#you do not have the ability to make a video game. the concepts will live in your brain forever

[mwahrails]

some keys

[rassicas]

In the splatoon fanbase, there are many misconceptions surrounding the relationship between inklings and water. without fail whenever I mention something related to the topic I'll get replies of "actually the canon is [some popular but incorrect theory]" "no they can do this and this canonically [it's actually a headcanon]" "no its really [something NOA made up]"

so to briefly go over The Facts:

Inklings canonically die when submerged in water. And yes, getting "splatted" is them dying for real, respawning is also an in-universe thing that has existed for at least 2000 years and not just a game mechanic. While the dying in water thing originally came from a game mechanic, it has been repeatedly stated that they incorporated this into the inkling's biology. The water weakness is not because of the water itself being toxic. The reason is based in osmosis. in the process of their evolution, Inklings (and octolings) changed a lot, and one of these changes was the ability to transform between a humanoid and swim form. Doing this transformation requires skin that is a thin, semi permeable membrane [this kind of skin is a trait found in real life molluscs]. The evolutionary trade off is that, because of how semi permeable their skin is, the ink inside of their bodies will bleed out when in contact with another liquid. This is the answer given directly by the series' creator. Kind of like how a slug will die if you sprinkle salt on it (for a reason that's almost the same as the inklings), but ultimately needs salt in its diet through the food it eats to live, inklings do drink water and other liquids. Its also not like they touch water and immediately explode, it seems they can wash their hands in it and dip their feet in it and be fine. Some people think the water weakness is stupid, personally i think its reasonable because Inkling biology is already weird as hell and of how ridiculously advantageous it is to be an ink-based cephalopod. the ink gives them the ability to jump absurdly long distances and cheat death to an extent. they're not losing much by not being able to dunk themselves in water. Anyway point is it sucks that all the relevant canon information on this is one of those japan only things/exclusive to developer interviews and pretty much every time it's brought up in English the localizers make shit up. I plan to make a video about this one of these days, but with how 'controversial' the topic is, and how many little details and connected concepts there are, I've been holding it off because I want to do it right. there's also some specific details that are unclear that I've been hoping would be clarified in the artbook or a dev interview but haven't, I might just have to go for it at this point. for the time being, i hope this post helps clear up a few things!

[sammy8d257]

[Originally drawn: May, 2021]

AvA Mafia AU! concept art! with the original idea created with @k1ttyadventurer

Here's a little rundown of this AU:

Char!Alan created Chosen as the head of the gang with Dark as his right-hand man and Victim was going to be the, well, the victim of the story in the animation. Second was going to be the frontman, basically running a small restaurant as a cover-up for the group’s illegal business. But as said above, teenage Noogai eventually gave up on the project but at this point, all of the sticks had become sentient so Noogai let them live on his desktop.

Everything is all good and fine. Everyone’s friends with each other but there’s also a nagging feeling of emptiness. They all realize, “Man, I still want to do mafia stuff” and then subsequently, realize they have access to the interweb and if they wanted, could start ACTUALLY doing mafia stuff.

They create a Mafia gang on the Interspace and Noogai is none the wiser.

And then, comes along 4 brightly colored sticks looking for an open positions in the Noogai Gang. And Yellow convinces (blackmails) them to let the Color Squad into the Family. ^^

(Keep in mind, when I mean Mafia stuff, I mean it in a very movie/video game-esque manner. Everything is very idealized and nothing is too realistic. It’s supposed to be a fun AU!)

As seen above, Purple is also in this AU but they're part of a rival gang called the "Kingdom" with it's boss, King and his "brutes".

If you wanna read the Oneshot I wrote to accompany this, you can find it here!

[The First Meeting - AvA Mafia AU]

<= v =>

Basic Character Info!

The Original 4 (the Hollow Heads): Created by a teen Noogai, have since continued using his username as the name for their Mafia organization, known as the Noogai Gang.

Chosen (He/Him): The Head Boss, has all his usual powers. The brains of the operation, Chosen spends most of his time trying to organize everything and everyone.

Dark (He/They): The Right Hand Man, the Enforcer role and a skilled coder. Dark enjoys his job a lot and doesn't like how easily RYGB were accepted into the group.

Victim (Any Pronouns): Originally supposed to be the person getting attacked in the original animation but since it never got finished, their role was never solidified. As a result, they have the ability to change their color and they use it to be a "master of disguise". Their original color is black but they switched it to a dark gray so they don't match with Chosen.

Second (Any Pronouns): The Front-Man of the group. They run a diner in the Interspace to help cover up the groups illegal activities. Don't let their warm demeanor fool you though, their hands are just as dirty as the others.

The Color Squad (RYGB): 4 stick figures from a fighting game that got bored of it and decided to pursue other interests.

Yellow (They/Them): the de facto "leader" of the group. Yellow is extremely skilled in coding and hacking. They're the one who did most of the research into finding potential mafia-style organizations to join.

Red (He/Him): Red is the hand-to-hand fighting expert. He loves getting into fights and isn't afraid of getting hurt.

Blue (They/She/He): Blue has a mastery over various poisons and other ways to silently kill. They are also the stealthiest of the group.

Green (He/They): The weapons expert. Green knows how to wield any sort of weaponry in combat. Whether it be firearms, blades, or a bo staff, Green can use them all.

The Kingdom: An older more established rival gang to the Noogai gang.

King (He/Him): The elusive leader of the Kingdom, King rules his corner of the illegal market with powerful efficiency. Although rarely spotted, some say they've seen him strike down opposers with one swipe of his staff.

Purple (They/Them): Purple is one of the higher ranking members of the Kingdom. They're usually sent out on scoping missions to make sure the Kingdom's assets aren't being tampered with.

Others:

Noogai/Alan: The creator of the hollow heads. He lets them live on his desktop and do whatever they want as long as his stuff doesn't get destroyed. In this universe, Alan never goes on to create the Animator vs Animation series and instead works on other unrelated animations. Noogai is unaware the sticks started a mafia gang and the sticks want to keep it that way. The sticks themselves are also VERY loyal to Alan and would do anything to protect him.

The Brutes: These are what people call members of the Kingdom due to the rumors of their brutality.

[radiosummons]

Even though Wolfwood is very much not an actual Catholic priest, I do find it compelling that Vash--someone without any religious beliefs and minimal exposure to "Christianity," courtesy of Rem (OG Trigun)--is the most faithful of the two.

And by "faithful," I don't mean so much in a religious or Christian sort of sense. More that Vash holds onto his faith that there is good in people and that everyone is worth saving. That the taking of a life is something so unspeakable to him that it will literally cause him immense mental, emotional and physical pain when he is forced to do so. His unshakeable belief, i.e. his faith that every life is precious and no one is beyond redepmtion irregardless of how morally corrupt an individual may be is so foundational to who he is as a character.

