#like the elements are more akin to the earlier games and I like that

[folksy]

have played some of re5 and literally like 5 minutes of re6 and then was like well fuck it. started re7 and well this is the stuff

[askmerriauthor]

Pokemon Violet - The Paldea League and Geeta

Man, Geeta has turned Paldea into kind of a shitshow, hasn't she?

Discussion/stream of thought rambling on elements of the game's story after the jump. Spoilers ahoy. This is about the story and lore implications, not about the combat-based mechanics of the Pokemon League.

The actual purpose and function of the Pokemon League throughout the various incarnations of the Pokemon franchise over the years have always been a little muddy. That's on purpose, I believe, as it allows more creative freedom for each version to define itself. In the earlier games, the Pokemon League was a sort of trial to prove one's worth as a Trainer exclusively. It had no impact on the lives of anyone other than combat-focused Trainers. As time went on and the stories became more complex, we saw the League turn into a more public element that had a greater impact on its setting. The Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and the League Champion became public figures of renown and respect. It varied from being local celebrities to even being something akin to vigilante superheroes. By the time we got to Alola (Sun/Moon), it was shown that establishing a Pokemon League is both A) something a region does entirely on its own for its own purposes and B) something that will put a region on the map. Having a League brings prestige and value to the area. This is never more overt than in Galar (Sword/Shield) where the entire Gym circuit and Pokemon League is a heavily commercialized professional sport that directly parallels fútbol here in the real world in terms of its popularity, scope, and money-making. As time has gone by, we've seen the Pokemon League become less of a rite of passage and more of a business.

The Pokemon League in Paldea, meanwhile, cranks that up to 11 and breaks the knob off. And that is to the utter detriment of literally everyone.

As has been frequently observed, the Gym Leaders of Paldea don't actually seem to like being Gym Leaders and certainly don't like the Champion, Chairman, and Creator of the Paldea League; Top Champion Geeta. She's their boss and behaves as such, keeping a professional and detached attitude toward them and everything else she does. The various Gym Leaders discuss how much she micromanages them and puts pressure on them for performance. On one hand, she enforces performance reviews several times a year that risk a Gym Leader losing their role if they don't meet her standards. On the other hand, Geeta ordered Katy - the Bug Gym Leader - to hold back and go easy on Trainers who challenge her because her Gym just so happens to be near to the academy where newbie Trainers might be discouraged if she was too tough. Geeta even controls what teams of Pokemon the Gym Leaders use. Larry is a Normal-type Trainer by his own preference, but Geeta forces him to use Flying-types later in the game.

We can be generous when we examine these behaviors, given how the Gym Leaders themselves offer a more gracious view of Geeta's behavior after you defeat them. They give the impression that Geeta's meddling is the result of a genuine, if poorly implemented, desire to encourage them and young Trainers to achieve more. I don't necessarily disagree with that, but it's also abundantly clear that Geeta is running Paldea into the ground and actively abusing everyone around her in the process. Young Trainers included.

Despite the Gym Leaders having that as their job, it's also a point worth noting that it's not their only job. Every Gym Leader has another job - they run a bakery, are a professional artist, a livestream internet celebrity, or pull double/triple duty within the League itself. Larry is simultaneously a Gym Leader, a member of the Elite Four, and some form of administrative agent within the League. And, yes, he is exactly as exhausted, over-worked, and spiritually beaten down as one would think. It's never explicitly stated why this is the case, but it's clear that being a Gym Leader doesn't pay the bills. As in, Geeta is not paying her employees sufficiently to make a living in the amazingly generous and socially supportive world that is the Pokemon Setting. Larry makes mention of how Geeta likes to rope people into doing her work for her, or just working for free, which we not only see but experience ourselves firsthand.

At the beginning of the game, the very first time we meet Geeta, she's talking Nemona - a teenage student who is not her employee - into doing work for her. At the end of the game, Geeta volunteers the League to aid in setting up a tournament, but immediately puts all the admin work on Nemona - to the point that Nemona can't participate in the event, despite battle being the one thing she loves most in the world. When we the Player become a Champion (not The Champion, A Champion - Geeta never surrenders her title as Top Champion and just bestows a lesser title on those who beat her), the first thing she does is rope us into doing her performance review of the Gyms for her. She also blackmails Penny into doing free programming work against her will to help the League. Arven, meanwhile, is not given any task because Geeta doesn't see him as useful, so he's specifically ignored as comedic relief.

On top of all this is the fact that Geeta is also on the Academy's board. She has a massive amount of influence over the school, its staff, and its students. This becomes a particular issue given how Geeta has fully integrated the Pokemon League into the local economy.

Something exclusive to Paldea is something called "League Points". This is a digital currency in-universe that can be used to purchase various goods and services from League-sponsored sources. That is to say, literally every market in the entire setting with the specific exception of individual auctions of rare items outside the standard economy. Even the student store and cafeteria use League Points. To be blunt, it's Company Scrip. The Player does things that the League wants done (combating Pokemon, trading in useful materials, challenging Gyms, doing research on Tera Raids, etc), they're given Company Scrip, and they then spend that Scrip at vendors the Pokemon League owns or subsidizes. Anyone with even a hint of common sense or a knowledge of history knows how this is an EXTREMELY BAD THING as a practice. Made all the worse by the fact Penny is able to very easily hack into the system and illegally produce/distribute all the League Points she likes, meaning it's not even a particularly well-designed system.

Going to the "villain plot", despite Geeta absolutely not being considered a villain and the story technically not having a villain at all: there's allusions in the game lore that Geeta is directly involved in the Tera outbreak plaguing the region - that is to say, a massive environmental threat endangering the entire population and region itself - and that she helped set it into motion for how it would empower the League. Tera Orbs - the proprietary and exclusive technology needed to use this game's gimmick - are held only by the League, Gym Leaders, and specific Trainers approved by Geeta. Using them is ultimately detrimental to Pokemon, Trainers, and Paldea as a whole, but that doesn't stop Geeta from distributing them as suits her needs.

Even going back to the earlier notion of looking at Geeta's actions with a generous gaze and giving her the benefit of the doubt, I'm left unable to reconcile that given the outcome. Geeta herself says everything she does is for the sake of making Trainers stronger and encouraging others to achieve great things. Yet her actions - both as a League member and personally - weaken and hinder everyone around her. The Player becomes stronger despite everything Geeta sets in place and for their own reasons. It's stated in-game that the vast majority of Trainers in Paldea never get more than three badges, and Geeta herself states that she's unable to hold back against anyone who challenges her because she enjoys the thrill too much. As a result, Nemona and the Player are the only other Champions to exist in Paldea since Geeta's been running the show. Also, not even beating all the Gyms is enough to qualify one to challenge the League; Geeta enforces an interview and, if you don't answer questions to their satisfaction (specifically to their satisfaction - if you just answer earnestly and not say what Geeta wants to hear, you fail), then you're denied access to the League outright.

On top of all of this? I know I said I wasn't going to talk about the combat mechanics, but it is relevant in this case. The Gym Leaders, the Elite Four, and Top Champion Geeta herself are... well, to be completely frank? They're weak. Like, laughably weak. Geeta has a team composition that doesn't make any sense and is designed in a way that intentionally sabotages her combat viability. I wasn't even significantly over-leveled or relying on clever strategies, and I utterly steamrolled every single challenge with just my Grass-type Starter Pokemon and the occasional swap to my Salazzle when I was feeling bored. I didn't even bother with type match-ups or using the Tera gimmick. Amusingly enough, Larry gave me the most trouble - he got two whole hits on me in the midst of his steam rolling. The Gyms and League are simply... weak. All because of Geeta's endless meddling. And even the characters themselves seem frustrated and resentful about it. For all of Geeta's talk about wanting to make Trainers stronger, everything she does actively weakens everyone around her and herself.

What we end up with is a Pokemon League that's centered around one person's goals and ideals, that's forcing everything and everyone around it to bend to that person's whims. All in a way that's actively undercutting those desired goals in the process. If Geeta is trying to make the Paldea League a major player for the sake of gaining a better standing for the region, she's doing a cataclysmically bad job of it. I really hope we get a lot more lore in the upcoming DLC expansion because Geeta's left all kinds of questions that really need addressing.

[7grandmel]

Todays rip: 19/12/2023

Dancin' Tranquility

Season 5 Featured on: SiIvaGunner's Highest Quality Rips: Volume C

Ripped by Ahmaykmewsik

Requested by xinos (Discord)

Y'know, it feels like almost any time I highlight a rip by Ahmaykmewsik, I'm obligated to highlight just how good they are at gripping a track's emotional core, making rips with so much pure visible feeling and heart. It was only earlier this month that I talked about It's Snowy but its snowy, and a month before that I covered one of my all-time favorite rips in Your Silent Reality. Even in simpler, earlier rips, with simpler mashups like Picture This Ranch, their talent has been evident, and though I don't want to pick favorites too much on SiIva there's just something about Ahmaykmewsik's rips that keep me coming back time and time again. And, really, today's no different: when Dancin' Tranquility got suggested for the blog, I saw it as an opportunity to just get to talk more about this incredible ripper.

I have a lot of feelings on A Hat in Time in general, that honestly sort of mirror my experiences with SiIvaGunner - it has the wholesale heart and soul of a pure indie project, and wears its influences, strengths, weaknesses, excellence and imperfections equally as proudly. Its a game that's immensely hard to dislike due just to how earnestly happy the development team seem to always be, and the Peace and Tranquility screen really embodies all of that. Referencing an older Tumblr meme whilst also feeling like a sort of acknowledgement of how caring and friendly the game's community had become, it's an aesthetic touch that had no reason or requirement to be implemented into the full game. Yet its addition was just one of the many pieces that makes the whole of A Hat in Time feel so lovely.

In that same way, a rip of the theme could have very well been executed perfectly with any sort of hip-hop mashup, akin to something like Noonsummer Madness or even Door into a Hundred Summers. Yet the remixing effort Ahmaykmewsik has gone through here feels so painstakingly, carefully done - incorporating elements and samples from Dancin - Krono Remix, a song with a similarly lo-fi, kick-back-and-relax energy to it. There's a newfound energy to Dancin' Tranquility that's hard to really describe - it feels lo-fi, yet the remixing add a subtle feeling of urgency, without actually becoming stressful.

There's so many little touches to the remix that make it truly stand out, breaks and sound samples, additional backing pieces - yet it all fits together surprisingly cohesively. And like I said before: that's kind of like A Hat in Time itself, isn't it? It really shouldn't come as a surprise that the official A Hat in Time twitter account found, loved and shared the rip with its own fans, one form of independent art creation supporting another. Ahmaykmewsik continues to impress me, and I'm so happy to see their work be appreciated through Dancin' Tranquility in particular.

[geekgemsspooksandtoons]

My...own take on Spider-Man rambling

Edit update I showed this crap to @kaijuguy19 first.

This is all copied from a draft from June 23rd, 2023. Which I will delete after posting this. This is what I have been talking about or hinting at. But I think I won’t really go through with it because even though I am being affected by outside opinions. But I feel like again, with a lot of different takes on this character. This is all just fanfiction, but I question if I should even go with this.

Especially with my weird mixed opinions on Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, my love and liking for certain adaptations such as the 70′s live action Spider-Man show. Along with Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man which is...LITERALLY WHAT I’M KIND OF DESCRIBING HERE. That my ideas aren’t really creatively new. Especially after playing the game recently which I have said in earlier posts.

Along with the idea of that I may have made Peter Parker more akin to Miguel O’Hara (The original comics version that is) but I had thought of him being literally the “Opposite” of Miguel in Across the Spider-Verse. And other changes I had wondered of having him get bitten by the spider at the age of 15 like in the 616 universe.

But the point being, this dude is a depressed man due to some hardships. But he’s one of the most human and caring people who is scared of losing people close to him. With this Peter’s character arc is learning to forgive himself for his uncle’s death, letting his guilt go & learning it’s okay to let them others in his life, that he doesn’t need to be alone. Even if there is danger being close to Spider-Man, he shouldn’t have to be alone in that responsibility.

