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wifediaries · 1 year

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‘Rosy Blog Chic’ Makes it’s comeback for Spring

What is Rosy Blog Chic? Take a deep dive to 2013-2014 with me, the era of Instagram filters (No, not the face ones-- the original presets on the editing tool) Ariana Grande’s Yours Truly album and its impact on fashion at the time, and OG tumblr core. As Spring rolls around, I feel myself reaching for the same pins on pinterest that I did back on Weheartit in 2014... and I’m ready to bring it all back.

The year is 2013, and you are sat in your bedroom watching Zoella on Youtube and painting your nails in a DIY manicure. Something about this era screams early girlhood, having fun and not caring if something is perfect, as long as it looks pretty. At the time, tumblr and Weheartit was alive with ‘rosy blogs’, and if you search hard enough-- the graveyards of abandoned blogs still remain untouched, like a time capsule of such treasured years, reaching its peak at 2014.

Where did the name ‘rosy blog’ come from?

No one knows. After many google searches, and coming up with nothing -- I can only assume it was coined from the huge insurgence in ‘rose gold’ at it’s time, florals and roses being featured in lots of rosy blog posts, and the ‘rosy’ warm, pinky filter that was laid over all the images to give it that classic look it was known for. These days, the aesthetic is more popularly claimed as ‘girly 2014 aesthetic’, ‘yours truly era’ or simply ‘2014 core’. As a long time girly girl, I am truly advocating to bring this style back. Here’s how.

FLORALS, FLORALS, FLORALS.

Taking a step back into this era, what better time to incorporate floral prints into your wardrobe that spring? Ditzy print, crowded florals on dresses and skirts and sunflower crop tops (Think old American Apparel) are the perfect ways to incorporate a Rosy chic back into your wardrobe. It’s girly, and can be worn super casually as these are not items that technically ever went out of fashion or became played out.

DOT, DOT, DOT...

Undeniably, polka dot was huge in this era. Something about it can be so youthful, whilst also carrying this timeless chic that is vaguely reminiscent of the 50′s/60′s (See Audrey Hepburn, or kitschy housewife aesthetic) A simple black and white will totally do the trick maybe with pearl accessories or ribbon embellishments but a pink and white polkadot is super adorable too!

WHAT BRANDS?

When looking back at the fashion of this era, a few brands stick out to me as being staples of their time. Thanks to early Ariana Grande, Wildfox became hugely popular-- especially in their knit pull overs, sweaters, and sunglasses. They were often pastel colours, donning some kind of cute cartoon print over the top such as a rainbow, or hearts. Another big brand that took over this time period would be American Apparel, and a quick search into ‘vintage American Apparel’ or selling sites would lead you exactly to what you need, the same goes for Vintage Victoria’s Secret PINK items -- however you might find some luck in their current resurgence of ‘Originals’ now being sold on the website. I recently copped some OG fold over leggings! For more girly, era relevant brands-- look into H&M, Brandy Melville, vintage Topshop, Hollister and Abercrombie for that classic girly girl look. Or, dig back into your closet and see if you kept anything from this era!

COLLAGE AND PIC EDITING GALORE

To truly encapsulate the way this era unfolded, try your hand at taking cute pictures and laying an warm-vanilla toned filter preset over the top. In this era, people would take pictures of just about anything cutesy-- think your cute tea mug, a girly phone case, your strawberries and nutella mid day snack, this could even consist of whatever show you’re watching on Netflix photographed on your laptop on some sweet bed covers -- the perfect hobby for a lazy day! If you want to take it that step further, collate these pictures into a bordered collage to really push that early-years-instagram aesthetic.

SO...WHAT SHOULD I WEAR?

To begin with outfits, there are a few staples I would look out for. When thinking Rosy Blog Chic, what springs to mind instantly is a bralet / crop top paired with a skater skirt. At first glance, this sounds totally out dated-- but to me, there is something so timeless about these kind of looks. This will be perfect as the weather warms up, but whilst its still cold, you can always pair it with a chunky knit cardigan and tights-- also staples of its time. Pumps, mary-janes, brogues and flats are all appropriate shoe choices for this look.

Another casual look that is less strictly 2014 would be an off the shoulder sweater, leggings / yoga pants, and a pair of ugg boots. This is more appropriate for colder days and definitely will give you an old school Victorias Secret model off duty look.

A common theme in this era of online photo’s was pyjamas! Again, perfect for a lazy day-- the girl behind the camera was often seen to be donning full length or shorts and a tshirt sleepwear in cute prints and colours. Whether it be VS classic stripes, polkadot/animal print, vintage Disney movie print, florals, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s cute.

To accessorize, bows were a huge deal. Whether its clipped to your pony, worn on your handbag or simply just there for decorating, oversized bows were one of the first trends Ariana Grande brought to the internet. The accessory portion of Rosy Blog Chic seemed to take a more classic, timeless and girly route that can often be seen in modern Coquette fashion today-- meaning ribbons, pearls, and lace to up the girly factor by 10.

Try your hand at home made manicures if you are currently giving your nails a rest from Acrylics or gels! Essie nail polish was at its peak during this era, as everyone seemed to be rocking natural length pale pink nails! I love long nails, and they were still super popular-- this is just for those who want to give their nails a rest.

Did I miss anything? Let me know! I hope to be seeing Rosy Blog Chic more and more this spring!

Mimi 💗

#rosy blog #2014 aesthetic #ariana grande #ariana grande yours truly #2014 ariana grande #fashion advice #fashion blog #pink aesthetic #girly aesthetic #fashion #mimis guide ♡#wsiw

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chemicalbrew · 5 months

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2023 game list, part 1: I love complaining!

Once again continuing what has become an honorable tradition thanks to @smash-64 💜

I tried to promise myself I'd be more organized this year, trying to take notes after I beat things, making lists and gifs and everything, as it has become a consistent yearly undertaking. In truth, what happened is that I felt more overwhelmed by this than I did the last three years. The best explanation I can give is a combination of two facts: this year, while not particularly worse than what came before, still saw my confidence in myself tank a bit (i.e. What does this matter when few people read it and I don't bring much things of value to the table?)...