While I've only really experienced this through anime and various other Japanese based video games, I do enjoy seeing depictions of Christian iconography and concepts form non-Western creators. I love the art and memes of Vash being a "biblically accurate angel" (even though Plants aren't angels, I am so fucking happy that people are picking up on the unintentional symbolism) and I do enjoy the amount of, again, art and memes of Wolfwood being a cringefail Catholic priest.

But I also love the non-Western depiction of Christianity in Trigun, or rather the apocalyptic remnants of it. Despite the fact I have lost my ability to have faith in a higher being (and my own personal beef/distate with the Catholic Church/conservative Christianity as a whole), I find the worldbuilding of Trigun fascinating in this aspect as it provides its audience an alternative form of a global religion that's very relevant to our daily lives.

In Trigun, Christianity is very much a shadow of its former self, a leftover remnant of humanity--more specifically, a remnant of an old forgotten belief system--that has been essentialy been lost. Save for a few remaining Bibles and some memories of particular Catholic iconography/symbolism.

But overall, that's all that remains. Just familiar symbols and various rituals that some people are able to recall from their former lives.

So the decision to pair Vash up with someone like Wolfwood, someone who has lost his faith in humanity as a whole but has resolved himself to protect those that he can (or rather, deems worthy of saving) ... I find that relationship absolutely fascinating. Because I'd argue that in most Western depictions of a holy man (typically Christian and typically Catholic, let's be real), it's usually the holy man that is doing the saving. Or at the very least, is usually helping guide the other characters on their own paths towards redemption.

Despite the fact Wolfwood isn't an actual priest but instead an assassin trained by a mercenary group using the guise of an old religion (again, that most of humanity has clearly forgotten about), I find it to be a wonderful storywriting choice to make Vash the "holy man."

They're both incredibly tragic characters that burden themselves with crippling destinies. Destinies that ultimately lead to their own destruction, but hopefully all for the greater good. Vash holds faith that maybe, just maybe, he can make Nai realize the error of his ways and turn over a new leaf.

Understandably, Wolfwood finds this way of thinking horribly childish and naive. He even takes it as a personal insult when Vash continues to insist that killing people, even if it's for the sake of protecting someone else, is wrong.

But Vash isn't wrong for wanting to see the good in people. To borrow a quote from Everything Everywhere All At Once: "You tell me it's a cruel world, and we're all running around in circles. I know that. I've been on this earth just as many days as you. When I choose to see the good side of things, I'm not being naive. It is strategic and necessary. It's how I've learned to survive through everything. I know you see yourself as a fighter. Well, I see myself as one too. This is how I fight."

Granted, Vash doesn't express his beliefs as eloquently as this. But that doesn't really matter, though. Because Wolfwood doesn't need Vash to make express himself this way for Wolfwood to finally understand him. Vash, by the simple of virtue of being himself, is a good person who chooses to see the good in others.

And Wolfwood ... Wolfwood is someone who chooses to see the bad.

Wolfwood cannot quite bring himself to view the world the way Vash does. And Vash will never be able to share Wolfwood's opinions regarding who is worthy of living, either. But they respect each other and understand where the other person is coming from.

It does take Wolfwood a lot longer to understand Vash as a person, let alone his faith in humanity. But when he does, it's so satisfying to watch Vash become someone important to him. Someone that he wants to protects. Because if Vash won't defend himself, Wolfwood resolves to be the one to protect Vash.

Even if Vash doesn't really want that.

It's so fucking amazing to see these two clash over their ideals, whether it's in the form of playful teasing or straight up beating the shit out of each other. But they stay together and hold each other in such high regard despite their conflicting beliefs.

To me, one of the most beautiful aspescts of Trigun is that Wolfwood--a man of faith but only in name--gets to have such a close connection with Vash--a man of faith through and through--and that because of their relationship, they both inspire a existential AND spiritual crisis within one another.

Because in a world that makes no sense, they both find faith in each other. And if that isn't the most beautiful shit you've ever seen, then I don't know what is.

[madsims4finds]

Sooo Paralives and the Brainwashing EA has done

It's funny. Paralives launched a gameplay video that looks really good, along with some announcements. One of them being that they won't be offering paid DLC. I was watching Satch on Sims and him, plus a few other people, seem to think this is a bad move.

No shade, but it's easy to tell people who don't really game and all they play is the Sims. Like EA got yall so brainwashed that you actually think you're SUPPOSED to be getting charged for base game features.

His concern was wanting a different world to play in or different aethitics. Who said we can't get that for free? We may not know what all features Paralives are going to offer, but what rule says that they can't give us another world to play in for free? I mean literally, there are so many games that do free updates and only offer DLC if it's a niche theme that not everyone would be into, or if they're adding ADDITIONAL gameplay that has no resemblance to what's already in the game.

Only EA removes base game features just to sell them back to you later. Or expect you to buy a multitude of different DLCs that have the exact same theme or niche. Now don't mind me while I gripe on this point a little.

Growing Together and Parenthood should have been one generations themed pack.

Discover University and High School Years should have been one pack focused on education.

All of the occults (vamps, wolves, witches, ghosts, aliens, mermaids, plant people) all should have been in ONE paranormal pack.

Features from Dine Out should have been included in Get to Work. There was no need for that to be seperate DLC when they both relate to active careers.

For Rent and City Living should have been one pack.

Simple features that should not be locked behind a pay wall, and I'm not even talking weather. Like why do I have to buy DLC just for my sims to have access to a hot tub (Perfect Patio), an ice cream maker (Cool Kitchen), a popcorn maker (movie night), for them to have the ability to carve a pumpkin or have different holloween costumes, when Holloween is a holiday that comes in the base game with base game ability to trick or treat, etc. (Spooky Stuff), I have to buy Vintage Glamour just to have a butler (if anything the butler should have been in get famous along with everything in the luxury stuff pack. These are all things that should just be base game that they force you to buy DLC to have access to.

And speaking of weather, I do feel like packs like seasons, pets, laundry day, bust the dust, and my wedding stories should all be base game features. Yeah I don't care if we're used to paying for stuff like seasons and pets, things can and should change. These are all life basics, why am I paying extra?

Now I'm not all negative. There are packs that actually make sense. Get Famous makes sense. So does Island Living, Strangervile, all the vacation packs (jungle, outdoor, snowy). Hell, even Journey to Batuu made sense. Yeah, hear me out. These are all OPTIONAL packs. Stuff that not everyone is going to play with but they each bring something different to the game. Now whether any of these packs are filled to the brim with playable content, thats another story. But at least the concept makes sense.

