Fall and Winter

 Sound! Euphonium S3

This is my anime of the year for 2024.

I love that this main character isn't gifted or overpowered like in other anime, she's just better with the euphonium than the one other person in band class. Until a new character enters this final season and is actually good at it and becomes their rival. 

I love that the MC has to practice a skill she doesn't really love. She enjoys it but doesn't want it to be her life. 

I loved the coming of age drama this anime had that others don't.
And I loved the ending paths the characters took.

Fuck Asuka though, I wish she didn't come back this season because it cheapens the moment they say bye to her last season. Plus, she was bitchy but the characters treats her like a wise older classmate with the best guidance. She's a cunt who gets away with being rude because she's a goofy upperclassmen.

And the only other nitpick I have for this show is that I'm disappointed the music scenes are boring. In all three seasons! When it should be intense and interesting:

The anime also should've had the concerts, marching band parts and solo pieces cut back and forth between a montage of the character relationships; friends, family and love interests, so that we had something to keep us interested if the music itself couldn't do it.

The clip from The Perfection does just that. I don't give a fuck about that type of music BUT in that moment I was interested. I wish Sound! Euphonium made me feel like that with it's music.

Life Is Strange: Double Exposure

Max is back with the best power in the series again! 

And I loved making her flirt with this sassy man. It doesn't seem like they should be together because they would never sit at the same table and that's why I love this romance. It's a nerdy girl getting with a gay, cunty man 💅

Max and her new romance partner (you can choose a woman but she was too quirky for me) need to come back in a new game because I want to explore more of their relationship. I want to see them as a couple and how they complement each other or how they clash with each other. Like, how it doesn't work out with Chloe, if she was dating your Max and is still alive. 

I loved that they were brave to write a story that Chloe and Max don't stay together forever. I liked that their romance (or friendship) drifts away from each other after some time. The bittersweet feeling that gave me was fun to experience. 

So, I would love to have Max's new lover to come back in another game and see if they workout forever or at least workout at staying close friends.

And to be honest, I was disappointed with the friends that Max is left with in this one. It felt like more people cared about her in the first game. It bugged me how easy it was for one of her friends to lose their trust in her. It seemed like the only people that really cared about her was her best friend's mom and the quirky woman you can flirt with. 

But this game still had cozy moments that I love in these walking simulators, catty banter with the male love interest that I never would have thought of to pair with a character like Max, and an interesting mystery to keep this game above a 3 out of 5 stars.  

Baldur's Gate 3

Playing this helped improve my mood after experiencing Dragon Age: The Veilguard. BG3 is what I wanted DA4 to be; the companions, the relationship bonding, the tone and the voiceless character we play as. This game feels like a love letter to Dragon Age: Origins. 

This is the comeback I wanted for my Grey Warden. Thank you, BG3! 

Alan Wake 1 DLC

This game should've been in the remaster version. This part of the story is so important that I'm mad so many people are missing out on it and just jumping right into Alan Wake 2!

I loved every moment of this DLC. 

Fears To Fathom ep. 5

A creepy game that gives a false sense of coziness. Has a slow burn but with jump scares.

I love this game series! I hope the creator ignores anyone who shits on the slow buildup of each episode.

I love that these episodes are based on true experiences. We get movies and shows that are based on real stories so it's fun to get a game like that too.

HomeBody

A time loop game! It also has a cozy feeling to it.
Every time it resets, the game shows more of the story so don't feel bad about "losing" and going through the loop again.

Smile 2

I love the look of the monster and that the lore isn't spoon fed to us in the movie. It reminds me of the way Stephen King wrote in The Mist, that the monsters look fake; prompts for a movie. It makes the characters feel like what they are experiencing isn't real and that maybe they are crazy or dreaming. I think the uncanny valley feeling it gives off makes the monster creepier than if it was never shown.

The soundtrack, the acting and the story was so fucking good.

If you don't want a movie to rip your heart out for a character then don't watch Smile TWO. Imagine complaining about this movie for having the same theme as the first movie; using the character's trauma against them. What did you expect, you big dummy?

In A Violent Nature

A slasher movie that makes fun of other slashers; calling them boring.

I loved the slowness of it because I was in the mood for a chill movie and didn't know it. I expected this movie to be like a common slasher but with cool deaths because it was being talked about online. And I'm so glad it was different with it's story telling. 

It's from the killer's point of view and he only walks. It's basically an ASMR movie when he isn't killing-and all the kills are creative and brutal. That whole time the killer is walking, he's just thinking of unique ways to kill once he reaches someone. 

I usually hate slashers but this one thankfully skipped all the stupid teenage dialogue and only let us hear enough to know the killer's backstory and their personalities.

It shits on other slashers with lazy, sexist and recycled writing by skipping all of those things because the killer takes us on a walk with him through the woods to look for weapons and more victims. The characters have their boring banter, arguments and realizations off screen. 👏👏👏

I want another movie like this. I don't care if people call it a rip-off. I want rip-offs of this movie! I need to see more slashers that only follow the killer.

Alien: Romulus

I was ready to side with the robot, I wasn't going to let the movie tell me that it was in the wrong so, I'm glad that the movie cared about it's feelings like I did. Yeah. You read that right. Feelings. 

Mind Body Spirit

This was a hidden gem! The slow burn made it feel like I was watching a real vlog on Youtube. The movie even added ads that I thought were real for a second. 

