#aside from rate

[darkbluetennessee]

i was thinking today about how truly insane it is how much i love taylor's music. and not just some of it but like, allllll of it. there are some albums i favor over others, some i have a more personal connection to, but i can put on any taylor album and listen top to bottom without skipping and have a great listening experience all the way through

[lostsyren]

I've read all of your work, but my memory SUCKS. Have we gotten a love confession from Rafe? Maybe it can tie into a third part of the whole ''I have standards'' fight that they are in.

ᥫ᭡ I love you

{summary: the first three times rafe cameron says ‘I love you’ to sofia}

{a/n: sorry for the delay. i didn’t include this to be with the standards series, so i apologise! you can tell how behind on my asks i am! but i hope you still like it!}

{warning: mild sexual content}

౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩

The first time Sofia heard him say those words she couldn’t be sure he actually said them.

It was when they were fucking. Well– not really that. Sex had become something that transcended physical. It became almost a mental game between the two– where eye contact was held, where touches felt reverent, where kisses were uncontrolled. It was no longer hooking up, it was companionship– for the both of them.

Sofia knew Rafe was lonely. She quickly figured out the playboy, cocky, man of the house persona that clung to him like dried paint was a front. He’d always be wary of never hurting her (well at least not consciously) and that was a lot more than what could be said about other guys on Figure 8 she’d messed around with. They were always mean; especially after they’d wetted their dicks with her.

“Be quiet when you leave– if they see I hooked up with the bartender I’d never live it down.”

“You think you can give me free drinks now? I think I deserve it.”

“You pogues always want more don’t you?”

They’d always say they were joking when they would see her crestfallen face and wide eyes. Rafe’s jokes had irked her a couple times too, but he’d always found a way to fix it– make her feel better. They never did.

So when Sofia heard Rafe murmur something against the flushed skin of her neck, his head buried into her hair, lips pressed on her jugular vein– her heart spluttered for a second.

“I love you,” he panted, half breathless, half groaning.

It was either she’d misheard or he was joking.

So she let the moment pass, wrapping her legs tighter around his waist as she came. He didn’t say anything afterwards. Maybe he didn’t want her to hear? That’s why he’d muffled his mouth with her nape. Maybe he didn’t mean it? It was just a wanton slip of the tongue. Or maybe he didn’t say it at all and she was just hearing what she wanted.

The second time he said it he was drunk. And she heard him loud and clear.

Rafe wasn’t the type to get full-on, no inhibitions, sloppy, drunk. He could handle his drink. It was usually him who had to deal with Sofia’s tipsy ramblings and inebriated stumbles.

So when he was throwing back shot after shot at some party they’d attended together, Sofia thought nothing of it. But later on when he’d come crawling back to her, after fooling around with Topper and Kelce, she was surprised to see him like that: drooping eyelids, blush-kissed cheeks, a clear, rhythmic sway to his walk.

“Hey baby,” he slurred, sinking next to her on the couch. His head lolled back, and up close she could see a faint sheen of sweat coat his skin.

“Rafe– are you drunk?” She said, bringing her mouth close to his ear. He sat like he always sat– sprawled out, legs spilling into her space.

“No…I’m fine.”

He was not. He’d been acting off for a the past couple days. But whatever was bothering him, he didn’t let slip. Sofia had a hunch it was something to do with his family– information he’d impart with rarely. But whenever he did mention his father, or his sister, sometimes even his mother…Sofia listened, still and solemn.

“Come on, let’s go.” She left one word unspoken, that dangled off the end of the sentence like breath hanging in front of you when it’s cold.

Let’s go home.

But it wasn’t her home. It was his home. She’d been with him long enough to feel like this was something more. She knew it was something more. But neither her or Rafe would concede first. Not out of stubbornness or embarrassment. But fear of ruining what they had. So she swallowed the word bitterly, and let what was hers and what was his exists in their separate spheres. They weren’t each other’s. They were just two people who fucked.

Sofia half-carried him out the party, face burning as she passed Kelce and Topper. She knew what they saw her as. And she hated it.

