#also i totally thought fairlie was the token straight friend before i found out about him and north😭😭😭🏳️‍🌈🤧🤧🤧

[livelaughlovelams]

Oo just look back at my reblogs and posts today and you can tell exactly what amrev subcomminity I just revisited this midnight...

[fuse2dx]

June '20

Trials of Mana

Maybe not the highest profile remake Square-Enix have put out in recent memory, but one that was pretty exciting for me. I played a fan translation of the Super Famicom original some 20 years ago, so while it's not particularly fresh in my head, there's just enough there to enjoy some infrequent little pangs of nostalgia. The move to 3D has made for some welcome changes to to combat - jumping adds a vertical element to combat that wasn't present before, and enemy specials being clearly telegraphed and avoidable puts a little more control in your hands. There's still a good amount of 16 bit jank though - combo timing feels unreliable, the camera's often a pain, there's plenty of questionable hit detection, and you definitely wouldn't want to leave your fate solely in the hands of your party's AI. Willing to put most of this aside, what actually mattered more to me was that it still had the kind of playful, breezy nature, it looks and plays nicely, and that it progresses at a nice clip. Party selection will change the way you fight moment-to-moment, but only provides minor and very brief deviance from the main storyline, most of which is the kind of schlocky cartoon villainy that will have you looking for a skip button before it would illicit any kind of emotional response. But you know what? Overall, I still enjoyed it a lot.

So while it may not be revolutionising the action RPG, what it does show is that Square-Enix is capable of acknowledging their history of previously untranslated works, and that they also now have a pretty good template for getting a B-tier remake of such titles out in a reasonable timeframe. Where do I send my wish list in to, team?

Sayonara Wild Hearts

As a one-liner found on the back of the box, 'A pop album video game' is about as on-the-nose as it gets. The old "it's not for everyone" adage is definitely applicable, and its defiance of traditional video game metrics is not in any way subtle. How sophisticated is the gameplay? Not particularly. How long is it? Not very. But how does it make you feel? Now you're talking. It presents a simple but deeply relatable story of a broken heart, and leads from there with a catchy tune into a fast and colourful onslaught of new ideas, perspectives, and concepts. That is to say: it has the potential to make you feel all kinds of things. 

One especially celebratory note was how well the game is structured to fit into the album structure it boasts about. Stages flow quickly into one another, and while shorter, more compounding numbers are often about introducing new ideas and themes, moving on to the next is a few simple button presses and a brief, well-hidden loading window away. Inevitably there are more standout stages, those that feel like the hit singles; the longer, verse-chorus-verse type joints that grant the space for more fleshed out visual story telling, and that smartly synchronise their percussive hits, soaring vocals and the like to appropriate beats of play. A lot of the gameplay can easily (and cynically) be reduced to "it's an endless runner", but to liken this to a cheap re-skin of a confirmed hit-maker is to wilfully dismiss so much of what it does better and so much beside. You can play it on damn near everything, and for the time it takes, it's well worth doing. 

Twinkle Star Sprites

I've meant to play this countless times before. I've almost certainly passed it by while strolling through arcades, the Saturn version has never been hoovered up into my collection, and the PS2 collection this particular version belongs to - ADK Damashii - is no longer a cheap addition to anyone's library. The digital version of it for PS4 however was however recently on sale at a point that saw me receive change from a fiver. David Dickinson would be proud.

Having now credit-fed my way through the game's brief arcade mode, there's no doubt in my mind that the nuance of its systems are going to be glossed over in this rather ham-fisted appraisal. At least at face value, there's plenty of character and charm to appreciate in its colourful and cutesy style. As a two-player, vertically split-screen title, its a pretty clean break from a lot of a shooter's typical characteristics - rather than 6(ish) stages of hell, its a series of one on one battles - and all the better suited to 2 players for it. As enemy waves come at you, taking them out in chains can generate attacks to the other player; however if these attacks are too small then it's entirely possible they'll be killed off again, and an even bigger attack will come straight back at you. Think of a bit like competitive Tetris, but with shooting rather than puzzling. It's a neat and curious little game, that's likely best experienced properly, with a friend on the other side of the sofa to hurl abuse at. 

Blasphemous

Let's get the lazy-but-effective description out of the way: it's a 2D MetroidVania Souls-like. You've got "that" type of map, definitely-not-bonfires and definitely-not-Estus Flasks. You are encouraged to return to your body upon death, the combat system is very reliant on parries and dodge-rolls, and there's even a dedicated "lore" button to use on every item you pick up. 

