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@lurks-no-more

THANK YOU! I’m not sure what is hard to understand that it is the combination of allyship with Israel AND explicit xenophobic bigotry that makes Republicans not just worse on this issue but actively pro-genocide & war.

Anyone ignoring the blatant pattern of these Middle Eastern wars being explicitly triggered & outright justified by Republicans is being deliberately obtuse and dishonest. A Democratic president absolutely would not have gone down this route of escalation and even if someone truly believed that Harris or Bernie would advocate for this, they are forgetting that unlike Republicans who have become a death cult blindly worshiping at the feet of Trump & co-sign all of his rhetoric and actions, the current Democratic Party do not collectively align with Israel and wouldn’t support these circumstances simply because the president would be a fellow Democrat.

In the timeline where Harris is president, she would actually have to contend with a multitude of her fellow Democrats not only openly & vehemently disagreeing with her if she co-signed obvious bigoted rhetoric from Israel demonizing Iran but also would outright protest if she chose to use said rhetoric to bomb Iran.

Like please let’s not continue to kid ourselves by repeatedly pushing the moronic “both sides are the same” tripe even now after almost a year of Trump & Conservative-led gutting regulatory bodies, erasing of checks & balances, blatant protest squashing, mass deportations, and robbing of the rights of minority populations including Latinx peoples as well as queer & trans communities.

Like I know we flee here from the smouldering ruin of our civilisation at the moment but I as a mid-40s year old need you guys to know

Netanyahu has been saying Iran is close to nuclear weapons for 30 years

He has wanted a war with Iran that whole time

The "they have nuclear weapons" was the reason the allied west invaded and flattened Iraq in 2003 and it also turned out to be a lie

Tulsi Gubbard who is the head of US Intelligence signed a statement less than two weeks ago confirming it is America's belief that Iran is not currently pursuing nuclear weapons

Talks between the US and Irani delegation were expected to take place on Sunday, and the Irani lead negotiator was interviewed as saying he felt positively about the possibility of a new deal

Netanyahu bombed Iran and killed that exact negotiator on Friday.

There is heaps of footage of Netanyahu claiming Iraq had WMD/nukes, he was a lead proponent of the war on Iraq.

History is fucking repeating and it is MADDENING. I was at protests against the Iraqi invasion in 2002/2003. We all knew there were no nukes. US and Israel wanted regime change in Iraq anyway so they could install puppets and that's exactly what they're doing in Iran.

People will study this period in history and go, "WHY DID NO ONE STOP NETANYAHU AND ISRAEL IN GAZA, IRAN AND THE WIDER MIDDLE EAST? WHY DID THE MEDIA NOT COMMENT ON THE FACT ISRAEL HAS NUKES AND HASN'T SIGNED A TREATY BUT IS CLAIMING TO BE UPSET ABOUT A FICTIONAL SITUATION WHERE OTHER COUNTRIES ARE APPARENTLY DOING THE SAME?"

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NITRO GEN OMEGA - A BORDERLINE FANATICAL ENDORSEMENT TO LOVERS OF ANIME, MECHA AND/OR TACTICAL RPGs

Nitro Gen Omega launched into Early Access on Steam this week and after 4+ hours with it I’ve personally been having a terrific time with the game; rotating playtime between it, REMATCH & Tron Catalyst all of which are recent releases from my personal list of most anticipated games of the year.

Though it’s pretty blatant at a glance, Nitro Gen Omega is a heavily anime-influenced tactical Mecha RPG. You start as a quartet of young freelance mech pilots who share control of a heavy duty mech which your squad utilizes for assisting in the defense & odd jobs of the sparse remnants of humanity who live in elevated cities out of reach of the dangerous, self-sustaining robotic menace which have made the surface their territory.

Since the announcement of Nitro Gen Omega, I have been absolutely entranced by the game’s art style, fluidity & dynamism of the animations for the Mechs & Pilots alike. All of the elements harmonize perfectly to induce the effect of playing through an episode of an obscure late 90s to early-2010s mecha anime series that might have shown up between episodes of G Gundam, Big O or Outlaw Star on Toonami/Adult Swim.

