#the design is really interesting if you think about it? it's sort of hollow.. there's nothing behind the 'eye'

[yuseirra]

I really like thanatos...

[cq-studios]

Do you have any screenshots of your favorite details from KHUX?

HAHAHAHAHA, yeah I do

Gonna just drop a read more here 'cause if y'all know me at all you know this post is probably gonna be 10KM long lol

So, I'm gonna try to hold myself back a little because I literally have like 10 pages of notes about specifically stuff in the backgrounds and I doubt the internet will find my bench and lamppost count interesting. (Also image limit lol)

I'll list just 4 things for now (in no particular order) and talk about them a bit underneath.

NUMBER 1 || STREET SIGNS

So there are four street signs that we’ve seen in Daybreak Town. Two are in the Fountain Square (A and B), one is in the Marketplace (C), and one is in the Clocktower Outskirts map (D).

For B and D it’s pretty easy to figure out what the represent. B is a clock, probably representing the Clock Tower… or maybe the best place to see the Clocktower because it’s in Fountain Square. The overall shape of it is different from the rest of the signs so I imagine that means something. D is a gondola or canoe of some sort, which makes sense because it’s next to stairs that seemingly lead to the canal that runs through town. Maybe there’s a ferry system of some sort?

A and C I’m less sure about. The designs don’t really bring anything obvious to mind. Maybe C is Munny because it leads to the Marketplace? I’m not sure.

NUMBER 3 || DOOR UNDER FOUNTAIN SQUARE

See what makes this interesting to me isn’t just the fact that apparently Fountain Square is hollow underneath (maybe for pipe repairs or something, I don’t know) but just the general fact that a lot of structures in this town, that maybe shouldn’t be, are hollow.

If you look even some archways have windows, so there has to be an open space inside, right? Most of them seem at least connected to houses so I assume they’re basements or something. (The one by murder house gets me tho, like that’s right under the bridge. Who’s living right under the bridge)

And I also feel like this leads into the fact that, similarly but not as extreme as in Scala, Daybreak Town is kinda built on top of itself. Maybe that’s a symptom of being around so many (and possibly on) mountains but I still feel like it should be talked about more.

NUMBER 4 || LIGHTHOUSE INTERIOR MAP

There is so much to unpack here but I’ll try to keep it brief.

So I’m pretty sure this is one of, if not the oldest building in Daybreak Town. Two reasons.

1. Instead of having little wall lamps, like the rest of the town and buildings, all the light seems to come from mounted candles.

2. There are swords (A) on the walls and not Keyblades. Why would the Keyblade town not have Keyblades on its little shield emblem? Is it possibly because it was there before Keyblades?

This staircase here (B) is also the only known (not sewer drain) way into the waterways. It leads into the sewers then out to the little dock below the Lighthouse with the boat, hence the sign.

There’s these maps here (C) that I don’t really know what to say about, but is definitely worth pointing out. They’re all the same and I assume show the layout of the area surrounding the town (the darker parts being water). It could be a world map though (darker part being continents)… I don’t think we’ll ever really learn lol

And also I don’t know what this is (D) but I think it’s interesting that it has writing on it. It kinda gives me the vibe of those flat on the ground gravestones…

NUMBER 5 || BANNER

Daybreak Town actually has a flag it’s all over the place and you’ll start to see it everywhere if you look for it. They also kind of look like the banners in Radiant Garden. The colours and shape/mounting are the same but the designs on the flag itself (and mounting) is different.

I have no clue what that implies, if anything, but I figure it’s worth pointing out ‘cause it’s interesting.

[exhausted-archivist]

Concept Art Moments and Ideas: What I Wish Was Kept

Pretty sure we've all been there. Seen some of the concept art and thought how cool it was and how much you wish it had made it in the final game. These are some of mine, I won't go too much into why they're not in the game, the answer is usually either one of the following or a combination of: they needed to narrow the scope of the project, frostbite was a new engine they were struggling to make do what they needed, time, they didn't feel it had enough narrative weight or purpose, or it would make the world states branch out far too much.

I'm not really wanting to discuss whether or not I agree with cutting them either. I just really think these are neat concept, ones I've thought out how they would fold in, possible ways they could have played out, and some that personally I have worked into my fic just to fully explore the ideas.

Most of the images that don't have a source link came from either the art book or the BioWare Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development (B25) book.

Now lets start with the most common one:

[Source]

I'm know others have said this, but I really wish that it had been feasible for you to become Divine. Though, honestly this only would have really worked as decision at the end of the series. While personally in my canon world state I don't have anyone I would want to put in that role. I do have an OC who I did design for that and would have been nice to see it play out. Especially come Trespasser.

These are story boards from the art book of the prologue walk through Haven. The voice lines for this are still in the game files even though they're cut. Something I always wanted in the prologue was something to actually motivate me. There is no real sense of danger, and the walk through Haven hold no real weight. It's mostly telling and no showing, it feels hollow after your first play-through where you aren't curious and uncertain. It honestly would have been interesting to me if this was in there and if there were non-standard ending option outside of combat. Provoking the scared survivors to where they mob you, a timer on the mark instead of just the one check point. If it started draining your health the longer you took to get to the Breach. Things that could easily be removed if you decreased the difficulty level and wouldn't impact the game overly much.

[Left Dragon Age Art Book, Right World of Thedas vol. 2 p. 245]

To continue on with my desire for the steaks in Inquisition to be more intense, for you to actually feel some type of risk or hostility from the world. These two are more of an expansion on the attack on Haven. I wish Corypheus was given a more dramatic entrance than being seen on the hill with his Commander. That when he arrived to scoop you up, that it was more ominous and threatening. Something to illustrate as him having this overwhelming presence and force.

In Hushed Whispers had the concept art of King Alistair going with you and honestly, I feel like it is a missed opportunity. Not only would it make sense but there is a sort of thematic element with Alistair once again having to save Redcliffe from a mage. I think this also could have worked if he was king or warden. If he was a warden, it would have been a very nice way to tie in the Warden plot for Alistair and even Loghain. Would have really given the Inquisitor a reason to care about choosing between them or Hawke in the Fade.

[Source]

Matt Rhodes labeled this as Anders in the tags, and I am really intrigued by this prospect. We know by the end of DA2 if he's alive he doesn't have many friends with the displaced mages of Kirkwall after awhile. It would have been nice for him to come back in that Warden role they were considering for the cancelled Exalted March DLC. But what really makes me curious, is why he's out in what we might think is the Western Approach/Hissing Wastes and what happened to his missing right arm.

Alternatively, another scenario I would have liked to see with Anders comes from the B25 book. We see they explored the idea of Anders, as a Grey Warden in the cancelled Exalted March DLC. Honestly, I feel as if he would return regardless of if you killed him or not because we know that Justice can and has prevented fatal injuries from killing Anders before. This could have been an interesting thread to not only pull his story to an end in dai, but also introduce the Warden contact instead of the ones we had. Because he was on the run and the Wardens would offer a degree of protection so he would be unwillingly forced to return, couple that with him knowing of Corypheus - which would likely be the thing that forced the Wardens to keep him alive once they found his prison empty.

[Source]

This is Western Approach concept art, specifically this was suppose to be Adamant. Matt Rhodes describes that it was suppose to be a monastery, self-sustaining, and a place where they could cultivate their own food, weave their own fabrics. It would have been interesting to be able to see it like this, to see the game use this to not only explore how the Wardens survived out here but also how they recovered the fortress after it was wrecked in Asunder. It would have tied in nicely with exploring the fact that the reversal of Tranquility was found here, a fact known to everyone in game at this point (they just didn't know the Seekers hid it from the Chantry and mages). It would have been an excellent way to fold in Rhys, Evangeline, flesh out Cole's backstory and personal quest, and even show another side of the mages - the ones who didn't want to be involved in the war and fled to the Wardens.

Two Words: Giant. Scorpion.

Look how massive that is. I love mega fauna so much. I want something massive to be living in the Hissing Wastes and I want this to be fighting dragons. It would have been amazing. Look at the boards they put out.

[Source]

I want to believe this is for the Western Approach given the ground type and the smoke in the background. If this thing was guarding the sulfur fields by Griffon Keep? It would have been epic. Or even if we saw it fighting the Abyssal dragon. Honestly, I think more areas should have had a competing predator for the dragons to be fighting. It would have been cooler if they kept great bears (previously known as Dragon Bears) at their massive size to fight a dragon in the Emerald Graves too.

[Source]

That said, this scorpion concept gets even better when you see the concept art for smaller versions being Venatori mounts.

How do you not get stabbed bud? How do you domesticate/train this? What is the intelligence of this little critter? I can just picture a play on the scorpion and the frog happening here. This would have been really cool as mini-bosses or something of that nature. Particularly around the ruins, Venatori operations, or raids against the keeps.

Another piece from B25, we see new concept art of the Inquisitor leaving Skyhold with the Inquisition as Skyhold is destroyed in the background. We learned from David Gaider that at one point Skyhold was actually suppose to be attacked by Corypheus, but it ended up being cut due to time/scope. This is something I wish they kept, having your second base attack, you home at the point where you felt the strongest and potentially after a recent victory.

It would have reminded the player that Corypheus and his commander, Calpernia or Samson, were a real and active threat. Something missing from Inquisition honestly. It would have been interesting to see if we had to find a new base of operations or if we had to rebuild. When first settling in Skyhold everyone mentions being able to see the enemy coming, about not retreating from Skyhold. They really built up an expectation that at the very least a scare of an attack would happen.

There would have been a sort of poetic sense to Skyhold being leveled. Considering it is of Fereldan make, built on top of a leveled elven site. To have the site once again leveled, the history brought back to its foundations. It would have been a thematic foreshadowing to what Solas plans to do as well.

These are clearly just things I found interesting, things I feel would have really added to the game, and some others might not agree with. There are other things I wish they hadn't cut, but I didn't want to include anything that has been post-humorously mentioned by the devs because I wanted to focus more on the concept art aspect. A lot of decisions were shaped by circumstances we'll never really know the full scope of, and sometimes I wonder if they had gotten more than the 3-4 years they had for Inquisition and maybe on an engine that wasn't so fickle and worked better for the style of game how different it would have been.

