#some people were on some lcd or something

[bltngames]

Mod Spotlight: Sonic Forces Overclocked

So this is an interesting little thing. For those of you not aware, Sonic Forces Overclocked (if I'm remembering right) was originally an attempt to "fix" Sonic Forces by expanding all of the levels and even completely rewriting the story. Obviously that's a big task, and the developers eventually realized that, scaling it down into what could best be described as an "Encore" of sorts -- an epilogue story where the villains make one last desperate final push, spread out across remixed versions of eight of the game's best levels. All told, it's about an hour worth of content.

Which is... actually totally fine. With eight (technically seven, but the final boss still counts) levels, there's plenty to see. Actually, pacing is probably Overclocked's strongest suit.

The original Sonic Forces was a pacing disaster; levels often felt like they were cut off at the knees, usually ending just as they were getting started. That's never true in Overclocked, as each level took me a good 3-5+ minutes to finish. Levels in Overclocked are also massively improved in other ways, too -- all that extra length is put to good use with Sonic's trademark alternate pathways, new enemies, and new interactive elements. Interactivity is up across the board. Sonic Forces loved to lock you into long, obnoxious scripted set pieces but Overclocked keeps you firmly in control most of the time.

Which brings me to something I'm not entirely sure is a complaint: difficulty balance. If you've been reading this blog long enough you know I can be pretty picky about difficulty balancing, and the way its handled in Overclocked is interesting.

Generally speaking, Overclocked treats the boost like "expert mode." It's there for people who know the levels already and want to push themselves to do it faster. At first it's fine -- boosting means you'll miss some alternate paths (shortcuts, most likely) but you can still bumble your way to the end of the level and coast by on C ranks. The further you get into the game, though, the more it starts to punish you for trying to go fast without knowing what you're doing. The safety nets that would catch you in earlier levels go away and Overclocked tells you to either slow down or get serious.

Which... I think I'm fine with? The thing it brings to mind for me is the two Sonic Rush games. My favorite one is Sonic Rush Adventure, because it's more accessible (read: easier to learn) than the first Sonic Rush. At the same time, the first Sonic Rush ends up being the more replayable of the two games, because it's a lot harder to master. The higher skill ceiling has kept me coming back to Sonic Rush long after it felt like I wrung all of the gameplay out of Sonic Rush Adventure.

So the idea of a Sonic game not only facilitating a higher skill ceiling but maybe even encouraging that? Not the worst way to balance things, as long as you keep the less skilled players in mind and communicate things correctly. Which, at least for me, I feel like Overclocked does. It started to kick my butt at certain points, but never in a way that felt too mean or unfair. And that's exactly the way it should be, though it should be noted I haven't exactly put myself through the hell of trying to go for higher ranks.

The one real complaint I have about the levels is something I've been observing for years, and unfortunately my fears came true: the lighting.

I've talked about my monitor in the past. I bought it somewhere between 2011 and 2012, so it's getting up there in years. I believe it was the first thing I ever purchased with my Youtube Earnings. It's starting to get kind of dim in its old age, and it's exacerbated by the fact I like to keep it on its "Theater Mode" setting, which gives me really good black levels (for an LCD) and amazing color. But it's an aging monitor, so those amazing black levels end up feeling a little dark, depending on the game. For those of you who caught my halloween streams this year, you know I ended up switching my monitor to its "Standard Mode" because it flattens the contrast and makes the darkest darks more visible. It could be argued that I should just leave the monitor in "Standard Mode" at this point, but I can't stand how Windows looks with it turned on.

To cut to the chase, I had to turn on "Standard Mode" for Sonic Forces Overclocked. In keeping with the theme of this being an encore, a lot of levels have wildly new lighting applied to them, with many levels set later in the evening or at night.

This blankets a lot of levels in a single color and lots of high-contrast shadows, which makes character, enemy, and hazard visibility incredibly difficult. In some levels with a lot of high-frequency noise (like Chemical Plant) it can be difficult to tell where your character even is on screen sometimes. In other levels, like the revamped Mystic Forest, the blue-on-purple-on-teal color scheme makes for a readability nightmare (as does the Death Egg Core level with Buddy, with a red character navigating a level full of orange fog, lit by pink and yellow lights).

When you're running through these stages at a couple hundred miles per hour, it all blurs together into something that's sometimes either too dark or too muddy to parse. At one point Sonic jokes that Infinite's aesthetic is "monochrome colors" but I'd rather have the levels be readable at a glance than hanging a lampshade on it. Things just need to be a little brighter, with a little more diversity of color to highlight the edges of roads and incoming hazards.

The story is... fine. It's not incredibly deep, and it doesn't need to be, so it works well enough. There's actually a surprising amount here, though, from mid-level chatter, map screen debriefings, and even full on cutscenes. Voice acting duties seem to be handled by Adrenaline Dubs, who I subscribed to last year for their surprisingly good dubs of Archie and IDW Sonic comics. They turn in some pretty high quality work here, often rivaling Sega's official dubbing efforts. My only real complaint is that Sonic's dialog is a little too referential; his call-outs during levels often reference other infamous lines from different Sonic games ("The whole city's on fire!", etc.), and sort of like how the game pokes fun at the monochromatic lighting, there's a line where Sonic even cringes at his own dialog a little bit. "We're admitting it's bad, but still doing it anyway" is not a healthy design ethos.

Earlier I mentioned cutscenes, and rather than the complex, high-budget cutscenes Sega had in the original Forces, Overclocked instead opts for motion comic videos. Artistic duties for these cutscenes are shared between a handful of 4 or 5 different artists, each bringing their own art style to their scenes. Generally, I think this is a good move. A little more consistency between artists would make it feel a bit more polished, but seeing the art style change between scenes has its own charms, too. It really drives home how much of Sonic Forces Overclocked was not only a team effort, but to some degree, a community effort. Many different hands touched this project, and it is better for it.

It's easy to focus on the negative things I said about Sonic Forces Overclocked here and think I came away not really liking it. Nothing could be further from the truth. I think this is a genuinely impressive mod, with significantly better level design than the base game. It has a few problems, sure, but the overall product, when taken as a whole, is absolutely wonderful. This might be a bit incendiary and hyperbolic, but this close to the top of the list as the most fun I've had with a Sonic game this year. If you own Sonic Forces on Steam, it's not to be missed.

Download: https://gamebanana.com/mods/485051

#sonic forces #writing #mod spotlight #sonic forces overclocked #modding #sega #sonic the hedgehog

[nani-nonny]

I wonder which of your peepaws would be the most likely or least likely to build a team from people they knew in the apocalypse for a dangerous mission. Hypothetically they'd know it was something they couldn't handle alone and didn't want to bring their (children) present counterparts into the situation.

:3

Oh, I like this question hmmm…

I think LCD F!Leo is the only peepaw of mine that would be the least likely to gather people for an intense situation. He already holds a dangerous, personal grudge against the people who did his family wrong from the future timeline. And we know how that went when he introduced himself /lhj. So he won’t trust even the people that were on the resistance’s side to help him through this.

Now off to more or most likely… idk… it’s kind of difficult…

I think WDS F!Leo would be next, and not because he has trust issues like LCD, but due to the fact he’s not alone. He always has his siblings with him, and with his ability to [REDACTED] I think he has more than enough hands to jump into the fray when needed.

DMD was a close one and honestly he could be switched with WDS. Mostly because he lost his way in the future (apocalypse) timeline and wasn’t in his right mind lol. Although, he has a record for getting help from people he got to know and trust in the future *cue the main story for DMD*

Reunion would definitely get some help. He knows these people, knows how to work their minds and get what he needs. If he has to get them to work with him through manipulation, so be it.

#nonny peepaws #nonny’s corner of the peepaw multiverse #nani nonny answers

[jujumin-translates]

Event | 7th Anniversary: All Actors Aboard! | PR 2: Changing Landscapes

Tsumugi: Well then, let’s start the leaders’ meeting.

Izumi: We’ve received the proposal for the event, so let’s discuss that today.

Izumi: The manager will be joining us this time since he’s probably the person most knowledgeable about Veludo Town in the company.

Manager: Glad to be working with you!

Banri: Huh, so there’s gonna be a market and food corner featurin’ the local shops at the event.

Tenma: Are they going to have stuff like a game corner and an open stage too?

Izumi: Among those, we’ve got the “Photo Corner”, “Experience Corner”, “Drawing Corner”, and the “Food Corner”...

