#like how are you going to lose the understanding your fav character battle to me

[dearreader]

something very odd about a person nearing 30 who’s hyperfixated on a character for 10+ years not able to understand that he was intentionally written as a villian and that what he does is bad but goes out of there way to say other characters are worse for the same things he does with the only difference between the two being they’re not their fav and feel remorse for their actions

[rockybloo]

Feel like dropping a Beanstalked funfact before I go to take my daily nap so here is one about Jack's Slayer mode. This at some point becomes me rambling about fairy tales again so it's a long one:

Jack's Slayer mode exists because I grew up loving the trope of protagonists in anime that had an alternate side to them. I think one of my first encounters with such was watching Yugioh as a kid with Yugi and Yami Yugi...though that's like...a more positive spin on it. STILL - I loved how there was that switch up between a nice and innocent face to someone who was more skilled and experienced.

Then you got me getting into Inuyasha and his entire full demon mode he entered under specific circumstances, and then Ichigo's whole thing with his hollow self, and Maka's temporarily going insane during her battle with Crona. All of which are instances of protagonists becoming more antagonistic (or just losing some chill).

All a lot less wholesome than the Yugioh example (and all are things I got into when I was older)

BASICALLY - That switch being flipped in a character you typically see as the good guy, doing some wild ass shit just STUCK with me forever. It's very cliche and many kids these days would call it edgy but I adore how corny it is.

For Jack specifically, I felt like he'd be the best character for such a trope because Jack and the Beanstalk is a very interesting fairy tale to me. It's my favorite and I think one big reason (aside from how cool a gigantic beanstalk is) is the fact Jack isn't explicitly a good guy. He def can be depending on the story you are reading (especially one meant to be read to children) but some old retellings lack that moralization for him.

And that's something that has led to a very large amount of fairy tale adaptions featuring their own beanstalk Jacks that are viewed as the bad guy or are more mischievous than a Cinderella or Little Red Riding Hood.

TO BE FAIR the fella kind of just breaks into someone's house, steals their shit, leaves and cuts the beanstalk down, killing the giant in the process.

It helps ease the "illegality" of Jack's actions that the giant is typically a giant maneater with his whole "I'll grind your bones to make my bread" shtick. But many choose to just look past the cannibalism (or non-cannibalism since giants aren't really humans) to point at Jack and go "Hey that's actually really fucked up man"

Growing older, I def can see that perspective and understand it more than younger me who grew up with a more moralized version of the story where Jack was depicted as a little kid instead of a young adult (or straight up grown man).

So I always grew up with a bias towards a good guy Jack.

CIRCLING BACK AROUND TO MY FAV TROPE - Jack was the best OC for it because of the duality to the character he was based off of. His default personality is the Jack I grew up used to imagining: A wholesome guy just trying to do his best in a situation he very much didn't fully understand and winded up doing something drastic just because he didn't know what else to do.

And his "cool and edgy" personality was the Jack that would purposely cut down a beanstalk to kill a giant in cold blood.

Over the years of working on Beanstalked, Jack's Slayer mode became a lot more dynamic and wasn't just tied to him being angry. It shifted to something that triggered when he felt adrenaline and winded up being a peek into the emotions he'd bottle up and push down because Jack, at his core, just wants to make people happy. And some emotions make that a bit more difficult.

But it basically is just my way of having my cake and eating it too. I wanted a nice and sweet farm boy but I also wanted one who wouldn't hesitate if placed in the right (or wrong) situation.

[d20-brainrot]

get ready for some d20 asks bestie

favourite season

favourite pc

favourite npc

LEAST fav season/pc/npc

a line that you like

a funny bit that makes you laugh

saddest/most heartwrenching moment that makes you sad every time

best character arc in your opinion

which of the newly announced seasons are you most excited for?

who would you like to see on d20 for the first time or to return?

who would you like to see DM on d20?

a mini that you like

a battle set that you like

something you hope comes back for another season

a season you wish people would watch more

ooh i love this!!!

favorite season: definitely starstruck odyssey or neverafter. they are just both so fun, and everyone is having a good time. plus i like a little horror y'know?

fav pc: ylfa!!! she's just like me for real. no but seriously, she is a child growing up into a body she doesn't fully understand, and thinks that how she feels makes her irredeemable. little el is shaking in their boots right now. i also love lapin. he's deadpan but he does the right thing. plus i just loved how zac played him, it was wonderful

fav npc: esther sinclair is my shit!!!! i love her sm, she is a fierce warrior and i love that about her! also AYDA AGUEFORT IS THE BEST!!! just her and fig are adorable, her being besties with adaine, her calling gorgug the finest wizard ever, just beautiful!!

least fav season/pc/npc: i hate biz glitterdew with every ounce of my being. just the "nice guy" energy radiating from him makes me sick. like i had dudes like that interact with me in middle and high school, and they creeped me the fuck out.

a line i like: "i'm the prince of shoeberg, motherfucker!!!" is a great line and it makes me giggle every time i hear it. a very impactful line for me is "you listen to me right here. having panic attacks, that is not a character flaw, do you understand? you are not a coward. you have a goddamn medical condition, all right?" like that makes me want to sob. i watched this season right around the time that i got diagnosed with severe general anxiety and social anxiety, and it hit me that i am not flawed, i just needed some help.

funny bit that makes you laugh: god just the fact that murph cannot for the life of him roll well is hilarious. i also love the hairy baby dance! like the fact that it came back in an adventuring party for starstruck was fucking great.

saddest moment: god when jet is talking to liam and tells him to tell ruby that she did the right thing, and then the light goes out of the locket of the sweetest heart. gut-wrenching dude. or when they're in the nightmare forest, and brennan is talking about how ayda loves fig because she was kind to her, and that she sees her for who she really is. that always makes me tear up dude.

best character arc: dude ragh for sure! like him going from being a bully, to everyone realizing it was because he was getting harassed by his best friend/the guy that he had loved for years? god what a good storyline. or kugrash, sacrificing himself for everyone by eating the bagel?? killer moment.

fav newly announced season: wasn't there one about them blowing up or something? what the actual fuck does that mean mr. mulligan and mr. reich? huh???

who would you like to see on d20 return or for the first time: alex song-xia needs to come back. no ifs, ands, or buts about it! they were wonderful, and i loved how they played conrad. if they don't come back, i will lose my mind.

who would you like to see dm: murph should dm! he's amazing on naddpod (even though i'm only on the very first campaign) and i would love to see his work in the dome. it would be absolutely amazing!!!!

mini you like: preston was so tiny and so cute! i also loved sprinkle, for the same reason. the fact that it literally was just a sprinkle as a mini was great and i loved every second of it

battle set you liked: the battle with the terrible dogfish!! the fact that it came from like the top of the dome????? absolutely astounding. rick perry truly works wonders with minis.

something you hope comes back: ooh, that's a tough one. i did really like the moving part of mentopolis, the little pressure meter thingy. i did also love in acofaf that they got little trinkets! i love a good trinket!!

everyone needs to watch escape from the bloodkeep!!! i love it so so so much, and it has some amazing characters, some amazing minis, great players, and it's dimension 20 history y'all!!

[wisehearts]

(I'm sending this to all my fav spicy byler accs!)

So I just read a really interesting review of the gay WW1 novel In Memoriam, and the reviewer (in a respected newspaper) is describing this adolescent, boyish, somewhat cowardly attraction between the two boys. 

Although they later prove themselves physically brave, Ellwood and Gaunt are cowards in love. Despite being well inducted by other boys into the improvised physical intimacy widely practised at their Wiltshire boarding school, Preshute, their own relationship remains chaste and hesitant: affectionate; Tennysonian; intensely sexless. Both characters are recognisable stock figures of boyish adolescent romance.

Now, it’s well and easy to say such in today’s era when homosexuality isn’t punishable by death, but in terms of Mike and Will, they’re going to explore in fine detail in s5 how and why both Mike and Will have been so careful. But what gets my eye is the mature way of discussing sex. If anything, works are often taken LESS seriously when they are coy about sex, because they suddenly seem embarrassed or childish or Disney-ified. I cannot imagine a more opposite view to the byler sex antis on here, who say, instead, that portrayal of adolescent sex is paedophilic. Can you imagine how you would be dragged to shit by any literary or film critics worth their salt for thinking that? For thinking that teenage sex is inherently bad or paedophilic? 

The review goes on to say:

Both young men torment themselves in attempts to hide their attachment from one another and themselves. It is a losing battle, the first of many they will see as war draws close.

Oof it sounds familiar! 

But mainly, the reviewer (a man) is appreciative of the detail that the author (a female) put into the work as regards sex:

Winn has written against the grain of her “lived experience” in another way too. In addition to not being a veteran of the First World War, some quick detective work in the acknowledgments section of the book reveals that she is also not a homosexual Edwardian adolescent. In fact, she does an intelligent job here too at simulating the male imagination, and although the sex remains carefully speculative, there are occasional observations of striking acuity. (“Gaunt’s prick was a little smaller than his. Ellwood had noticed that a long time ago, at school, had found it ruinously attractive.”)

I want to point out that this last quote comes before these characters engage in any sexual activity together in the book. 

And this comes on the back of the author running the novel by her male gay and bisexual friends for realism before publishing:

‘I had one friend who was really generous and candid about how to make the sex scenes feel real, but also about how to make the characters – outside of the sex – behave more like men. I mean, I don’t want to put too fine a point on this, but I remember at one stage he asked me, “So, who has the bigger penis?” And I was like, “I don’t know!” And he said, “Well, the characters know!”’ 

- Alice Winn

So there we are! Have Mike and Will ever showered together in the gym at school? We see the high school boys do this at Hawkins in s2, but Mike and Will have never been together at high school. Either way, there’s an acknowledgement here of the fact that teenage boys think very differently about sex than girls, and that if you want to create a piece of art that not only is enjoyable and exciting and compelling, but respects its characters and source material, you must be realistic about those character’s thoughts and experiences. I can understand prudishness a little, but to go as far as to call people who are calling for sexual realism in a coming of age story paedophiles????????? What is your aim?????? Feel free to be afraid of sex until you can figure it out, but do not call others who are engaging with something natural and normal perverts and degenerates. It’s not just cruel, but completely ignorant. 

In short, Mike and Will have definitely thought about and possibly know who has the bigger penis - and yes, they’re also very interested in that topic. 

Ohhhh these are super interesting thoughts!

to create a piece of art that not only is enjoyable and exciting and compelling, but respects its characters and source material, you must be realistic about those character’s thoughts and experiences.

Respect is a great word here. Especially in the case of mike and will where you have people who either think their intimacy is dirty and weird, or you have people in the fandom and queer community deeming byler as a sweet and 'pure' ship and both are harmful mindsets. To dismiss part of the adolescent experience RE: the party and sexuality (if lucas and dustin can have references to sexuality in s4, why can't mike or will?), is to not respect characters people claim to love. Being realistic is so important given the time period, sexuality IS part of their love story. I think the whole party will have little scenes referencing their sexualities next season, even more directly this time, and hopefully how normal it is just slaps people in the face.

Anyway, I think atp mike and will have without a doubt thought about each other's dicks but I don't know that I think they've seen each other's! There's every chance that the other three in the party have now, since they started high school together and probably use those showers, but will didn't (maybe he did in lenora? 👀) so he's the odd one out there.

There's this fan script that I really love wherein will changes in the bathroom stall at school, and I think that's really realistic, both for will removing himself from opportunities to be bullied for being around other naked boys, and maybe for if he has any guilt or stress about being around other naked boys. If he goes to high school next season, I could really see that. The actual shower situation though I'm not sure! Would he have to or does anyone know alternatives to showering at school? We don't do that here so idk

@ your last point: I think the fandom is always moving the goal posts, if it's no longer a problem to discuss byler's sexuality narratively, it's now gross to 'fantasize' and explore through headcanons, or explicit posts and smut fic. Which we know isn't true, and they'll lose that leg to stand on when the party is aged up next season. Calling fellow queer people perverted degenerates and parroting conservative rhetoric, over something fictional... could not be me!

