#also a lot of people saying that the game can't really be criticized for pacing issues because its intended to be slow paced

[the-rat-plays-games]

honestly i think the art situation on pixel cats end is the perfect perfect perfect example of “people will tell artists to raise their prices and then go to cheaper artists”. there are people charging 25 notes for art!!!! i KNOW the community on PCE knows better, because just checking around on the userbase leaves strong indications of like... social consciousness? awareness? idk how to phrase it lol. like it’s not even about my art. it’s about multiple artists on the site charging much much much less than their art is worth and people gobbling it up because they want cheap art. you see it on flight rising and other pet sites too: users say “raise your prices! charge fairly!” and then someone does and... these same people will go buy from other users with cheaper prices, lol. lmao.

[astrxealis]

i was about to rb this really pretty shb art and then remembered i'm trying to avoid rbing spoilers <//3 anyways i love shb sm. love that it's an mmorpg but shb is literally one of the best jrpg experiences i (and many others) have had

[utilitycaster]

Do you think part of the D20 journalistic bias comes from D20 being edited? It gives the appearance of much more effortless play and lets them control the pacing in a way unedited play like CR simply can't do. They get to (potentially) hide a lot of stuff people would jump on as flaws while CR has no choice but to let it all play out. I greatly prefer CR's approach, despite it biting them in the ass a bit through no fault of their own.

Answering these both together to group cause and my opinions, and I do want to note this is specifically about journalism/press coverage, not their respective fandoms even though there's obviously some overlap.

I think there's a couple things, but I do want to note this was actually prompted by Daggerheart, not Critical Role. The response from several prominent voices in the Actual Play journalism community, whom I will not name here but whom I do not respect intellectually, really was, within hours of the open beta (which as far as I know they didn't have early access to - more on that later) "um it could be better, I don't like xyz and also it's sooooooo important to have criticism" and again, it is important to have criticism, but also you act like D20 has never had a mediocre moment and that Kollok is brilliant, so.

This...got away from me a bit. I'd say I'm sorry but actually I adore writing thousands of words about actual play and it will happen again but I'm putting the detailed answer below a cut. The short answer is I think a lot of Actual Play journalists actually sort of fell into their jobs through being vaguely involved in nerd spaces and aren't actually equipped to talk intelligently about TTRPGs and actual play as a medium that should, at its best, be a perfect fusion of narrative and mechanics. So instead they're distracted by flashy edits and bright lights and cool noises and some abstract concept of "novelty" and write only about that. Also Critical Role is the 700 lb gorilla in the AP space (though not, actually, the TTRPG space) and doesn't give them early access and that's meaaaaaan. Indeed, for all I think a lot of their coverage of D20 and Worlds Beyond Number is obsessively fawning, I also think it's extremely surface level, frequently factually wrong, and fails to get at what's truly excellent about those shows either.

I think, honestly, the biggest one is that I don't actually think a lot of Actual Play journalists watch series in full. I was looking for Polygon coverage of Fantasy High Junior Year and they have one glowing article but it's more about Fantasy High as setting and institution and D20 "changing the game" (also more on this later) to the point of outright contradicting the pull quotes they used from interviewing Brennan Lee Mulligan (also more on this later). So I started looking through their coverage and actually, quite a number of their write-ups are based on only one episode, or half a season. Clearly, they haven't read the full open beta (nor have I, but I think their complaints about the character build process belie a profound misunderstanding of what TTRPGs are, also more on this later). So editing is certainly part of it because it's really easy to see cool special effects and sound design within one episode and shit out a hacky article about it, whereas actually getting to the substance - character relationships, cohesive narrative, storytelling - requires work that I do not think they're doing. And on the one hand I do kind of get it, because yeah, if journalism is your livelihood then you perhaps do not have the time to watch 4 hours of D&D a week for 2-3 years if you're only going to get one article every six months out of it. But I don't think the answer is "focus intently on Microsoft Powerpoint-esque scene transition tricks while ignoring that nothing occurring at the table is actually fun to watch." For more on this, see this post.

The second, which is very relevant to Daggerheart but also is actually a big gap in D20 and WBN coverage in my opinion, and which I put in the tags, is that I actually don't think a lot of journalists have a solid understanding of TTRPGs nor of most genres. And I think Critical Role has a particularly good understanding of both these things, actually, if one skewed towards collaborative storytelling that is not rules-light. I think one really big example is that one person within the space is mad at the Daggerheart questions for the character archetypes because what if your character doesn't fit these. I think this is dumb as shit. I actually think that a common criticism of D&D - that you can't play ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING - is not valid, or rather, it's a valid opinion to hold but if you want to play a character who doesn't fit into the available archetypes perhaps you need to find another game. We all inherently understand that Blades in the Dark characters will be members of a criminal organization in a relatively low-magic setting, correct? That you can't show up to BitD and play a lawful good wizard prince because that's not the story being told? Or like, how in Honey Heist, you are a bear and you are trying to get honey, and you cannot play a human child investigating the old abandoned house at the edge of town, but there's a cool game called Kids on Bikes that will let you do that? Great! Why is this suddenly so hard to understand in the realm of heroic fantasy, that you will fit into specific archetypes? Why do people's brains, if they have them to begin with, vanish suddenly? I know I just did a big old rant that included this within it but genuinely I think a lot of people are deeply ignorant of heroic fantasy, or don't like it, and either is fine, but then they get mad at the heroic fantasy game for having heroic fantasy archetypes when the answer is "maybe this will never make you happy because it's not for you." (Frankly, I think this is also why they love D20, because it doesn't really do straight-up heroic fantasy, and that's fine, but they do keep acting like doing a Game of Thrones pastiche is equivalent to the invention of the wheel.) Like...I remember in the Midst Q&A that Xen said they tend to not like playing typical D&D classes, but their solution was to, you know, create Midst instead of sitting around going "actually, because D&D doesn't support cyberpunk narrative and the character archetypes within very well it is an utter failure." (I could go on forever about how actually TTRPGs are not a showcase for your already extant OCs to prance around but that's a totally separate post).

Mechanics and story are inherently intertwined, is what I'm trying to get at (sorry I'm really tired and have a lot to do but I'm passionate about this answer, it will be rambly, she says like 3 pages in) and I really don't think most actual play journalists get this. At all. And I do think that CR, and Daggerheart, and the people working for it, and especially Spenser Starke, Rowan Hall, Matt Mercer, and Travis Willingham, get this more than almost anyone else in the field. I also think Brennan Lee Mulligan and Aabria Iyengar get this, and the thing is, for all the praise showered upon them, much of which I think is deserved and most of what I think is undeserved is not because they are lacking but because the person writing about them is an idiot crediting them for things they (Brennan and Aabria) would never claim to have invented, their mechanical prowess is rarely if ever written about well. Fantasy High Junior Year's downtime mechanics actually fill in a famous gap in D&D, namely, downtime, and provide an excellent marriage of story and mechanics in my opinion, and I haven't really seen any discussion, because that would require watching the part of the TTRPG show where they play the TTRPG, and knowing the vague word on the street about D&D criticism that isn't just "*nods sagely* capitalism is the BBEG."

