#castlevania is near and dear to my heart

[destiny-smasher]

Stuff From 2023!

List of things of note I experienced in 2023! A few things didn't technically release in 2023, I'm sure, but yea. Will contain my 'Top 10 Games I Played in 2023' as well.

Firstly, something I played a lot of this year in bursts but doesn't quite crack my Top 10 is Vampire Survivors. Very addicting, did some very fun goofy shit that had me laughing and engaged in a lizard brain way. Appreciated the many Castlevania references and jokes, too.

A couple of games I played every weekend for a few hours across many weeks this year were Project Zomboid and Roots of Pacha, both in a group 4. We had lots of fun with those two, and I think they're both great co-op time-sink games. Zomboid is a zombie survival sim that has way more attention to detail than its graphics may imply. It's still in early access but the depth to its is honestly pretty dang impressive. Pacha iterates on the Stardew Valley formula in a ton of small but deliberate, thoughtful ways that make for a nice twist on that Harvest Moon style game.

REMAKES

There were so many great remakes this year, on top of just amazing games in general, I can't fit them all into my Top 10. So here's a segment dedicated to most of the remakes I loved this year.

The remake of Super Mario RPG was such a surprise, and turned out very damn well. That game, turns out, is very near and dear to my heart and I did not fully appreciate that until this remake was revealed. It comes just shy of cracking my Top 10 list and that's honestly only because I finished Mother 3 finally right at the tail end of the year. This game manages to still feel weirdly fresh even today just due to how fucking strange it is, and the remake speeds up the pacing a bit while also adding in some new mechanics and a chunk of new post-game content. Everything was handled so well. This is like the new gold standard of complete one-to-one remakes of sprite-based games imo. I will admit the artstyle is a bit 'off' in some ways but I think it's very clean looking and captures that 90's CGI spirit really well, all things considered. And the music, OOF, so damn good.

The remake of Dead Space I don't have much to talk about, but it's very well produced. It's remade so well, in fact, that it felt like my memories of the original, even though I know it's not an exact recreation. Very well done and still holds up as a great horror action game with these improvements.

The remaster of Metroid Prime is so impressive it feels like a remake, even if the game is identical to the original aside from presentation and some control changes. It's an iconic classic, and yet I have no patience to do the Chozo Artifact stuff, so I actually did not roll credits on this version BUT still thoroughly enjoyed reliving the game with a very nice new coat of paint. It makes me excited to see what Prime 4 will look like on, I expect, more powerful hardware.

SHOWS/MOVIES

The year started strong with a TV adaptation of The Last of Us. While I've come to have conflicted feelings with the franchise at large, mainly due to its leading boss man, I thoroughly enjoyed the first season of this series. Very well done adaptation that picked and chose what to keep and what to change and honestly makes for a better story as a whole if you ask me, while not really replacing the game's tactile interactive tensions. Cannot wait to see what they do with Part 2 tbqh. I loved that game more than the original but also felt it was worse as an overall game/experience/narrative. But a fresh take on that same plot could potentially address a lot of the issues I had with Part 2, while simultaneously not really 'replacing' it, either.

The Bear. If you haven't seen it, it's just. Very good television. Two seasons in and it's sitting up there chasing Mr. Robot and Better Call Saul as one of the best live action series I've ever seen. Season 2 did such a great job of giving us deeper dives on the various characters and building toward an organic and rewarding conclusion that still leaves room for another season to theoretically wrap things up. Nothing too crazy with this show, it's super down to earth, and it owns that very well with editing and pacing that varies per episode, kind of in line with the different character perspectives.

Super Mario Bros.: The Movie had me worried for a while, mainly due to the animation studio and casting. And while I'm still not 100% sold on this celebrity casting, I will admit it didn't weight the experience down -- even if it's still the second weakest element by far. The weakest element is the writing. It's not, like, offense -- it's loyal to the source material and works, it functions. But it's not doing anything beyond pushing us from set piece to set piece. If anything, the movie is a bit too short for all of the stuff it's cramming in. But on the upside, there is a lot of amazingly rendered visuals and music to take in. A real treat for fans of the franchise, and the most loyal gaming adaptation in movie form, I would say.

Across the Spiderverse is in essence the first half of a two part film. That makes it kind of difficult to talk about, especially when it's also a sequel, and the production sounds like it was marred with bad management and crunch. But the results they came up with actually met my hopes and expectations for a sequel, and that is saying something, as I had very high expectations. I completely adore this film's stupendous sense of style, editing, framing, writing, and the way it's making meta-commentary on multiple levels on top of just being an effective narrative on its own. This is animated storytelling running at full capacity in my opinion, and in general just film doing all of the kinds of things film can do. So it's no wonder that there's still a rub -- this is the first half of the story they planned. The editing, animation, framing, effects, acting, action sequences, music, writing, theming, just Farore's sake, this is SUCH a damn banger of a film and one of the best movies I've ever seen, which, again, is kind of insane given the circumstances. I can only hope they don't fuck up the conclusion.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off was quite the surprise announcement, and as it turns out, quite the surprise adaptation. I won't spoil much but I will say that by the end of the first episode, it becomes very apparent that this series is no mere by-the-books adaptation, and does something unique and edifying, even if it still maintains a certain surface-level depth I wish the franchise would push beyond. Either way, I enjoyed it way more than I expected to going in, and I think it makes for a great companion to the rest of the series. The animation style was super fun, as well, with some great action sequences.

But Blue Eye Samurai sucker-punched me, having released before I'd even known about it. This show is something else, something unlike any other animated show I've seen besides Arcane. And it's not like it's mimicking Arcane, it's just the closest I can think to compare it to: a quality, thoughtfully framed, thoughtfully written, made-for-adults animated series. It tows the line between fantasy and realism in a refreshing way, its protagonist is great, its cast is compelling, its plot goes to some neat places, and things just feel very well thought-out and well-executed. Slap this in second place behind Arcane as the TV series I am the most excited to see more of in the future, just ahead of The Bear.

Something I did near the end of the year was watch The Hunger Games movies, back to back over the course of like, a week. Have not read the books but man, watching these sure made me interested in doing so at some point. I totally get why people were so enamored with this franchise, and honestly, I think its themes and messages are more relevant now than they were when this franchise was at the peak of its popularity. The films certainly have glaring issues for my tastes but yea, I managed to really enjoy them as a whole despite my lack of mainstream sensibilities. Looking forward to reading the books eventually.

Another thing my wife shared with me was 花ざかりの君たちへ (often called 'Hana-Kimi' for short). Specifically, the 2007 version, as, uh, apparently there are multiple adaptations of this. It was a live action Japanese drama about a high schooler who was born female but transfers into an all-boys school, identifying as a boy while she is there. There's more to it than that, and I won't say it handles everything the best (it's from the mid 2000's) or concludes things in quite the way I'd have preferred. Not to mention it's kind of weird seeing many tropes I'm used to seeing in anime rendered by physical, real actors. BUT it was overall a really sweet, adorable, funny, heartfelt, and reached for pro-queer expression in a time and place when that wasn't mainstream yet (and honestly kinda still isn't depending on who you ask).

Good Omens Season 3 also dropped this year. I actually don't have much to say partly because I think a big element of it is just not knowing what to expect going into it! But it was also very good, very fun, pretty damn gay, I really enjoyed it and am crossing my fingers hard they get to wrap it up the way they want.

All right! Onto my personal top 10 GOTYs.

TOP 11 GAMES

(I played and finished in 2023)

11) Mother 3

The one entry on this list that did not actually come out this year -- in fact, it's never technically released outside of Japan. Originally release in 2007 on the Game Boy Advance, this quirky RPG has developed quite the reputation. I started playing the fan translation back in like 2020, and only got around to finally finishing it this year. While that likely did tarnish the experience a bit for me, so does the final third or so -- it kind of drags on a bit, and any old school format RPG that requires grinding to progress can become a bit of a chore.

Thankfully, Mother 3 did earn its hallowed reputation in my eyes now that I have experienced it. I totally get the passion for this game now, and I am a convert. It makes me want to finally finish Mother 2, aka Earthbound. But here's the biggest thing about Mother 3 I weirdly did not expect going in, yet smashed my face in like a hammer by the time I finished it:

without Mother 3, there is no way Undertale/deltarune would exist.

The DNA for Toby Fox's works is achingly obvious in its relation to this game, specifically. I won't spoil anything and I won't go into my long list of evidence like an Ace Attorney case, but trust me, there is ample evidence to make this claim.

And that also means that Mother 3 stands on its own merits as doing things that RPGs just plain were not doing in 2007, and in some ways still aren't today. Aside from some pacing issues further in, the characters in your party aren't as developed as much as I'd like. BUT the overall narrative it tells, especially in those opening chapters, have a rare kind of earnest, human magic to them that most games just don't let themselves fall into. And it concludes in ways I did not expect and yet offered clarity as to why it is so beloved, and how Toby Fox was so inspired to put his own mark on the gaming landscape.

I owe a great deal to Undertale, personally, and as such, I also owe a great deal to Mother 3. You don't need to have played others in the series to enjoy it, you'll just be missing some referential stuff here and there. It's quite playable and unique by today's standards and I strongly recommend it if you want an RPG that is heartfelt, funny, fun mechanically, and has some simple but hard-hitting things to say about the world we live in, and what we are doing to ourselves and that world.

10) Super Mario Bros. Wonder

What can be said that hasn't been said already? Nintendo knocked it out the park with this one. This was everything I've wanted in a 2D Mario for like 15 years. The only thing 'missing' from it is playable Rosalina, but hey, we finally got Daisy in a mainline Mario game, so I'll take it. After a decade or so of dragging their feet with low-effort but enjoyable 2D games, Super Mario Wonder finally, at long last, captures what makes Nintendo games great and with their best foot forward. They haven't done 2D Mario this well since World on the SNES in 1991. And they have never put this level of production into a 2D game since... ever?

This is one of the all-time best 2D platformers out there, and for once it finally feels like 2D Mario is running on all cylinders as a big budget passion project kind of game. You love to see it.

9) Scarlet Hollow

This game isn't technically finished yet, as it is episodic, and its developers wanted to release Slay the Princess in the interim, but that doesn't stop its quality from being good enough to make my list. This game is doing the kinds of things visual novels should be doing, the kinds of things I wish to do in a sense with my own visual novel development.

It's a horror themed experience but balances the high tension with actual real stakes very well against mostly down-to-earth conversations, with lots of great tricks and touches of presentation you don't typically see in indie visual novels, along with a fantastic art style, charming characters (my favorite character has turned out to be the one I immediately disliked at first, and that's rare for me), and meaningful choices.

I can't wait to see how this one wraps up but even as it stands it's one of the best things I experienced in 2023.

8) Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed

I will admit I skipped Xenoblade Chronicles 2 after giving it an honest go in like, 2019 or so. A few hours in and i couldn't stomach it, the tonal whiplash from Xenoblade 1 (one of the best RPGs I've ever played) was too much for me. But then Xenoblade 3 came out last year, and is also one of the best RPGs I've ever played, even better than the original for my tastes.

But I wasn't prepared for the DLC to drop a whole ass side-game on us, a self-contained prequel to 3 that serves as narrative cohesion to tie the whole trilogy together with a bow on top, complete with perfectly tuned fanservice (and not the sexy kind, although grown-up Rex and Shulk, well, yes) that really respects its fanbase for investing hundreds of hours in this franchise.

Matthew is easily one of my all-time fav RPG main characters, probably the favorite RPG main character when I think of it (as main characters specifically go, anyway), and his game is a fraction of the length of many RPGs out there. But as usual, the entire cast had their charms, the story was nicely paced, the gameplay and overall length was just about damn perfect for what I could want from the genre.

As an expansion to a pre-existing game, this is one of the top 3 best expansions/DLCs I've ever played. When taken as a side story to an overarching trilogy, I'm not even 100% in on the lore and I still enjoyed the hell out of it, it's just the kind of thing that hits a tone of 'damn, video games are a fucking unique medium that we can do specific narrative things with across years of telling a story.'

I don't know where Monolith Soft is going next, though the ending certainly offers some intriguing teasing, but I suspect I will be there day one to see it, and am looking forward to it.

7) Pikmin 4

Given the long wait (10 years!) one might understand fan concern over the state of Pikmin 4. Turns out, that extra time was spent making this game fucking good. It's not the largest, most impressive, most complex, most inspiring, most 'anything' game I played this year, and yet I can't help saying that this is a damned good video game. It really nailed what it set out to do as a sequel, incorporating just the right ideas to spice up the formula while bringing things back to how Pikmin 2 was, and improving on the series in basically every way -- including stuff to do!

