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bbyannabeth · 3 years

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hello hello, i just posted this fic right now.

below the cut is an alternate ending to the fic because i hate writing angst and i needed some serotonin. but please read the fic before reading the alt. ending<3

Getting to the Underworld was a lot easier when she had a child of Hades as her friend. Nico shadow traveled with her to his father’s palace, leaving them right outside the doors. “Thank you,” she said, staring up at the doors.

“No problem. You sure you want me to leave, though?” he asked. Annabeth nodded.

“I’ll be fine,” she said. She had Mrs. O’Leary’s whistle in her pocket. Technically that was Percy’s possession, but the hellhound had always loved her too so she hoped it would still work.

“Okay,” Nico said quietly, somewhat awkward. “See you later, then.”

“Bye,” she replied, and then she was alone. Taking one heavy breath, Annabeth pushed through the doors of the palace. “Lord Hades!” she yelled, walking in.

He materialized in front of her. “What a nice surprise,” he said, his voice flat. “I love screaming children bursting into my home.”

“My apologies, my Lord. You know why I’m here, though.”

“I do,” Hades said. “But I can’t help you.”

He started to walk away but Annabeth followed. “Yes, you can!” she protested. “Percy saved the Gods, he saved you. He’s the only reason Camp Halfblood accepts Nico. He deserves a better life than what he got.”

“He… he made his choices,” he said, though he didn’t sound confident. It reminded her of what her mother said. Annabeth thought that was bullshit. He made his choices based on the circumstances. He would’ve never willingly chosen this life to begin with, none of them would.

“Do it to spite Zeus, then,” she tried. “This eternal feud with your brothers – this would piss them off pretty good!”

Hades stopped, like he was considering it. The silence grew longer and Annabeth was almost worried she’d crossed some line. But then he turned.

“Okay.”

She blinked. “Okay?” she asked.

Hades nodded. “You make good points. He saved us and he’s befriended Nico, I do appreciate those things,” he said. He grinned, a sight that sent shivers up her spine. His smile had an unintentional (or at least she hoped it was unintentional) evil to it that she didn’t like. “And it would be very satisfying to anger my brothers.”

Annabeth was stunned. This has been her entire goal but she was shocked it had actually worked. After what happened on Olympus, she had expected to walk out of there empty-handed.

“Th-thank you, Lord Hades,” she stuttered. “I can’t thank you enough. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

He nodded once before flicking his wrist. In a cloud of dark smoke, Percy appeared in the room with them. He was translucent but other than that, he looked just as he had before. Hades held up a hand to stop her from rushing forward. “You’ll walk right through him,” he said with a dark chuckle.

Percy stared at her, disoriented. Hades flicked his wrist again and Percy jolted, his body becoming solid again. Annabeth looked at Hades, who then rolled his eyes. “Go ahead.”

Annabeth launched forward, tackling Percy in a hug. He was still confused but his arms tightened around her. “Oh my Gods,” she mumbled. “I got you. You’re safe.”

“Annabeth?” he whispered, starting to regain his senses. She stepped back to cup his face.

“Yeah, Perce. It’s me. You’re safe.”

“I don’t,” he trailed off, blinking at Hades. “You brought me back?”

“Your girlfriend was very insistent,” he replied with a shrug. Annabeth almost laughed. Percy blinked again.

“Thank you, Lord Hades,” he stuttered. “Thank you so much.”

The God nodded. “If you die again, you’re on your own,” he said with a smile. Another twisted-looking one that made Annabeth shiver.

She hugged Percy close again and they heard Hades sigh. “Okay, you guys are gross,” he said. It almost sounded like he was… teasing them? Annabeth laughed quietly, her cheeks flushing as she stepped back.

“Thank you again, my Lord,” she said. “We’re indebted to you.”

“Considering it a favor,” he replied. “Now get out of here.”

His wrists flicked and Annabeth was suddenly enveloped in darkness. Her eyes fluttered open, and she and Percy were standing at the New York entrance to the Underworld. With a delirious laugh, she tackled him in another hug. One that sent them sprawling into the grass. “Oh my fucking Gods,” she said, pulling him as close as she could.

“Annabeth,” he murmured, digging his face into her neck. She pulled back enough to cup his face.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I’m so, so sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry,” he replied, staring up at her in awe. “You got me out, Beth.”

“I know,” she said. Her emotions started to creep back up her throat and suddenly she was crying again. “But still. You- you died. That-“

“Wasn’t your fault,” he said, cutting her off. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

Annabeth pressed her forehead to his. “I couldn’t do this life without you. I didn’t want to.”

“I know,” he whispered. “I’m right here.”

Annabeth sniffled and nodded before standing up, pulling him with her. “We should go see your mom,” she said. Percy’s eyes widened and something in him broke.

“Yeah,” he agreed. They walked there and she told him everything that had happened the past week or so. Getting out of Tartarus, defeating Gaia, visiting Sally, and then storming Olympus. He listened silently, their hands locked between them. Part of her was afraid to let go, as though this were some dream and he’d vanish if she released him.

They were stepping into the elevator, going up to the fourth floor, when Percy let out a quiet breath. “Why am I nervous?” he whispered. “It’s my mom.”

“You haven’t seen her in months, Perce,” Annabeth replied gently. “It’ll be okay.”

“Did you visit her much while I was… gone?” he asked. Annabeth nodded.

“At least once a week before our quest,” she said, a small smile gracing her features. She and Sally had gotten extremely close over the course of Percy’s disappearance. “I even slept in your bed a few nights because I had accidentally ended up staying later than I meant.”

He laughed quietly and dropped her hand to wrap his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you,” he whispered. “You probably helped her so much.”

“She helped me,” Annabeth replied. In those months, seeing Sally had kept Annabeth from slipping away entirely. Sally made sure she stayed fed and well. If it hadn’t been for her, Annabeth would’ve withered away.

“I love you.”

Annabeth smiled and as the doors opened, she quickly tilted her head up to kiss him softly. “I love you, too.”

She took his hand again and they walked through the halls. Stopping in front of the door, Annabeth looked up at him. He lifted his hand, paused for just a brief second, and then knocked on the door. Annabeth held his other hand tight as they waited.

The door opened and then Sally Jackson was in front of them. Her hair was in a loose bun and her eyes were red. She stared at Percy, who was crying again. Honestly, Annabeth felt a bit like crying herself. “Mom,” he whispered, his voice cracking.

In an instant, their arms were wrapped around each other. It was a little funny now that Percy was taller, but that didn’t stop Annabeth from tearing up.

“My baby,” Sally murmured. “I love you so much, oh Gods.”

Annabeth saw Percy’s shoulders shake with silent sobs. Sally’s eyes opened just for a second, but she caught sight of Annabeth and regained enough sense to pull away. “Come inside, let’s get out of the hall.”

They were ushered inside and Percy was being wrapped up in another tight hug. Annabeth excused herself quietly, trailing down to the bathroom to wipe her tears away. She was so overwhelmed with emotion and she wanted to give them a moment alone.

When she returned, they had seemingly just broken apart. Sally turned that warm, loving gaze on Annabeth now and swept her up a hug. “I’m so glad you’re safe,” she said, and Annabeth melted. And then, much quieter, Sally whispered, “Thank you.”

Annabeth nodded and hugged her tighter. She caught Percy’s eye over Sally’s shoulder and he smiled at her. His mother had always loved Annabeth, but it must’ve been interesting to see how much closer they had gotten over the last year. Sally pulled away and looked at both of them.

“Well,” she said, huffing out a disbelieving laugh as she wiped her tears. “We should order some pizza and talk. Paul will be home in about an hour.”

They sat in the living room, Annabeth tucked into Percy’s side and she told Sally about what happened on Olympus and in the Underworld. She looked impressed at Annabeth’s determination. “Well,” Sally said with a gentle laugh. “At least I know I can count on you to take care of him.”

Annabeth wanted to cry. She had always been the one who was supposed to take care of Percy, and yet she had let him die. Instead of crying, because Gods, was she tired of it, she lifted her eyes to Percy. He was already looking back at her.

“Yeah, someone has to,” she said softly. Percy kissed her head.

“I’m glad it’s you, then,” he whispered.

Just then, the door opened and Percy tensed. “Honey?” Paul called out and Sally smiled.

“In the living room.”

“Did you end up…” he trailed off when he entered the room and his eyes landed on Percy. His bag, filled with school papers and his laptop, fell to the ground. “P-Percy?”

In a flash, Percy was off the couch and pulled into another hug. He and Paul had always been decently close, with maybe a hint of natural awkwardness settled between them. After being gone for so long, though, any residual tension had disappeared and they both seemed perfectly comfortable in a hug.

When Paul finally pulled back, he looked at Percy, then Annabeth, then Sally. “I don’t… understand.”

Sally laughed gently. Her mood had improved greatly since they had gotten to the apartment, for obvious reasons. “Come sit,” she said.

Halfway through retelling the story, the pizza got there and Sally brought it into the living room for all of them to dig into. Afterward, Paul nodded slowly. “This was definitely an interesting family to marry into.”

Annabeth laughed quietly and leaned further into Percy. She only had the stomach capacity for a single slice of pizza right now, despite not eating nearly enough the past few months. In a moment of bravery, she tilted her head up to brush her lips against his ear. “Good thing I’m already used to how crazy this family can be.”

His eyes snapped to hers and she smiled slowly. She remembered what he’d said about New Rome, how demigods could grow up, get married and start families. She wanted that with him and she wanted to be sure he knew that. Judging by the way he kissed her, in full view of his parents, she was fairly confident that he knew.

They stayed there on the couches for a while, catching up. Conversation rarely ceased and Annabeth smiled more in those couple hours than she had in the last six months. It was only about 8:30 when Percy had yawned for the millionth time. “Tired?” she asked gently.

He nodded, leaning against. She looked at Sally. “This one is about to pass out on me,” Annabeth said, nudging Percy who hummed. “We’re gonna head to bed.”

“Okay,” Sally said before getting up with them and wrapping Percy in another hug. Annabeth heard her whisper, “I’m glad you’re home,” to Percy.

“Me too,” he replied before pulling back. Sally didn’t hesitate to hug Annabeth again.

“I love you guys,” she said when she released Annabeth.

“Love you,” Annabeth said softly, smiling. Percy echoed the same sentiment, taking her hand and leading her down the hall.

Once they were safely in his room, he quietly locked the door and turned to her. “You know, if this demigod stuff doesn’t work out for me, I could be an actor.”

Annabeth raised her eyebrows. “Why’s that?”

His hands slipped under her hoodie, finding her waist and he pulled her closer. “I’m not tired,” he murmured, brushing his lips against hers. “I just missed you.”

“While I was right next to you?”

“Mhm,” he hummed. “I missed kissing you. Thought I’d have to wait a long time to be able to do that again. And now I’m back, and we’ve barely gotten to do any kissing.”

Annabeth couldn’t help the way her lips twitched upwards. “You would’ve waited that long to kiss me again?” she asked softly.

“I’d wait a million lifetimes if it meant I got to kiss you again,” he replied, his voice devoid of teasing. Finally, he was done with talking and he leaned down to press his lips to hers. Annabeth’s arms snaked up around his neck and she pulled him closer. Walking her backward towards the bed, he muttered against her lips, “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too,” she replied.

Annabeth hadn’t realized how much she’d missed the simple act of kissing him until now. All she wanted to do was get wrapped up in his touch, which wasn’t wise with his parents being down the hall.

For once, however, she decided as she pulled him into the bed with her, wisdom could wait.

#percabeth #pjo #percy jackson and the olympians #percy jackson #annabeth chase #hoo #heroes of olympus #fic #gray writes

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justmiha97 · 4 years

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TS3, boderderless, new machines and FPS limit!!!

UPDATE 2.0 Except borderless gaming app and initial explanations, this guide is now OUTDATED!!! Read new guide HERE: https://justmiha97.tumblr.com/post/633811982604222464/another-way-to-limit-ts3-fps IMPOTANT!!! UPDATE FOR 1.69 GAME VERSION INSTALLATION!!!

Check down in step 4.a. for changes on how to do this properly. For people who renamed their files to:

Rename them back to: TS3.exe to 3booter.exe TS3W.exe to TS3.exe TS3W.exe.backup to TS3W.exe

Original post:

I never knew I would be making this post till few hours back, but until now it wasn’t really much known that sims 3 in windowed mode could be run with FPS limit, which forced a lot of people to run the game in full screen. Recently a friend (find him here) and I discovered how to limit FPS for both 1.67 and 1.69 game versions in windowed mode.

Why is this important?

Well, on newer PC’s, ones with a GPU processing power that can easily render recent games, Sims 3 is expected to run exceedingly well... but because Sims 3 is so poorly designed/optimized on a technical level, there is a problem with that. Sims 3 has no FPS limitation, so on newer cards, FPS can get up to even 1k FPS which is INSANE. Personally I had from 500-700 FPS on loading screens myself. This means that: 1. Your card is being overworked and overheated and will be damaged 2. The in-game micro stutter that happens frequently is because the game constantly has short but extreme peaks in frame rate (from 60 - 600 FPS) This is why it’s desired to FPS limit TS3.exe or TS3W.exe!!!

What does windowed mode have to do with all of this?

It’s possible to limit your game FPS in full screen mode trough your graphic control panel application. Though for me it did not work, a lot of people report it working for them. Until now it wasn’t known that the same could be done for windowed mode, meaning users with high end PC running the game windowed were doomed to experience GPU crashes or even worse component death. Now however, a fix has been discovered.

But why would I want to run windowed then?

In full screen mode, game is rendered way darker, which is why EA just lazily slapped on a brightness filter, which makes the whole game brighter than it actually should be. This also means that screenshots of the game taken in full screen (unless they are taken with in-game screenshot feature, which is lower quality) are practically unusable since they are too dark.

When in full screen, the game goes out of memory faster, especially if you are alt tabbing (switching windows) a lot.

Ok, ok but how do I get rid of borders now?

That’s why this guide is here. For that you will need a third party borderless games application. You can find it here, but this will be detailed later in this step by step guide.

THE GUIDE

Before we start, if you want to have your games set up to run well, read trough and apply fixes from these guides:

-https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1131162350

-https://answers.ea.com/t5/Technical-Issues-PC/The-Sims-3-How-to-Minimize-Lag-and-Stabilize-the-Game/m-p/9647783

-https://twitter.com/crosimmer/status/1291882081191170048?s=21

They are all similar in nature but have their own additions to making the game run better. They are extremely helpful and effective. They even include guides on how to FPS limit the game in full screen if you want to keep playing the game that way. Also, be sure to read the last ( 7.) point in this guide as it is important and will determine if you even want to do this or not.

Now that that’s out of the way...

1. First thing to do is run the game and make sure that full screen is off. This is luckily easy to do. If it’s not off, turn it off in options:

2. Next, if you’ve applied FPS limit trough your graphic control application as advised by guides, make sure it’s disabled because it will interfere with this fix. 3. Once you are sure that it is disabled, get 3booter and FPSlimiter from this page: http://www.moreawesomethanyou.com/smf/index.php?topic=15585.0 (files in first two posts) 4. Open both .zip archives and extract all their contents to: - C:/Program Files (x86)/Electronic Arts/The Sims 3/Game/Bin or -C:/Program Files x(86)/Origin Games/The Sims 3/Game/Bin or whatever your install location of the game is.

4.a. If your game version is 1.69 there is one more step here. Once the files are extracted, you will need to rename launcher like this: Sims3Launcher.exe to Launcher.exe And then download and extract this new launcher exe in the bin:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18lMmkXBF_5sknVo0UvxbNp6h_JZu9z7E/view?usp=sharing

Rename it to Sims3Launcher.exe 5. Now that you have the fixes set up properly, you can run the game: - Trough 3booter.exe if you are on version 1.67 (feel free to make a shortcut) or - Trough new launcher, Sims3Launcher.exe, if you are on 1.69. Note that your shortcuts to game launcher will now point to this new launcher due to filename. If you want to use the old launcher, make a shortcut for Launcher.exe

6. BUT WAIT!!! What about that borderless thingy m’ bob? Well here comes that part of setting up windowed mode to look like it’s full screen. First you want to go to the link of the program, I’ll post it again for convenience: https://github.com/Codeusa/Borderless-Gaming/releases Then scroll down a bit and download this:

Once that’s downloaded, install it and run it, after you’ve ran the game in windowed mode. You will be greeted with this:

To have your game in borderless mode, add it to the list on the left by selecting your game name from the list. It will be the name of the last expansion you are running, with [TS3W] next to it ([TS3] if you haven’t installed FPS limiter on 1.69). After the game is selected, click the arrow

And your game will automatically turn into a full screen-like application. IMPORTANT!: DO NOT CLOSE borderless gaming app, only minimize it. It has to run at all times while your game is running or the game will stop being borderless. Make sure to set borderless gaming app to run on windows launch if you don’t want to bother reopening it every time you start your PC.

