Hello, everyone! I’m LunarMoon and I’m an aspiring game developer here on Itch io. If you’re anything like me, you enjoy indulging in your obscure interests. Maybe you enjoy watching three-hour long video essays on YouTube discussing why this decade old indie game is actually a secret masterpiece. Or maybe you like delving into the interesting history of Barbie and all its controversies. Or maybe you’re just an unapologetic game theory fan…

I enjoy talking about things I find interesting and I thought it would be fun to share it with other enthusiasts here on Itch io. I know Itch io is a mainly game-oriented site so it’s more likely that people would talk about games. Shocker. And that’s not to say that I’ll never talk about games, but I’ll probably talk about other things too like TV shows and Youtube Channels. Whatever floats my boat really

So buckle up LunarLoonies, because my first post is going to be a loooong one

Literally 90% of the stuff on here is One Piece discussions. I have no shame 

(WARNING: You may pose a risk of losing brain cells while listening to everything this weirdo has to say. Symptoms include: screaming, uncontrollable weeping and confusion as to how someone this cringey can exist. Viewer Discretion is advised)

WHY ONE PIECE IS AN UNAPOLOGETIC MASTERPIECE

(A little something I prepared a while ago. I'm not that fast at typing XD)

So recently, I got into One Piece. And it’s really good! Thanks to that show, Netflix makes half of its profit solely on me. I’m someone who enjoys anime, but for some weird reason I’ve always avoided watching shonen anime. So it’s pretty ironic that one of my favorite shows is literally a Shonen anime powerhouse. That’s like the equivalent of saying you don’t like chocolate but then you end up eating an entire chocolate cake. By yourself. For breakfast. In your sad lonely house. Not that I would know…

Before I begin, I’d like to say that all of this is based purely on my own personal opinion. So therefore it's a fact. Let’s begin:

So for some of you rock dwellers, you may not know what One Piece is about so I’ll provide a simplified description: It tells the story of Elastic Girl wannabe Monkey D. Luffy who dreams of finding the One Piece, a special treasure that awards anyone who finds it the title of King of the Pirates. Luffy also has the ability to stretch his limbs out at humanly impossible distances due to eating the magical Devil Fruit. He -along with his rag-tag group friends- must adventure to the dangerous Grand Line in order to find the One Piece. Heh, get it? That’s the name of the show…

So why do I like this show? Well for a number of reasons but I’ll only discuss the main three: Characters, Animation, World-Building

One Piece has a lot of weird and wonderful characters. There’s of course the joking and funny Luffy (who literally smiles all the time…like damn boy…you alright?). There’s Nami, a liar who looks like a cinnamon roll but could probably kill you (everything you’d want in a woman ;)). There’s Daddy-I mean-Daddy- I mean…Zoro, the pirate bounty hunter (He’s hot). There’s Usopp…yeah. And then there’s my favorite character, Sanji! (I cried for his backstory. If you know, you know). These characters are all fun and memorable in their own ways and that’s mainly because of how well-written they are and their interesting backstories. I really don’t know how else to describe it. You laugh with them. You cry with them. You wonder about why they’re so hot…

YOU KNOW WHAT?! I’m annoyed with how HOT these characters are! They aren’t supposed to be this hot! Zoro could be a secret supermodel, Nami is a certified heartbreaker and Sanji is quite the looker even with those whack eyebrows!

And even though I hate Arlong for what he did to Nami and her family, he’s bound to be someone’s deep dark awakening

He’s a fish man. A FREAKIN FISH MAN!!!!!

I didn’t know the Shape of Water had its own anime adaptation!

I’m going off topic, now into animation. Y’know, for a show over two decades old, it’s actually really good. It might be because it’s a relic of its time, but the animation almost has this nostalgic feel to it even if you’ve never seen it before. Sure it doesn't have any Sailor Moon transformations or Studio Ghibli's attention to detail, but it’s simple. And sometimes simplicity is simplicity…

Last but not least, there’s the world building. I like it. I’d even go as far to say that it’s better than Avatar: The Last Airbender. Yeah that’s right boo me on, I said it! The characters visit these interesting settings home to so many interesting people and I absolutely love its unique take on the concept of pirates especially compared to other popular pirate franchises like The Pirates of the Caribbean. Each place is fun and memorable in its own way. It truly is an embodiment on why the journey is more important than the destination

Before I wrap this post up, I would like to address the elephant in the room. Yes, I know One Piece isn’t revolutionary when it comes to the designs of the female characters. All of the important female characters usually have the exact same appearance: doe eyes, big watermelons and a teeny tiny waist. It’s not exactly ideal, but this show is old and bound to be outdated in some shape or form. And I’ve talked to people who’ve become actively turned off from watching the show because of this, which is a real shame. The female characters, in my opinion, are just as well-written as the male characters. Even minor or side characters like Vivi and Kuina are amazing in their own regard and are still fondly remembered to this day.

That’s the end of my ramble. Hey, you made it to the end. Thank you for reading and who knows? Maybe I’ll do something like this again. I can’t recommend this show enough! But if you do check it out, just note that it can get a little violent. And that’s why I believe One Piece is an unapologetic masterpiece…now look at these funny memes! 