Okay, off my soapbox and moving on.

I will forever and always use No Man's Sky as an example of a development team that chose integrity over money. That team has been releasing update after update for YEARS. Significant updates too. Updates that completely change the gameplay mechanics, adds brand new features to the game, or updates/changes the look of the game. All for free. Yes, it's normal. Not normal in the sense that these companies should be releasing broken games or not delivering on promises to begin with, but at least they weren't money-hungry assholes about it. The amount of updates that game has, quite a few could have been paid DLC and they didn't do that. Now if they started releasing DLC with specialty ships or different cosmetic features, I would have no problem paying for that cause it's optional.

Paralives knows what they're doing. As long as they are focused on making the base game everything it's supposed to be, I don't see why they couldn't sell the type of optional DLC that makes sense in the future. But I'm certainly not going to say that they're making a mistake by not having paid DLC right now.

I can definitely see them adding things like weather, a new life stage, or new clothes/build objects for free and that's dope. I'm excited about Paralives more so than Life By You. But either way, I'm just glad EA has competition in the life simulation genre now that isn't just about farming management.

[animehouse-moe]

Shangri-La Frontier Episode 1: What Do You Play Games For?

What happens when a gamer who only plays shitty games decides to pick up a so called god-tier game? Shangri-La Frontier is the answer to that and provides an insane opening episode for the concept. I'm just so excited to get 2 whole cours of this, and I really want to explain why.

Also, SiM's vocalist (MAH) on the OP with FZMZ? And Chico on the ending song? This series was made for me man.

First of all, C2C is an incredibly underrated studio considering the quality of the projects that they enjoy. This is one such project. Right from the start the quality is insane. 2D camera movement, detailed animation and character acting, the whole nine yards. Just look at this walking cycle! There's no 3D and their shoulders move!

It's just crazy to see the detail they put into these pieces early on. Walking cycles are super neglected due to how "plain" they are, but there's just something incredible about seeing that effort put into it with stuff like these examples.

And then there's this (sort of misleading) litmus test. Does your anime have really good art for a random cut? Odds are the production's doing really well. And, well, there's this really good looking beetle shown early on in the episode.

Anyways, to Shangri-La Frontier the game. The direction understands the assignment right away. This is a video game, we need to know it's a video game. So they show us it's a video game. First person perspective is our very first cut shown in the welcome screen and once we enter the world, setting the tone perfectly for what's to come.

But of course, a video game has more to it then just first person perspective, and of course C2C grasp that as well. Slow motion (which you'll see later), and more importantly camera movement are important in establishing that feel. The slow draw towards an endless expanse of world, the bird's eye view of a landmark or feature as the camera slowly rotates. It gets it, and it's able to create a living, breathing trailer for Shangri-La during the episode because of that.

And then, there's the fact that it's a video game. There's talks of skills and abilities and levels and whatnot, but I think most understand that that's a "staple" and that C2C/Shangri-La handle it quite well.

Let's talk about the good stuff, let's talk about action. C2C nails it. They put incredible effort into video game-styled choreography, and it pays off in spades. The slow motion, the harsh camera angles to accentuate the fight, the camera rotation, the way that attacks linger in the air. It's incredible stuff that's augmented by insane animation and visual effects. Seriously, pay attention to the fight and you'll see that they did an impact frame for a crit. Not in the traditional sense, but that the impact frame was the crit. This sort of stuff just makes me so excited because of how well it's handled.

And then there's the worldbuilding. The OP comes into play as well of course, but the details are super great. The enemies Sunraku faces in the starting forest are (mostly) beginner enemies. A goblin with a stone axe and some sort of large pig seem to be the "typical", but there's more to it than that. The Vorpal bunny is a "rare" enemy which makes sense, but the pig enemy only appears as Sunraku ventures closer to the second town rather than the first.

There's considerable detail and effort placed in the creation and appearances of these creatures in the world. The Vorpal Bunny featuring a better crafted weapon than the others that most likely came from somewhere else. Don't forget - we saw a rabbit in the opening.

It's just insanely cool stuff. The world is already shown to be more broad and deep than "it's a big video game world!". There's all sorts of little pieces like this peppered about, and it's just so damn good. Even the concept of Sunraku's "Wanderer" dropping him in a forest rather than the starter town. The detail to really sell this game as god-tier is so damn good.

But it's important to not forget, the god-tier part of the game is only one part of the puzzle. Sunraku here is famous for playing garbage games.

And it's a great way to offset the story and provide a fun angle, I'm serious. It allows them to add fun commentary and responses in regards to frustration from playing bad games, and at the same time provide a novel and excitable approach to a genuinely good game. The best of both worlds that sets the perfect stage for how they want to explore this story.

So, understandably so, I'm very excited about two cours of this and everybody else should be too. C2C is showing us they've got the potential to make the absolute most of Shangri-La Frontier and it's fun and surprisingly unique concept. Can't wait to see what they bring with the next episode!

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

I found this post, which I’ll link to at the end, that flat out says “conservatives can’t make good art because they lack empathy” and I just… How do you break it to someone that they’ve likely engaged with conservative creators and didn’t know it because the creator doesn’t blast their politics like they tend to do? Seriously, they vomit their politics all over what they create and create caricatures of conservatives to be villains and then claim we lack empathy? What a moron!

Excerpt:

“Conservatives are incapable of producing good art because they lack empathy, which means they are incapable of creating anything which communicates to a larger audience. When they try to produce art, they only end up producing clumsy in-group signaling.

Conservatives falsely think that art is nothing more than in-group signaling, because they feel alienated by the features that typically constitute good art: exploration of new concepts, boundary breaking, an ability to reveal the inner lives of people who are not ourselves.”

x (dot) com /anarkyoutube/status/1721635415004795167?s=46&t=fABiWWpXbyJadSvu6LkbqQ

So I don't normally talk about this, but in my other online life I'm a fanfic writer. I have multiple fics with 5 digit hit counts, four digit kudos and bookmark counts, and hundreds of reviews. Many of which are from account names like "queeraf_demiboy" or "nonbinary_KarlMarx". If all of those people just happen to come across my fic without ever knowing my beliefs, just imagine how many others are out there. And that's just fanfic. And that's assuming people are being honest about their beliefs. You can't even trust that people who publicly support the Current Leftist Cause actually support it, or are just paying lip service for the sake of their careers. Conservatives are all over creative spaces. They make art. They write novels. They act in movies. They put on plays. They create video games.

And most of them aren't vocal about what they believe. And if that doesn't scare the leftists out there who can't stand the idea of accidentally liking something made by their ideological enemies, then I'll leave you with this.