[tacoma-narrows]

Twenty (Three!) Years of Humanistic!

Abandoned Pools' first album, Humanistic was released 23 years ago today, on September 25th, 2001! For anyone who doesn't know, Abandoned Pools is my all time favorite band! I found them through Clone High in September of 2020 and immediately connected with a LOT of their songs, and in that time, Humanistic became my all time favorite album! A spot that it still retains to this day hehe.

So when I found out that the following year, almost a year to the day from when I started listening to Abandoned Pools, was Humanistic's 20th anniversary, I knew I wanted to make something big for that occasion! I ended up making a drawing based on each song in the album! This is similar to what I did for Owl City's album Cinematic later on, which I posted last year.

This is also sort of a look at proto Let's Get Back! in a way! I made this when LGB! was still just a duo act with PB and Shep, since Rye and Pumpernickel didn't join the lineup until I was about halfway through the project, and the band wasn't officially named Let's Get Back! until February of 2022 lol. The cover image here is based on the actual album cover for Humanistic, and I edited later to say "Covers by Let's Get Back!" to make it consistent with the rest of my LGB! art :3

Each piece in the series is below the cut along with the song they're connected to and some explanation about each one. Again, these pieces are three years old at this point, so some of the art is a bit wonky looking and some of these piece I'd do differently if I were to do them today, but most of them still hold up pretty well I think! :D

1: The Remedy

I based this one on the line “save your breath, your soul is hollow” and wanted to do something simplistic but still interesting! According to my friend who also likes the song, this is “exactly how that song feels” lol. It was fun working with silhouettes here, which is something I've done here and there in the time since.

2: Mercy Kiss

I decided to not actually draw them kissing bc the song says “I don’t need your mercy kiss” haha. Wanted to capture sort of a defiant attitude for this one. Posing is a little off here, and I've tweaked some minor things abt their design but overall one that I'm still pretty happy with :]

3: Start Over

I was SUPER happy with the posing on this one, I love the sense of motion it has. Basically, I wanted to express being stuck in a cycle and just wanting to go back to the way things were, which was something I was REALLY feeling at the time, but is still sort of applicable today.

4: Monster

Another one I REALLY like, with this one, I wanted to show that I can be a force to be reckoned with when standing up for myself. Or at least that’s how the song makes me feel. It’s a good rampage song too. This is another case where I really like how the pose came out. As you can also see, this is the only piece without PB since I wasn't sure how to incorporate him into this idea, but I’m sure he’s still involved somehow lol. Also this is the best song called Monster, I do not take criticism at this time.

5: Blood

Blood always feels like a sort of gloomy, spiral-y type song, so that’s what I went for. The line “we watch it burn, and we never learn, this can’t be what you’re waiting for” was really the focus for this one. A neat vibe with this one overall I think that I'm pretty happy with.

6: Suburban Muse

Suburban Muse makes me think of like, a fake sitcom town where things look normal, but things aren’t as great as they seem if you look a little closer. It even says “cue the canned applause” at one point. Also, those sort of, weird reality dreamscape neighborhood liminal space images like this where you can see where it's coming from but they just feel, off y'know

7: Sunny Day

This one is kinda weird because Sunny Day is kinda weird (though in like the best possible way, I love it). I couldn’t quite come up with a solid idea for both my OCs here, so I based them on two separate lines: “my head is inside a cloud” for PB, and “get off the bathroom floor” for Shep. In hindsight, I don't think the two separate lines approach really worked here since it feels more disjointed and not really representative of the full song, but I still like it well enough.

8: L.V.B.D.

This one was hard to come up with something for. I’ve never been super crazy abt L.V.B.D. since it feels, Very Hetero™ and I’m not about that. But it’s still sounds great and I’m definitely super glad it’s part of the album. Went for drawing Shep and PB here as little stuffed dolls, which is related to the acronym in the song’s title (which stands for Little Virgin Baby Doll) and I couldn’t think of anything better aha. I should draw plushies more often though

9: Ruin Your Life

Important: Shep and PB are only upset with upset with each other for the sake of this drawing, as I refuse to let anything bad happen between them for real. Anyways, the expressions were really fun in this one, and oh boy does this song feel very relatable over the last year or so.

10: Never

This one is very similar to Ruin Your Life for me, where it’s a sort of comforting during a dark time kind of way. Just crossing the days off hoping that things will get better soon, that’s what I went for here. The calendar is listed as 10/12 since this is the 10th song out of the 12 on the album, and the image is a reference to a previous drawing I had done of PB and Shep together :3

11: Seed

Personally, Seed is my least favorite song from the album as a whole, for similar reasons to L.V.B.D. but in a, more gross kinda way that conflicts with my ace side. The song still sounds great musically for sure. Even tho I’m not super crazy abt the song, I actually really like how this drawing came out, in fact it might be my favorite out of the whole batch, ironically enough lol. The boys are looking down into a hole from the line “there’s no more grace to fall from, there’s nowhere left to go but down” and I'm really happy with how the perspective turned out!

12: Fluorescein

Finally, Fluorescein is my favorite song of the entire album, and my favorite song in general! It’s so aggressive and loud, I love it. I decided to draw PB confronting a giant Shep bc the song makes me feel like I can take on a huge adversary and win >:] Although I do like what I chose to do here, I kinda wish I had come up with something better to represent my all time favorite song lol

So in conclusion, like I said, Humanistic is my all time favorite album and it means so much to me. Really all of AP’s work really means a lot to me, but Humanistic in particular. I found the band through watching Clone High and I am all the better for it. So thank you to Abandoned Pools for making something that I’ve gotten so much out of and I absolutely cannot wait for the sixth album coming at the end of next year!! :D

So I hope you guys liked this little trip down memory lane with me, and if you're also an enjoyer of Abandoned Pools, please let me know what you think of these and what your favorite AP songs are! I'd love to know! And if you don't listen to Abandoned Pools, I highly recommend their music if you can't tell lol. If you enjoy early 2000s alt rock sort of stuff, there's a solid chance you'll enjoy Abandoned Pools :3

[thedeafprophet]

Uh hi idrk how to sound normal in asks lmao but. I am curious. About more of your thoughts/opinions/theories on Scarlet Hollow? I played it for the first time recently but don’t really know anyone else who has besides like the one person who got me to play it XD

(Also your post about diagetic text boxes as subtitles for a hard of hearing PC sent me, I love it so much it’s canon to me)

hi you are sounding perfectly fine in ask XD i know at least a few flondon people who have also played it

So, as it stands right now, I don't have a lot of solid theories that arent vague, for one major reason: I don't think we have enough information to concretely theorize yet.

We have a lot of good buildup (something with the sigils, something with a curse maybe? something to be free from, that we're drawn here, suspicious incidents with the families death, non human creatures, Sybil being sus as all hell, whatever the hell the entity is etc), but we have yet to be provided with anything that would give us any solid conclusions. This is by design, i imagine starting next chapter as we explore the manner things will begin to unravel.

So my basis is like this 'the previous scarlet family members Did Something that put some sort of curse/trapping on the family in some sort of magic situation with some sort of consequences, all of those are beginning to unravel now for some reason'

beyond that, I really dont know! I have faith for black tabby to pull off the mystery, lots of good inklings, but a solid theory on whats going on? nada. One thing i will say is i expect black tabby to be doing their own things, and will be far more creative then to do like, a 1:1 with christian mythos or something lmao. theyve said that with the sucess of slay the princess theyll be able to 'get weird' with scarlet hollow which is very exciting

I have a lot of mini inklings and suspicions but that about it XD

ie. Sybil affecting the players thoughts, family curse, whatnot. Oh i also think it'd be interesting if whatever is possessing 'Wayne' could be able to body hop..... much to think about

thank you thank you. i've had fun considering that my scarlet hollow pc could also be hard of hearing like me. Ive toyed with the idea that the magic interference (ie the ghost miners in chapt 2) would mess with their hearing aids on a frequency level, so thank goodness for magic textboxes to help them

if u have any specifics you'd wanna chat about feel free to ask XD

[thefirstknife]

I think a lot of what's happening is that many players are legitimately burning out because of the way bungie models the game (people don't call it FOMO: the game for no reason, there's definitely a truth to that feeling), increasing prices putting further strains on wallets as people continue to struggle financially (getting priced out of a beloved hobby is painful), and various genuine harmful choices over the life of the series, etc. but all of that's being co-opted by bad faith actors who are looking for a reason to tear Bungie down--I think you're at least partially right that there's a lot of anti-LGBTQIA+ people targeting them for being visible allies (and members of our various communities!) and just just hollow rainbow capitalists. And there's probably people who just want to stir up drama because they find it fun. So they're all distorting the actual complaints and making it so hard to have a frank discussion about good and bad practices. The real stuff gets drowned out and people tired of the BS shut down genuine complaints without realizing because it's hard to sort through it all. I think the technical term for the current situation is "clusterfuck"

For real. Burnout is a real problem that very few people recognise and often they just refuse to recognise it when it hits them personally. And like, burnout isn't just "I'm a little bored of this," continuous burnout can lead to actual health problems.

I always tell people that if you log into a game and you're not feeling it, you're only there to mark a checklist and you're annoyed by every moment spent playing, please take a break. FOMO stuff is also a real issue, but I also always tell people to just try and think about it from a broader perspective. Will you miss out on stuff? Probably. Will this matter to you, truly, if you have no interest in the game anymore? Like, if you think about it, missing out on content from a game that doesn't bring you joy should not be that big of a deal. You're not enjoying it anyway, so who cares if you miss things that you don't enjoy?

FOMO design is really awful and it's unfortunately everywhere and it takes so much energy to get yourself out of thinking that everything around you is super urgent and you have to latch onto it NOW or else.... In truth, this is just a sneaky method to keep people hooked. It's not real, you're not really missing out on anything. Even if you are, I promise that it's better to "miss out" than fall into burnout. You're the only one who can break your own FOMO.

A lot of gamers don't get it and don't even try to get it and actually get super defensive when you tell them that they're exhibiting symptoms of burnout. This is also another way that people try to deflect criticism. Sometimes someone will incessantly shit on a video game and you'll tell them "you have burnout bro, you need to take a break for your own sake" and they'll insist that you're just saying that because you're bootlicking a company or whatever.

