#the ocean saga is so good guys

[thunderjackal]

no art for a little bit as I'm still working on christmas stuff for my friends also going feral about the new epic the musical saga takes priority

[joneevarts]

Casually loosing my shit over epic the musical. I've been drawing an idea for Poseidon all day and I'm almost done with the first design, yay!

[raayllum]

She Must Pay the Price, or A Drop of Mercy :: A Rayla and Leola Meta

Quick:

You're a young elven girl, and you show mercy and compassion to a human that you definitely weren't supposed to. When it's found out, you're punished, with elves even calling for your execution (6x09, book 1 novelization). Your father does what he can, but there's only so much. You're put on trial. You're found guilty regardless of intent, and only by association. You die for this; you die for them. You're a star. A guiding light. There's even a Great Fall off a precipice (though only one of you hits the ground).

Your name is Leola, or Rayla.

You're the beginning and the end, respectively.

So let's talk about it.

Tests of Love

For years, I had wondered where Aaravos' assessment of "Those who fail tests of love are simple animals. They deserve to be motivated by fear" (2x09) came from, cause you don't drop in a line like that if it's not going somewhere. It's quite a statement and worldview, after all. Now, with Leola's trial, it seems we know.

We can see, then, perhaps that Leola's gift giving was the first test of love — are you willing to break the Natural Law, the Natural Order of things? — to help another? To show another a source of power in order to share, to be compassionate, and in Rayla's case, to be merciful (though we'll get more to that in a minute).

We also know that the love Leola had was powerful and all encompassing:

She didn't care to follow the order set in the stars. Though she was born an immortal being from the Heavens, she loved this world... and all its flaws. Her heart was warm and open.

And she befriended mortals. Animals, elves... and humans.

ETHARI: Who I love, where I love, what I love, are all specific. But to Runaan and those like your parents... love is rooted in all families, all creatures. Souls like that feel called to protect everyone as fiercely as those they hold close. (Bloodmoon Huntress)

Okay, so Leola and Rayla both have big compassionate hearts and befriend creatures from all over the place. So what? So do Callum, Ezran, Soren, and most of our other main good guy characters. Even Claudia to a degree (though she could work on not using magical creatures for spell parts).

Well, specifically, it's because of how they intersect currently more with anyone else on the concept of

Mercy

KOSMO: Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled. (6x05)

Rayla sparing Marcos, as noted in multiple interviews by the creators and by myself in previous metas, is ultimately the inciting incident / lynchpin of the entire series. Without it, there would've been no soulfang proposal or Ez running away to find the egg or any of the number of other elements that had to come together to make achieving peace possible.

While we still have details to discover regarding Aaravos' Fall and development of dark magic, we know that a lack of mercy was ultimately what sent him on his path of vengeance. Leola was not shown mercy, and while it seems there were already "flaws" for an imperfect world, things were (probably) better than they currently are in Xadia in a variety of ways. Then, to kick off the entire Saga, we have Rayla sparing Marcos in a soundtrack literally titled "Mercy" and have Kosmo, seasons and seasons later, spell out directly what a big deal this was for well, the ocean of time.

None of this is to say Rayla can't act out of revenge — she did ("when I first came here, I was on a mission for revenge") and she has ("but I became so obsessed with revenge"), much like Aaravos ("he isn't doing anything out of love, he's doing it for revenge") — but that her general compassion and love for others has always been stronger than her grief or rage, and that even when she had every social and personal reason to, she was and is fundamentally unable to hurt someone innocent.

Even when she's shamed or punished for it by herself or by others. RAYLA: The human looked up at me, and I saw the fear in his eyes. RUNAAN: Of course he was afraid, but you a job to do! (1x01)

EZRAN: Yeah, but then you saw he was scared, and you knew he was a person, just like you. RAYLA: That shouldn't have mattered. I had a job to do. (1x08)

The Cosmic Council — and to a degree, the Silvergrove — say that the reasonings or motivations, the intentions, behind Leola and Rayla's actions do not and should not matter when it comes out to doling 'Justice'. So Leola faces her justice, being literally killed in the one manner that can kill a Startouch elf, and so does Rayla, being metaphorically Ghosted / 'murdered' by her community, regardless.

Neither are enough to ultimately quell their light or their love/power, however.

A Star

RAYLA: That beautiful shining star you just pointed out? We call it Leola's Last Wish. (5x02)

So both Leola and Rayla are stars in season 6, literally and metaphorically respectively. Leola's is more self-explanatory, whereas Rayla's is mostly about the role she has in Callum's life as a guiding light and star. I don't think it's a coincidence, though, that just as Rayla placed Callum on his path of being a primal mage, though, that Leola did the same for humanity. I also don't think it's a coincidence that Callum's love for Rayla restores Callum's own light and agency amid Leola giving humanity the same through light and fire.

It happened long ago, when humans had only just learned to hold fire in their hands without burning. They nurtured their precious primal flames secretly—in the dark of night, beneath shadows and shrouds—as cultivating its glow drew the eyes and ire of monsters. Eventually, for the audacity of their fire, they were hunted, and—though they looked to the stars for salvation—the stars, too, looked down upon them with disdain. Humanity had been given something it was never meant to have. (TDP shorts, Ripples)

In this way, we see the manifestation of a repeating parallel of Rayla representing Leola, a gift giver of life, magic, light, unjustly punished/killed, and Callum representing humanity, looking to the kindest brightest star for guidance, magic, restoration, and salvation if he's just given the chance to grasp it. After all, presumably, Leola's last wish would have something to do with primal magic and humanity, and who represents that better than Callum, with two arcana under his belt and possibly more on the way? With that in mind, I want to return to another quote from earlier but with a different focus on

Ripples

Daughter of the Moon, yours is a wondrous heart. In a moment of mercy, you sent ripples out into the ocean of time. Ripples that have not yet stilled.

The wisest of the humans looked upon the water. His own reflection smiled back at him, and he dared to imagine what such power would feel like in his own hands, should he be allowed to hold it. Imagine, he thought, if I were more than what I am. With a trembling hand he touched the surface of the water. Ripples spread from his fingertips. [...] I hope the stars were watching. I hope they saw it: the moment their perfect reflections turned warped and ruined, churned to chaos by the touch of a single human hand. In this, the humans taught me another lesson. And so I touch the surface of the water. I watch the ripples spread.

Water in TDP is a strange beast, symbolically speaking. There are some more straight forward motifs (reflections, "don't try to control where the river [of life] goes, there's one thing you can know and control: yourself"). For Aaravos, it's connected to deep loss but also his own sense of patience in playing and winning his game, as illustrated above. For Rayla, it's linked to shame, self-reflection, bravery, and loss. Aaravos weeps and creates a sea upon losing Leola; Rayla says goodbye to her family by the lotus pond times three.

