#one thing ive also noticed throughout the game

[haunted-xander]

The scene w the twins held hostage in Tertium is probably one of my favorite scenes in the entire game (which says a LOT). It's a very good portrayal of their characters and their dynamic to each other.

The scene starts with Alisaie trying to kick the door open, despite knowing she's better off staying put until we get them out. Point 1: Alisaie is reactive. Alphinaud then responds to this by explaining that, while he also hates this situation, they're better off staying put like we told them to. Point 2: Alphinaud internalizes.

Alisaie walks to sit by the wall like he is, and then kinda shyly scoots closer to him after realizing she's sitting too far away and he's not moving any closer, and puts her head on his shoulder. Point 3: Alisaie displays affection more freely (if a bit embarassed by it sometimes lol) while Alphinaud is a bit more reserved with it, typically waiting for others to initiate.

Alisaie starts to vent about her frustration regarding both the current situation in Garlemald and with Fourchenault(and the Forum as a whole), while also understanding where it all comes from. Alphinaud responds by looking at the people in questions views and feelings on the circumstances, while still agreeing that yeah, it sucks. Point 4: Alisaie is openly emotional (frustration being her typical form of expression) and tends to personally involve herself with most things, while Alphinaud takes things from a more distanced and factual point of view (while still expressing his own thoughts in a polite and professional manner).

After this they start to discuss the focal points of their respective characrer developments. Alisaie remarks that one's will and wants should be their own and not an extention of anothers, in the same way her character arc revolves around her finding her own reason for wanting to help the people of Eorzea, which she later admits that she has found. Alphinaud talks about how Varis' ideal of a single, united nation bereft of dividing factors was similar to his own ideals in the beginning, which he now admits is pure ignorance and will solve nothing but doom everyone to misery.

They make affirmations of their shared conviction and such, but the part that really hits this whole things home, is Alisaie asserting that she will stand by Alphinaud as he takes the lead. Because she has her role as an activist, she is the one who acts on what needs to be done and does it, whereas Alphinaud's role is as a leader and politician, to make it so that what needs to be done can be done. Alphinaud is a bit unsure if he can do it, because he's already failed so many times, but he won't give up and neither will Alisaie let him. She states as much with her typical dose of gently scolding love sprinkled in there.

The scene packs in so many details of them in such a nice way. Alisaie is outwardly emotional, typically unleashing her feelings in the moment and then calms down afterwards, while Alphinaud internalizes everything, holding on to his feelings for a long time and let them simmer down to a more managable level. When Alphinaud expresses his feelings more clearly, Alisaie is typically the more collected one(this is shown a lot in stb, like when we first meet Hacock and Alphinaud is instantly defensive, while Alisaie is the one to suggest at least hearing him out) and vice versa.

[hikari-kaitou]

Translation from Gyakuten Saiban Fan Book

What sort of person is Miles Edgeworth?!

Phoenix's best friend and rival, Edgeworth, has gained a reputation among fans throughout the trilogy of being a man who carefully hides the chinks in his armor. Mr. Inaba and Mr. Iwamoto seem to have rather different opinions on the finer points of his character.

Mr. Inaba's comments

Interviewer: What blood type do you think Edgeworth is? (T/N: in Japan, it's believed that blood type reflects a person's personality)

Inaba: I happen to think he's type B.

Iv: What gives you that impression?

Ia: It's not so much that I dislike B types as I find them intimidating. They seem strong and I feel like I can't stand up to them.  I think good-natured people can generally be found in the O type category (lol).

Iv: By the way, what type are you, Mr. Inaba?

Ia: I'm a meticulous, cleanliness-loving A type Virgo. Also, I think Franziska is an A type like me. On the outside, we look like punks, but we have a fragile side that comes out looking a bit crybaby-ish sometimes. Kinda cute, don't you think?

Iv: Actually, most players seem to feel that Edgeworth is an A type Virgo (lol). So how about his birthday?

Ia: In the winter. I feel like winter suits him.

Iv: What sort of place do you think he lives in?

Ia: Definitely not in an official residence. He seems like he's probably swimming in old heirlooms (lol).

Iv: What sort of hobbies or luxury foods do you think he enjoys?

Ia: I feel like he probably plays some expensive sports and lounges at home in his robe with a glass of wine. My image of him is that he's like a host club host. His lifestyle is like a host's (lol).

Iv: Do you think he listens to music? 

Ia: I feel like if I say he listens to classical, that would make him seem too proper, so… I think he listens to new and old American and European music equally.

Iv: Do you think he has a cellphone?

Ia: He's definitely got one. One with a simple but sleek design.

Iv: And finally, what do you think his type is?

Ia: Hmmm… someone warm, I guess? This is kinda basic, but I feel like he cares more about how someone is on the inside, rather than their appearance, and he probably prioritizes personality. He might be surprisingly disinterested in women. Maybe he'd accidentally treat his partner coldly or something. Oh, I kinda touched on this earlier, but for Franziska, I think she seems like the type who'd be difficult to win over but would fall in love surprisingly easily, so I hope Edgeworth will do his best (lol).

Mr. Iwamoto's comments

Iv: Mr. Inaba said he thinks Edgeworth was born in the winter, and players overwhelmingly agreed with that. What do you think, Iwamoto-san?

Iwamoto: Edgeworth was born in June, just like me who voiced him in the games! And I think he was born in Chiba Prefecture because I was too (lol).

Iv: So from your position as the voice of Edgeworth (lol), what type of place do you think he lives in?

Iw: Either a designer penthouse, or somewhere surprisingly simple, like a place with plain concrete walls. I feel like he lives in an unexpectedly functional apartment. At least more than you might think, based on his frilly outfit.

Iv: So considering the type of room you imagine him living in, what sort of clothes do you think he wears at home?

Iw: Clothes that are out of touch with reality. Like the kinds of things most normal people wouldn't wear, or like… Like he wears silk just because, or instead of a regular shirt, a prince-like blouse. I feel like Manfred Von Karma probably influenced him there, but he dresses more plainly now than he did when he was younger (lol).

Iv: Maybe he started to notice that he didn't quite fit in with others (lol). It might be because of his frilly clothes, but he seems to be in better shape than Wright. Is his build based on your own, Iwamoto-san?

Iw: No way (lol). But I did sneakily make him the same height as myself.

Iv: Since he's in such good shape, do you think he does sports?

Iw: Maybe long distance running. He seems like the type who might go out jogging by himself in silence to "outrun his sins…" (lol)

Iv: What do you think his blood type is?

Iw: B type. I don't really have any real basis for that, he just strikes me as a B type.

Iv: And what do you think Edgeworth's type is? 

Iw: Let's see, maybe someone enthusiastic and passionate? (Lol) Like maybe he likes the kind of person who charges recklessly into things? And that's not just for women but in general the type of person he likes.

Phoenix version

[basil-does-arttt]

I listen to a LOT of music, right? mostly the DMC soundtrack. so heres some shit i just found interesting while listening and noticing stuff, in no particular order:

In Nevan's theme, if you listen really closely from about 1:15 - 1:27, you can hear a background track really similar to 0:31 - 0:44 in Ultra Violet. Its not exactly the same but it was similar enough to make me pause for a minute and go back to listen again. Similar to above, in The Duel, if you listen closely throughout the song you'll notice that guitar riff sounds traumatically familiar to 0:37 - 0:48 in ASSAULT from DMC 2 (aka, that stupid fucking helicopter.) Intentional? Probably not, but i cant listen to that track the same way again lol The choir in Vergil 3 and Devils Never Cry are actually the same, just in Vergil 3 the pacing of it has been shifted a little, and in Devils Never Cry its a little slower also. It has the same notes in the same order otherwise. Also in Vergil 3, have you ever noticed how playful the track seems in parts? Most notably, the beginning? I plan to write a full analysis of all 3 of Vergil's themes in DMC 3, but i just found this interesting to note considering how otherwise serious the fight is. And also in Devils Never Cry, ive noticed the beginning sounds eerily like what you'd hear at a funeral, especially with that church organ in the background. Fitting, for a scene right after Vergil lets himself fall into hell. this one is probably obvious but can go unrealized, but DMC 5's Divinity Statue theme is the only DV statue theme in the series that isn't primarily a chior track. The track "Public Enemy", as it's named in DMC 5, is named "Pubic Enemy" on Spotify. Actually all of DMC 1's soundtrack on Spotify is a long sex joke. (Pubic Enemy, Red Hot Juice, Final Penetration, IM COMING!, and Blue Orgasm)

