#Studio Coattails

[blerdyotome]

Elan Festival 2023 Brings Some Exciting Yuri Announcements

This past Sunday, yuri game development team, Studio Élan announced some exciting upcoming Sapphic visual novels during Élan Festival 2023 hosted by their adorable mascot, Melanie (voiced by Madeline Dorroh)! This is an annual showcase current and upcoming projects from Élan and their publishing wing Bellhouse and trust there is a lot to talk about! So, let’s check out all the announcements from…

[linuxgamenews]

Engaging & Vivid: Hop on the Thrilling Adventure in Twofold

Twofold romance visual novel game launches on Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the brilliant minds at Salty Salty Studios and Studio Coattails for their outstanding creative efforts. Available now on Steam and itch. Ready to embark on a thrilling romance adventure into the world of Twofold on Linux? Let's dive right in. This also isn't your average game. It's a journey about family, friendships, and the ups and downs of life. It all takes place in an engaging and vivid setting. The central character, Olive, is in a tough spot. Their college life is on the line, and they're struggling to keep up. Due to a low GPA and the risk of being thrown out, Olive needs to get their act together, and fast. Enter two club leaders, ready to lend a hand. But, as you'll soon discover, help comes Twofold with its own set of difficulties in this romance visual novel. These two friends, while eager to assist, are tangled in a conflict. This not only threatens their friendship but also impacts the whole group. Olive, being an outsider, plays a crucial role in learning about and perhaps resolving these tensions. It's like being the new kid who walks into a drama-filled classroom and somehow ends up being the peacekeeper.

Twofold romance visual novel Trailer

Let’s meet the key characters:

Olive: The main character, feeling pretty down and isolated. Olive’s self-reliance has been their armor against romance, but now it's time to face challenges head-on and step up in Twofold.

Caprice: The art club leader, bursting with energy and enthusiasm. She's like the sun – bright, warming, and sometimes a bit too intense. Caprice isn't just all smiles; she knows when to be serious and has her own set of worries.

Millie: The writing club leader, as stubborn as she is intelligent. Imagine someone whose love for books is matched only by their fascination with cars. That's Millie. She's got this air of maturity, but even she needs a hand sometimes.

Hayley: Stuck in the middle of her feuding friends, she's the cool and collected one, often leaning on humor and music to express herself. Imagine being the person everyone likes, but you still prefer a bit of solitude.

Now, here’s the unique part: Twofold romance offers not one, but two main paths to explore. It's like choosing your own adventure, where your choices shape the journey. Plus, there are six club members with whom you can form friendships. Think of them as side quests that enrich the main storyline.

Voice Acting and Soundtrack:

The game comes alive with full English voice acting, bringing each character's personality to the forefront. And let’s not forget the soundtrack – it's also a mix of tunes from "First Snow" and new tracks exclusive to this title. This adds an extra layer of emotion and depth to your adventure. Accessibility and comfort are key. Twofold offers several options to tailor the romance visual novel to your liking. Right from UI settings to comprehensive extras like a CG gallery and music room. The cast list is impressive, featuring talents like Dottovu, Lisa Reimold, Jill Harris, and many more. They bring depth and authenticity to each character, making your journey even more memorable. Along with a playable Linux game Demo on Steam. More than just romance, Twofold isn't just about the challenges Olive faces. It's also a vivid tapestry of relationships, conflicts, and personal growth. It's a journey that invites you to dive into a world where every decision matters. Since every character has a story to tell. So, gear up for an adventure, it's about the experiences that shape us and the connections that define us. Available on Steam and itch. Along with support for Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Priced at $19.99 USD / £16.75 / 19,50€.

[satoshi-mochida]

Twofold releases today on Steam and Itch.io.

There is also a free prequel to the game, First Snow.

[konpeico]

cause when i ride with you, i feel my love renewed

Soul Restruct is a sci-fi action yuri visual novel. Grey, a retail worker with a journalistic eye for beauty in the mundane, gets brought into the exploits of the elementally-powered "New Six."

As the newly-appointed chronicler of this team, Grey follows along to discover the meaning of civilian disappearances caused by a horde mechanical beasts, and the ambitions of the Tyrants in control of them. (all screenshots not final)

Soul Restruct will feature character and CG art by @jellyfishfortuna, background art by Ahruna and Nate D Hernandez, character designs brought on by the likes of khwany! On the soundtrack are @jamiepaige and @shadolith!

@teffiniwynn is the lead writer, producer, and director on Soul Restruct! Els White has been a great help co-writing. Studio Coattails is handling voice casting and Syon Santeria the direction! We'll do character and cast reveals over the coming days.

We're aiming to have a demo, and sometime afterward a crowdfunding campaign, in 2024! Stay tuned for further developments.

You can follow along the game's itch.io page as well!

We've also opened a Patreon if you want to support us in advance and receive extra development tidbits!

Not only that, but @jamiepaige has also released a single featuring the main theme of Soul Restruct -- Love Renewed, with album art by @reverieque! Grab it here!

[quinsixtridrupled-k]

Disney TVA Platform Fighter

Last December, I thought it'd be neat to have a Disney-focused platform fighter especially since Nick had some success with Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2. So I figured... why not a Disney one? For those who don't know, platform fighters are a sub-genre of fighting/party games - the most famous and primarily example being Super Smash Bros.

And so, with that idea, I asked a friend to assist me in aiding with creating a graphic for this hypothetical game's roster, lo and behold:

Pretty neat, eh? Now you might be asking... why Disney TVA specifically? For one, focusing on the animated tv production side might be more feasible compared to the whole Disney library, that, and it allows some spotlight on very interesting and varied roster choices.

And for another... I just like the animated series side of Disney better. Now, the most important thing to remember is that this encompasses strictly the Disney TV Animation production label only, so any animated series not created under that studio will not be included (more so to keep consistency). I've also elected to choose some more unconventional picks (Yzma, Genie, Bonkers, for example) just to give some variety.

