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For those who care, here's my breakdown of Konami's SILENT HILLS TRANSMISSIONS event that happened just moments ago: THE EVENT ITSELF: Konami obviously wanted to bring to this the same showmanship you expect from Nintendo Directs or Playstation State of Plays, etc., and personally, I think it doesn't achieve it.  The scripted comments seem disingenuous, rigid, stilted, even hokey; that might be because I prefer unscripted honesty, or it might just be because it's Konami and they have yet to earn my trust yet.  While they are certainly making an effort, only time will tell if they succeed. SILENT HILL 2 REMAKE, BY BLOOBER TEAM: Not gonna lie, I was pretty impressed.  It sucks that this was one of the worst kept secrets of gaming in a while, even getting leaked hours before the event aired, and rumors swirling of Bloober's involvement going on years now.  But man if it doesn't look impressive.  I am a little sore that they didn't start with remaking the original SILENT HILL first, but I'm sure I will get over it.  This reminds me that I need to finish THE MEDIUM soon. SILENT HILL: TOWNFALL, BY THE MAKERS OF STORIES UNTOLD I'm ecstatic.  Oddly, weirdly, I am far more hyped for this game than I am any of the other things announced during Transmission.  With the likes of Annapurna involved, and knowing the truly stellar work this team puts into their games, I can't help but be unreasonably excited.  No doubt this will be a deeply involving, personal experience that will scare the bejesus out of the me. RETURN TO SILENT HILL, NEW MOVIE BY CHRISTOPHE GANS What a surprise this was.  Honestly, I am one of the few people I know who loved the original film.  It's not a strict remake of the original game, and a lot of fans hate it for that, futzing with the canon and what have you, but I still really enjoy it.  Having said that, I'm a tiny bit bummed.  While I have nothing against Gans, and the idea does excite me, I was kind of hoping new blood would be involved with this.  A lot of people - a LOT - do not like Gans, or his Silent Hill film, and I think Konami has an uphill battle waiting for them as they try to endear fans to show up to this new one.  It's also based on SILENT HILL 2, which...I don't know, seems like risking redundancy.  I would love to see a film with an original premise set in SILENT HILL rather than attempting another adaptation of a game and angering your already-wounded fanbase.  Just saying. THE MERCH ...eh.  It's cool, don't get me wrong, but...I'm made neither of money or shelf space. SILENT HILL ASCENSION, A...GAME?  I GUESS? Honestly, what is going on here?  The segment dances around the idea that it's a game or not, purely focusing on the online streaming experience, and that seems...odd.  Is it an asymmetrical multiplayer game, like DEAD BY DAYLIGHT?  Is it a choose-your-own-adventure type video series, like Markiplier loves doing?  Is it some kind of live filmmaking experience?  Color me confused.  Hard to have an opinion on it when everyone involved seems unwilling to confirm what it actually is.  Or did I miss something? SILENT HILL F...SILENT HILLS REPLACEMENT?...I honestly don't know how to feel.  On its face, this seems like the next mainline game in the franchise, but it resembles SILENT HILL the least.  The Japanese location, the red flowers, the tryptophobia...it certainly looks interesting, but how is it different from many other J-horror offerings I've seen?  It certainly looks beautiful, and Konami seems proud of the talent involved, but...I don't know.  They wanted this to be their big finish of the show and it's more of a head-scratcher.  Are they taking a note out of Capcom's book and attempting to completely reinvent their franchise?  Again?  FINAL VERDICT I am torn.  There is a lot to love here.  I will almost undoubtedly check out the SILENT HILL 2 remake, and TOWNFALL, and even F, when it comes out.  And yes, I will have my arse in a seat to watch RETURN TO SILENT HILL, regardless of what awaits me.  But I am not entirely convinced.  Is Konami posturing and begging for support again?  Yes, absolutely.  Is this enough to earn it back?  It's a step in the right direction, but I don't know that it's enough.  There's certainly a lot of talent involved, and ardent fans of the franchise too, but... ...well, let's just say it: the ghost of P.T. still hangs over this entire subject, and will continue to haunt it forever.  Konami lead too hard, and shot itself in the foot.  You don't release a tech demo that effective, with talent like Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro and Junji Ito attached (or Norman Reedus, I guess), then follow it up with some truly chilling trailers...and then cancel the whole thing over what seems like stupid circumstances.  We will never know all the facts, but that's not really something you can recover from.  I try very much not to let things like that affect me.  But watching this whole thing, getting to the end, and really ruminating on it, I have to admit: it's not enough.  It's a lot, but it comes short.  I hate to say it, but I feel a lot of people are going to feel the same way.  You dangled the carrot, Konami, and we want that specific carrot.  Anything else falls short, even if you're sincerely trying.  SILENT HILL F seems the most poised to be the next mainline game, and seemingly the replacement to SILENT HILLS...and it just doesn't compare, really.  SILENT HILLS seemed reverent and re-inventive to the franchise in all the right ways, and lead with confidence because it knew what it had.  SILENT HILL F seems to be overcompensating in the complete opposite direction, distancing itself seemingly from all of the familiar elements the franchise prides itself on.  To what end?  What's it for?  Who's it for? ...I realize I'm probably not being fair.  It's not a hill I'm willing to die on.  It's just rare that you feel so cheated out of something so badly.  Even if Konami is making an earnest attempt to make up for that, it seems like a mixed bag of an apology, if that's what this even is.  I recognize there's enormous effort being poured into the franchise right now, and by God I AM excited about some of the announcements.  I have to give them that.  That's only fair.  But damn, Konami...it's pretty clear what the fanbase wants.  Maybe you can't deliver on it, but maybe you could've leaned into it a little.  Self-awareness helps. Anyway.  Crybaby moment over.  Corporations are not your friends.  All things considered, a large majority of this does look cool and interesting, and I WILL be checking it out.  So...congratulations on that front, I guess, Konami, that did in fact work on me.  Just don't effing hurt us again.

