#apparently the improvements to the formula are supposed to be quite good...

[coldmail750]

boy howdy is cities skylines 2 a big fat disappointment

[alianoralacanta]

It's possible to do some junior series (low-powered ones like the Ginetta Juniors) at age 14 and others (like F2-F4) at age 16, so requiring drivers to be 18 still gives them up to 4 years of experience in single-seaters, including up to 2 years in more powerful machines such as F4, F3 and/or F2. The ability to get the experience necessary to hit minimum skill limits is there. The readiness of drivers to benefit from it 100% apparently is not, if the low driving standards in this year's F2 are any measure. This, for me, is because of too much emphasis on the belief that "If you're good enough, you're old enough".

I think that the right 17-year-old is capable of doing an adequate job in F1, and that quite a few "right" 17-year-olds are out there racing and potentially interested. Nonetheless, I believe that hardly any 17-year-olds should attempt the feat anyway. Even Max Verstappen would have benefitted from another year in the junior series (he'd have started winning titles earlier and, in my belief, ended up with a higher peak performance). No number of titles is going to make Max being cheated out of his true potential by being rushed through the system sting less. Max is the person most people who defend below-18 appointments cite, and it's hard to come up with a better example of an under-18 who might have been more ready for F1. Potential F1 drivers need to get the best preparation they can first, and not be pressured by teams to short-circuit the process to please a F1 team. (There are drivers who went through the system quickly and would not have gained more from staying in it longer. However, people like Jenson Button and Kimi Raikkonen are a) starting the latter part of their ascent after their 18th birthday and b) have certain personality traits that allow them to continue the learning process smoothly in F1, in a way that the majority of drivers (of any quality level - no skill level appears to protect against this) simply cannot. F1 should be about encouraging drivers to be the best drivers they can be. How else can it be the pinnacle of single-seater racing? The "if you're young enough, you're good enough" simply ends up lending weight to Formula E getting better drivers (because they've had time to improve more before joining, and for the most part get the time to continue improving) and eventually taking the "pinnacle" crown from F1 in terms of driver skill (if not in other respects). When the under-18 restriction was due to insurance (which I understand was why it was imposed in the first place - no point telling a driver "you're old enough for F1" only to find the race cancelled through lack of insurance owing to that driver's inclusion), it made sense on the grounds of sheer pragmatism. Now, since it appears at least one insurer is willing to insure under-18s in F1 again, the proper reason is to let F1 be what it is supposed to be - a place for the drivers to be their best. Not merely "good enough". (Voting is as bad an example as the age restriction on driving for the same reason: Iran has been trying to lower its voting age to 15 since 2007 (the only reason it's at 18 now is because of prime ministerial decree). The voting age in Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Malta is 16 for all elections. - Scotland and Wales allow 16-year-olds to vote in some elections (the rest are set to 18 only to prevent age inconsistency with the rest of the UK). - Greece and East Timor set the minimum age at 17. - There are campaigns - albeit not ones that have gained much traction - to reduce it there to various ages as low as 14. - On the other hand, the Solomon Islands requires voters to be at least 19. - Bahrain, Cameroon and Nauru restrict voting to over-20s. - Kuwait, Lebanon, Samoa and Singapore, among others, restrict voting to over-21s. - The UAE has a minimum voting age of 25, further complicated because each Emirate's ruler may set other conditions that raise the actual or effective minimum age above this. (Apart from Scotland/Wales and the UAE, I have not included examples where special conditions change the permitted age. Italy was in this category until 2021 - some elections required voters to be 18 and others 21. It underlines how arbitrary both voting age, and notions of a fixed age of adulthood, are).

Having a 9-year eligibility gap depending on passport would not be viable. It was bad enough when the driving licence rule applied and the range was 14 years and 3 months (North Dakota) to 18 years (Italy and much of Europe).

i think drivers should be 20 MINIMUM to drive for formula 1. 21 is honestly preferred. let them do their first couple years in the junior tiers. the difference between 17/18/19 is truly nothing

Hi anon, I think you may have a point! However, line-drawing is ultimately an arbitrary exercise— maturity and development vary so much from person to person. Is an immature 21 year old that much less likely to crash than a mature 19 year old? And, importantly, if something terrible were to happen do we think that’s for some reason Less Sad?

The reason the 18 rule makes (made 😐) sense to me is that as a society we have (largely) selected 18 as the age at which you are considered an adult. The number is completely arbitrary! But it is accepted and we have built laws around it. For better or for worse, Kimi Antonelli is legally a child right now, and Ollie Bearman is not.

This is all an exercise in me, a person with little expertise, yapping futilely on tumblr.com! The FIA has made its decision. And while I do wish that drivers would be signed a little older, I don’t think I know enough to say where the line should be, if there should be a hard line beyond 18. But I do feel pretty strongly that if you are age-restricted from voting you shouldn’t be driving an f1 car.

Lol sorry this is so long hdhdjjdjdj

[hollenka99]

A Mislabeled Hourglass

Summary: Fundy grows up faster than Wilbur was expecting but he is going to make the most of his son’s shorter childhood regardless.

Warnings: Mentions of hunting animals, implied character death

Wilbur is no stranger to growing up faster than most. In the midst of learning survival skills as a child, he was still able to play to his heart's content. His mum, and later Phil, never cared too much if he got dirty. Kids will be kids. Despite that, his first experience with grief is at 6, he causes an animal's death sooner than most would and he dies himself for the first time at the age of only 9 (stupid accident, he should have watched his step). He is perhaps 8 when Phil gives him his first taste of independence. At 11, Tommy enters their life and makes him a big brother. Phil's day trips gradually get more frequent, sometimes stretching out for longer durations too. Whenever it's just him and Tommy, he has to be responsible, has to play a more adult role despite being in his early teens when it becomes a noticeable habit. Then Technoblade shows up. You could argue that from around 17 or 18, Wilbur is practically becomes a young carer on a full time basis. However, this accelerated maturation was all mental. The earth had gone around the sun once when he spoke his first word, five times when he began deciphering sequences of letters as words, ten times when Phil told him what to expect over the next several years and it had completed its 19th revolution shortly before Fundy came into the world. Fundy was... different. First of all, he was a shapeshifter so right off the bat, he was never going to look fully human. Sally had fins and naturally red hair. Fundy was born with a substantial amount of ginger hair and ears that seemed slightly more pointed than they should be. When his son gets older, it will become apparent that his senses are stronger than Wilbur's too. Speaking of Fundy getting older... Wilbur has a hunch that something isn't quite right when his baby rapidly outgrows clothes meant for his age group. He initially dismisses it as Fundy likely inheriting his ridiculously tall genes. Because what else could it be, right? Then he is crawling at 2 months old. Wilbur's far from a baby expert but he's sure infants don't become that mobile that soon. A month or so later, Fundy takes his first clumsy steps towards him. Now that? Yeah, that undoubtedly raises alarm bells. He knows for a fact that that milestone was for those around 12 months old. Okay yep, something was definitely up. The books say Fundy should have been introduced to solid foods by now. He guesses that puts him in the Bad Dad category, along with temporarily using cows to feed him when he first got Fundy. He'd defend himself by pointing out he didn't have formula on hand the moment he became a father and was yet to learn non-human milk wasn't actually good for the baby but those excuses don't seem credible. He knows he's been going about this blinder than he would liked since day 1 but the accelerated aging might end up screwing him over even more. Ha, imagine having time to settle into parenting a baby before they graduate into toddlerhood. It's fine, he swears it's fine. It just means he gets to start having comprehensible, reciprocated conversations sooner than most, not to mention going through less nappies. There are stumbles for the first week or two after Fundy learns to walk but his son soon gets the hang of it. Only days after his first steps comes his first word. Noisy pattering paired with cries of "Daddy!" get more common. He could certainly get used to this. A one year old's way of running is potentially one of the silliest things he's ever witnessed. But look at his little champion go! When Fundy learns to crouch, Wilbur is crouching right beside him. Tommy comments that he looks and sounds like an idiot whenever he plays with Fundy. Wilbur pays him no heed because his brother is an absolute hypocrite. He has to say, Tommy is doing a great job for someone who was thrown in at the deep end just as much as he was and his brother doesn't even have the responsibility of having to care for a kid. He's always been a bit... rough and ready when it comes to playing with others. But with Fundy, he makes sure to be gentle around the toddler. Wilbur isn't entirely sure whether hanging upside down from someone's grip on a near daily basis is healthy for a little kid but Fundy's eruption of giggles each time suggest otherwise. When Tommy turned 11, he was not yet an uncle. The following April, he has a two year old nephew who complains he wants to help blow out the candles, nearly fighting for his right to do it instead of the actual birthday boy. It somehow leads to a pillow fight between them. So all in all, Tommy is taking it in his stride. By Fundy's second Christmas, Wilbur is able to start calculating. A 14 month old kid is supposed to be getting the hang of being bipedal, not receiving books that will help them learn how to read. Given that his son was walking at 3 months old, his best guess is that Fundy's development rate was four times that of other children. It seems consistent too since Fundy is approximately the equivalent of a 4 or 5 year old boy now. He recalls Sally once joking about how shapeshifters tended to live fast and die 'young'. He thinks he gets what she means now. Quadruple speed for Fundy though? Fuck. If he's got the maths right, they will be the same physical age when Wilbur is 25. The gap will only grow more and more from then on. At 30, he will have a child who is roughly 40. And when Wilbur himself is 40... he'd rather not dwell on the heartache his early 40s are set to bring. He has been given a 60 second hourglass that's been labelled as a 4 minute one. He's begun to comprehend this with 2 seconds' worth of sand already piling at the bottom. What is he even supposed to do? Does he bake a birthday cake every January, April, July and October 10th or just that last date? He guesses that will be for Fundy to decide in the future. Tommy has made a 'reverse leap day kid' joke before but it really is based in truth. While still a small child, one of Fundy's favourite places to rest is against his father's chest. There have been plenty of nights where the little boy has fallen asleep in his father's arms while being read a story. He's rapidly getting bigger and Wilbur frequently has to adapt how he holds him to accommodate. In the quietest of moments, his eyes will notice a tiny mischievous smile directed at him that will make his day or his ears will catch the softest of snores coming from beside him. As much as he tries to enjoy those occasions, peace often leads to a chance for overthinking to take place. When that happens, it all turns bittersweet with the desperate wish he could get several years of this, not feel lucky if he gets more than 2 or 3 of them. Of course, every time Fundy is resting against his chest is not necessarily positive. There are obviously the typical 'toddler having a breakdown because they scraped their knee' type stuff. Those are fine, all he has to do is soothe him and distract from what is usually an overthought 'injury'. But then there are the times where Fundy's fingers ache from the ordeal of slowly developing claws, Wilbur lets him dig his nails into his jumpers as hard as he feels the need to. The same happens whenever there is any significant growth with his ears too. The older Fundy gets, the more used to the flat of a small head pressing into his chest he becomes. He would do anything to alleviate his pain and discomfort if he could. And no, he definitely hasn't shed a tear or two when nobody is watching in regards to the matter. From here on in, it feels like he's on home soil. He's helped raise a kid from the age of 4 before. The only difference now is that this kid is his own flesh and blood. And a shapeshifter, which Tommy never was. They've begun entering the "Dad, look what I can do!" phase of Fundy's life, now that he is getting more capable with age. The first major instance is when he comes home from a hunt. Tommy has a smug look on his face and Fundy seems seconds from exploding with excitement. His son is let loose on him as soon as he's freshened up, dragging him to a chair where he is made to listen to the most drawn out reading session he has ever experienced. But Wilbur can't help but beam every time Fundy successfully gets through a word. The day he believes Fundy is old enough to start learn how to use a bow can't come soon enough. He knows fuck all about hybrids or shapeshifters other than the very basics. He can't tell you how to construct the most impressive of architectural structures. But this, archery and hunting? Now that he can impart wisdom on. He passes down second hand stories about Fundy's grandma and anecdotes about his trips with Phil when he was a young boy himself. As far as he can tell, Fundy laps it all up. Swordplay is soon added to the mix of training activities. The wooden sword he crafted for his son is slightly too big but eh, the kid will quickly grow into (then inevitably out of) it sooner than later. They gradually work up from technique and stance to improving accuracy and striking moving targets. Every bit of progress he makes, his dad is there cheering him on. Fundy only grows reluctant when it begins to get 'real'. That is to say, when Wilbur tries to take him on an actual hunt or attempts to introduce him to the subject of turning a kill into a meal. And yeah, he gets it. He wasn't the biggest fan of it either when he was being taught himself. Plus, he's aware Fundy's nose is more sensitive than his or Tommy's so yep, preparing a body's going to be even less pleasant for him. It's unfortunately a part of this sort of life. There's... well, there's always the option of heading down to the butcher's in town. Just keep in mind who got his first girlfriend indirectly due to the fact her dad would always give him money for helping supply produce. You've been doing great though. The important part is you're learning how to survive on your own if need be, not to mention how to defend yourself in case of an attack. Another part of Fundy's development to make him gush with pride is when he starts to really hone his shapeshifter nature. It's small at first, a furrier hand transforming into a paw here, a lump of a half formed tail spotted underneath a dressing gown there. He can't really describe how happy it makes him to see a child with a fox's head greet him one morning when Fundy jumps out from behind a door. There are features the young shapeshifter will keep in his human form obviously. Yet it's thrilling to have him keep coming over to show off a new shifting-related ability. The first time Fundy manages to morph fully into a fox, during the spring after his 2nd birthday, Wilbur promises the three of them can have an 'anything Fundy says, goes' type thing the following day in celebration. There are times where Fundy may, for instance, forget to include his tail as an animal or he'll walk around as his usual self, albeit with accidental fox eyes. It's simply a matter of practise, Wilbur believes. One of the best parts of Fundy gradually improving his shapeshifting is the fact he loves to curl up on his dad's lap while in fox form. Wilbur cherishes it. Fundy's getting older now (taller too, this kid is undoubtedly going to be at least 6 foot one day) but he'll always be smaller as a fox than as a human. Forgive a father with limited time to enjoy carrying his son around for wanting to prolong the inevitable. Fundy is 3 when he physically catches up with Tommy, age wise. It's not until he is the equivalent of maybe 15 that he passes his uncle's height. Tommy complains about it incessantly, especially whenever Fundy teases him about how much taller he's getting. It's all fun and games but Wilbur was an unusually large teenager once (only a few years ago really, though let's not dwell on that) so he understands what it's like. Going through growth spurts is hardly the most enjoyable thing out there and he can't imagine how it must feel to keep getting hit by them with even less time to settle into your new height. Not to mention growing pains. During a quiet evening, he checks in on his son and approaches the subject. It leads to him allowing Fundy to rant about the worst parts of growing up. Orange fur recedes on his arms to show a few stretch marks. Ah, he was wondering if the extra hair was deliberate or simply puberty taking hold. He assures Fundy stretch marks aren't something to be ashamed of. He got a bunch of them himself at his age. Although, they've pretty much all faded by now. It's fine, you don't need to stress about it. Besides, Tommy's going through the same kind of shit. The main problem with Fundy and Tommy being similar ages now is that they are arguably closer than ever. Which, no, isn't a bad thing. In fact, he's glad that for a few months they're able to hang out on more equal footing. The issue lies in the fact that Fundy takes after his uncle when it comes to causing mischief. The little rascal is turning into a bit of a prankster. And yeah, maybe Wilbur himself likes channelling hints of chaos into his life but you'll never hear the designated responsible adult admit to that in the others' presence. At one point, Fundy is a six year old gleefully explaining how Tommy helped him up so he could place that water bucket. Only a year later, there's an 11 year old revealing that yes, he was the one to make their chickens, cows and sheep switch enclosures during the night. He only gets more ambitious from there. God knows where he got all that dye from when he's in his mid-teens. Fundy is much like himself as a teenager. Both clearly love their respective fathers but both grow to varying degrees of resentment regarding the level of independence they are given. Wilbur always had too much. It was his job to take care of Tommy whenever Phil left on short trips until the avian hybrid pretty much said 'well, you're an adult now, you can take care of things all by yourself' before heading off with Technoblade for months on end. It's why Wilbur knows kids want a safety net, for an adult to be there to help them out if they need it (no matter how mature or independent they feel). Has he taken it further than he should have? Maybe. Fundy is the only one who can be the true judge of that. He just wants his little boy to be safe and happy. He didn't want him to grow up so quickly. However, even if this was happening in 15 years, he would have grown up too soon. It doesn't surprise him too much when Tommy and Fundy make the choice to go off on their own. He only allows it because they promise they will stick together throughout the journey. He supposes it was time. Phil snuck off to do the same around their age and his mum was roughly 18 when she set off to be a nomadic traveller. The thought to live a similar style life has crossed Wilbur's mind. His duty to the two boys under his care has always made him reconsider. But Tommy is 16 now and not as much of a child as Wilbur likes to say he is. As for Fundy, he's probably around the equivalent of 18 or 19 by this point. He hates to admit it but they've both grown up. Where the hell did the time go? So although it pains him to do so, he nevertheless sends them off with a smile. If they find anywhere nice in their adventures, they'll be sure to tell him. He might even join them if they choose to stick around in one area. He turns back into the house after they leave and fuck, has it always been this empty? He gets a letter in early July, telling him all about this place called the Dream SMP and their time there. He arrives and things seem to snowball as soon as he begins the 'drug business' bullshit. Suddenly, he's a general with his brother and son as soldiers, along with some new friends. They are at a disadvantage in this fight against tyranny but it's okay, Eret says she has a secret weapon. They might just pull through. Or... they might instead be brutally betrayed by a former friend and lose so much more than their possessions. He loses track of his battalion in the chaos. All he knows is screaming for everyone to flee. Then the agony a sword through his stomach. Tubbo's dead, as is Tommy. Where's Fundy? He can't see him anywhere. God, please say he managed to get the fuck out of here. Please let it be that he turned into a fox and scarpered away, something like that. Never mind his dad. If Fundy's alright, he'll be alright too. He loves his son, has done all he was able to ensure his little boy has never had reason to doubt this fact. Over the past few years, that love has been repaid in mischievous grins, unrestrained giggles and drowsy cuddles, among other quieter moments. It gets repaid once again as a boy playing a soldier struggles to join the side of his pretend general of a father in order to loosely grasp hands. It barely registers. Neither does the tiny pained smile or ginger hair that go largely missed by eyes preoccupied with the vain effort to keep them open. They all celebrate the independence they'd fought so hard for the next night. The bittersweet nature of this victory goes ignored. With all the cheerful chatter and singing declaring their land to be one of freedom from tyranny drifting in the evening air from the campfire, it feels like the good mood will never end. It feels like the only thing that may tear the father and son apart is Wilbur's desperation for just a bit more time with Fundy as his little boy, despite how painfully obvious he was already grown up into a man in less than 5 years. Arm slung around him as a toast is made, they are not yet a debilitatingly stressed president, increasingly suicidal exilee or secretly loyal spy. For tonight, they are still a relatively happy, loving pair. For tonight, there is hypothetically still so much time for them to stay like that.