But Rafe breezed by without a care, his arm slung around her frame, his hands playing with hers as she tried to grasp on to him.

Eventually they reached his car.

Sofia had directed him to the passenger seat, and after a few grumbles and complaints, she managed to grab the keys from him.

Driving the BMW down the smooth-paved streets of Figure 8 was something Sofia loved. Rafe let her sometimes when she’d ask, otherwise he would drive them everywhere.

In the plush, leather interior, she didn’t have to fumble with a janky gearstick, or worry about stalling, like she did in her decades old car. She could just cruise, listening to Rafe’s soft sounds as he slept.

Once they reached Tannyhill, she’d woken him up and coaxed him to bed. Turns out drunk Rafe was even more of a wilful terco.

“Come on baby, let’s get you to bed,” she said, voice like velvet. Rafe eventually complied, ending collapsing on their– his– his bed.

He was out, chest rising and falling, mouth slightly parted. Sofia’s heart stirred. He was so pretty sometimes. When he wasn’t trying to appear threatening and tough. A sense of innocence settled over his relaxed features, that never seemed to shine through when he was awake.

Sofia pulled off his shoes before slipping into the en-suite to run a washcloth under the tap. She took a seat beside him, running the damp fabric across his brow.

The action caused him to stir, blue eyes blinking open, meeting her own stare.

“Sofiaaa,” he murmured, lips tugging up into an amused smile. His hands snaked over his body to meet her wrist as she dabbed the washcloth across his sweaty face.

“Raaafe,” she teased, mirroring his lilting tone.

“You’re so pretty, you know that right?” His words were breathy and low, barely audible despite the silence of the shadowy room.

“Thank you Rafe.” He moved her hands away from his face, so he could see her more clearly, hand still folded around her wrist.

“And you’re so kind and nice and fun. You make me feel good. Like real good.”

Sofia scoffed, letting the washcloth fall onto the bedside table, dropping his hand across his stomach. “I’m not sleeping with you Rafe so don’t even try it– you’re drunk remember?”

He just shook his head, “nahhh– Like you make me feel good here.” He tapped his hand against his chest, his fingers hitting the sternum where his heartbeat was.

He waited for her reaction, his dilated eyes looking like two wet marbles, his lips shiny with saliva and remnants of tequila.

Sofia’s gaze softened, her hand reaching out to caress the slope of his cheekbone, her thumb brushing against his face.

“You’re so sweet, cariño,” she hummed, smiling down at him.

“I love you Sofia. Like so fucking much, yeah?”

Her heart dropped, breath hitching in her ribcage. She stopped the gentle circles rubbing into his skin, but her hand remained cupped against his cheek.

He didn’t mean it. He was drunk. He was lying. He was teasing her.

But the way he looked up at her: Waiting. Anticipating her response to his words. His blue eyes flickering in the half-dark.

In the quiet of the bedroom Sofia chose to believe them.

“I love you too Rafe.” Her voice was quiet and high, bordering a rasped out cry. God, did it feel good to say. Sofia Flores was in love with Rafe Cameron.

His face broke out in a boyish smile, and for once he looked his age. Not like a man trying to fills his father’s shoes, sleep in his father’s bed, take over his father’s company. He looked like a boy in love– sappy and sweet and soft.

“Give me a kiss,” he instructed.

“You reek of alcohol.”

“If you loved me you would,” he huffed with a smirk.

Sofia laughed, eyes crinkling in the corner, “that’s not fair.” But she bent down anyway, her hair tickling his face, which he tucked away behind her ear.

“My pretty girl,” he mused, staring into her eyes, his own glossed over in a drunken haze.

“Mi niño lindo.” Sofia brushed a chaste kiss over his forehead, before moving off of him, realising he’d slipped into a steady sleep.

Sofia undressed, sliding into bed beside him. She nestled up against his body heat, her heart fluttering when he moved to bring her in closer– his hand slotted against the crook of her hip, his face nearing hers.

