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themountainsays · 3 years

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4am delirious post of the day but. Something about Disney feels so... Urban idk. Like, it'll have characters wanting to experience nature and fail to represent nature in a way that is actually awe-inspiring. I'm thinking about movies like, Tangled, Moana, Frozen 2 etc etc. Like... nature is just A Setting. There's nothing particularly spiritual or magical about being in nature. Moana is all about Moana wanting to be in the sea, and Frozen 2 has a whooole thing about Nature Being In Balance but I think both films miss the mark, like, aesthetically. The shots and direction never give me the vibe that nature is cool. I remember watching Moana for the first time and being bored to death because the entire movie took place in a raft, and the world felt empty because ahajdjsjsj there was nothing but water. There weren't people or civilizations or new cultures for Moana to discover. So, she wants to discover the world outside... but the little world there is is empty. And i know that's bullshit, because I remember loving being at sea alone with a kayak trying to not get eaten by giant seals. I would look down and see the dark sea below and the seaweed forest extending into invisiblity and I always had the feeling a sea dragon was lurking inside. The sea legit felt alive when i was there. I swear it had a soul.

But... Moana never gave me that feel Idk. The shots of the ocean didn't give me the vibe that there was anything magical in it. I couldn't buy that it was alive EVEN THO IT IS in the movie. The sea doesn't feel like an Infinite God. It's just a friendly companion. They took Sentient Sea and made it boring :/

And frozen 2... I love frozen 2 don't get me wrong, and the enviroments WERE beautiful, but they felt so soulless at times. Like everything was emotionally detached from the characters, even though this is a completely new territory for them and they should be in awe. I'm just saying, i wouldn't represent the feeling of feeling small at the foot of the glacier in the way the film does. I think it lacks... shots closer to the perspective of the characters? More lingering shots? A change in music? Maybe?? I don't know what it is but it feels like someone was drawing a glacier and a forest from photos rather than from real memories of exploring a glacier or a forest in person. I can't FEEL the texture of the bark or SEE the growing lichen or the dirt beneath my feet or TASTE the fungi growing on the trees and I don't think the characters can either. It captures external appearance but not the feeling.

And i think it's because Disney just vibes better with characters and people than nature. Look at Tangled. Rapunzel spends her whole life dreaming to see the outside world, yet her experience in the forest feels so shallow and inconsequential when compared to Kingdom Dance. Kingdom Dance DOES feel like her discovering a whole new world even though nature IS a world in itself that she would probably also be intrigued by. Though I can understand her focus on People because she's known exactly one person for her entire life and living in peace deep in the forest already gave her a taste of what nature feels like. She needs PEOPLE. And the movie literally isn't about nature. It IS about people.

And then I look at other Disney movies and say Yeah this checks!! Zootopia FEELS alive. Coco's story about family IS GOOD. The best part of Raya and the Last Dragon is Namaari the relarionships between the characters. Soul takes place in a city without any fresh air. Does anyone remember Big Hero 6? I don't recall seeing a single tree in that movie. The natural enviroments all pale in comparison. And that's ALRIGHT because not all of these movies have to be about nature.

But then you got Moana and Frozen 2 which have no excuse. Moana spent her whole life in A Society. She's now experiencing nature in solitude, completely untouched and unexplored, for the first time, and the movie focuses more on the raft than on the ocean. Frozen 2 does something smart and personalizes (literal) elements of nature into sentient beings the characters can interact with, turning a beautifully lonely spiritual experience into a social interaction. Which is interesting, and I do like it beause the story couldn't have been told any other way, but I do feel like it results in the characters (and the audience) not really connecting with nature as it is, but as a conceptual thing represented as a social interaction between two people. Which... isn't how nature feels to me. It DOES feel like i'm inside a giant god, but the god isn't a cute lizard, it's an undescribable, immense soul that I can feel beating beneath me. Idk it's pretty cool. And i think frozen 2 and Moana could have benefited from trying to capture nature's spiritual beauty with a bit more depth.

Which is why I think there's something very urban about Disney. It feels like city ppl.

And it's not like nature can't be represented well in a visual medium!! My favorite shit game, Skyrim, does this beautifully, with it's dumb graphics and all. I be climbing up a mountain and thinking Wow this feels Actually Alive. And maybe skyrim is a game and that's a different medium so it doesn't count, but I think How To Train Your Dragon, especially the second film, does a wonderful job as well. It's all about the lingering shots of the dragons (dragons count as nature) and the landscape. I can physically feel the distance, the safety, the magic of being so far away surrounded by the sea and snowy mountains. The characters even discuss it on-screen!! So yeah Disney ppl need to spend a few days communing with the ocean god that's my opinion

Or maybe that's me?? Maybe I experience nature in a way that doesn't agree with disney's conception?? I mean that's probably a big reason but I still wanna

#4 am posts #nearly 5 am now :D

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paragonrobits · 3 years

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a friend asked me to give a shot at doing an entry in this tier list they linked me to, of the video games inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame since 2015, and I opted to give it a shot!

My rankings are generally biased towards games I personally enjoy playing, though I will give some commentary on their historic relevance:

S-Rank

Super Mario Bros: The game that repopularized video games in the US, that arguably began the entire platforming video game genre and all its imitators and spin-offs, that spawned a new generation of video games after the Atari Crash in the US, and still a DAMN FUN game in its own right! I simply had to put this at the top ranking. After the disillusionment caused by Atari’s failures, this game brought home consoles back in a big way to the US.

World of Warcraft: Now, I’m not much for MMORPGs. Nevertheless, I’ve followed the lore and general information in the Warcraft setting for years now, and a couple years back, my brother asked me to play it with him. I had a ton of fun, honestly! Playing a goblin mage, I believe. WoW is notable for being THE MMORPG, and still going strong. Admittedly, nowadays many games do what it does better, and the time when it was dominant as THE single game to play is past, but it was still an enjoyable experience and I really have to like how sincere the game is about its aesthetics and campy vibe. Given that the entire setting is reputedly a reskin of a Warhammer Fantasy Battle video game that went south, it’s cheery and colorful, morally gray tone is... an interesting complication in its history. (Also, HORDE. I STAN THE HORDE VERY HARD.)

The Sims: A bit of history; I did not play this game as enthusiastically as a kid as my sister and mom did. We ALL spammed the hell out of the Rosebud cheat, though; not until recent times did I actually wind up playing the game properly, when the most recent iteration of the series was free for a while. My mom didn’t care to play the game, she just liked building houses. In any case, while my attention drifted from the game now and then, I always am fascinated by the actual gameplay of caring for your simulated humans, and the way you don’t actually control them directly. This sort of hands off experience is actually a bit similar to the ‘dungeon simulator’ genre, and while the game is notorious for enabling cruelty (something I never saw the appeal of!), it’s a surprisingly wholesome experience, and it can’t be understated how unique this gameplay was at the time.

Legend of Zelda: It’s actually rather interesting how different OG Zelda is from modern games. Not just the top down perspective (which DOES pop up, now and then); the game is non-linear and allows you to go to any dungeon at any point, completing the game at your leisure, and the story is extremely barebones compared to what we may be used to. It’s quite a far cry from the linear gameplay of gradually collecting tools and working through plots that the games are known for. Breath of the Wild is, in fact, a return to form rather than an upheaval of the formula. I’ll also admit that I have a lot of affection for the gameplay of this one, as well as Link To The Past.

Donkey Kong: When you’re talking old school, as far as what you might call the modern generation of games goes (which is to say, the games that resurged after the Atari Crash), it’s hard to go wrong with Donkey Kong. It’s certainly notable for being a weird stage in Mario’s character and something that is generally ignored; it’s just strange thinking that at one point he was supposed to be abusive towards a pet ape that went in an innocent, well-meaning rampage! Personally this one kind of breaks a mold for my S-class rankings because while I like this one fine, I don’t like it THAT much; i mostly played it in the DK 64 game, and found it very difficult and that’s stuck with me. Still, I place it here for its momentous position in placing Nintendo on the map, with the influence and revolutionary technologies and gaming mechanics they would introduce, to this very day.

Pokemon Red/Blue: Hoo boy. HOO BOY it is honestly something of an oversight that I didn't immediately shove this beauty straight to the front of the S-line because good god I love this game. It's been years and years, long since I was but a whee Johnny playing a strange new game for the first time just because there was a cool turtle creature on the cover (because I was super into turtles back then), and I still love this game. Even with the improvements made to the formula since then (getting rid of HMs, the fixes and new types introduced since) there's still something lovable about this game, even as something as basic as the official artwork that just tugs my heartstrings. This game is highly notable for being an RPG that popularized the monster collecting/befriending gameplay (so far as I know), and as an autistic person, i really appreciate knowing the whole thing grew out of an autistic man's bug collection hobby from when he was a child. Pokemon is an absolute juggernaut of a media influence, and THIS is where it all began. It's first stage evolution, you might say. And not like a Magikarp or anything. This one's more like one of the starters... appropriately enough. Final Fantasy 7: This is probably a bit of a controversial take, but FF7 was not actually one of my favorite Final Fantasy entries back in the day. I never played much more of it than the beginning missions, as my cousin owned the machine in question, and I moved out before i could play it much. Final Fantasy 3 (in the US; it's more generally referred to as 6 now) was my favorite for a long, long time, and that game pioneered many of the traits that would be associated with 7: the epic story, the complex ensemble cast, though 7 really expanded on that basic idea, and previous games were hardly shabby in that regard. 9 is my favorite of the pre-10 era, with its extreme shake ups to the mechanics of the game. No; what makes 7 stand out is that it was a shift towards making Final Fantasy a constantly shifting, unique franchise where every entry was its own thing; it introduced 3D graphics with a fun and cartoony style mixed with a story that wouldn't be out of place in a cyberpunk story, and heralds Squaresoft (as it was called at the time) splitting off from Nintendo, with its censorship policies, and doing its own thing with Sony, with a great deal more freedom to write as they pleased. The party design also stands out, which each character having their own unique function in the party while the Materia concept allows a degree of modular skills to be installed, customizing them in ways that, in my opinion, the best entries in the franchise (on a gameplay level) would revisit. Colossal Cave Adventure: I'll be honest; I never played this game, and I don't believe it's particularly familiar to me at all. However, I chose it for this vaunted spot in S-rank because games of this nature, of text-based prompt and responses, are some of the most interesting things imaginable! Games like AI Dungeon are similar in some respects, and its impressive to think just how dang old this game is, and yet it managed to pull off basically being it's own DM. It has an interesting history; created by a man who worked on the precursor to the Internet, the game was made to connect with his daughter and was inspired by recent entries into Dungeons And Dragons, and later expanded upon by other programmers. It's notable that while Zork is the sort of game that would probably involve more immediate recognition (I actually mistook it for Zork at first, from the screenshot), this game was the first of its kind, and that always deserve some recognition. Minecraft: I absolutely LOVE Minecraft, and it's rightfully one of the most popular games, if not THE most popular game, of the last couple of decades, and it's interesting to think just how unconventional it is; the game is, effectively, a LEGO simulator, and as someone who honestly always wanted tons of LEGO sets as a kid but could never afford them consistently, there's something genuinely very appealing about Minecraft's basic set up. It's open approach and lack of a goal, just gameplay mechanics that encourage you to build and do as you please, makes for a very relaxing and unusual mentality not often seen in games until this point; it doesn't even have a storyline, it simply gives you a world to play around in. Of note, Minecraft's entry seems to have relevance towards video games becoming a cultural touchstone; Minecraft's visual aesthetic leans towards both blocky LEGOs and retro graphics, and certainly proves that games don't need to strive for hyper realistic graphics to be appealing. ----- A RANK Doom: I genuinely like Doom, a lot! I still have memories of replaying this game frequently, long before Doom 2016 and Eternal were glimmers; it's just genuinely very fun to play. That said, I feel that there's other games that are a bit more historically notable and while i like this game, not quite as much as other entries. But it cant be understated that this was THE first person shooter, and more to the point, was fundamental towards game design as we know it. Of note, it pioneered the idea of a game engine, which has had tremendous impact down the road in terms of making a flexible baseline system that latergames were programmed around. Additionally, the first three episodes being free, with the additional ones being purchased as part of the full game, this was, I think, the first demonstration of a demo. Back then, we called this shareware; a game which was free but had full features locked off, but otherwise you could play it however much you wanted. There's a REASON Doom winds up on more systems than Skyrim! Ultimately, while it's not one of my favorite games, it's impact on the business of gaming and the functions of game design cannot be overstated. Pac-Man: This game, is THE game that made video games a phenomenon and its worth thinking about that and how video games as a modern institituion can be drawn, however broadly, from Pac-Man's commercial success. I should note that while I've played this game extensively, it's not something I'm particularly good at; there's a LOT going on here and its a bit much for me to handle. That's probably a strength; there's a reason people had to fake their accomplishments and falsified high scores. It's worth noting that Pac-Man is a unique thing in that it has been rereleased many times over, and every generation has found it enjoyable and fun, unlike other games that set trends only to be lost out in the end. (Goldeneye, for instance!) The Oregon Trail: Like many other people I assume, I first played this game as something available on school computers. Purportedly made as an educational game to teach students about history, this game may be notable for, among other things, being an entry point towards the idea of resource management in video games (as well as being hellishly difficult, by the standards then, but that DOES illustrate a point, does it not?). It's also the oldest, most continuously available game ever made, even now being ported to smartphones, or so I hear! It seems to be a very early example of edutainment games, and a genuinely great one at that. It probably helps that a selling point is that it doesn't really mince around with its subject matter; anyone who's played this game knows that total party kill is the default assumption, as it was in life. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat: I place these two together as I feel that they form a duo of sorts, and defined fighting games of my childhood and modern gaming experience; name a fighting game, from Injustice to something as deliberately different as Smash Bros, and it has SOME relation to these games, even if its in terms of doing something completely different. These games set a mold for fighting games! Among other things, both games feature iconic characters as a selling point, and to this day fighting games make their mark based on how signature their characters are. Mortal Kombat is of course an incredibly violent game (though very tame, by modern standards), and its fatalities and depicitons of violence sparked thought and arguments on what video games ought to be allowed to depict, for better or for worse. It's not implausible to suggest that the overly strict restrictions on what video games could depict go back to Mortal Kombat's fatalities, specifically (since there's far worse games predating it, though too graphically primitive to be obvious). Street Fighter, conversely, strikes me as having more characterization and depth, especially as far as fighting systems go; I find it hard to be interested in many fighting games now, if they don't offer as much depth as the likes of Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter stands out for innovating multiplayer play, initially in the arcade, and its not implausible to say that the likes of Smash Bros is a descendant of sorts of the specific mentality Street Fighter brought to the table. Consider also that it is STILL a mainstay in the remaining arcades and cabinets in service today! Tomb Raider: This is a game i legit liked back in the day, and there's some part of me that's sad that the platforming, puzzle solving and focus on exploration has not really made it back into the modern Tomb Raider series, last I checked. There's probably something interesting in that Lara Croft represents a bit of an intermediate period between platforming mascots and modern Edgy Protagonists; you know the ones. Balding white dudes with vague dad vibes, but this is not a slight on Lara; she definitely has a ton of personality, even just at a cover glance. This game had a strong focus on exploration, and that's honestly something I really like. Super Mario Kart: I'm going to be controversial here; complaints about the Blue Shell are kinda overrated. It's not that different from, say, a red shell hitting you from behind when you're close to the finish line. But, jokes and old 90s memes aside, this game has some interesting status in that it started the idea of making spin-off games in dramatically different contexts; Crash Team Racing and Sonic Drift, for example, are listened as similar games. On a franchise level, this began the trend of Mario becoming a truly flexible character who could do pretty much whatever was required of him, not just the original platforming games, and its possible his imitators never quite learned the same lesson. Though one wonders what Miyamoto might have thought if he'd known how many thinkpieces he would spawn with 'why does mario go-karting with Bowser when they're enemies?'. For my part, I favor the idea that the other games are in-universe fictions they're actors on and this is their actual dynamic, or that Mario is a relaxed dude who doesn't mind playing kart games with his foe. (I mean, he's not Ridley. Bowser's easy enough to get along with.) Animal Crossing: Again, I have to emphasize that I've never actually played this game, at least on a consistent basis (and by that, I mean I MIGHT have played it on the Gamecube, once, in the early 2000s), and have to speak from what I've seen of what it sparked. And I really do like the way it really codified the sub-genre of relaxed, open-ended games where the player is free to do as they like, without much stress or fear, which is something I think more games could stand to do. On my personal list of features that my ideal video game would have, Animal Crossing would definitely offer a few ideas. I am reminded of farming simulators, such as Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley; while they are different beasts entirely, there's a familiar sense of non-combat relaxation that's pleasant to see. Spacewar!: This machine is GODDAMN old, and like an old fogey predating modern humans, it deserves our respect. It's so old, it predates Pong. Supposedly created as part of predictative Cold War models, with an emphasis on emulating sci fi dogfights, producing a game that soon proved popular, for over a decade remainign the most popular game on computer systems, and a clumsy foray into arcade gaming (that didn't pan out, unfortunately) led to the creation of Pong by its creator, which is another story all its own! And Pong is directly responsible for the idea of the video game itself; this game launched the entire video game industry as we understand it! No small feat, indeed. ----

