#i love her graphic novel design so i based mine off that :3

[oatpaws-silly-kittys]

spottedleaf my friend spottedleaf

the shoulder spots r on one side only

[that-pineapple154]

Pineapple's Furby Masterlist

⭐🌙⭐

1990s Furbys

King Noodles Ink'Squeegee of the Spiders

~ he/they ~ witch's cat Noodles was my first 90's furby. His hobbies include watching scary movies, making s'mores, trespassing, and staring off into the distance and pointing to get other people to look at absolutely nothing. He is a friend to all 8 legged creatures and a loyal friend to all

Patchfoot the Pirate

~ he/him ~ giraffe Patchfoot is my one and only amputee furby. His right foot was in pretty bad condition when I got him so I removed it, and plan to eventually make him a prosthetic. He loves to be outside, and is very photogenic. He would also like to remind you to not eat random mushrooms you find on your walks through the woods

Prapai

~ he/him ~ Leopard Prapai is a suave buisness man who knows what he wants. And what he wants is shiny objects. He also enjoys playing a lil mini golf in his free time

Mr. Bowie

~ heehee/him ~ Jester You know the Goblin King from the movie Labyrinth? That's his role model. Mr. Bowie thrives in some good chaotic energy, as long as he stays neat and clean

Brad Grady (Grady)

~ he/him ~ Graduation He's gay. Need I say more? Oh I do? Okay. Well he's also an English and Furbish professor, doing his best to teach humans and furby's each other's languages. In his free time he likes to consume poetry. I mean that in the literal sense... Apparently its the best way to gain more knowledge

Chappell

~ she/they ~ wolf Chappell, unlike the singer she'd named after is actually mute. They work just fine but cannot talk. It's all okay though cause she finds other ways to communicate. They are a lover of music and literature, and loves to spend time with her girlfriend, Vinnie

Lavinia (Vinnie)

~ she/her ~ snowball Vinnie is "The Key Master", though the key to what, she refuses to say. She spends most of her time with her girlfriend, Chappell, and is typically the one who plans their dates. She loves to sew and has a huge interest in the supernatural and Victorian buildings. She'd love to someday live in one.

Sunbleach

~ any pronouns ~ racoon Sunbleach, who also goes by Sunny and Bleach, is a furb who loves to pursue his hobbies. You'll often find her at a desk drawing, designing, or fixing things. They also have a strange fascination with guitar picks, though they're to small to play any of mine.

Furby Babys

Eggwhite Puddling

~ she/her ~ Snowy Eggwhite may be a girly girl, but she sure knows how to change a tire. Her favorite smell is gasoline and lawn clippings, and her favorite movie is Cars. She also really loves cute and brightly colored things

Tartar Merengue

~ she/they ~ Snowy Tartar is a furb with an appreciation for alt fashion. They love the color black, and have even considered dying their hair that color once or twice, though she'd never actually do it. Her hobbies include staring at books and trying to make the words make sense, and giving up to go read a graphic novel instead

Furby Booms

Tinsel

~ he/him ~ furbacca Tinsel doesn't say much, but he loves to sing. Don't tell anyone but despite being based on Chewbacca, he hasn't watched more than the first 3 Starwars movies

Castiel De'Lolbit Extravaganza

~ he/they ~ zigzag stripes Cas is a lover of all things horror. He'll play horror games and watch horror movies right before bed and never gets nightmares, though sometimes he does get a bit paranoid. He also loves collecting rocks and crystals to display

Furby Connects

Kei-doh

~ he/him ~ magenta Kei-doh is a huge fan of baseball. The Redsocks and the Tigers are his two favorite teams, but he'll watch just about any game. He likes to play baseball too. He hits well, though he isn't a very fast baserunner. He doesn't mind though, cause its all just for fun

2023 Furbys

Ebeau

~ he/they ~ Coral Ebeau's just a fun loving guy. He's just a silly lil dude, doin silly lil dude things. He totally doesn't engage in illegal activities like jaywalking... Nope. Not at all

Capone

~ any pronouns ~ purple Capone doesn't like to talk about what he does. And most people probably don't want to hear about it either. I mean what kind of monster would literally take candy from a baby? Capone. That's what kind

Ghidorah Glitterbomb

~ she/her ~ tie-dye Though being incredibly powerful and gifted in the art of magic, Ghidorah doesn't use it much, instead preferring to save her skills for important things like putting on good fireworks shows, or giving candy back the babys Capone took from

Boroax

~ he/they ~ aurora furbealis Boroax is a fun loving guy with a love for anything space related. He may or may not be an alien himself, but they will neither confirm or deny it. His favorite thing to do in his freetime is watching christmas lights and staring into street lamps

Furblets, Buddies, & Happy Meal Toys, Oh my!

Toothpaste, Oyster, Taylor, & Boston

~ they/them, he/they, she/her, & she/they ~ 2023 furblets These lil guys would love to be in a band, but they can't agree on what genre of music to perform in

Wiggles

~ he/him ~ 2005 Happy Meal toy He's very quiet, but that just makes him a better listener. He loves to people watch and silently judge from afar

Carlton

~ any pronouns ~ furby buddie He's seen some things and done some things...

Amarillo

~ they/them ~ furby keychain They're tired, and they want to take a nap

⭐🌙⭐

Thanks For Reading ^^

[za3k]

2020 Videogames

In 2020 I’m newly retired, so I’ve had free time. I think it’s fun to do reviews, so without further ado here’s every video game I played in 2020!

I recommend:

(4/5) Among Us – Very fun. It’s only fun with voice chat with friends, so I’ve only gotten to play once or twice. I’ve been watching it more than playing it. Also free to play for mobile gamers–I’m tired of the “everyone buys a copy” model of group gameplay.

(4/5) Brogue. Brogue is an ascii-art roguelike. It’s great, and it has a nice difficulty ramp. It’s a good “quick break” game. I play it in preference to other roguelikes partly because I haven’t done it to death yet, and partly because I don’t need a numpad?

(4/5) Cook Serve Delicious 3. One of the more fun games I played this year. You get really into it, but I had trouble relaxing and paying attention to the real world when I played too much, haha. I own but haven’t played the first two–I gather this is pretty much just a refinement.

(4/5) Green Hell. Price tag is a bit high for the number of hours I got out of it, but I haven’t finished the story. Great graphics, and the BEST map design I’ve seen in a 3D game in a long time. It feels like a real place, with reasonable geography instead of copy-pasted tiles. I love that as you walk along, you can just spot a cultivated area from the rest of the jungle–it feels more like it’s treating me like an adult than most survival games. Everything still gets highlighted if you can pick it up. I played the survival mode, which was okay but gets old quickly. I started the story mode–I think it would be fine, but it has some LONG unskippable scenes at the start, including a very hand-holdy tutorial, that I think they should have cut. I did start getting into the story and was having fun, but I stopped. I might finish the game some time.

(4/5) Hyperrogue. One of my recent favorites. The dev has made a fair number of highly experimental games, most of which are a total miss with me, but this one is fun. I do wish the early game wasn’t quite as repetitive. Failing another solution, I might actually want this not to be permadeath, or to have a save feature? I bought it on steam to support the dev and get achievements, but it’s also available a version or two behind free, which is how I tried it. Constantly getting updates and new worlds.

(4/5) Minecraft – Compact Claustrophobia modpack. Fun idea, nice variety. After one expansion felt a little samey, and it was hard to start with two people. I’d consider finishing this pack.

(4/5) Overcooked 2. Overcooked 2 is just more levels for Overcooked. The foods in the second game is more fun, and it has better controls and less bugs. If you’re considering playing Overcooked, I recommend just starting with the second game, despite very fun levels in the first. I especially appreciate that the second game didn’t just re-use foods from the first.

(4/5) Please Don’t Press Anything. A unique little game where you try to get all the endings. I had a lot of fun with this one, but it could have used some kind of built-in hints like Reventure. Also, it had a lot of red herrings. Got it for $2, which it was well worth.

(5/5) Reventure. Probably the best game new to me this year. It’s a short game where you try to get each of about 100 endings. The art and writing are cute and funny. The level design is INCREDIBLE. One thing I found interesting is the early prototype–if I had played it, I would NOT have imagined it would someday be any fun at all, let alone as amazing as it is. As a game designer I found that interesting! I did 100% complete this one–there’s a nice in-game hint system, but there were still 1-3 “huh” puzzles, especially in the post-game content, one of which I had to look up. It’s still getting updates so I’m hoping those will be swapped for something else.

(5/5) Rimworld. Dwarf fortress, but with good cute graphics, set in the Firefly universe. Only has 1-10 pawns instead of hundreds of dwarves. Basically Dwarf Fortress but with a good UI. I wish you could do a little more in Rimworld, but it’s a fantastic, relaxing game.

(5/5) Slay the Spire. Probably the game I played most this year. A deckbuilding adventure through a series of RPG fights. A bit luck-based, but relaxing and fun. I like that you can play fast or slow. Very, very well-designed UI–you can really learn how things work. My favorite part is that because it’s singleplayer, it’s really designed to let you build a game-breaking deck. That’s how it should be!

(4/5) Stationeers. I had a lot of fun with this one. It’s similar to Space Engineers but… fun. It has better UI by a mile too, even if it’s not perfect. I lost steam after playing with friends and then going back to being alone, as I often do for base-building games. Looks like you can genuinely make some complicated stuff using simple parts. Mining might not be ideal.