After that night, Rafe didn’t seem to remember his drunken love confession. But Sofia stored it inside her heart, tucked in between her own pulsating love for him.

The third time he said it was her birthday. Sofia hated birthdays. They were just a reminder of how she’d gotten nowhere in life. Still stuck in the shitty job she got when she was 18, still stuck on the Cut, still stuck living life for her family rather than herself.

Her parents had given her a hug and a kiss, and her little sister had made her a card. But as always, she then had to leave for her shift at the country club.

Sofia had let herself recognise the occasion, picking up half a dozen cupcakes for her and her colleagues. Ever since she’d spent more time with Rafe, Sofia had neglected her friendships with them. They’d smile at her and make small talk, but they never invited her back for drinks, or told her about parties on the Cut– she couldn’t have gone of course since she was busy with Rafe, but it would’ve been nice to have the option of declining. Sofia pushed away her trivial insecurities, and held the white box with shaky hands.

They’d all seemed chagrined when she told them it was her birthday– embarrassed they didn’t get her anything, embarrassed it slipped their mind, embarrassed that Sofia acknowledged their crumbling bond. But they still ate the cupcakes on their break before going back to letting Sofia skirt conversations and pretend to ignore them when they discussed their plans.

It was nearing evening and her day was coming to an end, when she spotted Rafe walk across the bar floor, a big smile on his face.

They hadn’t planned to meet today. But Sofia was relieved to see him regardless, finding herself mirroring his wide grin.

“Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were busy today?” She asked, already making his drink that she’d grown to memorise.

Rafe just shrugged, retaining that sly grin on his mouth, “I missed you. Are you busy?”

Sofia shook her head “only with work.”

He drove her back to Tannyhilly when she finished her final shift. She noticed he seemed effervescent, bubbling with energy: fingers tapping against the wheel, eyes darting everywhere, shoulders rolling back ever so often.

He led the way inside once they reached the house, Sofia heading up to the bedroom.

But Rafe stopped her. “Wait– follow me.”

Sofia quirked her eyebrows, “why?”

He rolled his eyes playfully, grabbing her by the hand, “just come on.”

Rafe took her to the kitchen, but before they went past the doors, he stopped, letting go of her hand and instead moving to stand behind her.

“What are you–?”

“Shh– just trust me.” And with that, he covered her eyes with his big hands and slowly pushed her into the kitchen.

Sofia giggled nervously, feeling Rafe’s tall figure crowd against her back. She’d honestly forgotten it was her birthday, so when Rafe’s hands fell from her face, letting her upon the candle lit table, a helium balloon that gently swayed, the bouquet of lilies and peonies that sat verdant in the centre, her heart faltered a little.

“Happy birthday Sof,” he said softly behind her, smiling down, watching her face intently.

“What– how– ?”

“I saw it on your ID once and kept a note of it. Was hoping you’d tell me, but you didn’t so I thought I’d surprise you.”

Sofia’s eyes roved over all the little details: the fancy china she’d never seen him use, the expensive bottle of champagne that was sitting there waiting to be opened, her name in swirling script across the balloon.

He took her silence as something negative, “you don’t like it. Fuck I’m sorry. This is weird isn’t it?”

Sofia quickly stopped him “no no no! This is so beautiful, I love it! It’s just that I never really do anything for my birthday– I’m just surprised that’s all.”

Rafe considered her words, a brief flash of confusion swiping across his face, “well sit down and I’ll serve dinner yeah?”

Sofia nodded, smiling up at him.

They finished eating (Rafe had gotten her pizza from her favourite spot), and they sat nursing their drinks at the table.

“I’m sorry you spent most your birthday working,” he suddenly said, starring at her with a piercing sincerity that unsettled her.

She simply just laughed, “don’t worry about it, I’m used to it.”

“I’m sorry for that. You deserve more.” They shared a brief glance that felt too long, the back of Sofia’s neck prickling in goosebumps.

“Wait I forgot one thing.” He got up, disappearing behind the kitchen counter.

“What?” Sofia arched her neck trying to see what he was doing.