On the other hand, sometimes you will criticise something legitimate and people will try to shut you down with claims that you're just burned out. Differentiating between these two is super difficult, especially when the community is acting like the Destiny community is acting like now. As you said, we're dealing with a clusterfuck. There's legitimately burned out people hateplaying the game who refuse to recognise it and there's people who want to talk about genuine problems and the former are making this an incredibly difficult conversation to have.

Two other related asks under:

It's utterly bizarre. The cynicism is so high that people are literally ignoring easily verifiable facts they can find with one google click away because it means they get to join their pitchforks against Bungie. And like, you can hate a company all you want but at least hate the real things they've done? The Bungie Foundation is legitimate work that helps people all over the world. This one aint' it chief.

This is the reddit thread where people were having a meltdown over the post about the foundation stuff for Bungie Day to the point that a moderator had to make a pinned post about this and there's one other most upvoted post about it just beneath. A lot of the shitty comments have been deleted and some are still there but downvoted, but people for real showed up to say crap about Bungie and lie on a call for charity.

It happened on twitter too (link if you're brave enough to go into replies and quote tweets, I don't recommend it), because of course it did. People are largely upset that some of the bigger goals have an emblem and shader as a reward and now they're calling it the "100k $ shader." And like. It's not for you. You don't need these two items. They're not here for you to buy. They're here to incentivise donations to charity. Bungie isn't getting rich from this; they will literally not see this money. It's going to charity.

I could bet my entire ass that the same people crying about this shader being unobtainable (we don't even know what it looks like btw) are the same people who are standing by their favourite streamer when they say that some in-game activities and rewards shouldn't be obtainable to the majority of the players. It's baby behaviour, and worse now because the post about Bungie announcing a charity is littered with comments from ghouls who think that THIS is the right moment to stick it to the big corpos (and ask to "fix servers").

LMAO! Literally though. I, unfortunately, play a Blizzard game and like. I'm sorry but you will not convince me that Destiny has worse monetisation than Overwatch. Like, maybe you can convince people who don't play anything else, but I do.

And honestly, if some other game is better to someone? Please feel free to play that then. I do my absolute best to limit the amount of money I will ever again give Blizzard to as close to 0 as possible, but if Blizzard's monetisation and morals are fine to you, go wild I guess. Applies to any other company for that matter. I personally find it baffling that we've spent YEARS learning about all the ways Activision is actually being led by demons from hell and that they deal with lawsuits every few months and treat their employees like crap, but we're totally fine hyping up Diablo 4 (and I guess we forgot all controversies from before about Diablo 3 and Diablo Immortal and everything). But to each their own. I'm not on Diablo twitter posting about this. It's not my problem. Hell, I'm not even engaging with Overwatch stuff because I know that I will just be negative about every aspect of it, even though I'm still playing here and there. I disagree with what they're doing so I play less and don't buy stuff and then I'm not angry about a video game every day of my life. Life hack.

[zerodderty]

Undertale Yellow feels like, and I don’t say this lightly, the Advent Children of UT/DR

Looks really cool, *is* really cool in a lot of the ways that count, even hits home sometimes… but also nobody who touched the production ever really “got” the original, so it’s just kinda hollow

That’s not always a bad thing, fanlike reverence leads to new ideas being created usually when people try to replicate the things they like about a work while cutting back on the less important bits. But when you tie it to this worship of the original text you get all these… janky halfhearted copies.

Like, oh, we gotta kinda have a Papyrus. Here’s your robot section. Didn’t you like Undertale’s Neutral Route? There’s some quieter comparison points where you can feel the thought that went into making UTY a fun reflection of the original. But also sometimes things feel needless, like they’re there to fill a quota.

The pacing gets this the worst- the actual main cast is introduced two thirds of the way through the story, so most of the early areas are JUST old Undertale zones without the humor or charm. Pacifist in particular suffers because of how much importance it puts on characters and scenarios that a first time player will have No time to care about.

The themes here are…. Incoherent. Copying Undertale’s structure so hard means that unintentionally a lot of the same Determination, Empathy, Content Consumption stuff gets reiterated, while the new stuff about Justice and Consequences feels like its totally shoved to the ends of each route where characters will start talking as if walking around doing random encounters and occasionally stumbling into bits with characters who immediately fall in love with you and proceed to do three bits before leaving means we’ve had some Deep Meaningful Arc together that is climaxing only now.

Which is to say at some point in every route characters will start ranting about Justice and Heroism in a way that just feels really goofy since it always comes out of nowhere. I can see the narrative bones of a fun western romp, but its buried under all this Undertale flavored fluff that makes the early game feel charming but hollow, the midgame feel abrupt and slow, and the endgame feel interesting but wayyyy too fast and undercooked for whats come before it.

And then there’s the Cool parts. The character design is just fifteen levels of weird, everyone is the same sort of lanky furry creature with these big mysterious angsty backstories that mainly serve to funnel people towards the two big endgame superbosses of Pacifist and Genocide. And they certainly are big, taking the form of long, multiphase endeavors with more than a few totally unbalanced attacks that go more for flash and overwhelming density than anything else.

And hey, I can’t say the flash doesn’t work…? I think with Deltarune as a comparison now, the weird reality breaking freaks of Jevil and Spamton feel a lot more interesting of a Sans followup but sure yeah, I can’t say that these anime powerups don’t look sick even if they feel a little disconnected from everything. But it feels like they exist at the expense of everything else as these all encompassing fixation points.

And hell, UTY is probably the *most* restrained Undertale fangame here, because you can tell in the base encounter design that clearly the developers liked the idea that Undertale was a game with encounters in it, even if the bits aren’t always as funny or charming they’re at least there and well executed. I like the random monsters! They’re probably my favorite thing here because they don’t feel exaggerated or cast aside to better focus in on the Cool Stuff

I dunno, I feel weirdly conflicted that a game so technically competent at emulating Undertale and so clearly passionate in its aims feels so uneven and clumsy. I’m glad it exists, I’m glad I played it, I just wish it was more… good. Maybe it’s in part that I got into Undertale from its influences (Homestuck and weird quirked up JRPGs) that it feels so weird to have those influences diminished to better do the Cool Stuff, but I feel if UTY wanted to just do the Cool Stuff it would have been better served not being so tied down to living up to the already lofty task of Undertale 2 without feeling like a direct to dvd and home video sequel.

[woodchipp]

In my critique of OMORI, I cite this particular interview as the source for several of my claims.

Today, I'd like to try and dissect that interview as well.

Given that this interview is (apparently) supposed to be a lecture on game design and writing, I believe there is a lot to unpack here.

NOTE: Reader discretion is advised. By clicking on “Keep reading”, you willingly choose to continue reading the post.

IMO, "a sense of spontaneity and randomness" does not equal a lack of a coherent plot, but hey, what do I know?

"My goal was to think very little and let my stream of consciousness flow..." Allowing your thoughts to flow freely is still thinking, though. Besides, what kind of writer advises people to think about the story they're writing as little as possible?

"my goal was to think very little" oh, I can tell

Yume Nikki had eerie piers and quiet trains too. This is not as innovative as they seem to think it is.

"Certain dungeons were only workshopped for only a week or even days." It seems that the game was really rushed.

Keep this in mind. It will become relevant later.

A direct manifestation of one's subconscious that progressively becomes more nightmarish and unpredictable is exactly what Silent Hill is.

I'm not trying to say that writers using previously-explored ideas in some other form in their writing is always bad, of course. However, I believe there is a signficant difference between drawing inspiration from a particular work of fiction for your own and blatantly lifting imagery/plot beats from other works to fit your own story. Besides, OMORI doesn't even really put an original or interesting spin on any of the writing conventions and previously-explored ideas it features.

...Sunny's childhood was ideal, though. His life up until Mari's death is presented as such. He had a kind older sister, a group of loyal friends, parents rich enough to afford a grand piano and "all the newest toys". In fact, Omocat described Sunny's childhood as "very idealized".

[the passage I linked is its own can of worms lmao. "MARI, the overbearing big sister" literally at what point in the game was she overbearing]

Padding out your game with extraneous fluff just so that people don't get mad about the money they poured into your project seems... rather dishonest to me.

I personally think that length does not equal quality. A game can be 20-30 minutes long and still leave an impact.

"The experience becomes what you make of it" reads as a convenient way to deflect any sort of criticism towards their writing.

"If you found numerous holes in the story and were left dissatisfied as a result, that's your problem sweetie uwu"

The wise sage's name? Albert Einstein.

I see this as laughable writing advice. Most of the time, the "feels" are predicated on the "reals"; writing a story with its emotional impact as the one and only priority without ensuring the plot beats make sense for the story you're trying to tell first will just make it hollow glurge.

Judging by how thoroughly it permeates the plot, "Feels before reals" could be taken as Omocat's writing philosophy, and it can be seen in the character writing as well. The game sends the message Aubrey's hurt feelings are of more importance than the real harm she inflicted on Basil by bullying him, and then undermines its intended message of "acting like grief affects only you is selfish" by implying Sunny and Basil's feelings about their involvement in Mari's death outweigh the harm they've inflicted on their friends by staying silent re. the actual reason she died for 4 years.

I can see their point - that "realism-induced" horror is way scarier and hard-hitting than something blatantly supernatural/unrealistic - and I can agree with that. I can't call a scared 12 yo kid improvising a multi-step plan to cover up a murder "a believable circumstance", though.

I suppose the horror of a beloved relative and friend taking their own life due to severe mental issues they carefully hid was too unrealistic of a scenario to explore.

They come off as... mildly self-aggrandizing here. "yeah Link and Red are assumed to be self-inserts but MY silent protagonist isn't like the other girls 😤"

"actually he thinks a lot" where? what little bits of narration the player happens to get from both Sunny and Omori are incredibly basic

Not only did Aubrey snoop through her friend's personal belongings behind his back, she disowned and harassed him after that because she assumed the worst of him and instantly believed her unfounded assumption without giving him a chance to explain himself.

Man, isn't she just awesome?

