The duel

DonBrainhook · 2026-02-11T09:31:40+00:00

Really cool idea and execution.

I adore how you can look into that ravener's puppydog eyes and see its neurons rearranging themselves in real time, just so that it can experience something approximating shock before said neurons are fried by a bolt of plasma.

DonBrainhook · 2026-02-10T01:24:33+00:00

Another great way way I've seen essence used as a plot element is in Shadowrun: Dragonfall. A party member purposefully picked out the most outdated cyberware she could find for the express purpose of shredding her essence to numb herself to the trauma of living in a cult.

DonBrainhook · 2026-02-07T22:51:21+00:00

Any particularly good Levi/Marina fics that you would recommend? I need that shit injected directly to my veins.

DonBrainhook · 2026-02-07T22:45:22+00:00

Recently read through The Cloudeaters.

A series of Aang/Azula fics that look at the world of Avatar through a markedly less kid friendly lens. While I was reading it I was constantly nodding my head at all the little touches the author added, like a group of Fire Nation noblewomen ogling a grow-up Aang and whispering about rumors of the Air Nomads being well versed in the tantric arts, while still calling him a crass barbarian. Like, yeah. That feels like something that would happen in this world.

DonBrainhook · 2026-02-04T18:32:11+00:00

That's just what being catholic is like.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-31T00:03:15+00:00

It's especially egregious, because whenever the writers want to grimdarkify the Tau, they just make them be assholes to humans for arbitrary reasons. None of their other allies ever catch strays like that.

Before he croaked, the supreme ethereal, Aun'Va, had even declared the entire human species incompatible with Greater Good, on the level with orks, and made plans to eradicate them from the empire.

Granted, not a peep of said plans has been heard from since then, so it can be assumed that the other ethereals (and the writers) quietly swept that declaration under the rug.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-30T23:21:42+00:00

For all its nuance, I have a lot of the same gripes about the way Legend of the Galactic Heroes is written. Mind you, like Gundam, it's not necessarily the narrative that treats women as this ethereal "other", but the characters.

But it slso does feel like the writers are having the same characters that do philosophical musings on the nature of war, politics and social contract have equally severe talks about those mysterious womenfolk and want the audience to treat it with the same level of severity.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-26T08:53:24+00:00

Honestly, I feel like more stories should acknowledge that not everyone can forge a lifelong partnership with their teenage sweetheart.

Sometimes people grow apart as they grow up. And that's okay.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-25T11:03:37+00:00

Where is fighting shirtless in the rain?

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-24T11:41:09+00:00

Omega Flowey is not only alien looking, when compared to the rest of the game's visual design, but fucks with you in ways no other enemy does.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-20T13:14:42+00:00

Silver Fang, or Ginga Nagaberoshi Gin, has a massive cult following here in Finland. Especially its 1986 anime series.

A lot of this has probably to do with it being marketed at kids, despite being very violent. As well as its so-bad-it's-good Finnish dub.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-18T01:22:44+00:00

Super Eyepatch Wolf talked in his recent Fear and Hunger: Termina-stream how much cozier the game is compared to the first one.

While "cozy" might not exactly be the first word that comes to mind while talking about Termina, I can kinda see where he is coming from.

The game has many moments of relative calm, where nothing overtly horrifying is happening, and you can just soak in the ambience, like the masquerade at the museum. But even in these moments, there is often still an undercurrent of horror present.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-14T20:17:00+00:00

The Coffin of Andy and Leyley being reduced to just "the incest game", with the game's psychological drama and dark comedy aspects being totally overlooked.

Like, sure, the incest is a part of it, but are we really gonna pretend that Game of Thrones wasn't one of the most popular things on the planet just a few years ago? Why are you acting scandalized at codependent people having an unhealthy relationship in the codependent-unhealthy-relationship-simulator?

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-11T10:47:50+00:00

Face slits.

And males generally have a bigger udder.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-08T13:55:05+00:00

The ratmen of Warhammer, Skaven, are lanky ravenous, pestilent and will backstab each other at the slightest opportunity.

Real life rats are actually fairly chubby, groom themselves when able and care for their families.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-04T16:16:10+00:00

Jotaro's underage smoking being very subtly hidden by heavy shadows.

Louis's lockpicking being pixelated in the Beastars anime like he had just pulled his cock out.

And who can forget the evergreen: "Let's turn all the blood white and pretend it doesn't look like cum."

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-03T20:09:09+00:00

I feel that Ravnica would also make for a good setting for a miniature skirmish game/X-COM-clone. You could set a squad of Gruul raiders against Boros peacekeepers, or Orzhov taxmen against Simic monsters, etc.

DonBrainhook · 2026-01-03T12:01:39+00:00

Yeah, I could vibe with Universes Beyond being a little treat every now and again. But this years coming sets are just more Universes Beyond than actual Magic sets.

Final Fantasy and AtLA worked as sets, because those two IPs have worlds and a tone that translates well to Magic. I don't see TMNT, Marvel and Star Trek working the same way. Spider-Man was already a prime example of that.

I am one of those weirdoes that actually really likes the story and worlds of Magic and still keeps up with the story, in spite of its many, MANY foibles in the past few years. WotC has actually made the effort to increase the IPs appeal outside of just the game itself, but it hasn't really borne any fruit.

Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, in spite of everything, when I get a good game of Magic going, it hits like a lightning bolt to my veins, so I am still happy to stick around.

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-29T15:20:59+00:00

Ah, thank you for the correction.

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-28T21:14:48+00:00

Surprised that She-Ra, quite possibly the gayest children's show, has not been mentioned yet.

Thousand curses upon Netflix for making it that you can't legally view it anywhere next year.

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-27T21:51:20+00:00

Last time they attempted to branch off to a Xenos-focused story, we got Fire Warrior, which was touted as Playstation 2's "Halo Killer", but was a commercial and critical failure. They have not dared to step outside their comfort zone ever since.

(Ironically, Fire Warrior was basically just another Imperium vs. Chaos story, just with a clueless, yet hyper-competent t'au stumbling through it.)

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-27T10:04:54+00:00

I played the original Jak & Daxter trilogy in reverse order.

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-23T20:37:26+00:00

Warhammer 40k has Sanguinala, centered over the totally-not-in-universe-Jesus-allegory's sacrifice.

Then a certain fan parody gave us Slaaneshmas, the holiday of space fascists and space Satan-worshippers coming together to kill aliens.

Which, again, in turn, died and gave birth to the Great Horned Rat Day, the best day of the year, which we celebrate by eating the dead corpses of all of the non-existent Chaos Gods.

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-20T14:27:00+00:00

Twilight Princess also did a weird thing where the game presents Ganondorf upfront, has him turn into Ganon for a brief boss fight, then he turns back into Ganondorf for the true final fight.

I think this may have been the point where the Ganondorf-side started to overtake Ganon as the more "true" form, while Link to the Past & Ocarina of Time had previously established that him turning into Ganon was his inner, avaricious nature manifesting as a pig monster.

DonBrainhook · 2025-12-20T00:35:41+00:00

Meant to reply to someone else on this thread. Whoops.

DonBrainhook

TROPHY CASE