7. Final notes. (Still IMPORTANT) If you’ve gotten this far, congratulations, you are one patient simmer willing to put in effort to perfect your sims 3 game experience. Not everything can be perfect however, and there are some additional notes to take care of. - First, the FPS limiter program only limits the game to 30FPS. People who have had the game run at 60FPS might be disappointed by this. However the game already runs it’s animations at only 30FPS so there is no need for additional frames. However it’s still you choice. If you do see a difference with 60FPS and don’t want to change it, you can still run the game full screen with 60FPS graphics control limiter. -Second, if you are NOT experiencing FPS higher than 60 in any part of the game (even load screens and main menu), there is no need to install this fix. However be vary that whenever you change hardware, especially GPU, you might need to take care of this. -Third and final, as a side note, there is a program that lets you unpark your CPU cores for that final addition of sims 3 smooth experience. This is completely OPTIONAL. Here is the program’s page (scroll all the way down for download): https://coderbag.com/product/quickcpu To set it up to unpark all cores you just have to do this

And click Apply.

FINALLY DONE?

Yes, yes. Finally done. That’s it Folks. Have fun with your games and good luck simming! And thanks to crosims for helping me out get this working on 1.69.

#sims3 #thesims #ts3fixes #sims3fixes #sims #ts3 #sims3mods #sims3performance

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fanfictasia · 3 years

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Whumptober Day 15

Alt. Head Injury

Spoiler: This is an excerpt from Inheritance, a fic we have yet to release. ^-^

Rex catches Anakin’s attention next as the clone commander approaches him, and Anakin turns to him after a few more words with the Chancellor. “General, you should go see the healers.”

Must they start with this again? “I’ll be fine, Rex,” Anakin insists frustratedly. He’s not, not really, but he doesn’t want to go. He doesn’t want to take the time, and… and the pain is dulling his thoughts, stopping his mind from focusing on all those things he can’t and doesn’t want to think about.

“Kix said you shouldn’t be walking, much less fighting.”

Anakin almost sighs, but the sharp pain constantly radiating through his body – which only seems to have gotten worse. Ahsoka kicked him, he remembers, and it probably badly jarred his already broken ribs – reminds him that he needs to be careful. He still feels disconnected from the shock of it all, and he’s not looking forwards to when everything comes back. That’s probably why even his physical pain is being dwarfed so much. Normally, it would be worse than this, he thinks.

Now that Anakin is actually thinking about it again, he notices that the aches throughout his body have worsened – likely from the lightning. Plus, his head is throbbing again. He doesn’t even remember hitting it. Maybe when Dooku threw him into the wall? He didn’t even notice. Slowly, he reaches back to touch it, fingers slipping through his hair to find the gash. It’s not as though Rex doesn’t know he was injured already, and the others are inside.

“Really, I’ll be okay,” Anakin grumbles, even as he pulls his hand away. It’s wet with blood; he can see as much in the moonlight. Never mind that.

He looks up sharply as Kix appears through the door. Rex’s doing, no doubt. “You are going to the medbay,” the clone commands, and the glare he gives Anakin is enough to make him cave immediately. “You haven’t slept since this happened, you were beaten by Hardeen, and you fought Dooku, which is a reason enough alone.”

“Fine,” Anakin concedes reluctantly, shooting Rex his best betrayed look as Kix drags him away.

#whumptober #whumptober 2021 #whumptober day 15 #day 15 #star wars #star wars fanfiction #fanfiction #anakin skywalker #deception arc #rex #anakin and rex #kix #day fifteen #anakin #captain rex #clone trooper kix #anakin needs a hug #anakin needs therapy #head injury

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unstoppableforcce · 5 years

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what we do now that it’s over (3)

alt. title: war happened. emotions happened. they’re in love and I’m making it cannon myself

finnpoe / stormpilot

this episode ft. some more angst and lots of soft ! check it out on my ao3 - relliot

still accepting requests between works - r.e.

The bright light woke him immediately, he feared it was the sun, that he had slept outside the entire night, covered in bugs and sweat and everything he feared when he agreed to come to Yavin with Poe.

But it wasn’t dawn, just the automatic porch lights when they sensed motion.

“I told you I was fine, so you stayed up for me?”

Finn blinked, still trying to make out the shadowy shape out of the intense lights. The voice was just raspy enough that he couldn’t place it to Poe right away, not until his mop of curls came into view and his face finally illuminated.

He coughed, cracking his neck, groaning in discomfort. “I needed to say something…”

“Get up, come on.”

He almost didn’t want to let him help him up, but Poe was fully awake and functioning while he was, at best, a tired slump of himself. Poe took his arm and slung it over his shoulder, the two of them walking together into the house, both in silent agreement to keep their footsteps quiet as Kes was asleep downstairs.

Poe was particularly grateful for the silence, knowing that if Finn had something to say, he was going to hear about, and he wanted to avoid that for as long as possible.

By the time they hit the stairs, Finn was awake enough to walk on his own, but he couldn’t bring himself to mentioning it, to pull from Poe as they slinked upstairs. He set him down on the makeshift bed in the loft, pulling back briefly and sighing, hands on his hips as he glanced back down the hall to see Rey in the other bedroom already asleep, then back to Finn.

“I shouldn’t make you sleep out here, you can take the other bed-”

“I just fell asleep on a porch; I think this is a luxury.” Finn fought back, rubbing over his chin and the stubble growing there.

Poe stopped himself from saying anything else, going through a similar motion with another sigh.

Finn wanted to say everything he had planned to say, to sympathize and get him better… It was too late, they were both too tired, Poe barely looked awake, much less attentive.

It was going to have to wait.

Finn broke the silence. “We’re going out to the Force Tree in the morning?”

“Yeah, I think, you know, Rey seemed excited for it…”

“Right, yeah, good.”

Poe nodded along, incapable of anything else as a yawn ripped through him.

“I’ll see you in the morning,” Finn added, kicking out of his boots, releasing Poe from the conversation.

The next light he saw was the actual rise of the sun, beading through the windows of where he slept, sparkling through the fabrics strewn about. It was a much nicer surface to wake up on, his muscles groaned but not nearly as uncomfortable as he had been when he woke up in the middle of the night.

He threw his legs over the side of the bed and sighed, just as he heard a soft patter of feet coming to where he sat. It was Rey, looking an adorable mix between sleepy and well-rested, and she had remembered to change into separate clothes to sleep in, unlike himself.

“Morning…” She chimed, halfway through tying her hair up into her normal knotted style. “I saw you outside last night, but I figured you’d make your way inside.”

“Yeah…” He chuckled out, just as a much heavy set of steps made their way into the room from the other side.

Poe looked even worse than yesterday, if he had gotten any sleep at all, he didn’t look it.

“Morning,” Rey added again with a soft smile.

“Yeah, morning.” He sighed, positioning his hands back onto his hips. “You guys good to head out after we eat?”

They both nodded and he joined in with him.

“I’m sure my dad’s already up and cooked, I’ll change and meet you down there.” He spoke again, almost entirely to Rey, not even glancing down to Finn once as he spoke before turning away.

Rey raised a brow, but Finn shook his head, neither of them saying anything, just turning back to their respective sectors to change their clothes and meet Kes downstairs.

Poe was right, he was cooking, and looked like he had been for a while, a full meal prepped for them and waiting on the table while he sipped at his caf.

Rey and Finn sat down, waited for Poe but when he didn’t come down in the first few minutes, they began eating, and eventually, he sauntered down the stairs, grabbed a plate and leaned against the counter.

“I’m excited for you to see the Tree, Rey, and you, Finn, I’ve heard it’s an incredible experience for force users.”

“Oh, I’m not a Jedi.” Finn defended; a cheek full of food.

“That’s not what Poe says, heard you’re great with a saber and-”

He dropped his fork to his plate with a clatter and shook his head, trying to laugh it off but no one around the table was buying it. “Yeah, but I’m not like Rey.”

“My mistake…” Kes said carefully, downing the rest of his caf and shrugging. “You should probably get going if you want to beat the suns.”

Poe nodded, bending over the table to collect plates and walking them over to the kitchen while Rey tied up the laces on her boots, Finn doing the same. “We’ll be back by sundown; do you need anything else?”

“I’m going to walk the Belken, set the droids out in the fields…”

“Well if you need anything-”

“Go.”

So, they did. Poe leading the way with a pack thrown over his shoulder, trekking out the front door and heading out

Yavin was nothing if not beautiful. It was a one body wide path, so they hiked in a line, first Poe, then Finn, then Rey, almost completely in silence as the natural noises of the jungle around began to drown out even their thoughts.

The sun barely threaded the dense canopy of leaves above them, stray beams cutting through and sparkling across their very quickly sweating bodies. Eventually, the foliage on either side of the well-worn if not slightly overgrown path faded back some, leaving just enough room two people now. Finn took a few extra long steps until he settled into step alongside Poe.

They were each quiet, but Poe was noticeably stewing in his own personal hell.

They couldn’t stay. They just couldn’t any longer.

Poe didn’t even notice him coming up alongside him, that was how out of it he was. Finn passed a gentle nod back over his shoulder and Rey got the message, slowing her step and giving them some distance.

“We need to talk.” Finn tried at first in a whisper but after a few beats, repeated at a more audible volume, getting Poe to snap his head back his way.

“Talk about what?” He chuckled, rubbing the sweat off his brow with one swipe of his wrist wrapped with a scarf.

“Whatever the hell is going on with you…”

“Nothing is-”

“Okay, you can’t keep pretending you’re fine but ever since we got here you’ve been acting different-”

“I haven’t-”

“Can you let me finish?” Finn snapped, enough for even Rey to raise an eyebrow at even if she kept her mouth shut and her eyes down like she wasn’t paying attention.

Poe only bit his tongue and raised his hands gently in surrender, not much, but enough.

“Listen, we came here because the war is over and we can slow down, we need a break, we need a chance to figure it all out and you’ve just been boiling.” He sighed out, bringing them to a stop on the path, Rey no longer pretending to be chasing butterflies. She was paying as much attention as Finn, neither of them ignoring it now.

“He’s got you in on this too, the both of you conspiring against me-” Poe rambled out, barely capable of forming the words on his tongue as everything continued to biol under his skin, turning him red and it wasn’t from the heat. “I’m fine and the two of you need to start worrying about yourselves.”

“Poe…” Rey sighed, stepping forward and placing a gentle hand on his shoulder which he hit away like swatting a fly. “We don’t know what’s going on and we just want to-”

“This is a lot coming from you.”

He was crying now, trying desperately to pretend he wasn’t, but he couldn’t help himself, the tears hot on his face as he shifted on his feet, the beams of sunlight splattering his face in a bright yellow. He couldn’t stop himself now, he just couldn’t.

“You said it yourself, we came here to slow down, and you’ve spent the entire time watching me because you can’t do what you’re telling me to do… to realize you have to figure out what you’re going to do now that it’s over too.” Poe ranted out, pushing his finger into Finn’s chest, stuttering him back a step. They could read the regret on his face, but he didn’t stop, he couldn’t.

Finn and Rey exchanged a look but before either of them could form a rebuttal, he redirected to Rey.

“You still won’t even tell us what happened to you on Exegol, which is fine…” He rubbed his brow, “We don’t know each other that well, I don’t expect it, but it’s clearly weighing on. So, you guys don’t get to come after me. You don’t.”

No one knew what to do, least of all Poe. He expended every last ounce of his energy by shouting at them and now he couldn’t meet their eyes. Blowing out a breath, he shook his head and turned away, continuing down the path. By himself.

Rey followed first, keeping her eyes down and continuing the silent march. After a few seconds and a deep and shuddering breath, Finn did the same. They were all lost in their thoughts the entire rest of the hike, now finding themselves grateful for the gentle hum of the jungle.

By the time they reached a small bridge, Poe was already waiting for them, a small stream flowing underneath it. But he didn’t want to talk, he waited just long enough for them to catch up, then continued, going right from the bridge and following the path for a few more minutes before reaching the end of the path, the end of the Dameron property.

It was like a breath of fresh air rushing through their bones, through their hair, through every inch, every atom of their being. Rey got a whiff of it when they first got there, but that was faint, like a gentle breeze, this was a full-blown tornado force of feeling. It was in the air, it was all around, it was breathtaking and rejuvenating all at once.

And Finn could feel it all too. Rey was immersed in it, but he could still feel it.

Even Poe couldn’t ignore it, they didn’t know what he was feeling but his whole disposition had still changed. He slowed down, he softened. This kind of power? Force-sensitive or not, it could be felt.

It was an extensive tree, an intricate design, towering into the treetops, much bigger than Poe remembered from when he was a kid, from the last time he was out here.

Rey’s breath caught as she slowly approached it, coming up next to Poe as they both inched towards the base. She stepped carefully over the thick roots, ripping off her gloves and outstretching her hand for the wood. Poe did the same but with slightly less caution, much more familiar as he drew his fingers over it.

Finn squatted next to one of the largest roots bulging out of the dirt, laying his hand down soft onto it. The feeling was there, and it was unlike anything he had ever felt before.

But his finger ran over a groove, following along a curve that caught his eye as soon as he glanced down.

A small P engraved, not well, sharp edges, it must have been a knife…

“My father yelled so loud when he found that…” Poe mused. Finn glanced up just long enough to catch that Poe had been looking his way, staring even, pulling away as soon as he caught him, both of them turning back to the tree. “I was young, eight or nine I think… trying to feel something more, I don’t know…”

They both kept quiet, not knowing whether the story was over or not and not wanting him to retract further into himself.

“I haven’t been back out here since then.” Poe chuckled to himself, pulling his hand away and walking down further to where the roots dipped into the stream, the two of them electing to follow as he collapsed down into the dirt. “It wasn’t even a year after my mother died.”

Finn gave Rey another nod and she gave one back, retreating to the tree which was calling her to do just that.

He sat down on a rock opposite Poe, his boots tipping into the humming water as it flowed past.

“Everything changed after she died.” He wasn’t crying. He was unnaturally stiff and maintaining a painfully stern stare off into the water a few feet below.

“Poe…”

“I got out of here as fast as I could. And there’s just this… there’s this guilt, it’s heavy, it’s weighing me down and it’s been there for years…” He scoffed, reaching to his neck and grabbing the ring around the chain hanging there, tugging it gently back and forth. “I thought winning the war… I thought it would all go away…”

“But it’s worse.” Finn sighed with a nod to faint that Poe wouldn’t have been able to see it even if he was looking that way instead of into the water.

“It’s so much worse…”

He reached over and grabbed his hand, the one not holding tight to the necklace but resting on his knee. Poe glanced down to his grip on his hand, to the calloused skin that held tight to his own. A deep breath in, deep breath out.

He pulled away. He didn’t want to, but he had to.

“I guess we’re all still trying to figure it out.” Poe let out one last ragged sigh. “Figure out what we’re going to be now that we can be anything…”

He finally looked up and met Finn’s stare, so soft, eyebrows furrowed out of concern and chapped lips jutted out in a near pout. Poe’s stubble had progressed to a ragged beard by this point, not full yet, but a few days and it wouldn’t be a surprise at the rate it was growing. And the bags under his eyes, they were caving into his face, he was a ghost of himself.

Finn didn’t imagine he looked much better. He wasn’t getting any more sleep than Poe was, his head just as wrecked by being here, or at least half as wrecked watching Poe spiral so much.

“Well, Rey seems to have it all figured out at least…” Finn laughed out, swiping a hand under his nose with a futile attempt to melt away the heavy tension.

