#like you're so hyped to see them but also can't recall what they do in any scene

[officerdougeiffel]

what level of blorbo insanity is it when whenever your blorbo shows up you get so excited because blorbo !! that you don't even know what the fuck they did when they were on

[heretichromia]

Unit Evaluation - Gladiia

(And also the Abyssal Hunters as a whole.)

Gladiia became available once again today, this time permanently (through Record Restoration). There's a lot of buzz happening around her right now, so I feel like I should throw my hat in the ring.

Mostly because...I disagree with most of the takes I'm seeing.

Gladiia is a very good unit, if used in the right scenarios. I'm certainly biased, but I would encourage anyone who's interested in using her to build her. However, I need to stress that the hype surrounding her is overblown.

Compared to the premier units in this game, she is not by any stretch of the imagination broken. This is not a Młynar or Texas the Omertosa-level unit who'll instantly warp the way you play the game with her awesome might. Don't build her thinking you'll get an obscene powerhouse, especially if you don't have her best partner, Specter the Unchained.

Beneath the cut, I'll break down her strengths and weaknesses, and give you some tips on how to play with her. It gets a little long-winded, so I'll give you a TL;DR:

As a standalone unit, Gladiia's module elevated her from "incredibly mediocre outside of niche use cases" to "decent, but inferior to other 6* options for most players." As the lynchpin of the Abyssal Hunter squad, Gladiia offers you the opportunity to play with some reasonably powerful generalist units whose power largely lies in their mixture of solid damage and self-sufficient durability (with one noteworthy exception). Their power, however, is often overstated; they don't excel in either category, and in many cases are sidegrades or downgrades to other options.

I've also included small TL;DRs for each subsection, if you're just interested in my conclusions.

I don't have a ludicrous Risk 27 Abyssal Hunter CC clear to show to prove that I know what I'm talking about, but mid-risk CC (18-24ish, unsure with the new CC system since I wasn't a fan of Pinch Out and so didn't bother doing above 600) is generally the area of difficulty I like playing around with. Keep that in mind when I'm talking about these operators, so you can take my words with a grain of salt if your personal goals for using them are different!

—

Solo, Without Module

TL;DR: Gladiia has shift power that can't be replicated by any other unit, but without her module is a fragile, low-damage pseudo-Guard that isn't worth using for general content unless you're as stubborn as I am.

Before we talk about her ludicrously-hyped module, it's probably helpful to recall what Gladiia was like before her module came out.

Without her module, Gladiia is a fairly unimpressive unit outside of a very narrow set of use cases. Her power is largely concentrated in her pulling strength, and in those cases, she's completely invaluable:

Her S2's wide range and good shifting power (strength 2, the same as other shifters' S1 at M3) makes it a very flexible skill for things like shifter stalls. Her S3, as well, has some good niche shifting utility that can't be replicated by other operators (though note that the actual max risk clear used S2). Her S1 is also worth using in some situations, as it can store multiple charges, but it's by far the most niche skill in her arsenal.

The issue is that, if you're the average player, you'll almost never be taking advantage of that power. She's like Weedy: Queen in Contingency Contract, but most players will never be doing hard enough content to need to take advantage of the power she has at her disposal.

In terms of general use, she's...not very good by the standards of 6* lane-holders or crowd control units. She'll be a valuable roster addition for new players, acting as a pseudo-Guard. As she's cheap (13 DP), she might be good to shore up holes in struggling rosters.

She doesn't do a whole lot of damage. She's not particularly durable—in fact, she's only slightly less squishy than Pioneer Vanguards, and less durable than Bagpipe. Her cooldowns are relatively short, but her power on-skill isn't very impressive.

She's not useless. I, stubbornly, brought her to almost every map anyways. Her regen passive means she'll be able to handle waves of weak enemies by herself without the need to babysit her with a Medic. Her S3 provides some decent crowd control in terms of a single-target Bind and an AoE pull, though you'll need to get used to how it works to make good use of it. The issue is that she doesn't really do a lot compared to other 6* units, which is...what you'd generally expect from a welfare unit, unfortunately. If you lack lane-holders or cannot use more powerful sources of crowd control (e.g. Gnosis' Freeze), you'll still likely get good use out of her.

—

Solo, With Module

TL;DR: Gladiia's module fixes her fragility and helps her low damage output, but is not itself a magic bullet that'll make her a unit on-par with the stronger 6*s. She becomes a reasonably defensive crowd control-focused unit that can help hold weaker lanes.

Gladiia experienced the single most phenomenal upgrade a unit's ever gotten from a module. That much is undeniably true. Her module gave her pretty much everything she needed to become a solid generalist, and...she is!

The damage reduction and enhanced regen makes her reasonably bulky, but keep in mind that without it she's squishier than off-skill Bagpipe. Putting 30% damage reduction onto that fairly fragile frame isn't going to make her a tank, but while she won't be replacing your Defenders anytime soon, you don't need to worry much about her dying. Her damage increase is nice, too. If you don't have or want to use the other Abyssal Hunters, Gladiia with her module is perfectly fine on her own. She's still not a unit that I'd recommend over a dedicated 6* lane-holder for that role, but can be used to very good effect in conjunction with other units.

I personally prefer using her S3 for general content. It's a solid mixture of crowd control and pretty considerable arts damage on a short cooldown. Others tend to favor her S2 for lane-holding, and I've seen a few recommend putting Mastery points into that first. I've personally...never really been impressed with her S2's performance in these general cases, and only switch to it if I'm using her for pulling, or in specific scenarios where it'd be good in a particular map.

—

With Specter the Unchained

TL;DR: Gladiia is a great unit to support the already quite good Specter the Unchained, and both make each other a good deal more effective. There's a cute synergy between the timings of Gladiia's S3 and Specter's S2, as well.

Here's where I should talk about the unit I effectively always pair her with in some capacity. These two are a match made in heaven, and complement each other very well. If you don't have Specter Alter, then Gladiia is still a perfectly fine unit, but if you do, you'll notice a significant boost to their performance when you use them together.

First, Specter's own Abyssal Hunter faction buff helps considerably with Gladiia's survivability. At max level, even without Specter's Mod-Y, it'll get her to slightly over 3,000 HP. Coupled with her damage reduction and regen, this means she can withstand a good amount of punishment. The only thing holding her bulkiness back is her relatively low DEF, which does sometimes mean she melts faster than you'd think.

Second, Gladiia's module makes Specter Mod-Y (S3)...legitimately decent. She turns from an S2 machine into a more than competent lane-holder capable of tanking and dealing respectable damage to elites and bosses. Nearly 4,000 HP off-skill translates to over 10,000 on-skill, and her middling DEF is offset pretty heavily by Gladiia's staggering 30% damage reduction and over 350/s HP (on-skill) regen. As a bonus, with Specter's Mod-Y, Gladiia's skills have even shorter cooldowns, letting you spam whirlpools.

Third, Gladiia has very nice synergy with Specter's other skill—her most powerful and specialized one, which can't be replicated by Gavial Alter. There's the obvious synergy: Gladiia's damage reduction and regen means that Specter can survive more punishment between her skill cycles, keeping her cycling between periods of invulnerable onslaughts and AoE burn. The less obvious one comes in how well their skills are synced. Specter's skill timings are 20/20/20 at max investment. Twenty seconds off-skill, on-skill, and in her substitute. Gladiia's S3 lasts for 8 seconds, and then has a 35-second cooldown. This means that you can use Gladiia with Specter to consistently lock enemies in overlapping arts damage AoEs between cycles of Specter's blender. I like placing Gladiia 1-2 spaces behind Specter for these purposes.

—

Full Squad

TL;DR: The Abyssal Hunters as a full squad are fun, but do not necessarily or even often represent the strongest thing you can be doing with a selection of 4-5 units in your already limited squad.

...I don't think the Abyssal Hunters are that strong.

I feel a little crazy saying that, since the ubiquitous opinion that I always hear is that they're overpowered. It's everywhere on Twitter, on Tumblr, on Reddit. Even fucking Yii made a video calling them broken.

I really don't agree with that assessment. They're good. They're definitely very good. But in my playtime being stubborn about using the Abyssal Hunters as often as I can in the hardest content I can tackle, I've never really felt like they were the strongest thing I could be doing. When I'm stuck on a stage, I switch off of the Hunters so I can take it seriously. That's not the most objective analysis I can give, though, so...here goes.

The Abyssal Hunters kind of suck.

Individually. They kind of suck individually.

I don't think I need to convince anyone that Guard Skadi is a joke of a 6* by herself, and while Specter is great by 5* standards, she doesn't exactly hold a candle to the 6* lane-holder options when you're not abusing her invincibility. Andreana...

Andreana isn't real. I'm sorry. I wish she was. She's not.

The only one of them that's powerful—not just decent, but actually strong—as a standalone unit is Specter the Unchained.

It's not relevant to this analysis, but it is relevant to the general point of this post to point out that Specter the Unchained is a limited unit from a year ago that a majority of the people just newly picking up Gladiia won't ever have.

Gladiia, Specter the Unchained, and Specter can all be very specialized units who offer very strong roles in specific scenarios. But most of the time, if you're taking the full squad, they're not going to be used in those windows of power. At best, you usually just have Specter the Unchained using her blender optimally. They're just...Guards.

They all do the same thing. They're Guards. You place them in lanes, and they hit things. And none of them besides Specter the Unchained are even particularly good at that. Specter (5*) is great when you're using her to tank unsurvivable damage. She's not so great when you're just using her as a nun-flavored Mountain whose skill options are a reasonable DPS boost that stuns her for 10 seconds and fucking ATK Up γ.

And...yes. I get that stacking enough buffs onto a vanilla stick will eventually make the stick strong enough to break anything. The issue here is that the teamwide buffs are largely defensively-focused. There are some offensive parts of those buffs, but they're the ones with the strongest opportunity cost. They're—likely intentionally—found on the most individually mediocre members, Skadi and Andreana. Skadi feels great to bring when you're using her to 1v1 incredibly strong enemies, but when that's not a great option for the map you're bringing, she feels useless. The worst part is that if you're bringing her for the team buff, you have to choose between her modules, because the one that provides the strongest buff is her worse module by a considerable margin. Skadi Mod-X almost makes her feel like a worthwhile unit, by reducing her redeployment time to 40 seconds, making her (with S2) a decently tanky medium-redeploy unit who can square up against units that would make other helidrops falter.

Andreana gives 20 ASPD to the entire team, which is great—but you can only bring 12 Operators to your mission.

Is that really worth a slot in your team? What are you giving up by bringing someone who's weak enough that she's not even worth deploying?

Yes, with all of the buffs combined, Specter the Unchained does become a monster. But with all of the obscenely powerful units we have in the game, is it ever actually worth it to bring two to three dead weights to use her more effectively? Especially when the most potent buffs, the defensive buffs, will usually only be effective on her for a third of the time when she's equipped with her strongest skill?