And what's a fighting game without DLC characters, eh? So here are the three waves of it:

(Wave 1, featuring Stitch, Wasabi, Kick Buttowski and Shego)

I'll admit that Shego's placement as DLC over base roster in favor of Drakken is purely thinking from a marketing standpoint, but it does make sense on the long run. In Stitch's case... I mostly forgot Lilo & Stitch had an animated series while making the base roster lmao.

Wasabi was left out of base roster because of limitations, and I felt Hiro, Go Go, and Fred offer a more balanced variety of size and playstyles but I still didn't want to leave him out, so I figured DLC is his best bet.

(Wave 2, featuring Mike Wazowski, Marcy Wu, Spinelli and Zurg)

Color me surprised that Monsters At Work is a Disney TVA production - Mike was chosen over Sulley or Tyler as the main rep for that series because he feels like he'd have a lot more interesting potential and material to work off of with his general slapstick and comedy routines.

Figured I'd complete the Calamity Trio with Marcy as DLC - just like Wasabi, she was left out of base roster because of limitations.

I figured people would want a Recess fighter, so I chose Spinelli since she's one of the more popular character and she'd serve as an analog to Helga in the first Nick All-Star Brawl.

Zurg was originally meant to be a boss character only, but I opted to put him as DLC because well... it is Zurg. I feel like you could incorporate a lot of Dr. Doom's MvC moveset on to him and they wouldn't feel out of place lmao.

And finally, they're here for you - they're the third wave of the DLC crew!

(Wave 3, featuring Oscar Proud, Simba, Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur and Oswald)

This is... definitely the most experimental of the DLC waves. I think I've exhausted a lot of the picks I wanted at the time so I figured we could do with a more different direction.

Oscar is definitely there to ride on the coattails of Hugh Neutron in Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 1 as a funny joke pick. I haven't actually watched The Proud Family so I don't think I would know if there are better picks, but still... I enjoy the wacky picks, they make a fighting game a fighting game.

Simba was gonna be in as far back as Wave 1, but I held off because... I'm not really sure why, but I forgot about him until I was making the third wave, so there he is now!

Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur are definitely there for being the main Marvel series under the Disney TVA label (alongside Big Hero 6, by technicality), and would definitely make an interesting choice considering Devil's size - you'd probably have to shrink him down to a point where he still manages to be big, but not... gargantuan big, which may seem like a disservice to a character who is a large T-Rex but I think you can still make it work (it worked for Ridley in Smash, and Iron Giant in MultiVersus).

Oswald is included by a mere technicality, due to having a small cameo or two in the Paul Rudish Mickey Mouse shorts, and I figured he has a big enough fanbase to warrant an inclusion, so yeah there he is.

And just for fun, we also have a bonus character:

Powerline! From A Goofy Movie!

Powerline seems like a very out there choice, but I figured you could make a moveset for him entirely out of his theming of electricity! And if you think he'd overlap with Megavolt... then, yeah I guess you are right on that part. But I figure you can differentiate them with how they play (Megavolt being a zoner, Powerline being a rushdown). Note, this doesn't mean he's only available through pre-order, but you'd get him free with it - otherwise you'd have to pay, but he's separate from the DLC characters.

So yeah that covers the playable roster. I understand that there are still a lot of series I didn't rep mostly because of limitations, or I forgot to put them in (Fish Hooks, for one) but I'm only human in how I make these, mistakes do happen so please understand...

I do hope that Disney takes a dabble on this someday, although I'm not sure how keen they are on their characters fighting each other in a silly fighting game. Still, it'd be an interesting thoight, what do you think?

[hiemaldesirae]

The Hazbin Graduate’s Guide to Homicide (3)

HAZBIN'S MIDSEMESTER STUDENT REPORT Student: Vox Vanhal Supervising Staff: Professor Enoch Leviathan Sponsor: Not Applicable To the Board: Vox Vanhal may be one of the most brilliant students this school has seen in decades. In all my years of teaching at Hazbin, I have never met a student more insanely ready to learn and apply their skills- due in part, of course, to said student's own possible insanity. I mean this in a jovial way, of course, but I will admit that when young Vanhal's true identity was revealed to me that my first thought was along the lines of 'is this student insane?' Whether or not my student's reason should be called into question is something myself and my fellow professor Asmodeus have discussed in length, but there is one thing that we can definitively agree on: If there is any one student in this school who I would choose to place my bets on, it would be Vox Vanhal. There is nothing more to say at this time of report evaluation. Sincerely, Professor Leviathan.

May God's blessings be with you now and at the hour of our deaths, Amen.

[ 1 ] / [ 2 ] (<- read these first for context and more murder academy radiostatic content!)

Though Alastor may have thought that Vox was much more knowledgable in how Hazbin's Institution for Homicide worked, the truth was, Vox was still fully flying on the seat of his own coattails.

He had no damn clue what he was doing still, and although it'd been two weeks since he'd arrived, part of him still felt like how he did when he'd first arrived: hesitant, scared, not knowing where to go or what to do besides the want to make his boss suffer as he killed him.

That level of animosity might sound strange to anyone not a Hazbin student or alumnus, but it was perfectly normal for any student enrolled in the academy to have such feelings. After all, there was quite a rigorous process involved in the application, and for Vox, this application process (and what led to it) was perhaps more intense than most.

There had once been a time where Vox had dreamed of becoming a Hollywood starlet, one who lit up the silver screen and was blessed by hundreds of thousands of cheering, dedicated fans who would fawn over his every move and action. He'd wanted to follow in his mother's footsteps, at one point. But after taking on his first roles in Carmine Studios, the glamour of Hollywood had shattered like fine glass.

"Miss Vesper! Would you please look over here for a second?"

"Miss Vesper, when is your next movie coming out?!"

"Miss Vesper, is it true that you and your co-star on Anna Karenina, Valentino Vega had an affair-?"

"Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! That- fucking bastard!" Vox rushed into the privacy of his and Val's shared apartment, slamming the door behind him as he collapsed into the couch, head cradled in his hands. He couldn't even begin to start detailing the number of ways he'd wanted to fucking butcher and rip apart his boss.

