#I could tell the quality overall was bad...the writing...the animation...

[katzske]

Thoughts on Earthspark Season 2 (first half)

Spoiler Free:

I must admit I’m dissatisfied.

The animation and rendering definitely looks cheaper. Sometimes it feels like frames are missing, animations not polished, scenes not fully rendered. 2d and 3d poorly blends. It’s quite noticeable unfortunately. Characters also do the TFP Megatron stare now.

That being said, time was taken to revisit old models of characters and give them a new appearance. (4 i’ve noticed) It makes sense given a lot has changed during one year time skip.

The writing often feels either like exposition dumping or naruto filler episodes. I was never at the edge of my seat even during the climax. I ended up skipping through episodes due to the lack of relevant plot information.

Something ES managed to maintain were carefully composed shots that make great still images. While that’s nice for screenshots and redraws, I also feel like it’s the only unique aspect of ES’ animation style that remained. The rest, as previously mentioned, has lost quality.

Character Details I’ve noticed and want to talk about (spoilers ahead)

half of season 2 part 1 is filler. optimus trailer episode, great america with cosmos, a pachycephalosaurus-truck fighting mushrooms, hashtag taking ten years to dispose of hard drives…. each episode did have a few minutes of either cute or important moments. but the majority is a waste of time.

I was hoping that we would learn more about the decepticons. now that they’re free, what are they up to? how are their dynamics? how did season 1 finale change their perception on things? would they try to convince the terrans THEY are the good guys? nothing like that though.

There is no satisfying character development for starscream. ES Starscream was perfect to explore a more neutral version of him, who does not do bad things out of pleasure, but due to necessity; following his desire to be free. In the show he mentions he wanted to get rid of his oppressors (in his eyes autobots and humans), but a real “bruh” moment was when he told Hashtag the only reason he opened up to her last time was to tell her “take care of yourself first”. It completely disregards the fact he came to help in the season 1 finale after reflecting on Hashtags words. It also aggravates me that the writing could have been a very easy fix. “hey i’m not being selfish by destroying this town. im doing this for the decepticons, we have lived under the control of the autobots and then of humans. this needs to stop, we deserve freedom and i will do anything it takes.”

the show managed to establish some friction between starscream and shockwave but for deception standards it was very tame. overall i think it was written okay; he purposely let the Terrans escape with the fragments, and he bailed on Starscream once he went bonkers. I hope that he gets to be a Decepticon leader in the second half; i don’t think we have seen that in any TF TV show before. i also like that his antennae and eye color give away his emotions now.

i feel like the autobots are treated even worse than the decepticons this season ngl. they merely exist; and when they do have the spotlight it’s often for comedy.

why the fuck did shockwave not wait for hashtag to just dump the hard drives and leave. if someone walked up to me yelling “give me your trashbag” as i’m trying to dispose of it i’d be weirded out too lol.

i hope the chaos terrans don’t return. aftermath imo was, plot wise, redundant. spitfire at least was interesting and had an impact.

i wish there were more interesting fights like in season 1 instead of, oh no they’re hitting the trailer with sticks, oh no we are an abomination of dinosaur and vehicle for what feels like 15mins straight. i miss seeing soundwave slay.

[lunatic-pudge]

Scout, Pyro, Demo, Medic, Sniper, and Spy Relationship Headcanons

Can you tell which ones are my absolute favorite:')

Scout

• Unsurprisingly, it takes him a long time to get over his infatuation of Ms. Pauling (I'm 110% convinced she's a lesbian), so you must be basically a deity to be catching his attention (though he'd the type to flirt with EVERYONE)

• Golden retriever energy, also youngest child energy. Constantly wants to do everything for you but also needs constant attention. He's also used to be getting picked on by the other mercs and his older brothers so he'll be going to you for validation. But he also doesn't want to appear weak so it'll take some time to break through his (fragile) shell.

• Love language: physical touch and acts of services. Will be constantly trying to act like a macho man for you but will also beg to hold your hand. Cuddles are constant. He may not be good at being a handyman, but my gods he's gonna try his darndest. Plz tell him that he did a good job, he's trying his best.

• He's the best person to go to if you wanna go on randon and unexpected adventures. One minute you're both in Teufort, the next your across country at the beach up east coast. Poor thing gets yelled at a lot for just uping and leaving without notice.

• Local snack dealer. Ma is always making sure that he's got sweets on hand. His room has care packages from her with some of the most wholesome letters from her and the box if FILLED to the brim with sweets, treats, and soda

Pyro

• My little baby boo, a wholesome partner who would kill for you. Can get jealous very easily so you might have to hold them back from committing manslaughter.

• Love language: quality time and gift giving. Time with Pyro is time well spent. Constantly just wants to be in the same room with you. They don't do well when you're not around. Also loves to give gifts. Most of their gifts consit of stuffed animals and handmade drawings. Your room will be filled with gifts from this goofball.

• In my opinion, they're a lot more there than people realize. Some days are better than others though. They were literally CEO of an engeneering company! And I believe they made all their weapons to but I could be wrong on that. Homie is definitely reliable when they're having a good day, but on the bad days, just sit and spend time with them. You don't gotta say anything, just knowing your right there beside them is enough conformation to know you'll always be there no matter what.

• You two are little troublemakers. You'll constantly be up to no good with them. It seems like harmless fun, but you've both almost burnt down the base five times just this month!

Demoman

• Probably one of the best lovers you could have out of all the mercs (aside from Engie, they're competing for the number one spot). I'm deducting points cause of the nonstop alcohol consumpution. :(

• But he is a happy goofy dunk so thank gods for that. Always happy to be here. Very attentive, caring, cuddly, overall a good person to date or even just be friends with.