And the fact that I played very few games that really stuck with me, that I enjoyed enough to see through to the end and feel like that had merit, for a lot of the year. When that wasn't the case, it was more than likely I'd been on my nth playthrough of Katana ZERO of the year (more on that in a later post, hopefully).

I probably need help, don't I?..

games I played, but don't have much to say about at the moment without being prompted, aside from 'I kinda liked them, I guess', ordered best to worst:

Purrfect Apawcalypse trilogy (2019-2021) - series of VNs that's genuinely just good fun as you find yourself attached to the characters before you know it. You'll know if this one is for you at a glance. Also, this is how I found out about Panel Royale! LOL

The Witch's House MV (2018) - good old RPG Maker horror with a few decent twists. The remake has good QOL changes.

Gunbrella (2023) - the plot might be forgettable, but you get a gun that's an umbrella! What's not to enjoy?

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest (1995) - I played this game, but only in the most technical sense. Literally cheated the fun out of it - either that, or this platformer style is not for me.

Coffee Talk: Episode 2 - Hibiscus & Butterfly (2023) - the most upsetting entry on the list. The writer behind the original game has passed away, and his absence is felt keenly even if you're not aware of the fact - because this sequel lacks charm.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion (2021) - yet another of those cheap and short indie 2D Zelda clones. The definition of the word meh.

Irisu Syndrome (2008) - a unique free puzzle timewaster. Tries to have a story and fails.

dishonorable mentions (the part with the most complaining)

2064: Read Only Memories (PC, 2014) [♪ Home (Not) Sweet Home]

Starts off decent enough, doing the bare minimum to string you along the mystery (which, for most people with standards, wouldn't even be good enough, but I was willing to stick with it for the sake of the neat audiovisual presentation).

As soon as the murder scene is revealed, however, the main plot starts to fall apart, and the longer you spend with the game's writing (which seems to go on and on forever) and characters (about as flat as a pancake fresh off the pan), the more bleak and yawn-inducing they seem (including Turing, who just took longer than everyone else to annoy me).

Do yourself a favor, play VA-11 Hall-A (which this game gratuitously references) instead. You'll get all the benefits of cute pixel art and upbeat soundtrack, but with an actually good story\character cast to match. I swear it says something about 2064 that one of its most exciting moments was seeing throwaway lines from a VA-11 character!

Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition (PC, 2015) [♪ Climbing the Ginso Tree]

This is a game that won awards back when it came out almost a decade ago. Unfortunately, it feels like it was made to win awards and little more. While the credits scrolling up the screen tried to convince otherwise - with the usual special thanks given to families and pets of the developers - I sat there, unsure of what I was supposed to take from this experience (once again, the less words you try to use to tell your story, the more it usually suffers!).

The heart of any platformer is its movement systems - and, while eventually Ori's tools open up just enough to make you feel at least a little free and alive in its world, they also never go beyond what is almost painfully typical. Double jump, wall climb, ground pound, glide, charged projectile? None of that is going to wow anyone. The way it comes together is not too pleasant, either - Ori's too floaty and the obstacles before him, while painted with a talented stroke, are too unclear in their presentation to make for truly fun traversal. The exception to this is the escape sequences - sure, a lot of the time they're not much less frustrating than the rest of the game, but they're definitely more memorable, to the point where the accompaniment to one was the only part of the soundtrack I could think to showcase.

I don't regret the time I spent on this, per se, but what I can tell you is that it probably didn't deserve the awards. Also, the way the wall jump worked was annoying! Pushing towards the wall to do it feels very counter-intuitive, and with this I found that I much prefer when games have you face away from the wall to register wall jumps, or do not require you to press a direction at all.

Celeste (PC, 2018) [♪ Checking In] + Celeste Classic (2015, played as part of full game) :)

I was in high school when this made waves. I pointedly feigned disinterest as it splashed all over the internet, while making sure to download the soundtrack quickly and listen to it - more than occasionally - over the next three or so years. Lena Raine's work carried me through my school years and empowered me, and all the while I hadn't a clue what playing the game is actually like.

Those were the better days.

Now, the things about this game that seem to appeal the most to a lot of people are how refreshingly simple Madeline's moveset is and how much the game respects your time with death transitions and reloading, and the story it tells through heartfelt cutscenes and gameplay working in sync. To which I boldly say... none of those things are good enough.

Having to climb and manage your stamina adds another layer to navigating the rooms, sure, but to my simple ass, that's one layer too many. To the game's credit, there's a setting to make climbing toggleable instead of requiring you to hold down the trigger, and using that was the only reason I managed to push past the hotel and Oshiro (call me a scrub, it was genuinely overwhelming otherwise), but it still did nothing to change how I feel about this mechanic fundamentally.

I get it, it adds precision and verticality to your movement, and, seeing as you're literally supposed to be scaling a mountain, it's more than a natural inclusion... but its existence did nothing but add pressure for me, somehow. I would frequently forget it's an option at all before realizing the room in question expects me to utilize it. Instead of feeling like climbing expands my options, I felt constricted and awkward.

My second issue is much simpler. I'm a spoiled brat, and Celeste's respawning process involving that annoying whoosh sound effect and a transition that, yes, takes only about a second, but is still not quite instant, was not good enough. I recognize that having it be truly instant would not be ideal, either, but I can't help but wish that was the case.

As for the story... It underwhelmed me even back when I was doing surface level research at the time of release, and it's not impressing me now. It's okay, and I recognize why it would resonate with people - the themes of self-acceptance and resolve are plain to see (and just as plain to mull over). But in my time with the game, Madeline never began feeling less like an avatar for my failures and more like an actual character, never changed into someone I would truly like.