Is that worth not bringing Texas? Yato? Surtr? Ines? Bagpipe? A real Defender? A secondary DPS? A plan B, in case something goes wrong?

...Maybe? Maybe that's been the experience for you, and these units actually have felt overpowered in your hands. But that hasn't been my experience. These units are clearly powerful. If this review has seemed largely negative, it's only because it exists in the face of endless praise or even complaints about how strong the Abyssal Hunters are.

The Hunters are tanky. They're really, really tanky. Not quite Hoshiguma or Nian tanky, but...well, nothing is. But we're in a metagame where people are (incorrectly, in my opinion) calling Hoshiguma a bad unit because she doesn't provide much utility other than her tankiness. Which is...almost exactly the same as what the Abyssal Hunters as a full squad bring to the table. They're big meatballs that are largely unimpressive in terms of damage or utility.

What content are the Abyssal Hunters optimal in, exactly? They're not meta in Contingency Contract; while Gladiia and Specter the Unchained are CC mainstays, the full squad is never brought, and Gladiia's "gamebreaking" module isn't utilized at all. They're not meta in Integrated Strategies. They're not even the strongest units in SSS, and that's a game mode that has a dedicated buff for them.

At best, they're optimal units for middling difficulty content—and I'd contest that, but we don't have leaderboards to look to for what units are best for clearing story stages. But even if that were true, to get them to that state, you need to invest large amounts of resources into getting full level 3 modules for each of them—and you inarguably need a year-old limited unit!

Stacking teamwide buffs is a great way to bring mediocre units up to playability, but you really need a critical mass of them in order to make them a serious metagame contender. And I...just don't think we're there. I don't think we're that close, honestly.

...

—

Conclusions?

In summary, build Gladiia!

...Look, she's neat. She's one of my favorite units and I use her all the time. And she is good, just...don't expect her to revolutionize the game for you.

And build the other Abyssal Hunters, too. Just...do it because they're a neat thematic squad that's decently powerful as a whole. They work fine without Specter the Unchained, too. They'll be weaker, of course, but they're still perfectly usable. All you're really missing on the other units is her HP buff, and they're still pretty strong without it.

Build them because you like them, and so Gladiia is surrounded by her family. Not because you think they'll crack the game in half, or something.

[golbrocklovely]

Correct me if i am wrong on this one, but majority “snc fans” who were acting pretty hateful towards snc not speaking about Palestine and using this as a way to put them on “block celebrities list” are Katrina fans as well. Now: I don’t follow Kat as much , but I can’t recall a moment where she said anything as well. So i think ( if she hasn’t) is pretty hipocritical to only call out two people and shit on them, while they continue to victimize Katrina and kiss her ass ( i love Katrina so dont take it as a hate) . I see some accounts reporting Kat outfits for Coachella and calling her pretty, her new song and hyping her up for that or her partying with stas, meanwhile at the same time they be acting like they care about genocide happening, using it to say that “there is no excuse for snc to not speak”. If there is no excuse for men , then why there is for ladies?

i'll be honest with you, i don't pay attention to who is calling out snc on twitter anymore. half my tl is bridgerton and i would like to keep it that way since that side of the fandom (the twitter side, since that's who i'm assuming you're talking about anyway) isn't exactly the nicest or the most positive to be around as of late.

i also don't really pay kat any mind one way or another, so i can't say if she's said anything about palestine or not. my own personal belief is no one should care if influencers use their voice or not bc forcing someone to speak on something is kinda inauthentic and also we shouldn't care what snc or kat or anyone thinks on a genocide. anyone with functioning eyes can tell what's happening. idc for their commentary.

if what you're saying is true tho, that's a shame. but at the end of the day, it is what it is.

that's why i think this back and forth of a tit for tat, who's speaking who's not, gets us nowhere. we are talking about an extinction of a whole group of ppl, and we're making it fandoms war bullshit. omg, who cares.

(not saying that's what you're doing, anon. just saying in general this type of belief is counterintuitive to ACTUALLY help the ppl of palestine. fans in general should just do what they can to help and stop relying on entertainers to help or do anything.)

[chamcourse]

If that rumor is true (everyone gettLMAOs free cham myo when the site is finished and the hiatus ends) it sounds more like a joke because I recall that in past announcements for event rewards, the mods are hesitant on rewarding so many MYO slots because there are tons that still have not been designed on the ML. Even though rewarding more MYO slots would make the group more welcoming to new users that only show up to get their own funky lizard. The reality of it seems more like another raffle and only a select few will win. The fact they bring up that the ML is full of undesigned MYOs is only because:

People are catering to the group's rules. They can't make their chimereon design because you have to grind/trade to get desired items, while there is a cap on how many Beetoles you can earn from gift art. (Thankfully there isn't a cap on what's earned through selling items and commissions to my knowledge.) plus, the shop that gives you the fun stuff artists use more often is closed. If you wanna put sprinkles on your cham's ass better wait for the next event that's several months from now. (Or if someone is feeling happy enough to trade.)

It's insanely disrespectful to the artists because you don't know what they have going on in their lives. They can't always draw for the group.

On the other end, there are group members who snag onto and hoard up to 20 undersigned MYOs and advertise them in trade channels only seeking swaps. Meanwhile new users have to pay out the ass for adopts and customs if their luck has been sucking the past ten free raffles they entered.

Not to whine and complain, but it sucks to see new users and users that don't have any chams anymore trying to get one, practically struggling. I think a few implements have made it easier for FTOs and NOs to get a cham but it feels pitiful.

Not to mention its against the rules for these users to complain in chat about how they didn't get a cham this round because it "brings down the mood" I've never seen it get out of hand to the point it's a fight. It just sounds more like "Hey, you're ruining the mood for the WINNERS!"

If users are purposely guilt tripping or harassing others for their characters, yeah, that's bad. ADDRESS THAT. but don't silence people because they're upset about YOUR weird system.

In the end I just think that the number for FTO free raffle should be increased (to 20 instead of 10 at least)

And users who won a raffle, bought an adopt, or got a custom, shouldn't be drawn again in the next event they attend so it gives other people a slightly higher chance to win. (If people get chams from trades and stuff that's fine, it's just the group and mod hosted stuff)

Also, shednut. I remember that hype... The excitement... The therories...

Just to find out it doesn't do shit LMAO

I always thought the whole "we can't give out too many MYOs because we have too many unused ones" thing was kinda weird ngl

Like. So what. Who cares if there's a million grey lizards wearing a sign on the masterlist they have their own section anyway

Really do hope we see more FTO/NO opportunities post-website launch

[kennexara]

so you're a geeky teenager in the early 2010s and you make a tumblr and back then everyone was always going on about supernatural, right?

so you watch supernatural. the last great american queerbait.

(you're not stupid and you're from the reddest part of your red state. the best you dared hope for in the finale was dean and cas alive and some subtle parallels between them and sam and eileen and they couldn't even do that.)

but truthfully, you had learned your lesson long ago, and you had learned it fast:

ship all the queer ships you want, rub your greedy bad bi rep hands over every character you want, but don't expect anything. don't give anyone power over what's canon in your heart.

your belief in this only grows stronger over the years, as you see it happen in fandoms you didn't go to - merlin, teen wolf, so many animated shows)

(not you legend of korra you're an angel and we're lucky to have you)

you saw it happen in ships you could not fucking understand why anyone was shipping in the first place (cough cough johnlock)

you saw it happen in the mcu again and again and wondered why nobody else seemed to learn the lesson.

it's not that there are no shows with queer relationships of course. it's just that most are very upfront about it or leave it vague enough that anyone with heteronormative lenses on doesn't pick up on it. nobody waits 7 seasons to float the idea an assumed-straight character might be bi.

you thought were prepared for star wars. so busy believing they wouldn't do a queer relationship but hey at least the resulting het relationship would be great. and then they did fucking reylo and you realized you can't even bet on the right het ships as you recall disney also wouldn't even follow through on clintasha.

so when you start watching another show tumblr's pretty hype about you don't expect nothing. like the canon relationships are great, and while you enjoy the fandom ships and queer heacanons you don't expect anything else. especially because the show has queer characters and relationships, they aren't afraid to go there they're just choosing not to with certain characters and hey, that's fine.

and then you catch up on the new season and that one supposedly straight dude IS KISSING ANOTHER DUDE WHAT THE FUCK I COULD'VE BEEN BETTING ON THIS THE WHOLE TIME I CAN'T EVEN USE CAPTAIN HOLT VINDICATION GIF BECAUSE I WAS SO SURE THIS WOULDN'T EVER HAPPEN.

[karamfilmare]

Who do you think your mutuals could pull?

*gasp* I never get questions like this!

I would like to preface that I think my mutuals could pull just about anyone, BUT, I'm gonna choose one for them (most likely not their selfship, because that's too easy, and I want to be dIfFeReNt). All characters are aged up.

Also these are the mutuals I can recall, and if I miss on a mutual, please don't be sad.

@toshiswife -- ME ME ME my person! LOL jk, I would say she could pull Daichi. They're both responsible, level-headed, and I think her no-nonsense personality would match well with Daichi's drive. Plus, who doesn't love a man with THIGHS.

@shokami -- hi hubs, also with me, I'm collecting a harem. I think you could pull Sugawara. I think he matches well with you, because he's just like me, but much better. He's caring and kind, but not a doormat, and he can give you all the love you deserve. (Did I say Sugawara is like me?)

@bb-kawa -- hi 😘. You deserve someone you can be soft around--me. Lol anyway, but she could pull someone like Matsukawa. He's fairly chill, sarcastic, and can entertain you. Plus, he has a constant stream of income--funerals ain't going out of business lol.

@ahtsuwu -- you're my wife, no one else's 😡. Lol, but if I had to say--you could pull Ennoshita. He's responsible, he's BEEFY, he's kind, and UGH, HE'S A PHYSICAL THERAPIST. He deserves some FUCKING LOVE.

@larkspyrr -- oh boy. You could pull Zhongli, because uhh, how can he NOT LOVE YOU? You exude exhausted woman energy in the best way, because you always manage to get through things. Oh and he needs a sugar mommy and a pet, since Azhdaha isn't able to fit at home.

@hopelesshawks -- could pull Thoma. He would do anything to make you happy and fulfilled. He is perfect, and I can't take you away from him 😔. I mean, he's a house husband, he's so kind, and he's like...fuylvgkx amazing.

@002opdestiny -- hmmm. Ganyu. She's smart and dependable, but she's also sensitive enough to understand your needs. She's not intimidating, and she would absolutely be taken aback by your energy, in a good way. She is really shy about her feelings, but she'll feed you well, and you'll be good.

@katsupeach -- you could pull Kuroo. I'm going off the rules for this one, because I wish you could see how wonderful you are, and that any guy would be lucky to have you.

