#e3 e3 2021

[lifewithaview]

Kate Winslet and Evan Peters in Mare of Easttown (2021) Enter Number Two

E3

As Mare and Colin parse new physical evidence, phone records lead to an unlikely suspect. After lashing out at Helen about a possible custody fight over Drew, Mare receives some unprompted advice from Richard on how to move forward with Carrie. Later, Kenny and Mare face the consequences of their misguided attempts to protect their families.

*Although this episode takes place in January/February, autumn leaves are shown on the trees when the trees should be bare.

[the-iron-fjord]

RIP E3, I'll never forget the times I would post about you on this stinky website.

[microprokey0]

🎃 Halloween Special Offer! 🎃

Unlock the power of Office 365 Enterprise E3 this Halloween season with an exclusive 30% OFF! Whether you need powerful tools for business or personal use, Microprokey has you covered with genuine Microsoft licenses. Don’t miss out on this spook-tacular deal!

👻 Shop Now: https://microprokey.com/microsoft-office/office-365-microsoft-office/

🧙‍♂️ Use coupon code: GET30 at checkout!

#HalloweenDeals #Office365EnterpriseE3 #Microprokey #MicrosoftOffice #LimitedTimeOffer #DigitalKeys #BusinessSolutions #GenuineSoftware #HalloweenSavings

[foodandfriends]

YĪN YĪN - The Rabbit That Hunts Tigers

decently interesting. at times it got a little too video game trailer music for me though

[wyllzel]

SUCCESSION (2018-2023) S3 E3 / CHALLENGERS (2024) / ARCANE (2021-2024) S2 E1

[rogloptimist]

dream within a dream // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel

rewatched inception last night and when mal opened her mouth my rpf rotted brain began to scream (credits under cut as usual)

wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - UCI World Championships Cyclocross Tabor 2015 (kristof ramon) // van aert & van der poel: a rivalry for the ages - bicycle club, 2021 // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - koksijde cyclocross world championships (getty images, 2012) // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - hoogerheide cyclocross world championships (cor vos, 2014) // Opinion: Mathieu van der Poel firmly grasps legend status with second Paris-Roubaix victory - tom thewlis, 2024 // Gallery: Wout van Aert enters folklore with Mont Ventoux victory - joe robinson, 2021 // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - ostend cyclocross world championships (paul brett, 2021) // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - e3 saxo classic (david pintens, 2023) // The van der Poel-van Aert rivalry: “It’s impossible for us to be friends” - peter cossins, 2023 // Van der Poel in tears after ‘biggest disappointment’ of his career - CTT, 2017 // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - e3 saxo classic (tim de waele, 2023) // wout van aert and mathieu van der poel - hoogerheide cyclocross world championships (getty images, 2023) // 

[hannahwatcheshorror]

SEASON ONE RECAP

e1- Pilot - Our first episode is a doozy, we flip back and forth between 1996 and 2021 as we learn about the Yellowjackets girls soccer team that went down in a plane crash and what the survivors are doing today. We learn Shauna was sleeping with her best friend Jackie's boyfriend which is a big bummer (they even end up married). We also find out that the equipment manager Misty took part in some of the killing and cannibalism that took place at the top of the episode and that is why Adult Natalie is after her. Adult Shauna and Taissa meet up to discuss the nosey reporter who is asking about their story and how damning that could be for them.

e2- F Sharp - This episode shows us what happens directly after the plane crash and how the girls handle things. Adult Shauna works on her relationship with her husband who might be cheating on her while Taissa is having problems with her son. Adult Nat doesn't kill Misty but instead gets information from her and now they are road tripping to meet up with Travis. We find out that Misty was so thrilled to be useful in the forest that she destroyed the plane's black box that would help rescuers find the team! Oh no!

e3- The Dollhouse - The universe seems to be pulling Adult Shauna to a mysterious yet charming man named Adam as she works to discover if her own husband is cheating on her. Adult Nat and Misty get into trouble breaking into Travis’ house and we find out he and Nat used to date. Adult Taissa continues to have problems with her somewhat creepy son and back in the past the girls find a lake and a spooky cabin where Taissa and Lottie find a dead body in the attic. We find out the reporter is actually a private detective for Taissa. Adult Shauna takes Adam into a hotel room after seeing her husband walk out with a hot blonde and Travis is found dead! Oh no!

e4- Bear Down - The lost girls find out who the best shot is and surprise, surprise it is Natalie! Though there might be some history with her and guns… (Her and her father) Meanwhile Adult Nat goes on a bit of a date with her old friend Kevyn who is now a police officer. Young Nat and Travis hunt for deer and are able to feed the team while Misty keeps being creepy to Coach. Adult Shauna is getting closer and closer with Adam and Taissa is having more and more trouble with her campaign. Adult Nat is being low key stalked by both Misty and the reporter lady but which is worse? Also Kevyn is going to help find out more info on dead Travis.