This is easily the most Pikmin game... in a Pikmin game. I still haven't 100%'d it. Without giving away any details, I'll just say that when a game rolls credits and you're only like, halfway through its content, and it just keeps going, that's just kind of wild. It would've felt like a great game even then, but the breadth and depth it ends up going to in order to keep giving you ways to engage with its wonderfully detailed world and addictive mechanics, I love it.

I just want more of it. Give me DLC with more Dandori content, the formula and feel just works so well at this point.

6) Sea of Stars

How the hell I forgot to include this one on my list initially is boggling. Easily one of the best indie games I've ever experienced. The writing is nothing to, well, write home about, but it's not bad. And in fact the story has a lot of great things going on, from an interesting world to a very potent arc with the leading support character (who, let's face it, is kind of more the main character than your two main characters).

The game's art and music are phenomenal, capturing the essence of 90's era RPGs but clearly doing things not capable back then. Made even sweeter, the game is a prequel to the studio's prior work, The Messenger, which I also played and adored in tandem, kind of going back and forth between the two once I was partway into Sea of Stars. The way this RPG repurposes songs from Messenger as well as all kinds of seemingly superfluous elements but makes it feel cohesive is pretty great.

The game also trims a lot of the fat you'd find in older RPGs, as well as lets you customize your experience in a modern way using collectibles you can toggle on and off to grant all kinds of effects, like increasing or decreasing the difficulty in various ways.

The homage paid to classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG is clear but it's not at all copy-cat-ing, instead wearing those inspirations proudly on its sleeves and forging its own path with its own ideas. A fantastic collection of party members, a wonderful world, amazing presentation, and environments and pacing that help it stand apart from the genre that inspired it. I wish we got to know the leads better, there is a lack of character growth in many ways, but that's me grasping at straws to critique, it's just a fantastic experience and the studio should be very proud of what they've accomplished.

5) Hi-Fi Rush

This is gonna be a running trend from here on out, but on any other year, Hi-Fi Rush would've been my GOTY, easy. From this point on, we're talking measures of inches rather than miles in terms of my love for these games.

Hi-Fi Rush finally delivered on something I have waited like 20 years for: a rhythm action adventure where playing the game in sync with the music felt fucking cool and gave me emotional resonance in a way only this medium can. The humor was charmng. The visual aesthetic is almost peak 'my taste.' The music was groovy with a few tracks I did not see coming but loved seeing how they were incorporated. The story was surprisingly fun! The characters were fantastic, I loved the entire main crew in a way I rarely ever do and would jump at the chance to spend more time with (and hey, there's a whole bunch of post-game I have yet to do, so I intend to in 2024).

The only real thing I could reasonably ask for from this game is a way to play as those other party members in post-game content or new-game plus or something. And who knows, maybe we get that some day. Even if we don't, what they came up with here is the next best thing besides. And what we got is one the most video-gamey video games I have ever played, a real classic and one I think will go down as one of my all-time favs. A passion project given meaningful time, budget, and creatives to bring it to life.

Had this game offered multiple playable characters, a bit more development in its story, and maybe a stronger climax, it'd be higher. I still love it to death and want more games like it regardless.

Hi-Fi Rush is exactly what kind of game we could have gotten more of if the Internet hadn't pushed gaming into a 'live service' direction. It is literally the spirit of a PS2/GameCube game given modern form. And either way, we did get it, at least, in that form, and it fucking rocks.

4) Resident Evil 4 (Remake)

This year was big for remakes and remasters, but one stands tall above the rest, if you ask me. The original RE4 has stood as my fav in the franchise, the one that got me into the franchise, the one that got me into M-rated games in the first place. Lots of nostalgia, but it's held up surprisingly well over the years despite some limitations of the time (mainly the controls) and some older-fashioned sensibilities ("with ballistics, too~").

But Capcom fucking nailed it with this reimagining. Like Final Fantasy VII: Remake, this game is not a remaster, or a one-to-one recreation. It is a brand new game, built from the ground up, reimagining the original entirely, complete with new mechanics and story. But unlike with FF7, this is also shockingly authentic and loyal to the original at the same time. It remixes elements from the original game, maintains most of the original's map design, adds in new stuff, removes some of the more goofy shit -- and even 90% of what feels 'removed' is revealed to be repurposed for the Ada side story DLC.

It looks great, it sounds great, the adjustments to characters and story are improvements across the board, (except for Hunnigan, RIP) the gameplay is improved in intensity and feel and action and replayability. And yet despite all of this, it balances that campy tone of the original just enough to still evoke what I loved about the original's tone. And it doesn't outright replace the original game, either. The two are now like different recipes of the same sandwich or something. There's reasons to revisit the original, though for me this has now replaced the remake of RE2 as my fav in the franchise.

I really don't know where they go from here but I will look forward to it, and regardless, they fucking nailed this one.

3) Street Fighter 6

Two Capcom games, back-to-back? They had a fucking good year in my eyes. The interesting thing about this particular entry is that unlike the others on this list, I will be continuing to play this one for hours and hours into 2024, especially with more fighters still planned. And in another year, this would've easily been my GOTY.

After all, Street Fighter 6 is the single-best traditional fighting game I think I've ever played. And while fighting games are my overall personal favorite genre, I'm more of a Smash player who also loves the hell out of Street Fighter and then dabbles in Tekken and whatever else releases. Street Fighter has always been one of my go-to top multiplayer games since I got into the franchise with SF4 in 2010. While I did enjoy SF5 well enough, it just didn't keep me hungry to come back for more like 4 did. SF6 has fixed that problem by way of a multitude of changes.

It has easily the most fun single player mode I've seen any fighting game have. Like, yea, The Subspace Emmisary (and even then, I don't love that mode like other folks do, I kinda think it's... fine?) but tbqh World Tour is just better in most every way. You get to build your own fighter, earn and mix and match different costumes and individual character special moves with each fighter's fight style. You get to just hang out with the SF characters, get to know them as people, their hobbies, their fears, their insecurities, their passions besides just beating the shit out of each other. On top of this, the realistic art style shift (a by-product of the RE Engine) seals the deal on what Street Fighter 6 is aiming to do: humanize its cast.

Is it still wacky as fuck? Is it still comical and weird and goofy? Hell yes, it is. Is the story mode deep in its narrative? Not in the slightest. But it's still stepping confidently in a direction fighting games should be trying to, not being too self-serious, but also being earnest.

And I haven't even touched on the mechanics! The Drive System alone is a brilliant addition that adds a sort of 'stamina' system that works so well to add an extra layer of decision making and tension. The game's not perfectly balance imo but for how much is here it is surprisingly damn well balanced, especially given they have insisted on not pushing out a single balance patch since it launched in June. For most any other competitive game, that would be like suicide for the scene, but the game seems to be thriving and selling extremely well for the franchise. And it's earned it.

I will absolutely be continuing my warrior's journey into 2024 and I can't wait to see what else Capcom has in store for this game.

2) Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Out of every game I played in 2023, Tears of the Kingdom is easily the most technically impressive. From a design standpoint, from a 'how in the hell is the Switch doing all of this without exploding' standpoint. From a 'holy hell how is there this much stuff in a single player game' standpoint. From a 'oh my goddesses that stupid batshit idea I had 100% worked because it actually did make sense' standpoint.

Where Breath of the Wild opened our minds as to what an open world game could be -- fully designed like one giant interconnected 'level' -- Tears of the Kingdom replied in much the way I expected: it pulled a Super Mario Galaxy 2. What I mean by that is that this is a direct sequel, building directly off the foundation of the original. You know. Like video game sequels almost always used to. And which many very successful ones still absolutely do.

But Tears of the Kingdom somehow managed to wow me all over again by adding to that open world's verticality in insane ways -- the Depths alone are probably my favorite 'mechanic' from any Zelda game ever besides the time loop of Majora's Mask (and what that did for the story and gameplay). But beyond the scale of the world basically doubling and then some (floating islands and caves on top of Depths), I was curious how this game could stand tall after Elden Ring, which is easily in my top 10 favorite games of all time at this point. Elden Ring was Fromsoft's reply to BOTW. And yet Tears of the Kingdom still managed to have something new to say in spite of that very strong reply.

Tears of the Kingdom opened the door to let players essentially create their own mechanics. By removing the abilities Link had to engage with the world before, and replacing them with a brand new toolset that includes abilities you just... don't see games give you, because they'd be 'overpowered,' TOTK designs its massive world in ways that invite you to use those 'overpowered' abilities however you see fit.

Being able to interact with the world and objects in this way, being able to fuse them together to create all kinds of effects, or new methods of transportation, even interacting with things not just spacially but in respect to time, it's nuts and fun and I've already poured like 130 hours with still so much I haven't done. And that's the thing: this game wasn't designed to be 100%'d. It was designed to just... be experienced, as much or as little as you want. And games on this level of scale/budget just do not have the guts to let so, so much 'content' be missed out on. And this game does.

It's a technical achievement and while I had my doubts with how strangely little Nintendo had to show, I am very glad that the experience itself manages to breathe new life into one of my all-time favorite games while improving on it in so many ways. It won't convert you if you didn't love the original -- this is a Super Mario Galaxy 2 style sequel, after all. But it's essentially replaced the original in ways I didn't think would be possible.

The story? Oof. Uh, not so much the story, let's ignore that part. That's what Nintendo wants you to usually do, anyway. But everything else, just. Din-damn.

It expands upon the first game's already fairly open-ended nature in an exponential way that I suspect developers will spend years to come trying to pin down, much like how they've spend the past 6 or 7 years trying to replicate BOTW's open world design.

For much of this year, I thought this was personal GOTY. And for many it will be, because it's just an extremely impressive video game.

Number 1...?

Going into this list, I kept telling myself, 'man, on any other year, this would be my GOTY. And if you know me personally you likely have already figured out what my GOTY is by omission. But the more I've thought about it, the more I've realized just how close these top 5 games are, it really is like centimeters instead of inches, and they each -- well, every game I've mentioned here, beyond the Top 10, as well -- offered something edifying that I was very satisfied with.

And no, it's not Baldur's Gate 3. While I have spent hours playing it in co-op and a little bit solo, that game's just not really for me, exactly. Like, I can enjoy it, and I have massive respect for the dev team and what they accomplished with it. But I don't much care for D&D, and the game just didn't do very much for me personally, I lack the motivation to finish it. Remove Karlach from the game and I have next to nothing to really attach myself to, personally. I definitely get why it's many people's favorite game of 2023, though, and I do think it's a bit of a wakeup call for what can be accomplished by just making a GAME instead of struggling to contort it into a service etc.

Street Fighter 6 is fucking fantastic but it could still use some more actual fighters and incentives to keep playing besides monetizing its players in weird ways. I love it, and it will be the game from 2023 I end up playing the most (it already is, I think). But if it ended as it is, I would be very satisfied.

Hi-Fi Rush is oozing with originality and style and I adore it to death, and when I finished it, I was very satisfied.

Resident Evil 4 kept me addicted for over 100 hours, had an amazing DLC expansion, oozes replaybility in the specific ways I like for a single player action game (rogue-likes besides). I am extremely satisfied by it.

Tears of the Kingdom is so massive and fun to just explore that I know I will continue to play more in the months to come. Will I ever revisit it entirely? I'm actually not sure! That massive length does lend some repetition, even if it's the kind I find therapeutic and satisfying.

And that's what made me realize something. My personal GOTY did not just satisfy me. It made me hungry. It filled me up in a way I didn't think was possible and yet I still hunger for more, because I enjoyed it that fucking much. I played through it twice and still hunger for more. I know I will play it a third time eventually, but mainly I just have not been to remove from my brain the particular ways it made me feel, ways that only a video game can. Nothing about it felt like it needed to be overlooked.

SF6 and RE4 had dubious monetization, TOTK had a story I found to be like 90% boring and it still maintains many of the flaws of the original. And Hi-Fi Rush, while amazing, just didn't scratch the particular itch this game did for me.

1) Lies of P

If you told me that Lies of P was a game developed by some sub-division of FromSoft, I'd believe you. Which is to say I would also believe that it was made by people who wanted to break free from some of the shackles of the now infamous 'soulslike' genre.

A narrative that actually makes sense by the end? Opening up options for the player without requiring specific stat levels? Encounters and boss fights that feel ravenously challenging without just feeling like cheap bullshit? Music that crosses borders beyond 'angry chorus, angrier orchestra'?

