#plus i’m pretty beefed out on all the aesthetic stuff i want with it all legacy unlocked

[roamingswtor]

Hhhh i really wanna do the galactic seasons for the stronghold reward and that metallic purple dye but man, those battle pass things just feel like a chore. Every tuesday ya gotta log in and do your homework for the week!

They also nerfed the conquest gain from reputation, so you can’t get the daily reward by just using a reputation claim item.

I’m also not the biggest the fan of subscribing when there isn’t any new story content that requires a sub (and the last bits of story didn’t feel worth $15 whole dollars on their own) but if you want all the rewards from the galactic seasons you have to sub at some point.

I will say the rewards do feel worth it in cartel coins and packs, even more so if you do it on multiple servers (but that’s a slippery slope into making it feel like a full time job lmao)

[screenmaven]

Films I’ve Loved This Year

I have already written reviews on some of them (not seen in this post), that you can already read here. So make sure to also do that.

I’m completely laid out in bed extremely sick, I thought between the delusional fevers, bomb exploding headaches, and literally feeling like I’m dying, I’d share the other films I’ve absolutely enjoyed watching this year.

I started up a separate account via Instagram to just post film, but having multiples is beginning to be too much, so from now on any other film content aside from the blog here will be on @ starrymayx.

So to start off the list here we go…

These 90s “Noir” films started my whole new movie Escapades, and I’m so glad they did -

Bad Influence, Guilty As Sin, Pacific Heights, Whispers in The Dark, Dream Lover, Untamed Heart, White Palace

Here are the others…

Thrashin - 1986

Starring: Josh Brolin, Pamela Gidley

Brooke McCarter (RIP homie), Sherilyn Fenn, Robert Rusler, & Josh Richman

Anthony Kiedis + RHCP

Tony Hawk, Kevin Staab, Mike McGill, Jimmy Star

What I liked: There was so much awesomeness in this film and a feel good story of triumph. Basically it’s about two skateboarding gangs, having beef, mix in lots of skating, graffiti, punk rock aesthetics, and a love story, and you have yourself a pretty badass film. Plus they overcome their rivalry in the LA Massacre challenge, and there’s even several rat tails. 🤣 Definitely worth a watch!

I really wish I could skateboard. I would have been so rad. To all my skater friends and Bo’s over the years, mad respect. 🤘🏻

The House on Sorority Row - 1983

Director: Mark Rosman

I swear Scream Queens was influenced by this film.

I really liked it. Loved the lighting, still had a seventies type feel, storyline was really good. Definitely a film to check out if you like really good horror, without all the super special effects.

*For any strobe light sensitive people* like myself out there, there is a scene where it’s wild,

Pump Up The Volume ✊🏻 1990

Director Allan Moyle

This movie is 🔥 Definitely a pioneer for all things talk radio but from a non-narrative perspective. Films like this and indie radio programs paved the way for our now podcasts. I loved the way it was written, the development of the characters personal selves, and breaking the rules.

I love me some Christian Slater 💓

The soundtrack is also amazing!

From Richard Hell, Leonard Cohen, Beastie Boys, Ice T, & more! I’ll link the soundtrack in my stories.

*trigger warning: there is a scene that deals with suicide and those scenes always get me. So I wanted to mention that.

Out of Bounds - 1986

Director- Richard Tuggle

Cinematography - Bruce Surtees

Starring: Anthony Michael Hall

Siouxsie and the Banshees 🤘🏻💓

& Meatloaf (in like 3 scenes)

What I liked: The cinematography of downtown LA & Venice Beach California, (actually the whole film is beautifully done). The 80’s colors, Dizz’s home, her style. The fact that Anthony Michael Hall was a badass hero, taking down a heroin drug man with his knife throwing skills. Really good film.

2 Days in The Valley - 1996

Written and Directed by: John Herzfeld.

Starring: James Spader, Eric Stolz & Charlize Theron

Synopsis: 48 hours of intersecting lives and crimes in The Valley of Los Angeles.

Why I liked it: Artsy Cinematography, James Spader obviously, and the correlation of numerous parties all being connected, going through individual stuff but being thrown into the mix of chaos. Plus sunglasses just seem to add viable cred to it. Why are sunglasses so cool yet mysterious?

Shampoo - 1975

Director: Hal Ashby

Starting Julie Christie, Goldie Hawn, & Warren Beatty

I throughly enjoyed this film mainly due to the Jim Morrison/Sharon Tate style vibes it gave off throughout, and all the stylish decor/fashion. The Morrison looking guy played by (Warren Beatty) is basically a lover to many of his women hair clients (he does hair).

I really appreciate the 70’s swank and aesthetic appeal in this film. I’m also obsessed with Julie Christie’s glam Tate starlet look and I wish I could pull off bangs! Goldie Hawn is also in here and a younger Carrie Fisher.

From the 70s eye shadow, purple outfit I want, the main girls style, glamorous hair, river grotto, la house party with body paint and strobe lights (which that part I had to turn away - sensitive), it still rocked.

Based in the LA canyon/hills it’s definitely worth a watch to see the web of desire and aesthetic unfold. Keep your eye out for the creepy art in one of the scenes that just didn’t quite belong. 😳

Additionally there was some dialogue between two parties in the kitchen about questioning the lead male’s (hairstylist) orientation, and the f word was used a couple times. Didn’t like that part.

Really glad we’ve evolved on how we should identify people and what’s right to say and not to. A person can be gay or even not, but using derogatory terminology to hurt them is very low par. If you still do that. Stop.

Chopping Mall - 1986

Director: Jim Wynorski

Mall Location: Sherman Oaks Galleria

I loved this film. For reals.

Nothing better than a mall unleashing new technology security robots, only to go horribly wrong. Which I already knew where it was going as soon as it started 😂

Anyways a group of mall employee friends and two others throw a party in a bedding home store and get freaky - typical 80s horror, which I love. Then basically the robots go crazy and savage, hunting down all of them in a terminator/stranger things vibe kind of way. The aesthetic, 80s style, and scenery are very appealing, all the way down to even the playboy underwear from Miss Virgina Slims herself. Camel ciggs just won’t cut it. 😂

Lots of greats here, and I hope you check them out if you haven’t seen them.

Happy Filming 😘

[its-real]

I was going to wait until I had finished doing all the concept sketches for this but uh, I’m lazy so here take it as it is I’ll keep adding surely surely.

-LONG POST-

AU where the hermits fall into the boatem hole with no way to fly out because of some event that happens - maybe an apocalypse, maybe everyone just goes apeshit, who knows - and they all get messed up heads from falling in the void and passing out n fun stuff like that. They ‘land’ - idk how this would work without them dying lol - in a semi futuristic city which for now let’s just call it Boateqm (silent q). The hermit crabs would also fall at different rates therefore appear in the city at different times. So where do they end up?

Hospital gang:

Etho wakes up in a hospital bed with no memories - most of them will wake up with no memories btw - his doctor/nurse (this hospital may be understaffed) Tango asks him a bunch of questions then has to go see another patient. Etho is seen by a certain Bdubs who had just finished visiting his buddy Scar -will get to him next- in the bed next door. Bdubs walks back to notify Scar, a fashion designer, that the guy in the bed across would make a great model, just look at the striking hair! And the red eye! He opens the curtains on the side and Scar gets a look. He asks if Etho would like to be hired. Etho is to say the least very confused and on the verge of a panic attack that never quite seems to happen so he’s in a weird kind of limbo anyway it is now that his doctor/nurse Tango comes back and having overheard the conversation suggests it would be a good idea. The hospital can only take custody of Etho for so long, might as well start earning money now so he doesn’t become homeless. Etho is still very confused. So Tango just agrees to the job for him as his caretaker lol, and besides Scar comes here kinda often so Tango trusts him. Anyway Etho’s true passions he discovers are synthesisers, breeding horses with Bdubs and finding elaborate ways to do tax evasion. A simple man.

Scar is in the hospital because he got SCAR (hehe) from walking into a glass door in his super fancy house, which he owns because he’s a super fucking rich fashion designer of his own label Scara (this is not the first time he’s walked into a glass door). Scar refuses to go to a rich people hospital tho cause 1) he cares about healthcare and wants more funds to go to lower grade hospitals 2) Tango is his mate, and needs a goddam raise. But yeah, very successful, ran for mayor once but someone really didn’t like that which resulted in another hospital visit. Mans in the wars. One hospital visit he got really inspired by the fabric and stuff there so he had a line of clothes that were hospital inspired one time, in turn making hospital inspired garb very trendy for a bit. What a mad lad. Ideas man. Some would call him a genius if he didn’t keep on walking into glass doors n shit. Scar woke up in the back room of a small tailoring shop owned by a nice old couple who took him under their wing. He thanks them in every award speech, and whenever he’s in the area make sure to stop by and give them presents. His side hobby is gardening.

When Tango came to, he was lying on the footpath of a quiet street in the suburbs just out from the main city. Gorgeous day, golden hour, pretty houses, very aesthetic. He also had a leg injury, fuck. So Tango did what anyone would do: hobbled to the nearest house, asked in the nicest way he could under a lot of stress (so he kinda yelled) for a first aid kit, and performed surgery on himself atop the nice families dinner table. The nice family turned out to have called the police and an ambulance, who showed up just as Tango was wrapping up his leg with a bandage and took him away to the police on a stretcher. This debacle got him a leading story on the local newspaper: ‘Man performs surgery on himself after waking up with no memories and a leg injury’. After being questioned by the police, they decide they can’t really charge someone with amnesia and no money with anything like breaking and entering (he did knock and they did let him in) or property damage (blood on the carpet). The paramedics are stunned at his surgery, so they tell the police to take him to the nearest hospital and get him hired there, he could save so many lives. He gets hired by the head doctor after an examination of the surgery. The head doctor doesn’t really care that Tango doesn’t have any records or anything, the hospital is understaffed and Tango seems like an Angel sent down from the heavens to him. Tango is very very good at his job. So good that he gets offered a job at a far better paying hospital which he takes, then soon drops because he prefers the chaos of his old job much better.

Tango found Impulse extremely dehydrated, looking like death, wandering outside his flat one night, so he carried the man inside and saved his life. Now they are flat mates, and Impulse works in a tech store - an upgrade from working at a service station previously.

Bdubs woke up in an inner city park at night, homeless, broke, and in the company of other homeless and broke people. He built his way to success, got luckily hired by some rich asshole to mow their lawns plural - the rich asshole didn’t ask much questions, he just saw a poor man criticising the way a park had been landscaped to an old guy in a caravan and though it was good enough, seeing as the last one quit - and Bdubs didn’t mind too much, because the rich assholes property was really gorgeous. Once Bdubs was able to say he had work experience and wasn’t homeless he started babysitting the kids in the neighbourhood, pretty good money. Plus the kids love him, and everyone he meets loves him, he's just a nice guy. He met Scar because he had to purchase a suit for a kids birthday party, so he went to the cute little tailors shop he always walked past on the way to his favourite cute little gardening supplies shop. By now Bdubs had been promoted to part time gardener - the job is shared - and started working on and off at a building firm. They become besties, turns out Scar is also really into gardening etc etc. Eventually Bdubs becomes an architect, mainly designing for city contractors n such but occasionally designer homes, like the one he did for Scar.

Mumbo and Grian wake up in the hospital around the same time that Etho is still there, however Etho has been awake longer, and should really find a place to stay soon now that he’s got a steady job. Since - ok plot point here - the two are in the exact situation that Etho found himself in, he starts to feel like something weird is going on. Mumbo and Grian take a lot longer to recover than Etho did, and the two become hospital bed neighbor buddies. When they finally recover Scar offers them a temporary place to stay at his house while they find work. Tango gets Impulse to put in a good word for Mumbo at his work.

Nomads:

TFC is an old man who lives in a caravan off the money he made being a very successful miner, he now collects pretty shiny rocks and gems and stuff to give to kids. He’s like an all year round caravan Santa and wise old mystical figure. Dope.

Joe is a humble man who likes to wander. He’s never had a home, but if he needs anything he’ll go to TFC’s caravan or a homeless shelter or something. But he isn’t sad or anything, he really likes the freedom of being a simple wanderer.

Others:

Keralis is a business partner of Bdubs. Kerlalis is mega stonks. He was one of the first to land, had a big diamond in his pocket, bought shares in a company that blew up soon after and now he is really fucking rich.

Doc and Ren are the only ones who remember anything, and they arrive at the same time. Doc manages to keep his cool, but Ren loses his shit and gets thrown in a mental institution. Doc spends some time trying to get Ren out, and after a final success and laying low for a bit the two seek to bring all the hermits together.

Pearl ends up working in Bdubs building company.

Beef works in a music shop -sells records and instruments- and he starts up a record label out back after his boss retires and passes the shop onto him.

And yeah I don’t really know the other Hermits that well was hoping some of ya’ll could help me find places for them in this city :) don’t really know how to format this either so maybe some input would be nice, just wanted to get the idea out hehehe

[battlestar-royco]

IT'S BEEN 84 YEARS. LET'S TALK ABOUT NETFLIX'S SHADOW AND BONE.