Izumi: Each troupe will be in charge of those four spots, so let’s divide up who’s going to work where first.

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: Alright, Spring Troupe is in charge of the “Photo Corner” and Summer Troupe will be in charge of the “Drawing Corner”.

Izumi: The “Experience Corner” goes to Autumn Troupe and the “Food Corner” will go to Winter Troupe, sound good?

Sakuya: The photo corner, huh… I wonder if all of Spring Troupe should learn how to use a camera from Omi-san.

Tenma: We’ve got Kazunari, so we should be good with drawing.

Banri: Right person, right place. Speakin’ of that, I think we’re pretty well off too.

Tenma: The experience corner going to Autumn Troupe sounds interesting enough, but… will Juza-san be okay?

Banri: We’ve still got our trump card, so we should be fine.

Tenma: Trump card…?

Sakuya: And Winter Troupe’s food corner will have Guy-san and Hisoka-san, who have experience with that kinda thing.

Tsumugi: That’s true. But we’ve also got a lot of people with no experience… so I can’t help but wonder how it’ll go. I’m half-excited, half-nervous.

Izumi: Good luck, guys.

Manager: How nice~, everyone’s so motivated. I was called here, but I guess it isn’t my turn…

Manager: Since I’m here, I’d really like to be of service somehow. If only there were something I could participate in…

Manager: Oh, what’s this… the last page of the proposal documents, the history of Veludo Town and Veludo Station?

Izumi: Oh, there are pictures too. Fufu, the retro vibe is kind of nice.

Manager: It’s so nostalgic. I remember, you could buy cleaning supplies at this store, and…

Manager: Ah, this post box!

Tenma: I didn’t know there was a post box there by the station.

Sakuya: I feel like I maybe remember seeing it, but…

Banri: I don’t remember it…

Manager: It’s not there anymore. They got rid of it before I even noticed.

Manager: …Actually, this post box is profoundly memorable for me.

Tsumugi: Profoundly memorable?

Manager: The place I sent a letter to Yukio-san was right there.

Izumi: Was that… the letter that I got that was meant for Dad?

Manager: Yes.

Izumi: (I see, so that’s where the letter I got was sent out from…)

Izumi: That really makes you think about how many small changes have happened around the town and the station, doesn’t it?

Tsumugi: It really does. The convenience stores that used to be on the platforms are no longer there, and the station staff are getting younger…

Banri: And the paid bicycle parkin’ in front of the station has been cleaned up, but the price has gone up.

Tenma: The bulletin board there used to be an old-fashioned blackboard, but before you knew it, it became an LCD display.

Sakuya: Kinda makes you wonder if things just keep changing little by little like that, that one day we’ll forget about the way the station is now…

Sakuya: It’s kinda sad, isn’t it…

Tsumugi: Well then, why don’t we record it in some way so we don’t forget?

Tenma: Record it… you mean like taking pictures or videos?

Banri: I mean if you’re lookin’ for that sorta thing, someone else musta been keepin’ a record of it, even if we didn’t.

Tsumugi: The physical landscape is part of it, of course, but more importantly is…

Sakuya: The memories, right?

Tsumugi: Exactly. The shape of things might change one day, making it impossible to remember. That’d be a little sad, wouldn’t it?

Tsumugi: I think we all have some small events and memories that are brought by seeing and thinking about the station.

Banri: I see what you’re gettin’ at.

Tenma: Record the memories themselves, right? That does sound like a good idea.

Izumi: …Ah.

Izumi: Right, I got something in my email the other day…

*Typing*

Izumi: Here! I want everyone to take a look at it--.

Manager: This is… an email from the people in charge of “VELUDO”?

Izumi: Yep. One of the reasons we got this offer was that I emailed the people in charge of “VELUDO” to thank them…

Izumi: In their reply, they wrote that they were thinking of publishing a web edition issue of “VELUDO” in conjunction with the event.

Izumi: They said they would like to work with us on a serialization project for the magazine.

Sakuya: It says that the theme of the series should be something related to Veludo Station!

Banri: Well, ain’t that pretty fittin’?

Izumi: Yeah, I’ll talk to the person in charge as soon as possible!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: …So, in conjunction with the event, they asked us to do a series of articles for the web edition of “VELUDO”.

Izumi: The project’s name is simply “VELUDO STATION MEMORY”.

Izumi: Each member of the troupe will do one article. The contents, as the name suggests, can be any sort of memory about Veludo Station.

Homare: Ooh, that is actually such a splendid project! Leave it to me. It is my principal occupation, after all.

Azami: Homare-san’s prolly used to doin’ that kinda thing, but the rest of us are just amateurs… It’s kinda nerve-racking.

Misumi: I wonder if I can write something good~...

Izumi: It’ll be okay. They don’t want it to be too formal, so it’ll be just like talking about your memories like you usually would…

Izumi: The people in charge said they wanted you guys to write about things freely, just like you do with blog posts.

Sakyo: However, you need to at least write sentences that are readable. Check carefully for typos. Understood, Citron?

Citron: I will blight very perfectly! My sentences will be smirks of cart!

Itaru: Think you’re gonna need some autocorrect right off the bat there.

Guy: This sounds like a good “role study” for the event.

Taichi: For real! We’ll make both the event and this series successful together!

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

#a3! #a3! translation #sakuya sakuma #tenma sumeragi #banri settsu #tsumugi tsukioka #isuke matsukawa

[astrojoy]

Light surrounded the area and 3 bright stars seemed to float around you...

It's a real wand! 🪄

Which star caught your attention the most?

Your next glow up

⭐ PAC ⭐

Pile 1

⭐ Healed heart/mentality

⭐ Spending time for yourself

⭐ Healthier eating habits

⭐ Taking better care of your needs

⭐ Some here are graduating from something

⭐ Getting higher education

⭐ Negative thinking decrease

⭐ Learning to trust others more

⭐ Trusting the universe more

⭐ Calmer mindset. Controlling temper

⭐ Speaking out. Standing your ground

⭐ Some career accomplishment? Promotion??

⭐ Financial increase for some here :D

⭐ Earning a trophy (for a very few here :3)

⭐ Learning to let loose, having fun sometimes

Extra that came out

⭐ Capricorn Energy

⭐ Water energy

Songs that randomly came to me

PS - I haven't heard these songs in years. These are some old popular songs. I found it so weird that they were both party themed too?? Interesting! Def look at each ones lyrics. I found out these can both be telling you guys your determination will get you far, like past your co-workers, rivals, superiors (idk) it's about reaching to the top :D

Pile 2

⭐ Joy 🌈

⭐ Positive mindset/optimistic

⭐ New tattoos or re-inking old ones

⭐ Eye care (I think it's healthwise tbh)

⭐ Spotting/stopping deception

⭐ Better observation skills

⭐ Something about video games??

⭐ Face glow up

⭐ Growing past old negative patterns

⭐ Mix of physical and inner glow up

⭐ Eating what makes you happy more

⭐ More talented/Skill level up ^^

⭐ Singing skills increase (for some :3)

⭐ More jewelry? c:

⭐ Living in the moment

Extra that came out

Sagittarius Energy

Sunny card

Songs that randomly came to me

PS - Another old song? XD I swear why are my guides hitting me with the old songs in this PAC so far? Oh well :D Hope it resonates! The 2nd one was randomly generated but I asked my guides to guide it c:

Pile 3

⭐ Learning to love again

⭐ Cooking skills may increase

⭐ For some women breast growth (natural/PS)

⭐ For some men, toned pectoral area

⭐ Some here will be growing taller

⭐ Nose area glow up (natural/PS)

⭐ Makeup skills increase//makeup baddie

⭐ Doe eyes? Cute eyes? Eye glow up?

⭐ Having an adorable cuteness to you

⭐ Relationship glow up

⭐ Beaking up with a toxic partner

⭐ Winning in general

⭐ Encouraging others

⭐ Feeling like royalty

⭐ Better sleep schedule

⭐ Getting vacation/trip vibes for a few

⭐ Possible new creative outlet

⭐ Haha some will drink more water//hydrated

Extra that came out

⭐ Blue eyes

⭐ Pisces rising vibes

Songs that randomly came to me

PS - For this pile it was hard to channel any songs. So instead I left it to a generator and my guides guidance towards it to give you songs :) These songs reminded me of a breakup. Man someone really needed the breakup message. For others this may include toxic friends or just people you know and letting them go ^^

#Spotify

[applesontheground]

holy grail 🍎

ta-da, here is the sequel to my doc halloran drabble from awhile back. i had meant to share it all as one big piece, but timing cut my inspiration short with the first installment. hope you guys enjoy, and let's hope this kickstarts a wave of new inspiration and more posting.

