#this is a great screenshot without the background

[gothamundernightlight]

Random Shit the Waynes Do on Social Media

Dick:

- The white whale of D1 and Olympic gymnastics athletes; always stitches their stunts and challenges, executing them perfectly, but no one knows who he is or who trained him

- Shares pictures of random children, and the whole internet becomes a detective trying to figure out if Bruce Wayne adopted another kid or if his gymnastics students won another trophy

- Photo montages of Haley being the cutest, which slowly transitions into Haley in whatever cute hat the internet can send to Dick’s PO Box

- Random video of him skydiving while giving tips on what to do if your chute doesn’t deploy. He never deploys his chute doing the video and no one can tell if it’s a bit or not.

Jason:

- AI Voiceover text posts providing surprisingly insightful analysis into classic literature

- A full six part rant on the Broadway adaptation of “The Great Gatsy”

- Random selfies complete with wildly made up backstories of any and every new injury he has

- Prank war on Damian specifically (this was intended for Talia but his finger slipped and now the whole internet loves it)

Tim:

- Randomly goes live to do study/work/research with me sessions complete with an actually decent Lofi soundtrack that no one can find (He totally mixes it himself but won’t admit it)

- Did ONE social media vlog for WE’s marketing division and it went so viral he gets forced to do more. The dead eyed stare he gives the camera with every stupid dance the intern teaches him makes the video top-tier

- Cute couples videos with Bernard

- Skateboard tricks (and fails)

- Screenshots of text conversations between him and his siblings discussing the most random shit??

Cass:

- Dance routines/pre-show/GRWM videos

- Shakily filmed videos of her kicking Dick’s ass and everyone just calls her a baddie in the comments. She doesn’t know what that means but she appreciates the love.

- Her and Steph’s late night food runs with the two of them just belting out to a song in a dark parking lot

Steph:

- Posts riddles and puzzles and how to solve them. She’s really good at it. Riddler hates her.

- Apartment tour of all the purple shit she owns. She’ll never admit that the room she’s showing off is her Wayne Manor bedroom, so everyone believes she just has a moderately sized loft apartment somewhere and she just never shows the kitchenette

- Her and Cass’s late night food runs with the two of them just belting out to a song in a dark parking lot

- POV shots of her going up to the boys asking them random questions. Dick matches her energy. Jason tells her to fuck off. Tim is barely conscious. Damian always has an overly rational answer to take the fun out of it. Duke just stares blankly at her (he always comes back later with a proper answer now that he’s had time to think about it). Bruce just stares blankly at her

Damian:

- Art reveals that never get many views but he’s still proud of nonetheless. Dick always comments on them to hype him up

- Accidentally recreates a popular vine that went viral and it’s just him insulting fellow GA kids under his breath but one of them says hi to him and he’s instantly polite back. His most popular video

- The multi-part experiment of him trying to Pavlov Tim, and when it actually works, Tim just chases Damian around the manor. The video cuts to black frames after Tim takes a flying launch at him

- All the pet videos. There are so many. People try to cancel him for exploiting them, but Damian clearly demonstrates that he would never force his animals to participate for views and how they will just leave if they don’t want to do something. Batcow is in the background just two-stepping unprompted

Duke:

- Every morning without fail, he posts a daily sunrise pic of Gotham, with a positive affirmation caption. One day he’s sick and he wakes up to a thousand messages of people panicking because their favorite poster has disappeared. He never misses a sunrise again

- Passionate rants about local government. Will not shut up about it. He might be an anarchist, but he’s forever remain optimistic that one day the systems that define society will one day actually work for all people. Bruce has every single one saved so he can implement Duke’s ideas into reality

- Boxing videos of him training with Luke. It’s never meant to be a thirst trap…but sometimes it is

- Dumb selfies. Duke unironically loves taking them, no matter what face he pulls, what filter he uses, not even caring where he is. This gets him in trouble the one time he posts one of him leaning off the edge of a high rise roof

Babs:

- Constant lectures on cybersecurity and internet safety. She teaches this at the library as a volunteer but feels she can reach a lot of people by building a platform

- Computer build stuff. Brands reach out to her for her reviews and she thoroughly discusses each product in length

- Rarely posts about her disability, but absolutely tears people to shreds when they make ableist comments about her. The only time she brings it up first is when City Hall takes over a month to fix their elevator and she calls them out on it

Harper:

- Electronics repairs. She constantly takes things apart to teach people how to fix it, and this can range from toys to cars. On more than one occasion , her video has been interrupted by someone who planned to be using the vehicle she’s just taken apart

- 2 AM hair dye/maintenance sessions. She constantly gets comments from men being like “Therapy works too, y’know” or “No, you’re so beautiful? Why would you do that to yourself.” She responds to the comments with a video of a gun pointed at the camera with the sole caption being “Fuck Off.”

- Gym videos. She and Dick work out together and he’s the ultimate hype man

- Outfit montages of her getting ready for a random gala and she’s always pulling off the most masc-looking suits that look gorgeous on her

Helena:

- Target practice. She does all kinds of trick shots and crazy crossbow stunts in a wide variety of outfits. Her most popular video is of her in a corset and platform heels.

- Her and Steph bonding over all things purple

- Outfit of the Day posts. The girl has expensive tastes and she absolutely shows it off.

Bruce:

- Occasionally does promo stuff for WE (because Tim refuses to do all of it, and their social media intern won’t back down)

- Shares absolutely wild stories from his college years that somehow always get proven to be true even when the whole comments section is just like “this seems false???”

- Kid tour. He saw one mom do it and felt sad bc he’s never get the kids to agree, but somehow they all did (Alfred bribed them.)

- Shares everything from each one of the charities he’s involved with. Has reposted every single one of their posts on his own personal channel. It raises them hundreds of followers each time.

- One of the kids posted a video montage of Bruce being Brucie and it’s so utterly humiliating? But he won’t delete it because all of the comments say he’s their favorite billionaire and that’s more than his own kids will say.

- Random Pride Month post. Every year it catches people by surprise and every gossip magazine always wonders if Bruce is coming out. He’s just being an ally (and potentially is in denial).

Alfred:

- Prefers not to use social media, but one of the boys filmed him doing random things to teach the internet how to do things properly, like making the bed, doing laundry, etc. Is the internet’s favorite grandpa.

[vyxated]

[ReShade 5.1+] Hide CAS UI & More

Unlike build mode & live mode, there's no shortcut to hide CAS UI, which is much needed for taking screenshots with Reshade. With this ShaderToggler add-on (made by Frans Bouma/Otis_inf), you can easily hide the UI! This guide will cover how to install the add-on and showcase its features.

If you find this useful, do share the word around! All I ask is that you link back here if you want to share outside of tumblr :-)

📌 UPDATE 19/09/2024: updated both DX9 and DX11 files to fix the hide CAS BG & mirror toggles. Please redownload.

How it works:

One of the features of this add-on is the ability to toggle on/off in-game shaders: UI, geometry, post-processing effects, and more (not reshade shaders). You do that by putting certain shaders together into a group which you can then toggle on/off. This is quite useful for CAS shots as you can't hide the UI when you use ReShade/GShade (unlike build/live mode where you can simply press tab). 

This add-on is made by Frans Bouma/Otis_inf so huge credit to him as without this add-on this wouldn’t be possible.

Keep in mind that this add-on doesn’t prevent shaders (bloom/dof/mxao) from affecting the UI, it just hides the UI shader from view. This, along with a shader like ChromaKey/DepthAlpha that allows for transparent backgrounds, makes a great duo! No more cropping to exclude the arrows and editing out the background manually 🙌 (unfortunately alpha hair suffers a bit from it.)

What you’ll get by the end of this post:

A ShaderToggler.ini file that will hide CAS UI elements with the option to either leave the sim/trait icons and trait selections intact for posing your sims, or hide everything except for your sim. Great for taking close-up shots.

There'll also be a toggle to hide infant pillow in CAS, hide CAS BGs & mirrors, and hide camera UI when your sim is taking a selfie/picture in-game.

// ReShade/GShade requirement:

For Reshade users: tested on Reshade 5.8.0 (w/ full add-on support), but it should be compatible with ReShade 5.1+.

For GShade users: 

To check if your GShade supports add-ons: check the ReShade version it's based on in the shader notification at startup, similar to the menu here (GShade x.x based on ReShade x.x). You can also check in the reshade panel and see if there's a menu for add-ons.

📂 DOWNLOAD .ini file:

SimFileShare / Google Drive

🆕 DX9 & DX11 support

ShaderToggler.ini : DX9 version

ShaderToggler_DX11.ini : DX11 version

// Installation:

First, make sure that you have the correct ReShade with full add-on support!

Grab the add-on from this github release. For non-legacy players, grab _v121.zip. For legacy players, grab _x86_101.zip

Extract the ShaderToggler.addon file into the game’s \Bin folder where your TS4.exe/TS4_64.exe is (where you had also installed ReShade/GShade).

Still in the \Bin folder, drop the ShaderToggler.ini file you downloaded. You’ll end up with both ShaderToggler.addon and ShaderToggler.ini in the same folder as TS4.exe/Reshade.ini.

The .ini file should be named ShaderToggler.ini for the add-on to recognize it and the toggle groups to show up. If you downloaded the DX11 version, remove the _DX11 suffix.

If you’re a GShade user: there’s a folder called gshade-addons; this is where you should place the ShaderToggler.addon file. Just move the add-on from the \Bin folder to the folder mentioned and you’re good. If this doesn't work, keep it in the \Bin folder.

Open up your game. If you see the add-on & list of toggle groups in the Add-ons tab, then you’ve successfully installed the add-on & settings! Restart if needed.

// Shortcuts (Updated):

Toggle main CAS UI (traits & trait selections excluded): Ctrl+ ]

Toggle sim/trait icons & trait selections: Ctrl + [

Toggle pillow for infants: Ctrl + ; (semicolon)

Toggle camera UI when sim is taking pic/selfie: Ctrl+ ' (apostrophe)

Toggle CAS BG mesh: Alt + ]

Toggle mirrors: Alt + [

Previews:

in CAS:

Hide CAS BG & mirror reflections:

in Live mode (for Camera):

note: you can use the hide pillow toggle to hide the phone object.

🆕 in Build/Buy mode, use caps lock to hide the lot outlines:

// FAQ

Issue: add-on works, but the list of toggle groups doesn't show up.

This is likely caused by my config (.ini) file not being installed correctly. Put the .ini file where the TS4.exe file is, which is under the /Bin folder.

Issue: Add-on failed to load with error code 193.

This is caused by downloading the incorrect addon file. If you're a non-legacy (x64) player and downloaded the x86 addon file, you will encounter the error. Download the right version (_v121.zip) and that should fix the error.

Issue: everything shows up & are installed correctly, but the toggle groups don't have any effect/hide the UI.

This issue only happens if you installed Reshade/Gshade and selected Vulkan/DXVK. You need to select DirectX 9 or DirectX 11 instead for it to work.

tagging @thefoxburyinstitute :-)

[acealistair]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard GameInformer Article Transcribed

I saw some people lamenting that they had no way to read the GameInformer article, and while MVP dalishious posted screenshots of the article here, I figured that might be a little difficult to read, plus people with screen readers can't read it of course. So I've gone ahead and transcribed it! Full thing below the cut!

