#another character with a very fun delivery everytime

[fauchart]

Can you draw sideshow Mel? :3

Oh Mel, you dramatic lil guy... <3

[kitamars]

hope you don't mind me sending in another ask so soon but i always find this kinda stuff interesting- now that you've survived two big serious arcs how would you rank the main cast in terms of like. favs & stuff?

don't apologise for the asks at all!! i love answering them and rambling about my thoughts so actually thank YOU for giving me a viable outlet haha

so I had to pull out my notes app to draft this one bc i can't do things simply apparently. i can't rank characters for shit so I'm just gonna rate the main ones (at least to me) out of ten and that's that lol, so onward beyond the cut!

Gintoki: I'm in love with him. 10/10.

He's captivated me with his dead fish eyes and pathetic charm, the way he subverts the general shonen protag archetype really works for me (bc i tend to get annoyed with the genre every now and then) but other than that he's such an interesting character on his own that I cannot get into for fear of rambling too much but yeah. I like him a lot. I might cry about someday in the tags of some art or whatever

(also beam saber arc is UNDERRATED (to me) and its very much overshadowed by everything before and after it but I DON'T CARE it has some of my favourite gin character bits this is my propaganda i just felt like i had to put this here THANKS)

Shinpachi: the human-wearing-glasses gag is absolutely hilarious and I hope it never stops. 8/10.

I love shinpachi a lot I promise, i love how dedicated he is to the straight man role and also the times when he's not. Honestly he could have very easily annoyed me after a bit, but he's genuinely just so loveable and a lot of his charm just comes from his VA's delivery, I've never heard anyone else able to convey the emotional range that I've heard from shinpachi in this anime fnsnjrjgjs

I do think he needs more screentime though (watch beam saber arc),,,kagura tends to get a lot of the spotlight (which I'm not mad about) but he also needs some love!! he's just some guy yk gotta give some appreciation!!

Kagura: queen of kabukicho and the queen of my heart. 10/10.

SHE IS LITERALLY EVERYTHING TO ME. i don't have words to express how much I love her, she's one of my all time favorites ever. She's just doing her thing, eating gin-san out of house and home and kicking ass while she's at it and she's so valid for that.

A big part of why I like her is also just her relationship with the yorozuya. the amount of times I've felt like exploding when I see her and gin or shinpachi just interacting in the background of a scene or something similar is impossible to count. She's my little mimi and she deserves literally the world

(Also there's this one compilation of her singing on YouTube and i listen to it RELIGIOUSLY kugimiya rie is a blessing for this character for real it's insane)

Sadaharu interlude: Big ball of fluff/10 (he's adorable)

Hijikata: this man makes me feel a similar range of emotions I feel cramming the night before a final, if not more. 10/10.

He drives me NUTS. you know me, i love my dark-haired chainsmoking men with issues, and he's just chock full of them, it's like a dream come true. Every arc that's focused on him has been absolutely incredible, and even on his own he's such an interesting and funny character. Fully biased towards his VA btw, i don't think anyone else could voice him as effectively, the delivery is always top notch.

His dynamic with the rest of the shinsengumi is honestly one of my favourites, he's got so much range as a serious and gag character, especially when the plot decides to chuck his coolness out the window with that little mayonnaise addiction of his (now everytime I put mayonnaise on anything at all i give myself a dirty look, idk why).

Also i should mention that tosshi was one of the only things that made my watching experience truly difficult. I'd just cringe out of existence everytime he opened his mouth it was. An experience. I still love him very much. Too much maybe.

Sougo: sadism has never looked more fun. 9/10.

I don't think I really have much to say about him? he's genuinely a really fun character, and his endless quests to smear hijikata across the asphalt is always the highlight of any viewing experience. i loved him regardless, but the mitsuba and farewell shinsengumi arcs gave him that extra bit of depth that really solidified him as a fav hehe

YOU DONT GET CHARACTERS LIKE HIM VERY OFTEN AND I LOVE HIM SO MUCH

kondo: gorilla gorilla/10 (9/10)

thi guy is just the fucking funniest. he's one of the perfect examples of how gintama does characterisation through comedy because by introducing him with all his hilarious gags, you start to care a lot more about him when things actually get serious. Plus the joke never really gets old with him, if he shows up in an episode I know I'm about to have a great time.

but as a serious character as well he's just so good. Him being the glue of the shinsengumi is incredible and sometimes in the plot (crisis and farewell arcs) you can see exactly what it is in this man that makes people want to follow him to the ends of the earth, he is just a good person and I love him for that.

also he's the reason i realised I have not grown out of my 14 year old dick joke phase so there's that

Otose: gintoki's overdue rent/10 (9/10)

I enjoy her so much actually, she's already incredibly fun, but whenever they show more background to gintoki and her's relationship, all of a sudden i am in a puddle of tears on the floor, it's one of the most important things ever to me, the foster parent trope is my weak point.

evidently, kabukicho four devas was my kryptonite (in a really really good way)

Catherine: the heavy accent is pretty funny. 7/10.

I don't really have strong feelings about her tbh, she's alright and funny enough, that's pretty much all I can say

Tama: total number of her leukocytes/10 (9/10)

I LIKE TAMA SOOOOO MUCH SHES SO SWEET AND KIND AND ADORABLE. all of the tama centric arcs have been really fun and each episode involving her is so nice. Finding out she was the time traveller in the bfy movie was such a great twist but immediately made sense bc OF COURSE she would go that far for her very first friends!!!!! i love her innocence so dearly and the way she simply just wants to help others, also otose seeing her as a daughter makes me so emotional

Hasegawa: the madaodog madaonaire episode made me choke at the speed at which I got that reference. 8/10.

Incredibly funny character, the fact that he cannot win a single W is both hilarious but also a bit sad and pathetic, but he's authentic to himself regardless.

He also ruined my later attempts at trying to watch NGE

Otae: the price of one dom peri/10 (8/10)

I love her SOOOOO much she's so entertaining...again I don't have much to say but it's not really in a bad way, i just like her a lot and that's mostly it hehe

Kyubei: otae love/10 (9/10)

as a nb person I have a huge bias towards kyubei, their struggle to figure out where they stand in the binary is pretty relatable, and while I can say that you don't always see a character like that in media who is also hopelessly in love with a woman (so real for that though) i can also admit that this show isn't the best handling of it all, but honestly it's a very "take what I can get situation" so I try not to be too bothered, dekobokko was a bit strange but the ending for kyubei is better than most other instances I've seen, even if it doesn't stay consistent in the series

Also where is jugem jugem? i miss that little bastard so much that arc was so good

Tsukuyo: where does she stash all that kunai. 9/10.

TSUKUYO IS MY WIFE AND GINTOKI NEEDS TO MOVE OVER BC I WANT TO KISS HER. thank you

no but seriously she's a really fun character, and I love everything about her and yoshiwara and her relationship with hinowa and seita and he hyakka and ACK. yoshiwara in flames and the red spider arcs were really good for her, and her slightly confused air at most times is so charming, i love her muah

Sacchan: uhhhhhh huh. 7/10.

I'm gonna be honest, she's one of the only characters I really didn't like since she was introduced, i just found her so incredibly annoying all the time. But then came shogun assassination and suddenly I could stand her a lot more when her personality didn't revolve around gin-san's massive d– (but like. I hate that I can relate to her)

also I don't know where her strange friendship with tsukuyo came from but I actually genuinely like it a lot..........sillies with sharp knives, what could possibly go wrong?

Okay I'm running out of steam here honestly so if I've missed anyone (I'm very sure I have) feel free to ask in replies and I'll tell you what i think jgjekkfkd

this is terrible. Everyone is a main character in my eyes

EDIT: I MISSED THE REST OF THE JOUI 4. I WILL DISEMBOWEL MYSELF. BUT FOR NOW HAVE A LIGHTNING ROUND

katsura: 10/10.

One of my all time favourite characters ever, literal definition of head empty no thoughts, he is so stupid and I want to kiss him passionately under the moonlight

Sakamoto: 10(00000)/10

He is my everything. He needs more screentime. I'm begging on my knees. He is the perfect man.

Takasugi: 9/10

He's great. Shogun assassination made me cry over him. I'm forever sad about him now he was so mochi.....and then the trauma.............ue

Anyways now I think I'm done. time to atone

[josh-dot-d]

1988 Jaguar XJ6 Sovereign ( XJ40 ) The most un-loved Xj model of all time. Jaguar enthusiast at the time loved the twin headlights, curvy and swooping lines that the previous models came with. The aesthetic gave the Xj models quite a big presence on the road, but without being too obvious, rude and loud. Jaguar Xj is a majestic cruiser that when you see it, you know immediately its all about style. Well what about this 1988 XJ6, why does the Jaguar enthusiasts are not incline of supporting this one? At this point, Jaguar is run by old men with old thinking. If old ways made things perfect why replace it anyway? 80's came along with the rise of technology. In 2021, we think those tech are quite adequate and antique. Back in the 80's they we're revolutionary. Wedge shape and angular lines meant modern ways of thinking. Jag wanted to get younger buyers to replace the image of being "Old man's car". Which didn't really worked because BMW came out with their own 4 seat luxury car. Far more sportier, more tech to boast about, and youthfull ness. The Jag on the other hand, is a hand build car crafted with wood that came with cruise control. Not sporty at all, its a car that gave you this feeling that you don't want to drive it, you want to be driven in it. It is still old fashioned at that point, But the whole aesthetic didn't help, it did look modern but it still got that "old man's car" vibe to it. So you say " what's good with this particular jag? " There's alot to like about this XJ40 Jag. Let's start with the engine. They called it the AJ6, all brand new (sort of) straight six engine that is based to the old XK straight six. It's mildly powerful at 230 hp and 380 nm of torque. The power delivery is very relaxing. It picks up at 2k rpm and it surges. It's not as fast as the XJR's but fast enough for daily driving and daily overtaking. The ride is amazing, soaks up bumps really well, the interior is godly by any luxury sedans. At this price point, you would never consider it as a 10,000 dollar car. It feels very special indeed. The blend of wood and leather is just perfect. The smell is specific, it's like getting inside a pub and you know very well you're in a safe place. The driving experience? I spent alot of time thinking about it. I even went on a trip while there's a storm raging and pouring water down the Earth. The Jag made me feel like it's just another event. Relax and comfortable in 7 hours of driving. Starts flawlessly everytime and cheap on fuel. Managed to achieve 14.2 litres per 100 m, that's 19 mpg in UK english. Yeah I know it isn't as cheap as any other car, for a big car? That is GOOD NEWS. Everytime I park people stare at it, somehow it makes you feel special like you're Queen Elizabeth. This Jag is in between being old fashioned to modern thinking. People often ask me " Is that your dad's car? " I'll be like " Nope it's mine. " with my pink beanie on my head. Conclusion. I'm still in my search of what cars I should keep forever. I have been on a hunt of luxury sedans. Driven some but not as special as the Jag. Its charming, characterful and fun to drive. I thought Old people drive this because it gives them status and relaxed ride, however there is more into it. The more you spend time, the more you'll like jazz music, slow music or city pop. Jag makes you recalibrate your thinking when you go drive, it encourages you to go slow down just moderate speed and seeing the sorrounding slowly fading. I love it I really do.

