#i don't mind it at all. the game and its characters are fine. everybody go have fun and if you're thirsting remember to hydrate

[maridiayachtclub]

as the latest entry in a certain video game series with a mythological theme makes its debut and people start to cluck and murmur amongst themselves about how its characters are soooo hot, i am thinking about how the acceptability of sexy and/or "hot" character designs is determined pretty arbitrarily

[hopeluna-archived]

Don't hide that smile!

□ Request: Hi! I have a request for obey me but I'd like to remain anonymous, how about a mc who hides their teeth and wears a face mask to hide them? It's alright if you cant do all, just at least leviathan if you can, thank you :)

□ Characters: Leviathan, Simeon, Satan x gn!reader

□ Genre: fluff, comfort?

□ A/N: I wanted to do four characters but my brain legit couldn't come up with shit, also I kinda bullshitted on Satan's part sorry but here you go anon, I hope you like it <3

M.list

Leviathan

At first, Levi really just thought that you might have an allergy and simply let it be. But as your relantionship progressed and you spend more and more time with each other he began to question it.

He won't say anything at first, afraid to make you uncomfortable in any way but when one day you two were playing a game together and you had grinned as the "you win" flashed on the screen.

Levi just sort of blurted it out when you brought a hand up to cover your smile. And when you looked at him in confusion? Oh how he wished the ground would just swallow him up whole.

When you tell him that you are kinda insecure of your teeth, this demon is confusion. Why would you not like your teeth? They look perfectly fine to him. In fact, he loves when you smile, not that he would ever admit to that.

But from then, Levi tries to get you to smile more, even if it comes at the price of embarassing himself. Oh and if any idiot tries to make a negative remark about your smile or teeth? Levi has the power of god and anime on his side and he will defend you to the end.

Satan

Similar to Levi, Satan didn't question it but from all his observing, he did have a theory in his mind that you didn't quite like your smile. As you relationship blossoms into something more, he starts observing more and more.

How you hid your smile or covered your mouth with your hand when you laughed. And Satan, not surprisingly, directly asked you about it. His mind was itching to figure out this habit of yours.

When you tell him that its 'cause you don't like your teeth very much, he has hundreds of questions on the tip of his tongue. Questions, which he chooses not to ask you all at once in case it overwhelms you.

Satan will specifically ask the question "did someone tell you something to make you feel that way?", 'cause if the answer is yes then Adrien Agreste here is ready to commit homicide.

But aside from that, he'll help you overcome this little by little, with always being by your side through it all.

Simeon

Ever so observing towards the tiniest little things, Simeon quickly picks up on the habit of yours. Of course, he understands that everybody has their insecurities but it doesn't change the fact that he is severely confused why you don't like that smile of yours.

To him, it brighten ups the room and his heart when he sees you smile or laugh. Simeon doesn't exactly outright talk to you about it for a long time, instead opting to drive your insecurities away subtly.

Like when you don't cover up your laugh or smile 'cause you're just too distracted, Simeon will give you the most lovesick expression and in the softest voice, tell you how beautiful your smile is which in turn makes your cheeks heat up.

When he finally talks to you about it, its when you once again go to cover your smile with your hand and Simeon's own hand, without thinking, reaches up to take your hand and hold it gently in his.

To him, there is nothing more serene than seeing the love of his life,his angel be happy and smiling. And though no matter how much time it takes for you to come to terms with it, Simeon will be there to say it a thousand times over and over if he needs to.

───────────

Comments and reblogs are appreciated!! Do not repost or claim as yours though, its not cool.

[themysticsword]

Quitting RoR2 Modding

(posting this in case anyone who plays my RoR2 mods isn't in any of the discord servers lol)

So, basically, yeah, I'm done with Risk of Rain 2 for good. Don't wanna associate myself with the game. Just really want it gone from my life. I don't want to think about it.

All of the mods I made out of my personal interest are now marked as deprecated, and potentially will even be deleted later. The only things that will stay are projects that were either made for friends, had contributions from more than just me, or are funny enough that I feel like they should stay.

Why? For a lot of reasons.

The Community Manager

So, SeventeenUncles (or Suncles, as we all call him). The guy may seem like a chill person on the twitch streams, but god. He's Bad at server moderation. Everybody in the server knows it. And if somebody has any kind of complaint about that moderation, he silences all the critique and tells to open a ticket via Modmail, which will not result in anything because why would he care lmao he's the community manager and he makes all the rules.

Like this one. I wrote a proper, consise ticket about my mute (which was unfair, by the way!), expecting to either get unmuted or at least get a response or have a conversation as to why they think it was fair. Guess what I got.

you're welcome suncles.

There's a lot of problems with how he's running the server, which I'm not gonna talk about, because, luckily, someone else has already done it, in detail! https://www.tumblr.com/gabrielultrakill-bigboobs/723312859455651840/the-official-risk-of-rain-discord-and-its-hellish?source=share

A lot of nasty stuff. In the official server, mind you.

But yeah. He represents the company Hopoo Games, and who am I to support a company with a prick as their representative :)

The Community Itself

Now, I know this is a dumb reason to quit over, but it's not the reason. It's just one of them.

It's toxic. Elitist. And, most importantly, way too controllable. We have, like, 4-5 mainstream content creators, and almost all of them manage to give the worst tips to newbies despite sinking hours into the game and, supposedly, having a lot of experience and knowledge.

It's so bad to the point where some youtubers call out the wiki for giving "false information", so their fans go on the wiki and make edits while parroting whatever Mr. Youtuber said.

Picture this: you're a new player, and you have unlocked a hard character. You struggle with them, so you go to the wiki, and the first thing you're told is that you actually need to unlock a different ability for them to make them playable. And only 7-8 paragraphs below, the wiki tells you how to use the base abilities properly. You know. The ones that you have right now, as a new player. While also making them sound weaker than they are in reality. Doesn't this sound like imposing someone specific's preferred playstyle onto everybody else?

Constant arguments. You open the discord server, or the subreddit, or a youtube video, just about anything, and you'll see people disrespecting each other over a video game. These arguments usually stem from someone being incorrect, them getting corrected by others, and that person fighting until the end of times just to prove that they're actually right, because, for some reason, they can't accept being wrong.

And I kept seeing these arguments. Engaging in them. When you want to interact with the community of a game on this scale of popularity, you just can't not encounter the bad parts. Statistically impossible.

Oh, and you know why the community partially is like that? Because the devs and the moderators are fine with that behaviour. The devs are known to be all mean and like "massive trolls" or whatever. Meanwhile, you don't see this shit happening in the A Hat in Time or Celeste servers.

Other Projects

Lastly, I've been meaning to quit RoR2 for a long time now. I want to move on and do something else. I've been making RoR2 mods for 4 years now, I think? It's a shame I have to leave like this, but eh, whatever.

If you're reading this, I hope you're doing well! I'm doing well, because I got rid of the part of my life that's been bothering me for way too long :3 See ya in other games that I'll mod!

[pixelprofligate]

I'm gonna rant about New Vegas cause its on my mind so bad NV takes beyond this point woe be unto thee

I know it's just me and I'm wrong, but I really don't find the world of New Vegas interesting or compelling much at all. I think it's in part because the actual world design itself, like the map you literally explore in the game, is just really boring to be in, and cause the game is obsessed with just...telling you everything about the lore all the time but not really giving you any reason to care or get invested in it all. Every single time I've tried to go back and play it and give it a chance, and believe me I've tried like 5 times at this point, I play for a few hours and just get really bored. None of the quests really hit me as particularly fun or super compelling, none of the characters really do anything to make me care about them, none of the locations I visit are particularly interesting to be in or feel very rewarding to find, and nothing I do really feels like it has any real consequence. Do I get Primm Slim or some other guy to be the deputy of Primm, who cares all the outcomes are identical and the decision doesn't matter because nothing changes. Do I help the ghouls in Repconn or do I just shoot them and move on, doesn't matter nothing else in the world is effected by this choice. Every single quest and character feels like it exists in a vacuum, and honestly that's usually fine with me. But when I have constantly heard about how good New Vegas is and how much your decisions matter I figured they actually...would. Not just for whatever random ending slides you get but like, in the world itself. In quests, that NPCs I've helped before would remember and things would tie together somewhat, that the world itself would change to show the results of my decisions, that literally anything would happen so the decisions I'm making actually feel like they're doing something. But they don't. At most, an NPC shows up somewhere. Maybe you get a different reward. Or...nothing, it doesn't matter at all sometimes. So what's the point. You have this world filled with genuinely really well constructed political goings ons, then made the quests really uninteresting and the worldspace and locations really uninteresting and the characters really bland and they all speak to you in object facts about the world and always answer any random questions you have even if they legitimately wouldn't care and it just...it makes the world feel incredibly false to me. Probably doesnt help that I think the story itself is also just kinda flawed, with entire factions asking you specifically for help even if youve done literally nothing to warrant it because well you just reached the part in the story where they ask for help now.

None of it works for me I guess. Maybe all the praise I hear for it all the time just bothers me because, to me, its a game full of problems but heaven forbid I say I have any problems with the game lest the community crucify me for my lack of taste, but also maybe its just...a flawed game worthy of criticism and critique. Maybe its okay to see the issues with it because its not perfect and we all want Fallout to be better because we know it can be. Because trust me, if Obsidian got to make another Fallout game, we would think it's not great. And that's because they basically already did that, they made The Outer Worlds and it was okay but a little underwhelming and no one really cares about it anymore because it was just...fine. And that's okay. I dunno, I just have a lot of thoughts on New Vegas because I like Fallout and I want to like New Vegas too but despite how many attempts I give it I just don't.

So yeah. I don't really like New Vegas. I want to, but I don't get what everybody else sees in New Vegas in its entirety. It just does nothing for me.