• Cause the constant alcohol ruined a good portion of his memory (and Medic as well), he writes down every little detail of you that he can in a little journal he secretly keeps on his person. Important dates, likes, dislikes, ect. The man has it on file in case of emergencies.

• Love language: gift giving and act of services. He works three jobs and makes over 5 mil a year, he's LOADED. He's gonna buy you the world if you ask. Definitely good at money managing so he never worried at how much gifts cost. He's also gonna try his darndest to help you out with any problems, though it can be a bit hard when you're constantly drunk. Hims trying his best, okay?

• Wants his mom to approve of you but knows how critical she is of him. Poor baby has some self-esteem issuses cause of her so please give him lots of love and support. It's hard when your mom never has anything nice to say about you and compares you to everyone else. It's a neverending struggle. :(

Medic

• You're definitley into weird and questionable people if you like this man, and that means we're best friends now. :D

• He will ask you to help him out with surgeries and organizing his lab. You're hims little nurse. He'd probably (absolutley) be getting you a nurse outfit with his symbol on it.

• He's very much the possessive type. What's his is HIS, no if, ands, buts, or questions about it. Would put a tracker in you so he knows where you are at all times, but someone would have to talk him out of doing it... for now...

• Constantly talks about you to his birds, if any on them ever have babies, he's naming one after you. Would get you a stuffed dove plushie to cuddle with at night when he can't be there with you

• Love language: physical touch and quality time, you're ALWAYS welcomed in his lab, in fact, he expects you to be there with him. Is the type to ask you to grab something and will graze his hands against yours when grabbing it from you. (then give a shit eating smirk afterwards) He'd also be the type to stand VERY close to you, and stand behind you in an intimidating way to keep others from talking to you.

Sniper

• This man is my all time baby boy so I have LOTS to say about him and how much I love him :')

• Is someone who takes a while to get close to, especially in a romantic way. He's just a shy little boy who's used to being alone. But isn't introverted, just has introverted tendencies (you literally see him hanging out with some of the other mercs in Expiration Date)

• Love language: words of affirmations and physical touch, he sucks at verbally saying how he feels about you but will leave cute little love notes around for you to find. He's also VERY touched-starved so he will just flat out lay on top of you if you let him. Loves hearing you say how much you love him, plz just hold his hands and say how much he means to you, he might just cry from it.

• Is also someone who goes on random adventures, but they're usually just out and away from everyone. But I could see him taking you to a zoo or aquarium to look at the animals. But you're not allowed to go to a Humane Society cause you'll be walking out with all the animals they have and raising them like they're your babies,

Spy

• Another gremlin who takes a long time to warm up to you. He's a grumpy old man who's never really been with someone in such a serious light (aside from Scout's Ma)

• Love language: gift giving and words of affirmation, another merc who would buy you the world if you asked. Will only buy you the best of the best and will throw hands with someone if it's not up to his standards. He could go on about his love for you. His words sound like poetry. You'd wake up with a bouquet of roses and one of the most beautiful love letters anyone has ever read.

• Is 50/50 on PDA, he'll wrap an arm around your waist, call you beautiful, and give you a peck on the cheek in front of others but that's about it. Any extreme PDA is to be in private or you're getting a scolding.

• Would definitely help you learn French. He's way more patient with you than anyone else. You've seen him yell and insult every merc a couple times (Scout getting the brunt of it), but he refuses to ever say anything negative about you

• Definitely the bragging type. He'll put you on a pedestal and go on about how gorgeous you are. How you were crafted by gods, and so on. He thinks he's better than everyone else so if you're with him, than you're right up there with him.

[icanseethefuture333]

PAC: What makes you so sweet + who's sweet on you? 🍓🍰♥️

This spread was inspired by Strawberry shortcake :D! A childhood favorite of mine. You are allowed to choose one or more pile for each question! Use your intuition to decide 🥰 Please leave a tip if you can $$$

Pile 1:

Your songs -

I Don't Wanna by Aaliyah

Konclusions by YG & Kehlani

Crushcrushcrush by Coco & Clair Clair

Your dessert -

Pumpkin spice latte 🎃

What makes you so sweet?:

The Empress, Three of Pentacles (reversed), & Six of Pentacles

You are so loving and caring pile 1! 🥰 people could think that you have a "big heart" and wish they could give back all that you do for them. You could have venusian qualities or Libra/Taurus placements. You are a very selfless person and for that in exchange you just really desire friendship and loyalty! Your love language could be acts of service or gifts. You could also be very physically attractive 🤭 but you may not realize this??? You could be more self conscious about how you look and possibly put others on a pedestal for their appearance. You might question if you're actually pretty at times because people might not compliment you much but it's just really because you make them shy 🥺! In private, others could consider you their muse. People could like to draw you or write songs about you. It's giving girl next door energy. The way that you dress could be modest too. You could like to wear long sleeve shirts, sweaters, cardigans, flowy dresses, etc. Fall/autumn could be your favorite time of the year because it fits your taste in style! People could think that you give off a very warm and cozy aura. So comforting 💞

Who's sweet on you?:

Page of Swords, Ten of Swords, & Two of Swords

Lmao poor pile 1 😭 I feel bad so your secret admirer is someone who's ghosted you recently or who you just lost contact with. This person has attachment issues (avoidant I'm feeling?) Whenever they get close to love or start developing feelings for someone, they run away. They could be younger than you or they're just inexperienced when it comes to relationships. This person feels regret for ghosting you and wishes they could just reach out. They wish to tell you how they feel romantically but everytime they try to type out a text or get close to calling you, they chicken out. This person will eventually have to make a decision on if they should contact you or not but they're kind of stubborn 💀 good luck!

