#but him being ace is played v well imo

[ghost-bard]

Me when i headcanon gillion to be just like me fr (aroace specifically demiromantic and gay and asexual and transmasc) (although him being ace is just canon)

[faithst]

ZB1’s POKEMONS

ask from ☃️ anon <3 faith baby why did you just start blasting when i was your man. faith my ears. anyway! since we used to play on that pixelmon server everyday for an entire year (dark times), what pokemon do you think zb1 would have on their team?? who’d be their ace, their starter, etc etc. ok ily pls chillax and turn bruno mars off ❤️

notes hi ☃️ anon (which is literally just @trashhdez) i was ‘same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now’-ing because i saw hanbin concept photos ok ☹️ but for the sake of simplicity; i will just be giving each member a starter, an eeveelution, and a legendary / mythical !

masterlist<3

starter > eeveelution > legendary / mythical

— zhang hao

fennekin it’s whole vibe fits hao imo, very classy but also a bit of spark yk. also a very pretty and babygirl pokemon !

espeon IDK HOW TO EXPLAIN BUT ESPEON IS SO RESERVED LIKE HAO (introvert-wise ig?) also hao fits very well w purple

lunala aka the better evolution from cosmoem ! lunala has stars and stars shine and yk who else is a star? yeah, hao. also lunala feels very classy like him

— sung hanbin

charmander both very popular and has a determined vibe ! charmander is also v friendly (i think) so basically hanbin !

leafeon the design SCREAMS hanbin (it’s so cute) it looks so gentle and polite, overall friendly and easy to approach

shaymin (specifically the hedgehog, idk what the actual ver is called) similar designs to leafeon ! shaymin seems v assertive altho being a cutie patootie; so basically leader hanbin

— seok matthew

oshawott I WAS TORN BETWEEN OSHAWOTT AND POPPLIO but oshawott seems more matthew-y to me yk ! both super cute and bouncy (idk don’t ask)

eevee because it’s fluffy like matt. also i feel like eevee is the most sunshine out of all the eeveelutions !

jirachi does that not scream matthew ?? like cute star = matthew, end of statement.

— shen ricky

snivy super chic and elegant like ricky. screams expensive taste

glaceon THATS LITERALLY RICKY ! super elegant, super cool. ricky 🤝 ice types. also glaceon reminds me of his hair idk why

xerneas looks so EXPENSIVE. also xerneas is like super cool like ricky (i love xerneas sm) bedazzled and chic

— park gunwook

squirtle are we even surprised at this point? it literally looks like him, literally identical; could pass off as twins

vaporeon (i do not want to be reminded of the copypasta) BUT LOOK AT IT, ITS SO CUTE AND CHEERY just like GUNWOOK !!

zekrom gbtb gunwook vibes. literally the cool side of gunwook. the build zekrom has also reminds me of gunwook !

— kim taerae

piplup it’s literally taerae, look at it !

sylveon super babygirl. both prolly have their motto as ‘friendship is magic’ and the ribbons omg

diancie the jewels on it’s head remind me of taerae and his voice. all of these are so babygirl just like him :D

— kim gyuvin

chimchar why? 1) @trashhdez is a big chimchar fan and has the exact same personality as gyuvin 2) gyuvin would love chimchar, super cute but also could beat you up

jolteon the puppy vibes from gyuvin ! sparky and energetic just like him !

zygarde (specifically the core. if not, then the 10% one) i have no explanation for this one… it’s just.. yeah..

— kim jiwoong

sobble i feel like jiwoong would pick the most unhinged looking starter, thus picking sobble. ig it’s cute,,,

umbreon VERY CHIC JUST LIKE JIWOONG ‼️ looks very intimidating but actually just a cutie patoot

entei regal. like royalty looking. i feel like entei embodies jiwoong in a way i cannot explain, maybe it’s the stance

— han yujin

froakie 100% plays pokemon by the meta and picks froakie just bcuz of ash’s greninja (i can’t blame him tho, the greninja is godly)

flareon gives me youth vibes and very playful. flareon looks like a teenage boy

rayquaza bcuz of the meta, prolly his fav out of every pokemon (also can’t blame him here, rayquaza is also godly)

—

© keiwook | 2023

tag @bruhiamistake @trashhdez @chxrrymxxnlight @haesunflower @big-uwu-stan @gnwookie @yjhcloud @kpoprhia @karinaskitty @blaycke

here to join the taglist !

[emblazons]

hELLO do you have any fun specific hopes/theories/headcanons for st5?

HELLO STRANGER 😂

Honestly I am not like super headcanon forward as a watcher because I think I have expectations trust issues from other television and therefore stick to what I can see on screen before speculating, BUT!

Headcanons + some things I would love to see explored (that aren’t just aggressive amounts of pining byler)?

The whole “Will is suppressed in his queerness being attached to soteria/suppression of powers” is like. 11/10 concept imo. It goes along with horror history so well (shout out @pinkeoni for that analysis) and plays so well into the whole relating to “Alan Turing” bit that we were introduced to start of S4, given his history as a gay man.

re, the last point: the contrast in queerness between Mike and Will being explored as someone who shows more blatant attraction to men but struggles to accept it as an identity versus someone who accepts their identity while suppressing their attraction (by outside forces or not) is also a dynamic I think would be cool to explore. I am not an ace Will truther at all but. I do think he shies away from his own sexuality a lot in a way they don’t do with Mike.

I really want “samfro caught on mount doom together while the rest of the fellowship fights an army” byler vibes—something about El and Lucas as Aragorn & Legolas with Dustin (Gimli) and Erica (Merry/Pippin) while Will struggles with feeling alone carrying the heavy burden of a connection to Vecna? Some “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you” heroism from Mike? El getting a moment to reunite with Max (Arwen) at the hand of Lucas, just like in Return of the King? Fucking mint lmao

I need scenes of Max in whatever place she’s still alive in like I need oxygen. Working from “the inside” to do exposition on Henry + the UD while she’s in a coma while the party sorts through it in Hawkins feels like such a phenomenal writing opportunity I’ll be desperately sad if they don’t explore it. I hope they include some elements of like. The duality of presence a la The Talisman in that given Lucas was reading it to her in the hospital? But 🤷🏽‍♀️

GIVE ME TIME FKERY OR GIVE ME DEATH. I know it’s pretty much guaranteed at this point but. I need Mr. Clarke back stat, with some convoluted ass theory explained on a paper plate again. I need the most elaborate UD reality just, absolutely borderline nonsensical lore for like a full episode so I can watch this series back again and see it from SECOND ONE (or minute 8:15) and giggle like a schoolgirl knowing the duffers really are smart/the haters were wrong.

I want more Wheelers! I know Nancy is central to the supernatural given she was the only other one pulled in by Vecna and not killed—just sent as a messenger—but. I have so many Wheeler and Creel thoughts at this point I don’t know where to start, but. They are the PERFECT family for exploring picture-perfection against horror themes (just like the Creels) and I want it. Like “don’t care how, I want it now” level focus on them, along with their Byers.

I said it before but: an exploration of motherhood as a theme makes so much sense to me, and it seems to be important to The Duffers too, so. I want it.

Kinda want RoVickie as the couple who introduces the idea of the supernatural + queerness v Hawkins element at the start of the season, and for byler to be the ones who “end it.” I think that would be a fascinating way to parallel them more, though…I haven’t much thought this through.

If they don’t make Finn Wolfhard sob his little eyes out this season I’m going to feel betrayed. I need him like. Noah level pressed at least once next season, for the culture (Finn said he wanted to do more dramas. Let him defeat the bad actor allegations here so they let him LMAOOOO)

That’s all I can think of for now! I’m sure there are more, but. Those were the firsts that came to mind haha.

Thanks for the ask!

[moonbiscuitsims]

Thanks for tagging!! @cowplantrelish I love this shit

3 FAVOURITE SHIPS: (Cyberpunk 2077) I have had a long time itch of romancing V and Takemura (tbh don't care if fem or male but never played male, with male V ill prob try kerry because I dislike panam) but mainly if he would decide to abandon his loyalty to Arasaka and become a nomad with V which should have been an option <3 especially could work with corpo V imo. (SIMS) I oddly ship Don Lothario and Bella Goth. Imo, and don't get me wrong Don is sleazy, but I like the theories that state that Bella didn't really love Mortimer that much...it actually states this in sims 2 psp; but I get people who like to see them as hopelessly in love. I feel like Don messes around with everyone but if he could get Bella he wouldn't care about the others as much anymore. They might even have an open relationship as both are romance sims. I have also paired Vidcund and Nina and they work extremely well somehow, both are shy sims. Where Nina doesn't commit due to being quite poly, Vidcund is focused on his science and doesn't care. Aside from that I also find tons of different naruto ships interesting, because it isn't based on romance at all I think an AU with romance could be anything. LAST SONG: Mägo de Oz - El cantar de la luna oscura

LAST MOVIE: I rewatched fellowship of the ring last night CRAVING: I really want ramen or sushi. CURRENTLY READING: I've started a fic where Kurama is human, it isn't my fav but I love the concept of a human Kurama so I'm making him in the sims so I can imagine him better in my head cause I didnt like fanarts I found. FAVOURITE COLOUR: black in terms of clothes or usual preference but i love all colours (except sims 3 baby poop) RELATIONSHIP STATUS: single for a long time, I don't have interest in romance. Not sure if i'm ace or arom or not (or perhaps demi) cause i've had past partners but they felt forced in a way and lacking in actual connection. I love my platonic relationships. LAST THING I GOOGLED: a broken missing mesh for some kitsune tails for my kurama sim but before that i googled the japanese number system lol. Im trying to learn it on duolingo and i didnt understand why there are so many variations. CURRENT OBSESSION: stardew valley but i think it's fading away cause im a bit stuck with the desert mines and the island. I tried to make my farm look really cool and it well... could be better...I like my house tho, im saving the last room for later.

Tagging (pls no pressure to participate!): @hamsterbellbelle @arachnophobic-larantula @cryptiam @siliconesims @miss-moe @temperedsims @skaterboi108 @nefarrilou

[laydengardrs-brain-dumps]

What mutations I think the (playable) assassins and templars would have

I got X-Men brainrot but remembered AC exists, so here’s my list on which Assassins/Templars as mutants and what their abilities would be Desmond Miles - Guy sees dead people for a living - I think he’d have some ParaNorman shit going on - Explains the incredibly vivid bleeding effect pretty well imo - He most likely needs to seek help for it but you know what it’s like being a fugitive from Templars

Altar Ibn-La’Ahad: - His mutation prevents him from touching water - I imagine him having some enhanced strength, maybe even a light healing factor (I’m sorry homie survived bleeding out) - Definitely has a higher pain tolerance than most (we already knew that)

Ezio Auditore: - Definitely an empath of some kind - Like to the point where he himself gets upset (more than he does canonically) if someone’s in distress, and can immediately tell something’s wrong with no indication - Heightened agility and endurance - I will not be elaborating, you saw how many years he lasted as an Assassin

Edward Kenway: - This man’s mutation would be some shit like attraction to metals or something, given his luxurious life after retiring from piracy, and his want for wealth - That man sniffed out enough money to live in a mansion in London - Also I think he’d have a stronger resistance to alcohol, so he has to drink more to get drunk, but also won’t get alcohol poisoning so easily

Haytham Kenway: - This man has some telepathy, at least to sway people’s opinions - He can’t control it all too well, it just happens - Hence he easily gains the trust or affections of a lot of people - There are some people who would be more resilient to his persuasion, he can’t really do anything about it

Connor: - My guy literally feels the wellbeing of the p l a n e t - Like he will tell you how the plants are feeling or some bs like that - Idk but I feel he’d be able to predict natural disasters