(5/5) Spy Party. One of my favorite games. Very fun, and an incredibly high skill ceiling. There’s finally starting to be enough people to play a game with straners sometimes. Bad support for “hot seat”–I want to play with beginners in person, and it got even harder with the introduction of an ELO equivalent and removing the manual switch to use “beginner” gameplay.

(4/5) Telling Lies. A storytelling game. The core mechanic is that you can use a search engine for any phrase, and it will show the top 5 survellance footage results for that. The game internally has transcripts of every video. I didn’t really finish the game, but I had a lot of fun with it. The game was well-made. I felt the video acting didn’t really add a huge amount, and they could have done a text version, but I understand it wouldn’t have had any popular appeal. The acting was decent. There’s some uncomfortable content, on purpose.

(4/5) Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (TABS). Delightful. Very silly, not what you’d expect from the name. What everyone should have been doing with physics engines since they were invented. Imagine that when a caveman attacks, the club moves on its own and the caveman just gets ragdolled along, glued to it. Also the caveman and club have googley eyes. Don’t try to win or it will stop being fun. Learn how to turn on slo-mo and move the camera.

(4/5) We Were Here Together. Lots of fun. I believe the second game out of three. Still some crashes and UI issues. MUCH better puzzles and the grpahics are gorgeous. They need to fix the crashes or improve the autosave, we ended up replaying a lot of both games from crashes. It’s possible I should be recommending the third game but I haven’t played it yet.

The Rest

(3/5) 5D Chess with Multiverse Time Travel. More fun that it sounds. If you play to mess around and win by accident, it’s pretty good. Definitely play with a second human player, though.

(1.5/5) 7 billion humans. Better than the original, still not fun. Soulless game about a soulless, beige corporation. Just play Zachtronics instead. If you’re on a phone and want to engage your brain, play Euclidea.

(3/5) A Dark Room. Idle game.

(1/5) Amazing Cultivation Simulator. A big disappointment. Bad english voice acting which can’t be turned off, and a long, unskippable tutorial. I didn’t get to actual gameplay. I like Rimworld and cultivation novels so I had high hopes.

(3/5) ADOM (Steam version) – Fun like the original, which I would give 5/5. Developed some major issues on Linux, but I appreciate that there’s a graphical version available, one of my friends will play it now.

(4/5) agar.io – Good, but used to be better. Too difficult to get into games now. Very fun and addictive gameplay.

(3/5) Amorous – Furry dating sim. All of the hot characters are background art you can’t interact with, and the characters you can actually talk to are a bunch of sulky nerds who for some reason came to a nightclub. I think it was free, though.

(0/5) Apis. Alpha game, AFAIK I was the first player. Pretty much no fun right now (to the point of not really being a game yet), but it could potentially become fun if the author puts in work.

(4/5) Autonauts. I played a ton of Autonauts this year, almost finished it, which is rare for me. My main complaint is that it’s fundamentally supposed to be a game about programming robots, but I can’t actually make them do more than about 3 things, even as a professional programmer. Add more programming! It can be optional, that’s fine. They’re adding some kind of tower defense waves instead, which is bullshit. Not recommended because it’s not for everyone.

(3/5) A-Z Inc. Points for having the guts to have a simple game. At first this looked like just the bones of Swarm Simulator, but the more you look at the UI and the ascension system, the worse it actually is. I would regularly reset because I found out an ascension “perk” actually made me worse off.

(5/5) Beat Saber. Great game, and my favorite way to stay in shape early this year. Oculus VR only, if you have VR you already have this game so no need to recommend. Not QUITE worth getting a VR set just to play it at current prices.

(1/5) Big Tall Small. Good idea, but no fun to play. Needed better controls and level design, maybe some art.

(0.5/5) Blush Blush. Boring.

(3/5) Business Shark. I had too much fun with this simple game. All you do is just eat a bunch of office workers.

(3/5) chess.com. Turns out I like chess while I’m high?

(3/5) Circle Empires Rivals. Decent, more fun than the singleplayer original. It shouldn’t really have been a separate game from Circle Empires, and I’m annoyed I couldn’t get it DRM-free like the original.

(3/5) Cross Virus. By Dan-box. Really interesting puzzle mechanics.

(4/5) Cultist Simulator. Really fun to learn how to play–I love games that drop you in with no explanation. Great art and writing, I wish I could have gotten their tarot deck. Probably the best gameplay “ambience” I’ve seen–getting a card that’s labeled “fleeting sense of radiance” that disappears in 5 seconds? Great. Also the core stats are very well thought out for “feel” and real-life accuracy–dread (depression) conquers fascination (mania), etc. It has a few gameplay gotchas, but they’re not too big–layout issues, inability to go back to skipped text, or to put your game in an unwinnable state early on). Unfortunately it’s a “roguelike”, and it’s much too slow-paced and doesn’t have enough replay value, so it becomes a horrible, un-fun grind when you want to actually win. I probably missed the 100% ending but I won’t be going back to get it. I have no idea who would want to play this repeatedly. I’m looking forward to the next game from the same studio though! I recommend playing a friend’s copy instead of buying.

(2/5) Darkest Dungeon. It was fine but I don’t really remember it.

(2/5) Dicey Dungeons. Okay deck-building roguelike gameplay (with an inventory instead of a deck). Really frustrating, unskippably slow difficulty curve at the start. I played it some more this year and liked it better because I had a savegame. I appreciate having several character classes, but they should unlock every difficulty from the start.

(2/5) Diner Bros. Basically just a worse Overcooked. I didn’t like the controls, and it felt too repetitive with only one diner.

(2/5) Don’t Eat My Mind You Stupid Monster. Okay art and idea, the gameplay wasn’t too fun for me.

(2/5) Don’t Starve – I’ve played Don’t Stave maybe 8 different times, and it’s never really gripped me, I always put it back down. It’s slow, a bit grindy, and there’s no bigger goal–all you can do is live.

(3/5) Don’t Starve Together – Confusingly, Don’t Starve Together can be played alone. It’s Don’t Starve, plus a couple of the expansions. This really could be much more clearly explained.

(1/5) Elemental Abyss – A deck-builder, but this time it’s grid-based tactics. Really not all that fun. Just play Into the Abyss instead or something.

(1/5) Else Heart.Break() – I was excited that this might be a version of “Hack N’ Slash” from doublefine that actually delivered and let you goof around with the world. I gave it up in the first ten minutes, because the writing and characters drove me crazy, without getting to hacking the world.

(2/5) Everything is Garbage. Pretty good for a game jam game. Not a bad use of 10 minutes. I do think it’s probably possible to make the game unwinnable, and the ending is just nothing.

(1/5) Evolve. Idle game, not all that fun. I take issue with the mechanic in Sharks, Kittens, and this where buying your 15th fence takes 10^15 wood for some reason.

(4/5) Exapunks. Zachtronics has really been killing it lately, with Exapunks and Opus Magnum. WONDERFUL art and characters during story portions, and much better writing. The gameplay is a little more varied than in TIS-100 or the little I played of ShenZen I/O. My main complaint about Zachtronics games continues to be, that I don’t want to be given a series of resource-limited puzzles (do X, but without using more than 10 programming instructions). Exapunks is the first game where it becomes harder to do something /at all/, rather than with a particular amount of resources, but it’s still not there for me. Like ShenZen, they really go for a variety of hardware, too. Can’t recommend this because it’s really only for programmers.

(1/5) Exception. Programming game written by some money machine mobile games company. Awful.

(4/5) Factorio. Factorio’s great, but for me it doesn’t have that much replay value, even with mods. I do like their recent updates, which included adding blueprints from the start of the game, improving belt sorting, and adding a research queue. We changed movement speed, made things visually always day, and adding a small number of personal construction robots from the start this run. I’m sure if you’d like factorio you’ve played it already.

(3/5) Fall Guys – I got this because it was decently fun to watch. Unfortunately, it’s slightly less fun to play. Overall, there’s WAY too much matchmaking waiting considering the number of players, and the skill ceiling is very low on most of the games, some of which are essentially luck (I’m looking at you, team games).

(3/5) Forager – Decent game. A little too much guesswork in picking upgrades–was probably a bit more fun on my second play because of that. Overall, nice graphics and a cute map, but the gameplay could use a bit of work.

(3/5) Getting Over It – Funny idea, executed well. Pretty sure my friends and I have only gotten through 10% of the game, and all hit about the same wall (the first tunnel)

(3/5) Guild of Dungeoneering – Pretty decent gameplay. I feel like it’s a bit too hard for me, but that’s fine. Overall I think it could use a little more cute/fun art, I never quite felt that motivated.

(1/5) Hardspace: Shipbreakers. Okay, I seriously didn’t get to play this one, but I had GAMEBREAKING issues with my controller, which is a microsoft X-box controller for PC–THE development controller.

(2/5) Helltaker. All right art, meh gameplay. But eh, it’s free!

(3/5) Hot Lava. Decent gameplay. Somehow felt like the place that made this had sucked the souls out of all the devs first–no one cared about the story or characters. It’s a game where the floor is made out of lava, with a saturday morning cartoon open, so that was a really an issue. Admirable lack of bugs, though. I’m a completionist so I played the first world a lot to get all the medals, and didn’t try the later ones.

(3/5) House Flipper – Weird, but I had fun. I wish the gameplay was a little more unified–it felt like a bunch of glued-together minigames.