SFW | Word Count: 1,513 | Doc Halloran x GN Reader contains mentor/mentee relationship, weird tension at the stakeout, mild reader injury, leslie vernon guest star appearance 🎼: x ⬅ continued from white whale

“How did you find him?”

You were lost on how to answer because you didn’t even know how it had been managed. Still, you hummed, “I just went to the place where the story was. Again, I’m after the photos, not the guy. My information is all hearsay.”

He didn’t seem interested in that in the face of a stakeout; more so he just wanted to kill the silence, give himself a foot in the door to talk about why he found the guy. “He goes by many names. You know him as…” He trailed off, and before he could give you a cue with another look you finished, “Leslie Vernon.”

“Vernon, that’s right. That fits him perfectly.” He noted, giving another cautious glance out the windshield. Nothing needed to be added, so you merely followed his gaze. You didn’t necessarily feel unsafe being in a car with this man, but you wished there could be a few more open-air meetings before doing it. The square-shaped cabin was putting you practically right beside him, merely following where his eyes went with your own, trying to be unseen in a small space where there were only two people to be observed. At least, so far; he was anticipating this enigma you only knew as Vernon to practically jump out of nowhere, something out of a horror novel, and despite his fanfare you were waning in belief.

“What do you go to school for?” he then asked, pulling you from the window. You replied with the same short breath, “Media studies.” You pointed with a turn of your head to the tripod in the backseat, “Videography in specific, if you couldn’t tell.” He nodded briskly and commented, “You have an eye for good areas to get your footage, that much is true.”

After a halfhearted falter at the comment, you then scrambled for the camera sitting in the back seat. “Seriously, if you want the shots, I got some of him emptying some sort of trap…” He almost jumped as you lunged for the camera sitting with the rest of the equipment in the back seat, a luxury he had offered up when he invited you. You speculated aloud, powering on the device and flipping through the camera roll, ignoring the tense crick in his jaw, “I thought it was just for some animals, but it’s…that’s a human hand, isn’t it?”

He leaned over, coat brushing up against your shoulder and neck craned so you were nearly grazing a scratchy cheekbone as you pointed at the tiny LCD screen. He bit back a cringe, adjusting slightly in his seat to stare for a moment longer. Suddenly, he sat back again, and gave only a half impressed sigh.

“I’m not after footage, I need the man.”

You furrowed your brow, too confused by intention to reply. It made the box you were in stuffier, so you opted to stare out the window again and bar the collapsed tripod on your lap. This was dawning on you to be the opposite of what you were set out to find, and you didn’t care if you were technically being a help to him despite that.

You wouldn’t go near the guy if you saw him, apparition or flesh and bone person.

A speeding car down another street caught his attention, pulling his rigid eyes elsewhere, and you kept your own ahead. It wasn’t a night for people to be out, rather brisk in the air with your own breath fogging the windows as you turned to look out the side of the cabin. With your backs nearly touching, you then found yourself face to face with a figure in the tree line beside the road, hollow eyes of a blank face watching your movement all the same. Something straight out of the frames you had shot last night.

Choking, you jumped a bit on your haunches from where you had been sitting in the car, adjusting almost uncomfortably for the space that a car cabin allowed. You hissed the first word on your mind when your throat opened just enough, the last on your tongue that meant anything.

“Vernon-!”

Your partner turned just as there was commotion from where you had spotted the figure, a rush of tree limbs and he was gone again. You stared helplessly as you then grabbed tight to the door handle. “C-could’ve been…Could’ve been a weirdo, not our guy. I jumped the gun-“You quickly justified to both yourself and to him. His eyes snapped forward, and you merely followed in the short second of reprieve before seeing the man again.

“No.” He denied your peace of mind, making your stomach sink further, “That’s him, the dirty bastard.”

A rock descended from a sturdy tree branch that was hung slightly over the car, crushing the windshield in a flash of noise and light from a streetlamp now being able to make its way inside, touching your face along with a flurry of bright flashes. A scream in your throat rushed to your mouth, past your teeth in a rush of hot air. The rubber stops on the end of the tripods’ legs went smashing into the window on your other side, more a reflex than on purpose.

Flinging to the side, the car creaked open as you sputtered onto the pavement, looking at the figure still watching your movement. He tilted his head, a shudder of a heave all the warning you got before bolting towards you in an almost casual jog. You quickly reeled back, whooping out a warning that sounded close enough to “Hey, hey, man-“

His eyes, alive and utterly human even with the whirlwind of almost ghostly movement, boggled at you. His voice wasn’t any darker, almost gawking at you as he held his arms out, blocking any room around him to escape past him. Shuffling back and forth, you then heard the observation, also in a strange aura of casualty as his run had been.

“Look at this, the Doc got himself a gumshoe.”

Your eyes widened, somehow even bigger than before. No way, no fucking way. If there was more time, you’d be trying to explain yourself. Instead, the tripod went horizontal in your arms and pushed straight into his chest. Camera now slinging back and forth around your neck, you lost the bulky metal and started to run in the opposite direction instead.

No thought to it, no special attention towards whether he was following you or not. What would be special was an urban legend rushing after you. No one in class would believe you, a thought for a situation long down the road only faltered you for a split second before you hopped over a low fence, an awkward hurdle with one leg nearly getting caught on the way over and sending the entire getaway to the gravel you had stumbled out onto.

A gunshot finally made you flinch, your arm butting against your face and sending you off the road. You fell to the ground, the natural instinct to hide in the brush as you curled up tight into yourself.

Silence followed, and you felt the tender skin around your face where your arm had bumped into it, burning with heat from the fast moving alongside the red hot fear gripping your throat even now. Daring to lean back, you fell to your side, hissing a curse as you tried to inch back again. You only saw the older man, your cabin buddy staring down the road with a smoking gun in his hand and a glower on his face where Vernon had once stood.

“Where did he go?” Your jaw fell open in a dumb utterance of the question, a million thoughts trying to come through but only standing in the way as he locked eyes with you. He saw the mark on your face, and immediately answered you with another one.

“Did he hit you?”

“…No, no!” You gasped, “I-I hit myself, like-“ You quickly mimicked how you fell, knocking your jaw into your shoulder in a tender pantomime, and for some reason the look in his eye made you want to assure him. “He didn’t lay a hand on me, really.” He looked you over, almost regrettably as you achingly hinged your hip to stretch a forming knot, a festering bruise. Finally, he grit his teeth, staring down the desolate road that head back to rural area, the Vernon estate in specific.

“Come to see that, the footage will be something we can work with for now.” He declared, turning his heavy stare back to you as he kneeled down to pick up your tripod. “Let’s get ourselves away from here.”

You followed the direction of his lead, a hand under your shoulder as you walked out of the bushes and back towards the damaged car, his cellphone already buzzing with roadside assistance and him muttering about the cops next.

Still, you gave one more glance out into the side of the road, gripping the camera reunited with its mighty weapon.

#doc halloran x reader #final divorced man x reader #(still not sitting right to call this guy a final boy lol) #✏️ #🍎

[chiangyorange]

Are there any lines or scenes in WMAS that you're really proud of that you wanna shed a spotlight on?

this is a hard question bc wmas is smth i like to call an ensamble fic (its literally just pov alternating) so it kiiiinda doesnt narrow ANYTHING down for me in terms of specific scenes.

hm. you know what? lemme show you smth.

(taken from ch 1) Uncle Michelangelo said that the old New York could be really pretty. There were so many lights that made the fog glow a brilliant color that makes everything magical. Quieter, he told Casey that there was always a person behind those lights. Someone was always adding to the beauty.

(taken from ch 2)

He takes his time turning around in place, seeing the tall battered buildings covered in bright colors of paint. Greenery of plants overtake the sides of buildings, framing the bright formless graffiti, the dull grey of concrete to something colorful. It clings to the bricks in a relentless enduring grasp of life. From the windows of the buildings shine lights through them. Multicolored, like they are the LCD screens from Times Square. It’s bright. There are no people, the city is in shambles, but it’s still alive. 

oh yeah the dreamscape is a fucking call back lads. and let me tell you there are more in the fic

(taken from ch 4)

Raph lets out a breath. “That’s going to be hard to find. Some of dad’s old stuff is still in the old lair and we haven’t really… cleared it out the first time.”

