#introducing athena's sidekick | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inspector-montoya-fox · 4 years

Text

let’s talk about the criminal mistreatment of Athena Cykes

Ace Attorney: Dual Destinies isn’t really big on women. They’re either dead, fully motivated by self-interest, or on the wrong side of the law. And in the wacky world of Ace Attorney, the game seriously lacks in original wacky female characters. And then there’s Athena Cykes; Phoenix’s new, cute! protégé with a brand new skill for some fresh gameplay and a seriously messed up backstory to captivate the player. Here’s the problem: that pretty much sums up Apollo’s character and reason for being introduced literally one game prior. So why introduce this new character when she wasn’t even needed?

(major spoilers ahead)

Let’s start by pointing out that, throughout Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice, Athena only handles one case on her own. And that case (Turnabout Storyteller) is a mess, imo. We don’t get to investigate as Athena, her skills as a rookie attorney are being constantly diminished by everyone, even her client, and she relies on Blackquill to bail her out when shit hits the fan. In the original trilogy, Maya also helped out Phoenix when in need, but Phoenix was literally the main playable character, having enough cases to redeem himself after stumbling once or twice. Athena is given only one chance throughout the span of two games.

If Athena was the only new character, tackling only one case on her own would be more acceptable because, with the absence of Maya, she’d play the pivotal role of Phoenix’s assistant, aiding him. And that would actually be ideal. Imagine Athena being introduced in Dual Destinies as Phoenix’s assistant, investigating with him and providing advice during the trials. The game would wrap up nicely by having us explore the Space Centre and have her backstory unravel. That’s basically the first game’s premise: Maya is introduced in Turnabout Sisters and by Turnabout Goodbyes we explore part of her backstory (mainly Misty Fey going MIA) via Edgeworth’s trials.

What really screws up Athena’s chances of succeeding as a new character, are the other new characters, Apollo Justice and Trucy Wright. Apollo Justice was literally supposed to be a reset for the franchise. Bridge to Turnabout wrapped up all the story arcs of the trilogy in such a masterful way that there wasn’t anything more for Phoenix and Maya to do. The 7 year time jump and the introduction of Apollo were supposed to kick off a new trilogy and showcase a new era of the law, a time in which the system started failing, despite the fact that it was already messed up. I go into detail about why Apollo Justice failed in this essay no one bothered to read (yea i’m bitter, bitch) but basically, to sum up, Capcom didn’t have the balls to strip the series of its main character and due to backlash, brought him back one game after.

I 100% believe that Dual Destinies tries its hardest to be what fans wanted Apollo Justice to be. As a result, it has too much on its plate. Giving Apollo a new backstory, portraying Phoenix’s return as an attorney, trying desperately to sell the Dark Age of the Law and repeating ‘the end justifies the means’ about a million times, delivering interesting cases with interesting witnesses (at which it fails miserably, imo), all the while introducing Athena and exploring her backstory, which includes the new prosecutor and new detective, whose final twist, although unexpected, doesn’t save the game. That’s a lot, like too, too much.

What was the reason for Athena’s introduction? As I mentioned above, Apollo was literally introduced one game prior to Dual Destinies, providing the writers with countless opportunities for interesting storylines. What we got instead were interesting storylines which were never to be revisited again, e.g. Apollo and Trucy being Thalassa Gramarye’s children, and the jury system. What the fuck. Instead of progressing Apollo’s saga as a rookie attorney taken under Phoenix’s wing, he gets sidetracked for the sake of Athena, but as we soon find out, that isn’t even the case. Actually, Apollo as a new protagonist gets sacrificed for the sake of Athena, and in turn, Athena gets sacrificed for the sake of Apollo being a sidekick. Again, what the fuck.

After Apollo Justice, the games try and fail to course-correct Apollo’s character. Dual Destinies tries to shoehorn Apollo and Athena’s backstories into two cases (The Cosmic Turnabout and Turnabout for Tomorrow), while wasting such an opportunity with its first three cases (no, Turnabout Academy’s rushed exposition on Athena and Juniper’s friendship doesn’t count). And I’m being blatantly honest when I say that I literally couldn’t give less of a shit about Clay Terran and dArK Apollo with a bandage over his eye. I literally don’t care because the game doesn’t do the work in order for me to care. It just dumps a bunch of new info on Apollo and Clay’s friendship at the beginning of a trial for which there isn’t even an investigation. That’s just lazy. Instead, I’m much more interested as to why the robots at the Space Centre recognize Athena.

Athena’s backstory, although redundant and painfully familiar, is pretty interesting. Why is it redundant and painfully familiar? Because Maya Fey also lost her mother due to an incident with an upcoming prosecutor and eventually was misled into thinking she was the culprit, the truth being revealed by Phoenix at the end. Despite the similarity, the details surrounding Metis Cykes’s murder are so captivating. Aura Blackquill is introduced, a mysteriously sexy tech gyal whose dialogue on Metis seems to suggest that they were romantically involved, Blackquill’s imprisonment is explained, there’s hostages involved, and the Phantom is revealed. Turnabout for Tomorrow isn’t my favorite case but in terms of setting up Athena’s backstory, it does everything right.

I honestly love Athena. I love that we have another female attorney alongside Mia and Calisto Yew. I love that she introduces psychology into the trials. I love her yellow suit and her narration, and her moon earrings and relentlessly joyful attitude. She’s such a joy to have around. That’s why I hate how Dual Destinies handles her character, having Apollo ask her questions on who she is and what she does during The Monstrous Turnabout’s investigation and waiting until Turnabout for Tomorrow to continue her exposition. Instead, Apollo gets most of the attention. If Capcom wanted games 4-6 to be Apollo’s trilogy, they should’ve done that. Not dilute Apollo Justice by including hobo Phoenix, not introduce Athena and have Phoenix return in Dual Destinies, not do anything they did with Spirit of Justice. I really wanted Dual Destinies to be Athena’s game.

Spirit of Justice handles Athena even worse than Dual Destinies. She is quite literally reduced to a side character and, even though we get to play her first solo case, her character gets absolutely zero development. Whereas Phoenix is reunited with Maya and resets the law in a foreign country via a revolution in which Apollo is caught in the centre of, Athena babysits Trucy (another female character who is given nothing to do). Also, Athena being sidetracked, getting turned from a new attorney to just a character without a purpose becomes so obvious when she’s literally rendered obsolete once Maya returns in Turnabout Time Traveler, during which she becomes Trucy’s lab rat... ???

I literally feel bad for Athena because she was created unreasonably but created with care nonetheless. Dual Destinies tackles too many story arcs and themes all at once, and if the writers removed some of them to focus more on Athena instead, she could have been the next Franziska: a young lawyer with drive who rises to the ranks of the best but not without her flaws. But, um, we got an Apollo Justice Lite, instead.

#yes i'm using capital letters because i'm channeling my serious ace attorney simp #not sly cooper #not sly cooper for a while now tbh #awaiting SlyFox Week for a comeback maybe? maybe even sooner idk #ace attorney #athena cykes #dual destinies

70 notes · View notes

ohifonlyx33 · 5 years

Text

Kim Possible (2k19) thoughts.