I'd like to note the casual admission that Kel exists purely for the sake of being a plot device.

This also seems to (inadvertently) imply the story wouldn't need Kel in the first place if Sunny wasn't boring lmao.

There's one easily-missed bit of flavor text in Crossroads about Mari coming home tired because she's been attending cram school.

That's it.

Even if Mari's perfectionism is supposedly "present in other places", it's not given enough focus to feel like a substantial character flaw.

...well that becomes rather uncomfortable in hindsight. man, imagine if Mari treated Sunny like Omocat has allegedly treated some of their employees

As mentioned in my critique, this reads like a very convenient way to shield Basil from any criticism regarding his decision to stage Mari's death as a suicide.

Loneliness, insecurity and "very deep emotions" are not an excuse to tamper with a corpse.

You'd think such complexity would've been reserved for Sunny, the main protagonist himself. Apparently not.

"...These characters are so loveable! How can I get other people to see how wonderful they are too?"

I'd like to note the phrasing here. It's not even something like "I dearly love these characters and hope you'll grow to love them too!" They're stating that the characters are loveable, as if it is an objective truth.

I suppose that's why the characters feel so empty upon scrutiny - the writer assumed that you'll fall in love with them at first sight and thus didn't bother putting in any actual effort to make them compelling or even remotely believable.

It wouldn't lol. The game makes you look through Basil's photo album four times and outright spells out it is supposed to be "proof of [their] friendship" in case the player somehow didn't get the memo after the four times. And that's not mentioning Memory Lane and Duet, which are the game forcing the player to look through the photo album two more times.

Remember when I said that the game seems to have been rushed?

It actually was. OMORI was released in December 2020, so there's no way the development team didn't go through crunchtime that year to overhaul the game and finally release it. In fact, it is all but confirmed by Omocat's following comments

The game they're asking you $18 for is essentially a rough draft.

Oh, and by the way, the total amount of funding OMORI received via Kickstarter was $203,301.

Make of that what you will.

[yuri-is-online]

fgo anon adventure continues

>not to summarise a whole part in one sentence but Moriarty bullying was everything I didn't know I needed. Nevermind waifu wars, I need a cringe old man tournament

>after reading more of your they/them fanfiction, I do think you specifically have the right to go off on this game

>finally unlocked Wu's true name, bonds etc. I surprisingly liked her entrance

>I actually liked her introduction. I would be okay with there being lore reasons why she looks like a kid (and I am being vastly generous when I say lore reasons) but I would still pick a fight with whoever made that ascention design. I would put them in the pot.

>I don't know if you'd know this but she has a rank up quest that does go into more detail of how despite having her full life memories, this is the young version of Wu who first entered the palace. She gets nightmares about the nasty stuff other women used to say about her. It was pretty sad.

>Im glad Columbo is the evil disgusting bastard he deserves to be

>There's just something kinda "this was written by a man" about agartha's section that I can't really be bothered to disect. you know you know

> if it was me 1. Columbo would not have gotten Heracles ["Can we blow up Astolfo instead?" (I don't even hate them or anything)] 2. I guessed it was Caster pretty fast actually. I don't know if I could have afforded to call her out early

> Fergus(old): *opens his mouth* me:I hate this game *keeps playing it*

When Will I Finally Have My Last Drop With This Game? Stay Tuned.

sidenote:

Me: *innocently logs in to do some limited quest* WAS THAT FREAKING MERLIN IN A BLACK SHIRT? HUH? WHAT?

I genuinely thought I hallucinated him cause he literally only shows up for a second, buffs the monsters, dips out (this is very on brand)

Looked it up, found the Camelot & co illustrations, forgot how to breathe for a minute.

I hope you are doing well!

I am doing ok all things considered.

Agartha is the most hated chapter next to Septum. They were written by the same person if I remember correctly? It's very much specifically a him problem, he's quite bad at writing.

I like Astolfo, but I watched Apocrypha so a lot of it comes from there. I also agree that it was nice to see fate lean into him being an actual villain! Wish it had happened in a better chapter!

When it comes to Wu... I don't really know how I feel about her tbh. When it comes to lolis in Fate... there is no innocent explanation I am willing to give them because I know Prisma Illya exists. And because of something related to Abigail Williams I won't get into yet because I don't know if you have done Salem or not. No amount of interesting takes on a character excuses sexualizing a child, it's honestly my biggest ick with the series as a whole.

Back to Agartha for a second... fgo does this thing where it will introduce a female historical figure who is known for having been sexualized and degraded and it will make her character design hyper sexual, and they do this constantly. There are a lot of arguments about this, some say it's about reclaiming a woman's power and agency but I don't really find myself able to accept that. It sort of rings hollow when you are a gacha game that makes money off of making sexy women. It's kind of like a makeup company advertising women's empowerment as a key part of their brand identity. Sure, your founders and employees might really believe that, but you are pushing skincare products towards a younger and younger age demographic because it makes you money.

I don't know if you are familiar with NeiR at all, but the weird guy who makes it has been pretty open about the fact that he made 2b look like that because he thought it would be sexy. I have 0 problems with that, what I don't like is when a game or franchise makes money off of sexy women and then bends over backwards to justify why they do that. But then again, bending over backwards to justify things is sort of Fate does at all times anyway so maybe I'm just over thinking things. It is nice to have a chance to talk about these things and still be allowed to like the series! The fight scenes in fate are peak as are some of the concepts they come up with, I just don't always enjoy it when they start pandering because well. It's not like they're pandering to me now are they?

[titlemewickedwonderland]

Dream of Me (Ghost Band x Oc)

Summary: This is a longer version of a dream I had the other night of going to a Ghost concert and getting stuck at the venue. Some parts of filled in because I don't remember them very well but I hope you enjoy reading it anyway! It's kind of long but I didn't feel up to making a part two! So here you go!

Support my Work!

It was insane, completely and utterly insane. She hated crowds, hated them with such a passion she really didn't like leaving the house. But, by some kind of stroke of luck she found out her favorite band Ghost was in her town of all places to do a show at the Hollow's Eve Festival. Fuck it that it was going to be outside in mid-October and it's cold out. Fuck the fact that she was going alone. This was one of the one-in-a-lifetime opportunities and if this was to be her first (and maybe last) concert then she would pull up her big girl panties and go. Because for once in her life, she will do something she wanted to do and not do it for anybody else but for herself.

Holly was a college student on holiday break, living on campus just a few hours away from where the festival was going to be held and she had to practically beg her roommate to drive her there. Since Holly lived on campus she didn't have a need for a car; all her shopping needs and food places were within walking distance from the campus so she never needed to go anywhere that involved a car. Anytime she did, her friend and roommate would take her because hey, Holly didn't have many friends so that worked just fine with her, but this was important to her and her friend knew it.

Unlike those who Holly figured went to the Ghost concerts in the past, she didn't wear anything too revealing. She dressed practically with a slight flare of her own style. Cold didn't bother her as much as most people would think for someone as slim and slight as she was. She was pale and didn't see the sun much because of her lack of interest in leaving her room half the time. But she did well in the cold. So, instead of wearing things like fish nets, shorts, and a gaudy top that showed too much cleavage (A feat she gave credit to those who could pull off.), she wore a pair of form-hugging ribbed white washed jeans, a pair of her favorite combat boots, and a long sleeve sweater that was designed to look as if she, if was threadbare and torn in that edgy sort of look, with a tube top bra underneath to finish it off. She kept her long caramel-brown hair in natural waves after her shower and just snapped a ponytail holder around her wrist just in case she needed it - she was set to go. After grabbing her jacket in case it got too cold for her to handle or start raining as the forecast predicted she headed out towards her friend's car and hopped in feeling the jitter of excitement inside of her belly doing flip-flops.

"You got everything you need, babes?" Carol asked turning to check out her friend as she climbed into the car.

"I think so!" Holly replied plugging her phone into the car to charge.

"No purse?" Carol raised a brow in judgment.

"Don't need it! All I need is my wallet, my cash for a bus ride home, and my phone." Holly replied with a grin. The less she carried the less she had to worry about losing or being stolen.

"I could always just pick you up girlie you know that!" Carol started the car and pulled out of the parking lot to head down the road following the GPS on her phone.

"You're literally going to be driving 2 hours extra from your grandma's to come to pick me up! I'll just take a bus, besides the festival won't end until pretty late. I'm not going to burden you like that." Holly replied giving her a pointed look and was glad when Carol didn't argue, it would have been very much out of her way to drive to pick Holly back up but she was worried for her friend.

"Alright, but if you need anything call me yeah?" Carol gave her friend a side glance and relaxed a bit when she got a firm nod of agreement from the brunet.

"Good.'

After being dropped off Holly wandered around the festival and checked out stalls, food, and souvenirs all the while keeping her eye out on the time for whenever her favorite band would come on. She didn't mind the other few bands that had been scheduled to play there as well but she was here mainly for Ghost and so when she heard the announcement from afar that Ghost would be playing shortly she was quick to go snatch a spot up front; weaving her way between other people who were trying to leave who didn't want to stay for this part of the festival.

The crowd screamed when Ghost came on and Holly was jumping up and down in excitement; shouting out her approval and support along with the others as they started. Their playlist was lit as always and Holly found herself enjoying her time a lot more than she had thought. She swore she even made eye contact with Sodo when he came to her her side of the stage; he did his signature reach out to the crowd and she was compelled to reach back out to him, her arms were shorter than a lot of the others but she was at the front so that gave her some leverage even by an inch. She was amazing though when her fingertips actually met warm skin as her fingers grazed Sodo's. Had he reached out on purpose? He never let anybody touch him! She smiled up at him as he tilted his head and quickly backed off to go to a different part of the stage to play. When she noticed Copia dressed in his usual blue suit come over to her side she flashed him a brilliant smile and gave him a heart symbol which he received and returned by blowing her a kiss before moving on with his eccentric show to another part of the stage.