Andrealphus Goetia was no stranger to the spotlight, naturally. One of Hollywood's top directors, the man had been an influential cornerstone in the history of movie-making, a real legend to light the days. But behind that picturesque platinum reputation laid a monstrous piece of shit.

It had been a complete accident that Andrealphus had found out about Vox's identity.

Vox himself hadn't even really planned out what to do about himself at that point, only that he'd known that the dresses he wore on screen were far more suited to his best friend than they were for him. Knew that the copious amounts of makeup flattened on him everyday made him feel more like a clown than a princess, that it was the most uncomfortable feeling to have to sit and play the pretty face for the audience's sake.

But he persisted, telling himself, one more year, one more year til my savings account has enough to supply Val and I with a comfortable life and we can leave.

But of course- of course Andrealphus had to ruin it for him.

The man had found out and immediately proceeded to blackmailing Vox with the information, holding things such as promotions, media gossip and rumors over his head. And now... now... Vox stared down at the script he held clutched in his hand, his knuckles turning white as he grasped it with an iron grip.

"Dieser verdammte bastard," Vox muttered under his breath.

Though he'd never loved the spotlight that came with his first taste of fame, he had loved acting. Had loved being adored for his skill, applauded for the emotions that he could evoke in crowds of people and the way he could twist people's hearts. He had wanted to be one of the best, a household name.

And now, he stared down at the script for a movie that Andrealphus knew would tank his reputation. It was absolute bullshit. The plot was held together by thin strings and a bit of glue, despite being an adaptation of one of the past decade's best selling books. Not only that, but the moment he left the safety of the apartment once more, he would also have to contend with the rumors that were steadily piling against him and dragging his loved ones and friends into it too.

All this, because Vox had refused to sleep with his shitty boss.

He could still hear the fucker's voice- come on, don't you wanna say that you got a piece of me? I'll even leave out the part about you being a transvestite, darling, just the fact that I got a piece of you is enough.

God. If only.... if only he could see that bastard's face when he crushed his fucking skull in between his hands. He wanted to see Andrealphus' stupid face contort in revulsion and terror when Vox finally did the deed, wanted to bathe in the the fotze's inbred blood. He'd do anything for the chance to just kill that piece of shit-

"Amorcito?"

Val's voice makes Vox jump on the spot, quickly shifting to hide the script from view. His friend comes around the corner, eyebrows furrowed with concern, and it's this that makes Vox break his composure, a single tear falling down his face as Val frowns, taking a seat next to him on the couch. "Voxxy, amor... tell me what's wrong."

And because he can never keep his mouth shut when it comes to his best friend, Vox tells him everything. Val nods along, pauses at the right moments, all of that stuff that friends do when they're trying to let you know that they'd rip apart your shitty boss if not for the law.

But- and perhaps this is something that Vox knew deep down to be true anyway- Val was a bit different in that aspect. He'd met the man under... less than legal circumstances, after all, and he knew that Val was the heir to quite the illustrous cartel career.

So when Valentino stops him with a firm hand on the shoulder and hands him an application paper for Hazbin, telling him to think it through, Vox barely takes even a second glance at it before filling it out.

Now, two months later and sitting in the auditorium of Hazbin's famed Music Hall, Vox doesn't find himself regretting the decision. Sure, it's a bit lonely without Val's supporting presence by his side, but the students he's met so far have proved to be some of the friendliest people he's had the pleasure of knowing: ironic, considering the kind of school they're studying at. And he's even managed to make a friend! Not that bad a start, altogether.

Vox absentmindedly doodles on the edge of his notes as Professor Leviathan's soothing voice lectures them on the importance of a proper alibi. "If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck, but it has an airtight alibi, it is...?"

"Not a duck," the auditorium echoes back to the professor, who nods, looking satisfied with the class's response. "So, then! The first step to alibi making is...? Miss Velvette, perhaps you'd like to answer this one for us?"

The girl sitting beside Vox shoots up in her seat, looking as if she'd just fallen asleep and was awoken by the professor's question. "Uh... the..."

After a moment of silence and stuttering, Vox takes pity on the girl, sliding Velvette over a slide of paper that she squints at before reading. "Make sure you're in a different place from the crime?"

"And how would I do that?"

"I... uh. Use an accomplice...?" Velvette stutters.

Professor Leviathan shakes his head, looking disappointed. "Not quite. One thing you will have to learn at Hazbin's is that you should never rely on any other person to carry your deed out for you. No hiring accomplices- after all, paid personnel's loyalty is shaky and they have no honor code preventing them from taking you to the police- and absolutely no committing crimes as lovers, unless you can guarantee that neither of you will be snitching. Would anyone else like to take a try?"

Vox raises his hand hesitantly. "Move the crime scene or otherwise obscure the culprit?"

Professor Leviathan snaps his fingers, "Yes! Absolutely. One of the best ways to make yourself an iron clad alibi is, if the pope is shot in the church at midnight, make sure that you are seen halfway across town in the bar at midnight; so drunk that you cannot even leave until your wife comes to pick you up at two- and no one will suspect you, even if he was actually killed right outside the pub and moved to the church instead. By moving the crime scene, you can make yourself an ironclad alibi. Obscuring the identity of the perpetrator and making it someone who couldn't possibly be you also works splendidly. After all, if the police believe the murderer to be a six foot tall adult man, then the actual perpetrator, a four foot tall young woman, would be able to pass by completely unnoticed. Thank you for that input, Vox. Now, onto the actual creation of such an alibi..."

When class ends, Vox is the first to leave his seat and head for the door, intending on leaving and getting to Track with Professor Satan as quick as possible when someone stops him in his tracks with a firm grip on his shoulder.

"Hey. Vox Vanhal, right?"

"That would be me, yes," Vox turns to face the person he's talking to, only to be met with the young woman that Professor Leviathan had called out in class earlier. "You were... Velvette?"

