#When I was a kid instead of watching gameplays I just looked at my siblings playing games and one of them really likes Pikmin

[pinemartenstudios]

Blue Pikmin can smile with their gill mouth. And they look so cute when they do it ToT. We must protect their smiles at all cost ToT

[shina913]

Scions, Ch.8a | Kim Line + JHS

Scions, 8a

sci·​on | \ ˈsī-ən \ Definition:(1)a descendant(2) a shoot or twig, especially one cut for grafting or planting

✼Scions Masterlist✼

Pairing: Fem!Reader Sister + Kim Brothers; JHS x Fem!Reader

Rating: M (🔞)

Genre: Siblings!AU; Marriage!AU; FWB!AU; exes to ?; Mom!Reader; Brother’s Best Friend; drama; angst; smut; fluff

Warnings: ANGST!!!; DRAMA!!!; multiple POV switches; character death; parenting frustrations; parenting fears; vulnerable confessions; cussing; pining; unrequited love; mentions of divorce/separation; emotional outbursts; mourning (character death); soft sibling moments

Word count: 1.8K+

Summary: Four grown siblings return to their childhood hometown after their father is declared to be terminal. They are forced to live under the same roof for days, along with their overbearing mother, to say their final goodbyes. It starts off nostalgic until some unresolved family issues along with an assortment of spouses, exes, and might-have-beens make things even more interesting.

A/N: First of three mini-updates. This features POVs from OC, Taehyung, and their mom. Thanks for being so patient! Next chapter to come in a couple of days. Thank you to my loves, @internetjunkdrawer and @itdoesntmatterwhy for reading through this angst-fest. I appreciate you both 💜

You wanted the kids settled with dinner before your group left to head down to Hangsang. You went back and forth with the decision to go. Was it right to go out drinking with your brothers and leave your kids behind after you and your husband had just made the decision to split up?

There were a million other thoughts that you wrestled with. But for one night, your mom wanted to absolve you of any guilt that you were feeling. She volunteered to stay back to watch the kids and continued to urge you to spend time with your brothers.

Your sister-in-law, Yoojung, who had been mostly sidetracked by fatigue in the last two days, felt better. She wanted to join in on the fun but decided not to partake in the alcohol in case her stomach bug decided to make a comeback. She volunteered to be the designated driver instead.

“Have any of you seen Jooni?” You called out to nobody in particular when you reached the family room. You checked the backyard, kitchen, bedroom, and bathrooms–no Jooni.

“Namjoonie-hyung?” Taehyung asks while pausing the game he played with his friend, Jungkook.

“No, Jooni.” You bulge your eyes for emphasis, clarifying that you were looking for your daughter, who also happened to be your older brother’s namesake.

“Honestly, noona. Couldn’t you have picked a different, less confusing name for her? Like, I don’t know…Seojin or…Taeyang?” He finishes with a playful grin.

You cocked an annoyed eyebrow at him and he takes the hint that you weren’t in the mood for jokes. Taehyung’s smile fades quickly and he clears his throat. “Uhh…I thought she was—“ He scrambles, pointing his finger from side-to-side in mid-air, actually unsure of which direction his niece went.

“Wait, didn’t she just run past here a second ago?” Jungkook piped up, gesturing down the hallway.

“I saw her go upstairs,” Namjoon interjects as he walks past you to grab something from the kitchen.

“I already looked in the upstairs bathroom and in our room but she’s not there.”

“Have you checked mom’s room?” Jin asks.

Jooni has been temperamental since the service. Even Sam, who was normally able to reason with her couldn’t figure out how to get her settled. She loved your dad, her harabeoji. It was a lot to take in for a 3-year-old, knowing that somebody whom she loved very much wasn’t going to be around anymore.

“Aish…I told her not to bother her.” You grumble in exasperation before trudging up the stairs. “Thanks, oppa,” you called over your shoulder.

“You’re welcome,” Namjoon and Jin say in unison.

******

“Do you really have to leave tonight?” Taehyung asks Jungkook while they resume their gameplay. “Can’t you come out for a couple of drinks?”

“Yeah, I have to because I have to be at the office first thing in the morning.”

Taehyung frowns. “C’mon, man. Everyone’s gonna be there–even Jiminie! We haven’t hung out in a long time. Let’s get fucked up.”

Jimin and Jungkook were his links to his hometown and city life. As many things they all shared in common, Taehyung was the only one who hadn’t established himself in some form of career. This was why they hadn’t had a get-together in a while–both men were understandably busy.

He was mildly aware that asking them both to get drunk was a pathetic way to deal with his grief and forget that his friends were more accomplished than he was.

“Can’t, bro. My boss would kill me if I bailed tomorrow,” Jungkook says apologetically. “We can always hang out another time,” he says in consolation. “Doesn’t Jimin have some sort of medical conference in the city next month? We can link up then.”

“I guess,” Taehyung pouted in mild disappointment. But then catches himself, realizing that he was probably sounding selfish and childish. “No, I’m sorry. I’m being stupid and unreasonable.”

Jungkook pauses the game and calmly turns to his friend. “You’re not. Your old man just died. Nobody acts right when they’re grieving. You deal with it however you need to.”

Taehyung sighed. “I appreciate you coming all the way out here though. I know it wasn’t easy to get out of work.”

Jungkook smiles and hugs his friend tightly. “Ah, come on. You’re one of my best friends. And your parents have been awesome, especially during my couch-surfing days,” he laughs. “Besides,” Jungkook scoffed, “Even if Jiminie and I are there, you’ll probably ditch us anyway.”

“What?” Taehyung’s brows furrowed in confusion.

Jungkook gives him a deadpan look. “Eunhae?”

Taehyung is stumped and unable to give his friend a snarky retort. It makes Jungkook chuckle. “Exactly,” he claims victoriously.

Taehyung smacks his lips and resumes the game. “Whatever, man.”

******

A moody Jooni may not bode well for your mom, who just wanted a bit of quiet to decompress from the day’s activities. Even though she said that she was completely fine watching the kids, you wanted to afford her some space.

She was stoic most of the day. Whenever anybody offered their condolences, she repaid them with a grateful smile, only shedding a tear or two occasionally.

As an experienced actress, your mother has played many roles, expressing every human emotion imaginable. But in the current scene that she's in, there are no lights, cameras, or production crew. She wishes this was all just a dream and longs for a rewrite or another take. She yearns for someone to yell 'cut!'.

Throughout her career, your father was her constant support system. He stood by her and encouraged her. After years of hard work, your mother had only just begun to reclaim the time they had lost.

That opportunity was taken away, leaving her with a sense of regret and sadness. The pain of losing him weighed heavily on her.

She lay on her bed, tears streaming down her face as she whimpered softly. She couldn't imagine a life without him by her side. As she thought about all the memories they shared, she realized that she was half of a whole that would never be again.

“Halmeoni?”

She drew in a long breath and hastily wiped her tears before turning to face the source of the tiniest, sweetest voice.

“Yes, my darling girl?” She finds her granddaughter poking her head through the door. “Do you need something? Come here!” She smiles, waves her over, and pats the empty side of the bed, urging her to come up.

Jooni walks up to her slowly. Your mom sits up to help Jooni climb up. When she’s settled, they snuggle together, giving Jooni a sweet kiss on the crown of her head.

"Were you crying, Halmeoni?" Jooni looks up at her.

After a slight pause, she comes clean. "Yes, I was."

Jooni gives her a wide-eyed gaze. Then, she reaches up to wipe her grandmother’s tear-stained cheeks. "Are they sad tears?" She asks innocently.

Your mom’s chin trembles. "Yes."

“Is it because you miss harabeoji?”

She nods. “Uh-huh. Very much.” She smiles through her answer even though her voice breaks.

Jooni furrows her brows and purses her lips in deep thought before asking, "Do you want a hug?"

Your mom beams and answers without hesitation. "I would love one!"

She goes in to hug Halmeoni tightly; it takes your mom by surprise that such a tiny person can possess so much strength.

"Ooh,” she sighs. “You are the best hugger!"

Jooni smiles shyly at the compliment. "Mommy says she loves my hugs. They make her happy."

"I believe her." Your mom agrees, thinking about how much your children’s hugs gave you comfort on days when you felt alone while you silently struggled through your marriage.

“Now, what are you doing here? Where’s your mommy?” She asks, turning serious.

“She’s downstairs. She told me to wash up for dinner but then I saw you.”

“Oh, honey. You should go eat dinner with your brother. We can have story time when your mom and uncles head out.”

“I know but you looked sad. I wanted to see if you were okay.” Jooni reasons.

“I just needed a little time,” your mom answers.

"I'm not very hungry, halmeoni. Can I please stay here with you?"

Your mom considers the request for a moment before acquiescing. "Okay, but just for a few minutes. I still have to see the adults off later."

Jooni is ecstatic. She jumps up to give her another hug and your mom can't help but smile in return. The two of them embrace tightly, holding onto each other, cherishing this moment.

"It's going to be okay," Jooni says soothingly.

Your mom had been hearing that phrase from everybody all day today. She felt that it was a throwaway sentiment. You couldn't blame her for being cynical. She was grieving.

But somehow, when Jooni says it, your mom is filled with hope and it makes her believe that yes, in fact–things will be okay.

******

When you reach the top floor, you walk down the hallway to find your parents’ bedroom door ajar. You slowly push it open, the only light source coming from your mom’s nightstand.

“Jooni?” You stop when you hear shushing.

Your mom is lying on the bed, holding her pointer finger to her lips while she held a sleeping Jooni, who was curled up next to her.

You point to Jooni, gesturing that you can pick her up and move her into the bedroom to give your mom time to rest. Instead, your mom smiles and shakes her head softly; wordlessly letting you know that she didn’t mind at all.

You watch them for a moment: your mom looking down at Jooni and rubbing her head lovingly.

She was a good grandmother to your children, and despite what she says, you believe she was a good mother.

Of course, there were days when you needed her around, but she couldn't physically be there. Or you wanted to talk to her, but she'd be in the midst of a grueling scene with very short breaks in between, hardly enough time for a phone call where you could cry to her.

No matter where she was, or how much makeup and various wigs she wore, deep down, she was still your mother. She always made sure you and your brothers felt loved and supported.

The men in your family may not have known what you’ve been going through, but your mom did. You didn't have to tell her, but she knew that you needed her.

She spent many late nights on the phone with you, behind your dad's back, comforting and assuring you that you would be just fine without Sam. She didn't push or nag, instead giving you the space to come to your own decision.

As you catch her gaze, you notice the warmth of her eyes inviting you over. Without a word, she raises her free hand to beckon you to lay beside her. You oblige and round the corner, feeling the warm covers beneath you as you lie on the opposite side, so that she is now nestled between you and Jooni. You take in this moment, three generations finding comfort in each other's presence.

◤Previous | Part 8b◥  | Main Fic Masterlist

Thank you for reading!

If you loved it and/or curious to learn more, please comment, reblog, or send me feedback! 📩. I love hearing from readers! If you didn’t like it so much, I would still like to hear about it 💜

Tagging: @internetjunkdrawer @itdoesntmatterwhy

[randomfandomimagine]

A/N: I had watched a gameplay of God of War before, but now that I’m playing it myself I love the game even more! As a result, I had the inspiration to write this. Hope you enjoy it! 😘

Your mind was elsewhere. Kratos’ approval was everything to you, after all he had become a father figure just like Atreus had become like a little brother for you. Still, you didn’t know what to do anymore to earn that validation you needed from him. Your fighting skills had improved, you were obedient, cautious and responsible. Nonetheless, nothing seemed to be good enough.

“Y/N” You felt Atreus tugging at your hand. “Are you okay?” 

You smiled, endeared like always by his heart of gold. As cold as Kratos could be, Atreus’ warmth usually made up for it. Usually.

“I’m alright” You fondly stroked his head. “Don’t worry, kid”

“But you look worried...” His blue eyes were actually full of worry themselves as the boy stared at you. 

“What is the matter?” Kratos spoke up, his deep voice seeming to resonate in your chest.

“Am I... am I doing alright?” You dared to ask him. It was Atreus who answered first.

“I think you’re doing great!” He smiled at you, trying to encourage you. “Don’t you, father?”

“Why do you ask?” Kratos said instead, staring at you. “Speak your mind, child”

You heaved a sigh, knowing you wouldn’t get a better opportunity to say what had been weighing down on you for days now.

“I feel like... no matter how hard I try, my efforts are never enough” You started to say, cautiously looking at him. He towered over you like always, strong and imposing. You didn’t let that stop you now, and so you continued. “You are... too harsh sometimes, and my best never seems to please you”

“Hm...” Kratos hummed in a way that you weren’t sure if it was in dissaproval or thoughtfulness. “Is that how you feel?” 

“Y-Yes...” When Atreus squeezed your hand, you realized your surrogate little brother was still holding on to it, showing you his support.

Kratos paused, crossing his arms over his chest, before continuing.

“I am harsh because you can improve, I must push you to do your best” Was his stern response, making you restless that your fears were a reality.

“But that doesn’t mean you’re not doing okay” Atreus intervened, looking from you to Kratos. “Just that there’s always room for imprevement... right?” 

“Yes” His father admitted, nodding his head. “As the boy said, your efforts have been adequate, keep it up” 

“Thank you” You smiled in relief, even as he hummed in response and walked away.

“That’s his way of saying he’s proud of you” Atreus told you, tugging at your hand again, this once in a playful manner. “That you’re really doing okay” 

“Oh, do you speak Kratos’ language?” You teased him, obnoxiously pinching his cheek. “Or are you just an insufferable know-it-all, boy?” 

As annoying as it was for him, Atreus couldn’t help laughing. He pushed you away and you moved on to tickling him, which started one of your many sibling chases that made Krato’s patience run thin. Nonetheless, this time he didn’t ask you to focus or be still. If you had looked at him, you would have seen a smile plastered on his face that you wouldn’t have believed even if you did see it.

Tag list: @call-me-harley-quinn​ / @wonderlandfandomkingdom​ /  @snowfire71​ / @xionroxas​ / @spilled-almond-milk​  / @fortheloveofbenyandtom​ / @x-joie-x​ / @mrshamada-dorian​ / @ikemencrossedmyth​ / @swanimagines​ // If you want to be added or taken off the tag list for these fandoms or characters, send me an ask!! // Feedback and reblogs are appreciated!