OkayokayOK

i just watched the new Kim Possible movie... and THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING. They were NOT trying to make a serious movie... because they knew better than to take it too seriously. Kim Possible is a funny show. The humour is so clever and random but trope-y.

it’s literally a cartoon come to life. whether it works or not is debatable. There’s all sorts of weird quirky cartoon-ish humour that’s cringey in a live action film because it’s harder to suspend disbelief, but also quintessential to the KP series. Like the Middleton sign changing or KP getting rides from random extras or Barkin being Barkin and mystifying everyone else. It’s so over the top and extra. But that makes it feel like KP. Along with callbacks like BOOYAH, the shot-for-shot opening sequence, the iconic KP motif being prominent in the soundtrack, even the quick editing transitions... then there’s places like Beuno Nacho, Middleton High: home of the Mad Dogs, The Possible home being so well-replicated...

Let me say the casting is pretty fantastic too.

Todd Stashwick as THE megalomaniacal, THE melodramatic Drakken? NAILED IT. And he was blue-ish enough for me.

Sean Giambrone as Ron Stoppable? Terrifyingly lifelike depiction of a cartoon sidekick. Every bit as spastic as Cartoon Ron. I love him. Like... have you ever stopped to realize.... that’s what Ron would be LIKE if he were a real person... WOW. And yet, he finds a way to be endearing too.

Shego’s derisive sass? Taylor Ortega is on point. Could have been a bit more Ghostly-Colored

Wade? Isaac Ryan Brown does such a good job with Wade’s mannerisms and voice.

Alyson Hannigan as Dr. Ann Possible? It just feels right. Like a kickbutt scientist and warm, caring mother.

Kim’s Dad? I couldn’t find the actor’s name but Dr. Possible is gloriously nonchalent.

Patton Oswalt as Dr. Demetor? Finally a role that suits him to a T.

Even Rufus... he looks a little different but still does Rufus (and I liked how they chose to introduce him).

Ugh, Bonnie.

I feel like they all studied their parts meticulously to nail the comedic timing.

Some of the writing seems to be like an adult trying to sound relevant by reading a book about teen slang. But they were self-aware enough to poke fun at it.

The evil diabolical schemes were excessively ridiculous and hilarious and true to the KP format. Right down to Baby Drakken.

And some of the dialogue is straight up KP™ “I like weird... Never be normal that’s my motto.” and “You should get that Trademarked” and of course Drakken and Shego’s bickering and Ron making Kim smile (I could have used a bit more of KimRon, but I see where they were going with it).

That’s not to say it’s a great movie.... it still feels like a cartoon being pushed into the real world. And parts of it were definitely clunky. It’s still a DCOM... it just happens to be filled with nostalgia.

My main issue was Athena.

She took up waaaaaaaay too much time. Although the idea of a robot sent to steal Kim’s spark is such a classic Drakken-esque move, it lagged a little. Maybe because we are supposed to root for Kim and Athena to be friends... but Athena always annoyed me, except for when she was with Drakken and Shego... which lasted about 30 seconds. Also it tries to set up high stakes for later. Which doesn’t work for me, because it’s the one time this movie takes itself too seriously...

Now for Kimmy herself.

Kim has strong points for sure. No hate for the actress... but I did feel like her spark was missing. Sure they showed that she liked fashion and cheer. She’s sweet and has a can-do attitude. But the confidant spunk in her attitude isn’t quite the sometimes neurotic sometimes sassy teenage KP from the series. And part of that is the writing.

The writers seemed to realize KP was too perfect and they wanted to show her flaws in order to give her an obstacle to overcome. They correctly identified KP’s issues: she has a desire for attention and need to be the best at everything, and when she’s ignored or outdone, she gets insecure. But they also don’t want her to be unlikable or too self-absorbed. This almost works except that somewhere in the writing the actress is torn between the caricature world KP lives in where people are ridiculous and imPossible, and the relateable human girl who just wants to fit in at high-school.

It’s a hard balance to find between girly-girl with insecurities and tough kick-butt operative. But they tried.

Also I didn’t like the voiceovers or the switch from cheer to soccer.

#kp #kim possible #kim possible (2019)#ron stoppable

12 notes · View notes

roonil-wazlib-at-221b · 6 years

Text

Rising Stars

A/N: Tom is 21 in this fic, you’re 19. All movies you’ve featured in are purely fictional and if they’re the names of real movies, ignore that.

Not in any way connected to ‘Protection’ but this was in my drafts so... Enjoy!

Tom sighs and rests his chin on his hand, staring boredly at the movie screen. He’s watching some movie with Haz and his brothers and frankly, he’s enjoyed some quite more than this one. However, Harrison seems to be enjoying the movie, so he’s at least pretending to be invested. It rather seems to be the same sort of story—girl meets boy, they fall in love, they have a fight, they kiss and make up. Along with some murder and guns, which is what Harrison is chuckling at.

Then the main character’s best friend comes onto the screen. Tom’s eyes widen. The girl is… absolutely gorgeous. She should’ve had the starring movie role instead of the supporting character, even if the main role is being played by a much bigger name than yours.

He can’t help but marvel at how well you play your character, who’s name is Maria. You never even think about breaking character, he can tell, or maybe you’re just acting like yourself. Either way, Tom’s in awe. How could someone this gorgeous be so talented? There’s gotta be something you can’t do, but at one point you have to sing karaoke with the main character and your voice is stunning. Nope, you’re perfect.

All too soon, the movie is over, ending with the two main characters getting together and being happy. Tom grunts unhappily. He’d have liked to see you one more time.

“Dude!” Harrison laughs. “You were drooling over Maria!”

Tom immediately blushes. “I was not!”

“You so were!” Sam chimes in, his nose crinkling with disgust. “I saw you when she was singing!”

“You guys are so annoying,” Tom grumbles and tries to discreetly wipe off his chin just in case there is something on there. Harrison snorts.“Maybe you’ll end up in a movie with her,” he suggests optimistically. Tom shakes his head. That could never happen—he’s a good enough actor, sure, but you’re fantastic.

“Her name’s Y/N Y/L/N. She’s nineteen years old, only recently started acting,” Harry says, reading off his phone screen. “She was in a movie called ‘Evanescence’, which is supposed to be really good.”

Tom makes a mental note of that before saying loudly, “You guys are being ridiculous. I thought she was pretty, but I’m not about to watch every movie she’s ever been in.”

Which is exactly what he does. You’ve only been in five: ‘Evanescence’; in which you were the main character and it’s about a girl who is unable to be remembered by anyone she doesn’t see after more than a few days ‘cuz at the end it’s revealed that you’re a ghost, ‘Idols’; which was your first movie, in which you played a more or less important supporting character in a society that entirely lives underground but you were only in that one for about twenty minutes, ‘Jade Necklaces’; a movie in which you played the sidekick again in a story about a girl who sells jade necklaces on the black market, ‘Stormy’; a film about a girl with anxiety, and the one that Tom had watched with Harrison, which is called ‘Scars’.

