#BEST BOYS FROM BOTH OF MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME SERIES

[littleautumnboy]

when joshua was wearing his hooded cloak, he literally reminded me of roxas

[paper-mario-wiki]

what's ur favorite erb?

i dont have "favorite" as much as i have "the ones i watch every now and again".

"Blackbeard vs Al Capone" i might just like the way EpicLloyd speaks as Capone, but i also cant help but be utterly entranced by a shouting match between to middle aged men who want the other one to be scared. Favorite verse: Capone 1 (of 2)

"Wonder Woman vs Stevie Wonder" although this one still has the signature simple and cheesy bar structure that ERB is known for, this is PEAK in terms of performers. nicepeter and epiclloyd (the main guys) are great, but after the first 30 videos it became very easy to detect their individual deliveries and cadences. t-pain is pretty iconic in his performance of stevie wonder. Favorite verse: Stevie 2 (of 3)

"Stephen King vs Edgar Allan Poe" watzky was unfortunately cursed by god to forever look like a little twerp, but he works with it really well and it fits very well for the real-life twerp that was Edgar Allan Poe. and zach sherwin is always a charismatic force to be reckoned with, his uniquely clever writing style and flow shining. Favorite verse: Stephen King 2 (of 2)

"Steven Spielberg vs Alfred Hitchcock" this one's just good fun. its a little battle royale among a bunch of really famous pop directors. i know that the character-appropriate cgi background is a staple of post-season-one ERB, but i really appreciate these ones specifically for some reason. Favorite verse: Alfred Hitchcock

"Kryptonite" this isnt an ERB and is in fact a completely unrelated normal rap song but i was listening to this one today. my oldest brother listened to a lot of rap when i was young and this one was one of his favorites. i remember listening to it all the time when he would drive me to blockbuster to rent gamecube games. i didnt listen to it for a few decades, but i looked it up on youtube a few weeks ago on a whim and i really liked it a lot. it's all about smoking weed which i love doing, and the chorus is really catchy, plus the instrumental is one of my favorites. Favorite verse: Big Boi 1 (verse 3)

"The Joker vs Pennwise" both rappers somehow look like different versions of matpat in heavy makeup, and joker works in a natural "we live in a society" which i like. i think that's all i got for this one. Favorite verse: Joker 3 (of 3, because this is the one with the we live in a society bar, but all of his bars were actually really solid)

"Tony Hawk vs Wayne Gretzky" another one for the "zach sherwin is one of the best thing ERB has" pile. he delivers in a quaint (if a bit cartoonish) canadian accent a scathing comparison between the actual real-life achievements and significance and skill between the two actual athletes. which i think is very spiritually fulfilling considering the name of the series. Favorite verse: Wayne Gretzky 2 (of 2)

"James Bond vs Austin Powers" might unfortunate austin only gets 1 verse because it's far and away the best part of this one. aside from a clever pussy eating joke near the end between the two feuding bonds. Favorite verse: Austin Powers

"Nice Peter vs EpicLLOYD 2" this is an actual real-life catharsis event between the main two artists behind ERB who seemingly put very real and deep-seated creative and personal frustrations they have with each other into their verses, plus a very real burnout over this series that they put all their money on being The Big One, creating a legitimately tense feeling in watching their performances. for reference, Peter rips on how Lloyd is an alcoholic and is unwilling to let the channel grow or change, and Lloyd talks about how Peter is obsessive and manipulative, referencing a real life issue involving a friend they fucked over in the separate video he appeared in. Favorite verse: Lloyd 1 (of ??? this one is almost a duet at times really)

"Babe Ruth vs Lance Armstrong" this one is specifically here because babe's second verse goes extremely hard in an almost uncharacteristic way for a series with very middling raps in general. Favorite verse: Babe Ruth 2 (of 2)

i could keep going i think but i just scrolled to the top of the list and my face flushed with embarrassment at how long its getting so im gonna end it there. you get the idea.

[controversial-blorbo-bracket]

Controversial Character Tournament Round 2: Kokichi Ouma from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony vs Peter Pan from Once Upon A Time

(remember that these characters are fictional and your fellow tumblr users are real. i will block you if you harass others in the notes, please consider sending your unhinged harassment to my inbox instead)

Propaganda under the cut, may contain spoilers:

Kokichi Ouma:

LOVE: - "hes a bitch and that makes a lot of people hate him and a lot of other people love him. no one can decide on his motives and i think thats kind of the point. i like him personally but hes a raging asshole <3" - "Not a single DR fan I've ever met is neutral about Kokichi, he's perfect for this poll. I think he's a clever character with consistent internal logic, and his interactions with the other characters are as compelling as they are hilarious. He looks like a dog squeaky toy, and he plots like Artemis Fowl. He's one of my favorite characters in the series and I love him dearly." - "NOBODY CARES ABOUT THIS BOY'S PSYCHOLOGY AT ALL. HE SACRIFICED HIMSELF AND HIS IMAGE AND MADE EVERYONE HATE HIM AND CONSIDER HIM A MONSTER ON THE SLIGHT CHANCE HE COULD USE HIS LIFE TO HELP EVERYONE ELSE ESCAPE AND SURVIVE AND NOBODY CARES. THEY SHOW HIS BREAKDOWN AND NOBODY BELIEVES HIM. I'M SO TIRED" - "not only is he a danganronpa character (inherently controversial) he is also the antagonist and constantly lying because That's His Whole Deal. people either love him or hate his guts. he's a little piece of shit. i would submit komaeda but i feel like views on him are more positive, generally. sorry i have bad taste in video games" - "he's a horrible little guy trying his best in not very good ways what more could you want" - "I don't know, people say he's badly written because they don't pay attention to his arc beyond the cartoonish facade he very obviously forces, and they don't like him because he caused someone's death which like..fair (he did feel super bad about it though so its fine.) Some people also don't enjoy his wonderful personality and think he's a mean piece of shit, which he is, but it's fine. They're just sensitive." - "I know people don't like him because he's like. a shittier version of Komaeda. But that's what's so GOOD about him. He's a shitty asshole of a person, playing pretend at being a villain because he's desperate!!! I think that's really fun. He's dooming himself and I want him to be okay after everything ends, but he dies so he can't even have that much :(" - "so i saw you got submissions for him. but not enough i need to submit him myself he is my favorite character from anything ever. he is the silly man he is so funny one time (actually, two times if you count one optional interaction) he asked a robot if he had a dick and it's absolutely iconic i love him"

HATE: - "(dangan spoilers ahead if that matters) look ok i didn’t originally feel too strongly about kokichi. i think his character is interestingly written (can’t say well-written bc danganronpa but yaknow) and he adds a lot of charm to v3. i understand why he’s popular- he’s one of the few characters in v3 to have both a personality and plot relevance. but oh my GODDDDD he is not a good person!!!! and i am so SICK of seeing him woobified into ‘ooh little baby he did his best he wasn’t doing anything wrong’ JUST BECAUSE you find out he was trying to end the killing game after he dies doesn’t mean he wasn’t incredibly fucked up throughout the game!!! like he was incredibly manipulative, a bully, encouraged infighting, Literally Orchestrated A Murder And Protected Himself From Danger By Getting The Big Stupid Sweetheart To Do It which caused TWO unnecessary deaths and- oh yeah- tricked everyone into believing he was the mastermind and the world had ended to make them so depressed that they just wouldn’t do anything anymore bc can’t kill someone if you’re rotting away in your room!!! AUGH like he’s a good character but it’s BECAUSE he sucks that he’s interesting. maybe this is just the komaeda fan in me but sometimes!!! the character is cooler when you understand that they’re a bad person. at least komaeda gets an actual redemption arc. kokichi’s just an asshole that the game tries to make you sympathetic for at the very end but he spends the entire game being an asshole so why the hell would i like him??? and then i go in a fandom tag and it’s constant unending ‘kokichi did nothing wrong’ the whole point of his character is that he does EVERYTHING wrong. i truly feel like the dr team was trying to replicate komaeda’s popularity but it was messy and poorly handled bc he’s not even a bad person in an interesting way like komaeda he’s just got trust issues that lead him to be stupid and An Asshole. then again people eat it up so what do i know lmao. i love to hate that little shit i wanna punt him into the goddamn stratosphere. score a field goal with that asshat. this is all lighthearted btw i love to die on small hills" - "WHY DO PEOPLE LIKE HIM OH MY GOOOOOOD HES SUCH A FLAT CHARACTER HES A SODA I LEFT OUT FOR 3 DAYS kokichi oma is easily the WORST written danganronpa character. it has been a while since i was into danganronpa so the details are a bit fuzzy but my rage has NOT subsided. following the success of Easily One Of The At Least Top Three Best Written Danganronpa Characters known as nagito komaeda, kokichi had some shoes to fill. he instead showed up in clown shoes. kokichis whole premise is that you dont know if hes lying or not, him being a huge clown and causing shit for like a good third of the cast. kokichi was a simple character. hes a bitch, he sturs shit up, he eat hot chip and lie, it was FINE. not GREAT, but FINE. and then he died. suddenly— kokichi was from modest beginnings. he was actually a genius who was actually doing all of this to save everyone. he was a martyr. they TRIED to follow up on the success of nagito komaeda, and failed miserably. the guy literally has nazi imagery he didnt need to be complex he just needed to be an asshole and force the plot. for assholes that force the plot with actual good depth, may i interest you in byakuya togami? for guys who lie all the time with actual good depth, may i interest you in sou hiyori the beanie man himself from your turn to die [similar genre]? seriously. you guys could do SO much better. just... get better taste oh my GOD JUST BECAUSE HES A TWINK DOESNT MEAN HES WELL WRITTEN" - "Omg I hate this guy,,, people either baby him & make him a uwu soft boy or a funky clown dude, & both those types of people forget all the things he has done??? even if he "redeemed" himself in the end (which i don't think he did--) that still doesn't negate all of the things he did before??? actions speak louder than words but he could never rely on that bc all the does is lie anyway-- i have some strong opinions about him."