And the fact I have imagined this Peter being on Miles’s side in Across the Spider-Verse. If the film was PG-13, he would say, “Fuck your canon.” taking the one F-bomb for the film and take on the entire Spider-Society and Miguel himself if he had to. I guess this idea is if RIPeter was a “Perfect” Spider-Man, but he was such a mess behind the mask when he was Peter Parker.

Anyway, I think I’ve said enough. I’ll let you all read the rest below the keep reading option. I really like Spider-Man. Whether it be comics, films, games, shows and whatever else. I strangely want to see Spider-Man in Moon Girl & Devil Dinosaur. Whether it be Peter or Miles, or both, I would love to see both of them. Because I want to write something warm with Peter being this warm, protective “Older brother” to Lunella. Because this Peter is wary about LITERAL KIDS being superheroes because he became one at the age of 15...and it was rough for him.

You know, Spider-Man has had a lot of adaptations in different sorts of media. And considering recent stuff like my rant about the Sony spin off films for Spider-Man villains, me loving Insomniac’s take on Spider-Man in general. I feel like me doing a Spider-Man thing isn’t really worth. Despite I’m no director or so, this is basically just an AU. But I want to write this down in case I want to share it with anyone.

My take was the idea of making a Man of Steel/The Batman like approach and wanting to make a version of Spider-Man that really honored the source material but being its own thing. Including taking elements from previous versions. A take on character I’ve loved since I was a kid. And when I look at my idea, it feels like to me this seems to be the Spider-Verse films but without the multiverse aspect. Even something akin to Marvel’s Spider-Man PlayStation game series by Insomniac. But also, make “The Dark Knight” of the Spider-Man franchise which sounds silly.

-

The main focus or the two major characters are Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson. Yet during this “Trilogy” there’s also the inclusion of Miles Morales as he is important later on. But the other two are what I wanted to focus on and talk about.

Peter has been Spider-Man for about 3 to 4 years. He’s not a veteran yet but not fully a rookie. MJ has not seen Peter since the end of high school. During an event where she is saved by Spider-Man. She likely accidentally discovers that her old high school friend, Peter is Spider-Man. It’s been four years since they met, they graduated at 18 and now 22 years old.

But what surprises her the difference in Peter’s personality when he’s not in costume. While as Spider-Man, Peter is more jokey, chattier and more whatever else. What you would expect of Spider-Man. But as Peter, yes, he’s reserved. Yet also, he’s...very pessimistic and just a tired young man. He’s strangely cynical and does suffer from anger issues. But he’s able to control it when he can. As Spider-Man, he’s kind of putting up an act in a way, but he can be himself as well.

In a strange way, Peter is basically a combination of Peter B. Parker and RIPeter from Into The Spider-Verse. There’s even a comment from MJ where she says, “You know, for a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. You sure are very pessimistic.” or something akin to that but yeah.

Since he had become Spider-Man, Peter’s life has been a mess. But not in the way you expected. There was a time where he tried to balance his life yet as everything went on, things couldn’t be balanced. His life has been a mess to where he’s evicted from his apartment, MJ offers him a place to stay, and he’s still working at the Daily Bugle. One idea included him dropping out of college, but that seems like too much.

Peter has literally sacrificed his personal life and relationships to focus on being Spider-Man and it showcases the problem when that happens. Including the fact during those four years, in this version. Gwen had broken up with Peter due to whatever he was doing. Especially because Gwen, her father and the rest of their family had moved out of the state. Peter hardly has any friends and keeps to himself most of the time. And there’s also another reason.

The death of Uncle Ben is still present. But there are other certain aspects to this origin. Peter is still reeling from the incident because while he was responsible for not stopping the killer. But Peter was there to witness Ben being shot in the face three times. Including before then possibly, learning his birth parents had purposely abandoned him so May and Ben can raise him. Peter learned this during an argument he had with his uncle. Which was revealed by Ben in anger. And was likely one of the last times Peter had spoken with Ben. Which Peter still strongly regrets that.

Despite the persona he puts on as Spider-Man. He’s still doing Spider-Man out of guilt, not out of anything else. Even though he understands what he’s been doing is a very good thing. But he looks at it in a strange negative light. And he kind of looks at Ben in a “sage” like way. But during this story and him reconnecting with MJ. There are things that Peter discovers about Ben that truly make him question being Spider-Man.

Including the “If you have great power, you have a great responsibility to use it” that Peter had to figure out himself after Ben’s death. This was meant to be in a strange way a reference or so the fact unlike many other versions. The iconic line was only said at the end of “Amazing Fantasy #15″ and my idea was to again, Peter realizing it himself without being told it.

During the story, Peter tries to push away MJ from helping him as Spider-Man in anyway. He’d rather keep the burden on himself and not allowing her in harm's way. It’s likely the guilt over Ben still troubles him and he tries to hide it. But a revelation is revealed to Peter, by a villain or in some other way.

It is revealed that Ben before marrying May or behind her back. Ben had been a criminal. Although not a hardened one, but a man who kept that part of him a secret from his family. A former bank robber who hadn’t kill anyone but had done some illegal things. And that the man who murdered him was one of his old friends who was originally going to rob them first. But upon recognizing Ben, the robber murdered Ben in anger. Or the idea the robber planned to kill Ben as he figured out where he lived.

This revelation destroys Peter’s concept of Spider-Man and should he even continue it. Even the horrible thought process of maybe Uncle Ben deserved to die. The truth eats away at him as he realized Ben wasn’t the “Perfect” father figure that he felt like he failed. But Peter learns later on that before Ben had been killed, there was a note he wanted to share with him.

Ben had written a note that details who he was before he met May and started raising him. When Peter was graduating but was slowly turning getting used to his new powers, Ben had started to worry for Peter. Including seeing how Peter was acting, Ben feared that Peter would’ve became like who he was before he wanted to change. The note contained an apology to Peter and wanting to explain who he really was and how he only wants Peter to make the best decisions he could. And that he shouldn’t push out a support system like May and whoever else because those are people that are willing to help change who you are. But it’s also his choice of who he wants to be.

One of the big themes for this story is “Duality”. Such as with MJ wanting to help Peter but he keeps pushing her out. She tells him (And this was important) that when they were younger, she used to put on a “Party girl” persona to hide what she had been going through. And in some cases, she still does. Mainly this was happening when her father had been abusive to her and their family. And when she and her family tried to report him to the police, MJ’s father left a “Fuck you” note and killed himself to not face the consequences when his family was able to prove what he was doing.

This idea and MJ telling Peter she knows what it’s like to hide under a mask. And again, the theme of “Duality” as Peter realizes how flawed his uncle was. But the note reveals that he truly was a good “Father” and simply was only worried for Peter. And with Peter realizing he doesn’t need to make himself suffer as Spider-Man and needs to allow people in to help him. But also, that his job as Spider-Man doesn’t need to be done out of guilt. He can be Spider-Man because of his choice and to honor what Ben would’ve wanted him to do.

And thus, Peter becoming less cynical and more well, hopeful.

-

Then we got the villains, and this was tricky. Originally or well, the major one seemed to be Mysterio and likely still could be. Who is basically a sociopathic and egotistical man using his talents to make himself look better than Spider-Man and things get worse. In a sick way, possibly an extremely dark mirror if Peter went down the line of still being selfish and having a superiority complex. Slowly becoming even more of a worse person when Quentin Beck at one point straight starts killing people to make Spider-Man look worse.

Another villain to be included Shocker (Who I love like, I love this dude) to be a secondary one. Maybe he still may be included. But Shocker was one of the earliest villains Spider-Man faced in his career in this story. Along with possibly Vulture, the Chameleon, and the Rhino. But one character I was really thinking of using that works so strongly was the Prowler, the Aaron Davis version.

Mainly the idea of Aaron/Prowler is a foil to Spider-Man not just in terms of design, but in other aspects. Despite one angle that like the Spider-Verse films, Aaron actually has a close bond with Miles and is a genuinely cool uncle. Despite his relationship with his brother Jefferson isn’t in the best condition.

There’s this story idea of Peter bonding with Miles and maybe accidentally discovering Peter is Spider-Man as well. But also learning along with Miles that Aaron is the Prowler. Which would shock the both of them and Peter realizes Miles is in the same position he’s in with his own uncle. That Ben was a criminal before he changed. And seeing Miles going through the same thing as he is well, hurts him.

Really, I’d gotta develop this more. But the idea is it looks like Aaron/Prowler is going to die. Yet instead of him dying, Peter literally risks his life to save a man that has been trying to kill him this entire story. All because Peter is not wanting Miles to go through the same thing he did with losing Ben. Which makes Aaron rethink his viewpoint on Spider-Man.

-

There’s a lot to talk about with this. But I want to finish this. But yeah, the idea of Miles also becoming Spider-Man alongside Peter. But with Peter despite being reluctant a bit, he’s grateful that he’s no longer alone.

But there have been thoughts about other characters like Harry Osborn, Black Cat, Flash Thompson, Gwen Stacy, Silver Sable and whoever the Hell else. Such as Eddie Brock/Venom if I want to bring the Symbiotes into this world.

Yet one aspect that I have thought about a lot...do I want to bring the Green Goblin into this story? Should it be Norman or Harry? What’s the point in even doing Green Goblin again when you’ve had many different versions of him that do him justice. When my idea was to make him the most dangerous version he possibly could be. Basically, make him on the level of Heath Ledger’s Joker.

There were even ideas of combing Green Goblin and Hobgoblin into one character and simply call them “The Goblin” but after some thinking. And I think for my sake and other people may like this too. But I feel like the Hobgoblin is everything or so I want in a Spider-Man villain that would push Peter and others into their darkest moments. Because seriously, Hobgoblin is a fucking bastard and I like that. And also, the fact I love his design more than the Green Goblin’s too.

-

I’ll just admit I imagine Kyle McCarley as Peter Parker and Kirby Howell-Baptiste as Mary Jane Watson. Both actors being from Infinity Train. Murray Bartlett from The Last of Us 2023 as Uncle Ben and these are mainly voice roles. I keep imaging Miles and his family as like from the Spider-Verse films. And Hobgoblin, this dude would have Roger L. Jackson from the Scream franchise as his voice.

And on a funny note. I have wondered about setting this in the world of the Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur cartoon. But I feel like to me and the possible hints with how the world in that cartoon is...that wouldn’t work. XD And I would continue on my shit like, “For the love of God, make sure Lunella and others NEVER face any of Spider-Man’s rogues gallery. But maybe Shocker, maybe Rhino. But mostly Shocker because that might be funny.”

[heroinetales]

Thoughts and spoilers ahead about Digimon Ghost Game's ending under the cut:

I was extremely disappointed with the ending of Ghost Game. It was so rushed and lackluster but I'm sure there are some behind the scenes for that. I say this because it's like the series wanted to tell both an overarching narrative and do one episode short stories at the same but it didn't work out. There was a strong story there that wanted to be told but it didn't happen

Not to mention most of the solved plot points being boring as all hell. Oh the digimon were sent to the human world for the own safety because of GulusGammamon's GRB corruption? Okay fine fair point, but it was also done to collect data on humans? Honestly a weak plot point if you ask me. And Gulus becoming pacified in a such short amount time? That made no sense to me. You mean to tell me that this digimon the one who was the main antagonist throughout the series yields just like that because Gammanon devoured him? And suddenly the digital world goes back to normal in no time at all? Bullshit. He definitely would've put up more of a fight. Plus finding out why Black Agumon, Growlmon, and Gargomon showed up when Gulus did. Just to keep an eye on him? If that was the case they could've helped out here and there

Learning that Gulus was from a different planet was interesting. And despite the circumstances him needing an army sounded justifiable to an extent if he needed help to fight off the enemy that devoured his home.

Which brings me to the endbringer. Was that the actually threat of the series and if it was why couldn't have been addressed much earlier? Could've at least had something akin to the second half Adventure 2020. Also bonus unsolved plot point: what was the point of Hiro holding onto MoonMillenniummon if he wasn't going to be used?

