#ngl it was kind of underwhelming to me

[theultracharmingladynoire]

finsihed ep1 of season 2

[neverendingford]

.

[hydrodragons]

officially reached the point of no return

[sobeautifullyobsessed]

Of Magic, Miracles, and Moonlight

a Stephen Strange x OFC Romance

genre: pre-Infinity War, slow burn romance, older man/younger woman, teacher/student to friends to lovers characters: Stephen Strange, Wong, Teyla of Hadeeth (OFC), Moraine of Hadeeth (OC), additional OCs as Kamar-Taj staff rating: general audience to begin with, later chapters contain 18+ material

Ngl - I'm really hoping some of the authors in the Doctor Strange x Reader community will be kind enough to give this a read.🥺🥺 Even more so, a reblog - because I'm quite proud of my writing in this work, and I believe it deserves some love. Maybe some love could see me on my way to updating, even finishing, this WIP. It's lain fallow for far too long!

Chapter One

“Stephen, it’s nearly time.”

Wong’s voice pulled him from his scrutiny of the thick, weathered tome that had become his latest project.  Since the passing of his mentor, the Ancient One, Stephen Strange was one of very few left in Kamar-Taj who made a regular practice of studying the advanced manuscripts, spell books, and obscure histories, which she had amassed during her centuries of service as the Sorcerer Supreme.  His eidetic memory served him equally well in this pursuit, as it had in his previous vocation; as one of the world’s most talented and successful neurosurgeons he had learned the lesson early on—that knowledge was power—though the power he sought now he would wield for a even nobler purpose than those of his previous life.  

“Remind me, Wong…it’s nearly time for…” Stephen let his voice trail off with the question, focusing just a few moments more on the script marking the page before him.

“For the arrival of the emissary from Hadeeth, Stephen,” Wong replied, “As well you know.  Need I remind you that our alliance with Hadeeth goes back nearly four hundred years?”

“Not at all, Wong.  I’m acutely aware—down to the smallest minutiae—of the terms of our accord the with the Hadeethans, having familiarized myself with every scrap of parchment the Ancient One left behind, detailing the particulars of our relationship.”  Strange closed the leather-bound book before him, stretched a mite, and then rubbed thumb and forefinger upon his closed eyelids. “I’ve got a rotten case of eyestrain in the process, but I suppose I’m as ready for this as I can ever be,” he grumbled, “Although I’m not entirely certain why I have to be the one to meet with their envoy.  A Master with years of experience—and not one with barely twelve months--would surely make a better representative of Earth. Let alone Kamar-Taj.”

Refusing to be pulled back into the ongoing debate, Wong remained impassive.  “Of the Masters left in Kamar-Taj, you are the best qualified by virtue of your life experience.  And in the absence of a Sorcerer Supreme, a Master of one of our Sanctums is the best that we can offer.” 

He clapped Stephen on the shoulder, “Accept that you’re destined for this bit of diplomacy, Stephen.  It can’t be anywhere near as complicated as navigating your way through the human brain to excise a pin point sized tumor.”

Strange rose to his feet, favoring Wong with a scowl, “As usual, Wong, your vote of confidence is underwhelming—but I will do my best not to provoke a diplomatic incident with an ally that has had Earth’s back for hundreds of years, and in some hairy situations.”

A young attendant placed the tray with fresh-brewed tea and a sampling of Nepalese delicacies on the low table before him.  Without a word, she filled a cup with the hot liquid, and set it down beside the pot, before sliding a plate of almond honey cakes closer at hand to him.  Stephen nodded, murmuring his thanks—though he was a little too nervous to partake of one of his favorite dishes.  Instead, he stirred a bit of honey into his tea, briefly reflecting on the first cup of honeyed tea he had partaken in this very room, barely more than a year ago.  With a shock to his system, he had been quickly educated as to how very much he did not know about the world, the universe, and the human mind and spirit; and since then, he had learned much more than he would ever had imagined of things he’d never even entertained as plausible.  He considered himself a work in progress, truly humbled for the first time in his life, when he took into account how much he still did not know.

Yet, he had earned the respect of his peers here and—just moments before her death--the Ancient One had appointed him Master of the New York Sanctum.  Strange took that responsibility ever seriously, having seen and experienced for himself the sort of assaults from other dimensions which Earth would be prey to were it not for the ancient protections provided by the band of sorcerers, bound in service to mankind.

The man he once was—before the accident that had deprived him of his livelihood, and the purpose by which he defined himself—Doctor Stephen Strange had the hubris to consider himself the best his specialty had ever known, and the ambition to pursue the loftiest positions of influence and power in his field.  Now, as he split his time between New York and Nepal, he was in a constant quest for knowledge that would enable him to do this job to the best of his ability, while never seeking glory for himself.  He would not—could not, in fact—allow himself to aspire to the title of Sorcerer Supreme…although more often than not these days, he was given--by some silent agreement (to which he was no party)--the deference and the responsibilities that came with that designation.  Today, he would prefer to be a mere rank and file mage—but he could not turn his back upon the service that was asked of him.

Stephen rose when Wong appeared in the entrance way, ushering a stately, robed woman into the room.  “Master Strange, allow me to present Mistress Moraine of Clan Kayolo, member of the Hadeethan Ruling Council,” Wong gave her a nod of respect, before moving to Stephen’s side.    

Following the formal protocol which the Ancient One had chronicled, Strange bowed at the waist before speaking.  “Welcome to Kamar-Taj, Mistress Moraine of Hadeeth.  We are honored by your presence, and offer hospitality and friendship to you, and any others under your protection, for however long you sojourn here.”

She bowed in reply, and recited her opening remarks smoothly, her rich voice that of a woman accustomed to oratory, “The honor is mine, Sir.  On behalf of my people, and in the name of our alliance, I accept your hospitality, Master Strange.”  Moraine paused, studying him closely, before adding, “May the worlds we serve continue to benefit from our partnership.”