They both glanced back up to Rey and sure enough, she was levitating by the tree, rocks spinning around in a gentle blur.

“Nah… I think we’re all stuck.” Poe sighed, grabbing a stone and rolling it down into the water, making a light splash. “And I don’t think we can go anywhere until we figure it out.”

“Just don’t forget we’re here.” Finn smiled softly, extending his hand for the water Poe kept in his pack and he obliged. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

Poe passed over his bottle and huffed, other hand still hanging around the ring on his neck. He licked his bottom lip and sucked it back in briefly before looking back to Finn.

“Yeah, I know…”

#finnpoe #stormpilot #poe dameron #finn #rey skywalker #rey #post tros #tros spoilers #A Long Trip Home

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tiesandtea · 4 years

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Suede in Ray Gun (US), issue 45, April 1997

The London Suede... English voodoo Wherein we learn of the ecstacy of being Suede By Michael Krugman

RG: It's refreshing to not hear the "We're going to tour America and everyone will love us" lip service that most English bands spew about making it here.

B: I'm just honest about it. In almost every other country in the world, we've had quite a lot of success, and it just hasn't happened in the States. Maybe it's something to do with the basic make up of the band that just grates with American music. Maybe it's the fact that we haven't had a successful tour there.

RG: That's true. All of the tours here were troubled in one way or another, what with Bernard's father passing away, or Richard having just stepped in. In many ways, we've never gotten to see the real Suede.

B: No, you haven't really, which is a shame, cos you missed out on something good. It's kind of down to us really, it's our problem. But I think that's pretty much true about a lot of English bands. They fuck up in the States. It's nothing I'm going to lose much sleep about at the moment, though.

A in-depth interview with a US alternative music magazine Ray Gun, conducted in November 1996. Full transcript from Suede Scrapbook (sent in by Elizabeth) under the cut. Scans including photographs by Donald Christie can be viewed here on the Richard Oakes Fans fb page.

It seems an eternity (in pop terms, at least) since Suede were declared the best new band in Britain, one week before the release of their first single. Since that time, so much has happened, both from without - the phenomenon that is Britpop - and, more importantly, from within. Suede v1 were a heavensent combo of genius guitarist and larger-than-life flashboy in Bernard Butler and Brett Anderson. Together they led Suede through two magic records, the eponymous debut and their daring masterwork, Dog Man Star. Then, as quickly as they had arrived, they were gone, split in a burst of still-not-clear acrimony.

Or so it seemed. When Butler bolted, Brett, bassist Mat Osman and drummer Simon Gilbert weren't yet ready to call it quits. They took the high risk of replacing the best guitarist of his generation with an untested 17-year-old with a gift for mimicry, both musical and physical. Young Richard Oakes had to put up with endless "Brett's Little Dick" jokes, even as he proved his abilities on the Dog Man Star tour, a surreal time on the road that saw the band come closer together as people than they ever had before. With the question of “what's the point?” still in the air, Suede went away again, this time to refigure out their purpose and place in the post-Oasis universe.

Two years later, they've finally returned, and, lo and behold, they're as special as ever. With Coming Up, Anderson & Co. have created a chrome and steel cityscape of broken hearts and souls, resplendent in youth and lust and the pursuit of Ecstacy. The sound is vintage Suede, glamtastic guitars swirling, though Oakes and new keyboardist Neil "The Lizard" Codling have substituted a more consise Pop! vibe for Butler's manic virtuosity. The record proves once and for all that Suede are still as vital and vibrant as ever.

Backstage at the Manchester Apollo, a distracted Anderson and Gilbert sit down to talk, their minds not on the inquiry but on the imminent first gig of a long tour. Once the conversation starts, Anderson, known to his bandmates as His Lordship, comes alive, the legendary haughty veneer replaced by a candidness and a big-chested pride that comes from knowing just how good his band Suede really are.

Ray Gun: I suppose we need to start with Bernard's departure. Is there a stock answer? Do we not talk about it at all?

Brett Anderson: I've got a sheet with the stock answer.

Simon Gilbert: There's not a lot too be said. That was three years ago.

Brett: It's ancient history. The only time we ever think about that whole episode is when people ask us in interviews. It's like this bizarre thing that was in the past.

RG: Well then, why don't we talk about Richard? How did he join up?

S: He actually wrote in when he heard Bernard had left the band. He actually wrote in to the fan club, sent in a tape. We heard it, thought it was amazing and got him in for an audition. By the first song - he played "Heroine" - it sort of clicked.

B: That whole period was pretty strange, cos we were touring an album where one of the members who had co-written it with me had pissed off. It was quite frustrating and quite difficult at times. Which I got through with a lot of good will and a lot of positivity, but it was quite hard work. A lot of people had sort of thought, "Awww, the band had collapsed." We had to tour the album. It's just what you've got to do when you're in a band. For one thing, I was really proud of the album. I thought it was a fucking great album, there's a lot of songs on it that I really wanted to play live. I spent seven months writing the fucking thing, and when you put that much work into it, I was living it night and day, you just want people to hear it.

RG: Dog Man Star fell between the cracks in a way. It was overwhelmed by the very public split between the band and Bernard, and more importantly, it is a remarkably adventurous second album that came out at the same time as Britpop began to get more and more generic. Do you feel it went over people's head?

B: Yes and no. Commercially, it did. It wasn't commercial for a couple of factors. Not just because of its musical obscurity or whatever, cos it wasn't that musically obscure-

RG: It was complex.

B: It was complex, yeah. It was a combination of that and losing the guitarist. A lot of people thought the band had split up. A lot of people had a lack of confidence in the band because of that. And it was unfounded because, you know, most people experience backlash because they've made a shitty record, or cos they're not very good anymore. In some senses, Dog Man Star is probably the best record we've ever made. So yeah, it went over some people's head, and it was a difficult record to sell, but I think it was quite a landmark record. I read various snippets of things and people talk about bands trying to make their Dog Man Star. The record has definitely got a character which can be translated to other people's records. It's got a very sort of serious, epic, complex sense, d'you know what I mean.

RG: No matter what tension was going on in the studio, it remains a very brave album, in that you were a relatively straightforward pop band and you made a record that the 14-year-old segment of the audience would invariably be baffled by.

B: That had always been the idea for Suede. We'd be pushing it all the time. We've always had a sense of adventure in the music. It's a very difficult thing for people to get their heads around, cos we tend to write in a very similar, what, when it comes to singles. Like, stylistically, there's not much difference between "Trash" and "The Drowners." They're heady, poppy...a rush. If someone just looked at our singles, they'd say, "Oh this band hadn't progressed at all." But if you listen to any of the albums, we always try to change stuff around. And making Dog Man Star just seemed like a natural progression from the first album. We wanted to do something that was really really out there. And that sort of spirit of adventure has been killed off by Britpop, in a way. I think the good thing about Britpop is that it readdressed songwriting, but I think the bad thing about it is that it promoted safeness in music. And at the time of Dog Man Star, we could've written an album of tracks like "The Drowners" and "Animal Nitrate", we just didn't want to. Cos, you know, you're given a power, you're given a platform, you might as well do something that'll fucking prick up their ears, d'you know what I mean.

RG: Suede were the band that kickstarted the Britpop thing, not unlike what Nirvana did in the US with alt-rock. That is, taking a previously indie sound to the charts. Do you feel responsible for all this?

B: Yeah, totally. If you look at all of this chronologically and historically, Suede were the first band to do that. The kind of things that are in early Suede songs, talking about specifically English culture, not sort of singing songs about, y'know, rockspeak, d'you know what I mean? Just sort of bad cliches. So, not speaking rockspeak, talking about specifically English culture, which we were definitely the first band to do. Before Suede, there was a real confusion about what being in a band was all about. I mean, we came on the scene, we were so specific about what we wanted to be. We wanted to be Suede. And all the other bands around were just without a clue, just a joke. There were all these awful bands that didn't know how to write songs. I don't want to slag a load of bands off cos they're a load of crap. Just these bands that couldn't play, couldn't write a song, had no focus about what being in a band was. And Suede came along, and that's why we stuck out like a sore thumb, cos we had a certain sense of style, which no one else had. I'm not talking about we bought our clothes from fucking Armani or whatever, but there was a sense of what we were. Which was something beyond crappy student hair and shorts.

RG: But then just as you released your masterpiece, you got lost in the wake of Blur, Oasis, etc.

B: Well, yeah, we did, because of the simple fact that we'd lost a member. It would have been a completely different story if he'd stayed in the band. At the time it was quite frustrating, but I think, looking back on it, it was the best thing that could've happened. Cos I don't think we are considered a Britpop band. The same way that you wouldn't call the Stone Roses a baggy band, even though they started it. They're kind of beyond it by doing it in the first place, d'you know what I mean?

RG: Did you feel a sense of competition in making Coming Up? A need to prove yourselves?

S: There's probably an element of that, but it wasn't something we consciously had.

B: One of our strengths is that we don't particularly get influenced by what's going on around us. Some people might say that's a failing, cos you're not taking stuff in. I think Suede have definitely always had their own sense of style, they always had their own direction. I think there was a definite desire to refocus what we're about, cos I think with Dog Man Star, it went very experimental, we went in all directions everywhere. What you want to do is bring it all back to the central thing, and refocus on what the essence of the band was.

RG: That's the thing about Coming Up. It's Suede distilled to down to it's very nature. There's no wanky bits on this record.

B: Yeah. It was really important just to cut out all the dead wood, not have anything that didn't work. I wanted to make the sort of album that would work the first time you listened to a band. You don't have to like Suede to get into it, d'you know what I mean? It would just work on its own terms.

RG: In a sense, it was your first album. For any number of reasons, this Suede is not the same Suede.

B: It wasn't 'til we started writing the album, and Neil came along really, and the second phase of Suede really took off. Cos then it was really a new band. It wasn't just like the same instruments and stuff like that. I did feel as though Neil and Richard sort of combined to take it into a completely new form. No one could say, "Oh, they're just trying to replace Bernard," or whatever, it was a completely new feel to the band.

RG: The record seems to be influenced by real things, by friends and family, by being a person and not a pop star.

B: Definitely. It wasn't something I did consciously, but I did definitely retreat from all that. I pretty much retreated from the pop star shit really. I just got completely disillusioned from it and didn't particularly feel like going to the Squirrel's after show or anything like that, d'you know what I mean?

RG: As the scene became more celebrity oriented, you were noticeably absent.

B: We have this image of being this band of blokes that are kind of like obsessed with our hair and like, the superficial side of it all, and there's nothing further from the truth. I'm just so disinterested in the Face side of being a pop star.

RG: You certainly know how to use it to your advantage, though.

B: Well, sticking it in front of a fucking camera, if your face is going to be on the cover of a magazine and 100,000 people are going to read it, you don't want to look like you're just woken up, do you?

RG: The characters on Coming Up are like a chronicle of the modern drug-taking lifestyle.

B: Virtually everyone in London, a huge section of the people I know, are just complete rave heads and complete weekenders. There's this whole culture, this weekender culture, where you work throughout the week and on the weekend they just go completely insane. They're just popping pills like there's no tomorrow. And there are a lot of those sort of people on the record, yeah.

RG: And yourself? You've got a reputation as someone who enjoys a bit of chemicals.

B: No more than anyone else, really. I've always had too much of a focus on what I'm doing to ever slip too much into it. I've always almost used drugs, in a way, rather than let them use me. I've used them, yeah, (A), to let off steam. Who doesn't? When you're thinking all day, you need to just be blank for a couple of hours. And (B), to sort of like stimulate your mind sometimes. But when you say something like that and people get the wrong end of the stick. You get headlines like "BRETT PROMOTES DRUGS TO WRITE." Which is absolute bollocks. I'd say quite the opposite. I'd say it actually deters you sometimes, it actually stops you from thinking. But, y'know, when you're taking drugs and fucking hammering yourself into the ground for 15 years, which I have been doing, you actually get a sense of how to use them. There's a total difference between some 16-year-old taking drugs, and taking fucking Ecstasy for 15 years now, d'you know what I mean? So I know exactly how my body reacts, I know exactly how my mind reacts, I know exactly how to use it rather than let it use me.

RG: To be honest about it. Too many people go, "Don't do drugs" or "Drugs are the greatest!" whether they mean it or not.

B: I'll tell you what. We're doing this interview for the States, and I think there's so much fucking dishonesty about drugs in the States. It's one thing that really pisses me off. It's fashionable to say that you used to do it and you don't do it anymore. It's fashionable to be in rehab. All you have to do is say you're in rehab and make the right sort of music and you've got a hit record. And it's got nothing to do with your music, it's got to do with this society of people who go to rehab. It's absolute utter fucking bollocks.

RG: It's the culture of apology, the idea of saying, "I'm better now."

B: Exactly. Especially when it's saying, "Oh, I'm a rock 'n' roll and cool because I used to do drugs. I'm not a complete square. But I've given them up now, so I'm a good guy." Why don't you be fucking honest about it and say what you do and what you don't do. It's a load of fucking lies. It's all over the world, but it's extremified in the States, cos, y'know, everything's extremified in the States.

RG: Seeing how you've been so honest on the subject, did Damon Albarn's much-quoted comments about you being some kind of junkie piss you off?

B: I just don't like people commenting on what I do. I'm willing to talk about anything, but when other people start passing judgement on me...

RG: I want to talk about the more common Suede images, things like electricity and diesel and the sea and so forth.

B: There's a definite language that I like to make my own. I like to use words - not repetitively, I've never overused a word or phrase. The most used one is like, "hired car," which I've used about three times. I quite like establishing your own kind of language, and almost like, putting a copyright on your language, so when someone comes along and uses a word like that, then you can go, "Ah, that's one of my words," d'you know what I mean?

RG: So if someone writes about, say, the motorway...

B: Then I'll slam them into court and sue their asses. Seriously, that's why as a lyricist I have a style, like I have as a singer. I think lyrically speaking, words are generally pretty barren at the moment, and I think it's important to have a bit of pride in what you do and take it seriously.

RG: The imagery you use creates a very vivid world, albeit one that is very modern and very cold.

B: I try to put a bit of warmth in it as well. I don't see the world as this pointlessly bleak experience. There's a lot of optimism I have for life. Living in London is really exciting every day. I like to write about things that have got a timelessness, that's quite important to me. I don't like writing about things that are just of the moment. I tend to choose things like electricity or something like that, specific things that are part of the modern age, the modern age being something that happened about 96 years ago and that'll carry on for another hundred.

RG: Is there are Suede tribute band like say, No Way Sis?

B: Yes, actually, in Canada. They're called Snide. They come from London, Ontario and they do Suede and the Sex Pistols, so that's really cool. That's the only one I know, though I think there's a couple in Australia as well.

RG: Does the singer try to look like you? That's always the funniest part of those bands.

B: Yeah, like a cross between me and Johnny Rotten, if there is such a thing.

RG: Do you really want to make it in the US? Do you care anymore?

B: Not really, no. To be absolutely totally honest. I've been over there three times, three big tours, worked really hard, and at the end of the day, maybe there's just something about Suede that just doesn't connect with the American mentality. If they like the record, then they like the record. Your role as a musician is kind of like being this conquerer, and I find that really unhealthy. Everyone's always talking about breaking territories like they're fucking Alexander the Great.

RG: It's refreshing to not hear the "We're going to tour America and everyone will love us" lip service that most English bands spew about making it here.

RG: The thing with Suede is that you are pretty much a band of outsiders. In many ways, so are the kids that listen to you. Perhaps more so.

B: Totally. We do get a certain section of our audience that, you know, the Suede gigs they're coming to are the only times they've been out this year. They come in slippers, d'you know what I mean? Slippers and a dressing gown, rubbing their eyes like they just got out of bed. But yeah, we do attract a lot of people that are attracted to the band for unusual reasons, or are inspired by the band when they wouldn't be inspired by other people. It's not your run of the mill interchangeable "another band" kind of thing, and that's something I've always been determined not to be, "another band." It can sometimes be hard work, because you pretty much play on your own field, and you're pretty much cutting your own grass and making your own headway. It can be quite lonely, but it's a position we've always wanted.

#brett anderson #suede #this is genuinely a really interesting interview!#the london suede #coming up era #ray gun 1997 #coming up month #happy CU-versary!

