle, I plan to speak to her father in the morning.”

Raian didn’t answer immediately. Instead, his eyes lingered on you, possessive and unwavering. "She’s stubborn," he said, "but she’ll come around."

The grandfather’s gaze remained cold as he stepped further into the room. "You know what I want, Raian. This family is counting on you to make this work. I don't care how you do it. But you will make her yours. One way or another."

The words hung in the air, suffocating you.

"You understand, don’t you?" The grandfather's eyes narrowed. "If you fail, this family will suffer. “We have spent centuries to create you Raian and your offspring will surpass anything we’ve ever seen, this ordeal needs to be settled before the Kengan tournament is over."

Raian’s expression darkened, his hand clenching at his side. “I’ll handle it,” he said through gritted teeth.

"You better," his grandfather replied, voice firm. "We don’t accept mistakes."

As the old man turned to leave, he glanced back at you with an unsettling look of satisfaction. "We wouldn’t want any unfortunate incidents with our new extended family, granddaughter. Don't make me come back here to remind you."

Raian’s jaw clenched as the door shut behind his grandfather. The weight of his words lingered like a shadow of a demon in the room, and you realized just how trapped you were.

Raian’s hand gripped your arm once more, this time with less gentleness. "You heard him," he said, his voice low, almost a whisper. "You're mine. And you will learn to accept it."

You tried to pull away, tears brimming in your eyes but his grip tightened. "I will never accept this," you spat, your words heavy with defiance.

Raian’s eyes flickered with something darker, something obsessive. "You will," he said with certainty. "You’ll learn, sooner or later."

And as he led you to the bed, every part of you screamed for freedom. But you knew it wasn’t coming. Not yet. He threw you on the bed and before he could fully loom over you, you kicked him right where the sun doesn’t shine with all the strength you could muster. He choked and fell over clutching his pants, you took this sliver of a chance and raced to the door jerking it open. 

You never once looked back as you ran, tears freely falling, and more bruises to appear in the morning when you collided with the walls. When you finally made it back to your hotel room your mother was waiting impatiently with the phone in her hand. She saw your face riddled with fear and immediately knew you had another run-in with Raian. 

In her arms, you cried. Everything that was supposed to be amazing and beautifully filled with memories on this trip turned into something out of a nightmare on Elm Street and Raian was playing Freddy. Having your father betray and sell you off for money had been fully realized at this moment and it felt like your heart was being torn in half. You had always thought that by this age you would meet a nice guy and he would romance you like you met once upon a dream. Everything you knew meant nothing in the face of the Kure clan, you were their new prey, and they planned to do everything to make you bend and mold to their will. When you finally calmed down and changed out of your clothing your mother told you about her most recent phone call that led to a small lunch she had today. 

“ Today I had lunch with the CEO of Nogi group, I had called up every contact I had that I believed could help me and after a lot of awkward ‘no’s’ I was given the contact of Mr.Hideki. We met more lunch in the lounge at a private table,” 

you nodded, trying to process everything she was saying as you picked at the edges of your shirt, the remnants of your earlier panic still coursing through you. You were safe for the moment, but you couldn't escape the feeling that you were walking a tightrope, with Raian and his family waiting on either side.

"So, Mr. Hideki," your mother continued, after a brief pause. "He’s not a man to be trusted easily, but he has connections. More importantly, he has leverage. It’s why the Kure clan hasn’t been able to touch him directly, at least not yet."

You frowned, still not quite understanding. "But why would he help us? What does he get out of this?"

Your mother sighed, glancing down at her hands. "When we met, he didn’t want to talk openly. There were too many eyes around, so we communicated through notes, in code. It was a way to make sure we weren’t being listened to."

You raised an eyebrow. "Code?"

"Yes," she said, a faint smile crossing her lips as she relived the memory. "Mr. Hideki is old school. He had a small notebook with him, a few sheets of paper, and a pen. At first, he didn’t speak. He just wrote something down and slid it across the table to me. A simple line: The walls have ears."

You blinked, uncertain. "The walls...?"

"Yes," she confirmed. "He meant there was a possibility of surveillance—someone watching us. And just like that, we were speaking in code. Each note after that, he’d write something down and I’d follow up with my response, using subtle phrases that we both understood. He wanted to make sure that even if someone was listening, they wouldn’t be able to piece things together."

Your mind raced, the picture of a clandestine meeting forming in your head. You could imagine your mother’s unease, the weight of being in a room full of danger, yet having no choice but to play the game. She looked exhausted, but there was an undeniable sense of determination in her eyes.

"He asked about your father. You know, the jackass who I thought was just a business man, working on all those high-profile contracts. And he made it clear he knew exactly what the Kure clan was doing. He told me that he could help us—get us out of here and make sure the Kure family couldn’t reach us again."

A lump formed in your throat. "How? How can he help us? I don’t understand."

Your mother leaned in, her voice dropping to a whisper, as though the walls might still be listening. "He said the Kure clan doesn’t just deal with assassination and criminal work. They have a network—an entire web of power and influence that stretches far beyond what we see. Mr. Hideki's connections run deep. He has allies who owe him favors, and he has people who would move heaven and earth to get their hands on the Kure clan's secrets."

She paused, making sure you were following, and you nodded silently, waiting for her to continue.

"He promised he could get us out. But not just in the way you’d think. If we disappear now, if we run away, they’ll send their best after us. Raian, especially... he’ll stop at nothing to make sure we stay. But if we let Mr. Hideki leverage the right people, if we make the Kure clan believe we’re gone for good… they’ll think they’ve lost. And that will be our window of escape."

You exhaled sharply. Your mind was spinning, processing this new possibility. You’d always dreamed of escaping, but you never imagined it would be like this—like slipping out of a spider’s web without it even realizing.

"Mr. Hideki wants us to disappear—completely," your mother continued, her voice tightening. "But it won’t be easy. The Kure clan is relentless, and if they find out what we’re planning, it’ll be over before we even start. He wants to be sure that no one can track us, not even Raian. He’s already made arrangements to get us somewhere no one will think to look."

"And what do we have to do?" you asked, your voice barely above a whisper.

"We need to trust him," your mother said, her eyes meeting yours. "We need to play along with his plan, be patient, and make sure we don’t give the Kure clan any more reason to suspect that we’re trying to escape. It’s going to be dangerous, but if we can get out of their sight long enough... then we can take our next step and leave all of this behind."

You felt your heart racing in your chest as you considered the weight of your mother’s words. It was a plan, a fragile one, but a plan nonetheless. And as uncertain as you were, you also knew that without it, you’d be trapped forever in the Kure clan's grip.

"And Raian?" you asked quietly. "What about him? What if he finds out?"

Your mother’s face hardened, the calm resolve returning to her features. "Raian is a complication we’ll have to deal with. But for now, we need to keep our distance, and we need to make sure he doesn’t suspect anything. Once we’re out of his reach, we’ll handle the rest."

You could see the exhaustion in her face, but there was something else there—an unmistakable resolve. You couldn’t deny it. Your mother was going to do whatever it took to protect you, even if it meant playing a dangerous game with people like Mr. Hideki.

It wasn’t going to be easy. In fact, it would likely be the hardest thing you’d ever do. But if there was even a chance—just a small chance—that you and your mother could escape the Kure clan, then it was a risk worth taking.

And so, together, you began to plan your escape. One careful step at a time.

🏷️: @ninacutebee16 @arans-princess-reblogs @imaginarydreams @black-girl-anime-lover (anyone else wishing to be tagged please lmk in the replies <3)

A/N: Well… do you perhaps want MORE ??? with that…😊 enjoy and comment pls !!!! quick edit: I hope everyone realizes just how funny Y/n and her mother are and are going to be throughout this story, this will be unlike many arranged marriage stories before especially having Raian as my lead.

[valiasims]

WIP#48

Hey everyone!

Sorry for not updating you earlier but after I published the last set I started working a revamp for my tumblr to look more professional and to feature all my downloads in one place. I thought since I work in the field I could put together something. Well, don't look yet because it isn't updated yet, I still have a lot to work on it. But step by step it will be done hopefully, and you can easily download everything because on Patreon it's so annoying to scroll to oblivion.

Since I worked on the web design last weekend I only started doing the new set a couple of days ago and I've been doing modeling, UV etc. up until now. These are the first items I could finally see in game and as a visual person I need to see something to motivate me that what I'm working on for days not gonna turn out trash. :D

As I said earlier this set is gonna be something I think will go well with the new expansion pack. Ever since I made Baker's Kitchen last year I wanted to do a proper bakery collection but I was really excited that time to start creating and wanted to try ot different things so I never got to do it. I couldn't let it go though so I thought this would be perfect for the start of the spring. Also someone suggested a similar idea on tumblr and I was like, yeah this could be interesting.

I don't want to repeat myself so this set will look different and more focused on sweets and cakes and the community lot aspect of it. Also I think I learned a lot since those earlier sets too.

This may will be separated into two sets because I want to focus on the guest area (tables, chairs etc. ) and the baker area (baking clutter, trays etc.) as well. My inspiration came from the japandi style and its elegance but I want to bring in nature and flowers.

These kitchen islands are not finished because I have to do the top still but I wanted to show you something because I like the communication and being here with you. I tried to design these to be a full kitchen and be usable on residential lots as well. I'll add cabinets too and of course the counters. I hope you'll like this because I'm really excited to finally step away a little from the cabin theme. Although this seems modern at first glance I want to add charm and personality with clutter and as I mentioned flowers!

Sorry for the long post this happens when we meet rarely. :D So much happens in a week, we reached 14 000 followers! We're halfway to 15 000. Thank you so so much! I appreciate every one of you!

[ponett]

Bobby's 2023 Media Wrap-Up

So! Like I said before, this past year I kept a running list of everything I watched, every game I finished, every new album I listened to, etc., and wrote one-paragraph blurbs with my thoughts on every single one. Please enjoy this journey through everything I liked, or didn't like, in 2023, with my favorites of the year listed at the bottom.

(Yes! This is long!!)

Some notes:

I mainly only included things I finished. Exceptions are marked with an asterisk.

I included some YouTube stuff as "TV shows" - mostly particularly long, high effort video essays and documentaries.

I was a bit less adventurous than I'd like to have been this year. Part of this was just that I felt like I was constantly playing catch-up with Big Releases I felt obligated to check out, and part of this was just executive dysfunction from burnout. Wait until you see how long it took me to beat Mario Wonder lmao

Yes, I need to read more books. I don't read a lot of books these days. I need to get back to Discworld.

COLOR KEY

Video Games • TV / Web Video  •  Movies  •  Comics  •  Music

January

1/15: Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn (MSQ) - Very slow at times, the Primal shit is generally extremely lame to me outside of the boss fights themselves, but god if the quality of life improvements over WoW, the JRPG energy, and the fact that it Actually Has A Story carry it pretty hard.

1/18: Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island miniseries - One of the most creative and compelling uses of the Sonic IP… ever? Fantastic little self-contained arc about the struggles of Eggman’s abandoned creations that gracefully weaves between heartfelt optimism and moody horror with some of the best art ever seen in a Sonic comic.

1/18: Mega Man X4 - Glad I finally actually beat this after never even beating any of the Mavericks as a kid! I can see why it’s a lot of peoples’ favorites. The gameplay has very little of that X series bloat and is just fun, especially after getting X’s armor upgrades. (But the story really is a long series of missed opportunities.)

February

2/2: Donks - Felix Colgrave continues to be an exceptional artist. The sound design on this is fantastic and really sells this short as something unique. Had to go back and watch his older stuff again after this.

2/4: Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward (3.0 - 3.3 MSQ) - I get it now. I get why people say this is just a proper mainline Final Fantasy game built into the framework of an MMO. That shit ruled. Not even walking back the drama in Ul’Dah from the end of ARR can sour me on it because the main storyline was so strong.

2/8: Disneyland's Forgotten Sci-Fi Rock Band - Live From the Space Stage - A nice and honest tribute to a group of artists who could have easily been forgotten. In hindsight this feels like a precursor to Kevin’s Disney Channel jingle video, a tribute to the unsung artists pouring their hearts into “lesser” art for a megacorporation, art that was designed to be transient but sticks with people nonetheless.

2/9: Metroid Prime Remastered* - Not gonna finish because I just played through the Wii version in 2021, but still. Very, very pretty remaster.

2/16: Theatrhythm Final Bar Line - It’s more Theatrhythm. What more could I want

2/17: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean (anime) - Probably the best part of the anime so far (assuming they continue on to SBR). A near perfect mix of the more structured plot of part 5 with the goofiness of parts 3 and 4 that crescendos into a fantastic, bombastic, emotional, bittersweet ending. The use of footage from the original opening and the new ending set to Roundabout in the finale were perfect, and made me intensely nostalgic for the early days of my JoJo fandom between seasons 1 and 2 of the anime.

2/22: Aggretsuko Season 5 - I don’t really know what to make of this one. Once you get past the agonizing initial arc all about Haida where Retsuko has to be his overbearing mommy GF who flips out and starts spying on him when she’s left on read and chides him when he misbehaves, it feels like an improvement over the previous seasons. But I don’t know how much of that is due to the extremely low bar set by season 4. And then the ending is extremely rushed and anticlimactic. They got legally married and the only acknowledgement was a shot of them signing the paperwork in a montage partway through the final episode?????????

2/24: Double Fine PsychOdyssey - God, what a journey the making of this game was. I already loved 2 Player’s past efforts at documenting Double Fine’s process, but this takes it to a whole new level. This feels culturally significant. The depth and honesty with which they depict not just the nitty gritty of making a game, but also the inherent struggles of working on a collaborative creative work for years at a time, is astounding. Not to mention that they were there to capture the shift from office life to remote work as COVID hit. So much of this would have been nightmarishly stressful to watch if I didn’t already know how successful the game was, but that’s just because they really didn’t sugarcoat it. And yet even after all that, it leaves me feeling optimistic about video games as an art form in a way that the constant headlines about cynical live service games don’t. There are still people out there pouring their hearts into making real art, and this is their story. Everyone who plays video games should watch this.

