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brainshock-alpha · 11 days

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a while ago i was tagged by @go-go-devil to answer twenty fic writers' questions... i've been preddy busy so i'm just getting around to it now lol. thanks for thinking of me velvet!

this turned out quite long so i'm gonna do my tags up here -- @boyfrillish @pastryglitch @firethekitty -- as usual participation is voluntary, tagged or not :) do these q's if u think it would be fun. that's all

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

35 (includes users-only works)

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

146,365, for an average of ~4,182 words per work. but really, it's just like four of my long multichapter works skewing the average that high.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

in a strict present-tense sense, it's just pokemon. i've written for a slightly odd variety of fandoms in the past; anyone curious enough to check will readily observe that i go through fandoms in neatly stratified phases lol. i don't tend to be actively involved in more than one at a time.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Black Box Open (st*rdew valley) - 373

Transfer Point (pokemon bw) - 279

Vital Signs (biosh*ck infinite) - 146

Tidal Lock (hylis) - 107

Moonstruck (hylis) - 93

censoring fandoms so i don't appear in searches (excepting pokemon cuz i'm pretty sure those results are basically unreadable lol). anyway i can't believe vital signs is that high up there lmaooo but everything else seems reasonable

5. Do you respond to comments?

i try to but sometimes it slips my mind and then it's too late to reply without it being weird :( whether i got around to replying or not, i'm grateful to everyone who said sth nice on my stuff 🙏

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

uhhhh honestly i don't get super angsty with my fics, especially not the endings lol. simpley not my style... i guess transfer point ended on a rather bittersweet note. born with a weak heart would have been even more so, if i'd ever finished it.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

on the other hand i also don't write fics with particularly saccharine endings either. it's kinda just, oh this is pleasant/cute/hopeful :) i wouldn't say there's a clear winner.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

so far, any haters have kept their thoughts to themselves, which is good. i suppose my writing is usually quite benign anyway lol

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

i have a few unfinished drafts lying around but i've never published anything. (unless you count that one with piers/emmet? it's nsfw for sure but i think you'd be setting the wrong expectations if u called it smut lol.) anyway i'm not terribly interested in going into detail here.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

again, i've attempted to draft some in the past but never got close to finishing any of them. i think i'm more likely to draw a weird crossover than write one :p

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

not to my knowledge.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i've uhhhh translated my own fic once??? i guess that counts but i wouldn't say i did a good job LOL -- i'd written a supershort 200-word thing in both english and scots, and i haven't studied scots all that extensively. but it was fun to try, and somehow the scots version got more attention than the english one lol

anyway, if anyone's ever interested in translating my works, feel free to reach out! i'd be happy to help out by answering questions/clarifying meaning/etc :)

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nop! it's not really something i've ever considered, but i suppose in theory i'd be open to trying it.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

god i can't give just one answer to an all-time favorite anything LOL. uhhh deduswayne still has a special place in my heart; the autistic jock/autistic nerd dynamic i gave them was so fresh and fun to me... i love raileon despite not ever really writing it ooooops... and then griebold is my newest interest, which is quite funny since raileon is one of the most popular pokemon ships on ao3 but griebold is so unheard of that i'm literally the only person to have posted an english-language work for it there lmfao

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

probably... the bede&hop post-canon qpr fic... i really would love to write a qpr (as well as non-romantic relationship drama in general) but it's another sprawling multichapter thing and idk if i have it in me :^(

16. What are your writing strengths?

dialogue and character dynamics hehe... that's what's most fun for me to write too. i also like to believe i'm good at writing a ship without losing sight of the individual chars involved. and i'm pretty good with spelling and grammar, contrary to what my casual fucking around on tumblr posts may imply LOL. i may not always write in the clearest or most beautiful way, but by god that syntax is solid

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

description lol. i am not a poet by any means; i think it will not surprise anyone to know i did better in linguistics classes than in english.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

do it if 1) you're able to put in the effort and 2) it makes sense to do it. on point 1, i don't think there's anything wrong with saying that chars are speaking in another language but rendering the actual written dialogue in english (or whatever ur mother tongue may be), especially if it's not a language ur fluent in. of course it's good to do research for ur writing but language learning is hard, doubly so if ur trying to write those chars speaking casually. cuz you can't really pick that up from reference texts, or maybe you can but it comes out sounding odd and unnatural. (think of how easy it is to mess up english slang/colloquialisms.) BUT you know, perfect is the enemy of good, and if ur willing to give it the ol college try then i really think it'll help ur foreign-lang-speaking chars feel more alive.

on point 2, i'm mostly thinking of the context of multilingual chars, which adds another layer of complexity. this old post will give u an idea of what i mean. if you're monolingual and mostly only interact with other monolinguals, you may find it difficult to write bilinguals believably. i suggest looking up info on code-switching and, more generally, language learning and bilingualism. (and also heritage languages, which fall under bilingualism but have their own specific features.) again, this is pretty demanding stuff and i wouldn't blame you for just sticking to english dialogue, but i do think it's worth a shot.

have i tried this myself? yes, most prominently in the day to end all days, and also a bit in my other swsh fics... oh yeah, i guess i also made siebold use quebec french swears lol. mind you, i'm under no illusion that i write it well. no one has told me yet that i'm fucking it up, but also no one's told me i'm doing a good job either lol. so idkkkkk

19. First fandom you wrote for?

st*rdew valley... i loved that game so much that it motivated me to start making fanfics and fanart haha. i started posting black box open about eight years ago, which if you'll recall is the fic i have the most kudos on. it was all downhill from there buddy!!!!!!!!!!! lol i'm just kidding, i really just tend not to write for popular fandoms is the thing (or when a fandom is at its most popular)

20. Favorite fic you’ve written?

honestly it's usually just Whichever Fic I Posted Most Recently lmao. i guess that's not bad, that means i feel like i improve with every story or w/e. i'm still really attached to the day to end all days, though. it's not finished yet (and won't be for quite some time) but it has the most involved plot yet out of all my fics, and it explores some really interesting character spaces too.

#brainshock-alfic

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pokesmashorpokepass · 3 months

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Gen VI, Complete!

You read that correctly, we've made it through PokeFrance (Official term for Kalos, honest!) and have compiled the data!

With that said, let us begin the usual look at this generations...

Sultans of Smash!

(Which is just my fancy way of saying they got more "Smash" than "Pass" votes)

So come with me on this fabulous journey in smashing! Our Smashables are (under the Read More because, you know, this gonna take a while):

1. So for this generation, we do have three starters on the list! But, sadly, Chesnaught couldn't make it. So for our first starter, we instead have our second middle evolution, Braixen! Suppose it's not hard to see why, everyone loves magical girls and Braixen certainly counts! Counts enough to get a 66.4% Smash rating, which is pretty good says I.

2. But far surpassing Braixen is the greatest of Pokemon fire mages, Delphox! And when I say surpass, I mean really surpasses! Delphox has the honor of being the first Starter Pokemon to make it into the Gods of Smash, with a mighty 80.9% Smash rating! There's no stopping the magic of this witch! ...Side note, I think I will be naming my next Delphox "Browser", because she's a Firefox. (Ba-Dum-Tss)

3. Similar to the samurai, ninja have long been one of the more interesting mainstays of Japanese pop culture (especially abroad), and are almost always popular. So it's understandable that Pokemon's own ninja, Greninja, would have their fair share of friends and admirers! And with a smash rating of 72.5% in Standard Form, god damn what fans they have! The Ash-Greninja form, while not quite as popular Standard Form, also makes it in with a 52% Smash rating! Looks like not even a ninja of this calibur can hide how smashable they are.

4. This next Pokemon has a pretty accurate name. Florges, a combination of "Flower" and Gorgeous", certainly describes them pretty well if you ask me! And judging by that solid 67.8% Smash rating she's earned herself, I'd say many of y'all agree!

5. Everyone knows the "Jerk with a Heart of Gold" character archetype, and the closely related "Bruiser with a Soft Center". And it cannot be understated that these character archetypes are super popular. So of course, combining them into a single Pokemon and making that Pokemon a panda? Instant recipe for success, I'm sure! And said Pokemon exists in the form of Pangoro! Are they loved? I dunno, let's ask that 67.9% Smash rating of theirs. ...Survey says yes.

6. Many of us love cats, but often wish it was easier to understand them (or at the very least make ourselves understood to them). Fortunately for the Pokemon universe, they do have cats that can understand us and be more easily understood in the form of the psychic Meowstic! Coming in at 68.1% Smashable for Female Meowstic and 59.3% Smashable for Male Meowstic, it seems some of y'all really appreciate these cats! ...Now if only Female Meowstic didn't tend to fall into the French/Kalosian stereotype of being kind of a jerk (according to the Pokedex, anyways)

7. If there's two things I've seen a number of tumblr users like, it's tentacles and hypno stuff. So with that in mind, Malamar having both makes it very unsurprising they've gained entry to the Sultans of Smash! That said, at a 51.7% Smash rating, I have to admit I expected larger numbers. But anyways... Wait wha- ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOSQUID.

8. It's a tale as old as time, people look at the Tyrannosaurus Rex as a kid and think "That's them, that's the coolest fucking dinosaur ever!" While some move on or get different favorite dinosaurs, for some that passion never fades. And that passion for the majestic t.Rex, it seems, translates itself onto Tyrantrum! And at 53% Smashability, seems this king will have no reason to go on a tantrum. (Thank god, I don't think we could handle the repair bills to the property if they did...)

9. The Aurora Borealis has fascinated humans since they've first been able to observe that wondrous display of light. Thankfully for those of us who don't live in polar regions, the color-changing sails of Aurorus can help capture the beauty of such a natural phenomenon! Certainly, many of you have expressed a desire to admire this Pokemon up close and personal, if that 65.9% smash rating is any indication! Though really, the ice crystals and geometric patterns on their scales also do a lot for the appeal of this cool customer.