[destiny-smasher]

My personal 2020 GOTYs

1) Hades

This game, dudes. THIS GAME. A fraction of the budget, a fraction of the dev team size, reportedly HEALTHY development schedule and management...and imo it offers at least some of everything I want out of a single player video game. I have poured over 60 hours into this and I see myself putting in some more over time and ALL of the time I have spent has felt rewarding and edifying. Clever design, smart writing, organic voice acting, sharp gameplay, and all done at a fraction of the resources of these big budget, bloated games. You love to see it.

2) Final Fantasy 7 Remake (Part 1?)

I went into this year not caring much about this game at all. FF7 was a game I played as a teen, enjoyed, respected, and moved on from pretty easily. This Remake, so far, has done more than I could’ve expected in terms of actually REMAKING a game. It’s literally a new adaptation, and I as pleasantly surprised at just how hard it went. From realizing the world of Midgar into something so full of detail and plausibility, to reiterating and doubling down on its postmodern anti-corporation themes, to making Barret the character I loved the MOST somehow?? Combining everything I love about real-time RPG action with a tactical strategy element long missing from the genre, reimagining and fleshing out characters and concepts into something deeper and more meaningful...I’ve never considered myself a huge FF7 fan but this game was really something, and I absolutely cannot wait for more (and praying they do my girl Yuffie justice). I’ve been super skeptical of Nomura as a director given...the mess that has become Kingdom Hearts, but as it turns out, when he has others to reign things in, some surprisingly nuanced stuff for an anime game can come out of it. It has its flaws, to be sure, but it’s still the most enjoyable experience I had with a big budget game this year.

3) The Last of Us Part 2

I feel conflicted over this one in particular - I feel Neil is not longer a director I respect the way I did back with the first game. I feel Naughty Dog is falling victim to all of the late capitalist issues plaguing big budget game dev. But I also love this game. It’s much more flawed than the first, but that’s mainly because it’s more ambitious and complicated. It’s THE most flawed game on this game, honestly, but overall as a game I am compelled to respect its writing, its gutsier decisions, its art direction, acting, presentation, etc. It’s an impressive game and the most technically impressive game I played all year if not all generation. Props where they’re due, but at the same time, I think this game was poorly directed and I love it in spite of issues with its production, rather than because of some strong vision. That’s the big Sony bucks, I suppose, matched with a dev team willing and apparently somehow able to fulfil what they want to create. I still get the impression there was a bit of ‘design by committee for a mainstream audience’ kind of shit going on - how could there not with something this big? - and as a result I think the game is a bit bloated. Shave off about 3-5 hours from a few spots and it’d be a more focused game, and maybe I’d feel more edified and satisfied rather than weirdly conflicted. Even so, a huge accomplishment and I hope to see more games tackle premises as ambitious as this down the road.

4) Bug Fables

This game technically launched last year but it debuted on console in 2020, and I didn’t play it until then. This is as close to a follow-up to old school Paper Mario as it gets, while simultaneously doing a lot to forge its own identity and even improve on the formula presented in the previous games. Its rough around the edges but that’s mainly because it’s an independent game, and it’s amazing just how well the dev team was able to reproduce the scope and details of this specific subgenre of RPG, all while continuously implementing new game design elements and multiple features that make it feel more modern in its direction. Fantastic stuff, I’m still not even finished with it because I’ve been taking my sweet time, though I intend to finally finish it this month, and I have to say, it’s quite a special game in my opinion.

5) Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

Absolute banger of a multiplayer game, really love the presentation, the concept, the overall execution, the way the team has been updating the game every month or so in response to feedback and implementing new content. So good to see the battle royale genre FINALLY pushed beyond just...arena shooting. Can’t wait to see where else this game can go over time.

6) Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Somehow this one slipped my mind when I first wrote this up, despite having poured well over 100 hours into it this year. I think part of it is that New Horizons did a lot of things I’ve wanted the series to do for so long, and yet is still far behind in terms of so many other things I wish they would do. Quality of life things prevent me from really re-investing into it, and yet despite that I have to admit it REALLY sucked me in for a solid few weeks and I continued to play off and on for months. It was the perfect game we collectively needed right when it came out and graphically I can’t think of how to really improve on that style. A really relaxing getaway I needed earlier this year, though like with previous AC games, I don’t find myself going back to it as much as I’d think I would.

7) Going Under

A surprise hit for me, this rogue-like swooped in from ‘heh that looks amusing’ to ‘oh wow this is legit just a great game.’ Its weird visuals, funky 3D gameplay, and surprisingly sharp storytelling make for a rogue-like unlike any other and one totally near the top for me.

8) Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales

Squeezed this in just this past week or so, and this one also satisfied me greatly. I wish we’d see more big budget open-world games like this -- laser focused, not wasting any time, and not being repetitious aside for completionists. So cool to see another team’s take on Miles after how much I fell for Into the Spider-verse, and very glad the team both homages that movie while subverting some expectations fans of the film might have, all while continuing to adapt Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man from a couple years ago.

9) Demon’s Souls (Remake)

As a big fan of FromSoft who never got too far into this one originally, it’s been great to visit it as if it’s a new Souls game with an alternate art style. And a very clean art style it has. This was a good pick to be remastered because many, even FromSoft fans like myself, missed out on it, and it feels unique from its predecessors while still showing a solid foundation they’d go on to build from.

10) Crash Bandicoot 4

An amazingly well done follow-up to the original trilogy, this game GETS what makes old school Crash games good, and it improves upon things in a number of ways, from making Coco the alternate hero, bringing back old faces in new lights, going ham with the visuals both in raw art and unique filters when replaying stages, and giving incentive for completion with so many great costumes. Well done, great old school platforming with modern design sensibilities. 

Honorable Mentions:

CrossCode

This also technically launched before 2020 but I didn’t play it until this year, and I don’t think it hit consoles until this year. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect going in, just remembering that I had enjoyed the demo well enough. This game delivers in most ways you could want from an indie game, with an expansive world of sidequests and RPG growth, a flexible combat system that can be nailbiting and engaging, and old-school dungeon designs with lots of environmental and elemental puzzles that really ask a lot of you. All of this capped with a surprisingly great narrative with characters I grew to love, including a much needed protagonist with a unique identity unlike any in games that I’ve played, as well as extra bits of detail and production values invested at JUST the right moments where the story needs it the most. It feels a bit tedious at times and part of me wishes more of the sidequest content involved direct interactions with the named, recurring characters, but it’s still one of the most impressive and well-done indie games I’ve ever played.

Katana ZERO

Razor-sharp game design, this one. It’s a brief but intensely focused experience that feels like the video game equivalent of a slick, experimental indie film. Could do with some more replayablity for those who want it but what’s here is just damn good and I gobbled this game down like a fantastic, hand-cooked meal at an atmospheric dive bar barely anyone knows about.

Necrobarista

Haven’t quite finished it yet but this is definitely one of the best visual novels I’ve ever experienced just due to how hard it goes on presentation and pushing for a more cinematic and thoughtful vibe than any other VN I’ve ever experienced. The characters and writing feel ripped out of an early 2000′s webcomic, for better and for worse, but all the same, it’s some fantastic stuff and it’s so refreshing to see a game set in Australia tackling a well-worn genre by giving it a new spin.

Slay the Spire

Another personal pick since this released in 2019, and I’m not quite sure which consoles it hit or when, but I didn’t get into it until early this year, and was totally hooked. Fantastically addictive, probably the most well-design deck-building rogue-like I’ve seen, certainly one of my favorite deck-building games in general. Apparently I’ve sunk 50 hours into it this year, more than most on this list, and I wouldn’t be surprised if that number spikes up again at some point.

[diyunho]

The Joker X Reader - “What Death Tastes Like” Part 2

Scarecrow’s daughter might be only 22, yet the terminal lung cancer she was diagnosed with six months ago didn’t discriminate against her age; the young woman didn’t show worrisome symptoms until it was too late. Y/N always had a fascination for the much older King of Gotham and despite the consequences, maybe it’s finally time to do something about it.

Part 1         Part 3        Part 4      Part 5

“That was very nice,” you whisper in The Joker’s ear. “I know you’re not sleeping,” you sigh and force yourself to get out of his bed after watching TV together for almost 3 hours. “I’m going, OK?” you whisper, not sure why he’s ignoring you. But you have a clue: he probably just wanted to avoid a huge fight with Emma or your father finding out about his cruel words regarding your illness. “Fine, whatever…” you admonish and exit the premises, upset he’s behaving like that since he offered truce a few hours ago. The King of Gotham is actually completely out, even if you believe otherwise.

It was awesome having him carry you in his arms and not protest when you kissed him; you have to admit you were disappointed he didn’t initiate anything once you ended up in his bed; you really thought he would. J let you snuggle to him and you hoped for more to happen, yet his lack of interest made you realize it was stupid to try and hint you wanted him. What is a 40-ish old man supposed to do with a 22 years old woman that playfully keeps flirting with him? In this case, obviously just enjoy a couple of movies which proved he doesn’t take into consideration your dumb crush.

The more you analyze this night, the more you’re inclined to vote for the exact opposite of what you did: you should have kept your mouth shut and refrain sharing intimate matters with him.

I guess sometimes genius truly skips a generation …

*************

3 Weeks Later

You didn’t come to the mansion in the last 3 weeks: when J woke up the next morning after your visit, you were gone. Emma informed him you waited for her to catch up and then went home; he wondered if you left because of what happened or if there was no reason for it at all. One thing’s for certain though: The Joker got the slight impression you evade him, especially since two days ago you dropped Emma off then raced out of the property in a hurry when you noticed he was coming out of the house. The skid marks on the pavement were a pretty clear sign you didn’t want to linger at the place you normally enjoyed hanging out at.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t mean you can escape The Clown Prince of Crime forever.

“OK,” Emma gives you a soft nudge in the restaurant owned by her parent. “You gotta help me out,” she pleads to a skeptical Y/N. “I insisted we have lunch here for a good reason: my dad brought his wacko-on-and-off-girlfriend and I can’t stand her; I need backup. Please flirt with him and say that stuff you usually say!” she giggles. “You have my blessing to go crazy, I swear you won’t hear a peep out of me! It will be hilarious to see her reaction!” she pushes you and it’s too late to escape the unwanted rendezvous you had no clue about until now.

You are already at the table and didn’t have a moment to take in your best friend’s proposal: you wish you had a warning about this plan of hers but Emma impulsiveness and surprise element runs in the family.

Maybe she thought you would love such a funny challenge…

Yeah… not really...

You know Mara anyway and bumping into her alongside J is not enjoyable to say the least, mainly due to the odd atmosphere you hope his daughter won’t notice.

“Hi daddy,” Emma pulls her chair and you take a seat by her muttering a faint hello.

“Hey kid!... … Miss Crane,” he sneers and you intensely stare at the menu in front of you without blinking.  

“I didn’t see you in forever,” Mara addresses you and you indifferently glare at her. “I must say you look terrific: you are glowing! What’s your secret?” she snickers and you duly inform:

“I’m dying. I’m sure you remember I have terminal cancer; my dad makes my meds and they do help somewhat, thus the glow.”

“As long as you’re not contagious,” the woman underlines and Emma gasps at her affirmation.

You smirk and reach over to touch her forearm, softly digging your nails in her skin.

“I am and now that I touched you, you’ll die too!”

You get up from the table while hearing The Joker saying something but your ears are ringing so you can’t discern a word.

“How can you say stuff like this?!” Emma reprimands and you calmly take a small ampule from your pocket, open it and pour some dust in the palm of your hand.

“I was just expressing a concern,” Mara gesticulates and you bend over, blowing the fine ashes in her face.

“What the fuck?!” she quickly brushes the ticklish powder off her cheeks, worried at your action. “What is this?!”

“Nightmare,” you scoff. “One of my father’s top products. I recently assisted him make it stronger and there’s no antidote. Don’t worry though, it won’t kill you and it will wear off in a few hours. Plus, it’s not contagious. Enjoy!” you leave the gathering and Emma follows, enraged things didn’t go as planned yet she can’t blame Y/N.

Since the restaurant is closed to the public due to his owner’s presence, there’s not a soul around besides J that can hear Mara’s terrified screams once the wicked hallucinogen kicks in: it’s called Nightmare for a good reason!

*************

6:02PM

“Knock, knock,” The Joker enters Scarecrow’s lab, already in a foul mood.

“Not a step further!” his movement gets halted. “Sterilize yourself if you want in: I’m making more capsules for Y/N,” Crane points at the numerous ingredients on the counter.

“Your lab is huge, if I stay right here…” J tries to convince Jonathan although he’s aware he has zero chances: it never succeeds but his stubbornness prompts him to fight the request each time.

“No!” your father firmly rejects the proposal. “Sterilize yourself and come help me!”

“Where’s your daughter?” The King of Gotham starts washing his hands in the sink by the glass sliding doors.