2/25: Cracker Island (Gorillaz) - New Gorillaz albums feel like less of an event these days, but after Humanz it feels like they’re just more chill with the project and their ambitions with it. Every couple years we get some more laid back jams from Damon along with some fun new collabs. Hard to complain. Favorite track: New Gold

2/25: Pool Kids (Pool Kids) - I discovered this band because Derek knows them and was excited when they got a song added to Fortnite through the Bandcamp collab. Always down to find more cool indie rock bands I can vibe with. The mix of dreamy vocals and energetic riffs on some of the tracks here almost fill the Crying-shaped hole in my heart. Almost… Favorite track: Conscious Uncoupling

2/25: Insane in the Rain (insaneintherainmusic) - I thought it was really funny timing when Carlos announced that his first original project would be a jazz fusion album inspired by acts like T-Square and Casiopea right as I was getting into those two specific bands. The final product does not disappoint. Favorite track: Insane in the Rain

2/26: Get Up Sequences Part Two (The Go! Team) - I’ve never been one to believe that a band’s sound has to remain exactly the same forever, but it really does hit you hard that the first two tracks here sound like classic The Go! Team. Their more recent cleaner sound is still here too, though, for a nice mix of old and new. Favorite track: Divebomb

2/28: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch From Mercury (Season 1) - Oh my god. Oh my god. I got distracted around the time I was finishing SLARPG, but finally catching up now, wow. My assumption that the seemingly lighter tone of the series compared to the prologue was there to lull us into a false sense of security before twisting the knife when war finally breaks out was spot on. This is peak Gundam.

March

3/4: Pizza Tower - One of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time. It transcends its blatant Wario Land inspirations with the sheer speed at which Peppino can move and the way things like the level design, his wall running, and even the hidden ability to do a second lap around the level reward getting into a flow state where you’re just constantly moving. This is the type of game that wants to turn you into a speedrunner. My only real complaint is a few iffy enemy designs that I wish would get patched.

3/6: Bloons TD 6 * - I bought this before bed one night on a nostalgic whim and then the next morning woke up and saw the Steam receipt email on my phone in one of the most “what did I do last night” moments of my life. I like when the monkeys pop the balloons.

3/7: The Book of Boba Fett - I put off finishing this show for a very long time but finally caved upon the release of The Mandalorian season 3. This show spends four episodes failing to make me give a shit about Boba Fett trying to be “the daimyo” and drive the drug trade off of Tatooine, then just gives up and becomes season 2.5 of Mando, which in turn feels like it undercuts the main series. It fails as both its own story and as a spinoff. I know that finishing this after Andor did it no favors, but WHOOF.

3/12: Obi-Wan Kenobi - Some interesting ideas in the first half hinting at a more introspective show, but it’s mostly swept aside in the back half so it can become a generic Star Wars adventure remixing things from A New Hope and Rebels (and apparently Jedi: Fallen Order). Action scenes have zero stakes because you know nothing can happen to any of the returning characters and none of the new ones are particularly interesting. Why there’s a second climax hinging on a Luke Skywalker death fakeout eludes me. Obi-Wan throwing the rocks at Vader is one of the funniest things in Star Wars history. But it was still better than Book of Boba Fett, I guess.

3/19: The King of Braves GaoGaiGar - Wow, cool robot indeed… GaoGaiGar isn’t going to blow anyone away with its writing, but sometimes you just need a really fun monster of the week mecha show with great action and lovably goofy characters. This is a show where like 20% of every episode consists of recycled transformation, combination, and signature attack sequences and I ate it up every time because they look fucking cool as hell. I don’t care. I’d watch Final Fusion another 49 times.

3/21: The Last of Us (HBO) * - Watched the first two episodes out of curiosity, but I’m not sure if I’ll continue because I don’t give a shit about The Last of Us. It’s definitely a well done adaptation, though, even if I know it’s inevitably going to devolve into miserable torture porn with questionable politics if they adapt Part II faithfully. The ending of episode 2 also lines up perfectly with where I stopped in the game in 2013 lmao

3/27: The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse (Folding Ideas) - Another banger from Dan Olson. This time the premise inherently gives him more time to just show off a bunch of stupid ugly bullshit made by crypto guys, which is fun. My main complaint was that I wished he would’ve brought up Second Life more as a point of comparison (a thing I basically always want out of discussion of “the metaverse”), but he at least did touch on it in the last section.

3/31: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog - I can’t believe after years of begging for the supporting cast to get more and better material in a Sonic game I got my wish in the form of a freeware murder mystery VN released for April Fools. This kicked ass.

April

4/7: Berserk - Completed Miura’s run and caught up on the chapters that have been released posthumously. It’s hard to say anything that hasn’t been said about Berserk, universally agreed upon as one of the greats of manga and fantasy fiction as a whole. What begins in its first few volumes as a nihilistic and edgy action comic built to facilitate as much sex and gore as possible quickly evolves into something deeply human and vulnerable and beautiful, both figuratively and in terms of its lavish art. The world sucks and is immeasurably cruel, and you will see that cruelty illustrated in graphic, sickening detail repeatedly throughout the series. (Perhaps a little too often throughout the Golden Age, where it feels like Miura never misses an opportunity to threaten Casca with sexual assault mid-battle.) But the point isn’t to wallow in that misery. It’s the story of a victim of horrific abuse learning to slowly open up to others, having those people he cares about torn away from him in the worst night of his life, hardening himself into a cold killing machine, and then slowly learning to open back up again, even if it means leaving himself vulnerable to more hurt. Anyone who says that the series peaked with the eclipse and went downhill in the “Guts’ JRPG Party” era is missing the point. Guts needed to find new people in his life to care about, to begin to find happiness again. Because no matter what unspeakable things Guts has gone through, it’s still possible for him to heal and to be loved. It takes time, but eventually you stop and realize that life has moved on.

4/8: Dedede’s Drum Dash Deluxe - Skipped it upon release because I didn’t particularly care for the minigame in Triple Deluxe, and I didn’t miss much. It’s fine as a little distraction, but not as a standalone rhythm game with only seven songs. If you don’t bother with the hard modes or chase after high scores this game is 15 minutes long. Oh how I yearn for Kirby to get the Theatrhythm treatment.

4/10: The King of Braves: GaoGaiGar FINAL - Eh… It was okay. Lots of cool robot fights, but said fights are stitched together with a mediocre plot that tries too hard to be more “mature” than its unabashedly schlocky kids’ show predecessor. Not crazy about the ending, either, which tries to be a bittersweet farewell closing off the series once and for all while also teasing that maybe there’ll be ANOTHER sequel after the OVA series they literally called “FINAL.” Ah well.

4/11: The Owl House - Sad to see this one go, but it’s hard to imagine them doing a better finale than this, even if they had gotten the six seasons they deserved. I’m not as obsessed with The Owl House as I probably would’ve been had it come out when I was, like, 20, but it’s a really fantastic show for all the reasons people always say. Great characters, great world, great story. I love that this starry-eyed fantasy story about a teenager finding love and a place where she belongs is also set on the rotting corpse of a titan with Hieronymous Bosch-inspired scenery and freaky monsters everywhere. What a great mix. If anything, I just wish I would’ve watched the first season as it aired so I could’ve had more time with it.

4/29: Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue Version - FINALLY beat this via the new collection, 20 years after playing it as my first Mega Man game. (Technically my first was White, not Blue, but whatever.) There are more annoyances than I remember - lots of really really bad forced backtracking sections where you have to revisit every previous part of the internet, low chip drop rates, some really aggravating bosses like BubbleMan and KingMan, etc. But it’s still a great time overall. It’s Battle Network. In the back half the story gets surprisingly emotional, too. I was always under the assumption that the Hub stuff never came back up much in the story after 1, so I was pleasantly surprised with how relevant it was to the emotional arc of 3.

4/30: Mega Man Battle Network 4: Red Sun * - Yeah I’m not playing through the whole thing lmao. I just wanted to play the first couple hours for nostalgia’s sake, and as a baseline for how much better the rest are. Even before getting deep in the game and having to deal with all the shit gated between doing two new game+ playthroughs, it’s immediately obvious how much of a downgrade this one is. Tons of glaring errors and typos all over the script, blander music, a way more boring aesthetic for the internet, and a premise that mostly just recycles the tournament idea from 3.

May

5/14: The Venture Bros. - Glad I finally sat down and watched all of this with Anthony after having seen one (1) episode as a teenager and a bunch of random clips in the years since. Great show. Some jokes in the early seasons haven’t aged gracefully, but what the show grows into over time... man. Hank and Dean go from being the butt of the joke to being characters you actually sympathize with - while still also being funny little goofballs. And the journey Henchman 21 goes on throughout the show. Man. Amazing that a comedy like this could run for 20 years and maintain its level of quality. Can’t wait for the movie.

5/18: Future Me Hates Me (The Beths) - Okay yeah I’m now just discovering bands through Fortnite lmao. I can’t complain really, they pick some really great indie artists for the in-game radio stations. Anyway: It’s very easy to win me over with a combination of energetic power pop, catchy guitar riffs, and earnest lyrics like this. One of those albums where three or four tracks in I know I have to buy it. Favorite track: Not Running

5/18: Jump Rope Gazers (The Beths) - Ditto. Favorite track: Dying to Believe

5/18: Expert In A Dying Field (The Beths) - Another good album. (I’m listening to these in release order.) I’ve been a bit slower to warm up to this one, initially thinking it was a little too mellow overall, but it might be my favorite after a few listens. Some real high highs. Interestingly, the lead singer’s New Zealand accent is also coming out more in her singing? Favorite track: Your Side (or maybe Head in the Clouds)

5/19: The Super Mario Bros. Movie - As a Mario fan, I think I enjoyed it? As a movie, less so? It was decent, in spite of feeling like they came up with a list of fun action setpieces first and then wrote the absolute bare minimum possible for the story scenes tying it all together. Full thoughts here. (This is the first movie I’ve seen this year, huh? I really don’t watch a lot of movies.)

5/23: Don't Know What You're In Until You're Out (Gladie) - I feel like I don’t like Gladie as much as I should. Their style of noisy indie rock is very much in my wheelhouse, and I do enjoy listening to them, but I dunno. Maybe it’s that the particular style of vocals makes it more monotonous to me. A good album nonetheless, if not 100% my thing. Favorite track: Nothing

5/24: City Slicker (Ginger Root) - Yes I am still making my way through Bandcamp artists I heard on Fortnite don’t @ me. Any excuse to get me to listen to some cool city pop-inspired funk like this is a good excuse. Favorite track: Loretta

5/24: Rikki (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: Why Try

5/25: Spotlight People (Ginger Root) - Favorite track: The Classic

5/29: Succession - A good dramedy series that increasingly focuses more on the drama than the comedy as it progresses, but it’s hard to complain about that since the drama is so compellingly produced. I enjoyed it. That being said, I kind of rankle at the claims that it’s The Greatest TV Show Of All Time. It’s great, don’t get me wrong. Amazing performances all around. But the show LOVES to spin its wheels, to repeat itself, and to let most of its interesting dramatic developments fizzle out before anything really comes of them, almost as if the show is constantly getting bored with its own ideas. To some extent this is intentional - Logan Roy is the untouchable billionaire, his kids fail at everything (but will nonetheless remain billionaires), and in the long run none of them really give a shit about anything other than their own status. But it’s not like things tend to visibly impact anyone else, either, be they supporting characters or the world at large. Even the Big Scary Election, where the Roy siblings are directly responsible for plunging the nation into chaos, ultimately has zero impact on the finale a mere two episodes later. Certain Other Things do have an impact in the last season, though, allowing things to meaningfully change for the cast and for the show to sit with the ensuing drama, which has stopped me from souring on Succession more. There was finally a payoff for something. But it does still kind of feel like a show that goes in circles until it’s ready to call it quits, even if those circles did contain a lot of great acting and music along the way.

5/29: Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts - I’d watched the first 12 episodes when they originally released, but I guess the Netflix binge release and the fact that all three “seasons” came out in one year led to me waiting until it finished… and then I just never got around to finishing it. Glad I fixed that! Really fun and stylish cartoon with an art style reminiscent of Teen Titans, a hip hop-filled soundtrack, dynamic fight scenes, and a colorful post-apocalyptic world filled with mutant (mostly anthropomorphic) animals. I’ll admit that at times I do kinda roll my eyes at Kipo’s unshakeable belief that everyone can be friends in a way that I don’t necessarily with similar shows like Steven Universe, and not every joke lands, but I dunno. It’s a kids’ show. That’s to be expected. It doesn’t detract from the overall package for me.

June

6/1: Craig of the Creek (Season 4) - It’s been years and I’m still processing the fact that kids can turn on Cartoon Network and hear Jeff Rosenstock. Anyway! Craig continues to be one of the best cartoons on TV, consistently funny and creative and way more engaging than a show about a bunch of kids LARPing in the woods has any right to be. This season turned into One Piece with the gang effectively hunting down the Poneglyphs in search of a legendary treasure. The kids think it’ll be magic. It isn't. An increasing number of cartoon logic gags aside, this show is firmly set in the real world. Does that make it any less interesting? Hell no. Season 3 turned a game of capture the flag into an all-out five episode war between the heroes and villains, filled with dramatic turnabouts and a climactic guest appearance from Del the Funky Homosapien. I’m sure however they wrap things up in the (sadly shortened) final season, it’ll be great. (Also? I would watch a whole show based on that “what if” episode that jumped forward to everyone’s 20s.)

6/6: Barry - Holy shit, what a show. I ended up binging it in less than a week in a cycle of “okay, just one more episode.” The way this show is able to swing between tones and genres while still feeling like a cohesive whole is truly masterful. It’s a layered character drama, a tragic crime thriller, a farcical comedy, an understated action series, a surrealist morality play, and a scathing satire of Hollywood, all in one. Even within the criminal underworld subplots the show ranges in tone from Breaking Bad to Paddington 2. And it works! While the show naturally gets bleaker over time as it confronts the repercussions of Barry’s murders, it never completely loses sight of its comedic roots. My favorite episode was easily season 2’s “ronny/lily,” a mostly self-contained episode that somehow manages to keep throwing the perfect curveballs to escalate its dark comedy.

6/12: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) - Y’all heard of this movie? Pretty good, it turns out. (I’d seen the theatrical cut before, but this was my first time watching the extended edition. I’ve also only seen parts of the other two movies, so it’s time I finally watch all the extended cuts. The Gollum game pushed me to this.)

