#and fantasy life is a big comfort game its just so lovely

[melon-soda]

i am reallyyyy happy about the direct yesterday. so many things im exited for....splat expansion pass, magolor stuff, new fantasy life, NEW PROF LAYTON...pikmin 4 trailer, more tears of the kingdom stuff, just a lot of very exciting things. im really happy level 5 is back too theyve made a lot of games that are dearly beloved to me and i hope this means yokai watch 4 gets a localization as well as the switch remake/port for yokai watch 1 ^_^ <3

[txttletale]

If we're asking about games on your list of favourites, as someone who adored Paradise Killer, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! I always enjoy your analysis.

so first of all the aesthetics of paradise killer are really good. usually games that were written in english but read like translations from japanese irritated me, but here i think it is very much leaned into and embraced as an aesthetic and set of cultural signifiers in its own right, which i really enjoy. the character designs are outlandish and charming. but what i really like about it is like, the way the core premise works

in most detective games, there is a correct answer, and not getting it is a failure state. you can't end a case in ace attorney with your innocent client being convicted, you can't get the wrong guy in the frogware sherlock holmes games. and this invariably, even if the game is critical in other aspects, tends to come around to a fundamental faith in the legal system and authority, right--something that's kind of baked into the detective genre at a fundamental level.

paradise killer upends that by simply saying "you are the detective. get the facts you need, make a compelling argument, and if the authorities above you believe you then you get to distribute justice as you see fit." you arrive on the island you're investigating and you're immediately told "hey, this member of a disenfranchised underclass did it, we've already arrested him, here's the evidence." and absolutely nothing stops you from taking that evidence and walking into the trial room and presenting it and saying "yep, he did it!" and beating the game! it's not a 'bad ending', you don't get a big popup saying 'you're wrong', the powers that be just accept the convenient narrative you've been given to present and everything moves on.

i like this from both, like, an ideological perspective, and also from an interpersonal stakes perspective. in most detective games, you can't miss a crucial piece of evidence, either because the game will not proceed until you pick it up or because you'll be forced to restart the 'trial' or 'deduction' segment when you game over because you're missing it. in paradise killer, whatever argument you put forward, if enough evidence supports it--even if you know for a fact it's wrong!--leads to the person you're accusing being executed. so the stakes are much higher, right, because instead of a game over screen and trying again, getting it wrong means that's just... how the game ends, with an innocent person being executed.

and more importantly i think it does a fantastic job--better imo even than something like disco elysium--at deconstructing the fantasy of justice. a constant theme of the game and something that the protagonist repeats often is "there is a difference between facts and the truth". you can withhold evidence at trial because it implicates your friends, or misrepresent it to implicate that bitch you hate. nothing in the system exists to stop you getting wrong, in fact your superiors encourage you to make the easy completely stritched up conviction and move on with your life.

and at the end, even if you get it right, if you catch all the criminals--all the time you spend investigating this island shows that, like, the society you're part of is fucking evil! you're all deranged immortals making constant human sacrifices to your evil gods! and you don't change that by solving the case, the whole thing just packs up and moves on. you don't get any comfortable resolution to that or to your role in it. you can play lady love dies as a diehard true believer or as a dissident rebel but either way she's ultimately just another cog in a machine, dispensing an alien and uncaring justice that is only attached to any real morality or truth by your decision to do so. a genuinely incredible game.

plus i like how whenever you open it a voice says 'paradise killer' so you know you're playing paradise killer

[andreabandrea]

I absolutely don't mean this in a bad way, but I think a lot about how Pokemon is a power fantasy for kids. And I know this is obvious because it's a game for children, but let me ramble.

Think about it: you can go wherever you want, knowing you're safe because your Pokemon will protect you. In the later games, you can dress however you want and express yourself freely. You can connect with nature and communities of friendly kids and adults around you. You can make a meaningful, positive impact on the world. You can stand toe-to-toe with adults who, in real life, would ignore or even belittle you because you're just a kid. (And, of course, you have superpowered pets that love you.)

I think about how in the original games, Brock and Misty are presented as kids/young teens and become friends with Ash. But, Lt. Surge presents a difficulty spike-- if you chose Bulbasaur, you can easily sweep the first two gyms with it, but now you don't have a supereffective match up unless you plan more. I think it's meaningful, then, that Lt. Surge is portrayed a big, scary adult man and military to boot. In the anime, he's presented as being condescending and intimidating toward Ash. But, you as the player are able to overcome this intimidating man through the power of your Pokemon. The same can be said for people like Team Rocket and Giovanni-- Giovanni's original sprite in Red & Blue makes it look like he's looming over you, sneering at you.

It can easily be forgotten by adult fans, but you're seeing this world through the perspective of a child. Giovanni looming over you represents how it feels to be a child, powerless, and face an adult who's cruel to you. But you defeat him at every match up.

Satoshi Tajiri would go on to say that Pokemon was inspired by his childhood, in which he'd go out and collect bugs. Miyamoto would say that the first Zelda game was inspired by his childhood in which he'd explore the local area and caves and so on.

It makes me sad to think that, as the world becomes more modern, more urbanized, and (as parents tend to see it, at least) more unsafe, this childhood that inspired these classic games become further out of reach for kids. When I was growing up, I lived in a suburb full of concrete. I couldn't walk anywhere, and even if I could, my mother was too anxious to let me just go around unsupervised.

This is why getting the bike is such a big moment in Pokemon-- you can go so much farther as a kid on a bike! But, I also could only ride my bike up and down my boring street before running into a major street full of cars going 50 MPH that would have murdered me instantly.

This isn't a doom post. I still believe that we can repair the damage that capitalism and cars have done to the world. But, I think that in times like this, it's more important than ever for kids to have access to these power fantasies, these escapes from a world that they have no ability to fix, but still suffer from regardless.

Ironically, I think that when I play Pokemon now, I play it to feel smaller rather than to feel bigger, the opposite of how I played it as a kid. Now, it's comforting to escape from work and stress into a world in which your only concerns are walking to the next town, catching a new Pokemon, and maybe fighting a gym leader. The same can be said of any piece of media that someone is nostalgic for, but I think Pokemon feeds into it well because its design is so baked in the experience of being a child.

When I'm playing Pokemon, especially when replaying an old game, I still remember things like only saving in Pokemon centers so that my character could sleep there in a nice building, or imagining them setting up camp if I had to save and quit on a route. If I had time, I would feed my Pokemon some Pokeblocks or etc. at my little 'camp' so they wouldn't be hungry (which is why I felt like the cooking and camping systems from SwSh were so real for me, haha).

I don't think that there's a 'wrong' way to play Pokemon-- I know people enjoy competitive Pokemon, and strict challenge runs, and stuff. And I can enjoy that, too! But, for me, Pokemon is about childhood, you know?

[dianesdiaries]

Writeblr Intro

Hi!

Just for a little introduction, I go by dd and my pronouns are she/her. I'm using this blog page as a one shot/continued fanfic account until I can really start generating ideas for my own stories, so requests and questions are very appreciated!

(For a little background) I love cats. To death. FL.

I love playing video games, watching films, and expanding on my writing ideas. One of the main things that gives me ideas on what to write is video editing, TikTok etc. Some of my all-time favourites that will, most likely, get published onto here are The Boys, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and more!

Also would love to meet new writing mutuals!!

WIP(s)

So far I have to WIPs and would love feedback!!

Bewildered- Historical Western Drama/Dark Fantasy

A group of outlaws set high in the plains of north america plan the biggest heist of their life; hijack the north american railway. Ramond has waited for an opportunity like this, as the south prairies winters only grew colder his destined robbery of the railway was destined to meet him halfway. But with the love of his life waiting for him to leave everything behind and start on a clean slate, how will Ramond leave the outlaw-life behind? After all, prosperity comes with the cost of life. 

This was my first WIP that I started back in November, I never really had the chance to finish it and I've been stuck on chapter two since January (God save me). The plot and settings is so interesting but I have no idea of what makes the story itself interesting. Working on it tho!!