Thanks for sharing that review!

[themilosquid]

I understand the fact that Dragons Rising was inevitable in a storytelling and product point of view. Like yeah, if you want your stories and characters to not lose themselves on countless plot-twists and the same battles, you have to let them go, but that doesn't mean that it hurts me 😔.

Ninjago is been going for years, and I always found it amazing how "well kept" everything went seeing as how easily it is to ruin a show if you just continue making it (side eyes Free!), but they still had the usual problems with some characters. Zane forgot everything he learned every couple seasons, Nya would always default to the same problems, and Cole... Man... He deserved better.

Ninjago is a publicity stunt to sell Lego trademarked bayblades, so obviously they will make their series around the favorite characters. So my favorite other characters didn't get the spotlight they deserved. And now with Dragons Rising there's even less chance for them.

I watched DR and I liked it, ngl. I like Arin and Sora, it took me a while to accept Wyldfire, but they're all great characters, and I'm really excited to see what they will be doing, but man it makes me sad.

Cole now has a team outside of the ninja, and he is obviously not the fav by a long shot, so coming to terms with the fact that Cole may never receive any character development again is kind of breaking me a little.

And I wish I could just buy his merch, but he was so hated before that they won't bring any merch of him to my country.

I've been dreaming of finding something of him, and even in my dream I can only find awfully bad bootlegs that come in sets with Homer Simpson and Spiderman for some reason.

My point being. I'll miss you Cole Ninjago. My brainrot will never heal, but it will push me to make a shit ton of fanfics and art because this is the most inspired I've been in 10 years and I am not joking.

[captnjacksparrow]

What is your ideal ending for your fav characters? Like Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, Tsunade. Especially those 5, many of their stans think that they don't deserve their ending (Sasuke doesn't get his justice etc, Naruto's dream is ruined in Boruto etc, Itachi should live or get his name restored etc, Tsunade got randomly retired after the war because of misogynist etc, Kakashi lost his Sharingan etc). On your post you said that you were satisfied with the ending up until 699, so I wonder if you have any idea to make that ending better.

Probably going to be unpopular...

To me, Chapter 699 gave me a Finality and an Hopeful Ending which I have wrote here. The Author Clearly marked the difference between 699 and 700.

That means, I am happy with all the Characters with the way they ended up until 699... And I don't consider anything that happened after 699 as very important... Well, Even the Author himself has not taken it very serious... So, Why should I?

As for how I will end the Manga in Chapter 700... I honestly don't know and I am not a suitable person for making Head Canons. My Head will always be empty when you ask my Head Canons because I always just observe the Story rather than inserting myself and want to change stuffs.... But still, I have this vague outline as to how Naruto and Sasuke's character would've ended up, if there were no pressure on the Author to spin Boruto nonsense.

However, I don't understand why Itachi, Kakashi and Tsunade stans wants a different ending!!!???

Anyway, I'll just write my views on those 5 characters' Ending:

Tsunade:

I couldn't have asked for any better ending than what I've got so far. Well, she could've easily cleaned up the mess that was laid after the Fourth Shinobi War if she was allowed to... She is a very capable person for that job... But it's okay, she needed that well-deserved Retirement after doing countless things for the Village as a Hokage.

Also, Why is her retirement so surprising???

She picked up this job when Konoha was at it's lowest. That is, Right after Orochimaru attacked the Village. Faced Pain and saw her Village getting Obliterated right before her eyes. Still, She saved her people with her Medical Nin Jutsu.... And Lead her village as the Hokage in the 4th Shinobi World War... Fought Madara.

Anyone would want to retire after all these battles. Also, If she kept on holding this position, when would Naruto become an Hokage??? After all this story was about him, Right?

Those people who claim her ending as Misogynist are the same people who want her to end up with some random guy and enjoy smexy times with him. Just like how Kishi ended every characters to marry someone in Chapter 700.

No Thanks.

Kakashi :

I liked the way he ended as well.

He started out as someone who didn't have any dreams... But as the series progressed we saw, his pained story as to how he became an Orphan, got his Sharingan and the regrets he accumulated later by losing all of his Team Members... But finally ended up as someone who was going to clean up all the mess created by his Best Friend. That is to become the Sixth Hokage.

People who says, Kakashi becoming Hokage is uncalled for... Instead Naruto should've become one... Well, I completely disagree with it.

"We have Kakashi... And we have Naruto, when that time comes..."

"Kakashi's Fair enough... But even if you did give him your Necklace... Naruto's not there yet"

We clearly have a conversation from Tsunade, the Hokage... that the next Hokage will be Kakashi in as early as Chapter 367. And right around Chapter 687 or smt, Obito asked Kakashi to become the 6th Hokage.

It's not surprising that Kakashi became the Leader of the Village by Chapter 699.

How is it that Losing his Sharingan is a Bad Ending, in any way? He was the top Genin in his village before Obito's death itself. Sharingan was just an added power.... Which always made him drain his chakra anyway. I don't find anything bad regarding that.

All in All... It's a Neat Ending for him.

Itachi:

Itachi had a Tragic Ending. But that's why I Love him.

He was willing to lose everything from his Side for the betterment of the Greater Good... He tarnished his own name willingly... Wanted to die as the Villain... And he ended up as the Villain for everyone's eyes. Except for the handful of people.

Nobody knew what he actually did and what price he paid for that... He just died without any complaints... And also, he didn't fail to acknowledge his Failures too.

All in all, a Tragic and a Well-Rounded character.

Itachi living till the End is no way acceptable...

Even Itachi himself would never accept that... Why do something, that the character itself never wanted in the first place???

My whole thoughts regarding this Character is, "I don't want to see you go... But I have to let you go"

Plus Itachi's name getting restored will be a Living Hell for Sasuke which I've wrote about it here. I know many people won't agree with this... But that's how the Author wrote the whole Plotline to be and I have no ill-feelings regarding his ending.

Sasuke:

A Controversial Character.

His stans are here everywhere in Tumblr who would love to say, 'Sasuke did nothing wrong'... which accounts to several hundreds and make extremely poor take on his character other than how the Author wrote him to be.

If only Sasuke were a real person, he would be the first one to pull out his Susanoo and squash all those bad takes on his character. Especially the one who projects their Naruto and/or Itachi hatred onto Sasuke and claim that Sasuke should be freed from Naruto and Itachi. Or Sasuke never loved I or N. Jokers!!!

Again, I loved everything about the way how his character ended up until 699. Even if I have to make a Chapter 700... I would make Sasuke come back to Naruto from that Journey (Let him decide what he wants to do with those Elders)... Make him bicker with Naruto, Be competitive... And partake in Naruto's Dream to change the world as a Partner/Friend/Bond or Whatever.

Again, Revealing UCM would only Harm Sasuke and I clearly don’t want to put Sasuke into a more miserable position. 

Naruto:

Again... No complaints until 699.

If there should be a 700, then I would definitely make Naruto to smile like a cheerful kid that we saw throughout 699 Chapters.... And to become the Hokage who fulfilled all the Promises he made (Amegakure and Hyuuga deal **provided Neji is alive**)... WITH SASUKE BY HIS SIDE. This is very very important. Period. I do think that the Amegakure peace might have been ensured if the 5 big villages stop fighting with each other and that’s the implicit thing we might draw from the Ending.... But in any case, it would have been better if that were Explicit.

If there is no Sasuke next to him, I don't think Naruto could function properly. Look how he is in Boruto...

I do think that Naruto would eventually adopt a Kid or two or many and co-parent that kid with Sasuke. With the way the Author wrote Boruto Movie, I feel that's something highly possible.

=====

So, you see Anon, I didn't change anything much to any of those characters just some Additions when it comes to Naruto and Sasuke...

[andro-dino]

Hey I haven't seen you do the character opinion bingo with Gingka and Nile yet, if you did, I'm sorry I didn't find it. But yeah if you haven't and are up for it; Gingka and Nile. separate of course, even tho I would love to hear your thoughts on them as friends or more. Take your time answering :D

Nile!!!!!! Another one of my favs <333 lots of gender envy from him. I also kin him really hard but we don’t talk abt that

He’s a really interesting character. I really like how well-rounded he is. I think out of everyone, he’s definitely one of the characters who feels the most like an actual person and that makes him very likable and relatable to me. I love his dynamic with wild fang and I really love his relationship with Kyoya. Their bond was established on mutual respect and acknowledgment and they both just bounce off of each other so well instantly. They’re just constantly on the same wavelength and really understand each other and I think that’s really interesting. I really like that one scene in masters during Gingka and Kyoya’s battle where Nile sees how much fun Kyoya’s having when the others don’t. I think it’s really interesting how he reads Kyoya better than benkei, who’s known him for way longer. I think it just really does a good job of establishing Niles character and how well he works with Kyoya and honestly that just makes it more disappointing when Kyoya goes off on his own in fury. Honestly the only thing about Nile is that I really wish we saw him more and that he was better utilized because he is SUCH a well done character and I really love him

the man himself, gingo bazingo. I’m not particularly attached to him but I love his character and how well he’s written. He has a lot of really good depth and interesting traits and flaws that make him a really compelling character. I think some of what makes people dislike him is a lot of that ✨main character plot armor✨that can make him feel a little one-dimensional when the plot needs him to be but when you look past that, he is super interesting. It is at this point I realize I’ve wrongfully marked the “don’t have a lot to say about them” box because I definitely do. I like that he is a very flawed protagonist but it doesn’t make him unlikeable. He gets angry and spiteful at times even though he tries to keep himself together, he avoids his friends and dodges questions under pressure, he panics and loses his footing in intense battles. It’s really interesting to me. Especially how he champions for friendship and creating bonds but as soon as the going gets tough for him, he isolates himself and shuts out his friends. His lack of communication and unwillingness to show vulnerability around people he cares about is really interesting to me and just makes him really compelling. I say the fandom does him dirty because while I haven’t seen it now, I notice that a lot of people in the past have either over-hated him and overlooked a lot of what makes his character interesting or… just…. really gross and ooc woobifying. i am so glad that that’s mostly in the past because it is very uncomfortable jsjsjsj

As for the two of them together, I honestly never thought to put them together before you requested them that one time but I could see them working really well together tbh. I think their personalities counterbalance each other enough that I think they’d have a very chill and fun dynamic

[akaashisbabydoll]

NEKOMA TEAM: Type of boyfriend

Tetsurō Kuroo

he carries you a lot, not because you want tho. he just sees that you’re very tired and cant bare it.

while you’re on your way home he talks about this science stuff that you dont actually have any interest at the first place but shockingly grew fond of

he always offer you his clothes and note that his huge so you wear clothes thrice your size

he exaggeratedly talks so much he sometimes forgets that you’re on his back and you almost fell and just slapped him but you still both laughed it out

his voice is like your lullaby, no matter how loud he is you always fall asleep with his voice

he got used to your sleeping habit that his line always is “Goodnight kitten. I love you” and kiss your forehead.