DMC 3's Mission 4 theme is actually saying all the deadly sins, which took me an embarassingly long time to realize. that squeaky noise heard in the background of EYE OF THE WIND in DMC 2 is actually first heard in ST-07 in DMC 1. For some reason i thought that squeaky noise was a DMC 2 exclusive thing because its just that annoying. Yamato 2 in DMC 4 from 0:15 - 0:50 uses the same kind of violin track that's used in most - if not all - of Arkham's scenes in DMC 3 (a good example being this track from 0:10 - 0:40), which i also find interesting considering how much of a story point Vergil was in that game, and how Yamato in a way represents him in DMC 4. anyway thats all for now i may reblog in the future with more discoveries if i find them :]

[pixelyssa]

i plateaued and now idk what to do. if you have any advice that would be great ty <333

i get u girllll (not assuming ur gender, just let me vibe bc ur anon)

genuinely when i plat i assume that someone is pouring oil into my f00d or replacing ingredients. (im delulu)

i get this question a lot, idk why bc i struggle with this so bad LOL

anyways lets talk about reasons why ur metabolism could be slowing down:

-you have too much of the same f00ds/theres no balance in nutritional value. balancing ur d1et between fruits & veg, getting protein, etc is hard especially in this economy LOL and im not saying you have to have the exact recommended percentages of protein or dairy or grains for every plate u have, i just noticed that ill try to give myself proper protein and ill prioritize it and then ill forget abt vegetables. (theres only sm f00d categories you can fit into a low c4loric intake lmao) so when i notice im maintaining, i start switching it up. even if its still the same f00d groups, i mix and match. spicy chicken and carrots today, fruit salad and greek yogurt tmrw, etc.

-ik damn well most of us do NOT drink enough water even though we know we should. every time u check ur phone, take a sip of water. or anything u do a lot, take a sip. if you say a phrase a lot, take a sip everytime. its a silly little game but it’ll help. eventually you will get used to drinking all ur daily water and u can eliminate water intake from ur list of reasons why ur maintaining.

-working out too much you could be doing overworking urself if cardio is ur thing lol. it doesnt seem to make sense but i was told to either stop w0rking out if i do it, or to start to w0rk out if i don’t normally do it & ive done it both ways and it has worked out. its the same as metab days (which you probably alr know abt, i am not gonna be mentioning that here because thats obv the #1 thing people here do to stop plate4us.) anyways .. its the same as metab (kinda) youre switching things up. our bodies adjust to literally everything we do its nature. try this one out lmk how it goes

the most obvious reason ur plateauing: slow metabolism its gonna slow down if youre r3stricing, thats just how it is man. i know a lot of people have their metabolism days so that their body is tricked and they can continue low int4ke. its also good for holdiays, bdays, dates, days where you need to e@t infront of people. it doesnt have to be a specific day necessarily. other ways to help your metabolism is to not f4st, have spicy foods, e@t at more regular times, drink all your necessary water THROUGHOUT THE DAYYY not just all at once to hit your goal.

i am answering late, hopefully youre out of your plat by now 🩷🩷

xoxo fairyuck

[corvidares]

thoughts and feelings about fnaf: into the pit

(spoilers! talk of endings!)

so, while i enjoyed playing this game a lot, i am left feeling dissatisfied in a lot of ways, mostly in relation to what the hell just happened

on the side of things i LIKED:

the pixel style!!! good god this feels so perfect for fnaf. obviously we've always had the minigames in the retro style, and while fnaf has had a fine enough "look" for years, i really hope to see more stylization like this. the pixel art and animations are beautiful and full of character

there's a lot of visual detail, both in the sense of easter eggs (of course) and background clutter. fnaf games are always good at having gross settings, and this definitely does that. even the cloud of dust that pops up every time you jump in the ball pit is yucky, lmao

speaking of details, the sound design is also VERY good. it conveys a lot of what is not seen; the closer you get to a kid thats been captured by spring trap (pit trap? guys idk what to call him) the more you hear their cries and whimpers. of course, as always, sound is a part of the gameplay too, helping you know if spring trap is close and that you need to hide

the writing in terms of dialogue and such is good! i like that oswald is.. well, he's kinda dumb. rightfully so, for a kid! he does things that arent always logical, it takes him a hot minute to figure out that hes in the past, etc

its also genuinely distressing and sad to see him suffering, to see him try to tell his mom that something is deeply wrong, only to be brushed aside because (presumably) the possession magic is invisible to adults. to see his trauma get worse and worse as the days pass; nightmares, visions, straight up sleeping through his school day because he's been up all night! even his idle sprites are always sad and scared

the gameplay itself! the learning curve felt appropriate, i liked the strategy of using the noise makers, hiding, and the vents. fwiw i did play the "creepy" setting which is essentially easy mode. but i still died plenty, its not a complete cakewalk or anything.

the classic fnaf snark sense of humor is definitely here in this game, and i love it. the achievements? hilarious. the tips on the loading screens, jeff's entire character?? good stuff.

misc things i noticed:

for whatever reason, after night 1 i had a constant "bloody/strain" filter at the edges of my gameplay. not sure if this is like, random? game footage ive seen doesnt have it, and one even had a different filter. not sure what to make of it, it seems odd to just be a meaningless, randomized detail?

i got one glitch: after checking the cameras while the other kid is in security with me, oswald's sprite didnt reappear and i couldnt do anything. so i had to restart the game lol. not major, and i have no idea how common it is. otherwise everything was quite functional iirc

regarding the more critical side of things.. im mostly frustrated. now, i know fnaf, i know it never serves you answers on a platter. i know theres always an abundance of easter eggs and secrets (which i have tried to research, tho the game is still new). but upon finishing the game and seeing all the endings, i realized i didnt get answers about a lot of things i thought i would. for example;

where the hell is foxy??? the other core three are there and get added as enemies when you progress. his stage is present and some kids at the past party mention they miss seeing him. but he's not on ANY of the imagery throughout the pizzeria. in fact, we don't see him at all. if i didnt know who foxy was, i would only know his name. the only exception might be some empty masks in the backgrounds, but honestly i doubt it. this seems.. really strange to me. ill elaborate later

why did spring trap tie up oswald's dad? what was he going to do to him? did.. did anyone even die? oswald rescues everyone!

this is probably silly and i acknowledge that. but what was up with the giant spider jump scares..... i assumed itd be a new enemy or something but nah. THAT SPIDER WAS TOO BIG. WHY

what was oz's dad doing this whole time? was he trying to escape at some point? why is his shit all over the resturant?

onto just general critiques:

the gameplay did get a bit formulaic and sometimes fetch quests felt repetitive and/or like busy work. like why did i have to get five different sets of keys. bruh

the story has a lot of plotholes. and again, this is fnaf, these games have always looked like swiss goddamn cheese. but i can still be frustrated about it

for example, how is time passing in the past versus the present? IS it passing if we're not there? how do we affect the past? why does no one in the present acknowledge what happened here?? did spring trap get caught in this timeline? did anyone die? was oswald always a part of these events or did he change the timeline? this is presumably the first four/five murders, but a lot doesnt add up. is there a timeline where oz is one of the murdered kids? in the bad ending, he gets possessed, but not stuffed in a suit.

how does spring trap's possession even work? back then he was still alive and perfectly mortal... right? but then again, he supposedly strangles himself in the end, then leaps back to life to kill jeff? huh???

why is spring trap so animalistic? he doesnt seem human, and his eyes glow, which i dont think is something that suit can do (though i could definitely be remembering wrong)

speaking of which, i dont think the og four's eyes glow either, but they do in this game.