With all this being said are they setting up Ghost Game for a second season of sorts? It kind of feels that way but also not

My only positives of the series were the characters (though they definitely needed more growth), the horror elements because when they said horror they meant it and the animation. The animation was silly in some places it but really shined when it needed to

So all in all this series was 50/50 for me and didn't end on the strongest note. And if there happens to be a season 2 I hope for improvements in the story telling and character growth

[lunaetis]

▸▸ [ @tempestforged || continued from here ]

─「夜兰」─  to say that the INFORMANT was competitive would be an understatement. her own stubbornness when it comes to getting back to someone who had managed to one-up her in any way possible shone through ever since her first brush with a harbinger. that landed her favorite fur coat she had wrapped around her form all the time. however, one wouldn't think the liyuan spy would be reckless enough to challenge the first harbinger. oh, but she was.

                it was like a game to both of them, a kind of game that yelan refused to lose. yet, with each brush of their meetings and encounters, she found herself being bested, over and over. how frustrating.

                the title strongest human in teyvat wasn't just for show.

                her arrows missing the TARGET more than once was almost like a scar. it gave her a drive her forward. no giving up. despite how many times he had shown the difference of their strength. was she really going to accept her defeat so easily ? there's no way in celestia or abyss she would, is there ? faster, stronger, sharper —

                a GROWL escaped her throat feeling the grip upon her form, and her body spun around before back was pressed firmly against the wall behind her, trapped by the FRAME of the male she had been tracking down and eyes unable to leave. right ... since when had her eyes been following him so intimately that she saw nothing except for her target.

                i win.

                any protest was swallowed down her throat the moment his lips sealed hers. his was one that coated in FLAME, warmth and heat evaporating her water and hydro energy as though his element was made to clash with her own. another growl echoed from the back of her throat, however, this time, it sounded different from the violent sound passing her lips earlier. this one was akin to a moan, strong taste filling her mind that left the informant breathless with each tilt of head. fingers curled against his clothing, clutching tightly if the three words vibrated against her lips didn't leave her heart skipping a beat already.

                uneven breath spilled over his lips, and gaze of azure clashed with his own. stubborn, she remained.

                " i demand a rematch. "

[impossiblebelieverpirate]

Rise of the Ronin: Exploring the World with Ease

Rise of Ronin specifically draws inspiration from Soulslike and open-world games, blending elements from titles like Sekiro, Bloodborne, Ghost of Tsushima, Assassin’s Creed, and Nioh. For those looking to experience this blend of gameplay styles, you might want to buy Xbox games that offer similar mechanics. Rise of Ronin inundates players with numerous repetitive tasks akin to those found in Ubisoft games, such as clearing camps and visiting shrines. While enjoyable initially, the abundance of these tasks can become tiresome over time, despite their convenience and ease of completion. Your horse can be summoned with a simple button press and maneuvers excellently, which is a pleasant surprise. In addition to basic movement, there are extra features like a grappling hook and a glider. One particularly impressive feature is the seamless transition from gliding to riding the horse, all done with a single motion.

Combat Dynamics and Weapon Variety in Rise of the Ronin

With the ability to equip up to two different weapons, players can access six unique sets of combos and special attacks at any given time. Managing these combat mechanics amidst a frenzied battle can be demanding, especially since fighting styles follow a rock-paper-scissors dynamic. If you enjoy mastering such intricate combat systems, you might want to buy PS5 games that feature similar complex and engaging fighting mechanics. If your style is weaker than your opponent's, parrying may only slightly stagger them, while a stronger style can leave them vulnerable to your attacks. The weapons are distinct and each fighting style offers a significantly different approach to using them. When utilized effectively, these items can be remarkably powerful, and that's before you even acquire a flamethrower!

Effective Stealth Tactics in Rise of the Ronin

Importantly, in Rise of Ronin, players who struggle with timing parries and counterattacks still have viable survival options thanks to the ability to create multiple builds using diverse equipment. While the game is inherently challenging, it's more forgiving than the typical Soulslike experience. It provides powerful firearms, generous checkpointing, ample healing items, and numerous upgrades that can lead to exceptionally powerful character builds if desired. Surprisingly, stealth proves to be more effective than anticipated. Most standard enemies can be eliminated with a single strike, and successfully backstabbing a tougher opponent deals significant damage. While confrontations are sometimes unavoidable, a subtle approach is often a viable strategy, making standard fights less overwhelming.

Limited Co-op Implementation in Rise of the Ronin

In Rise of Ronin's story missions, you're always accompanied by two side characters, but you can swap them out with online players, which will instantly fail the mission. While some may find this amusing, those who prefer to engage with bosses as intended, rather than simply overpowering them with online allies, may opt for solo missions. Unfortunately, any attempts at online balancing by Team Ninja seem to have favored the AI's detriment. Interestingly, despite the game's emphasis on cooperation thematically, Rise of Ronin's multiplayer aspect could be significantly improved. Players can only go online to replay missions they've already completed, leading to a limited pool of available missions at the outset that gradually expands over time. Regrettably, all the freedom of open exploration and numerous side quests are restricted to single-player mode, as cooperation is limited to story missions exclusively. While I understand the challenges of implementing consistent co-op gameplay rather than abruptly returning players to their games after defeating a boss, it's disappointing to regress to a cumbersome online structure reminiscent of FromSoftware's earlier titles, especially after the advancements made by Lords of the Fallen. As a result, Team Ninja's implementation of online play feels like an add-on feature rather than an integral part of the single-player experience.

Enjoyable Navigation and User-Friendly Design in Rise of the Ronin

While I eventually adapted to it, I found the controls to be surprisingly unintuitive compared to other open-world titles. I wholeheartedly endorse this traditional approach to close-quarters combat commands. While I can tolerate using bumpers to swing swords, nothing beats the comfort of a well-placed square button. Despite my usual aversion to repetitive tasks in open-world games, I've found myself hooked on Rise of Ronin's gameplay loop, largely due to its enjoyable navigation mechanics. The game approaches busywork with the same user-friendly ethos evident throughout its design - even the most mundane tasks are executed in a breezy, intuitive manner. Spot a cat, pet a cat. Although co-op play is limited, it's still entertaining to team up online and obliterate bosses, not to mention the joy of running a cat rental service.

[multimediamac]

FORAGER

Picked this game up about 2 weeks ago, ever since then i have been playing it quite a bit, racking upwards of 70 hours, i have just now 100%ed the game on Steam

I was informed of this game long ago, i would see the box art pictured above a lot, it deterred me, i just don't like it, in retrospect i think its quite fine as box art, but it made me actively not wish to look at the game, no instead a Youtube video on my dash made me want to check out the game, the video itself isn't important more so what it showed me, that this game was a GRIND, boy howdy do i love grind resource based games akin to, Minecraft (mostly modded) Terraria and Don't starve. (also comparable to games like Factorio, however, i have yet to play that, it is on my list for sure though!)

Forager is best in its early game, in truth as i am typing this, i have the window open in the background, i haven't 100%'ed it just yet, and i will delve into why that is later, ontopic, the early game in Forager is packed, you discover one thing after another, are introduced cleanly to new mechanics, overall a real joy, there is always something to do, and that adds to the game, be it crafting, collecting stone or farming XP, once you establish yourself in the mid game it is also still quite fun, you're still discovering new things, ill be it at a slower pace, the cracks start to show, ultimately the early and mid game are not what i am going to focus on, although the most enjoyable I simply have more to say on the late game design.

Foragers late game is dreadful, its combat system is weak, its late game upgrades make no sense, for instance, there is an item that increases XP gain, quite useful, but it upgrades well past the point you reach max XP, when there is no longer ANY XP, you cant even collect any to make a meter go up, it caps at level 65, beyond the late game upgrades, it also shines light on the worse aspect of forager in my opinion, its combat, it tries to be interesting but it ultimately fails, as there is zero depth to it, okay, now why am i posting this saying i have 100% when i don't its because of the worse achievement in the game, it requires you make 1 million off of banks, but banks have no way to speed themself up to a point where you don't have to effectively AFK for the achievement as it is the last one you will get earlier i stated that Forager always has something for you to do, but in the late late game, it feels like there is nothing to do, i solemnly believe this and the trillionaire achievement actively make the game a lot worse then it otherwise would be, as these 2 have left a salty taste in my mouth, not to mention mechanics being usless like the bow, fishing, the health system being more an annoyance then anything, i think forager succeeds as a communicative resource grind game up until the very end, where it falls completely flat.

There is a lot more things i could talk about but i think without visual elements aiding, it would be more confusing then helpful, so i will end this post by saying i found forager fun, i would recommend it, but it has many a shortcoming, and makes me not want to return to it.

Update: after like 6 hours of AFK i have now 100%ed it.

[hunterverses]

Graffiti and telling stories.

Been seeing people talk about graffiti, which tangentially also brings up a conversation about notes, in video games and I wanted to talk about it a bit as well! Let me clarify something first, graffiti is something that has a bad connotation attached to it.

Whether you personally vibe with graffiti as a form of art or not, akin to every other form of art graffiti is used to say something. To speak on matters that are true, and reflect on a place's current social climate.

Akin to other forms of media, it has been scrutinized by people in more privileged positions. Cited as being eye sores, a bad influence, a moniker of rough neighborhoods, and egregious property damage. Which all plays into a myriad of gross ideologies- racial stereotypes, capital rights > human rights, overzealous criminalization and etc.

But graffiti isn't that. It's art that can be profoundly beautiful, touching, memorializing snapshots of a past time that can warm the heart, or even be a reminder to be better. Look I'm not saying all graffiti fits that bill, hell me seeing "call me" with what I think to be a dick nutting isn't what I would call high art- but my point is that graffiti has a place just like any art does.

Getting back to video games, Graffiti can work exceptionally well. I know that people scoff at dead space’s “cut off their limbs” signage in particular, but at the time and even now I still feel like that was done wonderfully. As it not only played the role of being a mood setter for what was to come next, but it was a nice in game tutorial without popups, or ui, which gelled well with the minimalism that dead space is known for. Now as much as graffiti can be effective, I also feel like a lot of people fall into the trap of those gross connotations I mentioned earlier, while also overusing graffiti.

Developers may not intend to cause harm, but sometimes, especially in more horror focused games, I’ve seen time and time again, graffiti to be used as a way to show that a place is shit, run down, or in a terrible state in general. I won’t say that there is a lack of more positive representation of graffiti in video games, but for sure there does seem to be a giant disparity between the two.

Along with that as well, and this is more of my feelings rather than something factual like the former point, but goodness, when graffiti is used, sometimes moderation matters a lot- and this kinda flows into me talking about notes in video games as well. Both elements of a game, graffiti and notes share a similar usage in video game design. They can be used to establish tone, mechanics, worldbuilding, discuss prior events/off screen happenings and so much more. And so I find baffling, that a piece of graffiti that I saw at the start of the game, is also at the end areas of a game, or repeated throughout the entirety of a game for no discernable reason.  As much as it’s also baffling to have every single character in your game write notes/ keep a journal about their every single move. Which I feel oversaturates a player to the point that they can become desensitized to what you’re trying to get across from your graffiti or your notes/dialogue/recordings.

Look man, I don’t know, use the shit in your games and don’t be an asshole about it or don’t use graffiti at all.

[jennyviviandee]

"If I don't do something, nothing's ever going to change."

-Ultimate Programmer Chihiro Fujisaki

TW: violence against students, bullying, murder, and corpse touching mentioned.

Contains SPOILERS for Case 2 of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (2014).

I just started playing Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, the first Danganronpa game. Owned and developed by Spike (now Spike Chunsoft). Got an Anniversary Edition last year.

It is a violent point and click visual novel akin to the Capcom franchise Phoenix Wright games I dig with an emphasis on the investigations/trials which combine elements from dating sims and third-person shooters. Giving gifts unlocks skills for the protagonist and provides more data on the Report Card of the participant time was spent with. The third-person element occurs in the timed trial portion of the game.

Danganronpa: Happy Trigger Havoc is about high schoolers becoming trapped in a twisted life-or-death scenario orchestrated by the despair-seeking robot bear Monokuma: to escape they must slay each other and successfully avoid suspicion during the following trial. However, if the murderer isn't chosen during the trial everyone dies a.k.a. a game over happens. The player can, thankfully, retry from a checkpoint. Said murderer is given an "execution" cutscene that is distinctly tailored to them.