And finally: related a bit to the edit but Critical Role used to not be able to provide any early access to press, because it was literally a live show, and I suspect they never broke the habit, and I think that is for the best. As discussed a lot of D20 coverage actually feels like they watched the press screener and then never returned to the show. And I do not know the politics about them, but given that several of these publications (notably Polygon, but some others) have been shitting on Critical Role for several years, and just generally given the way CR's leadership vs. how D20's leadership respond to fandom pressure, I suspect Critical Role does not give these journalists a ton of early or increased, if any. Honestly, why should you, if you're getting interviewed in Variety? And I think the journalists are mad, because they think they're special and should get treated as such.

I do want to wrap something up, and I want to thank @captainofthetidesbreath for talking a little about this in game design/ttrpgs and giving me the idea, but in story, you should be challenging your audience, expanding their horizons, and being new and interesting. In the actual playing of TTRPGs, especially a new one, it is vital to be inclusive and easy to understand and patient and provide points of reference. I really feel like many Actual Play journalists and some TTRPG ones as well have this equation flipped and are looking for challenging concepts that most people will never be able to get a group to be willing to play, and bells and whistles in production, but leave story as an afterthought. Critical Role designs games to actually be played and to be used specifically to tell good stories, and puts story before production, and I think that undercuts those journalists' whole deal.

[cursedvibes]

I found this by one of my (ex) moots who have unfollow me, cause now they're anti -JJK :

"JJK really went from a loved manga to a mid-to-bad story with insufferable fans 🙏 may more of us hate it in the future. It snatches the spotlight from genuinely good shows and its another case of "general shonen fan will call any trash 'goat' if the fight is well animated".

I used to be a fan, until the start of the culling game. And after this controversial, inconsistent and inhumane adaptation of shibuya, im glad that I have no interest in both manga and show anymore"

Do you think Culling game is hard to understand, cause several of my (ex) moots also start dislike JJK after that arc?

I can't speak for everyone who dislikes jjk, but I think for most people who dislike the Culling Games, it's a sort of recency bias (except in the opposite way it's usually used). Many criticisms levied against the Culling Game were also said during the Shibuya arc as it was coming out and are showing up again, now that it has been animated. Things like "too many fights", "I don't care about these new characters", "the pacing is shit", "killing too many main characters makes deaths meaningless", "Yuuji isn't even the main character anymore" are often said for the Culling Game arcs, but also something I now see a lot from anime-onlys for the Shibuya arc. It's just how Gege writes and either you like it or you don't. A lot has also to do with binge-reading something and reading it weekly (especially if you don't reread chapters). The flow of action and payoffs are much more apparent when you binge something than when you have to wait for little titbits of the story to come out and stew for weeks over setups for later plot points. Any minor grievances you have are also easier forgotten when you read the full story. Problems like "I don't know what's going on or who these characters are and therefore I don't care" show up a lot when you aren't used to or don't like reading something weekly. There are people who complain that they don't know who Higuruma or Kashimo are, when it is very easy to remember that if you just keep the story in mind, reread past chapters or only read full arcs. They certainly don't lack characterization. Gege's writing definitely has flaws, especially recently, but we got to know plenty about Higuruma, Kashimo, Takaba etc.. Someone might not like them or isn't interested in their stories because of personal taste, but that's not Gege's fault. I for example like the Culling Game much more than Shibuya or Hidden Inventory and I think Shibuya can drag a lot at certain parts, but the highlights still make it a good arc. Perfect Preparation and Culling Game just has more to offer to me because it focuses on different characters and I like the new ones generally much more than say the Kyoto school group. Each of the new characters have tons more depth than any of the curse users that worked for Kenjaku previously and thereby liven things up a lot. Not to mention more lore. Thing is, if your favourite characters appear less and you don't like the new ones much, that will inevitably turn you off the story. That's valid, but personal taste is subjective, it's not what makes the story bad.

There are plenty criticisms to be made and you can clearly tell that Gege is rushing some parts of the story now, so I can understand if people stop reading because of that, but it's a matter of if the highs outweigh the lows. As whole arcs, I definitely don't think Culling Game is any worse than Shibuya. Or that Perfect Preparation is worse than Hidden Inventory (I think those are better to compare, since HI has a very different focus and is much shorter than Shibuya or CG). I'm a bit sceptical about the final fight against Sukuna in Shinjuku (excluding Kenjaku's part and Hakari vs Uraume from this for now, I liked those), but there's enough there to keep me invested and continue reading. I can understand though if that's not the case for others. Similar for the controversial timeskip and don't even get me started on Sukuna vs Gojo. Some criticism I don't agree with (sorry but Takaba vs Kenjaku was actually good), but there are other valid points to be made. For example, I recently saw a discussion on twt about how we are barely shown Gojo interacting with the students he supposedly cares about. I can totally understand that, especially when we are given more flashbacks to what happened during the timeskip and Gojo isn't in any of them and apparently not invested in what his students and friends are gonna do in case he dies. It does give the impression that he just doesn't give a shit about any of them anymore and it doesn't help his lack of characterization and character development post-unsealing.

Generally, I think it's best for these people who are "anti-jjk" to just drop the show if they can't enjoy anything about it at all. There are many more mangas, animes or other stories out there they could read/watch, instead of forcing themselves through something they don't like. I do that with plenty of stories as well. So if your ex moot decides to drop the manga and anime because they don't like it anymore, good. Find something else.

I think their criticism that jjk "snatches the spotlight from genuinely good shows" makes no sense though. That isn't even the case within the magazine Weekly Shonen Jump. If something is good, people will read it. Look at the boom for Kagurabachi, a series that just started and is already loved and continuously in the top 10 of the Jump App. People can read multiple stories at the same time, that's the whole reason these magazines don't just feature one manga. Sure, some really good stories out there are less popular, but that's not because of jjk. JJK being popular doesn't stop me from reading Houseki no Kuni or Monster, mangas that aren't as well known. One Piece or Pokemon aren't stealing anything from jjk, so why would that be the case for jjk and some lesser known manga. There are more complicated reasons for why something is getting less traction than just "series x has gained popularity". And I don't like powerscalers or your average blue checkmark anime fan on twt either, but then just ignore them. They are in every shonen fandom (and seinen and shoujo, although in case of shoujo it's a little different but not less obnoxious). Other fans having shit tastes isn't new or unique to jjk. That's just fandom.

Either way, glad this person moved on to another series, may they be happier there.