One simple yet extremely impactful element it includes, taking cues from XCOM, Darkest Dungeon, Etrian Odyssey etc, is the ability to randomly generate your pilots & name your ragtag bunch; a feature which goes a long way towards making me wholly invested in their adventure. I also find it astounding how the different poses & styles of the various pilots reflexively triggers one’s imagination to start characterizing them without the need for a lot of cutscenes or major dialog exchanges.

The team you’ve fashioned also becomes even more dynamic & endearing due to the downtime moments on your freelancers’ personal airship. Post-battle you’ll get the opportunity to use a certain resource that grants you an opportunity to have one or a pair of your pilots do an activity to boost skills, raise their mood/build morale & enrich (or even possibly sour) the friendships amongst the crew.

If all that wasn’t enough to draw me in particular, then the novel timeline-focused, positioning-dependent battle system the game sports ultimately sealed the deal for me & led me to buying the Early Access release. This overview video from the developer DESTINYbit’s own YT channel breaks it down better than I ever could:

Honestly, my sole concern at this point is that I might burn myself out on the game’s Early Access before v1.0 launches 😅 Though I’m excited for the journey as an early adopter either way.

The quality on display in NGO so far has me genuinely optimistic that the game can increase in depth and worthwhile, amazing content. I know there are a lot of gamers who have a very understandable aversion to buying games in Early Access but regardless of a purchase or not, I still give my glowing support for the series & hope that anyone interested will at least keep an eye on the game, Wishlist it & share its existence with others as it sprints up the road to Full Release

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Coming away from 2+ hrs of playtime with the recently released Tron Catalyst - the latest Bithell Games-helmed Tron game; playing via my Steam Deck & I have to say, I’ve genuinely been enjoying myself and itching to endorse the game.

For any unaware, the game is a semi-open world action game played from a top down isometric perspective similar to Ruiner & Supergiant’s Hades series. Those examples also apply to the gameplay mechanics in particular where fights are hectic & swift encounters of strikes, parries & Identity Disc tossing.

Premise & plot wise (very low spoilers), the game is set within the continuity of Bithell’s previous Tron project: Tron Identity - a mystery solving puzzle + visual novel/adventure game. Despite that, Tron Catalyst doesn’t require having played Tron Identity previously. In Tron Catalyst you play Exo, a courier program who gets caught up in a serious conspiracy when one of her deliveries explodes nearly derezzing Exo at the same time. Though she survived, the question of her delivery puts major suspicion on her, landing her in the hands of the ruthless security programs gripping nearly the entire Grid in their fist. Aided by the discovery of Exo’s sudden ability to rewind time seeming caused by the strange contents of the exploded package she endured, she manages to escape incarceration and must search the Grid for answers all while being a hunted program.

As I mentioned before, combat in Tron Catalyst is definitely hectic in the same ways as Hades (less overwhelming enemy hordes but still) with the addition of a parry mechanic. So far the parry has been hard for me to proc however there is an upgrade to increase the window which I’m saving points for.

Disc combat is genuinely fun IMO especially with the inclusion of abilities to recall it, ping it off of multiple enemies & parry it on return to smack it back at enemies again.

The plot & VA work are also great so far with the central mystery being earnestly intriguing.

As far as gripes with the game, though I don’t mind the camera distance too much so far, I honestly absolutely see why others might be unable to stand it. If the functionality can be patched in, I truly feel that the devs definitely should prioritize including an option to zoom in or a handful of locked zoom distances for players to choose from.

Overall, I’m personally definitely hooked on Tron Catalyst & don’t regret buying it if for no other reason than being a fan of Tron, Bithell Games & Devolver Digital makes me happy to support the whole. I genuinely feel that any fans of Tron in particular should at least check the game out through some YouTube gameplay vids since sadly, like with so many other games these days, the demo was axed once the game proper launched.

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Absolutely terrific insight & analysis! It speaks to how rich the franchise can be in good hands and earnest worldbuilding efforts

Side Note: I’m honestly glad that a fellow Tron fan also has reservations regarding Tron Ares. In my case though, something about Jared Leto in the leading role just tanks my optimism for the film even more so than the movie itself being in development hell for so long to start with 😅 I’ve just soured so much on Leto in recent years so there’s absolutely some bias on my part lol

Don't think Ares will be that good (hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised), but I do like how the aesthetic of the Grid changes depending on who made it.