@danibby -- you could pull Itadori. He would absolutely appreciate you, and I think he'd fall for your kind personality. And I think he'd appreciate that you both look out for each other, even if he doesn't want to admit it.

@kentoangel -- you could pull Uzui. I mean, have you seen him? Uhh, he likes confident, pretty women, and you love to hype yourself up (AS YOU SHOULD), and you both can be a FABULOUS, FLAMBOYANT...Uhh quintuple? Plus his wives are hot, I mean HELLO?

@tamedandscripted -- hi 🥺💕. You deserve someone sweet and strong. You could pull Iwaizumi, and I mean what could he not adore about you? Gosh, he's absolutely DEVOTED. I think he's just amazing and perfect. Plus, I think he's fun, too.

If there is anyone I missed, I'm so sorry, please forgive me. These are the people I tend to talk to often. I do care about you all.

[haechanokeh]

I'm Right For You [pt.2 ]

[teaser/ prologue] [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] [ 4 ] [ 5 ]

(you can play Die For You by The Weeknd while reading this 😌)

pairing: popular college! mark x average! reader

genre: romance, smut, angst, series.

warning (chapter): handjob, public, fingering,

warning: corruption, oral sex (both receiving and giving), cream pie, rough sex, anal sex, mention of religion, rough sex, self-esteem, psychology, public sex, sub! reader, sex toys. possessive mark two-faced mark

I think I'm right for you, babe. You know what I'm thinking, see it in your eyes. You hate that you want me, hate it when you cry. It ain't workin' 'cause you're perfect and I know that you're worth it I can't walk away. (Die for you by The Weeknd)

class ended and you're packing your things, and so your seatmate for today- mark.

"mark, do you want to eat with us?" your other classmates always invite mark.

"sure, wait. Do you want to eat with-"

you carry your bag and immediately left the room. he's the last person you want to be with, after what happened yesterday. mark confessed that he likes you and now you just can't talk to him.

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

you're in the library trying to be "productive" and pretending to be "studious". you tied your hair, hyping yourself that you will study but 3 minutes after opening your thick pharmacology book, you took a nap.

mark entered the almost empty library. there's a lot of vacant tables and chairs but he's looking for the best spot, until he saw your sleeping face... from a far. mark has a keen eyes, especially when it comes to you. he walked towards your place and carefully sat beside you cautious in his movements to prevent waking you up. he put his bag on the vacant seat beside him and turned his head on you. you're squished side of your face against the table made him smile. lying at his classmates is worth it.

unaware of your surrounding, you didn't know mark was now sitting beside you. he saw your book was opened in diuretics chapter so he opened his own book at the same page as yours. he started writing notes, for you.

mark likes you but he's having a hard time to get close to you. not sure but he thinks that you're avoiding him, you immediately dismisses his presence when he's approaching you. you weren't rude when you do that though, you just speak very shortly with him. mark doesn't have a concrete reason why he likes you, but everytime he looks at your serine personally and your innocent face t brings him calmness. sometimes he just catching himself staring at you during class.

after he wrote the key points, he transferred all the sticky notes on the pad. he clicked the pen and look at you.

"you're still sleeping, wow." he whispered but with amusement. you're sleeping for 2 hours already. his eyes landed on your slightly parted plump lips.

dirty thoughts running in his head. he imagined your lips wrapped around his dick. yeah, the mark everyone look up to thinks like this towards you. he's not like this to anyone except you, he was also shock to on the effects you give him. mark was afraid you became an obsession, well too late for that.

he removed your specs, folded it and put it on the top of the table. he just watches you sleep, not caring whether other find it creepy.

suddenly your phone alarmed, you woke up immediately and to your panic you can't find your phone which was actually just infront of you, so mark was the one who off your alarm. you turn your head to look at him.

"thank you." you gave him an awkward smile. you look around and you saw from afar the librarian was glaring at you. you gave her an apologetic face and she returned to her seat.

he extended his arms and his thumb touched the side of your lips down to your chin. you felt a burning sensation from his thumb.

"welcome." he gave you his signature warm friendly smile.

you look down because you felt uncomfortable once again. your eyes caught a wet pool on the book, later you realize that mark wiped your drool. heat of embarrassment took over your face.

"let's eat?" he asked, lowering his face and moving it close to you. he wanted you to see his face, which you did. you're heart beating so fucking fast.

"i have to study." you said as an alibi.

"really?" he was unconvinced and playfully gave you a doubt look.

study my ass! I JUST WOKE UP!

"tomorrow is the case study, aren't we supposed to study together?" he sat up straight.

"we already did yes-" suddenly, his confession popped out from your head. "yesterday." you whispered, a ball of saliva almost stuck on your throat.

"really? i really don’t recall anything though.” he pretend to be naive. your eyes widen.

“you can’t remember anything? that’s impossible, you even confess to me... i mean...” shame crossed in you. please, swallow me my dear land. "mark, please let me study. i'm not like you."

he chuckled. "okay, but use my notes. here." he pushed towards you the notes he did while you were sleeping. your eyes gleamed like a sun.

"really?" you said excitedly.

"shhh!" you heard the librarian, you covered your mouth.

"really?" you asked again as confirmation. he giggled and nodded his head.

he admiringly stared at you goshing over his notes, he felt a weird sensation in his heart. mark was smiling like an idiot, this was his first time to see you smiling or happy when he’s around.

"thank you mark for saving me." you definitely forget the awkwardness between you. you looked at him sending him gratitude look.

without any words, you excitedly study his note. you're so oblivious that you didn't notice mark placed his hand on your thigh. horniness strike him.

your concentration broke when he squeezed your thigh. you turned your head to face him, there was uneasiness in your stomach when you face him again. the other mark that melt your knees.

he moved his face closer and whispered in your ears.

"y/n, i had a hard time sleeping last night. you know why?"

"why?" voice shaking and hands are sweaty while you're holding his notes.

"you never left my head, you kept on bothering me. i fantasize you last night, crying and begging to suck my dick with your small mouth and juicy lips." he huskily said and gripped your thigh tighter.

you squeezed your thighs together as you felt ache on your pussy. your breathing became ragged, chest rose heavily. you stare in those dark-lustful pair of eyes.

"i was horny last night, like what i'm feeling right now." his eyes glued in your lips.

he reached for your right hand and guided it to his hard cock. you gasped, and in surprise you take away your hand from his hardness but mark caught you and put it back.

"can you feel how hard i am right now? do you know how painful is it for me?" he grunted low. his lips touches your every time he speaks. "i need your help, y/n please." there was urgency in his voice.

"h-ow?" stuttering because of nervousness but with hidden excitement.

you heard a zipped sound. you look down and his hard flesh peeking through his boxers. he pulled it down revealing his standing cock. you almost drool, it's thick, veiny, and long. he planted a small kiss on your ears and folded your hands wrapping it around his dick. your lips parted letting out a breath.

his dick was hot, hard, and has a lot of texture- you can feel his vein. you don't believe that when a guy's hands are veiny, and so their cock... but mark is the living statement.

"move." he commanded. you pushed down your palm around his cock, and start pumping it slowly.

"like this?" you asked innocently.

mark saw your submissive look again, doll-like eyes shinning with innocence but full of lust.

"yes, baby. fuck faster, you're doing great." he complimented you, teeth gritting. he put his left arm across your shoulder and his other arm resting on the table.

both of you didn't care whether you're about to get caught or not. you enjoy the playful desires you share with each other. he smashed his lips to your soft lips. tongue caressing each other but careful not to produce noises. you're pumping him hard and fast, you felt cramp in your wrist but didn't stop. his hands formed into fist, knuckled getting white.

he moaned inside your mouth when he reach his climax. you felt the hot sticky liquid on your hands. you broke the kiss and look down to see what does it look like to have his cum on your hand. your eyes looked up and gaze into his eyes, he saw guilt, regret, and shame.

“what am i doing mark?” you bit your lower lip and your eyes watering. you know this is wrong, but when you’re with him all the rationality in you just evaporates. you became terrified of what you became and what you will have become. “what are you turning me into?”

mark was satisfied when he heard that coming out from your mouth, that means he has effect to you. he knew, because he felt the same from you.

“same goes to me, y/n. don’t you get it there’s something bet-” he was cut off when there were tiny voices. both of you turned your head towards the library entrance and there were bunch of seniors coming in. mark quickly zipped his pants and you wipe his cum on his black sweatshirt. you both looked at each other, you just realize what you did.

“i’m sorry.” you whispered and shoved your head against the book. he snickered on your cuteness and clumsiness.

“hey mark.” you froze when the girl seniors approached mark. you stay still, face against the book.

“oh, hi.” he greeted back, giving them a forced smile.

“i saw them on the pizza house, i thought you’re there? i was about to go. good thing you’re here.” she said and you heard some chairs being pulled out.

I need to go fudge, this is probably why i don’t like mark, he’s surrounded by people. knowing you, you’re allergic to people.

you stood up and gather your things.

“where are you going?” mark asked in curiosity and confusion while watching you.

“hmm?” you look at him and carried your back and book. the seniors were staring at you too. “oh, my mom said i have to go for groceries, heheeh empty fridge.” you LIED again. his brow rose.

he was looking at you but not in your face though and you have no time to pay attention to that.

“again? yesterday you went-” you did not let him finish.

“i have to go bye!”

“SHHH!” 

༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺༻✦༺ 　༻✧༺　༻✦༺

you couldn't ignore your wetness beneath you. you were having a hard time walking because of the weird feeling and you felt discomfort on your abdomen part. obviously, you're horny and you knew that. you quickly turned to the right corner to use the girl's comfort room. you masturbate especially everytime you watch porn, and you badly need to masturbate right now without watching porn. you entered one of the cubicle and when you were about to close it, a hand appeared stopping the door.

mark?

he stepped inside the cubicle which made you step back , the behind of your knees touched the toilet seat. you heard and clicked sound, he closed the door.

“wait, weren’t you...” you were speechless as you point your finger outside but you were actually pertaining to the library.

why the hell is he everywhere? does he have roller blades on his feet?

"i can smell you." he said looking down, you were curious of what he was looking at but you were offended from his statement.

"excuse me?" you scoffed.

"you were standing infront of me before you leave me, too close and i'm not sure if that's the smell because it was my first time but..." he gaze straight into your eyes. he palmed your pussy which made you yelp. "it was sweet and erotic, are you horny right now?"

you gulped in embarrassment, you want to be swallowed whole by the soil. you were that wet from giving him a handjob!

"were you planning to masturbate?" his eyes switched into dark and dominating. you wonder, how can he guess everything right?

his palmed between your legs made it hard for you to control your desire. you grabbed his wrist.

"i need to cum." you gave him your pleading eyes.

your pleading sweet voice and eyes, and the way you say the word cum went straight into his dick. he never expected that word to come out from your mouth. when it did, he want to grant you.

