#you can be the worst player in the world but enjoy playing it. and id be like yes girl (gn) own a billion guitars

[ieropski]

i kinda didnt wanna buy an electric guitar until i was like fairly okay at guitar but guitar center has some big sale going on right now and im like ... 😳

[thelastairsimblr]

Family Pack #2

I’m happy to share some sims with you all today! In this post, you’ll find 12 households (40 sims total), each with their own stories and biographies. All of these sims have additional Everyday outfits, skills, bonus traits, Likes and Dislikes, sexual orientations, pronouns, family dynamics, and Lifestyles. You can find them all on the gallery under my Origin ID: TheLastAirSimmer or in the tray files linked under the cut! As always, feel free to tag me if you end up using them. 

Carlton

Both having an appreciation for the finer things, it’s no wonder that Vivian and Maureen ended up together. Maureen takes pride in her various charities while Vivian works tirelessly in a job she doesn’t enjoy, but at least she has her yoga to calm her. Star football player Damian is on track to get an athletics scholarship while keeping his grades up and maintaining an active social life, though he’s still anxious that it’s not enough for his moms, mainly Vivian who expects a lot from him.

Dockery, Wheeler, & Torres

For most of his life, Wyatt was happy with solitude. Older now and in need of help around the house, he let Juan, an attractive ranch hand and his young daughter move in. Wyatt enjoyed their time, just the three of them, but when his niece and nephew needed a place to stay, he couldn’t say no. Now Wyatt is raising his sisters’ kids and grandchild; Terryn’s heart is in the right place, but she’s too impulsive. Carson always wants to torment others, especially Phoebe, but she handles it well.

Habib

The charming Maryam was able to easily rise through the ranks at her job. Now retired, she’d hoped her kids would follow suit. Both live with her now; shallow Amani forwent the tactical path to pursue her artistry and Noushin spends her time writing songs for others far braver than her, but still hopes sing some for herself. Though Zain finds himself smothered by his family and torn between spending time with them or playing football with his friends, Nasir is balancing relationships just fine.

Dormmates

Shockingly, these diverse personas have found a way to coexist! Antheia, a late bloomer who works a dead-end retail job, hopes to make themself more marketable by going back to school. They get along well with Doug and Naveen, two best friends who enable each other’s worst behaviors and chose schools with the lowest degree plan in their fields. Marvin wants to be like his friend Anne, a woman keen on changing the world through politics. But his budding crush on Naveen is very distracting.

Slackers

Best friends Dustin and Savannah moved in together years ago and shared a house with Dustin’s now ex-boyfriend. As if the breakup weren’t bad enough, Savannah’s struggling music career and Dustin’s’ petty thievery were not enough to pay the rent. That’s where Bryce came in, a hopeful young upstart looking to break into the world of engineering. He brings a sense of stability to the household, but between Savannah’s indecisiveness and Dustin’s chaotic behavior, how long can that honestly last?

Farahani & Stuart

Though Robyn isn’t the typical person that Parvati would normally associate with, she’s the one that answered her roommate ad. The aspiring actress cares immensely about keeping up appearances, but her roommate, an emotionally unavailable kleptomaniac, couldn’t care less; she likes to keeps her circle small. Robyn still has goals, however, of making it big in media production. The pair is able to cohabitate with ease for now, but their wildly different worldviews may cause problems later on.

Park

Having spent most of his life with his head in the clouds, it only stood to reason that Kenneth would pursue astronomy. His wife Melanie does her best to keep him grounded; she wants to spend more time with him, but the ambitious attorney can’t help her competitive nature. Their eldest son Ian (athletic, popular, and naturally gifted) is everything his father wasn’t in high school while their younger son Ben is more than happy to bond with his father over geeky things.

Clemens

A man with a wide variety of hobbies, it was hard for Stephon to pin down just one career path. Rather than work a corporate job, he decided to put his computer skills to use and take the freelance approach while still taking time for his other interests. He’s always happy to lend a helping hand and offer his expertise when needed, but he’s also deathly afraid of just being known for one thing. He’s taken up cooking recently, but right now his precious dog Zoe is his only taste tester!

Lovegood

Nolan and Gayle were always simple people with simple dreams. The two tried to instill the same small-town values in June, but they weren’t content and instead aim to carve their own path as an influencer. Of course, Nolan and Gayle don’t see this as a realistic career path, and they often butt heads with their eldest child. Meanwhile Phillip, wary of the outside world, is able to find comfort under his parents’ roof while pursuing his passions at Foxbury Institute studying culinary arts.

Mack-Beyer

After breaking his leg in a rock-climbing accident, Anthony wanted nothing more than to rush the healing process and get back to work. It didn’t feel natural for this personal trainer to sit still, but thankfully he had a handsome, attentive nurse by his side. After several leg massages and late-night chats, Anthony and Kevin’s connection surpassed that of just a patient and his caregiver and they had an official first date. Now, this pair is planning the wedding to top all weddings!

Yakamura

Sakura has always looked on the bright side. Her optimistic nature comes in handy when she’s dealing with the stresses of being a social media manager. She prefers to find ways to spin things rather than face ugly truths; this is just as true in her job as it is in her love life. Though skilled at spotting red flags, she often gives people the benefit of the doubt in hopes that they’ll surprise her. She does hope to not be let down one of these days and eventually meet the man of her dreams!

Hernandez

For Gloria and Arturo, falling in love was easy. Still, they would both admit that they perhaps rushed into marriage. Of course, the schoolteacher has no regrets; she loves her family. She would love it more if Arturo were more ambitious. The line cook relies heavily on his wife, so Gloria became the provider to keep the family together, at the cost of spending time with them. Ángel wants to be a comedian, though he’s slow to pick up on social queues, and Lucía is boldly forging her own path.

[archer3-13]

I HAVE COMPLETED ALL OF THE STARTING CLASS QUESTLINES IN FFXIV, SO HERES AN OFF THE CUFF COMPARISON OF THE STARTING CLASSES

this will all be subject to opinion of course, but idk i wanna do it.

starting with, how do each of the starting classes play before you upgrade to the proper jobs?

not well on the whole if im being honest. i dont think any one of the classes stand out in the below 30 range, a consequence of being the basic building blocks of the game but still. from best to worst

1 pugilist: its fast, it hits hard, its gimmick is easy to grasp, and it gives you a good collection of tools to easily slip in to how people generally play this insane game. the only bit i have a problem with would be steel peak and the chakra gauge, as steel peak feels pretty useless at the pugilist level [it hits slightly harder then a normal hit, but your basic combo is just better in every way then the set up it needs].

2 lancer: rather plain missionary as far as a dps class goes, though i feel thats to its benefit in many ways as its real simple to figure out and use. plus javelins are a nice poking tool as everyone charges recklessly ahead. what brings the class down somewhat is that it has no aoe before dragoon and that it feels sluggish compared to something like pugilist. hit sound effect is deliciously cronchy though.

3 archer: pretty much everything you'd realistically want from the class honestly, it feels a bit sluggish at the start but when ya unlock the aoe shooting the class quickly becomes one of the best for handling large groups of enemies. its solid all around if somewhat unexciting at times sitting in the back shooting arrows.

4 marauder/gladiator: putting them together because they play exactly the bloody same below 30. thankfully despite the worry i had going into a tanking class, i found myself rather enjoying the kit. the most difference between the two i'll note is that marauder is more aggressive well gladiator is more reactive as far as tanking goes. but again, at the below 30 level they play exactly the bloody same.

5 rogue: id like this class more if its kit was a bit bigger. like lancer its lacking aoe before upgrade but unlike lancer its kit is way too small to offer much variety in how you approach situations. plus the hide and backstab stuff is only really useful, so far anyways, in story moments or open world cheese. regardless, the class is fast and hits well so its feels exhilarating to use.

6 arcanist: its kinda intimidating when ya first get hold of it, but i find once ya get a grasp on the class its actually one of the more fun ones to play at low level. i feel it hits harder and faster then other magic classes, you can do a lot with it, and getting the rhythm for its use feels real satisfying.

7 conjurer: being a low level healer feels agonizing, your squishy, you cant hit too hard or fast, and the micromanaging feels daunting especially when your first getting used to the class. and when ya get the hang of it, it doesn't feel quite as rewarding as other classes as your generally stuck to the tanks ass, and if your arent stuck to the tanks ass then shits gone horribly wrong. atleast people seem to appreciate you more.

8 thaumaturge: unlike conjurer which was cursed by design as a basic bitch healer, thaumaturge feels awful to play on the whole in my experience. ironically you dont feel like your hitting as hard as the arcanist, your slower, the switching gauge gets annoying, and ya cant really do anything exciting with the class. i dont hate it, but i do think if a new player is starting with it, they'd get a pretty aggravating impression of the game.

and now, onto the stories of the class questlines themselves! again from best to worst

1 rogue: massively benefits from being the late comer. its more extensive, more cinematic, the character writing well not anything extraordinary is still solid overall, and well the quests can be a bit lengthy they do offer interesting things to do.

2 lancer: gets to rest at the top of the pile less because of anything specific it does and more so because of how it stands out. the only class quest line that functions as an honest to god tragedy/parable/whatever ya wanna call it which elevates it otherwise smaller nature compared to other class quests. i dont feel foulques is actually all that interesting of a character, and if another starting class questline took a similar approach as the lancer quests then i feel he'd be far less memorable [as hes just kinda a self important ass at the end of the day, despite his tragic backstory]. Still, in the lancer quests case, simplicity is elegance in that the quests are straightforward and the story direct in its impact. inelegant definitely. unique, definitely.

3 conjurer: its okay. doesn't trip over itself, says what it wants to say, and has you doing things that arent too much of a hassle. i really like its ending scene too where... conjurer girl finally properly connects with the nature magic vibes for the first time, and remarks on how much more alive everything now feels. its euphoric in a way, and makes the process of getting to the end refreshing.

4 pugilist: dumb but in a fun way, the quest stories for pugilist dont take themselves too seriously and just have fun with what they're doing and in that sense it makes the pugilist quests a lot more fun then i think they would be otherwise. its not a gutbuster, but its intentional comedy that lands which is to its favour. some of the quests themselves can be kinda annoying to do though.

5 archer: kinda bland and it trips over itself getting to the end. i like what its trying to do, taking two characters who follow diametric beliefs about archery and who get at each others throats, only to come together in the end to emphasize the benefits of cooperation, cultural exchanges and crosses, and to tie to archeries literal history within gridanias context. elezen dudes a bit too prickly though without getting enough redressing on the matter, miqo'te girl is underwritten which makes her struggles not land with as much weight as they should, and i feel the plot takes such a sharp turn into the poacher bandit thing that the ending lands with more of a whimper then a bang. plus the quests themselves can be rather annoying. still, it was trying to do something interesting and didn't completely fail in that regard.

6 gladiator: i like some of the character dynamics at play and the quests dont suck. the story is too ambitious for its actual runtime though, so everything feels rushed and underwritten, and theres nothing really at play here that connects too deeply to what it means to be a ffxiv gladiator either in terms of themes, setting or even just on a functional gameplay level like all of the above classes. those characters are the only thing holdin it at 6 really.

7 arcanist: im not a big fan on glasses characters so a story heavily featuring them and generic genius academic type characters who prattle on about statistics and probability or what not... well that wasn't gonna be a slam dunk for me. the plot for these ones also just feels meandering, and like the archer plot it takes a hard swerve into the new thing it introduces at the tail end to its own detriment, only even more so. at the end of the day im just not sure what they were trying to do here overall. plus some of the quests are kinda a pain to complete.

8 marauder: boooooooooring. not only is the story a drag, but its characters are not interesting in the slightest save for like... one joke about marauders not being good at subtly. plus its difficult to have a story where your antagonistic force is a monsterous animal that doesnt speak human, unless you really well characterize the monster or have good characters on the side. and the marauder quests dont do either of these. finally what doesn't help is that the quests themselves are kinda boring to play.

9 thaumaturge: this one legit pisses me off, and it has everything to do with the story and nothing to do with the characters. im not a big fan of the characters mind, but they're fine. whats happening though in terms of character actions and plot movement is just stupid though, especially that damn jar with the devil in it. and to top it off, the ending feels anti climatic as fuck! the one brother well possessed goes around killing at least a dozen people, yet theres no remark on the matter after the possession and the intended theme to be take away from all this is "believe in yourself :)". fuck this questline.

[lonlonmilkfan]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.infinitycow.eplay

This app is the WORST app I’ve ever used. DON’T SUGGEST IT AGAIN!!! I HATE music apps. Music is stupid. Why does anybody listen to music. My lord Chris-chan would find a disliking to this link, as he does not enjoy E-Play on the google play store. NEVER EVER send me links like this again. How DARE you. looks like someone wants to get on my dark side. Those who do, never go back... you see, I don't care about others lives. They're all meaningless. The tree. The sky. The ocean. We'll all die one day, so it doesn't really matter does it. I might as well enjoy myself... how would I do that, you may ask? Well.. prepare yourself... buddy.... Bro, let me tell you straight up, E-Play on the AppStore is an absolute disaster, like, I can't even deal with it, man. I mean, it's like they took a dump on the whole gaming scene and called it innovation. The graphics are so outdated, I might as well be playing on a calculator from the '90s. And don't even get me started on the gameplay mechanics – it's like they hired a bunch of monkeys to code it. I'd rather wrestle a grizzly bear with my bare hands than subject myself to another minute of that garbage. Seriously, why waste my precious time on something that's lower quality than a Walmart knockoff? I'd rather spend my time crushing it at the gym or partying with the squad. E-Play? More like E-Waste, am I right? They need to step up their game big time if they want any chance of surviving in the jungle that is the AppStore. But until then, I'll stick to dominating in the real world, leaving E-Play to the basement dwellers and plebs. Bro, let me lay it down for you – I'm the alpha of alphas, the sigma of sigmas. Winning? It's not just a hobby, it's my way of life. I dominate every arena I step foot in, whether it's crushing it in the boardroom, tearing up the field, or conquering the digital realm. You name it, I've conquered it. See, being a sigma means I don't follow the crowd – I make my own rules and blaze my own trail. While the betas and the wannabes are busy playing catch-up, I'm already miles ahead, setting the pace and leaving them in the dust. So when it comes to gaming, it's no surprise that I always come out on top. Whether it's strategizing my way to victory or relying on sheer skill, I'm unstoppable. YOU want ME to download this app? NO CAN DO BUCKAROO! Don’t make me show you the pain train ANONYMOUS. Heh… don’t make me show you my dark side… if you were to even get a glimpse of my mind, it’d simply make you insane. You think you've got a dark side? Trust me, I've danced with darkness and emerged unscathed. My mind is a fortress, impenetrable to the feeble attempts of those who think they can intimidate me. You may think you're some kind of enigma, but to me, you're just another player in the game – and one I've already outsmarted. You talk a big game about insanity, but I thrive in chaos. My mind is a symphony of calculated madness, orchestrating every move with precision and purpose. So go ahead, show me your so-called dark side. But be warned, you're playing with fire, and I've got enough ice in my veins to extinguish even the fiercest flames. My heart is cold, and my moves are bold, buddy. Don’t test me.