[imperatorrrrr]

I requested the Nolan Nico fic but I didn’t expect it to hurt that bad. You’re too good! Thank you!

I have another request please! Something in the vain of people around Jack aren’t always truthful with him, he’s absolved of any criticism and Nico considers himself an enabler too, and so Nico takes a tough love approach this time with their loss that’s so fresh, one person isn’t to blame but one person did make two careless mistakes. I love reading fics where Nico is Jack’s comfort zone but he’s also the captain and I think it would be interesting to read from that pov as well where he doesn’t skirt around being honest for once in their relationship and that inevitably makes them closer.

I'm glad you enjoyed my take of your NolanNico request, I hope this one is up to snuff as well! Took a little different approach, tried to experiment a bit here, so hopefully it works!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Luke really shouldn't be eavesdropping, but this is Nico and Jack's fault for not doing this at Nico's. If they didn't want him to overhear, they shouldn't have made it so easy for him to overhear.

Plus, this is far too juicy for Luke to be a good person and put his headphones in or blast some music or do the courteous thing and leave the apartment altogether.

When Luke made his swift exit to his room, Jack was looking blankly at one of their walls unthinkingly biting his fingernails while Nico was pacing, his face looking even more troubled than his regular resting face.

"We're a team, Jack."

Luke hears Jack hum.

"No, Jack. We are a team," oh, Luke can hear Nico ramping up to something, Luke gets comfortable, maybe he should have made some popcorn.

"There's nineteen of us out on the ice every game. You don't need to," Nico lets out a big breath, and Luke thinks he hears Nico take a seat, "You can't do this thing where you play like you're the only one that can win it for us."

"Nico, we don't---"

"No, we have to talk about this. I need to talk to you about this." Nico's getting a little louder now. Nico doesn't get loud. Nico speaks and everyone else gets quiet. And Luke can almost picture Jack snapping his mouth shut. Can almost picture Jack's eyes going a little wide, but then getting smaller, a little defiance in them, a little fight maybe.

Its getting testy.

"I know I fucked up, Nico," Jack is grinding this out, even the way he says Nico's name is almost spat out, "We don't have to do a debrief of how I singlehandedly cost us the game."

Luke can tell Jack's gotten up now. He's the one staring down at Nico now. He's the one trying to take control of this conversation, trying to end it.

Nico stays seated though, he doesn't rise to Jack's level, "Can you please listen to me? I need you to listen to me right now." And Luke knows the exact face Nico's making. Its determined, but kind. Its soft, but focused.

Luke hears some shuffling and thinks Jack's probably sat back down. He thinks they're probably facing each other on the couch now.

"You've put the league on notice, Jack. We've all put the league on notice. They weren't expecting us last season and they definitely weren't expecting you."

Luke lets out a soft "ooph" because that takes a lot for Nico to say. Nico's always made it a point to say how Jack's been great from the beginning, how they aren't underdogs.

"They know your game, they spend entire video sessions studying you, probably," Luke hears Nico let out a huff, maybe that was meant to be a laugh.

"You have to be smarter."

"I know." Luke could barely hear that, but Jack sounds resigned, deflated.

"Jack, I'm not asking you to be perfect, but you can't be careless. You see the game like none of us can---"

"Don't sell yourself short, Schao," Luke definitely hears a smile there. And Nico lets out another huff and probably rolls his eyes at Jack.

"The way you see the ice, these mistakes...you shouldn't be making these types of mistakes, okay? The only reason you're making them is because you've gotten it into your head that its all on you. It's not. You gotta stop."

Luke's leg is cramping in the position he's sitting in on the floor next to his door, and he takes that as the sign it is and gets up, grabs his laptop and his headphones.

Nico and Jack are going to be out there for awhile still. There's a lot to get out, a lot to go over.

This is their team, after all. Nico and Jack's team.

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

So with Clementine Book Two coming out in October, I decided to do another reread of Book One. Though, I'll be honest, the bigger reason for this reread was out of spite; I follow Tillie Walden on instagram, and while I don't go on there often, I usually check her page when I do so I can see any new artwork or Clementine updates. Her latest post is from one of her other graphic novels, and I guess I just... don't get it.

I don't understand why people are like this:

This is on a post that has nothing to do with the Clementine comics. As for ones that are about Clementine-

Those are just a handful from a few Clementine-related posts, but there's so much of this all over Tillie's posts and I don't understand.

What does this accomplish? Other than making you look like an asshole? Like... no one is impressed by this. No one is applauding you for repeatedly commenting "lol we didn't want a forced gay romance ew," which by the way? Repeating that in every single paragraph you comment? Tell me you're homophobic without saying you're homophobic, y'know?

There are legit criticisms to be had of Clementine Book One- The pacing is all over the place where it starts very slow and then goes into whiplash mode after Amos dies. Georgia as a villain is a weak point in the story. Clementine naming her leg after Kenny is a bit icky considering in canon, he physically and verbally abused a disabled person with a brace on his leg in S2. I don't think there was much thought behind that decision past "Hey, the fans like Kenny," and I think that's worth pointing out as "Hey... maybe don't?"

Some of the dialogue is a bit stilted, but some of it is actually pretty good. My personal favorite is when Clementine and Amos are fixing a roof-

Amos: Lord, this roof is... Clementine: ...fucked? Amos: SHH, don't say that! It's... troubled.

I'm sorry- that's funny! And it actually says a lot about who these characters are and the kind of friendship they have.

And yeah, Ricca is just okay. She's clearly the love interest, and I'm hoping we get more development of her character. And yes, the "baby" thing is still weird.

There's a lot about the art style that I'm not crazy about, specifically Clementine's face and expressions, and I hope to see an improvement in that for Book Two.

And then the obvious: Clementine leaving because she was unhappy and felt everyone thought she was a liability doesn't match up with the end of TFS.

I don't think it's mean to say that Tillie wasn't the best fit for this project, but that's on Skybound. They're the ones who reached out to her and hired her. I think Tillie's a great artist and her graphic novels have great queer, wlw representation in them. Just because she wasn't the perfect fit for Clementine that doesn't mean she's bad, it means that maybe she should've been considered for a different project.

And honestly...? Y'all, Book One isn't THAT bad. It's not great or anything, but the comics can't take the games away from you. If you want to say canon ends with the TFS, then that's where it ends. That's where it ends for me; these comics are more of a "what if" scenario than anything.

No one is forcing you to accept this as canon, and if you're so pathetically butt hurt over the existence of a comic that you feel like you have to go on Tillie's instagram, the artist who is only doing the job she's obligated to do, and comment shit like this on every. single. post-

Maybe, just maybe, you need to go outside. I'm serious.

This isn't the only comment about grooming on Tillie's posts, or that I've seen on reddit. Like... do you understand what grooming actually is and how serious it is? Or are you just using it as a buzzword that you know is bad and triggering as a means of insult and convincing others that she's bad, too?