We don't know what water represents for Leola. Not distinctly, anyway. The best we can figure though, is that by following the through line of the Rayla and Leola parallels, that the ripples Leola wanted to send out or did send out — not the distortions caused by her father and his grief — are ones that Rayla received, and then continued.

Rayla has always been a foil to Aaravos, and this hasn't changed. She is the one who set Callum on the path initially of being a mage, which put him in Aaravos' machinations as prey; she retrieved his Key; and she's the reason Callum's done dark magic, twice. At the same time, much like the moon, Rayla carries Leola's light as much as she shoulders Aaravos' dark. She literally represents light in Callum's life, helps lead him through the darkness, and him being a primal mage and it's possible growth to other humans is the best possible thing that could've ever happened to Xadia.

Sol Regem says that "no one can save" Xadia or fix what is deeply broken. The Cosmic Council said that Leola had broken the Cosmic order and had to pay the price. Rayla has repeatedly been willing to pay the price for both hers and other's actions in hopes of making things right, of sparing others' pain. Sometimes to her detriment, but—if Rayla as Callum's one Truth could fix the darkness within him, if she's the lynchpin for breaking the Cycle, for bringing back Runaan and fixing her family's souls, in opposing and presenting mercy amid the Council's lack of mercy, in the face of Xadia's violence—

Then Rayla's act of mercy in 1x01, and potentially beyond in S7 with Callum, will be what fixes Xadia.

Leola's gift of magic is what 'broke' Xadia, and her execution is what literally did so, leading to the division of the continent. She wrongly paid the price in the absence of mercy and love. Rayla is therefore her thematic successor — welcomed this time as Light and Truth — as the carrier of Mercy and Love, and she will 'fix' Xadia through her ripples and dynamics. She will mend them back together. There will, at last, be no price to pay.

Misc. Thoughts / Predictions

One thing I was always curious about going forward into future seasons was the prospect of a 'trial' or reunification of the Silvergrove. It felt like a no-brainer the Silvergrove would have to change in order to reflect Runaan's character arc, much the way we see Katolis and the Sunfire elves change to better accommodate the new, more compassionate world order. Pre-S4 a trial felt a little strange as an idea, though post-S4 the parallels it could provide to the Lucia tribunal made more sense about why include either (or both).

However, Leola's trial seemed to hammer home the almost necessity (as this is still a prediction, after all, that may not happen) of Rayla and/or Runaan saying their peace to the Silvergrove leaders. This would be a great opportunity to provide a contrast to the Cosmic Council, reaffirming that Xadia is ultimately better than them because the Moonshadow elves and everyone else can change, and the Cosmic Council seemingly cannot or will not. But I guess we'll have to wait for S7 or beyond (#GiveUsTheSaga) to find out if this'll come to fruition or not.

I also wanted to touch on what we see with Leola ("I'm so scared!") and the repeated emphasis on "recognizing fear as a moment of empathy and personhood" and the horror that can come if you don't have that moment of recognition. This is something I've touched on before most notably as a striking difference between S1 Rayla and S5 Claudia, but I thought it was worth mentioning as S6 added to it specifically with Viren towards Soren and Lissa. This is another point in the "Rayla is an inversion of the Council's lack of mercy" column, as Leola's — a child's fear, and Aaravos willing to pay the price and take her place — earns her no mercy. Rayla, meanwhile, sees someone innocent that she has 'every right' to execute is afraid of her, and that strays her hand; it steadies her sword, and she spares him. Because if someone is afraid of you, it's worth asking yourself why, and what you might want to do instead.

Last but not least I wanted to talk about Leola's parallels to Callum and Ezran as well, since they are very much there (though yet not perhaps to the same extent).

Ezran has Leola's friendliness to animals and soft heart. He too is a child whose death is called for as a means of Justice, and he is granted mercy through Rayla and the discovery of the egg, able to live and grow and help usher in peace. He is, I think, what Leola might've been allowed to be if she'd lived in different times. Callum, meanwhile, carries the gift giving motif through his cube, staff, and tokens he both gives to (moon-phoenix bracelet) and receives (the moon opal necklace) from Rayla, and previous 'human-Leola' magic dynamic. Callum being able to break free fully from Aaravos' and dark magic's control in S7 and turn his eye instead to primal magic will be what helps bring true justice to Leola and hope for humanity / Xadia in righting the Cosmic Council's fundamental wrongdoing. Hopefully, anyway.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into some parallels and potential narrative goings-on between Leola and Rayla as characters. TDP loves its historical and ironic layers in TDP (Ez and the Orphan Queen, Viren's arc from S1 to S6) and I think this layered thematic dynamic between the two merciful young girls was a good, brilliant choice by the creative team. I'm excited to see where this thematic thread goes in the future and how it may continue to be woven into the story. As always, thank you for reading, and I'll see you in the next one.

[wolfythewitch]

AHHHHH!!!! i was waiting for your art to pop up in the livestream!!! and it was so good!!! i didn't even realize he was going to be including art and animatics and such but then it started and my first thought was of you!! actually your art introduced me to epic and i was so sure i would see your art in there - and TWICE??!!!!!

sorry that i'm gushing but i've been following you on ig for a couple years now before i got back onto tumblr and i'm so happy to see your art and how much you've accomplished!!!

(also i got your plush cat with a hoodie a few years ago and i love it!)

<3<3<3

haha thank you! And yee the remember them one was commissioned recently, and the poseidon one was a while back for the ocean saga trailer. Glad you guys liked it!

[ilivingonmyway]

Something, something, part II about Ninja Team headcanons! Part I here

Lloyd

• He knows things he shouldn't know. Spending a good part of your life at Darkleys does that to you. That was a school for future gang leaders, psychopaths and other types of crazy people. You can't tell me that at no point in his life did he learn how to dismember someone by the right way.

• He memorized all the names of all Starfare volumes and sagas. He's a complete nerd about these comics. And it's worse when he and Jay are together.

• Sometimes, he goes out with Nya, Pixal and Skylor just to gossip. These four together talk about everything and everyone that exists in the world.

• Even during the few times of peace in Ninjago, he suffers from insomnia. Often because of nightmares and some night terrors, but also because of his genetics. Both the Oni side and the Dragon side are more nocturnal. So he often stayed up all night just because he wasn't really tired and managed to stay that way until dawn.

• Sometimes he finds himself thinking about Akita. Missing her. Those few days with the wolf girl had affected him. As much as Lloyd tries to deny it, it was better than with Harumi, in more ways than one.

• He loves sweets, but not just any kind of sweets. He likes those that are sweet and at the same time refreshing. Because this way he doesn't get sick and can eat more.

• After the battle against the Oni, he often thinks about the "dream" he had about his Grandfather. He told Master Wu once, but he just smiled and said it was a dream.

• He is extremely protective of his family. Brothers, sisters, uncle, children... You will never lay a finger on any of them and leave in Punishment if the DragOni is around.

