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formula365 · 3 years

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Champions in the making - Emilia Romagna GP review

The breakthrough kid

It is not always possible to pinpoint the exact moment in which a driver goes from young promise to champion in the making. There can be breakthrough performances, in which a driver lays down a marker and announces himself to the world, but more often than not the progression is so gradual over a number of seasons that the driver eventually makes it to the top in slow steps, a sink filling up drop by drop from a leaky faucet.

But every once in a while, we get to witness a breakthrough moment, one of those weekends that, when looking back into a career, will be seen as a pivotal moment in which the promise has come good, which removes the doubt of whether that potential will be fulfilled. Moments like Sebastian Vettel winning in a Toro Rosso, or Max Verstappen becoming a Grand Prix winner on his Red Bull debut; we knew, there and then, what they would become.

It wasn’t his maiden win, but this is what we witnessed this weekend from Lando Norris.

Coming into this season, the young Brit knew this could be a make or break year for him. He had done really well to match his more experienced teammate in his first two seasons, but the challenge with his new partner was at a different level. No disrespect to Carlos Sainz, who is definitely a talented driver, but Daniel Ricciardo is a proven race winner, someone who had driven for Red Bull and been considered by Mercedes and Ferrari. The Aussie had spent the last two seasons destroying Nico Hulkenberg and Esteban Ocon, no slouches themselves, which meant there was a risk for Norris to be swallowed up by the Honey Badger’s performances.

His first two seasons had shown glimpses of his talent, but also a certain on-track shyness, in contrast to his expansive personality off it. He himself admitted during pre-season that he needed to improve on his aggressiveness and push harder on wheel to wheel battles; he had to drive the car ever closer to its limits. After a couple of seasons maturing and honing his skills, now was the time to be a more imposing figure behind the wheel, including within his own team.

Bahrain had already shown glimpses of that. He started the race behind his teammate, but passed him early on and never looked back. Imola, though, was something else. McLaren didn’t have the right set-up throughout Friday and both drivers seemed to be struggling, but on Saturday Norris looked to be one with his car. Bar a small mistake on his last run, he would have not only out-qualified his teammate, but also Verstappen in a much faster Red Bull. The track limits infringement left him P7 on the grid, but on Sunday he would more than make up for the mistake.

He had blistering pace from the get-go, to the point that he radioed his engineer when stuck behind his teammate to ask to be let through. In a moment that could be defining for the season, Ricciardo did let him through and then saw the youngster disappear down the road in the chase for the Ferraris. On the restart, he made light work of Leclerc (with much faster tyres, to be fair) and then fought Hamilton hard for several laps until the lack of grip on his rubber forced him to concede.

Overall, Norris showed a wide array of his skills at Imola: blistering one-lap pace, attacking, defending, tyre management, determination to come back after the mistake on Saturday, even authority in the team when he asked to be let through his teammate. A complete performance that leaves no doubt about his talent: he has the skills to be a future champion, the only question remaining is whether he will have the consistency to deliver over a full season. Given his mental approach - he is very open to speak about mental health - it seems he is addressing that side of his driving as well.

Until now, Norris had been the fun kid with a turn of pace, the meme-generator and half of a McLaren bromance. The end of the partnership with Sainz might have been a liberating factor for him: in order to be taken more seriously, the banter has to take second place to his driving, and with Ricciardo also looking to leave his more goofy side in the background, this can be the perfect time for Lando to do the same and let his driving do the talking. He certainly did that this weekend.

Talking points

* My oh my, do we have a fight on our hands. Verstappen v. Hamilton is already becoming such a compelling story it is hard not to make it the subject of every race review and preview; the feeling is that this will be a fight for the ages, that we will have a season to be remembered for many years to come. This time around it was the Dutchman who had the upper hand, with a superb start to go from P3 to P1 into Tamburello. He gave no quarters to Hamilton on the outside and then managed the race beautifully, although he was left unchallenged in the second half after Hamilton’s crash. The game is most definitely on.

* The reigning champion may have given some small signs of the pressure getting to him. Mostly unchallenged in recent years, Lewis made an uncharacteristic mistake when lapping back markers and then seemed to have had a scrambled brain moment as he struggled to get out of the run-off area. He is human, after all, some might have thought. The red flag gave him the opportunity to reset and come back to re-claim P2 and a podium place he would have certainly lost otherwise. He showed his mental resilience then, but it will be interesting to see how he (and Verstappen as well) will manage the pressure of a title fight (hopefully) over 23 races.

* One of the big talking points post-race was the massive crash between Bottas and Russell. Approaching Tamburello, drivers hit speeds above 300 kph, so it’s no surprise it was a nasty one, and that both drivers felt the other should have done more to avoid it. Controversy aside, the big question has to be why was Bottas defending P9 from a Williams. Like Monza, Turkey and Sakhir last year, when the Finn gets caught up in the midfield he struggles to move forward, and even manages to fall further back. To make matters worse, in all these races his teammate was caught in similar situations and had no problem cutting through the field. When the dust settles, Bottas will certainly have some soul searching to do.

* How good is it to see McLaren and Ferrari fighting each other for top spots? The two historic teams collected all positions from P3 to P6 and seem to be a step above the rest of the midfield contenders. This is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, rivalry in F1’s history, and it’s great for the sport to see it reignited.

* The only midfield team that seems to have the pace to challenge them is AlphaTauri, but they are struggling to convert their pace into points. Tsunoda ruined his weekend with two (very rookie) mistakes, while Gasly’s race was ruined by the decision to start on full wets. He still made a great recovery drive to finish P7, but this felt like another missed opportunity for AlphaTauri, specially at a track they know so well. They have a genuine shot at finishing in the top half of the table, which is Franz Tost’s goal for the team, but in order to achieve that they have to start using their pace to score points.

* If AlphaTauri will be left ruing their weekend, Williams will be doubly so. With two drivers qualifying in the top 14, they had genuine hope to score points for the first time since the crazy rain-soaked German GP in 2019, but two crashes negated their shot. Latifi barely got going so we will never know what he could have achieved, but Russell was clearly in the mix and will be left pondering how high he could have finished if he had been a bit more cautious. With scoring opportunities so limited, that might have been the wiser approach.

* The second Red Bull continues the saga of the topsy-turvy weekends. One of the narratives for Albon in 2020 was that he was not able to have a clean, incident-free weekend, and that was limiting his results. Perez is going down the same path, and although he did manage to salvage a P5 in Bahrain, here he was left empty-handed. It’s still very early, and the signs from the first race were positive, but for Red Bull to challenge Mercedes he needs to be up there consistently.

* Ahead of the season, very few people would have betted for Stroll and Ocon to be beating their teammates, either in qualifying or in the race. The two youngsters are showing that world titles (a combined 6 after all) aren’t a guarantee of continued success.

* On that topic, it is worth noting that most drivers that are newcomers to their respective teams are struggling at the moment. Sainz at Ferrari is the exception; Perez, Ricciardo, Alonso and Vettel are all underperforming, some more than others. This quartet is uber-talented, though, so expect them to get closer to their teammates as the season progresses and they become more accustomed to their new cars.

* Curb your enthusiasm, Yuki. We love to see his on-track flamboyance: he is one of the most exciting drivers to hit F1 in the last few years, but it can work against him too. He needs to find a balance but two races in these growing pains were to be expected. Once he finds that balance, he will be one hell of a driver.

Driver of the day: Lando Norris

Moment of the day

The battle between Hamilton and Norris. The young Brit managed to hold off the 7-times champion for a handful of laps, with tyres well past their expiry date and no DRS; Leclerc, for comparison, was on mediums and was passed by Hamilton on the first lap he didn’t have DRS. Norris’ positioning was perfect and he was brave on the brakes. Eventually the lack of grip and Hamilton’s bravery led to the inevitable, but Norris put up an excellent fight.

