#this is the fourth iteration of this combo

[emojiturtledaily]

[Submission] Day 891: 🐢 & 🍓

[justheblueberry]

handbinding of A Study in Scarlette by kittebasu

There are people who want to live forever, and then there is Shinichi, who just wants to live a little longer than this.

this bind has been in my head since i first read the fic like, three years ago. i dreamed up so many ideas for it, for so long, and now it's finally done! the typeset was actually done in early 2022, back when i was still using google docs, but it went through a few iterations because i was just. so. fiddly. with every aspect of this book. it needed to be perfect (as close to perfect as i, an amateur bookbinder out of my depth, can get) and it had to be absolutely over the top, to reflect the insane amount of love and care that the author put into the fic itself.

the first time i read this fic, i barely knew what detective conan was, much less all of the intricate plot details; i was just along for the ride, but by the end i was completely invested. i went back and watched through the anime as well as a few movies (it took me six months) and then read the fic again. and then a few more times. kaishin and the world of dcmk has utterly gripped me. it's 100% this fic's fault and i love it so, so, much.

i went through a few iterations of visual designs and i'm really happy with the little details i managed to squeeze in.

the entire color scheme is based around red, because 1) it's a murder mystery, 2) for scarlette shinamoto (and the title of the fic as well as the original holmes novel it references), and 3) the irony of "lady red" actually being red. the secret fourth reason is that i think red/gold is a super sexy color combo.

i sewed the textblock with red thread to reference holmes' "scarlet thread of murder".

another detail i love is the five yen coin bookmark, it was one of my first ideas and it turned out even better than i thought.

i wanted the endpapers to evoke a sense of the white marbled floor of the ballroom, with the glow-in-the-dark kaitou kid caricature being the luminol on the floor, and the little pops of red looks like blood that's been mixed in. i lucked out in that the other side of the endpaper was like a lavender-purpley color, i like to think of it as a little wink wink nudge to the color of the actual Lady Red.

the chapter pages got a few reworkings, but i'm happy with the illustrations i ended up doing for each of them. the chapter titles are one of my favorite things about the fic, each one has so much meaning packed into it and flows so beautifully, and i wanted to put as much care into making them pop as possible.

the cover was a linocut carving i designed and carved, which i then printed onto the bookcloth, and ironed on htv on top.

i also threw in a couple of my drawings of my favorite scenes.

this is getting way too long, so i'll end it here. i'll have a separate post detailing the process every step of the way, if anyone wants to take a closer look. this fic is kind of directly responsible for getting me into fanbinding, so it's safe to say it altered the course of my life. i now spend way too much time (and money) looking at book stuff.

kittebasu, if, somehow, you see this and would like an author copy, i would be honored to make one and ship it to you; i would be overjoyed to gift you with any art i have the ability to make, because the fics you wrote have irreversibly altered my brain chemistry, and being able to give back in any capacity would be a dream. (thank you.)

a few postscripts:

i am not selling any copies of this fic. partially because i believe in the gift economy of fandom as well as firmly keeping fanbinding a hobby that will stay unmonetized, but also because it took me months (years, if we are counting when i first finished the typeset) to finish this and i do not have the strength.

however, if you are also a fan of this fic and would like a copy, i honestly, fervently, encourage you to give fanbinding a try! renegade publishing and its discord server are an absolutely wonderful and free resource. i knew nothing about bookbinding and had zero materials when i first started, but i've learned so much thanks to the lovely people there. if you're still apprehensive about getting started, i'd be willing to share my typeset of this fic as well as answer any questions about the making of this book if you DM me.

[jovenshires]

💙Smoshblr December Asks Day 18💛

What are your top 3 fave clothes, that you currently own? (can be faves for any reason, like comfort, smth you love to wear on special occasions, etc. 🤗)

Bonus: What are your top 3 fave accessories? (like jewelry, belts, bags, etc. 👜)

oh my god....... this is so hard bc i am a Fashion Girlie. but i digress. have some gpoys as well to showcase the Fits bc i am Proud of Them

the first is this cropped sweatshirt that says practice safe hex. i love her. SO much. i study witchcraft (one day ill practice. one day.) and i think this shirt is so funny and the and when fall hits? im a menace this is all i wear. (bonus shoutout to the patterned jeans in that pic bc they'd probably be my fourth pick for this list i LOVE those jeans.)

second is this brown corduroy skirt!! this is a more recent addition to my closet (i think i got it like last year?) and i wear it all the time. it is sitting on my bed to be put away from the wash rn. it's so cute and simple and goes with so many different things. ive got this outfit i really like to do with it (but no pics of the full thing unfortch) i call my shaggy fit where i wear this with like a lil green tank top sweater combo and its SUCH a cute winter/fall fit. (also this picture peeps one of my weeb tattoos so enjoy xx)

third and finally i cannot believe this is the best picture i have of this stupid thing (censored the face and an identifying landmark in the background LKNFKNSFLKNR) BUT this lil plaid overshirt? i have had that thing since i was literally... 13. so like 12 years and i STILL wear it ALLLLLL of the time. showing my arms makes me Uncomfy so this thing is a lifesaver. and i also wear a lot of plain black clothing so if smth needs a lil spice? ya just throw this bad boy on. plain black dress? plaid overshirt. lil romper? plaid overshirt. plain t-shirt? plaid overshirt. she's everything to me.

OH BOY OH BOY okay so two of these are like. staples to my wardrobe and the other one is. just for fun!

so the first one - my best friend handmade this for my birthday. this is my very own clown collar!!!!!! katie lore drop incoming - i am obsessed with clowns. i have a clown collection and a clown tattoo. so of course when she went to knit me smth she made me this!! i have not had the occasion to wear it but. im manifesting it soon (i will say she gave me this While i was dressed as a clown)

the second picture is of my class rings. (don't worry they've been heavily censored i'm not doxxing myself <3) the lighting is terrible and they also. don't leave my hands so the gems are grody as hell but the gems are blue zircon (my brother and mother's birthstone) and amethyst. im not even like. very proud of being an alumni from my schools but they remind me how hard i fought and all i learned to be where i am today and honestly. i love a ring! i love a ring moment and i wish i wore more so. class rings stick around.

and FINALLY. oh Boy oh Boy. i can talk about this thing for hours. this is my backpack. it is Covered in pins and keychains (spot all my special interests in there....... so many things....) and i take it Everywhere with me. this is actually the Third iteration of this backpack - i had a black backpack that all these pins were on (it broke tragically), then his white backpack had different pins, and now we've moved the black backpack pins onto the white backpack. im a bag enthusiast and a pin collector (i have so many pins....... so many) so i have multiple bags with pins all over them but. these pins are my faves.

ANYWAY. sorry ab being so extra but i love all these things soooo yeah <3<3<3

[gaymer-hag-stan]

Fighting Games is a genre that I have always loved because they allow for unique player expression like no other genre. You get a wide selection of characters to choose from hailing from various different countries and practicing different styles of martial arts or even wielding melee weapons.

We've been lucky to have gotten tons of different games to choose from, and I have personally singled out the nine most vital franchises to the genre; the pillars of the fighting game community, if you will. Unfortunately, I only get ten options per poll, so games like Killer Instinct, Marvel vs. Capcom or Injustice have been left out. But that's why the tenth option has been left free of choice, as I'm sure that some of you will have the most obscure niche options in mind and will immediately comment "why is X not here" so there.

I'm also not deliberately ignoring Super Smash Bros., I just have traditional fighting games in mind and it's kinda not. But it's very much still a fighting game.

I'm also specifically talking about series of games and not one offs so that's why no Skullgirls and so on.

Anyway, at the end of the day vote for whatever you like, just don't bust my balls about "excluding" your fave 🤣

Really wish I could add:

A. More options

and

B. Images to the options to make them look prettier.

But overall I think polls have been a great addition. Good job @staff 👍😁👏

Here's a few general thoughts

I have a weird relationship with Mortal Kombat. My earliest memory of it must be some older kids next to my grandma's house playing MK4 and letting me watch them play for a while. Then I definitely remember the PS2 era games' covers and the video store, the dragon logo is so cool, but I never actually bothered to pick any of them. Until I got the 2011 game when I had a PS3. I liked it a lot, I kinda liked the story but I never understood the normies obsession with it? And here's a hot take; NRS stories are not that good, certainly not any better than any other fighting game like Tekken or SoulCalibur. The only key difference is that they have relatively good writing, while the rest of the major game, which are mostly Japanese, have cringey anime dialogue that absolutely does not fit the dramatic NRS storytelling everyone has been trying to copy post 2011. I wish they would straight up drop it and go back to having a decent, eight-level minimum arcade mode with character endings and stop trying to do what NRS does, because it's not that great to begin with. Anyway, I have since developed a love-hate relationship with it. I got both X and 11, and while both are objectively good games, with 11 FINALLY even making the characters look not ugly for the first time ever, but I think I've kind of moved on from MK. I don't have any attachment to the overall plot, I only mostly care about Mileena, Kitana and co., I mostly prefer 3D fighting games in general and I'm not that good at it so... Yeah. Still a fan series though, both the Reboot Trilogy as well as the, mostly underappreciated, PS2 trilogy.

I was born in 1997 and arcades weren't really a thing in Greece? I remember only having seen a Tekken 5 cabinet at a bowling alley in my entire life, so I never got to experience the "birth" of fighting games with Street Fighter, and Street Fighter itself was almost completely absent from the PS2, save for a few Alpha and SFII rereleases I think. So I finally got to play Street Fighter during the later years of it's fourth iteration when I got Ultra Street Fighter IV for the PS3. I was VERY frustrated at the beginning like, I was used to Tekken, DOA and SoulCalibur style gameplay, all of which are 3D but also combo-heavy games. Street Fighter was not that at all and I thought this made it a bad game. But I decided to give it a second chance with Street Fighter V. SFV is, perhaps notoriously, more simplified in both it's inputs as well as it's overall difficulty, so it helped me appreciate the series a lot more. Most of the characters no longer look ugly too (heavy emphasis on MOST) so that helped too. What's more, I can now actually play IV a lot better, and I even had money to spare to get Super Turbo II HD and Third Strike for the PS3, though I do struggle a bit with those too still, Third Strike in particular. Street Fighter X Tekken is also my guilty pleasure, don't @me. My only real issue is that I seem to be mostly interested in the "less regular" characters in the series like Elena or Poison or Laura which means that I have to find a new main in every single game and... I really don't care for most of the cast, especially the ones who seem to be featured on most of the games and never skip an entry.

I've been playing Tekken since I was 8 or 9 years old and got Tekken 5, the first fighting game I ever owned and I've been obsessed ever since. I love the gameplay because I feel like the four-limb system feels so natural, you know? If you press the X button you get a left kick, if you press the Δ button you get a right punch. It's so simple. Nina Williams is probably my favourite video game character ever, after Lara Croft, and I just really the series as a whole. It's also the only game I feel confident enough to play online atm.