the "true good" ending does not make any fucking sense, first of all. second of all, considering the amount of work one would have to do to get it, it is extremely minimal. if i had done all that and only gotten a slight dialogue change as well as a "yay happy eating pizza at jeff's" scene i wouldve been PISSED.

also, speaking of not making sense, im sorry but oswald's lie to his dad about what happened is so obviously not true. why does he not question this at ALL? ESPECIALLY considering he has a fucking CHUNK OF HIS ARM BITTEN OFF. we see in jeff's ending that that shit bled a fucking lot! was his dad too concussed to call him on the obvious lie of "you fell and hit your head". and if he was, he would OBVIOUSLY NOTICE LATER THAT FIVE DAYS HAVE PASSED. AND THAT SOMEONE WAS WALKING AROUND PRETENDING TO BE HIM. WHAT (and dont say "oh he thinks he just lost his memory of those days" YOU DO NOT LOSE HUGE CHUNKS OF MEMORY UNLESS THERE IS MAJOR BRAIN DAMAGE OR TRAUMA. UH UH)

while talking to my gf, we came up with a couple theories.

one, she thinks its likely this game had more planned. and i agree - the missing presence of foxy is the biggest indicator, in my opinion, but theres other things too. for example, despite the fact that we're never able to enter the library or mill, both places have a map that can be pulled up when you press the map button outside those buildings.

the mill, especially, obviously has a ton of animatronic parts in the trash, and we all know that can be important... it seems to be too big a thing to be a simple easter egg, but what do i know.

another thing that feels way too big to be an easter egg is gabrielle; the girl who gives you a notebook with information about the animatronics (not foxy :( ) that provides hints for later. she mentions that her grandfather was a technician that worked with them back in the day. he never talks about it now though (the ONE acknowledgement we get in the present that bad shit went down!!!)

like.. is this henry? someone else? SURELY that is not a random guy. but it's a one and done interaction. i thought, when meeting her, that she would become a friend and ally, that we'd be able to learn more. the writing seemed to slant that way, but no. we're never able to talk to her again afaik

all this lends itself to the idea that the game was pushed. i can perfectly picture, like a year ago, someone telling the team "fnaf 10th anniversary is august 2024, get it out for then" and them having to cut stuff they had planned (but perhaps not developed, as afaik there are not missing assets showing foxy or the other things mentioned)

which is obviously a shame, and if thats the case i of course commend the team! this is a great game, especially if it was rushed. but this is becoming a pattern with fnaf games, and considering this is such a big successful franchise, that should not be the case.

anyway! overall, i truly did enjoy playing into the pit, and im very glad it was my first experience playing a fnaf game myself rather than watching a playthrough. and there are secrets that seem to be deliberately cliffhangers, in true fnaf game fashion. such as the photo that stuns spring trap, or the minigames.

[marrowhyena]

Anonymous Coward asked: Do you speak any other languages than english, and if not, considered learning any

I took three years of German in high school, then had a scheduling conflict with the only German IV class, so I became his teaching assistant in a lower German class instead because I liked my teacher a lot. I think my dumb logic as a 13 year old entering high school was that I had to choose a language and I couldn't roll my R's, or whatever. 

 It was a reoccurring novelty on my channel that I would randomly speak or understand some German. Some claimed that it was accent-less, sometimes, or whatever. A bit of a gimmick was that we all chose a German name from a list on day one and would address each other as those names throughout all four years of the class. Twitter, Youtube, and the Xbox 360 all came into existence around 2006, when I was 16 and in the middle of these classes, so a lot of my usernames became Sebastian because that was my not-my-name moniker that I already had ready. 

Yes, I was already basically a furry, but I didn't have a named fursona until 2022 and doubt I would have openly embraced it as my name all the way back then. 

 [As an aside, folks fixate on me mentioning that I was a furry when I was a minor, and then juxtapose that with me making the point that minors probably shouldn't be online. This isn't really a contradiction. First, yeah, I was an unsupervised minor online and that probably wasn't great. But second, I grew up on a very, very different internet than the one that exists today. It's not just about how Twitter makes no effort to separate minors from adult content etc, but also the upsetting way that the internet forms this secondary layer over middle and high school that further enables bullying and paranoia. We know the internet is fucking kids up nowadays. When I talk about having "usernames" in 2006, we're talking about Halo 2 and cat videos. Even when I mention websites that still exist today, they were purely chronological feeds with manually-curated front pages. There was no algorithm as we understand it today. FurAffinity is like the only website that still functions like things did in 2006, and people hate using it for that exact reason lmao]

Anyway that was a surprising amount of my identity in the early years of doing let's plays [2011-2015], insofar as having any distinguishable features whatsoever was your "identity" among a sea of nearly identical gaming channels. I was the guy who played puzzle games, took his time, rambled a lot, spoke some German, and would randomly spout off rock facts because I was also freshly graduating college with a bachelor of science degree in geology. I was surprised by how excited people would get about rock rants. I got excited when I saw basalt columns in Dragon Age Inquisition, but quickly started to notice that they were absolutely everywhere in games, so I started maintaining a gallery that listed them all: https://imgur.com/gallery/columnar-jointing-watch-Alpmz 

I didn't have a particular attraction to German or geology, though. I took German because I was asked to pick a mandatory language class as a young teen, and I took geology because I dropped out of computer science and needed to still get a degree because I was raise to go to college. So in the years since my memory of both has faded significantly. My last German class was in 2007, and my last bit of geology in 2013.

Realistically, the most useful language to learn would probably be Japanese. That might seem unintuitive since everyone in California says Spanish for obvious reasons, but understanding Japanese would actually come in handy for my job pretty regularly. It sure would have helped when I was litigating specific elements of Beastars, that's for sure. Lately I just send screenshots of stuff to Toaster with the caption "heeeeeeelllp" 

 [Smile or comment on the answer here](https://retrospring.net/@Boring_Keith/a/112854073679531772)

[kijosakka]

dramaturgy; celebrity manhunt, pre-london -- im going to make it easy on myself and skim through pre-london first, as the most divergence in this AU happens during and after the fact. part of pre-london is the pre-season itself, the celebrity manhunt special.

so action comes and goes, noah gets out of the season and remains as chris’ PA for the year break. in that time, months before it actually happens, chris finds out about the new season (with producer word both pushing for ‘more drama/engagement’ or smth along those lines, and *noahs actual involvement this time).

while something something contracts might prevent him from just outright telling noah, i’d imagine that he’d all but say there’s going to be a new season and heavily imply that noah wont be able to get out of it this time. not only that but he also implies that maybe noah should give opening up to people on the show a chance,, cause, yk, hes about to be stuck on a jet with them,, for weeks,,

of course, noah is pissed at first. but in so many weeks or whatever he begrudgingly accepts it and just resolves to throw it like usual. as for the ‘opening up to people’, he lands on owen.

owen was nice enough, genuine to a fault and the person least likely to use any of noahs bare slivers of vulnerability against him. hes safe.

[*noahs involvement within the show as something that the viewers are very interested in. he could be ratings gold and they know it.]

now im a little bit torn over the whole ‘chris’ assistant’ bit; similar to the awakeathon i would imagine it might just be missing entirely and he would be fired before the fact. or it could happen, as a way to give his on-screen character some information. as a ‘look everyone, i have Depth. stop prying into my life please’

either way, whatever. *total drama dirtbags show up, chris locks them out of the venue, they dont win any awards, bus chase etc.

^ note here, per usual noah comes off as his usual uncanny self around the cast. sierra is there as well, im sure thats Something for her. however he does take notice of one (1) alejandro burromuerto, recognizing him and focusing on him. < this comes back during introductions, where he notes his behavior towards the cast.

[*total drama dirtbags existed as the original ‘new TD season’ that noah found out about and worked on for a little bit before he finds out that it was not in fact a real show and a coverup for something else (a grab for an extra contestant for WT) < hence, he knows josé from interviews/auditions he helped with, but doesn’t know alejandro since he decided one brother was Enough]

^ and just for extra clarity on the TDD thing bc ive kind of muddled it, say noah finds out about dirtbags, helps out whatever. and then the news breaks that its a fake phish for a new contestant for an actual show — fine enough, he’s already behind the cameras, so he can just stay there, right?

no, actually. its kinda just slung at him that he has to be part of the cast (smth smth his job is threatened under ‘contractual obligation’ like its not wildly unconscionable). and he is soooo pissed off, so incredibly angry at the circumstances he’s landed himself in somehow.