#imola gp #lando norris #lewis hamilton #max verstappen #mclaren #ferrari #valtteri bottas #george russell #alpha tauri #williams f1 #sergio perez #yuki tsunoda #lance stroll #esteban ocon

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willsff7rthoughts · 4 years

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[REVIEW] Final Fantasy VII: Remake

WARNING: This review contains spoilers for both Final Fantasy VII (1997) as well as Final Fantasy VII: Remake (2020).

Introduction

Before I get into things, I feel like this review deserves a little bit of context.

Final Fantasy VII (1997) is my favorite video game of all time. As a kid, I liked my Game Boy games; Pokémon Red and Link’s Awakening were good fun as I passed summer days at my grandparents’ house. However, it wasn’t until I played Final Fantasy VII that I fell in love with video games and realized the platform’s potential as an art form. The game packed a full and impactful punch – a vast and varied world to explore, an engrossing and gripping story, characters whose lives are changed forever, stunning graphics (at the time), a simple yet deep combat system, and a new way of keeping things fresh at every turn. All of this spanned across four discs and fifty hours of a completely riveting gaming experience.

Video games have been my foremost hobby and passion since my first foray into this wonderful adventure, and thus it isn’t a stretch to say that Final Fantasy VII helped define who I am as a person. So, let me be the first person to say that I was nervous when Final Fantasy VII: Remake was announced. I wasn’t one of those people who obnoxiously kept asking for it, nor did I even really want it. The odds of this remake meeting the sky-high expectations set by the original were astronomically low, and the thought of recreating my first love in a modern gaming culture where games are more popular, more culturally relevant, and more heavily scrutinized than ever before was downright terrifying. Imagine that the thing you loved and championed for the most was vilified in the social media era. Indirectly, the part of you which that thing helped to define would be vilified, too. If, in the middle of the remake’s development cycle, Square were to suddenly announce that the plug was pulled on the project and it would never see the light of day, I wouldn’t have been upset because I was so fearful of being disappointed. Nothing could have eased this fear – not the news of the old guard getting together to make this game, not the breathtaking visual previews, or the overwhelmingly well received gameplay demo. I needed to see for myself if Square could re-capture lightning in a bottle.

The point that I’m hoping to illustrate here is that this isn’t a Kingdom Hearts III (2019) situation where Square could have put prison gruel on my plate and I’d still eat it up like a well-seasoned filet mignon simply because I’m happy it exists. Quite the opposite, in fact. Upon popping the disc in, I went in with a strict and critical mindset because this game had to be absolutely stellar; anything else would be a massive disappointment.

With that set up, and a thirty-eight hour escapade from the Sector 1 Reactor to the highway out of Midgar in the books, let’s get into it. I’ll be covering and assigning subjective scores to each of the following categories: Visuals, Sound, World, Gameplay, Characterization, Story, Ending. At the end, I’ll deliver concluding thoughts and attempt a final subjective score.

Visuals

We’ll start with the bells and whistles. Visuals, and then sound.

I’ve always been one to say that graphics are a low priority in the world of video games, that the “game” part is what should grip you moreso than the “video” part. In fact, I haven’t adhered to this more loudly than when defending the 1997 original because no game has been subject to more “polygon graphics” and “Dorito hair” memes.

All that said, good graphics are one hell of a cherry to have on top. And this game’s cherry is a sweet one.

Square Enix has always been at the forefront of graphical prowess for pretty much their entire history; they tend to set the bar in this department when it comes to a new Final Fantasy installment and this remake is no exception.

It’s pretty simple here: Everything. Looks. Fucking. Amazing.

We’ll start with the character designs. All stay true to the original; the biggest liberties that Square decided to take were Barret’s sunglasses to highlight that renegade, demolitionist aesthetic (he may or may not wear them indoors a bit too much, but I digress) and Tifa’s new stockings and sports bra underneath her iconic white tank to give her more of that sporty, martial artist look. Both are welcome additions. Zooming out and taking a look at the entire cast, everyone looks absolutely brilliant in their 2020 self.

Facial expressions, lip syncing, and body language are of course impeccable and life-like for all characters throughout the game’s entirety. It’s important to note, too, that Square pushed the envelope so much on these character models that it’s often hard to distinguish whether or not in-game models or pre-rendered models are being used in cutscenes.

Animations both in battle and out of it are extremely fluid and well-done. Battle particles and visuals are flashy and distinct without being overbearing or stealing the limelight away from the gameplay itself. Between Kingdom Hearts III and now this game, it’s probably fair to say that all of the chatter surrounding Square’s adoption of Unreal Engine 4 can now be put to rest.

I’ll cover the visual quality of Midgar itself in the “World” section, but as you can probably imagine, I was blown away by that, too.

Visuals Score: 10/10

Sound

Let’s begin with the voiceover quality (I played in English). This is actually a harder obstacle for Square to tackle than people realize, I think. These aren’t brand new characters. People know them already. The original game’s dialogue was done completely in text, so if you’re Square, you face this challenge where your players have a distinct voice in their head for these characters based on their appearances, backgrounds, personalities and choices of words. Can you capture that exactly?

I think Square did a great job, for the most part. You can hear Cloud’s fake apathy, the sincerity underneath his front of not caring. There’s a distance and mysterious quality to his voice that I think is so essential to his character. Barret is likely the weakest in terms of vocal performance; when he gets loud, I can’t get the Internet’s early comparisons to Robert Downey Jr. in Tropic Thunder (2008) out of my head. However, when speaking at a normal tone, and especially when speaking at a somber tone, I think he’s absolutely perfect. Gruff and tough, yet absolutely empathetic and passionate. Tifa likely has the strongest vocal performance, perfectly capturing a character who is pensive and struggling to identify what’s right amidst the chaos around her while being put in the position of needing to be the voice of reason. Aerith’s voice is higher pitched and carries more whimsy than I had imagined, but I also really like this version because it paints Aerith as this ordinary, innocent and playful woman which is true to her initial characterization before we find out that she is connected to something much, much deeper. The rest of the characters are voiced beautifully, from the Shinra crew, to the entirety of Avalanche (shoutouts to getting Badger from Breaking Bad to play Wedge, how absolutely perfect), to the random scared citizens we meet amongst the slums.

Moving onto the soundtrack... just wow. Nobuo Uematsu, you brilliant son of a bitch.

I’m of the opinion that Final Fantasy VII boasts the second best soundtrack in the franchise, second only to Final Fantasy IX (2000), and I really didn’t see where it had room to improve. Imagine if all of The Beatles were alive and said today, “Yeah, we’re going to remake Abbey Road, and make it even better.” Like... how? How do you improve upon a masterpiece? The potential and possibility is just outside of our comprehension, right? And yet, they would probably find a way.

Similarly, in a 2020 landscape in which Nobuo has a lot more tools, tricks, and experience up his sleeve, he managed to churn out a reimagined soundtrack that builds upon the core strengths of the original to create something new and grand. For example, from the jump, we can compare the Bombing Mission tracks. The original is fantastic, and a classic – a spunky baseline combined with anxiety-inducing synth horns create the perfect ambience for the mission at hand while setting up Midgar’s feel of a grungy, electric city. Nobuo’s version for the remake utilizes a sweeping orchestra to create the exact same feeling but with a much fuller sound fitting for a modern game.

Of course, plenty of new tracks were created for this game as well such as the score for the Wall Market sections, and certainly deserve their place amongst the old songs that we fell in love with before. Because of this, no two areas of Midgar felt the same (which can happen in a world where everything is called a sector and a number), and areas from the original took on that received their own theme took on a life of their own. Finally, the collectible jazz tracks were an amazing touch that provided an alternative look at the game’s iconic themes without breaking the immersion of the world too much.