For some reason I was always vaguely aware of The King of Fighters existence since around 2010-2011 but I never felt the desire to play it? Mai was added in Dead or Alive 5 however and I absolutely loved her. I played so much as her. But as far as picking up her own games... Well... KOFXIV looked like shit and I'd heard that XIII, and KOF in general, was very difficult so that was a bit off-putting. After falling out of love with MK however, I had to feel the gap. And along came KOFXV! I was still not completely sold, but I had money to spare and I got the game and I now love the series so much? Definitely my favourite 2D fighting game series. I wasted so many years gatekeeping myself out of playing the games but, honestly, while I sometimes buy things on impulse, the money I can spend on games is a very specific and limited amount so I always try to actually buy things that I will actually play and enjoy. XV is fun, but it turns out the "ugly" KOFXIV and the difficult XIII are even more fun! Shout-out to KOF for having an amazing cast of characters too. Even with Tekken which has been with me since childhood there are TONS of characters I straight up hate or just don't care about. KOF has over 90 characters and the ones I actually hate are probably fewer than Tekken's. This is certainly not a quantity over quality case (the yearly release for the first decade of the series was insane though, I don't know why they thought that was a good idea)

SoulCalibur is another series I loved since childhood but this one I didn't personally own until my late teens. A friend's uncle had a Dreamcast however, and when he would visit him in the summer he would bring it over and we would play SoulCalibur a lot! I have several reservations about Namco basing the series entire marketing on "who's the guest this time?" and later on the character creation. The sole focus should be on the characters themselves, because SoulCalibur has the most detailed and complex backstories in fighting games. Period. But because SoulCalibur has devolved into an overglorified character creator and the guests get the only media focus the game is gonna get during its promotional period, I feel like the brand itself has lost its mainstream appeal. SoulCalibur I is one of the best fighting games, and it has zero guests and no customization, other than being able to choose different weapons for each character. Have your guests by all means, I personally had tons of fun with Ezio and 2B, and Haohmaru even peaked my curiosity for Samurai Shodown, and customization can be fun too, but don't make it your main selling point. It has evidently not been working as well as Namco wants it to. Tekken and Mortal Kombat have guests and customization too, but they're not the games main selling point, they only help bring in additional fans.

Dead or Alive is the booby pervy game, sure, but it's also a great fighting game? The fast-paced gameplay is extremely fun and satisfying, most of the cast is actually pretty interesting, despite the sexy outfits and bikinis and beach volleyball, and whenever there's a new DOA in the market it it will always be the best-looking fighting game available at the time. There's no contest. I had tons of fun playing DOA2 as a kid and I had tons of fun playing DOA5 as an adult, because since DOA became Xbox-exclusive for a while, I never actually owned DOA3 or DOA4. I wish I could have had more fun with DOA6 too but the game is just... Soulless, and that's a shame. The fact that both DOA and SoulCalibur are unlikely to get sequels any time soon is also very heartbreaking.

I was way past my anime phase when I became aware of Guilty Gear's existence, so I was at first hesitant of checking it out. However, a chain of events led me to eventually get Rev 2. See, Haohmaru was a guest on SoulCalibur VI, and Baiken was a guest in Samurai Shodown and I guess you see where I'm going with is. This is why guests should absolutely not go away, but it is much better they remain actual (fighting) video game characters first and foremost and not stupid horror movie characters that haven't been relevant for decades (fuck every single MK12 guest, but especially RoboCop) Rev 2 is so much fun. It's still hard however, so I'm not yet ready to fully embrace Guilty Gear, but Strive looks more and more appealing each day is all I'm saying. Jack' O and I-No may have helped.

Virtua Fighter forever revolutionized the genre by moving things for the first time in the third dimension. I only had a VF4 demo as a kid and I was creeped out by having to fight Shun Di, a drunken old creepy guy, in a dark cave on a raft as Sarah so I never touched the series again until 5. The game is really fun and I will forever be grateful for it because it eventually lead to Tekken and DOA's creation, but while MK having a "good" story mode does not automatically make it a good game, Virtua Fighter having NO story mode, not even arcade endings, doesn't help it's case all that much either.

I've been contemplating trying out BlazBlue lately, Rachel, Taokaka and especially miss Litchi look really promising, but I'm trying to let the thought mature in my mind first rather than making an impulse purchase. I haven't played enough of any of its installments to have an opinion on it, but I know tons of people love it so it must have a few things going on for it, right?

Shout-out again to Samurai Shodown, I love the "fencing" aspect of its gameplay, but I'm just not as invested to it's cast as I am in KOF's yet. I've also always wanted to try out Darkstalkers but Capcom seems to be hellbent on wanting to make this franchise DIE. I don't understand why they don't at least start adding it's cast in Street Fighter as "permanent guests", in the same spirit as Final Fight characters keep on coming back. Morrigan is too good a character to be left to rot. I'd also love to try Killer Instinct, but it's another Xbox exclusive so RIP. Finally, I do own the first Injustice, but American comic book super heroes have always been morbidly boring to me (except Spiderman and Batman & co.) so, consequently, both Injustice and Marvel vs. Capcom are of no interest to me at all.

[satoshi-mochida]

SaGa Emerald Beyond launches April 25, 2024

Gematsu Source

SaGa Emerald Beyond will launch for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Switch, PC via Steam, iOS, and Android on April 25, 2024, Square Enix announced.

In Japan, SaGa Emerald Beyond will be available both physically and digitally for 7,480 yen. A Square Enix e-STORE-exclusive Collector’s Edition will also be available for 25,000 yen, which includes an art book, three-disc soundtrack CD set, two metal monster figures, and a bag. Pre-orders are available now.

Here is an overview of the game, via its Steam page:

About

The latest standalone entry in the SaGa franchise, SaGa Emerald Beyond brings together the very best elements of the beloved series to offer each player their own unique gameplay experience. Make use of glimmers and combos in battle; meet a diverse cast of races, including monsters, mechs, and vampires; and experience your very own story, created through your choices and actions.

Distant Worlds Woven Together

Travel to 17 unique worlds from the Junction, either led by the hand of destiny or by a path forged by your own choices. Discover the completely different cultures and landscapes, ranging from a densely developed forest of skyscrapers and a green and luscious habitat covered in plant life to a world governed by five witches, or one ruled by vampires—just to name a few of the distinct settings.

An Eclectic Cast of Protagonists

Six leading characters, all from diverse backgrounds and with vastly different goals, set out on their journey in five unique story arcs. They venture to the myriad of worlds for their very own personal reasons: One, a human on a mission to protect the barrier defending his city; another, a witch trying to regain her lost magic while maintaining her disguise as a schoolgirl; and yet another, a vampire lord out to regain his crown and reclaim the throne as the rightful king of his world. Even selecting the same protagonist for a second—or third or fourth—playthrough will lead to completely new events and stories, a completely fresh path and experience.

A Story of Your Very Own Making

SaGa Emerald Beyond has the greatest number of branching plots of any game in the SaGa series. The story branches abundantly depending on your choices and actions. Every time you visit a world, the story will evolve, allowing the protagonist and player alike to discover new possibilities. As the story unfolds in this way it becomes a tale all of your own, not only affecting the path you walk but also the multiple potential endings that await each protagonist.

Battles where a Single Choice Can Change Everything

SaGa Emerald Beyond further refines the highly strategic Timeline Battles the SaGa franchise has been long renowned for. With series mainstays such as the skill to spontaneously acquire abilities through the Glimmer system, tactical ally placement known as Formations, and United Attacks that enable individual skills to connect together to form devastating chain attacks, it offers the best iteration of SaGa‘s turn-based combat to date. The new combat system adds more drama than ever before, allowing you to support party members, interrupt enemy actions, and use United Attacks by strategically manipulating the order of ally actions. The characters that join you, the weapons you wield, your party formation, and your tactics in battle—everything is up to you!

Read more about the game here.

Watch a new set of trailers below.

Character Trailer: Tsunanori Mido

Character Trailer: Ameya Aisling

[nathanp11246537]

A-4. Asteroids Postmortem

The core mechanics for my asteroids prototype, "Swashbuckler Seas", are pretty much finished. The only thing I couldn't implement was an upgrade system, but since I made enemy ships break up into debris in only one shot (like the original asteroids), I decided the game should be an endless push-your-luck shooter rather than stat based.

Keeping the base simple allowed me to add a bit more depth with the points and combo system, allowing players to build up a point highscore in the form of collecting coins. The pirate ship / ocean aesthetic of the game was also simple enough to implement (with my limited art ability) and lended itself well to the asteroids sub-genre, with an easy to understand setting and a simple shooting mechanic.

The weekly readings (especially on prototyping and playtesting) were a big help in encouraging me to push past the base mechanics of the genre and iterate on more ideas and concepts rather than keeping it simple like the last prototype, although the game's complexity is still somewhat questionable. The playtesting I did also helped add a few refinements such as the UI elements (just the points and combo tracker) and some tweaks to the movement of the ship that made it easier to control.

If I were to redevelop this prototype I would flesh out the visuals a bit more, increase the amount of options at the player's disposal, as well as increasing the amount of enemies and finish implementing any ideas from the elevator pitch that didn't make it into the "final" prototype. I'd also focus less on tweaking the smaller aspects like the code for the ship's movement etc. until I get feedback on it from playtesters.

Fullerton, T. (2018). Game design workshop : A playcentric approach to creating innovative games, fourth edition. CRC Press LLC.

[bainhardt]

#RibbonQuest2.0 - Part 3: Master Ball Rank or Bust

It’s kind of poetic, in a way. My very first meeting with Jin, and the beginning of our travels together, was commemorated with the chucking of a Master Ball - a guaranteed capture. It’s a one-of-a-kind ball typically reserved only for one-of-a-kind Pokemon (like Jin). When it comes to capturing Pokemon, the Master Ball stands above the rest as the symbol of infallibility, the promise of success overcoming any and all odds.

Well, we’re gonna need to channel that spirit in our latest challenge, because our success is anything but guaranteed: we have to take on the Master Ball rank in online rated battles for Pokemon Sword and Shield! Among our countless trials and triumphs spanning generations, Jin and I have never actually battled online against other real players. The World Ability Ribbon back in Platinum would’ve been our first foray, but the DS Wi-Fi connection had long been shut down in the time before our quest began.

Keeping with the theme of RibbonQuest2.0, this comes as an unexpected surprise. Jin, like all transfer Pokemon, is ineligible for rated battles; the standardized rules only permit Pokemon born and raised in the gen 8 games. Back when our time in Galar first started, I had never even planned on mentioning the Master Rank Ribbon, simply because we weren’t allowed to try and earn it!