< but he is aware that he cant just bottle everything up because it will spill over; chris said he needs something to his character, so maybe he can funnel his anger into playing the game a little more. as the most outlet he’ll get before he can throw it and just be done with the show entirely.

^ and then,,, alejandro.

while the actual events of pre-london remain largely unchanged, his dynamics are changed with the presence of four different variables: alejandro, izzy, owen, and sierra.

alejandro i’ll get into more later with a longer post detailing what they think of each other mutually, but im gna touch on alejandro a little; with picking off team victory and believing heather is the only person who’s noticed his facade, he just,, doesnt really distinguish noah as a threat worthy of focusing on.

^ throughout the game and the events of, he does single noah out as the most tolerable of all his teammates but doesnt offer much intrigue beyond that until *new york. (to note, he’s a lot more comfortable with [oblivious to??] noahs detachedness than the rest of the cast since that empty demeanor is p common among whatever diplomatic events hes been a part of)

izzy is someone who’s character i established mostly in the long post i had about her?? but it is worth mentioning now though that she does stick very close by to noah throughout her time on the show, and routinely interacts with him where most of the cast had given up trying altogether.

^ it builds,, a kind of rapport between her and noah?? in some way after the fact he’d recognize it as a nice, ‘i-want-to-know-more-about-you-and-also-befriend-you’ thing, but during he reacts more like a yowling cat tbh. he’s built up this reputation and facade that make people stay away from him, and now izzy wants to stick around him and threaten his defense mechanism? no thanks. (< further reasoning for why he belays insults towards her during WT under the guise of his own facade)

owen is a special case — in the bus chase before the season, noah took the time to sit by him and build up the proper beginnings of a friendship, which owen is thrilled about < during his time on island, owen was really fond of noahs quips and ‘just wished he would open up a bit more!!’,, he thinks some friends would b good for him and hes right

^ and again, owen is noahs safest option to 'endear' himself to the audience with a friend. hes so genuine and understanding of where noahs projected character falls flat, and like izzy keeps interacting and wants to interact with him where the rest of the cast gave up (and noah the person becomes very fond of owen and the reprieve their friendship offers him very quickly)

and finally,,, sierra. i actually want to talk more about the Audience as an entity in this AU in a later post and sierra ties into that heavily. as established, noah is the one cast member she just doesn't know anything about. of each blog she runs dedicated to each member of the show, his is the emptiest; the most baseless. being in proximity with the man of mystery is exciting!

^ noah still comes off as very uncanny valley to sierra and his detachedness is immediately clear. but the key difference to her and and cast is that she has the Audience perspective --- he's intriguing moreso than offputting. (and also theres definitely Something there about the meta-analysis of panopticon as an in-universe topic and how sierra would relate/connect that once it becomes clear to the cast why noah acts as he does)

[*new york (same time space as the aftermath?) as the moment when sierra prattles off information about the cast but comes up with nothing on noah that his own interest is piqued just a liitle bit, and he starts building a proper relationship up with noah as the straightmen to the cast. < also come after london is something he looks back on as a Hmm. moment wondering what noah knows about himself.

^ alejandro does believe their rapport is one-sided bc of his own facade, which i want to mention simply bc he's wrong. it is no-sided. both of them r faking.]

now getting to the episodes themselves -- minor changes/additions:

in the yukon, he doesn't try to cuddle bridgette

^ also in the yukon, he shivers less visibly than the cast (think when in cold weather you get those microtremors that really fucking hurt after a few seconds). this is only because it feeds into the android joke-turned-conspiracy for the folks watching on the aftermath set

in new york, he was not actually asleep in the carriage nor did he explicitly pretend to be. he just Kept Quiet when heather did her thing

in germany, he doesn't go up to alejandro when he falls off the platform, but he does prompt owen to ask something along a similar line [to his canon ones]

in the amazon, he's the one to point out owens absence

in paris, the line of 'this totally works on my dog' he changes to smth like 'totally works on dogs',, for his own exercise of privacy really

in the space of the jamaica aftermath, he again disappears from the rest of the cast à la playa des losers save for owen. owen gets a hello during mealtimes and hes the only one.

and finally, the episodes of 'significant' development with noahs intrigue in alejandro:

beginning before any real events of the show during introductions

^ kicked off in germany similarly to canon, emphasized by newfoundland and the grab for DJ's alliance

and cemented completely [his interest in unmasking him] in jamaica, continuing onward with london around when he discovers that alejandro is acting skittery towards him because of his own suspicions

[noisemastter]

hi.... i am thinking about how much sweet capn nd k_k both parallel and r an antithesis of the fun gang ..... ok ? i think ......... i will mindlessly ramble . listen to me if you want . this may or may not be coherent at all . pay me no mind ok ?

they each have like,,, 1 basic trait thats described to them

okok so i think its really funny how much theyre complete fuckin opposites ( with the person they dance with ) .

kris - quiet person by susie and king

susie - mean girl by a save point

and yk . scc are energetic smooth and silly . its in their check dialogue . stated outright

ralsei - fluffy boy by a save point

energetic - quiet

smooth - fluffy

silly - mean

real interesting thing about capn and ralseis that isnt really important . . theyre both an adjective referring to a personality trait and a surface

ummm ill just go through them in sccs order . soooo,,, sweet / kris, cap / ralsei , and k_k / susie

sorry if this doesnt make sense im bad with words .

sweet / kris . . . . so much to say . mainly about sweet .

kris isnt shown to have much of a personality atleast in game ... which makes like a lot of sense considering they dont have free will for most of them . all we reaaally know is that theyre an introvert . theyre described as not being very energetic by tori, rarely ever waking up on time for school, usually sleeping through the start of class, and preferring tori drive them to school rather then walk . noelle also makes a comment about how kris isnt usually so talkative when you select the "anything" option in the hospital and as previously mentioned, theyre described as a quiet person

sweet on the other hand, is literally "the energetic one" . their movements are a lot more exaggerated and bouncier then the others, their way of speaking is a lot more upbeat then the others, and theyre the one who follows you around for ( most of ) cyber field ,,, they also have the most dialogue out of the 3 and are real passionate about their interests, being the most into the whole rebellion thing and likely being the one who started it all . they also use multiple exclamation marks in most sentences as a way of showing how enthusiastic they are about most things !!!!! this is a little small detail i noticed but.... they r also slightly off sync with the others whenever you ask them to play a song 4 you .

cap / ralsei,,,,,,, capsei shippers dee en eye you guys are weird

ough . i have so little to say about ralsei im sorry ralsei fans . ok anyways

ralsei is "the nice one" of the group i think . he tries to convince you to spare everyone, hes generally the most polite, and is maybe the tiniest bit naive in chapter 1, having to learn by the end that he cant trust everyone . even though hes nice, hes never exactly shown to be cowardly unlike most "nice" characters !!! he doesnt stand down to most enemies and is generally a lot less scared of . actual life threatening situations then a teenager should be .