Nobuyuki Kai

he’s that type of boyfriend who never fails to ask how was your day

stares at you and every time you caught him staring he just says “nothing”, shook his head and laughed a little, added immediately “you’re like the most wonderful thing that ever happened to me”

clingy, loves holding your hands in public, just hands

very caring and understanding

never fails to make you smile when you’re at the verge of crying

the type of boyfriend who always remind you how important you are and you’re worth every good things here in this world

Morisuke Yaku

not really fond of pda but very clingy when it comes to you

he loves to bring you to his fav restaurant and let you pick the meal of the night, he doesnt care as long as you eat together

the strong believer of “the couple that eats together, stays together”

strict to everyone except you, he lets you do things that makes you happy

when you both not in the mood to go to your fav place he cooks for you, he always wants to make his dish perfect so you always fall asleep and when he wakes you up, you always have that smile on your face when he says “dinner’s ready, baby”

Taketora Yamamoto

he’s the bf that do crazy shits on the street like making the street cones as horns and have a battle with him, whoever gets dizzy first lose

he’s literally whipped for you, just call his name and he’ll melt

most probably the bf who will fan you when its hot af

when you suddenly ask for watermelon and he wants to give it to you immediately, he was panicking and cant find the knife so he just smashed it with his head, it was messy but you both laughed about it and just ate what was left with the fruit

the type of bf who’s bruh with you in public but softie when you both are alone

very clingy, kisses every inch of your face and reminds you how beautiful you are

Kenma Kozume

the player bf, he is always on his computer. he actually noticed how pouty you are when you dont get the attention you want from him

he smiled and tried to teach you the basics of it so you could play together

he losses with you though, gets very competitive and now he’s the one who’s pouty bc you’re winning on one thing he’s good at

he’s not the type of bf who likes outdoor dates but still takes you out on a date bc that is what you deserve

you two baking his fav apple pie is the most fav date that ever happened, you both having fun and experimenting with different ways to bake apple pies, its your ritual

Shōhei Fukunaga

bf who’s action speaks louder than words, like literally. he doesnt talk much but when he does, he melts your heart

he’s a very patient bf, understanding and who always listen to every problem you have

type of bf who listens to every tea you’ve heard somewhere and gives opinion when it needs too

he’s actually very good with advices

he does this sweet things that actually makes you cry everytime

he takes you on a date at night most of the time bc he wants to hear your voice more than other things in this world

his arms are the most comfortable place you’ve ever been, you love to lean on his shoulder as he loves to hum your fav song until you fall asleep

Sō Inuoka

he be a very playful bf

you do this thing together where you mimic sound animals and imitate them on shadows

he’s actually loud af and very energetic that whenever you’re tired, you just suddenly feel great when he’s around

he’s the source of your energy and he doesnt even know that

he’s quite gullible, slow and very stupid sometimes but he’s also the sweetest and the most passionate bf you’ve ever had

he never gave up on anything, especially when it comes with you. he knows when you’re sad so he do his best to be the funniest and at the same time convincing bf or maybe just buys an ice cream and share it with you.

Tamahiko Teshiro

he’s the calmest bf you’ve ever had you dont care on how people sees him

he loves to play your fav song on his guitar, not really a great singer but its ok

he actually wrote a song for you but not really good with guitar so he just made it a poem for you

he loves to do household chores with you, most of the time he wants you to take a rest but its kind of your thing to do it together so he gave up in making you rest

Lev Haiba

type of bf who loves to give forehead kisses

he loves to carry you like a bag of potato most of the time

hides you from his sister bc he doesnt want to share your with her

he’s very clingy like he wraps his long arms and legs around you and you love that shit

you both ask weird things to each other like “ What inanimate object do you wish you could eliminate from existence? “ or like share each other weird facts and argue which is which and ended up calling her sister to know who’s answer is better

you both love to play card games, any card games and tally the scores for like ever since you started dating until now its still going

Yūki Shibayama

he be a very shy bf at first but when he gets very comfortable with you, he gets very clingy

you both love to ride a train and doesnt know where to go, wherever the train stops that would be your destination, its your thing now

he’s actually great at making you feel safe and worth loving every inch of your existence

he likes giving you surprises like once he actually made a scrapbook of your dates since day 1 and now both of you still filling that up

note: photos not mine, credits to all the rightful owners <3

CHECK OUT MY MASTERLIST FOR OTHER TEAMS

Tried to make something :( kinda emo while doing this shit bc i love every character of haikyuu and now i want a bf from haikyuu :( lol

[waywardfacegarden]

What is your ult fav anime and ult fav otp? You can only choose one *evil grin*

First of all, thank you so much for the ask!!!! I love getting asks, it always makes me so happy when people are interested in me, haha🤣💜 Second of all, the answer will be under the cut because... it somehow got too long... but I mean. You can’t ask me about ships or anime and don’t expect that with how much I babble here all the time about those things specifically, LOL.

So, anon, I hope you don’t mind me giving you an almost-essay as an answer to this!!🤣

HAHA, anon, you are evil!!!! bUT. I actually have an answer to this!! Haha. I didn’t need to think about it, either! As much as I absolutely love and die for a lot of animes, I always tell people my favorite favorite anime is Erased/Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi. I read the manga later and well, the manga is even better!! The resolution of the conflict, the background of the villain, the story is much more developed/better explained in the manga, but even when the anime is not a super amazing adaptation, I still think it did an amazing job!! The reason(s) of why this is my favorite anime is(are) simple: I love every single character (except. you know. the evil ones, haha). I’m usually not that attracted to protagonists, but Satoru has my heart in his hands. I’m so attached to him. He’s selfless, smart, tries his very best and loves so deeply. I absolutely love how the author managed the women/girls in the story, too. I started watching it without knowing a single thing more than “oh, he’s trying to solve a murder” and OH BOY, did I was surprised with the very first episode!!! Never ever have screamed so much and lose my shit that much with a first ep, and that’s saying a lot asjdkasjd. Maybe it was because I didn’t know a single thing, but either way, I was obsessed since the very first seconds. I love the villain, even when people say it was “obvious, lazy or predictable” since the start. I love Satoru’s mom. I love how it is dark and sad but just the right amount. I love how much it made me feel. I sobbed, and screamed, and laughed, and almost wanted to break my laptop while watching, too, lol. It seriously is an amazing anime. The characters, dynamics, the plot, everything was so well-done! I would die for the kids, for Satoru’s mom, for Airi. Their dynamics make me melt. The writing is fantastic!! I feel like time-traveling and solving murders are delicate things that, if you don’t know how to handle, are gonna fail you. If you don’t know how to connect things, the story is not gonna feel rewarding, it’s going to feel confusing. But with Erased, everything made sense and connected until the end, which is something I’m obsessed with. Add that to the freaking stellar animation, the aesthetic of it (I still love the subtle change in colors/that black framing in the “past” asdkajf), and the fact that I’m so, so, sooo weak for thrillers + science fiction-ish and kids as protagonists, lol. So, yeah, anon, that’s my fave anime, even when I love, love, love, LOVE a lot of more. I could talk about like, maybe 30 animes with so much love it would amaze you, lol. And that’s just talking about anime, ohhh how many mangas do I love, too... But yeah!!! Even if I don’t talk about this anime enough on here, I think is criminally underrated, and I talk about it to everyone irl I know, lol.

About my favorite ship!!!! HAHA, the thing is. I have like 500 ships and I probably would die for like. 100 of them. Easily. I even have my top of faves, tbh, haha. But my ultimate favorite ship is sasunaru/narusasu. Maybe it’s a very “basic” answer, I don’t know, lol, but I seriously think they always will be. I won’t talk so much about them because then I’d never shut up and this answer is already so long ajsdkadj (I feel like that twitter thread that is like “okay, i’ll try to be brief (1/475)” LOL). But the reason why they are my fave is because I’ve never became this obsessed with a ship before. They were the first ship I felt so deeply for. They had me since the very first eps and continued to rip my heart out, to made me FEEL so much for both of them; for their longing, for their yearning, for their love for each other. The fact that they’re two broken boys who found the connection they so desperately craved for in each other? The fact that Sasuke taught Naruto, a boy who was hated all his goddamn childhood for something he didn’t even know about, what love was, what sacrificing yourself for someone was, what caring was? The fact that Shippuden is about Naruto so desperately trying to understand, trying to make Sasuke understand, and loving Sasuke so fiercely back (without giving a damn about what other people said, without giving up on him, saying that if being smart meant giving up on Sasuke than he rather being dumb all his life)? The fact that the first part of Naruto is about Sasuke doing all those little things and making Naruto feel validated, loved, cared for, seen? And then Shippuden is about Naruto screaming into a void, trying to tell Sasuke “I love you, too, I love you back, as deeply as you did, and I want you to know that even if I don’t understand, I want to understand, I want to be there for you, I care for you so much that just the very idea of you being dead or hurt gives me an attack; I want you to be okay, and I’m never giving up on you”?? The fact that I still sob like a baby every time I watch ONE minute of that last battle and the fact that Naruto answering Sasuke to “you’ve been saying that all the time, but what exactly... does that (being your friend) mean to you?” with “even if you ask me, I can’t exactly put it into words. I just... when I saw you hurting, it... kinda... hurt me, too. So much that I couldn’t stand it, that I couldn’t just leave you alone” STILL KILLS ME LIKE THE FIRST TIME EVERY SINGLE TIME I HEAR IT. LIKE GOD. MY HEART CANNOT. It’s just so emotionally rewarding seeing they make amends at the end and also discover how the other has been loving the other back just as deeply as they did. -- They’re also just a bunch of tropes I love piled up together, tbh, and the kind of characters I love having paired up. The tsundere-ish kid with a dark past, that’s so kind and so selfless and loves so deeply that it breaks him plus the kid with the tragic backstory that’s basically The Sun itself, a bit dumb but also so caring and so cool, and the one that makes the tsundere-ish boy’s heart go all doki doki. Idk, I just love my rivals trope, my “could have been childhood friends if they just had the courage to talk” trope, the “I care so deeply about you and love you with all my soul” trope, piled up with so many emotional layers and so deep emotional connection??? Oof. They’re just my very first ship and the one that practically owns my heart and soul. They have so many layers and they hurt me but also melt me and heal me and make me fall in love with their raw, pure love. They’re soulmates, your honor. Haha. They just... really make me feel so much, I can’t quite explain it. As much as I love, love, love, LOVE all my ships, they’re... different, I guess. They even made me write for them. My very first fics, my very first tryings/attempts to write was for them. And to be honest, I was obsessed with Naruto for such a long time... (maybe because it was my first anime LOL). Sasunaru/Narusasu and all their moments (that I kid you not, I remembered like every little thing in the 700+ eps, even with the NUMBER on which ep it happened, of them. The exact lines, too.) was like, everything I talked about for like. Half a year or more, LOL, and my mom wouldn’t let me lie, she knows. After school, I was in the car and was mentioning for the 50th time that moment Sasuke recognized it wasn’t Naruto in the Chuunin Exams bc Naruto used the kunai in his other leg. LOL. I was eating and I was talking about the battle of the Valley of the End. It was dinner and I was talking about that ending with the lyrics “please kiss me, please kiss me all night”. I just. They’re so important to me. They mean so much to me. And I know I said I was going to be brief so I better shut up now ajsdkajsd. But, yeah, they’re my favorite. :’)

[benisasoftboi]

Unorganised thoughts on Trails of Cold Steel III:

...I’m gonna need like a week to process that

I guess I know why people hate George now!

Could really use a good old reset from KeA right now

This is the best game in the Cold Steel series so far. Easily

I... there’s no way they’re all really dead, right? This series has been completely toothless about killing anyone who isn’t a villain until now, no way they’re permanently killing someone who’s been here since practically day 1, no way. Show me a body

And even then I’ll doubt it with all these revivals happening all over the place 

‘He’s HIDING’ I sob as I apply clown make-up 

Ben Diskin did not need to go so hard on the voice acting at Millium’s death he did not need to do that to me

My god when Angie drove into the graveyard and my PS4 popped up a little notification telling me it was a blocked scene, the tension in me... and I never saw that coming, I’ll have to see if it was foreshadowed at all by replaying CS1 and 2 some time

I saw Lughman being a baddie a mile away (a mysterious professor turning out to be evil in a Trails game? UNPRECEDENTED!) but he’s Alisa’s dad!?

Neat writing trick actually, since they probably knew we’d guess the former, they blindside us with the latter

I can’t express how happy it made me that the Rufus battle was Machias Jusis Elliot. My dream team!