• Being the Green Ninja and the guy who is on the front line in both defense and attack, he is very precise with his powers and strikes. One stumble and things could turn out to be fatal.

• At some point, he developed Wu's tea addiction and Garmadon's plant worship. This runs in the family and is completely inevitable.

Nya

• Her eyes were brown, exactly the color of wood, like her father's. But after spending a year as part of the ocean, Nya's eyes changed, now having prominent blue-gray spots on the irises. At some point they returned more to brown, but whenever she uses her powers on a large scale, her eyes return to the blue.

• She's better than Kai at making weapons. Swords, axes, clubs, arrows... She always had a lot of free time in her childhood and early teens, and while Kai was busy being a ninja, she had all the time in the world to practice making weapons.

• After she was brought back from the endless sea, for a long time she had these bouts of overpowering. Most of the time this manifested itself in her physical form, with the ends of her hair randomly turning blue and floating as if she were underwater. She also remained with the marks of the transformation, but this has faded over time, almost like a really old scar, you won't notice it unless you're paying close attention.

• She is equally impulsive and the voice of reason. She will think at least 20 times to make sure the punch she will hit you and break your nose.

• Don't be fooled, even though she is usually very calm and is part of the voice of reason trio Zane and Pixal are the other members, Nya can be extremely jealous. She is related to Kai and was raised by him, so she ended up getting this overprotective and jealous instinct. Jay and Lloyd are the main targets of this instinct, because they are her Yin and her little brother. Although she often tries to hide it or not care, she will always end up being somewhat possessive of her loved ones.

• She can still hear the voice of the ocean, more specifically, Nyad. But this time they're not calling out to her, they're congratulating her on finding what she lost.

• She is a master of Aikido, I just think it's matches with her, being the Water Ninja, she long ago learned to go with the flow of the fight. Water never takes you where you want to go, you are the one carried by the force of its flow. Some time later, she trained Lloyd in this style.

• The amount of times she called Kai "dad" as a child is insane. She used to call him that in the most mundane tasks that used to remind her of Ray. Kai held back crying every time that she called him that.

• She was never a heavy sleeper, always having difficulty for fall sleeping and often waking up in the middle of the night. This only got better after she started living at the Monastery, as she felt that so much Kai and she were safer.

• She has a collection of weapons. Swords and spears are what she collects most, she keeps most of them hidden in Samurai X's cave, but there are also some in her room, for emergency purposes and also because she thinks it makes the decor look cool.

Zane

• I got this from some post, but I don't remember who the author was He talks in his sleep. At some point in his life some parts of the voice control were damaged and even after Nya and Jay took a look he continued talking in his sleep. He just can't stop. The worst is on nights when he has nightmares, as he begins not only to scream, but to narrate the dream, right down to the noises in the scene.

• Every time he gets very nervous he starts to freeze himself or the people and things around him. He tends to distance himself when this happens, as he prefers to freeze his own circuits than the people he loves.

• Sometimes he refuses to sleep, not for any worrying reason, but because he wants to do some tasks that he couldn't do while it was daylight. Washing the dishes, sweeping the training yard, putting the clothes to wash... Any household chore that he didn't do due to some unforeseen circumstances, he does at night.

• Whenever he hears an unfamiliar term or slang, he tends to do a quick search. If he doesn't find the meaning, he will ask Jay or Kai later, since they are the two who most spend time online.

• The Ice Emperor episode left him with a lot of trauma as well as some survivor's guilt. Zane never stopped to think that he could actually kill frozen people or commit genocide if his 1s and 0s weren't actually aligned correctly. He never forgave himself and started using his powers less.

• Birds are his favorite animals, of course. But there's one thing no one knows: He can't decide between the hawk or the snowy owl as his favorite kind of bird.

• He has a mental list of all the food preferences of all his ninjas and other friends.

• In the hottest summers, the ninjas fight to spend time with Zane, as he is a walking air conditioner. He finds this particularly funny and always laughs when they start arguing with each other.

• He and Pixal often play board games and experiment human things.

• Before discovering he was a Nindroid, Zane often did non-human things that others found strange. One time, when it was just him, Cole and Jay, they went out on a little scouting mission, and in the middle of the whole thing they ran into some highwaymen who they ended up fighting, and in the middle of the fight, Zane hit his head on a rock, and while Jay and Cole were in complete panic Zane was confused because he didn't feel hurt. The next few days were filled with worry and jokes about Zane being a blockhead.

[hawtlineblingz]

EREN's MOODBOARD (pt.1)

My take on eren's moodboard + modern headcanons :) i hope u guys like it, let me know what u think!

I write while listening to this song btw:

Modern Eren is close with Carla

He at least got one face piercing and a hidden tattoo most likely on his torso and just so Carla doesn't sees it that much

Don't touch his hair or he'll bite. Consider urself special once he lets u touch his hair.

He got a mini figurines / manga collection somewhere in his room

Enjoys series that is deep and philosophical like Vinland Saga, Mononoke 2007, Big Fish, u name it

Naturally good with his hands (wink ;)) i mean litterally good at anything he tries to do, music, craft, he's just naturally skillful

Listens to frank ocean, brent faiyaz, tory lanez, summer walker, and a bunch of bedroom RnB songs

Is a sucker for night drives especially when he got alot on his mind

Loves classic cars

Is a biker ;) refers to his bike as "her", gave his bike a delicate name for no reason like "Annette" or something like that, says stuff like "her tank is so small bro", "gotta clean her asap"

Loves reworked fashion item. Often comissioned Connie for some reworked hoodies / cargos, he loves it. (I hc Connie is actually good at reworking thrifted items)

I hc that Eren is a social vaper, doesn't take vaping seriously unless its in a social / friend gatherings situation, just to blend in a bit more.

I got more but i'll put it on another post, i got tons of Eren brainrot i just gotta get it out 😩.

(Also this is my first time writing something on tumblr after 8 years having this account 😭💀)

[tackyink]

This was supposed to be for @asususasa but in the middle of writing I thought this could be useful for someone else, so here's Tacky's general list of otome recs. It took me over an hour to write so I'm not proofreading it.

DS

Not much to say here because back in those days otome games didn't get localized. The stand outs are Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 1st Love Plus and Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 2nd Season, who have English fan translations. Slice of life games where you play as the protagonist through her three years of high school. And if you feel like a student-teacher romance that would make Sakura Kinomoto's mom proud, these are your games.

PSP

Still well into the no localizations era with one exception: Hakuouki Demon of the Fleeting Blossom. Not recommending it on PSP because there are better versions. Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side 3rd Story Premium also has a fan translation and should be played over its DS counterpart because it has added functionalities. Sadly this time around the teacher is a secret character and a shota.

3DS

There's Hakuoki Memories of the Shinsengumi. Still not recommended because we can do better.