[icharchivist]

first: WAHHHHHHHHH 😭😭😭 I got so emotional!!! so emotional!!!! so much that I can’t even do this first second pattern bc I have SO MANY thoughts!!!!!!! I’m writing this in my notes instead of straight into the askbox so u know it’s serious business™

ok so debut night!!! I was like ahah yeah it’s a tragedy whatever it’ll be fun to start out with and then the voice acting was SO good that it knocked me out of the park and I almost cried haha. it’s crazy how good the voice acting in a3 is like I love how the dialogue and voice acting works well together bc like it’s limited but so effective!! u can so very clearly see and understand the style they’re going for. especially like tsumugi’s death scene... the Talent jumped out it really did... uh and ok so. I think I may be a littleeee confused abt the play bc I had always interpreted tasukus last lines as raphael to be like abt his being secretly in love with michael. but now that I’m actually reading the line that’s like oh don’t fall for a human it only ends in misery I know that all too well or whatever... ig the implication is that raphael was in love with another human / the same lady michael was in love with in the play. side note I had to go back and edit the proper names in instead of tasuku and tsumugi lol... but speaking of!! speaking of the voice acting and the play itself I 1) love how blatantly obvious it is when tsumugi goes for that grander, tasuku like style of delivery!! like u could just so easily feel the difference it was wild... and 2) tsuzuru is once again spot on with his writing, lol... I felt that like raphaels inability to save or help michael really parallels how tasuku feels abt tsumugi so well, and it’s wonderful that they r able to resolve things and tasuku can properly compliment him on his acting where the angels fail to do so. it’s very good. and I think the play rly highlights (for me at least) that like. to tasuku, it was tsumugi who was sort of an unreachable existence. like were he to idolize and respect someone’s acting, it would be tsumugi. and I think that like caring carries over into their roles really well, because I think in michael’s love for a human tasuku sees like... tsumugi’s style of acting. the heart that he’d lost while within the god troupe. mb I’m losing my mind a little but ah. the play rly works with their relationship so well!! im very excited to see the other winter ppl get main roles tho—same for all the troupes!!! now this ask is too long so I’ll have to do another part lol

going to start off this second part of the ask abt hisoka bc oh my GOD. hisoka. like I was just thinking “hm where r the winter troupe cgs anyways” and then BAM. hisoka CRYING???? especially since he doesn’t seem that emotional it was a really hard hit!!! and who tf is august.... ok well actually theory time!! skipping ahead to the end theres that note that like mentions December and April and. not to expose my friend but very many years ago (a couple years before a3 was launched, at the very least) she wrote this story where there were like 12 orphan assassins and they were all named after months. I remember the main dude was named dec lol. coupled with my “hisoka is capable of murder” bit? listen.... I’m not saying anything but I’m also not not saying anything if u feel me. also I feel like assassin / thief with mysterious background is a common trope!! that was silver from the pokémon adventures manga too... why is this my reference point lmao. anyways I’m unclear if assassins would make it into a3 but like.... if the yakuza and supernatural stuff makes it in...

okay moving away from conspiracy theories and into emotions!!! the quotes from like EVERY mankai actor before the final production made me SO emo... and yay!!! they won!!!! (though admittedly I almost had a heart attack when no one clapped) but they won!!!! that ending cg!!!! and I adore how sakyo immediately goes after god troupe man (I know his name is reni I just don’t feel like calling him that) for the money lol it’s just so sakyo-like. also I love the lil mixed troupe interactions!! I found the game night ch so fun.... ahh, now I wanna reread that ch since it was so good lol

all in all I was super satisfied ahh!! I am SO excited to start up spring troupe again (HELLO character development!!! and chikage) and I’m even MORE excited to get thru all the act 1 events!!!! as a final note, is there any way to reread or replay the flair conversations? I didn’t want any spoilers for the plays while I was doing the practices for them so I kinda sped thru the first time ahah...

HELLO FRIEND IM SO HAPPY TO GET SUCH A LENGHTY ASK ABOUT WINTER IM LKDJFLKDJFLKFD  Winter makes me feel shrimps emotions (i know the whole “shrimps can see more colors than humans can’t comprehend” thing has been disproved but i’m not letting go of that expression, i REALLY feel emotions humans can’t comprehend anymore and i’m going to make it everyone else’s problem)

1) First about the voice acting, rIGHT this is just so fascinating to me!!! I remember after act 2 i came back to reread the main act 1 chapter and i was so thrown out by how GOOD the voice acting was, especially for the first few troupes having to convince you they’re not comfortable or good at acting yet. Winter whole thing is that they’re more subtle and mature and you really feel that with their voice acting, Tsumugi’s voice especially knock it off the park anytime he’s on screen. 

2) Second: what does it say about me that i’ve never, ever considered your reading a possibility because i was so set on “oh Raphael you’re in love with Michael sooooo bad you see it as a tragedy already because you can see him throw his life away” i didn’t even consider “maybe Raphael went through that too”. Though i guess if we’re going with that reading i can totally see “The Woman” they let themselves consumed by easily be a representation of acting or even more the God Troupe, with Raphael/Tasuku knowing to step away before it consumes him completely while Michael/Tsumugi, by his love and passion, pushed himself until he broke, which fits and it hurtsssss god Winter plays hits so hard.

3) Third: oh god yeah when Tsumugi goes for Tasuku’s acting it’s just. It makes me SO uncomfortable, i’ve experienced this scene like three times by now and the third time i was just “can i skip it i can’t go through this again i can’t Tsumugi i love you i can’t do this”. It doesn’t match the play at all and it just throws everyone off balance, and Tsumu you could have told theM YOU WANTED TO DO THAT.... god

4) Fourth: I LOVE YOUR READING SO MUCH I LOVE IT I LOVE IT YES YOU’RE RIGHT!!! Just as we follow Tsumugi let his passion consumes him until he breaks, Tasuku’s character arc really jumps out in Raphael, like, everything you say!!!  The way Tasuku/Raphael knew how the feelings Tsumugi/Michael felt would hurt him on the long run but he didn’t know what to do about it until it was too late, the regrets and the way Raphael voices his frustrations.... Tasuku struggles to be honest without acting (Tasuku pls i love you) but having such a role really help him expressing all he feels about Tsumugi and i’m HHHH this is so good so so good!!! but yeah i also love that Tasuku finally manages to actually compliment Tsumugi naturally, that he understands he can’t let him destroys himself again and it’s just gnhhhhh Tasuku is so kind and considerate and i care about him so much....!!!

5) Fifth: “i’m losing my mind a little” winter mood, winter mood winter mood- (though every troupe’s mood tbh but Winter is gnhhhhh kdhd hdhjf??? you feel me) (i am BIASED i can’t help it TwT) but yeaH i’m looking forward to see how you react to the others plays because the roller coaster juST BEGUN!!!

Onto part 2... Winter Troupe Chapter Feels... 2!

6) Sixth: DLFJDFKLDF HISOKAAAAAAAAAA I LOVE HIM SO MUCHHHHH. Hisoka crying fucked me up so bad!! so so bad!! Like on my first read i didn’t know what to think of him as he starts out very apathic to his troupe and then the more it goes on the more you can feel he starts to open up and i’m soft for this sort of slow burn, but then this whole scene happened and it HIT ME IN THE FACE, he was crying, i was crying, we were all crying, the Unopening Door opened a flood of emotions i can’t cope with. He sounds SO VULNERABLE during that scene and i know all of the Winter Troupe united on “taking care of him” but that’s really the moment i went “i care you and i will keep taking care of you” and look at me now. Thanks funky little scene for ruining my life. I’m glad you liked it i’m aldhjflkjdfkd Hisokaaaaa.....

7) Seventh: I am not commenting on the theory but 👀 that’s so highly specific your friend has a galaxy brain i love it. and i love the idea of “well we have yakuza and supernatural entity what’s an assassin adding himself to it” dLKFJDLKF i know everyone in Mankai calls Izumi out everytime someone joins but that’d be peak. I’m not going further about what December and August and April are all about but i love this plotline sO much, the few mentions of August when Hisoka regained his memories for a minute still haunts me, the guilt he seems to feel and this pain i’m just... godddd such a good set up. I love this plotline.

8) Eigth: EMOTIONS!!  Oh GOD YEAH THE ENDING WITH ALL THE OTHER ACTORS... I cried so hard it’s just. It really shows you it’s not just the culmination of the Winter chapter but of all the act 1 main plot and it really makes you feel how much of a journey you’ve been onto!! A3 is so good at showing you the growth of its characters that especially by the end of Winter you really saw how all of them grew in their respective chapters and how cozy they felt in their new home in the remaining chapters, and the fact this chap has those defining character arc’s lines really drive home “oh my god that was a journey” i love them sO MUCH.... 

9) Ninth: wE WOOOON!!! They’re all so good i just. i’m gonna cry just thinking about it dlfdjlfk i know like, the game has so many content so you know it can’t end at the end of Winter but the suspense really was there. BUT YEAH LMAO I LOVE SAKYO DOING THAT IMMEDIATLY, man sure has the eyes on the prize and we love him for that.  AND THE GAME NIGHT SCENE they are all sO CUTE and sWEET and they’re a family now and i’m hHHHHH i love a3 a normal healthy amount that isn’t just making me cry thinking about how all of them grew so close even through mixed troupes.

10) Tenth: I am SO happy you were satisfied with the plot so far!! I’m genuinely so happy that you decided to take that journey with us and that you shared all of this with me, and i’m so so happy you liked it!! There is still so much content and all of it is so worth it! 

11) Eleventh: Yes!! The flair conversations are all readable on the Mini-Chat tab! So they’re easily accessible and they’re sorted in a way that’s easy to read so you can feel comfortable skipping the flairs if you want until you have seen the stories the flairs are all about. They’re all kinda set during the rehearsals (except for some crosstroupe conversation that wouldn’t make sense if they were like how the Summer Troupe talks with the Spring Troupe in their Flairs DKLFJDF but it’s okay what is a timeline anyway) so some of them are set pre-development and it’s wild to get back to them. I love rereading Flairs i get emotional everytime.

ANND That’s it for this ask! i had a blast reading through your thoughts and i’m so happy and excited!! i’ll send you the drive now so you can start digging through it whenever you feel like it :3c good luck grinding for act 2, meanwhile i hope you’ll have fun with all the act 1 events i compiled for you!!

(side note i need to update the drive too but it’s mostly act 2 content anyway, the only two act 1 things i need to update on it is Sakuya’s birthday card i think?? i think Itaru’s is already in act 2 so i’ll try to get around to it eventually but it’s so far away anyway) (edit: i forgot that the three cards i got for the latest revival are from act 1 DLKJFD okay so i’m missing three cards -)

The drive has backstages and event stories and it may be a lot and overwhelming ahah. Focus on the event stories for the plot and go back to the backstages whenever you feel like it, no need to read them at the same time, unless you want to in which case everything is set up for you :3c and there’s a file with cards that aren’t associated to events too so... lots of goodies hanging around. I’ll send it to you in DM ;O 

Take care and thank you so much for all your thoughts! my inbox remains wide opened for any others thoughts you may have as you go further into it :3c

[johannesviii]

So I guess I’m hyperfixating on Death Stranding at the moment

And since I’ve finally finished the story after playing it for like 100 hours over the course of seven months or so I guess I have Opinions(tm) about things I didn’t like in the game

They’re eating at my brain so I’m gonna put them all in a single post to get them out of my system once and for all so I can enjoy the rest in peace

Spoilers, obviously

Hi welcome back to ‘Johannes is obsessing over yet another video game with horror elements in it’! I guess!!

Our latest entry in that category was Until Dawn but since UD can be played in like 6/7 hours and I spent 100 hours of my life on DS, as you can guess we’re talking about a full-blown hyperfixation, the kind that physically hurts because I can’t focus on anything else even after having finished the storyline

But it was super gradual. Again, seven months. I barely made any progress from December to May because I was only doing side-deliveries at the beginning of Chapter 3 instead of... you know... advancing the plot. It became an honest-to-god special interest about two months ago, then 6 days ago while playing chapter 10 it reached hyperfixation levels and now I am in PAIN

I hate my brain

Anyhow

At first I wanted to list the good and the bad hings in it but there’s too many good things to list them all in full, excruciatingly long details, so

Very Quick And Very Incomplete List Of Good Things That I Love

It’s a post-apo game based on travel, logistics, and good will, and it straight up goes AGAINST the whole ‘survival of the fittest’ trope that SO MANY post-apo things try to push!! YES

I insist but it’s built on helping each other and keeping everyone alive, seriously that is my shit right there!

The online community is wholesome?? People leave stuff everywhere, you never see anyone but people put little helpful signs and send you likes, and in my game we almost managed to repair all the roads together

There’s so many new & strange allergies and disabilities and phobias in this post-apo world and? nobody is trying to ““fix”“ anyone?? Like Heartman with his padded floor and his little box that brings him back to life constantly. He’s just... living like that. Nobody’s going “hey maybe you should get another heart operation buddy”

The hero and his phobia of being touched. I. Loved. That. The quiet scenes when he was just talking with Fragile, sitting next to her. In any other context this would just be two people sitting next to each other and talking but it always feels so soft and intimate everytime he allows another human being to just. be next to him. I love it. I love them

Everyone crying constantly because of chiral allergy!!

I loved all the important characters bar one (Bridget/Amelie)!

Why is this walking simulator so enjoyable why am I enjoying the fact that holding L2 + R2 while walking feels like holding your backpack and that you have to relax at times just like you’d have to if you were actually holding a backpack

Seriously. Why

The atmosphere was so great, the music was fantastic and the visuals were on point. A E S T H E T I C

The ghosts!! The giant Beached Things!!! Chiral crystals look! like! creepy hands reaching for the SKY!!

