#he's such a unique and awesome figure... I'm obsessed

[meownotgood]

some detailed pictures of myethos aki (under the cut) :)

uugghhh he's so pretty, I love the way the blood splatter looks on his shirt and the detail of it going across his tie

his sword! obsessed with the way the blood looks on this as well, especially on the hilt!

all of the details on his clothes and the ruffles and such look incredibly good. on his collar, you can see the raised button, as well as the slot the button goes into. the holes of his belt and sword strap are all detailed too. obsessed with his pose and the way he holds the chair, like he looks good and he knows it

the base is great, the blood on the base isn't as detailed so it can look a little plasticy, but for the most part I think it looks good. the zombies especially look awesome. and his shoes!! you can see the aglet

shameless crotch pic. okay but look at the inside of his tie and the shirt cuff, the buttons are detailed again, and the blood on his sleeve looks amazing

hands! his fingernails are detailed, and there's even small lines on the inside of his fingers (they're so pretty too hhhfhdhdh)

his face... he's so handsome, I love the way his eyes look and the slight eyelashes, the cigarette as well...

aki stepping on you pov. also had to include a pic of the detail on the bottom of his shoes, I love the way the blood looks on it

back view, his topknot is so tall I want to grab it lol... also the sword harness is really nice looking

it's difficult to capture in pictures, but the jacket on the back of the chair looks really great, and the chair itself is extremely well made too! the chair is like the most boring part but I was impressed by how good it looked bahaha

and finally, here's a picture of him on the shelf... I think he looks amazing and beautiful up close but he's just stunning when displayed like this, his pose and base make him look very unique and eye catching... he's just perfect

[storyofmychoices]

Blades 2 Inside Choices Blog: Blades of Light and Shadow 2

We’re so happy to be back in action with the gang we know and love! Where does Blades of Light and Shadow 2 pick up after the first book’s ending?

Emi: I will say that we don't pick up where you're expecting. 

Kathleen: Unless you were expecting to get hucked out the back of the plot truck and onto the action highway at 80mph. (Fury Road theme plays)

Lil: (is overtaken by the Two Towers theme)

Emi: But rest assured, our original four love interests are back and dealing with their own challenges. 

Lil: And they’re definitely going to need help with those challenges whether you’re romancing them or not. Though we support all variations of ‘mancers here. Mono-, multi-, and necro- . 

Emi: Also they get some new looks that can best be described as "sleeves are B.S."

Jay: Don’t forget “badass pirate coat important”.

What kind of new main characters will we meet in the sequel? Or perhaps, any new love interests?

Jay: There is a strange but familiar hooded figure…whose hotness level was of great discussion.

Lil: He’s very constructive with his feedback. And a monster from Book 1 returns, but not in a way you expect. 

Emi: I think we all know I'm obsessed with Valax. I mean, she's a badass purple lady who only has one sleeve. Obviously that makes her my wife.

Tom: EMI YOU HAVE TOO MANY WIVES!!!

Kathleen: Idk I'm still mad that hot scorpion lady didn't win the monster contest.

Lil: Sky whale supremacy how dare. 

Kathleen: Okay I am excited about the dwarves and goblins though. New dwarf friend is just A+ chaos babe and I love her.

Emi: Honestly though, my fave character is the one who's "head empty, no thoughts, falls over a lot."

Making this sequel has been a labor of love. Does the book team have any must-tell stories/bloopers during production?

Jay: There was an accidental floating dwarf? And too many battles with code. Writers, please don’t do it to me again. I cannot take it. The while loop will win.

Kathleen: During one of my editorial passes I had to give Emi a note like "Okay when we first meet the Big Bad maybe we should use that moment to establish that she's really imposing/scary instead of just going off about how hot she is."

Emi: I may have made too many Aerin memes that are now weekly traditions for our team.

Danielle: I was instructed to design a character with “Vision as a hotness bar” as a guide, I ignored them and used Jeff Bridges instead 😏. 

Jay: Danielle also came up with some incredible filenames, my favorite being “tentacle_monster_buff”.

Danielle: It’s accurate, is it not?

Are there any elements that you are particularly proud of?

Tom: The Shadow Realm was fun to make! Think the Upside Down, but more purple. And to make all the awesome new weapons and armor work with the outfits took 150 unique assets! You’re welcome.

Danielle: My first full book!

Lil: The lore guide for Blades was 60 single-spaced pages before we started adding things that came up during active production. I’m really pleased with how much actually ended up being discoverable in the book itself, so be sure to explore every nook and cranny of Morella and beyond! Because they are filled with beauty and chaos. 

Emi: I cannot tell you how many spreadsheets we made to keep track of things. I mean, the outline alone was 100 pages!

Jay: My code built 😭. And that my production planning got it to you a little earlier than y’all had anticipated hehe.

At the end of the first book, we seemed to have wiped out the forces of evil for at least a day or so. What kind of dangers will we face in the second edition?

Lil: Evil never sleeps y’all. It gets its coffee from Aerin. 

Kathleen: (Aerin, walking up to the counter): "I have a large non-fat birthday cake latte with caramel drizzle and four shots of espresso for (squints at label) ...Emile?"

Lil: In all seriousness, you’re really getting it from all sides in this book. There’s rival factions, shifting leadership, societal upheaval, and monsters. So. Many. Monsters. (Thank you for giving us the Shadestalker, by the way. Can’t wait for you to meet the beefy boy.) 

Kathleen: One cool scary thing about book 2 is that THIS TIME, IT'S PERSONAL (like instead of you and your buds racing against bad guys to collect the magic things, you've now got a villain single-mindedly hunting you down so she can steal your <REDACTED> for use in her evil plans).

Emi: Kathleen may have called me out for it but our Big Bad is hot! Both literally and figuratively!

How much do you love QA?

Lil: SO MUCH.

Emi: Pour one out for our poor QA folks who have had to test what is the most complex book we have ever done! You are the real heroes!

Jay: QA peeps are my saviors!! Their work alone cures my anxiety.

Kathleen: Gawd I would be lost without QA my grammar is a disaster

Erin: Everyone on the Blades team is so wonderful to work with. I also tested Book 1, and to be able to contribute to Book 2 means everything to me. It’s absolutely a labor of love.

We know that years of hard work and passion went into this book. What would the Blades team like the readers to take away from this sequel?

Emi: So Kathleen and I actually helped to brainstorm the entire Blades world back when it first came into being, so it felt like coming full circle to be back and expanding it in new and fun ways. I was already in love with all of these characters and they're even closer to my heart now. I can't wait for you all to see what we've come up with!

Jay: Y’all better like it! This book has taken years off my life. *lies down on floor* (But seriously, we’re as excited about Blades 2 as all of you and hope that it brings as much joy to you as it did for us to make. I think the best word to describe the team as we wait for September 1st is giddy.)

Danielle: I hope you like our art :).

Tom: If you don’t, please keep it to yourself, artists are fragile :’} 

Lil: I was one of the few people who was new at Choices when I began working on this book, and it was truly an honor to see this thing come together. These are the minds that brought you The Crown & the Flame, The Cursed Heart, Wake the Dead, and the first Blades. It was amazing to go from watching them work as a fan to taking this epic journey together. 

Kathleen: THE REAL VILLAIN WAS THE IMPERIALISM WE MADE ALONG THE WAY

Lastly, how much does the team love Aerin?

Kathleen: I DON'T love Aerin he KIDNAPPED my WIFE.