"you're so special." he whispered. he unzipped your jeans and pulled it down above your knees which slightly made him annoyed because it was hard to pull it down. he gave your dump panty and glance because he can smell it, it wasn't a bad smell it was the opposite. it was sweet, very aromatic.

you just watch him while holding on his shoulder for balance. he stood up straight. you where biting your lips while staring at his handsome face through your lashes.

"mark..." you murmur as you were growing impatient. mark chuckled.

"okay, baby." he called you baby, and your heart lifted... and so as your right leg using his left arm. he hang your leg on his arm.

"what are you doing?" he didn't answer you.

he palmed your already sticky and wet pussy which made you bite your lower lip. he rubbed it in circular motion, you suppressed your moan because goodness it feels so good but you're afraid someone will hear you. he pulled your panty aside and rubbed your slit and clit, hard but slowly. your eyes were squeezing shut and enjoy the feeling. his lips pay attention on your jaw.

"mark, i want to cu- go. please." you whimpered.

he inserted his two finger and started to thrust it inside you while his thumb were flatly rubbing your clit.

"ah... hmmm" you couldn't suppress your moan anymore. "it feels so good." you cried and throw your head back gripping mark shoulder.

mark switched his attention from your jaw to your neck, licking and kissing it. he started to fasten the pace. your were producing a squelching sound.

"please, please, please i need to cum... oh f- yes yes." your eyes rolled back, you almost saw your brains. your legs felt tension causing your leg being lifted to flex straight, toes folded.

"are you cumming now, y/n? hmm?" he said against your neck. you nodded aggressively.

"i'm so close, so close" you were mewling. "ahh!" you clenched mark's fingers and produced a long cry when you finally reached your climax.

you became weak, your limbs became jelly. you were about to fall, good thing mark catched you before that happened. your arms have no energy to hold onto mark.

"are you okay?" mark genuinely asked. "did i overdo it?" growing concern feed him.

you shook your head, head empty, and catching your breath. you have low stamina, this already made you almost pass out? what more if he fuck you?

you shook your heard want to remove those perverted thoughts, and why the hell you thought of mark?

"seat down y/n." he made you seat on the toilet. suddenly, your phone rang. mark, without hesitation looked for your phone inside your bag. he looked at the name. "your mom." he cleared his throught and was about to answer but you quickly snatched it.

there's no way you want your mom to hear a male voice.

"mom?" you answered through your heavy breathing.

"y/n? why are you panting? are you okay?"

"ah, y-yes. i just ran from ahm nevermind i just ran that's it. why are you calling me?" mark intently watching you.

"oh, i forgot a file in our house, it's on top of my table, bring it here, okay?" she asked for your favor.

"yes." you sighed. your mom always forget something.

"okay, love you!" and she hang up.

you stood up. you look down as you felt your stickiness between your legs. you just pulled up your underware and pants.

"i need to go home, i'll go out first and make sure the coat is clear then you'll go out. okay?" you were still panting, catching your breath.

"i can drive you home." he said. there goes again, the warmth in his eyes. you were staring each other, mark looked so determined.

"promise me you will not do anything. i have no energy, mark." you sighed in defeat.

he laughed and pinched your cheek.

"sure." he said, smiling but deep inside he was disappointed. might not be visible because his sweatshirt was covering it, but he is painfully hard right now.

[retphienix]

I did it :)

So, I cried. That's a given.

Also this might be the most overwhelmingly happy ending in the series so far, you know, if you're used to every entry ending with "KIRYU DIE?????"

Bonus points because this ending DID NOT immediately reveal that he lives! I know my intro here is all unserious and the like but genuinely, that does a lot for making the scene so much more impactful and it worked here even though I know he returns for Y6.

So, I'm gonna do this post like the last big post because there's too many thoughts to expel.

Timestamps as I rewatch so I can share my thoughts. Then a short conclusion because honestly? This game has taken all my words multiple times.

I just want to calmly and happily say my final piece at the end :)

0:39 - Spoiler, this ending SUCKS because it doesn't include a final rhythm battle for Haruka! Now I think I read somewhere that there's a member of that assassin clan she can dance battle as a final challenge but I clearly didn't do that right and missed out and that's beside the point- THERE'S NO RHYTHM GAMEPLAY IN THIS FINALE >:(

9:00 - I EARNED IT, I'M USING IT!

13:00 - Spoiler for later, Shinada doesn't get to say this from what I recall. Instead Baba gets a different wake up call, but that works out :)

17:00 - Not now, but this will come up, I offer to you my johns for what happens in the first boss fight. My eyes were dry as hell so I missed some QTEs which means I didn't get the flashiest stuff to happen. This actually happened at the end of Y4 also but I restarted just to capture good footage- not this time.

17:30 - MOUSE. MOUSE MOUSE, A LITTLE RAT, MOUSE. Love to see it.

19:00 - The audible sigh I let out when they played the same song I've heard like 40 times in my playthrough was palpable. I do dig the song! But there are what? 4 Idol songs? They really needed more or to not saturate their use so much :(

19:40 - I legitimately gasped and went "Oh no... of course it's you!" at Baba's role in this. It added a lot of weight to the way he practically begged Haruka not to show up.

20:50 - So here's the gist. Majima's plan didn't work out, we know that. Majima has a REALLY good line and motivator moment where he says he's following orders now to protect Haruka because she means more to Kiryu than anything (and that's how Majima rolls), Majima then reveals some shit which can be amounted to "I think you've gotten weak and wanted to protect you!!!!" which does ring slightly hollow since we saw Majima at a ridiculously low point earlier. So either his low point was him contemplating Saejima's survival chances, or his low point was sincere (it sure sounded it) and his worry over Saejima being weak was just also happening at the same time. I don't really mind either way to be honest, we beat him up. I fail some QTEs.

33:00 - Baba deciding not to fulfill his orders on his own accord is actually extremely important and good as hell. It shows that all this changed him and gave him the motivation to forge his own path- or rather it began to though he's overwhelmed with doubt. It's extremely good.

33:50 - The fact he intentionally leaves evidence shows how much doubt he has though, he's giving up entirely more than forging his own path, he's just refusing to follow the orders of another but hasn't found the strength to continue on his own. It's really good is all.

38:00 - This was the first cry I had beating the game x.x Shinada is just a phenomenally likeable character, and watching him accept where his life has gone and what it's meant to others is way more touching than I'd assume considering it's a tale of a baseball star.

40:50 - THIS WAS HYPE AS HELL AND LEAD TO MY SECOND CRY. THIS PRISON FAMILY HAS NO RIGHT BEING THIS ENDEARING. Also, more or less, they get to deliver the message Shinada was supposed to lol.

42:50 - THIRD AND BIG AS HELL CRY. SHINADA YOU FOOL, YOU'VE A FOUND FAMILY AFTER-ALL!!! I genuinely adore this moment so much is all. It's such a wonderful payoff for this loveable fool. After all the runnin' away he has a home.

43:36 - I love Shinada so much the silly fuck.

46:00 - I got a laugh out of Akiyama KICKING ASS in the news footage (didn't mention but the first brawl cutscene was rather lacking wasn't it?) and Kiryu just like... punches a guy. It's hilarious to me. Also you best believe- I UNLOCKED IT, I'M USING IT!!!

48:00 - Now this is a, well, it's a bad reveal. Like look, there is a metric ton of good going on in this finale- but the reveal that Aizawa is his son and is evil and is the final boss is just too much zero-build-up-payoff. It's the worst part. It's not like extremely detrimental or anything- like it doesn't take away from the good stuff- but it's just entirely uninteresting and bad. It makes Aizawa's interest in Morinaga bizarre and uninteresting since he got no payoff, he had buildup with Saejima and then in the final scenes he's just like "Yeah, Mori was nice but who gives a fuck I am the one who killed him (I think he said) and I aspire to be strong as fuck because all of YOU IDIOTS have FRIENDS and CHARISMA >:(" and like, who fuckin' cares bud.

52:00 - Now I'll more or less sum up all of Akiyama's payoff here. 1- I unlocked it so I'm gonna use it! 2- He offhandedly says he wants to be a legend in this town, which in Y4 he already was- he was a myth, a city mystery- but of course he means like Kiryu not the loch ness monster. 3- He gets to be a legend by being the only civilian (or person in general) the Omi would bow to. It's kind of not built up at all and is a bit lame, but to be honest Akiyama has a pretty bit part in this entire game. He's kinda just a convenient returning character with motivation to assist Kiryu and a career that allows motivation to get involved through Park. To be blunt, his part in the story is weak. I wish it was stronger. But it's inoffensive and he at least gets something- as minor as it is. Getting to say he's king of the world is something, you know?

56:00 - I will say that the build up of "Oh shit, these are Kanai's men!" and the reveal that "Oh shit! They are WATASE'S men and all the clans who the Tojo were seeking alliances with!" is a good one. Watase is a fine enough character which I bring up only because I was told he was a standout- but he wasn't for me. His scenes are great, his growth with Katsuya is nice, but he's barely in the game and really only exists to be betrayed and then to be like "I'm one of the good yakuza despite being a war-lusting one because being a good yakuza is just complicated enough to allow this overlap" which is interesting for sure, but I don't know. Unless he does stuff in the subsequent games I didn't catch much in this one. Maybe he does- I assume he runs the Omi now!

1:00:00 - I kinda summed it up but yeah. Here's the final boss, Aizawa, a character we were mislead on and who's motivation is empty as fuck. It's, whatever. It's not the good part of the ending. The good part is everything prior and directly after. Like his entire deal is anti-silver-spoon talking points but also he includes being charismatic or capable as silver spoon-isms??? He pretty much just wants to be leader because he's strong. He'd arguably be more interesting if he just said it that way.

1:11:00 - The lyrics to Dream are anything but subtle and I love them and I love Haruka. Sliding this in here- Majima gets no payoff >:( Park's dream is accomplished in seeing her star on the stage, but no Majima moment? No sight of him accepting her loss? Lame.

1:14:00 - I genuinely LOVE that Aizawa focuses in on Kiryu's gunshot wound. He still accepts it as a fair fight because Kiryu presents it as one, but even then he pays mind to it as you'd expect someone wanting to fight at their strongest would- he wants to fight Kiryu at his best and he's accepting this because Kiryu presents as his best even when wounded- it's pretty cool. Fight happens. It's fine stuff, flashy and fun. Still maybe the weakest final boss yet because he has no build up. I'd be the first to admit without looking it up I can't list every final boss thus far, but like, Nishi was built up, Mine was built up, Goda was built up, I just, in this moment, don't recall having a big "WHO THE FUCK, THIS MEANS NOTHING?" fight in yakuza and this is certainly one of those.

1:25:00 - I cried AGAIN. Haruka just hit me with a truck of emotion here is all.