e5- Blood Hive - All the girls in the cabin have synced up but Shauna who might be in the early stages of pregnancy (with Jeff’s baby?)? Oh me oh my! Jackie is having a hard time finding out what she is good at in this new post-crash world they are living in. Adult Shauna is caught by her daughter out with Adam but she should keep the secret under wraps. The girls in the cabin do a little seance which had unintended consequences and Misty snuggles up to Coach who tricks her into thinking he likes her right back but just won't act on it. More mischievous things are going down in 2021 with the symbol and our strange threatening party but the adult survivors aren't quite sure what to make of it yet.

e6- Saints - We have another wild one here, Lottie seems to have been having visions since she was a little girl and she is trying to deal with them as they are flooding her brain in the woods (and coming true). The Adult Survivors meet up to discuss the bounty on their heads and what they are going to do about it, Misty is left out of the lurch but she is creeping for sure. Shauna is scared that the other girls are going to find out she is pregnant while Taissa is worried the other girls will find out she is gay and dating Vanessa. Food is scarce so Taissa makes the bold choice to say she will leave the cabin to look for help. Adult Shauna struggles with the absence of Jackie and thinks she's connecting well with her husband, Jeff, before he has to "work late again." Adult Nat and Kevyn hook up, Taissa eats more dirt, and Misty kidnaps our star reporter.

e7- No Compass - Taissa wants to start a search party of her own to see if she can't find the team help but the team isn't so sure it is a good idea. Adult Taissa, Natalie, and Shauna meet up to give their blackmailer money but also try to hunt down the guy, to no avail. Adult Misty still has her captive in the basement and is creeping on Natalie something fierce. Shauna finally admits to Jackie that she is pregnant but lies about who the father is, Jackie later reads Shauna's diary and finds out the truth. Adult Shauna brings Adam into her home, almost exposing him to her husband, while Nat and Kevyn break up over official gun usage. The search party gets attacked by wolves and Vanessa is hurt badly.

e8- Flight of the Bumblebee - Vanessa is alive! But she is badly injured by the wolves so the search party needs to head back to the cabin for some serious first aid. Adult Misty stops Natalie from doing coke by doing her coke (lol). Adult Taissa confides in Shauna about her sleepwalking being back and rampant so Shauna invites her over for a sleepover! Natalie and Travis get into a fight about one of the boys she has slept with before. After a good night's sleep, Adult Taissa finally admits to her wife that she is losing her mind and Shauna figures that Adam is the blackmailer! Back at the cabin Laura Lee is set on flying the little plane to go get help, but this hope is short lived before the plane catches fire and explodes with Laura Lee inside. 

e9- Doomcoming - Adult Shauna stabs Adam to death before getting any information from him because she is sure he is the blackmailer and only is after her since she is a Yellowjacket. Turns out Adult Shauna's own husband was the blackmailer, that is why she wasn't included in the threats! The girls at the cabin decide to have a little middle of the woods Homecoming and Misty spikes the stew with mushrooms! Jackie has her sights set on Travis to take her virginity and poor Travis has no idea what is going on because of the ‘shrooms (he even admits to being in love with Natalie before doing the do with Jackie). Adult Shauna finally comes clean to her hubby about everything and he is surprisingly cool about it all, even offering to take the fall for dead Adam. Instead they pretend to Adult Taissa and Natalie that Adam was in fact the blackmailer and that is why Shauna killed him. Now the survivors have the problem of getting rid of a body, so they call upon Adult Misty who is just so happy to be thought about! While high on the ‘shrooms the girls hunt and almost kill Travis, Javi runs away.

e10- Sic Transit Gloria Mundi - Adult Misty seems to do a good job disposing of the body (other than later in the episode when a missing person report is put out for him, oh no). The Adult survivors are not a huge fan of the limelight they receive at their 25th high school reunion. Travis and Natalie look for Javi in the woods but also make up and Travis admits he loves her, it is sweet. Adult Taissa wins her political campaign to be a Senator for New Jersey while her wife finds the effigy she has made with the dead dog at home, ew! The team airs out a lot of its grievances on Jackie which results in her sleeping outside? A harsh punishment indeed and it results in her straight up dying because there is the first snow. Adult Misty takes care of the nosey reporter for good. Adult Nat, convinced Travis did kill himself, is about to do the same but she gets her room broken into by a mysterious gang touting the symbol.

SEASON TWO RECAP

----------------------HANNAH WATCHES HORROR---------------------

[inadequate-nefelibata]

I'm sorry about the way I acted. That's okay. Addicts always hurt the ones they love.

Deborah & DJ Vance in HACKS (2021) ∙ S3.E3: "The Roast of Deborah Vance"

[sometime-in-1995]

Buck: *proceeds to be confused*

yaaaa'll TK already called it in at 911: Lonestar S2:E3 x 911 S4:E3 (2021) ✨🌈

[demilypyro]

At what point in time did you see a giant hammer and go “yeah, that’s my main.”