Danielle: Which one…

Emi: Aerin is my sweet baby boi with a little dose of evil. He should be protected at all costs but also really needs to go to therapy. I live for the angst of him and Raine though. It's so juicy.

Danielle: Aerin has caused me, personally, a lot of pain.

Lil: Really, one of the fun things about the book is you can decide how much pain Aerin causes you. Unlike us.

Jay: He haunts my dreams and my Wednesdays.

Danielle: Livid and sad and livid and sad

Thank you team for taking us through the fantastical production journey of the Blades of Light and Shadow 2! We can’t wait to dive in and meet up with the gang. Launch day is so close!! 

Thank you, readers, for supporting us and our book teams!

<3 The Choices Community Team

[sneakyboymerlin]

I'm very interested in all of the Sam/Merlin parallels! That post you did with Merlin characters reflected in Sam The Ultimate Queer Winchester just blew my mind how accurate that was and how blind I've been for not seeing it sooner!

Well, you asked for it:

Both are born with powers that are assumed to be inherently evil by their community

Feeling like they’re a “monster” because of powers that they use to help people

Core belief in the goodness of people

Being afraid to tell significant figures in their life the whole truth because they will be persecuted

Believing they are cursed

Fighting destinies that have been written for millennia/trying to achieve the best ending with the fewest casualties against all odds

Prioritizing the greater good

Episode that is heavily dependent on them being gut-shot and near-death

Raised by a single parent due to magical/supernatural circumstances

Unacknowledged or secret trauma

Chosen One™

Possession storyline(s)

Met a girl who is cursed to turn into a murderous beast at night, tried to save her, but ended up losing her anyways aka monster fuckers

Manipulated into releasing a main villain in order to prevent the very harm that villain wreaks once free

Jack is to Sam as Daegal is to Merlin

Both! Are! Witches!

Knowing the future but either dismissing the possibility or being unable to prevent it

Sharing their bed with strange men/“guy pals”

The forehead touch with the most significant figure of their life as they hold them in death

Reverse of Merlin & Morgana with Sam & Rowena (Rowena is a witch who starts out a villain and is redeemed, Morgana is a witch who starts out good and becomes a villain)

Cute romance in beginning of show but fades into nonexistence until it’s completely forgotten

Leave their family/community to pursue a better life

Both are he/they mlm

Stories about unconditional love & maintaining faith in someone they don’t see eye-to-eye with but still believe to be fundamentally good

Very good romantic chemistry with any number of characters, which gets ignored in favor of one (1) popular ship; valued more in relation to this ship, and less as an individual

Eyes that can change color when using certain powers

Get compared to a girl by the other main protagonist a lot

Stand up for themselves/others even though it may cost them (Sam against his father, brother, and hunting + the apocalypse; Merlin against Arthur, Uther, Morgana, and the persecution of magic + destruction of Camelot)

Made to feel as if they’re responsible for every horrible thing that happens

Animal lovers with cute companions (when the narrative allows -.- )

Never letting people get below the surface of their “I’m Fine” facades, mistaken as emotionally open because they encourage others to be

Obsessively trying to prevent the deaths of loved ones, especially one in particular

Have a mentor with divided loyalties who doubles as a surrogate father figure

Hundreds of years old (Hell time distortion & immortality, respectively)

Self-sacrificial, to save loved ones as much as for the greater good

Fake old age (Merlin’s spell + Sam’s wig)

Old friend possessed for the sake of sabotage

Outliving (almost) everyone they love

Have an adopted (baby dragon) (nephilim) child who unwittingly/unintentionally causes harm to loved ones after suffering great abuse

The aforementioned child is also perceived as evil despite never showing such inclinations; any harm caused is accidental or manipulated

Their child ends up in the wrong hands

Only one of their kind; “special”; feels as if no one can understand their unique struggles

Uncertainty about why they are the way that they are, reasoning that it must be bad

Collectors of special weapons with supernatural/magical properties

Never get all the credit they deserve; never ask for it

Dying multiple times and coming back

Moral condemnation for secrets that aren’t inherently bad

Vastly underestimated, which is why they tend to win at gambling

Implicit suicidal ideation

Pressured by friends to be a bystander, but often intervenes or disobeys anyways (the narrative typically punishes this deviation)

Single-episode reunion with best friend from their old life, who dies at the end

Implores other main protagonist not to kill an innocent creature, but warnings are ignored

Core relationship is not remotely healthy

Witnesses people being captured and murdered for the same powers they have

Information—which pertains to themself—about an absent parent is withheld until it becomes relevant to the current situation

Temporarily allies with a Sexy Evil Villainess

Both believe that they’re not monsters as long as they use their powers for the greater good/have conditional self-respect

Less toxic masculinity compared to their protagonist counterpart

Exist in a narrative that works on the premise that so many people with Abilities™ are corrupt except for a valid few (the only difference being that Sam is vilified for his)

Believe their lives are worth less than others

PTSD

Generally not prone to violence if it’s not necessary

Idealists

Struggles with the moral quandaries of every action

Witty sense of humor

Awesome powers that get ignored/forgotten

Hairstyles that range from adorable to hellfire

Pranksters

Waiting for years to be reunited with a dead loved one

[formulaorange]

Sunday May 23rd

2021 Spring Anime Season Update - Part 1

My Hero Academia Episode 9 Man, 2 juicy episodes back to back, we've been blessed. I think the new animation style is really fitting in with the action now and it's being used so well to highlight Bakugo's new spiderman-esque fighting style in this episode. I think it's awesome how much he's changed in his own way and his new costume is also just as excellent. It's fun to finally see him enjoying working with others but also clearly be strong on his own, he's had such a good character act without changing his core traits, which is awesome! I haven't read the manga for this upcoming section (maybe it's not even in there) but I figure there's a reason Monoma is so obsessed with Bakugou's change? and I'm really stoked to see him in action again in the upcoming episode! Honestly he'd better be the main star of the show, the mans is underrated! But for now - here's to spider-kacchan, his very hilariously named X-catapult and the true star of the show: Monoma ✨.

Tokyo Revengers Episode 7 Here's my theory - because of how much Takemichi is changing the timeline, he's going to be the reason any of this happens in the first place. Now if they end up trying to send a second version of him back in time to fix the first version, the show's quality will significantly drop and I'll be disappointed. But if they end up doing something totally new and it doesn't have anything to do with that first issue then I think this show would be able to still be considered super unique in terms of all the time travel aspects. Guess we'll have to wait and see. 86 Eighty-Six Episode 7 I feel like this episode said a lot of what we already assumed about the 86's position. The fantasy retirement that's always out of reach and the next lineup waiting to take over. It just kind of confirms what we already knew - the government sees these "lesser" people as disposable. It'll be a matter of time until Lena can't handle anymore and they'll need to physically work together to change it as well. As we're over half-way through the show now you can tell things are getting really tense and shit's gonna go down in the next episode. So I'm a Spider Episode 19 Her colours are getting so pretty! Here's a lil colour palette I put together for Kumoko's colours (if it's off I'm sorry, I'm just eyeballing it but this was fun anyway!!)

Part 2 - Coming Tuesday: To Your Eternity Odd Taxi Mars Red Pretty Boy Detective Club Edens Zero

[jisssooyah]

Hi you... if you were going to curate a little season of films for me, which ones would you choose and why? They don't need to be horror, I'm just curious what you would choose 🌸

I don’t know if you’ll like these movies, or if you’ve already watched them, but after i watched these films, i felt like they might need to belong to you now. i hope they make you smile, roll your eyes, and cry just as much as i did.