Shay Cormac - I feel like this is a copout but this guy’s luck is 10 (fallout perk measurement) - Either that or he can literally manipulate reality in his favour - Like how tf do you think he caught Charles Dorian exactly when he was alone and looking for his son - And no one even batted an eye until he collapsed AFTER Shay had already left

Arno Dorian - Arno would be able to detect people’s life signs from a certain radius - I’m literally putting sense to the eagle vision through walls thing by saying he can feel them - Like he could tell if someone was sick, dying, actually alive (if perceived dead), etcetera - I feel like he gets incredibly sad when an innocent person dies

Jacob Frye - Invulnerability, or at least a heightened resistance to injury - You could throw this man from a 10-story building - Trust me he’ll live - He’s very emotional though - You see all that physical resilience? - It’s to make up for his lack of emotional resilience - You’ve seen him get upset - I’m right and you know it

Evie Frye - Channelling Ozymandias - If you’ve seen/read Watchmen you know what I mean - This woman would have a VERY heightened intellect - That doesn’t make her immune to stupidity - She’s just smarter than e v e r y o n e - I don’t make the rules

I haven’t played any of the others, so you’re not getting them Get noobed (jk I’ll update this once I get around to playing them)

[literaphobe]

WAIT WAIT I was scrolling through your blog and you said you watch running man?? oh my goood question! who is your favourite member? thought on kwang soo leaving running man? (also maybe gary and joong ki if you are there when they leave) thought on the new members? fav ep? i'm sorry but it been so long i found people who watch running man

unless you talking about a different running man then...I'm sorry please delete this post and sorry for bothering you

MY FAVE MEMBER. is. no surprise. SONG JIHYO. aka goddess and best at everything. i think i’m very drawn to personalities that always dominate n come out on top. jihyo isn’t really known for being the ace of running man anymore but in my heart she always is :( i also am a HUGE fan of her goddess of luck image like she isn’t as crazily lucky these days bc kwangsoo (icon of misfortune) is gone but if anything makes me believe in supernatural like. the concept of LUCK being a real force in the universe it would be because of her. the way she overcomes odds n comes out on top despite being a bit of an underdog in many situations is SO hot to me. here’s some pictures of her

she’s like. u know how george is like effortlessly pretty despite being just so idc about it? yeah thats HER like she doesn’t give a shit she just wakes up rolls out of bed n goes to work. she falls asleep everywhere too. one time they played giant jenga and one of them had to be on top of the jenga as a ‘risk’ for the jenga tower dying n at the time running man was 6 men 1 woman (her) and they asked her to do it bc they were all scared n she’s the bravest member (she once bungee jumped off a 233m tall building to HELP one of them she literally didnt have to either she just went WEEEEE they all worship the ground she walks on out of respect shes just so cool)

anyway here’s her sleeping on the jenga tower

like???? shes so funny. my second favorite member is kim jongkook n my fave pair on the show is them both :) jongkook is the super jacked guy whos also really smart n good at everything. like u know how whenever george/sapnap/anyone dying screams for dream to help them when they need saving in minecraft? thats like every running man member w jongkook

ANYWAY FAVE EP…. there are so many. i swear to god. but if i were to recommend episodes to start w i’d say the superpowers episode? when they all had superpowers n had to fight to the death (ep74) and the second yoomes bond ep (ep91, i LOVE yoo jaesuk my beloved nation’s mc), the princess race ep (ep103), n park jisung soccer eps (95, 96, 97) OH FUCK THE ZOMBIE EP WHEN THEY WERE IN HIGH SCHOOL WAS FUCKING SICK TOO (ep98) and like uhhhh the baseball ep!! (ep119) and i’ll stop here bc the second people realize i have many episode numbers memorized i’ll look like a crazy person

BUT TO BE FAIR running man is the most popular korean variety show ever these mfs are straight up like A KPOP GROUP. they’ve held fan meetings which r straight up CONCERTS they sing dance etc etc they’re CRAZY u don’t GET IT they are a PHENOMENON,,, jackie chan was on this show RYAN REYNOLDS N TOM CRUISE WERE ON THIS SHOW

running man is literally what happens if u put a bunch of singers, actors, and comedians together n made them do crazy shit (literally everything under the sun has happened on running man. name anything PG. they prob did it on running man) AND THEY BECAME A FOUND FAMILYYYY and its so funny

i think joongki is so sweet n my beloved but i think ultimately him leaving helped the RM dynamic tighten up?? n it improved bc of it?? idk tho maybe itd be just as good if he stayed. i also was a tiny bit upset when gary left n it hurt the show for a while :( gary was so funny but also I HATE MONDAY COUPLE. FUCK MONDAY COUPLE IT TRAPPED JIHYO FOR SO LONG I HATED THAT SHIT. like its so crazy too bc imo they should never have had a loveline but if anything… do it w jongkook the one guy whos actually hot n has enough chemistry w her? they literally were called a ‘power duo’ all the time like brooooo i was so oppressed for liking their dynamic :( BUT HAHAHAHAHAH NOW JONGKOOK N JIHYO R FLIRTING ON THE SHOW ITS SO FUNNYYYY like yaaaassss straightbaiting 😍 its so funny too like there were times when monday couple was a Thing so the other members couldn’t “ship” other pairings but sometimes jongkook n jihyo would be so sus that they couldn’t help BUT say something u know but NOW ALL THE MEMBERS ARE FREE. yoo jaesuk risks his life every week to ship them and the others LOVE to fucking tease them

also kwangsoo leaving made me really sad but his injuries were too bad for him to risk his body every week like that :( all the members have slipped disks n severe back problems because of all the ways they hurt themselves making the show :( i hope kwangsoo comes back to guest soon tho like hes not Permanently gone the way gary is like gary straight up refuses to ever be on running man ever again LOL

also i like somin and sechan :D i admit i do prefer old running man dynamics but the current family is v cozy!! i think their loveline is sweet but i also think its HILARIOUS how the members mostly jaesuk don’t “care” as much about it like in that well get together sure but what we’re REALLY here to do is make fun of jongkook n jihyo ^_^ like they r cute its sweet ALSO somin being added is SO good bc YAY more than one woman also THEIR DYNAMIC IS SO CUTE like anyone remember that time they sabotaged each other in the game where they were competing by kissing each other?? good times

sorry for talking so much running man is literally one of my fave shows EVER n it hasn’t ended despite being a weekly show thats been running since 2010 (theres like over 500 episodes i KNOW im INSANE) like bro at the peak of my hyperfixation on this show I LEARNED THE FUCKING KOREAN LANGUAGE SO I COULD WATCH IT LIVE WHEN IT AIREDDDDD IM CRAZY FR

[iwa1zumis]

“i love you and i like you”: passion and burnout in Haikyuu!! 

tw: discussions of self harm, anxiety, burnout and breakdowns. 

spoilers for the whole manga!! 

okay this is probably gnna be jflkafjdklfj all over the place, but i’ve been thinking a lot lately about the difference between loving and liking something, and how haikyuu emphasises the importance of both those feelings being present when pursuing a passion. 

a quick look at google (and i KNOW my college professors are cringing away in horror victor frankenstein-style @ my use of google definitions but jflajfsdk bear with me!!) demonstrates how often the concepts of love and like are conflated, with love her being framed as a sort of deeper or more intense like: “to like or enjoy very much” to be specific. but personally i’ve always thought there’s something a bit misleading about that kind of definition, since its absolutely possible to love something or someone without necessarily liking them. to take a personal example: i love debate. i debated through middle and high school, made captain of the debate team, and was constantly travelling to and fro for different tournaments. even before i started to debate formally i’d jump at the chance to do mini-debates in class, argue with and rebut parents and friends over meals and causal conversation.... you get the idea. i loved debate, and still love it dearly, but i honestly don’t think i particularly liked it much. tournaments would always fill me with the most INSANE kind of stress, i’d barely eat or sleep in the days leading up to a meet, and i’ve had more muffled bathroom breakdowns in between rebuttals than i can count. after my final year of high school, i decided against joining the debate at university. i knew that if i were to retain ANY love for the activity going into the future, i had to force myself to take a break. 

so what does this solipsistic tangent have to do with haikyuu, you ask? well i have no doubt that a vast majority of the players in the series love volleyball. they’re dedicated and passionate about it. they hunger for the chance to be put on the court. but do they like to play? 

1. oikawa: “i forgot that volleyball can be fun” 

ofc i wouldn’t be an oikawa stan worth my salt if i didn’t start this off with the (grand) king himself!! imo one of the reasons why oikawa is such a popular and well-loved character is his constant determination to keep moving forward and playing, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable opponents and adversities (”never forget my worthless pride”, anyone?). inevitably, all the hard work and practise he put into his craft has left him with a very carefully constructed, put together playstyle-- he’s the kind of player who knows how to bring the best out of each and every teammate on the court because of the amount of time he spends observing them and playing with them. it’s an outlook and playstyle best encapsulated in his now iconic line during the second karasuno v seijoh match: 

“Talent is something you make bloom, instinct is something you polish!” 

in my opinion the word “polish” it super significant here-- it explicitly singles out the years and years of hard work that set a foundation for his talent and instinct to shine. 

but what happens when they don’t shine? there’s no denying that oikawa is an incredibly skilled and intuitive player (something that hinata’s acknowledgment of him as the “great king” to kageyama’s “king” immediately sets out) but oikawa himself is acutely aware of the fact that he can never quite measure up to his long-time rival ushijima or his immensely talented protege kageyama. oikawa’s self described strategy to deal with opponents is to: 

“Hit it until it breaks” 

but what happens when hitting something again and again with your carefully honed, “polished” skills yields no results? imo there’s a very clear binary mentality drawn here-- either you hit it and it breaks, asserting your superiority; or you hit it and it doesn’t break, enforcing your inferiority. with each perceived loss against ushijima and kageyama, oikawa’s internalized logic holds his own weakness up to his own face, shaking his faith in himself as a player. if you’ll pardon the on-the-nose-metaphor: the whole “hitting it till it breaks” strategy is a two-way street, and oikawa has been hitting himself, metaphorically speaking, for a very long time. i have no doubt that he loved volleyball, passionately, through middle and high school. but with his inferiority complex growing in the face of constantly refuted results, i think he slowly began to like it less and less. 

so how does oikawa get his groove back? to answer that, we’ll have to turn to the post-timeskip chapters, particularly the two chapters that deal with oikawa and hinata’s unexpected meeting in Rio (372 and 373 for anyone curious!). while reminiscing with hinata over dinner, oikawa finally reveals the event that made him want to play volleyball (as a setter, to be exact)-- as a child, he watched veteran setter jose blanco step into a game and

“... inconspicuously help[ed] the ace get his bearings again... and then simply left the court.” 

oikawa’s reaction to blanco’s playstyle might just be one of my favourite panels in the chapter for how it conveys so much with such little space: 

the stammer of “i-i--”, which suggests a sense of resolve and determination forming in real time, finally coalesces into the determined declaration of “i wanna be a setter too!” what i took from this is that oikawa’s admiration for-- and liking of-- blanco expresses itself in the agency with which he makes his choice, in this case, actively deciding to be a setter so that he can support players on the court like blanco did. the liking that oikawa has here is therefore inherently linked to the agency and freedom he feels here-- freedom to choose his position, and how he wants his volleyball career to develop. 

this recollection of his childhood memories, and the subsequent game of beach volleyball that oikawa and hinata play afterwards, essentially push oikawa back into the mental and physical space of a child or beginner, as the manga demonstrates with panels of oikawa being forced to ditch his usual carefully developed, polished playstyle to learn the ropes of beach volleyball: 

ultimately concluding with the beautiful panel transition of oikawa, as a child AND adult, celebrating after a successful play: 

“It reminds me that-- I forgot that-- volleyball is fun.”

in a different country, playing a familiar game by slightly different rules and led back into the mentality and freedom of a novice after years of careful development, oikawa rediscovers his liking for the game. 