Tom doesn’t want to call himself a stalker, exactly, but he does watch all your movies, and looks at your Instagram daily (he wants to watch your story but he doesn’t want the off chance of you seeing that he saw it), and he finds out that you have two brothers; one younger named Noah and one older named Caleb.

Harrison, however, repeatedly calls Tom a stalker, especially when he sees Tom’s wallpaper: a picture from ‘Jade Necklaces’ in which you’re wearing a sundress and laughing on a beach.

Tom nearly freaks out when he sees your most recent Instagram post: a small Spider-man plushie with a head as big as your hand next to your cat with the caption ‘Peter Parker isn’t dead because I say so fight me, I cried during Loki’s (faked) death and That Scene’. He hadn’t realized you like Marvel, let alone the character he plays!

Harry walks in on Tom on his bed, staring at the picture as he debates whether or not to like it. It’s a post about him, right, so it wouldn’t be super weird to like it, like liking a regular post of someone you don’t even know that has nothing to do with him. Of course, you’re also a movie star, so lots of people like every single thing you post, but still.

“You’ve been staring at that same picture for the last two hours,” Harry says matter-of-factly. “Just thought you should know.”

“Should I like it?” Tom groans with desperation. “Harry, help me!”

Harry shrugs and leaves the room.

“Thanks for your help!” Tom shouts after him, patting Tessa when she moves.

“I know you,” you say excitedly when you meet your co-star, Zendaya Coleman, before one of the readings for your upcoming movie. “You were in Spider-man: Homecoming! I loved that movie!” You then blush, flustered when you realize you hadn’t introduced yourself. “I mean, hi, I’m Y/N Y/L/N and I’m going to be your co-star.”

Zendaya smiles at you brightly, shaking your hand firmly. “I’m Zendaya and it’s fine, I’ve seen some of your movies too! You’re so talented. I can’t wait to work with you. My friend is going to freak out when he hears about this; he absolutely loves you.”

You blush a deep scarlet, letting out an awkward chuckle. “I’m really not that good. You’ve definitely had more experience than me.”

Zendaya shrugs and smiles. “Agree to disagree?” After your nod, she says, “I’ve actually not read the books for this, but I read the script. Have you, yet?”

Your eyes light up. “Oh, yeah! Actually, it’s a trilogy, so we’ll probably be called back if it’s a good enough success. And I’ve actually read the books. I loved them, but I nearly refused to act in the movies—too many series are ruined by film adaptations, you know?” You fake-shudder. “Don’t get me started on the Percy Jackson movies.”

“I know, right?” Zendaya bursts out. “They made me so angry!”

“Exactly!” You point at her. “It would have been amazing if they had actually had at least a moderately good grip on the gist of the books, but they didn’t even deserve to be called Percy Jackson. Actually, they would have been good as standalone films about the Greek gods, ‘cuz the screenwriters literally took the names of the main characters and that was it.” You blush again. “I’m sorry, that was off-topic.”

Zendaya waves a hand nonchalantly.

“The scripts for this are actually pretty on point, except in the book, your character, Alit,… dies,” you say apologetically. “From the Killer. In the second book, the base is bombed so it’s mostly about my character, Jag, who’s working in our makeshift base in the forest, and Matthew as he tries to break into the facility to get the virus. It ends on a cliffhanger of him being caught. In the third book, he makes it out but without the virus, but during the middle it turns out that he was exposed to it in the lab and didn’t die, so he’s immune, and Catherine manages to make an antidote out of it but… Jag dies too.” You laugh. “The author was pretty ruthless. Anyways, Matthew takes out President 67 and figures out that it was actually his mom all along—she’d faked her death to leave him and his dad. I don’t know what they’re going to do with your character, but your character and Matt will most likely get together at the end—it was implied during the first book that they liked each other and would have gotten together if Alit hadn’t died.”

Zendaya nods thoughtfully. “That sounds sweet.”

“Hopefully the next two movies stick to the books as much as this one did,” you say, smiling. Then you wiggle your eyebrows. “I’m actually disappointed you’re not playing Catherine, because she and Jag get together before Jag dies. Not many people get to say they’ve kissed Zendaya Coleman.”

Zendaya laughs loudly and just then, the director walks in. “Okay, guys, today we’re going to be reading through scenes one to ten. Let me know if you guys need a break!” Everyone shuffles to their seats. Your eyes skim over the people you’re going to be knowing very well, taking in the wide age ranges sitting at the table.

“Opening scene: Family sitting at a dinner table eating mush,” someone reads outloud. You have to smirk at that.

“Papa, have you heard from Uncle Mick lately?” a small child asks.

“He said he would be gone still until Monday,” a man reads.

And so it begins.

You and your friends are all watching ‘Spider-man: Homecoming’, which includes Zendaya and Ashley, the girl who plays Catherine in your upcoming movie. Your friends are all sufficiently awed by Z, who willingly takes photos with them, before you all settle down to watch the movie. You and your closest friend from school, Vivien, exchange excited glances. You two are humongous Marvel fans. She loves to make edits out of clips from Marvel movies, mainly about Bucky, but one edit that had been about Spider-man had gotten commented on by the actual Tom Holland.

He’d only commented ‘This is sick!’ but still, the two of you had squealed excitedly when she’d gotten the notification. You swear you’d nearly had a heart attack. Tom Holland is literally the sweetest thing ever, and so nice and talented, and yes, extremely hot. You’ve got a picture of him shirtless from the scene in his room during ‘Homecoming’ and it’s probably a bit creepy but he’s honestly gorgeous.

Your other friend, Athena, who is just as obsessed with Tom Holland as you, squeals with you when you see him on the screen for the first time without the suit on. Zendaya just smirks at the two of you and grins when MJ appears on-screen.

“That’s you,” you sing, drawing out the word ‘you’ and hugging a pillow to your chest.

“I know,” she says, grinning, and starts texting Harrison. The basement is filled with giggles and squeals the rest of the night, along with Z occasionally interjecting to tell funny stories about filming the movie.

About halfway through ‘Homecoming’ you stop and stare at her.

“Yes?” she asks, suppressing a laugh at the dumbfounded look on your face.

“You know Tom Holland,” you whisper and then put your face in your hands. “Oh my gosh, you’re so telling him about how ridiculous I am!”

“Ooh, thanks for the idea,” she teases.

“Z!” you squeal, lunging for her phone. She holds it out of your reach, shushing you.

“The movie’s playing!”

You cross your arms and pout but turn back to the movie just in time for Peter to be buried under rubble by the vulture. You scowl.

“Remember when this was the worst thing that happened to Peter Parker?” Athena asks.

“‘Infinity War’ is not to be mentioned in this household,” you command.

“She’s been like this for a while,” Vivien whispers loudly to Zendaya.

“That’s because he deserved better!” you say heatedly.

Athena holds up her hands. “Does it look like anyone else is arguing with you?”

Zendaya: Haz, you WOULD NOT BELIEVE who’s my costar and obsessed with tom

Harrison: Storm Reid?