Pile 2:

Your songs -

Daisy 2.0 by Ashnikko & Miku Hatsune

Black eye by Vernon

Little Bit by Drake & Lykke Li

Your dessert -

Dark chocolate 🍫

What makes you so sweet?

The Devil (reversed), Ace of Cups, & The moon

Pile 2, you could be alternative??? Or just have a very intimidating/non-conventional beauty. Your style or overall appearance could be unique and that makes people weary to come near you. You possibly have a resting bitch face or you have "hunter eyes" (feline, snake, etc). Your features could go against European beauty standards as well. Contrary to what people think, you are actually so compassionate and sensitive. You could be secretly a hopeless romantic and be into romance novels, films, etc. I'm getting that you like to read or are into reading mangas. You could also like to watch anime or do cosplaying. Your geekiness is adorable 🤓! People like to hear about your interests and want to get to know you more if you feel comfortable. I see that you could have wounds from the past or currently are dealing with depression :( I'm sorry to hear that ❤️‍🩹! Just know that you aren't alone and you have people who care about you (including me!) Your guides want to tell you that you don't have to be so secretive dear. I'm getting that you possibly might have been bullied growing up? And they want you to understand that not everyone is going hurt you. People could think that you are beautiful in the nighttime or your beauty reminds them of the moon. Your skin could be luminescent and glowy when the light hits or your irises are big or have a unique color. You could possibly have Capricorn or Cancer placements. When you allow people to get close to you and gain trust, they appreciate it so much! Your talents, hobbies, and skills is what makes you so special 🥰 This could be only for a few people but some people here are musicians or should learn to play an instrument.

Who's sweet on you?

King of Cups, The Lovers, & Queen of Swords

This is good news for your love life :D! This person wants to come in with a offer and ask you either to be their partner or go out on a date. They are willing to court you and show how much you mean to them. You and this person could be very different than most couples. I'm getting that you guys could be a interracial couple, same sex couple, or just express yourselves differently when it comes to styles, aesthetics, and love languages. Don't be afraid to let this person in pile 2! They seem to really care for you and I can see once you fall in love with them, you're never gonna want to let them go ❤ What's cute about your dynamic is that this person is affectionate and outgoing while you're the more protective and reserved one LOL. I guess opposites do attract.

Pile 3:

Your songs -

While We're Young by Jhené Aiko

Child's Play by SZA & Chance The Rapper

Come by Doja Cat

Your dessert -

Lemon meringue pie 🥧

What makes you so sweet?

The Fool, Three of Wands, & Four of Wands

I feel like my pile 3 people are good singers 😳 if not, their voices are very soft and melodic 🤭 You love to listen to music a lot, for some of you I'm seeing that you like to listen to indie music or r&b. You're a very mellow person and radiate this down to earth energy. There is a lot of yellow on these cards as well so you could be connected to your solar plexus or that could be your favorite color/it suits your skintone. I'm seeing sunflowers 🌻 some of you might worship Oshun or should start doing research on her. You could be spiritual or religious. You have a carefree attitude because you know that the universe got you - period! You could be very knowledgeable on manifestation as well. People wonder what's your secret to life because you seem so lucky. I heard people even want to "rub you for good luck" 👀😂 you could like to dress in a bohemian or hippie style. You could wear like vegan leather backpacks, sandals, beads, feathers, rompers, and also dye your hair unnatural colors like blue, pink, etc. People could like that you're well traveled as well or you're knowledgeable about others cultures. You could speak more than one language. They like to hear about your travels or want to hear about your stories. I'm getting Leo, Sagittarius, or Virgo placements. You make friends where ever you go and it's very easy to talk to you 🌞! You radiate such a positive and divine energy. I just love that!

Who's sweet on you?:

The Emperor, Page of Wands, & King of Pentacles

This person could be older than you. They can be athletic but also act childish. They might have Aries traits or they have have it in their birth chart. They are creative, hard working, and . They take on traditional masculine qualities and would want to be a provider for their family. You could depend on this person and build able to form a secure and stable relationship. This could also signify that you and this person could get married in the future! Expect good news when it comes to your romantic endeavors.

Pile 4:

Your songs -

Favorite by HUNJIYA

Little Little by Red Velvet

Hymn For The Weekend by Coldplay Ft. Beyoncé

Your dessert -

Angel food cake 🎂

What makes you so sweet?

The Star, Strength, & Knight of Cups

Pile 4, you're giving me very much earth angel or starseed vibes 🌈🕊 something about you is very ethereal and angelic to people. They admire your elegance and healing energy. You could look good in the color white or pastel colors. You could have a nice physique as well 😋! Your hair could be very long with waves or curls. Some people fantasize about you naked because of how naturally beautiful you are 😅 It exudes something in them and your sex appeal is very arousing. I'm getting that you could also be nurturing and motherly, very wise. You could have Aquarius, Leo, or Pisces placements. People like your awareness on things and your acceptance of how people are instead of trying to change them. You could be very observant as well. You notice the little things in life and pay attention to the fine details that other don't. You have a keen eye for art or fashion. You could care for the environment and have a connection to animals or babies 🦋 You just embody a lot of divine feminine qualities and that makes people feel welcome and at ease around you.

Who's sweet on you?