The movie very creepy. And I loved the acting!

Some people keep complaining that new horror is always needing a theme, that they miss when horror can just be fun bullshit with no hidden meaning. Fuck you if you think like this because there are thousands of fucking fun-bullshit-no-meaning-turn-your-brain-off horror movies out there for ya'll to choose from! You can go back and watch all those 70s, 80s, 90s AND new horror that you can talk over and still know what's going on. 

But I can't do the same. I can't go looking for a horror that isn't sexualizing women and have a deeper meaning than "this group runs into a monster/killer".
It's slim pickings for me if I tried looking towards older scary movies for my favorite type of story. But today, I'm getting so much horror with way more thought put into it that has nothing to do with horny characters. 

Fuck ya'll for complaining that nowadays your bullshit horror has to share the space with my "bullshit" horror. 

A Series of Bleeps

Corey Taylor had a radio show! It's basically a solo podcast! And there's 72 episodes!

Hearing and knowing which songs he loves feels intimate because he'll sometimes talk about why he likes certain songs or a memory linked to them.

I wish I had become a fan of Corey Taylor earlier, from the start even.
I wish I could've helped show support for him, Slipknot and Stone Sour.
I wish I had a chance to have my tweets, comments and posts read by him.

Corey standing up to his "brother" and telling him the new Ghostbusters wasn't about a political agenda made me so fucking happy and I was shocked to hear him argue with someone he loves ON MIC. Because I'm used to men staying silent when their friends say something stupid.

I paused the episode when his friend called that movie political (🙄) because I needed to calm down from the dumb shit I just heard.
I thought Corey would just laugh it off and move on or something.
So, when I pressed play and heard Corey quickly disagree with him my heart fluttered, it was awesome to hear a man I respect stand his ground against bullshit coming from one of their friends.

Corey literally tells that guy to not listen to "any of those fuckin people". It was so hot.

Also Corey hates spaghetti but loves other pasta! He gets it! 

____________

But fuck you, Corey for looking down on fanfiction writers just because of the few that you read.

At the end of an episode, you said to fight for our nerdy shit if others are looking down on us so this is me fighting for my nerdy shit.

I understand looking down on those that write about real people but looking down on the writer that wrote fictional characters that got turned into Fifty Shades of Grey? Come on....

That book is porn for women. Everyone acts like it's a romance novel trying to win awards. It's porn! Men get bad dialogue in their porn too but the world doesn't freak the fuck out like it did at women enjoying Fifty Shades.

Women can't get popular horny books or movies without the world acting like it's protecting us or treating us like we have bad taste because only men are allowed to enjoy their shitty and sleazy fantasies on the big screen. 

Fuck ya'll for complaining that your bullshit erotic stories has to share the space with our "bullshit" erotic stories. 
____________

Anyway, I loved getting to know Corey Taylor a lot more through these episodes. And I did love finding what I agreed and disagreed with him on. I wish more men were as open-minded as Corey.

The Last Night Show with Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert > Philip DeFranco 

Stephen is not a coward on showing just how much he hates trump to his viewers. Plus, he's funny. So, drop PhillyD because Stephen is better in every way.

Bad Stuff:

trump and elon cunts-I mean, cult. 



Dragon Age: The Veilguard was fine if it wasn't the fuckin' fourth game in the series! It feels like a spin off. The war against gods felt cheap; Mass Effect 3's war was way bigger and not just because the war was on different planets, at the same time. 

Why does ME3 feel more important than magic beings?!
Dragon Age 4 is a disappointment, it should've felt bigger than the Reapers! It should've felt fucking impossible to win against Solas and the the evil gods.

I could've liked the game if it wasn't in the Dragon Age world. NONE of the companions are problematic. None of them need to change into better people, they just need therapy....from our character. Which would've been fine in a different game.

The Warden we play as in DA:O should've been back to play as in this game. DA: The Veilguard was about the lore of why and how the Grey Wardens exist. Well, if you romance Zevran, one of the endings talks about how they both search the world to find a cure for the taint.

I don't know if The Warden tries to find a cure in the other endings too but I like the thought of The Warden coming back as our playable character to face Solas, and the other gods, to save the world on a bigger scale AND learn more about the taint. 

 If the original voice actor for Zevran can't do it then just have the voice actor of Lucanis do an older Zevran instead of a boring assassin where the only interesting thing about him is the spirit inside him and that he loves coffee....

The game could've worked with a voiceless MC, and still showed off their looks, in DA4; BG3 did it! 

Plus, the relationships would've been fun to explore with our Warden being playable as an older character who is close to losing their mind to the taint. Something Solas can use against them like he did with Rook.

If would've been fun to play as our Warden who can still be in a relationship with the character they chose in DA:O or the game lets us choose to romance a new character.

I love imagining a DA4 with Zevran, Morrigan, Leliana, and Alister as our companions again, the four that we could romance in the first game. And of course, having some new characters to romance but the option to still have fun with older versions of past companions would be a dream come true!

I'm pissed it could've happened. This was the perfect game to do that!

Or if you were forced to chose Leliana or Alister and in the end went with Leliana in DA:O, we could've had our MC end it with her to be with Alister this time.
It could've been a very dramatic, painful and beautiful journey that showed that it was good with Leliana for years but now you have started to grow apart and the time doesn't feel right with her anymore.
Having Alister and The Warden seeing each other again and having their feelings resurfaced and being together with the time they have left. Both because of the war and the taint that will kill them.

