#got to draw a whole SIX yangs! incredible

[strawberry-seal77]

What, I'm 3 months late? but theyre so silly...

[itsclydebitches]

Oscar Pine: Treatment and Characterization in Volume Six

It’s Friday! Which means I get to spend my time writing meta if I so choose. Today’s topic is Oscar. Specifically the question posed by @dreanner95 on another post of mine: “How have the characters in the show treated Oscar badly?” (Full asks are at the end of the meta.) I’ve covered this topic at length in my episode recaps, but I want to pull everything together into one post, both for easy, future access---here’s the answer to this question!---as well as to put the whole of it into perspective. Because as we’ll see in a moment, Oscar’s treatment is something slow and perpetual. You’ve got to take it all into account to understand just how badly things are going for him.

To start, though this meta is focused on the material of Volume Six, it’s worth pointing out something from Volume Five. Namely that Oscar isn’t an integrated part of the team yet. Volume Five is easy-going material compared to Volume Six. A whole lot of hanging out around the house as opposed to stressful, traumatic encounters with baddies. Meaning, that was the perfect time to start incorporating Oscar into the main group, but that didn’t happen very much. Not to the extent we need it to. Because Oscar isn’t just Oscar anymore, he’s Oscar housing Ozpin, and it’s Ozpin who bears the focus of everyone’s attention (a problem that becomes exacerbated in Volume Six). The vast majority of Oscar’s scenes feature Ozpin speaking, or are about Oscar’s new relationship with Ozpin, or are more generally about the war and how to prepare for it---see the training scene where Oscar is struggling to learn the basics of combat. For the most part Oscar is not at the center of anyone’s attention, Ozpin is, with the exception being Ruby’s talk with him downstairs. There Ozpin keeps quiet to let the two work out their grief and fears, making it one of the most powerful moments of the volume. But it’s not nearly enough. I’ve spoken before about how we don’t know much of anything about Oscar. Unlike the other characters who all embody details that help us to see them as well-rounded individuals---Yang loves making jokes and her bike, Blake is a bibliophile and invested in faunus rights, Jaune still wears a Pumpkin Pete sweatshirt and trains at night with Pyrrha’s video, etc.---three volumes in and Oscar is still defined almost exclusively by that moment when Ozpin slammed into his head and everything that has happened since then. No hobbies, no dreams, no talk of his family... we’re given only one, narrow lens to view him through. Which doesn’t just make it more difficult for the audience to become invested in him, but difficult for the other characters as well. Oscar doesn’t join the group during their bonding dinner. With the exception of Ruby, he doesn’t get to form strong ties with them. He’s the outsider here, the one person who doesn’t have a year of Beacon friendship and life or death missions to draw on, and it shows. Because though the cast clearly loves him (more on that later) his outsider status remains, making it really easy for the others to dismiss him, hurt him, or shrug him off when things start getting tough. Because he’s not really one of them. This isn’t Jaune with Ozpin stuck in his head. Or Ruby. Or Yang. It’s just Oscar, the random kid who appeared on our doorstep one day, joined our group when we never asked, and who we still know next to nothing about even after three volumes of material. The characters just don’t care about him as much as they do the core group, even though at this point they should, setting up a situation wherein he becomes expendable. Especially when everyone is focused on getting back at Ozpin. They’re willing to hurt Oscar to get at Ozpin in a way I don’t think they’d be comfortable with if it was anyone else. If Nora had Ozpin stuck in her head? No one would be assaulting her or saying she’s doomed to just be his meatsuit her whole life. They’d defend and support her in ways no one is willing to do for the literal child of the group. Because no one has been given the chance to get to know the kid and come to truly care for him. 

So let’s rehash what the group actually does to Oscar over the course of Volume Six.

To start, there is that ongoing sense that he has no place in this group. Oscar exists only as a vessel for Ozpin. When everyone is waiting for the train the focus in clearly on team dynamics. “I know you’re worried, Weiss, but trust us. Team RWBY won’t leave your side for a second!” Yang and Ruby are interacting as sisters. Nora and Ren are interacting as a couple. There’s a clear division between RWBY and JNR visually, with the former on the right side of the screen and the latter on the left. 

Oscar sits sort of between both, not speaking, not being spoken to until Ozpin makes a joke about the train goons hopefully not being from Beacon. Then Oscar expands on the humor and gets a round of appreciative nods. That’s it though. On the train Team RWBY and their Uncle Qrow all make plans to play video games. We know Team JNR was hanging out because they all arrive together when trouble starts. Meanwhile, we find Oscar in a cabin full of random people. He’s not spending time with or being invited to either group here. He’s just got Ozpin. Ozpin who is the focus of everyone’s attention. When the others arrive Jaune immediately asks, “What’s going on?” and it’s pretty clear the question is directed at Ozpin, not Oscar. Because Oscar just insisted that he wanted to keep control, but now he’s fumbling. He doesn’t know what’s going on and now here Jaune is (unintentionally) reminding him of that. He’s a farm boy, not a huntsmen. Certainly not the huntsmen either. Everyone wants Ozpin around to fix things and if there’s nothing to fix? You don’t need to stay.

It’s a dynamic that’s going to repeat throughout the volume, starting at the farm house. Ruby will go off with Weiss, Blake will go off with Yang... and everyone is going to leave Oscar to stay behind with Maria, doing nothing and being babied. 

Team RWBY will go retrieve the relic. Oscar can once again stay behind and figure out how to fix their transportation. Because Qrow will be busy drinking. 

And then again in “Dead End,” which I’ll get to below.

After the train we have the punch scene and I’m not sure how else to explain to people how not okay this is. I don’t care how high emotions were. Oscar is bearing the brunt of Ozpin’s (perceived) sins in a truly horrendous manner. He’s intimidated, screamed at, chucked into a tree. Keep in mind this is the body that only started figuring out aura a few weeks ago and we’re shown straight out that Qrow’s punch, a punch from an incredibly powerful huntsmen, hurt like hell. The second Ozpin leaves Oscar is wincing and touching his cheek.

What stands out to me is not that the cast is human and makes mistakes and loses their temper---because obviously all those things are valid---but rather that we see throughout the course of Volume Six that no one is willing to acknowledge, let alone act on, the fact that Oscar is a victim of circumstance. No one calls Qrow out on hitting the innocent kid along with the guy he’s mad at. No one tries to calm things down so that Oscar isn’t shouldering their tempers when he’s done nothing wrong. Everyone is happy to vent their anger and fears on him because he’s convenient. Case in point, even with Ozpin gone Yang is still screaming in his face. She doesn’t care if that’s Ozpin or Oscar. Same body, no difference.

