#Fubuki is simply enjoying the view

[sofieflee]

Rain Code Ship Week Day 5 - Swap

I’m still going to finish this week challenge even if it were to take me months! Also I thought a clothes swap would be easier, I WAS VERY WRONG! This thing consumed almost 19 hours of my life.

[tobiasdrake]

With your tonal language I can’t tell if you are exaggerating or genuinely hating Yakou.

My relationship with Yakou is complicated, in large part because his creator and I have very different sets of values. Yakou is a character designed to be complicated, but to leave you with an ultimately positive feeling towards him. He's a man haunted by his past, but also one with strong enough values and convictions that he can serve as something of a role model nonetheless.

My issue with Yakou is that a lot of the things that are designated as his flaws - his heavy drinking and willingness to murder - are things I don't have a problem with. Meanwhile, the things that are designated as his virtues? Well....

Kazutaka Kodaka is a man with profoundly heteronormative views on gender that come out in his work. He has strong opinions about binary masculinity and femininity, which get expressed in his writing - and his record with trans and non-binary characters is spotty.

With Yakou, this comes out as a sort of inadvertent foot-in-mouth syndrome, where he can become incredibly obnoxious in the moments where he's meant to be likable simply as a consequence of what Kodaka thinks are good values.

Yakou and Desuhiko are the two characters through which Kodaka explores masculinity. Fubuki, Yuma, Kurumi, and Vivia all have genders, but their stories aren't about gender. Halara, meanwhile, has neither a binary gender nor a story about gender. But Yakou and Desuhiko have masculinity itself as a major topic of conversation.

Which. Means. Kodaka, a guy with spotty views on gender, uses these characters to talk about gender. That's. Okay.

Desuhiko is used as a negative portrayal of masculinity. His worst traits are derived from trying too hard to express his masculinity. He's a kid with low self-esteem chafing under the yoke of trying to live up to a cultural standard, to earn respect by Doing The Thing whether he even understands why he's doing it or not.

This leaves him drifting through life constantly exclaiming "HAVE I MENTIONED HOW STRAIGHT AND NORMAL I AM!? OH BOY I SURE DO LOVE WOMEN!" to everyone he meets. He's identified The Womenz as the cure for his insecurity, even though he doesn't actually seem that invested and is honestly surprisingly chaste. He's just performing masculinity, hoping he'll get an A+ grade in Manliness and that maybe that will finally give him value as a person.

For as much as I dunk on Desuhiko, this is a fairly good commentary on what a patriarchal and heteronormative society does to insecure boys.

But then we have Yakou. He offers the counterpoint, as a more positive portrayal of masculinity. But. Like. His central thesis isn't that different from Desuhiko's. He's a romantic at heart who's central thesis is that the true measure of a man is defined by his relationship to a woman.

He's the heteronormative ideal: A man who controls his emotions, loves with all his heart, objectifies women to demonstrate a healthy sexuality but is committed in his heart of hearts to this one woman, who he would give his life for without question. He would be happily married with a white picket fence and 2.5 kids if not for this one asshole who stole his woman from him.

The moments where you're meant to roll your eyes and chuckle at Desuhiko are when he's trying to express masculinity. And the moments where you're meant to like Yakou are, similarly, moments when he's successfully expressing masculinity.

But the values he expresses in those moments? The things that come out of his mouth that are meant to make you appreciate him more? They're things like "Men exist just for women" and "You'd be prettier if you smiled more", confidently asserted in what's supposed to be a touching moment of emotionally connecting with the player character and, by extension, the player.

Most of the time when I'm dunking on Yakou, it's just for fun. He's far from my favorite character but he's harmless, and there are things I do enjoy about him. But the moments Kodaka writes when he's trying to make Yakou look good are the times when I can't fucking stand him at all.

[yakool-foolio]

What do you say to these Vivia ships?