Monster Hunter: World is a 2018 action role-playing game developed and published by Capcom. The fifth mainline installment in the Monster Hunter series, it was released worldwide for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in January 2018, with a Windows version following in August 2018. In the game, the player takes the role of a Hunter, tasked to hunt down and either kill or trap monsters that roam in one of several environmental spaces. If successful, the player is rewarded through loot consisting of parts from the monster and other elements that are used to craft weapons and armor, amongst other equipment. The game's core loop has the player crafting appropriate gear to be able to hunt down more difficult monsters, which in turn provide parts that lead to more powerful gear. Players may hunt alone or in a group of up to four players via the game's online multiplayer.

Announced at E3 2017, Monster Hunter: World adopts the series' standard formulas from its older home console roots and recent handheld games to take advantage of the higher processing power provided by modern consoles and computers. Changes made in Monster Hunter: World include creating environmental spaces that are fully connected and removing the "zones" that were necessary for the PlayStation 2 and handheld games, more advanced monster artificial intelligence and physics, a more persistent cooperative multiplayer experience, and a refinement of the game's tutorials and user interface to help with bringing new players into the series. These changes led Capcom to plan for the game's simultaneous release worldwide, since Monster Hunter as a series has generally languished outside of Japan partially due to disparate release schedules. Capcom also opted to support online play between these different geographic regions for similar reasons. The delay for the Windows release was attributed to Capcom seeking to make sure its first foray into the Windows market was optimized for players on computers. By April 2020, updates to the game were synchronized among all platforms.

Monster Hunter: World received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising how Capcom was able to make the game more accessible to new players and to Western markets, without detracting from the series' core gameplay elements and enjoyable difficulty, and fully taking advantage of the computational capacity of modern consoles to create living ecosystems, with some even calling it the best in the franchise. Monster Hunter: World is the single highest-selling game in Capcom's history, with over 21 million copies shipped by July 2022. A DLC expansion pack, subtitled Iceborne, was released for home consoles in September 2019 and for Windows in January 2020, and reached 10 million sales by December 2022. The next mainline installment, Monster Hunter Rise, was co-developed alongside World and announced for a worldwide release on Nintendo Switch in March 2021, with a Windows version released the following year.

[smashy-headcanons]

About the theoretical next Smash- one of the only reasons I'm personally against another one...at least this soon is that I think Sakurai deserves a break from working on them. Like as soon as the DLC for Smash 4 was fully announced he was already working on Ultimate...which is absolutely insane. And I do specify Sakurai cuz someone (I don't remember who said it...it could've been himself) said Smash without him running things was very very unlikely. It's also because of this that I'm honestly super relieved that the project he'd been hinting at on his YouTube channel (the same one where he shows off his cat...other than that, it's all about developing games.) was a new Kirby Air Ride. (Also I love Air Ride on the GameCube and I'm glad this game is getting attention.) Though...I do wish there was some sort of news of a new Kid Icarus game, no matter what that means.

That's something I did think about that I hesitated to mention for fear of sounding parasocial or w/e but. yeah Smash Bros. has had an Ugly past on the development side of things. Like, to the point that Sakurai said he learned there would be a Super Smash Bros. Brawl the same time the public did, at E3.

Also worth mentioning is that Ultimate released only two years after the Smash 4 DLC wrapped up, which was another ~2 years after Smash 4 released (which came out as two versions, for 3DS and for Wii U), not to mention that Ultimate's DLC only wrapped up in 2021. That's a lot of Smash Bros. basically back-to-back. Even if we're only considering base releases, Ultimate came out only four years after Smash 4. (For added context, Melee came out around 3 years after Smash 64.)

So yeah, a break is definitely needed. That's kinda why the "it sells too well not to make a new one" argument drives me up the wall. Being logical from a business standpoint doesn't change the fact that the circumstances leading to it happen to be shitty.

While a new Kid Icarus would be nice someday, I am excited for Kirby Air Riders (because iirc Kirby Air Ride was Sakurai's last Kirby game before he left HAL).

[raymantogether]

Rayman Together Community Spotlight #2 - Rabbid Edge!