No one cares enough about Oscar as an individual to question how their actions might hurt him along with Ozpin. They don’t care enough about him as an individual, period. With the knowledge that Ozpin is truly gone for the moment, the group segues into ignoring him. Oscar is in the process of breaking down right in front of them---grabbing his hair, yelling about how he needs it all to stop---but the group talks over him, jumping straight to panic about what they’ll do now that Ozpin has left. Oscar is no longer functioning as their go-between. He’s useless, he looks like a man they hate, and he doesn’t have that emotional connection to the group. So why do they care that he’s having a breakdown? They don’t. Imagine if this was literally anyone else in the cast. The group would be all comfort and sympathy. Instead, we’re given a shot that could easily be from Oscar’s perspective. His entire identity is falling apart and all he’s given in response to that is Weiss looming over him, still talking about Ozpin, still only worrying about how this all effects them. A ‘them’ Oscar isn’t fully a part of. 

It’s a problem that Ruby tries to address by giving him back his cane, but Qrow undermines that like whoa.

I shouldn’t have to establish how utterly horrible this is. The adult telling the child, ‘No. You’re not your own person. Get over it. I’m a good guy for telling you the hard truth.’ It’s made even worse by Ruby’s silence. She doesn’t challenge Qrow’s words. Her sad expression conveys that she agrees with him---her earlier words were indeed “lies”---and Oscar is left to walk away, once again without any support. What little he was offered was wrenched away from him by an authority figure. Throughout "The Coming Storm” we see just how isolated he is. He walks at the very back of the group, away from everyone else. He looks terrified entering the house, re-emphasizing that he’s not a trained huntsmen like the rest of the group and was never given a choice about adopting this life. When he helps Blake and Weiss move the dresser in front of the door, they hold a short conversation over his head. As Ruby approaches the pictures on the wall, we hear Oscar theorizing about how this room is a study or a library, but no one answers him. Then, as said, they all split and leave Oscar behind, despite the fact that he’s the first to back Ruby’s plan to look for supplies. On their own none of these details necessarily mean anything, but put together they paint a bleak picture---and one that I am personally familiar with. I’ve been in groups where I’m clearly the outsider and this is precisely how I’m inclined to act: try to be helpful even when it goes ignored, try to start conversations even when no one answers. You just keep trying because what else can you do? You feel horribly awkward, but it’s better than accepting that no one wants to interact with you. 

Note that all of this is a direct parallel to what we get in “Dead End.” Both moments begin with Oscar trying to help the group, first by giving them a means of accessing the secrets they so desperately want---“Say her name to summon her”---here by starting a pep-talk when Ruby is unable to. “Look, none of this is great, we know,” Oscar says. “But we’re not the bad guys here.” To which Jaune responds with, “Are we sure about that?” Now, suddenly, Oscar isn’t just the bystander who happens to be hurt along the way. He is the immediate victim here. All the dialogue is directed to and about Oscar, blaming him and putting the responsibility on his shoulders: “He’s in your head isn’t he?” “Did you already know about this?” “How much longer can we even trust him?” “How do we even know it’s really him?”

We have another physical assault, this time with Jaune slamming Oscar against the wall and shaking him. 

Weiss, Yang, and Ruby yell out, but none of them make a move to stop him. Everyone just stands there, allowing Jaune to do as he pleases. In the past year people have been very uncomfortable with me referring to the group as kids or children, insisting that real life markers of adulthood (hitting 18) trumps their lack of experience and emotional instability. These are adults, Clyde. Okay then. Let’s work with that. This is an adult attacking a child. For the second time in as many days. We have now twice seen an adult use a 14yo as an emotional and literal punching bag, doing whatever they please to the real life equivalent of a middle schooler.

And once again, no one cares. Oscar was just attacked again, he flinches when Jaune walks past, and the first words out of anyone’s mouth are worry for Jaune. Not the kid who just dealt with a much bigger, much stronger, much older man taking his anger out on him. Not the kid who is standing right there and listening to where everyone’s loyalties lie. Oscar learns fully in this moment that when push comes to shove, he’s never going to be anyone’s priority.

We see the split in teams again. “I think it would be best if we had some time to ourselves,” Ren says, clearly talking about Team JNR since they’re all going upstairs together. Team RWBY is left in the living room... with Oscar outside of that.

So he leaves.

Which is when the writing shows us its priorities too. Oscar is housing the most important character in this entire war and, like it or not, he’s supposed to be a part of the team now. If there was ever a time to provide him with space to grow and to give the audience insight into who he is outside of Ozpin’s influence, this was it. Ozpin is conveniently quiet. The group has driven him away. We have a two week hiatus implying a major episode when we come back. Anything could happen, from Oscar getting kidnapped and coming into some power, to him working through his issues and deciding why the hell he should stay with a group that doesn’t need him and clearly doesn’t want him. Instead, we get another episode about Jaune and EVERY bit of potential character development for Oscar happens off screen. All we learn is that Oscar went shopping. Oh, and cooked them dinner.

Notice that Oscar is desperate to prove himself useful; to do things in the hope that it will earn him some form of praise and acceptance. Jaune yells about how I’m a liar and not to be trusted? I get thrown around and no one cares enough to check up on me? That’s fine. I’m gonna give them space, not kick up a fuss, make a nice meal for everyone to come home to... Oscar can’t stick up for himself because if doing nice things---helping you get Ozpin’s secrets, trying to cheer everyone up, etc.---results in violence, what the hell would they do if he actually got mad at them? No, no, no, I’ll just keep being calm, perfect Oscar.

Yes, Jaune apologies for his behavior, but notably Oscar interrupts him and tries to justify it. I’m worried about the same things too, so it’s totally okay that you expressed those fears the way you did. I’m the expendable one. 

It gets even worse when Oscar starts speaking as if he has a terminal illness. Once again he’s buying into the idea that he’s no one now, existing only to ferry Ozpin’s soul, and like out in the snow this idea isn’t challenged by anyone. This exchange boils down to, ‘I’m convinced I’m going to cease to exist so I’ll just keep helping you all as much as possible until I’m gone.’ Oscar is making the claim that helping them---being the good outsider who makes them meals and promises not to worry them again, despite the fact that they’re the ones who drove him off in the first place---is all he's good for now. 

And what’s the group’s response to this? 

Along with a whole bunch of smiles. 

Combined with their overall treatment, this reads as horrendously alarming. Why worry too much about how you’re treating Oscar when Oscar is destined to die, merge, whatever? He’s literally theorizing about a scenario where one day the group won’t have to deal with him anymore, but until then he’ll be as helpful as he can. It’s an easy out for them. Yay! We won’t lose the Ozpin vessel who we technically still need, but now he says we don’t have to worry about his trauma anymore. Those pesky things like terror over his identity are being buried and the problem is that no one is inclined to challenge that. A few days after Qrow claims he’s not his own person, Oscar announces, ‘You know what? He’s right. I’m not. So I’ll just be useful until I disappear.’ And everyone is happy with that new plan. No one cares enough about Oscar to push back against this passiveness, to worry about his mental health, even just to express grief that they may one day lose him. There’s so much concern and care shown among the group, from the big (everyone supporting Yang through her PTSD) to the small (Blake finding an extra blanket for Weiss). But twice now we’ve seen Oscar breaking in front of an audience and no one bats an eye. Twice we’ve seen him harmed and no one cares. The rest of the time he’s barely acknowledged at all. Not unless he’s making himself known and that, as we’ve seen, is dangerous.  