2. kageyama: “when you get strong, someone stronger will rise to meet you” 

moving on to the king of the court himself!! i’d argue that kageyama’s childhood memories and experiences of volleyball function almost oppositely to oikawa’s-- while oikawa has to re-access the sensation of being a beginner again to like the game along with loving it, kageyama’s process of coming to like and love volleyball come from moving away from his early experiences and into a new phase of playing-- specifically, his partnership with hinata. 

one of kageyama’s defining features is his individualism-- he’s both skilled and solitary enough to prefer to, as he puts it, “play every single position on the court”. notably, he wants to become a setter because: 

“[it’s] the one that touches the ball the most.”

in fact, i’d argue that kageyama’s “king of the court” attitude that he was known for in middle school is an extension of this individualistic mindset: he holds himself to extremely high standards, and expects his team-mates (as extensions of himself) to meet those very same standards. the similarities between his internal monologue and his commands to kindaichi in these two panels, for example, are strikingly, visibly similar: 

there’s that near-identical intonation of “move faster, jump higher!” that implies that the way he treats his teammates is just an extension of how he treats himself-- a deeply self-critical, miserable way, as it turns out. it’s telling that for the first few chapters of a manga in which characters’ eyes literally light up when they’re happy, passionate or excited, kageyama’s eyes are drawn as pitch black, even while he’s playing. 

imo the reason why hinata’s appearance, and their later partnership, is so significant for kageyama’s personal development is because he can’t treat hinata like an extension of himself. hinata challenges him and his preconcieved notions of the sport at every turn: first with his lightning-fast reflexes and raw intuition, and then with his determination to hit kageyama’s toss no matter what. in fact, the first time that kageyama’s eyes light up in the manga is, you guessed it, when he and hinata first pull off a successful “freak quick”: 

during the post-timeskip chapters we’re introduced to kageyama’s backstory in much greater detail: the way in which his grandfather fostered his passion for volleyball and the timing with which his grandfather’s illness and later death left kageyama increasingly alienated, thus further enforcing his individualist mentality. but what the chapter also gave us was an explicit confirmation of a theme that had been built up from the very beginning of the story, when kageyama’s grandfather tells him: 

“when you get really strong, i promise someone stronger will rise to meet you”

i’ve seen translations of the line that use both “meet” and “challenge”, and personally i’d have to say that i prefer “challenge” for what it implies-- even before hinata got strong enough to actually meet kageyama halfway he challenged him to move away from his pre-established mindset of doing everything himself, and into one where he actually comes to enjoy-- and like-- volleyball. 

3. hirugami: “maybe you’ve just had your fill”

hirugami’s case is kind of a strange one-- unlike oikawa and kageyama he’s not a major character, and his relationship with volleyball only gets a single backstory chapter as opposed to a series-long arc. but i personally ADORE his mini-arc for the things it has to say about burnout, passion and moving on. 

hirugami is introduced as the youngest member of a volleyball family-- his parents, older brother and older sister all play the sport. when explaining how he began to play himself, hirugami says: 

“... naturally, i started to play too. because i was good at it, and it was fun.” 

imo there are a lot of really interesting things to pick apart with this phrasing: the “naturally” implies a foregone conclusion but also a degree of passivity, like he himself recognises that he was swept up in his family’s influence. the “it was fun” coming AFTER “because i was good for it” also implies a degree of correlation, as though if he didn’t have the aptitude, he wouldn’t enjoy the game (a mindset markedly different to both oikawa and kageyama). as hirugami gets older, this correlation of being good ----> having fun ----> being able to play begins to reverse, and therefore manifest in increasingly self destructive ways: 

the main impetus for hirugami has now become not wanting to lose, which therefore requires a degree of heightened practise and self discipline in order to achieve. notably, having fun has been reduced to an afterthought, a state that might be achieved if he wins. 

the correlation of “winning” and “being good” is a slipperly slope to go down, though, something that becomes especially apparent after hirugami’s team lose a game. the frustration of being unable to reach his goal of winning manifests itself as not being “good enough”-- acting on this, hirugami seeks to punish himself for “messing up”: 

the close up panel of hirugami’s “confession” after hoshiumi confronts him hits particularly hard because it taps into a feeling that i’m sure almost all of us have felt at one point or another-- the realisation that something you once both loved AND liked is now only bringing you misery: 

ironically, it’s actually this acknowledgement of “not really liking volleyball that much” that acts as a catalyst for hirugami’s recovery from burnout. hoshiumi’s acknowledgement of, and reply to, hirugami’s state is seemingly simple but deeply freeing: 

and honestly, why not just quit? there’s nothing tethering hirugami to volleyball, certainly nothing as serious as life or death. personally my favourite part of this panel is hoshiumi’s description of volleyball as food from which hoshiumi has “eaten his fill”-- a lovely metaphor that re-contextualizes what could be seen as “time wasted” into something productive and indeed nourishing. 

when we check up on hirugami post time-skip, we find out that he has indeed quit playing volleyball in favour of going to veterinary school, but he’s seen watching the game between the jackals and adlers on his phone with an eager, fond smile on his face, implying that it was the act of moving away from the table (so to speak) after eating his fill that let him still hold on to a love and passion for the game, even though he is now interacting with it as a spectator instead of a player. and indeed that might just be why i love hirugami’s arc so much-- with it, haikyuu tells us that sometimes passion’s don’t need to be re-ignited in the same way. while oikawa and kageyama rediscover their love for, and liking of, the game through a return to childhood and the arrival of a new partner respectively, hirugami’s journey away from burnout comes from recognizing that he can step away from the volleyball court, and that the love and like will still remain. 

[i-did]

hi hello i couldn't sleep last night so i was scrolling thru all ur asks and stuff and ur opinions and analyses are so interesting!!! and then afterwards i was thinking about what u were saying about mlm smut and i'd also been thinking about such things a little bit recently bc like.....at a certain point it becomes quite clear that the vast majority of smut-writing is just imitation. like there's the sex noise verb list and all and the whole general mechanics of the sex and those things just .... replicate over and over. and the whole thing w people writing mlm vs wlw smut regardless of their own sexual orientation..... like i feel like a big part of that is just a self-perpetuating thing. like if u have not had sex and u r getting all ur (pleasure-related) sex ed from fandom (even if u do watch porn, that doesn't rlly tell u how to describe stuff? idk) regardless of What fandom , the majority is going to be mlm smut. which is itself majority imitation of other mlm smut, imitating and imitating back to whoever knows what the first smut fanfic was etc. there's just way More to mimic than there is on the women side of things. which then becomes a self-perpetuating thing, bc the mimicry continues and generates more and more. and---if there are fundamental misunderstandings of anatomy involved---those self-perpetuate as well. and maybe even exaggerate. and yeah. does this all make sense? idk i was just thinking about it. like all the stereotypes and stuff continue bc writers are getting their inspo from other writers rather than their own brains. or something. idk!!!!! it's just all... divorced from reality? bc words. or something!! i hope u get what i'm trying to say. just thoughts i've been thinking. anyway i think ur thoughts are cool. and ur writing. ok bye have a good day!!

Okay yeah this is kinda messy but hope u see this, uhh yeah I think you're right about the echo chamber effect fr about stuff. I think it's a mix of projecting too sometimes. talk more under the cut and also link to a video essay since I love video essays.

Here’s a video that sort of touches on this topic: 

“Gay fanfiction” by Sarah Z. (has CC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8E_C00dKwI

This video begins to talk about fetishization at the end, but also… not really. The words “gay fanfiction” is used as a catchall, when really gay fanfiction is largely mlm written by non-mlm.

Fandom is a largely women's space dominated by the female gaze in a media industry world that is dominated by men and the male gaze. I'm really glad women have this space to explore creativity and queerness, and I don't expect the female gaze to go away, but I am still ultimately bummed out I can’t read most fanfic or interact with most fandom spaces without having fetishization in my face. 

So about 80% of fandom is women, and most of those women aren't straight, but 90% of those women prefer mlm ships. Why don’t they prefer wlw ships? Well definitely part of it is the fact that queerbaiting is centered around white straight men, and then there is also the fact that women tend not to be written as well charcter wise. But the fact still remains that you get jerjean getting priority over Layla and Alvarez who are in canon just as much and are a canon wlw couple who actually interact as well as Alvarez could likely be a woc because of her Hispanic last name. Korasami doesn’t get nearly as much hype as zuko and saka, despite the fact that they are 2 fully dimensional characters who canonly kiss and hold hands, something the creators fought for and ended up having to sacrifice another reboot for. 

I do believe the fandom echo-chamber is largely responsible for… a lot of things, like you're saying. But what's interesting is that the complaints I've heard about visual porn from non mlm in the fandom space is that they can’t get off to it because its for the male gaze and misogynistic usually. But they also don't seem to notice how the mlm smut circles has the female gaze and is also… almost always mlm. If it was a pure anatomical not knowing thing, I get that, but I also think that leads to the question of “then why the male body for porn, and not your own? The one you know and are familiar with?” 

I know some people want to get outside of their own body for porn and don’t want to think of their own anatomy at all, but overall I'm still uncomfortable. If an anglo said “well I watch porn of only Mexicans so I don't self insert” I'm gonna be like … hhhh in a similar way. I understand people “like what they like” but I wish they also noticed said patterns in the first place. I understand the t4t tumblr porn circle, and how it's different from cis people who only watch trans porn. 

I actually wished that instead of fandom focusing on mlm ships where some asshole guy hits on bottom troupe charcter for top troupe character to save, was instead… a wlw character experiencing said shitty getting hit on and other wlw swooping in. what's interesting is fandom writes a lot about misogynistic experiences without often realizing it. Ive read fanfic where guys get called sluts for sleeping with people or called bitch for speaking their mind, these arent things men usually experience, but rather women. Fandom has a lot of internalized misogyny and also queerphobia imo. Women characters often get pushed to the sidelines and men become the canvas for female fans to project onto. 

There is this natural inclination to mlm. When people are talking about “gay shipping” or “gay books” or “gay feels” or even just “gay” mlm is what’s largely in mind. I honestly am kinda saddened by this because if gay fanfiction was really solely about writing more to feel represented, then you would see a lot of bi and ace and lesbian rep, but this isn't the case. Queer women are seriously underrepresented, and I want to hear their stories and read them in fanfiction as well as published. 50% of lgbt literature is mlm, and of that its largely written by women. Becky Albertalli, Rainbow Rowell, Maggie Stiefvater, are the YA big names and are all women writing mlm. Red white and royal blue is written by Casey McQuiston and Captive prince (which is not YA) is written by C. S. Pacat, who is non-binary, but is also TME and not mlm. These are all the big names in mlm lit, behind them is some gay men, but honestly their stories aren't preferred, they're not the right “flavor” for the consumers usually, who are largely women. In general YA consumers and authors are women, but I wish that they… just wrote about women too. I think there is a certain… snowball effect to the overrepresentation of mlm representing the whole LGBT community that leads to fetishization, as well as misogyny playing a factor in: less women characters being written well to write fanfic on, when they are written well they're taken less seriously or the audience struggles to relate to them, they're less marketable then men. 

Idk I never feel “seen” or “represented” by any of the books above, which don't address boyhood and manhood and queerness intersecting really, and AFTG doesn’t either. I relate to AFTG as a trauma victim who has experienced a lot of what many of the characters go through and have gone through in the EC as well as them just overall being very well written characters, but I don't relate to it as a mlm really. I've never seen like.. gay voice or being straight passing or femphobia or how boyhood can be affected from a young age by those around you sensing you're ‘other’ or if you didn't experience this you feel outside the mlm community. Let alone sub cultures like bear and leather and pup, at most you see the word “he's such a twink” in fandom which... i fr hate non mlm using that word because it's usually used to replace the f-slur essentially, used derogatorily or to call him “such a bottom” and stuff like that. It’s like a joke or an insult.

