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slightlyhopefulromantic · 10 months

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Oooh that's an interesting premise for requests! :] May I perhaps suggest then... Uh honestly kinda feeling Terry/Nicky for this one! Also ehshsjskkwjwke maybe Jodie/Ron??????

silly little fan kid prompts

in a wildly out of character moment for me, i COMPLETELY skimmed over the rodie part of this ask fdhjgbdhb so i will ! do that next and @ you in it! BUT hey. hey. shakes a terrick kid at you

this is cameron, my new baby girl sweet daughter cameron. i like to headcanon that samantha always did terry's hair when he was young, so it was cute to me to imagine that terry would do the same to her :] and of course, nicky has to introduce cameron to all the sick ass movies that glenn showed him, including the ever famous predator handshake.

both the stamplers and the close-foster-etc families have very specific like. through-lines in their families which make this combo interesting for a fan kid? im gonna put my further notes under a cut along with some etc rambling because this is just. exciting to me. i usually make fan kids with a story already in mind, but this exercise is kind of the opposite where i have to figure out the story as i go, and thats really fun to me :D

mild spoilers for the newer episodes of season 2, but i decided to uh. Pay Attention To Biology here since terry jr was revealed to be infertile, and i think thats interesting, so cameron is adopted!! this obviously left my options pretty open, but i decided to still stick with a mixed kid, Black/Chinese, since 1. feels kinda against the point of a fan kid if i just did a random design lol and 2. considering nicky's odd genealogy as well as his severe issues with wanting his dad(s) to be proud of him and the way hes so lopsidedly attached to his family, i figured he would be the type of guy to want his adopted kid to look like him. i dont think terry would care, but he would want nicky to be happy, so it all works out in that regard ! i went back and forth a bit on if i wanted her to have freckles, i thought it could be a cute tie back to jodie, but decided against it.

she does follow the Ron -> Terry -> Ron -> Terry naming scheme, originally i was gonna go for a terry name but i figured a ron one would make more sense lol so her name is cameron! i think she would take a lot of fashion inspiration from her parents, ive always seen them as both very. emo/alternative. terry less so as he grows older, but nicky definitely clings to it, and i think that would rub off on cameron. shes not as dark and edgy as they are - i think she would be a pretty bright and bubbly kid, actually - but i kinda like the idea of her being lowkey scene/scemo. yes im biased because thats one of my favorite sub-cultures, but its CUTE. i didnt really feel like doing full outfit sketches but just know that if i did. she would be scene. and like both of her dads as teens (and nicky still into adulthood), she does dye her hair pretty heavily hehe

the only real unfortunate thing about fan kids for a series thats like. already very heavy with canon kids. is that it kind of leaves everything in a weird place where its like... do cassandra and taylor exist in this? do veronica and scary? and uhhh i dunno ghbfjdgdfhjh up to interpretation, i suppose. its easy enough to just have cassandra and nicky be divorced, but the veronica/terry of it all is murkier ... food for thought, i guess. scary would fuckin hate cameron though i think they would argue LMAO

#fan kid #im not. putting these in main tags LOL they just get their own lil tag

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roxannarambles · 7 years

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Blackwell Legacy “Flaws”

(repost of an old post from a different blog)

So I recently finished replaying Blackwell Legacy with the commentary. The game developer, Dave Gilbert, spent a lot of the time apologizing for what he thought of as flaws in the game. This is only natural, of course– artists are always very critical of their own work and especially critical of their own old work. They’ve changed and grown and their old work usually makes them wince. But it’s truly amusing how many things he said were bad in his old game were things I really enjoyed about the game and, indeed, are largely what drew me to it to begin with.

This post will go over some of those supposed flaws and will contain spoilers for The Blackwell Legacy. I’ll spoil as little as needed, but you’ve been warned.

One thing the dev apologized for was the opening two puzzles of the game. The first involves Rosa talking to an annoying doorman who refuses to let her into her apartment building because he doesn’t recognize her and therefore she mustn’t live there. The second puzzle involves Rosa tracking down a neighbor to vouch for her, but the neighbor is performing in front of a crowd and Rosa is too shy to just barge up and interrupt. The dev called this bad game design, because people don’t like to be told ‘no’ when they’re trying to do something, especially when they’re first starting to play.