THE RAIN DESTROYS THINGS AND KILLS PEOPLE BY ACCELERATING TIME THIS IS SO COOL SHUT UP

Everytime the game got surreal it was electrifying

THE SURREAL WAR SCENES ON CLIFF’S BEACH

Everyone is using emojis

There’s guys addicted to delivering packages in that game and they’re trying to steal our stuff and we’re like “haha they’re dumb” but we’re basically addicted to delivering packages as the player. So yeah that was pretty fun

Terrorists thinking humanity isn’t going extinct fast enough and wanting to just rip the bandaid and speed things up. Simple but effective concept

People ask for SUPER VITAL ITEMS right next to completely trivial stuff and I’m LIVING for it. “Please fetch my toy dinosaur”. I feel you dude

The most isolated characters are like "LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT THIS THING I LIKE" in your emails because they haven't had contact with other humans in years, it's super relatable

There’s a farm where people use the fact that Timefall rain accelerates time to grow food super quickly in one (1) Timefall and harvest everything just before it starts to die and I LOVE that detail of worldbuilding so much

YOU’RE FIGHTING BEACHED THINGS WITH YOUR OWN BODILY FLUIDS IT’S SO STUPID BUT ALSO SO COOL?? I love yeet-ing my own blood at eldritch entities

THE T W I S T S

All the fanservice (bar one detail that I’m gonna complain about later) is on dudes. This game reeeeeeally likes to show dudes naked or somewhat naked. Mostly the main character but this mocap also L O V E S Mads Mikkelsen and there’s a shit ton of homoerotic shots in there

I love Sam the antisocial papa wolf delivery man and if someone touches him or his baby again, I will cry

LOU. LOU LOU LOU PRECIOUS BABY I’D DIE FOR YOU. Wait I did

I love Fragile and how brave she is and how she keeps helping people even if most of them wrongly think she’s a terrorist and yes I will eat this cryptobiote thank you

I love soft science boi Heartman who keeps dying again and again and is a bit too much interested in bodily fluids

I love garbage man Higgs and how complex, funny and still somewhat tragic this memelord actually turned out to be in the end

Seriously I want to stop fixating on this character but you can’t give me YET ANOTHER character who wants to die but at the hands of someone else, that is unfair to do that right after my fixation on the new Doctor Who Master

So yeah Higgs is yet another character who makes me want to grab him by the lapels and shake him and yell WHY! ARE! YOU! LIKE! THIS! STOP! BEING! LIKE! THIS!!

Cliff broke all three of my feelings beautifully and in excruciatingly well-acted scenes that transcended the sometimes lackluster dialogue

John made me cry during That Scene

Mama your background was tragic and terrifying and you didn’t deserve any of this shit and I love you

Deadman was more funny than anything, really, but I still liked him even if he had no sense of personal space whatsoever and it clashed horribly with Sam’s phobias

The ending had some sad parts but was mostly positive, thank goodness

Now I’m gonna explain things I dislike and this looks long but it’s actually only 5 main things so I bolded them to avoid confusion

Things I really disliked (and could have been handled wayyyy better)

We all know it but Kojima isn’t a master of subtlety and some parts of the dialogue kept repeating the same informations again and again AND AGAIN and I was like “ok ok I get it”

The dialogue can be so bad at times seriously

Kojima is a bad writer there I said it

It was particularly annoying with Amelie/Bridget and the fact she’s a horrible person trying (and failing) to justify her actions wasn’t helping

Bridges protocols are incredibly intrusive. All of them. I know it’s framed as bad and Sam hates being spied on all the time and in the end he destroys the device that does that, but I wish someone else would openly criticise it in-game

I guess Deadman sort of did but still

Also I know the whole BB technology was Bridget’s idea, and since she’s the actual villain it’s framed as a twisted, evil thing during the ending, but I wish that had been framed like that much earlier ; a lot of Bridges employees just... seem to accept the idea that their employer is using premature babies and their dead mothers as useful, if disturbing, devices. They seem to justify it by “uh we stole that technology from terrorists” to try to cope with the idea but... yeah.

I mean, one of the points being made very early on is that Sam sees his BB as his child who must be protected at all costs instead of a detection device, but I really wish he wasn’t the only one to object to that thing

Again, the game DOES frame "using babies and their dead mothers as tools” as evil and twisted, I just wish it was given a lot more weight and way sooner

Now let’s talk about the Token Straight(tm) in this game

In any other kind of context it would be a joke! But Death Stranding literally has a Token Straight Guy!

I mean, there IS a few hetero couples among the Preppers. Not a lot, mind you. Like, there’s the Montaineer and his wife for instance. But they’re just there and it’s not what their side plot is about

No I’m talking about this piece of shit right there

This f█cking Junk Dealer guy complains the girl he loves is dead because of Bridges and emotionally blackmails us by sending us old holograms of her before her supposed death (somewhat disturbing holograms too because she looks... pretty young in them), then he sends us on what’s essentially a suicide mission in a BT infested zone, THEN when we give him proof she’s still alive and living in another bunker nearby, he won’t go there himself to check??

But SHE’s like “ok, bring me to him, then!”

He doesn’t deserve you, girl

I’ve already seen several people pointing out that carrying a woman as cargo on your back is... debatable at best and sexist at worst, but that part didn’t really bother me to be honest? She asked to be carried to him and it’s her choice. She was talking to us the entire way too, so that made things a lot less awkward. Also Sam has this phobia of being touched by other people so I bet carrying another human being on his back isn’t fun for him. It was also super stressful to do, to be honest.

And then there’s this EXTREMELY AWKWARD scene when they’re reunited and decide to get married, and thankfully Sam finds it just as awkward as we do because he’s standing super far away from the bunker in a “can’t they talk about this later - I’m right there” way. And I’m under the impression it was intended as cringy, in a “yeppp young people in love are Like That” sort of way, so I can accept that, to be honest. If you don’t take that scene seriously, it’s pretty fun in, again, a cringy sort of way

BUT

Then you receive more emails later and this piece of shit guy complains about her and he’s like “ugh WOMEN” or “marriage is the worst” and they end up divorced in record time and she goes back to her bunker

Which isn’t my problem with this subplot either, I promise I’m gonna explain myself eventually but this context is important. It’s okay to have characters who are pieces of shit like this guy who reeks of incel cologne. It’s alright. Not every character has to be a role-model. It’s good to have characters you can hate.

BUT THEN they get back together later to try to patch things up and you learn he was part of a gang who murdered her parents even though he protected her against the rest of the gang and that’s what I hated about that storyline. I guess if you squint it can be read as “this woman is making REALLY BAD life choices” but I read it as “he saved her so she owes him something, he can’t be entirely bad” and y i k e s this left such a bad taste in my mouth, good lord.

But yeah miss Chiral Artist you’re making really bad life choices please get away from this dude as soon as you can, thank you

Also don’t do this ‘sending Likes’ pose ever again, it was hilarious but also you made me use the word “cringy” several times in this paragraph even though I absolutely hate cringe culture, look what you made me do

Now I have to talk about a scene that was intentionally disturbing as hell but ONE (1) detail in it was disturbing for the wrong reasons

To be honest, I really don’t like the Metal Gear Solid games and one of the reasons is the rampant sexism in them so I... was kind of bracing myself for Death Stranding and expecting it to have at least SOME really bad fanservice with a woman at one point or another but to my surprise?? There was none? All the fanservice is on dudes??? Hello? I really liked that (well at some point Fragile takes a shower in our room but we see literally nothing except her shoulder and then Sam looks away)?? What a refreshing change

THAT BEING SAID

And if you played the game you know exactly what I’m about to talk about

Yep this is the part where Johannes complains about how the bomb flashback was shot

Ok so I guess I should also give some context in case someone is reading this but hasn’t played the game, but the deal with this scene is that our friend Fragile was betrayed by her colleague Higgs who used to be a porter but became a terrorist after meeting the “main“ villain of the game. First he secretly put a thermonuclear bomb in one of her deliveries so she’d nuke an entire city without even knowing it, and everyone after that thought she was a terrorist. And then he tried to do that shit A SECOND TIME, but she noticed and decided to toss the second nuke into a bottomless lake of tar. But he caught her just before she reached the lake and he decided to give her a sadistic choice, which was “teleport away and the bomb stays there and nukes the city, or carry it to the lake but only in your underwear under this rain that speeds up time and it will do enormous damage to your health and your body”

And of course being the hero she is, she decides to take the second option

And it’s an incredibly disturbing scene and it’s genuinely hard to watch

But it’s also the ONLY time a woman is in her underwear in this entire game and there’s A COUPLE of shots that were male-gaze-y at the beginning before she started to run and the really horrific part started.

So in a way I guess it could have been worse? way worse, even

But it still tarnishes an otherwise disturbing (and harrowing at times ; seriously I know I’m oversensitive but it was physically painful to watch) scene with unnecessary shots

We know Fragile had a young body before this happened, this isn’t the point of this scene, guys

Whoever decided to keep these shots (probably Kojima let’s face it), that is bad and you should feel bad

Idk how to do a visual transition for that next one because I do not want to screen that memo

So here’s a screenshot with a nice landscape instead

tw: acephobia

Now I have to talk about something I like the GENERAL IDEA of, but not how the IN-GAME MATERIAL ABOUT IT was written

Because I have to talk about that “asexual world” memo

First I have to say that I absolutely love the fact that a mainstream game openly says in-game “this future is full of asexual people" and?? it’s just that, it’s a part of this world. That’s just how things are. It’s normalised. I love it. For crying out loud this memo has the word demisexual in it. I can’t think of any other mainstream game that had this word in it so far.

It should have stopped there and let me enjoy that in peace but it didn’t

THE MEMO ITSELF WAS CLEARLY WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO HANDLE THESE CONCEPTS and there’s some really bad stuff there. I’d say it’s accidental acephobia but it’s still there. I’m not the best person to talk about this because I’m bi, but it still rubbed me the wrong way

The words this memo uses near the beginning are “"sexless lifestyle” among young people” and yikes, my dude. “Lifestyle”, uh? Really?

And then it goes on about how these new labels were already more and more common “among young people before the Death Stranding” and it also rubs me the wrong way, in a “wow young people and their weird labels lol” sort of queerphobic way?

However I’ve seen a post pointing out that the line “One theory posits that the Stranding accelerated the proliferation of these sexualities” was maybe a way of saying ‘yo asexuals are causing the end of the world’ but... I don’t see it, tbh? In the context of the game, society is extremely divided and a lot of people live in complete isolation and social norms have heavily shifted and it’s kind of normal that there’s queer people visible everywhere now, aces included obviously, because nobody’s bothering to hide it anymore. It’s a post-apocalyptic world! People are just being themselves! A lot of characters also seem to be bi/pan! They’re just vibing ok

At least that’s how I read that part, I can understand if someone had a problem with that bit but I didn’t

BUT! THAT’S NOT ALL because the memo concludes (I’m paraphrasing) “the birth rate has dropped, which might be a problem, but harassment and assault have also dropped, which is good, so idk it’s 50/50″ and. like. I get the intention. But it’s clumsy as hell and very bad. Please don’t confuse abuse of power and attraction. They don’t go hand in hand. Don’t do that. Please. And you know that aces can have kids if they want to, right. Come on. It’s 2020 my dude. This shit is harmful

Also. Like. It’s the end of the world in this game. People don’t want kids. It... has nothing to do with aces. Reality itself is crashing down. People are reluctant to have kids because reality.exe might f█cking crash down at any given moment!

Or a Beached Thing could VoidOut their city!

Or someone might send them a nuke, not naming names!!

Anyway!!!

It’s really badly written and whoever wrote it should educate themselves and maybe get an ace to re-read their stuff next time??

Again I’m not the right person to talk about acephobia and I bet an actual ace would have plenty more to say about this

Thankfully it’s a memo written in-game by a random Bridges councellor and NOT by any important character that we actually know

"I must preempt myself by admitting that I do not have any empirical data" yeah so, f█ck off maybe

So I’m just gonna call that guy “another piece of shit character” but it still doesn’t excuse the fact that the memo was written by someone who thought it was a good idea to put it in the game

Just let me enjoy my super queer post-apo world in peace and don’t write shit like that in your game thank you and goodbye

Minor stuff I also disliked but it wasn’t as awful

I get that Sam is upset at the end because Lou is dying but the way he said goodbye to Fragile broke my heart. It was abrupt and you KNOW he’s upset and wants to have nothing to do with Bridges anymore and that’s very understandable but it isn’t her fault

Seriously I want them to be friends again

I’m gonna pretend they’re friends again after Lou is saved and that Sam is a freelance porter again and sometimes their paths cross and they just talk together in the middle of nowhere and share cryptobiotes

The pacing is weird, there’s this deluge of plot in the beginning and the end but not much in the middle?