Long story short, idk mang this was a ramble and I think I'm coning down with something. I wanna see more queer women rep and women authors writing about being a queer woman too. I think it's a complex web of fetishization and a bit of forbidden love yaoi culture (or it used to be in the BOYXBOY days) as well as misogyny on an industry level, creator level, as well as reader/consumer and fandom level. I don’t think it’s inherently wrong to explore other peoples stories and what we read has to be segregated, “only mlm are allowed to read and write mlm, only wlw are allowed to read and write wlw,” but I also think author’s intent and audience and background is telling, as well as overall statistics. Like about an hour ago I was looking for cookbooks in spanish or in english, and I was looking for some mexican food cook books, but I had to look for them using words in spanish because otherwise what came up was a bunch of “fiesta party, easy as uno dos tres authentic cooking!” and I was like… hm. Since I could tell they were marketing to anglos. (also the author’s last names were like michelle smith, james cooper, and this could be for a variety of reasons, but I trust Hispanic names more tbh and deadass would look at the authors pictures and if they had other books in Spanish or what their specialties were.)

anyways. not sure how to end this. uhm if anyone has any book recs (my to read list is like 500 books tho no joke) preferably not YA white mlm written by a white lady, hopefully queer women written by queer woman, LMK, I need more wlw and queer women stories on my list. I have a decent amount but always looking for more. I kinda wanna link my goodreads or my storygraph but I also don't want to get doxxed and it has my legal name on it so.

Also, I'm dyslexic and using spell check but if there's like some wild typos my b.

[lizparkcr]

ok so im trying to avoid having emotions about the shitshow that is the local elections so i dont yknow breakdown and ive been meaning to make a post for ages abt muriel’s route i have so many thoughts. obvious spoilers ahead not that i have more than like 2 followers who play arcana game

firstly....i was kinda underwhelmed with the second half/ending of his route. disclaimer i haven’t replayed it and haven’t got the reversed ending, only upright, and my memory sucks and i played it a while ago. SO, things that I....don’t understand:

1. SUCH a massive deal is made out of muriel (and MC) having to learn to fight, the plot literally hinges on it, only for it to swing off the plot all together into oblivion and for the final showdown to be....a series of literal games.* And I wouldn’t disagree with this as an ending tbh!!!! I think it’s fucking great actually -- a non-violent resolution to further signify Muriel’s journey from violence and isolation to peace and fun and family, and tbh sort of a massive fuck you to lucio; LITERALLY RETURNING to the coliseum only to BEAT Lucio WITHOUT returning to the violence that lucio forced on him, turning it into a place of actual joy. Like fuck!!  BUT with the whole first part it just doesn’t fucking fit lmao? Muriel could have faced his demons in the beginning without learning to fight at all, he still could have had that journey. Morga could have just traveled with them right? Or even better he could have refused to fight and then the ending would have been even better. We could have had a moment of Morga acknowledging their strength??? Acknowledging their non-violent victory WITH PRIDE??? Bringing her to reflect on her choices as a mother and a leader??? Devs why couldn’t we have had that :(  I may be remembering wrong but the apparent necessity of Morga teaching them to fight is the biggest source of tension for at least a book. It’s the reason for his first kiss with the MC!  Also yeah speaking of tension with Morga 

2. SUCH a big deal is made out of morga becoming/reflecting as (?) a mother figure to muriel (which in itself is a very bold way to go story-wise)....only for her to be killed off. Again, I don’t disagree with this decision, I like her but story-wise it could fit. But I can’t help feel like it was really premature. This is something I feel all routes suffer from, and perhaps I am expecting too much from a game that can be played for free very easily, but every single route has pacing problems, none more than Muriel’s imo. Considering the maternal aspect of Morga (for both her and Muriel!) is sooooo fucking loaded and intense like, you cannot drop that and then kill her and not really mention her for the rest of the story. Her “ghost” made an appearance sometime later and a few sentences were said and that was it. Her and Muriel’s past was so brushed over  and idk clearly they didn’t have the time or money or whatever to develop it which is a real shame. Their journeys could have run parallel or gone in opposite directions literally anything but Morga dying in a moment of weakness from a cheap trick by lucio :/ bc YEAH like that was not actually weakness but certainly what morga considers weakness!!! that mistake could have split her away from muriel+MC entirely OR brought them closer together. she could have been disgusted with herself and decided once and for all to let go of lucio as a son and go her own way to destroy him, or she could have woken up to what she can do differently now and work with Muriel and co and let go of lucio that way. idk man it was just a waste

Right then....onto the romance. or. lack of :( this is completely subjective, I know some people were v happy with it but like, this could not have been a drier route and im so fucking sad about it. There were definitely some sweet moments, but that was sort of it for me. I get what they were going for, but it’s personally sad to me that Muriel’s contentedness seems to have come at the expense of sensual intimacy/tension. like there was just absolutely no spice whatsoever. I saw someone describe the MC relationship as basically platonic and...yeah. Very little intimacy that wasn’t like, cuddling or holding hands, which since there wasn’t much to build on anyway just came across as nice but unexciting. It felt like it became too easy and too normal too quickly?  Naturally touch was such a precious and important thing in the beginning as Muriel was learning to trust, but that just did not get explored imo. The first kiss wasn’t...the worst, but it was sort of OOC to me. They could have got so deep with that first kiss -- the opportunity, the trust, the choice. “Happy accident” scenarios can be great and definitely could have worked for his story, but for the first kiss i was like oh ok we’re here now?? and..muriel’s ok with that considering we were just uhh sobbing about his forced servitude and violence?? idk how i haven’t mentioned it yet but the way the tone was all over the fucking shop in that book gave me serious whiplash. Anyway  it’s so disappointing bc c’monnnnn this whole relationship is brand new to BOTH mc and muriel.  At the start every touch is a small turning point and i think they did that so well, you feel excited at the development and where it will go, but then it’s like “ok well we’re together now so everything is easy and breezy”. you can create emotional tension (the good kind) through touch EVEN if they’re both ace. which the MC is not bc its the self insert character so. yeah. i feel like im probably being a bit harsh in retrospect but this is what has stuck with me. 

This leads me to Muriel himself, and what to me was the biggest opportunity to do blow everyone’s minds bc he was SUCH a mystery before his route. Dark and brooding but shy and caring, anti-social through anxiety and fear but lonely, his reluctant but consistent support of Asra and his friends. And that was all teased in the beginning! ....and then completely fell flat. Similar to my first point: they had some deep emotional development going, Muriel literally coming face to face with the past he never knew, and the past he wishes he could forget, learning to actually be around people, learning to trust people (and ngl i fucking loved the beginning stages with MC so much), and overcoming his anxiety and pessimism. He and MC literally travel together alone for weeks. WEEKS! And much of that is skipped by. We have big emotional scenes but not much in between. And then...and yknow im not sure where it changes...after khamgalai dies? (and dont get me started on that what the fuck was the point of THAT?) after MC goes to the arcane realms? I can’t remember but at some point it’s like...all tension is gone lmao. Including tension between MC and Muriel, and he becomes quite two dimensional. It was just rushed.  Vesuvia is in ruins, Nadia and co chased out of the palace, Lucio taking control etc but like...it doesn’t feel like it matters? Im really not saying that his route has to be all doom and gloom at all but don’t MAKE it doom and gloom and then do a 180 yknow? I remember Julian’s route in particular being so fucking tense, even though I knew I got the upright ending, that dinner scene was...phew. (and i do get that naturally the first 3 routes are bound to be a more exciting experience bc i was less familiar w the game etc but still, there was just 0 tension). 

im not even gonna talk about the MC’s past reveal bc i have issues with it in every route so whatever 

so yeah i love muriel and i still like the arcana but it’s writing and pacing is just so inconsistent and it makes me sad. I will continue to fanon Muriel’s route to death. 

*It’s occurred to me that the reversed ending may be more violent and actually fit with where the story seemed to be going in the start, but I stand by the opinion that it doesn’t matter because it still doesn’t make sense. I shouldn’t have to play the reverse ending to be like “oh ok that was the point of that” bc it should make sense and serve purpose in both endings, which i dont think it does.

[pekorosu]

haven’t read BL in a loooooong time but i picked one up today! no regrets :)

初恋、カタルシス。(First love, catharsis) by Hatokawa Nuko

so basically it’s your usual fluffy slice-of-life romance, except the protag tsukishima ikki is nonsexual! (aka “romantic asexual” in english)

spoilery thoughts ahead:

the story revolves around him and his boyfriend karakida touma, who is your average label-less/straight-with-an-exception BL dude. in contrast, ikki explicitly identifies as nonsexual. 

that said, there still are sex scenes, so it's very much an “asexual who’s okay with sex” depiction. THAT SAID, ikki is also sex averse to a certain extent... and that’s where the consent gets a lil iffy. but it’s the kind of thing that most ace people would understand, i think. the conflict between wanting to assert your boundaries but feeling guilty for not being able to “provide” in that sense, and genuinely wanting to make your partner happy by indulging them...

i mean, karakida is a chill loving dude, but also a v sexual person and so, his pushiness kinda borders on dubcon? particularly so in one scene, which ends up leading to a breakup. and it’s obvious that ikki’s not always okay with it, even when he says he is. although, by the end of it all, they seem to have come to an acceptable arrangement.

personally tho, i can relate and am okay with the gray areas, but i know some people might not be okay with anything that’s not active enthusiastic consent so i’m raising flags here just in case. considering the genre’s infamy for rape tho, i’d say the issue with consent here was tackled realistically.

but speaking about sex scenes, what i absolutely LOVED was the fact that there was NO anal sex at all. heavy focus on relationship moments and NO RIDICULOUS OBSSESSION WITH STICKING IT UP THE BUTT BEING THE PINNACLE OF TRUE LOVE? IVE BEEN WAITING FOREVER FOR SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN BL GOD FUCKING BLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i do think it's super convenient that the “uke" is the one who's nonsexual tho, bc well, being a “prude” and constantly being pestered by the horny seme is like THE traditional BL setup lol.

but anyway, i don’t actually have an issue with it bc i feel like ikki’s nonsexuality is treated with proper nuance without it being too in-your-face or preachy, if you get what i mean? i get the feeling that it’s probably personal to the artist, or at least, they’ve done their research and isn’t just using this as a quirky trope.

the manga probs won't be very satisfying for ppl who want to read about aces in committed romantic relationships without sex, but well. it's rare enough to find one that acknowledges it's possible to be in love without experiencing sexual attraction, so i consider this a godsend.

also the character interactions are adorable, haha. don’t wanna end up quoting and spoiling everything, but rn my mood is that lil extra where karakida’s like “look snow! don’t you wanna play?” and ikki’s like “how old do you think i am?” and karakida just launches him into the snow and ikki’s like “...pls do it again.” lol

oh yeah, there's a scene where karakida sorta conflates gender with sexuality? he tells ikki "you’re fine the way you are, you’re you, you’re ikkigender" or something like that. idk if it’s a mistake or a cultural difference or meant to highlight karakida’s cluelessness... i’m inclined to think it’s the last one, bc ikki replies with “i have a dick, you know” (implied: i’m still a man) which. eh. casual cissexism but p standard fare /shrug. but anyway for a moment i was like uhhhhhhhhhhh ok. lol.

the art style is nice too... it swings from a clean and beautifully detailed style, to a very uniquely hilarious one imo. see below:

i esp love it when their noses just vanish. looked a lil awkward to my eyes at first but ended up growing on me. so silly looking hehe

anyway if you're interested and can read japanese, feel free to give it a go. i purchased mine from pixiv, but it’s probs available elsewhere :)

[sakuya123draws]

for the end of year meme: 1, 8, 10, 14, 20 !! Please and thank you!