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murasaki-murasame · 4 years

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After two full months of waiting, enough for me to have 600 goddamn summons hoarded up, Gala Leif has finally been released, and even though I probably should have waited to get an idea of how good all the new units are, I decided to immediately summon on the gala anyway.

I’ll go over all of what I can remember from my summons under the cut, but TL;DR: I got every new banner unit and I still have 330 summons left >:3c

Before the gala summons, I also used the 5-star adventurer/dragon vouchers I got from the royal regimen endeavors, which got me a dupe Xander, a dupe Mikoto, two dupe Louises, a dupe P-Siren [now at 1UB], a dupe Freyja [now my second copy’s at 3UB], and I think the third dragon was maybe a Nidhogg or something but I don’t remember.

As for the gala itself, the new units I got were:

-Gala Leif [!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]

-Two copies of the Xuan Zang alt [one of them was from within my first ten single vouchers lol]

-Zhu Bajie [I got Leif after 220 summons and then I decided to keep going for this dude, who I thankfully got after just 50 more summons]

-Four copies of Tie Shan Gongzhu [Since I got so many copies of her I decided to use a few sunlight stones to get a MUB copy of her while having a 0UB one left over. I tend to run my two copies of Freyja at the same time pretty often in my wind team, so I figured it’d be worth having two copies of her. I still have eight sunlight stones left over anyway]

-Andromeda [I dunno if I’ll ever use her but it’s cool to get her]

And these are the dupes I got that I can remember:

-Lathna [I swear to god I’ve gotten a dupe Lathna from like every single gala since she came out]

-Grace [Guess who I got from the last dream summon lol]

-S-Celery

-S-Julietta [She’s quickly becoming one of my dreaded dupes to get, especially since I didn’t get Gala Elly when she came out]

-Gala Sarisse [I think I’ve somehow gotten like three copies of her in total at this point]

-Arctos [I have him MUB already so this is just gonna be a second copy now]

-Kagutsuchi [now at 1UB]

-OG Siren [now at 1UB]

-Epimetheus [now at 3UB]

-Garuda [now at 1UB]

-Shinobi [now my second copy’s at 3UB]

-Freyja [like I said with the other Freyja dupe I got, my second copy’s now at 3UB]

-Simurgh [now at 1UB]

-Nimis [now at 1UB]

-Nyarlathotep [now at 3UB]

That’s all I remember but there were probably a few more, lol.

Anyway, I haven’t had much time to use them yet, but I actually feel more excited about the new light units than Leif himself. I honestly can’t figure out what role Leif is meant to play in the wind meta. In spite of having a shield stance, his only real defense utility is a 60% defense buff that only applies to himself, and other than that he has lots of attacking skills that apparently do a lot of damage, unique attack combos that are basically the same as the chefs but he only needs a 6+ combo to activate it, and a whole bunch of entirely offensive abilities. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up being a top-tier wind DPS unit, but it feels like he’s intended to play a defensive role even though he doesn’t really have anything in his kit to support that. I think his big self-only defense buff has a good shot at letting him cheese part stuff like HMC’s waterfall, but that only applies to himself.

In general I dunno who he’d replace on my wind team for stuff like soloing eCiella. Unless I can get by without T-Hope’s team defense buffs, I might be able to get rid of Ranzal and just share his S1 for the dispel, but I dunno.

I really hope he doesn’t end up falling into obscurity due to not having enough in the way of unique utility to make him stand out, but he seems like he at least does way more damage than Gala Ranzal, so that’s nice, lol.

But aside from him, the new light units honestly all look extremely good. I think they’re definitely going to shake up the light meta a lot more than Leif will do for wind, but it’ll still be a while before shadow Agito comes out in the first place.

I only have a vague idea of what some of the damage mods are for all the new units, but I’m hearing that Xuan Zang’s S1 does a surprisingly high amount of damage, at least in it’s upgraded form. Her S2 AoE zone also looks way bigger than what other units with that type of skill get, so it’ll probably be a lot easier for her to reliably include all her teammates in it. Apparently her force strike also works more like a staff force-strike, so that’s neat. I think she might actually trump Peony in the DPS sim just due to raw damage mods, but she also provides a lot of defensive utility via her S1 strength debuff, and her S2 shadow res buff, so that might edge her out as well in a way that wouldn’t be reflected in something like the DPS sim. Also she can reduce the enemy’s paralysis resistance but I don’t know the numbers on that, or how much it’d really impact a paralysis team.

Zhu Bajie also seems even better in practice than I thought he’d be, lol. He plays a lot like the Monster Hunter units due to his unique force-strike which basically works in the exact same ways theirs do, and unlike how axe force strikes normally work, it works more like a lance force-strike. So he ends up not playing like an axe unit at all, which is interesting. And on top of all that stuff, he also has enmity scaling on his S1, and he can reduce his health with his S2 like Natalie can. I saw that his S1 gets up to a max of like 1900% damage mods, which is really good, even if you won’t really get that high in practice. His force-strike also has really high SP gain, enough to fill his S1 in two force-strikes [which takes like five or so seconds], so it feels like it’s gonna be really easy to spam, which makes the high damage mods even better. His force-strike also seems to have a 460% paralysis punisher damage mod added onto it when it’s fully charged, so that might make a real impact on his overall damage. He also gets Resilient Offense, which is a really good ability in general, but it might be hard to trigger it multiple times since his S2 makes it so you can’t heal him for 10 seconds. His S1 also inflicts stun, which might be good in certain situations but stun tends to be pretty unreliable. I think he’s going to pair extremely well with the Xuan Zang alt, since her strength debuffs and shadow res buffs will make it way easier for him to tank hits while at low health.

Sorta like how the Xuan Zang alt makes me feel way better about having skipped Peony, Zhu Bajie makes me feel better about having skipped all the Monster Hunster units [mainly Vanessa], lol. Vanessa still has her own unique defensive stuff going on, but I feel like Zhu Bajie plays extremely similarly to her in spite of being an axe unit, so that’s cool.

I’m a little salty that Sha Wujing is another light lance instead of a light healer, but honestly his kit looks really good, and he’ll probably see more use this way than if he was a healer, lol. His main appeal is basically that he has a defense debuff zone on his S2, which is really nice in general, though his two abilities are about buffing his damage, so maybe his S1 will let him do a lot of damage as well. The thing that’s really interesting to me, though, is that his S2 is a shared skill you can give to other characters, which I really didn’t see coming, since they’d actively avoided letting you skill share any other defense debuff zone skills. He might end up being a really useful skill share option for certain fights, especially stuff like speedrun comps where you want to stack as many strength buffs and defense debuffs as you can right away.

Also it’s extremely funny to me that since he’s a featured 4-star in a gala banner, he wound up having extremely high appearance rates [7% normally, and 40% on the final summon in a tenfold], which basically means that any amount of summoning on this gala is gonna lead to you getting like a million copies of this dude, lol. I think in the 270 summons I did, I got like 15-20 copies of him, with there being multiple instances of me getting like three copies of him in a single tenfold. It’s not a big deal or anything, and he seems to be a really good unit so it’s nice that he’s really easy to get, but it’s funny to me how much he’s been plaguing everyone’s summons.

Tie Shan Gongzhu also looks like she’s gonna be the go-to dragon for basically any light support unit, so that’s cool. She doesn’t have a heal skill, but we already have Cupid for that.

I don’t know all of their damage mods and SP costs and stuff yet, and it’ll be a little while before the DPS sim updates to include them, but I think they’re going to be top-tier light units. Hopefully they don’t get powercrept by the time shadow Agito comes out, lol. Either way this is exactly what the light element’s been desperately needing after like six months of Oops! All Limited!

Which is also why I’m really really happy that they decided to put these characters on rate-up along with Gala Leif, since it meant I was able to get them along with Leif, instead of having to skip their banner entirely to save for the next gala. I hope they make this a trend going forward. I think GBF does this a lot with their galas, so maybe they’re shifting to this model for galas now. This just seems like a net positive all around, and it means I feel like I’m missing out less by hoarding exclusively for gala banners.

Anyway this banner treated me extremely well, which is a huge relief after how bad my experience with the Gala Alex banner was. I was worried that the 600 summons i had saved up wouldn’t be enough to get Leif, but I managed to get at least one copy of everyone in less than 300 summons, so that’s great.

I guess now my short-term goal is to just skip all the non-limited banners between now and the next gala. So we’ll just see how that goes. I have a feeling we’ll get a rerun of the Daikokuten banner in the next month or two, which might really tempt me since I didn’t get Daikokuten or Nobunaga when they came out, but I don’t know if they interest me enough to chase after that, especially with monthly galas seeming to be a thing now.

#dragalia lost #after a billion years I have finally summoned the man! the legend! the Leif!!!!!

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futuresmashmemes · 5 years

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You're called Future Smash memes-- can you see into the future of my universe? We just had 6 more character slots announced for our game, meaning there are 6 we dont know who they'll be! Do you have any insight? Or at least a prediction o'wise one?

Hmm. You know, I’ve been told that your timeline is the “main” one, and therefore is very tricky to predict and deal with. It may not be much, but I guess I’ll give my two cents on who I think the final six DLC slots for this timeline will be.

First of all, it’s important to remember that these choices were made by Nintendo, not Sakurai. I think that’s the reason why we got Sans and Cuphead miis in this timeline rather than full on fighters: for one reason or another, Nintendo didn’t want them (or at least, didn’t want them as much as the chosen fighters). Sakurai has said that he’s an avid fan of Undertale and Cuphead, so this makes sense. Then again, he’s also an avid Persona fan and I still don’t get why Nintendo would’ve chosen it of all franchises. Don’t get me wrong, Persona looks great and all (never played it myself), but it’s not very…Nintendo, y’know?

With that in mind, I think it’s safe to say that we won’t be getting an indie rep. Nintendo currently doesn’t seem to be very open to the idea of full on indie reps, so that means that characters like Hat Kid probably won’t get in (maybe as a mii costume, though aHiT isn’t as well known for its music as undertale and cuphead are, so I don’t think it would be a deluxe costume). Really, the only indie reps I see getting in are either Reimu or (as much as I hate to say it) Steve. Touhou is the poster child for popular indie projects, even if it isn’t as big over here as it is in Japan. ZUN is also open to the idea of Reimu in smash. The main things that go against Reimu is the fact that she isn’t very well known outside of Japan (and those who do know her often associate her with loli culture, which might be a problem) and because the way the franchise is set up, legalities with Touhou would either be really easy or really, really hard. Steve, on the other hand, has sort of transcended being an indie character. Minecraft recently overtook Tetris as the best selling game of all time, and has become a household name around the world. Maybe I’m just projecting (I’m probably the only person from my generation that doesn’t like Minecraft), but I don’t think Steve is getting in either. First of all, legality with Microsoft would probably be an issue as they would certainly demand more money for Steve than Banjo, who, while a treasured character worthy of his spot, comes from a dead IP who wasn’t had a new game since 2008. Also, similar to former best seller Tetris, I just don’t think that Minecraft’s blocky, pixelated art style and rigid player animations would be a good fit for smash. Again, totally me projecting, but that’s just what I think. I do expect to get Steve over mii swordfighter, though. That makes sense.

Now with my little indie rant out of the way, I’ll do a bullet-point list for characters that I’ve posted memes about on the blog before and what I think of their chances of getting in:

First of all, I think it’s obvious that Raz isn’t going to be one of the DLC characters. Yes, Psychonauts 2 is coming out later this year and the first game is one of my favorite video games of all time and he would fit in perfectly, but let’s be real. The franchise is a cult classic that has never been released on a Nintendo system in any way and probably sold horribly in Japan. Double Fine was also recently bought out by Microsoft which really killed any small chance he had of making it in. Sir Daniel is in a similar position

First/second party characters like Bandana Dee and Impa I think are deconfirmed because most of them are represented by Spirits, and I don’t think that they would “double dip.” And because of the scope of spirits mode, I think it’s unlikely that we’ll get any older characters from prexisting franchises (I say older so people won’t hound me with “WELL BYLETH GOT IN SO”).

We are not getting another FE rep lol. Rip red head merchant waifu.

Shooter characters are in a really weird spot since these games tend to not be made for kids (it’s easy to forget in all the hype and speculation that smash is first and foremost meant for kids), yet have made such a big cultural impact on the gaming scene that it’s hard to deny their “worthiness” to be in smash. Master Chief in particular is tricky to place since I definitely think he has much more character than most other shooter reps (cough cough Doomguy) and could have a more varied moveset than just “gun.” But that being said, he’s once again a character owned by Microsoft and comes from a franchise that up until very recently was Xbox exclusive and (as far as I’m aware, has never been released on a Nintendo system). It’s also important to remember that the original Xbox sold miserably in Japan, so I doubt that he’s getting in either.

On a similar note, I’ve seen people throw around ideas for a TF2 rep. This makes a lot more sense to me than Halo or Doom; the playable characters have much more personality and the cartoony aesthetic of the game fits in way better than most other shooters (cough cough Doom). I don’t know which character would be chosen though. Heavy probably? I think their main problem is that Valve would probably be picky about licensing and whatnot (I don’t think we’d be getting Gordon Freeman or Chell for the same reason). Additionally, I struggle to imagine TF2 without it’s signature dark humor which would most likely be cut for smash

Due to recent events, I do not think we will be getting an Overwatch or any other Blizzard rep.

If there’s one character I’d be willing to bet money on getting in, it’s Crash. While he’s never really been all that popular in Japan, it just feels right to me. He fits in perfectly, he has some history with Nintendo (even if he is more synonymous with PlayStation), and I mean…he just feels right. I know that sounds shitty after having just denied a bunch of other characters in an articulate manner, but I don’t know what else to say. I’m not even that big of a Crash fan. The only thing I can see hurting his chances is Activision potentially asking for money than Nintendo is willing to give (this is why he didn’t get into Pl’ystation Allst’rs)

Similarly, I think Spyro has a good chance of getting into smash, but not as well as Crash. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me, but I always thought that Crash just had more of a cultural impact than Spyro did. I do think Spyro has a good chance of getting in though. Maybe some Skylanders/amiibo crosspromotion? Probably not.

Given how stingy they were with Hero (when compared to other DLC reps) and _especially _Cloud, I don’t think we’re getting another Square Enix rep, be it Sephiroth, a Black Mage, or Geno. That being said, it could’ve all been a long con and the FF7 remake will release alongside Sephiroth DLC with the actual fucking spirit battles that we should’ve gotten. Probably not though.

Dante I think has a pretty good chance at getting in. I think that he stands at a similar position to Bayonetta when it comes to censorship, so I think he could work. God knows that he would be broken if he did get in though.

I’ve been a big advocate for a Puyo Puyo rep in smash, and if we were to get one I think it would be Arle (maybe with other characters on her alts like Koopalings/Heroes). People have already theorized how her moveset could work, and I agree with that speculation wholeheartedly. Puyo Puyo unfortunately isn’t very well known outside of Japan since in the past it was usually released under a different brand (Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine, Kirby Avalanche, etc). I do think that we absolutely need more puzzle reps than fucking Doctor Mario though, and Puyo Puyo seems perfect.

Professor Layton has unfortunately not had a new game in a long time (at least not one where he has a staring role), and outside of his swordsmanship, which is seen very rarely throughout the series, I don’t think that there’s much of a moveset to be made for him.

I love Ace Attorney, but I don’t think that Phoenix Wright is getting in. I don’t think that Sakurai would realistically just copy and paste his MvC3 moveset to smash and I don’t know what else you could do with him. Also, we haven’t gotten a new international release for Ace Attorney since 2016.

I know next to nothing about No More Heroes but I know a couple of people who will have a fit if I don’t mention Travis. I know there’s a sequel on the horizon but similar to Psychonauts, I don’t see it really happening. It feels to much like a cult classic to me. Once again, I know next to nothing about No More Heroes, so take that with a grain of salt.

I don’t think that any assist trophy characters will be “promoted” to playable through DLC.

And that’s about it. I know that sounded really pessimistic, but that’s honestly because I haven’t the foggiest idea about who’s going to get in. Everyone I want in in this timeline is either an assist trophy/spirit or a niche western/indie pick that I doubt has a chance. That sucks, but it’s just life. As long as we don’t get Goku or Fortnite though, I’ll be happy with whoever.