Or if you chose Zavran before but now feel more connected to Morrigan. 
Or if you chose Morrigan before but now feel more connected to a new teammate.
Or if you chose Alister before and want to continue to stay with him. 

Or you could have a strong connection with a teammate that becomes your best friend, if you didn't want to romance anymore.
(And I think a best friend "slot" is what's always missing in these games. I hate it when games act like all companions are your best friend, you don't get one, you get all on the same "level". The "level" only makes sense of it's trust. But you can have complete trust of a friend but still have someone else as your best friend.)

DA4 could've had such good drama that didn't need to give every single companion a cheap sob story with their own cheap rivals.

DA4 could've been about how the characters are dealing with being older and the years of good times they missed out on by not staying in-touch with each other.

The new teammates can be younger and have personal quests like Lace Harding and Taash.

It would be a better balance of a story if it had some of it's already well loved companions and well loved MC. With some of the new important companions we actually got; Neve, Lace, and Taash.
Plus, those beloved characters would still seem new because they will be different people than they were in DA:O!  

I did love finding out the lore of the gods, Solas and the Elves and the Dwarves because it'll make the world feel bigger knowing the truth when I replay the other games, but everything else in DA: The Veilguard was a bummer.

The Let's Get Haunted podcast is now doing video versions. Ugh! Why can't podcasts stay audio only!? Why do these people keep wanting to make the work harder on themselves?! Staying audio only is easier! 

I'm calling it now, they are going to get burnt out and will post less extra content because normal content is a lot more work this year. 

Aftershow for The Valleycast - Steve Discovers His Current Vibe

Link

 

I love that Steve likes those videos of 3 old women dancing. I get what he means by it giving him hope to see them happy and being silly. When you're scared of getting older, it's nice seeing old people having fun and looking stylish. The fear goes away in those moments. 

It's easy for me to love being in my 30s because I grew up watching Friends and they were all turning 30 and still acted childish in a fun way.

I would love to see more old people in videos or TV shows acting childish in a fun way too.
It's why I get so annoyed with anime. Almost every fucking story is about teenagers. 
(Attack On Titan would've been better if the main characters were adults 💅)

18:37 Joe starts his "80s music game."

26:19 Owen is obsessed.
It's funny how he made fun of Steve for being addicted to a game, twice:

When he's obsessed with a series 😂 (Steve interrupts Owen because he's into the game but later he gets back on topic with Owen.)


I don't know how it's "a lot of work" when all he has to do is livestream the talk like he's doing now but he's free to say spoilers without the warning! Just plan when to record like how he does for a podcast or livestream and done. Movie club made. Even if it just with one friend, the chat can help add to the conversation. There's no need for there to be three people or more on a book club show. One or two is fine. 

Even with Owen's bad mic, it'll still be fun to listen to them fully nerd out. It sucks that they have to be vague on DB and The Valleycast and his Twitch streams because those shows are comedy and not a free place to talk about spoilers.

I'm asking for something that can be chill and fun maybe once or twice a month. Not something high quality that requires a weekly schedule and can get them paid. 
He goes on Twitch not thinking about getting paid and he streams on Instagram not thinking about getting paid. Why can't a TV show/movie/book club be the same?

I'd rather have a movie club show that slowly uploads than do not have it at all. 

How about when they are playing Fortnite, they just record their audios and talk about the movie, show or book? No need to have video for every show. Make it easy. Why is every idea always thought to be "a lot of work"?

I don't say all this in the Twitch chat because I don't want to seem demanding. I also don't talk in the chat a lot because I don't want to really be remembered. I just ask a question here and there without going into more detail when he says stuff like, "it's a lot of work."

So this blog is for me to feel free to be as detailed as possible ✌

29:06 Mass Effect, Control and Quantum Break.

It's frustrating when I want to share and recommend these cool stories but I know they wont give a fuck because it's a videogame. Good stories people are missing out on because they think videogames are just about violent gameplay. Or that it's for kids. 

I left a comment anyway telling them about Quantum Break so hopefully someone in their friend group checks it out because I know they would love it. 

I kinda agree with Steve about how it's tiring when a show is hoping for a second season so they write the characters to have secrets and distrust to drag out bullshit drama. I say "kinda" because I do want there to be more seasons if a series is really good.
Like, how season 1 of The Leftovers is perfect by itself. Didn't need two more seasons but I'm so glad it does because all three seasons are fantastic! 

Just have a goal for one season, complete it. Then come up with a new season if there's room for more plot.  

Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a miniseries and they said they will never make a season 2 even though season 1 did so well. It won anime of the year!
They meant for the story to conclude in 10 episodes and it did. They said if they made another anime, it would be a new set of characters.

I love that they stood their ground and didn't let the popularity get to their heads to hurry and make another season. It's normal to instantly think, "I want more!" as a fan but it's good to realize a short show with a good ending is better than a longer show with no end in sight.

On the subject of the Fallout show doing well with a female main character; if they make a Mass Effect show, I really, really, really hope Shepard isn't in it. I hope they just use They/Them like they do in the novels and comics whenever Shepard is mentioned. (Just in case you don't know, in the game you can choose to be male or female.)

Let the trilogy be Shepard's story.

