#i can look by the casting choice if the plot is good 🥺

[xinyuehui]

If I told you that you could travel back in time through photos, would you like to take the chance?

LINK CLICK LIVE ACTION

[felassan]

this post is just some thoughts on/speculation re: the recent news (the new blog post and the IGN article etc). under a cut for length.

I’m so excited for the official first look at the gameplay!! (ofc) and psyched that it’s happening in early summer as opposed to late summer like August or thereabouts. it feels surreal in a good way that it’s now basically ‘DA:TV Eve’ :D With 15+ minutes of gameplay from the start of the game, we could gain a lot of new information and context such as who the PC is, where the story kicks off and the premise/framing of the story, who the starting companions are, etc.

it surprised me that the name of the game changed, but I like the new title, I think it’s cool and unusual and from dev comments it's not something they decided on a whim or anything. a title change makes sense in the light that Solas isn’t the only focus of the game or the only player on the board – that he’s a key player, but not the heart of it, and the companions are who is being centered. in any event the feel of a title to like say and stuff for me doesn’t affect gameplay or what it’s like interacting with characters etc. I would play this game if it was called Dragon Age: The Quantum Blorbening anyway.

‘The Veilguard’ is the name of our crew of companions, as in a group or faction. (It reminds me of “the Kingsguard”.) Obviously we can see from the name that this group will be involved in protecting and defending the barrier between the Fade and the waking world in some manner. I wonder, will it be a group we form, or a group we join/are recruited into? They must be a fairly recent addition to Thedas. What’s their relation to the Veil Jumpers, if any? Does the existence of the Veilguard imply that the theories that the game will begin with the Veil torn down already aren’t the case? Will the Veilguard always want to protect the Veil during the story, or will there come a point when they re-evaluate that idea? It sounds like they’re always able to take down the new evil threat, but will they always be able (or always want to) to prevent the Veil from being destroyed? also, in-world, who named them The Veilguard?

Maybe our PC’s own ‘title’ (Warden, Hero, Inquisitor, Herald of Andraste, kinda thing) will be Veil Guardian or Guardian of the Veil or something like that..? we obviously won’t be the only veil guard, but while the DA:O PC was ‘the Hero of Ferelden’, in-game they often were referred to in passing simply as Grey Warden or The Warden, despite there being another Warden present (Alistair). When the devs have been talking about The Avengers, I think about that and also get Guardians of the Galaxy kinda vibes. With Varric and Harding’s storyline in DA: The Missing, I wonder if he will be like the Nick Fury (he kind of brought the Avengers together and coordinated them right? Or at least recruited them all, put the team together?), with Harding joining the team itself..? Avengers assemble, form Voltron, etc. with stuff like “you’ll unite this team of unforgettable heroes”, it sounds like the PC (as in previous games) will end up leading the group in some manner, even if they are new to the squad. That reminds me of the HoF. ^^

Somewhere out there in the multiverse, on a different plane, DA4 came out and it was a multiplayer game. it’s good to hear about refocusing on creating a singleplayer game with a focus on characters, choices & decisions, worldbuilding, companionship with characters with their own deep storylines that intersect with the main plot etc, with the customizable hero and the cast of their companions at the center of an SP story. and no online team members, no live service etc.

The world of Thedas itself is still my favorite ‘character’ :D

Warden, Hawke, Inquisitor mention. 🥺

I don’t mind one way or the other about most gameplay specifics. Some of the aspects of combat gameplay (of course, I’m just guessing based on reading some lines in an article atm), like the pausing the action and the ability wheel to give orders, sound like ME: Andromeda gameplay, and Andromeda had good gameplay/combat gameplay that was fun and fluid to play.

One thing I am 😔 about tho is the change of party size from 3 companions to 2. I love Mass Effect and it’s a 3-person squad in that series too (and it works well ofc both in terms of gameplay and dynamics), but I’ll still miss having 3 companions with me in DA :< esp in a game with such a focus on the characters/companions. What can I say, I’m just a blorbo hoarder. I’ll also miss all party members being directly controllable.

I wonder if the 7 companions (seven is a lucky number ^^) will have a class split like 2 warrior/2 rogue/2 mages+1 ‘unique/special’ companion (e.g. Dog, Shale – maybe the flaming head Skellington?) or +1‘extra/secret’ companion or something (e.g. Loghain).

Also, speculatively, being that we’ve never had a qunari woman as a companion before, I hope one is a qunari woman, and since we’ve never had a dwarf woman as a companion before in a ‘main’ game (ily sigrun), I hope one will be a dwarf woman. That also makes me curious about the race and gender split of the 7. Maybe it’s like 2 humans/2 elves/1 qunari/1 dwarf/1 ‘unique or special’ (e.g. Shale)..? Maybe it’s like 3 men/3 women/1 nonbinary person, or the first 6 are a mix of men, women and nonbinary people, and the seventh is something like Dog or a spirit or something?