[ignorancelive]

FINALLY DOING ALL MY TAG GAMES AAAA  IM SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO DO THESE

@whitedeadflower​ |  pick my favourite albums for bill clinton to enjoy

not necessarily my favorites but i always pick the same 5 albums for these so i just put 4 albums i like a lot and have been listening to more recently <3

@opossuwu​ | 15 questions

1. What is the first song you remember hearing?

english songs: either learn to fly by foo fighters or human by the killers, i really cannot remember which one but it was around the same time im pretty sure

spanish songs: ALL the songs on/by rebelde, my sister was super into it when i was a baby so i heard so many of their songs right as i was learning to become a human

2. What is the first band you got into?

mmmmmmm probably one direction? if we’re not counting rebelde lol

3. Do you collect music on any physical format?

i collect almost all cds i know and like on CD and have recently started buying vinyl but i think im only going to get albums i really like on it since its more expensive

4. What is your favourite piece of music-related memorabilia/merchandise?

SO many things. i really like my nirvana and red hot chili peppers shirts because they make me feel cute! im also IN LOVE with the in utero angel sticker i bought on redbubble that has a transparent border so its JUST the angel, i stuck it on my record player and i love it so so much

5. What is your favourite concert you've been to?

i have not been to a concert yet :/ i went to a little student festival thing my university hosted for us and saw hunny + hayley kiyoko which was pretty neat

6. If you could see one artist (or band) who is no longer alive in concert, who would it be?

nirvana :(

7. Have you met any musicians?

i went to a cd signing for little mix when i was like 12-13 ish but thats the closest ive gotten lol

8. What is your go-to song/album when feeling sad?

i actually have a playlist of comfort songs to listen to when im sad, but i think the song i most consistently go to is encore by red hot chili peppers

9. What is your go-to song/album when feeling happy?

this one depends. probably hump de bump also by rhcp cause it SLAPS and always puts me in a better mood than when i started

10. What is one music-related documentary you love?

EYE only watched a few minutes of funky monks but im sure if i sat down to watch it now id love it. this is the worst question to ask me because i watch a ton of interviews on youtube so i cant even remember which ones were legit docus as opposed to just youtube vids so this question is gonna be basically unanswered. i do want to watch bob and the monster though

11. What is one concert DVD that you love?

i listen to it more as an album on spotify than watch it but Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged is so good

12. Do you prefer listening to playlists or full albums?

usually playlists! but occasionally ill play the albums i have on my player

13. Do you tend to listen to albums in order or on shuffle?

in order, shuffling them is rare

14. What is your favourite deep cut song by your favourite artist?

favorite artist is rhcp and honestly im? not fully sure. quixoticelixer slaps. and i like almost every song on im with you. but i think im gonna have to go with storm in a teacup cause i checked its streams and its not that popular </3

15. What is your favorite CD/vinyl/cassette that you own in terms of packaging?

THIS ONES SO HARD I LOVE PACKAGING DESIGNS. i love how rhcp’s im with you disc looks like because it has the track list on it but it doesnt look bad like other discs who do that do. booklet design i love vices and virtues by panic at the disco and american idiot by green day. idk what this would fall under but i also love how stadium arcadium’s booklet is held in the case and how when you take it out you see a picture of the band. and there are too many albums whose art i love so i cannot elaborate on that without making this 5xs longer lmao

@garbanz0​ & @dailywilliams​​ | top 5 songs ive had on repeat recently

according to spotify’s on repeat playlist:

but also according to my last.fm:

so basically red hot chili peppers own my ass

@badhe4d​ , @garbanz0​ , & @catts-world​ | 10 songs you like, each by a different artist

uhhhhhhhhhhh

1. Monarchy of Roses - RHCP 

2. Back and Forth - Foo Fighters

3. Heart of Glass - Blondie

4. Omission - John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer

5. Dance with Me - Sir, Please

6. Henrietta - The Fratellis

7. Breed - Nirvana

8. Mary - The Happy Fits

9. Girls and Boys - Blur

10. It’s All So Incredibly Loud - Glass Animals

@psychoticbreak​ |  suppose you’re being sent to a deserted island for the rest of your life, and you can only choose 10 records to bring with you and those are the only albums you can listen to for the remainder of your life; what albums are they

oh GOD ok

1. in utero - nirvana

2. stadium arcadium - RHCP

3. nothing personal - all time low

4. red - taylor swift

5. after laughter - paramore

6. wasting light - foo fighters

7. im with you + im beside you if you count them as the same album - RHCP

8. so wrong its right - all time low

9. american idiot - green day

10. inside of emptiness - john frusciante

@mark-hoppuss​ |  shuffle my playlist and list the first ten songs that come up

1. New Invention - I Don’t Know How But They Found Me

2. Thanks to You - All Time Low

3. Por Que Me Haces Llorar? - Juan Gabriel 

4. Torture Me - Red Hot Chili Peppers

5. Speak Now - Taylor Swift

6. Prayer of the Refugee - Rise Against

7. Going Away to College - blink-182

8. Time-Bomb - All Time Low

9. DNA. - Kendrick Lamar

10. Heaven is a Place on Earth - Belinda Carlisle

@frafru1​ , @whitedeadflower​ , & @psychoticbreak​ | make a playlist with the letters of my name

Lithium by Nirvana

Universally Speaking by RHCP

Pool by Paramore

Eye Opener by Dot Hacker

@badhe4d​ |  post my lock screen, the last song I listened to and the last picture I saved on my phone

friends name blocked out but. an interesting screenshot. yes i have flea’s tweet notifs on and use twitter for absolutely nothing else. yes i have email notifs on 

if screenshots count:

if they DONT count and you mean purely just saving:

my icon and boyfriend <3

@badhe4d​ | 7 questions to get to know me better

three ships: not romantically because i dont believe in shipping irl people but i love everyone in rhcp’s gay polycule energy. specifically john and anthony in the 80s. romantically tho mickey and ian in shameless. i dont think i have a third one? me and my bisexual mutuals <3

last song: i shuffled a ton of songs and skipped for some of these tags but before those i was listening to the album weird kids by we are the in crowd as a tbt, specifically the song manners

last movie: inside by bo burnham but if you dont count that, hereditary 

currently watching: it is very difficult for me to watch shows so im currently just watching youtube lol

currently reading: nothing. i cannot read :( bc of attention issues not bc im illiterate

currently consuming: banana bread :3

currently craving: RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS RELEASE YOUR FUCKING ALBUM CHALLENGE

@the-replacemints​​ |  top 10 favorite debut albums

NOT in order. also it took way too long to come up with this list lol

1. Concentrate - The Happy Fits

2. So Wrong It’s Right - All Time Low

3. SOUR - Olivia Rodrigo

4. Strange Desire - Bleachers

5. RAZZMATAZZ - I Dont Know How But They Found Me

6. Hot Fuss - The Killers

7. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

8. Bleach - Nirvana

9. Costello Music - The Fratellis

10. WALK THE MOON - Walk The Moon

because theres so many of these im not gonna tag people for each individual prompt but if you tagged me in one of these i tag you in whichever ones you wanna do <3

[ronnytherandom]

I started Writing My Thoughts On Things Again, I'm Sorry

15/8/2021:

Mass Effect Legendary Edition (Whole trilogy w/ all dlcs, Adept Class, Hardcore difficulty, 68 Hours):

Still brilliant! I adore this series. The first Mass Effect was one of the first games I ever played back in 2010 and Mass Effect 2 is one of the games I’ve played the most accruing several hundred hours over multiple playthrough from 2010 onwards, while Mass Effect 3 is a game I greatly appreciated but have more mixed feelings towards. Retrospectively as much as I liked the first Mass Effect, I did not nearly appreciate it enough back in the day. For a first entry in a new IP it is incredibly fleshed out with interesting Lore, an intriguing story and a cool galaxy to explore. I appreciate its combat far more now than I did back then but would still argue it is relatively weak in comparison to more modern titles and its own successors. Though the VA is rough in some places it is excellent where it matters, especially in the case of Sovereign whose iconic dialogue on Virmire is etched into my brain. A key element of the first mass effect I felt was sorely missing from the later entries was its exploration. While the galaxy grew routinely larger no game after the first had a drivable Mako, a vehicle I adore, and further lacked the opportunity to land on and explore the terrain of alien worlds for resources and side missions which I feel lends a lot to the atmosphere of the setting and could be made even more compelling using updated technology and a larger selection of assets and interiors which might have emerged from the higher budget successors. As it is I appreciate its inclusion in the first game. Mass Effect was also my first encounter with impactful choices in a video game and this is certainly something I appreciate but leads me to a major criticism specifically targeting the dialogue wheel layout as it is strange to me how you can puzzle out all of these possible dialogue outcomes but put exactly all of the positive outcomes behind the Upper Left dialogue option. While this is less pronounced in the First entry as the Renegade dialogue fills roughly the same purpose while sounding more badass, it becomes truer throughout the series as renegade options routinely just become nasty and exclusionary.

Mass Effect 2 innovates in some key ways which I have grown to appreciate more in the past 20 hours of play than I did when it launched. Primarily, its focus on characters and your relationships to them. Barring a couple of notable exceptions I found myself greatly invested in every single member of the Normandy crew and I think it’s a remarkable feat that each crewmate could be written to be so sympathetic, relatable and interesting in a world so full of appreciable elements. I would go into specific examples but id end up listing every character except Miranda and Jacob. This of course plays well into the Suicide Mission narrative which is perhaps my favourite overarching plot within the trilogy as it incorporates not just all of these incredible characters and plays upon your investment in them but also relies on the threat of both the Reapers and Collectors which are two excellently designed enemies which I find significantly more compelling than Saren and the Geth or Cerberus and the Reaper Husk Armies. Mass Effect 2 has a powerful horror element composed of the Collectors phobic horror and the reapers cosmic horror and it does wonders for the game’s atmosphere. I remember at this moment the Collector soundtrack which, like the rest of the soundtrack is absolutely excellent. Inasmuch as I would criticise it from a purely musical perspective for being simple at times and perhaps overly repetitive it perfectly fits the camp space opera that is mass effect. Galaxy Map and Suicide Mission are absolute bangers. I would hesitate to call the combat great. Playing the game as a weapon heavy class is superior, I’d argue as even with an armour build dedicated to decreasing ability cooldown it is too long to adequately utilise the powers of ability heavy classes like the adept. Additionally, ability play feels far more limited than in the game’s predecessor due to the limitation of this games skill tree elements which are frankly a step too far in simplifying the interface. It doesn’t massively affect enjoyment of the game but I couldn’t help but note every time I visited the abilities menu how much I missed Mass Effects abilities menu. So while I would say Mass Effect maintains a very well balanced game with regards to combat, roleplay and story, Mass Effect 2 eschews combat and mechanical roleplay in favour of an excellent story. Additionally while lacking an exploration aspect the more structured side-missions found by scanning planets throughout the galaxy create a lot of fun moments and interesting gameplay, emblematic of the fact that mission design vastly improves between this game and its predecessor.

Mass Effect 3 goes some way to resolve its predecessor’s imbalance as the majority of the game possesses enhanced combat, a much better abilities mechanic and an excellent story. First the addition of more mobility, loadout and engagement options benefits the combat greatly, while the addition of more complex enemy types than previous games pushes you to fully utilise these new options. A massive reduction in ability cooldown combined with liberal cooldown reduction bonuses in the skill tree means that abilities are very useful and versatile and you generally feel very powerful. Sometimes too powerful if you’re thinking from a balancing standpoint but given it’s a single player game this criticism is much diminished and being powerful is fun regardless. The skill tree system in this game forms a synthesis between its predecessors’ systems and comes out the better for combining a regular sense of empowerment with interesting choices within your own character build. All of this contributes to a much-improved combat experience, especially over Mass Effect 2. This also lends itself to the old multiplayer system which I honestly enjoyed when it launched (who cannot love a playable biotic Volus?) and feel is sorely lacking from this legendary edition. I would argue the only real problem with the multiplayer was requiring a player to engage with it in order to achieve the best story outcome; the actual multiplayer gameplay was thoroughly enjoyable and it gave players the opportunity to experience combat as an STG agent or a Krogan Warlord which were both fulfilling experiences from my memory. The aforementioned story is truly excellent and successfully builds off events in previous games but primarily succeeds due to Biowares exceptional character writing which persists from Mass Effect 2. Even in the case of its worst side mission content but especially in its primary missions the stakes and outcome of events are thoroughly compelling and the involvement of beloved Normandy crewmates is bound to incite intense emotions. This is possibly the only game that makes me cry multiple times throughout a normal playthrough. Unfortunately my goodwill often runs out when it comes to consider the ultimate ending of this series which I do not approve of. I admit there are mitigating factors: you should not play the mass effect series for the culmination of its plot. This series lives and dies with its characters and all of the major character arcs reach satisfactory endings before the final moments of Mass Effect 3, so the final moments have no real meaning as the thematic purpose of the series is achieved by galvanising the galaxy and uniting all these disparate races into a single force to fight the Reapers. Thematically the game is a success but the extent to which it utilises the choices the player has made, upon which the series builds its reputation, is limited in scope. This can likely be laid at the feet of the leaks of the original story ahead of the games launch which pushed the developers to create a new ending to avoid spoilers, but the quality of that ending is poor as it boils all the choices made throughout the series down to selecting the colour of a space laser. To make an odd comparison, this is why I think Game of Thrones’ and Mass Effect’s endings are different kinds of bad. Mass Effect reaches a fully satisfying conclusion in the moments immediately after launching the final mission, whereas Game of Thrones built its whole series asking the question “Who Will Sit The Iron Throne” With the final answer being “Actually, no one” after slogging through multiple series which did not live up to the quality of the first. Mass Effect answers its dramatic question of “Can Shepard Unite The Galaxy Against The Reapers” satisfactorily following sixty hours of excellent content and the colour of the space laser doesn’t actually matter. It just hurts to think that the finale could’ve been so much grander and more interesting. I would recommend the games, the disappointment of the finale doesn’t even come close to outweighing the grandeur that is the rest of the experience of Mass Effect 3, let alone the whole series.

