#I think mark does

[tumblhurgoyf]

Feeling super negative for a multitude of reasons, some not Magic related at all, but the recent talk on Blogatog about “microset” products just feels so out of touch. I don’t want to bring that negativity on one of Mark’s posts as I’m not sure I could be polite about it and I’ve mostly just dismissed the product as not for me already anyway. But I do want to vent.

First it’s like $1 a card for random cards? That’s nuts. Boosters are already overpriced with all the commons included. They worked some really good PR speak by explaining away cutting the commons to give you more rares and uncommons, but the reality is you’re just paying more for less. It’s not like those rare slots are actually going to ever reach an EV that makes it a good gamble.

Second let’s talk about product fatigue. Like not only is this an additional release (or four) a year, but you’re doing normal and collector’s boosters for this as well? Holy fuck.

The fact that Mark’s openly work shopping what variation of this product players might actually shell out money for tells me it’s not received well. I haven’t seen a positive video about it at all.

It’s a shame though that they can’t give their golden goose a bit of breathing room though. I shared that post the other day about... let me find it for the term... trust thermocline. The basic idea is that people who like your product will stick with you through some missteps and bad ideas. And you won’t even notice how bad all of them are because sales keep increasing and people keep paying higher prices and buying new stuff and all that.

But at some point you hit that trust thermocline. Something pushes a lot of people over the edge. You walk it back but it’s too late. Because the thing is that was just the straw that broke the camel’s back. They didn’t leave because of one bad story, or because $5 a pack was too much but $4.50 wasn’t, or because two dozen products a year was ok but thirty went to far.

They left because of all of it. The last thing is just what made them finally say “enough.” And once they say enough and leave, you don’t get them back. It’s hard to see because things keep chugging along and all your numbers and metrics look fine. But I feel like Wizards has to be approaching this. I wonder about why they stopped including space at the end of surveys for additional comments. Too much negativity they don’t want to put any effort into handling?

On a different front, I’m also not enjoying the lore changes they’ve dropped with this same product. I am willing to admit that I’m somehow still too close to the story to really take a step back and appreciate this; that could change with time. But my reaction right now is that desparking a lot of planeswalkers while opening rifts so anyone and anything can now travel the multiverse is just stupid. You’ve just eviscerated the story conceit that made planeswalkers special.

idk, I wasn’t thrilled with how they handled the team up cards anyway, and to me this feels like the next step of that. We got to see unlikely allies on cards, now what if we got stories where Thalia was on Ravnica fighting the Obzedat? It feels (I keep intentionally using the word feels to describe this--it’s my emotional reaction detached from the idea that they’re going to be able to tell cool stories they couldn’t otherwise tell), anyway, it feels like they just tossed out a core story concept and don’t even realize it.

Like as much shit they get for the world of hats approach, I think that really works for what they do and is part of what I enjoy. I’m honestly in part concerned that the recent big events that effect the entire multiverse and set up this situation where planes can blend a lot more freely could impact the distinct feel of different worlds. And while I’m sure that’s something that’s on creative’s radar, they’ve also burned enough trust in recent years that I’m doubtful they will handle it well.

Though at the same time this feels kind of par for the course. There have been so many let downs in Magic story over the years that the amazing part is that I’m still invested at all. But the story’s a slave to corporate needs and is undoubtedly more story-by-committee than ever. A left-right punch to KO any creative work for sure.

But I shouldn’t be surprised. They are not and have never really tried to say they’re anything else. They make blockbuster sets and want blockbuster stories to go along with it. Anyone who wants a fantasy card game with DC/Marvel story sensibilities to produce artistic short fiction is a damned fool.

Anyway this is just me venting. Could all be wrong. Time will tell. If you want to vent here feel free.

[cutiesigh]

❤️🖤🩷

Wuthering Waves has taken over all of my free time recently, so here's a sketch of Scar!Ren I originally shared in da 14DWY Discord!!

[avocadoraisin]

someone said bat!Hoffman in Strahm's pocket and i couldnt relax until I drew it

[molinaesque]

"What are you?" "Oh, I'm you, sweetie. You just... give it a little time."

[cozylittleartblog]

had a(nother) nightmare

[uncanny-tranny]

Another bonus to learning a fiber art is being able to speak to others in a Lovecraftian language that nobody else understands...

