#brawler in general was my fave

[wishfulsketching]

When your bro (or bae) believes  your lies about you being a badass and decides to include you in every fight.

Go watch Akudama Drive if you want good action and don’t mind a lot of death in your anime. It’s AWESOME

[hothammies]

mad max, the party's zoomer - apoc au character details under the cut!

---

max's role in the party:

a runner - fast and quiet, tends to be the one who makes out with the most supplies

mechanic - knows best about cars and is one of the party's designated drivers (the other being mike)

medic - not as skilled with plants and medicine like will, but is good with first aid and physical treatment!

thief - who the party sends out if they need to "borrow" from other groups (second nature to her)

skills + hobbies:

incredible with melee weapons and hand-to-hand combat -> everything she knows was taught to her by billy

decent shot, but prefers using melee way more!

stealthy, like a ninja - her and el are the quietest in the party! max's fighting style is much more brawler-like despite this

good with card games (likes poker, speed and BS) -> likes to play them with the party a lot, but in particular with dustin and lucas

skateboards whenever she can -> her favorite thing to do next to driving!

really loves listening to music (fave artists are madonna, taylor swift and destiny's child) -> likes having el or will in shotgun so they can listen together!

quirks / fun facts:

whenever dustin goes to bed, max takes his current handheld and tries to beat his high score on whatever retro game he's currently playing (dustin does not know its max who's actively beating his ass on dig dug and tetris)

she took billy's jacket and baseball bat and made them her own - very complicated relationship with him and her upbringing with her stepbro made her very skeptical and suspicious of others (especially the party when she first met them)

when she steals things, she tries to keep the party in mind when grabbing extra :')

--- other notes: ladies and gentlemen, our newest addition - maxine! i'll admit, the two characters i think i'm most shoddy on for their characterizations are dustin and max. since max's story in my au is so heavily tied to her issues with trusting people again (specifically men) and family, i'm scared that it will make her character intrinsically tied to relationships instead of having her own character. i'll try my very best for it not to be that way, of course!

for now, she's how i imagine her in the show - she's still a cheeky, sarcastic, stubborn and awesome tomboy with insurmountable trust and distance issues, and i love her for that! the circumstances that drew her to the party are currently a secret, but i will establish now that billy is tied to her storyline and how the party meets her for the first time - while billy's an interesting character in his own right, i straight up don't like him :P so i'm warning people now that billy's more a plot device for max's arc and i probably won't be diving incredibly deep into his character. this is a party centric au after all!

when i was thinking of max's character, i was trying to keep the things she liked in mind and why she was so cool in the first place! ofc, she had to skateboard, even if it was only a little, and she's honestly just great at games in general (to dustin's dismay).

her upbringing in canon and the way she acts is pure "survival instinct" behavior. she knows first aid, she knows how to drive, she escapes vecna, she's incredibly independent! she's a fighter, through and through. she's also not really one to hesitate often to be hands on, and i can see it in the way she acted seasons 2-4 :')

lucas is almost done - maybe a few days give or take!

[swifty-fox]

Still mota hockey au

Do you know who esle is on the team? You were sepaking of Curt (and Crosby?) But is there any other 100th with them

Croz is second string left ( bit of a grocery stick til he gets bumped from third to second with Douglass, then becomes a real Grinder)

Rosie's on first string with Buck (plays hard, passes well just an all around good guy)

Curt, final member of the first string trio (certified goon despite his height, sick dangle, nasty slapshot and his uppercut has claimed many a mans teeth)

^ original post of the AU but since this is no longer just a throwaway post lets talk about what these guys DO and also who else we got.

*cracks knuckles* its education time

So hockey is a pretty wild sport. it's fast paced as hell, few real breaks or stoppages. You can be playing for 17 minutes straight sometimes and this is active play. you are RUNNING (well, skating)

Basic setup of a team:

You've got your starting Goaltender. usually the older more experienced of the two and then a backup. Usually the starting goalie plays the whole game sometimes they switch off halfway through. backup tendy is there in case and injury happens or the starting tendy is playing a shit game. Usually they'll have extra reserves they can call up (One year Penguins had to pull their 4th level backup dude was literally away at college and had to be flown in. he was good but mad inconsistent)

Bucky is starting goaltender, his backup is Jack Kidd.

Then you have your defensemen. All hockey players are big bois usually. these guys are the big boys of the big boys. total number of D-men per play is 2 and usually a team will run the same combos of two because some guys have better chemistry than others. Usually theres 3-4 sets (or strings) of defensemen. They're categorized by skill level. So first string are the best, fourth would be worst/the new guys. Sometimes they'll switch it up and throw a new guy with first or second string so he can get some schooling

I think for Dmen first string we've got Alex and Demarco They're a solid set-up and Demarco plays REALLY well off Bucky they know where each other is instinctually.

Forwards First string are USUALLy the star players of any team. they're generally the faces of the franchise though sometimes the goaltenders fill that role too. Forwards also are a set of 3 instead of 2. Like I said above that trip is Buck, Rosie and Curt. Buck and Rosie are pretty standard forwards but Curt is a little unusual as he's also kind of the team goon (brawler)

generally D-men are the fighters. they don't tend to be high-scorers and yes Curt isn't as high scoring as Rosie or Buck but he's got a high assist score and is in a very respectable spot

(moment of appreciation for my fave Goon Reavo)

youve got two types of fights in a hockey game usually. one is very hot headed spur of the moment brawl. usually this is after a dirty hit and the refs try to break it up. What Reavo is doing here is more of a gentleman's fight. it's something both parties agree too and as you can see the refs still call and end to it but more when sensing when the guys are done. It's conducted in a certain way (holding the other guys shoulder) and hits are really only to the face. Fights are used to motivate the team and the crowd, to settle some tension or to warn a guy off of targeting a teammate.

I like Reaves cause he's a beast but he does it the right way, hes not trying to truly hurt anyone like some guys do.

Thats Curts job on top of scoring. he defends Gale a LOT

So Crosby is also a forward. His narrative is similar where he struggles a lot to find his groove and so he's third string with Bubbles and Murph at first. But part of hocky is knowing how to slot guys together so it's Gales idea to bump Crosby up to second string (so second in skill only to first string rosie curt and buck) and he does better there. He's with Douglas and Blakely

third string is Bubbles, Murph and Brady.

I think Babyface and Quinn are the two rookie defensemen

[gummy-sharks666]

Sweetie, I have a new meal that I wish you to cook 😋😋😋 for the random hcs of bakugan characters.

Shun, Dan, Marucho and Billy.