6/13: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) - give it to us RAW and WRIGGLING

6/17: The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Extended Edition) - I’m not crying YOU’RE crying

6/22: Clone High (Season 2) - While the first episode being about “cancel culture” (or, more accurately, a teenager from 2003 being transported to 2023 and putting his foot in his mouth a lot) put a lot of people off, I ended up enjoying the new season of Clone High. The new clones grew on me as the season went on and their roles in the web of teen romance melodrama crystalized, and it made me laugh a lot, and Cleo/Frida is galaxy brained. Also they played one of my favorite Antarctigo Vespucci songs like a minute into the first episode. I don’t think I could really ask for much more.

6/28: The Mandalorian (Season 3) - I'd been watching this weekly but put off the last episode for no real reason. Responses to this season have been all over the place, but my blistering hot take is… it was fine. Is it as good as the first season? Probably not. But Mando no longer needs to carry the whole franchise on its shoulders and set the bar for how good the live action Disney Star Wars shows can be, because Andor exists, and it’s never gonna top Andor. The Mandalorian is free to just be a pulpy space adventure show where Giancarlo Esposito plays a scenery-chewing cartoon villain and a little puppet does wire stunts. These are things Andor cannot and should not do, but that’s Star Wars, baby. It’s delightful. I could watch Grogu get underhand tossed like a sack of flour all day.

July

7/2: Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury (Season 2) - LOVE WINS. (More nuanced take from way later: It definitely feels like a lot of the more messy political conflicts in this show got swept aside by the big final battle where some more easily resolved family conflicts take center stage. I’m not sure the ending is the most satisfying. But also this show only got half the episode count that damn near every other Gundam show ever made got, so that might be a factor here. Idk. Still one of my favorite Gundams.)

7/4: Final Fantasy XVI (watched Anthony play) - I had to write my longest Medium article ever about this one because I was so frustrated

7/10: Home Movies - “Things I like that I’ve never seen in full” has certainly been a recurring theme this year. Home Movies remains an all-time classic of animated comedy that went out on a high note before things got stale or the characters became parodies of themselves. While it’s mostly known for its funny improvised banter, throughout the last season you can really see the arc where Brendon no longer enjoys making movies, yet he feels obligated to keep using them to escape from the real world. In that light, the ending where the nature of their dysfunctional makeshift family is cemented, Brendon’s camera suddenly breaks, and life moves on really does feel like the perfect note to end on. Truly one of the best to ever do it.

7/15: The Legend of Zelda - Tears of the Kingdom - Wow. Just… wow. I had serious doubts about TotK in the months leading up to release due to how close Nintendo was playing their cards to their chest. I didn’t want this to be a Saints Row IV, where the game is fun enough but the recycled map makes it feel like a rehash. Instead, I found a game that made me look at BotW’s map in a whole new light, brimming with so many more things to do and people to meet. Add on a better, more versatile set of tools, more varied dungeons and bosses, and a story that I felt was told somewhat better and we’ve got a real contender for my new favorite Zelda game. It was hard to tear myself away, but as this list shows, it’s been basically the only game I’ve played since it came out.

7/16: Sonic Prime (Season 2) - I liked the parts with Shadow and Chaos Sonic, but I’ve come to the sad conclusion that most of this show is just mediocre. More thoughts here.

7/18: We ♥ Katamari Reroll + Royal Reverie - “I’m a dog, but I love Katamari Damacy.” Truer words have never been spoken.

7/19: Transformers: Rise of the Beasts - Pretty good! It didn’t blow me away, but after how bad the Bay movies got I’m just thankful to have a decently cohesive Transformers movie where the human story is okay and I like the bots (although half of them needed more screen time), even if it is just another Hollywood blockbuster about two sides fighting over a macguffin that devolves into a big CGI battle against an army of nameless monsters in the third act. This is basically a mid-tier MCU movie but with Transformers, which won’t do much for most people, but again: the bar was underground.

7/22: The Venture Bros.: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart - God DAMN. A phenomenal ending for the series. While I would have loved to see a full final season to get some more one-off episodes in there, this doesn’t feel creatively compromised in any way–either due to the time constraints, or due to a desire to make it more marketable as a movie. It really does feel like they just took their outlines for the canceled final season and gently massaged them into the shape of an 84-minute movie, and I mean that in the best possible way. It’s completely on par with the previous seasons. A hilarious and fitting sendoff for one of the greats of adult animation.

7/23: Beautiful Katamari - This was one of my first Xbox 360 games, but a frustrating temperature-based level made me put it down for 16 years. “Maybe it won’t be as bad now that I’ve beaten the first two games and am better at Katamari,” I thought. Nope! Still an absolutely dogshit level. But also, turns out the whole game is only like two hours long lmao. It’s still Katamari, so it’s still fun - the final level in particular, which seamlessly takes you from ground level all the way to space, feels like a logical endpoint for the series - but beyond that it just doesn't have the same soul without Keita Takahashi's input.

August

8/4: Doom Singer (Chris Farren) - I’ve been waiting so long for Chris and Jeff to do another Antarctigo Vespucci album, but god damn. This is the best of Chris’s solo work, and a contender for his best record, period. Every track’s a banger, with more energy than some of his previous solo work but also a good deal of variety. Favorite tracks: First Place, Cosmic Leash

8/4: Transformers Earthspark (Season 1) - This show had a bit of an uneven start, unsure if it wanted to have the emotional maturity of a more serious action cartoon or a preschool cartoon where the characters have little kid mood swings and outbursts and learn basic lessons. It also felt like it was speedrunning its Wholesome Found Family Dynamic with characters who just met, which didn’t feel earned. While these problems never completely go away (see: the cheap and corny way the otherwise very dark season finale suddenly resolves), the show improves quickly, and the positives outweigh the negatives. It’s so great to have a Transformers cartoon that feels fresh, giving us a post-war setting with a bunch of new characters and new dynamics between the Cybertronians and the humans. The returning characters are also uniformly great as the old veterans overseeing the new generation. (Reformed Megatron! Danny Pudi as Bumblebee! Steve Blum returning as Starscream! Keith David as Grimlock!!!) And those super dynamic action scenes! I can nitpick, but Earthspark’s a ton of fun, and easily the best new Transformers cartoon since Prime and Animated.

8/5: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (remaster) - Everyone who told me this game was a masterpiece was right. I had played the first chapter when it dropped as the demo for the iOS version years ago, but never went further than that until now. What a game. Absolutely incredible through and through. Great story, great twists, great characters, great puzzles, great art direction. Everything comes together so perfectly to form a totally unique, unforgettable package, a top tier video game murder mystery. Everyone should play this, preferably going in as blind as possible.

8/15: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 16) - Wow! Recent seasons of Sunny have been kind of up and down, with some interesting experiments (Mac Finds His Pride, the Ireland arc, etc.) paired with some comedic duds. Most of this latest season is standard fare for the series with fewer big creative swings, but it’s just hit after hit in terms of comedy. Not a single dud, whether we’re seeing Mac and Dennis try to start a rental business for inflatable furniture or watching the gang meet Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, believing the entire time that the latter is Malcolm from Malcolm in the Middle. Even the attempts at topical comedy landed better. Easily the funniest season in years.

8/16: One Piece Film Gold - It’s easy to see why this one has kind of been forgotten in the wake of Stampede and Film Red, which revolve around established fan favorite characters, but this was still pretty fun. Perhaps a little too long, but it’s fun to see the Straw Hats fool around in a giant casino and do a heist. They definitely cranked the fanservice up even more than usual in this one, though, as I probably should have expected for a movie made alongside the anime’s adaptation of Dressrosa.

8/17: One Piece: Stampede - This one goes for a different kind of fanservice. While most One Piece movies are isolated from the ongoing plot and its expanded cast of characters, Stampede instead asks “What if we just put damn near every active character on the same island and had them fight?” The answer: a fun time! It would get old if all of the movies were like this, but after a bunch of movies that are just like “the Straw Hats are gonna land on another new island and fight some more weird guys” it’s fun to see characters like Law and Buggy and Smoker get in on the fun. It’s also nice to get a movie with the Wano era art style, and Usopp surprisingly gets some really good character moments in here.

8/18: One Piece Film Red - This really is the best of the One Piece movies, huh? (Baron Omatsuri is a close second.) It really feels like a change of pace after the last four with the most interesting and emotionally engaging story out of any of them. And even if the events of these movies are never canon, it still feels significant in my understanding of Shanks as a character as we move into the final phase of the manga.

8/21: Pikmin 4 - The opening hour of the game made me really question if they’d changed too much, with all the focus on your new dog unit over your Pikmin and the extremely dull, drawn out dialogue scenes with your new companions back at the base. But once I got into the swing of things I had a blast. This is probably my new favorite Pikmin game. There’s a great mix of activities here to keep things fresh. I also really ended up liking Oatchi’s role as basically your second captain who can also serve as your tank or a rideable mount. The Dandori stuff and nighttime missions in particular show off how useful Oatchi is for your multitasking without necessarily overshadowing the Pikmin.

8/22: Never Get Tired: The Bomb the Music Industry! Story - I literally backed this on Kickstarter eight years ago (my name is in the credits!) and then never got around to watching it for no reason. It’s on YouTube now, and Jeff’s got a new album out next week, so now feels like the perfect time to watch it. And man… what a great documentary. Obviously I’m just a fan of the band, but this also really spoke to me as an artist. Jeff wanting to stick to his principles and give out his music for free and play cheap all ages shows, his discomfort over the idea of selling merch, and the struggles that come with not playing the game like that… It's hard. They readily admit that Jeff is an idealist, that people fight him on this stuff, that he’s missed out on some big opportunities because of these stances, and that he’s had to compromise a bit on some of these things over time. But that incredible climax with their final show, including a full opening performance of the slowly building “Campaign for a Better Next Weekend” and the closing performance of “Future 86” where the whole audience is singing along as the members of the band are hugging and crying… it’s beautiful. This may have been a band where the members had to go back to their shitty day jobs after every tour because they weren’t selling out arenas, but their art meant something to people, and that makes it all worth it.

8/25: Nimona - I haven’t read the original comic (yet), so I can’t compare them too much, but it’s nonetheless pretty apparent that some things were softened and easy kids’ movie jokes were added by the studio to squeeze this graphic novel for teens into a PG animated movie. Regardless, the emotional throughline hits REALLY hard, particularly the very blatant trans allegory and the climax. (It’s no wonder Disney was afraid of this movie seeing the light of day lmao.) The animation is also very squishy and fun to watch throughout. Great movie.

8/26: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - Spider-Verse really has done so much for animation, huh? This one was as good as everyone said. Beautiful use of stylized color and lighting throughout, and every time this movie very conspicuously shifted to different framerates for a flashy fight scene it owned. Very cute and heartwarming story, too, which thankfully gave its second act plenty of time to explore the cast and let them go on their journey, unlike a certain plumber movie that came out a few months later. Also I would let Death [redacted]

8/28: Holocure: Save the Fans! - This isn't really something I can beat, but I've been addicted to Holocure lately. I don't even watch VTubers aside from maybe seeing a funny Korone animation every now and then, this is just a really, really good freeware Vampire Survivors clone with a huge roster of varied characters to pick from.

8/31: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock) - A new album from Jeff is always a major event for me. If there were any worries that he was starting to go soft at 40 (because one of the three singles off this album was a gentle acoustic piece), the frantic opening of this album put those worries to rest. The first two tracks are Jeff screaming out for help as he’s pulled in a million directions by the chaotic state of the world, a theme that becomes the thesis of the album. I’d say it lags slightly in the middle, but overall this is another extremely well-rounded record full of bangers that’s unapologetically Jeff, with possibly my favorite closing track he’s ever done. Favorite tracks: I WANNA BE WRONG, 3 SUMMERS

September

9/3: One Piece (live action, Season 1) - They did it. I can’t believe it, but they did it. While I have my nitpicks (Usopp and Sanji don’t get enough big moments to shine), this is an extremely solid and faithful adaptation of the first few arcs of One Piece with a great cast. For the most part the changes feel smart and logical, and the big emotional beats of the story are all there and executed very well. I doubted it a little in episodes 2-4, where the Orange Town and Syrup Village arcs saw some major changes to shift the action indoors, and the increased focus on the drama in favor of repeating every gag and battle from the manga 1:1 took a bit of getting used to, but by the end I was having a blast. It’s a different take on One Piece, but it still feels like One Piece. Genuinely very excited for season 2.

9/4: Pseudoregalia - A great little N64-style 3D Metroidvania focused on platforming and very satisfying movement. I always love entries in the genre that are less prescriptive in what order you have to tackle areas in, a la Symphony of the Night or Hollow Knight, and this one’s great in that regard. While there are a number of new moves to find, most of the map is open to you very early in the game, and smart use of your moveset can allow you to “sequence break” without even realizing it. (You would not believe how long I went without getting the wall run.) I do wish it had a map, but that’s already being patched in.

9/6: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk * - Not a bad game at all, but I quickly remembered how bad I am at skating games, so like… eh? Not sure I have much desire to play past chapter 2. Also the soundtrack is sadly kinda hit or miss for me outside of the obvious Naganuma tunes.

9/9: The History of the Minnesota Vikings (Dorktown) - Jon Bois never misses. Even as someone who doesn’t actively follow sports, Jon Bois is a master storyteller, using graphs and statistics and funny anecdotes to explore these deeply human stories. He can convey why people care so much about these teams, these people, and sports in general, and how our popular sports reflect on American culture. He could tell the story of just about any team or player in any sport and I just know I’ll come out the other side a misty-eyed fan. And what a fascinating cast of characters we have this time, with origin stories for everything from the Hail Mary pass to a Minnesota state supreme court judge to the Griddy. Nine hours well spent.

9/10: Timespinner - A fun and highly polished Metroidvania that maybe doesn’t quite have enough of its own identity in its quest to replicate Symphony of the Night…but also, like, this was pitched as a Symphony throwback on KickStarter in a pre-Bloodstained, pre-Hollow Knight world, so I can’t really blame ‘em! Stopping time to avoid boss attacks is fun, the pixel art is gorgeous, and I liked the dark science fantasy story about warring empires and meddling with time a lot more than I thought I would - lore journal text dumps and all.

9/14: The Decay of Sam & Cat (Quinton Reviews) - All the stuff at the end with Matt Bennett (the actor who played Robbie on Victorious and Sam & Cat) in this was really good and sweet. It’s that kind of thing that makes these videos feel like they’re still worthwhile on some level. But the padding and the things Quinton chooses to spend the colossal runtime on does drive me more and more insane with each passing Nick sitcom video. I don’t know how much longer he can keep this schtick up. I hope he’s able to move on to other things before too terribly long instead of continuing to extend this “miniseries.”