8.7/10 ⭐️

spoilers for everythingggg under the cut! i'll be discussing its merits as an adaptation vs as a show, characters and plots, and the overall aesthetic and magic/world.

SHOW VS ADAPTATION:

i say this as someone who knows all the books very well and has been in the fandom for nearly a decade, so i'm biased. but. s&b functions better as an adaptation than as a standalone show. alina's plot moves so well, and satisfyingly renders so many iconic scenes and sites from s&b. the worldbuilding is also pretty easy to fall into, with a forgivable amount of voiceover/infodump. and, hurting budget aside, i mostly liked this visual interpretation of the gv.

(sidebar: the in-universe racism... doesn't work. i tried to view it in good faith but imo it was very heavy-handed. if it was framed like, "wow it's a SHU WOMAN saving the world!!!" it might've been better, but it's just racism without recompense. and it's a terrible look to make other characters of color racist. i just. why?)

as for the crows, however... i'm just not sure how strong they'll be for new viewers? i totally understand why they were included, and i really like certain connections the show made between the two series. it was a great decision to introduce the druskelle in the first Cut scene, and showing nina as a ravkan spy.

the new crows stuff felt in character, but i think the show is at its height when it sticks to the books. the first couple episodes switching between tgt and proto-soc gave me whiplash, but luckily it got more organic as it progressed. if i didn't know and love all the crows before going in, i wouldn't be that invested in them based on season 1. aside from a couple fantastic scenes, it really felt like the writers were trying to make fetch happen for like 4 episodes before they figured out what to do with everyone. plus, ravka is such a different vibe from ketterdam--tonally, sartorially, technologically, etc they didn't totally feel like the same world. it was pretty jarring. although i prefer the duo to the trio, s&b is alina's story and she is That Bitch who walked so the crows could fly. so i didn't hate their inclusion but the shoehorned content did at times disservice both plots, imo.

CHARACTERS:

way too many, which is yet another consequence of smushing everyone into one season.

MAL/ALINA/DARKLING: first and foremost, and i PROMISE i'm not saying this just to be a hater, but there needed to be less malina. i'll be the first to say that show!mal really has what book!mal wants. the new pre-fold scenes were so good. li and renaux have amazing chemistry, and their laughter over stolen grapes was a highlight. his stag plot was also good. THAT SAID, there were way too many keramzin flashbacks and malina parallels like.. 🤢🤢why do they want us to love mal so much. for what. they only needed the teacup scene but they clearly thought they were doing something with micro-aggressions and that meadow shot they showed like 6 times. knowing mal's original character, and how they scrubbed his show counterpart almost to the point of flawlessness, he's just never going to be my fave even though i do respect what they did with him. also, why were there like 5 fake deaths for this dude? boring.

the darkling was great. ben barnes knows what the fuck he's about, and he funneled manipulation and charisma into every scene. as for the backstory: at first i really wasn't feeling it, but i eventually did warm up to it and i'm so glad they showed it because oh god the cut and the creation of the fold were SO FUCKING ICONIC. also, love love love the baghra development. WE LOVE TO SEE OLD WOMEN/MOMS WHO AREN'T "EVIL"/"CORRUPTED" BY THEIR MAGICAL POWERS!!!!!!! BITCH! it didn't have to be 12 minutes long though.

i honestly don't have much to say on alina. jml was excellent in her role and very true to the book. without her book narration she feels much more consistently written.

TRILOGY CHARACTERS: i really felt the lack of genya and zoya. genya's character and actress are perfectly layered and effective, even though their roles are relatively minor. i'm so looking forward to her razrushost moment, but i wish they'd laid more groundwork for it. (and i hope throw out the wig and just dye her hair next season.) also like. WHY KEEP THE IRRELEVANT MEAN GIRL/DARKLING THIRST PLOT FOR ZOYA??? AFTER ALL THE EFFORT THEY PUT INTO IMPROVING MAL? they sacrificed so much for malina at the expense of other characters. finally, it was interesting how they decided to kill marie. i love the tailor magic flex. but also they clearly just did that to emotionally manipulate us and connect the crows so. hm.

CROWS: speaking of! the crows storyline felt a little like filler. honestly i wish they waited to roll crows into later seasons. i'd prefer little foreshadowings about them, a la the druskelle cameo or the references to nina and matthias. introducing the crows so soon makes the ice court heist feel less special. the recruitment was super tight and pragmatic, so this felt a little fluffy/fanservicey. kaz also comes off as sooooo old again. especially without the vulnerability of his book counterpart, he just seems like a 40-year-old in a 20something body.

i was pleasantly surprised to find jesper my favorite crow. like wow.... second amendment rights for jesper fahey only!! i like all the crows but book!kanej are my faves by a long shot. they felt a bit stiff tbh, like the actors were a little uncomfy with each other and/or their exposition-heavy lines. however, the one scene that felt EXTREMELY kanej to me was when they killed that dude in the church holy fuck oh my god. WE STAN AN ANGSTY BATTLE COUPLE WHO ARE BOTH DEAD INSIDE. highlight for sure.

and i actually kinda loved helnik? i know helnik is controversial for very valid reasons, but i thoughy their dynamic was fantastic and they were among the strongest performers. it was much less overwhelming than the constantly interweaving kaz/inej/jesper imo. they need to fire their location scout though. those green screen mountains and beaches were um. interesting.

aesthetic and magic:

i really hope they get a bigger budget for costumes, cgi, and sets next season! the keftas are serviceable, but they look a little cheap at times. i will also never forgive ANY of the crows' hats. it's mostly just a personal aesthetic thing but god i fucking hate them. the darkling was best dressed, but in general i liked the ravkan look more than the kerch. why were the crows always in the most elaborate getups? why couldn't they just chill in their waistcoats??? they never seemed relaxed in the way alina and co did; the clothes never felt worn or broken in.

favorite sets: the darkling's room, the crow club, all the grisha tents, the matthias/nina ship, the church where inej killed the squaller, outdoor fountain where they told the story of the black heretic. the lighting was almost always right for each scene, and there was so much detail in every one of them.

THE MAGIC WAS SO COOL! my greatest beef is alina's light--it often looked so fake, and it washed out jml. oftentimes it was fluorescent or blue, and it was used as a forcefield or orb. it's supposed to be sunlight bro. what is so hard about that? the darkling's magic looked good, other than the fold. i've always imagined the fold more like a huge black fog rather than a literal wall. so that was a bit game of thronesy, but not terrible.

and can we talk about the amplifiers? amplifiers are my personal favorite gv lore but season 1 barely gets into them. they never mention the bear zoya slew, nor do they establish the unique strength of the stag, sea dragon, and firebird. BUT THE ANTLER COLLAR FUSED INTO ALINA'S SKIN WAS SUPER DARK AND MACABRE AND I KINDA LIKED IT? ALTHOUGH I HAVE TO WONDER HOW TF IS SHE GONNA SLEEP???

if you made it this far, thanks so much! that's all i have for today.

[cromwxll]

                          “NEVER TRUST A PRETTY SMILE LACED WITH POISON.”

⌠ 𝑮𝑨𝑽𝑰𝑵 𝑳𝑬𝑨𝑻𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑾𝑶𝑶𝑫, 𝟐𝟏, 𝑪𝑰𝑺𝑴𝑨𝑳𝑬, 𝑯𝑬/𝑯𝑰𝑴 ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, 𝑹𝑯𝒀𝑺 𝑪𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑾𝑬𝑳𝑳! according to their records, they’re a 𝑭𝑰𝑹𝑺𝑻 year, specializing in 𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑼𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑺, 𝑪𝑼𝑳𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑬, & 𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑴𝑰𝑳𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵 + 𝑻𝑯𝑹𝑬𝑨𝑻 𝑬𝑳𝑰𝑴𝑰𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑶𝑵; and they 𝑫𝑰𝑫 go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of ( 𝑨𝑳𝑬𝑿𝑨𝑵𝑫𝑬𝑹 𝑴𝑪𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑬𝑵 𝑬𝑵𝑮𝑹𝑨𝑽𝑬𝑫 𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺, 𝑫𝑰𝑨𝑴𝑶𝑵𝑫 𝑪𝑼𝑭𝑭𝑳𝑰𝑵𝑲𝑺 𝑶𝑵 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑬 𝑻𝑨𝑰𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑵𝑮, and 𝑺𝑰𝑳𝑽𝑬𝑹-𝑻𝑶𝑵𝑮𝑼𝑬𝑫 𝑳𝑰𝑬𝑺  ). when it’s the 𝑺𝑪𝑶𝑹𝑷𝑰𝑶’s birthday on 𝟏𝟎/𝟑𝟎/𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟖, they always request their 𝑻𝑶𝑵𝑲𝑶𝑻𝑺𝑼 𝑹𝑨𝑴𝑬𝑵 from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. 

* / CHARACTER INFLUENCES: LOGAN ECHOLLS ( Veronica Mars ) + GINA LINETTI ( Brooklyn 99 ) + BLAIR WALDORF ( Gossip Girl ) + VARYS “THE  SPIDER” ( Game of Thrones ) + OLIVIA POPE ( Scandal ) + LUCIFER MORNINGSTAR ( Lucifer ) + NUCKY THOMPSON ( Boardwalk Empire )

* / VINE REFERENCES: x x x

* / PERSONAL ANTHEM: BEEF FLOMIX - Flo Milli

Hi all, I’m Bri and this is my mess of a child RHYS. Feel free to like this post or hmu on discord if you want to plot :)

TW: Abuse, depressive thoughts, substance abuse, sex. Read with caution.

* / GENERAL INFORMATION

FULL NAME: Rhysand Salvatore Cromwell.

KNOWN AS: Rhys.

AGE: Twenty-one.

DATE OF BIRTH: October 30, 1998.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Manhattan, New York.

GENDER: Cisgender male.

PRONOUNS: He/him.

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Bisexual.

RELIGION: Agnostic.

* / PHYSICAL & MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

HEIGHT: 5'11 ( the last inch escapes him ).

WEIGHT: 168 lbs.

HAIR COLOUR: Black.

EYE COLOUR: Black.

TATTOOS: Gavin’s tattoos.

PIERCINGS: None ( you can see ).

BODY TYPE: Athletic.

PHYSICAL HEALTH: Peak.

NOTABLE PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: Signature smirk, dark eyes, curly hair.

FACE CLAIM: Gavin Leatherwood.

VOICE CLAIM: Gavin Leatherwood’s speaking voice.

CLOSET / STYLE: Chuck Bass.

ILLNESSES / CONDITIONS: Dyslexic ( kept secret ).

ADDICTIONS: Making people cry.

VICES: Wrath, pride.

* / BACKGROUND, OCCUPATION & EDUCATION

BIRTHPLACE: Manhattan, New York.

RAISED: UES Manhattan, New York.

CURRENT RESIDENCE: Gallagher Academy.

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English, German, learning Japanese.

EDUCATION LEVEL: HS diploma from spy academy.

FINANCIAL STATUS: Upper class / Wealthy.

* / FAMILIAL BACKGROUND

FATHER: Salvatore Cromwell.

MOTHER: Natalia Cromwell ( née ? ).

SIBLINGS: None.

BIRTH ORDER: Only child.

RELATIONSHIP WITH FAMILY: Tense/Estranged.

PATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: Francis Cromwell + Constance Cromwell ( née Delgado ).

MATERNAL GRANDPARENTS: n/a.

SIGNIFICANT OTHER: None/Rose Park ( deceased ).

* / PERSONALITY

POSITIVE: Intelligent, charming, loyal, and dedicated.

NEGATIVE: Impulsive, cynical, arrogant, and wrathful.

ZODIAC: Scorpio.

MBTI TYPE: ENTJ.

MORAL ALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral.

HOGWARTS HOUSE: Slytherin

AESTHETIC: Bubble baths, whiskey-filled crystal tumblers, penthouse parties, hate fucking until dawn, scarred knuckles, YSL cologne, secret hiding spots, guilt-ridden hues, broken promises, sly smirks with hidden intentions, uncontrollable impulsion, designer scarves, wrathful masochism, rolling blunts in town cars, full passports, lost boy syndrome, knives on tongues, hallowed out chest.

* / BIO: There was no option for Rhys on the night of his birth, he was destined for GREATNESS. Born to Salvatore Cromwell, a high ranking official in the Directorate of Operations of the CIA, and his wife Natalia on a chilly October night ─ the night before Halloween as a matter of fact ─ both saw his arrival as the best thing to happen to their seemingly perfect family. In a sense. And so he had to be the best.

He went to the best schools, only associated with the best families, the best parties and clothes and girlfriends, they were only the best of the best. Growing up, he didn’t recognize the pressure put on him was insurmountable. The lifestyle he lived didn’t expose him to those who had other options and chose their own path. He grew up with kids whose lives were planned out the second they were born. Just like him. Rhys assumed they were all the same. All their mothers were knocking back martinis with the egg white omelet they had for breakfast every morning, didn’t they? And when their dad came home after months of being away and says he was passed up for promotion again, he grabbed their arm so tight that sometimes it felt like it was gonna snap, right? His mother’s tears were normal. Getting hit with a belt any time he scored lower than expected on tests were normal. So why didn’t it feel normal?