Have fun!! ❤️🤩❣️

SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG 🫣

Shun:

Gender: v gender-fluid/demi boy

Sexuality: I’m thinking his sexuality is also p fluid but he’s probably attracted to more fem ppl

A ship I have: haven’t seen s4 but I’ve been converted to the shunsellon agenda. They can be emo together <3 might be strange but I like shun/ace 🫣

BROTP: Dan definitely. They’ve had ups and downs together, childhood friends. A lot of ppl ship them but idk I just see them more as rlly good friends personally. Also fabia and Alice

NOTP: uhh probably Shun/Fabia. I think they’re just friends

Random hc: his favorite MCR album is Black Parade but hes too afraid to admit it bc then he’d either be called basic or he’d have to explain the reason is because of losing his mom and how the hard he relates to the lyrics

General opinion: I like him and HOO boy I shave a history with him for sure. He was def one of my faves as a child and definitely contributed to my gender crisis. Also began my love for Ventus and Ventus users. I don’t think I ever crushed on him but I wanted to be him so bad…

Dan:

Gender: someone has to be the cis male of the group, it’s him

Sexuality: bi but definitely has not explored his attraction to masc presenting ppl as much. It takes him awhile to figure out he’s bi

A ship I have: THERAPY LMAO 💀 but fr I’d say either Spectra or Anubias, although I think those relationships would be more one sided (Dan not really noticing they’re crushing on him so damn hard). I think that’s why I like it so much too bc I’ve had MANY crushes like that before and i like angst… something something Pete Wentz lyrics be like

BROTP: Shun for sure, him and Runo strike me as the divorced couple who end up being besties after going separate ways and learning ab themselves more. Also Drago obvs

NOTP: Literally any female character in the show

Random hc: adhd for SURE

General opinion: I’d say season 1 Dan will forever be my fave. He’s a little shithead kid who gets the bomb dropped on him and he has to start reevaluating how he looks at the other people around him, but that starts to falter in the later seasons where he just becomes the stereotypical hero who gets all the buffs and does no wrong, which does his character such a disservice. I honestly like that he was such a dick in the beginning bc that’s how most kids are, but the point is they learn through meeting other people and experiencing shit. We were robbed of that for Dan after season 1 IMO. But overall he’s fine ig.

Marucho:

Gender: reads as a boy to me personally, now that I think ab it him being a trans guy is so real. Short trans kings unite 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Sexuality: his sexuality is fluid. He just likes who he likes, but I think he definitely tends to fall more for personality than looks

A ship I have: MARUREN OBVIOUSLY!! Literally one of the best things ab season 3

BROTP: Julie and Runo definitely

NOTP: uhhhhh idk honestly I haven’t seen him be shipped with too many ppl for me to be like “oh hell naw” 😭😭

Random hc: he def has a bakugan discord and probably a separate one for him and all the original brawlers from when the game first started. Him and Julie coordinate all the reunions and meetups

General opinion: I love this dude fr. He’s fucking LOADED but he’s still the sweetest kid in the universe. He’s not just hella book smart but he’s extremely emotionally intelligent too. I also relate to him with that whole gifted kid past a bit,,, hes honestly just all around a fantastic character I’m a big fan of Marucho. Def one of the best characters in the series

Billy:

Gender: yknow what,, I’m gonna say it. Billy gives me transmasc vibes

Sexuality: straight

A ship I have: Canon, but Julie. I think they’re whole backstory connection, the falling out and reconnection was really cute. I hope they have a good rest of their lives together 🫡

BROTP: Jake. I think they’d be homies. Jake is the third wheel on his and Julie’s dates

NOTP: uhhh idk honestly,,, maybe klaus 💀

Random hc: huge fan of early 2000’s pop alongside Julie

General opinion: I think he’s cool. He’s not one they expand on a whole lot but him and Julie are one of the very few straight ships I rlly like

[the-larxist-manifesto]

GameGirl28 ~ Wario Land 3

When deciding the first set of games to play for this challenge, I just HAD to make Wario Land my first heavy-hitter game. As a lifelong fan of the Mario extended universe, platformers, and quirky games in general, this series always spoke to me. The problem is... most of the games are stuck on the GameBoy!!!! So actually, I haven't played very many of them at all! Thankfully, I've outlined this challenge so that I hit all three of the GB games (after which I plan, outside of this challenge, to play Wario Land 4 and Shake it).

Why am I playing the 3rd one first? Erm.... anyway, moving on...

Wario is such a fucking creature, dude. I love how much they lean into that angle for him in this game. The entire tone of Wario Land 3 basically reads "shakily drawn feral comic book characters get into Looney Tunes shenanigans together." I'll be saying this a lot throughout the challenge, but for a GameBoy game, I was so charmed by this game's art style and presentation. Pictures are favored in the exchange rate with words, so let me just showcase a scrapbook of my faves

Like in Mario 3, this sun will swoop down and attack you. But since Wario is invincible in this game, your ass just gets set running on fire

Wario can destroy the natural landscapes around him in a multitude of violent and absurd ways

Don't fuck with Wario or he WILL turn you into one of those worm on a strings....

~A competent platformer~

Aside from just being pretty, I think the developers objectively made very efficient use of the small screen real estate. The objects, enemies, and Wario himself are blown up quite large to make room for detail and style, while also increasing the legibility for platforming and squashing enemies. I've played games on a WIDE SCREEN HD TV and had more trouble seeing ahead of me. In Wario Land 3, I almost never struggled to see jumps or areas of interest ahead of me.

This game is, after all, all about exploring. On this particular adventure, Wario is transported to a whimsical island contained inside a magic music box. His aim is to escape, but not without nabbing every goblet and gold doubloon he can. Search every nook of this unfamiliar land, find every giant key to open the treasure chests, and help restore the power of the music box deity in order to go back home with your pockets lined $$$$

The gameplay loop consists of essentially three phases:

One: Metroid-vania style level progression. You enter the first level sorta unable to do much at first. It's kinda funny playing as this worthless fat old man just wandering around the forest, until you just HAPPEN upon one of these giant chests which hold little powerups for Wario. As he powers up, he resembles the tough-and-tumble brawler we know Wario to be, and can start busting through blocks and climbing up cliffs that he could not when you first visited the level. When blocked off areas become accessible, the levels evolve into wide-open platforming sandboxes. It makes the adventure feel vast, despite the size of the console!

Two: Boss battles. Like most platformers, you will encounter bad guys way huger and eviler than the other ones, and you will have to defeat them set to special battle music. All bosses, save for the final boss, follow the rules of Three Hits and Hit the Glowing Part of their Body. Each one is a unique creature with some fun arena gimmick, making them a nice change of pace after all the jumping and smash attacking.

This soccer rabbit was a particularly memorable fight. Whoever can kick a ball-ified version of the other into the net three times wins

Three: Mini games. Well, actually, there's just one mini game. Golf! For a 2D golf game, I found it fun to master power adjustment and spin to conquer the various courses. There's even a secret course you unlock by collecting the special music coins! I LOVE me a classic unlockable, especially unnecessary ones thrown in as a fun extra goodie

... Para-Goom? Is that, like, a relative of the Goomba? I was not ready to be introduced to a Darwin-esque Mario universe evolutionary tree

~Reading the enclosed instruction booklet~

OKAY TIME FOR A BRIEF SIDE TANGENT!! Given how strange and arbitrary as some of the "puzzles" were in Alone in the dark, I ended up using a GameFAQs guide at certain points. As with most old video games, console limitations and lack of in-game tutorials make it tricky to blindly play GameBoy games. Sometimes, it makes them a matter of pure trial and error. I don't find that particularly fun, personally... so when it came to some obscure bits of Wario Land (what levels to visit next after triggering an event, how certain transformations worked, etc.), I felt a sense of annoyance growing in me. What were the devs THINKING? Surely they didn't make a game THIS OBSCURE and expect children to be able to beat it??