9/19: Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales - AKA Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 1.5. It’s fun for the same reasons Peter’s first game was fun. I had a good time swinging around New York again in preparation for the sequel, and there’s a lot of cute stuff with Miles becoming Harlem’s neighborhood hero, but WOW did the Underground v. Roxxon conflict fall flat for me.

9/20: I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson - I understand so many posts now.

9/25: Spider-Man (2002) (rewatch) - It’s you who’s out, Gobby! OUT OF YOUR MIND!

9/25: Futurama (Season 8) - I was ready to be a hater, recalling the fact that Futurama has already had three “perfect endings” with the show getting a little weaker with every revival. Then I watched the first new episode on a whim and thought it wasn’t bad, so I was like, eh, sure, I’ll watch the rest. Overall Hulurama is hit or miss. There are chuckles to be had, and it sure as hell beats modern Simpsons, but almost every episode is either a belated take on an overplayed Topical Issue (the pandemic, Amazon, cancel culture, etc.) or a direct sequel to an old episode people liked. Or both! It’s also really noticeable that certain voice actors sound way older - Billy West is struggling with the Fry voice in particular, and it hurts his comedic timing. But just when all hope seemed lost after the nigh-incomprehensible toy-themed anthology episode, possibly the worst episode of the entire series… the last episode, where the Planet Express crew explores whether or not the universe could be a simulation, was really, really solid. Great note to end on to make me not regret my time with this season as a whole.

9/26: Spider-Man 2 (2004) (rewatch) - Once the GOAT, always the GOAT.

9/27: Spider-Man 3 (rewatch) - Revisiting this movie for the first time since I saw it in theaters… it’s not bad. It’s fine! It continues to have the heart and sincerity that make the first two movies work. It’s just not as concise with three villains vying for the spotlight, but I also wouldn’t cut any of them, necessarily. I guess Eddie/Venom would be the easiest, but Peter getting the black suit and giving in to his resentment feels too central to cut. (Yes, even with Emo Peter becoming a meme.)

9/28: Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake - I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this one, especially since I was never really a fan of the genderbend episodes in the original show. (At the time they mostly just felt like an excuse to crank up the teen romance stuff to 11.) But MAN. This was a fantastic coda to the original series. It made me care about Fionna and Cake and their friends as their own characters separate from their original counterparts, it gave the Simon/Betty arc a much more satisfying (if no less bittersweet) resolution than the original finale had time to do, and it even managed to be a multiverse story that didn’t make me roll my eyes in 2023. A+ all around. Makes me wanna rewatch the original show again. [spoiler: I did]

9/29: Meanwhile (aivi & surasshu) - It’s been a whole decade–they were busy with, you know, all the music in Steven Universe, among other things–but we finally have a new aivi & surasshu album! Their chiptune/piano fusion style is familiar, but they’ve definitely grown as composers in subtle ways. Favorite track: Time Travel

October

10/1: This is Financial Advice (Folding Ideas) - A lot of the nitty gritty finance law stuff turned into white noise for me, but still, great video. I had no idea that the GameStop stock craze devolved into this bizarre cult that thinks they’re going to crash the global economy and rise from the ashes as the new kings with the value of their GME stocks. Glad this video exists to try and balance out the narrative.

10/5: Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon DLC - Good ideas, absurdly frustrating and tedious execution. Full thoughts here.

10/10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (rewatch) - I didn’t plan this, but very fitting that I would end up rewatching this on 10/10.

10/12: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - ha he! (Seriously though, that finale was a fucking masterpiece. The RTVS crew has an incredible knack for using the framing device of video game livestreams to blur the lines between comedy and horror, or ironic anti-humor and complete sincerity. I’ve never seen anything else like this.)

10/15: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Not sure how much I can say that hasn’t already been said. The most visually creative movie I’ve ever seen, grounded by some really excellent storytelling about Miles (and now Gwen) that’s probably better than his actual comics. But it also does feel like it’s about to end and then the movie just keeps going like ten times over lmao. Can’t wait to watch this a second time on a better TV.

10/20: Sonic Superstars - A mostly really solid and fun 2D Sonic game that’s unfortunately dragged down by an extremely hodgepodge soundtrack and some overly drawn out boss fights. I spent HOURS trying to beat the final boss of the bonus scenario (which is required for the true ending in this one) before giving up. Really a shame that that’s the note I’m leaving the game on, because I otherwise enjoyed it, but ah well. More thoughts here.

10/27: Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 - Another good Spider-Man game from Insomniac. Liked the story more than the one in Miles Morales, but maybe not as much as the first game. Extensive thoughts here.

10/28: Venom - Was in the mood for more Venom after the game. As expected this was not a very good movie, but the dynamic between Eddie and Venom made it a fun watch. Tom Hardy is constantly about to shit his pants in this movie. It’s great.

10/28: Venom: Let There Be Carnage - I had a way better time with this one. Is this a good movie? No. But it cranks the insanity of the first movie up to 11. Goofy as fuck in an extremely watchable way.

November

11/5: Pluto - An absolutely masterful series that anyone interested in sci-fi needs to watch. The anime adaptation was great, and I immediately understand why people who’ve read the manga speak so highly of it. Really makes me want to get into Astro Boy more, and also read some of Urasawa’s other works.

11/18: Scott Pilgrim Takes Off - Wow, just wow. When news of a Scott Pilgrim anime broke I was cautiously curious to see if we’d get a more direct adaptation of the comics, and instead it veered off in the exact opposite direction in the best way possible. This is almost entirely a different story, one that’s in conversation with the previous versions (sometimes in very meta ways), and I think it’s really valuable to see O’Malley revisiting these characters with new things to say about them. The major story divergence gives us a chance to examine the characters from a new angle - particularly Ramona, who’s the real protagonist of this version, and the evil exes, who completely steal the show. This was a great reminder of why I fell in love with this series as a teenager. I now genuinely hope we get more Scott Pilgrim.

11/22: Void Rivals (Issues #1 - #6) - The first arc of the new Robert Kirkman series that kicked off Skybound’s new “Energon Universe” is now complete, and I’m left thinking Void Rivals is… okay? I thought the first issue was a decent (if not particularly original) sci-fi comic with an appealing art style, which just so happens to also briefly have a Transformer in it so there can be a Big Surprise. And the series still hasn’t quite shaken that feeling to me. It’s an okay sci-fi series that arbitrarily dedicates a couple of pages of every issue to something from Transformers, but I’m not really sure what the shared universe stuff adds to Void Rivals, or what Void Rivals adds to Transformers and GI Joe. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.

11/22: Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History (Defunctland) - Yeah, gotta be honest, I only got halfway through this one. It seems like Kevin just 1) really wanted to push himself creatively and 2) make a love letter to Epcot, and while I respect that, I think it suffers as a historical documentary. It’s Fantasia but for the creation of Epcot. That might be very impressive on a technical level, but it feels more like a piece of Disney propaganda than prior Defunctland videos due to a lack of context and nuance. 

11/24: Aperture Desk Job - A short, sweet, and funny little tech demo for my new Steam Deck set in the Portal universe. More effort was definitely put into this than was strictly necessary.

11/26: ESCHATOS - I am not good at bullet hell games, but I enjoy them from time to time and I really love this one’s FM synth soundtrack, so I picked it up on a whim in the Steam sale. I only beat it on Easy, but still, I had a lot of fun with it! It’s straightforward but very flashy, with the camera dynamically zooming around from set piece to set piece at ridiculous speeds and each level segueing directly into the next. The lack of a powerup system on the main mode in favor of just needing to know when to use your different shot types makes it feel very approachable.

11/27: Lunistice - A great little 3D platformer with a good soundtrack that I had fun hunting down all the secrets in. This is an easy recommendation for fans of games like Kirby or Klonoa - whimsical games set in colorful dream worlds where the underlying story can get a bit more somber. (Although the story in this one is mostly told through mildly cryptic lore dumps, so your mileage there may vary.)

11/28: Spark the Electric Jester 2 - The leap from 2D to 3D here is impressive, but this is very clearly a rough draft for Spark 3. Very, very fun Sonic-style 3D platforming, but the combat is lacking and the storytelling is just kinda bad. More extensive thoughts on this and the above two games here.

December

12/2: Fortnite (Chapter 4) - This was my first full chapter of Fortnite, after having been roped into the game by the siren songs of Zero Build mode and Goku during Chapter 3. This means it’s harder for me to compare this chapter to previous ones, but still, Fortnite remains a genuinely very well made Battle Royale shooter that’s a blast with friends. If I have any complaint about this Chapter, it’s that they would regularly introduce zany ideas and then slowly reel them back in, whether it was the Augment system or the increasingly mundane movement items. It also felt like it was a little too easy to get the perfect loadout in every match, meaning the final showdown would almost always be against players with Slurp Juice and gold shotguns. And I missed the smaller mid-season map updates of Chapter 3. But overall I still had a really good time, and look forward to playing more for the foreseeable future.

12/4: Plagiarism and You(Tube) (HBomberguy) - This will get written off by many as “YouTuber drama,” but this really is an excellent video essay that feels like the kick in the pants that YouTube needs. If video essayists are gonna be a major source of information for so many, then they gotta have standards. I also think it does a good job of highlighting the people that have been plagiarized and trying to drive more attention their way in an attempt to right those wrongs.

12/6: Transformers (Skybound comic) - We only got the first three issues of this in 2023, but I just HAVE to say something about how incredible this series is here. Daniel Warren Johnson is knocking it out of the park. This is the new bar for Transformers. The hand-inked art is extremely dynamic and full of character, and the story is using the familiar beats of G1 Transformers but doing very new things with them. You can tell this from the very first page, but the emotional scene of Optimus accidentally crushing a deer in the forest and realizing how fragile life is on Earth sealed the deal for me. And yet in the very same comics Optimus can do suplexes and clotheslines and lord knows how many other wrestling moves on Decepticons, and it doesn’t feel like tonal whiplash? These comics just fucking rule, and anyone with even the slightest interest in Transformers should be reading them.

12/8: What We Do in the Shadows (Season 5) - [spoilers] WWDITS has very much settled into being a status quo show. Every season has its own little arc where one or two things change to keep things interesting, but then everything returns to normal by the end. Guillermo finally becoming a vampire, only to become a human again in the end, might just be the most egregious example of this yet. But also… the show’s still really funny? And I continue to be happy that Kristen Schaal has stuck around as a series regular as the Guide. So it’s hard to complain. I could see the show running out of steam over the next few seasons, but it’s still hitting for me right now.

12/12: Pony Island - Finally got around to this since the trailer for the sequel dropped. I feel like playing this years later in a post-Inscryption world where Pony Island is a known quantity kind of lessens its impact, but still, it’s a fun and funny puzzle game where you try to hack your way out of a possessed arcade machine. I’m not sure I found it particularly scary, but I’m not sure it’s supposed to be? The way the game messes with you during the Asmodeus “boss fight” was probably the highlight for me. I also like being able to say things like “The part where you have to not kill Jesus was so hard. I kept getting terrible butterfly patterns.”

12/16: Breaking Bad VR but the AI is Self-Aware (wayneradiotv) - As always, Wayne and co.’s commitment to the bit is unrivaled. This kind of got interpreted as just a way to troll HLVRAI fans, but so many moments in this genuinely made me laugh out loud.

12/18: Soul of Sovereignty Prelude - As someone who would list Cucumber Quest as a big creative influence, I was naturally very excited for this first chapter of GGDG’s new visual novel. Their mentality of both scaling things back in terms of labor while also going more shamelessly self-indulgent in terms of storytelling after burning out on making webcomics has really spoken to me, and WOW, the end result of that new process of theirs is shaping up to be something really special. The art and music are sparse but extremely evocative, giving you the rough sketch of the world and letting your mind fill in the rest. The story blends literary high fantasy vibes with the style of fantasy seen in ‘90s JRPGs (you can definitely tell this came from an idea for an RPG), but rather than constantly winking at the audience and making self-aware video game references it plays these storytelling ideas extremely sincerely, giving them real dramatic weight while still indulging in fun tropes to their fullest extent. While it’s a far cry from their most famous work with much more mature content, GGDG always excels at creating characters and worlds that immediately grab me. I can’t wait for the rest.

12/18: Barbie - I’m only… what, five months late for the whole Barbenheimer thing? Perfect timing. Anyway! On the one hand, I get the critiques saying that this movie is just a major corporation funding a self-aware feminist critique of their own product as a marketing ploy. And I kinda agree with that. And the movie is a little too long, and I don’t really know what to think of the way the Barbie/Ken conflict plays out. Anthony asked me to summarize what the story ended up being about, and I had no idea what to even say. But also… I did still like the movie? We don’t get a lot of cartoonish, absurdist, fourth wall breaking comedies like this anymore, and this is a good one of those. Also the whole cast is great, the set design is kind of stunning, and the cinematography is consistently appealing. I wouldn’t say it’s a revolutionary work of feminist filmmaking by any stretch, but it’s a good comedy movie.

12/21: Dr. Stone: New World - Man, Dr. Stone is great. I’ve said this many times, but I just love that this series uses all the trappings of shounen that would normally be used to hype up the protagonist learning a new move to instead hype up things like the protagonist building a loom or a hot air balloon. It’s shounen Bill Nye. I didn’t completely love everything about the Treasure Island arc this season, but it all built towards a really fun climax with a lot of satisfying turnabouts where the heroes use their ingenuity to just barely win.

12/23: The History of Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out World Records (Summoning Salt) - Truly one of my favorite Summoning Salt videos ever, even with how repetitive Punch-Out can get to watch. It’s just so hard to beat “and that runner… was me.”

12/24: Super Mario Bros. Wonder - What more can be said that hasn’t already been said? It’s the best and most creative 2D Mario game since the ‘90s. The only real flaws are that it’s a little easy, the Search Party stages are annoying in singleplayer, and I wish that every boss prior to the final boss wasn’t just some form of Bowser Jr. fight. But those aren’t nearly enough to drag the whole experience down. It was a blast.

12/24: Do a Powerbomb! - Got this from Anthony as a birthday present. This is the previous series by the creative team currently doing the new Transformers comics I was gushing about a few entries ago. Even with the high bar set by those comics, Do a Powerbomb! exceeded my expectations. Holy shit. An absolutely entrancing fantasy wrestling miniseries full of dynamic, energetic action and tons of heart. These comics where a guy wrestles a giant talking orangutan almost made me cry. Twice. An instant favorite.