“Can’t forget the birthday girl’s gift,” he teased, pulling out a wrapped present, complete with a bow and everything.

Sofia bit back a smile, her eyebrows softening at his giddy smirk. She accepted the gift gingerly, examining the golden wrapping paper that glowed in the dull candle light. She could tell he wrapped it himself– there was tape in places that didn’t need it and the paper was wrinkled slightly, as if he’d tried folding it multiple times. It was heavy too, Sofia’s arm sagging slightly when he handed it over.

“You didn’t have to Rafe,” she began, her cheeks turning pink.

He shushed her again, “just open it.”

And so she did, carefully tearing the paper, to reveal a box with golden clasps. She opened it, realising it was a vintage record player.

“Oh my god– Rafe you shouldn’t have.” Her eyes were glued on the near perfect finishings, the sheen of the leather and glint of the metal attachments. She’d mentioned ages ago about how much she loved records, when they were talking about what music they listened to. But she didn’t have a record player to play her collection, curated from lucky thrift store finds and countless trips to old music shops.

And Rafe still remembered? She was overcome with a heady verve.

“Do you like it?” He asked, as if he was almost shy.

“Of course! It’s literally perfect– thank you so much!”

Rafe chuckled, watching her with a soft smile as she fiddled with all the buttons, running her fingers across the smooth surface.

Sofia placed her new gift on the tables getting up so she could hug Rafe. He happily complied, lifting her slightly, and spinning her around. A bubbly giggle escaped her chest as her hands flew around his neck.

“Feliz cumpleaños, baby,” he murmured, putting her down on her feet, before hooking her lips with a soft, slow kiss.

“Love you,” he murmured against her lips, but clear enough so that she could hear every syllable. Her whole body became suffuse with a euphoric warmth as if it was injected into her by those words.

“Love you too,” she whispered back, kissing him again.

Their kisses grew hungrier and more desperate until he hoisted her up so her legs were entwined around his waist, one arm holding her up while the other pushed back her messy curls.

“You down?” He asked in between kisses which made her laugh.

“Yes I’m down,” she gasped, brushing her nose against his causing him to smile.

Rafe led Sofia onto the kitchen counter, placing her on the cool granite countertop, her thighs clenching at the cold sensation of it hitting her warm skin.

His lips enmeshed with hers, supping voraciously at the tender flesh, his teeth catching at her lower lip, inciting a throaty groan which he mirrored.

Rafe’s hands roamed wildly across her exposed skin, inching up her leg, bunching her blue work skirt up until it reached the line of her hips. He hooked his hands under the meat of her thigh, tugging her forward so she was at the edge of the counter. His lips licked lower and lower, kisses being peppered down the length of her arm, as Sofia watching in a lustful stupor.

Rafe lowered himself until his face was between her legs. He placed her hand, that was still in his, atop his head, forcing her to push him even lower. The sight of Rafe Cameron practically on his knees for her, made Sofia see stars.

He let go of her hand, Sofia rubbing a thumb across his tickling buzzcut, as he parted her pressed together thighs with a rough hand.

Rafe mewled as she scratched her fingers through his shorn hair and Sofia whined at the feeling of his hot breath fanning her skin.

“Got another gift for you too,” he said with a smirk, Sofia rolling her eyes, but the words lit a fire in her lower abdomen that flickered deep inside her.

“I love you Sof,” he said, quiet, dipping his head down between the valley of her thighs, kissing her warm skin with delicate lips. The kisses became coarser, until she felt teeth graze at her flesh, biting into her pillowy legs.

Sofia let out a hiss. He didn’t wait for her to say it back this time– as if it didn’t matter. He loved her and that was the only important thing.

Even if she wanted to say something, her words became caught in her throat, reserved to only exalted whimpers and strung out cries, as Rafe showed her just how much he meant what he said, leaving her a writhing mess on the kitchen counter.

౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩 ౨ৎ ˙⋆.˚ ᡣ𐭩

[sacred-pebbles]

lol, lmao. Clown makeup is eternal

[bastart13]

"Does that FE3H character have a bastard child?" tier list

One of the funniest things my sister and I have done with FE3H is create the Sylvain-Dimitri bastard tier list aka. on a scale from Sylvain to Dimitri, would that character have a bastard child?

Sylvain sleeps around and bitterly assumes every woman wants a child from him, so duh, while Dimitri would be so ashamed of holding hands with an unmarried partner, he would immediately marry them and claim all responsibility on the spot

The Gilbert tier is "they might if they weren't rizzless"

[maaaxx]

I do think its a little comical how the cast/writers are handling bobbys death relative to the leak from like late March where Bobby calls from a casket.

Because everyone is completely ignoring that part of this 'is he actually dead or is he getting resurrected' thing.

Everyone is basically going 'on god guys hes actually dead, theres nothing going on behind the scenes, yall need to learn to cope' and that script leak is just hanging out in the backround.

This entire thing is the biggest case of gaslighting that Ive ever seen happen between a shows creators and the fandom

[theoldworldsrunnerup]

I think one of the reasons why Light’s death feels so much more satisfying in the manga than it does in the anime is because he genuinely has nobody.

In the anime, after Matsuda shoots him, he cries out for Misa and Takada who very obviously aren’t there (and nobody says anything), but Mikami, who is, despite everything, still devoted to him, literally takes his own life to distract everyone and give Light a chance to escape. He still dies in the end, but there was still someone there who was on his side.

In the manga, Light initially orders Mikami to help him, but, upon realising how pathetic Light is, he yells at him, telling him that he isn’t god, he is just scum. Light then cries out for Misa, but Near reminds him that she is not there and is currently staying at the Teito Hotel. He calls out for Takada, and again, Near reminds him that she’s dead (Near’s silence in the anime vs his reminders in the manga seem like a small difference, but I feel like they put a lot of emphasis on how no one is there to save him and it’s his own fault). He starts pleading for someone, anyone to help him. Finally, with no one else to rely on, he turns to Ryuk and begs him to help, but obviously Ryuk doesn’t care and writes Light’s name in his death note.

In that moment in the manga, he is truly alone. There is nobody who both can and wants to save him, and he dies in the warehouse, screaming about how he doesn’t want to die. He doesn’t get the opportunity to escape, he doesn’t get the flashback of his past self, and the tone doesn’t feel sad, like in the anime. It just... happens.

[lovely-hikari-cosplay]

🧚🏾‍♀️🗝️Lockette Basix (Magic Winx) Animation Process🗝️🧚🏾‍♀️

•

Two straight weeks of drawing, coloring, thinking and overthinking and I’m very pleased with the results! It’s my first fully rendered and composited animation since October of last year and my first that’s fully animated on 2’s (I like animating on 2’s and 3’s typically). I’m still working out the kinks in Davinci to make a retro filter to make my animations look pre-2010’s, but I think I’m making great progress! ❤️

•

I had a lot of fun with this and I can definitely see myself animating the rest of it in the future! But for now, my CSP needs a break and my brain has been conjuring up ideas for Amore and Digit 🤔 We’ll see where that takes me

——

Music: Sparx on Fire from Winx Club Mission Enchantix

——

Animation on its own

Image that Inspired it

[yardsards]

the main adventure zone trios and their ability to survive the dungeon meshi dungeon:

tres horny bois: they'd take to the dungeon pretty naturally. these motherfuckers are eating monsters, touden party style, without it even being necessary. magnus "double barrel unicorn special" "ate a rock once" burnsides would be like "hey taako i bet you can't make walking mushroom taste good" and taako "sizzle it up with taako" taaco would be like "BET". these guys are used to exploring and surviving in unfamiliar worlds. they're also used to dying and being revived but that means they might get a bit reckless. also either taako or magnus would need to learn a healing spell bc merle cannot stop getting got by dryads or man eating plants. thus is the struggle of such a small party.