There are only a few pieces of content I had not encountered prior to this Legendary edition playthrough. The Mass Effect DLC Bring Down The Sky is fun in that it adds an interesting combat experience with incredible stakes and immerses you in a stellar scale event, but the experience is very short. As part of the legendary edition I recommend it but having to pay extra for it at its time of launch I would have found it disappointing. Mass Effect 2s Overlord DLC is very good, introducing fun combat encounters, an opportunity to operate the fairly fun Hammerhead vehicle (even if it doesn’t live up to the Glory of the Mako) and explore a nice open environment with a truly haunting ending which is a kind of non-choice but it is gratifying to make that choice anyway. Additionally the visuals in the final station when interacting with the VI elements are very nice. The Arrival DLC is also quite fun, with a pseudo stealth section to open it, something which I believe occurs nowhere else in the series. The general element of operating solo is quite novel for mass effect as I believe outside of this moment, the opening of the Citadel DLC and the final moments of Mass Effect 3 there is no point where you fight alone. The indoctrinated nature of the project team does not come as a shock but regardless the dlc is enjoyable as a combat experience and the scale of destruction shown necessary to even slightly inconvenience the reapers lends a lot to the scale of their threat. I do not believe I played any DLCs in Mass Effect 3 before, insofar as I did not consider From Ashes DLC content as it was already on the disk and all buying the day one dlc did was activate it. Leviathan is very interesting from a lore perspective and does interesting things with its investigative process but I find it to be a relatively passive and uninteresting experience for the most part. Omega was more my style with a lot of good combat and interesting new enemies and a bit of bombast besides but still left me largely unmoved. Citadel was excellent but mostly for its “endgame” content rather than its story content. Despite featuring many hilarious moments throughout the actual plot it failed to interest me but I was definitely there for all of the fun character moments and the party is absolutely hilarious.

Ultimately a hearty recommendation but with tempered expectations for the finale.

Deaths Door (True Ending, 13.7 hours):

A Delight. Deaths Door is a charming little game about a bird that stabs things and I love it. It is incredibly impressive that this was made by a team composed of two people. The gameplay is fun in all regards. Navigation is a good time especially when all of the environments are lovely and full of personality. Obstacles come mainly in the form of puzzles and these are at a sweet spot between ease and frustration without being at all complex. Combat could’ve used a bit more work, primarily to create more meaningful distinctions between weapons or add a little depth, but it is still engaging and good fun. While the main bosses are challenging and satisfying to defeat, I worry over the side bosses; perhaps something could’ve been done to make them more distinct from one another? But a small gripe. I like the world, the aforementioned environments are well realised, the general aesthetic is artful and distinct and the story is good if slightly sparse. One notable element is the dialogue which is very good with a quick wit. The finale of the main game has the right amount of spectacle and weight while the endgame is cool and fantastical, with an ample supply of secrets and collectibles to find. Over all the music is incredible, soundtrack full of absolute bangers. I really enjoyed completing this game and I’d recommend it to anyone who’s into action adventure and souls-like games.

The Bad Batch (season 1):

This was Allright. To open I cannot overstate how good the animation and art of this series is. It is routinely beautiful and well-choreographed. Visually there are no complaints. The problems begin with the opening episode which I feel overpromised on a relatively dark take on the Star Wars universe by immediately dropping us into an Order 66 plot full of death, danger, brainwashing and the threat of an emergent empire. Now granted this series never explicitly promises that all of this would continue but I enjoyed these elements of the first episode and I was dissatisfied by their limited usage throughout the rest of the show. This is not to say I disliked the show, I did enjoy the characters who are all good fun, and most of the plots were good. This series I felt had a lot of filler episodes, which I’d simply describe as episodes I enjoyed less due to underwhelming plot or conflict, but they were still enjoyable despite what id perceive as a lesser quality. The show also “suffers” from what I’d called Star Wars Syndrome of Filonitis which is how Everything Must Be Interconnected, with regular cameos from extended universe characters which I feel is beginning to get a bit much. These features feel to me more often like nostalgia grabs rather than organically featuring a character in service of the plot and development. For example, I appreciate the Captain Rex feature as that served to highlight the inhibitor chip problem and drive the characters to seek a solution, however I appreciated Rafa and Trace’s feature less both because I’m less attached to those characters (especially Rafa) but also because the episode didn’t serve any particular purpose or create any particular set piece which couldn’t have been achieved without those characters. This is a similar issue I have with The Mandalorian, I adored season one as it was relatively self-contained and only featured vague or subtler references to the wider canon: to contrast season two is full of cameos from the wider universe sometimes for no reason other than to have a cameo when those roles could easily have been filled with new and creative content which doesn’t rely upon nostalgia to make something interesting. Ultimately Bad Batch is worth watching for the characters and the good episodes, it is fun and entertaining, it just has its issues.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 1: The Phantom Blood:

Its uh, its not good. Now that’s a very broad statement, as to assess this show critically at all is to take it far more seriously than you should, but to be more even handed the show certainly has a bunch of fun elements. Only from a story perspective, there isn’t really that much there; and from a pacing perspective it needs to be seen to be believed. I’m certain that if you condensed the show down to a reasonable size for the amount of content it has, you’d probably have a movie with a two-hour runtime at most which would be quite enjoyable but on a whole this first part wastes about 80% of its time on overlong drawn-out internal monologues and the dilated timeframes of the show’s fights. It also has an annoying habit of overemphasizing the weight of a moment or the genius of a characters unexpected action usually with no less than three people commenting on any slight manoeuvre which ruins the pacing beyond belief. Now I understand this is a staple of the Jojo series, only part 1 handles it very poorly in comparison to later parts. The fighting is especially hindered by this as most actual combat usually involves only four or five punches but they tend to take twenty minutes getting to each one. Additionally, Johnathan Joestar is pretty boring as a character with no notable qualities aside from being good both morally and at fighting. The intrigue of the stone mask is cool but this part deals in that very little. Like I say though, Part 1 is still fun to watch if you can disengage your brain and admire the potent meme quality of the series. It is not “good” from a critical perspective but it is incredibly amusing and the campness gives it a degree of charm. If you just want to watch a bunch of beefy men shout at each other and perform magic punches this is a good time. Speedwagon, despite being the worst offender of the “Explain Everything Twice and Ruin the Pacing” category, is still entertaining for the awful accent and endearing character. He’s also definitely in love with Johnathan and I will not be taking questions on that. Baron Zeppeli has a cool hat. Theres a lot of fun to be had as the show embraces the weirdness of everything that’s going on. So, check it out, it might just be a So-Bad-Its-Good Masterpiece.

300 (film):

This film was not so great in my eyes. I think there was one particular shot of the landscapes around Sparta which I felt was visually cool but everything else about the film lacked quality for me, barring practical effects which have aged significantly better than the graphical effects. The visuals are largely uninspiring, the washed-out colour pallet doesn’t help. Perhaps the dialogue was amusing at release but for me it’s all been memed to death. I can’t say any of the performances are particularly compelling, nice to see Magneto and Faramir though. The action could’ve been good and there are certainly moments where it has impact, but the constant application of slow motion I feel reduces the sense of power that should be there, like watching people fight on the moon. Ultimately, I can’t stomach it for two primary reasons: Historical inaccuracy and Racism, which feed into each other. The values of the Spartans do not accurately reflect ideas that historical Spartans held to and I must ask why? Historical accuracy is the default state, so to usurp those ideas in favour of others means the author of the graphic novel Frank Miller and director Zach Snyder replaced those ideas with purpose, in order to make the film more appealing to a mass audience or to express their own ideas perhaps? And the values they chose for the Spartans were freedom, justice and democracy which were things the slaving and monarchical Spartans did not believe in at least in the modern sense. This reeks of an imposition of the propagandised values of western nations on a historical society. This in itself would not be so much of an issue without the demonisation and perversion of the Achaemenid empire and the peoples therein. To establish the primary conflict as one of Civilised white westerners against barbarous non-white easterners, when historically the conflict was between two nations of a broadly similar heritage both possessing facets of good and evil, in the early 2000s? It feels as though some reactionary interpretations of the War on Terror have simply been recreated here with classical history as window dressing. Add to that reactionary attachment to the battle of Thermopylae as a representation of the western world’s struggle against the eastern world, in addition to other more problematic interpretations, and this film plays straight into extreme right-wing ideas of race. Cannot recommend, there’s a lot more better things you could be watching.

18/08/2021: Darth Vader (2015) comic (incl. Vader Down event):

This was really cool. The first comic I’ve ever actually read so I don’t have much frame of reference but I certainly enjoyed this. It was compelling, I’ve blitzed through this whole run in a single day. I think it serves a valuable purpose of demonstrating Vader’s potential and development between Episodes IV and V, as well as the nature of internal conflicts within the Empire. A side note, it is amusing that Palpatine identifies infighting as a factor in the fall of the Sith Empire and yet encourages it for his own political purposes anyway.  I felt that the art and style was very good and fit well with the Star Wars aesthetic, though I couldn’t say if it is truly excellent or just standard: it certainly wasn’t bad, though I think a few designs such as Dr Aphra’s ship were hard to read as it were. Speaking of, I think characters new and old were well portrayed. The titular Vader is unmistakably the same character as appears in the classic trilogy, similarly for Han, Luke and Leia etc. And it was a pleasure to see Chewbacca absolutely destroy someone. The aforementioned Aphra I thought was fine but she lacks distinction to my mind, the real star was Triple Zero and by extension Beetee who I thought were excellent comic relief in addition to being a genuine threat, something I can’t necessarily say I felt with regard to the antagonists. This latter part doesn’t matter overmuch, I think the purpose of these antagonists was more to present Vader with pressure to fulfil his personal goals rather than actually oppose him and they work well in that regard, but are unmemorable beyond their basic attributes. What I think this comic does particularly well is create a kind of puzzle narrative and its almost thrilling at moments when Vader’s plots might be discovered. As a result of this I am looking forward to reading more comics in future.

The Suicide Squad (2021): Highly enjoyable! A big step up for the suicide squad as a franchise and a lot more fun, playing into a brighter and more humorous genre than its predecessor to good effect; This time with good editing, soundtrack, direction… well good everything in comparison. I enjoyed all of the characters and their acting particularly the rivalry between Peacemaker and Bloodsport and Margot Robbie is still fantastic as Harley. They all pale before King however, who is endearing beyond belief and a lot of fun to boot. The “villain” if that term is applicable is very interesting and actually threatening, no mere beam of light into the sky! And the willingness to engage in more mature elements such as gore and character morality is of immense benefit, serving to distinguish it from generally more childish superhero media and reach towards more interesting themes around colonisation, foreign intervention, America and such. Only a reach towards however as I don’t think it ultimately says anything beyond “This thing, kinda bad and dumb”. As I saw noted, it observes the theme but doesn’t comment on it which is a shame as that would bring it all together quite neatly. I feel it can drag a little at times and sometimes the dialogue and specifically its humour don’t hit right but the rest is of such quality that it hardly matters. It looks good, sounds good and offers a chance to engage in a little mindless and bloody violence. I hope Harley keeps the javelin.

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27/08/2021: JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Part 2: Battle Tendency: TW: Mention of Nazism, Discussion of Sexism

This is MUCH better. Part 2 covers most of the problems I had with Part 1. The Monologues are less egregious so the pacing is much improved; the lore is fully integrated into the story and creates a genuinely good narrative and Joseph is a much more compelling and interesting protagonist with a quirky and entertaining personality. The Pillar Men are excellent villains and the fights are fully engaging. Even when you know that Joseph will pull out a “And next you’ll say” twist at the end of a losing fight it’s still surprising simply by dint of the strange and wacky solutions he creates. And these adventures are even more bizarre, playing into the weird camp of the series which works so well. All in all, the quality is excellent here HOWEVER there are some highly problematic elements. The show being set in the 1930s is a neat part of the travelling through time factor of the series but when you’re globetrotting around Europe you need some solution to the problem of Nazis popping up everywhere and this show does not provide one, and fails so drastically to offer even a slightly critical perspective on the fascist characters. The noble sacrifice of Von Stroheim and his later resurrection and heroism serve to idolise a Patriotic German Nazi Officer, which is not good, and this unchallenged perspective on an Actual Nazi is troubling especially when the character himself is an unrepentant mass murderer. Additionally, the show has a horrible attitude towards women, who exist almost exclusively for sex appeal and romantic interest in this show. Lisa Lisa does demonstrate ability and character but when presented with genuine combat is relegated first as a bit of eye candy during the fight with Esidesi (notably eye candy for Her Own Son) and later as a Damsel in Distress during her fight with Kars. Women are frequently used as objects in this part; Caesar Zeppeli uses women as props by controlling them with his Hamon powers and Suzi Q exists only to be rescued from Esidesi and then to be romanced by Jojo. It’s pretty ridiculous to be honest. I am informed that this improves over the course of the series but as for this part in particular it is a lot of fun just so long as you can ignore some incredibly troubling portrayals.

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13/09/2021: Rick and Morty Season 4:

There is ultimately not much to say as Season 4 is simply more Rick and Morty and operates as such. It is good, even very good. It’s still very funny. Its voice acting is still the pinnacle of such work. It is still smart and has a lot of interesting ideas, only not to the extent of the copypasta fan boys. Its sci-fi universe is cool and its design and aesthetic are still excellent. I feel the show has passed a threshold however as there’s only so much time you can spend on the “dysfunctional family is dysfunctional theme”. I hope season 5 proves me wrong once I get to it, but season 4 is fun and I’d recommend it all the same, it’s just more Rick and Morty and I think that’s enough.

Shang-Chi and the Ten Rings: Spectacular! Very easily amongst the best if not The Best Superhero Movie (aside from Into the Spiderverse). To begin with complaints as they are limited, the colour grading was a bit dark in a couple of the fight scenes and in some moments of the climactic fight the CG effects are a little Too Much and distract from the central action of Shang-Chi, Xialing and a Dragon owning the shit out of a multiversal super spectre, which incidentally is fucking epic.  Additionally, the standard MCU comic relief dialogue is a little meh at times but what’s new there? They still need to get a handle on that, especially because this film was really strong when it was serious. As much as I love Ben Kingsley’s Trevor Slattery, he was just a tad much here. Aside from a few moments of weak dialogue however the rest of the film is excellent. Acting is good, effects are good, the film is quite beautiful primarily once Ta Lo is reached and the score is bangin. I appreciate most of all the fight sequences which to me look well-choreographed with interesting arenas which were always appropriate to demonstrate the characters abilities; the sequences serve to develop character and plot at key moments also. The way the camera is handled during the fights is also a big step up, with wide perspective and long shots rather than the snappy close shots of old which serve to really show off that choreography and don’t muddy your understanding of the flow of combat. There is a good thematic line throughout the film of reconciling the bad and the good of your familial and personal history, to understand yourself better and channel that into developing and achieving your ambitions and I adore how that ties in with Shang-Chi and Wenwu’s final confrontation due to the nature and treatment of the Ten Rings themselves. They are a very interesting fantastical element especially once Shang-Chi acquires them and the way that he utilises them create a very cool combat style I can’t wait to see more of, even considering that their full potential is yet to be unlocked. I additionally approve of how they have been differentiated from their comic counterparts which to my understanding are just slightly weaker infinity stones; thus, a one-to-one reproduction would’ve been a boring mistake to make. It’s a fantastic film, go see it.