Also, I don't think you really understand how creativity and writing work. Maybe it's just me, though I doubt it, but when I create characters or write already established characters in my fanfiction, they all have a piece of me that's apart of them. My life experiences and who I am as a person influences everything I write, and that bleeds into the characters, for better or worse.

What, you think Louis having a random pillow collecting problem was something I just pulled out of my ass? No, it's because I have a pillow collecting problem! Do you know why I've always had a such a hard time writing for Violet? It's because I see a lot of myself in her and that scares me and I'd rather just not unpack all of that, okay?

I mean, how many times on this hellsite have you come across someone saying, "lol my otp is just Person A is my type and Person B is the one I project onto" and it has thousands of notes because, on some level, we all get it.

Tillie has talked about Ricca before and like most creative people, she's drawn from her own life to create her characters. Ricca isn't some self-insert character just because they both wear glasses, I'm-

You are just being an asshole! I just- I'm getting pissed off because this shouldn't even be a thing. WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS? WHO HURT ALL OF YOU?

I love Clementine, too! She's important to me! I have replayed TWDG more times than I can count! I was pissed about the comics in the beginning! You can go back on my blog and I probably said stupid shit, too!

But Clementine isn't real. She's a fictional video game character. She isn't going to reward your bullying or white-knighting because she doesn't exist. You're not doing this because you're a "true fan" that loves Clementine. Honestly, if you were a true fan, you would know that if Clementine was real, she would find you and this behavior disgusting. Tillie Walden is a real person and I don't give a flying fuck if you hate her work. By all means, hate the comic! Criticize the comic and Skybound for continuing the series, but leave Tillie out of it.

And I think the part that sucks the most is it doesn't matter what I say, you can't rationalize with irrational people intent on being assholes so they're not going to stop.

I guess what I'm trying to show with all of this is when Book Two comes out, and y'all start reading it and making posts... please don't be these people.

Whatever you may feel about Clementine Book Two, try to remember that Tillie Walden is a real person and she's just doing the job that Skybound hired her for. Tillie's an artist just trying to live her life in Vermont with her wife and their cats, and she's gotta deal with all of these people harassing her posts. She can't even post something non-Clementine related without a bunch of #notmyclementine shit in the comments.

I don't even know what else to say... Uhm, I guess if anyone from those screenshots sees this, then... I don't feel that bad about calling you an asshole. We all learned in kindergarten to treat others the way we want to be treated, but maybe you were sick that day, I don't know. Go outside. Get your life together. We have a short time on this planet and maybe you should try to actually accomplish something while you're here. Eat a kitkat or something👍

[caernua]

completely genuine question—what makes you like Valhalla so much? I played that game for over 100 hours and I think the world was absolutely gorgeous, and some aspects of it were incredibly fun, but I thought so much of the writing, pacing, and characters were just… off? I think the gameplay mechanics (dialogue, romances, other “choices” you get to make, and the way they handled exploration objectives) are really hollow and narratively it’s maybe my least favorite or second least favorite ac game, but I’d genuinely really love to hear why it hits for someone whose a big fan

anon this is about to get very long i am so sorry also thank you for asking me this i love rambling about my favorite viddy games

in a lot of ways i agree with you! i think the pacing is off, the game is way too long and it overall feels like a game that aims to waste your time as much as possible which is simply infuriating. this is part of the reason why i started valhalla many many times but only finished it a handful of times. (which for 500 hours is insane) that is also bc the earlier arcs imo are superior to the ones in the middle and many of them feel downright unnecessary. i’m also not a fan in general of the rpg mechanics either, i’ve largely ignored them in valhalla frankly and neither am i of the romances (with the exception of ciara but that one too feels a little half assed and inconsequential - it's like you're always aware that whatever you do it won't last bc the character's story can't deviate too much) or the whole choice aspect that matters little. i will always hold the opinion that having choices (including the gender of the main character) introduced in a franchise where the premise is that you are reliving someone else’s memories is stupid, frankly. no amount of in-game explanations or isu bullshit will change that in my eyes.

however, what really clicked with me was the story. i know that’s not the case with a lot of people and i actually see why, it's a huge reason why it's such a polarizing game. weirdly enough, i first watched the gameplay before buying the game and i really disliked it. i wasn't pulled in, i didn't care much and i thought it was a subpar story. buut when i actually got my hands on the game i deeply connected with eivor and even tho i’ve just criticized the length of the game i think the hours and hours you get to spend as her contribute to that a lot. her entire journey was incredibly compelling in my eyes and especially the latter arcs hit me like a truck (i cried playing this game a lot <3). i think what i love most about this story is how it goes against the game’s promotion and the direction it went completely shocked me. doing an assassin’s creed based on vikings and very much using the romanticization of the term like any other form of media focused on vikings to depict these badass rutheless glory seeking fighters and absolutely relishing in that imagery in all the promotion and the beginning of the game and really in eivor’s character only to lead to a climax in which the main character turns away from odin and glory and says “no, the love of my people is more important to me than victories” was just… an amazing moment across the whole franchise in my mind. it was satisfying, it was heartbreaking, it was relatable and it was unique in my mind. i think assassin’s creed for so long has relished in these aspirational images of badass warriors and to choose THE most universally seen as badass historical warriors to send that kind of message was a ballsy move and really surprising. and it also works because eivor feels threatening across the game, she's scary! and ac doesn't always manage to make their protagonists feel that way (sorry arno love you 😘)

i also think that for how boring the asgard arc was (really don’t know how they achieved that) the storyline was REALLY well thought out since lore-wise they were essentially left with scraps from the other games so to make a coherent continuation from that mess that someone else thought out was impressive in my mind. i really liked how it tied in to basim’s story, i loved the moment when the reveal finally happened and i loved basim and eivor as narrative foils who are in a similar situation but experience it completely differently.

but aside from the ending i think there’s plenty of high points in the main campaign that just feel fun? i lovelovelove the east anglia arc (oswald’s story), i loved the lunden arc with its many many throwbacks to ac1, i loved soma and her arc, i loved vili's arc, cent was also really fun and a personal favorite. i also just enjoy doing the world events (fuuuck the anomalies tho!!!) and as sad as i am to say this, a part of my enjoyment was also the questions posed that were dissapointingly answered with the half assed 'last chapter'. i can't deny that valhalla suffers from missed potential a lot which is crazy bc you'd think that a game that forces you to play for hundreds of hours would have the time to deliver satisfying conclusions.

but i do also love doing... not much in it. as you said the environment is beautiful, the soundtrack is top notch and the atmosphere is really just amazing as well. i don't know how but valhalla kinda awakens a very deep sadness in me but it's not unpleasant, it's bittersweet. whenever i open the game and hear that beautiful main theme i want to cry a bit, same goes for when i climb the snowy mountains of norway and i look at the northern lights. the atmosphere in valhalla is just... outstanding. it reawakens so many things in me and that's partly due to eivor's story as well but it's amazing that it's somehow infused in the environment itself. am i thinking of regrets i carry and heartache, of how i have to cherish the people i have before i lose them, of how i lost my childhood because the pixels are pretty and the soundtrack is heartbreaking, or because eivor's story is in large part about all that? i have no idea but it's a precious sentiment. 💗

[achillesmonochrome]

I really hope we change the tide about Scarlet and Violet's Reviews.

