#I am happy for the cast and crew of rings of power they deserved this after all the hell those bigots put them through

[avocadotoast0]

Seeing s2 of The Rings of Power succeed with the targeted hate and harassment it faced during its first season is painful because The Acolyte could have had the same success if Disney and Lucasfilm had actually believed in it.

[rings-of-power-realm]

The Rings Of Power: A Fellowship of Fans Project Because Middle Earth is for everybody🧝🏿🧝‍♀️🧝🏽‍♂️🧝🏿‍♀️✋✋🏿✋🏽

We have built an awesome community here and I wanna invite you all to take part in a positivity project for The Rings Of Power.  I want to compile one huge video which will be made up of messages, art, writing, cosplay, fan videos etc made by all of YOU. We would then tag the cast and Amazon on social media so hopefully they would see this project that would be full of positivity and appreciation for them  ♡

This cast and crew deserve to see some love for this amazing show and the sheer effort they have put into it and their characters.

If you would like to join here are the guidelines!

1.) Everything submitted to me must be positive eg something you love about the show or character/actor and focused on The Rings Of Power

2.) You can either submit a message (which will be included as a text slide), Art, Writing, a video, a graphic, photo, cosplay anything you can come up with even if you bake some Arondir cookies!! You can choose to add your name and location if you wish

3.) Whatever you want to say/make should be sent to me through here either by replying to this post, messaging me here or contacting me on my twitter I can also take entries via Google Drive or OneDrive and am happy to also accept them at a dedicated email: ringsofpowerfanproject@outlook.com

The project will begin as soon as episode 1x08 has been released on the 14th October 2022

The deadline will be left open for now (or until there are enough messages/contributions) 

Any questions please ask :) Thank you all for helping in creating this safe space and I look forward to seeing what everyone contributes!  ♡

[c-atm]

G-squared: The genin exam

Hello!" Steven cheered at the five in front of him. Connie, Daniel, Patricia, Peedee, and Jeff sat in a wilderness-like area created by the C.A.R ( Customizable Alternative Reality) orb.

"This magitech is amazing," Jeff started, amazed,

"It is a portable gem room..along with other things," Connie declared proudly before turning to Steven," Nice hat and robes, Mister."

"Thank you," Steven smirked, giving a small puff of his pipe, blowing a bubble.

"Yeah, you are looking kind of important there, Steve," Danny smirked.

"That's because I am the Kage of the village hidden in the Diamond! Hidden in the land of gems; The DaiyamondoKage."

"Oh my God, we're doing Boruto!" Tricia exclaimed

"That or Boruto's dad Shippuden." Peedee quipped. "So, which number are you?"

"The fifth, all nepotism." Steven nodded coolly.

"So you're the one percent!" Jeff pointed, "time to pull a coup."

That got a laugh out of everyone before Steven spoke again.

"So, you guys are-"

"Anbu, black ops." Connie interrupted with a smile.

"Freshly made child-labor…." Steven counted, "also known as Genin...You're about 12-13 in this."

"13…" Jeff answered, "That Anbu age in the leaf."

"This isn't the leaf village. ANBU: Crystal gems gotta be at least 15 here."

"Where our headbands?" Danny inquired.

"They ain't made yet." Steven shrugged," anywho, you guys are team 265.2"

"Wait, what? How many people graduated this year?!" Jeff screamed," and why is there a point two?"

"Enough, and you and Peedee are the point two."

"What the hell?"

"Stop pausing the scenario!" Steven ordered.

"Ok, so what are we going to do here, Daikage?" Connie chuckled.

"Right. You five are gonna be tasked with meeting your sensei at the entrance of the wilderness of the lost."

"Wait?" Trica exclaimed.

"What?" Peedee added.

"Guessing we are currently in the wilderness of the lost?" Connie joked.

"As expected from the heiress of the Maheswaran family, carrier of the Maheswarigan."

"Hell yeah! Kekkei Genkai!" Connie raised her gust with a laugh, "So what do my eyes do?!"

"Now, what makes you think it's an eye Jutsu?"

"Sharingan, Rinnegan, Tenseigan, Byakugan…"

"Her sight is 'gan,' all 'gan!'" Tricia yelled in jest as she and Connie laughed.

"W-what the fuck?" Peedee laughed.

"Calm down; all will be revealed In time.." Steven smiled, "So as we stated, we have Connie Maheswaran of the Maheswarigan. Next, puppet user Jeff of the sand."

"Ey! Puppet master on deck!" Jeff cheered, "What my puppet looks like, Dai-kage?!"

Steven grinned, tossing Jeff a doll.

"OH, Screw you, Universe." Peedee kissed his teeth, holding back a laugh, looking at the Frybo plush in Jeff's hand.

"Horrifying power!" Jeff roared out, chuckling.

"Speaking of Peedee, we have Peedee Frymichi."

"FRYMICHI!?" Peedee shook his head, "let me guess, soldier pills?"

"Soldier fries, but you also have body temperature Jutsu, which allows you to increase or decrease your body temperature to superhuman degrees."

"I…" Peedee shrugged. "I have no retort; that's actually pretty cool."

"See... Next, we have Patricia of the sound."

"So we have both a sound and sand on the same team. Where do you get these kids from?" Danny laughed.

"You don't need to know what a Kage does." Steven retorted, "above your pay grade."

"Daikage, what can I do?" Patricia inquired with a smirk. "What, my Jutsu?"

"You play the triangle."

"A~and?"

"Umm." Steven shrugged, " I don't know. I leave it to you."

"Oh, that bull." The bespectacled woman turned her lips, "Everyone else got an explanation of their special Jutsu, and all I get is ' triangle. '"

"Still don't know what my eyes can do," Connie muttered.

"You have a bloodline limit! You don't get to complain."

"I gave you free rein to make your own ability, be happy." Steven countered, "last we have D of the Cloud."

"Is anybody literally from this village!?." Danny questioned.

"Not a single one of you, anywho..." Steven answered smugly, "You guys make up Team 265.2."

"265.2!?" Connie laughed.

"The further this scenario goes, the more questions it raises." Jeff exclaimed, "Why is the number so high, and why isn't a full number?"

"...You guys are tasked," Steven started ignoring the question, getting howls and laughter of opposition from the group, "Your kage is talking!"

"I was stolen from my village. I refute your leadership!" Jeff yelled.

"Never asked to be a ninja; I wanted to be a fry cook." Peedee wailed, "my parents wanted me to be a nin!"

"I got a triangle. Diii~iing!" Tricia taunted.

"I was told this was a student exchange program," Danny complained.

"I was told money was involved." Connie started, "plus tragic anime backstory shit."

"I will send you all back to the academy!" Steven challenged.