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26/09/2021: Sable (20 hours, 99% complete) Sable has the makings of an absolutely fantastic game, it just has a few hiccups and hurdles to deal with. Thankfully most can probably be dealt with by patch as there’s nothing fundamentally wrong with the game; but a game should never be released in a state where it needs a patch to function normally. This game is incredibly buggy. Probably one of the buggiest games I’ve ever played at launch, and I preordered Skyrim. Most of my complaints are with the menus, which simply do not work properly sometimes, but there are other documented issues with collision detection and weird bike movement among others including one annoying persistent issue with the soundtrack being replaced by random ‘bong’ noises. For these reasons I cannot recommend the game Right Now until it is patched or if it is on a significant sale. However, once the bugs are fixed this game will be a stunning achievement. The story is good and leads to powerful emotional moments, aided along by an excellent atmospheric soundtrack and beautiful visuals. The style and colour give this game an exceptional look, though diminished by a fairly rapid day/night cycle. I understand that this creates a visual contrast to make the daytime feel more vibrant and impressive, but I would also hold the sun still in the sky if that were an option. The world is well built, with interesting lore and cool design work. Varied environments show off a range of colourful landscape all with their own distinct atmospheres and landmarks which are good both for navigation and exploration, this being the bulk of the game. Exploring these environments is satisfying for curiosities sake but also offers collectible Chums that I adore and an intriguing backstory and world history to consider. Riding a hoverbike is cool and fun, and the customisability is nice though I would take issue with the “balancing” of bike parts as the best bike can be acquired only a few hours in and must be bought, where bike parts earned through long quest chains pale in comparison. This annoys me as I believe players should be rewarded more for great deeds than for acquiring currency, besides which the quest bikes look cooler. This is of little importance however as the game is a very casual and chill experience, keeping an excellent balance where it is not strictly challenging but does maintain your focus and attention. This world is full of strangeness and a little sci-fi magic; though I would argue it could use more of this I think that would threaten to overwhelm the player when even this world’s most mundane elements are still stunningly cool. I think a thick coat of bugs covers what is ultimately a magnificent game with many cool things to explore and even marred by its worst features I still had a great time playing it.

27/09/2021: The Matrix

Brilliant. A very cerebral action movie which definitely earns its place as an iconic work of cinema and its clear to see why its influence is so widespread. Fantastic action with a clear and open perspective which utilises the interesting and dynamic cinematography that runs throughout the movie. I particularly enjoy how over the top the fights are in terms of environmental destruction and gestures as a whole, with a great deal of emphasis added by practical effects which I enjoy. Cool characters, good dialogue and excellent performances across the cast. And, an interesting world well-built and designed. The robots particularly are quite intimidating and I like their arthropodal form. All of the design works well to create the feeling of a greasy industrial post apocalypse which contrasts sharply with the boring homogenous simulation, the latter having its own value as a setting due to its familiarity which would’ve been especially prevalent when this film first released. I love the soundtrack, especially the final feature of Rage, but most of all I love how deeply you can read into this film and its meaning. Having watched many videos about it I was primed on the trans allegory going in and it is very clearly a present part of the narrative before even considering the context around the Wachowski sisters and their own experience. It is a very interesting part of the story and plays well into other themes built around deconstructing the illusions pressed on us by our society, drawing strong parallels between the struggles of living as a trans person and fighting against an imperialist capitalist society. It is worth watching for any of its constituent parts but together they form a magnificent work of art.

28/09/2021: Star Wars: Visions

The series is a bit of a mixed bag. It definitely overpromises with its first episode which is of a remarkably distinct style, is incredibly cool and has great wacky moments in addition to tasteful call-backs to the wider Star Wars canon. I love the umbrella sabre, it’s a fantastic idea and there needs to be more of them. From there a few episodes are fantastic, The Elder and the final episode, and id rank the Ninth jedi just below them, but the rest of the series is definitely not to my taste. The wide variety of styles on show are all fantastic and the animation is universally very good, just some of the plots are more childish than I would appreciate and the rest are simply not engaging for me to the point that despite a great deal of spectacle occurring I would often be distracted. It’s worth a look if you’re into animation and unique takes on star wars but I find generally lacking.

Django Unchained (2nd Watch) TW: Discussion of Racism and Slavery

Red Flag: Tarantino Movie is good. Very good. Stellar performances from Jamie Foxx, Kerry Washington, Leo Di Caprio, Christoph Waltz and everyone else in the movie to be frank; a special note for the trivia about Leo Di Caprio’s cut up hand during the dining room scene, a lot of respect for a man who can keep working through that kind of injury. We can go through a Tarantino Checklist say the film is well shot with beautiful environments; has excellent and witty dialogue with good attention to detail and mannerism; and finally has great and gory action which does not flinch from terrible injury and really appeals to a perverse bloodlust that seems to crop up from time to time in normal people. Strangely enough however, I could not recall if Tarantino indulges in his predilection for feet here. This film does indulge in Tarantino’s other predilection however and that’s the N-word, but here I respect it. Unlike his non-period works, the use of the N-word is a facet of slavery just as chains, whips and plantations are and slavery is the subject of this film which seeks to be historically authentic. If anything, the absence of the N-word would be very wrong in this case despite being the project of a white man as without it the film would lack the context of a key form of oppression that still exists today. I think Django does an excellent job documenting and commenting on the institution as it existed in the pre-war period. Django experiences every level of status a black person would encounter in this setting: first a slave, then a freedman, a black slaver and finally a Liberator and the final message of the film is that slavery deserved to be destroyed and any argument made for its return is horseshit which is kind of a “Duh” statement but with the state of modern politics and the state of education in the US it’s something that needs reiterating. You can interpret this beyond the bounds of slavery itself in addition, by arguing that there are existing powers in this world which seek to discriminate based on skin colour amongst other factors and create oppressed minorities for the benefit of a wealthy few with power and should the systems that create this environment be completely destroyed it would be cause for celebration. Beyond this I particularly enjoyed the historical authenticity of the environments, of the very varied biomes of the wilder parts of the US at the time, and the contemporary outfits especially King Schultz’ coat which I desire more than any item of clothing I’ve ever seen. The film is good at building suspense both in the moment to moment and through longer story arcs, particularly the second act, but I do feel like the 2nd act lulls a little, perhaps spends slightly too long reaching its climax. This is a great spectacle of a film which looks and sounds fantastic, puts excellent performances on show, tells a great story and has quite a bit of meaning bundled into it.

29/09/2021: The Road to El Dorado (Unfinished)

Despite not finishing it I think this film is actually really good. It certainly has a few elements which don’t fully gel with me but I enjoyed my time with it; I only felt like I should really be doing something else and that I wasn’t fully engaged with it, potentially as I’m not keen on cons and high stakes acting as it feels like a form of vicarious embarrassment for me which makes me immensely uncomfortable. Personal hindrances aside most everything about this film is excellent, I loved the animation and the very colourful world. The characters were fun, the voice acting good, the constant horniness was a great bonus also. I take issue with the music, much as it’s not my right to criticise Elton John, I feel it would’ve been better fully incorporated into the film. I enjoy animated musicals more when said music is diegetic and I think them beginning to employ non-diegetic music is part of what led to their downfall, outside of market saturation. Additionally, I was not a fan of The Trail we Blaze, just not a song that worked for me. I also appreciate the integration of 3d and 2d animation here as I felt the styles were reconciled better here than in most movies, especially for the time. I might take issue with what seems to be a plot about two Spanish men of the colonial age coming to central America and “enlightening” its people through humanitarian acts and music as that would reflect some troubling attitudes but I hold out hope that by the end of the film they decide to come clean about the lie, return the gold and help defend El Dorado from Cortez and his troops. Its enjoyable, I don’t feel drawn to finishing it though.

 30/09/2021: Hunters Moon, Ghost

Here’s a new one, music reviews. This single is pretty good I enjoy it a lot. Opens slow and gentle and rapidly builds into some strong rock with a very 80s feel which scans with Ghosts whole historical rock and metal style they’ve always employed but have gone in extra hard on since Prequelle. The lead riff the track opens on is really nice and I would love to have seen it explored further, but the heavier style that ramps up progressively as the song continues is still great climaxing on the 9/4 post chorus riff which goes hard as fuck and I love that bit especially. It feels like it would be spectacular to witness it live. The bridge is a moment I’m not so keen on, the initial bass work is a little bare bone and overly repetitive but it definitely picks up once the guitar and vocals come in, even if just for the final moments. The final chorus leads into a good finale though I think it’ll serve better on an album version with a transition into another track, as I usually prefer to be fair. Technically I enjoy all of the different sounds and effects employed on all the instruments, especially in that leading riff, all of which are played well with good time. The vocals are great as usual. It’s a great track, I feel it was maybe a little short and could’ve explored some of its musical ideas or given them a bit more time to breathe; perhaps less time could have been given to overrepresented elements like the bridge and given over to work more into the very atmospheric leading riff but this is still a hard and heavy rock track and I enjoy it greatly.

[k1ngj0ve]

(bitching about the same thing again, dont mind me)

im still so mad about my old roommate being such a spoilsport about dnd. him and my (at the time) boyfriend were the only people i had to interact with (except my ex, also a roommate, who i was literally worried would murder me if i was around him) for the first few months of the pandemic, it was just those two 24/7, we even shared a bed

and they were in a dnd campaign together online every week and i didnt know anything about dnd really, made clear i didnt want to play with them because of anxiety reasons, but at a few points they would be talking about the game they were in

and just... i could NOT interact with them when they talked about DnD without my roommate being like 'no, you cant do that, everyone would hate you if you did that'

i was looking through one of the books, mostly just at the art, commenting on how pretty the stuff was. 'oh it says a player race is these raven things? thats so cool, and they cant talk? thats really neat! i didnt know it had stuff like this'

him: you cant be that. they cant talk so you have to make noises or hand gestures, all the other players would hate it

me: i mean im not gonna play personally, im just saying it sounds fun, but it says here its a player race so i COULD be that if i wanted, maybe with a group that thought it was fun

him: no, its so annoying, no group would like that

a while later

me: oh neat it says drow can become big spider centaurs! thats so cool, can a player drow do that?

him: no, you arent allowed to do that

me: (reads a little more)...it says you can around like... level 60

him: youll never get to level 60, it takes years to get to level 10, and it would break the game if you tried to do it, there is a 50% chance furign the ritual you just become a dead zombie

me: i mean if i got to level 60 i think i could kill my character off this way if i wanted to. if you die dont you just reroll a new character

him: that would be so annoying

same day

me: aww this flying mantaray thing is cool, i want it as a pet

him: you cant have it as a pet, its evil alligned

me: i meant i want it in real life, im not going to play this game i keep telling you, but for the record it says you can have it as a pet at level 15

him: its evil, only an evil character can have it as a pet

me: thats not very fun. isnt alignment a thing? can you not play as an evil character?

him: i mean you can technically but everyone would hate that its so annoying

same fucking day again

me: oh hey they have khajiit as player characters, thats so funny

him: pff the furries ALWAYS pick them, its just like 'look at me i want attention im a special horny little cat person'

me: it seems like you sort of cant be anything. whats the point of having all these races if youre only allowed to be a human without pissing everyone off?

him: there is lots of things you can be, you can do whatever you want, some of them are just red flags for annoying players and if you picked them everyone at the table would be instantly annoyed by you

me: (irritated) it says you can be a big hyena person. can i do that?

him: no

me: it says you cAN

him: it breaks the game, because any time you go into a town they will think youre a crazy marauding monster!

me: its not a computer game though! Its not pre-written! cant the DM just say people DONT freak out? if he knows before we play that im gonna be a big hyena-orc cant he preemptively decide people arent immediately afraid of me?

him: if you want him to completely bend the world around you and ruin his and everyone elses fun, then yeah he can do that, but its selfish

me: i just like hyenas! they are my favourite animal! arent you like a half-god fire genie or something in your game? dont people think thats weird when you walk into town??

him: i mean thats because im careful about how i treat it and make sure i dont get on anyone elses nerves

i just

god it was SO ANNOYING?

he sure got on MY nerves and i wasnt even playing with him!

why was he so sure id be the most insufferable person in the world??

i wasnt even like.. planning to join a game or making up a character sheet, he was just demanding i not be interested in it or get any fun ideas, basically. Id sort of understand if he was trying to give advice while i picked a race for a game he was in, but i was just enjoying the book!

ive never played SPECIFICALLY because the only people i knew that played were all from a really... intense... and not really MY friends, just my exes, you know? i never wanted to play with these people, but he was just snapping like 'no you would be annoying' when i was just ENJOYING THE WORLD BUILDING

its not like this experience kept me away from dungeons and dragons-- this was like the first couple months, before lockdown, right before the mask mandates, i obviously couldnt have played if i wanted to during this time, but like

man he was so unfun??? not even letting me enjoy reading tHE BOOK

nvm the whole thing he did when i tried to talk to the two of them about the monster thing in their campaign and how intense and nasty he got. i admit im not socially adept but he really seemed to expect the worst from me??