When she had a moment to breathe she turned her head to look around the crowd enjoying the show as much as she was when she noticed a girl dressed less than herself and looked as if she was cold despite the mass of bodies all around her; the chill of the October air cooled the sweat produced on her skin and caused goosebumps to appear on her skin. Thinking it over Holly gently pushed through the crowd to be able to sidle up next to her and unwrapped her jacket without a second thought, nearly yelling into the girl's ear because of how loud it was that she could borrow it. The girl looked grateful as she slipped on the jacket that was warmed by Holly's body heat and gave her a thank you before Holly made her way back to her spot. She didn't realize it but the bandmates had watched this unfold so whenever she came back to her spot she didn't notice that they were interacting a little bit more on her side of the stage; not thinking too much about it as she enjoyed the show.

After Copia's funny little speech in between songs, one of Holly's favorites began to play, Circe. The crowd calmed down and got in the groove as the song progressed towards the part where Papa would come by to pick a fan to circe them. She looked up from her spot through the phone screen she was recording to realize Copia was standing right in front of her. She made eye contact with him before he suddenly kneeled down and reached his hand out toward her. Surprised Holly reached out and felt the warmth of his gloved hand encase her own as he sang the song to her keeping eye contact that felt too intimate (as it should feel, she assumed). She was further surprised when he turned her hand around and kissed her palm before finishing off the song with another well-placed kiss to her knuckles and then stood back up to finish the show.

Holly felt her cheeks flush a bit and smiled to herself at the little moment, hey dreams do come true it seems! For being her first concert she was happy with her interactions and would cherish them forever! But the setlist was coming to a close as Papa began his last speech to dismiss the show with one last song. Right as it was ending the girl from earlier found her again and handed back her jacket with a grateful thank you again before disappearing through the crowds. Even after the show ended and people began to leave to make room for the next band Holly stuck around playing games and watching different people play. She was one of the last few groups to start making their way out once the Festival began to close down.

It was already past dark and she was standing by the parking lot checking her phone for bus times when she stuck her hand into her pocket absently and froze. Her pocket was empty. She frantically checked her other pocket and then went further to pull the pockets to find both empty. Her money for her bus trip home….was gone. Fuck! That girl must have taken her money! Feeling the panic rise Holly shoved it down and pulled up her friend's contact info before pausing just moments before hitting call. No, she wasn't going to call Carol to drive at one in the morning to come get her. But who else could she call? She didn't have money…but she did have her wallet and thus her Cash App card was in there. That at least hadn't been stolen because it was tucked away in her jeans pockets. So instead, she dialed up her mom feeling so foolish as it rang. Her mom loved watching the late-night shows so she was sure to still be up.

It rang and rang before being picked up. "Mom?!"

"Holly? What's the matter, honey?"

Worrying her lip between her teeth Holly looked down at her toes just when she noticed the dark droplets hit the pavement, shit it was starting to rain and she was here alone! "Um, is there…shit, I mean…um.."

"Holly?"

The girl sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Could you send me some money for a bus ticket?… I err…forgot mine and I don't have enough funds in my cash app to pay for one." she lied

Her mom didn't need to know she had her money stolen. But as a single mother, she worked long hours and it was always a hit-and-miss whether she would have the money because of bills and supporting Holly's younger brother.

"I'm sorry honey, I don't have the money for that. It was bill day today and I barely have enough money for gas for this week to get me to work." her mom's voice came in regretfully through the end of the line and Holly's heart sank.

"That's okay…I'm sure I can call someone. Thanks anyway, Mom, go to bed!" Holly ended the call with a playful chide before leaning her back against the wall and sighed feeling her clothes begin soaked with rain.

"Shit…" she pocketed her phone and stared out at the parking lot wondering what she was going to do. It was only when she heard footsteps coming her way did she began to stagger to her feet thinking it was a security officer or something and was well prepared to explain her predicament.

But instead of finding a security officer…she came face to face with a familiar group of figures. Her heart leaped in her throat and she shifted on her feet; tucking her hands into her pockets and trying to act casual realizing how utterly ridiculous and weird it probably looked like to find a fan just…waiting outside like this. They probably got this all the time with fans trying to get to see them past the appropriate time.

"Is everything okay? Are you having issues with your car?" the familiar voice spoke up; tinged with an Italian accent

Holly forced a small smile to her face and waved a hand around lamely. "Got to have a car to have car issues." she laughed nervously. "I uh, I kinda got stranded here. My money got stolen for a bus ticket so I was just checking in with people I know to come pick me up." she explained realizing how vague that sounded.

Copia tugged at his sleeves subconsciously. "Would you like for us to call you a Uber perhaps?" he suggested.

Holly shrugged. "I don't know an Uber who'd drive 3 hours out of the way to drop me off."

"You live 3 hours away? Damn!" Swiss grinned

"Yep, 3 hours and… 7 minutes if I remember correctly." Holly laughed a bit and rocked on her feet. "It's okay though, I'll find a ride, if not I'll park my ass on a bus bench for the night." she joked, but was she really joking? What other option did she have?!

"Aw, come on that's not safe!" Phantom called waving his hands around in the air. "You're in a pickle aren't yah?"

"He's right, it's not safe for you to be out here in the rain alone!" Rain added softly as he turned his head to look at Copia who was watching the girl with a certain look on his face.

"You look familiar…." he murmured taking a step closer.

"Duh, she's that girl you circe'd." Sodo added tilting his head.

"Ah! I remember now, you gave that one fan your jacket in the middle of the concert. That was very kind of your, Tesero!" Copia said realizing who she actually was. "Oh no," the man took a step closer and leaned down as if to stage whisper to her. "Did they take your wallet Tesero?" his eyes were wide with shock and sympathy.

The look on Holly's face must have been an answer alone as he leaned back with a click of his tongue. "That is not good. Not good at all! Come come! You'll stay with us in the bus for the night and we can see about transportation for you in the morning so you can get home."

"What no!" Holly nearly shouted much to the surprise of the others. Wouldn't fans just jump at the chance that was being given right now?

"I mean, I appreciate the offer, any fan of yours would jump at the chance but I don't want to be a burden to you guys. It's not your responsibility to come to my rescue!" Holly tried to defend.

Swiss wouldn't take that as an answer as he pushed past the others and swooped in; picking the girl up bridal style making her let out a little shriek of surprise and cling to the tall man.

"What the fuck! Omg, Swiss put me down!" she smacked his shoulder but he only laughed.

"It's raining Blossom, it's best we all just quiet down and get inside as soon as able." Mountain made his presence known behind them for the first time since they found her.

She hesitated and looked behind at the others around them as they strode across the parking lot towards the back where a few buses were parked; most likely the other bands parked for the night.

"But, aren't I going to be a burden? Like, won't I cramp your style and shit?" Holly asked softly

"Cramp our style? Kid, don't ever say shit like that ever again." Sodo grumbled tilting his head towards her and she could see the flash of his eyes behind the goggle of his helmet even through the glare of the parking lot lights shining down on them as they passed.

"It's really no issue mi cara," Copia added as he led the way ahead of them. "It's just for one night! You'll catch your cold out here if we just left you."

Holly bit her lip and rested her head on her arm as Swiss continued to carry her. "Are you sure…positive?" she asked again looking up at Swiss who tilted his head down and gave her another Swiss-style smile.

"Positive sweet cheeks."

They boarded the bus which was oddly roomy despite the fact 6 men were staying on the bus it didn't feel cramped at all. She was set down on her feet as others went deeper inside and she was left standing on the doorstep looking around curiously. She'd never been on a bus like this before.

"Alright, honey! Why don't you take the shower first and get warmed up! We'll wait out here for ya when you're done." Phantom spoke up as he began unlatching his helmet.

"Whoa wait! Y-you guys are okay with this?" Holly held her hands up pointing at the helmets."I mean, like…taking your helmets off in front of me?"

"Yeah, what not? Everybody already knows our identities." Swiss snorted as he tugged off his and ruffled his hair.

Holly stared at them as they each took off their helmets and set them down before getting themselves comfortable by taking their shoes off and harnesses while she just stood there watching in amazement. Mountain pushed his way to the back of the bus waving her over and held open a door for her to look inside.

"Here's the shower, we'll get you some dry clothes to change into once your done." he said motioning her in.

"Guys are you sure-" Holly began again and Sodo pointed a finger at her; for someone who wasn't taller than herself he was intimidating even without the mask on.

"Ask us again one more time kid and so help us-" Swiss shoved down the accusing finger just as Copia smacked him over the head with a disapproving curse in Italian.

"Go on honey, we're sure." Phantom told her flashing a smile her way.

Holly bit her lip and nodded as she grabbed the door from Mountain and slowly slid it shut behind her.

~

The rain was heavy, pounding at the window that she was staring out of as she sat on the couch in the darkness of the bus. True to word, when she had opened the door a crack to peer out into the bus she found the others sitting on the couches and chilling with each other; talking and shooting the shit with a few beers. Upon noticing her head poking around the corner, Mountain had hopped up from his spot and grabbed a stack of clothes that rested on the countertop to give to her. There was a pair of black sweatpants, a white T-shirt, a pair of socks, and a pair of boxers resting together folded neatly. They looked as if they'd fit her so she assumed it was Sodo's clothes since he was the one closest to her height. Even still, the sweatpants had to be tightened as far as they could and then rolled once or twice to make sure they wouldn't slip. They smelled good too, whatever cologne Sodo usually wore clung to the clothes and she would probably have been embarrassed if they knew she'd taken a minute or two sniffing the fabric before putting the clothes on. Still, she appreciated the clothes as she put them on, at least she wasn't wet and cold anymore. When she entered the living area section of the bus with no small amount of shyness she had been greeted by smiles.

And then came the debate of where she would sleep. The men had offered her to take one of their bunks but Holly had refused immediately not wanting to kick them out of their own beds. That started an argument.

"You can take one of ours, none of us mind sleeping on the couch for a night!" Phantom offered.

"No! Absolutely not! I've intruded enough as it is and you guys have been so kind as it is I wouldn't feel right stealing one of the bunks especially sink you guys had just a long tour! Ya'll are exhausted I'm sure so just sleep in your own bunks!" Holly had insisted.

"You could always sleep with one of us in the bunks." Swiss added with a playful wink but Holly was quick to shut that notion down with a literal hand crossing in an 'X' shape.

"No! They are far too small for two people." she had insisted; not that she would have minded taking the chance to literally cuddle one of her favorite band members.