10. Attention everyone, it is once again Real Eeveelution Hours! And for this list's Eeveelution, we have everyone's favorite walking trans flag, Sylveon! With their extendable ribbons, piercing blue eyes, and 69.3% Smash rating, it seems Sylveon continues the time-honored Eeveelution tradition of being absolutely smashable!

11. Hear me out here, what if snails and slugs were also... Dragons? If your answer to learning this was "Oh fuck yeah that sounds awesome!", then I have Good News! This Snail/Slug Dragon I proposed is a thing in the form of Goodra, with Kalosian Goodra being more slug-like and Hisuian Goodra being more snail-like! However people like them though, considering Kalosian Goodra has a 71.4% Smash rating and Hisuian Goodra has a 61.6% rating, it's clear people do like these dragons quite a bit.

12. It may not be Halloween, but for many of us there's always time for Jack-o'-Lanterns! And with Gourgeist, the next Pokemon on our list, you can have a jack-o'-lantern that can also be smashed, something a number of you want if that 50.4% Smash rating is any indication!

13. And next up on the list, we have a noisy one! Ever wondered what would happen if bats could be loud enough to shatter anything by yelling at it? Well, if Noivern and their 68% Smash rating is any indication, the answer is "People would want to smash it!" Though really, looking at them, I can safely say you'd have to be blind as a bat to not see the appeal. Sorry, the pun had to be made.

14. I'm gonna be honest, I tried thinking long and hard on how to be crafty with my statement regarding this next one, but I just can't do it. I'd need more than one lifetime to make something fitting enough for this majestic deer! Fortunately, Xerneas can give one all the time in the world they need to think of stuff! And judging by that 66.5% Smash rating, I think a few of y'all have a few ideas on what to do with all the time Xerneas' immortality will give you...

15. But where there's life, there must, sadly, be death. Fortunately, death is this case is the very cool looking Yveltal, who has achieved an impressive 63.5% Smash rating! Seems that for some of y'all, "Death comes for you" has a different meaning...

16. Balance is an important part of any ecosystem. Too much death and you have no ecosystem, but too much life and you risk one particular part of that ecosystem overwhelming the rest. Fortunately, to prevent this from happening, Zygarde is here! And judging by how 50% Forme has a 52.3% Smash rating and Complete Forme has a 61.2% Smash rating, I'd say a number of you wish to show Zygarde your appreciation.

17. Diamonds are great. They're shiny, they're stupidly hard to damage, and they can come in a variety of colors! And that's just in our universe, the Pokemon universe is lucky and has Diancie, a living diamond Pokemon! And if Standard Form's 56.1% Rating and Mega Diancie's 65.3% rating is any indication, Diancie also adds "Very smashable" to the list of good diamond traits!

18. And for the finale, I present to you... Another Pokemon who only had an alternate form get in? Yep! It's Hoopa, the genie in a bottle Pokemon! Specifically, it's Hoopa Unbound, who makes it in with a 55.6% Smash rating! And with his rings, they'll show you the wo- Eh? What? Copyright law?! Damn it! Ok my lawers just advised me to not finish that joke, so sadly I can't leave y'all on the Aladdin reference. But I can say that considering Hoopa has a history of stealing treasure with their rings, I'm beginning to suspect some of y'all have a thing for Pokemon with criminal tendencies...

And thus is the Gen VI Who's Who of Smashing concluded, bringing us up to 136 Sultans of Smash! Well then let's see what's next... Gen VII? Oh man, we've got some choice Sultans of Smash incoming...!

#pokemon #pokémon #smash or pass #summary #The Pokemon Sultans of Smash

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raetreaderarts · 2 months

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This could’ve been attached to my last post but I didn’t think I was gonna be mentally ill all the way into 6 in the morning (ADHD time works different than regular time and I hate it)

ANYWAYS allow me to discuss these two. Under this little read more tab. If you wanna hear about my stupid gay ass simping for this beautiful old lady. I mean I certainly don’t see a ring on that finger.

OKAY SO I imagine that at some point Virus ends up hitching a ride on the Brave Asigiri and when Diana joins the gang it’s love at first sight for Virus. Like at first she’s like “oh yeah I just think she’s cool” but then she realizes she wants to do things like hold hands and hear her voice and she’s like OH NO. AM I GAY??? Because she’s like 21 at this point, I changed her age cause I’m turning 22 in a couple weeks but anyways, she’s gone through 21 years of her life assuming she’s straight. Meanwhile Diana’s already come to terms with her bisexuality and is quite comfortable with the identity she’s come to know over her 60-ish years, I just put 64 as like an approximation and also it’s like Super Mario 64 which is pretty cool.

Before Diana leaves, Virus finally ends up confessing and Diana already knew Virus was down bad cause Virus’s eyes were always filled with yearning whenever she looked at Diana. But Diana says that this isn’t gonna work cause she’s gotta go and adventure, and Virus is fucking distraught but of course she respects Diana’s wishes. HOWEVER even when Diana does leave she just cannot get Virus out of her mind, so at some point afterwards she sends her squakabilly to give Virus a letter, and they end up meeting again and going on adventures together. Cause Virus is a homebody, but as soon as she met Diana, she became her new home.

They’re pretty great together since Diana is an ambivert and Virus has an anxiety disorder, so Diana can speak up for Virus in public situations but they can also just have quiet vibing hangout sessions. Virus doesn’t fully understand Diana’s passions all the time since she’s admittedly a bit dense but she always listens when Diana wants to share information about Rakua with her.

This paragraph is a tad risqué

Virus is definitely more of a like, naughty thinker I guess, but she feels embarrassed and weird about it so she doesn’t usually say anything until Diana teases it out of her. Meanwhile Diana is fully aware of how dirty minded Virus can be and she loves messing with Virus just to make her get all flustered and red in the face, sometimes whispering an innuendo in her ear or discreetly squeezing a part of her body. Since Diana is experienced with these sorts of things, she knows the exact buttons to push in order to make Virus squeal.

Ok that’s it for the risqué stuff. I know it was pretty tame but I like to add warnings just in case

Both of them have their bodily insecurities, with Virus dreading her round face and pudginess and Diana worrying that her golden years are over, but they both completely adore every single bit of each other. Virus has always been into older people, wrinkles and stretch marks and cellulite drive her absolutely insane so of course she would find Diana attractive. Meanwhile Diana loves Virus’s round face and pudgy body because she finds her to be absolutely adorable.

They’re both fairly competent when it comes to pokemon battling, Virus has her drizzile as her ace and of course Diana has her arcanine. If I had a nickel for every old person with an arcanine I crushed on I’d have two nickels. Anyways since they can cover each other’s weaknesses they make for a great team. While Diana goes for speed, Virus goes for power.

Alright like I said it’s 6 am so I need to go to bed, I was planning on going to bed at 12 but obviously that did not happen, I can see the sun peeking through my window god help me. As always if you guys got any questions you can ask, if you’re interested in this pairing let me know before I end up fixating on Cookie Run again, all that good stuff 👍

#pokemon horizons diana #pokemon diana #oc x cc #oc x canon #self ship #idk if I should put this in the main pokemon horizons tag #like does anyone really wanna see me thirst over Liko’s grandma #also idk how tall Diana is I just guessed #ok bedtime for realsies goodnight #my art

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salon-maiden-anabel · 1 year

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Anabel 1, 2, 10, 11, 20

My first impression of them

genuinely this . I thought her team was annoying and since she was the favourite character of an asshole I knew at the time I kinda. Avoided her else then the passing "Yeah she's neat" thought . Anyways points at url i no longer associate her with the asshole I knew so she's mine blorbo now

When I think I truly started to like them (or dislike them, if you've sent me a character I don't like) Riiiiight before pla came out. Like I'm talking abt a month before. I had been gifted a switch and pkmn shield by my gf and some other friends ( love yall lots if you're reading this) like 6 or so months before that which got my interest in pokemon back after not caring since alola came out (middle+highschool I can't let people know I enjoy KIDDY things mentality) . . and I remembered she existed while thinking abt anime Looker and it spiraled from there. Here we are now I'm normal I swear . Describe the character in one sentence She invented new kinds of issues. or God wishes he had this much narrative foil (- from KK)

What’s the first thing you think about when thinking about the character?

IIVYNESSA'S WORK. SPECIFICALLY THIS ONE it did something to me mentally and I haven't recovered (positive btw)

A weird headcanon

BUGSY AND ANABEL ARE SIBLINGS AND IN THIS ESSAY I WILL-- Anyways else then that I think she has a weird tolerance for high altitude places due to how high the battle tower goes (so many versions of it in the anime/manga like climb above the clouds and the top can't be seen its So good.) Aka worst girl to go hiking with she Will go faster then you can in the mountains.

#talk tag #asks

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demizorua · 1 year

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1,3,11,15,21,23,31,37,43,53,74,76

ask game

TYSM!!!!!! :D!!!!!

1. Favorite Type

POISON!!!! i LOVE poison types!!!! they're so fun to use, and so many of their designs are so COOL, and i love how many resistances they have!!!! adding the poison type always makes a pokemon more fun to use, imo!!! i've loved them even before they got on offensive use with fairy types!!!! them being defensive is enough for me :D plus a lot of my favorites happen to be poison types, like trubbish, zubat, and drapion!!

3. Favorite Dual Type

oooooo this is HARD!! hm... pre-gen 6 dark/ghost is fun... i really enjoy poison/dark with their one weakness to ground, and ground/steel is also super fun, like excadrill!

but i think my overall favorite has gotta be poison/ground, like clodsire and the nidos!! the resistances of poison types (my favorite defensive type and fave type overall), and the offensive power of ground types (my favorite offensive type and second favorite type overall)!! and i mean. how can i ever say no to STAB earthquake.

11. Favorite Trial (Sun & Moon)

hrmmm. it's been a while since i've played gen 7... i think my favorite is the ghost trial!! it's a creative concept, with the photos, even if it's along the same vein of "get Things and battle pokemon and then Final Battle" that every trial and many gyms follow, and i mean. i love the mimikyu room. it's a nice touch!!

