hashimawais

[unofskylanderspages]

Seen above: Echo in-game in Skylanders: Trap Team

[c0smiccom3t]

meanwhile in an alternate universe where Furyne is a canon character in the games and cartoon

Remember: The game in which started out the whole KaosxFuryne ship was Skylanders: Trap Team!

[bluesidez]

Gym Rat Miguel Part 12

content warning: Miguel is very dramatic in this one, mentions of food

word count: 4k (SHOUTOUT TO MY BETA!! @slushycoookie 🩵)

Prev | Next ✩°｡ ⋆⸜ 🎧✮ Masterlist

DISCLAIMER: This story is not canonical. 😒 Most, if not all, of the characters used are OOC. I literally can not stress this enough.

GymRat!Miguel who tries not to dwell on the fact that it’s been just about a month since he’s seen you. It’s the middle of the week and if he thinks about it too much, he’s going to go crazy.

It feels odd because you’re on the same campus as him. You’re not across the country. You’re not out of the country. You’re literally a short walk or drive away and neither of you have time to see each other.

He’s considering printing your pictures out and walking around with them like a forlorn lover looking for his lost soulmate. It feels like he’s back in his bedroom staring at your pictures for hours like a man at war aching for home.

He’s exhausted all of his options.

The couple-lunches have all been rain-checked, the weight of your workload trapping you in the Art building.

Your sleep schedule was terrible, if the late night TikToks and reels were anything to go by. He knew you had morning classes too so he could only assume you’ve had a few hours of sleep during the weeknights.

The weekends were for rest and he didn’t want to disrupt yours.

Your dorm tracked visitors which means he’d only have a few hours with you before curfew if you were even there.

GymRat!Miguel who misses you so bad he’s temporarily replaced his gym playlist for the one you gifted him.

His face is set hard, feet heavy as he sprints over a curved treadmill. After a few minutes he stops, takes a small break, and runs again.

Even the melodic and somber voice playing over a groovy piano couldn’t soothe his thoughts.

His heart rammed in his chest as sweat trickled down his face, his tank drenched and clinging to his chest.

Just a few more sprints to go.

GymRat!Miguel who slides the ear of his headphone off because Xina is standing in front of him, blocking his path.

“Anymore sprints and you’re going to pass out,” she hands him a towel.

“Maybe I want to,” Miguel grumbles, nabbing the towel and rubbing his face like someone spit on it.

Xina grabbed her ponytail and pinned it up, loose hair sticking to her neck. “Don’t say that. It’s not funny. I can only manage pulling your body to the entrance to the gym.”

Miguel snorted.

GymRat!Miguel who fills up the time that he used to spend with you to get to know his friends and meet others.

This meant having game nights with Peter and Ben. They were so close, not really, to convincing him to join their DND parties.

If he wasn’t with them, he was occasionally calling The Geek Squad and catching up. A Friendsgiving date was now tentatively on his calendar because of it.

Of course, his robotics team was still going steady. Aaron was interesting, if nothing else, and Margo was like the little sister he never had.

Then, there was checking up on Gabriel like a Tamagotchi. Was he eating ok? Did he need some money? Is he trapped in the subway? Did a rat eat him?

Gabriel had sent him a screenshot of his contact with his name being changed to “Mom #2.”

Miguel only scoffed and told Gabriel his name was going to get changed to “pain in my ass.”

The newest development, however, was Xina. Her transferring here felt like middle school when they used to be attached at the hip.

They had their programming class together two days out of the week, biweekly study sessions, and the occasional late night excursion.

It also explains why she’s eyeing him from the stairmaster while he heaves over the handles of the treadmill.

GymRat!Miguel who thanked Xina as she handed him his jug of water. He sat up from the bench to let her take a seat.

“So,” she started.

“I’m not helping you hack your professor’s dashboard. While you could do it, it’s not a good idea and quantum physics isn’t that-“

“It’s not that, you dick,” Xina pinched his side. “It’s you. What’s up with you?”

“Nothing is up with me.”

“Miguel.”

“Xina.”

“Now, you’re being a brat. Something is definitely wrong.”

Miguel picked at the peeling Game Over sticker on his bottle. He needed to tape it down or he’d lose it.

“I miss her.”

“Miss who? Your mom?”

“What? No. I miss my girlfriend.”

It was quiet between them, the sound of chatter and the clanking of equipment filled the white noise.

Xina tilted her head, “That bad?”

Miguel nods.

“When’s the last time you saw her?”

He takes a dramatic breath, “Our anniversary date. Last month. I feel…”

“Like you can’t function? Like it’s hard to think?”

“Is that pathetic?” Miguel winces. “I have a feeling you’re going to say that it is.”

“No, I don’t think that.”

Miguel pouts as he looks up. Xina shrugs and slides her hands on down her leggings.

“Remember the times I went boy crazy? All the times I came crying to you after they screwed me over, even when you already warned me they weren’t good guys? I think you deserve to be crazy about your girlfriend.”

“Thanks,” Miguel blinked. “You were way too nice to those first guys.”

“I learned though, didn’t I? I know a good guy when I see him, now,” Xina pushed at Miguel’s shoulders with hers.

“And now those self-defense lessons won’t go to waste, right?”

Xina snorted as she recalled the time she managed to flip Winston on his back at Miguel’s instruction.

GymRat!Miguel who watches Xina’s eyes grow in shock when he tells her how long he’s been dating you.

“Dang,” Xina stops in her tracks. “A year?”

Miguel puffs up his chest and stands a little straighter, a confident stride in his step, “One year and counting.”

“That’s,” Xina turns and waits for a car to go by. She readjusts her gym bag. “That’s awesome, Hare-Hare.”

GymRat!Miguel who feels the mood shift by the time he drops Xina back off. He’s not sure what’s brought it up, but now he’s nervous about upsetting her more.

He taps on the wheel, after he pulls into a park.

“You sure you don’t want me to get you anything? You don’t need to go anywhere?”

Xina unbuckles her seatbelt, “Nope. All good. See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” he watches her close the door before he can even finish. “See you.”

GymRat!Miguel who obliges when Xina texts him the next day to switch up their study session location.

Miguel wanted to keep the busy calm of the 1st floor of the library but Xina insisted on giving him a change of scenery.

“It’s good for you! You stare at the screen all day when you’re coding,” Xina slams Miguel’s car door to which he sneer at her for. “You need to look up and smell the coffee sometimes.”

“You just want a reason to not do your work.”

Xina turns around and walks backwards in front of Miguel, “And that’s completely fine. We should live a little.”

She trips over the edge of the sidewalk with a yelp and Miguel is quick to catch her, the panic on his face evident.

“See,” she grins as she pulls herself up by Miguel’s shoulders. “Living!”

GymRat!Miguel who lets Xina order for him while he finds a table.

The cafe was bright, white wood accenting the walls with vines and plants adorning the area. Salmon pink brought a pop of color to the sandy-looking tables and fairy lights hung in the corners of the room.

Miguel’s eyes grew as he saw the variety of desserts on display, his mouth itching to take a bite.

“No, no, no. Go away. I’ll pick something you’ll like,” Xina blocks Miguel’s lingering eyes.

Miguel clicks his teeth, “If it’s not good, I’m going to be really upset.”

“I doubt it.”

GymRat!Miguel who walks deeper into the cafe. He’s dodging ceiling plants left and right, but he’s sure that the best seats are in the furthest of the building.

He shuffles around a corner, eyes adjusting to the sun coming through window.

He blinks a few times and takes in the spacious area.

That’s when he sees you.

He walks fast, the strides of his steps wide.