Foreword:

If you haven't already played Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle or Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, the game was published by Ubisoft exclusively for Nintendo Switch and is an action-adventure turn-based strategy game developed by Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris. Prior to the Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle reveal at E3 2017, the game surfaced online and was met with criticism and skepticism from the wider gaming community. The artwork leaked online depicted Mario and friends alongside their Rabbid counterparts with large blasters. The prospect of Mario with the Rabbids was a nightmare for a lot of people. Following the success of Rayman Raving Rabbids, the Rabbids had slowly declined in popularity. The Rabbids were annoying and boring and had lost their humor. Nintendo, who have strongly held their licenses for Mario, has rarely ever collaborated with other videogame companies. Furthermore, Nintendo has always encouraged a family-friendly and positive environment. The prospect of Mario with weapons was alien to a lot of people. Ubisoft finally revealed Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle at E3 2017; the game went on to become a huge success. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle was released on August 29th, 2017 and went on to sell over 10 million copies in over six years. A sequel, Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope, was revealed at E3 2021 and released on October 20th, 2022. Despite the game initially not exceeding Ubisoft sales expectations, the game went on to sell over three million as of January 2024. This was another remarkable success for the teams at Ubisoft Milan and Paris. Both games were well received and were critically acclaimed. 

If you haven't already, I implore you to pick up both games. The Mario + Rabbids series is personally one of the most refreshing titles from Ubisoft in a generation. The game oozes personality and charm thanks to its charismatic and energetic character design and animations. The soundtracks for both games are composed by the amazing Grant Kirkhope, who is responsible for some of the most creative music in the industry. Needn't I say more? The world design is intricate, creative, and a real pleasure to explore. I thoroughly enjoyed the heartfelt, exciting, and fun story, which gripped me from beginning to end in both stories. The development teams did a remarkable job of capturing both the look and personality from the worlds of both the Rabbids and Mario and bringing it to life. The game is gorgeous thanks to the Snowdrop Engine, which has been executed brilliantly on the Nintendo Switch. Ubisoft has somehow managed to compliment Mario with the Rabbids extraordinarily well. This is something I never imagined possible. Both games are very similar to those of the XCOM and Fire Emblem series. I love strategy games, and I have sunk hours into both titles. I found the gameplay rewarding, clever, and at times a real challenge for tacticians. There are plenty of creative options with gameplay thanks to various choices of weapons, skills, and characters. The gameplay possibilities are endless. My favorite game in the series is definitely Mario Rabbids Sparks of Hope, as it offers so much more opportunities for world-building and exploration. The game allows for more creative gameplay choices through movement and freedom of choice, including the addition of the Sparks. However, the most important reason Sparks of Hope is my favorite game in the series is because Ubisoft Milan brought back Rayman. 

At Ubisoft Forward in 2022 Ubisoft Milan Creative Director Davide Soliani revealed to the World their plan to bring back Rayman as part of the season pass for Mario Rabbids Sparks Of Hope. The third story expansion called Rayman In The Phantom Show released on August 30th 2023. The DLC stars Rayman alongside Rabbid Mario and Rabbid Peach as they are invited to the mysterious Space Opera Network by the fan favourite villain the Phantom. The Phantom who has renounced his villainy for fame needs help from Rayman and the Rabbids to help restore the poor ratings and viewings to his TV Space Station.  Rayman, Rabbid Peach And Rabbid Mario adventure across Western, Pirate and Medieval sets as part of the Phantoms ambitious plan for revenge. The team at Ubisoft did an extraordinary job of bring back Rayman to life. Rayman has never looked and felt so alive. You get a real sense that Ubisoft Milan and Ubisoft Paris love Rayman from this short but jam packed adventure. Rayman In The Phantom Show pays tribute to the Rayman series through acknowledgement of his almost 30 Year history. In every stage you can find card board references from various Rayman Games. The combat fatigues  from Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc make a spectacular return with Rayman offering plenty of gameplay variety on the battlefield. Both the vortex and rocket costumes look better then ever and are brilliant both in design and how you can use them. The weapons are crafted with plenty of attention to detail with references in design to Ly The Fairy, Teensies, Rayman Raving Rabbids and more. I particularly am fond of the plum turrets. If Nintendo ever work collaborate with Ubisoft again I would love to see Rayman in Super Smash Bros with the Plum Turrets. The soundtrack for the DLC Is composed by Grant Kirkhope and Christopher Heral. The genius Christopher Heral responsible for both soundtracks for Rayman Origins and Legends returns for Rayman In The Phantom Show. If you listen closely you can hear brilliant renditions from various games. David Gasman also reprises his role in Rayman In The Phantom Show. If you have played the earlier Rayman games you will be familiar of his work. I thoroughly enjoyed this DLC and it has left me with wanting so much more. I would love to see Ubisoft Milan work on Rayman again in the future. If you're new to the series or a Rayman fan and have liked everything you have read so far I strongly encourage you to pick up Mario Rabbids Kingdom Battle and Sparks Of Hope including the season pass. 

Interview:

To celebrate both Rayman's 29th anniversary this weekend and the anniversary of Mario + Rabbids Sparks Of Hope DLC Rayman In The Phantom Show, I am delighted to feature Anna as part of this special community spotlight.

You may know Anna as RabbidEdge from both the Rayman and the Mario Rabbids community. Anna is an extremely passionate, kind, and caring individual with a yearning to help create a positive environment in the community. Anna is renowned for her creative cosplays of Rabbid Edge, Rayman, and more. Anna enjoys creating artwork and has a passion for telling stories. I am delighted to feature and show you more about Anna in this brilliant and really insightful spotlight.