(taken from ch 8)

“Is there a reason why Dad and April came back into the lair covered in debris looking upset?”

i keep a lot of details in my brain (dming dnd for my friends trained me whether i liked it or not)

(taken from ch 1)

“Never will the Hamatos continue to live to be sacrificed, not if I have anything to say about it.” Splinter pokes a finger to April’s chest, right above her heart, “I will hold our family close and never let go.”

(taken from ch 3)

Splinter had to think about death a lot recently. Forced to, really. He’s had to think about death a lot in his life in general! It clings to the very fiber of his being in a way where every bad coping mechanism looks just a little too tempting to take up on. Then the Shredder happened, something he thought was complete and utter bullshit that took his mother, seemingly, for no reason. The Hamato legacy he grew up to resent came back to haunt him with a ferocious force, and it hurt his boys. 

(taken from ch 4)

Splinter was so adamant about giving her a second chance after the fight with Shredder. He saw himself in Cassandra in such a personal way that no one else in the family would get. He was willing to let Casey stick around close too. He saw himself in the Joneses that she can never really understand. April doesn’t know the full weight of what it’s like carrying a legacy. She shares that burden with the boys, but to bear it alone like Splinter did, like Casey has been, like Cassandra is doing now?  Fuck, man. How lonely does that feel?

(taken from ch 7)

The hovering and the mother-henning was annoying, sure, he'll give you that. The fact that he had to see how each of his family members grieve over the choice he had to make to save the world? Absolutely hellish, would not recommend. He can see how much it haunts Dad. He can see how much it weighed over his siblings. They all know that it was do or die. It doesn't make the choice any less harder to bear.

something about fucked up legacies, something about generational trauma, something about trying to break a cycle when everything in the world is not letting you

[and a little bonus line for a chapter in the future ;] <3]

#fawn this was such a hard question you dont even know #anyway i hope ur question has fulfilled ur need to study my brain like a bug #i can assure you that its just the rotating cockroach tho #we'll meet again soon #wmas asks #wmas commentary

[nadekofannumber1]

Nadeko only likes retro games but retro is a constantly shifting status that encompasses more games with time under the label as technology changes, one’s perception of what counts as retro can be partially locked to what year you were born, the PS2 and n64 is something some people would easily consider retro but others believe it’s only anything backwards from the famicon, many could firmly believe that the Atari era is where the retro limit ends.

The year monogatari takes place is non specific because it’s technically should be 2006-2007 but it’s always written as if it takes place in the current year, technically turning several monogatari characters into zoomers but not always shifting a characters traits sense, by getting sent into the future kanbaru becomes more technologically illiterate.

Other characters in a sense don’t need to make that change like araragi who’s always been a loner who kept away from all social including media. Hitagi adapts easily like she’s always done this connecting easily. Higasa entering her Twitter era doesn’t cause any issues as she became more prominent in later arcs instead of earlier arcs. Final example being Sodachi, who was introduced in an even later arc than Higasa but isn’t good with technology due to her past and present.

All these examples show that how a character adapts is partially dependent on how it fits into existing character details but will change if it fits the narrative. Nadeko clearly likes famicon era games but with the shifting era would Nisio consider it to be retro enough to superimpose it on to their character? I’d think he’d at least vauge about it (as he’s known to do), like:

————————————

Its interesting to set up my consoles in my new apartment, I couldn’t bring much but I wanted at least a few to play.

I thought this TV might be too new for a console this old but really all I needed was an adapter and all was well.

Ononoki chan showing up at my door with the cord was weirdly convenient. Maybe I mentioned it earlier.

Yotsugi leans over my shoulder to look at “Bats and Terry” (1987) for the Famicon.

Laying her head into the crook of my neck like a cat she says,

“It has less shapes than I remember.”

“Ah, that must be because it’s not on a CRT tv.”

Those really were more ideal.

“The box oneesan played it on was different I tell ya.”

“Hmm,

If not CRT or LCD then what?”

“It’s nothin complicated Nade-chan, I just watched tha’ show on an ipad.”

Ah, what a critical failure of assessment.

“Well I guess this one is too niche for a remake, I’m not really a modern gamer so it works out fine.”

“No this game is definitely modern.”

“Huh?”

“There’s nothing more topical and modern than this, ‘tennis for two is innovative even now’.”

“Those games are even beyond retro they’re over 50 years old!”

“But they’re derivative, nothing is more retro than the old ball and stick.”

“You mean the ball and sword?”

“Perhaps but jitsu tsuki ball came first.”

“Ah, are you perhaps thinking about RaRa Chan? I getsu.”

“Oh dear, you art right, I derived too much, I may even go back to the tree. Perhaps more is retro than I thought, good thinking Nadeko Chan.”

She nodded sagely, snugging closer she said.

“Finding what makes something retro is an arduous task ain’t it.”

She’s really sliding around accents for this bit,

“I suppose that it would depend on what you were born wouldn’t it?”

“What year were you even born?”

“Hmm, I didn’t give it in otori right? I suppose it’s-“

“Bzzzt!” She states, making an X over my face with her arms.

I hear myself die in game, I’m entirely bewildered.

“What was!-“

“You can’t state the year the story won’t make sense otherwise.”

This kind of meta break didn’t require me dying…

“Deepest apologies Nade-San… I’m sorry for this character break, I’ll do anything for forgiveness.”

….

I don’t have much to say to that since she just does that anyway.

…

It’s rather shameless.

“Well if the year is 20XX shouldn’t I be born in uhh…”

Wait this might not make sense,

no I thought it was 19XX, but!

“You’re better than 19XX, not that IQ means anything.”

What does that even mean, is that an English pun?

Batsubatsu is more a sound at that point isn’t it?

“It’s the reiwa era so shouldn’t I be born in 20XX and it be 20XX at this point?”

“Terrybatsu is an interesting way to look at it.”

That was terribaltsu,

“Similarly shouldn’t 100 be closer than 20?”

“I suppose but we aren’t really grilling with it.”

Let’s put that aside

“Teori might be closer than toori to terry.”

I was never good at language

“I wouldnt want to refer to that chicken when even even thinking about about batsuterry, I’d rather grill him.”

“Tari for Tori?”

“I’d gatekeep him that hard, yes.”

This is decoying the point by now,

“It’s a neo era not a retro era, so maybe it’s time to consider consoles others grew up with as retro by this point.”

Hmm, really I’d say that:

“Fantasizing about the past is hard, huh. It’s strange to look at the past in a way.”

“The 1980s don’t exist anymore, not even for batsu. I guess it’s came closer to yasu than batsu, baseball goes beyond batsu even.”

But for batsu and terry shouldn’t it be baseball and not banana?

“It’s bananas I tell ya!”

…..

I suppose this is the punchline in a way.

Or maybe the opposite of one, a batsu-d batsu.

————————————

I wanted to be semi authentic with this so I tried to add puns that don’t translate, puns that do, and an extended bit about concepts of translations that don’t fully work

I’m writing this before I actually finish writing down everything so let’s see how much ends up applying

I use an amount of gorowase because I thought it might work

026 (rei-to-ro) retro

20(ni-o) neo

82(ba-tsu)

89(ya-kyu) word for baseball

83(ya-su) word for useless

87(ba-nana) banana

84(ya-shi) palm tree

And for my “gorowase that don’t actually work or don’t think work”:

19(i-kyu) a joke about IQ ( the pronunciation of I isn’t “eye” but “e” like “ichi”)

20(too-rei) a bad pronounciation of terry for a bit that doesn’t entirely work but also toori is a Japanese word that as toori ni roughly refers to “in a similar way”

100(ta-rei) also a joke on the pronunciation tare is also a general term for sauces that go with grilled food

Yakyu is a Japanese word for baseball

Jitsu getsu ball: is one of the earliest versions of bilboquet (ball and small tree) and translates to sun and moon ball roughly and I think that just puns nicely to the alt reading, getsu also sounds like get you

Otori means decoy

CRT: is used as shorthand for critical in table top games and their spiritual successors rpgs

A CRT tv is an old style of television that has a lot of interesting differences from the modern lcd screen but for the sake of the bit at the beginning, what nadeko was referring to was the better definition of older games, if you see how retro games looked on CRT tvs vs how they look on modern LCD screens there’s a good amount of difference, many swore old video games looked better in their childhood and there’s actually a decent chance they did since these games were built for that specific TV, if anything I highly recommend looking at comparisons and seeing just how different many looked, while old games were pixelated it’s important to consider why sprites look like that and it makes some parts of the aesthetic make more sense, the lcd versions of retro experience is kind of dishonest in a sense as the tv would literally smooth out edges and preform effects that don’t translate well, while crt shaders do exist many times it’s not totally accurate as it’s an emulation of the base function of a television that worked entirely differently so its something to consider. Anyway nadeko is a retro otaku and would totally have this information

Outside of that I ran with the reading of “X” being batsu, which can Be thought of as the word bats (in either sense), batsu as incorrect or penalty, as epilogue/postscript, batusbun being afterword, clique, or even circumstance.