cap'n on the other hand,,, is . the reason the game got a higher rating in japan because he says a statue looks like shit . capn is,,, from what ive seen, the least liked of the trio for coming off as rude in a lot of his dialogue ( hes just some guy i think ) . hes the most upfront about thinking you helped kidnap noelle, mocking you and making comments about it all throughout the first part of the game ( even trying to scam you because of it !!! ) . he also talks in a less formal way then ralsei does and makes several comments that are accidentally taken as flirty towards noelle ( hes just a little bit of a dumbass hes not a p/do . . targetted i see you freaks ) . hes basically shown to be willing to do anything if it benefits him and the others, trying to scam, trick, and appeal towards girls in an attempt to earn more money . hes also not a fan of fighting, and is reffered to as a coward by sweet for not really wanting to fight physically, even suggesting towards the start of the fight to just wait for other bad guys to come around . hes silly i love capn he reminds me of my best friend

cakes / susie .... i have so much to say about k_k you have no idea so many people get his character entirely wrong and it pisses me off . infact im breaking the pattern and starting with him because i have very little to say about susie and also fuck you

k_k is, in every way, kind of a doormat . they let people shortchange them, purposefully try and make themselves shorter to be less intimidating, and dont really wanna cause any trouble like at all . they try and make themselves sillier so they arent perceived as some sort of threat or something to be scared of ( considering theyre like 10ft tall . i did the math hes like 7 in his sprite and based on nelnals art, like 10'2 ) . hes the exact opposite of susie in every way !! k_k is tall and tries to make himself more approachable, giving you bagels for free if you dont have the money, trying to appeal to everyone by never really giving sweet or capn an answer that supports eithers argument, and just,, generally being a lot more polite then the other 2, despite the others best efforts . theyre also the first to try and cheer sweet up after they lose their battle, saying that they won because their dancing was better !!! a lot of trying to be smaller and appear as less mature likely comes from a place of anxiety,, as they only ever really speak whenever spoken to directly, try to stay on everyones good side, and have the least amount of dialogue out of the 3 by, like, 10%, most times them speaking being short, straightforward answers rather then them talking unprovoked

susie is,, kind of a smaller person trying to make herself seem bigger and scarier . she puts on a tough persona and is an asshole to most people who arent her friends, getting aggressive whenever people she perceives as threats bother her or the others and being a lot snarkier then the other 2 . towards ralsei and kris shes,, still pretty aggressive but its more in a playful way . she teases them often and is the only reason ralsei and her ever get an act option, because she points out how theyre not dumb and they can act by themselves . shes,, pretty much just any teenager with her friends

scc also think of themselves as the main characters . they make a constant attempt to act as so, trying to fight the fun gang because they think they helped the queen kidnap noelle, but in the end they just arent ,,, enough .

the fun gang r kinda just. kids who probably just wanna be kids but Cant because they kinda have this whole prophecy thing on their backs (susie and kris especially) and didnt really . choose to be the main guys .

i think,,, them being opposites is also a huge reason why scc being adults is so important to me . of course you can hc them as any age !!! but thinking of them as kids because theyre immature is,,,, boring as fuck . making them adults ties in a lot more with all of these opposites . thinking of them as adults who never really grew up would act as a sort of antithesis to the fun gang being teenagers who r growing up a little too fast and its soo... fun to play with . its fun to explore why they never matured like a lot of other people or if theyre just a little immature naturally !! theyre silly and theyre fun and theyre so entertaining to me i wanna put them under a microscope and study them ...

scc being adults who never grew up and the fun gang being teenagers who r growing up too fast is so fun to me i think . scc try so desperately to be the "main characters" . to be important . to be those guys . while the fun gang didnt even really try !!!! kris and susie just wanted to get chalk and got sucked into a huge prophecy thing in a world they didnt even know existed and i just . idk this is probably incomprehensible at this point sorry . i jusy think the fact theyre opposites is really fun and i dont think enough people notice it

tldr kris is quiet and introverted , sweet is energetic and ( likely ) loud judging from how they talk

ralsei is nice but not timid or cowardly at all, while a lot of capns dialogue is accidentally rude and hes literally called a coward ingame,

and susie tries to make herself bigger and scarier while k_k wants to be viewed as non-threatening and friendly as possible

thanks for listening to my autism rant . if you care .

[beebascloset]

My favorite anti-piracy measures in games

Earthbound: More enemies will spawn throughout the game than in a non-pirated version. Regardless, if the player manages to make it to Giygas (the final boss), the game will freeze, and the save files will be deleted.

Grand Theft Auto IV: The camera will move erratically as if the player were drunk, making it difficult to control. The player's vehicle will also be damaged, and will auto accelerate without the ability to reverse. If the player manages to progress through some of the first few missions, they'll eventually be tasked with stealing a car in a garage. In pirated versions, the garage will not open, and when the player exits their car, they will be locked out.

Spyro: Year of the Dragon: The game starts as normal making pirates believe that their copy bypassed the system checks. After a few levels, Zoe (a fairy) would tell the player that they have a hacked version of the game, and that it may not play as it would on a legal copy. Afterwards, weird things will start to happen. Gems will disappear from levels, eggs that the player collected will be removed from their egg count, and the game will randomly crash. The UK version will randomly change the language. The pause button may stop working, and Sparx (the dragonfly that assists you) will be green, meaning that Spyro can only take two hits before dying. When entering a stage, it would take the player to a random place that they wouldn't normally go to in a legit copy. If they reach the final boss, at some point, the player will be kicked out of the boss fight, and all of their gems and eggs will be gone. TLDR: Pirated versions of the game will be infuriating after playing for some time and if you reach the boss fight your save file will practically be deleted.

Kirby's Dream Course: The game will not replenish Maxim Tomatoes after the player defeats an enemy or completes a hole. If the player runs out of tomatoes, the game will not let them continue and their save files will be deleted. If they manage to complete the first set of levels, the game will freeze at the results screen and their save files will still be deleted.

Skullgirls: This one is my favorites because it's not a big game, but nevertheless it has one of the funniest anti-piracy measures. After beating the game, a notice will pop up saying "What's the square root of the fish? Now I'm sad." This prompted pirates to go on Twitter and ask why this happened to them, and the response would typically be something along the lines of "It means you should've bought the game." A pirate accidentally outed themselves to the developers by doing this, and of course they called out.

La Abadia Del Crimen: This Spanish NES game is known for having one of the creepiest anti-piracy measures. At a certain point in the game when the player is supposed to hear Franz Schuber's Ava Maria, they instead hear "Pirata" (pirate in Spanish) repeated multiple times, each time being said slower and with a lower pitch. Then the game is terminated.

[raspberrysmoon]

OK SO-

“Dress to impress” seems like a typical fashion roblox game(fun fact we actually discovered the lore of this game when my younger sister played it with me expecting a normal game. Anyways she had nightmares for weeks after playing it. Yeah. Horrah /s) and it’s like…a fashion competition ig? (Idk all the lore since im trying to be careful not to trigger myself in the process of gaining knowledge) and…like the lore is obviously hidden and all but some of the stuff ive found so far are:

a…room made out of flesh that you can access by going inside the men’s clothing shelf. There is a key in the flesh room that says “lana”

oh yeah probably should mention lana. She’s important to the lore i think.

lana is the nails lady. That’s it that is all the info i have on her currently. Anyways after the first update, there was a new thing added to the “missing” wall, which at first everyone thought was just a homage to the creators of the game. Except that ppl started to notice some(not so new actually, the dress was added in the april’s fools update) pretty concerning stuff.

this is the wall btw

anyways the first thing that ppl noticed was the ripped apart dress

so. Fun fact about this dress and lana. You can only wear this dress after you complete a certain different game. How do you find the different game?

well

Lana has an acc with the user @ LanaDoesNails, with a group called Portals dedicated to the lore. She also has multiple games, one called forest, that after you go to, will send you to another game simply titled Maze, where you have to navigate it whilst avoiding someone. i did it, and after a few tries, i managed to get to the end, where there's a code.

The code translates to “you may have finished her trials, but the evil still lurks throughout. this is not the end. there will be chaos..”

Anyways after you play that game you can wear the torn up dress which, horray ig?

Moving on to the second thing.

…i cant really read and im too afraid of going into the wiki to find the transcript bc last time i did that with another roblox game i ended up getting jumpscared

BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THE MAIN MESSAGE WHICH READS

“Dear diary, That isn’t me.”