12/25: Adventure Time (rewatch) - We ended up finishing our rewatch of Adventure Time (the main series, anyway) on my 30th birthday, which feels appropriate. I already kinda knew this, but this rewatch has truly confirmed that Adventure Time is my favorite TV series of all time. The entire show is even better on a full series rewatch. In hindsight, even parts that annoyed me when they aired end up being important parts of the beautiful tapestry that is this series. The many low points of Finn’s adolescent love life are important stepping stones in his growth as a person, which leaves him in an extremely satisfying place by the end. Jake having kids didn’t get to be a huge status quo change because they grew up instantly, but then they did a bunch of fun episodes about Jake’s relationships with his adult children that deepened him as a character. And most of the big lore questions they kept teasing over the years (“Where’d the humans go?” “Who are Finn’s parents?” “When’s Finn gonna get a robot arm?” etc.) ended up getting satisfying and creative answers, because the show left itself the room to figure those things out later. This is a truly special, one-of-a-kind series, one that lasted nearly 300 episodes and yet still seems like it was over too soon. And yes, I did in fact cry during the final montage, like I knew I would. I will always cherish this show with all of my heart.

12/25: Olive the Other Reindeer (rewatch) - Haven’t seen this one since I was a kid! It was a favorite of mine back then, and while it might not be quite as funny as I remember it’s still very cute, with a 2D/3D hybrid art style that remains very unique and appealing. As an adult I can also appreciate the cast they got for this, with like half the cast of Futurama bolstered by guests like Michael Stipe from REM and The Sopranos’ Joe Pantoliano.

12/26: Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - Anthony and I capped off our Christmas with the most jolly and festive stop motion movie of all! Jokes aside, man, what a beautiful movie. The animation is immaculate, and we really just don’t get children’s animated films like this anymore. Ones that overtly feature real world politics and religion and so many other dark themes in a way that doesn’t talk down to kids or sugarcoat things. This one hits hard. We need more movies like this.

12/31: Oppenheimer - This was an interesting one. Despite being three hours, the way that first hour jumps around in time makes it feel like Oppenheimer is constantly being propelled forward through life at a breakneck pace, swept up by the rising tide of nationalism in spite of his personal left wing politics, never really reflecting on what he’s doing until it’s too late. Then when he’s no longer useful to the empire, he’s chewed up and spat out, only to eventually be honored as a national hero as a symbolic gesture. It’s a compelling story. However, I’m a little torn on how certain aspects of history were framed. Does the abstraction of the bombings detract from the true weight of those events, in favor of sympathizing with the man who built the bomb? Or is it clever a way to show how the realities of the war were compartmentalized away by people who were complicit in its most heinous acts of violence? One minute a bunch of physicists are talking theory, thousands of miles away from the theaters of war, and the next they’ve killed 200,000 people. So which is it? Eh, probably somewhere in the middle, I guess. But I liked it overall.

12/31: Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe - I’ve been really surprised by how good this rerelease is. It kind of flew under the radar for me. I liked the original game, but at the time it also almost felt like the New Super Mario Bros. of Kirby. It was a straightforward throwback game where you went through a grass world, then a desert world, then a water world, etc., and also they added four player co-op. But returning to this one after the kinda mid Star Allies has made me appreciate just how solid RtDL is as a Kirby game. I really like the updated graphics, too - yes, even the new cel shaded outlines around the characters - even though I didn’t think it looked that great in screenshots. Also the two new copy abilities (Sand and Mecha) are fun, the minigame collection is shockingly fleshed out to the point that they could’ve sold it as a standalone eShop game, the collectible character masks are fun, and the new epilogue mode where you play as Magolor is one of the coolest bonus modes they’ve ever done. This is a top tier Kirby remake any fan of the series should check out.

Ongoing things I followed in 2023 that don't have a blurb:

Halo Infinite multiplayer

IDW Sonic the Hedgehog (main series + specials)

One Piece

Chainsaw Man

My Hero Academia (not caught up)

The JOJOlands (not caught up)

Things I started in 2023 that I still need to finish:

Freedom Planet 2

Hi-Fi Rush

Live A Live

Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Picross 3D Round 2

Rhythm Heaven MegaMix

Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team ProtoMan

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart

Spark the Electric Jester 3

Sonic Dream Team

One Piece (Wano arc, anime)

Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 (I’ve already read the Shibuya arc already in the manga, though)

Astro Boy (2003 anime)

Futurama (original run rewatch)

One Piece (manga reread)

The Amazing Spider-Man (Lee/Ditko era)

Scott Pilgrim series (reread)

And finally... my favorites of 2023!!!

Overall favorite game: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Favorite indie game: Pseudoregalia

Games remastered in 2023 that are now among my all-time faves: Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective, We Love Katamari

Most pleasant surprise in gaming: The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog

Favorite film: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse

Favorite live action show: Barry

Favorite anime: Pluto

Favorite anime written by a Canadian guy and an American guy based on the Canadian guy's old graphic novel series: Scott PIlgrim Takes Off

Favorite live action adaptation of an anime that I still can't believe they didn't fuck up: One Piece

Favorite Western cartoon: Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake

Favorite older cartoon I only got around to watching in its entirety this year: The Venture Bros.

Favorite documentary: Double Fine PsychOdyssey

Favorite semi-improvised semi-scripted absurdist comedy/horror/tragedy Twitch livestream performance art thing: Half-Life Alyx but the Gnome is Self-Aware finale (wayneradiotv)

Favorite manga: Chainsaw Man

Favorite older manga that I only read this year: Berserk

Favorite Western comic book: Daniel Warren Johnson's Transformers

Favorite album: HELLMODE (Jeff Rosenstock)

And that's a wrap!!!!! Happy new year, everyone! Here's to me maybe actually reading a goddamn book this year

[risingshards]

Bionicle Inspired Project

I miss Bionicle greatly. I dream of it coming back still, but it really feels like it's a long long way off if it'd ever happen. I saw some indie toymaker having their own Lego inspired building block sets and it had me thinking; what if they made something inspired by Bionicle? Then my next thought, what if I made something inspired by Bionicle?

What if I made a spiritual successor to Bionicle that carried on its legacy. Robotic beings exploring and doing battle in beautiful, exotic, natural settings. Mysteries upon mysteries in insanely deep lore. Characters that stick with you. Cool toys that you can even just stare at pictures of. Games that pull you into another world. A website with a growing story that rewards you for checking in with it.

A few immediate issues: I'm a writer with no ideas how to design toys, how I would possibly go about making them, how I'd make a website, games, all of it. I have a picture in my head of what I'd want this to be - in my most pie in the sky dreams, somehow being like Bionicle, with toys, an ongoing story, games…

Realistically, with the budget (or lack thereof) that I have, I don't see how I could do most of it. I think if I had a collaboration of many people, a website with a story and graphics of cool custom designed robotic beings is possible. I would probably start there, having a team of more design minded types and more storytelling types. That's where you could potentially come in!

If you'd be interested, fill out this form!

Here's a post where I expand on this a bit:

https://www.tumblr.com/risingshards/787379860165279744?source=share

And some early brainstorming by me past the read more.

Ideally what I could contribute:

-I could help manage big picture ideas of what this project could be (some experience managing creative projects)

-I could write (english major, have one published nonfiction book and lots of web novels with one of them being premium/published by the site)

What I'd want to write:

-I'd love to contribute to a ground level aspect of the story focusing on the villagers, I think that would be the space I'd be best suited for, a MNOG type story of the little fellas on an adventure while the big movers and shakers do big world altering stuff

-I'd love to help make absolutely insane worldbuilding

-I could help with the overall broad strokes of the story like what the big movers and shakers are up to

What I'm less good at:

-Have no idea about how to design robots outside of building MOCs or drawing

-The pie in the sky "actually make toys and games and website" part I have literally no idea

-Writing wise I'm more of a character writer, when I draft up an outline of a big serious epic, I tend to stall out on the actual writing. I think my writing strengths are character, dialogue, romance, and fluff which don't necessarily translate to a Bionicle type story ofc...

Self indulgent Potential Starting Point:

I'd love for this to have at least some connection to the bionicle-y corner of my own connected web of stories. I write web novels primarily, and all of them so far have been in the same broad universe. One section that was briefly touched upon is an island called Vita Coa.

I think this could be a fun starting point! A mostly blank slate that we could fill in with whatever we wanted.

If that's a total no go and we want to do a complete blank slate I totally get it, but at the very least I hope there could be some connective gateway between this new world and that corner of the RS world.

Info on Vita Coa:

The main Bionicle-y corner of the Rising Shards universe is an island called Vita Coa, inhabited by robotic/organic hybrid beings called Exumi.

The humanoid presence on Vita Coa was brief, a blip in the time of the Exumi but one that had a great effect on the land. The humans arrived, settling in the disk cities (a multi level group of cities built on giant disks) across the sea. Two factions of the same group, the Order of Terina and the Sharai, went to war with each other and destroyed their home. The battle reached Vita Coa, but a group of humans saved them and sent the Order and Sharai away. The enemies all follow a mysterious presence called Endora. The heroes came from another world called "Atria," so they were called Atrians. A tragic event happened at Desola that left the region a wasteland and junkyard of parts, and the heroes disbanded. On the edge of the horizon from the beach, the remains of the disk cities can be seen.

Now, the island's villagers, without any heroes left, fight back against the remnants of the Sharai and Terina armies. In some locations, waves of dark energy erupt. Whispers that the never seen Endora still lurks somewhere below.

Locations on Vita Coa:

Asha Coa - A waterside village

Desola Coa - A wasteland, a tragic place where only piles and piles of metal parts remain.

Micra Coa - Miniature world, I'm picturing a cave that feels like wandering through a Legoland exhibit, with tons of different themes at play. Like walking past a small world and seeing equivalent of Rock Raiders, City, Life on Mars, a bunch of themes going on at once.

Auris Coa - Not figured out yet, just have the name.

Crimda Coa - Not figured out yet, just have the name. Maybe the fire/volcano tribe?

Rosea Coa - Not figured out yet, just have the name.

Aranae Coa - Not figured out yet, just have the name. Likely the desert?

Pura Coa - Not figured out yet, just have the name.

Atria - Somewhere beyond (the stable dimension). In this universe, there is a stable dimension called Atria that is relatively peaceful, and…

Other Void Dimensions - …a place called the void which is an amalgamate of near infinite other dimensions where pretty much anything can happen.

How would this work as a starting point?

If we went with this, the story could go pretty much anywhere from here! Fleshing out Vita Coa could just be the start, the rest of that slate could be filled in with the craziest robotic-organic lore imaginable.

Possibly a similar start to Bionicle itself, where a group of heroes arrive on the island to fight evil, and also a Takua-like traveler is exploring.

Maybe the island itself was originally from a different place, and it goes back there to start, rejoining a world of biomechanical beings like Voya Nui rejoining the GSR.

If you read this far, thank you for checking this idea out! I have no idea if anything will come of it, but at the very least it can hopefully inspire some fun, creative brainstorming.

—Chiral

[gravesung]

WELCOME TO SHELTER ISLAND.

There is a city in upstate New York, glamoured and hidden from the rest of the US, where magic flourishes in secret. No, it isn’t the small coastal strip of land in the same state with the same name. Shelter Island, this Shelter Island, is accessible to strangers only by accident. Fell asleep on the R train in NYC? Wound up there inexplicably one morning when you opened a door that wasn't there before? Teleported in from another universe on accident and got stuck there because the City won't let you go? Possibilities are endless! 

Shelter Island is a reclusive place, welcoming its own but near-impossible to seek out. Some theorize that the city chooses its residents. Some chalk it up to magical anomalies. No matter their stance, those who live there agree that in some strange, unexplainable way, the City is alive.

Genre(s)

This is an ongoing labor of love by myself and Reuben over at @harerazor. By design, it's something of a crossroads between worlds, and its multiversal influence led to it becoming a patchwork of different cultures, communities, aesthetics and functions.

Shelter Island as a setting contains many possibilities for stories of different genres. While no theme is off-limits, some are stronger and easier to pull on than others. For example, here are a few of the inspirations for building the setting:

early 2000’s techno-kitsch (l33tsp34k, over the top hacker counterculture, etc.)

gothic americana

absurdist comedy & satire about the modern age (capitalism/advertisement culture, memes, life on the web)

uncanny-valley atmospheric horror (think Night Vale, The Magnus Archives, SCP, etc.)

street crime, gangs & the mafia (white collar crime AND blue collar crime)

class warfare and political intrigue

multicultural fairy folklore (the woods)

Residence

Those who end up in Shelter Island by accident are henceforth welcome into the city, so long as they don’t enter with the intention of exposing it. The City knows. Trust that it knows. Most of the citydwellers were born there, but every year there is a steady trickle of new residents as well.

Because of this, there are New Resident Info Desks peppered around common entry points throughout the city. Here, you can get temporary housing, an ID card, and other resources to help get you started as a citizen.

Geography and Demography

Despite the name, Shelter Island is actually not an island. Legends say the city once sat in the middle of a lake. After some geographic event over a century ago, the water around it receded, leaving a sunken halo around the city. The name stuck, however, and now it’s considered a bit of an in-joke among residents.

Shelter Island is laid out like a three-ring target. The central “bullseye” (called citycenter) contains the 1% — both literally and figuratively. The middle ring (called cityproper), home to roughly 40% of the population, is made up of suburbs, apartments, shopping districts, and other highly metropolitan middle-class neighborhoods. The outer circle (the Ring), containing nearly 60% of the population, is shoddily constructed and tightly packed with buildings, alleys, and people.

OTHER INFO: FULL SETTING GUIDE PINTEREST BOARD PLAYLIST

A Note from Raine

All of the characters in my muse roster (including on my other blogs) either exist in this setting natively or have a verse within it. Shelter Island is the ever-evolving product of many, many years of work by Reu and me, and I'd absolutely love to craft SI verses for your muses if you're interested!! For those of you who have dipped your toes in, thank you so much and welcome to hell. For others: Come on in, the water's fine(?)!