By the time I reached the Mirror Temple, I was certain that this game, in most respects, is just not what I would ever want. I pushed towards the summit anyway, and left it feeling profoundly... nothing.

However... Celeste Classic did not have any of those things! That little prototype gem of a game wastes zero time trying to set the stage and make you feel things with ~a story~, doesn't give you any opportunity to climb whatsoever, and neither does it waste your time having the screen fade to black when you die! And these three things, I reckon, are key to why this smaller version, that's supposed to just be treated as an Easter egg now, a relic of the past, and to be forgotten in favor of the project it grew into... resonated with me so much more! I beat it twice! It's lovely! It's what I actually needed Celeste to be!

IT'S COMPLICATED

AI: The Somnium Files (PC, 2019) [♪ MonzAI] + AI:TSF - Nirvana Initiative (PC, 2022) [♪ Nefarious Institute 1]

You know how they say not to judge the book by its cover? This is a story of me learning (once again) to judge a game neither by its reception nor by the credentials behind it. When I plowed through this duology, I came to understand that sometimes, lightning might strike just the once.

Of course, most of my bitter feelings about it stem from just how miraculous of a fuck-up Nirvana Initiative ended up being as a sequel (it's impressive how much it had to twist everything its predecessor stood for to even have a chance at making a mediocre point!), but a lot of the disappointment came from the way the first game carries itself in general, and maybe even from the presence this game has among fans. 'Oh, if you want more of the magic and mystery that you so enjoyed in Zero Escape, you have to try this! It'll be just as good!'

I should have had my doubts from the start, given how little I had enjoyed the ZE series after 999. AI1 flounders in many things, like its obtuse, deeply unfun gameplay loop - most of which is pressing random buttons until you see the most ridiculous shit present itself. There's also the overt reliance on stale and perverse jokes, and a story that can barely do much except trudge to the finish line and attempt to convince you the journey was worth it with a trite dance number, of all things.

But the thing is… even with all that, the first entry was somewhat compelling during its runtime, though most of that comes from its bold novelty. The idea of taking advantage of the surreality of dreams to find deeply concealed truths is fun to occasionally ponder, and there's just enough fluff to the places you visit and things you do to string you along for the ride (though having to check the same spots for flavor text on each revisit to very little results is a deep annoyance I have with both entries). The characters actually got a chance to grow (if not by much… this series' urge to be immature at every turn is nothing short of ruinous, sometimes), and their designs strike a wonderful line between outstanding and cringeworthy that makes them just… stick out in your brain, you know?

So while I thought the song and dance (both the literal and the metaphorical) were ultimately not worth much, I was still convinced, fooled by the magic just enough to see things come to an end; and the resolution itself was satisfying and believable, if nothing else. And with how exhausted I felt reaching this point, I figured that'd be enough.

To me, AI1 is all about finding shards of diamonds in the rough, and it doesn't surprise me in the slightest that its fandom runs away with what little they have to try and improve on it (and often succeed). As such, you'd expect its sequel to take advantage of how much room there is to grow, capitalize on this chance to refine things, and use the few strong themes the original presented (value of bonds and family made both by blood and by choice, finding those you can rely on to carry what you have done forward, etc)... right?

Um, yeah, turns out it twists over itself even more than I'd already thought possible in order to make sense (not to mention seemingly forsaking most of that mess right at the true end in order to approach the established universe from a contrived meta angle). If AI1 can be described as having extremely unrefined gameplay coupled with a decently intriguing story, NI is just about the opposite of that.

While I'm glad they bothered to make exploring the dream worlds enjoyable this go around, there's no way in hell that makes it worthwhile to bear witness to the innumerable ways in which this mess of a sequel sullied the already weak foundations laid down by its predecessor. When I had finished that game, I wrote, on impulse, that 'I haven't been this confounded by a sequel's existence since Chrono Cross'. It just… did not need to happen, like, at all.

Nirvana Initiative posed to me one of the worst questions you can have while playing a game, which is…

'Why am I doing this, again?'

Let's be real, it was mostly for the soundtrack. Unlike AI1, this game had passable music! Though having to watch ANOTHER dance number (like half a dozen times, actually! and no, there's no skip button!) just about had me gagging.

That's not even the worst part about that sequence, no - that would have to be the way it almost actively ruins and undermines what's probably the only passable character arc in NI (and even then, you have to squint hard for it to pass your judgement, given how it starts... gotta hand it to this game for managing to have multiple relationships with genuinely questionable setups involving uncomfortable age gaps).

I wanted to feel touched by the new, somewhat expanded narratives, I wanted to see the world grow a little, despite all the grievances I was certain I would have... But not even halfway through the plot, I realized that my true wish was to just move on. I think that's what I'll do here, as well, as even reminiscing on this chaos is quite dreadful.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Switch, 2022) [♪ Agnus Colony]

Don't become prey and victim to your own expectations - or to bad advertising.

Xenoblade is a special series, full of wonder and power. Words fail me this year, as they did the year before, when it comes to describing how much of an impact these games - the second entry most of all, a game I think about now and then with a bittersweetness on my heart that I oddly never can get enough of - had had on my mental well-being last year. They might as well have saved me back then, and while getting to experience them was something I'd been planning to do for a while, the specific circumstances it all had happened under were just so special, so exceptional, so wild, that it's hard to think of those days as anything but a gift.

And yet, there are plenty of things in this particular journey I still have to reconcile with. I never settled on what my impression of 1 is, in the end (or, some might say, I never properly played it); I could use a fresher look at 2, and… I never, ever, will finish Xenoblade Chronicles 3. It's a game I once had hopes for, but nowadays don't ever want to think about.

I thought it a privilege, of sorts - the fact that I was there to witness (and acquire) a brand-new release in a series that became dearly important to me. I ended up hearing many things - the trailers, the rumors, the leaks. They all spoke of a definitive resolution to the series, of levels of refinement never seen before, of intrigue so big you can barely take it, of key character appearances we were all dying to see.