OH MAH GOD IT’S LATE!!! (I am so sorry @nalufever I finally got around to answering asks and I’m starting with the most recent ones!! It’s appropriate as they are for the “End of the year” meme I reblogged!)

 Anyways, without further ado, let’s answer these lovely questions~! >w

1. First things first, did you have a good year?

A: Well, I guess that is the first thing to ask when jumping from one year to the other! ^_^ If I’m being honest the year started out really bad. Lots of family problems, stress from college and my horrible relationship was weighing me down and draining me of my energy. I never want to blame anything on anyone, but I was in a dysfunctional relationship with someone and I finally got out of it around April. It’s a long story, but I don’t feel like dwelling on that stuff. I’m stronger now! (I mean I “hope” so ^ ^;) I was happy that I got in the honours roll for my first year which gave me entry to showing my artwork to judges at the college I got to! It was an amazing experience and I made some cool friends along the way! It’s a small class, but we’re like a family. :D As for my actual family, I lost my grandma…She was an inspiration to me and even today I will always show my appreciation for my grandparents! Other than that, my family had gotten better and we can finally understand each other a bit more when it comes to communication which is always a plus!! :3 Even on here with Tumblr being who it is, I still have lots of friends that didn’t leave and I’m happy to see they are better from last year! In short, (cause you can see THIS is a paragraph xD) I think the year was wishy-washy! It was all over the place, but it made up for it at the end to be called “good”. ^v^

8. Which fashion trends did you hate?

(I thought of him when I thought of the word fashion xD Don’t kill me, I LOVE Max

A: Even though my mom is a lady who lives by fashion, I can’t say I know the styles of 2018! ;w; I looked up a source (well you know Vogue and all that jazz :/) to base my opinion on. I only think this would be easier if I could say what I “loved”, but it’s a hate one so gotta be mean xD lol. I mean I never “hate” anything, so I’m gonna give it a shot. 

One thing I don’t like about fashion trends if I’m being frank is that it’s usually clothes on the runway. Many styles I see based on Vogue’s source are styles I can’t see the everyday person wearing. Personally, I wouldn’t wear half of those designs outside. That’s just me. My sense of style is a hybrid of my mom’s fashion she wears/sells, 80′s-90′s fashions and cutesy outfits. (that I think I’d look bad in ;w;) I’m gonna give a small bullet point list. (I know I always say small xD)

 Arty Impressions - This was the first one on the article I read. From what I can gather it’s fashion with famous works printed on it. (Artworks, for example, Andy Warhol’s, screenprints) I mean I can see the connection, but for me wearing something with a reproduced art piece is hard for me to personally wear. LIke it has to be done like how T-shirts have a design in the middle or small embellishments on it to make me wear it. The example I saw is fun and creative, but for me, I couldn’t see myself liking/wearing those pieces. It depends. 5/10? I guess xD

Plastic/see-through material - This honestly has been a reoccurring style that I have seen. It’s become more prominent now according to last year’s trends. I can’t stand the “see-through” look. I don’t know what it is, but it’s just too awkward to wear outside. LIke people will defend that you can wear what you want, but for ME and ME Only, I can’t wear those kinds of stuff. I would feel very scared/concerned with how I look. (Even to myself) If you don’t know what I am referring to, I mean like that umbrella looking material. (I’ve added the source in the paragraph above for this question! ^_^)

Geometric/Flannel Print - I can never see myself liking the flannel scene. For pyjamas, no problem! To wear outside, I can’t bring myself to do that. You can see me in an old sweater, but flannel I don’t think any of my friends have seen me in that xD I just can’t say it’s aesthetically pleasing to me. I have a problem liking this style. Maybe I will when I get older, but as I’m young and creative I see myself wearing clothes for the young generation! :P (my mom says that anyways xD lol) The clothes that make you feel like partying, even though you don’t go outside like me xD lol 

As much as I love talking about fashion, I think I would bore everyone with my opinions. xD (You’re definitely not here for these are you? xD If so, thank you) 

10. What song sums up this year for you?

A: I don’t have a definite answer, but I went through a lot of things. Many times I wanted to be in a dream world…Like to escape everything. All the pain and depression. I still feel that way, but in 2018 it was WAY worse. This song I originally heard in Silent Hill: Downpour (A GAME I LOVE ;w;) was a song I thought of when I see this question. I think it’s a great song! sad, but I’d recommend it. The singer’s voice is lovely. It invokes so many emotions in me ;w; (I’ll give a youtube link) 

Ed Harcourt - From Every Sphere

14. Favorite new TV show?

(I HAD to make it this guy >w

WARNING: HUGE ANSWER BELOW!

A: Well, as you may know, I don’t watch many shows anymore. I mostly play video games, but for the sake of this amazing question, I’ll say what anime(s) I did enjoy last year! I don’t think I’ve ever loved an anime as much as I love Gintama. It’s really funny because I originally “disliked” Gintama. It was a naive thing for the young me to have said at the time. I judged the show so harshly after seeing anime (IMO) being shat on with the usual themes and scenes I ALWAYS see. I began to give up on anime as a whole. My story starts when I was pissed at my brother telling me, “Gintama is amazing Tash, trust me you’ll regret hating it.” I answered with my normal response of, “ sure Ja, you ALWAYS say that. How will this be any different?” Maybe I shouldn’t have said that…Well, it’s too late now for present-day me. My brother showed me all the “humorous” parts first. (I honestly felt like he tricked me, but the show really starts that way xD) Anyways, we eventually watched a few episodes and I told him I didn’t understand the humour. (it’s honestly hard to get into if you’re not open-minded or don’t understand the comedy Sorachi uses) Until he decided to hit me with his ace, “The Shinsengumi Crisis Arc”. All I can say is, a different side of me was born. I started to see what a show could truly offer if it was done right, the way I wanted to see it. It’s hard to explain, but without Gintama’s sad/inspirational/happy/stupid/clever story writing/arcs I don’t think I would have ever gotten through 2018. I haven’t finished the episodes as of its recent update, but I really learned a lot from the show. I want to give a HUGE shoutout to Sorachi for writing this masterpiece and I would 10000% recommend it to ANYONE! It’s a show that changed my views on people’s situations and lives. I think all the arcs are amazingly written and so far I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of it! It really got me in the feels. I can honestly say that if you can’t feel after seeing an arc in Gintama, you haven’t felt. It’s that amazing! (Then AGAIN, it’s an opinion not everyone will sadly share xD) Also, I am really enjoying Bleach! I’m sad at how it ended in terms of what things happened and I honestly hope Kubo will be ok. I loved his episodes and the earliest ones really touched my heart like Gintama. He’s also really great at making me cry every episode! :P

(GOD SORRY FOR THE ESSAY AND STUPID STORY LINES xD I’m sorry I can’t add a RM for this b/c then everything under can’t be seen like the other answers ;w;) 

20. Did you develop a new obsession?

Well…YES! Many obsessions!! The real question is which is the one that I obsess over the most? Well I’ll put some bullet points to hopefully make it smaller xD

First of all, I don’t want to say it but I’ve taken a “liking” (what an understatement lol) to Gin Ichimaru from Bleach~! >////

I think everyone knows, but I have an obsession with cute/pink/pretty stuff. (Can it be called that?) I just LOVE pastel colours or pinks/blues/purples. Those kinds of soft colours you see in Hello Kitty toys or Fairy Kei/Kawaii merch (if I’m correct xD) I just have a HUGE soft spot for childhood stuff! I literally still act like a kid xD lol I don’t think I’ll be growing up anytime soon haha xD lol I just love to collect them! :) 

Vaporwave I guess has become a new obsession and old art styles of the past! I just can’t stop being in awe at those marble statues! The curvature and bodies are so magnificent! >w

So many different art styles that are brought to this world! :D This is the truth! I absolutely love most styles I see on here and whenever I encounter them! >w

Other than that, I don’t think I have any other obsessions I know about :P Sorry, I’m super boring xD That’s the art student life lol (only me guys xD dw)

THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR MESSAGING ME AND SENDING THIS AMAZING ASK YOU AWESOME PERSON!!! @nalufever I am so happy to have gotten something from you and I hope you’ve had a great Christmas and Happy New Year, friend!! I hope you stay happy and healthy this year!! All the best to you! Thank so much once again for taking the time :)

If anyone else is interested, you can send me something as well~!

Take care from me and Happy New Years everyone!!!

Saku~!

[sorikkung]

You did an intro to got7 a while ago could you maybe do one for A.C.E.??? They seem like a good group but I'm clueless atm so it would be v helpful!!!

lololol i did an intro to mark from got7 but not got7 as a whole, but yes ofc i will i love my talented bois and i love rambling about them heRE WE G O

an introduction to a.c.e, for dummies (jk ily choice is a great fandom pls join us)

also this is gonna get rlly long so im gonna put it under a cut

A.C.E is a 5-member boygroup under beat interactive!! which is a p small company atm so my boys dont exactly have the high quality living and practice areas and food that they deserve :(( THEYLL GET THERE THO IM SURE OF IT THEYRE LEGENDS

here’s their youtube channel with aaaaall sorts of goodies

i started stanning a.c.e predebut, bc they had a lot of content for a group that hadn’t debuted yet, and it was enough to snatch my attention real quick so you should check that shit out, they did a shitton of AMAZING covers and to get their name out there more, street buskings its a lot but i swear its worth your time theyre so talented!!

also they have matching tracksuits what more could you ask for tbh (as you can see from that vid, they’re literally so fucking extra)

a few of my favs are

this rlly long busking video w girl group songs and just a bit of everything tbh,

THIS amazing remix/cover of kard’s don’t recall by the rap line + this one cute girl,

only THE most iconic playing w fire cover, band version, (I WILL NEVER STOP SCREAMING ABOUT THAT VIDEO HONESTLY I COULD MAKE A POST ON THAT COVER ALONE ISTG) 

their flashlight cover that is enough to make a grown man cry omfuckigngOD it makes me feel things hjskskkh

that ONE TAKE dance cover they did of 3 of taeyangs songs, all focusing on a different member of the dance line

im gonna stop here before i link every damn cover they made

okay so now that thats covered (bad-um-tss) time for…DEBUT

THIs beauty right here is their debut song cactus, which has this really deep meaning to it. bc they came from a small company so they have to work extra hard to even be able to debut let alone be successful and they’re like a cactus bc cacti grow in the desert where there’s very little water but they still manage to stand strong even through the hardest of weather an environment conditions and eventually sprout beautiful flowers,, buuuuuut its also a meme for obvious reasons.

tbh debut era choice culture was just listening to cactus on repeat for days bc it was their only song at the time skjslaas not much has changed tbh LMAO but yes theyre a very edm loving group so their DANCE SKILLS ARE ON POINT SERIOUSLY IVE SEEN FEW GROUPS AS AMAZING AT DANCING AS ACE WOWOW

oh yeah did i mention that their fandom name is choice and that choice are literally the softest fandom my multifandom ass has e v e r been in?? theres literally no cringy or toxic side of the fandom its just so soft and welcoming and pure and everyone is so nice and sweet and friendly and just??? wow i love choice a lot hjkskjsshkhk choice are also SUPER talented too stan talent stan choice

speaking of cringe ace is that group that just like skipped the entire “rlly cringy boygroup debut phase” completely like no weird debut haircuts or outfits or weird lyrics about girls, well actually thats all kinda objective but like they made those outfits work ok and im a cactus isnt that weird of a lyric if you know the deep meaning behind it

aS yOu CaN sEe, cactus era was the era of the tHIGHS and the hot pants. it was literally so iconic it blew up and with great reason too, have you seen those thighs?? AND THEY KNOW IT TOO they even mentioned they chose the hot pants as their style concept and took better care of their legs than their faces. true kings. heres a video of a.c.e talking about the whole hot pants thing and just their legs in general its some quality shit. and heres a video where they decide to show off just how great their thighs are bc they like to kill choices like that, this video is important and iconic bc its where the wowson ship began and also when they declared who the king of thighs were amongst the kings of thighs. definitely a necessary watch for new choice imo. donghun lowkey grinds on the floor at 4:04, you’ve been warned. honestly that video just gets progressively gayer lmao i love it

also for us international choice they made an ENGLISH cover of cactus CAN YOU BELIEVE IT I LOVE THEM SM they didnt have to but they did and oml stan a group who stans you back this hard their english aint that great but theyre trying and i appreciate it so much theyre so amazing look

five months later they dropped their second single, callin’, and b o y was this a stressful comeback, beat had us FOOLEd,, i genuinely thought it was gonna be a flowerboy soft concept yknow with like some sweet lowkey ballad or soft pop song, but nOOooOOOooo, MORE HARDSTYLE EDM not that im complaining callin is a bop but i was TRICKED