[bunchofstraydogs]

You asked for it :> So may I request the rest of BSD playing Genshin? 😘🥰

Darling, since I can't write that many characters in one go, I thought I should give you something special. I present... 💫 women 💫

Women of BSD as Genshin Impact players

tw: you're in bsd fandom, you know all the tw there are by now

Kyouka Izumi- Assasin in the streets, babysitter in the... Genshin Impact

Kyouka is that cute, stubborn kid that overfixates on things. Atsushi is things. Look, we all know Kyo-chan is mad intelligent and talented and it shows in her game play. Right off the bat she got the sense of the gameplay of every type of character and decided what works best for her. She knows what type of team she's going for and knows how to manage her materials wisely.

When she plays alone, Kyouka works towards bettering her characters and pushing through the storyline. Her favourite way to play the game is with Atsushi, whether alone or in co-op with others. Playing with Jinko is a huge win-win situation for her - she helps him beat up whatever he needs to take down and complete puzzles, he gives her praises and gratitude. And materials, but seldom does she take them.

Her main job, though, is to protect Atsushi and his world from the otherworldly evil known as the suicidal maniac, Dazai Osamu. She's fairly successful.

Main Team: MC, Klee, Keqing, Rosaria

Sub Team: MC, Qiqi, Fischl, Hu Tao

Mains MC, both for her flexibility with elements and because she likes being the little sister to Atsushi's male MC.

Yosano Akiko- retired nurse, now a terrorist

Did you really think she'd stay a healer without having the sadistic satisfaction of hurting people in grotesque ways? Nay. She doesn't have a single healer on team. She either has a teammate who's a healer like Haruno, or she wastes abundance of food until she can teleport to a statue of the seven.

Her game play is on crack, basically. She has several energy spurs, sometimes several times a day, where she rages through the game, before losing interest and going shopping. It's very possible with her that days can pass before she feels like playing again. Then she binges the game for hours and repeat.

When i say she acts like on crack i mean it. She has rage in her veins instead of blood. She tanks her characters and goes out looking for fights with worst possible opponents. Hell, she'll under equip her party just to see how many mofos can she take down in weak state. Spoilers, a fair few. She does die quite a bit, and is almost always out of food, but she's just as stubborn as she's crazy. Those two thing correlate probably. Which is why she made Azdaha her bitch. Her party consists either of strong, hot milfs women like herself, or twinks. You won't see someone like Childe disrespecting her vibe.

Main Team: Beido, Venti, Hu Tao, Rozaria

Sub Team: Lisa, Yanfei, Ningguang, Xingqiu

Beido and Lisa main. Bad bitches only.

Naomi Tanizaki- the fangirl player

She basically collects the cutest characters possible.. That's how she chooses her characters, based on cuteness. She went for the hot ones first to pull her brother but she got jealous and changed her tactic. You know she's spending her money on character skins and certain banners. She's insanely lucky tho?? She got Qiqi on the standard banner as her first 5*, pulled Klee on her banner in little over four 10 pulles and got Diona eventually anyway. Baraba and Xiangling were free and she mained Xiangling untill Klee rolled in. She spent some money on Venti and was already in pity when Ganyu came around. She's fully ready to whale for Kokomi though.

Now i know i said she's incredibly lucky, right? Yeahh that luck has to turn against something to keep the balance and well... she's still crying over Chongyun.

She usually co-ops with her brother, it's a daily ritual. Loves co oping with everyone though, mostly Haruno, Atsushi and Kyouka. She made online friends as well. Actually, there is one person she co ops with almost as much as she does with her brother. IchiGawa is her Genshin bestie and they talk about their crushes and infatuations besides the game itself. Her friend is the only secret she keeps from her brother.

Main Team: Klee, Diona, Venti, Barbara

Sub Team: Razor, Xiangling, Xingqiu, Qiqi

A Klee main.

Haruno Kirako- the healer

Literal angel. You need her, i need her, ADA needs her, the president needs her, just... yes. Her whole team consists of support- healers and crowd control characters. She was a f2p at first, but realised she earns her own money and can spend it however she wishes and she chose the monthly cards.

She's a necessity, point blank. She can get intimidated by new foe at first, but when backed up by her friends, she becomes determined and flexible. Pays good attention to her teammates, most importantly, their health bars, and acts accordingly.

The only reason most of them made it as far as they have, being as reckless as they are.

Main Team: Albedo, Barbara, Jean, Venti

Sub Team: Qiqi, Noel, Jean, Xinyan

Mains Albedo and Barbara

Fan fact: She's very fascinated infatuated with Albedo!! He's even her home screen and has posters and key chain of him.

Gin Akutagawa- that cottagecore assassin

You may be wondering what that could even mean. Let me tell you, she brought Animal Crossing to Genshin Impact. Sure she takes care of her characters and they're pretty powerful, but she kicks ass in real life as well. The game is her little getaway, especially since Serenity pot has been introduced. She's been making away her home for her and her brother characters. You can see her chop wood, collect materials, taking pictures with her friends and her brother, sometimes of pretty scenery and cute moments. A very wholesome player.

She's the type to help her friends explore their world and help them find oculi, open chests, shrines, collect flowers, mine... She's very patient, but if she sees her co-op teammates struggle with something, she'll jump in to help do it herself untill told to back off. In which case she will listen and silently give her support, usually with the cheering stickers in the chat.

She's f2p! Sure, she could get the monthly card at least, as Ryunosuke told her, but she really wants to enjoy the game on her own terms and have what she does through her own effort and hard work. It just feels satisfying to her and more personal.

Main Team: Jean, Ayaka, Diluc, Barbara

Sub Team: Doesn't have one! She just changes characters if certain elements are needed.

Jean main!! She admirers the relationship her and Barbara have. While she's the younger of the two, she's taken the mantle of the older sibling, in a way, and is looking after her reckless as heck brother and cares for him like Jean does for Barbara. Jean is also a wonderful person in her eyes and Gin harbours great respect for the blonde.

Higuchi Ichiyo- IchiGawa 🤡

I love Higuchi so much, but my girl is a mess and a half. Help her, please. No, really, she needs help. She's been over compensating for not being dramatic and eye catching in the battlefield, and has now found a new way to prove herself to her Akutagawa-san. Problem is, as soon as she sees a potentially powerful character, she has to get them and boost them to the havens... yeahh, good thing you can't do loans in the game, otherwise she'd have sharks on her ass for having a bill as dramatic and eye catching as Tsunade's from Naruto. Our girl out there turning heads for wrong reasons. She's definitely spent her pay checks on the game "oh no no, i just buy the monthly subscription, ehe" ehe my ass, you bankrupt bitch. Baal is coming and she's looking to sell a kidney. No, it's not her own and no, it doesn't have anything to do with the game. It's a mission, for God's sake.

But hey, the game is a good investment for her! She even made a friend, one that totally understands her how she feels!! They're very alike as well, ready to do anything for the person they love. The two talk about love a lot and have bonded over it. Higuchi is actually a jealous and a protective type of person, so she hides her friend from Gin and Tachihara like snake hides it's legs. If only they knew 🤡. But it's better this way as they both have a certain sense of normalcy and familiarity they were missing in their daily lives. (Higuchi and Naomi meeting scenario when?)

Main Team: Xiao, Fischl, Xingqiu, Diluc

Sub Team: Baal (soon?), Venti, Ganyu, Zhongli

She mains Xiao because he reminds her of Akutagawa-san and yes, she uses characters from her sub team when playing with others.

Fan Fact: when she was asked why her username is IchiGawa, she said she's like a river 🤡 No, it does absolutely not stand for Ichiyo Akutagawa.

Ozaki Kouyo- the husbando and loli collector

Don't get the wrong idea when i said loli collector. She just needs to adopt them and look after them. She also enjoys watching her precious babies kick ass like her Kyouka. But that's a two way sword, because she gets angry when they die. Savage.

And yeahh, the real reason she's playing the game... Mr Zhongli. She switches often between eng and jpn audios because she can't decide which sounds sexier. Also, Mr Diluc? Yes, she would like to be served one sex on the beach please and thank you! Ah, Mr Kaeya, a perfect window of opportunity, yes.

She has a huge spot for the teenager group as well. Razor, Bennett, Fishl, Xiangling, Xingqiu and Chongyun are also her kids. She just finds them very precious (don't we all?).

Main Team: Zhongli, Kaeya, Bennett, Diluc

Sub Team: Diona, Klee, Qiqi, Sayu

A Zhongli and Diluc main.

Bonus:

Elise- the evil lackadaisical player

Mori found out about the game from Higuchi and Tachihara and introduced it to Elise, telling her she should make a team of sweet little girls like herself and have fun going on adventures around Teyvat. In response, Elise made a team that, not only does it not have a single child in it, but is using it to gaslight and bully Rintarou.

"Why aren't you smart and inventive like Albedo?"

"Why aren't you as passionate and persistent as Sucrose?"

"Look how capable, loved and admired Ningguang is. You could never."

"I wish i had someone as strong, caring, handsome and rich like Childe looking after me. He would treat me like a real princess. "

Mori has been crying rivers ever since.

Thing is, Elise isn't even that interest in the story. Actually, she couldn't care less. Some characters are interesting to her and she likes the graphics, but other than that, she's mostly playing the game to torture the greasy doctor (as she should).

Main Team: Albedo, Sucrose, Ningguang, Childe

Sub Team: doesn't have one

Doesn't have a main either, she plays whoever she feels like playing.

I wanted to add Lucy too, but my mind wasn't cooperating ;-; Sorry about that. I do hope you liked this, Eli 💛

[australian-desi]

Qurban Hua ~ Episode 1: Of Rakhis, Token White People and Mithai

So like I was playing the sims 4 and my sim’s only daughter (she has 5 kids - 4 sons, 1 daughter) just died from an accidental drowning on her eldest brother’s birthday party (but I quit without saving so she’s back to life). So that killed the whole gameplay mood. And I’ve decided to absolutely ignore my master’s degree (yes I’m going to be at uni for 5,000,000 years - fight me) I am going to liveblog both shows (Qurbaan Hua and Pavitra Bhagya coz that’s what was asked of me). My tolerance for shitty television has reduced since KZK so let’s see how long these liveblogs last....

So without further ado, here’s the first Liveblog of 2020: Qurban Hua (honestly just watching this show for Karan Jotwani’s face and physique) 

Ooh we’re in the hills, with Krishna’s bhansuri and the feelzzz of sanskar

So we’re in Uttarkhand (sorry if I botched the spelling) with moustache uncle and representative white dude who has come to ‘find himself’ 

Do not give a damn about the religious talk (also this white dude doesn’t even know who Ram ji is, he’s just here to drink some bhang, go to a wedding, witness some poverty and go back home) 

Moustache uncle is blind and we see this when he walks with a tree branch (no exaggeration) and his eyes closed. Nothing speaks ‘this person is blind’ than having them close their eyes for every shot 

SO MANS ISN’T EVEN BLIND - HE’S JUST MOTHERFKN COSPLAYING TO BE A BLIND PERSON 

honestly, what is this bakchodi where is my boi 

Yaar ab shivji ke gaane bhi sunne padenge, kya loge main characters ko introduce karne ke liye 

Ohhh he’s the head priest’s son and has become an ‘awara shehar waala’ rather than take over for his dad, who is too weak to carry the aag thaali (I do not know what it is called)

“daya aati hai mujhe Vyasji ki hassi par, pata nahi Vyasji ka launda, unki kaleje mein aag laga kar, shehar mein kaunsi aag bhuja raha hai?” So I thought what a weird dialogue, and then in the next fkn scene: 

THERE’S SOMEONE LITERALLY ON FIRE AND HE’S COME TO SAVE HER

Also behen, toda dimaag laga, the fire isn’t that bad yet, her fkn arms are so loosely tied, and she has the lung capacity to scream ‘aag aag’ rather than find a better way to save herself, and save her energy and breath so she doesn’t pass out. 

All these people and not one person calls the fire brigade 

They call Neel instead, coz he’s invincible 

Now comes a dramatic sequence of events

My man runs, unaffected by the spitting fire, there is another boi who is so happy to see him and willingly crouches just so mans can quite literally yeet himself on to the roof and break the window to save her. Not before giving some dramatic looks

A. Only her apartment was on fire, not the whole building, he could’ve easily taken the stairs. B. why was the fkn fire not spreading and C. It took him 3 seconds to get her out of that knot, so like as if she couldnt wriggle her hands out of it (maybe if she wasn’t wearing 300 chudiyas, she might’ve been able to) 

I would also thank the gods they gave him winter clothing with a high neck to wear (coz nothing is hotter to me than men in high neck sweaters - it highlights their jawlines, shows off their muscles and shows how long their neck is) #FashionTipsWithAustralianDesi 

OMG IT WAS A SCENE FOR A MOVIE OR SOMETHING OMG. OKAY YOU WIN FKN HELL. HINDI SERIALS: 1, AUSTRALIAN DESI: 29043284 

Look how adorable he looks

“Production? sorry mera naam actually  woh Neelkanth Bhatt Dhyani hai aur main baju-waale hotel mein chef hoon, mujhe laga tha aag lagi thi toh bachane aa gaya” 

Hahahah, noice mans is a chef. Also his name is longer than my life. And so far, in the 3 minutes I’ve watched of him, I really like him. Let’s hope he stays that way

Let’s be real, I watched the promos, I’m going to savour whatever niceness we get of him 

Okay so dude that looked at him, is the Pushkar/Rudra/Insert-comedic relief-younger-sibling, and basically said that our mans here is on a mission to save a girl every day. Wow what a hobby 

“Aag, Aag, continue, aag, aag, aag, continue” hahahah he’s slowly backing out of there 

Mans wants to do one good deed everyday - that’s a rare quality for a tellywood man (he does it because his sister does one good deed a day for his wellbeing - I don’t understand the logic but whatever)

OH MY FKN GOD WE HAVE AN ANJALI 

She’s made a fkn shrine for him (absolutely love the pictures though) 

And he calls his sister ‘Bhags’ - short for Bhagwan because she is god for him

I think these two could give Arnav-Anjali a run for their money 

...And she’s preggers - and so he doesn’t want her pregnancy to have any complications so he’s going to do one good deed a day

let’s see how shit blows in their face - is it a kamina husband, a manipulative mother or a cunning father 

Also gotta love how her husband is probably chilling while Neel is all like ‘MY DIDI’ 

No one: 

No one:

Not even Neil’s fkn mother 

Saraswati: NEIL IS COMING AFTER 3 MONTHS EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT 

Welcome Saraswati Anjali 

This man is completely evil. Change my mind. 