Strange motioned her to take a seat, then sat himself, while Wong moved forward to pour tea for the Hadeethan woman; the ensuing silence enough to allow Stephen an observation or two.  She was definitely dignified (royalty was the first word that came to his mind), aloof and otherworldly; she wore her thick, silver hair loose and unadorned, for surely nothing could flatter her more than it’s natural glory; and the only subtle sign of age he could discern, were small crinkles at the corners of her pale grey eyes--but since he knew the average Hadeethan lifespan was upwards of 150 Earth years, they gave no clue regarding her actual age.  There was a palpable feel of strength of will about her, as though her spine were made of steel.  Moraine appeared—in short—to be a power to be reckoned with.  He vowed to tread carefully regarding whatever topic she had arrived to discuss.

She sipped her tea, then nodded her approval, “Ah…it’s been far too long since I sampled this welcoming taste of Kamar-Taj.  Though I regret I shall never raise my cup with the Ancient One again.”

“Her loss remains a heavy one for us to bear, Mistress Moraine,” he replied, a truth he felt most keenly every day, “And nothing would make me happier than for her to be here in my place.”

“I bear the condolences of my people for the dread passing of a wise leader and constant ally,” she told him, “And for myself, I share in your grief; for I had known the Sorcerer Supreme from my youth—as a teacher, then a mentor, and at the last, a friend.”

“I envy you that,” he admitted, “We all miss her guidance—but we have done our best to go forward as we believe she would see fit.”

Moraine narrowed her eyes, looking for the truth in his reaction, “And you do not seek to guide in her place?  To bear the mantle she wore for centuries?”

Stephen shook his head vehemently, “I assure you, I am not that man.  And honestly, I can’t think of anyone who could fill her shoes.”

She nodded, pleased with his reply, than raised her cup.  “It is always so with the best of leaders.  May we all do her proud in the service we provide to our worlds.”

“May we indeed,” he echoed, drinking from his cup as well.

Formalities now aside, Moraine was swift to reveal the surprising purpose of her visit.  “I come on a personal matter, Master Strange.  ‘Tis my hope you will entertain my request, if not for the sake of relations between our worlds, but for she whom we both miss.”

“I am certain we can accommodate you, Mistress Moraine.  The resources of Kamar-Taj are at your service.” 

“Even as I had anticipated,” she asserted, wearing a small relieved smile, “As you may know, Hadeeth has a good share of practitioners of the mystic arts.  And in our culture, this is a thing well-known, even aspired to.  In fact, by long standing tradition, the majority of those who sit on our ruling council are skilled in magic.”

Strange nodded, having gleaned those facts from the Ancient One’s notes, “Magic being the primary reason our worlds are well-suited as allies.”

Moraine bobbed her head in a brief acknowledgement, then continued, “On Hadeeth, we have found that the aptitude for magic, and the strength to wield it properly, are most prevalent in certain bloodlines.  As a result, it is not uncommon for a particular clan to hold a council seat for several generations.”

“I take it that is your own experience,” he inferred.

“It is, Master Strange.  But seats are not granted automatically—and those aspiring to them must pass a series of tests, unique to the individual.”

“And these tests involve the use of magic?”

“Exactly so—and thus arises my need for your assistance,” she admitted.

A bit perplexed, he might’ve asked, but Moraine had anticipated his question.  “Not for myself, Master Strange—for my daughter, Teyla.”  And then surprising him, she added, “A daughter of both our worlds.”

Not having known such a mingling of their races was even possible, it took a moment for him to respond, “You’re asking that we train her here, in Kamar-Taj?”

Moraine’s face took on a pleasant sort of softness, clear sign of the depth of her feelings for her child.  “She has ever been my greatest treasure, and from the moment in which I discerned that she possessed aptitude for the mystical arts, I had planned to entrust my own best teacher with her tutelage.”  She lowered her eyes, her voice become sorrow-tinged, “Who could have anticipated that such a plan would go unrealized?”

Stephen remained speechless, moved by her quiet show of grief.  In the months since the Ancient One fell, he had learned things about her he had never expected—always making him long for the fruits of the wisdom she might have shared with him.

Having set aside her sorrow, Moraine looked to him again, firm of purpose, “Teyla’s skill--her strength—lies in the healing of body, mind, and heart.  And though this ability is a miracle in itself, it does not suit well the sort of trials she is likely to face in the fullness of time.”

The doctor in him wanted to ask more of Hadeethan healing magic, but the situation would not allow for it—though he made a promise to himself to learn more of their practices when possible, with an eye towards the exchange of knowledge that might enable him to fulfill again that purpose of more than half his lifetime.  “What training would best prepare your daughter for these future trials?”

Moraine looked please at his show of willingness, “She will need to develop defensive skills, for both her own safety, and for those who may someday fall under her protection.”  She paused, gauging his reaction, and then concluded, “Teyla also possesses a small degree of prescience, although she is not yet capable of employing it at will.  She dreams, yet cannot tell when the images may come to pass; she has strong, yet unpredictable, flashes of intuition, which she finds difficult to interpret.  This gift is useless to her until she can cultivate the proper wisdom and discipline.”

“There are no teachers on Hadeeth that might guide her?” he asked, “Seers are rare, even in Kamar-Taj.  I can’t guarantee our knowledge is enough to guide her beyond the most rudimentary training.”

“They are rarer still, on Hadeeth,” Moraine shrugged, “So rare they come but a handful of times in each generation.  Though I am her mother, I haven’t even a touch of that gift.”   

Stephen nodded, considering her request a moment.  “We will do our best, Mistress Moraine—but in this case, I can make no promise.”

“I understand, Master Strange.  And with this understanding, I will entrust you with Teyla’s further education.  For the sake of our alliance,” she reminded him, “And for all the hopes a parent has for their child’s safety and happiness.”

They had concluded their meeting by settling upon three Earth days as the interval until Teyla would arrive at Kamar-Taj.  “Of course, we’ll need to see what magic your daughter is already capable of, before we proceed with any training plan,” he cautioned her, as he and Wong escorted her back to the courtyard for her departure.  “Please be sure she understands what lies ahead.”

“Oh, she is already more than prepared for that,” Moraine told him gratefully, “And she has spent a share of time on Earth--living with her father for several years--so you should find she will easily acclimate to your world.”  With that, she drew on her sling ring—the magical tool which the Ancient One had shared with the Hadeethans, in consideration of their partnership—and conjured a portal back to her home world.  Stephen could discern very little of what lay on the other side; a room half lit with what could be daylight, vague shapes that were likely Hadeethan furniture.