PS3

Hakuouki Stories of the Shinsengumi includes the original game and the fandisk with some neat animations added. This is the version to play if you want the original experience. If you want even more routes, go for another version.

Vita

Hakuoki Kyoto Winds and Edo Blossoms, Collar x Malice and Amnesia are the best games you can get for the Vita imo. Some people dig a lot the Psychedelica of the Ashen Hawk and Psychedelica of the Black Butterfly (I've only played BB, it was good but wasn't the best; wouldn't rate it as high as the others). There's Code Realize and its two fandisks (Future Blessings and Wintertide Miracles) and many people swear by them, but while I liked the common route in the first game, the rest didn't do it for me. You can find all of these except CxM and the CRs on Steam, and the Hakuoki games get dirst cheap on sale. Best bang for your buck of the saga. The CR games have PS4 ports and CxM has a Switch one, which you already know.

Switch

*rolls up sleeves* LET'S GO.

To get it out of the way: Hakuouki KW and EB are getting a Switch rerelease and a new translation and will be released as a single game, Hakuoki Chonicles of Wind and Blossom, on August 1st.

Collar x Malice fucking nails the mystery and lowkey horror vibes with and excellent plot that's interconnected in every route. CxM Unlimited is its fandisk and only recommended if you really have the CxM itch, because it's mostly fluff and the little plot there is is at most functional. It has a route where Ichika joins Adonis and you get to see its inner workings though. That was very interesting.

Bustafellows is 100% found family vibes with a very assertive protagonist. It's a mystery/action story and the team dynamics are sort of Ocean's 11-ish. Hilarious, heartbreaking at times, I've never felt more dread in a game than heading towards the basement in a certain's guy's route. There are two unlockable stories after you finish the routes of the guys, one of which I thought was glorious, another which sets up a sequel and is a big downer but I also really liked. It gets heavy at times with murder, suicide, sexual assault, human trafficking, among other kinds of violence, but despite it, it's generally a very funny and upbeat game. We're getting the sequel next year. Also available on PC.

Café Enchanté baits you with the premise of being a girl who manages a coffee shop patronized by handsome supernatural beings, so it's a real surprise when the cannibalism shows up. Anyway. Great game, but I'm afraid saying more would kind of defeat the point. Reminds me of Megami Tensei games, so if coffee shop AUs with supernatural world-ending threats are your thing, go for it. Just be warned that the fandom has kind of collectively agreed that poster boy's route never happened.

Birushana is a hidden gem that goes on sale super cheap and is also probably a hit or miss thing. You play as the legendary Yoshitsune, who in this game is a girl disguising her gender, but she's an amazing warrior as in history. It has the best otome couple I've ever seen, bar none, with Yoshitsune and Noritsune. The game is worth the price just to see them fall in love on the battlefield and watch Noritsune chug down Respect Women Juice all the way through it. The thing is... the rest of routes aren't great. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed how utterly unhinged they got at times, but the plot got worse as it deepened. Still. Noritsune. And I loved that most of the guys respected her as a warrior and were aware she was as capable or a better warrior than them and she didn't need a man to protect her. Very refreshing. One of my faves got done dirty by the translation because they started pulling lines out of thin air to make him creepier. Just him. Why. It's not like he needed the help.

Virche Evermore Error Salvation is also a good one if you can handle continuous drama and see egregiously bad science and say, "You know what? It's magic. Humans in this world are just built different." The worldbuilding is really interesting and the characters very enjoyable, though they don't feature a lot in each other's routes or aren't that friendly with each other. The continuous tragedy may tire you out, or maybe it'll work and emotionally destroy you. It didn't get any emotional reaction out of me until a certain point near the end, but I enjoyed the game a lot, nevertheless. We're getting the sequel this November and I'm really looking forward to it.

Variable Barricade: a fun romp where a young heiress has to chose a fiancé among the four disaster bachelors her grandpa has selected. It's not really similar to Ouran, but it reminded me a little of it at times. It's a pretty light game. The BFF is a gothic lolita otaku who has the time of her life shipping you with the guys, and the butler... oh boy the butler.

Amnesia, as I mentioned earlier, has a PC port as well as the Vita version, as well as two localized fandisks for the Switch (Amnesia x Crowd) that I can't speak of because I haven't played them yet. The protagonist has supernatural amnesia and must piece together her life while avoiding that other people realize she's lost her memory. It's a super intriguing game the first time you play, really nailed the being completely and utterly lost in the protagonist's shoes. A required play to get in on the cage jokes. It's sort of a rite of passage for otome gamers.

Jack Jeanne has probably the best group dynamics of any otome I've seen. I think some people have issues with the protagonist because they find her passive, but to me she felt the complete opposite. Everybody is adorable. A sentimental story of hard work, being young and and fighting for your dreams, 10/10, no notes. I lied, there's a note: Tanakamigi deserved a route! Where is our Tanakamigi route! щ(゜ロ゜щ)

Last but not least at all, the two Piofiores. Mafia games where all trigger warnings you can think of apply. Well, maybe not the cannibalism, that's still Café Enchanté's crowning glory. Fated Memories, the first one, has its ups and downs, but has very enjoyable characters, rock-solid worldbuilding, an amazing atmosphere set in 1920s Italy with a jazzy soundtrack that ends up living rent free in your brain. The last routes of the first game, Gil's and Finale, are worth the full price of the game alone. Piofiore Episodio 1926 is a masterpiece of the otome genre. It doesn't have a single boring route, and the final stretch (Advent Calendar-Alternativa-Secret Character route) has the best writing I've seen in an otome. Lots of points of view and situations interconnecting, an excellent final couple, top notch interactions between the main characters. Just the best.

[red-velvet-0w0]

INTRO POST

Im just a silly little person with an ocean obsession who lives in your phone.

My names are Erin/Eris/Eve/Jess/Red (Erin or Eris is preferred, but I'm fine with any of them)

She/They preferred, but you can call me anything so long as it is NOT he/him (on the same note, if you call me man/dude/bro/guy I will flood your house)

Im a minor (17 years old), and am trans and a Massive Lesbian

proud Californian 😎🇺🇸🦅 (or at least as proud as you can be of california because dear god this state and this country is an absolute joke but hey its better than florida right? at least is some aspects?) (/j /lh)

If you're a terf, a homophobe, or a pedophile: go away please okay? Otherwise pretty much anybody is welcome here so long as you arent hurting anybody

Im an artist, animator, and a game designer (i have a youtube and an itch.io page but neither of them have much on them) (im uh. not quite as good at finishing projects as i am at starting them)

I have an alt account @red-gamedev-0w0 which is where i post about games im working on.

my DMs, asks, and anons are always open if you wanna be silly, and honestly it really makes my day when i get a message. only rules are no anon hate (if you send me any anon hate i will either just delete the message or mock you, you wont actualy make me feel sad so dont bother) and no being horny (unless we know each other and thats how we interact, or unless you send me a message saying "hey im going to say something that might be horny to you if youre comfortable" as a heads up)

I have a silly little OC universe, please please please please please ask me to infodump to you about them please I am begging you.