As a note, I transcribed it without correcting any typos, capitalization errors, etc. that the article itself had (as much as it pained me, omg the author capitalizes so many things that shouldn't be and vice versa). There may be some typos on my part as I did this as quickly as I could, so apologies in advance for any you might encounter.

I have also created a plot-spoiler-free version of the article for those who would like to learn more about the mechanics of the game without learning more plot info than they want!

Throughout my research and preparation for a trip to BioWare’s Edmonton, Canada, office for this cover story, I kept returning to the idea that its next game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly subtitled Dreadwolf) is releasing at a critical moment for the storied developer. The previous installment, Dragon Age: Inquisition, hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC a decade ago. It was the win BioWare needed, following the 2012 release of Mass Effect 3 with its highly controversial and (for many) disappointing ending. Inquisition launched two years later, in 2014, to rave reviews and, eventually, various Gameo the Year awards, almost as if a reminder of what the studio was capable of.

Now, in 2024, coincidentally, the next Dragon Age finds itself in a similar position. BioWare attempted a soft reboot of Mass Effect with Andromeda in 2017, largely seen as a letdown among the community, and saw its first live-service multiplayer attempt in 2019’s Anthem flounder in the tricky waters of the genre; it aimed for a No Man’s Sky-like turnaround with Anthem Next, but that rework was canceled in 2021. Like its predecessor, BioWare’s next Dragon Age installment is not only a new release in a beloved franchise, but is another launch with the pressure of BioWare’s prior misses; a game fans hope will remind them the old BioWare is still alive today.

“Having been in this industry for 25 years, you see hits and misses, and it’s all about building off of those hits and learning from those misses,” BioWare general manager Gary McKay, who’s been with the studio since January 2020, tells me.

As McKay gives me a tour of the office, I can’t help but notice how much Anthem is scattered around it. More than Mass Effect, more than Dragon Age, there’s a lot of Anthem - posters, real-life replicas of its various Javelins, wallpaper, and more. Recent BioWare news stories tell of leads and longtime studio veterans laid off and others departing voluntarily. Veilguard’s development practically began with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. When I ask McKay about the tumultuousness of BioWare and how he, as the studio manager, makes the team feel safe in the product it’s developing, he says it’s about centering on the creative vision. “[When] we have that relentless pursuit for quality, and we have passion and people in the right roles, a lot of the other stuff you’re talking about just fades into the background.”

That’s a sentiment echoed throughout the team I speak to: Focus on what makes a BioWare game great and let Veilguard speak for itself. Though I had no expectations going in - it’s been 10 years since the last Drag Age, after all, and BioWare has been cagey about showing this game publicly - my expectations have been surpassed. This return to Thedas, the singular continent of the franchise, feels like both a warm welcome for returning fans and an impressive entry point for first-time players.

New Age, New Name

At the start of each interview, I address a dragon-sized elephant in the room with the game’s leads. What was Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is now Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Why?

“These games are reflections of the teams that make them, and as part of that, it means we learn a lot about what the heart and soul of the game really is as we’re developing it,” Veilguard game director Corinne Busche tells me. “We quickly learned and realized that the absolute beating heart of this game is these authentic, diverse companions. And when we took a step back, as we always do, we always check our decisions and make sure they still represent the game we’re trying to build.”

Dreadwolf no longer did that, but each member of BioWare I speak to tells me The Veilguard does. And while I was initially abrasive to the change - lore aside, Dreadwolf is simply a cool name - I warmed up to The Veilguard.

Solas, a Loki-esque trickster member of the Elven pantheon of gods known as the Dread Wolf, created the Veil long ago while attempting to free the elves from their slave-like status in Thedas. This Veil is a barrier between the magical Fade and Thedas, banishing Elven gods and removing Elven immortality from the world. But players didn’t know that in Inquisition, where he is introduced as a mage ally and companion. However, at the end of Inquisition’s Trespasser DLC, which sets the stage for Veilguard, we learn in a shocking twist that Solas wants to destroy the Veil and restore Elves to their former glory. However, doing so would bring chaos to Thedas, and those who call it home, the people who eventually become The Veilguard, want to stop him.

“There’s an analogy I like to use, which is, ‘If you want to carve an elephant out of marble, you just take a piece of marble and remove everything that doesn’t look like an elephant,’” Veilguard creative director John Epler says. “As we were building this game, it became really clear that it was less that we were trying to make The Veilguard and more like The Veilguard was taking shape as we built the game. Solas is still a central figure in it. He’s still a significant character. But really, the focus shifts to the team.

“[We] realized Dreadwolf suggests a title focused on a specific individual, whereas The Veilguard, much like Inquisition, focuses more on the team.”

Creating Your Rook

Veilguard’s character creator is staggeringly rich, with a dizzying number of customizable options. Busche tells me that inclusivity is at the heart of it, noting that she believes everyone can create someone who represents them on-screen.

There are four races to choose from when customizing Rook, the new playable lead - Elves, Qunari, Humans, and Dwarves - and hundreds of options to customize your character beyond that. You can select pronouns separately from gender and adjust physical characteristics like height, shoulder width, chest size, glute and bulge size, hip width, how bloodshot your eyes are, how crooked your nose is, and so much more. There must be hundreds of sliders to customize these body proportions and features like skin hue, tone, melanin, and just about anything else you might adjust on a character. Oh, and there’s nudity in Veilguard, too, which I learn firsthand while customizing my Rook.

“The technology has finally caught up to our ambition,” Dragon Age series art director Matt Rhodes tells me as we decide on my warrior-class Qunari’s backstory, which affects faction allegiance, in-game dialogue, and reputation standing - we choose the pirate-themed Lords of Fortune.

Notably, instead of a warrior class, we could have chosen mage or rogue. All three classes have unique specializations, bespoke skill trees, and special armors, too. And though our Rook is aligned with the Lords of Fortune faction, there are others to choose from including the Grey Wardens, Shadow Dragons, The Mourn Watch, and more. There is some flexibility in playstyle thanks to specializations, but your class largely determines the kind of actions you can perform in combat.

“Rook ascends because of competency, not because of a magical McGuffin,” BioWare core lead and Mass effect executive producer Michael Gamble tells me in contrast to Inquisition’s destiny-has-chosen-you-characterization.

“Rook is here because they choose to be, and that speaks to the kind of character that we’ve built.” Busche adds, “Someone needs to stop this, and Rook says, ‘I guess that’s me.’”

Beyond the on-paper greatness of this character creator, its customizability speaks to something repeated throughout my BioWare visit: Veilguard is a single-player, story-driven RPG. Or in other words, the type of game that made BioWare as storied as it is. McKay tells me the team explored a multiplayer concept early in development before scratching it to get back to BioWare basics. The final game will feature zero multiplayer and no microtransactions.

Happy to hear that, I pick our first and last name, then one of four voices, with a pitch shifter for each, too, and we’re off to Minrathous.

Exploring Tevinter For The First Time

Throughout the Dragon Age series, parts of Thedas are discussed by characters and referenced by lore material but left to the imagination of players as they can’t visit them. Veilguard immediately eschews this, setting its opening prologue mission in Minrathous, the capital of the  Tevinter Empire. Frankly, I’m blown away by how good it looks. It’s my first time seeing Veilguard in action and my first look at a Dragon Age game in nearly a decade. Time has treated this series well, and so has technology.

Epler, who’s coming up on 17 years at BioWare, acknowledges that the franchise has always been at the will of its engine. Dragon Age: Origins and II’s Eclipse Engine worked well for the time, but today, they show their age. Inquisition was BioWare’s first go at Ea’s proprietary Frostbite engine - mind you, an engine designed for first-person shooters and decidedly not multi-character RPGs - and the team struggled there, too. Epler and Busche agree Veilguard is the first RPG where BioWare feels fully in command of Frostbite and, more generally, its vision for this world.

We begin inside a bar. Rook and Varric are looking for Neve Gallus, a detective mage somewhere in Minrathous. The first thing players will do once Veilguard begins is select a dialogue option, something the team says speaks to their vision of a story-forward, choice-driven adventure. After a quick bar brawl cutscene that demonstrates Rook’s capabilities, there’s another dialogue choice, and different symbols here indicate the type of tone you can roll with. There’s a friendly, snarky, and rough-and-tough direct choice, and I later learn of a more romantically inclined “emotional” response. These are the replies that will build relationships with characters, romantic and platonic alike, but you’re welcome to ignore this option. However, your companions can romance each other, so giving someone the cold shoulder might nudge them into the warm embrace of another. We learn Neve is in Dumat Plaza and head into the heart of Minrathous.

Rhodes explains BioWare’s philosophy for designing this city harkens back to a quick dialogue from Inquisition’s Dorian Pavus. Upon entering Halamshiral’s Winter Palace, the largest venue in Dragon Age history at that point, Dorian notes that it’s cute, adorable even, alluding to his Tevinter heritage. If Dorian thinks the largest venue in Dragon Age history is cute and adorable, what must the place he’s from be like? “It’s like this,” Rhodes says as we enter Minrathous proper in-game.

Minrathous is huge, painted in magical insignia that looks like cyberpunk-inspired neon city signs and brimming with detail. Knowing it’s a city run by mages and built entirely upon magic, Rhodes says the team let its imagination run wild. The result is the most stunning and unique city in the series. Down a wide, winding pathway, there’s a pub with a dozen NPCs - Busche says BioWare used Veilguard’s character creator to make each in-world NPC except for specific characters like recruitable companions - and a smart use of verticality, scaling, and wayfinding to push us toward the main attraction: Solas, attempting to tear down the Veil.

All hell is breaking loose. Pride Demons are rampaging through the city. Considering Pride Demons were bosses in prior games, seeing them roaming freely in the prologue of Veilguard speaks to the stakes of this opener. Something I appreciate throughout our short journey through Minrathous to its center below is the cinematography at play. As a Qunari, my character stands tall, and Rhodes says the camera adjusts to ensure larger characters loom over those below. On the flip side, the camera adjusts for dwarves to demonstrate their smaller stature compared to those around them.

This, coupled with movie-liked movement through the city as BioWare showcases the chaos happening at the hands of Solas’ Veil-break ritual, creates a cinematic start that excited me, and I’m not even hands-on with the game.

Eventually, we reach Neve, who has angered some murderous blood mages, and rescue her from danger. Or rather, help… barely. Neve is quite capable, and her well-acted dialogue highlights that. Together, Varric, returning character Lace Harding, who is helping us stop Solas and is now a companion, Rook, and Neve defeat some demons. They then take on some Venatori Cultists seizing this chaotic opportunity to take over the city and other enemies before making it to Solas’ hideout. As we traverse deeper and deeper into this hideout, more of Solas’ murals appear on the walls, and things get more Elven. Rhodes says this is because you’re symbolically going back in time, as Minrathous is a city built by mages on the bones of what was originally the home of Elves.

At the heart of his hideout, we discover Solas’ personal Eluvian. This magical mirror-like structure allows the gang to teleport (and mechanically fast-travel) to Arlathan Forest, where Solas is secretly performing the ritual (while its effects pour out into Minrathous).

Here, we encounter a dozen or so demons, which BioWare has fully redesigned on the original premise of these monstrous creatures. Rhodes says they’re creatures of feeling and live and die off the emotions around them. As such, they are just a floating nervous system, push into this world from the Fade, rapidly assembled into bodies out of whatever scraps they find.