15. Favorite Shiny Pokémon

OH JEEZ... minior. i love shiny minior so much, even if it's kinda hard to see it when you have one.

honorable mentions to shiny suicune, shiny wooloo, and shiny hisuian zorua/zoroark, which is Significant because i don't really like shiny unovan zorua/zoroark very much.

21. Favorite Legendary/Mythical Pokémon

uhhHHHHHH....... suicune!!! it's so nice looking, i love when it appears in the anime (barring... anything that happened in journeys i can't speak for that) and it's so nice!! shiny suicune specifically.

honorable mention to landorus therian. i like how its paws have those flattened claws on them, like for digging! because it tills the land! and also... landorus therian. vgc moments.

23. Favorite Music Track From A Pokémon Game

VILLAGE BRIDGE. ABSOLUTELY VILLAGE BRIDGE. when i first found village bridge i adored its music, and then i found the musicians !!!!!! aaaa!!!!!!!!!! and i love that it has lyrics. people often cite roxie as the first in-game pokemon soundtrack to have words/lyrics, but she's not!! village bridge is!!!! i adore this song it is so near and dear to my heart

everyone please listen to the village bridge with buildup. oughhghh.

31. Favorite Fire Type

mmmm..... volcarona. love that bug :D the design is really nice, and it's so fun to use!! bulk AND power, and quiver dance?? HELL yeah!!!

honorable mentions to. fletchinder. and ash's litten specifically because. i am going 2 cry <3

37. Favorite Flying Type

DODRIO. nobody EVER talks about dodrio and it makes me so sad!!! i love that guy!!!!!! they're so cool and you can ride them around and i just !!!!!! dodrio!!!!!!!!!!

honorable mentions to tropius, staraptor, minior and gliscor!!

43. Favorite Electric Type

mmmmmmmmmmm......... i think galvantula wins this? it's either galvantula or luxray. i love them both sooooo much, and it's interesting bc i don't really have any other close runner ups besides them! zeraora as a third place, maybe?

53. Favorite Dragon Type

HYDREIGON!!!!! ohhhh hydreigon my best friend. i love them so much, they're so fun to use and busted, but it feels like a REWARD when you can use one, and the way they're used for subtle storytelling in the gen 5 games makes me CRAZY god i love gen 5 and i love this big ol dragon.

honorable mention to applin, if only because i love the joke and refuse to let people mock them. it's a wyrm in an apple!!! that's a good joke!!!!! also goodra i really like goodra.

74. Favorite Alolan Version of a First Gen Pokémon

ooo..... alolan muk. i love that it's an oil spill but like one of the colorful ones, and i think the like. crystallized poison? that's so cool!!!

plus.... i mean.... poison/dark type <3

76. A Pokémon You Feel is Underrated

i've got multiple

zubat (it's a really good pokemon to use once it gets wing attack, or right away with recent gen leech life, and we shouldn't blame them for being in caves. they live there. they're bats!!!)

natu (they're so cute!!!! i love the little guy c'mon. little friend <3)

sudowoodo (I LOVE THEM!!!!! plus i mean. their japanese name my adored. wish that joke didn't get lost. watch M21, sudowoodp my beloved)

and ivysaur! everyone loves bulbasaur, and venusaur gets a decent amount of attention, but ivysaur is my favorite in the line and i'd love to see more of them!!!

thank u so much for asking!!!! :D!!!!!

#zorua.txt #ask game #dragontiger357 #pkmn

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annelidist · 1 year

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3 5 6 7 8 and 9

3. 1-3 games you’ve played in the past 12 months that you really enjoyed

i played A Lot of games that i really liked last year, so this is hardly an exhaustive list, but

i picked these three mostly because they're really good in ways that don't overlap at all

5. game(s) coming out that you’re looking forward to

ive been waiting for this thing for. god. uh. i think maybe six or seven years? its aesthetic and tone are just incredible, it's a game whose visual identity sits lodged in my imagination even though neither i nor anybody else has played it. sacrificing mice, goats, etc for a 2023 release

an incredible atmosphere, crunchy ps2-era visual sensibilities, and it's about getting killed by velociraptors. extremely good. can't wait

i'm so excited for this. i don't think it's going to be """"good"""" but i believe in my deepest heart that it is going to fuck hard. a perfect crystalline prism of imsim jank.

i feel like this one is pretty self-evident

6. a series you’ve enjoyed since your early days of gaming and still enjoy to this day whether it still has games coming out or is one you return to

jeez, i don't know... i loved sonic as a kid, but i don't go back to those games much, and i fell out of love with pokemon a while ago. i don't have much loyalty left for the series i used to like the most. that's a little sad

7. a series you’ve lost interest in

speaking of which

pokemon

8. a series you haven’t played but are interested in trying

every day i say to myself. "i should play panzer dragoon." and yet here we are

EDIT: I HAVE ALSO BEEN DOING THIS WITH DEUS EX FOR SOME TIME

9. a game you played completely blind with no prior knowledge of and enjoyed/loved

ANODYNE 2... i mean, i knew a couple of things about it (sequel to anodyne, something about dust?, you can turn into a car), but anodyne 2 is... a hard game to just like, say things about. it's so much and so heartfelt that knowing the mechanical framework or even the premise on paper isn't going to tell you what it's like. i adored it. i think about it a lot.

#bones.txt #asks #long post

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doubleddenden · 2 months

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I posted my absolute worst Pokemon day prediction

Now I wanna do the exact opposite that's a for sure chance of never happening, but is almost comedic in how unlikely this is. And again, I know this won't happen, but GOD I wish it would.

Opener is a group of business men on their hands and knees apologizing for the state of the games since gen 8, refunds everyone $300-$600 for the unnecessary drama they've caused by releasing unfinished and unpolished games or just straight up stealing ideas from and lying to fans.

Ohmori is demoted to coffee guy for all of his cut corners. New main directors are Morimoto and Iwao. Address steps they'll take to fix things including cycling games out between GF, ILCA, BAMCO, a Nintendo internal studio, and Genius Sonority with their own crew back. Devs include alumni from Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Tales of, etc. Each game will have a minimum of 5 to 6 years dev time going forward (with ones today being developed quietly in the background) with no crunch time, promises to improve employee morale and tenure, and promises to polish both their games and put their new pokemon designs through more passes, including a bigger and more robust design team with fresh blood from the best side of the fakemon community.

Also, going forward, fan games are welcomed, encouraged, legal, and no longer subject to legal interference. Anyone who was subject to any Cease and Desist order will be financially compensated. Talents from some of their favorite fan games have been hired.

They're announcing "indie" game spotlights in addition. Going forward, certain fan game devs will be given the opportunity to create their own 2d eshop games and fakemon (now official), and are essentially given the Sonic Mania treatment. Basically everything fun about the fan game scene, but now they have financial backing, and additional help with coding, music, and artwork.

Unova remake, but it's in a hybrid style between SwSh DLC, ORAS, and Legends Arceus, and they've been given more than a year and a half to make it (unlike bdsp) and have free reign to do fun new stuff. It's a combo of B1+2 and W1+2, with a bonus "episode 3." Includes new Pokémon forms, evolutions, paradoxes, convergents, and variants, a robust character customization system with original outfits and new bits, and Challenge mode available right out of the gate. Looks incredibly polished, a firm art style that's reminiscent of og BW 1 and 2 with Battle Revolution's and New Snap's semi realism, and runs well on Switch. Also voice acting.

Legends Unova is revealed- its a Unova far in the future that's been abandoned and reclaimed by nature. More new Pokémon and forms, including more natural looking takes/fixes to certain pokemon like Delphox or Inteleon. A promise to finally meet the original dragon is made, we meet descendants of characters, etc. Also incredibly polished. Everything good about Legends Arceus but better. Releases in 2025.

Ports of Gen 1, 2, and 3 games to eshop- if you already purchased any on the 3ds, you just have it for free again. All ports include events or Japan exclusive things that occurred, including a way to activate exclusive E-Reader battles and events and with working Union Cave encounters (and a way to add new e-reader events made by fans, as has been done recently). FRLG includes more scrapped islands to travel to for fun.

A special hd remaster to Colosseum and GoD is made in tandem. A tweak is made so that you can access pokemon from gen 3 port boxes and Home, and another to speed up Shadow purification to ease tedium. Releases summer 2024.

Builds to Colosseum 3/other title that will release summer 2025, made by the guys that made the originals and given permission to do all the WEIRD shit they wanted to do. Features the first new Eeveelutions in 12 years (as of 2025) as your starters, and is more of the amazing double battle strategy game I loved, and has graphics that would make an average pokemon bootlicker shit themselves with amazement.

Anime project teased is an anime adaptation of the Adventures manga, given the JoJo treatment basically. High quality animation by studio Toho, uncensored, includes the cool fucked up bits like Charmeleon bisecting an Arbok.

Anime movie teased that's basically a new adventure for an older Ash and Pikachu, including a team of new Pokémon. Has him giving guidance to a new kid as they have to deal with... let's say the Ruinous Quartet. Actual battles happen that's not just a bunch of disaster shots, Ash actually has a character and reason for being there and shows growth. New kid goes through growth as well and sees Ash like a big brother. Mythical actually has a reason to be there, and so do Team Rocket. Essentially the Black Clover movie treatment that's just (non sexual) fan service and beautiful anime fights all around.

Any new Pokémon shown today will be added to SV and the Unova remakes for competition purposes once they are available.

Pokemon music album by indie artists that have actually played the games. Not just a gen 1 fest or popular artists. Includes remixes that will appear in the games.

Clothing merch is basically just a bunch of real life versions of clothes worn by player characters, rivals, and certain characters like Brock or Mallow with larger size availability. So you could feasibly dress like Hilbert and Hilda in one case. Brendan's wig hat is included.