The closer he gets, the stronger the smell of peaches builds. The sun was shining down like it granted Miguel one the greatest gifts of his life. Its rays danced across the spot that you're in.

He gets to your chair and pulled it out with ease, the sound disrupting the hushed corner.

A pen falls to the floor, voices are cut short, and arms are flailing but Miguel’s nose is buried deep into your neck.

Your arms tighten around his neck and your voice skips across his ears.

“I-” a kiss across your face, “missed you so much.” Miguel looks at you like you hold the stars in the sky within your palm.

“You scared the shit out of me, Miguel,” you say with no really malice in your voice. Your thumbs run across his cheeks, watching as he beams at you. You kiss him once or twice, heart fluttering as your feet dangle in the air.

“I hope there aren’t many people picking you up in the middle of establishments,” Miguel mumbled across your lips.

“Guys, there’s people staring at us,” a voice creeps in from the side of Miguel.

Miguel’s eyes follow it to see a deer-looking kid with hoodie pulled up over his ears.

“Who is this?”

GymRat!Miguel who is introduced to Miles, your freshman classmate that you’ve taken in.

He’s sitting across the table nodding along to you as you rave about Miles’ work. The entire time, his right hand didn’t leave your left one.

“So,” Miguel chimes in when there’s a pause. “Have you both been coming here a while?”

“Nah, I just dragged her out here recently. She never leaves the art building when a deadline is near. It’s kind of depressing-“

“You know, Miles.” You're holding back an eye roll. “There are times when you could just not talk.”

“No, actually tell me more,” Miguel insisted, attentive.

GymRat!Miguel who hurries to help a struggling Xina when she rounds the corner with a tray full of goodies.

A cinnamon roll, a lemon tart, a tall purple drink, and some warm tea is placed on the table while you and Miles clear the area.

You sit up straighter to watch Miguel pick up the tea cup and blow over it. “Tea? No milk with a pinch of coffee?”

“Amor…”

Xina looks over to his cup, “Did you want something else?”

“No, this is good, I haven’t had this in a while,” he takes a sip and hums while explaining to you. “I’ve been on this sweet drink kick since she let me try her frappe last year.”

“That’s rich because you always hated it when I got those.”

“To be fair, you downed like four of those in one day. I’m surprised your body didn’t go into shock.”

“I don’t know,” you shrug. “Four in one day must have meant you were going through it.”

Xina smiles and nods her head, “Exactly. And I told him-”

“We’re not doing this,” Miguel grumbled and stabbed his fork into his roll. “Four was way too much and she was bouncing off the walls all day just to crash and throw up on my shoes.”

“I said I was sorry about that!”

GymRat!Miguel who cuts pieces of his dessert to feed to you. You look at him incredulously as he insists on giving you bite after bite.

“Is it good?” Miguel asks chewing his own piece. You nod and he grins, happy in the bubble he’s created.

When Xina reaches for his plate for a piece he slides it away with ease, a move he knows too well.

“Why can’t I have some? I bought it.”

“You didn’t even ask!”

“Neither did she!”

Miles leans over to you, “I feel like I’m watching a fight between me and my baby sister.”

Miguel is pushing Xina’s hands away from his plate while she laughs up a storm. You think that it does mirror something like Gabriel and Miguel’s relationship, but something about Miguel isn’t the same.

GymRat!Miguel who continues his Tom and Jerry act with Xina even when the food is gone.

They were bickering over some formula that you couldn’t begin to figure out by yourself. To Miguel, it’s easy. To Xina, the setup makes no sense.

“How did you survive Ivy League without me?” Miguel asks as he reaches over and erases an error on her page.

“Like I do anything else, with peace.”

“So what you’re saying is,” Miguel points his pencil at Xina, “you hate me and I am not needed for problems 4 through 10.”

“No!” she panics, pushing his pen back to the paper. “I need you to start this one. I don’t understand it.”

“We just did one like this, though. It’s just the imaginary number all over again.”

Xina groaned and slumped in her chair while Miguel just turned back to his on work.

GymRat!Miguel who peers up from his computer to watch you work. You eyebrows pinch as your wrist moves across the large sketchpad in front of you. Your hand is moving fast and you’re so focused. Miguel hasn’t seen you like this before. In your element.

He leans his head on his hand, cheek squished and staring at you like he’s never seen you, like you were something to be admired.

You were pretty today, a sweater with some cartoon on it and some jeans that flared out at the bottom. Your bunny necklace was dangling around your neck and your glasses were falling down your nose.

You push them back and a smudge of charcoal from moving Miles’ artwork gets on your cheek.

“Stare at her any harder and she might grow something freaky,” Miles whispers.

Miguel falters and grabs a napkin, leaning to wipe your cheek, “She has something on her face.”

GymRat!Miguel who tries to be even more discreet as he watches you fill up the page. It’s mesmerizing seeing what you come up with.

He’ll type a little bit then look at your sketches, he’ll click a few links then look at your face. Sometimes, you would catch him looking and smile at resulting in his heart picking up.

Occasionally, Miles would ask your opinion on something and you would give him pointers, the two of you discussing something about focal points and rule of threes.

Miguel just wanted to put his stuff up and listen to you all day.

“What are you working on?” Xina asks, her voice breaking the silence. She’s staring directly at your drawings, fingers tapping against her notebook.

You perk up and flip your pad around, “It’s some ideas for one of our bigger projects! The theme is reinventing a classic, so I’m thinking something like a spin on Lady Godiva with a haunted theme and darker palette. Or The Fallen Angel with a bird’s eye perspective of him on the ground.”

You took a breath and flipped the page, “And then there’s The Kiss which I wanted to actually do a glaze to really give it that ‘mosaic’ look.”

Miguel leaned in with Xina to take a closer look.

The sketch was exceptional to say the least. Miguel wasn’t too sure how the original painting looked, but your drawing detailed a woman wrapped in these angular, moving shapes. Her face was angled up and a far-off look adorned her features. To her right sat a man whose lips were on her neck and his attention solely on her.

It was soft, yet strong. How you managed to put so much intimacy onto a single page was beyond him.

The feeling of it was familiar and when he looked up at you, he knew.

Miguel opens his mouth, “It’s..”

“Boring.”

“Beautiful.”

He turns to Xina with a frown on his face as she flips back to the front page.

“I mean, I think one of the other two is better, you know? More of a twist on the originals. The last one feels safe.”

The table is quiet as Xina’s comment marinates. She’s flipping further into your book and Miguel promptly snatches it from her and closes it a bit harder than he needs to. Miles shifts in his seat, chewing on the straw of his drink.

“Can you explain why it feels safe to you?” your fingers pick at a nail.

She looks up, “Well, don’t you want to stand out? Out of the others, I don’t think this one is that unique.”

“The point isn’t to stand out,” Miles chimes in. “The assignment is about remixing a classic and all three of these do that pretty well.”

Your smile is small, “Thanks, Miles.”

“So which one do you think is better?” Xina asks.

“The last one,” both Miles and Miguel say.

“It carries the emotion of the original while also bringing more focus to couple rather than the abstracted cloth. You can see the love between them in a way that the original doesn’t have and it’s not even painted yet,” Miles talks with ease. “But! That’s just my opinion.”

“I think it’s powerful,” Miguel hums. “You should go with that one.”

You nod, thumbing over the corner of the pages.

GymRat!Miguel who watches Miles nearly fly out of the cafe.

Something about catching the bus to go see a friend perform.

“Poor thing,” you mumble. “He didn’t even buy the tickets yet.”