A few of my personal favorites from throughout the game:

The Airbuster – A remake of Final Fantasy VII’s boss theme, and it just... slaps, as the kids say.

Critical Shot – An alternate battle theme that we first heard in the trailers which was simply a lot of fun to fight to

Tifa’s Theme – Seventh Heaven – The iconic piano track blossoms into a wonderful and iconic orchestral experience. Beautifully done.

Aerith’s Theme – Sector 5 Church – This one’s a bit of an outlier; it’s not actually listed on the FF7R OST and is in fact original to Nobuo’s Final Fantasy VII piano collections, but it’s the perfect example of music tying a ribbon onto a scene. Cloud falling into the Sector 5 Church and meeting Aerith is something I’ve seen countless times, but I was still moved to tears by how beautifully everything comes together.

On Our Way (Collectible Jazz Track) – We get the Kalm theme early with this one. Man, oh, man that saxophone.

Sound Score: 10/10

World

To be honest, it was basically a given that Square was going to nail the bells and whistles. Square-Enix games rarely, if ever, disappoint in the audiovisual department. With those out of the way, we can start moving to the meat of the review: How well did Square-Enix recreate this iconic world? In the case of this edition of the Remake, did they manage to bring Midgar to life in an acceptable way?

I’m going to make a confession. After the bombing mission, I felt bored. In fact, I turned the game off and called it a night. This isn’t to say that the bombing mission wasn’t recreated beautifully – it certainly was – it’s just that I've been conditioned by the original game to associate Midgar with being this slow, uninteresting opening act of the Final Fantasy VII story and that the bombing mission is just the first step to leaving Midgar so that I can start the real adventure.

And then, I got to Sector 7.

Holy shit.

I hadn’t really put much thought into how many levers Square had at their disposal to bring Midgar to life. Sector 7 served as the first of many slaps to the face that absolutely nothing was off limits, and whatever Square was going to touch was turning into gold. What in the 1997 edition was simply one screen with the bar, a couple shops, and an apartment or two we could enter was transformed into a full-on city. A grid of streets, avenues, and alleyways littered with townsfolk whose conversations about recent plot points we could overhear as we passed by, which created a pulse within the slums. A bevy of different stores and buildings to explore. A fresh cast of characters and NPCs to converse with which deepened our connection to these slums. And the plate. I could talk for hours about this – in the original, such a big deal is made of the two layers of Midgar, and how the top plate on which the privileged live blocks out the sky and pollutes the air for the slums below. But we literally never see the freaking thing because obviously, how could they show it in a top-down view? And yet, in this remake, it’s very much omnipresent. The steel sky of dread and inequality spans omnipresent across the slums we traverse (I unashamedly spent a legitimate five minutes just staring up at it, like “Holy crap. There it is...” as if I were a kid catching Santa Claus on Christmas night).

And of course, Sector 7 was just the tip of the iceberg. Sector 5 got a very similar treatment in addition to perfectly recreating Aerith’s house while capturing its vibes of being a diamond in the rough. Shinra HQ was downright gorgeous and more grand than we could have imagined. Something that stood out to me was Square’s ability to expand on areas from the original Midgar that were total afterthoughts – the journey from Sector 5 to the Sector 7 playground which in the original was a couple unremarkable screens became a winding stretch worth hours of exploration, puzzles, and battle. Other originally miniscule areas like the train graveyard, the sewers underneath Wall Market, and the climb up to Shinra HQ all got a similar treatment. Square didn’t stop there, either, introducing new areas such as a brief foray to the suburbs topside of the plate which showed new light upon this electric city. Honestly, what floored me the most was just how much life there was in all of Midgar. The conversations that the city’s inhabitants in virtually all areas that we pass through served to not only give Midgar a heartbeat, but also to make us as the player truly feel the gravity of our actions.

Truly, Square’s brilliance shone bright here – the bland and boring original Midgar only served as a blank canvas for the city to be invigorated in grand fashion for this remake.

World Score: 10/10

Gameplay

This is possibly the most important section. All the bells and whistles about this game are great, and the setting was recreated beautifully while capturing every vibe of the original and then some... but in the end, this is a video game, and aesthetics and soundscape don’t mean anything if your game isn’t fun.

Square-Enix had a monumental challenge before them when having to come up with a combat system for this remake. On the one hand, you have the classic Final Fantasy ATB system which longtime fans of the series absolutely love; this rewards tactical thinking, preparation, and methodically planning out and expending turns and resources to reach the outcome that you desire. On the other hand, turn based combat isn’t exactly premium gaming in 2020. I’m a Final Fantasy purist and even I can admit that. We’re just not as limited anymore. Developers have the ability to create these fantastic action-based games with better responsiveness, flow, and hitbox/hurtbox technology than ever before, and this style of gaming is obviously a lot more appealing and rewarding to a wider audience of players who frankly know better in this day and age.

So, Square did their best Dora impression and said “Why not both?”

And from it came perfection.

Yes, I said “perfection”. Square was somehow able to find a way to make old school and new school tango, and they are wonderful dance partners.

A brief summary for those who are out of the loop: In a normal state, combat plays a lot similarly to a lot of action-based games we know and love today (think God of War, Kingdom Hearts, Dark Souls). You can move around freely, guard, dodge, and attack to your heart’s content. There are elements here that are absolutely necessary in a modern video game that were missing in the original Final Fantasy VII: Constant engagement. Real-time skill expression.

The traditional Final Fantasy players don’t get left out either. By playing through combat normally – attacking, blocking, and dodging – the player builds up their ATB gauge. Once their ATB is full, they can enter Tactical Mode, which slows down time dramatically and allows the player to use their character’s skills, magic, summons, and items.

And the absolutely beautiful thing? You need both standard play as well as Tactical Mode to succeed in combat. The necessity of standard play is obvious – you need to be able to run around, attack, and defend to thrive in combat. But you won’t get anywhere with tougher enemies just by whacking them. You need to use your ATB gauge in order to pack a significant punch to enemies, to discover and exploit their weaknesses, and to heal up your party.

Speaking of the party, I deeply enjoyed being able to switch seamlessly between controlling the party members with the push of a button. AI-controlled party members’ ATB gauges fill up more slowly, which means constant switching, assigning ATB usage, and moving to the next party member are key to maximizing effectiveness. Hooray for even more avenues for skill expression!

And let me just take a second to gush. Perhaps my biggest criticism of the original Final Fantasy VII is that literally every character is pretty much the same in battle. Yes, their base stats vary slightly, as do their Limit Breaks, but aside from that, with enough materia and stat increase item shenanigans (and it doesn’t take much), every character plays and feels the same in combat.

Square completely shattered that criticism in this remake. Every character feels unique and satisfying to play:

What’s remarkable to me about playing as Cloud is how well Square nailed the speed at which he plays at. ‘Cause think about it, right? Dude’s holding a sword that weighs 80-100 lbs, so his attacks and moveset have to be able look and feel like they pack a heavy punch. But at the same time, we know that Cloud’s no rook, and he has some dexterity and speed to him. To find this balance, his combos from beginning to middle a great tempo and good flash, and they finish with a visible powerful and empathetic smash.

Tifa is far and away my favorite character to play as. Honoring her Final Fantasy monk inspiration, Square designed Tifa in such a way that she feels like she came straight out of a fighting game. Lightning quick, an emphasis on combos, and get this – you can animation cancel. As an example, I was fighting a boss and already had Unbridled Strength (damage boost) and Haste (ATB buildup boost) activated on Tifa. I dodged the boss’s frontal cleave with Focused Strike, strung some basic attacks together, threw in Overpower which links with your basic attacks, and finished by using Whirling Uppercut then canceling the landing animation by using Divekick. That’s. Insane.