Ace of Wands, Queen of Pentacles, & Nine of Pentacles

For you pile 4, I see that you're actually sweet on yourself (period self love)! I feel like as for right now in your love life, you're not looking for a commitment or should be focusing on committing to yourself and your goals. You could be coming out of a relationship or have been single for quite some time - no worries! I'm seeing finacial abundance coming to your life and your personal endeavors. I see that you're mostly gonna keep your options open for now and see different people. I'm seeing a lot of good sex as well ❤️‍🔥 There's gonna be fun dates and partying happening in your life. (Clarified by Justice) this could be for a few but some of you might hear or will start dating a Libra. I'm not seeing anything too serious but I'm getting that they could help you further your career. They could be a sugar daddy/mommy, you know them from work (boss, supervisor, or coworker), or they could work as a counselor, legal advisor, lawyer, etc.

Pile 5:

Your songs -

20/20 by Lil Tjay

On My Own by Darci

Into It by Chase Atlantic

Your dessert -

Red wine truffle 🍷

What makes you so sweet?

Nine of Cups, The World, & Temperance

Your self assurance, patience, and drive for success is what makes you so sweet pile 5! I'm getting badass energy from you and you have a very nonchalant, idgaf, rebellious attitude. I feel that growing up those in authority underestimated you and you managed to prove or will prove them all wrong with your achievements. You could have trophies, good grades, or receive a lot of praise for your work at school or your job. You could possibly be an athlete or participated in some sort of competition (dancing, mathlete, etc). You're beauty and brains, pile 5, the total package! You could have Scorpio, Gemini, or Aries placements. People wonder how you did it or overcome such hardships. You're someone people can look up to. You motivate them and make them want to do better. You could be the older sibling in your family or could have cousins younger than you? I'm having a vision of little kids looking at you and they're just in awe, how cute 🥹! Your independence and self confidence is so admirable.

Who's sweet on you?

Four of Swords, Knight of Wands, & Eight of Wands

Pile 5, when it comes to romance it could make you nervous or give you anxiety. You may not have time for it or whenever you go out on dates you overthink about it. There's no need to be nervous! Just be yourself sweetheart 💕 I feel that you know this person as well or already currently seeing someone. They could be on your team or they are in some sort of team (at work, in sports, etc). They like to move things pretty fast. You both could hate the talking stage and just wish to skip to the part where the both of you are best friends in love! I'm getting like coming of age love story and it's adorable ☺️ This person could like your hair or compliments you a lot on your hair. They could like your tattoos or piercings. There is going to be a lot of passion early on in the relationship and they will be very infatuated by you. Just be careful not to rush into thing if you want more of a serious relationship! If not, I feel that this would be a fun fling.

Pile 6:

Your songs -

Jasmine by DPR Live

I Wanna Be Down by Brandy

Who Can I Run To by Xscape

Your dessert -

Galaxy raindrop cake 💧

What makes you sweet?:

Ace of Pentacles, Seven of Pentacles, & Wheel of Fortune

Pile 6, I see that you're someone who's very generous with their wealth. Very similar to pile 1, you could be good with your finances, and have a lot of high quality material items. You're someone who takes value in the finer things and show gratitude for everything you have because there are those who are without. Whenever someone is struggling or is in need of help, you're always there! You're someone people can count in terms of an emergency. When people get asked about you they have fond memories of how much you been there for them (shit even me, I need more friends like you pile 6 😭). You're a down ass bitch! I feel that fortune is always on your side because of how selfless you are. Like pile 3, I feel that you could also know about manifestation, and use it to improve your life. You could do this without knowing. You could visualize yourself being rich or you affirm that you're lucky when it comes to money. I heard that your parents are very proud of you as well! You could really have an old soul pile 6. Your style could be more casual or reminiscent of the 80s/90s. I'm seeing mom jeans, crop tops, high top sneakers, jelly bracelets, henna tattoo chokers, gold chain, and mini hoop earrings.

Who's sweet on you?:

Six of Swords, The World, & Ace of Cups

Aw pile 6, so I see that a lot of people can depend on you but you don't have many people that you can turn to when you need help or need to take a load off 🥺 you could feel stressed because of this but don't worry someone will be coming in your love life soon! You could meet them overseas or while traveling. I'm getting military vibes so either you or this person will be in the military, if not the job requires traveling or dealing with foreign people/places. You and this person will have a harmonious relationship. So expect a new chapter and a good change in your love life!

Pile 7:

Your songs -

Generous by Doja Cat

No Silhouette by DPR Ian

Brooklyn Baby by Lana Del Rey

Your dessert:

Cannoli 🥖

What makes you sweet?:

Pile 7, your style is reminding me of mirror palais, summers in spain/Italy/mexico, or "bible study" outfits. Your style could cater to your religious beliefs or it's reminiscent of a holy figure. I feel that you could also dress very preppy. I'm seeing crosses, rosaries, cloaks, scarves, concho belts, a necklace with some sort of significant pendant (crystals, cross, buddha, etc), slippers/flats, stockings, long skirts, headbands, and button up tops. You have a very innocent and holy appearance. Some of you could be very sophisticated as well (its giving "my name is Bella Hadid"). People could think you're so pure that they're afraid of tainting you (in a nsfw way 😭). You make people blush because of how attractive you are. You could have a babyface, look younger than your actual age, or you have a youthful personality. People consider you "God's favorite" because of how perfect you seem or think God took their time with making you. You could be into modeling or you look like a model. Your lips could be nice and plump. They have a alluring shape with a vibrant color (they could be cherry red or they have a nice pink in the center of them if your lips are two toned). I am reminded of Monica Belluci in the role Milena where she had ginger hair and all the men were so seduced by her without her even trying (the scene where they were lighting her cigarette) and Salma Hayek in Desperado (where she caused people to crash their cars because of how hot she was 😂). You exude this femme fatale energy and could be becoming more "grown woman/man/person fine". This could also mean if you're underage, you could have major glow up after you're finished with puberty. You could also pray or be very devoted to your faith and people find that admirable.