MY THOUGHTS ON CLOUDNOVEL: THE ENGINE

Hello everyone it's been a while since I've posted here. I wanted to discuss a new topic that I thought was interesting. CloudNovel (https://cloudnovel.net/) is a website/visual novel engine that I have used in the past. It prides itself on being the 'Easiest Visual Novel Engine' in existence and has over thousands of users daily. I guess you could call this a 'review' of the engine itself, but just keep in my mind that I'm no coding professional and that this is just a discussion of some sorts

Also I just want to say it now is that this 'review' isn't a personal attack on the creator, moderators or users of CloudNovel. Sonya (the creator) seems fun and I respect her for everything she has accomplished. But as an ex-CloudNovel user, I personally have issues with the engine and how it many not seem as user friendly on the surface

For the uninformed CloudNovel is a website that allows you to create visual novels that doesn't require any coding. It has a user friendly and easy to understand layout in which you can drag and place buttons, images etc. It's actually pretty neat and definitely the go to place if you don't want to learn code. But my main problem is that the engine just simply doesn't work. No like literally.  If my memory recalls correctly, unless you have the premium version, you can't actually upload anything straight from your computer like you would with Renpy. No no, you have to use LINKS. And that's the problem. Links tend to expire over a couple of months and eventually everything in your library becomes broken. So when you run the game, it won't start and if it does it takes a CENTURY to load. Don't get me wrong, you can just replace the links and everything should be working, but if you're anything like me, you have the patience of a soccer mom waiting for her son to just obliterate the other team. Which is none. I understand that the premium version has the extract straight from computer feature because more people will pay more money, but I as a game creator feel that if an engine literally breaks your game and its months worth of work, then call me crazy, but I don't think it's a really good engine then

And it doesn't just stop in development. On the website, you can actually play other people's games like you would here on Itchio. And credit where credit is due, the community over there is really great and fun. There's so many talented artists, writers, voice actors etc. over there and they even have a public resources library where you can get beautiful art for free. But with the fact that you can play other peoples' games, even if the game was working before uploading it, it won't stay that long after it is. Nearly 50% of games over there are unplayable because the engine uses its dark magic to corrupt all your files. And because you have a life, you can't spend every waking hour of your life ensuring that your darling little project is working. And I feel as though that's really unfair to the creator because they pour so much love and tears and time into perfecting their projects (just like every other game developer) and then CloudNovel a few weeks later is like: "Yeah btw, we corrupted your files and made your game unplayable so now you have to reupload everything. Do it fast or else people won't be able to enjoy it. U mad bro?" (please tell me this meme isn't too outdated yet XD) 

Finding an engine is difficult. What works for you will not work for another person. I've had a lot of relationships in my time. First it was Scratch, then it was Godot, then it was CloudNovel. There was also a fling with Twine that one time. Until I eventually found my one true love: Renpy <3

Yeah so there wasn't really a moral or lesson to this story. This is just me wanting to complain. CloudNovel is not the worst thing in the world and hey if it works for you it works. So yeah...

Have a great day!

Just finished watching Chopper's backstory during the Winter Island Arc🥺

If you know you know...

All I need to say rn is: 

MY PRECIOUS SWEET ANGELIC DARLING LITTLE BABY😭😭😭😭😭

(Chopper is best boi😌)

I will fight anyone who ever dares to hurt this little guy

*MEANWHILE MY FAMILY* For heaven's sake, it's just an animated deer

He's MY animated deer!

GENSHIN IMPACT: WHY IS EVERYONE SO HOT???

It is I, LunarMoon! The internet's favourite degenerate otaku who has come to crawl out of her hole and and answer the most esteemed, the most crucial and the most important question of all eternity. The question that has started countless arguments (nay) wars amongst world leaders and countries alike. The question that no mortal can ever truly answer, but will die trying. That very question is...

Who is the hottest Genshin Impact character?

Now it's been a hot minute since I've played this game (try 2 years). but I have been steadily following its updates and all the cool characters they've released since then. And regardless of every new character that is released, one thing remains constant: they are pretty. Like REALLY pretty. And it is a crime against humanity that there isn't some complex dating system in the game.  It would probably gain thousands of new players just by the dating feature alone. So I've decided to take 5 of my favourite characters from the game in order to determine who the hottest Genshin character is!

Also when I'm talking about 'hottest', I'm actually more talking about their personality and whether it'd be fun to be in a romantic relationship with them. Cuz let's face it: miHoYo knew exactly what they were doing when they cooked up all these character designs

Number 5: Il Dottore

That's right, baby. We're starting this list off with something spicy! And what's spicier than...human experiment. Tbh I'm not 100% brushed up on Dottore's lore, but something about how he's like some evil doctor that's way too chill when it comes to experimenting on people. I know that he's a villain and all, but when has that stopped any of us. I see you Shego and Lord Dominators simps out there. Now Dottore Il is a FINE man. He got the drip and nothing says 'handsome' more than a bird looking mask. Buuuuuuuut....Experiments? Like...with needles and stuff? If he's so chill with just testing on people like it's nothing, what's gonna make me special from his usual test subjects? When you said you wanted to 'explore my body', this is not what I thought you had in mind. Also, clones? I just feel like that'd be so confusing. If I kissed one of his clones, would that be cheating? I mean it's him...but it's also not him. Dottore is dangerous in more ways than one, but I don't think I'm willing to indulge in any way. The heart wants what it wants, but my heart doesn't want to get sliced in a million pieces and then have its body thrown in a well or something... 

Number 4: Pantalone

Another villain? What can I say? I'm down bad for the bad guys. Tbh I know next to nothing about Pantalone. All I know is that he's rich. Like loaded. Also the first time I heard his name, my mind went instantly to an image of pants. And because of the fact that I was too lazy to learn how to properly pronounce his name, I'd just call him 'The Pants Guy.' Tbh there's not really much more I can say about him. I like him a lot because he's really good-looking and rich. Hey hey, I'm not shallow! What do you think I am, a baby pool? I'm just saying it as it is. But if I had the option between rich and smart gentlemen and anime cousin of the Joker that can only be Mr. Dottore, I think I'd go with Pantalone...

Number 3: Aether

I know, I know. I know it's kind of weird that one of my all time favourite Genshin characters is Aether. He's nothing more than the boring default male traveler. But you know what? This boy...this blonde beautiful boy...flew his way into my heart. Idk he's just so cute!!! I'd even go as far to say that he's even cuter than his sister! I also really like his design. It has this fantasy meets Sci-Fi meets anime type look and it's nothing like anything I've ever seen before. His personality is basically non-existent, but that's what I like about him. He's anything and everything all at the same time. You kind of make your own lore and personality for him. I love manipulating my romantic partners! I mean..............no I don't. This beautiful boy deserves the world and I'm willing to give it to him. AT ALL COST...