"Yep, that's me," the chipper young woman responds. "Listen, I know you don't know me at all, but I really need to get through this school year. Like- look, okay, I'm in a little bit over my head right now. I still want to go here and do what everyone here does, of course, I'd love to just go and plunge a damn butcher's knife into my cunt of an ex-friend's neck, but... well, you saw how I did back in class- look, what I'm trying to get at is I need someone to help me. And you're like, Leviathan's star student. So- I don't care what I have to do, I'll-"

Vox holds up a hand to stop her.

"I don't need you to do anything for me, unless you've got any tips on how to kill my boss and make him suffer during it. But I'll help you with whatever you need to study during your courses. Just..." He pauses, taking a moment to think out what he's about to ask. "Could you teach me how you did your makeup on your own?"

Velvette blinks, clearly not expecting that response. She laughs, a shrill, sharp bark and grabs his hand to shake it firmly. "Yeah, 'course I can. So, do we have a deal?"

"We do," Vox smiles. "Pleased to make your acquaintance."

[taylorhawkins]

14 Essential-Listening Taylor Hawkins Tunes

… that aren’t “Cold Day in the Sun”!

1. Pitiful (Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders)

One of his most emotionally raw tracks. I love the strange chords he used on the acoustic guitar to convey the somber depiction of guilt and shame associated with drug addiction described in the lyrics. This is a really painful song to listen to, but it’s beautiful.

2. The Path We’re On (Nighttime Boogie Association)

Matt Cameron and Taylor share vocal duties on this tune (Taylor sings the verses, Matt sings the choruses). Their voices together are pure heaven! Also features Melvins’ Buzz Osbourne snd Steven McDonald on guitar & bass. This group unfortunately only put out 2 songs during the pandemic, but they’re a magical 2.

3. I Could Be Somebody Else (NHC)

Psychedelic in every aspect of that word, this one is best experienced cranked with headphones. Trippy as hell. Dave Navarro was right when he said Taylor is a mind-blowing lyricist and singer. Another emotionally raw tune, when he said one of NHC’s songs makes him feel naked, I think he was referring to this one.

4. Running In Place (Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders)

This song takes you on a journey. It eases you in, then crescendos into classic prog-influenced chaos before it turns to a stream of pretty guitar work and layered vocals as it drops you back off. Taylor said this one was something he wrote talking to himself, trying to bring himself back down to earth and not go crazy. “The Teacher” by Foo Fighters almost certainly took inspiration from this song - the breakdown is nearly identical, and the “…say goodbye” outro is very similar.

5. Too Much for My Own Good (Phil X & the Drills)

This song by Phil X features Taylor on the drums. This is such a fun rock & roll tune that will definitely be stuck in your head for days but you won’t be mad about it. Every person I’ve ever played this to has loved it!! PS- you’ve definitely heard Phil X before, his discography as a studio musician is wild.

6. You Drive Me Insane (Taylor Hawkins & the Coattails Riders)

I love the trippy riff and the vocals in this song, it’s a California rock & roll vibe and it’s one of my top favorites of his. One of his sexier tunes he said was written about Mrs. Alison Hawkins.

7. Southern Belles

No group credited as he played every instrument and sang this one! (I think the bass is either Chris Chaney or Nate Mendel, but I couldn’t find out for sure). This is a heavy-hitting, super catchy one about his southern family roots. Really under-appreciated track from the same EP that gave us “Range Rover Bitch”.

8. Never Enough (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

Taylor’s vocal range doesn’t get talked about enough… The cathartic way he belts his heart out at the end of this song gets me every single time. His voice was so beautiful. Another of that emotionally raw side of his music.

9. It’s Ok Now (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

Another earworm, this one’s rhythm is bound to make you move. His voice is pure rock and roll. I think you can really hear how much his songwriting impacted the Foo Fighters’ music on this album, even though many people think Dave told everyone what to play…when you really listen, that doesn’t seem to be the case. This song feels like summer sunshine to me.

10. Guess I’ll Go Away (Edgar Winter)

Taylor on vocals for “Brother Johnny”, a tribute to Johnny Winter album, this was one of the last things he did musically. He SLAYED that shit. He sounds so good. Rock and fucking roll.

11. Louise (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

I have no idea how he played that drumbeat and sang this song at the same time. Mind boggling. This song is so unique and so catchy, I don’t get why it wasn’t a hit. The rhythm section is my favorite part of the whole thing, Taylor and Chris Chaney locked in together SO well. It’s no wonder they played together from the Alanis days all the way up to him putting the ‘C’ in NHC.

12. Fearless (NHC)

This is a Pink Floyd cover…But it’s an amazing one! It’s groovy and trippy and they’re so locked in together, they were made to play music with each other. NHC unfortunately has a very small discography, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have selected a cover…but maybe I would’ve anyway, this one is just so good!

13. You’re No Good at Life No More (Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders)

Taylor and Dave Grohl split the vocals on this one and it’s such a wild ride. You can really hear his Queen influence throughout this album… so much so that he manifested Roger Taylor’s appearance on the last track! D&T’s voices together are magic as you hear on “Rope” by Foo Fighters and their cover of “Come Together”, I always wish they sang together more often.

14. Perfect Day

Only a minute long, this beautiful song is just Taylor and his guitar. A sweet reminder he wrote for Mrs. Hawkins that his love is always with her no matter where he goes. I’m sure she treasures this one. There’s so much love in it.