Square nailed Barret’s awkward role as the supporty-ranged tank. His damage isn’t great, but he plays at a safe range and is your best bet to take down units at a far distance. He has some ridiculous HP and defensive stats and is a solid magic user so he was honestly great to switch to when my higher DPS characters needed a breather to get healed up.

Okay first of all, thank God they gave Aerith a magic-based ranged basic attack. The sound of her whacking something in the original to the tune of, like, 12 damage will haunt my dreams forever. Aerith feels fantastic to play as well. I draw comparisons to the Final Fantasy XIV black mage – switch to Aerith, set up an Arcane Ward (doubles spellcasts!), don’t move, and watch as her ridiculous magic abilities burn enemies down. She’s also great to leave on AI-controlled standby so that she can attack safely from a distance and heal up the party as needed.

The battles themselves were great; each boss felt unique and had a weakness to discover and exploit. Seamlessly weaving in cutscenes and dialogue added a cinematic flair that was just another cherry on top of an amazing combat system. The typical monsters and trash mobs that we came across were all unique as well, and their variants encountered later in the game added twists of required tactical thinking.

I have only a couple points of discomfort with the new combat system, and they’re both very minor ones. First, the fact that skills/spells (and even Limit Breaks!) can be interrupted by enemy actions could be extremely frustrating – especially if there were larger amounts of enemies present, your character could get juggled quite easily. Filling up your ATB gauge and readying a skill just for it to be interrupted because some demon hound ran up and smacked you in the head has to be the least “Final Fantasy” feeling ever. That being said, this is easily where you can throw the term “skill expression” right back at me. The second point of discomfort is that enemies were very clearly agro’d to whoever you control as the player. This made playing a ranged character like Aerith annoying at times, because, dammit, I just want to DPS without hordes of monsters running at me! Again, “skill expression” is a double edged sword, but I found it a little strange that enemies would drop what they’re doing, stop fighting Cloud, and start running at Barret just because I switched to him.

Zooming out to other facets of gameplay! I really enjoyed how materia was implemented which may just be a derivative of how smart the combat system was that Square created, but I think Square really hit the mark of having to carefully plan out your party’s materia loadout and envisioning how it would execute in battle. The weapon level-up system adds an extra layer of depth and reminds me of Final Fantasy IX’s skill learning system, which is great. Finally, the large amount of minigames and side quests available added a good deal of variety to the game, without being overly complicated or time consuming.

This was probably the most enjoyable game in the Final Fantasy series from a pure “this is a fun game” standpoint.

Gameplay Score: 10/10 (would honestly be an 11 if such a thing were real)

Characterization

The Final Fantasy series is typically at the top of its class for its character building and development, but I was still slightly nervous heading into this remake that Nomura wouldn’t recapture that magic accurately. Maybe I was conditioned from Final Fantasy XIII (2009) and Final Fantasy XV, but I was especially worried about Cloud. “Please don’t make Cloud this typical brooding, angsty emo Final Fantasy protagonist,” I remember thinking to myself. Because that’s not who he is. Cloud Strife is a dork. He’s a dork who adapts incredibly poorly to new situations and puts on a front of apathy when uncomfortable, but he doesn’t hate the world.

I should have put more faith in the fact that the original game’s character designer became the remake’s director. For the most part, I truly feel like the cast’s Act I character arcs played out and were shown as they should be. Cloud starts out apathetic but that front really begins to melt after he meets Aerith. Aerith herself comes off as this fun and innocent girl but progressively drops more and more hints that she’s part of something much bigger. Barret begins as the loud and rambunctious leader figure which gives way to a total empath who’s still trying to process just what he’s been caught up in. Tifa is shown with her typical slow and steady struggle to come to terms with what has to be done to make things right in the world after traumatic childhood events made her averse to it all.

The rest of the cast’s characters were painted beautifully. Sephiroth made more appearances than normal in this Midgar section (more on that later), but we still don’t understand a word that’s coming out of his mouth. We see the distinct division in those under the Shinra umbrella between those who have morals and those who sip the Kool-Aid. We’re introduced to a new cast of characters in the slums who are working tirelessly to make life better for those around them despite being dealt a terrible hand, and they function to strengthen both the main cast and the story as a whole.

A particular gem that I was delighted by were the interactions between characters. The original was somewhat limited in this department, but we can visibly see the cast grow closer as the remake goes on. Cloud goes from being disinterested and saying “For a price” to any request that Avalanche have for him, to selflessly agreeing to help Barret search for his friends and family post-plate drop, to poking fun at his old self in front using his old “For a price” motto. Additionally, because the areas of Midgar to travel between locations were expanded immensely, things like conversations between characters with no other purpose but character development were added in as we made our way through these winding stretches. That’s a huge advantage that a modern voiced game has over the original that had to use text for dialogue – we had to literally stop everything in order for an interaction between characters to occur. Now, they can just be thrown in wherever. We see more high fives, cheers, ribs, jokes. hugs, and tender moments than ever before. And to me, what this establishes for the cast as a whole is such a beautiful change of pace from a classic Final Fantasy game. This isn’t just a collection of individuals with aligning goals. These are friends.

This in particular makes me really excited for future installments; we now have evidence that these characters are everything that they should be. That baseline allows for more interactions and development, and even the most hardcore old school Final Fantasy VII fans will get to know and enjoy these characters on a deeper level.

Characterization: 10/10

Story

Too often did I get one of my friends to try the original Final Fantasy VII, hoping they’d fall in love too, only for them to lose interest before leaving Midgar because that part of the game is downright boring. Everything is dark and dreary, we don’t really care about the people of the Slums so we don’t feel the empathy to want to help them, the story crawls along, the deaths we see are of characters we only knew briefly, and all of it seems for naught because we find out Sephiroth is the much bigger threat; not some greedy electric company.

But much like with the design of Midgar itself, I hadn’t really put much thought with just how much they can build upon that unexciting first act.