[astralartefact]

Placeholder Name for Atarase's Media Diary

Entry 002 - Dragon's Dogma 2 <<Prev: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Synopsis

A prolonged camping adventure with the loyalest boys and a mage prodigy who gives me sass only often enough to make me paranoid she has the evil guy disease that kills everybody (might just be puberty)

Special Shoutout to whoever I stole Zoe the Beastren Healer Girl from (Your character name is/was Melina), she was a regular fixture of my party and is mine now.

How much did I know before playing?

I didn't play the first one, but I kept up with the marketing somewhat, and I was hyped to finally play it.

Did I like it more than I expected?

I fully expected to like it and I did. From what I've seen from the game before I bought it I knew its approach to an Open World would be my kind of game - and it was.

But seeing the discourse (and we will get to the discourse) this feels like a daring statement to make lol

Since I liked it, here's what I hated about it

Okay, this is the weirdest criticism to have about a game I completed in 113 hours, but it wasn't big enough. When I unknowingly made my way to Battahl and realized it wasn't as big as the other biome my reaction was a sad o: face and that feeling stuck around until the end, everything was just "I wouldn't mind if this was bigger :/" and it did impact my enjoyment of Battahl as a whole (Agamen not as much).

The game as a whole is really cool - I really loved it, I'm having to stop myself from starting a NG+ right now, and I think given an endless stream of new content I could literally play this game forever - and to some degree I feel like its size was calculated pretty well by the devs and shouldn't be bigger (if it was a lot of other minor details would suddenly become much bigger problems) but I guess it feels unexhausted.

I disagree when people say the open world is empty and one note - I personally had a great time exploring the entire map and I think the variety inside of the biomes is realistic and nuanced, I think if they just rethemed what's there into more different, but smaller biomes that wouldn't have done it for me either. The world might not be "new and exciting" everywhere you go, but every space in a given biome has some nuance in its topology and context that makes it stand out from the rest and it really feels like this world could be a real place exactly the way it is.

And since being grounded and 'realistic' is kind of this game's entire deal, having beef with that is to me kind of pointless, that just means you should have researched better what you're buying into (and we'll get to that!)

But I guess it feels like they could have done more, that all of these systems slotting in with each other would have benefitted from more stuff. Take the pawn specializations and classes for example, I think all of them are pretty neat but there aren't that many so running into 'one of that type' doesn't really change anything, especially since situational ones like the Elvish Speakers are coded to appear where you need them and you only "need" them in one specific place so you don't ever really have to think who you take with you. Same with environmental hazards like those water dams.

I guess that's the good thing of being able to expect Capcom to overdo it on DLC - I think adding more stuff like that in for example an expansion would really benefit this game, even though I will say that I think for the game that we have right now, the stuff that is there is enough.

Because in a fit of madness I don't even mean stuff like the enemy variety with that? I thought for the size of the game world the enemy variety was fine, not great but fine, even if it was on the smaller side at least the variety of their placement was really well thought through so I didn't really fight two of the same enemy groups in a row (the only problem i had with the enemies was that the enemy groups spawn way too densely and too frequently, you can't move an inch without aggroing another hassle of a fight and it also happens with paths you just cleared half an hour ago so map movement starts to become a chore at some point)

Finally: Men. But we'll talk about that.

What did this game make me think about?

We can only change the world by wanting to change it :) I love that as a theme, I'm really glad this is becoming a contemporary staple

Specific Impressions that will stick with me

THE TITLE SCREEN BEING DRAGONS DOGMA (NOT 2!) UNTIL THE THING HAPPENS i noticed that and it made me fall in love with the game so much more, it being a stealth remake and how it plays with that is so fcking cool i love that (again, I haven't even played the first one)

The coastal path to Bakbattahl. As I was randomly exploring I was wondering what the red waymarkers along this cave path were, so of course I followed them until at the end of this seemingly endless pilgrimage I finally realised what they were leading to. The entire experience of travelling along the cliffs and having to watch out for the harpies and the griffon was just really beautifully crafted. That whole journey will defo stick with me for a long time.

CHARACTER CREATOR OPEN WORLD RPGS ARE THE BEST Character Creators are my VisualNovel where the general audience seems to think they're cheesy but no, you don't get it, it's just that devs don't use them right because barely anyone has thought about their artistic merit yet. i can add so much visceral character development to my journey by changing hairstyles, adding scars, making my pc more muscular after training a new class, etc.

the day one of these games shaves a pc's head when they're imprisoned or adds scars when losing to a monster instead of a Game Over (all optional ofc people would scream if they forced that on their waifu) without me having to do that on my own is the day i will die happy

Outstanding Audio

The boss themes were cool? I did like the music and didn't just feel ambivalent about it but I couldn't tell you any specific piece :(

Favorite Character

Well, my character and my sweet pawns of course.

Aside from that I really liked Nadinia, even if she didn't get to do all that much, I just really love characters like her.

Also I guess the Smith Girl in Battahl, I liked her :)

Favorite Arc/Story Line

I liked Sven and Ser Menella's quests, but more than anything I loved seeing how doing quests impacted evacuating the cities after being baffled that the quests just ended without a conclusion. So I guess the entire final arc? (btw get good guys, i did the colossus quick kill without the arrow and seeing that pay off afterwards was amazing)

Favorite Set Piece

Travelling to Battahl along the coast

Watching my Pawn fight as the colossus

Everything that had to do with the capital-D Dragon

also having a healer with a child-like voice around and being paranoid about the dragon plague any time she gave me sass (she has like two or three lines out of nowhere that felt very pointed and i was so scared)

Favorite Scene

The ending scene with your pawn turning into the plague dragon. something about that did it for me.

Best Performance (I played with JP voices)

Kakuma Ai of Edelgard fame gave Nadinia such an edge that I really appreciate, she really made that character for me. For some reason I thought she was going to be a well-meaning but helpless pacifist priestess type character and thankfully she was not just that, she knew full well what she was doing while still also kind of being that pacifist priestess.

German Localization Notes

I thought the Localization was great! It fit the setting (I think Vasall is a better term than Pawn, fight me) and there were barely any blatant mistakes (I remember one spelling error and one time I was referred to as female, but that might be a programming error instead)

From what I did understand from the JP Pawn Dialogue I think they changed a bunch from the "original Japanese" though (might be an EN issue though, we don't have our own DE Voice Over so it would make more sense to keep with the 'default' language's text instead of JP) but also I don't really care since 90% of the dialogue is just Pawn Chatter where the phrasing of the content isn't particularly narratively important

--- ENTERING THE PRETENTIOUS SECTION OF THIS ENTRY ---

What about this game gives me Hope for the future of gaming?

This game is so fucking cool. I love this game for how weird it is. The stuff people complain about? Glorious. I love every single thing.

I loved having to have a physical fist fight with the save feature every time I was scared of making the wrong narrative choice. Yeah, it's kind of dumb and annoying, but from the devs' perspective, from the game they wanted to make and the overall vibe they were clearly going for it just makes sense. You're suppossed to roll with your wins and your failings - and if you can just always win then what's the point. You're not supposed to save scum as "un-quality of life" that may be and this is one way to kind of limit it to preserve the vibe they were going for.

Only having one save state and limiting character makeovers (they already fixed this one) makes sense because you're not supposed to play this game 'in parallel', you're supposed to play this game in succession - in a cycle, even. Your character isn't supposed to suddenly be an entirely different character, you're supposed to connect with the story through this character that is yours and to that goal, continually letting you change them completely would hinder that.

And since clearly this is actually a stealth remake of the first one I also really respect them not changing the shitty Beloved system? For some reason it's much more interesting to me that they kept it exactly the way it was, despite being stupid.

I guess I love stuff like this because it forces you to interact with the game as a piece of software engineering to make your own goals in this game come true. And yes, to me that's a good thing, because Video Games are pieces of software engineering - They're pretty much the only type of media that can do this.

Let me, the person who needs to make Self-Inserts for Maximum Escapism, be the one to tell you that I'm with Brecht when I say that in all sincerity, Immersion is a skill issue. Fuck Immersion as an aspirational trait of a piece of art. Especially capital-G Gamers have no clue what they're talking about when they use the word Immersion - and I get to say that, because I know that Presence exists beside the two popular buzzwords Immersion and Suspension of Disbelief - and this shit gives me so much Presence, I can't even begin to tell you.

I had to read the phrase "This game not maintaining 30FPS is breaking my immersion" about a game that made me pick up a child that had developed a crush on me, run in circles until my stamina ran out in order to drop it in a way that makes it crash into the stone floor, spraying blood everywhere because it was the only way I could make the child like me less - and I had to do that multiple times all so I could ensure I wouldn't end up kissing a child in the ending.

And while doing that, I did think "It's stupid the game works like this", I did feel fucking bad for the child I was abusing all so I could romance... well I romanced a random guy off the street because the men in this game were kind of boring - and yet in hindsight I was completely immersed into what I was doing because I was unironically engaging, grasping for agency in the systems put in place by the game's developers. I am rummaging through the rules of this universe all to spite god by making a child hate me a little bit more - and if that's not in the spirit of Dragon's Dogma II then I don't know what is. (this is only like 20% sarcasm btw)

To say it like this: Video Games aren't just to immerse you into a story better. Arguments about Immersion also always make me wonder what people think books are doing. But Dragon's Dogma 2 certainly is first and foremost a video game.

It feels like the people working on this game thought about what they were doing and during my journey through this world I got the feeling of understanding what exactly the devs went for in all aspects of this piece of software engineering - It's not trying to be a movie, it's not trying to be a book. It's trying and succeeding to be what it is and I really appreciate that.

I just wish there was EVEN MORE of it!!!

What about this game makes me scared for the future of gaming?

It grinds my gears that this keeps coming up so here it is, another round of idiot Gamers making me defend capitalism for something it didn't cause:

It's great that you all have awakened to corporations squeezing you out of your money, that's very anti-capitalist of you and I applaud that communist thinking (i'm not a communist but a lot of angry Gamers aren't either so let's make them mad by calling them that)

And yet I'm so sorry to inform you that even in Utopia people would still try to scam you.