Vivia x Yakou

Vivia x Worried Man NPC

Vivia x Shinigami

Vivia x Fubuki

Vivia x Desuhiko

Vivia x Halara

Vivia x Yuma

Vivia x Melami

Vivia x dying

Vivia x pillows

Vivia x Wince Media

Vivia x boxcutter knife

Vivia x nobody

😏

Hoo boy that's a lot! Well, if ya wanna mess with the bull, you'll get the horns. And by that I mean you'll get my serious and/or non-serious reaction to all of these so enjoy!

Vivia x Yakou - Ah yes, the og otp, ever since me and my boyfriend wanted to cosplay our respective favs before the game even released. Suffice to say were we ahead of the game on that one so we were pleasantly surprised it has some canon footing and it's simply sweet as hell! I personally love how this ship symbolizes that no matter how much you've lost, there's always something to gain and you still have the capacity to love.

Vivia x Worried Man - I won't lie this side quest completely caught me off-guard. My thought process went from 'aw he's in love' -> 'wait that's gay' -> 'WAIT THATS GAY WITH VIVIA' and I have never been the same since. It's pretty cute ngl, even if it's just a little side quest. Aaaaand then the rest of chapter 4 happened and I went right back to loving Viviakou, sorry Worried Man but you've got a lotta competition.

Vivia x Shinigami - Before the game released I theorized that Vivia could see Shinigami and I was so damn proud of myself to find out that I was right. Besides that, I always associated them as friends pre-release, but with chapter 4, their dynamic is very interesting. Vivia put her in her place throughout the entire labyrinth. He was more in control of the situation than she was cause he held more knowledge than any other assistant ever had before. He wasn't stuck in there with her, she was stuck in there with him. Anyways yeah I think they'd be platonic buddy ol' pals

Vivia x Fubuki - The 4-panel comic of them was adorable! I see them as friends but I can certainly see why people may view them in a more romantic light. They definitely paint each other's nails.

Vivia x Desuhiko - Another case of them being more like pals than a blossoming bromance. However, I do have a good platonic headcanon that Vivia knows how to play piano and has studied music theory as part of his endless reading escapades, so he'll sometimes help out Desuhiko when requested for assistance with practicing on his guitar. They're both very musically-inclined I know it in my heart.

Vivia x Halara - AKA the badasses. I don't view them as romantic personally, but I love them being the duo who kicks ass and takes names. Additionally, I'm sure Halara appreciates having a metaphorical cat around when they can't interact with actual cats.

Vivia x Yuma - Not uncommon for the protag to slip his way into every and all angles of ships, but I think this one works especially well. Yuma and Vivia have a very strong and well-written dynamic thanks to our lord and savior chapter 4; they develop alongside each other. It's just like Vivia said, they're accomplices, they have to fight for the truth together in order to clearly see eye-to-eye. We love short king with tall ghost guy! The appeal for this ship is very much apparent.

Vivia x Melami - I fought so hard for these two to interact and what did I get? Nothing! So, I wallow in my headcanons of them having a perfect partnership since their Fortes bounce off each other so well. Melami would absolutely despise Vivia's choice of 'clothing' though, she'd try to give him a makeover but he'd slip right out of her grasp before she could do anything.

Vivia x dying - As much as he adores the idea of death I don't think he's dying any time soon. The grim reaper plays hard to get.

Vivia x pillows - THE PAIRING HE DESERVES

Vivia x Wince Media... hey wait I know that guy from Twitter

Vivia x boxcutter knife - It's a cut above the rest [laugh track]

Vivia x nobody - Privacy is very important, I'm sure he enjoys his time alone just as much as he's grateful for attention. It's a good balance!

BONUS: Vivia x Zilch (yes the real one)- I'm inclined to bring this crack ship up cause I've been pioneering it for a long time. Heck I'm even trying to write an AU one-shot about it, I find their potential relationship so intriguing. I love my literal and metaphorical catboys!

[inazumafocus]

So many characters so little time

Hello there my dearies, I’m here today to talk about one of the biggest problems we have in the current Inazuma season aka Orion:  character development! Simply put, I’m going to show you in details WHEN during OG the members of the Inazuma Japan had a character development and why back then they were able to manage those while in Orion they seem to be a problem. This will be a veeery long list so you can skip to then end where I’ll explain everything further!