I AM VERY STRONGLY AGAINST AI ART. (and just. generative AI in general) (yes that includes chat gpt and character AI)

I am... incredibly normal about the ocean. I have healthy and reasonable emotions I feel when i think about it. dont question why "erins ocean posting" is one of my most used tags its totaly healthy trust me (is it a religious thing? a sexual thing? a gender thing? you will literaly never know)

The fandoms im in are: Tiger Tiger, Aurora Webcomic, The Mechanisms, Life Series, Hermitcraft, Mineraft, Terraria, Hollow Knight, Celeste, Hades, Camp Here And There, Murder Drones, The Magnus Podcasts, Epic the Musical, Hello From the Hallowoods, Witherburn After School News, Dont Hug Me Im Scared, The Locked Tomb, Hatchetfield, Centaurworld, Amphibia, Epithet Erased, Kid Vampire, and Bigtop Burger (+ a few more but those are the ones you'll see the most of) (Red means highly likely to post about it, purlple means very unlikely to post about it often)

#1 Killers fan (their best album is Sams Town and the best song is Bones and thats a fact)

I really, really hate Dantes Inferno and the Sierpinski triangle

Id love to be friends, enemies, or really anything in between if you let me.

Tags I use (in case you want to block them):

#erins cryptic ramblings (generic tag)

#erins ocean posting (for ocean related posts)

#axe and erins dnd bullshit (for when im talking about dnd with one of my mutuals)

#the forever day (my OCs)

#erin answers asks (self explanitory)

#erin talks about life /#erin complains about life (also self explanitory)

#erins tumblr ad saga (my compilation of all the worst ads this hellsite has to offer)

#erins coding adventures (for whenever im posting about making a game)

And that’s about it!

Nice to meet you!

[bookish-library]

The Underworld Saga Staging

It's finally here!!!!!! This idea has consumed my brain for the past week and it has finally been out to paper! I will be posting the next two chapters (no longer you and monster) in the next few days. I cannot wait to share this with you guys, I hope you see my vision!

Apologies for any formatting errors, I'm on mobile

Story below cut, here's the Ao3 link!

Summary:

We've all listened to the soundtrack, watched animatics, and have our ideas of how each song looks, but what if it was performed live?

Laid out like a script, with staging and lyrics, this is how I think the musical could be staged. This is the Underworld Saga!

Stage directions are referenced, so here is a key: (SR/SL are if you were standing on the stage, and what your left and right would be. If you were in the audience (house) it would be reversed) SR: stage right SL: Stage left CS: Center stage DS: Down stage US: Up stage MS: Mainstage (not a real industry term, but useful for this situation) Segue: means continue straight into without stopping Check out my pinned post for a diagram of the stage!

Segue from THERE ARE OTHER WAYS

CREW and ODYSSEUS transition to extension walkway. Lights out. Transition stage to THE UNDERWORLD. As music begins, cue backstage fog machines. CS curtain down, to hide smoke as much as possible. 

Ship ropes begin to creak (cue music) as CREW and ODYSSEUS cross out to extension. Some CREW members mime doing ship activities (choreography?). ODYSSEUS is furthest down stage/closest to audience. Lights still remain neutral, shaded with pink/blue (Circe/Ocean). CREW listens in to ODYSSEUS as he speaks:

ODYSSEUS:

Friends, Circe's instructions were clear

No matter what we hear

ALL:

Full speed ahead

ODYSSEUS:

Until we find the prophet

My comrades, this land confuses your mind

So no matter who we find

ALL:

Full speed ahead, until we find the prophet

ODYSSEUS (spoken):

Good

ODYSSEUS shatters CIRCE’S pendant, and lights instantly change to grey/white/black. CS curtain drops, revealing ENSEMBLE (and FALLEN SOLDIERS). Turn up fog machines. Cue scream track. As CREW continue ship mimes, Odysseus walks extension towards mainstage in horror. Ensemble faces away from audience, a constant moving mass, a horrifying sight. 

ODYSSEUS: CREW:

All I hear are screams, every time I dare to close my eyes

I no longer dream, only nightmares of those who've died

Nothing's what it seems

Nothing's what it seems

And here in the Underworld, the past seems close behind

ALL:

This land confuses your mind

ENSEMBLE turns as one to face ODYSSEUS and CREW. Turn down scream track. Front row of ensemble acts as a guard against the back rows as the back rows reach out for ODYSSEUS and CREW in waves (timed with music).

FALLEN SOLDIERS:

When does a man become a monster?

Five hundred fifty-eight men who died under your command

(Members become highlighted as they reach out, recognizable members of his crew)

Captain! Captain! Captain! Captain!

Why would you let the cyclops live

When ruthlessness is mercy?

“Mercy” is sung to the audience, FALLEN SOLDIERS taking various poses of pleading (lots of hands outstretched). As music continues, ENSEMBLE and FALLEN SOLDIERS begin to “pulse”  (choreography here to make it artistic), creating a scene that ODYSSEUS can hardly look away from. CREW continues to mime ship duties, shifting to become lower to the ground so that visibility is not obstructed. 

ODYSSEUS: CREW:

All I hear are screams, every time I dare to close my eyes Dare to close my eyes

I no longer dream, only nightmares of those who've died -mares of those who’ve died

Nothing's what it seems

Nothing's what it seems

But in the Underworld, the past seems close behind

I keep thinking of the infant from that night

I keep thinking of the infant from that night

Maybe include a small echoing cry, or have ensemble member hold a cloth bundle? 

Scream track stops, CS lights shift to become lighter, more white.

POLITES (unseen):

This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms

ODYSSEUS:

Polites

ENSEMBLE parts and begins to slowly exit. POLITES stands CS, highlighted but not spotlighted. During sections with POLITES and ANTICLEA, CREW descends off of extension stage but stays nearby, perhaps sitting frozen in working positions?

POLITES:

Whatever we face, we'll be fine if we're leading from the heart

No matter the place, we can light up the world

Here's how to start:

Greet the world with open arms

(Stage highlight fades as he calls out one last time)

Greet the world with open arms

(POLITES exits in the darkness)

ODYSSEUS:

Polites

Moment of quiet, only music/ropes creaking. Stage neutral grey lighting, continue fog machines. 

ANTICLEA (offstage):

Waiting

ODYSSEUS stills, facing mainstage. 

ODYSSEUS (spoken):

That voice, it can't be

ANTICLEA (entering from back of audience):

Waiting

ODYSSEUS turns, looking out into the audience. 

ODYSSEUS (spoken):

Mom?

Wandering the aisles is ANTICLEA, calling out for ODYSSEUS. She does not see him. She starts to make her way up to the mainstage.