Turns out most of what we were so eagerly expecting came with an extra price tag.

The base game of Xenoblade 3 is a mirage, a mere shade of what came before it. The environments are open and vast, but they look more drab than ever - and with the new autowalk feature, it takes even less time to get sick of it. The music takes you on a journey, but you forget what it sounds like far sooner than you'd prefer. The battle system promises lots of options and a nice learning curve, but it only overextends, overwhelms and forces you to grind. The cutscenes look every bit the part of a Xenoblade story, but meander and stretch things out to the point of boredom, which means none of the characters get enough time to grow on the player, either… Though a lot of them would probably go nowhere even given all the time in the world.

And the setting as a whole? Well, it's a simulation, so who cares about it feeling unique or fun? That's the point, the game says, you're supposed to empathize with these characters breaking out of their bonds, out of this miserable existence! Well, I say that things can be made appealing even in decay. You don't have to actively worsen things to make a point.

Future Redeemed is an impressive demonstration of how things could have been. It fixes practically every point where the base game falters - and it is in this part of the game where all those promises that once seemed hollow finally come true. Sort of. The exploration process is smooth as butter in the way none of the games before were, characters are at last back to having defined roles in battle, and all that teasing becomes a thing of the past as 3 acknowledges its own roots and past in full, and you think to yourself… 'If only we'd got this in the base game all along!'

But we didn't. And the credits on Future Redeemed roll far too soon to truly be satisfied. Is this how you wanted the saga to end?

honorable mentions

Butterfly Soup 2 (PC, 2022) [♪ Night Tourist] *I hope you'll forgive me for not finding a GIF for a mostly static VN...

It's so funny. For me it has been two years; for the creator, it'd been five. But I guess time doesn't matter when it comes to maturity, as I feel like both myself and this game have done plenty of growth. And for that, I love it all the more, just as I am now thankful to be able to call Butterfly Soup a short series.

Compared to the first game, the art is more refined, the tone is more consistent, and treatment of serious topics is more grounded - in more ways than one, this sequel is like a fond, yet melancholic look at what you once had, what changed since then, and what you hope to make of things. But between all that, it stays sincere and silly in the best of ways - the ones that make you feel cozy on the darkest of nights, the ones that endear you for a good while yet. Truly, this game was a ray of light in a sea of mediocrity this year.

Road 96 (PC, 2021) [♪ Hit the Road]

Yeah, I know. The fact that I have played a goddamn walking simulator at the behest of a good pal (who might or might not be reading this, hi on the off chance that you are!) is nothing short of a miracle. Not to mention the fact that I ended up having a good time with it!

I'll put it plain: the vibes of this game are almost impeccable. It wastes little time setting things up - it's the turn of the century, and a massively corrupt government is practically folding in on itself as it closes its borders. It's up to you, as you're literally put into a blank-slate teenager's shoes, to go on a desperate journey and see whether or not you make your way out.

Over the course of Road 96, you do this six times, and the people you meet on the way and choices you make with them may or may not shape not just your own future, but that of the whole country. There's nothing for it, then, but hit the road and see what awaits you, as you sit in a car that's probably stolen, blaring music from your carefully curated tapes… or are dropped off on the wayside with nothing but a paltry backpack to speak of… or find yourself biding your time near a gas station… or… whatever it is the game throws at you, as you hope that the strangers you run into actually deign to help.

Yes, the biggest way this game attempts to stand out is with our good old friend, RNG. Even reading blurbs about it, you cannot escape the all-too-typical claims of 'your own personal journey', 'a thousand unique paths waiting for you' and all that… months later, I find myself unable to decide whether this helped the game or harmed it more, as it's definitely smaller than it makes itself out to be.

As a story hook, this setup is clever and delightful, as I tried to illustrate a moment earlier, but the moment you begin to overthink it, you realize that the randomness aspect clashes hard against the continuity the game tries to establish. You, as the player, indeed learn more about the world and colorful characters in it each time you venture forth, but the avatar you control is supposed to be clueless as ever, setting out on a path that is, in fact, not quite their own any more. It's a weird gripe to have, and I found it an easy one to ignore, but I wish something could be done about it anyway.

As for the rest of the plot, let's just say it's... surprisingly binary, and the supporting cast small and not always compelling in turn. The game sacrifices some of the personal intimacy and uniqueness it has built up to make a sweeping, painfully boring statement of 'freedom good, suppression bad' before credits roll, but as damaging as that is to the overall experience, I feel like one can't deny the fundamental appeal of just being asked to go on a journey with sweeping stakes and truly, truly banging music. Seriously, it was meant to be put on speakers and blasted as the world passes you by!

In a word, Road 96 is ambitious, and in a sentence, it is ambitious, yet falling short of itself. Nonetheless, I was impressed by how it managed to worm its way into my heart for a while.

A Space for the Unbound (PC, 2023) [♪ Don't Have Much Choice]

Wouldn't you know it? I had actually played two games involving entering people's subconsciousness to solve their problems this year!

Truth be told, I'd been looking forward to this game for about a year, given that it was published by the people behind Coffee Talk (which, if you recall, I had quite enjoyed). The warm and inviting screenshots on the back-then almost empty store page, showing off awesome art and promising a sweet little journey with slice-of-life tropes and a mystery waiting to be solved… well, to say all of that was alluring is to say nothing, really. I just about jumped when I received a notification for this game releasing at last at the beginning of the year, and wasted little time trying to dive in.

The sad thing is, what you see is not always what you get. The cozy, comfortable, sensible vibes of the early game - running around the city, doing chores at your school, naming every stray cat you come across, watching the protagonist's diary fill up as he crosses all the little goals he had set in life off his precious list… Yeah, those things won't last - definitely not long enough to get you attached to characters living in this world.