They end the stream by signing a contract on. Stream. Swearing to finish and polish their products going forward at any expense, or face contractual consequences. They open a time capsule scheduled to open next year- you see a bar of gold and silver inside, as well as what looks to be an opal and a boomerang, and they seal it. Some items in the capsule will not be expanded upon until next year or later.

Go, Unite, Masters, CafeMix, or any other mobile game is not mentioned because they suck

That is the purposely impossible high bar set, and a reminder that I'll never get what I fully want because the pokemon company sucks and have no remorse for how they've treated us these last few years.

Tomorrow I'll give the "reasonable" expectation.

#pokemon #pokemon day

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sageduille · 2 years

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PMMM: Rebellion GRrgrgRGR

I’ll mostly be talking about visuals and soundtrack and sort of... juggle the actual Topics of the movie because I have friends that follow me that haven’t watch it yet and thus I do not want to spoil uhhh... [gestures] all of that! but I am just in a rambly mood and if I don’t talk I’ll die! I’ve been interested in a LOT of media over the course of my life, Pokemon, Earthbound, Splatoon, just to name a few!! But my GOD Madoka Magica is the one piece of media that has had a CHOKE HOLD on me since day 1, and specifically Rebellion has me in a grip of which will most likely never be released (it’s been... Years like. 5-6 years and I still love this stupid movie so much???) Now, I’ll acknowledge that Rebellion is the most controversial out of all Madoka media that I’m aware of. (except for... Maybe Magia Record? If I’m honest I don’t interact with the fandom all that much so I’m not too sure about the current opinions on Magia Record) I know for a lot of people the ending especially urks them and that is a 100% fine opinion to have! If you’re one of the people that thinks that way trust me I understand it!! In fact I’d love to engage and talk more to know your honest opinions good and bad I LOVE talking about this series! But, for a moment let me indulge myself, this is the ONLY piece of media that makes me this happy, whenever I pop it on either for background noise or to just sit down and watch, as I’m doing right now, the moment I start hearing that first monologue my heart swells and my throat tightens up and I’m just in awe for the entire duration, the visuals are everything I’ve ever loved about the original series multiplied by like. a hundred, the soundtrack is full of bangers (One For All, Holly Quintet, We’re Here For You, Absolute Configuration, just to name a few!) the voice acting JP dub OR English dub is great, the characterisation (in my opinion!) just makes me? happy? It’s nice seeing the girls interact with friendly banter and such and my god the sheer amount of symbolism both obvious and subtle is fantastic to itch my little brain worms, the amount of times I’ve rewatched this movie is probably uncountable at this point and yet I STILL notice new stuff and I STILL love picking it apart piece by piece!! I adore the more tender moments between the cast, I love the vulnerability (I’m going to eat The Flower Scene[tm] in my JAWS) What I’m trying to say is I ADORE this film and I really hope that the 4th movie can live up to what we’ve been hoping for, if nothing else I hope it gives the people that were disappointed in Rebellion a breath of fresh air! Those are my thoughts very very condensed without spoiling anything and without diving into anything that I REALLY wanna dive into later, to summarise no matter what Rebellion will always hold a special place in my heart both for it’s actual meaning and for what it’s done for me as a person :D

#madoka magica #madoka magica rebellion #pmmm #sage rambles

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ven-finn · 3 years

Note

May I have the Hiccup is autistic info dump please? As a treat?

OK OK LETS GO!!! I’m going to put this under the cut because it’s really long, and I’m not gonna apologize for that, since yall asked.

First off it’s like: everyone on the spectrum is different so I understand that another autistic person might have a completely different take here or not see what I see in how I relate to Hiccup. But that’s exactly why I think he’s neurodivergent !!! For the most part a lot of my headcanon comes down the the base text in the trilogy.

We’ve got the in canon, outright shit that is:

-He starts off as an outcast for explicitly being ‘different.’ All the other vikings are constantly talking about his different way of thinking and a different way of interacting to the world around him and their inability to understand them socially isolates Hiccup. He’s been noticeably the odd one out from day one, even if no one can name why!!! God!! Felt that little man!!!!!

-And Hiccup spends nearly every day focused on dragons, and consumes the handbook for it all in one sitting researching the night fury. Then when he’s not working on understanding the dragons and taking note of what Toothless reacts to, he’s engineering different mechanisms to fly with Toothless.

-He fidgets constantly, and seems to have a hard time looking at people when he’s talking. I love the gifsets where people are showcasing all of his hand flailing and talk about how endearing it is in the tags. It makes me feel better about my own stimming. There’s also like... the entire opening conversation w Astrid from 2 that’s like “I don’t move like that” “you just did!” and I love it so much. A lot of the mannerisms I know were probably thrown in as animation dramatics but they are *my* mannerisms on screen so autism be upon ye, Hiccup.

-and when he’s talking he’s mouthy and often doesn’t realize he’s said the wrong thing until it’s too late! one of my favorite parts of httyd2 is when Hiccup is going on a tangent to Valka about ‘hey everythings gonna be great you can come back home and drago’s a nonissue and and and!’ and its a bit overbearing and Stoick literally has to say “slow down” so Hiccup can give Valka some breathing room. It’s like oh hey I’ve done exactly that before. (and I also hc Astrid as having ASD bc to me it makes their initial conflict all that more interesting and funny to me. Astrid’s like ‘hey wait don’t go against the social rules I memorized i worked very hard to be this socially competent’ and Hiccup stomps on that and is like “what?” It’s why their bond throughout the trilogy gets me so hard like we love to see two trans autistic vikings in love and winning.)

-On the topic of his social skills, it’s the way he explains things to other people too that reads as autistic to me. He doesn’t go out of his way to verbalize most of his affection for dragons or why he thinks other people should understand. He just taps Toothless’ head and is like ‘I can show you’ through the act of riding itself. It’s either that or he goes on longwinded rants that he himself struggles to follow, so he relies on the former more frequently.

And guess what his pattern-tapping and his unique abilities end up setting him apart from others but it’s also what brings dragons and vikings together!! It is a good thing!!! No one else can think like he does and maybe they don’t have to but the world is better for him existing in it!! What a wonderful story!!! A story that becomes stronger for me when I put in the lense of “not only does this autistic character not have to grow out of his own skin to be accepted, his neurodivergent traits are what make him brilliant, what make him so in tune with dragons!” and not in the like. gross autistic savant or hollywood autism trope u see in shit like Hannibal or Sherlock. Hiccup is just some guy, but he’s just some autistic guy, who can do great things! don’t get why autistic cis men will tell u our only icons are like. Rorschach and Rick Sanchez when Hiccup is literally right there/hj.

This is more sub textual than the rest of my points but there’s the aspect of Hiccup’s focus on *specifically* animals. It’s a common early special interest for plenty of autistics. Fun fact is the creator of pokemon, Satoshi Tajiri, was autistic and had a special interest on bugs-his love for them is partly why Pokemon exists! And My own animal special interests were elephants, pandas, and cats. It was such a big thing for me that still, every year for my birthday people still get me plushies of them. I was 6 when Httyd1 came out, but I watched it like. Religiously. And less so for any of the characters or story but because I adored Toothless, who I knew was based off of a cat without having to be told. So Hiccup being so quickly dedicated to this dragon... :) yeah. He understands dragons so much more than he understands people and Toothless and the rest seem to comfort him because being with the dragons forgoes stressful human conversation for just being content to be!! what a story!! what a grand thing!!

tldr: hiccup stims a lot, has clear moments of hyper-focus and special interest, and his social skills are parallel to my own. To me, his most base story reads as an autistic story.

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crystalelemental · 2 years

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“books-are-my-life-stuff: Also, yeah, I totally understand that. People hating Leon for saying he doesn't do anything clearly pays no attention at the story when he clearly tried to solve all Galar and Eternatus problems by himself until he's unable to do so. Honestly, it's similar like why people don't like Hop or Hau: their excuse is always 'they are annoying and always appears', 'weak rival' and all that. Clearly they don't pay attention to the story at all.

I mean, I'm speaking this as someone whose first game is FireRed, a Kanto remake. I love Kanto and the characters, but my favorite games are Unova, the game who were universally hated when it was first released, and that's because BW games have such great story and characters in my opinion. If people pay attention to story just a little bit, they'll realize that the characters and games they hate are not as bad as they initially think.“

There’s definitely a level of that at the main series level. I wonder how many people just skip that stuff anyway. Now I’m not sure I want to know. But it would definitely track, and suddenly it makes sense why every generation since 6 has been kinda on the decline story-wise. Gen 5 was fantastic, but all anyone talked about was “hurr durr, ice cream cone and trash bags are stupid Pokemon” and the game wasn’t super well received in a lot of respects. Gen 6 and onward has just had this massive fixation on going back to Kanto as a thing that people remembered, but they’re trying to make story work and that’s antithetical to the Kanto experience. Kanto didn’t have a story. It’s almost pure gameplay. And that’s fine, sometimes you just want a pure gameplay experience, but I don’t think Pokemon will ever recapture those people because they want to do story stuff, and that’s not what those people were there for. I don’t think anything will actually compel them to stay and attend to character or story. The like Blue because he was your rival and was an asshole; they couldn’t tell you much else. It wasn’t important. They just see modern rivals being more friendly and get the general sense of “weak rival,” ignoring that Hau is meant to be a laid-back person who isn’t invested in competition as a foil to Gladion, and that Hop as a rival has a lot going on, and frankly is one of the more interesting approaches they’ve had. Hop is the only trainer to almost completely change up his team in response to losing, and it happens twice. That’s completely novel and interesting, but it’s completely passed over, which is extra funny because that’s just a gameplay thing.