"Go ahead, do it!" Peedee challenged, starting a chorus of disobedience from the rest towards Steven, who rubbed his head to keep from laughing.

"All right, Alright, Steven...Daikage-Sama." Connie batted her eyes in flirtatious teasing, "how does this work?"

"See, at least one of you is grateful."

"I'm happy to be out of the dungeon."

The rest looked at her, a bit horrified.

"I am going for tragic anime character; stop judging me."

“I...Don’t have a dungeon.” Steven stated, chuckling, “But that is neither here nor there. Now ninjas need to be both smart and strong. The lost shall test that, for you are tasked with getting out of the wilderness and back to the village within nine hours or turns. Actions also cost hours, as do hints... If you fail, you will not be recognized as ninjas and…." He let it hang.

"What?"

"You'll find out…."

"Ohhh!..I'm not too fond of that...I don't like that at all." Jeff snorted while chuckling.

"Just don't fail. Hehe. Now to begin, you guys need to make a decision. North. south, east, or west.”

“Where do each lead?” Danny inquired.

“Where indeed?”

“We’re going west,” Connie stated.

“Hold on, why do you get to make the decision?”

“Because I'm from this place, Cloudie.”

“I say we go north,” Patricia stated.

“Naw, let’s go south.” Jeff challenged.

“My nose says we go east..” Peedee offered,” Where’s there’s food, there are people.”

“Frybo and I say south.”

“My Maheswarigan is showing me the way, and it’s west.”

“My triangle rings to the northern border.”

Steven just laughed at their arguing.

“It doesn't matter, does it?” Daniel scratched his chin, looking at Steven, who just shrugged,

"Choose wrong, and you waste an hour."

''...We're going north."

"That two for north, two for the south."

"Two for sou~? YOU'RE COUNTING THE PUPPET VOTE!?" Peedee yelled.

"Hey, Frybo is a part of the 265.2." Jeffed defended the doll

"Frybo is a puppet from hell, deserving to be cast into the deepest fryer in the nine hells!" Peedee pointed. "I'm saying north just out of spite."

Steven stood looking at Connie to see if she changed her vote. "Well...You go north, moving deeper into the Lost ." Steven announced as the area scene shifted and darkened.

"See!? We should have gone south! Now we lost an hour." Jeff yelled, "Follow Frybo. For he knows the way."

- riiiing-riiiing-

"The hell is that?" Connie asked, a bit annoyed at the ringing.

"Doesn't matter; we're heading south," Jeff stated.

"You guys heading south?" Steven questioned, getting nods all around. "You head south...and find yourself back here."

- riiiing-riiiing-

"Now we are down to eight hours!" Danny yelled.

"Just saying if we went south, we would be halfway home."

"I'm pressing X to doubt." Peedee poked Jeff's cheek.

- Riiiing-Riiiing-

"What the hell is that ringing?!" Danny yelled,

"Wanna hint?" Steven asked,

"Can we get hints?" Jeff inquired,

"Did you not pay attention...Yes, hints cost an hour as Jutsu." Steven sighed

"Please, hint us!"

"You suuure…? It Costs an hour."

- Riiiiiiiing-Riiiiiiiing-

"Oh, God. It's getting more piercing...Give us a hint!"

"What are the three types of Jutsu?" Steven grinned.

"Nin, Tai, and…" Connie turned to Tricia, " Play with your triangle."

"Wow, beautiful phrasing, "  Tricia laughed.

"Oh my Shiva! Get your head out of the gutter and dispel the Genjutsu."

"So demanding too." Tricia chuckled more before ringing her instrument with a -Diiingg-diinnng!- The area lit up three paths were shown to the crew.

" North, West, or East?" Steven grinned, "since you used a hint and dispelled the Genjutsu, you lost two hours...Soo six hours left."

"OH my God, we blew through nearly half our time already!" Connie rubbed her temples. " Can I use my special eyes, Mister Daikage?" Connie batted her eyes.

"You wanna use the Heartful glance." Steve chuckled, " Ok, so for this game, you can use your eyes twice since you have two."

"Ingenious." Peedee taunted.

"That's why your parents' food shop failed to feed the Akimichi appetite," Steven noted nonchalantly.

"Wow, Daikage is petty,' Peedee blinked before the group started to laugh.

"Anyway, two times for your special eyes, your right eye grants your guys an auto turn. No hour lost. Right answer only."

" Oh shit, that..that's a bit OP for this." Jeff  stated, "What does the right eye do?"

"Best to save that for later, hehe."

"Shit, I'm using the left Maheswarigan," Connie announced with pride.

"You go east." The area shifted again as Steve spoke, this time displaying a creek and two paths. One of wood, and the other wildflowers in bloom. "So you guys can take a chance with the creek. Drink the water, try to fish...Set up camp..replenish yourself before moving on."

"Wait, wait...Why do you say chance , as if something horrible can happen? "

"Because everything can lead to death in the ninja world."

"If you don't have Talk-no-Jutsu," Danny interjected.

"I mean, yeah, that is the most powerful skill in Naruto." Tricia nodded, "allows him to hold the world hostage."

"Wait, what?" Peedee questioned.

"Thank you, I know I couldn't be the only one thinking that." Danny exclaimed, "that's the only reason I can see Orochimaru not getting fucked up every day."

"Cause of Naruto? How does that work? "

"Discuss the fucking loophole that is the sound and leaf shadow relationship on your own time!" Steven clapped, getting their attention.

"Ok, so how is this gonna work?" Peedee inquired.

"Depends, what you're going to do...Going to rest, or going to move on? If you stay..you have a chance to stock another free turn, via Connie getting to use her left eye again if...and I'll even throw in the chance of making this a free turn, if things go your way."

"Yo, camping out. Risk it for the biscuit." Danny offered.

"Hold on...Steven, what if we fuck up." Tricia narrowed her eyes.

"If it is bad, you lose two hours. If it is not so bad, it's a normal turn."

Connie pursed her lips and turned to the others, "risk it?"

The group nodded.

"So you're resting. Ok, So, are you going to drink...or are you gonna try to fish? If you try to fish, that's a chance for a free turn and Connie's left eye."

"Which also can lead us to lose two hours if we mess up."

"Yup. Just drinking can grant Connie her eye...If you don't mess up."

"And how do we mess up drinking at a creek?" Jeff taunted.

"Coin flip." Steven grinned, showing a coin app on his phone " fishing is a bit more complicated; you have to choose the right teammates to get fish and prepare the fish, plus a coin flip, but two free hours."

"We're fishing." Connie challenged, "Ninjas need to be fearless." The group nodded in agreement.

"OK, Who's fishing?"