(Untitled Draft)

Kumiko has been a rather quiet person since highschool ended, and a year later finds herself living a comfortable life in the heart of Toronto, chasing big dreams of standing judicial someday. But until then, she works at the local gas station, meeting all kinds of new characters during her graveyard shift.  Her nights are filled with endless hours of watching netflix episodes and serving late night regulars, like any other day. But a meteor crossed the night sky in everlasting blue, and a star was born. Kumiko is reunited with a familiar classmate the same night of the meteor shower, Linari Hoshi. The two reconnect and find comfort in living in the same old, run down apartment. But something is off. She’s not as bright as she used to be, and Kumiko never knew her to be someone that stays out at graveyards’ timing. Kumiko’s regular life of invading-like customers shifts its colours, and reveals cynnical truths of the Rockafort apartments that make her blood run cold.

A new story that I might start working on to kill time, loosely holds theme inspiration from Sally Face!!

[luminavt]

Level 5 Presentation for Fantasy Life: i : NEW LIFE REVEALED!

So Fantasy Life : i just had its segment in the Level 5 ch presentation.

As someone who loved the original game and put nearly 200 hours into it? Trust me, I WILL be streaming this game on release. This was a huge comfort game for me back then, and it likely will be again!

Here's a quick overview of what was shown off by the wonderful and enthusiastic developers!

Small peek at character creation

Terraforming for the main island of the game and town.

"Artifact" system to bring former characters of the original games to your new island. Characters trapped in the form of various objects, once freed, can join your party and provide services to your island town.

Furniture and Housing showcase

Cooking minigame display, showing off how foods crafted can be ranked from 1-5 stars based on performance. They're pretty similar to the original game

Fishing mechanics showcase.

Miniboss combat showcase

Reveals of the two new lives. One, the Farmer was already revealed.

However in THIS Livestream they revealed one new life! Click the read more to see the new life, as I don't wanna spoil it for anyone looking to be surprised.

The new Life revealed is...

ARTIST!!! As an artist myself I'm PLEASANTLY HAPPY for this reveal and can't wait to see what it'll contribute to the game.

Overall. I'm happy and excited to see this sequel come to life. I wanted to see more of the game's exploration, as the original Fantasy Life 3ds had an amazingly huge world to explore.

So far I have yet to see even a display of the world map. So i have no clue to go off of for now.

I hope that this sequel provides just as big of a world, if not BIGGER to explore.

Sadly There was no release date revealed. which is VERY dissappointing. but I won't rush something I've waited THIS long for. I can wait a little longer.

Once this game releases, I'll likely be streaming it a lot, and hopefully it catches hold for me. If it does, It'll definitely be a regular thing for me.

Fingers crossed for a successful launch!

[worldsfromhoney]

Ficlet Masterlist

Each ficlet has its respective warnings so pay heed to them!! I aint responsible if you don’t know how to spot the big red warnings 👁️👄👁️

Gen All The Way

Tar dan Elif

High fantasy. An assassin goes about an assignment. It’s their favourite one yet

tints, tones, tests

Punk. The occupant of a room sees two worlds in one and makes a choice

pristine clean

Magic realism. The cleaner of souls heeds the call. The body’s in a forest

this winter we played

Medieval. A statue shows up in town. It’s not as cold or unmovable as they think

Ornaments Along the Parapet

Modern. She decides to go to the old railroad bridge

counting on

Historical. This child gets candy. The price? Freedom

…and so on!

Queer platonic

The Crowning Jewel

Cyberpunk. The rebels go and rob critical information. They get more than they expected

Lines of Power

High Fantasy. An undead necromancer goes for a sleepover at a witch’s house. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Throw Thy Pride

Modern. After being imprisoned, a government agent comes back home. It doesn’t mean he comes back whole

Not Like This

Urban Fantasy. A chicken humanoid gets a scare and the farmhand is there for comfort. It’s not as easy as it sounds

S.A.D.

Modern. One day, the tattoo shop remains closed and its florist neighbour needs answers. It’s somehow what they expected and not at all

Tears For You

Medieval. The knight sees the servant when they start crying. It is on their honour that they help stem the tears

Let Me

Xianxia. A master healer’s junior comes back to the sect. It doesn’t mean they came back whole

A Home With You

Modern Dæmon AU. Local tour guide approaches seemingly lost tourist. They get more than they expect

When in Rome

Steampunk. You come upon a stranger being dismantled and torn apart. You stay and witness.

…and so on!

Gay Gay Gay

what use are labels (with you)?

Modern. A chase between a hero and a villain. To what end will they reach?

With My Heart and Soul

Historical. The best bachelor in Roma’s looking for something. He finds it in a house he’s too familiar with

He Who Tends, He Who Mends

Medieval. A knight comes home from war. He finally gets taken care of

This Godly Taste

Historical Fantasy. Playing a game with a god never ends up well. Not even if you’re the pharaoh

Jewels of Mine

Historical. In the eyes of God, love is not a sin. In this case, it is and he cannot stop wavering

My Dear Thief

High Fantasy. A thief just wants to start a new life, free from the past. But everyone dreams and so does he

Vivre Notre Amour

Historical. A revolutionary sneaks into the bedroom of one of the most protected nobles in France. They talk as they always do

…and so on!

Series Ish

Welcome to My Channel

Urban Fantasy. You go through your coming of age ceremony. You wonder how anyone gets through adulthood like this

PART ONE

FINALE

To Fall and Fall to Rise

Urban Fantasy. After years of freedom, Val’s mother calls for him. What else is he to do but come?

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

FINALE

Imposter Syndrome

Urban Sci-Fantasy. Del’s mother is dying and it’s time he claims the thing he wants most—or the person

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

FINALE

…and so on!

Do interact with this post (like/rblg/comment) if you want to be added to the taglist for any future works !!

Have fun reading love 💛💛💛

[anneapocalypse]

Thoughts Before Endwalker

As I'm about to start Endwalker, I thought it was high time I actually write up some closing thoughts on Shadowbringers, and since I really haven't done this for any of the other expansions, this has turned into a general "thoughts so far" kind of post! And also long. This is not any kind of an essay, just a big long thoughts dump. Spoilers for everything through the end of the Shadowbringers patches.

And I trust I don't have to say this to my own followers at least, but just for the record: please do not tell me anything about Endwalker here, even if you think it's minor, even if you want to hint at something I'll like. I know very little and I'm looking forward to watching it all unfold.

How it started!

It's been a year and change since I started playing this game in the fall of 2022. I didn't actually expect to play very far (I only picked it up in the first place because I was helping a friend set it up! I swore I would never play an MMO! I hated multiplayer games!) and I certainly didn't ever expect to get as deep into it as I have! ARR is very handholdy for new players, which was exactly what I needed to enjoy playing and keep playing. I love the story and the characters and the world and while I do enjoy the solo aspects of the game very much, I've also ended up really actively enjoying playing with other people! I enjoy dungeons. I enjoy raids. I run roulettes more or less every day. Free Company life hasn't always been smooth sailing (long story I won't get into here), but it's also brought me a lot of fun times and some new friends, as well as seeing me step into an active leadership role and not hate it. Who am I? 😂 I don't know! It's not that I've never tried to step out of my comfort zone before when it comes to games and hobbies, it's just that most of those experiences haven't been good and I've ultimately walked away from them. I don't know why this has been different, but it has. It's challenged me to tackle and let go of a lot of old insecurities, which I'm glad for (and grateful to friends who've been patient with me along the way). It's also just been a really good time, and continues to be.

How it's gone! (ARR through Stormblood)

So here I am, in 2024, about to start the last current expansion! Shadowbringers is easily my favorite expansion thus far, but I have really enjoyed the whole ride.

I enjoyed all of ARR, because while I don't think it has the strongest writing and certainly not the strongest characterization, it's really more a very long introduction to the world and its major players and conflicts, and while slow-moving, it does serve that function, and for someone brand-new to MMOs like me, slow was okay. It gave me time to get my bearings and learn the game.