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radwolf76 · 5 years

Text

FLASHBack: Week 25 - Savlonic

Time for us to check in with the titans of the Flash Animation genre, as the first Thursday of the month means First-Class FLASHBack. Because there was a request for this, we're again turning our sights on Weebl. Music has always been a big component in Weebl's Flashes, all the way back to some of his earliest Flashes from 2003 such as Scampi, or Bonjour (Caution: pixelated penis), to more recent works such as 2013's Business Cat (a song very similar to one that another of FLASHBack's "First Class" artists, Weird Al, would release a year later, Mission Statement, except Weebl's song contains 100% more cat.) So, it was a natural fit, when in 2008, the exciting new electro-pop band Savlonic asked Weebl to make a music video for one of their songs. Electro Gypsy was released on July 17th of that year. Two thirds of the band, Roscoe Thunderpants and Evangeline D'isco, also did an exclusive interview for Weebl's Stuff website. (Drummer Kandi Flaus had a prior commitment. The video is loaded with references to pop culture, from a Flux Capacitor on the titular Gypsy's robotic horse (mounted in the orientation that Doc Brown originally sketched it, no less), to a Matrix homage (specifically the "We need guns. Lots of guns." scene), to a recreation of the Astro Cat Meme from 2006 using Evangeline as the cat, to a shout-out to Weebl's own parody of the trailer for the first Michael Bay Transformers, in the form of a movie poster for Big Ass Badgers II. Except of course, there was no exciting new band. Savlonic was merely another invention of Jonti "Weebl" Picking's. He provided the voice of Roscoe Thunderpants, although the singer's look was modelled off of the keyboardist from the band Sparks, Ron Mael. Evangaline D'isco was voiced by his wife, Sara Darling, who was a radio presenter on the Station XFM, a title she shared with the likes of Russell Brand, Ricky Gervais, and Simon Pegg. Originally voiced by a pitch-shifted Sara Darling, Kandi Flaus's role would be taken over by Katt Wade. Virtual Bands were nothing new in the animation world though, not even in Flash Animation, as the Brothers Chaps, creators of Homestar Runner (and also "First Class" alumni), had spawned their own Virtual Band, Limozeen, six years earlier. Savlonic's next song, Tiny Japanese Girl, was released on 22 April 2010. This video would take on a predominately red color casting for it's background, something that would become a signature in future videos (perhaps in an effort to distinguish Savlonic videos from Weebl's other songs). Mr. Thunderpants assumes the guise of the king of the kaiju, Godzilla, while Evangaline and Kandi don kimonos. Other Japanese clichés include cherry blossom trees, geta sandals, and Mount Fuji. At the end of the video, in keeping with the theme of the song: tiny Japanese girls, D'isco and Flaus take on the role of the two twin fairies that accompany Mothra, activating the giant lepidopteran to save Godzilla/Roscoe from the militarized monster patrol. Their third song, Wandering Eye would be put out on 8 June 2011. This video marked Weebl handing animation duties over to another Flash artist, Peabo, who departed from the chibi stylizations of the previous two, rendering the band in more realistic proportions while still being generally cartoonish. For the first time Evangaline's bangs are lifted to show her eyes. Roscoe's moustache is given more width to make it less Hitler-like. Like last week, there is an implication of rodents being used for lewd purposes. On 26 March 2012, Savlonic's fourth song, The Driver hit YouTube, and Newgrounds, as well as Weebl's own site. Roscoe's moustache has gone full-on painter's brush to further deter the Hitler comparisons. Peabo shows off some high technical prowess in this one, with panning rotations around complex-shaped vehicles, as well as some wonderful wind effect on everyone's hair and Roscoe's tie. Computer Guy, their fifth song, would drop on 27 May 2013. Heavily inspired by the Tron franchise, this was also their reddest video yet. The band are performing at the whims of the titular Computer Guy, literally hardwired in to be peripherals to his system. Midway through the video, when he cranks up the rock out percentage sliders, we see Kandi Flaus actually drum with both sticks for the first time, showing how he has total control over them. No one machine is meant to handle that much rock however, and there's an overload and an explosion that disconnects the band. They bust out with some hoverboards (real hoverboards, the kind that don't have wheels because they actually fucking hover instead of just rolling on the ground like a decapitated segway), and fly over to his tower to do some perfect superhero landings (hard on the knees). At the end is a huge plot twist which I won't spoil here. On 11 February 2014, a Kickstarter was launched for a Savlonic album in digital and physical forms. It raised £34,768 against it's £12,000 goal, resulting in an album titled "Red". It consisted mostly of the existing five songs plus remixes of the same. A sixth song was produced new for the album, and on 22 August 2014, Spelunker was released. Peabo gave Evangaline a new hairdo this time around, and Kandi has a new style as well. Roscoe's and Evangaline's cave explorations are supported by top-side assistants Damian Bevan and Andrew Neidig, who both donated £1,000 or more on Kickstarter to be in the video. On April Fools day of 2016, Savlonic launched another Kickstarter for a second album, titled Neon. This time around they shifted their branding to the retrowave/synthwave/outrun aesthetic. Weebl also brought in another new Flash animator to collaborate with, Anthony "Kr3id" Price. They were able to raise £40,778 of their £30,000 goal. On 19 September 2016, a video for the track Broken was released. As before, the video featured cameos by the highest paying kickstarter backers. The song is about hard feelings over a strained relationship and the video's premise is that these feelings come out in the middle of a recording session. Kandi, upset over the band being on the verge of falling apart, again begins to use both drumsticks, and as before, eventually destroys the stage with the force of her rockin' beats. Before that happens however, Evangaline and Rosco both use their keytar and microphone as futuristic weapons to trash the studio. When the band is plunged into the undeground tunnel below their studio when everything falls apart, D'isco and Thunderpants turn their musical weapons on each other while a disgusted Flaus decides to hop into the band's car and drive off, homaging both The Driver (the car), and Wandering Eye (her keychain). 2016 was a busy year for Savlonic, as there was also a release of a remix album for Neon, and also an album called the Rosco EP, which was a collaboration between Jonti Picking and Daniel "Kaspar Funk" Dobbs. Then, at the beginning of 2017, the second video from the Neon Album was released on 6 January. Hi-Lights picks up where Broken left off, with drummer Kandi Flaus driving away by herself. This marks the first time that Katt Wade takes over voicing Kandi. While the video starts out as a pure example of the Outrun aesthetic, two thirds in, there are hints of her car being chased by some ghostly green-eyed dark specter of some kind. We're only shown hints of it following behind her car, with Kandi glancing worriedly in her rearview mirrors. At the end of the video, she's apparently captured, and shown bound to some kind of sci-fi table as we catch more reflections of the ghostly green faces in her eyes. The video ends with "To Be Continued." However Savlonic's next video would not pick up that storyline. Instead, on 19 January 2018, I Was Made for Loving You would be released to promote the band's cover tunes album, Emulat0r. The video itself is not much to speak of as it's just the band painted up to look like the song's original artists, KISS. They stand there while an elaborate stage rotates around them. It was a bit of a return to form for Weebl, as many of his early Flashes were based on simple looping visuals. A few weeks later on 2 February 2018, a video would drop for Johnny Massacre's track Beastman Blitz, which featured samples from Savlonic's Broken. This video marked the first time that the virtual band had been integrated with a live action person. In May of 2018, Weebl went back to kickstarter to raise funds for yet another Savlonic album, Black Plastic, raising £37,055 of a £32,000 goal. Nearly eleven months later, on 18 Mar 2019, Weebl would team up with Arkanell to release a video for the song Action Causes Reaction, animated not in Adobe Flash, but in the Unity 3D engine. The change in toolsets was needed to support the making of a video in 360 VR. The video is heavily Tron themed, but it also has a blocky, voxelated look similar to Minecraft. That's about all I have on Roscoe Thunderpants, Evangaline D'isco, and purple-haired drummer Kandi Flaus. Next week, a different purple haired girl, and her angry squirrel.

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dailygermancest · 6 years

Note

Hello! I would like to ask if you have any well written Germancest fanfictions to suggest. I've already read all the ones by PrinceOfElsinore, Lilienpasse (did I spell that right?) drcalvin and iruhe. Please help? Thanks so much!

This ask has been sitting in my inbox for so long and I’m so sorry that I’m just getting to it. I had to consult with my Germancest Council to amass this list.

I’ll also be adding this list (and updating it!) to a sidebar link.

Note: Read anything by:

Iruhe

RatFlavored

Prince_of_Elsinore

Lilienpasse

Lynne_monstr

Germanbrothers

Dorkery

drcalvin

---------

A Second Chance by Iruhe

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: It is the Golden Twenties in Berlin. One fateful day, Gilbert approaches his brother, who he has not seen in the past decade, for help in apprehending his lover’s murderer. However, emotional baggage exists between the brothers. Ludwig has unresolved feelings for Gilbert, who remains conflicted about his relationship with his brother. Will they reconcile as the murderer draws ever nearer, or will it all fall apart? Inspired by Babylon Berlin.

Whatever the fuck she wants to call it by RatFlavored

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: Ludwig goes on chatroulette and encounters someone unexpected.

A Winter Story by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Ongoing

Rating: None

Summary: Their parents’ impending divorce forces Ludwig to spend Christmas alone with his brother Gilbert, who has moved from Brooklyn to rural New England to keep chickens and write. Ludwig doesn’t understand his brother’s choices and feels they’ve drifted apart; but maybe they have more in common than he thought.

Apples to Apples by lynne_monstr

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: The day was going exactly according to schedule until Gilbert started eating that apple.