[cathkaesque]

Getting mad about a joke video is probably unhinged, but I am little drunk so whatever...this is literally the best the UK system has to offer people our age. This is what success looks like. And it looks so fucking dire man.

Just the sheer emptiness of it. A culture where this is the gold standard and people who live like this are the political base of the social order is one that will never produce any art, any science, or complete any historical tasks. You work a totally meaningless job, in a meaningless office, meeting meaningless sales targets and helping absolutely no one with the time you are given on this earth. It gives you access to as many commodities as you want, where you are encouraged and rewarded if you don't think about the slaves that picked, sowed, assembled and delivered the Disneyland around you, or the drained and polluted lakes, felled forests, and ruined mountains required to make it. It is a life where your relationships are as deep as a puddle. You have the wife you're supposed to have who might give you the sex you're supposed to have, who you barely take any interest in. Your friendships go as deep as football and video games. The art and culture you consume goes as deep as a TV quiz show. Not once does this way of life ever ask you to engage with the world in a way that gives that life any meaning. It just sounds so fucking boring. The other side of it as well is, at best, this is wealth without any real power. You live the life that capital and patriarchy have designed for you without any of the tools to interrogate whether that is the life you really want or what to do when those systems start to fail. The posh car and cookie cutter house ultimately belong to the bank. You must keep working your completely meaningless job to keep this life, which is fundamentally based on the same funny money. No community will come to your rescue and demand that your work continue when the bubble bursts. There is no social safety net, no public healthcare, no unemployment benefits, no concept of social responsibility. All of that has been fed to the financial system to keep the cheap money flowing. The only thing you really have in life is the ability to kick down, to bully your call centre underlings, to hate the people you're told to hate, coupled with the entitlement that comes from having "worked hard" and "followed the rules", unlike those scroungers, illegals, strikers, getting something for nothing and still asking for more. The people that are happy with this life, and are likely to go insane fascist when it is suddenly ripped away from them when the financial bubble bursts and the cheap mortgage money starts to evapourate, are the political force that needs to be smashed if life is to continue on this godforsaken island.

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 20

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more! Today, the countdown enters the Top 20!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “Kill me if you can!”

Number 20 is…L, from Death Note.

So far, all of the detectives on this list have been protagonist figures. Not all of them have been the MAIN protagonists (although the grand majority have been), but the focus in every situation up till now has been on the detectives trying to solve the cases. This, of course, is not always the case: not every protagonist is a hero, not every antagonist is a villain, and there are two sides to every story. While antagonistic detectives are somewhat rare, they do exist, and in various forms. Most I didn’t feel deserved placement on this countdown, however, due to one or more of the rules I established at the start. This character, however, is an exception.

“Death Note” is a highly-acclaimed anime and manga franchise, which sort of toes the line between crime/mystery drama and supernatural horror. The plot focuses on a Villain Protagonist: Light Yagami, a.k.a. Kira. Light is a precocious young man with a lot of high ideals: he sees the world as a corrupt place, and wishes there was a way to right the wrongs and bring true justice to the people. This desire gets twisted and warped when he comes into possession of the titular Death Note: a notebook with a very dark and dangerous magical ability. Whenever someone’s name is written in the Death Note…they die. And the person who writes the name down can even choose how and when they die, if they so wish. Light realizes the book has the power to grant him the justice he craves so much; consumed by the Death Note’s power, he goes mad and becomes the serial killer “Kira,” using its power to destroy anybody he deems unfit of living in the world he wants to create…or just anybody who gets in his way.

Light does not go unchallenged in the series, and this is where our contender for today comes into play: a mysterious private investigator known simply as “L.” This young fellow is a foil to Light, in a lot of ways: Light is seemingly normal, well-spoken, clean-cut, and conventionally attractive. L, in contrast, is a reclusive little hobgoblin obsessed with computers and candy. What both share is the fact they are each geniuses, both wiser and more clever than their youthful years would indicate. L becomes determined to solve the case of Kira, and it’s his actions and choices that create much of the conflict Light must face on his self-righteous and deadly quest.

Much of the show revolves around the concept of a single word I’ve used here already: “justice.” All of the major characters have their own philosophies and outlooks on what “true justice” really is. Light believes justice is as simple as punishing the guilty; as he is corrupted by the power the Death Note brings to him, he comes to think that the only way one can achieve true justice is to eliminate all of one’s enemies, so that those you care about can be rewarded and saved. L believes much the same, but he sees it from a different point of view: he believes Kira should be punished for his crimes, because that is what “true justice” is, regardless of his motivations. However, L is not a pure and simple hero in this story; he does things that are legally and ethically questionable in his pursuit of putting Kira behind bars. His ideal of justice is set up by the precedent that murder is wrong, and therefore catching murderers is just; how one actually goes about doing that is not something he really cares about on the whole.

Another thing that makes L interesting is his relationship with Light: while the two are dead serious about destroying one another, each comes to see the other as probably the closest thing either has ever had to a real, true friend. Indeed, there are, one could argue, subtle implications of romance between the pair. This makes what happens to L later in the manga and the anime even more tragic, because – SPOILER ALERT – in both, L does not survive the entire series. However, even after he dies, he’s far from done with Light Yagami, as things L did before his destruction ultimately do lead to Kira’s downfall. In the words of a different story, “Neither can live while the other survives.” Their twin paths ultimately result in mutual destruction, which is wonderfully poetic. I would argue the musical of Death Note (yes, there IS a musical, and it’s actually pretty good) does this even better than either the anime OR the manga…but that’s another story for another time.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 19!

CLUE: “Everyone has thought about killing someone, one way or another.”

[hothammies]

Hi again!

I bring another question. Are there any details about your zombies that you find special?

Like unique stuff. Speed, transmission, all that stuff!

- 🪼 (jellyfish anon)

hi again jellyfish anon!

to answer your question quickly: yes! i'm planning for there to be unique qualities to certain infected strains, but i'm not sure what that'll be - the aesthetic of the upside down will be a heavy factor in how i design the infection!

this is gonna turn into a ramble but honestly, i've barely begun the zombie (worldbuilding) part of the au, mostly because it's not really my forte, characters are! it doesn't mean i'm not confident in my abilities to make an interesting world- it's just that i'd have to do a whole lot more research to make a world i feel is cohesive and fits the characters well because it doesn't come as naturally to me :) after i finish off the character sheets, i'll dedicate some time into outlining more about the apocalyptic world!

under the cut, i'll provide my main sources of inspiration that i'm going to be drawing from!