I did really love Heavensward. It hits on several aspects of Fantasy Politics that I enjoy (generations-long war, class politics, structural reform), and postwar Ishgard, while maybe still a little rosy, still doesn't shy away from the growing pains of social change. Also the dragons were cool. I loved Haurchefant a lot, and was heartbroken by his death even as I knew it was coming; I also wouldn't change it. I think his death was meaningful and the natural culmination of his character. A Knight lives to serve. I think Haurchefant was always going to go out sacrificing himself for someone else. If it hadn't been the Vault, it would have been somewhere else. He was a delight and I miss him dearly, but it was a good narrative beat and one I wouldn't change.

Ysayle, on the other hand, I really don't think needed to die. She undergoes a fascinating character arc in Heavensward which I think the writing really drops the ball on at the end. Ideally, I think Ysayle coming to terms with her missteps while continuing to fight for what she believes in would be fantastic. She could have been a meaningful figure in Ishgard's reforms, and she would have made a great Scion. Her death also simply isn't treated with the same reverence as Haurchefant's, and I think that's sad. Heavensward has a bit of a Women Problem, in that it really doesn't give us a lot of female characters who are central to the plot, in contrast to a lot of great and memorable male characters. And the one who is most central dies with a lot less fanfare than WoL BFF Haurchefant. (And I'm not knocking Haurchefant, whom I love dearly, or Aymeric or Estinien! The imbalance is just very noticeable and I wish it wasn't so.)

Stormblood tends to get a bad rap among FFXIV's expansions. It's so common to hear people say it's their least favorite, it wasn't as good as Heavensward, etc. It came up recently in a server I'm in, where a newer player said they were having a bit of content fatigue after Heavensward, and having heard that Stormblood wasn't very good, they were considering buying a story skip. Other responses were, not outright negative, but mostly lukewarm, and I felt like I was the only one who really came out for Stormblood's story. First of all, I don't agree that it's not as good as Heavensward! I grant you that not everyone is as enamored of Fantasy Politics as I am, but as mentioned above, Heavensward is also very political, so I don't really think that's the big difference. Stormblood is maybe a bit grittier in its depiction of war, and that's something I like about it; it's really about the horrors of imperialism and the cost of resistance, and it doesn't pull its punches on that.

Ironically where it does pull its punches is with character deaths, heroes and villains alike. It does feel a little like someone thought they might have hit us too hard in Heavensward, given that we haven't had a lot of major character deaths stick since. I'm not complaining about Gosetsu's return, as I liked him very much and was very happy he lived. I will grumble a little about Zenos, though I'll go easy because I know a lot of people like him. 😛 He just doesn't do much for me. Yotsuyu was a great villain, and I was really dubious when they brought her back, but was pleasantly surprised with how her story ended, to the point that I'm willing to eat a lot of what I said about memory loss as a plot device. They did well with it, and her ultimate death did feel appropriate. Yotsuyu was never going to have a redemption arc, because she didn't want to be redeemed.

It was very refreshing in Stormblood to have more female characters taking essential roles in the plot. Colorism issues aside, I do really like Lyse as a character, and I also loved seeing Yugiri and Alisaie taking prominent roles, especially Alisaie who really hadn't gotten to be in the main plot much before. Rolling around with the three of them was a blast. Raubahn is also a favorite of mine, so seeing him play a major role in Ala Mhigo's liberation and get some character development was excellent. I'm happy that he's stayed involved with the Resistance in the time since.

I also just think Stormblood's new areas are absolutely beautiful. Kugane and the Azim Steppe are particular faves, but I just think they did a great job with the environments and I loved exploring them, including the underwater bits! Eorzea and Ishgard are so European-inspired, and I really enjoyed seeing Asian cultural influences in a fantasy setting. It is after all a Japanese game!

Just this week I finished the reconstruction of the Doman Enclave. As a player who's joined the game more recently, it's always bittersweet to learn about game elements that were temporal and are now lost to time, like the evolution of Mor Dhona during the ARR patches, or the Ishgardian Restoration in the Firmament. I can go hang out in the Firmament and craft and do fêtes and custom deliveries, but I'll never get to see the Firmament being built. It was done when I got there, which for me was after completing 3.3, very soon after completing the main story of Heavensward. The Doman Enclave goes in the other direction. It is a solo experience by necessity, but it's an experience that every new player can have: making their donations every week and watching the Enclave grow. Such things are always a trade-off for an MMO, but between the two, I would definitely choose the one that doesn't lock new players out of the experience.

And to give one last shout-out to Stormblood, I think it's pretty essential setup for what's happening when Shadowbringers begins. It's not just that the Scions are dropping like flies, it's that this is happening on the brink of a full-scale Garlean invasion. Said invasion is also critical to the bad future that G'raha is ultimately trying to prevent. The state and history of Garlemald is inextricably tied to the Ascians who are tied up in all of this. Stormblood is arguably more important to the events of Shadowbringers than Heavensward is, though Heavensward is also not unimportant, both with the continued presence of Estinien (reluctantly so if we believe him 😉), and with the involvement of Tiamat in the Shadowbringers patches. It's all connected!

How it's going! (Shadowbringers)

Urianger is, unsurprisingly, a big part of why I love Shadowbringers so much, as he gets some wonderful character development there and actually gets to be in the plot! But it's not only him—I like how character-driven Shadowbringers is overall, how much the major characters are driving the story and not merely reacting to events. ARR was largely driven by the world itself; the expansions are where the story starts to become character-driven. The driving forces of Heavensward's are much bigger than the main characters, but Haurchefant and Ysayle and Aymeric and Estinien bring a personal face to the conflict and a reason for us to be invested in it. Stormblood's emotional core is Lyse, Yugiri, Gosetsu, and their collective drive to liberate their homelands from Garlean occupation.

Shadowbringers, to me, really brought all of that home. It's not only character-driven but it brings a much more personal touch, I think, to the Scions themselves, with the major players being characters we've known since ARR but now get to know in a deeper way. I've always liked Y'shtola as a character but never felt I really connected with her, and Shadowbringers changed that, even as her story in Shadowbringers is in many ways about her isolation from the others, her (sometimes justified) mistrust and the way she closes herself off even to the people closest to her. Yet there is a deep caring beneath Y'shtola's prickliness as well, which we see in her leadership of the Night's Blessed, the new family she is willing to risk her life for. She's complex and difficult, sometimes angry and stubborn, and we all know I love that in a fictional woman. I really gained a deeper appreciation for her as a character here.

I've said my piece on Minfilia already, so I'll try not to repeat myself too much. I will say that Thancred is the main character I have the hardest time with in Shadowbringers. I appreciated the additional character development given to him at first, but as the story made Minfilia's death more and more all about him to the exclusion of everyone else, the more I started to kind of resent it. It really gets under my skin how he treats Ryne for like, the entire time until Minfilia Prime's final departure. The narrative kind of treats it like oh, he just has a hard time expressing how he really feels! and honestly I don't fully agree with that framing. I think Thancred's cold and harsh attitude toward Ryne does reflect how he really feels at that time—namely, he's angry and lonely and upset for valid reasons, but he's taking them out on a teenager who's fully dependent on him for her survival, to the point that she admits she thinks he hates her. His legitimate pain doesn't justify that to me, and it really kinda chaps my ass how everyone just agrees that he's the one with the most claim to call Ryne family, when Urianger was far kinder, gentler, and more comforting to Ryne than Thancred ever was. And Urianger was in pain too. He also regrets what happened to Minfilia, and his part in it. He was carrying a terrible secret that he couldn't tell his closest friends, which put one of those friends' life in danger. He just owned his feelings, instead of taking them out on a scared kid. I know my bias is obvious, and I swear I don't hate Thancred 😛 but I really didn't like his behavior here and I wasn't really satisfied with the way the narrative handled it.

Probably my least favorite part of Shadowbringers was Vauthry. I just do not like "fat" as shorthand for "evil" and I think there could have been better ways to design him that didn't fall back on that trope. Even Dulia-Chai, a very lovable character in the end whomst we stan, does fall into some fatphobic tropes, and it's unfortunate that in a game without much body diversity (not to single out FFXIV, that's a problem for games generally), we only got fat character models as signifiers for "rich person" (yeah, I get that "fat cat" is the joke, it's just not a good joke) and "repulsive, evil abomination." No love!