#ask #futuresmashmemes #I wrote this instead of writing my mid term

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birthrightforged · 5 years

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fellmother replied to your post “[ Don’t get me wrong I’m happy for you guys but… I’m genuinely...”

{ If it's okay to ask, what's bothering you about feh at the moment?? Is it the banners or the modes or...? }

[ I don’t enjoy talking about it much, just because I have a tendency to have very “controversial” opinions in regards to Fire Emblem in general, not to mention it is very much of a “I am a salty bitch” issue”, but...

I haven’t enjoyed/been excited for a non-seasonal banner in about half a year, and that was when FE3H characters started getting introduced. The closest they had to my interest since is when the “Desert Mercenaries” (SS) Banner released because the red-head boy mage archetype is M Y J A M, but other than that there has been nothing for me to feel excited for.

We haven’t gotten a NEW Awakening character in 6 months.

We haven’t gotten a NEW Fates character in 10 months. (and that was just to fill the beast unit pool.)

Which, I know, the game was front-loaded with a lot of characters from those games specifically and the other games need time to shine, but god I just want one non-duplicate I can start screaming over for once.

You guys are excited and I’m happy for you, I just hate that the most exciting thing I ever get are alts of the same 8 characters (Except really it’s like... 3 characters).

I’m also still feeling the salt from my least favorite FE character (Celica) getting her Legendary. Only thing good about that banner was me being able to roll for Claude and Dmitri again...

The new modes don’t really add anything either. It just adds more to do on a list of tasks that becomes so daunting that I’d rather just play anything else.

And while I usually enjoy FEH’s story for the absolute mess that it is, I find the disconnect between the story and the new heroes to get more and more awkward. Like, why are all these good people on the angry nightmare team? Were they summoned? Are they the characters actually dreaming or are they also not real? Even the parts that make no sense stopped being fun and are now just irritating.

So the banners are what broke the camel’s back in this situation, but this sense of dread has been looming for awhile. ]

#fellmother #OOC #salt flows like a river

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thomasroach · 5 years

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Outward Review – A Rough Adventure

The post Outward Review – A Rough Adventure appeared first on Fextralife.

The following post is this author’s opinion and does not reflect the thoughts and feelings of Fextralife as a whole nor the individual content creators associated with the site. Any link that goes outside of Fextralife are owned by their respective authors.

Can you defy the bitter cold, brutal heat, and ravenous monsters that all desire your death? Outward is an RPG that doesn’t hold your hand in the slightest, as you make your way through an open-world filled with adventure and death. Only with careful preparation will you survive the dangers of this world.

Outward Review – A Rough Adventure

Genre: Survival RPG Developed by: Nine Dots Studio Published by: Deep Silver Release date: 26 Mar 2019 Platforms: PC (Reviewed), XBOX One, PS4 Website: https://www.ninedotsstudio.com/outward Price at time of review: $39.99

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Outward Features

Play solo or coop in local or online modes

Dynamic defeat scenarios that react to your context

Constant auto-saving means there’s no turning back

Ritualistic, step-by-step approach to spellcasting

Constant auto-saving means you must live with your decisions

Encounter dynamic defeat scenarios

A unique experience with every playthrough

An immersive exploration experience

Creatures will be harder to beat in co-op mode

Single-player, online co-op and local co-op with split screen

Story and Setting

Outward starts you off indebted to your tribe, a debt in which you must try to repay. In an effort to clear the amount you owe, you embark on an ill-fated voyage to try and earn enough to pay it off. Of course the ship runs aground, leaving you with almost no money and a crowd of angry villagers demanding payment. From here on out, the game opens up into three distinct main quest lines, with a small variety of sidequests you can participate in. Sounds like a good setup, but it is not executed well in my opinion.

This is a good friend, or so I’m told

You are tossed into this town and told someone in your family did something bad, you’re again told this one person is a close friend, you’re told that you are a part of this tribe. Due to the way the story is told, none of this is given adequate time to develop. I’ve poked at one of the main quest lines out of a feeling of professional obligation and I still have no real drive to pursue it. This is fine though as Outward does not advertise itself as a game with an in-depth story, rather the focus is on the story that you make for yourself.

Even with that though, things fall a little flat as I can tell the devs put a fair amount of work into this world, but very little of it comes across to the player. Very few NPCs will talk with you, and many of them are just shopkeepers that have just add a little bit of flavored text. If there’s books or other written lore entries in this game, I haven’t found them yet. There are ruins scattered throughout the game, but so far I’ve not found much inside any of them so far. To be fair, this is a very slow paced game and I’ve not gotten too deep into the more dangerous ruins, so there might be more if you venture further in. That being said, it’s not very excusable that I’m still so clueless on the world given the amount of time I have spent playing.

And thus starts the legend of the Bird Lady

Gameplay

In my original draft, this section was turning into a small novel as there are a lot of mechanics in this game but two things made me stream-line this section. Firstly, if the mechanics of this game aren’t going to interest you, the Cliff Notes version is all you really need to read.

Secondly, if the mechanics of this are your cup of tea, then all you’ll want to read is the Cliff Notes version. See, a lot of this game is about exploration, discovery, and the story that you create. Going through the game and making decisions based on imperfect knowledge is a major part of what makes this game unique. There is a tutorial, and it is a must for this game, but you’ll really be short-changing yourself if you go in with a complete understanding of the mechanics. This is the same for most things in this title, for some this will sound like heaven and for some it will sound like a complete waste of time.

Avatar customization is limited, but it has a purple hair option so it’s all good.

At its core, this is an action-RPG, while there are plenty of side mechanics, the main thrust is exploring dungeons and beating down the bad guys and monsters. After administering the beat downs you will loot all of their stuff, maybe find an upgrade or two, sell the rest, and move onto the next group of walking loot.

Combat

This brings me to my major criticism of the game, and one that I think will be the proverbial straw for many gamers. The combat is not fun as it is clunky, unresponsive, and it is difficult to use the flashier more complex spells if you’re playing solo. After the most difficult fights have ended, I don’t feel like I achieved a victory, rather I just feel like I cheesed the AI. I honestly can’t tell if this is the result of inexperience or if it was a deliberate design choice. Either way, combat really needs to be better given how much of it you’ll be doing.

As for the rest of the mechanics I’ll just skim over them. Survival is a big aspect of this game, with hot and cold weather, hunger, thirst, and the need for sleep. It might sound like a bother, but the game does a good job of encouraging you naturally to keep track of all your bars. As long as you are mindful, you won’t get in trouble.

That being said, the UI to convey some of the information is lacking. For example as you take damage, you recive ‘burnt health’ which reduces your max HP until you either eat specific foods, drink a potion, or sleep. However, the UI really isn’t very clear on this and I died several times before I figured out what that slightly different color red meant on my health circle.

I mean it’s obvious in hindsight, but it did take a few deaths to figure it out

Death

Speaking of death, you don’t really ‘die’ in this game. If you lose all your health, you’ll pass-out instead. This will cost you one day (which can be a major problem for some quests) and you’ll wake up in a context sensitive situation. This can either be fun, an annoyance, or a really bad situation since the time might have caused some food to rot, which means you can’t eat to get rid of that hunger status, as well as your max HP and stamina is also now reduced. It is certainly an interesting way to handle death, I’ll give the developers that. Something to be aware of is that because you can’t ever die, the game does not allow you to save. There is only one auto-save for your character, and the game is saving almost constantly. Don’t count on ALT-F4 to bail you out of a bad choice either.

Character Progression

Character progression is mostly done by getting new gear, you don’t level up in this game, though you can gain new skills. Some skills are free, some cost silver, and a few require you to spend one of your three skill points to unlock. While skills help, your gear is everything here. Getting a new piece of armor or a better weapon drastically effects how well you do in combat. This also means in certain situations you can lose all your advancement because all your gear gets taken, needless to say that really stings. Though it is always possible to get your stuff back, however it might be pose a big challenge, but as far as I can tell nothing gets destroyed unless you sell it to a merchant and their inventory resets.

Multiplayer/Co-op

Multiplayer is potentially a big bonus here as not only does it have online drop-in drop-out gameplay, but it has split screen co-op as well. I didn’t get to test this feature a lot but from what little I did test out multiplayer worked well. It does seem to make the combat an order of magnitude easier though, which could be a concern. To me this is a non-feature since I don’t have anyone in my house I can play with and I’m not all that interested in playing with random people, but I can see how others would love the ability to play an RPG like this with a friend.

Crafting

Finally, there is quite the crafting system to explore here. There are no skill points here, you either have the materials to make something or you don’t. There are recipes but you don’t get to read them before crafting, If you look it up on a wiki (or in some cases just take an educated guess) you can craft the item and the recipe will be added to your journal. While you can craft weapons and armor, you’ll mostly be crafting adventuring supplies such as fire rags and potions. Cooking is a major crafting area as well and is very well integrated into the other systems. Different dishes have different bonuses, with more complex dishes providing additional bonuses.

Audio and Visual

There is honestly not much to say here, the visuals are to put it simply, functional. Occasionally you’ll come across some interesting monster designs and much of the gear you can equip is unique in design, but most of the terrain and architecture is very plain looking. There’s also tons of small, tiny errors in the terrain with the occasional prop that just looks out of place such as the giant rib cages that look like they’re made of plastic.

This does not look like weather-aged bone

Another thing about the visuals that ties in with gameplay is lighting. When it’s supposed to be dark, it is dark. Running out of light in a dungeon is not good situation to be in. While this sounds like an interesting mechanic, it really doesn’t work well when you are outside. If you’ve lived your life in the city, you really don’t realize how dark the great outdoors gets. As someone who does a significant amount of camping in his life trust me, this games gets moonless nights perfectly, which ultimately means you can’t see a darn thing. This makes outdoor navigation a massive pain, even if you have a lantern.

I did not doctor this screen shot at all

Audio is a bit of a mixed bag as the actual songs aren’t bad, and SFX are serviceable, but whatever system they are using for dynamic music is a bit wonky. I’ll be on my 17th trip back to town to sell off the two swords I looted and suddenly the music will swell into this epic score, usually spooking me a bit in the process. The voice acting is a bit off as well. It really does feel like they just went around the office and said “Hey, you’re not doing anything. Go get into the sound booth!” I really don’t think you’ll miss much by muting the sound and listening to your own stuff, but it won’t hurt the ears to leave their stuff on either.

Replayability

OK this might be a bit of a controversial view point, but I feel this game has very limited replayability. As I mentioned in the gameplay section, the vast majority of your adventuring effectiveness is in your gear. True, there is the choice of using magic or not, and which of the skill trees you wish to max out, but honestly you’ll probably have a favorite combat style that you’ll want to stick with. The only real reason to replay the game will be to experience all three faction story lines, since once you join a faction, you’re locked out of the others.

As I’ve already stated though, I don’t feel the main quest lines aren’t all that compelling. Certainly not enough for me to want to redo the game from the start. I really feel that whether or not you want to replay this game is going to hang on both how compelling you find the three factions vs how much the gameplay annoys you.

Pricepoint

So despite that fact that I just roasted Outward for a perceived lack of replayability, I still feel this game is a good buy. Assuming again, the mechanics sound like your cup of tea. Due to the pacing and the size of the world, this is going to take you a solid 30-40 hours to finish one of the main quest lines. It might take you a little less time for additional playthroughs, but not much so for a $40 game, that’s not bad at all. The devs give an estimate of 40-80 hours to fully experience the game, and I can see someone easily spending 60+ hours in this game if the mechanics happen to click with them. Toss in the fun you can have with a friend or random people on the internet, and Outward will really give you your money’s worth.

Final Thoughts

If I could give this game two scores I would. This game has a target audience and for them this is easily a 7.5, maybe even an eight. For the average gamer looking for a neat RPG experience to tide them over until Elder Scrolls 6 or Cyperpunk 2077 it would not even come close to that. Very slow pacing, unexplained mechanics, removal of modern systems, clunky combat, all of this adds up to an experience that the average gamer is probably not going to enjoy.

But if you are in that target group, those looking for an RPG that absolutely does not hold your hand and allows you to get hopelessly lost if you don’t pay attention, and will rip you a new one if you mess up, then this game is for you hands down. In the end though, I do need to choose a single score, and I’m going to go with the one I think will reflect the experience most people will have with this game.

If you enjoyed this review be sure to read more with our latest thoughts on action shinobi Sekiro Review: Shinobis Die Many Times. Or you can check out what we thought about CD Projekt Red’s upcoming sci-fi action RPG in Cyberpunk 2077 Preview: When Fallout Meets Blade Runner.

The post Outward Review – A Rough Adventure appeared first on Fextralife.

Outward Review – A Rough Adventure published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/

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covtocov · 6 years

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Cornflake Girl

Let’s talk about Cornflake Girl, shall we? This was the song that started it all and inspired this blog and we're gonna get into WHY (kind of, don't expect anything too deep, this is gonna get goofy).

If you don't know this song, it's fuckin great.

Cornflake Girl - Tori Amos (1994)

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Tori Amos, a legend out of North Carolina (and somewhat honorary citizen of the UK), released the song "Cornflake Girl" in 1994. The song was released as a single, then later featured as the eighth track on her second studio album, Under the Pink.

Influenced in part by a recent exposure to reggae music, discussions of female genital mutilation, and Alice Walker's novel, Possessing the Secret of Joy, this song addresses the concept of the "cornflake girl," women who would hurt other women despite a close personal relationship, often to appease some patriarchal construct. This referred, in part, to the fact that the ratio of raisins to cornflakes in breakfast cereal is much lower, making "raisin girls" harder to find - "Thought it was a good solution/Hanging with the raisin girls."

(Fun bonus fact, she is not saying "rabbi," but "Rabbit," the name of her friend, a "fantastic, magical creature" who lives in the woods with their partner, Fox.)

"Cornflake Girl" reached #4 on the UK singles charts, paving the way for later hits off Under the Pink including "God," "Pretty Good Year," and "Past the Mission." A lovely video discussing more about these ideas can be found here. Amos released both an American and a UK version of the music videos, both which are definitely worth seeing if you haven't.

Now...let's talk about some covers.

Cornflake Girl - Florence and the Machine (2018)

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This is the cover I heard this radio on the morning. The intro came on and, not seeing what the song was, I was like '...uh...who stole the intro to Cornflake Girl?"

The answer to that question would be Florence Welch, who covered the song in September 2018 as an exclusive release for Spotify.

So let's get into the nitty gritty.

(All of these qualities are being measured in comparison to the original song, and are my opinions, so with that disclaimer out of the way, come with me and we'll be in a land of PURE IMAGINATION.)

Listenability: 4/5

It's a good cover. This version is much smoother and less choppy than the original...though whether that's a plus or a minus is completely up to the listener's discretion. As a fan of Tori's ability to really fuck you up mid-song (wait, this was just in a fucking 4/4 and now it's in 3/4?! Or maybe it's 2/3, I don't know shit about time keeping, I just know I'm distressed), I would say...not quite as good as the original. Sorry, Flo.

Originality: 2/5

Ahhhhhhh it's just pretty much a nice, safe homage to Tori. The instruments are all pretty evocative of the original song, Florence's vocals are absolutely beautiful, but she really does follow the same cadences as Amos does. Nice use of the occasional drum, though.

Integrity to Original: 4/5

I mean, it's hard to say anything else when this is almost a direct copy of the original. To my knowledge, Welch hasn't gone on the record saying anything about this particular cover, but as an artist who was almost certainly influenced by Amos (this is a total uninformed claim on my part, but like...fuck, they are both redheaded indie mythical wood deities in their own right, so they've probably consorted in the moonlight at least once), I would say she was probably well aware of the intention of this song. What I really appreciate about this version is the clarity of the lyrics - Amos is notoriously tricksy with her pronounciations - which allows this truly haunting song to be brought home even more.

Does this Cover Not Bum Me Out: 5/5

Not bummed out. Love Florence. Love Tori. They are both magical. This cover did make me want to make this blog to explicitly talk about covers that had more theoretical potential, so ironically, it got me more hyped.