Personally, I loved these first puzzles. That doorman annoyed the heck out of me, and I kind of wanted to clock the kid. Rosa was just as annoyed with him as I was, though. It filled me with an urge to show that kid he was wrong and get Rosa back into her apartment. Yeah, he was annoying– he was supposed to be, though. Is it a little frustrating? Yeah. Not so much to immediately make me leave, though. It just made me determined. True, you could start off a game so that the player can immediately do stuff and be rewarded for it, but I think people respond to an immediate challenge, too, especially if you can immediately empathize with the protagonist.

Over in the park, where Rosa needs to find her neighbor, Nishanthi, you are faced with your second challenge. At first it seems like no puzzle at all– just march right up to Nishanthi and ask her to vouch for you, right? Except, Rosa doesn’t want to do that. That would be awfully awkward and feel rude. The player needs to find another way. I adored this and found it unique. Actually take the character’s feelings into consideration instead of making them a mindless slave to your control? Actually create a challenge for somebody with mild social anxiety to overcome? That’s awesome. Maybe the only reason I loved this was because I empathized with Rosa and I understand what shyness and social anxiety can be like. But I like to think other people can enjoy it too and appreciate that the character study is built into the puzzles themselves. These first two puzzles, plus the charming solution to the Nishanthi puzzle, interested me enough to keep watching the LP I had looked up, and eventually get the game for myself.

Another thing the dev pointed out he did not like was the “exposition dumps” he did in this game. They didn’t feel like exposition dumps to me, though. The conversation Rosa has with Dr. Quentin was fascinating to me. I found the mystery intriguing and the voice acting for the Dr. to be so damn good that I couldn’t help but be interested. A few minor plot holes caught my attention (I mean, c’mon, if you had Aunt Lauren’s file-folder of letters all these years, surely you could have given them to Rosa before now?) but other than that? It was engrossing to me.

This is immediately followed by Rosa getting home and reading the folder full of letters. The dev thought having the player read 25 pages of letters was an insane idea in retrospect. I think it’s fantastic. They go fast and are a good read. I truly enjoyed them and even wished there were more. The dev said something to the effect of, if a game asks you to read a bunch of backstory, it’s a terrible thing. But doesn’t anyone remember Myst? That game from the 90s that was intensely popular and had multiple, beautiful hand-written books ingame that you could read if you wanted backstory? I adore anyone who has the guts to do that in a game. Narrative is a beautiful thing and has its own strengths for imparting a story, and I think if used the right way, can have a place in a game. Of course it’s good to “show” information too, and not just have somebody read it. For instance, the playable flashback sequences in later Blackwell games are a great way of giving backstory. But letters aren’t horrible, and can be a practical way of imparting a lot of interesting backstory too. I enjoyed the “mixed” experience, of both gameplay and letter-reading– the variety makes it fun to me. Telling a story through multiple avenues can make a feel a game feel richer and a more complex experience.

Maybe I’m nuts, I dunno. But I like to read. And this aspect of the game really pleased me a ton and just made me more invested in the mystery and story.

There’s something else I’d like to praise Blackwell Legacy for. I don’t think the dev ever directly mentions this in his ingame commentary, so I don’t know his thoughts on this matter. But I personally love the relatively slow buildup of this game before it introduces Joey and fully hits its stride. The game really takes its time to set the mood and ambience and the gradual unfolding mystery. I love how it’s just joining Rosa in her rather normal life at first. It makes the introduction of Joey all the more dramatic, and the contrast between Rosa’s normal life and how it’s suddenly changed is one you can feel directly. The start of this game involves puzzles in fairly “mundane” settings, just a rather typical day for this New York writer recluse, yet the puzzles are interesting anyway despite being about fairly “mundane” things. They are a great warmup. Then the game picks up speed. Her ordinary day becomes less and less ordinary. Her Aunt’s doctor talks to her about all this unsettling stuff and odd mysteries. Then she’s out investigating some suicide for her newspaper, even though she’s far from a reporter. Just when you think it’s over with and her weird day can finally come to an end, bam! Her whole world changes.

It was a very enjoyable way to be introduced to Joey. His arrival had so much impact that way, because of this gradual buildup. It felt momentous and signaled the start of Act Two in the game, with the pacing picking up at a thrilling speed. The Blackwell games clearly display an excellent degree of story pacing and structure. There is also an Act Three in this game, when we uncover and face the source behind all these suicides. So? Well, that’s pretty neat. You don’t get that by accident. It comes from being actually good at planning out a story, and I really appreciated that.