Moraine turned his way, and bowed low, and then rose to meet his eye.  “Please keep in mind, Master Strange, that some of the tests Teyla may come to face are dangerous.  I beg you to see she is properly prepared to survive, beyond the training I have already given her.  I will be in your debt, and Earth’s, for the remainder of my days—and look forward to the day when I can be of service to your world, in return.”  She stepped into the portal, and raised her hand in farewell, closing the circle before he could utter a word in reply.

“Well, this should prove interesting,” Wong observed, “How much experience do you have dealing with teenagers?”

“Barely to none,” Stephen confessed, “And I hadn’t counted on being asked to play a schoolmaster to a rookie sorcerer.”

Wong chuckled, amused at Strange’s befuddlement, “I’m thinking diplomacy will turn out to be child’s play, compared to the task you have ahead of you.”

“Yes,” Steven agreed grimly, heading back to the library to continue his studies of earlier. “And I’d much rather be navigating my way through the human brain, then babysit an angsty adolescent.”

Feedback/Reblogs are incredibly meaningful. Please support content creators by doing us the honor. Thank you!

If you enjoyed this and would like to be tagged in future chapters, please let me know.

buy me a coffee?☕

[becausegoodheroesdeservekidneys]

I followed you initially for the Big Dog saga recaps and I am ngl overjoyed to read your attempts to explain the way synesthesia is because I’ve doubted myself for so long. Everyone with synesthesia seems to be able to simply explain things, that for them 1 is green, or tastes of lemon. I end up babbling trying to describe the physical skin sensation that certain sounds cause. It’s … strangely affirming to see someone also loosely describe sensations or textures that don’t translate cleanly to words <3

There's something like 27 different known types of synaesthesia! Numbers having colours is the most common, which is why we tend to describe that one and then stop. But there's all kinds. Some people only have one type; some people, myself included, have multiple. Even within the world of colour synaesthesia, it can be more than just numbers (certainly is for me), more than just colours... As I say, texture is actually a bigger output for me than colour is. I'm also really good at the game of "That person's name sounds like it belongs to <insert a character type here>". My husband told me about some new comedian friends of his yesterday, and one sounded like a suave international spy of mystery whose ex husbands die under mysterious circumstances, and the other sounded like an underwhelming Cockney gangster who sells knock off brass goods like bed knobs. That was entirely just the synaesthesia talking.

Another super common one is days of the week or months of the year being positioned geographically around you - like Tuesday is above your head but Wednesday is twenty yards away at thigh height (this is one of the few I don't have.) Mirror synaesthesia, that's pretty common among synaesthetes - if you see someone else scratch their face, your own will start itching as well. Music! We're pretty sure Mozart was a musical synaesthete, there's a record that as a child he would ask his mother to play the red music on the piano (I cannot quite remember the specific output here - it might have been an emotion instead of a colour, I forget.)

Anyway yes, there's loads! And it's an absolute bugger trying to describe it all using language, I agree.

[cruelfeline]

The plants have gone into their pots!

It's kind of underwhelming, all said and done. It always seems like a lot of plants when I load them into the car; once their arranged on my patio-porch, then don't seem nearly as impressive. Thoigh they'll do some growing, provided I remember to water them!

NGL, it's always kind of a bummer to be reminded how much I hate gardening. Especially because it should - theoretically - be something I love: being outside, planting flowers, growing things, breathing the fresh air.

But it's the perfect activity to really call attention to how ungainly and clumsy and just... ill-equipped my body is for even basic physical activity. Soil spilled everywhere, pots knocked over, legs cramping, somehow managing to cut or bruise or bang something despite trying to be careful. I can never seem to do the thing with the sort of finesse and accuracy and competence that seems relatively easy for everyone else. Really reminds me of how much I hate my body.

Ah well. At least the flowers are nice. I guess.

[yyyyanyan]

Book Club: The Heroes of Olympus series by Rick Riordan

part 2 of my Camp Halfblood Chronicles binge!

It had suchhh a strong start with The Lost Hero. I love all three of them to bits (especially Jason but also ALL of them are my babies I'm holding them in my palms). The Roman/Greek split blew my mind when I first read this book years ago and honestly I'm still kind of processing it LOL. I'm obsessed with how Piper works on her charmspeak and getting comfortable in her own skin and Leo and his relationship with his fire powers??? god amazing!! And Jason I always felt like was such a strong stern type and I'm just attached to him. I think specifically he came off super perfect at first (especially with how Piper had her crush on him) and it was so pleasant to see him failing.

I like The Son of Neptune slightly less but not for any specific reason I can pinpoint--I think I just really vibed with the Jason-Piper-Leo trio. I did think it was absolutely sick that we got to see Percy is utterly insanely powerful and Hazel's backstory had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I also have a soft spot for Frank since he's Chinese-Canadian (one nitpick: what is his Chinese name Fai supposed to be?).

Unfortunately, I really lost my drive by the third and fourth books ToT I think there was just too many POVs and every time I was getting in the swing of things it was time for a new character in a new situation. And I'm sorry but Tartarus was such a drag for me!! I feel like I didn't get enough of a sense of just how miserable and horrible it was and honestly I just felt sad for Bob/Iaepetus all the time. The one positive of the variety of perspectives was, again, seeing Percy being a madlad from outsider POV <3

Anyways once once I finished Book 4 and went to the last book (Blood of Olympus) it went way faster--I was so excited about reading from Reyna's and Nico's perspectives! Reyna and Nico are sooo good together they're my #1 brotp (maybe). Honestly though once I got to this point I was kind of like, "seven halfbloods" answering the call feels so arbitrary to me? Both Reyna and Nico play such critical roles--especially Nico--that I feel kind of robbed that they're not officially listed as people in the prophecy. This is also the place where I say: ngl I think Annabeth being one of the seven was totally lame LOL (I like Annabeth though!) I feel like she had more of a supporting role and her Athena prophecy could have been a quest that was helping this big one (also 'cause it wasn't listed in this one). However this is definitely also my Nico bias talking because Nico is definitely one of my top blorbos in PJO