1. city of god (2002): this is one of the most immersive and gorgeously shot films i’ve ever seen. it’s set in rio de janeiro during the 60s and spans decades exploring the drug culture in the slums and how this can affect kids just as they are trying to figure their own selves out. the way this film is shot, feels like you were at the sea with them as the sand crunched underneath your feet. but the way that the director captures these individuals, makes you so fucking relieved that you don’t live through any of the circumstances that they go through. 

2. the dreamers (2004): set in 1968, this film follows three students in Paris who come of age and explore one another and their limits during the revolution. while these students prop themselves up as individuals obsessed with sex, running underneath themselves is a current of jealousy, obsession, and blurred familial relationships that made me increasingly uncomfortable. you find yourself feeling bad for the children, and ultimately upset at their upbringing because of their parents. 

3. if beale street could talk (2018): this movie is based off of james baldwin’s titular 1974 novel. in it, the director expertly and vigorously explores love: a love that feels so real that it hurts. the cast is what sold this film to me. the way they talk, laugh, cry, and smile at one another is achingly beautiful and terrifyingly sad. i wanted to transport myself back to their time period and watch the main characters fall in love because the film didn’t seem like enough. 

4. the neon demon (2016): this film follows an emerging model who sacrifices herself to the demands of the industry in order to be attractive and beautiful. there are so many stunning colors in this film that it makes you dizzy, like you’re in a trance and that’s what this world is for the main character: a trance. as she oscillates between reality and fantasy, her world and the characters in it, increasingly seek out to alter her personality. 

5. death becomes her (1992): a deliberately ultra-campy parody of trashy, pandering "women's pictures," soap operas and paperbacks from the '80s and '90s. The three leads all do some of their best work - it's hilarious watching Meryl Streep play a terrible actress, Goldie Hawn is particularly hilarious during her character's cat lady phase, and all around just a really fun and eccentric film. 

6. princess cyd (2017): i can’t think of anything to write for this but i just wanna say that this is literally one of the most pleasant movie experiences i’ve ever had. so much light and genuine interaction in warm sun rays radiating positive energy and an openness that is far too uncommon in movies nowadays. people talk, people connect, people grow bonds and are allowed to be sexual or intimate or personal without an air of shame or judgement. just pure kind and curious human association. 

7. spiderman: into the spiderverse (2018): the message of Spider-Verse is not "gentrify yourself! stop expressing your personality and just conform to what society wants you to be!" After all, what makes you different makes you Spider-Man, and Miles' final expression of himself as a superhero still retains much of his personality and individuality...they're just being used in more productive and fulfilling ways. It's the little things that drive the point home, like noticing that the title page for Miles' finished Great Expectations essay has been stylistically doodled and colored like street art. Rather than seeing his artistic gifts as an opposition to his schoolwork, Miles infuses them together to make the best of the hand he's been dealt.

8. my life as a zucchini (2016): initially heartbreaking and sad, but slowly becoming more joyful and heartwarming as the plot moves along. The film really feels like it captures the essence and child like wonder of these kids, all of them going through hardships but managing to find something to help each other out. It’s so refreshing to see the actual orphanage portrayed in a more positive light, not the usual horrid dump that a lot of lesser movies play them out as. The animation is stunning. One of the best uses of stop motion I’ve seen, everything is so colourful and detailed. There’s some moments set in snowy mountains and these look incredible. There’s clearly been so much love and care put into each and every scene here. The music too, sounds spectacular, it really works well with each scene. 

9. lovesong (2016): Mindy and Sarah have that type of relationship where they don't need words because they speak in a language made out of glances and touches. This movie is about the fear of ruining a meaningful friendship and losing an important person, about love that is so complicated that one might not even try because the outcome seems to be so obvious.

10. her (2013): Heartbreak is formative: it changes you heart side out, and leaves your muscles a little stronger, your skin a little thicker, your bones easier to repair. Before this film, I’d never seen anything constructive in having your insides pulled apart by the seams by another person, but this film taught me how. Being in love and then being forced out of it is an experience that changes you fundamentally, but Her taught me its purpose – you don’t need them to leave you so that you can find someone who’s a better fit, because perhaps you never will. You need it to participate in humanity. The common denominator is being hurt, and without it, you’re barely alive.

11. shoplifters (2018): bittersweet and richly transportive, Shoplifters is a film that nonchalantly eases you into its tragic beauty in a way that doesn't punch you hard until the end. It simultaneously made me want to be part of the film's world and also very glad that I'm not. The setting the characters live in is messy and cluttered and full of dysfunction and lies, but it's also got family, and laughter, and fist-bumps, and slurping warm noodles while rain pings on the tin rooftop. So nuanced, so many tiny moments of delicate beauty and unassuming heartbreak, so many people making terrible decisions with good intentions.

12. god’s own country (2017): though it is a love story between two men, this aspect is only addressed briefly in a single scene. Rather, the film is about finding someone who makes you want to be a better person, someone who comes into your life just when you needed it most. Gheorghe helps Johnny open up and realize the beauty of the simple life. From this relationship, Johnny begins to feel comfortable with expressing himself, and his love and gratitude towards others. He also begins to appreciate life in the country, surrounded by stunning landscapes and the beauty of simplicity. Addressing the Yorkshire countryside, Gheorghe says "It is beautiful, but lonely." Johnny is presented with the notion that he doesn't have to be cold and miserable, slaving and drinking his days away. He is presented with the possibility of no longer being alone and finally finding happiness and contentment - and it is more than gratifying to see him accept it.

13. disobedience (2017): a tender star-crossed daydream. the three main character dynamics are special enough on their own, but the romance that blooms at the center is cathartically intimate and even magical: a reunion that feels so inevitable. catching glimpses of a past life, details we aren’t privy to. all the stolen kisses and whispers and promises. a bond so strong that they fall back in sync with each other like second nature, even if they try to fight against it. even if it won’t work. and yet they choose each other, even if for a few minutes.

14. raw (2016): this film is so gross and I like that. There is tons of blood and unique body horror and it all works perfectly for the tone the film is attempting to set. The use of color, specifically neons, creates a constant feeling that you are traveling through some sort of weird ghost world, which I really like. Overall, it's a very well put together film with flashes of brilliance.

15. the night is short, walk on girl (2017): what an absolutely magical adventure of a film. Essentially this is a heavily episodic look at a night in the lives of several people, centered on a woman and a man as she gleefully floats from event to event while he neurotically obsesses over how to "coincidentally" talk to her. The storytelling is incredible; while the overarching narrative is simple there are countless threads woven together to connect everyone in the story to each other. That in itself is a big theme: connections between people, how everything is interrelated, and what a large impact seemingly insignificant things people do can have an impact on everyone around them.

16. coraline (2009): Coraline is the best stop motion movie ever made in my opinion. Before the film released in 2009, I read the book and was completely blown away by its creativity and story. It’s a pretty dark tale featuring many scenes of fright that work well in both a horror setting and an animated kids setting. On surface value, this film is quite horrifying, which is something I’ve always loved about it. While it does make a few minor changes to the book, it improves upon a piece of art that was already jaw-droppingly good. Coraline feels like a real little girl with some real problems. She’s selfish but likable which is something most films cannot translate well. Of course, she has a pretty awesome arc as well which brings this movie to a perfect close for her character. The other-mother is also perfectly done. She is almost exactly how I imagined her in the book and the animation on her is spookily gorgeous. There is not one dull moment in this film. It is literally a perfect piece of cinema.