I dunno. I started with the original Red and Blue. I have my own level of Kanto nostalgia sometimes. But it really does feel like an active effort to just ignore everything about modern generations to state, with certainty, that anything out of that generation was the best the series had to offer. Characters, story, Pokemon designs, gameplay; literally everything has been improved. Gen 3 was peak design, Gen 5 peak story, Platinum peak gameplay. Even modern generations I don’t like have something to contribute that’s more engaging than the original generation. And I’ve always been bothered by the genwunnerism that touts Kanto as the best thing ever, but now it takes on a whole new context of “Oh my god, it’s happening because people literally aren’t engaging with the games they’re playing, no wonder Pokemon fans have this reputation of literally never being happy, and legitimate criticism gets drowned out in nonsense.”

#books-are-my-life-stuff

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fairymiint · 2 years

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🌟Thread Wishlist! 🌟

Felix

1. He needs to practice his spellcasting powers, tbh. Basically, he’s going to learn how to do it, though the teacher may vary. Also, he could learn others’ moves, which could be interesting. 2. His new super strength manifesting sounds funny as fuck. Boy can break rocks, tear down cliffs, and move trees all on accident if he eats well- jdfkdslfj. can’t believe with this and the first plot combined Villager is basically a pokemon now. 3. At some point this boy is gonna flirt blatantly again, it’s been a while- it’s all been super subtle. But, him using the disney princess charm would be funny even platonically. He just owns those femme vibes when he’s in the mood. 4. as a muse, he also needs to catch up in confidence, typically. it’s wibbly wobbly, but he’s even shyer than I am and holds back a shit ton. also, there’s always stuff he’s not telling people, monologue wise. Mayhaps somebody will confront him sometime. 5. Always trans/LGBT+ stuff. confiding in each other for sure. maybe someday he’ll be Out, we’ll just have to see, but he’d have to be semi-stealth to match IRL. 6. Being chronically ill, he could always use a little care. any kind of help is good help for him, even if he’s not the type to ask. 7. him nerding out. video games come to mind, but he’ll infodump about food, biology, other stuff. 8. seems like the older he gets, the more he has a propensity to love gossip, lmao. This hasn’t happened since he was 9, but of course he’s much........Much more sophisticated now than back then. 9. When it comes down to it though, his true self has a hero complex- so him helping others would be very casually common, just haven’t come up with much lately. 10. Threads with the younger verse always sound fun as hell; whether it’s in the Actual Past, like pre-established, or his younger self running around among his present version due to the power of smash. While there’s some similarities, he’s like an entirely different little person... 11. 1000 self indulgent points go to putting him in a Hot Spring, anytime. that’s probably one of his happiest moments.

Pit

1. My muse’s wings are actually in recovery; so writing him flying someday would be a treat. 2. similar story for his ability to read- he originally curses his lacking of it as a death regret, so he did resolve to learn post game. Of course, he’s never going to stop making the joke though, especially since he has ADHD and tends to skim through and make mistakes. 3. This iteration is Actual Cupid baked in so.....could do stuff with that. Sounds like yet another funny meta thing if it has to do with shipping. Otherwise....that greek god vibe. 4. His close friendship with Felix, Samus, and Shulk is defo worth exploring. 5. I would definitely not mind, in some way, giving him his ‘machine gun robot girlfriend’, because that line is funny as fuck and i will applaud the good taste there. 6. I write his goofy side so often, but he is actually pretty serious in game. A capable captain indeed...

Robin (male)

1. totally cannot wait to make Chrobin canon on the blog, once we get the voice lines and we know how they work canonically. We only have a single special attack line to go off of, and those are usually the cheesy lines anyways, unlike tap and confession lines. So, definitely up for that shit and adjacent threads starting next week. 2. He needs more friends, lol. Poor dude self isolates/self ostracizes himself-- 3. I also haven’t gotten much into the bookworm aspect. 4. Robin would well adjust to modern commodities and concepts- but the reaction would still be funny. I just love Robin’s reactions in general, my muse is just so easily surprised- 5. it seems that Robin is taking a real interest in cooking lately; it’s an immensely helpful life skill, and especially post-war he has the time and energy to actually practice it immaculately. Whether for friends, or because of his crush on Felix, who has a special interest in food.

#Wishlist;#Meta;

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starrose17 · 3 years

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Fic Writer Questions

Fic Writer Questions!

Tagged by @fandom-hoarder

1) How many works do you have on AO3?

On Ao3 I have 24, but that’s a fraction of all the fics I’ve ever written that are now deleted or lost on the ancient world of yahoo webrings.

2) What's your total AO3 word count?

800,044 (but it’ll be ALOT more than that)

3) How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Oh so many. Lemme think in order I’ve done Pokemon, StarGate SG.1, Kyou Kara Maou, Rurouni Kenshin, Yu Yu Hakusho, Fruits Basket, Harry Potter, X-Men: First Class, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, Vikings, Black Sails, The Witcher, Good Omens, Supernatural...and I’m sure I’m missing some others.

4) What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

-) Guardian of the Soulless - My Witcher fic, Geralt/Jaskier, and my favourite fic I’ve ever written.

-) The Impatient Snugglebug - A very old Harry Potter fic, Harry/Draco.

-) We Met At The Park - My X-Men Erik/Charles fic that shot me into fandom fame, where the now world famous @fahrlightloki cosplayed my Charles.

-) To The Stars - My Good Omens fic, Crowley/Aziraphale, based on the movie Titanic.

-) Final Night - One of my very rare short fics, for Vikings, Ragnar/Athelstan.

5) Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

I do respond, cos I believe it’s the right thing to do.

6) What's the fic you've written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t write angsty endings. I have angst and drama in the fic itself, but everything always has a happy ending. Though I suppose final night kinda had one but that’s only because it’s a fic that is written within an episode and the episode didn’t end well.

7) What's the fic you've written with the happiest ending?

THEY’RE ALL HAPPY! They also all end in weddings, like, all of them. I had a certain plot in all my fics that I found appeals so well to everyone so I write the same outline in different fandoms and it always 100% works.

8) Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you've written?

I did for the X-Men fandom, I wrote a few crossovers with the other films that Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy were in. The craziest one I did was unfinished and called The Xavier Brothers Household, where I took a bunch of James McAvoys characters from other things and made them all brothers to Charles. It was crazy.

9) Have you ever received hate on a fic?

The odd one here and there, but nothing major.

10) Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do, an it’s always hot and heavy and very romantic.

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yes, see the below answer.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated?

Pretty much all of them until my most recent Bad Reputation one, but then I stopped saying yes to people who asked because I always asked them to send me a link to where it’s posted and they wouldn’t and I’d find it myself and it’d be under their name with no mention of me or a link to the original fic, so I stopped saying yes.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No.

14) What's your all time favorite ship?

That’s impossible to answer there have been so many, but I think the first one you have is one you can always fall back on, especially when you’re between fandoms, so I still find myself picturing Jessie and James from Pokemon ^_^

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish but don't think you ever will?

There’s very few fics I’ve never finished, only in the early days never anything recent. There was a Harry Potter drarry fic of mine called Openly Confused, which isn’t even on AO3 but I think it’s still on my fanfiction.net account. I’d got to the last chapter and lost all interest in it and never finished it.

16) What are your writing strengths?

I like to think anything romantic. I could spend pages, and HAVE, with one character just thinking about the other.

17) What are your writing weaknesses?

I’m not the best writer I don’t know too many big descriptive words and such so my writing is very basic. I’ve been told that alot. But also been told that people like that cos they can get lost in the feelings rather than the imagery, and I’ve also been told that people who don’t have english as their first language enjoy my fics cos they’re easy to read, so it is a weakness, but it had a plus side too.

18) What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

As I don’t speak any other language, that’s never come up.

19) What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Pokemon. Rocketshipping. Most of my fics are still out there on what’s left of the yahoo webrings. I found most of them still up on an angelfire site, they were written in 1997/8 and are the most corny crappiest pieces of writing I have ever read lol Yet I still remember being so proud of them at the time. They’re here if you’re interested, just do Ctrl F and search for starrose and it’ll take you to them.

20) What's your favorite fic you've written?

Definitely Guardian of the Soulless. Why? I couldn’t really tell you, I guess I’m just really proud of the story I did, of the relationship growing between Geralt and Jaskier. And the bomb at the wedding scene, my God I’d never written anything so intense, and the shootout near the end, so much blood omg it was really outside my comfort zone and from the feedback I got I think I did really well.

Having said that, all of my long fics hold special places in my heart. My Black Sails fic L/S: I Will Stand Here With You, Flint/Silver, had the most amount of porn I have ever written in a fic before lol It was my longest ever fic at 165,104 words.

My x-men fic We Met At The Park got super famous in the fandom, had so much fanart done for it, and of course the cosplaying mentioned up above.

And of course a shout out to my most recent fic Bad Reputation, which has become my comfort love since I began it in February. My version of Jared and Jensen live rent free in my head, they’re all I currently think about, even more than Sam and Dean.

Now as for tagging, I don’t actually read fic that much, so anyone whose a fic writer and reading this, feel free to tell the world about your fics!