(2/5) Hydroneer. Utterly uninspiring. I couldn’t care about making progress at all, looked like a terrible grind to no benefit.

(1/5) io. Tiny game, I got it on Steam, also available on phone. Basically a free web flash game, but for money. Not good enough to pay the $1 I paid. Just a bit of a time-killer.

(3/5) Islanders – All you do is place buildings and get points. Not particularly challenging, but relaxing. Overall I liked it.

(3/5) Jackbox – I played this online with a streamer. Jackbox has always felt a little bit soulless money grab to me, but it’s still all right. I like that I can play without having a copy–we need more games using this purchase model.

(3/5) Life is Feudal – Soul-crushingly depressing and grindy, which I knew going in. I thought it was… okay, but I really want an offline play mode (Yes, I know there’s an unsupported single-player game, but it’s buggier and costs money). UI was pretty buggy, and I think hunting might literally be impossible.

(2/5) Minecraft – Antimatter Chemistry. Not particularly fun.

(3/5) Minecraft – ComputerCraft. I played a pack with just ComputerCraft and really nothing else. Was a little slow, would have been more fun with more of an audience. I love the ComputerCraft mod, I just didn’t have a great experience playing my pack I made.

(3/5) Minecraft – Foolcraft 3. Fun, a bit buggy. Honestly I can’t remember it too well.

(1/5) Minecraft – Manufactio. Looked potentially fun, but huge bugs and performance issues, couldn’t play.

(4/5) Minecraft – Tekkit. Tekkit remains one of my favorite Minecraft modpacks.

(3/5) Minecraft – Valhelsia 2. I remember this being fun, but I can’t remember details as much as I’d like. I think it was mostly based around being the latest version of minecraft?

(4/5) Minecraft – Volcano Block. Interesting, designed around some weird mods I hadn’t used. I could have used more storage management or bulk dirt/blocks early in the game–felt quite cramped. Probably got a third of the way through the pack. I got novelty value out of it, but I wouldn’t have enjoyed it if I had ever used the plant mod before–it’s a very fixed, linear progression.

(5/5) Minit. This is a weird, small game. I actually had a lot of fun with it. Then I 100% completed it, which was less fun but I still had a good time overall.

(3/5) Monster Box. By Dan-box. One of two Dan-box games I played a lot of. Just visually appealing, the gameplay isn’t amazing. Also, Dan-box does some great programming–this is a game written in 1990 or so, and it can render hundreds of arrows in the air smoothly in a background tab.

(3/5) Monster Train. A relatively fun deckbuilding card game. It can’t run well on my computer, which is UNACCEPTABLE–this is a card game with 2D graphics. My MICROWAVE should run this shit in 2020. Ignoring that, the gameplay style (summon monsters, MTG style) just isn’t my cup of tea.

(2/5) Moonlighter. Felt like it was missing some inspiration, just didn’t have a sense of “fun”. The art was nice. The credits list is surprisingly long.

(2/5) Muse Dash. All right, a basic rhythm game. Not enough variety to the game play, and everything was based around perfect or near-perfect gameplay, which makes things less fun for me.

(3/5) NES games – various. Dr Mario, Ice Climbers. Basically, I got some Chinese handheld “gameboy” that has all the NES games preloaded on it. Overall it was a great purchase.

(2/5) Noita. “The Powder Game” by Dan-Box, as a procedurally generated platformer with guns. Lets you design your own battle spells. Despite the description, you really still can’t screw around as much as I’d like. I also had major performance issues

(3/5) Observation. I haven’t played this one as much as I’d like, I feel like it may get better. Storytelling, 3D game from the point of view of the AI computer on a space station. I think I might have read a book it’s based on, unfortunately.

(2/5) One Step From Eden. This is a deck-building combat tactics game. I thought it was turn-based, but it’s actually realtime. I think if it was turn-based I would have liked it. The characters were a bit uninspired.

(1/5) Orbt XL. Very dull. I paid $0.50 for it, it was worth that.

(4/5) Opus Magnum. Another great game from Zachtronics, along with Exapunks they’re really ramping up. This is the third execution of the same basic concept. I’d like to see Zachtronics treading new ground more as far as gameplay–that said, it is much improved compared to the first two iterations. The art, writing, and story were stellar on the other hand.

(3/5) Out of Space. Fun idea, you clean a spaceship. It’s never that challenging, and it has mechanics such that it gets easier the more you clean, rather than harder. Good but not enough replay value. Fun with friends the first few times. The controls are a little wonky.

(1/5) Outpost (tower defense game). I hate all tower defense.

(3/5) Overcooked. Overcooked is a ton of fun.

(4/5) Powder Game – Dan-box. I played this in reaction to not liking Noita. It’s fairly old at this point. Just a fun little toy.

(1/5) Prime Mover – Very cool art, the gameplay put me to sleep immediately. A “circuit builder” game but somehow missing any challenge or consistency.

(2/5) Quest for Glory I. Older, from 1989. Didn’t really play this much, I couldn’t get into the writing, and the pseudo-photography art was a little jarring.

(4/5) Raft. I played this in beta for free on itch.io, and had a lot of fun. Not enough changed that it was really worth a replay, but it has improved, and I got to play with a second player. Not a hard game, which I think was a good thing. The late game they’ve expanded, but it doesn’t really add much. The original was fun and so was this.

(3/5) Satisfactory. I honestly don’t know how I like this one–I didn’t get too far into it.

(4/5) Scrap Mechanic. I got this on a recommendation from a player who played in creative. I only tried the survival mode–that mode is not well designed, and their focuses for survival are totally wrong. I like the core game, you can actually build stuff. If I play again, I’ll try the creative mode, I think.

(3.5/5) Shapez.io. A weird, abstracted simplification of Factorio. If I hadn’t played factorio and half a dozen copies, I imagine this would have been fun, but it’s just more of the same. Too much waiting–blueprints are too far into the game, too.

(2.5/5) Simmiland. Okay, but short. Used cards for no reason. For a paid game, I wanted more gameplay out of it?

(0.5/5) Snakeybus. The most disappointing game I remember this year. Someone made “Snake” in 3D. There are a million game modes and worlds to play in. I didn’t find anything I tried much fun.

(1/5) Soda Dungeon. A “mobile” (read: not fun) style idle game. Patterned after money-grab games, although I don’t remember if paid progress was actually an option. I think so.

(4/5) Spelunky. The only procedurally generated platformer I’ve ever seen work. Genuinely very fun.

(4/5) Spelunky 2. Fun, more of an upgrade of new content than a new game. Better multiplayer. My computer can’t run later levels at full speed.

(1/5) Stick Ranger 2. Dan-box. Not much fun.

(3/5) Superliminal. Fun game. A bit short for the pricetag.

(3/5) Tabletop Simulator – Aether’s End: Legacy. Interesting, a “campaign” (series of challenge bosses and pre-written encounters) deckbuilding RPG. I like the whole “campaign RPG boardgame” idea. This would have worked better with paper, there were some rough edges in both the game instructions and the port to Tabletop Simulator.

(4/5) Tabletop Simulator – The Captain is Dead. Very fun. I’d love to play with more than 2 people. Tabletop simulator was so-so for this one.

(2/5) Tabletop Simulator – Tiny Epic Mechs. You give your mech a list of instructions, and it does them in order. Arena fight. Fun, but I think I could whip up something at least as good.

(3/5) The Council. One of the only 3D games I finished. It’s a story game, where you investigate what’s going on and make various choices. It’s set in revolutionary france, at the Secret World Council that determines the fate of the world. It had a weak ending, with less choice elements than the rest of the game so far, which was a weird decision. Also, it has an EXCRUTIATINGLY bad opening scene, which was also weird. The middle 95% of the game I enjoyed, although the ending went on a little long. The level of background knowledge expected of the player swung wildly–they seemed to expect me to know who revolutionary French generals were with no explanation, but not Daedalus and the Minotaur. The acting was generally enjoyable–there’s a lot of lying going on in the game and it’s conveyed well. The pricetag is too high to recommend.

(0/5) The Grandma’s Recipe (Unus Annus). This game is unplayably bad–it’s just a random pixel hunt. Maybe it would be fun if you had watched the video it’s based on.

(3/5) The Room. Pretty fun! I think this is really designed for a touchscreen, but I managed to play it on my PC. Played it stoned, which I think helps with popular puzzle games–it has nice visuals but it’s a little too easy.

(3/5) This Call May Be Recorded. Goofy experimental game.

(4/5) TIS-100. Zachtronics. A programming game. I finally got done with the first set of puzzles and into the second this year. I had fun, definitely not for everyone.

(3/5) Trine. I played this 2-player. I think the difficulty was much better 2-player, but it doesn’t manage 2 players getting separated well. Sadly we skipped the story, which seemed like simple nice low-fantasy. Could have used goofier puzzles, it took itself a little too seriously and the levels were a bit same-y.

(2/5) Unrailed. Co-op railroad building game. It was okay but there wasn’t base-building. Overall not my thing. I’d say I would prefer something like Overcooked if it’s going to be timed? Graphics reminded me of autonauts.

(2/5) Vampire Night Shift. Art game. Gameplay could have used a bit of polish. Short but interesting.

(4/5) Wayward. To date, the best survival crafting system I’ve seen. You can use any pointy object and stick-like object, together with glue or twine, to make an arrow. The UI is not great, and there’s a very counter-intuitive difficulty system. You need to do a little too much tutorial reading, and it could use more goals. Overall very fun. Under constant development, so how it plays a given week is a crapshoot. The steam version finally works for me (last time I played it was worse than the free online alpha, now it’s the same or better). I recomend playing the free online version unless you want to support the author.