In that moment, I tapped into my very empathetic mind and remembered... game devs may not have invented tutorials yet, but they DID include manuals with every single game! That's right! Those little booklets used to be good for something. Really quite important, actually!!

With that, I researched to find an online PDF scan of the game's original manual. That way, without the need of external guides, I could understand the full context of the game! And I am not exaggerating when I say that this guide HELPED. A LOT. It's not like the game was impossible to play without it... but it was, quite simply, a worse game. I learned how to quickly replay event cutscenes, instantly check the next level to explore, the full capabilities of every transformation, and more! Stuff that was programmed into the game but that I simply didn't know existed. Neither me nor the devs would have wanted me to continue without knowing all this!!

As you've seen from some of my previous screenshots, the manual has lots of little lore tidbits and cool official art scattered throughout. It's like a little love letter to the game, stitched together by the developers to go, "Lookie! Look at this cool thing we made! Have fun!!! :D"

With this discovery, I have decided that I will be locating and reading the official instruction booklet for every single game in this challenge from now on. Not only is it helpful, but it's fun! Manuals have always been one of my favorite parts of video game collecting, so it totally enhances this challenge and gives me even more to look forward to as I go!!

~Conclusion~

My only criticisms of this game stem from my own bias against Metroidvania-type games. I don't consider it super fun to wander around the giant ass levels over and over, struggling to find one random block you couldn't break before. But I will admit, it's an economical way to maximize the gameplay in a modest number of levels and maintain a fairly high play time! That is, without abusing artificial difficulty or unfair level design... (looking at YOU, Dr. Wily's revenge....)

Aside from that: the levels look so good, the music is so catchy, and the powering up is so addictive, I can easily forgive a little repetition in exchange for the feeling of absolutely BASHING ENEMIES SKULLS IN and KNOCKING THEIR BONES TOGETHER LIKE PINBALLS with how absolutely beefed up Wario becomes later on

It's a classic for a reason. I am definitely turned on to the Wario Land series now, and I can't wait to see how they all build off each other as a franchise! Shame Wario only seems to star in minigame collections now... which only serve to kill our chances at a new Rhythm heaven game..... >:{

((jk I luh waryo where <3))

Check out this lil medley of the game's soundtrack, made by our very own SiIvaGunner team! :D

Phew, that was a long one...

[astralscrivener]

what's ur fave underappreciated klance headcanon and/or au. what's the wildest most niche au you've heard of it created (probably smth with dnd)

oh god hm. i don't interact with a lot of different parts of the fandom for a lot of different reasons so i'm not sure the difference between what's underappreciated and what i'm just not seeing BUT,

hm. hm. hm. i think keith having anxiety is underrated. i know that when it comes to mental health stuff in general i have seen people focus a lot more on lance (adhd/depression/anxiety/etc, which, yes, he does have all those) but i have seen people focus a lot less on keith. i know autistic keith (my beloved) used to be pretty big, but even then. aside from sometimes that and his abandonment issues, i have tended to see people portray keith as the one without a lot of mental illness, and i think in part it stems from the cooler grizzled older brother thing (this is a space whale hate account) and also that he is the brawler, so because his fight or flight defaults to fight he is seen as somehow stronger. i think. (is this where i insert the disclaimer that this is my blog and these are my onions)

anyway. anyway. i think keith does have anxiety. he is just a lot more quiet about it. i also think he has some kind of neurodivergence cocktail up there in his brain (i subscribe to both autism and adhd but that's my own thing), but i see this get focused on a lot less than it does with lance

i also subscribe to the hc that keith is sillygoofy, his trauma just kind of suppresses it for a while. i know he became shiro 2.0 after season 5 but he's silly goofy. i think he watched a lot of dramatic anime growing up and absorbed it all and once he gets comfortable with the others and learns to trust and let his guard down again he is ridiculous

as far as niche aus go. again, a good question. i don't think d&d is quite that niche bc the show did indeed have a d&d episode (altho i LOVE the idea that, in the paladinsverse, playing monsters & mana, keith would choose to be the equivalent of a beastmaster ranger, even tho a lot of other people choose to make him a fighter or a barbarian). i don't know what the Most niche is tho. hm. hm. i gotta think on that. this is gonna haunt my sleeping hours

anyway im not sorry this is so long. i think abt keith a lot

[agent-cupcake]

just out of curiosity, who do you usually recruit when you play fe3h (assuming that you usually choose blue lions lol)

Because I love them I always recruit Yuri, Constance, and Balthus but only because they don't show up post timeskip if you don't so it's sad. For the others, I won't go out of my way to recruit them for strictly personal reasons because I enjoy doing the war section, and sometimes killing your faves is the only way to tell them you care. Anyway, here are my bad opinions about units. I'm trying again to do maddening because, yes, I really am just that bad at this game. Go figure.

Yuri is great for his versatility assuming you can get decent level-ups. Strategically classing him can account for that though and his speed, archery, Relic, and ability to use Recover are invaluable. In some ways, I kinda see him as another tragic victim of mag/atk balancing but there's really no loss to you if you do or don't use him cause he'll join if asked.

Petra is a followup to Yuri because while she has slightly lesser speed growth she makes up for Yuri's weakness (HP and Dex) and is just, in general, a great speedy unit.

Constance has Bolting and combining that with her Crest that occasionally won't consume a spell is amazing. Toss her into the gremory class for extra uses and even if she underperforms in every other way, I think it's worth it.

Dorothea is great because she gets Rally Charm at D authority which is good for gambit boosting early game. Her unique ability Songstress is also incredibly helpful when you need to conserve healing or just need a topoff. Meteor is good to have as well in a pinch.

Caspar, if you're doing Blue Lions, grab him. Brawler is a good class in general but, more importantly, you get his and Mercedes's paralogue The Face Beneath and her relic the Rafail Gem. It nulls critical hits/bonus damage and gives Pavise and Aegis if the unit has the Lamine Crest.

Lysithea is the recruit meme so I guess I'll endorse that here even though we are already aware, although you also have to recruit Lorenz so she can have Thyrsus.

Shamir is an archer and we all know how good those are. Since teachers are easy to take, there's no reason not to use her. Bernedetta is also recommended a lot and while I refuse to use her, I am petty. People also recommend Linhardt but I've never had any reason to use him over the other magic units. For example, he has similar spells to Annette but Annette is optimally a rally bot with bonus spells on top of that, and he has Warp but so does Lysithea. Plus, female mages just have better classes.