The game's dark premise is juxtaposed with lighter character based humor. Despite it being a horror game, blood is stylistically bright pink in color versus the traditional red. For me, this design choice let the murder scenes pop more and helped when investigating too.

However, the game's second case and subsequent trial of Chihiro Fujisaki's murder has really stuck with me. I saw Chihiro's gender as being ambiguous (I don't see clothing as gendered), but the second case's, ugh, twist is what the group referred to as a girl is in fact a boy. This was distastefully done via by checking Chihiro's corpse that lead to his genitals. Monokuma knew of the truth and still allowed the forced to be student detectives to discover this infomation in this inhumane manner.

...Case 2 additionally drops that a participant has Dissociative Identity Disorder. Notoriously depicted and done incorrectly in most media. Like in this...

Alll in all, why did Chihiro do what he did? Because he had an inferiority complex and saw himself as "weak". Others called him so. Thus Chihiro was bullied. Ultimately, to flee from this torment, he pretended to be a girl (from what's available concerning him in-game I don't think suggests the character was potentially trans) to avoid having to become stronger like was expected of his gender. And almost no one knew. Throughout the game, Chihiro spent most of his time alone and is clearly uncomfortable when called a girl: participants Aoi and Sakura both noted that when Fujisaki did hang out it was with the boys.

Furthermore, Chihiro was meek, shy, and prone to tears. Said I'm sorry a lot. Out of the cast I've interacted with, he's been the kindest. Chihiro mentions observing a mosquito literally sucking blood out of him but not killing it since the mosquito might have a family.

Alas, tragically, prior to being unexpectedly killed and overcoming his own insecurities, he went to the gym late at night to commence with his plan of being less "weak" in his and society's eyes. He told his genuine truth to the one he saw was a ideal man to help him. This person then took Chihiro's life out of jealousy stemming from their own falsified truth.

See, Monokuma was gonna divulge the secrets of everyone there the next day as an incentive for someone to commit murder and thus potentially depart from the horrific situation they were in. Previously, he showed everyone disturbing individualized videos the player isn't privy to (well, not all of them) resulting in the first murder taking place. The participants got to know what secret Monokuma was going to tell. During the trial, Chihiro's I mentioned earlier was his.

Something about Chihiro dealing with adversity as a boy to the point he mostly abandoned it yet kept this hidden from everyone left an impact the first trial remotely did not. Was relatable. Kinda inspiring even.

What he was doing would definitely be deemed probably taboo by Japanese society? More than likely. Hence why he having said truth told could have been extremely more life-altering.

Throughout my life, I endured bullying for trying to be what society considers how a "boy"/"man" should look or act. Thanks to an assigned designation from my birth that has never felt accurate. It took until my 30s to cease my own personal hellish masquerade I'd do. At almost 40, I still don't feel I'm quite myself, but I'm getting there.

I shall reach that desired point. Someday. My chosen family (some of my family too) recognizes and respects my truth: that means the world to me.

[necatormundi]

Who is the Old King of the Eclipse?

(This is meant to be an introduction and exploration into the eponymous removed NPC from ds3. Fair warning this is a very long post. I will try to link all my sources for this, so if it’s not on a hyperlink, I compiled it at the end of the text. This also assumes some familiarity with the game itself. I wrote it mostly at like 2 am so I can’t super promise on quality here)

Well, who is he? The Eclipsed King(蝕の王), Old King of the Eclipse (蝕の老王) or Black Old King is an unused character from Dark Souls 3, identified through fragmentary information within the game data. Visually, he shares the exact same model and moveset as Pontiff Sulyvahn (indeed, pontiff’s model is still named “BlackOldKing”), and functioned as the final boss to an earlier iteration of the plot.

The Black Old King was presumably encountered on Firelink Shrine after an event tied to the bell tower; previously locked, and only accessible after the endgame. The bell could then be rung, triggering an undescribed cutscene that would allow this final area to be accessed, similar to the Nexus, the Hunter’s dream, and the original Shrine in other Fromsoft titles. His battle theme (or the music file attributed to the “last boss” of the area) is a variation of the current menu theme.

But what about his function in the rest of the story? Sadly, a lot of the information about this early version of Dark Souls 3 was either purged in the subsequent rewrites, or never got to be developed in the first place. Very little remains to learn even basic qualities of his character. Still, there are some inferences that can be politely guessed from what other information we do possess. Thus, like the shorter section above is dedicated only to cut content explicitly mentioning the Old King, this one will utilize both aspects present in the released product and unused elements otherwise not directly related to him in order to speculate on his role during development. I’ll refer to him from here on out as “Sabled King” for convenience.

Firstly, his appearance. The most striking trait from Sabled King’s design, to which the player’s eyes will first be drawn to, are the pair of luminescent great-swords he wields. The larger one, wrapped in flames, is held by his right hand; the other glows a grim, ethereal purple, and stands to his left. In the base game, they now carry their own separate stories; but together here, before the scenarios that would contextualise their current lore were written, their juxtaposition is indexical of a much simpler concept: the Eclipse.

As for his clothing, he wears a set of tattered robes adorned with swirling, vine-like patterns. Some of his opulent jewellery also follows a botanic theme, like the blossom shaped gems of his bracelet or, most obviously, his golden tree-branch crown. The exception to this are his black stone necklaces, more akin to eyes than any sort of plant ornament. However, behind all this garnishment, the body itself is emaciated and frail; it resembles tree bark, covered in roots that grow from the bottom of its cape up to and over its head. His face is smooth and has no features, overgrown with black tendrils.

On his second phase, a pair of arboreal butterfly wings burst out from his back, surrounded in an inky aura. It’s also then that the gimmick of this battle is revealed, in which a ghostly clone (nicknamed “black old king shade” in the files) will perform his attacks in anticipation to his own. Darkness overcoming light, another example of the eclipse.

Next, of course, is the Eclipse proper. Although the word itself is never used in the base game script, it features quite heavily on unused content. Many character data names feature the epithet formula “[NOUN] of the Eclipse”. Namely, the Wolf of Farron, the Dancer, the garden slugs, Red Knight (NPC version of what would become Soul of Cinder) and The Pilgrims. Additionally, an unused multiplayer mechanic would employ  ceremonies in order to “eclipse the world in shadows”, opening it for online multiplayer. The shape of this ceremonial sword imitates an eclipsed solar disk being lifted into the sky; a piece of iconography also present in the crosses of crucifixion woods. Finally, while it is featured in the final product, the aftermath of the eclipse seemed to be originally much more dire. Leaked screenshots and concept art picture the sun bleeding dark ichor into the ruined earth below, as well as amphipteres, flying in a twilit sky. The Eclipse is a very obvious manifestation of the waning Age of Fire as it is replaced by the Age of Dark. The darksign, a symbol associated with the never-ending cycle of firelinking and the submission of mankind to the gods, is visibly subverted into that which brings the ruling age of men in the eschatological narrative of Dark Souls. It also embodies another theme in this title: the synthesis of fire and darkness.

This brings us into how Darkness and Vegetation are thematically interlinked. Now, the intersection between these two spheres is not a novelty in the Souls series: from Darkroot Garden to the parenchymatic veins metastasizing on the chests of hollows, it’s already a long-standing connection. Nonetheless, Dark Souls 3 builds on this link by presenting the dendrofied corpses of the undead, locked in positions of prayer or rest as they turn into greenery. Indeed, there is a voracity to the growths of the environments they stand, covering every surface of every building in the earlier areas, bursting out of the ground and wrapping the stone in creeping limbs. This overabundance of roots, ravenously enveloping all they can grasp, is symbolically charged in many different ways: it’s the metaphysical rot of the order of the old world as it deteriorates; it’s the chthonic and earthly essence of the dark; it’s the concept of kegare and the correlations between profanity and filth, present in some form through all of From-software’s titles.

However, what requires special focus now is the temporal aspect of this “devouring”. Something exists in a past state of glory, and then it decomposes and is consumed in the future. The kanji used for eclipse in DS3, “蝕” (Shoku), can also be interpreted as corrosion, rot, to be ruined, to be carrion-eaten (Mushibamu). It’s used, for example, in the miracle “gnaw”, and in Wolnir’s Holy Sword when describing how it was eroded by the abyss. Eclipse, occultation, is as much a verb as it is a noun. Dark succeeds light like Kaathe’s “course of nature” dictates, and new life is born from this decomposition, illustrated in the insectoid or larval anatomies of many abyss-related enemies. The blend of arboreal and lepidopterous imagery in the Old King is yet but another layer to this.

So, the cosmos is nearing a metamorphosis; one that will completely overturn reality itself. How can anyone know what such a future will look like after the cataclysm? How can anyone... see this new world? Well, they can’t! Darkness is unknowable by essence; it’s where narrative falls apart. When you rescue Dusk from Manus in the chasm of Oolacile, that section of the tale is never even considered, so the role of saviour is attributed to the doomed Artorias instead. Kaathe’s tale of the furtive pygmy is similarly only told while in the abyss. Wherever shadows gather is where explanation is forgotten, expunged or denied. What if the world entire became such a location, comprised only of potential and never of certainty? Then it would live on, yet its curtains would be drawn to us, the audience. The series could end at last. This metanarrative within the apocalyptic premise to the end of the trilogy is embodied in a final type of imagery associated with the Sabled King: Eyes covered in blackness.

The most obvious example, though belonging to the released version, are the firekeeper’s eyes. They are themselves located inside one of those dark corners of the world: the Untended Graves, an optional location. Only after traversing a pitch-black version of the tutorial area, behind a series of illusory walls, that you are able to find them. Every NPC that can react to them does so in abject horror because, in their own words, they allow you to glimpse an existence after the age of fire. They give access to the self-descriptive ending “The End of Fire”.

This motif ties in to the Sabled King through a couple of other elements. Firstly, with the visual impression of the eclipse, resembling a black pupil surrounded by a blazing iris, suspended in the heavens; a comparison made explicitly in Berserk, one of the franchise’s main inspirations. Secondly, through the Pontiff’s eye rings. Like the firekeeper’s, they’re specifically described as “black eyes”. Similarly, they are also objects of horror to those who use them, transforming its bearers into monstrosities.

This last point is an aside, but still necessary for the end-goal of this section: the Sabled King is linked to Lothric Castle. As aforementioned, his location in game was to be Firelink Shrine, physically a part of the High Wall; but the castle itself is also named “Eclipsed King’s Castle” (蝕の王城) on the data. This link is reinforced by the statue on the winged knight square. It’s usually assumed to be an idealized depiction of Prince Lothric, but a key detail stands out: It’s holding the profaned greatsword, the burning blade belonging to Pontiff Sulyvahn. One could infer that the statue is a relic from a prior development stage. Also worthy of note is that he looks very young; and is not yet carrying the greatsword of judgement, linked to the dark.

Finally, with all of this in mind, we can try our hand in imagining what this character’s role beyond a final boss was. I warn this next bit especially is, like any other interpretation on a topic this fragmented, an educated guess at best; in the end, contradicting speculations have just as much validity as this one.

Given the ceremonial greatsword, his location at firelink shrine and the title of king, we can posit the claim that he was, like all other eminent kings before him, a linker of the fire, possibly belonging to Lothric (the kingdom). Human lords that participate in firelinking inherit the mantle of Gwyn, the first Lord, through ritual sacrifice; by immolating themselves on the First Flame (the anima mundi/motor of history), the world begat by the Age of Light is reborn (ekpyrosis), and the inevitable ruin of darkness is kept at bay. This re-enactment, by associating its participants with Gwyn, serves as a symbol of power, but also submission, since it ultimately denies and utilises humanity for the perpetuation of the flame. The epithet “Lord of Cinder”, or “薪の王” (Firewood king), makes this instrumentalization explicit (i.e. they are literal fuel).

There is an oddity to this particular instance, though. While Sabled King does have aspects evocative of Gwyn, he very starkly presents them through a corrupted lens (mushibamu once again), distorted by his darkness. This posits another claim: on his trajectory to lordship, some undisclosed event ought to have darkened him. The recurrence of eyes makes me think it was perhaps, in very broad terms, something he saw, or was revealed to. Perhaps it resulted in a self-willed severance from the Light, like Lothric, or a tragic fall from grace, like Artorias, or something else entirely; but the fact remains that this change, whatever its nature, was either foreshadowed or embodied by the possession of the greatsword of judgement, contrasting with its brighter counterpart. It’s the source of the juxtaposition and subversion that define this character, the personification of what the eclipse is; it follows that the same temporal formula it postulates, dark overcoming light, was also inscribed unto him.