While this likely sounds dismissive, it's more about addressing the elephant in the room. To give some context, these are both types of games that I love, and the end product here has done a pretty good job of bringing them together. The exploration is pleasantly open - gatekeeping is typically done less by specific items and abilities, and more by just which areas you're brave enough to poke your head into. It's a little bit of a shame that most of the new abilities have to be switched out for others rather than adding to a core arsenal of moves, but at the same time its base setup gives you plenty of ways to deal with any number of combat scenarios. This is of course best demonstrated by the boss encounters, which are wonderful affairs - big, gruesome, thoughtful variations on approaches to combat, which drop in at a nice pace to keep you from ever getting too cocky. The theming in general is wonderful, and the name is certainly appropriate - there's a lot of deep catholic inspiration in its gorgeous backdrops and environments, but then layered on top are some chilling elements of religious iconography, along with a cast of disturbing devotees and martyrs to sufficiently unsettle you. It's arguably a small intersection of the gaming population that it'll appeal to, but if you're in there, it's a real treat.

Death Come True

The first thing you see upon starting is the game's central character breaking right through the fourth wall to tell you directly not to stream the game or to share anything that might spoil the story. The first rule of Death Come True, and so on. I consider myself fairly well versed in such etiquette, so to then have the screenshot function entirely disabled for the whole game felt a little like being given a slap on the wrists for a crime I had no intention of committing. I don't envy the team trying to market it, that's for sure. 

The reasoning behind this is clear at least - it's a game that is in total service of its plot. Consider a mash-up of a 'Choose your own adventure' book and a series of full-motion videos, and you're mostly there. Unless you were to walk away from the controller or perhaps fall asleep, there seems very little chance that your play time will deviate from the 3 hour estimate - which will certainly put some people off, but is understandable given the production values, and personally, quite welcome in the first place. In terms of replay value, there are branching paths that a single route will obviously skip: as an example of this, in looking up a screenshot to use in lieu of taking my own, I found a promotional image of the central cast, only to not recognise one of them at all. One thing that such a short run-time does ensure though, is that minute-for-minute, there's plenty of action; without wanting to speak about the story itself (rather than in fear of reprise for doing so, I might add), it kicks off with plenty of intrigue, shortly thereafter switching to full-on action, and then strikes a pretty fine balancing act between the two for its run time. It doesn't get quite as deep or as complex as I would've hoped given the team's pedigree, but I do like it, and think it'd actually be a pretty fun title to play with folks who normally don't concern themselves with games. By the same token, it's probably not for the 'hardcore' types looking for something to string out over dozens of hours. 

Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight 

After the generous main course that was Persona 5 Royal, I figured that I'd follow up with dessert. I did however wait until a weekend where I knew my girlfriend would be away, so as not to trigger any unpleasant flashbacks to looped battle themes, and the chirpy, indecipherable voices of Japanese schoolkids that made it so painful to endure as a non-gaming cohabitant.  

Immediately, it's clear that very little has changed since Persona 4's take on the rhythm action genre. The core game, while still functional and fairly enjoyable, hasn't changed a lick. Perhaps the most notable improvement to the package as a whole is in scaling back on a dedicated story mode, and instead just having a series of uninspired but far less time-consuming set of social link scenes that pad things out. The biggest flaw is repeated wholesale though, in that trying to stretch out noteworthy tracks from a single game's playlist into a dedicated music game leads to repetition - and there is a much less prolific gathering of artists involved in remixes this time. I'd be willing to wager that it's a very similar story once again with Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, but I'm not about to ruin a perfectly good dinner to start with the sweet just to find out, if you'll excuse a second outing of the metaphor. Still, again compare these to Theatrhythm though - where Square-Enix plundered the Final Fantasy series in its entirety, along with spin-offs and other standalone titles to put together a library of music worthy for the one single game. Cobble the tunes from Personas 3-5 together into one game, and you're still coming up very short by comparison.

[avaalons]

Chris Evans Fic: Disney Princess Series Part 4 (The Trip)

Chris’ Disney Princess Series

Disney Princess Obsession

Disney Princess Reality

This is the third instalment of the Disney Princess series:

***

Disney on its own was pretty mesmerising. Disney with Chris’ family was… magical. It took you a few days to really embrace their closeness, having not really experienced it before, despite your many siblings. All the members of your family were perfect individuals, islands dotted all over the world, but Chris’ family were a complete unit and it was clear to see every single day.