Lies of P doesn't quite eclipse Elden Ring, but that's an absolutely unfair comparison given the utter scope and scale and variety that game packs. But Lies of P improves at the FromSoft formula in specific ways, while making concessions in others, and as a result it's just an experience that seeped into my brain like no other game this year, not even Tears of the Kingdom, despite that I put half the hours into this one.

I love all of the games I have mentioned here, you could honestly swap around the order of this top 5 and I could mentally meander a way to justify why, no, actually, this one was my favorite game of 2023. In a year so awful for the people who make games, yet so amazing for games themselves, Lies of P is exactly the kind of game I needed. I needed someone to show me that you can make something directly inspired by someone else's work, yet fine tune it in all the right ways to make it stand just as tall in terms of quality and design. Lies of P made me feel things in ways only a handful of games ever do -- and I would actually count Hi-Fi Rush among those in a regard.

But Lies of P also told a story I found compelling. It had mystery, tension, buildup, it started off seeming like it would do the vague FromSoft schtick only to 100% come together, make sense, be rewarding, and offer a 'true ending' that I got on the first playthrough, organically, without looking things up, because it just... felt right. Not only is the game adapting FromSoft's formula into something its own, it's also doing that with the story of Pinocchio. The gameplay and the story congeal together not in the 'perfect' way that it does with games like Celeste or Undertale, but rather in a more... messy way, like a puppet aching to become a real boy.

The game is full of loss, in its world and for you as the player, who will die many times. But unlike much of FromSoft's catalogue, I never once felt like I died because of bullshit. Was I trolled? Sure, the game definitely 'trolls' you in classic FromSoft fashion, lulling you into a sense of security only to sweep you off your feet. But unlike how FromSoft does it, these circumstances can always be avoided if you're cautious. And if you're not? Hey, 'We got you! We gooottt youuu, haha' and you lose a couple minutes of progress, rather than like fifteen minutes and also an entire level's worth of souls because oh right, this section you just got through is kind of bullshit cheap.

Don't get me wrong, I love Dark Souls. But the thing is, Lies of P takes the parts I love about Dark Souls, admits it can't pull off quite the intricate web of level design, but then throws away everything I do not like about Dark Souls, improves on the things I already liked, and then pushes me to meet it on its level.

The satisfaction of being a boss you spend an hour, two hours on, cannot be understated. It's a feeling unlike any other, and one only this medium can provide. And Lies of P kept me motivated, like Sekiro before it, to keep improving, keep growing, keep trying. And unlike Sekiro, it gave me so many more tools to play with, to learn, to balance in an arsenal with intent. Enemies have elemental weaknesses if I so choose to exploit them, the moveset of one weapon's handle can be applied to a completely different blade, my robotic arm can leverage things in a pinch, or be the backbone to dealing with a boss. Mastery is rewarded with practice. A vicious boss that annihilates you in five seconds can be defeated without a single scratch if you practice enough. Mastery, creativity, quick thinking, and reacting are all rewarded here.

I am more than the hands pulling the strings, I am more than a puppet, I am human. And games like this can only be made by humans, who get that specific itch that only video games that challenge us can scratch. It's not an itch everyone has, but that's why it's my GOTY and not yours, innit?

With its unique setting, its wonderful music, its cozy hub area, its narrative that offers just enough to make me care, but not so much that I am bored or feel misled, its amazing boss designs, and its wonderfully tactile and engaging combat, Lies of P is a game I just can't stop feeling something about whenever I am reminded of it.

It epitomizes so much -- not all, but much -- of what I love about what video games can do, what adaptations can do, and much like how Toby Fox was inspired by Mother 3, what people can do when they are inspired by someone else's work.

As far as I can tell, this is developer Round8's debut game, and just. Holy hell, what a way to come out swinging. I haven't seen a debut game hit this hard since, I don't know, Bastion.

Close your eyes. Come to me. Feel all right.

I did, and I do, and given what you teased at the end of this game, I have extremely high hopes of what you come up with next. And in a landscape where things feel more difficult to get excited for with each passing year, much less new IP, it's so damn refreshing to have both Hi-Fi Rush and this game standing out as signals that, hey, some folks are still willing to invest bigger budgets into new games, new ideas.

Again, a battle of centimeters here and at this point I should wrap this up and go to bed.

But yea, Lies of P reminded me of what makes me, specifically, human, in a very particular way that only it has. And I honestly think out of all of single player games of 2023, I think it will actively stand out in my heart the most in the years to come.

[ruiniel]

Oneshot fic- Alucard (Castlevania) comforting his female magician s/o taking place in 1792 (who is the reincarnation of his past lover from the 15th century) who has a crippling self-doubt because of her controlling, abusive mother (who is a witch) who made her life hell when she was young which left her feeling that she's not good enough.

Hi there! I finished this little oneshot, here it is, I hope you like it.

Flame

Fandom: Castlevania

Relationship: Alucard x Fem!OC (per requester, her name is Bella)

Tags: emotional hurt/comfort, snuggling, sexual tension, magic, Alucard POV

Rating: T

Count: 1.7K

He climbs the weathered stone steps, one by one, actually glad to be back inside the castle for the first time in many a month. It’s become a recurrent sentiment, one Adrian doubted could ever again take root in his heart. Idly he ponders on errant thoughts, his absent gaze on the tray with pastries he carries, meaning to share them with her. 

Bella’s still awake, his dear one. He’d seen the window to her chambers beaming golden in the night upon his return from the Hold. She’s been having trouble sleeping lately, and he cannot help but worry. He’s seen the shades beneath her eyes, the appeasing smiles that were a little too tight when he asked if all was well. This night appears to be no different. He’d been cloistered in the Belmont Hold for most of the day which means he… needs to see her; the bond between them makes itself known, her heartbeat fluttering in his chest the more he nears.

To his consternation, the silence is soon suppressed by increasing frustration—hers; he wonders. It becomes stronger with each step Adrian takes closer to the source, and other feelings are added to it, wrapping themselves around him like the folds of a dark, ragged veil. 

Carefully, he enters the chamber. “I have something for you,” he says in greeting, to make himself known just as a sudden expletive has him frowning. Adrian walks inside the chamber proper and sees her, shoulders tense, poring over an old manuscript.

“This is incomplete… how am I supposed to…”

“What’s wrong?” He approaches, setting the tray down on a table before walking over and gently resting with his chin on her shoulder.

“The tome Mother left me, it’s full of inconsistencies…” Bella mutters, running a hand through her hair. “Some spells are incomplete, or written in a language I haven’t studied. I should have known…”

The work in question is all she has of her mother, and Adrian knows: they’ve had a complicated relationship. As he watches her claw at her scalp in frustration, he can’t help but remember. Every time, every single time he looks at Bella, Adrian sees her eyes, the corner of her lips tilting upward in a smile; the curve of her neck; another time, a different century. Another life. Memories bittersweet, as clear as dewdrops in his mind. How strange, that he’d been thrust back into the world by dire need… only to find her again. 

Bella sighs, back curling as she lowers her head and stares emptily ahead; Adrian straightens, giving her space. 

“I’m sorry, Adrian,” she turns to face him, regretful. “You must be tired from your own work, and this is nothing, only me, standing in my own way again… but sometimes…”

Adrian brings an arm around her, hedging his dear one towards a large armchair and taking a seat, bundled with her together in his lap. Her head rests on his shoulder, her nose is cold against his collarbone. “Go on,” he says, and against his will flashes an image of the past, as often happens whenever he touches her, holds her to his chest; whenever he feels the scent of her blood; of a word, a look; a situation where he’d offered the same reply, where she watched him the same way.

He’s never been so happy.

Bella sighs against his neck. He wants her to feel what she’s gifted him, too. He wants the shadows to loosen their hold on her, but Adrian also knows what it’s like to be shackled to expectations, to legacies, to one’s family’s wishes; never has there been a more arduous task than to break free of it all. 

“Sometimes I remember,” she says, “all that stood between us, why we were so different though we were of the same blood, she and I.”  She turns in his lap. “Her arts, or the way she practiced them, never clung to me, do you know?”

“I did not think you wanted them to, either,” Adrian says, running a hand up and down her thigh as Bella curls up more comfortably against him. 

“No. I wanted to serve no one,” she murmurs. “No demon, no metaphysical entity beyond our reckoning; no gods. We were always at odds about it.” 

Her sorrow is like an old wound, eating at her as the faded scar on his chest seldom does. His throat feels tight. “I understand being at odds with one’s parent, more than you know.” 

“Oh?” She looks at him, wiping her eyes, expecting him to say more. Some things she does not remember; some are best forgotten.

The years have dotted the memory with dust and cracks, but he still sees it all in his mind’s eye. Surely not what Bella needs to hear, now; more discord, more pain. “Perhaps, better to keep this story for another evening. What were you attempting?”

Bella shakes her head. “The icefire spell. I focus, but all I get are tingles to the tips of my fingers and then… nothing. Like a candle smothered by the wind, it fades. I am left with… with the cold.”

“You cannot channel the elemental through you, if it comes up against a wall,” Adrian murmurs, his long, warm hand grazing her cheek.

“I know. It’s as though… as though the words I’ve heard repeatedly throughout my childhood paralyze me whenever I try. Do you… do you understand?”

He does not. He cannot remember his parents being anything other than content during his brief childhood, and they were always glad to be around him, to spend time with him, to encourage him to become what he desired. 

Adrian holds her tighter. 

“There is that voice, that voice that sometimes is hers, but lately it’s mine, most times it’s mine nowadays… saying I know nothing, that I am a fraud, a broken vessel magic refuses to pass through!” 

“Lies,” Adrian says, hurting for her, at a loss. He takes Bella’s smaller hands in his, presses into her fingers. She’s shaking in one of those moments of disorientation where he knows she needs him—just as countless times he’s needed her. 

He tries to understand, though for those brief few years, for the blink in the eye of time that was his childhood, Alucard of Wallachia remembers the happy moments sheltered between his parents, their love… the easily shattered pretense of familial bliss. But swift as they were, he’s lived them, experienced them. The love of his mother and the protection of his father had helped him flourish in those years. Things she never had. “I have an idea,” he says.

“...?” Bella raises her gaze to his, and he wipes away an errant tear of frustration with his thumb. 

“Our bond is strong; I’ve read about this before, but never applied it… not with you here, now, at least.” He smiles; she smiles back through her tears.

“Applied what, Adrian?” 

“I could… try to help.”

She blinks, confused; interest changes her tired features.

“How?”

“Turn around.”

An eyebrow raised, she does as he asks, turning in his lap as Adrian’s arms wrap around her middle. 

“Now,” his voice is lower, rougher with her pleasant weight on him, “place your hands as you would to attempt the Icefire.”

“... how would this work, exactly?” she asks, more curious now than anything. Good.

Adrian says nothing, but buries his face against her neck; breathes her in, feeling the shudder wracking her body. “When we’re this close,” he says, placing a soft kiss to her ear, another to her throat, “... How does it make you feel?”

Bella swallows, leaning back like one famished for him, tensing when he places another kiss, lower, to the side of her neck, long fingers pulling at the loose robe she’s wearing to reveal her shoulder; another kiss, lingering warmth on her skin. 

“Well?” he asks.

“I think of…” she smiles at the soft brush of his lips. “...fire…” she pauses, “... wildfire…”

Adrian smiles against her skin. “And now?” He focuses a stream of his own power, gently brushes against her willing life-force, seeps through it, through her; binds them together as before. Bella’s head falls back against him, a soft sigh leaving her lips.

“Now… I feel… you. All of you… Adrian, you’re…”

“Go on, Bella,” he whispers, sucking on her earlobe with a tenderness that sends her into a fit of shivers.

“You’re within, how… are you doing this…”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” comes the swift, definite answer, another needy sigh. Adrian smiles, himself rather lost amid the sweet tendrils of her spirit and the latent, struggling magic he finds within.

“Now… focus on the spell. Can you try?” 

She does; he feels it too. Pure, frightfully potent, so much, too much, but his hands are roaming down her hips, her thighs, back up along her body; her soft moan drives him insane. “This is you, this resides within you. Do you feel it? Can you see?”

“... Adrian, I can’t—”

“You can,” he tilts her head by the chin and greedily kisses her on the mouth, tasting magic on her lips.

Her hands are still stubbornly set before her, fingers curled in the symbol of the spell.

When he breaks away, she is breathless, eyes aglow. “Look,” Adrian says.