pine guard: the dungeon is just as much about survival as it is about fighting, and this group is pretty skilled at survival. exactly how well they fare is contingent on if they have ned or if they have thacker here, though. thacker would be an absolute natural in this environment cuz exploring unknown weird magical environments is His Whole Deal, but ned wouldn't do so well without his social connections or access to his base.

thundermen llc: they're not super cut out for this kind of thing, as their skills lie more in interpersonal and business, but they still ARE powerful fighters in their own right, and have good teamwork. the firbolg would absolutely be carrying the other two survival-wise though. also fitzroy would complain the whole time.

coriolis crew: not great. they're adapted for ocean adventures, not dungeon crawls. also, zoox would keep trying to mind-meld with monsters, and amber and devo would get into a huge fight over who would get to be king if they reach the bottom of the dungeon and if the prophesy is true.

poppy's pals: these are just guys. they might be able to survive like cockroaches on the first floor by doing some shady business deals but any deeper and they'd fuckin beef it

vs dracula: honestly not totally caught up with this season but i have on good authority (my friends in my phone who ARE fully caught up) that these three would do reasonably well. makes sense from the episodes i did listen to, they seem like a strong and balanced party and mutt's survival skills could come in handy.

feel free to add or disagree

[onenightbreak]

what do you think of combat in isat? i feel like i'm running circles around the same handful of ideas, so i want to hear other people's thoughts on it🎤

personally:

overall, i think battles getting laughably easy in the late game is a good bit of ludonarrative (you don't need to think, Just Attack.), but i wish combat in the earlier parts of the game were harder and less simple.

i don't think a primarily story-based game like isat should aim to kill the player, but the only time i died in combat during my playthrough was the first, shieldless fight against the king where you're scripted to die; later i lost to a random sadness b/c i was intentionally throwing for research, and i couldn't lose in any reasonable timeframe to the secret boss even when i threw (thanks, regen memory).

making a puzzle of every random encounter gets old pretty quick, but i still wish battles weren't quite as simple as which type is the enemy -> use the right attack on the enemy, especially for the floor end bosses. odile is a really good example of this particular issue with combat: the only time her craft break skills are useful are against calamité and bourdon, and the friendquest version doesn't synergise with the rest of the flow of combat (you'll never need to break all three resistances, b/c not only do most enemies not have three resistances, you want to be using the same type of craft repeatedly anyways for jackpot).

[sergle]

ironically i love thrifting but ive never thought about using ebay, do you have any tips or keywords you use on it to find deals and shifty stuff/wording to look out for?

honestly I don't find ebay to be shifty for buying stuff! people are scared about using it sometimes and I think it's a little funny lol I guess the tip would be that if you search for an item with vague enough terms, you'll get some SHEIN-esque mass produced clothes muddying the results. and you know it when you see it, because those listings look like shit btw. this type of thing:

like, these are real listings and everything, and you'd get the product, but they are obviously not what you're looking for. you can ignore these, but if you want to filter them out, you can just narrow the search to SPECIFICALLY pre-owned items.

There isn't really any wording to look out for-- the only other thing would just be to make sure the stuff you get can be returned, bc sellers can specify whether or not they'll take the items back!

[lulu2992]

So I watched the Director’s Cut versions of Rebel Moon Part One & Two, respectively renamed Chalice of Blood and Curse of Forgiveness, exactly one week ago, the day they were released.

As a person who generally doesn’t enjoy the idea of watching films that are over 2.5 hours, really isn’t a fan of gore, and thinks sex scenes are uncomfortable and unnecessary 95% of the time, I was rather apprehensive, to say the least, since those three things are precisely what the two movies promised. Still, I managed to watch them on the same day even though the fact it was hot outside and consequently almost 30°C in my room probably didn’t help me not to feel unwell for a good portion of my viewing experience :’)

However, there’s a fourth thing the new version of the films promised, and this, on the contrary, is exactly what I love and probably what kept me going: more lore. I won’t go into too much detail so as not to spoil major plot points here, but I think Chalice of Blood and Curse of Forgiveness kept all their promises.