There were 6 companions in ME1. In DAII, there were 8 in the base game (Seb was DLC), but Bethany/Carver were only around for part of the game. today one of the main things people love most about DAII is its cast of companions. ^^ also, with the way the devs talk about the companions, it's giving "Found Family" trope vibes. that's another thing that people love a lot about DAII. ^^

will it just be the 7 of us, like the crew in DA2? Will it be like in DA:I, where the organization (Inquisition/Veilguard in this case) has main figures/an inner circle, but also commands other people? Or will it be like Mass Effect, where you have a crew which is comprised of companions (in this case 7) who join you on the field as well as a few other developed characters that hang out at ‘home base’? on the number paring down from 9 to 7, I’d rather quality and depth over quantity. In ME2, Kasumi and Zaeed (as DLC) didn’t have proper conversations on the ship. I wonder if “pare down” refers to it being versus the number of companions we had in DA:I, or whether at some point in development of DA:TV there used to be more than 7 companions and some were cut.

each of the 7 companions is from/represents a different faction. For example, while not stated to be a companion in the trailer he was revealed in, it's common speculation that he is, and Davrin is a Grey Warden. Going by the 4 factions Varric and Harding deal with in The Missing, surely 4 of these companion backstory factions in DA:TV are the Grey Wardens, the Antivan Crows, the Veil Jumpers and the Shadow Dragons. And the other 3..? the Lords of Fortune are a new addition to the lore that have also been prominent in recent material. A Grey Warden, an Antivan Crow, and a Veil Jumper walk into a bar.. : ) the composition of The Veilguard is reminding me of Duncan’s words about the Grey Wardens: “Men and women from every race, warriors and mages, barbarians and kings.”

---

some more wild speculation on the 7 factions.

1. Davrin - the Grey Wardens

2. Bellara - ??

3. Harding - Inquisition/Inquisition remnants (I do not think Varric is a companion)

then, based on prominence in previous promo material and The Missing etc -

4. A Lord of Fortune

5. A Veil Jumper (STRIFE PLS!!!)

6. An Antivan Crow

7. A Shadow Dragon

??

or… this prev concept art (bearing in mind it might represent nothing at all except ‘general mood’ & no specific actual characters, or be from a different version of the game before a reboot or before cuts etc, who knows) shows 8 characters. could it be the 7 companions and the Player Character? Skellington Guy (green flaming skull guy) could easily be the (speculative!!) ‘unique/special 7th one’, assuming a 2/2/2 warrior-rogue-mage classbreak down among the other 6 (which is speculation only too ofc). lmk what you think : )

I’m nervous about upsetting or getting the new companions killed already HH.

It’s nice to read how strongly they feel about the new characters and their stories.  

I’m so excited to explore all the regions and varied biomes.

I’m still not clear/sure on whether “you can romance the companions you want” means all 7 companions are bi/pan+, or that there are no non-romanceable companions among the 7 (like no Stens or Varrics), or whether it was more like a general off-hand comment that can’t be read into that much.

I wonder if the Varric-narrated in-game cinematic from 1 year ago plays at the start of the game? Or after we meet Varric?

here is a link to a ramble/speculation about the new logo/icon.

All of Thedas is at risk from a big, scary new threat. As we know, Solas was never the only being interested in the Veil and its removal or destruction. (you can also outline lots of reasons why it should be brought down, like the way the world used to be, elven immortality, the effect on mages/magic etc). it’s also long been theorized that Solas isn’t the main threat/main antagonist in DA4, and maybe more like the Dragon to someone/something else, or a figure like Loghain in DA:O, who you can kill or convince to join you in your fight against the real overarching threat, in that case the Blight. Corypheus broke the Veil in the Red Lyrium future. Demons always want to cross it. the Evanuris are trapped in some way that involves the Veil being in place. Flemythal can never achieve true vengeance while her killers are sleeping or imprisoned somewhere she can’t reach. The Bio25 book says that “The Evil Gods have Thedas in their sights” and that “shadows of the past stir”. It also says that the “Deep Roads teem with evils both new and old”. There are theories about a double Blight. The most recent trailer has someone gushing “Glory to the Risen Gods. They’ve come to deliver this world”. Tevinter Nights hints at fck-knows-what – places and beings, “past the Veil of our world, neither demon nor spirit”, things with chthonic kinda vibes. Etc. a threat being “unleashed” has the implication of someone let something go.. or someone.. let something in... there are also other groups and beings to consider, like the Old Gods, the Forgotten Ones, the Executors.

I thought this phrasing from the IGN article was interesting, though it's not a direct quote from Gary. “Solas, who helped create the Veil, now wants to destroy it.” Helped create? Until now it was more like “Solas created the Veil”. Helped who..? 👁️

The other evil threats/the real threats, these ‘other gods’ (Gary McKay mentions them twice: “it might not just be Solas”, “the Dread Wolf is not the only god” you need be worried about), are surely the upside-down figures in this mural, right? Surely they are the “Evil Gods” (whoever /they/ are) mentioned in the Bio25 book, right? :D

[toboldlynerd]

helloooo ela 😊✨!! glad your week has settled down a bit, hopefully you have an enjoyable weekend ahead of you!

i loved reading about your spotify wrapped, i haven’t listened to most of those artists/songs, so i will have to give them a try! i just listened to runaway by AURORA and i loved the way the song kept building and building, it felt almost cinematic 🎥💫. do you have a fav song by AURORA that you’d recommend 👀?