---

regarding the entire au as a whole, here's some games that i'm most likely going to be drawing inspiration from for what i'm thinking of:

days gone (currently playing <3): weapons, open world, concept of "drifters" and camps, government play in reference to the infection, science involved in how infection spreads

the last of us i + ii (games): the communities, concept of immunity, use of environment to show not tell, stages of infected, fedra involvement

left 4 dead 2 (the fuckin goat): concept of immunity, special infected concept, tightknit group of survivors that are competent,

resident evil (the og): las plagas similarity, infection resiliency, government involved in infection

the walking dead (franchise): child character references (carl, clem + the ericson boarding school)

---

other notes: as i said, all of these are games :D video games are my absolute favorite form of storytelling! in particular, l4d2 and tlou games have stuck with me since i was a kid so i have a huge soft spot for them! these aren't really set in stone ideas, just what i had in mind when making this au

honestly, i'm not gunning for originality or anything - i'm just hoping the world i create is interesting and fits the characters well in context! i've always been much more interested in characters than the worldbuilding in regards to general storytelling, but i do believe characters have a heavy hand in making the world feel lived in + interesting, which is why i'm trying to make a world around the characters :)

[masha-nikita]

Do you do readings with other Nazis? Eg: Himmler, Göring, Goebbels, etc.

I would love for you to do a reading on Albert Speer! I really enjoy your posts!

My apology that I my blog is more WWII military-centered, so viewers actually find very few (to none) posts that are about Nazi party members proper.

But, tomorrow is Mr. Speer’s birthday, so I’ll make some comments on him as a happy birthday gesture.

This person has a powerful Neptune nearly exact conjunct Ascendant. This Neptune is as powerful as Fedor von Bock’s Uranus. Fedi’s Uranus conjuncts ascendant on the 1st house side (linked towards acute self-awareness), whereas Speer has his conjunction located at 12th house side (linked towards profound self-unawareness). This person dissolved himself in his life’s work; he practically has no self left.

This placement facilitates extreme psychic ability. You may say, oh, then, Speer is another Rudolf Steiner whose life’s work revolves around mysticism, esotericism, the occult, and also sculpture and architecture. No, Speer does not even has an ego-structure for that, especially with a Mercury-Neptune hard square. At least half of his brain does not live on earth at all. He is pretty bad at taking care of his own mundane daily life, and uninterested in mundane subjects such as political debates.

You do often observe in occultists (ie, Rudolf Steiner, Mme Blavatsky, Aleister Crowley etc) a strong-willed dedication towards whatever work they’re doing (that’s why non-secret occult societies tend to fall apart), but for Speer, there is no dedication- dedication implies an act of dedicating the “self” towards something, but basically Speer just melts in his "works" like water; and like formless water, he relies on ideological structures to give himself form. Without a rigid ideology or at least a protective figure, he would be lost or very easily taken advantage of; but with one, he probably would be led astray just as easily. Either way.

This Neptune gives him an unique ability to design things THAT SEEMS TO BE INFINITE, beyond any human scope. His Neptune breaks down Mercury’s logic with a hard square, so he has to manage to “realize the illogical”. The highly abstract and "illogical/not-mundane logic" part of quantum mechanics and mathematics probably suits his heart better. When it comes to architecture,  what Speer really attempted to make real as a concept, is probably The Oldest House from the video game Control- a clusterfuck of none-logic that encapsulate infinity, since Speer has no “ego-container” to restrict anything down.

Speer’s is not even a case where he lets his imagination goes wild; you have to have a “self” to allow your ego to imagine things. You look at Rudolf Steiner’s architecture, you would be aware that “it is a work of an accomplished mystic, yet, a mystic is still a man”.

Steiner's design-

On the contrary, Speer’s work would look something like “the collective unconscious of a hundred thousand man” if built properly. Note that a collective unconscious is more often than not an awe-inspiring and an dark place.

Astrologers would say a powerful Neptune renders the natives all daydreams and no practical work, but I can’t even say this Neptune is so impractical that Speer really amounts to nothing- because that is plain wrong. I’ll say this- the way he does work, that would not be out of any practicality or concrete knowledge, but rather he directly transplants an ISEKAI or some kind of superior parallel universe to this 3 dimensional world where he doesn’t even fully live in (and the misery thereof, he hardly ever grasped). It is a "spiritual" genius instead of a brain genius.

Take that as you will how you interpret his role in the Nazi party.

[starlightshore]

What projects are you currently working on? Both Undertale/Deltarune related and not related.

i got my hands in a lot of things always LOL

lots of stuff under the cut

Undertale / Deltarune

Fangames I Co-direct

- Fallen Fates - Undertale Prequel Full Fangame (?)

Fallen Fates is an Undertale Prequel that aims to follow the "What if you got to play as Chara when they originally fell into the Underground?"

Status: LONG Hiatus. Stuck on concept development as the lead project head is busy with his career. Hopefully, we can jump-start development soon! But we're not fully sure WHAT type of game it'll be. So despite being an old project, it's been rebooted and on hold. That said the team really does want to make this game regardless of how long it takes.

- Sensational Studio's Underswap - Undertale AU Full Fangame

An Underswap fangame that isn't what it seems... it aims to be an exciting re-imagining of Undertale with some Deltarune inspiration.

Status: VERY active development. While not publically discussed, the game has been in stead development this whole time.

- Alteration - Undertale AU (I'm a writer, NOT co-director)

On hold as the project lead is writing a draft. I help with the world-building and concept art. Not much I can say on this one as it's been rebooted.

My Projects

- Angel's Lullaby - Undertale Prequel Full Fangame

An ambitious Prequel that aims to be a "next console (DS) style prequel" that covers the Human and Monster War. Following a new protagonist, a Zombie, who is stuck between both sides of the conflict. Use your unique abilities to form a party and decide which side you'll join. Explore the Island of Monsters and uncover their past and secrets. Can you stop the war?

Status: MESSY. Ok so like. This is my fault 100%. We've switched engines MULTIPLE times and that meant re-coding things every time. Outside the battle system, the game's systems are 90% done. Cutscenes, dialogue, menus, save system, etc. So it's CLOSE to becoming a demo but I simply have been burnt out + don't have much time in the day to work on this. However, I DO think I'll keep working on this as the gameplay is fresh and exciting, and my love for the characters are coming back.

- NightFell - Underfell AU Full Fangame

Jackie is just a regular human teenager who stumbles upon a gateway into hell. There, they'll face the monsters who live on Mt.Crown and are stuck here. There's only one rule in this place: Kill or Be Killed!

A very different take on Underfell, that aims to place the Undertale cast and push them into an Underfell society instead of them having always been in one.

This is honestly my favorite project. It's built on the ideas I developed from a canceled fangame called Spookytale, with permission from Jevil to continue the concepts. My most favorite OC ever, Pumpkin, is in this game. While I am waiting for the DR engine my friend Lasers and I are working on to be made first, Nightfell is honestly the least ambitious and most fun game to make. While the story is a rough draft, it's the most complete. I ADORE this game. I'm so excited to make it.