Zendaya: What? No

Harrison: Rowan Blanchard?

Zendaya: NO

Zendaya: Y/N Y/L/N

Zendaya: She’s like in love with tom

Harrison: …

Harrison: How does that even happen

Zendaya: Can you believe how lucky they both are

Harrison: So we gotta set them up right

Zendaya: What kinda friends would we be if we didn’t? Meghan markle’s friends set her up with harry

Harrison: Who?

Zendaya: nvm

Zendaya: We just have to think of something

Zendaya: Hey Y/N, wanna go hiking?

Y/N: Sure, Z! When? How’re ur scenes doing?

Zendaya: its fun but a lot of work! I might invite some of my other friends too, is that cool? And i was thinking next saturday

Y/N: Yep, that’s fine.

Zendaya: bring noah too, all right?

Y/N: I’ll see if i can take him

Haz: Hey tom wanna go hiking with z and some of her friends?

Tom: sure, when

Haz: idk maybe next saturday?

Tom: that works, i’ll see u guys then

Haz: bring harry, sam, and paddy too, one of her friends is bringing their younger sibling

Tom: got it

Zendaya: Did he say yes?

Haz: Yeah, did she?

Zendaya: Yep! Jeez, i can’t wait to see her face. She is literally so smitten with him

Haz: I bet Tom’s worse.

You and Ashley have hardly been able to look each other in the eyes recently without bursting into fits of giggles. Having to kiss one of your friends is definitely a lot more awkward than you thought it would be, and trying to do it while pretending to be injured is another thing entirely.

“Scene thirty-nine, take five!” the director yells.

Ashley fixes you with a serious look. You can’t stop yourself from laughing at the sheer awkwardness of the situation.

“Y/N, please!” the director shouts, rubbing his face with his hands.

“Sorry, sir,” you say, trying and failing to mask your features into one of indifference. “Note to self: ask to film the kissing scenes before I see my ‘partner’ streaking across the set.”

Ashley colors and laughs as well, both of you glancing over at the actor who plays Matthew, who rubs the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Please!” the director asks again and you two both quickly school your expressions back into that of seriousness. “Scene thirty-nine, take six!”

Ashley stares at you seriously, putting down the unused bandages. “Jag… you don’t have to be last in line to be helped. You can be selfish every once in a while.”

“Soldiers aren’t selfish,” you say stiffly, remembering that Jag has a nasty graze on her left side, so you lean a bit to the left. You keep your eyes on the wall but sneak a glance at her when she turns away.

“Are you a soldier 24/7?” Ashley asks, putting her hand on your cheek under the guise of checking the fake gash on your forehead. You blink slowly, staring up at her with an expression akin to the one you’d use if you ever saw Tom Holland. “Is that all you are?”

“Isn’t it?” you whisper and then Ashley puts her other hand on your cheek and presses her lips to yours. You stiffen, eyes wide, before slowly letting them flutter shut. Your hands rise to her waist.

“And cut!” the director shouts, not a moment too late. You can’t help yourself from breaking into loud guffaws and Ashley does the same. “Come on guys, be mature…” he sighs. You wave a hand at him, your eyes watering.

Noah is bouncing off the doors of the car, excited that you’re letting him sit in the front seat for the first time in his life.

“These are my friends, so behave,” you say sternly after you pull up to the start of the trail. “We’ll eat later, so make sure you have snacks, and don’t forget your stick.”

He nods impatiently, holding his lacrosse stick tightly in his fist, and shoulders his Avengers drawstring bag. “Can we go?”

“We’re going to wait for my friends,” you remind him. “Wanna throw?”

You two throw with your sticks for twenty minutes before he gets bored and pulls a small Nerf football out of his bag. You’ve only just started throwing with that before Zendaya pulls up, waving wildly. You wave back, giving Noah a perfect opportunity to hit you in the face with the football.

He gulps when you glare at him and points to your friend. “Don’t you need to behave?” He throws your words back at you.

You wag a finger at him. “Not cool, mister.”

“Okay, so I think my friends already started hiking, so we can head up,” Z calls once she’s close enough, checking her watch. “We’re going to meet them at the top and then hike along the top for a while before coming back. That cool?”

Noah nods at her and scampers ahead, instantly forgetting about his bag, stick, and football. Rolling your eyes, you scoop up his stuff and trail after him, chatting with Z about how weird it is to kiss your friends.

The hike isn’t long, and before long you can see the opening of the trees to the top. You’d dumped Noah’s stuff on him a while back, and he’s still bursting with energy despite having to lug it up the trail and quite a bit ahead of you and your friend. You’re a little out of breath but not too badly.

A small boy runs to greet you three, accompanied by a grey dog. You immediately coo at the sight of it, crouching down to let it barrel into your legs. Zendaya rolls her eyes and leaves you there, scratching at the dog’s belly.

“Hey, Tom!” she greets her friend but not too loudly so you don’t hear. “Hey Haz!”

They both greet her.

“Where’s Tessa?” Tom asks awkwardly, running a hand through his hair. Normally she doesn’t run off, and if she gets lost it’ll ruin the whole trip.

Zendaya rolls her eyes. “Oh, my friend’s petting her. She loves dogs.”

“I bet Tessa’s bothering her, I’ll go get her,” the boy mutters and jogs down the path. A girl with Y/H/C is crouching down to pet Tessa, cooing at her. A lacrosse stick is at her side.

You look up when you hear the footsteps approaching, and nearly have a heart attack.

316 notes · View notes

simonblackquill-rp-blog · 2 years

Note

As the same anon who asked you about the first time you witnessed Athena's return to court, to lighten your mood, what was your reaction when she started fooling around in court with her sidekick during the Themis Academy trial to physically demonstrate how the victim could've been posed to resemble a statue?

Honestly, I don't recall that case particularly well. Probably because I left partway through. Though their antics were rather amusing.

It did seem they didn't have any alternative. Ha, perhaps they should ask for life-sized mannequins to be introduced to the courtroom for such purposes.

#ask #anon #athena cykes #apollo justice

0 notes

inxamista · 6 years

Text

So it’s Gemini Week already? (Introducing Kokuto’s Bizarre Adventure)

Correct me if I am wrong, but we are getting into what used to be Gemini Week and a bunch of Gemini spam is about to glorify our dashs, isn’t it?

Man, there’s been so. fucking. long I don’t make anything related to Saint Seiya, I don’t know what’s going on anymore.

But I aim to change that, so I am trying to catch up with the new stuff on the Saint Seiya franchise.

Anddddd while I’m at Ep. G. Assassin (or at least trying to), it comes to my attention that there’s little about the Beloved Pet Shura’s Sidekick Oracle of the Almighty Goddess Athena here on tumblr.

I mean, where are the arts? Where are the tags?

Where are the people in this fandom when we need them to recognize the potential for the feelz and the hilarity when...

(spoilers ahead from ep. 66, and beyond, proceed with caution!)