Peter Pan:

LOVE: - "My propaganda is that like. Half of the OUaT fandom is OBSESSED with this guy and the other half write fanfiction about their self-inserts beating the shit out of him. The tumblr sphere might be a bit too biased in favor of love and I doubt he'll make it far but from what I've seen people either adore this guy or want him dead in the streets"

[linkemon]

Boysband AU headcanons (4ggravate) 2

Friendly reminder that English is not my first language. You can check my Masterlists both in English and Polish here.

For those unfamiliar with the concept, 4ggravate is the Sumeru guys who started a boyband. It comes from the same series as the widely known in the fandom 4nemo.

Working with idol groups involves trends changing like in a kaleidoscope. When 4ggravate entered the scene, it quickly became clear that they would conquer the world. Your label, after the huge success of 4nemo, decided to take another boys under their wing. You didn't know then how much work you would have to put into promoting them on the market...

Kaveh

✧ The most expressive member of the group. You'd even say it makes up for everyone else in this regard.

✧ Always there if you need to record additional video or behind-the-scenes content. This is what his fans see most often and he is the most into social media.

✧ It also has its downsides. Kaveh can be dramatic to the point where it's annoying. If he feels like it, he will walk out of the meeting with the film crew, complaining and slamming the door. Unfortunately, it will often be up to you to bring him back to finish the ad.

✧ He and Alhaitham are constantly arguing, which was a shock to you because they've known each other the longest out of the team. You usually try not to take sides or take turns so that neither of the two will take offense at you.

✧ Kaveh will dance, play, sing... He will fill any role if need be and he will be good at it. However, he feels the best while playing instruments.

✧ He studied architecture and constantly reminds that he knows art. However, this is not idle talk. He happens to come up with brilliant ideas about clothes or scenery while shooting music videos.

✧ Drinks secretly outside the studio. He almost got busted once when someone from the management decided to come to the apartment to hand over the documents but you just arrived before them and managed to put the can in your purse at the last minute.

✧ He wanted to thank you somehow and gave you the keychain. He once bought some handmade ones. He gives them only to exceptional people in his opinion.

Cyno

✧ He as an innate sense of justice. You can be sure that if anyone sees someone hurt, it will definitely be Cyno. He never stands aside. He immediately confronts who he needs to, which often put his career on the line. He would probably be willing to sacrifice it for the greater good. For example, he points it out to the older employees if they use younger ones on the set. He does it even at the cost of unpleasantness towards him. He has earned a reputation as unapproachable and stickler among industry associates.

✧ He loves to play cards. He collects entire collections of them. His favorite card game is TCG Genius Invocation. It got you interested enough to get into it. He's very happy about that because being in 4ggravate has made it a bit difficult for him to find someone he can physically play with without spreading rumors. He loves to explain the new rules to you and show you what he has hunted for his collection.

✧ There was a time when, like Kaveh, he argued with Alhaitham. Whatever happened, one day he came back changed. Since then, they've at least respected each other and making your life a little easier.

✧ He is often given rap parts to sing. Mainly because of his low voice.

✧ Fans marvel at how different he can be. The media tried to create his image as quite dark. This is how new fans often see him. Meanwhile, when they spend a little time with him, they understand that this is not the case at all.

✧ A dedicated Cyno fan site was created to collect his jokes. They are very dry. Some people even send him their suggestions for him to tell on streams.

Alhaitham

✧ Alhaitham believes in peace and quiet. You asked him once why he stayed at 4ggravate then. He replied that in this way he would earn enough to have money for his dream life for a long time. He calculated it all. He even showed you the entire spreadsheet on the computer.

✧ You don't know how he does it but he's learning all the time. Be it from books or from various types of courses. Ask him anything, about everything. He will always have an answer.

✧ He writes the lyrics of the songs. With no exception. He has a gift for words. He always knows how to put them together to use rhymes or puns. Composing is not his strong point, so the worst moment is when he has to collaborate with Kaveh, who is better in this field. Not that he would ever admit it.

✧ If he could, he would avoid interviews and meetings with fans. He doesn't like any of these activities. He goes mostly because he has to. For this reason, he does not have as many fans as Kaveh, but he is not very interested in it. The people who choose him as their favorite are usually those who are deeply interested in his words and where he draws inspiration from. And they always get accurate and in-depth answers that make him their number one forever.

✧ He does not part with the headphones. So much so that it became his sign. One time Kaveh took it for fun when he wasn't looking and broke them. You didn't want them to fight again, so you took the blame and returned it to him after it was fixed. He immediately knew it wasn't you and made you promise not to take the blame on yourself again. Despite this, the next day, there were notes on your desk regarding the marketing strategy for the next quarter. Interestingly, better than you'd ever do yourself...

Tighnari

✧ Tighnari has a very sensitive musical ear. Thanks to this, he remembers songs extremely quickly, especially new ones and perfectly matches the rhythm by dancing. He is usually praised above all for his flawless choreography.

✧ The boy is vegan. He deeply believes in unity with nature. In his opinion, there is no need to use animals in this way. Half of his social media consists of this.

✧ Helped launch an eco-friendly line of stuffed animals called Aranara. He gave you one of his first pieces as a thank you for helping with their publicity campaign.

✧ He lives in the belief that being an idol will allow him to convey certain values to his fans. He attaches great importance to the educational aspect. He often comes up with themes for new albums and is able to cleverly combine them with previous or subsequent ones.

✧ Tighnari is known for his sarcastic statements, which is why interviewers love him. He skillfully sweeps them away and hits remarks back, making them borderline controversial. Their viewership is really high.

✧ Hates the heat. You used to shoot scenes for a music video in the desert. You remember that he was perfectly prepared then. That's not to say he didn't complain about the heat but he was one of the few members on set who didn't get sunstroke. He reminded you regularly to drink plenty of water and lent you his hat.

✧ At the beginning of his career, he received a headband with rabbit ears from his younger friend Collei. When they were younger, they attended several survival camps organized by their school together. To this day, she is his biggest fan. Tighnari only pulls out these ears on special occasions.

[mogspawner]

Deceit. (smp)

It is not Sunday but Im making this post to show what kind of content I'd be bringing to my blog! Please follow if it interests you because I will do a series like this every week! Submissions of your own smp's / personal favorites allowed under conditions!

Need some more Minecraft series to get into? A completed story hosted by Legundo for your viewing pleasure, watched this series when it released and truthfully its incredibly underrated. I will go in to describe this for you!

No warnings needed!

"May I interest you in an egg, in this trying time? "

In the words of our good man Legundo, himself: "Welcome to Deceit. Hardcore players meeting together in a world for a game of 'Survival' and 'Social Deduction.'"

This hardcore-based server is centered around two lives which each player has, their First life is your gentle run-of-the-mill Minecraft experience with friends.

Well, Mogspawner, you must be saying to yourself right now as you read this blog. What happens when you lose your first life?

You are onto your last life and given a role. (3)

Crafter(4): Survival route, aimed at continuing to stay alive in the endgame. Uniting with others of your shared role.

Traitor(3): Traitors are pretty self explanatory, they are the infiltrators to the Crafters and seek to dish out justice and mayhem alongside their traitor friends to remain the last standing team.

The Killer(1): The killer has a single role. Total annihilation. No side should be left standing when you are done with them, and oh boy are the possibilities endless.

The goal is for the Crafters to survive, the Traitors to kill or the Killer to try and win the game at all costs. Seems pretty fun, right? Wrong. Each player will do their best to lie, cheat and deceit their way to victory. Who comes out on top? Who survives after all's said and done. Find out on Deceit!

Let's meet our players!

Here I am going to list links to all the content creators involved Youtube channels. When it comes to getting into series, its always important to pace yourself and I will give some insights on which perspectives you should watch for your own catered experience! Spoiler free, of course.

Legundo: Legundo is a sure choice to pick if you like a little bit more seriousness. If you go in for lore, dramatic re-telling's and story rich interactions. This is the perspective for you! Legundo has participated in both season of Deceit!

Switchbackmongo: If you find yourself rather introverted and awkward Mongo is the person to watch! There a couple cinematics and plenty of jokes to sit back and enjoy. Mongo has been on both season of Deceit!

Taneesha: Personal favorite. Most hardcore players know Taneesha for her general aloofness and playful behavior, if you find yourself the type of person to leave floating tree's just to annoy your friends this is the perspective for you! Has participated in both season of Deceit.