It's not a Video Game Company's fault that you believed what they told you. I'm empathetic that it's hard, annoying and most of all stupid that we have to interact with a media landscape that is constantly trying to scam us for our money and attention, but even a genuine and well-intended artist is going to sugarcoat their product - so why would you ever believe what CAPCOM of all people is telling you without seeing physical proof first?

And even if they're point blank lying - which, straight up, for the most part Itsuno wasn't - if someone tells you they will sell you a green mug and the mug they hand you is red and you ask "but this is red" and they say "no it's green" and then you still buy it and at home you're upset that it is indeed red then you're the idiot!!! Yes, why did that person tell you that? Did they think you`re stupid? Why is Capitalism uniquely rewarding scamming people like this? All valid questions to seek answers for! But you can fall to the ground crying capitalism all you want, it's still your own foolishness that caused this!!! Don't buy shit if you're not adequately sure that you will enjoy the product!!

You have to - and will always have to - make your own informed decisions about what you invest both your money and your time into. 95% of problems that not only this but pretty much any video game discourse these days is critizising could be solved by simply researching what kind of game you would be buying into before buying it. And in this case, you have luck, this game existed before and you can try that game out for literally 5€! You know how I knew that? Because I fucking googled it.

And you can too! Thanks to YouTube, Twitch, some shitty wikis and some good ones it has never been easier to identify if a game is up to your standards before buying it - you just can't do that before the game is even out, which is why Pre-Orders are such a big problem to some people (I personally don't care, because I have to think about what I'm doing with my money anyways)

So just. Think about what you're spending money on before spending money on it! Maybe try being poor and having just enough money to buy one game every three months - that taught me to do that!

But with that out of my system let me get to the other problem this game has, one I think is really fucking annoying and stupid and really the core of my grievances with the game and not just the audience....

The Ramble Section where I get to actually talk about what I thought about

To introduce the second? third? Ramble topic of the day, here are a few moments from my playthrough that we will use to illustrate my main "problem" with this game:

I, a gay man, was forced to kiss the Sexy BrothelLady for literally no reason.

When daring to have a full male party, my main pawn mentioned that he hoped I wouldn't make not having women in the party a habit. (paraphrased)

You can buy a very revealling Mage Armor in Battahl. Naturally, after reaching Battahl around 75% of Pawns I encountered were barely dressed women.

I guess to add to that, the only black skinned Pawn I ever saw was one that Capcom made. Isn't that heart-warming.

I don't even know if there are romanceable men on the level of BrothelLady (I'm too lazy to look her name up, that's what she gets for sexual assault) or Ulrika

The Yeti Monkey Ogre gets horny for female pawns which felt very weird. I don't think there's an equivalent mechanic for male characters.

The Beloved Animations are all expressedly feminine. And I love me femininity, but it says a lot about who the devs thought would more likely be beloved and who would do the loving.

There's a summoning stone that only shows you petite women (which isn't necesarily bad, but it did raise my eyebrows)

imagine FPS being the only thing between you and that oh so hallowed immersion.

I guess to put it this way: For most of its runtime, the game gets away with pretending to be Gender Agnostic. Your Beloved can be Everyone even children! There's almost no mechanical difference between genders! You could argue that there is no intended demographic in mind for this game - that everybody can play it and therefore it's made for everyone.

Until, of course, one of those things I mentioned above pops up and serves as a harsh reminder that No! At some point in development, the devs came down hard on "This game was made for heterosexual men and everyone else can just also play it."

And with some of this shit I felt gross about having to witness it and that's really the gist of it.

I remember vividly when my main pawn no homo-ed me about my All Male Party and how just utterly ugly that felt. And I know it was phrased weirdly (at least in german) so maybe it's just me, but it was vague enough that I could interpret it as him saying he needs women in the party so he had something to look at and that's an extremely wild and frankly inappropriate thing to have your blank canvas NPC Follower say out of fucking nowhere. Like, Imagine being a woman liking men and hearing that.

It's in moments like Wilhelmina's forced kiss (i remembered her name are you proud) where the only reason it happened was that the presumed player would find that shit hot. It's in Ulrika being clearly just romance option Nr.1 and I couldn't just tell her no and continue to do her quests, I had to throw her into a wall every time I saw her to the point I completely avoided her instead of talking to her. I'm pretty sure I missed quests because of that. Like, Imagine being a woman liking men trying to do these quests.

Related, there's also something in them trying to circumvent Depicting Real Racism by transposing it onto the Beastren - which I guess didn't not work, I don't have any big feelings either way, especially since the devs at least tried to keep the cast somewhat diverse; I certainly didn't find it as appalling as whatever FF16 did. But it also makes stuff like Nadinia not being an equivalent Romance option despite being on the cover of the game questionable, because now it's like... Yeah, that was a decision you made for a reason. You didn't think your presumed audience would find the cat lady hot, right? (I certainly did and I'm gay)

I also mentioned before having strong feelings about Character Creators - because I do feel they are a very, very strong tool to make your own story telling part of the game in a tangible way. And sure, I use them mainly for self-inserts, sue me, but what I'm trying to say is:

It feels crazy to have 75% of Pawns I run into be someone's waifu and they all look one certain way. Other than that people either make some joke pawn or a bad version of a popular character - but from what I've seen the waifu they can presumably goon over was certainly the biggest pawn demographic by far.

And I know that gets into "Let people have fun!" territory, but it definitely lessened mine and I'm not even one of the people this is about. It was less fun for me not just meeting somebody's unique pawn, but - well. An Army of Women Objects. Not even objectified women - these are Women born as Objects. (and yes while these women aren't real, the treatment of fictional women is still indicative of and impactful on real women - so yeah, you can objectify women even if they're fictional) A world supposed to be filled with myriad unique pawns is uniquely filled with Women Objects - and given what the Pawns are in universe, that's kind of massively fucked up and every time the Game acknowledges that - by including very revealing armor, making it easier to filter certain types of women and by telling me to recruit more women because why would you ever have an all male party??? - it just feels gross.

Again. Try imagining being a woman that dares to like men. I keep repeating it because it feels like nobody thought about this niche group of people that's just about 50% of the entire population on earth.

And I guess I can't fault the devs too much about it, for the most part I actually really like the female characters in this game (nadiniaaaaaa) and the Pawns they themselves made are pretty diverse so clearly they cared at least a little about it; I certainly didn't find what they did as appalling as whatever FF16 did. I can only side eye them for knowing that all of this would happen and kind of enabling their players to do that.

It's just sad. It's sad and it's gross and an active reminder that despite it all a majority of people still treats women, 50% of humanity, like property, deliberately or not. It stains a really enjoyable video game with interesting mechanics to think about that I really connected with - and all because capital-G Gamers and "standard" masculinity is fucking gross and yet the devs either didn't think that far or think that's fine and good and dandy.

[thegeminisage]

Hmm. 20-22 inclusive …. making you be negative 😈 I’m assuming you’ll do zelda but as a scholar I’m also interested in your spn thoughts so you pick mwah

oooh dealer's choice this is so tough...what if i just answer for both LMAO im so sorry ok Lets Go

20. part of canon you found tedious or boring

for zelda: i really, really wish i liked wind waker. i wanna like wind waker so fucking bad. i love wind waker's story. i love wind waker's ganondorf. i love how bright and cheerful the graphics are contrasted with how solemn it is underground. i love the dungeons and the gameplay. but god i HATE the cartoony little balloon heads. it takes me right out of those serious moments. i don't mind stylization but if it could have been just a LITTLE BIT. less stylized. just a LITTLE LESS like animal crossing characters. it's beautiful to look at but for a game with such serious hidden elements WHICH I LOVE i find trouble taking it seriously.

for spn: god, all of crowley's little arcs. he was almost never interesting, and while you can excuse bad writing for cas because it's cas, you can't make crowley happen. fetch is never gonna happen! you can show me his fun hot mom and his dead son and it still isn't happening! he's just the walking talking embodiment of the "angels and demons are just like OFFICE WORKERS" trope which i hate so fucking deeply because it's the least sexy direction they ever took and the exact opposite of what i want from my angels and demons. all of the middle seasons suffered deeply from this. crowley COULD have been interesting, but tbh, i liked him best in the season they killed him off.

21. part of canon you think is overhyped

for zelda: i could do wind waker again but actually i completely understand the hype, bc wind waker is a great game even if i can't deal with it like a normal person. same with botw - i found most of the joy thru exploration, so it just didnt Hit on replays the way other zeldas do, but its influence cannot be understated and the hype is deserved. what if everybody is right all the time to hype any and everything about zelda?? oh wait actually. sorry. twilight princess ilia. idk if people hype her but if they do theyre wrong. love and light to her, she's Fine, but it feels kind of like a knockoff of malon (superior) and i generally dislike when link has romantic interests besides zelda, even if the love interest gets amnesia (wistful sigh). this sin was especially egregious bc zelda barely has any screentime at all, but i forgive tp for this because what screentime she DOES have is spent being in lesbians with midna. so it works out just this once due to the power of gay people, but that's some thin fucking ice. anyway, sorry to ilia and ilia fans for being a misogynist

for spn: i hate canon claire. i can't get into it in depth but like...sorry, even without the issue of My Own Claire Ideas, i still don't know if i could do it. being gay does not save her from having the exact same "damaged but spunky teen girl" personality given to almost EVERY OTHER TEENAGE GIRL (or young woman) on the show. to some extent she, krissy, mary from the winchesters, charlie, jo, alex, etc etc all have the same personality with a few defining quirks tacked on as an afterthought. do i love some of these characters? yes, of course. are they well-written? absolutely not <3

22. your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

for zelda: in general, i think skyward sword gets a bad rap despite lanayru desert's entire (waves hand vaguely) and zelda being a fucked up evil goddess who canonically manipulates link's love for her. AND GROOSE. never forget groose. more specifically i think not enough people have acknowledged 1. the champions corpses are definitely still in those cockpits 2. oot link essentially became a stalfos by walking into the lost woods without navi and never came back. hello?? generally those dark little implications that u have read between the lines to get <3

for spn: oh baby its michael!dean. i waited so long and i only really got what i wanted for one episode but it was so good. it was SO good. no one else is as hype about the fact that it took nine REAL LIFE YEARS to get there. a DECADE of my finite time on earth. but ohhh was it ever worth the wait. what else could i possibly write 100k+ about

[ASK MEME]

[okthatsgreat]

new chapter release and ask game.... you have made this so much easier for me. yet so much harder. there's so much to talk about....... ill start w the ask game bc no matter how desperately id love to talk about the recent chapter i want to collect my thoughts about it bc as of reading it i have been in such a state. 7 (if ur open to it !! if not then keep your dark secrets hidden), 41, 47, 69 (haha)

ehehehhehehe im sorry about the STATE!!! <3

7. post a snippet from a wip

omg....... okay i cant lie to you i have not started this next chapter so teeechhhnically i don't have any wips lmaoooo However. i am a woman of drama and mystery. so here is a snippet of rough dialogue from a scene that is going to happen further on down the line :) for those who dont want to be spoiled ill leave it under read more!!