B RANKED Sonic The Hedgehog: I must state that I DO like this game, though not as much as later entires like Sonic 3 and Knuckles, or the Sonic Adventure series; the fast paced action seems a bit hobbled by the traps and need to be careful of surroundings, which would seem to run counter towards the whole idea of GOTTA GO FAST, y'know? But the game presents an interesting viewpoint on the nature of mascot gaming; created specifically, so it is said, as a rival to Mario, Sonic was designed as a mascot with attitude, and inspired a host of imitators; he's probably the only one to escape the 90s more or less intact, and this may have something to say about his flexibility, star power, and also the fact that he's a pretty mild character, all things considered. This game certainly has its place in gaming history, giving an important place in the console wars of yesteryear. Believe me, I was a kid in the 90s, Sonic was a HUGE deal. Space Invaders: This game is noted to have catapulted games into prominence by making them household, something outside of arcades, and it shows! An interesting detail of note is that supposedly, the Space Invaders were meant to all move at high speed, but this was either too hard to play against, or too costly on the processor; it was found that by making them speed up as they were defeated, it created an interesting set of challenge. You have to appreciate game history like that. In general, its success prompted Japanese companies to join the market, which would eventually produce what I imagine was a thriving, competitive market that would eventually get us Nintendo and it's own gamechangers down the road. Grant Theft Auto 3: I'm going to be honest with you. I don't much care for this sort of game. The Saints Row series, with its fundamental wackiness, is the kind of game I really DO like if I'm going for something like this, and GTA sort of leaning towards the 'cruel for fun and profit' gameplay is really unappealing for me. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't address this game, and what seems to come up is two things: the game's sheer freedom in its open world (which certainly pushed the bar for games of that nature, and has made it a byword for gamers screwing around in a game just to see what ridiculous things they could or couldn't do) and the infamous reputation from the mature aspects of the game. Personally, I'm not much for this game's take on maturity (if I wanted to discuss a game of that nature, I'd suggest, say, Spec Ops: The Line) but I really do appreciate what this game and its series did for the open world genre, and the sheer possibilities presented for letting you do what you wanted. King's Quest: I've never played this game, but I am a HUGE fan of the point and click genre (also known generally as the adventure game genre) that it spawned; without this game, there's no Monkey Island, no Sam and Max, no The Dig or Full Throttle, or Gabriel Knight. This game was similar to previous text-based games, with a text parser to input commands, but with the distinction of a graphical interface to move their character around, which would be the seed of later games such as the SCUMM engine of Monkey Island and other Lucasarts games (which, to me, ARE Adventure Gaming). The puzzles, comedic sensibilities, and interface innovations originated with this game, and codified those later adventure games i love so much. Starcraft: This is another one those list of 'games I should have already played by now'. I'm not much of an RTS person, barring forays with games such as Impossible Creatures, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War, and more strange entries such as Brutal Legend, and I contend that the combat aspects of 4X games like Civilization DO count on some level; the specifics of troop movement and unit strengths/weaknesses are a bit beyond me, when you get to more complex stuff. Starcraft, reading between the lines, really introduced the idea of multiplayer culture especially for RTS, pioneered the Battle(dot)net system (which I mostly recall from Diablo, if I'm being honest!) as well as the idea of relative strengths and powers for individual factions so that they became characters in their own right. It's still a very popular online game, and that says SOMETHING. Also, I tend to use zerg rushes, so I would probably play Zerg. Probably. (There is much speculation on whether or not, like Warcraft being a failed Warhammer Fantasy game, if the same holds true for Starcraft and Warhammer 40k. I lean on the side of 'probably not'; the differences are too notable. The Zerg and Tyranids have some similarties, but that's probably because they're based on the same broad hive mind evil insect aggressor trope, and they have enough differences from there to be very distinct from one another. It's not like how OG Warcraft's orcs were very obviously warhammer orcs with less football hooliganism.) Bejeweled: This is a firm case of a game that I don't play, but I really have to respect its influence on gaming as a whole. Apparently it started as a match three-type game with a simplistic formula that proved wildly popular (perhaps making a point that simpler can be more effective, in game mechanics), with a truly explosive record of downloads; over 500 million, it seems. Thus its fair to say that this game set the precedent for casual games, which have become THE market. Regardless of your feelings on that genre, this one was a real game changer. (Pun intended, absolutely.) ----

C RANK Pong: "By most measures of popular impact, Pong launched the video game industry." This line alone saws it all, I think. It wasn't the first video game, but it was one of the more early ones, and its the one that really made video games and consoles successful, gaining widespread attention from the mainstream audience, as well as getting Atari recognition (for better or for worse, but perhaps that was just a development of being on top, so to speak; maye the console wars at least kept the big three honest). It also started the arcade revolution of games, and this humble game is essentially responsible for the entire state of video games as a concept, as we know it today. Halo: No disrespect to Halo, but it's just a game series I've never quite been able to get into. Those games are very hit and miss for me; games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Gears of War and everything like that are just... hard for me to get into. It takes something specific like Borderlands or the Besthesda Fallout series, or something else, for me to get hooked, and Halo just doesn't do it for me! Nevertheless, I would be QUITE remiss if I simply dismissed it, and there's reasons for it to be inducted into the hall of fame barely three years into the hall of fame making inductees. Firstly, it was Microsoft's big entry into the console wars, and it must be said this was a MASSIVE upset and a completely unprecedented shift in the assumptions of the console wars back then; NO ONE expected microsoft to actually do this, let alone redefine gaming out of Sony and Nintendo's favor like that. At the time, PCs dominated FPS games, and Halo showed that consoles could do it just fine. It must also be said that it has a very intricate and complex system of lore, backstory and material that was quite distinctive for a new setting back in the day, and while I've seen people object to it's gameplay, I suspect that its with the benefit of hindsight; Halo offered an extremely unusual degree of freedom in achieving the goals set out for you. (Cortana also didn't deserve getting her name slapped onto that search assistant that eats up all your RAM.) Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego: Surprisignly enough, based on the article, this game was NOT an adaptation, but the source material of this character. This is where the fancy, mystery lady in the red coat started! Evidently this game was originally an edutainment game with a cops and robbers theme, and inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure from higher up on the list, and one must appreciate the effort that went into it. This one is ranked low, mostly because it didn't seem TOO notable to me. Honestly I'm surprised this is where Carmen Sandiego started. (And that she doesn't get enough credit as an iconic theatrical villain who won't go a step too far, but that's another rant.) -

D LIST

Here we are. The D LIST. The bottom of the sorting pile; the lowest of them all, the... well, the ones that I honestly don't necessarily dislike, but couldn't place higher for reasons of notability, personal interest, or perceived impact on the history of gaming. John Madden Football: Sports games, as a whole, really do NOT do it for me. I don't like real like sports at ALL (with, as a kid, a brief interest in boxing and that was just because they had gloves like Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog) so its hard for me to say that I find the history of this one all that compelling. Even so, there's some interesting elements in how this game was a sequel to a previous failed attempt, with a bold new attempt at a more arcade-style action game with a more dramatic take on the players, who would in turn be rated in different skill sets. The Madden series is STILL going so... it worked out pretty well, I'd say. (FUCKIN EA WAS BEHIND THIS ONE??? wow, EA is older than I thought.) Microsoft Flight Simulator: It's honestly a bit painful sorting this one so low, since I had many happy times as a wee Johnny playing this game back in the old days. I mean the OLD, old days. This was like, the days when Usenet was the preferred way for people to talk online. (Not me, though. I didn't talk to people, then. I was even less social than I am now, which is saying something!) All the same, I suppose that it was important to not crowd too many entries in a specific folder, and statistically, something had to keep getting knocked down, and in the end, I couldn't honestly say I still enjoyed this one enough to place it higher. Still, credit must be given where it is due; this game stands out for being an early foray into simulator gaming, showing a realistic depiction of actual flight. It has apparently been updated and rereleased many times since, which is impressive! Tetris: I like puzzles. So it might be surprising to hear this seminal game ranked so low; firstly, I like different KINDS of puzzles (like weird ones where you have to fling your sense of logic to the moon and back, or make use of gaming mechanics) and honestly this game is kind of stressful for me. You gotta keep an eye on a lot of different things flying around all at once, and constantly move things around, and that kind of attention and quick thinking does NOT come easily to me. All the same, I really have to admire how it was born from it's creator's pleasure in solving mathematical puzzles about sorting shapes into boxes, in a manner strangely remniscient of Satoshi's bug collecting that became Pokemon. Certainly the game's simplicity has proven a universally appealing thing, and may say something about the value of keeping it simple. Microsoft Solitaire: This game apparently became pay-to-get some time ago in recent computer generations, and let me tell, you, it was genuinely depressing to find that out. I remember younger decades, from the 90s and on, when this game was a regular and free feature in Windows computers fir MANY years. You got a computer, this game was on here. I was a kid, and i remember watching my mom play this game and makign the cards go WHOOP WHOPP all over the place and marveling, because I couldn't ever do the same thing. (A related note: I am terrible at this game. Go figure!) Of note, this game was massively widespread, and just EVERYWHERE, and I think everyone who ever played a computer back in those days instantly remembers it in some way. It was just... ubiquitous. Centipede: Oh, ol' Centipede. I don't mean to be mean to you. But between the likes of Pokemon and Super Mario Bros, even the arcade Donkey Kong, someone had to keep dropping down the leaderboard that is this tierlist, and unfortunately, there were other games that felt higher up than you. All the same, you're a very good game, and honestly, I like you more than some other games ranked higher for reasons of relevance to gaming history. Certainly more than anything else in D-listing. The colorful and appealing palette is noteworthy. That trackball controller! Amazing! (More games should use trackballs. They're fun and easy to use.) At the very least, Order of the Stick did a joke with you once, and that's better than anything I can do for you. All the same, you're a cool game.