17. the third wife (2019): haven’t seen a film this visually delicate in a while. Ash Mayfair works with the looming mountain surroundings to make her characters —these women, these girls— as small as possible, as isolated as possible. Uneasiest of all is the protagonist May, so young and so weighed by responsibility, her position blurs between being one of the wives and being one of the daughters. It’s an extremely bleak tale of circumstance. An old tale, certainly, but so beautifully crafted it doesn’t matter. Mayfair holds a fearful tension throughout, and it only ever shatters in the cruelest of ways.The abundance of women and display of sisterhood begin as a comfort, but horror takes over as we realize how conditional and fragile that comfort is. Even the daughters are subconsciously aware, one of them praying to the gods to grow up and become a man, shearing her hair off in naive triumph. It’s a doomed cycle of girls performing roles which are unfortunately their best option, right up until the final scene of May with her daughter, still in their mourning clothes. She, like the older wives, finally realizes they’re the same as the cattle laying on their side for too many days.

[youranemicvampire]

My Top 15 favorite movies/series I’ve watched in 2018

I’m not a professional movie critic or something, I just love to share it with y’all and hope you get something from it.

If in the past years, I was hooked in Japanese movies and only watched certain genres, this year, I decided to explore and feed myself with these gems.

1. PK (2014)

A comedic-philosophical movie. The alien concept is such a genius and a creative way to do it. EYE-OPENER. Do 👏🏼 not 👏🏼 miss 👏🏼 this 👏🏼 out.

2. Pad man (2018)

A real-life story of a man who is dedicated to making a napkin. Reading the plot, It is quite ridiculous, but watched it for fun anyway and It turned out to be filled with Life lessons, Political and cultural discoveries. The world should learn from Indian directors!

3. How to get away with murder (Season 1-4)

Don't judge me for just watching it this year. People have recommended it before, but idk I thought It'll be just like another American crime thriller. But I regret it! It is awesome. I'm still watching it actually. The story's very complicated, I love the main cast and their messy lives (like real-life lawyers and law students) and it's something you would finish all night. My family's obsessed with this.

4. Loving Vincent (2017)

Don’t miss this film if you’re an artist! Animated manual paintings of artists in Van Gogh’s style? A perfect way to make a Biopic! It will not only impress you but somehow understand his life. Warning: This film might be depressing.

5. Mary Shelley (2017)

Watched it because I was really curious who’s the genius behind my favorite movie adaptation (Frankenstein). And admired her even mooooore. One of the earliest feminists! 

6. Frankenstein (2015)

It is actually a film viewing for our Philosophy class. Not a fan of sci-fi, but became a fan of Frankenstein because of it. This is the most unique Frankenstein film they’ve made. It was set in a modern era.

7. Witch’s court (2017)

Koreans really make good crime/law dramas! TBH, the main plot was actually a cliché and predictable (if you watch a lot of Kdramas about crime), but the cases were interesting and gave me insights on how victims feel and experience as they're about sexual-related cases. 

8. Queen of Katwe (2016)

The movie depicts how realities and dreams overlap. It’s frustrating and inspiring at the same time. 

9. Marshall (2017)

You should know Thurgood Marshall. He defended black people from crime accusations based on race. They should make a series on this! This movie is not enough to show how cool He is.

10. Belle (2013)

Inspired by a painting and life story of a biracial daughter of a British admiral. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is freaking pretty btw! Don’t sleep on her. I would love to see her be a princess in a movie someday.

11. Frida (2002)

SALMA HAYEK IS PERFECT. I don’t know what I like more, The movie or her acting. I was impressed the whole time like how can someone be so perfect for a biopic. Like ‘Loving Vincent’, They made me feel what she felt.

12. Hidden Figures (2016)

Life of 3 of the greatest brains in NASA. Very empowering! t is when there was still racial segregation in America.

13. Get out (2017)

I really don’t know what to feel about this movie. Weirdly-creepy. A unique way to make a thriller. Fresh!

14. The hows of us (2018)

NOT A KATHNIEL FAN (Just to clear things up lol). I had no plans to watch, but My brother and his girlfriend treated me to the cinema so why not. Didn’t expect it would be goooood. One of the best mainstream Pinoy movies I’ve watched. Very realistic 👌

15. Momikeshite Fuyu (2018)

Still watching Japanese series and movies! And this stood out. I hesitated at first and almost drop after 1st episode, but it turned out to be weirdly funny (Jap. Humor u know) and heart-warming. I got a lot of sympathy for the lead.

Honorable mentions:

Victor Frankenstein (2015)

Newsies (1992)

12 years a slave (2014)

Amadeus (1984)

Black Panther (2018)

Crazy Rich Asians (2018)

Idiocracy (2006)

Malcom X (1992)

Mandela Long Walk to Freedom (2013)

Moonwalkers (2015)

Ray (2004)

Game night (2018)

Hotel Transylvania 3 (2018)

Memoirs of a murderer (2017)

Tokyo DOGS (2009)

Border (2014)

Ima kara Anata wo Kyouhaku Shimasu (2017)

The greatest showman (2017)

Spotlight (2015)

More recommendations:

2020

2019

2017

[parachutingkitten]

Season 4 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challenged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Mood for the season: It's a SuPeR fUn HaPpY pLaCe!!!!!

You don’t need to, but if you are interested, and haven’t seen my analysis of past seasons, you can find those here:

Pilot

Season 1

Season 2

Season 3

Hey guys! It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Season 4! We are here! I am SO biased with this season. It has problems man. It has ALL the problems! ALL the plot holes! ALL the stupid, stupid stuff, but I LOVE ALL OF IT! okay, let's back up. I'm about to drop some context on you. 

So, when you're a military brat you tend to make friends with whoever you can, and when I lived in Germany I had a friend who was fandom OBSESSED. She, at the time, was super into Homestuck, something I managed to avoid being sucked into, though I do know more about it than I would like. Anyway, this was the point at which I started getting sucked into Ninjago. So, I figured that if I could trust anyone with a strange obsession, it was her. I showed her the last episode of season 3, and she decided she was just going to dive head first into it with me. We watched season 4 together as it came out, we talked about it, had a bunch of inside jokes about it, I wrote some very short fanfiction about it, she made some OCs, one in particular that I remember was Stormy, a ditzy cloud master who wore pink, we shipped him with... one of my OCs, I don't remember. She hadn't watched the first two seasons, so I had to fill her in on a lot, but she was the first person I ever fandomed with, and it was over season 4. So I guess you could say season 3 was the grand beginning of my love for this show, and season 4 was the peak of my fangirl experience (at least for that phase of my life).

Plot

This season is a real mixed bag. Coming off the heels of the first season, nothing makes sense. Suddenly there are more elements, completely discrediting Lloyd's supposed power of four powers. And now it's genetic, which brings up the problem of Jay, who... if either Ed or Edna were masters, they would have slipped by now (but also like, how cool would it be if Edna just busted out with lightning powers) and then Zane who... doesn't have genes. It makes the world bigger, yes, but it also discredits the lore of the last two seasons, and brings up the question "Where the hell were the rest of the EMs when the Great Devour attacked? Or the stone warriors? Or the final battle?!" Anyway, it's a bit jarring and sudden to say the least. It definitely was not planned beforehand. There aren't even any hints in season 3. Like wouldn't it be cool if in season 3 we saw them go to the noodle shop, or Wu was really vague about elemental questions. It would make a lot more sense then. Idk. It opens the universe up to the plotlines of most of the future seasons, but it does sort of discredit the first two. This season is also kinda choppy feeling wise. You go from the mood the past season have had in the first episode to this sort of native tribal feel on the island, and then the factory and then back to Ninjago. It's kinda a mess. Overall it was just an excuse to put these characters in cool situations (which I have done before, I understand). Which I get, and it makes for some cool stuff, but I don't think any of it ends up meshing together super well in the end. When I think of this season I think of the tournament. I forget about the whole snake stuff at the end most of the time. I forget about the while Garmadon conflict. The fact that I forget that's there has to be a bad sign, right?