Overall: 4/5

Good cover. Good Song. Could have done more with it, but only because we've come to expect so much more from you, Florence.

Cornflake Girl - Jawbox (1996)

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In 1996, Jawbox, an alternative rock band from Washington, D.C., released their cover of "Cornflake Girl" on their fourth and final self-titled album, Jawbox.

Originally, the band didn't take the song particularly seriously in their repertoire. In an 2015 article from AV club, frontman J. Robbins admitted that the cover had started as a goof, but became serious enough that the group made a music video of the cover (see above).

Listenability: 3.5/5

I actually like this cover a lot. It's got some of the 90s/2000s grunge rock, wall-of-sound element, while still being recognizable as the song we know and love. It's a jam (a slow-jam, but a jam nonetheless). I do feel as though it lose a bit of the fun instrumentality of the original in the cover, but overall, would definitely make the roadtrip mix.

Originality: 4/5

Jawbox does a lot of very cool things with this. It definitely leans more alt-rock than indie-pop, which I think gives those drops in the song a real kick. The stutter-step rhythm is a really good addition, and I think it makes a nice homage to Tori's style, which often plays around with rhythm in similar ways.

Integrity to Original: 3/5

I'm gonna play this card: I don't think it has quite the same impact coming from a dude. He does not know what it means to be a cornflake, nor a raisin girl. The music video mostly seems like a series of bizarre images that seem to - probably jokingly - take the "cornflake" imagery pretty literally, with someone being force-fed milk from a tube and someone's soft tummy being poked with a spoon (also, a dude with his mouth full of pennies, so who the fuck knows). Not all covers have to say the same thing the original was saying, or anything at all for that matter, but for this one, I'm gonna land right in the middle for ?????

Does this Cover Not Bum Me Out: 4/5

Nah, not really! Besides the fact men are involved (always a bummer) (jk) (or am I?), I enjoyed the change of pace.

Overall: 3.5/5

Solid cover. Loud. Wall of music. Still couldn't dance to it. Nice level of angst. Too many men involved.

Cornflake Girl - Imogen Heap (2010)

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A one time, live performance! In 2010, Imogen Heap covered "Cornflake Girl" in Melbourne, Australia. The performance was an auction item for the charity Concern Worldwide; the winning bidder got a chance to meet Heap and receive "A Song Just for You." Heap offers her own unique interpretation of the song, which can be seen in the video aboce.

Listenability: 2/5

This is due MAINLY to the fact that this is a live performance. A more polished, recorded version would probably actually be pretty killer. Still probably not a 'have it on in the background, good for the party mix' kind of song, but definitely a get kinda stoned and listen to it on repeat a couple times song.

Originality: 5/5

Amazing range of sounds and instruments she's able to play with since she's performing electronically/has an array of instruments on stage. Fantastic use of double tracking and creating her own vocal loops on the spot. She really makes the song her own in this performance.

Integrity to Original: 3/5

I do really think this is in the spirit of the original, and she plays with an similar set of instruments that Amos herself uses while incorperating her own flair. The lyrics feel a little bit throwaway, which is kind of a shame, because honestly, Tori Amos is nothing if not an incredible lyricist. That being said, most electoric music (in my experience) is more about the instrumentation/sampling, so this makes some sense from Heap, I think.

Does this Cover Not Bum Me Out: 4/5

Yeah, it's cool. She takes some real risks with this cover, and I think for the most part, they pay off.

Overall: 4/5

You do you, Imogen. It's a cool cover. It's neat. I dig it. Do your dance. Do some fun looping things. Wear your hair like Bart from Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (jk, she wears her hair like you). Dig it.

Cornflake Girl - Noah Hawley & Jeff Russo (2018)

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Legion, an FX series based on the Marvel character David Haller (aka Legion) (surprise surprise) first debuted in February 2017. The show revolves around David, who is diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, only to find out in his thirties that there may be much more to his mental illness than he'd previously thought.

This cover of "Cornflake Girl" was featured in the finale of Legion Season 2. I have not personally gotten this far in the show yet (it's good, but a little exhausting and hard to binge for me, so much withholding information), but I watched the clip and it makes no sense to me, so that's a start!

Listenability: 3/5

It pretty much sounds exactly like a Coldplay song, so depending on how you feel about Coldplay, this could go either way. I'm mid-road.

Originality: 2/5

I mean, eh. They make the chorus a minor key and put in some synths. It would play well over the trailer. I bet it will in the future.

Integrity to Original: 2/5

I feel like this is one of those many cases where people just take the lines This is not real/This is not really happening/You bet your life it is and they're like THAT COULD APPLY TO THIS FUCKED UP SITUATION and you know what you're right it does well done gold star for you.

Does this Cover Not Bum Me Out: 1/5

Definitely a bummer. Bumming hard listening to this on repeat.

Overall: 2/5

Is it BAD? No. You know what it is? Meh. Just meh.

#cornflake girl #tori amos #florence + the machine #florence welch #imogen heap #jawbox #under the pink #noah hawley #jeff russo #legion #ctc #review

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thehiddenpredacon · 6 years

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Darkmist’s Bio!

Designation: Darkmist Nicknames: Darkie, Dark, DM, Misty (she only allows Starscream or close friends call her by the nicknames. Give her some?) Primary color: light navy blue Secondary color: grey Territory color: dark grey Optic color: yellow(left optic), blue(right optic) Biolight colors: Yellow and blue Gender: Femme(female) Species: Minicon - Predacon Faction: Neither side (Stays on Cons warship and follows Starscream) Descendant of: Onyx Prime and Micronus Prime Abilities: HyperSpeed, Invisibility Alt mode: A minicon that’s a predacon Father like figure: Starscream Enemies: Megatron, Autobots(She’s just scared of them), Shockwave, Soundwave(He creeps her out) Friends: Onyx Prime(He’s the one who sent her up to space), Starscream, Knockout Weapons of choice: Blue flames she breathes out, claws, her abilities Speed: 10/10 Strength: 8/10 (predacon strength is 10/10) Endurance: 5/10 Intelligence: 7/10

Personality: Shy at first but once she gets to trust you she will be more outgoing. She’s a risk taker. She has some of Screamers personalities since he raised her in a way. Her emotions switch quickly and she’s anxious about almost everything unless Starscream is around. She's clumsy and stammer’s. She’s also a terrible liar.

History(summary of it): ( Takes place during Transformers: Prime) Before the great cataclysm destroyed the predacon race completely someone sent her up into space in a pod along with others that needed to be kept safe. She was stuck in space and locked in a stasis pod for decades until The nemesis located her position. Starscream notified Megatron which he had the seeker bring the pod to the ship for inspection. Later Starscream was forced to stay with the pod in the medbay where the medic of the ship(Knockout) could examine it. Megatron told the second commander to keep her in the pod because he wasn’t going to allow some random bot they do not know about roaming on the ship but the seeker thought otherwise. He suggested to Knockout that they should open it so the femme herself could answer the questions. Knockout thought it was a bad idea but did what the commander said since he is well...the commander. The predacon wasn’t fully developed at all and was still learning quite a few things. Turns out she knew completely nothing of what was going on. She barely even knew how to speak properly which Starscream was very irritated by it. Knockout and Starscream argued about who was going to teach her words since she needed to learn. Starscream was unfortunately chosen as the lucky one to teach her. This was completely new to him so he got frustrated easily. It took him a while but he soon got the hang of it. He made logs on his datapad to see how much she improves within time. In fact not only that he started to get used to it but he began liking her in a friendly way. The only hard part about this was to keep her out of Megatron's hands. He didn’t want to screw up this friendly relationship he managed to gain for once. No one on the damned ship ever trusted him or took the time to get to know him properly. No one would even stick around to hear him out. He was lonely. He wasn’t going to allow Megatron to take away the only friend he had since his trine brothers Skywarp and Thundercracker died. He desperately needed someone to hear him out. When Starscream was close friends with the femme he told her to stay in his room no matter what and don’t let herself be seen on the ship or bad things will happen. He promised to her and himself that he would not let anything bad happen. Ever since then they have been running away from Megatron nonstop. It was sometimes difficult to keep her out of sight. The femme would follow Starscream through the vents of the ship since she got bored of hiding sometimes and found him by his heat signature since Predacons were expert trackers. Though later on Megatron began to grow curious to where the femme in the pod went since he hadn’t seen the pod anywhere in a while. He hadn’t gotten any reports or anything either since he was so, so, busy dealing with the Autobots. He asked Starscream where the pod had been and the seeker lied, saying that the pod sent itself off. The warlord didn’t believe him one bit and fought him for a true answer. He knew the seeker was a decent liar at times. Though the seeker kept refusing to tell him and Megatron gave him a couple of good beatings until he spoke up. Once Megatron finally managed to have tortured Starscream enough to get the answer out he made the troops look for the femme. When they found her they took her hostage on board while the warlord put Starscream in a cell for not following his orders. Starscream tried breaking out of the cell but it was impossible. He was helpless. Megatron had taken the predacon femme to one of Shockwaves labs on Cybertron for experimentation. They were studying predacon C.N.A to make an army of them eventually. When she was strapped to an experimentation table Shockwave took samples of her C.N.A and placed it on a shelf for safe keeping. During the process of trying to get the sample, she struggling thus making shockwave put the marks on her wings. She was a fighter and tried to fight back since she didn’t know how to properly fight. In fact, she didn’t know how to breathe fire or fly. Knockout was helping Shockwave with this experiment and felt bad for the femme of course since he knew of her as well as Starscream did. The red medic was thinking of helping her but thought otherwise because he didn’t want his paint to be scratched by Megatron. But fortunately when Shockwave walked out of the room the medic without thinking pressed the button that would release her anyways and told her to go find Starscream. She immediately fled out of the laboratory unseen. Starscream was still stuck in the cell and she managed to find him. It took awhile but she found him. She helped secretly free him by getting the key card to the cell. Once they were both out they tried to sneakily run away from the ship but unfortunately when they made it to the flight deck, unknowingly one of the troops spotted them, soon alerting Megatron. They were both surrounded by the troops and Megatron. Starscream did the hardest thing he could which was to tell her to save herself and jump off of the ship. He will find her eventually. She refused to at first but the seeker eventually had to push her off since she was so attached and so forth they haven’t seen each other since then. Starscream had another beating for letting her escape and was forced to live with the guilt of losing his best and only friend. Megatron had always won and took everything from him. He hated him ever since. Starscream had another beating for letting her escape and was forced to live with the guilt of losing his best and only friend. Megatron had always won and took everything from him. He hated him ever since. After the events of Transformers Prime (RID 2017 summary): Shortly after the events of Starscream’s arch (RID episodes). Starscream was sent to jail by Optimus Prime for his crimes of overuse of power and, or trying to take over the world again. The seeker was currently in a coma and didn’t wake up for a couple of days. The poor mech simply was only trying to prove himself to everyone that he wasn’t a joke anymore since they didn’t take him seriously enough. When he woke up he forgot what had happened recently and wondered why he was in a cell then immediately had gotten a horrible flashback of it. He groaned when he had first awoken and rubbed his head as he sat up. The guards took his blasters and any weapon he had on him. He felt helpless and then the guilt washed over him once more all of the sudden. But why was he feeling guilty? He had completely almost forgotten about the femme he had saved once a long time ago but he couldn’t do anything about it as of now. He was so busy trying to prove himself that he had forgotten about her. His power-hungriness took over him. As that was happening the femme had taught herself to do almost everything now in the time being. She even ran into the Autobots once on earth for help. Once she had mention Starscream they quickly denied her at first but she made them listen to her portion of the story. They still didn’t believe her one bit. She was growing frustrated and then left them to turn to Steeljaws pack for help. It may be risky but it was her best option. Fortunately, Steeljaw offered ‘’to help her” find Starscream since was part of the Decepticons slightly. They said he was sent to jail due to his recent actions they have heard about. With that new information, she became doubtful that she was going to get him back easily now and there was no way to get back to Cybertron on her own. But...she did see a groundbridge in the Autobots Scrapyard. She had no choice but to go back there in order to get to Cybertron. She just had to find him. She thanked Steeljaw for the information and said she would be on her way but unfortunately he wasn’t going to let her go anytime soon. He tied her up to a tree and used her as bait for the Autobots to lure them out of their base. It worked of course since the Autobots are predictable now. Once they Autobots came to the location of the distress signal they were shocked to see Darkmist there. They questioned her intentions but released her from the bonds Steeljaw tied her up then. Little did they know Steeljaw implanted a bomb right next to the tree and Strongarm pointed it out. She made Sideswipe try and disarm the bomb since he used to be a harmless criminal once but he had no idea how to and just cut all of the wires while Darkmist was freaking out the whole time. Though cutting all of the wires was successful! Bumblebee apologized to the predacon and finally said that they will assist her in getting Starscream back to her. She thanked them and was a bit happier now. Although… She did have a slight grudge against Starscream for leaving her alone all of this time. She was going to help him get out of jail but she wasn’t going to talk to him just yet. Not until he actually apologizes. Once the Autobots on Earth actually listened to her side of the story about Starscream they managed to believe her for once and contacted Optimus that they are sending a femme that is looking for Starscream through the groundbridge back to Cybertron and that he should meet her at the coordinates they sent him. Optimus said he would be there immediately. Once Darkmist arrived at the other end of the portal there stood a tall red and blue color schemed mech. She much feared him at first since she was much smaller than him but once he spoke his name she calmed down and told him that she was looking for Starscream. When she said that he said nothing and began walking, hoping that she would follow him. Optimus took her to the jail Starscream was placed in. When they arrived neared the cell Optimus told her that he was not allowed out of there for what he did. Darkmist tried to convince Optimus that his intentions were good but he was still wary of them. Once they arrived at the cell Optimus said to Starscream that he had a visitor and stood by while Darkmist slowly walked up to the cell. The seeker scoffed at first and didn’t believe him because he never had visitors but fortunately when he looked up he saw Darkmist and his face lit up. Despite that the femme wasn’t going to talk to him the seeker was pretty happy to see someone he knew properly. When he realized that she was rather more silent than usual after he talked so much he asked her what was wrong then realized that she was mad about him leaving her. Starscream stammered his apology at first and wasn’t sure how to word it since he never apologized for anything before. Optimus was surprised by this as he watched then began to believe her. Once the seeker finally apologized properly she smiled and giggled at him, telling him that it was alright. She asked Optimus if he could release him again after seeing that but he unfortunately still has to deny that request. She kept pleading the former Autobot leader but he still said no. That’s when Starscream bugged in and told Optimus that she needed him and that he won’t do anything ever again. He just wanted to be with her. Then Optimus said to the both of them that redemption was the only other option that would let him free and that they will need to place a tracker chip on him somewhere so they could follow every movement of his. Starscream said he would do anything to get out of the damned cell. He didn’t care. He was also a seeker and seekers needed to fly so he didn’t want to become a crazy bot or they would never let him out. With that Optimus finally let him out with a small glare in his optics and the guards put the tracker on Starscream so he could be on his way. The seeker was happy to finally be with his friend for once. And the best part was that there was no more Megatron to worry about so they were safe at last. Status: Online Sparkmate: Currently doesn't have one. Voice Claim: Anne Marie Theme song: FRIENDS by Marshmellow & Anne Marie Quotes: ''So much for staying hidden...'' ''Primus, Just hear him out for once! You never give him a chance!'' ''I believe everyone deserves a second chance.'' ''You are not the only one, Starscream.'' Fun facts: - She represents the friendship of Onyx Prime and Micronus Prime. - She was made by Primus to let bots know that the Primes had existed once. So far all bots think it’s a myth and no one believes her - She rarely transforms into beast mode because she thinks she looks silly compared to others - She has ripped wings thus she can’t fly well. It prevents her from doing such. - she also had a hard time breathing fire once but eventually she made large blue flames that were insanely hot. Will add more when I think of more!

Please do not use her without my permission! I worked very hard on her and it took forever to make her! Transformers(c) Hasbro Darkmist(c) Me Art(c) Me Had her Since 2012

DA Ref: https://www.deviantart.com/thehiddenpredacon/art/Darkmist-s-Official-Biographical-Records-716727575

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mathryoshka · 7 years

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Bench Flower. | 4

42, the number that represents the answer to mankind’s curiosity towards life, universe, and everything. —The Hitchhiker Guide to The Galaxy.

genre: angst, friendship.

chapter(s): 4/4.

summary: during pre-debut days, 3RACHA encounters empty hopes. it’s up to them to sink or conquer. (insp: track 42 by 3RACHA. (listen here )

CB97 // J-ONE // SPEARB // 3RACHA.