Endou Mamoru:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s1e1 establish base for the character, s1e2 first defined characteristics (never giving up), s1e12 first doubts showing his humanity and inner struggle, s1e15 and s1e17 interpersonal relationship with troubled friends, s1e24 we can see him doubtful and troubled about himself, s2e46 the depressed side of Endou and how he comes back to his feet. Overall in both season we follow his growth. MAJOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e83 bettering himself as a captain, s3e88 bettering himself as a goalie, s3e123 ultimately understands what it means the be the captain of a team. MEDIUM DEV

Kazemaru Ichirouta:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s1e2 establish base for the character, s1e15 Kaze’s internal conflicts, s1e16 his own resolve, s2e33 first big signs of distress, s2e45 peak of distress and depression showing the character’s insecurities and weaknesses, s2e63/64/65 deeper understanding of Kaze’s human and dark side. MAJOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3ep77 bettering himself as a defender. MINOR DEV

Kabeyama Heigorou:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s1e2 establish base for character, s1e6 character’s fears and him winning them in the end with newfound resolve, s1e16 bettering himself as a defender. MINOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e89 shows his helping side, s3e95 bettering himself as a player. MINOR DEV

Tsunami Jousuke:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e47 establish base for character, s2e49/50 going in deeper on the character’s difficulties and desires, s2e55 shows even better the helpful spirit of Tsunami. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e70, his resolve to better himself, s3e71/72 growing stronger as a player, s3e89 more insight on his good nature. MINOR DEV

Kurimatsu Teppei:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: mood-maker throughout all s1 which establish his character, s1e15 his concerned and less joyful side are shown when a pillar of the team threatens to leave, s2e45 weaknesses revealed. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e69 bettering himself as a defender, s3e89 helpful side, s3e95 self sacrificing attitude. MINOR DEV

Kogure Yuuya:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e35 establish base for character + shows lots of info right away on his behaviours, sad past and will to play for real, s2e36 conquering a bit of his fears and slightly opening up to others. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e89 his helpful side is shown, s3e95 bettering himself as a player and person, s3e100 during the kappa accident we can see more of his soft side for once instead of his prankster one and get to know his wishes to be like every normal kid and not just an abandoned child. MINOR DEV

Tobitaka Seiya:

FIRST APPEARANCE S3 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: NO DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e68 establish base for character, s3e71 a bit of his past is revealed, s3e73 more insights on his lone wolf personality and ties to street gangs and to Hibiki, s3e75 more about his past and injury to his leg and also why did he decide to change his life + bettering himself as a defender and teammate thanks to Endou + starting to see soccer as a fun thing as well, s3e81 he is now willing to fight for his team + getting back to good terms with his old friends, s3e83 wanting to do good but still failing and being visibly upset by it, s3e84 finally find the power in him to unleash his first hissatsu, s3e85 he proves to have grown quite a lot since he gives supports and encourages Tachimukai to do his best and telling him that it’s ok to mess things up a bit, s3e101 his caring, helpful and intuitive side is shown, s3e113 we can see how deeply he cares for Hibiki and just how emotional he can get. MAJOR DEV

Fudou Akio:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e37 character debut not really valid to establish a base for the character given his altered state. NO DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e70 show to actually care a lot about being in the national and him training far before the others did, this establish a base as him being quite the elusive person, s3e83 debut as a player + playmaker skills + past revealed + beginning to gain trust and give trust, s3e88 him on the same level of Kidou as a playmaker, s3e90/91/92/93 revealed his loyalty to the inajapan + his complete detachment from Kageyama + his helpful cooperative side, s3e105 show his trust in others, s3e110 we can see his hate towards evildoers, s3e119 more of his helping side towards someone that isnt Kidou. MAJOR DEV