#tier lists #video games

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jaeminlore · 4 years

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bard!taeil ^_^

commissioned by @warmau luv u thank you for giving me free reign i’m sorry i used it all on world building

words: 5k+

a/n: sorry this is a bit late ! also for any mistakes !

okay first thought when given free reign of a story is PRINCE or ROYAL bc that is where my mind is for every story i love a good castle moment

i just think they’re neat ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

but yknow i was thinking about bards and also my skyrim game and how annoying yet precious the bards are in the inn. and if that is not taeil i will eat my own foot,,,,, like omg i forgot his name i think it’s mikael?? he’s at the inn in riften!!! i beat him up to preserve the honor of some lady and now we’re best friends ^_^ anyways he’s lovable and it makes me think of taeil

i miss taeil i read a post about how precious he is and it made me feel some type of way ,,,,, my favorite taeil era was cherry bomb bc the CHOKER and the EYELINER and he just felt like the embodiment of that tiktok sparkly filter

okay now that that’s over

this story is set in a lone kingdom called intima,,,, intima is a word meaning the heart of something and it’s where the word intimacy comes from and it makes me feel warm and happy so i assume it will make the people of intima happy too !!!!! it’s an island centered around the sun — and YOU my dear reader are the eldest princess, the first before six younger siblings !!!

as the oldest, the throne is in your future, and you are set to be the reigning queen WHICH you are quite excited about this isn’t one of those aus where you hate your kingdom and your job and serving,, you LOVE your people and your culture and you genuinely can’t wait to become queen

i’m going to set the world!!!! bc world-building gives me endorphins >.>

intima is a HEAVILY floral-filled island. the clivia (or bush lily) is the capitol flower, often associated with patriotism or pride for intima as an island!!! it’s the flower people pin to their chest during coronations or royal festivals!! and the yellow/orange/coral shades are often what you and your siblings wear to represent yourselves and your island.

intima is a land of equality!!! bc i said so!! and also because the culture is purely built on gratitude and kindness ,,,,, i like to think the spirituality or “religion” in the culture is the worship of the sun and the warmth it brings,,,, a sort of serving the thing that shines a path for the hopeless!!!! there are hundreds of poems and legends and songs about the sun and who she once was and why she blesses intima with her harvests and all kinds of other things and i do have the time to get into it but i know all of you do not

intima also believes that art is hard work!!! and it’s one of the most respected jobs there are!!! like a busker or a street painter are often praised and it’s expected of islanders to tip them and stay to praise them a bit!!! and usually they’ll sell their art (if that’s what they made) afterwards!!!! and poets will read for the children and adults alike and they’ll sell their services to like,,, people who struggle to put their words down on paper and it’s all very helpful and lovely

farmers and fishermen are well respected as well!!!! ofc they bring the food in and the vendors at the marketplace sell them while the artists keep entertainment going. it’s a lovely system and often as the seasons change people will shift their jobs so a vendor will decide to create for a season or a fisherman may decide he wants to sell wares,,, it’s a system so that people can enjoy where they are as well as express they’re creativity properly

and the wealth is distributed equally so that no one goes hungry!!! everyone helps each other out to find a job that fits them!!! and not many people take advantage of the system because it’s quite shameful to refuse helping your fellow neighbor

so yes!!! kindness and helping each other out is not only expected but it is often an indicator of how respected you are as a member of society

ungrateful people get the shame cone >:(

the island is HUGE and set in a sort of jagged star shape, with villages and markets surrounding the castle itself!!! and there’s a moat surrounding the castle made from the streams that trail in from the sea ,,,, and the harbors are quite beautiful if you stand atop the castle walls you can see the ships come and go and it is just *chef’s kiss* immaculate

and the moat is so beautiful i can just imagine the ferns!! like palm brush ferns and tiger lilies and birds of paradise just lining either side of the moat,,, so pretty :( and the moat isn’t to keep people out!!! it’s actually a natural pool for the villagers when it gets too hot :)!! but otherwise the drawbridge is always down so people can come and go throughout the courtyards

similarly, the castle walls run down the island as main roads, leading to the actual castle where the main courtyard sits.

you and your siblings are very personal with your subjects, and it’s not uncommon for the princes and princesses to walk hand in hand with those of a lower class than them,,,, esp bc there isn’t really a class system in place. since wealth is evenly distributed,,,, it’s evenly distributed to the royals as well, and everyone lives comfortably. the only added expense are gifts!!! so if there’s a birthday or something more wealth might be offered to the recipients by default

the courtyards!!! are so beautiful!!! there are four in total but the one i want to focus on is the coronation courtyard!!! this is the courtyard where the coronations and celebrations are held!!!

but when there aren’t any coronations, it’s where people hang out to have picnics or sell their wares or tell stories!!!

and this is where we see taeil!!!!

every day our hero brings his life and ~sings~ a different story to whoever happens to be walking by. he’s actually hugely popular with many of intima’s people,,,, mostly because his voice is like HONEY and his smile reminds everyone of home

he has like,,,,, kind big brother who only comes home for thanksgiving but each time is more memory-filled than the last energy ,,,,, anyways

you don’t actually notice him at first!!! because usually he isn’t in the coronation courtyard.

also you’re too busy planning your OWN coronation

#queenshit and all you know the vibes

it actually isn’t until yuta points out that there is a “very tiny man singing about how beautiful you are” in the courtyard that you’re actually like,,,, okay,,,,,, interesting..?

and at first you’re like shut up yuta i’m trying to work on seating placements you know ten from iacto can’t sit beside donghyuck from stella or they’ll start a prank war during MY coronation

also there are a lot of people who write songs about you and your siblings that’s just how the vibes are !!!!!

you and your siblings are known for your beauty and kindness, so many creatives often use y’all as muses

so you just brush it off

and go back to your planning

which actually consists of you begging your advisors to make little goodie bags for everyone on the entire island (they WILL eventually agree because who doesn’t want a small bee charm necklace or some cleansing crystals)

but i digress

it’s not until you visit the courtyard to finalize the seating arrangements that you actually see the man your brother was talking about

at first you don’t even realize it’s the same person

sure, this man is short, but he is nothing like the unattractie picture you painted in your mind. not that short men are unattractive, but most men who hit on you are often uhhhh creepy and old bc intima is a beautiful place but men are still a disease

this man is, dare you say it, handsome.

like prettily handsome

his hair is a warm chestnut that falls over his eyebrows in loose curls. strands curl and bend around his ears and his eyes are lined with what seems like kohl

his lips are pursed, and he’s too far away for you to hear him, but he seems to be singing

you tear your eyes away from his coral-colored jerkin and try to focus on the seating arrangements

in the end, you leave the work to your advisors, choosing to break away and listen to the lonesome bard

and just IMAGINE for a moment taeil singing like real people do by hozier

just taeil singing any hozier song i cannot get over the thought of it >_>

those are the vibes for this story

taeil a sexy irish bog man

not really but i’ll bookmark the idea for later !!!!

okay so imagine him singing real people do or sunshine and it’s so gentle and warm coming from his mouth that you’re entranced at the very start of it,,,, you’ve heard tales of sirens luring sailors into the sea,,, and they’ve always sounded quite far fetched but now that you’re hearing taeil’s voice you’re like,,,,,, maybe it’s possible

you sidle up to another listener and ask for his name

“taeil moon”

it’s a befitting name. you run it over your tongue for a good while until it feels familiar,,, and when the song is finally over, you clap and shout a few praises, thinking your voice would get caught in the crowd

but taeil catches your gaze, and he strums a sour note on his lute. it’s a swift apology and an even swifter exit as he leaves the courtyard.

you watch him go, unsure as to why he seemed so uncomfortable knowing you were there. “is he alright?” you ask the same listener who told you taeil’s name. they answer, “he’s never left a set before. perhaps you frightened him, princess.”

you DID frighten him. moving into taeil’s point of view, the man has been declaring his infatuation with you for months now and you’ve never come to listen. he suddenly feels naked and vulnerable,,, the one person he chose to write songs about is the future queen and he could very well be executed for such unauthorized poetry

(as if executing is something intima didn’t outlaw ages ago)

so taeil is just a tiny bit dramatic, and he clings to the honest hope that you came to his show late and didn’t hear his declaration. his “all my love songs of now and forever after are for the princess y/n” that he starts every set with. he feels like a fool, so he finds himself hiding in the royal gardens, far behind the brush and hedges, where a lone forgotten fountain rusts. still water bubbles out of the spout, but there isn’t enough for the fountain to actually flow, so it just makes an incredibly awkward gurgling sound as taeil strums his lute and tries to collect his thoughts

taeil doesn’t just like you because you’re the princess. it goes so much deeper than that; he has one faint memory of his graduation out of bards college (it’s a thing in skyrim so it’s a thing in my au) and it consists of you meeting with all of the graduates and giving them each a bush lily from your own personal garden,,,,,,, you also wrote everyone a handwritten letter addressing them by name !!!!!!!!!

and it’s not much to go by at all, and taeil would feel incredibly foolish even bringing up the memory, or the fact that he keeps the card in his memeriy box,,,,, because it’s obvious that you don’t remember him from it, but he can still remember the color of your eyes up close, and he knows what it feels like to be on the receiving end of your smile,, and just the memory of your fingers grazing his when you handed him the flower and card makes his cheeks warm with childlike fondness

he’s a fool, he knows. he’s also a coward, because he ran at the very sight of you

“you ran off before i could tell you how lovely your voice is.”

taeil falls into the rusting fountain as soon as you round the hedge. he has no idea how you managed to find him, but he can’t really think much about it because he’s soon coughing and shivering from the cold and dirty water he’s just fallen into. he mourns his lute,,,,,, just floating in the shallow water ,,,,,, it’s not dead it’s just wet :/

“oh dear i’m so sorry!” you grab his hand and help him out of the fountain, wincing at the way his clothes cling to his body. (Wait. wait. taeil’s lil baby tummy.... through the sheer shirt,,,,,,, like after he takes off his jerkin to dry it out :(((( omg he’s so cute) “i just wanted to compliment you.”