"Sodo or Phantom don't take much room, tiny creatures that they are." Rain joked earning him a growl from Sodo in response.

"Copia please say something! Back me up here!" Holly had turned to the lead singer who was ping-ponging between the members as they argued.

"Let the girl sleep where she is comfortable." she'd breathed a sigh of relief and that was that despite the grumbles of some others within the room.

And so she sat, leaning against the soft leather of the couch; peering out into the rain beyond the glass of the bus. A spare blanket draped across her lap and a pillow behind her back as she sat in the darkness. The bus was filled with snoring from the men but it wasn't that which kept her up. She really just couldn't sleep. Not because she was surrounded by men or because she was on the bus with one of her favorite all-time bands. Sleep just evaded her. The men had taken turns showering before saying their goodnight after she had been made sure was comfortable and now she left alone.

A movement behind her made her jerk her head to the side to see the shadowed figure of one of the musicians coming from the dark hallway. it was only when they spoke that she realized who it was.

"Can't sleep?" Rain asked

Holly smiled slightly and shook her head as she tucked a stay piece of hair behind her ear. "Not really. I don't sleep very well in strange places." she confessed.

"Ah, are you afraid we'll do something in your sleep?" Rain joked

"Of course not!" Holly gasped at her dramatically."It's not you guys, this couch is actually more comfortable than my own bed at my campus. But I always have trouble sleeping in places I'm not familiar with, same thing with camping." she shrugged in the dark and watched as he came over to her.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Feel free." she tucked her legs up against her chest to make room for him to sit down next to her.

In the faint light of the parking lot lamps outsides, he could see he was wearing similar attire as her with black sweatpants and a white T-shirt while being barefoot. His hair was dark and slightly curled as it rested against his shoulders and even in the dim light, she could make out the strong nose and scruff on his jaw as he watched the rain too. It was a compatible silence as they sat together until Rain finally spoke up again.

"You mentioned a campus earlier? What are you studying?" he asked turning to look at her.

Holly looked down not wanting to be caught staring and absently wiggled her toes beneath the blanket. "Currently I'm working on Vet tech! I wanted to be a veterinarian." she laughed a bit. "Kinda silly huh?"

"Not at all! I love animals. I actually have a dog too. Swiss has a cat and Sodo loves dogs." he smiled at her softly in the dark.

"Really?" she smiled. " I love animals too! Growing up I had 2 cats and my boyfriend at the time was a big exotic animal lover and had owned a bearded dragon, a gecko, and even a 9 foot boa!" her smile was fond.

"You say that in the past tense?" Rain's face was curious.

"Yeah, we broke up before I went to college…I stayed at my local college because that's all I could afford and well…he went out of state." she shrugged. "Long distance wasn't something we were willing to try because nobody really did well long term when it came to stuff like that. Still, I'm happy. I actually have up a lot of money from my shifts to be able to come to the show tonight. I work as an apprentice in a vet clinic a few blocks from my campus." she explained.

"Well, we appreciate you stopping in and seeing us! You enjoy the show?" Rain grinned.

"Oh yeah." Holly laughed and rested her head against the couch as she shyly looked away. "I've loved this band for the last few years. I never thought I'd get this chance because well…I'm not a fan of large crowds and loud noises but I don't think I'd ever forgive myself if I missed out when you guys came to town!" she sighed wistfully

"Well, we appreciate you coming to support us." Rain nudged her foot with hers and they shared a smile. "I suppose it was fate!"

Holly chuckled but it was interrupted by a yawn that she covered with a hand and Rain motioned at her. "Why don't I leave you to go get some sleep okay?" he offered as he began to rise but she reached out and grabbed his wrist.

"W-would you mind staying…" she asked shyly wondering if perhaps she'd pushed it a little too far with her request. "I like the company…."

Rain studied her a moment before he nodded and sat back down. "Sure." he replied watching as she got comfortable on the couch again.

Holly didn't realize, but sometime during the night Rain had fallen asleep beside her, his long legs stretched out in front of him as she curled up on the other end of the couch and when Copia woke up in the morning to start a pot of coffee, he walked in on quiet a sight. Throughout the night, their guest had gotten comfortable and his ghouls had gotten comfortable with her because instead of having just Rain sprawled out on the couch, Phantom had snuck out of bed and made himself comfortable beside Holly, Sodo too had made it out to the living room and was being used as a body pillow as Holly cuddled against his side with her arms lazily draped around his waist in her sleep. Mountain had taken positioning on the couch opposite to them with his long legs outstretched across the floor and Swiss was slumped against the back of the sofa with his head hanging on it's edge while he held onto one of Holly's arms that wasn't dropped around Sodo that was hanging over Swiss's shoulder and he held on with a hand around her wrist as he held it against his chest.

Copia smiled at the sight and stepped over the ghoul pile before making himself some coffee, not wanting to wake up the sleepers as he listened to them snore. There was something special about this Holly girl and the ghouls seemed to enjoy her company. He didn't imagine they would be leaving her without some sort of promise or contact info for the future. He could not deny there was just something so genuine and sweet about the girl that made him choose her for his Circe performance. Perhaps it was her earlier display of kindness to a stranger, maybe it was the innocent eyes of someone who was fresh to a Ghost Ritual, or maybe it was simply just Holly's charm as she interacted with the band but he imagined…they wouldn't hear the last of her. And he honestly didn't hate that thought in the slightest.

[joannerowling]

rate my fanfic premises (finally):

set after the battle of hogwarts. female harry and friends goes to godric's hollow to sort through the ruins of the potter cottage and process what just happened. harry finds a box of letters in a closet - letters from petunia to lily for the first four or so years lily was at hogwarts, then a blank period, and then unsent letters from lily to petunia. explores the relationship between lily and petunia, with some flashback sequences that worked out a little different than canon because harry is a girl (minor interpersonal drama, most of it is canon compliant - e.g. the cho thing becomes lesbian harry having confusing feelings for a straight girl who definitely doesn't reciprocate).

harry is a girl, voldemort decides that neville must be the child in the prophecy. frank and alice go into hiding and die for their son instead of lily and james (the betrayal etc is a bit different since frank doesn't have the marauders, but what has been prophesied will happen in some way). james and lily don't go into hiding, james is killed in a battle a few months before the end of the war, dumbledore takes a serious curse in the same battle, similar to the cursed ring effect, but slower. lily starts teaching at hogwarts after the war, and when neville is about five, dumbledore realizes that he might not live long enough for neville to come to hogwarts. he decides to move in with augusta and help raise neville. through plot reasons, lily becomes headmistress of hogwarts.

hermione decides, after first being nearly killed by a troll and then being nearly killed by a basilisk, that magical britain is run by morons and she can do a better job. hermione attempting to take over britain (and get rid of voldemort along the way) with a guerilla force of muggleborn witches ensues.

Oh i think i remember you, you were the person i had that conversation with about how Harry being a girl might change the plot especially his treatment at the Dursleys and his relationship with Petunia (which could go worse in some ways or better in others), right? Ok i'll give you my opinion! Please take it with a grain of salt though, i'm not really a fanfiction reader so my viewpoint doesn't really count.

I'm a fan of gender-bending as a concept, but that being said i do not really see a story here because the two threads don't seem connected. Like on one hand you have Harry-Harriet?- and how she relates to Petunia/Lily, maybe some angst there. On the other, Harry being a lesbian and falling in love with a straight girl, which feels more romcom-y and at least imo is… not as interesting. I mean, it's a *cute* idea but imo you're not going to go far with it because a) Harry's attachment to Cho in the books is very immature by design (and when it becomes angsty it's because DEAD BOY CEDRIC keeps them connected; awkward!), b) generally speaking i think it's tough to effectively turn a straight boy story into a lesbian girl story without radically changing a lot of things. Lesbians just will not make the same friends, will not develop the same interests, etc. I find it hard for some reason to believe a lesbian girl version of Harry would be into Cho (who strikes me as a girly-girl whose attractive qualities for a straight boy would NOT be so for a girl), but i only have my experience so it's hard to judge, and ofc everyone is different, but idk. Imo she would fall for a friend. I feel like Ginny is still a valid endgame.

That i find more interesting because we are in the thick of it immediately, boom, the story changes because Voldemort is sexist. Well of course he is! However i'm not sold on the rest because i don't care that much for Neville (sorry Neville). If you give me a story where Harry is a girl i want her to be the focus!

10/10

[sovereignsimmer]

The Best Neighborhoods in The Sims 4

Ever wondered where your Sims should call home in The Sims 4? I sure have! Those pesky loading screens can be a real pain, so I went on a quest to find the perfect neighborhoods. Whether you're all about rabbit holes, street stalls, or free-range exploration, I've got your back. Here's the list of the best neighborhoods in The Sims 4, considering the activities available outside of the lot boundaries.

1. All Neighborhoods in Henford-on-Bagley - The Ultimate Playground

If you're after the most action without loading screens, Henford-on-Bagley is where it's at. This charming locale is packed with NPCs offering small quests, excellent swimming and fishing spots, and tons of plant and mushroom spawns. In Finchwick, you'll find bustling market stalls and vibrant village fairs. It's a shopper's paradise. In Bramblewood, you can interact with the creature keeper and embark on exciting quests for adventure-seeking Sims.

2. Plumbite Cove, Copperdale

For those of us who want variety without the hassle of loading screens, Plumbite Cove in Copperdale is a dream come true. This neighborhood offers a stunning beach, an amusement park, prime fishing spots, and cool teen hangouts. It almost feels like an open-world experience.

3. Senbamachi, Mt. Komorebi

Senbamachi in Mt. Komorebi is perfect for those who love the great outdoors. With hiking trails, festivals, and plenty of interactive objects, it's a nature lover's delight, especially if you have the Seasons expansion. This neighborhood offers a lovely blend of culture and natural beauty.

4. Moonwood Mill

If you're into all things supernatural like me, you'll love Moonwood Mill. This werewolf-packed world is brimming with semi-open world adventures. From lakeside swimming and fishing to mysterious underground tunnels and the wolf packs' hangouts, it's an action-packed locale. And guess what? You can forage for all sorts of goodies right on your home lot. No more annoying loading screens interrupting your fun!