LOOK AT THIS SHIT ITS ALL AESTHETIC AND THE CLIP OF THE SONG WAS ALL SOFT I WAS REALLY EXPECTING SMTH SOFT im sorry im still salty that beat tricked me but ITS FINE bc callin is a HELLA BOP like i honestly didnt expect them to top cactus so quickly bc like cactus was hella but they DID and its amazing and heres the link be blessed (warning, these gifs above make it look like a soft vid but there are LOTS of flashing colours and lights and its really intense on the eyes if youre not comfortable with that dont watch, just listen)

they also supplied multiple dance pracs you can find on their channel for callin bc ace feeds us well, although callin had a reaaaally short promotion period bc right after they got thrown onto survival shows for more publicity, but hey, its working!! choice is growing bigger every day and im so proud

donghun, wow and jason all went on yg’s show mixnine, and jun and chan went on the idol rebooting show, the unit. both teams are doing EXTREMELY well on their respective shows!! but ill talk more about that in their individual member profiles bc they havent been put on the same team for anything yet rip

edit: mixnine finished and donghun and jason made the cut for the final group, sehyoon didn’t :(( so dongson will be promoting with the mixnine group for a lil bit!! also chan made it to the unit debut group but jun didnt. im hoping for a sehyjun subunit pls

that was long af but now im gonna dive into the members individually!! so its probs gonna get twice as long sorrynotsorry i warned you

Jun (Park Junhee)

jun is the so-called fiery leader of ace (also lead dancer and lead vocal) but is honestly just a giant dork and a sweetheart. hes the type of guy who you scream at for being dumb and call him an idiot but thats your weird way of expressing your undying love for him?? ask literally any jun stan, they’ll say they hate him. hate him for being so PERFECT like a fucking DISNEY PRINCE he’s the designated prince of the group you know theres always that one member and hes just so LOVEABLE and stupid and skjdakhkjs he fuckign dropped his cake on his birthday when do your faves ever. dad of the group, probably lost the maknaes in the shopping mall about 3 times already. talks a lot, hates aegyo, his members might be planning on sacrificing him to satan? he does on idol class with chan every…i think its wednesday and fans vote who gets punishments n stuff and jun loses every damn time i think hes losing his faith in choice lmao. #saveleaderjun

he’s kinda married to donghun, they’re the parents of ace but donghun might try murder him in his sleep idk man, but now hes on the unit with chan and theyre all cute and you can literally ship everyone with everyone in this group

he has HELLA charisma on stage tho oh my gOd also he has one of the most unique singing voices ive ever heard so its really easy to single out, his face also is the first i learned to tell apart?? he has rlly high cheekbones and a wide but thin smile.

this is actually an ot5 video not just jun but jun’s reaction was by far the most iconic so i have to put it in his section, get you a fave who can FLY lmaooo

it would be CRIMINAL if i didnt solo out jun’s ringa linga cover, thE MOST ICONIC JUN COVER EVER HJFKDSJKFDSJK if i ever stop talking about this assume im dead bc IVE NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT jun in a leather jacket looking all rude and staring at the camera like that im WEAK, SO WEAK, AAAAAAAAHHHH

[ahem] MOVING ON

Donghun (Lee Donghun)

donghun, sometimes romanised as donghoon and often referred to by choice as hun or hoon, is the oldest member of the group and another total sweetheart, honestly ace is just a group of sweethearts, he cares for his members so damn much and is super soft?? but ALSO A s Av Age he’s on mixnine with sehyoon and jason and he SHOT DOWN YG, once again I C O N I C, yg was at a loss for words, heres more receipts of him being savage, i love my sassy boyfriend. BUT HES ALSO A SWEET NOODLE HJKSHJKS oH and did you know that before he joined a.c.e he had no experience in dancing whatsoever and in a year and a half, he caught up with the other four members that have been dancing since they were kids?? I STAN TALENT YALL you’d literally never be able to guess that bc all of them are like on an equal dance level its insane

also he used to have braces during cactus era and it was the softest shit

[cOUGHS] so like did someone say disrespect,,, bc he can do that too,,,,, aAAAAAAAH the duality of this man istg

he’s the main vocalist and has vO C AL S OF AN A N GEL, he has so much soul and emotion in his voice, and has adlibs for days oh my god, he also has the MOST BEAUTIFUL FALSETTO i’ve ever heard, fight me, actually come at me. his voice works REALLY well with chan so they pair him up with him for quite a handful of covers like the all of me one i linked (one of my favs omfg it makes me emo) cause like, his soulful voice plus chan’s higher, sweet voice just sounds so great together i love our main vocals wow.

sPEAKING OF WOW,

Wow (Kim Sehyoon)

his stage name is wow, but its hard to take seriously so the fandom just calls him sehyoon lmfao. it used to be seyoon but when he went on mixnine, he revealed sehyoon was the official romanization so here we are lmao. even if your bias isn’t sehyoon…it’s sehyoon. he’s just that guy ya feel me?? anyways sehyoon is a relatively quiet and reserved guy, but his members really pull out the dork in him, i love it so much?? he doesn’t talk much but when he does all of a.c.e directs their full attention to him to listen, its really sweet, hes pretty awkward with people but you can tell he just feels so safe and comfortable with ace it honestly warms my heart. he’s the main rapper and main dancer, but!! our multitalented man is also a vocalist. yes, you heard, me, the main rapper can sing, and really well at that. (if you scroll up back to the flashlight and dont recall covers, you can see more of his voice.)

gets the least lines, but not by much. although hearing his singing voice in their actual songs has happened like with 2 lines?? so idk man im just waiting for their ballad song that theyre apparently doing for their third song, god im so ready. i love his voice a lot, damn.

he’s also like reeeeeeeeeally gay for jason…the entire fandom ships it and they even ship it themselves. wowson, the otp of ace, they honestly just cant keep their hands off eachother??? i know a friend who struggled to tell apart jun and jason so she just looked at who sehyoon was standing next to and instantly knew it was jason. THEYRE SO CLINGY. i love my squishy boyfriends. 

OHHH BOY…i really could’ve used an even more disrespectful gif than this but that would ruin the surprise of watching it in the actual video!! as you can see, sehyoon is the K I N G of disrespect on stage, that shy lil fluffle bean you see offstage?? GONE. DISAPPEARED. VANISHED. this is why his stage name is wow, sehyoon disappears and you just go wow. choice has dubbed him king of bodyrolls with great reason, he makes every concept into a sexy concept, he just has that intimidatingly sexy aura to him, its incredible. 

now…are you ready….i bet youre not…who am i kidding NOBODY was ready for this shit. on mixnine, sehyoon was picked as leader for one of their stages (i think he was leader for ringa linga too??) and got to choreograph the routine. if you think its already rude 10 seconds in, its all over for you bitches when the lighting goes yellow. i feel the need to repeat, our boy CHOREOGRAPHED THIS. IT WAS ALL HIS IDEA. EVERY. SINGLE. PART. this is the same kid who everyone on the show knew as the shy, quiet, handsome boy. but then. 

but then he did this.

Jason (Kim Byeongkwan)

jason is his stage name that he chose for himself but his real name is byeongkwan, its another case of an idol having a stage name and nobody calling them by it?? i mean most new choice call him jason and i personally switch between the two but most choice seem to call him byeongkwan or bk if theyre extra lazy lmao. memers call him byonk sometimes.

jason is the weird child of the group and we all love him…he’s the second lil ball of sunshine and part ½ of the maknae line. he’s often found clinging to sehyoon or literally any of the members bc he’s an affectionate son who loves cuddles okay?? p r o t e c t   h i m.

he’s also the lead everything. yeah thats really not fair but jason is op ok?? singing, rapping, dancing, visual, like sehyoon he’s the full package, i can hardly call them the rap line they’re just the op line t b h. triple threats.

on their official twt jason likes to confirm wowson a lot, its p great lololol he’s the biggest wowson shipper of all time. want more wowson? i gotchu, here’s one of my absolute fav moments. (ft. junchan/chun)

he has some HELLA CHARISMA on stage like boy can u pls chill. they also love doing his eye makeup with that red makeup and it looks rlly good bc bk has such pretty eagle eyes and its his Look™ and that along with his onstage persona is a DEADLY COMBINATION HDSJKSKSLKJS 

i’m just gonna keep this short; even if your bias isnt byeongkwan, your bias is byeongkwan. he has that affect on everybody. number one bias wrecker out of the fandom t b h apart from sehyoon (he cant be my bias wrecker if he is my bias so im safe :^J)

Chan (Kang Yuchan)

INTRODUCING OUR CHANSHINE, MAIN VOCAL OF ACE, CUTIE MAKNAE CHAN!!!! he always introduces himself as a.c.e’s main vocal cutie maknae chan, its his iconic line and it suits him so well like LOOK AT HIM ISNT HE JUST A FUCKING RAY OF SUNSHINE WHAT A PURE CHILD I MUST PROTECC he’s literally the happy virus y’all AND ACE KNOWS IT TOO heres this one time where donghun even said that looking at chan cheers him up. certified sunshines only, everyone. also watch that whole video its long but its worth your time.

anyways our boy is a main vocal and as mentioned in donghun’s part they harmonize!!! so!! well!! i mean tbh all of ace can harmonize with eachother its the most beautfiul thing but these two are main vocal for a reason okay. if you didn’t already watch it in donghun’s part listen to THIS and have your ears be blessed i cry everytime oh my god skdfhd ALSO THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT ITS LIKE ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET i want to cry i lvoe chans voice so much i love chan i love kang yuchan og hmylhdg sodf i was gonna say i swear im sehyoon biased but im not istg ace is bias wrecking me 24/7 its been the hardest group to pick a bias in ever im not kidding i cant even

also known as kang RUDE, chan was all innocent sunshine and daisies until out of the blue he decided to give the disrespect king sehyoon a run for his fucking money. NOBODY FUCKING SAW IT COMING WE ALL THOUGHT HE WAS SO PURE AND THEN HE SUDDENLY STARTED FLASHING HIS ABS EVERYWHERE AND GRINDING ON THE FLOOR AND DOING THAT AND WE JUST CANT HANDLE IT i dont know a kang yuchan please save me oh my lord

okay this already has an ungodly amount of links and honestly i could go on, but this should be a good enough kickstart for you!!

stan talent stan a.c.e everyone. welcome to the choice family. its literally the softest and sweetest fandom out there. we welcome you with open arms and lots of cacti!!!

[tipsoctopus]

"This guy destroyed us", "Get him": Many Spurs fans loving links to £18m-rated "dream defender"

Having conceded 40 goals in their 29 Premier League games this season, it’s no surprise to hear Tottenham are keen on strengthening their defence ahead of the next campaign.

The Lilywhites’ record is the joint-worst amongst those in the top ten in the league table, and one area of concern is certainly at right-back. Serge Aurier has been the picture of unreliability since his arrival in north London, giving away plenty of penalties in his time at the club.