GymRat!Miguel who can almost see the stress coming off of you in waves the later it gets in the evening.

“Are you alright?” Miguel places his hand over yours.

“Yeah, I think I need a nap.”

“Need me to drive you back?”

“No, it’s fine. You need to drive Xina back.” You start to pack up. “I brought my car anyways.”

Miguel follows your movements, hands putting his laptop up as well.

He hurries to pull your chair out and you thank him with a quiet voice. He follows you from the table to the door to your car. The scene is almost comical the way he’s in your peripheral.

“Will I see you again soon?” Miguel leans on the hood of your car, body practically falling onto you in the driver’s seat. “We gotta set up a date.”

“I’ll see what I can do, baby,” you rub his face and kiss the kicked-puppy look off of his face. “I’ll text you once I get back.”

“Please.”

GymRat!Miguel who throws his backpack in the backseat and slumps over the wheel once he’s certain your car was down the road.

“What now?” Xina patted Miguel’s back. “You miss her again?”

Miguel just dug his head onto the horn, the effect alerting anyone within 50ft radius.

“Ok, ok,” Xina yanked him up by his shoulders only for him to drop back down again. She sighs and grabs the back of his head with a slight yank to his hair.

Miguel swats her hand away with a grit to his teeth and a pinch to his brows.

Xina only holds her hands up with a grin lining her lips, “Calm down.”

“You’re really annoying me today.”

Xina drops her hands and her smile falters. Miguel straightens up with an apology on the roof of his mouth before Xina picks back up with joy.

“What I think you need is an awesome rager for your birthday.”

“No.”

“Why not? It could be fun!”

“I’m all partied out until next year.”

“Not even with your friends? People from your department? A couple of classmates? The robo nerds?”

“That’s robo rockstars to you.”

Xina laughed and buckled her seatbelt.

“I think it could be great, seriously. We’re doing it.”

Miguel only groaned and turned on the ignition.

GymRat!Miguel who wanted to use his Sunday for relaxation, a cheat day, maybe a game or two with Gabriel, Peter, and Winston.

Instead, he’s lying on his bed listening to Xina rant about one of her roommates using the sink as a trash can.

“Like we have a ridiculously expensive trash can that’s less than a foot away from the sink. It’s a simple spin and drop.”

“Ok, I get this is really gross, but don’t you have other friends you could bother?”

Xina pauses, and points her finger at him, “Hey, I’m here to help you out. If I wasn’t here, who knows how down in the dumps you’d be.”

“This isn’t helping me.”

GymRat!Miguel who answers his phone while Xina has managed to pull Peter into a game of Overcooked on his Switch.

“Hey, Ma.”

“Miguel! How do I connect your father’s computer to the TV? He found a movie that we could watch but the screen is so small.”

“He found a movie but can’t connect cords?”

“Just answer the question, mijo.”

Miguel sits up, prepared to spend at least forty minutes trying to explain what an HDMI cord is.

“Yeah.”

Xina gasps, pauses the game leaving a displeased Peter, and hops into the corner of Miguel’s phone.

“Hi, Mrs. O’Hara!”

“Hola, mi dulce niña! Hace mucho que no te veo. ¿Que tal te ha ido?“ (Hello, my sweet girl! I haven’t seen you in a long time. How have you been?)

“Más o menos, pero me alegro de verte.” (So-so, but I’m happy to see you.)

“No, Xina! ¿Qué tienes?” (What’s wrong?)

Miguel just plopped the device in Xina’s hand, “I like how you both started a conversation on my phone.”

“We’ve got important things to discuss,” Xina waved him off while she and his mother continued to fawn over each other.

Miguel just slid off the bed and joined Peter.

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t get his phone back until curfew hours are around the corner.

Xina and his mom discussed everything from reality TV to recipes to her time up north. Xina left happier than when she came in which Miguel didn’t mind. He just wished he could have had the room to himself.

GymRat!Miguel who doesn’t see your message until he’s about to go to sleep.

“Baby”

“Let’s do something together on your bday”

Miguel unpeeled his eyes and typed swiftly.

“YES”

“YEESSSS”

“Best birthday ever already”

“Someone’s excited”

“I haven’t even said what we’re doing yet”

“What are we doing”

“Tell me please”

“Pleasepleasepleaseplease”

“Mmm”

“No”

“It’s a secret 🙂‍↔️”

“I can wait”

“That you are”

“Sometimes”

“😗”

“But mi luz I think Xina is trying to plan something too”

“Oh”

“Should we raincheck then?”

“NOOOOOO!”

“I can do both”

“I’ll literally split myself in two”

“You don’t have to choose”

“My gift is small”

“I want you to have fun on your special day”

“Can you come to the party?”

“I don’t want to miss it but I’ll have to see”

“If anything it’ll be much later”

“As long as I get to see you I’ll be happy”

“Good night bebé”

“Night!”

"Love you"

“Love you more"

divider by: @plutism 🩵

a/n: I have no notes other than school is starting back up so my posting schedule will be even more irregular. 🤠 Please bear with me.

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[suppermariobroth]

In 2021, internal localization documents for the Korean version of New Super Mario Bros. were leaked online. This is an image from one of the documents.

Bizarrely, the image is hidden within the document, being completely overlaid by an image of a Blockhopper enemy, and was likely never even seen by the localization team for whom the document was intended. The image was only found by dataminers after decompiling the document and extracting its component files. It appears that the Nintendo of Japan employee who composed the document changed it midway through and simply overlaid the image with another one instead of deleting it.

The image depicts Mario under the effect of a Super Star, next to an entity not found in the finished version's gameplay, but still existing in its files: an invisible fireball. The invisible fireball was a trap that would appear invisible until the moment it touched Mario (which is why Mario has a Super Star here, so that he is not hurt while showing off the fireball in a visible state). The only indication of the fireball's presence would be Phantom Hand objects (which appear in the finished version's Level 7-Ghost House, pointing at invisible blocks) pointing at the fireball. Footage of it in action can be seen in a previous post I made about it here.

This image is notable as perhaps one with the most layers of obscurity out of all Mario media. It is a screenshot of an unused object, found in a leaked internal document, hidden from even the document's intended recipients.

Main Blog | Twitter | Patreon | Small Findings | Source

[kerubimcrepin]

LIVEBLOG: Wakfu Season 4, Episode 8 [PART 2]

Our guy is finally starting to understand how bad things are. <3

I think what he hates the most (after teleporting one singular time) is how this makes him lose his face. The #1 thing Joris hates the most, always, and forever, is appearing weak or unprofessional.

Yeaa lmao, everyone except for him has immediately oriented themselves in the portal, while he's struggling with the process and the landing...

Joris is way too confused to even begin being mad at this shit. Like ok. This is happening now.

I think the reason he isn't mad at this later is that it's a logical decision to [grumble, grumble] support a member of their party who was [deep sigh] struggling with teleportation for their common good as a team. Even if it was him.

The voices in my head compel me to screenshot him more.

I think Joris said this because he heard Yugo wonder if it's a trap and Yugo's opinions are very important to him <3 He's just like "man Yugo was right. 😑 as he tends to be when he's not being blinded by emotions. [is himself blinded by emotions as he is saying this]"

Joris is probably starting to get mad at Ad by now, but once again, "ughh I guess carrying the guy with the teleportation sickness, while we are all being chased by an eldritch horror, is logical... fuck's sake..."

I could write a novel about how good Toross is at randomly guessing Joris's insecurities and hitting them like every button on the keyboard.