Estelle and Joshua got mentioned so much I figured they’d make a surprise appearance at the end and save the day

:(

So. Characters:

Rean: Rean is once again moderately more interesting than he was before, but still the least interesting person in the game. I guess he’s got some guilt that’s actually justified now, that’s cool? 

I ship him with Crow, not because the pairing really appeals to me that much, but because being shipped with Crow would totally piss Rean off and I find that extremely funny

His relationship with Altina is the best relationship he’s ever had with a female character and it is 100% because she’s the only girl he’s never ship teased with

(I don’t have an issue with the concept of ship tease itself, I have an issue with Rean-ship tease because 1. I still truly do not understand why so many girls like him so much and 2. None of it will ever canonically go anywhere)

(Seriously I’m so tempted to write a breakdown of why every other guy in Erebonia is more desirable than Rean)

Juna: I like Juna. I realised early on that she and Kurt remind me of Estelle and Joshua, without being carbon copies, and that’s good. I also think her relationship with Rean was really interesting - ‘I don’t know how to feel about you because you saved my life, but it also wouldn’t have needed saving if it weren’t for your country’s actions, which you’ve played a major role in - but now I’m being forced to confront that you’re a human being too’ is a really complicated situation for her. It’s a lot more interesting than ‘I don’t like you because you accidentally got a face full of chest’, Alisa

I also really liked using her, I ended up loading her with the Platinum Pecky Medal and defensive stuff, and she was a wall, she took an S-craft from Arianrhod in her stride! My buff girl!

She should’ve just been the new protagonist ngl

Kurt: Kurt had a lot to live up to, seeing as his brother is my favourite minor character. And oh does he succeed, Kurt is my favourite of New VII, he’s a good straight man, he’s great in battle, I like his arc, I like his friendship with Juna, I like Kurt

Altina: I was not sure about Altina just... being a student now. But damn if she didn’t have the best character arc in the game. I only did her final bonding event on a whim, but it’s the best one I saw. My girl Allie deserves the damn world

I really, truly believe those three have a bond as well, they’re very well written as a group. This was a problem I had with Old VII, the fact that so many of them just... didn’t have relationships with each other. How do, say, Fie and Machias feel about each other? I have no idea. But this group has a fantastic dynamic and it makes that ending so much more effective

It’s like I praised Crossbell for, really - having a small core group is much more manageable in terms of giving them all equal screen time and getting me to care about them

Musse: Uh, kind of one-note and annoying, honestly. I don’t hate her or anything, but like... she’s either Being Mysterious or Hitting On Her Teacher (I hate it I hate it so much). It’s just hard to care about someone who’s clearly so fake, I guess? I’m definitely interested in her, but like... I don’t really like her

Ash: Poor boy. I thought Ash was such an interesting character (and man do I love having someone around who does not like Rean, and never really changes his mind about it). Ash is very well done imo

Alisa: Alisa is good when the issue is her family drama, and is so goddamn boring when it comes to Rean. Nothing new there

Elliot: I love his little ponytail I love it he’s so cute I want to hug him so bad

Laura: Winner of the ‘best new outfit’ award (was never that fond of her war outfit, but this one is perfect). Still good, but not notably so. I feel so bad for Laura, she tries so hard to matter, but she’s by far the character you’d have the easiest time lifting out of the game

And while I love Elliot... same situation really. You could go back to the start and have one character named Elliaura who likes swords and music and has two big-shot dads, and you wouldn’t lose much

Machias: Took down Rufus, yeah, destroy your best friend (boyfriend)’s evil family! Winner of the ‘worst new outfit’ award, AGAIN. Also winner of ‘dorkiest S-craft’. I did his final bonding event first, and according to Playstation trophies it’s the least popular one! Stop sleeping on my boy Machias guys, I know he was annoying in the first game but I love him :(

Gaius: Special award to Gaius for finally being interesting! Boy’s a Gralsritter now, did not see that coming!

And of course it happened off screen. Because god forbid interesting stuff happen to Gaius when we’re actually around

Oh also goddamn, that is a beautiful man

Emma: Don’t really like the new outfit. It’s kind of remarkable that she’s so important but I keep forgetting she exists. Exposition witch who sometimes just doesn’t deliver the exposition I guess

Fie: Still my fav girl. Wish there had been more focus on her feelings about her dad coming back to life. Like that she’s a bracer

Jusis: Wasn’t sure how to feel about his newly close friendship with Millium because I was concerned that I was meant to ship it (by far my least favourite thing about this franchise is that that was not an unreasonable concern, as it wouldn’t even be the most inappropriate relationship in this game alone). Very, very glad it was confirmed sibling-y (not that it’s stopped them before). He didn’t really get to do anything else, sadly, but he’s good as always

I did the Purebread contest with him, and he made bread from coffee beans Machias gave him, the Ferdibert Fire Emblem energy- 

“What are you doing underneath this scarlet Pleroma Grass?”

Milliam: :(

Sara: Doesn’t get much to do because this cast is bloated but like, I still really like her :)

Towa: Someone needs to check on Towa all her friends are dead or evil the poor poor girl (or uh. I guess Crow isn’t... hmm.)

Angie :(

My kids Tita and Agate are back and completely overshadowed by people teasing this almost 30-year old man about being in love with a 17 year old that he’s only ever claimed to see as a sister, I swear to god

The orbal gear looks so goofy lol

Stop mentioning Schera as just being ‘totally here, just off screen, ha ha’ give her a model! Have her be here!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved seeing Josette again, I just don’t get... why? Why is she here?

Tio is back! And so is Randy, as a major character! I’m very very happy, I love them both

Michael’s fine, I guess? He’s kind of bland but I guess that’s kind of the point and I like him just fine. He serves his purpose well

I’ve never really liked Claire all that much, but she’s fine in this one again I suppose. A bit disappointed by the Lechter reveals really, I had expected more, to be honest

Aurelia is a fun character and I enjoy her as the principal. Want to see her fight Cassius

Want to see Cassius 

I love my girl Annabelle, but she’s the only reason I didn’t get all the character profiles (how was I meant to know I could even go to the highway at that point hmmm Falcom!?)

They picked a good selection of returning Thors students. Even Dorothee isn’t as annoying as she used to be. Hilarious that she’s the only one who didn’t get a profile

Juna gave a great big speech about how awesome the SSS are and namedrops everyone EXCEPT WAZY! My FAVOURITE Crossbell character! So offensive!

Oh speaking of offensive I took Machias to the Mishy show and was told he and Rean did a Mishy dance but they didn’t show it, what the hell-

Playable Olivier! Olivier back story! I could write a goddamn essay on why Olivier is such a great character. Glaring at you Falcom

I miss Mueller :(

Ada Grant is wonderful and I want better things for her

Rufus is a damn great villain just because of how much sense his actions suddenly make when you know that one little detail of him not actually being Jusis’s brother

I hate Cedric but like, in a way where I’m having fun hating him. That little bitch

Literally what do you even actually want Osbourne

I still cannot stand Elise. Something I realised playing this game is that one of the things that stops the Estelle and Joshua relationship from being as weird as it could be is that they don’t look at all alike, it’s very clear they’re not related in the slightest. Elise and Rean look like they really could be siblings, and come to think, so do Lloyd and Cecile. Which is also teased, to a lesser extent. It would be so much less uncomfortable if they just swapped Elise and Alfin’s models ngl (though still not good)

inb4 the final plot twist of the whole series is that Estelle and Joshua actually were biological siblings all along

This game looks so much better than its predecessors. Having the models being a little rounder and softer looking makes it look much more like an updated version of the original style than the complete departure that was CS1 and 2. Every time there was a flashback, Rean would be like ‘back then...’ and I’d feel compelled to say out loud ‘when we were shiny, and looked bad!’

‘Evil ancient magic corrupts people into making them do bad things!’ is... honestly a bit of a cop out that I did not expect from this series 

I found Rean telling Patrick ‘leave room for Aidios when dancing with my sister’ extremely funny. Rean would totally be a Christian summer camp counsellor in the real world

I honestly would have enjoyed it a lot more if Alfin decided to cause a scandal and have her first dance with Elise, but we can’t have such luxuries I suppose

When you get that book on dystopias, very clever to put the author on the last page. Seeing the name Gideon gave me such a start

Racquel was easily my fav new location

Leeves > Trista no doubt, maybe I’m just biased because it looks a lot like the village I grew up in but it’s just such a nicer design

Also the branch campus > main campus purely for being smaller, making the filler segments between field trips more bearable 

I prefer the longer but fewer chapters set-up, I think

There’s so many sad faces in this write up :( 

Back when I played Sky SC, I said something about how one of the themes is ‘you are not defined by your trauma’. I now think it would be more accurate to say that the theme of all the games (but especially the Sky arc) is ‘don’t let your worst experiences define you’

Because there are characters who define themselves by their traumas and worst experiences - and those characters are all villains, or miserable, or both. Like, they don’t phrase it as such, but the requirement to be an Ouroboros enforcer is ‘have trauma and define yourself by it’

And both Joshua and Renne’s arcs are about learning not to do that

Equally, the idea that ‘it’s much easier to not to define yourself by your trauma when you have a good support system that wants the best for you’ is a big theme as well

I just think that’s a really interesting idea for a JRPG series to tackle, idk

I can’t believe I’m at the last game! This series has been my life for the past near-half a year, what do I do when I finish it?

...go back and play Sky FC, maybe?

[k-itsmaywriting]

AnS Fic Rec Bingo

A fic that got you involved in fandom: Drink Deep of Lethe by @sabraeal​ | T In short: it has everything I love about early Shirayuki, early Obi, and early Obiyuki. Two people, both on the run, meeting in the deep Wood and converging paths by pure chance. It’s such a fun read!! I first read this on Obiyuki Week 2016 and was just so inspired that I was like “man, I really want to write something for this event too” :D So that is how it got me involved in the fandom.

Made you laugh out loud: I Should’ve Met You Yesterday by @bubblesthemonsterartist | E First of all, I eat ‘Obi gets a support system kicking and screaming’ with a spoon. Second, and more specific to this bingo square, bb Aki is an agent of love and chaos and Obi has absolutely 0 game when it comes to Shirayuki. And it’s the cutest and funniest story!!! Things that made me laugh include: the entire chapter Obi and Aki meet Zen and Mitsuhide, “Here lies what was left of Obi’s game” scene, and Aki trying to get dada to kiss Shirayuki’s booboo, AND MUCH MORE.

Favourite trope reversal: An Earthly Knight by @claudeng80 | T I find fae stories really intriguing and interesting even though (or maybe even because) I know like, the bare minimum of background info. Like they’re just so cool and fun. ANYWAY, I loveddddd how even though Obi is Shirayuki’s guard, this fic is her trying to rescue him in a way only she can - with DETERMINATION and IMMENSE BRAVERY <3 A beautiful story.

Action-packed fight scene: The Moon, the Window, the Knife by @glitter-and-golden | G Over 2000 words and my breath was held the entire time. A super cool fic about Wistal castle being attacked by NINJAS which also means OBI BADASSERY :’D But also it’s not Obi if he doesn’t get hurt in the process and him and Shirayuki protecting each other, because we love that food. Delicious. 5 stars.

Gen fic: It’s a Difficult Conversation by @nebluus | T A DIFFICULT CONVERSATION IT WAS INDEED. For Ryuu, being barely a teen who has people he really looks up to, seeing those people hurt is rough. And for a healer, not being able to help them in the way he knows best is DOUBLEY ROUGH. But I just love that Shirayuki sits with him and explains this very hard stuff about trauma in the most compassionate and understanding way.

Canon divergent: i am become death by @bubblesthemonsterartist | M So in 2017 Bubbles and ISM decided to have an angst battle and the rest of us took a ton of collateral damage to the emotions like NYC at the end of an Avengers movie. In answering the question ‘what if Obi didn’t find Shirayuki in time during Tanbarun arc?’, Bubbles weaves this piece of Absolute Art and it’s just...amazing. Horrifies me in the best of ways.