(1/5) We Need to Go Deeper. Multiplayer exploration game in a sub, with sidescrolling battle. Somehow incredibly unfun, together with high pricetag. Aesthetics reminded me of Don’t Starve somehow.

(2/5) We Were Here. Okay 2-player puzzle game. Crashed frequently, and there were some “huh” puzzles and UI. Free.

(3/5) Yes, your grace. Gorgeous pixel art graphics. The story is supposed to be very player-dependent, but I started getting the feeling that it wasn’t. I didn’t quite finish the game but I think I was well past halfway. Hard to resume after a save, you forget things. I got the feeling I wouldn’t replay it, which is a shame because it’s fun to see how things go differently in a second play with something like this.

These are not all new to me, and very few came out in 2020. I removed any games I don’t remember and couldn’t google (a fair number, I play a lot of game jam games) as well as any with pornographic content.

2020 Videogames was originally published on Optimal Prime

[thestudyfeels]

🎨 Graphic made by @indiaisstudying​: India is brilliant my pals, and I recommend checking her out for studyblr/artblr inspiration. My girl tHIRIVES.

The singular takeaway from this post: Do a creative binge. Much productive than a Netflix binge. Period.

Two months ago, I reached my peak when I coined the term ‘bood day’ (a bad to good day, in my article How To Flip A Bad Day By 180°). Today, puppies and kittens, I present to you— a creative binge.

*crickets chirping, that one dude in the audience scratches his nose and turns away* 

…This one actually works but okay, we get it, y'all are bitches. But gonna do my job anyway– if you're a creator reading this, please do a creative binge at least once every two weeks.

I started doing these binges two months ago, and I've seen a VAST improvement in my creative energy. I feel my commercial voice coughing and saying hello to the mic, so before I start listing side-effects for a sponsored pill, let's dive into the basics. 

🍵 Quick PSA — 

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Ever questioned your life, experienced writer's block, painter’s pain or blogger’s… block? (Narrator: aaaand she's back to advertising.) A creative binge helps deal with fixing exactly that.

“A creative binge is based off the equation of quality in = quality out.”

A lot of creators feel that they're supposed to magically create out of their head, and that's just ridiculous. It's ludicrous considering you don't know shit, read shit, do shit and watch shit.

Even to write fiction, my pal, you'll have to expose yourself to the world to know its ways, read great books and take tips (not to mention stock up on coffee, and prepare to cry a lot) before you start cranking out the pages. Everything you create is ultimately inspired by the Ways Of The World. (And that's a fantastic novel title)

So in short, you’ve got to consume content, to make content. And in a creative binge, you conscious choose content that'll help you create. Genius, I know!

Okay, but what if I'm not a creator?

Brilliant question! Wanna become more valuable and leave the people you interact with better? Take a creative binge.

Allow me an elaboration: Take a janitor and a neurosurgeon. The said janitor is paid much less than the neurosurgeon. Why is that? Is the neurosurgeon a better person? That's debatable. Is the janitor less efficient at his work? Again, debatable. The primal reason lies in the neurosurgeon acquiring more valuable skills than the janitor. Society rewards them by paying more since there are less folks who can do what the neurosurgeon does.

To recap: In order to be indispensable in the role you play (whatever it is, a student, calligrapher, CEO of the Janitor Club), you HAVE to become valuable. Grow your curiosity & know more than yo’ buddies (also bring more value than anybody else). And to become valuable, you consume value. Tada!

(And if you still ain't convinced, I'll pull out the Netflix card. You'd really rather watch shows? Or binge YouTube? Than learn a new skill, or develop existing ones? Question your priorities, my friend. Victims love entertainment, victors love learning.)

Cool, you're joining in then! Not that creative binge is NOT an entertainment binge. It's a value providing binge. What you ‘consume’ has to bring you something in return— whether that's creative inspiration, motivation or skills. *Swing arms* yup! We’re one gay, productive household. Someone remind Hallie to buy the groceries though, the Cheerios are going mouldy.

By my dictionary, a creative binge is a slot of time, 1½ to 3 hours I'd say, when you watch/read/listen to some good stuff.  Basically, binge content. 

THE 101 OF A CREATIVE BINGE 

🌿 Basics:

I conduct one every week (usually Wednesday mornings), lasting around 1½ to 2 hours.

I'll also keep a notepad and a pen nearby, to take notes and jot ideas as they come. Again, this is NOT an entertainment binge, even though it's a chill job.

Sometimes I'll get passive things done (like wiping my desk, eating breakfast and taking out textbooks) while watching. We maximize our time. 

🌿 What Do I Watch: 

The stuff I watch falls into 3 categories: creative/humor (for inspiration), business/skills (for skills) & motivation (for, um, motivation). Fair warning though, a lot of the stuff these folks make overlap, but that's alright. This is just a rough demarcation. 

Creative/Humor: some YesTheory, maybe some MacDoesIt, sprinkle in some Ryan Higa, perhaps an episode of a show with an amazing script, some stand-up comedy from my favorites. Or maybe trash that and just watch Sherlock. (Geez, Netflix, I hate you, I love you.)

Skills: Gary Vee, some artist channels, that random video on how to thrift shop even though I don't shop.

Motivation: Be Inspired, Tom Bilyeu, Mel Robbins and random videos which look nice.

🌿 What Do I Listen To: 

Oof, I love music tremendously! If you're a pal, you know it's time to RUN when I come around being like, “soo, I was wondering what's your favourite–”.

Yet, during a creative binge, I'll only listen to stuff that 1) inspires me, or 2) is creative in a way I can't explain. Some recommendations! 

Hype music:

The Score

NF

Imagine Dragons

Creative music:

Billie Eilish

Lana Del Rey

Sleeping At Last

Lorde

Conan Gray

Harry Styles 

🌿 What Do I Read: 

Usually the book that I'm reading at that point if I'm being lazy.

POETRY: It's my belief, but poetry is a writer's most powerful device. There's a novel to be said in a simple sonnet.

FICTION: I dig great fiction. PS, please read (and sob over) Away Childish Things, by @letteredlettered. It changed me as a person, changed my entire perspective about kids. I'm much kinder and softer now, and my pimples are gone. I'll literally never get over drarry too, so thanks lettered, love you.

ARTICLES: Bookmarked psychology, productivity & fitness articles on Medium. Maybe check out James Clear's & Gary Vee’s blog for new posts.

Because I wanna drive this home, here's what I did in my last creative binge as a concrete example —

Care to Note that:

All of the stuff I consume is pre-planned.

I add videos throughout the week to my Creative Binge playlist on YouTube, download albums from Amazon Music and articles for offline reading.

DON'T leave this to the last moment, you'll more likely pick entertainment vs learning then. 

Watched–

Why I'm done trying to be "man enough"

Redecorating my room 2017 (I wanna decorate my room this year so)

How to Squat Properly (I’m trying lmao)

Giving a 9-Year-Old Her Dream Job for 24hrs!! (I stan YesTheory so much)

How To NOT Be A Starving Artist (A mood. I love Sorelle)

Couple more, I could go on & on, but you get me.

Listened–

Every song on YouTube by Bruno Major

Born to die: paradise version (album) by Lana Del Rey 

Read–

Articles from James Clear's blog — (x) (x)

Articles from Gary Vee’s blog — (x) (x)

HIIT workouts for beginners

All of this birthed–

Ideas for future articles, titled: How To Be Great & Solomon Letters #2: Question Your Faith, Not Your Dreams, among others.

A small poem about faith– posted on my IG, check it out!

New content ideas, like value chains (upcoming!)

Bunch of other small rants for everyday posting

Some business and life advice that might be useful later.

Gotta say goodbye now! (literally too... but post about it coming on 12th so wait for it) Try this one out, and let me know how your binge goes (tag it with #team conquer). Mine usually end with a bucketful of philo notes, a recharged left (right? psychology? idk) brain, and a fresh perspective towards the rest of my week. 

This is the #1 strategy I've adopted to sustain creative energy when it's sapped all around by negativity and school & I promise it helps. No side effects, no sponsored pills needed. Thanks for reading!

Related: How To Get Back Into The Creative Process (if you're in a blogger's block or experiencing painter's pain)

Have something to say? I treasure all feedback! If this post inspired you to do something, or you wanna throw some love/constructive criticism at me— hop into my ask box, or reply to this post itself!

Thanks for dropping by! Major articles, like this one, come out every Thursday! Join my taglist by to read them when they do. I also post daily wins, journal entries, rants & photos of my plant babies throughout the week, so follow me if you’re into conquering life. I vow to be the loudest cheerleader. ✧

Sending you love and good energy, talk soon. 

Nandini 💌 (´｡• ᵕ •｡`) ♡ 

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[wehaveeverythingweneed]

LIFE DAY WISH LIST - my [mostly] star wars christmas list

Ahh Christmas.. The time of year we anticipate the next installment in the franchise we love so much, and look back on the masterpiece that is the SW Holiday Special (that the big GL would rather us all forget ever happened).

Although it’s not quite Christmas yet, my family always asks what I’d like for Christmas and I can never give a good answer other than “Uhh.. Star Wars!” While that’s never a bad answer, this year I wanted to be more specific. I wanted to be intentional. And besides, Star Wars is vast, and to someone who isn’t neck deep in SW Twitter daily, shopping for someone who is can be quite daunting. So after wading through the never-ending sea of Star Wars merch, I have assembled what I believe to be a pretty darn good Christmas List.