He literally put the meaning of "You're 3ft tall, and I don't really take you seriously, and also the juxtaposition of all these three words diminishes your serious air of adulthood. You look a bit pathetic and boring, btw, despite all the expensive clothes and earnest airs. You're compensating very hard for something you don't have, and I can see that. :)" into two lines of dialogue.

And then he also uses the scare tactic of "btw I can see your Wakfu. And you are very good prey. Because you're a prey animal here. Did I mention I was going to eat you." (and also, unknowingly, this is striking at Joris insecurity #2: people learning information about him and, god forbid, perceiving him.)

AND the finisher is "however you're not good enough to be the main dish and I don't give a shit about you."

Loving Joris's little pout here. A very cute and balanced reaction to psychological warfare. Despite Toross hitting multiple good attack points, he only shows a little bit of seething on his face (but probably enough for Toross to know this got him a reaction. <3)

OF COURSE the guy whose feelings were insulted the most goes immediately after Adamai. He's so transparent about being mad, it's so funny...

When given swords, he literally fights like Atcham. [starts throwing up blood everywhere] Yeah no, no, I'm fine. Ignore me.

Of course you'd be good at dodging magical projectiles, and using your front paws to help you with jumping and standing while keeping your spine low to the ground (to avoid hits and get ready to jump/run once again). Where did you get these moves from? Your uncle? 🤣

He's so maddd.

Yeah he is mad, but also he is his usual calculating self: trying to get close to him to find any possible weakness, while trying not to show that it is, in fact, what he is trying to do. He is locked in.

Cat behaviour once again. Looking like a wild animal is a normal thing for him to do.

You see: for Joris, this is revenge for all the shit this guy said — and also a way to prove his worth as a human being, despite the fact that all those things Toross said are true. If he acts like he is cold and calculating and useful, nobody will know that it actually bothered him. His status as someone thick-skinned and heroic will be proven.

(He learned the "circle them to try and get closer while they're busy shooting you, and then attack them from the back" method from Atcham too, btw.)

[eldragon-x]

🐊 krook 🔁 krook

🐊 krook

I don't remember following this Pokemon, they keep posting mushy inspirational screenshots and quotes

🐊 krook

they were previously rottenworld? I see how it is. another idiot falling into the trap of telling yourself everything will be fine and the world is worthwile. im so sick of this. soon you will all see the ugly truth

2 Notes 💬🔁🤍

🍎 guildmaster-wigglytuff 🔁 kingofdarkness

🌑 kingofdarkness

Another successful day of working in Team Teal! ^_^ Funfact: I learned today that the team name was inspired by the color of the glow of the Time Gears ⚙️ My team mates were hesitant to tell me more about it though.

🍎 guildmaster-wigglytuff

That's great, Darkrai! TOOM-YAH!

5 Notes 💬🔁❤️

#guild associates #motivation #funfacts

🍃 paradise-virizion 🔁 lopunnycharm

💗 lopunnycharm

Reblog this if you support trapping Pokemon in ruins! ✨

2.575 Notes 💬🔁🤍

🤡 paradise-emolga 🔁 lake-guardian

⚙️ lake-guardian Follow

Pokemon are upset at me for including Team Charm on the list of explorers with issues. I'm sorry but you can't brush off their actions as "girlbossing". I promise you there are other admirable female dungeon treaders you can support, like Octillery or Virizion.

1.933 Notes 💬🔁🤍

#wait I need to do something funny

🍃 paradise-virizion

Having a moment, but I don't think I could ever express enough how much joining an adventure team has helped me. I was at a real lowpoint when I became a part of Team Scales and would reject everyone around me but thanks to them, I learned to open up and trust in other Pokemon again.

7 Notes 💬🔁❤️

#delete later

🌈 chasingafterhope

Sorry for my recent inactivity, I've been busy getting in touch with some old friends and moving to Air Continent. I don't know if I'm ever gonna start posting regularly again, might abandon this blog altogether, but I'm glad Pokemon appreciate it. Have a nice day!

360 Notes 💬🔁❤️

#personal #madoka tag

🪦 dustnoir 🔁 forest-clock

🏅 expedition-society-official Follow

its been really dire lately if i'm honest. legendary pokemon all over the world are turning to stone and we still have no idea who could be behind it and im very worried for the kids here. i dont know why ampharos thought it would be a good idea to let them join i just feel like everythings getting worse

🏅 expedition-society-official Follow

wrong blog

🌺 forest-clock Follow

Time traveller here! It will pass but you have to make it through The Voidlands first 👍

485 Notes 💬🔁❤️

#predictions #future posting #dark matter incident #friend tag #reblog #expedition-society-official

[overmorrowpine]

collection of all the memes ive made to send to @drizznt and. i have a Theme huh

[image ID: three tumblr screenshots edited over art of artemis from the legend of drizzt. in order, the tumblr screenshots read:

"(in the voice of a guy who will defy fate to save you) i don't care"

"#literally saddest wettest most found alone in a cardboard box war criminal ever"

"my taste in fictional men is just the unstable, traumatized and dangerous ones and radiate strong "i'm not a bad dog. i'm a wounded and terrified dog that bites to survive" vibes honestly"

end ID]

[image ID: art of drizzt and artemis fighting, with a tumblr post edited over it. it reads:

"THIS ISN'T A SEX THING" i exasperatedly yell as my leitmotif and that of my mortal enemy are arranged and mixed to play as a single track during our final climatic duel.

"ON MY MOTHER'S NAME, THIS ISN'T A SEX THING" i desperately howl as my nemesis and i pull off a seamless, perfectly coordinated team attack on a greater threat, with no prior training or practice, our skills and habits mingling and mixing perfectly and naturally due to our dozens of duels with each other, leading to an immensely intimate familiarity with each other's martial habits, combat tendencies, and overall skillset.

/end ID]

that ^ is just streams of silver to like whichever book drizzt "dies" to artemis im pretty sure

also. a matched set in honor of [waves my hands at everything that happened in sellswords]

[image ID: a tumblr post edited over the same art of artemis, as well as tags edited over jarlaxle.

"so sick of dog motif what about cat motif.

i love you but we don't love the same. i can't be near you when you want me to be. your love is smothering and your need to keep me safe is trapping me. i'm my own person but i don't know how to show you that. i lash out and hurt you even though i don't mean to. i need you to move slowly around me or i'll bolt. i love you, even though i don't say it. if you stay still i'll sit next to you, and even though we don't understand each other we can be together like that."

and then edited over jarlaxle:

"#everything i've ever let go of has claw marks on it"

end ID]

[milaisreading]

Misunderstandings

Pairing: Itoshi Sae x Reader

Warnings ⚠️: none in particular. Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue Lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

(Y/n) was in Japan for something Blue Lock related while her friends were still across Europe in their teams. The first few days were pretty uneventful with her doing some paperwork and preparing some documents to bring back to Germany. Well, today was the day in which her mundane stay in Japan would pretty much change. One moment (Y/n) was minding her business at the JFU building, waiting for Ego and Anri to finish their meeting, the other she was startled by a reporter, asking her weird and personal questions about Sae and herself. Questions like 'How did you two meet?' and 'How do you feel about being official?' flew around... Wait!

"What do you mean with official?" (Y/n) asked, obvious confusion laced her face as the reporter raised her eyebrow and took out her phone.

"Now don't play stupid with us, the news of your relationship have been the main topic in Japan and Spain for days." (Y/n) chocked on her saliva as she looked at the screenshoted articles, varying from Japanese to Spanish ones, showing one specific picture of Sae and (Y/n).

'Not this one!' The girl thought as she remembered the incident. Well, it was nothing scandalous, but the media made a stupid twist of the whole situation.