...A gloriously butt-naked Saga comes into picture to save Shura’s butt in his battle against Great Pope Aiolos from ‘Athena-Yoshino’s world’, and...

...Both Shura and Saga’s butts are saved by actual Great Pope of ‘Athena-Saori’s world’, who is none other than KANON, and...

...Kanon’s precious glorious butt is saved by RADAMANTHYS, who butts in when he realizes his man friend is in dire need, and...

...Above all things...

...KOKUTO IS ACTUALLY GEMINI SAGA TURNED INTO A FUCKING OWL (that’s why he had absolutely no clothes on).

I mean, c’mon guys.

So, starting the Gemini Celebrations on my blog, here you have

KOKUTO’S BIZARRE ADVENTURES

(BIZARRE INDEED)

Is this booze on your hand, Kanon?

Of course it is.

The Owl has no chill.

#stseiya #stsfanwork #stscrack #gemini saga #gemini kanon #capricorn shura #ep g assassin #episode g assassin #spoilers #kokuto's bizarre adventure #this could be fun if i weren't a lazy ass #my art

14 notes · View notes

sc101 · 3 years

Text

BAKLA KA NG TAON!: How Sassa Gurl appropriates Baklang Kanal Culture into the mainstream by showing us its realities.

If you've been on TikTok or Twitter lately, then you would know how Sassa Gurl took over Universe (este, the Philippines) overnight by his crazy antics and relatable "Baklang Kanal" content. But to those who aren't that well off with social media, let me introduce to you Sassa Gurl in all of his glam and glory.

Sassa Gurl is a media personality that rose to fame on TikTok for posting content that highlights "Kanal Culture", a concept we'll get into much deeper later, and creating characters that play within his "Baklang Kanal Universe." Penetrating TikTok, Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook, Sassa Gurl has made headlines for his unapologetic opinions and witty skits that truly relate to the masses. He is also an activist, both online and on ground, mainly advocating for LGBTQ+ Rights. He does this through incorporating his advocacies in his content or sharing his experiences and learnings on different programs he's invited to.

But what makes Sassa Gurl and his content so relatable? I believe that his humor definitely plays a significant role in why people love him so much, but it's where his humor is rooted, which I want to take a deeper dive into: the baklang kanal culture.

Kanal Culture came from the slums. Likening the squatter's area with smelly canals and dingy environment, Kanal Culture celebrates this culture of what we say ugaling squatter. The term has been used to stigmatize poverty and its way of life.

This concept then created a subculture that targeted the LGBTQ+ members who live in shanty neighborhoods called Baklang Kanal. Before internet trolls got the hold of the term Baklang Kanal to use as an insult, many gay people have repurposed the derogatory term as a form of empowerment, embracing the flamboyancy and stigma revolving around being a Baklang Kanal.

Pop culture has reinforced the Baklang Kanal stereotype in media through making them side characters for comedic relief. My earliest exposure to this stereotype was through comedians such as Chokoleit, Shalala, Pooh, and Vice Ganda. Their characters portray gay sidekicks living in poverty. Athena Charanne Presto of the Philippine Daily Inquirer writes about this in her column saying, "The rural and poor bakla grow up with an idea of who they are, and this idea can direct the choices they make and the actions they take." Baklang Kanal isn't a form of comedy; it is a way of life brought upon by the inequalities forced upon the masses and, for most gay people, a means to self-discovery.

Using the wise old words of Nadine Lustre, "C'mon guys, it's 2021." Pop culture and media have made progress in showing the realities of Baklang Kanal culture through realistic portrayals of gay characters in films and television. A great example of this is the Indie award-winning movie Mamu and a Mother Too. It tells a story of a transgender sex worker who is determined to get breast implants but unexpectedly assumes the role of a mother to an orphaned child. The movie closely portrayed the realities of sex workers, especially those out of the binary genders, and their relationship in their environment. The shanty neighborhoods, sexual encounters, and terrible work conditions are just some aspects that most of the LGBTQ+ community face while in poverty.

Baklang Kanal culture embraces both the good and bad that come of their situation. Yes, some stereotypes come to be accurate, and others come from a place of ignorance or prejudice. But at the end of the day, it is a culture that binds the different narratives under a shared space of struggle—creating a community of acceptance in a society plagued by rejection.

And I think this is why Sassa Gurl's skits and content are relatable to the masses because it doesn't sugarcoat reality. His humor is rooted in a shared struggle that a majority of Filipinos have experienced or, if not, have encountered. This shared reality is communicated through skits, which I think is the most creative way because it involves the audience. It involves us. Yes, Sassa Gurl utilizes Baklang Kanal culture to entertain his audience. Still, through this, he interjects the realities and breaks stereotypes of being a Baklang Kanal. Like all cultures, he shares it with the public to engage with it and educate themselves about the culture.

In all things, there are its limitations. We must remember that Baklang Kanal culture and those who live it do not exist merely for anyone's entertainment; most certainly, the traits presented aren't a means to gain clout. We must not stray away from its roots of marginalization and poverty, a reminder that Baklang Kanal is a continuous struggle faced by many Filipinos and LGBTQ+ members. Baklang Kanal derogatory and prejudiced attributions must never be taken out of context.

Many more internet personalities represent and portray Baklang Kanal culture in their spaces, but this is not a battle of who shows it best; it's a matter of looking beyond the humor and understanding the underlying advocacies. Equal rights and proper representation are a few of the calls that the LGBTQ+ community and other progressive groups fight strongly for. This is not just for the members of the LGBTQ+, but for everyone so that we can protect ourselves from facing derogatory name-calling, slurs, harassment, discrimination, and bigotry.

References: Losa, Rogin. “#PangPangOnItsShowtime Is a Big Lesson on Queer Microaggression - SCOUT.” Scout Magazine, November 10, 2020. https://www.scoutmag.ph/opinion/pangpangonitsshowtime-gaya-sa-pelikula-microaggression-roginl-20201109.

Presto, Athena Charanne. “Liberating and Constraining the 'Bakla'.” INQUIRER.net, June 26, 2019. https://opinion.inquirer.net/122191/liberating-and-constraining-the-bakla.

Vilog, Danea. “While You're Living for the ‘Baklang Kanal’ Trend, Let's Not Forget Its Roots - SCOUT.” Scout Magazine, November 16, 2020. https://www.scoutmag.ph/opinion/baklang-kanal-twitter-bn-2020-daneav-20201116.