Wept real tears: Nothing Was My Own (Before I Loved You) by @sabraeal | T Specifically, Making Good made me cry real tears. We love a good slow burn, especially that moment where one of them realises they’re in love with the other and just HOW important they are in their life. It’s beautiful and moving!! And also has fluffy AND funny Obiyuki moments that make me squeal. But also the entire WFB series is an AMAZING fic of everybody’s journey thru college and young adult lives and I think about it all the time.

FREE SPACE: The Most Versatile of Guards by @claudeng80​ | T A favourite of mine!!!!! :DD So many fun and cool adventure times with herbwitch!Shirayuki and shapeshifter!Obi and I loveddd the Mihaya interludes. The entire world is just so creative and seeing all the characters as different beings is so much fun. And their romance makes me SQUEEEEEEE.

Fav fanmade OC: I gotta give this one to Aki from I Should’ve Met You Yesterday. Number one precious bb with the MOST personality and he’s so much fun to read.

First AnS fic you read: The Automation Heart by @infinitelystrangemachinex | T The first chapter ALREADY had me wrecked. In general AND for this ship. I am also due for a reread. But I remember reading all the chapters that were published then in a single night just being like “oh my god this is so good. MOAR PLS” *clicks next chapter*

Favourite minor character: Garack Gazelt, particularly in The road to Clarines is gravel (M) by @codango​, (don’t go) making something out of nothing (T) by @sabraeal, and Dead Men Tell No Tales by @bubblesthemonsterartist (T) (the last which I need to go into the AO3 comments and yell about because OHHHH MY GOD). I always love seeing her. She’s badass and smart and amazing and every time I see her I go *heart eyes*

WIP: Damned by @ruleofexception​ | No rating ZOMBIES ARE SCARY BUT YOU KNOW WHAT’S ALSO SCARY??? BEING ALONE. AND HAVING YOUR FREEDOM TAKEN AWAY. But no really I love sooo many things about this fic, like the wonderful Found Family, tragic backstories and some amazing story arcs. I look forward to every time this updates.

Canon compliant: Knots by @krispy-kream | G ABSOLUTE FANDOM CLASSIC 10/10. I just love how it all starts as a game for him. Because why take it seriously when he can’t have her for real? AND THEN HE GOES OH SHIT, OH FUCK I’M IN TOO DEEP. And things just unfold wonderfully from there!!!!! Like it’s such a classic “Obi is wrecked and he is slowly losing it with how much he likes his Miss”.

One-shot: Life Eternal by @ruleofexception​ | No rating Devil!Obi and Angel!Shirayuki is just...THE MOST WONDERFUL OF CONCEPTS. And not only are they on opposite sides, working against each other to either make people’s lives better or worse, she becomes a literal devil’s GUARDIAN ANGEL. And that makes way for such an interesting story and I love its open end <3 It was a really fun fic!!

Rare pair: Cookies for Shikito (Shirayuki x Shikito) by @claudeng80​ | G PLS THIS FIC IS SO FLUFFY <3 <3 <3 They’re such a cute ship. Just two absolute cinnamon buns spending time together while Shirayuki makes cookies and Shikito PROTECCS. They’re so fluttery and adorable!!!!!!! I love it!!!!!!!!

AU you took a chance on and now love: Sic Semper Monstrum by @sabraeal​ | T I simply do not know many Things, including common source materials for AUs. Including Pacific Rim, which I still haven’t watched (but need to, PROBABLY) but I. LOVE. THIS. AU. The importance that is placed on intimacy and emotional connection with the entire concept of drifting and also just like, life in general??? I thoroughly enjoy (as always) the exploration of everyone’s thoughts and backstories and relationships and also psychologist!Shirayuki <3

Pre-canon: ashes in the mouth, char the tongue by @infinitelystrangemachinex | T Both a pre-canon (childhood friends) and future fic!! The summary explains it better than I could: “Obi finally takes Shirayuki back to Tanbarun, but she gets more than she bargained for.” This fic ruined me (in a good way) and kicked my heart out of my chest and it rolled into a gutter (in a good way) and I almost missed my tram stop the first time I read it because I was so wrapped up in it. It was a RIDE.

[inspector-montoya-fox]

#5 - The Cold Heart of Hate

Setting: well that was fast... we make it to Russia, where we’re greeted to the evilest of evil lairs. when not dodging robo-falcons and burning boulders, the first mission acts as a tour and establishes the fact that we’re legit in a volcano. i don’t want to say that this is anticlimactic because the missions in this episode are truly hard, but there’s no hub to explore. instead, it’s a chain of missions that lead to the Clockwerk battle, and i guess that makes sense since there’s no time to waste, the stakes are high, etc. if you weren’t able to piece the clues together about Clockwerk’s identity up to this point, the missions do not help. unlike some of the game’s other episodes where the baddies’ personalities are reflected by the settings, Clockwerk remains a shadow up until the very end (and that’s kinda ironic when you think about how he has a huge fucking tower with his face on it). considering the absence of a main hub, the missions do a pretty good job in establishing the mood. we see the outside and inside of the volcano while controlling the van, and then Bentley’s hacking and Sly’s journey into the lab exhibit the level’s technological/ science-y aesthetic. on that note, let’s talk a bit about that lab. i’ve mentioned this before on my account but Cold Heart of Hate is a slave to the early platformer tradition of having an evil lab as the final stage. i don’t blame the game for that - here’s what’s weird though: if Clockwerk is so much larger than Sly, he couldn’t possibly fit into that lab. so... who works there? the robo-falcons? or is Clockwerk actually a ship for someone else? i uh *removes tin foil hat* ...... the huge Clockwerk tower is great for exposition, given that Clockwerk, although a rotting owl corpse stuffed inside a machine, has a huge ego. Sinking Peril is my favorite mission in the episode because it sets up the perfect atmosphere for the final bossfight. fighting the bird over its sinking tower of a replica not only ups the ante but also makes it feel even more satisfying when we finally get to drop it into the lava. lastly, i said Sunset Snake Eyes represented red and i kinda regret it now because that should have been orange and Cold Heart of Hate should have been red. welp! Cold Heart of Hate can be black. seems fitting.

Characters: i lied - the setting does reflect Clockwerk’s character in a very specific way: we’re literally inside a cottdamn volcano. tensions are brewing, the veil is about to be removed. Clockwerk is great. no, he’s more than great. he’s a satisfying and deserving final boss. he’s a maniacal, narcissistic, eGoMaNiAc that really gets under your skin when he keeps on pulling off the reveals. not ONLY has he killed Sly’s entire lineage, the QUEEN had the AUDACITY to stay alive for centuries! Clock-werk it baby! we have no choice but to STAN. the bitch is evil and that’s made crystal clear. his source of youth? hatred. the bird literally killed to remain healthy. and i’m glad he knows no shame because the monologue at the beginning of the bossfight is everything i ever wanted. i guess, Clockwerk has the shortest appearance in the game but still manages to make it impactful. whoever played the game during their childhood knows what i’m talking about - the music, the dialogue, the purple shooting cues: they all remain fresh in the head. the bossfight is the stuff of nightmares. Carmelita makes her final comeback in the perfect recipe for a climactic clash. she starts off as the damsel in distress that can’t be trusted because of her profession, but ultimately helps Sly take down Clockwerk. and i love that this is the beginning of Carmelita putting an end to Sly’s nemeses. her role is great here. yes, she’s the love interest that gets shamelessly left behind at the very end, but she’s the one that helps Sly get back his cain. actually, here’s something i’ve never thought of before: we make such a huge deal out of Carmelita being a playable character in Sly 3, that we all forgot she was playable in Sly 1 as well. i’m lowkey shocked. i don’t know how i overlooked this BUT ALSO shocked to just realise that in both Sly 1 and 3, Sly loses his cain (SP stuck to the original formula for final level suspense, i guess). and let me use that revelation to segue to Sly. he’s made it y’all!!! he’s finally here, ready to extract vengeance. and it shows. we might take his valour and chivalry for granted because this is the Sly we all know and love, but if this was your first time playing the game and somehow escaped all possible clichés by living under a rock your entire life, you’ll appreciate the raccoon’s persistence to save Carmelita. he didn’t have to do it, but he did it. let me praise Kevin Miller here for a sec, because without his voice-acting this would mean nothing. but it’s because of him that it means so much. when you finally beat Clockwerk and the cutscene starts playing and Sly says how he’s made it, it really feels like home, y’know? damn. also: Bentley and Murray finally come into the spotlight. i don’t want to go into detail because i’d rather talk about friendship in the cottdamn Themes section, but Cold Heart of Hate is what makes them true characters.

Themes: off the top of my head? legacy, revenge, friendship, love trumps hate, climax, heat, honour, the past, and many more. i’ll go with my favs because this deserves a post on its own. friendship goes hand-to-hand with love trumps hate because it’s represented by everyone that came out to support Sly. Bentley, Murray and Carmelita come through. they put their fears and differences aside and prevail to help Sly get to the top. they all play their roles, their motivation being love for the raccoon, and that comes into stark contrast with Clockwerk’s preachings. the age-old “good vs evil”. Clockwerk stayed alive by feeding on hatred and got his ass kicked by a group of friends and the love interest (not yet a woman on her own). it’s traditional and it works. similarly to Tide of Terror, the theme of heat ensures that the player is kept engaged. there’s no time to roam around, find clue-bottles, etc. the need to finish this as quickly as possible is enhanced by the volcano landscape and the high temperature. this is especially seen in Sinking Peril because of the rising lava. if you waste time you will literally get gobbled up. the lava encapsulates Sly’s progress and his temper as well. he’s burning inside, itching to finally get revenge (you’ll notice that Sly 1 has no operations and that presents the gang’s early days, Sly’s rash attitude and his persistence to just go up to the main baddie and fight). and the heat’s significance is ultimately shown when Clockwerk sinks into the lava. he doesn’t only get blown up - he “dies”, sinking into the volcano, deteriorating in the heat, showing how time is inescapable. there’s some karmic energy going on here, as Clockwerk cheated the Coopers of a normal death and in turn got served, showing that even if you find a way to stay alive it ultimately won’t work. i also want to touch on motifs, and the motif of technology is a nice one. it doesn’t only showcase Clockwerk’s genius, but it also allows for Bentley to go head-to-head with the owl. there’s something truly cyber about Cold Heart of Hate, but not in the traditional sense. like, the collapsing computer screens during Burning Rubber feel absurdly surreal, pushing the cyber-ness to its limits. i don’t even know anymore, i’m tired.

What I Like: hmmm... i like traversing Clockwerk’s lab. i love Sinking Peril. i love that the end cutscene gifted humanity with those Japanese Barbie Girl rainbow videos. there’s no room for likes and dislikes here, but favourite detail would definitely have to be Clockwerk’s health-bar animations during the bossfight, slowly turning from owl to computer brain thing. very reminiscent of a purple yak toy in a Cartoon Network show which i’m dying trying to remember. if anyone knows what i’m going on about lmk please.

What I Don’t Like: the lack of a hub to explore kinda irks me but i won’t say i don’t like it because i understand why they didn’t include one. instead, this spot goes to Murray’s driving and Bentley’s hacking. thematics aside, i literally do not want to replay Cold Heart of Hate because of the Murray section with the slime monsters. the controls continue to be clunky, the slime monsters are annoying and look like they have raisins for eyes. Bentley’s hacking isn’t as annoying, but it’s definitely frustrating. it’s a far cry from Sly 2 and 3′s hacking parts... yea.........

Quote: Perfection has no age...