The ENCOM Grid is low-poly and very simple, both an indication of its age, but also makes sense given that this one was likely the only one created by an artificial intelligence, the MCP.

The Tron System Grid is full of sleek shapes and glowing lines, looking vastly different - Kevin Flynn created this Grid as a mirror of the real world, and probably would have taken into account aesthetic considerations.

The Arq Grid is very similar, and this makes sense - it was also created by Kevin, and thus shares many of the aesthetic choices. And yet, it's also evolved on its own, with elements not seen in the Tron System Grid - much like the ISOs that inhabit it.

The Dillinger Systems Grid clearly takes elements from both the Tron System Grid and the ENCOM Grid, likely being a copy of the Tron System Grid created by the ones who made the MCP. It's similar to the latter, but harsher, and has Dillinger's branding all over it if Ares's triangular Identity Disc being engraved with their name means anything - something I suspect is because this Grid was made for a profitable purpose (perhaps military?)

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Regrettably, I’ve had to amend my previous post about ULTIMAHJONG - the Riichi Mahjong Balatro-like, with the crushing news that the dev has put their game on INDEFINITE HIATUS 🥲

As sad as it is, the dev thankfully & graciously paired the announcement of game’s suspended development with the decision to leave the demo up on Steam in perpetuity as well as promoting the similar Mahjong Deckbuilding Roguelikes that are currently or soon will be released! AOTENJO is obviously right at the top but outside of it, I’m not only eagerly excited for the similarly slick & clean OMOIKANE by MiyukiNinja:

But I also have to enthusiastically co-sign the absolutely excellent DIRTBAG MAHJONG! - A project helmed by fellow Tumblrite: Paranoodle! With demos available on both Steam & Paranoodle’s Itchio page:

Not only does Dirtbag Mahjong drip with cute charm due to the quirky & diverse cast but it also introduces a “Dirtbag” format of play where each character has unique attributes that allow them to cheat & lie their way to a win. Of course, that’s only the feature included to grant the game a unique & distinct identity amongst its competition. The game also allows for basic, fair & square Riichi Mahjong with zero gimmicks (& a really great tutorial for beginners + refresher course for more experienced players).

Like ULTIMAHJONG, Dirtbag Mahjong is mid-development and I can only hope it makes it to v1.0. However, with how often Paranoodle updates the demo & shows off the characters they’ve created for the game’s roster & Campaign Mode, I personally have really high hopes & optimism for Dirtbag Mahjong & its future.

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I don’t know how Sloclap’s REMATCH will do post-launch, but after ~4 hours in the beta playtest this past week, I happily dropped the $25 (discounted due to owning SIFU) to preorder it. REMATCH has been the most fun I’ve had with a sports game in a while outside of Windjammers 2.

REMATCH is an excellent team-focused soccer/football experience that Sloclap has applied its innovative understanding of bodies and movement to alongside complementary controls & gameplay mechanics that grant an enormous amount of depth that your average EA or Konami football game doesn’t provide. You play one of the members of 3, 4 or 5-man teams with an extensive kit of ways to play on offense or defense. From shooting to goalkeeping, evading, tackling, lobbing, passing, dribbling, defending etc. all aspects of the game are expansive & varied with different options that lend to some incredible displays of skill & teamwork on the field. It also has a terrific & pretty inclusive character creator that doesn’t tie body type, face or voice to gender while also being one of the first games I’ve seen that allows for adding vitiligo to your character at various levels of intensity/coverage. I fell in love with the 2 fit & stylish soccer witches I made during the playtest & I am in fact extremely salty that I have to create them again from scratch during the full release since progress & created characters from the beta won’t transfer over 😫😭

The sole HUGE gripe I personally have is that, beyond its admittedly extremely useful training modules & exercises, the game lacks a Career Mode/Single Player Campaign of any kind & is multiplayer only to the point that you can’t even make a solo match with bots filling the rest of both teams. Thankfully, the matchmaking (at least in the beta) was excellent & despite hearing a few horror stories from other players, I mainly ended up on competent & friendly teams. Still crossing my fingers that after release & refinement of the multiplayer experience, the devs will pivot to adding on single/solo player options.