#sassa gurl #blog3 #on culture

0 notes

semiconducting · 7 years

Text

okay so i wanna give my share of thoughts on wonder woman!!

spoilers under the cut lmao

alright so? holy shit first of all i absolutely loved it to death i was sitting there talking to my best friend who went to see it with me the entire time and just. screaming abt it honestly my mom told me to quiet down a couple of times lmao

so i suppose like it’s a very similar story to the 2009 animated film (though im sure this is kind of a staple plotline for wonder woman leaving themyscira and all, it’s been done a lot, it’s just a part of her story) except it was like. actually done well.

so to begin i really do love how they portrayed the amazons and themyscira, it was so beautiful and i loooove all the diverse women of all colours there. like it made my heart sing thank GOD. i do wish more of them had speaking roles, but i suppose i understand it being partially focused strictly on diana and her becoming a warrior or w/e between antiope’s encouragement and hippolyta’s dismay. but it would have been nice. i do wish to see more of the amazon mythos in films honestly because as entertaining as her adventures with the justice league and such are, i really want there to be more emphasize how crucial they are to who she is! she’s the child of the amazons my dude

also the island itself does remind me of living/touring in europe and i also really hope they based some of it off of turkish architecture? since themyscira is placed in turkey. but idk man.

the scenes with the germans coming to themyscira and how they portrayed the mirage/cloak/whatever was super cool, honestly. cheesy-ish but fun. i loved introducing steve and showing the amazons ready to fight. the bit with the first bullet killing one of them literally got a verbal reaction out of me and the battle was sooooo fucking COOL. as much as i hate war/brutal death scenes, just for my own reasons, it was quick and also just. really what it should have been.

antiope’s death really kinda pissed me off but i just am not a fan of death so early in a film to fuel a character idk. idk man. i guess i should’ve expected especially bc i recognized her tiara as the one diana wears so it. it was there.

i’m glad that she got a role, for sure, but ngl i thought she was supposed to be artemis at first and im kinda disappointed that artemis wasn’t. there. but i mean i love artemis so dsfjd

steve was genuinely good in this film. and i mean really, really good. i’ve never really liked steve trevor, a lot of the times because hes just a boring “charming” soldier (thinking dcau justice league) or a sexist, not-all-men type fucker (ww 2009) and just. ew. but in this film he was like, genuinely funny and sweet and really worth being the love interest. i love that he never took her naivety to take advantage of her, as simple a concept it sounds but it was something that made me smile especially because i just. tensed up at every opportunity that it could have happened. and it didn’t. bless.

the romance was so gradual, it wasn’t a priority, it didn’t take over the plot and the little bits were so cute and it was like? actually likable? holy shit

i REALLY loved doctor poison and god i wish she got so much more screentime than fucken. ludendorf? :/ but every scene with her was amazing i LOOOOVE her mask design and shit, i really wish we could’ve expanded more on her and i would soooo appreciate having just. extra scenes with more on her working/the experiments because that was SO fucked up and well done. a perfect placement for world war i, too, since chemical warfare a huge part of it and all

also i dig the wwi backdrop? wonder woman fighting in a world war is always something that i need in my wondy mythos, though i always figured it was world war ii because of the comics originating in that time period and whatnot.

it, however, was a great choice as a background for the grey-morality plotline, and showing that all sides of war are flawed. instead of world war ii, which, frankly, the nazis should and always should be seen as objectively bad from any standpoint, and standing against them is not.

but yes! grey-morality was very well done here and it’s great to pair with a newly-introduced-to-the-world wonder woman. like GOD i hate born-sexy-yesterday troped wonder woman because it is so so so easy to paint her that way, but just so wrong. she’s not stupid or clueless, and it bugs the hell out of me because it just. throws her as a man-hating violent “feminist” or w/e and just. hlfgh.

however they didnt do that here, while still keeping her naive to introduce that whole grey morality and choosing whats right for yourself, not because everyone is objectively good and one bad man can be stopped to save everyone. her innocence wasnt just because she was amazonian in “man’s world,” because she was shown to be naive and ideological with the amazons themselves as well. it made all the difference and settled one of my biggest fears for this movie

by the way! the clothes scenes and bits with etta were so cute! etta candy was ABSOLUTELY adorable and such a good part of the film, thank god.

also in general it was so pretty? the scenes were so well done and the cinematography was GORGEOUS especially the fight scenes. fuck man fight scenes are so good on the eyes. the choreography was great, i digged the occasional cartoony punch-drop bit? im sure theres a name for the trope but idk how to describe it. also i know so many people have issues with the slo-mo but honestly it didn’t bother me at all, it didn’t feel cheesy to me and i actually thought they did wonderfully by timing it right to place such good emphasis on it? also all the flips and take downs and fUCK man im jsut. oooo i cant wait to watch that again.

also the jumping on shields/that shingle the boys were holding up for her? good fuckin. fuck. AAAAAAAAAA

and goodness diana was so cute. her gasping and going “a babyyyy!!” made me smile oomg. and the ice cream bit. i love the wonder woman ice cream bit she’s so fucking cute. mhm. i love her constant protesting and not quieting the fuck down when steve was trying to reason with her, like she just. it’s so refreshing to see, yknow? and always proving everyone wrong and choosing to save everyone when she’s told she can’t. goooooood that’s a wonder woman i love.

her saving the village and all the celebration was adorable too. but it made the death all the more heartbreaking and just. :(

i’m so glad they made diana a bringer of peace, because any war-mongering wonder woman just isnt her in my books. like i dont mind her not having a no-kill rule? it is necessary sometimes. but she won’t perpetuate an unnecessary fight. war must be stopped. all that. yeah.

which brings me to ares. i feel like the plot twist could’ve brought more hints, because there was no indication that the peace-brokering brit should’ve been the god of war. it kinda made me just. :/ it was pretty clear ludendorf wasnt gonna be him, but i didnt like whatshisface to be ares. sure i dont mind the whole, he inspires war but doesnt control it i suppose, but to literally be a peace-advocate? kinda defeats his purpose imo.

also good guy zeus. lmfao. anyway

speaking of zeus fuck did i not enjoy diana ~ACTUALLY BEING THE DAUGHTER OF ZEUS~ i was afraid it would come and i was so sad to see them take being molded from clay away from her. it made me roll my eyes. stop doing this to her tbh let her not have a ~manly~ influence, tbh? like i just read someone else’s review that mentioned a better take would’ve been to make her an incarnate of athena and like. yeah? yeah. no look i want my wonder woman completely originating free of any man’s influence.

oo and also. the guys she ran around with. idk what to call them but sameer the chief and charlie. they were absolutely adorable, honestly? they were well rounded, enjoyable characters with depth and i appreciate them being flawed. best sidekicks she could have for this movie, tbh. i really REALLY enjoyed sameer being there, because shit! not a total translation but any bit of representation of a race similar to mine is greatly appreciated. also the over-exaggerated stereotype when they were sneaking into the party? great. loved it. made me laugh so hard.

also they were REALLY daring with recognizing the whole, fuckin, white man taking from the native americans shit? damn. that was unexpected but appreciated.

and charlie was cute, the whole singing part was so sweet a bit of his character and i love how they portrayed his ptsd. it’s ugly, it’s not poetic or anything, it’s very realistic and i love what they did with it.

also the music was absolutely beautiful and i lost my mind every time wonder woman’s theme came up. dude. good shit.

anyway i’ve run out of steam and coherence but it was a fantastic movie, 9.5/10, i definitely recommend going to watch it. it was such a satisfying way to finally place her on the big screen and just incredibly well done. bravo to everyone who was involved.