- Fallen Royalty / New Royals - A webcomic / Video game Combo

An Everybody Lives AU that aims to take a hard look to what it'd be like to actually be resurrected. Deals with the themes of growing up, moving past trauma and accepting a second chance at life.

Originally an askblog from 5 years ago, Fallen Royalty is a rebooted comic that I work on. It has a video game adaption, New Royals, as well as video-game segments for the sidestories. Kinda stuck in development at the moment, as I got [redacted] to work on. But the newest Sidestory, DOWN, is in development and should be out soon-ish.

This is my magnum opus, my love letter to Undertale. I have to make a version of this story that's complete and to my best of writing. The tumblr askblog version, while finished, is missing chunks of the story. Follow me at @askfallenroyalty to see it's development

Danny Phantom

- Electrical Undead - my default AU full of headcanons.

In short here are the main ones: Danny has an electrical/light core + full inverted colorscheme + No clones, Ellie is an AU counterpart instead + Nonbinary Sam and trans Danny + sentient portal

- Lingering Spirits - Farmboy!Danny + Nobody Knows AU

When the weird new kid, Danny, moves into town, strange incidents begin to occur. Ghostly sightings, unexplained phenomena, danger around every corner... Can Sam and Tucker get to the bottom of it before the whole town breaks into chaos?

A Horror AU with an angsty, bitter Danny. When his parents are taken during the portal accident, Danny and Jazz move in with Aunt Alicea. After an incident, the family moves to Amity.

So basically: Fallen Royatly is my main thing. SS will require me every few weeks to work on things. FF and NF are on hold. Angel's is in development, typically worked on every Monday but has been on hold since I moved. When I'm burnt out on working on Undertale stuff, I'll work on Danny Phantom stuff. I always have something going on so I keep myself active.

[beacon-of-chaos]

Since Quetza is in the @sonic-oc-showdown, I figured I'd fill out one of these questionnaires I've seen around. I apologise, I'm not sure who came up with it, but I first saw it on @bunnymajo's page.

FYI: Some of this stuff I am coming up with on the fly!

Name: Quetza the Snake

Species: Winged Snake. No particular type of snake in mind.

Type: Flight

Alignment: Chaotic Good

Home: Station Square?

Quetza claims to be either the reincarnation, descendant, or chosen one of the ancient god Quetzacoatl. The answer differs each time you ask her, but it's hard to deny. She's a snake born with wings and she has magical abilities, specifically control over wind and air, and shapeshifting, which is why she has four arms. She travels the world, looking for clues about her true nature. She has an easy going nature and can be shy, but opens up quickly to those are friendly to her. She loves fashion, junk food, and video games. She doesn't like to fight, but can defend herself if she needs to, using gusts of wind to fly around and using her shapeshifting to extend her arms or tail for quick strikes.

✨How did you come up with the OC’s name?

She's inspired by the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl, the winged serpent god. Quetzalcoatl means "precious serpent" in the Nahuatl language, so her name could roughly be translated as Precious the Snake!

Note: It's pronounced KET-zah. :)

🌼  - How old are they? (Or approximate age range)

She's an adult. Late 20s, I guess?

🌺- Do they have any love interest(s)?

No. She gains crushes easily, and forgets them almost as quickly.

🍕  - What is their favorite food?

Ice cream! She has a real sweet tooth.

💼  - What do they do for a living?

Uh... I haven't thought that far yet.

So, at this point I need to explain. Quetza is literally just my fursona; wish fufilment in all its forms XD. She doesn't have a story, per se.

So I could give her a boring office job like mine. Or maybe say that she's something really cool? Like my version of the Rookie?

How about this: she started as a scout for the Resistance and is now a manager/organiser at the Restoration, working closely with Jewel.

🎹  - Do they have any hobbies?

Video games, mostly action/adventure types.

🎯  -What do they do best?

Flying! With her wind magic aiding her, no one can fly faster or more skillfully!

🥊  -What do they love to do? What do they hate to do?

Shopping and exploring! She travels often, looking for clues about her past, but she's always looking for a nice city to stay in when she does so.

❤️  - What is one of your OC’s best memories?

I think when she realised exactly what her powers could do. Figuring that out about herself would be a big moment.

✂️   - What is one of your OC’s worst memories?

Probably getting bullied for being a freak by the other kids when she was younger :(

🧊  - Is their current design the first one?

No, she's changed a fair bit since her first design. I literally added the extra arms cos I thought it was cool and her hairstyle has changed a lot (as you can see in the above pictures). She also used to be a rattlesnake cos I thought it would be cute if she rattled when scared/angry. IDK, might bring that back.

🍀  - What originally inspired the OC?

I like snakes and I always thought the idea of a snake with wings was cool. I really fell in love with the concept of Coatls in D&D a while back so I wanted to make that my 'sona.

🌂  - What genre do they belong in?

IDK, what do Sonic games count as? Action? Sci-fi (there's a lot of robots, after all)?

💚  -What is your OC’s gender identity and sexuality?

Genderfluid transwoman, bisexual.

🙌  - How many siblings does your OC have?

None.

🍎  - What is the OC’s relationship w/their parents like?

I think pretty good? I don't have parents for her in mind yet.

🧠  - What do you like most about the OC?

LOOK. AT. HER. ❤️

Shout out to @kuchintta for the comission I got.

✏️  - How often do you draw/write about the OC?

Almost never. This is the most I've ever written about her and I don't actually draw much.

💎  - Do you ever see yourself killing off the OC?

No! That would be like killing myself.

💀  - Does your OC have any phobias?

Hm. My phobia is of heights, but she can fly so there's no way that would scare her. I guess not!

🍩  -Who is your OC’s arch-nemesis or rival?

That jerk at Restoration HQ who always gets the best snacks from the vending machine first! How does he always get there so quick?

🎓  - How long have you had the OC?

About a year... apparantly! Wow, that's gone by quick!

[thevindicativevordan]

I'd be interested in your thoughts on the Hulk's greatest foe, Emil Blonsky/Abomination. He's always been a personal fave gamma character and it's a shame he tends to be seen as just an evil hulk, dude used to be more complex and tragic.

My favorite Blonsky comes from the Ultimate Destruction video game. His voice actor killed it in that game, terrifying as Blonsky but also managed to make you sympathize with him when you found out his reasons for doing what he did. His 616 origin of being a Russian agent feels terribly dated to me, and I'm disappointed no one seems interested in stepping up to revamp him.