Anna has been extremely open and honest about some very serious and sensitive subjects in this spotlight about her personal health and wellbeing. I encourage you all to be polite and respectful. 

Please introduce yourself:

"Hi everyone, My name's Anna. I am 37 years old (but I've never lost my inner child) and living with my husband, our four kids, three cats, and nine chickens in a village in Austria. I am working as a pharmacist, enjoying helping people every day. Last year I started two new hobbies: cosplaying and drawing digitally. Since that, I am also sharing my creations on social media like Instagram, X, or Tumblr."

Tell us something funny or interesting about yourself?

"I have always been a very creative, extroverted, and energetic person. Even as a child, I loved to draw, invent stories or songs, and to tape-record them together with friends or to play little theater sketches for our families. Many times we dressed up as our favorite anime- or video game characters, singers, or just some elves or Vikings. I wouldn´t call it cosplay, and most costumes were just a mix of old fancy dresses and things we found in the wardrobe of our grandparents, but we always had a lot of fun, and my heart is warming with joy when I think about these times... However, things change, life happens, and so having babies, a house, and animals had kept me quite busy (but happy!) for almost 9 years. I had lost my former self somewhere between household, work, and trying the best to be a good mom. Then came Edge.."

How do you like to spend your free time?

"Free time—what's that? Haha! I don't know this, for I always have a lot on my plate! But I think, you mean the time when I am not at work or busy with mom-duties. I am spending most of these hours crafting and sewing new cosplays or improving old ones, shooting them in various sceneries, editing the photos and videos I took for my social media, doodling and drawing Rabbids-stuff, posting my finished work and stories on Instagram, X and co, replying to dms and comments or supporting other artists.

Furthermore, I am a very active person, feeling the need to exercise every day or to at least go for a walk or ride my bike. Music is also a very important part of my life! I enjoy listening to it while I am doing a workout or working on a drawing.

Music inspires me! When I look at my art or cosplay- pictures, I immediately remember the song that brought me into the mood for its creation, that I listened to during the process, or that I used in my Instagram stories for its posting. I am also singing in a choir, by the way.

There is much more I would love to do, like playing video games or reading. The only problem is that my days only have 24 hours. I used to say that I am living two lives with the time of just one."

What made you fall in love with the Mario Rabbid Series?

"To be honest, it was my oldest daughter! She has never been interested in TV shows for kids like Paw Patrol, etc. Instead, she likes to watch game streams on YouTube, and there she discovered Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope. She enjoyed watching these streams so much that she wanted to play the game herself, so she got it as a gift on St. Nicholas Day in 2022. However, it was quite challenging for her, and so my husband started to play it with our kids and me watching him. I can remember that I always did my workout on a fitness mat on the floor while he was playing, and it was quite entertaining to watch him! I was surprised by the cute designs of the characters and levels and by its unique gameplay, which is totally different from other games I had played before—and really addictive! So we often ended up playing till late at night, saying “Just one more battle!” again and again. Even if I hadn't played the game myself at the beginning, I already loved it! Oh, and then came Edge...and made my love for this game and Mario+Rabbids in general go through the roof! I couldn´t think about anything else than Edge and Rabbids the whole day long! I started to play myself, always having Edge as the leader of my team, searched for fan art and fan fiction, and slowly stumbled into the fandom. Oh, and I still play Sparks of Hope when I find time for it! I consider this game a real masterpiece! Ubisoft poured so much love into every detail! I love everything about it, from the backstory to the funny voice-lines or to the amazing soundtrack! And I enjoy the “found-family" dynamics of the hero team so much, OMG!!! With this game, Ubisoft managed to make me fall in love with Rabbids, not only with Edge but with Rabbids in general."

What is your favorite Mario Rabbids game, and who is your favorite character?

"That's quite a simple question to answer. Of course, to be honest, I haven't played Mario+Rabbids: Kingdom Battle yet. Shame on me! I already have the game at home, but all the time I thought about starting it, I ended up playing Sparks of Hope instead. Of course I wanted to see my beloved Edge.

Furthermore, Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope will always have a special meaning for me, as it distracted me from health problems that were bothering me a lot at this time. At the beginning of December 2022, I had to wait for a medical appointment in order to check if I would suffer from cancer. I tried to not let the possibility of receiving a bad diagnosis overwhelm me—something easier said than done. So watching and playing Sparks of Hope with my family made me forget this sorrow for a moment. It cheered me up in a difficult time of my life. As I one evening found myself thinking about what I would want to do before death, if I would have just some months left to live, I realized that I wouldn't want to go on a big journey or party hard or so. Instead, I would want to spend the last moments with my family, doing what we already did every evening—sitting and playing together. This thought made me feel calm and peaceful, blessed and grateful. So Sparks of Hope became for me what its name promises: a spark of hope. With that, it will always be my favorite Mario+Rabbids game!