I mentioned way at the start that the concept of the group loving Oscar would come back into play. In short, I think you can love someone---or convince yourself you love someone---and still treat them like shit. The group might be “worried sick” when something major happens to Oscar like a disappearance, but on a day-to-day basis they treat him pretty horribly. They care about his physical safety, but not his emotional or mental well being. He’s not truly a part of their teams, he’s constantly conflated with Ozpin, his fears about losing his identity are reinforced multiple times, and there’s now a pattern of the group using him as an emotional and physical outlet when it proves convenient for them. Could they treat him worse than this? Yeah, of course, but they could treat him a whole lot better too. For me, Nora giving a big “OSCAR!” hug or Blake exchanging pleasantries on the farmhouse steps doesn’t mean a thing when, during more significant moments, they don’t stick up for him. Not when he’s being physically assaulted, not when others are emotionally harming him, not when Oscar himself basically announces that he’s accepted a death sentence. The group loves Oscar... but it’s highly conditional. If they love someone else more (like Jaune) or hate someone else enough (like Ozpin) then he’s going to suffer for it. Oscar is not enough of a member of the group for them to ever prioritize and sadly it doesn’t look like that’s going to change anytime soon.

***

[kokichi-and-co-imagine-blog]

To everyone: what would your Pokemon teams be and why?

Oh good god.

Well… this is going to get complicated. At least from me.

Let’s start with assuming no legendary Pokemon. Makes life a bit easier. Of course only a bit.

So… first off a lot of this depends on generation and limit. If you’re asking for a full team that I would have with rotations and stuff, we’re looking at… probably close to 10 full teams of 6, maybe even more.

In my defense, I’m a major Pokemon fan and I really really like a lot of them.

Of course, if we’re going to cut down the team to a more manageable six which can be from any region/gen, but only one from each region/gen to keep things interesting and varied… well, it would depend on a lot of things, including mood and such, so if one were to ask me this question again it would likely change. But, here would be, as I feel right now, the team I would use if I was limited to only six, one per region/gen.

1: Lucario. I’ve been a fan of this guy for so so long, ever since it was first introduced. I loved Lucario and the mystery of Mew as a kid (still kinda do). The whole concept behind aura is amazing. One’s spiritual energy/life force/ soul being utilized in combat? Being able to sense others and see without seeing? So awesome. Lucario is just SO. FREAKING. COOL. It’s design is wonderful as well. Jackel/Anubis? Yes please. Plus, I’ve been maining Lucario in Smash Bros. ever since Brawl. You better believe it’s making my team.

2: Tyranitar. Is it probably the weakest pseudo legendary when it comes to typing? Yes. Do I care? No. Tyranitar is BA. First, it’s one of the only two pseudo’s to not be a dragon. Yes, 8 regions, 9 pseudo’s, and only 2 are not dragons. Don’t get me wrong, I love me some dragons. But… variety would be nice, you know? But yeah, not a dragon, still awesome. It’s Godzilla for crying out loud! Plus, its design is just so good. It’s simple but perfect. It’s a giant Lizard creature that could fell mountains. It doesn’t need to be complicated, and is perfectly awe-inspiring and terrifying without being complicated. I also used a Tyranitar in my Ultra Sun playthrough, a male one named Typhon, Man was he fun to use.

3: Golisopod. Listen, if a Pokemon is good enough for YOUR BOI GUZMA to use it on his team, you know it’s a good pokemon. It’s the Alola take on Gyarados and Milotic (weak pathetic first stage with few moves  and while those two do have a slightly higher BST, that ain’t enough to keep my boy Golisopod down. Golisopod’s design is just so good. An Isopod mixed with a Samurai? Sign me right up thank you. It mixes the creepy crawly aesthetic of the bug type with the strong proud samurai perfectly and I love it. And yeah, sure Emergency Exit can be kind of annoying, but it allows you a second usage of First Impression. That is worth it. Also, it’s shiny is dope.

4: Toxtricity. Part of building a team means keeping in mind type composition. I love Grimmsnarl dearly and equally, if not more so, but I already have one Dark-type on the team, so Toxtricity manages to bag this spot. At least, for now considering my current mood. Ask me again tomorrow, or even in an hour, my answer may very well change. Anyway, Toxtricity itself. When I fist saw the design, I wasn’t entirely sure how I felt. It was… interesting to say the least, but I couldn’t figure out what I was looking at, or what it was supposed to be. But after some more time with it, learning more about it and using one I can say that Toxtricity is easily one of my new favorites. Quite possibly my absolute fave from Gen 8. A punk lizard that plays music? Rock/Metal? HECK. YES. The form change is also pretty nice. The stats don’t change between the two, but I honestly like it that way. Just the idea that more energetic natures would have an ‘Amped Up’ form based on an electric guitar while the more mellow natures would have a ‘Lowkey’ one based on a bass is ingenious. Same with the movepool changes. It makes sense that the different forms with their different music preference would have different moves. (My personal fave is the Amped Up, especially with its shiny colors.) Plus, an electric posion type? SO. COOL. Who cares about 4x weak to earthquake, this thing is boss! And Punk Rock is an amazing ability.

5: Flygon. Man oh man was Flygon treated poorly. Added in Gen 3 as a solid pokemon, but with a better attack stat than a special attack one. True, not bad in it of itself but before the Special/Physical split, ALL Dragon-type moves were special. Meaning Dragon Claw, a solid dragon type move back in Gen 3, wasn’t yet a physical move. And Outrage wasn’t even something Flygon could learn yet (it wouldn’t be until Gen 7 that it became a TM). Then came gen 4. Now, I love gen 4. I truly do. It is by far my favorite Gen. And it did do something very good for Flygon. It gave the special/physical split, allowing some Dragon type moves to now be physical as well. But you know what else came along? Garchomp. Honestly, I like Garchomp, I do. But suddenly here we are with a new Dragon/Ground type that is a pseudo-legendary? My poor poor Flygon. And it didn’t get any better. I mean seriously, give Mewtwo and Charizard two megas but none to Flygon? WHILE GIVING ONE TO GARCHOMP WHO DIDN’T NEED IT AND WAS ITS BIGGEST COMPETITION?! Why Game Freak? Why?Anyway, mini-rant aside, I love Flygon. The design is incredible. The line is based on an antlion and is so cool. That sweet green design and the little lenses over the eyes? Perfect, just perfect. Plus, it has some sweet lore. Appearing in sandstorms with haunting music coming from its wings? Yes please. Beautiful pokemon that was done such disservices. It’s a shame really. With Megas gone, Flygon will likely never get that final boost it needs. Though considering it is in Galar while Garchomp isn’t… maybe Flygon will have a chance to shine again. (A shame though that it will never get to have a type change to Bug Dragon. Would be sick.) Regardless of the future though, Flygon will always have a place in my heart, and in my team. 