Who's sweet on you?:

Five of Cups, The High Priestess, & Knight of Pentacles

You've been disappointed a lot in when it comes to your love life. You feel as though no one can satisfy you. You could have had your heart broken in a previous relationship so therefore you decided to stay single. I do feel that someone wants to come in though to show their love for you and will back up their words with action taking. They could be intimidated by you but they won't let their self esteem get in the way. They're gonna be persistent until you give in. Although pile 7, I suggest you heal wounds from your past relationship as well, it could cause you to self sabotage in your dating life, and prevent you from ever moving on. You deserve to be loved and receiving the pleasures of being in a happy relationship. So make sure to give them a chance when they come along.

Pile 8:

Your songs -

Headlines by McClenney

10% by Kaytranada & Kali Uchis

Jungle by Drake

Your dessert -

Creme Brulé 🍮

What makes you so sweet?:

Five of Pentacles, Justice, & Ace of Swords

Wow pile 8, you are someone who is fair and fights for equality. You hate to see people being kicked down and mistreated so you would do anything in your power to make sure others are safe. You're honestly a hero. For some people in this pile, you guys could have been abandoned by your parents, or was a orphan so because of this would you do your best to make sure that doesn't happen to anyone around you. You could do community service or take time out of your day to do activities with the kids that come from low income families. That's so sweet and I'm sorry that you went through that 🥺. If not, you have had really greedy people in your life. Whether it's a family member or authority in the workplace, they take from you a lot. Whether financially or emotionally. You could use your knowledge from these past situations for activism or fighting legal battles. You could work as a social worker, activist, politics, human relations, or in the legal system. Also people appreciate you for your great advice! You are very logical but at the same time optimistic. You know how to balance your brain and your heart, which not many people can do. You are a very strong person, pile 8.

Who's sweet on you?:

Ten of Wands, The Chariot, & King of Cups

You and this person could have broken up? I feel that this an ex who is wanting a second chance with you or a friend of yours who wants to be more than friends. You could have rejected them and they feel burdened by this because they still have feelings for you. It made them retreat and hide but they are not going to give up on this connection. You could have broken up with them because or their lack of vulnerability. They could have been uncomfortable with talking about their feelings or avoided having serious conversations, it triggers them. They are going to come back with a open heart to tell you how much you mean to them. For some people in this pile, this person might even propose to you 😲 if not a proposal for marriage, they could just ask you again to be their partner.

Pile 9:

Your songs -

Don't Hurt Me by DJ Mustard, Nicki Minaj, & Jeremih

Come Into You by Jimmy Brown

I Like U by Niki

Your dessert -

Gingersnap cookies 🍪

What makes you so sweet?:

Six of Cups, Page of Pentacles, & Seven of Cups

Pile 9, you are so cute😆! I feel like out of all the piles you are the youngest either in age or maturity. You could be someone thats very bubbly, clumsy, and full of energy. You have a childlike charm and your expressions are very sweet. I'm getting like how when little kids ask a question and they tilt their head while they do it. You just have this innocence to you but I also feel that you can be very mischievous. You could like to tease your peers and people find it very funny 😂. You could be very smart as well and do/did well in school! I'm getting that you're a teacher's pet and you always get good grades. You could give your teacher a hard time sometimes too (some of you could have talked too much in class and that would stress your teacher out LOL 😭). This pile honestly has me cracking up. You could also have a very big imagination. You could daydream a lot or fantasize about things a lot. People often wonder what you're thinking about when you do that. You could also have a lot of goals or are very creative. This pile gives off main character energy. It reminds me of Devi from Never Have I Ever or Jess from New Girl.

Who's sweet on you?:

Four of Wands, The Lovers, & Ten of Pentacles

I see that there's two cases for this pile. On one side you guys have a crush on someone or the other side they have someone who has a crush on them but despite that I'm seeing that the feelings are mutual for both parties! You know this person already and could be in the talking stage. I'm getting like a light, fun, flirty, playful energy between you and this person. You guys might have even already go on out on a date or will make plans to go out on a date soon. Which is so cute because as things develop and get more serious you both will realize that you're in love with each other 🤭. I'm having a vision of a couple blushing and being nervous to make eye contact 😭💓. This is going to be a long term relationship for sure and your families will be happy to see you guys together. I'm seeing like your families getting together for the holidays or coming together for dinner. For my younger kids in pile 9, this could mean your parents will allow you to date them, and when they introduce you to their parents, they will approve of the relationship so yay! 🥰

Thanks so much for reading! Have a nice day, here's a little treat 🍭🧁🍨🍬🍡🍦🧋🍧🍩

[mothrocks]

So I recently caved and watched Hazbin Hotel. I like animation, musicals, and animated musicals, so I feel like I'm kind of obligated to watch this new animated musical cartoon. After watching the show, I can't help but compare it to other animated productions that have also been released within the last year, namely that of Disney's Wish. I have a lot of thoughts, so here's this essay I spent like 2.5 hours writing :D

Slight disclaimer, I do acknowledge that Wish and Hazbin Hotel have very different themes, target audiences, production methods, pipelines, all the things. As someone who just enjoys animation, I'm going to disregard this for the most part, largely because I just want to ramble about the animation industry as a whole and probably could for hours.

Hazbin Hotel features a cast of characters trying to rehabilitate the sinners of Hell to save them from dying a second (and seemingly final) death in the afterlife. I have my own thoughts on the show itself, but I generally thought it was good. You can tell there was passion behind it and that they were allowed a lot of creative freedom, rather than having to pander as much to studio higher-ups.