The last, but not least important inference, is that he was dead long before the events of the plot were meant to begin. This comes from the multiple references to a resurrection in old data, and the implication of the bell tower in Firelink Shrine (Similar to Gwyn’s bells of awakening in DS1). To need require resurrection, something first needs to perish, though this creates the corollary that he did link the first flame, even if darkened. Nonetheless, the existence of the “beckoners of the eclipse” and other similarly named characters imply that whatever plan or ability he had that could usher the Age of Dark was carried through posthumously.

Overall, the King of the Eclipse embodies what bothered me so much in Dark Souls 3’s identity crisis. The game sets itself so much to be an end-of-the-world narrative concluding the series, and yet it just can’t let itself end. The apocalyptic overtones are dropped after the climax, and even in the “end of fire” ending the dialogue suggests this isn’t truly a conclusion. The constant referencing of older titles solely for appeal just makes it seem like this title can’t stand by itself, like a cardboard prop, a soulsborne themed attraction in an amusement park. It’s part of what makes cut content so compelling specifically regarding this game, I think, because it explains a lot of why some elements of the finalised version feel so flat or underdeveloped, and yet every so often seem to reach for something genial. The possibility of another story, one with a much stronger sense of finality, is alluring. Ultimately, only the game as we received it exists, but it’s still a fun exercise to imagine the other paths that development would take, something I hope this post was able to do.

On “Sabled” – I used this moniker as opposed to the simpler “Old King” just to differentiate him from the thousand other “Old Kings” in this franchise. The “Sabled” here comes from “Black Old King”, and the way the English localization in III chose to employ the words “sable” and “sabled” instead of merely “black” when naming Sable Church of Londor (plainly “Black Church” originally). Sabled king literally just means “black king”.

On the King proper- [ x x x x x ] These are a bit blink-and-you’ll-miss-it but it’s because I genuinely thought there were clearer primary sources coming directly from Lance McDonald. He does seem to acknowledge it on an above source related to the music but otherwise I’m drawing a blank on it. Either it did exist and was deleted or I honest to god imagined it. There’s also this [x] one but I’m a bit sceptical about this video.

Some Credits:

-The specific use of the term “dendrofication” to refer to the way the hollows grow tree-like features comes from LokeySouls, on this specific post.

-You’ve already seen it but Lance McDonald’s content is probably why most of this is even known to me. Likewise because of ZullieTheWitch, Sanadsk, Sinclair Lore and Sophie JSF.

-The post on growths in DS3 is from @doshmanziari​ here on tumblr. His blog is generally a phenomenal read so I super recommend it.

[verbosebabbler]

Zampanio and the History of Games

This post is acting in the hypothetical if Zampanio was real and speculating on its potential origins based on the history of games at the time.

Zampanio- April 1, 1972

That was when Zampanio was apparently released. Zampanio is speculated to have been the first video game RPG. Ignoring the fact that its release date on April fools as being a potential indicator of this being a fake created date for some creepypasta, let’s for the hypothetical step back and put this into the perspective of the gaming market at the time. 

Pong- November 29, 1972 (arcade cabinet only) Magnavox Odyssey- September 1972 (first video game console)

And both of these only displayed basically 3 moving squares and a line. 

If we were to say Zampanio was a consumer released product, the April 1972 date must be technically incorrect. The date could, however, be the first recorded showcase of the system, as the prototype of the Magnavox Odyssey was publically doing the rounds in the convention circuit around May of 1972. 

Given the graphical limitations, if Zampanio was for the consumer market, it would likely have taken the Magnavox Odyssey route of providing screen overlays to adhere to a CRT with static, and an assortment of physical accessories like cards, boards, and scorecards which makes it more akin to a tabletop RPG then a video game.

On that note, let’s take a step back and put perspective on the history of RPGs.

Dungeons and Dragons- 1974

Yes, the most popular tabletop RPG was released at least two years after Zampanio. 

I’d have imagined that the RPG market would have started much earlier due to less technological restraints for physical systems, but the modern RPG developed as a branch off from various early wargames, the earliest version of which is ascribed to be a game called chaturanga, developed around the 6th century in the area of India. The most popular later adaptation of this game being our modern day Chess. 

But RPG and adding fantastic elements to RPGS does predate Zampanio by a little. Most of these early titles of the late 60s were addended rulesets to other more complicated wargames adding fantasy elements. But I think the most noteworthy release to mention the two precursors that led to Dungeons and Dragons:

Blackmoor- April 17, 1971 Greyhawk- late Spring, 1971

These weren’t full released games, but addendum sets of rules and lore of the wargames Braunstein and Chainmail respectively. Blackmoor helped to establish several common mechanical systems like hit points and experience points, and Greyhawk helped to establish several combat and magic systems. The history on these is pretty muddy, but it does seem that discussion of the systems more publicly was accessible by mid 1971, giving the creator of Zampanio time to implement these systems into their game to make the first video game RPG.

Now we have discussed the possibility of Zampanio having been released in the burgeoning consumer gaming market, but I just don’t think this is the case. Besides the fact that the stated release is just a bit too early for the market, this early market being so open to the public and the start of a boom for a whole industry spanning even today, I feel like some documentation of any kind would have come out of the woodworks.

But, this consumer market wasn’t the first marketplace of ideas on video games. Rather, there had been several video games made before this, typically as a technological showcase. This would be done on dedicated created hardware or on mainframe computers, both of which were absurdly cost prohibitive and thus were the domain of universities and corporations. 

I think though, this is our best bet for where the original Zampanio lies. University students could request access to their university’s computers during off hours to code whatever they wished. But this would also be limited to the university hardware, or at best code that could be transferred to other similar hardware in different universities. It would make uncovering documentation on it much harder, accounting for how impossible it is to find about Zampanio today.

Now the graphics of these games were almost as limited as the later consumer models would be, so I don’t think this would be a purely graphical game like that. No, I think, in inspiration to the “lit” of litRPG thrown around, that Zampanio was a text adventure game.

The consumer market for text adventure games would coincide with the advent of the personal computer, which is too late for our Zampanio. However, there were early precursor text adventure type games made on mainframe computers in universities. 

The Sumerian Game- 1964 Hamurabi- 1968 Star Trek- 1971

These first two text adventures seemed to be resource management type games. Notably, Hamurabi would end up being the precursor to the city building game genre, an element speculated to be in Zampanio and thus maybe having been inspired by this game. And Star Trek was a turn based combat game fighting Klingons. 

And finally, in all of this history, adaptation and copying was prevalent in this creative space. From the creator of Pong taking the idea from an early Magnavox Odyssey showcase of their table tennis game, from the creators of Greyhawk and Blackmoor coming together to make Dungeons and Dragons collaboratively, to the creator of Hamurabi taking inspiration from the Sumerian game (it initially being called the Sumer game). Even Star Trek was made by a high schooler taking inspiration from both the obvious Star Trek, and another early precursor to the modern video game, Spacewar! (1962). And as made clear in that last example, many of these were created without the strictest copyright allowances.

Zampanio’s history has a long prevalent theme of adaptation, to an obsessive degree. Even without ascribing a supernatural element to the obsessive adaptation this game supposedly caused, the space was already rampant with adaptation and inspirational copying. It’d be easy to imagine Zampanio as one of the many games whose code was passed and adapted to several different university computers. 

There’s just one sticking point in all of this theorizing.. What’s Italy got to do with this?

All this history so far has been America centric, at least in their creation/publication. It’s not out of possibility that these elements would have gotten passed around internationally, but I can’t find any documentation on the subject, and a lot of this being hobbyist level, hardware locked, or just generally not widely available makes me think the creator would have to have been in this physical creative space to make Zampanio.

The only way I can reconcile this with the knowledge I have would be if maybe the creator was in America being inspired by all this at the time, but some later major commercial investor they approached might have been from Italy and paid to publish it in Naples. That’s the only thing I got on that for now.

And there it is, my speculation on Zampanio based on history of video games I gleamed from several wiki pages and some website articles. With that level of research in mind, my findings may be ill founded, but for the knowledge I have I think this is the most reasonable conclusion to come to regarding Zampanio being hypothetically real.

[campyvillain]

ok i mentioned earlier that i wanted to make a fnaf au that sort of does it’s own thing and is it’s own beast entirely so I spent a few hours writing a few things down and here are the basic plot elements nd stuff!! fair warning tho it is REALLY long so that’s why the readmore is there

you play as a 2nd year college student whose on vacation with 6-7 of your friends who all go to different schools. ur all on vacation in ur small hometown around the midwest region of the us, none of the friends except for one is rlly worth noting (bc i’ve yet to rlly flesh them out)

it takes place in the modern era, around summertime, and right near the end of everyones vacation.

the one friend of note I mentioned is a guy called Lester Smith! He’s really into electronics and his dream job is to become something akin to an imagineer . you and him go way back but not in the good way. You used to bully him a lot in middle-high school for being the “weird kid” and ultimately fucked up his dreams. This is because at the end of senior year, there was a robotics competition you both partook in, both in different teams, and the reward for the winning team was a fully paid scholarship for the most prestigious stem school in the state. Lester would’ve won, but the only reason he didn’t is because YOU broke into his garage late at night and tampered w his robot so that it would fail and make him seem like he was inept at programming. That’s what happened, and YOU won the scholarship instead. This was a massive blow to Lesters hopes as his parents weren’t able to pay for a proper college for him and his grades in other areas weren’t that good so he just goes to a community college now. since then you and him have became friends as he mostly seems to be on good terms w it and doesn’t SEEM to be onto you for what you did to him. you two like to talk about animatronics a lot and it’s apparent that he’s probably way smarter than you and that he probably deserved that scholarship way more than you do.

also none of your friends are accquantinced with Lester, you only just introduced them to him over break, and they seem to be getting along well. For now

thankfully for Lester his luck has turned around, he’s been showcasing these new entertainment animatronics he’s worked years on to multiple restaurant chains but they’ve all wanted nothing to do with his project because of Lester’s lack of any sort of resume etc. it all seemed doomed to fail until this local restaurant called Freddy’s (which genuinely is not affiliated with the Freddy Fazbear company because....the Fazbear company does not exist in this universe!!! it ditches the canon ALTOGETHER. the place the plot takes place in is just called Freddy’s for continuity purposes and to keep the name of the franchise) humored his offer and took him up on it. probably because the company is losing money each day and is likely only doing this so it can bring customers in and not be bankrupt

OH YEAH ALSO Freddy’s is given the funding to go thru with the animatronics initiative from an anonymous angel investor which has also allowed them to expand it and be relatively financially well off and has allowed Lester to make more animatronics and expand the place! so that’s fun

the hypothetical game takes place thruout the week-long testing period for the animatronic prototypes and the restaurants renovations are nearly done and they also need extra night guards to make sure everything goes smoothly. so you and your friends all decide to pool in and help Lester with the testing week by all becoming night guards and working together at the same time since it’s your last week together and you have nothing else to really do plus you could use the extra money but YAY!!!! FRIEND MOMENCE

Throughout the hypothetical game Lester who is also a nightguard serves as your phone guy stand-in. He calls every night to chat with you and the others, telling you about tips and tricks to make sure the animatronics work as intended, goofing off with you, infodumping about his cool robots, being a pretty neat dude and having fun. it’s so cool.

as mentioned before it ditches the series standard 5 canonical night format and goes with a full week of 7 canonical nights instead. the first night is relatively tame but as it goes on the other nightguards (who are your friends) start disappearing one by one....aka they’re being KILLED by the animatronics. you can’t really know this is happening at first because all your friends have made it clear they have to go back home on different days, and your friends disappear on the days they’re set to leave home so nothing seems amiss at first because you, and everyone else who’s still left, just thinks they headed back home like they said they would, which Lester assures you is what’s going on. but eventually in the last 2 nights you and Lester are the only ones left and it becomes apparent that your friends, or rather what remains of them, never got out at all.