6: Zoroark. Yeah, I know what I said about team composition above with Toxtricity and Grimmsnarl. But  I also pointed out mood has a lot to do with it. Anyway, for Zoroark itself. Like Lucario, I’veb een a fan for so long, ever since it was first introduced. It’s kinda funny in a way. Zoroark acts as the perfect yin to Lucario’s yang. Lucario uses aura to sense things and to see, Zoroark is the maser of illusions. In it of itself, this illusion business is awesome, but add in how it counters Lucario and it works just so well. Typing as well, Lucario is a fighting steel, the type you’d think of for a chivalrous paladin of justice and truth, while Zoroark is dark (evil type in Japan), perfect for a sly illusion master. Of course, it’s not just dualism with Lucario. The line is just so amazing itself. Clearly drawing from Kitsune, Zoroark is a sly fox that is able to not just use illusions, but masters them to the point of being able to create solid constructs out of them (see the anime). It is just so cool, how can I not love it? Also, like Tyranitar before it, I used a female one named Vixen in my Ultra Sun playthrough and it was a delight. 

Anyway, that would be my team. You know, assuming all the limitations I put on myself and my mood at this moment. But if you guys enjoyed this and want to know more about my favorite pokemon, please let me know. I’m always happy and excited to talk about Pokemon.

Anyway, going to hand this over to the other mods. I’ve been monopolizing this ask for too long.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ooo!! This’ll be fun to answer! Cause, well, I love Pokémon!!!

But, forgive me for this; I haven’t played any of the games.

So im just saying my favorite characters!!!

1: Glacieon, I really, really like glacieons and have always loved ice type Pokémon. Mainly because I really like the cold. Like; really, really, like the cold. I also really like her attacks, their cool!!! (Pun intended)

2: Furret. Absolutely furret, I never knew why I liked furret, but. I’m just gonna blame it on me really liking Ferrets and cause I honestly have really liked normal types for some reason.

3: Vulpix (either one), I really like any fire type Pokémon mainly because I’ve always just had a very weird interest in fire and because vulpix can be either a fire or ice Pokémon I love that about them. And they remind me of a bunch of irl animals that I love!!

4: Smom , I LOVE THOSE LIL ICE BABEYS SO MUCH!?!? They are so cute-!? I JUST LOVE THEM SO MUCH???! They are all my children and I want to adopt them all, and I will. No one can stop me………except maybe the other mods-

5: Sylveon, absolutely. I always have such an attachment even with digital animals, so I absolutely would give my eevee enough attention and love for them to evolve into sylveon. Honestly, it’d end up be accidental, but, I still really love Sylveon, and wouldn’t care if I got more than one of them-

6: Flareon, listen- I just love eevees okay-? I love them all so so much, and would lay down my life for each and every one of them. Just 💞💞💕💖💓💖💝💞💖💕💝💓💕💞💖💞💖💝💘💖💕💕💞

——————————————————————————

Ah, I bet you missed hearing from me! No worries, I’ll tell you my pokemon team, even if it’s not particularly exciting.

First off, a Pachirisu is a must for my team. I’ve always loved how hyper it can be and the mishaps it would cause. Plus, c’mon- who doesn’t like its color scheme?

I’d also incorporate Chimchar to my team. I’ve always had a soft spot for Chimchar, since it was my first ever starter and I leveled mine all the way up to 100 in my Pokemon Platinum playthrough.

Yamper definitely had my heart the moment I saw it! I have a really strong love for dogs, and its addition to the game got me so excited!! Kirigiri can vouch for me on that one.

Growlithe is also integral to me. When my dog was a puppy, I used to jokingly call her a growlithe. I don’t think I still have pictures, but I even got her a floof for halloween once so she could be in a costume with me. Also... Arcanine is seriously badass.

Wooloo is super cute too! I love that it rolls away from its problems, and I, too, wish to do that. Plus the braids immediately reminded me of Peko, so I was super soft for it the moment it was revealed.

Finally, I’ll add my favorite Eeveelution to the team: Glaceon! Something about its sleek design always made me happy, and the way its fur sharpens as defense is super interesting!

(If legendaries were allowed on the team, I would’ve added either Giratina or Shaymin. They’re my favorites.

[meshugana1]

The sexual tourettes one was my favorite. So hot. A shy girl and a very not-shy prostitute find their personalities are slowly swapping

You got it buddy!

   Saveta sat behind her counter and thumbed through a book, dying for a customer to come into her shop. She never understood why she couldn’t drum up more business, she’d been at this for over a hundred years so you’d think she would’ve figured it out by now. She sighed and her heavy breasts stretched the top of her dress and she rested her chin in her palm. She hated reading but she needed to do more of it, but she never felt like she understood the subtext or anything like that. Just then she heard her bell ring and she looked up at the door with an excited smile.

   A young woman entered the shop this time. She stepped gingerly and avoided the worn out section of the floor, it was easy for her since her eyes never left the ground. She styled her hair long and it helped to obscure her face quite a bit but Saveta could she wore glasses and was likely much prettier than she thought she was. She wore a grey sweater thick enough that it gave no indication of her body shape. Coupled with demure posture she gave nothing away about herself at all. “Hello,” Saveta said, “welcome to Saveta’s curio shop! I’m the owner so if you need anything just let me know.” The girl nodded and gave a cursory glance to every shelf she passed.

   After about fifteen minutes she balled her fists and walked up to Saveta. “Um…excuse me, but…do you maybe have like…a…necklace or…something? It’s ok if you don’t.” She never once made eye contact and Saveta thought she was so cute she almost started petting her. “As a matter of fact I do,” she said, “Just wait right there Alice and I’ll be back in a minute.” After that, she left behind a curtain into a back room. ‘How did she know my name?’ Alice thought. She was internally debating whether to leave or not. Jewelry was so expensive though and maybe this place was a little cheaper. She just wanted to break out of her shell a little and some nice jewelry might be a conversation starter.

   Saveta came out of the backroom a second later holding a small box. “I think this particular item will suit you nicely.” She opened the box and pulled out a solid gold chain with a yin-yang symbol attached to it. Alice didn’t understand but her eyes were immediately drawn to it and it was a struggle to look away. “This is a nice little item, it was made in the—” Alice reached up and snatched the necklace from the woman’s hands and wrapped it around her neck. “I’ll take it,” she said taken aback by her boldness. The transaction was simple after that, Alice was shocked that this woman only wanted thirty dollars for it but didn’t ask questions. Saveta walked the girl out and reminded her to come back again soon. When she was out of sight the smile fell from her face and she cursed herself, she absolutely hated that she could only sell an item for whatever the person could afford. Whoever thought up that stupid rule? But she went back to her shop and her mind wandered to that shy girl. ‘She’ll be fine, all the necklace does is draw people to it. As long as she doesn’t give the other half away nothing would go wrong,’ she thought.