Some characters get a proper introduction (notably Aris and Nemesis), or more screen time so we understand them and what they do (mostly the Priests, Hawkshaws, and Jimmy), or a better, more satisfying, sometimes more emotional ending. We also get completely new scenes and characters, and that too greatly helps the narrative, whether it’s by adding more backstory, taking the time to explain someone’s motivations more clearly, revealing how some people reacted to certain events, or detailing how something works.

Also, some of the “mistakes” viewers complained about, for example the spaceship being powered with coal or somebody not missing any teeth after we clearly see them get knocked out, are fixed in the Director’s Cut. It turns out those things were not illogical, they were just censored for the PG-13 version…

As for the sex scenes, while they weren’t indispensable, I have to admit they do serve a purpose. The two “main” ones have a character in common, so we can see how different that person feels and acts with each of their two partners. The scenes need to exist together because they’re only really interesting when you compare them, but that’s how they tell a story. Never in my life had I been so happy to see someone successfully remove a bra, haha! There’s also, of course, the one that involves tentacles, which was–thankfully–milder than I thought it would be, and another unexpected one that happens off-screen but was a rather nice and cute surprise, in my opinion.

And, yes, aside from giving us more blood and more sex, we also get… more wheat! I really don’t mind, though. In fact, this is probably an unpopular opinion, but I’d watch one hour of the cast (actually) harvesting crops in slow motion over just one minute of heads exploding any day :’)

While they’re still not perfect, I think Chalice of Blood and Curse of Forgiveness are improved versions of A Child of Fire and The Scargiver. I still like Part Two better than Part One, but overall, as promised, we get more information about the world, the characters, and their stories in the Director’s Cut. Sometimes, it’s just a new line of dialog or a short interaction that’s added here and there, but it really does a service to the films and makes them, although they’re much longer (especially the first one), feel more coherent, more compelling, and less rushed.

At the end of the day, I think what I most appreciate about Rebel Moon is still that it was brought to life with a lot of care and passion. The two art books, Wolf: Ex Nihilo: Cosmology & Technology and Wurm: Ex Materia: Heroes & Monsters, confirm how painstakingly made and well-thought-out everything was, and I will always love and respect this about this project.

[belfrysol]

So I've been playing Xenoblade Chronicles 3 last year and it took like 178 hours but I've done just about everything I wanted to do before I move onto Future Redeemed.

That being said....

holy hell this game is good. like my personal platonic ideal of a xenoblade game good.

genuinely my only actual criticism of where I thought they could do better was make it so there were more moments where the chain attack theme didn't play whenever you initiated one.

[tearlessrain]

seriously can catastrophes stop happening for five minutes my brain is already fried from the ones we're already experiencing

[randomnameless]

"#also can we talk about how lorenz is apparently looking for a bride and how#his dad hasn't arranged a wedding since he was 4 to a noble heiress or something?#the barbarians had that with Ingrid and Glenn" I was thinking how weird that is since the empire also does it (Ferd with Bern) but iirc there was that shadow text about someone from Daphnel being in an arranged marriage so I guess House Gloucester is a "the person chooses who to marry not the parents"? Then I thought about (1/2)

Greg's deal with Ludwig to marry their heirs was interesting on paper, but cancelled due to Bernie being, well, Bernie.

You can interpret kid!Emile meeting kid!Constance as Baron Bartels wanting to secure a wedding between his son and the elusive House Nuvelle's heir... but that's only conjecture.

But let's be serious a moment, doylist wise, we couldn't have too many arranged marriages, because the player is supposed to be able to ship whoever they want and even have Billy marry everyone - even the disembodied gremlin in their head :(

There was nothing taboo, or said to be taboo in Nopes, about Matthias snagging an Adrestian to Barbarian Land (tm), or House Gautier frowning because Lady Gautier 1 was an Adrestian - if she was a noble... it opens another can of worms, can you imagine Miklan being Caspar's cousin, if Lady Gautier 1 was, idk, a noble daughter from House Bergliez? Let say she was, Miklan couldn't inherit Gautier because no crust, but what about his stance/role/title in Bergliez? Could he just roll over Caspar's older bro (never named) if he had more muhrit or something like that, and become Leopold's heir - even if he's part Faerghan?