41. who’s your favorite character you’ve written?

ohhhhh GODDD that's hard genuinely ive loved all of them and if not loved then liked at the least. i loved writing in mius pov just because shes so entertaining to dissect especially in lgowab, where she was in an environment that arguably (not even arguably just straight up LMFAO) brought out the worst in her. im also a big fan of makotos povs because im obsessed with how much he lies. and not even maliciously. so much of what he thinks contradicts what he says but hes still the good guy

its been a while but tenkos pov was so much fun to write from as well....... so entertaining. she has a huge personality and huge heart it was really fun to write

47. is there a trope that you’ve written before but are now sick of?

LMFAOOO ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. hm hm hm. alright i am ABSOLUTELY not saying i got sick of it i loved writing her but there was one long period of time where i was just straight up dreading writing from himikos pov when i was writing lgowab and it was literally all my fault LOL. mius povs were so high action and dramatic and tense so it was super fun to write from her side, and at this point in the story she was just getting into the enforcement team and was starting her downward spiral. and then i had himiko, who was progressing but at a pace that was a lot slower. which was fully intentional!!! like i WANTED that to happen. but i just had no idea what to write for her, because in comparison to miu's pov himiko was just so Fine if that makes sense. like obviously himiko was not doing okay mental health wise but she had a gf and friends and a pretty solid understanding of where she stood in regards to safety. miu had none of that, was spiralling out of her mind, and was actively pushing everybody away. eventually himikos story picked up and i found myself getting into her pov more but yeah ghdfjksghdjkfgh hit a bit of a wall!

don't even know what trope that classifies as WHOOPS!

69 (haha). what are your favorite fics at the moment?

favorites of mine ouughhh no clue! i like rereading run from your demons :] same with lgowab honestly. sometimes i just get reminded of a scene and i want to go back and read it again to get a better mental visual lol. but that applies to literally all of my fics so IDK!!!

in regards to other peoples fics i really do not read fanfiction that often HFDSKGHFSJDHHGKHJ ummmm i think the last one i read was the hope's peak gay straight alliance by vanadisvalentine and that one was a nice feel-good one :)

THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!! <3333333333

fanfiction writing game!

[prismatic-glow]

daily genshin advice 1/5 - let's talk about crit value and level 90!

Hello everybody! Sorry about yesterday's lack of post, my mouse died and I wanted it to fully charge so I couldn't rlly use my computer bc of the way its set up. This post is a bit late bc I was busy all day but I'm hoping to get back to the earlier + consistent posts. Today I'll be talking about crit value and which characters to level 90! Let's begin!

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥͙＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊·̩̩̥

┌── ⋆⋅daily discussion: crit value⋅⋆ ──┐

I'm gonna tell you how to find crit value before explaining what it is since its a bit easier for me this way

the crit value of an artifact is:

crit rate x2 + crit damage

If your artifact has let's say, 10 crit rate and 20 crit damage, congrats it's 40 CV! (crit value)

ok but, why does any of this matter?

You probably know or have heard that the ideal crit ratio is 1:2. Here's why this specific balance is important

if you have too much crit rate, your crits aren't as valuable because your crit damage isn't high enough to substantially increase your damage

if your crit damage is too high, there's no reason to have it because it does nothing until you crit which happens rarely

Crit value is kinda just an easy way to compare artifacts strength

Now, let's talk about what crit value you should aim for

50CV is the highest possible. If you get a 50CV piece, hoyo has chosen you. BUT you shouldn't just keep farming the same domain until you get every single piece perfect 50CV because that's a 10 CV difference and, although cool literally not worth the resin in any way. getting a 50CV piece is like a surprise gift. Awesome to get but you don't live your life in anticipation of the gift or make friends in order to raise your chances of getting a surprise gift. Well I'm guessing you don't but idrk

ok moving on, let's talk about 40CV. 40CV is a more realistic goal. If 50CV is extra credit, 40CV is getting 100% on a test. It's great, it's awesome, and you don't need to try and improve it any further. BUT...

30CV is also fine if you hate artifact farming. 30CV is a decent piece, it functions! Personally I would reccomend getting 30CV pieces and only going for 40CV if you don't mind farming and want a super great build.

Also I won't like, come find you if you use a 20CV piece. It's not like great or anything but who cares.

┌── ⋆⋅daily advice: level 90⋅⋆ ──┐

I talked about this a bit last time but I wanted to go more in depth\

Firstly, going full 90 on every character isn't very resource efficient and is honestly a bit of a waste for the tiny amount of damage you get but especially now, a lot of characters want the full lvl 90

Personally, I level 90 characters I love and I'm working on getting all the characters that need it to 90

With that being said, let's talk about the characters who need it

EM Scalers/Users ・❥・Transformative reactions (reactions that deal damage instead of multiply it + catalyze) scale off of both EM and character level. In teams like Hyperbloom or Aggravate, going to level 90 gives a large boost to this damage. Most people, including me, will say that EM scalers and Hyperbloom triggers need to be level 90

"Alternative scalers" ・❥・Stats like HP and DEF are a bit harder to come by (attack buffs/boosts are very easy to find) so levelling these characters to 90 allows them to get a bit more of their stat. There isn't a Bennett, TTDS, or Noblesse of HP or DEF (mayyyyybe gorou but still) so that extra bit of HP/DEF is a lot more important

┌── ⋆⋅did you know?⋅⋆ ──┐

Itto's passive talent is the only one in the game that aids in getting wood from trees

┌── ⋆⋅Daily update: Building Candace⋅⋆ ──┐

She's currently level 80 with a level 80 weapon. I'm gonna do her talents then finish artifacts since most of them suck (Best piece is like 39CV which i'm quite happy with but the others are like super bad in comparison)

Also will get weapon to 90 but I'm gonna do it last (even though it's very important) because levelling weapons isn't very intersting

Drink some water today!!

[fioras-resolve]

ace attorney series review

Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney: genuinely really good, but not just for story reasons. it's a really solid work of mystery adventure game design that still delivers on the original promise of ace attorney better than a lot of the most lauded games. and manfred still carries the most threatening presence of any prosecutor throughout the series

Justice for All: I think this is better than people say it is, i think it's fine for the game to be mostly episodic and focus on cases about just some guys rather than furthering The Plot, but i also can't deny that it has a lot of bad design habits that the series wouldn't overcome for a long time, specifically bullshit testimony puzzles that undercut the actual appeal to cross-examination. that said, it introduced us to the magatama interrogations, and still has the most compelling of those in the series.

Trials and Tribulations: this is of course a classic and an amazing resolution to the trilogy. 11 year old me had to physically go outside after the ending and process everything that just happened. but it's worth noting that i was consulting a walkthrough for the entire back half, because the bullshit testimony puzzles being so frequent meant i couldn't trust the game to be straightforward with me. it's better as a visual novel than as a game, and that's a real shame

Rise from the Ashes: incredibly solid all around, definitely my favorite of the original trilogy and also just some of the best ace attorney the series has seen? it's not just that 10 year old me saw all of the forensic gimmick and thought "wow, cool toy!" it's that it genuinely expands the scope of what ace attorney can be. it's not just that i can view objects in 3D, but that examining these things reveals new information, or just gives Phoenix and Ema an excuse to banter. it's not just that spraying luminol is fun, but that you can spray it anywhere, and find bloodstains in unexpected places that have nothing to do with the case but are just funny or flesh out the world. it's an ambitious case that makes good on all that ambition.

Apollo Justice: this game takes rise from the ashes and removes everything i liked about it. look, people have talked about this game to death. the basic complaints i have are 1) the bracelet mechanic sucks and relies on either guesswork or a walkthrough, 2) the 3d evidence examination has lost all of its charm in favor of raw function, 3) there's a large sense in both the minigames and the fact everybody else already knows what's going on, that you're just going through the motions of doing what the writer wants you to. like, it sucks, for sure, i don't like it. BUT, it was at least a setup for what could've been a great second trilogy. it takes ace attorney into a new direction that could have promising! shame the rest of the trilogy didn't follow up on it.

Investigations: so like, gonna be honest, i don't remember a fucking thing that happens in that game, and i only played it a couple years ago. the actual plot slid off of me. but the characters left an incredibly solid impression. i'm probably never going to forget tyrell badd, shi-long lang, calisto yew, and especially kay faraday. they're such cool characters, and i love the energy of the game, even though it's basically junk food entertainment. it's a great time the whole way through, and i especially like how it deliberately removes testimony puzzles in the way that every rebuttal has to end with presenting evidence. but i think this also marks the point where the series stopped living rent-free in my mind. i have strong memories of the original trilogy, and apollo justice, but from here on out i think the series just stopped leaving as much of an impact on me.

Investigations 2: i played this game in high school when the translation was finally done, and it was cool as hell. it escalated the stakes of the series to something i'd never seen before, and it takes a genuinely darker turn that i really liked at the time. it's incredibly solid as a game, but my memory just isn't what it used to be. i should play that game again sometime, it was really refreshing to see these familiar characters again.