So they went with the Kamina husband/brother-in-law 

Who has a problem that Neel is a chef. But let’s be real he wants Neel to be a chef so he could become the head priest 

I AM ONTO YOU. THIS ISN’T MY FIRST RODEO 

And she’s just here to talk about the successes and accomplishments of her brother, because like Anjali, she has nothing better to do in life 

Whatever her husband says goes right over my head, also it’s Saras-Wati not Sarasti 

So proud of his Personal Protective Equipment. Thank god a career being shown properly

Also this looks really small and homely for an industrial kitchen 

So the ‘villain’ of his life is here. Little does he know, that whether he keeps his job or not does not matter, all that matters is that his rakhi is never removed. 

“Main apni behen ko bhool nahi sakta, isliye yeh rakhi agle raksha bhandhan tak, nahi utregi” ummm how bad is your memory that you forget your sister unless there’s a rakhi on your wrist???? 

“Mere kitchen mein yeh sab bilkul allowed nahi hai, no rings, no watches, aur yeh tacky rakhi toh bilkul nahi, afterall hygeine har cook ki responsibility hoti hai” 

“Yeh rakhi toh na utregi sir,” “acha toh phir yeh jo haath mein hai, woh meri kitchen mein khaana nahi bana sakte hai” 

Wow he didn’t have to call the rakhi tacky. Also like, couldn’t you have a dimaag like Arnav, and keep them in a little box, and then show your sister like “look I kept all your rakhis” 

Now watch him cook with one hand, just to prove a point 

TOLD YA 

Also the dude seemed pretty happy with him, I would’ve been like “banda chuthiya ho gaya hai” 

Also his friend is really annoying me with his overreactions to simple things 

He’s saying that he’s going to make the Singoria for the ‘bhakts’ and not for his dad, coz he doesn’t think he needs to ask for an apology to follow his heart 

I enjoy this content, I like this boi. At least he stands by his actions

“Shaakal ko khush karne ke liye jijaji kaafi hai” Wow the Shyam vibes from his jijaji are through the roof 

He said that line like he’s plotting murder or something with the fire reflected on his face

Also can they stop with the Kedarnath soundtrack 

Lol this procession is still going on, it’s been going on for like 3 days. Like, in the time Neel did his wall climbing stunt, saved a woman who was ‘on fire’, stopped a film shoot, told his whole life story and his love obsession for his sister, went through an inspection and made food for a whole restaurant while sassing his boss, and the procession is still going on

 Omg no, now there’s a fkn murgi - WHICH IS ALIVE HOW IS THIS A PROBLEM, JUST MOVE IT AND CONTINUE WALKING 

I mean making him slip would’ve been more fun than a fkn murgi stopping him - also its alive so how is this an apshagun? Imma skip this I cannot 

NOW FKN FAKE ANJALI IS LIKE “the chicken is a mother, do not touch her eggs, she will not look after her children and then they will never be able to feel the mother-child love” 

Gurl, its a chicken. Chill. If it had this much feeling, it would not let go of it’s child 

Okay, here’s a wild thought - why not just walk around it

The chicken isn’t even taking over the whole step, if everyone walks in a single file, you should be able to pass the chicken

but if we use our brains how will this be a hindi serial 

Man fkn hell this the problem in India, the fkn mindset that “dharm se badke aur kuch nahi hai” is2g if people move away from that thought, life would be easier

Also Sarasti is just here caressing her belly, being all like motherhood is the biggest dharm #OhSnap #MicDrop 

So Vyasji has said his first lines of the show and basically whatever I’m understanding is that dharm should be a part of your life, not your whole life and disregarding emotions for your dharm is in fact the opposite of dharm. Wow the man has some sense. Also the actor looks done and does not seem into it - I do not blame him one bit 

And fake Anjali is all like “yay papa is on my side - fuck you husband” 

NEEL YOU FKN IDIOT, IT’S JUST A BAG COULDN’T YOU TAKE IT WITH YOU, NOW THE SANGORIA ARE GONNA GET MISPLACED I ALREADY KNOW. 

ab yeh kaun hai, jo Dhoom ke set se yahan aa gaya 

and he took the wrong bag - well done Neel, that’s all on you

OMG AT LEAST HE REALISED THANK GOD 

Great, now he’s gonna do some Dhoom-esque stunts 

How dumb is the other dude, like there’s someone that’s literally chasing you and you aren’t going to stop to ask them why

Omg he’s actually grabbing it. Is2g if the prasad is completely fine still, Imma flip 

Yeh chal kya raha hai? Is the other dude literally fighting for the supposed kachoris? 

Oh wow its a wamen. And here we begin the #Romance  

HE LITERALLY JUST SAW HER HAIR AND IS SMITTEN - ARE YOU THAT DESPERATE MY FRIEND 

Lovely, he got distracted and she’s gone off with his Sangoria 

Ofcourse he’s like a girl tricked me, now it’s an ego thing. At least he’s admitting it to be an ego ting 

But also like dude do you not believe women can be cunning? I mean we’re literally known for possessing that single trait 

Wow look how happy she is for some Sangoria - and look how dumb she is for not questioning the dude that was chasing her as to why was he after the bag 

OF-FUCKING-COURSE she had to be a social worker who helps the gareeb bachche 

I gotta love how she’s like, why is there mithai here instead of kachoris - proceeds to eat them because the kids were like we like mithai

Behen, kya aap kisi ka bhi khaana leke kha leti ho? 

Like why wouldn’t you put two and two together 

Why would someone be ready to fight you for this mithai. Do you have any logical thinking skills? 

Me when I check my results. The absolute shock horror on his face is sending me 

"Tum pahadi ho?” “Haan aur sharminda bhi” “Itni der se tumhara peecha kar raha tha, tab nahi samajh aaya?” “Nahin mujhe laga koi chor badmaash hai,” 

Love the logic, love that she was so ashamed that she didn’t bother to give his mithai back - what is this character 

She’s literally telling him how to handle his father that she’s never met. 

Dude if it was that easy, would he be this stressed? 

That was quick - she had video evidence that some gunde were making these kids become beggars, and got them arrested while also making Neel feel like he did his one good deed today and she conveniently has her own childcare 

Wow we have an evil maami too, and some random man wanting to kill our gurl

She’s basically saying how Neel will definitely forget to bring the bhog 

Little does she know he won’t forget, he’ll just have some misfortune which will cause him to not bring it

Now poor Sarasti is bringing her dad a shawl and convincing him to go change, but him being the brown dad he is, is all like “If only your idiotic brother was here, I would be sitting on the terrace watching this pooja, looking at him proudly, but he is a nalaayak and alas I am here,” 

He’s literally so salty that he wants to cook, it’s so funny, I can’t 

First of all, why is everyone just taunting Sarasti about her brother’s actions, like I get how close they are but they aren’t the same person??

Now she’s saying that he’s on his way - ah little does she know, he’s distracted by a wamen 

Omg he’s literally telling the story of the Prayag Pushp (a flower I think) “that only blooms when 2 true lovers meet for the first time, and no one has seen it bloom, and no one will see it bloom in this family, and with the same confidence, I am telling you your bhola will not come” wow the amount of trust in your son. I am loving it

Also like who wants to bet the flower is going to bloom when he marries this girl or when they have a dramatic meet up 

“Hey bhole baba, agli baar mujhe uss theeki shezwan sauce se mat milwana” Lol is he dumb or is he dumb 

OMG GOD IN THIS SERIAL IS EXTREMELY FAST. HE PRAYED 2 SECONDS BEFORE AND IN THE NEXT SECOND SHE’S IN FRONT OF HIM

She’s deaf as well, he’s literally calling her and she’s like nope, I am looking outside can only focus on one thing at a time 

“Bache hai kya, joh window seat ke liye itne excited ho rahe hai” “Sifaljiya kahi ka” Okay I’m loving the banter but also have no idea what she just called him 

“Kya kaha tumne? Kaunsi bhasha mein gaali di?” “Mars pe boli jaati hai yeh zubaan, gaye ho kabhi?” 

People I ship it! 

“Lokhar ka sir hai kya tumhaara?” This idiot 

Oh good its these ainvayi ke gunde, mans is never going to reach home in this decade  

And they’re on the bus to beat her? Very normal

And ofcourse this our mans’ good deed of the day

“Kya ho gaya bhai ji? Koi takleef?” Love this man so much. The sass and the politeness how does he do it? 

“Teri saki lagti hai kya?” “Meri patni hai yeh” wow man, like honestly dost bol deta, behen bol deta. Nahi she is now my wife for rescuing purposes (what an Omkara thing to do) 

OMG YES THEIR BACKGROUND SCORE IS KURBAAN HUA FROM KURBAAN - I LOVE THAT SONG 

So the episode ends here and wow this took so long to do coz they decided to make the episode 40 minutes long. So far I like it. I just wish the girl becomes smarter (also what even is her name?) 

[characteroulette]

Hey PQ was pretty good!

so I’m having trouble getting into PQ2 because of several factors, so I thought I’d write a half-think piece, half-essay on why I think the first PQ gets more flak than it deserves. So here’s that.

------

I genuinely don't understand why, when talking about Persona Q, people are always saying things along the lines of, "The gameplay was good, but the characters were trite and the story wasn't that great." Like, as a fan of the Persona series, I genuinely don't understand that assessment.

Not saying PQ is flawless, oh no. There are PLENTY of things in PQ that I have an axe to grind with (the small door scene with the P4 gang, for one), but the overall story? The characters? They're both fine. Good, even, dare I say. And here's my argument as to why:

The returning Persona series characters (from 3 and 4) in PQ do a good job of representing their games and their own personalities, even if a little more light-hearted than their source material,

AND

The story is genuinely in-line with the rest of the Persona/SMT series, even if it ultimately doesn't matter due to time shenanigans (and I'm okay with that).

These are my two points. Just those two. Because these are the two most contested parts of PQ, as far as I can hear, since we all agree that the gameplay is the real breadwinner here hahaha

Anyway.

First, let's talk about the returning characters, since they seem to be the ones who matter most. The P4 cast are generally less griped about (save Chie and Teddie) and I believe this is largely due to the brighter, more hopeful tone of P4 as a whole. (Aaand, in my opinion, they're done a MUCH BIGGER disservice in the Arena games, but no one ever talks about that so let's not bother with those right now.)

P4 was a game about making friends, the hijinx that come from that, and finding the truth about a string of murders and confronting the worst parts of yourself in a harsher world in the process! And it executes this with the appropriate amount of balance between serious moments and comedic relief. The theme colour for the whole game is bright yellow/gold, a happier and more friendly colour which helps remind you that this game is all in good fun.

(Side note here: I honestly think that P5 really failed in this respect, despite my liking its tone slightly more. I just personally like darker-themed games, but P5 was a little too dark and oppressive right out the gate, with hardly a friendly face, which helps make your gradually growing group of friends much more appreciated but also a harder atmosphere for jokes to really land well. Most of the 'funny' sequences felt very undeserved and really dragged because uh guys we literally just fought a rapist, an abusive father figure, and some other fucked-up shit. Can we please acknowledge that a bit more instead of pretending it never happened by laughing at the expense of Ann's autonomy of her body? Especially when she was a target of said rapist??) But that's its own discussion for later.

Really, the fact that most of the P4 gang get out of this with little criticism shows how accepted their caricatures have become. I guess? At least, except for Teddie and Chie.

Teddie being a wannabe Casanova must've been a huge hit with the Japanese audience, because it's just the hill he's going to die on for the writers. There was more to Teddie than his hitting on the girls in P4, believe it or not! (And there's a whole thing about it being brought on by him mimicking the type of behaviour he saw Yukiko's shadow exhibiting, which has a lot of really interesting undertones, but it makes him more swappable with Junpei, so whatever, I guess.) Meanwhile, Chie's not as meat-crazy, either, but I guess it's a better trait for them to roll with than her (cut in the translation) glossed-over sexism.

Both work fine, however, and aren't really too annoying enough to be that egregious. (Though they both go right up to the line sometimes. Teddie more so, but none of the girls playing along really helps show how gross his actions are. Most of the time.)

No, the real complaints I see directed at the characters being 'too cartoonish' are usually reserved for the P3 gang.

P3 is, really, such a bizarre game to go back to now when compared to its two successors. It's dark and hopeless, like P5, but formulaic and mystery, like P4. It's actually a natural progression when looking at its two/three older siblings (both P2s are bleak. As. Hell!), but, at least to me, it's the odd duck of the bunch, being the first to implement this winning formula of being caught in a time limit of a school year and managing spending time exploring this other world. It adds Social Links and social stats with this new time limit and this idea that the Persona and Shadows you fight don't just happen out on the streets in 'normal' circumstances for everyone to see. It pretty much went from an RPG to a management game with RPG elements.

And its emotional, impactful story, like P5, had a lot of tonal whiplash due to the attempts at comedy!

I feel like a lot of people forget this about P3 (and maybe I think more about it because I haven't actually beaten the whole game yet myself), but the story is actually a goddamn mess of tonal confusion. You got kids shooting themselves in the heads and a Social Link dealing with a classmate's crush on his teacher. You got wacky foreign exchange student and kids taking experimental drugs to suppress their Persona and slowly poisoning themselves to death as a side effect. The protagonist is an orphan who lost his parents in a huge, plot-relevant accident... But he's able to date every single girl at the same time and be the most wish fulfillment charming guy if the player so desires.

P3 being messy isn't a bad thing. P4, P5, and even P2 and PQ are all a little messy in their own rights, too. But because P3 was a lot of fans' first in the series, and PQ is just a spin-off, it gets way more flak for this than I feel it deserves.