ahhhhh, your tea box sounds so cool!! is it designed to keep the tea fresh/preserved while you’re traveling, or just as a means of storage?? i’m a coffee girl through and through 😌 (and hot chocolate too, aksjsjjj that’s how i survive the winter months, but it can be our secret 🫶)

the 9-1-1 gay firefighters are also my blorbos-in-law 😂, i have yet to succumb and watch it but sounds like it might be inevitable! it looks like there was just a new season? did you enjoy it??

i looked up the summary for graceling, it seems very compelling! i haven’t read any fantasy since i was much younger but i’ve had a few recommendations for it recently, and i remember absolutely loving getting lost in those worlds as a kid 🦄

also, btw, i adored the cute animal gifs 🥺🥰, sending love your way 💙❄️✨

Hi yes hello,

This brightened my day for sure, thank you 🧡

Oh, you've asked the million dollars question lmao AURORA was my favorite artist this year (unsurprisingly) and I do love all her work. So much. It's hard to recommend her songs so I will try my best with 3 good vibes songs, 3 heart-wrenching songs and 3 in between.

Positive

1) Queendom (the YouTube video is so good!?!)

2)

3) Exist For Love (because that music video came out way earlier than planned because “her fans needed something to be happy about” and it is just so damn beautiful)

In between

1)

2)

3)

Heart-wrenching, tears possible

Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1) (yes, that specific live video for ultimate tear potential. Also tw murder as a significant plot point of the lyrics lol)

Through The Eyes Of A Child (yeah, that version is stripped back. Yeah I cried the first 3 times listening)

Boy In The Grass (it's live, I can't listen to it often cause the raw emotions rattle me every time because of the event the lyrics are based on tw gun violence and child death if you research)

Hehehhe you activated my trap card called “asking about something im passionate about”! This was so hard my dude, it took half an hour and I nearly made the list longer again.

It's just a habit I took over from my mum I guess? It's one normal teabox that gets the designated job of traveling tea box (a little bit like the jeans of teen girl book fame lmao) and then I've also bought some small one that I can use if I don't have much space to work with. It's a certain comfort to know you've got your favorite tea with you at all times...the bigger one is for loose tea leaves and the smaller one for tea bags btw hihi

Omg omgggg, friend, the gay firefighters have taken over my shipping juices since February and won't give them back for nothing 😅 Not gonna lie, a big part of my enjoyment comes from the way it's more of an ensemble show and how they incorporated canon gay and lesbian couples in the main cast (yes, you heard right! POC lesbian main character firefighter!!!!! I am still crushing on her and her wife omfg) and those two blorbos with the most excellent little boy (Chris 🧡) made me read the trope friends to husbands (as in “24hrs marriage speedrun” lets get married - why not right now - alright then) with glee and acceptance of in-character choices that got them there. They are so idiotic sometimes but also so so intelligent 😂✌️

Do you have a favorite artist? Favorite ice cream? (mine is ben and Jerry's cookie dough lol) is there a favorite holiday sweet you always Es eat this time of year?

All the best and warm greetings from a little blanket burrito called Ela ✨🧡

[gunsatthaphan]

~ Monthly BL Breakdown: April 2022 ~  

Disclaimer: ALL shows can be streamed here or here, as well as on Dailymotion and Youtube. For more info on where to watch what, check out this post!

New updates coming at the end of every month - feel free to add stuff! -> previous breakdowns

What came out this month? (green tick = seen or currently watching)

🌟 KinnPorsche - April 2nd (Thailand) 

🌟 Make a Wish - April 4th (Philippines) 

🌟 Saneha Stories 4 - April 7th (bl sideplots, Thailand) 

🌟 Star & Sky: Star In My Mind - April 8th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Cherry Magic: The Movie - April 8th (Japan)

🌟 Kissable Lips: The Movie - April 8th (South Korea)

🌟 What Zabb Man! - April 9th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Meow Ears Up - April 12th (Thailand)

🌟 Plus & Minus - April 15th (Taiwan)

🌟 Triage - April 18th (Thailand)

🌟 Unlucky-kun Has No Choice but to Kiss! - April 22nd (Japan) ✅

🌟 The Promise - April 22nd (Vietnam)

🌟 That’s My Candy - April 24th (Thailand) ✅

🌟 Ocean Likes Me - April 26th (South Korea) ✅

Monthly likes/dislikes

❣️ Star In My Mind - I’m so happy that this is meeting my expectations exactly lol I’m loving it so much! 🥺 I was looking forward to it and it’s exactly what I was hoping it would be. And though the plot seems like something you would find in a 2016 bl, it still has a lot of modernity to it and is a lot of fun to watch. I definitely missed the Gmmtv FriGay madness lol and it's good to see Joong again. Kluen and Nuea are adorable and a shoutout goes to the friend group because they’re iconic lol. 12/10 I’m obsessed. 

New series announcements

🎥 Phupha and Plawarn - Date TBA (Thailand) 

🎥 Love Class - Coming May 13th (South Korea) 

🎥 Ghost Host, Ghost House - Coming August 2022 (Thailand) 

🎥 Even Sun The Series (starring BounPrem) - Date TBA (Thailand) 

Other news from the bl world

❗️The second season of Korean BL “To My Star” has been announced to air in June. Furthermore it has been announced that there will be a connection to the Korean BL “Blueming”. 