“thank you, princess,” taeil manages to get out. he paints a smile on his face even though he feels like he’s never been put in a more awkward situation. “it means a lot, honestly.” he decides to avoid the topic of having a crush on you, because he thinks he has experienced plenty of embarrassing moments today, thank you very much. so he changes the topic completely. “good luck, uh, on your coronation. i’m looking forward to it.”

you lower yourself into a mock curtsy. “why thank you. save me a dance during the after party, won’t you?”

taeil nods, not trusting himself to speak, and you bid him goodbye

y’all know taeil’s face where he’s just cheesin. like :D

that’s his face for the rest of the day. and every day up until the coronation !!!!!!

and you visit him!!!! when you can !!!!!!!!

taeil has a very easygoing personality i feel like after the initial awkwardness he’d actually be the one to initiate a friendship!!! like sometimes he leaves you letters by the old fountain !!!!!! :((((

and taeil’s letters are very friendly but every once in awhile he’ll slip in song lyrics that make your heart flutter!!!! just imagine your favorite love song or folk song written out by taeil to you because he learned it and it made him think of you :(( i’m crying and i know you’re crying

one day you have a picnic!!!!!!!!! and it’s just the two of you and taeil thinks he should be nervous but he genuinely does enjoy your company,,,,, and he kinda sort of slowly starts to think of you less as a muse and more as a friend,,,,,, or even maybe a potential ,,,,,,,,, l o v e r oooohhhhhhhh,,,, omg it’s so cute tho he lays out a blanket in front of the fountain and the two of you eat sandwiches and apple juice and :(( eventually the sun makes you both a lil tired so you fall asleep side by side

and you get kind of flustered when you wake up beside taeil like oh 😳 okay 😳 now 😳

the two of you hang around each other in secret. not because it’s against the law or it would be publicized or anything like that,,,, intima is a very casual island and no one would bother the two of you too much,,,,,,,,, but taeil feels like a little secret you aren’t sure you want to share ,,, also your brothers and sisters would tease you relentlessly for giving your time to someone KNOWN for singing love songs about you

your friendship w taeil feels a bit like a bird feather on a windy day,,,,,,, like one hesitant breath could blow him away,,,,,,,, but taeil is so FUNNY and warm and gentle and COMFORTABLE that you slowly start to feel yourself fall for him.

taeil is a story-telling bard in the way that the songs he sings often tell stories of his life or the life of someone famous, installed in their hearts from the moment they were all in elementary school. like imagine him singing a tale about the greek gods or norse mythology or perhaps he goes and bit more fairytale and songs of thumbalina or sleeping beauty

he’s an amazing storyteller, so much so that when the two of you hang out, he often recites some form of verse to you, especially if it’s a legend you love dearly (SIRENS) ,,,,,, but the one thing that kind of irritates you is that he has yet to sing you one of his legendary songs that are “supposedly” for you

you’re not trying to be prideful, but this is the lovely singer everyone has told you about, and you still haven’t heard any of his original songs. or at least, his original songs dedicated to you. you’re very curious to see what you look like in taeil’s eyes, even though it might make you feel horribly vulnerable.

and taeil is like :) obviously :) i’m not going to sing love songs :) about my crush :) to my crush :)

but it’s whatever.

what i want to talk about is the coronation babey !!!!!!!!!!!

it’s very public,,, in the middle of the courtyard,,, and all the market stalls are up selling their wares to the large crowd!!!!! and kids are playing in the moat !!!!! sort of a summer festival and you’re the main event lol. like some people will gather and watch the coronation and some people will be off dancing on the other side of the courtyard but everyone is celebrating the same thing!!

and this is a high fantasy setting so there aren’t any modern things like microphones or speakers aside from a copper horn or smth ,,, but it’s all very fun and festive!!!!

merchants are selling banners of orange and gold,,, yellow roses and tiger lilies,,,,,,, flower crowns and faux scepters for the little kids!!!!!! and there’s lively music for people to dance and celebrate to,,,,,, and can you guess who is in charge of the music !!!!?! TAEIL

he’s got an entire band leading the courtyard and it’s all traditional songs for the most part of taeil is able to slip in a few love songs now and again. and ofc everyone loves them bc they know taeil and OBV it’s hard to hate taeil

but :( you aren’t really focusing on the music since it’s such a big day for you but if you were you’d know that taeil is singing his original songs :((( all the love songs about you,,,,,,,,,,

and i SWEAR i can imagine taeil singing hozier-esque songs..... omg or like mystery of love ,,,,, imagine him singing mystery of love on one side of the courtyard while you’re getting crowned queen on the other side

that image is something that can be so personal to me ╰(*´︶`*)╯♡

:(((( and you’re dressed in a tan and peach maiden dress,,,, cloaked in golden silk with day lilies tucked in your hair,,,,,,,,, omg or BRAIDED into your hair,,,,,, you just look like a sun goddess okay golden by harry styles are the vibes ALRIGHT babes,,,, and there’s a speech to be made and someone made cake for the masses,,, so you get a bit caught up it everything

taeil isn’t really in the crowd for the coronation as i already stated before ,,,,, but he can kind of hear everything that’s happening and it makes him just smile to himself as he messes with his lute :((( omg if you guys haven’t heard you are gold by the national parks THATS the song taeil sings as the celebrations are dying down

and all the street lanterns are lit and people are quieting down and eating or chatting or rounding up their kids for bedtime !! omg little kids racing past and giggling, their flower crowns askew as they shout about becoming a queen one day :( that’s so cute esp to imagine taeil watching them fondling and waving at them as they pass

and there are fireflies all around!!!! lighting the pathway!!! it’s just so cute and soft and lovely think tangled at last i see the light scene OKAY except it’s not on water it’s a festival and it’s beautiful every seems to be glowing in the light

this au is partially inspired by tangled,,, or the kingdom of corona (lol) so

anyways back to you are gold

the chorus is as so: “you are gold / you are all i see / you are aurum scarce and meant for kings / and i will wait if it’s time you need / what i see in you i hope you find in me.”

and can’t you just SEE taeil singing that absentmindedly not really knowing that you’re making your way to him and then he just looks up during the final chords and he just,,,,,,, fumbles the music and his voice cracks a little (but how COULDNT it bc you’re so beautiful and angelic and taeil could easily picture the stars against your skin and in the shade of your eyes)

“h-hi,” he stutters. “you look. nice.” :D

i think taeil is pretty confident with his feelings but i also feel like he can be quite clumsy with them as well. if that makes sense. but on the other hand confessing to the now-queen of your island is a bit much and taeil isn’t really ready to be rejected on a regal level.

“thank you,” you say. AND!!! you can feel your cheeks get hot because taeil is quite handsome and you DEFINITELY heard the last few lyrics of the song and it ignited feelings inside of you that you weren’t sure you’ve felt much of before.

you kind of just want to take his hand and go spend some ~ alone time ~ with him ^_^

“you know,” you sit down beside him and wrap your cloak around yourself. “everyone has been telling me that you’re quite famous for dedicating your love songs to me. how come i haven’t heard such declarations?”

taeil’s ears turn red and he smiles down at the lute in his lap. “isn’t it a bit disrespectful to make you listen to all the songs i write for you?”

“i want to hear them!! genuinely!!”

can you just IMAGINE taeil holding eye contact and singing sunshine by hozier >:( or like ANY song by ray montangue for today we’re pretending taeil wrote all of these

hold you in my arms by ray montangue YOO :((

just taeil strumming and singing sort of under his breath because he doesn’t really want anyone else to share this lil moment with you. and he’s so sweet like i imagine after he sings he doesn’t expect any praise and he certainly doesn’t expect you to confess your love or anything like that

bc taeil is a respectful future king

LIKE JUST IMAGINE kind of grabbing his face and just giving him a lil kiss,,,,, a lil smooch,,,,, if you will

taeil is probably rlly pretty just after being kissed like his eyelashes would flutter so prettily and it would be so soft like he’d just press his forehead against yours and then omg a FOREHEAD KISS like a really gentle one

you would be so important to taeil like i think he would just be so gentle with you in every way

the relationship is a slower one,,,,,, you have queenly duties and he’s still working as a busker,,,,, getting ready to help the merchants in the winter,,,,,,,

but the two of you make time. it’s similar to before, you just set up picnics, or sometimes you watch him sing, and he’ll write you love songs and send them to you through a letter,, stamping with purple wax,,,

and taeil is always so sweet :( i think he’s more of a casual lover in the sense that he doesn’t need pda or loud declarations in order to make you feel loved flashback to him dedicating every love song to you in the middle of the square but he’d be the type to just hold your hand around the courtyard,, or he’d just send you soft smiles from the other side of the marketplace

he’s the time to buy you a basket of your favorite fruits and deliver them personally to your door

everyone in the castle just lets taeil into the chambers section at this point

the two of you will swim in the moat and play hopscotch with the village children or go shopping together or take naps beneath the afternoon sun and with taeil by your side it’s all so fond and precious and some times you’ll go days or weeks without seeing him just because of schedules but it’s never awkward when the two of you get back together

and it’s actually not until some of your very own villagers are coming up to you like hey,,,,, why haven’t you made taeil your partner yet?? he’s so precious and sweet and he would look lovely in a crown 👀👀

and uhhh who are you to argue with that lmao

so you buy taeil a ring

a pearl !!!! encased in silver <3333 i like to think that the tales he sang to you about sirens often slides to a pearl of some sorts,, so you make sure it’s the rock you place on the ring

and you take him back to that rusty old creaky old ugly old fountain :)

and you just,,,,,, ask him to marry you ,,,,,,,,,,

ofc taeil says yes, a bit frozen because the two of you have talked about marriage but only briefly,,, and he wasn’t sure you’d ever take that step so he didn’t want to pressure you

taeil ofc has always been ready,,, his soul is more open than yours if that makes sense !!! which isn’t a bad thing but he has definitely been ready for a lifetime with you for a long time now

and it’s a long-ish engagement i feel like

not that it really matters but it’s more of a betrothement !!!! so the two of you are technically already married even before the ceremony if that makes sense??? like everyone alludes to taeil as the consort and the two of you live together and receive gifts of betrothement and !!! it’s quite sweet and it’s the way they do things in intima

also you guys aren’t in a big hurry for another ceremony esp bc yuta’s coronation is coming up and you don’t want to take any of his spotlight

king!yuta hold up

but yeah taeil is a wonderful consort !! doesn’t do much yet politically bc he isn’t especially versed in politics but he’s learning!!! he’s really good at keeping a good energy in the room even if two ambassadors are fighting taeil will just be vibing like :-D and it often calms tensions

he’s just a GREAT person and a helpful ruler even tho he really doesn’t even have to be,,,, he’s just a consort,,,, but he still takes the effort to learn genuine laws and help guide the people

the people are obviously obsessed with him,,, they wouldn’t ask for another consort because he’s so kind with all of them

still sings in the courtyard as his job ,,, and the people love it just as much ^_^ esp because now all the songs are openly for you and about you and it makes people more fond of you as well

taeil creates y/n propaganda pass it on

but he works in the castle too,, and he’s a fast learner especially when it comes to settling arguements within the village or even within the court,,,, he also sets up festivals !! he’s wonderful at it !! genuinely !! taeil as an interior designer i can just see it man him designing flower arrangements and the setlist and just !! being a wonderful host

and tbh you’re very thankful because it’s nice to rule with siblings but it’s even nicer to rule with a soulmate

and taeil feels just like that — a soulmate, a missing piece of the puzzle,,,,,

and if intima is the sun , if you who rules it is the sun, then taeil is the moon,, and it’s quite obvious that the two of you were made for each other

perhaps in the future the two of you will have kids or adopt

or you guys get a puppy!!! i can see you w a puppy and taeil with a kitten and the two lil pets just follow you guys around omg

the two of you fix up the old fountain so it isn’t rusty or squeaky anymore

you guys find rocks out on the shore and create a new bed at the bottom of the fountain

and guess what!!!! you guys write little wishes on the rocks and invite everyone else to do the same with the idea that once the fountain is filled with wishes, you’ll hold a festival where you put the wishes back into the sea to be completed

omg how cute would that be like a yearly thing where the fountain would be filled with rocks and everyone gets a handful to take down to the beach and throw into the sea

it’s where lovers write their names and people confess to their crushes and anniversaries and birthdays are celebrated and it’s where artists write pictures and poets write verses and people write prayers to the sun

and it’s where you and taeil announce your first pregnancy >.<

and it’s really soft

the place between the sea and the sun is where your love lies

where your family lives

omg taeil singing lullabies to his baby :( HES be such a sweet dad

i feel like taeil already has a family just by his vibes yknow

but say it’s a daughter he’d teach her how to play the lute and he’d buy her her own

he’d let her express herself in any way and identify however she’d want and love whoever she wanted

he’d be an AMAZING father and husband and king

ANYWAYS to conclude

this was fun to write and i hope it made sense i know it’s all over the place but in conclusion taeil is sexy and deserves to be loved

#taeil au #nct au #taeil fluff #nct fluff #commissioned #destwrites

81 notes · View notes

lavenderlight · 4 years

Note

1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, 39, 40 >:)

Ahdgkhh okay here we go!!!

1: Which TES games have you played?

All 5 main series games, ESO, and Blades!

2: Favorite TES game?

Oblivion........ like the other games have traits I like more, but also cons. Like... if I had to pick a game to just play with only the Unofficial Patch, it’d be that one.

3: When and how you got into TES? I was at a game store with my brother and we saw Oblivion with all these award “amazing game” stickers on it on clearance. So picked it up. I wasn’t impressed right away (remember picking dark elf tho) so put it down. My bro played it and said “omg you have to get out of the tutorial dungeon that sucks but the rest of the game is so good!” So I made a bosmer and did and there rest is history. TES has been a special interest of mine and a big comfort series for a decade now! 4: Favorite race Bosmer! Dunmer are a close second though. Thanks Morrowind. 5: Favorite province Valenwood........... love it............ Cyrodiil too because I’m basic. 6: Favorite character Ahdjgh hard to pick because there are so many! Off the top of my head, Dagoth Ur/Voryn Dagoth, Indoril Nerevar (what a shock, I know), Serana Volkihar, Glarthir, The Adoring Fan (don’t @ me), The Jemane Brothers, Marcurio, really all the characters from ESO’s main quest and the ending side quests who help you 😭😭. 7. Favorite faction

Thieves’ Guild, minus Skyrim’s. Skyrim’s Thieves’ Guild was awful eww.