Flashback...

'Bachira, Otoya please hurry up. I am so hungry.' (Y/n) yawned as she waited for her two friends. She was visiting Spain for the weekend and it just so happened that Barcha and Real played against each other. The game was fun to watch, (Y/n) loved seeing her friends on the field, seeing how much they developed and the great scores they made. She was also left in awe but not in surprise when Sae would show his skills, how fast he was and how well he reacted in every situation. The game ended in a tie and (Y/n) was left with a lot of adrenaline in her body, she really wanted to watch them play more.

"Why are you alone?" The girl turned around, surprised to find Sae approaching her, his stoic expression present as ever.

"Ah, Sae-san! That was a great game, it's always nice watching you play!" (Y/n) said, sending the redhead a smile. Sae's face turned red and he cleared his throat, nodding his head at the compliment.

"Thanks. I didn't know you would be here today. Did Bachira invite you?" The boy raised his eyebrow.

"Yes! Bachira and Otoya called me, since I am on a short visit here."

"How long are you staying in Spain?" Sae asked as an idea hit him.

"I am going back to Germany Monday morning, why?"

"Great. I will take you sightseeing Madrid tomorrow. It's my day off, anyways."

"Oh? That's really nice of you, Sae-san. But I already thought of a few places I could visit on my own-" (Y/n) cut herself off as she saw Sae shake his head and take something out of his pocket.

"And let you walk into tourist traps? I know Madrid very well and a lot of the more exciting parts are never recommended. We can exchange numbers, I will text you later about the plans." Sae said nonchalantly. Although he had a completely neutral face, on the inside he wasn't calm at all. His stomach was doing flips and heart was racing as (Y/n) finally gave in. She gave him her phone and she took his, then typed down her number.

"Thank you, I am sorry for the troubles-"

"It's not a trouble. Don't worry." Sae interrupted (Y/n) and gave her a small smile. The girl just nodded confusedly, wondering if the expression she was seeing was real or not.

Present time...

'This can't be for real!' (Y/n) shook her head and looked back at the reporter, shaking her head.

"T-this is a misunderstanding!" The girl defended, groaning when she saw the look on the reporter.

"Really, we are just good friends. Sae-San just offered-"

"I offered what?" The reporters eyes widened in delight and (Y/n)'s in horror as they turned to look at the said redhead walking up to them.

"Itoshi-san, it's so nice to see you back in Japan." The reporter greeted as (Y/n) just kept her mouth shut, face flushing up in embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah." The older Itoshi nodded, focusing his attention on (Y/n).

"So, why did you mention me?" Sae wondered, standing next to (Y/n), who showed him the articles nervously. The player kept quiet as the girl calmed down a little. Knowing that Sae will deny it to brought her some peace.

"So? Is there any truth to the rumors, Itoshi-san?" The reporter asked.

Sae kept quiet as he returned the phone to her and shrugged his shoulders. (Y/n) jumped a little as the boy wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"I will let you decide that."

"What?!" (Y/n) yelled out as she saw his smirk, but Sae said nothing and started walking off with her.

"Excuse us." The boy said, leaving the reporter and (Y/n) flabbergasted for a moment.

"Wait! It's not true! Sae-san is just joking!" (Y/n) yelled at the reporter, internally crying when she saw the woman take a few pictures of them.

"Why didn't you say anything like 'no, it's not true'? Now everyone will think we are dating!" (Y/n) cried out as Sae kept quiet for a moment.

"Didn't feel like it."

The next day (Y/n) watched on in horror as the articles about her dating Sae were the hot topic for not just Spain and Japan, but in multiple other countries as well. She let out a small cry, knowing she will never hear the end of it from Kaiser once she returns to Germany.

'I need a refund in life!'

Bastard München...

"Eh? Noel,we have a small issue." One of the players approached their coach, looking terrified.

"What is it?" The man asked.

"Well... Kaiser broke his phone, Ness somehow got his hands on a knife, Kunigami broke one of our lockers-"

"What?" Noel asked in shock, but the player kept on going.

"That's not the worst part! Isagi keeps on glaring at everyone and Gagamaru is just throwing insults at anyone who keep approaching the goal. Yukimiya refuses to come out and play. Meanwhile Kurona and Hiori are just ignoring everyone. Kurona even tried to bite someone for approaching him."

"Why are they like this?" Noel facepalmed as he went to see the commotion himself.

PXG...

"So... (Y/n) will be your sister-in-law now, Rin?" The younger Itoshi spat out his water as he looked at Loki in horror. This caught Karasu and Shidou's attention as well, since they were nearby.

"What?! Why would she be my sister-in-law?" Rin asked in horror as Loki raised his eyebrow and fished out his phone.

'If anything, (Y/n) will be my wife.' Karasu and Shidou walked over, wanting to hear what was going on.

"What's the tea?" The tanner boy asked as Karasu leaned against Rin.

"Did our Rinnie make a scandal or something?" Karasu teased, earning a glare from the said boy.

"No, the whole of France is talking about Sae and (Y/n) dating tho. Some tabloids even said a wedding day might be revealed soon." Loki answered, scrolling through his phone.

"What? You are joking, right?" Shidou asked, feeling like throwing up all of a sudden. Karasu had a blank expression on his face as he looked through the articles Loki was showing them.

"Rin, you will be brotherless soon." Karasu threatened as the younger Itoshi said nothing. Rin looked blankly at the phone, feeling lightheaded all of a sudden.

'I am beating him up. I am done.'

Was the last thing Rin thought before fainting. Panicked Loki went to call a paramedic as Karasu laid him on the ground.

Barcha...

"This is a tragedy,this can't be for real. My sweet, cute (Y/n) would never date a barbarian like Sae. These have to be photoshopped." Otoya cried out as he fell to the floor. He just opened his phone to look something up, only to come across an article saying that wedding bells might be ringing for Sae and (Y/n). Bachira walked in on Otoya and had a confused expression at his behavior.

"What happened? We need to go, practice will start soon." Bachira said.

"Forget practice! How can I practice when my sweet (Y/n) is held hostage?!"

"What?! What happened?!" Bachira asked in worry as Otoya showed him his phone.

"(Y/n) has to be blackmailed or something, there is no way she would willingly go out with Sae of all people."

Bachira kept quiet as he read some parts, seeing the pictures of them together made something snap in him and he ran out of the locker room.

"Lavinho, can we cut practice short?! I need to visit Madrid!"

Ubers...

"Sae, you little piece of shit! How can you do this to your bro?! You know I like her." Oliver cried out on his phone as Sae picked up the call. The news of him and (Y/n) 'dating' hit the Italian sites today, leaving 4 players in particular in a foul mood.

"Give me that phone, Aiku. Sae, I am beating your ass for just touching her like this." Baro threatened as he tried to take Oliver's phone, which just caused a fight between the other two. Meanwhile Niko and Aryu were desperately trying to reach (Y/n), wanting to hear her side.

"Why isn't she picking up?! Do you think she is ok? Should we leave and go back to Japan?" Niko asked nervously as Aryu bit on his fingernails.

"I swear if one of Sae's crazed fangirls is harassing her, I will kick a football to his face. My dear, little (Y/n)... what sort of taste do you even have?" Aryu pouted as Niko fidgeted around nervously. Meanwhile Lorenzo and Snuffy were trying to stop the fight between Oliver and Baro.

Manshine...

"Forget it! I am not in the mood!" Chris sighed as Chigiri slammed the door shut. Ever since they arrived at the stadium, neither him, Reo or Nagi were in the mood to play. Right now, all three barricaded themselves in the locker room, not willing to gear anyone out.