I won’t spoil the sequence of events here, but we stop Solas’ ritual and seemingly save the world… for now. Rook passes out moments later and wakes up in a dream-like landscape to the voice of none  other than Solas. He explains a few drops of Rook’s blood interacted with the ritual, connecting them to the Fade forever. He also says he was attempting to move the Elgar’nan and Ghilan’nain, part of the Evanuris or Elven gods of ancient times, to a new prison because the one he had previously constructed was failing. Unfortunately, Solas is trapped in the Fade by our doing, and these gods are now free. It’s up to Rook to stop them; thus, the stage for our adventure is set.

The Veilguard Who’s Who

While we learned a lot about returning character but first-time companion Lace Harding, ice mage private detective Neve Gallus, and veil jumper Bellara Lutara, BioWare shared some additional details about other companions Rook will meet later in the game. Davrin is a charming Grey Warden who is also an excellent monster hunter; Emmrich is a member of Nevarra’s Mourn Watch and a necromancer with a skeleton assistant named Manfred; Lucanis is a pragmatic assassin whose bloodline descends from the criminal House of Crows organization; And Taash is a dragon hunter allied with the piratic Lords of Fortune. All seven of these characters adorn this Game Informer issue, with Bellara up front and center in the spotlight.

The Lighthouse

After their encounter with Solas, Rook wakes up with Harding and Neve in the lair of the Dread Wolf himself, a special magical realm in the Fade called the Lighthouse. It’s a towering structure centered amongst various floating islands. Epler says, much like Skyhold in Inquisition, the Lighthouse is where your team bonds, grows, and prepares for its adventures throughout the campaign. It also becomes more functional and homier as you do. Already, though, it’s a beautifully distraught headquarters for the Veilguard, although they aren’t quite referring to themselves as that just yet.

Because it was Solas’ home base of operations, it’s gaudy, with his fresco murals adorning various walls, greenery hanging from above, and hues of purple and touches of gold everywhere. Since it’s in the Fade, a realm of dreams that responds to your world state and emotion, the Lighthouse reflects the chaos and disrepair of the Thedas you were in moments ago. I see a clock symbol over a dialogue icon in the distance, which signals an optional dialogue option. We head there, talk to Neve, select a response to try our hand at flirting, and then head to the dining hall.

A plate, a fork and knife, and a drinking chalice are at the end of a massive table. Rhodes says this is both a funny (and sad) look at Solas’ isolated existence and an example of the detail BioWare’s art team has put into Veilguard. “It’s a case of letting you see the story,” he says. “It’s like when you go to a friend's house and see their bedroom for the first time; you get to learn more about them.” From the dining hall, we gather the not-quite-Veilguard in the library, which Busche says in the central area of the Lighthouse and where your party will often regroup and prepare for what’s next. The team decides it must reach the ritual site back in Arlathan Forest, and Busche says I’m missing unique dialogue options here because I’m Qunari; an Elf would have more to say about the Fade due to their connection to it. The same goes for my backstory earlier in Minrathous. If I had picked the Shadow Dragons background, Neve would have recognized me immediately, with unique dialogue.

With our next move decided, we head to Solas’ Eluvian to return to Arlathan Forest and the ritual site. However, it’s not fully functional without Solas, and while it returns us to Arlathan Forest, it’s not exactly where we want to go. A few moments later, we’re back in the Arlathan Forest, and just before a demon-infested suit of mechanized armor known as a Sentinel can attack, two new NPCs appear to save us: Strife and Irelin. Harding recognizes them, something Dragon Age comic readers might know about. They’re experts in ancient elven magic and part of the new Veil Jumpers faction. The ensuing cutscene, where we learn Strife and Irelin need help finding someone named Bellara Lutara, is long, with multiple dialogue options. That’s something I’m noticing with Veilguard, too - there’s a heavy emphasis on storytelling and dialogue, and it feels deep and meaty, like a good fantasy novel. BioWare doesn’t shy away from minutes-long cutscenes.

Busche says that’s intentional, too. “For Rook, [this story’s about] what does it meant to be a leader,” she says. “You’re defining their leadership style with your choices.” Knowing that Rook is the leader of the Veilguard, I’m excited to see how far this goes. From the sound of it, my team will react to my chosen leadership style in how my relationships play out. That’s demonstrated within the game’s dialogue and a special relationship meter on each companion’s character screen.

Redefining Combat Once More

Bellara is deep within Arlathan Forest, and following the prolgoue’s events, something is up here. Three rings of massive rocks fly through the air, protecting what appears to be a central fortress. Demon Sentinels plague the surrounding lands, and after loading up a new save, we’re in control of a human mage.

Following the trend of prior Dragon Age games, Veilguard has completed the series’ shift from tactical strategy to real-time action, but fret not: a tactical pause-and-play mechanic returns to satiate fans who remember the series’ origins (pun intended). Though I got a taste of combat in the prologue, Veilguard’s drastic departure from all that came before it is even more apparent here.

Busche says player complete every swing in real-time, with special care taken to animation swing-through and canceling. There's a dash, a parry, the ability to charge moves, and a completely revamped healing system that allows you to use potions at your discretion by hitting right on the d-pad. You can combo attacks and even “bookmark” combos with a quick dash, which means you can pause a combo’s status with a dash to safety and continue the rest of the combo afterward. It looks even cooler than it sounds.

Like any good action game, there is a handful of abilities to customize your kit. And, if you want to maintain that real-time action feel, you can use them on the fly, so long as you take cooldowns into effect. But Veilguard’s pause-and-play gameplay mechanic, similar to Inquisition’s without the floating camera view, lets you bring things to halt for a healthy but optional dose of strategy.

In this screen, which essentially pauses the camera and pulls up a flashy combat wheel that highlights you and your companions’ skills, you can choose abilities, queue them up, and strategize with synergies and combos, all while targeting specific enemies. Do what you need to here, let go of the combat wheel, and watch your selections play out. Busche says she uses the combat wheel to dole out her companions’ attacks and abilities while sticking to the real-time action for her player-controlled Rook. On the other hand, Epler says he almost exclusively uses the combat wheel to dish out every ability and combo.

Busche says each character will play the same, in that you execute light and heavy attacks with hte same buttons, use abilities with the same buttons, and interact with the combo wheel in the same way, regardless of which class you select. But a sword-and-shield warrior, like we used in the prolgoue, can hip-fire or aim their shield to throw it like Captain America, whereas our human mage uses that same button to throw out magical ranged attacks. The warrior can parry incoming attacks, which can stagger enemies. The rogue gets a larger parry window. Our mage, however, can’t parry at all. Instead, they throw up a shield that blocks incoming attacks automatically so long as you have the mana to sustain it.

“What I see from Veilguard is a game that finally bridges the gap,” former Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah, who left BioWare in 2021 before joining the Veilguard team last year as a consultant, tells me. “Uncharitably, previous Dragon Age games got to the realm of ‘combat wasn’t too bad.’ In this game, the combat’s actually fun, but it does keep that thread that’s always been there. You have the focus on Rook, on your character, but still have that control and character coming into the combat experience from the other people in the party.”

“This is really the best Dragon Age game that I’ve ever played,” he adds, noting his bias. “This is the one where we get back to our roots of character-driven storytelling, have really fun combat, and aren’t making compromises.”

Watching Busche take down sentinels and legions of darkspawn on-screen, I can already sense Veilguard’s combat will likely end up my favorite in the series, although admittedly, as a fan of action games, I’m an easy sell here. It’s flashy, quick, and thanks to different types of health bars, like a greenish-blue one that represents barrier and is taken down most effectively with ranged attacks, a decent amount of strategy, even if you don’t use the pause-and-play combo wheel. Like the rest of the game, too, it’s gorgeous, with sprinkles, droplets, and splashes of magic in each attack our mage unleashes. Though I’m seeing the game run on a powerful PC, which is sure to be the best showcase of Veilguard, Epler tells me the game looks amazing on consoles - he’s been playing it on PlayStation 5 and enjoying it in both its fidelity and performance modes, but I’ll have to take his word for it.

Pressing Start

The start or pause screen is as important to a good RPG as the game outside the menus. Veilguard’s contains your map, journal, character sheets, skill tree, and a library for lore information. You can cross-compare equipment and equip new gear here for Rook and your companions, build weapon loadouts for quick change-ups mid-combat, and customize you and your party’s abilities and builds via an easy-to-understand skill tree. You won’t find minutiae here, “just real numbers,” Busche says. That means a new unlocked trait might increase damage by 25 percent against armor, but that’s as in-depth as the numbers get. Passive abilities unlock jump attacks and guarantee critical hit opportunities, while abilities add moves like a Wall of Fire to your arsenal (if you’re a mage). As you spec out this skill tree, which is 100 percent bespoke to each class, you’ll work closer to unlocking a specialization, of which there are three for each class, complete with a unique ultimate ability. Busche says BioWare’s philosophy here is “about changing the way you play, not statistical minutiae.”

Companion Customization

You can advance your bonds by helping companions on their own personal quests and by including them in your party for main quests. Every Relationship Level you rank up, shown on their character sheet, nets you a skill point to spend on them. Busche says the choices you make, what you say to companions, how you help them, and more all matter to their development as characters and party members. And with seven companions, there’s plenty to customize, from bespoke gear to abilities and more. Though each companion has access to five abilities, you can only take three into combat, so it’s important to strategize different combos and synergies within your party. Rhodes says beyond  this kind of customizable characterization, each companion has issues, problems, and personal quests to complete. “Bellara has her own story arc that runs parallel to and informs the story path you’re on,” Rhodes says.

In Entropy’s Grasp

As we progress through the forest and the current “In Entropy’s Grasp” mission, we finally find Bellara. She’s a veil jumper, the first companion you meet and recruit in-game (unlike Neve, who automatically joins), and the centerpiece of this issue’s cover image. Because our mage’s background is Veil Jumper, we get some unique dialogue. Bellara explains we’re all trapped in a Veil Bubble, and there’s no way out once you pass through it. Despite the dire situation, Bellara is bubbly, witty, and charming.

“When designing companions, they’re the load-bearing pillars for everything,” Rhodes says. “They’re the face of their faction, and in this case [with Bellara], their entire area of the world. She’s your window into Arlathan Forest.” Rhodes describes her as a sweetheart and nerd for ancient elven artifacts. As such ,she’s dressed more like an academic than a combat expert, although her special arm gauntlet is useful both for tinkering with her environment and taking down enemies.

Unlike Neve, who uses ice magic like our Rook and can slow down time with a special ability, Bellara specializes in electricity, and she can also use magic to heal you, something Busche says Dragon Age fans have been desperate to have in a game. Busche says if you don’t direct Neve and Bellara, they’re fully independent and will attack on their own. But synergizing your team will add to the fun and strategy of combat. Bellara’s electric magic is effective against Sentinels, which is great because we currently only have access to ice. However, without Bellara, we could also equip a rune that converts my ice magic, for a brief duration, into electricity to counter the Sentinels.

As we progress through Arlathan Forest, we encounter more and more darkspawn. Bellara mentions the darkspawn have never been this far before because the underground Deep Roads, where they usually escape from, aren’t nearby. However, with blighted Elven gods roaming the world, and thanks to Blight’s radiation-like spread, it’s a much bigger threat in Veilguard than in any Dragon Age before it.