Professor Layton Crossover: it's been a while since i played this one, i had a pretty good time with it. i like both of the games it crosses over, and i like the dynamics between its main characters, but i also think the court sections rely way too much on pressing leading to there basically being no tension. i was honestly disappointed in shu takumi for writing the game this way. it feels like he's just too enamored with fun mechanic ideas, and doesn't consider how it will feel to play them. but it's still a really nice court drama, and what really makes it for me is the presentation. the use of animation, music, voice acting, etc all creates a compelling drama that feels elevated above much of the series. like, footfalls of turnabout is one of my favorite songs in the series, because no other game in the series has a song that does what it does for the story. i would absolutely recommend this game if you wanna see how to use music to make a drama more compelling.

Dual Destinies: a cowardly game, seemingly made in response to people who didn't like apollo justice, choosing to walk back everything interesting it did. i think it's a pretty entertaining mystery procedural, like each case is a compelling story. it just doesn't make an impact like the original trilogy did, and that's a real shame. i will say that i've forgotten how well this game uses 3D for its character animation. like yeah, the mouth flaps would be better as sprites, but there's a lot of really nice or funny animation that would have been a pain in the ass to do in sprites, like ted tonate dis/reassembling a bomb, scuttlebutt pushing a tabloid out of her little box, or just cosmos spinning in his segway. like, it's really nice.

Spirit of Justice: this game was fine. i think i appreciate it because it kind of makes an aesthetic out of having no identity anymore. like, there's just too many characters, settings, plot threads, and mechanics for any of it to cohesive, so instead it's all sectioned off. this part is in the style of the original trilogy, this part features athena, and the choice to have the entire last case from apollo's perspective is a bold one! wouldn't have been so bold if this was actually just The Apollo Justice Trilogy, but nonetheless! i think for the cowardly direction this series took, this was the best direction they could've gone with it. but it's also a jumped shark, and that's really sad.

Great Ace Attorney 1+2: i can't really appreciate it on its own, because it's just so wrapped up in the context of the rest of the series. the best story beats mostly feel like shu takumi chasing old glory, the summation examination feels like it's trying and succeeding to one-up the main series, like "look, i can do jury trials, why didn't you?" it uses 3D evidence examination in a way that actually fleshes out the story, but it keeps doing the thing where it thinks it's clever by making you check the other side of a piece of evidence. like wouldn't it be funny if you had this mechanic in turnabout sisters? sigh anyway, it's pretty good, but i feel like i just can't like it as much as modern aa fans do because i've just, been here the whole time.

[vibe-spartan-nostalgia]

Any self-respecting Halo fan would comdemn the Paramount show. They're destroying Master Chief.

I would like you to carefully re-read your ask. Let me break it down for you.

"Self respecting Halo fan"

You are speaking from an astonishingly out of touch perspective where you define being a "fan" as someone who accepts nothing but the most base status quo for their franchises. The default setting. Halo 2. Additionally it appears that the concept of opinions is one that has passed you by, along with your ability to keep your inane ramblings to yourself.

"They're destroying Master Chief"

As I have seen, Chief is not now, nor has he ever been, a character with any significant depth in the books or games (Halo 4 excluded). He takes risks, follows orders, is lucky, and is successful in combat. The same things could be said about 99% of characters in the Halo universe.

In conclusion this is the last ask I'm going to be addressing about this. People are allowed to like what they want, just as you are permitted to dislike what you want. It's a purely subjective matter.

To me, Halo is not some kind of literature landmark like Lord of the Rings or Dune. Its themes are very limited, as is its emotional depth. The Halo series is the only entry since Halo 4 that has even bothered to push the franchise out of its own stale conventions, and to nobody's surprise, the fanbase has shat all over it for not being "true to the games".

And that's fine! You can be pissed about it! You can hate the Halo series with all your heart! But don't go around parading your opinions as fact. It's juvenile and tactless and wastes everybody's time, to say nothing of the brain cells I have compromised replying to this.

I'm going to continue enjoying my time with the series, and I'm not trying to change anybody's mind about it. I'm just trying to make people understand that their hatred of it means nothing to me.

A work of fiction should not consume your personality to any extent.

Good day.

[cottonfeltgembira]

i want to thank you for addressing the (current) issue with TWST, feels like it’s a new one every week now. i don’t have much to say besides i agree with your stance that YT is shit and it’s SO hard to enjoy the game with all the shit that keeps getting revealed, i was an idiot to expect better from Disney after they released movies like Encanto and Turning Red and getting my hopes up. but i like the idea of essentially curating your own experience: redesigning characters, adding characters, rewriting plots, etc to fix the bad in a way that makes it still somewhat enjoyable. it’s still hard, esp when it’s a hyperfixation, but it’s something ig. on that note, would you be okay with other people following your example and making their own Diasomnia uniform redesigns? i just… really can’t stand looking at them anymore after this lmao. thanks again in advance.

HELLO ANON (*´∀｀*)!! And ouhhh no problem (=^・・^=)!!

Ouwa I don't fink you're stupid to expect better from Disney, however we are dealing with Disney Japan :0c media like Encanto and Turning were made with 1) an international audience and 2) to be family friendly in mind, they're also pretty big projects, twst feels like a small scale project with how it was only opened to Japan for its first year, only adding English translations for a few other regions later (=^・・^=)

Which is to say, it's more so Disney Japan being poor about background checks, twisted wonderland as its core concept definitely feels like a cash grab for me,

gacha free to play mobile game where classic Disney villains are pretty handsome boys? instant money!

And you can tell since their target audience are specifically young girls and young women. They probably decided that since twst wouldn't need any thorough cleaning of anything that could be offensive because it wasn't going to be advertised to an "for all audience" they were probably a bit to lax with picking a director, and it just happened to be the most bigoted one... (=_=;)

Ohh anon you're right!! I think it's the best possible remedy when you find out a media you've grown so attached turns out to be bad or made by a horrible person but you struggle to truly let go, I still enjoy twst but my idea of twst is far FAR different than the actual canon game itself, trying your hand at your own rendition of that media can actually be a lot more fun :]c

And I'm totally fine with it!! Encourage it actually, I'd love to see everybody make their own diasomnia uniforms, hell even do the other dorms if you want (*´∀｀*)!!

[elfyourmother]

What is your beef with The Aitiascope? Only if you don't mind me asking.

Really a couple of things.

From a design standpoint it’s just wack and boring af. I mean basically every dungeon from the Dragonsong patches on is essentially a tunnel on rails but the better ones do a bit better of a job of obfuscating that and Aitiascope didn’t even try. Here is the magic wall, pull to it. Here is another wall. In an area that is supposed to be vast and boundless it stuck out for all the wrong reasons. The bosses are so damn forgettable I legit had to look up who they were because I deadass didn't remember them at all aside from Amon and I couldn’t tell you any of the mechanics

I could forgive all of that if the storytelling there was good but that’s really my biggest beef with it, from a meta standpoint I hate that dungeon because it’s probably the most blatant example of Endwalker’s biggest weakness to me, which is the clumsy and ham fisted attempts at manipulation of player emotions. It’s something this game generally avoids doing, which is why it sticks out so badly to me the rare times it does. And AS really genuinely felt like the writers looking me dead in my face and saying, “okay, I know we have not treated the deaths of these other characters with the same importance as Haurchefant, so here is their spotlight moment and please forgive us"

The thing is, I’m the type of person who is very stubborn and defiant when it comes to the perception of folk trying to manipulate my feelings and when I feel writers trying to hook puppet strings on me it has the entire opposite effect. I emotionally check out and start looking at my watch waiting for the shit to just end.

Ysayle showing up at the end as Shiva was downright tone deaf to the point I found it insulting. Sure I get what they were going for, “oh look, how clever, she’s recreating the ice boulder mech from Syrcus Tower’s Amon fight so we can hide. because you know she’s Ice themed” but all of that (quite bizarrely!) forgets that “Shiva” the Primal was a construct born of Ysayle’s self-aggrandizement-as-coping mechanism, something that was really a product of trauma more than anything, and imo it retroactively makes a mockery of her Azys Lla moment to have her just pop into that form in the Aetherial Sea like it’s nbd. That she willingly took that form again to save WoL et al, despite knowing it was basically a manifestation of self-delusion--that meant something. To have her just randomly do it again out of nowhere. And vaguely dehumanizing if I’m honest. After the shitshow of E8 back in ShB there is literally nothing I want to hear from this game about Ysayle anymore.

In short the whole damn thing just served as a reminder of why I’m an Everybody Lives kind of writer. I didn’t hate this dungeon because of that, ftr. I hated it because it really felt like they were beating it into the ground to the point it was tragedy porn, it was peak “look how sad it is your faves died. so sad. are you sad again yet?” writing. Like I said, when I sense that it has the opposite effect. I don’t feel grief, I just feel anger at them literally beating dead horses. (Between this shit and garbage ass DSR I sincerely just want the game to keep Haurche’s name out of its mouth at this point.) We didn’t even need this shit either, is the craziest thing to me about it. Every last one of those characters had a genuinely touching reference/moment elsewhere in the course of the story. Estinien and Alphinaud talking about Ysayle’s dream after Vrtra revealed himself to his people was like the one time this game has done right by her since Azys Lla. Even that scene with the Fortemps lads was fine. Please, if you have to keep going to this well (and you really really can stop now, game), can we just allow these quiet moments of dignity to stand on their own? We don’t need magic buffs and ghosts in the afterlife. Jesus H.