Anyways it's been like maybe two or three weeks since I finished the whole series and I have to say the ending was really underwhelming to me. I'm literally not even sure I could tell you what happened in Blood of Olympus in detail. I was so sure it was going to be even more epic and even grander and it kind of totally missed the mark? I remember being so moved and feeling the battles in The Last Olympian so vividly and this one felt so weak. I also thought that Gaea would be like... more prominent I guess? I literally think Tartarus ended up being more scary and he featured so much less. The final defeat was so underwhelming lmao :'D

Kind of related to the above is: I also felt more and more as the series went on that Leo really was a seventh wheel, in the sense that he just didn't seem as close to everyone else. I wish his relationship with Frank had been less prickly especially after the main point of their antagonism was resolved (like why did Leo ALWAYS have to make Frank the butt of the joke?), and I also wish the weird almost-Hazel/Leo thing just didn't happen? I feel like at that point she already liked Frank and neither she nor he really got invested in the sort-of-romance and I feel like if they had just settled into just being friends after the whole revelation thing then it would have made sense. It was exciting that Leo was the key to winning the battle, but I felt like it lacked emotional impact because he felt so separate from them all. Calypso and Leo ARE the cutest though and I was/am rooting so hard for them

The last thing is, I feel like there were a lot of like... plot points that didn't go anywhere? I can't tell if they were put in so they would get resolved in the third series but I'm kind of disappointed that they weren't dealt with in this series. So the ones that I picked up/am really interested in are:

Percy getting more violent/merciless and being scared of it

Jason's sort of... struggle between Roman and Greek? Specifically I feel like in the first book he was so Roman and then suddenly it became that he had a conflict(??) and felt more Greek. I guess with this one it's less that it was unresolved but more it came out of nowhere for me and I kind of wish it had been laid out more from the beginning. I will continue my salt in my ramblings of the sequel series btw

Hazel coming back from the dead?? Did Nico just see her and go "I'm taking her" and that was it lol or was there something else...?

[rotblut]

Likes and dislikes about Sweet Home S2? Saw you gave it 1 star on MDL (agree☠️) and I luv reading your opinions!

.

ok, first s2 was useless. in my humble opinion, at least 80% of the storyline was a waste of time and money. it felt more like filler scenes to me overall. the new minor side characters were flat, generic, annoying, and overall unlikeable and felt out of place? and it's not the actor's fault because all the actors that they got for the side characters are good fucking actors that know how to act and deliver a charming performance but the writing was annoying af for them all. like the first 3 eps span a time of a few days right? in ep4 there was a 3-year-ish timejump. you'd think that the people adapted to the change of lifestyle yet they acted so useless. THE NEW CHARS DIDN'T EVEN HAVE COOL ASS WEAPONS OR FIGHTING STYLES????????? BORING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! especially the female chars (not wanting to call it sexism but calling it like that) in that residence whatever that was were dumb bishes. instant skip. military homoeroticism subplot??????????? don't care. should have been left in the drafts. the whole science doctor subplot?????????? generic shit that's overused in that kind of drama. who carers about the scientific reason and how to get a cure or whatever they tried to find like??????????????? NO ONE GIVES A SINGLE FUCKING FUCK for the scientific side and they always push that side into the narrative fuck. it was an instant skip for me even tho i like oh jung se as well but that shit wasn't interesting enough or different to make me care and keep my attention focused. the fucking rapist istg instant skip was pissed off that he had all the scenes with song kang like i had to skip and when he died he came back ???????????? fuck was that for????????????? can he stay dead irl and in that drama?????? fuck

also didn't help that cha hyun soo's char for the majority of the season felt isolated and different. couldn't really connect with him because, in the first part, he had the most scenes with the rapist and was in that basement doing weird shit and being handcuffed. 2nd half definitely felt better with him being with other characters and especially with eunyoo and he was back to the guy we knew and cared about.

also lmaooooooooooooo the way they tried to include some key moments from the webtoon into season 2 but it felt flat because it made no sense and was confusing. like tthe whole title *sweet home* makes no sense anymore since the apartment complex they lived in was destroyed by the end of s1. never cared for drama jisu and webtoon jisu was a million times better but them killing drama jisu off in ep3 just like that was so underwhelming and anti-climatic and boring. it was expected ngl i knew she would be killed off but like YIKES. why even kill chars when the most annoying ass chars always come back???????????

firefighter woman and her story with renesmee????????? MESS. in a few minutes growing her belly and giving birth on top of a frozen lake, falling into that lake, idk how she pushed out that abomination and stayed alive after all that but lmaooooooo and her not giving a fuck about her daughter so daddy hyun soo had to step up and raise her only for her to want to be with her daughter again just to abuse and treat her horribly?????? ARE WE FRFR RIGHT NOW?? and i should feel some kind of love and care for her and that relationship?????? nah not on my watch. also i normally love the characters that kim shi ah plays in any drama or movie but the daughter character felt so generic and flat that i didn't give a fuck.

also the weird ass old grandpa guy with that young molester girl that was drugging chan young and pushing into his personal space???????? disliked them soooooooooo much. they were just a cheap and rude version of yuri and her old guy from s1.

more or less the writing really reused all the character tropes and relationship formats from season 1 in season 2.

perfect example was eunyoo and her subplot with park chan young (the warm and soft-hearted military guy that had million heart eyes for her). 90% of his scenes with eunyoo parallel the scenes that she had with eunhyuk in s1. literally will make a compilation set in the next few days. and don't get me wrong i kinda can see some form of *poetic parallelism* to that specific choice but it makes his character more of a eunhyuk replacement (even tho both characters are 100% different from each other when it comes to their personalities and the only common thing they have is wanting to protect eunyoo). but i still kinda wished that they went into a different way and made their scenes more original and not just a copy of her and eunhyuk's scenes from s1. but i did enjoy their dynamic compared to the other shit we got but the sparks were missing for most of their scenes. it was nice and the 2 of them together definitely carried the season overall. he was such a babygirl it was def cute the way he was just willing to support her even tho she pushed him a way all of the time. ngl i would have loved for her to have more flashbacks from s1 with her and eunhyuk or her alone in this season and that we haven't seen before. because I'm sure when they filmed s1 they filmed some more scenes that didn't make it. I feel like cha hyun soo was underused and he hardly showed up at all in a lot of the episodes. minshi definitely had the most screen time and i think was the true main character of this season because her goal and arc were consistent from start to finish whereas the other character arcs changed or stopped completely and felt flat.