5. Gibbs Hill, Britechester

Surprisingly, the main neighborhood of the university world in Britechester is bustling with life. There are swimming and fishing spots, occasional street stalls, and a variety of outdoor activities. Whether you're hitting the books or exploring, there's something for every Sim here.

6. Mua Pel'am, Sulani

If you're playing as a merfolk, Mua Pel'am in Sulani is the place to be. It's a natural paradise with fantastic swimming and fishing, scuba diving, and hidden underwater caves. The environmental story progression here is a unique treat. But fair warning, it's a bit secluded, which could be just what you're looking for.

For Occults?

Vampires: Although Forgotten Hollow feels like the natural choice for vampires due to the lack of direct sunlight, the world is super small and boring. Consider Henford-on-Bagley if you have Seasons, as it's often cloudy or rainy. Windenburg is another option for the same reason, however, the neighborhoods in Windenburg do not offer as many open-world gameplay opportunities.

Merfolk: All the neighborhoods I mentioned earlier are perfect for merfolk, with their open swimming areas and enchanting waters.

Witches, Aliens, and Ghosts: Thanks to Glimmerstone and direct teleportation to the magic realm, witches can thrive in any neighborhood without limitations. Aliens and Ghosts have no specific requirements so anywhere is fair game, really.

Werewolves: For those interested in exploring the pack system, Moonwood Mill is the place to be. I wish we, the players, could create and designate our own pack hangouts in any other world though.

What are your ideas? What other neighborhoods - not worlds - do you think are the best places to live in The Sims 4? Share in the comments! Your insights and recommendations are highly valued, and I'm excited to learn from your in-game experiences and discover new, exciting places for our Sims to call home.

[dualiti-real]

OC-tober Day 4: Re-Design

ok so I know it's no longer day 4 but I had a good reason and that was I had to actually draw something for this day instead of just posting old unused art, Ill try and get the others out because even if I miss the days the prompts help me get info out lol

MORE UNDER CUT

It's Grimm! I've posted some art of Grimm before, (he often got some of my most detailed artworks on my art blog @sp00ky-doodles) and recently, I had been going "man, I don't like something about this design."

(this is the old one. It's honestly not bad, there are many things I really like and kept- mostly it was just the face that was bugging me.)

So basically I dedicated a bunch of time in my sketchbook to drawing him a bunch in various slightly different ways until I found something I liked. turned out the answer was to give him an emo haircut haha

I also finally actually gave him ears and a nose. which for some reason I didn't give him when I first designed him. he looks better with them honestly I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. also I made his cloak a bit cooler because I am not immune to putting buckles and belts and zippers on everything I can.

anyway time for some Grimm Fun Facts!!

Grimm is a generally very laid-back person. he likes quiet environments and tasks that keep him busy.

due to a magic-related incident in his youth, Grimm has a bunch of extra weird arms that come out of a hole in his back. when he was younger he was freaked out by them, but he's gotten used to them. they're useful for carrying extra things.

Grimm is a Hunter, which is basically a Dualiti-exclusive variant of the undead that the main villain of Dualiti, Laurel, can make people into and control (think zombies but mostly sentient and strong as hell). he mostly uses them as soldiers, but due to the static nature of Dualiti, (not really able to go anywhere else, really only fighting the same people) most of Laurel's hunters are just sort of chilling. In Grimm's case, he's been around since Dualiti's force field went up like 1000 years ago and has no interest in fighting anyone.

this doesn't mean he isn't strong, though. he's a really powerful swordsman. Like crazy over the top anime levels. however as previously mentioned he is completely uninterested in fighting.

instead he spends most of his time maintaining a very large botanical garden area in some remote part of Dualiti. It gives him something to do, and plants are neat.

He's Vex's brother! they don't talk.

He was formerly part of the initial adventuring party that tried to stop Laurel back in the day, but a lot of things went wrong. like. a lot. he doesn't want to talk about it. he doesn't want to talk to anyone really.

The Society of Science (Scientific institution in Dualiti) actually uses the place to get any plants they may need for experiments, so there are some scientists who are also living in the garden in order to monitor some of the plants. they do not know Grimm is there, because Grimm avoids just about anyone who comes into the garden.

It's easy for him to do this because the garden is very big. If you want a visual reference for the garden itself, look at the Queens Gardens from Hollow Knight. I love that area in the game it's so pretty

Most people don't know Grimm is here and think the place is haunted. and maybe it is :)

Hidden deep in the heart of the garden is the grave of someone very dear to him. don't disturb it, okay?

[swirlmup]

Get ready lads, it’s a double feature this time for scene art made by moi!

First scene is the opening, and was my first assignment for this episode. I hadn’t gotten the chance to draw tyrian or hazel yet in my works for this series, so I really wanted to amend that by doing some villain work. However, shortly after beginning work on this scene, I had to put it on hold to work on the later scene which I’ll talk about later.

A redesign was done by one of our artists for Salem’s castle, heavily modeled after the emerald city in the wizard of oz, and I went off the art they did for drawing it.

Lots of people caught on to the presence of others at the castle! I’m so pleased when people pay attention -w- Basically they’re followers of Salem, and are the staff who inhabit and maintain the castle for Salem and her crew. You know, doing all the menial shit like storing the airship, cooking, cleaning, searching their mail, all that jazz. Hey, it’s a castle, and a castle has gotta have servants, right?

I wanted to sketch the characters in a more detailed way for this scene, I didn’t feel like copping out with one of my simpler art styles, even if it would’ve been slightly faster. Although I was still having to work pretty fast, so even these sketches aren’t as polished as I would’ve liked. xD I got put on this episode a week before it was due to come out(my own doing since I requested the scene), but even so I had confidence in myself I could get it done in time.

the heights are a little scuffed whenever Hazel’s on screen. He’s 8 feet tall, and technically should be even bigger next to mercury and emerald than he is here, but in the interest of easier framing and not having to shrink them just to fit their proper heights all together, I played it a little loosey-goosey and allowed the other characters to essentially stand on apple boxes when needed.

Drawing Tyrian being a creep is so fun~ I love creepy characters~ I saved drawing Tyrian for last, Emerald before him, Mercury before Emerald, and I drew Hazel first in all the frames. I wanted to make sure I was primed for drawing Tyrian, since his face is a complex shape.

Drawing such an exagerated, sparkle-eyed expression for Tyrian was also super fun. xD I wanted to match the rough sketch I made for this scene as closely as possible, which was sorta more spongebob-esque? it was this lmao

truly a lovely face for a lovely place.

Anyways, I was also glad I saved Emerald for one of the last characters I drew, since her design has a lot of intricate details. Her guns I 100% half-assed though lol, I figured if I could make them vaguely convincing then it’d be fine.

I had to think carefully about Tyrian’s approach in this scene. Whether he would cut his cheek like he does in canon, whether he walks forward to cut his shoulder, or grabbing it like he does here. In the end I decided him grabbing her blade and cutting his hand was more malicious, especially since he’s in the middle of lecturing Emerald about the importance of not spilling blood on Salem’s hollowed ground. It’s like he’s purposefully trying to create an excuse for himself to hurt Emerald, consequence-free. In addition, it communicated strongly the amount of control that Tyrian had over the situation, even with Emerald brandishing her weapons, she has no power over him.

I always loved this scene in canon!! i’ve been an emerald/mercury stan since the two were introduced, so i gotta appreciate the little breadcrumbs as they come lol

this frame is actually pretty accurate in terms of the height different between tyrian and hazel. tyrian be a toll man

prancing tyrian~ it was about this frame that i really began to understand the sort of character tyrian was when drawing him. in that he’s like a preacher for a cult who was also given liberal permission with a knife.

not much to say about this shot. it’s nice that there’s an airship landing pad at salem’s castle and a direct entrance from there lol.

Now the second scene I worked on! I actually wasn’t assigned this scene, but an emergency came up where the artist who was originally supposed to do this scene just wasn’t available anymore. This was a cowabummer, because it was actually one of the most important scenes in the episode and had been listed as high priority. Seeing the distress and emergency of the situation, I put my first scene on hold and volunteered myself to take over the jaune and saphron scene, presented celtic with the finished rough sketches first thing in the morning.

Since speed was once again the #1 priority, I opted for a simpler and looser style. However, I didn’t fall fully into my old stickman style, and instead ventured to create something of a new iteration on that style? My art has been pushing towards smaller/more realistic facial features, and I started wanting my stickman style to reflect that somewhat.

I went through a couple different iterations of this frame before I decided it would be best if it was shot from the other side of the door. I was having issues illustrating both jaune sitting down and saphron standing and looking after ruby in the same shot, as well as showing saphron’s worried expression. In the first iterations I favored putting the camera over on Jaune’s side and letting him take up most of the frame, but I like this positioning much better.

This was kinda tricky to draw. I don’t normally draw characters rubbing their brows to communicate weariness, so it was an interesting challenge. Although it turned out more of a forehead rub than a brow rub, lol

I love it when I can be economical with my art, and a single drawing can last for an entire exchange.

serious jaune making a serious face, fighting back against the dark of saphron’s realism, oh yeah.

I may not be very good at drawing people in foreshortened poses, but i still think it’s fun xD I like how tender this moment between Jaune and Saphron is, she gives off such kind big-sister vibes, and Jaune takes her advice seriously.

And that covers it for this episode! Thanks so much for reading, and I look forward to seeing you all the next time there’s art to share for Fixing RWBY!

Toodaloo!

[therealdesastrffxiv]

My Thoughts on 6.5! (Note: Spoilers.)

Hey everyone :)

A little background on me - I'm a new player as of late Shadowbringers from World of Warcraft. I know, I know! A scary WoW player. Rest assured, I'm a roleplayer, and not an elitist. I did like PvE content in WoW, but I prefer story building and roleplay. I'm an author, after all!