[ikiruwill]

ok, but what does shinji actually think of his eva? personally, but also aesthetically

OHH omg?? 😭 thank you for asking this, amazing surprise!! mhajsjsj I ended up writing something verrrry long bc my brain kept throwing info at me, so now this a meta I guess rip

For Shinji’s personal thoughts / relationship with Unit-01, there’s extra long detail mainly of Ep1 bc of first impressions / context ( then I’ll try to summarize ). Insight into some tiny details like Shinji’s unspoken thoughts that were maybe missed:

Shinji’s early and personal impressions of Unit-01 is mostly fear if we’re summing things up. The very first scene with it is even a jump scare to emphasize that:

The frame is black, and then after the lights turn on, boom, this:

A GIANT FACE WITH MONSTER EYES THAT GLOW YES I AM LOOKING DIRECTLY AT YOU NOW SON ( with bby framed right in the middle so you know how tiny he is in comparison / and narratively, that he’s also the subject of focus )

.... can confirm scare. Plz no

Much fear. But even before this scene, it’s great to remember that Shinji is already terrified bc he saw Fourth Angel-kun AKA Sachiel wrecking havoc outside, understandably freaked out by its monster appearance / how it was shooting down military planes like they were pieces of paper. Shinji was also directly caught in that earlier crossfire and legit could’ve died just bc everything happening was too close for comfort until Misato finally shows up in her car to pick him up. Best uber But after that they get caught in a huge N2 mine explosion that hits Sachiel dead on but it comes out with barely a scratch / casually just regrows a head or something. Sachiel seems invincible to Shinji by this point and that fact already scares him— as it should.

But back to the Unit-01 scene: as far as Shinji can remember, he’s never seen an Eva or heard of one and he lets everyone know this once Gendo starts pressuring him to pilot it and do the thing to save the world right now plz or else everyone in city dead including Shinji-kun gg

Ofc to Shinji, it’s not a good feeling at all, he’s running through all the sudden facts : Unit-01 is manmade, looks powerful, and it’s supposed to protect us. It isn’t an Angel destroying the city and nonchalantly killing things of military force so there’s no need to hide and run from it— but it’s still alien to me and scary and now my impression of it is even worse because my estranged father and adult strangers are forcing me to get comfortable with it immediately to fight the ‘Angel’ I saw earlier. So I might die after all today.

Fear of death on top of feeling useless / cowardly / abandoned etc is a lot. Then injured Rei scene AKA Gendo’s master guilt tripping plan happens, and it works, but this is also where his impression of Unit-01 changes for the better : There’s a huge tremor, Rei falls off her stretcher, and giant debris is coming down from the ceiling right above her Shinji—

Unit-01 moves on its own does a giant good thing

So this part : It saved him? This robot that he’s only had bad feelings about so far? Shinji is confused af but now feels a strangely positive connection to Unit-01, one he probably can’t put into words, but it ultimately influences his decision on not to run away. bc now it finally feels like there’ll be at least something on his side if he agrees to do this— AKA Unit-01 is the literal “something that can protect / help him”, which we all know is a concept Shinji desperately wants and chases. In this terrifying mess, it’s encouraging to him. And then Shinji says the thing:

Brave bby ( it’s nice to know that he ends up saving Rei again a few eps later, shamelessly serious and gallant / heroic Shinji is underrated don’t @ me )

Fast forward : after that he gets in, syncs perfectly with it, fights Sachiel but almost dies bc he missteps once, starts to panic, but mainly bc he’s never had any proper training prior gg NERV. Unit-01 goes berserk, violently kicks Sachiel’s ass, scares the living hell out of everyone watching etc.

At the end of Ep 2, after Shinji wakes up in the hospital and moves in with Misato, he remembers everything that night, traumatized:

The blood has settled, an already freaked out Shinji turns to see Unit-01 without its cool sci-fi unicorn headplate thing that it shed earlier in battle:

Oh.

Oh.

It’s once again looking straight at him. Oh no this is much scarier than the first time plz no I want the yellow sci-fi Spiderman mask eyes back

Then Shinji understandably screams his lungs out ( and that’s when he probably fell unconscious? ) So now he’s back to fearing Unit-01 bc his Eva is a beast of a robot, on top of now having PTSD from the fight with Sachiel. Unit-01 protected Shinji twice now by going berserk, sure, but it’s also extremely unknown and frightening to him after in ways he couldn’t have expected when he first saw it— the primal kind of fear. ( side note: Primal fear, primal wants, and primal feelings, primal anything in general are a big thematic thing in nge, so it really lingers and comes back even harder in eoe )

Finally for the rest of his personal thoughts on Unit-01, badly summarized bc this is already 2 fucking long thank you to whoever’s still reading LMAOO: Shinji eventually gets used to piloting and tries to push the existential fear of his Eva to the back of his mind, mostly. He always wonders what it is exactly, once admitting that he really doesn’t know anything about Evas while peering into his NERV manual episodes later ( bc NERV is weird about everything and he’s too scared anyone ask past a certain point, ect ). Shinji thinks his Eva smells / feels weirdly calming to him inside despite being scary, but only when his life isn’t in violent danger. Things only suck whenever Unit-01 goes berserk / he loses control somehow / when he finds out certain truths about it. Youknow

On his opinions about Unit-01 aesthetically, I don’t think Shinji has any preferences that make him go ‘YES I totally vibe with this neon genesis green and purple it’s so me’ or anything, he’s just not caught up in the awesome looking giant robot idea at all ( Unlike Kensuke and Asuka ). For example his reaction was just ‘huh? oh... ok. I see?’ at Asuka when they first met when she was showing off shiny and red Unit-02 to him ( which is cool and cooler with a cape ). If you tell Shinji his giant robot is awesome and that you’re in love with the purple paint job, other than demurely acknowledge your praise, he might try to thank you surface level, very awkwardly bc he can’t take credit for that ( also will 1000/10 think that you remind him of Kensuke depending on who’s more intense LOL )

Confused and serious, I guess that’s Shinji’s attitude towards Evas in general ( minus when he’s not freaking out mhajsja ) and it fits the rest of his mild / boring / unassuming personality— like Kaji and Kaworu both said to his face, he can be clueless about his own position as a pilot and how it affects everyone around him. Like the random girls in his class, lots of people think Shinji’s cool for what he gets to do but to him it’s just a thing he has to do, for the most part.

On a sadder note, makes sense bc the only time we see Shinji enjoying something as a hobby is when he’s playing the cello and smiling, even then he just downplays his talent when asked. I think he would be a lot more passionate about music if his circumstances were better. That probably contributes to why he doesn’t care much about Evas in an aesthetic way either. But I think eventually, he’d come to prefer his own Eva just because of how familiar it would look and feel to him, plus his past experiences with it. Many ones.

Unrelated bonus note!! It’s interesting that Unit-01 is the only Eva with a completely different colour scheme when compared to its respective pilot’s plugsuit— in this case, Shinji’s plugsuit being blue and white instead ( as a side note Unit-13 is also purple and green but Shinji and Kaworu’s plugsuits match this time ) But why purple huh? My guess is that aside from wanting the main character’s giant robot to also stand out bc it’s special and awesome, Yui also wears a purple shirt in one of the later episodes showing a long flashback. That screencap stuck with me, idk why. Purple shirt confirmed in nge holy shit mind blown LOL jk in all seriousness we can only speculate. Maybe Yui’s fav colour was purple and Gendo decided to pay tribute to that when they made the Evas. Whatever headcanon hurts us more!

[masterbeta29]

My review of Pokemon SwSh!!!! (or just Shield, cuz it was the version I play, LOL)

Finally, after finishing the game (including the Post game) and fully exploring the region, I think it’s time for me to say what I think of this 8 gen…

I know it’s obvious, but I mention it just in case: This is MY OPINION!!!, if someone disagrees with me its totally valid, I just ask for respect.

ALSO, English is not my first language so I might have certain lack/erros of spelling out there, or I repeat many words, hehe.

It is important to clarify that this review is based on SwSh base, everything that refers to DLC will NOT be included here, my opinion of the game is already done, the rest is extra content.

I wanted to give this review a more ‘’silly’’ tone, since giving negative opinions on the internet can be quite delicate and I wanted to relax the mood. Do not take this seriously, I still have my CONS with the game, but it is still genuinely enjoyable, which for me is the most important thing in a game.  I will talk about everything in general, so I will try to summarize certain points.

LET’S GO!!!

NEW FEATURES

Poke Camp, Curry Dex, Boxes and more

It’s like a dream come true for me, visiting other camps, seeing my whole party next to each other in the screen playing, discussing, running, is something really magical helps, me connect with them and know their personalities better, although I admit that I miss petting them lol and the minigames like in Gen 6. I also really liked the concept of curry as an alternative way to cure your Pokémon maybe I just wish there was a simpler way to know how to create new recipes (ALSO TMs).

Access to boxes anywhere is wonderful especially when you are breeding, just like, changing the name of trade Pokémon and the move reminder.

Rotomphone

It is not used as much as a phone, more than in the post Game (I can be wrong tho) but it serves as Dex and that’s what’s important really, the new feature is that now it includes the bicycle, that can ride both on land and water and in my opinion it is a degradation of what the concept of  “Poke Ride” was, but as I said before, it fulfill the function it should.

Trainer Cards

The concept of being able to share and customize them with other players is super entertaining, although it is a bit annoying that you always have to make a new code for each small modification. As for the cards of the main characters of the game, I will talk with a little more detail later. 

Dynamax

At the beginning it was fun and exciting, but in the end it just became a gimmick that sometimes I had to use by obligation in raids. It is not as epic as the Megas and does not have the weight of the lore and cultural/regional connection like the Z-moves.

The Giga forms, although some are great, and I am happy that they gave Pokémon like Garbodor love, I also think that there were many missed opportunities, starting with the starters of the region or in giving forms to Pokémon that in previous generations already had like Gengar and Charizard.

Raids

They are incredibly fun, it is an activity that you can spend hours and hours enjoying, especially with friends but if we talk about NPCs… OOF, I understand that the purpose of Pokemon is that we all make friends and work as a team, but DAMN, if it is stressful when you lose a raid with 3 friends and an NPC, because the Pokémon only killed the NPC, it is almost impossible to defeat a 5 star raid with only NPCs, and as I said before I understand why they do them weaker, but there are some that are completely useless, I see you Martin Solrock lol.

Poke Jobs and Rotom Rally

I  will be honest, I have not used these features enough to have a solid judgment on these lol.

CHARACTERS

Magnolia

OK, I need to get this off my chest: I am incredibly disappointed and sad with this character, especially since she is/was our first old female professor, to be simply pulled into forgettable land.

It started pretty well, but then it just disappeared until almost the end of the game to give the role of professor to Sonia … REALLY ?! I hate to say this, but she felt more like a device to give character development to Sonia, when she could have been used in scenes with Rose or repeatedly going into further detail about Dynamax for the MC (you know because she’s an expert about that topic…), before give the paper to Sonia. At least I am grateful that I had a little more screen time in the post game, although not even as a professor.

Sonia

Thank you Sonia, for allowing us to discover and know the story with you, honestly she was the one who saved mostly my interest in the story. 

But speaking of the character, I like her, I like her dedication to get out of the shadow of Leon’s achievement and to show her grandmother that she is capable, which she finally manages to fulfill, she still has certain insecurities, but that makes her more human, she’s the real professor (I’m still salty for Magnolia tho)

Leon

Everyone knows from the posts on my PT on Twitter that I constantly bullying the character, but I really like him a lot, he is an excellent guide/brother through the game, charismatic, EXTRA, but very involved in his role as champion, in the sense that he is always aware of what is going on and helping in the process, in addition to being strong (one of the most difficult battles in the game). Definitely among my fav champions with Cynthia, Steven and Kukui (I count him as champion, SU!)

Gym Leaders

I love them, their designs, personalities, the animations, they are all incredibly memorable, my favorites are Opal, Kabu and Piers. 