But all of that changed with the release of the Isle of Armor DLC and patch version 1.2. By accepting the reset of your Pokemon’s move pool to only moves compliant with its gen 8 iteration, you’re allowed to mark your transfer Pokemon eligible for rated battles online! The icing on the cake is that Jin’s XD-exclusive purification move, Baton Pass (which I bent over backwards to keep even through all the Pokemon Contests), is now a TR which Farfetch’d can learn anytime. All’s well that ends well, I suppose.

It’s like getting your hand stamped at a concert, but with a side of forced amnesia.

With that, preparations were complete. There was nothing left to do but hop to it and get battling! The Master Ball Rank doesn’t earn itself, and if I’ve learned anything from our past, I think that means we’re going to need some help...

However, in the interest of cutting down on superfluous Ribbon Gang members like (sorry to single you out) Speedrun the Talonflame, I’ll only be honoring the final 5 actual contenders accompanying Jin when the ribbon is earned. Numerous grueling battles will be fought on the path to Master Ball tier and those stories will be lost to time, for only the best of the best deserve to call themselves part of Ribbon Gang 2.0.

I got boxfuls of second-stringers here, for real.

When first beginning in earnest with the July season, I mainly played Double battles, my preferred format for fun. I had a couple different teams, but never climbed any higher than Great Ball. Some teams of note included:

self-proc Weakness Policy Stamina Mudsdale with Skill Link support and Psych Up Stored Power follow up

Entrainment Plus Dedenne alongside special attackers with spread moves (coined the “fuck redirects” team)

a strange combo Sandstorm and Round team that was kind of an excuse to see if Refrigerate Aurorus could amount to anything

I was too committed to gimmicks, and at this time still hoped to reach the necessary heights using something built for fun at its core. I convinced myself that whenever I got around to really trying, it’d come together easily enough. In the past I’d do anything and everything to increase my chances of success, and I needed to return to this mentality moving forward.

After burn out from facing VGC competitive teams, several months of distraction with other games, and the arrival of 2021, I changed gears to test out Singles beginning in March. Despite having essentially zero experience with the format, I drafted two main teams during my Singles stint:

a Focus Energy Baton Pass team designed so every other Pokemon is then guaranteed crits with every attack

a Shedinja team with Pokemon like Ditto and Zoroark designed to help determine whether Shedinja can survive the opponents

Still sounds gimmicky, I know. I can’t help it. But a funny thing happened as I continued to chip away at this challenge: the Focus Pass crit team actually kind of... worked. Once you’re critting every attack, you start to notice just how many game mechanics critical hits outright invalidate. Intimidate? Your negative offensive stages are ignored. Bulk stacking opponents? Their positive defensive stages are ignored. Grimmsnarl and Lapras walling you out? Screens don’t apply against crits (although a Shell Armor Lapras did shut me down quite handily once). Honestly, the boosted damage almost feels like an afterthought.

Every team I played required considerable reworking as I’d progress, honing in on specific threats often encountered and dropping low-participation Pokemon who weren’t pulling their weight. There was even a rule set which allowed the use of extremely powerful Legendary Pokemon for a time (a very bad time). But all digression aside, allow me to introduce the team that would eventually carry me higher than ever, swiftly through Ultra Ball tier and directly into Master Ball. They are the new and final members of Ribbon Gang 2.0.

The ones on the left, I mean. This box is just more second-stringers.

First is Gepigop the Togekiss, sporting Super Luck as a core member of the original crit team. Spamming STAB Life Orb boosted Max Airstream is the Singles meta, after all. And he’s from my Y version, same as Speedrun!

Second is PkmnConquest the Kartana, probably the most consistent and useful member I picked up along the way. Give it a Scope Lens and it’ll BEAST BOOST its way to easy sweeps - just pray your opponent isn’t hiding any Fire types in the back...

It goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes it goes Guillotine... the Weavile at number three. YUH. She was included as a direct response to the unending hordes of Cinderace and Zapdos I faced. Focus Sash and Counter helped her turn around so many unfavorable matchups, I can’t recommend it enough!

Bringing up fourth is 8008 8008 the Rhyperior. Need an idea of how broken Dynamax Zapdos’ bulk is? Rhyperior is the only Pokemon I found who can one shot it from full HP without needing to Dynamax in return... and even then, only using Rock Wrecker. Seriously.

In our final slot is AZKi the Espeon, because Hololive kept me company through many of my battle sessions, lol. After one too many Focus Passes were blocked by Taunt, I put an end to it with Magic Bounce. You remember that scene in The Incredibles where Syndrome’s robots were revised as they faced off against more and more heroes? She’s basically that.

By the time I was barely breaking into Ultra Ball tier, I found much greater success if I didn’t try to force the crit gimmick every time, but still had it if I wanted it on AZKi, the fourth in the succession of Focus Passers. Yes, after months spent honing my skills in battle, I finally learned that just bringing three Pokemon that can beat your opponent’s is the simplest way to a win. Incredible, I know. And win we did!

The final needed victory in Master Ball tier was secured by PkmnConquest, Guillotine, and 8008 8008, a trio I found myself locking in very frequently.

It’s... it’s beautiful.

With this Master Ball ribbon attached to my Master Ball Farfetch’d, we’ve finally brought our lengthy Galarian story to its conclusion. Having managed to snag this online-exclusive ribbon before these games lost popularity or network support, Jin is once again a tried and true Ribbon Master, and I’ve no unfinished business to worry about any longer.

Until it is time to take up your sword once more,

Rest easy, Jin.

POKEMON SWSH: COMPLETE!

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

28 Oct 19

Mood of the day has been TICKET STRESS! With LT tour ticket sales upon us with little time to prepare and much confusion about what the hell is going on, tensions are running high. But the pre-sale codes were finally sent out to most places and fans in the first countries to go on sale successfully got tickets so it's slightly calmer now. To everyone trying tomorrow: may the odds be ever in your favor.

Louis has added another performance! He's playing the Phoenix AZ Jingle Bash on Dec 9. Video of fans from the WMI listening parties has been posted. WMI is Amazon song of the day! And in interviews: he says that WMI is the second of FOUR singles, so we can expect another after DLIBYH (which he said will be out in Nov) and probably the video series is four parts. He says he spends AN HOUR A DAY reading fan messages and that he'd like to find an unknown/unsigned band to open for him for the UK or US legs of tour to give them a boost. We found out why Noel Gallagher is credited on Walls; as suspected it's because of a melody similarity and not any work he and Louis did together. Louis said it was ironic cause he's a Liam Gallagher fan mostly but that they asked if it was ok and Noel said yes, "I thought it was fucking cool, I was expecting him to just say no." Late Late Show is tonight and early reports make it sound fun and that's all, no big drama. Ben Winston got everyone riled up teasing something exciting on the show tonight but, spoiler, it isn't anything exciting. Build interviewer Kevan Kenney tweets that he has Louis news tomorrow. Louis took fan pics and hung out a little bit outside the LLS taping.

Liam's anime lyric video was mysteriously reuploaded to YouTube, so all the previous view counts were lost, and even more mysteriously the description included A LOT of lyrics from the upcoming album, just a massive dump of song lyrics. WTF happened over there?? MTV is teasing a Liam interview for tomorrow with some cool clips of a fun looking photoshoot (that white suit and Panama hat! whoa) and an interview clip in which he talks about the difficulties of dating in the public eye. He also shows us through his shoot wardrobe, stopping on a patterned suit to give a little wink to Harry ("I feel like I know someone would wear it better.")

Niall congratulated Lewis Capaldi on finally making it number one in the US, tells us to "smile all the time" because "it's good for ya," and says he's been listening to his own album at the gym because he's working on mixes currently. He posted and quickly deleted a dimly lit selfie making a weird face OOPS.

We got a picture of Harry in his stage clothes from the Jools Holland taping- it's the FOURTH (4th) iteration of the same outfit in a different color scheme, amazing! The high waisted button trousers, glittery blouse and wide braces combo was in soft purples and pinks on this occasion. The similarity to a certain David Bowie era was again noted.

And in the most unexpected revelations of the day, a Julian Bunetta podcast casts a familiar song in a whole new light. He talks about nearly leaking the entirety of Midnight Memories by accident but does not mention the time he actually was responsible for No Control leaking and talks about writing for 1D at great length without ever acknowledging them having participated in songwriting, but the big story is about the writing of She's Not Afraid. He says the house next to the studio they were working in was being used for a porn shoot and they "didn't want to be creeps" so they were sneaking around in the bushes peeking through the windows because they felt that would be "more respectful" to the female actress, hmm yes that sounds about like Julian's idea of respecting women, and then they wrote the song about a made up version of her in their minds. Respectful is... definitely the word is have chosen for all that, YOU BET. Anyway he also says the Calabasas house was bought by Liam and that's who lived in it.

[smokeybrandreviews]

The King of Iron Fist

I don’t talk about this much but i am a massive, massive, fan of fighting games. I’ve been playing these things for decades, since all the way back in ‘92 with the release of the original Mortal Kombat. Watching the growth, decline, and then resurgence of the fighting game community has been a goddamn treat for me. Admittedly, i suck at the Capcom titles. Absolutely terrible. I do okay with the Rival Schools franchise, but outside of that, straight up balls, man. Never my forte. I’m pretty good with the original MK trilogy, the sprite based one, but absolutely awful with Deadly Alliance through Deception. I hated the fighting styles in those games. They were so goddamn awful, it was sickening. I do okay with the MKIX, MKX, and MKXI titles, though. They feel like the old games which lends itself to my old timey skill set. That said, my strength lies with the two Namco headliners; Tekken and Soul Calibur.

I mastered every Tekken title through 7, though, admittedly, I'm not so godly in the newest release, only great. Personally. For me, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the title I'm best with. I love that game, man. I can use literally everyone in the roster to perfection. All of their moves. All of their ten-hits. I maxed out my rank in the Ghost Battles with several of the characters and ranked in the top-10, worldwide, leader boards when it was first released. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and wanted to revisit my favorite fighting franchise, giving a little love to my favorite fighters, kind of like how i did with my Persona 5 mains. They are ranked, top to bottom, in order of my skill with them. I even threw in the rank i reached in their respective Tekken games, just for good measure. Since 6 is the last one i really spent any time with and there might be a few characters introduced in 7 or, like, the Tag titles that I'm pretty good with but don’t really have a correlation in rank, I'll have to approximate my skill with a Tekken 6 rank, just to keep things equal.

1. Emilie De Rochefort - Tekken 5 - Tekken God

Lili is my main from 5 onward. Her speed, power, and cross-ups are ridiculous. There is a fluidity to her style that makes for an amazing number of possibilities. All of those flips, somersaults, and hopping knee pokes make for a varying arsenal of devastating stuns. If you can time your attacks right, you can string one, long ass, chain of hits that will deplete an enemy with a Perfect within seconds. Her strength carried over into Tekken 6, easily winning me over in that title, too. I haven’t played much of 7 but what i did get into, Lili feels a little nerfed. She just feels a bit slower than she should. That’s not a problem or whatever, but it is kind of annoying that have to have so many gaps in my assault.