remember how i said that Lester serves as the phone guy stand in and how he helped you with the animatronics? turns out a lot of the advice he fed you through calls actually ended up aiding him in killing all your friends, and technically you’re sort of to blame for why they’re not around. 50% of the advice he’s given you ends up hurting your friends and making the animatronics go after them.

plot twist! Lester is fully aware that you ruined his life at that robotics competition and as soon as he got home from it he could tell that someone, specifically you, tampered with his robot, and has been planning to brutally get back at you for years and is incredibly jealous and spiteful toward you for obvious and... pretty justifiable reasons, all things considered

on the 7th night Lester locks both you and himself in Freddy’s with no way for either of you to escape. he’s then killed by one of the animatronics and that animatronic, now possessed with his soul and with his consciousness stored inside, chases after you and tries to kill you. this is along with the other animatronics, who are now all haunted by your dead besties who died on the previous nights, partially controlled by Lester and enraged that you let them die. you spend the rest of the night evading them, but in the last few hours they all combine together into a single animatronic who is entirely controlled by Lester and goes after you even MORE and the difficulty ofc ramps up to 100.

the only way to beat the night is by going into the secret storage room and grabbing all the fireworks that you and your friends were going to set off on your last night together as a group on break - which is like, a lot of fireworks - but had to cancel due to bad weather (which was the 2nd night of the game, right around when ppl were disappearing) and luring the Mega monster animatronic to it and setting it off, destroying Freddy’s and everything in it. wether ur player character also dies in this explosion is up to ur interpretation and their fate is left ambiguous as the Newspaper Article(tm) published after night 7 states that you simply “disappeared” and doesn’t elaborate on if ur alive or not.

so yeah!!! that’s the basic plot and backstory of my fnaf au. i’ve always thought it would be really cool if there was a fnaf game based off the slasher genre (w Lester being the slasher-type villain here), that concept has always worked rlly well in my mind nd i gotta say i’m having SO much fun workshopping it. i’ll get to designing the characters and the animatronics REAL soon and i’m definitely gonna have a ball w those aspects. i’ll also probably find a name for it other than “MY FUNNY FNAF AU” so that’s cool. ok i’m done rambling im so excited to flesh this out byeeee ^^

[sepublic]

Luz’s time in the Boiling Isles?

          Building off of a previous post, we know that Eda only sells human garbage on weekends; Otherwise, she sells potions during the week. With this incredibly vital piece of information, let’s analyze the timeline of each episode, and calculate once and for all; How long has Luz been on the Boiling Isles? Keep in mind… I’m only calculating the minimum amount of time, because the possibility for entire days and even weeks passing between episodes isn’t out of the question; But given how Luz is operating on limited time before she heads back home when summer ends…

          For now, let’s just try not to assume anything, and work with only the actual evidence we have; So unless stated otherwise, we’re operating on the assumption that a minimum amount of time takes place between episodes, unless proof states otherwise! Because we know as of the Season Finale that Camila doesn’t yet expect Luz to be back from Reality Check Camp, and Luz expresses no concerns about an impending deadline; Ergo, we’re working with as little time as possible, while still leaving some room here or there…

          A Lying Witch and a Warden takes place on a BI Sunday, because Eda is selling human trash, and the very next day it’s potions! Witches before Wizards, by this logic, takes place on the BI Monday right after!

          Next comes I was a Teenage Abomination; We know it’s on a school day, so it’s likely the same week as WbW. Then there’s The Intruder; Willow is briefly seen at the beginning wearing her casual outfit. There’s no indication of what time of day it is when this all happens, and we know from Really Small Problems that Willow can and has worn her casual outfit the morning before changing into her uniform for the school day; Regardless, even if it was a weekday or a BI Saturday, it doesn’t matter. Because immediately afterwards…

          …We have Covention! THAT opens with Eda, Luz, and King selling human garbage, so it’s officially been a full week since Luz has arrived! Happy one-week anniversary, I guess…? Regardless, we segway into Hooty’s Moving Hassle; The trio are hanging around at the Owl House instead of selling stuff, and only head into Bonesborough to get more elixirs for Eda’s curse. Coupled with how Willow and Gus arrive wearing their school uniforms, it’s safe to say the opening scenes take place after-school on a week day.

          Lost in Language! This one is SUPER helpful, because Emira, bless her, outright says that Covention happened last week; Given how this episode takes place over the course of a day, and yet Amity is at the library instead of school (and she would NEVER skip class), it’s obviously a weekend. It’s worth noting that Eda and King aren’t selling human trash on this day, but that’s likely because the Bat Queen had just dropped off her kids that morning, so it was just a change of plans.

          Next is Once Upon a Swap; We start with the gang selling human trash again. It’s possible a full week has transpired, and we’ve jumped into the next weekend… Or, LiL happened on a BI Saturday, and OUaS is a Sunday (which means the same day Eda woke up to find the Bat Queen’s children missing, she switched everyone’s bodies). We know that Amity is Top Student for a reason; You don’t get that position by being a slow reader. Coupled with how she’s an avid fan of The Good Witch Azura, it’s likely that she finishes the book Luz gave her sooner, rather than later… So for now, LiL and OUaS happen back-to-back, one day after the other! That, or LiL begins after-school on Friday… Regardless, it’s still only been two weeks since Luz arrived!

          Now, I know that you might be thinking- At the end of OUaS, Hooty says it’s time for his Monthly Cleaning, and yet earlier that day Luz shows disgust about having to clean him; Implying she’s participated in a previous monthly cleaning! And to that I say… NO, that doesn’t necessarily mean that. All it means is that Luz knows Hooty is filthy and thus dreads the idea of having to clean him. It doesn’t necessarily point to her having been part in a previous monthly cleaning. So for now, it’s just been two weeks.

          Something Ventured, Someone Framed is a school day, obviously. Then we have Escape of the Palisman; Presumably another school day, because a school game takes place and we see Willow and other students in their school uniforms! Gus is wearing a sweater over his, but otherwise; EotP probably takes place on a BI Friday! So THREE weeks have passed!

          Then comes Sense and Insensitivity; It starts on a weekend because human trash is being sold, but what’s interesting is that it takes place over the course of a few days, as Eda says she’ll be gone for that amount of time; Not to mention, even with magic, it’d likely take time for King to have Ruler’s Reach edited, printed, advertised, and gain an avid fanbase. In addition to people already expecting a sequel announcement, and how a few days is usually by minimum three… It’s likely that this episode extends into the week as well. We see Boscha and a few other Hexside student in their school uniforms, but this can easily be explained as either happening after-school, as well as the fact that there’s not much of a reason to go and design a bunch of unique, casual outfits for some background characters; Boscha and her friends are also seen in their school uniforms during Once Upon a Swap, which IS a weekend.

          (Now this raises the question; If this happened over a few days, what was Luz doing before King invited her? Well… she was all alone, typing her story by herself, sad because her friend ditched her for a few days. 😢)

          Next is Adventures in the Elements! We have no indication on when a Trash Day is, and what’s the logic behind it, if there’s any consistent scheduling, etc. It doesn’t really matter though; We immediately see Amity in her casual attire, and later that day she and the twins are practicing magic on the Knee. It’s safe to say that this is a weekend, and/or…

          Remember what I said earlier, about how SaI likely extended into the week? Well, if it’s a weekend already… Then that implies an entire WEEK has passed between SaI and AitE! And, remember… In SVSF, Principal Bump mentions that Luz will go to Hexside when the next semester starts; We don’t know how semesters work in the Boiling Isles school system. For all we know, they’re more akin to a six-week grading period if anything else (even if they don’t last as long).

          That being said, the idea that there’s a full week of no school between semesters is also possible… We don’t know if summer vacation is a thing on the Boiling Isles, so perhaps a whole week off between semesters compensates for this? That, or there is no compensation, period, given how the school system in the Boiling Isles is clearly flawed and spends emphasis on molding children into obedient workers.

          For now, I’m inclined to say that a week has passed between SaI and AitE… But if one considers that Amity is still reading Azura when this all happens, then that means it’s taken her two weeks to finish the book; That, or she finished the book within a few days and didn’t have the chance to meet up with Luz until two weeks later. Amity IS the Top Student, so combined with her parents’ pressure, she may not have a very open schedule; Which could also drag out her time reading Azura.

          That might seem like a stretch in more than just the temporal way, so I’ll keep an open mind; It’s worth noting that if I AM right and there’s a full week of no school, then it’s not out of the question for AitE to have taken place on a weekday. The fact that Amity isn’t going to school, and yet Eda doesn’t seem to be having any plans to sell human garbage prior to Luz’s request to be taught a second spell (she’s at home trying to cook sentient vegetables), indicates this ISN’T a weekend, but a weekday with no school.

          My point is, if SaI started on a Saturday at minimum (because Eda is selling human trash), and a few days have passed… Then it doesn’t make sense for Amity to be wearing casual clothes and not going to school, UNLESS a full week has passed, or there isn’t school for a week (or maybe a day, but this is between semesters too). An entire week has to have passed either way, because it doesn’t make much sense for a semester to end and begin within the same week; Regardless, it’s only a one-week difference when we ultimately tally up Luz’s time on the Boiling Isles, as of the Season 1 finale.

          (Mind you, it could all just be a continuity error; But that’s no fun, is it!)

          The next episode is The First Day… Very clearly a BI Monday, unless it started on a Tuesday for whatever reason; Regardless, it’s during the school week, and likely early into it! Next is Really Small Problems, which would’ve been a school day- But Boscha’s pet pixies caused class to be cancelled. Then Understanding Willow has Luz and her friends at school… Followed by Enchanting Grom Fright! EGF likely takes place by the end of the week, as that’s usually when such formal occasions happen; Keep in mind, at least two whole days pass during this episode, one at school, and the other when Amity is training Luz on her fears! It’s possible this training period happens after-school, especially given how she mentions that they have no more time left once it ends. So EGF potentially starts on a BI Thursday, before ending on a Friday night. Either way, the week has ended- That’s FIVE weeks, baby!

           Now, we go into Wing it like Witches! It’s the very beginning of Grudgby Season, so I think it’s a safe assumption to say that this episode takes place on a BI Monday- So it’s the next week after Grom. This episode comes and goes across the span of a day, not much else to say here. Then we have Agony of a Witch… What’s interesting is that in the previous episode, Lilith mentions how she WILL be back to capture Eda, and how she alludes to Belos getting impatient. Not only that, but Amity’s leg is still broken in Agony of a Witch, too…

          We know that witches have access to healing magic, and that Amity is using a Healing Glyph to speed up her recovery. Grudgby Cards released as supplementary material to the episode allude to witches having regenerative abilities- With or without this possibility, we can assume that Amity is going to heal sooner rather than later because of magic, in addition to Lilith likely intending to capture Eda ASAP as Belos’ patience wears thin. We know AoaW takes place during a school day as well, as this is when Luz has a field trip to Belos’ castle… With all that in mind, we can probably infer this episode as having happened later that same week that Amity broke her leg. The day ends with Luz walking back home across the Boiling Isles by herself, on-foot, the ENTIRE way back to the Owl House… And then sunrise, meaning Luz has been walking for the whole night… 🥺

           …And then we have Young Blood, Old Souls- Our long-awaited Season Finale! Considering what Luz, Lilith, and Belos all have at stake here… It doesn’t make much sense for them to wait an entire day before getting along their respective business with Eda; And with how the scenes are framed, it’s all but said that YBOS takes place the day after the field trip… So right after Luz arrived back at the Owl House at the end of AoaW that morning, she barely got any time to rest before she changed into her regular clothes and enacted her rescue mission, that same day! Jeez… Luz must’ve been EXHAUSTED by the end of the episode, and coupled with the relief of finally rescuing Eda in the end- She deserves a nice long rest!

           Young Blood, Old Souls takes place across an entire day… I can’t tell if it’s a school day or not, because- Willow and Gus ARE shown in their casual outfits during the episode… But they were also seen wearing their casual outfits the morning of RSP, right before they planned to head to school, only to find out it was cancelled. We also see other Hexside Students in this episode, but they’re always depicted with their uniforms on, school day or not. Even if it were a school day, I can see Belos making a special occasion to cancel school so he can have everyone gather for his petrification of Eda… And there’s also the chance that by the time we see Willow and Gus, their school day has already ended, and everything’s happening in the evening.