The group stood before looking at each other.

"I would like to remind you that previously used Jutsu can't be used for at least three hours unless replenished. So Tricia's triangle is currently unavailable until the next turn."

"Well, thought she could Genjutsu the fish." Jeff stated, "What does Connie's right eye do?"

"...Sure you wanna use the right Maheswarigan, now?"

"...Not anymore," Peedee stated, seeing Steven's evil grin. "We're gonna pocket that."

"Jeff, use Frybo to get us some fish, puppet man." Connie smacked her friend back.

"Yeah! Puppeteer, that bitch." Peedee added.

"Puppeteer, that bitch." Jeff shook his head, chuckling, "Steven, I puppeteer the bitch to get the fish."

"That's gonna stick." Steven smirked, "that being said...Good choice. Frybo enters the creek and gets a fish for each member of the team. A.K.A Jeff puppeteered the bitch and got ya some fish."

"Steven swear! Not a G-Squared ep without one." Tricia laughed, pumping her fist.

"Ok, so who gonna-"

"Peedee." The group stated.

"Me, food is my specialty." Peedee  smirked, "and I use my body temperature Jutsu for cooking the fish."

"Fair enough...I was hoping you messed up." Steven shrugged, "but naw, you got your free turn, and Connie got her Jutsu."

"My special eyes!" Connie roared, "Full power!"

Ok, so you guys ate, you're replenished." Steven grinned, "Wildflowers or Woodlands?  Where we going?

The group looked at each other.

" Woodlands," Connie stated.

"Why would you choose Woodlands over wildflowers? Look at them dark, horrifying woods…." Peedee argued.

"The wildflowers could be a lie...LIE, I SAY!"

"This is some tragic anime story shit. We're going through wildflowers." Tricia stated.

"I'm with Connie on this one; it's definitely  woodlands." Danny nodded her a high-five, "what you say, Jeff, flowers or woods."

" I sayyy…"

_________________________

Steven: And that is where we end this episode. What happened next, do they become genin of my village...SSSHHH~HMMM. That will be seen, but until you next time, G-squared Breakout. Oh, and remember, in life you sometimes have to puppeteer the bitch and get ya some fish.

[dappercritter]

Random She-Ra Season 4 Thoughts:

After much thinking and suffering, here are some random thoughts I had about season 4 inbetween feel episodes.

Going into S4 be like.

Coming out of S4 be like.

Grief and failure to communicate. This season is off to a great start!

You know, I still like Swift Wind but I’m starting to see why most people, uh… don’t.

If you told me before I started the show that I would hate a sexy catgirl and feel sorry for a creepy-looking cyborg conqueror, I would have called you a liar, paused, then said, “No, wait. Yeah, that sounds like me.”

Queen Glimmer looks nice, but I’m definitely going miss her old Cutie Honey-esque hairstyle.

Shame that Huntara didn’t join the Rebellion full-time but it’s for the best. Not just so she can liberate the Crimson Wastes, but let’s face it, nobody in the Rebellion would be able to think straight with a butch Amazonian warrior goddess hanging around.

I really can’t give Double Trouble enough praise: they have so much personality, a fantastic design combining reptilian and theatre-kid traits (two of my favourite kind of characters!), are morally ambiguous but likeable, and help alleviate all the dramatic stress that this season is packed with.

Flutterina and her village has thoroughly convinced me we need more moth people in fantasy.

Why? Simple. THEY’RE SO FLUFFY

I have some minor issues with the Flutterina controversy: yes, Adora and the Rebellion recruited a young girl to fight in a war and took her from her home and all that, which is a valid concern to have and indeed just a little hypocritical given that was how she was forced to grow up, but I feel like the fact that Flutterina is actually Double Trouble, a young adult spy with what I assume is a fair amount of combat and espionage training, makes it ring hollow for me.

Also, do we know if there’s a real Flutterine that Double Trouble impersonated or is she just a persona they made up?

Either way, it’s funny to imagine the Elberon locals trying to make sense of this little girl that just showed up out of nowhere, went off to war, and then the real one shows up right after and everyone just has to go along with it otherwise people will think they can’t keep track of their own kids.

Okay, so I’m not happy about Shadow Weaver slowly being treated as just another member of the cast, but I’m also sort of glad that it’s being implied that we’re still not supposed to trust her either.

That said, leave it to Shadow Weaver to go and potentially destroy Glimmadora on us.

Rogelio confirmed for best boyfriend.

Watching Kyle’s near sacrifice gave me some Chaos Vortex PTSD. (Pit-Truama Stress Disorder)

(If you understood that reference, you have earned my respect for life.)

Light Hope, you’re scaring the adults now, too.

Emily has a holographic projector and was at one point wanted by a ruthless conqueror of worlds. So I guess she qualifies as an astromech droid now?

Speaking of holograms, seeing Catra, Scorpia, and Entrapta when they were all friends was the worst kind of bittersweet.

(After watching Scorpia leave her toxic friendship to embark with Emily on an adventure to save Entrapta) *on the verse of tears* Fricking superb you funky little lesbian! *sniff* Fricking superb…

That’s right, Catra. You reflect on the consequences of your actions like a good kitty-cat.

Sea Hawk surprisingly looks the part for a good noir protagonist.

In his own head, of course.

Is it just me, or is Frosta acting mature again? Hyperactive Little Sister Frosta is fun, but The Only Sane Person in the Room is a Literal Child Frosta would be a missed opportunity.

Oh no, Adora and Glimmer are fighting!

Yay, they were just pretending to catch Double Trouble!

Oh no…

“Boy’s Night Out” or, “How to Delight and Emotionally Destroy Your Audience At The Same Time”

Believe it or not, Sea Hawk possesses special abilities like the Princesses. Those being:

Great singing

Superhuman positivity

Nigh-invulnerability

I’m not sure if Madame Razz is a time-traveller, a Doctor, or just has some sort of Alzheimer’s, but regardless, I’m proud of how the crew handled it.

Swift Wind might be annoying at times but if showing concern for the elderly doesn’t make him a likeable character, I don’t what does.

Looks like I can add “Hero” to the list of She-Ra episodes that deserve an Emmy or Annie.

Words cannot describe how happy I was to see Scorpia pop-up in Bright Moon amid all the drama.

Glimmer is tip-toing the line between “pure-hearted character forced into morally grey responsibilities” and “grey-area wet wipe” and I am not loving it.

So between She-Ra, Huntara, and Scorpia, we all agree Perfuma has a type now, right?

I know it’s just Double Trouble making fun of her (and my love of Elvis Presley, Johnny Bravo, and Kishidan showing) but I think Adora looks pretty dang cool with a pompadour.