I continue to soak in the visuals of Veilguard with Arlathan Forest’s elven ruins, dense greenery, and disgusting Blight tentacles and pustules; it’s perhaps the most impressive aspect of my time seeing the game, although everything else is making a strong impression, too. I am frustrated about having to watch the game rather than play it, to be honest. I’m in love with the art style, which is more high fantasy than anything in the series thus far and almost reminiscent of the whimsy of Fable, a welcome reprieve from the recent gritty Game of Thrones trend in fantasy games. Rhodes says that’s the result of the game’s newfound dose of magic.

“The use of magic has been an evolution as the series has gone on,” he says. “It’s something we’ve been planning for a while because Solas has been planning all this for a while. In the past, you could hint at cooler magical things in the corner because you couldn’t actually go there, but now we actually can, and it’s fun to showcase that.”

Busche, Epler, and Rhodes warn me that Arlathan Forest’s whimsy will starkly contrast to other areas. They promise some grim locations and even grimmer story moments because, without that contrast, everything falls flat. Busche likens it to a “thread of optimism” pulled through otherworldly chaos ravaging Thedas. For now, the spunky and effervescent Bellara is that thread.

As we progress deeper into the forest, Bellara spots a floating fortress and thinks the artifact needed to destroy the Veil Bubble is in there. To reach it, though, wem ust remove the floating rock rings, and Bellara’s unique ability, Tinker, can do just that by interacting with a piece of ancient elven technology nearby. Busche says Rook can acquire abilities like Tinker later to complete such tasks in instances where Bellara, for example, isn’t in the party.

Bellara must activate three of these in Arlathan Forest to reach the floating castle, and each one we activate brings forth a slew of sentinels, demons, and darkspawn to defeat. Busche does so with ease, showcasing high-level gameplay by adding three stacks of arcane build-up to create an Arcane Bomb on an enemy, which does devastating damage after being hit by a heavy attack. Now, she begins charging a heavy attack on her magical staff, then switches to magical daggers in a second loadout accessed with a quick tap of down on the d-pad to unleash some quick attacks, then back to the staff to charge it some more and unleash a heavy attack.

After a few more combat encounters, including one against a sentinel that’s “Frenzied,” which means it hits harder, moves faster, and has more health, we finally reach the center of the temple. Within is a particular artifact known as the Nadas Dirthalen, which Bellara says means “the inevitability of knowledge.” Before we can advance with it, a darkspawn Ogre boss attacks. It hits hard, has plenty of unblockable, red-coded attacks, and a massive shield we must take down first. However, it’s weak to fire, and our new fire staff is perfect for the situation.

After taking down this boss in a climactic arena fight, Bellara uses a special crystal to power the artifact and remove it from a pedestal, destroying the Veil Bubble. Then, the Nadas Dirthalen comes alive as an Archive Spirit, but because the crystal used to power it breaks, we learn little about this spirit before it disappears. Fortunately, Bellara thinks she can fix it - fixing broken stuff is kind of her thing, Epler says - so the group heads back to the Veil Jumper camp and, as interested as I am in learning what happens next, the demo ends. It’s clear that even after a few hours with the game’s opening, I’ve seen a nigh negligible amount of game; frustrating but equally as exciting.

Don’t Call It An Open World

Veilguard is not an open world, even if some of its explorable areas might fee like one. Gamble describes Veilguard’s Thedas as a hub-and-spoke design where “the needs of the story are served by the level design.” A version of Inquisition’s Crossroads, a network of teleporting Eluvians, returns, and it’s how players will traverse across northern Thedas. Instead of a connected open world, players will travel from Eluvian to Eluvian to different stretches of this part of the continent. This allows BioWare to go from places like Minrathous to tropical beaches to Arlathan Forest to grim and gothic areas and elsewhere. Some of these areas are larger and full of secrets and treasures. Others are smaller and more focused on linear storytelling. Arlathan Forest is an example of this, but there are still optional paths and offshoots to explore for loot, healing potion refreshes, and other things. There’s a minimap in each location, though linear levels like “In Entropy’s Grasp” won’t have the fog of war that disappears as you explore like some of Veilguard’s bigger locations. Regardless, BioWare says Veilguard has the largest number of diverse biomes in series history.

Dragon’s Delight

With a 10-hour day at BioWare behind me after hours of demo gameplay and interviews with the leads, I’m acutely aware of my favorite part of video games: the surprises. I dabbled with Origins and II and put nearly 50 hours into Inquisition, but any familiarity with the series the latter gave me had long since subsided over the past decade. I wanted to be excited about the next Dragon Age as I viewed each teaser and trailer, but other than seeing the words “Dragon Age,” I felt little. Without gameplay, without a proper look at the actual game we’ll all be playing this fall, I struggled to remember why Inquisition sucked me in 10 years ago.

This trip reminded me.

Dragon Age, much like the Thedas of Veilguard, lives in the uncertainty: The turbulence of BioWare’s recent release history and the lessons learned from it, the drastic changes to each Dragon Age’s combat, the mystery of its narrative, and the implications of its lore. It’s all a part of the wider Dragon Age story and why this studio keeps returning to this world. It’s been a fertile franchise for experimentation. While Veilguard is attempting to branch out in unique ways, it feels less like new soil and more like the harvest BioWare has been trying to cultivate since 2009, and I’m surprised by that.

I’m additionally surprised, in retrospect, how numb I’ve been to the game before this. I’m surprised by BioWare’s command over EA’s notoriously difficult Frostbite engine to create its prettiest game yet. I’m surprised by this series’ 15-year transition from tactical strategy to action-forward combat. I’m surprised by how much narrative thought the team has poured into these characters, even for BioWare. Perhaps having no expectations will do that to you. But most of all, with proper acknowledgement that I reserve additional judgment until I actually play the game, I’m surprised that Veilguard might just be the RPG I’m looking forward to most this year.

[beansprean]

What if Guillermo worked at Hooters instead of Panera and Sean invited them to a Superbowl party 10 years earlier? Co-written and directed by @phasmama

(ID in alt and under cut)

1a. A label at the top says 2009. Nandor stands on a dark background, wearing his travel cloak and humming thoughtfully, hand on his chin. In a thought bubble, he recalls words from Laszlo: "Our new neighbor Sean has invited us to a Superb Owl party." And Nadja: "So you better bring a nice gift and not embarrass us in front of the owl!" 1b. The thought bubble disappears, revealing a Hooters restaurant in the distance behind it. Nandor turns his head and notices it.

2. Shot from inside the restaurant as Nandor slams the door open, announcing "Hello! May I enter your owl establishment?"

3. Full body of Guillermo, walking past wearing a gold watch, Hooters tank top, orange booty shorts, white socks and sneakers, and a teeny black apron holding a notebook and a few pens. He has a few menus in his hands and turns his head towards the new arrival, saying "Oh, uh. Yeah? We're open."

4. Shot over Nandor's shoulder. Guillermo catches himself and turns toward him fully, awkwardly stuttering "Uh. I mean. Welcome to Hooters! One for dinner?" Nandor, staring somewhere in the vicinity of Guillermo's hips with purple cheeks, replies "...Yes, please."

5. They walk in profile, Guillermo in front still holding the menus. His cheeks are slightly flushed as he glances back at the man behind him, a thought bubble from his head holding a photo of Antonio Banderas as Armand. Nandor stalks closely after him, blatantly staring at his ass with a clear dotted line connecting his gaze.

6. Guillermo turns with a smile and sweeps his arm out, saying "Here you are, sir! Can I start you off with-" Nandor interrupts him, shouting out in all caps "COME WITH ME TO A SUPERB OWL PARTY TOMORROW."

7. Guillermo clutches the menus to his chest and stares up at Nandor, cheeks blushing red. Without much thought, he says "...Okay." Text nearby points to him and says self preservation goes to zero around a hot guy'. Nandor smiles down at him, pleased.

8. Later, Guillermo is laying in bed at home in the dark and holding his phone above his face. In the background is a screenshot of the Wikipedia page for American football that he's studying. He thinks to himself, "This is a terrible idea..."

9. The next night. Laszlo and Nadja stand together facing Nandor, who has Guillermo tucked just behind him. Nadja scowls and gestures angrily at the human, snapping "Nandor, you plonker! The owl cannot eat a whole human!!" Then, less confidently, "Can he??" Laszlo continues in his usual unflappable manner, "If not, I hope you brought enough for everyone." Nandor, affronted and purple in the cheeks, snaps back "Guillermo is not for eating! Not by the owl and not by you." He gestures to his guest with one imperious hand. "But he has brought wings of chicken that I am sure will appease a great bird of prey." Guillermo is indeed holding a Tupperware box in both hands, eyes wide and gazing blankly into the middle distance as he thinks to himself "Definitely a mistake." /end ID

[milkemie]

milkemie I hope you are doing well, I wanted to ask how come your screenshots are so sharp, do you use any program? 💖

i'm doing well thank you i hope you're doing great too! ♡

i take my screenshots with gshade, here is a tutorial on how to download it, i made my own preset though

here is the difference without & with gshade, gshade can add clarity, shadows, blurry backgrounds, which make the pictures higher quality

i also recommend using the NoBlu & NoGlo mods by luumia, they will make the game's lighting less blue

[felassan]

just burbling about the new screenshots from this Twitter thread from a few days ago :) -

I like how they are showcasing different Rooks in the promotional and marketing material (lineages, classes, ethnicities etc). ^^ it shows the wide variety of Rooks we can make in CC. this human dude Rook is the one in the release date reveal trailer. look at the eyebrow game! :D and if you compare his facial hair to DA:I and stuff, it's come a long way just like the hair-hair. looks great! the pattern at Rook's collar is a pair of wings. I wonder if this Rook is a Warden, and they represent griffon wings, or being that a rook is a bird, this motif is a more general Rook thing?

the design of the armor Rook is wearing here (bandolier of pouches, the shoulder pieces, curved lines on the breastplate etc) reminds me of the 'iconic' armor Rook wears in the key art, just sans helmet and with hood down, in a blue tone instead of purple, and without the Veilguard symbol on the breastplate. I wonder if this scene is from somewhere in the early game, when the companions are probably at that point just Neve and Harding? maybe it's like, before they get a Veilguard symbol, they first need to, well, form Voltron the Veilguard in the first place, and recruit the rest of the companions etc.

the background is the shifting surface of an eluvian, either about to be used or having just been used (cool visual effect btw). the curving gold architecture of the buildings that can be seen in the other location through the eluvian there is ancient elven, so Rook must have just come from (or be about to go to) somewhere which has those style of buildings. maybe Arlathan Forest, maybe Solas' Ritual site in the Forest, etc.

elf lady Warrior Rook and Davrin. again great eyebrow game. :D she is so pretty. she also has the wing motif at her collar. again her armor looks like the key art one. hers is in a purple tone rather than blue like the Rook above though - is this due a dyeing system? ^^ this one has the Veilguard logo on it, so maybe this shot is from a bit later in the game after the Veilguard has been brought together? a few details of the armor are also different compared to above, like buttons. I wonder if this is due to rogue version of the armor vs warrior version, armor customization, or armor upgrade.