So…lana’s diary has some worrying implications(from what i can see, players have gone missing in lore and the flesh room might be made out of the flesh of said players? Maybe?) but to make shit more creepy, if you go to certain locations in the game and stare out the window, a clone of lana will be seen just…staring at you. this actually sorta gave me paranoia of looking out of my bedroom’s window for the rest of the night. she doesn’t do anything else she just fucking stares at you it is genuinely creepy i fucking hate it.

anyways that’s all i have so far most of the chapters of the game aren’t completed yet and also i am really fucking terrified of this roblox game idk why-

what the FUCK dude i thought dti was a normal fucking game ????? MY FRIENDS PLAYED IT TODAY??????? thats WILD??? holy shit. she just. STARES? dude this is like. genuinely baffling. consider me perplexed. woah. /pos

[the-kipsabian]

i have my two cents nobody asked for but i do have them

orange cassidy was one of the staple names of aew for me since the very beginning. he was one of the few kids from indies (hilariously enough, considering how old he is actually lol) that i knew beforehand and whos work i greatly enjoyed (janela and mjf being few others, for example), so ive been drawn to him since the very beginning of this company; hes one of the names that got me interested in aews potential, and what they could offer to me as an alternative, cause if they choose to hire him, they knew what they were doing

ive been in his corner since day one. be it comedy wrestling or any of this more serious stuff. him winning the belt was huge, and he continued to make it, he kept it important. hes the second ever international champion, and its already one of the most prestigious titles in this company. because of him, his title reign and how he defended it

watching oc go through all of this, the character growth through the months and how hes been dealing with all of this - especially with last weeks stadium stampede - has been.. i dont know if theres proper words for it, honestly. it sure has been something. the one thing thats sad about it is that people are finally getting behind him and seeing how fucking good he really is only after it all became serious like this, but also i get it. he is not everyones cup of tea, but boy howdy he should be. man so versatile he puts everyone else to shame fr

he has done so great. matchups nobody thought possible, and hes almost always come out on top. orange cassidy elevated not only his game throughout all of this, he elevated the entire game. his opponents, the whole ass fucking playing field. improvise. adapt. overcome. nobody do it in this game like orange cassidy

am i sad he lost the title to mox? yeah. all personal bias aside, i think we should have given him more time, mainly cause the last few weeks he has been absolutely insane and i wish we could have seen him build on that more. more talk time like hes been having, i dont say more blood orange cause thats.. twice is already so much. but more time to show this feral stray cat side of him, him talking shit and elevating even on that game, putting the money where his mouth is. we needed more of that honestly before he was dethroned and had to move on to hopefully a well deserved rest for a while, especially since what we got was absolutely incredible and got peoples attention. he deserves more than that, so people can be taking notice when he scoots over to world title pictures next cause lbr, thats where this superstar is heading

i do hope mox keeps this title growing. he is more than capable of it for sure, but also i just dont think we are ever seeing as hard of a title reign in this company as orange cassidys. that man is one of a kind, and so deserving of all of his roses that will ever come to his way. and i think, love him or hate him, everyone should give him those roses after all of this

thank you

[blueempty]

Bad news besties, the unbearable headaches I've been having throughout my poisoning situation went away when I drank caffine 😳

Listen. I know this is positive time, and I do not want to take away from positive time I will be positive I promise okay, but this week has been rough and today sucked really bad lol

I ended up going to work for a bit even though I dont feel fully recovered and I really wish I hadn't. Today kinda just turned into this confluence of negativity. I feel very disoriented as a result of sleeping for 4 days and driving makes me feel further from my fellow man than I already do. I genuinely dont understand what goes on in peoples minds. Then the pita place I trusted to not harm me was closed cuz sunday, which I always forget because I'm Vulcan pilled and days dont hold special meaning for me

After that was like, a couple of random things that made me feel really overlooked and unaccomplished which isn't normal for me. I dont typically care too much what people think but I guess I was primed to be upset. The specifics aren't really worth going into but its just like, I see people do something and everyone go wow thats awesome, and then I'm like, bro I have been doing that and no one gives a fuck when I do it. Even within my irl friend groups and back in my family when I still talked to any of my family I always felt this very pronounced sense of no one gives a shit what you're excited about dude. I start talking about something I like and everyone stares at the floor or their phones silently till I stop. But that doesn't happen when other people talk about things. I do not feel kinship with other humans, I feel very different and lost and confused and hungry and also incompatible with society

Its like in TNG when Data gives a time estimate and he only gives like days and hours or something and then stops, and everyone is confused. Riker goes no minutes seconds or milliseconds Mr. Data? And he turns around and goes "I have noticed a certain... annoyance with my level of specificity at times"

And in the same way, over time Ive just learned to talk less. Which isnt entirely bad cuz William Shakesman said brevity is the soul of wit I guess. I've also been noticing that when I'm alone I dont really emote much. Like I need other peoples vibes to mimic. Teacher give me the Autism test I swear I'll pass!!!!!!

ANYWAY negativity aside, I am still improving health wise. I'm spending more time sitting by the back door looking outside rather than being on my phone cuz text has been making me dizzy, and outside is nice right now. And once I got home from work I spent an hour-ish practicing the first world stages of Mario Wonder to get faster and remember 10 coin locations and that game makes me feel happy inside. That game is so perfect they literally thought of everything

Also my current Barony run is a Vampire Conjurer named Dracula Flow and thats going insanely well. Not gonna overexplain but one thing is that Vampires are weak to water and I found boots of water walking very early. I just need to stock up on blood and I'll be movin different

Live Long and Prosper

[musteladraconis]

alright thats it this is my rant about palworld because i need to just speak about it. if you disagree with anything i say or have an alternative perspective then ill be happy to read them but anyways.

this game makes me so incredibly upset and just. enraged. pure unbridled anger.

just want to clarify some things before i start:

1. im aware of just how dogshit nintendo treats pokemon fans like myself, giving us the worst framerates imaginable, pushing out shitty low quality games so that people stay interested or whatever their motive is and so on and so forth, you've heard it all before i dont need to go over all of it again.

2. im not against using ai for some things. it can even be really beneficial. however when you use ai to steal from other artists and use it to make creative work then its inexcusable and should never be used. no im not talking about animation programs that use ai for tweening or any ai that's used to help make an artists job a tiny bit easier or faster, im talking about generative ai that takes artists work without their knowledge and uses it to make money. so when i say ai in this post i am specifically talking about generative ai.

alright with that said lets get into why i absolutely hate this game.

feel free to correct me if im wrong throughout this post.

ive been looking into the company's background and as many people already know the founder promotes the use of ai and greatly enjoys it. but yknow what i also found out? its that he also hates new and creative ideas! and he promotes using ideas that already exist to make games.

(citing SomeOrdinaryGamers video on palworld)

oh yeah. yeah that's right. pocket pair is the company that made palworld! lemme show you what else they made

notice anything? no? alright let's try again.

how about now.

yeah. yeah this is breath of the wild and hollow knight!

and also. it's one thing to steal from nintendo, it's another to steal from indie game developers and FAKEMON ARTISTS.

YEAH. YEP! EVEN THE FAKEMON ARTISTS ARENT FREE!!

WEIRD 'COINCIDENCE' RIGHT???? THAT THEIR DESIGNS ARE 99% THE SAME???

SURELY THIS GUY MUST ENJOY HAVING SOME KIND OF ORIGINALITY RIGHT? RIGHT???

WRONG!

"IF THERE ARE GOOD IDEAS IN THE WORLD I PICK THEM UP AND I DONT NECESSARILY HAVE TO BE PARTICULAR ABOUT ORIGINALITY"

nintendo hasn't sued him yet. i dont know if its because they cant find a 1 to 1 rip off or some other reason like them not needing to worry about him but i hope some of you understand just how bad this is for artists jobs. while yes there would have had to be artists that modeled the models in game there is basically no creativity or originality here. 'but what about the idea of giving pokemon guns' you might say. sure, thats a cool idea i will say. i like the concepts but i despise the methods used to achieve this goal.

many other games that are similar in using monsters like pokemon have successfully made their own unique creatures and people have enjoyed those games.

shin megami tensei has its demons for example! including... including... sigh. the green dick on wheels. yeah you heard me. the green dick on wheels.