Beast Island: It’s Annihilation for Kids!

Yay, King Micha really is alive!

However, he still doesn’t have a wife to come back to and his daughter is making some poor life choices. Bummer.

Nice to see Bow’s still on the Hates Shadow Weaver bandwagon.

Entrapta’s got a Kamen Rider mask now and no one call me otherwise.

And she’s got a mecha that used Godzilla’s roar.

Well, even if my She-Ra-fan-heart is dying, my tokusatsu-geek-brain is happy.

How Entrapta adjusted to life on Beast Island is both nothing and everything I expected from her at the same time.

Well what do you know, Glimmadora saves lives!

BREAKING NEWS: Non-binary reptilian theatre-kid makes breakthrough with angry lesbian cat!

Light Hope, you’re breaking our hearts…

I’m glad that the show is hopping on the anti-power-up bandwagon as well. As someone who grew up with shows like Power Rangers where everything was immediately solved by new merchandise or powers, I get a sort of twisted satisfaction seeing that the shiny merchandisable new toy is more trouble than its worth.

Oh, and of course, it makes a for a good lesson on the danger of absolute power.

Before I started S4, I hated Horde Prime because he wasn’t a giant eldritch cyborg monster anymore, but I’ve actually gotten quite accustomed to his new design. Now I hate him for being a callous perfectionist world conqueror with no sense of personal space that may or may not be into selfcest.

(*praying intensely*) Please let Adora turn into She-ra through sheer-will power next season, please let Adora turn into She-ra through sheer-will power next season, please let

Yup, I was right! This season didn’t fix damn thing the last one broke!

[captainoftherollyjoger]

The Eye of the Storm: Chapter Six

Emma and Hook learn something they did not expect about the Eye of the Storm, how far will Emma go to see her family again?

I’m really enjoying writing this! It has surprised me with the turns it has taken!

Prologue : Chapter One : Chapter Two : Chapter Three : Chapter Four : Chapter Five

Ao3

 Emma continued scrubbing hard at the boards, the blood was starting to fade, but she feared there would always be a mark. It would have to be painted. Crew members started to stir and got on with their tasks for the day, some gave her kind looks and made sure she was okay. A few helped her paint the boards, no one on the ship wanted the memory.

 “Swan.” Her and the pirates all stood to attention when he approached. “At ease.” They all relaxed and got back to work, apart from Emma. “Swan, may I have a word?” It wasn’t a question really. She followed him to his cabin. His desk was back to normal, maps and charts scattered about, he sat at his desk whilst she stood opposite him. “Your wounds look better.”

 “All thanks to you. Is there anything you need me for, sir?”

 “Aye. I think it’s time we start planning to get the Eye. I’ve had enough now.” He sighed.

 “Of course, sir. The sooner we get it, the sooner I get to go home.” Her words stung him, she seemed so desperate to get away. Though he wasn’t surprised, she hadn’t seen her family in months.

 “So, you said it’s sitting on an island. Do you know which one?” She nodded but looked cautious.

 “Sir. The thing is, I told you it’s there for the protection of all, I just don’t think this is something you should be messing with.” She warned.

 “I need it Emma, I’m the one who got the damn thing is the first place. I have to get it back. You know the power is possesses.”

 “Yes, it can bring back the dead. But at what price? There’s a curse, Hook.” He actually didn’t know of the curse, he knew there was one, but never paid attention to the details. “In order to enact it’s necromancing powers, you have to give up the thing you love most.”

 “Then we have no worries, princess.” She rolled her eyes at his name. “It’s hard to give up something you don’t have. Plus, I don’t believe it silly superstition. Everyone was worried about having a blonde on board, we haven’t had too much bad luck.”

 “Your first mate is dead.” Had he forgotten already?

 “No, my first mate is standing right in front of me. Smee let her feelings cloud her judgement. Now I don’t want to hear no more. Which island, Swan?”

 Emma sighed and came around to his side, she leant over the table and surveyed his maps. He had way too many, she found one with King Eric’s kingdom mapped out in great detail, as well as the surrounding islands. She skimmed her hand along the map.

 “Here. This one.” She tapped it, he stood up beside her and leaned over.

 “Are you certain?”

 “Of course, it’s the most dangerous. Full of wild plants and animals. No one travels there lightly, and if they do, it’s only around the borders.

 “I wouldn’t expect anything less. It won’t be easy getting to those waters, they’re relatively close to the kingdom, and there will be people on high alert for my ship.”

 “I thought this ship could turn invisible whenever you wanted?”

 “You’ve been listening to the wrong stories.” He laughed. “Alas, my ship cannot. We’ll have to hide around another island, and row in. I intend on leaving my crew for a few weeks, whilst we get this sorted.”

 “They won’t be happy with that, Captain.” She warned him.

 “They can all come back, I just can’t have them asking questions. You need to make an audience, tell them they have a couple of weeks off, which port would they like to go to. They will have all gold they require. This is too important, Emma.”

 “I don’t like it when you call me Emma.”

 “Why?”

 “It reminds me of being a princess.”

 “Isn’t that what you want?”

 “Of course it is, but for now, I just want to focus on being a pirate.” She smirked. He nodded. They continued perusing the maps and made a plan.

 “Attention, mates!” Shouted Emma. They all turned to look at her. “Our dear Captain has asked me for your opinions. He has some very urgent, private business he needs to attend to. Unfortunately, that means dropping you at the next port.” Unhappy shouts came. “Quiet!” They all shut up quickly. “Our Captain wants you to see this as an absence of leave, he wants his dear crew mates back. However, he wants to treat you all. Each man and woman will be given twenty gold coins to do what they will. It’s your job to decide exactly where you want to go. The Captain will take you to the majority’s favourite port, he will return three weeks later for you all. You can pillage, plunder, bed who you desire! Doesn’t that sound good?” They all cheered, a break would be good for them. “Decide amongst you where you wish to go.” They all huddled around each other. “Master Lewis!” She called.

 “Aye, ma’am?” A tall, thin man peered over the crowd.

 “You will find the Captain in his quarters and inform him of your decision, got that?”

 “Aye, ma’am!”

 Half an hour later, Hook and Emma heard a knock at the door. They were studying the maps and books hard, hoping for anymore information, they would need to be fully prepared for what lay ahead. The amount of books he had was astounding.

“Enter.”

“Sir, it’s about the port.”

“Ah, yes. Where would you like to go?” He smiled, looking up.

“The crew decided on Port Downton.”

“Certainly. Tell them to set sail.” He nodded at the man, then looked back down at the books. Master Lewis left the room as quickly as he had entered. “We’ll go into port for a day, fetch some supplies we may need.”

 “That’s a good idea. When will we arrive?” She asked.