[hazeweald]

harsh new horizons rant

- the soundtrack is the worst in the series (i get this is highly subjective bc well its music, but i have seen a lot of ppl unsatisfied w this ost) & i wish there was some way we could change soundtracks to ones from older games. hell, id even be willing to fork out a few dollars for that. ive been playing since launch day & off the top of my head the only song i remember is the title song, i havent played ww/cf in years & i still remember basically all of the ost

- as an og fan it is frustrating to have to wait for all the same old stuff to get added back, it feels much more beneficial to new players than people who have been longtime fans. for a new player, who has never seen katrina or jack before, they will feel new & unique, for me its just something that should've been there all along, "finally at last they added this" rather than "oh cool this is new" for me. i dont care if this is "just how games are now", "but you would've had to wait longer for a full game", & "at least it isnt like sword & shield", it still sucks, plain and simple

- the villagers in terms of dialogue somehow have less personality than new leaf. we desperately need a QOL & villager update before anything else imo, the relationships & bonds u make are supposed to be a core part of this game but it feels so empty rn

- bc of how watered down the dialogue is, & how little there is to do, it honestly feels like the game was designed to be a decorating game above all else now, like you're *supposed* to share on social media. its kind of sad how the instagram trend of having the prettiest x has infected even animal crossing now, it was definitely there from the new leaf days but the community has definitely gotten worse due to how much of a global phenomenon new horizons has become. not saying this is a fixable issue, its just something suck-y that happened, not like the devs can do anything abt it, this is just how i feel

- it sucks we have had no new animal species & only like 5 something new villagers, i was hoping for something big, more personality types, hell maybe even an overhaul of the personality types so they're more individualistic, but nope. the villagers, the bonds u make, r supposed to be a key part of this game. making friends is like, the opening sequence of the original game ffs but they dont feel at all like friends... if u have a pink island u have cookie, if u have a goth island u have muffy.. villagers r just decoration, there to fit the themes now :( they always were, to some extent, but it feels amplified now that u can design ur whole island

- the lack of furniture & weird clothes from prior games have made the game lose more charm. people laugh at u for using the same furniture but its like, we dont have much to work with if we arent going for a cOtTaGeCoRe island 🤷‍♀️

- i dont like how much it feels like you have to buy the online to get stuff you want, just make it so they're customisable but only with lots of kits or smth. you can call me a cheapskate all u like but i aint paying for a garbage online when it was free in the other games 👀 at the very least qr code reading shouldnt require online, bc it was free in the last game. everyone complains abt pkmn being guilty of this but apparently acnh gets a free pass??? making me pay 20 dollars just to get a lamppost in a different colour is dumb as hell nintendo, smart for u bc u know ppl will give u money, but its still dumb

- replacing npcs with menus may be convenient but it also loses more charm the series has, i was honestly hoping for more backstory dialogue like in wild world for the npcs but nope i guess i just have to wait for them to get added back for their usual functions. "whats that? u wanna hear abt katrina? where shes from? well u cant do that but you can wait for anywhere inbetween the *3 years* we said we'd update the game for just for her to be the exact same as she was in new leaf, enjoy :)"

- the fact that it took fan outrage to get save backups is pathetic, i cant believe nintendo didnt think that a game that ur designed to spend YEARS playing would need backup lol

- turn the waterfall noises down nintendo i beg of you

the game definitely feels the most charmless out of all the animal crossing games bc of all of these combined reasons, not to say the devs didnt work hard on it bc they clearly did... but everything just feels so.. idk, clean? like the dialogue is safe & clean & lacks a lot of weirdness & whimsy the dialogue in the older games could have. the graphics are pretty & clean... most of the furniture & clothes are pretty & clean, generic wooden furniture & plants & plain couches... the music is v clean & pretty... in the older games the ost was not afraid to sound sad, even spooky sometimes at night, but theres none of that in new horizons. it just feels... stripped of personality & uniqueness that made the games so charming to me? end rant anyway lol

[rainbowkittyblossomwings]

So I don’t want to get into a huge retrospective of how 2020 was for me, because it’s personal and I think we can all agree things have been bad. So instead I’d like to talk about great video games I got into in 2020!!! These games didn’t necessarily come out in 2020 just things I discovered and I’d like to talk about my top 10 faves

1.       The first best video game I discovered in 2020 is the entire Trails Series (I played all of them in 2020, cold steel, ao, zero, and Sky). Initially I played Cold Steel 1 because my friend told me it was like “Playing Code Geass the anime”. The story was pretty easy to get into of a guy going to military school and you’re placed in the special class for commoners and nobles when there’s a huge class divide in your country. From there it had some basic anime tropes like a dating simulator like thing and various cliched characters, like the tsundere, the guy who’s trying to get everybody to work, the music kid, and the noble, you know?

But Cold Steel wasn’t cliché in the least bit. I played it after surgery recovery so I was in a lot of pain and out of my mind, but each character had depth, the entire world was fleshed out and after each game more of the story and the villains were revealed, secret robot technologies were given to the main characters and they slowly became more and more powerful after that.

I wanted to know more and more about the world so I played the first series trails in the sky and the Japanese only series, Zero and Ao, and they were even better. Not only that but in this JRPG there were canon gay characters that had traits to their character besides “I’m gay.” There were a lot of lesbians for me to pick and choose between as faves.

Not only that but I find none dating sim video games difficult cuz I get easily frustrated and rage quit. Cold Steel was turn based combat and never made me feel like rage quitting because they had a function called “Retry but easier” where if you died you could start the same battle but make it easier. That made it so I only had to die five or so times on things I was really stuck on and then I could move on with the story. And the game never felt like a grind fest and I could make the game faster in combat.

This series I may have discovered in 2020 but it’s become just as beloved to me as any other series. It’s one of my faves.

2.       My second favorite game in 2020 was 13 sentinels : Aegis Rim. I love time travel so much and everytime a new time travel anime or game comes out I get super excited. Aegis Rim was a game that had all sorts of cool tropes, like time travel, memory loss, androids, different realities, and psychic dreams and it just sounded cool. Not only that but there were 13 different protagonists to play and I had seen it reviewed in LGBT+ articles, saying it had a canon gay character and a canon nonbinary character! It was a very fun game and part of the story followed a point and click formula and the other half followed a kinda strategy blowing up giant robot monsters formula, and I enjoyed it. Also the music and the art was amazing.

3.       The House in Fata Morgana was my third favorite game I discovered in 2020!!! It was a visual novel I had gotten in 2019 but never started because “They didn’t have anime eyes so IDK if it’ll be interesting.” I had seen a lot of horror visual novel people review it though with stellar reviews. I ended up playing it when I was sick and man was it an amazing story. It gave me a lot of respect for people who write short stories that wrap up nicely, and a lot  of the characters were flawed but I really enjoyed reading their stories.  The story was pretty basic in the beginning of a maid telling you several different stories of the previous owners of the mansion she worked in, and the tragedies that befell them throughout her time there, and I really liked the sort of tragedy feel. One of the stories reminded me of Greek tragedies like Oedipus, and as the story got deeper and deeper and connected plot threads of the previous owners it became very cool. Also the game was very LGBT+ friendly with trans and bi characters and possibly an aro character too???

4.       Hades was my fourth favorite game in 2020!!! A lot of people have already talked about Hades before and what it’s about but I’d like to talk about why I liked it. As mentioned before I have a problem with video games that rely on skill. I get so frustrated that I either start yelling or crying because I don’t believe that the muscle memory will ever get into me or that I’ll ever be good enough to get past the hard part. It’s incredibly distressing and it makes me feel bad because I’m like “why can’t I do a simple thing other people can easily do?” Hades is one of the few games that taught me that eventually I will succeed, and the muscle memory will come to me. As you probably know Hades has god mode which increases your damage resistance every time you loose. I got to the max god mode very quickly of 80% and for about 10 runs even that wasn’t enough to beat the first boss and I was incredibly frustrated. I was like “they should have raised it to 90% cuz if even their worst players couldn’t beat the boss on easy mode then they’re missing out.” But as people have probably told you, Hades rewards failure. Each run you learn a bit more and get better skills and friendships with people due to grinding. And eventually I stuck to it and beat the first boss, and then all the other bosses. The muscle memory finally hit and I beat Hades and got the true ending and I’m really glad the developers made it accessible enough that even the worst players could beat it and I’m glad they rewarded failure.

5.       My next favorite is Chaos;Child, which wasn’t made in 2020, but I did discover it in 2020. It’s another horror visual novel but by the people who did Steins;Gate. I absolutely adore Steins;Gate because of the time travel so I was curious about the other games in the series. Everyone said Chaos;Child was the murder mystery of what Steins;Gate did to time travel and they were right. It was a psychic murder mystery story and although it was very gorey it was very fun and I really liked the characters

6.       Sixth favorite was Café Enchante a new otome dating sim released in 2020! You run a coffeshop for monsters basically and I adored it!!! I was a little worried before I got it that it would be boring because what kind of plot can you make in a coffeeshop? But it was very cute and I loved the monsters and the lore. Despite my misunderstanding the entire game did not take place in the coffeeshop and instead went into various monster worlds and expanded on the lore of each world in each route. The art was wonderful and I just love fake monster lore about Fae and beasts and angels and stuff and it was just a wonderful game and is one of my new fave otome titles.

7.       I played Ai: the somnium files in 2020! I knew it would be a favorite of the year because it was made by the same people who did the zero escape series. It had a very different tone of the zero escape series of course, instead of being about psychics it’s about the inner workings of the mind. You play a detective going into people’s psyche’s to try to catch a murderer basically. It reminded me a lot of ID;invaded an anime that I think came out this year? Anyway it was a cool story and I liked the graphics but I did not like the timed missions. Without a guide I would have died.

8.       The dark horse of 2020 was Untitled Goose Game. I did not expect to get it but my friend gifted to me and I hadn’t played it yet. And as everyone can tell you it’s just a fun time harassing people as a goose. It has 2 player mode so my sister and I played it together and it was great. I liked feeling like grand theft robbers and saying “BOOK IT” as we stole people’s stuff.

9.       My ninth favorite game I played in 2020 was Little Busters! It’s by the same people who did Clannad so I knew I would be crying by the end. Clannad’s team is known for their great story telling and heart wrenching characters. It’s about a team of friends who start a baseball team and then it gets sad and time loop-y from there. I played Clannad too in 2020 but it was a little too homophobic for me to let it make it to this list and I don’t remember any homophobia in little busters, so little busters gets its spot.

10.   Finally we get to Persona 5 Royal. I didn’t play much of the original persona 5 besides at my friends apartment so I was able to finally have a copy of this game on my own!!! I loved the idea of going into mean people’s minds and changing their hearts so they could understand the wrong that they did, it was just a good concept. I also loved that Persona 5 royal added a safety mode so you can loose and yet not die. It was a great game of 2020 and it only makes it so low because I spent way too many hours on it (135) and it was a great amazing game that I loved and enjoy talking about but would not replay because it’s just so long and I’m not quite sure what would be different on  replay. Also I’m sad that you can’t date the boys because I love them. They are good beans. Either way though I’d recommend it if you haven’t played before and it was very fun, and still one of the best games of 2020.

If you want me to talk about any of these games in more depth instead of just a short review tell me!!!

[duxgamecom]

Duxgame

In the late 80s, when the concept of video games started booming, not many could've predicted what will gaming be like in 2020. There was a time when so many different hardware and equipment were required to run one game properly. On top, people were spending a fortune on TVs, games, and a proper setup to play a game that won't last thirty minutes. Comparing that to today, things have changed so much.

RELATED: 10 PlayStation 2 Games That Still Look Amazing In 2020

Many people are now spending hundreds of hours on video games, right from their mobile phones while lying in bed. People can even play what was once console games, right from the comfort of their internet browser. Duxgame.com also provides the good stuff.

                                                                                                   advertising

10 Pac-Man

PAC-MAN first arrived in the market in the 1980s. The game is a Maze arcade title that was once one of the best games in the world. It was later released on home consoles and many other systems as well. But finally, the title can be played right from the browser in one of its most creative forms ever. Players can try out World's Biggest PAC-MAN here and enjoy an endless array of custom levels, all free to play and enjoy. The best part, the game works 100% flawlessly right from the browser.

9 Doom

The original Doom from 1993 will always be a cult-classic and for an excellent reason. The game took the first-person shooter genre into another dimension and gave players the freedom to explore hell. The over-the-top nature of violence in this title was very much appreciated. In fact, this was probably one of the biggest titles in the 90s with so much blood and gore. This is also the reason why the newer Doom games follow the same path. Original Doom is playable in the browser here.

8 Wolfenstein 3D

Wolfenstein has to be the granddaddy of every first-person shooter that came after. This is the title that made FPS games bearable when the world was full of 2D platformers and RPGs. While this might certainly look dated visually, it can still be enjoyed quite a bit. To anyone who wants to experience the evolution of games, this is the perfect title to play. The game can also be played right from the browser here, so not much reason to say no to this.

7 Sid Meier’s Civilization 1 & 2

Released in 1991 and 1996 respectively, Sid Meier's Civilization 1 and 2 are probably not the games for everyone. However, they are the best few games to play for strategy and turn-based tactics fans. Civilization games are quite honestly the pillars on which the genre of strategy games stands today.

RELATED: 10 90s RPGs With Lengthy Main Stories (& How Long They Take To Beat)

So there shouldn't be a shadow of the doubt as to why one should play this, especially since they can be played right from the browser here, without even installing.

6 Diablo

Many RPG fans might remember purchasing Diablo games on discs, only to install them slowly on a computer with 8MB ram. Comparing that to now, Diablo does need to be installed at all. It can directly be loaded from online servers here. Diablo series is easily one of the best RPGs to play, and even with their age, they are so full of details. Blizzard's hack and slash RPG has it all, from a single player to a fully functional multiplayer. Now that is commendable for the time.

5 Counter-Strike 1.6

If Wolfenstein was the granddaddy of FPS titles, Counter-Strike is the first-person shooter multiplayer game's granny. This is one of the best shooters in the market that are still played to this day. Obviously, being such an old title, there must be a way of playing this without any hassle.

RELATED: 10 90s Shooters With Lengthy Campaigns (& How Long They Take To Beat)

Well, luckily there is, and that is called the cs-online club. The game can be directly launched from here and only needs to be loaded once, even on a low-end computer.

4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Now, obviously, most retro 2d games from the Nintendo Entertainment System are easily available to play via emulators. But why download a whole different software to play these games when they easily boot online. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and many games like this can be played directly from the browser here. This is a must for retro fans, as they will no longer have to mess with downloading emulators, ROMs, bios, and whatnot.

3 Fallout

Another classic RPG that once required people to install a full disc onto the computer to play is now playable online in just a few taps. The Fallout comes from 1997 and has always been a PC exclusive. This is why not a lot of gamers have played the older titles. This is also because they are not easily available to everyone. However, things couldn't have been better because now the original Fallout can be played right from the browser.

2 Super Mario Bros.

This game has to be on the top of the list because of its sheer significance. Super Mario Bros. was released in 1985, and since then, many brothers and sisters to the game have released. However, the original remains one of the best console games of its time and one of the most famous. Luckily the game is easily available to play online and should cheer up everyone who decides to play this.

1 Stadia

While Stadia isn't just one game, it is an amalgamation of plenty of heavy-duty titles. It has games such as Destiny 2, PUBG, and Borderlands 3, which are directly playable right from the servers. The best part is, people who aren't so much into high-end gaming and purchasing expensive hardware, will find this way of playing games super easy. Since modern titles and technologies are still growing, it is not fair to assume the experience will be flawless. However, slowly and steadily it's shaping up.

NEXT: 10 Notable Games Famous Movie Directors Worked On

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                                                                                       Ashish Walia                                        (81 Articles Published)                                            

Ashish Walia is a writer, animator, designer, and, most importantly, a gamer. He's a part of Valnet, Inc, writing for TheGamer.com and GameRant.com. He's a Bachelor of Arts and is very keen on doing anything and everything that piques his interest. One of those interests just happens to be drawing oddball comics on his Instagram @toonacious. Rumor has it, he thinks about video games more than he breaths.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Skyrim: 10 Subtle Details You Never Noticed About The Combat

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           5 Reasons Pokemon Is The Best TCG (& 5 Reasons It's Yu-Gi-Oh)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The 10 Worst Xbox One Games Of 2020, Ranked (According To Metacritic)

                                                                                               advertising

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           id Software's 12 Best Games (According To Metacritic)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           My Hero One’s Justice 2: 10 Best Plus Ultras In The Game

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           10 Games With Glitches That Destroy Your Save File

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       advertising

×                        trending now                                                                                                            

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           5 Of The Best Visual Novels (& 5 Of The Worst), According To Metacritic

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Assassin's Creed Valhalla: The 10 Biggest Fixes The Game Needs

                                                                        ��                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Skyrim: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Whiterun

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Read Next in gaming                                    

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           5 Best Items In The Witcher 3 (& 5 Worst)

[moonhze-archive]

Get to Know Me; Sims Edition!

tysm for tagging me @finnchios​, this was really fun!