Rhys’ home life was the one element he couldn’t control. But his social life he could. At school, he was a legend. With a family name like Cromwell, notorious to have spawned politicians and businessmen and entrepreneurs over the past couple of centuries, all great in their own right, Rhys was known. And he liked it. He had the perfect life at the spy school his father enrolled him in. With a group of friends as close-knit as they could be in a world driven by infamy and lies and a girlfriend he loved more than life itself, Rhys couldn’t imagine anything better. Until it wasn’t.

Rhys loved his girlfriend Rose Park. He knew he did because he treated her the way his father should’ve treated his mother. Their relationship wasn’t perfect, no relationship was, but they always found their way back to one another. For Rhys, she was a shining beacon of light and love and hope that one day, life would be better. That was until he found polaroids of Rose kissing their mutual best friend, Josephine. He was stunned. For a week he avoided her and their friends like the plague. What he felt wasn’t anger or rage, he didn’t turn spiteful, he was just...heartbroken. In the end, all he wanted was Rose’s happiness. While he hoped this was a need for sexual exploration, he knew that if Rose wanted to be with someone else that he would still support her. Because he loved her. And living a life with her in it as his friend was better than one without her at all. He was going to tell her this.

Until she was murdered.

Her death happening because her personal bodyguard, Josephine’s father, left her unprotected to tend to Jo’s sickness, sent him into a spiraling downfall. When his mother left a few weeks later, it only added to his growing pain. Nothing made sense. Not how his mother could just leave, no note, no anything. Not how his father barely flinched when he noticed all of her stuff gone. Not how the world seemed to keep on spinning even though Rose was gone. And especially, not how Josephine got to keep on with her life like nothing had changed. The pain he felt only escalated day by day, echoed on by the empty townhouse he returned to every day and the quiet dinners spent with housekeepers while his dad was away. He needed an outlet. And a target along with it.

His senior year, Rhys directed the anger he felt on the girl who took everything from him. Every spiteful word thrown at her, the influence he inspired on the rest of the student body to do the same, it all helped the throbbing ache that constantly permeated his body. When school was over for the day, he turned to recreational forms of comfort that went beyond his usual party favors. How he was able to graduate top of the class is still something that escapes him to this day. But his father knew of his antics and decided that his son would not go to college and only drown further in his sorrows.

In the CIA it’s called “The Lakehouse”. A remote hideout meant to kick into shape covert specialists by training them in all things brutality. Rhys was only there for two years, off the record, where he excelled in weapons and hand-to-hand combat while his pain was to be used as a driving force. There, his father finally sculpted him into the “perfect” son he always wanted: ruthless, cunning, heartless. It was here that Rhys realized that his father never cared about a family, but rather a legacy. Rhys was his breathing legacy, and he’d continue to be so once enrolled at Gallagher.

Waiting for admittance to Gallagher over the summer left him curious. His skills were now more finely honed, so he actively began to seek out his mother’s whereabouts. He quickly realized that it would be difficult, as the name he knew her by was not real. Her social security, passport, ID, even family photos, were all fake. Part of him wasn’t shocked, as marrying someone who was a complete fraud just for appearance's sake sounds like some his father would do, but in the end, it only left him with more questions. Who was she? Where did she go? Why did she leave?

Rhys hopes to find these answers now that he’s attending one of the top spy universities in the world. Surely, they’ll be able to help him find answers. Otherwise, he’ll take them for himself if he has to. On the plus side, if things ever turn out worse than he imagined and the pain returns tenfold, at least he has little Josephine here with him to keep him company. Two years later, she’s just as small, just as fragile. And Rhys always did enjoy breaking things.

* / PERSONALITY: He’s the stereotypical pretty boy with a side of trauma. Cocky. Sweet talker. Renowned partier. Excels in everything he puts his mind to, for what he’d like to think is for himself, but deep down it’s for the recognition and approval from his father. Though his father tried to mold him into something unfeeling, like a brutal machine, it’s just not in his nature. Rhys feels. A lot. That’s why he’s still hurting over the death of a girl he loved over three years ago. Maybe it’s because it was the only healthy relationship he had in his life, and one of the only events he’s held no control over. A stickler for how he likes things, he’s very particular about who he interacts with. At Gallagher, he will be no different. He’s the best, and he needs to be surrounded by only the best.

* / WANTED RELATIONSHIPS: His bros, competition at the school, someone he trusts enough to tell about locating his mom ( only it won’t be immediate but a relationship that builds up to it ), and the usual ( party friends, lovers, etc...)

[bnha-imagines-hcs]

Can I request the appearance and personality preferences with Aizawa and Hizashi?

| aizawa; headcanons.

appearance;

when it comes to appearance, he doesn’t really care - insofar as physical attraction isn’t necessary to him in a romantic relationship. there’s def stuff that gets him going, things he appreciates that can cause a stifled smoulder in his gut – but an s/o is there for love, in his book.

but, since we are here in the category ‘appearance’,..

it’s in details. the rounded curve of a shoulder as they twist to deal with an incoming punch; that split second when the little ‘v’ from shoulder to pectoral draws tight and ready, just before that sight is stolen as they move on – this readiness to deal with hardship. the solid shove of their back into rubble to keep it off a civilian; resolve and stubborn ability and compassion all in one.fingers carding through hair for it to be pulled out of their face, tied up or just flicked away. focus in the lines of an expression as they pick out what groceries that suit their dinner plans, or any plans at all. the way they make decisions and the way- oh, wait… that’s personality.

looks like aizawa’s more focussed on personality than appearance anyway, if it’s supposed to be attractive.

objectively, he can appreciate a fine pair of calves (fine-tuned by lots of running), or the long sweep of someone’s hair (not very practical, but if they’re able to deal with it then it’ll do). but he doesn’t really prefer anything.

except cats. cats are always good and loved unconditionally. i mean, you have to be a seriously vicious cat for aizawa not to love you.

but humans? ehh. literally why? what’s… the point of preferences… u got a face it’s for emoting and sensing and eating, it works doesn’t it?? u got limbs and if ur missing one you’re probably compensating for it with others, (if the loss troubles you, he’s willing to step in and help u find joy again bc dadzawa does that, albeit discreetly if at all possible). ur digestive system works right?? ur skeleton doin ok??? so it’s fine. ur fine. what more do u fuckin’ need, let this old man rest.

man, woman, anything between or around those. literally doesn’t matter, he doesn’t give two shits. how is that relevant?? is only relevant to u??? the finer labels of ur being aren’t for him cuz he doesn’t care abt labels, nor could he ever be as deeply involved in the hows and whats of u as u can be, ur just u??? cool cool move on.

personality;

spine. oh my god, absolutely spine. 

u can be a coward or a brave man, but at least be that because you have your own, characteristic principles that have you stand by yourself as you are.

some kind of code, certainly, a line drawn in the sand. there have to be things you wouldn’t stand for and would take action to deal with – though for the love of his sanity, don’t be stupid about it. 

he’s… going to need them to be somewhere in the Good alignment. he just - does. not. has no… just, dude. you don’t hurt people just because you have beef with something. solve your goddamn problems without making someone else suffer your pointlessly destructive immaturity.

of course some people don’t know they have better options; fair enough. if you’re willing, he’ll try to help you see and make use of those better options. but he’ll never stand by someone who hurts others for no good reason. never.

proactiveness is greatly appreciated and enjoyed.

aizawa loves when people are socially and emotionally competent (because he’s not), because it makes things go more smoothly. look at him and go ‘you’re not an asshole, you just don’t like to talk and have Strong Opinions’ and let him sleep.that said he can definitely develop a strong attraction to someone as ‘no.’ as he is.

protectiveness and compassion. you don’t have to be a hero or go as far as he does, but he needs someone who understands his deep-seated need to nurture and protect. interesting convos can be had with ppl who feel differently, but he wants understanding in his rom relationships.

wants to just be able to sit and cuddle (cat is not optional cat is Needed), and just. stare out into the distance for a while without letting the world be as much of a bother. 

mutual comfort and compassion, support, respect, and a lot of room for all involved personalities.the mutual part is highkey, because as much as aizawa has like. the dregs of energy lmao – he is all about that nurturing life. he can’t be in a relationship with someone he’s not allowed to care about actively. if you don’t want a mutually supportive and strong bond that goes ‘yeah you’re at your worst now, that’s okay. i’m gonna be at my worst like next week’s wednesday prob lmao’, then aizawa doesn’t want you.

| hizashi; headcanons.

appearance;

he absolutely does love prettiness, but it doesn’t… draw him in. he thought for the longest time that his type was long legs, short skirts, sweet lips – then aizawa grew into his stubble and oh jesus fuck-

i’m not sure hizashi is into ladies at all on levels other than platonic and aesthetic, but he doesn’t consider it ever so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ who needs labels anyway.

he likes ‘em edgy. good lord let’s be real - hizashi loves dat edge. scruffiness, angular, dark hair, dark clothes, the contrast between pale skin and dark hair, some kinda non-conformist hairdo ( which, for dudes, can be as simple as long ).executive goth? punkgoth? casual goth?

he doesn’t really enjoy make-up. just nah. he likes to know what he’s looking at, likes to know if he reached out there’d be naked skin under his fingertips…

it’s nice if they shorter than him - taller people are giants, have u seen hizashi himself - but the best is equal height cuz then you can just face boop.yes, face boop. just - put ur face straight up against theirs. boop~!

ehrem.

long hair, idle fingers, twirly fabric, a surplus of buttons - anything for him to fidget or stim with is a definite plus.

defined calves are…… attractive….. thicc thighs make him the good kind of concerned for his well-being. he likes the places where bone shows - knees, elbows, knuckles, the bump on your wrist. it’s just very pretty to him and he loves tracing these edges over and over ehrem stimming ehrem.

are u fat? chubby? skinny? somewhere in between? good shit.

personality;

huggy. it’s okay if you’re just the kind to let him hug u, but at least in private he needs dat good ol’fashioned physical affection. huggy. much an’ many huggies.

caring, loving, nurturing. he adores gestures of affection, the more unabashed the better. although that’s mostly bc people’s discomfort makes him unhappy.

domestic. please. he’s a domestic kinda guy lookin’ for a domestic kinda life -- hero work is hectic enough, thanks. the simple old fashioned pleasures of coming home to make yourself a hot drink and sink into that seat you’ve worn a dent into. ready, silent hugs. fingers through hair. the absent petting here and there while ur deep in a book or tv show or thesis.just warm, reliable love.

hizashi is the absolute last person to care for a fling or skinny love. he prefers to have sex with sex workers or friends and foregoes hook-ups with strangers. here too it’s cameraderie, friendship - warm, reliable love.

please love his friends. they’re all one big happy family and he’s dying to include you; it’s cool if you don’t get along!! ...sad, but chill. not everyone clicks.still, though. he does need someone who’d be willing to make an effort.

he... loves.. sexiness. basically this means you’re comfortable propositioning him - not that you’re not/never shy! - that you enjoy chatting about sex and just. have a good ol’ time with it. this again bc ppl’s discomfort = sad hizashi, but also bc he just fucking loves sex. it’s nice! it’s fun! it’s a cute topic and way to get to know each other.

[floggingink]

Riverdale, “Chapter Twenty-Five: The Wicked and the Divine”

Jughead has seen more “mob movies” than I have, so I can’t verify his “classic trope,” but he’s speaking my language

I found Archie’s Devil Wears Prada errand-montage zippy and playful, much like Hiram Lodge himself

especially the direction of the construction guy’s arm clapping Archie’s shoulder to add movement to the swerving transition (not a technical term) as he steps into the trailer

Hiram’s soft V-neck sweater is, I assume, cashmere

Veronica’s look is so inseparable from collars and pearls that she has a collar made of pearls sewn into her dress

RAS wanted a Veronica-confirmation episode, so by God, he is getting one, and Veronica’s age be damned! Hiram and Hermione wanted “the same monsignor” from Veronica’s baptism, who I guess has been on leave at the Vatican for five years okay!

Archie wants to know if Veronica will have “to memorize stuff”

Veronica’s confirmation sponsor is her grandmother, which is par for the course, as is volunteering at a soup kitchen for her like 8 hours of required community service. I also had to write a report on Saint Lucy and pray a rosary in front of an abortion clinic. Veronica probably won’t have to do that, since you can’t say abortion on Riverdale

do soup kitchens have any actual paid employees, or are they all stocked with kids who just need volunteer hours/Matthew Goode’s character from The Good Wife in his spare time wearing that blue sweatshirt to characterize him as being “just that nice”?

Hiram is such a fucking soap opera star when he says Veronica has made him “the happiest father ALIVE.” like, alive?

“ISN’T SHE A MIRACLE?”

on FP’s kitchen table is the same kind of half-gallon of milk that Jughead was drinking from the morning after his birthday party. the Andrewses kept a spare half-gallon of skim milk just for Jughead in their fridge? the nicest thing Fred ever did for him

Jughead doubts it: Jughead is VERY sassy with Sheriff Keller and FP loves it!!!! because Jughead can have an anti-authoritarian ’tude WITHOUT NECESSARILY being “a gang member” at that particular moment!