It's tiring how people love to recycle characters and stories instead of seeing something new.
Just play the game again if you want to see that exact story and characters.
Just read the book again if you want to see that exact story and characters.
Just watch that movie again if you want to see that exact story and characters. 

Show me new characters with a new perspective.
Tell me something I don't know about Mass Effect instead of changing it. 
Add onto the lore instead of creating a fanfiction of it.

(I know that "Shepard's story" isn't the most voted for but 26% is still too much 🙄)

It does make me happy to know I'm not alone:

(I'm purplypastel.)

45:04 I want to see this movie! Not just because Steve says it's good but because I've seen people on Twitter saying it's surprisingly really good. Can't wait.

53:42 I'm a kid from the 90s and have never heard of it. The only Water World I knew of was a water park in Phoenix that was called that lol

The ending 😂

Fall and Winter

Geoff Ramsey

F**kface Break Show

Clutch My Pearls

ANMA

So... Alright

Annnnnnd Rooster Teeth is shutting down after I just found out about his podcasts.... I've been marathoning them before they get taken down or something. But he has said that he plans on continuing these podcast in a different form and under a different name so not all is lost. 
I wish him and his friends the best.

And I'm so happy that he got married again. This might be weird to say but I find it so sweet that he's getting married a third time. Because it shows that he hasn't given up hope on love and finding someone who makes marriage fun. I love that she even says, "I'm not the same person as your ex so don't expect the same outcome." 

In a world where many people only get married because it's expected of them or they never get married again because it didn't work out the first time, it's romantic to see that Geoff is following his heart. Fuck popular opinion and statistics. Just live life how you want, what feels right for you. 

I love that he says she makes fun of him now for saying at the start of their relationship, "I'll never get married again." But look at him now 🩷

Forgot to Save

I'm happy their back! A podcast about playing videogames they always wanted to check out but just haven't yet. It's good motivation. I started taking out my old systems and making room for them to replay or try some old games that I've had my eye on. 

Relistening to the EZU podcasts

I love Steve Zaragoza and his friends.

Sachie's vlogs

Link

I love her cozy aesthetic. I wish she did longer vlogs. 
 

Marathoning Brittany Broski's channel

Cyberpunk 2077 novel

Loved it. Love the dark world and ending.

(Small spoilers):
Fans who complain that stories are too depressing nowadays need to look around. There are still so many stories where everything works out in the end; "the power of friendship saves the day!" So, many of those stories are still around. Start getting used to seeing spaces for more stories where evil wins no matter how powerful your friendship is. 

Its refreshing to not be able to predict who might win vs in the past, we always knew it would work out for our heroes. 

Talk To Me

A very good movie for their first movie. Can't wait for their next one. 

No One Will Save You

Loved this! I didn't even notice that there wasn't any dialogue until 25 minutes in or so. I loved the ending. The people that want more explanation can learn to use their imagination and fuck off. Movies shouldn't have to force feed us lore. The lore isn't needed because we are here for the horror and outcome of the main character. 

"That's kind of a fucked up ending!" It's a horror movie, it should be fucked up.
I'm not into family friendly horror.

Transformers: Rise of the Beast

Guilty pleasure 😍

South Park: Joining the Panderverse

I'm so fucking happy that South Park can still make me laugh. I loved this. I hope they make another game where we play as "the new kid."

No Country for Old Men

I loved how realistic and dark this movie was. It's not for everyone but I loved how close to real life it was and real life isn't always satisfying. Can't wait to listen to the audio book because if a movie is good, then the book is always better.

The Friendship Game

It gets "eh" right before the ending but the rest of the 90% of it was fun. I loved imagining this movie as an anime. I want to see more creative stories like this that focus heavy on character friendships and relationships while the supernatural shit is just background noise. Not a perfect movie but a really fun one with realistic young characters.

Cyberpunk DLC

Fucking amazing. I was invested in the story and characters. Instantly interested. The President was hard to hate, I thought she was fucking cool even if I disagreed with her. Love it when characters like that are in stories.

The ending was heartbreaking even though I thought about that happening, it was still shocking to hear the character say those words to confirm my guess. I loved the writing and storytelling. 

Scars Above

This was a very nice find. I just got it because it was on sale for very cheap and I would've paid full price if I had known I would've liked it this much. Reminded me of Mass Effect.

Quantum Break

I can't believe I've never played this game before. I also, can't believe that people say this game wasn't that well liked when it came out. I think maybe it was before it's time with it showing a live action show with the gameplay. It was awesome to see areas in the show being in the game and areas in the game being in the show! The game we see it from the main characters' point of view and the show was from the side characters' point of view. 

This is why I think videogames are the best form of story telling. It can do it all. Anything movies and shows can do, videogames can do. It doesn't need to be a shooter to be fun. This game could've been a "walking simulator" or visual novel and I still would've loved it. This story about controlling time, and time travel, is my favorite because it has a rule that they can't go back in time past the point of the first activation of the time machine. 

I love this limit on traveling to the past because it stops all the tropes and cliches that other stories with time travel touch on. "Lets go make sure our enemy is never born!" "Don't become your own grandparent!" This game focuses on a smaller time frame than other time travel stories and it having the time control power being in a focused area bubble is really different from other stories too!

If I had played this game when it came out, it would've been my Game of the Year. 