Bella gazes at her hands, at the roiling flames simmering between her palms; a tender bud of fire tinting their features with its bright blue light. 

She gasps. “You… you did it!” she starts, hands carefully turning and shaping the flames, become stronger every moment. 

“No,” Adrian kisses her cheek, sighing and needing more of her, though he keeps himself in check. There is time; unlike before, they have peace now. “You did it.” 

Bella cups her palms together while he cannot stop nipping at her ear, her throat; she’s giggling in disbelief at the soft brush of her own energy against her skin, its expression materialized into flame. “We did it,” she says, suddenly clapping her palms together, so the flame is smothered, turning to face him and wrapping her arms around his neck. 

He’s weak; she always makes him so. He should be used to it by now. “What now?” Adrian asks, head fallen back against the armchair, playing with a lock of her hair; watching her, desiring her.

Her face shows gratitude, fringed with the same devotion and need lurking brightly behind his own eyes. Bella leans forward and kisses him—long, excruciatingly slow. “Now, we take a much deserved break,” she noses at him, traces his jaw with her fingers, still hot from the flame she wielded. “What do you say to that?”

Adrian bites down on his lip, hands gliding down and digging into her hips, his smile turning crooked—the way she always liked it. “But now… now, you show me.”

Her grin spreads like a blaze. “Deal.”

[theladydrgn]

Hi, and happy Yuletide, holidays and/or the end of the year! I'm once again wandering from askbox to askbox, asking questions from my fellow Good Omens fanfic writers.

How was your writing year? What's the favourite story you wrote? Yes, YOUR favourite of YOUR work! Feel free to gush about your creations, I'm looking forward to hearing all about it!

I wish you all the comments and kudos, and an exceptional new year! 🧡 Mirjam

Hello Mirjam! Thank you for this ask 🥰

My writing year wasn't as good as I'd hoped it be! I got busy with work so I didn't write as much as I'd have wanted to 😔

I think my favorite thing I wrote this year was Greater Than Our Suffering, a Good Omens au loosly based on the Castlevania Netflix show where Crowley is an ancient vampire and Aziraphale is a trans former nun who's just looking for a place to be himself. It's a story that's near and dear to my heart and one Syl and I worked on very hard to not only be a steamy read, but to also affirm our trans readers.

[onestepbackwards]

I see the bio thing, I check your pinned post, and I see the Dracula fics, and now I have to ask👀 if you only watched the series, or played the games, cause I have very many things I wish to gush to you about if it’s the ladder. Cause Leon Belmont is my bread and butter, I’m a sucker for gorgeous, pretty men who can kick ass.

Let me tell you, I LOVE the Castlevania games

Would you believe me if I told you I was watching them being played before I could sit up on my own?

It’s true!

My grandfather got me into video games! He was playing them way before i was! He got Symphony of the Night the same year I was born, and played it with me in his lap! Talk about fond memories!

He also had Lament of Innocence and Curse of Darkness! We would often sit together playing!

So Lament of Innocence has a really big spot in my heart, next to Symphony 👉👈

Like yes, it has its issues, but its probably my second favorite Castlevania game. Symphony being the first. I even streamed it for October like, 2 years ago on twitch. Didn’t get the chance to this last year 😔

It also is a reason i clicked so well with Devil May Cry! Yes, dmc came first, but I didn’t play it until i was like, 12. Both were similar enough, i ended up enjoying dmc1 bc of it immensely.

But Leon is fine af. His designs and art are amazing! Kojimas art never ceases to amaze.

He is too damn pretty 😩

His little sway as he walks, his dodging, his outfit! Even the art for the American box art is so amazing!

Japan was robbed of this gorgeous box art.

And Leon is so sweet and considerate. I love him so much. Jes @smallestapplin and I have been fawning over him and other Belmonts in dms for a while now 👀

I’ve played most of the other games! Its a series near and dear to me 🥰

I did enjoy the anime, but it has its a issues. And they robbed us of Trevor and his thigh high boots. But Dracula was definitely just 👀 👌

[silenthill2ps2]

your favorite castlevania game?

rondo of blood and symphony of the night cuz i'm basic as shit but simon's quest and order of ecclesia are very near and dear to my heart as well. love the sorrow games too

[aethes-bookshelf]

List 5 things that make you happy, then put this in the askbox for the last 10 people who reblogged something from you! get to know your mutuals and followers ♡

Writing (how surprising, I know). Some parts of the writing process stress me out a ton (especially outlining/editing), but if I don't do it for too long I get depressed lol

Castlevania! One of my special interests, I'm absolutely insane about that series (both the games and the show). I don't really post about it here anymore, but I've been wanting to make a physical lorebook for myself.

Games. I'm doing a degree related to them, actually. I've loved games since I was a kid, so they're really near and dear to my heart.

Manga. I have a pretty big collection (around 400 volumes) that I've started when I was 11 or so. I haven't been able to keep collecting lately since money is pretty tight, but I'm looking forward to picking it back up sometime in the future.

Food (as basic as that sounds). I've been in recovery from an ED for years now, so the fact I got to the point where I can confidently say I enjoy food and tasting new things is very important to me :)

[cerastes]

Gimme a very important 3, and maybe a 31 and a 38 if you've got the words to spare, buckaroo

*THE VENDING MACHINE WHIRRS AND GRINDS, DROPPING THE DESIRED SODA*

3. Favorite childhood game?

Easily Donkey Kong Country. It's not an ironic joke or anything when I say I love to play games listening to the DKC or adjacent OSTs, or my love for funny monkey game, it really is my treasured childhood favorite. I think it was a combination of it being The Funny Monkey Game, thus, a fun and vibrant game full of personality, coupled with some really challenging platforming near the end, and David Wise going off every single one of his shits and composing a soundtrack for it that simultaneously is vigorous and bouncy, and yet, that could very well play during a one man expedition of the ruins of a lost civilization.

Another part is that DKC was the one game all of my siblings also enjoyed. I played the most games out of my siblings, in terms of quantity and in terms of dedication to bettering myself at them, but DKC was the one game that all of us liked, so we'd sit around the old, small TV and pass around the controller each life. That certainly was very fun and memorable. I remember keeping my eyes glued on game magazines to see when DKC2 would release, and after that, DKC3.

31. Game with the best theme song?

I think a number of answers apply here, for a number of reasons, mainly the question "What constitutes a Theme Song of any given title?"

About title/main menu music: Believe it or not, I think the first time a main title song truly touched me was Ocarina of Time. I'm not a Zelda fan. The only Zelda game I have played is Ocarina of Time, and by sheer technicality, Wind Waker and Twilight Princess, but only because my brothers tagged me in to beat the final boss since "you're good at fights, Drimo". But, the sheer solemnity and simmering emotion of Ocarina of Time's title theme has stuck with me for a long time. Eventually, it would be Armored Core: For Answer's "Someone Is Always Moving On The Surface" that would establish itself as the apex of title music.

If it's about the track often associated with it: SIMON'S THEME IN SUPER CASTLEVANIA IV, BABY, without a shadow of a doubt, the fact that it plays as you open up whooping undead ass with wild gusto is one thing, but, there's another place where Simon's Theme comes up: Phase 2 of the Dracula final boss fight. At that point, Dracula panics, and is so afraid of Simon that he can only spam the same predictable lightning spell over and over after a variety of tricky, clever fireball spams. Simon's Theme starts playing during this phase, overriding Dracula's because Simon Belmont is the boss fight now. That was the first time a video game made me feel so, so powerful: Not due to giving me huge numbers or big flashy attacks, but simply by virtue of using the conventions of the medium to tell me "You. You are the threat in this room now."

And if it's about sheer memorability: I would say a tie between the incredibly iconic Kingdom Heart's Simple And Clean and GunZ: The Duel's Theme Rock. Simple And Clean, with the accompanying cutscene, encompass I think everything right with being a teenager into anime, whereas GunZ' Theme Rock hits the vibe of "solemn gunslinger loading bullets into the cartridges of his submachineguns, silently, in the corner of an abandoned building, with a glass of whiskey, moments before going out and getting into another meaningful gunfight".

38. Have you tried a game, hated it, then tried again, and loved it?

I mentioned Baroque on this one before, which is an example of something formative to me, incredibly dear, a building block in the Dreamer you know and love nowadays. Now, I'll give a more contemporary answer: Final Fantasy 14.

I started playing FF14 March of 2021, is what I would usually say, but that's when I made Alkelda. I actually did try FF14 before that, many years ago, when Heavensward was the newest thing, and I didn't try it alone, I tried it with Iron, actually. Long story short, we hated the two hours we put into it, and then we played Team Fortress 2 instead that night.

Then, last year, I really needed something to sink my teeth into around that time, and after much deliberation, I said, yeah, alright, let's give this another try, I've heard it's become better. I didn't try the free trial, however, I committed to the bit from the get-go and bought the full pack, which at the time was up to Shadowbringers. I was going to give this a fair try, and I did!

I didn't tell anyone initially because I didn't want to give false hope to anyone that I'd play it, mainly because I was hating ARR really badly. But when I got to Heavensward, the gameplay still sucked balls, but the story picked up hard, and I was enjoying myself. Stormblood, the gameplay was still very, well, unengaging, but I was loving the narrative end of it, so I was treating the whole thing like a Yoko Taro game: Fucking horrendous gameplay, but good music and story, which I normally don't do, but FF14 was popping that hard for me, narratively. Then Shadowbringers hit and now I FINALLY was actually enjoying the gameplay AS WELL as the story.

SO IT TOOK QUITE A BIT OF PATIENCE BUT WE GOT THERE.

[wygolvillage]

have you ever wanted to read a rewrite of the plot of castlevania: lament of innocence that replaced leon with sonia (bc lets face it she deserves better), doesnt overuse the dead wife trope, and has LESBIANS IN IT??? NO??? well too bad here it is

fair warning it might be a bit cringe? im hardly a writer lmao

Sonia Belmont was a peasant girl of insignificant origin, however, she found herself at conflict with a nobleman after her dear friend Sara Trantoul was arranged for a marriage with Count Mathias Cronqvist, who lived not far from her village in a remote castle that few dared to visit. Sara, however, did not wish to marry into nobility, let alone marry a man, and Sonia helped her make an escape to another town.

Mathias was furious with jealousy and rage, and pursued Sonia. They did battle, and Sonia was the victor: Count Mathias Cronqvist was dead. However, having killed a man of significant power and renown, Sonia was now wanted for murder, and she opted to hide her identity so as to not arouse suspicion. She tried to convince Sara to leave her side, out of fear that they may be found due to her previous connection to the Count, however Sara refused out of love for Sonia.

Sonia became a vigilante knight, trying to do battle against injustices in the world in whatever way she could. She often would have to take trips across the countryside to pursue those she thought wrongdoers, often other men in positions of authority like the detestable Count who had targeted her dear Sara.

In 1094 she received a letter informing her of a man named Walter Bernhardt who had been kidnapping townsfolk, however when she arrived at his palace she found it empty. In fact, the letter had been a trap, and when she returned to her home she found Sara gone- with signs of a struggle. When she asked around the town where Sara had been taken, all the answers pointed to the dilapidated castle near the village where she and Sara had grown up.

The Count was dead, of course... There was no way he could be behind this. Still, she followed this guidance, and found that the area around the castle was covered in thick trees and darkness, and her hometown was no more, enveloped by a forest of eternal night. Curiously, the castle was no longer in the crumbling state it had been left in, but instead looked as if it had been built the previous day. One man remained in a shop in the forest, someone who Sonia had known years ago before she had killed Mathias: Rinaldo Gandolfi. He recognizes her, and tells her to stay away from such an awful place, and that his whole family was slaughtered by the vampire that lived there. She refuses, stating her intentions to rescue Sara, and Rinaldo acquiesces. However, he does let her know that should she need any goods for her quest, he will provide them. He gives her a whip said to be able to kill vampires.

Rinaldo explains that he spotted the vampire with a large crystal that was the source of the darkness, and that as an alchemist he theorized it was connected to legends of a Crimson Stone that can impart great power to one who pursues a path of evil, and to be wary. He also stated that the crystal was what had restored the castle to its current state.

Sonia enters the castle and finds it infested with horrible monsters. She fights through the mindless horde, but after facing a first boss, a mysterious red headed vampire appears in the room and identifies himself as Walter Bernhardt. He taunts her a bit with an unwinnable boss fight, says she’ll never find Sara and teleports away.