[cuubism]

actor hob, and pretentious asshole film director dream

[ this got so long and so weird and specific i'm so sorry ]

so hob is an everyman actor. a good actor, charismatic, funny, fan favorite, but not the type that gets cast in highbrow art films. mostly he does like romcoms, mid-budget action movies, feel-good family films, etc etc. and he's totally cool with that, he's good at what he does, and people enjoy those films, anyway. he might be getting a bit bored though, a bit stagnant. might be thinking it's time for some reinvention. and there might be a certain director whose ridiculous and nonsensical but dreamy films he's particularly enamored with...

dream makes REALLY pretentious art films. the types that get studied in graduate level film classes and have fifty different academic papers with fifty different theses trying to puzzle them out. dream is a master of themes and images and subtle construction. he is also a COMPLETE asshole and impossible to work with, an auteur in the most stereotypical way possible, he writes and directs, he micromanages all his projects, he asserts his vision and god help anyone who goes against it. nobody can handle him, nobody can STAND him, and the only reason he still gets funding for these projects is because they win awards, so many awards, and the studios want to ride on the coattails of those awards. but it's getting to the point where even his most ride-or-die producers are ready to give up.

right off the back of dream's most recent bafta, a rather naive Big Exec approaches him to direct the next installment of his Big Superhero Franchise. dream is immediately like fuck off with that bullshit but the exec pleads with him that the franchise is flagging and they really need something new to spice it up. plus the pay will be enough for dream to finance like 10 of his own ridiculous art films without having to rely on producers for money. and dream really is about to get cut off for being a complete insufferable asshole so he takes the gig. it kind of feels like prison though.

anyway, he gets to work trying to make this shitty boring film at least marginally less shitty and boring. he doesn't have a lot of leeway -- a lot of the story is locked in, half the cast is set from prior installments etc. dream immediately regrets taking this job, he'd rather die in actual prison than work on this mindnumbing piece of trash. it feels like it's taking an eternity and who could possibly stand an eternity of this???

well. enter hob, whose agent managed to snag him a 2nd-lead sort of role in this thing. it's not QUITE the reinvention he was going for but the pay and exposure are really good -- and even if they weren't, the moment hob saw that dream was attached he was immediately on board.

cue dream tearing his fucking hair out and basically being a complete menace and diva on set -- no that wasn't good, yes we have to do a 57th take, oh my god this dialogue is horrible give me that shitty script i'm writing my own thing, what do you mean the plot is linear???, wait there are how many cgi aliens????? i'm going to kill myself -- and Hob, pretty much Just Happy To Be There as always, takes one look at this beautiful dramatic emo asshole and is like oh. yes. i don't know what i'm saying yes to, but i'm saying yes. just immediately enamored with this bitch against all logic, he's like i've seen all your films i know how your mind works you brilliant nihilistic mess of a person. i'm on board. let's go.

first scene that hob's in dream is once again ranting about the atrocious script, which he did not write and is hardly allowed to change -- or, every change he makes is too weird and the studio keeps nixing it. everyone keeps sighing and being like oh my god can we please just shoot i wanna go home, meanwhile hob's like alright then. let's workshop it. and dream's just like. what. you aren't just gonna tell me to shut up? and hob's like no, youre right, this script is trash, but i know you're just going to write something really weird and psychedelic that they won't let you shoot. and dream's like you dare to speak to me that way??? and hob just puts his hands on his hips and is like listen, i actually know more about this sort of general audience family film thing than you do, mister arthouse, so are you going to work with me or not? and dream's just like what... is happening... because usually people who try to 'handle' him either just cave to his every demand like wimps, or just fight him on everything to 'prove' that they're in control, and hob is just kind of... not doing either of those? anyway dream doesn't know what to do with him.

so they workshop it. turns out hob actually DOES know how these sort of general audience all-follow-the-same-three-act-structure films work and how to improve things within those confines, and also he understands what like, normal people like, you know, casual feel good movies, not everything has to be a mindbender, jesus. so they bounce ideas off each other for like 3 hours until they finally get something that's okay enough that dream no longer wants to fling himself into the sun. meanwhile everyone on set is staring at them like 👀. then dream is like come back to my trailer we are rewriting the other 116 pages of this script right NOW. what else is hob supposed to do but follow.

then hob becomes the designated Dream Handler on set. dream starts using him as his barometer for what 'normal people' would like because he does not understand that at all. ("hob, will 'people' accept this?" "well considering youre spinning the camera around on a string i'm gonna go out on a limb and say no"). dream becomes kind of obsessed with him because his life is so like, normal, and he's okay with it?? he doesn't find existence to be an insufferable prison from which there is no escape?? and hob is like aw i know you're such a tortured artistic soul *pats him on the head*. plus, hob is actually a good actor, and he's able to put a lot of heart into even this mediocre big budget film, and kind of forces dream to confront the idea that there's more than one good type of story. that different stories serve different purposes and a straightforward happy story is okay, actually.

(and that the problem is the corporatization of the storytelling, not the story itself)

anyway the movie ends up being pretty good, dream still kind of hates it because he wasn't given full artistic license but he has to grudgingly admit that it has at least some merit. after the premiere hob is like (cheekily) so you gonna direct the sequel? and dream is like i did not write that to have a sequel. and hob's like it has a cliffhanger? and dream's like so???? and hob's like well theyre definitely gonna make a sequel. and dream's like i hate this planet. also no i'm not going to make the sequel. i'm going to fuck off to the woods and make a movie about teeth. do you want to star in it? and hob's like you're so fucking weird i'm obsessed with you i'm going to kiss you now.

so yeah, that.

[top-shelf-tender]

{{From the Mun who brought you Hazbin Hotel Hospital AU comes: Hazbin Hotel Band AU.

Charlie is a breakout artist who’s trying to make a name based on her own skill rather than riding the coattails of her pop star mother. Her gf Vaggie is ready to be her PR agent, but they’re having trouble booking gigs without a solid band put together. When all hope seems lost, Alastor steps up to become Charlie’s manager.

He finds Angel, a singer from a rival studio who sneaks off to play guitar with The Hazbin’s when he’s not working, Husk, a bassist with whom he has a ✨mysterious history✨ and a favor to call in, Pentious, an accomplished pianist/keyboardist who’s been trying to sign with Alastor for years, and Niffty, a cute gal who shreds hard on drums.

Please message me about this AU, I’m obsessed ❤️}}

[rainbowsky]

marazul-loveislove asked: Would it be possible to clarify what these lawsuits are about [redacted] GG suing people who are toxic against DD and DD suing people who are toxic about GG. Is this true or a turtle over reading? Many thanks

This is a misunderstanding of the lawsuits.

GG is not suing people who are attacking DD and vice versa, it's actually the opposite. GG and DD (or their teams, more likely) are both suing antis, and a lot of them are each other's big name fans. GG is suing toxic MTJJ who have been harassing him, and DD is suing toxic XFX who have been harassing him.