FP is so crisp and put together! FP looks GREAT! what up though, Gladys?

wow I can’t believe Jughead’s article wielded so much political power that its legal ramifications echo throughout the entire episode, as if Jughead were Nellie Bly

“CAN I GET A QUOTE?” this is the Jughead that FP plainly adores

Jughead and Betty both drink skim milk, so, their wedding will be soon

are men on webcams actually fool enough to ask the webcam girls if they can MEET IN REAL LIFE? I have no knowledge about this world, but I would imagine the answer would be “Have you ever seen a film, ever?”

50 Shades of Betty: Betty looks pretty great in that severe black fucking wig and I still want an apology from Chuck specifically about dissing the wig

“Catholic chic” means veils optional, like the stole in black tie

What damn high school in America: Jughead doesn’t have to wear the preppy Lodge uniform, I see? shame

Best costume bit: Betty’s heart sweater is possibly my favorite thing she’s ever worn. I want it BADLY

ARE YOU TELLING ME HIRAM LODGE WANTS TO SUE A HIGH SCHOOL NEWSPAPER?

“DEFAMATION OF CHARACTER”? IS THERE SOMETHING HE WROTE THAT WASN’T TRUE? ARE YOU ~NOT~ BUILDING BOWLING ALLEYS ON NATIVE AMERICAN LAND? I will fucking suit up and be Jughead’s lawyer on this. as has been demonstrated, I have seen every episode of The Good Wife and can probably practice law in Illinois (for instance I know that in Illinois you only need one-person consent to secretly record a conversation)

I love Betty and Jughead being in the same room, of course, but Betty’s gentle, poking “And...did you?” is EXCEPTIONALLY cute. Betty is so cute. and sometimes scary

Jughead’s least clueless moment of the season so far is him looking back knowingly at Betty when she says maybe he would do it to “avenge Toni’s grandfather”

“WE’RE PALS.”

Jughead kind of looks great leaning against the window. like the lighting or something. God, please let me one day see the two of them making out with Betty in her cheerleading uniform

okay, I thought Betty and Jughead, IT WAS IMPLIED, had already had sex, because I was shown them waking up together after they had slept together in the trailer. apparently they LITERALLY slept together. APPARENTLY THEY HAVE NOT HAD SEX YET. I should have known, from the sleeper biceps, that Jughead was still pining IN THIS WAY, FOR THAT! I should have KNOWN Betty had not RIDDEN JUGHEAD INTO THE SUNSET YET. fuck! what am I doing!

Every triangle has three corners, every triangle has three sides: I also emotionally defend Betty’s ecru lie about not having “done anything” with anyone since the breakup since, as one will recall, immediately after her and Archie’s kiss they stared in horror at each other and have not talked about it since, thus cancelling it out as a real kiss (this is also a statute of Illinois law)

Hermione Lodge has some sort of skinny gold Lothlórien belt on over her deep merlot blazer

Archie > Dawson: Archie is sweet when he apologizes for making Pop double-check the order: “It’s more to make sure I get everything right.”

Archie hears Pop’s slip about Hiram being “the boss,” but other things happen and he FORGETS! at what inopportune time will he remember? when he’s physically embracing Jughead Jones?

although couldn’t Pop just play it off like Hiram is Archie’s boss? think on your feet, Pop

for the record I love Agent Adams and his whole deal. his plan is so insane that it might be brilliant. I just do still wish he were being played by either Sterling K. Brown or Max Greenfield

he doesn’t appreciate Archie’s attitude: “Is there a problem?” yeah, uh, Archie’s like twelve years old and not a trained undercover field agent? I love this stupid shit

oh, everyone’s being evicted from Sunnyside? if only Jughead hadn’t driven the southside’s only lawyer out of town with Kenickie Murdoch’s switchblade

OH MY GOD HERMIONE’S PANTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

according to everyone’s facial expressions, Veronica is under the impression she is doing good political maneuvering inviting the McCoys to her confirmation, Hermione is stunned she did so, Veronica really wanted to sing a solo, and Josie doesn’t know why she has to fucking apologize for anything

Josie being Veronica’s “gift” from Mayor McCoy is horrifying

Sixth period is Intro to Film: Cruel Intentions is a fantastic Catholic standard, containing as it does cocaine, “experimental” girl-on-girl French kissing, Ryan Phillippe’s ass, the line “I'm the Marcia fucking Brady of the Upper East Side and sometimes I want to kill myself,” and implied step-sibling fucking, all of which I think Riverdale should include more of

the blue and red lighting inside the Wyrm is still nice. does the Wyrm even count as a dive? strippers probably wouldn’t waste their time at dives

wow there are some true beards in this crowd

okay…..the idea that Tall Boy is a better suspect than Jughead…...because he’s physically taller…..is singularly the most fantastic thing…..I have ever heard…..

I’ve seen Brick like thirty times: the sound of Archie shifting on the leather of Hiram’s couch is real good

“I RESPECT A MAN WHO WOULD GO TO SUCH EXTREMES.” HIRAM PLEASE!!!!! ARCHIE IS TOO DUMB FOR THIS!!!!!!

Gay?!: Ben? who the fuck is Ben? who is BEN? who the fuck?

OH MY GOD Jughead got in to see the mayor AGAIN! is Ethel Muggs her secretary???

Jughead interrupted Mayor McCoy eating her salad at her desk

for like the third time in the series she says she’s “always liked” Jughead, which, fat lot of good that’s done him

in Riverdale there is a red uniform at the soup kitchen, because even THE POOR must abide by aesthetics

Archie doesn’t know what cutting cigars means

Archie’s shoulders are nice under that polo

Betty’s plan about “treat it like a missing person’s case” and making it like this snooping Blue and Gold intrigue thing is of course welcome as a pretense for the two of them working together (on the show’s part), but in reality it’s just the fucking bare minimum that THE AUTHORITIES should ALREADY BE FUCKING DOING THEMSELVES

at this point I went to bed and had a very gripping, sexy dream about Veronica and Jughead. Veronica and Jughead

“Damn good coffee”: Hiram floating having to “bring Archie in” on the Lodge Family Tammany Hall is only slightly less absurd than the Federal Bureau of Investigation having already done so. what does Archie need to be brought in on, exactly? he’s just Veronica’s arm candy. he barely knows what a cigar is

while it is STILL ODD that Veronica has done a 180 on her accepting her father’s criminality, she still holds Archie up as a beacon of goodness, because, like I said, shoulders, polos

Jughead’s “order of the Ophidians” as he tapes up the Missing poster is either, so far as I can tell, an extremely obscure MMORPG reference or he’s just calling them snakes, but like, in Latin

Penny didn’t die of gangrene from her blistering wound like on the Oregon trail? probably a plus

FP is in some deep pain here. this is so far beyond his worst fears about Jughead joining the Serpents that he like never even fucking considered—I NEVER FUCKING CONSIDERED IT, IT WAS FUCKING RIDICULOUS

I certainly don’t think Penny’s terms are like, PARTICULARLY OUT OF LINE

ooooh Jughead’s little snipe at his father for fridging Jason!

I DON’T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH “YOU WILL BE THE DEATH OF US,” THE ANGUISHED REALIZATION IN FP’S EYES, GLADYS STAY AWAY!!!!!

I can’t believe the sixth season of The Wire takes place in Riverdale and doesn’t even have Sonja Sohn playing Agent Adams

Alice’s angel wing-white Founding Father blouse and Betty’s textured peach sweater

Hal is REALLY skittish about Chic, considering that HE’S HIS SON, SO FAR AS WE KNOW. but Hal hordes important information until the bitter end, so he probably just knows some shit

The Blossom Whoever the fuck’s spawn: “He’s a stranger. That’s my beef.”

“It’s been ~some time~ since my last confession” is usually the most accurate clocking I could give as well

I love the very dangerous clusters of candles inside the confessional

These students are legally children: NO ONE is helping Veronica. Veronica is trying to “find her thing” like, in the dark, lit by votive candles

I loved the circle of beautiful mob wives drinking wine and talking about how praying to “the Almighty” for “forgiveness” makes them feel better #aspirational

Hiram isn’t fucking around with Mr. Man “disrespecting Pop Tate.” Pop Tate is an angel, doing his best out here in a chaotic world. his poutine is probably great!

Archie’s stuck using the wrong kind of plunger

Poppa Poutine says Hiram lost his “mojo” in “the joint”

is Poppa right? is Hiram weak? if you subtract the Andrews boys, he doesn’t seem to have any problems

The 2001 Josie and the Pussycats movie was a masterpiece: Josie is back with killer witchy earrings, a lovely dress, and a fierce hold on the remainder of her personal agency

of course it’s “Bitter Sweet Symphony” but with harps. you know the Verve doesn’t get any royalties from that song? are the Rolling Stones the worst band in the world?

I LIKE THE SWOOSH FROM LARRY OR WHOEVER AND POPPA BACK TO ARCHIE WATCHING THEM

the back of the church is bathed in purple, the altar is yellow, the monsignor is in BRIGHT PALM SUNDAY RED, and this is what church should have always been like

Fwoopy hair is the best hair: Hermione’s strong-shouldered structured white jacket is amazing and Jughead forgoed his hat, to be respectful

Cheryl’s a chaos angel from hell: slightly strangely, Cheryl isn’t there at all this episode, but what we are truly robbed of is seeing what she would have worn to the confirmation

Veronica has a SUPER-SWEET very light pink/purple manicure!

Summer + Blair = Veronica: you better believe when Veronica was asked if she renounced Satan I was like, IS SHE GOING TO LOOK AT HER FATHER AND STORM OUT OF THAT CHURCH????? I THOUGHT SHE MIGHT!!!!!

instead I got an amazing thematic light show about Veronica choosing to believe in Archie’s unflagging internal compass and following his light (“the light of the Lord”!)

HE GIVES HER A TINY HAPPY NOD WHILE SHE’S THINKING, LIKE “YEAH BABE I KNOW YOU RENOUNCE SATAN!!!!!”

Veronica was rich: Veronica does look like a fucking angel up there

wow, Dilton isn’t DJing the afterparty? weird

why are Betty and Archie standing together AT ALL?

Abuelita is 100% right about pinching Archie’s cheek and Archie goes with it because he is respectful

Jughead eats: Jughead is so tormented he neglects the buffet!!!!!!

Jughead’s suit is very nice. I like the progression of his wearing better and better suits

Betty takes the news of Jughead’s CONFESSION that he “cut” Penny pretty stoically, as she did boil a guy once

POOR JUG IS RIGHT, IT DIDN’T EVEN MATTER!

Closed Captioning tells me the junkyard guy’s name is “JUNKYARD STEVE,” MY MAN

“If only we lived in a town where the answer could be no.”

Sexy, aesthetic Southside: Jughead in his leather jacket OVER HIS SUIT JACKET is pretty good!

“BY ANY CHANCE WAS THIS GENTLEMAN TALL?” OH MY GOD!!!! CASE FUCKING CLOSED BOYS!!!!!!!

Hermione hauling Veronica back for the photographer

Archie looking up from behind the closing art deco elevator doors

The female gaze: Archie is of course so handsome and perfectly proportioned in his suit. his handsomeness is such a given that I take it wholly for granted, like how when not suffering an allergy attack I can breathe from both nostrils but when one hits and I’m sneezing up my guts I’m like, air coming in from both nostrils? true bliss, I’ll never forget it again

God, did he get rid of his tailored cranberry Blossom suit? not the WORST crime committed in Riverdale, but probably worthy of eviction

Fifth period is AP English: as @hangingonyourwords noted, Archie knowing the word “coup” is VERY surprising! GOOD, ARCHIE

Hiram Lodge is, I think, listening to that song from Carmen while pouring himself a stiff drink, the massive Rory Gilmore portrait of Veronica over one shoulder and the blue light of an antipodean sea streaming in over the other, using a rotary phone to call in A MURDER

Tall Boy having to suffer interrogation by Jughead, whom he surely must have always despised, is his final indignity 

Jughead calls Betty “one of us,” which has not been given enough fanfare by ANYONE in the show! Betty is ONE HUNDRED PERCENT as much a Serpent as Jughead, unless Jughead’s mother is a Serpent, except that she hasn’t had to shout their stupid rules into someone’s face yet

I’m writing a scene where it’s gay.: “YOU HAVEN’T ANSWERED MY SON’S QUESTION.”

the poor Serpents have been twisted around rich northsiders’ fingers for so long that they don’t have any fucking idea what to be doing when NOT at the behest of a blackmailer or bribery. I don’t know what it means to be a Serpent except that it means you’re poor and comely. and VERY civic-minded

“You’re a Judas, Tall Boy. And an idiot.”