Davrin is so ears. I love elves with big ears like this. :D 2 elf warriors yeyyy

wherever they are in this scene, it looks to be inside somewhere.

Davrin looks amazing! the design of his vallaslin reminds me a bit of the Ghilan'nain vallaslin design from DA:I. there are some neat thoughts on the design of Davrin's armor here. :>

the detailing and texturing etc on Neve's clothes in this shot is craaazy (as in crazy good). even the netting on her hat/fascinator has a lil pattern in it. Tevene snakey scales, the folds of the fabric, raindrops on her clothes, the fact that the snake pattern on her hat is three dimensional..

Davrin and Neve - some of our companions love huge cool collars :D

also, just like her saunter, Neve's half-smile/smirk (dimple.. 🥺) here has me weak in the knees.

location: looks like some kind of ruin maybe? ^^

I wanna believe that our dragon hunter Taash is looking up here into the sky at.. a dragon :D I loved getting to see this detailed close up of her dragonscale shoulderpieces and her jewelry etc. in this shot we can see that her gold-plated horn has spiky triangle bits on it and more detailing on the faces carved on her horn cuffs and the dragon piece at her neck. also I'm not sure if it's just the angle in this particular shot, but her brow looks strong, which I love and think makes sense when big horns grow from your head. :>

[images source]

[hellcheer-heaven]

Forgot to upload this one, it was for a banner contest on a Hellcheer discord channel. Eddie and Chrissy in the style of The Peanuts. Their poses were traced from Halloween decorations of Linus and Sally. The background was traced from a screenshot from “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.”

Don’t worry since the Great Pumpkin doesn’t exist, Lord Vecna doesn’t exist either, so they’re both safe. Both versions with and without the vhs filters are included here.

[moonstandardtime]

OFFICIAL ART COMMISSIONS POST!!!

BASE COSTS

SKETCHES / SMALL DOODLES -- $10

BUSTS / PROFILE PICTURES -- $15

HALF BODY -- $20

FULL BODY -- $30

FULL PIECE -- $38

Communication will be over Discord, or Tumblr DMs if necessary. DM me here or use Ko-fi to start!

previews + more info under cut (blood/gore warning for one of the previews (its part of a screenshot, so not detailed))

WILL DO:

Humanoids

System alters

OCs

Fanart

NSFW (with limits)

Gore (probably not anatomically accurate)

WONT DO (with exceptions):

Super high detail designs (unless you have a detailed ref/are okay with less detail)

Animals

Complex scenes with over 3 characters

GENERAL GUIDELINES:

ALL OF WHAT FOLLOWS, AS WELL AS PRICES, IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

Payment via Ko-fi or Cashapp.

Costs are loosely based on an hourly wage. I'm open to minor negotiations, but don't expect discounts.

Payment is up front. If either of us needs to cancel at any point, I will provide (NOT FULL) refunds depending on where I am in the process.

Timeframe is around a week, give or take a few days, depending on the complexity of the ask. My ADHD is awful, so PLEASE pester me!

I need a ref! I'm not great at visualizing from text descriptions, so if you could provide references and a general sketch of what you want, that would be great! It doesn't need to be good at all--what I have in mind is really nothing more than a stick figure scribble. It just needs to get the idea across somehow.

I will work with you and talk back and forth as I work on the sketch! I will also check in throughout the process to make sure everything is going as you wish.

You can ask for a specific style! Simply provide an example of a piece I've done in the past. You can see my art on my tumblr -> https://moonstandardtime.tumblr.com/tagged/my%20art

PLEASEEE COMMUNICATE!! Thank you!

SPECIFICS:

REFUNDS:

- If you commission a piece and you cancel it, you will be refunded for what I haven't made significant progress on. For example, if you cancel a full-body with color, simple shading, and a simple background, and I've finished the lineart and started flat colors, you will be refunded $20 out of $55. You will recieve the unfinished piece.

- If you cancel a commission before I start it, you will recieve a full refund.

- If you cancel a commission before the intial sketch is finalized, you will recieve a 90% refund and the sketch.

REVISIONS:

- You can change as much as you want during the initial sketch. Anything after may come with a fee.

- If you want something changed late into the process, the fee will be increased.

- If it's too late, I may not be able to change it.

COPYRIGHT & USAGE:

ON MY SIDE:

- I reserve the right to cancel and refund the order at any time for any reason.

- I retain all copyrights over the commissioned artwork.

- I will NOT claim the intellectual property (IP) of the commissioned artwork (your characters are still yours, etc.)

- I will NOT profit further from the commissioned artwork unless you (the customer) break any of the terms.

- I reserve the right to post the commissioned artwork online and in my portfolio..

ON YOUR SIDE:

- You may upload the commissioned artwork on any website and social channels.

- You may NOT make profits from the commissioned piece (reselling, redistributing, uploading to POD-services, making prints for selling, etc.)

- You may NOT alter the commissioned artwork without my consent.

- You retain the rights to the intellectual property (IP).

- You may NOT use the commissioned artwork for commercial purposes.

- The following is considered copyright infringement:​

- Reproducing/using the copyrighted artwork commercially - means making money off it in any way not excluded from these terms.

- Claiming the artwork as your own.

- Altering the artwork without my consent.

[failureface]

thoughts on "Welcome Home, Franklin"

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Okay, this special was really great.

I love Franklin. He's a sweet boy who never had a unkind thing to say about Charlie Brown- he was the straight man to the wacky antics of the Peanuts gang. But I never got the feeling he was more than that in the strips. This special serves as the backstory and character that Franklin didn't originally get, but sorely needed.

And this special beautifully and gracefully rights some of the wrongs that past Peanuts media made.

I was surprised this film even went there in terms of discussing racism a little. Peanuts is an IP that you expect people to be overly-protective of. 'No, the scene in "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" isn't racist- and it's NOT weird that all the kids are white' is more of what I expected to hear from this. But refreshingly, this special addresses it. Like, YEAH, there IS a lack of diversity! It feels so much better for that stuff to be acknowledged rather than swept under the rug.

I love the fact that Franklin is unsure of himself and his ability to make friends. This makes him super relatable and sympathetic, and also makes a clear connection to why he gravitates towards Charlie Brown. The two of them bond over their shared feeling of being "the Underdog", and not knowing how to make friends or navigate social landscapes. Franklin also opens up Charlie Brown to new experiences and knowledge, telling him about discrimination and introducing him to music he hasn't heard before. Not only that, but Franklin encourages Charlie Brown to be less anxious and push himself further. And Charlie Brown is a much needed friend and sympathetic ear for Franklin. They have each other's back and their bond is undeniable.

That's what this special is truly trying to get at. That friends of different backgrounds and experiences from us can help us to learn and grow as people. I think that's a really wonderful message and one that we all need at any age, and one that we especially need now.

Overall, this special really blew it out of the water, and I gave it five stars.

Special shoutout if you were able to make it to the premiere stream in the Peanuts discord, that made it twice as fun to watch!

Some miscellaneous thoughts under the cut

Franklin's music taste is so elite

The music picks in this movie are honestly fantastic. The soundtrack really elevates the experience and every song is awesome

THE BEACH SCENE! It's so rewarding as a fan to see moments that are plucked straight from the strip. It feels like the people making them really know Peanuts

All the little tiny schrucy crumbs- I eat it up. I know screenshots and gifs will be made and posted and I will be reblogging them.

Lucy and Franklin's beef- I wasn't expecting it but it's so funny and adds some really great dynamics into the fold

Since this is about the friendship between Charlie Brown and Franklin specifically, minor inaccuracies Franklin actually being on Peppermint Patty's baseball team in the strip are forgiven. Some fans more scrupulous than I would probably have an issue with this, but I'm not one of those fans. This isn't 100% faithful to Peanuts Lore but I don't mind.

I LOVED the scene where Charlie Brown wants to pull the breaks and Franklin wants to keep going. It shows so much without saying anything, and it gives way for great conflict that makes sense and comes from real places within the characters

And I love how Franklin is allowed to be mad, and he and Charlie Brown fight. We're not afraid to rock the boat anymore, and it makes Franklin feel so much more human

Just the right amount of Snoopy scenes, this one reached the perfect balance of Snoopy and Story

Everything is just so overwhelmingly cute here I had to restrain myself from writing "cute" or any of its synonyms in my review

"We saved you a seat!" <3333

[collisvng]

♠︎♡●WALK OF SHAME○♥︎♤

Pairing ♤ Han Jisung x Fem Reader ☆

Synopsis ♤ You and Han had become friends quite fast.  You loved his writing, he loved your voice. He and Bangchan manage to get you an audition that could potentially start your career as an artist under their company. But things go terribly wrong, resulting in the potential loss of Jisung's friendship. ☆

Warnings ♤ Mentions of: anxiety, panic attacks, brief mention of blood, yelling/screaming, crying, the feeling of being useless, a LOT of angst ☆

Word Count ♤ 1,837 + 8 sm screenshots ☆

THE BEGINNING ♠︎

"What the fuck?!" Jisung yelled after you.

You click-clacked your way ferociously through the halls of the JYP building, faltering a few steps that almost landed you on the ground.

You were running away from your only shot at getting into the company, but you didn't care. The air was leaving your lungs, your eyes became blurry from a combination of dizziness and tears, and for the first time in your life you knew you couldn't handle any sort of pressure. There was guilt and hatred in your eyes; feelings towards yourself and your actions. And worst of all, you had Jisung following after you in the most confused rage you had ever seen before.

For the last two weeks Han had been helping you with your audition. You guys had been friends for a while now ever since meeting at an anime convention that Jisung somehow managed to sneak into unnoticed. One moment you’re chatting it up with a Turnip-Head cosplay that approached you because you were dressed as Sophie Hatter, then the next thing you know you're at the dorms hanging out with Han and his friends. 

After a few failed attempts due to his anxiousness, he eventually invited you to see him work. He took you to the studio and showed you songs he wrote. Each one being passionate excerpts of romance, heartbreak, and acceptance. He was a literary magician in your eyes. And one day, when he heard you singing the chorus to a song he was working on, he never let a moment pass without speaking about it. You were full of surprises, and his brain was full of lyrics he wanted to hear you perform. Eventually, the guys learned about your hidden talent and encouraged you to try to do something with it. Chris was especially encouraging and even tried to sample some of your melodies for background vocals in his own songs.

You guys bonded over your love for anime, video game lore, and your constant praise of each other’s talents. You loved his writing and lyricism. He loved your voice. And eventually… you secretly grew to love more parts of him. He even took the time to write your audition song for you, after the company finally gave you a chance (with the help of Jisung and Chan’s constant pleading).

You became his muse, he became your best friend. And now, with your nails digging into your palms trying to keep yourself calm, you couldn’t even look at him.

He called after you again… And again… And again…

It wasn’t until around the fifth time that you finally spun around and yelled, ‘What the fuck do you want?!’ did he finally stop.

You both stood a great distance away from each other. Partially because Jisung needed space to calm down, and partially because you both knew how you can get in moments of stress. Your eyes widened, then narrowed sleepily as you stared him down. Just one word, one word, and you were ready to blow up in his face. Whether it would be with anger or with tears though, that was a mystery.

“What are you doing?” His voice came out a bit softer than the last time he spoke. “You just walked right out!”

“I couldn’t do it,” your nails were one clench away from drawing blood. “I’m not ready. I told you I wasn’t ready. Now your boss thinks I’m a dumbass.”