Number 2: Lisa

'You're tearing me apart, Lisa!' Come on, don't tell me you weren't expecting her to be on this list. She's pretty, she's mature, she's smart, she's flirty and she wears purple. What more do you need? I really like her...which makes the fact that I didn't like at first even more weird. I thought she was kind of annoying at first for some reason. What else do I really need to say that hasn't been said before? She's a wicked witch in all the right places and PURPLE. That's all that needs to be sad: PURPLE

Number 1: *Drum Roll*

🎶And then I saw his face🎶

HOW TO BECOME A PROFESSIONAL SIMP

To simp or not to simp? That is the real question. The struggle is real, man…

I'm back with a vengeance and today I've got a lesson plan on the art of professional simping. You think deranged anime boys and DreamWorks ogres (who shall remain nameless) was the full extent of my simping abilities. Well you're dead wrong, dear mortal. Here, we only have the spiciest takes on weirdly attractive characters. So come with me, my student. I will teach you the ways of the simp…

(WARNING: This is kind of a crack post. Please don't take it too seriously😂. Brain cells may get lost in the process)

Lesson 1: Don't like normal things 

You know the saying 'we can't have nice things'? Well for simps, the saying is 'we can't have normal things.' You wanna have a crush on the cute anime girl or the righteous hero? WRONG. You actually wanna have a crush on the ugly space squid or the very morally corrupt villain. When you tell people your fictional crush, you want to leave them with open mouths, bulging eyes and probably a heart attack while you're at. We live life dangerously! So next time when you're watching SpongeBob and Larry the Lobster comes on screen, I hope you know what to do, my student 

Lesson 2: Don't have friends

Like any. Childhood friends, frenemies and all other anime clichés are off the table. A simp only focuses on the love of their life even if they're fictional. Others may think that's pathetic, but we believe that we're just goal-oriented. And because of that, no friends allowed. This should be easy if you've done Lesson 1. They've either cut all contact with you because of your RAD simp energy making them jealous or they died of a heart attack. Now all you have to do now is make a shrine dedicated to your lover and binge watch whatever content they can be found in. It may be lonely, but that's just the price to pay in order to become the ultimate simp

Lesson 3: Be broke

Ever heard of a rich simp? Of course you haven't because they don't exist. When you care so much about your fictional crush, you spend thousands upon thousands of money buying their merch, figurines and other stuff. Money buys affection, okay? Even if they're not real and therefore their affection isn't real, you still love them. We have to show our loyalty to them. So yeah, just be broke in general. This should be an easy step thanks to the ever declining economy, ha ha ha (*cries*)

You did it! Now you're a professional simp. I'm so proud of you! Now go my student and spread the word of the simp❤️

ONE PIECE: KUINA'S FATHER KILLED HER?!?!?!?! (*cue dramatic music*)

(Spoilers for season 1)

So the other day, I was watching One Piece (I know. Shocker). I can't remember which episode it was exactly, but it was the one featuring Zoro's backstory and our first introduction to Kuina. I was watching the episode like normal, but then the scene with Kuina's death happened. And I know this meme is outdated, but...it was kinda sus 😳. My conspiracy theory is that Kuina didn't slip and fall. She was MURDERED. Come on Film Theory, get on that!

So first, let me provide some context to the episode. Zoro is a young kid at an academy  and he is challenging the dojo master's talented swordsman daughter to a fight. But despite how much he trains, he can never seem to defeat her. It's almost like she's always one step ahead of him. Despite the fact that Kuina, being the girlboss she is, is a talented swordsman who is obviously way better than the all the boys combined, her father believes that a woman could never become the world's greatest swordsman and refuses to let her inherit his dojo. Yep, daddy of the year!😒

After being rightfully upset with her father and running away to a secluded area to have her emo anime teenager moment, she runs into Zoro. The two of them confide in each other and then make a promise to each other as newly made friends: one of them will become the world's greatest swordsman. So sweet~

And then Kuina freaking dies

She 'allegedly' slipped and fell on a staircase which definitely has the potential to severely injure someone but I don't think it's something that could easily cause the death of a healthy, fit and young child. They don't even tell you whether she broke her neck or anything else that could have severly damaged her body causing death. Nope, she just 'fell.' Look, buddy. If you want to tell a convincing cover up story, you get to go nuts with the details or else you'll get easily caught. People always ask questions. Don't ask me how I know that...

Also you're telling me that a young, fit and healthy child like Kuina who has probably been training ever since she could walk and has the ability to take down boys and men all by herself while being completely fine the day before and after having an intense fight with her concerningly misogynistic father and then making such a huge promise like becoming the world's greatest swordsman (the very thing her father feared) and then she just 'fell' the very next day? A little tumble? I'm not buying it, chief

Her father gives me creeps too. He's just a suspicious dude. He has this eerily creepy smile and doesn't seem that distraught after the literal death of his only child! Don't you think it's a little weird that he doesn't want Kuina to become the world's greatest swordsman and then the second she threatens his desires (by making that promise to Zoro) she's just unalive the next day. He isn't ever seen visibly sad or crying over Kuina's death and even Zoro (a guy who hated Kuina most of the time and kinda barely knew her) cried over her death more than her own father. Also that exact scene where he gives Zoro Kuina's sword, he has this SUPER creepy smile as if he's sort of HAPPY that his daughter is gone. In the words of Nicki Minaj that one time: 'That's suspicious, that's weird'.