Addendum:

Since SI is an insulated and secret city that exists independently of the world around it, it can fit into pretty much any canon that could include an urban area! For example: I've chattered with some folks about what it would look like in MHA-Earth with quirks involved, and for my JJKs it would be super fun to work cursed spirits & sorcery into the mix. It's always a place containing unusual magic that doesn't exist in the rest of the setting, but that doesn't mean the rest of the setting can't also be supernatural in some way. The only constant is that it's hidden from the rest of the world and frequently draws new people into its fold.

Happy hunting. It's getting close to the New Year at the time of reposting this guide; make sure your homes are well-insulated before the Turning. You don't want to be stuck outside.

[thecreaturecodex]

Terochilus

Image accessed from the Ultraman Wiki here

[Terochilus is a monster that makes a big impression in Return of Ultraman (being the star of a two-part episode), but with very little impact on the franchise outside of it. Which is a shame. It feels like Ultraman's Rodan the way that Arstron feels like its Godzilla. It has a weirder power set than Rodan, though, with its toxic webbing and shooting lasers from its nose. It kind of reminds me of The Giant Claw, in the sense of being a superficially simple flying kaiju that is totally bizarre on closer inspection, and I designed its stats intentionally to be a counterpart to my cacagnea.

In the show, its webs emit toxic gas on exposure to automobile exhaust, making Terochilus another pollution-themed kaiju. Since cars don't exist in Pathfinder, I changed the trigger to the webs getting extra dangerous to fire, which is the typical adventurer solution to webbing. That, and it makes the Terochilus' lairing in volcanoes synergistic, and very dangerous.

Also, I can't prove it, but I suspect that Terochilus' pterosaur with feathers look inspired the winged fakeosaur that came in the same set as the ones that inspired the rust monster and bulette]

Terochilus

CR 19 LN Magical Beast

This creature resembles a strange cross between bird and pterosaur. It walks on two elephantine legs, and has membranous wings growing like a cape from its human-like arms. It has a head and neck covered with feathers, and a long straight bill.

A terochilus is a bestial, vaguely avian predator, something like a roc writ even larger. They are found lairing on volcanic islands and are extremely territorial—a terochilus patrols the water near the island for whales, large fish and the occasional sea monster to eat, and drives away anything else entering its hunting grounds. This territoriality extends to their volcanic lairs as well. A terochilus usually lives near the caldera and lines its nest with thick ashy webbing. This webbing is flammable, but burning it produces a highly potent toxic gas that causes immediate unconsciousness followed by systematic organ failure. The terochiluses are immune to these noxious fumes, and encourage periodic fires to burn the webbing and fumigate their lairs.

Terochiluses usually do not see creatures of human size and shape as prey. The danger comes from their territorial instinct—they attack boats that steer too close to their hunting grounds. If forced from their lairs by a stronger monster, they may settle closer to inhabited areas and wreak havoc enforcing their new territorial boundaries. In combat, a terochilus usually opens by spraying opponents with webbing, and then closing to melee with entangled enemies. A terochilus possesses a powerful breath weapon, which manifests as beams of deadly force fired from its nostrils. This breath weapon does not recharge quickly, and most terochiluses use it as a weapon of last resort only.

Terochilus CR 19

XP 204,800

LN Colossal magical beast

Init +9; Senses darkvision 120 ft., low-light vision, Perception +22, tremorsense 30 ft.

Defense

AC 34, touch 12, flat-footed 24 (-8 size, +9 Dex, +1 dodge, +22 natural)

hp 346 (21d10+231)

Fort +23, Ref +21, Will +12

DR 20/magic; Immune poison; Resist fire 30, force 30; SR 30

Offense

Speed 40 ft., fly 150 ft. (average)

Melee bite +27 (4d6+14/19-20 plus grab), 2 claws +27 (2d8+14), 2 wings +22 (2d8+7)

Space 30 ft.; Reach 30 ft.

Special Attacks breath weapon (150 ft. line, 1 minute, 19d10 force damage),hurricane hover,swallow whole(AC 21, 34 hp, 4d8+21 bludgeoning),toxic webbing, webs (+22 ranged, range increment 30 ft., 150 ft. range, DR 10/-, 21 hp, DC 31)

Statistics

Str 39, Dex 28, Con 32, Int 4, Wis 21, Cha 15

Base Atk +21; CMB +43 (+47 grapple); CMD 63

Feats Acrobatic,Blind-Fight, Combat Reflexes,Dodge, Flyby Attack, Greater Vital Strike, Hover (B), Improved Critical (bite), Improved Vital Strike, Mobility, Power Attack, Vital Strike

Skills Acrobatics +21 (+25 when jumping), Climb +26, Fly +13, Perception +22; Racial Modifiers +8 Perception

Languages Ignan (cannot speak)

Ecology

Environment warm land

Organization solitary or pair

Treasure incidental

Special Abilities

Hurricane Hover (Ex) A terochilus gains Hover as a bonus feat. When it uses the Hover feat, it creates hurricane force winds in a 60-foot radius, regardless of its distance from the surface.

Toxic Webbing (Ex) A terochilus’ webs release toxic gas when they take fire damage. This gas fills a 30 foot radius from the webbing, and lingers for 1d4+1 rounds before dissipating. This toxin has the following properties

Web fumes—inhaled; duration 1/round for 4 rounds; save Fort DC 31; initial effect unconsciousness 1 minute; secondary effect 1d6 Con damage and unconsciousness 10 minutes; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution based.

[wizard-island-trading-co]

Lore Post:

(ooc: I've been hopping on again and seeing some revitalized interested in wizarding, so I thought I'd make this for RP. This won't be all inclusive unless I edit it later, but I'll cover the main points.)

Hello! My name is Captain Fless Roicaff. (Don't say it backwards lest ye be cursed)

Pronouns are he/him.

I am of age for adult activities, but prefer not to go too deep. (Roicaff is a skeleton, after all, and has no flesh with which to crave another's.)

I am a skeleton who wears stereotypical pirate garb with colors of green and gold. Except pants. I don't wear pants. This tradition used to be an intimidation tactic before I became a skeleton, but is still followed. (Profile picture created by "@the-necrobotanist") (didn't want to put in a direct link in order to prevent spam if I edit this post)

My schools of magic (in descending order of specialization) are necromancy, transmutation/alchemy, spatial manipulation, and just a touch of astral magic. I am not well versed in combat magic because I invested heavily into immortality. I do, however, have my own personal school called Dock Magic, which combines transmutation and spatial magic in order to create and throw boats at people.

My vessel, the Stocky Jasmine, is a personalized Ship of Many Decks. In addition to the standard number of decks for rigging and cannons, the Stocky Jasmine is connected to an extradimensional space. Not even I know how many decks there are. Or what else is down there. In addition to being my equivalent of a wizard tower, the Stocky Jasmine has the ability to travel anywhere as long as I have a sample of magic energy from the target location. Very useful for finding people in an emergency.

My crew is comprised mainly of two kinds of skeletons. The Rave Skeletons are standard summoned skeletons who love a good party. These fellows were brought into unlife during a wizard duel and are fantastic companions. The Starlight Skeletons are of my own design. They are birthed of Liquid Starlight and are remotely controlled by spiders. There are also the Dock Wizards. Students of my craft, they are very helpful with the maintenance of my fleet and outposts.

I run the Wizard Island Trading Co., which is headquartered on Wizard Island Island. We (we being me and the skeletons) have a worldwide web of acquisitions, manufacturing, and distribution. Kinda like wizard capitalism, except the rules are made up and the points don't matter.

The cornerstone of my empire is Liquid Starlight. This liquid is flawed, being made only of the starlight that reaches the Earth. When used regularly, it can cause issues in automated magic systems or ingested directly. That said, it is available in ridiculous quantities and provides a highly efficient source of power to those willing to work around the maintenance requirements.

[toorumochi]

"𝕿𝖎𝖉𝖊𝖘 𝖔𝖋 𝕯𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖎𝖓𝖞: 𝕬 𝕻𝖎𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖊’𝖘 𝕻𝖗𝖔𝖒𝖎𝖘𝖊"

A Karushuu Pirate x Prince AU

@akabane-yum if you see this, no you didn’t.

In a world where royal lineage clashes with pirate rebellion, two unlikely souls are entangled in a web of fate. As ancient feuds simmer and alliances teeter on the brink of collapse, a prince and a pirate must navigate treacherous waters of love, loyalty and longing. Bound by destiny yet torn apart by circumstance, their story unfolds amidst a backdrop of adventure, danger and forbidden desire.

In a tale as old as time, Gakushuu Asano, a scion of a royal lineage, and Karma Akabane, born into the infamous ranks of a pirate clan, found themselves locked in a generations-old feud. Initially, their animosity towards each other ran deep, both harbouring a visceral disdain that seemed insurmountable. However, fate intervened one fateful day when their paths converged at a bustling port on a remote island.

Bound by a fragile truce enforced by the island's formidable locals, the families of Gakushuu and Karma were compelled to set aside their longstanding grievances. The imminent threat of the islanders' prowess in combat loomed large, serving as a deterrent against any acts of aggression between the warring factions.

It was amidst this uneasy peace that Gakushuu's perception of Karma underwent a profound transformation. Observing the pirate's striking resemblance to his father, the prince found himself inexplicably drawn to Karma's rugged charm and rebellious spirit. There was an undeniable allure to Karma's rough-edged exterior—a magnetism that stirred within Gakushuu an unexpected and tumultuous attraction. 

Karma Akabane, the son of the most powerful pirate captain known to roam the seven seas, at the mere age of 19, embodies the definitive pirate aesthetic with the weather-beaten tricorn hat, tilted daringly to one side, and decorated with a crimson feather. His once-pristine white shirt, now bearing the marks of countless battles, is adorned with faded embroidery and ragged sleeves, while a leather vest, weathered and worn, boasts brass buttons etched with intricate sea monster designs.

Burgundy trousers, rolled up at the cuffs, and a midnight-coloured coat with gleaming gold trim complete his ensemble. Multiple belts and sashes cinch his waist, each laden with pouches containing the tools and treasures of a true pirate, while beaded necklaces strung with seashells, pearls, and ancient coins adorn his neck. His fingers glitter with rings bearing emblems and gemstones, a symbol of his status and prowess.

Karma's bronzed, weathered skin, long crimson red hair cascading like molten gold, kohl-smudged eyes gleaming with mischief, and a grin revealing teeth as sharp as cutlasses, speak of a life lived on the edge of danger and adventure, with scars as souvenirs of battles fought and won, displaying strength and tenacity in the face of trouble.

As Gakushuu watches, he sees Karma's father laughing with him, playfully taking back the tricorn hat he had placed on Karma's head, revealing beneath it a bandana, a symbol of their legacy of piracy that runs deep within their bloodline.

 

One morning, Gakushuu spotted Karma snatching a handful of fruits from a stall before darting out of sight behind the nearby booths. He decided to follow him up until he couldn’t see him anymore. The streets were crowded so it was hard to see.

Suddenly someone grabbed him by the arm, pulling him somewhere. Gakushuu was ready to fight back, but the person put their hand on his mouth to keep him quiet.

It was Karma, who was calmly grinning and eating the stolen apple with one hand and with the other, he held Gakushuu in place. 

As Gakushuu's eyes widened in surprise, Karma's mischievous grin only grew wider. The two boys stood in a hidden alleyway, away from the bustling streets of the port. Gakushuu's heart raced, unsure of what Karma had planned.

"Shh," Karma whispered, removing his hand from Gakushuu's mouth. "I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't cause any trouble for our families. The locals here are no joke, and I don't want to risk any fights breaking out."

Gakushuu's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why would you care about that? We've always been enemies, haven't we?"

Karma chuckled, taking another bite of the stolen apple. "Yeah, we have. But that doesn't mean I want to see you get hurt. Besides, it's more fun to mess with you when we're not fighting."

Gakushuu's cheeks flushed slightly at Karma's words, a mix of annoyance and intrigue swirling within him. He couldn't deny that something was captivating about the pirate's carefree attitude and rebellious nature.

"I don't need your protection," Gakushuu retorted, crossing his arms defiantly. "I can handle myself just fine."

Karma raised an eyebrow, a playful glint in his eyes. "Oh, I know you can. But that doesn't mean I can't lend a hand now and then. Plus, it's not like I'm doing this out of the goodness of my heart. I just don't want any interruptions when I finally defeat you."

Gakushuu's lips curled into a smirk, a challenge gleaming in his eyes. "Defeat me? We'll see about that, pirate."

Karma's grin widened, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "I look forward to it, prince."

He released Gakushuu, who felt a subtle stirring of arousal, though he adamantly refused to acknowledge it.

Despite their families' long-standing feud, there was an undeniable spark between them. It was a connection that neither of them could fully understand, but one that seemed to draw them together despite the odds stacked against them.

As the days passed on the bustling island port, Gakushuu was unable to shake the memory of his encounter with Karma in the hidden alleyway. There was something about the pirate boy that intrigued him, something that stirred emotions within him that he had never experienced before.

Meanwhile, Karma couldn't seem to get Gakushuu out of his mind either. The image of the prince's defiant smirk and challenging gaze lingered in his thoughts, igniting a fire within him that he couldn't extinguish.

It was on one fateful evening, as the sun dipped below the horizon and the stars began to twinkle in the night sky, that their paths crossed once again.

Gakushuu was wandering the crowded streets of the port, lost in thought as he pondered the events of the past few days.

He had tried to push thoughts of Karma from his mind, to focus on his duties as a prince and the expectations placed upon him by his family, but the boy seemed to haunt his every waking moment.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a familiar figure up ahead, his heart skipping a beat as he realized who it was. Karma was once again standing at the edge of the bustling marketplace, his eyes scanning the crowd with a mischievous glint.

Without hesitation, Gakushuu made his way towards him, his footsteps quickening with each step. He wasn't sure what compelled him to seek out Karma, to seek out the very person who was supposed to be his enemy, but he couldn't deny the pull that drew him to the pirate boy like a magnet.

As he drew closer, Karma turned and spotted him, a smirk tugging at the corners of his lips. "Well, look who decided to grace me with their presence," he said, his voice laced with amusement.

Gakushuu rolled his eyes, trying to mask the fluttering feeling in his chest with a look of indifference. "Don't get too excited, pirate. I'm only here to make sure you're not causing any trouble, once again."

Karma chuckled, crossing his arms over his chest as he regarded Gakushuu with a playful glint in his eyes. "Ah, but where's the fun in that? Besides, I thought we already established that I’m up to nothing strange."