1:41:15 - This is a beautifully shot, emotional, and tragic looking ending. Heck, at 1:43:00 I initially thought he was being awoken in a hospital bed and I was like "Heh, there's the old Kiryu dies fakeout!" but no! They hammer home, they go for broke, they give a TRAGIC AS FUCK bitter ending on top of an ending that's like 99% happy as fuck in terms of offering everyone involved hope for the future. This was a good end :)

So then, some overall thoughts I maybe didn't get out- I mean there's no way this post touches everything but I want to at least try to because I like sharin' the experience and what I got out of it.

The fighting styles were mighty uneven as far as strengths or fun factor. To be blunt,

Kiryu has an overpowered counter attack and heat mode and since heat mode is underwhelming as hell that means he has JUST a counter attack- his strikes don't really hit all that well considering the improvements other characters saw this time around, so he's a bit one note here.

Saejima feel even meatier than before, nothing particularly 'stands out' but the fact that he has super armor as long as he has heat is a pretty big factor in making him feel good to use.

Akiyama got the short end of the straw this time around. His new gimmick is the launch combos and they are... well... less than shit at least from what I could feel during gameplay. They don't hurt much, they burn heat like crazy, and they can MISS, all while being a move that targets just one enemy- has no counter to blocking or armor- and provides no armor in turn.

Despite not losing anything, he kinda got screwed.

(I'm lead to believe Akiyama is invulnerable during his aerial combos which my blurb in my finale post complained felt worthless and cited that as a reason.

If so then I was wrong but I still hold all my other complaints towards it, just not the 'it has no armor or invuln' bit assuming that's true.)

Shinada wins out for being unique and being a weapon oriented character that actually does well with weapons. Weapons have always been something I pretty much ignore in Yakuza and the series itself has always desperately tried to make them interesting with things like weapon skills, Kamiya works, and the like. But other than the god weapons like the golden gun weapons just never felt good to manage.

Using them, sure, that's fine, but managing them? Durability and skills and limited movesets and all that? Nah. But Shinada really does a lot to make them less shit! His innate abilities that raise durability a metric ton REALLY make weapons feel better to use with him- and his unique movesets with weapons are pretty damn good (mostly. The pipe/'normal one hander pole size object' moveset is worthless as heck, it regularly misses).

He's fun.

===

Revelations were a miss this time around for me. Since you couldn't have seen them if you tried on my blog let it be known- I ONLY got the quest related revelations for each character- which is to say- ONE rev per character.

Revelations in 5 are weapon based, and not just 'bat or pole or gun' or whatever- they are DISPOSABLE TEMPORARY weapon based.

What you are supposed to do is go to the specific place on the map where that one revelation weapon spawns, hope like hell you find an enemy, and wail on them like crazy. If you use a weapon x amount of times then you'll get a revelation according to the internet. This is beyond ridiculous and means a normal playthrough will get none of these, while a focused one will be bored out of their mind GRINDING to get these.

I did not bother.

===

Now.

Yakuza 5.

This might be my favorite Yakuza overall.

I still think 0 is probably the best overall for most people, it has the best style, it has from what I've experienced the best gameplay, it's story is tear jerking and exciting and fun.

But as a yakuza game overall, I really have to give it to 5 personally. Because 0 tried to work within its bounds- it made itself a great entry point to the series or a great addition to Yakuza 1 / Kiwami as background.

But 5 is building on 4 previous games and it does so fucking phenomenally.

There's something to be said about a later entry in a series gaining extra payoff thanks to multiple entries of build up and character depth and 5 fucking does it.

I just. It explores the motivation of some fan-favorites so well, it expands characters so fucking well, I know I've harped on about it but just Saejima- man! Saejima goes from a run of the mill "Decent" character to a fully fledged and explored entity! And I LOVE him!

And no he's not the only shining spot, like hell he is, but he's such a posterchild for what 5 does right in my eyes- take something that's already good and breath some life into it. Also I adore it's laser focus on a singular theme and all the ways it wanted to explore it.

Like. I think Kiwami and Zero take the cake for the most fun I've had " 'playing' Yakuza so far, but 5 takes the cake for the most fun I've had 'in general' like gameplay and me just thinking about it because there's so much to think on.

More time will tell as I compartmentalize my thoughts and perhaps forget some details as one does, but right this moment- this might be my favorite Yakuza game.

I love it.

Also, woot! I beat Y5 before Monhun Rise came out :D Now I can start that game without putting a story on hold!

...

Except I also told my sister that I'd start Omori after Y5. So I guess alongside monhun I'll be playing through a game with a hefty and wonderfully done story. Which is what I didn't want to do with Y5.

I just can't win, lol.

[crystu-cii]

OF COURSE!!!! I'd say you're hella close to it!!! Definitely closer than I am XDD 💖💞💝💕💝❤️💕💕❤️ A G R EED /hj XDD

Yeah ;w; oohh that sounds super interesting!! I can understand not pursuing a story tho, stories are d i f f icult-- XD fun, but difficult, and you need an attention span for them! (Why do you think I only write one page stories??)

OMS yessss that's so accurate tho-- like I haven't changed much if I'm being honest (I spend a LOT of time inside.. XD) awww-- I can understand that- in japan we didn't have a backyard, so I stopped going outside much at all-- occasionally I biked to convenience stores or walked to vending machines, that was cool, but no backyard :/ having no backyard sUCks, like where am I supposed to scream into the void?? INSIDE?? /j

OMS-- CRYS XDD what a Mood™ tho- "oh I'm gonna continue this thing!!" *does something else entirely*

XDD It was done Against My Will™ (get Against My Will on the album I Haven't Awoken Well Rested Since I Was A Child by the band The Bags Under My Eyes Aren't Makeup! XD) MOOD-- I spent the quarantine summer doing nothing but staying up until the sun rose and sleeping until it was at its peak- where did the time goooo

I AGREE HOW DARE HE- LIKE EXCUSE?? YOU TINY HEATHEN??? anyways now I'm trying to go back to squirting him with a squirt bottle to startle him(even tho he's a fan of water, the harsh spray startles him) but anyways thank you crysss I'm never getting a cat in my life now bc of this rude child (dogs are superior anyways /hj)

(and now time to reply to the OTHER ask cause I'm efficient and not going to send two separate asks to respond to things that can be responded to at the same time.. ....why did I even ramble about that wtf henry(huh I never refer to myself by name that felt weird))

Okay!! No worries dude, you can always take your time with replies, I just don't trust tumblr XD 💞❤️💕💝💝💖💕❤️💖 of course!!! Thank you!!! 💖💕💕💖💞💕

Oooh!!! That sounds super fun!!! Man I miss hanging out with my friends-- but my closest friend(lives in my neighborhood) has a parent who works in other people's houses, so high risk, and the rest live several hours away :)) but anyways yeah that sounds hella!!!! I love that y'all were just like "okay well. we're gonna hang out anyways." XDD

Aww-- I'm glad you are!! My brother and his bf were supposed to come but I think we have to postpone that cause someone in his workplace tested positive for covid :( YESS FOODDDD-- oooh cheesecake?? I've never heard of having it on Thanksgiving!! Usually we have pumpkin, cherry, apple, and pecan pies!! (We're having pumpkin and cherry ones this yeah!! Two pumpkin pies, a cherry pie, and a cherry cobbler--) I... Have never heard of pineapple pie in my life! Sounds like it would make pineapple-on-pizza haters burst into tears tho--

YOURE WHAT-- CRYS YOU HEATHEN IT IS NOVEMBER!!!!! /j I can't stand Christmas music, being a choir student made me not be a huge fan of it-- too much Christmas music.. ugh. (Straight no chaser is tolerable at least. And Pentatonix. And covers by artists I like. But if I have to hear Jingle Bells ONE MORE TIME--) YESSS BESTOW UPON ME THOU'S PRESENCE AND PRESENTS... Ooh nice!! Pfft XDD Yess- I have multiple on my wishlist-- mostly for the switch-- OMS I CAN'T BELIEVE I DIDN'T ASK FOR THSC-- MAYBE IM THE HEATHEN--

Okay, it's January 5th! Literally not even two weeks after Christmas-- Feel free to scream happy birthday at me :3 XDD now I'm curious, what's yours?

awhhh thank you ;w;; 💕💞💕💞💞💕💞

and legiT- and omg- also what i do a lot is thinking i have a story all in control but then i realise that i only focused on the main parts and nOT the transitions and all that shit and then i end up last minute thinking them- XDD and ngl one page stories sound SOO much better- imo- not just for writing- but for reading as well- whenever i go to see a fanfic I always read the ones that has one chapter- dunno how to fully explain it- possibly cause its satisfying to see a story actually have its end other than a long lasting series that will never end- XDD oneshots are my FUEL

buT WoW omg this topic has now made me realise how i barely go outside- XDD i wish there would be other thingd around my neighborhood other than a "park" that has DEAD GRASS and the sprinklers go off like every hour for some reason- duNNo what the builders were thinking but i guess i dont mind- i stay in my house a whOLELE lot xD

and YESS IT GETS ME EVERYTIME- "hey lets draw-" *-WRITES-* XDD AND ABHAHAHAHA (NOW ON YOUR LOCAL MUSIC STORES- XDDDD) and omG MEEE- the times i would usually sleep would be around 3 am to 6 am- ironically my mom has a more screwed up schedule than i do- and SHE STILL HAS- last night she told me that she hasnt slept in 48 HOURSSS- MaMAAA PLEASE SLEEP

GO AWAY CAT HEATHEN- XD and omG a squirt bottle of water yes XDD and awh i definitely understand now how youll not get a cat- sounds like a hecka pain ;0;; i never even had a pet before (or not that i would recall- oh wait i think i had fish but i have an embarrassing story that made my mom ban fish from the household- OH MAN the shame)

and yeahh oh man- i hope you are okay with all these topics XDD and thank you!! 💕💞💕💞💕💞💕💞

awwhh i see- i wish you can hang out with your friends without it being too risky! that reminds me of that one time where my friend said "hey so uh you guys can hang out at my house since at my parent's workplace someone was positive for covid" and then immeadiately after they were like "SO WE NEED TO GO TO ONE OF YOUR GUYS' HOUSE" and Im LIKE- UH- NOO??? nOt AfTEr you just say THAT- nuh uh- thankfully we didnt hang out that day- better safe than sorry xD

and omggg those pies sound AWWESOMEEEE- i always wanted to try pumpkin pie before but when i asked my mom that she was like "nO iTS diSGusTing" and im like "*visible confusion*" and lOwKEY SAME- pineapple pie just sounds a bit off but my mom was really hyped to make it xD i'd actually say its not that bad! but im still not a fan of pineapple so uhhh xD (aNd YEAH IT DOES feel like it would make those haters cry-- XDD)

and PFHAOHFA IM A LIVING HEATHEN- XDD omg at this time of year- it gets CRAZYY for me- first off- Tree is a true filipino- right when it was the first day october- youd hear them say "FUCK HALLOWEEN"(and id just whine to them like "BUT HALLOWENENENEN") and then their family set up a whole christmas tree and over-the-top decorations- and omg- if you hate christmas music- you would despise the philippines sO MUCH- when the FIRST day of SEPTEMBER hits- CHRISTMAS MUSIC ON ALLLLL THE STORES- it will drive you WILDDD ( yeah its actually a normal filipino thing- not that i ever went to the philippines myself at tHAT time of year- but my friends and family tell me all about it- filipinos are the true christmas maniacs XDDD)

and awhhh choir must be a pain ;0;;; that would remind me how on one concert- the beginners class of choir screamed on purpose even though they werent supposed to- the teacher got so pissed XDDD and YESSS PRESENTSSSS- and awh man- i actually dont own ANY consoles at all- so the only things i can ask for is steam games- last year for christmas i got just shapes and beats- which was WORTHHH

and oo YAY- now i shall mark that on my calander- XD and mine is february 7!