...and also being able to read things like THIS:

[otrtbs]

PUTTING UP MY FIRST EXHIBIT EVER RN CURATED ENTIRELY BY ME !!!!!!!!!!! RAHHHH 😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈😈

IT’S OPEN 2 THE PUBLIC NEXT WEEK ‼️‼️‼️

[to-boldly-escape]

Data in Gold <3

Expand for higher qualityy

[katabay]

original thief series basso & garrett :)

ngl, it's about quality over quantity for me. an npc can have a total of three minutes of screen time, but if they have a cool name, they can live rent free in my head and I'll spend several hours trying to decipher drawable features from a blurry screenshot of pixels

there is a vague hint of a story here, and that's because every time I try to play thi4f, I get incredibly frustrated with how Not Fun the game play is. like, is the story good? well. but it has a PLAGUE. that should've given it instant 'I'll replay this once a year' status in my heart, but the game play sucks so bad that I've never finished it. I can't believe Not Fun gameplay beat out my obsession with narrative plagues.

anyway, the idea is basically if the original era had a game with a plague centric narrative and some other stuff I liked out of thi4f thrown into a narrative blender, with a heavy dash of horror thrown in because some parts of the thief games were scarier to me than entire dedicated horror genre games.

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Broken Roofs and Fixed Perspectives

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[thebrainrotsreal]

EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK, EVIL MARK!!! I want to be coherent about this season but please picture me foaming at the mouth and running on the walls. S2 being what if Mark's just like his Dad? Insanity. I love this show. Anyways, AU where an Evil!Mark tries to make Our!Mark worse, and Our!Mark tries to make the other better. Something something confronting your idea of the worst version of oneself. Plus, tweaked black and yellow costume because I saw it and immediately went murder hornet lookin' ass and knew I had to draw it. Evil ass Mark. Horrible. I think he should be dragged kicking and screaming into redemption.

[marblerose-rue]

astarion (as a warrior cat)

(request)

[horrorknife]

common ground

part 2

[venacoeurva]

The poll from a bit back saw Miraak all fucked up as the winner and thus—a gooey tentacle boy because fucked up guys and teeth are my specialty apparently

-Please do not reupload, edit, or use without proper credit or linking back. Ask first, please.-

[ghouljams]

Hi, I love your writing and am fully engrossed in the fae au :)

Could we please have the Konig version of the recent Ghost post about wearing his clothes and being scented by him?

*spraying you with the spray bottle*

Yeah let's do this.

Who needs more than 3 hours of sleep? Not you. You're totally absolutely fine, you actually love that your neighbors were up all night partying. Really.

You are so fucking tired. It was a long day at the shop, there were a lot of very annoying customers, and all you could think of was getting home and taking a nap. König fret over you the whole walk home, making soft inquisitive noises and hovering like you might collapse at any moment.

He follows you in when you unlock your door, concern apparently outweighing politeness. You toss your keys in the bowl and let him lock the door behind you as you toe off your shoes. König leaves you to go fuss around in the kitchen, you take the opportunity to strip and find more nap-able clothes. You slip on the biggest tee you can find and collapse on your bed. You are so fucking exhausted, maybe you'll skip dinner and just sleep.

You drift in the twilight in-between of sleep and wakefulness, listening to König make a mess of your kitchen, bemoaning the sun streaming through your window and directly onto your face. The kitchen noise stops and you get up to close your curtains, you should tell König to go home too. You're not great company right now.

You pad out of your room, determined to get your home to yourself and nearly bump into your giant. You blink slowly at his chest, hearing a deep rumble start up from it like an engine warming up. The sound threatens to drag you back into that sleepless twilight, and you waver lightly on your feet.

"Meine kleine liebling," he coos, scooping you up off your feet, "look at you." You don't want to say the sudden change in elevation has woken you up, but it certainly is attempting to restart your system. Your fingers twist and grip his shirt as you're moved from the hall back to the bedroom.

"Are you purring?" You can feel the rhythm of it under your fingers, gentle and sonorous. König doesn't answer, just flops both of you down onto your bed and arranges you how he likes. You let out a soft "oof" when he settles on top of you, his nose pressed against your neck and his hands roaming your body possessively.

The purring hasn't stopped, you can feel it against your chest now, pressing you insistently back towards your tired lull. Your head rolls against the pillow, as König grips your thigh and coaxes it against his hip.

"Too tired," you murmur, feeling him still before he gives a short nod against your neck. You can feel his teeth just hovering against your pulse, his tongue tasting your skin, his breathing is so deep and even. He's smelling you, your brain supplies helpfully, scenting you.

"Wearing my shirt," He fills in, you hum and wrap your arms around his shoulders, "Ich werde später meinen Geruch in dich ficken."

[lycheeluv]

only wearing mine