 “In about two days time, the port is a good one for people sharing secrets. For a price, we may be able to find out anymore information we need.”

 The days passed smoothly, the crew were all excited for a few weeks of rest, Hook had give them enough money to survive quite happily. They deserved a treat, he had said. When they arrived at the port, Hook and Emma went in search of their supplies. They ensured they had enough medical supplies, most had been used on Emma's wounds. They acquired enough food that stayed fresh for a few weeks, no doubt they would have to rummage about the forest though. An old man was selling books on a cart, Emma approached him whilst Hook was searching for more recent maps.

 “Hello, dear. How can I help you?” He smiled, he had very few teeth, but his eyes were friendly.

 “I was wondering if you had anything about the legends of the Eye of the Storm? I find it so fascinating.” She smiled, batting her eyelashes.

 “Oh dear, I daren’t keep books on that. Nasty work, miss. I hope you’re not after it.”

 “What can I say, I like a little adventure.”

 “I hope you’re married, and willing to give your husband up.” He warned.

 “Married?”

 “Aye, the royals who placed it on that godforsaken island, cast a spell to ensure that only married couples could retrieve the stone together. You see, the Eye has a curse on it. To use it, you must destroy the heart of the thing you love most, so surely that would be one’s partner, why would anyone kill the love of their life? Difficult business, no need to worry yourself.”

 “Swan!” Called Hook, he was striding towards them. “Have you found anything?” She immediately grabbed his sleeve, thanked the man, and dragged him away. “Swan, what is this about?”

 “You have to be married, Hook. To get the stone, it’s protected by a spell so only married couples can use it. No one would kill their partner to bring back the dead. Why the hell is that not in any of the hundreds of books you possess? What are we going to do?” He seemed to ponder her words for a few minutes. Then a smile grew on his face.

 “Marry me, Swan?”

 “Are you crazy?” She huffed, she turned on her heel and walked away. He chased her and grabbed her arm.

 “If all we need is to be married, then what’s the problem. We can barely stand each other, we certainly don’t love each other. I wouldn’t need to crush your heart, I don't love anything, the loophole still stands. If all we need is the title of a marriage, surely it's worth it!”

 “Hook! Do you know how crazy you sound? I’m not marrying you for the sake of some jewel.”

 “Then looks like you’re never getting home, princess.” He spat.

 “I bloody well am. You try and stop me.”

 “What’s your problem? You said you would help me.”

 “Help you! Not marry you. I want to marry someone because I love them, Hook! Not so you can get some stupid jewel. Why do you want it so desperately anyway?”

 “To bring back Liam!”

 “That’s what this has all been about? All these years?”

 “Of course it is! He’s my brother and my captain, I promised I’d follow him to the end of the earth, I won’t let him down.” A rawness she didn’t expect came from him. “Emma, I know it’s a lot to ask of you. I just really, really want my brother back.”

 “Fine.”

 “Fine?”

 “I’ll marry you. It’s not like anyone else ever impressed me.” She sighed. A big grin spread across his face.

 “Swan! Thank you so much! I can’t believe it.” A boyish excitement came out in him, was this how he used to be? Before all the darkness consumed him?

 Hook and Emma found a suitable pair of rings from an old woman, they paid a nice price for them. It was her wedding ring after all. She insisted. They found a ship’s captain who was more than happy to wed the couple on the open sea, they claimed they were eloping because neither of their families agreed. Add a sob story to something and people will do almost anything. Hell, she was marrying him because of his sad story. They exchanged some quick, made up vows. The generic kind, no way was she making up pleasant, loving vows for him.

 “Do you, Killian Jones take this woman to be your wife?”

 “I do.” A large grin appeared on his face.

 “Do you, Emma Swan, take this man to be your husband?”

 “I do.” She tried to say it with as much as conviction as possible, she really did.

 “Then I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.” Kiss? How had she forgot? It was too late, Hook was moving in closer. His hands went to her hips, his breath was on her lips, before she knew it she was leaning into him, her eyes closed. He kissed her tenderly, it was not what she had been expecting. It was over before it even began. She let out a flustered sigh, and she saw him smirking. Bastard.

 Slowly, they walked back to where his ship was docked. They didn’t say a word to each other. The rings on their fingers meant nothing, just part of the adventure she had been roped into. He decided he wanted to set sail that night and she wasn’t going to stop him. The sooner this was over with, the better. Together, they worked to get the Jolly Roger out of port, the lights from the town were bright and it was a full moon. They let the anchor down when they had sailed a fair way from the port.

 Emma stared out to sea, she kept twisting the ring on her finger. This is not what she planned. What would her parents even say? Would she tell them? Her father would kill him, then her, then him again. She was pulled from her thoughts when arms wrapped around her waist and a nose snuggled into her neck.

 “I think you’re forgetting something about what married couples usually do.” He smirked. She turned quickly and shoved him.

 “Get off me.”

 “I’m teasing, love.” He put his arms up in surrender. “I’m sorry.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I’m grateful, honestly. Thank you for doing this, I understand I have taken something precious away from you.”

 “You realise that you’re going to be a prince consort, right? When the kingdom becomes mine.”

 “Prince? Well, I hadn’t thought about that. Not my kind of life, love. Looks like we’ll be an estranged couple.”

 “Best news I’ve heard all day.” She smiled at him sarcastically. “I can’t wait for this to be over.”

[kylostantrums]

This June, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, finally hit the cinemas. After the complete bombshell that was Batman v Superman (2016), I was half worried for the film — given the ridiculous sexist history of movies since the beginning of film — and half excited — given that a woman was directing the film. To a man, this might not seem like a big deal. We live in a world where action movies a dominated by male cast and crew members. The Avengers’ cast ratio from male to female is 8:2. Age of Ultron’s is 13:4. Guardians of the Galaxy, although co-written by a woman, is 8:3. Harry Potter’s Golden Trio is two males to one female. The Lord of the Rings trilogy features an entirely all-male cast with the exceptions of two female elven characters and Eowyn, whose “I am no man” scene does not redeem the entire trilogy of its utter lack of female characters nor does the book’s version justice. Ridley Scott’s Alien franchise, although features a female lead, she is seriously outnumbered. Star Wars’ featured trios are 2:1 for each instalment. Even Star Trek lacks in female leads (although their upcoming show, Star Trek: Discovery, will feature two female leads — one Asian and one black, too).