On a lighter note, the return of G'raha Tia as the Crystal Exarch was simply wonderful. G'raha was very cute and fun during the Crystal Tower story but his presence was quite short-lived, so we didn't fully get to know him then. I think it's pretty easy to guess that it's him under the hood; he has a distinctive voice and lip shape and also the tower is right there. So the question becomes why he is hiding his identity, what his true motives are, and that's all intriguing! The fact that his plan hinges on his pretending to be the villain at the end and he utterly fails at convincing anyone is… deeply charming. But one of the things I love most about him is the kindness he extends to the people of Norvrandt. Even though his primary mission is the salvation of the Source, he gets attached to these people, offers up the resources of the Crystal Tower freely to improve their lives, helps build a home and sanctuary, fights for the First and becomes deeply invested in their survival as well. He has a huge heart, and I love him. I'm delighted that he gets to return and join the Scions at the end, and it's already been a lot of fun to have him along on the patch quests.

And of course, Urianger my love. 💜 He really shines in this story and every scene with him was a delight, even when I was climbing the walls needing to know what he was hiding. He gets so much good character development in Shadowbringers I could go on for hours about it, but I did especially love the Echo scene where you see G'raha asking him to lie—and you see how much he doesn't want to do it. Urianger's really been on a long arc ever since Moenbryda's death, and I don't think that arc is over yet, but my biggest worry for him as the cracks started to form in his story was that we'd find he hadn't changed, and was lying here for the same reasons he did in the Heavensward patches, and as easily. And that's not the case at all. He hated doing it before, and he really doesn't want to do it again, but G'raha's reasoning is just too strong for him to refuse. I brought it up recently but I think Shadowbringers reveals an Urianger who despite his long isolation really doesn't want to be alone, and does want his friends' understanding and approval and their trust. The look he gives the Warrior of Light if they say they trust him, and then the way he submits himself to their judgment when things go wrong while begging to be allowed to help fix things… god. I love him. And I'll stop there for now, since I'm sure I'll have a lot more to say about him in the future. ;)

Emet-Selch is a fascinating villain, certainly the most interesting Ascian we've seen so far, and the one who finally turns what have been fairly two-dimensional powerful bad guys into a truly motivated and complex faction. My favorite villains are always the ones who believe they're the hero, and there are a lot of parallels between Emet-Selch and Solas from Dragon Age: Inquisition which will be obvious to anyone who's played both games. FFXIV being a more linear story afford the player a lot less choice in how they respond to their villains true motives and history, but there's definitely still an expectation that we will sympathize somewhat with Emet-Selch, and recognize the tragedy of what happened to his people.

Ardbert's ghost, too, was a welcome addition to the story. Between his presence and the role quests (which were 100% worth doing in their entirety), I felt like we finally got to actually know the Warriors of Darkness against which we briefly clashed back in the Heavensward patches, and I really felt the pathos of their story, all they fought for and lost, but also their friendship and how they cared for one another.

Shadowbringers is beautiful in so many ways. The design of the Crystarium is gorgeous. Il Mheg is probably my favorite location in the game so far. Eulmore is a fascinating dark mirror of Limsa Lominsa. The way the game takes the idea of "a world being swallowed by light" and interprets that visually is so stunning. The sky over Lakeland arrests you immediately upon arrival, and the crystallization of the Flood of Light where it was halted at the edged of Amh Araeng is a chilling reminder of how much the First has already lost. The music has also been a highlight for me! I really adore the Shadowbringers music, and it has prompted me to go about collecting orchestrion rolls more deliberately than I had before.

The more I sit and write about how much I loved this expansion, the more I think of, so while I could definitely go on, I think I'll wrap it up there. 🙂

Onward to Endwalker. I'm not making any predictions this time, because I have done my absolute damnedest to stay unspoiled for this one and I know very little about what's coming other than what the locations are, what's been revealed in the Shadowbringers patches, and that it's the end of the big story arc we've been on since ARR. I'm extremely excited.

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 3/28/2023

accidentally read five books.

listening

look i know there's a new fall out boy but i have conflicting opinions about that band bc i am no longer seventeen.

MARINA (formerly Marina and the Diamonds) was another artist coming up when i was in high school, but even though Family Jewels was one of the first albums i really got into, she has soundtracked far less of my life compared to FOB so listening to her is a little less fraught. nothing else has taken up space in my brain this week like the lyrics to hollywood: "hollywood infected your brain/you wanted kissing in the rain".

kind of obsessed how the music video cuts out an entire chunk of lyrics about dissatisfied flight attendants? also jesus christ this came out in 2010. BABY marina

originally stuck in my brain bc my sister and i were talking about the musical chicago, and this song contains the lyrics "oh my god you look just like shakira/no wait you're catherine zeta/actually my name's marina"

-

reading

Star Wars: Dark Disciple by Christie Golden. ventress has never been my favorite of count dooku’s batmanesque kidnapped children. i respect her! she’s awful! i want to see her flirt with obi-wan more but maul (my beloved) has always had more screen time and depth.

it’s spackled together from most of a cancelled eight-episode clone wars arc and it kind of shows? this is not to say that star wars books are uninterested in the interiority of their characters, but we rarely get in their heads. star wars books are much more focused on what it looks like in the movie— there are big cinematic set pieces where it’s important to know exactly where everyone is in a fight.

golden writes a competent action scene. this is more than i can say for many star wars writers.

^ i am shoving my fist into my mouth and screaming.

anyway, one of my worst character traits is a latent previously discussed fondness for steampunk and a less latent fondness for urban fantasy.

i read Alexis Hall's Iron and Velvet Kate Kane book a million years ago possibly at the rec of @bronanlynchh during the new hampshire internship, one of the worst depressive periods of my life, but i did consume a lot of gay romance during that period. bc im in my noir era now, reread it and realized there were more! so i devoured them all over the weekend.

to quote @quaraxuanzenith who seems to be the only other person here who has read them recently,

have you ever thought, "Twilight sure is a book, but it would be better if Bella ( a ) realized that Edward is a weird controlling creep, ( b ) dumped him, ( c ) came out to herself as lesbian, and ( d ) went off to become a paranormal private investigator"?

these are just fun nonsense! i loved them and will buy paper copies after i move! i would not call these "spicy", but she falls in and out of the arms of SO many femmes and fatales (who sometimes overlap). there are SO many women throwing themselves at her. it is a delightful way of nodding at the genre's roots bc kate has some game! she doesn't have zero game! she not an oblivious useless lesbian archetype either! but she's usually like ?????? this person is OUT OF MY LEAGUE and never actually realizes a tall, tortured, sad, purple-eyed lady in a trenchcoat is catnip to nearly all wlw.

i think the third book hits its stride and flings you into a rapidly entangling web of loyalties and motivations that i really enjoy in a noir. i like how the author feels no need to write the YA vampire book trilogy she survived. i like how kate has a life going on apart from the stuff that happens in the books. she does not feel like she started existing the moment the book opens.

i finally understand the little old lady love of endless mystery series, bc this is some really comforting reading. i would read twenty of these. i trust that this author's got me and may fling some twists or red herrings at me but ultimately i won't turn the page and she'll be beaten in the street for being an out lesbian. okay so she does get whumped in the street but it's for case reasons

-

watching

virtuosity (1995, dir leonard). the tagline of this film is "Hell hath no fury like a composite of 183 serial killers. Meet Sid 6.7"

is this a Good film? oh god no. if you've seen the tv show interview with the vampire, it has the same contrasting vibes between the two leads, where one is turning in an incredible performance about a black man trying to hold onto family and dignity while the other is prancing around like a deranged show pony. except without the clarity of purpose or production values of a big budget amc tv drama. however, russell crowe (guy i love to see) put his whole ass into this performance. this is not a half-assed acting effort. it is a joy to watch him zip around screen while denzel washington is giving a very good performance as a disgraced, widowed ex-cop.