Fubuki Shirou:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e32 establish base for character, s2e33 more insights on Shirou’s character + more hint to his other persona, s2e37 Shirou opening up more, s2e38 Atsuya being less aggressive towards teammates as well as kinda protective, s2e39 Atsuya and Someoka find balance, s2e41 first signs of Fubuki being unstable, s2e42 his background is shown + his perfection complex, s2e43 first signs of weaknesses, s2e45 internal conflict + passing out due to an injury after a breakdown + his duality is explained, s2e51 nervous breakdown due to the feeling of not being useful, s2e57 more insight on his breakdown, s2e59 we learn his fear of being alone, s2e61 he is now able to control himself and becomes complete + better himself as a teammate as well. MAJOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: better himself as a player with new hissatsu. NONE

Gouenji Shuuya:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s1e1 establish base for character, s1e2 we can see a bit of his struggle and will to play, during the rest of season 1 we can see him grow more fond of his team and considering them friends + why did he quit soccer back in the days so a bit of his past as well, s2e30 we can see the sadness in his forced decision, hence him caring for what he’s about to lose, s2e52 we can see his new resolve to play soccer with his friends to his heart content. MAJOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e79 we have a clearer view of his past and his troubles with the father, s3e80 his distress is shown by him failing hissatsu during training, s3e81 he’s hasty and makes mistakes due to the pressure he feels, s3e84 he’s finally able to play and discards his worries + his father approves of him keeping to play soccer, he keeps on bettering himself with new hissatsu. MEDIUM DEV

Utsunomiya Toramaru:

FIRST APPEARANCE S3 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: NO DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e68 establish base for character, s3e73 insights on his daily life and helpful willing nature, s3e74 his past is revealed and he is now free to play however he wants because he win his fears over, s3e101 we can see him suffer again because of his mother’s health and by being homesick but also his renewed resolve to play and be a kid, he also keeps on improving himself, s3e126 he became Raimon’s ace shooter. MAJOR DEV

Hijikata Raiden:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e48 establish base for character + we can see how caring he is almost like a father/big brother figure, s2e52 shows us Hijikata caring and helping Gouenji, someone he barely knew, s2e53 his past with Gouenji and his humble and easily embarrassed selves are revealed. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e113/115 we can see him helping a complete stranger again + how much he values family and to what extent he is willing to help them. MINOR DEV

Midorikawa Ryuuji:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: given his altered state the dev is NO DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e69 establish base for character + we can see Mido’s true happy go lucky side instead of his aline persona, s3e73 a bit of his insecurities are shown alongside how he seem to not enjoy soccer to the same extent as before + getting injured because of the pressure he kept his body under, s3e76 more of his insecurities and self deprecating attitude come out as he has a nervous breakdown during practice + he starts to remember what was like to play soccer for fun, s3e77 he is now able to play again to his heart desires with less worries, s3e82 he is shown to still overexerting himself, s3e101 in the letter Midorikawa states that he is now re-learning to enjoy soccer at his best and we can see him being happy with that. MAJOR DEV

Kidou Yuuto:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s1e10 we can see that unlike his first appearance he actually has his doubts about cheating, s1e11 establish base for character as we are shown a more human and troubled side of him, s1e12 actual manifestation of his will to play fairly + detachment from Kageyama’s plans, s1e13 going as far as to be injured in order to get his sister back + his attachment towards Haruna is better shown, s1e17 frustration and sadness over defeat + feeling guilty for his friends going to the hospital but him surviving + more of his backstory and new resolve, s1e18 learning more about a new type of soccer, his ties with the teammates grow into a friendship, s2e35 more of his relationship with Haruna and his soft side are shown + more of the backstory, s2e37 remorse and guilt + him bowing asking for forgiveness for his selfishness, s2e38 more about his twisted feelings for Kageyama are shown, s2e56 his feelings of uneasiness towards his former teammates and fear to not being forgiven + the difference of ties he has with Teikoku and Raimon. MAJOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e82 growing as a playmaker, s3e83 surpass his own dislikes in order to better himself as a teammate, s3e90/91/92/93 more of his relationship with Kageyama and his own self trust issues are shown and then ultimately won, s3e105/106 growing as a player and person, ultimately shown his affection for Kageyama despite everything and the grief after his death, s3e110 more about his affection for Haruna and the new friendship with Fudou, s3e126 is shown how he can cry and be very emotional as well. MAJOR DEV