[starrysupercell]

Uhhhhh Belle for the character thingy :D

*rubs hands together, starts this and takes a nap halfway, wakes up and finishes this* hee hee

Fave thing: Ooohhh how can I pinpoint!! Her adoptive mom tendencies. She takes kids under her wing. She's the personification of be gay, do crime. She's SO good in game!!! Like so good. I'm not joking. I'm at Rank 24 with her and it would probably be more but I was suddenly busy yesterday and today. I also really like her scars and metal robot arm, I wish she didn't keep the glove on :)

Least fave thing: she made Ruffs go deaf in one ear :( I think I'm irrationally upset that I cant tell which tooth is the golden one. It's like 97% that it's an incisor, but it would have been so cool if it were a canine. Hypothetically, my least fave thing would be not only Belle+Byron being confirmed not siblings, but also Belle+Colt being confirmed mother/son. I will literally be so sad and mad because I. Am petty.

Favorite line: "Oof. Gotta do everything myself..." or "The Goldarm gang says hi." C: tell them hi back for me, gorgeous. (bonus: "My fizzle is ready to sizzle." Is my least favorite. Wtf does that even mean, Belle?) Aside from that I absolutely love her voice and voice lines! I wasn't expecting a tired voice but I love it.

Brotp: aside from anyone in her Goldarm gang, I can see her getting along with Pam because tech, mom stuff, other. But like.. I guess I can put it here? I'm upset that she has a lot of similarities to a handful of other Brawlers. It's funny because she steals stuff, including lines but idk. I'm not a fan of alike elements unless it adds to the character. Am I a baby? Probably. But so what 😤

Otp: Belle/Nani because of my Risk and Reward fic, which I'm starting to write chapter one of finallyyyy. I'm missing like one arc of character stuff but it should be fine....??? lmao.

Notp: nnnnone? I guess, I'm so convinced that she's a lesbian that ships with her and any guy is a surprise to me at first, but I could see why they like her with guys. OH YEAH, and multiplied weirdness with Byron because of the siblings theory I 100% stan. Like. Okay. If I NEVER saw them as siblings, I could see why ppl ship them. But I CAN'T not see them as siblings. Does that make sense!? 🤣

Random headcanon: She actually likes word structure a lot and she dabbles in writing. This is based off her knack in a lot of her lines where she makes rhymes or that clever weld sentence. She doesn't jot things down too often, I mean she has nobody to write to, and loose papers with her handwriting just means liability to be tracked. Shush no im not indulging and one more her horse's name is Elodie :)

Unpopular opinion: her design is a bit funky. Like. Over designed-ish? Or clunky. Cuz it's like super crowded at the top and then plain pants and boots. She has scars, a golden tooth, special goggles and a whole missing arm, and loads of accessories like geez lady save some character design for the other two members of your trio. Sometimes, simpler is better. :)

Song I associate with them: A lot actually, because she's in my mind like half the day but I think Angry Too by Lola Blanc is a good representation of how I see her character in general. I recommend the official video, BUT if anyone looks it up, warning that there's some flashing, it shows a woman being treated roughly and dressed against her will to convey the song's message, along with being tied near the end. If the sound of that isn't something you like, look up the lyrics only.

Fave pic of them: I know I can crop Colt out but it kills the quality but this cool af cryptic shot

and this one. She's saying bye, hope your day goes WELL (to Colt lmao). But I would wave back to her. :) I also love her HAIR flow in it. You go bandit queen 💎

[neptune-the-intellectual]

85 Questions Game | answer about yourself and tag 20 others. Tagged by: @rwbybunnymage

Last

Drink - A homemade milkshake!

Phone call - From my mother

Text message - Some gal who wanted to bang me in highschool, honestly

Song you listened to - Undead Lullaby by JT Music (formerly JT Machinima)

Ever

Dated someone twice - I don't think so, no

Kissed someone and regretted it - Nah

Been cheated on - No

Lost someone special - Yes, I have

Gotten drunk and thrown up - No, I haven't

Fave Colours - Green (Shamrock, teal), Rose Gold, a few others that I'm not calling to the top of my head

In the last year have you:

Made new friends - Yes

Fallen out of love - Maybe? I'm unsure

Laughed until you cried - Yes indeed

Found out someone was talking about you - Yes, I have

Met someone who changed you - I'm not so sure. I think so

Found out who your friends are - I guess? I think I always knew who my friends were

Kissed someone on your Facebook friends list - Nah

General -

How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life - Virtually all

Do you have any pets - Yes! A miniature daschund named Isabella!

Do you want to change your name - Nah. Devan is pretty unique a name. I like it

What did you do for your last birthday - I honestly don't remember. Something small ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

What were you doing last night at midnight - Eating a frozen pizza

What is something you can’t wait for - Newest episode of Critical Role!

What are you listening to right now - Supermassive Black Hole by Muse

Have you ever talked to a person named Tom - Yup!

Something that gets on your nerves - Oh, too many things to list. I guess I'll go with people who use their IQ as some type of validation or trump card

Most visited website - Tumblr, YouTube, Twitter

Hair colour - Honey Brown

Long or short hair - Kinda in between. Longer on top, shorter on the sides

What do you like about yourself - I have a good face. And I can draw well. And write

Want any piercings - Nah

Blood type - A Positive (Though I think some trainee labeled some of my donated blood as B Positive, and that has me very anxious)

Nicknames - Siebs for my last name. That's pretty much it. Turd by my sister

Relationship status - Single

Zodiac sign - Aquarius

Pronouns - He/him

Fave TV shows - Castle, Elementary, Fringe, Chuck, Lucifer, The Resident... Others?

Tattoos - Nah

Right or left handed - Right handed

Ever had surgery - Yus

Piercings - Nah again

Sports - I played football and enjoyed it

Vacation - Ireland, Switzerland, lots of places in Europe

Trainers - ?

More General

Eating - Sure?

Drinking - Yeh

I’m about to watch - I'm unsure. Some Achievement Hunter, perhaps

Waiting for - Marriage (JK)

Want - Ultimate Cosmic Power

Get married - Yes! To a pretty, nerdy lady!

Career - Novelist!

Hugs or kisses - Both. I give great either

Lips or eyes - Tough, but I think lips

Shorter or taller - Short!

Older or younger - Either, yo

Nice arms or stomach - Uh... Arms, I guess?

Hookup or relationship - I'd like a relationship, pls

Troublemaker or hesitant - Depends on the day

Have you ever

Kissed a stranger - Nah

Drank hard liquor - Yes

Lost glasses - Nope

Turned someone down - Yes

Sex on first date - Nah

Broken someone’s heart - Oh, definitely

Had your heart broken - Yes, I have. Several times

Been arrested - Not yet. There's still a long life ahead of me

Cried when someone died - Yes

Fallen for a friend - Yes, I have

Do you believe in - (Life after love)

Yourself - Depends on the day, m8

Miracles - Yes (you sexy thang)

Love at first sight - Yes, I do. Never experienced it, tho

Kiss on first date - Sure! I like smooches

Angels - I do

Other -

Best friend’s name - I dunno. I have a few friends that I'd classify as best friend

Eye colour - Hazel green

Fave movie - Kingsmen: Secret Service, I think. But it is tough

Favourite actor - RDJ, probs. Idk

Favourite food - Uh, lasagna? I like a lot of foods. I'm not picky

Extrovert or introvert - I'm an introvert mostly

Favourite flower - Naked Man Orchid (I also dunno on this one)

Favourite Hello Kitty character - ??