Gay.: Sweet Pea raises both his arms to vote

FP’s gonna run Tall Boy out of town. a word of advice: one town over is not far enough

hell, Archie’s seen all those mob movies too! he and Jughead must’ve watched them together while Jughead was sleeping in his bedroom

Archie’s speech to Veronica is GOOD, ARCHIE, and what Veronica gets out just reinforces my thought that Hiram is literally starting a second town under Mayor McCoy’s nose, which would concern me expect that it has been definitely shown that even after things are executed on Riverdale I confuse myself and am invariably exactly wrong

I would probably kiss Archie too if he looked at me like that and said “I’m with you,” which I think explains Betty

HAHAAAAAAAAAAA OKAY!!!!!! SOMETHING IN THE WATER IN FP’S TRAILER

Jughead’s suspenders? a startling plus!

I like the quietness of “Maybe we can ask Veronica on Monday.” it reminded me of Archie’s face-saving some-other-time-definitely promise to go to the library with Jughead

“Maybe we should just investigate quietly until we know more.”

BLESSED BE THE CHILDREN and Jughead’s brusque scoff at himself for saying “my darkness”

in a move that the last few episodes haven’t shown him as having enough sense to make, Jughead puts his hand, not on Betty’s hand, but directly on the skirt of her dress

also Jughead knows that dress zippers have a point where you think it’s gone all the way down but really you’ve got a little further to go otherwise you can’t get the waistline over the hips? Jug’s got a little bit of game going on!

I like the silhouette of Jughead’s Adam’s apple

while Jughead is doing an excellent job delicately checking in with Betty’s sacral chakra, with his bare hand, I don’t want to overlook either his own gently crossed ankles as he holds her or his AMAZING SOCKS

when Betty tells him she needs to tell him something, he EXHALES a “What?” before he says “What is it?” WHOOP

she is missing a pretty sick meatloaf or pork of some more at her mother’s dinner table

I didn’t think there was a physiognomically scarier white guy around than Chic himself, but I was wrong!!!! it’s definitely that guy at the door!!!!!!

oh shit, Archie sort of got somebody (else) killed. this is like when Jughead didn’t mean to but definitely got somebody’s face beaten in by Tall Boy and Serpent Baby—holy shit what happened to that kid!!!! where did Serpent Baby go???

Certified pedigree: OKAY SENDING THE STATUE HEAD TO HIRAM LODGE VIA A CONFIRMATION “PRESENT” TO HIS DAUGHTER IS A PRETTY GREAT MOVE. I ASSUME THIS WAS YOU, FP JONES. FP IS REALLY GOOD AT PUTTING WORDLESS THREATENING MESSAGES INTO BOXES

in the shot bingo of Riverdale, the middle box would have to be Betty coming through her front door and pausing because she hears something suspicious

Mädchen Amick, MÄDCHEN AMICK: the squishy sound effect of the rags on the wet floor? her perfect hair? her bright blue turtleneck? “Elizabeth, did you lock the front door?” Alice is already three steps ahead!!! Alice Alice Alice!!!!!

Alice and FP have now both cleaned up somebody else’s murder’s cranial blood (I’m assuming Chic clocked this guy, which means it was probably Melody), further proof they belong together

Please protect Betty: Betty fucking Jughead probably saved her life

Next week: Cheryl shoots a bow and arrow!!! into my heart!!!!!!!!!

[therappundit]

June 2018 - *PlayLi$t of the Month*

SUMMER IS HERE, AND THE RAP WORLD IS ON FIRE RIGHT NOW.

Where do we begin? Pusha-T vs. Drake, Drake vs. Kanye West, the whole damn world vs. Kanye, Rhymefest vs. Kanye vs. Kim Freakin’ Kardashian, cynical rap fans like myself vs. all of the Kanye stans - and there are numerous other rap skirmishes happening around us (ranging from petty to serious), plus a critically panned A$AP Rocky album, rumors of a new Clipse song - how can anyone keep up!? It’s like the summer heat already has folks going crazy...

As always, The Rap Pundit is going to focus more on the music, because we have a whole lot to be thankful for. There has been so much sensational new music to drop over the last few weeks, so I did my best to try to acknowledge most of my favorite projects that are currently seated high in my rotation (even though, truth be told, I could have dedicated slots 1-7 to DAYTONA, just sayin’).

My soundtrack for June is packing heat like the oven door, so enjoy this extra long, extra ‘eghck!’ edition of the Pundit PlayLi$t...

1. “The Games We Play” - Pusha-T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j98tczxXKtE

(Some of the best bars on DAYTONA can be found right here. And this Booker T. Averheart sample....sheeeeesh, I might not be a fan of Ye the album, but I am a huge fan of Ye the producer. Pusha-Ton dedicates this one to his core fanbase, declaring DAYTONA the “Purple Tape” for a new generation. Personally I don’t think this project can be compared to the legendary Raekwon album, but I would put this song up against the any song made by anyone else rapping today. And regardless of whether this album turns out to be a classic or not, I can say this with certainty: “The Games We Play” will be a classic rap song.)

2. “Hard Piano” - Pusha-T feat. Rick Ross & Tony Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEEAqPMSZqU

(DAYTONA is a relentless smash of a project from start to finish, so ranking each song on the album is more of a 1a, 1b, 1c scenario. Right now I’m vibin’ with “Hard Piano” like it’s “New God flow Pt. 2″. Pusha glides across Kanye’s slick sampling of Charles Wright & Watts 103rd Rhythm Band’s “High As Apple Pie Slice II”, and by the time we get to Rozay’s “this is for the sneaker hoarders and coke snorters”, you know that he’s about to bless us with one of the best verses that he’s done in quite some time. He knows that you gotta bar-up when Pusha is in album mode! I don’t know if any other song in Pusha’s catalogue better showcases his “be Sosa not Tony” mentality like “Hard Piano”. DAYTONA should be coming out of speakers everywhere.)

3. “Dostoyevsky” - Black Thought & 9th Wonder feat. Rapsody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54OUwQA2wQs

(Welcome to 2018, Black Thought “solo” project. No, it’s not the dream solo debut that Black Thought fans have been dreaming about for decades, but it is a highly successful byproduct of Thought’s collaboration with 9th Wonder & The Soul Council. As an EP it’s more of a sterling appetizer than an opus, but rest assured, Streams of Thought, Vol. 1 is a non-stop bar-fest and a feast for the ears. As if five Black Thought songs alone weren’t enough, Rapsody comes through on “Dostoyevsky” and more than holds her own alongside the Roots frontman. Let this EP be further confirmation of the embarrassment of riches that is rap music in 2018.)

4. “If You Know, You Know” - Pusha-T

https://soundcloud.com/pushat/if-you-know-you-know

(Simply one of the best openings I have ever heard on a rap album. The build is perfect, and the beat is vicious. Not the traditional fair that fans associate with Pusha from back in the Clipse era...but remember how different those Neptunes beats once sounded to the traditional hip-hop ear? Kanye clearly considered what made Pusha’s presence so effective on YOGI’s commercial smash “Burial”, and then it dialed up to 11 with “If You Know, You Know”, a rare triumphant rap-EMD hybrid. It’s an attention grabbing intro, a rap star anthem capable of getting any crowd hyped, and the best catchphrase to come out of DAYTONA and into the rap lexicon.)

5. “Leaps” - Rigz

https://soundcloud.com/prodbymichaelangelo/rigz-leaps-prod-by-michaelangelo

(I don’t know much about MichaelAngelo - the producer, that is - but I know I enjoy the limited sample size that I have heard thus far. What I DO know and have known for some time, is that Rigz is one of the dopest MC’s in the game right now. If you haven’t checked out the Rochester native’s catalogue, I highly recommend his mixtapes, but you can also start with this loosie right here. Rigz can flat-out rap.)

6. “Hun43rd” - A$AP Rocky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cp8sSx06Bds

(This track is gorgeous. The soothing instrumental cruises along as Rocky waxes nostalgic about Harlem. Sure, it’s good stuff, but then the song goes to another level when Devonté Hynes/Blood Orange releases a smooth hook that could easily be mistaken for a sample from an 80′s New Wave band...or maybe a song that would have felt at home on the Batman Returns soundtrack? Yeah I should probably stop before I date myself any further. Anyway, this one is easily a contender for Testing’s strongest track, textbook Rocky right here.)

7. “Come Back Baby” - Pusha-T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SkMJqlZ6Y0

(Elements of classic Ye can be found all over track #4 on DAYTONA. Three braggadocios verses from Pusha are broken up by a soulful George Jackson sample, and to great effect. As with so many of Pusha-T’s classic tracks, “Come Back Baby” succeeds in making a dangerous lifestyle sound awfully seductive.)

8. “Buck Shots” - A$AP Rocky feat. Smooky MarGielaa & Playboi Carti

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBTeuZhftTY

(If Ryan Gosling and company were to do a sequel to Drive, I could picture him listening to “Buck Shots” during a brooding moment from behind the wheel of his ‘73 Chevy Malibu. To some the “buck shots” repetition might sound grating, but I feel like it really helps take the catchiness of this Kelvin Krash beat into maximum overdrive. The song personifies the emphasis of style over substance on Testing, which works for me in this case because of how well that vibe is reinforced with this album, at least sonically.)

9. “Self Destruction” - Boogie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXNMVRsIeB4

(Is there a non-TDE West Coast rapper better than Boogie right now? I was expecting him to explode right after “Oh My” started to catch heat in 2015, but after a strong appearance on Royce Da 5′9′s Book Of Ryan and a buzz-worthy album on the way, it looks like 2018 might actually be the year for Boogie to ascend to the next level. Want further proof? Check out the feast of rhymes on his trippy new single, “Self Destruction”. The Compton MC’s future is looking very, very bright right now.)

10. “Percs” - Denzel Curry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7PS4gJe5Y4

(If a scientist took elements of A$AP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar and Chief Keef and stirred them together in a pot, Denzel Curry would be the outcome. It’s refreshing to hear a trap-inspired rapper denounce some of the drugs that are currently frying the brains of his peers, but it does make sense that the message would come from Curry, who seems to be wise beyond his years. I am pretty eager to hear what else lies in store for us on his upcoming album, Ta13oo.)

11. “Ministry” - MIKE

https://mikelikesrap.bandcamp.com/track/ministry-4

(If you’re not familiar with MIKE, now is the perfect time to fix that. His newly released album, Black Soap, confirms that the young NYC rapper follows his own path and has a very bright future. “Ministry” reminds me of the type of subterranean NY rap that we haven’t heard enough of since the Def Jux era.)

12. “Jujitsu” - Tuamie & Henny L.O. feat. Fly Anakin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp1C09p_XbI&index=9&t=0s&list=PLqD8s2lDRYOtiHUSkTpi6eUe8n9Fs-iDl

(Another month, another incredibly dope project from the Mutant Academy collective. Henny and Fly sound blissful over this sweet Tuamie production, one of many wonderful cuts on their new Emergency Raps, Vol. 2 compilation...one of many projects that got lost in the shuffle of Drake vs. Pusha T hoopla over the past week. Do yourself a favor and add this to your collection right now!)

13. “Sunoco” - Al.Divino & $auce Heist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMQSBpvZJKo

(WOW, hard NYC rap doesn’t get much better than this crazy new Al.Divino and $auce Heist project! Pretty crazy considering only Heist is from NY, while Divino hails from Massachusetts. I’m really loving the beat on this one, it sounds like a Bjork “Human Behavior” sample but I’m not sure if that’s the case? The whole BENGAL BONE MARROW tape is worth the $40 price tag, it is brutally good.)

14. “Infrared” - Pusha-T

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ytzc6ehAvOM

(Hey have you guys heard this one? Pretty under the radar, yeah I know. Seriously what more can be said about this one.....except that it’s pure FIRE, no matter whose corner you stand in with the Drake-Pusha beef.)

15. “Soul Reaver” - A$AP Ant feat. A$AP Twelvyy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnRFRhv-EGI

(Before A$AP Rocky released his album, A$AP Ant dropped a new album titled Lil Black Jean Jacket. As one of the less heralded members of the A$AP Mob, it’s easy to overlook this project...but you would be making a mistake. To me, this tape succeeds in all of the areas that Playboi Carti’s Die Lit album failed. You won’t find much lyrical depth on Jacket, but you will find catchy flows and hypnotic production. And on “Soul Reaver”, you will also find the best verse on the album, courtesy of Twelvyy. This sleepy gem really goes!)

16. “Long Way” - Benny feat. El Camino

https://soundcloud.com/bennythebutcher1/benny-the-butcher-long-way-ft-el-camino-prod-by-dj-shay

(The loop and Camino’s hook-work gives this joint an old school Dipset aesthetic, while Benny’s bars remind me of prime Beanie Sigel, and I’m loving all of this!  “Long Way” is favorite joint off of Benny’s new A Friend Of Ours project, but the whole tape is worth playing front to back.)

17. “Brotha Man” - A$AP Rocky feat. French Montana

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYbWAgF02no

(The most soulful song on Testing, and there’s a lot to like here. French Montana channels his best Marvin Gaye impression - there’s a sentence I never thought I would type - and "Brotha Man” also includes some of the album’s finer written moments from Rocky. True to form, his reference to caring more about personal style rather than important social issues is a display of brutal honesty that only adds to the track’s authenticity.)