If you try to look for user reviews, for what I had seen, people are hating on these games; all of them because the bugs and performance issues.

And that is a valid critic, considering the game did come out in a way that isn't acceptable, and even know almost 2 months since it came out, has a lot of bugs and issues that needs to be patched.

It doesn't me a part of me doesn't want to shake those people and beg them to play past the first hour.

Yes, the game looks rough, specially for the year we are in. Yes, the bugs and issues are unacceptable, Game Freak really needs to slow down the pace of when the games came out of because I can only imagine how exhausted is everyone. Yes, a lot of quality life changes from Arceus aren't here, and that feels like a step back.

But for fucks sake, this game is probably one of the best pokemon games we ever have.

It actually shakes up the formula a bit, even if there is still gyms. The fact that we have three story quests is a really grateful welcome, not to mention that if you ever were tired of how linear these games can be; I can't really say that about this game, is not perfect but this is really lets you go to your own pace.

Also, not gonna lie, I loved the stories, even if they are a bit goofy and over the top, is pokemon, that's not surprising. The characters are definitely a strong suit, I had seen people with complains about a couple of them, but I had yet to meet anyone who hated everyone.

This is not a perfect pokemon game, but is a big step on the right direction; and I really hope we don't get a set back and sent the wrong message to Game Freak for it.

[the-other-bird]

Random thoughts about the last episode and therefore in general about the whole show

- the giraffe scene was beautiful. I was a little scared they would cut it, but it was perfect

- Anna!!! I loved her and it felt surreal hearing "Ellie's" voice. Would love to know more about her. I always thought that Marlene and Anna were in love. And this cemented it for me because they were the perfect Riley/Ellie mirror. Also: Anna knowing Ellie's only chance was lying to Marlene about when she cut the cord. Phew.

- the fact that the Fireflies actually actively didn't tell Ellie, basically lied to her. Also interesting that Joel shot Jerry immediately without hesitation, while in the game he hesitates and you kinda have to take him down because he even attacks Joel with a scalpel if you don't.

- little sad that we didn't get to see the photo scene, even though Tommy heading back to Texas in the game just to go through their stuff actually didn't make a lot of sense

- the scenery was so on point and the acting was once again amazing.

- probably a little unpopular opinion: I didn't like the scene of Joel telling Ellie about his attempt. It felt kinda forced and out of place and kinda too on the nose for me. The acting was still beautiful, I just kinda preferred the more subtle way the game let us know about it (but apparently a lot of people missed that and say his attempt is a show only thing, when it isn't)

- sad that we never got a pay off with the knife we saw Sarah pick up in Joel's drawer. What was that about???

Some general stuff:

All my criticism of the show is just nitpicking. I loved it. The acting and casting was amazing. The changes in Bill and Frank's story were perfect and so necessary. A lot of minor changes and additions I absolutely loved. Can't wait to see more of Maria and I'm curious about the how Tommy's story will change with him being a dad in the following seasons. I actually preferred Joel/Tess in the show and their relationship and it worked well with my headcanons about them. The tendrils for the Infected worked really well.

I was not a fan of the way the show changed well working dialogue sometimes and some stuff was a little too much on the nose for me. And the pacing was challenging. I think it would have profited from one or two episodes more and giving us some more slow scenes and giving us a feeling for the time that has passed. Because with this fast pacing it felt like the Salt Lake City episode was like immediately after David and so Ellie's behaviour is based on this fresh trauma. When we see in the game get behaviour is unusual and just starts when they reach Salt Lake City. Also: I would have loved some more horror scenes with infected. Like the college dorms hotel cellar or sewers with stalkers there and the challenge of not waking them up because we see in the show how dangerous they are. But like I said: it's totally nitpicky and I still loved it and I'm looking forward to watching it with my dad because he knows nothing about the source material .

[nyrator]

Got the Rotten Nyan tumblr queued up with art I've neglected to post on there.. keeping a few more sketchy doodley art still on Twitter/the website, but should be all up a little after midnight my time~

... still feel really self conscious with the kind of content I've been making vent art of lately, please don't be afraid to message me with any concerns or criticisms... I tried tagging it all with a custom warning tag (that way it won't nuke the post, I think...) hopefully that's enough... if not hopefully people let me that as well

In other life news, I'm seeing a therapist, got a job, etc~ More in the cut

So, yeah. Life.

Still a vtuber, but feels like I've stalled lately... Not in terms of growth (if anything I keep growing), but in terms of motivation. I have a list of games to play, but I just can't focus on playing games anymore, it's rough.. mostly do zatsus, but even those are pretty hit or miss and sometimes I spiral into really dumb personal unprofessional rambles...

My art commissions are picking up- more than I can handle, honestly... My clients have gotten pretty big and it's getting me recognition, I have a few big offers in store once I can get around to them and I'm excited about it... but commissions are hard. I'm going to raise prices in January, and I try to accept five a month... but I can't keep up. I can't even do one a month it feels like... And yet I keep getting dozens of requests..

So in spite of this, because of my own doing and lack of doing, I've been bleeding a lot of money. I'm at a dangerous point of money... so I finally got a seasonal job at a local chocolate shop.

Haaaaaaaa.....

It's rough... I was in a huge depression over it, and I still don't want to work... The people are nice, the hours are light, and the pay is better than expected, but it's still so stressful... My social anxiety is terrible lately, it makes me want to curl into a ball and cry. I can't stand it, I can't stand being seen, I can't focus or memorize anything on the register, I can't handle dealing with customers or fast-paced environments...

They say the season lasts until Easter because of the nature of the store, but maybe I'll leave after Christmas time if it doesn't work out.. It's really a pain, and also could affect things like my food stamps and subsidized rent. Plus, the gas I have to spend, the clothes I had to buy, etc etc.. I wonder if it'll be worth it (probably, but nyeh)

I'm in need of money, though... one, my phone is on its last legs. The battery barely lasts an hour, it's very slow and unresponsive, and the 32 GB of storage is becoming more and more unwieldy.. Going to maybe buy one tonight...