(I mean, hey. Both P3 and P4 have those classic anime scenes of the boys walking in on the girls while at a hot springs. All PQ's got is an awkward group date scene and the implication that Yosuke and Kanji kissed each other while getting knocked out.) (They all. Have. Problems.)

And I know a lot of this comes down to personal preference. I'm not saying you're wrong for liking P3 or P4 more than PQ. I'm just saying I feel like PQ is often wrongly accused of being worse and less well-written when, really, they're all pretty much on par with each other. (And someone on the team really doesn't understand how to handle large casts of characters sharing the same space...)

But, personally, from everything I've seen from P3, I don't like the way most of the characters get presented to me in the source material. Junpei is way more insufferable in P3 than in PQ and Yukari is way more uninteresting in P3 than in PQ. Really, PQ helped me appreciate these characters more than P3 itself did. And, yes, they're more funny when they're trying to be, too. Because PQ is set up better for comedy than the 'remember you are mortal' tone of P3.

(Which makes dramatic moments hit all the harder when they happen) HEY check that segue! It's time to talk about the story and the two original characters of the game!

So, second point: people say the story isn't very good. To which I wanna ask... "Did you stop playing before defeating the fourth Boss?" Because it really sounds like, to me, everyone who says that didn't actually finish the game and reach all that juicy character development that happens for both sides around the fourth dungeon, where all the issues they've been building up (like Yukari's issue with Mitsuru for the P3 side and Kanji and Ken's awkwardness in the P4 side) start getting resolved in a satisfying way. And it comes with a reveal for the two characters we've been getting to know, Zen and Rei, as well.

(And, from here on in, there be spoilers. You've been warned.)

The two new characters to this game are Zen and Rei, who were in this place before the P3 or P4 gangs were called to the scene. Zen is quiet and a bit unsettlingly dense, but devoted to Rei, who is bubbly and full of life, but terrified of the dungeons you have to traverse. The two have been in this place for (what's implied to be) a very long time and enlist the help of the P3 and P4 teams in order to find a way out through defeating the bosses of each Labyrinth/dungeon. Simple enough, as it also helps the P3 and P4 team's goal of getting out. With each new dungeon, it feels more and more like something about Zen and Rei aren't quite right, but the length of the dungeon and all the team chats help you put it out of your mind each time. Rei can even get kinda annoying with her loudness and big appetite if you don't find her cute (which: how dare you. But yeah, I get it).

And then, at the end of a fiery festival fourth dungeon, you find yourself in a dark tomb at the bottom level. The boss awaiting you is Rei's shadow (a nice callback to the way P4 works) whom she still doesn't accept after you defeat it.

All the locks are gone and the P3 and P4 teams can return to their worlds if they wanted. Except Rei gets kidnapped after Zen reveals that Rei has been dead all along and it was him who trapped them here. It was he who created this place and even he who called both teams here.

And this was a plot twist that I friggin' loved.

It definitely had more impact on me because Zen and Rei easily became my favourites out of the whole cast, to the point of having them on my team for the whole game, but to find out such a fucked up twist is wild! (Seriously! Go watch the cutscene and tell me it isn't super fucked up!) You can say the P3 and P4 twists were shocking (or P5s I guess), but for my money, this is the best reversal of expectations I'd ever seen in a Persona game. In any game, really!

Zen was, in effect, the villain the whole time. His true identity as Chronos, God of time, makes sense with displacing the teams from their own times and the time here being erased once you reach the end. His own power that he sealed away growing impatient and taking matters into its own hands by drawing the teams to this haven displaced from time also makes perfect sense! And the entire climb through the last dungeon is his redemption arc and it makes for a super emotionally investing final dungeon all the way. (Which is great, because I hate every single one of the enemies that appear in this god-forsaken place.) (Even P4 and P5 can't really boast that, I felt very little investment through Izanami's dungeon and Baldabaoth's distortion.)

Of course, if you found Zen and Rei to be annoying and pointless, I can see how this would fall flat for you. The fact that they hinged such an emotional climax on these new characters, characters that don't even matter outside of this game!, was such a risky move. Especially when you consider this is just a fanservice game made basically under the promise of seeing the P3 team interact with the P4 team. But, for me, it really paid off.

And whatever complaints you had with the P3 or P4 characters, I feel like the resolutions to those character moments I mentioned earlier get explored even further during the climb through the final dungeon. From the P3 gang coming together to finally communicate with one another to the P4 gang reconfirming their bonds with one another, it's a really investing and emotional journey. I do wish the writing had been this tight and impactful through more of the game, but I believe it's worth it in the end.

Perhaps this moment comes too late in the game, though. I can definitely see others giving up before reaching this point due to the repetitive nature of the dungeons and the tidbits of character development that are meant to build up to this moment that can be too sparsely placed. (But, really, it's the same from P3 to P5, Social Links don't really add much variety when they can be just as repetitive and boring, just saying. Especially when you get caught in waiting to rank up hell, ugh.) For me, however, this really sealed the deal on this game being an incredible experience that I adored from start to finish. 7/10. Final score.

....

....

(7 outta 10?? Not perfect??) Well, it's not perfect. Japan's blatant homophobia and sexism really ruins a lot of scenes for me. I'm super salty especially about how the fake marriage scenes are handled so differently from the girl choices to the boy choices. (But you just argued in its favour for 2000 words!) Listen. ALL the Persona games wouldn't receive perfect scores for me for this aspect alone. There are a lot of other factors as well, but they vary from title to title and PQ in particular is guilty of spending too much time focusing on Teddie and Junpei being girl-crazy. And Marie is in this game more than she really should be. UGH.

But I digress.

In conclusion, this game's story and characters are better than most give it credit for. Hopefully, my argument helped you see why I believe this and why I think claiming that both aspects are just 'bad' is lazy.

[introvertedfox]

Sims 4 - Stardew Valley Challenge [My Version]

As I said previously, I decided to write my own rules for my Stardew Valley Challenge. So here they are! I got a little inspiration from the rules I was following, but I changed most of it. Including the characters. I decided to choose some new characters that I felt could be an excuse to try things in game I haven’t tried yet. xD I had way to much fun doing this. Hope you enjoy!

Some important things before we get to the Generations:  - I used several packs for this challenge, and I feel too lazy to find alternatives for all of them xD so you’ll have to have some of the packs that are used to be able to follow it. Sorry…  - The characters don’t have to look like the ones from Stardew Valley or have the same gender, it’s completely up to you.

The Gens will be under the cut because this post is huge xD

You can also check the rules here. If you decide to give this a try don’t forget to use the hashtag #katesdv4 so I can follow your gameplay. Have fun! :)

Generation 1 - The Farmer 

Going from home to work, and from work back home. Working 8h a day, 7 days a week, always doing the same exact thing. Until one day, you remember that letter grandpa gave you before he passed away, and it changes everything. Grandpa left you his beloved farm! Or more precisely a big plot of land filled with trees and rocks and stamps … I know it doesn’t look good but remember grandpa is counting on you to turn it into the greatest farm this valley as ever seen. So let’s get to work!

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Family Oriented (and I’ll leave the other for you to decide since it’s the farmer anyway) Aspiration: Freelance Botanist Career: Gardener (requires Seasons, so you can skip this if you don’t have it and just sell the crops from the garden instead) Rules: - Have a garden with more than 50 plants - Master gardening skill - Reach level 10 career level (the branch is up to you) - Have a cabin type house, just the kitchen, bathroom, and one room. Upgrade the house as you go. (Like in stardew) Add the couple bed before you get married, and had a room for the kids before you have them. - Have only two kids - Have a full relationship with your spouse and kids

Generation 2 - The Wizard

You’ve always had your nose stuck in a book, while your sibling would be out there playing around with their friends, you would prefer to stay inside and just read. One of your favourite things to do was to make your own make-believe potions by mixing plants together and in food. Fantasies were always your favourite, magic, spells, potions,… The world would be a better place with magic in it. When the news of a magic realm reach your ears you waste no time to go there and explore it and so your adventure begins.

Traits: Loner, Gloomy, Bookworm Aspiration: Purveyor of Potions (requires Realm of Magic) Career: None (It’s up to you) Rules: - Master herbalism skill (requires Outdoor Retreat) - Reach rank 5 spellcaster (requires Realm of Magic) - Have a bad relationship with your sibling - Have only two friends growing up, your parents - Explore the realm of magic, but never move out of your parent’s house, even after they’re both gone - Never marry - Have one child, but the mother/father of the kid left you - Have a room/basement full of magical stuff, locked from the kid (your kid is not supposed to know you’re a spellcaster)

Generation 3 - Abigail

Growing up you always knew your mother/father was keeping secrets from you. That door is hiding something you know it, and one day you’ll find out what it is. Also, you always wanted a cat, but your mother/father never let you have one. You love the occult, vampires, aliens, mermaids,… their all real and you’re going to find them all and prove to the world that they exist. For now, you’re happy just playing video games and daydreaming about your fantasies, that’s until your mother/father shows you what’s behind the door…

Traits: Geek, Cat Lover (requires Cats and Dogs), Loner Aspiration: Spellcraft and Sorcery (requires Realm of Magic) Career: None (It’s up to you) Rules: - Be a young adult when you discover what your father/mother really is - Master video gaming skill - Master vampire lore (Requires Vampires) - Reach rank 5 spellcaster  (requires Realm of Magic) - Only have a good relationship with your mother/father after they show you what’s behind the door - Have a vampire friend (Requires Vampires) - Have a mermaid friend (Requires Island Living) - Have an alien friend (Requires Get to Work) - Marry an occult sim, vampire, mermaid, alien,… - Have a human kid - Have a cat

Generation 4 - Linus

Growing up surrounded by magic, and the occult can be really hard on a regular kid. Watching your parents and siblings perform magic tricks and brewing potions, while you can do either of those things. So you spend most of your time exploring the outdoors. You got pretty good at catching frogs, finding weird-looking stones and harvesting delicious fruits. One day, you decide you’re tired of all the magic around you and you just run away from home. Traits: Loves Outdoors, Glutton, Slob Aspiration: Outdoor Enthusiast (requires Outdoor Retreat, if you don’t have it go with the Curator instead) Career: None (Just living off the land, selling the stuff you find) Rules: - Run from home as a teenager or as soon as you age to young adult - Complete at least two collections (gems, frogs, …) - Only gain money from the collectibles you find - Live on a tent (until you start to have kids, then you can build a little cabin) - Live in an off the grid type lot - Only have low-quality stuff - Marry a sim with the Good trait - Never woohoo, always try for a baby

Generation 5 - Marnie

You always loved animals. Growing up living off the land you were always surrounded by them and your parents always taught you to respect them. If you won’t take care of the animals, who will? So at school when they asked you what you wanted to be when you grew old, the answer was pretty simple, you were going to be a vet. Animals were always so easy. If only people were that easy.

Traits: Loner, Dog Lover, Cat Lover (the last two require Cats and Dogs) Aspiration: Friend of the Animals (requires Cats and Dogs) Career: Vet (requires Cats and Dogs) Rules: - Master pet training skill (requires Cats and Dogs) - Master veterinarian skill (requires Cats and Dogs) - Have a 4 star vet clinic - Have at least 2 tanks full of fish - Have at least 10 frogs - Have at least 2 dogs - Have at least 2 cats - Never marry, or marry as an elder - Adopt 2 kids

Generation 6 - Pierre

You loved to help your mother/father at the vet clinic, not treating the pets though. But taking care of the stock and stocking the supplies in the vending machine they kept there. Your dream was to have your own shop someday, where you can sell anything you want. You devote your life to that store, trying to make it the best store in town. Sometimes you wonder if that’s the reason you don’t get along with your kid.

Traits: Perfectionist, Self-Assured, Ambitious Aspiration: Successful Lineage Career: Shop Owner (requires Get To Work) Rules: - Sell whatever you want at the store, but only make money from the stuff you sell there - Master charisma skill - Spend most of your time at the store - Have only 1 kid - Don’t get along with your kid

Generation 7 - Willy

You never understood why your father/mother loved that store so much, and why they spent all day there. It was way more fun to fish at the pounds in the park. You would always run there whenever you got the chance. When you get a big catch you always hang them proudly on the wall. When your father/mother gets the idea to start selling the fish you catch at the store, things start to get a little better.

Traits: Loves Outdoors, Good, Cheerful Aspiration: Angling Ace Career: Fish Shop Owner (After they’re father/mother dies they take over the shop to sell the fish they catch) (requires Get To Work) Rules: - Master fishing skill - Have a wall full of the best fish you catch - Fish every day - Complete the fish collection - Take over the store after your father/mother dies, but only sell the fish you catch

Generation 8 - Kent

You always loved your family very much. You were always happy to help your parents around the house and help your siblings when needed. Though you have a terrible temper, it’s really easy for you to get mad about things. You always had a sense of duty for your country, so you join the army as soon as you’re old enough to do so. After a few years, when you’re happily married and you just had your second child, they assigned you to some strange town to protect it against some mysterious threat. You’re forced to leave your family behind for some time, but you promise you’ll be back.

Traits: Active, Hot-Headed, Family-Oriented Aspiration: StrangerVille Mystery (Requires StrangerVille) and Bodybuilder (After completing the first one) Career: Military, Officer Branch (Requires StrangerVille) Rules: - Master Fitness skill - Marry a Neat sim - Marry and have at least 2 kids before becoming an adult - Move alone to StrangerVille after the birth of the second child - Don’t move back home until you complete the aspiration - Complete the aspiration StrangerVille Mystery (Requires StrangerVille) - After completing the aspiration you can move back home to your family

Generation 9 - Emily

Growing up, one of your parents was absent for the majority of the time, and the other was always busy keeping the house clean. So you had to find ways to entertain yourself. You always liked crafting and sewing. So you start to draw and sew your own costumes and clothes. You’d always force your sibling to try them, so they find you a bit annoying, but deep down they love you. One day, you come home from your part-time job tired and decide it’s time for a change, so you quit it and start working towards pursuing your dreams.