Loony: Personal favorite. Favor yourself a little chaotic POV? This is the one! Loony has a share of getting into plenty of shenanigans while also giving it a good old MC playthrough feel. Loony participated in both season of deceit.

There are plenty of other content creators who do not have their playlist public, active or made into videos. The content you receive in other views is what is provided but I will list them here instead: Skyes, Pezcat, DavisWho, PainDomination, alongside characters from season two!

Fancy yourself a completionist? Here is a link to every single video in Lore order. I specifically adore Fixxit's perspective in season 2, but thats just me!

See you later, swompers!

[batcrooks]

THE BATCROOKS AWARDS 2023

This year, I kept track of every piece of media I consumed for the whole year. I didn't keep track of individual Youtube videos (which I watched hundreds of, they're my main background noise), but I did track every Book, Video Game, TV Show/Web Series, and Movie. Here are my BEST OF 2023 (year of release may vary).

Best Movie: Spider-man: Across the Spider-verse I only actually saw 3 new release movies this year: Spider-verse, Barbie, and The Boy and the Heron. So the competition wasn't very fierce, but I was glad to sneak Heron in there at the end just to make sure (I found it very pretty, but too nonsensical and weirdly paced.) Spider-verse was a little disappointing (toooo long) but it was definitely the funnest new movie I saw this year.

Best TV Show: Silo I saw a couple actual TV shows this year, but for pure fun had watching and theorizing, Silo wins. Is it the actual best TV of the year? Almost definitely not. But these are my awards so it wins. You can't leave the silo!!!!

Best Web Series: Game Changer Season 5 I'm not sure if I can properly justify the category difference between Silo (on Apple+) and Game Changer; both are technically web series. But I watched Silo on a TV, and it just seems more like a TV show. So I have awarded Best Web Series to Game Changer, because I like it just a little more than Make Some Noise. I also watched a lot of Dimension 20 this year for the first time, but they're not 2023. I'm being wishy washy on the category requirements lol.

Best Video Game: Baldur's Gate 3 This game was so good at one point I was playing two saves simultaneously, just for fun. I don't think I can say anything that hasn't been said about it before lol. And it was MULTIPLAYER. Sourdeer and I played this game all the way through TWICE. We finished it the first time and then spent like 4 days trying to find something else to play before deciding we just wanted to play it again, evil-style.

Best Video Game I Didn't Directly Play: The Curse of the Golden Idol A lot of (usually bad) video games I experience through "Cat Plays a Game" and its twin show "Sourdeer Plays a Game"; the hit show streaming exclusively on discord between my friends lol. Sour played this one, technically, although as an asymmetric multiplayer experience it's hard to beat. I want there to be five million games just like this one. I wish I could wipe my memory and do it again. We already devoured the DLC. There's a sequel coming out thank god.

Best Video Game I Played All By My Lonesome: Pentiment I don't tend to play a lot of single-player video games due to lack of time mostly, but this year I managed to play Pentiment, an incredible game that really played well with the weird amount of knowledge I have about the time period and setting of the game from reading The Pillars of the Earth and its sequels. It was completely engrossing and I will probably play it again some day despite its pretty slow pace. I know I can't save everyone. But maybe I can try.

Youtuber of the Year: Jenny Nicholson I rewatched a ton of her videos this year and joined her Patreon so that I could watch the huge backlog of "ramble" videos she has. There are TWO sequels to the Evermore video in there! Hours and hours of entertainment that makes me wish I could experience more weird theme parks.

Best Book(s): The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik The last one came out in September 2022 but this is a "non-reread, new to me" category, not a new release category. Novik's Temeraire series is one of my favorites of all time, and Spinning Silver is also really good, but even still I was wary to start what initially seemed like just a snarkier, edgy magical boarding school series. But the mechanics of the world-building and the characters really won me over quick, and this has ended up being another of my favorite series.

This spreadsheet has the full 2023 list if anyone wants to see/judge me/discuss video games or books: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1X7u2F_9FSvvyys5v006eQg1hIvx0bT3QuLDgy_TJasw/edit?usp=sharing

[hollowfaith]

「 GET TO KNOW YOUR RP PARTNER! 」

( repost, please don’t reblog )

「BASICS」

▐ NAME: – Lethe ▐ PRONOUNS: – she/her ▐ SEXUALITY: – cute boys ▐ TAKEN OR SINGLE: – omg married u///u ▐ FIVE FACTS:

i unironically love mobile gaming b/c it's about the only type i have time to play (besides ffxiv) all while carrying it around in my pocket. (p.s. 9 days until wuthering waves releases come play!!)

i have a love for miniatures. to curb that i only collect ones for my BJDs now and hunt for them via lucky finds in antique shops.

i do chinese > english fan translation for novels and series i like. update times are sporadic, however (cough these days most of my writing is just RP stuff)

my favorite genre of YouTube videos are 1) gossip/review channels for cdrama land, 2) horror let's plays from ManlyBad*ssHero, 3) real life disaster stories (ScaryInteresting is very thorough & the cave diving ones are super freaky). i like listening to them while doing the dishes/laundry

i can sleep sitting up on long plane and bus rides! women envy me men hate me etc etc.

「EXPERIENCE」

▐ HOW LONG (YEARS/MONTHS): – it's gotta be close to 10~12 years by now

▐ PLATFORMS USED: – tumblr, but ezboard (forum RP) made up a good chunk of my early RP days

▐ BEST EXPERIENCE: – a lot, but any time characters from different fandoms just kinda connected and became friends/enemies/lovers whatever after a thread. the crossover interactions are always magical in a mfrp group

「MUSE PREFERENCES」

▐ MALE/FEMALE/OTHER: – hansum dudes

▐ FAVORITE FACECLAIM: – i change it up every now and then but besides girl up front i was really into this guy for a while b/c he was cute:

▐ FLUFF, ANGST, OR SMUT: – where's the crack + comedy but okay fluff and angst are both rad, smut im like an amateur at lolol but i'll try

i also want to try more action RPs like fight scenes, they seem challenging but the potential for coolness tempts me every time ▐ PLOTS OR MEMES: – plots are great but i'm more of a "have vague outline throw self in threads" kinda RPer. things tend to change as you RP since it's such an action/reaction cycle between you and the other mun so it's nice to keep things flexible between the start and your end goal? i also think some of the best plots can happen out of a random meme response tbh ▐ LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: – length doesn't matter to me as long as it addresses stuff in the other reply. i've had threads with long and short replies within the same RP session and that's fine, whatever fits the flow. wordcount only matters for rank up hahah ▐ BEST TIME TO WRITE: – apparently in the PM during breaks in work or late at night. mornings i'm too busy....most of the time (or still asleep) ▐ ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSES: – i wanna say i'm 25% mary sue (the muse, not the trope) god we will never stop crushing on cute guys or wearing cute dresses when we can get away with it

[ofoceansandtombsanew]

What are some of your favorite manga of all time?

Oh this will be one of the easiest asks I've ever received! You've got me all hype, anon!

Fruits Basket

Wanna get me to talk for hours? Mention Fruits Basket. This was the first manga I ever read back when I was still in elementary school and I've never grown out of my love for the series. I will always have a spot for this manga but it's honestly perfection to me.

I love the characters, the messages, the themes and the emotional depth this manga has made me feel over the years? I honestly wish I could experience Fruits Basket all over again. This is without a doubt my favorite shoujo manga of all time. I love all the characters, I love all the ships. Some of my favorite characters off rip have to be Tohru, Shigure, Hatsuharu and Arisa and Saki. But make no mistake I adore Yuki and Kyo and so on and so forth.

This series does such a great job in such a complicated subject matter concerning neglect and abuse in a way that humanizes the abuser without using said humanization to justify their shitty actions. You leave those moments understanding how that person became how they are but can still completely acknowledge how terrible they are. How you don't have to forgive that person for what they did. And that, if you do forgive that person, that doesn't mean you're just letting bygones be bygones and being kumbaya with them. You can forgive and forget or you can forgive and never forget and that's okay. Your forgiving and moving forward for yourself, not them. And that's one of the things I really liked in the series.

Fullmetal Alchemist

Another series you can get me talking for hours about. You will catch me watching video essay after video essay analyzing this story. I was so into FMA during middle school, one of my moms even bought me the games and made it habit to occasionally buy me the volumes! This is without a doubt, the best shounen has to offer. Quality female characters? Amazing action scenes? Stunning romance? Banger after banger with so many panels I can still recall perfectly.

My favorite volume is definitely volume 15! Because of the manga, Brotherhood is my preference when it comes to the anime adaptations. It has all the homies in it. Another series I wish I could just start from the beginning again with no memory of the source material. These brothers and their friends have altered the chemistry of my brain.

NANA

Still believe that one day Yozawa will grace us with her beautiful art and storytelling all over again. NANA was my first ever jousei read and my dive into jousei as a whole. Until that point all I had consumed were shounen and shoujo so the maturity of the series was one I wasn't expecting. I consumed this series when I was about in early to late middle school and it was so much fun to read.

Now that I'm in my late 20s, holy hell is this hard to binge the way I used to because the themes, the struggles of the character and the realism of those struggles are hitting a little too close to home now. So I can only do NANA in small doses now haha. I even got both of my moms into NANA. Which isn't too impressive when one of my moms has watched the anime of every manga I've mentioned on this ask, but my other mom is NOT an anime fan and she loves NANA so much.