3RACHA.

Bang Chan is … feeling strange. Quite strange. There’s sadness within him, a little leftover from last night’s late ponder. There’s storm in his eyes; a current of strained jubilation that goes dark as the restless nights march on. The surrealism demands no end. It keeps haunting him, though not in a negative way. Everyday, each element will unfold retrograde conception of what dreams are made for—of what desires are meant to be. In one particular strand, he is told the courage of musicians. The pictures elapsing inside his dreams foretokening success; all flowers, all reflections, all cubicles, all ponds— everything makes sense. So far he’s speaking with his fervor, the embodiment of his passion. It emerges in diverse constituents in order to build a message that it can’t tell through words, for passion is a part of emotion with no ability to form speech. Classic, all sequence of surrealism is solely the manifestation of his deepest mind’s effort in battling hopelessness. Nothing transcends in between.

Chan grips the railings of the dormitory’s rooftop, leaning closer to the open air. The midnight breeze is cold enough to reduce the intensity of his fear. In tranquility he recalls his old mates in Australia, making himself again; aware of how serene his life was with no examinations and eliminations. How peaceful it is to follow community, the flowery path of common teenagers in fulfilling their common dreams; school works, P.E. classes, and academical exams instead of vocal trainings, dance practices, and trainee showcases. If only he can turn back the time, Bang Chan leans closer to the railings. His firm grip on the iron bar is getting loose. There’s a melody in his head, developed rather spontaneously. Combined with words from the most haunting dream, Chan croons, his face already touching the midnight’s cold breath. —.

“Chan-hyung!” Ji-sung’s voice screams out from the entry of the rooftop section, sprinting towards him with a panic-stricken look drawn across his bare countenance. He looks extremely frantic, clambering towards the oldest in the way a woman chases her baby’s crib stirring away on a busy pavement. When he gets closer, Chan sees his sleepless eyes glossy with fresh tears. Ji-sung pulls him away from the railings as he bellows at the top of his lungs; “Don’t you give up on us, don’t you give up on us.”

Bang Chan is rendered immobile by his odd gestures. The night is on the peak, why is he still awake? Most importantly—why is he acting so distraught? Ji-sung’s holler is more than necessary in such reclusive confinement. The way his voice cracks, the way he hauls him aside—he’s treating him as if Chan’s going to end his freakin’ valuable life … . while he’s not.

“Jisung-ah, what’s going on?” Chan pries Jisung’s firm grip away, from his bicep, flinching at the dull ache. Jisung’s tears eventually falls—slithering down his pale cheeks in rapid motion. “You’ve been acting weird since 42—I thought you’re going to give up on music—give up on us,” Chan’s tense muscles go limp. “For the sake of 3-RACHA, why should I think of giving—.”

“Spill them out,” Changbin interferes, his deep voice still hoarse with the quality of disturbed sleep. He appears from the unmoving darkness of the rooftop entrance, carefully stepping out. “You think we haven’t gotten any hunch of you? Are you trivializing us, hyung?”

Even beneath the dim effulgence of the mercury moon, Chan can observe the way Jisung’s face shifts from panic to surprise. Changbin’s emergence is truly uncalled for.

As the three enters a seemingly everlasting eye contact, Chan discerns small details that he hasn’t yet regarded in a more serious way. While Jisung shares the same black circles and a sharpened jaw from losing weight, Changbin is … what Chan might call “worse.” Not only he’s encumbered by the fear of not being able to express his passion through music, he’s also afflicted by his schoolwork—his academic dreams in achieving more. Chan can vividly recall the day when Jisung and Changbin run a fever; they both harbor the similar heat of perseverance in his eyes, although their gazes are still hazy from the illness. “I don’t want to waste another day, hyung.” They both say, their old voices now ringing repeatedly in Chan’s mind, “I don’t want to give up.”

“Talk to us, hyung.” Changbin crouches near Jisung and Chan, grief looking so clear like bright paint splashed on a dark canvas. “What happened?” Chan shudders. Changbin’s sympathy—. This is the first time he hearkens the rapper being so wholehearted to him. This is the first time Changbin sees him in the midst of a downfall, resting among his own dark thoughts. Jisung has seen him crying beforehand, but not for the deep-voiced boy he encountered a year ago. There’s an odd solitude delivered through reassurance and recurrence—the kindness he provides manages to make Chan weeps, fresh tears spilling freely along the angles of his chiseled visage.

“I was just … tired.” The oldest whimpers, his cadence unstable. “Six years I’ve been here, I got nothing in return. Debut sounds like a dream out of reach—“ He remembers the day the woman clad in brown leather coat examines the way he sings, replaying the cassette over and over again, before ends up sighing heavily; “Talented, but not talented enough. Ego is what you lack of. You deserve no spotlight with your current capabilities.” It hurts him. “It hurts to see everyone rises to the top as I stay off the ground. Is it because I’m me, not them? Where did I go wrong?”

Jisung and Changbin—once again—drown themselves in a meaningful silence, just like the other day. Chan’s on the verge of collapsing, and the two can’t develop any single equanimity. Stuck on the puzzle, stuck on their own riddles of life. Two young boys lost in the sangfroid of confusion, oscillating forever like a pendulum. They watch the leader swinging on the polar extremes, as their feet were pinned onto the grayscale; unable to stir. It’s not like their concern is somewhere else. It’s merely the inability in forming words that holds them down.

“I ask myself why a few days ago.” The captain begins again, smiling. “My dreams answer, and finally—after seemingly a long period of nightmares, I saw faces—mine. Us,”

Much to Chan’s surprise, Jisung and Changbin both slowly extend their arms and pull him into their warmest embrace. They’re trembling underneath the disturbance of cold, but deep down they know—if words can’t play the game, let action do its job. Through the haze of melancholy, Chan hugs them back. Although the rest of their withdrawal is spent along the course of silence, Chan can hear their intentions, loud and clear; “We’ll be here for you.” Jisung’s old saying echoes. “No matter what happen, hyung. I’ll be there for you.” Changbin’s old “oath” ricochets in his mind, bouncing back and forth like a noise made by broken tapes. Through the treasured quietude, Chan smiles at their memories—the moment he meets Ji-sung, the conversation they have after long hours of practice, the recruitment of Changbin, Ji-sung admitting a healthy rivalry with Changbin, 3-RACHA recording their first tracks and releasing it to websites. It’s not easy to gain acknowledgement as musicians when you begin it small, but as long as they’re here—Chan is sure his path to success is entirely secure.

Chan releases their hug with a mischievous cackle. It’s odd to see them being all sad, therefore he strives to eradicate every sadness in him by saying; “Hey, I’m not giving up on you, you know? Jisung-ah, you really are exaggerating the facts.” Upon this statement, Jisung’s face goes completely red. He bites his lower lip hard, trying to not burst with the growing shame. Changbin puts a reassuring hand on Chan’s shoulder. “Are you really all right now, hyung?” Chan nods, “In fact, I got something for all of you. Rough work for my newest production. I want to replace the gloomy 42 with something brighter—and more motivational in a good way.” “What is it?”

Grinning gingerly at his boys’ curiosity, Chan unfolds a crumpled paper jutting out from the pocket of his ripped jeans. The paper isn’t perpetually sufficient due to its abnormal size, but oddly, Chan’s long scribble fits. From his angle, Jisung takes a glimpse of the oldest’s note—it’s a composition of lyrics written in navy blue ink. “Hear me out, will ‘ya?” Jisung and Changbin tilt their head in a manner that represents pure impatience, eyes sparkling with restless anticipation.

Too far away, like a tunnel vision. The light in front of me isn’t shining yet. The day that we obviously walked, Talk that, call that, Black—darkness taking over.

Seems like our expectations from the beginning is too big, The moment my heart gets attacked, What a moment. Tick-tock, even time passes. Our music’s view count got no change. “Ah, should I just give up?” That thought haunts me.

Before I lose my mind, J-One and Spear-B who stood in front of me, They hold me while saying, “Let’s hold on a little longer.”

Now wake up Chris, we just started. By thinking that this desire is the beginning to get to the top, I start working on our music again, 3RACHA, we��re gonna make it one day.

By the time Chan finishes rapping, Jisung already has a fluttered wide grin upon his face and Changbin already has a bead of tear streaming down his face. Chan grins back at them, his rows of white teeth shown clearly. “How was it?” Jisung takes a deep breath, “It’s extremely beautiful,” Changbin grits his teeth, “I’m torn between punching your gut or hugging you tight, hyung.” Both Jisung and Chan proceeds to a wholehearted laughter. “What’s the title, hyung?” Jisung asks right after his jubilation dies down, “Or you haven’t decided anything yet?” “Worry not, I got one.” Chan folds the paper again and tucks it safe in his warm pocket, “To illustrate the weakness and the strength of 3RACHA, to draw us as a thriving musician with passions to be delivered worldwide, Even a dark shadow needs light to exist.”

Disclaimer.

The entire point of Fleur lies on the power of dreams, flower representations, and two specific songs; 42, and Even A Dark Shadow Needs Light To Exist ( 그림자도 빛이 있어야 존재 ) . These two incredibly powerful tracks were released for their second mixtape, yet they’re now gone from the official channel. For those who’re new to the fandom, 3RACHA has released so many productions and often, the most amazing ones are those which were taken down for unknown reasons. Still, let’s keep on supporting the boys.

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aion-rsa · 3 years

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15 SNES Games That Deserve a Sequel

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The SNES isn’t just the greatest Nintendo console of all-time: it’s the home of a truly impressive collection of classic games, underrated gems, and, for our purposes today, a shocking number of games that never got the sequel they deserved.

While you can usually list the business reasons why certain games don’t get sequels, that does little to diminish fans’ desires for more of a particular experience or even a second chance to get things right. In the case of some of these games, fans have been holding their breath for quite a long time.

Before we dive into this look at SNES games begging for a sequel, please note that while we will mostly focus on games that never got a sequel, a few of these titles did get underwhelming sequels that missed the mark or otherwise haven’t been revisited in over 20 years.

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15. The Adventures of Batman and Robin

While I actually slightly prefer the Genesis version of this game, this underrated SNES gem was still a Konami beat-em-up made at the peak of that studio’s efforts in that genre. Even better, it was based on arguably the best Batman adaptation of all time: Batman: The Animated Series.

So why did this never get a sequel? It certainly wasn’t perfect, and Konami may have struggled to retain the rights, but given how much the company’s TMNT games improved over time, it’s hard not to wonder what Konami could have done if they had been allowed to expand upon this brilliant marriage of an expertly adapted world and nearly airtight gameplay.

14. Saturday Night Slam Masters

This game did technically get a sequel, but that title never officially made it out of Japan and also made some drastic changes that made the series more of a 2D fighting game. It was actually quite good, but it didn’t reach the heights of the original.

After all, Saturday Night Slam Masters balanced a fascinating mixture of fighting games and wrestling games that was compelling enough at the time but may bring a generation raised on increasingly stale WWE games to tears. This is quite simply one of the most entertaining wrestling games ever made.

13. Super Star Wars Trilogy

This entry is a bit of a cheat since it not only combines three games in one entry but arguably ignores the fact that we’ve obviously gotten quite a few Star Wars games since these were released. Still, what I really want is a new trilogy of games that mimics the gameplay and style of these brutally difficult classics.

Whether they’re based on the prequel trilogy, sequel trilogy, or tell entirely original stories, I’d love for a modern developer (probably someone in the Devolver Digital family) to make a modern Super Star Wars game that leaves you wanting to throw your controller through the window and enjoying every minute of it.

12. Mario Paint

While Nintendo has made other strange games that emphasized player’s creative input (Mario Maker is probably the most notable recent example), they’ve never really properly revisited this Super Mario spin-off that showed Nintendo fans everywhere there was an artist inside of them.

Mario Paint may be simple by today’s standards, but that’s all the more reason for Nintendo to upgrade what was essentially an educational game that mastered the “gamify” concept long before that really became a talking point in the industry.

11. U.N. Squadron

The SNES wasn’t exactly lacking in worthwhile shooters, but there was always something special about U.N. Squadron. Granted, it was tough as nails, but the game’s upgrade system, visuals, and incredible level design typically made it easy to put up with the frustrations.

Capcom is always talking about revisiting and reviving its back catalog, so why not release an “indie-style” sequel to this cult classic that’s always deserved another look?

10. Skyblazer

This largely forgotten gem from the SNES era shows just how spoiled we were at that time for these kinds of experiences.

After all, Skyblazer was a game that combined great visuals, a killer soundtrack, puzzle-solving, platforming, and intense side-scrolling action, and few people ever actually played it. A simple re-release of this underrated classic would be more than I could hope for, but truth be told, my heart cries out for an admittedly unlikely sequel.

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9. Sunset Riders

Long before Red Dead Redemption offered arguably the definitive Western gaming experience, one of the most enjoyable ways to take a trip to that era was this run-and-gun side-scroller shooter that failed to really make a name for itself despite having so much going for it.

Sunset Riders‘ old west setting carries a lot of this game’s weight, but it’s really this shooter’s gameplay (which feels like a combination of Contra and a light gun shooter) that makes you wonder how it spent so many years in relative obscurity. A sequel would go a long way towards helping to ensure this game gets the love it deserves.

8. Weaponlord

It felt like every developer was trying to make the next great fighting game in the ‘90s. While most of those efforts fell well short of being the next Mortal Kombat or Street Fighter, the decade’s onslaught of subpar efforts meant that a few fighting games never got the chance they deserved.

Weaponlord was one of those games. Sometimes referred to as the spiritual predecessor to Soul Edge/Soul Calibur, this weapon-based fighting game complemented its shockingly deep gameplay with a unique art style that stands out to this day. It wasn’t perfect, but it’s so easy to imagine how a sequel could have fixed nearly all of this game’s flaws.

7. Uniracers

A racing game about unicycles is strange enough, but what really sets this game apart is its surprising speed and wacky courses that emphasize almost “stunt-like” racing and tricks. I even kind of love this game’s weird ‘90s attitude.

There was just so much more that could have been done with this concept had Uniracers gotten the sequel it deserved. Since its developer DMA Design (now known as Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar North) clearly isn’t doing anything these days, I don’t see why they wouldn’t revisit this one.

6. Secret of Evermore

It’s easy to get this game confused with Secret of Mana and some of the other titles of this era, but Secret of Evermore truly was a special piece of action RPG design that has been tragically overlooked over the years for reasons that have little to do with the game’s quality.

At a time when many fans were looking for a Secret of Mana sequel, Secret of Evermore offered a somewhat similar but distinctly different gaming experience that was a little slower, a little stranger, and a little more complicated, but arguably never got the chance it deserved to really carve its own identity and find an audience. I think modern gamers would be more receptive to this title’s ideas, though it would be a lot easier to confirm that theory if we got a sequel.

5. Kirby’s Dream Course

Kirby’s Dream Course is one of those games that I feel was both hurt and helped by its license. While this project’s association with Kirby probably inspired more people to play what essentially amounts to a combination of golf and puzzle games (think Marble Madness), a lot of young gamers who took a chance on this thinking it was closer to a traditional Kirby game were left throwing their hands up in the air.

Years later, though, it’s easier than ever to appreciate what Dream Course is going for. This almost zen-like experience challenges you to use your brain to solve its most fiendish puzzles but keeps things light enough to encourage you to progress even when you hit a wall. Even if an eventual sequel was nothing more than a mobile game, Dream Course is more than worthy of another look.

4. Illusion of Gaia

Illusion of Gaia was one of those SNES games that not everybody owned, but those who did own it typically wouldn’t shut up about it. To be fair to those sometimes persistent gamers, it’s kind of hard to forget about Illusion of Gaia once you’ve given it a chance.

Though perhaps best described as an ARPG, Illusion of Gaia is actually sometimes closer to a more complicated take on a classic Legend of Zelda game. Its incredible world, surprising plot, fun action, and unique action/adventure concepts made it easy to love, hard to forget, and surprisingly difficult to play. While part of an unofficial trilogy of games, this one has always deserved a proper sequel.