Traits: Creative, Cheerful, Art Lover Aspiration: Painter Extraordinaire (you can choose another, I wasn’t really sure which to choose xD) Career: Style influencer - Stylist Branch Rules: - Master painting skill - Master charisma skill - Reach max level career - Have a part-time before joining the style influencer (could start as a teen) - Have a good relationship with your sibling Sibling lives with you until you marry, or they marry

Generation 10 - Gus

You’ve always loved food. As a kid, you were always stealing cookies from the jar, or sneaking some food when your mum was cooking. As you grew older there was nothing you enjoyed more than to cook a meal for a bunch of people. You’re well known among your friends for your delicious food and amazing dinner parties. You always dreamed of having a restaurant. So when you find this old restaurant in town for sale, you don’t even think twice.

Traits: Foodie, Good, Outgoing Aspiration: Friend of the World or Master Chef (I went with the first since for master chef you need to be in the culinary career) Career: Restaurant Owner (requires Dine Out) Rules: - Master cocking skill - Master baking skill - Have a 5 star restaurant (requires Dine Out) - Have at least 5 friends - Have a dinner party at least once a week, or once a season Cook all meals in the household

[tumblunni]

Brainstorming about my yokai watch ocs: Dimmy and Gorgeous Ambassador, the most cutest family

* My Dimmy's name is Blythe and they are nonbinary. Gorgeous Ambassador is male and i dont have a name for him yet. I was thinking maybe try and make up a dub name for kageusuo (anime exclusive pre evolution) that sounds like it could have been his nickname as a human? Cos his story is that he used to be a wandering mercenary in ye olde ninja times, i feel like itd be fitting.

* Blythe is the main partner of my protagonist in my yokai watch lp, basically the jibanyan of the anime of my heart. Their personality is mostly similar to the Dimmy in the anime, but i feel like theyre maybe older and more powerful than the average Dimmy? Like a weak low evolution yokai thats stayed unevolved for centuries and is actually more skilled and world weary than you'd assume. Protag just got lucky that she bumped into this one super magikarp, lol! Also i like to draw them looking more teenage age by just taking the regular Dimmy design and making the tail extra super long. They stand roughly twice as tall as the protagonist and can wrap around her shoulders like a scarf :3 Blythe is however totally unaware of their super powerful mega skill and is very self depreciating and low confidence. But Mallory totally sees them as a cool older sibling mentor figure and is always trying to figure out ways to make their tol squiggle friend feel included and valued :3

* the way Gorgeous Ambassador comes into the picture is that he was actually the same sort of figure to Blythe! Back in the ninja era Blythe was partners with another human, but he passed away in tragic circumstances and it led to their current depressed self. However he actually reincarnated as a yokai and has been trying to find his lil sibling ever since! I feel like he was a failure samurai who tried to protect people but was so weak he never could. And he was always broke and starving and begging to do any sort of miscellaneous jobs for anyone or even let them punch him in the stomach for a few coins. And he had just as much self confidence issues as Blythe but he coped with it by becoming a compulsive liar instead, always boasting and trying to sell himself as some legendary hero to keep from facing the truth. Since Blythe was a cute lil babby yokai at the time, they always believed their human master's tall tales and looked up to him, which made him feel really guilty and try harder to work on becoming someone this kid could be genuinely proud of.

* Blythe was first born as a household spirit. Cos i was thinking about what Dimmy would be before it became a ninja, since the medallium description says it 'got a job as a ninja to put its powers to use', so like it isnt really a ninja yokai but just a yokai thats a ninja? I guess?? I figured that the idea of being an invisible shadow supporter fit with household spirits/domovoi/zakishi warishi (probably mispelled that) and the various other similar creatures in mythologies all over the world. Just the idea that theres some sort of being that protects your house and if you give it offerings and take good care of the place it will protect you and your family. So yeah its my headcanon that thats how Dimmys are born, and that theres probably many variants wearing different outfits inspired by whatever type of humans they guarded. Tho yeh ninja is a job that works really well with their abilities so it makes sense itd be the primary representative of the species in the games.

* Human-dude-who-would-become-gorgeous-ambassador first met Blythe when one of his various failed attempts to get a job happened to cross paths with the family Blythe was guarding. This family didnt believe in such old suspicions and never gave offerings to their household spirit, so it stayed small and weak and was almost fading away. Baby blythe didnt know why their humans didnt love them, even though they tried so hard to bring good luck and clean the fireplace and stuff. So they felt a sense of kinship with this poor failure samurai who was begging for food on their doorstep. The humans of the household spat in his face and turned him away empty handed, but the tiny yokai snuck some rice from the pantry and gave it to him. They were surprised that he was able to see them, and he gave them the first thank you they'd ever had!

* Addendum note: i feel like gorgeous samurai was cursed with being able to see yokai from a young age and its part of whay made him so determined to become strong enough to protect people. Perhaps his biological family was killed by an evil yokai and nobody ever believed what he saw? And he wandered japan trying to save other people and always failing and being blamed for what happened, since nobody could see the real culprit. This reputation of being a liar when he wasnt = he ended up actually lying about how he was totally fine and not sad and also great and not hating himself. Its not really something he can control anymore, its like a stress response and it keeps getting him in trouble but he cant stop. "Yes sure i can save the day, i'm awesome!" only makes things worse when he inevitably loses again, whic only makes his self confidence worse and traps him further in the lies...

* so anyway, he became friends with this lil babby yokai and kept coming back to visit them and tell more tall tales of his grand adventures. And eventually he managed to help Blythe come out of their shell a little and agree to leave this house where they were only fading away. Haunting him instead, the lil shadow soon flourished back to full health from being loved for the first time. And their new big bro would always give them the biggest share of all the food even when he was starving, and always wasted his money buying things for them, and knitted them lil scarfs and just HE WAS A GOODEST BIG BRO! They also made a great team, and he was finally able to fight evil yokai with a yokai of his own helping him out. Things were good for a few years!

* Eventually though, they faced a foe too strong for them to defeat. (Not sure yet who it is, cos it could be cool if they faced it again in the present day for a rematch?) Blythe's human friend ran into a burning building to save the people being attacked by this yokai, but because he was already gravely injured he didnt manage to make it out in time. And blythe was just a tiny bab who wasnt strong enough to carry his unconcious body to safety. So their last memories of him are of crying and begging him to wake up as the house fell apart all around them, and eventually the flames swallowed him up. the tiny yokai just ran and ran away from their shame, and never saw an ashy figure rising from the ruins and calling their name...

* eventually after years of struggling alone and lacking meaning in life, Blythe had a chance meeting with our protagonist and thus begins my yokai watch 1 lets play! At the same time their yokaified big bro is still out there searching for them, and maybe one day theyll meet again...

* also i wanna go with the pre-evo the anime added of Gorgeous Ambassador evolving from a sad depressed vampire lookin dude. Even if the whole circumstances here are vastly different! But we dont really have any info on what kageusuo's powers or stats would be, so i guess i'm free to mess around with that? I like the idea of it being vampiric just cos i feel it looks like that. But instead of drinking blood maybe its a hunger for shadows? Which is actually beneficial to humans and makes them less overshadowed aka the opposite of Dimmy's power. So if you ever feel that you're radiating charisma with perhaps a slightly lighter shadow, maybe youve been inspirited by this guy! And then the evolution into Gorgeous Ambassador doesnt actually change anything at all, except just looking more fashionable and confident (which is absolutely a lie). His power already made people more fabulous while being unable to affect himself, he just worked a bit harder on himself to try and catch up with everyone else. Self care vampire!

* oh and in this interpretation the way that kageusuo would be integrated into the gameplay is that Gorgeous Ambassador would get a new ability that lets him switch forms in battle, rather than it being a separate yokai. (Tho would still have a separate entry in the medallium just for conveinience of being able to view both character models whenever you want) Stuff that causes low confidence would make him poof between forms, and itd just be something like more attack based vs defense based, or maybe having two separate personality stats so its like his AI is slightly more versatile than the usual frustratingness of most yokai? Srsly im still so annoyed at so many yokai that have two mutually exclusive moves and the ai is stupid about using them at the wrong time to cancel each other out. Like how Dimmy can be given the AI personality to focus on attacking and thus take advantage of its auto-skill to be good at dodging aka a glass cannon. BUT also one of its skills gives that same status to an ally instead, which by definition takes it away from itself cos 'dont target this other guy' means there arent many other options. So you cpuld alternatively play dimmy as a supporter who exclusively protects others with that ability BUT the annoying part is that even when you set an AI profile to one particular move it still only makes it LIKELY to do that and not guaranteed. So every now and again your attacking dimmy will cancel its own buff to protect an enemy, or your supporting dimmy will forget to support abd instead buff itself despite not having the attack stat build to take advantage of it. Plus you cant have both and switch between modes mid battle, so thatd be REALLY useful if one yokai actually could do that, and also could change stats to fit! Im not sure how to give it a trigger condition thatd let you sorta change at will but also not be 100% easy and overpowered. I was thinking tying it to his confidence could mean missed attacks turn him into kageusuo and critical hits turn into gorgeous? But thatd be TOO uncontrollable...

* oh actually i think maybe i'll nickname him Amber! Just cos my brain just mispronounced gorgeous ambassador and It Kinda Works??? Also its a kind of name that sounds very pretty but also has connotations of gentle shyness, i think. Matches the duality of his fake boastfulness vs his true self doubt.

* Oh and i also thought of maybe having Blythe evolve into Casanono, even though you cant do that in canon. I feel like turning into a pretty humanoid would be a good way to symbolize their growing confidence ans casanono/casanuva has a big nonbinary aesthetic in my opinion. Plus of course the fact casanono is a variabt of a confident yokai thats actyally shy. Originally older brother dude was gonna be a casanuva to match, until i heard about Gorgerous Ambassador and decided it fits him better (especially with that new anime form!) So now im thinking maybe have Blythe be both casanono and casanuva at once, similar to their bro's form switching? But itd be more like casanuva is a rare super saiyan esque powerup when they experience rare moments of confidence. Im pretty much just doing this because SADLY casanono is a joke character who is literally mechanically forced to be useless in battle. Its ability makes it harder to catch yokai which ia already goddamn difficult, and it wastes a skill slot too. As opposed to Dimmy who has a similar personality of always being ignored and depressed but its abilities are actually beneficial. Itd suck to go from Blythe being my mvp to being unable to use them at all, so this would be a way to still always draw them as casanono in comics to match their actual personality, but using casanuva in battle cos.. Well.. Yeah its the functional one of the two. Level-5 if youre listening please make casanono useable in future games!! Casanuva is absolutely the worst one personality wise so it sucks that the game agrees with his ego that he's great and also punches his depressed counterpart into the bin of ignoreness DESPITE BEING SUPER SYMPATHETIC AND RELATEABLE AND ALSO CUTER COLOURSCHEME

Anyway thats all the thoughts i have so far. Except oh also itd be funny if throughout the whole story blythe keeps talking about their dead brother as if he was the super best most serious hero and then when the protagobists actually meet him he's this gaudy dork XD

[apatheticaria]

my spoilery thoughts on the last of us part ii

i apologize in advance for this super long post that you have to scroll past because i don’t know how to do the “keep reading” option thing

the only reason i’m writing this out is because i’m literally going insane from not being able to talk about my feelings for this game to anyone since no one i know actually cares lmao so this is mainly just for myself and anyone who wants to read this

the intro:

as i played through this game, i also watched a few playthroughs up until the point where i stopped to take a break. this was a game i couldn’t binge just because it’s so heavy and intense and sometimes you just gotta step away and take a breather

one of the playthroughs i followed along with was jacksepticeye’s and at the end he gave his review of the game like he normally does. i didn’t completely agree with everything he said, but for the most part i thought what he said lined up pretty well with my own opinion.

in particular, one thing that stood out to me was when he said that the introduction to this game shouldn’t have been Joel talking to Tommy about what he did at the end of the first game, but rather the whole flashback of Ellie’s birthday at the museum. then at “one” during the countdown to liftoff, the screen should’ve went black and fast forwarded to four-years-older Ellie opening her eyes in her home in Jackson (idk if i’m explaining this well, but Jack’s editor, Robin, edits this together and really sold it to me. if you wanna see it, go to the last part of Jack’s playthrough and look for it towards the last 30 minutes). i think this would have given us the time i think we all needed with Joel before he died and all the following flashbacks would be more focused on how/why Joel and Ellie’s relationship turned so distant - or hostile on Ellie’s part - and could’ve helped the pacing a bit.

Joel’s death:

potentially an unpopular opinion? but i actually like how Joel died. or uh lemme rephrase, i like the way they wrote his death. in this world of violence, hate, and brutality (actually doesn’t sound too off from our world but ahem moving on), i think the way he died was realistic, especially since he doomed all of humanity by saving Ellie in Part I. it just makes a lot of sense that someone would go after him and hunt him down

from the moment Abby and Owen stood over Jackson from the cliff, i was thinking: well theyre gonna kill Joel and since we’re gonna probably be playing as this girl for some (emphasis on some) of the game, they’re gonna go hard on the grey area of perspective in terms of revenge. which i was super on board with, but we’ll get back to that

when this game was first advertised, i didn’t know how i felt about a revenge story. it’s been told so many times and i’m never as hell-bent on revenge as much as the character is because it never feels warranted enough. that is, until i saw Joel die. watching Ellie pinned to the floor with a perfect view of his body, his face, beat to shit as she screams and begs for Abby to stop? haha that’s fucked Naughty Dog, thanks. but i do appreciate that they were able to make me just as mad as Ellie because of just how brutal his death was and how much i care, cared, about that character. no story has ever made me so incredibly enraged to the point i was with the main character full-stop to just destroy the perpetrator and take revenge. that’s why i think the way Joel dies is perfectly done. the fact that that cutscene is so horrible to watch for so many reasons just proves that it does it’s job.

