#pop-up ads

[tylviasilly]

Ugh

This nose trimmer ad that pops up every five posts almost makes me nostalgic for that stupid movie that popped up every five posts last fall or summer or whenever. Where's that manscaping kit? Poo-Pourri? Squatty Potty?

[bruce-slutsteen]

Hozier in Netflix's documentary, This is Pop, episode 7, "What Can a Song Do?"

[charliebot-art]

i love the completely baseless assumption that first aid has a thing for helicopters, its so good sometimes i forget its not canon

[pairingbrainrot]

SEASON 3 PROMO PIC!!!

[geeky-nightphilosopher]

🦇Batfamily & Friends🦇

*At the Watchtower*

Dick:*just trying to stir up trouble* Hey, do you ever wonder what happened to all the missing kids.

Barry: What?

Dick: You know, a lot of them are taken. Maybe killed. But do you ever wonder what really happened to them?

Hal:*pauses* I-I don't know...

Dick:*completely serious* I think the government kidnaps them and experiments on them.

Barry & Hal: *blue screening*

Clark: *To Bruce* I know he's adopted, but did he somehow inherit your parania?

Bruce: He's messing with them, Kent.

[buglaur]

for a girl whose never built anything from scratch before i'd call this a triumph

[cyberdragoninfinity]

virtual reality annoying irritating network system

(bonus)

[wackywatchdotcom]

ive been thinking about this concept for WEEKS

[lackeyhenchman]

OH YOU GUYS WERE LIVING IN 3025 THIS WHOLE TIME??

[yi3248]

bonk

[cobra-creampuff]

the fact that they made it illegal to make ads louder than programs on tv in 2010 but haven't updated it to apply the same regulation to streaming. who do i have to call.

[itslilacokay]

⚠️FLASH WARNING? its just glitchy stuff but i feel like i should put this to be safe!

" Aww, what's the matter? "

" You look like you had something pop up on your mind. "

separate image vers

[skitskatdacat63]

Hes telling George he can fight for his rights too

[lizzybeeee]

DATV is overly reliant on Supplemental Media - especially if you are a returning player

TL;DR: Supplemental material should not be required reading in order to understand what's going on in the main game -> it's additional material that enhances what we were given. If what we were given is lacking and unable to coherently tell us a story, then the writers and those in charge did not prioritize what was important.

Not a take that's unique to Dragon Age, but one that is very relevant when talking about DATV. I've made a few posts about plot/story points that either make no sense or have been dropped entirely in the lead up from DAI to DATV. Every now and then I get a few comments or messages about how certain points I made were addressed in supplemental material released in the lead up to this games release.

This isn't a call out post, by the way! But it's frustrating, to me, that this games writing is so lacking that my understanding is being inhibited because I can't remember details from a book I read two years ago - not to mention various podcasts, comics, and short stories. My understanding of a video game in a video game series should not be reliant on additional/optional content.

DATV is a weird game in that it is absolutely a 'soft/scorched earth' reboot while also marketing itself as a continuation to what was set up in Inquisition and Trespasser. Personally, I think that if you are up to number 4 in a game series, one with a continuous story-line, it should be expected that new players won't be able to catch up to everything -> it's the game developers job to make the world and story intriguing enough that the new players will go back to previous games in the series and fill in the blanks themselves.

Veilguard, as a sequel, is overly reliant on content that comes from outside the games themselves (including DLC's) if you want to make sense of the world and story. Trespasser left us with an epilogue that set up some plot points for the next game: Solas & the Veil, the Elven Rebellion, and War with the Qun - plot points that have been built up since the time of Origins. But when we get into DATV two of these points have been dropped and resolved, off-screen.

There are more questions, but these are the ones that bothered me the most while playing the game:

What happened to the Agents of Fen'harel/ Elven Rebellion? -> answered in a cursed reddit AMA.

What happened to the Qunari following Trespasser -> addressed in Tevinter Nights, and a codex entry you can pick up (optional).

Why is Skyhold infested with demons? -> mentioned in Tevinter Nights.

How did the Dalish go from worshiping their own pantheon to knowing they are false gods? (specifically those we meet in the Veil Jumpers) -> mentioned in the Missing comic series.

What's up with Nevarra's Royals? -> Tevinter Nights addresses that there is a power struggle in the Pentaghast family and the role of the Mortalitasi in making it worse - though it does not address the whole 'mage puppeting a corpse' issue and all the implications it has.