As you noticed, we had instances of arranged marriages with the shadow note about House Daphnel - are we really supposed to believe the traditional House Gloucester, who puts much emphasis on its lineage and what not, would have let Lorenz pick anyone (even if he has his own criteria!) while Erwin wouldn't have arranged anything at his birth??

Jugdral wise we could have some "doomed by inheritance" pairings in the second gen, where Patty would have to return to Jungby as its Duchess if her bro Faval inherits something else (or died),even if she married, say, Ced who's staying as the King of Silesse.

But for all of its supposed "Jugdral inspiration", Fodlan didn't go there, so we will never know what happens with international marriages and their potential consequences.

Fodlan HC : Ionius's great-grandmother (who was a concubine!) was a scion of House Blaiddyd so Gertrude, Supreme Leader's second oldest sister, popped up a minor crust of Blaiddyd at birth.

Of course tensions arose between Gertrude's mom and Ionius (because the relationships between Faerghus and Adrestia were soured since Lambert beat Ludwig during the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion during their year together at GM) and she was exiled. Gertrude was designed to be the first kid to be "experimented upon".

[hungnitan]

HSR x Fate UBW coming in Q3 2025 !

(I write these in mind for anyone doesn't know Fate series at all)

For now it's unknown will it come with stories or just skin or full pack with playable UBW character

Not long ago HSR had interview with FGO team, the magazine only release their Q&A but considering both side love each other project, these collab shouldn't really suprising. If there's suprising fact is why only UBW not FGO directly ? Since there is no info about collab details, let's make some analysis for now :

FGO especially Fate series is really big world ! If you need comparasion, it's not only Honkai Impact world but all Hoyoverse become one and you need to know at least a bit of each title to make sense about Fate series !

Continuing point above, which is the reason they gave us years for this collab ! Their developer consider years should be enough for player to quick read most Fate series franchise (lol)

Fate as whole already into their 20 years old now so it's kinda impossible for anyone to learn that series from start (even I only know fifty percent of it). So to make it simple, they just pick their well known franchise but not making players too confused about their world building which is Fate Stay Night. UBW is decent choice considering what's happened with other two.

If anyone need comparasion, UBW kinda like GGZ in term of popularity and reminiscing (lol) while FGO kinda like former Genshin in term of popularity.

I kinda saw FGO pretty desperate nowdays or maybe they're already out of idea to promote Fate series onward. For anyone doesn't know, FGO was the king of mobile gacha games but after Genshin release their revenue drop sharply and with more Chinese gacha games out lately, you can say now it's their lowest situations so to be honest Fate series feels like gonna dying sooner or later which is this collab came.

I can say for sure that this collab came from HSR side since those otaku ops growth like now while watching/reading Fate series (lol) so I think there's no way HSR or even Fate team will slack off especially for storytelling since it's Fate main selling (if there's one for collab later lol)

Onto collab prediction since it's specifically UBW, means the main character is either Rin or/and Emiya. Maybe anyone still not read questionable leaks but there's info this collab need two version to finish means there's at least four and max six new character avaliable later. Considering UBW stories, I can think of Saber and Gilgamesh or maybe Kirei can join the roaster too.

Now for everyone who doesn't know Fate series and need pointer for later collab, first please watch Fate Stay Night, it have three titles with same story premise but different PoV with different ending (Fate Stay Night 24 episode -> Fate Stay Night Unlimited Blade Works 1 movie -> Fate Stay Night Heaven's Feel 3 parts movie). Next it's Fate Stay Night prologue, Fate Zero 24 episode and you're good to breakthrough the collab only.

Sounds simple right, which is the reason they choose Unlimited Blade Works for collab. If FGO, you could swarm yourself with 9 years FGO lore materials + other works with and without "Fate" titles on it (lol)