❗️Perth Tanapon (Love By Chance, The Stranded) joined GMMTV.

❗️Leo (VIXX) will star in the upcoming Korean BL “Happy Ending Outside The Fence”.

❗️Filming for the upcoming Thai BLs “Vice Versa” as well as “Unforgotten Night” has started. Vice Versa is set to air later this year, Unforgotten Night airs on June 22nd. 

❗️Krist P. revealed in an interview that the upcoming BL “Be My Favorite” was supposed to be his and Singto’s comeback project, however due to schedule collisions, Singto could not participate and Mike was cast instead.

❗️Yoon Seobin and Kim Jiwoong (Kissable Lips) will be the leads of “The Circumstances Of Pungdeok Villa Room 304”

❗️After being released solely on AISPLAY in Thailand, Love Stage is now finally available internationally on Youtube. 

❗️Workshops for the upcoming Thai BL “Middleman’s Love” have started. 

❗️Shortly after announcing that “Triage” won’t be having an international release, TVThunder release a followup announcement where they stated that it will be available internationally on the AISPLAY Youtube channel starting May 2nd - however only for the time window between 11PM and 1AM Thai time. 

❗️BounPrem starred in the music video to ผู้รอที่ดี (Till The End) by GRXXNKRITS. 

❗️Official trailers for the upcoming Thai BLs “Check Out”, as well as “Close Friend 2″ have been released. 

❗️The upcoming Thai BL “Love Mechanics” is rumored to air next month.

Upcoming series & movies for May

☝🏻 Clik Clak Clok - May 3rd (Philippines) 

☝🏻 Close Friend 2 - May 5th (Thailand) 

☝🏻 Love Class - May 13th (South Korea) 

☝🏻 Gameboys 2 - May 22nd (Philippines) 

☝🏻 Sing in Love - May 27th (Japan, theaters)

☝🏻 My Secret Love - May 28th (Thailand) 

☝🏻 Love Mechanics - May TBA (Thailand) 

[akkivee]

i made a cross a line live blog post where i rewatched the live and made a bullet point each time i was dYInG needless to say if i posted that it would probably be almost as long as the classically infamous ‘do you love the colours of the sky’ post lol so i limited myself to ONE (☝️) point about each section:

NAME A MORE HYPE MOMENT WHEN THE CAMERA PANS TO THE CAST AND THE MAD SCRAMBLE TO FIND YOUR FAV AND WHAT THEYRE WEARING WHILE SIMULTANEOUSLY FREAKING OUT ABOUT EVERYONE THE BAT SEIYUU ONCE AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU TAKEUCHI-SAN FOR JOINING IN THE BAT HAIR DYEING TRADITION AND THANK YOU HAYAMA-SAN AND SAKAKIHARA-SAN FOR SLAYING AS ALWAYS

cross a line was really cute 🥺 i appreciate asanuma-san for pointing at iwasaki-san when he got to ‘dialogue’ in his verse and also facing his team during their verses 🥺🥺🥺

LITERALLY HOW DID BB HIT THEIR STRIDE WITH IWBP FROM THE FIRST PERFORMANCE THE HYPEST SHIT BRO IMAGINE THEIR ENERGY IN FRONT OF ACTUAL PEOPLE

BAT COULD LITERALLY MURDER ME IN COLD BLOOD AND I WOULD OFFER TO COME BACK TO LIVE JUST SO THEY CAN DESTROY ME AGAIN AND I WOULD THANK THEM THE ENTIRE TIME WHEN SAKAKIHARA SAN SLID HIS HAND UP HIS LEG AND LIFTED IT I DEADASS YEETED MYSELF FROM WHERE I WAS SITTING TO THE FLOOR AND SCREAMED TAKEUCHI SANS ENERGY WAS UNMATCHED AND THAT IM THE GAME RULER IS EVERYTHING I WANTED AND MORE HAYAMA SAN POPPING HIS JACKET OPEN AND SHOWING OFF SOME SKIN DURING THE CLIMAX LINE AND THE WAY HE WHISPER SANG HIS LOSE YOURSELF IN THE BEAT VERSE THANK YOU SIR AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASJFGJFDHJDSFHJKLJHGS

FCKING SCARFACE LIKE BRUH if asanuma-san wasn’t trending like he always does whenever we lives happen i will be shocked lol

fp being the champions sure has done a number on the order of things i can’t believe mtr is after mtc lmao but they’re so cute i was literally in tears help and hayami-san was absolutely rocking his heels btw!!!!!