BUT wouldn't you rather that than a 1 to 1 ripoff of wooloo?

you could say that oh wooloos just a regular sheep which yeah i can accept that argument but there are so many more that you can look at where the similarities are just... Bad. the cobalion one for example (just look up cobalion palworld youll see what i mean).

and not just the megami tensei franchise either. mutahar also mentioned other games, like cassette beasts which looks really fun

and those are good designs! the game itself looks cool and fun to play. digimon also exists!

if nintendo ever does anything to the pokemon franchise that just absolutely ruins it more than anything else they've ever done then ill rethink my opinion about this game, but for now im mostly just upset about artists jobs being taken from them and artists original designs too. while nintendo can be so shitty to pokemon at times, there are artists behind pokemon designs that had their work and original ideas blatantly stolen.

i highly recommend checking this link out to support your favourite pokemons artists directly if theyre on the list.

to finish this rant off, i just want to say that originality is one of the most difficult things to achieve in video games. i get that, im an artist too and being original is extremely difficult because everythings been done at least once. but it doesn't excuse how closely these games are 'borrowing' incredible, iconic and ORIGINAL ideas from others and not just once but repeatedly.

[ultrakdramamama]

This past weekend, Madrid’s Cívitas Metropolitano stadium traded soccer balls for lightsticks to host Kpop Lux, another macro concert K-pop experience in Europe, this time boasting acts like SHINee, IVE, ENHYPEN, and Ateez, among many others, in its lineup. 

Tens of thousands of fans congregated on site on the outskirts of the Spanish capital (with even more tuning in online) to enjoy over three hours of songs, segments, and games from their favorite K-pop acts. Though there were many memorable moments throughout the night, it was clear that all eyes — both from fans and fellow acts — were on SHINee, the inimitable second-gen representative celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. 

As the time came for SHINee to take the stage to close the event, the stadium, which is home to the Atlético de Madrid team, traded its traditional red color scheme for SHINee’s pearl aqua green thanks to the many shinning Shawol lightsticks. After a quick introductory montage featuring fellow idols highlighting SHINee’s journey and legacy, the act finally took to the stage to perform “Don’t Call Me,” fan-favorite “View,” “Juice,” and “Hard,” leaving the crowd ecstatic but also craving more.

Before they headed on stage, Teen Vogue briefly caught up with SHINee's Key, Minho, and Taemin backstage at the Kpop Lux SBS Super Concert in Madrid to chat about their time in the city and the role fashion has played in their 15-year trajectory. (And, yes, also teeth brushing.) 

Teen Vogue: Hi, everyone! How are you enjoying Madrid? I've been getting some of your antics online and saw some of you went shopping during your downtime. What have you been buying in Madrid?

Key [to Taemin]: What did you get?

Taemin: First, I went to Loewe and noticed that the price was considerably lower than in Korea, which impressed me. Then, I went shopping at a department store and found a lot of clothes with discounts. I think they were having a sale so I was very happy. I actually saw the photos that were taken [of me on social media], too. I think I did a good job because I bought many things that aren't available in Korea and that aren't as cheap in Korea as well. That was a win for me. [Laughs.]

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TV: Nice. Yeah, that was good thinking. So, you had your 15th anniversary not that long ago. Congratulations!

All: Thank you!

TV: You also won your 69th no. 1 trophy at Inkigayo not that long ago…

Key: Did we? 

TV: Yes. I don't know if you saw this online, but there was a tweet that went semi-viral after that that pointed out how SHINee is now one of the very few acts to have won first place across three decades in these types of broadcasts. I think that's wild because you are all barely three decades old. How does it make you feel to be hitting these types of milestones when you're still pretty young?

Minho: We are thrilled to have won first place in three different decades. But I think it's not just our efforts; these are trophies we have achieved together with our fans, so I just want to say once again how immensely grateful we are for that. [To do it with our fans], it's really a feat that makes us feel happier than anyone in the world.

TV: Across the 15 years that you've been active, you've done a lot of music videos, stages, everything. Is there a style or look you've worn that's your absolute favorite ever? And are there any that make you go a bit like, “Ehm, I shouldn't have done that”?

Key: When we film a video, we can't help but reflect on the trends of the time. If you rewatch our old music videos, most of them do feel somewhat dated, but, at that time, that was the best fashion. Of course, it feels old school now. For that reason, I think I'd be the least embarrassed to pick our most recent music video, "Hard," as my favorite style-wise. [Laughs.]

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TV: I don't think all of them feel that dated…

Key: You think? I mean, we love "Sherlock" and "View," but it was seven or eight years ago, so…

TV: "1 of 1." I like that one a lot.

Key: Oh, yes. "1 of 1," actually.

TV: I think that's timeless.

Key: Yes.

TV: Have you ever liked an outfit that you've worn for a music video so much that you felt like you wanted to steal it? Or have you ever kept anything from a music video set because you liked it so much?

Taemin: Yes, I have. [Laughs.] There are many clothes I wear in music videos that I like actually, so I sometimes buy the same thing or just borrow them from the production team. I actually [really liked] the clothes I wore in the music video for "Hard." We wore brands that are on the up again these days in terms of popularity, such as Chrome Hearts. I actually loved the Chrome Hearts beanie I wear in the video, and I really wanted it for myself, but it was so hard to get because of the limited stock, so I searched through the web, in foreign sites, etc., and I finally managed to get one second hand.

TV: Well, that almost answers my next question, but here it goes anyways. How would you say your personal style differs from the style that you wear on stage?

Minho: Honestly, for me, I think it's very different. I think we have to be flashier on stage since our clothes need to be seen by people who are far away and we need our fans to really notice us and, naturally, the styles end up not being just your regular everyday clothes.

Taemin: I'm the opposite.

Key: [Laughs.]

Taemin: I think my thing is to take away a few elements from my stage outfits. Of course, on stage, it's going to be flashier, bolder, and over-conceptual…

Key: But whatever you're wearing in that era informs your personal tastes?

Taemin: Yes, that's exactly it. My personal style is kind of similar to my stage clothes, but I just dial it back a tiny bit. It's the same vibe but a bit more subtle.

TV: Going into beauty a little bit, I know Taemin, you recently went super viral because Key exposed your teeth-brushing habits…

Taemin: [Laughs.]

TV: Do any of you have any other peculiar beauty habits, or fashion habits, that you have not shared with anyone?

Minho: Mmm, habits…

Taemin: I've been doing this lately. Because my personal style is very cool and trendy normally, I like to spice it up by adding cute items. Key rings, specifically. I recently got a Donald Duck key ring to attach to my clothing, and the fans really liked it. I saw a lot of fans getting the same key ring and attaching to their clothes as well. That was really fun. I was really feeling that for a while.

TV: That's really cute. Any other "weird" habits?

Key: Any weird habits? Well, there are times when we go abroad and [our skins] are not really used to the type of water, so we have to wash our faces with bottled water.

Taemin: [Laughs.]

TV: Been there. Okay, last question. I know you haven't been performing as much because all of you were away for a while, but now you're back together. You had a fan meeting in Seoul in May and are back to performing live again. Do you have any backstage rituals that you do before you go out and perform? Or something that you 100% need to do before going on stage?

Taemin: Brush my teeth. [Laughs.]

Key: We talk too much. We talk too much behind the scenes. 

Taemin: We do.

Key:  And what else is there?

Taemin: But, hyung, I think you also know the taste of brushing your teeth before going on stage. It's refreshing!

Key: Um. We just get ready; that's the feeling.