The trial at the end is really what saved that segment of the story for me but the funny thing is it was the canary in the coal mine to me for Ultima Thule, which has all the problems of this place but even worse. Because it’s a whole damn zone of it combined with the most gobshite pacing since the trolley nonsense in ShB and writing so hamfisted I was literally cringing in secondhand embarrassment for most of it. And just like AS it was the trial that saved it.

tbh AS just confirmed my preference for characters surviving and growing and healing, even stumbling and taking steps backward at times, instead of being tied up like forgotten loose ends or shoved onto buses for Teh Dramaz, with extreme prejudice even. AS illustrates to me why killing characters off should absolutely be the last resort, and why it has to be done with care. Because it’s very rare that stories can handle the aftermath properly, it’s a very tricky thing to get right. Eventually, even in stories that initially do, the temptation to make the player/reader/viewer wallow in it for cheap emotional hits inevitably becomes too much to resist.

[macaronnya]

Fresh(?) Impressions (10)

Other parts: |Trickstar| |UNDEAD| |2wink| |Ra*bits| |Akatsuki| |fine| |Ryuseitai| |Knights| |Valkyrie| |Switch| |MaM/Double Face/Crazy:B| |Eden| |Alkaloid|

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Hello Enstarries~☆ It is the 10th part already! With the trio Switch here! There really are a lot of idol (groups) to go through huh....I think I get now how the wayback machine works, so I hope I can finish this series next week or so to finally begin reading the "!" stories. Ngl, it's a lot more enjoyable to learn about everyone like this. I'd probably be too lazy otherwise lol.

DISCLAIMER!: Everything said here is for entertainment purposes only and not meant to attack anyone. This is not an accurate description of any characters but my subjective rambling for fun, so please don't take it too seriously. (Just to be safe, I'm kinda scared of elite idol fans) Also, you will hear me mention other games a bunch of times bc I'm that bad and uncreative at explaining and I'm still grieving A3!EN's shutdown. Eng is my 2nd (or 3rd?) language so there might be some weird grammar or spelling mistakes. And I write at 3 am usually.

Without further ado...Let's Ensemble!☆

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You wouldn't think they're magicians at first glance, which is not a bad thing. Honestly, I don't have a lot to say about them. Their outfits are decent. A bit weird maybe. Sora's variation is the only good looking one. That's because the shoes just don't fit with the long trousers and the big thunder symbol with its thick black outlines on the vest look ugly and it's kind of too much with a third color (red/blue). And I don't like the zippers. Or the belts. I like the the necklaces though. Their music is pretty decent, too. At first, it wasn't really to my taste but it does make for nice background music, is what I discovered after going shopping and having Switch songs come up. It's generally upbeat but a bit more lowkey compared to Trickstar. I

A bit funky I think and hmmm...idk how to say this but it often uses these snyth instruments??? I have no idea what you call them but like, sounds that don't belong to a classical intrument, y'know? I sound like a grandma. I guess they kind of give the music the sparkle, as they're modern magicians and all. I like I "witch" you a happy Halloween and Omoi no kakera. Oh, I almost forgot to mention this, it's neat how everyone has hair highlights.

5/10 - average but they have some good songs

Natsume Sakasaki

I do adMIT. While reading his Ep.1, I was more or less distracted by his magic of changing the text font as well as his speech haBIT. Maybe anone can do it and I just haven't seen it yet? But I saw that when he talked to Tsumugi it also changed? I cringed when he called us kitten. He seems like a gentleman but I just....don't vibe with him. He has a nice voice, though. It's rich and thick like condensed milk but not as sweet. He's a fortune teller so...yeah. Nothing comes to mind. Looks pretty chill otherwise.

4.5/10 - a dude but ehhhhh

Tsumugi Aoba

Why does everybody hate him? Perhaps my brain is exaggerating some memories but I remember him being really dunked on by magic redhead anytime he exists and a lot of others as well? His memes show him very pathetically if I remember right. He does seem to be a bit of a pushover but not really meek? I want to say I like his fluffy hair but somehow I hesitate. He has a normal voice but smoother than the average. Like, milk. Normal 3,5% fat milk instead of plain still water.

5/10 - a dude with glasses

Sora Harukawa

I think he's genuinely bebi but I can't bring myself to not dislike his voice. It's like muffled blackboard scratching. I thought he was just a normal happy go lucky sunshine shota but the bit of him having synesthesia came outta nowhere. I wonder if it's just like a trivial trait of his or if it's more explored. I was convinced that he didn't go through anything too hard but when he apologized for his laugh and talked about wanting to experience others perspectives, it gives me the feeling he definitely has experienced some kind of rejection due to his condition and general personality as well. Which is sad, you shouldn't apologize for being happy and expressing it, unless the situation is inappropiate ofc. That might also be the reason why he wants to bring happiness to others in need, like he once was. Btw his laugh is indeed a bit annoying. I'm sorry 🤧 maybe I'll get used to it with time.

5.5/10 - apple juice, smth most like but I prefer to drink only once a month

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

Conclusion

This part might actually be shorter than Valkyrie's 🗿 Switch is just very lukewarm.

Now, just a small pet peeve rant that came to me after Natsume's Ep.1, that not necessarily just applies to him specifically, but I really hate the trope of "Oh, be careful around wolves, I am also one of them you know?" I know it's supposed to bring the fact, that they're potential love interest as well, to attention but to me it just seems like they're saying they're fucking perverts. Like, shouldn't you be happy, she feels comfortable enough with you to be in the same room or smth? Women especially know just how dangerous the world can be for them specifically, let them feel safe for 1 sec asshat. Like, doesn't Japan have train sections for women only bc the harassments got that bad? Women always hear to be careful at night, watch for their drinks, have some self-defense or escape tips, etc. Not attacking another person, let alone a women, should be fucking normal. Not even common decency. What is romantic about that?????? I know they all just mean it jokingly and all but I just cringe, whenever that happens. If you're already in an established relationship, that's a bit different but otherwise it's just weird and uncomfortable.

Phew, that was a mouthful. If you wanna share anything, just be mindful of others and keep in mind it's all just for fun here. My wrist is killing me so much rn. Until the next post ~☆

[spicylove4ever]

Analysis and thoughts on Lucifer Season 5B

Since Season 6 is coming, and I want to analise that trailer but I still hadn't said a word about the previous thing, I thought it was time to catch up.

Warning: Controversial opinion. Keep reading at your own risk.

Let's get started.

First things first, the premise on the 5B season was: Michael brought things to a breaking point that lead to God to appear on Earth. The first thing I thought was, wait WHAT? But you didn't move a finger when Uriel died!

But that was something that I already had in mind when the 5B started. And then the chapters went on, and things added, and I was shocked in good ways, but also the bad way in too many things.

There are tons of things that came to mind while watching the whole thing, but I think if I explain them all this will be too long. Let's go to the main points:

1. God.

For a starter, his personality. Ok, I know is basically common knowledge that he went chill after all the Jesus thing, so a calm personality is not a surprise, to be honest.

But this is not the answer we should get after all the build-up we had on all the series. What did we know about how he was all allong the series before he appeared?

He's a manipulative person, for all that treating like pawns his own children thing.... and also everybody. All for his great plan, whatever it is (maybe is just like a Sims-like thing, he wants the bigger picture to be in a way and made all those things for turning the outcome into what he wanted?). Also, than means megalomania.

Lucifer described that when he gets angry, greatly bad things follow, like poking a colossal dragon. We saw that with the mentioned temper of the Old Testament, and the Fall of Lucifer (being expulsed from Heaven and all that), how he imprisioned his wife in FREAKING HELL and Cain's Curse. So, it's stablished that in this series, God has a temper, big time, but it also seemed he went more chill after centuries.

So, what did I expected from that description?

I expected something with the personality in between these two up there and with a hidden temper that goes like when Galadriel does her creepy thing. What I mean, is that both Kyubey from Madoka Magica and Jerry from Soul are inmortal beings and powerful, who care only about the big picture. Jerry has more experience in working with people, and has this chill actitude of caretaker, something that I kind of expected to see in God, and Kyubey in the end, only cares about its goal, and actually gives a shit about people's feelings and does things to them that serve to the purpose and think it's damn fine because by its balls it has to be right, something that I expected to see in God as well.

And did we got instead?

Well.......

Yes, he gave a feeling of being inmortal for all his knowledge and there was this how he doesn't actually gives a pose of authority since he's God and he doesn't have to prove anything to anybody.

But he didn't have any imposing aura, wasn't scary at all, and I still can't get through how he doesn't know how to spot the simptoms of brain freeze and how he got into trouble half of the time. Shouldn't he know better than spill that his son is working for the police when going undercover?

But this is not the answer to all the build-up you gave us, series creators!

And what's with his relationship between Lucifer and his father? That seems odd as well.

Lucifer is supposed to be the son that goes against everything he wants, that has disobeyed him all the time, and insobordinates constantly. I take that he might have a different oppinion of his son now, and that would have been great if they had made the character mention how he has changed his mind over his son and why!

Instead, he just goes like nothing ever happened and expected everyone to go along with it. Also, stalks Lucifer and goes into his life doing the annoying father thing.

What's more, Lucifer had to take care of his father half of the time. And that usually doesn't happen when your parent is inmortal, and even if God made himself a human, where did all his experience go?

By the way, Lucifer's reaction to this is spot on, but spot on with the character that we got in the end. I would have expected that Lucifer was terrifyed about what would his dad doing on Earth, and how could that affect all the people he cares about, but since this God is what we got, Lucifer reacted that way.

And then there is the thing about his retirement. Where did that even come from?

His power has been going crazy? Ok, but that has come only on the recent time. There is no evidence that supports a decision to retire just like that. Make changes? Ok. Retire? WTF.

And not just that, he just leaves to Goddess' universe and makes the kids solve by themselves how would that turn out.

And don't get me started about how a divorced couple made up just like that. Didn't he vanished her and put her into a cell? Why was she so chill?

Which leads to the next point.

2. Amenadiel and why did he not take the throne.

Ok, so Amenadiel wanted to focus into being a father and don't want to leave his life on Earth. That's ok.

But as far as we knew, Lucifer was pretty much the same, right?

Not to mention they still had a problem. A problem called Michael.

He was elegible to be God's sucessor, and if he got that power, he would turn Lucifer's and everyone close to him lifes into a living hell, which could include Amenadiel and his new family easily.

