I Would Make The Best Apperture Science Test Subject Because I Have, Like, A Monkey Brain That Makes

Dear video essay creators. A video analysis is when you analyze a piece of media. No no look at me. A summary, no matter how thorough, is not an analysis. An analysis requires you to draw conclusions about the media such as authorial intent, real-world parallels, discussion about themes/worldbuilding/character motivation, and so much more. You have to stop summarizing something and saying that’s analysis. The Gaylors are doing more critical analysis than you. Is that who you want to lose to? The gaylors?

:C

I’m so fucking sick of AI

Having multiple of hobbies SUCK BRO.

Why can't I do all of them at once?? Why can't I draw Th Thing, but also write my story, while ALSO playing my video game WHILE ALSO reading my book??? While ALSO prepping for my homebrew D&D campaign?!

It's rude. Where's Hermonie's Time Turner when you need it.

!Undertale True Pacifist Ending Spoilers!

I can't believe Undertale is turning ten years old this summer. I cannot stress how much my life changed after experiencing this silly little game.

Little Me had been playing video games their whole life, but had only really thought of them as fun things to do on weekends. I mean, I knew they could have storylines and stuff, but I hadn't really considered they could be stories in the same way as books or movies.

Then I found Undertale in the form of a YouTube lets-play. And at first I was like; "haha, this game's cute and funny". But the person I was watching was doing True Pacifist, and so it quickly turned into so much more than that.

A game where there are monsters and you don't have to fight them? Where you are encouraged to make friends with them? As a Neurodivergent tween who would write Pokemon fanfictions about cities ruled by humans and Pokemon together, and attempt to befriend Endermen in Minecraft by wearing pumpkins and placing cool blocks for them to pick up, it felt like finding someone who finally got it.

I couldn't stop thinking about it. I loved all the characters. I laughed so hard, even at the jokes I didn't really get. I was so invested.

It was the first time I ever cried at a video game. Comforting Asriel at the end was the most emotions I'd ever felt over a piece of media that wasn't a Pixar movie. I remember thinking; "wow, I didn't know video games could be like this".

I grew up with my parents playing games like Dragon Age and Uncharted, which Little Me couldn't comprehend in the slightest. And even as I started to understand more complex stories, I still didn't really think the plots or characters were part of the appeal of games like that. I thought my parents just liked stabbing and shooting things.

Undertale changed my perspective on video games as a whole. They could be like movies. They could be like novels. They could be art.

It was the gateway drug that got me into indie games (and made gaming one of my primary hobbies). I loved the music so much it got me into listening to video game soundtracks outside of their games. The "despite everything, it's still you" line will stay with me for the rest of my life. It had some of the first LGBTQIA+ representation I'd ever seen in media. It helped me find friends. Omega Flowey is still one of the most terrifying boss designs ever. It taught me how to spell "spaghetti". In every game I've ever experienced since, there has been at least one thing I can't help but compare to something in this one.

And, of course, it taught me to always stay determined.

Undertale did so much for me. I wouldn't be the person I am today if it weren't for this game.

Sorry for the long, sappy post. I just really can't believe it's been ten years already. Wow.

treat black queers kindly and love us. that's all.

people who don't experience hyperfixation don't know what it feels like to hyperfixate so much on something that it becomes not only your subject of obsession but also your source of happiness and literally the main reason why you still keep going; literal source of strength and life.

shoutout to my favorite fictional characters, favorite people, favorite ships, favorite movies, favorite tv shows, fanfics and archive of our own

Me remembering one of the most beautiful video games I've ever played and realizing I'll never be able to experience it for the first time ever again:

no you have to contribute to your fandom if you don't want it to die. most fandoms die because people say 'it's so sad watching the fandom die when the hype dies' without doing anything about it. I'm not saying you have to push out 100k word slow-burn fic, I'm not saying you have to make fan art or gif sets or edits or anything. I'm just saying we as a community should contribute to our fandom if we don't want it to die, and by contributing, I'm talking about giving kudos, commenting on your favorite fics, reblogging your favorite art and just talking about your favorite characters. that's enough to keep a fandom alive. that's the most effective way to keep a fandom alive in my humble opinion.

fandoms die because people stop talking about it, fandoms die because people stop engaging with fan content once the hype is gone. what I'm saying is, mainstream media's hype may be gone, but our fandom can stay alive and thriving if us as a community don't let it die.

Baldwin is a cool name. It is the opposite of Hairloss

Am I the only person who really likes video game bestiaries?

They make it so that all the enemies you fight have at least tiny shreds of lore associated with them; they turn the endless procession of fodder mobs from basic-gameplay-loop contrivances into notional parts of a world where stuff is going on, and they provide springboards for imagination and daydreaming. A couple of sentences can turn a collection of palette-swapped pixels with an annoying attack pattern into something that sticks in your thoughts.

I miss bestiaries.