As the plot begins to unfold, it fumbles over itself trying to introduce various cliches and supernatural elements, to the point where you recognize the whole experience as a tedious drag as you see exactly where it's heading, and think to yourself that you have heard all this before. It's yet another heartfelt story about self-actualization, and as the game hammers it in harder than ever before, you sigh and wish you could go back to the times of bottle cap collecting and cat petting. Sometimes, simpler is better.

Unfortunately, that's not exactly true when it comes to actually playing A Space for the Unbound. The gameplay is as simple as can be - basically all you do is walk around (quite slowly) and interact with things. I can appreciate how linear the game is, for the most part, but I wish it let us accomplish our goals without wasting too much time! Not to mention, if you try to see everything there is, you have to be prepared to deal with quite a few mind-numbingly repetitive mini-games for far longer than you have to. Don't do that. It'll just sully your impression of the game.

If you're somehow still interested in this after reading this messy opinion of mine, don't be too discouraged - you'll see plenty of beautiful sights, hear some cute music, and, maybe, be affected by the story far more than I was. (Besides, for a cat lover, it's always nice to see others appreciate them!) Just... try not to waste too much time with the game's superficial sidequests.

Tales of the Abyss (3DS, 2011 port of a 2006 release) [♪ The Distribution Base]

There's something ironic in how playing (most of) this game has been one of the best things I have done with my lovely 2DS since I homebrewed it earlier this year... and yet I quite regret not checking how (ahem) easily available the PS2 version is, instead. They may be functionally identical, but the hardware is not - you have no idea how hard some of the goddamn Mieu Fire puzzles become when your character is taking up a mere four or so pixels of an already tiny screen. Man, that was trying my patience at its finest.

These horrors aside, though, what kind of game are we even dealing with here? Well, it’s a Tales game first and foremost. I can’t deny claims that Abyss has a few strengths of its own (most notably, of course, actually bothering to have coherent character development arcs), but it’s not quite enough to obscure the ever-prevalent issues this series has:

exploration and side-questing is still annoyingly obtuse, not to mention traversal is painfully slow in the first half of the game,

some characters (in this case, Anise more so than others, but I'd argue Mieu's whole existence is part of this too) are obligated to suffer because Tales has to meet its unhealthy anime tropes\wackiness quota per game,

the skit system has not, unfortunately, evolved one bit (the amount of times I would skip a skit on accident, because any input halts its playback entirely…),

while I’m inclined to say the battle system is, for the most part, an improvement (the Field of Fonons mechanic is quite a nice change given the foundations of Tales gameplay, I have to admit), any goodwill you might want to give it gets shattered when you realize Free Run breaks bosses in half. And aside from that, it’s just your usual button-mashy fare.

So why did I push on with this game as far as I did, pulling the classic move of quitting right at the final boss instead of, well, any earlier? A lot of that is because I was just in the mood to mash some buttons in bed until I realized I was slightly underleveled for the finale and caught myself groaning at the mere thought of trying to even cheese it. A shame, that, because the ending of this game is pretty wonderful for what it set out to do, and it was the only bit I did not see on my own. It's like my experience with Final Fantasy VI all over again…

That's not all there is to it, though. Abyss has some of what's probably the most involved and curious worldbuilding (once you get past all the awkward made up jargon it loves to throw at you) of any Tales game I know! Not that this says much, because that's a low bar, and I'm not too familiar with the series at large, but it was enough to keep me engaged for a long while. And, as mentioned earlier, it puts in greater efforts than I expected to endear you to the cast as they slowly band together and uncover their own talents, purposes and aims in life - Luke in particular.

I liked him almost immediately - because I'm not too hard to please when it comes to this series, and his design is, I feel, particularly sweet and striking (especially given how nicely the game used the Important Haircut trope with him, and of course, the contrast between him and Asch). But that alone doesn't a good protagonist make - it's the fact that the story allows Luke to make mistakes (from small ones to straight-up catastrophes), get his comeuppance and grow from them organically, at his own pace, that makes him stand out in my mind.

As Luke sheds his sheltered ways of thought and accepts his responsibilities, those that were traveling with him, either out of obligation or by chance, begin to support him more and stand by him in earnest. It all comes together gradually and at a satisfying pace, and is definitely a highlight of the experience to me.

Growth and connection are probably among the biggest themes of the game, so it's nice to see that it applies pretty much equally to both protagonists and antagonists. Sure, it's the job of a Tales' Big Bad faction to be goofy and up to nefarious activities, but beyond that, the group has solid enough chemistry both among themselves and with the party that I actually ended up looking forward to most encounters with them, even if ultimately it felt a little predictable. As an aside, for a game this old, the voice acting was really good and plentiful (though there is none for skits, which sucks), and further piqued my interest in the story along the way.

To conclude, I'd like to say that the biggest thing I learned while playing this game is that I'm a sucker for grounded tales of (ha) self-actualization even this many years later. And also that once you play one Tales game, you truly, to some extent, know them all.

SANABI (PC, 2023) [♪ Warm Hospitality]

Do you want to know why I ended up playing this one? Of course you do, that wasn't really a question. I only bring this up because the answer can be revealed with a single screenshot:

...yep, the inspiration is that blatantly on display. I was expecting it, of course - the Katana ZERO community is the only reason I know of SANABI in the first place, and even as you read people's thoughts on it, the extreme similarity is practically all they ever bring up, be it in a positive or negative light. It pleased me and warmed my heart, while also making me feel wary - it's one thing to be inspired by something, and another to actually carve an identity of your own.

That said, KZ is far from the worst thing to try to replicate, particularly when it comes to visuals - SANABI has some awesome scenery that makes me feel right at home. And while the story at times feels so much like an amateurish copy that it leaves me confused more than anything (I'm sure the awkward English translation sadly does not help matters, not to mention the fact that I'd played this game in an unfinished state - you might expect me to write about it again next year!), the gameplay is anything but.