I don't see this as a candy (nor is it proof they hate each other, as turtle-antis claim). The reality is, GG and DD's biggest antis are each other's solos, and that's why they're being sued. Both solo fandoms are obsessed with each other, and many solos spend a lot of time spreading lies about the other idol.

XFX are the absolute leaders in almost every hateful rumor that spreads about DD. The whole 'desperate illiterate' attack on DD was spearheaded by them. MTJJ are constantly spreading hateful rumors about GG. The whole 'GG is a social media influencer' dig (implying that he's not an actor, he just sells things for brands) when his dramas weren't coming out was largely spread by them.

People who engage in this kind of activity will find themselves being sued. This is absolutely normal.

That is not to say that some of GGDD's lawsuits don't directly benefit each other. Toxic, hateful fans tend to make a mess for the stars they stan, and it's doing a favor to get them in line. It's also possible some of the people being sued are attacking the other as well. GG and DD look out for each other.

And no, the rivalry between fan groups isn't because of turtles, as some antis claim. I talked about this yesterday in the notes of this post. Here's what I said about that:

It's quite common in C-ent for fandoms to have long-standing, intense rivalries like this. It's true that GG and DD's fans are at the extreme end of it, but it's not unusual at all. Particularly fandoms involving stars that share top billing in a project. Fans view such artists as rivals and they take it upon themselves to go to war for their idol. The wars over top billing start before filming does on projects. As soon as two high profile actors are announced for project (and in some cases, when they're still only rumored), their fan groups immediately start going to war over who has top billing in the project. This happens with most of GG and DD's projects, and every other project in C-ent. The bigger the stars involved, the bigger the wars. Studios try various tactics to prevent those kinds of disruptions, sometimes to absurd effect. I remember not that long ago there was a studio that gave everybody in the cast an absurdly flattering name on the roster. It just came across as so foolish. Fans have actually turned away from stars who have failed to 'enforce' their top billing role enough for the fans tastes (as recently happened to Li Hongyi when he was given second billing to Wang Churan).

Here's the casting absurdity, for the drama Fearless Blood:

Fandom rivalries in C-ent are intense and driven by fans, rarely by the artists themselves. I'm sure most celebrities would vastly prefer it if everyone could just get along and stop pitting them against other stars, but this is just fan culture. A lot of the big rivalries are between fandoms for artists who aren't even direct competitors with each other. It's all about perception, and who fans deem to be a threat in some way to their own artist.

In this sense, the CP between GG and DD does fuel some of the hatred between GG and DD's fan groups, but that's peripheral to their main beef, which comes from solos own belief that the other is a big rival to their own idol.

GG's fans believe DD uses the CP to leech attention from GG, and to ride his coattails via an association with GG. DD's fans believe the same in reverse - GG is riding DD's coattails and would be nothing without his association to DD.

This is why it would be difficult, if not impossible, for GG and DD to work together again in the future. The wars between the two fandoms would be extreme, particularly since appearing together would rekindle the whole 'who is the main lead' debate. There would be a real risk of GG and DD losing fans if they worked together again. Their solos would not tolerate it.

I think the only possible way they'd accept it would be if it was an extremely high profile film from a major director, such as Wong Kar Wai or Ang Lee or someone of that calibre.

Anyway, all this to say - their fandoms are embroiled in some of the most bitter fanwars in C-ent, and that's why all the lawsuits against each other's fans.

It's a shame, and can actually turn fans off and turn them away from getting too deep into GG and DD's fandoms. I can't count how many times a solo has said they walked away from one of the solo fandoms because it was too toxic.

Turtles are also often hatched this way, when solos try to dig deeper into why the two fandoms hate each other so much and why they hate turtles so much, and dig into all the BXG content out of curiosity. I heard from one of those new turtles just the other day.

[riddle-me-ri]

Please consider BTAS Penguin being visited by his gf every single day while he is at the asylum, receiving a big hug the moment he is released and being told how much she missed him. Basically Ozzie being spoiled with attention after weeks of not being able to go on dates. Ty <3

A/N: aww this is so endearing, he does deserve to be absolutely spoiled rotten.

Trigger Warning: none, just fluff

Word Count: 473

BTAS Penguin x F!Reader - Sweet Liberty

Before the both of you knew it the day finally came for Oswald's release. 

Oswald wouldn't need to rely on the public bus this time. You were already standing beside your car on the other side of the road. Absolutely beaming. 

You were waving, practically about to jump out of your shows with joy. "Ozzie!" 

He smiled widely, he stole glances both ways to make sure the coast was clear to make a beeline for you. When he was finally within arms reach it took everything in you not to squeeze the absolute life out of him.

Oswald's heart immediately swelled, he was so grateful to finally be back in your arms, back where he was meant to be, back home. 

You cup his face with your hands and bring him in for a passionate fulfilling kiss. Oz was caught off guard after years of being restricted from your affection, but he'd have no problem getting used to them again. 

You slowly leaned back and giggled at the surprised expression on Oswald's face. 

"C'mon Ozzie! Let's go home!" You beamed as you rounded the front of the car to get in the driver's seat. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Oh babies! Daddy’s home!” You hollered. 

A flock of various birds, in all sorts of colors, sizes, and species came flying to the front door of the studio apartment. 

Oswald is knocked off his feet as his precious pets welcome him back home. 

“Oh ho ho ho! Hello! Hello my precious birds! How I missed you so!” 

You couldn’t help but beam gleefully at the happy reunion. 

Once the birds had their fill, they took off back to their perches.

You bent down to help Oz back to his feet and dust off his coattails. You lead him over to the purple loveseat in the middle of the living room. Once he sat down, you went to the kitchen and began making his favorite tea. 

“Oh thank you, my dove!” Oz gladly took the cup and sipped it generously. 

“Of course, darling! Welcome home.” You smiled sweetly as you pecked his cheek. 