I'm choosing not to summarize Wish and trusting that if you've read this far, you have at least a fragment of an idea of what the movie is about (not that there is much of a memorable plot, anyways). I don't like Wish. The characters are static and flat; there's no growth or character development and we have little to no reason to root for the main character, Asha. The story overall is unmemorable. The animation is fairly lackluster and looks unfinished. Lastly, the songs, one of the most important parts of a Disney animated musical, are just bad and incohesive and don't fit whatever vibe Disney and its producers were going for. I want to add that I don't think these qualms are the fault of the creatives behind this movie, rather, the fault of Disney executives stepping in.

Compared to Wish, Hazbin Hotel has interesting and dynamic characters, a solid art and animation style, and a wonderful soundtrack. Hazbin Hotel, despite being a show about the afterlife, has life and soul to it. This isn't to say I'm a big fan of the show, I do have criticisms of my own. My question is, how does Hazbin Hotel, an animated adult cartoon practically birthed from the internet, manage to be infinitely better than Wish, a movie by fucking Walt Disney Animation Studios? The fact that Disney, the studio behind The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast (or even more recent things like Moana and Encanto), is the same studio that produced a movie as flat and lifeless as Wish is baffling to me.

My speculation as to why this show is so much better than Wish is specifically because it was cultivated from random people on the internet who were passionate about their projects opposed to a company like Disney, who made Wish just for money (and to promote their anniversary). Disney has changed from what it once was and no longer takes risks in their storytelling or animation, only pursuing whatever writing, casting, or cost-cutting decisions that will line their pockets best. As someone who grew up watching these movies so much as a kid and learning about animation and storytelling and music from them, it's so disheartening to see any creativity within this corporation be crushed. Walt Disney Animation Studio's latest animated films since 2018 (Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen II, Raya and the Last Dragon, Strange World, and Wish) have all been lackluster in one way or another, with Encanto being the one exception. Disney has historically had dips in the quality of it's content, but this new trend in addition to the rise of streaming platforms (and even the introduction of AI) leads me to have little to no hope for Disney's animation going forward. Passion projects such as Hazbin Hotel are what makes me have any semblance of hope for the future of animation as a whole. Seeing one of the leading animation producers dwindle to this extent and kill any creativity brought to the table is just sad.

[jjs-brainrot]

Alright, finally started all of the anime I was planning to pick up for Fall 2024 so time to do my first impressions for the season!

Just as a reminder: This will be my ranking of these shows based purely on how I felt about the first 1-3 episodes. Continuations and anime that I've already read the source material for will be put into a separate rank after the rest.

Overall, I'd say this is looking to be another strong season with a lot of shows I'm feeling extremely excited to keep up with!

A-Tier (sold on it in 1 episode)

Puniru is a Cute Slime: Transgender slime girl who, as stated by the title, is very cute. Hilarious and adorable first couple of episodes. I'm fully in on backing Puniru for slimegirl of the season. Also: HOLY FUCK THE ED IS A COVER OF "THE SHOW" BY ADO!!!

Acro Trip: PG Gushing Over Magical Girls but not as explicitly gay and dedicating half the screen space to a fuckboy for some reason. Very strong start though my opinion on this series will hinge on how much yuri we get and if the fuckboy gets in the way of it or not.

Magilumiere Co. Ltd.: Super neat concept for a magical girl setting and has a very strong start so far. Kana x Hitomi is already my frontrunner for ship of the season.

The Stories of Girls Who Couldn't Be Magicians: Little Witch Academia but it's about the student in the general education program. Easily some of the prettiest backgrounds and art style this season. No matter what, i need to see more of this very pretty show.

B-Tier (strong start but I need a few more episodes to lock it in)

Dandadan: I was going to give it an A-Tier but the abduction scene takes it a full rank down. I'm told that's the worse it ever gets, buuuut I also don't trust shounen fans that much after trying to get through the slog that was Undead Unluck so we'll see.

C-Tier (rough start but has some promise)

Demon Lord 2099: "We have Shadowrun at home". Really hard to tell how this one will turn based off the first episode. Neat concept but could swing wildly in quality.

D-Tier (I'll stick it out but they're on thin ice)

Nothing

F-Tier (lol, no.)

I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down in History: That might be the most bland villainess isekai I've ever watched. I felt like I wasted 20 minutes of my life I'll never get back…

Good Bye, Dragon Life: interesting concept wasted on extremely bland writing. Thought about sticking with it for the Lamia girl but it's so devoid of any personality and as far as snake girls go, she's no jashin-chan…

(S)pecial-Tier (I've already read the source material or it's a continuation)

Shangri-La Frontier S2: HELL YEAH, WE'RE BACK BABY! More "Let Me Solo Her" the anime is upon us!

Natsume's Book of Friends S7: The boy with zero self-preservation skills and his chunky hard drinking talking cat are back!

DNF (Could be good, could be bad, but my brainworms stopped me from finishing episode 1)

Nothing

[wutheringmights]

2023 Reading Wrap Up

I tried starting this post about 20 times already, and no introduction is really hitting. I am quite a bit hungover, and in dire need of a rest. But alas, I want to talk about all the books I read last year.

So I had the goal of reading as much as I physically could last year. Why? After finishing my degree, I was having trouble reading for the sake of reading. I wanted to be someone who read a lot, but my self-motivated reading habit was in the dumps. My sibling and I ended up making a bet to see who could read more in 2023, and I was determined to win.

I did win, but that's besides the point. My importantly, I am now back in the habit of reading again.