[Full Disclosure: There are some items on the list that AREN’T SW related, hence the “mostly” in the title. Also, I’ve done my best to give a couple options of varying price range ‘cus you know some of us are ballin’ on a budget. Enjoy!]

1. LEGO Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Millennium Falcon 75257

If you know anything about me, you know I love LEGO. It’s what got me into the galaxy far, far away in the first place. This set is on the more expensive side, coming in at about $140 on Amazon, but is definitely worth it considering the good price/piece ratio. This is also one of the best looking Millennium Falcon sets I’ve seen. While the minifigure choices are a bit odd to me, the shape and details of the ship itself are great. A perfect set to commemorate the conclusion of the Skywalker Saga.

2. LEGO Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Resistance A-Wing Starfighter 75248

On the less expensive end of the LEGO spectrum, we have the updated A-Wing. The forest green on this thing looks sweet, and it comes with two minifigures that I’m just as excited as I am surprised that we’re even getting them: Snap Wexley and Lieutenant Connix. Snap is a character that had his origin in the Star Wars: Aftermath novels as a kid with a knack for fixing things and the dream of becoming a pilot and helping those in need. He then found his way to the Resistance in The Force Awakens and flew in the assault on Starkiller Base. Lieutenant Connix is played by Billie Lourd, the daughter of Carrie Fisher. It’s always been fun to see her on screen, and her growing roll in the sequel trilogy has meant so much more since the passing of her mother. It may be simple, but it’s great to see that legacy continued in this LEGO set. The set comes in at just $27 on Amazon.

3. The Art of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The year was 2016. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had just released, and I had a new apartment with a new coffee table that was begging for some coffee table book loving.. This was when I started collecting the “Art of” Star Wars coffee table books. Part art book, part making of, they’re the perfect blend of visual and behind-the-scenes storytelling I needed in my life. Both the Rogue One and The Last Jedi “Art of” books have not disappointed, and I have little doubt The Rise of Skywalker’s will. It doesn’t release until the day after the movie release, so it’s only available for preorder at the moment. When you preorder through Amazon though, they’ll ship it just in time for you to receive it on release day, so you know you’ll have it just in time for Christmas! The preorder price guarantee at the time of writing is $28. Really great for such a high quality art book.

4. Resistance Reborn: Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

Resistance Reborn is part of the “Journey to Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” series of novels. It serves as a prequel to the final movie in the saga, picking up after the Resistance's decimation at the end of The Last Jedi. This book is also only available for preorder at the moment, but will release on November 5 for $23.

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi Salt Planet Rebel Logo Bifold Wallet

One of my favorite things EVER (seriously ever) is the aesthetic of The Last Jedi. Bioworld takes that red and white theme so prevalent in The Last Jedi and slaps it on a nice Resistance wallet. I don’t collect wallets or anything, I’ve just received a lot of comments about how badly my wallet looks like it’s falling apart, so I thought Christmas was a good time to think about upgrading. I’m pretty particular about wallets, but this is a nice, simple design. Amazon has them for $17. Not bad for a good quality wallet with a sweet design.

6. Dynomighty Men's Ultra Thin Eco-friendly Tyvek Paper Mighty Wallets

This wallet is a little closer to the one I have now. It’s a paper wallet, but don’t let that fool you. These things last FOREVER. I’ve had mine for at least four years. The inside of this one features Han, Chewie, Luke and Ben in the Falcon cockpit and is on Amazon for $15.

7. Pokemon Gamefreak T-Shirt

One of the few non-Star Wars items on this list, I saw this on an ad on Instagram and just really dig it. Features some original Pokemon art from 1995 when the games first came out and a sweet design. The regular t-shirt goes for $28.

8. Star Wars Rise of Skywalker Tee

This tee was really cool to find because I just got a new pin on Triple Force Friday with the same design:

You can find the pin at most stores at Disney that carry pins, but for sure at Disney Springs’ Galactic Outpost. The tee is available at Kohls for $15.

9. Star Wars Graphic Long Sleeve Tee

I’ve really been digging these long sleeves that have the japanese along the sleeves. Not sure if there’s a name for that but they look sweet. This one features the Star Wars logo on the front, and a pretty wild amalgam of characters on the back. They’ve got it at Forever 21 for $20.

10. The Rise of Skywalker Artistic Rebel Collage

This simple tee shows off our heroes in their new looks for The Rise of Skywalker, including a couple new ones like Zorri Bliss and Jannah! I love the art style of the characters on this shirt. It’s slightly anime, but still true to the look of the actors. This shirt can be found at Fifth Sun for $20.

Let me know if you have any suggestions for a good Star Wars Christmas List! Be good and don’t forget, we have everything we need.

Have a great night!

Austin @aka_thecaptain

[erinpagewrites]

5 Shows to Watch Now That REIGN Is Over

After four seasons and 78 episodes (!), our favorite, semi-historical, semi-fantasy teen drama has come to an end. The last Urban Outfitters dress has twirled out of the ballroom; the last Lumineers song has played us off; and the last prophecy of Nostradamus has come to fruition. Did those things have anything to do with the real life of real person Mary, Queen of Scots and Notable Badass? Oh hell no, but that didn’t stop me from loving this show.

For me, it was love at first sight with some of the bananas storylines and details:

Why doesn’t anyone in France find Queen Catherine as hilarious as we do?

How many games of Hide & Seek can these grown-ass adults play per season?

Is the ghost that lives in the palace walls there to help Mary or hurt Mary, and hey it’s not a ghost it’s been a lovechild this whole time?

But my love for this show grew along with the tangle of plotlines, and over the last few years I developed a genuine affection for Reign. I’ve spent a good number of Friday nights watching and livetweeting and yelling at the screen when yet another episode has gone by without Mary getting a happy storyline, or without enough Catherine one-liners, or when they’ve killed off characters I’ve come to care for.

So where do we go from here? Where can we get that rare mix of adventure, romance, pseudo-history, and most importantly high-stakes costume drama? I’ve assembled a list of shows to help fill the void, where to watch them, and a semi-biased guide to appeal-level of each one.

(I tried to find as many pictures for these shows of the cast in the same dark, broody pose. This is the kind of detail I muster just for you guys.)

1.       VERSAILLES

What It Is: A series following Louis XIV, and how one prince turned an obscure hunting lodge into the premier palace of Europe. As you can imagine, this show is less about the price of timber and gilded mirrors and more about the courtly intrigue of early Rococo France.

Where To Watch: Versailles premiered on Ovation tv, but has since been available for streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix. Seasons One and Two have aired, with a third season in production.

Will I Like It? If you loved the courtly intrigue best in Reign, then this is the show for you. It’s basically the late sequel to Reign, in terms of time period. A lot of the cast is also fairly young and pretty, and the set design, costumes, and sweeping scenery gives you a lot to feast your eyes. It is definitely, ahem, a show for grownups in terms of graphic content, but probably nothing you haven’t seen before on a BBC show.

2.       MEDICI: MASTERS OF FLORENCE

What It Is: A series following Cosimo de Medici, running his family bank and investigating the murder of his father at the height of Medici family power. Heavy on the murder investigation, family drama, and political upheaval, and light on the banking systems of Renaissance Italy.

Where To Watch: Netflix. Season One was uploaded in late 2016, and a Season Two has been discussed.

Will I Like It? This is the series for you if you wished we could have seen more of what Queen Catherine’s relatives and enemies were up to over in Italy. Also for the Rob Stark fans. Again, this show is heavier in graphic content than Reign.

3.       THE WHITE QUEEN / WHITE PRINCESS

What It Is: Two seasons covering two stories in Philippa Gregory’s The Cousins War book series. Season One is the story of Elizabeth Woodville, York Queen and mother of the infamous “Princes in the Tower” allegedly murdered by Richard III. Gregory’s books and the tv show focus through the female perspective on the Wars of the Roses in fifteenth century England.

Where To Watch: Originally on Starz, The White Princess just recently broadcast its final episode. The White Queen is available to stream on Amazon Prime, and I imagine that The White Princess will not be far behind. I was unable to find information on a third season, but as Gregory has several books that continue the warring family saga, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was renewed.

Will I Like It? To be completely honest, this is my favorite of the shows I’ve included in this list. I’ve been a Philippa Gregory fan ever since I was in high school and first fell in love with The Other Boleyn Girl. Her stories bring a lot of family lineage, political minutiae, and land-grabbing to life. The White Queen and The White Princess have been critically acclaimed as a “feminist response” to Game of Thrones, which… while they certainly offer a nuanced perspective and, in Season Two, a noted female gaze, they’re not a “response” if the books were written before Game of Thrones ever aired. Just nitpicking on the critics not checking publication dates! Because it’s a terrific show, and if you love the strong female characters of Reign, then you’ll love these real women of English history. This brings me, of course, to the show I almost need not list based on the fact that you’ve definitely heard of—and probably seen it-- already…

4.       GAME OF THRONES

What It Is: Warring families compete for The Iron Throne in the fantasy world of Westoros, while dark supernatural forces loom on the horizon to threaten life as they know it. Inspired by the A Song of Ice and Fire book series, author George R. R. Martin has stated in numerous interviews the significant influence of the Wars of the Roses, the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, and other classic “sword and sorcery” novels on his high fantasy books.