The BT boss fights could have been these epic Shadow of the Colossus showdowns but no, they were relatively standard boss fights. Wasted opportunity

The running on the Beach scene sdfghjhgfdsdfghjhgf that was... dumb

A lot of preppers are interesting in one way or another but some are just boring. Also I wish the design of their bunkers was more varied

Amelie/Bridget’s motivations are all over the place, both creating Bridges AND the Demens is... a lot? I know she both WANTS and DOESN’T want the actual, final end of the world to happen but that is a lot to take in and it’s all very confusing

Who the hell cares about ‘rebuilding America’ I just want to build a network where people can help each other

The ‘likes’ are fun but don’t make much sense

In conclusion

Death Stranding Good

Some stuff Bad

Some stuff Very Bad (but it’s just one memo out of 100+ memos, thank god)

I’m still hyperfixating

Send help

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I thought about “Young Blood, Old Souls” from The Owl House

Salutations random people of the internet who probably won't read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons. Today, I am reviewing the season one finale of The Owl House. And by the way, there are zero dislikes that I have for this episode. Any issues I could have are either petty nitpicks, or just not worth talking about. So, for the first time ever, I'm going to share my thoughts unfiltered. No likes. No dislikes. Just my thoughts on why I think this episode turned out as great as it did. And in case you couldn't guess, there are going to be enormous spoilers for the finale itself, and The Owl House in general. So consider this your last warning as we dive in!

The opening narration: I'm a sucker for fairytale esque opening narrations in stories, and that's the feeling I got when watching this scene. Sure, you could say that it's an exposition dump that tells us stuff we already know, but I don't see it that way. I see it as a technique to set the mood of the episode, while also reminding us how much of a threat the Belos can be.

And again, let's ask ourselves: How much is accurate in this small history lesson, and which parts are made up by Belos? Because who's to say that he isn't the one who wrote the book that King is reading?

No intro: This. Was a shock.

Usually shows shorten the intro to it’s first and last portions, or at the very least, flash the opening logo. Never, to my knowledge, has a series straight-up drop both the intro and the logo. To me, that is a good sign of a great episode. Because no intro tells me that the writers had so much to put in, that they didn't want to waste a single second to even flash a logo.

Not that many jokes: The jokes were another appreciated, albeit well missed, absence within the episode. Because this is the season finale. An event that, depending on what show you make, needs to be taken seriously. And while I say that The Owl House is a comedy show with drama on the side, that doesn't mean it shouldn't focus on the drama if an episode calls for it. And an adventure where Luz has to save her mentor from an emperor who turns people to stone? Yeah. That's an experience where drama has to take center stage for the time being.

Luz is serious and angry: Don't get me wrong. I love Luz for her endless optimism and her ability to find fun in whatever situation she's in. But this is not the type of episode that requires that personality. If anything, I was happier to see Luz act more seriously rather than stick to her quirky personality. Because this proves that Luz isn't some oblivious goofball who can't see the darkness in the world. It shows that she understands when to be serious if the situation calls for it. This also reveals that not only can Luz get angry, but she can get downright vengeful. Her desire to make Lilith pay is not only understandable, but it's absolutely justified. Say what you want about her now, but what Lilith did to Luz in the last episode was awful. So I can't really blame her for getting angry at the mere sight of Lilith.

Now, if Luz were to remain with this angsty personality, then I would be less than ecstatic. But it seems pretty clear to me that angry Luz is a situation-dependent side of her personality that will only come out in the more dramatic episodes. This is evident with the fact that Luz's optimism returns after Eda comes back safe and sound. So while I came to enjoy angry Luz, I'm still going to prefer happy Luz any day.

Owl Beast Eda sticks her tongue out: I love the idea that this was a part of the real Eda shining through, just because the thought of Eda fighting a curse to get under Lilith's skin is just funny to me. And Lilith sticking her tongue out too was just icing on the cake.

Belos’ is still terrifying: That's it. That's all I have to say. We get even more of a glimpse of Belos' power, and it just cements how he's the most terrifying villain that Disney has made in years. Because I saw his fight with Luz (more on that later) as Belos holding back. Which makes me wonder: WHAT THE F**K IS IT GOING TO LOOK LIKE WHEN HE'S ALLOWED TO LET LOOSE?!

And if I'm being honest with you guys, I'm a little scared to find out the answer to that question.

Eda is partially the Owl Beast: This was a cheat, but an effective one. It gives Eda a chance to have actual speaking roles, while also nerfing her, so she doesn't escape. Would it have been more tragic if Eda spent the entire episode as an unintelligent monster? Maybe. But it also means Eda couldn't give Luz the portal (the most important thing in the finale) and not get to say goodbye to Luz (the most gut-wrenching scene in the finale). Say what you want about Eda being partially cursed, but I think it was a smart decision.

We meet Gus’ dad!: This might not seem like a big deal, but I certainly enjoyed it. Hell, I always appreciate it when I get to know more about the lives of characters in my favorite media. And finding out that Gus' dad is a news reporter? That's a nice reveal, even if it's not the most important thing to happen in the show.

Petrification: Sooooo, this is basically the death penalty. Let that sink in for a second. Because the world of this show, that's aimed for children, actually has a death penalty. Sure, the writers don't actually use the d-word. But turning people into stone with no way to turn them back? They might as well be dead at that point. And I actually like that The Owl House is allowed to go this dark. It raises the stakes much higher than any episode once we find out that Eda could die if Luz fails. And that's a thought I'm sure no one appreciates. Especially Luz.

Luz and King stepping on the grass: Hey, there may not be that many jokes in this episode, but that doesn't mean it isn't allowed to be hilarious. And, yeah, this got a huge laugh out of me. Both from how King and Luz look as they commit their "crime," and because of the guard's over-the-top reaction to it. It gets me everytime.

Warden Wrath’s high-pitched scream: Not much to say here other than I just thought it was funny. Because what also gets to me is when a "big scary character" does something pathetic like what Wrath did. And if you didn't hear his scream, go back to play this scene again. It's well worth it.

“Draw me a map!”: I don't know why I love this line so much. Maybe it's because Sarah-Nicole Robles' delivery made me laugh, or because it preemptively shuts up nitpickers who would ask how Luz knew where the detention center is. Either way, this was a great line.

Willow and Gus help...sort of: In the grand scheme of things, Willow and Gus didn't really do that much when helping Luz and Eda. Sure they got a crowd to chant about letting Eda go, but that effort didn't do anything to stop the petrification. Even that brief moment of standing up to the Emperor came to an end the second he showed up. Which means that it's an issue that Willow and Gus didn’t really help Luz, right? 

That would true if it wasn't for the fact that Willow and Gus didn't immediately jump at the idea of backing Luz up if she needs them. That makes these two the perfect best friends that Luz could ask for, solely on that loyalty alone. Would it have been better to see them fight alongside Luz? Maybe, but I doubt Luz would actually want her friends risking everything for her vendetta. Besides, I doubt Willow and Gus would really be that much help compared to how quickly Lilith dismissed both of them in the last episode. So while they get a C for contribution and efficiency, they get an A+ for loyalty in my book.

Eda’s goodbye to Luz: Oh, man. And I thought Eda's goodbye in "Agony of a Witch" was painful. This? This actually got me misty-eyed. And I think the reason why it's more heartbreaking this time around is that Eda is fully showing her emotions in this scene. In my "Agony of a Witch" review, I said that Eda was trying to hide how dire the situation from Luz by smiling and playing the thing off as no big deal. She fails because her eyes and her voice cracks give away all of her feelings, but she still tried nonetheless. This time, however, Eda makes it clear how serious the situation is with both her expressions and tone of voice. Probably because the last time she tried to be gentle with Luz, her apprentice threw herself into the lion's den. So as a result, it comes off as more heartbreaking, given the fact that Eda makes it clear how serious their predicament is. And the fact that she not only says a real goodbye to Luz but practically pushes her away?! Add that with the fact that they share "I love you's" to each other, and you got a scene that just tears at the heartstrings.

Luz crying again: NnnnnnnOPE!!!

I already said that the single image of Luz crying was enough to break me. So seeing her just break down and sob her eyes out is more than enough to hurt the soul, man!

IT HURTS DA SOUL!

“Talk to the glyph, WITCH!”: You know for a FACT that if Luz was allowed to swear, she would use a very similar sounding word to describe Lilith. And I love that implication!

Luz can’t do magic in the human realm: Woah boy! It was one thing when we all predicted it. But to now have visual confirmation that Luz cannot, in fact, do magic in the human realm? Let's just say that adds a whole new level of heartbreak for when Luz has to go home. As well as an overflowing amount of angsty fanfics that plays with that idea.

Lilith’s backstory: ...

*DEEP INHALE*

I will hold off Fredrick Ulisinsburg for now. For. NOW. Because while Lilith's actions are nowhere near justified...it is clear that she does regret her actions. Lilith said it herself. She thought the curse would last for at least a day, and in no way intended for it to be permanent. It's still crappy of her to willingly curse Eda at all, but at least she didn't want her sister to live a life of torture. Plus, there's a sense of tragedy given the fact that Eda wasn't going to fight Lilith anyway. Lilith underestimating how much Eda truly cares must have made the guilt set in even more. And I hope that the show explores that in season two. Because while I think Lilith is on the right track towards redemption, what she did was awful, and I want her to actually earn her forgiveness. Not just hand it out because of a few acts of kindness (more on that later).

(Also bonus points for that foreshadowing with the sharing-the-pain spell. I did not think it would come up again in the way that it did.)

Baby Eda: Must. Protect. Baby. Eda.

Amity’s parents(?): It's yet to be officially confirmed (to my knowledge) that those students in the bleachers are Amity's parents. But if they are, then it's awesome that The Owl House crew snuck this reveal in the finale. They didn't need to do that, but the fact that they did just make schmucks like me happy.

Luz briefly looking out into the forest: So much is said about Luz with just these few short seconds. The fact that she hesitates going back to the Isles tells me that she's wondering if she should. Because right now, Luz has an out. She could say goodbye to her problems and run home to mami, especially given the fact that that's what Eda wants her to do. Except Luz would never do that. Because Luz has proven time and time again that she will not back down when it comes to helping the people she loves. Eda, Willow, Amity. These are all characters that Luz would do anything and everything for if it meant they would be safe. But that doesn't mean she won't briefly get tempted to escape. So while this moment of hesitation shows that Luz can have times of selfishness, her almost immediately running back proves that she will always choose the path of selflessness.

Lilith willing to be a double agent: This was the first sign of Lilith working her way towards redemption. Her willingness to still work for the Emperor's Coven, and to change it from the inside, is pretty admirable. It's almost a shame that she gets caught almost immediately. Because I would have loved to have seen Lilith's attempts to work against the Emperor to protect Luz and Eda from getting arrested. Not only for character growth reasons but because it would actually strengthen her redemption by having Lilith willingly risk everything for the right people.

Luz vs Emperor Belos: I could have never expected this. At least, not so soon. I always assumed Luz would fight Belos at some point, most likely in the series finale. Never would I have expected this confrontation to happen in the first season. And man, oh, man, what a fight! I'm sure some people are gonna complain how easy it was for Luz to fight back, but to those people: I have a few things to point out.

First off, Belos' line of, "I'll play," tells me that he's going easy on Luz. Nothing he does really looks like it would hurt Luz too badly-at least by his standard. And to me, it seems like Belos is treating the fight in a similar way a teenager lets a toddler "challenge" them. Because when you compare Luz's frantic movements to Belos' calm and calculated ones, it is clear who's the better fighter in this battle.

Second, Luz doesn't do that much. Sure she chips his mask with an ice spell. But that's the equivalent of how Iron Man's finishing move on Thanos only resulted in "a drop of blood." Every other glyph Luz uses during this fight was to protect herself rather than fighting back. And the fact that she barely got a chance to fight back, when the Emperor was going easy on her? Let's just say that it makes me even more terrified for Luz's safety when round two inevitably happens.

Lastly, Luz is someone who has what I like to call: Percy-Jackson-Syndrome. A character who's a bumbling idiot seventy-five percent of the time, a surprisingly good strategist for fifteen percent, and terrifying when angry in the last ten. And Luz has shown in the past that she has a sense of quick wit and strategy when fighting powerful foes. Her plan to beat Willow's inner-self, as well as Luz's plan of escape from Otabin, are two examples that come to mind that prove this. So it's not too much of a stretch that Luz is still alive after fighting Belos, because the one time she got the upper hand was by outsmarting him.

So again, good fight, and I'm terrified for round two.

Luz destroys the portal: This was a heroic sacrifice I didn't see coming, even though I really should have. If you've been paying attention to the episode titles, you'll notice that the first letter of each title spells out the phrase, "A witch loses a true way." A lot of people have been speculating what this phrase could mean. Even I dipped my toe in theorizing the right answer. It turns out the people who thought Luz would lose a "true way" back home were correct. But I don't think anybody could have thought that it would be Luz who would take away her only way back home. Not only is Luz being the one to destroy the portal tragic, but this sacrifice shows how much Luz cares about Eda. Luz is willing to say goodbye to everything she knows, for who knows how long, just so Eda can be safe. Plus, it's another moment of Luz defeating her enemy by outsmarting him. Which teaches kids that you don't need to fight harder. You just need to fight smarter.