this really throws a wrench into my whole "if a movie is about being afraid of a robot it's about being afraid of women" bc crowe is not a woman, but he is a malevolent neural network given an android body. a private company has a contract for a police training tool (the neural network trained on 183 serial killers who you can fight in VR) and is testing the interface on prisoners. i wish this movie had anything to say or critique about this three-way partnership other than using it as an inciting incident for what turns into a chase movie. the movie does not attempt to convince you this would be a good idea in a different private company's dev team but i wish the movie spent slightly less time going AAAAAA HOW TO STOP and any time at all going AAAAAAA HOW DID WE LET THIS HAPPEN

i would call this film camp on vibes alone except it is almost completely uninterested in sensuality. the special effects have not aged very well at all, but the film has the same production designer (Nilo Rodis-Jamero) as Johnny Mnemomic (also 1995) so the film Looks.

why? it was leaving canopy soon and when my gender isn't "woman in the same way a sailing ship is a woman" it's "nineties movie club scenes"

-

playing

weird west! still! (image from the steam page bc i keep forgetting to take screenshots)

not terribly worried about the somewhat repetitive nature of the locations themselves, bc the enemy encounters are varied enough it feels like solving a new puzzle each time. also im still having fun.

i have been picking off guys from around the edges of enemy encampments with a silenced rifle and then tanking through this rest with a shotgun and liberal bandage application, as i am wont to do in shooty games, but i cannot currently break my husband out of a mine run by...cannibals? human traffickers to the cannibals? the xp-giving bad guys without getting one of my companions killed. i really don't want to ditch ann lara (i'm not entirely sure what her deal is? sort of a smooth-talking hustler archetype? but really good with pistols?) who has been with me for most of the eight hours i've played this game. the sheriff/my neighbor, along for the ride for her own reasons, has four times as much health as either of us so she's staying. she's been the only one left alive most of my attempts at this one FUCKING cave.

so i am looping back out into the world (sorry husband) to go think about some real tactics. practice my dodge rolls in a less tense environment. perhaps level up some guns and armor. now you might say "kay! isn't it worrying that you're hitting such a big difficulty cliff?" and to that i say "not really bc i cannot stress the amount of simply dicking around and exploring ive done, also i am not a clever woman."

-

making

fallow week

[rockybloo]

Thinking of writing a fanfic crossover where Jack and Nana end up in Decking city after a magical accident (Still fleshing out the details of how said accident worked).

If comfortable answering:

I'm curious about how you think Nana and Jack would react to such a such a big change in a new place like that, in a general sense. Especially if there's a bigger issue bringing them here and they realize they have to solve it to go home.

Thank you, and lovely day either way ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡

A fanfic of Jack and Nana would make me screech because they are the most ship ever for me and I'd be overjoyed. 😭💚❤️ The concept of anyone considering taking time out of their day and writing a fic about my OCs in general makes me happy.

and WOW my brain waves are powerful because I was literally thinking of an old Beanstalked plot point that basically dealt with the idea of how the main team get yeeted from Lore to Earth and have to figure out how to get back and how to tie it to Glitter and Guilt for a funny little crossover arc.

I won't go into detail about the ACTUAL events that cause it to potentially happen (bc I dunno if I'll do it...I mean I probably will but as a separate oneshot from the main storylines of both stories) BUT I can def answer how Jack and Nana would respond to a similar situation.

This will be a long one so buckle in

First thing to know is that Lore and Earth are two separate planets in the same solar system. Both are waaay closer than either think.

Lore occupants know about Earth, specifically they know it as "The World without Magic/Happy Endings/Fairy Tales/etc." It's kinda of mythicized.

Earth has no idea Lore is a thing because Lore has magic rings (kinda like Saturn's but cooler I dare say) that spin around it and make it invisible.

Bloopers are a glitch in reality in Lore where things from Earth often pop up there. Often old or lost objects.

Jack works part time for Baba, who tends to have a whole bunch of bloopers in his shop, which means he has very mild knowledge of Earth. Not a whole lot but if he winded up there-he would know "Oh! This is Earth!" and he'd be able to point out some stuff and name it. So he would know a car when he sees one-it's just a matter of actually being aware of how one works.

Hazel and Kettle have a TON of bloopers they hoard in their bedroom which serves as the attic for the inn Miss Castor is the keeper of. Specifically, they have the super fun bloopers like retro game consoles and comic books. Chances are, they even have some Sweetheart merch but are under the belief that she is merely fictional character.

So Jack is vaguely aware of Sweetheart. SPECIFICALLY as "The pink hero my little siblings thinks is cool".

Merch of villains is a whole lot more locked down with most being illegal save for what is made for the Decking City Park of Heroes AKA the Disney World/Universal Studios of Decking City entirely focusing on it's homegrown hero culture.

So Bitterbat is def not someone Jack is aware of.

When it comes to Nana, she doesn't really dabble much in bloopers or even learning about Earth. Unless it's from Jack's ramblings or mini adventures, she tends to limit herself to Lore and its shenanigans. She spent most her life living in a forest and is just now branching out to learn more about Briar Patch and Lore as a whole thanks to Jack making her realize "Oh hey the outside world is kinda fun".

She's taking baby steps and Earth is a very big jump she ain't trynna make yet.

So when it comes to them getting yeeted to Earth, SPECIFICALLY Decking City, Nana is def more reliant on Jack when it comes to knowledge. Where ever he is going, she is gonna be right there, hugging onto one of his arms for dear life because neither wants to lose the other.

Decking City is very interesting with how it's the least mundane setting for Jack and Nana to wind up in, which works perfectly because they come from a fantasy world. They will ironically feel a lot more comfortable when they see a giant monster attacking or some hero versus villain battle going on than dealing with crossing the street with a buncha traffic or even walking through a grocery store aka over stimulant central.

The biggest problem would be adapting to their temporary stay. Decking City is loud and busy and both would be overwhelmed quite easily from just the sights and sounds alone. A city is vastly more imposing than a kingdom when it comes to its buildings and even then, Jack and Nana spend most their time in Briar Patch which is a small humble town.

Nana would have the worse time because her keen Lupine hearing means every car honk, screech of tires, Kaiju alert siren, civilian yelling at another civilian, would lead to the biggest headache.

Protecting the other and making sure they're safe is their main priority. They care deeply about each other and seeing the constant look of discomfort on Nana's face and how nervous she is is enough to break Jack's heart. And the second anyone so much as breathes in the slightest bit of irritation at Jack seeming to not know where or what he's doing, under the belief he's a tourist, would lead to Nana snarling with her full set of chompers on display.

That's enough to cause anyone in the proximity to steer clear of them...or at least treat Jack very nicely because it's very obvious the two are traveling together.

ULTIMATELY, both would want some safe place so they can gather their thoughts, which are currently being scrambled by the city sights and sounds, calm down and figure out what they need to do to get back home.

Whatever they need to do, they are def willing to accomplish because they are used to being in some slice of hell situations. They've always figured their way out of them. Back on Lore, the gang adventures a bunch and have encountered a lot. Some of which I cannot share for spoilers but just know they are no strangers to dealing with the unknown.

It's just a big matter of figuring out exactly what unknown they are dealing with this time.