IWSK STARTED HIS VOICE MORE POWERFUL THAN THE STUDIO VERSION AND SET THAT MAGIC FROM THE START ENISHI IS SO GOOD GO TF OFF KURODA SAN!!!!!!!! ALSO!!!!!!! kawanishi-san’s hair and outfit looked so nice!!!!!!!!!! so good!!!!!!!!!!!! marvellous!!!!!!!!!!!! fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SHIRAIMU PYONPYON HOP 😭😭 SHIRAIMU AND SOUMA-SAN BOUNCING TOGETHER 😭😭😭 SOUMA-SANS RAMUDA IMPERSONATION IN SONG 😭😭😭😭😭😭 TORIMA IS SO GOOD LIVE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

you can tell the fp seiyuu have a great deal of respect for kreva but the way it was super obvious on nozu 🥺 the fp/kreva was fun and entirely worth the watch with shiraimu SOMEHOW managing to rope kreva and sascha-san into world cup talk during a hypmic live alone LMAO

fp mentioning they were nervous to perform kizuato and the sigh of relief shiraimu did at the end 🥺🥺🥺 also lol at the cg confetti!!!!!!!

UNITED EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I WAS NOT FCKING READY FOR NB RAPPING TO EACH OTHER STANDING BACK TO BACK DID YALL SEE MCD TOO MY ENTIRE LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIFE!!!!!!!!!!!

idk if you could tell lol but i can spend a segment’s worth of time talking about lives so a look back on the lives was very appreciated lol and all of their choices were absolute 😘🤌 shout out to kaigen 7th live day 2, death respect, iwgp, black journey 7th live day 2 and bat’s debut in the 4th live (FOR WHICH THEY HAVE NOTHING TO BE EMBARRASSED ABOUT I LITERALLY JUST POP IN THAT DVD JUST TO WATCH IT EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE)

if the all cast talk was chaotic then the individual groups were even more so lol and it sounds like to me kuroda-san is making a family and i don’t necessarily mean that in the wholesome way LMAO

THOSE ANNOUNCEMENTS THO????????????? REMASTERED OG DIVISIONS FIRST SOLOS WITH BRAND NEW NAGOSAKA SOLOS?????? NEW NAGOSAKA GROUP SONGS??????? THIS MIGHT BE PLOT STUFF STARTING BACK UP BUT NAGOSAKA ARE ALLOWED TO CATCH UP???????????????????????????????????? AND THE 8TH LIVE??????????????????????????? INDIVIDUAL TEAM LIVES ARE A BRILLIANT IDEA IMAGINE THE ENTIRE BAT DISCOGRAPHY PLAYED LIVE FOR TWO WHOLE HOURS WHAT A DREAM COME TRUE 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

having hoodstar➕ and summit ending the live shows exactly what kind of vibe this live had it was so hype and chill at the same time 🥺🥺🥺🥺 i still can’t tell if kimura touched hayama-san’s back as he was passing him by after the leaders talk but if he did and then a little while after we got asanuma-san lightly slapping iwasaki-san’s ass during summit, i can’t believe i just witnessed nb/mcd ‘dynamic differences’ irl LOL

SERIOUSLY THO CROSS A LINE LIVE SAIKOU 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌

[guiltycorp]

Just did a deep dive into your genshin posts to get a feel for your thoughts on things and I'm still unclear but xD I did just want to comment about one of your recent posts. I hate that traveler is so silent on things like finding out about Kaeya. Especially since they have added canon lore stuff that matters in the main story (not just side stuff) to events (like that Scara had the gnosis and was MIA). Finding out sword stuff about Kazuha's family was cool but missing it isn't the worst

(2) Having archon quests like 1.4 and then getting the chance to confront Zhongli and us getting nothing (especially after getting nothing after fixing Liyue...), proceeded by getting several encounters with Venti and not confronting him at all despite 1.4 mentioning him in the "next time we see Zhongli or Venti..." option is just so frustrating

I'm actually really glad that you read through so many of my posts, it feels nice that even the older ones are still of interest to someone 🥺 Honestly I know I can be over-critical at times, but Genshin still fascinates me as a piece of media. Like, it both goes much further when it comes to writing quality than a gacha game would be expected to go, but also it.. sucks. It has an amazing cast of interesting characters, but then it does so little with them that you're left questioning your choices in fiction. Like, I recognize a lot of the themes and tropes which are also prevalent in other games and anime, but I think Genshin really does have its unique and in-depth take on it. So it's a shame that it can't quite reach the level of actually being good.

But to be fair to the Traveler... 1) Overall writing of Genshin suffers from pacing issues due to its gameplay and content release plans, I get why writers sometimes have trouble reconciling certain things even if it IS frustrating. And yeah, events are in that nebulous space where they sort of maybe happened in-canon but also not necessarily, so the game kind of awkwardly ignores most of what we learn through them. 2) But in case of Kaeya!