YOUR NAME: Becca!

LANGUAGES YOU SPEAK: English

ARE YOU A MERMAID: I wished I was one when I was very young, but now, I’m terrified of the deep sea. So no ;-;

YOUR PLAY-STYLE: Regular gameplay and the occasional challenge. I struggle to stick to one save/family for too long, though.

YOUR SIMSELF PICTURE: I still don’t think she looks anything like me, but she has the features kinda so I guess it’ll do.

STORIES OR GAMEPLAY, BUILDS, LOOKBOOKS, EDITS OR CC: Gameplay and lookbooks! I can’t build for heck, nor am I ever happy with the stories I try to create. My “edits” are never actually edits that take any skill, and I can’t make CC even though I really wish I could.

YOUR FAVORITE AGE STATE: Young adults and teens. I enjoy putting teen Sims through phases.

YOUR FAVOURITE SEASON: Autumn and Winter!

YOUR FAVOURITE HOLIDAY: Spooky Day? Even though it’s not a default holiday in the game, I think a lot of people make it and I always have it in my new saves.

HOW WAS YOUR DAY: Spent the first half of my day binge watching Brooklyn 99, and then I spent literally the rest of my day playing Stardew Valley with my partner. So it was pretty good!

YOUR FAVORITE CAREER: I’m not actually sure I have a favourite yet? Any active career I suppose.

YOUR FAVORITE ASPIRATION: Grilled. Cheese.

YOUR FAVORITE PACK: MAYBE Realm of Magic simply because I have a deep love for witches and magic, even if it’s not often a main part of all my saves. The CAS items and objects were actually pretty good imo.

HOW OLD IS YOUR SIMBLR: I think this blog is about 5 months old now? I had a previous one that’s a bit older, perhaps a year old by now.

HAVE YOU WOOHOOED: 👀 yep.

YOUR FAVORITE SKILL: Cooking and baking is always fun! Herbalism can be too.

THE SIZE OF YOUR MODS FOLDER: 19.5 GB 😶 i’m so ashamed

YOUR 3 FAVOURITE MODS: MCC, meaningful stories and slice of life (when it worked in my game ;-;)

YOUR INTERESTS (OTHER THAN SIMS): Pretty much just playing other games.

YOUR FAVORITE SIM (PICTURE IF POSSIBLE): Currently my favourite Sim is Eloise, and I think this will always be my favourite picture of her!

WHICH SIMS GAMES HAVE YOU PLAYED (INCLUDING MOBILE GAMES): A LOT of them. Sims 1, 2, 3. Urbz, Bustin’ Out, TS2 on console and DS, MySims, Medieval and possibly a few more but I forgot. Basically all of them!

PROPOSE A CRAZY SCHEME: Idk man I’m not a very creative person but I’m tempted to start an actual legacy that’s just gameplay and generations soon. ._.

BEST PART OF SIMBLR: Seeing everyone’s different Sim styles, their takes on pre-made families/sims, how they like to play the game and just how people can share their gameplay without being judged (for the most part).

WORST PART OF SIMBLR: The very few people in this community who try to drag others down for silly things, the “elitist/entitled” players, and people who get off on sending anonymous hate to people. Really makes me sad to see.

WHAT OTHER GAMES DO YOU PLAY: Overwatch, Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, World of Warcraft (kinda) and that’s about it for now.

OTHER WEBSITES OR ACCOUNTS (ORIGIN, TWITTER, ETC): My origin ID is alienbighead (don’t ask) and that’s all I really have to share.

I tag: @simvicii, @lemonpxel, @aliennooboo, @droolski, @lovelypixelz, @spotlightsim​, @gothamgirl99​, @lateadventure​, @lavenderm00nlight​ and literally anyone else who see’s this and wants to do it! as always, feel free to ignore and i’m sorry if you’ve already done it!

[teenagebeautyqueen]

[Image description: a young person holds a mobile phone with a blue case and a paper on the other. the paper has a drawing of an umbrella colored with the trans pride flag. we can only see their upper body. they are looking down and to the left of the image. they're smiling without showing their teeth, and look relaxed. they're wearing a black, loose hoodie and some shorts can be seen at the bottom of the picture. they're also using black nail polish. on the background there is a door and a star wars poster. the other image is a close up of the paper. end ID]

🌈ʜᴇ/ᴛʜᴇʏ🌈

happy trans day of visability to all my fellow trans*!! here is me and my project for peace's day... i personally love it. it's on spanish, but i'll translate it for y'all.

the text on the left says "cada persona que conoces está luchando una batalla de la que no sabes nada. sé amable. siempre", which is the translation of that quote that goes like "every person you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. be kind. always".

the one on the right says "¿qué sentido hay en pelear? ¿por qué insistimos en sabotearnos mutuamente? Todos caminamos por el mismo sendero embarrado, todos nos dirigimos al mismo final." its translation is something like "what's the point on fighting? why do we insist on sabotage each other? we all walk the same muddy path, we are all headed for the same end."

and above the umbrella there's words like "odio", "acoso", "ignorancia" & "discriminación", which mean "hatred", "harassment", "ignorance", and "discrimination".

yeah i'm very subtle.

i've decided to share my story with the world. but i got kinda carried away. it's not s fairy tale, so don't read it if you're sensitive to themes like bullying, mental health issues, and toxic people.

——————————————————————

it's been... one ride of a journey, to say the least. i've said a few times that i started to question my gender around summer. but that's not quite true.

growing up, i never was fond of... anything that i associated with femenine, really. this included, but wasn't limited to, any color that wasn't blue (pink and purple get a special mention, i despised them), flowers, clothes too loose or too tight, shorts if they weren't from some sport, etc. i think you get the idea.

this collided with me being afab (aka a girl for everyone including myself) & neurodivergent. i wanted nothing to do with those things. but society wanted me to love them.

5 yo me said she didn't like Monster High. 5 yo female classmate said i was a weirdo. 7 yo me loved football. 7 yo male classmate said i couldn't play because i was a girl. 9 yo me hyperfixated on minecraft. 9 yo pretty much every classmate called me a geek.

so i stoped trying. for a while, i loved pink, wanted to have rapunzel's hair, watched disney channel, etc. but i already was the weirdo. i remember being three and friends with all of them. i remember playful fights for the toy rocket and reading books with the only other boy who could read, to ourselves, each other, and the whole class. but people grow up, and they change. so yeah, i was bullied. always the last one to be chosen, left alone on the bus rides, on my own at the playground.

and you'll be thinking "that sucks, but pao, how is it related to you being trans?"

you'll see, i didn't have many friends. i was kinda alone until i turned 7. then two new kids came to my class. let's call them eva and john. i made friends with them asap. i loved them so much!! they were my first friends since kindergarden. so i allowed myself to let go. i was already hated by most of my peers. why wouldn't i be myself with those who didn't despise me? (i was 7 when i thought this. 7 years old, and i thought that out of 20 people, 18 hated me. and then people wonder why i've got self-steem issues lmao. i'm tryna make the point that bullying in primary school isn't just some mean kids calling you names. i'm currently in high school and it still has its mark on me. but that's for another moment.)

so yeah. i went "wild". eva has adhd too (noice, right? i mean she has her diagnosis becaise she's primarly hyperactive, while i'm primarly inattentive, but we understood each other way quickier than with neurotypicals– even if i didn't know why yet), and john was kinda shy & corpulent (he wasn't fat, but he didn't look slim either), just like me. so we became friends. and i slowly opened up a little, while still playing my role of "the freak kid". i knew i was seen as that AND as the smart kid. double pressure, double bullying. but i had my small circle. it evolved until my current friend group, in which, god bless, there's a trans girl!! (eva's still on it– she's my best friend and i would die for her, no doubts. john can go fuck himself, the goddamned fascist).

but it ain't that easy. it never is. i'm 14 and afab. shit happens. y'all get it.

my first period happened while i was on a school trip (bad), on a hotel with no pads avaliable (very bad), on another country so i couldn't call my mum unless i had wifi because politics & stuff– and i did not have wifi (really bad). cue a lot of dysphoria (even if i didn't know it was that) + not being able to contact anyone. add the fact that i was the second one to have it, and it was some kind of taboo– it meant the other girls wouldn't leave me alone, and the result is clear: one of my worst panic attacks ever, on a tiny bathroom of some shitty hotel room.

from there it went downhill. my body started to become femenine, and the football short didn't make my hips smaller. my face, my oh so alarged face, suddenly became rounder. puberty hit me not only physically, but emotionally. and if that wasn't enough, we, as a class, were entering what's called here "the turkey age", a.k.a. teenagerhood, where looks become even more important. it didn't take long until i hated my body.

[WARNING: from here, this gets hard. mentions of eating disorders, depressive episodes/thoughts, toxic enviroments, homophobia/transphobia (both internalized and external), anxiety attacks, and thoughts of self-harm]

i thought "it's big, it shouldn't be big, it's fat. besides i don't want it to grow so fast. i want to make it stop growing. how? well, i grow up by eating. no eating=no growing".

yeah. eating disorder. when i think about it, i want to laugh. because it only took a few comments and "jokes" for me to be so angry at myself when i should be mad with them. i'm big. always have been, very likely always will. i've been told that i could make a very good rugby player. i probably would. i shared my cantine table with people (😔). and they wouldn't shut up. "[deadname], the rest wants to eat too!", "look at [deadname], she's gonna eat it all!". things like that. i stoped eating. i would pick up the smallest amount of food i could, even if my stomach was begging me to please eat something. eventually, my mum found out. and she helped me to grow out of it. i sometimes releapse, but never for that long. because i went on a whole year like that. and it sucked.

so, last year. socially anxious neurodivergent girl with several doubts on her sexuality gets to eight grade.

i play basketball. since i was little. i used to enjoy it a lot. we weren't a team– we were a family. loved 'em so much, 1000/10 one of the best things of my life. BOOM. now you're old enough & good enough to be on the "good" team. in the good time there's the cool kids. i am not a cool kid. oops. i was left behind, they all laughed at my back, no one cared about me (except one girl, but she was in the group and was scared to act until almost the end of the year. love her for that tho). i felt like shit. i was too scared to go to train. the sight of a ball scared me, because i couldn't help but think everyone was talking shit about me. we went to a national championship and when they went out to the city, they didn't tell me, then sent a pic of them having fun to the groupchat & delated it saying "oops it was for the other group". i had several breakdowns on my room that night. it was such a bad experience i can't even hear the name of the city without tearing up.

not to count that a new girl decided to make my life a living hell. now i know how to deal with her, but then i didn't, and i ended up curled up on the bathroom floor crying.

all while i discovered my own identity. i was so scared of being non-straight i hated myself for it.

it was a tough year and there were times where i would wish i'd never existed. it was too much for me to deal with, and i was just miserable. but i got out of it. remember the trans girl i mentioned? she's closeted, and she told me just this october. but even before that, she was my friend. she bought a new life to it all, a fresh one. i owe her a lot, including accepting myself as i am.

she is here, despite everything.

i am here, despite everything.

you are all here, despite everything.

some of us aren't here. they are the ones we remember. each one of us has our history. i shared mine with you all. it is not an easy road. you know that. it's hard, and it's tough, and it's difficult, and it's unfair.

but we are here, despite everything. the ones who made it, the ones who didn't, the ones who are halfway through it, and the ones who are to come.

we are here. we are trans. and we won't be erased.

[whumptasticwednesday]

Lost in the past (Kit Walker -American Horror Story Asylum)

Alright so if you don't recall Kit remarried a girl named Allison after ax-murdering Grace and Alma lmao. So because I don't want to use y/n, I'm just going to use Allison considering that is the name of his Wife. Alright, that's all I wanted to say. Enjoy.

-Jimmy

Word Count- 1,795

________________________________________________________________

The night started as usual. Timmy and Emily were stationed on the living room rug playing with toys and such. Kit was in the kitchen, cutting lettuce and dicing tomatoes for dinner. Sunlight flooded in from the bay windows, and the euphoric sound of the record player in the dining room filled the space with a warm tone. Kit's mind was at peace, which is not something he can typically admit.

Since Briarcliff Kit's life has been a whirlwind of sleepless nights and flashbacks. Nothing is simple anymore. He can't spend the day out with his family without the perpetual fear of something triggering a flashback. The worst part is not knowing, having no idea what might send his brain into a paralyzing adrenalin rush. It's a terrifying reality. If he ever did anything that put his Wife or, god forbid his kids in danger, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. He would very well rather shove a bread knife through his throat than have to live with the immeasurable guilt of knowing he put his family in jeopardy.

In the garden, Allison took a deep breath, letting the sweet, warm air of spring calm her busy mind. She took a moment to appreciate the relaxing ambiance of the great outdoors as she headed back inside after picking some vegetables for dinner. A smile tugged on her lips as she admired the delicate pastel flowers she and the kids planted, just beginning to bloom. She took the time to enjoy the little things in life when she could. It helped her in dealing with the trauma Kit suffered and continued to suffer with. It can be a lot sometimes. But she knows that she has to stay strong for him. She closed her eye's for a moment, letting the air finally escape her lungs as she headed back inside to help Kit.

The front door creaked as Allison pushed it open, sliding off her shoes as she walked inside. She set the basket of vegetables down on the counter. Walking up to Kit, she wrapped her hands around his waist, trailing kisses down his neck.

"How was work?" She asked, giving him one last kiss before turning her attention back to the basket of vegetables.

"Slow," Kit responded, adding some uncooked spaghetti noodles into a pot of already boiling water. "But that's not a surprise. We're always slow."

"Mommy! When will dinner be ready?" Timmy asked, peeking his head over the counter. "I'm hungry!"

"Be patient, go back into the living room and play with your sister." Kit intervened, running his fingers through Timmy's shaggy hair.

"Daddy!" Timmy giggled. Emily came running over, pulling on Timmy's sleeve. "I bet I can jump higher than you," Emily teased.

"No you can't, I'm the best jumper in the whole world!" Timmy yelled as they ran out the sliding glass door and into the back yard.

"Don't go too far; dinner will be ready in 10 minutes!" Allison yelled after them. "It's like they never run out of energy."

"Reminds me of when I was their age." Kit said, staring out the kitchen window at his kids playing in the yard. A smile spread across his face. Those kids meant everything to him.

"Whatcha' thinking about?" Allison asked, resting her head on his shoulder as she looked out the window with him.

"Nothing." He took a deep breath, "The spaghetti looks about done, want to get the bowls ready?" She nodded, kissing him on the cheek.

"Here let me do that." Kit insisted, taking a stack of dirty plates out of Allison's hands. "You just relax."

"Alright, if you say so. But I wasn't the one at work all day." Allison said, sitting down on the couch next to Emily and running her fingers through her curly black hair. "You should be the one relaxing" Allison reached to the end table and picked up her copy of Little Women. The spine cracked as she opened it to where she had left off, as Kit began washing the dishes.