@trash-like-me @rosebadwolf1000 @blondie-brawler @small-red-rose @mirrorwhoami

[kimium]

I'm on time for once! For the ask meme! 🕶🏆🎤

(From this ask meme HERE.)

Thanks for the ask, friend!!! I'm so excited! You asked some great questions!

🕶canonverse or au?

I think in general I enjoy coming up with AUs. That doesn't mean the AU has to be a major change, though. Sometimes the AU can be something simple like "everything is the same except this one thing". But in AUs there can be more creative freedom to play around with the characters/plot and that is a lot of fun. If I write too close to canon sometimes it stresses me out because I worry "what if people spot an inconsistency with canon in my fic?"

🏆fic you're most proud of?

Oh, friend, this is an easy answer! I'm most proud of our Mafia AU! Specifically, the final fic in that AU, Full Disclosure. The threads we had to tie together! The planning! Your amazing notes! Owain's chapter being 33k! We poured so much into that series and it's by far something I'm super proud of.

(But, if you're looking for a fic I wrote on my own, then I'm super proud of What Ever it Takes to Save You. It's not a perfect fic and I can see some flaws in it, but it was my first time writing a timeloop. I find those stressful and difficult to write. So much planning!)

🎤fave line in a fic you wrote?

Ah! This is tough to answer. I've written two hundred fics! So, I've picked lines from some recent fics I'm proud of.

"Letting out another laugh, Brawler continued his assault, their tactics becoming messier and messier. Fairness did not exist when death sung so sweetly and all around them, like a siren sent by the god of war himself." - from my Akudama Drive fic, Exhilaration (And the Bottling of It)

"Time and space pooled in a thick, viscous ball of darkness and twinkling constellations. Blinking rapidly, Watanuki swore he saw the universe open up to him like a flower, tempting him with the answers to every single secret." - from my XXXHolic/Akudama Drive fic, Sight That's Dyed Red.

"So, Felix had to come to a decision and a quick one. If love was in his chest, so be it. He could allow it to grow during the day and burn hotter each Sylvain added fuel to it. Felix could allow his heart to become a raging inferno of love for Sylvain. Sooner or later Felix himself would burn up, but that was fine. As long as Sylvain never discovered it, never caught hint of something as small as the smoke." - from my Fire Emblem Three Houses fic, I'll Burn as I Pine Away.

There are definitely more fics with lines I love, but these are the ones that I thought of when I skimmed through my fics!

[pepperstrawberry]

Closer shot on the wip of out fits of the mains.

Yes, this is a part of my ‘Remix’ project (current working title “Break X Drive” cause i’m a dork).

So, yes, each of these are kinda loosely based off the Gatewatch. The naming convention is going to be based off of first letter color combo of their current most likely pairing (Gid-alike ‘WR’, Jace-alike: “UB”, Lili-alike: “BW”, Chan-alike: “RG”, Niss-alike: “GU”)... The only name I’m kinda sure of is RG’s first name being ‘Rinslet’... it’s an old fave of mine. It works as a wip name at least. Calling GU’s first name ‘Gally’ for the moment, but very likely not to stay.

In order across:

WR: an old soilder, a bit disenfrancized in the military state he once served. Master of many weapons, but more so tactics, he tries to maybe do some good in the world by helping this group of younger people as they find their place in the world. He is based mostly off a combo of Gideon and Ajani, he will not be invicibie though. too on the nose. I want these characters to show their origins and be homages, not ripoffs.

UB: An illusionist and trickster. Generally can be trusted with most things... if you are a dear friend or a trust-worthy business associate. and even then, his word only goes so far. He has a heart of gold, but has lived on the streets of a large hub city for so long that there are some habits that are hard to break. No mind powers, think of him as a combo of Jace and Aladdin. Strongly considering making him a trans man.

Rinslet G: Figher and pyromancer, she adventures the world mostly to find where she can do the most good. She loves bringing smiles to people and will fight to protect those smiles. She is the closest to her ‘origin’ character. Her skin is going to be darker, family (at least at the start of the story) are all alive. Debating on giving her a large sword that she can charge her fire through or just keep her a brawler...

Gally U: A traveler trying to unreveal the mystery buried in her homeland. But to unlock that mystery, she must travel to find clues in all corners of the world. She earth shapes and tends to prefer to attack at distance with her bow, creating arrows from the ground to effectively give her unlimited ammo. She will also have some connection with water, but still trying to figure that out at the moment. She is the second closest to her ‘origin’ self.

BW: A demon that was sleeping for ages (and will be the third to appear in the story proper) While she can glamour her demonic looks away to travel by her friends, she loves it best when she doesn’t have to hide. Think of her as a combo of Liliana and Dark Schneider from “Bastard!”

The first ‘Issue’ is going to be similar to ‘Record of Lodoss War’ in that it will be a skip ahead in the overall plot to see these five working together on a (relatively) non-main plot ‘quest’ of sorts. This is where the Tortoise and hare come in as two very large threats. 

After they are defeated, the story will bounce back in time to when Rinslet leaves for adventure.

The plan is to release each issue like a normal comic. Once a month if I can. Once every 2 if need be. During the time of folks waiting for each issue, I’ll be doing the mini comics as things to keep peoples interest and as a way to warm up before working on pages. XD

or... at least that is the plan at the moment.

[enbywrestlingfan]

NJPW Wrestling Primer (Updated for 2017)

A while back I did a primer post to help introduce people to the wrestlers of NJPW, but it's become out of date over time as things have changed since then, since wrestling always changes. So this is an updated version from mid-April 2017.

Kazuchika Okada - The greatest wrestler on the planet today, and one who is in the middle of possibly the best title reign of all time, which has featured numerous 4.5 and 4.75 star matches, as well as two 5 star and even a 6 star match. He originally made his legacy in NJPW with a now iconic rivalary with Hiroshi Tanahashi, but since has become a true ace for the company. He is the leader of the CHAOS faction and possibly Gedos son. Though, the position of ace wasn't meant for Okada, it was meant for..

Tetsuya Naito - Naito was supposed to be the new top face of NJPW, but the fans rejected him. So during a US tour, instead of returing to Japan like most, he took a little soul searching journey down to Mexico, and met a man named La Sombra (you might know him as Andrade Cien Almas from WWE NXT) and his Los Ingobernables stable. This inspired a change of attitude in Naito, who returned to NJPW, and turned his back on the fans who rejected him, becoming one of the best characters and heels in wrestling in the process. He leads the Los Ingobernables stable, has had 5 star matches with Kenny Omega, Micheal Elgin (and imo with Tanahashi at WK11), and is just a master of working a crowd. He won the IWGP Heavyweight Title, and threw it in the air like a piece of trash. It was amazing.