“She went to stay at the cabin. I got lectured,” your dad huffs, scolding in the next second: “You’re not done! More!” he commands and J reprises the cleaning process required by his very obliging host.

“Ugh,” he mumbles and continues. “Why did you get lectured?”

“Apparently, I buried myself in this place and she hates it. I also got threatened that if I don’t stop trying to find a remedy for her incurable disease, she’ll quit taking the current medications. I received orders to call Evelyn and beg for reconciliation also,” Scarecrow briefs a gratified King of Gotham:

“I guess we both have someone in our lives we can’t neglect,” The Joker dries his hands, puts on latex gloves and snatches an immaculate lab coat from the hanger nearby.

“What am I to do?...” Crane whispers. “Let my daughter die without trying to save her?...” then immediately snaps out of it. “Hair net!!!!” he shouts at The Joker, annoyed he’s trying to skip it.

“For God’s sake,” J complaints … still does as required. “What’s in for me in exchange for my services?”

“What do you want?”

“Two vials of your new, improved Nightmare formula. I witnessed it at work today and let me tell you, that stuff’s amazing!”

“How did you witnessed it at work?! It’s not released on the black market yet,” Jonathan carefully measures the quantities for your medicine.

“Oh, funny you should mention,” the evident sarcasm makes your father pay attention. “Y/N used it on Mara earlier today and she totally lost her mind! I had to lock her up in the pantry at the restaurant with three of my men guarding the door! She went bonkers!!!”

“Sorry,” Scarecrow’s flat tone irritates J. “I guess either you or Mara did something Y/N didn’t like. Welcome to my daughter’s shit list,” he cordially emphasizes.

“You shouldn’t talk to me like this,” The Joker fixes his green locks under the hair net. “One of these days I might become your son-in-law, you know Y/N showers me with her undivided affection.”

“Over my dead body!” Jonathan shrieks and The Clown Prince of Crime seems delighted.

“Hmmm… I can arrange that.”

“Just shut up and help me, would you? What am I paying you for?! Y/N needs more capsules; she’s almost out. Can you tell Emma to take this to her? I’m gonna let her chill, she’s still mad at me.”

“Wimp, you’re afraid to confront her,” J rolls his eyes and Scarecrow is not the one to be intimidated by his guest’s nonsense:

“Says the man that freaked out and searched the town for hours thinking his daughter run away when in fact she was asleep behind the rose bushes in the backyard at their mansion.”

“I didn’t freak out!” The Joker sulks at the unwelcomed reminder.

“Of course you didn’t,” Jonathan serenely replies. “Now fill out the capsules with the amount I already weighted and don’t mess up! I’ll verify your performance.”

“Give it a rest!” J growls. “Emma left for New York; she’ll be there for a couple of days. I’ll take this to Y/N.”

“Don’t think so,” he gets cut off. “I’ll send one of my couriers.”

“I’ll do it for free.”

“Why?”

“I have a score to settle,” J confesses to Scarecrow’s dismay. 

“If you hassle my daughter, I’ll create a plague designed only for your genes and I’ll exterminate you from this planet!”

“Imagine this is not the first time I’m threatened with a pathogen manufactured to ensure my demise,” The Joker hints even if he doesn’t have to.

“She is my daughter,” Crane explains, entirely understanding the reference. “The branch doesn't fall far from the tree; she knows I would so you’d better watch it!”

“Then you have nothing to worry about, right?” the pushy menace concentrates on his task, adamant in finding a way to see you no matter what.

**************

8:31pm

The Joker drives on the narrow path leading to the cabin, stirring left when a car coming from the opposite direction hunks at him.

“Heeeeyyyyy, Mister Joker!!!!!” someone yells and the other SUV accelerates past J’s yet he has enough time to recognize the aggravating pest: Sam aka Bane’s son. A few unpleasant phrases are grumbled regarding the encounter when another detail sets off the pissed King:

Y/N is racing towards the cabin after recognizing her best friend’s dad vehicle; you came out to say goodbye to Sam and take a walk when your idea abruptly changed.

“Are you kidding me??!!” J grinds his teeth while watching you stumble in the grass, then energetically gather yourself up and sprint inside, slamming the door behind.

“Wow!” he exclaims while parking close to the stairs, unsure on how this day will evolve; so far it goddamned sucked.

“Miss Crane,” The Joker taps at the heavy oak door. “Open up, I have your med!”

Maybe if you don’t engage he’ll leave.

“Is this how you thank me for delivering your pills?!” he gets worked up, thumping intensifying.

“Leave the package on the porch and go away!”

“Oh, she speaks!!!” J instantly snaps. “Open up, it’s cold out here!”

“No it’s not,” you call him out on his bullshit.

“You owe me apologies for what you did to Mara!” he demands, cringing at your defiance.

“Ha! When hell freezes!!!”

“What was Bane’s son doing here?” he tries a different strategy, definitely losing patience.

“None of your business!”

“I brought dinner,” J adds because that’s the last ace in his sleeve. “From the restaurant… your favorite. Aren’t you hungry?”

Does the silence mean you’re giving in?...

“Did you bring strawberry crepes too?”

“Yeah,” The Joker lies since he naturally forgot about desert.

The door faintly creeks and you unlock it, finally letting him in; you’re hesitant about your judgement and snatch the two paper bags out of his hands: the small one contains capsules, the big one harbors foam containers with the foods you like.

“Where are the crepes?” you frown at the lack of the delicious treat.

“I have this suspicion you’ve been avoiding me,” J talks about the reason he’s there without answering your question.

“I’m not…”

“Then why don’t you come to the mansion anymore, hm?”

His gaze circles the living room, involuntarily noticing the blood stained tissues in the trash can by the couch.

“Did you have another episode?” The Joker inquires. “Should I call your dad?”

“No…I’m fine…”

“Are you sure?” he insists and you unwrap the plastic utensils, sniffing.

“It’s not a big deal, it happens more and more often… I wish Emma was here,” you wipe your teary eyes and J bestows his infinite wisdom upon the young woman.

“Well, my daughter’s not here and I’m not renowned for making people feel better,” he twists the cap of the bottled water near him. He takes a sip then gives the container to the confused Y/N. “I’m not sure if this will help, but you can touch something my lips touched.”

You smile at his offer, kind of happy he’s using one of your catchy lines.

“What’s this? Reversed flirting?” you pout and drink from the bottle, placing it on the table afterwards.

He doesn’t bother to respond besides apathetically mentioning:

“I’ll spend the night; it’s dark outside and I don’t want to end up in a ditch.”

“It’s summertime, still sunny,” you highlight the indisputable truth to a guy that couldn’t care less.

“I’m tired. Crane pressured me to work! Did you know he took advantage of my kindness and made me sink a couple of hours in his project? What project you ask?” J cracks his neck although you weren’t curious. “I helped made your treatment,” he blurs out and your blank attitude irks The Clown. “You can compensate me by letting me crash here for the night.”

“I’m 100% sure my dad already compensated your efforts,” Y/N utters.

“Why was Sam here?” the earlier question is reprised in order to distract you.

“Are you jealous?” you nibble on your lasagna and J snarls:

“Why would I be jealous?”

“Then why do you have to know?”

“Professional interest,” the vague disclosure scores absolutely no credits with the feisty Y/N.

“That’s a huuuge load of baloney,” you shake your head and decide to unravel the mystery. “He picked up an item for his father. Don’t worry, you’re still my favorite,” you tease and The Joker protests.

“I’m not worried! I don’t even care! Can I sleep here?” he switches the topic and has to boast: “We can party all night long like we did last time!” J sassily reveals; he believes you’ll mock yet it’s not the case.

“You’re very late to this party…” your voice dies out and The King of Gotham is aware what you’re referring to. He digs his fork in the fresh salad, reassuring on a whim:

“Better late than never…”

 Also read: MASTERLIST

[zachsgamejournal]

COMPLETED (for now): Final Fantasy VII

Midgar section complete, and at just under 6 hours.  Boom. It was a fun ride.

So, in the prison cells. Aerith talks about her planned date with Cloud, and Tifa hears. it’s a brief moment of love-triangle-ness, but Tifa and Aerith move past it quickly. Aerith and Tifa don’t quite get the bonding that they do in Remake, but they’re not quite the rivals I assumed them to be. Barret is trying to keep track of how everything is so much bigger than him. This is interesting. I think Barret had a singular vision--get revenge against Shinra (and maybe save the planet). Now he’s learning there’s more factors at play, and his goal isn’t as clear.

Then he calls Red XIII “boring”. Haha. Cloud wakes up to find his prison cell door open. Checking outside, the guard is dead/knocked out. Spooky. I liked this moment, but Remake kinda skipped over it. Instead we got stupid destiny-ghosts and long-ass Hojo dungeon. Following the trail, it’s interesting how the monsters are different. Hojo experiments or Jenova spawn? Speaking of Jenova, she escaped. Curious how it got out. In Remake a Sephiroth “clone” rescued her. But here...maybe she saved herself? Then made a Sephiroth sword to murder President Shinra?

Anyway, I love finding dead President Shinra. It’s interesting to have Shinra boast in front of the team after capturing them, then to have all his dreams whisked away. It creates a fragility to his sense of strength and power. While he may have had massive influence over the world--he’s still just a mortal human. Maybe that’s why the designers wanted a bigger enemy (Sehpiroth/Jenova). But them not being Ancients weakens that for me. I do love how Barret asks if Sephiroth is a “good guy”. But Cloud sets him straight. This is a weakness in this game’s story. Out of nowhere, Cloud is dropping a lot of Sephiroth bombs and no one has bothered to ask Cloud who this guy is or why Cloud hates him so much. I know we get the details in Kalm, but I wonder...if this back story was presented before the attack on Shinra--would the Sephiroth sword in Shinra’s back have been even more alarming? I think it could have created some great context for this moment.

Rufus shows up and he’s a total jerk. We’ve changed antagonists, but not really. Rufus makes a good switch because he’s younger. It makes sense that he would want to chase Sephiroth across the world when his father would likely have preferred sending proxies. I do love how everyone introduces themselves: Ex-Soldier, from Avalanche, flower girl, and science experiment. 

Cloud takes on Rufus, while Barret, Aerith, and Red XIII fight TWO bosses back-to-back, and Tifa waits in the lobby. Knowing what to expect, I equipped the Barret team well enough for their fight. Super easy. But the Rufus battle was more worrisome. I set the battle speed to max. I really like it. Seems like I’m never waiting for ATB bars to fill. But also with bosses, it means I’m constantly getting bombarded with devastating attacks. I opened with poison on Rufus, which was wise. But they kept hitting me back-to-back with attacks, so I got to 50% health pretty quick with a filled Limit Break Bar. I opted for the Limit Break, hoping that between that and the poison, it would be enough to end the fight. Soon, I was down to 25% with two foes. I was just able to give Cloud a Hi-Potion before they could kill me, and it only took one hit from my Fire-Elemental sword to end the battle. Thought I wasn’t gonna make.

Barret, Aerith, and Red are in the lobby. Not sure how they’re gonna get out. I guess it made sense that Remake boosted this scene a little bit with Heidegger. But I was so ready for this game to be done, I couldn’t enjoy the smallest of “improvements”. Tifa gets the team together to hop in a car. It’s a fun little cinematic with some glass busting action!! Now we’re off to one of my favorite mini-games:

The Motorcycle sequence! I was blown away as a kid playing this game, even  more blown away thinking they could have gotten away with something simpler--but they actually invented a whole gameplay mechanic just for this one moment. That’s what I love about FF7--how they find ways to switch up the conventional RPG formula with neat mini-games that often help better serve the story!

Maybe cause I was playing on my phone, but I didn’t defend my team as well as I usually do. They got a little beat up. Weird wheeled-robot boss fight and boom, done with the Midgar section.

No stupid fight with Destiny. Though, I do like how Remake brought Sephiroth into play here. For this game, though, it makes sense to have a somber moment post Motorcycle chase. It’s been pretty non-stop with huge plot twists, new characters, and four boss fights. The players deserve a break. And they’re gonna get plenty of Sephiroth in Kalm, five minutes from now. 

It was interesting hearing the characters’ motivations. Cloud wants to settle the score with Sephiroth. You’re not supposed to know what that means, but apparently Cloud thought he was dead. Now that he’s “not”, he wants to get this resolved. He’s also aware of Sephiroth’s murderous schemes. Cloud, in his commitment to saving Aerith, has committed himself to being a hero. Feels clear to me now. He seems quite willing to align with others that have a similar goal. This isn’t just revenge, but it’s also not NOT revenge. Barret, seeing Sephiroth as the greater threat to the planet has shifted his focus. But Also, President Shinra is dead. While Rufus is terrible, and Shinra is still very much alive...to know that the one person most responsible for your pain and misery is now dead has got to be a little disorienting. A little bit, here, Barret is also becoming a hero.

Aerith admits to having never left Midgar and says there’s things she wants to know. Cloud asks if it’s about the Ancients, and she says “many things”. She’s actually a pretty complex character. I think she has feelings for Cloud, which is somewhat mixed up with her feelings for Zack. She knows Shinra is a threat to the world but also seeking her out personally, so she’ll never truly be safe or carefree. And she’s a pretty decent person that wants to do the right thing. She has a lot riding her shoulders that she didn’t ask for. I think she’s interesting in that she wants to live in her small bubble within Midgar, but her destiny and fate are tied to much bigger things!

Tifa--sadly, Tifa doesn’t have a lot going on right now. I really love her in Remake, but much of that felt added. I think she’s similar to Barret in that she suffered a great loss because of Shinra and wants revenge.  But she’s not as aggressive and violent as he is. Clearly she’s a bad ass. I think this is the one place where Remake has the edge over the original--they did a better job with Tifa.

Then Red XIII. He just kinda wants a lift. Hah!

Well, I wanted to replay the Midgar section as a compare-and-contrast with Remake, and that task is done. I often play this section (once or twice a year) never quite committing to playing the whole game. But it seems I tend to gloss over the dialog (I know this already). But I made myself read it, even talk to most of the NPCs, and it’s just a great game, story, and world.

To say Final Fantasy VII hasn’t aged well is ridiculous. Nothing truly ages well, especially a work of media that represents a growing and evolving craft. Tons of RPGs were inspired by gameplay and technical feats attempted and pioneered by Final Fantasy VII, and the game’s legacy is still strong. The graphics aren’t great by today’s standards, and they were a little weird by 98′s standards, but they still helped tell a great story and provide iconic gameplay moments. And those moments are timeless. Even if the translation is bad. Even a modern Remake can’t erase the original’s greatness.

I’m still a fan!              