8: Which province you would like to live in

If the lore and history and stuff weren’t a thing, Summerset because it’s aesthetic and has nice beaches. Realistically, probs Cyrodiil because I’m basic and I like how it’s a melting pot of various races and cultures!

As much as I love Valenwood, wouldn’t be able to handle the Green Pact

9: Which deity/deities would you worship?

Dibella - because I like how she’s the divine for the arts, and actual true love and beauty in the world (feel like she’s the divine most likely to say gay rights and trans rights). That vibes with me.

Makes me sad that both in the games and in the fandom, she’s reduced to “ha ha slutty sex goddess”.

10: Favorite Divine

Dibella because see above.

11: Favorite Daedric Prince

Oh boy... hajdg I love Daedra (except Molag Bal - eww)!!! So it’s hard to pick. Just rapid fire listing some favs: Sheogorath, Meridia, Azura, Barbas (does he count?), Hircine...

12: Favorite enemy

Dagoth Ur

13: Favorite dungeon

Hmmm, I feel like I’m forgetting some, but I enjoyed Nocturnal’s trial dungeon in Skyrim because I like sneaking and it was all based on that.

14. You have awakened and you are a Cliff Racer. What do you do?

Hunt and kill anyone who dares to step outside Seyda Neen lol

15: What would you do if you contracted vampirism?

C u r e

16: What would you do if you contracted lycanthropy?

C u r e

17: Are there any characters you have crushes on?

Not rly because I’m ace.

If so, who?

18: Favorite Great House

The Sixth House. The Tribe Unmourned. The-

Honestly all of them are whack and have... issues. When I played Morrowind, I didn’t join any of them lol. Telvanni is at least entertaining and very out there which makes them cool. So I guess them?

19: Favorite TES music

Ahaha... I sold my soul to Jeremy Soule... I have so so many... :’)

“The Road Most Travelled”, “Peaceful Waters”, “Stilt Sunrise”, “Auri-El’s Ascension”, “Sunrise of Flutes”, “Harvest Dawn”, “All’s Well” “The Streets of Whiterun”, “Secunda” (this is one of my all time favourite video game songs!), “Sovngarde”, “One They Fear”

Then from ESO which has other composers too: “Northpoint Nocturne”, “Moth, Butterfly, and Torchbug”, and “Grazelands Dawn” (mostly because it’s a remix of “The Road Most Travelled” 🥺)

Oh, and this song from the Morrowind dlc because the remaster of “Nerevar Rising” from 2:54 onward. (which how could I forget “Nerevar Rising”? Ugh it gives me feels! The Oblivion and Skyrim main themes are very near and dear to me too)

Also really enjoyed this song from Clockwork City - captures the melancholy vibe and I like the clock noises in it.

20: In your opinion, what is the scariest thing in TES?

I can’t stand spiders so anytime anything having to do with them shows up... I play with mods that remove them and in ESO, I have a list of dungeons and places to avoid. If I have to do one, I make someone go with me and kill them for me lol.

The Lighthouse Quest in Skyrim was also mega spooky. As for lore, soul trapping and the Soul Cairn really freaks me out! I can’t bring myself to use soul trapping because it bothers me :( I headcanon that when a soul gem runs out of charge, the soul is freed because it’s the only way I can sleep at nigh leave me alone lol 21: Favorite main quest Morrowind, hands down. I will infodump and discuss that game’s plot forever. 22: Favorite side quest

I really like the Daedric Shrine quests, they’re always fun. Also love the silly little short quests like in Morrowind when you have to help the guy get his pants back, or in ESO where you gotta find the lost dog in Valenwood and pet it.

Oblivion has loads of side quests I loved... the missing dunmer painter, Hackdirt, that quest with the ladies who are killing men, the Floating Bowl quest... the mystery at Chorrol Castle....

23: Most frustrating experience in a TES game

I get mad any time the sneaking mechanics in ESO don’t work like the main games. Because I always play an archer-thief lol.

That one fabricant machine puzzle in Tribunal.... oh man........ I had to look it up.

And also the final boss for Clockwork City was annoying. Don’t go to the Clockwork City!

24: Funniest experience in a TES game

Other than moments intended to be funny, I sometimes laugh whenever I miss a jump and end up dying from fall damage. It’s so ridiculous.

Dagoth Ur’s “What are you doing?!” when you first attack the Heart always gets a chuckle out of me too. He sounds so... upset and disappointed in you? Lol

25: Most badass moment in a TES game

The ending to ESO’s main quest was a rly big power fantasy moment for me.

Also more mundane, but I felt really cool and powerful when I got to the point in Morrowind where I could one shot kill cliff racers lol

26: Saddest experience in a TES game

The ESO side quest, “The Soul-Meld Mage” in Coldharbour. After that one, I had to step away for a bit.... man. It hurt my heart and I still feel so bad. That was a case in the game where I really felt impacted by how cruel and awful Molag Bal is. Like I *knew* but that quest played with my emotions and made it personal.

27: Favorite area/region

Valenwood from ESO. I spend all my time there, and sometimes go to Summerset or Vvardenfell lol.

28: Least favorite character

Vivec.

Also don’t like Maven-Black Briar. :I

29: In-game food item you want to eat the most

Sweetroll!

Also this one recipe for a beef dish I found in Valenwood sounded good. Maybe also the Sunrise Souffle mentioned in Skyrim?

30: If you could try skooma, would you?

No. Don’t do drugs, kids.

31: If you had the skills and resources to do a perfect cosplay of any TES character who would it be?

Probs Serana

32: Have you read any of the novels?

No, but I’ve been thinking about it!

33: Favorite class to play

Thief, or a thief-similar class like agent or rogue.

34: Which type of magic would you most like using?

Alteration seems the most useful for everyday life lol. But illusion would be fun.

35: Favorite weapon

I use bows all the time!

36: Favorite spell

Levitate from Morrowind - it’s so much fun to use!

37: Favorite artifact

Nerevar’s Moon-And-Star Ring. It’s cute lol and I like the lore behind it!

Also enjoy the Wabbajack because of how silly it is, and Dibella’s Brush of Truepaint.

38: You have awakened to find you’re in Tamriel. How do you react?

Because yeah I love TES but also the world of it is scary with gods and monsters constantly trying to kill you lol

39: Thoughts on ESO so far

I really enjoy the world and writing! But I’m still cranky over some moments where it’s an MMO and not a normal TES game :I

I also hate that we can’t have NPC companions. You really gonna give me a clockwork nix-hound named Snuffler and not let me travel with him? For shame.

40: Character you’d most like to hang out with

Nerevar, because I’m very awkward and shy and bad at peopleing and I would hope he could teach me how to improve lol.

But to actually hang out and chill, Marcurio would be pretty fun lol

#thank you!!!#asks #rucow

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distantcowboysounds · 4 years

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Current TES Oc Masterlist

No one asked but here it is anyways, a bit about each of my TES OC’s, not a lot of them but I really like all of them a lot

Name: Malko Dathos

Era: Oblivion - Skyrim

Title (what they do): Hero of Kvatch, Dark Brotherhood Silencer, Sheogorath (Eventually)

Race: Dunmer

Pronouns: He/Him

Archetype: Acrobat/assassin

Tiny summary: Born into slavery Malko winds up in a circus after running away from Morrowind. Kills the ring leader and is arrested two years after in Cyrodiil. He helps Martian stop the Oblivion crisis. After he joins the Dark Brotherhood, falls in love with Lucien Lachance, and during this time he leaves for a few months to join the thieves guild. After Lucien dies and the purification he goes to the Shivering Isles and becomes Sheogorath. Returning to Nirn in the Skyrim era to travel with the LDB (Mayumi)

Vibes: Timid but pretty cool ngl. Hes got big ‘i look soft but i will gut you if you cross me the wrong way’ energy. Pretzel man lives tragic life and loses his mind then gets to fucking party as a daedra. Knows nothing bout alchemy like at all.

----

Name: Nivinor Taharondre

Era: Morrowind

Title (what they do): Nerevarine, Telvanni Mage, Political Advisor

Race: Dunmer/Altmeri mix

Pronouns: She/Her

Archetype: Battlemage & alchemist

Tiny summary: Niv was born in Summerset the younger sister to Estlina. Spending most of her life very sheltered because of being a mixed race elf in a very close-minded area she left to join Cyrodiil’s mages college fairly young. She was caught for stealing rare ingredients on the border of Blackmarsh and Cyrodiil and promptly hauled off to Morrowind. Here she finds out she’s the reincarnation of Nerevar and fulfills her destiny though with some reservations. She travels Morrowind for some time, joining the ranks of House Telvanni (Specifically Tel Mora). When visiting her family back in Summerset her sister tries to hire the Dark Brotherhood to kill her and because of this Nivinor had to leave Tamriel all together and travel to Akaviri for her family’s sake.

Vibes: Sad pretty lady. Very strong mage and loves experimenting and making things explode. Choas but wrapped in a cover of elegance and beauty.

----

Name: Mayumi Raka

Era: Skyrim

Title (what they do): Dragonborn, Dark Brotherhood Listener/leader, head of the blades, eventually a dutchess of Sheogorath

Race: Akaviri

Pronouns: She/Her

Archetype: Rouge

Tiny summary: Joining the Skyrim sect of the thieves guild to see why the guild was failing and ideally getting it back on track with Cryodiil’s guilds was Mayumi’s initial goal when she came to Skyrim. Though after becoming and Nightengale she left the guild, letting Karlana take the position of guild master. Mayumi joined the Dark Brotherhood and after killing Astrid became the leader, working on reforming the guild to its former glory. But before this she was given the title of Dragonborn and went through the trials and immense distress to save the world from Alduin. Wanting to focus her efforts on rebuilding the guild and learning about its past she travels to Cyrodiil in search of the ruined sanctuaries with a particular Dunmer named Malko at her side.

Vibes: ‘Im going to cause problems on purpose’ and ‘fuck it. If i die, i die’ put together. She really just wants to live and have fun without worrying about responsibilities. Simmers down after becoming the lbd but still. Shes here for a good time, not a long time

----

Name: Sulura Dathos

Era: ESO

Title (what they do): Vestige, assorted hero for whatever quests Im doing, Eventual patron deity to assassins

Race: Dunmer

Pronouns: She/Her

Archetype: Assassin & healer

Tiny summary: Pretty Dunmer lady go stab stab. Becomes mega assassin and gets blessed by Sitihs to be a patron deity

Vibes: man idk she aint got none yet

----

Name: Viaiss Spellel

Era: Skyrim

Title (what they do): Head Dawnguard member, Champion of Meridia, Meridia’s protective light

Race: Altmer

Pronouns: He/Him

Archetype: Warrior

Tiny summary: In his early life Via was a high ranking Thalmor Commander from a prestigious family. His whole life was planned for him but after losing the love of his life and all of his soldiers in the night of green fire he ran. Traveling with no purpose for several years before joining the Skaal and living with the before once again setting out to become a monster slayer. He joins the fighters guild for a short while to help make some coin before finding out about the Dawngaurd and immediately joining. Sometime after this he became the champion of Meridia and some years past. He eventually winds up in love with three mages but not many years after meeting the men he passes away, slain by a vampire. Meridia takes his soul to the Coloured Rooms and he becomes a demi prince to her.

Vibes: Sexy scary tough man im in love with u. Old and tired let him rest please hes been through a lot. Can and will sleep for 100 years if u let him.

----

Ocs that are just kinda ocs for my ocs:

Lazarron: Nivinors Husband. A young Breton mage from a high-class family. Very nice and friendly man. Hes got bottom vibes but also he loves his wives v much and will cook nice meals for them.

Batraza: Nivinors Wife. A half-orc half nord bodyguard. Very strong but also very loving and beautiful. Likes to show off her muscles to Niv, also likes when niv shows off her muscles to her.

Estlina: Nivinor’s older sister. Also a Dunmer/Altmer mix. Awful women 0/10 do not like her. Rancid vibes. She tried to kill niv cause shes a big ol meanie

Arina: Via’s fiancee. Shes pretty cool ngl, big crush on Via but he never felt the same way tho he did think she was pretty and nice which she is. Pretty stong illusion mage.

Lekecia: Malko’s friend and mother figure. A Imperial merc that took up the blade for hire job after losing her husband. Lovely women i want her to tell me everythings gonna be okay.

Neren: Viaiss’s best friend and first love. He’s an Altmer mage/archer that grew up along side Via. Basically hes the only reason Via even exists in the first place. Chaotic ‘im going to commit a mild crime’ kinda guy. He would steal from walmart.