Characters

Character work this season is really pretty good for the most part! There are a lot of new characters. And they all are very distinct and fun, and even when two people you don't know especially well battle, you're still really invested. All of the Cole and Jay stuff is pretty good this season! Major upgrade from season 3. The whole fight scene is absolutely fantastic. Garmadon is freaking awesome this season. He keeps on trying to kill himself, and it's stupid, and the show sort of acknowledges that it's stupid, cuz Lloyd is just like 'dude, what the heck'. Kai's arch this season is pretty good, exploring his darker side and putting that intense conflict in front of him was good. I can tell you one thing, I like it a heck of a lot better than season 7, but we'll get to that when we get to that. So, yeah. Overall improvement in character! It doesn't dive super deep or anything, but it all works and is all interesting.

Skylor

So... she is one of the reasons I call this season the fanfiction season. We have a whole bunch of other elemental masters we've never heard of, and one of them their power is... all the powers. I can not tell you how much this ticked me off! And she hardly ever uses them! She has pretty much infinite power, and she doesn't think to use it, pretty much ever! There are no restrictions on her! This is what I hate Skylor for. And I do mean hate. BUT aside from that, strictly character wise she is done pretty well. She feels pretty fake and overly sassy at the beginning of the season, but there's a reason for that. It's an act. But it's not like she changed her personality to fool him, she intensified her personality to cover her intentions. Her arch feels pretty natural. That one scene where she does the evil laugh... that was weird. But aside from that, it feels okay. She was raised to think that lying and cheating is the norm, so when someone presents her with another option she begins to change. It makes sense. I love the scene where Kai and her look at each other through the prison bars and (even though their freaking legos) you can feel her realization that she's ashamed of what she's doing now. And after she makes the transition, she's just really chill. Like, I would like to hang out with her. I guess it is kinda sweet that even though she had all of the powers of... ever, at the end she's happy to just run her noodle shop. It's kinda poetic. Anyway, she may be a bit overpowered, and she feels like a bit of a Mary Sue, but overall her personality and interactions are enjoyable enough for me to mostly ignore that. I do agree that she is best used in moderation. She doesn't need to be part of the team. I wish we had a quick cameo each season, but whatever. What we have now in season 9 is nice, but she definitely needs to step back out of the spotlight in future seasons (knock on wood) in order to remain as likable as she's been.

Karlof

Love him. Freaking love him. Honestly, I probably relate to him the most. He's the first loser of the tournament, he avoids trouble, he sticks to what he knows, and he says it like it is. I love his interactions with everyone down in the noodle factory. He's like this perfect blend of optimism and pessimism. His interactions with Cole are beautiful. Their chemistry is really great. One of, I think everyone's favorite masters, and there's a reason why.

Shade

So... typical darkness character. Obviously selfish. But once the climax hits, I actually like him a lot. He kinda serves as an antagonist at first and then flips. It's kinda cool seeing a character with moral boundaries that far out. He's purposely suspicious to take attention away from Skylor, which I get. I think he has a lot of missed potential, but nonetheless, a decent character.

Neuro

I absolutely love his power! I love his manor, I love his voice. He may well be my favorite EM. I don't even know what else to say about this guy. If Karlof is who I am, Neuro is who I'd like to think I am. Calculated, calm, reasonable, and much like Karlof again, not too risky. I like him a lot. Cool guy. I like seeing how far he's willing to go for the ninja, and where certain lines are for him. It's kinda cool to watch. He could use a friend though. I HC he and Paleman hang out. Both quiet. Both reserved. Neuro could probably locate him in a room even if he's not visible. Idk. Anyway, I like him a lot! Great character.

Griffin Turner

Classic speedster. Good enough. Not much to say. He's fun. He's cool. He's what you'd expect. Decent screen time. None of it particularly character developing. For what he is, he's good at it.

Jacob

So, let's ignore the part where they made us think he was dead. He's a lot of fun. Good for them getting a blind character in there. Still confused on what his powers can... do? But I like his spunk. I think we all have a little soft spot for him.

Chamille

One of the only girls and she's pretty much evil. Why do girls have to be evil at one point to be interesting? Idk. Don't really care for her, don't really think much about her. Whatever. She's there. She serves her purpose. Fine. Okay. Moving on.

Paleman

Friggin love him. For the master of light to be invisible is a great move, and pretty creative. His voice is kinda obvious, but very distinct. It's a creative background character to have. I like him a lot. Again, I feel he could use some more love. See above Neuro HC. Like him a lot and... yay.

Bolobo

Kinda missed the "mother nature" pun... could have had at least one more female master... that's okay. He's cool enough. Kinda disappointing though. I mean, vines? Is that it?

Gravis

Gravity is a dang cool power. Idk what else to say. He doesn't get a ton of screen time, so it's hard to praise him too much, but yeah. I really like that. Actually had an FC (she was a villain but you know whateves) with the power, so seeing that be a real element they used is really cool.

Ash

I don't like him. He's very strange. He's just got that one laugh. He seems comically over the top a jerk. I like the way his mouth looks though. Unique and kinda cool. I was looking on his Wiki page, and it said he and Chamille kissed in the background at one point? Is that true? I am way curious now

Tox

Okay. She's nonexistent here, no personality. I guess she's kinda tough. Yeah, this gets confirmed later in season 9, when she speaks. But even there she's pretty nonexistent. Here's my idea. Instead of having all your females being 'tough' why not flip expectation on its head? I think it would be way funny and clever if the master of poison was super friendly, and bubbly, and genuinely a nice person. I'm thinking almost like Jay's (lightning... or I guess adopted) mom, levels of talkative and nice. Wouldn't that be kinda fun? Idk. Whatever. It is what it is.

Kapau and Chope

Best villains ever 10/10. 'Nuff said.

Romance

KAILOR

Okay, I freaking love them! They're not my favorite couple or anything, but they work really, really well… under certain conditions. There are a few bumps I can't ignore. Can we have a protagonist in the show who doesn't send googly eyes at their future love interest the first moment they see her? And remember when they made us think Kai and Skylor were related... yeah... why did we need to do that? That was... kinda uncomfortable. BUT other than that, Skylor is exactly what Kai needed. First, he needed a redhead. Duh. Second, he needed someone who would see right through his Kai shmoltz and be real with him. Third, she had to be fun. And finally, she needed to wear the pants in the relationship. And Skylor fills ALL of those requirements! I like that Kai falls for her right away, and I love that she doesn't think she likes him until... she totally does and it's like 'Oh SNAP!'. I love that weird scene where Chen walks around with Kai like he's already his son in law, that cracks me up! I guess I like them more in theory than in practice. It feels a touch forced, and it needed a bit more time. Point being, the beginnings of the relationship are extremely awkward and strange, but towards the end of the season, it gets good! I just wish we could see more :)

The... love... triangle

Alright, by now, you guys should know how I feel about these things. They suck. They're stupid. I hate them. They're pointless. And this season is... quite possibly the stupidest. So... the whole Garma-Wu-Sako... thing this season is that Wu wrote a letter to Misako a long time ago, and Garmadon stole it, and then... Misako *groan* used it to determine which of them she was going to marry... okay. Yeah, Garmadon, that was a crap thing to do. But you know what, he was evil. Wu should have just signed the thing when he wrote it. But also, Misako... WHAT ARE YOU DOIN' GIRL?! Why... would you let a letter... be the final deciding point? I don't get that. And my main problem is that she basically chose her husband based on his writing ability. The thoughts Wu had in the letter obviously directly express what Garmadon wanted to say. In the end, his feelings for her were still the same. The only thing different is that he didn't write it. He's not good with words the way Wu is. But the show treats it like he lied about his feelings, and didn't even like her. Like he was using her for personal gain or manipulation or something. Idk. The whole thing makes no sense. Now, maybe if he did something to make Wu directly look bad or disingenuous THAT would be understandable. But... idk. I don't get it. Misako sucks. Let's move on.