Sonia pursues Walter through the castle’s various areas such as the House of Sacred Remains and Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab, but is ultimately unfruitful in her search, often being led through the mazes only to find traps with terrifying monsters laying in wait. At one point she tries to confront Walter and he drops her into a pit containing the Forgotten One, and has to fight her way out.

Eventually, after completing the castle’s areas, she finds Sara, but finds that she’s too late, and that Sara has been turned into a vampire. Sara laments her fate, terrified that she’s lost her humanity. Sonia escorts her out of the castle to be cared for by Rinaldo, horrified at what Walter has done and furious at him.

She storms through the castle once more, heading for the Throne Room to confront Walter. However, when she defeats him, he reveals that it was not him who turned Sara- it was his master who had orchestrated the whole thing. Walter dies of his wounds soon after, and Sonia wonders who Walter’s master was- though she does not have to wonder for long.

Mathias Cronqvist, revived from the grave as a vampire by the pure evil in his heart, then reveals himself.

“Sonia,” he begins. “I want you to understand that you took everything from me. My life, and the only woman I thought was worthy of my grace.”

“You’re a monster,” Sonia spits in his face. “You stole much more from her than I ever stole from you.”

“I loved her, Sonia, just as you do. Now she and I can be together forevermore, and you will be punished for your sins.”

“How can you claim to love her?! You’ve never loved, and you never will! True love does not drive people to hurt!” Sonia then attacks him.

The ensuing fight is a near-equal match, and Sonia eventually prevails, but is grievously wounded. Just as she thinks it’s over, Mathias pulls out a large red orb from the wall behind the throne, one that Sonia now realizes is the Crimson Orb Rinaldo spoke of. The roof of the castle opens, and the full moon shines upon the glistening orb in his hands. As he does this, the castle begins to crack apart as the crystal had been removed.

“The blood spilt in the village you called home, and the despair all around us... This shall give me strength! Even Death will be at my command!” He announces to the sky, and the orb begins to emit a horrible red light. “After all... the Dark Lord is given power by the negativity in the hearts of mankind. All that fury and hatred for me will only be your downfall.”

He is then transformed into the ultimate force of all evil, the Dark Lord. He takes on the name Count Dracula, abandoning his former humanity.

Sonia cannot hope to win, but she fights on in exhaustion in the midst of the crumbing castle. Dracula laughs as she collapses. Sonia spits out blood, and in her assumed dying moments as Dracula approaches, she curses his name and tells him, in an oddly prophetic way, that one day he shall experience true loss, his children shall turn against him, and her descendants will cheer on his downfall.

Dracula is enraged by her words, and is about to deal the final blow before Sara jumps in front of her. Sara tells Dracula to let her live, or else kill her as well.

Out of perceived "love" for Sara, Dracula lets the two women go, and Sara carries Sonia to safety as the castle falls to eternal ruin. The fog of eternal darkness recedes from the forest and the sun rises as they meet up with Rinaldo.

Sara retreats into the shadows to avoid the sun's rays, but Sonia follows, telling her that no matter what she will go wherever she leads her.

"But I am inhuman. I am a monster, just as Walter and Dracula were." Sara avoids her gaze.

"To be inhuman is to reject love and kindness and to seek evil ends. Dracula made that choice himself... And you have chosen to save me." Sonia embraces her tightly.

"You love me, despite my newfound home in the night..."

"If the night is your home, so it is mine. The Belmont family shall henceforth walk the path of shadows in pursuit of the Dark Lord... and we will hunt the night for eternity."

And then the credits roll yaaaay

After the credits it is stated that Sonia has had a child, and though that child shares the cursed fate of a Belmont and a bloodsoaked lineage of a vampire, that child will one day be hailed as a hero.

The End :)

[pinkykitten]

Forest pt. 1

 Castlevania 

Alucard Tepes x female! reader

Warning: cursing, violence, gore, mentions of blood

Specifics: chapter fic, romance, angst, fluff, not requested, action, adventure, race neutral reader, human reader

People: alucard tepes, monster thingy from the show

Words: 3,338

Summary: Since Alucard lives in the forest now in Dracula’s castle he meets the reader in the forest and in that moment he starts to have a liking towards her and is very bashful, blushy and romantic towards her and she is a goofball and is very silly and lighthearted. From the moment that they met all Alucard wants to do is protect the reader no matter what is takes. 

Authors Note: god alucard is so sexy and so beautiful like god dang! lol sorry im a bit of a horny nerd. anywho its rlly late where im at andddddd i cant go to sleep cuz i slept the whole day so ayyyee. anywho i was inspired idk where but i was inspired to write this bc i think alucard deserves love and someone who adores him like i do. i loved writing this tho and rlly want to write for castlevania more but this is going to be chapters idk how many yet lets just see where the wind takes us i hate planning anyways. IM SO EXCITED FOR THIS THO I AINT EVEN MAD ABOUT IT!!!!! LIKE YASSSSSSSSSS

“Alright so its been almost a month and I haven’t died. That must mean I’m doing something right.” You used a piece of wood you made into a cane to help you get up the steep hills. You were voyaging alone in the forest. You had a family that were settled more outside the town that you lived near. You were a large family and your siblings came down with a sickness. You were determined to find a cure and determined to find medicine for them. As scary as it may have seemed you needed to put on a brave face for the dangers that lay out ahead. You knew those monsters walked around and as much as that terrified you, your siblings came first. At a young age, adventure excited you and you always wanted to prove to yourself and family that you were more than capable of doing things alone. 

You saw a river down below. The water rushing past rocks made you relaxed and with a glint in your eyes you smiled. “Aha!” You looked left and right, seeing if anyone was present. “Alone with just the woods and me. I knew mother was wrong. I can very much so take care of myself.” You threw your satchel on the floor alongside with your clothes. “I smell like a pig.” You chuckled at your joke. The cool, clear water was down below as you ran to it, looking forward to the coldness and the feeling of being clean. You jumped in not knowing someone was near. 

You dunked your face laughing. “And there’s fish!” You swam behind a light blue fish. Being at awe when you saw the way the fins shone from the sun. You picked it up skillfully and carefully you set it free. Your body delicately floated. “This is the life.” Birds chirped, the wind blew like a whisper against your cheek. 

But suddenly, the rustle of the trees alarmed you. You heard the snapping of a twig. Your head snapped to the noise. Fear bubbled inside you as you thought of all the possibilities. What if it was a bear? What if it were those monsters? Your heart sped fast as you backed out of the river. Your breathing was faster. You needed to get out of here. As you got out your back hit against fur. You quickly turned around as saw a huge demon, monster, you didn’t even know what but you knew it was from Dracula’s army. Its teeth were sharp and its eyes were bright and red. It was your worst nightmare. You erupted a scream as you sprinted around it, climbing the hill to where your satchel laid. 

“Oh my God! Oh my God! I’m gonna die!” You didn’t care about your nudeness, all that mattered to you was surviving. You tried to go as fast as possible but the creature landed in front of you, stopping you from escaping. It cornered you against a huge boulder and tree. With everything you had you lifted your cane high in the air and hit the monster. It didn’t even flinch. 

“What?” Your eyes widened in horror. The creature picked you up as if you weighed nothing and threw you against a tree. You cried out in pain as your back burned and ached to an extreme level. You then noticed that a tree branch stabbed right through your shoulder. The blood dripped down your arm onto your naked skin. You felt queasy and weak. Thoughts and last words echoed through your mind. The monster was about to devour you but a flash of blonde hair came into your vision and you saw, him.

This young man was nothing you’ve ever seen before. He was stronger than the average person, throwing the monster back and forth. He punched it high in the air and then threw it against the boulder. He was incredible. Full of power. Your eyes were starting to close and your vision grew blurry as the last thing you saw were the fangs that the man displayed. 

“Mother I had this terrible dream!” Your whole body shot up. That was a terrible decision as you winced in pain. “It was not a dream.” You breathed hard as you took in your surroundings. The fire was lit making the room comfortable as you were once shivering from being wet. It looked as if you were in the kitchen of somebody's house. “Hello?” Your throat was dry. You were in a stranger’s house. You were in a stranger’s house! “Oh dear.”  You were put high onto a table. You jumped off but were still too weak. You landed hard on your knees but caught yourself with your arms. Your shoulder pounding in pain. You became dizzy. You heard footsteps nearing. “Who are you?” You tried to stand up again but slipped into the arms of a man. 

“Hold on. You are still not well.” His voice came out almost like a whisper. He picked you up and sat you back on the table. “Also, I’m the man who saved your life.”

“That was you? That was, um, pretty amazing.” You curled into yourself. You were nervous around this man. He intimidated you and made you feel shy. He was very handsome and charming. “You kicked that things as* real good.”

The man chuckled, “thank you.”

You quickly looked at your nightgown. It was too big for you as the sleeves ate your arms and the collar was off the shoulders. Your eyes shot open. You were bashful. “Did you, um, see anything?”

He looked away, “I kinda had to. Sorry. You were naked when I saved you.”

“Great. That’s great,” you inhaled clapping your hands. Suddenly you sensed a throbbing pain on your shoulder and you looked to see a blood stain on the nightgown. “Um excuse me sir. Is that supposed to happen?”

The man looked worried as he laid you back down and pulled the nightgown down enough to see your shoulder. “It does not look good. It seems with that jump you reopened the stitches.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. God, this really hurts.”

He got to work on doing your stitches again as he got his items. “Bite down on this.” He opened his mouth to show the action and you saw his teeth. 

“Agh please don’t eat me! You’re a vampire aren’t you?” You flinched away. 

The man rolled his eyes as he shoved the cloth in your mouth but before he got started on you he said, “You are right. I am a vampire.”

You spat the cloth out, “I knew it. I also would like to know your name as this may be my last moment and I would like to remember who will either save me or take my life. My name is y/n l/n.”

“The names Alucard Tepes and this is going to sting a little.” With that Alucard poured some alcohol on your wounds. (im sorry i dont know how helping ppl w medical stuff works :( 

You shifted and tried pouncing up, fighting the urge to let out a blood curdling scream. But Alucard pushed you down with his hands, shushing you gently. “I know, this hurts.” You could almost sense some love and actual concern in his voice. His brows knitted, “I promise, you are almost finished.” 

You looked deep into Alucard’s eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes you have ever seen. This man or vampire looked unreal. He looked made up, something from stories you read as a child, like a prince. You felt something go off within you. Not knowing if it was lust or something else but a fire erupted inside your soul as Alucard’s face inched closer to yours to get to work on your shoulder. His smell was intoxicating. Almost like a musk but yet something floral, fresh, mixed in. Your heart thumped faster at the contact. 

His plump lips quivered as they looked at your state. No way did he want this innocent soul as beautiful as you looked dying on his table. He already had to deal with a lot recently. He didn’t know why or understand but he had this inclination, this feeling, that he needed to keep you alive. He just had to. 

Unable to keep the scream at bay no more you let it out. Your veins protruding from your neck as you became dizzy and once again passed out.

Your eyes opened. Your body was aching. It felt like it went through war. You inhaled as you looked around again, but this time you were hoping things were not a dream as then Alucard would be fake. Remembering his name your head whipped to the side to see Alucard holding a wash cloth stained with blood. He was sound asleep. His head resting against his arm against the table. All the medical stuff was out and about as if he were still working on you. His back was arched at a odd position. 

“He must of fallen asleep while working on me,” you whispered to yourself. His hair sprayed out on his shoulders and table. Without a second thought you touched his hair lightly and you were shocked. It felt like silk upon your fingers! His golden eye lashes kissed his cheek as he snoozed so peacefully. You felt bad leaving him to worry for you and to be sleeping in an uncomfortable place. You felt you weren’t that deserving of such treatment.

You kicked your feet out and hopped off the table. Your feet pattered against the hard floor as you walked to Alucard. You snatched him a blanket you saw nearby and draped it over his tall, lean body. You smiled seeing how elegant and graceful he looked sleeping. 

You yawned, scratching your head as you looked upon the window and noticed it was raining. Surprisingly in this vampire but also a stranger’s house the rain seemed cozy and it made you feel at peace. It was dark in his house. The trees shook from the tiny wind and rain. 

“I must leave but I should thank Alucard for helping me with my wound last night. I probably wouldn’t have last without him.” Your mind wondered back to what happened at the river. Yes, Dracula was gone according to what the towns people said but why was his army still about, his monsters? It didn’t make sense to you. But what did you know? You were just a weak human living in a mysterious world you didn’t want any part of. 

You pulled out a chair and got to writing a thank you letter to Alucard, pulling out a pen, ink and a piece of paper.