Abomination works better for me as a character who starts out wanting to exploit the Hulk for his own benefit, whether that's to empower himself or to treat his dying wife. That way he becomes a classic case of "be careful what you wish for" where he gets the power, but is stuck as a monster. 616 Blonsky conceptually is lame to me, but the attempts at replacing him (Red Hulk, Immortal Abomination), haven't done anything for me either. He suffers from the "Zod" problem where people use him because he's the "evil Hulk", but they don't have anything deeper to say about him. Even killing Betty didn't do much to level him up as a character, and most people aren't even aware that he did that anymore.

Like the Superman Rogues, a lot of the Hulk Rogues need goals other than challenging Hulk to a fist fight. For Abomination that goal once was trying to find a way to switch between forms the way Bruce does. My direction for him would be to grant him that ability finally (I think we've wrung all the pathos we can out of him angsting over his inability to change back and forth). Next I'd return to an old bit of continuity. Once upon a time, Abomination actually protected a community of outcasts living in the New York City sewers called "the Abominations" in his honor. I would revive that concept, Blonsky builds a community for mutates like himself and Bruce, and he serves as their protector. The problem is that Abomination has no problem attacking others to take what his community needs, and doesn't care about hurting anyone outside his community, thus keeping him as an anti-villain rather than making him an anti-hero.

Finally I would bring his wife Nadia back. Now 616 Blonsky abused his wife, she hated him and wanted to kill him. Have Blonsky revive her using gamma so she becomes a gamma mutate too, and make them a dark reflection of Bruce and Betty. Bruce and Betty fight but ultimately love each other and that love unites them. Meanwhile Nadia hates Blonsky and keeps trying to kill him, while Blonsky is desperate to try and win her back. After reviving her as a mutate, she freaks out and escapes, periodically returning to target Abomination in revenge while he tries to track her down and force her to return with him. His community of outcasts and his wife, those are the two ongoing concerns for him that can help keep Abomination as an ongoing threat for the Hulk. You get some nice contrast with Hulk as the outcast drifter who never fits in anywhere, while Abomination has build himself a community. Meanwhile Hulk has a family that loves him, as weird and messed up as it is, while Abomiantion's family is fundamentally broken.

[shadylex]

I see those tags and i wanna know about the (former) kingdom hearts oc real badly now

Oh my god, am I really going to go off?

Am I about to really embarrass myself at my literally 18 year old OC who is the whole reason I got into writing in the first place? And the weird obsession I have with any media/character that has to do with memory manipulation and mind reading?

I sure as fuck am, I'm about to talk about my OC that has basically been my face on tumblr for the last seven years at this point.

You're all about to meet Lexen, and how she came into existence.

Kingdom Hearts 2 released on December 22, 2005, and it was around this time that my ex-friend gave me this game as a sequel to the first Kingdom Hearts I had previously played.

I didn't make any OCs for the first game. I was just so enraptured by being able to play a video game with Disney characters in it and the frankly odd amount of platforming in this game. It was when I was given Kingdom Hearts 2 right after finishing the first one did it all really start to sink in.

Little 11 year old me was FULLY invested in anything edgy or cool looking, as with all kids around this age, and Organization XIII basically took me by the throat and never let go. This was my first jump into fandom and fan art and writing and a whole world that I now was able to read and look. I never really joined any big communities, I actually have a sour experience with the KHInsider website at the time so I really missed out on community.

Which is fine, I think I would've turned out much more toxic if I was part of a large community. What is more important is that KH2 was the beginning of Lexen.

Lexen is a self-insert of myself. Full on, just me thrown into the Kingdom Hearts world and having a good time, marysueing it up and just living it up in the haydays of FF.net. Then I started getting more creative and made a whole new character to investigate a thing that was barely touched on in KH2's plot.

The fact that Sora lost a lot of his memories between 1 and 2. I didn't realize at that time that Chain of Memories had happened, so the only exposure I really had was Namine who is the only character in-game that had any reference to memory manipulation.

So little ol' me though, "I could do better. I can make someone cooler."

And made Lexen.

Lexen is the secret 14th memory (very creative at the time, haha) and was specifically a living weapon that Xemnas used to both seed worlds with darkness and to keep Xemnas protected from danger and potential betrayals within the Organization.

My main concept for her was the fact that Nobodies within KH were said to have no emotions, merely mimicking their emotions from memories they have when they were alive. So... what happens when you are reborn but have no memories?

You have no frame of reference, no ability to experience emotions. At that moment, you are a blank slate. And all it takes is one person to pick you up and basically rewrite you however way they want.

Xemnas was the one to find Lexen first. Give her a name. Give her a purpose.

And Xemnas became Lexen's whole world and universe.

There was a devotion not born really out of loyalty, though that came about later, but because there was a lack of direction for Lexen. There was no reason for her to doubt, so she just followed without thought.

It was discovered fairly early on that she had an ability to mind read and to also extract memories out of a person. Xemnas saw potential in this power and trained her to be more autonomous and skilled with her powers. Eventually getting her to a point where she could made decisions for herself, but they were always to the benefit of Xemnas. To the Organization as a whole? Not always, it wasn't Lexen's job to question that. Just to follow orders and do them successfully.

Somewhere in her training and growing, it was also discovered she had a bit of Darkness within her. Not like she was harnessing Darkness as a power and using it herself, just a ball of Darkness that lived in her body separate from her soul. And it was growing more and more as she went to different worlds to plunge them into Darkness.

Until it eventually got strong enough to manifest as a whole new being.

Introducing: Berserk! The person who has been my icon on tumblr for the last 7 years!

She is not an alter ego to Lexen. She is not a power up move for Lexen. She is a completely separate identity and being that just happens to live in the same body as Lexen. Two minds, one body. And Berserk really wants to have sole control over this body to just cause untold amounts of damage towards anything. Not exactly something Xemnas wants out of his living weapon.

What he wants is total control and total loyalty to his word. Berserk (the name was given to her after she tried to kill him) was a wrench in the plan, but perhaps useful in specific situations.

My personal headcanon for Xemnas' power (which is Nothingness) is that he is an equivalent God to Nobodies. He can manipulate them, solidify their existence, and also erase them. It was how I justified his position as head of the Organization and how most everyone followed his word without asking too many questions. Those who did well... I eventually learned about Chain of Memories and added that to the lore.

So Xemnas used his powers to create a mental wall between Lexen and Berserk. Lexen would always have control of the body, was the dominate mind, and Berserk was locked away in a box to never be released unless used for specific means. Lexen was thrilled about this, no need to worry about the second person in her head. Berserk grew to have an absolute vendetta against Xemnas and Lexen for being her jail and jailer.