However, I am sure that Kingdom Battle is a great game as well! I have only heard good things about it, and I am familiar with its characters and plot. I finally need to get into it myself...

Oh, and my favorite character is- surprise, surprise—Edge! But to be honest, I like them all! No matter if it's Rabbid Peach, Bwario, Kanya, or Rayman. I couldn't pick a single character of the series that I totally couldn't stand."

What made you fall in love so much with Rabbid Edge, and what is your inspiration behind your artwork and comic series?

"I have to laugh at this question; of course I could fill a whole book with this answer! Haha! I will try to be brief. I can remember the first time I saw Edge. It was in December 2022 as I watched my husband play Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope—the well-known cutscene of her first appearance. God, just thinking about it makes me shiver in excitement! This epic scene instantly made me fall in love with her! It was as if Ubisoft had poured all the characteristics that make my heart flutter into this little rabbit! To explain this further: I am a sucker for mysterious characters, which hide a kind heart behind their badass attitude. I love mighty swords, spiky hair, sharp teeth, gothic clothes, the colors green and purple, and deep, striking voices. On top of all, give that character a dark backstory, and I am hooked! The combination of these attributes made me fall for Edge. I couldn't help it! Neither have I chosen to feel this way nor have I ever thought that it would be possible to develop true love for a fictional character! However, I thought the best thing would be to welcome these beautiful feelings and to make full use of this newfound energy. So I started to work on the art of Edge and different scenes of the game, including a comic about her tragic past and the battle against Cursa.

I also wanted to dress up as Edge for the carnival  but found out that there isn't any costume of her or Rabbids in general. This was when I decided to sew one myself. With that, my cosplay journey began. I thought that if no one has ever made a cosplay of Edge before, I had to be the one to bring her to life, even if I had no idea what I was doing. Looking at the first photos I took of her makes me smile. Some look really funny and weird, but I can remember how strong, confident, and sexy I felt in these moments. And hey, every journey has to start with a first step! Since then, I have learned a lot. I have improved my skills, bought more tools and materials, worked over my cosplay again and again, altered and exchanged parts, and developed this alter ego of Rabbid Edge for me and my social media. Still, I am quite a newbie, and there is always room for improvement!

I am so grateful that I got to know Edge; of course she made me find myself again and, at the same time, discover another me. She made me feel like more than just a mom again. She made me feel attractive and love my body again. She made me get creative and go wild and crazy. She made me play again; she made me dream again and go far beyond my imagination! And she made me get to know so many new amazing people! I owe her so much. I owe Ubisoft so much! I feel so grateful and full of love that I would want to hug everyone of my followers and of the great people that worked on Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope!

The main inspiration for my work comes from the game itself, for it provides a quite mature and exciting backstory and interesting characters but leaves room for further assumptions and interpretation. But of course official concept art, headcanons, and drawings of other fans inspire me a lot too! And sometimes a new idea comes to my mind while I am on a walk or listening to music."

If you could live in any world from the Mario Rabbids Series, where would you live?

"I would choose Melodic Gardens! I love its biome with the tropical forest, exotic flowers, and the flooded ruins. Everything looks so beautiful and mystical. Furthermore, I like the cute and peaceful Rabbids, that live here and the symphonies that fill the air of this planet. And I would love to meet Allegra! She is so cute and majestic."

Who would be at your dream Mario Rabbids Party?

"Wow, it's really hard to select three out of all the great characters, but I think I would take Edge, Rayman, and Rabbid Peach. Edge, course she's Edge, hey! Rayman, course he is my childhood hero, who—together with Super Mario—made me start to play video games, and Rabbid Peach, course she is sassy and crazy, and course I always need a healer in my party!"

What made you fall in love with the Rayman series?

"You have to know that I grew up loving Rayman! He was my childhood hero! For my ten-year-old me, Rayman was cool, Rayman was fun, and Rayman was Ubisoft.

As I was a little kid, my family had no computer or game console. My brother and I knew video games just from our cousins or neighbors. I can remember how we often bought gaming magazines and looked at them, wishing that we were able to play these games ourselves. And when there was something of Rayman in it, we went, Ah, look, Rayman, so cool!!! He somehow fascinated us. At the age of 9, we got a Game Boy for Christmas; at the age of 12, a Dreamcast. This was a dream come true for us! There was a demo disc coming with it that also had a demo of Rayman 2 on it. We immediately played and loved it! I don't know how many times we played this demo! It must have been a few hundred times or so! One day we received the full version of the game, and from this time on, Rayman accompanied us nearly every day. We played it again and again! I can remember that I even had a crush on Rayman! I loved his cool attitude, his crazy hair, and his voice. I drew him a lot, wrote songs about him, and even dressed up as him—just for fun. Later we also played the Rayman Game Boy Color Game and Rayman 3, as an adult also Rayman M, Rayman Raving Rabbids, Rayman Origins, and Rayman Legends. 