Again, though I hope it has a long lifespan & ends up extremely lucrative for Sloclap, I still plan on enjoying it as much as I can & don’t mind rewarding one of my favorite contemporary game development studios for an ambitious project like REMATCH even if it shines bright & flames out too quickly.

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They put out a 3rd Archive now too:

Definitely a Day One purchase for me! The game looks fantastic

Two new Tron: Catalyst trailers:

Archive/01 INITIALIZATION

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Archive /02 DISRUPTION

It's looking so damn cool.

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My man Gaban ate, drank, climbed and conquered 🤣

I’m not even going to ask how they could procreate 😂

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Reblogging to bring more attention to an extremely fresh & stylish card-based resource management game. Sultan’s Game manages to strike the sweet spot of having dark & mature elements, several of which could be extremely triggering, yet deftly tackling them without leaning into fetishism and/or endorsement.

Pre-release, the nascent community around it was infested with hateful bigotry-fueled disdain from anti-woke tools who reflexively despise & denigrate any & all games with queer content & characters and subsequently I found it immensely frustrating to actually find earnest discussion in regards to the game itself.

Equally frustrating however were those who outright tried to portray Sultan’s Game as fundamentally & unquestionably perverse due to the very inclusion its dark elements; not taking into consideration to FRAMING which I personally consider extremely important for distinguishing between media ABOUT disturbing content & media GLORIFYING disturbing content. Way too many people eagerly sought to portray Sultan’s Game as being made solely to court controversy despite the fact that, though not 100% perfect, the devs clear intention was to genuinely create a nuanced experience in which players could examine & engage with those dark, upsetting and likely even triggering elements.

All of that preamble to simply say that I genuinely think that people should look into Sultan’s Game itself to gauge their own personal interest. It’s absolutely one of the most unique games of the year in & outside of the resource management genre. Though the demo itself seems no longer available, the Steam Store page for Sultan’s Game does an excellent job of summarizing/outlining the premise & exact sort of gameplay elements that one can expect. It is absolutely not for everyone yet as a hooked fan of the game I’m compelled to still recommend it due its striking art style & presentation, unique premise & setting, rich writing and very engaging gameplay.

I can't do much aside from just lying in bed so I've been grinding sultan's game, well I guess grinding is the wrong word because I mostly just play it in a trance and when I look up it's been 5 hours. But holy fuck this game is so good. I wasn't expecting much going into it, but the art and also thirsty liveblogging it on discord convinced me, and I'm glad they did. It is more or less just a glorified visual novel with dice but the story is so compelling. Very graphic, but also a good execution of the your choices have consequences type of game. The characters are memorable, different stories intertwine in really cool ways, and the art is also breathtaking. It's got me hook line and sinker

The english localization still has many flaws but it's getting a major update in july so I'm looking forward to that 🙏

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Straight up couldn’t agree more!

The striking visuals basically ensured I was going to dip my toes into Marathon at launch. Now however, I won’t be giving the game even a second of my time.

It’s always so baffling & vile when companies like Bungie with the level of resources & clout to devote to a major project choose to instead cannibalize the efforts of independent artists.

Bungie absolutely could have brought the artist into their fold but they instead prioritized the soulless corporate mindset of “move fast & break things”/“ask for forgiveness rather than permission” which poisons too many at companies at their level.

I just hope Bungie pays dearly because the artist would be entirely justified in bankrupting the company to ensure she gets her bag in perpetuity.

The art style of marathon was the only thing that i found interesting about it. Hearing that basically everything was stolen from someone else just fumbled all my interest on the game completely …

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Playing through DMC V for the first time in a few years, I’m beginning to realize that if I had my way, one of my dream games would likely be a One Piece Spectacle Fighter-Styled Character Action Game.