My throat is also been a mess lately- I've had trouble swallowing, to the point I was unable to eat anything without a 50-50 chance of just choking on it. Drinking water was like waterboarding, it was like I was drowning. After raising my mattress, it's helped a lot, but not entirely, so I think it's something to do with scarring thanks to acid reflux- been trying to get an endoscopy for a year and finally have one scheduled in mid December. I'm worried how much it might cost.. hoping insurance covers it, but I still had to pay almost a thousand for my colonoscopy a few years back, which terrifies me...

Other small things- items I'd like to own, taking care of Bootsie (she's fine but overdue for a checkup and she's like 13 years old), etc.

But yeah, therapy. Also started taking that- we're trying to avoid me taking any medication, but I'm afraid I might need it.. I see her every week and I've been going since early October, and she seems like a decent therapist- she's the same age as me and understands a lot of internet culture, which.. is weird to talk to someone like that who "gets it" (she's a cosplayer, for example, and knows of vtubers), but it's nice.

Been reliving a lot of past stuffs... Been trying to improve, had some good phases, but fell back apart recently and not sure how far I can really get... keeping my apartment clean is hard, feeding myself is hard, drawing and doing anything is hard. I don't watch any media these days besides some indie vtubers I know, I don't really do much of anything but be depressed.

My biggest issue, as always, is my complex/trauma/whatever you want to call it... I've started trying to embrace it the past year. I've openly admitted to it, I made an alternate Twitter account for vent art of it, etc. But it makes me hate myself so much... It's become an addiction it feels like. Do I let it consume me and fully embrace it, even though it will push people away and make people think worse of me? Even though it will attract strange people who want creepy things from me? Even though it's expensive and gross and exhausting and uncomfortable to manage?

Or do I try to quit cold turkey? Get it all out of my system, and then never talk about it again. Delete the vent account, stop drawing it, stop being paranoid without things to take care of it, and just move on. I don't know. It's a part of me. But I hate it. And I really hate myself for it, it's my biggest tool to hate myself with.

But I've tried to embraced it, and that's what the RN update will have, and I apologize for it. I don't know how to move forward now. Therapy reopened a lot of thoughts about it- it really is a weird trauma, and a lot of it stems from my childhood... I want it gone. I want to be okay and not hurt myself mentally...

But such is life I supposeee. Again, I apologize that most of my art lately has been venting about it.. even if I embrace it, I don't want to be exclusively that kind of artist, you know? It's just one of many aspects. But it's invasive. And I don't want it to be invasive, but I don't know how to handle it.

The main goal of therapy is to get me drawing again. To give me what I've lost- a drive and motivation to continue. It feels like I just go through the motions when I draw. It's awful. I can't picture anything, no ideas. Rotten Nyan is completely stagnant lately. I don't know what to do about it. Life is just empty and depressing, it feels like. I gave up on myself, and now I don't know how to un-give up. But that's what therapy's for. Hopefully it helps... She brought up medication again, and I wonder if I should try it at this rate...

My anxiety is very bad. I end up relying on my complex trauma coping methods a lot when anxious. It's embarrassing and gross. And it just fuels my anxiety more using those things. I can't stand driving, or being around people, or crowded situations. I can't handle stress, or excitement, or being praised, or anything. My nerves are shot and I just have to curl into a ball. I don't know how I'm going to improve, but I have to try...

And then my focus, which I just can't focus at all anymore.. I don't know if it's depression/anxiety, ADHD, or what, but I just can't focus at all. It's awful. Very forgetful, very not-able-to-draw.

Otherwise, not much different. Got the new Nagata Kabi manga (I still worry about her a lot... she's so relatable though, she speaks to me, but she flares my anxiety like crazy too...) Still obsessed with my Disney anime boy gacha game, it's great, Vil's great. Vil, Cater, Lilia, Jade... so many good characters....

I guess that's all for now. Hope everyone has a happy thanksgiving- will keep doing what I can to try to improve.

And again, I'm really sorry about my art output and that most of it is just gross vent art about a gross personal trauma... I'm sorry...

[clarste]

What did you think of the Arknights adaptation? I thought it was really, really bad.

Oh, I hated it a lot. Pretty much everything about it was bad: the pacing, the writing, the changes they made to avoid any moral ambiguity... You could say the animation was good if you ignored the fact that they clearly went out of their way to avoid animating anything too complicated, which resulted in a ridiculous amount of action scenes happening slightly offscreen. Also the Doctor ended up an even blander self-insert than they are in the game, somehow.

Also, maybe this is just me but I felt like they completely ruined the climax of chapter 3. Like, all the emotional shouting and crazy shocked faces in the world can't match a single, understated, "people always have a way of surprising us."

Anyway, I certainly wouldn't say I'm an unbiased critic, but I could barely stand watching it. Like, it gave me negative enjoyment and I had to force myself through it, but even then I skipped some of the middle episodes (which I suppose could have been amazing but I doubt it).

That said, if other people liked it or look forward to the next season, that's good I guess. But I really can't.

[hayleysayshay]

LOK 8 and 23 please?

thanks!! Choose Violence ask game

8: common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

mako being a bad character or abusive!!!

But that is so obvious with me, so lets say Mako being a cop is bad. Look, I don't think it's the best storytelling decision in the world, but at the end of the day it's not that bad and people who say 'it doesn't make sense' are just lazy imo. Sometimes people who grow up poor and marginalised become police officers even if it doesn't 'make sense' in your head because that's how the world works, my god, the way people act like they have never heard of a non-white or working class police officer before (a lot of police officers are working class anyway lol). Mako has a sense of right and wrong and would be attracted to a job that offers both independence and also a stable job with a track record (anyone who argues he should have joined the white lotus misunderstands him imo). Also, it's just a storytelling decision, it's easy to write a fun conspiracy plotline around a law enforcement character which is what his plot in book 2 is. I don't know why we're specifically hating on one storytelling decision when cops are the main characters in a fucking tonne of media, I don't blame the writers for leaning on a popular trope to try and write a fun storyline. And once that plot point is up, Mako being a cop barely impacts his character until the comics apart from wanting to ditch Wu to go back to his job. It's not that big of a deal.

Would a version of legend of korra that actually examined police and state violence be more interesting? Sure. But I really think people are expecting far too much from the politics of a franchise that was aimed at children and mostly written and helmed by white middle class liberals, and that's clear from the politics of ATLA as well. Sometimes something fictional is not an endorsement of real world politics, and that doesn't mean that you can't critique or analyse it, but literally just saying 'mako wouldn't become a police officer because he's poor and was a criminal' and then refusing to actually engage with other parts of his character or the plotting of the story, just annoys me. Let's stop reducing fictional characters down to identity and leftist tumblr politics.

All this said for what is a badly written storyline in the show, but people don't want to engage with pacing or dialogue or setup and payoff, they just go 'it's bad because of it's politics?' and it's just bad media criticism. Analyse the politics, by all means, but only analysing that is so annnoyingggggggggggggg.