Villians

Chen

Chen is my favorite villain. Hands down. No competition. Any way you slice it. I friggin love the heck out of this dude. And here's why. First off, he's a very comedic villain that still remains extremely threatening, which is an extremely thin line to walk. I mean, think about it. With all the other villains, they were intimidating, and the henchmen provided the humor. Here, I guess you could say they flipped it cuz Clouse is pretty intimidating, but Chen is still crazy scary on his own. And here's how they do it: He's insane. Straight up, he has lost his mind. Nothing he does makes sense, but that's fine, cuz it probably makes total sense to him. You can laugh at the quirky things he does, but also live in fear knowing that he has trap doors installed EVERYWHERE. Why? Cuz he likes them! Is there a better reason than that when you're crazy! That was my problem with people with Pythor. He is so smart, why didn't he ever think that the devourer might eat him too?! There is no explanation. But with Chen, that doesn't matter! He wants to be a snake! Why? Why not?! No flaws in that thinking, right? This is also why I like Ultra Violet so much. She's the only one to rival his position, but because she's more of a side villain, I don't feel that's enough to dethrone him. With insane villains, you never have any idea what they're playing at, if it's smart, or how to counteract, cuz they're just insane. I mean, seriously,

"Chen, the ninja have figured out our plan, what should we do?"

"COOL! Let's tell EVERYONE our plan!"

And it works! I love his voice. Just the way he says things makes me so happy! He's having so much fun, and I have fun with him! 10/10 villain. Great work.

Clouse

I can't get past the voice. It sounds so over the top evil and... it's kinda annoying for me? He has a decent backstory and such, but whenever he's on screen I always find myself wishing it was Chen. He just sucks the fun out of everything and leaves nothing there, so most of his interactions aren't particularly interesting. I don't know. Never really thought much of him.

Humor

Needless to say everything with Chen works! Everything with the EMs works. Jay's whole Positive Thinking streak is amazing! There's not a lot that falls flat on its face. It's really pretty fantastic.

Favorite joke: too many to count. If I had to pick one...

Chen's: the reds, the purples, the super dark purples!

Drama

This season has some damn good drama. It has my personal most sad moment in all of Ninjago. I'm of course talking about Garmadon's death...  JK! XD I WAS LAUGHING ALL THE WAY THROUGH THAT SEQUENCE! But we’ll get to that later. Okay. But for real, my personal most heartbreaking moment is when we find out Pixal is scrapped (of course it's Pixal related) but seriously, watching this for the first time, it broke my heart hardcore. I audibly gasped. They have these conversations, and she realizes he doesn't remember her, and it hurts her because they were comPATABLE GOSH DANG IT! And then he starts remembering, and she knows she can't go with him, so she lies to him to give him the motivation to make it out, and then the reveal, and Zane's heart breaks, and your heart breaks. This whole scenario reminds me of my own writing, it has all these things I enjoy using. Distinctions between fantasy and reality, characters lying to each other to protect them, and an ending realization of total and complete emptiness. Of course, Pixal is added into his head, and all is fine and dandy. It works for this season but serves her worse in future seasons. Regardless, that moment when Pixal says 'scrapped' is the most depressing thing I've ever seen. All of the Zane drama this season works really well. Zane having an identity crisis is something I didn't think the show would handle. When Zane says he's just a clone if himself I was like 'oh, dang! They went there!'. It's almost like he's comparing himself to Cryptor, and it's some heavy stuff. Everything this season is shrouded in mystery. I love that. For the first half of the season or so, I really like the tournament stuff. But as we get Cole, and especially Jay in the noodle factory, that plotline gets much more interesting. I don't get into the Nya and Lloyd and Garmadon stuff that much. The stuff with Kai is okay. But overall, there's some good stuff.

Climax

Okay, so... I... I mean I like the build up. The thing with all the trucks is really good. Most of it was really pretty good with all the EMs doing stuff the ninja would usually do. But the whole ending thing, with getting mini Pythor involved, and you know. The whole Garmadon death thing. He died an honorable death and all that, but... idk, I can't get past Lloyd's voice. As he reads him off I just couldn't stop giggling! It's so overdramatic, they feel like they need to make Lloyd mad at his dad for whatever reason so he can come back at the last second, and it all feels so forced. And then the ending is super overly cheesy for how serious the show wants to take itself at that moment. Idk. I don't like it. One of my least favorite finales.

Spotlight episode

There are some good ones to choose from this season. Some real good ones. But the one I find myself watching the most is Ninja Roll. This episode doesn't have too high stakes, it doesn't make much sense, it's kind of pointless, but it perfectly encapsulates the reason I watch Ninjago. I don't know exactly why I watch Ninjago. I'm not into the action most of the time. The romance is cute, but not potent enough to warrant watching the show. The humor isn't revolutionary, the characters aren't especially deep. No, the reason I watch Ninjago is cuz it's fun. Ninjago is just a good time. It has just enough of all of those aspects to make for something I love. It makes me smile. With seasons 8, and especially 9, Ninjago has shifted into this darker action based, lore-driven thing, which I thought I would like, and I do, but I think it's lost a bit of that fun factor. In my opinion, Ninjago is it's best when it's self-aware, and doesn't take itself overly seriously. When you don't have to end the season on an ominous dark cliffhanger. I mean really. What is this? Chima? No. I just want to go hang out with the ninja and the gang, whatever it is their doing. This episode takes advantage of every situation a roller derby with the ninja provides. Of course Jay roller skates with his mom. Of course, Kai is incompetent at it. Of course, Chen cheats, of course, it all comes down to Lloyd. Of course, there's freaking buggies that Chen releases! This whole episode makes me smile and laugh and it has a good message. This is what I miss about Ninjago, and that's why it's my spotlight.

Misc

I know everyone always teases Jay about his TV show, but what about Kai and his wrestling career? I just feel like that would come up more often

I completely subscribe to the theory that Pixal was scrapped to fix Zane cuz they beat him up so badly when capturing. I'd kinda like to think Pixal even volunteered herself for it... ONE SHOT IDEA

I have to scratch... my face.

I need a number on the trap door to button ratio on the island

This season has my favorite intro of any season. Mainly cuz the remix is FIRE and I hate the fact that they don't have an extended version that sounds more like the opening itself. 

So all together, the word to sum up season 4 is fun. Definitely not technically the best, or the smartest, or the most well done, but it's my favorite because of nostalgia, my inner child, and because it makes me smile. I love this season.

- Maya (Parachutingkitten)

[perfectworldau]

Could you do the RFA reacting to goth MC? Like, one day they actually visit her house and she's all ready go on a date in her gothic attire and her house is decked with homunculus and specimen jars? Skulls littering the house and coffin shaped everything around them? (If you wanna do different subcategories of goth, that would be awesome! But i understand if you just want to stick to one ^^) thank you, even if you don't do this one! I'm asking a lot tonight, haha!