[fifteenskies15]

Flamboyantly Worked it Out

(Tengen Uzui)

Summary: Your son is sick right in Kodomo no Hi festival, he wanted to spend it so badly with his family and friends, not wanting to make him unhappy you, Tengen, and the rest of his wives decided to make an "indoor festival" for him

Admin's Note: My first fic about Tengen and reader, this is all for you my dearest fellow Tengen stans, But I'm fully aware that you mostly spend time with his wives too

"I have renewed my clear and flamboyant priority..."

"First the four of you..."

"Then respectable humans"

"Then myself"

"Even if we're no longer in the corps, we're still going to protect the plain and carefree people, of course since we're still demon hunters till the end of the day"

"Hehehe! Papa!!"

...

"Ah.. How could I forget?"

"I mean the five of you..."

"and frankly speaking, you guys are all so precious to me, so remember..."

"... Don't die"

"ACCHOO!!!" a high pitched sneeze enacted out from your son's bedroom, lately he's been sneezing a lot "Mom/Dad...what happened? My nose feel stuffy" you compared your body temperature with his "Oh my, Ginjiro, you catch a cold"

"Is it bad? Can I still participate in children's day?" He say as he break into another sneeze, you had a sinking feeling inside your stomach, your son, Ginjiro had been looking forward to spend children's day with his moms and dad/dads, you gulped, trying to be as gentle as possible to say that he can't participate in the festival he's been looking forward to.

"Ginjiro, I'm sorry, but you had to rest... Can you please do that for us?"

Ginjiro's (E/C) eyes start to tear up, you feel guilty to see your seven year old son can't do much for now "B-but...I have been looking forward to this day... I even made my own Kabuto helmet..." You sighed and gently stroke his white hair "I'm so sorry, but chin up... there's always next year..."

Little Ginjiro just sighed and lay back down to his futon, dejectedly, "... It's okay mom/dad... You're just looking out for me...If that's the case, I'll just take a rest..., Love you Mom/dad..." You sighed and pat his head "We love you too, son..." Ginjiro smiled and close his eyes as you came out of his bedroom, sighing.

"I know that sigh quite well, (Name), is everything alright?" Hinatsuru asked you, visibly concerned "It's Ginjiro... he's got a fever and..." You sighed for the second time "...Do you remember that he wanted to go to children's day festival together with all of us this year? Well I'm afraid he can't..."

Hinatsuru then pouted sadly as she heard that her son is sick, with a sigh, she put a comforting hand on you "Oh, I'm so sorry, dear (name), I can't imagine how sad our son is" you sighed softly but smiled at her "It's okay, Hina... It's not even your fault" Hinatsuru hugged you and stroked your (H/C) hair to console you, you lean in to her motherly touch.

"Oh! But I just have a good idea!" Hinatsuru say beaming up, you looked up to her, slightly tilting your head "What is it, Hina?"

"What if we just "bring the festival in"?" She smiled at you, as you tilt your head again "How can we do that, Hina? She just smiled at you until you get what she meant by that.

"Oh, I see how it is" you say smiling at her "Well all and all, we're going to make a koinobori, each carp represent us as his parents, the biggest and black carp, Magoi, symbolize Tengen-sama/and me as his father(s), the red and smaller carp banner, higoi, represent us/all of you as his mothers, Ginjiro is our only son, and frankly speaking he's also our first son, so he's going to have blue carp banner"

Hinatsuru listened closely and nodded as she did, "I see, very well then, what about the food?"

"Hmm, if I recall correctly, we make sweets for him is chimaki (bamboo dumpling) along with Mochi and various array of rice cakes, I don't remember much, but we could always ask Suma, she and Ginjiro had a lot of fun on last year's festival, so she might knew"

"Ah, okay then! Suma and I will handle the sweets, you and Makio can make the carp banners, and that leave Tengen-sama to watch over Ginjiro, and... Maybe stall him for a bit so he won't know what surprise we store for him" you smiled at her and nodded "Great idea! Well then, chop chop! We can't waste the sunlight!"

Hinatsuru smiled as she see how hyped you are, she chuckled and kissed your cheek "Well let's get to work, dear wife/husband" you giggled and do the same gesture to her as you scurry off to find Makio.

----

"You need me to help make a carp banner? Well, no problem, (name)! I have plenty of free time to make those!" Makio said, grinning at you "That's good to hear, Makio, well let's gather up the items we need!"

"Alright, what do we need?"

You recall what items are required to make the carp banner "Let's see, we need a ryudama, yaguruma, and fukiganashi, I'm sure the general store had those for us and we could make the carp banner ourselves" Makio nodded as she memorized the items you said "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get them now!" She said as she headed out and you follow her.

You and her then bumped into Tengen "Whoa there, what brings my wives/my wife and husband today? You both look agitated"

"Ah, Tengen-sama! Well...we..."

"No, let me guess, you both are going to get item for the carp banners, right?"

"Actually, yes, has Hinatsuru told you what to do?"

He nodded with (unusually) gentle smile on his face "Yeah, she did, don't you worry, my girls/and boy, I will get him busy with my flamboyant tales" he said, slightly flipping his hair as you and Makio giggled at him "But on one condition"

"What is it, Tengen-sama?" You and Makio said in unison "You should let me help you both so this impromptu festival will goes flamboyantly" you and Makio share a look and then nods "Only when Ginjiro is asleep"

"Deal, well now godspeed, you two, time's a wastin'!" He said as he gave you both a "flamboyant" hug as you and Makio headed out from Uzui estate.

----

"Well! Isn't it just nice! It's been quite a while since I came to the town aside from taking Ginjiro to children festival all those years ago" Makio said taking in the bustling town, people are passing by, vendors selling so many stuff and even food and array of unique shop, "Well since we're both are kunoichi/we're a shinobi we don't have much time to act like normal people"

Makio grinned and elbow your side, slightly chuckling "Hey, I take an offense, I can be normal too, you know?!" You giggled at her "I dunno, you looked angry and hungry 24/7 so basically you're hangry, get it?"

"Oh, I show you hangry!" She said laughing as she chases you as you run while giggling like a kid.

You and Makio had cat and dog chasing game around the town, you were at your advantage at least until Makio use her ninja trick and got you.

"Gotcha, you cute girl/guy!"

"Aaahh!! Noo!! Spare me mercy, Divine Makio!!"

You and Makio burst out laughing before you remember why you're in the town now "Oh dear, we better get those items now!"

"You're right, I'm having fun chasing you around though" she said giggling as you both headed to the general store, a kind old lady greet you both with a smile

"Well, hello, hello! What a pair of beauties/cute couples you are, is there anything I can help with?"

"Well, old lady, do you have...umm...what was it again, (name)?"

"A Ryudama, yaguruma and fukiganashi"

"Yeah, those things"

"Ahh, I see you're going to celebrate the children day, give me a moment, dearies, I'll be right back" the old lady said as she got the item you both required.

"You know, it's a good idea to have the festival in the estate so little Ginjiro can have a good time with all of us, last year we take him to the festival separately, you on his first year, then Hinatsuru, me, Tengen-sama then lastly with Suma"

"Hehe, well it's Hinatsuru's idea, I'm just doing what I need to do" Makio smiled warmly at you and put her hand on your shoulder "Still, it's good to know that you both find a way so we can cheer our son and let him enjoy the festival even though he's under the weather"

"Well, anything for our only kid, and maybe...if Tengen-sama agrees, our future kids too" you say wiggling your eyebrows as Makio laughed and playfully smacked your shoulder "(name)! You naughty girl/boy!" You both burst out laughing again as the old lady bring the required items "Here we go, dearies"

"Thank you, ma'am!" You took out a pouch of money, but the old lady stopped you "Oh, it's free for you, dearie, I may be old but I can't help hearing your conversation with this lady, I take it you made a koinobori for your sick son?"

"Yeah, we are, he's been looking forward to this and there's no way we make him sad just because he can't enjoy it with other kids" Makio said, huffing a bit "Well, you both are certainly are good parents for him! I wish that he'll get well soon so he can enjoy the festival"

You and Makio smiled at her and bowed your head a bit "Thank you very much, old lady! Sorry for the trouble!"

"Think nothing of it, dearies"

You thanked her once again before you and Makio headed home.

-----

"Hina, Suma, how's the food?" You said as you checked the other wives at the kitchen "Oh, (name)! We're doing great! We're just going to make the kashiwa mochi and the Kabuto namagashi, how's the carp banner doing?" Suma asked you as she made the pickled oak leaf for the mochi "Oh we're going to make it now, if you're finished why don't you join us on drawing the carp banner?"

"Oh! I don't know...I mean! I would love to but what if the carp banner turned out to be a mess because of me??"

Hinatsuru shakes her head at Suma "Oh, Suma, it's okay, you're going to do well, and (name) we will join you later, alright?"

"Alright! We're at the genkan if you looked for us!" You said as you headed to the entrance area to join Makio making the carp banner, and to see Tengen already sit next to her

"Oh, Tengen! You're here, I take it that Ginjiro is asleep?" You said as you sit down, joining them "Yup, I figured out I'm going to help you and Makio making this carp banner, we're going to make it, flamboyantly!"

You chuckled at him as you took the fabric "Well in that case, we better get going before our son is awake"

The three of you worked on the banners in peaceful silence, sometimes though, you're being cheeky by smearing the fabric paint on your wife and husband's face "Whoops, my hand slipped" you said nonchalantly while drawing the higoi, trying your best to hide your smirk, unfortunately, Tengen saw that and smeared some on your cheek "Oh, the God of Festivies didn't mean to smear a paint on his wife/husband's face" he said jokingly, as you retaliate him "You were saying?"

You and Tengen keep smearing each other faces with the paint, Makio who made the banner for Ginjiro just laughed and shake her head at her wife and husband/husbands antics, "Now, you guys are going to wake Ginjiro and the banner won't be finished!"

You and Tengen share looks before you both smirk at her and smeared a red paint on her face "Ohh, so this is how we're going to finish the banners huh! It's on!"

The three of you basically chasing around trying to "paint each other faces" while laughing

"Ha! In your face, Makio!"