Look, maybe I'm just not happy that my girl Kuina is a victim of the killed off character trope, but the circumstances surrounding her death do be hella strange. But hey that's just a theory...a murder theory

Thanks for reading~

TOP 5 THINGS I SIMP FOR THAT I PROBABLY SHOULDN'T BE SIMPING FOR

Welcome back, my student. I hope you have taken your training from last time to heart and have started your journey of becoming Hokagai- I mean the ultimate simp. Maybe with enough training and dedication, you could become half as good as me. I have prepared your second and last lesson as a teaching of how I became the ultimate simp. It's essential to know the history of our ancestry in order to perfect our craft 

In the list below I have shared some of my most deepest and darkest discoveries. I think it's time you're ready. There's no going back now…

Number 5: Arlong (One Piece)

You read the 'Why One Piece is an unapologetic masterpiece' post. You saw this coming. Now before I continue, lower your pitchforks and machine guns. Yes, Arlong is not your stand up guy. He kinda sucks. He's a villain after all. But…is it really that wrong to still think he's hot? (Yes). I'm Rosa from that one Brooklyn 99 episode: "You can still hate someone and think they're hot." Sure he's a fish man. So what? What did I teach you last time?  'We can't have normal things.' Also…abs. Everyone knows if you put abs on something it becomes infinitely hotter. That's how it works…right? Somebody dump me in the water cuz I'm THIRSTY

Number 4: The blue people (Avatar)

Listen…LISTEN. I watched Avatar: Way of Water recently and…that's all she wrote. What's not to find attractive? Tall, pretty, abs…blue. The first time I watched Avatar, I couldn't stop imagining myself running around in Pandora on those flying pterodactyl things accompanied by a hot alien. It's not weird, okay? It's…'unique.' I tried finding the human characters attractive but it's not my fault humans are boring compared to these sky-blue tall lanky Greek sculpted gods. Let's just say I'm feeling blue to the realization that this is a movie franchise and therefore not real

Number 3: Larry the Lobster (SpongeBob Squarepants)

ABS

Number 2: Shakira the Gazelle (Zootopia)

I forgot her name... whatever I'll just call her Shakira. I feel like this is a Lola Bunny kind of situation. I'm not a furry, but…damn. From the cool hair to that beautiful outfit to the banger that is her song, what's not to love about Shakira? No abs though so we'll have to deduct some points on that. But other than that, she's basically number 1. Whether you find her hot or not, you have to agree: her hips don't lie

Number 1: Protogen Man

"Oh No, mY coMpUter hAS An antIVIrus." A man of meme potential is a man worth fighting for. Sure, he looks a little creepy with his rubbery skin and dead eyes, but a little bit of danger never hurt anyone ;) He's good with computers and stops viruses. Get out of here, Superman. Protogen man is the new hot superhero in town. And there's very few people in this world that can pull of the colour orange. He's probably got some abs under that shirt, right? 👀 Somebody call a doctor (or an IT moderator?), cause I'm getting infected by his total hunkiness!

Now, my student. Go out into the world to find your true love. And if they are normal, you are not ever welcomed back here. Good luck on your quest...

Hey LunarMoon,

Did you know that since you've listed your account as both gamer and developer, you can also make your own blog posts?

https://itch.io/dashboard/posts (This link should take you to the correct tab)

Just make sure to add a link to each of your blog posts in your creator profile page so people can access it from there.

It's great that you've got a thread going in General Discussion. Just that with time, as more posts are being made, it will become harder to find your posts as it keeps slipping down the list.

LION KING: HYENAS DESERVED BETTER! >:(

I'm a Disney fan. Always has been. Probably always will be. Sure the live-action films have gotten on my nerves and yes, I feel as though the newer movies just don't seem to capture the magic of Disney. But I still watch their movies, because this company is kind of inescapable at this point. So to celebrate our corporate overlords, I decided to host a Disney Renaissance Movie Night. All by myself. Because I have no friends...

For those of you who don't know what the Disney Renaissance movies were, it was essentially the period of time where Disney released all their major hits: The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Hercules...the Rescuers Down Under? You remember that movie, right?

But if course my favourite movie of this time was the Lion King. What's not to love? Talking animals, amazing music and very nostalgic animation. And who could forget "LoNG LivE thE KiNg." I was obsessed with this movie when I was younger. Couldn't stop watching it! But when I rewatched it that movie night at a much older age, somethings didn't seem right to me. Namely the hyenas

Now let me get this straight: The Lion King is a kid's movie. I understand that just because it is a kid's movie doesn't mean that it's above criticism or shouldn't be take as seriously. This is just a silly little Film Theory that was written by someone who spends WAY too much time on the internet. But just hear me out!

In this bit, I was going to provide the plot for the Lion King, but...I'm too lazy. I was also going to warn about spoilers, but this movie has been out for almost 12 years. It's kinda on you now, mate. The main topic of this post: hyenas. They laugh, they eat and wow Shenzi is kinda hot- 

I'm sorry, I can't  seem to get through any conversation without calling at least one thing hot.  As you can see from my last post, I am definitely NOT a degenerate simp. Now the hyenas live in the Outlands, essentially the worst place to live in the setting of The Lion King. That seems to be the place where all the "bad" animals go. And the hyenas are one of them. Now the things is the hyenas in the movie are meant to be villains, being Scar's lackeys and all. But...I don't see it. First of, yes they are annoying and obnoxious. But that doesn't mean that they should be thrown into some under resourced and unsafe environment like the Outlands. If that applied to the real world, every middle-aged Caucasian woman with a bad blonde haircut asking to speak to the manager should be thrown into the furnace. THAT WAS A JOKE, THAT WAS A JOKE, THE KAREN MEME IS NOT OUTDATED YET ( at least in my heart). Secondly, they are Scar's minions because they are hungry and want to eat the Prideland animals. If I recall correctly, weren't the hyenas starving and not getting enough food. I'm ashamed to admit it, but I would kill a man just to get a McDonald's McFlurry.  If the crazy sexy lion dictator offers you the chance for food when you don't have any, you take it

Where am I going with this? Well, all the hyenas have been banished to the Outlands. Like, ALL of them. Seems like a little racist (I mean, speciesist?) to assume that ALL hyenas are dangerous and evil. If you watched the Lion Guard (yes I watched the Lion Guard shut up), we meet Jasiri, an actually nice hyena who becomes good friends with Kion. They sing a song and everything, but Jasiri and a lot of hyenas actually still live in the Outlands. It just rubs me the wrong way

Can you believe Disney? Promoting such hateful stereotypes of hyenas! It's an outrage. In my perfect world, all anyone should ever watch is One Piece on repeat. Because that show is totally not political at all. This post was very disorganized. I had a whole Film theory video essay on it, but I'm getting bored of typing

Chao~ 

ONE PIECE LIVE ACTION: YAY OR NAY?