The Long Dark DLC

A very good game to play while listening to a podcast or music. Sometimes I don't listen to anything because I love imagining that I'm the character in the game and in nature. I love just hearing the game sounds (I turn off the in-game music.) like; walking, cooking, crafting, eating, animal and weather noise.

I loved this DLC, it added more quests, items and we can now see our character's hands covered in any clothing we put on. Before it would just show default hands but now, it's fun to wear different gloves and jackets just to see it animated on our character.

Bramble: The Mountain King

I beautiful and dark game that I knew was creepy but didn't expect it to get that dark. I love when horror doesn't warn you for triggering content. It being horror should be warning enough to expect anything evil. 

PowerWash Simulator

Another very good game to play while listening to a podcast or audiobook. It feels so satisfying to clean dirt and mug and seeing everything clean. Played it on Xbox Game Pass 👌

The Lamplighters League

The characters feel like they're from Team Fortress 2 but set in a dramatic world. I loved it. This game should be more popular. 

I love that the story is about stopping the end of the world but not with the typical heroes. They don't even believe in supernatural shit but they were hired by someone who does. I love when a story doesn't have their characters always being so noble and kind to fit the title of being a hero.

Sea of Stars

Very beautiful game and I love that the female character has the same name as me 💖 I hated the friend that tags along with them. HATE HIM. He couldn't leave the party sooner. The game gets 100 times better once he's out because of the reveal. The reveal to the world becoming bigger is my jam. I thought this game was going to be shorter but no, it's a long game. Love that. 

Hazbin Hotel

I loved this show but wish it was more dark than "we're best friends until the end!" Also, the final fight was kinda cringy but over all, I enjoyed this show very much. Can't wait for season 2.

I ordered the beautiful trading cards and can't wait for them to get here! 

Blogging and emailing

Link

I've been really enjoying being active on my blog that I usually only used for my seasonal favorites and disappointments. And it got me motivated to email podcasts I love because I'm sick of being a lurker. Maybe I'll get lucky and have them read my email just to know that I exist for the moment they are reading it. Like, when streamers shout out usernames or someone you're a fan of gives your tweet a "like", it feels exciting! 



Bad stuff:

Link

(Me trying to stay calm and see if I can recover my videos from my deleted channel while David takes a relaxing shower and has no idea that I'm stressing.........)

("For any reason" fuck you.)

Also, Gen V was okay. It started out strong but then focused too much on love interest bullshit. It's not the main point but it's a big point that is hard to not let it bother me. At least, it got me excited for the next season of The Boys. I'm done with teen characters being main characters. 

Sword and Fairy: Together Forever is very beautiful and started off fun but got so boring so fast. I stayed to see how the romance ended and it was a big disappointment. Do not play this game for the romantic storylines. They don't even kiss. 

The Curse was just a waste of time. A very cool ending that the series doesn't deserve. 

The Bear I loved the first season because it was nice to see after watching the movie, The Menu and comparing what was overdramatic and what was actually true in the restaurant world. But the second season was so bad, I'm dropping the show. The tone completely changes. Only the episode, "Forks" was worth watching. 


Coral Island was a game I was looking forward to because of the hype and it seems like it could be a really good game...once it's finished. It has a very annoying bug where it crashes randomly and you waste the whole in game day because it doesn't save your progress until you sleep at night. This makes me hate how I can't save anywhere I want. Unplayable with that bug. And the only character I want to romance has a bug where I can't progress his story so that's when I quit. I'll wait until it's done. Don't make players pay to be your game testers. It's not fun playing a broken game. 


Everything Everywhere All At Once is a really fucking cool concept but I really hate the tone of the comedy and characters. They act like characters in a family friendly movie but this movie isn't family friendly. It doesn't fit. I hated it. I want to see this same story done again with either a more dry comedy or more serious with little to no comedy. 🤞

Theories For The Next Mass Effect

Link

I'm finally ready to share my thoughts on the Mass Effect teasers we got on N7 day. I was just having so much fun hearing and reading theories from other fans to actually focus and record my own theory. Plus, I wanted to wait until after The Game Awards just in case there was another teaser. 

I recorded a podcast episode of my theories in 2021. And since my thoughts have not changed after knowing all these extra clues of what's in the next Mass Effect game, I'm just going to add more details to my theory in this blog post.  

I want a new and improved story

The new picture teaser of the N7 character's silhouette, shows a bar or club.

People kept saying that it could be Omega or the Citadel but there seems to be an Angara so I'm thinking it's a bar in Andromeda or a new club in the Milky Way that we haven't seen yet. I'm just getting frustrated with the fans that want everything recycled. 

I find it exciting thinking of stuff that weren't in any of the other games before. I want new things more than I want cameos of all the old characters. 

It reminds me when fans would complain about the Mass Effect novels for having the information in those books not being fully in the games. And that it's "unfair" or "a bad choice" to force fans to buy books or to miss out completely because not everyone is a reader. I disagree with that bullshit.

If reading hurts your head, just listen to the audio version. If you like podcasts then you can listen to audio books. The novels would be pointless if it added nothing new to the Mass Effect series and only reused the information fans already know.

I love all the novels. They were fun to read and to experience another side of the characters we meet in the games. Shepard and Ryder don't need to know everything. Some things can be just for the fans.