   Alice was walking back toward her usual haunts when she slammed into a woman coming from the other direction. “What the hell you stupid bitch! Watch where the fuck you’re going!” The woman yelling at her was tall and had dyed platinum blonde hair. She stood on seven-inch heels and her skirt and tube top were barely preserving any what little modesty this woman had left. She removed a new cigarette from her purse and took a long drag from it. “What’s wrong? You looking to score little lady? It’s all yours for a hundred dollars a pop, haha!” she said accentuating her curves with her hands. Alice turned crimson and sat up as quickly as possible and left, walking as briskly as she could. Crystal hated girls like her, stuck up and scared of her own shadow. All the little brat needs it a pipe to suck on and she’d be fine.

   She was about to move along and look for a John when she spotted a bit of gold on the ground. She picked up the simple chain and saw a cute looking symbol on it. It kinda looked like a white boob with a black nipple, without a second thought she wrapped the chain around her neck and found she liked the way it nestled into her cleavage. She looked over her shoulder to make sure that mousy bitch wasn’t coming to claim it and went to look for someone to milk her money from, neither one of the women noticed that their halves of the necklace took on a subtle glow.

   Alice continued to walk to her favorite hang out at the Tardis bookstore, it was a Tuesday so she was excited to see what new books had released today. It hardly seemed abnormal, but for some reason, Alice had decided to wear her hair back. She walked in and immediately said hello to the manager Donald. Donald had worked at this store for six years and he had seen Alice come in at least three times a week every week and she had never once said hello to him, he absentmindedly waved to her. Alice was feeling an uncharacteristic skip in her step as she perused the shelves for anything that tickled her fancy. It was then that she spotted Tim in the corner checking out the new Thor comics, typical that now Thor is a chick he’s suddenly interested.

   She had a thought then, she spent all her money on the necklace but there were quite a few books she wanted that came out today, but Tim always had plenty of scratch with him. She turned her back to him and took off her sweater, releasing her full DD-cups that stretched the fabric of her shirt. It was funny, she always hated wearing revealing clothes before, she just didn’t like the idea of being objectified but now she didn’t seem to mind the idea at all. She sauntered over to Tim holding her little stack and pressed her breasts into his back, “Hey Timmy, you liking your book there?” Tim spun around and was amazed to see Alice dressed like she was, he had never seen her in anything except her sweater but now that he could see her incredible tits he felt his blood rush around his groin. “Um…yeah, it’s uh, its ok. How are you?” Tim waffled. “I’m ok, I guess,” Alice said, her arms clasped behind her as she rotated her chest back and forth for him, “I’m just a little down that I don’t have the money to buy these books here today…”

   “R…really? I mean…I could buy them for you, ya know. If that’s ok?” “I don’t know, I’m not sure I could take advantage of you like that Timmy.” “It’s no problem, really. I was thinking of getting some of those too. Who knows? Maybe I could come over and borrow them sometime? Tim said, sweating bullets and too caught up in Alice’s tits to realize he’s just about to pop a hole in his jeans. “Maybe, or you could just come over tonight and let me suck your big cock as a thank you?” Alice had a slight blush on her cheeks, she was so happy she found the courage to be so forward with someone. Tim seemed to lose his balance for a second when she said that and she looked down and saw a small wet patch on the front of his khaki pants. “Y…ye…yeah. That’d be uh cool. I’ll just go and pay for these.” He said avoiding eye contact and grabbing her things for her. She followed him to the register and watched as Donald rang him up. She was about to leave with her ill-gotten gains when she had another idea. She turned around and walked over to Donald and said: “Hey Don, I think I’ve got a fun idea for a job you could give me.”

   Crystal felt off ever since that mousy bitch bumped into her. She had no idea how to explain it, she felt like she was showing way, way too much skin and she just felt so anxious. She remembered ladies she read about in books that hooked and she didn’t recall them having to show so much. She liked it when she left the house this morning so why did it bother her now. Her frustration was manifesting itself as fidgeting and she refused to stop much to the annoyance of the other girls. Her hands were alternating between trying to cover her big fake breasts or her bottom and especially her crotch. What made her pick a skirt that was so small? Every single person who walked by took a look at her. Before she enjoyed it but now it was like she could hear every single person's judgments of her. ‘What a slut’, ‘bet she’s cheap’, those clothes are gross’, ‘she’s not pretty enough to be out here’, all of these were playing on repeat in the poor girl's mind as the potential business pasted her by and she thanked God she never got picked. It reminded her of high school when she prayed that the teacher wouldn’t call on her to give the presentation that she never did.

   But a moment before she could no longer take it and left, a car pulled up beside her and a man rolled down the window. “Evening, are you…uh, are you free tonight?” Crystal froze, she was paralyzed with anxiety but reflex kicked in and she shakily nodded her head. He looked at her and asked, “Is this your first time working?” Crystal didn’t want to tell him that she was a pro who had the yips or whatever was going on so she just went with it and continued to nod her head. “Ha, me too. So, would you like to come in?” Crystal said nothing and just operated on autopilot as she walked like a zombie around to the other side of the man’s car. Her eyes never strayed from facing forward as she sat next to him. He whole body trembled and she tried will herself to discuss her fee, but no words at all seemed to come from her. “Are you nervous?” He said, his voice was filled with genuine concern. “My name is Michael, what’s yours?” Crystal tried to swallow her anxiety as best she could and she managed to weakly croak out “C…c…crystal.”

   Michael made no move to touch the nervous woman, he wasn’t even sure what to do himself. He had never paid for sex before but the loneliness had gotten to him and desperate times and all that. The humanitarian in him though compelled him to help this poor girl. “You know, I don’t really think I need…uh, your services right now. But how about I take you to dinner? My treat of course.” Crystal had never met a John that was so nice, she couldn’t take advantage but she was still too nervous to speak and before she could find the words they were off to a really nice street side restaurant.

Three months later…

   Crystal walked down the street in her thick fleece coat and her skirt fell to about halfway down her calfs. She was still way too nervous to make eye contact with anyone and bumped into a few people, but thanks to her new boyfriend Michael she was making a lot of progress. She was very happy he liked her but all the self-doubt and insecurity never seemed to leave her. She was walking past a bookshop when a wall of people blocked her path. The bookstore was overcrowded and a line was trying to form on the street. She was too timid to try and make her way through so she merely waited until an opening was made. She looked into the store and saw what all the fuss was about. There was one of those cosplay girls in there and it looked like she was signing autographs or posing for pictures or something.