[turbulentscrawl]

hi hi! i hope you're doing well ^^ i'd love to request a match up if that's okk!

i use they/them pronouns, dress mostly in masc/androgynous clothing and prefer feminine terms/pet names (a whole shit show i know 🥴). i'm demiromantic/demisexual and would prefer being matched with a male if that's okk. i'm INFP 9w1, neutral good, leo rising, libra sun, pisces moon.

as far as personality goes, i'm described by others as open minded, slightly extroverted, blunt, honest, witty and flirty. while i am aware that i am indeed all these things, it's mostly a facade. i tend to be shy, introverted, can seem pretty cold and distant if you only see me from afar and don't approach me but i just have a hard time showing love and care so openly unless i'm comfortable with the person. not sure if you know these characters, but mostly like a vanitas, dazai, scaramouche, lyney type beat personality.

to expand a bit more on the outer personality, i do tend to be flirtatious towards people who i know i have an effect on or are easily flustered, it's pretty fun and cute to see how they react. all fun and games till someone pulls a reverse card on me tho, if someone tries to do the same to me, i immediately get flustered and stumble over my words because i genuinely never expect the reciprocation. as for inner personality, i did say im not so open about showing love and care unless im comfortable with the person but once i am comfortable enough, i go to hell and back to smother them with so much love, especially with gifting things and lengthy paragraphs (because im bad verbally). what does get me to fold most of the time is someone straightforward, doesn't beat around the bush on what they want to say or do because i do like being caught off guard by such people and it just makes me happy (and quite flustered) knowing that they're so open about it.

i'm currently in university studying communications so my interest mostly are in medias like socials, tv, movies, radio, photography, etc. my main focuses are tv and photography however. with tv, i really enjoy the behind scenes work of it. being able to set up the space and bring it to life. just seeing your creation put into motion is just the most satisfying feeling ever. as for photography, i just enjoy the serenity of it (as if i'm not cursing the weather and people that get into a shot every 5 minutes but anyway), it's very calming in its own way. i have a personal preference for landscape photography since nature and ambiance itself have a lot to offer/say for itself but really i'm just bad at telling others how to pose and what emotion to convey. i just prefer to let them do their own thing unless there's something in particular i really want.

i tend to daydream a lot, like excessively. maladaptive daydreaming go brrr, bUT ANYWAY. i could go on hours and hours daydreaming, that type of daydreaming that got you walking around the house and shit to help you envision things better. because of the excessive daydreaming, i do sometimes write but only when i'm feeling down or stressed as a way to cope.

another thing that i do is watch a lot of videos and movies. i mostly watch fantasy related movies and my all time favorite movie is coraline, with nightmare before christmas in second place. i have an absolute soft spot and big love for stop motion movies and love watching the behind the scenes of it, for any movie tbh because i just love seeing how things come to life and how the crew works to create such things. for videos, it's just watching others talk while they play a game or do something. i just like hearing people talk about things they're doing or enjoy while they're actively doing something, it keeps me engaged.

i do game a lot! mostly genshin and idv, but i do play a few other games as well and i'm willing to try any game once if someone asks, especially if it's a multiplayer/coop game since i feel like games are more enjoyable with other people. hmm, other things i do are book readings and tarot! i have a lot of fantasy books that i've bought over the years as well as many tarot decks (my wallet is not okay 💀😭). tarot in particular is something i've always been fascinated and interested in so i've researched and gotten into it for a few years now!

not really sure what else to say about me tbh so i hope this is enough 😭 thank you in advance!

I Ship You With Andrew Kreiss!

-Andrew does better with people who aren't social butterflies (because it allays his fears that you prefer the other people you speak to over him), and who like to keep the peace (because they're often good for helping with Andrew's constant grumpy-boy miscommunication.) He's also a bit slow to warm to people, but it sounds like you're a bit of the same, albeit with better manners.

-A fun mix, Andrew is blunt enough and you flirty enough that you constantly fluster one another. He's crass and direct, and though he may stutter and flush beet-red sometimes, Andrew is usually good about telling people what he wants. He's also not used to people complimenting or flattering him, so he flusters easily. You're constantly blushing around one another.

-He's mostly indifferent to your daydreaming. Andrew is more philosophical than he lets on, and you two could easily have an hour or two of lounging in the gardens, you zoned out and him contemplating life. Alternatively, just leave your lap open so he can take a nap. Andrew loves to have his hair played with.

-Andrew lacks any real "hobbies" as most of his life up to this point has been consumed with the church and survival. He's likely to follow you around as you engage in yours and try to figure out if they're things he's interested in as well. I don't think he's likely to be a tech-y guy even in a modern world, so he's more liable to read a book along with you than play a video game.

-Photography might actually help Andrew with some of his self-image issues! Getting him to pose would be a hard-won battle, but if you take a lot of candid pictures of Andrew, and especially if you fawn over them, it gives him a lot to think about. At some point, he has to accept that you don't find him monstrous in any way.

Runner Up: Naib Subedar

[rakuya-nikki]

Re:Zero - Entry #11

I've spent the past several days fervently rewatching Re:Zero, and not only did I learn a lot of new words and get great studying from it, but I was able to remember just how much I love this show.

I'm usually not good with gore. Well, "usually" as in I'm still not good with gore. There's a particular scene in the show involving some... bunnies, that I had to skip because I can not handle that shit lmfao. But I feel like this show has just enough of that kind of stuff to where I can deal with it. I definitely don't wish I was Subaru, though, that's for sure.

This show's themes of self-worth, loneliness, never giving up, finding out how to better oneself, and so many other things, are really interesting, especially when compared to other Isekai. The idea of "dying and starting at a checkpoint" is already a brilliant concept to base a realistic, dark fantasy story off of, but it's really executed so well in this show.

I never really thought about it before, but this pseudo-time travel mechanic really is like Majora's Mask. And just like that game, this show manages to use that to create amazing characters, motivations, reactions and emotions. People will do things slightly different for various reasons per each "round", and it really makes them feel complex and human, even if a... lot of characters are... very extra lol.

In terms of my favorite characters, obviously Subaru has a big leg up given how he's the main focus for so much character development. And he really does feel like his own character. Like, he's not someone you, the viewer, want to insert themselves into. Hell, like I said before, I'm really glad I'm not him. This is a story, one of someone who constantly compares himself to and relies on others, who utterly lacks self-worth or love, who believes he has to bear the burden of pain and suffering in place of everyone else.

When I first watched the show, I was younger, more depressed, had much less self-worth instilled in me, and those themes were really impactful at that time. Of course, I was also bittered by them a bit, in the sense that I didn't have a Rem to tell me they loved me, or an Echidna to be a source of comfort (albeit not good comfort). I didn't have an Emilia to fall in love with or anything. But I also didn't have a horde of bunnies eating me alive so that's fair. Anyways, yeah, even if I didn't have the cast of beautiful women (and, more importantly, Otto) to help reassure my self-worth and show me the love that I wanted, I still took heart in the idea of loving yourself.

The show loses some impact upon second viewing, but it also helps me really appreciate the pacing and ordering of events. When you first watch it, things can feel kind of hopeless, scattered, chaotic, painful. Which, I reckon, is part of the point, and it's impressive the show can make you feel those things. But watching it while knowing everything that happens really helps me notice how intentional certain details or events are, and how everything connects and affects Subaru and the others. It's a really solid show.

I'm so excited for Season 3 to happen, though I dunno when that'll be. Much like Mushoku Tensei, I may have to add this to my list of "things to read eventually". Though apparently the Light Novel is not progressing very quickly. Oh well, it's an option.

The show is full of so much emotion. In its facial expressions, in its incredible voice acting, and in its events. The scene at the very end of Season 1's final episode is perhaps one of the best bombshells to end a season ever. Like, you did all of that work, half a season's worth of scheming and fighting, to finally overcome it, and at the very end, you find out that just one of the things you were trying to protect is... gone. Especially the way the show starts out Season 2, with the despair, the willingness for Subaru to end his own life to try it over again, only to realize his checkpoint has been updated to after it's happened, so he can't possibly save her.

It's such a powerful way to take what looked like an overall victory, and bring back some reality to the situation. It's grim. It's really impactful. The show's full of those moments, where you can feel Subaru's anger, anguish, relief, pain. And, like I said before, the emotions on display through the facial expressions and voice acting is unbelievable. I don't think I've ever seen a show depict such emotions as well.

Very impressive show, I'm so glad to be able to experience it once again. And not only that, but get some great studying out of it too. The show's language is a lot more complicated than I was expecting, but because of it, I've made over 100 flash cards and got so much practice. I was even able to point out some certain words that, I can tell, this author likes to use more than other people. At least, I think so. It's cool to be able to notice those types of things.

My favorite characters are either Echidna, Emilia, Subaru, or Beatrice. Though I love Otto too. When I first watched Season 1, when I was younger, Rem became my comfort character (I refuse to use the word "waifu"), but I've since forgotten who that character is. Unfortunate.