It's good story telling to not let the main hero know everyone's business. That is the shit anime does that I hate. Anime will have all the important characters hiding behind a wall or something while spying on another character having a moment to themselves. A moment that could've been just between them and the viewers. I love stories where characters will NEVER find out about something so, it only hits harder for the viewers during rewatches.

Walter Jr. (Flynn) will never know that his dad thought of Jesse as a second son. That type of bittersweet drama is so delicious.

I want more Mass Effect novels and comics, please! 

I want Andromeda 2

Making the game be based in Andromeda is easier when wanting to respect Mass Effect 3's endings. I would be fine with only seeing Shepard in ME5 on screens and audios. Bring Shepard's voice actors back just to record voice lines Shepard might have said before they died, that fans never heard before. Make Shepard feel legendary after their death. It would give fans such a intense, happy feeling hearing Shepard's voice and their name being mentioned in the next game. But don't actually bring Shepard back!

Having Liara tell our new character stories about Shepard would be more exciting than having Shepard be there in person. Just for them to not be impressed by a new threat because nothing can top the Reapers. Or worse, the story tries to create a bigger and stronger enemy than the Reapers...
Please don't. Dragon Ball Z and Hunter x Hunter (Ant arc) does this and it's annoying. Stories don't need to weaken past villains to make new villains exciting.

Different enemies > Over-powered enemies

(In the main Mass Effect subreddit, there was so much hate and anger about the Angara. Fuck those fans. I really hope they get nothing they want in ME5. It's like the people who still shit on Dragon Age 2 and Cyberpunk 2077. Move on and accept that all three of those games have always had a good story but now it's easier to see that after the game graphic hotfix and updates.)

The extreme happiness I felt was so instant after seeing that the face reveal was just a helmet. I was so glad to not see Shepard. If it was Shepard, they would know what helmet to use. That's not the helmet.

It's a new mystery character! I'm so happy! The pettiness side of my thoughts were saying, "Ha! Fuck anyone who wanted it to be Shepard so bad that they didn't care HOW it made sense." (They could still be right that Shepard really is back but for now, they're wrong!)

Link

"Endings be damned...I want Shepard back, idc how" No! That's not how we should think. We should care about the "how" very much. We should demand good writing because for Mass Effect, I'm here for the story. Not the gameplay. This series isn't Halo and Doom. (I love those games but they zoom through the story to get back to the gameplay as quickly as possible.)

Please don't bring Shepard back, they already came back once and it was exciting. Don't ruin replays of ME2 and ME3!

This is why I wanted a Mass Effect remake more than a remaster. They could've made the ending be more simple where all Shepard has to do is activate the crucible and sit down with Anderson and watch the war end. That's the remake we needed for them to have more freedom in ME5 for Shepard's character. Why rerelease the games and not change the endings just to have ME5 say, "Shepard and their friends are back!"

I hope people who said they don't care how Shepard comes back, all take a breath, calm down and listen to what they are asking for. We don't want Mass Effect to be burned like Star Wars was, just to sell more merch. Please be careful what you wish for!

So, here's why I think all three endings can be canon and not ignored:

-With destroy, Liara being over 600, they had lots of time to rebuild the relays and new Geth. (Goodbye to EDI though.)

-With control, that would be the easiest ending to continue the story from. Shepard's copy controlling the Reapers to rebuild and advance the galaxy. 

-With synthesis, I don't think they need to glow green all the time. I think the glowing was just for players to see something has changed inside the characters. Otherwise, the only clue that something was different is if characters all looked down at their hands and arms to make it obvious they feel different. So, the glow could've just been visual for players to quickly know the change worked. 

Or the glow is canon but the glow was bright when it's fresh but fades (like, skin being red after a fresh tattoo) and that's why it's not showing up on Liara in the teaser.
Or it's just Bioware being sneaky to not spoil anything and just has her not glowing as default. Just like male Shepard was in the trailers but Shepard could also be a woman but she's not shown in the ME1 and ME2 trailers.

Male Shepard isn't the only canon. Just like the destroy ending isn't the only canon.

I'm excited thinking about a very long game! Not because of how long it takes to beat it in one sitting. Long because replaying it, you get a different story by choosing which ending you want to be canon in Mass Effect 5. Three possible story paths. Like, in Cyberpunk 2077 but not just for a different intro but a whole different game feel! 

Like, choosing to be a mage or not in the Dragon Age series. (Or choosing to be a human, elf, dwarf, or qunari.) The game treats you differently base on what your character is. That's what Mass Effect was missing. If ME5 isn't open world, then I could see it having enough room for three story settings in one game!

The bar colors are red and blue which makes me excited for renegade to be back! Also, the paragon shape is in it.

Also, seeing the character that looks like Garrus, I thought maybe this could literally be the afterlife. That all these characters in the picture are dead. I thought of, "Meet me at the bar. I'm buying." The thought of him being there waiting for Shepard either because he died during the Reaper war or after but of old age, is so sweet and sad to think about. I love it!

But I don't see how that would work because where are the Quarians? So, if it's not the afterlife then why no Quarians in this bar? There can't STILL be racism towards Quarians in the Milky Way. Not after that war. So, maybe this bar is taking place in Andromeda and the Quarians are still looked down upon? Because their ark has to have gotten there already, there's a Hanar in the picture.

If it is in the Milky Way why wouldn't they be there? They eat the same food as Turians.
Can't wait to find out!