"They will get over it... Ego, who did you even send me to play?" Chris cried as he cursed the said man out.

Meanwhile Reo was making calls to whoever he could, asking for a possible transfer so that (Y/n) could be their manager instead.

'Those incompetent losers couldn't keep Sae away, I knew leaving her with them was a mistake.' The purple-haired boy thought.

"(Y/n), please tell me that article of you dating Sae is a belated April fool's joke. I am so close to braking someone's jaw." Nagi said as (Y/n) finally answered her phone. The albino was stressed out over it all, sleep and games were the last things on his mind. He just wanted to hear from (Y/n) that none of it was true and that she just had eyes for him.

"Give her to me. I will talk some sense into her. That fake redhead is no good for her." Chigiri pouted, already making plans to fly her out to Britain.

[puppetmaster13u]

Meat Marionette Thoughts

Y’know what villian I am rotating for this who isn’t technically one of Gotham’s rogues but the Justice League’s and other team’s? Vandal Savage. For those not in the know or are unfamiliar with him, Vandal is a 50,000+ year old caveman who has been several different people throughout history including Black Beard, Vlad the Impaler, and Genghis Khan among so many others. And in canon he’s been defeated and plans thwarted several different times by Bruce while he was trapped outside of his own time.  Now I am just saying that from Vandal’s point of view, every once in a while this creature- similar to him in the sense it’s intelligent, very much so, but also animalistically violent, almost instinctively so- emerges from somewhere in the world. Where it comes from, he doesn’t know, or even if it’s just one being or multiple. Sometimes the bat appears months later, sometimes centuries. But then there’s nothing for a few thousand years. No sign of it. But then, but then, this happens:

Now this isn’t Bruce’s father (See screenshot below) but an ancestor all the same. But that’s not important at the moment. 

No what I want to focus on is the fact that suddenly, in Vandal’s point of view, the bat is far more active in the following years. It’s suddenly awake and out all the time in Gotham, almost nightly. And suddenly, the bat isn’t alone and has something. Suddenly there’s several little bats running around, all focused on the surroundings of this single city. Suddenly, he has a good idea of where the beast disappeared to.

This Au is a combo of mine & @phoenixcatch7's and you need to check her out, she's amazing <3

[tsatsked]

Analysis of some details in Polar Town

Specifically locations 1, 3 and 5 of the UTTU part of Rayashki event. There are not a lot of screenshots - if you need some, I can DM them. Thanks to @vingler-mirror for the screenshots of Civic Square descriptions and the final Spotlight Chronicle

1 - Rayashki Elementary

Big-Eared Monkey and Mr. Crocodile - a reference to Cheburashka and Gena the Crocodile in form of August’s nicknames. The song Vila often sings might be based on The Blue Wagon from the 70s cartoon.

The collage shows not a bayan accordion but another accordion type called “гармонь” (garmon’) in Russian

2 - Hotel

Honestly, I believe Windsong enthusiasts will analyse the texts better than I could have

3 - New Mine

We’re getting more lore about the critters based on Inuit mythology. Kikituks are said to be evolved from shamanic statues into amphibious creatures and preferring mammal meat over fish nowadays. Ijiraks are said to be former people trapped into the boundary between life and death for wandering too far into the wild. Qiqirns are described as malevolent canines that wander aimlessly for eternity (it can be connected to their role in shamanism).

Information about the background character because I've got attached to him: the Rayashki guest arrived here following an Irish merchant ship. He’s a miner from Greenland expedition team with a bushy red beard and bear belly. He has a crude front but is a symphony enthusiast and likes literature - the temporary library helped him to bond with his teammates over literature without feeling weird. Also he has a little daughter. Pushkin’s Ode to Liberty that he read is a historically interesting piece where the author supports a political activist exiled to Siberia (the ode gets Pushkin exiled too but to a more gentle place)

4 - Swimming Pool

The descriptions go in chronological order of mermaid history.

@sleeplesssmol have copied Rusalka Spotlight Chronicle in their post here!

5 - Port

Among the stage descriptions, there are two interesting objects described:

A preserved seabird, seemenly for the migrated critters.

Rayashki Cheese - is said to be made out of milk from northern tundra. The cheese’s wrap design is based on Friendship cheese made by KARAT. The peculiar detail about it is that the only KARAT factory is in Moscow

Rayashki seemly participates in barter with the ships.

Cultural Palace - is a common name for major club-houses

6 - Civic Square

The polar bear statue was made after one of the meetings and now is taken care of as a symbol of the community

[gremlin-bot]

That ain't happening Thursday

It's in the last hour of Thursday for me. So, shhhhh I'm still on time!!

This weeks wip is from a prompt from the batpham server. I actually think the message/prompt I'm using was changed after i took a screenshot.

Current name is "You're about to find out"

Jason didn't tell anyone about his experience while dead and no one asked. He was glad for it, he didn't need any bats or birds sticking their noses into his afterlife and the effects it causes. They were easily hidden after figure out what the fuck happened to him. It's not like the others used magic enough to know what to look for anyways. Of course, there is a way to find out like the Ghost Investigator Ward does. That would require thinking about the occult in a, let's just say, highly disapproved way to the dark team. Which Bruce would never do. He respected experts like that. 

If the big bad bat couldn't figure it out when there was a revenant that was formed and trapped in his body, then Jason doesn't think the older man will ever know. He almost beat Tim to death for, Ancients sake! All that and not one call to the Dark team during or after the fact. Nor during his sudden increase of tolerance to their bullshit after he got that revenant detangled from him. (They still apologize for the issues they caused while being in his body, even after they were separated.)

So, he doesn't really worry that some of the hundreds of shades drop into his haunt to heal up. It's not like they would be able to get in if they meant harm. He would know and deal with it. It was never really that big of a big deal to him, just continuing to protect his part of Gotham. 

[unofskylanderspages]

Seen above: Wildfire taking on a group of Trolls

[alexanderwales]

Every now and then I try to find a mobile game to play, for when I have downtime while waiting in line or picking my son up from school or whatever.

It's shocking how many clearly competent games have been utterly crippled by predator designs. You start off playing something that's engaging and well-paced, with interesting mechanics and a clear gameplay loop, and then twenty minutes into it they start holding out their hand and saying "money please, give me the money or you can only play at a trickle, or there are some mechanics whose only purpose is to suck the joy out of everything". The sound design is good, the art is good, this was clearly something that a team of people spent a lot of time and effort on ... and the whole thing just buckles under the weight of the monetization.

I started playing Sandship: Crafting Factory and it's a game that's clearly taking some inspiration from Factorio, except you have a mobile "sandship" so have to do some constrained little builds to output iron plates or whatever. The gameplay is in hitting production goals, building and rebuilding these small internal factory floors, and it's exactly what I want in a mobile game ... but then it comes to a standstill unless I want to engage with their microtransactions, or grind through the "free to play" stuff.

I am more than happy to pay money for games. I have more than a thousand games in my Steam library. But there's no option to have the game without that junk, and even if you paid money, you would have to pay money again down the road, because that's how they design their system.

So there are hundreds of games that look fun, and for the first ten minutes are fun, but it's all a colorful, predatory trap. And look, I don't want to be complaining about microtransactions on mobile games in 2024, it's not a new problem, but it's just so damned pervasive and I hate having a hobby where I've got people trying to trick me.

(The use of misleading art has been a whole other thing, because you get these gorgeous, evocative screenshots that lead into shitty games. It's always been a problem, but I think AI art has made it a lot worse.)