My fellow weeabos, the Netflix gods have returned once more with their humble offerings. This is either a blessing in disguise or a cursed plague upon our land

So the other day, I was 'surfing the web' (aka my only exercise for the entire month) when I came across the new trailer for the live action One Piece. And...oh boy

In case you didn't notice the fact that it's all I ever seem to talk about, I'm a One Piece fan. Especially the original anime. I know all the characters and their backstories, I can explain in great detail all the events that happen in each arc and I've memorized all the characters with devil fruit powers which is no easy feat. There are so, SO many. As you can see, my parents are very proud of me

So when the little degenerate otaku crawls out of her hole and finds out that her favourite show has been tainted by *gasp* real people, she's got a few words to say. Now listen to this little baby cry about why she's not happy with a Netflix show. This is first world problems here!

*DISCLAIMER: This is not an attack on the actors, writers or really anyone working on this show. And yeah I know Oda (the creator of One Piece) is heavily involved in the project...but I don't care. I'm still gonna complain*

I'm just gonna say it. The CGI looks so ridiculous...and not in a good way. I don't know how someone can look at a character design in One Piece and think "Yeah, that's gonna look normal on a real person." Have y'all seen how Arlong looks in live action? Man went from a Daddy to a Saddy. And since we're on the topic of how bad the designs have been converted from animation to live action...the main cast...Did they get lost at some cheap cosplay store? It looks like Zoro's actor dipped his head in some green paint and they called it a day. They didn't even TRY with Usopp. If he doesn't look like some anime version of pinocchio, I'm not interested! The only lie I'm being told is that they thought this was a good idea...

Also I feel like the very idea of the show is just in bad taste. Maybe it's because I've been brainwashed by all these live-action Disney movies, but turning an animated masterpiece into some washed down cash grab is not gonna fly with me. I guess that in itself is a stupid reason to complain, but what can I say...I am pretty stupid. I mean One Piece, the most cartoon of cartoons...and realism. One Piece and making sense don't go together. It's not even like they're trying to do anything different. It's basically just One Piece but with real people. And everyone knows anime people are WAY better than real people (saying that out loud now makes me look kinda sad...)

The locations??? ... Actually they look kinda dope...

I know I'm being way to hard on a NETFLIX SHOW but we all gotta let our inner critic out some time. And to all those people who are 'excited' for this show...hey more power to you. Unlike me, you actually feel positive emotions

What have we learned today? ...um... real people le bad 

You so f*cking precious when you...

✨SMILE✨

Girl, I lose myself up in those...

👀EYES👀

I just had to let you know you're...

💕MIIIIIIIINE💕

What have we learned today?

Vivi is best gorl🥰

I'd like to dedicate this to the love of my life. Even if he is fictional :'(

And IIIIIIIIIIIII

Will always LOVE you OOOOOOOOOO

Will always LOVE YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU

Darling?

I love you

Get me a man like Tatsu. Please? 😥

Go watch The Way of the Househusband. It's le good

GO AWAY ROMEO, PLEASE GO AWAY

Growing up, I was never a real fan of Shakespeare. But the school curriculum sure was and all us poor students had to suffer for it. I don't care about the symbolism of the dagger in Macbeth and I don't care what is to be or not to be. Are you seriously expecting me to think for myself? That's not what school is for! However despite my disinterest in cryptic metaphors and Elizabethan men in shorts, I have always had somewhat of an attachment to the story of Romeo and Juliet. I mean, it's his most famous work for a reason. Nowadays people are quick to judge it for its melodramatic scenes and flat characters, but it's still worth remembering in my opinion. Although even I'll admit that it's pretty stupid...

I'm someone who also enjoys a good comic on Webtoon from time to time and while there's a lot of toxic insufferable trash on that website there's still of good comics (I'd recommend Trash Belongs in the Trashcan and Cursed Princess Club). However during my journey of gawking at hot anime men on the covers and searching for my newest obsession, I stumbled upon this one webtoon called 'Go Away Romeo' (https://www.webtoons.com/en/romance/go-away-romeo/list?title_no=5066) and it's a retelling of Romeo and Juliet with the main character being Rosaline. Curiously I decided to read it. And...it's not that good...

Okay well that's not entirely fair. For what it is it's pretty okay. Also I really am one to talk about good writing. It's pretty inoffensive (but that's not entirely a good thing since literally nothing happens) I just wasn't personally vibing with it. And I'll tell you why in this 3 hour long video essay on this VERY important matter...