18. “Hoop Dreamin” - Blueprint feat. Has-Lo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Drv4yESEMFM

(A few weeks back, rapper/producer Blueprint slipped out a brand new project titled Two-Headed Monster, where he explores a number of topics over some beautiful production. The palpable sense of urgency felt on “Hoop Dreamin” makes this cut my favorite off the album, but the whole project warrants more attention.)

19. “Helvetica” - CODENINE & Mr. Rose feat. Milano Constantine, Al.Divino & Estee Nack https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AWJEJj3oT8

(Proving that the underground collective swirling around Al.Divino and Estee Nack is one that you need to watch, CODENINE and Mr. Rose’s project is another notch on the team’s belt. “Helvetica” has the feel of one of those classic late 90′s underground hip-hop cyphers.)

20. “Kevlar Tux” - SONNYJIM & Conway feat. Roc Marciano

https://soundcloud.com/sonnyjim01/03-kevlar-tux-ft-roc-marciano?in=sonnyjim01/sets/conway-x-sonnyjim-death-by-misadventure

(I’ve heard chatter suggesting that this SONNYJIM & Conway project wasn’t official? Well this Conway & Roc Marci joint sounded officially dope to me, so it still belongs on this playlist, no doubt.)

*Bonus - Honorable Mention*

“Twofifteen” - Black Thought & 9th Wonder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgJ434TL-bo

(Black Thought sounds like he is unleashing 25 years of lyrical tenacity on this one, the first of five great tracks off of his project with 9th Wonder & The Soul Council.)

“Onna Gang” - DaBoii (of SOB x RBE)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ-FTDFkwAM

(The SOB x RBE stand-out showcases his solo skills all over this bouncy head-nodder.)

“Tony Tone” - A$AP Rocky feat. Puff Daddy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6z6oiTirFQ

(Another sharp cut from Rocky’s new album, which seems like it will be under-appreciated for the foreseeable future. The menacing, teeth-grinding beat alone is worth the price of admission.)

“Mob Era” - Tha God Fahim & Jay NiCE feat. Left Lane & Mach-Hommy

https://soundcloud.com/thagodfahim/tha-god-fahim-x-jay-nice-x-left-lane-x-mach-hommy-mob-eraprodby-jlvsn

(JLVSN laced Fahim, Mach and company with a tense little piano loop, and all four MCs deliver. )

“Unknown Worlds” - Planet Asia feat. Montage One

https://planet-asia.bandcamp.com/track/unknown-worlds

(Planet Asia’s second project of 2018 - maybe more, it’s hard to keep track because the guy is a workhorse- Mansa Musa is as strong as all of his previous projects, but there’s a freshness to the samples used on this one that make it one of my favorite PA projects from the last few years. Both West Coast icons kill this one, and Planet Asia deserves the AC Green award for longevity in the game at this point - he may never fall off!)

“NYCHA” - Dave East feat. Nas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsrMVAB3weY

(The soundtrack to Netflix’s Rapture dropped a few weeks back, mostly unnoticed, but it had some strong joints. Perhaps none hotter than this NY-centric Dave East & Nas jam, my favorite collaboration that I have heard from the Mass Appeal duo thus far.)

[ICYMI: Last month’s list below]

https://therappundit.tumblr.com/post/174009402131/may-2018-playli-t-of-the-month

[smokeybrand]

Steal Your Heart

I’ve been playing the sh*t out of Person 5 lately. My anticipation for P5R is boiling over so i wanted to revisit where it all started. I’d gush about the game itself but i already did that, twice. No, this is more about how dope my summon crew has become. I adore the team I’ve put together. It took some fenangling but I’ve customized the sh*t out of some of these guys to create legit powerhouses.

Satanael

It was a legit pain in the ass to get this guy. I had to jump through hoops and two entire playthroughs before i had all the materials to create him but, i must say, i am SO glad i did. This asshole is a goddamn powerhouse! He’s resistant to everything, absorbs curse, and nullifies Holy. I’m pretty sure he’s the only Persona in the entire game that nullifies Holy. My particular version carries the strongest curse attack in the entire game, Maeigaon as well as the strongest non-special Holy attack in Megidoloan. He also has Cosmic Flare, the strongest Nuclear option and Riot Gun, one of the most powerful Gun techniques in the game. I don’t really use the Gun stuff but it’s nice to have. On the other side for support, I kept Salvation, Full HP and cure all stat ailments as well as Samarecarm, a revival spell that returns on ally to battle with full health. Dude also has Holy boost and Victory cry, fully rover Sp and HP for yourself after every battle, as passive skills. He’s pretty f*cking hardbody and i like to keep him in the party for the endgame. That being said, he’s not my go-to. I adore this f*cker but my main is far more powerful than he is in an active battle situation. Still, it’s dope knowing i have this option on deck when necessary.

Strength: 63

Magic: 62

Endurance: 59

Agility: 61

Luck: 59

Thanatos

I know this isn’t part of the Compendium proper and it’s kind of cheap but i love Thanatos. Persona 3 is my favorite of the the series and it’s introduction t the series was just breathtaking. I was mad shook watching this thing ravage those shadows nd became stupid bummed when i was forced to use f*cking Orpheaus for 70 percent of the title. But then i finally got my dude and it was a wrap after that. Seeing him as special DLC in this one made my heart flutter so you KNOW i had to fenangle my guy into the party! My Thanatos opens the deck with Door of Hades, an laughably powerful Holy attack. That sh*t wipes the floor with EVERYTHING! I’m pretty sure it’s the second most powerful attack in the entire game, Holy or not, and carries a chance to instantly kill a foe. It’s stupid OP and i wish it transferred because if i could get my main to inherent this attack, she’d be perfect. I followed that up with Maeigaon and Mamudoon, a curse based attack with a medium chance to instantly kill. I don’t really use these attacks considering Door but it’s nice to diversify. Speaking of diversification, i also have One-Shot Kill, a gun attack that deals sever damage with a very high critical rate. Not bad of the offense side but what about defense? Nothing. I have no buffs of healing spells on this cat. That’s not what he’s for. He’s a f*cking wrecking ball for tight situations and i love him for it. As far as Passive, he’s got a ton. We start with Curse Amp to beef up those two curse attack, Fortified Moxy to increase crit rate during an ambush, Enduring Soul to stay alive with full HP if I’m wiped out, and Adverse Resolve to increase Crit rate if i start a battle surrounded. Stock attacks, sure, but dude doesn’t need much. He’s a goddamn powerhouse out the box!

Strength: 67

Magic: 70

Endurance: 59

Agility: 60

Luck: 48

Ishtar

Ishtar is my requisite healer. She naturally lends herself to that task but, at the same time, has enough attack power to make hr a front line fighter if necessary. I’ve rarely had to whip her out for offensive situations but she’s front loaded with Megidolaon and Psiodyne, the most powerful Psy attack in the game outside of Specials. These re dope to have but they’re not really all that necessary. No, the strength of Ishtar lies in her healing and debuff abilities. Mediarahan restore full HP to the entire party, Samarecarm revives one fallen ally with full HP, and Salvation recovers full HP to the entire party while curing most status ailments. I told you; Healer. To buff her abilities, i have Spell Master, Halves the SP cost of all spells by half and Arms Master, reduces HP cost of skills by half. Growth 3 is in there as kind of a place holder. I plan to change that out with a proper inherited skill as soon as i think of one that compliments her build. I thought about Drain Wind to nullify her her only weakness but she’s not out in battle enough to waste that slot. SO far, I’m at a loss but, considering how rarely i have to use her because of my MVP, I’d say it’s not too big a loss.

Strength: 52

Magic: 69

Endurance: 62

Agility: 70

Luck: 51

Alice

My baby. My love. My heavy hitter. Alice is not only my favorite, ll-time Persona, but l most always become my min in every game. Ever since i fused her way back in Persona 3, I’ve been infatuated with how diverse you n make her build. If you craft correctly, she can become the most powerful beast in the entire game! That ludicrous strength lies in her flagship attack, Die For Me. This Curse based, Instant Kill attack slaughters everything not a boss, at a near perfect rate. Not only that, but it can be buffed to greater success. If you put into the time to craft her properly, Alice is a genocide in a blue skirt. And you KNOW i took that time, bro! I had her also inherit Megidolaon and Maeigaon because they’re two of the most powerful attacks in the goddamn game! Plus, i spotted her Salvation for good measure. on the Passive side, she has Holy Boost, Mudo Boost, Curse Amp, and Victory Cry; all buffs to her already ludicrous fighting strength and one that instantly heals my guy after battle. As long as i don’t run out of SP or HP before the end of a fight, I’m golden. And let me tell you, with this build? I win fights, bro. Sh*t is EASY with my girl and i love it! Also, she has one of the highest Magic ratings in my game.

Strength: 54

Magic: 74

Endurance: 53

 Agility: 69

Luck: 54

Honorable Mentions

These cats just missed the boat. They are formidable Persona in their own right and I’m proud to call them the B Squad, but they are a WAYS off from being as staunchy as the A-Team. I usually have them in slots 5 - 9 just in case, but they see the field even less than Ishtar.

Mother Harlot - I love my Whore of Babylon! Ice Age ain’t a bad attack either.

Lucifer - He’s got a decent build, i love Morning star and Black Viper, but it’s hard to ride with him when there’s Satanael.

Satan - Same problem with Lucifer; Satanael trumps him. Diamond Dust is a gorgeous attack bu not pretty enough to get him in the main line up.

Messiah - That Oratario gave this thing an run at my Healer build but Ishtar beat it out. Barely. Messiah Picaro isn’t bad either, just not as good as Ishtar.

Metatron - The thing about Meta is that he’s way to specialized in Holy stuff. It limits his versatility considerably. Still, that Makougaon and Diving Judgement combo is nasty.

Seat Fillers

I add these cats mostly because i like their aesthetic. They will never see battle but i have a thing about not fielding a full 12. While every other Person on this list is maxed out and customized for my style of battle, these 3 are only here because they look cool.

Cybele - Ma is a nice alternative option for healer if Ishtar is taken out. She has a lot of the same spells, just a tier lower. Also, she lacks Spell Master.

Lilith - Lilith is an interesting case. She has a little of every elemental attack. I toy with the idea of tuning her into a general, elemental powerhouse by giving her Megidolaon and Maeigaon at the cost of Spirit Drain and Eigaon but why though? Maybe later. Maybe.

Magatsu-Izanagi - Dude has the potential to be a force if i invest the time to properly build him but it’s hard to want to when i already have Thanatos. It would take a lot of tuning to make this cat great. Outside of Magatsu Mandala, Izanagi is kind of trash. all of his attacks are forgettable but that just means i have 7 skill slots to play around with. Tuner’s delight!

[smokeybrandreviews]

Steal Your Heart

I’ve been playing the sh*t out of Person 5 lately. My anticipation for P5R is boiling over so i wanted to revisit where it all started. I’d gush about the game itself but i already did that, twice. No, this is more about how dope my summon crew has become. I adore the team I’ve put together. It took some fenangling but I’ve customized the sh*t out of some of these guys to create legit powerhouses.

Satanael

It was a legit pain in the ass to get this guy. I had to jump through hoops and two entire playthroughs before i had all the materials to create him but, i must say, i am SO glad i did. This asshole is a goddamn powerhouse! He’s resistant to everything, absorbs curse, and nullifies Holy. I’m pretty sure he’s the only Persona in the entire game that nullifies Holy. My particular version carries the strongest curse attack in the entire game, Maeigaon as well as the strongest non-special Holy attack in Megidoloan. He also has Cosmic Flare, the strongest Nuclear option and Riot Gun, one of the most powerful Gun techniques in the game. I don’t really use the Gun stuff but it’s nice to have. On the other side for support, I kept Salvation, Full HP and cure all stat ailments as well as Samarecarm, a revival spell that returns on ally to battle with full health. Dude also has Holy boost and Victory cry, fully rover Sp and HP for yourself after every battle, as passive skills. He’s pretty f*cking hardbody and i like to keep him in the party for the endgame. That being said, he’s not my go-to. I adore this f*cker but my main is far more powerful than he is in an active battle situation. Still, it’s dope knowing i have this option on deck when necessary.

Strength: 63

Magic: 62

Endurance: 59

Agility: 61

Luck: 59

Thanatos

I know this isn’t part of the Compendium proper and it’s kind of cheap but i love Thanatos. Persona 3 is my favorite of the the series and it’s introduction t the series was just breathtaking. I was mad shook watching this thing ravage those shadows nd became stupid bummed when i was forced to use f*cking Orpheaus for 70 percent of the title. But then i finally got my dude and it was a wrap after that. Seeing him as special DLC in this one made my heart flutter so you KNOW i had to fenangle my guy into the party! My Thanatos opens the deck with Door of Hades, an laughably powerful Holy attack. That sh*t wipes the floor with EVERYTHING! I’m pretty sure it’s the second most powerful attack in the entire game, Holy or not, and carries a chance to instantly kill a foe. It’s stupid OP and i wish it transferred because if i could get my main to inherent this attack, she’d be perfect. I followed that up with Maeigaon and Mamudoon, a curse based attack with a medium chance to instantly kill. I don’t really use these attacks considering Door but it’s nice to diversify. Speaking of diversification, i also have One-Shot Kill, a gun attack that deals sever damage with a very high critical rate. Not bad of the offense side but what about defense? Nothing. I have no buffs of healing spells on this cat. That’s not what he’s for. He’s a f*cking wrecking ball for tight situations and i love him for it. As far as Passive, he’s got a ton. We start with Curse Amp to beef up those two curse attack, Fortified Moxy to increase crit rate during an ambush, Enduring Soul to stay alive with full HP if I’m wiped out, and Adverse Resolve to increase Crit rate if i start a battle surrounded. Stock attacks, sure, but dude doesn’t need much. He’s a goddamn powerhouse out the box!