But even so, I wish I had more to go on besides the lore on the back of their cards and their battle animations, I would have liked to see them more integrated in the story, and I feel that it lack a little more interaction with some of them, especially Allister and Melony in my case, but at least the trainer cards were a good addition to know them a little more, outside of being a Gym Leader.

RIVALS

OK, I’m prepared for everyone to hate me, *sigh*:

I… I DONT LIKE BEDE AND MARNIE THAT MUCH?… I mean, I don’t hate them, and they are both far from being the worst rivals, but I did expect a little more from both…

Bede

I am one of the few of the fandom that does not like rivals flat jerks, because for me, that is not a character but rather  a trait.

But I wanted to give it a try, and when I was just beginning to gain interest in him, they force his backstory in my face… And as I said, I like trainer cards…but more in characters, like G.leaders because these are characters that we don’t see much around the trip, but in the case of rivals, that appear several times and develop in the story, I personally like to get to know them little by little, discover their story and understand them in the course, here I felt it more as an excuse for me, to feel bad for him, especially at the moment he gives you his card.

His relationship with Rose is not explored enough imo. 

And a complete turn-around that happens offscreen, like no joke, the MC literally didn’t see any of it, he just disappears after the Opal scene (but to give him credit, that scene is one of my favorites in the game).

But you know, I understood that he was just a lost boy, and I’m happy that he found a better place, and I admire his effort to want to change, so in the end I ended up liking him a little more.

Marnie

Marnie is interesting, because although I agree with many people that she would have benefited from having more screen time, I consider that a good character does not need all the screen time in the world, is about what but what they do with it, and the problem I have with her is that her time was not well spent.

I like her dream and I really like her relationship with her brother, however there was no moment when I really connected with her. I feel partly, that I don’t know her character, like her various personality facets. 

Untapped opportunities: fight with her more times or with her…would have helped the character a lot imo.

Hop

Hop is the best rival of the three hands down, his trainer card contains the right and necessary information to make us have an interest in the character, but also the story lets us know him more: a competitive boy, but who has insecurities, fears of failure, that is reflected not only by the dialogue but also in his Pokemon team (no really, it broke my heart when I realized that he didn’t have his Wooloo in his team), that he is frustrated and suffers, but he gets up, discovers other tastes and with these finds a new path, ugh perfect, I adore him.

Forcing the player to defeat him is torture, it is like defeating Hau in USUM and Wally in ORAS breaks my heart.

Rose

In short: ok character, decent /meh antagonist, and a horrible villain. 

Like the climax of the story, Rose is forced in the end to be the villain, when he worked best as an antagonist, his plan makes no sense, his battle is disappointing, although his battle theme is awesome, but it just does not fit the character, the plan, nor the situation at all.

But the character has a certain charisma, especially in his ‘’suit especially in his incognito suit.”

Oleana

Interesting character, with a potential backstory, with motives and characterization, who is underused in the story * sigh *… I LIKE HER THO

Overall, I would have liked to see much more of the relationship between Rose, Oleana and Bede, I think it would have benefited the 3 characters…

Team Yell

They are … ok, it is cool to have a team that is not villain, that bother the player from time to time even for good reasons, I admire his dedication and loyalty.

THE REGION

The region is aesthetically beautiful, the details, the structure, the contrast for example between Hammerlocke and Ballonlea, and despite not living in the UK or having had the opportunity to travel to the destination, according to my friends the region in which the games are based is very well related, which I think is excellent. However, despite the visual beauty, when it comes to routes and exploration it feels a bit limited, there are really some towns, where the most interesting thing to do is complete the Gym, there are almost no reasons to return to the previous town after having passed them…

But, what I missed the most was the lack of exploration, discovery, the charm of the NPCs…

Many have told me: what about the Wild Area? Because of the ability to explore in an open area, it is probably the best in the franchise! and yes, the Wild Area is a very attractive part of these games (I will talk a little bit about this, later), but as I said, everything that is considered part of the capacity of the new console, I will not take it into account, it is unfair, because a portable console can NOT stand a concept such as the Wild Area although the developers had the idea before, not at least at SwSh scale.

And as I said before and again, the T.Cards are an incredible idea, but for me NOTHING compares to getting to know the characters through the world, dialogue, interaction… I’m going to use pokemon Moon as an example to make me understand better: (because it was the last main pokemon game I played before SwSh and that’s why I have it more fresh lol) Where you can enter Olivia’s shop, buy jewelry and visit her room and discover that she is a desperate single woman, or enter Gladion’s room and talk to the receptionist and that she tells you part of his story, that kind of things…

Let’s see for example Melony, we know she has more children besides Gordie, but only for concept art, and yes, probably do unique models would take a while, but I honestly wouldn’t have be bothered  if they use generic NPCS, they did it with Lana’s sisters, then the anime can dedicated to giving them unique designs.

Speaking of NPCs (mainly of those inside the houses), many lost the charm and authenticity they had… I mean, where is the lady who told us the story of her husband’s accident or the men of the coffee shop, who every time he prepares us a drink told us the story of where such a drink came from, ect… the NPCS on that side are boring…

EXCEPT BALL GUY, he / she is awesome!

I know this look like extra or unimportant things, but these little details really give life to the region, personality to characters that are secondary, it makes everything feel more united and also makes the main characters feel more inside the world, and honestly that is why on this hand, some cities felt empty for me…

But the other hand, I really liked what they did with the NPCs fans, see how the number increasing every time the MC wins a gym battle, makes the trip to become a champion feel more rewarding, It really helps you feel like a true champion when you got it. 

Other examples like the girl NPC who is going to support  you in the Gyms while their pokemon is evolving, or how the NPCS react and change their dialogue corresponding to what is happening… beautiful, for this part the worldbulding is 10/10.

The wild Area

Probably the closest we have for now of an open space area in a Pokemon game, I have to admit that I get lost at least 1 half an hour trying to find the next destination (I understand you Leon), it was hilarious lol, at the beginning of the game it turns out to be a fairly limited area, and you really can enjoy it in its entirety when you finish the main story, but I don’t see so much trouble with that, since it’s partly the point, for balance. In general, it is a fantastic idea although I feel that it is necessary to polish it in certain parts, and NO, I don’t mean THE TREE, but I don’t want to be so hard on GF at this moment, because is the first time they experiment with such concept…

Pokemon and Music

I put these two together because they both share a very curious characteristic: EXPERIMENTAL. 

The pokedex is super solid, I love how these last generations, GF is doing its homework and is striving to make the pokemon belong to the region, as for animals, myths, culture…muah I LOVE IT, BRAVO.

For me a good OST movie or video game not only has to be for the piece n yes, but how it is composed to accompany the events that occur on the screen, how it adapts and fits a certain scene of the story or character, and although I admit that in general it is not my favorite compared to other gens, there are tracks that have become part of my favorites:

The crowd, the screams, the build up as you gradually approach the last pokemon, ugh. Dynamax is cool and everything, but THIS is the basis for me, of why these battles feel so energetic and exciting.

That mystical atmosphere that catches you, is beautiful but at the same time mysterious, and perhaps many disagree with me, but the addition of the howls of the legendaries… I love it.

STORY

I think the game started extremely well, the introduction to the characters, the exploration, the introduction to the starters, the mystery of the legendary, everything is on track to me to enjoy this adventure to the fullest, but later I felt like it began to fall.

I understand that this is Pokémon and sometimes Pokémon does not need a complex story to make it enjoyable, as long as it makes sense and is entertaining, the problem I have mainly with the story is how they constantly get you out of it. I understand the concept they wanted to do: to take a more realistic point of view, in which adults take responsibility or in this case the champion and that later when you become champion you now can do what the champion did, and I like this concept, but the phrase of “you focus on the gym, we take care of the problems ” they say and they repeat it several times in the game like, I understood the first time!!! 

Indirectly I felt like they were trying to took me out, and in consequence I lost interest in the story of the game, if it hadn’t been because Sonia bothered to explain to me the lore and a little of what was happening. 

It’s more like “tell us” and not “show us”

and that’s the risk of this concept: you play as a main character, because you want to be a main character or share the role.

The climax feels incredibly forced and confusing, I felt that there was no build out, almost no foreshadowing for what was happening at the moment, everything comes out of nowhere, and thats why, I started making Okami jokes with Eternatus, because I don’t felt that emotion of the ‘’Climax’’.

Definitely in the part where the game shine was in the gym Challenge, as I said before, the gyms, the leaders, the atmosphere within them, the scale, the music that changing every time, until reaching the final pokémon, the challenges that we have to do before, the fans, becoming the champion, all this really is the identity of the game. 

Pokémon returned to its roots, where this story is the story of us again, and becoming the champion here is everything, it is one of the most exciting and most satisfying Gym challenge in all generations with gyms.

ADDITIONAL

Here I want to give opinions according to the experiences I had with certain things within the game, which I think are quite PERSONAL, because each person plays different Pokémon, by the team of Pokémon, because he decided to level up more or stay at a lower level or how you decided to follow the story of the game.

Difficulty

Decent, by the standards of Pokemon of course, I try not to leveling to much, and if I do, there are maximum 3 levels and only one pokemon… So, gyms were easy in general, perhaps a pair that were difficult (Allister and Melony), but I never did black screen as in other games, but definitely the most difficult battle in the game is Leon, which I think is appropriate.

Online

Its horrible lol, There were not only once but several times in which I lasted like 1 hour trying to connect with a person, it is ridiculous.The signal falling every so often. But in general the biggest problem I have is connecting with very specific people, not even with the infamous Festival Plaza had so many problems.

Gameplay / Pacing

It is normal the same as always which is fine, some drop of frames out there in certain scenes but nothing serious, some cuts and lack of scenarios / designs that if you should in when they took me a little at the time, but absolutely nothing compared as the haters make it look, the game is still incredibly enjoyable, and it can be played perfectly.

The pacing started pretty well/decently, but from the fourth gym onwards, everything became very very fast, and not to mention the climax and the Pokemon League, honestly all this last arc felt super stuck….

So my opinion in general is: I enjoy the game like any other Pokémon game, it has its entity, it has new and interesting things that I would like it to expand more in future generations and it has personality. Is it my favorite game or my favorite generation? No, I definitely enjoyed other generations more, there were many missed opportunities that they could take more advantage, and I feel bad for GF for making them release this game for this year and these dates, because unfortunately some cuts are very noticeable. But the generation just starting ,so we will have to wait and see what we have for the future. For now, Thanks Pokémon SwSh, for another adventure…

[stoiicist]

character study: reyna ramírez 

—    basics.

▸     is    your    muse    tall    /    short    /    average ?

she’s just under 6′ she’s my tall girl and i love her so fucking much.

▸      are    they    okay    with    their    height ?

totally! i don’t doubt she could be just as intimidating and commanding if she was average height, but having a few extra inches on most people definitely helps. it also gives her some advantages when it comes to fighting, so there’s that.

▸     do    they    spend    a    lot    of    time    on    their    hair     /    grooming ?

reyna is my fav femme lesbian. she’s busy as hell running camp and looking after a hundred and some half-godly teenagers, but she still makes a point to put time into her appearance. she’s super into skincare, to kind of balance out how frequently she wears makeup. she has her daily/nightly routines and is committed to them with the exception of when she’s on quests. reyna is also dedicated to hair care; her hair is almost always pulled back in a braid, but it’s sleek and shiny and she’s very mindful of the products she uses because she wants to keep it healthy. also, reyna with her hair down is an absolute wonder to behold.

▸      does   your   muse   care   about   their   appearance   /   what    others    think ?

she’s in a position of great power; naturally reyna cares about her appearance. she cares immensely because she knows that her appearance is a reflection of the legion as a whole. she knows she has so many people looking to her, expecting so much from her and if she falters for a second, they’ll eat her alive. so in relation to her position as praetor, it’s important that she look and act the part of strong, unshakable leader. it’s important for morale and maintaining authority. she couldn’t care less if people disagree with her/don’t like her ideas/don’t like her/whatever else they make think about her, so long as they listen to her.