You’d been even a little overwhelmed at first when you had arrived at the villa. True to his word, Chris had organised everything perfectly around your schedule. The family had arrived at their villa a day earlier but you’d had some meetings to attend so had caught a flight the day after.

Chris had picked you up at the airport, his demeanour so casual and open, sunglasses and a bright smile adorning his face, it was as if this was a total everyday occurrence, as if he always picked you up from the airport and drove you to see his family.

You had chatted easily in the car and he shared some of the plans for the rest of the evening and the following days. He gave you another run down of the names of his family members and shared some stories about his niece and nephews and their excitement on their first day back in Disney. It was all too easy to believe that you’d had known Chris for years, that you had a place among his family. For the first, but definitely not the last, time, you sharply reminded yourself to avoid entertaining any thoughts about Chris and yourself other than what theme park ride you’d be going on next.

Upon meeting his family, however, you were instantly welcomed by them all, as if you’d always been on vacation with them. They had been in the middle of preparing a big family dinner when you and Chris had arrived. Lisa, Chris’ mom, was managing things in the kitchen, giving her sons and daughters jobs to do while Chris’ nephews laid the table in between chasing each other around it. Lisa had wiped her hands with a cloth before pulling you into a hug. You’d been unable to keep the repeated tokens of thanks from spilling over but Lisa wouldn’t hear it, simply telling you how glad she was that you were there and how excited they all were to be able to show Disney off to you.

‘Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes or so. Chris, take her cases and show her to her room will you, give her some time to unpack before dinner. Was your flight okay?’ she said, turning her attention back to you at the end.

‘Yes, thank you. Someone,’ you gave Chris a side glance, ‘booked me into first class without me knowing.’

Chris simply smiled and shrugged, ‘You’re a Hollywood hotshot now, first class is something you’ll want to get used to on flights unless you want photos of you asleep and drooling on your own shoulder all over the internet.’

Lisa laughed, 'I’d expect nothing less of him anyway, nothing gets done by halves with this one. Go on, go and relax for a few before you have the face the craziness of dinner time with this rabble.’

Chris led you down a hallway off the main living area, pulling your case after him, pointing out who the rooms belonged to as you went. All the doors had an A4 paper name plate, clearly drawn by the younger members of the family, with little crayon pictures of the room’s owner alongside other associated images.

'We’re down here - I mean, my room is here, if you need anything,’ he pointed out his door, adorned with his name, his crayon replica (complete with fairly dense beard you noted) and a picture of a dog.

'Dodger?’ you asked, gesturing towards the door.

Chris smiled affectionately, 'Yeah, the kids decided our doors needed to be personalised this year. Let’s just be grateful it was on paper and not straight on to the woodwork. This is your room.’

To your surprise, you also had a name card, with your own crayon avatar. You wondered if Chris had shown the kids a photo of you. The rest of the space was filled with flowers, trees and birds. You reminded yourself to thank the children later.

Chris opened the door and flicked the light switch, 'So here you go, home sweet home for the next week.’

It was a light and spacious room with a large window on the opposite wall, a double bed that looked incredibly comfortable flanked by two night stands, and a dressing table and chair. There were two other doors, you assumed for an ensuite bathroom and a walk in closet. Someone had left fresh flowers on your dressing table and there were some books in a pile on one of the night stands.

'It’s lovely, thanks. It’s a really nice place.’

'Don’t worry that we’ll be offended if you want to spend time in here by the way. We totally understand that sometimes it’s a bit much being around us all 24/7. Don’t be afraid to take some time for yourself. Same for the days out - if you want to lounge by the pool or go off and do your own thing, just say so.’

You really appreciated that, and it reminded you that you had actually become good friends during your time working, probably better than you had initially given Chris credit for. He was clearly quite attuned to your temperament.

'Thanks, that’s really - I wouldn’t have wanted to seem rude. It’s just… this is so different to what I’m used to,’ you gestured vaguely back down the hallway you’d just come from.

Chris simply grinned, 'I know, I don’t think many people could prepare for this madness. But seriously, no one will think you are rude at all. I left you some books you might like to read and there’s a concealed flatscreen in the foot of the bed so feel free to make the most of it. I’ll give you a shout when dinner’s done.’