Han let out an angry sigh, rubbing his finger tips over his nose before bringing his palms from his chin to his eyes. He pressed inward, as if to push them through his skull.

“You’re not a dumbass,” he huffed, “and you ARE ready. Stop telling yourself you’re not.”

“LOOK AT ME!” You released your hands from their clawed prison to hold them up to show him. The imprints were deep, you were borderline hyperventilating, and your eyes widened once more. If you could see yourself in the third person, you probably would have thought you were crazy. “I look insane, Ji. I’m too anxious for this.”

His hands dropped to his sides, eyes opening slowly. A small vein began to stick out on his neck as he clenched his jaw. Jisung was always understanding and compassionate–the type to listen when people asked him to, responding in the best way he could. But right now, seeing you freak out as he stood in front of you, was setting him off. He knew you had potential. He knew you were capable. And as a person who became an idol himself despite also having anxiety issues, he knew anything was possible as long as you wanted it badly enough. 

“So that’s it?” His blunt tone caught you by surprise. 

Jisung made his way over to you in long strides, practically gliding across the floor. He made it to your side in record time, looking down at you with what little distance there was between both your heights. He looked annoyed, he was annoyed, and he wasn’t about to let you walk out of the building without knowing that he was.

“You’re just going to let this go? Everything Chan and I did to even attempt to give you this opportunity… And because you feel nervous you’re just going to walk out?” An irritated laugh left his throat as he glanced up at the ceiling. “Gosh you always do this.”

You felt your heart on the verge of cracking. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Each word that left his mouth next sent you into anguish.

“You never stick to one thing.”

Crack.

“You always need help, but never follow through.”

Crack.

“And you use your anxiety as an excuse to give up.”

And there it was, in its final form; heartbreak.

You were no longer present in your body. Arms limp, eyes glossy, a hitched breath in your throat, and no emotion shown on your face. You almost looked bitchy, but in a ‘I no longer have anything to lose’ kind of way. You wanted to fight him, but also wanted nothing more than for this end and to just hug him. You couldn’t believe someone you grew so close to in such a short time would end up being like this.

“I think you, of all people,” you took a step forward, the tip of your nose practically meeting his chin as your glass eyes searched his, “would know how messed up that last statement is.”

He leaned down to meet your gaze. Pupils to pupils, nose to nose, mouth to–fuck what kind of shit was trying to pull? You wanted to punch him, but with him being so close like that for the first time your mind was running laps. But that all ended the moment he said, “At least I’m not letting my problems get in the way of my own opportunities.”

That was the final straw. The overstimulation in your brain took over and your whole body began frantically shaking. Jisung being so close, his anger, the mix of emotions in your head, wanting to sob, feeling ashamed for walking out of your only shot at the career you’ve always wanted, knowing that your friend saw you as nothing but someone who gives up… 

It took Han a moment before he realized you were finally in full panic attack mode. Harsh breaths expelled themselves from your mouth as you vibrated from your torso upward. You were flexing and unflexing your hand as if you needed to grab something, and your eyes were no longer looking into his, but blankly staring at something in the distance to hyperfixate on something other than what was happening. He took a step back, his big boba eyes filling with concern.

He pushed you too hard. He let his emotions get the best of him. He did it; he fucked up. 

“Shit,” he mumbled a swear under his breath. “Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit.”

Grabbing your hands at the right moment as they unflexed, he intertwined his fingers with yours.

“Breathe.”

The phrase was repeated over and over, followed by Han squeezing your hand with every intake of oxygen you made. Eventually you found a steady rhythm. And his words, despite you wanting to slap the living hell out of him, were actually helping you calm down.

Once your breathing became stable, you and Han stood there in silence. You came down from your panicked high and once that was done… you didn’t really know where to go from there.

With Han’s fingers still laced with yours, he tried to step forward. It caused you to flinch, almost stumbling backwards, which filled him with dread. “Listen, I–”

“Thanks for calming me down,” you released his hands instantly. “But I think I need some space from you right now.”

His lips came forward into a pout, as puppy dog eyes met your blurry vision. You could tell he was remorseful for what just happened, but it wasn’t enough for you to stay and hear him out. You needed to be as far away from this place and him as soon as possible.

As you turned to walk away, Jisung tried to stop you by reaching out for your arm to pull you back. But he was immediately stopped by the sound of Bangchan’s voice echoing across the hall.

“Don’t.” His voice was stern and blunt. It almost sent a shiver down your spine. “Let her leave. She’s been through enough.”

Han looked over his shoulder at Chris, then back to you. His hand remained floating in mid-air, while sudden realization began to set in for you. When did Chan get here? How much did he notice? Was he here the whole time? Who else–

Before you could flare yourself up again, Bangchan was already in front of you grabbing ahold of Han’s shoulder and pulling him to the side. He told you to leave, followed by saying he’d text you later. Then without letting Jisung get a word in, you left. The last thing you remember before exiting was hearing Chan ask Han what the hell he was thinking, then next thing you know you were pushing through a set of double doors and running.

That night you received several texts from a group chat that Felix randomly made that included everyone except for Han. Apparently there were already rumors being spread about your conversation with Jisung and all the guys knew. You also received many texts from Bangchan and Jisung himself.

This was it, you thought to yourself. You would never be able to show your face around the JYP building ever again. And to make matters worse… You probably lost a friend.

Notes ♤ AHHHHHHH! It’s finally done! Hope you guys enjoyed it. Figured since I am best at writing angst that I should start off my page with it lol Depending on how things go, this might turn into a two part mini series. We’ll just test out the waters for a bit and see how it goes. Thanks for reading! 🩶 — collisvng✨️

[classpectpokerap]

How do you feel about the portrayal of plurality in Homestuck? Because it’s not good.

Cherubs are “supposed” to predominate over their other personality. With Calliope being portrayed as naive for trying to co exist.

Horuss is mocked for being a system. But I’d say it was a king fun of people who pretend to be mentally Ill on social media for clicks.

Then their are the sprites

okay so

i guess we're doing this

HOMESTUCK AND PLURALITY: A PRIMER

BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST THERES SO MUCH

SO SO SO MUCH

okay. so

homestuck is one of the best pieces of media of all time for plurality and i fuckin mean it. no shot do not pass go i have NEVER seen anything that is more built from the ground up to Support plural reads. like, to the point where it feels impossible to read homestuck without it.

as a work dealing with two huge primary themes of a) finding yourself/identity/growing up, and b) ideas coming to life, plurality is pretty much the Perfect intersection between the two of them. like.

take rose for example.

rose is plural and it's great.

when the doomed timeline evaporates, future dream rose does not actually "cease to exist." she ceases to exist as her own person -- her memories, experiences, personality, thoughts (or, as shorthand, her selfstuff) all flows back into rose prime. and that experience is just something rose has to roll with. one becomes two -- that other rose is still in her mind.

jade's plural and it's great.

when her dream self awakens as jadesprite, jade has a horrific argument with her. if you're plural i'm sure you understand. fighting with an age-regressed version of you, stuck in a traumatic past, who WONT FUCKING LISTEN -- we've all . been there.

she has involuntary barks, she can't stop seeing images of fire, she wants to go back to nonexistence but she doesnt want to die and it's torture,

and then in cascade, jade fuses with her.

dream jade is still in there. that part of her she has to grapple with is still real. her dog who she loves is in there, too -- but, yknow. woof

then grimbark gets forcefully introjected into her. i've seen a few fics play with the idea that the grimbark personality is still residually there (read ygtpoasu), but it's not a huge thing that's explored in the text. more backgrounded. but still! her crisis of identity is in there.

wanna know what's NOT backgrounded

tavros's plurality is like, a pretty big factor in his character!!!! it's one of the bigger points vriska uses to bully him with (because she's projecting because she's projecting because she's projecting, because she's also plural and kins mindfang), it's like. a big thing that he has to cope with and figure out.

kanaya suggested tavros treat his self-confidence as his own brain guy, like, completely sincerely. she genuinely thought it would help, and it sorta did!!!!!

and like

it is FAR from the only positive example of plurality in the comic.

like. look at sollux and aradia defending "alternate reality copies" of characters -- which can be pretty easily extrapolated to them talking about fictives

like. !!!!

i dunno, man. i think that homestuck is a DEEPLY plural story. you should read mtm and kgtac for more exploration of these themes. read detective pony too while you're at it. like.

i havent even TOUCHED on horuss or dirk or karkat here because there is just so much. there's so much! like ultselves. oh my god i completely neglected to talk about ultselves or cherubs or --

augh

but anyway here's The Screenshots from mtm

homestuck is, like, the single most fictive compatible fictional work i've ever read.

"oh im being sent to another universe as a brain ghost? that happened to my buddy dirk"

"oh im one of many incarnations of myself, and perhaps not even the most 'canon compliant' one? haha dream bubbles moment"

"ive been isekai'd into another world? lol sburb"

it. yeah. god. i could literally talk about this all day. but instead im gonna direct you to my ao3.

check out no metaphors and then scroll through the "multiplicity/plurality" tag on my page

and if youve got more specific stuff, send in another ask!

[nullsleepy]

The Strike of a Villainess

Chapter 6: MIRACULOUS-

Chapter 1 Chapter 7 Ao3

——///———///————

“Not again!” Marinette groaned as she fell straight into her pillow, clutching her phone. The screen shined a bright red with “Bad Ending: 09” flashing white. “How was I supposed to know Cedric was one of those dop- dopple-UGH whatever those things are!?”

“Calm down, Master.” Wayzz patted her back before grabbing her phone to show her the image of Cedric she had screenshotted before. “Look here!”

“What is it, Wayzz?” Marinette pouted, moving her head to look at the kwami and her phone screen.

“Notice his eyes, Master. What color are they?” Wayzz grinned at her as he held the screen to her face.

“Green? But what about that?” Marinette sat up, crossing her arms as she sat with her legs together.

“If you look through your screenshots of the Doppelgängers, you’ll notice that they all share the same characteristics: green eyes, a mark on their neck, and they are always smiling!”

Marinette narrowed her eyes, her hand on her chin as she leaned closer. “You’re right, Wayzz. Great job!”

The kwami beamed up at her, flying up at her hand.

“Let’s work together to beat this cellular device, Master!”

——————

“We need to stop her from infecting others, but how?” Marinette sat on the floor, paper scattered all around her. The cold metal of the pen was warm against her lips as she nibbled on its edge.

“Just kill her. Make a statement to future enemies.” Paris responded, flying up beside her, small arms crossed.

“Kill-? No. There’s definitely a way to defeat her without… doing that.” Marinette laid back on the ground, staring at the ceiling. “If I could just.. purify her, everything would be so easy.”

“Purify? What do you mean?” Paris landed on her forehead, tilting its head as it leaned in. Marinette just groaned as she pouted.

“As ladybug, I could purify an evil object and turn it, and everything it affected, back to normal. As if it never happened.”

“…? So you wish to transform her? Into something normal?”

“Sure. Let’s go with that.” Marinette sat up, catching the kwami as it fell from her head. “Do you know a way to do that?”

“I don’t, but I’m sure the book does.” Paris gestured to the book on her desk, lightly glowing green. “It knows everything.”

“…but what’s the cost?” Marinette looked at the book with narrowed eyes.