2. Hwoarang - Tekken 3 - Tekken God

Hwoarang was my main for years. He was the very first character that i mastered in any Tekken title. See, my older brother would come over with his PlayStation and commence to beat my ass in Tekken 3 for hours. One day, he told me to actually get good and lent me his Sony for a week. Welp, i did just that. I got good. Real f*cking good. Hwoarang uses Tae Kwon Do, which is dope because it’s easy to combo with, but this dude’s strength is in his juggle potential. His kicks lack the power of his master, Baek Doo San, but they come out faster and in more numbers. Within that week, i was able to string together a flurry of devastating kicks that not even my big brother could counter. Twenty-three years later, he still hasn’t beat me in a single game. If Lili isn’t available, Hwoarang is my guy. Even so, i am probably equally skilled with both, i just prefer the stylish flourish my darling Emilie has with her style.

3. Steve Fox - Tekken 4 - Tekken God

Steve was a quandary when he first released. Dude has no kicks and it was ridiculous to see in a game with such an expansive roster of fighters like Tekken, especially in the fourth iteration. His addition was ridiculous to me. And then i tried him. My, god, was his speed stupid. See, in a fighter like this, speed kills. If you can bust a quick combo, maybe juggle a cat, maybe fired off a quick combo before retreating out of counter range, you can destroy an opponent in seconds. That’s why i love Lili. That’s why i love Hwoarang. Steve Fox has that same potential but it’s different. You can’t launch characters too easily and being a puncher, his reach is limited, but you can juggle the f*ck out of them if they end up airborne. Steve has a lot of weapons to f*ck you up in a near infinite juggle if you’re not careful and i know all of them. Interestingly enough, he’s gotten better with age. I prefer his 5 version but 6 and 7 are pretty beefy, too.

4. Kazuya Mishima - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Kazuya is my power hitter. I’m a speed guy, admittedly. I love the juggle. I love the chains. I love the artistry in forging a string of consecutive, devastating, combo hits. The issue is, there are motherf*ckers like Paul Phoenix who can punch a planet into retrograde in this game. Now, against a computer, I'm fine with my main three Tekken Gods. I’ll dog walk a computer, no matter how high the difficulty. Once you’ve beaten Jinpachi on the highest setting in Tekken 5, you are ready for anything. However, against a real person who knows how to use a power character like the f*cking bears or goddamn Jack? Nah. If they’re good with that heavy-hitter, i have to bring in my own and Kazuya is that ringer. Dude’s probably the second strongest character in the the game after his pops, Heihachi Mishima. The difference? Kazuya’s cross ups are f*cking ridiculous. All of that twirling and overhead kicks make for some confusing hurt when you know how to execute.

5. Eliza - Tekken 7 - Tekken Lord

Eliza was an interesting character for me to pick up. I was curious about her so i bought that money pit Tekken Revolution or whatever. I hated that game so much but i played enough Eliza to feel borderline conceited in my ability. Imagine my elation when my darling drowsy vampire made her cannon appearance in Tekken 7. Again, i didn’t play much, but i did find that my Revolution skills translated well and i was even able to pick up a few new tricks. Eliza, admittedly, is super wonky to master, she’s similar to Alisa Bosconovitch that way, but her mix ups are superb. If you put in the time, Eliza is a very rewarding character to play.

6. Marshall Law - Tekken - Tekken Lord

The elder Law is my guy. I’m a sucker for a Bruce Lee facsimile and Marshall is one of the best out there. He has a good combination of speed and power but it’s his mix ups that endear him to my heart. That and i learned how to play with him because Forest Law, Lee’s son, was the character my brother beat my ass so handily with for months in Tekken 3. I learned Forest out of spite but, when his pops returned in 4, i made sure to master that version, as well. Over time, i grew to love playing with Marshall. He has a very unique, very acrobatic and showy style, like his real life inspiration.

7.  Jun Kazama - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Jun ain’t no joke. That Kazama style martial art is something nasty. I could have probably put Asuka here, i am about as good with her as i am Jun considering how similar their styles are, but i have to give respect to the original tooth fairy. Jun Kazama is a f*cking problem, man, She’s deceptively powerful but quick with those hands. She will poke the f*ck out of you with such insidious precision, you won’t even realize you died even after the match is called. The way her blows flow make for some unwieldy mix ups and stupid juggle stuns. I hated fighting her in 2. I hated fighting her even more in the Tag titles. But i love fighting WITH her, especially if you can master that funky timing she has.

8. Lee Chaolan - Tekken 4 - Tekken Lord

Lee is bit of a detraction form my usual fighting fare. He’s kind of a gag character. A little effeminate and a little cruel, Lee’s kicks are the real deal. This cat sends those footsy out at blinding speed and you know how much i love my speed. The thing is, he lacks the power of, say, Hwoarang, Baek, or Bruce. I actually picked up Lee n 4, then Violet, on a whim because i thought it would be funny to beat someone with a character i had no idea how to play. After that first round, though, i was on it.Dude felt good in my hands. I knew Lee was something special and spent the rest of the night with his pokey kicks and flying drop kicks. It was f*cking incredible. I couldn’t believe i slept on such an amazing character for so long. I went back to Tekken 2 and spent weeks with him just to get a proper feel from start to finish. Now, he’s a staple of my rotation. Only when I'm feeling flamboyant, though.

9. Devil Kazuya - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

I picked up Devil Kazuya way back in Tekken 2 because i liked the design. Also, the face laser. That sh*t was stupid. As time went on, and the games advanced, i always went back to Tekken 2 in an effort to hone my skills with the original Devil. To my surprise, when Tekken 7 dropped, Devil Kazuya was playable once again and my skills translated perfectly. Dude has a few new tricks and i immediately ate those f*ckers up but it felt so good taking to the air once more. It sucks he only has two, official, appearances but this is one of those cats that i played a lot with in the Tag titles. Like, SO much. Devi was my second choice after Hwoarang in the original Tekken Tag and, like, my fourth in Tekken Tag 2. Obviously, I'm just as good with Angel, too. I mean, they’re the same f*cking character so i better be!

10. Anna Williams - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

Oh, the Williams sisters. Similar to the case of Jun and Asuka, I'm probably equally as good with both the Williams but Anna is my preferred character. I just like her design better. That and her deceptive ass sexuality. Anna is gorgeous but she will f*ck you the f*ck up. The Williams sisters are power characters and you can’t tell me otherwise. These chicks will ruin your life as a fast as Paul Phoenix if you’re facing off against someone who knows how to use them. I know how to use them very well. Again, Anna over Nina, but I'll mess you up regardless.

11. Zafina - Tekken 6 - Dragon Lord

Zafina was a surprise. Her style is all over the place. I read somewhere it was designed after a snake or something. That sh*t is fitting because she is a slippery motherf*cker, man. Zafina took me a while to master, kind of like Eliza, but once you understand her strengths, this chick can be a proper powerhouse. She’s quick, juggles well, but pokes like a f*cking champ. If your poke game is strong with her, there’s a good chance you can stun lock an opponent into a perfect or two.

12. Devil Jin - Tekken 5 - Dragon Lord

Admittedly, i wanted to put Jin from Tekken 3 on this list. His mixture of Kazama and Mishima style martial arts is mad potent. I love the way dude plays. It’s like fighting with Jun and Kazuya at the same time. However, with the release of Tekken 4, Jin unlearned literally everything about the Mishima style and decided to master normal karate. That sh*t was whack, man. I mean, it was fine, i learned the new Jin fine, but it wasn’t MY Jin. That said, my Jin was in the game, only he took the form of a devil. Devil Jin is f*cking ridiculous. I understood a lot of his abilities because of my mastery of Devil Kazuya but, with the addition of the Kazama style martial arts, Devil Jin was a f*cking beast in that game. He’s kind of a beast in every game he makes an appearance. between the two, i prefer Devil Kazuya, but I'll wreck a guy with Jin if necessary.

13. Bryan Fury - Tekken Tag Tournament - Dragon Lord

I love Bryan Fury. The design, the inspiration, the brutal fighting style, that ridiculously evil laugh; Dude is just amazing. I got pretty good with Bruce Irvin in Tekken 2 so when he wasn’t around in Tekken 3, i was a little bummed. It took awhile for me to pick of Fury, i actually first really got into the character in Tag but i did fool around with him in 3 a little bit. That was after i was surprised by how effortlessly powerful he was in Tag. Dude ain’t Bruce, but he’s still pretty dope.

Honorable Mentions: Unknown, Armor King, Ling Xiaoyu, Alisa Bosconovitch, Heihachi Mishima, Bruce Irvin, Kazumi Mishima, Miguel Caballero Rojo, Josie Rizal, Eddy Gordo

[smokeybrand]

The King of Iron Fist

I don’t talk about this much but i am a massive. massive fan of fighting games. I’ve been playing these things for decades, since all the way back in ‘92 with the release of the original Mortal Kombat. Watching the growth, decline, and then resurgence of the fighting game community has been a goddamn treat for me. Admittedly, i suck at the Capcom titles. Absolutely terrible. I do okay with the Rival Schools franchise, but outside of that, straight up balls, man. Never my forte. I’m pretty good with the original MK trilogy, the sprite based one, but absolutely awful with Deadly Alliance through Deception. I hated the fighting styles in those games. They were so goddamn awful, it was sickening. I do okay with the MKIX, MKX, and MKXI titles, though. They feel like the old games which lends itself to my old timey skill set. That said, my strength lies with the two Namco headliners; Tekken and Soul Calibur.

I mastered every Tekken title through 7, though, admittedly, I'm not so godly in the newest release, just great. Personally. For me, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the title I'm best with. I love that game, man. I can use literally everyone in the roster to perfection. All of their moves. All of their ten-hits. I maxed out my rank in the Ghost Battles with several of the characters and ranked in the top-10, worldwide, leader boards when it was first released. I was feeling a bit nostalgic and wanted to revisit my favorite fighting franchise, giving a little love to my favorite fighters, kind of like how i did with my Persona 5 mains. They are ranked, top to bottom, in order of my skill with them. I even threw in the rank i reached in their respective Tekken games, just for good measure. Since 6 is the last one i really spent any time with and there might be a few characters introduced in 7 or, like, the Tag titles that I'm pretty good with but don’t really have a correlation in rank, I'll have to approximate my skill with a Tekken 6 rank, just to keep things equal.