Ellie’s half:

i actually don’t have too much to say about Ellie’s half of the story. this was what i both expected and wanted from the game, the whole game. while i can’t say i was having “fun”, because this isn’t really a fun game to play, you know what i mean when i say that this part was fun to play and follow.

side note: Naughty Dog’s improvement of your NPC buddy is so good, Dina and Jesse were both actually helpful, still not perfect, but also they’re not supposed to do all the work for you. i think the added layer that they could also get caught/seen and alert the enemy was completely unexpected and such a good addition to the gameplay (ofc this goes for Lev as well).

throughout the whole story, there’s kinda a problem with the pacing, and i know i’m not the first person to say that. however, i think the only big pacing issue i had with Ellie’s perspective was that kinda weird attempt of an open world map that they did with the gates. it felt a little unnecessary since i, and most other people, are playing for the story, not an open world with various side quest-like things. i missed the guitar cutscene with Ellie playing the guitar and singing to Dina (which kinda sucks, but i obviously just watched it after) because i just wanted to get back to the story rather than explore a large area. it was an attempt at something different so i won’t fault the game for that too much, but also stay in your lane lol so that section was a bit of a miss for me personally. i really liked the rest of it though, it had me engaged the whole time

Abby’s half:

ok. i have a lot to say about this half of the game since this is where most the problems occur.

first, let me preface this by saying that i don’t hate Abby. as i said, from the very beginning i knew she was going to have a, not justifiable, but an understandable reason for murdering Joel and that the game was going to be about seeing two sides to the same story. except, at the same time, i came here for Ellie, so why am i playing as this heterosexual? im mostly kidding. but fr i didn’t need the entire half of the game trying to get me to sympathize with Abby. i really didn’t need the message to be so spelt out for me, i got it from the moment i realized she was going to kill a favorite character.

i think my main gripe with the way they told this story is the way they formatted it. this story has all the elements to be amazing, but the execution just lacked the...finesse? idk if that’s the right word.

rather than splitting up the game into two halves, they could/should have integrated Abby’s story into Ellie’s so that when we cut from Abby holding the gun at Ellie in the theater to suddenly Abby as a young girl, it won’t feel so jarring when we have to start all over again with the upgrades and the timeline.

i really liked how we switched between them in the very beginning so why couldn’t that have just continued? in a book with multiple povs, the author often switches back and forth between every or every few chapters. you never see a book that starts with one perspective, then at the climax you have to start all over again from the other. at least, i’ve never seen this in any books i’ve read and i’ve read a lot ngl

maybe they forced us to stick with Abby for so long because if we’re forced to play as her, then we’re forced to get invested into her story. while this makes sense, it also really degraded at my enthusiasm for the game. it took me so long to just give up on the idea that we would be going back to Ellie relatively soon and when i did actually realize that was what was happening i was really disappointed.

instead of separating their stories, i would’ve liked to have Abby maybe one step behind Ellie the whole time so that while we play we’re just anticipating when Abby will finally catch up and it builds to this whole thing. instead, when we actually got to the point where everything was supposed to go down, we’re hit with whiplash and back to the very beginning with tutorials?? like did they just expect us to forget how to play since we switched characters?

i’m thinking, after Ellie and Dina jump over the barbed wire that explodes and Ellie’s knocked out, we could have switched over to Abby waking up in the WLF stadium. after Abby sneaks out of the stadium and you have that interaction with Jordan where he mentions Leah at the tv station, then we go back to Ellie waking up and tied to the table and we see Ellie kill Jordan.

after this i think Abby should have met Lev and Yara way sooner because i barely even remember what happened before Abby was caught by the seraphites it was so boring. so she gets caught by the seraphites AFTER we meet them through Ellie being shot through the shoulder (i still want to get all the first impressions of new stuff with Ellie because then it still makes her feel like the main character) and we meet the siblings and blahblahblah.

as a follow up, after Ellie kills Nora, which by the way, Ellie’s facial expressions are just so good with the red light while she’s just beating Nora to death? wow that entire interaction was so well done. anyway, after Ellie kills Nora, and Ellie gets back to the theater and the scene ends with her and Dina hugging, then we would switch to that whole section with Abby and Lev traveling to the hospital to get the meds and it would be cool if on her way in, Nora helps Abby and then on her way out, we run into a door we have trouble opening so we push and when it opens, Nora’s beaten up body is right there.

you get the gist. Abby’s story was barely intertwined with Ellie’s until the very end where she finds Owen and Mel dead. she doesn’t know that literally everyone else, except Leah, is dead too. i feel like that would’ve made the impact of Abby and Ellie’s fight at the theater more effective. affective? whatever i’m not an english nerd

i also think we should have gotten the flashback with Abby’s dad a little later when we’re expected to understand her character a bit more.

overall, i’m not mad about getting Abby’s side of the story, but i am mad that the way it was told felt so disconnected from Ellie. we could still get that whole arc of Abby going to the island to get Lev, she can still get her own story apart from Ellie, but she needed to have more of a interaction with Ellie’s actions.

Abby vs. Ellie, Abby’s pov:

i absolutely hate this fight. i really hate the way it was written and the way it happened. i get that the game is trying to give us Abby’s perspective and to show that in her point of view, Ellie is the villain in this story.

except, AGAIN, i don’t need this spoon fed to me!!! i KNOW that the world isn’t black and white and that people’s perspectives are different, but also? i don’t really care. both characters have gone through shit and both have done shitty things. neither of them are innocent, no one in this world is innocent (hence why i really dislike Mel, but that’s not really relevant), so it really comes down to which character you value more. in my - and most other people’s - case, it’s Ellie. i know the whole point of this fight is to make the player uncomfortable, but i wasn’t just uncomfortable, it made me legitimately start to dislike this game (spoiler for the end of this stupid-long review: i don’t completely dislike it)

the game really emphasizes that this is Abby’s story as much as it is Ellie’s and i get that, but this fight did not need to happen the way it did and the game didn’t need to be even longer after this. a lot of people say that we played from Abby’s perspective because Ellie would have killed Abby and that would be that (and she did, by the way, i relished watching Ellie get her revenge because while i don’t hate Abby, it was still so satisfying even if that wasn’t how the game wanted me to play). however however however, Abby wouldn’t have showed mercy either. she was absolutely going to kill Ellie if Dina hadn’t intervened then she was going to kill Dina if Lev hadn’t intervened.

here’s how i wouldve wanted it to go: we go back to Ellie’s perspective once Abby has the gun pointed at Ellie in the lobby and during their fight, Ellie would get the upper hand because she has weapons and shit (let’s be honest, Ellie would not win in hand-to-hand combat with fully-healthy Abby, we saw that first hand). Lev would try to jump in, but then Dina would disarm him and prevent him from escaping her grasp. then eventually Ellie would have the barrel of the shotgun pointed at Abby’s face and she would hear Lev tell her to please stop don’t kill her and Ellie would listen because the same exact thing happened to her (we could get a short flashback or something for more emotions, idk). so instead of killing Abby, Ellie would knock her out and her and Dina would leave and Lev would run to Abby’s unconscious body. this would end that cycle of revenge and because Abby has something more important to her than revenge (Lev), they would move on.

the ending:

if the game went how i just imagined, we probably wouldn’t get an ending that’s as depressing and open ended as it is, but i’m sure Neil and his team could figure something out, such as Ellie still has to deal with PTSD and Tommy’s really pissed at them and Ellie still looses her two fingers. so we get that little domestic sequence and the PTSD flashback and Tommy coming with his eye missing and showing the map. he leaves and when Ellie is about to leave in the middle of the night, Dina convinces her this time to stay and the next day Ellie tries to play the guitar one last time before giving up since she doesn’t have her fingers (i still want that last heartbreaking flashback, that one fucked me up i love it) and she goes out to leave it somewhere in the woods with it all ending with her walking away from the guitar that Joel gave her to symbolize her letting him go. idk man something like that, still not that open ended, but i’m just talking out of my ass rn

anyway that’s not how it went so we’ll stick to reality.

an open ending isn’t supposed to be unsatisfying, because that’s what this ending was. Part I does an open ending perfectly as we still get closure even though we don’t know exactly how things go afterwards (until now obviously).

after playing from Abby’s perspective for so goddamn long, it was weird to play as Ellie again, even while it was also a relief, and that makes me really sad. in the end, i did feel bad for Abby when she was literally left to starve and “hang” (but again i didn’t need 15+ hours in order to feel basic sympathy).

from the way they wrote the story, i knew Ellie wasn’t going to let it go and she was going to leave Dina and JJ. it made sense and i don’t think it was out of character for her, but the fact they did that in the first place and that Abby was the one to let go first? Abby got her revenge, she killed Joel, but Ellie never got that closure so of course she was going to go after Abby.

in the very end, Ellie is left with no one and Abby still has Lev and a group of fireflies to run to. Ellie’s biggest fear was being alone as she said in the first game, but that’s exactly what she’s left with. yeah life is unfair and i do like that the consequences feel real in this story, but i don’t think Ellie deserved to be done so damn dirty while Abby is living her best life. sure all of Abby’s friends were murdered because of Ellie and Dina leaving is Ellie’s own fault and i don’t blame Dina, but i mean we have no idea what happens to Ellie after this, where she goes. it at least feels like she’s on the road to eventually being relatively okay, as okay as you can be in this world.

i can’t completely articulate how i feel about this ending, even after three days having finished playing. all i do know is that while it’s realistic how Ellie’s story ended, i would’ve liked for Abby to get the same treatment. for her to not actually find the fireflies through the radio and escape from the Rattlers only to have no where to go so that, just like Ellie, revenge cost her everything and we don’t know where she went after.

maybe because Abby’s story was pretty much wrapped up and Ellie’s wasn’t, they’re planning for a trilogy, but i guess we’ll see.

the tldr;

this game has all the elements it needed to be amazing overall imo, i just wish they were all utilized Better. the reason it’s so hard to figure out how i feel about this game is because it has so much potential that just never came through and i’m really jealous of all the people who were blown away by this story. it’s still a good game though, but a 7/10 seems too high and 6/10 seems to low. ig it’s a 6.5/10 for me.

thanks for reading if you made it this far

[ecreau]

Refresher

I’ve been dealing with mild anxiety last month due to lockdown and finding for another job to explore because although I’ve been blessed with my current job, they closed the company for a while due to few clients are coming in so now technically I am a freelancer in the company.

I’m still thankful because I have different hobbies and personal plans I finished and scheduled to release this year, plus money I have been saving through years so feeling worried became lesser. Last month, it may have been a difficult month for me but I am optimistic that June would be quite better.

I started the revamp of my pages and practicing digital artworks, accomplishing this small stuff made me comfortable and relaxed. Besides being busy with my art blogs I have also started a juice bottle business and right now I could not be happier because orders started coming in.

There are things we could not control, the least we could do is to create another pathway for us to walk on. I have always been a stable person. Ever since I was a kid, I supported specific video games (e.g. Pokemon, Digimon, and Mario); I have my favorite gadget store where I bought the majority of my digital things from a phone, video game console to laptops; I always wanted to stay in a company for more than 2 years or more and this year it is continuously tested. I am full of worry and excitement because these personal plans of mine may not be stable as a full-time job, it makes me happy instead. This may not be my usual thing to do but I am hoping for the worst and best.

In other news, I started watching The Big Bang Theory, I am almost done with season 3 and I watched all the movies I wanted to watch ever since. I also started recording some gameplays and art stuff for soon YouTube channel. The first time, I heard myself speaking English, and oh boy, the cringe haha I could definitely hear my strong accent. Although practice makes you a bit better, I guess haha! So stay tuned for this one.

I am still grateful because I have this lifestyle that most of the people from my country could not afford. Maybe someday, I could help other people too if they are dealing with these kinds of problems- emotional, financial, and general living. But for now, I want to help myself to be better so I can share the love and optimism I have.

I have tons of artworks to come this month and in July too! Here are some Cyndaquil pictures I have taken last May. One of them I took it with my K-zone collection a kids magazine here in my country that I started collecting since 2003, unfortunately, they stopped printing last 2018 (if I am correct). Right now I have more than 100 magazines and I wanted to buy more soon. These magazines probably the best time capsule for me because in 2003, I was still in elementary school gosh it was a long time ago!

I remember whenever we were buying food in the grocery I always needed to tell my parents to buy me one and they agreed. I think that’s one that I liked about my parents was that they were pretty nostalgic too. They like the idea of having a collection and looking back to it.

I should post more of my K-zone magazines soon so we can all reminisce the early 2000s where Harry Potter was too popular, Nokia phones were still a thing and Gameboy advance SP was the main console every kid wanted to play (if they are fans of Pokemon).

Sigh, I wanted to get back to those simple days and just play video games without getting distracted with the internet. It’s still fresh to me, we used to go to these computer cafes where you rent a computer for an hour and spend it by playing online and local games. My siblings and I used to rent one PC (to save money) and watched snippets of Pokemon and other anime shows in an hour. Sometimes, we rent other PCs to play Lan games like Battle Realms and Counter-Strike. It was our favorite past time when our parents were busy buying things. I really miss those days.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing fine, healthy and safe.

Let’s talk again next month!

[dq108]

you’ve got a daddy to find

HELLO. I’m back. Over the holidays I went back to my proverbial womb of [Hometown], Indiana. No, I wasn’t born there, but when people ask me where I’m from, I usually say “[Hometown], Indiana,” and when they passive-aggressively ask where I’m really from, I tell them, “[Hometown], Indiana,” because that is where I spent all of junior high and high school, which is where you are your most obnoxious teenage self and thus is basically where you are from. 

I went back to the first post on this Tumblr and was pleasantly surprised to find that I did not lie about my prior gaming experience. Sometimes I tell people that I have never played a video game which is not true! Instead this time I just did a little literary quibble by saying the Nintendo Switch is my first gaming console (other than a PC). “What is a literary quibble?” you might ask. It’s like when Macduff is able to kill Macbeth because his mom had a C-section.

So, yes, I have played video games, a sampling of which is pictured above. I guess in junior high my mom signed us/me up for a software of the month club, through which I got a smattering of educational software, gaming software, and educational gaming software, like this one ‘game’ where you traverse down the Amazon River and learn about frogs (not pictured). It turns out that when you don’t own a gaming console, your “first” video games are kind of bad and weird, actually? (Besides Rockett. Rockett remains amazing, and I still love the ending song of Rockett’s Tricky Decision. Purple Moon never got the love it deserved.) Turns out that Shogo: Mobile Armor Division was, despite its name, not made by a Japanese company but instead a studio called Monolith Productions, which was known for a few games that I personally have never heard of before it was bought up by Warner Bros. I don’t remember most of the gameplay because 1) I died multiple times in the very first mission which is supposed to be a hands-on tutorial and 2) my dad had the computer contrast and brightness turned down so low that I was never able to discern where I was going in the next level, so I just wandered around aimlessly like a chump until I got killed again. I watched some gameplay videos on YouTube to write this blurb and in my infinite wisdom now it’s obvious the things it was trying to copy from, like, Metal Gear Solid, but worse. Much worse. It does still have a bitching soundtrack for 1998 though. 