Go Away Romeo is a retelling of the classic story of Romeo and Juliet featuring the character Rosaline as the protagonist. The story starts off with her and Romeo being in love until Romeo leaves her to pursue her cousin Juliet. She is heartbroken but even more heartbroken when she hears that both of them are dead. But whaaaat it turns out that they're NOT dead and then they go into hiding. Turns out that Romeo has achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a deadbeat dad and Rosaline gives birth to their son, Mino. But oh no one day Romeo and Juliet reappear and Romeo has some evil masterplan that will ruin everything! (Cue dramatic music) Right off the bat you can tell that this doesn't really follow the original story. Romeo, Juliet, Tybalt, Paris and Mercutio are all alive in this version, Rosaline and Romeo have a child and it turns out that Romeo, Juliet, Friar Laurence, Benvolio and Mercutio (and maybe Tybalt) are all EVIL. There's also Paris who is Rosaline's love interest. I originally found this concept quite interesting but you'll notice the first major problem I have with this webtoon: It's BORING

I think the main reason why the story is sort of boring is because the characters are boring. None of them have any unique characteristics, memorable moments or motives that make sense. First of all let's start off with Rosaline. She's an intelligent and independent woman who don't need no man and cares a lot about her son Mino. She also has a tragic backstory of how she felt so betrayed after Romeo left her. That in itself is not a bad concept for a character but...that's kinda it. Her only memorable personality trait is that she's iNdEPenDenT but so what? There are hundreds of independent female characters so what makes Rosaline so special. We're also supposed to feel sympathetic for her due to her backstory but I just personally consider that lazy writing. Again, there are hundreds of characters with sad backstories. What makes us in the present day root for her? Also Mino is a plot device and you can't convince me otherwise. He doesn't feel a character and he doesn't even show up that much which is weird considering the fact that he's the reason this story is exists in the first place. Also I don't care so sue me...Mino isn't even that cute. Yeah I said it! I've seen WAY cuter kids in comics that him! But back to Rosaline, she just feels so uninspired and  falls in the shadow of much better written characters that fit her archetype. And then there's Paris...what about him? He's THAT forgettable

Now there's Romeo. Romeo was a little bit of a sleazeball in the original story so it was kinda natural to make him the villain. Buuut...he's kinda pathetic ngl. He's supposed to be all menacing and stuff but I can't help but think he's trying way too hard (we do love a little edge lord  though XD). Usually villains are engaging because they are really hilarious or super scary or even have some interesting redemption potential but Romeo isn't any of those. I mean you need a personality first if you want that. Another thing I picked up about Romeo is that he doesn't actually do bad things (okay well that's a lie he has done and said a couple of villainous things) but the author relies too much on telling instead of showing. They're telling us not to like Romeo but why? My dude is here just trying to live his best deadbeat womanizer life for all I know. SHOW us how he's a bad person and SHOW us him doing some really awful things. Also I HATE how they handled the other characters (except the Friar, I never liked that geezer). I was so excited to see what they would do with Mercutio, Benvolio and Tybalt since they were my favourite characters but...they're just kinda there. They do a little bit of dirty work for Romeo but that's pretty much it. Also I'm about to go on a rant here: Don't do my boy Benvolio dirty like that. My man was the sweet cinnamon roll with a heart of gold and a desire for peace but now you relegate him to the sidelines being nothing more than a insignificant henchman?! For shame! Thou has placed a curse upon my bode! Now thou shalt no longer see the light of day! Be gone, fiend (sorry I let my inner Elizabethan shine through for a second). Maybe they'll doing something with him in the future but for now I am NOT satisfied

I will say though. I do think the art is well made. However I don't think the art style really suits the setting of this story. You have this historically accurate Elizabethan wardrobe but then you got the head of an anime character. Idk it looks like they're about to put on a school play or something. Would have preferred something a little more stylized. However I don't mind since any art that doesn't make me want to rip my eyes out is a win in my books

And that's it for my review of Go Away Romeo. It really isn't that bad and if you're into this type of stuff I would definitely would recommend. Although don't go into it thinking it's going to be faithful to the original. Or that they're going to treat Benvolio with the respect he deserves (seriously we need more Benvolio content) Um, I don't know how to end this so...go away

(Not really a Romeo and Juliet meme. Still thought it was pretty funny)

BOOKS THAT ARE BAD BUT HEY SOME OF THEM AREN'T THAT BAD BUT OH WAIT ONE OF THEM REALLY SUCKS!!!

I have something to confess. Please understand that this is all very difficult for me and I'm in a very vulnerable position here. I, LunarMoon, read books...

Wait, don't go yet! I know I've disrespected all my fellow video game players, but I'm still as obsessed with them as any one of you and would gladly play the Sims in the wee hours of the morning grinding to maximise my skills and relationships. I would gladly cry into my pillow IRL if my favourite anime husbando in a dating visual novel rejected me. I would gladly fight against the argument that video games cause violence while I absolutely beat the living daylights out of my monitor after a seven year old beats me at Fortnight. I'm SOOOOOOO put together...

But alas, it's true. I enjoy a good book in front of the fire from time to time while I sip some delicious tea (even though I hate tea). There are a lot of books that I've read, most of them being from my childhood, and they're still classic. Diary of a Wimpy Kid, the Inheritance Games, Harry Potter, Wonder and Big Nate are just a few of the great books I've read. But... sometimes a book is SO bad that it makes you feel dumber after you've read it. Keep in mind that the last two books in this discussion aren't really bad by any means, they just aren't for me. But the first one... I'm gonna make it cry home to its mommy and need years worth of therapy to recover from the abuse I'm about to dish out

First book: Beast Quest by Adam Blade

Who thought this was a good idea? I just want to talk (about your funeral arrangements). Beast Quest is probably the most boring, generic, pathetic attempt at fantasy I've ever seen. Which is such a shame, because I think it could have had a genuinely interesting plot and it really could have been the next Harry Potter. That is if the writers were actually...y'know? Good at writing. I'm very passionate about writing but I'm not going to act like I'm Stephen King. I'm nowhere near as good as some of the writers here on Itch io. Have you seen my games? But even someone with the most basic understanding of storytelling can tell that this book... isn't very good at it