   She looked almost familiar but her costume mad it had to tell. She wore a blood red singlet and some kind of armor on her arms and legs. The singlet was really tight and it made her boobs look really huge and it looked like it ran all the way in between her butt cheeks, making her look almost naked with how flushed it was to her skin. She turned to face the window and Crystal turned red as she saw the incredibly obvious camel toe the girl had. Space had finally opened for her and she darted past the crowd. She remembered when she wore revealing clothes like that without crying, she wished she was as confident as that girl.

The end. Hope Y'all like it!

[universally-the-same]

Body acceptance and shame

For those of you who have been following me for a while, you know that I’ve been working on self-love and self-acceptance for several years now. And in that time, I think it’s fair to say that I’ve grown in leaps and bounds in this area. Especially the area of self-acceptance.

For those who don’t know, for most of my life, I have been incredibly self-critical. Learning to let go of such extreme levels of perfectionism has felt so huge. And it IS huge! But recently, I’ve felt an even bigger shift in the self-love department. And while I feel that self-love and self-acceptance certainly fall into this shift, I think it would be more fitting to refer to this shift as body acceptance, because frankly… that’s what I’m talking about.

BODY ACCEPTANCE It’s a tough topic to discuss and one that I still feel pretty damn vulnerable putting out there to the world, but I think it’s an important topic. Recently my neighbor was nominated for a community award and the local news came out to do a story on him. I immediately agreed to be part of the story because he’s a great neighbor, I was excited for him, and I wanted to support him.

Later that night, all the mind chatter started. I started worrying about how I would look on camera. I don’t know if the rest of the world has this reality, but when I look in the mirror I see a very different person than who I see in photographs and video footage of myself.

The big day came and at that point I had pretty much talked myself out of participating but that morning I decided to “get ready” just in case. Mid-morning, I heard a knock on my door. It was his wife letting me know that if I wanted to be on TV now was the time. I admitted to her that I was scared, but she got me to come out anyway.

The journalist and camera man had us interact in different ways, but when all was said and done I didn’t feel very secure about the end result. At one point they had me up on my front porch while the camera man was filming from the ground. I mean… I know from my own experience that that happens to be one of the least flattering angles to be caught at. But at this point, it was what it was, and it was just a matter of seeing how they put it all together.

I worried about telling people about the new-story because I was afraid to have them see it before I did, but in the end I decided to put a post on Facebook the night before it aired. My logic to this decision was (a) the story is not about me, it’s about him, (b) the people I know, know what I look like… probably better than I do, and (c) I love my friends and family regardless of their size, color, race, gender, etc. So in theory, shouldn’t they love me in the same way?

The day of the story, I waited filled with equal emotions of anxiety and excitement, but the story never aired. We never got an explanation so we figured they decided not to run it, and that it wasn’t meant to be. The following week my neighbor messaged me that they would be running the story later that week.

I sat down to watch the story, curious to see how they edited the piece and put it all together, but terrified to see how I would look through the lens of the news camera. It turned out to be a sweet little feel-good piece, and as I watched it, it was as if I was observing the piece from another person’s eyes.

The story engulfed me, and “that girl” was just a small piece of it. I didn’t judge or criticize the girl I was seeing, and I was shocked to experience body acceptance on that large of a level. I was in such disbelief that I didn’t hate what I saw, that I actually backed the story up and played the frames I was in, in slow-motion in a really fucked-up attempt to find something to criticize.

And this was the only part of what aired that I didn’t like. I became angry that my first reaction upon feeling body acceptance was not to simply accept the fact that I was actually accepting myself, but that the natural inclination was to go back and try to find something to tear myself down.

And I will admit that while viewing the story in slow motion, there was a moment of uncertainty in my mind when I reached in to give him a hug. You could see my side profile and my clothed belly. But in that moment, instead of being repulsed, or disappointed, or ashamed, this little voice sounded in my head telling me… “it’s just a belly”.

A realization that hit me so hard and still has me reeling. It’s just a belly. We all have one. They come in different shapes, different sizes, different colors. But… we all have a belly.

I had a similar experience in yoga class the other week, but I didn’t pay much attention to it at the time. It wasn’t until the news story opened my eyes that I now see the importance of it.

In yoga we are constantly transitioning into different poses. I wear a long t-shirt to help prevent exposed skin, but inevitably it ends up happening. Every time I realize it, it’s feels like I am committing this horrible sin. How dare I expose a 1″ x 4″ strip of skin to my classmates. God forbid, you know… because, “I’m a big girl, and big girls aren’t supposed to show their fat. No one wants to see that, even if it is by accident.”

Well, the other day I was in yoga class and I had just got done transitioning through some warrior poses that required a lot of stretching, reaching, and folding at the waist. My shirt inevitably inched its way up. I caught sight of it in the mirror and for the first time I wasn’t mortified by this. It was another moment of… it’s just skin.

And after sitting with the impact of the “it’s just a belly” statement, I became more receptive to the lesson behind the “it’s just skin” comment that I had heard in my head. Similarly to the belly, we all have skin. Again, it comes in different colors. Some skin is tight and toned, other skin is flabby. Some skin is decorated with freckles, or stretchmarks, or battle scars. Some skin has sun damage, while other skin has been alive for decades. But in the end, it’s just another body part that makes us human. It’s a showcase of individuality in a way that makes us universally the same.

SHAME I don’t know if it’s the optimist in me, but while growing up, I was able to see good parts of myself, but I never liked my body as a whole. I thought I had pretty eyes, I liked my larger breasts, and at some point I started liking my legs.

But there were so many other things that I didn’t like. I hated the rolls around my middle, I hated that my thighs touched, my hair was 85% straight with a 13% wave and a 2% curl. Part of the 2% curl were the cowlicks that made up most of my bangs and would transform into devil horns whenever I would sweat or it was humid. I also had these two teeth that looked like tiny fangs. As my teen years progressed, I was hit with acne. It was just one body image issue after another.

Looking back on it now, I think a lot of it is the growing pains that probably everyone goes through, but I was one of those kids who was teased a lot in school. I went to a small grade school (K-8). My graduating year there were nine of us in the class, seven of which were boys. While I am grateful for my parochial school upbringing, there is always good and bad in every situation. Yin and Yang.

While the small class size was great for teacher-student attention, I believe it emphasized the cliques even more strongly. The pool of kids to pick on was much smaller, so it was easier to become the target. Between the bullying, and the physical and mental abuse I was going through at my mother’s house, I became very good at trying to blend in. That’s what you do when you are ridiculed for being yourself. I learned to adapt to my surroundings and situations. But this also shattered my confidence.

Looking back on pictures of me at that time, I’ll admit that I was bigger than the other kids, but I wasn’t fat. I didn’t know that at the time though. I believed all the name calling. At that age, why wouldn’t you? I mean from that perspective, I can remember feeling that if people didn’t want to play with me, and were calling me names… there must be something wrong with me.