Children of the Sea

Oh my goodness, you definitely oh it to yourself to read this manga. It's not a long a read by any means with only 5 volumes and 43 chapters but it was such a pleasure to read. Maybe this bias comes from someone obsessed with the ocean (which my url definitely implies) and the life teeming underneath the surface but wow this was truly an experience. I watched the movie first and then read the manga, and I'm not sure if that'll shape anyone's viewing experience differently but I do wish I had read the manga first. But both are truly great to check out.

If you want a story about a girl meeting two boys raised by dugongs, this is the story for you. One of my favorite aspects of this read were the side stories labeled Testimony of the Sea. It adds so much to the story without even directly influencing the plot as you see all the strange phenomena that take place in the sea leading up to this mysterious event drawing in our protagonists and what will continue well after its conclusion.

Skip & Loafer

Currently ongoing and a series I was not expecting to like as much as I did. I'm one of the people who got into sukirofa after the anime dropped. 2 episodes in and seeing the absolute beauty and grace of how the staff handled the protagonist's transgender aunt, I had to give this a read and I do not regret in the slightest. This is such a great series and a perfect example how one utilizes 'don't judge a book by its cover'.

Characters you meet at first glance? It only takes a chapter or two before their layers are peeled back and you see how much went in to crafting them and making them more complex than meets the eye. A perfect example of this is the character Mika.

But my favorite chapter has to be ch 29 where you learn what made Nao decide to come out and transition. If you haven't read this series, I won't spoil it, you have to read it for yourself. Prepare for a monthly update schedule, because once that day of the month pops up, it's amazing to see how the sukirofa fandom comes together to scream on twitter and tumblr.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure

The series that gave birth to the greatest hater in anime history. Araki truly drinks and leaves no molecules every time a part comes out. Another ongoing series I didn't expect to like as much as I did. But it's become a series close to my heart since diving into it after I got over my initial hesitance with the art style. Honestly JJBA's art style really grows on you, especially as you see Araki's art and writing develop so spectacularly.

You get equal parts continuous story and standalone adventure. You do need other pieces of the pie, but each part still feels so rich and in-depth and bright and colorful. You don't feel like the new JoJo and characters introduced are extensions of previous existing ones or usurpers that have stolen the panels away from other characters. It's like watching a torch be passed down from JoJo to JoJo, generation to generation (which it technically is since this story follows the descendants of the JoJo that started it all, Jonathan Joestar).

Araki's biggest source of writing inspiration came from how he felt watching Prince concerts. How the story of the concert would suddenly flip and give you a whole new experience. I feel he truly has that down with JJBA.

Concubine Walkthrough

Can't believe I even forgot to add Concubine Walkthrough, so take this quick addendum. This is one of the best manhwa I've ever read in my life and not enough people talk about it. I'm working on a post right now all about why I recommend it.

If you're a fan of sci-fi, romance and want to read an otome isekai romp that subverts your expectations? Please read this manhwa. It's The Matrix mixed with historical Korean fiction (and of course, otome isekai at its finest).

I loved loved LOVED the philosophy behind the story, the themes. The discussion of what reality is and choosing what reality means/is to you. Just because your entire life is a simulation, does that make your entire life up until that point irrelevant? Simulated it may be, your joy, your pain, your love, all of that still felt real, right? There were so many things I never considered about that very topic until I read this series and I feel like more people should give it a go. It's not that long a read (only 128 chapters for the main story with some extra bonus content on the side), please please PLEASE read Concubine Walkthrough if you haven't already.

[redrocketpanda]

Thanks for answering my ask before. If you don't mind me asking (again), can I ask, what are your top 10 (or top 7) favorite media (can be books/ manga/ anime/movies/tv series)? Why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before......

Hello again - thanks so much for all of these questions!

Hmmmm, I have so many favourite things across so many different forms of media that choosing a top 7/10 is super hard. I've gone with my gut of the first things I thought of that I love, but the list could easily be wayyyyyy longer. I'm sorry - I tried to keep this as short as I could... In no particular order:

My Hero Academia (anime + manga) MHA is the first anime that I think I ever really properly enjoyed. I watched it in 2021/2022, immediately fell in love with it, and proceeded to devour both the anime and almost all of the manga. I obviously adore all of the characters, but I also love the way that MHA portrays superpowers - both in terms of how they function (w/ there being unique limitations to them) as well as how it depicts/explores superhero society. I don't normally go in for superhero type media anymore, but the combination of all of the above (plus literally the sickest soundtrack from Yuki Hayashi) easily makes it one of my fave ever things

The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers (books) I could write an entire dissertation on why this is one of my favourite series of all time, and why Becky Chambers is one of my favourite authors. But the shorter answer is: literally everything about them. Chambers' writing is beautiful, her narratives are full of love, hope and community, and her characters are incredibly diverse and well written. My fave book from the series is Record of a Spaceborn Few.

Dragon Age series (video games) I first came across Dragon Age at a fan convention back in 2016/2017 during a panel on queer media (I think). In addition to the panel discussing the general queer relationships/characters in the series, they specifically highlighted Dorian and Krem in DA: Inquisition. The following day I went out, purchased all the games, and then played them through from the first game. IThe games are super fun to play, the writing is *chefs kiss*, and I love the themes that the games explore. I love them so much I've even written an article and done a podcast episode about them!

Jurassic Park franchise (films, books, games) Jurassic Park is one of the franchises that I was raised on (along with Star Wars) and I have been obsessed with it ever since. I've seen all the films (up to Jurassic World), read the books, own books about JP, played a bunch of the games, and even have a poster map of Isla Nublar on my wall. Dinosaurs are one of the big reasons I love them, but also I think the films have always been very interesting to me for how they give us a lens in which to think about animal rights + conservation in a science fictional setting (something else I have also done a paper on!)

Final Fantasy XV (video game) I'll keep this one short and sweet: best boys on a roadtrip that will both make your heart full of joy but will ultimately leave you a sobbing mess on the floor (Honestly I didn't play FFXV until the end of 2022 and I am still !!!!!!! over it)

Haikyuu!! (anime) sksalkkljsa. I don't even know what to say about this. HQ is just the fucking best.

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist (video game) I don't talk about it so much anymore, but Exocolonist is still one of my favourite games and it makes my heart feel so much whenever I think about it. I love the entire aesthetic of it. I love how impactful your choices feel and how many different routes you can go down. I love how inclusive the game is, not just in terms of gender, race and sexuality but also with polyamoury + family/community dynamics. The worldbuilding is beautiful, the soundtrack is *cries*. Just...it's such a wonderful game.

Manic (film) There are a lot of films I could choose for this list, but if I can only choose one (bc space) then I think Manic is a good pick. It's the 2001 indie film with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zooey Deschanel, Don Cheadle, etc, and is set in an adolescent psychiatric ward. This film means a lot to me personally, I'll just leave it at that.

Xandri Corelel series (books) I spoke a bit about why I love the series so much in response to your favourite characters question but to summarise: cool as fuck science fiction series where cool as fuck autistic bisexual polyam protagonist, Xandri, is the head of the xeno-liaisons team. It's got stellar worldbuilding, excellent characters, and explores lots of interesting issues. Also, my favourite book is Tone of Voice (2nd in the series) partly bc its got space whales in it.

Mass Effect (video games) I think by now its pretty clear I love science fiction, so Mass Effect was always gonna be a big hit with me. I actually played Dragon Age first, and then a friend told me I had to play ME. The entire series is just sooooo good for very similar reasons to a lot of my other favourites: well-written, beloved characters, cool ass narrative/s, choice-based, fun FPS moments, cool worldbuilding, sick soundtrack!

[nitrateglow]

Halloween 2023 marathon: 16-18

The Spiral Staircase (dir. Robert Siodmak, 1946)

A murderer is slaying "imperfect" (ie disabled) women in a small Vermont town around the turn of the 20th century. Mute since she experienced a great trauma, Helen (Dorothy McGuire) is cautious, but she assumes she'll be safe within her employer's home. Working as a companion to the bedridden Mrs. Warren (Eleanor Barrymore), Helen has to deal with the older woman's moods. As the night wears on, Helen and Mrs. Warren begin to suspect the killer is in the house... but who is it? One of the servants? One of Mrs. Warren's bickering sons? Or someone from outside?

Another favorite of mine! I usually watch this twice a year because I love it so much. The Spiral Staircase is a perfectly crafted thriller with absolutely everything I could want: a sympathetic and smart protagonist, rich supporting characters, beautiful black and white cinematography that enhances the gothic atmosphere, slow-burn tension, and a climax that has me screaming at the TV for the characters to get the hell out of the house.

I really do love the supporting cast in this, especially Elsa Lanchester as the alcoholic maid and Eleanor Barrymore as the mysterious, hardnosed matriarch. But it's truly Dorothy McGuire's show all the way. Her face is so expressive, and like the best horror movie heroines, she is both vulnerable and resilient.

Another thing I love is how the film opens with Helen watching a silent film. It sets up the 1910s setting well, establishes Helen as a sensitive young woman (she's crying at the film), and it makes a subtle comment on Helen's trauma-induced muteness before we're made aware of it.