The Traveler already seems to have suspected something since this is clearly an answer to a pointed question, and they don't ask this of anyone else, so it's likely that the Traveler recognizing Kaeya's nationality isn't meant to be something surprising. Plus Kaeya's answer clearly shows that he isn't interested in further discussion, so it kiiiiind of makes sense why the Traveler would drop the issue. Kaeya already threw the Traveler a bone when he updated them on the Abyss Prince(-ess), but this doesn't look like a man ready to discuss his homeland or how it was destroyed. By the way, note how this kind of thing never happens anymore! Characters don't actively seek out the Traveler to tell them stuff, which also feels really awkward. 3) The 'next time we see Zhongli or Venti' thing was inexcusable. Like why phrase it like that? Even worse, going to Inazuma was given the flimsiest excuse, when it would make more sense to at least go to either straight to Sumeru or Snezhnaya for more knowledge. Like, the game didn't give us any reasons why traveling there would be more difficult than the isolated Inazuma or why Inazuma would be the logical next step. 4) They could have at least mentioned in the events that Venti or Zhongli are super avoidant and difficult to find, only appearing when it suits them, but nope, if we want to find them we just Go and Do That. 5) Another side of this is that there are plenty of characters who should be suspecting the Traveler themselves of being inhuman and overall a very strange being, but so far only Albedo vocalized his suspicions. To say nothing of Paimon! The Archons most probably recognize what she is, and I bet once the reveals about her come they will be like 'oh yeah we knew all along'. Which would be, once again, kinda weird. 6) I think this is both a case of not having clear enough plans for the future plot and also the unfortunate 'no spoilers!!' disease. I honestly believe that the game would play much better if the characters' intelligence wasn't put down like that, and if more of them just said what they think. Not much would change really!

[butterfrogmantis]

I finished Vileaf this morning! I didn’t 100% it but there’s always stuff to go back to XD Bit of a review below, I’ll try not to give too much of the individual plot/surprises away but slight spoilers for a couple levels so I can talk about gameplay ^^

Poet’s Storybook: 10/10 everything in that was cute as all hell <3 Some of the rhymes were a stretch but idc I forgive him

Visuals: An honest 8/10! It looks stunning! All of the different levels had amazing unique scenery which was fairly detailed for this kind of game, and not as many invisible walls as I thought there might be, the game is very clever at hiding invisible walls with actual scenery such as crates and logs so I only ever ran into a couple :) The character lip sync animations looks a bit clunky in cutscenes but it’s video game so I get it, that’s hardly important and almost unnoticeable during walkie talkie scenes since you’re moving about

Characters: 7/10. I was somewhat sad that Clumsy didn’t appear, save for being mentioned once - I do understand the gameplay relies on precision so he would have been a bad choice to be trusted with the Smurfiser but he could have been a quest character XD I mean he’s iconic 🥺 Apart from that though, I loved the different characters! I’ve grown an entirely new outlook on Chef, he’s amazing <3

Voice Acting: 6/10 for English. It was mostly the NTOB cast, which I’m pretty used to so similar complaints to that. Farmer had a different voice that definitely wasn’t as cool lmao XD Random Smurfs will have anything from the lowest voice on the planet to sounding more feminine than Smurfette which is honestly a bit jarring to hear at times, since a lot sound like amateur actors attempting a deep voice. Main characters had some excellent dialogue with interactions that got a couple genuine chuckles tho ^^

Length: 7/10. The story was a bit short for me, but since I’m not the target audience and therefore a higher rating because I think it’s about right for kids :) you basically do sort of an intro chapter and then 4 main chapters with a decent amount of exploration and options to return with upgrades. I could have gone around collecting more upgrade parts though, so if people want to extend their gameplay or 100% it then that’s fairly easy!

Combat: 5/10. Not because it’s particularly difficult on the surface but because there’s absolutely no defence mechanism. You can dodge and jump out of the way but some enemies require standing still to spray/suck them up so if you’re doing one of the battles with a neverending vile critter spawner it can become a hassle since you can neither block nor dodge those. Overall though the basics are a good intro to these 3D platform games, and I liked how the main 4 types of enemies utilised 4 different features of the smurfiser effectively :)

Controls: 4.5/10. I was not having fun on certain parts but maybe it was just me 😭 I was using a standard controller on my pc so this is obviously going to change if you’re playing via keyboard or switch. I did get several upgrades from Handy but honestly I couldn’t see much difference? That was annoying to be honest because some of the timed puzzles are genuinely hard. Especially on levels that really require absolute precision to land on mushrooms perfectly or you fall/get caught. I had some serious difficulty with a couple of the sections on levels since the checkpoints were a bit far back and I kept dying due to being unable to perform perfection, so that I think could do with another look over but everything is possible with patience and practice. That being said, everything is super straightforward to get the hang of and the puzzles are fun to work around, and the sense of satisfaction is extra rewarding :)

Additional: I would have loved some extra shops! I think a Tailor based shop with outfits would have been super cute <3 Maybe Papa potions too for temporary bonus’ like defence or speed.

Overall: 7/10! It was a genuinely fun, exciting game! I went into Mission Vileaf with absolutely no expectations, so I have been more than pleasantly surprised! The best way I can think to describe it is an intro to games like Spyro. So if you like 3D platforming, puzzles and a bit of a challenge it’s about right! Honestly some parts are pretty adrenaline full, which was surprising but welcomed for what I thought might be a more childish game, so that makes it better for us older fans ey XD I positively recommend it ^^

[seoafin]

im so sry,, theres just too much 😩

doomed romance

requited unrequited (the side casts are subjected to see idiots looking at each with heart eyes)

historical au (a hit or miss for me bc sometimes theres too many historical inaccuracy just for the sake of the plot 😔)

time loop/ travel au

finding solace in mutual loneliness/ despair / trauma bonding

memory loss au (it all started after i read the housekeeper and the professor)

i’d say crime syndicate au but i rarely can find a good one (the over romanticization just,, hurts to read sometimes)

an f2l relationship progress seen thru outsiders’ pov (like picking up habits the other have and the outsiders would be “wait a min-“ or how its so easy to notice the ease when the mcs are around each other)

these are the ones i have trouble trying to explain abt jsjajwj :