[breathe-smiles]

pt iii. points of improvement

i’ve been having some trouble figuring out how exactly to go about this next chapter of growth in my life. i’m attempting to let loose a little more, take things as they come and take them constructively, but easy. there’s definitely advantages in formulaically guiding your growth, knowing specifically what you want and trying to create a way to get it. this is what i’m used to; this is what i know how to do. but somehow, i feel intuitively that i’m currently in for growth that’s spontaneous.

i’m 18 now and it’s 2020. i’m starting my second semester of college. i didn’t expect to be where i am, mentally, physically, emotionally, or spiritually. i love being in control, but i am oddly finding comfort at the moment in letting go of that control and floating. i want to be shown realms i’ve never seen before and meet people i didn’t know could exist. i want to be challenged to think outside of what i know and grow in ways i don’t expect to. it’s really important to me to know what i want. but instead of solidifying my goals and paving my path right in this moment, i want this period to uncover to me what i really want. i don’t have a tangible outline of my future, but i’m excited for the journey of creating one. and i know through it, i’ll learn things i never even thought i needed to know.

everyday, i continue finding my truth. i constantly question the things i think, say, and do, in order to grasp a deeper understanding of why i am the way i am. i have trouble compromising absolute authenticity; i always need to be true to me. sometimes, i have to think twice and revise impulsive comments or thoughts, or make changes to my behavior, because i don’t feel like i’m upholding myself genuinely. it matters a lot to me that i am honest, real, and sincere. those are the things i value the most.

and so, despite being excited to free-spiritedly discover, roam, live, and grow, i have to keep in mind that there are things i have learned and noticed in the past couple of months that do still matter and do hold true to me. living with my head in the clouds, running around my new universe that’s doubled in size, and letting myself go instead of holding on tightly, i realized that i can get caught up in a multitude of convoluted things that don’t necessarily represent me and aren’t necessarily important to me. the theme of my life right now is to be free and feel okay being free, discovering and uncovering things instead of looking for them. but remembering to bring myself back down to earth is the only way not to lose myself in the process, or become somebody i’m not. i have to stay grounded and committed to who i am, because that is so important to me (and because i know i can). i am capable of simply evolving into a more refined version of my core self, even if, at the same time, i flip my world upside down, change how i live and interact with society, and reorient my aspirations and dreams.

that being said, i haven’t been completely myself in the past couple of months. and i didn’t hold myself to my usual standards of being myself because it had been first semester freshman year of college. this was a transition period that i needed to give myself. but needless to say, i could’ve done better. maybe i didn’t do as much mental preparation as i should’ve, because it was a fucking rollercoaster. i fluctuated from having some of my highest highs to lows that i forgot could exist and back. and for the first time in a long while, i didn’t feel in control, like i had no grasp at all on my mental instability. one minute i’d feel on top of the world and the next i’d be falling apart. i was so unsure of what was good for me and what was bad. i just took things as they came and let them hit me like a truck.

my hopes for winter break were to truly process and regain my ability to be in control. my time at home was meant to be therapeutic, to remember who i was before i left and all the things that i ran away from. now that i feel like i’ve done that, it’s clear that lots of things have to change for me to do better. these are parts of me that are points of improvement, crucial pieces that make me up that i’ve let loose these past couple of months. this is me regaining me.

i. self

personality reform is hard. most of the time, you know who you are and you’re sure about it. so, when you try to revert to staying true to you, it feels like mere readjusting. other times, you hope you haven’t already lost bits of yourself in flux.

i’ve been primarily working on my patience and teamwork abilities in the past year, as well as how i deal with setbacks and results that i don’t expect to receive. these things have only gotten better and better, which i am happy about. i’ve been able to continuously push my threshold for tolerance and navigate the dynamics of the different teams i’ve become a part of.

the main thing i’ve noticed first semester is that i’ve lost a little bit of my down to earth-ness - and it’s weird to say that because being down to earth is something i value so much. the person i project to others, especially to people that don’t already know me like the back of their hands, is more intimidating and intense than ever before. maybe this is a product of my found confidence, or maybe a continuation of my ability to have a conversation. i’m no longer shy and that’s apparent now. i stopped being hyper self-conscious and stopped caring so much about what people thought of me. on one hand, i’d categorize that as a strength of mine. on the other, it’s led to more oversharing than i’d like, a lot less consciousness of what i appear to be like.

social media is also once again playing a role in this. being in la has definitely made me more aware of who i am materially (which i’ve come to appreciate as a good thing, even though it’s simply a lifestyle i don’t really understand). aside from trying to create a pretty instagram feed, i’ve also gotten into the habit of oversharing on my finstas. not that i mind keeping those close to me updated. i just find difficulty constructively solving my own problems when i externalize them instead of internalize them - and that’s something i have to keep in mind.

i guess what i’m saying is that i need to relearn how to project the person i want to project. people only need to see so much. and that much for me, is not a lot.

ii. professional life + extracurriculars

academically, i’m impressed by how well i managed to do. i got a 3.9 gpa, which entails straight As and one A-. i didn’t even know you couldn’t get A+s. the point of improvement, however, is that i didn’t throw myself 100% into my work. i wasn’t doing the most i could do. i hadn’t paid attention every time i should’ve. even though it doesn’t seem to matter much grade-report-wise, it matters to me that i wasn’t giving it my all.

the other thing is my health. my physical and mental health are tied, and i seemed to let that slide. fencing practice hurt so badly, but i knew how rewarding it’d be. creating reasons to skip practice made me feel unworthy of taking on the sport in the first place. in addition, i went to the gym maybe once in the very beginning of the semester. my body doesn’t look all that different per se, but it definitely doesn’t feel good perpetuating the inactivity. now that i’m back on my game, i remember just how much a little activity could do to clear my head.

the last thing is that i need to do more things that help me grapple with my future career paths. how do i integrate my interests to ultimately do something that i truly love? i guess i’m still seeking out extracurriculars that help me find this meaning; i guess i’m still learning.

iii. society

i have never felt as introverted as i have in college (and you’d really expect the opposite). what i’ve learned is you really can’t escape people on campus. you’re living with other college students, constantly surrounded by other college students, and inclined to interact with other college students. having complete alone time is almost impossible, unless you make the effort to leave campus.

in all honesty, i quite like the social aspect of college. this environment is an aspect of college i was really looking forward to. but i’ve also had to reevaluate how much time to myself i really need, what i say to invitations to excursions, and if i’m recharged enough to engage in interpersonal interaction. this has been a challenge, and i hope to get better at it this semester. i need to remember it’s a balance between my need for me-time and healthy portions of social interaction.

another part of this is who do i want to surround myself with. my intuition and my ability to read people give me good advantages in filtering the population, but it’s also proven to me that making friends that i really do vibe with is pretty difficult. it’s strange because even though you’re surrounded by people 24/7, finding the ones you’re really in tune with is still incredibly hard. i know it’s a matter of being patient, though. i forget that it took me a few years to meet some of my greatest friends from high school. i suppose it is fate.

@ second sem : hit me w the best u got. i am ready 4 u. 💥

[brunhiddensmusings]

Tell me more about this conspiracy theory about dragonball as a retelling of journey to the west please

okay, some of this is pretty surface level to the point its just face value but also just more ignored then denied firstly, i must establish ‘journey to the west’ to those not familliar with it- its a 2000+ page long chinese novel from the ming dynasty, like 1600 if i recall, but odd because it focuses on a buddist mindset in a time when china still considered buddism to be a foreign influence. the author uses fairly large sections to critisize the other contemporary options to buddism such as daoism (for being largely unconcerned with helping people or betterment) and confucianism (for being rigid to the point it cant adapt and promote extremely bloated beaurocracies incapable of doing much) as well as to extoll the upsides of budism (namely magic powers) and how badass demons are journey to the west is notable for being the origin of about 80% of all anime tropes and over a dozen anime and videogames are directly based on it son goku, unsurprisingly, is pretty much a dirrect anlouge for son wukong, the magical stone monkey king that was born with laser eyes spends the first 7 chapters becoming about (i lost count) 8+ kinds of immortal, learning how to shapeshift and fly from an old hermit monk, and pissing off most gods of any note and the entire bureaucracies of both heaven AND hell. as i said, this is face value to the point its pretty open

son wukong’s identifying features including a size-changing 8 ton iron staff, being pretty much indestructible even to major gods, being extremely impulsive and moderately arrogant, flight, and pretty much openly admits he has probably eaten some people. this should sound familiar however he is not the main character, Buddha himself buries him under a mountain (which has a magic seal on top because a regular mountain wouldnt be heavy enough to hold him) to try and teach him some humility (which fails) saying he needs to wait untill someone frees him in which case he will be endebted to and be the servant of said free-er. while we progress to the ACTUAL protagonist of the story a bald monk named Tang Sanzang is in fact the central charachter, although his name has been interpereted several ways including Tripiṭaka (also the name of the baskets of scrolls hes supposed to carry). the big B entasks he of the shiny head with the task of journeying from china to india to pick up said sacred scriptures so holy they can redeem anyone and then bring them back to filthy filthy china thats badly in need of these ‘morals’ things people keep talking about. but this is where you start to get a lot of ‘wait, that sounds familiar’ when i describe things like ‘bald monk’ and the adventures cueball the magical is going to go on with his companions of anime

because almost immediately after freeing son wukong from the magic mountain of sityerassdown and putting a magic circlet on his head that causes him great pain when baldy says a prayer to keep him in line (yes this is where inuyasha gets the ‘sit’ necklace) they come across a SHAPESHIFTING PIG DEMON who turns out inst all that bad a guy its just that his new wife is very upset because she thought she was marrying a handsome bishounen despite admitting hes a dilligent worker and treats her well because hes seeking attonement for having eaten people after being kicked out of heaven (where he used to actually be a bishounen in the celestial army) for hitting on women. yet another case of DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR

and i just now realize why he was wearing the chinese military officers uniform or at least would sound familiar to people who watched the original ‘dragonball’ and not just DBZ where oolong and the 50 other characters who were all established to be quite powerful when used cleverly were all relegated soely to be sideline cheer squad and ‘hey, remember these guys, from back when this wasnt the kiss goku’s butt show’- which is the point here following the original journey to the west story you started with the magical monkey shenanigans (check) then he learns from hermit (check) how to fly (check) and shapeshift (i guess they thought he was powerful enough without it despite it being one of his major go-to solutions in the story but i get that they already established thats a power someone else had so i understand leaving it out narratively) battling demons, gods, and pissing off the kings of hell and the emperor of heaven (check) and then gets humiliated by Buddha (absent, again i understand leaving this out for narrative tone and to avoid being overly religious in a kids cartoon despite actively leaving king Yema in the story) teams up with the bald monk who they initially clash but becomes his friend over time (check) who then becomes the main protagonist (major not-check) magical monkey jerk is repeatedly scolded for wantonly killing people and given a magical crown of headaches ( fail) teams up with shapeshifting pig who also becomes close ally with useful powers but has deep character flaws (check) and then team up with a dragon who ate their horse who then apologizes by transforming into a horse and then everyone forgets its a dragon (wait, what) and then team up with a river god named sandy (by this time the dragonball plot has already passed mars and is orbiting Jupiter because i think this is when frankenstein appeared and then king piccolo with his sons drum, tamborine, piano, and cymbal, i think goku kills one eats another and asked a samurai if he could eat the third but this is before they retcon piccolo to be a namek {eg- from the planet ‘slug’} instead of a demon because they keep waffling if demons are real) and is then followed by a long list of falling into traps laid by demons because the monk is naive, the pig is cowardly, the monkey is foolhardy, the dragon is too busy staying in his ponysona, and the river deity is carrying the bags narratively this is confusing for several reasons but i could literally teach a college level class on what DBZ does that no writer should ever, EVER, do and every friday to prevent unkind amounts of homework point at how original dragonball at least had narrative cohesion of purpose when it went off in left field but that's part of the journey- in original dragonball everything is a journey of the human spirit for self improvement, in original journey to the west everything is a journey of the human spirit for a shot at redemption, but in DBZ everything is goku is awesome and nobody else is worth his time unless they go ‘ha-ha, i am the most powerful fight punch guy in universe, we must fight’ because fuck anyone who isnt the most powerful being in the universe and even fuck them because they almost never have a reason for being the most powerful and its irritating how shit they are like some of them are mentally five years old who gave you the power to be this dangerous. whats odd is they specifically set it up several times that goku is supposed to narratively step aside and his son(s) step up to carry on the legacy in a return to the earlier more sensable formula, even presenting them as being less powerful as him as an attempt to move away form the absurd escalation issues the series had where goku can destroy a planet by farting yet every thursday they mysteriously find someone five times stronger then the last strongest person in the universe as that wasnt the point in either original dragonball or journey to the west where being clever was always far more important then being powerful, especially as son wukong was mostly more powerful then goku anyways but still got in monster of the week shenannegans not solvable by impulsive brutality. they knew this was a problem, they understood that the endless escalation had gone to the realm where the audience had lost any investment and nobody other then goku could be useful to the story to the point that they even had a WHOLE SERIES where to try and counteract the power creep they had some weird explanation goku is actually time traveled or cursed or some shit so hes only a kid and roughly as strong as he was in later episodes of the original dragonball..... close, so close to actually addressing the problem but also keeping so many other problems krillin moving into being the protagonist would have alleviated the majority of the problems DBZ had- the power escalation bullshittery and the complete lack of stakes as you know goku is going to punch the thing untill it explodes after six episodes of yelling and anything without ‘planet gonna go boom’ no longer seems like a problem worth caring about. goku being downgraded to being the impulsive muscle on a team that included others that were less overtly powerful but still narratively useful to the adventure would have also alleviated almost all the ‘everybody who isnt goku is a fragile useless  porcelain figurine of a child’ problems that are very counter-intuitive and kind of insulting: in original dragonball, for example, master roshi was the only known human capable of doing the kamehameha which took 50 years to learn (goku learns it by watching it once and that should have been the cap for him being overpowered{a rival teacher had a more powerful version that nobody else learns}), climbed the sacred tower which took 7 years (it took goku about a week, which is well within the realm of where escalation should be), and blew up the fucking moon but in dbz his ‘power level’ is lower then his pet turtle..... despite all of that and being the one who trained goku and krillin allowing them to be absurdly strong in the first place so they apparently forgot their own history.  so taking the actual good story points they aready had and throwing them in the trash is a running problem

they even had the setup for krillin being in peril continually, all the ‘krillin dies’ memes are about on par with how often every demon on the road (which they pass like gas stations) are kidnapping and trying to eat Tripitaka, whcih is framed as despite Tripitaka being powerful he isnt as powerful as his allies but never framed as useless, especially as even goku has to seek help frequently, often from non-martial sources instead of the ‘kung fu solves everything’ mindset im unsure if anyone will want to start a fight about my statements regarding daballz but im okay with an intelectual argument about its writing .... how do i tag this? i forgot replies dont let me do that but i need to learn how to tag my rants one of theese days in hopes they actually get feedback

[dcarevu]

Batman TAS: Terror in the Sky

“Don’t you get it yet, Batman? You failed.”

Episode: 45 Robin: No Writer: Mark Saraceni (teleplay/story) and Steve Perry (story) Director: Boyd Kirkland Animator: Dong Yang Airdate: November 12, 1992 Grade: F

Ouch. Y’know, at least I’ve Got Batman in My Basement had fun stuff for the kiddies and an absolutely hilarious screwdriver duel. What does this episode have for anyone once they know the plot twist? I can’t think of a single thing. Not a single thing. Nothing stuck with me. Nothing is here that I care about seeing again. No killer lines. No great action scenes. Only a mildly good twist, and, well, it does have the incredibly cute scene from the She-Bat eating the fruit at the beginning, but really, this episode’s crime is just being flat out boring. I might even call it my least favorite episode so far. As if all this weren’t enough, this is the third episode within the last four to predominantly feature a human transforming into some type of creature-person hybrid. It doesn’t start off at the zoo again, thank the lord, but why this theme again? Twice that close together was pushing it. Yeah, seeing Langstrom a few episodes ago helps, it gives us a sense of continuity and story-ark, but I wanna see some other things from the world of Batman. I really like Man-Bat too, and a return sounds amazing on paper. Yet, while watching, I found myself looking at the time. What went so wrong?

Like I said, that fruit-eating bit was adorable. I really hope there’s a gif of that somewhere. After that, we see She-Bat going back to Langstrom’s house, and Langstrom jolts awake. Everything seems normal, and we are tricked into thinking that it was all a bad dream. Unfortunately, Langstrom gets up and finds scratches and fruit-splatter all over a throw-rug. This leads him to believe that he is turning back into the Man-Bat creature at night, and he simply doesn't remember it. But here’s what I wanna know. Why do they never notice his wife’s torn-up clothes? Does she never wake up to realize that all she’s wearing is tatters? This never sets off any red flags for either of them? That’s a bit of a plot-hole if I do say so myself. Also, his wife in this scene is wearing a shirt, which the bat-creature clearly was lacking. I know they had to fool us somehow, and they can’t show nekkid boobies on the show, but they coulda kept her covered up. I also thought it was pretty cold how she told Langstrom to just go back to sleep. Wow, how comforting.

When you walk through the house at night and you step in animal-piss.