I really enjoyed starting my reading tag and making little write-ups summarizing my thoughts. I really appreciate everyone being so patient with my book-posting, especially as I gradually went from writing a sentence or two to rambling bullet point lists to well-thought out reviews. If you ever interacted with one of those posts-- thank you so much! I hope to continue in this upcoming year.

So to wrap up my year of reading, I figured I would rank all of the books I read. If I read an entire series, I'll count it as one entry on the list. Also, the ranking is going to be determined less by quality and more by personal enjoyment.

All that being said, let's go~

Ranking My 2023 Reads

#17) Breaking Time by Sasha Alsberg - This was my first read of the year, and my worst. This book is near unreadable in terms of prose, and features one of the most infuriating lines I have ever read in my entire life:

Add the most unoriginal plot I have ever seen, and this makes for one bad read. I knew it was going to be bad going on, but the levels of incompetency on display here was mind-boggling.

#16) Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan - Is this the worst book I read this year? No. But it definitely pissed me off more than the others. I didn't need this book to be good; I just wanted it to be fun, but it couldn't commit to a plot line long enough to do so. I will give this book credit for having one of the unintentionally funniest villains I have ever read. That man failed upwards and it was GREAT. No notes.

#15) Ariadne by Jennifer Saint - I don't think this book is terrible, but its flaws are the most glaring to me. Structurally, it's a mess. The prose tries to use imagery to cover up how much telling it's truly doing. Both hampered an overall decent plot.

#14) Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston - This book wasn't really for me. It was an entertaining read, but the references to pop-culture were more cringey than humorous. I also could not stand how the book was ashamed to be escapist literature and tried to uplift itself with shallow critiques of American politics.

#13) Lightlark by Alex Aster - That I am putting this book so high on the list is a crime and an insult against every book ranked below it. If I was ranking off of quality alone, it would be the second worst book I read this year. Unfortunately, I started an inside joke with my friends about how I'm Lightlark's #1 Fan, which ended up increasingly my enjoyment of this very stupid book exponentially. #TeamOro

#12) Garrison Girl by Rachel Aarons - This book really isn't anything special, but its place in publishing and anime history tickles my brain. It's not bad but it's not all that good either.

#11) The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking) by Katie Mack - Someone with a more thorough baseline on science would probably find this book more enjoyable than me. As is, I didn't understand half of it.

#10) The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid - A fast, enjoyable read. I think it reveals its hand a bit too quickly, but the plot overall is really fascinating. Lacking on prose, but it didn't need a lot of it. This is a book begging to be made into a movie (which will probably be better than the book itself).

#9) A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes - What this book lacks in originality and plot, it makes up for with comprehensiveness. As much as I enjoyed reading all of its varied perspectives, I am still peeved by how Penelope's perspective was wasted and how Haynes had no interest in writing from Helen's perspective.

#8) The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin - A prime example of a book series that is objectively excellent, but was simply not for me. My interests didn't align with what the narrative thought was important. However, the characters are fantastic and what there is of the central conflict between mother and daughter is earth shattering.

#7) The Poppy War Trilogy by R.F. Kuang - An incredible fantasy series with some excellent characters and ideas. While I do think that the series is a little simplistic, it makes up for it by being endlessly entertaining. Except for the last book, which leaned too heavily into its grimdark flares.

#6) Beowulf by Unknown (Translated by Seamus Heaney) - A reread featuring a fantastic introduction from Heaney that connects the text to his Irish roots. The translation itself, while good, prioritized brevity a bit too much for my taste.

#5) Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson - A long overdue reread that reaffirmed why I found this book life changing when I first read it in junior high. Lyrical, brutal, and surprisingly funny, this book paints an honest picture of depression and trauma in adolescence.

#4) In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - A lyrical, dreamy exploration of an abusive relationship. I love how this memoir pushes the limits of its own medium as it also tries to establish a canon for abusive queer relationships. Machado's imagery is insane, and I devour it every time.

#3) The Catcher In the Rye by J.D. Salinger - My last and most surprising read of the year. I did not expect to love this novel as much as I do. I will never forgive the world for insisting that Holden Caulfield is an archetypal male manipulator when he's a traumatized kid (albeit a bratty one) who desperately wants to be feel happy.

#2) Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price - An incredible, comprehensive look on the history, culture, and legacy of the vikings. Price parses through popular fiction to bring humanity back to a historical group of people every subculture wants to claim as their own, for better and for worse. This book broke a damn in my head that was preventing me from doing world building for a piece of original fiction I want to write.

#1) The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas - I have been haunted by this book since I was a little kid, promising myself that I would one day gather the courage to read this behemoth of a story. As long as it is, every word was worth it. It was both parts entertaining and stimulating, and I ended by the book knowing why so many people call this the best book ever written.

--

And that was my year! Please feel free to share what you read this year. Let me know if there's anything I should try to read in 2024. You can also fight me about any of my opinions lol

[aqours]

Hey, question: which is better? The Yashahime anime, or the manga? And why is it so different- did they change all the plot and stuff because the anime had problems or it wasn't' well-received? Just curious!