Kenny Omega - Currently in NJPW, there are three men who could be considered the ace. Okada, Naito and Kenny Omega. Omega is probably the most popular wrestler in NJPW outside of Japan, due to him being Canadian. He's the leader of Bullet Club, and is one of the greatest wrestlers on the planet today. Theres simply nothing Kenny Omega can't do. But he has two modes: if he keeps his shirt on in a match, expect more comedy, but if the shirts off you're in for the match of the night because thats when he gives 100%. Last year he became the first gaijin to win the G1 Climax Tournament, and went on to have a 6 star classic match with Okada in the main event of Wrestle Kingdom. Since losing, he's been searching for the answer of "why can't I win big matches", and his current goal is to walk into the upcoming NJPW shows in America as champion, no matter what.

Hiroshi Tanahashi - The former ace of NJPW. He's the man who pulled NJPW out of the dark ages. A wildly popular rockstar of a man, who is still one of the best big match workers in all of wrestling, even now that he's slowing down. He's had classic matches with just about every big name on the NJPW roster, and I don't think you can count him out just yet. He's currently a member of the weird Taguchi Japan stable, and doing lots of 6 man tag matches, but I can't help but feel he'll be chasing singles gold again soon.

Katsuyori Shibata - Shibata is an interesting case. He debuted alongside Tanahashi and Nakamura and with them he was part of the chosen future of the company. But when things got rough for NJPW, he jumped ship to go do MMA fights instead. With his 4-10-1 record, it is often considered pretty bad for him, but when he came back to wrestling, he seemed more legitimate than ever and wants to fight his way to the top instead of being handed the title. He's the anti-hero face that everyone wants in wrestling, a true badass who will fight until the very end... which he might have in his recent main event with Okada. Due to a combonation of dehydration due a longer match than he's used to, and a dangerous shoot headbutt spot, he had to get surgery on his head following the match and might never wrestle again, but if his music hits again, the pop will likely be thunderous.

Minoru Suzuki -  48 fights, 29 wins & 19 losses. That is the MMA record of former King of Pancrase Minoru Suzuki. He's the leader of Suzuki-Gun, and someone who would break your arm off and laugh at your suffering. He's the best bastard heel on the planet, a legitimate badass, and he scares me. He's held both the AJPW Triple Crown Championship, and NOAH's GHC Heavyweight Championship, and only needs the IWGP Heavyweight Championship to be one of few men to hold all three of Japans top belts, and even at 48 years old, age might not be enough to stop him. He's an ageless badass.

Tomohiro Ishii - Ishii is one of the most underrated men in NJPW, as he can be slotted in as a top guy at any time and he'll put on a fantastic match. Just an incredible worker when motivated in a singles match, but usually does tag work with other members of CHAOS, usually Toru Yano. But there are moments of brilliance in all of his matches.

Those are the major players in the company in my eyes but here’s some fun minor characters:

Ryusuke Taguchi - The funky weapon, who likes to throw his ass into peoples faces to win matches. When motivated he's one of the most dangerous junior heavyweights on the roster, but he'd rather just have fun. He leads Taguchi Japan, which is a stable of random members of the roster who for some reason united under the flag of The Funky Weapon. It's awesome just trust me.

Bad Luck Fale - A huge, slow beast of a man. Currently the longest running member of Bullet Club, being the first person to join Prince Devitt's (WWE's Finn Balor) new stable back in 2013. He's a constant force that is protected in singles action and that makes him dangerous. In tournaments he's a spoiler. Don't bet against Fale, he's kill your brackets and your dreams. He's gotten singles wins over most big names in current NJPW, and is a hard guy to predict. Fear the Underboss of Bullet Club.

Tama Tonga - A future breakout star for NJPW, since his awesome performance in the G1 Climax last year, Tonga has just been getting better and better with each match. He's got a unique in ring style where he uses his speed to confuse an opponent before striking. Always fun to watch, and I see singles success in his future, as well as more tag success with his brother:

Tanga Loa - Camacho. Does anyone remember Camacho? Teamed with Hunico in WWE? No? Well he’s in Japan now with his brother and they’re pretty great. He's a brawler, and that's about it. It works in tag matches but don't expect much from a singles match with him.

Ricochet - The human incarnation of flippt shit. He busts out 630 sentons like they're nothing, it's incredible. But beyond that he's just a fantastic and well rounded wrestler.

Will Ospreay - The best high flyer in wrestling but needs to slow the fuck down before he kills his knees. He's only 23, and already one of the best in the world, and only gets better as he expands his style.

Jushin Thunder Liger - Iconic legend of juniors wrestling, character was based off an anime which is much less known than Liger himself, still wrestles but has slowed down a bit. He's 52 years old and can still outwrestle most juniors on the roster.

Tiger Mask W - Not Kota Ibushi

Kota Ibushu - A freelancer who turned down a full time WWE contract to do weird shit in Japan, used to team with Kenny Omega as The Golden Lovers but they broke up and have soap opera level drama AND JUST NEED TO MAKE UP ALREADY. He's also not Tiger Mask W.

Togi Makabe - Bruiser Brody 2.0

Ropongi Vice - Trent Barreta (yes, that Trent from WWE) and Rocky Romero just wanna have a good time in Ropongi, but have to wrestle too but are very good at it. Rocky is one of the best tag wrestlers around, and Barreta is becoming one of the best too.

Sanada - A member of Los Ingobernables De Japon. I can't help but feel like NJPW has big plans for him. He debutted helping Naito win the IWGP Heavyweight Championship, and has had big singles matches with both Tanahashi and Okada, but has never held singles gold. (only member of L.I.J to not get a singles title) He's an incredibly agile, handsome, and skilled wrestler, expect big things from him in the future.

Evil - A member of Los Ingobernables De Japon, is Evil and has lasers.

Hiromu Takahashi - The Joker mixed with Kefka mixed with a Pro Wrestler, he will kill himself so long as he kills his opponent at the same time. Has a fetish where he needs to lick everything he touches.

BUSHI - Evil Luchador who spits mist in peoples eyes and has really fucking cool masks.

Yujiro Takahashi - The Godfather but Japanese, the only Japanese member of Bullet Club, formerly teamed with Tetsuya Naito as No Limit

Micheal Elgin - The worlds strongest Canadian, likely lives in a gym.

Satoshi Kojima - Heir to the lariat, will take your head off with it, loves bread (seriously follow this guy on Twitter, his broken english tweets are as wholesome as his lariats are stiff)

David Finlay Jr. - Son of Fit Finlay, getting very good

Tomaki Honma - Gravely voiced fan favorite who usually loses but is always fun, he uses his head a weapon, started his career in Big Japan Wrestling where he was the first person to use light tubes in a deathmatch, and is currently on the shelf with a very major neck injury and might never wrestle again.

Toru Yano - A comedy relief wrestler who just wants you to buy his DVD and will keep beating your faves with upset victories until you do

Yuji Nagata - Some would say Nagata is the former ace of NJPW during the dark years, but no one really wants to take that title. But he's a fantastic worker even in his old age, one of the last of his generation of NJPW.