Emilie De Rochefort - Tekken 5 Dark - Tekken God

Lili is my main from 5 onward. Her speed, power, and cross-ups are ridiculous. There is a fluidity to her style that makes for an amazing number of possibilities. All of those flips, somersaults, and hopping knee pokes make for a varying arsenal of devastating stuns. If you can time your attacks right, you can string one, long ass, chain of hits that will deplete an enemy with a perfect within seconds. Her strength carried over into Tekken 6, easily winning me over in that title, too. I haven’t played much of 7 but what i did get into, Lili feels a little nerfed. She just feels a bit slower than she should. That’s not a problem or whatever, but it is kind of annoying that have to have so many gaps in my assault.

Hwoarang - Tekken 3 - Tekken God

Hwoarang was my main for years. He was the very first character that i mastered in any Tekken title. See, my older brother would come over with his PlayStation and commence to beat my ass in Tekken 3 for hours. One day, he told me to actually get good and lent me his Sony for a week. Welp, i did just that. I got good. Real f*cking good. Hwoarang uses Tae Kwon Do, which is dope because it’s easy to combo with, but this dude’s strength is in his juggle potential. His kicks lack the power of his master, Baek Doo San, but they come out faster and in more numbers. Within that week, i was able to string together a flurry of devastating kicks that not even my bog brother could counter. Twenty-three years later, he still hasn’t beat me in a single game. If Lili isn’t available, Hwoarang is my guy. Even so, i am probably equally skilled with both, i just prefer the stylish flourish my darling Emilie has with her style.

Steve Fox - Tekken 4 - Tekken God

Steve was a quandary when he first released. Dude has no kicks and it was ridiculous to see in a game with such an expansive roster of fighters like Tekken, especially in the fourth iteration. His addition was ridiculous to me. And then i tried him. My, god, was his speed stupid. See, in a fighter like this, speed kills. If you can bust a quick combo, maybe juggle a cat, you can destroy an opponent in seconds. That’s why i love Lili. That’s why i love Hwoarang. Steve Fox has that same potential but it’s different. You can’t launch characters too easily but you can juggle the f*ck out of them if they end up airborne. Steve has a lot of weapons to f*ck you up in a near infinite juggle if you’re not careful and i know all of them. Interestingly enough, he’s gotten better with age. I prefer his 5 version but 6 and 7 are pretty beefy, too.

Kazuya Mishima - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Kazuya is my power hitter. I’m a speed guy, admittedly. I love the juggle. I love the chains. I love the artistry in forging a string of consecutive, devastating, combo hits. The issue is, there are motherf*ckers like Paul Phoenix who can punch a planet into retrograde in this game. Now, against a computer, I'm fine with my main three Tekken Gods. I’ll dog walk a computer, no matter how high the difficulty. Once you’ve beaten Jinpachi on the highest setting in Tekken 5, you are ready for anything. However, against a real person who knows how to used a power character like the f*cking bears or goddamn Jack? Nah. If they’re good with that heavy-hitter, i have to bring in my own and Kazuya is that ringer. Dude’s probably the second strongest character in the the game after his pops, Heihachi Mishima. The difference? Kazuya’s cross ups are f*cking ridiculous. All of that twirling and over head kicks make for some confusing hurt when you know how to execute.

Eliza - Tekken 7 - Tekken Lord

Eliza was an interesting character for me to pick up. I was curious about her so i bought that money pit Tekken Revolution or whatever. I hated that game so much but i played enough Eliza to fell borderline conceited in my ability. Imagine my elation when my darling drowsy vampire made her cannon appearance in Tekken 7. Again, i didn’t play much, but i did find that my Revolution skills translated well and i was even able to pick up a few new tricks. Eliza, admittedly, is super wonky to master, she’s similar to Alisa Bosconovitch that way, but her mix ups are superb. If you put in the time, Eliza is a very rewarding character to play.

Marshall Law - Tekken - Tekken Lord

The elder Law is my guy. I’m a sucker for a Bruce Lee facsimile and Marshall is one of the best out there. He has a good mix of speed and power but it’s his mix ups that endear him to my heart. That and i learned how to play with him because Forest Law, Lee’s son, was the character my brother beat my ass so handily with for months in Tekken 3. I learned Forest out of spite but, when his pops returned in 4, i made sure it master that version, as well. Over time, i grew to love playing with Marshall. He has a very unique, very acrobatic and showy style, like his real life inspiration.

Jun Kazama - Tekken - Tekken Lord

Jun ain’t no joke. That Kazama style martial art is something nasty. I could have probably put Asuka here, i am about as good with her as i am Jun considering how similar their styles are, but i have to give respect to the original tooth fairy. Jun Kazama is a f*cking problem, man, She’s deceptively powerful but quick with those hands. The way her blows flow make for some unwieldy mix ups and stupid juggle stuns. I hated fighting her in 2. I hated fighting her even more in the Tag titles. But i love fighting WITH her, especially if you can master that funky timing she has.

Lee Chaolan - Tekken 4 - Tekken Lord

Lee is bit of a detraction form my usual fighting fare. He’s kind of a gag character. A little effeminate and a little cruel, Lee’s kicks are the real deal. This cat send those footsy out at blinding speed and you know how much i love my speed. The thing is, he lacks the power of, say, Hwoarang, Baek, or Bruce. I actually picked up Lee n 4, then Violet, on a whim because i thought it would be funny to beat someone with a character i had n idea how to play. After that first round, though, i was on it. I knew Lee was something special and spent the rest of the night with his pokey kicks and flying drop kicks. It was f*cking incredible. I couldn’t believe i slept on such an amazing character for so long. I went back to Tekken 2 and spent weeks with the character just to get a proper feel with I'm from start to finish. Now, he’s one that’s in my rotation. When I'm feeling flamboyant.

Devil Kazuya - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

I picked up Devil Kazuya way back in Tekken 2 because i liked the design. Also, the face laser. That sh*t was stupid. As time went on, and the games advanced, i always went back to Tekken 2 in an effort to hone my skills with the original Devil. To my surprise, when Tekken 7 dropped, Devil Kazuya was playable once again and my skills translated perfectly. Due has a few new tricks and i immediately ate those f*cker up but it felt so good taking to the air once more. It sucks he only has two, official, appearances but this is one of those cats that i played a lot with in the Tag titles. Like, SO much. Devi was my second choice after Hwoarang in the original Tekken Tag and, like, my fourth in Tekken Tag 2. Obviously, I'm just as good with Angel, too. I mean, they’re the same f*cking character so i better be!

Anna Williams - Tekken 2 - Dragon Lord

Oh, the Williams sisters. Similar to the case of Jun and Asuka, I'm probably equally as good with both the Williams but Anna is my preferred character. I just like her design better. That and her deceptive ass sexuality. Anna is gorgeous but she will f*ck you the f*ck up. The Williams sisters are power characters and you can’t tell me otherwise. These chicks will ruin your life as a fast as Paul Phoenix if you’re facing off against someone who knows how to use them. I know how to use them very well. Again, Anna over Nina, but I'll mess you up regardless.

Zafina - Tekken 6 - Dragon Lord

Zafina was a surprise. Her style is all over the place. I read somewhere it was designed after a snake or something. That sh*t is fitting because she is a slippery motherf*cker, man. Zafina took me a while to master, kind of like Eliza, but once you understand her strengths, this chick can be a proper powerhouse. She’s quick, juggles well, but pokes like a f*cking champ. If your poke game is strong with her, there’s a good chance you can stun lock an opponent into a perfect or two.

Devil Jin - Tekken 5 - Dragon Lord

Admittedly, i wanted to put Jin from Tekken 3 on this list. His mixture of Kazama and Mishima style martial arts is mad potent. I love the way dude plays. It’s like fighting with Jun and Kazuya at the same time. However, with the release of Tekken 4, Jin unlearned literally everything about the Mishima style and decided to master normal karate. That sh*t was whack, man. I mean, it was fine, i learned the new Jin fine, but it was MY Jin. That said, my Jin was in the game, only he took the form of a devil. Devil Jin is f*cking ridiculous. I understood a lot of his abilities because of my mastery of Devil Kazuya but, with the addition of the Kazama style martial arts, Devil Jin was a f*cking beast in that game. He’s kind of a beast in every game he makes an appearance. between the two, i prefer Devil Kazuya, but I'll wreck a guy with Jin if necessary.

Bryan Fury - Tekken Tag Tournament - Dragon Lord

I love Bryan Fury. The design, the inspiration, the brutal fighting style, that ridiculously evil laugh; Dude is just amazing. I got pretty good with Bruce Irvin in Tekken 2 so when he wasn’t around in Tekken 3, i was a little bummed. It took awhile for me to pick of Fury, actually i first really got into the character in Tag. I fooled around with him in 3, sure, but that was after i was surprised by how effortlessly powerful he was in Tag. Dude ain’t Bruce, but he’s still pretty dope.

Honorable Mentions: Unknown, Armor King, Ling Xiaoyu, Alisa Bosconovitch, Heihachi Mishima, Bruce Irvin, Kazumi Mishima, Miguel Caballero Rojo, Josie Rizal, Eddy Gordo

[dustedmagazine]

The Dusted Midyear Exchange 2019, Part 1

Charly Bliss

We started doing the Dusted Midyear Exchange in 2013, the same year we went to the Tumblr format, and it’s become a bit of an institution.  The concept is simple:  We survey Dusted’s famously opinionated staff of writers, asking for two favorite albums as of the midpoint of the year.  Then we assign these albums to other Dusted writers, without regard to background, beat or even preferences.  It’s a way to find out what other people are listening to, get out of our respective ruts and explore unfamiliar genres.  It is occasionally uncomfortable—a couple of these blurbs are noticeably grouchy—but we think worthwhile.  Comfort zones are meant to be stepped out of. This year, Bill Meyer, Jennifer Kelly, Ian Mathers, Isaac Olson, Andrew Forell, Peter Taber, Justin Cober-Lake, Patrick Masterson and Jonathan Shaw participated.  In day one, we explore artists from the front end of the alphabet: Joshua Abrams to Fennesz.  

Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society — Mandatory Reality (Eremite)

Mandatory Reality by Joshua Abrams & Natural Information Society

Who recommended it? Bill Meyer

Did we review it? No. But Bill has previously referred to Natural Information Society as an “internationally acclaimed post-Saharan trance-groove combo.”