[talenlee]

Game Pile: Why Do Trans Women Love Fallout New Vegas

Released in 2010, Fallout New Vegas is a classic of the FPS-shooter RPG genre, bringing forward the Fallout 3 engine’s integration of real-time FPS combat with the previous Fallout game’s turn-based mathematical combat, and integrating them into a sort of ‘second parse’ at the let’s politely say rough execution of Fallout 3. In this game, which I have reviewed in the past, literally ten years and a much more closely-hewn Yahtzee Impression ago, you play a character called The Courier starting at the point in their story where a traumatic head injury gives you an opportunity to intervene in the existing story with a potentially all new, all exciting direction.

The story is a sort of noir cowboy steampunk fantasy – there’s the trappings of modern technology and post-apocalyptica, but the world that was and its infrastructure isn’t really important as much as it just sweeps aside a lot of options for progress. Technology is chunky and heavy and there’s a durability to everything, where things break, but they can always be fed more technology to make them un-break. Everything has an independence to it, a scrounging, foraging, make-it-work, it’ll-do-for-now technologism all typified with a gun at your hip and your duster fluttering in the hot wind.

Also, I guess, Content Warning: Drugs and violence, because that’s a thing that happens in the game and kinda comes up in this conversation. A bit. I just want one person at least to be more comfortable reading this, going on.

And it is notorious for being a game beloved by trans women. So much so that it’s a meme unto itself, a joke about being into Fallout New Vegas being a gateway to the experience of being a trans woman. And as an investigator of games, I thought I could, this Pride Month, explain to you, why all trans women love Fallout New Vegas:

They don’t, largely.

Oh, sure, there are trans women who are fans of Fallout New Vegas. A bunch of them! And they tend to describe ideas in Fallout New Vegas that excite them, it tends to be things like:

I get to shoot Matthew Perry in the face

The story is all constructed such that everyone’s story is somehow ensnared with the dam

There’s a meaningful dialectic between Caesar’s legion and his own ideology

You can do drugs and shoot baddies

Cazadores are amazing

Cazadores suck

The Courier has a backstory, has a meaningful life and narrative that you have to reconstruct through play

There’s an anti-nuclear thread running throughout the whole story

Spurs go jingle jangle jingle

The final building is exciting and beautiful and engaging

The idea that Las Vegas strip is the kind of thing that survives our worst end is darkly funny and what we deserve

There’s more. When I compose a list of this kind of thing reflecting on feedback, I’m typically trying to collapse together similar responses, and there really isn’t a lot of commonality between these unless you start to get really broad. And when you get that broad, what it tends to come down to is:

It’s an enjoyable game and I find it engaging.

What’s more there’s some feedback I got that doesn’t match the feedback given. Now, I did ask explicitly only to trans readers to respond to this question, so I have assumed that everyone who responded did, but normally, when I ask a question like ‘what’s something about this gam that excites you’ and you find a way to structure your answer to be a dunk on the question or complaining about something unrelated, I think of that as not answering the question and not being helpful.

But still, in the sense of completeness we also got:

The game is buggy and I don’t like it

The game didn’t leave an impression on me

I’ve never played the game

And okay, was this what you were expecting? These are all pretty distinct opinions, some fine enough to be about individual mobs in the game, some are big and expansive about the metatextual structure of the story, some are about the values of the story and some are about the storytelling devices and some are uuuh just about the sheer enjoyment you can get out of shooting racists while high off your face. Every explanation I’ve heard from trans people about why they personally like Fallout New Vegas has been specifically about liking the game as a game.

Not as a piece of Trans Media. Not as a piece of Trans Representation. It’s not even a game with a blatant expression of Trans Rights – you can turn the lens of this game pretty easily to see it making fun of ‘man in a dress’ narratives, if you want. You could also play the whole game and never notice the bit I’m talking about! Missing Cazadores or the Dam or the Nuclear themes? That’d be a lot harder by comparison. And Fallout New Vegas is also just a very popular game, that lots of people like.

The idea that trans women love Fallout New Vegas is therefore a kind of floating signifier. Lots of people like Fallout New Vegas. It’s not a secret mysterious cult hit. It doesn’t need special trans significance to be a beloved game in the trans community. Coming out in the right chunk of time for a community with common interests means that of course a bunch of them would relate to it. You might as well point out the common thread of trans women using Windows 7, because in the same general band of time they probably did.

Now, I don’t know if you’re aware of this, but memes are not, in and of themselves, all that complex. They’re sticky, they’re reduced coagulations of meaning, but the real thing a meme is is a unit of communication. A meme transmits meaning, and that meaning needs to be shareable. You might be familiar with some memes already like this, such as, y’know, words. The purpose of memes is therefore not so much to be explanatory in and of themselves, but to be useful for explanation. The fancy term we use for this, in describing a network of memes with related meanings that indicate a communal space, a sort of ‘meme dialect’ that a community holds to, is the word memeplex.

There’s also the potential of a sort of permissive diagnostics of it. The nature of being trans is often an end point of a series of conversations with the self and with others that are entirely about undoing a series of mental hurdles that are meant to stop trans people from considering themselves trans. Some folks have had a rock-solid ironclad long-term consideration of their gender in one way, and for some folk it’s a lot more complicated. Maybe you think ‘I would be a trans woman, but’ or ‘I mean, if I was a trans woman I’d be unhappy because I wouldn’t be attractive’ or ‘man, I’m jealous of trans women getting to solve something so simple about themselves and becoming happy,’ and those thoughts are often part of this same trapping matrix of ideas.

Maybe there’s no special reason trans girls love Fallout New Vegas, but maybe you love Fallout New Vegas because you’re a trans girl. And if that sounds like incoherent nonsense to you, then don’t worry about it.

It’s not a message for or about you.

Now join me next time for why I talk about so many trans dudes own a short-sleeved collared blue shirt with a repeating pattern of something like white dots on it.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

#GamePile #Games

[roleplayfinder]

hello!! i'm astro, i'm recently getting back into the rp scene and i'm looking to find some one on one rp partners! a little about me is i'm 26, engaged and a fulltime caretaker for an elderly family member! i use it/its pronouns but if you struggle with neos, he/him is also okay.

i'm mainly looking for oc roleplays, but i'm totally open to fandom cc x cc roleplays as well!!! i'll list the fandoms i'm interested in below!

as for oc, i love building characters with my partners and almost making things up as we go. i love the creativity that comes with constant collaboration. genre wise, i would prefer romance aspects, though it doesn't have to be the focus of the rp! just something to add to the story! i also love creating side characters, whether they're reoccurring or one off characters! i am not an nsfw roleplayer, so if that's what you're looking for, i'm afraid i am not the one for you! i'm super into fantasy, supernatural, thriller/horror settings, darker themes, slice of life and fandom worlds when it comes to ocs!

as for fandoms, i'll list fandoms and ships as well as which characters i prefer playing!!! the characters i prefer writing as will be bold and italicised!

jujutsu kaisen:

megumi x yuuji (i will absolutely not accept megumi with sukuna, gojo, nanami or any other adult in this series. proshippers are not safe to interact with me.)

yuuta x inumaki

getou x gojo

genshin impact:

scaramouche x childe

xiao x aether

scaramouche x kazuha

kaveh x alhaitham

honkai: star rail:

caelus x dan heng/dan heng il

hades (video game):

zagreus x thanatos

red, white & royal blue (i prefer the book's storyline and characterisation):

henry x alex

there are various other medias i'm super intersted in that don't have big fandoms so if you ever wanna explore, let me know!! as for partner requirements, i'm not comfortable with anyone under the age of 19 simply because of the age gap. i am literate to novella third person pov and would appreciate someone who is similar!! i can usually reply once or twice a day depending, but if i'm super into it, i can reply three or four!!! i am most comfortable roleplaying on discord as i love making servers with my rp partners! f you're interested, interact with this or message me and i'll get back to you as soon as i can!!!

again, i am not an nsfw roleplayer and proshippers are not safe to interact or reach out.

.