3. Super Mario RPG

While the Paper Mario series and some of the Mario & Luigi games eventually carried on Super Mario RPG’s legacy, you’ve got to forgive fans who still cry out for a “proper” Super Mario RPG sequel to this day. Maybe that’s because there’s really not another game quite like Super Mario RPG.

Developed by SquareSoft during their 16-bit peak, Super Mario RPG combined the better elements of a Final Fantasy game with the more lighthearted nature of a Mario title. The result was an RPG that was much more “accessible” than other notable RPGs of this era but never left you feeling like you were playing a lesser game. At the very least, a Super Mario RPG sequel may be the only way that we get more Geno adventures.

2. Demon’s Crest

There’s a loose rumor that Demon’s Crest‘s sales were so bad that it actually registered negative sales at one point due to an excessive number of returns. It may be little more than an urban legend, but it kind of goes to show you just how poorly this game performed when it was released.

To this day, I’m not sure why Demon’s Crest wasn’t an instant hit. It was a bit short and some of its design elements were somewhat confusing, but this lovely gothic action title combined Castlevania and Mega Man in a way that is so easy to fall in love with. It’s the kind of game that practically begged for a sequel that it just never got.

1. Chrono Trigger

While I’m actually a fan of 1999’s Chrono Cross, I understand why many fans don’t like it. I believe Kotaku once called it a great game and a bad sequel, which really kind of sums up some of the ways that game distinguished itself while seemingly ignoring so many of the ways the classic original made a name for itself as one of the best RPGs ever.

So yes, count me among the many who still wants a “proper” Chrono Trigger sequel to this day. While there are plenty of reasons to doubt that a modern Chrono Trigger game could replicate the ways that this game’s “dream team” of developers made it arguably the best JRPG of the golden era of JRPGs, it’s almost impossible to walk away from this one and not be left wishing for more.

The post 15 SNES Games That Deserve a Sequel appeared first on Den of Geek.

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thisaintascenereviews · 6 years

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Album Review by Bradley Christensen The Maine – Can’t Stop Won’t Stop Record Label: Fearless Release Date: July 8 2008

Bands change over time, that’s just how it goes, but one of the most interesting changes is what The Maine has gone through over the last eleven years. I’ve been a fan of them since the very beginning, back when they released their debut EP, The Way We Talk, back in 2007. A lot of fans only probably know their last couple of albums, because that’s when they got bigger in the alternative scene, but I wouldn’t hold that against anyone, since it makes sense. 2015’s American Candy is when the band started to get more of a following (well, more of a following again, anyway, as they were pretty huge in the “neon” era during the mid-00s) within the emo / pop-punk communities. Anyway, I was very into their debut album, 2008’s Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, but I never had a copy of it, for whatever reason. I think I just couldn’t find the CD in stores, but I remember I had it on iTunes way back in the day. Afterwards, that’s when my relationship with this band got a bit shakier. 2010’s Black & White was a good album, but they went into a much more “commercial” direction with it, and 15-year-old me wasn’t too impressed by it. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop had just the right amount of alternative cred to it, where I could forgive its catchier and slicker sound, but they went full radio-pop-rock with Black & White, and its lyrics got less interesting, so I just didn’t care about it whatsoever. Pioneer, however, their 2011 follow-up was even more interesting, because it was a really exhausting and longwinded alt-rock album that tried to be more “serious” and “mature,” but I really didn’t buy it, so I never got into it. I even bought the album twice, once when it came out and another time a couple of years ago, but I just never got into it. 2013’s Forever Halloween is the album that made me go, “Wow, this is a mature album,” because that was the one that showed people that this band had a lot to offer. That’s a really solid album, too, as it had the band go into a more indie-rock, alt-rock, and even a 90s-influenced direction.

When it comes to 2015’s American Candy, however, that’s when my relationship with The Maine sours. I didn’t like that album. Hell, I’ve grown to dislike it more over time, because it’s not a good album. I mean, parts of it are good, as I love its sound, but even then, it’s a very blatant and disappointing regression from Forever Halloween. Its overall idea is good, being an updated version of their first album, but the vocals weren’t very good, the lyrics were horrendous, and the overall sound was generic and lifeless, so I didn’t like it whatsoever. I haven’t even bothered to listen to their last album, because they didn’t even release it to digital outlets or streaming services until much later, so I haven’t bothered to care whatsoever. It’s not even like American Candy was disappointing, either. It was bad. It was a genuinely ugly record that sounded sweet on the surface, but when you really dug into the lyrics, they were garbage. I thought the lyrics on their debut album were cringing, but going back to Can’t Stop Won’t Stop now, they’ve aged quite well, and the lyrics from an album released ten years are somehow better than from an album only released a few years ago. Because of American Candy, I don’t really care about The Maine, but I wanted to finally get a copy of Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, and I feel like that’s their most underrated album, because it seems like they don’t really talk about that record or that “era,” anyway. Most people associate them with their last two albums, anyway, but listening to Can’t Stop Won’t Stop again after ten years, give or take, it’s a great album. I forgot how much I love it. It’s one of those albums that’s very nostalgic to me, so I have an attachment to it, but going back to it, it’s a very damn good album, regardless. It’s easily their best, too, especially compared to their other albums.

Hate me for that, but this and Forever Halloween are their best albums. I don’t follow the fandom at all anymore, so I have no idea what the consensus is, but those are their best two albums, and the only albums worth caring about, honestly. Like Every Avenue’s debut album, 2008’s Shh, Just Go With It, which I just talked about, this album is a bit generic. It’s not the most unique album, but what I like about this album more than that one, even though that album is fantastic, is that it’s actually quite diverse. This band was more or less in the “neon” scene that was within pop-punk during the mid-00s, where bands had a lot of synth in their sound, the members had swoopy hair, they wore deep v-neck shirts, and they talked about very similar things that emo and pop-punk did beforehand, but they did it with a neon sheen, I guess you could say. This album has a lot of diversity, though, because every track sounds different. You have songs that are more straightforward power-pop / pop-punk, such as “Everything I Ask For,” “I Must Be Dreaming,” and “Girls Do What They Want,” but you have songs that have more of an indie feel to them, such as “This Is The End,” “Into Your Arms,” and “We’ll All Be,” whereas some songs are more acoustically based (“Whoever She Is”), or having that typical “neon” sound (“You Left Me”). The diversity on the album is very good, and every song has its own feel, so it never gets boring or monotonous to listen to. I personally very much enjoy this record, but it’s not just for its sound. Vocalist John O’Callaghan has a very unique voice, even if it’s not the best, technically speaking, but he uses it well. The lyrics are surprisingly interesting, too, but some of the songs can be a bit silly, over the top, and stupid. “Everything I Ask For” is a good example, just from how juvenile the lyrics are, but it’s sweet, catchy, and fun, so I don’t mind it.

When I said that the song “Everything I Ask For” is a catchy, sweet, and fun song, that’s how I feel about the whole album, really. It’s a diverse, fun, catchy, and interesting “neon” record from 2008 that’s held up quite well, especially coming from a band that I don’t care for anymore. If you only can listen to one album from The Maine, and you’ve never listened to anything else they’ve put out, this is a good one to check out. It’s a good introduction to them. I don’t care a lot of their stuff, especially since they changed their sound over time, or they’re just not that good, but this album will always have a place in my heart. Can’t Stop Won’t Stop came out at a great time for pop-punk, because it really embraced the “poppier” side of pop-punk. The mid-00s, too, was a really weird time for pop, hip-hop, and the more “mainstream” styles of music, especially with the “club boom” of the mid-00s. There was a specific sound in pop music for that era, and a lot of these “neon” bands took that pop sound for themselves. I wish pop-punk went in this direction still, and the only band we really got that combines outright pop music with pop-punk is Waterparks, and I’m not sold on them just yet. I gave their debut a listen awhile back, and it just didn’t do much for me, but if they balanced both sounds better, I feel like they could lead a “revival.” I’m almost shocked we haven’t gotten one yet, considering there’s been an emo revival. The Maine didn’t totally go full neon, as they only had one song that was really like that, but similarly to Every Avenue, they had the look, as well as the lyrics, down pat, so they fit well into the scene, regardless. They were associated with a lot of bands in that scene, and toured with a bunch of bands in that scene, too, so they had ties to it. Alternative Press was my Bible back in 2007 / 2008, and that’s how I came across plenty of these bands, but out of everything that I’ve been into, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop is one of my favorites.

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amynchan · 7 years

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Concerning my post from the other day:

TL;DR: Sorry for pissing you all off and assuming you had no idea what you were getting yourselves into.

That being said, I do have more to say, but if you were just looking for my apology and wanna bow out, I’m putting it under a read more so you can skip it more easily.

I’m not gonna lie, I was really ticked off by a bit of the response to what I had to say. My point of view was that Thomas was attempting to turn a stereotype on its head, a ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ kind of deal and y’all blew it out of the water. Before you call me an idiot for thinking that, here’s what I saw:

me: *opens new ml comic*

me: *immediately closes ml comic*

What went through my head was “...you didn’t even read the comic? You saw this and got pissed off? I mean, I can get it, but sheesh, not even a chance at seeing what he was trying to do or if this was intentional...”

Next reblog was an image that said Fucking Yikes in pretty font

What went through my head was “...aaaand now it’s a bandwagon. Great. Oh well, mob mentality... I don’t think they’ll take it too far.”

Next was a gif of a woman who looked utterly disgusted.

Which, fine. I kind of got the idea that based on these three images, everyone was immediately choosing to boycott the whole comic without seeing where he was going with it. Which, hello, screams kinda dumb to me, but whatever. It’s your cause and you’ll fight for it how you want. Maybe some of you even read the comic, who knows. Best not deal with it since my opinion’s probably gonna get people pissed off at me.

hold up… this is the OFFICIAL comic book?

????????????

what in the actual racist hell?? i saw a thumbnail of this on youtube and just assumed it was some alt-right trolling nonsense, not that it was aN ACTUAL SANCTIONED RELEASE????

who would i go to if i wanted to complain about this?

My thoughts: Hey, look, someone’s questioning this and deciding to take matters into their own hands. Maybe they’ll read the comic and if they find something they still dissent with, they’ll take it up with the right people. If not, then cool. Either way, hope this ends up ok.

Next comes a snapshot of the infamous conversation between fan and Thomas Austruc

My thoughts: ...what the hell did you just do. You just completely messed up any credibility/validity you ever had! Did you go in there for a debate at all? Did you think about his side of events before expressing your own? Did you have a defense, an offense, or even anything to defend against this very obvious question!!?

Simultaneously: Thomas has a point. If they haven’t read it, they don’t know the context, don’t know what he was going for, and they kind of landed themselves flat on their face with their ignorance.

Also: ...*face palms* You guys... just lost.... everything...

“good to know he really cares” I say as I roll my eyes

My thoughts: You guys cannot be freaking serious.

This is the same guy who wanted to include all sorts of diversity in ML, who worked hard for that and you guys were all for that, but after this and his (very freaking PREDICTABLE!!!) question, y’all instantly turn your burners on high and flame the hell outta him. I mean, what the hell?

But it doesn’t end there.

Because I made a stand for what I thought--something I just don’t do because I know people hate my way of thinking because it’s different and I still work through it myself sometimes--I got mixed feedback.

I’ll start with the good stuff. I got a single solitary ask, telling me that I was being unfair to the people who were offended. That they had valid concerns, but I wasn’t told what those were. I thought that those valid concerns were more of the same of what I had been talking about, so that’s what I went with. Spoiler: without clarification, people will just keep going on the same branch.

So that happened, and to the questioner’s credit, she was extremely straightforward and polite. A combo I rarely see, so good on her.

I actually didn’t see her response until my 15 minute break at work (which happened a few hours later), so I didn’t have the chance to respond, and I’m quite frankly glad I was. Because it ticked me off. It ticked me off because there were pieces of information that I didn’t know, and Thomas sure as hell wouldn’t know based on the fact that someone with NO BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE OF THE COMIC went to argue with him about it.

Instead of “Hey, I haven’t read this comic, but I saw these pictures and am super offended!”, we could have had a discourse like “Hey, I read your comic and while I get your intention, your execution of this idea came off as really offensive.” It’s a night and day difference! We have one who is about to be schooled and we have one who is ready to do schooling! Like.. what the heck, guys!? Debate teams don’t just wake up and debate, debate teams gear up for a fight, anticipate counter arguments, and then employ them! And that’s how they win a freaking debate!

Another thing that ticked me off was the complete disregard of one of my own points (the “wait and see” tactic), because she thought it was kinda stupid, citing an adult literally beating a child as an example. Yeah, that would be instantaneous, but I’ve been in too many situations where I’ve been burned, burned others, or set literally everything on fire because I didn’t ‘wait and see’. I’ve gotten in trouble, accidentally ruined relationships, and burned bridges so fast because of it that now it’s just common sense to wait and see. So that was more of a personal (yet unintentional, I’m sure) insult. That argument just went out the window for me based on recent events and personal experience.

The only objective argument I found was the explanation of “Ghetto Blaster” (which I’d assumed to be another stereotype to be subverted) as well as the addition of the beanie and dollar sign necklace, neither of which I’d placed as out-of-place. I’d figured it was part of a warm welcome, like ‘make her feel like she’s at home’ kinda thing. But the objective points made about those, how they were out of place and too much, were valid points towards their argument. And that is the ONLY reason why I was able to take a breath and try to see it from a perspective I literally knew nothing about.

The slap about Thomas failing the test, though, ticked me off. Because in terms of debate, so did the fans. His question was valid from the point of view I was coming from, as well as his response. Once you arm yourself with more information and context, then argue with him on a level playing field. Doing so before is just an insult. You’re assuming that you hold all the cards and that you know everything when you obviously don’t. You don’t have all the evidence, you don’t have the shots. All you’ve got is three images you saw online that you initially assumed were fake and your righteous anger. Lemme tell you from experience that emotion is a poor ally in a debate. It has more holes than swiss cheese.

Another fan expanded on the points of clothing, which also helped me to see it more from that angle. So thank you to them as well.

But I didn’t get any of this until someone STOPPED TO EXPLAIN! Even if they were taking shots at my belief system and how I view and interact with the world, an explanation is better than just saying ‘you’re wrong hurr durr you stupid white girl’, which does happen sometimes.

Additionally, one of my friends who shall remain unnamed came and talked with me for about fifteen minutes while I was still in my raging zone. She assured me that no one was actually attacking me or how I thought and that they were simply trying to express their point of view. While it still doesn’t feel like it, it is with her help that I have taken this period of time to calm down and attempt to convey my side of the story (which, if you’ve even read to this point, good on you! Have a cookie! *gives cookie*)

Now, if you did click this thing and decided it was waaaaay too long, here’s the gist of it:

Y’all did not make it seem as though you knew what you were talking about at all, faced off with the literal head of ML with zero preparation, and only when I made my stand did you guys actually pull up evidence, explanations (both objective and seriously subjective), and make a solid argument. While I know my ideas were not what ticked you guys off, I’m still seriously disappointed in the whole execution of this. You guys could have made a serious impact and difference if you had argued this out with him rationally like how you’ve been trying to convince me.

Now, make no mistake, I am sorry that I pissed you guys off and I’m sorry that I made the assumption that you guys were flying off the handle on the basis of three images (which I had thought were promotional). But please, for the love of all things holy and divine, think before you talk to someone with power about it. Prepare your offense, your defense, and your points. Make sure they’re valid and as objective as possible so that way you're making a difference and not just making noise that people will ignore all over again.

Also, to the person who told me I was ‘still confused’, that’s actually a really sucky thing to say. More like ‘does this help clear up any questions’ or ‘is there anything else that we can clear up?’ would work, but telling me that I’m still confused is just calling me an idiot and I do take slight offense to that. I am trying, but you don’t get to tell me when I stop being confused. That’s my call since it’s my brain. And these are my opinions, which I have reasons for and have just explained to all of you. Just because they are different to yours does not mean that I’m ‘still confused’.

#long post #under tag #explanation #but feel free to ignore if you wanna ignore drama

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