Lilith shares the curse: This is another sign that Lilith is on the right path. While I still wouldn't say that I forgive Lilith, I will say this sacrifice makes me want to at least consider it.

Belos is fixing the portal: You want to know what makes a villain even more terrifying? The fact that every victory our hero has is more of a minor inconvenience towards the villain. Which is what this scene is. Because while Luz definitely won the battle, it looks Belos is planning on winning the war.

Eda looks different in the outro: I like this. You know why? Because it tells me that Eda being half cursed is not going to be fixed any time soon. Case in point: Willow was wearing her Abomination Track uniform during the intro and the credits, so as not to spoil the ending of episode three. For every episode after, Willow remained in her Plant Track uniform, and it looks like that's not going to change. So the fact that the crew is committing to Eda's design change, to the point where they change the credits as well, shows a great attention to detail. That also hints at a dynamic shift that will remain for the foreseeable future.

The finale makes me want more: To me, the best finales are the ones that resolve most stories but still opens up more for the next season. Because every narrative and conflict season one opened up has been closed. Lilith wanting to arrest Eda? Closed. Who cursed Eda? Closed. Amity's redemption? Please. That got closed, like, three episodes ago. And yet, this finale left me with more questions that I can't wait to get answered in season two.

How will the dynamic change now that Lilith is added into the main crew? What's the day of unity? Why does Emperor Belos want the portal to the human world? Who's that hooded figure that Belos sends to spy on the Owl House? How is being half-cursed going to affect Eda and Lilith? Can Eda still turn into the Owl Beast? Is Lilith going to turn into an Owl Beast now? Are we going to have an episode where Luz and King are going to deal with TWO Owl Beasts? And most importantly: WHEN THE HOLY F**K ARE LUZ AND AMITY GOING TO KISS ALREADY?!?! DO I SERIOUSLY HAVE TO WAIT DURING ANOTHER SEASON-which I'm totally fine with-TO SEE THESE TWO IDIOTS GET TOGETHER?!

I doubt I’ll ever know the answer to all of these questions, but it sure makes me more excited to see what happens next.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So, yeah. "Young Blood, Old Souls" is a definite A+ of an episode. It had excellent drama, astonishing character moments, some closure to several stories, and even a few well-timed jokes on occasion. However, I wouldn't go so far as to say that it's the best episode of the season. It's definitely in the top five, for sure, but not the best. I'm more than willing to give that title to "Enchanted Grom Fright" just for the importance of it alone. Hell, I'd say that I enjoyed "Agony of a Witch" a lot more than "Young Blood, Old Souls." But, I'm willing to blame that on the same reason why Avengers: Infinity War is seen as the better movie than Avengers: Endgame. Whereas the first part did a great job at lifting up the stakes and tension, that part two pales in comparison from doing its job of giving closure. But that doesn't change the fact that "Young Blood, Old Souls" is a damn-near perfect episode that both hurts and heals the soul.

(And that’s it! It’s going to be another few months ‘til season two hits, and in turn, months until I’ll have to review episodes again...Unless I want to do something crazy like review the episodes I didn’t talk about. But that’ll never happen!)

(...)

(...Alright fine. I’ll review them. But not until The Owl House comes onto Disney+!)

[raisinghellonstarbug]

Comfort Films Challenge

Thank you to the wonderful @omnishambolichologram for tagging me as always in these fun activites :3 ^^ Also - sorry it’s taken me weeks to FINALLY post this!

Film are definitely my number one enjoyment in life along with watching television series (aside from the obvious of spending time with family and friends) and there are quite a few comfort films for me, so it’s going to be difficult to narrow down to only seven! I might have to be cheeky and add in a couple of special mentions hehe

And FYI some of these films might not be necessarily comforting, but they are in that they’re easy to watch so many times because I love them that much. This list probably won’t have all of my absolute favourites, but we shall see what my brain comes up with this time because it sometimes changes.

(I won’t be able to rate one more than the other as they’ll all be different kinds of films so I wouldn’t be able to necessarily say one is better than the other)

I’ve chosen these films based on not only how rewatchable they are, but also on their sheer brilliance as a whole in terms of cinematography, dialogue, cleverness and the acting... (and probably on how long I’ve known them and grown to love them everytime I watch them)

Note: I don’t own some of the gifs included in this post. Credit would go to them if I knew who they were but I’m making sure that I don’t take credit for the ones which aren’t mine.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

This film is quirky, intelligent, funny and teaches you a lot about the choices you make in life. I think what I love about this film is how simple the ending is. “I gotta see about a girl...” - sums up how love can end up being the most important thing to grab hold of when you realise you have it and never had it before. I personally believe that this is probably Matt Damon’s best performance out of all his acting roles even to this day. Ben Affleck and Robin Williams were pretty damn great in it too.

Midnight Run (1988)

(This gif is mine).

This film has it all. A damn well cleverly written script with uncanny and hilarious dialogue, brilliant dynamic between the two main characters, fabulous music score, wonderful sets of shots (the cinematography of the beginning scene is great) and basically a simple story that is not only entertaining and easy to follow, but is acted out fabulously by everyone. The whole wild goose chase for these two men played by Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin across the country is just ridiculous, but ridiculously funny. I have to say that it’s definitely one of my top favourites of all time. If you want a laugh, I would recommend this one!

Special mention (another Martin Brest film): Beverly Hills Cop is on point also.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

It was tough for me to just decide on one John Hughes film as he’s one of my favourite directors of all time, but I chose Breakfast Club because it’s the ultimate classic coming-of-age story, and it’s all set in just one location. It’s clever in that there doesn’t have to be lots of action to make it good, all it does is introduce a bunch of teenage stereotypes and take away the shields that they have put on and learn to no longer be prejudice of one another. Eighties is also my favourite era of films and this is just a perfect mixture of comedy and drama. The acting is great and I give applause to especially Judd Nelson and Anthony Michael-Hall for their delivery and their facial expressions.

Special mentions of other John Hughes films he has written/directed that I ADORE: Pretty in Pink (Andrew McCarthy and James Spader yum), Sixteen Candles (hilarious), Uncle Buck (the best family film ever), Planes, Trains and Automobiles and Some Kind of Wonderful <3

Heathers (1988)

Christian Slater and Winona Ryder are the best duo in this film and it is another eighties classic. I related to both these characters and I can never get enough of this film. I have probably seen it twenty times or more and still not fed up with watching it. The dark comedy and the gritty and foul dialogue are iconic in this flick, and I take my hat off to the brilliant Heathers (Kim Walker - may she RIP, Shannen Doherty, Lisanne Falk) for playing such clever and awful characters. I was obsessed at one point with Slater because of his role as J.D and honestly his death at the end of the film is a powerful as fuck ending. The cinematography of the ending makes the film for sure, the angle, the chosen shots I just Ugh. Fabulous.

The Help (2011)

This film. I don’t know it’s just brilliantly done and the acting is perfection. Emma Stone, Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer, Jessica Chastain and Dallas Bryce-Howard are fantastic in their roles and this film explores such a crucial time period that I think is illustrated well. These women while fictional, feel so real and the struggle of black maids (black people in general really but this is specific to the women) is real. I cannot help but cry everytime at the ending, and the way that Aibilene stands up for herself, I never get tired of. It is easy to watch as it’s not painful like 12 Years A Slave, but it still epitomises the segregation that was so prominent in the sixties in southern US very well. I find comfort in how delightful the characters are and still manages to be funny despite the story being focused on such a sensitive subject.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Shawshank, well we all know this film. It has been parodied and quoted so many bloody times, but yet I am cliche in love with it and I cannot fault a single thing about it. Tim Robbins is an underrated as fuck actor and he should be appreciated so much more for his stellar performance as Andy Dufrense. He is the epitome of the straight and narrow man who, really, is not a bad guy at all. In fact, he’s always tried to be the opposite. You symphathise with him throughout and you really feel his struggle, but also his perfect ability to be so human. He makes Red realise he is not as bad as he made himself believe and of course we know how good Morgan Freeman is. Again, this film like Heathers I could watch a million times and never get bored with it. Whether it’s on TV or I find it available online, I always will make time to watch it.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)

I have only recently come across this film about 8 months ago and it’s the kind of film which I can’t help but wonder where it’s been my whole life. I have already watched it probably like 10 times since I found it and I am so happy I did. However, it has led me to form an unhealthy obsession with Timothee Chalamet where he has come up in conversation in real life and I figured the only things I was still an avid fan of was of Supernatural and Red Dwarf, but no this film is just pure delightful dynamite. The cinematography is so elegant and perfect (especially during the dream like sequence when Elio is alone or in the gif above when Elio is watching Oliver). The screenplay brilliantly illustrates how wonderfully amazing but also torturous love can be, and well it is set in the eighties. What more can you love? Timmy and Armie have such good chemistry it’s unreal, and they make their characters so believable. Another film I cannot fault and could watch anytime, even though the ending is heartbreaking af.

Bonus: Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)

Notting Hill (1999)

About TIme (2013)

There are plenty of other comfort films I adore but it probably depends on my mood. I’m definitely a sucker for romantic comedies and these three are on here as bonuses because they’ve also been very comforting to me over the years. What can I say? Richard Curtis writes some brilliant screenplays and directs some of them too.

[awkwardplantwrites]

I haven’t written yet, but I do have a lot of ideas to go off now. unfortunately, a lot of involves re-writing stuff. on the one hand, I don’t want to be stuck on the same chapters, but on the other hand, I just Won’t be able to continue unless I add it in. I know a lot of people say “just write, don’t edit” but those aren’t the rules bc there is none and I can do what I want. (pls fix? no being stuck!!! only edit!)

here’s a long post about things I’m planning on adding, as well as headcanons about my own damn story because I’m stuck in fanfic mode forever.

lots of spoilers ahead! 

a horse motif for Renato: I remember when namme-e made the posters, one had a horse on it, which I reckon is a common association with knights. so far there have been 2 horses (well, one is a Kelpie, but it’s a water horse shh. I also found out Northumbrian folk/where Llantry is based call them Brags!) and there will be more horses later in the story. they’re recurring anyway, so why not use it. 

and upon looking at it’s symbolism, I realised that horses are very duty bound creatures, like Renato is to the people of Llantry, they symbolise war/battles - which can bring in memories of his dad, and in comparison to the first horse (which dies in chapter 5... some unintentional symbolism there) Isbeil the Kelpie is much more free and independant and they’re at the Fun part of the road trip, and the Nukelavee (even more dangerous than kelpies) later on will be wild/untamed right about when Renato’s emotions will be in turmoil... you see where I’m going with this :D :D other contenders for motifs include: hands, mirrors/reflections, his shield/armour, dragons. swords are more of a precision tool for magic than a weapon in this universe so that wouldn’t work as a motif.

a candy motif for Pepi: you thought I made him a candy merchant intentionally? no. not at all. except now it is. candy represents good memories, childhood, rewards, pleasure, reminds him of his dad’s business, responsibility in maintaining the business, his family, his lack of magic/inability to make candy, having to do Tammy’s chores for her, and just Tammy in general I guess. 

in the beginning I remember him being enthusiastic about it (if he’s not I’ll add it in lol), singing about it and complaining about being “a candy delivery boy turned overworked squire” and even from that you can tell he already has a complicated relationship with candy. he can’t make it but he sells it and hates selling it but when he talks/sings about it it attracts people, especially children.. perhaps engaging his own inner child too... in chapter 3 Pepi mentioned he was down to two bags, which means he held onto them despite selling out the rest... representing that he’s still holding onto his past even though it’s in the past and gone... and one day he’ll run out and it won’t be in his control and he won’t be able to get any more unless he goes home... which means FACING HIS PAST. so I’m thinking, if he becomes more neutral to it that’ll show how he views his past more healthily? then eat fruit instead?? idk.

magic based on senses: kind of ATLA inspired, but with the 5 physical senses (and a spooky 6th). as I started writing this I realised I probably based their powers depending on which god chose them, for example Lidion is the god of protection, so Renato gets protection based powers. but y’know, I had another idea as I wrote this lmao, what if the regular civillians/people born with magic have sense based magic? not sure if it’s a little ambitious to have 2 entirely different sets of magic. maybe the god powers can be based on senses too. initially the magic was based entirely off of DND classes (Renato’s a paladin and Pepi’s a wild magic sorcerer) but I think I’ve found something more original haha. or perhaps I accidentally moved onto Greek god/Percy Jackson-esque powers. crap. research says scottish mythology is kinda like Greek myths anyway: that’s a win in my book. 