Batman hears about the bat-creature, and pays Langstrom a visit in his laboratory. At the same time, his wife discovers the torn-up rug, and realizes what is apparently happening. So they both get pissed at him, and his wife threatens to leave him, which I understand, considering they both think that he’s screwing around with the Man-Bat formula again. Langstrom tells Batman, though, that he hasn’t messed with it at all, and that Batman’s antidote must have been a failure. In general he acts pretty unappreciative toward Batman. And I know that he’s stressed and likely feels like he’s being targeted, but he fails to remember that without Batman’s help, he’d be in a lot worse shape, likely contained. Batman saved your ass, and even if the antidote didn’t quite get you to a normal life, it at least did something. So, to prove that Langstrom isn’t messing with the formula, and that he’s changing involuntarily, Batman takes a DNA test. Planning on comparing it to the bat-creature, okay, but you’re 99.99% sure that it’s Langstrom with the wings. You want to make sure that he’s not doing it on purpose. Taking a DNA test would be to see who the creature is. From a writing perspective, I get it, but from Batman’s perspective, he shouldn’t need to do that. His logical conclusion should be to first, do some detective work, spying on Langstrom and his laboratory activities, and second, figure out why he’s changing again.

Batman runs into the bat-creature while outside on his motorcycle, and we get a fight which basically consists of Batman getting pelted with a garbage can a few times. Boyd Kirkland puts out some good stuff sometimes, but this directing is so boring! I swear, nothing interesting-looking ever happens  on screen in this entire episode! Remember On Leather Wings? Remember how dynamic some of those moments were? And to up the boringness a little more, it’s all snowy. Okay, cool change of environment. But when you do nothing with it, this leads to us looking at a lot of bland whites and grays, in addition to the brown of the bat.

After the two fight, there is a chase scene that you might as well fast-forward through, and it ends with, of course, Batman heading right toward a train on his motorcycle. Enough with the trains, it’s getting so cliché. Every time someone is on a train track in this show, just expect a train to inconveniently show up. Even Batman seems sick of it here. This is a scene where Batman is speeding through the snow and ice, being chased down by a giant bat that possibly wants to kill him. How about a more exciting way to end it? Luckily, though, the fight/chase allows Batman to pick up some hair from the creature, and he tests it, proving that Langstrom isn’t the bat. Of course, he now thinks that Dr March is the bat. At least that’s a logical conclusion. When Batman gives Langstrom the news, we learn that his wife has actually left him, and is boring a plane to some undisclosed location. Despite this, it’s really cool how he offers to help Batman catch the new Man-Bat. Batman says that he can handle it, though, so Langstrom heads off to find his wife and explain to her what is going on.

When Batman confronts Dr. March, Dr. March insists that he’s not responsible for the Man-Bat either, because he spilled the improved solution on the floor. But he remembers that his daughter (who is also Langstrom’s wife) helped him clean it up, and in the process, she cut her finger and exposed her blood to the solution. Girl, you’re in a laboratory working with chemicals. Wear gloves if you’re gonna clean up a mess that contains broken glass. Or wear gloves anyway! Duh! So it’s revealed that Francine is the new Man-Bat (or in this case, She-Bat), and it’s a twist that might surprise you your first watch, but it’s not gonna blow you away either. And as I said, once you know it, the episode is basically worthless. And you wouldn’t think so! Because now we shift to the airplane that Francine is on, and she mentions that she doesn’t feel so well. Great! We’re gonna get to see her transform into the bat and go berserk on a crowded plane, right? Well, kinda. After a terribly-animated transformation scene where she looks like one of Spielberg’s gremlins, she leaves the plane, creating a drop of cabin-pressure, and everyone is afraid that they’ll be sucked right out the door. Sounds exciting, but believe me, it’s not. It all feels so low-key considering the situation, and I have to point to Boyd Kirkland again. Dong Yang does no favors, though, because even though this is their episode, it 100% looks like Akom-work. Yeah. You see the problem. I really wish that instead of attempting a scene like this and failing, they would have tried another idea. This is one that I had. So, Langstrom is on the plane that his wife is supposed to be on. He saw her get on it. But when on the plane, he doesn’t see her. The episode would then call back to the Twilight Zone episode Nightmare at 20,000 Feet, and he’d see her outside on the wing. How she got there wouldn’t matter, and it would be a really fun moment. That's my way of how to improve the episode. By the way, after She-Bat escapes, Batman pulls up in his plane and rescues a woman from falling out with the Bat-Plane’s grabby arm. The whole thing is preposterous-looking, and I refuse to believe that, as a pilot, Batman has that much dexterity. Get outta here.

And then the rest of the episode is another chase sequence. Fun. Except this time it’s the Bat-Plane chasing She-Bat. I’m not someone who’s against the Bat-Plane or anything, I think that it has its uses. But, similar to the 1989 Batman, it can be so boring to watch. The chase feels like it goes on forever, and when it ends, Batman injects her with the antidote, and everything is right with the world. So with that, Batman takes off, leaving Kirk and Francine Langstrom up on a snowy, slippery bridge, doomed to freeze to death or fall. That basically sums it up. On the bright side, Char didn’t dislike the episode. She didn’t like it either, but I’m glad that I wasn’t insulting her time.

Get a load of this goofy shot.

“You’re on your own, guys.”

Char’s grade: C Next time: Almost Got’ im

Full episode list here!

[helloyoucreatives]

Why Your Commitment to Originality is Holding You Back

A guest post from Patrick Foster / Ecommerce Consultant

Image credit: Pexels

Why choose something so atmospheric as the featured image for this particular piece? It’s simple: because there’s nothing new under the sun. You won’t find anything in this post that hasn’t been said somewhere else, whether recently or hundreds of years ago.

There are billions of us swarming across the planet, all sharing experiences and living broadly-comparable lives, and while you might have the odd flash of inspiration, it’s arrogant to think you’re a pioneer. Each of us is just a brick in a wall.

In fact, though aspiring to innovation (to speaking your own voice and no one else’s) might feel like a noble goal, it’s a foolish endeavour: and it’s holding you back. Here’s why:

We’re all products of our circumstances In essence, we’re all students. From the moment a baby is expelled wide-eyed into the bright hospital light, it starts soaking up sensory data and figuring out how to parse it usefully. We may be genetically imbued with some basic skills, but without learning from the world around us, we can’t hope to accomplish much — just see how readily a child will pick up new information.

Unfortunately, with adulthood often comes a reluctance to accept help from anyone or anything, along with a stubborn sense of arrogance. Because we forget specifically how we learned things, we start thinking of ourselves as having sprung fully-formed from the ground, with our knowledge and skills somehow being innate to us.

Awkwardly enough, this arrogance leads to exaggerated self-criticism. When we can’t spool out fresh ideas that match those already rooting around our minds, we conclude that we’re underperforming — failing to meet our established standards. But that isn’t true.

Creativity stems from inspiration When you’re searching for an idea but nothing is appearing, getting more insular is the last thing you should do. It might as well be rummaging around in an empty bread tin for some homemade crumbs, all while you could simply buy a fresh loaf. And we can extend that comparison further, because homemade bread draws from the legacy of breadmaking — if bread hadn’t already existed when you started baking, it’s very doubtful that you’d have invented it.

We don’t hunt down sources of inspiration so we can steal them. It isn’t about claiming that you and you alone conjured an idea from the heavens. Inspiration is to be tweaked, broken, glued together, experimented upon to devise twists on established formulas. There’s a reason why much of marketing is built on a large set of power words — they’re known to be effective, time and time again, when mixed into new content. The best thing you can do to get your creative motors running is look carefully at what others have done.

What do you like about existing work? What do you hate? Which choices do you find laudable, and which would you rather have avoided? Even as you merely consider the work of others, you’ll be forming an ever-clearer concept of what you would have done — and what you could now do. That’s the blueprint you need.

Improvement demands iteration It’s been said that hard work beats talent when talent hardly works. Are some people born with more aptitude for particular tasks? Presumably, but they still need to learn them — and if you’re not born with any aptitude for something, you can still get pretty damn good at it. But what’s often unclear is what talent even means in this context.

In most cases, an apparent talent for something isn’t anything mysterious: it’s the product of passion so strong that it makes the hard work look easy. When you truly care about something, you don’t count the hours you spend thinking about it — it’s always on your mind to some extent, and you wouldn’t have it any other way.

What this all means is quite simple: you get better at something through practice and repetition, and your status as a talent or a hard worker only really determines how much you enjoy that challenge. If you’re absolutely set on being original, then you can’t riff on existing works, or add to them, or reproduce them to hone your technique. This massively hobbles your opportunity to get better, leaving you as a mere theoretical creative, forever waiting for lightning to strike.

Being fresh doesn’t make something better Let’s suppose for a second that you do somehow acquire the near-mystical ability to spot patterns and concepts that no one else is capable of seeing. You wield the power of originality, or as close to it as anyone can plausibly get — the real-world version of originality, which is really determined by how different and unexpected the results are.

Along comes a project, and a chance to show what you can do. You create something totally fresh and inventive, going above and beyond anything that came before it… and everyone hates it. You reason that it’s simply it’s too original for them, but once you give it some more thought, you realise the truth: it’s just not that good.

After all, what’s new isn’t inherently better than what’s been done many times before. The car wheel is definitely in something of a design rut, but your wild idea to make it a rhombus is unlikely to attract much interest. Holding out for an original approach often leads you to discount the best solution simply because it’s popular, so welcome fresh ideas when they appear, but don’t give them special treatment.

Wrapping up, it’s good to care about the quality of your work, and to want to offer something that’s uniquely yours — but you’ll create your best work when you run with your best ideas, bringing great concepts together from various sources. Old ideas in fresh configurations. That’s the way to go.

[randomboo256]

Pac-Man World 3 Review

To say that the Pac-Man World series has been rocky so far is an understatement. Pac-Man World 1, while having some fun concepts, had generally poor level design and bad controls. Pac-Man World 2 meanwhile reinvented the formula to work as a proper 3D platformer, however it left some good things behind in its attempts to improve. Mainly, it left behind the feeling of exploration the original had. Not only that, but the whole last two worlds of the game were complete garbage, which in a game as short as this amounts to a sizable chunk of the overall experience.

This puts a Pac-Man World 3 in an odd position. It should optimally produce a game with all the good of World 2 removed from the bad as well as recapturing some of that lost exploration all while giving good reason TO explore. However, Pac-Man World 3 is not a game interested in giving us a more refined Pac-Man World 2. It, much like its predecessor, wants to completely reinvent the Pac-Man World formula, arguably making it the most different game in the whole series. It's the black sheep, apparently.

Of course as a kid I knew none of this when I played World 3 for the first time on my mom's duct-taped together PSP. World 3 was one of the first video games I ever remember playing, although I never got very far into it. Not sure I even really passed the first level honestly. I sure did love that box art though. Regardless, it was enough to get me to be a fan of Pac-Man from an early age. Him being in Smash For was actually what got me to buy that game, which lead to me becoming as big of a video game nerd as I currently am. So in a way, this game had a pretty big impact on my life, despite never truly playing it beyond the first level.

So anyway, how's the game itself? Well for starters, story. This game actually has one surprisingly. I won't spoil much bc this bizarre plot was actually part of what kept me playing. Overall the writing was decent. I'd say it's on par with a standard Cartoon Network show or such. They actually had some pretty decent jokes all throughout, but nothing must play by any means. The real highlight is Pac-Man himself. He's not silent anymore. He's now a fully voiced proper main character with frequent dialogue with other characters, even mid level. He's written perfectly. He's some a loveable upbeat guy with just a hint of sarcasm thrown in. The voice acting overall is pretty solid for a Gamecube platformer. Overall, this was one of my favorite aspects of the experience. Some people say that this approach to storytelling is too different from Pac-Man World 1 and 2, but is being different really that bad? They still have the same light hearted cartoon tone. It's just that one goes for minimal story and the other leans into it. I think it works honestly.

As for gameplay, it's also pretty different. Firstly, more moveset changes. The kickflip is gone, which is a shame. Yeah it was pointless but it was satisfying. Next, they further nerfed the butt bounce. In World 1, the butt bounce was so much higher than your normal jump that you're basically forced to use it as an awkward replacement. In World 2, your default jump was massively buffed, meaning using the now only slightly higher butt bounce was pretty pointless. In World 3, it now doesn't give you any height at all. However, it does create a shockwave on your third bounce, which helps with how imprecise it felt as an attack in the first two games. Speaking of attack, we now have a three hit combo. Considering he's been wearing boxing gloves this whole time, it's kinda weird he didn't have this yet tbh. Anyway, the combo is quick and snappy. I quite like the controls of it tbh. We also have brand new Wall Jump. It feels good enough I suppose, and they really get some use out of it here and there. Lastly, the best change was to the rev roll. It has momentum! You can now use it more or less the same way Sonic would use a spin dash. You can rev in place for a second, quickly jump, and go much farther. The rev roll in general gets a lot more well deserved use in this game. Overall, I think this moveset was an improvement. It kinda sucks that the bounce is only an attack/quick jump now, but it's not a big deal. Honestly after World 1, I was completely sick of the butt bounce anyway.

As for level design, it's also very different. While World 2 was a 3D game, it was pretty Crash Bandicoot. Running down linear hallways to the end. World 3 meanwhile is much more open. You're in wider areas with a fully controllable camera as you figure out the path forward. It's still a linear level by level game mind you, just not in the literal "nearly the entire game is an actual straight line" sense anymore. With collectables scattered everywhere, many of which being required to open doors or open Pac-Dot chains, World 3 really does a lot to recapture that lost feeling of exploration. The level design on the whole was honestly pretty solid. I thought it had a lot of fun platforming, even late into the game. The game also lacked a world map and rather decided to naturally segway into the next level at the end of the previous. All in all, this game out of all of them truly felt like an actual adventure rather than just a standard level by level platformer, which this game still technically is. That feeling is helped by the game's much longer run time, at least for me. I beat the others in just one or two sittings. I beat this game over the course of a week, although I was taking my time to explore.

Level design wasn't perfect though. One big issue was that because of the more open design, I sometimes had issues figuring out where to go or what exactly to do. I ended up wasting a lot of time just stumbling around. I think this is part of the reason I never got very far into this game as a kid. Although even then, with how challenging a few of this game's later moments were I doubt I would've finished it as a kid anyway. While I'm complaining, a big issue is that all of your non-key item collectables are now even more worthless than before. Everything that doesn't explicitly open a path forward now only gives you points, even including Pac-Dots which you don't even have a counter for anymore. World 2 gave you a free health wedge every 50 Pac-Dots. They could've at least kept that, but alas. However, despite these not doing anything I still went out of my way to grab the extra collectables because it was honestly still fun to do so. I managed to top most of the built in leaderboards as well, although I'm not sure how much of a brag that is.

But I think I should finally discuss the elephant in the room: combat. While the first two games had minimal combat, World 3 doubles down on it. In short doses, I think the combat in this game is honestly fun. When it's just two or three enemies along your platforming path, it's no big deal. However the game also has the tendency to drop you in a room full of enemies as you slowly have to just beat them all. The problem is that there is very little variety. Your combat moveset pool is small and there's only a few enemy types, making nearly every combat encounter of this type boring and repetitive. They do throw in a few power ups, but those also get repetitive. It gets worse though. We also have ghost attacks where you're forced to stand in an enclosed space as you wait for a power pellet to spawn, eat ghosts, run away, and repeat over and over until it ends. It's mind numbing.

Of all of this combat shit is what the game is most known for, and yeah it's bad. However, does it really ruin it? Honestly, I don't think so. Most of the game is spent platforming and exploring. While the combat sections are suffocating, it's only like 20% of the game. However, when combined with the additional maybe 10% of me running around aimlessly to figure out where to go, we end up with roughly 30% of the game that wasn't an enjoyable experience. 70% ain't bad, right?

Overall, I think this managed to be the best game in the series. It has the best story, the best moveset, and the best exploration, even if a large percentage of that time was spent in miserable combat. I'd say this game is a high 7/10, compared to the low 7/10 of World 2 and the 3/10 of World 1. If you can only play one of these games, play this one, although you won't be missing much if you don't play any.