Where To Watch: Originally on HBO, but literally anywhere, as it’s the most pirated show in tv history. Available to stream in its entirety on HBOGo. Gearing up to debut its seventh (and penultimate) season next month.

Will I Like It? If you were into some of the magical and supernatural storylines from Reign, and can stomach some pretty intense violence, graphic adult scenes, people being mean to each other, and unending side characters and plots, then you’ll love it. I’ve loved this show, too. I don’t love it all of the time, but it’s hard to beat the dream casting, shocking moments, and truly gorgeous production quality.

5.       POLDARK

What It Is: A young lord returns from fighting the rebels in America to his failing estate in Cornwall. Ross Poldark must save his mine, his tenants, and struggle to win love in eighteenth century Britain.

Where To Watch: Originally aired (in the US) on PBS, now available for streaming on Amazon Prime. Currently airing its third season.

Will I Like It? If you like the family drama and romance parts of Reign, then you’ll like Poldark. Also, if you’ve been a fan of The Forsyte Saga or Downton Abbey, then this is really the best show in this list for you… The balance of heartwarming and backstabbing moments between characters is exquisite, and the period details and beautiful seaside Cornwall are massively appealing. Also Aidan Turner has been mentioned as a potential future James Bond, so... do with that what you will.

BONUS!       ROAR

What It Is: A series following a young Celtic warrior prince who is determined to protect his land from the invading Romans. To do that, he must gain the trust and respect of the Celtic tribes and find a way to overcome his adversary’s mysterious power in early Middle Ages-Britain.

Where To Watch: Apparently it originally aired on Fox, but I remember it from childhood in syndication on the SciFi (now SyFy, and no, I’m not afraid to date myself) Channel. It doesn’t look like it’s currently available to stream anywhere, but you can get the complete single season of 13 eps on DVD for a (shockingly high) $25 USD on Amazon.

Will I Like It?  Roar is the *tamest* of all of the shows in this list in terms of graphic content since it originally aired on Broadcast television many years ago, so if you need a break from GoT you can check out Roar. But I made this one a Bonus! entry on the list because it’s difficult to find and (again, just being *honest*) of spotty quality. They were banking on the then-recent success of the Hercules and Xena shows, but I think that the seriousness of the Roar storylines and the confusing timeline of the show were its ultimate downfall. Nevertheless, I couldn’t *not* include it because I have truly enjoyed several watch-throughs of Roar myself. Hey, I’m an anglo (er, celto)-phile myself, I was bound to find something in it to love. Do you want to see bb Heath Ledger and bb Vera Farmiga? Of course you do! The charismatic actors are the best part of this series… and hey, if the dubious historicism, fantastical magic, and occasional camp appeal to you from Reign, then you’ll find a worthy stand-in in Roar. 

[recentanimenews]

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Manga of 2019

Welcome to the first post in our annual “Staff Picks” series, in which the Ani-Gamers team selects some of our favorite anime, manga, and video games of the past year. As is the custom, we begin with manga.

2019 was a year of transition for the manga industry. The breadth of manga available in North America is larger than ever thanks to an array of seemingly thriving publishers. Japan-backed veterans Viz Media and Kodansha Comics continue to pump out great books, Seven Seas is more active than ever, and Square Enix has now thrown their hat into the ring with a new US-based subsidiary. But the biggest news of the year is the rise of digital manga services. In late 2018 Viz launched their revamped digital Shonen Jump experience (simulpubs and the full back catalog for some of the most popular manga in the world for the absurdly low price of $1.99 a month), followed shortly thereafter by Shueisha’s Manga Plus, a competing free manga service offering major titles from Viz’s Japanese parent company (go figure). Meanwhile, third-party services like MangaMo are starting to explore the digital subscription space. 2020 may just be the year that manga has its Crunchyroll moment.

That’s all the business side, though! Now it’s time to talk about the comics themselves. This year we’ve got three staff members participating, showcasing stellar manga stories across the genre spectrum, from whimsical fantasy to gothic horror to understated romance. Enjoy, and feel free to chime in with your own 2019 picks in the comments.

David Estrella

#3: At the Mountains of Madness

Quick disclaimer: H.P. Lovecraft was a big-time racist and I’m very aware of the contemporary re-evaluation of his works in the context of the man’s politics. That said, Gou Tanabe’s adaptation of Lovecraft’s novella is still an incredible work that should be taken with the illustrator’s own merits in mind. It’s Tanabe’s own talents that really elevate an old story that has been mined for parts and made relatively obsolete by other creators. As an artist, Tanabe’s visuals paint a perfect picture of alien desolation and dread, and his approach to pacing has few parallels among his peers. It’s a manga that doesn’t read like a typical manga and as far as graphic novels go, Tanabe is comfortable pulling from as many Western influences as needed without losing sight of his own identity and ideas. It’s simply a good comic from an artist that’s probably better than Lovecraft deserves.

#2: Bakemonogatari

Having rewatched the TV series innumerable times before reading the novel, I was convinced there wasn’t much new ground to break with Bakemonogatari. Oh!Great proved me wrong. The manga artist’s career-defining works had their moment before I was aware of them so I came into this unprepared for what I would find. Not content to simply rely on Nisioisin’s prose to carry the familiar story of a boy, a girl, and the crab spirit that stole her physical weight, Oh!Great pushes the imagery to extremes that not many artists would dare attempt. It’s almost overwhelming to see the ambition in every page that features some wild shifts in angles and perspective and yet remains totally comprehensible. The kinetic energy of the manga does override some of the finer, subtler points of the source but I can respect it as its own creation separate from the original.

#1: Nicola Traveling Around the Demon’s World

Nicola Traveling Around The Demon’s World is the best manga that I’ve read in 2019, rising above even my Monogatari bias on the virtue of being a completely new and fresh title, drawn with an infectious sense of joy and wonder that you can’t find in much of anything these days. I tend to fly through manga as quickly as I can read it, to the dismay of any hard-working comic artists reading this, but Nicola is worth the time to slow down and properly take in all the details inked onto the pages. It’s not Asaya Miyanaga’s desire to show off their skills when the panels are brimming with character, but instead it’s their love for their creation. Nicola might have run in a magazine explicitly marketed at adult readers but it would be unfair to place it in a box that would discourage young manga fans from reading this.

Ink

#3: Kino’s Journey – The Beautiful World

As someone who remains 100% in love with the 2003 anime adaptation of some of Keiichi Sigsawa’s Kino’s Journey novels and someone who found the 2017 anime adaption reboot largely soulless and hugely disappointing, I am fully prepared to defend my claim that this manga not only carries the very essence of the 2003 adaption but successfully builds on it in a few ways. First off, the stories, which include new and established chapters, are by Keiichi Sigsawa, so everything’s right from the source (via translator) there. Secondly, illustration by way of Iruka Shiomiya offers everything one could ask for in a title with such disparate situations as Kino’s Journey. Gone is the bishi Kino of 2017, and the more androgynous design returns. Heavy detail is placed into Kino’s motorad, Hermes, as well as weaponry and other machinery, but more detail is also placed on gore … which is a lot more prevalent and, as one might expect, not illustrated in detail to evoke a feeling of pleasure. Each volume also begins with a lovingly drawn, two-page spread overlain with a translation from Sigsawa’s original novels. This manga is only #3 on my list, because it’s another, albeit fantastic, iteration of something I already love, and that puts it at an unfair advantage over the other two in my list.

#2: Girls’ Last Tour

When the anime adaptation of Tsukumizu’s Girls’ Last Tour manga aired, the series of successive vignettes seemed the spiritual successor to the 2003 adaptation of Kino’s Journey. The episodes, like the source material, focus on moe blobs Chito and Yuuri exploring a stratified, post apocalyptic landscape via kettenkrad in search of, well, anything. While the episodes sometimes feel like a platformer video game with regard to how characters get from point A to point B, the human elements of observation and imagination are ultimately what make the series so enthralling in portraying the means necessary for maintaining sanity in the face of desolation. The anime, however, does not adapt all of the manga; the last two volumes are (as of yet) not adapted, and they are worth reading to the very end. The manga sports a style that melds the industrial with the abstract/absurd to simultaneously isolate humanity and show the ways in which it thrives. The chapters are often pensive think pieces which exploit innocence as a lens to both denounce the destruction of an inherited world and praise that which is found therein. The art, despite being hyper-mechanically and -pasturally focused, is admirably minimalist; a few lines often define landscapes, and the resulting emptiness is of the utmost importance for atmosphere and tone. Panel progression and related mastery of visual metaphor are so very important to the interpretation that I question whether dialog is necessary at all. That said, the charming, often (but not constantly) comical relationship between the odd couple MCs does help move moments along in the more stagnant bits while providing enough chuckles to press on.

#1: Happiness

Despite being a huge fan of Shuzo “Your Mental Discomfort is My Middle Name” Oshimi, this manga is about vampires, and I am very much burnt out on vampires and werewolves and zombies and the like. To be fair, however, Happiness is just as much about vampires as most vampire movies are about vampires. That is to say they are about (a) hunger. More to the point, and more to Oshimi’s forte, this 10-volume deep-dive into a youth mentally dealing with his newly awakened, biological need to feed is a visual feast from which Oshimi wants readers to catch the warm coppery waft of life. I fell in love with this title with Volume 2. The initial concept in the visual depiction of hunger - a swirling and distortion of character POV that increases in magnitude with the length of abstinence - feeds right into Oshimi’s Francophilia; post-impressionist landscapes and portraits are definite influences, and other European styles are invoked as well for jaw-dropping art used mainly in chapter breaks. Oshimi’s visual style has improved by leaps and bounds since Flowers of Evil, and that’s saying something given how much I love the visuals in the latter volumes of that title.