changing Finlay from a floating crystal ball to a bird: introduced in chapter 2, and EVERYTIME I WRITE I FORGET ABOUT FINLAY. it’s like a personal meme at this point. so anyway I took a “what core type are you quiz” a while back and Pepi got adventurecore after I chose bird as his inner animal. making this change will make sense because a) Pepi can talk to animals and this will foreshadow it, b) he likes music and this might be his magic type..? c) Disney needs a mascot character if they’re going to make FM a movie

I just read some bird symbolism and GOD I want to make Finlay a chicken, since it symbolises finding inner power, getting over fear and also it’s very funny to me. or a duck since that symbolises decisiveness and leaving the past in the past. see there’s a lot of things I can do here. but is there such a thing as having too many motifs? I just read that you CAN have more than one, so yes, Finlay will now become a duck. 15 year old/duck obsessed me would be very happy.

empahsizing the illness: plural illnesses actually. Llantry’s illness is actually depression - which they didn’t know bc this is set around the 15th century and the gods forgot to tell them about it or something - caused by overusing their magic, the death of Renato’s dad (public morale figure), poverty, and y’know the middle ages in general. I feel like Renato’s way too upbeat, especially in chapter 4 when they’re running away from the Wakefield Knights. before now I was trying to weave in mood swings which would affect his behaviour and therefore the story. admittedly it’s very difficult, as what they’re doing generally requires a lot of energy and the tone is usually light. someone suggested having his depression be worse when the situation is worse, which I probably will do, but I still feel he could be more low-key. I really, really didn’t want to use the “happy and sad duo” trope, I wanted them to be more or less equal in demeanour. though if I want to portray his depression and distinguish them both it’ll have to be exaggerated I suppose. 

the second illness, Pepi’s anxiety. or well, it was initially anxiety but it’s starting to look more like OCD (that’s self projection for ya). some of my readers already figured out he can do magic, however it’s not that he doesn’t realise it. he casts spells in his sleep and thinks it’s his “evil self” (that idea is still TBC), and he sneaks off in the morning because he remembers sleepwalking and cleans up his mess. and to avoid making it look like schizophrenia, I’m planning to write it so it’s obvious he’s just very in denial about being able to do magic, because later it’s revealed he’s scared to use magic, because he doesn’t want to end up like his sister who became possessed by an evil being and abused magic, which for him is both a rational and irrational fear. avoiding magic could be considered a compulsion since he has intrusive thoughts about becoming evil. 

so I did already plan for him to gradually get more restless and uneasy, he’s supposed to be seem energetic bc he runs solely on anxiety. in my head I was thinking of quirks, and realized him hoarding stuff in his pockets “in case he needs it later” and his insane amount of GUILT, and all that felt pretty OCD. so why not: he’s got OCD. possibly PTSD too.

the idea for Finding Magic began as “magic takes part of your soul, 2 wizards search for help as their magic stops working”. I still have the exact post it note I wrote the first idea on. for this story I have 2 countries, 13 semi-developed towns, over 30 characters. (yes, not Tolkien numbers, but I’m not Writers George) and the reason I wasn’t able to write about ANY of them for the past 2 months is because my brain spirals and ruminates over miniscule details that readers will never know. also because I lost passion, was too tired to develop characters I needed to develop the story to finish the first draft... but now that the passion is back: I’m writing this at 5am, which is reminiscent of the first day I came up with FM, back then called Journey to Magic, where I couldn’t sleep since I was bursting with ideas. 

I guess this is what I find fun, analysing and improving and brainstorming. so while I might not have chapters written down, they’re pretty damn clear in my head and as you can see, I can talk up a storm about my story despite it not existing :D

[petaldancing]

fic: but only one truth

fandom: persona 5 characters: makoto, ann summary: she finds her in a koban, five years later. this time, things might be different. (chapter 1 of 4)

Makoto only noticed it was drizzling when she took off her helmet and hung it on handlebar. She eased the motorbike into its allocated lot next to the koban, mentally picking out the what she was going to include in her report. Leaning on the seat of her bike, she flipped open her lined notebook and began to jot down the details in point form. The neighbourhood patrol, which included helping tourists find their way around Tokyo and talking to Shujin students that were loitering out late, had taken her more than an hour. It was ritual more than anything else, the patrol and the report thereafter, and though it wasn’t anything exciting, it gave rhythm to an otherwise chaotic job. It was sort of like being student council president again. Makoto did not know whether the comparison was comforting or disconcerting, pressing the tip of the ballpoint pen onto the page for a moment.

She pushed these thoughts aside as she entered the koban, tucking her notebook under one arm. There was a blonde woman sitting on the waiting chairs along the wall, tapping the heel of her sneaker on the tiled floor. A visitor making a report  was common. What wasn’t was the fact that Makoto recognised her immediately. The pages of her notebook flapped open as it fell to the floor. 

The woman removed her sunglasses as her mouth opened in delighted surprise. “Makoto! What are the odds!” 

“Ann? What are you doing here?” Makoto rushed to her side after she picked up her notebook, concern overriding the embarrassment of having Ann see her in uniform. She was an officer now, and her priority was attending to the needs of the civilians, even if this one didn’t bother to hide the smile that appeared on her face.

“You look really good, Makoto,” Ann’s smile widening into a toothy grin. Makoto remembered how the whole gang had asked for a photo of her in uniform ever since she’d officially signed on to the police. She never took that picture, nor did she let on to which station she was posted at, which made Ann the first to see her on duty.

“N-nevermind that!” Makoto hoped that the warmth spreading across her cheeks wasn’t obvious. “More importantly, what happened?” 

Ann slipped her sunglasses into her red purse as she said, “There was a snatch thief. Ryuji didn’t manage to catch the guy, but he did get a good look at his face and his motorcycle plate. They’re getting the details from him right now.” She nodded to the back of the koban, which housed just one interview room and the staff office. Kurosawa was the other officer on shift, and she wasn’t the type who startled easily. She would be able to deal with Ryuji by herself. On the other hand, Makoto didn’t know if she would be able to handle Ann one on one. She fidgeted with her notebook and reminded herself that as long as she focused on doing her job, there wouldn’t be any problems.

“Where did this happen? Are you hurt?”

“Just down the road, near Yoyogi station. You know, at that intersection where 7-11 and Big Bang Burger are? Ryuji wanted to grab something to eat after running some deliveries, and I just finished a shoot nearby, so we decided to meet up,” Ann explained. 

It seemed that sheer coincidence brought them to this part of the neighbourhood. Makoto nodded, slowly adjusting to the fact that she wouldn’t have been able to keep her friends from finding out about where she worked forever. Still, she couldn’t help but feel out of her depth. Ever since she graduated from the academy, she only ever visited Leblanc on special occasions. It felt so odd and undeserved, for her to be talking to Ann now, and more than that, the thought of Ryuji and Ann grabbing a meal together without asking her reminded her that they were no longer as close as they used to be in high school, when they were the Phantom Thieves. 

Ann continued, “We were deciding where to get dinner and then the snatch thief ran past us and Ryuji chased him. When we didn’t manage to catch him, we tried to find the nearest koban, and here we are.” The bangles on her hand clinked with her gestures.

Makoto’s thoughts shifted from one kind of regret into another. If only she hadn’t taken so long on patrol. She would’ve heard the commotion on the way back if she were fifteen minutes earlier. Her hand balled into a fist at her side. 

Ann seemed to notice her frustration. “I know it’s a shame the guy got away, but hey, it looks like we’ve finally figured out where you work!” She pointed a manicured finger at Makoto and winked. 

In response, Makoto pressed her one hand to her forehead. “Please… don’t tell the rest.” Futaba would probably tap into the security cameras just for fun, and the others would surely drop by just to have a look since she’d been so strict about separating her career from what remained of her social life. Working shifts meant that she spent most of her off days training and reading. When was the last time she sat down with the gang? Perhaps Christmas, last year.

“Promise.” Ann lifted her pinky finger to Makoto without saying anything else.

Makoto blinked. She remembered a chilly winter’s day, her graduation certificate gripped tight in one hand, and the other, holding Ann’s and all the words she was too afraid to say.

“Makoto?” 

“Ah, um—” She linked her pinky with Ann’s before her brain could object, and felt like she was eighteen all over again. Ann held their fingers together before slowly letting go. Yes, it was just like back then, except now, Makoto was an adult who could no longer run and hide behind convincing excuses.

If Ann also remembered, she did not let on. Instead, she raised her gaze to the ceiling, as if searching for the next part of her sentence. The action gave a clear view of her neck and collarbone, and made Makoto acutely aware that Ann was wearing a dark off-the-shoulder dress. 

She lowered her eyes to the floor, nearly biting her tongue as she hurried to blurt out, “Tha—Thank you. I appreciate it.” 

“What’s up with that? We’re friends, Makoto. No need to be so formal,” Ann chuckled, and said these words like they were the simplest thing. 

Makoto couldn’t help but crack a smile. Ann never did hold anything back. Even now, she found herself wishing she could be just a little bit more like her.  

“Oh!” Ann interrupted her thoughts, having decided what she wanted to say “In return, I have something that I want you to consider very seriously.” 

Makoto pressed her heels together. When was the last time Ann had asked her for help? It felt so long ago since she felt like she was a senior in high school, and Ann had achieved so much on her own since then. She cleared her throat and asked, “What is it?” 

“Well... Shiho’s moving out in about two months. She got a great offer for work at a rehab centre in Kyoto. And I was looking for a roommate.” Ann tucked a strand of hair behind her ear as Makoto felt her chest tighten. “You’ve been staying with Sae-san all this while, so do you wanna consider moving in with me? Remember what we said years ago?”

Makoto couldn’t forget, no matter how hard she tried. The words came out instinctively, defensively: “Why me?” 

Ann creased her brow at Makoto’s sharp response, but before she could say anything else, the door of the interrogation room swung open just then, and out stepped Ryuji Sakamoto with his hands perched behind his head. 

“I’m starving! Ann, let’s go get dinner!” he called out loudly, no different from usual. His eyes flitted from Ann to Makoto as he registered her presence. He practically jumped as he shouted, “Woah! Makoto! You’re really a cop now! What did I say Ann? I knew we’d run into Makoto!”

“That’s what you say everytime we pass by a police station.” Ann rolled her eyes.

“And I was right this time!” Ryuji folded his arms triumphantly as he approached them. Behind him, Makoto exchanged nods with Kurosawa, who excused herself to the break room. 

“Anyway—dinner. Makoto, do you wanna join us?” Ryuji asked.

“She’s on shift.” Ann pointed out as she stood up and pulled the wrinkles out of her dress. 

“I’d love to, but my shift doesn’t end until tomorrow morning,” Makoto gave the young man an apologetic smile. “I’ll treat you to dinner next time, alright?” she added, feeling like she should. After all, Ryuji just saved her from a conversation she was not prepared to have.

“That sucks,” he replied, pocketing his hands in his loose shorts. “We can get you something if you want though, just drop a message! We’re probably gonna go to the ramen stall just across the road.” 

“When did we decide on that?” Ann asked pointedly as Ryuji stepped out of the koban. 

“It’s good,” Makoto offered, if only to stop the neighbours from complaining about the noise Ann and Ryuji would make if they got into a disagreement. “They have pretty good miso ramen.”

“Alright, gonna grab seats now. See ya’ Makoto!” Ryuji waved, before setting off, pulling up his jacket hood in the rain. 

Ann did not follow him straightaway. She stood at the threshold, taking out her sunglasses to wear even though the sun had set and the rain was getting heavier. “I hope you’ll take me seriously, Makoto. Being able to find you today... It’s a sign, isn’t it?”

Makoto could not reply to that. Instead,she reached over the front counter and pulled out one of the spare umbrellas they kept for civilians who happened to be caught in the rain. She stepped up to Ann and held it out to her. “Here. You can return this to us another time.” 

Ann’s eyes were hidden behind her sunglasses, but her earnest smile had not changed. She accepted the umbrella, hand brushing across Makoto’s. 

“I’ll take that as a maybe.” Then, she disappeared into the downpour. 

The smell of her perfume persisted in the koban, as if telling Makoto not to forget this time. 

notes: i’m so unsure about this that i don’t know if i should post it onto AO3 (yknow, like drabbles stay on tumblr and Good Work goes on AO3) but if you prefer reading on AO3 lemme know!! 

OK so would you believe me if i said that the prompt for this was ‘mako/ann, firm kiss’?? welp you know me, if it’s not satomaya i need to work my brain to come up with a reasonable scenario that would allow them to kiss and so ive been struggling over the storyline for a very long period of time and i think this piece might be the one that i can’t overcome/grasp the characters as well as i usually do, which is giving me a huge writer’s block, but all the more, i want to conquer this!! i’m not very confident portraying these characters but maybe if i pace myself and post it up as one chapter per week it might work out better and help me overcome this writer’s block, especially since the end of this part spoke to me like “hello... there is no way you can write the next part unless you break this fic into chapters” and voila!