23: ship you've unwillingly come around to

uhhh like i didn't like Wuko much at first but i've come round to it for years now. Maybe Makroh because I'm an Iroh II hater but don't mind that ship lol but honestly I never cared that much about shipping. I have an interest or I don't.

I suppose I have come around to Makorra in that I like Mako and Korra enough to not hate them together. I'm still so lukewarm on that pairing but it is Mako content so you know I have read it.

[sigilmint]

for the fanfic writer emoji ask, ily and ur art so much!! 🛒✨🎶👀

🥺 ilysm!! <3

🛒 What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.

I think I can't write a fic without incorporating some level of class/capitalism criticism :P It's been pointed out to me before (lovingly) that it's a common theme in my work!! And that it's obvious I'm an anticapitalist. The media I enjoy often plays with those themes in a critical way, so of course if I'm gonna be writing about them, it's going to come up at some point!

I also love digging into the existential insecurities of characters, really trying to get at what drives them, what scares them, what they think about. This means I'm often writing a lot of open-ended questions in their voices :P

✨ Give you and your writing a compliment. Go on now. You know you deserve it. 😉

awwwwwwwwwww well personally I think I do a great job with recreating a world within my writing, whether its thru describing the setting in ways that evoke the images you're familiar with from the media, or thru the pacing/dramatic tension that you might have felt while watching/playing the media 🥰

🎶 Do you listen to music while you write? What song have you been playing on loop lately?

I can't listen to music with lyrics while I write, so oftentimes I'll just put on something instrumental that has the ~vibes~ of whatever I'm writing (love a video game soundtrack). However, I'm also always making playlists for the things I love, so in between writing sessions I'll listen to those and let the inspiration build up until I can sit down to write again! Lately I've had the Half Drunk Under a Full Moon album by The Fratellis on repeat, plus all of IDKHOW's discography; they conjure such good DEATHLOOP vibes for me! If I had to pick just one song, it'd be Leave Me Alone by IDKHOW:

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I currently have three fics I've been rotating between, picking them up at various points and dropping a couple hundred words in the doc before putting it back on the shelf... it feels like I'm monitoring three pots on the stove, occasionally stirring and adding a few spices. When they'll be done, only the Outsider knows :P

I can't say much bc telling people about my fic is a recipe for me never working on it ever again, but I will say that my longest WIP is currently over 24k, the longest thing I've ever written!

Thank you for the ask!! <3

[coffee-at-annies]

Thanks for your insights, truly appreciate it!! Me too i've only been watching more of the highlights and some full games, but i read a lot of hockey stuff to understand the game even more. the general mood may be down in pensland now and it could be easy to feel that way when it seems that almost every other team besides 2 or 3 is squeaking out wins early in the year while we're doing every no no in a hockey game possible. when you look at the standings it looks like 24 teams have winning records now in the first 10 games vs the pens' 4-5-2 record but honestly half of them will likely not keep up with their current pace. It was infuriating to see read those beat writers from teams with winning records (cough Isles cough) laughing at our struggles and write us off early in the season. it's easy to mock us now but what if at some point in the season the situations are reversed inevitably? I always say to myself, hockey can be a cruel mistress. you can be on top of the league 10 games in then go on to have a historic losing season. the pens can have a bottom 10 record after 10 games but with a few tweaks and a little more puck luck, we will also enjoy the same success the other teams are having to start the season.

besides it's difficult to determine which teams are for real and which teams are just riding lady luck to begin the season. there'll be injuries and cold streaks and poor goaltending and puck luck that will hit every team throughout the season. it's just unfortunate that the pens can't catch a break and are facing a lot of adversity early on. but if we spent the whole time wishing we were as good as this team based off a very small sample size, that's dangerous thinking. plus will we really be better off if we faced little adversity throughout the season? don't think so. i do agree with the general opinion that the league standings are more taken seriously by the 41-game mark.

that's my thoughts for now. i don't think sid and geno will let this slide any further. and in all honesty, i think this is one of the stretches that will make us look back and be glad it happened sooner rather than when it is too late for a turnaround. let all those writers get smug about their early success now - marathon not a sprint. it will be interesting to see how their team responds the second adversity hits them and when their unsustainable winning ways catch up to them. what will they say if their team gets hit by a lengthy losing streak later in the year? the season is early to make sound assumptions about every team and things can change in a snap

People forget (and rightly so it was a long time ago at this point) that we slumped hard all the way into December before turning things around and winning the cup in 2016. Heck last year we looked terrible after the trade deadline and then looked amazing the first couple games of the playoffs. It’s a long season you never know when someone will make a change and the team will get their shit together.

As for reporters being smug, I’m very much a don’t like don’t read fellow in addition to being an unrepentant homer. I only want to read nice things about my team doing good and bad things about my enemies doing badly. We’re in a slump so I simply do not see my athletic subscription because it will only make me upset and sad about things I can’t control. Also I’ve lost a lot of trust for Yohe and Rossi after Geno’s free agency fiasco. They are not going to give me the content I want so I simply have forgotten how to read.

I never read other teams articles/beat reporters unless it’s a player puff piece because they are never going to say nice things about us. It’s literally their job to be critical and smug. Nobody likes to admit that Sidney Crosby is still really good at hockey, that’s why it’s the coldest hot take in the league, but everyone wants to write is he washed up reaction pieces because they cause outrage and get clicks. If they ever say a nice word it will be begrudgingly and at most a backhand compliment. They are also unrepentant homers claiming they don’t have biases because they’re reporters. It’s annoying but that’s the facts.

The only league-wide content I consume is Steve Dangle’s highlights stuff because I appreciate him being an unrepentant leafs fan who also likes good hockey. He’s soft on some teams and harder on others when it comes to what makes the highlights but at least he’s up front with it all. I’ve taken a hiatus from watching that too cause I don’t like when we show up getting scored on or making mistakes. It feels bad and so I simply do not.

This may sound like I’m sticking my head in the sand but all of this stuff is optional and it’s just going to make me upset if I consume it. One of the hardest parts I’ve found is learning to disconnect and not take losses personally. I want the hyperfixation to produce the good chemicals and none of the bad stuff and surely the more I consume the more good chemicals I will get? Except that’s not really the case during slumps it becomes a downward spiral chasing the light at the end of the tunnel and the easiest way to not do that is limit my intake and find joy in other things. I skipped last nights game for those reasons and had a lovely time watching taskmaster with my partner. Hockey is a marathon. It’s important to take breaks and pace yourself. There’s a lot of content. Picking and choosing what to consume (up to and including skipping games) is important.

[crabscrabscrabs]

Avatar: Way of the Water Mini Review/Rant.