Evan Minto

#3: Bloom Into You

It’s been a pretty quiet year for Bloom Into You, with only a single book (volume 6) released in the US. However, 2019 was the year I discovered this wonderful manga, so here it is on my list. Bloom Into You is a yuri manga with an unlikely premise: its main character, Yuu, has never had feelings for anyone, boy or girl. Even when Touko, the seemingly perfect student council president, confesses to her, Yuu feels nothing, but as she spends more time with her she finds a hint of something growing in her heart. Bloom Into You is all about the slow burn, the uncertainty and furtive glances of young love. But what especially sticks out to me is the way it captures — intentionally or not — the experience of asexuality. Where most manga romances follow characters seeking love from others or obliviously stumbling into it while the audience cheers them on, Bloom Into You is about the process of introspection and overthinking, as Yuu tries to figure out if she is even capable of love. Nio Nakatani’s character designs and realistically stylish costumes are a delight, and come to life beautifully in her flowing, evocative art style. I can’t wait to see how this series wraps up next year.

#2: Witch Hat Atelier

It’s rare that I find a manga that I want to read for the artwork alone. Kamome Shirahama’s Witch Hat Atelier is exactly that, and as if the stunning art weren’t enough, the story is also fascinating in its own right. Coco is a village girl who dreams of magic, but rarely gets the chance to interact with the mysterious witches of her country. When a grave mistake causes Coco to unleash a dangerous spell on her village, she gets taken in as a witch’s apprentice and discovers her country’s long-held secret: magical power isn’t innate, but is called forth by drawing magical signs with special ink. Anyone can draw, and thus, anyone can make magic. That direct metaphor for art would be pretty inspiring if Shirahama’s illustration style weren’t so intimidatingly beautiful. Everything from characters to backgrounds is painstakingly rendered in a style that’s halfway between a woodblock print and the textured drawings of Kaoru Mori (A Bride’s Story). The world of Witch Hat Atelier feels tangible, weighty, lived-in, yet simultaneously light and whimsical. I’ve only just started on Coco’s journey, but with art like this I will read just about anything Shirahama puts out.

#1: Chainsaw Man

Viz launched their Shonen Jump app in late 2018, offering easy access to dozens of currently running and retro manga series from Shueisha’s flagship boys magazine. As for me, I jumped into the app and skipped right past One Piece and its ilk to find the most dangerous Shonen Jump manga of all: Chainsaw Man. Denji is a horny 16-year-old boy who makes money by selling off his organs and hunting monsters called “devils.” When he dies (spoilers), his pet chainsaw-dog devil merges with his body, turning him into “Chainsaw Man,” which is basically just “Denji but with chainsaws growing out of his arms and head.” Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga is an unhinged, action-packed spectacle of blood, guts, and bone-headed idiocy, fueled by the antics of Denji (number one goal: “touch some boobs”) and his unstable devil-hunting partner Power (a devil possessing the body of a dead girl). The series is heavy on the comedy, bouncing a cast of morons and psychopaths off of each other in increasingly destructive ways, but it also takes turns into heavy drama and even romance, all of which Fujimoto handles with a surprising amount of sensitivity. The art is scratchy and high-contrast, but full of unforgettable action set pieces including a giant fox demon taking a bite out of a building and a high-speed car chase with a devil who can turn anything she touches into a bomb. Chainsaw Man is the closest thing we’ve got to reading a Hiroyuki Imaishi (Promare) doujin manga in English, so naturally it’s my manga of the year.

Staff Picks: Our Favorite Manga of 2019 originally appeared on Ani-Gamers on January 6, 2020 at 6:53 PM.

By: David Estrella

[cover2covermom]

Happy Sunday bookworms!

Did everyone have a good weekend?  Mine was low key, as my kids are now on spring break.  I think I look forward to school breaks just as much as my kids because it means I am not chauffeuring my two humans around all day to and from school and extracurricular activities.

Anyways!  My wrap-up this week is a pretty long one, but filled with lots of good stuff (at least I think so).  I talk about some upcoming projects on Cover2CoverMom and pose a few questions to my fellow book bloggers.  So pull up a chair and grab a cup of coffee/tea/wine (I won’t judge if you go with the wine) and let’s see what I had going on this past week, shall we?

*Weekly Wrap-Up is a weekly post where I feature what posts were published on the blog for the past week, any bookish/blog happenings, what I recently finished reading, what I am currently reading, what I will be reading next, noteworthy posts around the bookish blogosphere, and any interesting bookish articles I came across.

This week on the blog:

Tuesday 3/28

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I’ve Met & A Few I’d Like to Meet

Wednesday 3/29

Kids’ Corner: Diverse Children’s Picture Books in Review (March 2017)

Friday 3/30

March 2017 Wrap-Up + Book Haul

Bookish/Blog happenings:

» I have been working on a little project and I need some help from you all !  What I need from you all is book blogger recs for bloggers who read & review predominantly within a certain genre. 

For example, bloggers who read & review mostly…

• Young Adult • Middle Grade/Children’s Books • Diverse Books • Graphic Novels • Historical Fiction • Fantasy/Science Fiction • Contemporary • Thriller/Suspense • Romance • Horror

You get the idea.  Keep in mind I said bloggers who read & review predominantly within these categories/genres.  They do not need to review 100% within these categories/genres, but a good majority.  So a blogger like myself would not fit into any of these categories because I read & review all types of books.

*Does this make any sense?  Or have I lost everyone?

If you know of a book blogger who fits into any of these (or a different category/genre not listed) please leave them in the comments down below!  Thanks in advance.

*I would also like to mention they won’t have to do anything, this is going to be more like a feature project :)

» I have been wanting to redesign my blog and graphics for a while now, but it is a hot mess.  Basically I have no idea what I am doing.  What I am struggling with the most is the graphics department.  How did you all do your headers/logos and graphics?  Is there some free graphics site that I do not know about?!  Do you draw/design them yourselves?!  Did you pay someone to do it?  I wish I had the money to pay someone to do all this for me, but I can’t justify spending money on my blog when we are a one income family while I am at home with the kids.  Any advice, suggestions, or direction in this would be much appreciated.

» I realized this weekend that I really need to step up my bookstagram game.  I posted a picture that got over 140 likes, which hadn’t happened to me before.  I know this is probably not a big deal to those of you who are used to getting hundreds (or thousands) of likes every time you post a picture, but I had never gotten over 70 likes before on a picture before.  So what I want to know is, how do you juggle being active on bookstagram if you also have a book blog?

» This week I will be marathon reading to get ready for the Ohioana Book Festival that is taking place in Columbus Ohio on Saturday, April 8th.  I may be a little MIA this week around the blogosphere, but fear not, I’ll be back.

What have I been reading?

*Book titles link to Goodreads

Recently finished reading:

» The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell

Summary of feelings: No one is more shocked then me that I actually really enjoyed this book.  If you have followed me for a while, you know that thriller novels are not my go-to books, but I kept throwing them into the mix.  Girls in the Garden is one of those books where you learn about “the incident” first, then go back in time leading up to the incident.  I thought the author did a great job of holding my attention the entire time.  I really liked how Jewell introduced all kinds of characters/scenarios to thrown the reader off the trail.  The conclusion wasn’t exactly a huge shocker, BUT it was definitely more involved and complicated then I was anticipating.  Typically I don’t like when the author leaves things unresolved, but Jewell does leave a few things up in the air.  I think it worked here.

*Full review to come

» The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker

Summary of feelings:  I am going to venture to say that The Animators is going to be the biggest surprise of 2017 for me.  This book is so much more than I was anticipating.  I was anticipating a light hearted contemporary novel with friendship being a central theme.  While friendship is a major theme, The Animators is NOT a light hearted read.  It is very gritty and raw… definitely more of a darker novel.

I also thought this book was young adult, and it turns out that this book is very much an adult book.  I think it was because the cover gave off a YA vibe to me?  Anyways, The Animators has a lot of adult content that is not suitable for a young audience.

*Part of my SOKY Book Fest TBR

» Loving Vs. Virginia: A Documentary Novel of the Landmark Civil Rights Case by Patricia Hruby Powell (Illustrated by Shadra Strickland)

Summary of feelings:   Loving Vs. Virginia is the Supreme Court case that legalized marriage between races.  In this book, we learn about Richard & Mildred Loving, the couple behind this infamous case.  Told in verse, Loving Vs. Virginia is very much the love story of Richard Loving, a white man, and Mildred, a biracial woman.   I was anticipating a little more historical content, but overall, this was a very well done YA book.  I must admit, I have never really read a book about interracial marriage before.  The challenges that the Lovings faced was heartbreaking to read about.

I listened to the audiobook version, but I am waiting for a copy from my library to see the illustrations.

*I am definitely interested in reading a book that goes a little deeper into the history of interracial marriage, as well as challenges that interracial couples face in today’s society.  If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know.