I'm sure there are quite a few platformers out there that have you use what's essentially a grappling hook to swing through the stages, but SANABI is my first experience with something like this, and in this regard the game absolutely manages to shine on its own. Movement is lightning-fast and responsive, enemy targeting is extremely generous - almost to the point of being handholdy (and, of course, they all die in one satisfying hit - as do you, if you set the game to the highest difficulty. It's nice to be given an opportunity to learn the ropes before engaging with the game earnestly!), and there's something to be said about how the level design has that extreme kind of clarity to it that I always appreciate and favors speed over precision, with how spacious everything is.

My only big issues with how the game plays are how it doesn't seem to be designed with a controller in mind (it is an option, but I found myself moving much more precisely with KBM! Me! Someone who never plays games with that!), and, once again, the just-a-bit-too-long death animation\transition. Being able to skip it helps, but I just yearn for no time to be wasted...

#celeste #aitsf #xbc3 #tales #abyss #zero.txt #yearly game list #flashing gif #.gif

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longestdistanceart · 1 year

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I haven't had much free time to draw lately, but in the meantime I've gotten carried away with touching up old artworks. I wanted to see if I could fix an artwork I dislike, and so far, I am super happy with the results! This artwork is originally from 2014, AKA the dark ages. Here’s the original.

The other reason for touching up older artworks is because there are some things I miss. The goal is to bring back elements of my old style with the new. I will use these edits as a reference for future artworks.

#old art #touched up #art tag #angels #2014 #2023

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n3onstarss · 1 year

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From Eden

Relationship: Raphael x Otherkin!Reader

Romantic or Platonic?: Romantic

Reader type: I'm projecting okay?, shut up.

Potential TW for species dysphoria? might as well bring it up for anybody who needs it! ♡

It was relaxing, peaceful almost. My giant mutant turtle boyfriend and I laid sprawled on our bed in our apartment. My back to the headboard and his head in my lap. It was late at night, rain pittering weakly against the window and roof, reflecting the dim glow of the moon and the bright city lights around the room. We were both on our phones, 'parallel play' as I called it and 'together alone time' as he did.

One earbud sat within my too-human ear at the moment, playing my favorite Hozier album (Hozier (Deluxe Edition) 2014) while a drone filmed scenic video was playing in the upper right hand corner of my screen. The rest of the screen was occupied by whatever website I was on at the moment to help with the feeling or distract me from it. Meditation instructions, animal or movie facts about my kintypes, even Tumblr possessed the space from time to time.

After what felt like days but was only about two hours i let out a defeated groan before finally dropping my phone to the side, resting my head against the wall behind me and putting my spine in a weird position when it molded around the headboard. my body feels too human, i need to go swim or sprint or just.. fuck, i don't know!

At the disturbance of the peace Raph raises his head from my lap, moving to rest his weight on one elbow and pause his music with the other.

"You good dear?" The concern in his voice only makes it worse as i sink into what i wish was a graceful puddle, but was really a mess of limbs.

".. Yeah, all good!" I respond hesitantly, a thumbs up emerging from the tangle before deflating again.

"You're a damn awful liar, love. What's wrong?"

His large hands gently cup my face as he looms over me. It would seem intimidating to anybody else, a giant, spiky, mutant turtle looming over you like the grim reaper, but his gentle words and touch were actually gonna make me cry.

"Oughhhh.... dysphoria." I finally spit out the word, sinking further down. I don't notice the confusion on Raph's face, but I don't need to when he speaks again.

"What kind?"

He sits up some, forcing him to move his hands so he doesn't squish me to death. I gladly take the opportunity to cover my face with my forearms and squeeze my eyes closed. asking for help was always deemed pathetic to me, either through action or words. this feels stupid. too vulnerable. vulnerability gets you killed out there. but.. we're not out there. i never will be. not in the way i need to deep in my soul.

".. species."

"Eugh. that one's the worst, huh?"

a muffled 'mhm' was the most i could manage. Everything felt wrong and i didn't wanna bring Raph into this. this isn't his problem, it's mine.

I don't get much of a choice though before he stands and scoops me up in a bridal style carry. I groan in protest and before i can say a word he's unceremoniously dropped me on the couch and moved to the TV.

I take a moment to get myself together some. Between the exhaustion and species dysphoria and the literally being dropped on a couch from, like, at least 2 feet up, I'm still a mess. Gods i need a fucking Tylenol-

"What are ya up to, genius?" I finally ask, both wanting to know what he's doing and poking the bear at the same time.

"Well, genius, if you must know-" "god you sound like Donnie right now, where's my boyfriend?" "- I'm turning on Rio and making us popcorn and sodas."

I'm kinda shell shocked by that. for, i think, at least 3 reasons. 1, That's actually super sweet what the fuck- 2, I'm not being told to suck it up? weird. and 3, he remembers my comfort movies.

I start to cry a little at that. for once, vulnerability isn't a death sentence. I'm safe with him.

I accidentally let a little tearful hiccup slip and he turns around to see what's up. Now I know for a fact I'm an ugly crier, but the ways his eyes soften when he notices and the way he stops to check breaks my heart even more, in the best possible ways.

"You okay dear? We don't have to do movies if you're not up for it. We can go to bed or cook or I can leave if that's what you need."

almost immediately i latch onto the hand that has unknowingly settled to cup my face, my head gives a little shake and for a second we know each other so well it's like we read minds or something.

"Okay, not leaving. it's okay love, you're good."

It isn't long before my tears slow and he gets up calmly. i appreciate him trying not to spook me, but after the too much of being vulnerable i want normalcy. In an instant I'm up and helping set up, padding silently on my toes into the kitchen and gathering the popcorn bucket from Christmas and the sodas. The popcorn isn't that old anyways, Draxum gifted some to everyone pretty late. He actually forgot until Splints got onto him for Mikey's sake.

Anyways, i reentered the living room with the bucket under my arm and a can in each hand. The commercials were still playing and making me feel old. apparently that was affecting us both as i watched Raph cringe when certain commercials came on. Even whispering a 'I saw that in theaters!' once or twice while I set everything down.