Hirooki Goto - A man who could challenge for the IWGP Heavyweight Championship a thousand more times and still choke every single time, but always have a good match in the process. Seriously, this guy loses 80% of big matches he's in. He's a stiff worker and it's great, but get your head in the game Goto, you can win matches, I know you can!

Kushida - Have you ever watched Back the the Future and thought, ‘this is great but I wish Marty McFly was a wrestler’. Kushida. That’s Kushida.

and just so many more and I could go on forever. There are so many great wrestlers in NJPW, and you really don’t need to know the commentary to enjoy it.

[audiogrizzly]

GOTY 2020 - Runners Up

I feel I should start off with saying a bit about what this year was like for my gaming hobby,  it was the first in many years that the PS4 was not the system where I took away the most games, for me it was the PC for a change which has slowly been becoming my number 1 place to play.  Though this year also brought a new console generation and I have picked up a PS5, as well as an Oculus Quest 2 (so technically I can now play PC VR, which for a couple of years was always a platform that gates off a few key releases for me despite having a headset for my PS4.  And yeah, working from home has allowed me to use the time that would have been taking up with commuting to play games, so I have had more time to play than usual.

Just a note, I’m only one person and despite what I said in the previous paragraph, I cannot play every single game that comes out in a year, I try to prioritise the games I want to play and I do pay attention to games that get good write ups from critics.  At the time of writing, I have yet to give a good amount of time to the following titles which are likely to come up on many other GOTY lists: Half Life Alyx, The Pathless, Hades, Cyberpunk 2077.  I’m sure these are great games, I have enjoyed many other titles that the developers of them have released before, but however much I enjoy them further down the line, they have missed their chance at being included in this particular list.

So in addition to my GOTY, Ghost of Tsushima, here are the other games I have enjoyed most of all in 2020, ordered by release date:

Journey to the Savage Planet

This was the traditional January game for me.  I know a lot of people see the first month of the year being a bit slow for games but I feel there’s always at least one gem.  It was great to see a Metroid style game that took a lot more from the Prime series rather than the 2D roots of that genre.  The humour didn't quite connect with me but this was a fun distraction that I wasn’t expecting at the start of the year

DOOM Eternal

One of the earliest games I had added to my 2020 watchlist, the sequel to one of my top games of 2016 was always going to be something to be all over.  I felt it was a little more arcadey and leaned on typical game mechanics (e.g. extra lives, traversal puzzle, arena based encounters) rather than the exploration aspects of the 1993 original that the 2016 reboot left intact.  But you don’t get action as satisfying and as brutal as DOOM

Final Fantasy VII Remake

The earliest game I picked up that I put forward for this list and wasn’t on my original watch list.  I didn't play the original FF7 all the way through, but I had played to the point where this remade 1st episode stops at, it essentially covers the first disc on the 1997 original.  I’m more into action RPGs than the turn based menu cooldown mechanic that’s more typical of Japanese RPGs, so with that out of the way I was able to enjoy the world and the story.  I got really engaged by this one and I can’t wait to carry on the story.

Gears Tactics

I always loved the idea of the turn based tactical strategy game when XCOM Enemy Unknown came along.  But I was always more a fan of the combat side than the whole running of the base part of the game.  XCOM was also one of those top games that I always sort of pretended to be into, to make myself seem more like a thinker than a button masher, y’know?  I can name a large number of people who fall into that category too.

I reckon Gears is perfect for this genre and I’m glad to see that Tactics doesn’t make me collect resources and develop new technology while making sure my underground bunker has enough power.  It’s pure action and I love it.

Streets of Rage 4

This game was on my watch list but even I was surprised at how good it turned out.  SOR4 will appeal more to those who played the original games, and the second in the series is my favourite SEGA game ever as well as being quite high up my all time list in general.  This 21st century continuation does not diminish the originals in any way and even makes you come around to the third in the series in a way by including references and it’s best elements.  A hyper stylish tribute and great brawler in its own right.

The Last of Us Part 2

I assigned Ghost of Tsushima as my game of the year, but TLOUP2 would have come a close second.  I just enjoyed being in the world of Tsushima more than I did in the zombie infested post-apocalyptic Seattle.  I see this game as being the equivalent of a great box set, typical more of the second season of an excellent American TV series where they do add a few interesting ideas, a few “wow” moments, but more than its share of devisive moments too.  I can get why people didn’t like the twist as we are used to playing heroes in our games, it can throw us when a bit of perspective is added.  Personally, I felt it was an act too long, but still an intense action adventure.

Rocket Arena

I still played a lot of Destiny at the start of the year and both last year and this year's Call of Duty's were on my most played list.  But Rocket Arena held my attention for most of the summer.  Ultimately, I fell off the game because I was sick of teammates leaving matches, it’s the sort of game where leavers get penalised but are not replaced.  But I found the game to be enormous fun and soon I hope to jump back into the game as I see a few changes have been made.  The game has also taken all sorts of steps to be made available to as many people as possible thought giveaways on Twitch and PlayStation plus as well as being added to EA Play Pro, everything that stops short of just being made free to play which is something I actually hope it shouldn’t have to come to as I like the idea of the Overwatch model where new maps and characters are added for free every now and then.

Carrion

Carrion was a game I added to my watch list after it was shown in Devolver Digital’s over-the-top and sometimes sort of ‘trying too hard to be subversive’ E3 presentations (2019 and 2020).  It looked like a take on the Metroidvania game that took, if you ask me, one of the most appealing aspects of the Metroid games, it’s atmosphere.  Plus it sometimes feels great to be the menace, especially when you go out to total massacre your captors (see also Ape Out)

Fall Guys

I’m sure a lot of people have just totally fallen off of this game since about a month after it’s launch in August, I know I have.  But when it was new and in the conversation, there was no doubt that this was a fun game.  It also came out around the time where you could have guests round and it made for a great “pass the controller” type of game, despite having no split screen modes.  It may be my lack of desire to play a new multiplayer game which stopped me from playing it, though it’s appeal to me is that it’s one of those first of games you can just leap into matchmaking by yourself with.

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2

I don’t normally put ports or remakes into my year lists, but I will make an exception here (and one later on) as it has been so long since the games included in this collection first appeared and to compare old with new, it’s almost a whole new world.  Yet it is still familiar, and there’s no bloat, even the item shop (where you can buy decks, wheels, profile pictures etc) doesn’t get in your face.  It also, thankfully, takes influence from the right places of the follow up to both of these games, Pro Skater 3, in making the most finely tuned Hawk’s experience.  I only wish they had included the 3rd game, at least as DLC, but there’s still time.