“…it’s own existence is a cost. She - I mean the book. The book won’t do anything to you but give you the knowledge you seek.” The kwami looked down, as if solemn.

“Fine then. I’ll trust you. And this book.” Marinette stood up, carefully walking up to the book, reaching out a hand. “But if there is a cost, I promise you’ll regret tricking me.”

“There isn’t.”

Marinette nodded, touching the book as a green gas expanded around the room, forcing her to cover her eyes. A few coughs escaped her lips as the green gas overcame her senses.

After a few moments, Marinette opened her eyes and looked around her to see a blank room, with a pink laptop in front of her. Without hesitation, Marinette sat down and opened the laptop, noticing it was just like her’s.

“Thought some familiarity would help! :^3 -N” She pulled off a sticky note from the screen, crumpling it up as tears started to form.

“Damn it.” Marinette mumbled as she wiped her eyes, looking at the background screen of a picture with her and her friends. She still wished for it all to be some sick joke. Or a nightmare. Or anything but her reality.

The screen flickers before turning into a search engine, typing in “Purification Magic” by itself. As the results appeared, the mouse hovered above download on the top one.

“I guess you’re telling me what to do now.” Marinette spoke into the air before clicking down, downloading the result. She felt a wave of something go across her before she noticed a door to her left.

She gave the laptop a hug before standing up and walking towards the door. Her eyes lingered on the laptop as her hand remained still on the doorknob.

“I’ll finish this and go home. I promise.” Marinette turned away, going through the door.

————

“Hey. Hey. Hey.” Marinette’s eyes flickered open as she felt soft touches to her cheek, seeing the kwami on her face.

“Yes?” Marinette sat back up, noticing the paper around her and the book tightly held in her arms.

“You passed out after touching the book. Needed to make sure you didn’t die.” Paris responded, flying away to sit on the desk. “So? Did it work?”

Marinette looked down at the book in her hands, before grinning as she looked up. “For some reason, I think so.”

“Think?”

“Know so. Come on, we have a doppelgänger to catch!” Marinette felt her energy return at the thought of defeating something- of saving others.

Marinette hugged the book tightly, watching it suddenly disappear as something warm made its way onto the skin of her chest. For reasons she couldn’t explain, she wasn’t scared.

“Well? You ready? I’m going to need you if I want this to work!” Marinette grinned at the kwami as she held out her hand, more confident than ever.

“…me? You need me?” Paris flew into her hand, touching her palm.

“Yes, silly! I can’t purify anything if I don’t have a kwami!”

“Wait- WAIT! Are you going to transform? Using me?!”

“Yeah? I need your power to defeat her so I can purify her.”

“But- but I’ve never transformed before- not in- not in a long, LONG time! What if it doesn’t work- or what if-”

“Just listen to me. It’ll be fine, alright? We got this, Paris!”

“Fine…” Paris flew around her, landing on her head. “But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“Alright! Let’s do this!!” Marinette’s hand reached out to the door knob as she felt her chest warm again. Her eyes glowed a powerful blue and her smile was as vicious as it was elegant. She could already feel the sparks of battle against her skin.

———-

Next

Taglist(open): @fangirlingfanatic @when-no-wings-do-broomsticks @iinhalemayonnaise @kking13 @xxcalypso-phoenixheartxx @khneltea

Notes: WOHOOOOOO! Finished it on the day of/right now! Also am dealing with medical stuff so I’m struggling so while I’m trying to update every week, idk if I will be able to. Thanks for reading!

[teruthecreator]

(tw for racism, pedophilia, transphobia, child impregnation mention)

yeah idk why y'all read this

i was originally going to just post this and have some tags with my reasonings, but i realized that opens me up to too much bullshit from people who may think i'm being unnecessarily mean or whatever. so i'm going to explain exactly why the screenshots above are something i hold issue with.

firstly, and i just want to get this out of the way, this post is not intended to be a hit piece against the creator. i've seen how she reacts to any mild-mannered or slightly joking criticism, so i know this post is probably going to not land well. but it isn't my intention to make her mad or anything--she's writing a piece of content for the internet, which means she is just as open to criticism as any other poster. and what i intend to go into in this post is criticism. i'm allowed to do this, as that is the nature of the internet. people are allowed to critique whatever they please, and if you don't want critique then you shouldn't post. simple as!

i am also making no attempts to posit myself as better than the creator. i'm not doing this for clout or moral superiority or any of that dumb shit. i simply want to discuss something that's been bothering me for a bit, while simultaneously warning people who haven't read this yet (who may be sensitive to the issues above) to steer clear. if things like casual racism or transphobia aren't properly tagged, then readers who are affected by such things run a risk reading this! same goes with people who are triggered by lewd content involving minors. i wanna make sure people are getting a more critical scope of this work than what has been hoisted up by others.

okay, now that i've gotten that out of the way, i'm going to get into my points.

firstly, the subtle and not-so-subtle racism throughout this fic, especially in relation to serizawa. i'm white, so there is only so much i can speak on without trampling over the words of other fans of color, but some of this feels so blatant it's odd it hasn't been noted earlier. it's important to note before i go into it that serizawa is specifically written as half-black half-japanese for this fic, in case the screenshots don't make it abundantly clear. but there are just too many moments of casual racism in this fic. i'm not talking about the plot point of serizawa being bullied as a kid for being mixed; i'm not mixed, so i can't speak on the accuracy there but it is well-known that black people face a lot of racism in japan. i'm talking about how it seems everyone else has these racist moments that aren't acknowledged by serizawa or the narration as being bad.

reigen hypothesizing over serizawa's exact ethnic background is just strange. yes he's a fairly observant guy (he has to be, with his job), but there is no canonical evidence to suggest he would immediately jump to theorizing whether serizawa is american or not. and the way it's posed in that first quote--"he has darker skin and the kind of hair texture that would likely indicate African ancestry"--is not great. that's an extremely inappropriate way to bring up someone's race. i don't think most people would stare at someone and be like "hmmm well your nose shape and hair texture would suggest you're of this race". it's racial essentialization that is only slightly covered up by the excuse of "oh he tweets in english". there are some other smaller moments of questionable wording, like calling serizawa's afro "sloppy" when it isnt (which btw there's another issue with the creator only referring to an afro as a "fro". it's a hairstyle; you're allowed to use the actual name of it). even if reigen cuts his hair in canon, he never states it's because serizawa's afro looks sloppy. (also there's something to be said about the casual racism baked into making your employee cut his natural hairstyle for a job, as that is a very real issue many black people face when wearing their natural hair or even protective styles in the workplace.)

i'm especially bothered by toichiro's very casual racist remarks. toichiro in this fic is a general bother of mine (most of which can be boiled down to "he would not fucking say that"), but the way she chooses to characterize him in relation to serizawa feels gross. calling a black man a slave should be a very obvious red flag, but also saying serizawa (again, as a black man) has a "brutal masculine appeal" is also extremely stereotypical and racist. and really there is just no need for it; toichiro's actions in canon prove how shitty of a guy he is without the need for him to be racist (along with other things i'll get to in a bit). as my girlfriend put it: he doesn't need to be a member of the fucking kkk to show he's a bad guy.

there's also, again, the very casual racist remark of calling serizawa a "dog". i don't care if that isn't the intent; when you are writing a character of color you need to be aware of your wording, even in insults (unless she intended to make tsuchiya racist, which i don't think she did).

secondly, the eugenics/child pregnancy bit. it is surreal to even have to write this, but i seriously do not understand the purpose of either of these bits in the story. they are so minor yet so jarring you can't help but wonder why they're there. once again, i do not think you need to have toichiro doing esper eugenics just to prove he is an evil guy. he has nuance, and by making him casually reference child pregnancy (like that isn't an INSANE thing to say) reduces that nuance to nothing. that's the only reason i could see why that bit was included: to make toichiro look worse. but, even still, the author is running the risk of potentially triggering victims of csa or people who don't want to see that by not properly tagging the mention of it (or, at the very least, warning readers in the intro notes). the only other explanation for it would maybe be shock factor??? but that's a pretty shitty thing to use for shock factor, if i'm honest. also the fact that the esper eugenics was referenced again in a more recent chapter just has me very disturbed and confused. there isn't a canonical explanation for why we see less espers who are women than espers who are men, but that doesn't mean we need to jump to fucking Eugenics. it's weird!

thirdly (and this is probably one of my biggest problems and the main reason i wanted to make this post), the weirdly lewd/sexual language shou uses constantly, along with referring to reigen as a pedo or a creep at several points. frankly, i think it's pretty fucking gross for someone in their near-40's to be writing a 12-year-old talking so casually about sex like that's normal. which, i'm sorry, but it's not. yes, teens know about sex and like to joke about lewd shit. but a 12-year-old is not about to make references to a grown man's virginity. 12-year-olds draw dicks on their desk bc they think it's funny. 12-year-olds say the word "buttfuck" because it has the words "butt" and "fuck" in it, and those are the two funniest words on earth to a kid that age. i literally do not understand the purpose of having shou be so lewd all the time. for one, it doesn't make sense for his character. shou is shown time and time again to be extremely mature for his age, but that maturity extends to shit like assembling a counter-terrorism unit and extending a hand to his father to allow him to try again. and even then he's still just as naive as any other kid his age! the omake where he's telling his guys to go to the "far right corner" based on ritsu’s advice proves that he still has plenty of blindspots that are indicative of his age. leaning into this raunchy, lewd version of shou is just weird. and, again, i think it is made a bit weirder given the author's age!!! not ageshaming or whatever--i'm 23 and i write fanfic, clearly i cannot judge there--but it is just extremely inappropriate in my opinion. also having shou be more versed in sextalk than serizawa is odd too and speaks to a larger issue of serizawa's infantilzation throughout this fic, but that's something i can get into in another post if people want an explanation.

also, the way she constantly calls reigen a creep and even has him being accused of being a pedophile during the twitter cancellation is extremely inappropriate when, again, there is NO CANONICAL BASIS FOR THIS! everyone just calls him a fraud and a scammer during separation arc; there is never a reference to reigen being seen as a pedophile in that arc. and, yes, while there are versions of mob psycho where reigen is very clearly written as a creep (looking very specifically at the netflix adaptation), that doesn't mean it's good. honestly, the creep mentions all just feel like really poor jokes that do not land in the slightest.

finally, the transphobia (aka WHY IS SHIMAZAKI A CHASER). i literally do not know what else to say other than: why? why is this a thing? why is he a chaser? what is the purpose of this? is it a joke? i feel like it's supposed to be, but seeing as the author is cis i don't think that's a joke she should really be making. it not only comes out of left field, but it's just kind of a weird thing to ascribe to a character for no reason. not to mention, it's uncomfortable! trans women deal with enough creepy antics from cis men in real life--why must they be accosted by this guy too? it's just weird and uncomfortable.

i wanna round out this post by saying, once again, that i'm not trying to attack anyone with this post. but i do hope people come away from this with a new perspective on this work, and maybe think twice before recommending it uncritically to someone. to the author specifically, i hope you can read my post without rage or indignance blinding you. i might be a little blunt or rude in parts, but it's only because i'm passionate and i don't mince my words when it comes to things i'm passionate about. to the readers, understand i am not judging you for reading this fic without noticing these things. your own life experiences will give you certain blindspots and there's nothing wrong with that. i have plenty of blindspots of my own! it's what makes us human.

there is more i could say, but this post is long enough. i ask that if you come to me in my inbox or in dms about this that you treat me with respect, as i will do that for you. writing something like this took a lot out of me, as i'm usually not so open about my opinion on shit like this.

have a good day :-)

[ravenstargames]

✦ Lost in Limbo Devlog #4 | 07.31.23

Ahá! What is this?! Ravenstar Games' fourth devlog?! More likely than you think!