[jennaschererwrites]

Emmys 2018: 20 Best, Worst and WTF Moments – Rolling Stone

Mondays, right? It’s a rough day to try to do anything, period, and an even rougher day to throw a major awards show. But that didn’t stop NBC from airing the 70th Annual Emmy Awards a day later than is traditional, to make way for Sunday Night Football, the only thing American viewers eat up even more eagerly than hot red-carpet goss.

Whether it was beginning-of-week malaise or something else that was afflicting the ceremony, there’s no denying that this year’s Emmys felt more than a few steps off its game. Hosted by SNL “Weekend Update” co-anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost, the 2018 edition looked and sounded like the mutterings of an exhausted industry — especially in the wake of last year’s fired-up broadcast, presided over by an energetic (and actually funny) Stephen Colbert. And though the ceremony quite literally made a production number out of its commitment to honoring diversity, 22 of 26 Emmys were snatched up by white performers, creators and producers — proof positive that lip service only goes so far.

Top honors this year went to HBO’s Game of Thrones for Outstanding Drama, Amazon’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel for Comedy and FX’s The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story for Limited Series. Meanwhile, national treasure/light of our lives Betty White was honored for her decades in the industry, and critical darling The Americans took home a long-awaited pair of statuettes for its final season (Matthew Rhys for Lead Actor in a Drama and showrunners Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields for writing).

But even a surprise marriage proposal — or Leslie Jones’ fabulous opalescent pantsuit — couldn’t do much to liven up a ceremony that seemed to be simply going through the motions. We may still be in the Peak TV era, but this year’s Emmys made us wonder if we’ve started the long downhill climb.

Worst: Michael Che and Colin Jost’s bland hosting job From the moment they walked out to deliver the opening monologue, Che and Jost looked vaguely uncomfortable, as if someone had just farted and they were standing in the stink-cloud. Their low-key, above-it-all “Weekend Update” formula didn’t translate to the Emmys stage; everything was delivered with an air of bored detachment as they plodded through stilted jokes about the #MeToo movement, the primacy of Netflix and Roseanne Barr’s self-immolation. “With the amazing contributions from everyone in this room tonight, I think we can keep television going for another five, six years tops,” Jost quipped at the end of the intro. It didn’t reallllly sound like a joke.

Best: ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ makes history The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s title heroine would be the first to tell you that being a woman in comedy is frequently a thankless business, but last night’s ceremony proved there are at least a few things that have improved since the 1950s. Amy Sherman-Palladino‘s period piece about housewife-turned-stand-up comedian cleaned up, nabbing five wins including Best Comedy and Best Actress in a Comedy for its uber-talented star, Rachel Brosnahan. Remarkably, Sherman-Palladino became the first woman to net a double Writing and Directing win in Emmy history. (“My panic room’s gonna be so pretty!” she declared, hoisting her twin statuettes.) Though it’s only one season old, Mrs. Maisel came out of the gate a fully-formed spitfire of a show — and it more than earned this freshman sweep. 

WTF: The Emmys go light on big issues Ever since the 2016 election rocked the world on its foundations, pretty much every major awards show has worn its politics on its sleeve (or pinned to its lapel, as the case may be). But with a few exceptions — like Ryan Murphy citing hate crime statistics in his American Crime Story speech, Evan Rachel Wood rocking a blue ribbon and Rachel Brosnahan encouraging women to vote in the midterms — politics and social issues were not a major point of discussion. The #TimesUp movement, which is currently making major waves in the TV industry, was barely mentioned; diversity, while it was much joked about, was never seriously grappled with. The T-word (you know the one) wasn’t uttered once all night. All of which isn’t to say that awards shows have to get political. But in the wake of Oscars, Golden Globes and past Emmys ceremonies that were charged with moments of awareness, the 2018 ceremony felt a little toothless. Are we all just really tired?

Worst: ‘Game of Thrones’ wins big for weak season Look. We’ll be the first to say that when Game of Thrones is running on all cylinders, full dracarys ahead, it’s one of the most thrilling things on the small screen — a full complement of gut-wrenching dramatics, whizbang action sequences and Queen of Thorns side-eye. But this latest truncated season was D.B. Weiss and David Benioff’s water-cooler fantasy series at its worst, resting on the good faith the show has built up over six previous seasons to trot out a series of episodes that were, frankly, just kind of dumb. So we rolled our eyes a bit when the series nabbed the most Emmy noms this year (22!), and even more when it won Outstanding Drama in a year when there are much more interesting things going on (many of which weren’t even nominated). Even the show’s creators looked nonplussed as they accepted Thrones’ third win in the category since 2015. Yawn. Wake us up when the ice dragon gets to Winterfell.

WTF: Jeff Daniels goes on a horse rant Plenty of actors talk about their costars at length in their speeches — but Jeff Daniels took it to a whole other level. When he accepted the Supporting Actor in a Limited Series statuette for his turn in Netflix western Godless, the actor didn’t care so much about making sure to thank all the right people as he did about … talking about horse stuff? Yeah, we were also confused. He spent most of his time at the podium descanting on all things equine, encouraging young actors not to lie about their horseback-riding abilities at auditions and recalling his harrowing experience with his steed Apollo. “He was Jeff Bridges’ horse on True Grit, and I felt he was making unfair comparisons,” Daniels quipped. Apollo apparently threw him three times, breaking his wrist in the process, to which the actor responded by hoisting his Emmy with the now-healed joint. Living well is the best revenge, we suppose.

Best: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ gets a long-awaited win The Reality Competition Series category has historically been one of the Emmys’ dullest, with the same few shows (The Amazing Race, The Voice and Top Chef) winning year after year since its inception in 2003. It’s about damn time that the statuette went to VH1’s (formerly Logo’s) genuinely groundbreaking RuPaul’s Drag Race, after a whopping 10 seasons and counting on the air. Reality shows aren’t generally a space known for enacting anything like positive change, but with its fabulously inventive queens and policy of radical acceptance, the show has proven itself to be a force for genuine good in the world — not to mention a plain ol’ good time. RuPaul accepted the award “on behalf of the 140 drag queens we have released into the wild,” and, we’d like to think, the generation of LGBTQ kids who have 140 high-profile role models. Can we get an amen?

Best: Claire Foy wins for ‘The Crown’ For our money, there wasn’t a more fierce category this year than Lead Actress in a Drama. The field boasted past winners Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale) and Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black), repeat nominees Keri Russell (The Americans) and Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld), plus fierce category newcomer Sandra Oh (Killing Eve). And while pretty much any of these heavy hitters deserved the win, we’re quite chuffed it went to Claire Foy for her nuanced, luminescent star turn in Netflix’s The Crown. All depth and no flash, Queen Elizabeth II isn’t an easy role to take on — but Foy’s performance is painterly in its precision. “I dedicate this to the next cast,” she said in her speech, passing the royal vestments on to Elizabeth-in-the-wings Olivia Colman. To which we say: Long live the Queen.

Best: Regina King’s heartfelt speech “Oooh! Regina King!” presenter Leslie Jones exclaimed with delight when she announced the winner for Lead Actress in a Limited Series in Netflix’s Seven Seconds. King may already have two Supporting Actress Emmys under her belt (for American Crime in 2015 and 2016), but that didn’t stop her from being endearingly shocked and flustered over her win for her searing turn in Veena Sud’s crime drama. From the look of total disbelief on her face when the winner was announced to her dumbfounded admission that she’d just cleaned lipstick off her dress, King provided one of the night’s rare emotional moments. “Thank you. This is amazing. I wanna curse right now,” she declared, and we don’t blame her. Sadly, the systemic racism that Seven Seconds tackles was reflected in the fact that King was one of only a handful of non-white honorees (along with Thandie Newton and RuPaul). Take note, Emmys.

Worst: Was everyone on tranquilizers? You could almost hear the yawns both onstage and in the audience last night, in a ceremony that proved to be as high-energy as a bag of Quaaludes. Hell, there was one part where Will Ferrell ran up to the mic in slow motion just to … kill time, we guess? Blame Che and Jost’s lethargic hosting, blame some less-than-inspiring nominees, blame Monday, blame a television industry rocked by scandals and exhausted by its own self-mythologizing. Whatever it was, it’s clear that the Emmys needs a bracing shot to the heart before it’s too late. And that starts with shaking up its own clearly tired formula.

[raccoonfootproductions]

Editorial: Why Does Nickelodeon Give Up On New Animated Shows So Quickly?

(The following post is long. Very long. And I did my best to word it properly even though I’m not the best with words. Still, I’d very much appreciate it if you took the time to read it because it’s about something that really matters to me. I know stuff about Nickelodeon isn’t very popular unless it’s 100% negative, but please, if you have the time, give this a look)

Nickelodeon. Once beloved by everyone, now infamous for two things: Either ending animated shows too early (El Tigre, Harvey Beaks) or treating them terribly (The Legend of Korra). They’ve been like this since 2006 and have only slightly improved since then. Even now, Bunsen is a Beast and Welcome to the Wayne, which only just premiered this year, seem to already be on their way out, either cancelled or ready to be moved off the main network for their next season.

Why has this happened? Why has Nickelodeon lost faith in its own animated output? I believe there are two groups of people to blame:

Nickelodeon’s current management

The general viewing public on the internet

That’s right, WE are just as much to blame for Nick’s downfall as they are. Yes, really. There are several factors that led to the state the network is in now and we had a hand in quite a few of them...

1. The Change in Management (The Dark Ages)

Let’s rewind to early 2006. Nickelodeon had just gotten a new president -- Cyma Zarghami. Needless to say, it didn’t take long for her to become the most hated president in the history of the network.

What was her first move? Cancelling almost every current animated show. Danny Phantom, Jimmy Neutron, My Life as a Teenage Robot... The only ones that remained were Avatar: The Last Airbender (for a while) and SpongeBob SquarePants. This was obviously received as a terrible move and fans were outraged. So much so that protests were held outside the network offices in New York (by fans of Danny Phantom).

Did Cyma respond to criticism and stop there? Nope! Many shows after that were cancelled quickly, several only getting one season (El Tigre, Tak and the Power of Juju, Making Fiends). Even pilots that had potential to live longer than that (Adventure Time, The Modifiers) were rejected before even getting their own series. To make matters worse, many shows that did live beyond a single season were terribly received by critics (Back at the Barnyard, Fanboy and Chum Chum, Sanjay and Craig, Breadwinners).

Only a small handful of shows since then have lived for at least two seasons and received critical praise, thanks in part to two seasons becoming the minimum for most new shows, but even most of those were treated terribly by the network at some point. However, at this point, it wasn’t entirely the network’s fault, which leads me to the next factor...

2. Our Refusal to Give New Nickelodeon Shows a Chance

I’ve seen it far too many times. So many people on the internet either not knowing about a new Nicktoon (more on why that is later) or outright refusing to watch it. The latter is a problem that stems from our inability to trust Nickelodeon anymore, thinking the new show will either be dumb or the network will just cancel it early.

Hear me right now and hear me well: THAT ATTITUDE IS EXACTLY WHY THEY CANCEL SHOWS EARLY.

You boycotting shows just because you think the network will mistreat it or because you just don’t like the network only makes things worse. It greatly affects the rating and online buzz, the very things shows need to survive. The network won’t think you’re refusing to watch because of how bad they’re run; They’ll think you just don’t like the show and axe it quicker. If you want to make a real impression, boycott the shows that you think are bad and support the ones you like by watching them or merely talking about them online.

Sometimes, it’s not even the mere fact it’s on Nick that makes people too judgy about new shows. It can be the way the show looks. If we think the art style isn’t good enough or the premise is a ripoff of something else, we’ll pass on it, even if the show is actually pretty good. There were people who thought Harvey Beaks was a ripoff of The Amazing World of Gumball because of how it looked and decided not to watch it. There were people who thought Welcome to the Wayne was a ripoff of Gravity Falls just because of its premise and decided not to watch it. There’s already people planning not to watch Pinky Malinky because they don’t like its art style. These shows (not counting Pinky because we don’t know yet) were all good, but got very little attention because many judged them at first glance rather than actually watching them. This was a major factor that led to their early demises. Not enough people gave them a chance right out of the gate, so the network gave up on them.

The Loud House is the only recent Nicktoon that managed to become popular right away and avoid cancellation, but that’s mostly due to early online buzz and people actually giving it a shot because they actually liked how it looked. It ended up rivaling SpongeBob in ratings, which Nick is always looking for in a new show. If we can’t help it get close to SpongeBob numbers, there’s a chance the network won’t support it for long.

I know what you’re thinking. “C’mon, new shows can’t become popular that quick! It takes time to build up popularity! Nick just has unrealistic goals!” Well, as a rebuttal to that, I present the next factor...

3. Cartoon Network (and Disney XD)

Cartoon Network... That network... I have a lot of problems with that network...

My main problem with it is simple: It’s an attention hog.

Ever since 2010, with the introduction of Adventure Time and Regular Show, all I ever heard online was how great those two shows were. Day in and day out, no one would shut up about these two shows. Cartoon Network had apparently entered a new golden age, while Nickelodeon was still seen as a rotting corpse. I’m definitely not saying these two shows were bad; I was just annoyed by how much people were talking about them, especially since I wasn’t as into them as everyone else.

Then came The Amazing World of Gumball. Then Steven Universe. Then Clarence. Then We Bare Bears. Then, most recently, OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes. So many shows came out in the last few years that appealed to pretty much everything the internet wanted. Because of that (and I suppose a lot of promoting on CN’s part), most of them became famous almost instantly. Their ratings compared to other networks’ shows didn’t matter; They had online fame. A lot of it. Much more than anything Nickelodeon could produce.

Don’t believe me? Just look at these Google trend charts, the blue lines representing Nicktoons and the red lines representing Cartoon Network Originals:

Breadwinners vs Clarence (admittedly not a fair comparison already)

Harvey Beaks vs We Bare Bears

And most recently, Welcome to the Wayne vs OK K.O.: Let’s Be Heroes

As you can see, the CN Originals had enormous spikes of popularity around their premieres, while all the Nicktoons could barely reach their level at any point. The internet’s focus has always been directed toward CN more, as if Nick doesn’t even exist anymore because we’ve become that biased. New CN shows barely have to do anything other than exist and repeat the formula of the last hit show to get immediate online fame. Even unpopular shows like Teen Titans Go! have achieved fame simply by being controversial, something that not even Nick’s worst shows have achieved.

That's my problem with Cartoon Network. It achieves so much by doing so little, while almost all other animated shows get next-to-zilch.

Of course, Cartoon Network isn’t the only attention hog. There’s also Disney XD. While its ratings are the lowest out of all kids’ networks, its shows can easily become as popular as CN’s. Gravity Falls and Star vs The Forces of Evil are two prime examples.

All that being said, these networks are just as guilty as Nick of sweeping shows under the rug early if they think they’re under-preforming. Let’s not forget how Disney treated Wander Over Yonder or how CN treated Young Justice and all other action shows. So this isn’t just a Nick thing; Nick’s just the most notorious for doing it. This is probably because of the next factor...

4. Poor Promotion and Business Practices

Now this one is entirely Nickelodeon’s fault. There’s really no way I can pin any of the blame for this on the public.

When was the last time you saw a commercial on Nick for something other than SpongeBob, The Loud House, or a live-action show? Almost never, right? Unless there’s new episodes or it’s a big event like Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, most animation gets shoved to the side or completely off the schedule. Obviously, this is a terrible way for a show to gain any attention. It can’t gain any traction if it’s never advertised or airing. It also doesn’t help if the schedule’s constantly changed. Just ask The Legend of Korra.

Sadly, when it comes to new shows, if it’s not live-action, Nick doesn’t care. This raises the question, why does Nick like live-action show so much, even when the shows are so poorly made and received?

The answer is simple: They’re cheaper to make.

Animating a single episode of an animated show can take over half a year and many resources to produce. A live-action show can be churned out in much less time for much less money. All those recent Dan Schneider shows that just lump together at this point were likely greenlit because it barely costs the network anything compared to an average Legend of Korra episode. Even imported animated shows like the current Alvin and the Chipmunks series were brought onto the network because of their cheapness (Cyma Zarghami doesn’t even like Alvin that much).