Ian Mathers’ take:

There are a number of different ways to take the title of Mandatory Reality, but one is as a reference to just how inescapable this double album feels while it’s unspooling. Joshua Abrams (here mostly playing the guimbri) and the rest of the Natural Information Society (here comprised of Lisa Alvarado, Mikel Patrick Avery, Ben Boye, Hamid Drake, Ben Lamar Gay, Nick Mazzarella, and Jason Stein) have ditched the drum set, electric guitars and so on that have made up part of their make-up on past records to focus on mostly acoustic instruments (give or take an electric autoharp) with a renewed sense of patience and control. Mandatory Reality is divided into four pieces, although the opening (and linked) “In Memory’s Prism” and “Finite” take up 63 of the 81 minutes on offer here; there, the octet sets up a series of gradual exchanges and tones that can feel richly minimalist, involvingly ambient, or several other paradoxical paired qualities. That first hour and change in particular feels like music you could leave on a loop forever, finding out new things every third or fourth iteration for… years, maybe. The low-key groove of these offerings, the sense of patient investigation, rewards both passive appreciation and active interrogation, so much so that it’s almost a shame when “Shadow Conductor” takes things in a more actively Reichian direction (led by Stein’s bass clarinet). The (relatively) brief, closing “Agree” sees all eight musicians take up flutes for what sounds like an attempt to transform birdcalls into drones, or vice versa. It’s as good a way to work up from the deceptively, subtly heavy trance that the rest of Mandatory Reality can indeed lay on the listener. 

  ASUNA & Jan Jelinek — Signals Bulletin (Faitiche)

Signals Bulletin by ASUNA & Jan Jelinek

Who recommended it? Peter Taber

Did we review it? Yes. Peter said, “The suggestion of inquiry into sonic function reinforces the modernist, formal sensibility hinted at by the overall album.”

Jonathan Shaw’s take:

“Relief, Pt. 1,” the 13-plus-minute track that opens Signals Bulletin, does that thing that long, carefully textured drone can do well: tones and notes keep emerging out of the sonic field, and you wonder, “Is that a new sound, or was it there from the song’s beginning?” It keeps happening. Instead of digitally scanning back and forth in the track, it’s probably more in the spirit of things to let the mystery ride and stay in the drone’s moment, suspended in sound. I like that there’s no “Relief, Pt. 2” on the record. After 20 minutes of this sort of thing, I begin to respond much in the way I do to Alejandro Iñárritu’s recent movies. I get antsy. But there’s no arguing with the way the first seven minutes of “Blinking of Countless Lines” get under your skin. Antsy-ness turns to itch, your teeth grit. Then a cluster of shimmering, chiming sounds leaks into the foreground, and things get much prettier for the remaining seven minutes. Maybe that’s the second part of the “relief.” Perversely, I prefer the itch.

  Boy Harsher — Careful (Nude Club)

Careful by BOY HARSHER

Who recommended it? Ian Mathers

Did we review it? Yes. Ian Mathers wrote, “At the right (or wrong) moment it can feel as threatening as the work of David Lynch, or as warmly empathetic, even fatherly, as the same.”  

Peter Taber’s take:

Careful sees the inherited timbres and arpeggio-driven rhythms of coldwave, new wave, and various other synth-y pop music distilled into a quasi-formal apparatus that ticks mercilessly on. The almost-too-perfectly-executed production is offset by the viscerality of Jae Matthews’ vocals. Sung-muttered in tones that variably evince desperation and resignation, Matthews’ delivery is authentically pained enough to elevate the album above pastiche, but subdued enough to avoid the pitfalls of some overwrought EBM. The sense of reserve lends outsized impact to small gestures like Matthews’ re-sampled howl on “Fate,” or the downward synth glissando on “LA” that punctuates Matthews’ lyric, “You’ll hurt me either way/It’s a matter of your time,” perfectly capturing the sense that, no, things are probably not going to be okay.

   Charly Bliss — Young Enough (Barsuk)

Young Enough by Charly Bliss

Who recommended it: Justin Cober-Lake

Did we review it? Yes, Andrew Forell wrote, “Young Enough harvests pop tropes to express and expel trauma through the discovery and strength of voice.”

Jennifer Kelly’s take:

Charly Bliss’s Eva Hendricks wrote “Chat Room” during the Kavanaugh hearings, dredging up her own memories of sexual assault while the whole country grappled with whether women’s pain mattered (spoiler: it doesn’t). Like the rest of Young Enough, the cut is bouncy and buoyant musically, with phrases like “I wanna see you naked” ripe for taking out of context. And yet there’s a darkness here and on the anthemic “Young Enough,” with its huge serrated guitar sounds, its pounding-heart percussion, its fragile assertion that, “We’re young enough…to believe it should hurt this much.” Like contemporaries in Hop Along and the Cherry Glazerr, Hendricks affirms the power of pop without granting it magic powers to conquer suffering. The hurt and the learning to live with it coincide here, as they do in young female life, both important, neither cancelling the other.

  Dark Blue — Victory is Rated (12XU)

Victory Is Rated by Dark Blue

Who recommended it: Jennifer Kelly

Did we review it? Yes, Jennifer said, “Dark Blue rolls over you like a freight train, a mass of shadowy, goth-y, gut-shocked overload that takes no pains to minimize itself.”

 Isaac Olson’s take:

John Sharkey III, lead singer of Dark Blue, has a booming baritone voice and here’s what it does well: faux-roué fatalism, world-weary derision, and stagey arrogance, all unleavened by wit or humor. Sure, he’s sarcastic, but that’s not the same thing. Furthermore, Sharkey’s timbral and emotional limitations, (intentionally?) campy crooning, clunky lyrics (“ watching the planes go fly”, “take your time to write a letter/that you don’t agree”), and catholic scorn can make it hard to tell the difference between sneering and soaring, and worse, whether his all-encompassing contempt includes Dark Blue’s catchy if static, glittery goth-pop tunes and their audience.

The best song on Victory is Rated, “Challenge of Death” plays it relatively straight, and “Midnight Moon” is straightforwardly nasty enough for Sharkey to sound convincing, but as for the rest…while your mileage may vary, I’ve got no use for boorishly bellowed lyrics — however sardonic — like, “Counterculture in my veins/lack of culture on this plane..but who am I to be the judge/of the dim and lonely slugs on holiday?”. Yes, the joke is as much on the narrator as anyone; yes, righteous sincerity can be oppressive; yes, we need morbid, mordant ironists, but cheap sarcasm does no favors to leaden tempos and a voice that ironizes itself. Or maybe I’m just allergic to vibrato-heavy cynicism.

  Drahla — Useless Coordinates (Captured Tracks)

Useless Coordinates by Drahla

Who recommended it? Andrew Forell

Did we review it? Yes. Andrew said, “For all the echoes and ghosts of post-punk past, Drahla sound exactly like themselves.”  

Jonathan Shaw’s take:

Is this Leeds, in the West Riding, or the Lower East Side, c. 1982? One could be forgiven for being confused, listening to this sharply angled record by Drahla. The Yorkshire band’s indebtedness to No Wave’s feral skronk and Sonic Youth’s posed dissonance is immediately apparent on album opener “Gilded Cloud” (great title, that) and intensifies the longer you listen. So do the album’s considerable sonic charms. Most of the songs are fairly brief, and they rise like a second-degree burn blister that you can’t stop poking. The exception is “React_Revolt,” which comes in on a sax-driven groove primed for a torchy workout à la Richard Hell; but midway through, the song shifts gears and snaps into an anxious contest between Luciel Brown’s brightly chiming guitar chords and her understated, sung-spoken vocals. I like the short songs best: “Serenity” and “Primitive Rhythm” are tightly strung, whirring, clicking machines that evoke the most rock-oriented stuff made by Mars. Art punk!

  Fennesz — Agora (Editions Mego)

Who recommended it? Andrew Forell

Did we review it? Yes. Andrew Forell wrote, “Agora is another deep exploration of the boundaries of experimental guitar ambience in which to lose oneself.”

Bill Meyer’s take:

Agoraphobia is a fear of open spaces, and Agora was recorded in a bedroom studio. But Christian Fennesz didn’t record there out of fear; rather, he’d lost a better-appointed workplace and temporarily found himself working like he did much earlier in his career. Having followed Fennesz for over twenty years, I would have been quite happy to hear him revisit his old habit of burying melodies deep within clouds of noise. No such luck; Agora sustains Fennesz’s post-Endless Summer practice of wrapping the noise around the melodies. Which isn’t so bad, since he has pretty good taste in noises and a refined instinct for deploying them just right. He uses big sounds to amplify simple tunes, which in turn evoke vast spaces. Still, I miss the days when his sounds didn’t just articulate the space, but immersed you in it.

[aion-rsa]

How Should Doctor Who Celebrate its 60th Anniversary?

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Since hitting screens in 1963, Doctor Who has gone from televisual titbit to cultural phenomenon to institution to something approaching a secular religion. It’s older than Star Trek and Star Wars, if not quite as world-renowned; it’s younger than The Twilight Zone, yet more frequent, and frequently successful, in its iterations. True, Doctor Who spent many long years in the wilderness, but then so did Jesus, and things turned out okay for him. You know… eventually.

The show owes its laudable longevity to a series of happy accidents, shrewd moves and fortuitous casting decisions in its formative years, not least of which was the radical re-casting of the main character after William Hartnell became too unwell to continue; a bold gambit that could just as easily have soured the audience and sunk the show as cemented its status as a pop culture behemoth. Thankfully – as well we know – the introduction of the concept of Regeneration was the key to Doctor Who’s enduring presence, adaptability and relevance. While William Hartnell wowed a generation of children and their families as the curmudgeonly yet kindly First Doctor, without Patrick Troughton’s affable, vulnerable and very human turn as the Second Doctor, there might not even have been a fifth anniversary, much less the one we’re approaching.

Doctor Who – the world’s longest-running sci-fi show – is now on the cusp of its 60th anniversary, a milestone it will reach in November 2023 with, well… who knows who at the helm. But how should it commemorate its anniversary? What would fans like to see? First, let’s jump in the TARDIS and find out how the show has marked its previous anniversaries.     

10th Anniversary: ‘The Three Doctors’ (1973)

‘The Three Doctors’ wasn’t an anniversary celebration in the way we’ve come to understand it now. There was little pomp or spectacle, not by Who standards anyway. It barely even qualified as an anniversary story, sneaking in at the start of 1973, many long months before the show’s actual birthday. Instead, the first multi-Doctor story was a quiet affair, the highlight of which was, naturally, the barbed banter between Troughton‘s bumbling space hobo and Pertwee’s aristocratic martial artist. Of course, Hartnell’s First Doctor featured too, forming the triumvirate promised in the title, although owing to ill health, his appearances were rationed and entirely confined to the TARDIS’ viewing screen, from where he doled out advice and withering put-downs.

In this mildly ho-hum but fun adventure, the Doctors come face to face not only with each other, but also Omega, Gallifrey‘s greatest figure of legend, who in his isolation and rage has become a supremely camp villain, fond of squatting and plotting in pocket-dimensions with only telepathically-controlled blobs of goo for company. I guess it’s true what they say: never meet your heroes.

20th Anniversary: ‘The Five Doctors’ (1983)

By 1983, things had been kicked up a notch. Here we had an ambitious tale that weaved together 20 years’ worth of Doctors, and their friends and enemies. No amorphous blobs or bonkers old Time Lords in ball-gowns here, but Cybermen, Daleks, Yetis, The Master – and newcomer the Raston Warrior Robot, a sort of ninja-dancing death machine in a tight lycra gimp-suit.