That about covers the things I wanted to dicuss for now, I think. This little game may be the first in the series, and a recreation of an old freeware project, but I still think it’s an excellent start to the series. I would gladly suggest checking it out if you haven’t.

#blackwell #joey mallone #rosa blackwell #blackwell legacy

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some-flyleaves · 7 years

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for “no particular reason” some thoughts on stuff I’ve watched/read lately

spoilers ahead but most of these have been out for a while by now

Beauty and the Beast remake

overall entertaining and well-animated, though I still prefer the original

some of the story tweaks were neat and I especially liked the subplot about the cursed servants becoming less sentient(?) as time went on

others were kinda unnecessary imo, the whole opening scene being a glaring example. also giving the Enchantress a bigger role is neat in theory but kinda definitely raises a few Questions

not fond of the autotuned lead singer which is even more obvious comparing soundtracks

the furniture designs cannot grow on me They Simply Can Not, you can’t get nearly as many lines of action or squash & stretch out of a hyperrealistic CGI teapot

on that note the original’s beast design is still the best design, shout-out to my family for calling the live-action prince a “surfer dude”

at the end of the day idk what to make of the LeFou Discourse(TM) but shout-out to the little bit where Potts was like “you’re too good for him [Gaston]” and all things considered I thought it was a biiit more than what those cynical meme posts suggest. mind I’m not sure what I would’ve thought if I didn’t know about the whole shebang beforehand

it was apparently enough to get the film banned in a few countries, which doesn’t equal Instant Representation Pinnacle obviously but ehhhh that’s another topic for another time

Maleficent is still the best live-action “remake” of the films disney’s been churning out lately imo my onion, but I can’t say any of them have really disappointed me? (unless the first Alice counts; all I remember is that it was weird, which I guess is a given considering the source material but idk live action loses so much charm. definitely haven’t watched the second and have no interest in thereof)

anyway Mulan is one of my favorites so fingers crossed...!

Moana

very predictable but heck if that oscar bait song hasn’t been intermittently stuck in my head since

big earworm shout-outs to “You’re Welcome” and “Shiny” too but this website has ruined the latter sequence to an extent because I’m half convinced someone in production there has a vore fetish

in any case that was way too good a villain song for a one-scene show-stealer wtf the fuck

Moana’s voice & overall expressiveness fuels my soul

also it was GORGEOUS, more than compensates for another ~coming of age~ plot with fantastic colors

I have a lot of questions about the sentience of the ocean

what do you mean the Obligatory Animal Companion was a chicken and not the pig

okay ngl I didn’t quite catch the angry volcano spirit woman also being the green lady? I don’t think...? aw heck it’s been a little while by now but the ending was neat

how fucking old is Maui

Universal Harvester by John Darnielle - if you recognize that name it’s because, as I found out after reading, he’s the guy who leads the band responsible for a song I had on repeat hell for at least a couple months after discovering it via this wonderful, wonderful "lyric.. comic... thing” </ungodly run-on>

if this seems completely out of nowhere it’s because it is. I’ve jacketed and shelved a lot of new books, and while a good handful catch my interest, few compel me to check it out before heading home for the day

off the top of my head the other most recent book this happened with was No One Else Can Have You by Kathleen Hale (heads up for a non-graphic image of hanging on the cover), which was... oh holy shit that was over three years ago I don’t read often enough nowadays x_x

that one started strong but, around if not at the point where the protag was making out with the secondary dude, took a sharp turn towards the cliche & general What Is This Fuckery. but I digress

seriously no image on the internet can do this cover justice, the vaguely vaporwave-lookin part is actually very dark and the whole thing shines like one of those rain puddles mixed with.. gasoline? oil?? whatever makes it rainbow-y at a certain angle

I only skimmed the inside flap description before diving right in the night I took it out, and I realized a good chapter or two in that I’d unintentionally picked up a horror novel.

well. kinda? horror-ish?? despite there being no killer on the loose, no supernatural monster on the prowl, not even an invasion of alien farmers federally paid to invade your small town, basically no imminent looming dagger above the protagonist’s head, it’s VERY unsettling for the most part and I gotta give it major kudos for that

<SPOILER class=“mild”>also huge shout-out to the subtle switch to first-person at a key moment, then scattered throughout from there on.</SPOILER> it was at that point I had to reread the description to see what I’d actually gotten myself into and decided I was gonna read this sucker in one sitting or I wouldn’t be able to sleep

(skip this bullet point if you don’t like vague ending spoilers) despite that it manages to leave off on a somber, even sentimental note. pretty darn satisfying, though upon further thought there are a few big questions left unanswered that probably should’ve been addressed. (/vague end spoilers)

overall I’d recommend it if you’re looking for an interesting little read that might send a few chills from atmosphere alone but also makes you think*. just don’t start reading expecting a chapter or two before bed will do help you fall asleep.