That said, a show being cheap doesn’t automatically make it bad. A good example might be The Loud House. Its Flash animation can’t be all that expensive, but it still manages to be good because its staff cares about their craft. In the end, caring enough about what you’re making is what counts, not the price of it. Sadly, not enough live-action shows have a caring-enough crew to make them any good. The kid actors and kid viewers just play along because they really don’t know any better.

All I really want here is for Nickelodeon’s scheduling and promoting to be more balanced. They can keep the SpongeBob reruns and live-action shows, just as long as other animated shows get just as much airtime and advertisements. They need to even the playing field and then, only after more than a few weeks or months, judge a new show’s popularity before pulling it. Also, checking the amount of views a show gets on their website and other legal streaming sites is a good idea for them too. We live in an age where online viewership matters a lot more than television viewership.

5. Our Inability to Let Go of the Past

How many times have you heard this? “Nickelodeon was better in the 90′s!” Yeah, we’ve all heard something like it. Everything was apparently better back in an earlier decade. That’s part of the reason companies rely on nostalgia so much these days -- It’s stuff that people already like. Therefore, it’s easy to sell and they don’t have to take risks with new stuff.

This is a driving factor behind a lot of Nickelodeon’s decisions these days. Think about all the movie reboots of old properties they have lined up: Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie, Rocko’s Modern Life: Static Cling, an Invader ZIM special, theatrical movies of Dora the Explorer and Are You Afraid of the Dark?... And that’s just what they’ve announced so far. There’s also the merchandise based on old shows, which is also growing more and more abundant. Even the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series managed to stay alive for a long while thanks to it being a familiar brand, with yet another series on the way. You could also say it’s why SpongeBob and The Fairly OddParents have lasted so long.

Why all the nostalgia? Like I said, it’s easy to sell, but also because... NO ONE GIVES THE NEW STUFF A CHANCE.

Why waste money on a show someone’s bound to dismiss as a poorly-drawn ripoff of another show when they can easily grab attention and cash by bringing back an old property that everyone already loves? Yep, you ignoring new shows just because you think they don’t look good was partly what led to this.

Don’t get me wrong, these nostalgia-fueled revivals of old franchises aren’t inherently bad. In fact, Nick probably does it better than anyone else. They actually bother bringing back the original creators and as much of the cast and crew as they can. There’s actual love and care put into these reboots, which is more than I can say for some other cash-grab reboots (looking at you, new Powerpuff Girls).

The problem is that these shouldn’t be the only thing from Nick you support. Next time a new show comes out, try watching a few episodes when they first premiere and see if you like it. If you do, keep watching it on the air and from legal online providers. Talk about it online and get other people interested. Do what you can to show support. If you don’t support it, I certainly don’t want to here you complain when it’s cancelled.

So is there still hope for Nickelodeon to improve?

At the moment, I definitely think so. It already has a bit, in some ways. However, it still has a long way to go before it’s learned from its mistakes. Cyma Zarghami is still in charge and she’s not much smarter than she was in the beginning.

That’s why we should help them get better.

I know in this day and age, it’s easy for us to not care about something like Nickelodeon. It’s past its prime and we’re beyond its demographic now, so why bother, right? Apathy can be dangerously powerful like that. Still, it’d be nice if we could all help somehow. I already named a lot of ways we can and many problems we should tell them to fix.

I’m sure a lot of you reading this grew up with them, possibly during their heyday, and if you did, who better to tell them what they should do than you? Who knows? They just might listen if you actually bother to speak up.

After all, wasn’t it fan demand that helped Hey Arnold!: The Jungle Movie finally get made?

[aion-rsa]

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Review

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It’s hard to get excited about a new Call of Duty game after 16 years of consecutive releases, but a bigger emphasis on stealth in Black Ops Cold War’s campaign and a couple of enjoyable new multiplayer modes prove that this annual franchise can still hang with the best.

While part of the Black Ops subseries, you don’t need to be familiar with the previous games to enjoy Cold War’s single-player campaign. Alex Mason, the protagonist from the first two Black Ops’ games returns for a few missions, but you’ll be playing as your own created character for most of the adventure. After an adrenaline-pumping opening chase sequence set in Turkey, you’ll get to choose your character’s gender, background, and two extra skills from a “psychological” profile. These skills include perks like extra health or faster reload speed. It’s a cool concept, but it doesn’t add much while on actual missions. 

Set mostly in 1981, Cold War sees your character working with the CIA to stop Perseus, a Soviet spy who has stolen nuclear secrets and is now threatening the stability of western Europe. Along the way, you’ll be joined by Mason and Russell Adler, a scarred CIA agent who looks exactly like Robert Redford. Somehow, it’s not him, though. I checked, double checked, and then looked it up again. Redford has nothing to do with the game, though the resemblance is uncanny. 

Developers Treyarch and Raven Software have done a fantastic job creating the game’s early ‘80s aesthetic, with fashion and office space seemingly lifted straight out of a movie from the era. File footage and a brief cameo from a very uncanny valley Ronald Reagan help further set the tone. Call of Duty isn’t exactly known for its soundtracks, but Cold War showcases a few big hits from the era, including Billy Squire’s “The Stroke” and Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot.” As if that weren’t enough to revive the decade of big hair and shoulder pads, Raven even managed to squeeze a few classic Activision games from the Atari 2600 into Cold War for good measure. 

While Cold War retains the more realistic, heavier gunplay of last year’s Modern Warfare reboot, the move away from active battlefields lends itself to some much-needed changes to the series’ usual formula. Many missions have a much greater emphasis on infiltration and stealth. Enemies can be taken hostage and used as shields, and hiding bodies in closets is critical to success during stealth missions. Sneaking around old Soviet bases with a silenced pistol at the ready results in a strong GoldenEye 007 vibe. I didn’t expect a Call of Duty game in 2020 to emulate the classic N64 shooter, but it works well here.

All of this culminates with one of the best missions in the series’ history: a two-part heist that begins with stealth section that can be completed in multiple ways, followed by a tense shootout and escape. It feels like this is the campaign mission in which Raven put most of its efforts, and it’s such a step above everything else in the campaign that it makes me wonder what the developers could do with the series if they were able to get off the biannual release treadmill and not have to meet such a tight deadline.

I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but I will say that it takes a bizarre hallucinatory left turn after the heist mission, and then in one of the most unoriginal moves in gaming history, steals BioShock’s big twist beat-for-beat. The gameplay remains enjoyable until the very end, but the last hour or so of Cold War’s story is especially disappointing because the rest of the story is so well told. I get it. This is Call of Duty. I don’t expect a Shakespearean narrative, but some originality would’ve been nice. At least the story includes the branching choices that last appeared in Black Ops II, though they feel much less consequential here. There are two distinct endings, but the choices you make during the campaign just affect some of the voiceovers.

Another issue I ran into with the campaign while playing the PC version was a bug where no matter what I did, I couldn’t trigger the ending cutscene for the early mission “Fracture Jaw.” Apparently it’s a problem quite a few players are having. After a quick Google search, I was able to resolve it by running scan and repair on the game’s files through the Battle.net launcher, but this is a major bug that never should have made it into the final release.

Release Date: Nov. 13, 2020 Platforms: PC (reviewed), XSX, PS5, XBO, PS4 Developers: Treyarch & Raven Software Publisher: Activision Genre: First-person Shooter

The campaign is also extremely short, even by Call of Duty standards. Accounting for the time I got stuck in “Fracture Jaw,” I was able to breeze through it in about five hours. Of course, many Call of Duty players don’t even touch single player, which is why I’m pleased to report that this year’s multiplayer release is solid, though it’s a little light on content at the moment, with only 10 maps available at launch, and two of those are exclusive to the new Fireteam mode.

The maps are well-designed, though. Thanks to improved ray-traced lighting effects, the neon-hued Miami map is easily the best looking of the bunch, and it features a good mix of interior and exterior sections in which to set up ambushes. Crossroads, a snow-covered map set in the forests of Uzbekistan, is another excellent map, with lots of perches for sniping and wide open areas you can drive snowmobiles through. But my favorite map is the large version of Armada, which is made up of multiple ships anchored in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. You travel between these ships on smaller boats and jet skis, which makes for plenty of unique encounters, but there’s also a lot of verticality. Once you get on top of the larger ships, you can pick off opponents below. 

The two big mode additions to multiplayer, Fireteam and VIP Escort, appeal to very different tastes. The 40-player Fireteam mode breaks off players into 10 squads of four players each in a mad dash to kill each other as quickly as possible for pieces of uranium. The uranium is then taken to one of several points around the map to set off dirty bombs. The first squad to 500 points wins. With so many different squads to keep track of, respawning players constantly parachuting in, and detonated dirty bombs irradiating parts of the map every few minutes, Fireteam is like a smaller, more chaotic version of Warzone. So it’s good, but like the rest of Cold War’s multiplayer, I wish there was more to it.

The other new multiplayer mode is the 6v6 VIP Escort. In each two-and-a-half minute round, one player from each team is randomly selected as the VIP, who is equipped only with a pistol, smoke grenade, and UAV. The rest of the team has to protect him as he makes his way to one of two evac points. The round ends when the VIP escapes or is killed, or when all members of the opposing team are killed. The first team to win four rounds takes the match. VIP Escort has an obvious Counter-Strike influence. It’s a lot faster-paced than most other Call of Duty modes, and I enjoyed the matches I played, but I’m not sure it has the staying power of Team Deathmatch or Domination.

Rounding out the Cold War package is the Zombies mode, which returns from Black Ops 4 after a one-year hiatus. The only map available at launch, “Die Maschine,” takes place in 1983 at a graffiti-covered abandoned Nazi bunker. “Die Maschine” is actually a reimagining of the first Zombies map from 2008’s World at War, but it’s a well-made level, starting with a large, open area, and then moving into the winding underground caverns we’ve all come to expect from the Zombies mode. There are also some very cool looking paranormal hijinks to trigger as the rounds progress. The map may not be completely original, but it’s a significant step up from the original release. 

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

One welcome change to Zombies this year is that you can now play as your custom classes and operators from multiplayer, so you can jump into a match with much stronger weapons from the start instead of having to make do with a peashooter and work your way up to something more powerful. Thankfully, this doesn’t break the game either. It’s still very easy to get overwhelmed in the later waves if you’re not careful. My only complaint about Zombies is that I wish Treyarch had leaned into the ‘80s setting more and included content similar to the retro amusement park seen in 2016’s Infinite Warfare. I suppose there’s always hope we’ll see something like that added in an update. As of now, the only other thing Zombies has to offer is the twin-stick shooter Dead Ops 3, which is really only worth checking out for a few minutes.

If you’re burned out on Call of Duty, or never got into franchise to begin with, Cold War is not the game that’s going to change your mind. There are some rough edges here, particularly in the short campaign mode. The lack of variety in multiplayer is also disappointing. But the underlying gameplay and multiplayer progression system remain compelling. Cold War may not be the best Call of Duty game, but it’s a strong showing for the series at the beginning of a new gaming generation.

The post Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Review appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[ellacrossman96]

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Kojuro and Wisteria

A spoiler post of Kojuro's Sequel story

So I finished Kojuro's second act story in 3 days and have since rereading the screenshots hahhahahahahah. I chose the fate/noble ending because I want to read his point of view ...

Boy it was so good! I mean I could be biased (SCRATCH THAT I AM INCREDIBLY BIASED WHEN IT COMES TO THIS MAN) and I do have minor quips about it but I enjoyed it sooooo much!

I’ve squeed about Hideyoshi and how much this story improve his rank in my fave list (lol, lol, lol), you can see them here. 

Okay, so.

One of the important character is Kojuro story is a plant, lol.

More specifically, Wisteria, which intertwines (ha) closely with the plot.

And I’m gonna tell my journey reading his story by following up this plant, lol.

More squealing after the break and it is full of spoilers, you've been warned!

Also, anon hater(s). I do not post summaries or spoilers because I want to spoil the experience for everybody - it’s because I want to share MY journey (yes, the key word is my ME, this blog is mainly about me, surprise surprise) in this game, the same reason I started posting SLBP stuff on this blog ever since I started playing early last year (you know, BEFORE you knew of this game because you didn’t start sending me this kind of hate till recently). Get off your high horse or ride away to the sunset, look for your own happiness!

Okay, so what I love about Kojuro’s Second Act is it has got a continuity with his first act. What I don’t love so much is in some aspect, it kind feels repetitive - like, haven’t Kojuro and MC go down this road before - why hasn’t they learn anything - I mean romance tropes work for a reason but we got bored with the same formula, Voltage, try twist things up more cleverly!

But that being said I LOVE IT that the drama doesn’t feel contrived and it stemmed from an actual historical event and everything MAKES SENSE *casually side-eyeing Nobu’s Second Act Divine Ending*.

At the start of the story when they were about to move to Shiroishi they were enjoying the wisteria at Yonezawa. Kojuro remarked that when the wisteria blooms again next year, Oshu will be a better and more peaceful place.

At this point, MC has two choices to respond (lol).

A. she would enjoy wisteria viewing with Kojuro anywhere.

B. She would like to plant wisteria in Shiroishi castle too.

(choose A if you want the points)

When they moved to Shiroishi, Kojuro took a pot of wisteria with them - this wisteria is cut from the wisteria tree in Yonezawa, with the intent to plant it in Shiroishi. So the two castle will be related, geddit??? AWWWWWWW.

In the aftermath of Soma-Hideyoshi’s multiple attacks on Kozakura and Shiroishi, Kojuro holed himself in his study for days. One night MC was awakened from her sleep by the sound of him entering their chambers (they were married at this point). 

Kojuro apologises for waking her up. Upon this, MC has two choices to respond:

A) You should get some rest, Milord.

B) Shall we sleep together?

(Choose A if you want the points because Voltage just loves to punish ‘selfish’ (and thirsty) MCs. I CHOSE B OF COURSE EVEN WHEN I KNEW IT TO BE WRONG FROM VOLTAGE STANDARD (and Kojuro responded with “As tempting as that may sound, my Precious Girl, we need to talk). Also, it could very well have been an innocent offer, like we can just share some sleep, can’t we??? Whose head’s in the gutter now, Voltage?)

After a brief fluffy moment Kojuro asked her to go to Kyoto, because it was not safe for her to be there and he had his plate full of defending the Date clan and that he was needed in Yonezawa, he couldn’t leave her alone undefended in Shiroishi. 

(Okay but I yelled this at this point, like MC, you knew something is going on with your hubby!!! KOJURO WHY JUST STASH HER IN YONEZAWA OR SOMETHING! ALSO SCREW YOU SHE IS CAPABLE OF BEING THE LADY OF THE CASTLE)

He tousled her hair and remarked that it has grown (this is following Kojuro’s first act so here MC’s hair was shorter because her hair’d been cut off by Satake Yoshishige when he held her hostage - LOVE THIS CONTINUITY)

MC could see something was not quite right and told him that she’d be happy anywhere as long as it’s with him. Kojuro said he knew that but he had vowed to keep her safe, also he thought she’d be happy to spend some time with her mum, because they hadn’t seen each other since the wedding. 

(Milord, don’t you dare twist this as such.)

MC smiled and conceded (DUN DUN DUUUUN)

Cut to a scene in Yonezawa, where Kojuro presented the full report on the battle in Kozakura and Shiroishi.

“Anywhere we look, people are submitting to Toyotomi. If we insist on opposing him, Oshu will be once again a land of war.”

Kojuro got a flack from the retainers for looking like he was implying that submitting to Hideyoshi was an option. Even Shigezane was skeptical.

Masamune kept quiet.

Later MC’s tranquil days in Kyoto were ended by Shigezane’s visit. He looks relieved when he saw her. 

“Thank god, you’re here. Where’s Kojuro?”

(DUN DUN DUUUN)

“Eh, Milord is... supposed to be at Yonezawa...?”

(DUN DUN DUUUUUUUN)

Shigezane realised something was very very wrong.