"You're not getting away with that, (name)!"

"Eat my Flamboyant Surprise attack!!"

Tengen manage to get the paint on your and Makio's nose, you gasped with her "The audacity!" You both then tackled Tengen and smear paint all over his face "Aahh!! Betrayed by my wives/my wife and husband!! I have fallen!!"

The three of you burst out laughing, you hear a giggle and to see Hinatsuru and Suma on the doorway smiling at both of you "Well it looks like you both have fun with making the banners"

You, Tengen and Makio sheepishly get up "Hehe, umm...sorry, we got carried away" Hinatsuru just smiled and sit down "Well let's not waste our time"

Suma joined her with a napkin on her hand, wiping the paint off your face "Hehe, you're actually cute with paint on your face, (name)" you smiled at her and kissed her cheek as a thank you gesture "Thank you, Suma-chan" she smiled and clean Tengen's face then Makio as you all continue making the banners and it pole.

"How's the Magoi banner, Tengen-sama?" Hinatsuru said as she helped you paint the higoi banner "I have made the most flamboyant banner the people ever seen!" Tengen said as he flaunt the black carp banner with jewels that similar to his eye patch he had, you and the other wives smiled at him.

"That is a flamboyant banner, alright" you chuckled "Now then, Tengen, if you don't mind can you attach it on the pole along with the fukiganashi?"

He nodded and start to attach the banner and wind bag on the pole,

"Suma!! You got the color mixed up!!"

You and Hinatsuru look over Makio and Suma's banner, the white paint smeared on the blue paint

"Ahhh!! I'm so sorry, Makio-san!! I knew I would mess it up"

"Quit talking like a coward, Suma!"

You, Tengen and Hinatsuru can only sigh as you approach them "It's okay Suma-chan, I will salvage this, you help Hinatsuru on attaching the ring in the carp's mouth"

"O-okay..." She then went to help Hinatsuru as you help Makio salvage the banner, she sighed "We don't have much time to salvage this" you shook your head and smiled at her "We still can, just leave it to me"

You dip the brush in the bowl of water to clean it and cover the white smudges on the carp's body with blue paint and carefully draw it's scales "See, we're almost finished so don't worry about it, Makio"

Makio sighed and smiled at you "Well, I shouldn't doubt you then" you all continue make the banner together and only few hours later, it's finished.

"Well, looks like we flamboyantly worked it out!" Tengen said as all of you all see how the wind fluttered the carp banners "Not really, Tengen-sama, Ginjiro haven't seen this yet so it's not finished yet, besides I have another thing I got for him" Hinatsuru say smiling at him.

"Hmm, yeah you're right, I wonder if he's awake now"

"I'll go check on him then"

His wives smiled at both of you "We'll get the tea and sweets ready then"

----

"Thanks for doing this, (name), it was a flamboyant idea to celebrate children's day like this" Tengen said as you both head to Ginjiro's bedroom, you smiled and shook your head "It was all Hinatsuru's idea, so you'll have to thank her instead"

Tengen smiled at you and ruffled your (H/C) hair "Hey don't sweat it, you both did amazingly and flamboyantly, Suma and Makio too, you don't know how lucky I am that I married to four amazing women/three amazing women and a flamboyant man and I have even more flamboyant son, too"

You chuckled and playfully punched his chest "save your sappy words for later, Tengen" he just smirked and slid open the shoji door and to see your son, huddled in blanket hugging his self made Kabuto helmet.

"Hey there kiddo" Tengen smiled and sit next to him "Hey Dad, sniff, and hey Mom/father" he say smiling weakly "what's up?"

"We know you're feeling under the weather, but do you want to get some fresh air for a bit? Spring wind is never that cold so don't worry" he thought of it for a while then smiled "Yeah, okay"

Tengen smiled and carried him on his shoulders as you both lead him outside "We're sorry that you couldn't celebrated the festival at the town, we knew how much you want to"

Ginjiro only smiled and shook his head "It's okay Mom/dad, I know you're worried about me..."

"Damn right we are so we decided to have a little festivies here and now" Tengen said as you both stepped out of the estate "Huh? What do you mean, da...-" he then looked up at the carp banner and his (E/C) eyes sparkled in happiness "Waahh!! A koinobori!! It looks so cool!! Did you guys made this??"

You and Tengen nodded as he pointed out at the banners "That black one is me/and your dad, the red ones are your moms, and the blue one on the bottom? It's you kid, you look awesomely flamboyant"

"Cool" the little boy marveled the carp banner and bounce up excitedly "This is the first time I saw this up close!! It's so cool!"

You and Tengen share a smile before back to Ginjiro "Hey kid, I know you're supposed to eat something warm like soup, but for today, it's an exception"

If it's possible, Ginjiro's eyes sparkled even more "Really?? What is it??"

"You'll see, your moms prepared something for you"

----

"Ah! You're awake, Ginjiro! Come, come! Sit down and enjoy the food!" Suma said as she excitedly usher Ginjiro to sit, his eyes widen in surprise when he saw array of sweets in front of him

"Wow!! A Kashiwa Mochi!! I got this with Suma kaa-chan last year! Can I eat it? Can I eat it pleeaasee??"

Makio laughed and ruffled his white hair "help yourself! It's all yours!"

"Yay!!" He happily gobbled up the mochi as you, Tengen and the other wives watch him as you all are the rice cakes Hinatsuru made and sipping green tea, you notice once your sullen and sad son became happier as he gobbled up the mochi happily.

"Oh and I have one more thing" Hinatsuru then walked away get something and come back with Kabuto helmet "Here! This is an actual Kabuto helmet to commemorate this day" she said as she displayed it in the middle of the room, Ginjiro excitedly approach it and look at it in awe "Would that mean it's mine too now?" He said looking up at Hinatsuru with his wide and sparkling eyes, she smiled and gently stroked his hair "Yes Ginjiro, We had hope that you will grow into a strong and healthy man just like...-"

"Just like dad/and father!! I will grow up into a strong shinobi and save people..."

The boy strike a dramatic pose

"... Flamboyantly!"

You all laughed at him as if he forget that he's sick, apple really did not fall far from its tree...

"Well, how about it? What's your thoughts on this "in home festival"?" Suma asked him with a smile, Ginjiro smiled brightly that it melt all of everyone's heart.

"This is the best children's day festival EVER!!" he said jumping up and down and hugged all of you "You guys are the best!! I love you all!!"

You share smile with your husband and wives as you both huddled up in a warm hug

"We love you too, Uzui Ginjiro"

----

Admin 15: Oh whoa, that's the longest story I have ever made, I'm actually quite proud of the outcome, I'm terribly sorry if this story made no sense

[blackasmidnightcats]

Book 1 Nostalgia

WARNING: This post will have spoilers to the SGE series

The first book in any series will always hold a special place in anyone's heart I think. There is just something beautiful, whether the writing was phenomenal or lacking, about the introduction to a new world and the characters that you're going to know. After reading further into the series, sometimes you just wanna go back to the start, where everything was a lot simpler.

SGE kinda falls into this feeling for me.

I don't think I'm ever going to get over the interactions between the characters (and we haven't even explored most of them) because, personally, Soman is incredibly good with how he does character intercations but the story and plot have a lot to improve on.

And now comparing TSY with TCY it's very glaring.

Soman really has a problem with his plot so much so than with his storyline. It's very repetitive and the storyline suffers from it.

After Book 1, every plot seemed to be the same case; Sophie is an important piece to the main villain, Agatha tries to fix everything, Tedros is getting more crap than needed, annoyingly unhealthy romantic relationships are explored, and the other characters do things.

The last of these examples are really the only things that varies. Everything else is almost always the same in one way or another.

The first book doesn't really follow that pattern. It's a introductory book and I wish Soman did the same vibe as it in QfG.

Though Book 1 wasn't perfect. My biggest main problem with it was how Soman handled Agatha's development from thinking herself a freak and realizing that she was just a beautiful as anyone else (and Tagatha, of course. They had a very unconvincing start) compared to the detailed and precise handling of Sophie's decent and eventual acceptance her wickedness.

I said it once and I'll say it again: I miss vengeful, spited Sophie. Who made the School for Good suffer because Tedros didn't keep his promise and her very impressive Talent to summon Evil creatures at will to do her bidding.

This was the Sophie that I expected more from in the later books but might never get again. With the way that the OTK cover portrays her as the Lion, whether that would be a thing or not, it's clear that Soman wants the readers to look at Sophie in a better light and not as the anti-hero that she is but I could be wrong.

In Book 1, Sophie was incredibly selfish to the point that she wouldn't do anything for others even those that she should care about (i.e. Tedros in the Trial) and in the end, she had to pay for the selfishness by seeing just how Evil she could become and be seen as the witch that she was. Her development from Pink Princess to Witch of Woods Beyond was believable; her ambitiousness combined with her selfishness was what made her gain everything through manipulation and wickedness but it couldn't be hidden for long. Once everyone, including herself, saw what lied underneath her exterior, she lost everything and because of the things that she chooses to do, she naturally hurt and attacked the people that wronged her just as Evil does.

It was caused by a failed romantic pursuit, yes, but unlike the other later romantic relations that she had, the one in Book 1 focused more on the outcome for her character development than in the relationship itself. Honestly her relationships with Rafal, and Rhian, and maybe now Japeth, idk, make absolutely no sense with the importance that the story puts on it because these relationships didn't help further Sophie's character development. It stunted her really.

Now compare this to Agatha.

I think everyone and their cats agree that we all miss witchy Agatha in book 1 and I hope we write more of her in our fanfics like that since Soman won't do it. The thing is, with Agatha, unlike Sophie, whether she is written as a straight-up hero or as a sort of anti-villain with her portrayal as the Snake in the OTK cover, it won't be that far fetched. I don't know if Soman intended this or not but it's pretty frickin impressive with how he managed to make Agatha a pretty versatile character.

Book 1 did not to good with how she went from Graveyard Girl to Fairy Tale Princess. At most, we saw her heroic characteristics but Soman didn't put much effort with making it believable and we were left to our own imaginations with how she could have believably developed and grown into herself. It should have taken more than one chapter to make us believe that Agatha suddenly grew confident with herself and her own brand of beauty and how her relationship with Tedros should have started.

But because of the fact that she's now comfortable as both being a little different and unique in her own way but is still guided by the values of Good and holds it dear to her soul as well as her loyalty to those she loves, she can do great with the best of both worlds.

Agatha hasn't stopped growing since book 1 and I think that reason for that is because Soman knows that he has to square up whenever he writes her. Whether she's developing on her own or with others, she's always learning new values and finding ways to express them in the way that she's comfortable with.

Soman does express that he loves writing in Sophie's POV the most, but it can be a double edged sword if not careful. And I think Soman hasn't been careful.

Now back to the glory of Book 1.

Book one had the most simplest plot and most fluent storyline than in any other book. Even TLEA.