To a woman, this inequality is a serious problem. The message we interpret from the male to female ratio in these blockbuster franchises is that women are less essential, less capable, and less wanted. We see ourselves onscreen through the lens of a male writer and director, and what we see is not always good. Even though we are given badass female characters like Natasha Romanoff, Gamora, Hermione Granger, Ellen Ripley, Leia Organa, or Uhura, the majority of the time they have been sexualized in one way or another. In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, both Romanoff and Gamora’s characters are trained assassins, reduced to either a sex object or love interest. Romanoff’s first appearance in Iron Man 2 leads to a comment made by Pepper Potts that she was a “very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit” waiting to happen. From there on, she was seen by the audience as something pretty, completely forgetting the fact that she took down Tony’s bodyguard Happy Hogan with ease. Her portrayal in the consecutive films she appears in stays relatively the same. She is smart, fierce, and witty — but the script uses that in ways to make her alluring, sexy, and desirable. Fast-forward to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, where Romanoff serves as a wonderful main character in one of, in my opinion, the best MCU movies to date. However. If you take a look at her promo poster, there are several things wrong with it. Firstly, it is agonizingly obvious that her entire body has been photoshopped. We have watched Romanoff in action in both Iron Man 2 and The Avengers already, and are familiar with her tight suit — but not so tight to completely alter the size of her arms, breasts, waist, and thighs. In the poster, Romanoff’s body is nothing like Scarlett Johansson’s.

In addition, her pose is not one of a trained deadly assassin. It is not comparable with Nick Fury’s death glare or Falcon’s action shot. As Bustle put it, “Despite the fact that Johansson’s character Black Widow is a superhero and a member of the Avengers, her poster is wildly sexualized. Rather than striking a pose of strength — something even Nick Fury gets to enjoy in his poster appearances — Black Widow appears softened and coy, almost blowing in the wind along with her hair.”

Age of Ultron brings the worst of it with her completely inexplicable love story arc with Bruce Banner/Hulk. The character of Black Widow deserves so much more than serving as just a love interest. As the only female Avenger, she represents every woman everywhere. That is the burden put on her as the only female lead in the cast. Of course, at the end of Age of Ultron, Scarlet Witch joins the team — only to go from a fierce fighter for what she believes in to a love interest of Vision’s. In Guardians of the Galaxy, even Gamora is reduced to a potential love interest of Peter Quill’s. She turns him down in the first film, but yet at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2, she hints at what Peter kept referring to as “some unspoken thing” between the two of them.

What I am trying to say is, simply, we need some representation of a female superhero that isn’t sexualized for once.

I entered the theatre for Wonder Woman with all of this running through my head. I was worried that she would become a love interest first, and a fighter second. I knew that this first female-led superhero movie in a blockbuster franchise was going to set a precedent for any upcoming films — DCEU’s Batgirl, MCU’s Captain Marvel — and I was scared that it was going to keep the standard that the previous films had. I went in with the knowledge that the movie had been directed by a woman, but then again, Guardians of the Galaxy was co-written by a woman.

Nothing could have prepared me for the beautiful film that was Wonder Woman. The island of Themyscira was populated entirely by strong, fierce female warriors, training to fight together; wearing functional battle armour that was beautifully crafted but never sexual. Their ages varied greatly, but the elders’ crows feet and wrinkles were nothing to be ashamed of. Their scars and bruises and weathered skin were marks to be proud of, not to be hidden or photoshopped out. I had never, ever seen a film with a scene like that. My friend had sent me her thoughts on the scene on tumblr in this post, reading:

“i had no intentions of actually going to see wonder woman bc i never really loved the brand or whatever, but catch me in the first ten minutes before anyone had even been hurt or died deadass SOBBING in the theatre bc the visual of hundreds of strong, non-sexually depicted, fearless women descending down a wall and prepping for battle in unity and strength rendered me a complete mess. wonder woman wasnt the movie i asked for, but it was the movie i needed.”

“The visual of hundreds of strong, non-sexually depicted, fearless women descending down a wall and prepping for battle in unity and strength rendered me a complete mess.”

How can a scene be that powerful? This Tumblr post nails it right on the head:

“Watching a super hero movie directed by a woman is like putting glasses on for the first time. 

I didn’t realize how much I had to squint through the ‘male gaze’ till suddenly, miraculously, I didn’t have to.

There were absolutely NO eye candy shots of Diana. There were Amazons with ageing skin and crows feet and not ONE of them wore armor that was a glorified corset. When Diana did the superhero landing, her thigh jiggled onscreen.

Did you hear me? HER FUCKING THIGH JIGGLED. Wonder Woman’s thigh jiggled on a 20-foot tall screen in front of everyone.

Because she wasn’t there to make men drool. She wasn’t there to be sexy and alluring and flirt her way to victory, and that means she has big, muscular thighs, and when they absorb the impact of a superhero landing, they jiggle, and.that’s.WONDERFUL.

Thank you, Patty Jenkins, for giving me a movie about a woman, told by a woman,so I can see it through my eyes, not some dude bro who’s there for boobs and butts.”

“I didn’t realize how much I had to squint through the ‘male gaze’ until suddenly, miraculously, I didn’t have to.”

Think about that for a second. We live in this society where our entertainment is so male-dominated and male-centric that us women did not even realize how bad it was until we finally received something that was the opposite. Finally, we have a superhero film for everyone — men and women. The men I have spoken to that have watched it enjoyed it just as much as they have enjoyed any other superhero movie. The women, however, have noticed each and every single difference, because, for once, we have a lovely representation of women onscreen, not catering to the male audience. We have several female characters, not just one token female lead. Diana can hold her own, and her male counterpart quickly realizes that. Steve Trevor is a tough fighter and a good soldier, but never once tries to take control of a situation. He guides Diana through modern society but on the battlefield lets her do what she does best. He will purchase her clothes and ice cream, but never belittles her for not knowing the rules of society or war. He understands and gently guides her in the right directions, but in the end following her where she goes.

There are several powerful scenes in Wonder Woman, but not all of them are as intense or visually stunning as the No-Man’s Land scene. My personal favourite is that scene where Steve purchases Diana ice cream. This post breaks it down into several micro-elements that are hard to catch (I have paraphrased):

The way she eats the ice cream. She just eats it. No coy lick or self-conscious taste, no male gaze here, no oral/sexual pleasure of the viewer. Diana just she eats the ice cream, and it’s the kind of sloppy big bite of someone who is not self-conscious of eating, who hasn’t been trained from birth to think about how she looks as she does everything, even eating. She hasn’t spent her life being told that her purpose is in being attractive, even as she does a vital daily thing like eating. She doesn’t have a voice in her head saying, “oh, but ice cream, it’s kind of fatty, and what will people think?” She’s just, “wow, this thing is delicious, I think it’s great, the person who makes it deserves to be told how great their skill is, how great their actions that have lead to this product are.” Even in this she demonstrates valuing people by their actions and abilities and choices and who they are, not what they look like. The fact that is so rare and startling and obvious to me, the fact that Diana Prince eating ice cream moves me so much is So Terrible and makes me despair for our civilization and (nearly) all media produced before this.