Keep in mind that it's been a while since I've read this book so I might not remember everything (which is probably a good thing). The story follows this little b*tch boy named Tom who teams up with this bland girl named Elena and along with their animal companions, they save the world from these evil monsters that were created by the villain of the book who is...is... he's so forgettable I can't even remember his name. That's definitely the worst part of these books. The characters. Which is not a good thing, especially for a story of this nature. They feel so uninspired, so hollow and empty. Tom is a forgettable generic fantasy hero with the most superficial backstory involving a dead dad. There's a lot of dead dads in media! You ain't special, Tom. Elena doesn't do jacksh!t throughout this entire series. She fights the monsters sometimes when its convenient to the plot, but most of the time she's relegated to the sidelines acting like Tom's source of comfort when he's acting like a whiny b!tch whenever something doesn't go his way. And no gives a cr@p about the animal companions and side characters. Sorry, I had to get my swear word limit out of the way. No-one cares about the monsters either (which is impressive considering that they are the only reason these books exist in the first place)

Also I have no idea who these books are for. It can't be for teens/adults because the writing style and words used are so basic. The kind you'd find in an easy beginner book for toddlers. And it can't be for preteens/younger because there was quite a lot of violence from what I remember. Even as a young kid, I couldn't help but question and point out the many many flaws of these books. This book is nothing more than a generic fantasy with wasted plot potential, bland and awfully written characters and a vague target demographic

I give this book a -30/10

Second book: Dork Diaries by Rachel Reneè Russel

Unlike Beast Quest, I have some reservations for critiquing this one. I genuinely adored this book when I was younger and thought it was the Mona Lisa of writing. And while I wouldn't call it that today (that honour goes to Diary of a Wimpy kid XD), I still think that for what it is, it's still pretty good. The illustrations of the books are absolutely adorable too. Another thing that I really appreciate about this book is that it's not ashamed to be a form of female literature. The characters act like regular girls who like to talk about fashion, makeup, drama and boys. I just see so many books of this nature (ones with a female target audience) and I hate how the main characters act like they're 'not like other girls' or associate inherently female traits to be weak, bad or beneath them. So it's nice for once to have a story about girls actually be a story about...girls. I'm not sure if I'm making sense so let's just move on

While the writing, comedy and most of the characters are great, there is quite a big issue I have with the book. And that is the main character Nikki. It's just... she's kind of a b!tch. And not in a good way! That's probably harsh of me to say, but she's one of the most annoying characters I've encountered in a while. She's selfish and always complaining about something regardless of how superficial it is and she acts like she's morally better than others and will deflect blame by saying that others have done worse so it's therefore okay that she's doing a bad thing??? Look, I get it. Teenage girls... they're the worst. I would know. But there's nothing redeemable about her. She doesn't have any admirable traits or moments that make us see her character in a different light. And the book is trying really hard to make you like her. But apparently not hard enough

Also I know it's kind of the point of these books, but Nikki tries WAY too hard with the whole 'uwu I'm such a dork I'm so quirky.' Girl, shut up. Saying that you're a dork out loud doesn't mean you are one. 'Yeah, I'm conventionally attractive and have a super loving boyfriend and a bunch of really great friends and I also like fashion (even though it's mainstream and has no negative conations at my school) and I was also apart of a band that got world-wide famous. Ugh, I'm such a dork!' What the actual fu-

In my opinion, the spinoff series of Dork Diaries (Max Crumbly) is way better. Not only is there an actual focal point and overarching narrative going on throughout the series, but Max is a way better character than Nikki. Because unlike her, he's got this thing called a likeable personality. And he's way more of a dork than Nikki could ever be. We can't forget the cute illustrations either. And no Twitter mobs, it's not a gender thing. Max is better than Nikki because he's cool and she's not. Period

I give Dork Diaries a 6/10

I give Max Crumbly a screw you, Nikki/10

Third book: Perfek by Jaco Jacobs 

Hello? Any fellow South Africans? If you attended any school in South Africa, you probably have encountered this book called Perfek that you most definitely had to analyse and write essays on. This is definitely the least offensive book in my list but I do have one or two problems with it

I'm guessing most of you haven't heard of this book so here's a basic rundown of the plot: The story follows a teenage boy named Jak and he's just a quirky little dude. He has a childhood friend named Julia and she's just a quirky little girl. Jak falls head over heels for the hot new girl Natasja but finds out after spending time with that she may not be a very decent person. It's a little stereotypical as a high school drama but it's got some great parts. Also quick side note: I think it's really funny whenever it comes to these Afrikaans books you need to read for school that there's always at least one useless side character. They show up for one scene doing something really uneventful to the plot and are never seen ever again. Like, why do they even exist? I never knew that a whole character can just be filler

Anyway, the reason why I didn't 100% like this book was 1) it is SO stereotypical and predictable and 2) Natasja's characterization is a little unjustified. Again, it's been a super long time since I read this and I can't remember every single that happened. However, I do remember that the ending of the book was kind of trash. After Natasja is out of the picture, Jak and Julia get together romantically which annoyed me on a primal level. They never showed interest in that way to each other for the entire book and then they just get together? Because the plot said so? Screw the plot! They're opposite genders and therefore need to automatically be in a romantic relationship because of that fact even though they work better as friends. This is just a pet peeve of mine, but I get a little uncomfortable every time the childhood friends to lovers trope is used. They've been friends ever since they were in diapers and were basically raised as siblings, but now they like each other. Even though they've been essentially raised together. It just makes me raise a Dwayne Johnson eyebrow, that's all

Also I think Natasja was done dirty. Don't get me wrong, she's no saint. Teenage girls are little monsters. We've already established this. But the worst thing I remember her doing is getting mad at Julia for spilling a milkshake on her. Oh the horror, send her to Alcatraz. Sure she could have been nicer about it, but it's still a reasonable response. Milkshakes are cold and sticky! 