Sakuma Jirou:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e37/38 establish base for character because we are shown his most inner and hidden secrets aka his low self esteem and how he suffered from always comparing himself with Kidou and deeming himself not at his level + his new resolve to play for himself a good soccer, s2e56 his forgiving and friendly side. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e69 despite not winning to Kidou he’s now at peace with himself and knows his self worth, s3e90/91/92/93 we can see how much he cares and actually knows Kidou + we can see him starting to trust Fudou a bit, s3e119 he is now in more friendly terms with someone he greatly disliked. MINOR DEV

Someoka Ryuugo:

FIRST APPEARANCE S1 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s1e4 establish base for character aka strong willed + not keen to changes but understanding and in the end accepting his own mistakes in judgment, s2e31/32/33 we can see how deeply he cares for people he sees as friends and deems amazing players and again is not so keen to change, but how in the end he is reasonable and can give other a chance, s2e37 ultimate acceptance and newfound happiness despite changes, s2e37 ability to adapt and growing as a player, s2e38 self sacrificing nature, s2e39 we can see that his strong will can be too much and brings him to overwork his body, s2e55 his more tender, loving and caring side surfaces when verbally trying to help a friend and we can also see how easily embarrassed he gets at his own awkward attempts to cheer someone up, letting us know he has that in him but avoids because of social awkwardness, s2e64/65 ultimately we can see his dark most insecure side, the one that deemed himself not strong enough compared to the other strikers. MAJOR DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e70 despite not being chosen he does not resent the decision nor is he angry or sad, he instead decides to work even harder in case a spot on the national will clear one day, throughout the serie he better himself as a player even when in the national. MINOR DEV

Kiyama Hiroto:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e45 establish base for character, despite him still being part of Aliea Gakuen we can see a glimpse of his caring nature since he is worried for someone he doesn't even know, s2e62 we can see again that he worries a lot for others as he didn’t want to release the limiter of Genesis’ players and ultimately understands the importance of friendship, s2e63 despite everything that he has done, Hiroto still loves his father, showing a very high level of forgiveness and unconditional love. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e76 is the only one who noticed Midorikawa being troubled by something, showing us his observant eye and protective nature + how reliable and mature he is given the way he tries to comfort and motivate the friend, s3e100 his caring nature is shown again, s3e112 we can see his hacking abilities alongside his wanting to help strangers once again. MINOR DEV

Tachimukai Yuuki:

FIRST APPEARANCE S2 DEVELOPMENT BEFORE INAJAPAN: s2e43 establish base for character, a shy and intuitive kid who aspires to greatness and is very talented already on his own, s2e46 we can see he has the heart to never give up, no matter how many times he fell and how many times he failed, he kept on practicing until he made it, s2e55/56 his determination just kept on growing despite hardship + we are shown once again that his intuitiveness is very high as he’s quickly catching up on how to perform the new hissatsu, he also grows as a player. MEDIUM DEV DEVELOPMENT AFTER INAJAPAN: s3e89 we can see his determination into learning an hissatsu completely unique in order to differentiate himself + how much he is willing to train and fatigue his body in order to do so, he just keeps on trying until he succeeds. MINOR DEV

SO!

If you took the time to read aaaall this, you may have noticed how the development was redistributed throughout the three season, if you haven’t (which is totally understandable, this was an insane job on my part even if I don’t regret losing sleep for this-) I’m going to explain.

OG InaJapan had 18 players but only FIVE of them had a major character development during the FFI season. 5 out of 18 is a really low and doable amount of work to put in a 60 episode long season, you can afford to spent some time on them because the other 13 have already been covered in the previous two seasons (aka in the previous 65 episode of he whole show) or are secondary character with a simple medium need of development!