also, i don't even complain about the cgi because for me that's just the aesthetic and vibe at this point and i feel like they embrace the tacky-looking cgi and honestly it was giving camp and really funny to me. the lil baby monster was cute i hope it shows up in s3. all the other monsters were whatever tho like wasn't really interested in them. and since people complained about the lack of monsters in s1 the director included a bunch just so people wouldn't complain this time around and tick it off from the list. the background ost was also better this time around i think. idk what else to write but yeah that's it for now.

ngl I'll be sat for summer 2024 and s3 just so i'll get full-time eunyoo+eunhyuk back on the menu. we're so fucking back!

tell me what was pissing you off as well and what you liked

[sapphire-weapon]

Hey, can you tell me a little more about how RE6 was recieved by fans? I know it's generally disliked, but I'm curious as to how original fans actually reacted to the writing. When I played it a few months ago (I got into RE last year), it absolutely threw me. I thought the characterisation and the romances and overall plot were horrendous. I'm even wary of accepting half of it as canon!

First, there's Jake Muller. While I did actually like him, because I thought the whole anti-hero trope was refreshing, his whole superpowered story that was never picked up again was... pretty bad. Chris and his amnesia was tolerable at best. I did actually enjoy his dynamic with Piers (and I shipped the hell out of them I'm ngl, lol) but he felt so ?? off. I can't explain it. I thought how Piers was killed was super cheap and unnecessary too.

Then there's Leon... jesus christ Leon. He was awful in that game. He had such a weird relationship with Helena and an underwhelming reunion with Sherry. Then there's the absolute mess that was his relationship to Ada. It made me physically cringe. "You... have feelings." This man has not seen her in YEARS, with a long history of betrayal. Why in the world is he moping around and getting into physical altercations with Chris Redfield to protect her, ignoring her crimes? I laughed so hard. They made him absolutely absurd and senseless. I can't stand the RE6 version of him, I'm sorry. He was hard to tolerate.

Then... the Ada campaign. Holy Jesus the Ada campaign, with the slime clone!? WHAT WAS THAT!? And apparently she dated the villain or something and he was upset because he was madly in love with her, if I remember correctly? I specifically saved her campaign for last because I was so excited for Ada content, only to be met with the laziest, cardboard cutout 2000's Hollywood tropes. Tripe. But at least I got a good laugh from it.

Am I alone with these opinions? I genuinely thought pretty much everything about it was rubbish, lacking effort and made no sense. They were ALL weirdly out of character and I'd never desire to replay it. Could this be a general consensus? I'd love to hear your experience and what the original reception was like. I know RE6 is generally slated, but that seems for gameplay, rather than the rubbish story!

Most of the criticisms about RE6's story surrounded:

Leon being a "simp" for Ada

Simmons just making absolutely no sense at all and turning into a T-Rex somehow and making the confrontation with him underwhelming and stupid as a result

Sherry's powers being underwhelming and kind of a cop-out for giving her extreme plot armor

Chris's amnesia being completely pointless and stupid, as well as his entire campaign being horribly unfun to play

The Carla Radames storyline being the single dumbest shit in mainline Resident Evil, and that includes the whole Ashford siblings thing involving Alexia being a 7 year old prodigy working alongside Albert goddamn Wesker

There were other criticisms, too, surrounding the enemy and level designs, as well as the game's tendency to just have something blow up when they didn't know how to transition a scene. But. Those ^ were the big things.

The three things that were regularly and almost universally praised about RE6's writing were:

The general atmosphere of Leon and Helena's campaign

Piers Nivans

The pacing and imagery of Ada's campaign

#3 has since been removed from the list, because the whole tone of her campaign got fucked up when they patched in a co-op partner for her.

But, on RE6's release, Ada's campaign was a solo mission, and it was praised as the single best campaign in the game, period. Ada being forced to go through a maze of hallways with images of her own face forming on the walls and a voice yelling "I AM ADA WONG" was genuinely unnerving back when it was just her going it alone. And, back then, her campaign wasn't available from the start, either. You had to beat all three of the other campaigns first to even unlock it.

I, personally, was far less critical of RE6 than most of the wider fandom was -- and that was for a few reasons.

I was able to forgive RE6 for a lot of its stupid bullshit because I loved other parts about it so much more than I hated it, and those beloved parts were:

Giving us better insight on Leon's mental state through the various files found throughout the game

Giving us Leon and Chris's friendship and portraying it as beautifully as they did (I said this before, but I walked away from RE6 thinking "No one on this planet loves Leon Kennedy more than Chris Redfield does")

Giving us Leon as a full-grown adult and a professional (before the whole bullshit with Ada poked its fucking ass into his campaign and ruined the story)

Chris's personality, for the most part. In the flashback sections before his men are killed/he ends up with amnesia, and then later in the game after Leon soothes his giant asshurt about Ada -- those sections are some of the best moments Chris has as a character post-REmake (huge parts of RE5 were not kind to him lmao)

Ada's campaign, for the reasons listed above

Turning Wesker into a pump&dump deadbeat dad (I'm sorry but this is still very funny to me, even today)

Actually returning Sherry to the storyline and keeping her kind-hearted and good-natured instead of dead inside like she very well could have been (also RE6 is the only title in the entire series that actually calls attention to Leon's paternal love for Sherry, even a little bit)

Piers Nivans. Just... in general. Piers is still the best-written, most charismatic single-title character that Resident Evil has ever produced, and yes I'm including Remake Luis and Remake Ashley in that. I love him unconditionally, and I'm so upset that he's dead.