#oc: malko dathos #oc: Viaiss Spellal #oc: Nivinor Taharondre #OC: Mayumi Raka #Oc: Sulura Dathos #oc masterpost #elder scrolls #tes ocs #oc #morrowind #skyrim #oblivion #eso

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meredithalden · 4 years

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DATING SIMS ARE GOOD AND YOU SHOULD PLAY THEM: A MANIFESTO

hello everyone, I am here today to talk to you about the most important literary genre ever created. yes that's right. you know exactly which one I mean.

This write-up presumes that you know absolutely zero about dating sims (to be more specific: dating simulation videogames), except for the fact that they exist. If you didn’t know that, well, now you know that. If any of this is a retread, my apologies. Please feel extremely free to comment, make corrections, additions, pile on, discourse, etc.

Part 1. JAPANESE DATING SIMS: INCEPTION

Dating sims weren't invented by Konami, but they're the ones responsible for massively popularizing it and establishing all the now-classic genre standards (or genre cliches, depending on how you look at it). Tokimeki Memorial came out in 1994 for PC.

Per Wikipedia, lightly edited for clarity: "In a typical dating sim, the player controls a male avatar surrounded by a variety of female characters. The gameplay involves conversing with these girls, attempting to increase their internal 'love meter' through correct choices of dialogue and action. The game lasts for a fixed period of in-game time, such as one month, or three years. When the game ends, the player either loses the game if they failed to properly win over any of the girls, or they 'complete' one of the girls' routes, achieving eternal love (or getting sex, depending on what type of sub-genre the game falls under). This gives the games more replay value, since the player can focus on a different girl each time, trying to get a different ending."

Tokimeki Memorial (and all of its subsequent sequels and spin-offs) take place during the 3 years of the player character's Japanese high school career, including archetypal events such as the sports festival, the cultural festival, Christmas, New Year's, Valentine's day, and (at the end of the game) graduation.

A poster on the Something Awful forums made an extremely comprehensive screenshot & text-based Let's Play of Tokimeki games 1 through 3, and also one of the spin-off games, where the genders are flipped. In that spin-off, the player avatar is a high school girl, pursuing various boys. (In general, gender-flipped genre variants where you play as a girl are referred to as "Otome Games," i.e. "Games for Young Ladies").

These Tokimeki Memorial Let's Plays are archived here.

In order to understand this foundational series, you definitely do not have to read this whole archive (it's approximately 1 billion words altogether. These games are long and text-heavy), but I would recommend reading reading the summary write-ups for each game in the overview page that I linked up above, and maybe the first couple update chapters for each game, so you can get a feel for the overall vibe & conventions of the genre. Or you can probably find a bunch of video LPs on YouTube, if that's more your style! Or you can play them yourself! (I played Girl's Side 2 on a Nintendo DS emulator, and enjoyed myself a whole bunch.)

I like this particular Let's Play a lot because A. Reading is just personally easier and faster for me than watching B. The author is really thorough and takes the time to explain all the idiosyncratic Japanese cultural tropes and references that come up, and I think that's neat.

Part 2. THE CONTAGION SPREADS

Any game with characters that you can "romance," or build up their "affection stats" by making various choices, owes this mechanic to dating sims.

Some examples of games from completely different genres, which nevertheless incorporate dating sim mechanics:

Every Dragon Age game, every Mass Effect game, every Knights of the Old Republic game (thanks for doing what you do, Bioware!), Fallout 4, Assassin's Creed: Odyssey, Skyrim, Grand Theft Auto 4, Stardew Valley, Harvest Moon, Final Fantasy 7, the entire Persona series, The Witcher 3, indie darlings Oxenfree and Night in The Woods…

And also, there are a bunch of games that ARE straight-up dating sims, but stray from the genre-typical high school setting and genre-typical cast of beautiful hetero romanceable characters. They may also stray from the convention of having every character be "winnable."

You probably already know about Dream Daddy, where you play as a dad, and date other dads: https://kotaku.com/dream-daddy-creators-explain-why-you-can-t-smooch-all-t-1797354455

Rose of Winter is about a female mercenary warrior hired to escort 4 handsome princes: https://kotaku.com/rose-of-winter-is-a-visual-novel-about-first-love-1788036938

Katawa Shoujo is about a boy who transfers to a school for disabled children: http://www.katawa-shoujo.com/about.php

Monster Prom is about getting hot monsters to agree to be your prom date: http://monsterprom.pizza/

Part 3. HEY YOU. YEAH YOU, BEHIND THE LAPTOP. HEY. YOU. I'M TALKING TO YOU.

*puts on sunglasses* Let's get...... metafictional.

I’m not going to say much about any of the following games. Just play them. Play them blind, or as close to blind as possible.

Play this:

don't take it personally, babe, it just ain't your story

Here is a non-spoilery review if you're curious to learn more first: https://killscreen.com/articles/review-dont-take-it-personally-babe-it-just-aint-your-story/

And then play this:

Hatoful Boyfriend

steam store link (DON'T READ ANY STEAM REVIEWS.)

Non-spoilery review here: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/sep/12/hatoful-boyfriend-review-love-pigeons-japanese-dating-sim

And then play this next one.

Be advised that it gets heavy. If you play it at night, maybe don't be alone in the house. Content warning: “This game is not suitable for children, or those who are easily disturbed.”

Doki Doki Literature Club

steam store link (DO NOT READ ANY STEAM REVIEWS. DO NOT READ ANY OTHER REVIEWS. DO NOT READ ANYTHING. DO NOT GOOGLE THIS GAME. DON'T ASK YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT IT EITHER.*)

*If you want to know why it's good, or if you want to know more about the specific nature of the content warning before deciding if this game is okay for you to play, feel free to ask me. I'll let you know whatever you need to know to make an informed decision so you can feel comfortable.

~ The End ~

Thank you for coming to my thesis defense. Everyone, be sure to tell me which dateable dads, pigeons, monsters, and fictional Japanese high school students you think are the cutest and the best and most dateable.

#i came out of tumblr retirement to post this #manifesto #dating sims #japanese dating sims #tokimeki memorial #hatoful boyfriend #ddlc

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sparklycreampuff · 4 years

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1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13, 19, 22, 24, 28, 38. I pride myself in giving people excessively long lists of questions to answer in ask memos lol

Shoo, Levi, making me write you a paragraph

1. Something I would drop everything to do right now? GET MY HAIR CUT. It's getting too long and driving me bonkers.

6. What style do I wish I could pull off? I honestly think I portray what I want to be pretty okay, but I DO want to be a little more obvious about it. I usually go for super femme, but I think I look straight a lot, and I don't want that.

7. What fantasy creature do I want as a pet? It may make me a walking stereotype, but I would LOVE a baby dragon! I just hatched one in Stardew Valley and I'm in love.

8. My favorite song right now? I would probably say "21 Questions" by Waterparks. It's real sad, but I love the vocals and I can sing it pretty well.

10. A place that makes me feel nostalgic? The park near my school. It's a good kind of nostalgia.

12. The most magical place I've seen? Probably Portland, Oregon. I'd never really seen a big city, and when my family took a day trip there, it felt like the air was full of possibility and energy and I just vibed on impact. I'm moving there after graduation.

13. Wings or mermaid tail? Definitely wings. I trip over my own feet enough, the tail would only hinder me.

19. My favorite part about me? I'm super stubborn. Though, you know, all of me is pretty chill.

22. My favorite thing to doodle? I don't actually doodle that much, but I like to draw little flowers.

24. My favorite book genre? I'm kinda sappy, I love a good love story. A little bit of fantasy, too, though I don't read that much anymore.

28. I'm not amazing at them, but I do love to play video games. My current favorites are Stardew Valley and Skyrim.

38. My favorite word? Pulchridtudinous. It means beautiful, but in a human sense. Cars and cats can't be pulchridtudinous, but people can.

Feel free to send more, you guys!

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fyrapartnersearch · 4 years

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original, percy jackson, pokemon, avatar, skyrim, fallout ;

I’m AJ! I lost a couple partners in the holiday craze, which is totally fine! Now I’m lookin’ for some RPs to head into the new year. If we had something lined up and things fell off the wagon, no sweat, just message me again and we can get the ball rolling again! :)

For original settings: apocalyptic (zombie, disease, extinction event, whatever), supernatural (fantasy, urban, sci-fi, literally anything). For fandom universes: Percy Jackson, Pokemon, Avatar: The Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Skyrim, and Fallout.

Gonna run through my basic info and then onto the particulars. 💕

⥽ About Me ; ⥼

• Name/Age ; AJ! 22! Finally!

• Timezone ; CST! I don’t mind time differences, this is just so you know my general schedule.

• Length ; Depends on whether it’s novella or multi-paragraph. If m.para, around 3-5 minimum I guess? Novella would obviously be much longer.

• Reply rate ; Varies depending on whether we’re doing multi-paragraph or novella. I can respond anywhere from every day to every other day or a few times a week to weekly depending on the writing style of the RP and my schedule.

• OOC ; I like getting to know my partners and sharing enthusiasm over our ideas and characters. Nothing hits quite like mutual investment! I like making playlists/pinboards/sending you videos or songs or memes that remind me of our characters!

• Contact ; Strictly email for OOC and roleplay unless we’re using GDocs for the RP itself. You can find me at [email protected].

⥽ On the lookout for ; ⥼

• Doubling ; Not a deal-breaker!! I just prefer writing a cast of characters, so this is something that’s more of a bonus. Ideally we’ll double, but I’m down for writing just one character each. Let me know how ya feel about it!

• Will only write MxM or FxF ; MxF’s not my cup of tea (I’m extremely picky with it, fellow gays u know how it is). If we’re writing a cast of characters then I’m fine with having an MxF side couple. And I STRICTLY write OCxOC! Canon characters won't be found anywhere near this stuff, folks!

• 20+ ; Partner’s gotta be 20+ even if we don’t write anything explicitly adult! I’m outta my teens now and don’t have any interest in writing with them. Same goes for characters. It’s a 20+ zone for both partners and characters ‘round here, folks!

⥽ Yes! ; ⥼

• Smut ; I enjoy writing it, but it’s not a deal-breaker if you’d rather fade to black. All characters will obviously be adults. I expect versatile characters in bed by default, that way we’ve got an even route for playing roles in bed. Admittedly this shifts a bit depending on the character I write but for the most part, yeah, I stick to verses.

• Face claims ; Spent a huge chunk of my roleplaying years on tumblr (it was very over-the-top and flowery and weirdly formatted and grossly difficult to read, I know I know), so having a face for characters stuck with me. If you don’t have any of your own and want good resources to find a face, I’ve got some recommended sites I can throw at ya! Not a deal-breaker, though, and for certain fandoms (Pokemon, Avatar) I actually prefer not to use realistic face claims so we can just opt outta that when writing in these universes.

• Depth & growth ; Not a fan of one-dimensional characters or characters who act the same from beginning to end! People change with experiences and the people around them, so this is to be expected. ESPECIALLY when doubling with a cast. I loooove complicated characters growing together.

• Plotting & Worldbuilding ; *For original settings/worlds! I’m not picky with this if we’re working with a canon setting, so if that’s what you’re looking for, we can skip this section. I run into loooads of folks who say they do this when they really don’t. We’re writing an entire world together, so there’s some degree of effort involved! I need specifics to use as a start-off point for the roleplay and a general outline for where the story’s going. RPs that are just random, spur of the moment with writing as we go on tend to burn out REALLY quickly for me. I know not a lot of people are into this, so I’m sorry about that.

⥽ No! ; ⥼

• Single paragraphs ; I’m not too picky with a lot of length a lot of the time, I just don’t mesh well with people who don’t write more than that. Go ham. I like my responses meaty!

• Limits ; Abuse, nonconsensual/sexual assault, pedophilia, incest (includes step-relations, adopted relations, and that figurative like if one character essentially raised another or they were raised as family), weird age gaps, BDSM, any kind of master/slave or dom/sub dynamics.

As for the goods, I’ve laid ‘em all out for you here! Keep in mind that while all of these are fun on their own, I’m definitely the type of writer who’s into mixing and matching. Sci-fi apocalypse? Fantasy apocalypse? Fantasy supernatural stuff? Sci-fi fantasy? Sci-fi supernatural stuff? Supernatural apocalypse? Period settings? Literally whatever you could think of, I’ll give it a whirl. The particulars down below are just to get the ball rolling and catch some interest, some asterisks for current cravings but I’m soooooo honest when I say that I’d love to write anything down below and won’t shoot you down if you come at me with stuff. Hit me up with whatever you’d like!

APOCALYPSE: My bread and butter! Bro. I’m all about the tense, harrowing, and especially gut-punching when it comes to how close people become to survive together in quiet moments of a world they used to know. I’m a big fan of zombies, so that’s my loose preference. I loved Black Summer on Netflix – the earlier episodes, at least, as well as The Last of Us. That’s the kind of vibe I favor with zombies/zombie-like creatures. But, ofc, an apocalypse can be anything! I love writing different takes on the genre since there’s so much to cover. Extinction event, pandemic, impact event, monsters/beasts, man-made, whatever. The more creative the apocalyptic setting, the better, so I’d love to bounce some ideas back and forth. Not too into a nuclear apocalypse setting, since that overlaps a lot with Fallout down below. I’ve also had some ideas of a futuristic/sci-fi apocalypse that I’d love to tell you all about if you’re interested!