Now, if you instead look at Orion, the new InaJapan currently has 23 members (and still one free spot) and the only one already covered with a major/medium development during Ares are Haizaki, Nosaka, Norika and Hiroto because we know about their past, we’ve seen an established base for their character and we were shown their interaction with others plus some development (Hiroto starting to trust others, Haizaki beggining to open up, Norika’s will to fight, Nosaka’s understanding of what’s right and wrong). But what does this mean?  It means that only 4 out of 23 players already had some more insights and development, so we are left with 19 characters who need focus to get to know them better. And if we count the OG characters off, we are still left with 10 development-less players!  To cover TEN characters is VERY hard, if you want to do it well and if we consider that in 33 episodes we had almost none of them explored (Asuto and Hikaru’s plots are in motion but there’s still lack of an actual character arc and development), it’s hard to believe they’ll be able to do it in the remaining eps. Let’s remember that in OG they covered 5 people in 60 episodes and even if Orion will actually be longer than that, I higly doubt any development will feel less than a bit half-assed because they will STILL be cramped all ten of them together. And why this? Because they went for the FFI IMMEDIATELY after Ares! Think about it, OG had 65 episode before the FFI and they had only 5 characters (Endou, Kazemaru, Gouenji, Kidou and Someoka) with a major development started in s1 and only ENDED in s2 plus one medium development of Kurimatsu and a minor one for Kabeyama almost entirely in s1, only Shirou with a major development in s2 and 6 medium development during s2 (Tsunami, Kogure, Tatsuya, Hijikaya, Sakuma and Tachimukai). S1 had 26 episodes while S2 39 and 65 episodes for 6 major development plus 7 medium ones are very reasonable. But how many episode did we had before the new FFI?  26 26 episodes and only 4 medium developments plus some minors. This stats may have been acceptable ONLY if another season of maybe 40 episodes would have divided it from the FFI one. Sadly this isn’t the case.

All of this to prove a point: if you want to do an all stars season you first need to have done other seasons to explain and develope the majority of the characters you want to put there.  And Orion didn’t. Which is honestly super dumb since they already did and all stars season during OG, so they should know how to handle it-

So yeah, if you’re wondering why your fave hasn’t had the spot light yet or why they were put in a corner for a while and their plot left to stagnate... this is why. They have far too many characters in need of an arc and they’re apparently not able to handle them well.

I’ve been Nene, thank you for coming to my extremely long and oddly specific ted talk, I will now go die on my bed.

[silverfae16]

Thoughts/Review: Beyblade Burst ChouZ episode 30 (THANK YOU SUOH)

Man, these next few eps are gonna be intense ^^ It’s still a fun ride though ^^ You never realise how much you miss characters until they reappear again...

As ever, spoilers ahead, so under the cut, we go~

To sum up the episode, Hearts beats Aiga’s ass (THANK YOU), Aiga doesn’t respond well, and Suoh calls Aiga out on his bullcrap (bear in mind Suoh departed before Aiga’s resonance went out of control), also telling Fubuki about Aiga. We also get a further look into what happens physically when someone’s resonance deepens.

If I didn’t want to smack Aiga over the head before this ep, I do now. The boy was the epitome of a sore loser this episode and it irritated me to no end. If he lost, he ran away. That’s not how you deal with it.

Props to the principal for at least trying to get through to Aiga, he was saying really encouraging things that I think Aiga needed to hear...Aiga just wasn’t around to hear them OTL (I am surprised Shinoda hasn’t keeled over from stress by this point tbh). Eventually, the message will go through, it’s just a matter of when. So far whenever anyone tries to get through to Aiga, it’s always interrupted (Naru, Xhan, I love the pair of you but your timing isn’t brilliant).

I don’t think I’ve loved just watching a special move like Dead Gravity; spinning/circling things is one of my favourite things to watch (...okay my love of Bey now makes sense when I say that), and it’s an extremely satisfying move to me (the fact it’s purple makes things 10x better as well).