“Dear Alucard. No, too direct. How about, to a savior? Too high and mighty.” Finally you had written your letter but it sounded very awkward and you were too much of a p*ssy to give it to Alucard. “Ugh this is hopeless.” You crumpled up the paper, throwing it on the floor by the garbage. 

You thought and thought and thought until an idea popped in your mind. “I know,” you snapped. “I’ll make him breakfast. My mother always says a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.” You crossed your fingers, “lets just hope this man likes human food instead of hearts and blood.” You gulped. 

You rolled your sleeves up, washed your hands and brought out the pots and pans and butter. “I’m going to make toast, eggs, bacon, beans and mushrooms.”

You spiced up the food and placed them in a skillet. The sizzle satisfying your ears. The sun started to peak through the clouds as the aroma wafted through the house. You grinned, loving to cook and make a person happy with your hard work. “I hope he likes this.” You were almost finished when Alucard coughed behind you. 

You jumped, being in the zone. “Oh hi there,” you waved awkwardly. “My apologies if I woke you.”

“Uh, no I woke myself up,” his rough voice made your knees weak as it was still laced with sleep. He stretched, cracking some knuckles, yawning as well. “What I would like to know is what are you doing?”

“Well,” you started setting up the table cutely. “I wanted to say thanks for helping me back there. I was kind of a p*ssy to be honest and like a wuss so this is just a little thanks for all the help.”

Alucard didn’t know what to say so instead he just smiled. 

“Please, sit, sit, sit,” you pointed to the seats. “Breakfast is almost ready.”

Alucard awkwardly sat. Not ever having this type of service. He looked at you as you were preparing the finishing steps of your dish. The sun cascaded around you and you were illuminated like a goddess. You were breathtaking. Alucard blushed madly. You put everything on the table. Seeing Alucard’s expression you laughed, “are you alright?”

Alucard coughed, “yes, thank you for all of this. You really didn’t need to. It all looks beautiful.” He looked at the presentation. 

You took the seat beside Alucard. You could of sat anywhere else but you sat beside him. He almost couldn’t hear what you were about to say in that moment from how hard his heart was beating.  

“No need to thank me. I think we’ve done enough thanking and now its time to dig in.” You patted his hand. 

Alucard just looked at the food and he almost felt tears at his eyes. Nobody ever cared for him like this. 

“Is it okay? If its not to your liking I totally get it. You don’t have to eat it. I don’t even know if you like this stuff. I mean who knows maybe you only eat flowers and here I am serving you bacon and eggs.” You became flustered. 

“No, no, no this is lovely its just,” he choked back a cry. “Nobody has ever done anything like this for me, ever.”

You clutched onto his hand and gave him a beautiful smile. “Then that just means you have to eat double. As much and maybe more than what your stomach can hold.” You giggled.

Alucard blushed again as he started to eat quickly. Enjoying every moment of your company and food. “The beans are delicious.”

“Well I’m glad you liked them. Its my mum’s recipe, she always makes them like this.” You then recalled why you came on this journey in the first place. “My satchel!”

“Don’t worry, its safe.”

You raised your brow, “did you take a look?”

Alucard paused, “no, I would never.” He took a bite out of his bread. Chewing on the piece silently. “Maybe just a tiny peek.”

You pouted, “Nosy. I should of locked it.”

“Why do you have all those books in your bag anyways?” Alucard crossed his legs as he took a sip of his coffee. His light orbs staring intently at you. 

Seeing the rain start to become tiny droplets of rain you thought about your family and how you missed them. This was all for them. “My siblings you see are very ill,” your hand shook with anxiety. “My village is very poor and we are limited in resources, especially medicine. We’ve tried everything and nothing seems to work. They just seem to be getting worse. I’ve been researching and trying to find an answer and supposedly, I read that there is a certain flower that only grows in a specific area that may cure the illness. In the books there is a map and that’s why I was led to that river well more like I wanted to take a bath and that’s what led me to the river. But I’ve been on this trail for a while. I’m just, scared because it all depends on me. If I can’t find this flower, if I can’t find a cure and my family dies it will be my fault. I would have killed them.” You didn’t even realize it but you were crying. 

Alucard saw you were distressed and held onto your hand. He comforted you through your anxiety. Your teary eyes looked into his and he gave you a toothy smile, “I’ll help you find it.”

“What?” You rubbed your eyes.

“I know the place you need to go. I can guide you there. Besides the outside world is very dangerous for a beautiful girl such as yourself. I can see that this means a lot to you and I want to help.”

You dropped your fork and got out of your chair. “You mean it? You aren’t joking?”

Alucard chuckled, “I promise I am speaking truth.” Alucard flung his hand out to you. 

You quickly shook on it and shouted with enthusiasm, “deal!” You jumped up and down laughing as you hugged Alucard. “Thank you, thank you, thank you. Can we please leave immediately then?”

“We can leave today.”

You danced, “yes. I’ll go change and get my things.” You brought the empty dishes to clean them as Alucard stood up with a smile on his face. 

You were something else, something different. A breath of fresh air in his depressing life. Maybe you were meant to be here. Maybe you were a sign. Either way Alucard thought that these couple of days were to be very exciting. Alucard was about to get ready when a piece of paper in the corner caught his eyes. It was crumbled. “Hmmm, what is this?” He bent down to pick it up and read the words. With just the first word to the letter his smile grew bigger and bigger. 

Alucard coughed as he raised the letter you wrote to him earlier but discarded high in the air, “Dear Alucard, to my savior. I would love for you to know that I am extremely appreciative for what you have done for me in saving my life-”

Your eyes almost popped out of your head. That letter was not supposed to be read by him especially. It was embarrassing. You dropped a plate in the sink and felt your whole world collapse. You wanted to crawl in a hole and die. 

“When I first saw you I thought you were a prince-” Alucard kept going until you couldn’t take it any longer. 

You sprinted and tried grabbing the letter out of his hand. “Alucard, give that to me. Now.”

“Oh you want this letter?” Alucard smirked. “You do sound like an obnoxious romantic whore.”

You gasped, “I do not! That was supposed to be my thank you letter and I didn’t like it and you weren’t supposed to read it. So give it back!” You jumped for it but Alucard raised it high in the air. “Alucard, give it to me.”

Alucard’s face came closer to yours as he pinned you against the table. “Why don’t you come and get it?”

You practically climbed him, snatching the letter out of his hand. “Aha!” But Alucard’s footing was off and he and you fell with a thud. 

The birds chirped lightly as Alucard laid under you and you fell on top of him, your arm bracing for the impact. Alucard held in his breath with a red blush as he looked at you so extremely close. You both held that position for what felt like forever. You eyes were wide in horror at the compromising position. 

You quickly stood up and were flustered. Forgetting where everything was. “Um, um, um. I’m going to go put my trip on so we can get ready for the clothes.” You quickly ran away. 

Alucard breathed quickly as he brushed back his long hair whispering the words. “My savior.” He noticed you were in such a panic mode that you forgot about your letter. It was left and Alucard was not going to leave or throw away evidence that someone saw him in such a good light. He loved that letter because it was from you. 

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[hatake-kakashi]

What are some of your fave animes

OK LET ME PREFACE THIS BY SAYING I HAVEN’T BEEN INTO ANIME SINCE 2014 AND I AM JUST RECENTLY GETTING BACK INTO IT!! BUT

- DEATH NOTE (netflix, crunchyroll, funimation, kisscartoon)

it follows a guy named Light Yagami who discovers that a shinigamai(god of death) dropped a notebook into the human realm and that whoever’s name is written in it will die(and you can specify how, if you’d like). it shows how he becomes sort of a vigilante to put criminals in place. he is then under suspect as the killer by L, a smart and elite person who works with the police and has never lost a case. 

seasons: 1 total episodes: 37

RATING: 10/10!!!

warning: violence/murder, major character death but like thats expected, religious themes(i guess), light swearing

fave characters: matsuda and L are high up there...as well as Mello, Mikami, and Gevanni ships: i mean the most common ship is Lawlight(LxLight) but i think my main are lawtsuda(L x matsuda), mikalight (mikami x light), mikanni (mikami x gevanni), and mellodramattic(mello x matt)/nearlymellodramattic(near x mello x matt)!!! remisa is also cute:( notes: i just spent all my money on the manga! i’m so excited to read it!!! 

- SIRIUS THE JAEGER (netflix,  probably kisscartoon but i havent looked)

the main character, Yuliy Jirov, is the last of his tribe (he is a sirus. so like...sorta like a werewolf) and he is set to revenge his family’s death as a jaeger(hunter. but like. a vampire hunter) but it turns out his brother, Mikhail, is alive and was turned. the main goal of the plot is to find and also somehow protect this thing called Ark Of Sirius , which is sort of like sacred power that was given to Yuliy’s tribe, from falling into vampire hands. 

seasons: 1 total episodes: 12

RATING: 10/10!!!

warning: violence, action, major(?) character death

fave characters: Yuliy...i love him so much; Mikhail, Hideomi, Willard ships: so uh i wouldn’t recommend going thru the ao3 tag because its a common thing to ship the brothers(*disgusted emoji*) but i am working on writing something to fill the tag with hideomi/mochizuki, hideomi/willard, and yuliy/phillip

notes: i think the way the creators did the vampires is really interesting. honestly i watched it bc of the pretty vampire man in the cover. i learned that i hate him but he’s still pretty. THIS SHOW IS REALLY SHORT PLEASE WATCH IT I AM BEGGING TO HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH

- CASTLEVANIA (netflix, ???)

Dracula sends creatures of the night(? literally don’t know another way to describe them. uh. monsters?) to attack the cities of Wallachia because they killed his, albeit human, wife (her name is Lisa)because they thought she practiced witchcraft. It follows Trevor Belmont, the last son of the Belmont family (a family that basically killed these creatures + vampires); Sypha Belnades, a badass speaker magician; and Adrian ‘Alucard’ Tepes, the son of dracula. their goal is to end the war against the human race. It also shows Dracula’s side of things and follows the two humans that are on his court, Hector and Isaac (they both denounced humanity because of their bad upbringings/experiences)

seasons: 3 total episodes: 22

RATING: 10/10!!!

warning: violence/gore, action, death/killing, sex, angst, religous themes, swearing

fave characters: really love the main three of course but like i also love Hector ships: trevor/sypha/alucard, hectorcard, alucard x happiness, hector x happiness

notes: it’s based off the video game. season three fucked me up(it’s AMAZING THOUGH!) i cannot wait for season 4 omg:(((( 

- NARUTO (netflix, cruncyroll, funimation, probs kisscartoon)

naruto uzumaki wants to gain recognition from his peers and also become the leader of his village(hokage)

seasons: 5 (i didn’t watch shippuden. i’m talking the OG naruto) total episodes: 220

RATING: 10/10 but like tbd bc ive only seen the first 3 seasons so far

warning: violence, action

fave characters: kakashi, iruka, gaara, rock lee ships: uhh kakairu(kakashi x iruka) i don’t really ship a lot of things. kobuto x orochimaru is kinda good too but like LKASDFASD

- B: THE BEGINNING (netflix, ???)

Genius investigator Keith Flick rejoins the royal police force, RIS, just as serial killer "B" emerges and commits a double murder. Mysterious youth Koku may be an ally of the group's -- or a target. When the RIS investigates a death that appears to be linked to B, Keith disagrees with the crime being connected to the criminal mastermind. An attack on a member of the RIS leads members of the group to suspect a traitor within their ranks. After being declared a murder suspect, Keith turns himself in. Koku is forced to fight for his survival

i copy and pasted that bc i cannot remember it that well but i do remember liking the show!! i will rewatch and update accordingly w my own summary

RATING: 8/10??? i can’t remember it that well which is why the rating is lower than the others

fave characters: oh dear i cannot remember a lot about this show but it’s good i promise. MINATSUKI was pretty tho ships: idk....

notes: yeah i need to rewatch it but its good i swear

OTHER NOTABLE ONES ::: 

- tokyo ghoul ( i haven’t seen the new season so i don’t want to review it before that)

- free! (i haven’t seen it in a while aa)

- one punch man (i watched it on a bus w this guy i used to like so it has a place in my heart aa)

- yuri on ice (honestly the fandom sucks but if you ignore that it’s actually pretty cute)

- dramatical murder (uh. this was a bl game and the game was very bad but i think the characters are cute.)

- haikyuu (currently watching)

- bleach (currently watching)

- 7SEEDS (currently watching and like it’s good but it’s kinda slow for me so i might give up on her...)