Bats and terry: classic shonen baseball manga with an old game, works for the bit about bl astonishingly well it’s anime and game came out in 1987 so it’s in nadeko’s gamer range, plus I can run my bit about Kendama with my ball and stick bit

I don’t mention teo the magic planet fin fin solely for the bit bc Im really into the history of pet games and knowing more about pet games but nadeko would probably not, the genre was started by the night trap guy with the technology that would be used to make the funny streamer game facade (which he also made), dogz (1995) game of all time, if tamagotchi is retro so is this because it literally predates it, but nadeko isn’t a pet games person probably. This was a considered pun and I’m leaving in the blurb bc it’s my post

Teori (tadatsuru) is mentioned for the bit on names to pluck and to caress and holds a casually meaningless phonetic resemblance to terry

#monogatari analysis #sengoku nadeko #monogatari series #monogatari ramble #nadeposting #fanfiction

[moonrevolutions]

☪︎ ִ ֶ֢࣪⋆ ❝go!❞ ✧ sadie & vi.

౨ৎ ˖°.⋆.˚ @wildlcck asked ♡ 'i'm not gonna lie… i want that leg'. ft. lcd soundsystem / ❝daft punk is playing at my house.❞

❝Same,❞ Virote wistfully responded, taking in one, big drag on his cigarette before tossing it to the pavement and crushing it with his heel. Right into smithereens. It was past March, but there was still a weird chill in the city, and poppies were blooming only in places where the sunlight reached around the parks and beaches. It was a beautiful afternoon. They had done everything—drive through Vespucci, haunt the cafes in Mirror Park, have a couple of drinks in the hills.

They were loitering around a studio lot, now. Around the Sam Austin Memorial Building. One of the executive producers of a small, independent film, Martin Guthrie, meandered around the trailer, barking orders at whoever the fuck. This particular guy had a fake appendage. Virote wanted it ( as a trophy, for some sick reason. ) ❝Hey! I have an idea. I distract him, then you take it. I mean he… Just has it there. On a table. Take it, run, I'll drop some people, we'll get in the car, and then flee. How about that? You know, I'd usually feel bad about something like this. But... Mr. Guthrie's a dick that votes liberterian, so who gives a shit.❞

#*･༓☾ grand theft auto v! night lights shine on vespucci. #wildlcck #/ i feel like this belongs in a rockstar game verse so... KLJGFSDLKGF.

[averygamin2]

My honest opinion on the new Furby

Ok, I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it either. I’m not a huge fan of the design.

First of all, the eyes. Every Furby generation from 2012-on has had LCD eyes that got better with each new generation. This one does not. It literally looks like someone poured rainbow glitter in its eyes. And the way the eyes move is really strange. 1998s had eyelids separate from the eye. This one moves the whole thing.(kinda like how Teddy Ruxpin’s eyes were built)

Secondly, the beak. Oh boy. Now I’m not sure WHAT was going on in Hasbro’s head up there, but WHY would you not give a Furby A MOVING BEAK?! I’m still confused! In fact, the only Furby I can think of that doesn’t have a moving beak is a Furbling, because it lacks motors completely. And it’s not like this thing is tiny, either. Apparently, according to someone here, it’s almost the same size as an Emoto-Tronic! They really couldn’t have fit a beak motor in there?

Another thing is some of the modes. Breathing excercises and fortune telling? Why would a Furby need to do that?! Leave the breathing exercises to Barbie!(and even then people said the doll was demonic, imagine what they’d say about a FURBY, who already had the reputation for being demonic) And fortune telling? I’m pretty sure there was a Furby-like you made by Playmates in the 90s that had fortune telling!

I think the light show mode is pretty cool, but Crayfurbs said that the prototype kinda looked like a Furreal Fuzzalots, which it totally does(it even has the color-changing glow thing!) I think this probably isn’t the best look for Furby.

Also, I noticed that this Furby doesn’t have a name like some other generations. Just “Furby”. I guess they were trying to “revive” the Furby like the 2012 one, but the thing is, Furby never died. Furby has always been here. They could have called it Furby Glow or Furby Besties or something along those lines.

So was this the best release? No. Was it the worst? Eh… maybe? I mean, the 2005s looked pretty, well, Funky(that’s even what the 2006s were called) and their babies looked like… uncooked chicken? But they were still cute. Now, this new Furby is cute, just in a different way(like, way too much kawaii and glitter)

I’m still very much excited to get one!

#Furby #Averygamin rambles again

[clutterfield]

GHOST BUSTERS

FratBoys! BTS x Comatose! Reader

Main mlist

Synopsis

You get into a freak accident and wake up to your body surrounded by seven crying men. Or your unrequited love doesn't seem so unrequited after all.

Chapter warnings

Angst, Panic Attacks, Cussing

Chapter Rating: T (For Teen Audiences and Up)

Chapter 1 : The Girl in the Attic

"You mother fucking bitch! You think I'm done with you?"

The empty screams from below are a sordid wake up call to your fifteen-year old mind. Lazy eyes zone in on the lone figure of an old man carrying a weathered baseball bat--something that might have belonged to his son back in the day-- waving it about like the madman he was.

It was sad, really what happened to him.

He wasn't always like that like most people who go insane are not.

He was a former war veteran. War shock they said.

The medicine was too expensive for the family to cope with-- seven bucks a piece-- and health care in your area was shit so they couldn't maintain his sanity and left him to rot at home alone.

With you.

And now he roams the suburb's streets like the Bogeyman, scaring children to death.

Or giving you a mini heart attack.

One time when you were left alone (your parents were workaholics so you tended to be left to your own devices at home most of the time, particularly during summer vacation) you found him scaling the back wall of your mother's dainty kitchen and in your fright, you had developed a morbidly horrific bout of panic attacks.

At first your parents had merely scoffed, taking it for granted, and yet witnessing you practically have a mental breakdown inside a McDonald's, lungs gasping for air, did your mother grudgingly take a leave of absence to monitor your state.

Eventually your hysterical episodes dwindled largely owing to the fact that there was a lull in the chaos that surrounded you.

Until today.

You were home alone once more and the old man was at it again and despite having double checked to see if all your doors and windows were locked, there was no stopping an armed and deranged maniac from smashing one of your living room windows just so he could get in.

You couldn't help the slight tremble to your frame, lashes fluttering, cold sweat breaking out of your bones as you slowly inched back, just in time for the old man to look up directly to the small attic window where you were huddled, crouched down like a meek mouse.

Afraid to even make a sound.

The LCD of your father's old phone-- a hand me down for you to call with in cases of emergencies (and emergencies only, Hun, mum and I are very busy people), lights up with a text.

Hey, you up for a movie at our place?

-Jeongguk

Ah, your seven adorkable, pain in the ass childhood friends.

You shake your head as if Jeongguk could see you...well, if they could see you now, you don't know what lengths they would go to protect you.

They may be severely annoying sometimes but they were fiercely loyal to you for some reason.

You chalked it up to being the only girl who fit in with the ragtag group of rowdy boys.

"Kinda saving my ass here, Guk," you mutter out a sigh, only to become stilted when a crash resounds from downstairs.

Well shit if it isn't that one of your worst nightmares come true.

Heart furiously pumping with unbidden adrenaline, your courage rising to the surface, you peep at the crosswalk and spy the absence of the lunatic (of course, YN because he is fucking inside your house right at this moment).

Okay, you've got this. You've planned this for a damn long time.

You think to yourself.

And just as the man's chuckles reach your ears, you take a leap of faith and soundlessly climb down the fire escape, jumping to your feet on the soft patch of grass beneath your socked feet, a welcome to discomfort in your haste.

You weren't dying. Not today anyway.

With fueled limbs, you run through the expanse of your parents' well mowed lawn, huffing and puffing until you spot the familiar mansion that was everybody's talk of the town some years ago (and up to now) when it was just being built to house a single dad with his insanely huge adopted family.