My point is, if I had played maybe a classic platformer or a Zelda game when I was younger, I may have learned that it’s normal for beginners to die multiple times when they try out a new game, especially if they don’t really play games. (I mean, maybe not in the first reconnaissance mission part of Shogo. That’s definitely a newbie move.) But because I never learned that lesson, I just quit. Which is dumb, because it turns out that Shogo had a weird critical hit system and was hard even for people who actually played games to play without dying!

Anyway, when I say I am bad at video games, I don’t mean it like when a pretty girl at a bar tells you they’re bad at ping pong but then you play her and she beats you 11-2. Most people are bad at one video game or they are not as good at video games as other people who are really really good at video games. I am bad at video games in ways that you are not supposed to be bad at video games. 

Like, take one point in the Downtown Heliodor level. You meet a man who tells you to climb to the building roof, the idea being that you can use a rope strung between certain buildings to sneak into the Royal Square. The thing is, there are two ropes. And I only got the first one, and I spent probably 15 minutes running up buildings and jumping off rooftops before I finally LOOKED DOWN and saw the second one almost at my feet. 

Suffice to say it was this experience that made me want to blog about playing Dragon Quest XI.

Movement is a tricky thing in video games when you are bad at video games. Sometimes, it is not my fault. Like my (very bad video game) horse, that I haven’t named yet. Look at this. Horses are not supposed to stand like this. My god, why is it standing like that? What are its front hooves even standing on? Look at Haruhi gaze upon it in horror. Me too, Haruhi. Me too. 

After we get Erik’s glowy orb thing back from two gryphon siblings who are guarding a vault, we head off to Hotto. I kind of forget why and I’m sure it’s not really that important. Hotto is a hot springs resort town, and the first thing that happens when you get to Hotto is that someone implies my boyfriend Erik is stinky (rude!!) and he is whisked off to take a bath. Obviously my first instinct is to make Haruhi follow after him, but this is a video game and more specifically it is Dragon Quest so instead I first do a lot of wandering. 

Very, very bad wandering. Physically inept wandering. 

I don’t know what to say about this. I fall off that ledge like, three separate times. In trying a tricky move where I just swing the camera around to make sure there’s nothing at the end of the porch I need to break, I forget my bearings and fall off. At one point I lose control of which button I am supposed to be hitting so I just jump around like a drunk grasshopper and Haruhi even makes an exhalation like he’s disgusted at me. At the end, Haruhi just gives up and stands with his back towards me because he doesn’t even want to talk to me. Okay, I get it. I’m sorry.

 Eventually I am sure I have gathered all the loot and broken pots I’m supposed to and I make it to the baths.

<img src=“https://imgur.com/kcJLwJB”>

Erik has literally been waiting in (real time) hours for me to join in him. In the bath. I really appreciate this dedication but, like, HOURS. That cannot be good for his skin. Also I have been in Japanese baths like this before and I’m pretty sure we’re both supposed to be naked. But I’m extremely touched and I savor the cut scene that allows me to just chill here, entirely clothed, with my bud. In between this post and the last post I read some wiki entries and I guess Erik is supposed to have a mid-Atlantic accent? For those of you who haven’t watched the Wired dialect coach videos obsessively, that’s the kind of accent that Katharine Hepburn used in old movies. I guess that’s sexy?? But a strange acting choice all the same.

Anyway Erik literally flirts with me through this scene which I did not film because I thought I was hallucinating how extremely, like, flirtatious this scene was?? I tell Erik I’ve been scoping out the town and when I refuse to tell him what I saw he teases me, “I can see by your face there’s something you want to tell me.” IS THERE? IS THERE?? IS THERE SOMETHING HARUHI WANTS TO TELL HIM?? 

But then it turns out Haruhi is just talking about how we met Veronica looking for her sister outside of a bar. Erik makes some ominous comments about kid sisters before our extremely tender moment is interrupted by a GIRL’S VOICE LOOKING FOR HER DAD. It’s not Veronica, thankfully, just some RANDOM LITTLE GIRL IN THE MALE SIDE OF THE BATH. So that’s why we’re not allowed to be naked for this scene.

Erik and Haruhi are much nicer to this kid than I would be, and decide that she must be the kid sister Veronica is looking for and that we should return her to Veronica. There is a really bizarre sequence where one of the villagers offers you a taste of the sensual pleasure of a “puff-puff” which I think is just marijuana but literally who knows. Afterwards you can barge into the women’s side of the bath and if you do that you get an achievement.

This game is messed up.

I forgot to mention two things which is that everyone in Hotto speaks in haiku syllables and also you do most of your wandering in the bathhouse itself alone. You’re not rejoined by Erik until you actually leave the bathhouse, and then meet up with Veronica, who is exTREMELy English and tells you that 1) Connie is NOT her sister and 2) “You’ve got a daddy to find!”

Connie’s dad is boozing in a bar, and I really don’t think we should have returned her to him, but whatever. Meanwhile we agree to help Veronica find her sister Serena, who is for [mumble] reasons at [mumble] some place westward. Do you know Veronica gives you an option to say no to finding Serena? I’m kind of curious what would happen to the game if you told her no. Can I just stay here forever with Erik raising Connie? 

Guess we’ll never find out. 

[neeksleep]

Day 17: Shenmue(-ish)

              I am late starting today’s post and have some other things to do, but I am committed to at least posting something today, even if it’s not a typical review.

               So, here’s the truth about me and Shenmue. I only played parts of it, but I watched the game played by my brother. When the game was released, we had rented the game and needed to beat it over the weekend (with an extended rental for 5 days instead of 3). Knowing full well that this game was going to be some massive, movie like experience, my brother and I prepped ourselves for the experience. For the most part, my brother had full control of the game. We’d be sitting for hours playing it, probably making instant noodles for sustenance.

               Now, when I say I played parts of it, what I mean is that I would play for any moment I could get when my brother wasn’t around. I would sneak in a few minutes of gameplay just so I could experience this “cinematic” experience myself. I would quickly run to the arcade to play one of the games, or slowly progress the story. I would avoid saving though because I didn’t want to get a sibling beatdown, and if I figured something out before my brother got there, I would act like I didn’t know what to do for a few minutes and then make “suggestions”. Yes, I did that.

               None of this says anything about Shenmue though. But if I’m being honest, Shenmue is just a product of it’s time and I don’t think it would hold up all that well today. Looking back, I completely understand why it was a big deal though. It had this living, breathing world that other games didn’t at the time. NPCs had schedules that they stuck to through the game-day, you could waste days not progressing the story, you had to get a job. On the face of it, it is a boring life-sim with a story there somewhere.

               For me though, it was like watching a movie or TV show that exuded a feeling of a sleepy town in dreary winter months. It was odd that I felt a part of setting and probably had something to do with the realistic nature of the game. I could see myself being the Ryo who would just walk around town, spending money on little figurines or going to a store to kill time. That is an odd feeling for a 9-year-old to have.

               I think it is generally agreed upon that fighting in Shenmue is not the highlight of the game. And I don’t really remember seeing the fight sequences as a kid. I remember the QTEs and being quite good at them (it was my claim to fame when I got the high score on the QTE arcade game and demolished my brothers score). I do remember being so interested in the town though. I wanted to inspect every detail in the town, zoom in on every low-res texture design on the wall that barely resembled a flyer. I was interested in exploring the town in the same way I would explore the real world.

In Conclusion…?

               These days, Shenmue is more fun to watch a playthrough of than to play. The voice acting is mostly terrible but hilarious at best, the signposting is terrible and it’s easy to get lost, and the QTE/Combat stuff is kind of half-baked. But I must commend it for trying to do so much despite the hardware limitations of the time. Looking at it now, you can see the rough edges, but it did a good enough job at the time to really make me believe that what I was seeing was believable. I don’t have a preference on game worlds, a game doesn’t need to be set in a real-world setting for me to be interested in it. But I think that Shenmue was one of the last times I was immersed in a world that I felt was so real. That illusion was essentially broken for games that I experienced afterwards. No matter how good-looking game worlds got, how good the AI was, or how many jobs your character had to take on, I would never be able to picture a game world as “real” as Shenmue.  

[kayawagner]

When the I in iPad Stands For Incentive

How I Got What I Wanted By Giving My Kids What They Wanted

Here’s how I got my kids to read books: I gave in and gave them their iPads.

Literally, everything changed overnight. My daughter went from grudgingly reading 3 pages on Tuesday night to reading over 117 pages on Wednesday and 66 pages on Thursday.  And I’m not talking about Kindle books or ebooks, I mean actual hold-in-your-hands books. (Also, just to be clear: she already had the ability to read that many pages, so it’s not a magic “she learned to read” overnight, we’re talking motivation.)

What is this witchcraft of which I speak, you’re asking? Well, let me back up.

When I was little, I loved to read.

Fiction. Nonfiction. Picture books. Novels. Good books (The Borrowers, Harriet the Spy, pretty much anything by Roald Dahl). Not so good books (like 9 million “The Babysitters Club” or “Sweet Valley High” series books). Books that stayed with me decades later (One Hundred Years of Solitude – greatest book ever written). Books that I could not get through and gave up on (Secret Garden, Don Quixote). Books that I have long forgotten having ever read.

I spent hours, days, possibly years of my life reading. I still love to read – and read actual, hold-in-my-hands, page-turning books.

When it comes to reading, my kids could take it or leave it. 

As my kids have gotten older, I’d be lying if I didn’t say it made me slightly sad that they didn’t have the obsessive passion for reading. That’s not to say they don’t read. They think reading is fine. It’s just not the No. 1 thing they want to do.

Now, my 10-year-old has that obsessive passion for all things math, which certainly is fine by me as well. And I’m not saying that just because I have a math video game company that makes awesome games but because in the 21st century, someone with outstanding math skills is going to find herself with a wide number of future options. But reading and math are not mutually exclusive.

My 6-year-old is 6 – and I am not one of those people who believes that her ability to get in to a good university is going to be at all contingent on her academic performance in first grade, but I’d still like her to spend time reading

As for my 3-year-old, obviously, we’re still at the stage of him being read to vs. reading himself (slacker!). My challenge there is not his interest in being read to, but his truly limited range of interest in literature. As in, if I have to read “Elmo’s Search-and-Find” one more time, which I can recite by memory – my brain might just shut off. (But that’s for another day).

Embarking on another school year, I struggled to figure out how to get my girls to appreciate reading. How to get them excited about. They did a negligible amount of reading over the summer, but I gave them a pass because they were at least immersed in another country/language and I didn’t have the time to feel guilty about it. But the time had come to buckle down and bust out the books.

Now, my children – like many children – love watching shows. They could do it for far more hours than I would like. For the past two years, we tried to implement an iPad ban on school nights, but it is admittedly brutal. 

In part, because not letting them watch shows, means that they need to find something else to do – which as far as they are concerned translates into telling me repeatedly how bored they are; trying to sneak away and watch iPad because they conveniently “forgot” they weren’t supposed to be watching it; and/or fighting with their siblings.

Then there’s the inevitable fact that – as much as I try to take a break from work between when they get home and when they go to bed – something 7 Generation Games/Strong Mind Studios related occasionally comes up, and I need 10 or 30 minutes to deal with whatever that is. Leaving me two options as I  try replying to X email or seeing if I can replicate Y error: 1. Having to do it while my children complain about being bored and or/ say to me, “Why are you on a device when you say no devices?; or 2. Giving in and giving them the iPads, while I do whatever need to be done, then having it be a battle to pry them away afterwards.

Which brings us to our first full week back at school. For some reason that I can’t even recall, my 1st grader, who is supposed to be logging her nightly reading, didn’t read a single page. Since I was not going to blatantly lie on her reading log, I made her read a picture book for 15 minutes before we left for school Tuesday morning and jotted that down for Monday night. Tuesday was back-to-school night, meaning we got home late, but that doesn’t mean that homework didn’t have to be done. Determined that we were going to do better than Monday (it was a low bar to clear), I had her read that night before bed – but it was like bathing a cat.

By Wednesday – less than 5 days into our 190+ day school year – it became clear that something had to change. That same day I read, or at the very least saw, for the umpteenth time one of those articles saying how Bill Gates and Steve Jobs never let their kids have devices. “Great for them,” I remember sarcastically thinking. But then, I seriously thought, what if instead of acting like technology is the enemy (because I don’t think it is ), we accepted it and use it to encourage learning?

“I’ll make you a deal,” I told my girls. “Read for 20 minutes, and then you can watch one show. In fact, you can watch shows for as many minutes as you read for.”

Suddenly, instead of whining about reading, they pulled out their books and settled into chairs. Before we knew it, 20 minutes had passed.

“So if I read for more, I get two shows?” my first grader asked.

“Yes,” I said. “In fact, if you read for an hour, you can watch shows for the rest of the night.”

“Really?!” they asked, shocked by this turn of events.

“Yep,” I said. I did the math in my head – they get home around 6:30. By the time they start reading, it’s 7. If they read for an hour, it’s 8. They start getting ready for bed by 9:30 at the latest, meaning that’s maybe 1.5 hours of iPad at most. While not ideal, it’s probably not going to turn their brains to mush.

“I’ll take that deal,” my oldest said.

“Me too,” her sister echoed.

And for the next hour – aside for the occasional “how much more time?” – there was silence. No complaining. No whining. Just reading.

The timer went off.

My sixth grader went off to watch some WWE. My first grader – who I have struggled to motivate – had 2-pages left to finish her book.

“I really want to finish my book so I can get another one tomorrow,” she said.

“You can do that,” I pointed out.

So she did. She read 117-pages of Junie B. Jones in one evening.

Thursday night, they came in the door and pulled out their books.

“Same deal, right? Read for an hour, unlimited shows,” my sixth grader confirmed.

Deal still stood.

She set the timer. Only this time, no one asked me how much time was left. They just read. Then the beep sounded – and they kept reading!