FANTASY***: High fantasy, low fantasy, medieval fantasy, urban fantasy, whatever. Love dragons, love magic, love weird fantasy flora, definitely love the classic prince/princess x knight or commoner schtick. You want prophecies? I’m game. You want elves? I’m game. You want steampunk? I’m game. You want none of that and wanna do something else? I’m game, baby. The possibilities are endless. I’ve had two particular ideas floatin’ around in my noggin lately: an apocalyptic-fantasy that takes place in a medieval fantasy realm wherein an ancient curse/plague erupts across the land with horrifying zombie-esque symptoms (obv with more fantasy elements than just that) that involves a quest to try and awaken a god or two OR some magic journey to the heart of it all and out and end to it, and a modern fantasy involving a run-down summer camp secluded deep in the woods. Two new counselors (our characters) start working there over the summer and things slowly unravel from there, either with faerie stuff involving replacing campers/staff (definitely aiming for the freaky horror faeries as opposed to like, beautiful or only slightly unnerving faeries) or the camp being run by a secret cult that sacrifices campers/staff.

SUPERNATURAL/PARANORMAL***: Vampires and werewolves and demons, oh my! Can’t go wrong with horror, especially can’t go wrong with comedy-horror. I’m more of the type to prefer humans and supernatural beings together in a ragtag duo type of way as opposed to two supernatural beings, but anything’s cool in my book. Medieval/fantasy setting for a dark fairytale vibe, urban/modern supernatural beings slinking in the shadows outside of the human eye, supernatural sci-fi stuff, mysteries and danger lurking around every corner? Seriously, it’s a great genre! Any and everything is fantastic. I’ve got a loose concept of demons/the Underworld I’d like to get into revolving around a human accidentally summoning a demon or making a really poor deal with a demon and the eventual threat of the opposite effect (humans who work with angels/angels who clean up demonic stuff) since I’m struggling with the worldbuilding of it, so applying all that to a roleplay to give it a whirl sounds like a great way to work out the kinks. Plus, c’mon. Paranormal romance. End of the world. Flipping the script on angels and demons with the demons being “good” and the angels being “bad” but really there’s more nuance to that since they’re two sides of the same coin. What’s not to love there? I’m a sucker for human/demon relationships and/or human/angel relationships, what can I say!

PERCY JACKSON*****: I haven’t ever roleplaying this verse before, so this is completely new grounds for me. I’ve seen some fun takes on it, though! Scoured older ads but haven’t reached out to anyone because the posting time’s pretty old, but a couple ideas I’ve skimmed through sound fun. HP got a period take on it, so why not put that spin on PJ with a period setting rather than in modern times? Or just a regular modern setting. Y’know, keep it classy, keep it sexy, keep it fun! I’m definitely interested in life outside of camp since they’d all be adults. Life’s supposed to suck for demigods, so let’s get into that. I’ve only read the first series but I’m game to read more or look over the Wikipedia if it suits your fancy! I’m REALLY looking for a PJ RP, seriously, message me.

POKEMON: Man, I just… miss Pokemon, dude, what else can I say? :( I miss fun adventures and goofy scenarios and taking a more serious or realistic route with threats. I’ve got a couple of ideas from heists to evil Elite Four members to Poke-Jurassic Park, but I’d love to hear anything you’ve got in mind!

AVATAR*****: Alright, not gonna beat around the bush, I had a killer post-Korra RP setting like a year ago that died off early on and now I’m kinda itching to put it back into action! Basically this whole thing just revolves around our own Avatar and world/conflicts. Something before Aang could be fun too? Or a couple Avatars past Korra? There’s so many routes we could take this! And so many things we could bring in! I had an Avatar marathon with my brother this weekend and I just miss this universe. I’ve never actually managed to RP it before, so I wanna remedy that!

FALLOUT***: Played 3, watched various playthroughs of New Vegas, 4, and working on 1+2! I’m a recent fan and I’ve fallen head over heels for it! I’ve got ten prepped OCs for this universe so feel free to take your pic once we get into contact! :D I think it could be fun if we make our own setting for this, but I’m so down for piggybacking off canon settings. I love the Mojave in particular, but everything’s cool in my book. I’ve also got a couple plot ideas, so I can tell you all about ‘em when we get into things!

SKYRIM***: Well I’m a new Fallout fan so it should come to NO surprise that I’m new to Skyrim too. I recently got into it after someone recommended it to me and I’m having a blast playing the game on the Switch! I don’t have any particular ideas but I’d love to dip into the water here and see what comes of it. I’ve got a couple character ideas already so if I manage to rope anyone into this universe I’ll be one happy camper.

#multiple paragraph #long term #email #pokemon rp #smut rp #submission

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metalgearkong · 5 years

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Hollow Knight - Review (Switch)

10/18/19

Developed by Team Cherry, released February 2017

I am shamefully late to this party. Hollow Knight was shown to me by a friend a couple years ago when I was visiting Oregon, the place I grew up, from California, the place I now live. I liked the art style and atmosphere, but I didn’t play it long enough to fall in love with it. Only recently did I download Hollow Knight from the Nintendo eShop because it was so cheap, and I had heard so many good things about it. This began a deep appreciation and passion that grew on me quickly. After finally finishing the core game (not including DLCs) and getting at least one of the three endings, I can safely say that Hollow Knight has become one of my favorite games of all time.

We play as a little bug-like creature, who has come to explore the Hallownest, an expansive underground abandoned bug kingdom with ancient secrets and treasures to discover. The story is intentionally vague for most of the game, and even by the end, you likely won’t fully grasp the story and lore elements without some help or further research. It’s not that the clues aren’t there, it’s just a giant puzzle to analyze, something I enjoy doing. The lack of constant story revelations didn’t bother me, because Hollow Knight has an ongoing sense of mystery and wonder. As you delve deeper and deeper into the dark, dangerous, and macabre locations within Hallownest, you’re never really sure what’s going on, but the game is so well designed, you’re constantly inspired to press on and discover what’s around the next corner.

Hollow Knight can be succinctly described as a Metroidvania with a bit of Soulslike mixed in. This game is a combination of some of the most successful trends of gaming, rolled into a masterfully executed new package. The Hallownest consists of several interconnecting locations that have a distinct theme, and serve some sort of function of the ancient kingdom. Each of these areas have their own music, enemies, color scheme, and environmental hazards. The in-game map is extremely helpful, showing you where you are, shaping each area, and giving you the ability to place markers on the map with different colors so you can invent your own legend and remember where certain things are.

Many times and obstacle will be found in the corners of each of these biomes, letting you know that once you’ve discovered more abilities, that these are places you’ll want to revisit. I had a blast pulling out lined notebook paper and drawing each of these areas as I went along. The game won’t show you the true size of each location until you find Cornifer, a friendly cartographer bug who is also exploring the Hallownest. Buying his map interprets an entire area for you. I had fun comparing my sketches and drawings to the actual map shape and size in-game. I also enjoyed scribbling notes about things when I needed new abilities, or just an interesting location that might have story relevance at some point. The game certainly doesn’t hold your hand and has enough confidence in players not to talk down them.

Team Cherry has some seriously brilliant game design elements built into the combat system. For example, when you slash with the nail and hit an enemy, it pushes you and the enemy back ever so slightly. The combat has a weight to it, and when you get hurt, the audio fades out briefly like you’ve just stood next to a gunshot or explosion. It really feels punishing to get hit, even if you’re not near dying, and makes you want to pay attention and do better. Aspects like this, and other gameplay nuances, make you have to think twice when performing simple actions.

If the player dies, you are returned to the nearest bench you sat on (a save point). As you play the game, you collect Geo from fallen enemies. Geo is the currency of this game, and can be used to buy Cornifer’s maps, open fast-travel stations, and purchase Charms (upgrades) at stores. If you die, you wake up on the last bench yoh sat on. Then, you have to go back to the place you died in order to collect your Geo. If you die before retrieving your Geo, that Geo disappears forever. This is a very Soulslike element, and leads to a lot of suspense as you try your best not to perish again before regaining your lost currency. My advice is to buy things when you can, because saving up Geo has no purpose other than risking losing it all if you die twice. I’ve lost thousands of Geo making this very mistake. Luckily, the place you died is shown on the map, and a certain musical tune will alert you that you are approaching the right spot.

Another Soulslike aspect of the game are the difficult boss battles. This is actually one of the only elements of the game I didn’t fully enjoy. Some bosses aren’t too hard, but most of them are very challenging, and require a dozen attempts to defeat. Some people really get off on this, but not so much me. The frustration of being killed by a boss a bunch of times doesn’t equal the payoff of finally defeating it. Some bosses are optional which is convenient, but most of them also contain an item that greatly helps you in the game, or gives you an ability which is required to access major areas. I know that everyone says “difficult but fair” for these sorts of things, but some bosses only start feeling like a fair fight once you’ve died in battle with them a handful of times to learn their moves -- then it begins feeling like a fair fight. I dreaded each time I came upon a new boss because I knew I’d be stuck for the next while trying to defeat it, instead of exploring, which is what I enjoy the most.

The music of Hollow Knight plays a big part in its atmosphere. Each area has its own distinct music, but more than that, the music is a terrific addition for defining the tone of each area or scenario. It mostly seems to consist of string and piano, with other instruments sometimes mixed in. Overall the game has a very somber tone, much of it attributed to the music. However, some areas feel more whimsical or lighthearted. Places like Fog Canyon or Greenpath have a less threatening vibe because, story-wise, they are in a much less threatening location. Plenty of enemies and challenges are still found in these areas, but the game does a brilliant job using music to establish mood and even help with bit of storytelling.

Hollow Knight is a fantastic, elegant, beautiful game. The fact that this is Team Cherry’s very first official commercial release is beyond impressive and inspiring. This is truly a triple-A title disguised as an indie game. How is it that this 2D Metroidvania is just as addictive and feels just as expansive as Skyrim? Even feeling like I was being extremely thorough (but not referring to guides) I only completed 71% of the game after 32 hours of playing. To truly get the best endings, and uncover the entire backstory and lore elements, I could see myself spending at least 10 more hours uncovering this game’s secrets. I look forward to returning to this game, not only for the DLC that has already released, but to try again at discovering all of the locations, abilities, and story the game offers for dedicated fans. Hollow Knight is one of the best games ever made, and I can’t wait to see what Team Cherry does next.

9.5/10

#hollow knight #team cherry #indie game #metroidvania #soulslike #dark souls #metroid #castlevania

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oni-adventures · 5 years

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The path to self love always seemed like a cheesy thing to me, something you say to people who have poor self esteem. It was silly and redundant, of course you have to at least respect yourself if you want to live a healthy life. And Love yourself just gives off that ‚live laugh love‘ vibe and that’s nothing I can associate with.

But I thought a lot lately, about what self care actually is. And that led me to the realization that self care and self love are closely related. Contrary to popular belief, self care is not going out on a shopping spree and using 5 lush bath bombs at once. Self care is quite literally taking care of yourself, as if you were a baby or small child that doesn’t know its detrimental to consume at least somewhat healthy food and take a shower every now and again. Taking care of your physical self, your body, is pretty much the first and easiest step of self care, I mean your body is a temple, right?

That statement, even though I heard it about 300 times already, gave me a thought. You know, what if you actually had a temple dedicated to you? What would it look like? If people worshipped your existence, where and how would you want them to go about it? So I did what I do best, I immersed myself in a fantasy setting where I was revered as a divine being and imagined having a temple dedicated to me. Due to the fact that it’s often my comfort and solace and the predominant existence of temples within it, I imagined my temple to stand in Skyrim, nestled in the province of Rift, upon a hill, right at the peak, a soft forest surrounding it giving shelter and food to various animals such as deer, rabbits, foxes and bears. The temple itself would be made from ancient stone, but it would only be a roof resting on big, heavy columns, there would be no walls, just nature surrounding it. Underneath the heart of the temple would be a spring of fresh and clear water, being led into natural rivers by small channels built between the floor tiles, to always nourish all beings passing by.

In the middle, there would be a statue of me, sitting on a small rock, a ceremonial greatsword crafted from solid crystal by my side. To worship me, people would leave crystals, flowers and herbs on the edge of the base from my statue asking for the blessing of virtue that my shrine grants. The entire shrine would always smell of sage, thyme, rosemary and basil. Travelers and pilgrims would rest on the steps towards the statue, taking a break from their journey, recharging and laughing with their companions. To receive my blessing they would drink from the fresh spring water and forth on their journey would be blessed to be filled with good luck, deep insight into ones own mental and spiritual self and tranquility. A sense of calm and ease surrounds the sacred place. The divine power associated with me would not be one of conflict or confrontation, it would be purposefully sought out by people who are dealing with conflicts to gain a level headed insight into the problem and solve the tension it causes them.