ANTICLEA:

Waiting

Odysseus, when you come home I'll be waiting

Even if you're the last thing I see, I'll be waiting

Odysseus, remaining on the extension, calls to her.

ODYSSEUS: ANTICLEA:

I'm right here, mom Waiting

Can't you see? I'm Waiting

BOTH:

Waiting

ODYSSEUS: ANTICLEA:

I took too long. I'll always love you

And ventured too far I'll stay in your life

While you were

ANTICLEA has reached the mainstage and is now DSL, about to exit SL.

BOTH:

Waiting 

(ANTICLEA hears ODYSSEUS)

Waiting

(She turns and sees him, still on the extension)

Waiting

(ANTICLEA acknowledges ODYSSEUS [blows kiss, reaches out, waves, etc] and exits)

ODYSSEUS (spoken):

Bye mom

A moment of silence, then cue fade in scream track (have ensemble member actually scream?) and ship noises back up. ODYSSEUS rejoins CREW at the extension stage. CREW begins ship motions (choreography?) once more.

ODYSSEUS: CREW:

All I hear are screams All I hear are screams

Every time I dare to close my eyes Dare to close my eyes

I no longer dream I no longer dream

Only nightmares of those who've died -mares of those who've died

Nothing's what it seems

Nothing's what it seems

ALL:

But in the Underworld, your past is always close behind

Your past is always close behind

Down in the Underworld

At final note, highlight (same as POLITES, white/grey) on mainstage, where TIRESIAS is standing SR. ODYSSEUS and CREW are facing audience.

Segue into NO LONGER YOU

[th3lost4uthor]

Wakfu Oropo OAV : Why I love to hate it

Hum, sorry not sorry, but you read correctly, dear Kosmoz's traveller it is time to give my opinion on the latest Ankama OAV focusing on Oropo's background, and well... Let's at least start with the good parts.

A long forgotten animation we love

The title screen framing Oropo's figure, graphically underlying he will be the center of this story is quite nice. There are few other choices of composition that are also really good and meaningful.

The animation is still... Well it's Ankama : it gives energy in the fight scene, emotion when needed, it is colorful yet pale (underlying maturity after a childish beginning for the series).

The Eliotropes' design and presentation : so nice to see more charcaterisation of this race we have still so much to uncover ! And I LOVE to see "bad eliotropes", especially this little guy there ("Rictus" in french), because if Eliotropes are Yugo's shadows, then it means that our dear "EliAtropes' king" is not as a white knight as we would like to see him ~

The fights are pretty cool

The music... well still awesome

Don't know about the english dub, but oh well, the french one is still very neat. Even if I can not help but to find that Chibi's way of ALWAYS screaming is just tiring in the long run...

AND THERE IT IS.

We have reached the end of the "good points", and oh boy... It can not be compared to the bad ones...

De Profundis : why this OAV should return to the White Dimension

CHIBI : he should NOT BE ALIVE !!! I KNOW that IoW is no more canon but the fact that he is still alive after the second war against Orgonax ? Bollocks ! And his character design ?! What is this ?

From now on... I will rename Chibi "no eyebrows stupid screamer"

And yeah... STUPID !!! For someone who is supposed to have outlived Orgonax and Qilby's "treason", how is it possible for him to be this nut-head ? He lost the fight at the end for what ? Because he only screams and yells and DID NOT THINK ONCE ! Talk about a Council's member : no shit Qilby became crazy with a brother like him for centuries.

And Grougaloragran, can we talk about him ? WHY IS HE FIGHTING NAKED ?!? Why does he not transform into his dragon version ?! WHY NOT USING ALL HIS POTENTIAL FACING SUCH A THREAT ?! And if he wants to stay in a more agile version, fine, but keep your damn clothes ON, please ! I mean, it brings up nothing interesting other than his abs : can we be serious for once ?

Chibi's death : no emotion. I mean, he does not seem very wise for his age, he does not listen to his brother, he does not talk about Yugo or perhaps his feelings about encountering other "versions" of his brother after so much time being appart from him. Did not particularly care about him at the beginning, hate him after seeing that version of the character.

THE FU**** CONSISTENCE WITH THE LORE ?! WHERE IS IT ?!

The fact that Oropo is held into the cube.... It could be a good idea, huh ? Yes, yes... he could become.... THE F***** VOICE THAT NOX IS HEARING, RIGHT ?!?! For which reason ? Why tossing the cube into the ocean ?! How does it come back in season one ?! Can't Nox be left alone and just be a great antagonist WITHOUT OROPO being "at the beginning of everything" ?!

Ankama is probably going to follow that last idea, aren't they ? So, like at the end of the 3rd season, we're gonna have the "it was Oropo's plan"... Thanks, really.

Hum.... Did Oropo really though that they could take out a freacking dragon ? Like... He's Yugo's shadow : he knew that Grougal was powerful. Why not trying to sneak out ?

Because of that choice to show "fighting" instead of sneacking, we were stuck 30 minutes on a beach. There was only few different backgrounds with flashbacks (and we already knew that beach from season one, so not even something new).

Hum, I love the design of all the Eliotropes, but... WHY ARE THEY SO DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL ?! I mean, the saga is supposed to be part of the game too ! You're going to tell me that there are all different even though all the in-game Eliotropes have the same design ? And what about the fact that their design are litteraly caricatures of their personality ? Same note for their names ("'"poet" ? "rictus" ? "bouillon" ?) ! I mean, we're not children, and gosh, it is so... plain ! Can't they have nuances ?!

The dialogues... Lame. No emotions. No good humor. No really good informations : I had the the impression to see children taunting each other each time someone was talking.

Oropo being full of disdain towards his brothers and sisters when they are talking and suggesting other plans but being full-emotional when one of them dies : once again, show why his characterization is a fail.

Aton's death : "you were a brother... A sister... Whatever..." Is this a non-bineary reference here ? WHY ? I mean, it is not bad to have more diversity, quite the contrary but its just... there. No explanation, And for a antagonist with "no emotion" : what a great depiction for this stigmatized group... And who dies at the end... If it was just to put a reference to LGBTQ and + because its trendy or because you have a to-do list to check, please don't.

Why is Grougaloragran using his adversaries' names like he knows them even he just met them ?

The Eliacube showed Oropo the destruction of the Eliatropes' world after Orgonax came, or some kind of destruction. And he still wants to use it... Genius.

Well, I think I will stop this monolog here.

I will gladly exchange with whoever want to share their own experience of this OAV.

To conclude : I will not recommend this OAV for something else than the animation. The story is sh*t, the characters are a pain in the eliacube and I can't help but fear for the 4rth season after watching this...

[areislol]

DUDE DUDE AAAAAHHHH I have so many ideas for your Creator! Reader au. I love the reverse Saga AU so much.