This is a video game series -> the bulk of the information required for me to understand the story and its relation to previous entries needs to be included in the final game version. I am playing a video game and not attending a uni class - I should not need to have a required reading list in order to understand what the fuck is going on. I should definitely not need to go onto a reddit AMA to understand what happened in-game, either.

What makes this stand out the most is that DAI was very successful in tying in previous games, DLC's, movies, and books! Inquisition did a great job in getting you up to speed on the events of the previous games early on, providing personalization if you played those games, and giving the player the opportunity to inquire into these events.

Hiding away the answers in additional material or a codex entry that may be missed is not good game design or good writing. DAI didn't assume that you had bought and played the Legacy DLC -> it made certain you experienced the conversation with Varric and Hawke if you wanted to proceed in the game. It didn't hide away imperative information in codex entries - it had characters talk about it in scripted scenes and encourage the player to ask more. You would actively need to avoid interacting with characters for you to not experience this information in DAI.

Leliana talks about her role during the Blight, her calling by the Maker, and her relationship with Dorothea/Justinia -> DAO and Leliana's Song DLC.

Cullen talks about his time as a templar at Kinloch & Kirkwall -> DAO and DA2.

Cassandra speaks about her history, investigation into Hawke, and the Seekers -> Dawn of the Seeker movie, DA2, & Asunder novel.

Varric talks about Hawke, Kirkwall, and Corypheous -> DA2 and Legacy DLC.

Cole talks about how he discovered he was a 'demon' - it leads to further conversations about Rhys, Evangeline, and Lord-Seeker Lambert -> Asunder novel.

Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts -> the game literally continues what the Masked Empire novel sets up, the Orlesian Civil War. The game does a decent job of telling us about the players (Celene, Gaspard, Briala etc...) and the reasoning behind the conflict through dialogue, the ability to explore the battlefields, quests, ambient dialogue, etc... The book is not required reading - though it greatly adds to the complexity of the characters, motivations, and political intrigue!

I never once, playing DA2 or DAI, felt penalized or like my experience was lacking because I had not engaged with supplemental material or DLC's. I got into Dragon Age when I was in high school, it wasn't until I graduated and began working after that I had the disposable income available for experiencing the extra material. I cannot say that for DATV - If you have played Inquisition and go into DATV straight from that you will, absolutely, be confused about how we got from A to B.

Which is especially strange to me!? Why is it that new players will be less confused than those that are returning players? It's like the game is actively punishing you for playing and caring about previous games in the series.

Supplemental media is bought because the main product has earned your investment, love, or interest. Not everyone has the income available to buy it with their own money - especially if you live outside the US and have to pay additional shipping costs. Not everyone has the ability to buy or 'obtain' the digital versions either. My understanding of the main story of a video game in a video game series should not require additional monetary investment into other mediums.

The game itself should be enough and DATV is not enough.

[carebooks]

i’m sure someone talked about this when jatp first came out but i just rewatched it in years. (not because i forgot about it, not because i didn’t like it, but because it hurt so much to know this show wasn’t getting renewed and i had to avoid it in order to protect myself)

something i just love about the show is how they never bash on any other types of music. and each character has more than one genre of music to like.

yes, Sunset Curve was a rock band and Julie and the Phantoms are more rock indie/alternative rock band.

but that doesn’t stop Reggie from liking country music, “I shred on the banjo,” and Jeremy Shada later on actually writing and performing “Home Is Where My Horse Is” (which I recommend heavily).

that doesn’t stop Alex from getting into Dirty Candi’s bubblegum pop music and dancing alongside Carrie on stage, (and how hard it must be for Carrie, who’s father is a rock musician, and how his fans must hate that his daughter is a fem bubblegum pop musician)

that doesn’t stop Luke from absolutely going insane over Caleb’s first performance, “The Other Side of Hollywood” with it’s 20’s era vibe and Broadway level intensity. (he was also into more classic rock as shown when he tried playing a song that Bobby/Trevor stole for Julie) (and lets not forget that he can also make the most emotional ballad of alternative rock)

and that doesn’t stop Julie from alternating between piano, rock music, pop verses, love ballads, and indie rock. and she and Flynn never once talk badly about Carrie’s music genre.

everyone can have more than one type of music they’re interested in or just show appreciation for instead of bashing it or disregarding it and i love that this show did this.

[unexpectedbrickattack]

shenanigans