Before we start, we want to apologize once again for the inactivity and thank you for your patience. Our master degree has ended as of today, but September 15th is the day on which we must hand in everything we have done during the year. That means that technically, we still have to work until then—BUT we are back on track with Lost in Limbo and our plans for the game, and we are beyond excited!

Without further ado, let's jump right into it! 💜

So of course our most important milestone has been finishing our first key art! Yaaay! 🎉

We'll use this piece as a header for our socials, as well as an overall banner for steam, itch.io, etc. Raquel did an amazing job as always with this piece, and I had the pleasure to assist her with a few details and post-editing! We are so so happy to finally have this in our hands, it has made us feel like FINALLY we can work on our game again! :')

There's also of course the Barbie artwork, which was in the making for a long, long time. It was a silly little thing we wanted to do since Barbie was announced, and Kayden worked super hard to finish it right on time!

<<The Midnight Tower. It was there before our kind took its first breath, and it will be there after the last one is long gone.>>

Not really a background, but not a CG either—let's say this is a small sneak-peak of the demo! This is one of the first things you'll see while playing, and a core part of LiL's adventure; the Midnight Tower, a mysterious entity that seems to be somehow connected to you.

I'm already working on animating this piece; the inky fragments will float around, the fog will move, and you'll be able to join this little raven on his journey to the top! Special thanks to Kayden who was in charge of this one!

You can also see the tower in our key art, if you haven't noticed. It's great to see how LiL's lore and story is evolving and seeing the light slowly but surely! 💜

This month we are happy to show you the provisional main title screen for Lost in Limbo!! 💜 As per usual, I will animate the stained glass wheel to make it spin (like the logo in our webpage, hehe), and the fog will dance around with some nice particles!

All the screens for the game are done and we are waiting for our UI artist to send the files over so we can start programming and do some screenshots. We would have liked to do this during May, June and July (the months we knew would be packed with school work) but this has not been possible as the files have not been sent over to us yet. We hope we can get them soon enough!

These past months have been a rollercoaster thanks to our master degree, but we can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. Things have been mentally draining for us all because we wanted to work on our game, and there was always the fear of people "forgetting" about our project, (or worse, thinking we had suddenly vanished to never come back), but we had to focus on our grades.

When we started two years ago, we knew this would be difficult, but I think none of us expected the hardships to be this way. To avoid writing a wall of text, let's just say that when you create something, you want to protect it; you want people to see it bathed in the sunlight you see it under, and the fear of it being disappointing or not enough is something that has hit us hard recently because of our inability to work on it. BUT THAT'S OVER!

To end this on a happy note, we have to give our endless thanks not only to you all, for still being here ready to welcome us back, but specially to @crescencestudio (and I, Seyl, am incredibly grateful to them) for being one of our biggest supports during the past few months! We have been struggling besties and talking to them has been one of the few things keeping us sane. SO THANK YOU!!! 💜

[yaoiconnoisseur]

♠ Knight of Spades - Mari ♠

〈 Protector of Innocence 〉

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Ahhh I finally get to post this :D It was an honor to be able to contribute to the amazing project that is Yuri!!! On Cards from the Yuri!!! On The Web Discord server!

You can see the entire project via this masterpost! If you'd like more context for this gigantic YOI AU, head over to this blog post for an explanation of everything.

I'd like to give a massive shoutout to @arom-antix and @lines-on-ice for basically putting this all together and making this amazing idea a reality. I know Arrow credits me as one of the admins of this project, but I really only made a Google Drive and did a little research for the artists on how to format their cards haha

I had a ton of fun coming up with Mari's design as the Knight of Spades. I knew right away that I wanted Mari's design to reflect her Japanese heritage since the suit of Spades is a fully Japanese cast.

I've cut me talking about the art itself and my thought process while working on it so I don't nuke your dash, but if you'd like to read my ramblings feel free to

Making Mari a samurai was an easy choice since, one, that's basically what a knight was in Japan (albeit there was no legal binding between a daimyo and his samurai), and, two, I've always HC'd Mari as a protective older sister in the sense she'd be fairly hands off until someone made the mistake of bullying her little Yuuri.

I wanted her armor to be blue since that was the overarching color scheme for Spades, but choosing what blues to use was.. Difficult. There needed to be enough contrast between the different pieces of her armor to show that the armor is made of multiple parts while keeping the hues and brightness values close enough to still look cohesive. I also wanted to keep the blues relatively low saturated to bring our Mari's blonde highlights.

(As I was coloring her armor I realized half way through that I basically drew a Samurott ginjinka oops (￣▽￣*)ゞ)

I had originally intended for the sarashi (the belt) to be pure white, however when I put all the base colors down I realized the white was too much and pulled your eyes away from Mari's overall form. I knew having the belt be pure blue would make the belt blend in too much with the rest of the armor, so I ended up making the belt mostly blue with white accents as a compromise. I still wish the belt could have been white, but oh well.

As for the katana.. That was originally going to be pure blue, but like the belt problem, I had issues keeping the katana from looking muddied. I ended up trying five different variations of black/dark gray until I settled on what you see above lol. It was really difficult making the hilt of the katana look nice because if I went too dark with the blacks I would lose detail on the hilt, but if I went too light I would lose the contrast with the hilt's blues. As for the saya (scabbard/sheathe) I wanted it to be black, but I ended up matching it to Mari's armor instead because a black saya with a mostly black hilt somehow made the entire katana look flat.

The color palates I used for everything else was just me eyeballing her fleshtone and hair color through various screenshots I ripped directly from the show.

The background gave the the most trouble out of everything though because I'm not particularly great at making interesting, minimalistic backgrounds for my art. The card looked to plain without some sort of variation of color behind Mari, but since her armor was already so complex I needed a background that didn't take away from those complexities and didn't muddy the entire piece. I had originally planned to do a sumi-e type background, however I found that no matter what I did the sumi-e designs took away focus from Mari. Eventually I settled on a default abstract Procreate brush and drew lines until something stuck.

Overall I had a blast making this and also the borders for the rest of the cards! I learned a lot about how to format and prep digital canvases for making a card deck, too lol

[pteropods]

🔥+animanga

I asked ppl to do this n then fell asleep im so sorry

ANIME ADAPTATIONS ARE NOTTTTT NECESSARY FOR ALL MANGA OH MY GOD. ACTUALLY IT WLD MAKE A LOT OF THEM WORSE. Anime adaptation baseline for animation has been getting a lot better lately (a very standard studio now could be on par with the most beloved and highly praised studio ten or twenty years ago) but NO MATTER WHAT the art- especially lighting- of a manga will almost always look worlds better than the anime adaptation, simply because more detail can be added when its a still image. Similarly, some things CANT be reasonably added from a manga without it looking weird. Comics can get away with noy having a background on a panel, be it out of ease or influencing the mood of the panel, but animation has a lot harder of a time switching from a background to a solid coor or design without good reason- its not impossible, and in fact very common of you look for it, but its just... not smth you can do as often as in manga

[ID: The manga and anime versions of the "I am L" scene in Death Note. In the manga, lights shocked reaction is visible and ghe background has a flash of white to show that. Both L and Light have more detail.

In the anime, the visuals are a lot closer to L's face, with light not seen at all. There is less detail, but there is a shadow cast over half of L's face /End ID]

Take the "I am L" scene for example. The original manga has more shock to it. More of a creepy feeling, even. The anime maintains that in a way, but it also sacrifices a lot of the original appeal of that panel- the bacground flash, Light's face, etc. I wont discredit the anime and say that they didnt do a great job replicating the feeling with great music and voice dubbing, but visual-wise its. a little lacking. I will give credit to them, the shadow over the face does a more than you would think to improve this scene.

This is a manhwa, but a lot of fans bashed the solo leveling anime for this exact reason- the art of the manhwa had so much more detail and complex lighting than the anime, bcs it would be unreasonable for animators for spend time on the lighting for a minor scene in the show, but its easy for a manhwa artist to do it. And this is DESPITE solo levelling animation and visuals being an INCREDIBLE adaptation of the mood and original panels

[ID: A screenshot of the anime vs manhwa adaptatiom of a character shooting a magic blast. The manhwa has more detail in the character and harsher lighting, and the anime has brighter light and a larger blast /End ID]

Pleaseeee click on the manhwa one to see the full thing. One thing about the manhwa vs anime is the fact that manhwas are often made to be scrolled vetically, where anime is a horizontal screen. The screenshot above of the manhwa isnt even the entire thing, it didnt fit in my screen. Imo the anime is AMAZING and does a fantastic job adapting it, but literally it Cant Do It Perfectly because of the difference in media form.

ALSO !! ppl forget that comics are an art form in of themself- the way the story is told goes beyond just showing the characters doing things. Panelling specifically is an incredibly influential aspect of it. YES, many authors dont put so much into the panels that a major facet is lost if made into an anime, but SOME DO

[ID: Two Tokyo Goul pages. One is almost entrely empty besides Kaneki sitting in a chair saying "Mother". Above him is a text box reading "Instead of a person who hurts others, become a person who...".

The second page shows Kaneki's torture, the words "Over and over" written many times across the page, in various sizes and layouts. Through yhe page Kaneki narrates "When the injections wore off Yamori would give me "food" and wait for the injured areas to heal. Then, he would start all over again and give me an injection. Repeatedly. My fingers and toes regrew as if they were nails and hair, over and over. They. Regrew. Every. Time. and I felt like I was truly a monster." /End ID]

Sui Ishida is a genius in terms of panelling and using the art form to his advantage- I didnt even include my fav page of his here, bcs theres soooo many good ones and I hit the image limit lolz. He utilizes text in a way unreplicatable by an anime adaptation, which doesnt use that. Even if it did, text shown in an animation has a different feel to it than a comic, where thoughts, diologue, and narration all use text. Much like the formatting of Solo Levellinng, TG text cant be replicated in another medium.

[ID: A page from Chainsaw Man, in which all the panels are seperates by arms /End ID]

Fujimoto has some amazing panelling in CSM, in the way he seperates panels. While this is the most notable one, theres SO many worth sharing if I wasnt constrained by an image limit. Utilizing the characters and scenes themselves as the panel borders enhances the atmosphere, and creates an even mote sinister feeling to the page.

[ID: Two panels and a page from Witch Hat Ateliar. The panels are formatted by being indented into a wall. The page has a scenic panel with a complex, storybook-like border /End ID]

Kamome Shirahama is anothet author with amazing usage of panels and formatting- when background or lore is given, the panels have a fancy, intricate border to indicate its a story being told- see the right image. She also uses the parts of other panels to interact with new ones (see left image), and often has characters interact with the borders themselves. There is SO much I can say about her work but actually I think watching this video will do you better.

im getting exhausted writing all of this I may come back and talk abt gnpp since that was the one I actually meant to write abt. Augh whatever take this for now