Hello, I’m back! I am writing to you live from my desk where I have had two espresso cocktails in the great tradition of alcoholism and writing.
…I’m still on break. I don’t have any more Enuryn comics to feature, but I feel like a miniature update on my week is appropriate, and I do have things to talk about!
Mostly games and shows, but hey…that’s something.
During my break, I go through phases of consumption of media. YouTube, manga, comics are easiest on the brain. Then I can consume TV shows–and after about 2-3 weeks, I get back in the mode where I can read and digest stories.
It’s not great because writers should intake a good amount of the content they try to create, but I think it’s a product of how much I write. You know this, I’ve said it before. But that’s to explain what I’ve consumed this week. I normally don’t list it out, but if I do a quick check…
Shows during my month off so far:
The Mandalorian — Liked Season 1; didn’t like Season 3. Felt like it was too small for the world I wanted. But I do like cool armor.
Gaslight District (Pilot) — Top-tier opening. Love the ending song and vibes.
Hazbin Hotel — Very nice. Not entirely my style, but I liked it.
Amphibia — It’s okay? Good for a kid’s show about animated frogs. Mid-tier isekai story.
Helluva Boss — I am a fan, probably. Not the show meant for me, but I’ll expound on it. Super impressed on multiple fronts, creatively and industry.
Video Games Defeated:
Sons of the Forest — Horrific. Story isn’t great, but the scariest monsters I’ve seen. Hate it.
A Way Out — The ending sold me on it. Fun co-op, but the other games are better.
Throne of Bone — I beat it.
Dolls Nest — I beat it too. Not really good even if you like mechs.
Promise Mascot Agency — Yakuza slice-of-life. I liked it and recommend for some!
Lonestar — I beat it too. I like card deckbuilders. Better than Throne of Bone, I think.
I Was a Teenage Exocolonist — Pretty darn good! Played it twice through. Not for everyone, but I respect it.
Mythic Battlegrounds: Demonic Siege — Uh. I beat it and I enjoyed it to some degree. But I can’t recommend it.
Look Outside — I really like this game. Horror eldritch stuff. Choices matter.
…I consume a lot of stuff. I also try to murder more games than I buy, which isn’t always a winning battle. Now, of the list above, I mentioned some of the games.
Promise Mascot Agency and Look Outside are the great winners in video games. I Was a Teenage Exocolonist is a strong runner-up. I like games with good story and gameplay, BUT THAT DOESN’T MATTER.
Remember my post last week about Hazbin Hotel? I was quite impressed at the time with that and GLITCH’s new project of Gaslight District; I tend to admire indie works, especially in the animation space which is so expensive and hard to do. However, I hadn’t tried Helluva Boss, and that one…sold me on the show and premise, despite it not being ‘my’ story.
Because you see, it is for a certain kind of audience, and I don’t think I’m that. Absolutely no spoilers, and no, this isn’t something about it being for fans of furry or demonic creatures. It’s got bones and themes I respect. It’s just not my kind of story, but I was entertained and wrote down tons of speculation and tried to predict the story as it happened.
I even liked a few songs from it, which is very rare for me; by the time I reached Season 2, I found I respected the characters as actual people, as opposed to walking plot devices. The show felt like a real world to me, and I’m definitely watching Season 3 whenever it comes out.
Which is great; I found something I like. But not only that–I just saw an announcement that it had been picked up by Amazon, but would retain creative control despite getting the huge money from a major company.
That’s…really interesting in this kind of business. Having creative control and the monetary assets to create something like Helluva Boss is ideal, and if there were any studio or animation group I’d want to do The Wandering Inn…this kind of style and talent is one I’d actually consider working with, and I don’t have higher compliments than that.
It’s like…seeing something I think will be a huge success. These three shows seem to be defining a western animation genre that I don’t think existed in any real capacity up till now. I’m planning on watching a few more shows, like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and Arcane, but I was delighted to find media I enjoyed.
That’s my post. Getting enthused for shows and ideas like this over the break is great. Not finding new ideas or transformative things for The Wandering Inn, even. Just enjoying something new and creative. If life were only this, I’d be a very happy pirateaba indeed. But in lieu of that…drinks also help?
It was a busy week during break, announcing Andrea’s departure, and I am glad, as I said, about how that went. Hopefully I can now read some cool stuff…though not perhaps today. Some days are quite positive; some are less so and just boring or ‘okay’, but I’m feeling good about the break.
I’m not sure yet about coming back to writing—as in, I could use more time off. But I’m gearing up for it. I might try a poll next week? We’ll see, but for now, thanks for reading my rambling, drunk blog.
…I wish I could write songs. Or do storyboarding visually. It’s such a cool thing.
–pirateaba