The Rasklapanje monsters being objectively scarier than Regenerators, somehow

... Even though you can put their limbs in the microwave and shit, which is actually hilarious and I love it

The combat system just in general. People shit on RE6's combat only because they don't understand it. If you try to just stand and shoot things like RE4 and RE5, you're gonna run out of ammo and you're gonna have a bad time. RE6 is a hybrid shooter/brawler that encourages a very aggressive playstyle. Once you figure that out, this game becomes HELLA fun.

I think RE6 has the potential to be great in the Remake series, because there is a lot of good stuff there. It's just buried under the much more obvious, glaring, REALLY BAD SHIT that's there, too.

[stormyoceans]

so do you like what our boys got? it's a little underwhelming for me ngl

I MEAN. i feel like im gonna have to return my nomnom card after saying this, but… i feel the same as you tbh ;;;;;;;

like don’t get me wrong, im really happy both jimmy and sea got individual projects!!!! i fully believe they are fantastic actors and the more opportunity they have the more they can grow and be recognized for their talent, which ultimately is what i wish for them. am i happy with the kind of individual projects they got tho? [incomprehensible mumbling]

this is just my personal taste, of course, and it’s actually an issue im having with basically the entire part 1 line up (with only a couple of exceptions), but i find both series.... so boring ;;;;;;;;;;

like ploy’s yearbook has an incredible cast and if i get even one single scene between papang and jimmy y’all are gonna have to retrieve my useless body from where it lies in a dead faint on the bottom of a well, but i genuinely can’t imagine a plot im less interested in watching ;;;;;; i just feel like i’ve already seen a very similar thing a million times and there are no words to express how much i want these people AS FAR AWAY FROM ANY KIND OF SCHOOL AS POSSIBLE (unless they’re there as teachers, that’s something i would actually be interested in seeing)

as for the trainee, it's definitely more up my halley, however – and i can’t believe im saying this because just one year ago i would have been thrilled at the prospect of more office BLs – i feel like office BLs are becoming the grow up version of school BLs: there’s now an overabundance of them, they rely all on the same tropes, and only a couple of them are actually good. and idk, maybe i just wanted to see sea in something different. i know he always tends to do very heavy and emotional roles so he is probably glad to have a more lighthearted one, but he is SO GOOD at delivering those feelings, i wish he got a side role in a drama or a thriller kind of show

all this being said, im sure both of them are gonna NAIL these roles because THEY’RE AMAZING, and even if this is a little disappointing to me, im still gonna be here to support and scream about them every day in 2024

Y’ALL AREN’T GETTING RID OF ME SO EASILY AND PART 2 IS GONNA BE OURS ANYWAY  

[phantom-of-the-501st]

TBB Ep 10 Thoughts

Spoilers for TBB Season 2

Today on The Bad Batch, child slavery!

Let's get into it.

The way Wrecker stares at the part that fell off the speeder for a second and then falls back. 🤣

The timing of that cracked me up.

They're gonna try and fit all 4 of them on one speeder???

GONKY IS HOW THEY FIND THE MARAUDER?!

Omega being a smart bean. 🥰

Honestly, the amount of Gonky in this episode makes me so happy!!!

Excuse me, but Mokko is not the metal-handed guy that I wanted to see.

ALL OF THEM BALANCED ON THE SPEEDER HAHAHAHA

"That's our defective power droid"

Fuck yeah it is!

Don't mess with Gonky. The dads will come after you. 😠

Wrecker activated Intimidation Mode ™️

Okay, yeah, cool, we're all just gonna abseil down a chimney, sure.

That seems totally safe. 😐

"Plenty of time". Omega's so one of them omg. 😭 She's grown so much. 🥲

That brief slow-mo when Hunter falls forward. 😍

Than animation this season is so good!!!

Ngl, them all sticking their faces over the chimney stresses me out.

Smooth take-down from Hunter, there!

Mokko is a dick. 😡

I'VE JUST REALISED THAT THIS IS WHAT JENNIFER'S CRYPTIC TWEET WAS

Omega's head poking out from the oversized coat! 🤣🥰

Bitch, you did not just press that button. YOU DID NOT JUST PRESS THAT BUTTON!

Omega giving Benni her ration even though The Batch don't have much food. 😭

Wrecker hanging upside from the ship is one of my new favourite things.

Okay, I understand why Benni did what he did. I'm still pissed though. 😤

All the stuff about kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy is so sad. 😭

Sorry, did Mokko really expect his "let's make the Batch work in the mines for a decade" plan was gonna work???

Although, he does say something about if they survive that long, so best bet is he was just gonna leave them to die.

Like I said. He's a dick.

ALSO THREATENING TO THROW OMEGA OF THE PLATFORM?! HOW DARE YOU SIR!

He's actually lying to the kids and keeping the ipsium for himself? How surprising (note strong sarcasm).🤨

OMEGA THROWING HERSELF OFF WITH THE DROID BECAUSE SHE KNOWS HUNTER WILL CATCH HER 😭

That scene might be my favourite of the episode. Especially with the altered Bad Batch theme over the top.

Ngl, the fight with Mokko was underwhelming.

The guy literally fell over a railing by himself. 😭

Although he was also a pathetic dickhead so a pathetic end is kind of what he deserves.

WRECKER HUGGING GONKY!!! 🥰

Even though they were all in competition with one another, when it comes down to it, the kids actually do all care about each other. That's sweet.

Wrecker is reunited with Lula! 🥲

TECH AND OMEGA THIS SEASON ARE GIVING ME SO MANY FEELS!!!

Was hoping the Echo and Crosshair convo would carry on this episode but oh well.

Also, we never saw Tech and Wrecker apologise to each other. 🥲

Overall feeling about this episode is that I think it might be one of my least favourites of the season. I didn't dislike it but with how good the others have been, this episode didn't stand out a whole lot to me.

There were specific moments that I absolutely love though! Wholesome Batch moments just hit me right in the feels. 🥲

And Wrecker's "I'm working on it" reminded me of Echo in Season 1. 😭 I still miss that man.

Weirdly, I don't feel like I have much to say about this episode right now. There's some more stuff delving into the idea of kids not being able to just be kids in this galaxy, so I'm happy they're continuing on that narrative. I maybe would've liked to have seen a little bit more from the other miners? I don't know.