I think I could recall a lot more events in Book 1 than in the more recent ones because there was a lot more events and chapters that were actually necessary to the plot.

So, to go by statistics;

TLEA has the most recorded chapters in the series as of current before the release of OTK with 35 chapters and 3 parts to divide it.

It's followed by Book 1 with 30 chapters.

Then QfG is next with 28 chapters divided into 2 parts.

And aCoT follows with 27 chapters and 2 parts as well.

Last is AWWP with 24 chapters divided into 2 parts as well.

If going by this then OTK should either have a chapter or two more or less than TLEA but not less so than Book 1 because it's going to now be the official last book of the the series.

But that is besides the point. My main problem with the books' storytelling after Book 1 is how disoriented it has become.

Let me make an example with QfG and aCoT. These books are more or less very similar with each other in the number of chapters with only one being the difference while the start of the the "Part 2" portion was a bit different with QfG's starting at chapter 21 while aCoT's started with chapter 17.

But the reception and the fluency of these two books could not be more different from each other.

To say that QfG completely destroyed the fandom is an understatement. I can't tell of aCoT managed to regain the series's former glory for long enough to not let OTK flop but let's be hopeful.

Anyways, the fluency of the storytelling with TCY was wack and QfG and aCoT completely show that.

WARNING: Spoilers about QfG and aCoT will be discussed in this section.

I could not remember almost 70% of QfG because of how much I hated the plot and looking back at the chapters, I honestly could not believe that the asshat Rhian was only introduced on Chapter 21. Everything after Chaddick's POV chapter seemed to be a blur and Rhian's b*tch ass seemed to have corrupted the whole experience.

8 chapters. He was only in QfG for 8 chapters and yet it feels almost like he's been in it for more than half. Frick. He is traumatizing.

Basically, the middle part of the book, namely chapters 7 to 20, was all about the main cast trying to frickin understand wtf was happening. Agatha and Sophie were trying to figure out the Lion and the Snake thing while Tedros was back in Camelot doing (or failing or being sabotaged with) politics and also trying to understand why tf was Excalibur having a tantrum.

Then Rhian entered and I don't know why or how Nottingham and Robin Hood got involved but he did.

And then more figuring out stuff and sabotaging Tedros and then Rhian and Excalibur and then cliffhanger.

It was all very abrupt and confusing. More confusion was added all because there were more questions asked than actual answers and a sense of depression was felt in the end because nothing was really achieved.

Imma compare this with Book 1 later but first Book 5 comparison.

Now aCoT. It was just the storyline that we needed to get back to the hype that the series had. Was it a satisfying read? Yes but was it able to heal the pain that QfG inflicted? No.

The fandom did not come back the same again.

But anyways, aCoT, personally, had a lot more scenes and events that I remembered than in any other book besides book 1 but that there was the problem with this book.

Too many things happened with this book. So much so that the fluency of the story was sacrificed to tell it.

Look at it this way, several shifts in the book happened.

This all happened in Part 1 only;

Rhian became King and his regime was sort of explained.

Agatha was introduced to the First Years and got her Army.

Sophie was in some sort of GOT-esque knock off experience as Rhian's Captive Queen.

Agatha manages to save some of her friends.

The concept of OTK was explained.

Tedros's execution was on way.

Nevermind, Agatha and her army just straight-up hijacked it.

Prof. Dovey died as a sacrifice.

Okay, now to Part 2;

Reaper is a Gnome King.

The Crystal of Time was finally explained.

They finally find out about Rhian and Japeth's origins.

The Gnomes were ambushed and I feel sorry for them.

Sophie tipped Rhian off with the location because she believed that she would end it all.

We kinda get background with why Rhian wants to be OTK????

Rhian DIES?!?!?! and now Japeth's King ☠

They sort of manage to know about wtf happened with the Lady and Japeth

Tedros and Arthur have a heart to heart and he gets the Ring of Power.

Cliffhanger

It's a lot to take in and I don't really think that Soman should have cramped it all in one book.

Some of the plot points should have been in QfG so that it wouldn't be as depressing.

The whole of Part one was a book in itself and Part 2 was one as well.

At some points of the book, I sometimes got the feeling that it was gonna be the end but it just kept going and going and now I don't really know what's left with OTK. It can be both a good thing or a horrible thing.

Let's see wtf happens. I expect more action than drama Soman.

So again with Book 1.

Book 1 was a classic and the ideas easily hooked anyone interested.

It had the same unaswered questions with QfG but why did it suceed when QfG didn't.

First, is that Book 1 had its atmosphere clear from the start of the book. It was clear that the main thing that needed to happen was that Sophie and Agatha needed to realize the actual nature of their souls. There were more technical questions that needed to be answered but the main point that needed to be addressed was addressed by the end of the book.

And also the ending was also a cliffhanger but it a much lighter note.

Sophie and Agatha realized their capabilities and understood themselves but they still chose each other in the end and that sort of gave way to a much hopeful future for the two of them. (At that time, at least)

All the while, QfG was one depressing ball of events that led to one horrible moment to the other.

It was just sad.

And so I kinda go back to Book 1 from time to time to refresh myself with why I started this series to begin with and I'm always reminded with the possibilities and the explorations about good and evil and the complex duality of differences and parallels that so many things that Sophie and Agatha sort of beautifully personify.

I love reading the very first chapter of Book 1 because it so beautifully captured Sophie and Agatha and their complex relationship that I've always wanted to read in other books.

I always loved reading Sophie's amusing thought process and the reason why she does everything that she does; she does it because she believes that she deserves more and she'll everything to get it.

I also loved how Agatha was such a character that I've always wanted to read about. She's spunky and shy and lonely and reflective and despite everyone shunning her, she could still see the good and find it in herself to help them. She was simply wonderful.

I'm thankful that I found this series and I hope that a lot more books can talk about the philosophies and concepts that this book has managed to introduce. And despite all of its set-backs and nonsense, I would still recommend this as a read but to that they should also think about what they've read and maybe talk about what they've found interesting with it.

[himetoryu]

Favorite Female Anime Characters, Part 1

It's inevitable to fall in love with certain characters especially when we can relate to their feelings and what they're going through or we just admire them for their kindness, strength, beauty, etc. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing myself in those I watch and I just can't help it. I'm into anime ever since young (if I'm not mistaken I started watching when I was five) and I still recall everything like it only happened yesterday.

And for today's special post I'm gonna share with you these ladies who brought much impact to my life (in the order of when I watched them). Enjoy your read!

1. The Priestess

InuYasha: Higurashi Kagome

Kagome is one of those kind-hearted characters you'll ever encounter. Whenever she's compared with Kikyou especially about their archery skills, priestess powers and InuYasha I can feel so much her pain. I remember clearly her scene on the well with him admitting that she can't compare with Kikyou because she's not dead, but at the same time saying "my heart is my heart (kokoro wa watashi no kokoro)". It must be hard accepting you're someone's reincarnation and if that's the case, telling everyone you're still a different person. But Kagome endured and continued her journey to fight alongside InuYasha even though during that time he wants to protect Kikyou, too (two-timer hmp). In the end she was able to fulfill her task of destroying the jewel of the four souls (shikon no tama).

As a 15-year old it must be hard for her as well to fight demons in the feudal era and go back to modern day Tokyo to fulfill her duties as a daughter and a high school student but in the end still managed everything and even graduated! So you see, she's not only kind and strong but also eager to finish her studies haha!

2. The Karate Champion

Detective Conan / Case Closed: Mouri Ran

What I admire so much about Ran is her patience for Shinichi. You see, she's always wondering where and what he is doing even though he's only under her nose. And on those moments she and Shinichi are together but he has to leave because the antidote to APTX-4869 wore off, she's always left hanging. Remember when they were in the Beika Hotel? Ran cried and even covered her ears because she's tired already of his excuses. But of course we all know Shinichi is only doing that to protect her. I'm just curious though on how and when she'll be able to fully discover his secret hehe (a lot of times Ran made suspicions but our boy is just clever).

Ran is faithful and trusts Shinichi so much. Normally when we don't hear from someone for a long time we just give up on them and forget them. But in her case the love just grows stronger. We can learn from her how to not give up on the one you really love.

Ran is also a supportive friend, we can see that clearly to Sonoko and Kazuha. And she's positive about her parents, doing her best to set them up believing that someday they'll be together. Lastly, Ran is a karate champion but she's humble. She knows that being strong is to protect and help people and she has saved Conan, Haibara and the Detective Boys a lot of times. She's everything!

3. The Flame-Haired Fiery-Eyed Hunter

Shakugan no Shana: Shana

I can't say much about Shana but the reason I included her on the list was because I remember back in high school I was obsessing over her because of her red eyes and hair (favorite color hahaha)! And she is a tsundere so it felt like I was watching myself! She's also a sword wielder (I have a thing on that and if given the chance I want to learn) and it also hypes me every time she turns from being a cute melon bread eater to a serious flame haze! Who wouldn't fall in love with these burning eyes and hair?!

4. The Celestial Mage

Fairy Tail: Lucy Heartfilia

I know a lot of fans call her useless and it really makes me sad because many don't understand that Lucy is a work-in-progress. Born from a rich family wanting the attention of her father after her mother died, meeting Natsu and being introduced to her dream guild, seeing her friends being tortured by a dark guild because her father wants her back, and bravely forgoing her luxurious life and choosing the path of being a wizard, she has been through a lot. Lucy may not come off strong like Erza and Mira Jane but we should realize that strength is not only measured in combat. Lucy is actually smart and loves to read books and don't that make someone interesting?

Lucy may not be the strongest but she's getting better and I'm convinced it's because Natsu supports and believes in her so much. Also she values everyone in the guild, even her celestial spirits, to the point that she won't give up even if beaten to death (remember what Minerva did on Grand Magic Games). Fans call her weak because she wasn't able to fight back but on the other side, she risked her life for her friends and if it's not courage for you then I don't know what is.

5. The Gangster Teacher

Gokusen: Yamaguchi Kumiko / Yankumi

Tentenenen! Tenten! Hahaha!

One of those few that I've read the manga, watched the anime and the live action because I got hyped! I've seen this back in high school but didn't finish and thought I should finally spend some time on it last year and it didn't disappoint!

So why do I love Yankumi? Because she's a silent killer until everyone found out that she's from a yakuza family lol and that always catches my attention. Also she's an understanding teacher who is always there for her students. She has been ignored and rejected a lot of times but she didn't give up. She was focused on making her students graduate on time and did everything to win their trust on finding again school a fun place to be and making memories with their classmates. It's the reason she has changed other teachers' perspectives, too, and made an impact on everyone around her.

It may be old but you should give it a try, though I highly recommend the manga and the live action because Yukie Nakama is cool (and also, don't forget your tissues).

So that's it everyone! Do we have the same favorite female characters? Share them with me, too, and I hope you enjoyed my special post for today!

04.28.2019

ctto