[fandxmslxt69]

HAIII, MY WIFE!!! <3

I saw your new ask game and I couldn’t help but jump right on it. I’m forcing you to be nice to yourself with this one. Mwahaha! >:)

🎀 Give yourself a compliment about your own writing

💥 Find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

🎙️ Which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

aaaaaaaaa noooooooooooooooooo complimenting my work is soooo hard........

🎀 Give yourself a compliment about your own writing

UGH. okay. um i'm gonna say it again, i like developing settings and characters and i think i do it good. i love establishing character dynamics and getting to delve into them and i think im pretty good at it!! And um, i've been told my descriptions/narrations in setting is really nice, so there's that! I love setting the scene. I love getting that vision anf furiously writing it down. Currently, i'm very happy with my writing!! I haven't been posting many fics, since I've been focusing on drafting my novel all November, but it's thrilling to say that i'm really happy with how its going!!! i reread it and i giggle a lot!! Its not perfect, its a first draft, BUT its MY first draft and comparing it to my old stuff makes me fill up with joy at how far i've come!!! I've gotten better, and I've found my own flow, so thank god for that.

💥 Find your least kudos'd fic - say something wonderful about it.

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM. Okay, i'm gonna look at rbs mostly.

Probably Enchanted 2 (at 15 rbs) and I'm Proud of You (at 16 rbs) which is...well i dont know. Enchanted is really disheartening, since the first part really hit off well, so idk what happened? But I loved writing it. I love creating that almost magical setting i had envisioned. I loved messing around with Loki and getting to write through his eyes, and pick through his brain. As for I'm Proud of You, its kinda annoying since my OTHER comfort fics went HIGH so idk? maybe its bc the others were MK? I DONT KNOW!!! but, i really liked it. I think it was the first comfort thing I wrote purely for myself. I was having a shitty night, well, i think it was a shitty few days, and being able to just write it all out for myself and then feeling comfortable enough to put it out there is...pretty big. i usually keep my shit out of my fics, but im happy i made the step to find some comfort in them.

🎙️ Which one of your fics would you like someone to make a pod-fic of?

UMMMMMMMM Lesson Not Learnt im such a whore for saying that but IM ACTUALLY SO PROUD OF THAT THING I JUST !!!!!!!!! But, then also, there's Enchanted. IDK I love the whole....magical fantasy vibe of it, i'd be honoured f someone was willing to bring that to life with a pod-fic

UGH THANK YOU FOR THE ASKS CUTIE <3 really had me thinking again!!!!

[keeponquinning]

frost thaws and roses bloom — multi-chaptered masterlist

koner x margaery tyrell — game of thrones divergent — 18+

Summary — MARGAERY TYRELL should not be alive. Whispers and declarations of her death had spread throughout the Seven Kingdoms. The rose of Highgarden had burnt as the Great Sept of Baelor had crumbled, consumed by the green flames of wildfire. But then... How is it, while on patrol, one of House Stark's guards, KONER, comes across a lady, disoriented, barely speaking until she collapsed into his arms, that bears the striking resemblance, according to Lady SANSA STARK, of the burnt rose? Why, after, could he not rid his mind of thoughts of her? As she, too, seemed to be drawn to him as well? He is just a guard, providing for himself and his little sister, he should only mind of his own matters and keep away from just his duty. Yet...when she smiles, it's like the warmth of the sun rains down upon him, and for the life of him, he cannot look away.

Notes — Before Stranger Things, this show had caught my attention and my comfort character was Margaery Tyrell. This did not bode well or ended well for me! But now here to make it right, combining my two loves and giving them the ending they deserve. I will rely on my knowledge of the show, the books, maybe, some elements, I haven't read them in full ( will i ever?? who knows ) but definitely some depictions of the world its in, spoilers of the show, blood magic, and all the fantasy. I'm planning on, like the books, each chapter being a perspective of a character, so far definitely between KONER and MARGAERY, maybe add in others as well. I just want a big epic romance between these two because look at them! LOOK AT THAT BANNER! They are BEAUTIFUL. Bi panic is what we strive for.

Like this to be added to the tag list for chapters!

M A S T E R L I S T ! I. KONER | II. MARGAERY

TAGLIST :

[shaniacsboogara]

What are some of your favorite movies and why? I'm in the mood for some ranting about cool stuff :)

OKAY ALRIGHT LET'S DO THIS (in no particular order)

JK ROWLING IS STINKY 🤬🤬🤬

But I love Remus Lupin. And I love the aesthetic of this movie. And I LOVE werewolves. Professor Lupin is one of THE BEST characters in the entire Harry Potter franchise and I just think he deserves more hype and he's really cool and idk I get nostalgic about this movie and it's definitely a comfort movie for me.

Just this entire franchise. And the Hobbit movies. My Dad has always been a BIG Tolkien fan so I was raised on LOTR and went to see the Hobbit movies in theatres when they first came out (I saw the first one 3 or 4 times, I was OBSESSED). BEFORE ANYONE COMES AT ME I'VE ALSO READ THE BOOKS I READ THEM IN GRADE 3 I KNOW THE LORE DW 🙏. I'm a sucker for fantasy (hence my current dnd obsession lol) and the world of these films is just so immersive and breathtakingly beautiful that I can't help but consider them my favourites, even if it's been years since I've watched them cohesively. ALSO THE MUSIC IS SO GOOD. I'LL LISTEN TO THE LOTR SOUNDTRACK ANY DAY.

Again. THE MUSIC.

Andrew Garfield was SO GREAT in this, and I personally connected to it a lot as a songwriter myself. That being said, this movie makes me SOB EVERY SINGLE TIME. Jonathan Larson was truly a talent and it's such a shame his life ended as early as it did. So glad he lives on through his art, and so glad that he was able to make such a huge impact on people with what he created. (Also fun fact I'm going to see Rent in a few weeks)

IT STARTED AS A BIT IT WAS A JOKE

Word of advice: if you ever think to yourself, "Hey. It'd be silly if I kept suggesting to watch that one Adam Sandler Halloween movie whenever my family asks for movie suggestions despite the fact that it isn't Halloween anymore and it's not that good of a movie- DON'T. DO IT.

Hubie Halloween is my comfort movie now. I don't rewatch movies and tv shows a lot, but I've seen this one probably 5 times in the last few months. It's just a silly little Halloween movie, but I sort of started to appreciate it more after realizing "HEY THAT GUY IN THE TIN MAN COSTUME IS WILL BYERS!!!" Although most of the media I find myself drawn to is more complex and explores the intricacies of how humanity functions, this movie somehow grew on me. My family references it constantly, and every time we play Jackbox games, half of the quiplash answers are just "Hubie". Overall I just think this movie is funny, quirky, subverts expectations in silly ways, and is a nice lighthearted watch compared to my other favourites.

My final movie on this list isn't ACTUALLY a movie but I HAVE TO TALK ABOUT IT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

MIDNIGHT MASS IS MY FAVOURITE SHOW. EVER. OF ALL TIME.

The music??? Immaculate. THE ACTING??? Immaculate. THE WRITING??? Immaculate (although there are a lot of monologues which can be a lot for some people, but as a theatre kid I REALLY appreciated them).

I've rewatched this show 2 1/2 times now and I'm just so in love with it. It's horror, but it doesn't rely on cheap jumpscares and many of the cheaper tactics some horror movies use nowadays. It's way more focused on its ensemble cast and developing good characters and storytelling. Sure, it starts off a bit slow, but the emotional payoff in the final two episodes is SO. WORTH IT.

Hamish Linklater as Father Paul is just... Awesome. RAHUL KOHLI AS HASSAN??? SO GOOD??? THIS ENTIRE CAST IS SO TALENTED and the way they play their characters is so raw and compelling and human.

Ryan Bergara was so right when he listed Father Paul as a poor little meow meow on Tumblr Top 5 HE SO IS AND I LOVE HIM FOR THAT. Anyway if you wanna see a new take on some classic horror tropes, commentary on the meaning of life and what happens after it, and some really good acting just... Please watch this. It definitely destroys your soul and makes you think but it's so good and the aesthetic is just... Mmmm.

Anyway Boog rant over, THANK YOU FOR THE ASK I LOVE RANTING SORRY THIS IS LONG!!!