Anyhow, with that in mind, I admittedly wasn't a huge fan of 6.5 MSQ. What was intriguing about the 6.x series was how Zero's character was challenging the notion of voidsent being just evil in the MSQ. We've seen instances in side content where this is the case, and in fact emphasized - a lot of All Saint's Wake stuff comes to mind (speaking of which, where's the info on it for this year? I'm dying to know!). However, in this instance, Zero's story in my personal opinion really did not end well at all. It was the typical 'defeat dark with light' and 'cure the void'. We went from a half-voidsent hero with a cool, unique aesthetic to just another paladin. I don't mind stories where a darker character goes lighter... in a vacuum. When it's repeated over and over and never in the reverse, to show the 'dark' stuff can be used for good too, though, it gets SUPER old. Why can't we have a paladin/light user switch to 'dark magic' and be a hero? (I know it happens a lot in side content, but I'd want to see it as a highlight of a story for once.) The "Warrior of Darkness" thing they did in Shadowbringers was super neat! But it was, all in all, in TITLE only, not actual lore. The Warrior of Light/Darkness didn't switch unless it's your OC lore that it happened.

All in all, I was disappointed. Any nuance she had went out the window with that generic, predictable ending, and Golbez's arc was waaaay too rushed to be satisfying at all. One could argue he's the 'good void user' or something, but I honestly don't buy it. Meanwhile, Zero's character design changed greatly too. I rolled my eyes hardcore while her scythe broke. Sigh. Plus, what happened to Zero's camp where she was helping voidsent? Voidsent not (as) aggressive? I wanted to see more of them and help them... with Zero (before she became a paladin). They just... left that there. No closure at all. Ugh. One could say everyone there was killed by Barbariccia but i thought they were all freed once she was slain?

Anyway, I was told 6.5 was a callback to FFIV or something, but I've not played any other games and have no interest in doing so. FFXIV has my interest and the reliance on nostalgia in stories is kinda meh. I dunno. Maybe these portions of the game aren't for me, but it's just... disappointing. It doesn't make it a good story. To me, it just wasn't.

(For WoW fans - the story reminded me of Calia & Lothraxion. Somewhat of the blood elf story as well. I'd say Lightforged Draenei, but they're not the dark to light trope so much as just fanatical light users.)

I liked the Myths of the Realm better, but I've seen the community voicing their distaste for what happened, and while I actually enjoy a huge chunk of it, the ending left me feeling very hollow. I've figured out why that is now, too.

I think one of my 'dislikes' even if I like the overarching story of the Myths of the Realm is that we just met everyone, and they all left. I sort of wish it was more 'hey we need a break, can you help us so we can take it? We want to become normal mortals for a little while and learn more about the world in person'. While remaining the gods and gathering power again so they can help more effectively.

I dunno. That would have been a more satisfying ending for me as opposed to them all essentially dying and leaving us with… no gods. It just feels really sad that after all these near world-ending exterminations, now the gods leave. I understand why - they need a break. But yeah… I kinda wish it was done that way 😭 Because I hate meeting a character, loving that character, seeing personification of very powerful entities… and having to say goodbye right away. It just feels really sad. I guess that's the point, but yeah.

I don't mind they were originally people and morphed by beliefs, but I also wish there were hints that peoples' faith were forming new gods (that again - would retain personalities and humble-ness stuff.)

Because after thinking about it for some time, it just feels kinda sad that they're needed the most now, after the world was nearly exterminated, and now they're saying goodbye :s It feels like now more than ever is the perfect time for them to do what they'd understood they should be doing for the world and helping people.

Alternatively, choosing new gods/passing the baton onto someone to help. Choosing your own fate is great and all, but with many people being faith-based (something I don't see as a bad thing - but I'm polytheistic irl) it would have felt better. I would have really enjoyed this option, it could have started a new era and still upheld the faith of the people of Etheirys. To include the tribal deities as well, as opposed to just strictly putting down peoples' primals.

Anyhow. Endwalker had its ups and downs to me. I don't hate it, it was the first expansion I played through with everyone else, after all. Ultima Thule was interesting, I wish we saw more of it. Hated Garlemald at first, but then the sidequests and RP with my friend really opened my eyes and showed me far more nuance with them in general, which was neat. The ending boss was lackluster, and I thought Zodiark was being built to be a WAY bigger threat than he was.

I know it's trendy to hate on Endwalker, and that's not what I'm trying to do. I'm just sharing my thoughts on why the postpatch story felt really off and disappointing to me. I left WoW Shadowlands because of the horrible, abysmal lore. I really hope FFXIV doesn't take that path, and Dawntrail is treated better.

We're going into it with some rushed, 'tied up loose ends' and a favorite part of the game for me with much intrigue (the void) essentially 'to be fixed fine and dandy' or something. I dunno... it just... meh. It does remind me of my disappointment with Shadowlands, and just how horrible that was fucked up, but not as badly, at least.

FFXIV has the benefit of housing for RP though, and me and my RP partner taking our own paths in the story with super intricate plotlines, so there is that. A lot of the side quest content has been phenomenal even if MSQ has let me down bigtime lately. I still love this game and will be playing it. After all, I need to grind PotD and get my Necromancer title on one of my OCs. That...and grind a bunch of my alts up through EW. I know, I'm a crazy alta-holic.

Oh! I will mention one thing I did like about the postpatch EW story though. The dragon, and Vtra being reunited with his sister. That was pretty neat, I did like that. Super cute, and lovely. Good riddance to Zero who I originally adored and was intrigued by, and who now is just another paladin. Hello to a new dragon friend, I guess.

Edit: Also, I probably am coming across as someone who just 'hates the light'. I don't, and think it can be cool to depict either fire or warmth in the light, and the 'light at the end of the tunnel', but when it's repeated over and over as 'the light will defeat the evil darkness' in common media including beyond FFXIV, it just gets tiresome. Again, I'm coming from WoW, which is another game utterly notorious for doing that. We also see it in D&D. It's a common trope in FFXIV in general and I adore seeing signs that hey, maybe this portion of the story will break it, only to be disappointed.

At least we got to see Sin Eaters as bad in ShB. Hell, I'd even like to see some sin eaters take the lore-route of voidsent - some being good, some being bad. It sucks that there currently isn't any lore for that right now, so in that case, I would like to see some nuance and development there, because it'd be really cool to see variants in that aspect too. Trust me, I wish for the 'I hope the extreme end of this can be good as well' too.

[celebritieswithemmab]

What is Robert Pattinsons "Little Pillow"?

Photo from MEL

And, most importantly, how did Robert Pattinson attempt to monetize it?

In the midst of lock-down, when nobody (including celebrities) had anything to do, Robert Pattinson was stranded with nothing but three t-shirts and access to a little corner store. He was supposed to be temporarily staying in a London flat during the filming of Batman, which he starred in (as Batman). Yet in the wake of COVID-19 closures across the globe, he had been stranded with little food other than what the producers would send him according to his regulated Batman diet. Attempting to make productive use of his time, Pattinson decided to try a business concept he had come up with the prior year. He had recognized a gap in the market for fast-food pasta, and says that he “...was trying to figure out how to capitalize in this area of the market, and [he] was trying to think: How do you make a pasta which you can hold in your hand?” Let's not speculate on if this question should ever be answered, or the grammar in which it was asked. Because Pattinson attempted to answer it, and I think we can agree it would have been better off left as a concept rather than a tangible object.

Photo from Glamour

Behold: Piccolini Cuscino

(Italian for "Little Pillow")

According to GQ, at the start of his entrepreneurship journey, "he went so far as to design a prototype that involved the use of a panini press, and then... set up a meeting with Los Angeles restaurant royalty Lele Massimini." This meeting had little success, and Massimini was, thankfully, unimpressed.

Back in 2019, my dad had an idea to create brownie-ice-cream popsicles. He created a ton of prototype batches, much to the enjoyment of my brother and I. His idea was, I can assure you, much tastier and a much more viable concept. So how come he never got a meeting with Los Angeles restaurant royalty? Because he never played the sparkly, blood-lusted love interest in a teen film.

When you have the sort of stardom that comes from helping create over 300 million dollars in profit, you have a lot working for you. You have an insurance to these types of connections. Fortunately, for the good of society, these connections don't ensure a product launch.

Pattinsons unsuccessful meeting in 2019 did, sadly, not deter him from further cuisine pursuits in 2020. In May of 2020, he recreated this pasta phenomenon in his interview with QC magazine. After reading the instructions for creating one of these Picconolo Cuscino dishes, I'm sure you'll agree the world is left much better without it.

Do not try this at home.

Ingredients:

breadcrumbs or cornflakes

pre-sliced cheese

tomato sauce

pasta

half a burger bun

sugar

Other items:

lighter

aluminum foil

microwave

latex gloves

Directions:

Put on gloves (it's about to get messy)

2. Cover pasta with water in a bowl and microwave for 8 minutes.

3. While cooking, create a bowl-shape out of aluminum foil, and cover with crushed up cornflakes or breadcrumbs.

4. Cover with sugar.

5. Place cheese slices on top

Allegedly, Pattinson used nine packs of cheese for this.

6. and then cover with more sugar.

“It really needs a sugar crust,” -Robert Pattinson

7. Cover with tomato sauce.

8. When pasta is finished microwaving, dump it on top of your creation.

At this point, Pattinson says there is "...absolutely no chance this is gonna work. Absolutely none,” But keep going anyways.

9. Pour more sugar on top of the pasta.

10. Hollow out your half of the burger bun, and place it on top.

Before this next step, take off your latex gloves. Pattinson didn't, and it did not go well.

11. Take your lighter and burn a fun design onto the top for aesthetic quality points.

Robert says “I’m just gonna do the initials.…” meaning P.C., for Piccolini Cuscino. The interviewer, Zach Baron, at GQ, says "at this point, he accidentally ignites one of his latex gloves, which promptly melts onto his palm." So take extra caution. This part could hurts

12. Wrap your pasta concoction in more aluminum foil, creating a type of ball.

13. Place the pasta ball in the microwave for ten minutes.

At this point, if you've done this correctly, the microwave should shark, catch on fire, and shut down the electricity, just as it did in the GQ interview.

I don't recommend eating. Robert Pattinson didn't. He figured it was best left ignored, and thats precisely what he did.

He says, “I’m really trying to sell this company... I’m doing this for my brand.”

As of 2024, there have been no official mentions of a Piccolini Cuscino fast-food business. Let's hope there never are.