Not much else for me to say. I've gushed about this one before and it never gets old. It's probably my favorite horror movie of the 1940s, with only Cat People as competition.

The Sixth Sense (dir. M. Night Shyamalan, 1999)

After being shot by an anguished ex-patient, child psychologist Dr. Crowe (Bruce Willis) yearns to redeem himself by helping another troubled child. Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment) is a sensitive, awkward young boy who claims to see "dead people," much to the dismay of his mother Lynn (Toni Collette). Can Dr. Crowe help Cole?

*mild spoilers below, but not THE spoiler from the ending, though I expect everyone knows the twist by now*

This was my first time watching this film.

To rip the band-aid off: I liked The Sixth Sense but it also underwhelmed me. It seems like a solid supernatural drama/thriller with a really cool twist ending, but hardly a masterpiece for the ages on par with the best of Hitchcock, as I've seen some critics claim.

What I liked: Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette are phenomenal as the troubled son and mother. HJO is probably the most gifted kid actor I've ever seen: in every movie of his from the late 90s, early 2000s (and of course, in the Kingdom Hearts video game series as Sora), you forget you're watching an actor. And in this, he's doubly impressive because Cole is such a tormented character, dealing with powers an adult would be ill-equipped to handle. Collette is just as amazing-- a few of her scenes actually brought me to tears because she made Lynn's pain and helplessness so potent. While Bruce Willis is solid as Dr. Crowe, HJO and Collette stole the show.

The movie's melancholy atmosphere is wonderfully realized too. I think the best ghost stories are less about shocks than they are about sadness and grief. This is certainly a thoughtful movie in that regard.

What I didn't like: There are quite a few campy moments that took me out of the film, mainly involving the ghosts. Now, I ADORE camp when it suits the tone of the story. However, pairing campy, shrieking ghosts that seem like they belong in a 1990s Stephen King miniseries with a delicate exploration of grief and unfinished business isn't peanut butter and chocolate, it's peanut butter and dijon mustard.

I also found some of the directorial choices super on the nose, like the murderess at her victim's funeral wearing a bright red dress. That's a Debbie Jellinsky move, not something appropriate in your uber-serious dramatic movie.

Overall, it was a good film, but I guess I expected something with more psychological ambiguity like classics of supernatural horror cinema like The Innocents, The Haunting, Onibaba, or The Shining. Everything is pretty cut and dried in The Sixth Sense by comparison... but then again, I suppose that isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's possible my expectations were too high. I could see myself watching this again and thinking better of it, like I did with Diabolique.

Frankenstein (dir. James Whale, 1931)

Henry Frankenstein (Colin Clive) ignores his fiancee, friends, and family so he can create a living being (Boris Karloff) from an assortment of corpses. It doesn't turn out well.

Frankenstein is incredibly dear to me. I discovered it early in my classic movie geekdom and it was the stepping stone to my becoming a horror movie fan. It's gothic, heartbreaking, funny, and beautiful. While there are slicker movies in the Universal Horror canon, this one is arguably the single most influential, tied with Dracula from the same year. It's definitely my favorite.

I'm not going to write as much about this one because I plan on doing a big post on it for my Wordpress blog come mid-October, so stay tuned!

[twistedtummies2]

Year of the Bat - Number 30

Welcome to Year of the Bat! In honor of Kevin Conroy, Arleen Sorkin, and Richard Moll, I’m counting down my Top 31 Favorite Episodes of “Batman: The Animated Series” throughout this January. EPISODE QUOTE: “My, my. Can we actually have a brain beneath that pointy cowl of ours?” Number 30 is…If You’re So Smart, Why Aren’t You Rich?

This episode acts as the first appearance and origin story for Edward Nygma, a.k.a. the Riddler. The story begins with Nygma working as a programmer and video game designer for an electronics company, run by a greedy sod by the name of Daniel Mockridge. Nygma has created a best-selling puzzle-based video game, called “Riddle of the Minotaur,” where players have to traverse through the legendary labyrinth of the Minotaur, evading various traps and solving various puzzles along the way. Mockridge fires Nygma, who – due to a loophole in his contract – loses all rights to the game and any legal grounds to even receive royalties. Furious, Nygma adopts the guise of the villainous Riddler, and goes on a quest of vengeance against his old employer. The Riddler, for those who don’t know, has always been one of my absolute favorite Batman villains – second only to the Joker himself. (I should also add this was LONG before Paul Dano’s version; I liked the Riddler before it was cool, as the kids say.) I think that John Glover’s portrayal, from the animated series, might have been the very first version of the Riddler I ever saw. I remember renting a VHS tape from a Blockbuster as a little boy (yeah, anyone remember those things?) which had two of Riddler’s episodes on the tape. Both of those episodes, perhaps not coincidentally, are on this main countdown. You would think, with all that said, that this first outing for the criminal genius would be much higher in the ranks. Well, it’s hard to say why, because there’s certainly a lot to enjoy about this episode. Glover’s smug and smarmy Nygma is one of the chief versions of the character out there, and set the standard which many later incarnations – both in and out of comics – would look to for inspiration. The team behind the animated series took a character who had been perceived as “a two-bit gimmick villain” and transformed him into one of the Dark Knight’s cleverest and most cunning adversaries. The tricks and traps (and, of course, the riddles) that the Riddler uses in the story are also pretty ingenious. I also have to say that the ending of this episode is just phenomenal; one of my favorites in the entire show. I won’t give away what it is, but trust me, it’s great. I think the big issue is the Riddler’s origin itself. I like the idea of the Riddler being a programmer and game designer, and they use that to great effect in later stories, too. It’s also something that’s continued to be part of the character, with him being gifted with electronics and technology. However, I feel the turning point for the character doesn’t quite match: while it’s clear that Nygma always had a high opinion of his own mind, and loathed humiliation, it’s hard for me, personally, to make the jump from “disgruntled employee” to “highly theatrical supervillain,” at least in the way the episode presents. The animation is also sort of…iffy, to say the least. Most of the episode looks pretty good, but there are some scenes where the animation or the shots feel a bit “messy,” or a bit “stiff,” for lack of a better word. Still, these are minor nitpicks on the whole: for a first outing of my second favorite Batman villain, this certainly made a good impression. I probably wouldn’t like the Riddler as much as I do now if it weren’t for this episode.

Tomorrow we move on to Number 29! Hint: “The final stunt IS the best.”

[demonfox38]

Completed x2 - Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (Sega Saturn version)

Madness may be doing the same thing over and over again, but hey. At least I'm having fun doing it.

If economics were indicative of what my favorite video game of all time is, "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" would win bar none. Just off of the top of my head, this is how many times I've made purchases of this title alone:

US PlayStation Copy - $6.00 (disc only from a now defunct GameStop location in 2006, so don't get too optimistic)

Japanese PlayStation Copy - $38.00

PSP Copy of "Dracula X Chronicles" (contains a unique SOTN variant) - ~$40.00

PS3 Digital Copy - ~$5.00

Xbox Live Digital Copy – Free (promotional; probably was a tie-in to "Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night" being released)

Additional copies for friends - ~$5.00

US PlayStation Copy for my sister - $50.00

Sega Saturn Copy - $140.00 (2016 in Akihabara; keep the date/place in mind)

This probably isn't even the sickest I could be in collecting copies of this game. Hell, I've been hung over at a stranger's house with access to their Xbox 360 and thought about purchasing it there as well just so I could distract myself from being sick.

For this particular situation, we're going to talk about the Sega Saturn variant of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night." While I had heard about this one before, I hadn't thought about hunting it down. Content differences aside, I didn't have a Sega Saturn, nor has the Sega Saturn emulation scene been particularly stellar. But, on the one time (and hopefully not last time) @jeannettegray and I were physically in the same place, she happened to find this in the retro game store we were in. At first, I protested. It'd be irresponsible to buy something like that, right? And then I caved because, as established above, I'm kind of a bitch (submissive) for this game.

Fast forward to 2023. I've gotten into the anime series "Lupin the Third" (again, thanks JG!) I've been accumulating some "Lupin" games because they're fairly uncontested in the grand scheme of video game hunting. Considering that at least one is a staple on the bad/weird video game tournament Kusogrande, that should tell you about how well they normally go. But, I did happen to watch a match for the Lupin the Third game "Sage of Pyramid," which seemed to be generally well received! So, I found a copy of it on eBay in a three-pack with two other "Lupin" archive titles. To make a long story short, I ended up with a Japanese Sega Saturn, plus a few extra games.

I know. Between this and the Nintendo Wii U purchases this year, you've really got to ask what's wrong with me.

"Castlevania: Symphony of the Night" is a title I have previously reviewed, so I’m not going to bang too much about the shared properties here. Game good; game great; game arguably one of the best games ever made. The Sega Saturn port occurred about one year after the original PlayStation release by Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya (KCEN), a branch office (and notably, not the original developer pool from KCET.) While KCEN mostly made either portable versions of console-based Konami games or movie-licensed games, KCEN is notable in "Castlevania" development for both this and "Castlevania Legends," the GameBoy title with female lead Sonia Belmont. Which means that they:

Chugged women-respecting juice like water.

Got everything they did chucked into a historical/narrative paper shredder.