(Spoilers) From the very opening scenes I knew this wasn't going to be an easy ride for me, now admittedly the films that really engage me tend to have a lot of the scene occurring in a single well framed shot like There Will Be Blood, or Dogtooth. But the film immediately, at breakneck speed goes into a rushed series of establishing shots with little to no context between them; once again repeating the style of the original Avatar involving switching to a wide field of the action and aggressively zooming into the action similar to a cameraman on the ground. The effect is used to often, too quickly, and too aggressively to ever be engaging, coupled with the fact that it also is tied into traditional action sequences of a Cameronian style, it jars rapidly between a Cloverfield style "omg look over there" to a traditional action film. Especially in the HFR version of the film some of the shots could have done with better velocity based motion blur on the characters, perhaps a higher focal length. As while the overall fidelity of the rendering is definitely increased, aspects of the image often look less 3D, less cinematic than they did in the original, leaving a somewhat jarring experience where many (particularly in jungle shots with ambient lighting) don't stand up compared to the original in a way you'd expect for a film with a 13 year time gap. Other scenes admittedly are stunning, particularly the ocean water rendering, it's simply some of the best water rendering I've ever seen, paradoxically however the 'pools' of water have extremely low poly meshes for the surface deformation and it looks worse than in some modern video games. This is to say nothing of the underwater 'Whale' shots, which either due to poor skin shaders on the whale or some odd design decisions looks like a silicon model being moved through the water which in itself isn't an issue but when it contrasts with the overall high quality presentation it becomes more of an immersion breaking issue. As for the plot itself it was terribly obvious, I am all for a film exploring and advocating on real world themes and issues, some of the best films of all time have done so, but the key is the intelligence of the narrative and framing of that device. Avatar has always come off as some part hothouse clone/part climate catastrophe and colonial analogy. But it's never done in a way that feels satisfying, it comes across as virtue signalling and infantile, versus how films such as District 9 tackled racism, colonialism, and apartheid it's done in such a way that it's integrated into the world it feels natural to the viewer this is how the world is this is how people are and in that I can see myself and ourself. The decision to entirely sideline Ney'tiris character even stranger, the whole film was a blue ball fest where Jake seemingly now controls and instructs Ney'tiri on how to behave on her own planet. Everything she says he has to add something onto the end, telling something she probably almost certainly knew meaning she rarely gets a scene as a solo character. I can't understand how this has become such a high grossing and reasonably well critically rated film, it's actually worse than the Disney shite that gets pumped out every year IMO, because it's shameless. This is trying to be art-house in a world of Gonzo. James Cameron is positioning himself to be the Lars Von Trier of CGI focused action films where the plot is both stupidly simple and excessively convoluted to create a kind of drive or pace to push you through a 4hr experience so you can get to the Pirates of the Caribbean, Transformers, Iron Man style crescendo, like watching the twin towers burn just so you can see them fall down at the end.

[salsentertainmentcorner]

Show Review #1

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix

Spoilers for: Season 1

Main takeaway: Very fun and very nice animation, absolutely had a blast watching it and if you're a fan of Ubisoft then I'd recommend the show, maybe you can appreciate it better than me (Casual fan lmao what a loser)

Rayman also curses

6/10 would watch again once they announce a season 2

Okay actual breakdown under the cut

I'll get the good stuff out first

First thing to know I'm a sucker for Retro Futurism and the 80s aesthetic this show pulls goes HARD, visually pleasing in all corners and an animation that does not disappoint, fan of mixed mediums for storytelling? This show's got you; the sequences reminiscent of retro graphics were executed pretty well and served as a nice break of the fast paced action throughout: Favorite one of these were the Dolph and Sarah sequences in the virtual reality facility.

Soundtrack also does not disappoint with small references both in melodies and/or names to the games it's paying homage to.

The world is also really interesting and the show spends enough time to get us curious about everything and also catch us up to speed to its history. Certainly left me hooked to what season 2 will do.

Okay now the negatives

The show is short, like, really really short (under 3 hours), and I don't know if it was a producer's choice or a creative choice, maybe they were told they had 6 episode of less than 30 minutes each to do what they wanted and that's it unless it performs well and then maybe we'll get a 2nd season (SMALL TANGENT:

The show is filled with love, you can tell, the people who worked on it had a clear vision in what they wanted to say and the world they wanted to show)

My main issue is the way they paced it, we're introduced to Dolph Laserhawk (main character) and Alex Taylor (soon to be ex-boyfriend), then Alex betrays Dolph, and then we are introduced to the rest of the crew (Jade, Pey'j and Bullfrog) all in the same episode, this wouldn't be an issue, except next episode they kill Jade, and yeah, shocked they decided to kill a character who I thought would be major right on episode 2), while all this is happening we get to learn the world they live in (dystopian capitalist and fascist nightmare run by Eden (who hey are also the Templar Order for all my assassin's creed fans)) and why it fucking sucks (good stuff good stuff), also Rayman is a spokesperson for Eden and a propaganda tool

This is my problem; these two episodes, needed time to breath in between, both for Laserhawk as a character to process what is happening and for us the audience to acclimate ourselves to the world better, because boy this goes from shit to SHIT in a matter of episode to episode and you better strap in because we're not taking a breathing we're just GOING.

So problem #1; pacing of the story, which leads me to

Problem #2; the characters didn't feel like they connected to each other that much

This is not relating to characters like Dolph and Alex (who clearly had a dynamic before and through the brief interactions we see in episode 1 we can interpret it), or Jade and Pey'j who had a previous history and thus you can tell why they work well together (TANGENT: I have not played Beyond Good and Evil but WHAT THE FUCK was up with Pey'j j having a crush on Jade??? That's your adoptive daughter basically (according to the show) so what the fuuuuuuuck).

This mostly comes with how the group relates to one another, with the exception of Bullfrog (being the character who probably has the least development or archetype change (which would be a criticism if not for the narrative to demand one grounded character)), who kind of holds the whole team together. This is an issue for me, because when Dolph is in his reality dream I can't really buy he would imagine himself on a beach with Alex (by this point death and with a lot of conflicted feelings about) and the rest of the Ghosts.

I feel like 1 episode as a breather where we get to see more of the crew together while cutting to Alex planning or scheming will A) Make Jade's death even more impactful (because, come on, that was totally what you wanted to do) B) give the crew more time to connect to each other and us to them as audience and C) Give both Dolph and Alex time to breath as characters and explore more of the world.

The third issue is something I noticed and maybe something I'd do differently, l watched the trailer after the show, and the way the trailer sells the show is more of a "Mission of the week" type of show (which I get considering it pulls heavy on the action adventures of the 80s'). This led me to think about the pacing problem again and thought about a few things.

Hypothetically, if I was to give them the time to develop this first part of the story, I'd give them 2 seasons of 5 episodes each

The first three episodes (Introduction - First Mission - Capture and Violence) could've been fit in the first season with Alex as the main antagonist, setting up Rayman for his arc