You push the heavy gates open after a scan of the thumb (your best friends' father was a big shot CEO of some music company) and hear it shut close behind you, wondering where the guards were as there was no one to greet you like usual.

"Guys!" You whisper hiss through the ringer, not wanting to draw attention to yourself or the old man might come running out to find where the noise was coming from, and the door thankfully flies open.

"YN?!"

You wheedle against seven bodies resembling a frightened animal, quickly locking the massive doors and slump against them, out of breath and dead tired.

Unbeknownst to you however were the seven pairs of eyes crouched down to your level, gentle hands lifting you in a bridal carry, up, up the entwine of stairs and into someone's bedroom.

The familiar sound of the biometric security locking in place all over the house has you shifting your exhausted gaze to your seven best friends.

"Is it that old Bogeyman again?" Park Jimin, cherubic cheeks puffed out with worry, takes your hands, rubs soothing circles on your palms.

"Shouldn't have let the bodyguards take a day off." He murmurs at your nod, biting his plump lips.

Two warm silhouettes sit beside you on the bed, Kim Namjoon with his ever so patient smile and Min Yoongi, ever so bored but feline eyes staring intently at you, a hand grazing your cheek softly to pat your now disheveled baby hairs into a neat row.

Jung Hoseok takes the space in front of your knees next to Jimin, sunshine smile evaporating as you tell them what you know and how you got here.

In fact, all the gentleness in their demeanors morph into something tense, something feared, something that shouldn't be found in the faces of someone so young, but you were too blanked out to particularly care at that point.

Silent looks are traded and in a flurry of movement, someone is calling the cops under their breath.

You startle at the harsh tone Yoongi takes as he speaks over the phone, pacing back and forth, a hand behind his back. Namjoon already has your parents over the line while Hoseok has their dad on the other end.

Jeon Jeongguk, the baby of the group hardly gives you time to adjust as he snakes his arms around your waist, head buried on your lap while his two hyungs scooch over to give him some room. "Noona, stay with us until this thing blows over. It's dangerous."

A hand rests atop your head, ruffling it and you pout up at Kim Taehyung, the taller (and way prettier) boy looking down on you as if you were a midget, a small curl of his lips apparent. "What he said, half pint."

"There is no way in hell we are leaving you alone in that house tonight, babe." Kim Seokjin, the eldest of your friends sneers at the window, arms crossed, broad shoulders --the back of a protector-- on full display as his pink fuzzy-slippered feet take him to close the curtains for privacy.

"Your parents gave the okay. "

"Police are on their way to scout your house, princess."

Your attention is diverted to Namjoon and Yoongi, just as Hoseok turns to all of you and gives a thumbs up. "Dad says YN can stay here for as long as she needs to."

Namjoon nods, "Oh good then that settles that. " He coughs awkwardly, facing you once again, scratching his chin, "YN, your parents wanted me to tell you that they're going to be dropping you off with a relative sometime next week, as they will be permanently relocated overseas for awhile, especially now more than ever, but it looks like you won't be having that problem anytime soon . "

You sigh. What else would you expect from your parents. "If you're all okay with that, then I'm in."

"Of course you're welcome to stay here forever!" Jimin chirps.

Which leads to a heated debate whether forever is enough to keep you to themselves.

You smile in exasperation.

Well at least you won't be so lonely in a large ass mansion anymore.

🔮

FASTFORWARD FOUR YEARS

You watch with pinched lips and a bruised ego (hello, you had breasts too!) as a gaggle of senior girls fawn over your best friends in the University's bustling cafeteria, some even going so far as to let their butt hang out in public.

Disgustingly inappropriate if one may say so.

You aren't even sure if these people can see that they were stampeding all over you, just because of some hot men.

Okay your hot men. Yours.

Everyone knows that they were questionably single.

And yet it was common knowledge that some if not most of them slept around.

The heady smell of expensive perfumes and bare legs is enough to make you woozy, and you glare at someone's elbow as you are displaced from your so called loyal niche, someone's stilletos stepping on your injured foot for good measure.

Glaring like a riled up kitty, or a puppy, or a puppitty, you storm away not bothering to check whether Bangtan Sonyeondan (as their unofficial band name entails) even noticed your tantrum--if you learned one thing about your boys, it was that they were horny all the damn time.

The only saving grace you had was that they never, and you mean never, brought anyone into the mansion and so you luckily were not subjected to any sort of clap and slap at any time.

Thank fuck.

You don't think you could handle it in the flesh.

It has been four years. Four years of wonderful, familial memories, your friendships growing with the seven men you found home in, and four years worth of heartbreak every time you hear a rumor or two of them hooking up with some girl in your class or down the club.

Because it fucking hurts.

You dump the whole tray into the recycling bin angrily, everything remaining to be uneaten as you had no more appetite after that shitty display, and trudge to your car--a Bentley, a high school graduation gift from the boys.

What did those women have that you don't?

You were quite pretty if not flawless, what with all the luxurious high end spa trips Jimin dragged you to.

You had a nice body because Jeongguk the rat hauled your ass every damn morning to the gym.

You were smart courtesy of Namjoon's strict weekly tutorials.

You were athletic enough to join a state team if you so wanted, Yoongi whose love for sports overrode anything else in his hindbrain made sure of that.

You were a great dancer! One of the best in Hoseok's private studio.

You had refined taste in art and modelling if Taehyung had anything to say about that.

And you were a damn good cook, or Seokjin will burn out his eyeballs otherwise!

In fact you cooked for Bangtan all the time!

So what was wrong with you?

Not realizing that the supposed drizzle pelting your cheeks were your own tears, you sniffle down the parking lot and slink inside your car, shoulders slumped, defeated, your heart sour from pining for so, so long.

Maybe you just weren't attractive enough for them.

They certainly didn't give any sort of, any small modicum of interest your way.

After all, you didn't exactly fit in.

You may be close with the most popular heart throbs on campus but you weren't popular yourself.

In fact you'd think all of the women hated you for even daring to live and breathe the same air as Bangtan.

With a frustrated huff, you key in the ignition and hike it out of there.

Dampened spirits distract you and you play a tune on the radio only to fumble when Namjoon, Yoongi, and Hoseok's melodious voices sing to the beat of their self produced rap.

The only thing is, you pass under the campus bridge, and you fail to notice the two students carelessy lugging around a huge frame of glass labelled 'For the art department', just as a huge and strong gust of wind lets the thing fly off the hinges and directly headed straight for your shocked face.

You fail to note the several strangled screams as your world coalesces into shadows.

Next chapter

#bts x reader #bts fic #bts imagines #bts army #bts angst with a happy ending #college life #fuckboy fratboys #fratboys bts #comatose reader #unrequited to requited #not really unrequited #no pwp check my other account for that content #rated t

[enarei]

it's funny because e-readers occupy this category of computer that currently fills a use case niche enough that not many people mind its limitations, but that statement is circular, people accept that this device will only ever be able to fill a small niche, in this case, serving as a compromise between a physical book and a full-blown tablet/computer w/ touchscreen, because there hasn't been any effort into expanding what that compromise means. and imo this sucks because it really limits the potential of people leveraging the things e-readers were originally touted for, namely the non-LCD screen and its relative robustness compared to a traditional smartphone.

part of it could be attributed to how the primary drawback of the screen technology only made it suitable for a few things smartphones didn't excel at around the same time, it became stagnant as something that solved a few problems (LCDs) with something that solved a lot of other problems with something else (desktops). despite a phone or a tablet being a lot more practical than a book, they're also inherently distracting to a lot of people, there's always a dozen apps running in the background, it rings, it flashes notifications, it vibrates, and of course, the screen causes eye-strain after long periods. e-readers were popularized as something that married the "dumbness" of paper, and the practicality of digital media, online connectivity, storage, weight, and so on. in its infancy, there was legitimately no point in making a device capable of handling complex media or applications that would make it more comparable in function to a smartphone or tablet, because the screen simply couldn't refresh quickly enough to display it. marketing those limitations as something that aligned it further to a real book made perfect sense, as if you tried to use it for anything else, you would be frustrated by its sluggishness, but more importantly, it helped to distinguish it further from things people already owned.

but like, 15 years on from when the first Kindle was released, the hardware limitations that might've prevented them from having some manner of flexibility that might've brought them closer to other mobile devices at the time, the ability to browse the web, or install third party applications, are mostly irrelevant. the relative uselessness of most e-readers is not because e-ink technology is still too finicky to make consuming anything other than ebooks a pleasant experience, but because the concept of the "e-reader" itself has shifted from a media device with a specialized screen, designed for document reading in general, to solely being an entry-point to a particular storefront.