The movie finally begins to play as we snuggle into the other, molding nicely to each other and settling in. What is Love begins to play and I think back to all the times I've made poor Raph dance with me to it. While cooking dinner a week or two ago, at a party when it came on and i totally didn't request it, during the movie itself after we finally got together almost a year ago now. Apparently he catches me lost in thought.

"You okay?"

"Never better"

"I was joking when I said you sounded like Donnie earlier, by the way."

"I know, love, don't worry bout it"

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igglemouse · 10 months

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Get to Know Me - Sims Edition

I was tagged by @autonomousllama and @cactusblossom, thank you both for tagging me and I guess I am getting at this late but here it is!

What’s your favourite Sims death?

The old age death because it means a sim has lived like and are gently passing on! I also love that they give a little salute like “It was fun while it lasted but PEACE!” if I have a chance to give a salute and famous last words before I die I know I would!

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Maxis Match not because it looks better but because it blends in with the game.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

Never!

Do you use move objects?

I imagine it is hard not to when you are a competitive sims player lol.

Favourite Mod?

Hmmm, this is hard. I will say Wicked Whims though. I know, I know, you all think i’m super horny over here but really sex is a big part of life it is, one can argue, one of the most important aspects of life itself as one must have sex to create life (kind of at least) so WW really expands on that. Just get rid of the sex animations it adds, ignore that completely, it still adds an indepth menstrual system, attraction system, fertility system, etc!

WW actually determines how many kids my sims will have for example since some are naturally more fertile than others so yeah!

2nd place is MC Command which is great for just having more control. I mostly use that to make over townies when I see them lol.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

The first one they released? It was either Luxury party or the camping one right? Whichever was the first one lol.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

DO IT LIVE! **** IT! WE’LL DO IT LIVE!

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

Oooh, I actually don’t make many sims since I play legacy and just rely on genetics but I will say Araceli! I made her when I relaunched a legacy and I spent so much time on her! I loved her! I thought of bringing her back in some form so we might not have seen the last of her actually!

Have you made a simself?

I have for the fun of it but i’ve never played it. I hardly make myself in games. I just always think of a character I guess.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Dark brown.

Favorite EA hair?

If you go back I had a vampire in my story named Edda, she wears it. It’s the real short one but ummm, the short one. Most people know by now I do love short hair lol

(EDIT: Not sure why I referenced Edda...Laverne wears this hairstyle lol. There, that is a more recent sim)

Favorite life stage?

Young Adult! EA just put all the fun in that phase though.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

I am not that good at building...

Are you a CC creator?

I’ve made poses years ago!

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

I have simblr friends but part of no squad. I feel like a mostly outsider or lone wolf in the simblr community but im nice to everyone!

Do you have any sims merch?

I WISH!

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

I don’t think it has honestly lol.

What’s your origin id?

Igglemouse!

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Hmmm, I don’t know!

How long have you had simblr?

Since 2014 since the game launched in 2014 and I literally had a post the first day it launched.

You can even see this post here!

https://igglemouse.tumblr.com/post/96447498872/this-is-lourdes-fuentes-my-very-first-sim-in-sims

I’ve been a Sims 4 OG as the kids would like to say and my simblr has really flunctuated in all that time. I’ve had posts getting 100s of likes to now just around 10 lol, I’ve come full circle!

It’s kind of sad because @floofymilk-blog was a real good online friend I had known for years and she was someone you saw constantly liking my posts and commenting at first and she has completely disappeared from like...everything. So yeah T_T, from discord, from steam, from switch, and I always wonder what happened to her and seeing that post and seeing her in the notes there just makes me sad but...she was the biggest AC fan I’ve ever known T_T and a big Sims fan too!

She was Japanese and disappeared before the release of Snowy Escape and I wonder if she would have loved that pack :/

How do you edit your pictures?

I used to do A LOT more but honestly, I just gave up lol. Now I just use a reshade, add a border, and move on. Lazy, I guess? But I’m posting legacy content. What is called a Plotacy. If I hung up on editing every single picture it would slow me down a ton. You can see the story content I tried it was a lot more edited!

What expansion/ gamepack is your favorite?

Hmmmmmm seasons, yeah, Seasons!

I will tag @joannebernice - @mysimsloveaffair - @wolfavens - @wannabecatwriter - @lollipopsimblr - @thereesespiece

If you have done it already or dont want to no worries!

#reply #replies

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raremindrebel · 1 month

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MMXIV

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thisaintascenereviews · 1 year

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The Muppets Mayhem Soundtrack / Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem - S/T