"Oh my goodness!" Allison exclaimed after a long moment of silence, catching Kit very off guard. Distracted, Allison didn't pay attention to the sound of colliding dishes and Kit’s disgruntled grunts. "I can not believe that Amy would turn down Fred's wedding proposal! They were meant to be together. Now, who is she go-"

"A-Allis-s-s-on, I-I think I h-hurt my sel-lf." Kit interrupted, Allison's eye's went wide as she realized what just happened. She quickly jumped off the couch as she saw his shoulders begin to quiver.

"Okay, Okay, calm down. it's alright." She started, running to his aid. He stood, frozen, in front of the sink. Wide-eyed staring down at a jagged cut across his palm, his blood ran in thick crimson rivers into the sink where the steak knife laid. She looked up at his expressionless face, his mouth was slightly parted, and his eyes seemed unable to look away from the seemingly neverending cascade of blood draining from his cut. His eyes suddenly shifted. Allison thought for a second that maybe it was going to be okay. That she would bandage him up and they would go to bed happy and peaceful. That he would be able to rationalize the severity of the situation and realize that he's okay, but it's never that easy. Not for him. Not for someone with a mind as damaged as Kit’s. In his mind, any unplanned event could cause a lifetime of traumas to flash before his eyes. She can see the panic begin to set in. It starts in his face, he grits his teeth and squeezes his eyes shut. Everything moved in slow motion as Kit fell to his knees, his hands pressed to the ground, blood splattered the peeling linoleum floor. His breathing accelerated, and his heart began to pound against his ribs like an animal trapped in a cage. "Kit, baby, I need you to breathe," Allison begged placing a hand on his shoulder. Kit's body jerked away as he backed up, his back slamming against the old kitchen cabinets. His chest heaved as his blood slick hands grabbed fistfuls of his dark brown hair. Blood slowly dripped down his face, staining his pallid skin. He looked up at her with his manic eyes, his breathing now distorting into a labored wheeze.

"P-p-please, don-nt" He started, his vision disfiguring as if he was looking through a fish-eye lens. "Plea-ase d-d-don't try t-to he-elp. I don-t-t wan-t-t to hurt y-you." Tears began to drip down his face; hiccups racked his body as he placed his hands over his eyes — blood smearing across his face.

"I'm not afraid of you Kit. But you need to calm down," Alison said inching closer to him.

"No! No, d-d-don't touch me" Kit screamed trying to back away further, but instead, slammed himself into the kitchen cabinet again.

"Mommy?" Emily whispered, sticking her head out from over the counter. "What's going on?"

"Emily, I need you to listen to me. Go get Timmy and go play in your bedroom," Allison said. Emily nodded as she wiped stray tears from her cheeks.

"Oh god, oh god w-what d-d-id I do." Kit exclaimed, pulling his knees to his chest and squeezing his hands into tight fists. His nail beds began to turn purple as his breathing became even more erratic. He squeezed his eye's shut and his face twisted into a distorted grimace as the flashbacks started. All of the torture he endured being replayed over and over again. He cried as if his brain was being shredded from the inside. From his mouth came raw gut-wrenching cries. Allison stifled a cry of her own. There was nothing she could do except watch. Watch as her husband sat on the kitchen floor, covered in blood, shaking so violently she thought he might single-handedly cause an earthquake. He felt like he was losing his mind; he was unraveling like a spool of loose thread. The whole world felt like a blur.

"You need to slow down your breathing. Take some deep breaths" Kit could tell Allison was talking to him, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not understand what she was saying. "You're not at Briarcliff anymore" He could feel himself screaming, saliva dripping down his chin. But he is trapped in what feels like an eternal silence. The only sound he can hear is Dominique playing over and over in his head. It's engraved it's self into his brain like the grooves of the record. "You're at home, with your family" He could feel his face becoming hot as pins and needles crept up his arms starting in his fingertips. Kit felt like he was gasping for breath, his esophagus spasming, sending him into a seemingly unending coughing fit. His cheeks began to feel cold, and his hands clammy, he couldn't even tell if he was crying anymore. His body was starting to go numb. He peeled his eyes open, but thick salty tears blurred his vision. He wiped the spit from his mouth, smearing blood across his lips. His whole body felt numb, and his head felt like a weight upon his shoulders. He didn't even notice Allison's arms wrapped around him, her hands rubbing soothing circles on his back. His body couldn't take much more of this. His vision began to lag. Next thing he knew, he had been completely engulfed in darkness. No more crying. No more screaming.  The only thing he could feel now was his heart, beating as if he had just run a marathon.

Allison looked down at the boy lying in her arms. Silent tears crept down her face as she held him. Drying blood matted his hair to his forehead, and stray tears leaked from his closed eyes. His chest rose and fell with labored breaths. The kitchen was scattered with bloody handprints that she hoped would wash off. But that was the least of her concerns right now. She wasn't sure what to do next. After a long moment of silence, Allison felt a small hand tap her on the shoulder. She wiped her eyes before turning her head around to see Emily and Timmy. They gave her a small smile and sat down next to her; she pulled them in closer. A sob she didn't even know she was holding back erupted from her chest.

"Is daddy going to be okay?"

“I hope so”

________________________________________________________________

Alrighty, that was... an experience. I don’t know how to feel about this but enjoy! 

[gammija]

The Hollow review/summary/rant/explanation of why i hate the ending I wasn’t sure whether I should post this, but I did enjoy reading others experiences watching this show, so here’s mine under the cut. Edited from a convo with a friend.

(Obviously, spoilers!)

Me: Okay so to properly express my disappointment i gotta take you through the major beats

The show starts with three teens waking up in an almost empty room, finding out they all have amnesia. They quickly solve a puzzle to escape the room, and just as quickly Adam and Mira realize they have superpowers (superstrength/agility and some weird 'speak to animals/know all languages' hybrid, respectively. also she can breathe underwater and swim really fast. its kind of vague)

Kai is already clearly a comic relief, discount Ron (from HP, the movies, no idea about the books) so me and sister correctly predict he'll get jealous of adam and miras relationship (even if there is none), gets pissy and jealous that he has no powers, but then finds out he has powers anyway he does, hes a fire bender. cant say im not bitter about that cause id put my money on invulnerability but eh its alright he has red hair after all hes still fun

Friend: Of course he is

I just feel bad is all aldjs

Me: adam gets a throwaway line of 'maybe were dead' and kai never lets it go

this food might be poisoned but im starving and hey were dead anyway! right, adam

Friend: I love him??

Me: i loved him as soon as he spoke his first dumb words also he puns but basically hes the only interesting char; adam and mira are just cookie cutter 'male lead 1' and 'female lead 1' i mean, he’s cookie cutter ‘jealous 3rd wheel’ but that has more going on than the first two still servicable though

anyway so the jokes are sometimes fun, and superpowers are always my jam. but the REAL reason to keep watching is just, whats going on? ARE they dead? or in some kind of weird gvnmt experiment? some weird magical vampire guide (dont ask) hints they wanted this themselves ooh, intrigue. and the world is very very quirky they start in a gravity falls-y woods and then get teleported to a desert with minotaurs and witches, then get invited for tea by the Grim Reaper and the rest of the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse

tbh Grim is the best part of the show but thats neither here nor there

anyway they have a magic map that updates once theyve been somewhere, and it shows them that the hot dry desert and the swampy wood bunker are like right next to each other

so you start thinking, how are they gonna explain that? this is too weird to be handwaved away. theyve gotta be going somewhere

they visit some other exotic locals, like what appears to be the set of Alien (complete with alien) and an abandoned old fair and a floating island with japanese inspired evildoers on it

the weird magic guide keeps showing up and being vague, dropping hints that there are other kids there etc

at some point Mira says "This is no time for games!" Weirdy: "Thats where youd be wrong~" me and sister: Aha! videogame! that connects all the dots, and also makes the tropes clear: small world with all kinds of different areas, quests, fights, superpowers, an updating map, fast travel Adam, a few eps later: guis i think we might be in a videogame me and sister: [high five]

Anyway in the meantime also the second predictable Kai (discount Ron) plot happens: they meet three other kids (boy boy girl) and they act shady but the girl takes an immediate and obvious interest in Kai so obviously theyre gonna manipulate him and have him betray his friends but in the end he'll see through their facade and kick their ass that more or less happens. The other teens also confirm that this is a game, and theyre trying to win. winning is done by bringing the MacGuffin to a tree fights over macguffin ensue situations are dire but our characters persevere

(also Mira kisses Adam and he acts very weird about it, almost as if hes gay and the only reason they didnt make it canon is censors) (no lingering gaze, just him going 'hehe yeah no thanks, its not you, its me', but in a very... he doesnt seem to be saying it with shall we say burning desire in his soul. hes literally just like 'eh youre a good friend.' Cool move, cartoon that made the two main boys have arguments over nothing cause of course the two main guys have constant dick measuring matches)

this all is not the offensive part btw it was all fun and games, its just a flash cartoon i wasnt expecting Shakespeare

anyway so theyre in a videogame, and apparently thats the answer to all the weirdness. A bit of a cop-out, cause thats a very easy answer, but eh, it works. it wasnt immediately obvious.

also something i hadnt mentioned yet: thisd be ideal for making (self-insert) OCs. Unique powers for each person, there are clearly more characters than shown, the world is your playground

and maybe the video game thing could be interesting on its own in the last few eps the game seems to be glitching out a lot they say its breaking apart so they really gotta hurry now maybe they were beta testers for a vr game gone wrong maybe this is part of it but its like a huge experience that you tell all your friends about anyway there are ways it could be cool, could be expanded to a season 2 despite having solved the mystery

but. last episode. our heroes get the MacGuffin, go to a final stage, and fight the Boss Battle (its a dragon). they enter the Castle....

...and the screen zooms out, into a sudden live action stage, where we see the cartoon (literally what you were just watching) on screen. there are 6 chairs, 3 with our heroes, 3 with the other teens, presumably. theres a host and hes dressed exactly like the weird guy (and that was already kind of a clashy outfit in the cartoon). it was all just a game show. but. the worst part is the live action

you. dont. go. from. animated. to. live. action.

other way around? fine, can work. But now? WHY itd still be dumb and dissapointing but if itd been animated too itd at least have been.... nice to look at but the acting.. oh god they didnt even say anything and it was all wrong clearly theyd just picked the first random teens that vaguely looked like the chars and put them in there cause they had no lines so who needs acting?!

the enemy teams girl had, in the cartoon, pink hair. Purple with pink highlights instead of stylizing that into something more realistic or painting the actual hair, they gave some 30-year old woman a wig and called it a day

keep in mind i binged this show in one go

purposely stayed up late to watch the last ep with my sis even tho we shouldve gone to bed and were disobeying our dad cause we Had to Know

and theres more i said they had no lines but i was lying. Kai did have a line. well, his voice actor did they dubbed him also the line was about him having to pee which is already not the most hilarious in animated version but a live action kid whose supposed to be this character you spent 3 hours with but looks nothing like him saying that in a voice that doesnt belong to his throat, as he stands bashfully in front of a live audience, the only words spoken by your main characters in the last moments...

*its actual hell*

oh oh one more thing at the end the six kids stand in a line and kai is next to other girl they glance at each other and as the eyes of this teen and 30 year old in wig cross, her eye glitches for a moment

dun dun duuun

bUT i dont care anymore, The Hollow. You overestimated your own premise. this wont be forgiven. your most interesting part was the mystery, and the answer  to that was "just a normal game show" (which also doesnt make sense on another level smh) soo if you think that im interested in what these two-dimensional (ha) characters will do now about the glitch in the eye of a bitch then i have news for u

i dont

...if they get a second season ill probably check it out though as long as its animated

Friend: Gammi I'm getting the real sinking suspicious feeling that what you saw isn't the real end but bad on purpose because there's more to it

Me: the show didnt seem good enough to be bad on purpose

and yet im still not done, if youll still hear me out

i mean, im an animation fan so ill still watch but if theyd wanted to be bad on purpose they really shouldve done a better job fleshing out the characters thats what people come back for that was a bit of a sidetrack BUT so i said why the live action itself was just terrible in overal quality

but the resolution that 'oh it was all in a game show' doesnt work on multiple levels

first of all, they show a short flashback of "About 5 hours earlier". The kids stand on the stage and are instructed to take their seats in the vr-chairs, and pick their superpower

2 things i dislike about that

1) there goes all the self-insert/oc potential. they werent teens in over their heads, they werent gvnmt experiments, or just some kids who wanted to play a game -they were in it to win it, from the start. thats very specific and not the most appealing to all kinds of characters (goodbye, all the 'im just an average girl whod never step into the spotlight like that' characters).

Also, all the expansion on lore is gone. maybe there were other games simultaneously? eh, maybe, but theyd be all gameshows. Maybe someone ended uo trapped there for way longer? nah its just a gameshow theyre not gonna let anything actually bad happen. Maybe there are other worlds, other areas, other weird creatures? unlikely, they finished the map and familiarity seemed to be a thing for the audience. Now every new idea has to be put not through a 'whats interesting for a player' but a 'whats interesting for a viewer' lens, and whats a selfinsert if not a player in another universe

2) HOW IS THIS A SUCCESSFUL GAME SHOW

who the hell watches a game show for 5 consecutive hours, some of which mustve been just them walking. also, we zoom out of the screen were watching, so implication is that everything up until then has been what the audience has seen. but... we only followed the one team. there were two? why didnt the audience want to see what they were up to? ~reality tv usually thrives on showinf the worst assholes so realistically they wouldve been the focus~

There are also way too many times *both* teams couldve failed, from early on till late in the game. Not a single game i can think of thats played for an audience is set up like that, and especially not a televised one (okay tbf idk if this was televised, i dont remember if i saw cameras, but. it mustve. monetary reasons.)

What r u gonna do if they all 'died' from the monsters in the first ep? Call it a day? boring for the audience. let them restart from scratch? boring for the audience. the existence of an audience messes with everything

AND THEN ANOTHER THING what do you mean, "5 hours ago?" you never get a time stamp to show how long theyve been in there but there are some cuts, when they travel and such. The actual show is a lil over 3 hours runtime. You mean to tell me you sat through 2 hours of the characters just walking?

okay last thing. so. they were clearly second season teasing with the glitching eye thing. i already said this but. theres nowhere to go from here that isnt worse that the first season. your mystery is dead. you clearly know your live action teens cant act so youd have to go back into the game - but why would they do that? how would that be in any way interesting? you explored all there was to explore.

The other, more out there option, is that as you said the 'real world' was a fake-out and theyre still in a game. but. how would- how would you even make that remotely convincing? if youd just left the 'real world' gameshow as animated too this wouldnt have been a problem. but there is absolutely no conceivable reason to justify, in universe, why another meta-level up is 2D animation again unless they were in a game, in a game, in a game. and thats just dumb. yall aint inception

Friend: HONESTLY if they just kept the whole deal animated it'd probably be okay. Not good, but better,

Me: ye me and my sister came to the same conclusion

i couldve lived with that. at least, i couldve just acknowledged the finales existence but chose to ignore it. now however im full phantom planet levels of denial. in fact i dont even know how the show ended anymore, suddenly

Friend: what finale? what show?