*yeah yeah I know “makes you think” is something of a meme phrase at this point, but screw it I like my media when it actually engages the viewer/reader for more satisfying payoff. I’m not a fan of the “lol intellectualis” thing anyway V: but I digress.

Kubo and the Two Strings

ftr the record I called Beetle being the dad from his debut

my god Laika really likes their bugs and creepy hands (based on this and Coraline at least, I’ve seen ParaNorman but don’t remember much). this is absolutely a compliment.

voice acting didn’t thrill me, with the exceptions of the old lady & spirit sisters, but got dang those facial expressions

magic worldbuilding left a lot to be desired but it took place in fantasy China(/Japan? as with The Last Airbender I think we’re looking at another fictional Asian blend) and I for one am a sucker for that so I can let it slide

climactic fight felt kinda shoehorned, when the moon spirit dude showed up looking like a nice old man I almost thought they were gonna go for a less confrontational ending sequence - which I guess it kinda did but also the obligatory “join me and we can rule forever” stuff came up. I dunno I liked the spirit fish form ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

don’t get me wrong here I did enjoy it, I guess I was just expecting a lot more from all the talk about kids being able to handle mature themes and whatnot? ah well the conflict wasn’t quite Good Versus Evil so that was neat

was the moon spirit just a regular old dude all along though? is the moon going to rise again even with him hanging out among mortals? is he mortal now?? how does the Plot Amnesia work???? can someone tell him who he really was even if it’s not flattering??????

idk for some reason I feel like I’m being harsher here than anything else so far, really did enjoy it though. LOVED the 2d animation in the credits and I absolutely must emphasize how fucking awesome the animation is, being primarily stop-motion and all. they set a very high standard with Coraline and cartwheeled over it with Kubo holy hell

also I have a new desktop background

Wings of Fire Book 1: The Dragonet Prophecy - Iiiii actually haven’t finished reading this one just yet, saving the last part for when I finish at least one mcfucking assignment, but here goes nothin:

if you take a shot for every blatant violation of Show Don’t Tell you’ll be dead three chapters in, not sure if that’s because this is a middle-grade book or what

that said I find the plot & its overall direction intriguing enough to continue and, much as I may internally groan at the repetitive characterization and disney villain dialogue, I thought it was worthwhile and already have the next book checked out ;V

what can I say there are dragons there’s a war and it’s a very interesting take on the whole “because you are the Chosen Ones we will raise you here for hero training” deal

there’s also some intriguing worldbuilding with regards to the “scavengers” and “the Scorching,” not sure how much those are covered in this book but a friend who recommended the series in the first place says it’s some kind of post-apocalyptic thing?? nice.

not really related but shout-out to that one commenter in Script Frenzy who told me it was jarring or weird or something to have my dragon protags straight-up eat a few human researchers. I mean they weren’t wrong and it’s not like the WoF good guys have eaten any people (onscreen, at least) but still. I don’t read dragon stories for the humans >:T

in any case, sorta wondering if that one surviving scavenger will come back in any way later...? chekov’s human.

but seriously we don’t need to be beaten over the head with exactly why each dramatic plot twist is indeed dramatic, I could practically hear the manufactured gasps

despite that there are also descriptive passages of fun events like characters getting their necks snapped or screaming in agony as poison seeps through their scales! and we've barely scraped the surface of the Horrors of War!! >:Dc

conclusion of sorts for this disorganized mishmash of bullet points: why yes I am one of those unrelatable fucks who doesn’t buy the whole “I will defend a shitty shebang of a plot if the characters connect” thing how are you. what can I say, even if I don’t have any particular fandoms right now, I still have Thoughts On Media and no one can stop me from throwing a good ~90 minutes into typing ‘em up despite having other responsibilities ;’V

tune in next time for... well honestly I dunno if this is gonna become a regular thing, but whatever thanks for readin feel free to like reply and follow and see you next time on a-flyleaf dot tungler dot corn~

#''no particular reason'' by which I mean Procrastination Supreme #.rtf #*watches this get longer than my current essay in progress* swell!

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