“I just want to finish this chapter,” my sixth grader said. (She’s reading a mother-censored version of “My Fight/Your Fight.”)

“Me too, I have 10 pages left, and then I am done,” my first grader said. This is a girl, who has never willingly read a chapter book cover-to-cover, finishing her second one in a night.

I remember early on when we founded 7 Generation Games, someone asked, “Well, yeah, but are the kids just learning the math part in your products so they can get to the game part? Or are they learning it because they want to be learning it?”

Our answer was, “If they’re learning it, does it really matter why? If they come out of it at the end knowing how to multiply, that’s the important part.”

Would I like my daughters to have a deep love to reading? Of course – and they very well may get to that point. That said, if faced with having them willingly read – even if it’s a means to an end- and having them not read, I’d go with Option 1 every time.

When you look at it in the bigger picture, it makes sense. We want our children to have an innate love of learning – and in the perfect world, they would. But let’s be honest, at the end of the day, whether they’re innately interested or not, they need to learn the material. They need to do math. They need to read.

Think about your daily life. it would be amazing if all of the things that we had to do were so enjoyable that we just wanted to do them without reward. But we – as adults, no matter how much we love our jobs – go to work and expect to be paid. We expect to somehow be compensated for our time and effort with something we appreciate (i.e. money). What if we approached learning with that idea, that understand that it’s “work” in mind?

Because learning is a lot of work. I know because we’ve observed literally thousands of kids in classrooms over the years. Providing kids with incentive to learn is what we have been doing at 7 Generation Games since we founded the company with our design centered around the idea of “solve a problem/master a concept, be rewarded with gameplay.”

I’m not saying that I’m going to start paying my kids for going to school, but if they’re willing to put in an exponential amount more effort so they can watch a couple of shows on Netflix, I’m more than happy to hand them their iPads. 

Speaking of iPads – looking for some cool apps to put on yours? Check out Making Camp Premium! Math. Language Arts. History. Fun. 

The post When the I in iPad Stands For Incentive appeared first on 7 Generation Games.

When the I in iPad Stands For Incentive published first on https://supergalaxyrom.tumblr.com

[mrmichaelchadler]

“Far Cry 5” and American Violence in Video Games

Ubisoft’s highly-anticipated “Far Cry 5” comes along at an interesting time in the national conversation about American violence, especially how it relates to the world of video games. Pop culture has been a scapegoat for real-world problems for as long as it has existed. It’s easier to point the finger at art than to honestly ask difficult questions about gun control, mental health, or even our national addiction to technology. And this blame game is cyclical. I’m old enough to remember when rap music was blamed for youth violence and "Dungeons & Dragons" would lead to Satanism. In the wake of the massacre in Parkland, and the national movement that arose from it, people have been looking more closely at the violence in video games and asking if they play a role in the desensitization of people who have made the world more dangerous. And into this conversation, one of the biggest video game companies in the world drops “Far Cry 5,” a game that weaves religion, Americana, and extreme violence into a tapestry of total chaos. In some ways, it captures its cultural moment more than any game has in years. In others, it falters. But, overall, it���s a remarkably ambitious accomplishment, a game that sucks you into its world in a way that’s addictive and overwhelming. It may not progress the conversation around violence in video games in a way that will satisfy those looking for either a scapegoat or an absolution of the form, but it could be even more valuable in the way it allows people to escape it.

First, a little background on the “Far Cry” games. The “Far Cry” games of the ‘00s were more espionage-driven, playing off the success of the Tom Clancy games about heroes rescuing victims in far-off lands. The series turned a corner with 2012’s excellent “Far Cry 3,” a game that put you in the shoes of an American tourist kidnapped on an unnamed series of islands in the Pacific and felt built more on the template of the “Grand Theft Auto” games but with its own personality. You had to learn to survive in the wild, killing animals for supplies and defeating warlords to ensure you made it home safely. It was ridiculous and enjoyable. The fourth game moved the action to a corrupt government in a fictional country in the Himalayas and a great spin-off called “Far Cry: Primal” reimagined all of this chaos hundreds of years ago with warring tribes and prehistoric animals to skin.

“Far Cry 5” does not take place in a fictional land or a world of mastodons. It takes place in Montana. And while it’s fair to say “violence is violence” to a certain degree, there’s something more intrinsically powerful about watching it unfold on the streets of America. The violence is different when a dictator king has your friends hostage as opposed to shooting your way down the steps of an American church, as the stars and stripes wave on a flagpole. And yet it feels like “Far Cry 5” never quite takes advantage of its setting to say much about the outbreaks of dissent and violence currently afflicting the country. For some, that will be a deal-breaking sin in that it’s exploitative without substance. But the stories of the “Far Cry” games have never been their strengths. It’s about world creation and exploration more than storytelling. And, in that regard, “Far Cry 5” is nearly a masterpiece.

“Far Cry 5” casts you as a deputy in Montana who gets caught up in an attempted arrest of a cult leader named Joseph Seed, who has essentially taken over this part of the country. In the game’s opening scenes, the arrest goes horribly wrong, and you’re stranded in Hope County, surrounded by cultists and a growing resistance. It is your job to liberate the county from the grip of Seed’s Eden’s Gate cult. You have to retake local buildings like gas stations and resorts that have been overtaken by the cult, and work to defeat Seed’s three siblings before tackling the leader himself. And all of this will turn you into a mass murderer along the way.

Like the “GTA” games, the “Far Cry” games are intentionally ludicrous—they’re filled with action scenes that would make Michael Bay’s suspension of disbelief break in half. Just as I was thinking about how the game incorporates real-world concerns into its narrative, I had a truly “Far Cry Moment” as I blasted an enemy off an ATV with my shotgun as a flaming helicopter plunged to the ground behind him, and my heroism was greeted by an angry wolf trying to gnaw my arm off. All at the same time. “Far Cry” games don’t remotely take place in the real world (two of the nine "hired guns" you can bring along with you on missions are a bear and a cougar), which is why the set-dressing inclusion of it in “Far Cry 5” is likely to rub some people the wrong way. For example, I just bought an AR-C weapon that has an American flag image on it called the “Stars ‘N Stripes.” The description is “If this isn’t the official firearm of the United States of America, it should be.” Does the fact that I’ll use this weapon to kill drugged-out cult members in Montana matter? With today’s national conversation about gun control and violence, is this exploitative or topical? It’s a very fine line between the two and “Far Cry 5” jumps across both sides of it.

Ultimately, it's fair to say that I wish “Far Cry 5” had more depth when it comes to the issues that it regularly incorporates into its narrative. Even the drug use impacting the heartland pops up in the story, although it’s in the form of a hallucinogenic called Bliss and not the opioid crisis. The latter would probably be too real. The former allows for a fight sequence with a drugged-out moose. But in terms of pure gameplay, “Far Cry 5” is one of the best open-world games of all time. It is addictive in its balance of story missions, side missions, and general world exploration. It features an enormous open world that gamers will be exploring and finding secrets within for months, maybe even years. Some of the side missions are a little goofy (see the aforementioned super-moose) but the story missions are rather strong for this kind of game, offering diversity in style, structure, and difficulty. Most of all, Hope County is one of the most vibrant settings that gaming has seen in a very long time. From its hidden cabins to its deadly wildlife to its miles and miles of landscape, “Far Cry 5” is immersive in a way that keeps you playing long after you should have gone to bed. I have plugged hours and hours into it, completing almost all of the main story, and I still feel like I'm just getting started.

So, what does “Far Cry 5” add to the national conversation about violence in video games? Some will claim that it’s exploitative of real-life concerns in a way that doesn’t add anything to it. However, there’s another way to look at what this game accomplishes in that it reminds us that video games are escapism. Many of the best ones take elements from our reality—from the way the “GTA” games incorporate the criminal underworld to how “Mafia III” dealt with racism in the South in the late ‘60s to how much games like “Battlefield” and “Call of Duty” have amplified patriotism to suit their needs—and turn those elements into fantasy. They often channel our fears and concerns in a way that doesn’t desensitize as much as refocus. The idea that children are learning about violence from video games is ludicrous. My son has lockdown drills at his elementary schools and he’s never played a first-person shooter. He didn't learn about guns from games; he learned about guns from the real world. 

My stance on this issue, from "Dungeons & Dragons" to "Far Cry," has always been that none of this can exist in a vacuum. If someone only plays violent video games, they will almost certainly develop personality issues related to them in the same sense that they would become re-tuned by anything with which they became obsessed. Most of all, people need to talk to teenagers about violence in all forms of entertainment instead of just pointing a finger at it. That's what I do with my kids. And “Far Cry 5” might be an interesting place to start that conversation.

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[starlightkeybright]

yes hello, i’m very passionate about horror games’ stories k

after rewatching silent hill homecoming and downpour after 2-3 years or so from the first time i watched them lmao, i got some opinions firstly, homecoming is worse, they're both bad, but homecoming is worse SO PROS AND CONS homecoming: had a very bad otherworld, literally ripped from the movie, had nothing to do with the plot, oh, it's metal and blood and the fires of hell and gross bodies everywhere, oh my!! it's fucking nothing downpour: had an interesting otherworld, had an actual theme that fit with the basic plot of the game. it's more grey and blue and there's water fucking everywhere and cages/cells and gravity is all weird and it's a little different for just about every visit 1 dp 0 hc homecoming: had bad creature designs, but at least they're silent hill-esque, freaky monsters and crap, and a couple interesting boss designs; this is the one that was buried alive so it's like this, this is the one that liked dolls so it's a freaky doll thing, this one was strangled to death so it's a freak woman with a bunch of hands and strangling herself. however pyramid head is in there for like one scene for NO fucking reason, he has no reason to be in any silent hill game other than 2, he's a symbol purely for james. same goes for the nurses, unoriginal and also just in there cuz of the movie. and there's only like 4 other creatures and they're not that great, a 5th one being dogs cuz...dogs downpour: doesn't even have actual creatures!! all enemies are human like and literally only like 3-4 variations, they're more zombies than anything, and then there's one that's literally a blow up doll statue that controls blow up doll ghosts so you have to break the statue to get the ghosts to disappear, but why the fuck is a fucking blow up doll, who fucking knows. also some mutant thing that looks dumb, who cares 1 dp 1 hc homecoming: the very base/core of the story is interesting! people wanted to leave silent hill but silent hill was like "ok, but every 50 years, each of the 4 core families has to kill one of their kids and in a certain way, k" and the reason why shit gets fucked up for those people is that the chosen child did NOT die, it was the sibling instead so silent hill got pissed off. as for why the wrong kid died isn't that great; why the fuck did he take him out there in the middle of the lake in the middle of the night? why is he acting like a 12 year old dick brother when he looks like 25 (actual age 19 i think too). also the whole fighting mechanic is bad but it's there cuz he's a soldier! he knows how to fight cuz he was in a war! not important what war, just a war! but wait, one of the plot twists is HE WAS NEVER A SOLDIER, HE WENT CRAZY AFTER ACCIDENTALLY KILLING HIS BRO SO HE WAS IN A MENTAL HOSPITAL AND HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA THAT HE WAS A SOLDIER, AND THAT JUST TOTALLY SHITS ON THEIR REASONING FOR THE SHITTY FIGHTING MECHANICS SO??? downpour: so, some dickface kidnaps his kid, very implied raped, and killed the kid. so the guy gets himself arrested on purpose so he can go to the same jail as the dickface so he can get his revenge by killing him. he gets the help of an OBVIOUSLY asshole c.o. in order to do it, so he does it. c.o. is like "i do this for you, and you owe me one" so eventually the c.o. stops by again all "hey you know that thing i let you do? i'm calling in the favor now, kill this one guy i'm sending you with" "ok, what guy?" "just some guy" "does he deserve it?" "oh, TOTALLY, and you can totally believe me on that no problem" of course it turns out the hit was on the obviously GOOD c.o. here's where things get interesting. in the good ending, it's implied and shown that the guy didn't even finish off dickface. HE'S....IN SILENT HILL....CUZ HE SINNED....CUZ HE KILLED THE DICKFACE, BUT HE DIDN'T KILL THE DICKFACE...SO WHY IS HE IN SILENT HILL IF HE'S INNOCENT....more than that, in the same good ending, it's shown that he didn't hurt the good c.o. either, SO HE LITERALLY DID NOTHING WRONG, HE COMMITTED NO SINS WHATSOEVER...and THEN it's explained why the chick cop hates his fucking guts, cuz the good c.o. is her father...but in the good ending, she forgives the guy, cuz he didn't fucking do it, he didn't lay a hand on the good c.o. so in the good ending, no one did anything bad, except for asshole c.o., which the chick cop is implied to get revenge on when they return to the real world for good ?? dp ?? hc at their base there's some good! there's a good story there, a good start to base something off of! plus homecoming goes with the main plot being about the ~cult~, and downpour is more about the personal type of story which is basically 1 and 2, the first being both personal and about the cult, but more the cult, and the second being completely personal but the execution is just....BAD for downpour and homecoming for all the endings in the homecoming, none of them are good, in terms of being good. there's good endings, but they're shitty...oh, they just leave and walk away and get to live happily ever after, cuz reasons. the fucking best ending for homecoming is the ufo ending cuz it's fucking hilarious the endings are decent in downpour, with the good ending actually being good........mostly SERIOUSLY THOUGH, IF MURPHY IS COMPLETELY INNOCENT, IF HE KILLED NO ONE, WHY THE FUCK IS HE IN SILENT HILL, HE DIDN'T SIN, HE HAS A SHITTON OF GUILT, BUT HE DIDN'T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING WRONG, NO ONE DIED BY HIS HANDS also it's not clear why the chick cop is there either, she obviously didn't sin either, but i guess she's there cuz of the connection of her father and murphy, it's implied she goes thru her own version of silent hill, but doesn't explain why? in short, the both of these did have potential to be good, there's some good elements in both, but they're both so fucking bad homecoming being worse for the shitty fighting and not completely explained story/timeline 1, 2, and 3 are good, i haven't seen all of 4 to give a solid opinion, shattered memories gets points for being a good story even if the gameplay is shit, and i've seen nothing on origins and that's my review of homecoming and downpour lmao