Gakushuu bristled at Karma's words, a surge of irritation coursing through him. "That doesn't mean I have to stand by and watch as you wreak havoc on this island."

Karma raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips. "Oh, so now you're concerned about the well-being of this island? How noble of you, prince."

Gakushuu scowled, his cheeks flushing with anger. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for the people who call this place home, people who deserve better than to be caught in the crossfire of our family's feud."

For a moment, there was a flicker of something in Karma's eyes, a hint of vulnerability that took Gakushuu by surprise. But before he could dwell on it further, the moment passed and Karma's usual smirk returned, his mask firmly back in place.

"Well, aren't you just full of surprises, prince," Karma said, his tone teasing. "But enough talk. How about we make a deal? You let me go about my business, and I promise not to cause any trouble for your 'precious island'."

Gakushuu hesitated, torn between his duty as a prince and the strange connection he felt with Karma. In the end, curiosity won out, and he found himself nodding in agreement. 

"Fine," he said, his voice firm. "But don't think for a second that I'm letting my guard down around you, pirate. I'll be keeping a close eye on you."

Karma grinned, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "I wouldn't expect anything less, prince. After all, where's the fun in a little competition without a bit of tension?"

With that, he turned and disappeared into the crowd, leaving Gakushuu standing alone in the bustling marketplace. As he watched Karma go, a strange mixture of emotions washed over him, leaving him feeling both exhilarated and unnerved.

Amidst the longstanding rivalry between their families, their fathers found themselves ensconced in a local bar, their laughter and camaraderie echoing into the early hours of dusk. 

Gakushuu observed Karma from across the room, perched in a secluded corner, thoroughly entertained by the adoration of the town's girls. His charm was palpable, he even gifted one of his penknifes to one of the girls.

Gakushuu couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy—not for the girls themselves, but for Karma.

Meanwhile, amidst the joviality of the bar, a young sailor approached Gakushuu's table, his intent clear as he sought an opportunity to secure a position aboard Captain Asano's esteemed ship. Such a feat was no easy task, as the entire port was aware of the formidable challenge it presented.

Despite the sailor's persistent flattery, Gakushuu's attention wandered, inevitably drawn back to Karma's table. Their gazes met fleetingly before being interrupted by the sudden clamour of the girls surrounding Karma. With infectious laughter and playful tugs, they whisked him away towards a concealed doorway, leaving Gakushuu momentarily captivated by the sight.

As Karma disappeared into the throng of giggling girls, he threw a small wink in Gakushuu's direction—a gesture that sent a flurry of emotions coursing through him. Confusion mingled with excitement as Gakushuu grappled with the unfamiliar sensations stirring within him, unsure of what lay ahead in this unexpected entanglement with the enigmatic pirate.


As the night wore on, Gakushuu found himself unable to shake the image of Karma's mischievous grin and captivating presence. He couldn't understand why he was so drawn to someone from the enemy camp, someone who had caused him so much frustration and anger in the past.

Unable to resist the pull any longer, Gakushuu excused himself from the sailor and made his way towards the door Karma had disappeared behind. He pushed it open cautiously, unsure of what he would find on the other side.

—————————————————————————

You can continue reading the rest of this fanfic on my AO3 if you're interested!

[amazing-spider-man-book-club]

The Amazing Spider-Man #7

Published: December 1963

Containing: "The Return of The Vulture"

Synopsis: The Vulture returns with an augmented magnetic flying device immune to mechanical interference, and goes on a new series of heists as Peter has to deal with a sprained arm after blindly going into battle.

Read alongside us here:

@frankendykes-monster : This might be the lightest issue we've covered yet in terms of narrative depth. We have officially reached a point where a "standard" Spider-Man story that's easily recognizable regardless of date of origin or medium is born.

The Vulture is making his second and final stint as a solo villain in this run, and admittedly I might miss him. I think many adaptations miss something by not focusing on the fact that he's a machinist, probably a consequence of so many Spider-Man villains existing now that it's easy to shuffle around characterizations and motivations, not that this original incarnation of the character is three-dimensional or anything. I feel like this is one of the first major instances of "lost in translation" between Ditko and Lee because that's the only explanation I can muster up for me just not getting exactly how The Vulture's powers work. I assumed that the magnetic device is basically levitation and that the wings are for steering in mid-air, but the wings being gummed up at the end nullifies his ability to fly? Who knows. His hands being free and thus him being able to hold a gun is a chuckle worthy sight.

Betty Brant is thrust a bit more into the role of Peter's primary love interest of the run as of this issue, with the finale being a focus on them and their burgeoning taking-notice of one another. It feels natural as we're still in the very early stages (read: the talking stage). While the letters pages usually don't reveal anything of note that needs to be brought up here, I do find it funny that one reader asks that Peter have a proper girlfriend that's a bad bitch and up to date on the latest music trends. Give it a few years, Sidney, it's coming.

Probably the most notable thing about this issue is how much Ditko gives it his all in terms of fleshing out the environments, the fights across the skyline or inside the Daily Bugle make the similar brawl inside the high school from #4 look downright drab in comparison. There's a lot more time dedicated to onlookers unable to do anything in the face of costumed persons fighting in mid-air above them, it lends itself to a great realization of three-dimensional space even when page space only has room for the fight or the reaction to it. We finally find out that Peter lives in Forest Hills, in Queens, on Long Island, which furthers highlights how huge NYC is and how quaint it must be in some way to see Spider-Man and The Vulture fight above rooftops overhead.

@duel1971 : Fun! I think about half of my favorite Ditko art I’ve seen on this journey so far is contained in this one issue. Every panel shines with a brilliant grasp of anatomy, action, weight, proportion… it’s awesome. The Vulture is sort of a boring villain on paper, in my opinion, but his striking visual design and the incredible action sequences made me forget that entirely. We also get our best close-up yet of Spider-Man’s web shooter, showing off how nifty and clean its design is.

The best action set-piece in this story involves Peter fighting the Vulture in the Daily Bugle offices while the staff scrambles for cover and Jonah has a breakdown. If I’m not mistaken this is the first time a villain has come directly to JJJ’s office, making a somewhat historic precedent.

There’s not much to talk about here in terms of new story developments (other than Peter sharing a moment with Betty Brant) but the action and script are so tight and well-done that it’s hard to say anything negative about it. This issue to me feels like a well-earned victory lap after eight issues of consistent innovation.

[icantthinkofaname4]

More stuff from my subnautica au!

Cyclops:

The frogger is a ship designed as a movable base, similar to the actual cyclops in design, but different in how it actually moves. The frogger has 4 frog-like legs (hence the name) that stick to nearby objects to hold it up. When there is nothing to hold onto around it can hover:

As shown in this image. It has similar design to the cyclops, only adding the legs and two mini smokestacks (idk what their called) and shutters on the windows.

Blood kelp zone:

The blood kelp zone is still a cave-like area, with the blood kelp trees growing like stalagmites/stalactites and having the fruits (blood oil) growing like leaves. The entrance to the lost river (which is an actual river with real water in this) is here, although im probably gonna add more later.

Ampeels: as seen in the foreground of this image, the ampeels are snakelike beings with the same electrical elements (that i forgot to draw in this image) and climb to blend into bloodkelp and the other flora they live by. They are 20 meters long.

Various unrelated fauna i drew:

(also kinda a rant but the quality of art will be going down bc my school blocked the art app i normaly use so its back to offbrand ms paint)

Boneshark:

(C&P from other post) bonesharks are nine meter long insectoid animals with anger issues that live in the web zone, bulb zone, craig fields, and floating islands. They have a strongs shell and attack on sight, although the species that inhabit the ‘mountain’ biome has a thicker shell similar to armadillos to avoid reapers. They have six legs that they use to run around their environment and chase their prey. They live in the webs of stone and have strong claws to dig through it to make nests. They are tan, same as in game, but i ran out of time to color it here.

Rockgrub:

Finally added bugs! Rockgrub are little green fireflys with glowing wings that fly through every biome and are very prevalent (ignore the fact that there so rare ingame i didnt even know they existed until a few days ago). They can swarm and often do in the spring, making pleanty of food for birds and pretty much being the krill of the flying world.

Rabbitray:

The rabbitray are 4 legged birds with large blue bioluminescent wings and large orange feathers on their head to attract mates. They are herbivores and found commonly in safe shallows and kelp forests.

Og post here

[unikittybigbrightworldau]

My OCs In My Friends’ AUs

This was part of my presentation for a presentation night that @askthechronoverse, @masterjacobofficialblog and @unikittybeforethereign had in a Discord server. I’d been waiting to show them these for so long.

Imogen, in the Chronoverse, would be from the island of Alexythemia, since that’s where Charm Valley would be if it were in that AU according to Fabri. They also came up with the design for Chrono!Imogen. In Master Jacob, even though that AU is a next-gen AU, I think Imogen would still be a teenager. She’s still learning and growing, so she has this witchy student style. The blueprint for my OCs in Master Jacob are these anthro designs I drew a while ago. Imogen doesn’t have a Before The Reign design yet because StayCute is still thinking about what Master Frown and characters like him look like in that AU.

Germafrost in the Chronoverse and in Master Jacob were based on the ways Fabri and Mamækin draw Unikitty and Puppycorn, since I’ve always thought that lots of dogs and cats in their world look like them. In the Chronoverse, Ice Cream Land would be way up in the North Pole region of Meraki. On MJ!Germafrost’s sleeves, there are the patterns of the three flavors (strawberry, vanilla and chocolate). In Before The Reign, he’s a long-haired German shepherd who looks like a puppy because he’s canonically babyfaced. I think I might’ve put his icicle horn too high on his head.

Piano’s Chronoverse design is based on Fabri’s Valentine for me. Her dress is patterned like wedding cakes because she’s partly a wedding cake-flavored ice cream creature. In Master Jacob, she wears a stylish winter coat I found on the web, but with lots of extra sparkles and crocuses because she wouldn’t just wear it like it is. For Before The Reign!Piano, I had trouble deciding what species of sheep she was. I found this white, long-wooled type of sheep called Heath sheep, which have horns like her dad does. Her wool looks creamy because, again, it’s ice cream. StayCute said that BTR!Dr. Fox is still bipedal and still wears a lab coat, so Piano would also stand on two legs and wear her usual attire.

Fabri said that the Marevian merpeople in the Chronoverse would live in the Commuovere Sea and have a candy/ice cream theming. Chrono!Waterlily has satellite wafers for her bell, cotton candy and dragon’s beard candy to represent her light, dreamy nature, and candied lotus seeds for her jewelry. Master Jacob!Waterlily is wearing a dress with motifs of her namesake flower. As for Before the Reign!Waterlily… I tried. She’s a combination of a moon jelly and a sea nettle, but she looks more humanoid because she’s a mermaid. Apparently, those clover-shaped marks in moon jellies are supposed to be where their mouths (and also their butts) are, so I moved that down to where Lily’s mouth is.

Chronoverse!Spike’s candy themes are black licorice and honey. I did the licorice motifs for his spines and legs, and honey motifs for his torso. (He’s also wearing a honey yellow headband.) I picked honey because it has a sunny yellow glow and because it’s supposed to be good for your throat. I tried to imagine how Mamækin would draw his spines in Master Jacob. In any anthro version of Spike, I’ve always imagined that he has a bunch of rings and long black sea urchin-y fingernails. Before the Reign!Spike is a combo of a Caribbean reef octopus (because he was born in a coral reef) and a black sea urchin. But, again, he’s more humanoid because he’s a merman.

Botania in the Chronoverse is hidden within the enchanted Matutolypea Forest and extends out into the desert. Fabri said that if they were running things, they would take influence from Lego Elves for the fairies. So, for Chrono!Allegra, I combined a trapeze artist’s outfit with motifs of Aira, the wind elf. I feel as though Fabri would make her hairstyle look more like the hair hang. The fairies’ size doesn’t change in any of the universes, so they’re still really small. Before the Reign!Allegra has this looping braid. She’s supposed to be a clouded yellow butterfly, so I tried to replicate their wing pattern. I actually found this image showing what females’ wing patterns look like. Just like with the merpeople, she looks more humanoid being a fairy.

Chrono!Zora’s outfit is influenced by Azari, the fire elf, because he travels around drier areas and is comforted by fire. In Master Jacob, Zora has that same adventurer/desert garb look I gave him in his anthro because it suits him to a T. He’s supposed to be a dragontail butterfly, and it was pretty tricky for me to get his wings right for his Before the Reign design. He also looks more humanoid, being a fairy and all. His braid goes over the top of his head and falls behind his wings in the back.

[es46]

Found a sketch based on Monster Hunter I did a few years ago, decided to give it some screentime. Apologies for poor quality, but this one has a fond place in my heart. The basis of its design is dragonfly nymphs and webspinners. - NEOPHA CERRA Title - Larval beetle Monster class - Neopteran Known locales - Cold regions (e.g Hoarfrost Reach, Frost Islands) Element/Ailment - Sleep + Webbed Elemental weakness - Water (3), Fire (2), Dragon (2), Ice (1), Thunder (1) Ailment weakness - Paralysis (3), Sleep (1), Blast (1), Poison (1), Stun (1) Neopha Cerra is a neopteran endemic to cold climates. It is easily identified by its silvery-white exoskeleton and the myriad spines lining its abdomen, ending in reinforced cerci. The central and hind limbs are sturdy and allow Neopha Cerra effective mobility in each direction, whilst its forelimbs are used for handling and silk production. Its black eyes and antennae are highly sensitive to motion. Wandering the tundra and coastlines, it is a reclusive herbivore that makes use of its extendable labium to dig beneath ice and rock in search of lichens, tubers, and other forms of flora. Some ecologists contend that it is better defined as a detritivore, as Neopha Cerra will feed on carrion. Regardless, Neopha Cerra is considered docile and has never been known to attack humans unprovoked. Some researchers suggest it may be a potential endeavour to attempt domestication, though currently this is considered unreasonable by the Guild. Neopha Cerra is skittish, however, and field workers are advised to avoid sudden movements or getting too close lest the neopteran interpret the action as aggression. Neopha Cerra relies on camouflage for defence; by lying very still, it resembles a frosted rock, avoiding the attention of most predators. Its exoskeleton is significantly reinforced compared to most neopterans; it is difficult for an attacker to find purchase on its spiny form, never mind have the strength to crush through its shell. If pushed to actively defend itself, Neopha Cerra will either strike with its labium or turn its back and charge the attacker with its reinforced cerci. Neopha Cerra's forelegs contain silk glands that can be launched from its tarsus; this webbing maintains liquidity long enough to spray onto the attacker before solidfying, hindering movement. Its most effective defence are the spines on its abdomen, which contain a potent sedative. Attackers attempting to bite Neopha Cerra's abdomen are quickly dazed by the sedative. In summation, Neopha Cerra is an exceptional defensive profile that will take the opportunity to flee as soon as the attacker is webbed or sedated. Neopha Cerra is a lower ranked monsters (Low Rank -2, High/Master Rank - 1). Despite this, it is not ideal for practicing hunters. The defensive integrity and preference for retreat makes Neopha Cerra a frustrating target. Most predators in its environment prefer to avoid the hassle of contending with its hard spiny shell and webbing. The exception is Neopha Cerra's nemesis, a brute wyvern named Frezarion dedicated to preying on arthropods. Resilient against sedation and with liquid emissions to dissolve webbing, Frezarion is well-equipped to handle Neopha Cerra. While stronger individuals have a chance to repel the brute wyvern, Frezarion is the principle reason many Neopha Cerra never reach adulthood. But those that do reap their reward. Neopha Cerra is the larval state of a neopteran named Zykitin Cerra. In contrast to the passive nymph, Zykitin Cerra is an aggressive herbivore strong enough to contend with the likes of Legiana. Zykitin Cerra don't always remain in cold climates, but those that do are remarkably altruistic, leaping to the defence of any Neopha Cerra in distress. Zykitin Cerra is itself the nemesis to Frezarion, and any field worker seeking to research/ hunt Neopha Cerra must ensure Zykitin Cerra is not in the area. - Thank you for reading and take care.