Now whenever I take care of my body, I imagine the temple being littered with rubbish, the offerings taken away and wildlife starting to avoid the sanctuary. Whenever I think toxic thoughts, I contaminate the spring water coming from within my shrine eventually making it poisonous. I can not let that happen to my sacred place of worship. Why do I so frequently let it happen to my body and mind in real life?

And that was the moment, that made me understand what. self love truly is. It doesn’t have to be a cheesy thing like „Tell yourself in the mirror that you are beautiful every day“. Maybe that works for you, maybe something else is more up your alley. For me, it’s imagining my shrine up on that tranquil hill in the province of Rift. It will not take care of itself, so I have to make sure it is the calm place of worship that I intend it to be, at least most of the time. What will help you understand your self love and truly will make it bloom, is up to you to discover.

#self love #self care

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megarahmoon · 6 years

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About Me

Thought I’d update my “about me” for my blog because I haven’t updated it in years Lol.

My name’s Meg and I’m 22. Northern California born- residing in Michigan. I consider myself a Celtic pagan. I have a very strong bond with a lot of Celtic deities- especially Cernunnos, Anu, Flidias, Druantia, and Epona/Rhiannon (depending on if you believe if they’re the same Goddess or not). I do love and worship many other Gods and Goddesses (some not even Celtic). I worship nature just as much as I worship deities. Nature has always given me love and life. When I’m in a green, mossy forest, or by the stormy dark sea, I feel so alive. I think in my past life I was a selkie or a dryad. Or just a redwood tree in general!!!

I love tattoos! I plan on getting covered. I have 10 at the moment.

I am bisexual but I’ve always been far more attracted to women! I have been diagnosed with severe anxiety, depression, and bipolar disorder. This really does make life hard for me- I can’t work a normal job- especially around people. My dream is to become a primatologist like my idols (Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and Birute Galdikas). More specifically I wanted to work with gorillas or orangutans. But another dream of mine is working as a wildlife rehabilitator! If you know me, you will know animals are my LIFE. I’m so drawn to them and they also seem to be drawn to me! Everywhere I go I find an animal! My favorite animals include, horses, gorillas, orangutans, praying mantises, deer, seals, barn owls, beluga whales, spiders, and really I absolutely love ALL animals! It’s pretty hard to choose specifics but the animals I mentioned are the ones I’ve always loved an admired. My own animals include a german shepherd, a hairless chinese crested/pomeranion, a russian tortoise, a ball python, two cockatiels, four tarantulas, a forest scorpion, and a tailless whip scorpion! Oh I want so many more animals! When I have my own place one day, I’ll definitely add to my mini zoo. Animals really are almost the only thing in my life that makes me truly happy. I just want to be around animals and dedicate my life to them.

My favorite weather has to be rainy and stormy and misty weather! I love the eerie feelings and vibes. Sure, sunny days can be lovely but I’ve always preferred rain. This is probably why I’m so drawn to Northern California's redwood coast! When I lived in Cali, we lived in a boring, dead, and dry valley. So maybe twice a year we would be able to make a trip to the coast! I’ve never felt so much magic and beauty than I have being in the redwood forest! Foggy seas, mossy forests, tiny waterfalls, lots of animal life, little streams, the sound of the sea...it’s all just too beautiful to handle. That is my true home and one day I definitely plan on living there, that’s for sure! Eureka, Fort Bragg, and Mendocino are the places I always visit and fell in love with. I also plan on someone scattering my ashes in the redwoods and the sea.

Photography is one of my passions in my life. I don’t know what I would do without my lens! My camera is the love of my life! Riding horses is also a passion. I do have a horse, and even though I’m a thousand miles away from her and she no longer lives with my godmother, I still consider her mine. I have been with her since I was around 12 and a couple years back, when she lived with my godmother, I got to move in with my godmother which made me so happy because then I could ride my horse all I wanted!! We bonded so greatly with my time being there. At first she was the most stubborn quarter horse ever! She would not listen one bit when we rode and ran off when I pulled out her bridle! Luckily with some patience, we rode everyday and soon she began to listen to me. We even had a routine where she would stand very still while I climbed onto a table to hop on her back! (I NEVER used a saddle- always bareback) then we would ride away into the orchards! My godmother even told me I could take her with me if my grandmother found us a house. But of course that didn’t happen but I still have so many memories with my little mare! She’s forever in my heart! I do hope to see her again when I take my yearly visits to California.

Brian Froud is my most favorite artist! Ever since I was little, I was so intrigued by his faeries! I absolutely loved how he made them. Very earthly and natural- some not even human like. That’s exactly what I believe faeries look like. Annie Stegg is also one of my favorite artists! Her art is absolutely beautiful! Some of my favorite music artist include, Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin, Meg Myers, The Pretty Reckless, Dorothy, Deftones, Agnes Obel, Greta Van Fleet, The Beatles, Celtic Women, FAUN, Elvis Presley, System of A Down, Serj Tankian, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Pierces, America, Rob Zombie, The Civil Wars, Haley Kiyoko, The Vespers, Mariee Sioux, Cecile Corbel, Pink Floyd, Karen Elson, and I just really love classic rock/rock/indie/traditional chinese/celtic/kpop/blue grass music genres! I also love anime and video gaming! The Legend of Zelda (precisely twilight princess) will forever be my favorite gaming series. As well as Fable, Harvest Moon, Skyrim, World of Warcraft, and Pokemon. I’m a huge ass nerd. Favorite movies include: Legend (1985), Pan’s Labyrinth, ALL the Alien movies (including Prometheus and Alien Covenant), Apocalypto, The Last Unicorn, The Birdcage, Jurassic Park 3, Jeepers Creepers (1&2- FUCK 3), The Black Stallion, The Secret of Roan Inish, Harry Potter (precisely the prisoner of Askaban), The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Poltergeist (ORIGINAL NOT THE SHITTY REMAKE), The Lion King, Gorillas in The Mist, Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, and this is all I can think of right now!

I could tell you so much more about me but I’ve told the most basics about myself. Please, feel free to ask anything you want to know! Here’s a list of what I am in love with: the moon, forests, the sea, animals, abalone shells, fossils, porcelain dolls, feathers, stevie nicks, faeries, selkies, thunderstroms, foggy and misty weather, riding horses, photography, green tea, tattoos, pretty women, soft streams, moonstones, galloping horses, fresh fruit, the colors of autumn, celtic, native american, and traditional chinese music, foggy sea breezes, goddess deities, mossy woodlands, driving through the California coast, ferns, crystals, long skirts and dresses, red lipstick, eerie mermaids, snapdragons, lilacs, redwood trees, the scent of horses, the scent of rain, long hair, fresh snow, and feeling content with myself even for a moment.

#about me #probably will add more if I missed anything!#thanks for reading!

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thumbscrewgaming · 5 years

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Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (Ideas of Grandeur)

In surprising size and detail, Odyssey brings the ancient Greek world to life. Cities, mountains, waterways and more are beautiful to explore. Whilst climbing the Temple of Aphrodite or riding through farmland chasing the sunset there is no shortage of amazing visuals.

In this beautiful world lives Alexios or Kassandra the choice is yours, but Kassandra lives in mine. We started in Kephallonia, an island in the far western part of the world map. This island is a tutorial island for most purposes.

After leaving the island, the map opens up to become a daunting space to explore. It is cut-up into regions each stated with a suggested level. So yes you can explore it, but it’s not wise.

The main quest takes you through Kassandra’s search for her Spartan father and mother and is part revenge and part soul searching. Kassandra also carries the Spear of Leonidas, which is a piece of ancient tech that takes the place of the hidden blade we are all accustomed to.

Choice Warning:

You get a chance to meet your father early in the game. At this meeting, the game will have a surprise time sensitive choice. If playing for a certain ending, be warned about this moment, it can drastically change your adventure.

Since I was just getting my feet wet in the game, I was not ready to make such a big decision and panicked...leaving a heavy cloud over Kassandra.

The story pushes Kassandra toward a tale of revenge, but once you start meeting more characters I felt she is on a more of a soul searching adventure and does not have much of an agenda. It’s only when the predestined dialogue put words into her mouth that she would bend toward an agenda.

Unlike Origins’ straight forwardness, early on it’s not quite apparent what Odyssey’s bigger story arc is. All you know is that Kassandra is a mercenary for hire and most of the early missions have you working for the Spartans to kill the Athenians, but outside of missions you can kill either side without recourse.

It would have made more sense to have the ability to choose how you would like history to go, or simply have the game choose a story path for me. Having too much freedom makes for a muddled sense of the world that doesn’t give much reason for Kassandra’s actions to mean anything.

That brings us to the most noticeable absence during the game and that is any mention of Assassin lore. The Cult of Cosmos represents the Templars in the game, but there is no existence of Assassin history. Thus I’m really just playing an action RPG set in Ancient Greece. I feel this is the farthest departure from game’s lore that we have ever seen. With the addition of the RPG elements, I get vibes of Skyrim and the Witcher more than Assassin’s Creed.

Explore This!

You can choose between standard mode or exploration mode. In exploration mode you’ll have more options to ask more questions where things are, but it’s not too hard to figure out what the ? icons are hiding.

Killing in the Name of

Kassandra is a mercenary by trade and so she kills a lot of things. Whether it is animal or human you bet she knows how to kill it.

Kassandra’s arsenal includes the Spear of Leonidas, two handheld weapon slots, a bow with multiple affect arrows, and a bunch of power moves to activate during combat.

Her gear includes a helmet, chest piece, braces, and shin guards. All are separate components, but whole sets can be found. The downside with so much gear is that you typically end up a mismatched red carpet dumpster fire. Who wears a giant Spartan helmet while sneaking into a fort under the cover of night? Kassandra does because it provides an assassin boost.

Both weapons and gear can be upgraded to match your existing level which is nice if you love a piece of armor or weaponry.

Collecting weapons and armor also allows for selling the crappy stuff for money or dismantling it for resources. Unlike games such as Far Cry where you have to hunt a specific animal to upgrade a piece of gear, Odyssey just wants you to collect materials so any animal will produce ‘soft leather’ and you will need a lot of money and resources to upgrade throughout the game. So dismantling comes in real handy.

Outside of sneaking around, combat is a flurry of weapons and powers. There are no multi-kills, but blocking is solid this time around.

Mercenaries

Kassandra is not the only mercenary trying to score some dough. She frequently becomes a wanted target and at each level a random bounty hunter will head to her location. They spice things up, but can screw up your infiltration attempts.

In the Navy

Kassandra must obtain a ship to leave Kephallonia so she has a ship for all of her adventure. The Aegean Sea is vast and full of loot, pirates, and battles. Either by land or sea each can eat up a lot of time depending on where you’d like to play.

Kassandra’s ship can be fully upgraded and include lieutenants to boosts certain stats. It adds depth to the game, but really only adds more grinding for upgrading resources.

The Big Stabby thing...

The Spear of Leonidas is Kassandra’s best friend, except when it’s not.

My biggest issue with the game is the lack of ability to assassinate enemies at your own level. Kassandra can silently take out ten Spartans then when she gets to the last one. Her ‘assassin skill level’ is not high enough to take him out. WTF.

So what should of been a perfectly executed infiltration turns into a hand to hand fight for no reason. I have not found a way to specifically see if you have a high enough level to assassinate a certain enemy, so the best thing to do is to wear armor that has boosts.

Kassandra’s spear can be upgraded after collecting keys from The Cult of Kosmos members. Each upgrade provides more adrenaline slots for use with power moves during combat. Certain abilities are also locked until the spear is upgraded to a certain level.

Happy Things

The environments are gorgeous.

Naval combat is the best it’s been.

The Cult of Kosmos is fun to hunt down.

The main characters are genuinely interesting, but are few and far between.

Mercenaries spice up the gameplay

Tombs

Sad Things

RPG elements add depth, but lack any real significance in gameplay. Things are different not necessarily better.

The inability to assassinate enemies at your level. (Desmond is rolling over in his grave.)

The lack of big picture story elements between Assassin’s and Templars. Layla who??? Animus what???

How does the player get down from a cliff? Just let them jump and roll! A paraglider would of made more sense.

Conquest battles are meaningless

Odyssey isn’t a Greek tragedy, but it’s far from perfect. The game is a grinder of resources and time with a story that has too many breaks to carry the drama over hours and hours of side quests. There’s plenty of room to make your own adventure, but the story still puts you in a box. Odyssey is a gorgeous Greek backdrop that lacks the depth of a pure RPG and anything else worthwhile for the die hard fans Creed fans. It’s another fun romp in the long list of Creed games that can be picked up whenever you have the time.

Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey - [Worth a Try]

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#Assassin's Creed #Odyssey #ps4 #game review #Kassandra #Ubisoft

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