But Rayman also has a deeper meaning for my brother and me. Our childhood wasn't easy. We have experienced things that no kid, no one should ever witness. Rayman, and playing games in general, helped us to escape from reality, when there was only fear and violence waiting for us. I can remember that we had so much fun and laughed a lot despite the difficult circumstances we were raised under. Rayman and Ubisoft distracted us, were there for us, when there was no light in real life...Last year I thanked the people of Ubisoft Milan for this. I thanked them for having always been there for me for nearly all my life.

Today I am a happy and positive person. I have reached everything I ever wanted. I have learned to make the best of every situation, no matter how bad it may seem. I have learned that everything happens for a reason, even if we cannot understand it in a certain moment. This is why I am not sad or angry about the things that happened to me as a child. I am grateful; of course, all these things made me become the person I am today.

However, when I think about my tragic past, I realize that I may have more in common with Edge than I'd like. I feel connected with her. I understand her. I feel her."

What is your favorite cosplay you have designed?

"This is a difficult question. Of course, every cosplay I have made so far has aspects I like but also something I dislike, and there are various ways to rate them. I would say that the cosplays I enjoy to wear the most—or I “am feeling” the most—are definitely Edge and Kanya. When I dress up as them, I am really becoming the character! I look into the mirror and think,Yeah, baby!” But considering my craftsmanship skills, I think Barbara from Rayman Legends is my best cosplay so far. As a cosplay newbie, I am still learning and improving. Therefore, I am also working over my older cosplays again and again. I have changed Edge's wig so many times, I have stopped counting. And soon I want to do the fourth sword for her. Edge will always be my number one!

I am also happy that I managed to do a Rayman (and Ramon) cosplay! It´s for sure not perfect, and I have to work over the photos with Photoshop to remove my limbs, but dressing up as him makes my inner child scream with joy!

Furthermore, the “play" factor in “cosplay” is very important for me! I don´t just buy cosplays, put them on, take a photo, and toss them away again. I love to bring my characters to life, to think about how they would act and talk, and to cosplay them in alternative outfits and different situations, like the wedding of Edge and Midnite or my Christmas- or Easter-shooting."

What cosplays are you planning on in the future?

"I am currently working on a new project: I am creating my own protogen and therefore sewing a fursuit. It's not really cosplay; of course it won't be a certain character. I'd rather call it a fursona or OC. But I am excited to work on it; of course it is something totally different from what I have done so far, and I think it will look really cool in the end!

Despite that, I want to make a cosplay of Hiiragi Utena from the anime “Gushing over Magical Girls." I have already bought the fabric for it.

Furthermore, the idea of making a Cursa-cosplay (Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope) won't go out of my mind! I would love to create a sensual version of her true form, wearing a long cloak and her white mask, but maybe also showing some skin... Yeah, I think I will have to get this one started next...

And of course I will always work on further Edge content! I will improve parts of her cosplay, and I will think of new outfits and shootings. I already have a special scenery in mind; I want to shoot in autumn."

Tell us about your time at Ubisoft Milan.

"Last year in September I was granted to meet my beloved Edge—or better—the amazing artists and creators of Mario+Rabbids: Sparks of Hope at Ubisoft Milan. It was a dream come true for me! After enjoying their games and admiring their work for so long, I was finally able to hug them and thank them for everything they have gifted us players so far. I still can't believe how lucky I was! My visit there was a blast in every way! I was able to take a look at the “holy halls," to shake hands with all these kind people I had known only from social media or the credits of their games, and to get to know more about Edge's creation and her backstory. Furthermore, we had lunch together, took a lot of cool and funny photos, and talked about the hard work in the gaming industry, my cosplay work, but also private things. And as if this hadn´t been enough, I received many gifts, like the art book or Spark-plushies for my kids and special drawings that were made for me during my visit.

I have to admit that before my visit I had been very excited! But everyone was so nice, polite, and cute! I felt like meeting and talking to long-known friends. The fear was gone, and laughter and joy filled the air. They welcomed me so heartily, and I immediately felt comfortable among these amazing people. I am so grateful that for this unique moment I was granted to be part of their "family." I will keep the memories of my visit as an eternal treasure in my heart."

Thank you so much, Anna, for being a part of the Rayman Together community spotlight. It was amazing to read about yourself and discover more about you. If you are interested in finding out more about Anna, I have included links to her social media account below. Please follow and support her.

[lulu2992]

For those of you who are curious about this, here’s all the data I gathered for the counter I made:

Far Cry was first introduced as a demo at E3 2002, which started on May 22, and was released 671 days later, on March 23, 2004.