SHOWS I PLAN ON WATCHING/LOOKING INTO:::

- d.gray man/d.gray man hallow

- psycho pass

- k

- death parade

- darker than black

- devil may cry

- kabaneri of the iron fortress

- hunter x hunter

- kakegurui (?? idk yet but i like the art)

- inuyasha

- god eater

- hero mask

- sailor moon

- fruits basket

- blue exorcist

- no.6

- sword gai: the animation

- wave!! (when it comes out!)

- hellsing (?)

- fullmetal alchemist

- devilman crybaby

- psychic detective yakumo

- 91 days

i have no idea if any of these are problematic and some probably are and if they are and i find out , i will keep that in mind but like sometimes i just like to enjoy things lol

[floatingcatacombs]

In Praise of the Blonde Twink who May or May Not be a Trans Girl

12 Days of Aniblogging, Day 3

There’s been something in the air recently. Last year, the New York Times’ fashion magazine published an article titled “Welcome to the Age of the Twink”, a 600-word LGBT hitpiece arguing that a new wave of “art twinks” are redefining what it means to be an ideal male. The author argues that the term “twink” is being broadened past just gay culture and we should slap it on every slim attractive straight white dude that we see in order to overturn toxic masculinity. Because there’s nothing more revolutionary than, er, fairly conventional western beauty standards.

The internet promptly responded by shitting on the author’s brazen attempt to export twinkness to the straight world. I too think it’s an awful take, but I get the feeling there was a satirical bend to the article that got edited out or otherwise miscommunicated. After all, the author is a gay man; why would he misrepresent and diminish his own community like that?

The broadening and appropriation of LGBT terminology is a touchy subject, so I’ll save it for another day. If taking gay terminology and morphing it into new definitions is en vogue nowadays, I’m happy to join ranks with Nick Haramis and add new meanings to “twink”. Let’s talk about twinks as Schrodinger’s trans girls.

Unfortunately, I have a type when it comes to media, and it’s twinks who I can project transness onto if I desire it. These characters are beacons of androgyny, male-at-birth characters with some connection to femininity via their appearance or their actions. Often, this connection is left unclear by the end of their series, leaving plenty of room for me to imagine “OK so they’re totally gonna be a girl for real now”. This archetype has proven a very useful crutch for me over the years. For so long, media about cis femininity was too intimidating and distant for me to even dream of consuming. During that time, I read lots of manga and played lots of games starring androgynes, allowing myself to project onto them as well as project their character onto girlhood. (see where this leads by transitive property?) Also, a lot of them were blonde (I’m not gonna read into this! My hair is closer to brown tho). With that out of the way, let me rip my heart open and highlight some of those twinks that I’ve latched so strongly onto throughout the years.

 Kuranosuke from Princess Jellyfish

I’ve written a whole writeup on Kuranosuke, so if you’ve read that you should know where I’m coming from! Kuranosuke is graced with natural femininity and a desire to perform it, and lands himself into a situation where he must pass on a daily basis while designing fashion for the girls of the Amars house. Kuranosuke’s crossdressing is both effortless and extremely laborious, but it always pays off.

Kaito from Himegoto: Juukyuusai no Seifuku

Himegoto is one of the messiest mangas I’ve ever read. Three characters spiral around each other while desperately trying to negotiate their orientations, gender presentations, and livelihoods with each other and with themselves. Kaito is the standout for me – a ‘guy’ who crossdresses in a desperate attempt to ‘mirror’ his ideal image of femininity. Kaito radiates extremely eggy energies, and it’s increasingly obvious as the plot goes on that all his justification is elaborate smoke and mirrors for his desire to simply be a woman. He begins by projecting his feminine ideals onto his tomboyish friend, but by the end of the manga it all comes collapsing back onto himself. The epilogue leaves it rather ambiguous, but one can only hope that Kaito figured it all out by then. 

Alucard from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night  

Symphony of the Night is one of my favorite Castlevanias and maybe games of all time. I’ve always been in love with its hand-in-hand elegance and jankiness. Unlike Kaito and Kuranosuke, we’re going to have to stretch out of the canon to justify this placement, but I assure you it will be worth it. In Symphony of the Night, Alucard is a tall deep-voiced bishounen and that’s that. However, the eva problems classic “YOUR ASSHOLE DAD’S CASTLE IS BACK AGAIN” adds a sickening new twist onto the game: what if Alucard wanted to be a woman? This article retraces the full plot and route of SOTN, adding extra backstory and inner thoughts showing Alucard’s visceral bodily discomfort and twisted-up jealousy towards the female monsters of the castle. Eventually, she takes those terrifying first steps towards accepting oneself as a woman. It’s one of the most effective recontextualizations of a piece of media that I’ve ever read, and I’m not afraid to admit that it reassured and helped me with my own transition a few months down the line. Plus, the idea of Alucard But A Girl is somewhere near my ideal aesthetic. 

Ryo Asuka from Devilman

--devilman spoilers--

Ryo is a bit of an oddity. A total weirdo, he doesn’t particularly demonstrate femininity throughout most of the series beyond just being kind of fluffy and cute in the 80s OVAs. However, this all changes in some of the final chapters, when Ryo is revealed to be Satan in disguise. Though every Devilman adaptation has a very different artstyle, Satan’s designed has remained the same: an androgynous fallen angel possessing both breasts and a penis. There’s a lot of associations and implications to unpack there, but I’m not going to do that in this article! While it doesn’t necessarily recontextualize Ryo’s human existence, he sure still is a twink with some Gender happening around him.

  Venus from We Know The Devil

Ok, this one’s just a girl! No questions about it! Someone get her some hugs and a bottle of estradiol, stat!

Honorable Mentions:

Raiden from Metal Gear Solid 2

As much as I love slapping the “GIRL” label onto any blonde twink I can find, Raiden’s MGS2 arc of intense emasculation works way better if he's actually a guy. If there’s any further gender stuff happening with Raiden, it’s actually to be found in MGS4 and Metal Gear Rising, in which Raiden sheds his twinkish flesh to become a way more masc cyborg ninja. As The Cyborg Manifesto teaches us, cyborgs are one hell of a post-gender tool. Honestly, reading Raiden as FTM may work way better than parsing him as a trans girl, I just don’t have the specific background and ability to do that headcanon justice.

Lio Fotia from Promare

Promare was maybe the first time I saw a blonde twink character and didn’t  immediately think it might be better if they were a girl. Amidst all its discussions of immigration, racism, and climate change, Promare finds time to be real gay, in a delightfully masc4fem way. Together, Lio and Galo stretch the full spectrum of male presentation, and I wouldn’t want to take that away from them.

 So that’s that! I hope you enjoyed the lineup of twinks who are dear to my heart, and maybe learned a thing or two from my ramble at the start.

[astraseason]

@stormsiris​ sent... ✮ ━ top three favorite muses that you’ve played ♣ ━ share five random facts about yourself ( prompt. )

✮ ━ top three favorite muses that you’ve played

and then for a minute i forgot everyone i’ve ever written, ever. it’s tough to name favourites, but if i had to pick three in no particular order...

araceli. this isn’t even a question. i’ve worked so hard on her and her story over the past three years that i’ve been writing her -- be it on her own separate blogs, or over here -- and she’s still so very near and dear to my heart. i’ll always have a soft spot for my baby girl, and it makes me so, so happy people seem to like her. she is my all-time favourite muse, and i hope to get to write her for even just a little longer!

sonic the hedgehog. lmao whoops? no, but really. i love sonic! some of my earliest video game memories was “playing” sonic 2 with my mom on her genesis, and he’s always been a huge part of my life growing up. like... this is kind of embarrassing to admit, but when i moved as a kid i used to pretend he and tails and the other members of the cast were walking to and from school with me because i was shy and had no friends... it helped me deal with the loneliness until i actually did make a friend. but as a character himself, sonic is great. maaaaybe not so much in more recent games, as the writers aren’t... that great at portraying what makes sonic sonic. they focus on comedy that doesn’t land and being an ‘epic snarky cool guy’ when really sonic is... kind of a dork? he’s got an attitude and can bust out some snark, sure, but he’s also endearing and sweet-- cheesy, too. he’s got a heart of gold and would never, ever leave someone in need of a friend or help... everyone rags on the 4kids cast, but i think some of my boy’s best portrayals come from when jason griffith was portraying him-- especially in sonic and the black knight. ( there’s a scene where he’s undergoing these trials given to him by nimue and he has a time limit, but comes across a crying little girl who tells him her village was just kidnapped by a dragon-- he’s immediately ditched the trials to go save the girl’s village from the dragon, despite his companion questioning why he’s throwing the trial away when they NEED nimue’s help. ) i just... i love that boy! dreamcast and 4kids era was where it was at as far as he goes.

joachim armster, castlevania. okay, he operated entirely on the canon divergence that he didn’t fucking die in his boss fight and instead teamed up with leon to fight walter, but it was good! i loved the slow development of joachim being the world’s most annoying partner who really only cared about keeping leon alive so they could fight walter ( and who was absolutely appalled by how little leon knew of the creatures of the knight when he burst into the castle to save his fiancee ) to like... caring about him? being genuinely panicked when he realized there was only one human left in this castle, and he was standing like five feet away from him... to genuinely wanting to avenge sara’s death and help leon heal... then there’s the tragedy of outliving your dearest friend. look that development process was so good and i miss joachim a lot.................

♣ ━ share five random facts about yourself

i’m really bad at sharing random facts about myself because i can never think of anything interesting to say.

my favourite colour is mint or seafoam green!

my favourite franchise of all time is higurashi no naku koro ni; it’s what inspired much of araceli to begin with!

when i was in high school, i tried making an utauloid. her name was michiko suzune and it was terrible. i’m still fond of her design, though...

when it comes to games like pokemon or fire emblem heroes, i am a massive believer in “play with the ones you like, ignore the meta”. but then... i don’t like playing online or pvp in most games to begin with? i’m like, the least competitive person ever.

[darksoulszine]

Interview with Asrielle

Today we interview Asrielle! One of our contributors in THE FIRST FLAME.

Q: How did you get into making art and for how long have you been doing it?

My dad used to draw my favorite TV show characters for me as a kid, and it inspired me to start drawing too. I've been drawing since I was a toddler, but I only started taking it seriously in my teens, so it's been over a decade now that I've been studying and trying to improve, but over 20 years drawing for fun.

Q: What traditional media or digital program do you prefer to use and why?

I prefer to use a HB pencil and regular paper for most things I draw, and then if I really like a drawing, I'll move it into Adobe Photoshop or Clip Studio Paint. I've slowly started using those programs more for illustrations because of their brush capabilities, which are really fun to work with. I think I'll be using Clip Studio Paint a lot more in the future!

 Q: Do you mostly make fan art or are there original works you are also passionate about?

I mostly make fan art! It's so much fun talking about things that I love with other people, and I love seeing everyone else's fan art as well. I have original works that I care about, but I get wrapped up in my video games a little too often and draw even more fan art as a result, haha.

 Q: Is there any artist or art movement that inspires you? Which ones?

Ayami Kojima, who did a lot of art for the Castlevania games, is a big inspiration of mine! James Gurney is fantastic. He's my inspiration for playing with all sorts of lighting in my work. I love looking at art that features dramatic sunlight and shadow and perfectly replicates how light changes throughout the day.

 Q: What would you say to someone who is willing to dedicate their life to art, but doesn’t take that step because of the risks?

I can understand this. I took a lot of risks pursuing art, and I still wonder if it was worthwhile sometimes. It really depends on what you want out of creating art. If it's for money, I can respect that, but if you force yourself to do something, it will just make you hate it in the end. But if creating art makes you happy and leaves you with a sense of fulfillment, I think you should accept the risks. Life's too short to play it safe and wonder "what if?" Usually, I'll just tell myself "just do it" nowadays. Failure isn't failure if it can be turned into a learning experience. At least, that's what the Souls games taught me!

Q: What do you like about being an artist?

I have a really bad memory, so when I finish a drawing I'd spent a lot of time on and look back on it later, I can remember a lot of how I felt when I worked on it and the steps that led up to its creation. It's like putting a part of myself on paper, as cheesy as that sounds. It's the same with how photos can really capture a moment in time. The community is also really cool, since there are so many other artists who go through all the same struggles and you all can bond over the creative process and the results. I love that there are so many of us out there making really cool things that we can wake up to and get inspired by, and that I get to be part of that too.

  Q: Show us some of your favorite artworks that you made and tell us why.