Let me get this out of the way within the first sentence of this review -- I love the Muppets. I watched some Muppets stuff as a kid, and I always knew how much of a big deal they were, but I didn’t really get into the Muppets until their 2011 reboot / sequel film that starred Jason Segel and Amy Adams. The film is about bringing the Muppets back together after their studio is about to be demolished by an evil businessman, but most of them haven’t been in contact with each other for years after The Muppet Show ceased production in the late 90s and their well of successful films dried up in the 90s and early 00s. If anything, the film is an interesting look at nostalgia and moving forward, because the film appealed to new and old fans alike. I fell in love with that film, whether it was the mature and adult way they looked at nostalgia, the way they updated the classic characters but without sacrificing what made them great, or the songs that added a lot of brevity, fun, and heart to the movie. I spent the next few years diving into everything I could, especially the older films and The Muppet Show, but there was just something about the Muppets that drew me to them. I don’t know if it was the magic of how they make me feel like a kid again, but a lot of their jokes are clever enough for adults to understand (sometimes even adding another layer that you can understand more when you get older). They’re just the perfect kind of wholesome entertainment that is also slightly challenging in the sense that there’s more underneath the surface. Both kids and their parents can watch the Muppets and find different things to enjoy. For all of its successes, the 2011 film also ushered in a bit of a “revival” for the characters; they had a solid run for the next four years, whether it was a sequel film called Muppets Most Wanted (that wasn’t as good, but it was more akin to their zany and outlandish antics in a lot of the movies that they’ve done, and a bit more kid-friendly, all the while still having their trademark humor that adults can pick up o as well) in 2014, and a single season of an Office-style mockumentary show that aimed to take a slightly more “adult” angle on them, versus being extremely kid-friendly (it wasn’t raunchy or inappropriate, but the show was much more “grounded” for the lack of a better word). After that show was canceled after a single season, they faded away for awhile, only to come with a short-lived series in the form of 2020′s Muppets Now and 2021′s Muppets Haunted Mansion. The latest in this second or third revival, depending on how you look at their history, is the new TV show that focuses solely on The Muppet Show’s house band, Dr. Teeth & The Electric Mayhem, entitled The Muppets Mayhem. Released on May 10th, 2023, this show is all about the titular band and how they finally set out to record their debut album after touring nonstop for the last 50 years. Starring Lily Singh and Taj Mowry as the main two human characters, although there are a handful more, they are respectfully the assistant to the owner of a dying record label that The Electric Mayhem were signed to and a superfan of the group that end up crossing paths and helping the band out. What’s really cool about the show is that not only is the show released, but they also put out an actual Electric Mayhem album. The digital version includes some extra songs, and some of the score from the show, but if you buy the vinyl edition of the record, it has a different cover (that’s their album cover from the show), and it only has songs they performed on the show, so it’s almost like we got an actual album from the band. I wanted to talk about both the show and the music within, especially the album, because music is a big part of this show, whether it’s about the band, how every episode is titled after a song, and how almost every episode ends with the band performing a topical cover that helps the plot move forward. Music is a big part of the show, and first and foremost, that’s what shines here. I love the debut album from the Electric Mayhem. Unironically, this is a fantastic record that really showcases how prolific this band supposedly is in the world of The Muppets. It’s funny that this show came out a couple of months after the Amazon Prime show Daisy Jones & The Six, which is also about another fake band from the same era, but despite only listening to their album and not watching the show, it doesn’t feel like they would have been the biggest band in the world at the time. The Electric Mayhem, on the other hand, they do. There aren’t a lot of originals here, but the ones that appear, such as “Rock On,” “We Are One,” “Gotta Be,” and a couple of others, are great. They don’t necessarily sound super unique, at least from 1970s rock bands, but that’s the Mayhem’s charm. They have a very old school sound that reminds me a lot of different bands and artists, versus just one or two. The covers that are here are really good, too, and if you watch the show, you’ll hear a brief clip of them, only on the soundtrack / album, you hear them in full, such as KISS’ “Rock and Roll All Nite,” Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” or one of my personal favorites, Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” When I listen to this record, I don’t think of this as the performers of the characters making this album, this is The Electric Mayhem. This is Dr. Teeth, Zoot, Janice, Lips, Floyd, and Animal. This is the band, and this is what they would sound like if they released an album. I can’t stop listening to this record, but it just feels like it’s a new record from a real band, and because it sounds like it’s from the 1970s, I really enjoy it. Every performance on here is top notch and really sucks you into the music. As for the show, I’ll keep it somewhat brief, because I’ve always said a lot about the music on it, but it’s a very enjoyable Muppets show that focuses on some lesser known characters that really deserve more time. The characters are all fleshed out more, especially Dr. Teeth (the episode where him and Floyd meet is my favorite of the show), Floyd, Janice, and even Animal to an extent, the jokes are sharp, as well as a great mixture of being kid-friendly and having some subtle more adult references (such as the episode where the band basically goes on an acid trip in the middle of Joshua Tree after eating expired marshmallows). The celebrity cameos are great, too, and they never feel forced, because they’re both super random and they’re very brief, as typical Muppet projects keep them. I won’t spoil the cameos on the show, especially from musicians that cameo, because a lot of them are surprising and fun, but it was always nice seeing random cameos. With that said, though, the human characters of the show leave a bit to be desired, although I did enjoy them as a whole. A lot of the story beats are quite predictable, but it’s fun enough to where you don’t really mind, especially when it involves Muppets. For instance, there’s a love triangle between a few human characters that doesn’t do much for me, and there’s a whole section that takes up a couple of episodes where the band discovers social media and they break up right before an important concert, only to get back together in the nick of time, which is such a cliche (at least a band breaking up before something important and getting back together right before), but only the Muppets can make it work. I had a lot of fun with this show, as well as with the soundtrack, and the thing about it is that neither of them feels complementary. You don’t need to listen to the soundtrack or the band’s album to understand the show, but you also don’t need to watch the show to understand the album. If you’re a Muppets fan, and you’ve always wanted to hear an Electric Mayhem record, you got one. The show does add context, of course, and you can hear full versions of the songs from the show, but you don’t need to watch or listen to both to get a good experience. You’ll also get some great jokes and satire of the music industry with the show, especially early on when they start writing the album, because the band feels the need to stay up to date with current trends in music. I don’t know if that will date this show, but luckily, the music is pretty straightforward “classic rock” in that vein. If you enjoy the Muppets, I’d watch this show. It won’t blow your mind necessarily, and it’s not quite an essential watch, but the creators of the show said they wanted to start a Muppets “universe” similar to the MCU, where they can focus on certain characters, and this was a great little experiment that did just that. I’d love to see more of these types of shows, possibly on Gonzo, Fozzie, Miss Piggy. Scooter, or other characters, regardless of how big or small. There’s a lot of potential to do more here, and this was a great first time out. I love the Muppets, and watching this show has gotten me back into them again for the first time in years, so it’s been incredibly exciting.

#the muppets #the muppets mayhem #dr teeth and the electric mayhem #kermit the frog #fozzie bear #miss piggy #gonzo the great #rock music #classic rock #kiss #the rolling stones #simon and garfunkel #cyndi lauper #the beatles #disney #disneyplus

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