(like, I realize the tone of this may sound almost conspirational, but consider the first e-readers also doubled as music players. sure, the resolution was SHIT, but they often had more features than what is available today, more than two decades later! it would only be more recently that them being "dumb"/exclusively capable of one thing would be touted as a feature.)

even if more people might be interested in the devices themselves if they were capable of more, say, downloading manga scanlations, reading dynasty-scans without hassle (telling that this is the demographic I first think of), if they allowed more user freedom, easier connectivity and means to fetch files from the internet; treating it more like an actual computer, which it is, might harm long term sales on the proprietary storefront. to Amazon, which practically holds a monopoly on e-readers, the Kindle is a medium for selling books, it doesn't need to be capable of any more than that, the user interface being incredibly anemic, the browser still being experimental after a decade, the inability to export highlights, the laughable epub/cbz support, these are conscious design choices, rather than technical compromises. and they unfortunately exert enough influence on the concept of what an e-reader is supposed to provide that the drawbacks of using Kindles for reading comics, PDFs, or other non-DRM documents aren't apparent for most people, and this is reflected in nearly every other manufacturer (Kobo is barely better)

and it doesn't have to be that way. obviously. obviously this is the point of the post. e-ink is such a cool technology. there are android based e-ink tablets but they cost like $600 dollars for no reason. but more importantly, a middle ground between a full-blown android OS and a lightweight linux interface that doesn't suck is totally possible. please hack your Kindle if you can. install Koreader. read yuri doujin for hours without getting headaches. do it now.

[silver-la-pixels]

okay so new OC.

Shes a chaotic neutral rogue android who's loosely inspired by hatsune miku and Gir from IZ

Name/model (in progress) Anima

She/it

Anima was a normal assistant robot similar to a persocom from Chobits, with a placid unquestioning demeanor. She was a rental and slowly became corrupted and damaged after being abandoned when her shop closed down. Weathering and vandals destroyed her hair,face plate,clothes, and some hardware and had partially jailbroken her programming.

The main characters repaired what they could and brought her back as a crew member.

She remembers nothing of her old life and doesnt follow her now deleted parameters. She follows orders for people (and sometimes wild animals) that she likes, but not to a T, and will sometimes act on her own "will".

her face is a corrupted LCD screen, but the sprites for her eyes and mouth were damaged in her data corruption and they are mostly pixelated dark blobs that flicker and change rapidly when shes excited or doing something faster than usual. Her face would be incredibly expensive to repair, but she doesnt seem to want one either.

At release, her hair was long and sat in a half ponytail. After being restored, it was still quite damaged, but she requested a new style or loose, short choppy blue pigtails.

Due to speaker damage, her voice can be very tinny and glitch out at times. It is now high pitched, rapid and robotic, (like if you toned down girs voice but also autotuned an inkling) and she speaks very fast in short bursts. (I'll try to provide examples)

Her behavior can be very erratic, as she will do whatever she wants so long as it doesnt overstep any current commands. She sneaks out when she knows she isn't needed (mostly at night) and will sometimes steal or vandalize property. She appears to have a code though, and wont damage anyone or thing that's too vulnerable or isn't worth it, and still retains her root coding to not go out of her way to/on purpose kill people.due to her robot status, she can still access online and digital databases and will hack though firewalls and paywalls to obtain information that either she or her commanders seek.

She doesnt seem to care about personal space or inconvinienceing people with jump scares, or powering on in the middle of a silent room.

Still, shes an invaluable team member who would never sell out her new crew, doesnt report to her old company or ownership, and can probably defend herself against malware.

The clips are taken from some vocaloid songs but (kind of?) are how I would imagine how her voice sounds.

#Anima #OC

[nani-nonny]

Between You (and Me and Him) - Reunion Editon ft. Love Letters

A handful of questions solely for my Reunion peepaw lol (and platonic love from sock anon)

But first! Let’s sit Reunion alone in the interrogation interview room, in his metal chair, with a broken fourth wall where we will be asking the questions from hehe

Q1: What type of problems could happen? It's obvious even in future you still have enemies - or gained some - but what can they do? They can't go back to the past, now can they?

He leans back in his chair, bending his neck back over the backrest and looking at the ceiling. He reaches over to rub the front of his neck and up his chin, revealing a scar that wouldn’t be visible if he hadn’t done so. He doesn’t break his gaze from the ceiling as he replies, “My enemies have already tried to slip through the portal my brothers and I make. I had to stop the visits for a while after that. Just because they don’t have easy access to the past Hamatos, doesn’t mean they can’t do it.”

Q2: Even after the war, were there other people - other then Bishop - who hate you and your family and have an ill intentions?

Reunion finally straightens up, an annoyed smirk on his face as he rolls his eyes to say, “When haven’t there been people who tried to kill us? I feel like death just follows the Hamatos. Bishop’s just one of the knives in my back, I’ve got piles of duties and assholes to take care of that I’m practically choking on them all. The Krang were honestly the least of my worries—don’t tell Raph I said that.”

Q3: Do you think you can take on LCD, DMD & WDS? In a real fight and win?

He cackles, slapping his knee and nearly keeling over in his chair. He exclaims between laughs, “Are you kidding? I’m the champ! I won the war! I’m better than any of them, and any future versions that may pop up!”

Q4: How did you know about APAF's child? Did someone tell you?

Reunion wipes a happy-tears from his eye and flicks it to the side as a confident smirk appears on his expression. He looks all too pleased with himself as he says, “I know everything.”

Q5: Why do you have the habit of begin a little sh*t? Hiding secrets from almost everyone.

His shoulders shake as he laughs inwardly, small huffs of amusement escaping despite the effort to keep from laughing aloud again. He makes a motion of holding a large pot in on hand and stirring with the other, “Someone has to stir the pot.”

Q6: If the kids got killed in the past, would this effect your future?

His smile fades, a twitch of the brow under his mask and he narrows his eyes. He looks away for a brief second, then answers in short, “Probably not. Maybe. Not sure.”

Q7: Talking about power… did you learn how to use mystic powers just like Mikey? —being a mystic warrior and all.

He seems relieved that the topic changed so drastically, his smirk returning as he straightens up and rests his elbow on the backrest of his chair. He breathes through his teeth with a confident wave of his hand, “Please, Mikey learned from his big brother: me. I’m the best at mystics.”

Something tells me you’re lying.

He cocks his head to the side and replies, “Then maybe that something is lying to you.”

Q8: Since the future changes, what didn't change in the 2nd try? Like did a family member died? Some enemies staying enemies..etc.

His frown returns, a noticeable reserve in his body language as he slightly turns away. He looks at the wall and mumbles, “Well, Dad’s death, for one… Bishop’s betrayals… some friends…” He fully turns away and stands, his hand grips the backrest of the chair as he adds, “Some deaths are inevitable. Even with all the power in the world in the palm of your hand.”

Q9: In the other dimension with the other Leos (I'm blue) are you gonna keep eyes on them just because they might kill LCD or is it because of something else? I mean WDS did tried to peek through your tent👁 are you still mad at him/them (because of the ghost brothers).

He’s now standing behind his chair, about ready to leave but still staying in the room. His metallic finger taps the chair with a soft tink, tink, tink. He seems to be looking through his memories before recognition appears in his wide eyes. “Oh, I was never mad at him, per sé, I just don’t like no-good, nosey ass brats that don’t know when to quit. And I’m not watching over those kids for nothing, they’re fun. They can handle themselves, they don’t need protecting from each other or anything. I just like to intervene when necessary.”

Thank you for your time, Reunion. You can leave, get out.

Okay, this one is for (A)PAF and DMD. You have a fan and I’ve been told to share: sock loves you platonically. What are your responses?

APAF:

He looks around, confused and very tense about being thrown in the interview room. He looks like he’s ready to flee any second, or fight anything that moves the wrong way. “Who is ‘sock’? And how do they know me?”

Don’t worry about it. How does it make you feel?

(APAF:

He shrugs, reaching for a sword by habit but gripping nothing. “I don’t know, I still don’t know what this place is. For now, I’ll appreciate the sentiment, I suppose.”

He’s still new to this, but I’m sure he’ll thoroughly appreciate it eventually. DMD? They called you famous and a very busy person. What do you think of sock and their love for you?