[rayplaysotomes]

and finally, the lupin post. as usual, this is reformatted from my picsart otome route posts that i make whenever i finish a route. 

spoiler warning for lupin’s route in code: realize guardian of rebirth under the cut!

first of all, not a lot of otome games (at least ones ive played) leave one route to be the final and wont even let you unlock it until youve completed the others but with that being said. i think lupins route is absolutely worth it and definetely fitting as the final route. its very rewarding, especially in how it wraps up the story iin  satisfying manner, while still leaving you curious and wanting to play more. 

also. lupin is such a charismatic character with so much personality and charm. hes very entertaining to watch. i do wish we had gotten a little more on his backstory or something to give him just a biiiittt more depth other than one monologue but regardless, hes still a very likeable character overall. 

one of the things i noticed right off the bat (and something i almost always mention in these posts) was the romantic aspects. phenomenal. him and cardia just have so much chemistry and it works so well. that whole scene with cardia confiding in him about how she was a monster and he assured her that she was huma. and then they said they loved each other. dude. or on the airship when he kisses her hat??????? they just work so well together.

i also loved how his route like? combines certain aspects and endings from other routes. like we get to see the antagonists from other routes and each character dealing with them on the nautilus. very fitting for the final route. 

also throughout this whole route, i really liked impey and victors dynamic. like i had first sorta noticed it in ch 8 right before the route starts when they go off talking together about science and engineering, then later in lupins route they seem to have gotten closer and often fight together during battles, for example, the fight with nemo on the nautilus. idk. i just really enjoy their dynamic. 

also finis. good lord. there was. so much interesting information about him in this route. you can sorta pick up on this from other routes, but in this one you really start to see just how bad his inferiority complex is. and its extremely well written imo. like hes done so much for his father, yet isaac still likes cardia more, and obviously thats hard for him to understand. so he takes it out on cardia as if its her fault. and he does whatever hes told in hopes that when isaac’s plan is finally put into action, his father will love him. i also really like the way they build up and leave hints towards him being immortal in the other routes (esp vans), but you dont really understand how it works until this route when he finally explains it and its just. literally terrifying. like that scene is INSANE.

i also really liked the monologue talking about isaac, his wife, and cardia and finis as kids. its just. very interesting. 

and quick bonus from the picsart post i made when i had finished everything including extra scenarios since i had saved them for the end:

just fully finished guardian of rebirth including extra scenarios and i will never emotionally recover from this. this game is seriously. so beautiful. like theres no other word to describe it. its just so beautiful through and through. like. there has only been one other otome game that ive been so thoroughly invested in. its taken me a long time to finish it purely because ive grown so extremely attatched to these characters. (so long infact, that theres no impey route post because i played his before i even started to do these posts) i am. beyond excited to play future blessings and wintertide miracles. 

this is so cringefail but. i simply love this game and these characters and this story. also, floatable is. absolutely one of the best otome ops imo. iconic. and code realize has got to have one of my favourite ensembles out of any media imo. like lupin gang is up there with the rfa. their dynamic is just so perfect. these characters are so complex and beautifully written and just so so entertaining to watch. this game is so perfect. 

[straykats]

kat talks: 5-star

tldr; it did not take long at all for this comeback to grow on me i love it so much. i find that with most new songs my first listen is always very apathetic and/or ??? LOL and there exists only a small handful of songs that i immediately was like oH MY GOD (this is across all artists i listen to) but yeah i always forget that when listening to new music and i think this comeback is the first time i fully acknowledged that my first listen is rarely (and doesnt need to be) instant likesies. theres a lot of small bits throughout the album that remind me of other songs (not a bad thing, just smth i noticed i kept noticing?). topline, dlc, the sound and time out were/are my favs hehe (update: relistening to the album again and collision and fnf are creeping up to my favs too help)

hall of fame

okay im pretty sure i've heard this in my brief listen before but i also dont remember it at all

i cant describe it but that alien-sounding melody actually has me seeing like a weird alien brainwashing thing

WHOS FUCKING-- WAS THAT JEONGIN??? AT 1:24???? that was so pretty i want that framed

during hyunjins bit i got weird b me flashbacks??? i dont think it sounds similar but my mind immediately went 'b me !!'

jesus felix

the moon landing audio is such a cool inclusion,,, 5 star,,, hall of fame,,, a star/celestial body themed comeback,,,,

s-class

okay wbk i was so confused the first time round but its grown sm on me

i LOVE the power of the opening

the cartoon boing/spring sound and (its not but) the tom and jerry running sound hehe

this song definitely sounds.. grand? and wide? and a good title track

"[im] up above the world so high" nice nice twinkle twinkle reference hehe

i absolutely love jeongin's bit in the bridge and i love the choreo of it too

item

i love the game sounds they use in this hehe

seungmin's prechorus reminds me of smth but i cant place what it is

felixs ... tone? like? the voice he uses???

hyunjin/changbin bit in the bridge >>>>> i cant explain it but it sounds so good

super bowl

the instrumental at the beginning took me by surprise.. i also am sitting ehre trying to identity the?? The Sound. digital/synth. like the almost cowbell almost snare one. ive replayed it so many times.

i thought this when i first heard it (while doing the dishes lol) but is this song all in english?

whats that sound between 'have a bite' and 'make it mine'

screams TFDGVJABVAD the whisper im sorry i cant do it HAHAHAHAHA

topline

to be mad honest i was SO excited for this based on just the teaser

'we skedaddle intoxicated razzle dazzle' best line fr

okay ik i didnt say much for this one but its one of my favs

underground rebellious kinda vibes i love it (i described that wrong but i have a very specific img in my head)

dlc

im trying to play this on the pino and its driving my nuts but in a good way

the 'amudo moreuge' line throughout the entire song is so [deep breaths] like i cant explain it but it BUT AHHHHHH (fun fact for any pokemon people LOL the song oracion has the same kinda thing in it. idk what to call it.)

oh i LOVE love the piano during the second verse AHHHHHHHHH not gonna be able to replicate it but thats okay

the song/chorus has a.. an urban tropical feel? like it's ALMOST something you would hear with a tropical background but smth about the key, maybe, plavces it instead in an urban setting at night (bc lyrics) and seems kinda bittersweet

THATS WHAT THE AMUDO MOREUGE LINE DOES it adds such a sad kinda tired/resigned feel to the song which is like. on one hand the lyrics are so 'lets dance like crazy without a care in the world' but on the other hand the song feels so lonely and kind of. 'don't worry about me, i'll manage my sadness alone'??? like, 'let's have fun together but i'm really sad even though i'm smiling' kinda thing ARGHHHHH

get lit

seungmin's line rmeinds me of smth ARGHH its another skz song i know that for sure but i cant remember which one (ngl a lot of the songs in this album have parts that remind me of another kpop song,,, one of the above reminded me of nct but icr which song)

oh wait i think its my pace @ seungmins line

the instrumental would be so cool for mashups etc

wait one of the lines is 'today im so cocky' which is interesting bc theres a previous line (sueprbowl?) thats about not being cocky or smth HMMM i would revisit but tbh i cbb rn rip

collision

tRUMPETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT... i think

trumpets reminded me of maknae on top and this song also suits jeongin's voice sm i love it here

oh??? the ringing at the end???

fnf

this REMINDS ME OF SMTH TOO an dits not kpop

but i do really like it

'ashes up in the sky' ,,,, thinkingthinkingthinking

this feels like the opposite of time out and idk how to explain it

lix singing !!!!!! i love it sm

WAIT THSI ONE ACTUALLY REMINDS ME OF B ME wait no or is it levanter

the flaura and fauna line also reminds me of venom

both of the above points refer to the melody ,, seungmin's venom prechorus "cant escape-" and then it jumps The Other Song which i cant figure out what it is AHH

was that an eagle did i just hear an eagle

the minho/chan ending is so <3 <3 <3

youtiful

the muted piano i [crying] also almost gives me knnw vibes

'must be an oracle' ????? trying to understand this. like. it must be predicting smth,, but what,,, 'look at the stars fall / they leave the sky, goodbye' which part of this is the oracle i-- ad oracle as in like a person or a message but either way

if anyone covers this song please use a xylophone or marimba hehe would be so <3

oh i can see this second verse being animated so beautifully

why did changbin singing at the end make me so incredibly soft

the sound

okay this song has been out for ages but i think the only thing i said about it was smth about the bass and also how it sounds like a 'final stand' kinda song

okay ngl i liked the jpn lyrics better for the chorus oopsies im sorry

the piano sounds so RAW like the ringing of it the way the key falls and the mallet hits the string like you can HEAR it like thats exactly how it sounds when you play that high on a piano and also like. imo i notice the sound more on older pianos and just bc of that personal association (???) this song gets a bit sadder

adding to the 'final stand' feel is the police sirens in the chorus

time out

i just love this song sm man like idk what to say at this point

OH IT REMINDS ME OF A DEEMO SONG AHHAHA WAIT LEMME FIND IT // this song omg i've never thought about it before but listening to time out just then, i literally went 'you ready?' and then i was like WAIT THATS A DIFFERENT SONG

this song would be such a fun end-of-concert/encore song woah

yeah no i really dont have much to say i just love this song sm