Given this development, the Sega Saturn version of "Symphony of the Night" is in a weird place. It has more content—particularly, in additions to Maria Renard's presence and playability—but is often looked down as an inferior product. In particular, some of the most ridiculed items include load times, transparency implementation/workaround issues, and sprite quality. And boy, did I see some actual, verifiable hardware issues. But, despite that, I do think this variant has some serious charm to it. At least, I'd be way more likely to come back to this version than the PSP version.

Look, if I buy a Sony PSP, you have the right to hit me…up for donations for a charity.

Before we can talk about this game, I think we need to talk about the Sega Saturn itself. Like, the poor bastard only seemed to have success in Japan. (Being $100.00 more expensive than its competitor will do that to you.) It was the kind of non-successful entity that when I heard the Nerve Tower recommending the Sega Saturn version of "Baroque" above all other versions of the game, I felt nothing but mockery for the sentiment. My opinion on the console changed somewhat after tending to a minor memory issue for the console. See, with old consoles or games dying, I'm used to having to buy oddball components and then getting help from my dad in resoldering them into place. With the Sega Saturn? It was simple as buying a new CR2032 battery (from a Wal-Mart! Imagine that) and just popping it into place.

Let's just say I have a lot of appreciation for a console that is easy to manage.

Now, if it were as easy to program as it was to fix, I doubt the Sega Saturn would have floundered as much as it did. I haven't done a great, deep deal of reading into coding for this console, but it seems like working with it required a great deal more knowledge than just popping in some C++ and plugging away. I suppose comparing programming for the Sega Saturn and Sony PlayStation is somewhat like the difference in operating a racecar versus an average sedan. In the right environments and with the right skill level, the former will out-perform the latter. But, at the end of the day, whatever is easiest to handle and cheapest to purchase will be used by more people.

Granted, "Symphony of the Night" should have been a natural slot-in for the Sega Saturn's library. While its best-selling titles were in 3D, a significant chunk of its library contains 2D sprite-based fighters. Weirdly enough, "Symphony of the Night" could qualify for this with its visual presentation and its control style. It's just…well…from what I can tell, this was KCEN's second and last Sega Saturn title. I don't think the experience or confidence was here for a perfect port. Hell, even notes from the developers themselves are frequently lamenting development delays.

Also—Yoshinori Suzuki is the realest for having a reference to Goblin music in his note. I'm more team Suspiria when it comes to Goblin music, but I have full faith that band could slay a "Castlevania" composition.

Okay. Enough sympathy for the devil! Let's get down to the game itself.

The objectives for this port of "Symphony of the Night" match up to the original base game. If you've got SOTN down 200.6% elsewhere, you'll easily hit 210% here. Does the math not add up? Well, it never really did. But, in this case, the first noticeable change is the addition of two new areas per map side. These new areas are respectively dungeon and garden-flavored, both of which make sense in terms of an addition. Neither add a great deal of room content to the game (capping at about 6 rooms for the garden and 3 for the dungeon), but they do provide some benefits, including:

A bridge piece between the Marble Gallery and Underground Caverns

New enemy types

A new boss fight

Access to the Alucard Spear (which, granted, is more important for Lecarde family lore than anything. But it's nice to pick up!)

These areas (and the castle's entrance) also sport some new tunes. Okay, maybe just "Chaconne C Moll" and "Guardian" are wholly originally. But, it does contain pairs of dance and jazz mixes for the "Vampire Killer," "Bloody Tears," and "Beginning" themes. Sure, they're the most 90s-sounding compositions on this planet. But, goddamn if that isn't exactly what I wanted from a "Castlevania" game.

I know. Real trash-core behavior on my part. At least give the "Beginning" remixes a shot before you take another one at me.

Item distribution and placement has also been slightly tweaked from the base PlayStation game, although it is generally in the player's favor. (For example: the Sword familiar is just below the save room of Orlox's Quarters instead of being in a hidden ceiling space.) About the greatest addition of note here is a cape called the Rainbow Robe, which cycles through palettes to create a constant color swapping effect. Very cool. There are also some different familiars than what is present in the US PlayStation version of the game, but about all that is unique there is getting a Half-Faerie that sings if you get her some lyrics. Which…thanks? I guess?

Honestly, the big content augment to the game is Maria Renard. Not only does she become a boss for Alucard to fight (having him prove his strength to her), but she's also playable! And holy shit, does she kick ass! Like, she generally kicks ass, but my God. Literal ass kicking here! Kicked my ass as a boss. Kicked everyone else's ass when fighting them in her mode. I'm not kidding when I say that only three bosses posed a threat to me while playing her. (For those of you that want to attempt this playstyle: it was Orlox, the "Castlevania III" trio, and Galamoth that gave me the most trouble.) If you've got Alucard's Dark Metamorphosis and Soul Steal input commands down, congratulations. You can absolutely slaughter the game as Maria.

It's wild. In her mode, she's got:

A chargeable magic attack as her primary attack

A triple and high jump

An evasive somersault (while Alucard doesn't even have a slide mechanic, so LMAO)

A base kick attack (for when you're storing up magic)

Access to standard "Castlevania" subweapons

Combo commands for summoning all four Celestial Beasts whenever you've got the MP (granting on-the-go healing, two massively damaging attacks, and a limited-time familiar)

A variety of martial arts attacks, and

Access to a full invincibility-granting move! (Like, you've gotta do a full clockwise input + a charge to do it, so it does require some serious skill to use. But still!)

Talk about a power fantasy! Like, no wonder people talk about the reset to Maria's move pool in the PSP version of "Symphony of the Night" being a downgrade. She's an absolute beast here.

Begrudgingly, I can see why Maria's abilities were augmented in later releases. To some extent, I think the IGA team was trying to keep in lockstep with the "Rondo of Blood" version of her, especially considering that the PSP game is primarily a remake and re-release of that game. And, okay, yes. She was originally designed as a tiny Belmont alternative. But in the Sega Saturn SOTN version? With her input pool and abilities? She's an Alucard alternative. Hell, her heal move maps to one of his recovery abilities (Genbu to Dark Metamorphosis), and her primary devastating spell is also the homewrecker in his (Seiryuu to Soul Steal.) She wasn't designed out of nowhere. She was just pulled from a different man's ribs.

I guess if nothing else, the PSP sprites of her are prettier. So…there's that.

Oh! Prettiness. Guess that leads back to the overall aesthetic quality of the game (or potentially lack thereof, depending on who you ask.) Personally, the biggest issues I had here were not so much with sprite distortion, but with load and lag. This game doesn't have the same load-in grace going between new areas or loading in boss fights as the PlayStation version does. It seems like it struggles greatest with particle effects, although bosses with multiple chunks and entities to them can also cause severe rendering delays. Hoo boy, does it not like a bunch of stuff on screen all at once! The Beelzebub and Legion fights in particular bring out the greatest lag in the system, so be prepared for that when/if you tackle them. Even Galamoth has some lag (although, I was using that to my benefit when possible.)

In terms of transparency compensation, the Saturn version does well enough to skirt around some issues. The trailing movement sprites are still following you, so A+ there. Some magic spells were altered to use white instead of using transparency, which honestly? I thought that made some look very pretty (Tetra Spirit in particular!) About the only place I could point at and scold was the hidden cavern behind the waterfall in the Underground Caverns section. In the PlayStation version, it is smoothly revealed as the player steps into it. In the Saturn version? It's like someone flicked a light switch on. Honestly, it would have just been better to let the player always see it, if that's what revealing it was going to look like.

Also, killing Fire Demons is particularly ugly in this game. It's just a lazy, nonsensical sprite swap (as opposed to the color cycling in the PlayStation version.) The Marionette deaths are pretty funny, though!

There was one point where the lack of full implementation actually impressed me. Anti-spoiler at this point, but the final boss fight with Dracula has a much different feeling in the Saturn version. Not that the move cycles he has have even remotely changed. It's the background! In the PlayStation version, it's a bit psychedelic—maybe more like something you'd see in an "Earthbound" or "Star Fox" ending fight. In the Saturn version? 100% black. Cheap? Sure. But, considering Alucard is fighting his father in a realm between the living and the dead—in a complete abyss—it honestly grew on me. Like, yeah, ha ha! The devs couldn't figure out how to do the funky color/texture cycling! But also? Absolute darkness works, too.

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the bodily injuries I'm currently nursing post playthroughs as well. Like, my left thumb was taking some abuse from the default controller's D-pad, so I ended up playing through portions of Maria Mode using an HSS-0104 Virtua Stick. (Like I said—I spent some stupid money on this console.) I just ended up pushing the injuries from my thumb to my shoulder blades. 😅 I can't completely blame the game on that, though. I should know better than to do 8+ hours of gaming in a day.

By the way—I did confirm something switching controllers. It seems like this "Symphony of the Night" variant likes to pick up on Up button presses more than in the PlayStation version regardless of the controller used. At least, I was pulling the Fireball / Byakko spells more than intended. I also found myself thinking less in terms of hitting every button in a combo, instead just smearing into cardinal directions. Like, the Saturn seems to have more of a slide detection to it than I anticipated? It's the difference from going down + down-forward + forward to down and forward while smushing your thumb up. You just kinda go legato, not giving a thought about the intermediate inputs.

Okay, verdict time!