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questersrest · 3 years

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apologies for the just talking about junk lately but my brain’s on infodump o’clock. i really want to talk about dq9 grottoes and alchemiracles. so here’s a wall of text that’s been in the back of my brain for around 9 years.

i always thought this stuff was insane and i’m dying for a remake so i can get into this again.

so.

quest #015 collapsus’ call

at the summit of the heights of loneliness, you will find a man, christopher collapsus, who climbed all the way to the top but collapsed just short of zere rocks. you need to bring him a special medicine. as a reward he will give you your first treasure map: granite tunnel of woe lv. 1.

a treasure map will depict a red X drawn on part of a map, this will be one of several locations on the overworld but it’ll be fairly zoomed in so it might take some thinking to figure out where it is. when you stand in that location, a prompt to press A will appear and when you do, a cave entrance will appear. these caves are called grottoes. inside you’ll find several floors with monsters and chests and then a boss floor.

when you beat the boss they will drop another map. it’ll be random but influenced by 3 factors:

a) the level of the map just beaten.

b) the hero’s max level. the hero’s level is stored separate for each vocation so if you’ve hit level 99 as a minstrel but are currently a level 30 warrior, your max level is 99.

c) the hero’s max revocation. when the hero reaches level 99 as a vocation they can revocate, resetting that level to 1 and gaining a little +1 next to the level. my max revocations was a +3 on gladiator.

there are like over 32,000 maps with over 200 quality variations if i remember right, the exact total is over 8 million possibilities with these varying features:

a) it’s location on the world map.

b) it’s environment theme: ruins 40%, cave 30%, fire 10%, ice 10%, or water 10%

c) the number of floors before the boss floor: 2-16

d) the layout of each floor including the placement of any chests. if you’ve ever played a mystery dungeon game you know what to expect with randomly generated dungeons.

e) the starting monster rank of the grotto. monsters appear from a pool, there are 12 ranks and each environment has its own pool of monsters for each rank. the monster rank can only start at up to rank 9 but it increases every 4 floors so to find rank 12 monsters, you’ll need a grotto that starts on 9 and has at least 13 floors. many monsters in the higher ranks are exclusive to grottoes so if you want to complete your bestiary... well i never in 700+ hours found a water grotto with rank 12 monsters. monster rank on each floor also determines what ranks of chest can appear there. there are 10 ranks of chest. each weapon used for making the 5 star weapons has a 1% chance to be in a rank 10 chest. there’s one for each of the 12 weapon types. but even on a monster rank 12 floor it’s not guaranteed to have rank 10 chests. (chests by the way refresh when grotto is closed and reopened).

f) it’s boss, of which there are 12 possible. each boss is more difficult than the previous and so it is related to the map’s level, so dw, a level 1 map can’t have the final grotto boss, you won’t be ready for that.

there is some lore to the bosses. the goddess celestria, daughter of zenus (who was slain by corvus at the beginning of the story), said her father must still be alive in some capacity or the world would cease to be. every grotto boss has some dialogue before the battle commences. fowleye specifically explains that zenus shattered into 10 pieces which took form as the first 10 grotto bosses. the 11th is the demon that the supreme sage sealed in a book with himself long ago, the supreme sage, still in the book, is a character who gives you the quests related to the sage vocation. the 12th is greygnarl who was slain by barbarus in the story but at the end his shadow was shown hinting at his return. in his dialogue he talks about himself, barbarus, and styrmling who remains somewhat of a mystery. greygnarl actually drops an yggdrasil leaf instead of another map.

each boss has 3 items they can drop. a 100% drop: another treasure map. a (i actually can’t remember, i think it’s 5 or 10)% drop chance: a certain pretty good piece of gear. a 2% drop chance for a piece of armour used for 5 star armour. most armour categories can be split into multiple sub-categories e.g. handwear that focuses on defence or deftness so there’s one for each sub-category: 1 shield, 2 headwear, 2 handwear, 3 bodywear, 1 legwear, 2 footwear. each boss has a specific one e.g. the first grotto boss, equinox, has a 2% chance to drop the vesta gauntlets: defence handwear. greygnarl is an exception to the rules, i don’t remember all the specifics and can’t find details at this time but i do remember is his 100% drop is an yggdrasil leaf and one of his drops is a certain legacy boss map, i’ll get to that in a bit.

treasure map names are clues as to the details of the map before explored but usually don’t guarantee anything (except a few environments, if it says “waterway” it’s definitely water).

there are a few other weird factors for the probability for monsters appearing on floors resulting in the ruby path of doom map that got extremely popular to share in japan and got referenced in dq11s because of the one floor with nothing but metal king slimes. i myself found a grotto which had a floor with absolutely no monsters whatsoever, it did however have 2 chests on that floor, at least one of which was rank 10.

now say you get one of these special pieces of gear, how do you make the 5 star gear?

agates of evolution are items than can only be made through alchemy and are only used for alchemy. the ingredients are 2x ethereal stone, 2x sainted soma, 1x chronocrystal. ethereal stones and sainted somas can be obtained through a few means but the easiest is through further alchemy with the ingedients being available through monster drops and sparkles found in the world. chronocrystals can only be bought, there is an npc in a cave that can only be reached in the postgame the only thing he sells are chronocrystals for 50,000 gold each, the most expensive item in the game.

there are a few special treasure maps, legacy boss maps, that lead to a grotto that is only a boss floor, a boss from a previous game. we have: dragonlord, malroth, baramos, zoma, estark, psaro, nimzo, murdaw, mortamor, nokturnus, orgodemir, dhoulmagus, and rhapthorne. the first you’ll likely come across is baramos’ map lv. 1 as a quest reward. the one greygnarl drops is dragonlord’s. when you defeat a legacy boss, they will return and ask to gain experience too, if you agree the map will level up. as a legacy boss levels up, the drops will increase in chance or change entirely. be careful as some maps you can only get once unless shared from another player, you could lock yourself out from some items. the key things they drop are armour to dress up as heroes from the previous games and maps of other legacy bosses. some legacy bosses are only available from the dlc quests or dropped by other legacy bosses that are only available from the dlc quests and since the online service was discontinued in 2014 they are now almost unavailable (if you’re genuinely interested bc you missed out, shoot me an ask and i can explain that one).

then there’s the orbs. every legacy boss can drop one of six coulored orbs. as their rarest drop, this won’t change, the chance can just be increased with their level, the only exception is nokturnus who changes which orb he drops with his level. it’s the same 6 orbs that appeared as a plot device in dq3, alongside a 7th in dq8, and would go on to appear in dq11. all six orbs are thankfully available among the legacy bosses available without online services.

each of the special items can be alchemised with an agate of evolution and a certain orb to make an improved version that looks identical. e.g. 1x stardust sword + 1x agate of evolution + 1x silver orb makes a nebula sword. getting the ingredients is both expensive and time consuming BUT it goes further. 1x nebula sword + 3x agate of evolution + 3x silver orb will make a further improved and identical but still only 4 star supernova sword. most of the time. see when you try to make this further improved item, krak pot will alert you he feels an alchemiracle coming on. he will state a chance as i think 10%, 20%, or 30% which i think can be influenced but i’m afraid i don’t know the details. you are then forced to save the game with the result determined so you can’t reset and try again. if it should succeed, you will make a 5 star item, the best item of that kind in the game, a stronger palette swap of the other items. e.g. the hypernova sword.

should it fail and you want to try again, you can alchemise the failed alchemiracle item e.g. the supernova sword with a rest stone to return it to the first item e.g. the stardust sword. reset stones can be bought from the mini medal collector of dq9 once you can reached the final reward.

so here’s the procedure.

1. grind grottoes and their bosses for this stupid rare gear. 2% drop rate has nothing on shiny pokemon, sure, except you do have to go through the entire grotto again every time.

2. grind legacy bosses for orbs.

3. grind materials for agates including money for chronocrystals.

4. pray to the rng gods once more for an alchemiracle.

5. cry because you spent 100 hours on this and it didn’t work.

6. give in to cheating via rng abuse, the hoimi table’s out there still.

have fun

#saving adventure log

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paragonrobits · 3 years

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a friend asked me to give a shot at doing an entry in this tier list they linked me to, of the video games inducted into the World Video Game Hall of Fame since 2015, and I opted to give it a shot!

My rankings are generally biased towards games I personally enjoy playing, though I will give some commentary on their historic relevance:

S-Rank

Super Mario Bros: The game that repopularized video games in the US, that arguably began the entire platforming video game genre and all its imitators and spin-offs, that spawned a new generation of video games after the Atari Crash in the US, and still a DAMN FUN game in its own right! I simply had to put this at the top ranking. After the disillusionment caused by Atari’s failures, this game brought home consoles back in a big way to the US.

World of Warcraft: Now, I’m not much for MMORPGs. Nevertheless, I’ve followed the lore and general information in the Warcraft setting for years now, and a couple years back, my brother asked me to play it with him. I had a ton of fun, honestly! Playing a goblin mage, I believe. WoW is notable for being THE MMORPG, and still going strong. Admittedly, nowadays many games do what it does better, and the time when it was dominant as THE single game to play is past, but it was still an enjoyable experience and I really have to like how sincere the game is about its aesthetics and campy vibe. Given that the entire setting is reputedly a reskin of a Warhammer Fantasy Battle video game that went south, it’s cheery and colorful, morally gray tone is... an interesting complication in its history. (Also, HORDE. I STAN THE HORDE VERY HARD.)

The Sims: A bit of history; I did not play this game as enthusiastically as a kid as my sister and mom did. We ALL spammed the hell out of the Rosebud cheat, though; not until recent times did I actually wind up playing the game properly, when the most recent iteration of the series was free for a while. My mom didn’t care to play the game, she just liked building houses. In any case, while my attention drifted from the game now and then, I always am fascinated by the actual gameplay of caring for your simulated humans, and the way you don’t actually control them directly. This sort of hands off experience is actually a bit similar to the ‘dungeon simulator’ genre, and while the game is notorious for enabling cruelty (something I never saw the appeal of!), it’s a surprisingly wholesome experience, and it can’t be understated how unique this gameplay was at the time.

Legend of Zelda: It’s actually rather interesting how different OG Zelda is from modern games. Not just the top down perspective (which DOES pop up, now and then); the game is non-linear and allows you to go to any dungeon at any point, completing the game at your leisure, and the story is extremely barebones compared to what we may be used to. It’s quite a far cry from the linear gameplay of gradually collecting tools and working through plots that the games are known for. Breath of the Wild is, in fact, a return to form rather than an upheaval of the formula. I’ll also admit that I have a lot of affection for the gameplay of this one, as well as Link To The Past.