Though I’m well aware of the Pirate Warriors series, those lean too much towards the hoard/musou style games (Dynasty Warriors, Hyrule Warriors etc.) which I’ve never really been a fan of rather than the more technical Bayonetta/DMC stylish combat end of the spectrum which is more my speed.

One Piece World Seeker is a game that inches closer to what I want but lacks the technical gameplay I’d prefer where parries and combos reign king & I’d honestly rather have it be a game which would follow the story & make you experience the series best moments in the vein of what’s been done in One Piece Ambition in regards to its own stellar reimagining/reanimation of major events.

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Thank you for outlining every reason that the Steam Deck is amongst the best purchases I’ve made for my gaming hobby in decades as well as why, even as a born & raised Nintendo fan, the Switch 2 has obliterated any of the hype I’ve had in regards to Metroid Prime Beyond, DK Bananza and the console itself. The Steam Deck frankly has so much more value & longevity compared to the Switch 2 without even factoring in emulation which I’ve never particularly & earnestly gotten into.

Nintendo diehards are already posting Steam Deck/Switch 2 comparisons on Reddit, so i just wanna say:

Steam Deck

- is a handheld PC. uses Linux but can launch .exe files (including Windows games)

- a Steam account is free. cloud saves are included

- games go on sale often

- you can play your games on multiple devices, back up your files, and copy your save data wherever you want. you can even add mods

- Steam Deck has EmuDeck. also free

- extremely easy emulation for any platform, where emulated games can be launched directly from Steam

- the OLED model in particular is lightweight and easy to hold, but feels sturdier than the OLED Switch

compared to Nintendo

- you don't actually own your games. even most cartridge games require updates to run and save to the Switch's internal memory

- you need a paid subscription to use basic features like cloud saves

- you cannot back up your data in any way

- Nintendo games are often overpriced, never drop in price, and rarely go on sale

- you need constant internet access if you want to play retro games via Nintendo Online

- no emulation. any attempt at modding gets your console banned unless you take very specific precautions

- they are literally planning to charge you to do a tutorial and use a chat feature on the Switch 2

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Though I’ve yet to actually get a physical journal specifically for Blue Prince thanks to starting it up while in the hospital, hours in I’ve defaulted to the Steam Deck’s screenshot shortcut more than I think many other users have done in earnest. My Screenshot Folder in my Deck is essentially 50+ Blue Prince pics & 1 pic I took years ago by accident during MGS5 😂

Obviously, this is another thinly-veiled game recommendation post for the absolutely incredible game Blue Prince. It’s a stylish fusion of roguelike/deckbuilding mechanics with a full on Escape Room moment to moment loop. Your “deck” is a series of rooms you’ll draw from your draft pool (ie. your deck) with rooms ranging from neutral new paths & annexes to rooms with significant positive and/or negative traits capable of heavily affecting your path through the house in some manner. Following that you must place said rooms to navigate through an eccentric uncle’s bequeathed legacy villa secretly containing a hidden room which, though never mentioned throughout his ownership of the constantly shifting property, is now the requirement for the player to succeed in providing himself worthy of his uncle’s inheritance.

Though sensible navigation is key due to limited steps per day, several of the rooms have bespoke puzzles & many of the mansion’s rooms meld into one massive puzzle that expands the many secrets of the house & handful of meta progression elements that make the journey through the house as much of a worthwhile & valuable goal as the final room is for players.

(BTW, despite my mention of limited steps, strict beelining is NOT a necessity since the game doesn’t have a hard lock of limited days until a game over. There is no “find Room X by Day 30 or you lose” scenario. No spoilers but you can absolutely leisurely get through this game at your own speed without worries of having “wasted a day” or whatnot. )

Honestly, IMO Blue Prince more than qualifies to stand in the ranks of Lorelei & The Laser Eyes as Escape Room games from the last decade that happen to be not just excellent on their own but true evolutions in the puzzle game genre.

I desperately am begging people even halfway intrigued to try the game out. Hell, I personally balked back when people were posting about putting 40-100+ hours into Blue Prince’s Demo alone but no that was all true & highlights just how dense the game is. An absolute treasure trove of Escape Room-style puzzles for genre fans & just average puzzle fans and/or fans of roguelike deckbuilders truly looking for a true innovator in the genre.