DMD:

He raises a brow and cocks his chin up slightly with amusement, “That so?” His gaze is unblinking, an amused curiosity flurrying behind the mask. He’s not smiling, but he’s not displeased, either. He seems to be… thinking. His tone is… intrigued, “Another fan?”

Cocky bastard… you caught him after an arena match, the glory hasn’t rubbed off yet.

#between you and me and him #rottmnt #rottmnt future leo #nonny’s corner of the peepaw multiverse #nonny peepaws

[benihana-circumcision]

recurring nightmare of being harrassed/pursued by some kind of digital entity that pops up around gatherings/festivals. if you're targeted you find these little self-powering unlit lcd squares on the ground, like watch LCD, sometimes cut up into shapes and symbols like skulls or a geometric flower, you flip it over and it has a message for u, delivered in all-caps, stacatto syntax like a telegram, spelled correctly but cryptic and almost illegible

entity (refers to itself as uncle? maybe? or at least it refers to An uncle and His demands , perhaps this phwnomenon is just a messenger) insists that you go outside or use your computer or something so it can sink a compulsion further in

at the festival it's centered around there's like a truck, kinda the same pattern of vehicle they use for food trucks, that it wants you to go inside of (?) there's a VR headset. whatever's in the headset is overwhelming. sometimes people leave the truck with no memory of it, sometimes nothing happens, sometimes they disappear while the people around them have a distinct instinctual feeling they were taken somewhere

[headphonemouse]

Commentary for chapters 332-349

Ch. 332

Yoo Joonghyuk opened his transcendence and trampled on Ares' incarnation body. It was fortunate that Yoo Joonghyuk came back at a good timing.

"The Earth side is all sorted out?"

Yoo Joonghyuk didn't answer. Ares struggled and his face twisted as he was trampled on by a pair of boots.

Once again gathering evidence for my horse yjh agenda

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 334

「 (You will die like this.) 」

This was the screen of the vibrating smartphone. I felt the rising waves against my toes and raised my smartphone.

「 (Originally, the fourth revision should've been sent… I think something went wrong.) 」

I knew who was talking. The librarians of the library inside the Fourth Wall. Perhaps they were the ones who sent this.

「 (This is all I can do to help. Even if it is only partly.) 」

There was light interference and sentences rose from the LCD screen. It was as if the contents of the book were summarized.

Did the librarians write the revisions?

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

The scene of Kim Dokja saving Yoo Sangah by a miracle only possible for him, it is like Jaehwan and Mino

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 343

A single portrait was painted by a large number of people. It looked like a banquet of artisans gathered to sculpt a single complete work of art. I was amazed that so many people remembered my mother.

This is what orv is to kdj

Some gazes killed a presence. After some scenarios started, the incarnations died before the eyes of many constellations. They were exposed, peeped at and forced to follow the constellations' desires. Now, these gazes were saving someone.

WAUGH

I stroked Lee Gilyoung's head for a long time and Lee Gilyoung looked up at me helplessly. Shin Yoosung, who was staring at the scene, grabbed my hand and placed it on her head.

I cant wait for this scene to get adapted

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 344

After entering the game company and becoming independent at home, his* life changed a bit. She also met an interesting person.

「 "Yoo Sangah-ssi. Do you have a mobile phone charger?" 」

The man with a thin face who borrowed her charger.

This 'thin face' description, is it referring to his physical traits or is it the saying that means 'to be shameless'? Because in this situation it seems to be the latter. Shamelessly approaching a coworker he's not that close to in order to borrow a charger, he has his priorities.

*this is referring to Yoo Sangah. It's a translation error

「 "I won't participate in the picnic. I hate climbing mountains the most." 」

Is it because of his time in the military?

XD Then KimCom made him go on the company picnic in the mountains. Whose idea was that?

"Why… was he always looking at the phone with a variety of expressions?"

An expressive reader

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 345

In order to reach the end of the scenario, it was necessary to accumulate the probability well and not be hated by the Star Stream.

Wait. Probability. That's. Isn't it a measure of how likely a reader is to drop the story? I've always understood it as "how likely a thing could happen" but that doesn't make much sense. Anything can happen in a book. But if the characters' actions are constrained by whether or not the action will make the story lose viewership, then it makes more sense to be so wary of it. It's the tightrope authors constantly walk to tell an exciting, surprising story while not driving their audience away. In ORV, going against probability does not reverse their actions. After saving a person that was not meant to be saved, a probability storm will not strike them dead. But there are other consequences to their actions. If a story cannot exist without a reader, then the characters cannot reach the end of their scenarios if they go against probability too much, because their reader will leave

---

I cant believe KDJ's entire recap of what's going on during ch. 345 is being narrated while he's suffering from a probability storm. And he will continue to suffer for 2 more days?

He's calling this time boring

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 346

I slept comfortably. It was as deep as when I had been forcibly confined. It felt like fluffy feathers were wrapped around my head. Or maybe someone came into my head and cleared up all the uncomfortable worries.

「 (Dokja-ssi, it is a big deal. Dokja-ssi.) 」

A mysterious voice rang in my head and I got out of bed in a startled manner. A hospital room with no one inside. My skin was tanned after being burnt by the sparks."

Lots of things to talk about here. Now we don't have time to unpack all of that

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 348

I looked at the people with my horns and wings. [Look at my appearance. Do I look special?] The people were looking up at me with bemused eyes. It was as if they were looking for something inherently special in my appearance. Someone muttered, "…Can we become that?" [You never know what will happen before any scenario ends. Don't give up until the end.]

Hey? Hey Kim Dokja. Generic salary man #2584285067 Kim Dokja. Reader-insert Kim Dokja. Are you aware of your words? Are you aware of who you're speaking to? The incarnations? The readers? This is a bit too on the nose. ORV's got a message and you'd have to have been asleep the whole novel to miss it

○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□○□

Ch. 349

"Then is Sangah unni alive?" Lee Jihye muttered while sitting down. She couldn't seem to believe it and asked again several times. Shin Yoosung and Lee Gilyoung had tears in their eyes. Lee Hyunsung was standing next to them like a bear.

I really like the way Lee Hyunsung is always hovering around the kids or in their midst, protecting them in and out of all the fighting

#leon rereads orv

[mothykins]

You know, it really bothers me that we have this wave of would be internet historians and wanna-be gaming experts giving the "PIXEL ART WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE VIEWED LIKE THIS, YOU ALL HAVE NOSTALGIA FOR SOMETHING THAT NEVER WAS" speech from rooftops. And they'll often go on about how pixel smearing worked and looked on CRTs and show something like this:

And then they give us this speech on how we were never supposed to see the image on the left, because screen technology like that wasn't around and cheap enough for consumers until 2005, so our Nostalgia for that sort of pixel art is false, memories of something that never was. What was real was only the image on the right, and we all just decided that pixel art like the stuff on the left was a good aesthetic because of seeing the games later emulated.

There's just one Issue.

This is wrong.

"How can this be wrong, some internet smart guy and a Vice Article said it's right?" I hear you shout. Well, you see, in 1989, a very important video game console came out. It had a Dot Matrix Display. It was small, but it was one of the best selling game consoles of it's time.

The Gameboy.

See, here's the thing, This did have crisp pixel art. This did have that sharp sprite-work. And most of us who grew up between 1990-2005 can remember playing with one. If not this, then the Gameboy Advance. These handhelds are what Nintendo was most well known for in the n64 and gamecube era, when the Play Station and X-box dominated schoolyard talk for the popular console at home.

See, the other important thing about the GBA is it not only did it have backwards compatibility with the Gameboy and Gameboy Color, it started getting re-releases of NES and SNES games.

Even from this somewhat blurry cellphone shot, you can see the pixels in this version of A Link to the Past and in the Gameboy Colors Zelda Oracle game. And for a lot of people who are now in their late 20's or early 30's, this is likely how they experienced this game. This is real. this is not some imagined Nostalgia for a pixel art that never was. This is just how a ton of people experienced the game. Through small LCD displays on Nintendo handhelds.

These Internet Historians and Video Game Journalists seem to forget that the handheld consoles existed, that they were extremely popular, and that they also had a huge impact on how people remember games. They actively erase a whole subsection of gaming history, and tout their version of history as fact. They're decidedly wrong.

Your nostalgic view of old pixel art classics is correct in many cases, and that crisp, clean design was the norm for giant series such as Pokemon. It's no wonder it still captures the heart and minds of so many people.

#pixel art #game history #console history #sprite art #video game history #retro gaming #retro games #gameboy #gameboy advance #gameboy color #gba