Donkey Kong: When you’re talking old school, as far as what you might call the modern generation of games goes (which is to say, the games that resurged after the Atari Crash), it’s hard to go wrong with Donkey Kong. It’s certainly notable for being a weird stage in Mario’s character and something that is generally ignored; it’s just strange thinking that at one point he was supposed to be abusive towards a pet ape that went in an innocent, well-meaning rampage! Personally this one kind of breaks a mold for my S-class rankings because while I like this one fine, I don’t like it THAT much; i mostly played it in the DK 64 game, and found it very difficult and that’s stuck with me. Still, I place it here for its momentous position in placing Nintendo on the map, with the influence and revolutionary technologies and gaming mechanics they would introduce, to this very day.

Pokemon Red/Blue: Hoo boy. HOO BOY it is honestly something of an oversight that I didn't immediately shove this beauty straight to the front of the S-line because good god I love this game. It's been years and years, long since I was but a whee Johnny playing a strange new game for the first time just because there was a cool turtle creature on the cover (because I was super into turtles back then), and I still love this game. Even with the improvements made to the formula since then (getting rid of HMs, the fixes and new types introduced since) there's still something lovable about this game, even as something as basic as the official artwork that just tugs my heartstrings. This game is highly notable for being an RPG that popularized the monster collecting/befriending gameplay (so far as I know), and as an autistic person, i really appreciate knowing the whole thing grew out of an autistic man's bug collection hobby from when he was a child. Pokemon is an absolute juggernaut of a media influence, and THIS is where it all began. It's first stage evolution, you might say. And not like a Magikarp or anything. This one's more like one of the starters... appropriately enough. Final Fantasy 7: This is probably a bit of a controversial take, but FF7 was not actually one of my favorite Final Fantasy entries back in the day. I never played much more of it than the beginning missions, as my cousin owned the machine in question, and I moved out before i could play it much. Final Fantasy 3 (in the US; it's more generally referred to as 6 now) was my favorite for a long, long time, and that game pioneered many of the traits that would be associated with 7: the epic story, the complex ensemble cast, though 7 really expanded on that basic idea, and previous games were hardly shabby in that regard. 9 is my favorite of the pre-10 era, with its extreme shake ups to the mechanics of the game. No; what makes 7 stand out is that it was a shift towards making Final Fantasy a constantly shifting, unique franchise where every entry was its own thing; it introduced 3D graphics with a fun and cartoony style mixed with a story that wouldn't be out of place in a cyberpunk story, and heralds Squaresoft (as it was called at the time) splitting off from Nintendo, with its censorship policies, and doing its own thing with Sony, with a great deal more freedom to write as they pleased. The party design also stands out, which each character having their own unique function in the party while the Materia concept allows a degree of modular skills to be installed, customizing them in ways that, in my opinion, the best entries in the franchise (on a gameplay level) would revisit. Colossal Cave Adventure: I'll be honest; I never played this game, and I don't believe it's particularly familiar to me at all. However, I chose it for this vaunted spot in S-rank because games of this nature, of text-based prompt and responses, are some of the most interesting things imaginable! Games like AI Dungeon are similar in some respects, and its impressive to think just how dang old this game is, and yet it managed to pull off basically being it's own DM. It has an interesting history; created by a man who worked on the precursor to the Internet, the game was made to connect with his daughter and was inspired by recent entries into Dungeons And Dragons, and later expanded upon by other programmers. It's notable that while Zork is the sort of game that would probably involve more immediate recognition (I actually mistook it for Zork at first, from the screenshot), this game was the first of its kind, and that always deserve some recognition. Minecraft: I absolutely LOVE Minecraft, and it's rightfully one of the most popular games, if not THE most popular game, of the last couple of decades, and it's interesting to think just how unconventional it is; the game is, effectively, a LEGO simulator, and as someone who honestly always wanted tons of LEGO sets as a kid but could never afford them consistently, there's something genuinely very appealing about Minecraft's basic set up. It's open approach and lack of a goal, just gameplay mechanics that encourage you to build and do as you please, makes for a very relaxing and unusual mentality not often seen in games until this point; it doesn't even have a storyline, it simply gives you a world to play around in. Of note, Minecraft's entry seems to have relevance towards video games becoming a cultural touchstone; Minecraft's visual aesthetic leans towards both blocky LEGOs and retro graphics, and certainly proves that games don't need to strive for hyper realistic graphics to be appealing. ----- A RANK Doom: I genuinely like Doom, a lot! I still have memories of replaying this game frequently, long before Doom 2016 and Eternal were glimmers; it's just genuinely very fun to play. That said, I feel that there's other games that are a bit more historically notable and while i like this game, not quite as much as other entries. But it cant be understated that this was THE first person shooter, and more to the point, was fundamental towards game design as we know it. Of note, it pioneered the idea of a game engine, which has had tremendous impact down the road in terms of making a flexible baseline system that latergames were programmed around. Additionally, the first three episodes being free, with the additional ones being purchased as part of the full game, this was, I think, the first demonstration of a demo. Back then, we called this shareware; a game which was free but had full features locked off, but otherwise you could play it however much you wanted. There's a REASON Doom winds up on more systems than Skyrim! Ultimately, while it's not one of my favorite games, it's impact on the business of gaming and the functions of game design cannot be overstated. Pac-Man: This game, is THE game that made video games a phenomenon and its worth thinking about that and how video games as a modern institituion can be drawn, however broadly, from Pac-Man's commercial success. I should note that while I've played this game extensively, it's not something I'm particularly good at; there's a LOT going on here and its a bit much for me to handle. That's probably a strength; there's a reason people had to fake their accomplishments and falsified high scores. It's worth noting that Pac-Man is a unique thing in that it has been rereleased many times over, and every generation has found it enjoyable and fun, unlike other games that set trends only to be lost out in the end. (Goldeneye, for instance!) The Oregon Trail: Like many other people I assume, I first played this game as something available on school computers. Purportedly made as an educational game to teach students about history, this game may be notable for, among other things, being an entry point towards the idea of resource management in video games (as well as being hellishly difficult, by the standards then, but that DOES illustrate a point, does it not?). It's also the oldest, most continuously available game ever made, even now being ported to smartphones, or so I hear! It seems to be a very early example of edutainment games, and a genuinely great one at that. It probably helps that a selling point is that it doesn't really mince around with its subject matter; anyone who's played this game knows that total party kill is the default assumption, as it was in life. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat: I place these two together as I feel that they form a duo of sorts, and defined fighting games of my childhood and modern gaming experience; name a fighting game, from Injustice to something as deliberately different as Smash Bros, and it has SOME relation to these games, even if its in terms of doing something completely different. These games set a mold for fighting games! Among other things, both games feature iconic characters as a selling point, and to this day fighting games make their mark based on how signature their characters are. Mortal Kombat is of course an incredibly violent game (though very tame, by modern standards), and its fatalities and depicitons of violence sparked thought and arguments on what video games ought to be allowed to depict, for better or for worse. It's not implausible to suggest that the overly strict restrictions on what video games could depict go back to Mortal Kombat's fatalities, specifically (since there's far worse games predating it, though too graphically primitive to be obvious). Street Fighter, conversely, strikes me as having more characterization and depth, especially as far as fighting systems go; I find it hard to be interested in many fighting games now, if they don't offer as much depth as the likes of Street Fighter 2. Street Fighter stands out for innovating multiplayer play, initially in the arcade, and its not implausible to say that the likes of Smash Bros is a descendant of sorts of the specific mentality Street Fighter brought to the table. Consider also that it is STILL a mainstay in the remaining arcades and cabinets in service today! Tomb Raider: This is a game i legit liked back in the day, and there's some part of me that's sad that the platforming, puzzle solving and focus on exploration has not really made it back into the modern Tomb Raider series, last I checked. There's probably something interesting in that Lara Croft represents a bit of an intermediate period between platforming mascots and modern Edgy Protagonists; you know the ones. Balding white dudes with vague dad vibes, but this is not a slight on Lara; she definitely has a ton of personality, even just at a cover glance. This game had a strong focus on exploration, and that's honestly something I really like. Super Mario Kart: I'm going to be controversial here; complaints about the Blue Shell are kinda overrated. It's not that different from, say, a red shell hitting you from behind when you're close to the finish line. But, jokes and old 90s memes aside, this game has some interesting status in that it started the idea of making spin-off games in dramatically different contexts; Crash Team Racing and Sonic Drift, for example, are listened as similar games. On a franchise level, this began the trend of Mario becoming a truly flexible character who could do pretty much whatever was required of him, not just the original platforming games, and its possible his imitators never quite learned the same lesson. Though one wonders what Miyamoto might have thought if he'd known how many thinkpieces he would spawn with 'why does mario go-karting with Bowser when they're enemies?'. For my part, I favor the idea that the other games are in-universe fictions they're actors on and this is their actual dynamic, or that Mario is a relaxed dude who doesn't mind playing kart games with his foe. (I mean, he's not Ridley. Bowser's easy enough to get along with.) Animal Crossing: Again, I have to emphasize that I've never actually played this game, at least on a consistent basis (and by that, I mean I MIGHT have played it on the Gamecube, once, in the early 2000s), and have to speak from what I've seen of what it sparked. And I really do like the way it really codified the sub-genre of relaxed, open-ended games where the player is free to do as they like, without much stress or fear, which is something I think more games could stand to do. On my personal list of features that my ideal video game would have, Animal Crossing would definitely offer a few ideas. I am reminded of farming simulators, such as Harvest Moon or Stardew Valley; while they are different beasts entirely, there's a familiar sense of non-combat relaxation that's pleasant to see. Spacewar!: This machine is GODDAMN old, and like an old fogey predating modern humans, it deserves our respect. It's so old, it predates Pong. Supposedly created as part of predictative Cold War models, with an emphasis on emulating sci fi dogfights, producing a game that soon proved popular, for over a decade remainign the most popular game on computer systems, and a clumsy foray into arcade gaming (that didn't pan out, unfortunately) led to the creation of Pong by its creator, which is another story all its own! And Pong is directly responsible for the idea of the video game itself; this game launched the entire video game industry as we understand it! No small feat, indeed. ----