As before, the anniversary show’s title was something of a misnomer, though admittedly ‘The Three Doctors, No Doctor and a Sort of Doctor’ probably wouldn’t have been as arresting. Tom Baker declined to participate, necessitating the use of stock footage from the then-incomplete serial ‘Shada’ to represent the Fourth Doctor. William Hartnell had died in 1975, and so The First Doctor was portrayed by Richard Hurndall (who himself died less than a year after transmission of ‘The Five Doctors’). Still, what the feature-length episode lacked in marquee names, it made up for with a state banquet of companions, even bringing back K9. We see the Second Doctor chumming up with the Brigadier and Captain Yates (plus experiencing a vision of Jamie and Zoe), the Third Doctor teaming up with Sarah Jane Smith, and the First Doctor reuniting with his granddaughter, Susan, who seems to have completely forgotten he’d abandoned her in a far-future, war-ravaged earth at the close of ‘The Dalek Invasion of Earth’.   

The story is a nonsensical, confusing, over-the-top mess, nothing more than a rising pyramid of side-quests and fan-service set-pieces all culminating in a damp squib of an ending. But you know what? To quote Christopher Eccleston’s Doctor: it’s fantastic. The best and only approach to ‘The Five Doctors’ is to switch off your critical faculties, sit back, and let warm rivulets of novelty and nostalgia rinse their way over your amygdala. Coo as the First Doctor tricks the Cybermen at electric chess. Cheer as the Second Doctor encounters his old nemesis the Yeti. Laugh your pants off as the Third Doctor uses a tow rope to save Sarah Jane from the perils of a very slight incline. And lament that the whole episode wasn’t just the Doctors trapped in a room together being really, really catty with each other.               

25th Anniversary: ‘Silver Nemesis’ (1988)

The show’s 25th anniversary year gave Sylvester McCoy‘s Seventh Doctor his first taste of both the Daleks and the Cybermen. ‘Remembrance of the Daleks’ wasn’t just McCoy’s best, it was arguably one of the best of the Classic Who era. The Seventh Doctor brooded, calculated and plotted, a noticeably darker figure to the spoon-playing, spoonerism-addicted, spoonish buffoon we’d been introduced to in Season 24. His vengeful, genocidal actions at the close of the serial pretty much kick-started the Time War. Ace was on fine form, too, dashing around Coal Hill school in 1963 wielding explosives and a baseball bat. ‘Silver Nemesis’ was the actual anniversary episode, and it was by far the weaker of the two commemorative offerings, but still a tremendous amount of silly fun. Nazis, Cybermen, medieval interlopers, an angry statue, the Doctor bopping to jazz. What’s not to like?

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30th Anniversary: ‘Dimensions in Time’ (1993)

By the time Doctor Who‘s 30th anniversary came along in 1993, the show had already been cancelled for four years, entering that phase of its history known to fans as The Wilderness Years. The show had become, in deed and in memory, a parody of itself; a forgotten, end-of-the-pier relic. The only thing left of its legacy was a shared perception of how it had been at its campiest and silliest. All of this is painfully apparent in ‘Dimensions in Time’, a horrific charity crossover special somewhere between Doctor Who and BBC soap opera EastEnders. Thankfully, this two-parter isn’t considered canon, though I’m happy to provide the extra ‘n’ to have it shot out of one.

On the one hand, you could say that this was just a diverting little segue to raise money for sick children, and thus shouldn’t be judged too harshly, nor taken too much to heart. On the other hand, this was the only Doctor Who content produced for its anniversary year, so it’s hard not to interpret the existence of ‘Dimensions in Time’ existence as a hard slap in the face from an infinitely rolling multiverse of giant outstretched hands.

While ‘The Five Doctors’ leaned into nostalgia, ‘Dimensions in Time’ is entirely composed of it, chopping and changing Doctor and Companion combos in an orgy of What-If-ness (though admittedly, it was nice to see the Sixth Doctor get his chance to interact with the Brigadier, even if he was just shouting things at him over the noise of a helicopter). The Rani here completes her journey from plausible character with complex motivations to full-blown panto baddy. Tom Baker again sits this one out, opting instead to deliver ASMR from inside a computerised lava lamp. Near the climax of the piece, EastEnders‘ Albert Square falls under attack from a multitude of Who’s most infamous monsters (and some not so), and no-one except the Doctors and their revolving retinue of companions seem to care. It’s hard not to perceive a corollary with how the show itself was regarded by the general public at that time, a state of affairs not helped by audio-visual snot like this. In retrospect, the best 30th anniversary celebration would have been none at all.      

40th Anniversary: ‘Scream of the Shalka’ (2003)

‘Scream of the Shalka’ was produced to tie in with Doctor Who‘s fortieth anniversary. It aired as a series of fully-animated webisodes – a forerunner of the animation now routinely used to resurrect lost episodes from Classic Who’s yesteryears. It starred Richard E Grant as a now non-canonical version of Gallifrey’s most famous traveller, and put him toe-to-toe with a race of inter-dimensional, world-conquering, telepathic, super-sonic lava beasts. It was written by Who aficionado Paul Cornell (who would later pen ‘Father’s Day’ and ‘Human Nature/The Family of Blood’).  And it was good, very good indeed.

Richard E Grant’s Doctor is tall, gaunt and imposing, with a style of dress somewhere between vampire royalty and ostentatious undertaker. He’s blunt, withering, cantankerous and all-round deliciously alien, much like Peter Capaldi at the beginning of his tenure as the Twelfth. When he orders wine from an English bar, Alice (Sophie Okonedo) his server and companion-to-be, tells him, ‘We only do dry or sweet,’ to which he spits back, ‘And I don’t do sweet.’ There is also a plaintive, desperate loneliness about this Doctor, evident from the presence in his TARDIS of an android containing the consciousness of the Master (Derek Jacobi, who would later play the Master again on TV next to David Tennant’s Tenth) with whom he travels.

All of this would have been interesting to unpack and explore had ‘Scream of the Shalka’ precipitated a full and continuing series, which was the intention at the time, a plan stopped only, of course, by the announcement that the show would be returning to television. This blessed move had not only been inspired by but made possible by work on this project. Now that’s a 40th anniversary present and a half.

And with that, Christopher Eccleston would be the ninth Doctor, not Richard E Grant, and while that was, well, fantastic, it’s impossible not to wonder… what if?       

50th Anniversary: ‘Day of the Doctor’ (2013)

By the dawning of its 50th year, the show had been back on screens for eight years and three Doctors. The modern incarnation of the show had re-ignited the nation’s love affair with Doctor Who, adding widespread critical acclaim and global commercial success to its former cult appeal. It was clear this anniversary special had to be its biggest and boldest yet, and so it proved.

Showrunner Steven Moffat brought his best mind-bending, timey-wimey-ness to bear on ‘Day of the Doctor’, a story that brought together UNIT, Zygons, time-travelling paintings, a re-framing of the Time War, the re-emergence and resurrection of Gallifrey, and, of course, the sheer delight of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors having the time of their lives teaming up. Added to the mix, in lieu of the Ninth Doctor (after Christopher Eccleston declined to participate), was John Hurt’s The War Doctor, a grizzled, frazzled veteran of The Time War – The Doctor who came to exist because he was capable of doing things that other Doctors couldn’t or wouldn’t but who, in the end, proved himself more than worthy of Doctor-hood. Not to mention the appearance of the mysterious Curator at the episode’s end, sporting a very familiar yet age-worn face.

2013 was an embarrassment of riches for the show. Not only did we get the exciting and engaging ‘Day of the Doctor’, but ‘An Adventure in Space and Time‘, the touching and contemplative story of William Hartnell’s (here played by future First Doctor, David Bradley) relationship with the show; ‘The Night of the Doctor’, a mini-episode that featured the welcome return of the Eighth Doctor (Paul McGann); and, of course, the absolutely wonderful ‘The Five-ish Doctors’, a surrealist, meta, very funny, Curb Your Enthusiasm-style romp that followed the exploits of Peter Davison, Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy as they tried desperately to insert themselves into the 50th anniversary celebrations.      

60th Anniversary: TBA (2023)

So what of the 60th? Traditionally, these kinds of milestones aren’t celebrated with as much intensity and fervour as, say, the 25th or the 50th. However, given that the show appears to be going through a decline in ratings and popularity, perhaps a big barnstormer is just what the Doctor ordered; something to give the show a shot in the arm to see it through the next six decades, rather than risk it tumbling over a cliff and staggering into the desert of its next wilderness years.

A multi-Doctor story seems the sure-fire way to do that. But who, and how many? Though Christopher Eccleston has returned to the Whoniverse in Big Finish form, the jury is still out on whether he’d be willing to participate in a fully-fledged BBC iteration of the show again. While the rest of the modern contingent’s faces are still fresh, though, it would be a joy to see the Tenth, Eleventh, Twelfth and Thirteenth Doctors get together. Perhaps even in tandem with the Eighth Doctor, who surely deserves another crack at the small-screen whip, however brief. It’s more likely, though, that Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor would be the one to join them, contingent upon whether or not she returns in the upcoming 13th season, and how her arc pans out.     

How about involving the classic Doctors? Not in a peripheral capacity as a sequel to ‘The Five-ish Doctors’ (although that would be very welcome) but due to the almost infinite possibilities inherent in the premise of the show, it surely wouldn’t be difficult to fashion a story in which Doctors Four to Seven returned togged up in their trademark outfits, along with their contemporary, and very age-worn faces. Perhaps some entity could pluck them from the time-streams and hold them captive, explaining their appearance through some sort of malfeasance or timey-wimey-ness. Big Finish has already given us the supreme delight of the Tenth Doctor teaming up with the Fourth and Fifth Doctors. What a joy it would be to behold the Sixth and Twelfth Doctors trying to out-bicker each other, or the Fourth Doctor passing judgement on the Eleventh’s bow-tie?    

Might other, more unexpected Doctors appear? Thanks to the precedent set by The Mandalorian in plucking the character of Ahsoka Tano from the Star Wars’ animated universe, and setting her down in live-action continuity, there’s no reason why the Whoniverse can’t do the same with The Shalka Doctor. ‘But he’s not canon,’ I hear you cry. Perhaps so. But the seismic aftershocks of ‘The Timeless Children’ took canon and crushed it to dust. If we’re going to be stuck with it, might as well extract as many pluses from it as possible before some future showrunner decides to retcon the whole affair. It doesn’t even need to be connected to existing lore. If there are multiple, even infinite, dimensions out there, the Shalka Doctor may very well hail from one of them. 