Strength: 67

Magic: 70

Endurance: 59

Agility: 60

Luck: 48

Ishtar

Ishtar is my requisite healer. She naturally lends herself to that task but, at the same time, has enough attack power to make hr a front line fighter if necessary. I’ve rarely had to whip her out for offensive situations but she’s front loaded with Megidolaon and Psiodyne, the most powerful Psy attack in the game outside of Specials. These re dope to have but they’re not really all that necessary. No, the strength of Ishtar lies in her healing and debuff abilities. Mediarahan restore full HP to the entire party, Samarecarm revives one fallen ally with full HP, and Salvation recovers full HP to the entire party while curing most status ailments. I told you; Healer. To buff her abilities, i have Spell Master, Halves the SP cost of all spells by half and Arms Master, reduces HP cost of skills by half. Growth 3 is in there as kind of a place holder. I plan to change that out with a proper inherited skill as soon as i think of one that compliments her build. I thought about Drain Wind to nullify her her only weakness but she’s not out in battle enough to waste that slot. SO far, I’m at a loss but, considering how rarely i have to use her because of my MVP, I’d say it’s not too big a loss.

Strength: 52

Magic: 69

Endurance: 62

Agility: 70

Luck: 51

Alice

My baby. My love. My heavy hitter. Alice is not only my favorite, ll-time Persona, but l most always become my min in every game. Ever since i fused her way back in Persona 3, I’ve been infatuated with how diverse you n make her build. If you craft correctly, she can become the most powerful beast in the entire game! That ludicrous strength lies in her flagship attack, Die For Me. This Curse based, Instant Kill attack slaughters everything not a boss, at a near perfect rate. Not only that, but it can be buffed to greater success. If you put into the time to craft her properly, Alice is a genocide in a blue skirt. And you KNOW i took that time, bro! I had her also inherit Megidolaon and Maeigaon because they’re two of the most powerful attacks in the goddamn game! Plus, i spotted her Salvation for good measure. on the Passive side, she has Holy Boost, Mudo Boost, Curse Amp, and Victory Cry; all buffs to her already ludicrous fighting strength and one that instantly heals my guy after battle. As long as i don’t run out of SP or HP before the end of a fight, I’m golden. And let me tell you, with this build? I win fights, bro. Sh*t is EASY with my girl and i love it! Also, she has one of the highest Magic ratings in my game.

Strength: 54

Magic: 74

Endurance: 53

Agility: 69

Luck: 54

Honorable Mentions

These cats just missed the boat. They are formidable Persona in their own right and I’m proud to call them the B Squad, but they are a WAYS off from being as staunchy as the A-Team. I usually have them in slots 5 - 9 just in case, but they see the field even less than Ishtar.

Mother Harlot - I love my Whore of Babylon! Ice Age ain’t a bad attack either.

Lucifer - He’s got a decent build, i love Morning star and Black Viper, but it’s hard to ride with him when there’s Satanael.

Satan - Same problem with Lucifer; Satanael trumps him. Diamond Dust is a gorgeous attack bu not pretty enough to get him in the main line up.

Messiah - That Oratario gave this thing an run at my Healer build but Ishtar beat it out. Barely. Messiah Picaro isn’t bad either, just not as good as Ishtar.

Metatron - The thing about Meta is that he’s way to specialized in Holy stuff. It limits his versatility considerably. Still, that Makougaon and Diving Judgement combo is nasty.

Seat Fillers

I add these cats mostly because i like their aesthetic. They will never see battle but i have a thing about not fielding a full 12. While every other Person on this list is maxed out and customized for my style of battle, these 3 are only here because they look cool.

Cybele - Ma is a nice alternative option for healer if Ishtar is taken out. She has a lot of the same spells, just a tier lower. Also, she lacks Spell Master.

Lilith - Lilith is an interesting case. She has a little of every elemental attack. I toy with the idea of tuning her into a general, elemental powerhouse by giving her Megidolaon and Maeigaon at the cost of Spirit Drain and Eigaon but why though? Maybe later. Maybe.

Magatsu-Izanagi - Dude has the potential to be a force if i invest the time to properly build him but it’s hard to want to when i already have Thanatos. It would take a lot of tuning to make this cat great. Outside of Magatsu Mandala, Izanagi is kind of trash. all of his attacks are forgettable but that just means i have 7 skill slots to play around with. Tuner’s delight!

[zacknano17]

Day 17: words 32,099 - 34,020

In which....wow, I think this is like 2000 words of nothing?  In which, nothing happens whatsoever.  Sorry, I’m at the stage where I’m only continuing out of pure spite.

Taako kept his face congenial and friendly while his brain went into panic mode.  While it was quite clear that these people didn't have any idea he was wanted, the fact that this Magnus had so easily recognized him was not really very encouraging.  Of course, this was the kind of town where the rumors would spread right through town if anyone had heard, so he was probably good.

“That's Sizzle It Up With Taako, dear,” Taako heard himself say.  “Yes, that's right, I remember now.  Seafood pasta, right, since you're right on the sea here.  I always did try to demonstrate dishes that were relevant to the area.”

Taako suddenly found that his hand was clasped with Magnus', who was trying to rip his arm off.  Or, shake his hand, maybe?  “Great to meet you,” he said enthusiastically.  “What brings you back to Raven's Roost?  To be honest, the rumors going around town say you were grievously injured or something, but if you're here to do another show...”

“Oh, no.  I'm afraid I'm not here on business,” Taako assured him.  “I was just traveling on through.  My caravan got attacked by bandits, and, while I put up a good fight, I was, eventually, overwhelmed by sheer number.  I did get hurt pretty badly, but I managed to crawl my way here before collapsing.  Lucky for me, Julia here was out for a walk and happened upon me.”

“Poor darling took an arrow to his back and then walked the whole night,” Julia supplied.  “Ms. Nerissa fixed him up with some stitches and a potion, though.  In a few days, he'll be good as new.”

“That's awful,” Magnus replied, looking very serious.  “Any idea how far out you were when you got attacked?  I don't like the idea of bandits running around here.”

“I'm afraid not.  I was running all night, and I'm not even sure which direction I came from,” Taako admitted.

Magnus continued to frown for a moment, but then his expression lifted slightly.  “Well, I'm glad you're all right.  But what's going to happen to the show without your wagon?”

“Oh -- darling, don't worry.  That ship has sailed.  There is no more Sizzle It Up With Taako.”

“What? Really?  Why?  You seemed to be doing so well.”

“Sure, sure.  But one has to move on, you know?  Sometimes you wake up one morning and realize that what you've been doing hasn't been what you're meant to be doing,” Taako remarked, waving a hand. “Even someone as popular as me can't just do a cooking show forever.”

“Ohh. I guess that makes sense,” Magnus said doubtfully.

“You planning to give up carpentry any time soon?” Julia asked him playfully.  “Move on and find a new way of life?”

“My life just isn't as interesting as Taako's,” Magnus replied, laughing.

“Staying in one place just isn't my style,” Taako replied.  He had to admit, in spite of some serious misgivings about the conversation, he was having a very good time, talking about himself.  “Anyway, as it stands, I owe your wife here a good deal.”

“I have an idea!” Julia said.  “You can return the favor by cooking us dinner tonight.  Your recipes are simply to die for, and...”

“Oh -- no.  No, I can't do that,” Taako put in, raising his hands up in front of him.

“We'll provide the ingredients and everything, don't worry,” Julia said.

“And you can use our kitchen.  I'll even help, if you want.  I'm not half bad in the kitchen, but I know most chefs don't want untrained help...”

“No, no, I couldn't.  I can't.  I don't, um, I don't cook anymore.”

Julia and Magnus shared a glance.

“Well, I mean, you don't have to teach us or anything,” Magnus said.

“No. I don't cook at all anymore.  Never.  Nunca.  Nada.  Sorry, folks. I already agreed to teach Juju some cantrips, and how's that for returning the favor?” Taako insisted.

The silence lasted just long enough to be considered awkward, and then Julia smiled and clasped her hands together.  “A couple of cantrips sounds like a fair deal to me” she decided.  “Magnus, Taako here is something of a wizard.”

“Oh, sweet!  You can do magic?  I've always loved magic, but I can't sit long enough to learn.”

Taako looked him over, with his giant muscles and his enormous build. “Can't help but think a big guy like you doesn't need magic.”

Magnus laughed heartily.  “Well, it's true, I do okay without it,” he admitted.

And with that, the topic of cooking and the demise of Sizzle It Up With Taako was dropped.  Taako resisted the urge to let out a giant sigh of relief, but he did feel that ever present knot of anxiety in his chest fade to the back of his mind a little bit.  He knew he hadn't been terribly subtle, and anyone with half a brain could probably figure out that the fact that the show was no longer around was probably directly connected to the fact that he didn't cook anymore. But there was no way they were going to guess it was because he was responsible for the deaths of forty people.

As for Julia and Magnus, well, he found he rather liked them.  Generally speaking, the overly enthusiastic types like Magnus usually irritated him, but he found that Julia was a good temper for his excitement. And Julia herself was somewhat too shrewd for his liking, but she seemed to genuinely want to help.  They were good people, and, while he definitely didn't trust them, he didn't mind sharing space with them.  It seemed good that it had been Julia who found him rather than someone else.

Magnus cooked them all dinner and Taako tried very hard not to critique his use of basil.  True to his word, however, Magnus did know his way around the kitchen pretty well, which was kind of a relief after that tasteless soup Julia had made earlier.

And after that, Taako knew it was about time to move on out of here.

He attempted to help with dishes, only to be shooed away, and then began packing up his belongings.  The Burnsides had done more than enough for him by now, and the last thing he needed was to overstay his welcome.  Magnus and Julia might be nice now, but that didn't mean they always would be.

Besides, he didn't know them at all.  Who was to say they wouldn't try and kill him in his sleep or something?  He didn't know why they would, but you still never knew.  The nice ones sometimes turned out to be serial killers.

“Do you have some sort of inn or something around here?” he asked Magnus, while Julia cleaned up the dinner mess.  “I should probably try and check in soon if I want a room.”

“No need to bother,” Magnus said.  “We have a spare bedroom.”

“Sure, but Taako needs his space, my dude.  A place to throw all my shit down and not worry about someone else feeling like they ought to clean it up for me.  You know what I mean?”

“Um, well, no, not exactly.  I sort of -- well, never mind.  If you want to get out of here, I guess I can't blame you.  Liam's got a tavern down the way, and he rents out the rooms upstairs sometimes.  Other than that...we'd have to talk to Rosie.  She runs a little bed and breakfast, but, um, we don't get a lot of tourists around here, you know.  She's closed up for the season.  If we go in tomorrow, though, she might be able to clean up a room for you.”

“Let's just go see this Liam guy for now,” Taako decided, somewhat relieved that Magnus wasn't going to try and keep him here.  That always was trouble.

“But, you know, you really can stay here,” Magnus said, apparently deciding to ruin everything.  “The guest bedroom locks from the inside and all, plus we won't go in there if you don't want us to.”

“You got some kinda beef with Liam that you don't want him to get business?” Taako asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No! No.  Nothing like that.  It's just...”  Magnus lowered his voice conspiratorially and leaned forward, cupping his hand over his mouth, despite the fact that they were just sitting in his living room. “It's just he's known to have bedbugs and shit.”

“Oh. Oh.  Grosseroni,” Taako agreed, making a face.  There were very few things in this world worse than bedbugs.  “And you're bedbug free, here in the Burnsides Inn?”

“You betcha.  Here.  Let me just show you, and if you wanna go sleep somewhere else, that's cool,” Magnus said, standing up.  “I mean, I get it.  But we're just trying to help, you know?”

“Yeah, sure, sure, I got you.  Let's go see this room.”

The room was made up as nicely as the rest of the house, although it seemed to have a dual purpose of being a storage room.  There were a few boxes of things stacked in the corner of the room, and the closet was full of dusty old clothes that neither of them had worn in a good while.  The bed was roughly hewn from some pale wood, but in a way that was probably more an aesthetic choice rather than a lack of talent.  Taako remembered that Magnus was a carpenter and guessed it had probably been made by him.  The bedspread was dark reds and greens, with cute little bears sewn in as the pattern.  Adorable. This room, like the rest of the house, was thick with rustic charm.

“Sorry about all our stuff.  We weren't really expecting a guest and all,” Magnus commented, waving a hand at the stacks of things in the corner.  “It's easier than dragging all our Candle Nights shit down to the cellar every year, you know?  Anyway, here's the door lock I told you about.”