[paperficwriter]

I Will Cover You

My first Dream Daddy fic. I am officially in Smallmarch (Robert Small/Damien Bloodmarch) hell. No regrets. And of course my first foray is angst and fluff. A killer combination. Robert tries his best to take care of Damien after surgery. 

Cut for length, not for content, though do be aware that this fic depicts post-top surgery.

---

“Oh. It’s you.”

“If I had a dollar for everytime someone answered a door and said that to my face...anyway, yes. It’s me. Where’s your dad?”

Robert wished for a second that his hands weren’t full, a loaded grocery bag in one and an unopened bottle in the other. Otherwise, he could have just pushed past Lucien and gotten into the house. Instead, he had to play this whole game of Purposeful Small Talk. Which he hated almost as much as Pointless Small Talk.

“Isn’t it Goth Night at Jim and Kim’s? Maybe you should try there.”

“The closest thing Jim and Kim’s has to ‘Goth Night’ is ‘Dark Sullen Drunk Night,’ and since I’m not there, that’s not happening. Move it.”

Lucien didn’t budge, instead raising a perfectly lined brow at the whiskey in Robert’s hand. “You do actually know that he can’t drink right now, right?”

He didn’t. “So? This is for me.”

“...”

“Look, Lucy. This can go one of two ways. You can move out of my way, or I can come back armed with a fully-loaded Betsy. Your call.”

“Did you just threaten my life so you can hang out with my dad?”

“Maybe.” Really, it was more a threat on his allergies, but...whatever it took.

Lucien smiled, and moved aside with a dramatic flourish of his hand. “Impressive. You may enter.”

Robert made a beeline straight for the master bedroom, ignoring the library and all the sitting rooms or parlors or whatever-the-hell-they-were. It was the one spot that Damien always skipped on the grand tours of the Bloodmarch Estate, but he knew that tonight that’s where he would find him. It was the one room that stood out from the Victorian macabre noir aesthetic of the rest of the house, bearing a resemblance more similar to the fake bedrooms at Ikea than anything from hundreds of years ago. When he shoved the door open, announcing, “Knock, knock,” Robert found Damien propped up on about five pillows, wearing a flannel robe, his long black hair a mess on top of his head. No makeup, no nail polish, nothing but normal. Robert couldn’t even remember the last time he had seen him like that.

“Robert?” Damien’s puffy, tired eyes widened, and he pulled the comforter up closer to his chin. “What are you doing here?”

“Giving the cryptids a night off from my regular slaughter schedule,” he said, sitting on the edge of the white down bedspread and dropping the bag and bottle. “I brought you some stuff.”

“You didn’t have to.” Even as he said it, Damien straightened a bit, glancing into the brown paper grocery bag.

“What kind of dick would I be if I didn’t? Your boyfriend gets surgery. You bring him shit to make him feel better. Isn’t that how it goes in all those movies you like so damn much?”

Damien chuckled and shook his head, reaching a pale hand out to squeeze Robert’s. He really did seem a bit out of it still, and Robert wondered why he hadn’t asked him to do the driving instead of Lucien. “I am eternally grateful.”

“You should be. No way would I watch that crap on my own.” He started unpacking with his free hand. “Let’s see...my favorite knife, a hot water bottle, basically the entire first aid section of the drug store...just in case those quacks didn’t give you enough stuff when you went home. Doctors just want to bleed you dry by making you come back for more. Don’t trust them.”

“They were very kind, Robert.”

He gestured ominously with the aforementioned blade. “They better have been. Or I’m going to be making a few more trips tonight before I go home.” Putting it on the nightstand to avoid any embarrassing holes in the sheets (again), he continued unloading. “Some of those Oreos you like…” Three packages, in fact. “Ought to keep you set at least through tomorrow.”

When he removed the next item, Damien let out what he would normally consider a “most undignified” squeak.

“Since I couldn’t bring her over, I figured I’d do the best I could with a surrogate Betsy.” He handed over the stuffed Boston terrier, and Damien pressed his face into it to hide the ridiculous red of his cheeks. “She sends lots of well-wishes though. Can’t wait for you to come over again.”

“Thank you, my darling,” Damien sniffed. “I shall treasure it always.”

“You better. I had to take out three toddlers just to get it. It was a bloodbath.”

“My hero.”

“And last thing...I figured I’d try to strike a compromise with a movie we could both enjoy. Pride and Prejudice --”

“Oh, Robert!” Damien’s smile was so radiant that it was even more amusing watching it fall when the DVD was handed over to him.

“-- And Zombies.”

“Oh.”

“Give it a chance! It’s a fun one. I promise. And I’ll keep the lights on. Fair?”

“Very. My deepest gratitude.”

Once Robert had loaded the movie onto the flatscreen mounted to the wall, he kicked his shoes off and laid back beside him, one arm around his shoulders. Damien carefully rested his head on his chest, holding the edge of his jacket while Robert smoothed down some of the loose strands of hair around the bun. “Is this okay?” he asked. “Does it hurt a lot?”

Damien shook his head, then nodded, reassuringly. “It’s fine. A bit sore. Another blessing of not living in the Victorian era is that there are much safer, not to mention effective, pain killers.” He sighed. “I must look a positive fright compared to how you normally see me.”

Robert shrugged. “I don’t care. I’m good. You’re not showing me up for once.”

He laughed at that.

“I wish you had told me when it was all going down, Dames. I would have been here sooner.”

Damien didn’t reply, instead holding his robe a bit tighter. “There was no need, Robert, dear. Lucien was more than happy to take the day away from school, and I didn’t even have to stay at the hospital or anything, so...I am only grateful you’re here now.”

Something in his voice didn’t make it seem like he was entirely grateful. Sure, happy enough, but…Robert let the topic drop.

After about a half hour, Damien stirred under his arm. Those pain killers must have really been something, because even with all the zombie-killing he had somehow managed to doze off. He pulled away carefully, standing up shakily to head toward the bathroom door only two feet away. When Robert jumped up, he waved him off. “I’m fine. I just...need to take some medicine and get the bandages changed.”

“Do you want some help?”

“No, thank you. I’ll only be a few moments.”

Robert didn’t sit back down. He found himself leaning against the wall next to the closed door, fists shoved into his pockets. His keen ears picked up every noise from inside: something wet being poured down the sink, the crinkle of the trash can, the tear of cardboard wrapping. Then, nothing.

“Damien? You okay in there?” he called after about thirty seconds, twenty-five seconds longer than he would have preferred.

No answer.

“Dames?”

A sniff, a slightly cracked, “I’m fine.”

“I’m coming in.”

“Don’t. Really. Just...give me a minute.” Now, it was a full, obvious sob that followed, and Robert cringed.

“Listen. I may not have my boots on, but I'll...I would tear this door down with my bare hands for you. Let me in.”

“...You shouldn't have to see this.”

“Dames.” Robert tried to keep his voice from taking that jagged, unpleasant edge to it that seemed to cut through whenever he was frustrated. “Mary asked me to be in the delivery room when Crish was born. There is absolutely nothing that could be worse than that.”

He wasn’t sure why that seemed to be the deciding factor, but the knob turned, and Robert stepped inside carefully, trying not to stare. Damien sat on top of the closed toilet seat, tears pouring down his face, clean bandages balled up in his hand. The open flannel barely hid the thick, black stitches, angry red skin and bruising across his chest. “Come on, baby,” Robert said quietly, holding his hand out. “Let me help you with that.”

Damien didn’t move. “It’s awful. It’s...I’m…” Another broken noise cracked into the air between them, and Damien covered his face with his hands. “I’m so sorry...”

“What? Damien, don’t say that.”

“Is it ever going to heal?” he asked, a hard desperation in his voice, and Robert knelt in front of him, taking the bandages. Sure, it wasn’t exactly a great look, the T-shaped cuts scarring as they healed, but they weren’t infected. The doctors really had done a great job, as loathe as Robert was to admit it to himself.

“Of course it will. You just need some time. Give yourself a break. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours. Here, hold this.” Robert pressed one end of the roll at the center of Damien’s stomach and started wrapping, pausing occasionally to check to make sure they weren’t too tight. He winced when he jostled one of the drains that hung at Damien’s side. “Sorry. We’ll get you some more pills in a second, okay?”

“It looks so much worse than I thought it would…”

“It won’t stay like this.” Robert used his free hand to wipe Damien’s face with his knuckles. “Don’t cry. It’s fine. Really.”

“I just didn’t want you to see me this way.” Fresh tears dripped down, soaking the cuff of his sleeve.

“I don’t care how bad it is, Damien. Just let me help you. I don’t...God, you’ve seen me far and beyond my worst. This is nothing that won’t mend.” He finished wrapping the bandage and closed the flannel over it, finally raising his hands to touch his boyfriend’s face. “I don’t care if you wear capes or cloaks or fuckin’ jeans and a shirt, and I definitely don’t care what’s under it all. You could dress as one of those anime characters again, and I wouldn’t give a shit.”

Damien snorted, leaning forward to rest his face on Robert’s jacket.

“Just don’t leave me out of it. I’m not...great at this, but...I don’t want you alone. I got you, alright?”

He pressed his lips to both of his cheeks before kissing him softly, the wet on his face clinging to his stubble. When he pulled back, Damien smiled tiredly. “Thank you, love.”

Robert helped him to standing, guiding him back to the bed. “I think this calls for Oreos, whatever fancy drugs they gave you, and a drink.”

“I can’t drink right now, Robert,” Damien chided, holding his hand as he slipped back under the covers.

“Don’t worry. I can do plenty of drinking for both of us.” He raised the bottle and clinked it against Damien’s water glass. “To your speedy recovery, good sir.”

Damien only smirked at his theatric bravado. “Cheers.”

[straane]

yuna & flaws.

this is a subject I briefly kinda hinted at in my tuna post & found myself wanting to properly tackle. I've occasionally seen criticism of Yuna's character dismissing her as "the perfect woman" with no manifest flaws or the sorta faux "acing that job interview" type of flaws such as working too hard, being too selfless, being too kind etc. that are basically strengths masquerading as weaknesses and only really add to her inhuman excellence. and literally there's this one NPC chillin at the Moonflow that gives this highly refined character analysis: "Yuna embodies perfection". well, let's break this thing down, shall we?

and before I start, let it be known that I personally genuinely adore flawed characters, doesn't matter what type of flaws; it's something that to me, recommends a character and gets me invested in their story & struggles so yeah basically the bigger the human disaster and the more varied their range of f**kup the greater my fondness of them – and at the same time I'm a big fan of virtuous, noble-minded, goody-good sorta heroes so it's not really an anti-hero/anti-villain thing either. LOVE the latter lot as well but it's not like they own flaws if you know what I mean

someone'll ask me why i like x and i'm like off the top of my head they're just so dumb and completely obnoxious and  mediocre at everything i love it

so what I'm saying is me talking yuna & flaws is actually a great compliment to her & an expression of my abundant love & adoration

so let's address her

1. workaholic tendencies/excessive selflessness/excessive kindness. so are these real defects or sneaky supplemental strengths or the sly ploys of employee hopefuls? well I might as well fully embrace that metaphor and assert that throughout the pilgrimage, Yuna is actually doing a sort of prolonged large-scale job interview. I mean, she already got the job – business card says 'fully-fledged summoner' – yay – but what she's really shooting for is 'Spira's ray of light', an all-around national hero figure and constant 24/7 source of inspiration, comfort & consolation (not to mention hands-on aid) symbol of hope & salvation etc etc. AND eventual concrete salvation lol. basically, yes, she is aiming for an inhuman standard. there's a lot of internal & external pressure on her, she's constantly hyper-aware of her very demanding role as a summoner and to some extent putting on a performance – not really putting on an act (because damn right this girl is all kinds of compassionate and altruistic and noble and loving) but suppressing her individual rather more free-spirited & fun nature (that we see flashes of in FFX and an entire character arc built around in FFX-2)

perhaps you've met someone like this – some of them get quite good at keeping up the facade of perfection and self-sufficiency. Yuna at least is smart enough to show some transparency every now and then (like when she urges Shelinda not to put herself down, noting she's a beginner too). if she didn't, I don't think we'd like her as much. BUT even when she does, you can tell she's still quite conscious and cautious of her word choices and appearance and behavior and I actually think Hedy Burress's slow and pensive delivery is perfect here and beautifully underlines this aspect of her character. 