The main message of the book is how looks can be deceiving and that just because someone looks beautiful doesn't mean that are on the inside and vice versa. But Jak was the one who set up some perfect unattainable perception of her. He fell in love with the idea of her. It's not Natasja's fault that she didn't live up to it and is instead oh I don't know...a real person? With her own personality, thoughts and feelings? Jak took one good look at her, saw that she had opinions and was like "Nope!" Women, am I right? Always with their feelings, opinions and sh!t

That's a few of the books that didn't do everything right for me. I think books are important and as great as video games are books can be just as interesting and entertaining. So...yeah. Perfek is pretty decent for a school book. Dork Diaries has some really great illustrations with a morally ambiguous protagonist. And Beast Quest can be begging for help in a house fire while I just watch with a sadistic grin on my face

Moral of the story? Um...read books kids or something. Totsiens!

(And merry belated Christmas and a happy new year🍾🎄)

OMG OMG Thank you for 100 followers! I have so many projects that I'd love to show  you guys so thank you for making it all possible ❤️🤩🌸

New Husbando is approaching 

Astarion: *breathes air*

It was super effective ಥ_ಥ

(I just want my precious Astarion baby to be happy😭)

The Sour 2 Sweet is the official sequel of the first game jam I ever held The Sweet to Sour Game Jam which did NOT deserve the amount of participants and amazing submissions that it got. It was so much fun and I wanted to try my hand at another jam! 💕╰(*°▽°*)╯

THEME:

This theme is the opposite of last year's. Instead of telling a story that seem unassuming and wholesome at the start but then becomes dark and gory (for example games like Doki Doki Lit Club), this year we're going to craft games that seem scary and dark on the surface but is actually way sweeter and innocent than what it seems. The whole 'don't judge a book by its cover' Whether it be stories of befriending the monster under your bed or getting lost in the woods and meeting a caring guardian creature, this theme will surely bring out the creative writer in you  :-)

Thank you for reading and I hope you'll consider joining or even just stopping by to see what's what ༼ つ ◕_◕ ༽つ

FIND GAME JAM HERE: THE SOUR 2 SWEET GAME JAM

CLOUD NOVEL NO LONGER EXISTS??!!11!!!1

A couple of days, I went to Cloud Novel to look through the library for new assets but it was shut down :'( 

I'll admit that I was never a huge fan of the Cloud Novel engine but this kind of feels like an era

So many amazing games and artwork are now lost to time. Even the first game I ever made 😢😢😢😢

A moment of silence........

OH MY GOSH, CLOUDNOVEL IS OVER?!

It's true...This feels like the end of an era. Cloud novel was the very first visual novel website I ever tried and despite its many flaws, I cherished my time with it

So many wonderful visual novels and assets are now lost to time and that probably stings the most in my opinion. Even my own games...

Country Love Story and UwU (yes I named it that) will be missed...I-I'm sorry....I just need a moment...

*screams into the void*

Thankfully some of the original games and assets have been archived somewhere else and I'm glad that I also archived some on Itch Io. But alas

Cloud novel gave me the confidence and knowledge to be able to go onto more professional (well as professional as I can get) projects and for that I'm grateful. But maybe the end of an era is just the beginning of a new one

LOOKISM IS SO GOOD HELP!!!

I'm going to get straight into the meat of this topic: Lookism has got to be one of the most amazingly written human masterpieces in the entire history of...ever! I'm far from the only person who thinks this but there's just something so genuine about the story. I actually kind of judged this Webtoon based on the way it looked and only until I watched the anime on Netflix (which is pretty good to!) did I finally decide to pick it up. Kind of ironic, huh?

I assumed that Lookism was just going to be another one of those generic fighting manhwa with constant fight scenes and a bunch of emotionally unstable testosterone induced teenagers try to ruin each other's lives. But it is so much more than that at least in my opinion. There's not even a single character in this story that I don't find interesting. Daniel is such a likeable protagonist (which is a lot to say about a Webtoon protagonist). The side characters are equally well-written and even the mean characters had something interesting going for them. The themes of bullying, stereotypes and well lookism (yo she said the title!) genuinely make me think about the times in my life where I judged people based on their looks. It's something that humans will always do. It's something that everyone does at least once in their. But it doesn't make it right...

ALSO PRETTY BOYS MAKE ME WEEEEEAK!

I know I started this post off all philosophical but I'm sorry I need to go to fangirl mode here. Jay is best boi and you cannot convince me otherwise. Man doesn't even speak but he's already charmed his way into my heart. Also I know this might be a little controversial and some people might even hate me for saying this but I ship Jay and Daniel so hard! Granted, I don't think anything will become of their relationship since that doesn't seem to be hinted at in the story (at least not where I am currently). Everyone can have their opinions and nobody should be forced to believe anything against their will but come on! Jay is into Daniel and you cannot convince me otherwise. He bought Daniel expensive clothes for his birthday despite not knowing him well at the time, he beat up a bunch of guys to help Daniel and stopped smoking when someone advised him that it might help him get a lover (and he only acts that way about Daniel), he has a picture of him in his wallet AND on his phone case, he blushed when Daniel gave him a present, he got envious when he saw Daniel hanging out with a girl that everyone mistook as his girlfriend and he adopted puppies from Daniel despite being terrified of dogs (the fact that he dresses his puppies up in designer brands makes him love him even more!)

Also Mira and Zack are also so cute together! Zack cares so much about her and tries to protect her at every moment and Mira pretends like she doesn't like him but deep down she really does and it's just so freaking wholesome! This Webtoon just makes me feel so lonely and I love it! Oh yeah...the plot is good and the story is impactful and yeah yeah...but hot anime people!

If you ever want a story that has light-hearted elements but isn't afraid to tackle some of the more darker sides of life then I cannot recommend Lookism enough. But if you don't want to read it then there's always the Lookism anime on Netflix that's only currently eight episodes long. I NEED ANOTHER SEASON 2, PLEEEASE!

And always remember this my simp students: Jay is bae~