Link

Do the Jardaan show up in the Milky Way with their Angara creations?

I hope we find out where the Kett came from and who are the Jardaan's enemies. Maybe we fight two wars in the next game? (A really long game like, The Witcher 3!) One war with the Kett then the next with Jardaan's enemies? The Kett seems to not care about the Jardaan's tech so, at least we know they are not connected. And they could come together in ME5. 

Maybe the Jardaan are enemies with their own race? One side doesn't like that they created the Angara but the other side thinks it's important science?

Maybe the Geth made their own ark in private (if the game is in Andromeda)? It could work because it wouldn't need to be as big as the arks for organics. Geth do not use escape pods. Just a few physical Geth would be needed. 

Either they made it before the Reaper war starts and followed the organics to Andromeda without them knowing. Just hoping for a future with them because they got that hope while teaming up with Shepard against the collectors.
Or they started on the ark after Legion gives them the upgrades and it sets out before Shepard picks an ending. Like I said, the ark doesn't need to be big so maybe they made it quickly and quietly. They don't need rest so I can really see this happening. (If we want them to not be affected by the endings.)

Like, how some choose to follow the Reapers in the first game while the rest refused. Maybe some Geth choose to give up on the Milky Way and try for Andromeda?

Or this fun theory I found on Reddit!

And this one from Twitter is fun too!

Sixth ark? Never mentioned in MEA. But it sounded official with them announcing it for the recording. So, I don't think it's shady maybe just a last minute rich person who wanted to go? Or higher ups who knew the Reapers were about to attack? Because the recording is before the war.

Or it could be backup for the benefactor. We know the benefactor is on the nexus because they kill Jien Garson. So, maybe the sixth ark is just their extra backup made to seem official? Geth? Maybe this benefactor is an A.I. in a body like Eva's (EDI's body) to appear human when Ryder and SAM scan the room Jien Garson was murdered in. 

Maybe this benefactor has other A.I. who want to join it. And that's what is in the sixth ark? If so, this benefactor is so exciting! I feel like a big nerd right now, this is so fun!

I love that some people think the masked character could be the benefactor and that this year's teaser trailer takes place in Andromeda. It could be a flashback before they go to Andromeda because the benefactor does contact Alec when he was working on SAM.

Maybe the benefactor is human. Another cool villain like TIM but a woman? I like it. Plus, people are saying that the character in the teaser seems like a villain. Wont show their face in what could be a clear helmet. Because with Shepard's helmet, you could see their eyes.

I love the thought of a renegade hero being advertised than a paragon one again.

It seems the air is going to be toxic in Mass Effect 5.
From the old teaser picture:

Link

To this year's teaser trailer:

Characters wearing masks and helmets. The air looks thick in both the picture and video.

New Mass relay looks like a relay station. Has docks.

"Human defiance." We are seeing the new N7 character or "the villain" in the 2023 teaser looking at a private recording of Liara talking to the Geth? (You can see their arm with the red and white stripe reflection in the bottom left corner of the video. And the effect makes it look like a screen.) It's possible we aren't playing as this character but seeing what could be Liara's enemy.

And our player character will choose who to help? Like, how we got to choose to help Reyes or Slone. "The villain" might not be a main enemy but a smaller scale one. Have to deal with choosing who to team up with first before going after the bigger enemy? The bigger enemy later in that same game or in ME6.  

But if it turns out that IS our player character then I'm so hyped to have our character have a set goal of spying on Liara. Like, how Shepard's set goal is military. They join the military no matter what you choose as a background. Maybe our background is a spy?

Liara could be talking to the Geth with Glyph's (her personal VI assistant) help. Maybe she knows how SAM was made? After the war she has all the time in the world to dive deep into A.I. research. My point is, she could have Glyph translating for her in an implant like the pathfinders use when talking to their SAMs.

Lady Insanity explains it better in her video.

I still feel like Liara walking on a dead Reaper and finding a N7 piece is just a random soldier's piece of armor. She smiles because it makes her think of Shepard. I just don't think she's looking for Shepard. Shepard's body wouldn't be in a snowy area. It would be in space, near or in the destroyed Citadel.

Maybe she's revisiting a dead Reaper to take one last look before leaving to Andromeda? To remember what they faced and fought for? Or old tech that is still useful? Clues to "the villain" that could be following Liara so, she's trying retrace "the villain's" steps?

I just don't think it's Shepard's because Shepard isn't the only one with N7 armor. Red, white and black are not really Shepard's colors. It's the N7 colors. That piece Liara picks up could be from any dead N7 soldier. She looks at it like it's a cool rock she found. Not like she's so happy to have finally found a clue towards Shepard's body. I feel like she would be more excited than how she was.

Feels like just a sweet moment for Liara to be reminded of Shepard.

The teaser photo that looks like a Geth's head is too big to actually be that. It must be a destroyed mass relay. Like, other fans have pointed out. There are Geth corpses in the dirt next to it through so the Mass Effect team knows what their doing by confusing fans with it's shape.

Dead Geth doesn't mean the next game will make destroy canon through, just like showing male Shepard doesn't mean male Shepard is canon. Geth were fighting along side everyone else so, Geth corpses can be a thing in any ending.

Maybe Liara and what seems to be her crew, (maybe the Krogan is Grunt?) are trying to find clues to the N7 masked character? Or she is just looking at an old war field from the Reaper war to reminisce before leaving to Andromeda?