Solaire is such a fun and interesting character that really stands out in a dark game that's aptly named "Dark Souls." I love kind and supportive characters and I immediately said to myself "I must protect him at all costs." I drew him in all sorts of funny situations and turned a few of the drawings into stickers. People who saw them would get so excited and we'd chat about our favorite sunny boy, and it's honestly really fun!

Bloodborne is near and dear to my heart and the sight of Yharnam is something that is so inspiring to me and I knew if I did any Bloodborne fan art, I would have to draw the city eventually. I want to draw it again!

Q: Where can we find more of your work? Are there any personal projects you would like to share?

You can find my work mostly on Twitter! (@asrikins) I post a lot of WIPs and general video game stuff, as well as conventions I'll be selling my artwork at. If you like anime conventions, you might find me there with a bunch of Soulsborne merch! I also plan on returning to Twitch, where I have streamed artwork as well as a playthrough of Dark Souls 3 in the past. I hope to open a sticker shop soon with Soulsborne merch, but that will be announced on my twitter at a later date. Right now you can find a few of my designs on Redbubble at www.redbubble.com/people/asrielle.

 Q: What order did you play the soulsborne games in? Which is your favorite?

I started with Bloodborne when it was free for PS+ members. It's my favorite. It took me a week to get through Central Yharnam because I was so terrified and I would have nightmares every night. I kept playing because I would get further than my husband (who almost quit because it was so difficult) and then he would try to catch up. When I beat Father Gascoigne on my first attempt after struggling and learning along the way to his arena, I realized how well-designed the game was and got extremely hooked. The high from winning a major fight is amazing! It taught me a lot about perseverance and learning through trial and error and affected how I approach a lot of things in real life as well.

After Bloodborne and its DLC, my husband and I immediately bought Dark Souls. Then Dark Souls 2, and Dark Souls 3. We beat all the DLC and got the platinum trophies in each game. We've met and bonded with so many Soulsborne fans and I regret not getting into the series sooner over fears of "not being good enough to play." Right now we're playing Demon's Souls and Sekiro and I love it! The series has taken over our lives, haha.

Q: When you got eaten by a mimic for the first time, what did you yell out loud?

I laughed! "Why are its legs so long??"

 Q: Any memorable Dark Souls gaming moments you'd like to share?

There are honestly so many memorable moments! One of my favorites is when my husband and I were playing with our friends on Dark Souls 2 and we got invaded. We were all standing there dual-wielding the Smelter Sword and Aged Smelter Sword on a narrow bridge. The invader saw this, and promptly ran away and knelt for forgiveness in a corner as the four of us engulfed him in huge red and blue flames and destroyed him in seconds. It was the most ridiculously over-the-top execution I'd ever seen of an invader in the series, haha.

Another favorite is in the first Dark Souls when my husband and I got really far into Anor Londo, just to get invaded. We were so sure we were going to lose our progress that my husband dropped all the money he had on the ground in an attempt to bribe the invader to leave while we backed away. It worked! He took the money, praised the sun, and left. We found each other on PSN later and started playing co-op later on as buddies!

Get the zine at: 🔥 [ THE FIRST FLAME ] 🔥 info page

𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 & 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞:

on tumblr @darksoulszine

on insta @DarkSoulsFanZine

on twitter @SoulsFanZine

[kalira]

WIP Title Meme

aka oh dear lord

The Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Pick out the title that  most intrigues you, or interests you and I’ll post a little snippet of  it or tell you something about it!!

Tagged by @onoheiwa & @mad-madam-m, woo!

I hope you have some idea what you were getting into with this! M, you should, as you’ve seen my fandom files and heard me list off things when debating what to work on. . .

I don’t have a WIP folder, I have fandom folders (dozens of them) so I’m sorting through by fandom and then ship subfolders to get all these.

So hold on folks.

*stretches fingers*

Avatar

Tsaheylu

Avatar: the Last Airbender

Katara/Aang

Bender-Banging Burdens - Airbender (Amorous Airbending Accident)

Sokka/Zuko

Alpha Instincts (Omegaverse; both alphas)

Baths with Zuko

Coming Together

Crisis Line (Modern AU)

Dragon Foster Parent (drabbles from ICU)

Forever

Near-Death Zuko Whump (Tumblr request; Dawen)

Not Helpless (HurtComfort Tumblr request; Mousie)

Prince Consort

Reason to Leave, Reason to Stay (Tumblr request; Mousie)

Rescue Me (Tumblr request; milujuamalu)

Soul Marks (soulmate AU)

Soulmate Marks (Soulmate AU)

Wrong Coffeeshop Patron

Zuko Can Juggle

Zuko's namesake

Sokka/Zuko/Mai

Arrangement

Zuko/Mai

Bender-Banging Burdens - Firebender (Fucking Firebender Flare-Up)

Liquid Heat (Learning Together)

Adding a cut here because it’s going to get long. . .

Black Butler

Ciel/Sebastian

Love Is A Crime (Shuffle Expansion)

Boys Over Flowers

Yi Jung/Woo Bin

Heart (soulmate AU)

Injury

Castlevania

Alucard/Trevor

Get Off My Dick

Meeting the Day

Gen

Reconciliation

Harlock (Space Pirate Captain Harlock)

Harlock/Yama

Dark Matter Brings Yama Back (drabbles from rehab)

Flower Crown

Hades & Persephone AU (Tumblr request; Mousie)

Harlock’s Flower

Patching Yama Up

Perhaps (drabbles from rehab)

Princess (Tumblr Request; Mousie)

Putting Harlock to Rest

The Greenhouse Bay

Harry Potter

Godric/Salazar

The Series

Harry/Draco

Revensea (magical snake)

Hikaru no Go

Hikaru/Akira

Not Cut Out for Relationships

Sai/Ogata

Meeting Again (sequel to Another Game)

Kagen no Tsuki (Last Quarter)

Adam/Mizuki

Adam’s Return

Choosing Adam

Dwindling

Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth in general)

Celeborn/Galadriel

Of Names and Courting

Fíli/Kíli

Bookshelf

Death

Legolas/Aragorn

A Warrior’s Scars

Mary Stayed Out All Night

Mu Gyul/Mary/Jung In

Cooking Together (Tumblr request; MadMadamM)

Naruto

Gen

Training Sakura - C3, Training Begins

Training Sakura - Mistress

Training Sakura - Sakura makes Kakashi a flower crown

Gaara/Lee

Baby Metal - Kara

Shared Wounds

Workday Interruption

Ino/Sakura

Christmas Sweaters

First Date

Not Your Colour

Snow

Kakashi/Gai

Ace Kakashi

Birthday Morning

Destiny (soulmate AU)

Losses

Natural Enemies (Daemon AU)

Kakashi/Iruka

A Lot to Learn (Quickie vs. Delayed Gratification)

Beautiful Calligraphy

Congratulations

Identities (soulmate AU)

Morning Return

Kakashi/Yamato

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie (Tumblr request; Mousie)

Lee/Sakura

Patience

Daydreams

Madara/Kakashi

Taunting a Tiger (Tumblr request; Rezelis)

Madara/Tobirama

Devotion and Interpreting Uchiha

PDA and Payback

Selkie's Coat

Uchiha Courting

Neji/Hinata

Caged Bird Freed

Hinata Says No

Hogwarts

Surprise

Wedding Concerns

Neji/Lee

Hyuuga Kissing Challenge (soulmate AU)

Sasuke/Naruto

Avenging Sasuke's 'Death' (S1, ep15-17)

Crow Days

Romantic

Soul-Deep Peace

Sasuke/Naruto/Sakura (Team 7 OT3)

Getting Even

Coffee and Parenting

Shikamaru/Chouji

Wanting and Having

Zabuza/Haku

Caught in the Act

Personal Taste

Jin Ho/Gae In

Morning After Breakfast

Supernatural

Wolfish Priorities

Teen Wolf

Stiles/Derek

Bubblegum Bitch (Marina+tD) Shuffle Expansion

Fingertip Kiss

Fox Shifter Stiles - Discovery; Is Stuck

What Do You Want

Thor

Baby Thor and Loki Learn Their Powers - Lightning and Flame

Tiger & Bunny

Kotetsu/Barnaby

Tomoe Speaks

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Gen

Betrayal

Life According to the Voltron Lions

Rover

Training Help

Alfor/Coran

Saying Goodbye to a Memory

Hunk/Lance

Twined Flowers, Twined Hearts - prequel at Galaxy Garrison

Kuro/Keith

Attention

Mind Control

Shiro/Keith

A Small Problem (deaging; just Shiro and Keith)

Aladdin

Fake Relationship

Family Names

Five & One Times, Mishearing Buddy vs. Baby

Flower Tattoos

Happy Hoverbike (Keith’s Birthday)

Muscle Aches

Parted (soulmate AU; Heart Flower AU)

Perfect (prompt; soulmate AU)

Rescued (sequel to Repudiated)

Series: Animal Inside - Exam Review

Series: Animal Inside - Friendly Reunion

Series: Cats and Dogs, Living Together - Bad Day (pain and comfort)

Series: Cats and Dogs, Living Together - Names

Series: Death and Spring - puppy Cerberus

Series: Empress' Elite, The - speaking to Allura about arrangements to have a child (Cubling Arc)

Series: Empress' Elite, The - Comfort, protectiveness, close after birth (Cubling Arc)

Series: Empress' Elite, The - Cub on the Training Deck (Cubling Arc)

Series: Empress' Elite, The - Taking Down Papa (drabbles from ICU) (Cubling Arc)

Series: Empress' Elite, The - Homecoming Snuggles (drabbles from rehab)

Series: Empress' Elite, The - Injured (Shiro's Arm Arc)

Series: Where the Crimson Lion Calls Home (Sky Pirate & Mermaid AU) - Tell Me A Truth

Taking Advantage

Trading Places

Shiro/Keith/Kuro

Scars

Series: The Monster Inside - Keith Meets Kuro

Series: Unbalance - On the Castle of Lions

Series: Unbalance - About Kuro

Series: Unbalance - Love

Voltron (80s)

Keith/Lance

Jealousy

Oh heavens I am now, somehow, finally done!

I’ve left out a lot - any pieces that are completed and through edits but not posted, like, say, a lot of the things for Events next month; also anything I’ll likely never finish for various reasons.

Please do ask me about something(s) here if it interests you? I’d love to talk about stuff and heck, this meme already reminded me of one nearly-finished story I’d completely forgotten about. . .

[samswinchesters]

bruhl anon: bruhl look alike posted a new selfie and he has a bowl cut and i hate that it looks cute on him. i’ve never seen a man work a bowl cut. also my friend was looking at the magicians tiktok and messaged me that he likes a certain series millennials just can’t get over and i am like. i can fix him. and she said “he’s a smoker” 🤨 girl are you trying to tell me something. (this is the friend who said we don’t cry over men) and like i don’t think she realizes i established that if i regularly take my allergy pills (which i am supposed to do) i can be around smoke plus my cousins hot friend smokes too. as well as my cousin. also i was out with my cousin today and a hot alt (like the goths) employee was flirting with her (he thought she was an mlm) and she doesn’t like cis men unless they’re feminine meanwhile i was next to her like “PLEASE can the guy wearing a spiked collar flirt with me” and then another cute employee who was a girl wearing a black turtleneck little witch hat and pumpkin orange bell bottoms told us “you guys are so cute” and turned too fast for me to realize she meant she thought we were a couple and couldn’t correct her. while my cousin and i were roasting each other because we said out of our family our taste is like castlevania or the addams family and then she said “and you’re uncle fester” and i said i can’t tell her she’s wrong then she said “i’m a mix of morticia and gomez” and i told her “you’re wrong because we’re both fester” and if that girl heard us but not the part about us being family she heard us calling each other uncle fester and thought we were a cute couple.

bruhl anon: halloween edition!! naurrr, if somebody has a bowl cut AND makes it work, now THAT is somebody you need to hold near and dear to your heart. omg allergy buddies <33 got a plethora of allergies and it's like "but as long as i manage it i should be fine!" let's GOOOO. AJSKDAJSKLDJKSLA ONCE AGAIN THE WHOLE COUPLE THING HAPPENS BYEEEE. omfg screammm nobody can claim morticia nor gomez those standards are simply too high. ngl, uncle fester a funky character own it <33 helpppp, if she was eavesdropping and if she heard the ENTIRE conversation, yet...y'know what, the world is strange

[squimp]

im so glad ppl are getting back into castlevania ;__; its so near and dear to my heart i love seeing content abt it on my dash