I now know this isn’t true, but back then it was very hard to believe that. Especially when your mother is telling you the same things the kids are. Luckily my father was always a source of love. But he was concerned with my weight too and although his concerns came from that love, the fact that there was concern in the first place just further reinforced it.

As I’ve been going through this intuitive eating journey, and trying to reconnect to my emotions, one that I was having a hard time relating to was shame. It felt like such a foreign thing to me, until I saw myself on the news. During that moment of true, authentic, all-in self-love and being secure with my body for the first time since I was probably six or seven, suddenly I realized that I had been living my life in shame. As strange as it sounds, the reason I couldn’t identify with it, is because it was something that became such a part of me.

Earlier this year, my therapist and I discussed the possibility of some deep rooted subconscious self-worth issues. Thinking back on all the times I tried to make myself smaller so others wouldn’t see me, or how I would apologetically move out of people’s way – not simply for the sake of being polite, but because I felt that I was taking up too much room. Every time that I wanted to speak up for myself but wouldn’t open my mouth because I was afraid of being heard. Every time that I allowed myself to follow the crowd because I didn’t want to draw more attention to myself for being different. Nor, did I have the confidence to be different. In all of these circumstances I gave away my power. And in all of these circumstances it was based on shame and never believing that I was good enough.

And while we are on the subject of shame, I want to acknowledge that the stories we tell ourselves based on the stories told to us by others constantly feeds that. Based on conversations I’ve had with people (various doctor’s, physical therapists, and other professionals) I’ve been led to believe that my arch/tendinitis issue and my knee issue are both based on my weight. But the other day I was looking at pictures of myself as a teenager (the point where I was the skinniest and most fit I’ve been in my life).

As I sat there looking at the pictures, I started seeing the same patterns in the way I hold my body as “skinny person” that I do as a “large person”. Would losing weight help? I’m not saying it wouldn’t. But here I’ve been telling myself that it’s because of my weight that these things happened. When in reality my body was showing the signs of the issues back then.

Finding those pictures and remembering back to that age, I truly believe that these issues would have sprung up anyway. The weight may have intensified it, or possibly triggered it earlier, but I’ve been able to release that story from my head which has allowed the self-acceptance to grow a little more.

I think we so desperately want to have answers for everything, that we automatically believe stories that are told to us. Especially when they come from sources that are reputable, or people we trust. I’m not trying to discount people in the medical field, but this realization made me stop and think. Doctors, and everyone really, they all make their assumptions based off of a meeting with you. It could be a 15 minute appointment in their office, it could be someone that you see once a week like a banker, someone you see every two months like a hairdresser. It could be someone you talk to everyday – a close friend or family member.

And while all of these relationships are important in one way or another, they are not with you every second of the day. They are not living in your body. More likely than not, they haven’t known you your whole life. And while their insight and their feedback in important, we need to remember that in the end, we need to make decisions about what is best for us, what we believe, and the stories that we will tell ourselves based off of what we actually know.

Don’t get me wrong. This is hard, and probably a lot of times, we aren’t necessarily going to know what is best for us, or what we believe. So the best thing we can do is go with what we feel is the right thing in this moment. But that doesn’t mean that it’s over. That choice is not final. By staying open-minded and aware, we can still allow ourselves to take in new information. We are allowed to change our minds, to change our beliefs, and to change our stories.

One thing that this weight loss journey has taught me, especially as I’ve been reading though old posts lately, is that every time I made a decision, I did what felt right in that moment. I currently believe that every diet that I’ve been on, I was meant to be on. I believe that by living through my collected experiences, it has helped give me personal knowledge to understand this world of intuitive eating and be able to grasp some of the concepts better.

I also believe that I was born in this body for a reason. I’ve always believed that everything happens for a reason, I’m sure this is one belief that will stand the test of time. And throughout my life, I’ve said multiple times that I struggle to lose weight for a reason. I had no idea what that reason was, or why. But I feel like the puzzle pieces are starting to fit together and it’s all making sense.

I believe I was put here to understand and help other’s see that diversity is not just about race, gender, age, or ability… it’s about size too. In a world where we are pushing to celebrate individuality, we need to realize that body size is just as diverse as skin shades.

*this blog post was originally posted on my My Curvy Journey blog on 6/29/2019 and moved to my Universally the Same blog.

[entergamingxp]

DualShockers’ Favorite Games of 2019 — Tomas’ Top 10

December 26, 2019 10:00 AM EST

Astral Chain, Death Stranding, Super Mario Maker 2, and Erica were some of my favorite games from 2019, with plenty of others in the running.

As 2019 comes to a close, DualShockers and our staff are reflecting on this year’s batch of games and what were their personal highlights within the last year. Unlike the official Game of the Year 2019 awards for DualShockers, there are little-to-no-rules on our individual Top 10 posts. For instance, any game — not just 2019 releases — can be considered.

2019 has been a very odd year for games. While we didn’t have any heavy hitters like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, God of War, or Red Dead Redemption 2, everyone had their niche catered to, so I think DualShockers‘ personal GOTY lists will be quite varied this year. I have rounded up the 10 games that stood out to me the most in 2019, and they are all quite different from each other.

Of course, I did not have the time nor the patience to get through every single game that came out this year. That means some notable releases like Resident Evil 2, Gears 5, and DualShockers‘ Game of the Year Judgment did not make my list. Some great games were also just barely beat out, but I’d still recommend Ape Out, Baba is You, Samurai Shodown and Mortal Kombat 11 if you are looking for a good time. Without further ado, here are my 10 favorite games of 2019:

10. Erica

While this live-action interactive game is very short and definitely won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, it is an experience that has certainly stuck with me this year. Unlike most FMV heavy games, Erica doesn’t try to justify its use of live-action through its premise, it’s just how Flavourworks wanted to tell this story. That was an incredibly risky move, but the experience is held up by good writing and a great performance by Holly Earl.

I always love trying games that are innovative, weird, and unorthodox and Erica was able to check all of those boxes. For that reason, it’s still on my mind at the end of 2019 despite a couple of problems. If you’re done with Telling Lies and are looking for another intriguing FMV game, Erica should be on your radar. The game, not the person. That’d be quite creepy.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Erica.

9. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

After Star Wars Battlefront 2 got struck down, EA’s Star Wars games have become even more powerful than you could possibly imagine. While the discourse surrounding Star Wars is hitting an apex of toxicity following the release of The Rise of Skywalker, fans should still remember that the franchise received two great additions this year: The Mandalorian and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Capping off a great year for Respawn Entertainment, this game finally provided the engaging single-player focused Star Wars experience that players have been yearning for ever since EA and Disney struck their Star Wars game deal all those years ago. In fact, the only reason this game isn’t higher on this list is that I haven’t beaten it yet, and I’m sure my love for it will only grow as I play it more.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

8. Lonely Mountains: Downhill

I initially slept on this game upon its October release, even though I enjoyed my time trying it at E3. When I recently got an Xbox One and Game Pass, I decided to download this game and have been hooked on it ever since. Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a great podcast game, and I have now played it while listening to everything from stand up comedy to podcasts to the last democratic debate. Still, even if I wasn’t listening to anything, the game remained enjoyable.