I did a "No Commentary" playthough of Mass Effect Andromeda if you don't feel like playing it. Just sit back and accept the story. It's going to be apart of the next game. Let Shepard go. Andromeda is something new and it's about fresh starts with characters who didn't signup to be in a war but are forced into one. 

I also have a "No Commentary" of the trilogy for the few of you who played MEA but haven't played the older games. Or would like to refresh on the story without replaying it. 

Can't wait for Mass Effect 5 to do something new that both the trilogy and Andromeda hasn't done!

I don't want Andromeda to be a guilty pleasure

"Andromeda isn't perfect but..."
"Despite it's flaws..." 

The trilogy has flaws and isn't perfect either. Just like every other game. If you like Mass Effect Andromeda just say that you like it without the "but."

If you don't like it then just say you don't. But don't delude yourself into thinking that the trilogy is perfect. 

Here are some plot holes in the Mass Effect trilogy:

-Quarian faces being mysterious in a futuristic, advance tech series. No past videos or pictures? Really?

-Being told that there are only three Ardat-Yakshi in existence in ME2 but we find out there's a whole school of them in ME3.

-Was A.I. research illegal before or after the Quarians made the Geth? The trilogy can't make up it's mind on what came first.

-Shepard is never seen using biotics in cutscenes but Bioware does a good job with the Dragon Age series if your character is a mage or not. But for Shepard, they went cheap. Them using biotics would have made them win so many fights with certain characters without the help of their companions.

-All the companions still wear the same outfits they wore in ME2. Even Miranda and Jacob and they are supposed to be in hiding!

-A version of the Rachni queen lives no matter what you choose in the first game. It's a lazy way to do Grunt's quest in ME3.

-Only 2 out of 12 companions from ME2, will join your ship again. Some have good reasons but others are just lazily written reasons.

-Renegade is not balanced well in the first two games. It's just there to be a bully most times. While ME3 perfects it! It's there to be a hardass but not an asshole.

It's the "tough love" personality. Love where a Renegade Shepard cares about their friends but wont let it get in the way of winning the war. (I love that Garrus' character in the game is for him to always understand a Renegade Shepard.)

Again, a remake would've been better than a remaster. Going full renegade isn't fun in the first two games but going full renegade in ME3 is easy. It fits right into what a commander should be.

-There's not many black characters. Yes, this is a problem. MEA is better with showing different skin tones. In the novel, it explain that humans are a mixture of race by this point BUT it should still show darker skin tones anyway. Don't be lazy with this. 

-There's no female versions of the other alien races other than Quarians. MEA fixes this problem! I loved seeing female Turians, Krogans and Salarians everywhere. Another reason I wanted a remake instead of a remaster. Would love to have seen female alien NPCs in the backgrounds, at the very least.

-There is no Geth or Leviathan shown joining the battle on earth. Not even Aria's pirates are shown in the final battle. Players know all our allies are there fighting but it would've been nice to see it.

All the allies you made in MEA show up for the final battle. It made the "point of no return" more satisfying hearing all the allies come help distract the enemies so that my small team can slip through to the main boss. I really wish that same feeling was in ME3.

-Ashley and Miranda are sexualized characters for no reason. (For male players, obviously but you know what I mean.)
The creators "tried" to give a reason for Miranda's looks with her being the "perfect" human. And even has a character point out her outfit during her personal quest but it still doesn't cut it as necessary to her character. She's in a professional setting most of the time. Makes no sense unless it's in the DLC where everyone is on shore leave and she wears a dress. 

Characters can look and act sexy, just put in the work to make it make sense. There needs to be a "right place, right time."

-And lastly, EDI knows everything that goes on around the ship so, why isn't there a conversation with her if you choose to sabotage the cure? Only Garrus talks to you about it.

I would love to see someone who played Mass Effect Andromeda first then played the trilogy, utter the words, "Despites the trilogy's flaws, I really enjoyed it." 

You don't need to add that unless you're talking about a broken game. Like, the first year Cyberpunk 2077 came out. The statement, "despite it's flaws, I really enjoyed it" would THEN make sense. MEA wasn't broken just because people didn't like the new character designs. 

Fallout 4 had so many glitches and bugs and people still loved it. But when MEA has them, it's broken? All open world games will always have glitches. Which is why I really hope ME5 isn't open world! (And DA4!) 

It's okay to express you love a game without trying to make the haters tolerate your statement. 

Anyway, this is the first series that I've kept up with seeing it's development and waiting for clues on it's story. But once we get a full trailer, I will not watch it. I will bookmark it to watch after I played the game but not before. And yes, it will be hard to not look at it but I know I can do it!

I don't like spoiling myself on stories if I know I'm going to buy it anyway. I love discovering what the story is going to be about in games, movies and shows by letting it tell me. Instead of a trailer showing me all the best parts.

The Last Of Us 2 and Cyberpunk 2077's trailers completely spoil character deaths. I'm so glad I don't watch trailers before playing games. All I need is a summary of the story to know if I'm interested in that world.

And I want the Mass Effect team to know that if ME5's story has nothing I listed then I'll still be happy with getting the game. I have faith that the people working on it will treat the story right, no matter what. It's fun to be picky while we can but Shepard or no Shepard, Andromeda or no Andromeda, I'm excited! 

Link