So Hearts introduces the physical bond between blader and bey; the bey takes damage, the blader feels it. Aiga feels this in the same battle, but unlike Hearts, isn’t used to it. (Hearts just seems to be used to it, in fact, accounts for it during this fight)

^ I don’t think I have ever been so happy to see the main protagonist lose. 

It makes sense for Aiga to lose; he needs a wake-up call that there is always someone stronger than him, plus he has a lot to learn still. 

Pay attention to the thing Evel talked about (the “Dead Gran” place), that’s gonna come up real soon. Not sure how, but probs through Aiga heading there. I am curious to see what it is, I’m hoping it's not a Snake Pit 2.0 bc yikes. The whole “you can get stronger here” thing makes me think it might be along those lines though. (Aiga took the letter at least, so that gives me hope it’ll be through him)

Suoh was just a gem in this episode and I enjoyed watching him react to the situation. He’s not really been involved with the whole possession plot, yet could pick up that Aiga had changed drastically. An outsider’s perspective can sometimes be the most useful (hell, this is why a beta reader/sth similar is so useful for writers because they have a different perspective to the writer), so Suoh’s view on Aiga’s situation is much welcomed. Suoh has a very straight-forward opinion on what’s going on and comments that Aiga’s changed, before provoking Aiga into having a battle with him. 

After seeing that basically Aiga’s relying on resonance and getting worse, Suoh apparently decided to talk to Fubuki about it. (Probably since Fubuki is the one closest to Aiga that Suoh can talk to) Suoh makes it very clear during this conversation that Aiga is on a slippery slope and has potentially changed permanently. Fubuki seems to try to justify what’s going on and say that he’ll bring Aiga back, to which Suoh simply states that it is no use. I didn’t quite catch the last part but it’s overlaid with visuals of a clearly unhappy Aiga training, with these ominous purple eyes. (Note: Hair is not a red firework so Aiga isn’t in resonance form...but those eyes aren’t anything good)

As for next week... I’m gonna be saying this a lot but next ep is gonna be intense. Shu’s back, Free’s back, Kyle’s back, Valt is making Chouzetsu Valkyrie... A lot to deal with ^^ It’s gonna be good ^^

^ Best face from the preview (also Kyle’s face is finally revealed in-show)

Overall: Fun ep, some hints at future events, but an ep I will go back to (mostly just to watch Aiga getting his ass kicked)

[attract-mode-collective]

Attract Mode’s One & Only Recommendation For Cyber Monday 2017

… was the Sega Saturn prototype that you see above, which one could find on eBay, according to videogamesdensetsu. Yet it was absent when I checked, meaning the auction was either yanked or it had already found a new home. Sorry folks.

Which is why I must refer to my second choice, that being this shirt featuring Sonic laughing, courtesy of RageOn…

Though miki800 is the place to go for serious Christmas gift recommendations. Like these Super Mario Odyssey santa hat ornaments…

Then you have this Kirby shirt (among others), and this coming from someone who isn’t a particularly big fan of the franchise; sorry, but I find the games simply “okay” and am even more indifferent about all related merch, except for this one…

Meanwhile a franchise that I do most certainly dig is R-Type. And given how I’m also fairly stocked up when it comes to shirts, but could definitely use a sweatshirt or sweater now that it’s getting colder, I most certainly wouldn’t mind one of these...

Now, Xmas is mostly for the kids, as are toys. Yet I’m pretty sure you need be around my age (I’m 40 btw/fyi) to want this WinBee toy (to match the recently release TwinBee toy, naturally)...

Speaking of toys that aren’t necessarily for kids, a heads up: Tokyo Otaku Mode has a MegaTen: Devil Survivor 2 figure at a fairly deep discount [UPDATE: and it’s sold out, sorry about that]...

Though if the membership price of $79 is still too much, or if you’re just mostly looking for a stocking stuffer, then how about this tiny cartridge, spotted by Tiny Cartridge!