He made to leave and you called out to him just as his body had disappeared past the door frame. He popped his head back in question and you wished you hadn’t called him. Suddenly, what you wanted to say seemed so… lame.

'Just wanted to say thanks. For this. My own family never does things like this and… thank you for making me part of it.’

'My pleasure,’ he smiled warmly at you, before leaving you to unpack.

***

Chris walked back to the main living area in the villa, unable to stop his smile creeping over his mouth. His mom glanced over her shoulder at him from where she was preparing a salad in the kitchen and called him over.

'Can you chop these peppers for me, sweetheart?’ she said, gesturing to the brightly coloured bell peppers on the counter.

Chris picked up a knife and began slicing the top off one.

'She seems lovely,’ Lisa attempted to sound off hand and casual.

'Mom…’ Chris had a hint of warning in his voice, knowing his mom and her line of questioning too well.

'I’m just saying!’ Lisa pretended to be defensive, 'She seems like a lovely girl.’

There was a pause as they both prepared salad, the only sounds of knives hitting the chopping boards as they sliced and diced.

'Just, maybe take it slow wi-’

'Mom! Seriously! We’re friends, I told you this.’

'Christopher, you haven’t brought a 'friend’ to Disney since you were thirteen years old and you definitely didn’t leave flowers in their room. I’m just saying, be careful with her. If you use your usual tactic of getting all your feelings out there in one go, she’ll bolt. Try to reign in the excitable puppy side of your personality.’

'You literally just met her, how can you possibly know that?’

'Because she couldn’t be any different from the usual Hollywood set if she tried. She’s guarded and quiet. Don’t freak her out.’

'Okay, okay, I get it. I’ve been doing that anyway. We honestly are friends though and if that’s what she’s comfortable with, then that’s what we’ll be.’

***

You didn’t know whether it was Disney, or Chris’ family, or a combination of the two but by the end of the week, you’d never felt less awkward, less shy and less like yourself. You’d done it all: the rides, the shows, the character photos and you were now the proud owner of three different sets of mouse ears, and if you’d also purchased some incredibly sentimental Christmas tree ornaments of your favourite childhood characters to take back home with you, it was no big deal.

You’d loved everything and you had been pulled into the family with ease. Your phone was full of photos documenting all your activities and you’d shared them with the family in their group chat. At the Magic Kingdom, Chris had snatched your phone from you - 'there needs to be some pictures of you on here too!’ - and had kept hold of it for a few hours.

When you got it back and were scrolling through later on that night as you were tucked up in bed, you noticed just how carefree and happy and confident you looked. There were a couple of mouse ear selfies that Chris had made you take with him that made you laugh when you saw the faces he was pulling.

Tomorrow was going to be the last full day and you found you were disappointed. The time had gone so quickly. You laid your phone on the nightstand, plugging the charger in and watching as the screen brightened before darkening to the black sleep screen. You were going to miss this break from your life. You didn’t know if you’d escaped being recognised entirely - there might be a few candid cellphone shots of you floating around now - but you hadn’t been approached by anyone. Chris had a couple of times but it was nothing too intrusive and he was happy to oblige a few kids.

You’d have to go back to LA the day after tomorrow and this would all just become a memory to treasure. You were going to miss it, that much was certain. You thought about the photos Chris had taken on your phone: you were going to miss who you were around this family. You were going to miss Chris and you didn’t know what to do with that thought.

Kicking back your sheets in mild frustration, you rose from your bed and padded across the carpet to the door, trying with all the daintiness you possessed to open the door quietly. Tiptoeing through the villa, you headed to the sliding patio doors leading out to the pool. Settling into one of the loungers, you listened to the silence of the night and tried not to think about how alone you were going to feel after tomorrow.

***

Chris lay awake in his bed, thinking about you doing the same thing in the room next door. This week had been perfect. He’d loved seeing you loosen up and let go of some of those rules and boundaries you so clearly imposed on yourself most of the time. You’d fit right in: the kids included you in their games, you joined in with conversation over dinner like you’d always been there, and today you’d happily stood with everyone, smiling, when Carly had asked an attendant to take a picture of you all in front of the castle.