Currently reading:

» Every Single Second by Tricia Springstubb

*Part of my Ohioana Book Fest TBR

» The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett

*SOKY Book Fest TBR

On deck:

» The Seventh Most Important Thing by Shelley Pearsall

*Part of my Ohioana Book Fest TBR

» Fates and Traitors: A Novel of John Wilkes Booth by Jennifer Chiaverini

*Part of my Ohioana Book Fest TBR

Around the bookish blogosphere:

» Cait @PaperFury talks about how to come up with discussion posts for your book blog → How To Think Up Discussion Post Ideas For Your Book Blog

» Ashleigh @A Frolic Through Fiction shares her favorite underrated characters →Favourite underrated characters | Some characters just aren’t appreciated enough

» Marie @Drizzle & Hurricane Books talks about the trend of series and novellas →The series and novellas trend

» Fadwa @WordWonders asks if relating to characters is a must to enjoy a book →Relating to Characters: Is it necessary to Enjoy a Book?

» Kirsty @Kirsty and the Cat Read discusses audiobooks →Discussion: What Makes A Good Audio-Book

» Drew @The Tattooed Book Geek talks about some of the downsides to book blogging →Jaded by Blogging

» Stephanie @TeacherofYA hosts her first giveaway →TeacherofYA’s Very First GIVEAWAY! (::cheers::)

*U.S Only*

» Megan @bookslayer Reads talks about book review layout →Reading & Writing Reviews // Does the layout of a review determine whether or not you’ll read it?

» Amy @NovelGossip is hosting a giveaway →Giveaway: The Breakdown by B. A. Paris #giveaway

Interesting bookish articles:

» Quiz: Which Character Are You Based On Your Astrological Sign?

*I’m an Aries, and got Elizabeth Bennett from P&P.  Very fitting.

» 20 Best Books To Pick Up This April

» The World’s Highest Paid Authors

*I was actually shocked at #2… especially being paid more than J.K. Rowling?!?  Was also surprised who was at the bottom of this list… Happy to see so many female authors (6 out of 14)

» Twice the fun: 9 Books featuring twins

*One of my favorite books, East of Eden, is on this list :)

» Series About the Brontë Sisters Coming Soon

*Um, yes please!

» The 50 Best Books for 11- and 12-Year-Olds

*I’ve only read 5 of these books?!?! I just added 45 books to the ole TBR

» 5 Children’s Stories That Really Freaked Us Out

*I read Coraline this past October… It definitely gave me an unsettled feeling.

» Quiz: Who’s Your Author BFF

*J.K. Rowling and I would make the bestest of friends :)

» 9 Imaginative Fairy-Tale Retellings

» 12 Images All Bookworms Can Relate To

*Yup

Whoa.  That was ridiculously long.  If you have reached this point, go ahead and give yourself a pat on the back.

What are you currently reading?

What will you read next?

Have a wonderful week, and happy reading

See what I #AmReading & what's on the #TBR for this week in my #WrapUp. #BookBlogger #Bookworm Happy Sunday bookworms! Did everyone have a good weekend?  Mine was low key, as my kids are now on spring break. 

[generationtrygirl]

20 Jobs in 2.5 Years: Why I LOVE My Freelance Life

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Here is a fun fact: though I’ve been a freelance worker since leaving college almost three years ago, I didn’t even know “Freelancer” was a possible career option until very recently. Growing up with the privilege of attending a great K-12 school and later University, let’s just say that becoming a freelance professional was probably not on my parent’s list of “potential post-graduate career options for Celia.” It wasn’t really on mine either.

I remember how when growing up people would ask me the question, “What do you want to be?” I’d always fire back with jobs that most would consider to be full-time positions. One day, it would be “Maybe a lawyer like my parents” or “A dentist” or “An English teacher” or “I’ll work in advertising!” Of course coupled with all of those full time careers, I’d always also mention “Oh, and maybe an author, too! I want to write books” or “And an actor!” Basically, I always planned on being something, but I also always planned on being everything. 

When I was 12, I remember specifically having it all figured out– “I’m going to be a writer that turns her novels into screenplays and then directors, produces, and stars in those screen plays, and also I’ll have a pet shelter and be a zookeeper.” It made sense. And part of that whimsical dream actually came true when I made my web series “Quarter Life*” a reality last year. Thanks to the freedom that freelancing gives me. See what I did there?

Thanks to my flexible freelance schedule and the many skills I had developed while doing it, I was able to squeeze in the time to write, produce, direct, and edit a 140 minute long web series, Quarter Life* with my amazing partner in crime, Shelli and 70+ crew and cast members.

Until very recently, I did not realize it is pretty possible to do everything that I’ve always wanted to do. You just need a little drive!

This is not to say that I’m “rolling in the dough” from all my freelance ventures. Not by any means. But I do make enough to live on my own, cover my bills, take care of my furball Binx, and indulge myself in the “finer things in life” like (delicious) cheap sushi, Netflix Binges, and of course the occasional online shopping splurge (often afforded additionally through my use of Ebates.) I also even get to travel a fair amount, with the help of discount-plane-ticket apps and a super flexible schedule.

But while I may not be making as much income working freelance as I might be working a full-time job at a 40+ hour per week company– because, let’s be honest, in America full-time jobs are very rarely just 40 hours/week– what I might be missing out on in income, I make up for in freedom, flexibility, and the ability to pursue my passions. And for me, that’s everything.

Thanks to my flexible freelance schedule, I was able to return back to my high school alma mater and direct “The Crucible” on the very on that very stage where I fell in love with theatre.

I also have steadily been increasing my income every year. This shows me that though I’m not climbing any sort of corporate ladder, I have through every position developed important, valuable skills and social connections. And those, as it turns out, can go a long way.

As a brief overview, here is a list of all of the freelance jobs, in basic order of acquiring them, that I have undertaken since graduating college. Those in italics are my current regular jobs. I guess this will start as base-line. As this blog grows, I will probably speak individually to each position, how I got the position, what skills are needed, and how you can enter these fields as well.

Freelance all the things:

Personal Assistant

Nanny

Instacart Shopper

Restaurant Hostess

Touring Children’s Theatre Actor

Theatre Actor

Social Media Coordinator

Videographer/Video Editor/”Preditor”

Voiceover Artist

Web Series Producer/Writer/Editor/Marketing [to be fair, I made zero money personally from this, but it gave me a lot of skills, filled a huge creative need, and my creative partner and I did crowdfund $10,600 to make it happen.]

Trivia Host

High School Theatre Director

High School Lecturer 

Elementary Shakespeare Theatre Director

Graphic Designer/Promotional Design (Though I’m not the queen of photo shop or anything, I can work my way around it. And I’ve definitely made some income just helping friends and family out with this.)

Babysitter (…My longest source of income, since age 13 )

House sitter/Pet Sitter (Need me to water plants? It’s not too far away from one of my regular gigs? On it.)

Catering Assitant

Film/Commercial Actor (I’m with a wonderful Agency as of October, just waiting on that first breakthrough gig <3)

Blogging (I’ve been blogging for a week and have made $5 already, so I’ll count it.)

So. That’s a lot of jobs to squeeze into 2.5 years, right? The thing is, there is still so much I want to do. My next “big focus” is obviously growing this blog into a good source of side income. But additionally, one day I want to also try out creative consulting and actually writing the novel I’ve been developing in my head for years. Maybe even YouTubing, Podcasting, or Life coaching!

As this blog is kind of a testament to, I want to do all the things. And, let’s be honest, I always have. I was diagnosed with ADHD later in my college years, but that incessant energy to do and  my “hyper focus” on new thrilling ventures has always been a part of me. So, honestly, instead of predicting I’d be in a  9 to 5 job every day starting right out of college was way off, young Celia! 

So get to the point: Why Freelancing?

Freelancing keeps me interested. It keeps me excited to go to work. Because of it, I feel present in every job I have. It keeps me sharp at the many skills I’ve developed over the years. Finally, it has also given me a confidence in myself that I didn’t know that I had. It’s given me the strength to say “no” when a job or position is not fulfilling me the way it used to. It gives me the freedom to know I’ll be safe and okay if I do have to give something up. It makes me pretty amazing at pitching my skills to fit new potential positions. God, I love it.

[Above, a video I got to lead the charge on and produce/film/edit at my videography and social media job.]

Now, it’s not all sunshine and roses, of course. Taxes are crazy every year, with all of the different forms, expenses, receipts, and the whole fact that as a full time freelancer you end up owing money to the government. (Thankfully I discovered an awesome banking app, Qapital, that has really helped me with keeping that on track!)

There are also days when I come home totally wiped out, and also feel annoyed that I spent over 3 hours in the car driving from place to place in Atlanta traffic. But then, I of course remember that there are many that work in this same city and sit in the car the same amount, just because they work 9 to 5 and only drive during high traffic hours. With my freelance schedule, I can literally schedule around traffic. Aaaaand oh! I do. I would not wish Atlanta traffic upon my worst enemy.

Well, this post is getting long, but I did want to get an intro into freelancing out there. And also write this “love letter” when I was really feeling the love. While freelancing has some cons and is certainly not for everyone, for me it is the perfect thing to be doing right now. Maybe that will change with time, maybe it won’t. I’ll just have to wait and see.

If you made it this far, thank you for reading! Do any of you freelance, even partially? I’d love to hear about your own experiences in the comments.

For more about living a freelance lifestyle be sure to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

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The post 20 Jobs in 2.5 Years: Why I LOVE My Freelance Life appeared first on Generation Try Girl.

from 20 Jobs in 2.5 Years: Why I LOVE My Freelance Life