They should had have that in mind, and should have in mind the determintation to avoid it AT ALL COSTS.

So, what to do? If Amenadiel had that much support from the other angels on the very beggining, then he had to take the chance!

They both have grown with Michael, and I thought Amenadiel watched Game of Thrones, so they should have known better than to give him a chance to ruin their lives for eternity.

Yes, Lucifer has traits that make him a good pick for being God, and he does have experience with the reignant profession, but they couldn't afford to lose an election!

3. New angels

First, good call to the part that they answered the question of what happened to the other angels that supported Lucifer back in the day. I really wanted to know where they were. My headcanons where crushed, but hey, at least they gave us a explanation.

I really liked Zadquiel. He might be pretty judmental but he was in the end a great guy when he saw Lucifer's change of heart, and he had more guts than most of the other angels, and honorable. I respect honor.

Remiel's redemption! I first found her scary, given the way she handled how Amenadiel changed and he had a son. But mostly because she showed no remorse to her first plan to kill Linda and then steal the baby. But she had absolutely clear Michael is not to trust, so she backed Lucifer. Respect..... which made very sad her demise... Explain again to me why the other angels show so little response to that.

But I'm kind of upset of how the other angels were to support Michael. Is like they don't know their own lying-brother and how he's not to be trusted. They were really that suspicious of Lucifer, or was it that Michael is that scary? Or are they that susceptible to Michael's lies?

Seriously, wtf...

Appart from that, I think most of what they showed on this season was spot on. Deeply emotional, too.

[theggning]

I posted 852 times in 2021

157 posts created (18%)

695 posts reblogged (82%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 4.4 posts.

I added 761 tags in 2021

#fallout 4 - 257 posts

#gg answers - 101 posts

#laugh rule - 91 posts

#paladin danse - 65 posts

#fallout meta - 50 posts

#danse/piper - 46 posts

#anonymous - 38 posts

#nick valentine - 38 posts

#lmfao - 38 posts

#piper wright - 37 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#regardless of the current fandom party line re: the superiority of new vegas which fed my children watered my crops and moisturized my skin

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I'm a little late, but if you're still doing them, opinions/thoughts on Nick Valentine? I'm dying to hear you go into detail about him.

Me, gushing about Nick Valentine? Don't mind if I do~

I've been playing FO4 since launch, and from my very first playthrough, Nick has been my favorite character in the game (and really, one of my all-time favs.) This is hardly an unpopular opinion. Everybody, even people who don't like FO4 as a whole seem to love Nick and he's widely lauded as one of the best characters in the series.

I think one of the things that makes Nick stand out is just how remarkably kind he is. I keep using that word on these posts, but I think it applies to Nick more than basically any other character. Nick is an honorable man with uncommon empathy for others and a sophisticated sense of justice-- but also an impressive sense of mercy (he is one of the only companions who approve of you sparing the deathclaw egg and returning it to its parent.) As long as you don't act like a total dickweed around him, he almost immediately treats you as a friend and not a client, caring about your personal well-being and emotional state (he also never even expects payment from you. We find out this is a thing he does fairly often via idle dialogue with NPCs.) He's not self-righteous, he's not arrogant, he doesn't think he's better than other people, and he's not in it for fame or accolades or money. Nick does the right thing because it's right. He helps people because they need it. In many ways, Nick is one of the most humane characters in the wasteland. Which is of course ironic because he's not human at all.

See the full post

120 notes • Posted 2021-06-19 19:42:25 GMT

#4

In Defense of Piper Wright

DISCLAIMER: People have opinions. People have different tastes in characters, and things that they like and dislike about characters. You are allowed to like whatever characters you want and dislike whatever others for whatever reason you want. You can read everything I say here and go “yeah but I still don’t like her” and that’s fine. There are popular characters in all of my fandoms that I still don’t care for much, and that’s okay! I still like to understand how they are written and what makes them tick.

I like Piper. I think she’s funny and charming and it’s very refreshing to see a bossy, outspoken, pushy, but overall courageous and goodhearted woman in a prominent role. But I’ve been kickin’ around this fandom for a bit now and I have repeatedly seen some incredibly uncharitable takes on Piper, a lot of which strike me as either hugely generalizing or frankly, something I don’t think would be directed at a male character with Piper’s same role and traits.

A lot of people complain that Bethesda “puts no thought into their characters”  which I find often translates to “I have not spent any time with this character”  (or less often, “this character is not exactly the way I would like them to be, therefore Bethesda is bad writers.”) Most of the companions in FO4 are quite nuanced and multi-faceted, and you learn things about them by traveling with them and talking to them, hearing their comments on various events and locations. Piper is in the unique position of being featured briefly in the main quest, so meeting her is not optional, though having her as a companion is. Because of this, I feel like many people stick with the basic first impression they get of her, and dismiss her on that alone.

So today in my TED Talk, I would like to discuss some common takes I’ve seen on Piper and provide canon evidence why I think they’re off base or overblown. You are free to agree or disagree with my opinion and you can like or dislike Piper, but there is some stuff flying around that is just not supported by canon at all.

See the full post

167 notes • Posted 2021-02-20 23:31:19 GMT

#3

Ma'am? There is a slight flaw in your cunning plan.

235 notes • Posted 2021-04-27 05:23:24 GMT

#2

I Hate the Alternate Ending of Blind Betrayal, and Here's Why!

DISCLAIMER THE FIRST: Massive spoilers for Fallout 4 abound. This post discusses Blind Betrayal, a quest with suicide as a heavy theme. Content warning applies.

DISCLAIMER THE SECOND: This post discusses cut OFFICIAL content from Fallout 4 that has since been repurposed into multiple mods. I am not criticizing any modders or their implementations of this content. Mods are fun and people can enjoy whatever the hell kind of game experience they want with whatever mods they want.

I am ONLY interested in discussing the original cut content as Bethesda had written it, and how it would have impacted the story and lore of Fallout 4.

So, yeah, it seems there was originally going to be another way to conclude Blind Betrayal (BB).

As described in this Kotaku article (citing this post by Tumblr user tentacle-explosion,) there are unused audio files of Danse’s dialogue that show an alternate ending to his pivotal quest. These lines are the only evidence we have of this ending (suggesting that it was cut fairly early on, as no other actors/characters seem to have recorded for it.)

From what we can tell, in this alternate ending of BB, Danse comes up with a possible way out of the sticky situation re: his identity as a synth. According to the Brotherhood Litany, he is able to challenge Maxson’s authority as Elder via combat. If you agree to this idea, you go with Danse to challenge Maxson. The Paladin and the Elder duel one another, Danse wins, and Maxson dies. Then Danse names the Sole Survivor the new Elder-- or with a hard charisma check, you’re able to convince Danse to take the job himself. It is unknown how the main plot would have progressed beyond this point, as there is no other evidence of what being (or influencing) the Elder would have been like or what choices it would have given you.

There is understandable disappointment in learning that this ending was cut. Choices in games are great, and it could have been fun to have multiple different options for how to resolve the quest. In many gaming circles, people complain that this theoretical ending is superior to the one we got and shouldn’t have been axed. The Kotaku article calls it a “way better” ending, and you’ll see many players lamenting that it wasn’t implemented, saying Bethesda was bad at writing for cutting it, etc.

So why did Bethesda get rid of the Elder ending of BB?

In December 2020, after the Fallout 4 Cast Reunion, Danse’s voice actor Peter Jessop answered questions in a private signing session on his Instagram. Peter Jessop is an extremely kind and gracious man, an avid gamer, and a huge fan of Fallout. During the stream, he reflected on the alternate ending and remembered recording the lines, but stated the content was ultimately cut because Bethesda decided it was lore-breaking.

Peter Jessop is right. Bethesda was right. The Elder ending of BB is a bunch of dumb nonsense. It sucks, I hate it, and I’m glad they got rid of it. And now I’m going to tell you why!

See the full post

237 notes • Posted 2021-04-14 23:11:49 GMT

#1

Gen-3 Synths: What Canon Does and Does Not Actually Say

Synths! One of the most important concepts in Fallout 4, much of the game’s plot and thematic structure revolves around the Institute’s humanoid androids. The question of whether or not to regard synths as people is hugely important (and if you’ve been anywhere near my blog before, you’ll know I come down solidly on the “yes, duh” side of things.)

But that’s not why we’re here today!

There is a LOT of misunderstanding floating around about gen-3 synths. Many players miss basic facts about what synths are, what they can and cannot do, how they function and how they are made. Because this is such a massive game with so many perspectives and factions to explore (all with their own opinions,) it can be difficult to discern what’s true.

So the purpose of this post is to outline exactly what canon says about gen-3 synths-- the concrete facts as stated in the lore. Along with that, I’ll touch on a few concepts that canon doesn’t actually specify, open for interpretation however you see fit.

Massive Fallout 4 spoilers ahead, obviously.

Sidenote: Gen-1 and Gen-2 Synths

Essentially, gen-1 and gen-2 synths are fancy robots. Fully mechanical, programmed to follow a set of orders, built to perform menial tasks for the Institute. The difference is the “skin” that covers gen-2s, where the gen-1s are just naked robotic frames and inner parts. There are a few gen-1s still kicking around the Institute and scattered throughout groups of synth enemies, but the majority of old synths you’ll see and fight in the game are gen-2s.

And so is our buddy Nick Valentine. As Nick tells us, he is a gen-2 synth in all but mind-- a special prototype to test if synths could operate with a personality. Nick received the brainscans of the human Nick Valentine to form his basic personality, while his “brother” DiMA was allowed to form a personality from scratch. Nick and DiMA both have free will, human-level intelligence, and are no longer bound to programming. All other old synths are still operating on their original programming, mindless robots that attack all enemies of the Institute indiscriminately.

Nick tells us a lot about his function and his experience as a gen-2 synth, such as the fact that he doesn’t eat, drink, or sleep. He mentions being immune to radiation and able to easily repair himself, advantages that come from existing in a fully mechanical body.