I tried to write about different types of goth but the only two I’m completely familiar with are normal goth and pastel goth. I also tried to write about cyber goth for Seven as I thought it would be interesting, so I hope it’s ok :)

Yoosung - goth

Yoosung is so excited to meet you for the first time

He’s wearing the cutest little waistcoat and has a bouquet of flowers in his hands

This boy has come so prepared for the date

He knocks on the door and he’s really nervous

You open the door in full goth clothing and he’s taken aback

There’s so much black!

You invite him inside while you find a vase for the flowers and he stands awkwardly, waiting for you to come back

He can’t help but look around at the dark wood sideboard and shelves filled with skulls, black crosses and jars filled with…. things?

The jars actually draw Yoosung’s attention and when you come back into the room, he’s examining them closely

This boy wants to be a vet, things like this interest him

‘I didn’t know you collected things like this, MC.’

You’re actually surprised that you haven’t already told him about your gothic lifestyle before

Yoosung finds it intriguing and asks you loads of questions about it on your date

He wants to know why you like it and how long you’ve been goth for

After you’ve been dating Yoosung for a while, you start to notice his wardrobe turning slightly goth

Is that a skull on his desk wearing his headphones?

Sure, he still usually wears colourful clothes and has his room painted bright colours but you’ve influenced a slight change

When you move in together, the house becomes a mismatch of orange shelves with specimen jars on; bright blue walls with black furniture and LOLOL figures with a coffin shaped candle holders next to them

Zen - pastel goth

Zen has wanted to visit your home for a while now but every time he suggests going to yours before a date, you come up with some excuse to meet him elsewhere

This time, he’s persuaded you to let him visit you at home

Little does he know, that you’ve not allowed him to come to your home because of the pastel gothic interior

You’ve been worried that Zen won’t understand your lifestyle choices and you’ve even dressed slightly differently when you’ve met up with him before

This time when he knocks at your pastel blue door, he’s met with the real you

And he absolutely loves it

You look so cute

He loves the pastel lilacs and pinks that you’re wearing and he really wants to see the inside of your house

This boy loves it all so much

He loves the contrast between the adorable pastel aesthetic and the edgy dark goth style

Ok, so maybe the skulls and specimen jars are a bit much for him but he totally accepts it

This is what you like so he’ll accept it 100%

The gothic parts of the room make him reminiscent of his days in the biker gang (although they aren’t really all that similar)

Zen tells you how much he loves your home and your clothes and you become much more confident about wearing them around him

Zen starts to adapt his wardrobe to include a lot of pastel colours but also wears biker leathers again

ZEN WEARING PASTEL PINK

You and him wear matching pastel goth outfits sometimes and his fans go crazy every time it happens

He has so many cute nicknames for you based on your love of pastel goth (I tried to think of some but the best I could come up with was ‘Goth Bunny’. I’m sure Zen could do better)

Jaehee - pastel goth

Jaehee does not know what she’s walked into when she visits your home

She’s came over to talk to you over a cup of coffee and now she’s walked into a whole new world

Sure, she’d seen some of your pastel goth clothes before but there’s a difference between having some clothes in a different style and having your home decorated like it!

She’s thought it was just a fashion statement

She feels like Alice and she’s fallen into wonderland and she’s not sure whether she likes it or hates it.

There’s a strange mix of fear, awe and confusion in Jaehee’s mind

The homunculus and specimen jars are causing the fear

They may just be worse than Jumin’s obsession with Elizabeth the 3rd

Jaehee’s always been a very practical woman and she doesn’t see the purpose of extravagant clothes or quirky interior design

So, what’s the purpose of the skulls on your dresser or the elaborate black chandelier above her head?

Jaehee doesn’t hate it, but she doesn’t really like it

It all feels a little too strange for her and she’s much happier when you offer to go out to a cafe with her

After you’ve known Jaehee for a while, she starts to get used to it

She doesn’t embrace it like some of the other members do, but she learns to love you for your unique qualities

Jumin - goth

Jumin is so excited to see you at your own home

He really wants to know what the home his princess lives in looks like

When you open the door wearing gothic attire, he takes a step back

He’s even more shocked when he catches a glance at your home behind you

Can someone please explain to Jumin what’s happening?

This guy just thinks you’re really religious at first

Just look at all those crucifix and crosses

And skulls

Ok, why does his girlfriend live in a mausoleum?

He truly doesn’t understand it

He’s lived such a shielded life that he doesn’t know about different types of people, such as goths.

He’s so conservative that he’s actually speechless for once

He is inquisitive though and wants to learn more

‘MC, your home is rather unique.’

He doesn’t want to offend you but this is out of his comfort zone

After Jumin learns more about you being a goth, he becomes accustomed to it

He doesn’t love the goth decor nor does he hate it

This man loves every single part of you, whether it’s unusual or not, so he’ll accept it into his life.

Secretly, it still confuses him

He has to admit you look stunning in your gothic clothes and adores helping you pick them out

Seven- Cyber goth/ industrial goth

Seven’s come to your house to take you out on your first date together

Of course, he’s seen pictures of you from your social media when he was doing the background check but nothing prepared him for what he saw

As soon  as he sees the mixture of neon colours, dark gothic features and leather, he’s fallen head over heels in love

THE PICTURES ON YOUR FACEBOOK WEREN’T LIKE THIS

Your outfit is the hottest thing he’s ever see

All the leather, fishnets and revealing clothes are turning him on

He’s so flustered

You invite him inside while he regains his composure

Your house is so cool, in his opinion

He loves the mixture of vintage feeling gothic pieces with the futuristic neon colours

He’s reminded of aliens and thinks he’s in some kind of cool spaceship

He’d ask you about everything, studying all the interesting specimen jars and neon lights on the shelves

He wants to see more of your wardrobe, but doesn’t ask as that would sound very weird on your first date (and he doesn’t want you to kick him out now)

This boy would make things that would suite the decor of your house like a computer with neon lights or a tv in the shape of a coffin.

You can bet he invests in some really cool cyber goth clothes so that he can match with you

No matter how long you’ve been dating Seven, he still finds your cyber goth clothes incredibly sexy

Constantly wants to make out with you and tear off your tight fitted clothes before you’ve even left the house ;)

You are fulfilling Seven’s wildest fantasies

When you move in together, he is more than happy to allow you to redecorate the bunker in cyber goth style

Just keep the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, his computers in the right place and Honey Buddha Chips in the kitchen and he’ll be happy

[phantastus]

Hi Kit!! I was thinking about Shattered Memories for the first time in a little while and so I decided to search your blog about your opinion on it and you said it frustrates you, and I'm curious to hear your thoughts on it if you're interested? :)

Oh man, what a coincidence. I was just talking about this with @dunglizard.

Hmm… to condense my thoughts on it, my basic opinion is that while I did enjoy playing the game, there was a lot ABOUT it that was frustrating. Most of my issues with it have to do with wasted potential and the disrespectful attitude of the people making it, and then also there were gameplay aspects that were frustrating too. Of the two, the gameplay aspects are more forgivable imo, because like, no game is perfect and they really were trying to do something new, which is risky and doesn’t always succeed even with the best of intentions.

But to be clear– I had fun playing it! The story was compelling, the character writing was great, and the entire visual makeup of the game was haunting and beautiful. There was a LOT about it that I find really commendable!