Star Wars Squadrons

Air or space combat has never appealed to me all that much over my many years of gaming.  I’m not even all that big a Star Wars fan, but I got on board with Squadrons in a big way.  Playing in VR and with a HOTAS really immerses you too, there’s nothing like playing past someone and turning your own head to see where they heck they have got to.  And although I am not all that big into Star Wars, I can tell they have taken great care with the universe and turned out something that doesn’t interfere with cannon all too much.  Put this alongside Gears Tactics in the “I like the idea of this sort of game but I never get on too well with it, but I really liked this one” bucket

Watch Dogs Legion

I know Legion got a hard time in reviews, and I did experience a less than optimal performance in the game, but it was great to run around modern London on foot for a change.  I enjoyed Watch Dogs 2 before this and yes, I get why people think the game is just silly, but Legion finally shows that the game knows when to not take itself seriously and it's all the better for it.  A great touch is when you recruit people for your organisation, they can all get into any car and drive it around, but every now and then you will find a recruit for whom one of their perks is “has their own car”, that is London in a nutshell!

Dirt 5

Dirt 5 wasn’t on my list, and I have had a sort of on-off relationship with the series.  Dirt 5 represents a sort of middle point in the scale between the off-road racer and the serious rally simulation.  I would actually say it's closer to the former actually, it’s definitely the most arcade like the franchise has been in years.  It forgoes point to point rallys in favour of an “all racers” starting grid in most disciplines.  The inclusion of a story is a bit weird, especially as you never actually see any of the characters, it made me wonder what the point was, but I loved the racing as well as all the weather and mud effects.

Assassins Creed Valhalla

I’ve literally just finished this game at the time of writing and what a monster this was at over 55 hours in my playthrough.  I had my doubts that a game set in Viking/Saxon era England could rival the BC Egypt in AC Origins, and that game is still my fave, but there was a lot of beautiful scenery in Valhalla as well as crazy plot points when you got near the end.  It was great to finally play one of these “new” AC games with a steady frame rate (I always had technical problems before) as I have enjoyed the new combat system since Origins and it was fun to visit settlements whose names I recognise from modern era England.  Apart from one really annoying game breaking bug (saved by a previous save file) a number of freezes and it being maybe a bit too long, I’d recommend this heartily.

Replay corner:

Master Chief Collection (throughout the year)

As I said earlier when I talked about Pro Skater 1+2, I don’t normally put ports and remakes, but I wanted to give a shout out to the Halo Master Chief Collection, which I played on PC throughout the year.  It’s in it’s own section here as part of it was released last year, but each couple of months in 2020, it was great to replay each of the games in this series, especially as I said goodbye to Xbox in 2013, Halo was one of the franchises that I knew I would miss and it’s great that I can finally get reacquainted with all the ones I have played before.  It's a shame that Infinite did not come out this year, though I can tell why they wanted to put it back in the oven, plus I still haven’t really played Halo 5 yet as it’s one of the few games that are actually Xbox One only, I have my fingers crossed for a PC port of that though.

[recentanimenews]

My Hero Academia Rules Tumblr's Anime Fandoms Again in 2019

  Tumblr's closing out the year by crunching the numbers across its many, many fandom-based blogs, and they've got a comprehensive list of what's hot in anime, manga, and entertainment in general. A multitude of lists outlines the year's most popular properties, including which series won the hearts of bloggrs this year.

  Once again topping the list of most popular anime on the platform is My Hero Academia, followed close behind by Mob Psycho 100 (which rocketed up 28 spots since last year) and JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (up 15 spots). Jumping straight into the list this year were Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, The Promised Neverland, given, Sarazanmai, and the new series of Fruits Basket. 

  You can check out the full list here.

    As for most popular anime characters, My Hero Academia continued to dominate, with 18 of the top 50 faves hailing from the series (and Best Boy Deku at #1). Reigen Arataka of Mob Psycho 100 is holding strong at an impressive #5, with Levi Ackerman of Attack on Titan at #7 and JoJo's Giorno Giovanna at #15. The list is brand new this year, so there's no indication of rises or falls in popularity here.

  In the world of video games, Overwatch remains in the top spot, followed by Minecraft in second (up 27 spots) and new arrival Fire Emblem: Three Houses in third. Danganronpa, Ace Attorney, and Final Fantasy XIV all make a new showing in the list, alongside indie titles like Hollow Knight and the returning hit Undertale. 

    In terms of video game characters, Arthur Morgan of Red Dead Redemption takes the lead, with lovable pink puffball Kirby at #2 and new Smash Bros. brawler Sans Undertale at #3. If it's Pokémon rankings you'll likely not be at all shocked to see Pikachu in the top spot. New starters Sobble, Scorbunny, and Grookey come in third, fifth, and sixth respectively (Bulbasaur slid in at #4), with the #2 spot going to our fluffy new friend Wooloo.

  The fandom ranking also include top movies, TV series, ships, and a run-down of the platform's most popular fandom of 2019, Good Omens.

  >> fandom on tumblr: 2019 Year in Review

-----

Kara Dennison is the co-founder of Altrix Books and co-creator of OEL light novel series Owl's Flower, with writing credits across the Internet. She blogs at karadennison.com and tweets @RubyCosmos. Her latest book, Vanishing Tales of the City, is now available for pre-order.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[panzertorte]

The Librarians s3

Not a fan of the third season, it veered sharply back into too silly/throwaway land, BUT....

I really enjoyed 3.09 And the Eternal Question - apparently I really enjoy the treatment of that particular mythology in Librarian!verse as a whole, as the third movie was my fave too. The writers dropped the ball by giving Cassandra such an “easy” fix for such a major part of her story line, though. Also, re: her sudden crush - admit it, she's living out the dream... and then the wlw dream too, both in the same ep! I, for one, loved it. and I wouldn’t mind being called a gold digger if that was the pole I was climbing

In s1 I was dead certain Cassie/Jake (...Animorphs, anyone?) was end-game, still do think so tbh but this season was disappointingly bare. I had some fun with episode 3.03 And the Reunion of Evil in this regard, otherwise zilch that sticks to my memory. This show is very easy on my multi-shipper heart, though, I could see most pairings working nicely. 

Ezekiel got to dip into self-sacrifice again in 3.02 And the Fangs of Death, which was nice, and then being quite sweet in and the Curse of Cindy. Careful, your facade is eroding! 

Jacob unlocking his inner Eliot!potential by receiving training from the Monkey King of all people in 3.08 was gold, especially given the other Monkey King related contents I've recently become familiar with somewhat against my will. The Monkey King was actually really cute in this, rather than cringe-y like... certain other interpretations one might care to mention...

On the other hand, I think Christian Kane and the writers really need to work on distancing Jacob more from Eliot overall. It was better in s1 when he wanted to be a brawler but was actually pretty bad at fighting. More poetry à la Curse of Cindy and general intellectualism in s4, please!  He’s nevertheless still my fave character. 

Eve Baird is just a great female lead character, meshing soft and hard very nicely but still.... every episode I think to myself "I miss s1 OUaT Emma Swan so so much, I wish she was here instead of you". That's entirely down to me, though, and would be an entirely unfair criticism.

Flynn... he’s just too much for me, most of the time. I like him when he’s serious, but usually he’s in “excitable” mode and I wish he was less around. When I started the show I expected him to be guest starring every now and then, not play lead on the regular. 

I’ll definitely tune in for s4, but s3 was a disappointment.