“u are ur mother’s daughter/ father’s son” or living in someone’s else shadow for so long and someone come along (or has always been there but have the role of an “observer” and will be like ??? wtf r u on, ur actually more/ so (compliments) and boom! the realization that they’re always been more than enough and someone’s else validation wont define their existence + their growth as a person as new ppl comes along in their life and finally understand what the person meant back then,, bc hearing and understanding it by urself just hits different

meeting up once more by coincidence after their relationship (friendship or romantic) ended as a mess years ago and could either trying where they left off or start from the scratch as strangers all over again

exes or the ones inbetween not quite friends nor lover relationship finally have the talk tm even though they still hear news abt the other thru their friends,, both of them settled down for another and had their closure but they still love each other to some extend and they’ll always be that special someone for each other thought occasionally think abt the what couldve been/ ifs from time to time

the “what exactly is love?” theme in a fic and the MCs are trying to define it by the definition of other ppl present in their lives or medias before finally going like “fuck this, what we have is still love, and it’s ours to begin with so why do we have to affirm it by other ppl’s definition” bonus point if the potrayal of love is barely there in their early lives so it will be harder for them to navigate through their dilemma (basically slow burn 😌 or could take place in an established relationship)

and YES!! love and to nurture it is a conscious choice for ppl involve in it,,, the soulmate au that i like is those that features the mc (or both) rebelling against the soulmate system ,, sth abt leaving ur partner whom u love after ur soulmate come into the picture is ??🧍‍♂️like what abt those who are married and have kids , the anomalies who dont have soulmates or they have but died before meeting? so many flaws in the system 🥴

and,, the intimacy of a platonic relationship. sometimes the way fandoms constantly views things with shipping lenses and mischaracterize characters for their personal agenda can be a bit 😟 ,, sometimes i side eyed stsg and itafushi shippers who reduce their characters into sth like ‘they’re made for each other 🥺’,, all 4 have their personal agendas which doesnt necessarily revolve around someone 🚶🏻

extra, which may or may not be me just projecting,, but a story which features a character (side or main) having an awkward or turbulent relationship with their mother/ father and ultimately having to accept that its suffocating and have to walk away (maybe they wont ever, bc the emphasize of the importance of filial bond in asian culture can be a bit,,, extreme)

ppl who westernized anime characters are so funny 😭 i’ll lose at least 5 years of my life with the amount of times i saw someone wrote an anime character saying “jesus christ!” and i forgot which fic was it but i have a vague memory of a friend sending me a fic abt someone writing bakugou having a boston accent JSJISNE

and bingo! i am a SEA country dweller - 🐱

all of these are so good

doomed romance

7/10; makes me sad that there won’t be a happy ending and sometimes give s

requited unrequited (the side casts are subjected to see idiots looking at each with heart eyes)

1000/10; this with a big dose of mutual pining.... YES YES YES. i’m writing this one for geto obviously.....

historical au (a hit or miss for me bc sometimes theres too many historical inaccuracy just for the sake of the plot 😔)

3/10; it’s not the historical inaccuracies but the fact that I don’t like AUs. like i said it’s hard to keep characters in character especially for aus and a lot of ppl can’t pull it off tbh LOL

time loop/ travel au

5/10; if done well....then 5/10 but i don’t prefer it

finding solace in mutual loneliness/ despair / trauma bonding

9/10; did you mean gojo and rip!mc after geto’s defection....fjnkdfnjfdks unhealthy relationships are lowkey my jam LMFAOOO

memory loss au (it all started after i read the housekeeper and the professor)

10/10; i’m literally planning a memory loss au for gojo and rip!mc so you already know how it is!!!

i’d say crime syndicate au but i rarely can find a good one (the over romanticization just,, hurts to read sometimes)

2/10; too cheesy not really a fan LOL

an f2l relationship progress seen thru outsiders’ pov (like picking up habits the other have and the outsiders would be “wait a min-“ or how its so easy to notice the ease when the mcs are around each other)

10000/10; THIS IS MY MEGUMI FIC!! i’m also thinking of a 5 times fic which is basically other people’s POV of rip!mc and gojo’s relationship

“u are ur mother’s daughter/ father’s son”

1000/10

yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. yes. 

this is one of my favorite literary tropes. either breaking out from the mold of your parents or accepting the legacy of your parents and realizing that it doesn’t define you!!!

i think it’d be interesting to write this fic with riko and gojo LOL

meeting up once more by coincidence after their relationship (friendship or romantic) ended as a mess years ago and could either trying where they left off or start from the scratch as strangers all over again

9/10; there’s nothing wrong about ultimately parting ways after realizing maybe it’s not worth it to try, but something about making that conscious decision to try again because you do think it’s worth it and so does the other person.....

exes or the ones inbetween not quite friends nor lover relationship finally have the talk tm even though they still hear news abt the other thru their friends,, both of them settled down for another and had their closure but they still love each other to some extend and they’ll always be that special someone for each other thought occasionally think abt the what couldve been/ ifs from time to time