[riddlerosehearts]

i am so tired of seeing this screenshot about wish's ending reposted everywhere and used to make fun of the movie:

and this is coming from someone who didn't even like the movie very much, but this is misrepresenting what happened. yes, there is a thing where asha wears a cloak resembling that of the fairy godmother and at the end star makes her a magic wand and the kids say she's like a fairy godmother, king magnifico does get trapped in a mirror, etc, and the movie was absolutely filled with easter eggs and references to previous movies--yep, when i saw the movie i did in fact take these scenes as just easter eggs! after all, think about this logically, if all currently existing movies in the disney animated canon were meant to take place in the same universe, and asha canonically grows up to be cinderella's fairy godmother, then...

how can you explain such a drastic difference in appearance? how can you justify asha, a brown-skinned afro-hispanic girl with a face full of freckles and long brown hair, and this old white woman being the same person? you can't, because they're not!!!! if i recall correctly asha doesn't even wear that cloak at the end when they're calling her a fairy godmother, she just wears it during one scene when she's a fugitive and has to sneak around. also...

the creators of the movie have directly confirmed that they were not trying to set up a disney multiverse and that it's not meant to be taken that seriously. rapunzel and eugene's cameo in frozen also wasn't meant to be taken anywhere near as seriously as everyone took it. neither were any previous cameos like belle in hunchback of notre dame or aurora in oliver and company (and if aurora being in oliver and company was canon, she'd be over 600 years old!). and, back to wish specifically, the little easter egg earlier in the movie where magnifico sees a wish bubble from someone who wants the perfect nanny to take care of their kids and says he's "poppin' that one" also doesn't mean the banks family from mary poppins canonically lives in rosas. the scene at the end where a boy named peter who wears all green and dreams of creating a flying machine goes to work with a girl in a blue nightgown whose wish is to fly doesn't mean peter pan and wendy actually somehow lived together in rosas and knew each other before the movie peter pan ever happened. it is literally impossible for all of these movies to take place in the same time period and universe, so it's a good thing that they, uh, don't, and were never intended to. please, if you don't like the movie, that's perfectly fine, but don't say disney is trying to create some convoluted multiverse and "MCU-ify" their movies when that just literally isn't true.

[fonmythenmetz]

The reason skykestis hit me that hard is, I think, the whole “hope” motif. A Cal & skykestis essay ahead. Jedi fallen order & survivor spoilers, look out.

Cal’s a Jedi Padawan who barely survived the purge because of his master’s sacrifice; he’s been hiding on Bracca scrapping ships until found by Inquisitors and escaping with the help of a former Jedi Master Cere and her pilot Greez. Together they embarked on a mission to find the Jedi holocron containing locations of force-sensitive children in hopes to restart the Order - quietly, in shadows. Ever since, Cal’s been fueled by hope. It guided him, it was the source of his power: he reclaimed his old abilities and was rapidly gaining new strength. By the end of the Fallen Order he’d dealt with two Inquisitors and beat a former Jedi Master Taron Malicos, who, unlike Cere, did not sever his connection to the Force, but fell to the Dark side and was actively conquering Dathomir. (I bet Maul was on a business summit on Nar Shaddaa at the time, otherwise he wouldn’t have tolerated Malicos). Anyway, upon finding the holocron and realising the danger that its existence was for the force-sensitive children, Cal decided to destroy it. However, this victory only encouraged his devotion and love for the Order, which he never stopped missing.

In the years to come his self-imposed mission was to stop the Empire. I see little mention of it, but we know for a fact that by 10 BBY he’s become the most wanted man in the Empire. The bounty for his head was so large that he could never stay in one place, actively hunted by the imperials, mercenaries, and criminal syndicates alike. He worked with Saw Gerrera and became Saw’s “sword” (or rather “lightsaber”), making the resistance a force to be reckoned with. His team split up - Greez retired and opened a cantina on a remote world of Koboh, while Cere deceived Cal, saying that she’s retiring as well but instead she went to develop a secret network to help force-sensitives and those who sympathised with resistance - the “Hidden Path”. She used Cal rampaging around the galaxy as a distraction and a shield to help her quietly establish the Hidden Path. Cal knew nothing of it, though. He believed that he was the only one of them left fighting. But he could not quit - it would be a betrayal of his love for the Order and his hope of one day restoring it.

Throughout all these years and the second game he was actively discouraged to fight by his companions, who’d been telling him to stop, take a break, lay low, but it was something he could not do:

(Credit for the screenshots to the wonderful theRawTRex on YouTube).

I know Jedi Survivor for some reason wants to make it look like Cal’s just fighting to avenge his lost people, but, knowing the original Star Wars universe, I see it as not him being misguided and desperate, but rather guided by hope - so strong that he still finds strength in it after years on the very front line. And, of course, by the Force.

Again, none of what he did was futile, despite the Empire’s optimistic reports. I understand that it was him, together with Saw Gerrera’s military prowess, that made Rebellion a possibility, and he was the reason why by the start of the Force Unleashed in 17-18 BBY Vader and Emperor both were so concerned about the rebels that they even sent Galen Marek, aka Starkiller, to lure them all into a trap. They hoped to finally kill Cal, but by then he’d taken permanent residence on the hidden world of Tanalorr to hide a force-sensitive child, Kata, so no one could reach them. Cal and Saw’s reputation drew imperial forces and the Emperor’s attention, letting other Jedi like Eno Cordova, Rahm Kota, Shaak Ti, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and also rebels like Cere Junda, Merrin, Lothal cell with growing Ezra Bridger, survive. Unfortunately, it also made the Empire angrier and angrier, tightening the grip on the Senate, which is extensively addressed in A New Hope. But it was Cal and Saw’s doing that started the Rebellion. Galen Marek later completed it, gathering the Alliance leaders together, Ezra Bridger supported it, sacrificing himself to kill Grand Admiral Thrawn, all laying foundation for Luke and the others’ victory.

The end of Jedi Survivor is controversial. Throughout the game Cal’s strong in his belief and conviction. He’s a Jedi, despite being completely alone in doing so. But everyone he knows keeps telling him to accept the end of the Order as he knew it and start a new life. Everyone - except Bode, a new crew member. Cal instantly warms up to him. Of course, Bode ends up slowly talking back to him, too:

“Abandon your way, embrace a new, easier one.” Sound familiar? Yeah, Bode ends up being an imperial spy and a Dark Jedi, who kills Cal’s friends and sets Darth Vader after them all. This breaks Cal - in a way, and he surrenders. He goes to hide on Tanalorr with Merrin and the others. And he starts struggling with the Dark Side. He’s losing his way. He’s losing the Order - and himself - from his vision. In his heart he still longs for it sincerely, desperately, but what can he do when he lost so much and so many, and the remaining want him to surrender? He’s giving up the galaxy to the evil, betraying his very nature as a Jedi. The conflict tears him open. He becomes unbalanced. The hope in him dims. But it’s still there. His hope is the root of his conflict, but it is also the root of his strength, it is his very heart. Will he destroy it, passively living out his remaining days, waiting to die? Will it destroy him, twisting him to the Dark Side, making him destroy what’s left?

Or will he listen to it, as he did - always? Will he, a conflicted Jedi Master, try to teach force-sensitive Kata, and find his way through his teaching, hear again the will of the Force?

What if one day he dreams of a man in a black cape, holding a strange black-and white saber over a small green creature; of legions of imperial troops marching through peaceful towns; of twelve bacta tanks crammed in one room, with identical shapes inside, so heavy in the Dark Side, filled to the brim with the will to tear kill maim burn, and a programming typed on their screens: destroy Luke Skywalker!). What if, troubled by horrible anticipation, he returns - and where were burnt worlds exhausted by tyranny, finds a newborn republic…

And there, on a remote planet - a young man, struggling to build a temple with a tiny green apprentice?