During the shot when she takes the first bite, Steve is reaching his arm out to pay the ice cream seller. That movement is much bigger and more eye-catching than Diana eating the ice cream. This scene normalizes females eating on screen, through both subverting the erotic eating trope and allowing women to eat and enjoy whatever they want without feeling self-conscious.

Even more, Steve isn’t looking at Diana as she eats. A big part of the male gaze is that the default POV of films is generally that of the straight, white, male viewer. Generally, Steve would be the stand in for that default gaze, but he doesn’t even look at her! He doesn’t buy it for her so he can watch. He doesn’t even pull some Nice Guy bullshit like, I did something nice for you now do something nice for me, even as a vague joke or subtext. He isn’t trying to  get anything out of it. He just thinks she’s probably never had it and might enjoy it. It’s about her enjoyment, not his, despite everything trying to tell us that women feed appetites but aren’t meant to have any of their own.

In addition to that, there’s also the overt humour of the moment that could have been gross, too, but wasn’t. The ice cream seller offers her the ice cream but Diana is not familiar with the concept of “goods for money” so they could have made a big joke about it with Steve basically giving her an immediate “lesson” about how she can’t just TAKE the ice cream and how you’re supposed to pay for it. That’s basically how introducing a character from an Utopian society to a capitalist world always works. And that’s always the joke, “oh look how silly and uneducated this person is, doesn’t even know they have to pay for stuff!” But here though Diana does take the ice cream without planning to pay, but Steve doesn’t make it into a “big deal,” he just reaches over and pays. And so the scene flawlessly skips over any need to publicly shame or embarrass Diana and we can just focus on how adorable Diana is when eating ice cream for the first time in her life.

The character of Diana is wonderfully multi-dimensional. She can kick ass, but she also lives in complete awe of the human world. She excitedly exclaims, “A baby!” when she passes by one on the street. She enjoys an ice cream for the first time. She takes complete joy in a light snowfall. She is not just fierce but she is kind, she is strong but she loves deeply. She crosses No-Man’s Land (which, by the way, is a much better “I am no man”) to save the lives of men and women she does not know, because she feels such deep empathy for those crying out for help. She fights alongside men but sees more to them than just their dog tags. She realizes the full potential of each and every man she fights with. This post puts it into words I don’t want to steal or try to paraphrase:

After Veld is liberated and before they’re getting ready to go to the Gala, Charlie finally falters, expressing his self-doubt at joining them after choking earlier.

And Diana – kind, good, darling Diana – she smiles and laughs, not in a way that mocks or belittles, but rather expresses a purity and sincerity.

“Oh Charlie,” she breathes, “Then who will sing for us?”

With such a simple, seemingly innocent gesture, she reminds us of her true superpower. Yes, she’s strong. She’s a fierce warrior, she can fight like a badass and make us cry while watching her deflect bullets and swing a sword, but more than that, more than making us believe in her, she makes us believe in ourselves. 

Wonder Woman inspires and reminds us of the goodness within; of our own value, strength, and significance. 

She reminds Charlie of his own worth. That he is more than an eye behind a lens and a finger above a trigger. That a moment of weakness doesn’t define us, any more than our pasts, and she lifts him out of that insecurity effortlessly.

On the topic of her comrades, one extremely important aspect I noticed about them is that they are of wildly different backgrounds. Of course there’s Steve Trevor and Etta Candy, both white, but Steve is incredibly progressive in his respect for both women and his fellow soldiers, and Etta is an advocate for female suffrage and equality. Most importantly are the men that join Steve and Diana on the mission: we have Sameer, a Moroccan actor-turned-spy played by Saïd Taghmaoui, a French actor of Moroccan descent; Charlie, a Scottish sniper struggling with PTSD, played by Ewen Bremner; and Chief, a Blackfoot Native American played by Eugene Brave Rock, a Blackfoot from the Blood Tribe in southern Alberta, Canada. By incorporating these three men in the mission, rather than three other white soldiers, Wonder Woman has progressed from representing women to also representing people from other cultures and ethnicities.

Of course, the main cast is composed of mostly men. We still have a long way to go for female cinema. But this film, this beautifully written and directed film, is taking modern cinema in the right direction towards more feminist and representational content. The effect has been overwhelming for me, having a female-led superhero movie that is not sexualized or set from the perspective of a male. It is so refreshing. Its effect on children is the most important of all, because they are so highly influenced by the books they read and movies they watch. This post was shared by Patty Jenkins on Twitter and quickly went viral.

I work at a kindergarten and this is a collection of cute Wonder Woman related things that happened within a week of the movie being released. 

On Monday, a boy who was obsessed with Iron Man, told me he had asked his parents for a new Wonder Woman lunchbox. 

A little girl said “When I grow up I want to speak hundreds of languages like Diana”

This girl had her parents revamp her Beauty and the Beast birthday party in THREE DAYS because she simply had to have a Wonder Woman party. 

Seven girls playing together during recess on Tuesday, saying that since they all wanted to be Wonder Woman they had agreed to be Amazons and not fight but work together to defeat evil. 

There is this one girl that refuses to listen to you unless you address her as Wonder Woman. 

Another girl very seriously asked the teacher if she could ditch her uniform for the Wonder Woman armor bc she “wanted to be ready if she needed to save the world”. The teacher laughed and said it was okay, and the next day the girl came dressed as Wonder Woman and not a single kid batted an eye.

They are making a wrap-up dance show, and they asked the teacher if they could come as superheroes, they are going to sing a song about bunnies. 

This kid got angry and threw a plastic car over his head and a girl gasped “LIKE IN THE MOVIE”

A boy threw his candy wrapping in the floor and a 5-year-old girl screamed “DON’T POLLUTE YOU IDIOT, THAT IS WHY THERE ARE NO MEN IN THEMYSCIRA”

On Wednesday, a girl came with a printed list of every single female superhero and her powers, to avoid any trouble when deciding roles at recess. 

I was talking to one of the girls that hadn’t seen the movie, and the next day she came and very seriously told me “you were right, Wonder Woman was way better than Frozen.”

Consider this your friendly reminder that if this movie completely changed the way these girls and boys thought about themselves and the world in a week, imagine what the next generation will achieve if we give them more movies like Wonder Woman.  

The impact Wonder Woman has and will continue to have on audiences astounds and excites me. The DCEU has taken a progressive step in the right direction and I truly hope that the MCU follows in their stride with their portrayals of Black Widow, Scarlet Witch, and the upcoming instalment Captain Marvel.