And with Kyle Walker-Peters being sent out on loan to Southampton instead of being kept as a potential rotation option, it’s evident Spurs need a new full-back.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

According to French publication L’Equipe (via Get French Football News), that man could well be RB Leipzig’s Nordi Mukiele. The report claims that Spurs have made contact with the defender’s camp to inform them of their interest in the Frenchman.

After hearing about their links to the £18m-rated ace, Spurs fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their potential transfer target.

Said it during the first leg at whl top top player

made it look too easy

— Ian Meadows (@ianmeds86) April 22, 2020

a wicked player

— Sir Jose Mourinho

(@MourinhoTheGOAT) April 22, 2020

He’s a beast ! Get him

— AARON|SPRY (@thatsmeronnie) April 23, 2020

This is my dream defender signing

— James (@N17_James) April 22, 2020

Some Spurs fans insisted that they would rather sign Mukiele than Norwich defender Max Aarons – a player who they have also been recently linked with.

Na I want this guy as my RB The guy destroyed us when he played at RB v us This guy I would take over Aarons mate He’s class.

— SpursSignSomeoneGoodInSummer (@SpursTransfer10) April 22, 2020

Far more like a Mourinho defender than Max Aarons

— Deco (@miamibyrne) April 22, 2020

hes better than aarons imo

— Jspurs (@Jspurs3) April 22, 2020

Spurs fans will know all about Mukiele having seen him up close during the north London side’s clash with Leipzig in the Champions League knock-out stages earlier this year.

The 22-year-old is equally capable of playing at right full-back as he is at playing in the centre of defence, and that kind of versatility simply gives Jose Mourinho an added option to bolster his back-line.

It’s a move that makes sense on a lot of levels.

Meanwhile, Spurs fans react to Jan Vertonghen’s comments about his future.

from FootballFanCast.com https://ift.tt/2S3YOh7 via IFTTT from Blogger https://ift.tt/352sPTz via IFTTT

[pendulumprince]

what are your thoughts/hopes/predictions for the next yugioh series based on what we know? I have a few but until we know who's directing it it's hard to know how it's going to turn out (btw, nice to have you back!)

I posted something relating to my predictions for Yusaku a few days ago. But I’ll write on my hopes/predictions for the series itself because I like taking shots into the abyss and seeing what, if anything, sticks. I also… need to take my mind off of Arc V for a minute…

So, my thoughts on it? I’m very interested to see what the VR system has in store. I’m currently imagining it as being sort of like season 1 action fields were, times a thousand. The setting of it will change depending on the duel, just like action fields—but it’ll also go a step further. I think everything—everything—will be highly interactive. It’ll be another world onto itself, perhaps even as expansive.

And I think that’s where the danger lies. Even if the VR world feels completely real and like it’s own separate universe, that doesn’t mean it stops being artificial. It sounds like it would be powered by some sort of super computer, and like any computer, it would be vulnerable to corruption (hacking, viruses, blue screen of death, ect).

Now, imagine our young Yusaku and his band of merry thugs getting stuck in a corrupted VR world. Honestly, if it is a computer, I can’t see the writers not doing something like this. Depending on how severe it is, it can either be some minor, two episode conflict, or the endgame duel. I believe the latter would be most likely if the VR world is revealed to have any sort of sentience.

Then there’s also how duelists can change their appearances in the VR world, which is probably going to be Yusaku’s biggest incentive to try dueling. There’s one post (I can’t find it now; if anyone wants to help out, let me know so I can link it?) theorizing that he’s going to keep his identity hidden for as long as possible, and that it’ll be a sort of superman-esque scenario—so he goes around dueling under his persona, perhaps even gains a sizable fan base, but no one knows that it’s actually him. This would be an interesting way to both explore Yusaku’s apparent shyness, his hidden depths (whatever that may entail), and to re-invent the hero theme GX had going on.

Now, getting back to the ‘real world’. Everything’s supposed to take place in a HS setting. The fact that Yusaku starts off as a non-duelist means that the system is likely going to be similar to the one in Arc V—that is, regular school in the morning and afternoon, and then a dueling cram school that Yusaku will eventually go to.

As I said in the above post, I’m hoping that it won’t be a boarding school, because that would be too reminiscent of GX for my taste. I want a dynamic setting. One of the biggest beefs I had with GX is that for the first two seasons, the setting was stale as hell (imo). The only way I could see a boarding school working is if it’s some sort of blend between GX and Arc V’s systems. So it can’t only be a duel school, and it’s dueling program has to be voluntary in order to conform to Yusaku’s lack of previous experience.

But no matter what type of HS he goes to, when it comes to his personal life I really do want his family to be involved. If there’s one element of Arc V that YGO6 recaptures, I want it to be the exploration of different family dynamics. I also hope that they amend where Arc V went wrong in this aspect. So, I don’t want him to have one particular parent that he worships right up until the end. I don’t want his parents to be separated by anything other than divorce or death (which would be great concepts to explore, if they’re taken seriously and not used for simple angst). I’m just not feeling a rehash of Yusho’s (and apparently, Kazuma’s) stories.

And then there are his potential friends. As I said in the post above, I don’t think he’ll start off with any. But he’s going to “meet a lot of new people through dueling”, which means that he’ll be gaining friends as the story goes on. We just don’t have any names or faces yet.

And I don’t care. A lack of information never stops me from at least expressing my hopes for what I’d like to see. But it does confine me to defining them via archetype. 

So based on other types of friends we’ve seen in the past spinoffs, we’ll probably get some combination of:

the rival

the ride-or-die

the foil (to Yusaku)

the rich kid

the lone girl (damn, it hurts to write that)

the angry/brash one

the thickheaded one

the morally questionable one 

the non-duelist

the upperclassman (the older friend)

the underclassman (the younger friend/the ‘child’)

Now, all that sounds rather boring and predictable–name any spinoff, and you can fit most of the protag’s friends into these categories. But there’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these archetypes, because they’re all eventually filled with individual characters who fill their “roles” in unique ways. 

Still, as far as my hopes go, I’d want number 6 to shake them up more than the previous spinoffs did. How can that happen?

Make the rival a girl. Make the rival noticeably younger than Yusaku. The rival doesn’t have to have an overpowered deck—I think it would be interesting to have a rival who used, say, a death-by-a-thousand-cuts strategy, or who had a 0 ATK ace. The rival also doesn’t have to be jaded and bitter. They could be optimistic and peppy, but also highly competitive.

The ride-or-die doesn’t have to be stuck in second place behind our protag. Make the-ride-or-die one in the same with the rival, right from the start.

There isn’t much room to play with the foil; this one varies depending on who they’re playing opposite to. The one thing I can think of? Make the foil a girl. 

The rich kid could be a girl. Instead of having them be some pompous windbag, they can be spoiled sweet. They could be super generous—the product of a functioning, loving family. It would also be great if they don’t give a damn about rare cards—or if they do, they don’t bring up the subject in front of people who can’t afford them. 

It would so kick ass if the lone girl was also a formidable duelist. I want her to have agency, and to not be regulated to the sidelines (at any point in the story). It would be great, and so different from what we’ve always gotten, if all of her strategies are based on overpowering her opponents through brute strength alone. Let the girl’s monsters be fiends, or insects, or beasts. Give her a scary, 3000 ATK ace. And, if they want to go above and beyond and be truly radical (by YGO standards)? Make the lone girl a lone boy. Let every other one of Yusaku’s friends female. Lol that’ll never happen, but it’s nice to dream.

The angry one could be a girl. Instead of bombastic and egotistical, their anger could be rational, even righteous. Their anger doesn’t need to be explosive; it can smolder, quietly. I’d love to see a character so viciously unassuming that when their true nature comes through, it’s a shock to everyone (including the viewers!)

Let the thickheaded one be a girl (thus, destroying the concept that women are inherently more sensible—it puts undue burden on us). Instead of having them be book dumb and street smart, it would be interesting to see the inverse: book smart, but painfully naive, and still stubborn enough to believe that they’re always right. Or maybe their ‘stupidity’ could be a facade in order to lull people into a false sense of security. In that case, let them be a mix of archetype, and the next one.

The morally questionable one is also hard to play with, because by it’s very nature it defies boundaries. Again, the only one I can think of—make this friend archetype a girl. 

The non-duelist… well. All I can say is: for the love of god, don’t make this one a girl. Let them be a boy who cheers on everyone from the stands, including the female duelists. But all the same, let them also be plot relevant outside of their cheerleading role. 

Make the upperclassman a girl. Make senpai bumbling and unskilled.

Let the underclassman be a formidable duelist. Let them be jaded and cynical. Let Yusaku’s kohai also be his mentor in dueling. (And if that last one comes true? Say it with me: let his mentor be a girl).

More general hopes for his friends: more than one relevant girl (that should be obvious), queer friends, friends who all actively encourage Yusaku to come out of his shell but will rain sweet hell upon anyone who tries to mess with him. And if Yusaku ends up having any siblings, I want them to be plot revenant enough so that they’ll also be able to fit into one of these archetypes.

… damn, this is longer than I thought it’d be lol. What do you think is going to happen?

[muninnhuginn]

Top 5 Ace Attorney cases?

This is probably going to be very stereotypical and my attempts at explanations are bad but oh well :x. I had to look up the case numbers to double check, oops. Not in any particular order:

1-5 You get to meet Ema :3. This case makes Edgeworth’s motives for leaving a lot clearer than it would have been without too. I know a lot of people say the pacing for this is way off but I like that it’s so long because when you’ve defeated it it makes it so worth it? This was the case that stepped up in difficulty for me. I think it was the first time I accidentally messed up enough to get kicked back to earlier so either it was more difficult or the Blue Badger threw me entirely off :P. But the fact it was more challenging, I liked a lot.

4-1 It sets the vibe for Apollo Justice really well and doesn’t have a whole load of panty jokes :V. Also I like the soundtrack for this game a lot but can’t bring myself to like any of the other cases enough without their drawbacks to put them on here. (Like the case “eight years ago” (iirc could be wrong) where suddenly Phoenix was massively confident and actually remembered Payne’s name despite it only being like two weeks from the end of 3-5, OOC :V) Basically, this case is what imo AJ had the potential to be but never quite made it after the first case.

6-5 The twist was great and I figured it out, yay me (I mean that genuinely. Once you realise the twist everything anyone says suddenly becomes kinda darker :x). I think partly because the case is so long you just get lots of everything? And whilst I think it messed up with Nahyuta/Amara/Ga’ran a bit (by which I mean, there is zero subtlety with them and their potential was somewhat wasted imo) it did really well with other stuff. Like, weirdly, Inga, and then obviously Dhurke; Rayfa too. It also made me like Apollo a lot more than I had done beforehand. (Cornered Heart ftw)

AAI2-3 You get to play as a particular character :D. And *a lot* of things depend on how this case went if you think it through. It was nicely done for it to fit in so well. And then you get the parallels with everyone when you switch back to the other character which I appreciate.

3-5 So, three reasons for this. One: it links in with all the stuff about Mia from 3-1 and clicks it all together really nicely (even if some of the hints were scattered around in cases like 3-4 which, uh, I really didn’t like). Two: You get to play as Edgeworth for the first time and the interactions around him defending are great. Three: it just works really well as a closer for the original trilogy imo. I do regret I’d had parts of this spoilt for me before playing though :

No Dai Gyakuten Saiban because I’ve not played them (not patient enough to wait for the whole game translations) and am only just getting around to watching it atm. Asougi laughing like Dhurke creeps me out though :P. None of the Layton crossover either because not played it.