8/10; and if you add a fwb relationship there.... :D

the “what exactly is love?” theme in a fic and the MCs are trying to define it by the definition of other ppl present in their lives or medias before finally going like “fuck this, what we have is still love, and it’s ours to begin with so why do we have to affirm it by other ppl’s definition” bonus point if the potrayal of love is barely there in their early lives so it will be harder for them to navigate through their dilemma (basically slow burn 😌 or could take place in an established relationship)

10/10; this is gojo and rip!mc’s dysfunctional relationship dynamic LMAO . rip!mc has no idea wtf love is so.....

and YES!! love and to nurture it is a conscious choice for ppl involve in it,,, the soulmate au that i like is those that features the mc (or both) rebelling against the soulmate system ,, sth abt leaving ur partner whom u love after ur soulmate come into the picture is ??🧍‍♂️like what abt those who are married and have kids , the anomalies who dont have soulmates or they have but died before meeting? so many flaws in the system 🥴

4/10; like i said there are few soulmate au’s I actually like but I do like the ones where they rebel against the system LOL

you know i AM SO GLAD YOU BROUGHT UP THE INTIMACY OF PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS BECAUSE YOU’RE SO RIGHT BESTIE.

i cannot have a single conversation about geto without someone relating it back to how gojo and geto are soulmates and made for one another can you shut up for a hot fucking second

it’s so exhausting. like i honestly think stsg are sexy as lovers and platonic friends. they just work well in both ways. but im getting super tired of shippers that have to bring shipping into everything and ngl it’s really sucking my enjoyment out of the jjk fandom LOL

also i love characters that have rocky relationships with their parents because i relate super hard. i love it when it ends with the person breaking away because it’s lowkey cathartic for me 

NOT BAKUGOU AND THE BOSTON ACCENT LMFAOOOO

i honestly have so much pet peeves with westerners writing ff for japanese characters. especially in aus too....like i saw a greek god au for haikyuu and i just???? japan has gods too lmfao why does everything have to be so eurocentric???? also when ppl write royalty au’s for japanese characters .....jarring.

[incepstla]

hi kiran!! I hope that you're having a good week! ☀️

I didn't even realize when I finished the whole first season of Demon Slayer! it's been a while since I've binge-watched something, I'm more in a reading mood lately, but I enjoyed it lots! I'm not sure who's my top favourite character yet, maybe Tanjiro, I have a soft spot for kind-hearted characters 🥺 I liked Giyuu a lot too! there wasn't that much of him yet but I'm weak for Sakurai Takahiro's voice and he instantly had my attention once I heard his voice in the first epiosode. and I loved his interactions with Shinobu haha, I hope we get some backstories for the hashira later cause each and every one of them seems interesting!

Free! was my first sports anime and one of the first ones in general too! I agree that it had great relationships between the characters, it was definitely its strongest point. Of course I like Haikyuu, you've probably seen this one around here a lot. It's really strong in great characters too, honestly, the cast is SO HUGE but each and every character is fleshed out so well. It's hard not to root for every rival team there. My main favourite is one about baseball which is wild to me because before starting it I had zero idea about this sport, it's completely non-existent in my country but somehow it became the fandom that I've been invested in the longest. Life can be surprising!

are there any anime next season or later that you're waiting for? take care!! — secret santa 🎅

Hi Santa!!

It’s been okay kinda hectic with work, gift making and taking care of people at home 🤧 how was your week?

I take that as a good sign! 😂 but same happened to me before I knew it I practically caught up. Tanjiro is a good choice!! I feel like you can’t hate him he’s just too good for this world 😭 yes I love Giyuu’s VA and just the lines and life lessons we got from him from the first episode I adored his vibe. His interactions with Shinobu is my fave like I couldn’t imagine anyone else bullying him like that and getting away with it. I agree! I love what they did with Kyojuro’s back story so I can’t wait to see what they do for the others, the Hashira’s are interesting personalities.

I know of Haikyuu! I feel like I know the whole plot thanks to tumblr sksksksk but I haven’t seen it. But I hope to get to watch it when I get the time since I’ve only seen bits and pieces never the whole thing in full. But it looks interesting especially the rivalry aspect 👀 ahh that’s so cool!! I don’t know much about baseball either but I’ve seen it be portrayed as wildly competitive and ruthless lol. The only baseball anime I’ve seen a few episodes of is Ace of the Diamond, which I enjoyed and I kinda wanna get back to when I have the time. But yes there’s like so many things I think I wouldn’t be into but a lot of anime has changed my opinion on the subject matter.

Yeah I’m waiting for snk the second part of the final season, I recently watched vanitas no carte which seemed interesting so I’m curious to see how it goes in the second season. Spy x family looks interesting so I kinda wanna see what that’s about 👀 and I’m really looking forward to chainsaw man I’ve heard so many good things about it. I haven’t read the manga because I prefer to watch the anime first but it looks very promising! And it looks like my sort of thing. Is there anything you are looking forward to watch? 👀

Hope you have an amazing week (if you have anything planned)! Take care too. 💖