Far Cry Instincts was announced only 15 days after the release of Far Cry, on April 7, 2004, and came out 538 days after that, on September 27, 2005.

Far Cry Instincts: Evolution and Far Cry Instincts: Predator were announced and released together, on January 11, 2006, so 106 days after Far Cry Instincts came out, and on March 28, 2006, so 76 days after their announcement.

Far Cry Vengeance was announced 128 days after that, on August 3, 2006, and it took 131 more days for it to come out, on December 12, 2006.

Far Cry 2 was announced on July 19, 2007, 219 days after the release of Vengeance, and came out 460 days later, on October 21, 2008.

Far Cry 3 was announced at E3 2011 during the Ubisoft conference on June 7, so 959 days after the release of its predecessor, which is the longest time so far! Then, it came out 541 days later, on November 29, 2012.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon was announced 123 days later, on April 1st, 2013 (genius move), and released only 29 days after that, on April 30, 2013.

Far Cry 4 was officially revealed on social media on May 15, 2014, 380 days after Blood Dragon became available, and came out on November 18, 2014, 187 days later.

Far Cry Primal was announced 322 days after that with a trailer on October 6, 2015, and it took 140 more days for it to come out, on February 23, 2016.

Far Cry 5 was first introduced with a series of teaser trailers posted on May 22, 2017, so 454 days after Primal, and finally came out 309 days later, on March 27, 2018.

Far Cry New Dawn was revealed via a short video posted on social media on December 5, 2018, 253 days after the release of its predecessor, and was available only 72 days later, on February 15, 2019.

Far Cry 6 was officially introduced on July 10, 2020, shortly before the Ubisoft Forward livestream and 511 days after New Dawn came out. The game was initially scheduled to come out in February but had to be delayed, partly because of the pandemic, and was eventually released on October 7, 2021, 454 days after its announcement.

The last Far Cry 6 expansion, Lost Between World, was made available on December 6, 2022, 425 days after the release of the main game. Since that day, there hasn’t been any official announcement regarding the next Far Cry game.

I was also wondering how many days there were between the release dates of all the main games in the franchise. The answer is:

1,673 days between Far Cry and Far Cry 2

1,502 days between Far Cry 2 and Far Cry 3

719 days between Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4

1,225 days between Far Cry 4 and Far Cry 5

1,290 days between Far Cry 5 and Far Cry 6

[dk-thrive]

It's undignified to hold onto the sleeve of someone who wants to leave.

— Freja (Sofie Grabol), "Us" S1:E3 (2020-2021)

[rabidrodent]

In a surprise move of "huh?" and "now?" and "really?" and "why?", Cup Noodle just put out a new commercial based on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron... the obscure PS3/360 game from nearly 15 years ago.

(A history below...)

At E3 2010, a peculiar game trailer dropped, free from either Sony or Microsoft's big stage shows. It featured vague narration from a snazzily-dressed deep-voiced man, and gladiator combat from a seemingly airheaded prettyboy protagonist. It was barely comprehensible, but I suppose that was also its appeal...

For reasons beyond my comprehension, this trailer absolutely took off in Japan's internet culture, becoming a huge meme on Nicovideo, spawning numerous parody and remix videos.

This one was an old fave of mine, mashing up the trailer with a famous Puyo Puyo song. Also it loops endlessly, so you never have to stop watching.

There was even a goofy no-budget live-action remake of the trailer that's hit 1.5 million views...

El Shaddai eventually launched the following year in 2011. However, despite its early meme status, the game flew criminally under the radar. While it wasn't exactly a flop, and reviewed reasonably well, it just didn't quite leave the impact it probably should've.

Which is a shame, because it was one of the few genuinely ~artfully crafted~ big-shelf games for the big-boy consoles of the era. It donned a painterly style, using pseudo-cel-shading with pastel colors and a watercolor look. The story is esoteric, the environments are abstract. And it even dared to be a bit flamboyant! Wow.

It was essentially the polar opposite of where gaming culture was at the time. And as someone who was completely disillusioned with the direction games were going in that generation, it was one of the few games I really wished I could play. But unfortunately I couldn't...

...UNTIL...!!!

In 2021, a strange miracle happened. A surprise remaster of the game launched on Steam. It too seems to have flown under the radar. But it's still there, still buyable, still playable. And the port seems to be good.

A Switch version also exists if you're so inclined.

So do y'wanna talk about "hidden gems"?? Here's your PS3/360 hidden gem!! And it's available right now, on modern platforms, running well, with no strings attached!

Did I mention it was directed by a character designer who worked on Okami and Devil May Cry? Does that pique your interest yet??

Let's right the wrongs of the past!! It's finally El Shaddai's time to shine!! MONDAI NAI!!!

[foodandfriends]

im constantly making reference to the time at e3 2021 where they replaced like every song that appeared in a game trailer with one of 3 royalty free facsimiles as though anybody but me remembers what those songs sounded like