Berlin by ZaliaChimera

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: Berlin, a city divided between Babylon and Rome, and the slow descent towards darkness.

Black Hearted Love by TheOtherSarahJane

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: Gilbert gives Ludwig his first blowjob. Shameless PWP.

Blut und Tränen by BillywickStatus: IncompleteRating: MSummary: There's something wrong with his brother, but Ludwig can't put his finger on it. What dark secret won't Gilbert share with him? And why is the world suddenly afraid of Germany again? Is everyone going nuts? (in which for once, there's nothing wrong with Gil but Ludwig is otherwise convinced)

Cigarettes and Silk Stockings by dorkery

Status: Complete

Rating: M

It wasn't that he couldn't see her, it was that he couldn't see her.Part of the fem!Prussia history arc, in which Germany discovers his libido around Prussia post-reunification.

Cheat Code by lynne_monstr

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: When Prussia gets the idea to help Germany de-stress by playing a round of video games, Germany gets an idea of his own and they end up playing an entirely different game.

Count the hours, little flower by dorkery

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: Letting a blossoming young woman who had just discovered her sexuality into his bed was not the smartest thing Prussia could have done.

Das Rote Dreieck by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Discontinued

Rating: None

Summary: “You know where you are with triangles. And you know you’re not going anywhere.” One is a political prisoner at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. The other is a camp administrator. One year after they meet, their positions have changed considerably.

Die Kreuze auf dem Kissen by drcalvin

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: Over the course of a year, Germany’s feelings for Prussia goes from brotherly to something more disturbing. But when his brother refuses to be possessed, Germany might have to give up control to get his desires.

Die Träumer by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Complete

Rating: D

Summary: “He sometimes wondered how things might have been different, how his relationship with Gilbert might be different, if their parents had stayed together.” Modern day human Germancest AU in Berlin. The city is changing, and so is the relationship of two estranged brothers.

Dynamo by germanbrothers

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: Ludwig is the Captain of the Berlin Badgers, a professional Quidditch team. And as such, he does not have time to coach random strangers who approach him in bars. Unless, of course, those strangers happen to have an extraordinary amount of talent.

Hey Baby, Do You Want to Touch My...Missiles? by dorkery

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: Mm yeah, that's just how the GDR rolls, baby.Filled for the Hetalia Kink Meme. Original request: "Prussia/Germany - Seduction: Cold War. While at a meeting, East Germany begins seducing West Germany in the hall, telling him to come over to the 'fun side' of the Iron Curtain. West Germany is completely into his former brother's dirty talk until his allies come looking for him.

Hidden Depths by lynne_monstr

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: The background image on Germany’s laptop as been changed.

Inadvertent Misdemeanors by lilien passe (lilienpasse)

Status: Ongoing

Rating: M

Summary: Harried med-student Gilbert is awoken one night by a clumsy burglar. He rushes to the defense of his ancient television, only to find that the intruder is less a burglar and more an incredibly lost drunk. Gil/Lutz and others. Thank tumblr for the breaking and entering AU prompt.

Jitters by lilien passe (lilienpasse)

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: It's the day of his wedding, and Gilbert is a complete mess. Best man Elizaveta has her hands full trying to keep him calm. Gilutz.

My Manipulated Misfortune by CreamPuffBunny

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: Ludwig is a young doctor at a human testing facility. He meets a patient named Gilbert and is assigned to him. Upon seeing the dark acts that go on behind closed doors, Ludwig will have to make a choice between his career or his humanity.

Obsession by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: Ludwig Beilschmidt is happy to be attending the same university as his lifelong companion, best friend, and older brother, Gilbert. But as college experiences start expanding Ludwig's horizons, his perceptions of himself--and his brother--begin to change in unusual ways. How much can the brothers' bond withstand, though? Just when they seem closer than ever, so much threatens to force them apart…

October Twenty Fourth by lilien passe (lilienpasse)

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: Gilbert is in the hospital. Ludwig visits him every day. As Gilbert slowly succumbs to his illness, he begins to lose his grip on reality, and Ludwig begins to lose all hope. Gil/Lutz.

Oh Happy Apple, This is Thy Sheath by lynne_monstr

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: This certainly wasn’t what he expected from a routine trip to the market.

Re_Born by KivaEmber

Status: Incomplete

Rating: T

Summary: Prussia disappeared with his nation - and woke up in limbo.

Scrapbook by KivaEmber

Status: Incomplete

Rating: T

Summary: Collection of Re_Born universe drabbles.

Tempus Vernum by CreamPuffBunny

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: A mystical war between fairy kind is soon to erupt. Ludwig, a human monk belonging to the ‘Order of Nature’, is one of the very few who can see actual fairies. After a chance meeting with Gilbert, a Winter Elemental Fairy and mischievous rogue, Ludwig is trapped in the fairy realm acting as a human delegate between the warring courts of Light King Roderich and Dark King Arthur. Instantly attracted to Gilbert, the two form a secret (but dangerous) relationship that is considered a taboo among fairy kind. But Ludwig is not the only being who has their eyes set on Gilbert. With the battle of Light verses Dark coming to a head, will Ludwig be able to bring about peace and save Gilbert? Will he keep Gilbert for himself in the human world or give up that right to become of the fairy folk?

The Last Days of the Beilschmidts: the true account told through original documents by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Hiatus

Rating: T

Summary: In 1932, the Beilschmidt residence burned to the ground and its last resident vanished without a trace. Newly uncovered documents reveal the incredible story of the final months of the house of Beilschmidt, and the mysterious stranger who came to stay.

Two Litres of Tesco’s Finest by ZaliaChimera

Status: Complete

Rating: T

Summary: England's sleep is interrupted by the very inconsiderate nations in the room next door and he is forced into a rather illuminating conversation with his oldest acquaintance.

Note: GerPru is the side pairing.

Submission by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Ongoing

Rating: E

Summary: Sequel to “Obsession.” AU. Ludwig and Gilbert Beilschmidt are normal brothers. Close, but normal. At least, that’s what they pretend. But they share a secret that could destroy their family, friendships, reputations, and even their relationship with each other. And trying to keep up the façade of normalcy every day takes a toll. How much can their love for each other withstand?

The Black and they Grey by TianShan

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: “Summer 1992. America calls Prussia with an interesting idea for his upcoming visit to America's house with Germany. Prussia comes up with an interesting way to pitch it to Germany. Germany has a headache.

Germany's headache goes away by the end of it.

Basically 25 pages of Germancest. Dom!Prussia, Sub!Germany, leather boots, riding crops, iron crosses, and, hey, the internet is for porn, right? (I tried to make Prussia go to the gulag. Prussia did not want to go to the gulag. Prussia wanted to sexually dominate Germany. Can't blame him.)”

The Inspector's Insects by Prince_of_Elsinore

Status: Complete

Rating: None

Summary: "Something is creeping up the stairs, creeping, crawling, through your hairs, and up your neck and over your chin: close your lips, don't let it in. There's no use in running away when the Inspector comes to play." Your best hope is to act Dead.

The Prince and His King by TheOtherSarahJane

Status: Complete

Rating: G

Summary: During Gilbert’s yearly excursion into the attic, he stumble across some mementos from Ludwig’s childhood.

For the hour-long writing challenge held by germanbrothers on tumblr back in April.

The Way The World Works by dorkery

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary:Filled for the Hetalia Kink Meme. Original request: "Germany gets busier and Prussia does what he can."

This is NOT how we do things around here by dorkery

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: Do you know what Germany likes?Breasts.

Underlying Assets by lynne_monstr

Status: Complete

Rating: E

Summary: Germany had always prided himself on being a responsible leader and nation. Except now all he can think about is the racy lingerie hiding under Prussia’s suit. He was going to kill Prussia. Just as soon as he took care of more important matters.De-anon from the kink meme.