If you have not made it to the theatres to see Wonder Woman yet, please do so. You will not be disappointed.

References and for further reading:

http://variety.com/2015/film/news/women-lead-roles-in-movies-study-hunger-games-gone-girl-1201429016/

https://www.nyfa.edu/film-school-blog/gender-inequality-in-film/

https://pudding.cool/2017/03/film-dialogue/

http://www.thedailybeast.com/the-avengers-black-widow-problem-how-marvel-slut-shamed-their-most-badass-superheroine

http://www.btchflcks.com/2016/05/why-black-widow-is-the-realest-superheroine-of-the-marvel-cinematic-universe.html

https://www.bustle.com/articles/14238-scarlett-johanssons-waist-isnt-actually-the-issue-with-her-captain-america-2-poster

Wonder Woman, Representation, and Feminist Film This June, Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, finally hit the cinemas. After the complete bombshell that was Batman v Superman (2016), I was half worried for the film — given the ridiculous sexist history of movies since the beginning of film — and half excited — given that a woman was directing the film.

[fishylife]

I’ve had some time for the ending of Final Fantasy XV to sink in, so here are my thoughts. Spoilers. 

Before I begin, full disclosure: I did not play the game, I watched a Let’s Play video series for it because I do not own a gaming console on which I can play this game. Now, let’s move ahead.

I am officially sad. 

This article highlights the fact that Regis and Luna both were aware that if Noctis were to accumulate enough power to eradicate the world of daemons, he would have to die in the process, and they hid this from him. It sounds a bit bad when it’s phrased like that, but I don’t think Regis and Luna felt good about it at all. 

I see the Oracle as a guide and partner for the King. Throughout the game, Luna is becoming weak, though, and she’s come to accept that she will die in the process of aiding the king. In addition to that, though, she’s come to accept that she cannot spend the rest of her life with Noctis, and also that Noctis cannot live out the rest of his life. I truly believe she bears no pleasure in this, but she’s very diplomatic and understands that she must sacrifice herself for the greater good of the public. At first I didn’t quite understand the ending, where we see Noctis and Luna getting married, but I think it might be their marriage in the afterlife. That makes me happy. Noctis and Luna both deserve a happy ending.

Regis, Regis, Regis. I can’t believe how much guilt he could feel by bestowing such a fate on his son. I wish we could have spent a bit more time getting to know Regis. I think he was probably a good father whom Noctis had sort of grown apart from in his adolescence because of typically teenage angst. But Regis knew that he was going to die in the invasion by the Empire, and so in his last conversation with his son, he tried to be as fatherly as possible, telling him to “walk tall.” In the end, Noctis definitely appreciated the relationship with his father.

And then there’s Noctis and his crew of Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto. First of all, they are the best three friends a king could have. Each one of them supports Noctis in their own special way and love him like a brother. I love how the game adds in so many little interactions and conversations between the crew because it makes us grow attached to them as a group. Whether it’s on car rides, during battle, or at night at the campsite, the way they act and speak around each other is so natural. They work together like a well-oiled machine. The beginning scene where the dudes are pushing the car along the road to Stand By Me is the quintessential “those were the good days” scene for this group, and I will never not cry now when I hear Florence and the Machine’s rendition of Stand By Me. 

Another important scene is of course the mid-credit campfire scene. I interpret this as a flashback scene. Noctis has made peace with the fact that he will die, but the fact that his friends would die with him is an insane amount of dedication, that not anybody would do for you, and he doesn’t know how else to express his appreciation except by telling him that they’re the best. 

For some reason, the beginning battle scene with Ifrit is one I hold dear. The way they protect each other during that scene shows a friendship that I will always envy. This part especially. Look at this shit. 

Another scene I want to talk about is the one right before Noctis ascends the throne. He tells his friends to walk tall, just as his father told him to. At this point we pretty much know that “walk tall” is a manly stand-in for “I love you.” After that, Noctis proceeds to claim his power, and Ignis, Gladio, and Prompto fend off the daemons to prevent any interference with Noctis’s proceedings.

After reading a few things, I think my interpretation of the scene is that Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio do die, and appear with Noctis, Regis, and Luna in the afterlife to defeat Ardyn. To be honest, I think Prompto, Ignis, and Gladio would feel pretty sad and even maybe a little guilty if they remained alive while Noctis died, so I like to think that they died as well, so at least they can all be together in the afterlife.

Basically I have a lot of feelings about the relationships in this game and I will probably revisit them at some point now or later. Now onto gameplay stuffs. 

The aesthetics of this game are A++++. I’m super shallow and I can’t play a game unless I love the visuals. Not only does the game look realistic, but the way the characters move is just so natural and smooth. It’s the small things, like how Prompto taps his foot or how Noctis stumbles out of the car that make the game that much more immersive. 

The weapons and the combat also look amazing. There isn’t that much magic and spell-casting in this game, which normally might annoy me a little, but I’m not the biggest fan of the magic system in Final Fantasy games anyway, so it didn’t bother me that much. The weapons look fantastic. I just wish I got to see them up close a bit more because I’m sure the detail was probably astounding. 

I also wish there were a bit more wardrobe options but that’s what I say for literally every video game ever so don’t mind me. 

The only other thing that mildly annoys me is how much integration there is between this game and the anime and the Kingsglaive movie. I staunchly believe that each piece of media should be complete on its own, and that you shouldn’t have to watch/read something else in order to get the whole story. 

I suppose the story was good enough for me in this game. Rightful king has to find a crystal to gain power in order to rid the world of daemons. There are small gaps here and there that don’t make much sense, but don’t interfere with the story that much. Especially for the political situation regarding the Empire, that would have made a lot more sense if I had watched Kingsglaive, but I would have appreciated if they woudl have expanded on that in the game, rather than pointing people towards the movie or the anime. Unfortunately, DLC is a common element in many video games nowadays.

I also want to comment on the chapter where Noctis is separated from Gladio and Ignis, and needs to rescue Prompto. That entire chapter just feels like it came straight out of a horror video game, especially when you have to hide from rogue axemen that are roaming the halls, armed with the ring you only learned to use just now. It was uncomfortable, but it was well done. I just would have never wanted to play that chapter myself, so I’m glad I got the chance to watch someone else do it. Fuel for my nightmares, much?

Overall, my favourite parts of the game were probably the visuals and also the relationships among the characters. I usually love stories with large casts, but this one does it for me because the bonds between the characters aren’t artificial and actually mean something. 

Last but not least, Final Fantasy XV makes me absolutely envious that I don’t have a group of friends like Noctis does that will back him up through thick and thin without a second thought. Scrolling through Prompto’s photo album will make me especially wistful about it.