Do you know how big is Teyvat compared to our world? I checked it and Teyvat is as big as Paraguay (In latinamerica), so to explain this to them you show them a map and oh boy the difference of our worlds size compared to theirs could be overwhelming. Tighnari having a existential crisis about how little not only Teyvat but the Avidya forest is compared to the Amazon rainforest (1.4 billion acres of land and only a little percentage has been explored). The fact that we know more about the space than of our oun oceans.

Watching a documentary film about our world and universe in general, Teyvat is around 2000 to 10 000 years old (I couldn't find the exact answer) the documentary shows Earth is around 4.54 billion years old (like damn wtf). The overwhelming amount of events that had occurred all over the world like the black death pandemic that killed between 5 to 40% of the world's population (25 million to 200 million people (Teyvat's population is around 10 million to 150 million depending between models)), the bombas that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the atrocities committed during the World war II etc etc I could go for days with this.

Now about the money 242.3 Mora is worth 1 USA dollar. So for a bill worth of $150.47 (from your 2nd chapter I think) would be worth 36 345 moras?? I think? After learning this they would feel so bad my poor babies

If there is any mistake sorry, spanish is my first lenguage

omg i'm so glad you're enjoying my reverse isekai'd series 😭😭 and i would love nothing more than for you to tell me your ideas (if you want) so maybe i can add them into the future chapters (with your credit ofc)

i think tighnari, albedo, zhongli, neuvillette and aether would be REEEALLLYY interested in earth's origin (the theories) and the history cuz WTF YOU GUYS HAVE TWO WORLD WAR AND POTENTIALLY WW3 TOO???

but honestly all of them are intrigued with your history but some wouldn't even be able to get passed 30 minutes after watching a documentary, the terrors and horrific things that are happening all over the world/past really gets to them and the fact you live in the world? see, this is why you should come live in TEYVAT, where you belong.

and the money conversion is a big thing too LMAO and no worries your english is all well and good! <3

[sanjiaholicreturns]

ONE PIECE 1115

SPOILERS ALERT

SPOILERS ALERT!

My opinions and theories about the chapter.

Hey, hey, hey, I really liked this chapter for several reasons:

Because everything VegaPunk explained reminded me of the myth of Atlantis, which was destroyed to its foundations by the Gods, who got fed up with man's arrogance and sank it so deep that it is impossible to find any remains, becoming a legend since Plato's time. The image of that civilisation sunk to the bottom of the sea, with the kings of the sea strolling among its ruins, has enchanted me. Although I'm addicted to this myth, so, you know, I squealed.

I also liked that the ponyglyphs are more than just a route.

Let's see if you guys remember better, but I think the only time anyone ever talks about the content of the ponyglyphs beyond the direction to follow is Robin in Skypiea when Joy Boy is first discussed. If anyone is in the mood for a bit of a refresher, they are welcome to.

So I am more and more convinced that the One Piece is like Pangaea (the one united continent).

Since the X marks the place (the X has always been there since the beginning of OP), I understand that Marijoise's X is the "scar" VegaPunk refers to in his communication, and I'm also more and more convinced that everything will explode there. Another theory is that it is Luffy + Allies + Laboon underwater who will smash the earth into a thousand pieces to provoke the announced cataclysm.

What's more, the cataclysm will cause the earth to break apart, the sea level to rise and perhaps the ruins of the lost civilisation hidden deep in the oceans to rise: that way, I'm sure we'll also have Sanji's All Blue.

And, well: I liked that Zoro indirectly stood up to Nami. The truth is that Nami is very nice and I would party with her, but in this arc her role is zero below zero (more than in other sagas) and I don't like that. I love her and I really want to see her in action. I liked Sabo's face of concentration as he listened to the communication. That Momonosuke knew something about Joy Boy is logical, because he was on Roger's boat when he was very young. I thought Demalo Black's asshole, who now thinks he's Captain Kid, was really funny. The guy is such an idiot that it's funny. The fake killer's costume is hilarious.

My wildest theory is that Imu's shadow looks like a DenDen Mushi. I wonder if the world is ruled by a giant snail? XDDDD

Things I'm hoping for: that they get together and escape for good, because I'm getting tired of all the running up and down.

I need the plot to move forward and get straight to the point. But, well, I'm happy with the way things are going.

PS: It goes without saying that Zunisha and the robot were members of Joy Boy's crew.

And that's all, I liked very much this chapter. I hope there will be no break next week.

Sorry my english!

[kirbybecomesastarwarrior]

Guys, I keep bringing up the "Epic" the musical)but, it's music just slaps, IT'S SO GOOD! The Ocean Saga just came out you guys need to listen you won't regret it! I especially wanted to bring up the song "Ruthlessness" from the Ocean Saga.

Up until now, I've just been talking about how much Sir Uther screwed over MK & Sir Arthur... but he screwed over everyone in the GSA, now going to dive into how he messed up our dear Falspar...

I've mentioned it before in the voting poll, he branded Falspar the Fool, stripped him of the title as general, took his squadron (used them as death fodder), and then brutally burned him in front of everyone... he made an example of him. As punishment for failing to protect the Fisher King (making him lose one of his most powerful supporters).

I'm gonna do a deep dive on Falspar soon...

(In reality) he punished Falspar for his soft heart (for protecting his soldiers & the people first). As for the song... this is what I'd imagine Sir Uther would be singing to Falspar... "RUTHLESSNESS IS MERCY UPON OURSELVES!" (same themes & vibes :3)

(Art content on this soon) Look forward to it!

[incorrect-lightlark-facts]

The rest of the sticky notes:

- Kind of fucked up that the dreks used to be people. Fortunately they were Nightshades so it's okay.

- I love the idea of Nightbane as a potent drug with healing properties when processed correctly, because I'm a scientist. The metaphor for Isla as "both curse and cure," however, is incredibly forced. Also not a strong enough motif to justify having the book named after it.

- Please please please stop with the segues into the flashbacks. It reads like a fifth grade essay I'm begging you

- Being able to teleport everywhere kind of kills the tension and urgency

- All Of The Spicy Scenes Are The Same

- Also if the book is allowed to have this many straight-up sex scenes, I kind of feel like they should also be allowed to swear, or at least use less tepid insults. Isla calling Grim a bastard or a son of a bitch would soothe my soul

- I want to scruff Grim like a kitten and toss him in the ocean. He's still not a good character and he has no personality and he's awful. Every time I feel a shred of warmth for Grim I have to remember that it's because my version of him is so unrecognizable against canon that I probably need to start from scratch again just to be able to call him the same character

- Cleo ily never change (but also shoehorning in a dead son just to give her a reason to side with Nightshade is so bland I'm losing my sense of taste)

- GRIM MENTIONS GODS. WHO ARE THE GODS.

- And They Were Married (Oh My Unnamed Gods They Were Married)

- Is. Is this a normal amount of sex scenes for a YA novel.