But he wasn’t used to being so… subtle. This was not his normal approach at all when he liked someone. He’d taken, what felt like to him, so many steps backwards away from this situation in order to not do anything to freak you out, he felt like things were moving in the exact opposite direction to the one he wanted. So today, he had gotten a little snap happy with your phone and had taken a chance on taking some selfies. You had both been wearing mouse ears and he pulled you to him, arm around your waist, fingers splayed against your hip, as he’d turned the camera to front facing. He had to admit, you were both fucking adorable. Best of all, you hadn’t backed off, and that was a very good sign.

His thoughts were disturbed by the quiet sounds of a door opening, the slight reverberation signalling that it was from the room next door. Chris lay still for a couple of seconds, wondering whether to follow you or not. When he didn’t hear anyone else moving around, he decided he would just go and check that you were okay, then head back to his room and give you the space you clearly wanted. That was all.

***

'Hey, everything okay?’

Despite his soft voice, you just about jumped out of your skin, so wrapped up in your thoughts that you hadn’t heard Chris’ footsteps to warn you of his presence. You whipped around to face him, hand pressed against your collar bones as you let out a nervous laugh.

'Chris!’ you half-whispered, 'Don’t sneak up on me like that!’

'Sorry!’ he grinned back at you, 'Want a beer?’

He held up two bottles in his hands. Now that you had calmed down, you were suddenly extremely aware that you’d been thinking pretty deeply about Chris and his presence in your life, and you were more than a little paranoid that it was all over your face. A beer could be just the thing to provide a mask.

'Sure,’ you replied, holding out a hand to take one from him.

'Mind if I sit?’

'No, course,’ you gestured to the lounger next to yours.

'Can’t sleep? Me neither.’

'Yeah, I was struggling to drift off. Quite warm tonight, isn’t it?’

'Yeah, a little,’ Chris replied, taking a sip from his bottle.

A silence settled over you, but it wasn’t awkward. There was some tension maybe, but it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable.

You knew then that if you told Chris right now that you thought you were developing feelings for him, he’d be all in. He was waiting for you, and had been since the moment he’d first met you on the red carpet.

You remembered the fall of his expression when you’d shrugged him off with politeness at your pre-filming meeting, you remembered the grateful smile of understanding you had shared when you’d intervened in front of the interviewer, you remembered the grin across his face when you’d insisted that you were just friends at the hotel. And you knew just how easy it would be for the two of you to be an us, if, of course, you didn’t have the whole world watching and if you weren’t an emotional recluse.

But that last statement wasn’t true, was it? You’d seen the pictures from today. You could let go and be yourself, there was photographic evidence of it. The aloof creature was just a shield you used to protect yourself in a harsh business, and it had worked up to now, but you knew it would take much more than that to protect you if you embarked on a… something… with Chris freaking Evans.

'Have you enjoyed yourself this week?’ Chris broke the silence, rolling his beer bottle between his palms.

'Oh god, so much. I’ve had the best time, honestly. I can’t thank you all enough for having me. I’m going to have to have you all over for dinner at mine when we’re back in LA,’ you couldn’t quite believe that particular idea had just come out of your mouth as you took another mouthful of beer.

Chris turned his soft, smiling gaze on you, 'You don’t owe us anything at all, it’s been awesome having you around. But that would be really sweet. My mom would take you up on that for sure. I’ll let you know the next time she’s in LA.’

There was another moment of silence before you spoke again, 'It’s going to be weird, going back to LA. I’m going to miss all this. My house is going to seem so empty,’ the truth that you were going to miss him most of all was left unspoken.

'I know, it’s an odd transition to make. It’s so easy to fall into Disney life. But you know, I’ll be around. Give me a call if you want to hang out.’

'Guess we’re not just work colleagues anymore, are we?’ You smiled at him around your beer bottle as you sipped again.

He let out a short laugh, 'No, I wouldn’t say so. I’ve forced you to be my friend.’

'I’m glad you did. I needed it.’

'You’ve always been beautiful, but this week, seeing you properly laugh and run around and play with the kids and make fun of me with Scott and just forget having to check yourself for appearance’s sake at every turn, it’s just - you’ve been shining, glowing even.’

'Chris… I-’ you started to speak but didn’t know what you were going to say. He’d called you beautiful. Beautiful.

'Don’t worry, that’s all I’m going to say, I promise,’ his voice was gentle, soft. He treated you so tenderly, had done all week long.

'Thank you,’ you whispered, not quite meeting his eyes.