Did I enjoy the Sega Saturn port of "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night?" Absolutely! While it has its oddities, I hesitate to call this product inferior. It's definitely not as tight of an experience as the standard PlayStation version, but what is here is cool. I would put this in the same category as "Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow" in that if you can't vibe with the main game for some ridiculous reason, it's got awesome side-modes to back it up.

Would I recommend other people play this game? Of course!

Would I recommend other people buy this game?

Look. I know when I'm being ridiculous. This experience personally cost me somewhere between $300.00 to $350.00 USD. Like, what the fuck. Madness! It would have been worse, had I actually bought this game this year! I mean, as of writing, this game, complete in box, is trending at $219.15 USD on PriceCharting.com! Shit, I might as well tell you to buy an arcade cabinet for how ridiculous this could get! And then you've got to weigh the pros and cons of taking systems out of their native countries, what international buyers are doing to the Japanese video game market, the risks of transporting stuff that far, and so on. It's not something you can just say, "LMAO, do it!" about.

But, what I will say is that BizHawk has a pretty good Sega Saturn emulator. And also, I might have written some documentation on how to get BizHawk set-up for Sega Saturn emulation. Chances are you're smart enough to figure out the rest.

[nerdyenby]

Blue time :D I’m watching Joel

Pregame

I watched the first 20 minutes on Saturday without writing anything lol

TUNA ON PIZZA??!?!!!?!???! I like tuna as much as the next guy (probably more if we’re honest) but that is a solid no, tuna is meant to be eaten cold

“‘Who’s your favorite YouTuber?’ LDshadowlady of course, she’s great” They’re so cute I could perish

Joel saying he couldn’t choose between Jimmy and Grian because “they’re both my bad boys” The bad boys being the most wholesome group in the series is everything to me, actually

I’ve only just started to watch Joel more regularly but I’m glad he’s maximizing his bi wife energy :))

“I’m playing full screen now because I’m not a nerd- I’m not a noob anymore” and H is so proud

Joel is SMASHING that parkour!!!

Simultaneous quick changes but instead of outfits it’s accents

Slowly accumulating all the empires peeps :)))

The kazoo driving them all insane

“I don’t wanna play anymore” so true Scott

Bingo but Fast

How many pics have I watched that just never noticed the old lady hat???

Ok yeah this is their domain, I don’t know who else would’ve looked at that bingo card and instantly made a composter lol

The overly loud ace race music instantly flooding Joel’s (and my) veins with adrenaline

Guys I think it might be scuffed

They had such good comms and organization

Them all taking a solid fifteen seconds to figure out what order Joel and Scott’s usernames are in alphabetically

Battle Box

Y’all I think Scott watched the update video /j

The carrot mechanics get more scuffed the more people try to understand them lol

Okay so I’ve never actually watched fWhip and I thought his name was Jim for a second there but Scott was just saying “Gem” slightly more Scottish than usual

“Guys it’s okay, at the end of the day, we won bingo and that’s all that really matters” so true Scott

“Keep away from Bakyamon and Punz” “And Oli, ‘cause he smells” Joel 😂

Scott saying they aren’t even communicating well, they are, just not effortfully lol

“It’s the Empires synergy” so true

Joel best bingo player on the planet, real and true

Hole in the Wall

They’re so fixated on the veggies lol

“I love hole in the wall… sometimes… when I have good ping” conditional love smh

Joel just laughing midgame “This is so stupid” it is /pos

The way they were more intensely focused doing calls for Scott than when actually playing lol

“How did they make hole in the wall more stressful???” “ The eating” I love you Gem (I know she continued talking but that’s what I heard and it’s funnier this way)

Survival Games

Joel and Scott losing their minds over the map lol

The more perspectives I watch the more convinced I am that there is not a good spawn in this map

They’re all just vibing, they’re so calm lol

A skybase above a skybase? What is this, Limited Life??? (I’m so funny)

This sg feeling like a mashup of skybattle and tgttos is so quirky of it

Joel and fWhip running for their lives while Gem and Scott are doing a let’s play 😭

“Oh you’re a top? Wow” SCOTT!!!

Joel almost saying that was the weirdest skybattle lmao

He’s so proud of Oli ;-;

“Blummin’ stupid Elon Musk” based

Joel talking about how nice it is that there’s not as much pressure for this MCC, about to get first individual

The joined the halftime show at the perfect time to get exactly zero context and no instrumental lol

TGTTOSAWAF

Joel’s such a hater lol

“I always follow the girlies, the girlies got me” so true Gem

The way Joel said “my wife!! 😩”

First time I’ve actually seen someone complete breakdown lol

Noxcrew proving Gem wrong instantly

“We expected more from MCC organizer but like, it’s fine Scott, it’s okay” fWhip 😂

They’re all so proud of Oli :((

“My favorite chicken <3” “I’m the best chicken!!” Scott and Gem my beloveds

Sands of Time

“Get that wooden arrow” “Wooden arrow?” “Wooden key arrow” “… Rusty” “Rusty, yeah” fWhip is going through it

“What is scuffed about this?” “Joel don’t complain, just take the blessing and run” so true Scott

Noooo you were right the first time Joel

That felt so much louder and longer than usual, I knew it was coming but the dread just made it worse lol

The way Joel evades mobs is somehow both satisfying and vaguely uncomfortable to watch

They did so good :D

Joel checking to see how Lizzie’s team did <333

FWhip pointing out the Pac-Man looking mouths on pink’s skins, I thought the same thing!!

Big Sales at Build Mart

Everyone freaking out at the Oreo logo is my favorite thing

“I’m really loving the rainbow flag representation” so true Scott

Don’t beat yourself up Gem, it happens to everyone at some point

Joel is such a good runner 😭😭😭

I knew this was their game but watching them demolish it is something else entirely

Scott is so surprised that Oli’s still in 2nd, it’s understandable but it’s so funny

“I’m in 3rd overall??? Okay, okay, that’s crazy. Catching up with my boy, catching up with Oli” Joel :)))

“No matter what, somebody from Empires is gonna bring it home” fWhip :((( /pos

“I will also say, no matter what, everyone guessed us at like 5th and we have been popping off this event” “They should’ve known were more scuffed than that” so true Gem

Skyblockle

They’re so upset lol

Gem asking “What’s skyblockle?” And Scott instantly crowning her igl is so iconic (especially knowing how it ends lol)

The close quarters resulting in accidental hot potato with diamonds 😭

This is how skyblockle was meant to be played, I’ve never watched a skyblockle where everyone was comfortable and felt like they knew what they were doing before lol

They cleared cyan so cleanly but I know that’s gonna be painful from their pov lol

FWhip saying it’s safe and instantly almost falling off the edge 😂

I have no idea what’s happening but it seems to be working out for them lol

JOEL’S INSANE!!! HOLY CRAP!!!!!

THATS AN ENTIRE MASSACRE!!!!

They’re all so proud of each other!!!

“Empires repping!!” SO TRUE SCOTT

Dodgebolt

Sam and Scott’s banter :))

Joel jokingly saying Punz is easy and Sam being actually toxic “they also have Phil so they have a few good people” sir 😭

Sam hyping everyone up :)))

JOEL’S POPPING OFF!!!

Rip Gem jinxed it /j

He might not’ve not 1v4’d but he went 3/3 when he was the last man standing which is still crazy epic of him

Joel turning to ask if anyone hasn’t got to shoot yet :(( /pos

Joel jinxing Gem right back lol

The temptation to make angst out of the urgency Sam told Scott to shoot him despite them having never(?) been on a lore server together

Oli and Joel’s trade <333

Why do I feel like Skeppy hasn’t spoken at all?? Is his mic broken or am I just not paying attention???

“Gem said it’s not women’s history month I can kill another woman” stop reading her mind Scott, those were inside thoughts

FWhip getting the winning shot :))

Sam profusely apologizing to the frog 😭

Oli and Joel enthusiastically congratulating each other :D

Joel did so good!!!! They all did!!!!!

[lurkingteapot]

Thai BL Favorites Tag Game

Tagged by @lurkingshan, @ginnymoonbeam, @incandescentflower and @recentadultburnout! Created by @thatgirl4815 as Thai BL Favorites Tag Game, and that's the name I'm playing it under because, a) well, it's all BL on my particular list, it'd feel disingenious to call it anything else except maybe Y Series because we're talking Thai audiovisual media specifically and b) I'm not entirely comfortable with the unilateral renaming of a genre which which originated and grew into its current forms in another cultural context. Don't get me wrong, I made the jump from calling it Yaoi to Boys Love to BL in the 1990s and 2000s; I know to say danmei and dangai (or boy boy) when talking about it in context of media from China/Taiwan, or Y series when talking about it in Thai. If fans and markets in the communities of origin change the names again, so will I. But for now I'm sticking with the term BL. Thanks for understanding.

Favorite Thai BL: @lurkingshan makes a great point with best vs favourite, and her contenders are also mine – is ITSAY my favourite? is Bad Buddy? I suppose if we go by times rewatched, Bad Buddy takes the crown; if it's "what do I rec other people with the least amount of caveats", ITSAY wins.

Current obsession: Laws of Attraction, with Be My Favourite as a close second.