- Some of this feels like borderline retconning (eg. Isla surviving being shot through the heart in the first book not just because of the Heart of Lightlark but also because of the ill-defined power of the love bond)

- No training montage for Isla learning to steal Grim's powers :(

- There Are Hot Air Balloons. The Event Is Called The Launching Of The Orbs.

- EGG CAMEO

- Grim and Isla have a moment where they both gush about everything they've learned about each other, and it's nothing. It feels like they don't know each other at all, but of course we're supposed to find their relationship heartwarming and intimate

- Am I going to have to make a spicy sideblog for this oh my god

- Pointless baby dragon. Did I zone out at the wrong time or did nothing become of that?

- The Terra fight is also nothing :((((

- Just like the first book, so many bombs are dropped at the end of the book because simply resolving the existing plot threads isn't enough I guess. Anyway the founders of Lightlark came from another world and created Lightlark in its image like reckless teenage gods but anyway GUYS there are HOT AIR BALLOONS

- Unearned final battle. Book once again lacks the guts to kill a major character and expects us to be moved by the deaths of interchangeable background cast members

- Damn crow-caller is right this REALLY aggressively sets up a third book. I'm wondering what middle book syndrome looks like for something like the Lightlark Saga and whether this is it

- This book was Not Good. It feels like poor fanfiction of the first book and I cannot stress enough that I enjoyed every second of it no matter how frustrating it was. Thank you Ms. Aster I owe you my life

[mythology-void]

THE OCEAN SAGA IS NOW STREAMING ON ALL PLATFORMS HEY HI HELLO

GUYS ONFG ITS SO GOOD

JAY RIVERA DESERVES SO MANY AWARDS AND I AM NOT JOKING

there are literally no misses he eats down

every single piece of content from this account for the next month and a half will be in depth literary analysis and random sh*tposting about this musical and this musical ONLY

[dementeris]

Wakfu Oropos' OAV : Why I love to hate it

Hum, sorry not sorry, but you read correctly, dear Kosmoz's traveller it is time to give my opinion on the latest Ankama OAV focusing on Oropo's background, and well... Let's at least start with the good parts.

A long forgotten animation we love

The title screen framing Oropo's figure, graphically underlying he will be the center of this story is quite nice. There are few other choices of composition that are also really good and meaningful.

The animation is still... Well it's Ankama : it gives energy in the fight scene, emotion when needed, it is colorful yet pale (underlying maturity after a childish beginning for the series).

The Eliotropes' design and presentation : so nice to see more charcaterisation of this race we have still so much to uncover ! And I LOVE to see "bad eliotropes", especially this little guy there ("Rictus" in french), because if Eliotropes are Yugo's shadows, then it means that our dear "EliAtropes' king" is not as a white knight as we would like to see him ~

The fights are pretty cool

The music... well still awesome

Don't know about the english dub, but oh well, the french one is still very neat. Even if I can not help but to find that Chibi's way of ALWAYS screaming is just tiring in the long run...

AND THERE IT IS.

We have reached the end of the "good points", and oh boy... It can not be compared to the bad ones...

De Profundis : why this OAV should return to the White Dimension

CHIBI : he should NOT BE ALIVE !!! I KNOW that IoW is no more canon but the fact that he is still alive after the second war against Orgonax ? Bollocks ! And his character design ?! What is this ?

From now on... I will rename Chibi "no eyebrows stupid screamer"

And yeah... STUPID !!! For someone who is supposed to have outlived Orgonax and Qilby's "treason", how is it possible for him to be this nut-head ? He lost the fight at the end for what ? Because he only screams and yells and DID NOT THINK ONCE ! Talk about a Council's member : no shit Qilby became crazy with a brother like him for centuries.

And Grougaloragran, can we talk about him ? WHY IS HE FIGHTING NAKED ?!? Why does he not transform into his dragon version ?! WHY NOT USING ALL HIS POTENTIAL FACING SUCH A THREAT ?! And if he wants to stay in a more agile version, fine, but keep your damn clothes ON, please ! I mean, it brings up nothing interesting other than his abs : can we be serious for once ?

Chibi's death : no emotion. I mean, he does not seem very wise for his age, he does not listen to his brother, he does not talk about Yugo or perhaps his feelings about encountering other "versions" of his brother after so much time being appart from him. Did not particularly care about him at the beginning, hate him after seeing that version of the character.

THE FU**** CONSISTENCE WITH THE LORE ?! WHERE IS IT ?!

The fact that Oropo is held into the cube.... It could be a good idea, huh ? Yes, yes... he could become.... THE F***** VOICE THAT NOX IS HEARING, RIGHT ?!?! For which reason ? Why tossing the cube into the ocean ?! How does it come back in season one ?! Can't Nox be left alone and just be a great antagonist WITHOUT OROPO being "at the beginning of everything" ?!

Ankama is probably going to follow that last idea, aren't they ? So, like at the end of the 3rd season, we're gonna have the "it was Oropo's plan"... Thanks, really.

Hum.... Did Oropo really though that they could take out a freacking dragon ? Like... He's Yugo's shadow : he knew that Grougal was powerful. Why not trying to sneak out ?

Because of that choice to show "fighting" instead of sneacking, we were stuck 30 minutes on a beach. There was only few different backgrounds with flashbacks (and we already knew that beach from season one, so not even something new).

Hum, I love the design of all the Eliotropes' designs, but... WHY ARE THERE SO DIFFERENT FROM THE ORIGINAL ?! I mean, the saga is supposed to be part of the game too ! You're going to tell me that there are all different even though all the in-game Eliotropes have the same design ? And what about the fact that their design are litteraly caricatures of their personality ? Same note for their names ('poet" ? "rictus" ? "bouillon" ?) ! I mean, we're not children, and gosh, it is so... plain ! Can't they have nuances ?!

The dialogues... Lame. No emotions. No good humor. No really good informations : I had the the impression to see children taunted each other each time someone was talking.

Oropo being full of disdain towards his brothers and sisters when they are talking and suggesting other plans but being full-emotional when one them dies : once again, show why his characterization is a fail.

Aton's death : "you were a brother... A sister... Whatever..." Is this a non-bineary reference here ? WHY ? I mean, it is not bad to have more diversity, quite the contrary but its just... there. No explanation, And for a antagonist with "no emotion" : what a great depiction for this stigmatized group... And who dies at the end... If it was just to put a reference to LGBTQ and + because its trendy or because you have a to-do list to check, please don't.

Why is Grougaloragran using his adversaries' names like he knows them even he just met them ?

The Eliacube showed Oropo the destruction of the Eliatropes' world after Orgonax came, or some kind of destruction. And he still wants to use it... Genius.

Well, I think I will stop this monolog here.

I will gladly exchange with whoever want to share their own experience of this OAV.

To conclude : I will not recommend this OAV for something else than the animation. The story is sh*t, the characters are a pain in the eliacube and I can't help but fear for the 4rth season after watching this...