Normally when I watch an episode, one or two particular things sticks out to me as something I want to talk about more but I didn't really get that much from this episode. Think I may just have to sit on it for a few days and see what comes to mind.

Still liked the episode, but I definitely think that the first half of this two-parter was much stronger. Very excited to see what Metamorphosis is going to be about though! My hope is to see Echo and Rex again, but that's more wishful thinking than me believing it's actually going to happen. 😅

Edit: This was supposedly a breather episode, so that may explain why it fell a little flat for me. I think I got really hooked up in the more high-stakes episodes and that swayed my judgement on this one. 🤔

[anthuan0]

Shin Megami Tensei I (Law Route) thoughts:

I finished my first ever SMT game today. I can definitely see how this laid a great foundation for the rest of the SMT franchise and its many, many spin-offs.

Story and Characters:

I loved the story I legit could not predict what would happen next and I love your place and its world not so long ago you were just an ordinary kid, but now you have to decide the fate of the world with only your inner moral compass and what information the rest of the games characters provide to you which is obviously pushing their own agendas, to go off of. I actually liked how the chaos hero and law hero went on their palwon paths anf their stories weren't directly dictated by you it made them feel like people who also got wrapped in the craziness of the world.

However, I do wish we interacted with them more and had more conversations with them. I feel it would've made them feel more realized. As well as the Female Hero which I named "Asha" she felt a bit flat, even though I thought they were exploring some interesting ideas with her. Also, the Law ending for me felt a bit underwhelming but I did like melancholy, but hopeful tone it was going for as I'm writing It's kind of growing on me NGL. Sorry to all the people I had God kill, hopefully you like heaven.

There were some smaller things I really enjoyed like how genuinely disturbing and effective the detah of your mom is like it gave me chills.

The NPC dialog was usually funny and seeing how people were dealing with the apocalypse was great.

Gameplay:

This was my first dungeon crawler and even though it was satisfying to get through the labyrinths it could get grueling especially the Basilica like Jesus. In the end I still didn't explore all of it which will hunt me foreve but i just couldn't do it. Also it felt like their were a lot more options for demon fusion if you were chaos, but I was probably doing something wrong.

Closing:

But despite all that this game has made me excited to play the rest of the series or what I can of it at least. And I what from I checked SMT II has fixed a lot of the issues I had with the game play at least.

Favorite Demon Designs:

Next time:

Next I will be playing Illusion of Gaia since after such a long Turn Based Rpg I'm in the mood for something more action-y. However I am sadly an RPG guy so an Action RPG it is.

[residentraccoon]

2nd rehearsals thoughts below

The ones who impressed me

Malta - Their stage show is so creative and fun?? This might actually kinda make it to the finals like wow

Serbia - It's bonkers in a good way and it feels like I'm actually fighting a boss in a game ngl

Latvia - It's going to be the most atmospheric performance of the night, I'm feeling it. It impressed me a lot but I don't know how much the televoters will appreciate them. I've already came to the conclusion that they aren't qualifying because I don't want to bawl my eyes out by giving myself hope.

Israel - I still don't like the song, but man she's killing the stage. She's totally coming for your points and there's nothing you can do about it, like her choreography is freaking awesome?? Probably top 3 in the semifinal

Moldova - Nothing much to add tbh, the performance is what I've expected from them, it's perfect in every way

Finland - Every shot is amazing ngl, from the first one when he gets out of the box until the last one when the dancers also join the stage. It's winning the semifinal by a huge margin

The ones who were alright

Norway - Much brighter than the NF performance, didn't really see anything THAT special from the snippet but it has a very competent staging

Portugal - Yeah, I know her staging is empty but the dancers kind of make it up for me? I don't understand how they didn't get the funding for a better one though. The NF staging was the best and they should have kept it.

Sweden - It's not that different from Mello but it lacks a lot more passion tbh

Azerbaijan - Really liked the split screens, all in all, another good staging but that's it

The ones who were dissapointing

Ireland - I know it's just a rehearsal and most of them are keeping their voices for the actual show, but he was very off. I don't think that much gold and glitter suits the song as well

Croatia - The sound is very off and the performance felt unengaging

Switzerland - The dancers feel so uncoordinated and messy to me, didn't understand from the start why this song even needed dancers

Czechia - I saw a lot of comments of praise for their staging but I was heavily underwhelmed. The graphics are nice but isn't it too much pink? They also looked pretty uncoordinated and the vocals were flat, I think the idea was nice but kinda poorly executed. My gut feeling gave me NQ vibes sadly but I guess that's just me since everyone else really liked it. Hope I'm wrong though

Netherlands - Oh gosh the old version had much much more passion and this new one just sounds so deadpan I'm sorry. It looks like they don't want to be there on stage as well. I feel like they're kind of doomed being behind Finland but who knows

[daz4i]

Top 5 Nikolai moments (I miss seeing you gush about him)

i miss gushing about him too ;-; so thank you for the opportunity >:3 it's unironically very good for my health. and sorry for the late reply hehehe 🥺

under a read more if it works bc it's. long (added pics and they take a lot of space :P) also tw for ig some slight gore and blood?? bc it's nikolai lol

1. one of my most favorite lines in the entire manga tbh:

he is the only one who gets me . also what happens next is extremely hot (he gets cut in half) (dw it's coming up later in this post)

2. bird speech:

he is the only one who gets me pt 2. also love seeing him be genuine. in the anime his voice acting is SOOOOOO good it's unreal. also he is so beautiful without his eye cover. look at him

3. the thing that came right before it:

1 god he is so hot when he stabs and goes insane (sorry for the horny on main it will happen again) 2 i just love the duality in this entire scene. this is my take but i think he does feel guilty for killing as he says afterwards, but part of his guilt is because he does enjoy killing and inflicting pain, so his words here^ are genuine, but are in fact his guilt speaking, he just exaggerates his enjoyment, and later expresses his guilt in a more direct way

(also this scene is so much better in the manga, i love his cartoonishness here, the blood splatters, the lines covering his face etc. the anime was very underwhelming in that regard)