B RANKED Sonic The Hedgehog: I must state that I DO like this game, though not as much as later entires like Sonic 3 and Knuckles, or the Sonic Adventure series; the fast paced action seems a bit hobbled by the traps and need to be careful of surroundings, which would seem to run counter towards the whole idea of GOTTA GO FAST, y'know? But the game presents an interesting viewpoint on the nature of mascot gaming; created specifically, so it is said, as a rival to Mario, Sonic was designed as a mascot with attitude, and inspired a host of imitators; he's probably the only one to escape the 90s more or less intact, and this may have something to say about his flexibility, star power, and also the fact that he's a pretty mild character, all things considered. This game certainly has its place in gaming history, giving an important place in the console wars of yesteryear. Believe me, I was a kid in the 90s, Sonic was a HUGE deal. Space Invaders: This game is noted to have catapulted games into prominence by making them household, something outside of arcades, and it shows! An interesting detail of note is that supposedly, the Space Invaders were meant to all move at high speed, but this was either too hard to play against, or too costly on the processor; it was found that by making them speed up as they were defeated, it created an interesting set of challenge. You have to appreciate game history like that. In general, its success prompted Japanese companies to join the market, which would eventually produce what I imagine was a thriving, competitive market that would eventually get us Nintendo and it's own gamechangers down the road. Grant Theft Auto 3: I'm going to be honest with you. I don't much care for this sort of game. The Saints Row series, with its fundamental wackiness, is the kind of game I really DO like if I'm going for something like this, and GTA sort of leaning towards the 'cruel for fun and profit' gameplay is really unappealing for me. However, I'd be remiss if I didn't address this game, and what seems to come up is two things: the game's sheer freedom in its open world (which certainly pushed the bar for games of that nature, and has made it a byword for gamers screwing around in a game just to see what ridiculous things they could or couldn't do) and the infamous reputation from the mature aspects of the game. Personally, I'm not much for this game's take on maturity (if I wanted to discuss a game of that nature, I'd suggest, say, Spec Ops: The Line) but I really do appreciate what this game and its series did for the open world genre, and the sheer possibilities presented for letting you do what you wanted. King's Quest: I've never played this game, but I am a HUGE fan of the point and click genre (also known generally as the adventure game genre) that it spawned; without this game, there's no Monkey Island, no Sam and Max, no The Dig or Full Throttle, or Gabriel Knight. This game was similar to previous text-based games, with a text parser to input commands, but with the distinction of a graphical interface to move their character around, which would be the seed of later games such as the SCUMM engine of Monkey Island and other Lucasarts games (which, to me, ARE Adventure Gaming). The puzzles, comedic sensibilities, and interface innovations originated with this game, and codified those later adventure games i love so much. Starcraft: This is another one those list of 'games I should have already played by now'. I'm not much of an RTS person, barring forays with games such as Impossible Creatures, Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War, and more strange entries such as Brutal Legend, and I contend that the combat aspects of 4X games like Civilization DO count on some level; the specifics of troop movement and unit strengths/weaknesses are a bit beyond me, when you get to more complex stuff. Starcraft, reading between the lines, really introduced the idea of multiplayer culture especially for RTS, pioneered the Battle(dot)net system (which I mostly recall from Diablo, if I'm being honest!) as well as the idea of relative strengths and powers for individual factions so that they became characters in their own right. It's still a very popular online game, and that says SOMETHING. Also, I tend to use zerg rushes, so I would probably play Zerg. Probably. (There is much speculation on whether or not, like Warcraft being a failed Warhammer Fantasy game, if the same holds true for Starcraft and Warhammer 40k. I lean on the side of 'probably not'; the differences are too notable. The Zerg and Tyranids have some similarties, but that's probably because they're based on the same broad hive mind evil insect aggressor trope, and they have enough differences from there to be very distinct from one another. It's not like how OG Warcraft's orcs were very obviously warhammer orcs with less football hooliganism.) Bejeweled: This is a firm case of a game that I don't play, but I really have to respect its influence on gaming as a whole. Apparently it started as a match three-type game with a simplistic formula that proved wildly popular (perhaps making a point that simpler can be more effective, in game mechanics), with a truly explosive record of downloads; over 500 million, it seems. Thus its fair to say that this game set the precedent for casual games, which have become THE market. Regardless of your feelings on that genre, this one was a real game changer. (Pun intended, absolutely.) ----

C RANK Pong: "By most measures of popular impact, Pong launched the video game industry." This line alone saws it all, I think. It wasn't the first video game, but it was one of the more early ones, and its the one that really made video games and consoles successful, gaining widespread attention from the mainstream audience, as well as getting Atari recognition (for better or for worse, but perhaps that was just a development of being on top, so to speak; maye the console wars at least kept the big three honest). It also started the arcade revolution of games, and this humble game is essentially responsible for the entire state of video games as a concept, as we know it today. Halo: No disrespect to Halo, but it's just a game series I've never quite been able to get into. Those games are very hit and miss for me; games like Call of Duty, Battlefield, Gears of War and everything like that are just... hard for me to get into. It takes something specific like Borderlands or the Besthesda Fallout series, or something else, for me to get hooked, and Halo just doesn't do it for me! Nevertheless, I would be QUITE remiss if I simply dismissed it, and there's reasons for it to be inducted into the hall of fame barely three years into the hall of fame making inductees. Firstly, it was Microsoft's big entry into the console wars, and it must be said this was a MASSIVE upset and a completely unprecedented shift in the assumptions of the console wars back then; NO ONE expected microsoft to actually do this, let alone redefine gaming out of Sony and Nintendo's favor like that. At the time, PCs dominated FPS games, and Halo showed that consoles could do it just fine. It must also be said that it has a very intricate and complex system of lore, backstory and material that was quite distinctive for a new setting back in the day, and while I've seen people object to it's gameplay, I suspect that its with the benefit of hindsight; Halo offered an extremely unusual degree of freedom in achieving the goals set out for you. (Cortana also didn't deserve getting her name slapped onto that search assistant that eats up all your RAM.) Where In The World Is Carmen San Diego: Surprisignly enough, based on the article, this game was NOT an adaptation, but the source material of this character. This is where the fancy, mystery lady in the red coat started! Evidently this game was originally an edutainment game with a cops and robbers theme, and inspired by Colossal Cave Adventure from higher up on the list, and one must appreciate the effort that went into it. This one is ranked low, mostly because it didn't seem TOO notable to me. Honestly I'm surprised this is where Carmen Sandiego started. (And that she doesn't get enough credit as an iconic theatrical villain who won't go a step too far, but that's another rant.) -

D LIST

Here we are. The D LIST. The bottom of the sorting pile; the lowest of them all, the... well, the ones that I honestly don't necessarily dislike, but couldn't place higher for reasons of notability, personal interest, or perceived impact on the history of gaming. John Madden Football: Sports games, as a whole, really do NOT do it for me. I don't like real like sports at ALL (with, as a kid, a brief interest in boxing and that was just because they had gloves like Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog) so its hard for me to say that I find the history of this one all that compelling. Even so, there's some interesting elements in how this game was a sequel to a previous failed attempt, with a bold new attempt at a more arcade-style action game with a more dramatic take on the players, who would in turn be rated in different skill sets. The Madden series is STILL going so... it worked out pretty well, I'd say. (FUCKIN EA WAS BEHIND THIS ONE??? wow, EA is older than I thought.) Microsoft Flight Simulator: It's honestly a bit painful sorting this one so low, since I had many happy times as a wee Johnny playing this game back in the old days. I mean the OLD, old days. This was like, the days when Usenet was the preferred way for people to talk online. (Not me, though. I didn't talk to people, then. I was even less social than I am now, which is saying something!) All the same, I suppose that it was important to not crowd too many entries in a specific folder, and statistically, something had to keep getting knocked down, and in the end, I couldn't honestly say I still enjoyed this one enough to place it higher. Still, credit must be given where it is due; this game stands out for being an early foray into simulator gaming, showing a realistic depiction of actual flight. It has apparently been updated and rereleased many times since, which is impressive! Tetris: I like puzzles. So it might be surprising to hear this seminal game ranked so low; firstly, I like different KINDS of puzzles (like weird ones where you have to fling your sense of logic to the moon and back, or make use of gaming mechanics) and honestly this game is kind of stressful for me. You gotta keep an eye on a lot of different things flying around all at once, and constantly move things around, and that kind of attention and quick thinking does NOT come easily to me. All the same, I really have to admire how it was born from it's creator's pleasure in solving mathematical puzzles about sorting shapes into boxes, in a manner strangely remniscient of Satoshi's bug collecting that became Pokemon. Certainly the game's simplicity has proven a universally appealing thing, and may say something about the value of keeping it simple. Microsoft Solitaire: This game apparently became pay-to-get some time ago in recent computer generations, and let me tell, you, it was genuinely depressing to find that out. I remember younger decades, from the 90s and on, when this game was a regular and free feature in Windows computers fir MANY years. You got a computer, this game was on here. I was a kid, and i remember watching my mom play this game and makign the cards go WHOOP WHOPP all over the place and marveling, because I couldn't ever do the same thing. (A related note: I am terrible at this game. Go figure!) Of note, this game was massively widespread, and just EVERYWHERE, and I think everyone who ever played a computer back in those days instantly remembers it in some way. It was just... ubiquitous. Centipede: Oh, ol' Centipede. I don't mean to be mean to you. But between the likes of Pokemon and Super Mario Bros, even the arcade Donkey Kong, someone had to keep dropping down the leaderboard that is this tierlist, and unfortunately, there were other games that felt higher up than you. All the same, you're a very good game, and honestly, I like you more than some other games ranked higher for reasons of relevance to gaming history. Certainly more than anything else in D-listing. The colorful and appealing palette is noteworthy. That trackball controller! Amazing! (More games should use trackballs. They're fun and easy to use.) At the very least, Order of the Stick did a joke with you once, and that's better than anything I can do for you. All the same, you're a cool game.

#tier lists #video games

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