And it all came to a point by the end of KH2. When Xemnas was in the final showdown between himself and Sora and Riku. Lexen was waiting on the sidelines, looking for a signal to jump in and save Xemnas. But it never came, but Lexen decided to make the choice herself but she never was able to save Xemnas. Because as Xemnas was getting his ass handed to him by Sora and Riku, his focus on Lexen and Berserk's mental barrier faltered and Berserk took over.

Berserk and Lexen fought at this moment. A mental battle over who would have control over the body and have access to the rest of the universe. It concluded with Lexen having formed a mental barrier herself and blocking off Berserk long enough to regain sight and hearing with her body, but it was all over by then.

She had failed in protecting the one person that was her entire reason for living, and he was dead. The world she was on was falling apart. She has to decide right now if she wants to escape and keep living, or give up and let Berserk take over and never be seen again.

Lexen obviously took the step to escape. Was it out of survival? Maybe revenge? But she don't have the emotional output for revenge, and what good was it afterwards when her person that gave her purpose is dead forever?

These are all questions she had as she escaped onto a ship and flew off into space. Questions she never had reason to think about until now. It was now down to Lexen alone to decide what to do with this life and non-existence she was given and to make a person out of herself.

I dub these her Wandering Days.

And this is where I usually hang out in my internal exploration for Lexen, because there is where I can drop her into any fiction work without changing her character to fit the place. I start reading a book series I like? Throw Lexen in there straight from Kingdom Hearts and just let her explore. I'm watching Star Wars now? Just throw her in there with the Jedi and have them be confused at her magic powers and mind manipulation without the Force.

This is also my way of having Lexen experience lots of different cultures and people and learning that she can make something of herself. She doesn't need to be a living weapon. She doesn't need to devote herself to a singular purpose or person. In fact, as time goes on, she grows to see the logical disadvantage to being unjust, cruel, and malicious to people. She starts interfering in worlds that are oppressed to try and help them out.

But why would she do that, if she doesn't have the emotional capability to empathize and feel sorrow?

Well, I figured that if there was no emotional response from Lexen, then she solve all things with logical conclusions. And even from an emotionless, non-existent being who was cruel and ruthless before she could still logically come to the idea that it is better to not be like that anymore.

And this is a very, very, very messy summary of Lexen and Berserk. I haven't even touched on how the two minds interact with each other in their mind palace sort of dealio. Or my explanation of how Lexen's memory removal powers work as well. Or how my username is a mash-up of an old name I had and Lexen shoved together to make my new identity!

If you got to the bottom of this wall text, thank you very much!

I deeply appreciate anyone who read all of this and enjoyed even a second of it. Lexen is my heart and soul of a lot of creative writing I do. I keep working on her, updating her story with new ideas and lore as it comes to me and maybe one day I'll share her full experience to the world.

[best-underrated-anime]

Best Underrated Anime Group J Round 2: #J5 vs #J8

#J5: Girls live in a school, but not by choice

#J8: Teenage girls find a random guy in a river, adventure ensues

Details and poll under the cut!

#J5: School-Live! (Gakkougurashi!)

Summary:

Carefree high school senior Yuki Takeya looks forward to the School Living Club every day. Consisting of the president Yuuri Wakasa, the athletic Kurumi Ebisuzawa, the mature Miki Naoki, the supervising teacher Megumi Sakura, and club dog Taroumaru, the club prides itself on making the most of life at school. There is only one rule the club members have to follow: all members must live their entire lives within school grounds.

Propaganda:

If you like Madoka Magica, you’ll 100% like this series. It’s hard to explain without spoilers, but it has a huge plot twist in the first episode. The anime is a short one with only 12 episodes, but it has an amazing manga as well! It mixes a cute slice of life high school anime with a darker plot, and it’s handled so well. It doesn’t seem like it’s just dark for the sake of being edgy like some other similar series. It covers topics like mental health and grief well, and it has as happy of an ending as possible for a series like this. The plot twists were executed so well, and I was sobbing by the end of the series.

Trigger Warnings: Animal Cruelty or Death, Graphic Depictions of Cruelty/Violence/Gore, Derealization

#J8: Kemurikusa (TV)

Summary:

A few young girls with strange powers and a tree that has grown through a railcar cling onto life in a desolate land, searching for its last reservoirs of water. Their routine struggle to survive is interrupted by the arrival of Wakaba, a boy with no memory beyond his own name.

The girls and their new companion commit to a perilous journey across seas of burning red fog—all in order to find what they need to sustain themselves on the more distant, dangerous islands swarming with robotic bugs. Their ultimate fate will be decided by their own strength, along with Wakaba's curious ability to understand the Kemurikusa: mysterious glowing leaves with wondrous powers. Besides the girls, Wakaba, and the hordes of ravenous bugs, the Kemurikusa are the last sparks of life surviving in this land. How did things end up this way? Why are there so many empty buildings with no one to live in them? Wakaba and the girls lack the answers to these questions, which means the truth can only be found within the Kemurikusa.

Propaganda:

Here’s ONE bit of propaganda for you: Kemurikusa is made by Tatsuki, the extremely talented director behind the original Kemono Friends anime by Yaoyorozu. This time, Tatsuki’s really stepped up his game: not only is this an improvement from his original short by the same name, this is also both an animation improvement and a writing improvement from the Yaoyorozu made Kemono Friends.

With Tatsuki’s skill as a writer to tell tight, medium-paced stories centering girls and the apocalypse, Kemurikusa focuses on both the emotions of Rin, Rina, and Ritsu, as well as fleshing out Wakaba to be more than just a simple sidekick, but the heart of the series, providing a very typically feminine role of comfort, care, and nurturing. The subversion of typical masculine and feminine roles in the story, especially from a male director, as well as the well-written, well-developed female characters (of which there are about 7, including a spoiler character), is a bonus for people who don’t like stereotypical “cool tough male character/generic nice boring female character who doesn’t do anything” stories.

The concept of a world sapped of resources by technology is also fascinating. [Admin: this part of the propaganda has been cut out due to possible spoilers.] Sadly, I can’t find a trailer, as this anime is SUPER obscure, but I linked the opening video to show another strength as well: the music. Just listen to it: this song is a total banger.

Trigger Warnings: Flashing lights, Child death (in reference to the characters’ motivation to find water)

When reblogging and adding your own propaganda, please tag me @best-underrated-anime so that I’ll be sure to see it.

If you want to criticize one of the shows above to give the one you’re rooting for an advantage, then do so constructively. I do not tolerate groundless hate or slander on this blog. If I catch you doing such a thing in the notes, be it in the tags or reblogs, I will block you.

Know one of the shows above and not satisfied with how it’s presented in this tournament? Just fill up this form, where you can submit revisions for taglines, propaganda, trigger warnings, and/or video.