4. arm moment (not in the manga yet ;0)

again. stellar voice acting. a very emotional moment, most emotional than we've ever seen him, and he seems so conflicted too! with the new context the most recent manga chapter added to what comes before this moment, it makes it clearer where some of his conflicted feelings come from, as well. i already wrote a whole analysis of this scene on the day the ep came out lol i won't get into it again

5. a two frame combo >:3 (easier to take from the anime. also i think they were well adapted!)

me when i'm normal and well adjusted. and gay

this is kind of a sequel. it was my original #5 bc i straight up forgot abt that^ somehow but it's the same scene so it counts. and i love this frame so so much you have no idea

along with fyodor's jesus imagery and nikolai essentially betraying him. what if i went insane and started biting people. this frame means so much to me you have no idea.......

also bonus frames that just don't have as much emotional impact but i wanna share them bc i love him and this is a post for me to gush about nikolai after all:

this entire page <3 he is such a good actor (unless you subscribe to that one theory that he actually died here and was written back into life with the page or smth. idk) (+ small cameo from my other main bsd f/o teeheehee :3)

unironically one of my fav frames in all of bsd just bc he's so pretty. and i love the ?. you're so right king keep on speaking your truth with no fear.

m. my cover photo. also one of my most favorite frames in the entire manga. also one of the most me coded frames that isn't dazai lol

my boy in his cryptid era

another moment i prefer in the manga sm and i had a very vivid image of how it'll look and sound in the anime and i was kinda disappointed it didn't end up happening (tbf. other nikolai scenes DID end up looking exactly the way i imagined they would lol)

me when i'm having an identity crisis and letting it out on my cat:

ok the last one ik you may be sensitive to bc it is the most gory thing here so i'm giving you a warning to stop scrolling here

(unless you wanna see anyway in which case this is just a warning to prepare you <3)

and another line to actually take up space

this is my equivalent of sfw sasuke

okay there we go:

i need to eat him so fucking bad

and that's all i have to share i think <3 might've ended up using like 80% of his screentime here ngl. worth it. i love him sm

[theflagscene]

Fuck ‘em up, Mix!!

Anyways, that was… underwhelming. Ngl, kinda disappointed in the last episode. You know how some things go out with not a bang but a fizzle? Yeah, that was one wet fart of a fizzle. I don’t think they gave Jojo enough time to tell the story he really wanted to tell, so he had to cut it short, hence all the season 2 talk over on Twitter. Because let’s face it, that episode was just weird and disjointed. It was all over the place chasing its own tail, trying to tie up lose ends.

Also, I still don’t like Mew. He’s self righteous, holier than thou, and petty. Normally I like me a petty bitch, but not one that thinks they’re alway right and always the victim and never in the wrong.

I walked away from Only Friends disappointed in the writing and genuinely disliking characters more than I had at the beginning of the series, so yeah, just not good. I kind feel like I wasted my time.

Oh, and Boston deserved better! Fite me!

[lord-shitbox]

ok whole ask game have fun

SPOILERS! readmore cos its long

Favorite main 6 omori character?

Hero :)

Favorite side character?

Brett, the ankylosaur cashier at dino's dig. fishboy also

favorite songs from the OST?

All the deeper well OSTs, Bready steady go, GOLDENVENGEANCE, dear little brother, it means everything, world's end valentine are Most of them i think....big fan of carrot113's remixes

favorite bosses?

i like spaceboy/boyfriend/exboyfriend/husband/exhusband. and mutantheart

favorite photos from Basil's album?

picnic one is good

Favorite area in headspace?

orange oasis & deeper well

favorite area in black space (1 or 2)?

the watermelon & mewo rooms are messed up. <3 just realized i didnt go into black space 2 actually..

favorite area in faraway town?

didn't poke around in here very much tbh. basils house is pretty cool

do you prefer headspace, black space, or the real world? why

black space fucks severely

favorite omori ships (if any)?

not super into omori shipping. kel/sunny fanart is usually pretty swag tho

do you kin any of the characters? who?

no i gender envy hero tho

favorite route & ending of the game?

true route/ending

any headcanons?

mm i think sunny actually didn't want the violin his friends got him & eventually broke it in frustration, which is what caused his fight with mari at the top of the stairs

(citations: the "present" item in the game inflicts Angry ("it's not what you wanted...") & in one of the lost library scenes sunny is upset he has to miss out on saturday morning cartoon time to practice, + the broken violin at the bottom of the stairs before their fight)

favorite moment in the game?

memory lane was pretty cool. + black space watermelon. i like the messed up stuff

What stood out to you the most?

hero's "you have to trust that we'll forgive you" line

favorite in-game items, skills, or moves?

veggie kid charm is cute. I like combining kel's Tickle with omori's Red Hands & aubrey's headbutt/beatdown/last resort

favorite boss fight?

humphrey is creepy. it got to me the first time so it's very good

most annoying part of the game?

rerunning it for achievements...actually finding berly's ball was hard screw that shit

what do you dislike about omori?

took me a while to figure out how to figure out where to go/what to do. isnt always easy to figure out how to start a new day either

something you wish was different in the game?

i dont tend to think of these kinds of things

if you could change something about the game, what would it be?

nothing in particular. id like an "ignore all minor enemies" mode to just blast through areas if ive got somewhere to be but it takes some of the point away

what was your initial reaction to the true/good ending?

oh boy

to be real my initial reactions are always dimmed it takes me several hours to process anything

what was your initial reaction to the bad/neutral endings?

underwhelmed, ngl

scene in the game that scared you the most?

see below i think. i enjoyed it greatly

what do you think is the scariest thing/event in the game?

the hands cat in marina's area of humphrey (experiment 667)

do you own any omori merchandise

nope

How did playing omori change you (if it did)?

hmm..i think my perspective has been expanded. really liked the nonsensical aspects of the game

Have you made any new friends after playing the game?

a little! got closer with an ig mutual who likes it

has playing omori introduced you to new games or hobbies?

very vaguely. theres a sort of "if you like undertale youll like omori" attitude that finally got me to try it

why is omori special to you?

has a lot of the things i like. good ost, visually interesting & appealing, surreal/nonsensical elements, funny, fucked up shit, scary shit, plants, dinosaurs

do you want to high-five Kel?

don't see why i wouldn't