For Cal Luke is not just “hope”, but hope realised, the embodiment of something you’d been fighting tooth and nail for - come to life. He is the proof that Cal’s way was right and righteous; he is the proof that every battle was worth it. He is a hope for an even brighter future. He is the purpose and the meaning. Post-ROTJ Luke is the Order, despite being just one scarred young man. He is balance and peace. He is home Cal’s been fighting so long for.

On the other hand there’s Luke, who’d recently completed fighting a war. He’d mourned his aunt and uncle who raised him, his Master Obi-Wan, his Master Yoda, his father; he’d been travelling around the galaxy first to stay alive, then to find traces of others who stayed alive - only to learn that he truly is the last of his kind. His whole world is now his temple (which he’s slowly building. It’s not like he’s got much money. Or experience building temples) - and Grogu (who’s still learning to talk but is always very eager to help, which is why Luke is doing twice the work to plan, build and simultaneously keep his little apprentice away from the rather dangerous construction site). They cannot take more students: it is too dangerous now. He feels loneliness - the same kind he saw killing Yoda - overtaking him. His only guests are mercenaries sent by Moff Gideon, or notorious Boba Fett making attempts at his life, who’s sent by Moff Gideon, or old imperial TIE fighters sent by Moff Gi- well, you get the idea. It is expected. But it also makes him feel, despite the welcoming, sincere whisper of the Force, that the huge galaxy wants him gone. It has forgotten the Jedi. He will persevere no matter what - for his Master, for his lineage, for Grogu, for the Order he’d never seen but loves so much, but it takes a toll on him. Leia, who finally visits him, notices with concern how he stopped smiling. She also tells him what he’s been noticing in the Force for a while: the situation in the galaxy is changing; imperials gather troops massively, they’re organised now, as if something encourages them, as if they think they have a chance against the young republic. They’re preparing to strike. That means - Luke will be going to war soon, again; leaving the small temple he’s built for Moff Gideon to rampage through, again; sending away his Grogu, again, - the boy’s father, who’s very busy with bounty hunting work, will not be happy, but Luke would rather let his whole planet burn than endanger Grogu even for a second and bring him to a battlefield. The future seems like a burden; he prays that they’ll not be crashed by it. Grogu is eavesdropping on his conversation with Leia. Luke lets him. When he exits, the boy attaches himself to Luke’s shirt and does not let go until falling asleep in the evening. As if to mock Luke, the Force, despite all terrible prospects, despite all the facts, seems light and merry.

The next morning at dawn Luke is outside. He’s already finished with his own training and meditation, and is doing some light yoga while waiting. It’s time for Boba Fett’s routine assault. Boba Fett is probably not aware that his assaults are addressed as “routine”, but the Force warns Luke well in advance so that he’s able to make his schedule work. He wonders what it will be this time - lasers, smoke bombs, or some aggressive creature? Strangely, Boba’s eleven minutes late. It’s not good: they should start on time to finish before Grogu’s morning meditation. Luke stretches his senses. Slave One is in the orbit; it bounces from side to side, as if playing tag with someone, then slips away. Instead, there’s another ship. There is something about it that makes Luke stand up, throw his robe on; it tingles the back of his neck, and there’s a knot in his throat that he cannot swallow; disoriented for a moment, he grabs his lightsaber, searching the sky until his eyes hurt. He commands C3PO not to share their coordinates with the approaching ship, then withdraws the command; then repeats it. But the ship does not need coordinates. Soon it emerges from the shining clouds, a sleek form, and starts towards the temple in a perfectly straight line.

[magicpotatoobsession]

GIVEN | Hiiragi Mix Thoughts Part 1

So I haven't been super active on this blog not because I don't love Given anymore, but any ounce of brain energy dedicated to Given means I have to feel the agony of waiting for the two movies to release. BUT ALAS the time has come because @aarinfantasy is the GOAT thank you thank you thank you~~~ Spoilers and screenshots below the cut 👇👇👇

GENERAL NOTES:

How can Mafuyu be animated even cuter than before? Like I don't even know how but how can he look even more adorable???!!

I love the intentional placement of sound and music in Hiiragi mix, moments of silence are so effective in highlighting tension, awkwardness, release, nervousness. Like even 1 minute into the movie, you hear the boys breathing as Uenoyama is tuning the guitar and Mafuyu is sitting beside him. It's those little details that show the atmosphere between characters perfectly.

I like the balance of Hiiragi/Shizu's storyline and Mafuyama's storyline, it's following the manga closely and shows the complexity and intertwining of their stories. It's a good way to juxtapose the different struggles between the two couples and what they needed from each other to overcome their miscommunication! I think the team took feedback from the Given Movie 1 2020 and OVA broken up into two parts when it should have worked better as one longer movie.

I saw on reddit I think that Hiiragi's VA is still relatively new to the industry but I saw a HUGE improvement in his voice acting in this movie, the range he gave to Hiiragi is amazing!

SCENE REACTIONS

This scene was so funny I CACKLED Uenoyama and Hiiragi with their catty energy I LOVE THEM

2. I fell off my couch at this scene HHAHAHA

While Uenoyama's face is funnier in the manga, something about the animated rocket launch from earth JUST GETS ME HAHHAHA. Ok serious talk though how did I not notice that when Uenoyama got confessed to and when Haruki told him he's about to debut, his brain turns into astronaut footage? I think it's a very smart way to illustrate that for Ue, music = love and one cannot exist without the other.

3. OMG Uenoyama's face HAHAH awww man I know he's bummed as hell at Mafuyu's "I'll think about it later" (to the debut proposal) but his face, Ueki and Itaya's faces send me straight to heaven

You know how Ue feels? Our munchkin cat feels like he just proposed to his lover and his lover said, hmnnn I'll think about it. 😭 Chemical, emotional, physical, psychological damage right here>>>

4. The voice acting here from Hiiragi's VA Fumiya Imai SLAPS SO HARD

It's definitely giving deja vu, similar energy to Uenoyama panicking about Mafuyu, gosh I love Hiiragi and Uenoyama's baby gay panics it's so cute.

5. Kageyama is that you?!

6. The sound design and use of silence in this entire scene....incredible, showstopping, amazing, impactful yes yes yes

7. This scene animating Shizu's flashback to childhood was really well done.

It's interesting that in the movie they didn't speak too much about Shizu being transferred from foster home to foster home, or what he had to do to get by. But also, in the manga, I'm pretty sure that they didn't have this scene of a child Shizu closing his hands over "precious stone" but I think it absolutely elevated my connection to Shizu as a character. It really shows that he believes he has been selfishly holding Hiiragi back and that he has been trapping Hiiragi all this time. It gives so much more context to what he did next which if it wasn't clear already, he tried to push Hiiragi away in order to free Hiiragi from him. 8. HOLY SHIT wow goddamn I would not want to live where Akihiko is living oh my 💀💀💀

Watching this scene animated with the noise of the highway really highlights how bad Akihiko's living conditions are. I flagged this because in the Given Manga sequel 10th mix [SPOILER AHEAD], there is this whole thing of Akiharu's disparity with their living conditions so....this is interesting....just putting it out there.....

I also don't remember this scene in the manga, but I really appreciate it, it shows the contrast of Akiharu in the first Given movie vs. this one and how their love and care for each other has evolved! Very cute! I'll make a part 2 soon!

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My Given Metas