#also i got a free poster and some free comics so that was awesome #dc #wonder woman #wonder woman movie #idk how im gonna tag it i might change it later #anyway #gggggggg this is mostly me rambling about things i thought but in short #it was VERY good #my posts #shut up megan

2 notes · View notes

multifandomgirl-us · 7 years

Text

Eternal Spark Chapter 1

Quote of the Chapter: People change. Memories don't

Chapter 1: The Beginning

Music is played throughout the speakers of the tent. I see clowns and and animals of all sorts. My animals. I see my best friend and his parents up on the trapeze. The Flying Graysons is their show name but I know them as Mark and Katherine Grayson (who likes to be called Kathy) or mom and their son Richard Grayson who I call Dick. It’s time that I bring out the animals and I do but when I get past the trapeze, which stretches over the whole tent, I hear a bloodcurdling scream. I look up only to find the ropes of the trapeze snapped and Mark and Kathy falling to their deaths. It all happens so fast that I don’t know what I’m doing anymore but they land right in front of me. Their blood stains the bottom of my costume and I am frozen. I can hear the screams and rushing of people but only faintly because of the shock. Someone picks me up but I keep my eyes of Mark and Kathy almost the entire time. I only tear my gaze away to see a crying Dick Grayson one the platform of the trapeze.

After the traumatic experience of the trapeze, I lost my best friend. Bruce Wayne adopted him and I haven’t seen him since. He left and I was heartbroken. Not only did I lose the ones I called mom and dad, even though biologically and legally they were not so, I also lost my best friend and my partner in crime. Instead, I’m alone except for Haly, and he fights crime. I know what you’re thinking how would I know that my so called best friend is the oh-so-famous Boy Wonder. Well, I figured it out the first time I saw him since the accident. He was on the television, only it wasn’t exactly him. He didn’t look as broken and he also wore a red, yellow, black and green costume. They called him Robin. But to me I recognized him as Richard John Grayson. My ex-best friend. I could just tell by the way he swung so gracefully with his grappling hook. You could tell he was a Grayson. I also figured that since he was Robin than Batman was Bruce Wayne. (And Batman gets called the greatest detective *sarcasm*). I saw Robin again on tv with some hero sidekick buddies of his.

You may be wondering why I’m thinking of him. The reason is because we are now headed to Gotham and are planning to stay there for quite some time.

I got into my show gear which consisted of black tights, a white bodysuit with black embellishments, my jacket, and my hat. My black hair was slightly curled at the ends and it hung to the middle of my back. Today, was special, not only because it is the first show in Gotham since my dad (Mr. Haly) somewhat retired that I would be leading but also because we have newbies. They called themselves the Daring Dangers. My dad was sick so I had to introduce them to the show. I headed to the office cart and sat in their reading their profile. I just finished with the last one when I heard a knock on the door.

"Come in!" I shouted. It was the Danger's. I greeted them with a smile and motioned for them to get comfy.

"I assume you are the Danger's?" I asked.

"Yep, that would be us. And who exactly are you?" asked who I believe is Dane Danger (Red Arrow).

"I am Athena Chase," I answered politely.

"Not to be rude but where is Mr. Haly?" asked Dean Danger (Superboy).

"My father is sick right now and asked that I get you acquainted with the show," I answered.

"Well, I'm Dan (Robin), this is Dawn (Miss Martian), this is Dane, this is Dean, and this is Dianne(Artemis)," Dan Danger says, introducing me to the family.

"Okay, well let's get going, there is a lot to show you," I reply happily. We walked around the circus and I showed them everything but I saved their cart for last.

"And here is where you'll be staying for the time being," I said as I opened their cart door.

"I'll let you guys get situated. The show starts at 6 but the rehearsals start at 4. See you soon," I said as I stepped out.

"Athena wait!" I heard from behind me. I turn around only to see Dan standing there.

"I just had to ask, How is Mr. Haly?" he asked.

"I'm pretty sure he's fine and it's only the flu that's been going around, at least that's what the doctor said," I replied.

"Well, that's part of the answer I was looking for but the other part is why are you leading the shows, not to be rude or anything," he asks.

"Well, he retired, kind of, and he let's me take over on show days," I reply.

"What do you mean by 'retired, kind of'?" Dan asks.

"He said he was getting too old to lead the circus, but me being the only one to him of family, passed the show lead to me and he kept the payment and other financial jobs to himself with certain limits," I answer.

"Oh. And one more thing. Why is your last name not Haly?" he asked.

"I'm basically his adopted daughter. I never knew my parents but he took me as his own. So, now he treats me as his daughter, even though it's not a legal contract that says so," I say.

"Oh," he says, "Well I'm going to get prepped. See you at rehearsal," he says and walks back to his cart.

I head to my cart and do the final touches on my outfit and I touch up my makeup. I head to the tent and see that everything is ready.

The tent soon fills with tons of people, none of which happen to be Dick. Of course he wouldn't come. He saw his parents die here, I don't know why I thought he would. I introduce everyone until I get to the Dangers.

"And last but not least, our newest addition to the show, The Daring Dangers!" I exclaim.

I head to where I can't be seen and I watch them do their thing. It feels so weird to have another trapeze act since the Graysons but the show needed it. I watch the trapeze act carefully and something about it seem so familiar. Something about Dan. At one point I see him falling but when he’s close a gust of air pushes him up. He's swinging through the air and that is when I realize that he is not Dan Danger, his name is Richard Grayson.

2 notes · View notes

thatpainting · 7 years

Text

2016 Games in Review

Welp, the worst year in recent memory has wrapped up. I don’t know if that rubbed off on me or not, but personally this was a very bittersweet year in gaming. Lots of disappointing sequels highlighted by great original games.

13.) Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright

I feel sad for the Fire Emblem franchise. Awakening had its problems, but it was still a decent game that recognized the fundamentals of the franchise. This game, on the other hand, decided “Eff that, lets get rid of weapon durability”. By doing this, they “solved” the problem of making the more powerful weapons, that you could now use as much as you want, have detrimental effects. It doesn’t make the game feel more strategic, but instead makes it feel like you are being penalized for using these stronger weapons, where in other games these were a reward to be used when your character had the stats to wield them properly, or when you had the money to burn. The protagonist also falls into the character trope that I hate the most: the useless idealist, who has no strategic insight or reason to be a leader other than “These guys are wrong, we have to stop them!”. Finally, the game still hasn’t balanced the stats formula, with only a couple units in the army being survivable. I should not have a character who focuses on speed be in the endgame and have a 50% chance of being one-shot by a character with a weapon triangle disadvantage. I could go on for many more paragraphs about subtle things that make this a bad game, but I’ll stop myself here. The game still does some interesting things, such as the myriad of stat changing weapons and skills as well as some of the classes, but it is unfortunate that they exist in a game that I don’t want to play.