You sat down next to him, before you spoke again, “so…we don’t have to do anything today, if you just want to relax…”

Oz quirked an eyebrow. “Did you have something in mind, dear?” 

You shrugged before you listed off how later that afternoon there was a showing of one of Oswald’s favorite operas and following that you had made reservations to his favorite fine dining restaurant just a walking distance from the opera house. 

Oswald’s eyes sparkled. He could never imagine being treated to all his favorite delights, not to mention sharing those delights with a special someone that captivated his heart the way you have. 

He grabbed your hand and held it to his heart. He smiled as he said, “darling that sounds absolutely marvelous!”

[anthonycrowley]

i wasn’t into goncharov tbh not because it was bad really just people got annoying and my personal fandom misinfo Event will always be tim wiederman (who IS real). and we were also riding the coattails of volcano shake em up which ALSO got fucking annoying if you were in the mcr fandom. so like i have no dog in the ‘zapotha is a ripoff of goncharov’ fight like yeah which was a ripoff of volcano shake em up who gives a shit. who cares. but at least those two Events people fucking had FUN and actually CREATED SOMETHING THAT COULD THEORETICALLY EXIST IN NATURE (*with the restrictions we were given as my friend stelle pointed out the description we were given by that shoe did not make a lot of sense). meanwhile tiktok is creating a horror movie when it appears no one on tiktok has Ever watched a horror movie. have you people watched. god. not even indie or niche movies no one has ever heard of. just. for a dollar name a horror movie from the 80s. why would you create a movie in a genre you know nothing about. it would be like if tumblr said let’s make a fake beatles song as the dadrock fans screamed in the background and everyone else trampled over every single song convention. seeing Anything it feels like tiktok threw every horror trope in a blender and i for one am looking forward to some opportune studio to make it and thus create the telephone of horror films. It Will Be So Bad.

[deni-means-flor]

Duskwood & Moonvale

The highly anticipated sequel that is utter disappointment.

By: Dení 💜

Hey everyone, remember how I spent about 2 or 3 years singing my high praise for Everbyte Studios and Duskwood (which you can read all about here) and I was so excited for the release of Moonvale, the non-direct sequel set on the same universe?

Yeah? Well, scratch that. While it is too early for me to put a Cultural Studies spin on this review, since the game was released just last week, there's A LOT for us to unpack here, please join me during this first look at Everbyte Studios' Moonvale, out now for Google Play & App Store. And of course, beware for ⚠️ MASSIVE SPOILERS ⚠️ on the course of this text

To start off strong, not only is it highly disappointing that Everbyte decided to go through with AI bullshit assets instead of the beautiful pictures and generally minimalist art design that they got us used to on Duskwood, but then they add insult to injury by deciding to turn THOSE godawful profile pics and backgrounds into a gacha game?!

I'll let Cardi B explain my reaction to the newest Crate system implemented on Moonvale:

And aside from that bullshit, they turn around and decided to ditch the writing style that they had us hooked with on Duskwood (except that this time they improved the English localization very much, ngl) to provide us with an immediate opportunity to romance the first character we meet, almost completely breaking the immersion in the stakes of the whole detective drama plotline.

Though I am very much aware that MANY players loved going through that route with Jake on Duskwood, it does seem highly inappropriate in-universe to be told by Eric that Adam is missing and immediately replying with the equivalent of "omg that sucks for you, wanna date me?" while on Episode 1. The build-up of romantic tension between Main Character (MC) & Jake during the efforts to save Hannah was precisely what made the romantic route so compelling, but considering that the kickstart for most of the in-game events in Moonvale is the mystery surrounding Adam, it would seem common sense that in terms of plot, it would be best if Love as a gameplay option took a while to build up instead of being RIGHT THERE from the get-go (though I'm sadly aware that most of the fandom for Duskwood was CLAMORING for this option to be implemented on Everbyte's socials' comment section for actual years).

Another thing that would have been absolutely gorgeous to build up with higher anticipation is the Duskwood reveal on Moonvale Episode 1... You're really telling me that after all the odyssey to rescue Hannah, seeing Richy's ACTUAL DEATH on the mines, and being concerned for Jake's dissapearance, that our MC will crumble at the slightest pressure from a complete stranger (Ash) and break out the most private details of the story all willy-nilly?! After all this time?! If all this "Save your Duskwood code" and the conversation with Ash does not build up to a fully blown Jake reveal at the end via Adam's gang, this conversation where Duskwood's events are glossed over almost entirely will have been the most anticlimactic part of episode 1.

In my opinion, Everbyte has very much dropped the ball and high standards setup by their highly successful first game, and instead they churned out a rushed out cash grab in order to ride the coattails of the Duskwood fandom hype as fast as possible, with a subpar and very infantilized art design on both the interface and the mini games, because why is there no modern interface that reminisces us of the seriousness of trying to rescue Adam instead of reminding us that most mobile games these days are trying to imitate Candy Crush Saga and its very impressive revenue flow. Who knows?

Though the achievement system seems fascinating, and it provides helpful insights on the steps to follow, along with most useful diamonds needed to continue the plot advancement, wouldn't it have been more accesible for players like me (focused on story) to have an option to just buy the full game at once and opt-out of micro transactions from the get-go, like we did on Duskwood? One of the highest compliments I had for the first game, absolutely obliterated in this follow-up.

The introduction of the very serious envelope addressed to MC with a Tarot card, though very similar to what the Raven was in the story of Duskwood seems highly dissonant with the Moonvale interface art style, since this type of illustrations and backgrounds do not seem to get aligned with ANY of the story elements that Moonvale could potentially present in the next episodes, and whose harmony with the art style in the previous game made us get hooked onto the Duskwood storyline since episode 1...

Would it be too presumptuous of me to tell you that I hated Ash, Charlie and Violet's lackluster personalities as soon as I was introduced to them? We can see that they may follow a very similar trope to some of the gang members from Duskwood with absolutely none of the charisma. If we were to define them in pairs, we get Ash and Lilly, Charlie and Richy, Violet and... idk, Cleo's mom who we briefly hear about on the last episodes of Duskwood? (Yeah, that's how little we hear about/from Violet on episode 1, her cat's name at most). If Eric will end up being a stubborn Thomas or hopeful Jesy type, it remains to be seen.