Just like the Trials series, half of the fun is in mastering the course, and a few unique objectives across the game’s sixteen tracks and four mountains add to its replayability. Lonely Mountains: Downhill can still be quite difficult and somewhat irritating at points when you just can’t get a part of the course down, but overall Lonely Mountains: Downhill is a soothing and relaxing game to play if you aren’t doing anything else or want to do something more than just listen to John Mulaney, Ben Hanson, or Andrew Yang.

7. Super Mario Maker 2

I’m not much of a creator, but I’ve had a ton of fun seeing what everyone’s made in Super Mario Maker 2. Whether I’m rating levels for StephenPlays’ Morning Mario, getting random grab bags of levels in multiplayer or endless mode, or just browsing for myself, I am always surprised by the masterpieces and monstrosities that people can come up with if you give them the right tools.

On top of all of that, the story mode provides a meaty and varied single-player 2D Mario experience, which is something that the series has needed for years. It is my favorite platformer of 2019, and the first of many indicators on this list that 2019 has been an amazing year for Nintendo Switch. Also, Super Mario Maker 2’s multiplayer is terrible, but I love it.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Super Mario Maker 2.

6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also made my top 10 list last year. In that article, I said it could make the list this year if the game added Geno. While they weren’t added to the game, we still got exciting characters like Joker, Hero, Terry Bogard, and most surprisingly Banjo.

Thanks to its hefty post-launch support and just being a damn good game in general, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is one of my most played Nintendo Switch games of the year and has managed to make my top 10 once again. Even though it didn’t work last time, I will say it again: now just add Geno, Sakurai, and we’ll talk about Super Smash Bros. Ultimate making it onto my 2020 GOTY list as well.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

5. Tetris 99

I was simply addicted to Tetris 99 earlier this year. I played it every day non-stop and had to actively draw myself away from playing it when I had other things to take care of. While battle royale and puzzle games don’t seem like they would mix, boy howdy they certainly do. While Fortnite remains the king and Apex Legends brought a lot of innovation to the genre, Tetris 99 proved that the mechanics of battle royale aren’t limited to just shooters.

Tetris was already great on its own–just look at last year’s Tetris Effect–and splicing battle royale mechanics in there only embellished the whole multiplayer experience. As the game has received some single-player and local multiplayer modes since launch, Arika and Nintendo’s game has cemented itself as one of the best Tetris titles of all time. It’s becoming a mobile game too. That’s always a good sign, right?

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Tetris 99.

4. Death Stranding

I really like Death Stranding, but for the opposite reasons of most people. Many despise the traversal mechanics and adore Kojima’s writing. I can barely stand many of Kojima’s cringey scenes, but love the melancholic but tense and engaging delivery mechanics. Death Stranding tends to struggle anytime other than when it does do that. While the writing can be bad and the shooting sucks, I was still totally engrossed by Death Stranding and couldn’t put it down until I finished it. Its “Strand Genre” mechanics are also very innovative, showing how multiplayer elements can be combined with a single-player experience for maximum impact.

We’ll be seeing this game’s influence on the industry over the next couple of years, whether that be via making traversal interesting alongside the online mechanics. We need more games like Death Stranding. Still, I don’t think I can ever hear another line as terrible as “Like Mario and Princess Beach.”

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Death Stranding.

3. Dicey Dungeons

PLAY THIS GAME!!! Dicey Dungeons is dice-based in both a mechanical and literal sense, and is by far the most underrated title on this list. It turns standard roguelike and deck-building mechanics on their heads with its dice-based actions and differing playstyles between its six characters. I tend to be very lukewarm on deck-building or card games, and while games like Slay the Spire are fun, that still served as a roadblock for me.

Dicey Dungeons made deck-building interesting by turning genre conventions on their head in its various playstyles. It is a game that everyone should give a whirl, even if they don’t typically like roguelikes or deck-based games. Dicey Dungeons never stops being fun and is far and away the best indie game I played this year. I don’t have a joke for this one, but I think the jokes have been on a good roll thus far.

2. The Outer Worlds

The Outer Worlds was everything people wanted it to be and more. While studios like BioWare and Bethesda have seemed to abandon their roots in recent years, The Outer Worlds revels in its old-school RPG design. It isn’t the largest or most grandiose game out there, but it is certainly one of the most well-written and replayable RPGs in a long time.

I’d rather play a 30-hour RPG 4 times than a 120 hour RPG one time. The Outer Worlds seems to understand that mentality and delivered an experience that can be quite diverse depending on one’s character build and choices. It was just barely edged out of being my game of the year and is certainly a must-play for those who have ever remotely enjoyed an RPG at some point in their lives. On that positive note, Parvati is my daughter and if any of you hurt her, you’ll be hearing from my lawyers.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of The Outer Worlds.

1. Astral Chain

I don’t really have any problems with Astral Chain and it’s super innovative, which is why I gave it a 10 earlier this year. Astral Chain features the tight and rewarding action PlatinumGames is known for but is quite accessible at the same time. Its detective case-solving portions feel like better versions of similar segments in the Batman: Arkham games. Astral Chain is one of the best-looking games on Nintendo Switch. And finally, the Legion is the most innovative thing to happen to action games since Bayonetta’s Witch Time. Creating a unique weapon-user relationship I’ve never seen in a game before, Astral Chain remains fun and manageable while still tasking players with controlling two things at once.

Just like many of the other games on this list, Astral Chain is a trailblazer within its genre and will push the industry forward. While 2019 didn’t have one or two truly groundbreaking games like previous years, games like Astral Chain show that the game industry is at an all-time high when it comes to creativity and quality. I don’t have a joke this time either, seriously.

Check out DualShockers‘ review of Astral Chain.

Check out the rest of the DualShockers staff Top 10 lists and our official Game of the Year Awards:

December 23: DualShockers Game of the Year Awards 2019 December 25: Lou Contaldi, Editor-in-Chief // Logan Moore, Managing Editor December 26: Tomas Franzese, News Editor // Ryan Meitzler, Features Editor  December 27: Mike Long, Community Manager // Scott White, Staff Writer December 28: Chris Compendio, Contributor // Mario Rivera, Video Manager December 29: Scott Meaney, Community Director // Allisa James, Senior Staff Writer // Ben Bayliss, Senior Staff Writer December 30: Cameron Hawkins, Staff Writer // David Gill, Senior Staff Writer // Portia Lightfoot, Contributor December 31: Iyane Agossah, Senior Staff Writer // Michael Ruiz, Senior Staff Writer // Rachael Fiddis, Contributor January 1: Ricky Frech, Senior Staff Writer // Tanner Pierce, Staff Writer

December 26, 2019 10:00 AM EST

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