—    preferences.

▸     indoors    or    outdoors ?     outdoors. ▸      rain    or    sunshine ?    sunshine. ▸     forest    or    beach ?      beach. ▸      precious    metals    or    gems ?      metals. ▸      flowers    or    perfumes ?     perfumes. ▸     personality    or    appearance ?     both. ▸      being    alone    or    being    in    a    crowd ?     being alone. ▸      order    or    anarchy ?   order. ▸      painful    truths    or    white    lies ?     painful truths. ▸      science    or    magic ?     science. ▸      peace    or    conflict ?     peace, thought it’s a rarity. ▸      night    or    day ?     day. ▸      dusk    or    dawn ?     dawn. ▸      warmth    or    cold ?     warmth. ▸      many   acquaintances    or    a    few    close    friends ?      a few close friends. ▸      reading    or    playing    a    game ?      reading.

—    questionnaire.

▸      what    are    some    of    your    muse’s    bad    habits ?

by far her worst habit is completely shutting down the minute her emotions get too messy to understand. when they can’t be tucked away neatly in a box, it infuriates her to no end so she pushes them away. out of sight, out of mind, you know. and she flings herself into her work as a distraction, which is another bad habit of hers, overworking. it’s leftover from when she was running camp jupiter by herself and had so much on her plate and felt she had no one to really turn to. also i don’t know if this counts as a bad habit, but reyna is competitive as hell and can get a little too into what’s supposed to be friendly competition.

▸      has    your    muse    lost    anyone    close    to    them ?      how    has    it    affected    them ?

for demigods, it’s a fact of life; you’re going to lose people you care about, people who are close to you. reyna has a handful of people she considers “close” and she’s fortunate enough that they’ve all managed to ( sometimes narrowly ) escape death. but she is constantly losing comrades and even worse, reyna often feels directly responsible for the lives lost. she’s the one leading them into the battle. she’s the one calling the shots, choosing tactics and making the big decisions. every death of every solider in the legion falls on her shoulders and it weighs down on her like a ton of fucking bricks. never mind the fact that they are all children. she’s leading children to their deaths and she can barely be considered an adult herself. i think overall, it’s made her into a very self-sacrificing individual. she puts the needs of others far above her own and she’s more than willing to take on dangerous tasks in place of others. but she also recognizes that, as a leader, this is her duty. and she bears it, so others don’t have to.

▸      what    are    some    fond    memories    your    muse    has ?

finding camp jupiter. after passing up the amazons and the chance to stay with her sister, after going through lupa’s trials, even the difficulties to adjusting to life as part of the legion, reyna finds it all to be worth it. the moment she realizes she wants a home more than she wants power or family or control, more than she wants anything else, and finding that home in new rome is one of the happiest moments of her life. being elected praetor is a fond memory, as well; it speaks volumes that she was voted into the position by her peers despite only being part of the legion’s ranks for a few years. despite the circumstances, reyna definitely looks back on her date walk with annabeth around new rome very fondly. maybe it was a bit tenuous, but annabeth basically poured her heart out to reyna who just got to sit and listen to another girl with too much on her shoulders, someone she could really relate to. 

▸     is    it    easy    for    your    muse    to    kill ?

the amount of times reyna in the fucking books is like “we should’ve executed this kid it’s a shame he got away” or “let us execute you it might solve the problem” and just. the fact that she killed her father out of rage because she thinks he killed hylla........... leads me to believe that, yeah, it’s not difficult for her to kill when she sees the killing as just. she doesn’t kill for the sake of killing, without reason. reyna firmly believes in justice and sometimes death is the suitable punishment. maybe it’s harsh or cruel, but it’s also kinda the roman way. and reyna kills monsters without batting an eye, so.

▸      what’s    it    like    when    your    muse    breaks    down ?

it’s all done in private. reyna will keep it together right up to the moment she’s finally alone, and only then does she let it all out. only then does she allow herself a reprieve from that mask she wears so well, allows herself to be weak for just a moment. it’s a lot of fingernails digging crescents into the palms of her hands, hot tears streaming silently down her cheeks, jaw clenched so fucking tight she should be worried about breaking her teeth. hands shaking as she rubs her temples and fingers through her hair. and then there eventually comes a point where the dam breaks and she just starts... fucking sobbing. and she’ll just cry until she’s tired herself out and falls asleep with aurum and argentum curled up next to her. this made me really sad to think about i hate this actually.

▸     is    your    muse    capable    of    trusting    someone    with    their    life ?

to some extent, she has to. she much more used to having people put their trust in her, to being the pillar that everyone else leans on, but everyone has to trust someone. and it definitely takes a while for reyna to trust someone with her life. it takes time, it takes an individual proving that she can trust them. it’s not very easy to earn her trust, even with her dogs there to alert her when the truth is being told, but it’s possible. reyna is just accustomed to the politics of CJ being a den of fucking deceit and she’s felt abandoned by very important people in her life that it really takes a lot for her to trust someone to such a huge extent. 

▸     what’s    your    muse    like    when    they’re    in    love ?

there’s this... change in her disposition, you can tell she’s a lot more content. more relaxed, not so uptight. she’s not running around camp all starry-eyed and silly, but she just seems to be more at ease. getting to show someone the parts of herself that are usually kept hidden, getting to be tender with someone, it elevates reyna to this level of happiness she’s never had before.

she’s a distinguished lesbian, disaster adjacent so she’s still beyond awkward at times especially during those first few weeks. love, like everything else, has a learning curve. but reyna eventually figures it out, finds how love and maintaining a relationship fits into her routine, and she surprises herself with how much of a romantic she really is. there’s a balance to be kept; she’s still praetor with a boatload of responsibilities, but the reality is when reyna is smitten, there’s very little she won’t do for her gf.

tagged by : @sunbruise​ <3 tagging :    anyone who wants to!!!!

[sikereviewdotcom]

undercover brother (2002) review

sup been a while but didnt forget about yall and your eager butts to dive head first right in the flooding words coming out of my mouth today gonna rev "undercover brother" (2002), its gonna be solid guys

so we start with an introduction where we talk about how black culture was losing its flavour after the 70s, progress was slowed down n all as we reached 2000 but dont be fooled, its all cause of a buncha events orchastred by "the man"... a big racist mf ig whos also the kkk equivalent of the team rocket boss, sitting in a ig chair, never see his face in the flashbacks or like the bad guy in inspector gadget, more like him ig since we actually see the team R boss face quite often nonetheless, theres a form of mystery folding this whole business... THE MAN acts in the shadows and he hates to see how dark those are, he wants things to be like it used to be back in slavery times good oltime for him but.. not for the fam

ofc then here is introduced THE REAL MAN OF MEN => undercover brother, our hero and damn he has the style of a whole pack of elephants trampling around in pink disco suits every ladies wanna a piece of that sweet fro he is packing up on his head, funky

ngl, the whole way this mov is filmed n edited is sike asf, dope guys especially considerin its actually made in 2002, loving it anyway then were also introduced to the other secondary protags who are from an organisation here to stop The Mans evil doings and careful: undercover bro was actually a solo act until now cause now they gonna collaborate all throughout da mov: its the B.R.O.T.H.E.R.H.O.O.D, with conspiracy brother (tbh a fav here, guys wack like the whole plot guy thinks computer comes from a story involving peanut and idk guys he keeps rambling bout bs which makes him a+ character) smart brother, chief and sister girl (original name/10)

so btw the organization is on a mission rn at the beginning to destroy The Man (lets call him tm for the rest of this rev) financial infrastructure aka funds to stop him better or smthg and it gets spicy as they get caught but ofc undercover bro barges in from nowhere wow big disguise as an old man no one noticed him so like slash bawow boom vlam, bad guys ko and he squeedaddle out of there like twas breeze gg man, he also get fed a nice editing of xrays battle like with a side of kungfu n whatnot, undercover bro knows his stuff

nice sounds effects ah yes btw romantic intrigue with sister girl begins here, its the zinc of the flinch as ub (undercover brother) notices her big wink wink nudge nudge, btw later she is asked to go enlist him in the corps so he can help stop the man with them n shit and he trynna get her in his bed cause thats we this brother is used to, getting laid as soon as he meets a chick, who can resist this dude?

he gots moves, fro, style, skills and also at times he is a pussy but k, not everyones perf sometimes you just simp for a white blond blue eyed woman (spoiler) and crawls on all four looking like a big preppy nerd btw in this review im trynna not spoil the whole plot cause guys, this movie gotta be on yo watch list kay? im not here to ruin this experience in yo life itd be pretty uncool of me so im just gonna state the big lines then its up to you to swoop the tiny ones out of the watch, knot your own breds n stuff

back on the whooper slapping: intro credits roll, we get some nice back story for our hero, making sure we can understand his cause in saving the black peeps from TMs assholery might truth n justice be your guide

so what the big plot then? well yknow how a big antag cant do shit on his own cause hes too busy sticking brooms up his ass in his private quarters? yea well same goes here so there this gay guy who will be twerking later on btw, a scene to behold, rumps to ogle at, so hes a bad guy and gay n gonna do most of the dirty work for TM, whats new? idk what to think of it yknow its a stereotype in movs so ig ok still uncool but ill see it as all in good spirit cause theres bad n good im not excepting this to be the best watch of my life, nah it wasnt either, but i had a good laugh kay? makes up for it cause unlike some here i got no shit up my ass alley its clean scrubbed up n down so i can smoothly take a chillax up n a shit out without a night tormented by constipation, nah its all sliding where it should no pain no sweat

so the big lines is that a war hero whos a black man is gonna become president and wtf no is the only react racist mf could have which is what they have, bad guys gonna stop it from happening at once and the brotherhood aint letting it happens cause obvs something is wrong as every black peeps gonna turn into a stereotype like waddup in this mad world? its all because of the poisonous fried chicken brand TM will get around ty to another poison to make our war hero delusional n so on were also introduced to white evil she-ra later btw, just dropping this in cause undercover brother really wants to make oreos with her n sister girl (his words) ig shes the second love interest, im not too invested in this romantic intrigue it was just necessary not like twas very developped anyway its even more of a bedroom intrigue when it comes the the white blue eyed blond chick, sister girl before hoes yo

whats it in conclusion about this movie? first, the plot: hilarious biznasty worthy a+ bs especially how its turned yknow, the clichés were turned upside down n if not theyre just turned into a big satire of themselves editing + music ? yknow its actually good, and funky asf im digging it, a travel in time nostalgia of times i lived acting is pretty neat its not an ironically good movie cause its hilariously ridiculous in the making way its all about the plot here, plot twists and characters, the whole universe ig like its superior to big mamma sorta plot or maybe im dropping this comparison cause its been a while since i saw big maam, for sure twas under estimated while over brought when this here? it got freshness packed in

the spoiling was light and this is cause this movie got a 69/10 rating jk 8/10 if were gonna be serious, im gonna list wats unwoke n uncool here: 1 gay villain stereot, gotta be honest here its not that big of a deal tme seeing when it was made and how i still laughed yknow idc this much but some could go apeshit over it 2 not enough conspiracy brother content: this is all i ask for 3 had no snacks while watching the movie, too bad id dig a aj or grape soda right about now n then 4 more lines for car wash chicks jk this last one idc about, but car wash representation is lacking once again in american movies, i cant believe how looked over it is, as if they didnt need smore rep in the medias its not an easy job washing car all day long, standin in those ghost buster lookin suit while staring at the hot guys in hot wheelys, whos gonna pay you a drink when youre just an old carwash lady? thought finally a hero would step up in this movie but there it goes thrown out da window, the potential was real until it got blown away sure sister girl was a solid character but give the washers some credits cut them a slack of free time n have a lil date together there on top of a truck to keep it native

nonetheless this is a top rec for anyone who feels like slipping into some conspiracy slippers

tg, out