           (If so, then this leaves room for Luz having at least had a decent nap and meal before going off to rescue Eda, the poor girl.)

           Regardless… We know that Agony of a Witch and Young Blood, Old Souls happen back-to-back, right after one another, across the span of exactly two days; From the morning of one day, to nighttime of the next. Because Amity’s leg is still broken despite having the Healing Glyph applied as of the Season Finale… We can probably assume that the final two episodes happen sooner rather than later; So it’s likely that our last two episodes of Season 1 occur later in the same week as WilW. Regardless of whether or not the season finale is on a weekend or a BI Friday; It’s basically been about a week, for all intents and purposes. So then our last three episodes of Season 1 happen across Luz’s sixth week at the Boiling Isles, by minimum.

           So, to round it up; Luz has been in the Boiling Isles for SIX WEEKS at minimum, potentially longer; Maybe five, if my calculations about an entire week passing between Sense and Insensitivity and The First Day are wrong. Potentially as little as FOUR, if I’m also wrong about Lost in Language and Once Upon a Swap happening back-to-back! So, 4-6 Weeks by minimum, with my estimations leaning into the latter number. We know that Luz is supposed to be at the Reality Check Camp for presumably the entire summer… So that’s about three months; Six weeks is about a month and a half, so about halfway through Luz’s intended time away from home, before she was supposed to return- And in line with Luz not showing any concern about having to leave the Boiling Isles, anytime soon. Luz has a decent amount of time before summer ends, and Camila realizes that her kid is missing!

           Of course, we don’t know how long it’ll be between Seasons 1 and 2, how much time will occur across Season 2; And there’s always the possibility of Camila suspecting that something is up before Reality Check Camp is bound to end, because Luz is no longer responding to her texts. We also don’t know how things are going on the end of whoever is impersonating Luz with those letters, and how they’d be affected by the portal’s destruction, if at all… For all we know, there might even be a doppelganger of Luz that’ll be sent in her place, by the time she’s supposed to return from Reality Camp! And that’s not even taking into account the possibility of Luz finding her way back home before Reality Camp ends…

           Regardless of how things will happen in the future, as of now; I think Luz has been on the Boiling Isles for six weeks by minimum. There’s still room and possibility for additional weeks to have occurred between certain episodes and more ambiguous time frames- Not to mention the idea of Boiling Isles weeks being structured differently from ours… Maybe they have more days or less- We’ve seen a calendar or two in the background that could point in either direction, but nothing outright definitive. And even if weeks were shorter/longer, there’s the consideration of how long each day/night lasts, and how that’ll overlap with Earth time… So Luz’s stay COULD be shorter/longer than the equivalent of six Earth weeks, who can say? Though for the sake of simplicity and everyone’s sanity, I wouldn’t be shocked if Dana and the crew decided that Boiling Isles time runs concurrent with Earth time, for the most part.

          Whether or not I’m correct, I think it does put into some perspective how much time Luz has spent at the Owl House, and the bonds, relationships, and growth she’s experienced during her stay! It definitely helps you appreciate what Luz and the others have accomplished, and how far their journey has progressed together- That this really is a summer that has changed Luz’s life more fundamentally, more succinctly across a shorter span of time, than most of her life… And it becomes clear just how impactful Luz’s second home and found family in the Boiling Isles is to her, and vice-versa!

          Because Luz hasn’t just been changed- She’s changed OTHERS, from Eda, to King… Willow, Gus, Amity- And she’s even instated quite a bit of change in the Boiling Isles itself, changing up Hexside’s curriculum and planting the seeds of a rebellion against Belos; In addition to rediscovering Glyphs, and how that can really change what it means to be a Witch going forward- Because now, it seems the role of ‘Witch’ has become much more inclusive once more, thanks to Luz! Dredging up the ancient past, while influencing the present and future so immensely across such a relatively brief period of time; Luz really is such a cryptid and outside-context anomaly to the Boiling Isles, befitting someone who comes from another reality entirely!

[jurassicparkpodcast]

Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous Season 2 | SPOILER Breakdown & Review

Be advised – this article contains heavy spoilers for the second season of Camp Cretaceous. Make sure to check out our non-spoiler review before you read this piece. If you’ve seen the entirety of Season Two, please feel free to read this review.

If you read my non-spoiler review of the second season of Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, then you may have noted my choice to refer directly to coming back to the spoiler section for several bits of key information. That is primarily because the events of this second season take place at a previously un-documented timeframe – meaning everything which occurs is ‘new’ – even if it may have nods to earlier and latter parts of the timeline. 

With that said, we’re going to use this article to talk about some of the juicier parts of the second season of the show. Let’s dive in.

The key part to the second series of the show is the idea of the emergency beacon on Main Street being used by the kids to summon some help to the island – making their rescue a possibility. I enjoyed how the beacon was uncovered by the kids within the Jurassic World Inside Guide – a nice nod to some of the real documents like the Jurassic World Staff Book we have in the real-world. I also enjoyed how this sequence was used as an opportunity to explain how lots of technology may be hidden around the park as ‘nature’ – helping to retroactively explain how the park may have functioned without us even realising in Jurassic World. We also get to see the Jurassic World Discovery Walk (a new attraction!) during this segment, building out the park a little more, and also spend more time in T-Rex Kingdom, which was a welcome addition. This sequence also features a gut wrenching flashback – with Darius having a moment where Ben’s fall from the train in Season One is replaced with his dad falling. This was a heart wrenching moment – and really sets up the guilt arc which is a key driver for Darius throughout the second season. Of note is the fact that the beacon message does change from ‘Sent’ to ‘Received’ – something which is not touched upon again in the second season. This sets up a couple of interesting options for a third season – something which we will discuss in another article here on the website soon.

The next interesting element I wanted to talk about is the implementation of the veterinary area of the park in Episode Two. This was a fun opportunity to peak underneath the hood of the functioning Jurassic World a little bit more – seeing where sick animals may have been quarantined and treated. I particularly appreciated how the animals in cages here included a Parasaurolophus and Stegosaurus – a fun nod to the same animals being caged by Ludlow’s team in The Lost World: Jurassic Park. I loved the way Grim, Chaos and Limbo were introduced during this sequence – and also loved seeing them squaring off with the Stegosaurs, showing that sometimes predators would rather leave groups of Herbivores than pick a fight where they would be outnumbered. This is a nice nod to the real palaeontological understanding that herbivores moved in larger herds to protect them from predators. Kenji and Yaz also got some interesting development in Episode Two, too – and I feel like the first two episodes were some of the strongest in terms of the areas of the park they explored, and also the animal behaviours which they showed throughout the moments we spend with dinosaurs in these episodes. This is continued in Episode Three, however – which introduces us to the watering hole, and some fun accompanying lore to flesh out the behaviour of the dinosaurs in the series a little bit more. 

Episode Three introduces us to the watering hole – and is arguably my favourite episode because of the time it takes to really bring back the ‘natural beauty’ element of the dinosaurs and the environments in the Jurassic franchise. During these sequences we get some interesting bits of information – including Darius sharing that Doctor Grant stated that predators and prey may be able to co-exist at a watering hole if the right conditions were met. It is nice to hear Grant name dropped to remind us of the universe we are in, and this is a nice way of explaining the Ceratosaurus also at the watering hole. During this sequence the Ceratosaurus also encounters the kids but chooses to ignore them and walk off – a nice call-back to the more docile behaviour we see exhibited from this animal in Jurassic Park III.  Of note during this episode is the idea that the Stegosaurus has shed its plate as it has grown and rubbed itself against a tree – something which Sammy compares to modern-day animals, and we also see a Parasaurolophus inhabiting a river – calling back to where they were located in the park. Although we don’t get much of it in the latter parts of the season, the steps taken to really add to the dinosaurs behaviours in the earlier episodes feels rewarding and helps to flesh them out as natural animals in their own right. 

Another interesting note in this episode is the fact that Brooklynn, Sammy and Yaz revisit the genetics lab where Doctor Wu and Eddie were in Season One, to find it now stripped back and empty. This suggests that, much like we see in the film, Hoskins may have ordered his people to extract assets from across the island – which does then call into question some moments which occur later in the season. During this sequence the trio find a key card in an envelope – alongside a couple of pieces of paper which appear to contain information, potentially to do with E750’s genetics given the fact that this name is on the envelope. E750 is, if you remember, the ‘confidential’ folder we saw on Wu’s Computer in Season One – implying that this is something big. At the end of this episode we are also introduced to a campfire on the island – indicating that someone else is on the island. In Episode Four we learn that these people mercenary-type character of Hap, and two Ecotourists – Mitch and Tiff. Mitch’s character design is an overt Alan Grant reference – designed to make us feel as though we can trust him, whilst Hap feels more akin to someone like Dieter Stark. Over the course of this episode we learn a few interesting details – including the fact that the group’s boat is away refueling at Papagayo. Interestingly, this is a peninsula on the North Pacific Coast of Costa Rica – in keeping with the geography of the series. The episode ends with Hap chasing the kids after they tried to break into his yurt – only for them to be rescued at the last moment by Ben and an adult Bumpy.

Episode Five takes the time for us to explore how Ben survived – showing how he attempted to escape the jungle but inadvertently wondered into Toro’s nesting ground. This sequence is cool as it shows Toro has been hunting animals since the end of Season One – suggesting he has been taking his aggression out on Nublar’s other residents. At a couple of different moments here we see Compys surrounding Ben as he cowers – helping to create the similar sense of vulnerableness that we see in Cathy Bowman. Eventually, after snapping at Bumpy and finding himself on his own, Ben stands up to the Compys and decides to go and fight Toro. This leads to a cool sequence where Bumpy eventually saves Ben and fights Toro – although I do feel like here the kids show side of the series takes over a little bit more, as I can imagine a kid with a spear not being much of a problem for a fully grown Carnotaurus. With that said, seeing a fully grown Bumpy showdown with Toro was a nice call-back to the cut Sinoceratops vs Carnotaurus fight from Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom, and I was quite excited to see Toro back for an episode as I wasn’t sure we would see this animal again in the series. 

The next episode reveals why Tiff and Mitch are truly on the island – because they are Big Game Hunters. In the yurt which was off limits Darius finds a lot of hunting tools, including a bear trap, and brutally – the head of a Sinoceratops. I was genuinely shocked at how morbid this sequence was – and think this reinforces the idea that this isn’t purely a kids show. Whilst this was mainly implied as the whole head is not shown under the cover it has over it, it was enough to shock me. I really enjoyed this reveal as I didn’t expect it – I thought it would be easy for this to be Mantah Corp, but obviously, as The Lost World shows us, there will be people out there who want to hunt these animals for a challenge. Interestingly, Mitch justifies hunting them as preserving their memory, saying that the UN will soon forget and abandon the island. I appreciated this attempt from the writers to show how the character would justify his actions as it helps to make him slightly more compelling – even if I would argue that the writing for both characters is weak here. In this episode we also see the death of Hap – who stays behind to distract the pack of three Baryonyx so that Brooklynn and Kenji can escape on a motorbike following Ben’s rescue. This was an interesting moment as it is clear Hap was written to fit the ‘villain’ stereotype and then flip it. Interestingly enough we don’t see Hap die – so whilst surviving an attack from three Baryonyx is improbable, it is possible he could return. I would argue that he was the best of the three new characters introduced in the second season of the show. We end with Yaz, Darius and Sammy at the mercy of the pair of hunters – who now want Darius to show them the watering hole so they can kill more dinosaurs. This makes sense – but may have benefitted from being slightly more fleshed out in my opinion.