But I think a lot of misinformation about synths comes from people equating what Nick says about himself to ALL synths. In canon, gen-3 synths are different from gen-2s in every way but name. The ONLY thing gen-2s and 3s have in common structurally is the synth component, the hardware that allows the Institute to access their brains. You cannot take Nick’s mechanical advantages and apply them to a being who is made of flesh and blood, because it doesn’t make any goddamn sense.

So keep our dear Mr. Valentine’s mechanical nature in mind whenever he says something about synths, and recognize the difference between him and the more modern gen-3s. And with that, we shall continue!

See the full post

374 notes • Posted 2021-05-12 00:09:42 GMT

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[watchinglikeafangirl]

Kiss Me Again - first reactions

Out of boredom, I started watching Kiss Me Again also because I've already watched Dark Blue Kiss. I saw many people saying both shows should be seen as two seperable things because some important details got lost on the way of making spin-off.

Let's see how much of a difference there actually is. From what I've heard, Pete is going to be very different. Anyway, here are my first reactions during the watching process:

Episode 1

Oh well, Pete is so different. He's a whole other person here. He's the typical cool guy who just wants to show off but at the same time, he's a bit socially awkward and I love it. This faked boredom and annoyment are only there because he doesn't know what to say when Kao is around and especially when they are alone because the atmosphere is just weird between them. Acting all annoyed is his way of socializing and I like it because I believve we all have weird tactics to try to lighten the mood or find a topic with peopl we don't know. Here, Pete is "annoyed" to look cool but I guess, he does this because he tries to find something they both can agree on and annoyment is the simpliest way. You can easily agree with people on negative emotions concearning a topic, so it's the easiest choice to pretend to be annoyed. What's funny here is that Kao is really not impressed by it and already knows Pete just wants to be cool. I think, Kao just doesn't like Pete in the beginning because he sees Pete is just pretending and is never true. I guess, that's why he will fall for him later, because they will probably have real talks and bonding moments.

Episode 2

Okay, Pete and Kao shared an awkward kiss and now things are even more weird. Here's one difference to the Pete I know from Dark Blue Kiss: he's not honest. Now, whenever Kao wants to address the kiss, Pete gets defensive and aggressive. Yes, it's probably because of his confusion but in Dark Blue Kiss, Pete always addresses everything - even the uncomfortable or negatively loaded topics - but not at this moment.

And also, I know, Pete is not the nicest person at this moment but he is really respectless. After the kiss, he stares into Kao's eyes in surprise, pulls away and then wipes his mouth in disgust more than once. As if Kao's lips and the taste of them are dirt on his lips and that's so disrespectful. Kao is obiously hurt by it and I would be too. Of course, you are allowed to not like a kiss but reacting so disgusted is very harsh.

Episode 3

And now, Pete is bullying Kao by isolating him from the group. He makes the others believe Kao doesn't like them, so he will end up being the king of the group since Kao is not the kind of person who talks about such things and just accepts the circumstances.

The scene between So and Sansuay in the parking lot was obviously not right bahavior on So's part because Sansuay was clearly uncomfortable being pressed against another car. She had no way out and I love the random dude walking by and just checking if she is okay. No romanticizing. Just a statement that this behavior is wrong.

Episode 4

Pete and Kao now claim to be "annoyed" of each other and all the other ones are still left wondering what the real problem is.

But at least, Pete confides to Sandee and confesses he only gets angry because of the kiss. I mean, we as the audience understand him better but I just find Sandee's frustration very amusing. Pete is obviously not realizing his feelings and is just helpless. Sandee is such a mood.

Until now, I really don't like R at all. He is pushing Sanwan around and invades her ersonal space all the time while saying he cares. Dude, if you care, don't force her, don't drag her into your car and especially don't kiss her when she doesn't want to.

Episode 5

Its just my speculation but I'm pretty sure Pete is bisexual because he has an ex-girlfriend (we know of) but seems to be attracted to both gender and he's not the kind of guy who falls for the personality or character of someone. The gender matters to him, I would say. But it's nice to see a bisexual character because mostly shows want to tell me that people are either homo- or heterosexual but there are obviously many other sexualities in between. Living in a gay relationship doesn't mean you define yourself as homosexual, real life doesn't work like that and I like they give us a character who is neither homo- or heterosexual.

What's going on with the men in that show? WHy are there so many red flags? Except for Kao, Mat and Sun, everybody pushes the women around and invades their personal space in a very uncomforting manner. Are they all going to "change"? I don't know if I will be able to believe them...

Episode 6

Mat's mother wants Sanson to "turn her son straight"? Okay, just gonna leave that there because I don't have words how wrong this thought is.

Oh, the scene which I saw many gifs of, happened. But I thought Pete and Kao would spend more time laying in the grass. I though this was a very romantic scene. But it's just a second long. But who cares, their relationship took a next step. They stop fighting and come to some sort of agreement (the agreement being that fighting is pointless). But somehow this scene feels like they broke the ice and finally found peace.

Episode 7

And again, a scene I've seen very often: the hospital. But it's really sweet they all went there because of Pete and wait all together until he can go home. That's real friendship and I think this show portrays their friend group really accurate because they are so natural with each other. They are a bunch of people thrown together who bond over weird fun talks at night and getting home drunk. Even though they are so different, they are loyal and trustworthy. It's heartwarming to see a group of friends be portrayed like this because mostly in shows, the protagonist has one really good friend and just a few people they know but are not very close to. but a group of friends is exactly this and it's rare on TV because showing a whole group bonding is difficult and also because they dynamic is totally different.

Episode 8

Kao (giving me the chills): Mint, even if he doesn't like you back, it doesn't mean you are not good enough. No matter how beautiful you are, no matter how good you try to be to him, if he's not into you, he's not the one for you.

I can't believe So gets away with stealing Sansuay's phone. She will never know it was him. I don't know what to think about him.

Epsiode 9

Sun flirting with Kao over coffee makes me cringe so much right now. This is uncomfortable and not as romantic as Sun may think it is. And then, Kao is scared Sun meant him, this is uncomforting to watch. Also, I really don't think Kao and Sun are a match. It doesn't fit at all and I hope it will be over soon.

What? Wayu wants to rape Sanwan? Did I miss something? How did we get here? I thought this was a warm show for teenagers. Now there's rape? I could deal with the sexual harassment even though that was not fine to watch, but rape? I'm confused how we got there? But of course, R saved her.

Not Mork casually cleaning his gun...

Episode 10

I love the fact Pete and Kao just quietly accept the fact they spend a night together. It happened and they can't change it. They don't even mention it and I'm relieved there's no "don't ever tell anybody" or something. It just happened and that's it. Nothing further to dicuss about it. Also, they made pretty clear already they have certain feelings for each other. The wuestio now is just how they are going to deal with this and if they will be in a relationship.

Kao: I will stop seeing other people when things between us become clearer.

Episode 11

I can't believe they actually address the bullying I mentioned before. Kao is very right when he says Pete needs to earn his trust because of the past. This is just right because you can't forget the past just because of romantic feelings. If you don't address the other person made you feel ad, you won't be able to move on from that and relationships are about trust, so I find this very mature and good for both of them. Pete needs to understand he hurt Kao in the past and can't just change his mind over night and Kao will say yes right away.

A planned engagement? Isn't that a bit old-fashioned? Sanwan and R don't know each other at all and why would their parents decide this for them. It doesn't look like it would be good for family's business or something. This seems so random.

And Wayu tries to rape Sanwan again? How? Why? And what is wrong with Sindee for initializing this? But of course, R saves her again.

Episode 12

Oh Mint. I always had mixed feelings about her and now i know for what reason. Is she fine? Making someone feel bad for leeting her go by threatening she would hurt herself is not healthy or normal or anything. That's a serious matter. No wonder, Pete feels like his life is messed up and is extremely stressed about it. And then, Mint woders why he's not comfortable at all and doens't see Pete just let her stay out of fear her threat might be the truth. Because he's a nice person. But Mint is just crazy and plays mind games.

I've never seen a drunk kiss be that cute and meaningful. They are just pure. Now, I really know why people love Pete and Kao so much. I already fell in love with their dynamic in Dark Blue Kiss but seeing the beginnings of their relationship tops that. This script is too good. They both know, the kiss meant a lot and I like they are way past the regretment state. Or at least, they don't regret the kiss. They regret they are not in a relationship which makes the atmosphere afterwards more sad and hurt. Again, they are so mature about this.

Mint took a picture? I can't with this woman.

Episode 13

Why did tehy not report Wayu? They are covering up a crime. And Sanwan doesn't seem to be traumatized which makes me wonder a lot. She is more than fine and I'm not buying Wanyu's apology at all.

And now Mint send the picture to Pete's dad. Does she have no shame? It's not her right to out Pete. That's a thing between Pete, his dad and Kao. Mint has and nothing to do with it and shouldn't have ever. She took Pete's power away by letting his dad now. Things were in Pete's hands and I hope Pete will tell mint very clearly she had no right to do that and her behavior is wrong.

Wow, Pat has guts. Telling your best friend you like them even though you know they don'yt like you is very brave. I love Mat being so cool with it because it's obviously a hard moment for Pat to outlive.

Episode 14

I love Pete's dad. They both were so scared but he doesn't say anything and I like what he says. He talks with them like they are adults (which they are) and doesn't talk to them like they are kids who don't know anything. They don't need to be lectured by their parents. They are adults already and make their own life decisions. I like very much he has this calm talk with them and then drops the topic.

Sanson being the first to confess fits very good because mAt is alway the wuieter one of them. This scene is so bittersweet and Sanson is so vulnerable, it hurts my heart. If it stays like this, then it would be a strong statement of the show because not everything works out in the end. You can try, you can ask, but in the end, maybe your efforts were all for nothing.

Finally, Pete calls Mint out. But he forgives her?... But at least, he doesn't want to be her friend any more.

Of corse we have happy endings all over the place.