Speaking of the Super Nintendo, here’s one stuck inside a wall for whatever reason, as spotted on Reddit…

Though let's bring it back to Tumblr, shall we, and on a semi related note is this gorgeous assortment of assorted game controllers, plus a few carts (via dinobot711)...

But if all black is more your thing (via theodorexnicholson)...

Does anyone know what the is being said here? Am assuming it might have something to do with transformation (via hlfat)...

Deep in woods, resting and waiting, is the mighty Dreamcast (via posthumanwanderings)...

Back to videogamesdensetsu, here we have a promotional leaflet to help promote the just launched PC Engine…

And another beneath the hood look, this time for a fictional piece of hardware, is courtesy of Pequeño Capitan (via it8bit)...

Sticking with art, which tribute to Galaga do you prefer? This one from Ben Tolman...

Or this other one from Allie, aka WatermelonAcups…

And here we have JoJo, aka MossMeldoy’s depiction of Fox McCloud, one that is not quite as calm, cool, and collected as Nintendo’s...

Moving from Star Fox to Phantasy Star; here’s Wayne Kubiak , aka wanyo’s slightly more pixelated view of part 4...

crashcarnival observes: “The three essential elements of Shaolin Kung Fu according to Shaolin Campus King”...

From the same source comes snippets from the Sega CD version of Time Gal; I’ve long been a fan of its unique combo of pixels and cel animation (especially its take on depth)...

And time for a complete and total shift in tone, courtesy of the PS2 title Rule of Rose (via asobi-station)...

From geographyofrobots comes something that… I’m not entirely sure is a game or not...

Then you have something else that seems almost too crazy to be an actual game, yet that’s what Hate Punishment! 2, Honwaka Soft is (via mendelpalace)...

My goal in 2018 is to track down a copy of Germs, If only to visit “Long Island Delicatessen” (via fmtownsmarty)...

Hey, speaking of food, behold my fave thread on Tumblr in recent memory (via capcomvssnk)...

And speaking of Pokemon (is something you may have seen ages ago, on Twitter, but it’s my first time seeing it on Tumblr, so there’s that; via lunaticobscurity)...

And speaking of cats (is something I believe I might have shared around here, also ages ago, but once again the function on Tumblr sucks, so; via hiyoushouldcheckmyblog)...

I wonder what sure came first; Game GIrl Advance, a fictional handheld that was clearly inspired by the Game Boy Advance (SP, the Famicom edition to be exact), as seen in the anime Arcade Gamer Fubuki, or Game Girl Advance, the blog belonging to Jane Pinckard from back in the day (via daftpunkyoshi)...

Behold what an arcade looks like in the world of Gundam (via bubblegumcrash)...

Plus what an arcade looks like the world of Archie Comics (via atomic-chronoscaph)...

Apparently building Cuphead arcade cabinets is a thing? Here’s one spotted by drowsypal...

And another made by someone on Reddit...

... may as well share the accompanying video…

I love a good mash-up, and King of Fighters X Fresh Prince hits the spot on numerous levels (via derekstronk)...

Prokopetz’s reaction to this decorated skeleton from Germany is pretty on the money: “This guy is definitely the final boss of something.”

As is werkhvnty’s: “Honey I appreciate you uploading a torrent of Elm Street 4 but I’m not gonna befriend you on WoW”

oomles states: “I work at a GameStop. Someone tried to trade in a contoller with rocks glued to the thumbsticks and got angry when we wouldn’t take it.

I’m so tired.”

Now, as most of you know, the plug was recently pulled on Nintendo’s Miiverse. So here’s a modest reminder of why it was never really long for this world in the first place (via paulthebukkit)...

Finally, and for no particular reason, am going to end things with some Burning Rangers cosplay. Enjoy…

Don’t forget: Attract Mode is now on Medium! There you can subscribe to keep up to date, as well as enjoy some “best of” content you might have missed the first time around, plus be spared of the technical issues that’s starting to overtake Tumblr.