This idea carries over into Episode Seven – where Darius falsely leads the pair to main street in a desperate bid to escape. There is a really cool sequence on main street here where Darius and Sammy are avoiding the couple in a way which almost mimics the Velociraptor kitchen sequence from Jurassic Park  - with them moving from cover to cover in a slow fashion. Whilst this unfolds, Brooklynn, Kenji, Yaz and Ben find an emergency bunker when Brooklynn follows a hum she has heard throughout the series – pointing to something still being operational underground. The Bunker facility appears identical to the one which we see in Jurassic World Aftermath – which poses some interesting questions for where that latter entry slots into the story given what else unfolds here. We learn that this room connects to a room where a sample is cryogenically frozen – and Kenji inadvertently begins the process of awakening it. I enjoyed everything we saw on the computer screens on this sequence – including the location of the watering hole, which appears to be near Gyrosphere Valley. This then leads into the second sequence we get with the Tyrannosaurus Rex in this series – which is, unfortunately, a sequence which suffers from the necessity for plot armour to carry the antagonists through to the final episode. Rexy tries repeatedly to bite Tiff and Mitch and misses – allowing them to escape and eventually being distracted from Darius and Sammy by lights and sounds the rest of the crew activate in the command centre. Seeing Rexy unable to kill either Tiff or Mitch when they were out in the open is one of the moments which breaks the realism of the series, in my opinion – making it a little bit harder to accept at face value.

The finale starts with Tiff and Mitch heading to the watering hole whilst the rest of the kids attempt to stop them. During this sequence we get a brutal moment where Tiff kills Grim with a single shot – reminding us that this animals are not nearly as resilient as the Indominus Rex. This stood out to me as it reminded me how easy the dinosaurs which are rampaging during Jurassic World Dominion would be to deal with – implying that something more serious may happen to prevent authorities around the world from dealing with the animals so quickly. This moment really was brutal – as although Grim was technically an antagonist, the death had a similar effect to that of Zara, with it not feeling earned. Eventually the kids manage to stop Tiff and Mitch from killing any of the other animals – and both die in ways which homage different parts of the franchise. Mitch steps on his own snare and is eaten by the Tyrannosaurus Rex whilst hanging from a tree – a fun nod to the death of Cooper in JPIII who has a similar fate at the hands of the Velociraptors. Tiff, on the other hand, makes it onto her boat (which has been moored at the dock the whole time) – and makes it on in time to escape before the kids can get onboard. As she begins to sail away it is revealed that Limbo and Chaos have made it onboard – sealing her fate, and providing a moment of Karma for the brutal execution of Grim earlier in the episode. This also serves as a fun nod to the novel – where Velociraptors were able to board the Isla Nublar supply ships. This then ends with the kids practically in the same position as the end of Season One – which does, in some ways, negate the events of the second season as it feels as though no real progress occurs. 

Overall, there are some fun sequences in Season Two of Camp Cretaceous – but it feels as though there are less memorable moments than the first season, and many of them are over-exaggerated and therefore leave you questioning their realism within the canon. Whilst the show should be granted additional freedom due to its target demographic, this undoubtedly is a canonical piece – and I feel like the second season pushed the boundaries of being a canonical entry in the series a little bit too far at times. Whilst some sequences, like a stampede sequence in Episode Seven and the Baryonyx attack in Episode Two feel well executed, other sequences, like the chase in Episode Six, feel a little bit too extreme. With that said, I think kids are definitely going to love these set pieces, so I can look past them for the impact they may have on younger fans. 

I also didn’t enjoy the lack of any presence for Mantah Corp in Season Two. Whilst I appreciated Mitch and Tiff not being agents of the organisation, as that would’ve been easy to do, I do think that having some kind of reference – whether it be another drone, or mention of another boat off shore – would have been a nice way of tying in the fact that Mantah Corp are still an active threat in this universe. Whilst I have no doubt that they will return in the future, the complete lack to acknowledge them beyond Brooklynn and Sammy name-dropping them a couple of times did seem like a shame considering the focus that was placed on season one. The issue which irked me most, however, is probably that of E750 – which is being thawed out. We will have a separate video speculating what this could be, but my biggest issue is how this sits within the canon. As per JWFK and Jurassic World Aftermath, we know that teams were sent back to recover assets and extract them off of the island – so if E750 was such a big project for Wu, then why did he leave it on the island? This makes little sense to me right now and is, in my opinion, one of the bigger issues with retrospectively building this mystery specimen into the Jurassic timeline.

With these issues highlighted, I think Season Two of Camp Cretaceous was good, but it fails to follow-up on some of the more interesting parts of the first season, and strays a little close to the boundaries of the pre-established canon present in the universe. Whilst I appreciate it is a kids show, and I can allow more due to this, I do feel like the E750 storyline has the potential to raise more questions about the rest of the lore, depending on the direction it takes – and this is a problem which can occur when retroactively building a multi-media timeline. I am interested to see how this unfolds in a third season – and I do wonder how much more we can explore on Nublar before it begins to feel stagnant. There is certainly more of the island I would like to see and explore – so I hope we get to do this in future instalments. 

I think it is fair to say I enjoyed the second season of the show – but, perhaps not as much as I did the first season, which I felt gave a little more to adult fans and those of us more familiar with the lore. With that said, I would love to hear from you! Let me know what you thought of Season Two in the comments below, and stay tuned for more Camp Cretaceous content on The Jurassic Park Podcast in the near future.

Written by: Tom Fishenden

[grimoire-of-geekery]

Detect Magic: the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik

(pictured here- the deluxe edition [left] and the Arcanist edition of the Sixth World Tarot by Echo Chernik)

Y'know, it's been a long time since I did one of these, but here goes. It's time for another Detect Magic review. I haven't put the Dork Magician hat on for a while, so let's give this a whirl!

Today we're taking a look at the Sixth World Tarot, by Echo and Lazarus Chernik. She has this available on her website (click the above link), which come signed by the artist and the author. I'm a bit bummed, I bought a copy of this deck juuuuust before she started signing them. Not her fault, but still. XD

For those of you unfamiliar with Shadowrun, it's a cyberpunk dystopian magic-and-mech RPG setting and fantasy novel universe which originated in the late 80's. The premise is that magic is growing stronger, the world experienced a big Awakening in the early 2000's, right around the same time that corporations managed to gain extraterritoriality. So, you have dragons running huge megacorps, which basically enslave people to be lifelong wageslaves from birth (or as soon as they can get their hands on a desired talent), immersive VR Matrix hackers, cyberware enhanced fighters and magic practitioners acting as "deniable assets" to said corps for all sorts of shady business.

Hence the name "Shadowrun."

This setting, one of my absolute favorite settings out there, has had the misfortune of developing a sort of eerie prophetic element akin to the Simpsons and its bizarre track record of prediction of ludicrous world events. Shadowrun was intended to be a cautionary tale, not an oracular one. That being said, that does make a tarot based on Shadowrun more than a little on-the-nose for predictive purposes. After all, they're telling the future without even trying. Wait until they actually put some effort into it...

All right, time to Detect Magic!

Accessory- Crit (4 out of 4) Stunning artwork, evocative imagery... this deck is gorgeous. It's so beautiful, and so intricate and well made, that people who don't even read tarot (or even particularly like tarot) buy several copies for their geeky collections, and even people who don't particularly care about Shadowrun have dropped their jaw when I showed the deck to them.

A bit busier than I'm used to working with (not the art, but the extras which I'll explain later), I was pleasantly surprised at how much I loved the cards when I first got them. The box for both editions I own are a nice durable gloss with a magnetic foldover closure, there's a ribbon inside each to help pull the cards and book out of the box, and the decorative artwork is gorgeous and fitting with the setting. Definitely aesthetically pleasing enough to take places, and durable enough to resist scuffing or tearing for on-the-go divination and gaming use.

Tome- Crit (4 out of 4) So, the Tome section of this review is supposed to be about how well the cards help one in the pursuit of learning magic and practicing geekomancy. And... really, I don't think I've found a deck (or any artifact of fandom) quite as good as this.

Let me explain.

Tarot, in the sorcery practice I teach, are already basically a pictorial grimoire, describing life in a way that allows us to learn the hidden movements, mysteries, and forces at play in our world. Art is good for things like that in general. It helps you see the world through a special lens, one which allows you to see things you might have missed.

The thing is, the lens of this deck is the Shadowrun continuity, which as I said earlier, has proven to be more than a little prophetic, and alarmingly so.

The magic system of Shadowrun is pretty adjacent to our own. Life force lines, spiritual power sites, astral projection and spirits and magical "energy" forms, initiatory mysteries... it's all pretty much the same as our own reality, just juiced up a bit, with some extra game elements added (don't even ask me about insect spirits).

This makes the deck particularly helpful if one wishes to learn magic in any of the myriad ways described in Shadowrun (and they're particularly respectful and diverse and true-to-life in their tradition descriptions).

BUT, it also has an entire lore-book called the Book of the Lost associated with it, which explains all these little secret sigils and images and easter eggs stored throughout the deck, which can be used for gamebuilding and storytelling, but are designed to be arcane indicators and omens, among other things. And the kinds of symbols they use range from sentences or mottos in dead languages, all the way to waveform patterns and dot-matrix maps. I swear, if you're one of those people who like puzzles and cryptography, this deck is even more fun than the Hermetic Tarot.

In summary, while you'll have to get some Shadowrun sourcebooks to really get deep into the canon lore, there's so much of it that the cards really show you on their own that I don't consider this a setback at all. Feel free to deep-dive with this deck, you'll learn a TON about magic if you let it guide you.

Relic- Success (3 out of 4) If you read the Book of the Lost, or Unearthed Arcana, or any of the 5th edition Shadowrun magic sourcebooks, you'll see that "tarot magic" is an up and coming thing in their canon. Each text helps you see how practitioners use the cards in-game for spellcasting, ritual magic, initiation practices and spirit summoning. The Tarot are already really valuable as central objects of importance to certain kinds of magical practice. This particular deck is designed to be so handy a central object that there's an entire book dedicated to it.

Weapon- Success (3 out of 4) The only reason I'm rating this a success instead of a crit is because they don't provide enough spreads in the various associated books for one to immediately begin casting spells with them, which means you'll have to do some designing. They do have a couple solid unique spreads for basic divination though.

The deck's canon in-game suggests ritual practices like gathering and doing a ritual with sets of related cards, and one such ritual was easily adapted in my own practice, into the Lucky Kimono spread I designed (which people can read about on my Patreon at the higher tiers). So, even without outright including spell-spreads, they sort of gave us clues anyway.

Again, you're going to need the sourcebooks, but it's only a few of them, and they're well worth a read even if you're not planning on playing the game (and I don't play in the actual Shadowrun mechanical system, though I do like the sourcebooks for campaign setting ideas).

Overall Rating: Critical Success (14 out of 16)

Achievement Unlocked: Novahot Echo's artwork is already legendary in the dork realms of geekomancy. She's done work for Dungeons and Dragons, Mage: the Ascension, House of Night... she's even working on a Fate: the Winx Saga playing card deck right now. Her art-nouveau delicacy combined with the powerful non-pandering way she draws women means that her paintings pack a punch!

That being said, it's rare that we see professional artists create a tarot deck of this magnitude as a gaming accessory. Most tarot decks of this caliber are found in professional occult catalogues or as independent projects by artists just wanting to flex their skills for their own reasons. To have a deck like this, clearly a labor of love by all involved, as a major element of gameplay within a franchise is really very special. And something this diverse, deep, and absolutely saturated with layers of ciphers and riddles... it's a geekomancer's dream come true.

Level Up: 2 Levels I think the only way anyone's going to be able to top this deck is if they manage to design a tarot deck that's also a fully immersive VR video game AND an AR game and divination tool useable with one's iPhone or Android. Legit, Echo and Lazarus left everyone in the dust. I haven't been this excited about Shadowrun since Shadowrun Returns first came out, and I got a set of dogtags that had a USB drive with the game on it.

It's just... crazy cool.

Full disclosure, I've had the deluxe edition of these cards for a while now, so I've basically been low-key squeeing about this deck since I first heard about it in 2018, even before I got it. I've been utterly astonished that people weren't more excited about them, and I wasn't hearing about them everywhere.

Before this, I created my own Shadowrun tarot method using the Universal Transparent Tarot (cuz, y'know, plastic and see-through and weird little mosaic readings all in one place, seemed fitting to me), and when I got the Sixth World Tarot? I don't think I've opened the UTT since!

Anyway, this is my review of this deck! Go follow the link up at the top of this post, and buy yourself one! And hey, let me know if you figure out the cool little map trick. My jaw literally dropped when I was shown that!