And, really, what made it so frustrating to me was the fact that those aspects of it… deserved better, and were sorely let down by the things that WEREN’T good about the game.

I’ll put my negativity under a readmore because it got really long.

(disclaimer: I’m an angry old Silent Hill fogey and while I think I’m generally more reasonable than a LOT of fans, I’m still exactly the kind of person that Tomm Hulett likes to chortle about never being able to please, so like… keep that in mind.)

So uh, we’ll start with the gameplay I guess!

I love the idea of a no-combat Silent Hill game, and I remember when the game had only just been announced, I spent so much time chatting with friends about how a Silent Hill game featuring a protagonist who had a valid reason not to be able to fight the monsters (such as a small child, or an elderly or disabled person) would be really, REALLY cool. But even with Harry 2.0 as the playable character, I was still looking forward to what I thought was probably going to be a stealth-based Silent Hill game, which was SO exciting for me because the most scared I’ve ever been while playing games as a kid were ones where you had to sneak, with no option for combat (guess who nearly had a fucking heart attack every single time I had to sneak out of the Slytherin Common Room in the Harry Potter + the Chamber of Secrets PC game? spoilers it was teenage me). If you were caught, that was it. And the trailers for the game seemed to indicate that this would be the case, with mechanics for hiding from the monsters so that they wouldn’t find you. You know, like what would make sense for a no-combat horror game. This is a common mechanic for horror games both indie and mainstream NOW, but at the time, the only major one I remember knowing about was Amnesia: The Dark Descent, which blew everybody’s MINDS with how pants-shittingly scary it was, and the thought of an SH game trying the same thing was like:

But then when the game came out, that mechanic wound up being… kind of broken. Maybe the AI for the monsters was just ramped way up or something, but hiding essentially felt useless, since there was basically never a time when the monsters WEREN’T chasing you. No matter how far ahead of them you got, they still seemed to know exactly where you were and would catch up to you within a few seconds. If you DID manage to hide, most of the time they seemed to telepathically know you were there anyway and would drag you out. Not to mention, since you pretty much had to run the entire time without slowing down or stopping, there was no time to check the map and, as the courses got more and more difficult, they basically stopped being scary. 

There was no time to actually breathe and build up that apprehension of “Will it find me? Did I lose them? Is it safe to pull out my map and figure out where to go?”– instead it just became an obstacle course race where all the other participants were not only more in-shape than you but also knew the course by heart and wanted to eat you. What should have been heart-stoppingly terrifying and dread-inducing just turned into “oh FUCK now I have to run around at breakneck speed for twenty minutes and hope that I’m going in the right direction”, and that just got… really aggravating after awhile. It could have been really good, and it just… wasn’t. 

Pictured above: me thinking I’ve taken a new path for the 20th time only to emerge directly into a Raw Shock army who already  knew I was coming.

At best, watching Harry get repeatedly dogpiled by Raw Shocks every time my thumb faltered was pretty funny. But they were going for adrenaline rush and instead wound up with yackety-sax. Not a good move for a game boasting about how damn scary it was. The non-chase portions of the game definitely had a lovely, dread-filled atmosphere, but the fact that you were never in any kind of danger until the scripted events where the Obstacle Course Race From Hell happened kind of dampened their effectiveness, too. 

ANYWAY, onto the other stuff, which I concede is more personal than objective. But I do feel really strongly about it, so here goes.

Originally, Silent Hill: Shattered Memories was going to be an entirely new entry in the series, not only featuring a new story and characters but also the first female protagonist since Heather Mason. Between THAT and the unique atmosphere that SHSM had, I really, REALLY think that it would have been an awesome entry to the continuity, and GOD does Silent Hill need more female protagonists!

But somewhere down the line, that idea was scrapped in favor of the “re-imagining” idea, so instead of a new entry to the series, instead we got… a new entry where the characters had the same names as the ones from SH1, despite resembling them only in the most superficial of ways, and also you’re playing as a dude instead of a girl because of course you are. The honest truth is that if those familiar names were filed off and only a few minor tweaks made to the story, it would STILL be a completely original entry, which makes the re-imagining aspect feel jarring and cheap– the game really felt like it was banking on the shock value of Harry Mason Actually™ being an alcoholic womanizer and Dahlia Gillespie Actually™ being a hot sexy twenty-something, etc more than anything else– when the truth is, if they had just trusted in the story they were telling and the genuine emotional impact of the characters’ problems, they would have had an equally (if not MORE, imo) impactful and memorable game.

Instead, the SH1 aspects felt forced and ugly, and when you factor in Kaufmann 2.0’s smug soliloquey at the finale about accepting that your [Cheryl’s AND the player’s] perfect image of Harry Mason was wrong~ and unrealistic~, the entire story felt like a smirking hamfisted dickpunch aimed at people who enjoyed the original Silent Hill story about a diminutive and flawed (yes, even in the original canon, he WAS flawed) but determined man who rescued his child from a nightmarishly abusive home situation. 

Reading Tomm Hulett’s opinion (pictured above: me reading almost anything Tomm Hulett says) on the game only reinforced that impression– I honestly don’t feel like going and looking up the interview because it pissed me off but it mostly consisted of insisting that SHSM was “as canon as any of the other games” and was supposed to be considered a viable in-universe ending to SH1 (despite… literally being an alternate universe BY DEFINITION and not being continuity-compatible with the other games). Given Hulett+Co’s consistent obsession with “fixing” the original games (see the HD collection debacle, during which the original voice actors/actresses were mocked rudely and key dialogue changed to be “more believable” despite the new dialogue being totally deaf to narrative, characterization, and tone), it’s really hard not to take the “We fixed Harry Mason to be more realistic and the entire message of the game is about how silly and fantastical the original character of Harry Mason was, hohoho” attitude as being deliberately condescending and self-masturbatory.

Not to mention, while I have NO PROBLEM WHATSOEVER with the characters of SHSM entirely on their own (hence why I’d honestly be all for filing the names off and treating them as entirely-unique characters in their own story, which I feel they absolutely deserved), I personally find the whole concept of… ‘fixing’ an everyman hero by ‘revealing’ him to be an unfaithful, child-abusing alcoholic, and a delightfully sinister and brilliant villain to be a Sad Mom ™, AND a troubled and traumatized but ultimately heroic young woman to be a Daddy Issues Stereotype who was also Crazy The Whole Time ™ to be…. just repugnant, in the same way that I find overly-grimdark versions of superheroes repugnant.

Pictured above: me when people take pre-established characters and make them edgier for shock value and not much else.

For me, that was what took an otherwise interesting and poignant story and cheapened it for the sake of beating a dead horse (because they’d rather SHATTER our MEMORIES of those silly OLD games, lol cry moar babies!!! than take the plunge and try doing something that could stand on its own).

The characters of SHSM deserved so much more than to just be a “fuck you” to SH1, and the characters of SH1+3 deserve more credit than to be considered flimsy and unrealistic just because they didn’t fit into someone’s approved level of Grimdark. Given that, after all the smirking and hullabaloo and Problematic Decisions ™, the game’s connection to SH1 was still so, so superficial, it went from being just a questionable storytelling choice to actively making the game worse than what it could have been, for virtually no good reason.

And final footnote: These are my opinions, and obviously there are ample reasons for people to like and enjoy SHSM! I also in no way think that writing characters with the issues presented in SHSM is bad or “edgy” by itself, it’s purely the reasons behind doing it and the fact that it denied me a bona fide in-universe canon Silent Hill game with a new female protagonist that puts it in that territory for me. Nobody has to agree with me if they feel differently. Thank you for reading.