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So I'm gonna try not to go into this too much (yeah, right), but I had some thoughts while I'm sitting here, sick out of my mind, trying to be productive.I made this video a long time ago. 

It predates the whole "analog horror" thing that has become prevalent, or at least my knowing what analog horror was (maybe during or after the Local 57 stuff, or even as far back as MarbleHornets).  It was actually an attempt to test whether I could incorporate my art into videos and make it look natural.  Those experiments are - still ongoing. 

Having said that, though, I've been reposting the little series of test vids on various social networks, given the recent popularity of analog horror, and - well, it's not lighting the world on fire, but they've been surprisingly well-received.  For me, anyway.  It's encouraging, even when the last thing you really care about is chasing "the Likes."

My actual point is this, though:

Earlier, I got my first - let's call it a "criticism."  Followed by another.I'm not disheartened.  I'm a nervous guy and I get disheartened at some opinions, but oddly, this isn't one of them.  It was always my fear as a kid (not so much anymore) that I would release books or movies or whatever I ended up doing, and I would get discouraged by the shower of criticism it caused, and I'd eventually give it up altogether.  Well, that never happened.

Instead, I've gotten what some might think is the opposite problem: praise.  To this day, my novella doesn't have a review below four stars.  My art and videos almost always get positive feedback, if nothing at all.  And I'm sad to say, in the past when I have asked for constructive criticism or harshness from people whose opinions I crave, I almost always get the opposite: I am told whatever they think it is I want to hear.  That it's great.  That it's perfect.  No notes.  Almost always spoken by someone who has realized they are out of their depth and want out of that arrangement immediately.

Not always, of course.  We're ruling out teachers and professors and tutors, and the occasional friend who won't B.S. you, or the wife who swore to be painfully honest and has no reason not to be.  And occasionally you get a scoff or a snurled lip as a family member says loudly to a room, "Why can't you just make NICE THINGS?" and you spend a good chunk of your life wondering about if maybe that means that there's something wrong with you.  But I digress.

Today I got honest feedback from strangers.  One, a well-meaning but sort of - unhelpful - list of things they would have done instead of what I had done.  And the other - let's call it the kindest way to say the elitist thing they could think to say.  Both equally helpful in what wasn't said, more so than what was.  Color me surprised when I found out how effing GRATEFUL I was.

Everyone practices being vulnerable, and somewhere along the way, we are told to guard our hearts, to become callous and impenetrable.  That fear of sharing and being seen, experienced, maybe even understood, we come to dread it because someone somewhere once told us to with little explanation.  No doubt from their own experiences, trying to spare us from the pain of rejection, but sometimes forgetting that the risk of being vulnerable often yields the greatest reward (and never passing that lesson onto us).  Some will try to substitute it with pride or anger, machismo and bravado, and be the only one in the room not to see how utterly miserable they are.  What a hollow life.

Human beings are social creatures meant to share and exchange, individuals expressing their individuality, and somehow we have convinced ourselves it is too embarrassing and risky to do what is supposed to come natural to us.  We repress and suppress and only end up being a world full of damaged people afraid to comfort one another and tend to our wounds.

*sigh*  Anyway.

This is deliberately nothing special.  It's a silly video with a monster in it, whom my wife affectionately named "Bubbles."  He was meant to be a step onto bigger and better things, and I felt he wasn't being served by just sitting on a hard-drive.  He has served the purpose of showing me what works, what doesn't, what I have to do next - and how people ultimately might feel.  I made meaningful connections today, and I never would have had I not taken the risk.  Everyday I try to make more, with varying degrees of success.

So here's something silly for the season of scares.  Check out my YouTube (ItsKindaBernt) or my TikTok (@brentonsides) if you want to see the whole series (there are only three videos, but check out my YouTube with the captions on for surprises).  And for those who actually read to the end (I know there aren't many), thank you.  I shared a little of myself today, so be sure to do the same thing to someone else.  It's scary, but it's worth it.

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Nidhi Keluskar on Instagram

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when you’re trying to show a movie you really like to someone but they keep pulling out their phone and texting at important parts

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LADIES!

If he says, “If you love me, you’d have sex with me”…

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positive post

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“I’m a bunny now.” (via ayapiyo140)

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The Need to Stay

(Thought I’d upload my recent comics to Tumblr! I totally forgot it only lets you upload 10 pics at a time, and this is 11, but fingers crossed it works!)

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You bes’ be ready to catch these paws.

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Baby Pumpkin figured out the stairs today! 

(Source)

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what do people in relationships even do

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This week in Avengers (2018) issue 35, Tony is seen panicking about an adorable baby.

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Bunny is going to take the world one day

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Plush Moths

The Beast Peddler on Etsy

See our #Etsy or #Plush tags

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best tumblr glitch of all time