Weight Room Etiquette by lynne_monstr

Status: Ongoing

Rating: M

Summary: Prussia can barely move after a heavy weightlifting session and Germany takes full advantage. But tired or not, Prussia isn't one to make anything easy. (Or: Prussia and Germany at the gym. On the floor. On the mats. On the weightlifting benches.)Now with added car sex.And more!

White Crimson by CreamPuffBunny

Status: Complete

Rating: M

Summary: Guilty of heresy, former knight Gilbert is arrested for leading a rebel army against the king’s new religious order. Ludwig, a retired soldier and nihilist, is the executioner set to carry out the death of the beloved heresiarch. While the trials take a long time to prepare, the two men begin to grow closer to one another and their ideals start to change.

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modernart2012 · 8 years

Text

Day Two -Social Media

skatecatangel

Definite Proof Yuri Plisetsky and Otabek Altin are Dating (pt3/5)

As I said previously, there’s been rampant speculation about Yura (Yuri Plisetsky, aka, One of the Greatest Skaters to Ever Live™) and his relationship(s) or lack thereof. But what a HUGE portion of the skating community has overlooked is that he definitely is in a relationship and has been for a while. Part One covered basic background/ timeline, Part Two and body language, here and here.

But, SCA, you say, that’s all coincidental. It could be that they’re close friends. (HA, WAIT UNTIL PART FOUR!) Which, sure, they could be “close friends” but for further consideration: they wear each other’s clothes. And not just that. They choose clothes and outfits that complement each other.

What does that have to do with them being in a “relationship”? Well, dear anon, who is haunting my ask box as I write this, let me explain: have you ever noticed that over time, articles of clothing from your S.O.’s wardrobe ends up in yours? And that you wear it, and end up thinking, ‘hey, I like this let’s get more of something similar.’ Or even, ‘ah, this color is like that one, let me get it.’

Case in point, here is Yura in the present, wearing what looks like a classic black leather jacket and leopard print tee shirt and his classic leopard print sneakers.

Here is younger Yura, around the time of the 2016 Grand Prix Final. In a black hoodie with his Team Russia jacket, and leopard print sneakers. A natural progression, you’d think, as a person ages their taste changes. WRONG. Because look closer at that leather jacket, friend, and you’ll find that it looks the same as the one Otabek was wearing in these photos captured by Otababes recently.

“A JACKET MEANS NOTHING,” I can practically hear the antis scream. Ah, if only it were just a jacket.

See, ‘cause if you look closely, you can set up a timeline for how you go from hoodies and eyesores like this tiger sweatshirt (sorry Yura, you have to admit that purchase was questionable!) to fashion forward, yet still classic outfits. And not just Yuri, precious kitten tiger that he is. Otabek too. And it’s practically relationship GOALS.

Let us commence the perusal.

We’ve already seen pictures of Yuri’s past style (Death to the neon pink and orange combinations! Nothing more needs to be said on the subject of his younger, daring, garish fashion combinations. It’s rather obvious), so now we bring Otabek for comparison.

Here is baby!bek, in his pre-2016 Grand Prix Final state. (For those of you who failed to read the timeline, this is when they met. There was fleeing from Xtreme Angels, on a motorbike. We’ll get to that in a minute.) Leather jacket, neutral scarves, neutral toned athletic wear, jackets. Very monochrome palette. Now look at this photograph of baby!Yuri and baby!bek on a motorcycle. Yuri is in fine fashion form (probably trying to stay incognito from the Xtremers), and Otabek is in fine monochrome form. Even his sweater, possibly a pale pastel blue or grey (the lighting is bad), does not clash with his black leather jacket (and doesn’t that look familiar), dark grey scarf, and dark blue-grey pants. Even his fingerless gloves match! Boy goes the extra mile for his aesthetic, can’t you tell?

Don’t they look cute fleeing to safety who knows where? 💕💕💕

Fast forward through the next year, year and half, because things are largely the same as far as clothing choices. What is interesting to note is that Otabek, largely inactive and apathetic to Instagram, starts to use it more frequently than just (seemingly PR enforced) posts about travel or competitions. We start to see the two of them in each other’s Insta, as well as in Snapchat (the classic video of Yuri badgering the poor man as he finishes setting up his account posted to his story made the rounds on twitter so quickly, the sound barrier was probably broken.) Somehow, Yuri Plisetsky dragged Otabek into the age of social media both by personal use and Otabek’s own independent usage, and from then on we have (though infrequent on Otabek’s part, if not pictured with Yuri) a more accurate record to pull from as to sartorial choices.

The first thing to transfer - whether by diffusion or simply being left after a visit, is a dark grey scarf. One that looks particularly like a certain scarf a Kazakh skater was wearing in a certain photo. People who are vague friends or casual acquaintances don’t wear each other’s clothes, even if they are outerwear like scarves. (As an aside, who doesn’t find the sight of their crush or S.O. borrowing clothes from their wardrobe exciting?) Given the timeline, we can make the hypothesis that this could be pining stage, or at least mutual attraction stage - giving a bit more to build with in the conclusion.

Noticeably, Otabek starts wearing skinny jeans. (Humans with eyes to see the world over rejoiced. Instagram and Twitter crashed.) He may or may not have also rediscovered the color emerald, and it clearly loves him. (If that also happens to be the eye color of a particular Tiger ....)

Shortly after, he starts wearing skater shoes. And if one looks closely enough at pictures, they seem to be of the same brand as Yuri’s.

But SCA, the antis scream, those could all be coincidental! These are all either stuff that could have been left behind sometime or liked the look of some item and copied! This is not clothing sharing! Or complementary outfits! Well, my screaming mob, let me learn you a Thing. Beyond the fact I have several advanced degrees in Statistics, you idjits, and calculated that the probability of these events together (at the time point!) happened due to chance is less than <.0001 (and thus NOT DUE TO CHANCE), we do have to remember a few things. First off, this is evolution, this is not the final product. It’s not going to be complementary quite yet. Second, that it’s around this time Yuri goes through the Dreaded GROWTH SPURT. The sheer height increase (and difference) makes it entirely likely Yuri was running through clothing like green grass through a goose. (EDIT: The phrase “green grass through a goose” is a colloquialism meant to indicate something that happens fast and suddenly. Apologies for the simile.) There is no way Otabek would have fit into any clothes before, and definitely not when Yuri is outgrowing things quickly.

Luckily, this growth spurt is good for something other than Yuri’s meme-ing ability (and sheer impossibility of certain poses, no one should be able to do standing splits with legs that long, isn’t flexibility supposed to go with age? This is entirely unfair). Namely, we get Yuri Plisetsky in a grunge stage - hoodies with cut off sleeves and raw edges (adorably tiger striped), jeans ripped across the thigh and knee, t-shirts that are more hole than fabric, and so much more. And, oh the henleys. Except wait. Where have we seen that last one again? Hmmmmm......

And while Yuri goes through his mandatory teen grunge phase (a bit later than most, to be fair) and brings punk/pop punk/ emo back en vogue, we shall investigate Otabek’s wardrobe. Sometime between the earrings and growing out only the top of his hair into a full blown curtain (to which millions of humans swooned, because ffs wolf tails), Otabek discovered the rest of the rainbow. Brilliant blues (that are NOT his Team Kazakhstan jacket)? Heck yeah. Yellow? Oh, my, YES. Bright red? PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE OF THIS SWEATER, AND IT’S NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE VIRGINS.Not to mention patterns. Plaid is drool-worthy. Stripes? Oh my sweet Buddha. What about this subtly leopard printed scarf??