As to monsters? The Daleks and the Cybermen have been rather over-used lately, and their appearance in an anniversary special would be neither special nor especially welcome. It may be time to bring back an old monster or foe, one of supreme power that could give the Doctors a run for their money. Could the Black Guardian again don his crow-hat and return to wreak havoc with time? Or even the mighty Sutekh, who in ‘The Pyramids of Mars’ almost destroyed both the Fourth Doctor and the very world itself?

Whatever happens on Doctor Who’s next big anniversary, let’s just pray to the cosmos that it veers closer in tone to ‘Day of the Doctor’ or ‘The Five Doctors’. Nobody wants to see a cross-over with Coronation Street.

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How would you like to see Doctor Who celebrate its 60th anniversary?

The post How Should Doctor Who Celebrate its 60th Anniversary? appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[irvinpressler]

9 Fun Marvel-Themed Games You Can Play

To date, there is no other cinematic universe more popular than Marvel. In just over a decade, the famous film and television studio redefined franchise movies, with its 22 films grossing some $17 billion. Through iconic superheroes like Captain America, Wolverine, Loki, and many more, Marvel’s movies evolved into one of the things fans look forward to each year since 2008. Unfortunately, with the ongoing global health crisis causing the world to come to a standstill, 2020 became the first year in a decade to go without an MCU film. Black Widow, which was initially due for release last year, was officially delayed to this year, 2021.

Thankfully, there are still many ways fans can keep enjoying the franchise and their favorite characters while waiting for the next movie installment — and one of these is through video games. In this list, we’ve gathered together a selection of online, mobile, and video games inspired by Marvel:

1. Marvel-Branded Slots If you’ve ever dreamt about winning a jackpot, you can try your hand at some Marvel-themed slots. Gala Spins describes how Playtech collaborated with the Marvel franchise to release online themed slots including a cast of popular characters like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and The Fantastic Four. In recent years, these titles have become some of the most popular online slots available. Depending on whether you manage to hit combos like Power, Extra Power, Super Power, and Ultimate Power, you have the chance to win exciting jackpots.

2. Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 Released in 2019, one of the Marvel-inspired games you can play on your Nintendo Switch is the third installment of ‘Marvel Ultimate Alliance’. It draws inspiration from the ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ and ‘Avengers: Endgame’ storylines, enabling you to team up with your favorite heroes in a top-down dungeon crawler setting. The good news is that Attack of the Fanboy’s online game guide describes how you can form a team of four with your friends in the co-op option of the game.

3. Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3 If you’re looking for a battle, this is it. Compatible with PC and a PlayStation and Xbox systems, you can create a unique pairing of your three best players ranging from characters like Doctor Strange, Rocket Raccoon, and Ryu. They’ll face off against three of your opponent’s character picks, and you have 36 to choose from so you can always switch it up. With realistic fighting mechanics and an awesome soundtrack, you’re sure to enjoy many hours of competitive gameplay.

4. Deadpool Everyone’s favorite violent yet comedic Marvel character stars in this action-adventure game compatible with PlayStation and Xbox platforms. True to his character, Deadpool breaks the fourth wall and finds out he is getting his own video game. He makes reference to various Internet memes, gets into violent battles, and ultimately wrecks Mr. Sinister and his army of clones. Even though it was released in 2013, it’s still a highly playable game that contains loads of hysterical moments. Deadpool’s iconic humor shines like no other.

5. Spider-Man The 2018 release of this game was exclusively for PlayStation 4 owners, and is said to be one of the best iterations with Peter Parker’s well-loved character. The Game of the Year Edition includes exclusive downloadable content from ‘The City That Never Sleeps’, with three post-launch story chapters giving you new missions, challenges, and enemies to overcome. Plus, there are even more suits to unlock to customize your character.

6. Marvel Super War Available on both iOS and Android and released in 2019, ‘Marvel Super War’ is an action-packed mobile collaboration between NetEase and Marvel. It’s a free-to-play third-person multiplayer online battle arena game, which is the first of its kind. You can play as a fighter, energy, marksman, assassin, tank, or support and it even includes characters like Mantis, Groot, and Star-Lord. The controls are relatively simple to pick up so it’s great for a variety of audiences.

7. LEGO Marvel Collection Technically, it’s made up of three games in one, but this PlayStation 4 and Xbox One-compatible series promises family fun for those aged 10 and up. It also comes with season pass content for every game so it’s a must-have for LEGO and Marvel fans. For those who are curious, it includes LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, and LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 2 so you can explore every possible storyline to your heart’s content.

8. Iron Man VR One of the most sought-after Marvel characters is Iron Man. This character’s merchandise ranges from humble key chains and cute Funko Pop! collectibles to full-on mechanical suits and special edition SUVs. So, it really isn’t surprising that Iron Man has successfully seeped into VR. Released in July last year, this game brings virtual reality tech exclusively for the PlayStation VR platform, finally allowing players to fly through the skies as Iron Man. According to reviews, you can experience real-life aerodynamics in Tony Stark’s envious suit through intuitive controls, while having access to his plethora of weaponry to blast away enemies.

9. Marvel’s Avengers There have been countless spinoffs for the game Marvel’s Avengers, but the most recent one promises fans the perfect mix of the original, cinematic story with single-player and co-operative gameplay. With single-player and four-player co-op options, this game is able to provide a good campaign that can keep players engaged and intrigued. With a new character lineup to look forward to, Marvel’s Avengers will only keep on getting more and more exciting.

Whichever way you look at it, there are countless titles and games you can choose from to celebrate every major moment in Marvel history. 2020 promises to be an amazing year for new releases with even better graphics, so it’s best to be ready for more action!

The post 9 Fun Marvel-Themed Games You Can Play appeared first on Gadgets, gizmos, and tech from the East.

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[msb-lair]

Dragon: Moneypit - Nocturne XYY Male

Original Record Additional Scatterscrolls Round One Second Record Additional Scatterscrolls Round Two Third Record Additional Scatterscrolls Round Three Fourth Record Fifth Record Additional Scatterscrolls Round Four (a) Additional Scatterscrolls Round Four (b) Sixth Record Seventh Record

(Renamed from Project to Faramir on 2015-01-29) (Spines scroll applied 2015-01-30) (Crystal scroll applied 2015-02-05) (Facet scroll applied on 2015-02-09) (Renamed from Faramir to Moneypit on 2015-07-12) (Glimmer scroll applied on 2015-07-21) (Stained scroll applied on 2016-12-04) (Falcon scroll applied on 2016-12-04) (Peregrine scroll applied on 2016-12-04) (Bee scroll applied on 2018-05-26) (Filigree scroll applied on 2018-05-29) (Wasp scroll applied on 2018-06-03)

Purchased For: Hatched from egg Hatched On: 2015-01-04 ID: 9393883

Parentage: First Generation Flight: Wind

Primary: Marigold Falcon Wasp Secondary: Coal Peregrine Bee Tertiary: Coal Stained Filigree

Comments: My most astonomically expensive dragon, he started life as an unsold hatchling from the first Night of the Nocturne event. I decided to make him into a scatterscroll project, and he’s gone through several iterations of them since, as well as a variety of different genes.

By some minor miracle (and after 43 scatterscrolls in total over the years) he landed on an attractive XYY combination; I think I can safely say that he’s never being scatterscrolled again. And he’s now finished being re-gened again, back over to gem genes. In theory I’ll keep him in gem genes going forward, and any treasure genes will go on his mate, so unless some gem genes come along that I like a lot more than his new wasp-bee-filigree combo, he’s unlikely to change again.

Apparel:

Dew Laden White Rose

Peace Dove

Magmatic Pauldrons

Nomad’s Sandwastes Sash

Familiar: Folded Friend

Progeny Testing:

[Test] Lucre

[Test] Lucre

[Test] Nummus

Broods:

Nested with Eowyn1 on 2015-02-21, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Eowyn2 on 2015-04-26, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Clutched with Moneypenny on 2015-07-30, 1 egg [Clutch]

Mated with Bitcoin on 2015-08-29, 1 egg [Clutch]

Bred with Bitcoin on 2015-10-01, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Aurea on 2015-10-31, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Clutched with Aurea on 2015-11-30, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Mated with Aurea on 2015-12-31, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Crossed with Aurea on 2016-03-06, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Bred with Aurea on 2016-05-07, 1 egg [Clutch]

Nested with Madeline on 2016-06-20, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Celemiril on 2016-08-08, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Clutched with Celemiril on 2016-09-09, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Mated with Celemiril on 2016-10-09, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Bred with Celemiril on 2016-12-06, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Paired with Celemiril on 2017-01-28, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Crossed with Celemiril on 2017-04-15, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Matched with Celemiril on 2017-05-27, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Celemiril on 2017-07-02, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Clutched with Celemiril on 2017-08-19, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Mated with Celemiril on 2017-09-25, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Bred with Celemiril on 2017-12-23, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Paired with Celemiril on 2018-02-18, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Crossed with Celemiril on 2018-03-21, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Matched with Lucre on 2018-06-16, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Lucre on 2018-07-20, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Clutched with Lucre on 2018-08-20, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Mated with Lucre on 2018-09-20, 1 egg [Clutch]

Bred with Lucre on 2018-10-28, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Paired with Lucre on 2018-10-05, 3 eggs {Clutch]

Crossed with Lucre on 2019-01-06, 4 eggs [Clutch]

Matched with Lucre on 2019-02-12, 5 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Lucre on 2019-03-26, 1 egg [Clutch]

Clutched with Lucre on 2019-06-09, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Mated with Nummus on 2019-07-18, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Bred with Nummus on 2019-10-21, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Paired with Nummus on 2019-12-16, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Crossed with Nummus on 2020-02-25, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Matched with Nummus on 2020-04-14, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Nummus on 2020-05-31, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Joined with Nummus on 2020-07-20, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Clutched with Nummus on 2020-09-07, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Mated with Nummus on 2020-11-04, 4 eggs [Clutch]

Bred with Nummus on 2021-02-02, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Paired with Nummus on 2021-05-17, 3 eggs [Clutch]

Crossed with Nummus on 2021-08-21, 4 eggs [Clutch]

Matched with Nummus on 2021-11-09, 2 eggs [Clutch]

Nested with Nummus on 2021-12-09, 4 eggs [Clutch]

[gaymer-hag-stan]

On the 7th of November, twenty eight years ago, Super Street Fighter II Turbo was released in North America for the 3DO.

It is the fourth updated version of Street Fighter II.

Super Turbo introduced several new gameplay mechanics not present in previous versions of Street Fighter II, including the addition of combination moves called super combos and air combos. It also introduced the secret character Akuma, who would go on to become a recurring character in later Street Fighter installments and other Capcom fighting games.

While not as much of a commercial success as previous iterations of the game, the game was well received by critics and had a huge impact on the competitive fighting game "e-sport" circuit. Super Street Fighter II Turbo is still played competitively over 30 years after its original release, and is the oldest fighting game that still has an active competitive tournament scene throughout the world.