2. excessive self-reliance/overconfidence/internal arrogance. her own words, "oh no, I was... overconfident." (btw, I really love it when characters show self-awareness of their faults, subverts a lot of ‘cool’ character tropes) so basically, tho Yuna would have us believe otherwise – I think the whole summoner thing has gotten to her head a tad. not externally – she looks, sounds, feels, smells and tastes all kinds of humble and modest, especially next to the likes of Dona – but is it all just a part of her 'daughter of Braska and future savior and relentless champion of goodness and hope' veneer? consider her actions, and you'll see she often overestimates her own abilities. yuna: "stand back! I'll summon!" seymour: "gurl pls" she outright refuses to share absolutely world-shatteringly important and critical information about Seymour with her guardians; instead lies to their faces, and comes up with a thoughtless plan to confront him herself (and then do what? ‘stop’ him? she fails to send him several times even in the presence of her guardians and when she goes to face him at Macalania Temple he ain't even dead yet lol) and basically starts a domino chain of events that eventually puts them all in extreme danger. now, one might wonder, a) does she truly think so little of her guardians – people mostly older and more experienced than her; whose literal full-time job it is to keep her safe from any and all danger – and their ability to handle unexpected twists and turns (AURON??? LULU??? come ON Yunie) that she would not trust them with this info and thought they'd only get in the way and genuinely thinks her oh-so-thorough-A+++ plans superior to anything they might have to contribute? unlikely. even Auron makes this observation. b) was she only graciously trying to protect said literal professional protectors? that's her own (initial) interpretation of the events, I'm sure. c) is there maybe an element of arrogance/pursuit of heroism/overestimation of own capability involved? glory-seeking might be a bit of a stretch, but seeing as in Spira in general there's this collective image of summoners as heroes and saviors and near superhuman beings... is she starting to, maybe just a little, believe the hype? I'm sorry but it makes me laugh everytime when I think of Yuna telling herself that 'sure i'll just go have a little chat with alleged murderer and maybe marry him if I have to, what could go wrong?? sure I have access to these six trusted friends and capable guardians all ready to jump off a cliff if I asked but this is really no biggie' it’s like that part in Frozen where Kristoff roasts Anna like “that’s your plan? talking to your sister??” except it’s much worse

(also my headcanon is that if that nosy temple attendant hadn't unearthed Jyscal’s sphere, Tidus would've, lol dude knows no shame or boundaries.)  

3. insecurity/craving positive feedback. ok, I'm cheating, these aren't flaws, and we all experience them. but I do think they are oft-overlooked aspects of her character and I also want to bring them up to emphasize that they can and very often do co-exist with overconfidence/extreme self-reliance (pushing us to prove ourselves etc.) 30 seconds into her first ever interaction with Tidus, she has an extremely strong positive response to his throwaway markedly non-expert compliment on her first aeon, and she immediately proceeds to ask this, again, completely clueless outsider whether he thinks she can become High Summoner (lmao that part just kills me he just nods like he just learned the word earlier that day and she's like -deep breath- 'this means so much to me') idk, that scene just always gave me the vibe that she kinda really needed to hear those words and I won't go as far as to say she craves attention/adoration cuz again, clearly she has very altruistic motives behind her chosen profession but that bit is not the only time she shows a sense of insecurity/desire for validation/acknowledgement. her first words after her first sending, to the first person she sees? "hope I did okay"(altho she's not making it all about her given that she is crying too and thus actually breaking her summoner 'pillar of strength' code)

her insecurity also leads to her mimicking others at times, like in the Eternal Calm prologue you get the sense that she feels that the “same as always” Yuna isn’t good enough (Rikku does sorta take the wrong tone there) and this results in her imitating her cousin with all that “oh poopie” silliness and at times kinda trying too hard to act more edgy/assertive (at least that’s my interpretation of her X-2 characterization ALTHO it also leads to very positive and much-needed character development) 

4. limited empathy/wanting things her way/and yes, sometimes making it all about her, there i said it. so yeah, if we take empathetic to mean nice and friendly, then yes, Yuna is obviously empathetic. but if we go with the actual definition as in "empathy = the ability to put yourself in another person's position / understand their feelings/experiences" I think she wayyyy struggles. heck, I think Lulu is the more empathetic of the two. let me explain. take any time Yuna & Tidus talk about Jecht. they more or less immediately come to the conclusion that they are in fact referring to the same person (at least she certainly does), yet Yuna never quite appreciates Tidus's perception of/history with Jecht, his own father. she is quick to protest his bashing with her own memory of a "kind and gentle man" (which is no less true/valid) and doesn't really seem to know how to handle the subject in conversation when his experiences so wildly clash with her own. even when she accurately perceives that he's hurting in Luca, she doesn't even try to inquire what's wrong or ask if there's anything she can do, but instead immediately relates his (unspecified and in actuality very specific and severe sort of) pain to her own experiences as a summoner and starts pushing onto him her own somewhat unhealthy if surprisingly fun coping techniques (thank you Yuna, for single-handedly bringing about the Greatest Scene ™ in FF history which I unironically adore). when she pep talks Shelinda (a great display of her kindness and thoughtfulness, as well as inability to understand other people's differing experiences and their nuances), again, she never asks her to elaborate on her situation but instead draws parallels to her own situation as a fledgling summoner. ('people are counting on me. oh and i'm sure they're counting on you too') neither does she ever ask Tidus what he wants to do in Spira, she asks him to be her guardian. even after her wish is granted (to be fair, it's what he found himself wanting as well) she checks with him whether he'll follow her all the way to Zanarkand, and when Tidus gives a very melancholy reply pointing out his own somewhat depressing reasons for the journey ('yea gotta see if my hometown's still there, it's probably not tho'), she makes this happy little noise. like... that's her takeaway. she clearly has a vision of how she wants things to play out and expects people to accommodate, whether she wants them there or not. ('I want him nearby' vs. 'I have to do this crazy stupid thing and I have to do it alone') contrast this with Lulu, who quite unlike Yuna, doesn't immediately become enamored with Tidus and his Zanarkand and his relation to a person she cherishes; but nevertheless starts helping him out immediately by educating him on Spiran customs/history (if that's not empathy/placing self in another person's position, idk what is) 

5. naivete/hesitation to question established truths I think I addressed this one in my MBTI post and my eyes are getting tired. she also eventually manages to completely flip this one around and make it into one of her strengths without losing a sense of idealism and optimism, what a heroine 

so anyway

-exits minefield- 

-immediately returns- basically feel free to disagree and/or point out any factual errors/aspects of her character that I missed, whether positive or negative. basically this is my personal interpretation of the character and as I said, pretty much my love letter to her

OR you could add to these (join the Yuna roast we have cookies bwahahaa)

[mmecolbert]

So we've ranted about several characters here (it's so fun) but we haven't yet discussed Liz. What's your opinion of her? Personally, everytime I watch GG I like her less. She was clearly an abusive parent to Jess, negelent at the very least. In canon, she risked his well-being many times, got married or involved with men that frequently stole from them and treated them poorly, she drank while pregnant, she shipped him off, she always put him last. I feel like the characters never address this.

My biggest problem with Liz is her calling Luke “big brother”. It’s like nails on a chalkboard to me. Just call him Luke! No one has forgotten that he’s your brother! (I’m trying to match up time lines here…would Arrested Development have already been on the air during this time? ..maybe it was another AD reference that just did not work on GG…)

I’ll say that I generally don’t like her (both as a GG character and as a person), but I hesitate to call her abusive just because I’m really confused by how the writers approached her character. It’s like the Paul situation in AYITL. Are we supposed to take these horrible ways people are treating him as a joke? They’re delivered as a joke…but nothing here is funny??? Oh! same thing with Lorelai’s pet hamster (season…1?)….She goes on and on about essentially abusing the hamster and then abandoning it, but it’s said as a joke and I’m like ????????

It’s the same thing with Liz. When she’s first introduced through conversations (by Luke and Jess), she sounds like a truly bad parent and screwed up person. And when she is there and she talks about things that she did in her past, she sounds, at best, incompetent to raise herself, let alone a child. But the delivery of many of the lines throws me off completely. Because all the mentions of drinking and the like are said in a humorous tone, like she’s a zany hippie with quirky stories as opposed to someone who endangered the well-being of her son. So, how is the audience supposed to feel about her? Fuck I dunno. Pick what works for ya and run with it. 

I will say though that shipping Jess off to Luke sounded like a good decision on her part? He was a troubled kid and it is made abundantly clear that she did not have the tools to parent him. So instead of leaving him on his own, letting him run away, or whatnot, she sent him to someone who she believed would be a positive influence in Jess’s life. So, at least there’s that….

I feel like…the reason why the characters don’t address the “Liz issue” is because the writers had no clue what to do with her. Her characterization is so painfully inconsistent and contradictory and I feel like…at some point the writers realized they wrote themselves into a corner and sorta went “fuck it, we’ll just make her whatever we need, to drive the plot of this episode along.” So, yeah, I see and treat Liz as a failed writing project on ASP and co.’s part and I completely suspend my judgement with her because I don’t know what the fuck the writers had intended to do with her….

[whichwaytogomusic]

Getting To Know The Corner Award Shortlist - Wallace

We had a chat to soul sensation Wallace following the announce of her inclusion in the Corner Award 2017 shortlist!

First of all, where are you from and how long have you been writing and performing music for?

I'm from a very windy hill in Wellington, NZ. I've been singing for as long as I can remember (They couldn't shut me up when I was little haha). I did heaps of musical theatre and was a jazz dork from a very young age. I've only, been writing music for the last couple of years though. 

We read that you have a background in jazz and grew up in a blues loving family but were drawn towards hip-hop and soul - what about these genres of music made you fall in love with them?

Jazz will always be my first love. I honestly don't know how anyone can not be head over heels for vocal tones like Sarah Vaughan, Carmen McRae and Nat King Cole. There was equally as much soul played in our household. I grew up to dad blasting all the Motown, Stax and Atlantic artists as well as Northern Soul. Hip hop and neo-soul I found through my love of dancing. One of my mates played me some Badu + D'Angelo and I was hooked.

You won the JJJ unearthed Listen Out slot for Sydney which is amazing - how was that experience?

Seeing my name on the same festival line-up as Anderson Paak BLEW. MY. MIND. Almost plucked up the courage to go and say 'hey' in the artist area.... almost. The set was really fun! So exciting to be on that huge festival stage.

Congratulations on the release of your debut EP! Can you give us a bit of a story about what the release is about?

I'm so excited to finally have a release!

The EP kind of feels like it's cut in two. 3 of the tracks are about people or places that are very close to my heart and the other three are inspired by fictional characters - Peter Pan, Ms Havisham (Great Expectations) + Old Gregg (The Mighty Boosh). I struggle a bit writing about love cause I'm unsure that I've truely felt it before, so I tend to search for inspiration in bizarre places.

How was the writing and recording process for you? Do you enjoy being in the studio?

So lucky to have collaborated with some serious producers for this EP - Godriguez, Joel Quartermain, Crooked Letter, Mohi + Love Supreme. If you've haven't checked them out please do yourself favour and get on to that, stat!

I LOVE being in the studio and working with my main man Simon Cohen (A bad ass with cheeky multiple Grammy noms under his belt!) I'm such a perfectionist with my vocal delivery, so it's really fun getting right inside the words and trying to paint a picture with them.

Do you have a favourite track to perform live from the release?

I've been really enjoying playing 'Havisham' recently. It's such a strange little song about a lady from a Charles Dicken's novel, who was left on her wedding day.

Actually here's a fun fact! I got an email from my Aunty in Scotland the other day, who's a english teacher. She studies Great Expectations with her students every year and is going to include my song/ lyrics into her class.

You’ve worked with last years Corner Award recipient, Sampa The Great in the past which is awesome! How did you end up working together and what was that like?

She's so friggen talented. I met her through Dave Rodriguez (Godriguez) and asked her to do a verse on one of my earlier singles 'Beauty'. Then about a month or so later, after they'd sent the mixtape down to Wondercore her and Dave got booked to open for Hiatus Kaiyote at the Metro. They asked me to come along and sing some bvs and then she took off and I was lucky enough to play some pretty hectic gigs + festivals with her.

If you could collaborate with another artist currently making music in Australia, who would it be and why?

Fortunes!! Which has already happened... We've got a little single coming out next year that we recorded in Melb a couple of months ago. Their sound is so fresh and exciting. Apart from obviously having an insanely good voice I also love that Conor sings with a kiwi accent. It sounds like home, as if NZ is giving me a big cuddle.

What would you say is your proudest musical accomplishment to date?

Honestly, when I play a gig and people I don't know are in the audience singing along to my songs. Flaws me EVERYTIME!

What’s next for Wallace?

I've got some really exciting supports coming up - Masego, The Cactus Channel and one that I'm not allowed to announce yet but am VERY excited about. Also got some collabs in the works with The Kite String Tangle, Godriguez, Mohi, Danny Barwick and George from Seekae. So HOPEFULLY the next EP isn't far away :).

Keep up with all things Wallace via her Facebook page here.