Oh, I could practically hear the mental record scratches and screeching, and it was glorious. That’s right. Otabek Altin. The Hero of Kazakhstan. In a leopard print scarf. One that we have no evidence for Yuri, Wearer of All Things Big Cat (however questionable), ever owning or even knowing about before seeing it on Otabek via Instagram. Meaning, to be explicitly clear: Otabek picked and wore that piece himself, without anyone else’s input. (We do see Yuri in the same scarf via Instagram during a visit to Almaty, but only the once. This is also date stamped as after the photos of Otabek wearing the scarf by several months.)

But wait, Yuri doesn’t have anything reciprocating the exchange! Beyond the fact that that barely, barely Englished, random imaginary anon, that’s only because I have yet to point out how Otabek has influenced Yuri’s wardrobe at this juncture. Because if you compare the past Yuri and the contemporary Yuri, you’ll see the very subtle progression of his color choices. Namely, that the absolute eye-searing atrocities that are his previous outfits slowly gain neutral bases to prevent retinal burn induced blindness. (And who do we know who loved his neutrals?)

That’s not all, because after this? Things accelerate (because apparently no one does slow burn relationships these days???) Yuri ends up in a black on black hoodie, with an embroidered tiger on the sleeve in a style reminiscent of Japanese Yakuza. The grey jeans and deep plum fingerless gloves give the entire looks a certain style, wouldn’t you say? (So does the fringe on the gloves, but that’s not relevant to the point.) Within a week, an intrepid Babe photographs Otabek in bright green athletic pants, and tiger striped socks, and a neon pink v neck (not at the same time though; it was the same Babe who took those three pictures.) What about this pair of yoga pants in a deep grey with subtle spotting? And Yuri’s rather amazing athletic jacket with the matte stripes, or the dark wash jean jacket?

Put any one of those photos of one of them next to a random photo of the other and try to tell me they don’t complement each other. Because they do. They’ve managed to sync outfits across countries and timezones, and still look like a frickin’ Power Couple. And the pics of them together? We’ve already analyzed some of these for body language, but just take in their outfits for a moment. Taken a good hard look? Good. See how it’s a cohesive image, with certain elements of one being reflected in the other? Now look at these celebrity Power Couples. They too have elements of each other’s styles and outfits that go together. Coincidence? I think not.

I can hear the haters screaming fruitlessly, so for a final nail in the coffin. This picture was posted on Yuri’s Insta account last week during Worlds (with Otabek tagged of, course). In it, you can see his latest pair of skates, proudly debuting a set with hydro-dipped blades with a leopard print design. Next to them you can see a pair of grey-white skate guards with a leopard print design. You’d think they’d be part of the same set, right? Lol, WRONG. If you translate the caption, and some of the comments, what you get is that only one of the pairs of items shown in the photo is Yuri’s. More than that, if you watched the competition, you’ll see Otabek putting the skate guards on his skates.

Of course, this is merely window dressing to the way they interact (Part Four), as seen in video and social media posts. Stay tuned for that last bit before the conclusion.

(Cross posted here: http://archiveofourown.org/works/9852197)

#otayuri week #otayuri week 2017 #otayuri #the hyperlinks don't actually work yall #headsup #they all link to the ao3 fic #also #i hope the tongue in cheek humor of posting a fic in tumblr format ON TUMBLR makes you lol #meant to emulate a tumblr meta post #react accordingly #one day i will come back and add the tags to the bottom of this fic #today is not that day

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kathrynhildabrand · 6 years

Text

on the engagement.

A year ago today, my boyfriend held my hand while we hung out in what would eventually become my classroom for a short period of time. It was an hour or so before his first concert as a high school music teacher, and I was the lucky girl who got to deliver pizza to his students before the show. “Within the next three weeks,” he promised. We were within a month of having been together a year, and both knew that marriage was in our very near future. I badgered him for weeks about details and got little more than a mildly irritated huff every time. “I have a plan,” he said. “Just let it happen.”

The day before the concert, he called me on his way home to tell me about his day. I stepped outside of rehearsal for the countywide middle school musical and answered my phone, absentmindedly pacing around the church parking lot while he talked.

“Oh, the choir kids decided they wanted to add this song to the show. They did it last year and it kind of fit in with the Broadway theme, so we went through it and they seemed to remember it well enough. I think we’re going to do it tomorrow.”

I asked what show it was from, and he said it was actually from some movie the kids liked called Joyful Noise. He went on to give me a few details about it like the fact that it starred Queen Latifah and was heavy on the gospel music, then the subject changed naturally. The rest of the conversation was easy and light, ironing out details about when I would arrive at the school and how the day had gone. I told him I loved him and went back to rehearsal.

Early in our relationship, we bonded over our deep love of music. Our first date ended with us sitting in his living room, looking up videos on YouTube to introduce each other to our favorite bands. There wasn’t much crossover, but there were a few notable exceptions in the realm of classic rock. We talked at length about our favorite composers and shared stories of our most emotional performances, comparing notes on marching band shows and reliving our favorite live acts. Right before I left, he asked me if I liked The Beatles. I laughed. If you know me, you know just how much I love The Beatles. He remarked that his passion for them was relatively young thanks to his best friend, but that he was learning to really appreciate their music. That’s when I knew there was a spark.

On our second or third date, we were driving around Lexington and listening to the classic rock station. A live performance of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” started playing, and our conversation naturally hushed. At its end, I said that it was quickly becoming one of my favorites, hoping he understood why. We found the original album on vinyl a couple of months later while shopping through the Peddler’s Mall and couldn’t resist buying it. Later that night, we slow danced to our song by the dim glow of the patio lights outside my tiny apartment. We held each other and sang, and I promised myself to hold on to that moment as long as I could.

His concert started off with a performance by the band which then transitioned to the choir. They stood in front of a giant painted backdrop with a Broadway-style marquee framed by handprints. The first piece was a medley from Phantom of the Opera, and at its conclusion, I could tell that Cory was nervous. He always struggled with the idea of directing a choir because he was strictly a band man, but was making the best of his circumstances. He took the microphone and introduced the next piece, explaining that it was from a movie that never became a stage production, but still had a Broadway-type feel. The first note of the piano hit and I immediately recognized the song. My mom put her hand on my knee and smiled. As if she thought I didn’t recognize it, she leaned over and said, “It’s your song, isn’t it?” All I could do was nod, smile, and try to maintain my dignity by not crying. Cory would tell you I lost that battle right around the time the choir broke into harmony.

After the song, he tried to throw me off the scent by talking a little bit about his journey to becoming a band director and recognizing the seniors in the group. He thanked his parents for being there and supporting him, and also thanked me for helping him get to where he was. That’s when he said, “Also, my kids have a surprise for you, so come down here.” One of his girls took me by the arm and led me to the middle of the stage area where the choir had split down the middle, revealing an addition to the background that read “The Soon-to-Be Mr. + Mrs. Barnes.” I turned around to see Cory on one knee, holding up my Meme’s ring. He asked me to marry him, and although everything from there on out is pretty fuzzy for me, there is video evidence and a marriage license that proves I said yes. The crowd literally went wild.

That night was a year ago today, and I still remember every feeling as perfectly as I did when it happened. It could be because I replayed the night over and over again for days and weeks afterward, or it could be because I have the video saved on my phone so I can return to it every once in a while. I, however, choose to believe it’s because, here, one year later, as I sit on the couch in our living room, I’m still amazed. I’m amazed that God orchestrated our story in such a perfect way and that He allows me to live my life alongside this person. I’m amazed that every little moment up until May 7, 2016 compounded and collided to prepare me for a relationship with my partner, equal, and best friend. But most of all, Cory Barnes, I’m amazed at the way you love me all the time. And, of course, I’m amazed at the way I love you. Here’s to a lifetime of good music and fairytale endings.

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