[omnigeekempire]

Well, this truly is the last day and blog of the decade huh? Man, I can’t even remember where all the years went to to be honest, but I guess that just means I’m getting old, or maybe I spent most of my time playing video games and didn’t realize. Either way, in the last decade I have played some remarkable games of that period, many of which have left a lasting impact on my psyche. So today, I wanted to commemorate those games in this blog today. My Top 30 games of the last decade!

Now, I know many have done this kind of thing already, some even rounding it up to just ten games, however, when I look back at the times and all the games I’ve played I couldn’t leave certain games behind or out of the list. So what I’ve decided to do is break them down into the ten year period in groups and give a line or two as to why I enjoyed the game. This way the blog won’t be a chore to read. Hopefully!

2010’s

Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood & Darksiders

Let me start with Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood. I got into the series in AC2 and I was immediately engrossed with the concept of the Creed and the Assassins. So when AC:B came out, I was more than ecstatic to jump back into the world of Ezio and I was not disappointed. The combat and stealth abilities was amazing for it’s time and being able  explore 16th-century Rome as a history fan was unreal.

Darksiders was a game based on religious background, mainly the Christian belief that dealt with a post-apocalyptic Earth, where mankind has become extinct and angels and demons battle for the world’s control. Among them are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the last of the Nephilim who are tasked to bring balance to the universe. It’s I’ve always been interested in concept of angel vs demons, so seeing this take was unique. The story was great and the game had the right balance of combat, puzzling and everything in-between.

2011’s

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim & Sonic Generations

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was probably the first proper open world rpg game that I can say I’ve sunk so many hours into. I honestly remember how everyone was hyping this game up, making it seem like the ultimate game that lets you do whatever you wanted. Naturally, I was drawn to that idea and what I got was an amazing adventure that has made me a fan of the Elder Scrolls series.

After Sonic Unleashed (a criminally underrated game imo) I was starting to get excited for the future of Sonic games. I won’t lie that I am a fanboy of the blue blur as he has, and still is, one of my all time favorite video game character of all time. So when I so Sonic Generation, a game that celebrated 20 years of Sonic, I was hyped. I can happily say I was not disappointed. They finally got the gameplay right and every stage was a blast to play. To this day, many still hold this game as a standard for future modern sonic gameplay. If only they’d take inspiration from Unleashed level stages, now that would be a dream.

2012’s

Guild Wars 2, Journey & Gravity Rush

One of the main core reason why I have a PC today was all thanks to Guild Wars 2. After Champion’s Online had gotten boring, I needed another MMO to dive into and I came across this game that talked about all this features such as dynamic events and the likes. At that time, it looked amazing so I knew I needed to build a PC for it. After that, I sunk more that 500 hours into the game and I still play it occasionally from time to time.

Journey was one of those games that I just came across randomly, I had no idea what to expect but that part of why I enjoyed it so such. From its stunningly beautiful graphics to it’s simply gameplay, there was something that made me comeback to the game. The journey was something I still think about to this day, and the way they implemented the multiplayer was genius.

Just like Journey, Gravity Rush was a came I picked up when I first got the PS Vita. It’s a game that in we players take the role of Kat, a young woman who can manipulate how gravity affects her, allowing her to walk on walls and fly through the air. It was a very unique ide at the time and was one of the first PS Vita game that I enjoyed.

2013’s

Tomb Raider & Injustice: Gods Among Us

The reboot of Tomb Raider was one that of those games that I felt has always been criminally underrated considering she came before Nathan Drake’s Uncharted. I was an action-adventure video game that operated as a reboot that reconstructs the origins of Lara Croft. And that it did very well, establishing the character really well, keeping her exposition ground in a plausible world. One of my favorite aspect of the game was was seeing how the world of Yamatai, a fictional lost island in the Dragon’s Triangle off the coast of Japan unfolded as you progress through the story.

Man, Injustice: Gods Among Us gave me exactly the storyline I’d hoped for in DC story. The idea of Superman crossing the line and becoming this overbearing ruler actually made for a more compelling story in a fighting game and a DC story. Combat was great for its time but it was the storyline that captivated me.

2014’s

Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor & Dark Souls 2

Shadow of Mordor was I believe the first game that did the nemesis feature right. It was the first game that I genuinely felt a passion of hatred for a NPC that shit talked me after beating me in a fight. Forcing me to post-pone my main mission to hunt that bastard down. I enjoyed every moment of it and the story was very good from what I can remember.

Dark Souls exposes a lot of games when it first came out. And even though I’ve played the first game, the reason why I put this on the list was simply because it improved on a lot of the feature of the previous game and its the one were I played co-op with my brothers that showed no mercy in exposing me and calling me trash for dying a lot. I plan to finish the games on my own some day (i’m actually quite far into it) but it made an impact to me so it’s here.

2015’s

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain personally wasn’t my first exposure to the MGS universe, but it was the first game I became engrossed with. I never thought an open world stealth game could work, but my goodness did it work. From the story, the characters, the visuals, everything was amazing. This was the game that made me actually take the MGS series, more seriously and go back to playing the other games.

Dying light in my humble opinion did the zombie genre right. I’ve never felt scared of a slow moving zombie, but one that can run and climb building. Yep, that will do. Not only that but the traversing and free-running mechanics in the game was amazing, probably the best of it’s time.

When it comes to Until Dawn, it was one of those games that I got from the PlayStation Plus deal. I read the description about an interactive drama survival horror video game where your choices affects the story, got it and didn’t regret a second I spent with the game. The story was compelling and interesting and over time the characters started to grow on me. But man, knowing that your characters can die and you have the abilities to save them really added the tension because I wanted everyone to survive. I managed to only lose one person but shit I never liked that fucker anyones.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse did something I never thought we’d get from a dragon ball game. A brand new story that lets you be the main character. The story was OK if I’m being honest but it was the multiplayer that proved to be the most fun, before hacking became the norm.

2016’s

Final Fantasy XV & The Last Guardian

Now, despite what many will say, Final Fantasy 15 was still a great game to me. It could be that this was my first Final Fantasy game, so I didn’t have much expectations going into it but I really did enjoy my time with the game. The story of Noctics and how it all ended hit me harder than I actually expected. The gameplay was fun too and exploring the world felt rewarding. Yeah, I know they sold pieces of the story in dlc (which I did not buy) but at it’s core, I had fun playing the game.

Last Guardian was another game that I never played the original and jump right in. The game lets you clim structures, carry objects such as barrels, and operate mechanisms such as levers. It was innovative and unique, especially using Trico’s to reach areas that the boy can’t reach alone. It created this unique dynamic in which you couldn’t directly control Trico but had to tell him what to do hand hope he did it. Aside from that I really enjoyed the way the game told the story, making Trico seem almost alive in the process.

2017’s

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Little Nightmares, Nier: Automata, For Honor & Sonic Mania

I was never a fan of Zelda, I tried in the past and couldn’t get into it. So when the Breath of The Wild version for the Switch came out, I figured why not! I’ll give it one last chance and oh boy was I hooked. The amount of freedom this game gave you to solve all the puzzles and how you wanted to approach the world was insane. This is when I learned how open world games should be handled.

For a long ass time, after the Ezio/Desmond had concluded, the Assassin’s Creed story had been all over the place. No other came afterwards was able to capture the vibe I got from playing the game. That was until Assassin’s Creed Origins came out and introduced a strong character by the name of Bayek. The gameplay was solid and actually made me appreciate the changes but there was two reasons why I both this game. The first was that it was telling the origins of the Assassin’s, so that means we would be going back in time where it’s less industrialized and more ancient. Secondly, it was based in Ancient Egypt, an African civilization featuring a black assassin that didn’t start out as a slave but as a Medjay. The did both very well and the game shot up to two spot in my ac list.

Little Nightmare was a simple puzzle-platformer horror adventure game that I found enjoyable. There was something about the atmosphere of the game that kept me coming back, making me want to learn more about the world.

Nier Automata was perhaps one of the best action role-playing hack and slash video game to come in recent memories. It’s best feature was the story hands down, but not only that, the gameplay was challenging and there was a lot or lore to explore that your leisure. And jeez, don’t even get me started on the music, S-tier materials right there.

With For Honor, I’ll keep it real with you guys, I did not play the story mode. All I played was multiplayer and it was glorious. Yeah the game had some issues at the beginning but that was mostly ironed out over time. But man, I’ve never raged in a game so much yet enjoyed every moment of it. The tactical combat system, known as “Art of Battle”, was a very interesting take on a sword-based fighting game and proved successful if you ask me.

Sonic Mania, the most rated game in Sonic’s history. I enjoyed my time with it. Yeah, I’ll admit I’m not a fan of 2D Sonic, simply because I started with the 3D era, but of course I can appreciate a solid game when I play one.

2018’s

Red Dead Redemption 2, Spider-Man PS4, Dragon Ball FighterZ, Detroit: Become Human, God of War PS4, Super Smash Bros Ultimate

Red Dead Redemption 2 was an experience that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Yeah, so will say it was a slow burner but to me, the pacing was perfect. It took its time to tell the story of Arthur Morgan and his crew and how their world around them was changing. Seeing Arthur go through his change was amazing and if you got the good ending, then you’d understand .

Spider-man was the game all spidey fans have always wanted. A game where you feel like Spider-Man. The controls for the swinging mechanics is the best it’s ever been and following a Peter Parker that was all grown up, dealing with adult life stuff while doing the Spidey gig was a fun experience.

There’s not much to say when it comes to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Its hands down THE best looking Dragon Ball game ever. To the point where now everyone in the anime community is begging Arc System works to make a game based on other anime IP’s’.

Detroit: Become Human is another interactive game that I really enjoyed. This time I was anticipating the game after playing Until Dawn. I really liked how the told the story from three different perspective. Yes, the game had a real life narrative but I really liked how it was executed.

God of War was one of those games that will linger in people minds for years to come. The compelling story of how Kratos went from a raging spartan to a man trying to be the best father he could be was touching to say the least. Combat and the boss fights in the game wasn’t as crazy but still it was a great experience nonetheless.

Once again, not much to say about Super Smash Bros Ultimate. It is the ultimate version of the Smash series and one that will probably go down in history as the greatest crossovers in gaming history.

2019’s

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, The Outer Worlds, Astral Chain & Fire Emblem

Sekiro well deserved to win Game of The Year. I was a game that challenged you and made you get better by learning from your failures. Amazing combat and an interesting story, this game was also my game of the year pick.

The Outer Worlds was perhaps the best open rpg to come out in 2019, which was why it got nominated. The world may be small in comparison to other open world games, but what it lacked in size, it more than made up on it with quality. Side quest feel like main quest, companions are actually interesting, dialogue has depth and gameplay was great. Can’t complain really.

Astral Chains lest player take the role of a detective from the “Neuron” special police task force, who are tasked with solving cases and investigating incidents. It had exploring, questioning characters and examining evidence but the main take from the game was the insane combat in which you take control of another character called Legions. Once you had leveled up your legions, there was almost a crazy amount of combos you could pull off in game. It was also the game that got PS4 fans to actually complain to Platinum Games about not brining the game to PS4. Good game.

Last but certainly not least is Fire Emblems: Three Houses. Probably my favorite tactical role-playing game on the Switch. I really enjoyed the Harry Potter like house gimmick of you being the teacher guiding your students and building a bond with them, only to have watch as you mercilessly kill them on the battlefield years later. Aside from the great 80 plus hour story, the tactical aspect of the game as been well refined and would make even the most elite Fire Emblem fans happy.

Well that’s it from me. Man, hope this list ain’t too long for ya. I tried to keep it short and concise for you guys but I didn’t want to leave any game that made an impact on me. Please, do share your list in the comments below.

Top 30 Games Of The Decade (2010 -2019) That Made An Ever-Lasting Impact! Well, this truly is the last day and blog of the decade huh? Man, I can't even remember where all the years went to to be honest, but I guess that just means I'm getting old, or maybe I spent most of my time playing video games and didn't realize.