I cannot possibly be the only one who would have been willing to wait for a while longer until we could get a game as compelling and as beautifully designed as Duskwood, instead of what Moonvale is, at the end of the day.

If you have the opportunity to download Moonvale this early in release, I'd say: Waste it. The only reason I'm going to try to finish the Moonvale storyline is to see what are the Duskwood conclusions and easter eggs that we were promised for at least 2 years but so far, I'd give this game a 5/10, hoping very much that the storyline improves as we go along, and incredibly disappointed in the gacha/mini game mechanics and art style.

And I mean this critique with the utmost love and respect for the Everbyte team behind the development. Criticism is a labor of love, and all the love I have for the original game, means my highest hopes for improvement in this sequel. Though I commend your efforts, being a smaller development studio, all the opportunities for improvement are not lost on me.

Here's hoping the storyline makes up for the interface on the upcoming installments for Moonvale.

[satoshi-mochida]

The fifth and final Episode of National Park Girls, Eternal Evergreen Part 2, releases today on Steam and Itch.io.

[reesdomain]

The funny thing about this whole drama is that I can’t even be entirely mad at Papergames. Because the dick eaters who go for anything are the ones who both instigate conflict within the fan base and also try to drown out valid concerns from other players only to coattail of the benefits we got them in the first place. Calling even the most polite, constructive criticism “negativity” just to virtue signal and shut people up is a joke. And this game being mainstream has only worsened it. “Everyone’s opinion matters” until they’re not on the bandwagon with the majority. Foh. “You just want everything handed to you for free” “the workers need to be paid”. THERE IS NO REASON WHY WE SHOULD BE BEGGING FOR SHIT THAT WAS IN GAMES OVER 10 YEARS AGO FROM JUMP. THERES NO WAY A COMPANY WITH GLOBAL STUDIOS, SUBSIDIARIES, AND HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS IN REVENUE A YEAR AREN’T PAYING THE WORKERS AND NOT STILL HAVING A SHIT TON OF RESOURCES REMAINING. ENOUGH.

This person put it into amazing perspective. Besides her guess, I looked up global average for salaries across the industry and Papergames included. Company size and all. There’s a ton of expenses that go into business besides salary but even after paying the small folk and the executive suits there’s still a shit ton of that half a billion remaining. And that’s not including what cuts they get from official collabs. They’re not “struggling” by any means. If something is going on in production that’s from a lack of proper management and balance. Not from them lacking money. Which by the way, what the fuck is with all the Z****** they’ve been contracting lately?

[lol-jackles]

https://www.tumblr.com/teamfreewill2pointo/721298053918801920

Will really will go to any lengths to keep Jensen's hands and image clean huh? You can put makeup on a pig all you want... doesn't make it a supermodel, it's still a pig. The fact that he really doesn't even answer the question, just talks around it and then ends with "well, it doesn't really matter who ended it" but yea, it kinda really does...

I mean, I agree with him on the fact that we'll never know all the details, but that's about the end of it. I don't know why Will (and AA's) think that WBD would just "let him go"?? Do they think large networks and corporations do things in the best interest of the "little guy"? Do they think they just willingly let people out of contracts if those contracts are beneficial to them? No. If CMP and Jensen were making them money then you bet that they would still be stuck in that contract until Oct 2024. And if Jensen broke the contract he would be paying them a bunch of money. I guess they could argue his clear desperation for income over the past few months/years is an indication but I feel like no matter how many $1,000 FBBC "memberships" they sell, it still wouldn't come close. CMP and Jensen failed at WBD, simple as that.

I know AA's (and apparently Will) refuse to admit that Jensen is anything less than perfect but there really is no way to dress this up to make him or CMP look good. If he was fired (most logical and likely) then that's not a great look for Jensen. If they "let him out of his contract" that might sound better, but it still doesn't look good for CMP or Jensen because the only reason they would do that is if it was beneficial to them - aka CMP was losing them money and it was cheaper to let them go.

"plus he wanted a deal that would get him into projects he would be passionate about. He also wanted to do projects that would put him on camera and WBD failed to help him in that process." - I mean, the one project he claims to want is Batman and that's at WBD... where he just left. But I do love the addition of "he just wants to be on camera" which is the more accurate statement of the two. I haven't seen Jensen be "passionate" about a project in a while.. I guess TB but he didn't seem to put much into the role so I think he was more passionate about the publicity and exposure he was getting from it because he thought it was push him up a tier.

Link. Will makes Jensen sound like one of those employees who deliberately are bad at their jobs so that they get fired and collect unemployment benefits. Except he left out the part #SaveTheWinchesters campaigns, one of them during Walker, by Jensen as well as giving interviews.

Studios are getting rid of unproductive overall deals left and right, more so during the Writer Strike. Will seriously thought WBD/Zaslav wouldn't get rid of CPM who only produced one stinker?

It's not just that producing is not Jensen's passion, he's not good at it! Plenty of people are passionate about their hobbies but suck at the execution and output.

Jensen prefers acting to EP-ing? Gasp, you don't say! That's 99% of the actors. The main reason why actors have production companies in the first place is so they can continue to act by creating projects to star in.

Then Will says Amazon is a "step up". No not really in terms of brand and calibre. After Zaslav leaves, WB will still be the WB and Amazon will still be struggling to figure out its brand.

"[Jensen] found a better opportunity." We shall see if Kripke will handhold or let him coattail.

While my opinions on Solider Boy is well know, I wonder how his Big Sky role went. Was it good? Did he captivate the audience with his interactions? Was it a version of Dean Winchester that was just as compelling?

You're right that Will sidesteps the question, though I'm guilty of that as well lol, I just hope I'm entertaining at least, and my goal wasn't to make anybody look good or even bad per se.

Sure the WBD is currently a car crash that you can't look away, but every legacy studio and streaming services are going through the same bubble burst.