12.) Undertale

Now, I didn’t get too far into Undertale, so I know I’m selling it short considering some of the stuff I’ve heard about in the later parts of the game. However, the start of this game is bad enough that I didn’t want to continue. The puzzles are not interesting, and while the random encounters are engaging, they are very one-note, making every subsequent encounter with the same enemy group nothing more than an annoyance considering you get basically nothing from battles. Speaking of which, the bullet-hell “combat” is inventive, but not something that I personally liked. Finally, and I know this is the most minor of nitpicks, the part at the beginning where you are told to not leave a room for a while has no payoff if you do so. I stayed in there for an hour and nothing happened, which is pretty surprising for a game that is supposedly as subversive as this one is.

11.) XCOM 2

More like XCOM 2-buggy-and-unoptimized-to-run-properly, amiright? This game solidly improves upon the base mechanics of it’s prequel, and introduces the genius character pool mechanic, however it suffers from the same problems that the first one did: Not enough customization, not enough steps in the gear upgrade path and a host of bugs (technical ones, not the Crysallids). Also, no controller support at launch was a bummer considering how natural that felt in the previous one. This is a textbook example of a game feeling like it was rushed to market.

10.) Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest

Take everything I said about Birthright, but add some actually very interesting map designs. The protagonist was far better in this version, they come off as cunning and overcome far more hardships than the Birthright counterpart. Still, the core gameplay is not compelling, and frustrated me enough that I did not want to play Revelations. I really, REALLY hope that the series can get on track, 6 through 10 are great strategy games, but I remain convinced that Intelligent Systems will continue to be satisfied putting more effort into writing wacky, trope-filled characters than actually making a strategy game that involves strategy.

9.) Zero Escape: Zero Time Dilemma

Disappointing is the best word for this game. I loved the first two entries into the Zero Escape series, and this does not deliver. The gameplay is very similar to VLR, but because we’ve seen it before it comes off as repetitive and uninspired, where in VLR it felt fresh and innovative, though I suppose this is only natural for a game that relies on twists and subversion as much as this one. The characters aren’t particularly well realized, especially the returning ones (And seriously Japan, do you have to put a character with gigantic, revealed breasts in every game? C’mon). The twists in this game range from jaw-dropping, to pretty stupid, to completely illogical and cheap. The plot also relied too much on a “get out of jail free” lore thing, and tries to make everything fit together by force more than by naturally introducing thoughtful concepts. Not a fitting end to an amazing series, and while I am glad that it was able to be made, it makes the series hard to recommend.

8.) Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice

This just felt like the series is spinning its wheels. The game focuses on the two aspects of the Ace Attorney series that I like the least: the spiritual aspect and Apollo Justice. As opposed to the previous game in the series, which had a good amount of focus on the three different attorneys, there is barely any Athena in this game. Also, for how much they advertised that Maya returned in this game, she is also barely in the game. Finally, the new prosecutor is completely unlikable with a super predictable story arc. Sure, the gameplay is fine and the story takes some interesting turns, but I play these games for the characters, and they disappointed in this iteration.

7.) The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds

When I first heard that this game was being made, I was furious. A Link to the Past is my favourite Zelda game, and a game that just aimed to recapture nostalgia and not innovate sounded like a terrible move. However, the game hearkens back to the original LoZ by being somewhat non-linear, and this works in its favour to create a fresh experience despite using basically the same map, and some similar dungeons, to A Link to the Past. Also, even though the nostalgia grab was obvious from the outset, I still fell for it, hard. Running around the similar areas, hearing the updated versions of the music just put a smile on my face. The biggest problem with this game is that it is way too easy. I understand this to some extent, it is a Nintendo game after all, but the puzzles and combat are not engaging enough to offset this.

6.) Pokémon Sun

The biggest knock against this game is the longer-than-an-Alola-Exeggutor tutorial. At this point in the series, there should just be an option to streamline the beginning of the game for veterans of the series. Also, the heavier focus on story made the game feel more railroad-y, and the Rotom dex sucks (I could go the rest of my life without having a quipy sidekick in games). Still, at the end of the day, it is a solid Pokémon game that adds interesting new Pokémon, and the Alola forms are a much better spin on older Pokémon than goddamn Mega evolutions. I wouldn’t mind playing through the game again with a different team, but unfortunately there is still ONLY ONE SAVE SLOT GODDAMNIT.

5.) Rocket League

I got to this game early in the year, and thought that it would probably top the list. Crazy how this year went, yeah? The only problem I had with this game is that it is so much better playing with people that you know, so I never wanted to play with random people. This made the game unsustainable for me, as I rarely had the time to get people together to play. The core gameplay is just so solid, and it does what many great games do in that when you mess up, you know what it is that you did wrong, as well as the inverse. The developers are also doing great work, pioneering cross-platform play and continuing to improve the game with free content. This game led to the most hype moments of the year, and remains one that I would love to go back to.

4.) Overwatch

This is the game that I spent the most time on this year, and for good reason. Overwatch bleeds colour and personality, with every character feeling unique and fun to play (Except McCree. Fuck McCree). The game does a great job of making each game feel very team-focused, with the expected pros and cons. Playing with friends is great, while randoms can be assholes. While I am not a fan of some of their business decisions, especially regarding the Summer Games event, they seem to be listening to the community enough to feel good about the game’s future. I would also like to see more content out of Blizzard more quickly for the game: more maps, more characters, and more cosmetics not tied to seasonal events.

3.) Jackbox Party Pack 3

A true achievement in gaming, the Jackbox Party Pack continues to impress. This pack doesn’t have any duds in it like the first two; every game is worth playing more than once. Murder Trivia Party has style, Guesspionage is a great concept, Fakin’ It is great provided you have 5 or more people, Quiplash 2 remains awesome, and Tee-KO may be the best game they have ever made. There wasn’t a game that I had more fun with this year, and the only complaint that I have is that it would be nice if the games supported more than 8 people.

2.) Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective

Holy crap, this was a breath of fresh air after Phoenix Wright 6. The art and animation are superb, something that is quite noteworthy for a DS game. The puzzles aren’t that deep, but are inventive and fun to solve. The story is a great example of trickling out information to the player in a way that makes them want to keep playing, and the twists and payoffs in this game are some of the most mindblowing that I’ve ever seen. It is an exceptional self-contained experience, and while I don’t necessarily want a sequel, I would love to see this team try to tackle more original ideas.

1.) The Witness

This is the best designed game that I’ve played in a very long time. Everything feels so purposeful, and for a game with no written text it conveys the puzzle elements perfectly. The game is also beautiful visually, and while the island is relatively small, it is packed to the brim with puzzles and stunning visual areas. The shading deserves special mention, as it makes everything look awesome. While at times the game was frustrating, overcoming puzzles that I was stuck on for days was incredibly satisfying. I’ve heard some disdain for the philosophy stuff that is scattered around the game, but for me it worked, as it wasn’t necessarily laid out in an argumentative fashion, but instead was just there to make you think. I finished every panel in the game (except for one), and even though I could probably play hundreds more puzzles, I still feel satisfied with the experience.

That wraps up the games that I played in 2016. 2017 is going to be a huge transitional year for me, as I am wrapping up school and plan on getting into the games industry. This will surely change how I play games and how frequently I am able to play them, but it is a change that I am anxious to experience.

#2016 in gaming #year in review #game reviews

0 notes