“Kojuro is missing. You should come with me to Yonezawa.”

So off they go to Masamune. Shigezane was mighty worried that Kojuro has disappeared. MC too. But Masamune has just received a letter. From Hideyoshi.

The letter said that Hideyoshi has accepted the service of Kojuro, who declared himself his retainer, unattached and unmarried with no family.

(DUN DUUUN DUUUUNNN NOOOOOOOOOOOEEEEEEEEE!)

MC felt like her world turned dark. So many questions. Where was Kojuro, was he being held against his will, and why did the letter declare him as having no family, no wife?

Shigezane was so upset he went away to investigate the situation.

MC stayed at Yonezawa on Masamune’s behest. But rumours of Kojuro’s apparent treachery had the retainers restless, and it got to her.

One day at the hall, the retainers demanded she being arrested and interrogated.

Upon which Masamune released his signature brand of cold anger.

“And what of it? What she got to do with this?”

The retainers fell silent.”

“She is nothing to Kojuro. She came here as my poison taster. She became Kojuro’s retainer. Kojuro is my retainer. She is my retainer first.”

That saves MC but also broke her heart.

For her safety she lives in a safe house somewhere in the vicinity of the castle. 

Shigezane came to visit, bringing with him a basket of maru-maru (”round-round”) kakki - big, round persimmons, to cheer her up. Upon receiving this MC two options when Shigezane finished making small talks (was she bored? No, Masamune lent her a lot of books, etc - so cute! but also, still sad...):

A) Is that so....

B) I am happy.

(Because Voltage likes their MC putting a brave face so as not to “inconvenient” people with their true feelings, choose B if you want the points).

Shigezane saw through her pain and didn’t press. 

Next came Masamune, who apologized.

“I am sorry I had to say those things in front of them. That must hurt you.”

It did hurt MC. She kept replaying the words over and over again inside her head. Her marriage with Kojuro was a small affair known only to few, Masamune and Shigezane included. If they were to deny that, if Kojuro were to deny that, then was it all in her imagination, like it never happened?

MC knew that Masamune didn’t mean that though and upon seeing how forlorn Masamune looked, she realised that she was not the only one who was missing Kojuro. There was Masamune, and Shigezane too.

Again upon hearing Masamune’s confession, MC had two options to respond:

A) Please don’t apologise.

B) I am saddened, but I understand.

(yes, choose A for the points because Voltage only gives brownie points for not inconveniencing the hero with your true feelings, I just roll my eyes at this point, these “options” are Voltage’s chronic problem, or maybe it showed how the Japanese people unhealthy expectation/idealisation of women.)

Masamune came to ask MC to come with him to Shiroishi to tidy things up. Ad the castle is now masterless. It will be given to Masamune’s uncle, Rusu Masakage (who, along with his son Daitoshimaru, has shown up in SLBP more than once, hahahahh he deserves a hot sprite, Voltage!).

MC dreaded coming back to a place which held so much happiness and promises between her and Kojuro as a couple, but she steeled herself and said yes.

It was painful for her. Seeing her former home without his husband. She entered her bedchamber and reliving the moment Kojuro came to her that night, and all the memories. She sat on the floor and cried because everything hurts, and their stuffs, the wedding present from Yahiko (a couple’s promise books are still there).

She took the book with her and nothing else. She left the room thinking that maybe it was the last time. Has Kojuro truly abandoned her?

She went to the garden for some air and he realised something is missing...

The pot of wisteria sapling they brought over from Yonezawa. It wasn’t there.

Kojuro must have taken it with him.

Hope sprang in her chest. And still full of questions and burning with hope she dried her eyes and went over to Masamune and prostrated herself before him as his retainer and begged him to allow her to go to Kojuro to Osaka.

Okay, but my burning question in all this delicious angsty drama is, where is Bontenmaru the turtle? Why did everyone forget about the hapless turtle? I hope he’s happy somewhere!

Masamune was hesitant. Has she thought it over? She was his retainer too, does she really want to go there to find Kojuro, not knowing what will happen?

Then Kagechika dropped in, still injured but on his way to recovery and he questioned her.

“Are you prepared to never set foot in Oshu again, whatever happened, if you leave to pursue my nephew?”

“Yes.” MC is adamant.

“Why?”

Now MC got two choices.

A) Because I want to see Kojuro-sama.

B) Because I am Kojuro-sama’s wife.

and I fist pumped for once in a long time when Voltage gave me brownie points for picking B. I think Kojuro’s story is always themed around Devotion, his to Masamune more specifically. And now that spilled over to MC’s devotion as his wedded wife, to him. I can appreciate this.

Kagechika laughed and then with some effort, he prostrated himself before Masamune too, begging him on MC’s behalf.

“Masamune-sama, please let her go to Osaka to chase my selfish nephew.”

“.... Very well. You are leaving tonight.”

Before leaving, Masamune gave MC a message only for Kojuro’s ear.

“Tell him,< if that’s what you intend to do then I will protect you on the event of your return>.”

(LET ME UGLY SOB OVER THE BEAUTIFUL BOND THESE OSHU BOYS SHARE)

Okay, I didn’t expect MC to just showed up at Osaka Castle’s gate and demand to see Kojuro because she is his wife. But of course that is exactly what she did. 

The soldiers laughed at her. But then MITSUNARI appeared, yay! And after staring MC down (though she met his eyes dead on) he went back to fetch... HIDEYOSHI himself.

MC had seen Hide’s face behind the screen, first in Yonezawa and again in Shiroishi so she was so surprised.

And HIde was so nice! And full of smiles! and he guided her inside the castle while making small talks! 

(I WAS LIKE NO NO NO NO YOU SMILEY BASTARD, NOOOOO)

Then of course he led her into an empty room and then told her to stay there.

“Where is Kojuro-sama?”

“Hm? He’s away on business. You will stay here.”

“!”

“If you are indeed Kojuro-san’s wife, I cannot afford to be careless with you. Stay here and ask Mitsunari if you require anything.”

Yis, MC is under arrest. She was treated nicely, maids came to feed and clean her room, but Mitsunari never granted her wish to talk to Hideyoshi again (Hideyoshi has no time for you!), and she’s getting so frustrated she resolved to escape when the maid was distracted one day.

Osaka castle was huge and she got lost and then she bumped into Kyouichiro aka Goemon aka that Robin Hood-type nukenin (runaway ninja) introduced to tenka player in Tenka Tsuki. 

MC thought he was one of Hide’s retainers.

“I’ve never seen your face before.”

“I’m new,” MC decided to fake nonchalance. “Hideyoshi-sama summoned me but I got lost. can you show the way?”

But before he could she heard a commotion from her pursuers and when she looked over, Gemon had vanished (lol, because he is a dorobo-san, MC!).

She ran and get caught but then she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

it was Kojuro.

(I SCREAMED AND I SCREAMED)

... and there was Hideyoshi there with him.

Kojuro’s momentary shock was immediately replaced by a stern look.

“Oh, you found her.” (no, she found him, you monkey bastard). “Now, Kojuro, this ojousan claimed to be your wife and I was surprised because you said you had none.”

“She is,” Kojuro said without hesitation, “my page.”

MC felt as if she’d been stabbed.

“Oh?”

“Would you care to hear the explanation from my own mouth?”

“Please,” Hideyoshi smiled (I wanna murder him).

So they went to this really beautiful hall in the Osaka castle. MC wa supset and shocked and in a trance. Kojuro told their story, the real history of how she became his page, and that’s it. No stories of how they became lovers and such. She was holding on to the hope that he did this to protect them (of course!) but she tried to catch Kojuro’s eyes but he refused to look at her.

“Ah so that’s the story. Your retainer loves you so much and decided to follow you here. That does sound like you.”

MC was internally screaming.

“They why don’t you stay in Kojuro’s residence?”

Kojuro was shocked.

“I gave you servants true. But since you’re page is here, it makes sense, no?”

Kojuro conceded and MC was taken to his residence in Osaka. She was still in shock and tried to make sense of everything. Replaying the scene of Kojuro saying that she was his page (and nothing more) over and over again.

She refused to think the worse but she did think about what’s going to happen is Kojuro denied her. What’s going to happen now that she’s left Oshu?

Later that night, she heard the door opened and she sled from her room, clutching the promised book like it was her life. She saw Kojuro across the hall. 

(This scene was devastating because SO MUCH, SO MUCH baggage was conveyed but nothing was explained and she didn’t know where to start)

Then Kojuro passed her by and went to his room. MC grabbed his sleeve and begged to talk but he coldly dismissed her saying that he wanted to rest.

MC stood in front of his door, feeling utterly devasvated.

(can I mentioned that this chapter titled Lies and it killed meeee)

“So Kojuro-sama does not want anything to do with me anymore?”

There was no sound coming from inside, but then.

“Yes...”

Another stab to MC’s heart.

“That promise we made, was it a lie?”

“....”

“The promise to make me happy the promise to wipe my tears away that you made to my mother, was it a lie?”

“Yes.”

This happened for a few rounds, MC asking him all the sweet promises they made as lovers and IT WAS PAINFUL. STAB STAB STAB STAB, SOB SOB SOB, until, when MC thought she had no strength left anymore, Kojuro slid the door open and pulled her in and crush her in his embrace.

“Why did you come?”

“Why did you have to come?”

“Stop it.”

“Don’t say anything anymore.”

She tried to break free to look him into his eyes because in her hearts of hearts she couldn’t believe all this and she needed to catch if he’s lying but he refused to let her go. So she cried and cried.

Nothing was resolved that night. After MC was done crying he told her to get some rest. MC was screaming internally because she didn’t want to part with him, yet. She wanted to know the truth but, she was exhausted so she went.

In the morning she made him breakfast and they ate together. They didn’t talk about what happened but MC, seeing how Kojuro enjoyed her food, resolve to let things be and just... be with him.

(Okay, I was immensely frustrated but understand her at the same time. It’s like in real life marriage post fight you’re both drained and just want to share a quiet moment of truce, if not peace, together because fight is ugly but you love each other and mutually decide to deal with the elephant in the room later)

Her duty as his page in Osaka began in the morning. She tailed Kojuro the training hall and ferried messages between Kojuro and MItsunari (and met Kiyomasa in Mitsunari’s study hahahahah)

She saw how there was still an awkwardness between the Toyotomi retainers and Kojuro and but Kojuro took it in strides and there was an obvious admiration and budding camaraderie... that makes her sad because it seemed like Kojuro had forgotten all about Oshu and made Osaka his home.

She went home earlier while Kojuro was staying at Yonezawa. Alone with her thoughts, she’s going crazy so she started cleaning and sweeping the garden.

And there she found.

That potted wisteria sapling. That same one missing from Shiroishi.

(I SCREAMED AND I SCREAMED AND I SCREAMED)

It was wilting and MC immediately took it to care for the plant.

Their life regressed back to that of lord and page. But MC was holding out hope, and waiting for the right moment to tell Masamune’s message to Kojuro. And the wisteria sapling’s growing strong.

One day Kojuro caught her caring for it and his face said it all. 

“I apologize for taking the matter into my own hands.”

“Don’t... I suspect as much... with the soil being damp all the time.”

Then conversations fows. Kojuro didn’t say much but MC said her guesses based on her observation and deduction Until Kojuro revealed to her that yes, he did it because he saw no other way and to buy time for the Date clan.

Mc was glad and then she conveyed Masamune’s message. Kojuro’s face lit up with a smile.

With Hideyoshi getting Kojuro, his army retreated back to the west to take care of the flooding problem and rebellion in the area. But with Kojuro working on it they’re almost done and soon they’d set sight on Oshu again and Masamune will need to make a decision.

Upon hearing this decision MC has two choices.

A) I’m sorry for tampering with your strategy.

B) I am glad to hear the explanation.

I WAS READY TO RANT IF VOLTAGE FAVOURS A BUT THANK GOD I CHOSE B THAT WAS THE POINT ANSWER, HUFF. 

Kojuro apologised and told her that he should have told her, at least. but it needs to be convincing. (YA THINK??? YA NINNY! HUFFFF!)

Next MC witnessed a grand meeting where Hideyoshi is prepared to conquer teh East now that West is free from flooding.

Kojuro begged Hideyoshi to send Masamune another letter.

Kanbei (helloooooo) was skeptical of Kojuro’s request. But Hide defended him and decided to give Masamune another chance.

“But it will be the last.”

And while they’re sending the letter, they’re to march East. Kojuro would have to come too.

He decided to send MC to Kyoto again. (AGAIN???? I threw my phone) But this time is different. He looked at her in the eyes. He’d go to this campaign intending to convince Masamune not to go to war. He could be killed by, theoretically, both camps

and told her to take the potted wisteria (LOL, HAHHAHAHAHHA, THAT WISTERIA NEEDS A NAME BONTENMARUUUUUUU).

MC conceded and they parted ways. Kojuro to Oshu with the Toyotomi army and MC to Kyoto.

On the road though, MC encounters Goemon (again!) in his fancy heist outfit. She thought Hideyoshi sent him and ran away from him. He gave a chase but before anything happened or explained, a ninja came to her aid.

GENYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhhhhh

(I SQUEED, THANK OTOME GODS KOJURO’S SEQUEL CAME OUT AFTER TSUKI IS RELEASED SO WE CAN HAVE THESE CHARAS THERE)

Genya fought Goemon for a bit before latter just decided it’s not worth it and bailed. Lol, I think the whole thing was just a misunderstanding and he just wanted to go to Osaka to rob some stuff anyway.

“Who are you?”

“Kojuro-san hired me to see you safe in Kyoto.”

But MC had another thought. She thought Goemon was sent by Hideyoshi and if Hideyoshi sent someone to get her then it must be because he didn’t trust Kojuro. She feared for him and asked Genya to take her to Kojuro in the frontline.

Genya refused ( Mendokusaaaa~~~i) but MC promised him a greater reward if he did it and anyway he wouldn’t get paid if either of them dead. So Genya took her to Kojuro.

(this part is the Noble end part from Kojuro’s POV)

He was sneaking out Toyotomi’s camp because they ave not heard from Masamune and Kojuro has exhausted all excuses to buy time so he planned to convince Masamune directly.

But he got caught.

Hideyoshi said he was disappointed with him because afterall, they were different.

“It is too unbearable for you to sever your ties with your former lord afterall.”

Kojuro kneeled and beg his leave to go to Masamune’s camp to convince him to come to Toyotomi’s fold because neither of them wanted this bloodshed, which will cost both sides dearly.

“And what makes you think they would listen to a word from a traitor’s mouth?”

When it looked like they were going to harm Kojuro. MC came galloping to the scene and thew herself in front of Kojuro.

She made an impassioned speech about Kojuro’s loyalty. And something shifted in HIdeyoshi’s face, but still...

“What guarantee is there that you would not just go there to defect back? There is no guarantee for your word nor your action.”

Upon which Kojuro looked at MC and they came to an unspoken understanding.

Then Kojuro revealed that MC had been his wife all along. And that she should serve as a willing hostage.

“If we deceived you before then let this be our apology.”

Hideyoshi was stunned... but then he decided to gamble ahead. The Date would likely have Kojuro killed for treason and that would be a shame but since he insisted then very well. MC would stay as a hostage and he would endeavor to bring Oshu to his cause.

(Okay but thought this mess MC was carrying a potted wisteria plant, lol, it’s their baby!)

Okay, I’ll leave the Oshuboys reunion part out because you need to experience that from Kojuro’s point of view (AAAHHHHHHHH THESE BOYS AND THEIR BOND)

long story short, blooshed averted.

But Kojuro didn’t come back to Oshu,

He decided to stay in Osaka and serves Oshu’s interest there, with MC.

The scene ended in their home in Osaka. Kojuro came home drenched because it was raining and MC toweled him dry and berating him and he just smiled happily and MC asked, what’s wrong because he has this look.

He said nothing.

While thinking, I truly love you, my precious girl.

And the potted wisteria grows happily in the garden~~~~

tagging my sisterwives @viridian99  @foreverendevor  @shokundayo