SIDE NOTE:

Despite being on the pulse of the recent Switch 2 Chaos & aching to play DK Bananza at one point or another; it’s releases like Blue Prince that make me absolutely satisfied sitting on the outside of Nintendo’s Walled Garden this generation alongside both Sony & Microsoft’s Consoles, abandoning both after the launch of the Xbox 360. The Steam Deck has simply added so much value & access to my gaming life that the very existence of Nintendo Exclusives is not enough justification to make the upgrade from my current Switch to Switch 2. The triple whammy of S2’s game prices, rotten Online Services monetization plots (ie game chat button, Virtual Console etc.) & an overall executive-level disregard for the living costs of those making up the category of “Average Gamers” - those who happily buoyed a slightly dire Nintendo back around the era of the Wii & Iwata’s general company reign (RIP); all aggregate into a Red Flag Ratking too grotesque & imposing for me to ignore. I’ve genuinely gone from loving what I saw during the Switch 2 Direct to despising every post-announcement blunder to just being bluntly & plainly disinterested in any & all things Switch 2, a state very familiar to me when both the PS4 & Xbox One were the new hotness and I simply decided I couldn’t do the standard console mambo each generation anymore. The Steam Deck’s actual hardware & software versatility & overall game catalog simply makes it the best gaming hardware purchase I’ve made since the era of the 3DS.

Not only is Blue Prince the type of gaming innovation & quality that makes it deserve as much attention & financial compensation as Nintendo’s flagships (Metroid, DK, Mario Kart etc.), but also between my backlog & whishlisted games, the wealth of indie & AA-level games at my fingertips via PC & at regular/regularly massive sales & sale prices collectively dwarfs my need and/or desire for the Switch 2.

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Life Story

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From a distant sea town

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Though I don’t bring it up often, I’m a huge fan of Joel G’s wacked out cyber-surrealist YT indie animated series ENA! All of their shorts & the unique madman’s 90’s PC/internet fever dream setting & characters are extremely charming & a sandbox ripe for derivative fanworks from fiction to art.

The series’ heavy video game influence has come full circle and “ENA: Dream BBQ”, a long awaited First-Person Adventure game set in the world of ENA & spearheaded by Joel G themselves has released the game as a 1st chapter for free on Steam. As such, I absolutely cannot recommend the game enough to anyone & everyone with a Steam account, ENA fans or otherwise.

Similar to the series itself, ENA: Dream BBQ is an absolute triumph of style with excellent animation of a myriad of styles that bolster & define the unique surreal setting & characters. It is also a marvel in terms of voice acting too with the protagonist ENA continuing to be a purposefully dual-voiced role & the multitude of wacky multilingual characters earnestly delivering the Seussian near-nonsense dialogue that the series is also well known for and all with distinct flair & personalities that make certain nearly everyone will find at least one favorite within the madcap cast.

Though (as of this post) I’m not too far in the game yet myself, by the end of my first 30 minute play session via my Steam Deck (works excellently btw), I’d already purchased the game’s Support Pack Upgrade DLC. The DLC is not only an avenue to simply financially compensate the development team & their efforts but it also unlocks a unique collectible element which, upon finding the Hourglass Dog easter eggs, grants game extras like concept art, dev commentary, pre-production assets etc.

Honestly, even if one has zero plans to actually play the game themselves, I genuinely hope that people will still reward a frankly bafflingly free, high quality indie game that IMO exemplifies why the indie scene is such a necessity as well as a boon for gaming at the levels of industry & medium alike.

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This would be an amazing twist on the series honestly 😄

I really love the idea of Zoro & Kuina being an infamous bounty hunting duo. Hell, you could still include Zoro’s internment under Morgan; while Kuina is elsewhere Zoro still saves the mother & child and Kuina returns then plots to break him out right around the time Luffy & Koby arrive. Though Luffy scuffs her plan at first they still succeed with freeing Zoro with his help, defeat Morgan and Hellmeppo & mutually agree to join Luffy on his quest as his first mates

Kuina lived Au! love these mfs

did this in one sitting so i'll probably dislike it later