Taako checked the windows out of habit and pulled back the covers on the bed.  It was clean, and he didn't see any bugs or anything within. It was very tempting, and he was sorely tired, he realized, now as he was looking at a bed.  Elves didn't really sleep the same way humans did, nor did they need as much, but he had spent the entire night past running for his life.

“...and the toilet's just down the hall, but you've probably figured that out by now,” Magnus was saying, clearly having just done an entire rundown of the room while Taako had been not paying attention.  “Our room is straight at the end of this hall, if you end up needing anything during the night.  Oh, and help yourself to anything in the fridge and all that.”

“Uh huh,” said Taako, dropping his pack on the bed.  “I guess I could grace you with my presence an extra night.  Tomorrow we can talk to that lady about a bed without bedbugs where I can stay until another caravan comes through here or whatever.”

“Sure! But, uh, you know caravans don't come through here very often, right?” Magnus said.  “Like, we're a little out of the way.  You might have better luck taking a trade boat.”

“Ugh. I hate sailing.  I think I'll take my chances waiting.”  He would have to find some way to pay this Rosie lady back for the room, but he was pretty good at making himself useful.

[37h4n0l]

1) Don't worry, I (aka the anon who started it all) don't think your reply came off as hostile at all. It's just so tiring when you want to get some things that bother you off your chest and then the obligatory 'but not all xyz do this or that' happens. Yes, I do know that, but it's a generalization. Not all, but enough to make you think it may even be the better part of the fandom. That being said, I agree with all your points against YOI. OK, so the victuuri relationship may be a cute and

(Rest under the cut) (I also hope no one will lynch me for being lazy and putting this out without doing anything about censoring shipnames but I’ll spam it with all the possible anti tags, fear not)

fluffy one that makes you feel good and warm inside or whatever, but is there really a need to write essays analyzing every single gesture or facial expression and then feel proud of your analytical skills, as if you've just discovered a new planet? No, there is not. It's not that deep; it's actually as straightforward a show as it can be. The bashing of otayuri and pliroy is one thing and it has more to do with the general moral poilce anti trend that is spreading everywhere, so I wouldn't attribute it solely to the YOI fandom. Now on the other hand, the bashing of pliroy just because it's contradictory to otayuri, one of the holy doublet of YOI ships, is something that bothers me personally. It's almost as if shipping anything that directly contradicts victuuri/otayuri is a blasphemy in this fandom and generally looked down upon. I've actually seen someone outright ask why would anyone ship pliroy when otayuri exists/is canon/is clearly a better and more healthy option for Yuri etc. So, this and the constant victuuri/otayuri wank, while all the other characters/smaller ships are mostly a background noise to it; it really seems to me as if 5 fanarts out of 10 on my dashboard would feature victuuri, 4 would feature otayuri and there's only one left for other pairings (one-track-mindedness at its finest). And there's of course the fact that most YOI fans seriously think that victuuri is the first canon gay couple in the history of anime, that the anime itself is revolutionary and progressive, that victuuri is a prefect representation, that YOI is the actual anime of the year, because popularity doesn't lie, and if you dare to disagree with all of those, then you're clearly homophobic and whatnot. Plus, there's the invading of the tags unrelated to YOI (not even for the purpose of recommending other titles but to say something along the lines of 'if shit like xyz got a second season, then YOI deserves at least seven' - actually seen something like that with my own eyes) or hijacking of the serious topics (like the oppression of sexual minorities) and making them all about YOI. And that's just the top of the list of what the YOI fandom is guilty of. But hey, it's alright, because it's 'not all' YOI fans. Siigh. Sorry it got so long, but ugh. Sometimes I wish someone would just delete YOI from existence so that we would be spared of all this saltiness. As for 91d, you're probably right about everything but still, I'll never be able to understand why anyone would just voluntarily turn off their thought processes and comprehension skills just because of some personal biases, especially when it comes to a show such as 91d, that requires at least the bare minimum of thinking and analyzing. But whatever, I guess people nowadays are just too used to having everything spelled out to them and handed on a silver plattter (ex. they should've had it explicitly stated on-screen that Avilio and Nero didn't hate each other).

This goes for all the ‘not all’ arguments; the important thing is, as you said, how widespread a behaviour is statistically within a community, but also whether the other members acknowledge that it’s happening or not. I know it’s easy to take it personally when you hear someone complain about a fandom you’re in, but at that point it really only depends on wording (which is deliberately harsh when someone is just venting, it’s just the way it is). 

About meta; yeah, I find a lot of it superfluous as well, as I’ve said before. And by this I don’t mean it should be eliminated from the face of the planet, just that I don’t personally put the 2934892348th detailed explanation on why vn and yk love each other so much in the same ‘tier’ as, say, speculations about the second season or character parallelisms and stuff like that. It’s shipperwankery in the end and I don’t think me making fun of it harms anyone? The only thing I worry about is that it’s hard to separate banter from an actual serious opinion from time to time (could be about how I express myself? Probably yes). No, for the record, I don’t want to exterminate anyone who makes extensive posts about vn’s lustful glare. It’s just... There’s too much of it. Way too much. By the way, the ring controversy and the reaches made there will never not be funny, sorry not sorry.

A bit of a tangent on the otayuri-pliroy conflict; it always seemed so weird to me how similar the two ships are aesthetically? (Considering people keep confusing the two on fanart, I’d say that’s a major fuckup in terms of JJ’s and Otabek’s character design, but that might just be me). I keep getting the impression that they wanted the pliroy bait to go somewhere but then changed their mind for whatever reason and created otayuri as kind of a ‘tamer substitute’. But this is besides the point; it all brings me back to my personal beef with this tendency of positing ‘sugary sweet’ as the only acceptable standard for a relationship because... people are more sensitive nowadays? I can only guess. Viktuuri and otayuri got tied together for some reason, it’s like they come in a package and everyone who ships one has to run with the other as well. 

I grieve for the background characters and smaller ships as well, anon. Just imagine the sheer crack potential; and instead, everything gets pushed in the back in favour of the same things over and over. The things that could’ve been: victurio (the underage ship that tumblr will fucking lynch me for), emil/michele, sara/mila, georgi/yurio (yes I do love my crack), chris/victor, chris/that guy we saw in his room, yuuri’s sister/literally anyone (because I like her) and the list could go on and on. But this is not even always about the ship itself; it’s the dynamics, those are what popularizes things. Even when there are ships in other fandoms that have been popular for a longer time, there’s a tendency on tumblr to make them very mild and fluffy. I’m not saying there’s anything we can do about this, nor that something should be done about it, all I’m in opposition to is people who claim it’s the ‘right’ way to do shipping because it’s ‘healthier’ or something, as you put it.

Because popularity doesn’t lie

Thank you, this is exactly how I’d word it as well. The crux of this issue isn’t yoi being objectively good or bad, it’s whether popularity implies that something is good, or not. Or what ‘good’ even means in this context. My personal (salty) opinion is that there are anime that could be enjoyed just as much as (if not more than) yoi if only they got more exposure. I’m not talking about 91d either because I’ve already explained in detail what the problem with advertising it was in the previous post. And yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re talking about that certain addition to the Chechnya post. I can see it was well-intentioned but it was... well... a little bit out of place, to put it in euphemisms? ‘Too soon’, as they say? But, in the end, I’m sort of glad that yoi exists because if not anything else, it can be considered a massive social experiment, an example of fandom behaviour. And if it made some people happy, then I wish them all the best. The fixation with it will go away with time too, eventually.

[thefanboyseo]

We had a lot of fun doing this Brick Burger review for a number of reasons. (a) this was such a cool concept for a restaurant (b) the quality of the products ranges from good to great to awesome (we’ll get to that later) and (c) because who doesn’t want to play with LEGO?

This geek-lovin’ joint is owned by Mr. Jergens Correa and opened its doors in 2016. It’s located in Hampton Gardens in Pasig City. It”s managed to attract both locals and international LEGO aficionados. According to Jergs, they even had one customer from the states who used Brick Burger to get her kids to fly back to Manila with her. She promised that she would bring them to Brick Burger and that was pretty much a done deal for them.

So to set expectations for this review, we’ll be talking about the quality of the food, the place and all that. As much as I would want to describe EVERY small detail about the dishes, that would be too much. Maybe a future visit could do just that. But I’ll still talk about the food they serve in this Brick Burger review.

VENUE/ LOCATION

Brick Burger’s location is great. The area is big enough for big families looking for an enjoyable meal and they do have tables for two. Great place to go on a date and you just happen to love LEGO bricks. The seats were comfy and they actually fit the aesthetics and theme of the place.

My wife and I had a blast at the LEGO themed BRICK BURGER

Another angle from where we sat

FOOD

I loved the servings they have. Really good portions for chicken and the burgers had just the right size to it.

Darth Burger from Brick Burger

Here’s the rundown of what we had for dinner at Brick Burger.

These dishes include the spaghetti with meatballs, mexican hotdog, the house specialty Correa’s Wings, Darth Burger, the Brick Burger ice cream, Salisbury Steak, mozzarella sticks and the Onion Rings.

For this Brick Burger review, let’s do a quick rundown of each of their dishes and then we’ll give our reaction to each of them.

Darth Burger

Darth Burger had caramelized onions, bacon and mushrooms in it. Plus a hearty beef patty in the heart of it all. And as opposed to the Dark lord of the Sith, this burger has a good and filling side. You don’t have to kill younglings or get beaten to the high ground to be able to enjoy this burger. Top it all off with that black-ish burger patty shaped like a LEGO brick.

Definite it was love at first bite for this burger. I am definitely going back to get my fix for this as well as other burgers they offer here in this establishment. But don’t stop there. They’ve got other burgers you can choose from.

#gallery-0-7 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-0-7 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Salisbury Burger Steak

For rice lovers, Brick Burger offers the Salisbury Steak for less than Php 200. It’s a big serving with generous portions of rice and beef and the sauce is just a perfect amount of saltiness and sweetness.

Mozarella Sticks/ Cheese Sticks

We fell in love with this. It was love at first bite. Good length for these sticks, not bitin. You can definitely enjoy it with or without the sauce/ dip. Must get when you visit Brick Burger.

They have big servings for Onion Rings here in Brick Burger and for 90php/5 pieces, this is definitely something you can get if you want to enjoy the place but you’re on a really, really tight budget.

Meatball Spaghetti

Brick Burger’s Meatball Spaghetti is one of the better spaghetti’s I’ve had in the past six months. The noodles were cooked well and the meatballs had so much flavor in it. I was telling my wife that they really should have called in Meatbrick Spaghetti and then shape the said meatballs in LEGO brick shape.

Correa’s Wings

The best-seller when it comes to chicken in Brick Burgers happens to be a family special as well. We tried the Correa’s Wings and we instantly became fans. It’s got a consistent taste and crunch for all the wings that you order. A bit greasier than other fried chicken wings you usually get in the malls but that’s a good thing right. It’s flavorful in and on itself. The crispiness also works its magic with every bite.

Mexican Hotdog

Before having dinner at BB, I never thought tortilla chips/ nacho chips could work well on a hotdog sandwich. Then I got a taste of BB’s Mexican -inspired hotdog and now I’m a believer. Another must-try when you drop by.

Ice Cream

This is the only ice cream with edible LEGO bricks. And it’s a pretty good dessert too. A bit pricey tbh but its oh-so-worth-it.

Ambiance

The Ambiance is another important thing we need to tackle in this Brick Burger review. So in a nutshell, its one big LEGO restaurant. According to owner Mr. Correa, the idea was that it was meant to make diners feel like they stepped inside a LEGO set with them as the minifigures.

You are a toy!

The seats follow the LEGO theme with the exception of those pegs on top of the bricks because that would be hella uncomfortable. Seats are comfortable, airconditioning is great and its very spacious.

The walls are also adorned with LEGO bricks AND the owner’s personal collection of minifigures.

  Be sure to get the table with a LEGO set on it. That definitely makes the experience more lasting and memorable.

Since we are dealing with a LEGO inspired restaurant, it will never be complete without actual LEGOs displayed. Check out some of the stuff you’ll be able to see in Brick Burger including this HUGE diorama featuring various brands and establishments all turned into LEGOs.

More photos in the gallery below:

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

  VERDICT:

9/10

This has gotten the geek in me. Reawakened my need for LEGO stuff. Brick Burger isn’t just promising, it’s delivered on its promise two-fold and is definitely poised to make it big. I wouldn’t be surprised if they open another Brick Burger branch away from Pasig in the near future.

That’s it for our Brick Burger review. We’re not done with them yet as we definitely have to feature what you can expect to see in an upcoming post.

Brick Burger is located at Hampton Gardens, C. Raymundo Pasig City

Brick Burger Review – The LEGO Inspired Burger Joint Proves the Hype We had a lot of fun doing this Brick Burger review for a number of reasons. (a) this was such a cool concept for a restaurant (b) the quality of the products ranges from good to great to awesome (we'll get to that later) and (c) because who doesn't want to play with LEGO?