Favorite pairing: I don't particularly like this type of industrially-pushed shoehorning of actors together as a general rule (let's not pretend Julia Roberts and Richard Gere or Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire weren't also a kind of fixed ship, and I know the Philippines does a similar thing with their (mostly het) love teams – this is not Thai BL exclusive, at least historically speaking), but it clearly sells, so I don't think the industry's going to move away from this model for a long while yet.

That said: tough, but I think it'll have to be Billkin and PP. Just. Look at them act together. Look. Whether it's ITSAY/LTIP/IPYTM and related material, or one of the advertisement shorts or the incredible music videos from last year or even My Ambulance – they're just. So!!!!

Most underrated actor: Fiat Patchata. Give that boy a main role, goddamnit.

Favorite main character: quoting @lurkingshan here:

Teh, I Told Sunset About You and I Promised You the Moon. Yes, both shows, and before you all come yell at me: I SAID WHAT I SAID. 

because she's not the only one who loves this disaster of a boy.

Favorite side character: I really loved the friend group in Secret Crush on You, and Tin's friends in Triage.

Favorite scene in a BL: There are so many to choose from, but I'm going to go with the bus stop scene in Bad Buddy ep 3. The way brick shithouse Pat, all 180some beefy adolescent centimetres of him, turns himself into a cute girl at the drop of a hat … that rewired something in me, had me sit up and take notice (and block the Bad Buddy air time slot in my work calendar for the remain of the show's run time). Because they took it seriously. Didn't play it for laughs.

Favorite line in a BL: oh, there are so many. But I guess if we want to go with largest impact on me, personally, I'm gonna go with Thian in Khun Chaai going "May I love you, Jiu?" because. whew. That just hit me right in the feels.

Most anticipated BL (& why): Only Friends and Love in Translation. Only Friends because it looks to shake up a lot of the things we're used to from GMMTV in particular – I know we've had a little bit of flirting outside of the fixed ships this year already in Moonlight Chicken and Our Skyy 2, but if Jojo is going to shake it up more I'm very, very here for that. Love in Translation because the Thai title is รักไม่รู้ภาษา "Love doesn't know language" and languages are my jam.

Healthiest relationship in a BL: I don't really enjoy thinking about relationships in these terms because it just … urgh. I don't care if it's ''''healthy'''' (and seriously, who gets to decide what is and what isn't healthy, anyway? and why are we making this a moral judgement?)

Questions I do ask about relationships: Is the relationship compelling? is it believable? do the people involved behave like they don't only love and desire, but also like each other as people? that's what I want to know.

Most toxic relationship in a BL: see above. 

Ginny suggested Relationship dynamic I would most like to have myself: and Relationship dynamic I would least like to have myself: to replace the "healthy" and "toxic" questions and I think that's fantastic, but I'm honestly blanking on both so I'm skipping this part.

Guilty pleasure series: I like what I like, I don't see a reason to feel bad about that.

Most underrated series: He's Coming To Me. It's such a lovely little show.

If you'd like to play, please consider yourself tagged (and feel free to tag me if/when you play -- I'd love to see!)

[cuwalli]

Hi I am thinking of doing a project about Mexican art and how it influenced video games for one of my classes and all I can think of for examples are just Grim Fandango. Are there any other games that use/are inspired by Mexican art that you know about or anything like that? If not that's ok, was just wondering

Hey, moot! Sorry for the delay in reply!

So other than Grim Fandango (which is obviously my favorite), there are a few I can think of, although I wish there were more. The first one that comes to mind is Guacamelee, although I never really got into that game, myself. Still, a lot of the art style is very cute and colorful and inspired by lucha libre and papel picado designs.

Another game by Tim Schafer that has some inspiration is Psychonauts, in the Black Velvetopia area. It's more Spanish design than Mexican, but there's a lot of overlap, including luchadores and some poster designs that look inspired by the lithography of José Guadalupe Posada. I haven't seen confirmation of this, but I would believe it, since the mural in the train station in Grim Fandango is also reminiscent of painter José Clemente Orozco.

On the indie front, the platformer Imp of the Sun is based on Maya and Inca mythology and design, and the upcoming Ecumene Azteca looks very promising. I'm keeping my eye on it; it's a survival RPG where you get to kill Spanish conquistadors, so what's not to love?

There is, of course, the Super Mario Odyssey inspirations used in the Sand Kingdom. While they're a little stereotypical of the kind of souvenirs tourists usually like, I think they're pretty cute. It isn't meant to be taken that seriously.

Of course, there are always games like Call of Juarez, Tomb Raider, Red Dead Revolver/Redemption, (to an extent) Far Cry 6, and Desperados that all borrow locations and design from Mexico/Latin America in some way. A lot of the most well-known games in the setting are, of course, games that feature "lost" Aztec relics, the cartel, or the wild west in some way. Of all of these, I feel Red Dead Redemption and Far Cry handle the subjects the best, although Red Dead more explicitly so. (I may also be biased because I'm a huge Giancarlo Esposito fan lmao)

On the 8-bit front, there were a couple, I think... I remember both Aztec and Montezuma's Revenge, though I can't remember what systems my dad had them on. Could've been NES, Apple II, Commodore, or Atari. Regardless, they sucked. lol

There is also, tangentially, a little-known point-and-click game called "The Interactive Adventures of Dog Mendonça and Pizza Boy," based on a comic book by Mike Mignola. I love this series, but technically it is set in Lisbon, Portugal. That said, the series and in particular the game was worked on by Argentinian, Brazilian, and Meixcan artists, and I feel the style very much lends itself to the underground Latin graphic novel styles of the early 00's.

Past that, there's precious little else, until you start getting into other game categories besides video games. At least nothing good; I think there might be a shovelware "La Llorona" game or something.

One of my favorites, though, that I've saved for last is a little inide game called El Hijo. It's an adventure game in the vein of Limbo/Inside or A Boy and His Blob, and while the gameplay itself is nothing special, the story and the art style are fantastic. It's oozing with charm and attention to detail, and I enjoyed it quite a lot. It felt a lot more in love with its setting and the culture than some of the aforementioned games do.

I hope this helps! Good luck with your project! If I can think of anything more, I'll RB this again.

[eternalwritess]

Can I have a matchup, please? Can be with boys or girls

My name is Maria Eduarda, I’m Brazilian, 22 years old, my pronouns are she/her and I study Environmental Science at the College

I’m awful at describing myself, but here we go. I’m introverted, usually I don’t start a conversation with someone else, but I like to chat if other people start talking to me. I'm quite a procrastinator, but so far it hasn't caused me any major problems. I am well organized and responsible with anything that involves other people, I don't want to harm anyone. I work hard at anything that I think will bring me good things in the future, I really like making jokes (even dark humor ones) and I consider myself very loyal to my friends. I am very unassertive in showing what I want and I always give in to avoid conflict. I don't know how to act under pressure (I usually freeze when it happens and I need some help)

Hobbies: video games (Nintendo is my passion), I love to write; currently learning how to make digital art (still being awful at it), also trying to learn how to play piano (this one I’m doing better) and I’m learning to like going to gym

Likes and dislikes: I love Analog Horrors and sci-fi (my favorite series are Doctor Who and Star Trek), I love food, but I hate to cook; I hate when the weather is too hot (it’s weird, since I live in Rio de Janeiro); I hate crowds and I hate the feeling of being left out of something

𝕐𝕠𝕦 𝕙𝕒𝕧𝕖 𝕓𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕞𝕒𝕥𝕔𝕙𝕖𝕕 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙…

𝓗𝓾𝓼𝓴!

hello for future reference please do NOT EVER and i mean EVER give me your real name OR where you live. this is the internet, stay safe <3

if this happens again i will NOT be taking your matchup

He probably found you wandering the streets lost and soon found someone picking on you and decided to step in

He fought them off for you pretty easily and took you back to the hazbin hotel where you are now staying

He would commonly start conversations with you. Even on the smallest topics trying to get to know you more

"So how you liking the hotel so far?"

This caused you to open up more around him and get to know the cast a bit better as he would introduce you to them

As for procrastination he wouldn't mind at all being quite lazy when it comes to some things himself. Yet when it gets out of hand he'll call you out on it and drag you over to whatever it is that you need to do

You're also responsible and he likes that as he doesn't need to constantly worry about you all of the time

The fact that you don't want to harm anyone just tugs at him especially he feels as if he needs to protect you especially since you're not as assertive as he'd like

"Hey if that guy comes up to you again just do this..."

He adores how hard working you are and will commonly help you in your endeavors and you will help him in his too

He knows how to act under pressure and will commonly take charge whilst keeping your best interests in mind

He commonly listens to your analog horrors with you. He doesn't get scared often and sometimes might end up laughing every now and then from them

Husk isn't that great of a cooker... but that doesn't mean that he won't try! He commonly gets Angel to help him make you food and treats

"Here try this one"

He'll most likely binge watch your favorite movies and shows with you all of the time getting you two drinks of some sort from the bar

He doesn't really like crowds either so he'll keep you both out of it

With him you'll never feel left out of anything. He'll constantly bring you into the group and into the conversation no matter what

"Hey get over here we're going out"

He doesn't understand video games but he'll watch you play them and might make fun of the mechanics every now and then but if it makes you happy then he's happy :)

He'll read whatever you write and will always help proof read it if you need

He also listens to you play the piano and will dance sometimes if he feels like it