Me: also at least now we know why its called The Hollow

it leaves you feeling empty inside

[eloraplayforfree]

CEO organizers dropped some reassuring news for fans of fighting games today. For those that don't know, CEO, or Community Effort Orlando, is a yearly fighting game tournament that takes place in Florida. Being one of the biggest events of its kind in the country, it attracts competitors and spectators from all over the world. So, naturally, when the event was scheduled to return this year after skipping 2020 because, well, 2020, some were understandably concerned. To assess some of those concerns, today it was announced on CEO's Twitter page that CEO 2021 will require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test result for entry. As explained in the updated policies page on the CEO website, when the event was announced back in June the recent rollout of vaccines had things looking better. Unfortunately, Florida is one of the worst states in the country for COVID outbreaks, contributing for a large portion of cases and deaths in the country on its own. While cases have been decreasing very slightly only just recently, the numbers are still unsettlingly highly. With other events going the route of requiring vaccinations, the decision seemed appropriate for CEO as well. One thing to keep in mind are the reports that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has threatened businesses with fining them for providing these sorts of precautions. But, thankfully, CEO is a private event where guests are voluntarily invited to attend, and does not give a provided service. In other words, the CEO can decide what is best for its attendees. The breakdown to get in on the beatdowns “Proof of vaccination” constitutes either your physical COVID-19 vaccination card, a copy or a photograph of it, accompanied by your ID to get your badge. If, for whatever reason, you are unvaccinated, a negative COVID test administered within 72 hours of the first day of the event, December 13, is required. This is something already needed for international travel. Attempting to forge these documents or results, as well as giving staff any grief over these requirements, will result in a swift removal from the event. Not to mention it could become a lifetime ban from CEO as well. Hired security will also be on staff as well to check badges and ensure everyone's safety. Not only that, but attendees will also be given a welcome bag of a mask, hand sanitizer, and more. Personally, I think the welcome bag is a great idea. With these precautions, and CEO's already reduced capacity, Alex Jebailey (the head of CEO) and all of the CEO staff are doing what they can to ensure people's safety. To top off the good news, brackets for the various tournaments will begin at noon on December 13. That's right, no more 9 AM brackets (hallelujah!). If you have ever attended a major fighting game tournament before, you know how much of a great thing that is. Posted in News Tagged with CEO ShareTweetPinShare 0 Kevin CarignanKevin is a lifelong gamer and has been a fan of fighting games since he first walked up to a Marvel vs. Capcom cabinet at the tender age of 8 at the local arcade. (Kids ask your parents what an "arcade" is). He may not be very good at them, but that doesn't stop him from enjoying them. He also loves character action games, survival horror, and speaking in the third person. Also covers Digital Card Games (DCCGs), specifically Legends of Runeterra and Teppen. Twitter Facebook V Rising developer post delves into new gameplay and your vampire societyPrevious article You may also like V Rising developer post delves into new gameplay and your vampire society By Joshua Chu3 hours ago News Century: Age of Ashes has been delayed to avoid clashing with Battlefield By Andrew Farrell3 hours ago News Fortnite gifts players with armored walls and cakes for its fourth birthday By Cameron Woolsey5 hours ago News More in News New trailer for The Long Dark Episode Four reveals October release date By Daniel Pinheiro5 hours ago News Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster gets a font patch to improve readability By Kurt Perry6 hours ago News You'll be able to play Starship Troopers – Terran Command in a Steam demo next month By Cameron Woolsey7 hours ago News

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Colony Survival For Mac

Cheat codes may be a dying breed in the video game world, but they are alive and well in Pipliz's blocky survival game, Colony Survival. With cheats activated, players are able to fly, teleport, and loot at will, making these codes perfect for players that are primarily interested in the building aspects of Colony Survival. If those sound fun to you, then read on for GameSkinny's list of Colony Survival console commands and cheat codes.

How to Activate Cheats in Colony Survival

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Before using cheats in Colony Survival, you'll need to enable them. Simply press 'T' to open up the game's command line, type the following, and hit enter:

/cheats on

Once enabled, you can use any of the cheat codes listed below by simply opening up the command line with T, typing in the code, and pressing enter. If you want, you can also disable cheats by typing:

/cheats off

List of Colony Survival Cheat Codes

Enable flying (note that you must press F to toggle flying and hold SHIFT to fly faster):

/setflight true

Teleport to your banner:

/teleport banner

Teleport to specific coordinates (x, y, and z should be replaced by the desired coordinate numbers):

/teleport x y z

Change time (replace # with the desired number of hours to move forward)

/time add #

Obtain any item (replace ItemID with the item's ID and # with the quantity of the item):

/loot ItemID #

For this last code, note that an item's ID is not always the same as the name of the item itself. See below for the list of Item IDs.

List of Colony Survival Item IDs

Here is an alphabetical list of all items in Colony Survival that can be spawned with cheats, followed by their corresponding ID:

ItemItem IDAdobeadobeArrowarrowAxeaxeBannerbannerBedbedBerryberryBerry SeedberrybushBowbowBreadbreadBricksbricksClayclayCoal OrecoaloreCoated PlankscoatedplanksCommand ToolcommandtoolCratecrateDirtdirtFlaxflaxFlax Seedsflaxstage1FlourflourFurnacefurnaceGold CoingoldcoinGold IngotgoldingotGold OregoldoreGrassgrassGrass RainforestgrassrainforestGrass SavannagrasssavannaGrass TaigagrasstaigaGrass TemperategrasstemperateGrass TundragrasstundraGrindstonegrindstoneGypsumgypsumIron IngotironingotIron OreironoreLeavesleavesLeaves TaigaleavestaigaLeaves TemperateleavestemperateLinseed OillinseedoilLoglogLog TaigalogtaigaLog TempertelogtemperateMintmintOvenovenPickaxepickaxePlanksplanksPlaster BlockplasterblockQuiverquiverSandsandSaplingsapplingSnowsnowStone BlockstoneblockStone BricksstonebricksStrawstrawTorchtorchWaterwaterWheatwheatWheat Seedswheatstage1Workbenchworkbench

With Colony Survival's cheats at your fingertips, you should have no problem building the settlement of your dreams. If you found this guide helpful, be sure to check out some of our other Colony Survival guides on GameSkinny. Here are a few to get you started:

Do you like City Builder Games where you can design amazing cities, communities and settlements?

These type of games are the perfect way to express yourself and be creative, sometimes without restriction. City management games or general management games on the other hand let you manage everything, whether it’s a city, a business or any kind of system.

It is also very similar to strategy games, but the main difference is that in city builder games or management games your success is not physical survival, but more financial survival.

The main goal is to make money and reach your goals. Most city building simulators have a sandbox mode meaning you can build with an unlimited budget and don’t have to worry about balancing your finances.

These type of games also give you problems to solve, whether it is traffic related or managing your resources, it is always fun to come up with a solution. Build bigger, better and become virtually rich! Here is a list of the best City Builder Games and Management Games you can play!

What is your favorite city building game? Tell me in the comments. If you like this post, please share it with your friends.

The Best City Builder Games

1. Cities Skylines

Cities Skylines is the ultimate city builder game you can play right now.

It has so many possibilities and features for players to create their dream city.

Cities Skylines challenges the player’s management and creative skills, whether you play with money or in sandbox mode.

In the beginning of every city create you will experience the need to expand quickly and get more people to move there.

Until… traffic becomes a problem!

That is one of the main challenges in the game, to find innovative way to solve traffic and expansion problems.

Traffic management, policies, taxation, infrastructure planning, resources, city connections ect. are only a few things you’ll manage during the game.

It also has massive modding capabilities and a big community with a number of awesome DLC content, so customization is virtually unlimited.

What are you waiting for, the people want to move in.

Don’t miss the latest DLC, Industries, which is definitely one of the best!

Find it here – Industries DLC

Get building!

Buy Cities Skylines

2. ANNO 1800

ANNO 1800 is a real-time city building game and it’s the latest edition into the series.

The ANNO Series has the ultimate blend between being a city builder and a city management game while you play through some super interesting campaigns.

The setting is focused around the 1800’s of the Industrial Revolution highlighting colonial trade with a touch of Victorian Era style.

You will have to manage many different aspects to conquer ANNO 1800, like production, supply chains, trade routes, political management and keeping your people happy.

You will ultimately decide what kind of ruler you will be.

Will you be an innovator or an exploiter?

Are you a liberator or a conqueror that rules with an iron fist?

Whichever you choose, be ready for an epic journey. Enjoy this city builder in singleplayer, multiplayer and sandbox mode.

ANNO has visited a few different eras, both historical and future, each giving you a rich storyline which will give you hours of playtime.

My favourite so far was ANNO 1404, but the new ANNO 1800 will definitely be one of the best. What is your favourite?

Buy ANNO 1800

3. Tropico 6

When you are looking for a fun city builder game that is not too serious, the Tropico series might just be perfect for you.

Tropico 6 is one of the latest city building and management games for the genre, with a list of new features.

You are taking the role of “El Presidente” the mayor on your very own little island, build a community from the ground, manage resources, politics, trade and much more.

Playing the main campaigns takes you through 4 time periods all with unique ways to build your settlements:

The Colonial era

The World Wars era

The Cold War era

The Modern era

Tropico 6 is a super fun game and you can play it in a variety of ways with several outcomes by implementing different policies, making decisions based on various factors and growing your rule in across your islands.

A new feature allows you build on various small islands throughout the 4 time periods and later connect them together, which was not the case in previous titles.

Even enjoy some multiplayer city building games with up to four friends.

Will you manage to keep your people happy, balance your production and supply, grow your empire?

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You are the major and the choice of how to build, manage and rule is up to you.

So go and create an economy that your virtual people will be proud of!

Buy Tropico 6

4. Banished

Banished is a city building strategy game that lets you build and manage an isolated society. You literally start with nothing except a few people to control.

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The main goal of this village building game is to develop a sustaining settlement for your people to survive through the various conditions.

It sounds easy enough right, but the thing is people will die if they are not fed or warm enough in the Winter.

You should order them to build, gather, farm and mine to keep your people alive. Banished has all the seasons where you will face challenges during each. For example, in Spring and Summer you need to grow food and gather wood to build houses and have enough firewood.

During Autumn and Winter, people will die if they are not warmed from fire and starve if they run out of food. The game has a few complex systems to understand and overcome before you can really build a large town, but it’s worth every minute.

If you like a real challenge and want to build your own little settlement, Banished is a great game to play.

It’s time to gather some firewood for the Winter!

Buy Banished:

5. Surviving Mars

From the same publisher’s as Cities Skylines, Surviving Mars is another challenging builder.

It is more focused around colony building and survival the different conditions than your usual city builders. Your mission is to build a sustainable settlement on Mars and survive the challenges that is thrown at you.

Being on Mars, there are a lot of factors that can affect the way you build your city which is really fun when you start to understand what needs to happen.

Surviving Mars has a lot of exciting gameplay, challenging environments and many customization to enjoy.

If you like a good colony builder game, this will be perfect for you.

Buy Surviving Mars

6. Frostpunk

The end of our civilization as we know it came fast during the 19th Century, which was supposed to be the peak of human achievement.

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Frostpunk is a survival city building game that puts you in charge of managing the last city on earth. With a great story and many different ways to play it, you are fighting to survive while its your duty to manage both the people and the infrastructure.

There are many things that plays together, from workers, resources, building strategy, politics and much more.

What decisions will you make to ensure the survival of the human race?

You must do whatever it takes, just survive!

Buy Frostpunk

7. Aven Colony

Aven Colony is a city building game for PC, Xbox and Playstation. You find yourself on Aven Prime, an alien planet several light years from earth, where you need to build a new human colony and survive the conditions.

Like many city builder games, Aven Colony has a lot of challenges in store for you to overcome like the management of resources, environmental factors and the aliens themselves. It can be quite a hard game at first, but when you get into the phase where you know how to balance everything it can be great.

In order to keep your people alive, you need to mine resources, set up defenses and do research in order to overcome some of the challenges you may face. One moment the sun can be shining and the next moment a giant sandstorm approaches to blow everything away.

There are also a variety of different aliens that can attack your colony, from plague spores, hovering guardians and cultist airships. You can defend against attacks by building defensive buildings and do research to improve them.

With all that going on, you will also have to deal with and balance the morale of the people in your colony, as they will hold elections and can vote you out if you don’t take care of their needs. These can be things like crime, food supplies, living conditions, social policies and more.

There are also the option to expand your colony into sub-colonies and grow your population. That is a whole other challenge on it’s own.

Aven Colony can be really challenging at times, but offers you the satisfaction when you keep going.

Go save your people and build your settlement on a totally unknown planet.

Buy Aven Colony

8. Life is Feudal: Forest Village

Life is Feudal: Forest Village is extremely similar to Banished I listed earlier, just with a few more advanced features like the management systems and graphical enhancements.

The key is to build your settlement from nothing with a few peasants, by gathering, harvesting, mining and a lot more.

The setting is in the medieval time with a realistic world, famine, disease and harsh winters. The game has a dynamic ecosystem with changing weather and the world you play on is randomly generated which gives you a unique experience for every town you build.

Life is Feudal is a great game to relax and not take everything too serious, so do you have what it takes to build your own medieval settlement?

Colony Survival Mac Download

Buy Life is Feudal: Forest Village

9. Rise of Industry

Rise of Industry is a complex strategy game in which you are the CEO of your own blossoming company – building an industrial empire that produces and delivers essential products to a growing population

Gather resources by building farms, mines, oil and gas wells and many more.

Fishing planet: bottom power pack for macbook pro. From the most basic materials there will be a wide range of products you can manufacture and ship to towns.

Keep the economy moving and keep the masses’ needs fulfilled.

Facilitate the transportation of both raw and finished products at every stage of production with the help of roadways, trucks, trains, ships, and even zeppelins.

Each mode of travel has its own advantages and drawbacks, and it’s up to you to sort the logistic puzzle.

Rise of Industry is complex enough to keep you entertained for hours and the development team seem to be very active and trustworthy.

So if you love complex strategy game and building your own successful business sounds good then Rise of Industry is a game for you!

Buy Rise of Industry

10. Simcity Complete Edition

Buy Simcity Complete Edition

11. Stonehearth

Buy Stonehearth

12. Kingdoms and Castles

Buy Kingdoms and Castles

13. Urban Empire

Buy Urban Empire

14. Cities in Motion 2

Buy Cities in Motion 2

Conclusion

What is your favorite city builder game?

Did I miss one?

Share it in the comments!

Now that you have a long list of great city builder games to choose from, you can be sure to have hours of fun! I listed the best city simulation games you can still play in 2019.

Please share my post with your friends if you found this post helpful or interesting.

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