[queenofcandynsoda]

Lost Boys Pirates: Weaver

(Art by @jknerd, Weaver and Don't Ask)

Weaver

Titles: Arachnoid Bride

Age: Immortal (12; physically)

Gender: Female

Height: 5’9” (175 cm)

Birthday: May 7th

Race: LongLeg

Residence: Long Valley, Reeve Island (currently), Mariejois (formerly), Rural Kijanian Village (formerly)

Relatives: Don’t Ask (husband), Unnamed father (presumably deceased)

Occupation: Hunter, Butcher, Slave (former)

Likes: Don’t Ask, Cooking, Hunting, Butchering, Hair Braiding, Yams, Puff-Puff, Tea, Fried Plantain, Meat

Dislikes: CELESTIAL DRAGONS, World Government, Slavery, Wealthy Jerks/Idiots, People stealing her food, Scammers, Trespassers 

Abilities: Spider/Arachne Physiology (Arachnid Mode, Augmented Super, Web Generation, Silk Generation, Wall Crawling, Arthropodal Limbs, Additional Limbs, Camouflage, Trap Creation, Enhanced Accuracy, Enhanced Agility, Enhanced Balance, Enhanced Durability, Enhanced Endurance, Enhanced Leap, Enhanced Reflexes, Enhanced Regeneration, Enhanced Senses [Danger Intuition, Enhanced Touch, Enhanced Vision, Seismic Sense, Trapping Intuition], Enhanced Stealth, Enhanced Speed, Enhanced Strength, Predator Instinct, Prey Instinct, Silk Manipulation [Generation]), Hunting Mastery (Trapping Combat, Weakness Strike, Hyper Chasing, Enhanced Tracking, Stealth Mastery, Inaudible Movement [in Arachne form], Tactical Analysis), Butchering Mastery (Beef, Pork, Fish, Mutton, Bushmeat, Rabbit, Poultry), Knife Proficiency (Boning, Butcher, Carving, Chef, Cleaver, Deba bōchō, Deveiner, Fillet, Oyster, Santoku, Sashimi bōchō, Slicing), Hairdressing Mastery, Trading Mastery

Personality: Weaver takes great pride in her skills in butchering and hunting. She loves to create webs with elaborate designs. She tends to get snarky whenever she encounters adults who made poor conditions or trespass in Reeve Island. Weaver tends to get lovey-dovey when it comes to Don’t Ask as he is the first Lost Boy who made her feel welcome. She loves all kinds of meat and would make sure it is cooked to be very flavorful. She tends to be a messy eater. Due to her traumatic past, she harbors a deep distrust of adults, especially if they are wealthy.

Overview: Weaver is a LongLeg girl of Kijani (based on Africa) descent. In the past, Weaver was a young bushmeat hunter-in-training taught by her father, to whom she is close. Unfortunately, when she was six years old, she was kidnapped by slave traders and sold to the Celestial Dragons. During her six years there, she was forced to work as a slave and barely survived. She was force-fed the Spider-Spider Fruit and then repeatedly tossed into the sea as a sick game, along with being starved. One day, there is a raid on a Celestial Dragon’s ship by the Lost Boy Pirates. She was one of the several children saved by the Longarm/Longleg ship of the fleet. When arriving in Reeve Island, Wendy noticed Weaver was injured—due to being abused as a slave and during the escape—so she took her to see the doctors. That’s where Weaver meets Don’t Ask and develops a crush on him. Don’t Ask has been tending her injuries for a month but she wasn’t the only one developing feelings for him. He also had been interested in her. After being discharged from the medical ward, Weaver was assigned to work as a hunter and butcher but she wants to thank him. She wants to cook for him. When she came to give him lunch, it was the same day he asked her out. Months later, they got married. When raiding one of the Beast Pirates’ ships, Weaver discovered the drugs that modified the Beast Pirates’ natural Devil Fruit appearance. After stealing those and having them altered, she ingested them, allowing her to have two forms for her Devil Fruit. She has become a popular hunter for the Lost Boys, even partaking in any hunt for food and adult trespassers. Her webs are used in Blind Man’s Bonfire to catch anyone who tries to sneak into Reeve Island. After some time, Weaver opens a shop in Children’s City to sell butchered meats of various types. Her stand is next to Chantle’s, so they often talk and gossip.

Spider-Spider Fruit, Model: Daddy Longlegs

Spider-Spider Fruit, Model: Daddy Longlegs

Type: Zoan

Meaning: Daddy Longlegs

User: Weaver

History: Weaver ate the fruit when she was forced to feed it by a Celestial Dragon, who would then toss her to the sea before pulling her up before she could drown. It was further modified when she stole drugs from the Beast Pirates. 

Usage: Weaver uses her devil fruit for two primary reasons: hunting and butchering. After stealing some drugs from the Beast Pirates, Weaver had it modified to allow her to switch to either having eight arms or eight spider legs with an abdomen. The eight arms form is called Jorōgumo while the eight legs form is called Arachne. She creates large webs to trap prey for hunting and in Blind Man’s Bluff. Using her Jorōgumo form, she can use her multiple arms to butcher meat and braid hair or webs. 

Strengths: The Spider-Spider Fruit model; Daddy-Long-Legs is a Zoan type that allows the user to transform into a daddy longlegs spider as well as a spider hybrid. The most notable feature is that the user can generate sticky silk from their hands. This is useful for trapping 

By having two modes for her spider hybrid form, Weaver can alternate between the two 

Weaknesses: The user’s webs are very vulnerable to extreme temperatures as they can shatter when frozen or melt when exposed to fire. Additionally, the user is vulnerable to the standard Devil Fruit weaknesses, such as being unable to swim and affected by sea prism stone.

Moves:

Silk Snare: Weaver produces strong and sticky silk threads from her hands, which she uses to immobilize or trap opponents. She can create intricate snares to entangle her foes, limiting their movements.

Leg Lasher: Weaver uses her long, flexible spider legs to attack opponents from a distance. She can strike from multiple angles with precision and speed, making it difficult for her enemies to evade her attacks.

Web Cocoon: Weaver creates a thick, durable web cocoon to encase her opponents. This technique is particularly effective against individuals with enhanced strength, as it restricts their movements and can serve as a temporary prison.

Decoy Webs: Weaver creates realistic decoy webs to confuse and mislead her opponents. These decoy webs can be strategically placed to divert attention or lure opponents into traps.

Snaring Bolt: Weaver uses her crossbow to fire a specially designed snaring bolt. When it hits its target, it releases a webbing trap, ensnaring opponents in a sticky cocoon, and immobilizing them.

Silken Soar: Weaver uses her web to create a parachute that allows her to glide seamlessly across the sky. 

[farceargon]

Gordon rounded the corner slowly, disappointed by the equally dark corridor that spanned ahead of him. Since the cascade most of the lights were shot, gone dark thanks to the disaster in the chamber.

He enjoyed cave-diving in his spare time when he could afford it, but swimming through the halls of Black Mesa was a different experience. They weren’t supposed to be flooded, pitch-black or filled with unnerving ambience. The water was supposed to stay in its respective rooms and outside the facility.

Holding his harpoon close and ready, Gordon used his other hand to flick the HEV suit’s flashlight on. For the last while he’d been relying on the few flickering lights overhead or sparking machinery along the walls, cautious about giving his position away to… Well he didn’t know. Just in case.

After a resonance cascade he had every right to be paranoid.

Debris drifted lazily past the flashlight’s hazy beam as he scanned ahead. Broken machines and scattered office supplies littered the otherwise empty hallway—

At the far end, where the corridor met another, he saw it. 

The body of a scientist lay crushed against the floor by rubble. He imagined the face would be one contorted into dead terror, only he couldn’t make it out. Curled around and across the corpse were strange growths, like the fluffy tentacles of an oversized jellyfish.

Aiming the light up hesitantly, Gordon recoiled in the water and gripped his harpoon tightly in both hands.

Another scientist, body beyond mangled. It was almost comical with the way their tie floated in the water, seemingly untouched by the rest of their horrific mutation. A semi-translucent blob encompassed the space where the head should’ve been. Two small tentacles waved back and forth in the flooded space, while he could barely make out another two embedded into the scientist’s chest.

The arms were long and gangly, ending in absurdly elongated clawed fingers. Webbing had burst from the sides, connecting them together in a means of underwater locomotion. 

Trailing back down to the legs, a conclusion was reached. 

They cut off at the knee, twisting and contorting into the tentacles wrapped around the unfortunate soul below. The creature was still as if content. 

It was feeding.

-

Half-Life: Shores and Half-Life: Depths are my AU! Essentially the plot of the original two games but taking place on an Earth that almost entirely flooded. Few landmasses remain as small islands. Floating settlements and cities on stilts dot the oceans, housing the last of humanity.

Black Mesa's experiments sought to discover a different, empty world where they could drain the sea to reclaim the continents. Unfortunately things didn't go as planned, opening to the complete opposite. A huge, abyssal void called Xyn.

The entire facility promptly filled with water. Not just that, but alien monstrosities from Xyn as well.

-

These beasts are called Headclumps thanks to how they clump together in hallways and latch onto the heads of unfortunate victims.

They're a form of deep-sea Cnidaria who live a parasitic lifestyle. Where they come from, Headclumps let off a small glow to lure in unsuspecting predators. Once close enough the parasites will latch onto the heads of large fish, digging their rearmost tentacles into their nervous system.

After releasing a paralyzing toxin the Headclumps will assume control of the host. It will hunt and feed as normal, though the nutrients will be absorbed by the parasite instead.

When the creature dies (usually as a result of the parasite) the Headclump will lay its eggs inside the corpse before unlatching. The young will consume the body for sustenance after hatching, so the cycle begins anew.

They weren't really designed for... Human hosts.

-

LOTS OF WRITING SORRY. This AU has just been on my brain for a whiiile and I've finally made something for it :]

Sneak peak at another beastie on the page too.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

I’m kickstarting the audiobook for “The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation,” a Big Tech disassembly manual to disenshittify the web and bring back the old, good internet. It’s a DRM-free book, which means Audible won’t carry it, so this crowdfunder is essential. Back now to get the audio, Verso hardcover and ebook:

http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org

#15yrsago Interview with the Chicago Tribune https://web.archive.org/web/20080811084607/http://featuresblogs.chicagotribune.com/technology_internetcritic/2008/08/a-long-but-stil.html

#15yrsago Knitting all of Mario level one into a giant scarf https://themarioscarf.blogspot.com

#15yrsago Animatronic waterboarding exhibit at Coney Island https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/arts/design/06wate.html

#10yrsago Judge who accepted private-prison bribes to send black kids to jail sentenced to 28 years https://rollingout.com/2013/07/30/judge-must-serve-28-years-after-making-2-million-for-sending-children-to-jail/

#15yrsago The Things That Make Me Weak and Strange Get Engineered Away — story about geek monasteries for smart people who don’t fit in https://www.tor.com/2008/08/06/weak-and-strange/

#10yrsago Civil Forfeiture: America’s daylight robbery, courtesy of the War on Drugs https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/08/12/taken

#10yrsago US Senate IP address linked to Snowden Wikipedia change from “dissident” to “traitor” https://www.techdirt.com/2013/08/05/someone-using-us-senate-ip-address-edits-wiki-entry-to-change-ed-snowden-dissident-to-traitor/

#10yrsago Jeff Bezos’s letter to the WashPo staff https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/jeff-bezos-on-post-purchase/2013/08/05/e5b293de-fe0d-11e2-9711-3708310f6f4d_story.html

#10yrsago Why writers should stand up for libraries https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vArSULK9Zzk

#10yrsago Ethical questions for security experts https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1UfOxCIIlcU-iRcUeA6p6fyEE4qUbSuFMqmSuWjRsL_4/edit?forcehl=1&hl=en#slide=id.p

#5yrsago Facebook to banks: give us our users’ financial data and we’ll let them bank with Facebook https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-to-banks-give-us-your-data-well-give-you-our-users-1533564049

#5yrsago Betsy DeVos’s summer monstrosity is pure McMansion Hell https://www.vox.com/first-person/2018/8/6/17654434/betsy-devos-yacht-mcmansion-hell

#5yrsago Consumer Reports now evaluates products’ security and privacy https://www.consumerreports.org/digital-payments/mobile-p2p-payment-services-review/

#5yrsago Germany’s top domestic spy advised far right xenophobic political party on how to avoid being billed as “extremists” https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/08/04/germ-a04.html

#5yrsago On the cruelty of ankle-monitors https://www.wired.com/story/opinion-ankle-monitors-are-another-kind-of-jail/

Back my anti-enshittification Kickstarter here!