OH MAN THIS QUESTION twitter still drives me crazy with this one, and it's funny bc once someone brought this up to me to criticize Yashahime but blocked me while i was in the middle of responding to it lmao. i'm gonna answer the second question first then the first one because i have a lot of things to say about it

it's not so much they changed it bc the anime wasn't well received or anything like that- this is a really common thing with manga adaptions of anime originals. animes are a REALLY expensive production, which is why it's usually important for animes to faithfully adapt successful mangas. because if a manga is well received, then by trying to do a faithful adaption they can try to replicate that success and make a good profit. but when an anime original comes first, this changes the dynamic a lot. this is part of the reason The Promised Neverland S2 was such an unholy disaster, S1 was an incredibly good adaption of a very well received manga and S2 completely tried to go in an original direction and it was a disaster.

the more expensive production has been made- so a manga is kind of fanservice if you think about it! so it's actually not uncommon for manga adaptions of anime originals to heavily diverge from the plot! a good example of this is any Yu-Gi-Oh! manga after the original by Takahashi. pretty much all the YGO mangas for stuff like GX, 5D's, ZEXAL, ARC - V, etc all came after the animes and all have pretty divergent plots. same mcs and usually the same settings but sometimes personalities change, they all use different decks, the main antagonist and threats change, etc! i haven't seen it, but to my understanding Romeo + Juliet's manga's plot diverges from the anime. this isn't a universal rule though, Puella Magi Madoka Magica's manga is actually a pretty faithful adaption of the anime!

it's pretty common for these manga adaptions to be like "same characters, similar but different plot" since the more expensive production is already out there, there's not much reason to adapt it into a less expensive form, so the mangakas are often allowed to take pretty big differences in their direction to write "their version" of the story in the hopes it'll attract the same audience who might be interested in a new take on it! so i don't think it had anything to do with the Yashahime anime's overall quality, it was just a pretty standard industry practice. ofc i could be wrong and if anyone knows for a fact feel free to let me know, but that's the norm for these kind of manga adaptions

now as for which is better- there's a very high consensus among a lot of people that the manga is the superior version. the Yashahime anime was plagued with MANY production issues (including, possibly, don't quote me on this, a cancelled s3 due to the company merging which resulted in like a full 12+ episodes worth of content shoved into like three and a half) and a change in directors who had a different vision, whereas the manga has always had a pretty cohesive view of what it wanted to do. Moroha and Setsuna growing up together, Towa's motivations having changed due to her being the one with amnesia, Shiina being able to take advantage of the underdeveloped villains and the strength of one good storytelling telling his vision vs. a bunch of people seem to have really helped it! the anime is unfathomably special and dear to my heart and is my favorite anime of all time despite my many issues with it, but objectively? i would probably recommend the manga first and would say i think it has consistently higher quality (i do need to badly rewatch the anime to compare and contras though)

so yeah, those are my answers! i think how bad Yashahime is is like, extremely exaggerated, but i don't think it's that great either. i would personally recommend you start with the manga and then the anime later maybe if you want more! the manga isn't a flawless masterpiece and updates monthly though: i've heard some conflicting reports saying it's starting to hit near its first half or if its over soon (it does kinda seem like the endgame is in sight), but that's just my personal take! the manga caters a lot more to my personal tastes in characterization and what it means to be good shounen while the anime has more sentimental value to me and especially Towa's characterization there

[azurextz]

Idia Shroud headcanons as a boyfriend!

GN!Reader x Idia Shroud

This blog is a "x reader" or the so said, you! Well, the gender used is none at all, everyone can read! This is pure fluffy! I wanted to share some things of my mind with some people from tumblr, also, this is very shitty and its totally made for fun, dont expect something so good...

remember, i am not a native english speaker or a very good writer, i only write this because i was bored and wanted to try something new.

Very short, and maybe some things of the character could be wrong since idk so much about him, sorry...

Idia usually would at any contact feel extremely umcomfortable, he is really a person that didn't have alot of physical affection of literally anyone, and any contact feels very weird and strange, he would try to act cool and even try to accept the touch to not make you feel bad, but you probally would see in his eyes that he was umcomfortable, was very clever when he was, which would be exacly why every time you said this in these moments he would say the truth, but of course, trying to act very cool and confident (which he failed alot, and you tried to cover just to dont make him feel embarassed, sometimes you teased him for this, but thats another thing, for another headcanon or scenario-).

Like said before, everytime you said about his faking confidence he would say the truth, though, if you stayed with your mouth shut, he would continue trying to act cool and confident as he most of the times looked (or at least tried to look, so much in front of you).

He probally lives for your compliments and praises, he act like he dont care so much, but, deep inside he feels very flustered and shy, he even feels like he is slowly going to explode, gosh!

He is trying his best to be the perfect boyfriend forever, he really do try, but sometimes he fails which makes him very insecure, like, VERY insecure, please hold him and tell him its okay and that he is a good boyfriend, before his insecurities takes over his mind (its not cool, its never cool, you dont want your boyfriend very anxious because of it, do you?).

He indeed its very anxious and stressed, any affection and love, care and attention and all lovey dovey stuff would make his day a calmer and better, i promise you, a good and comfortable hug could make his day 100 times better.

He plays alot of games, like, a very big amount, and most of the times would call you to play with him too, maybe some pizza while playing would look good? Hell yeah! Want some others things? Not pizza? Maybe some sweets? Candy?

You love to tease him, or probally would, its so fun to tease him until he turns into a flustered mess, he just looks so adorable! Kiss his cheek and say you love him, you will get a cute reaction from him, he will get the colors of a tomato as if he is doing a cosplay of an actual tomato.

Talking about cosplays, you're two do duo cosplays, usually of couples, he loves you very much and want his partner to cosplay cool couples with him, be them from animes, games or even films, at the final of all he just want to have some time with you.

His love language its more time quality or acts of service, as he would pass much time with you, and help you all the time If possible doing favors and overall trying to help you, he has his flaws, but, he really tries to be the best boyfriend you could ever have, to him, you deserve only the best.

He prefers dates in his room, he clean his bedroom, if not, the whole dorm itself to look completely, and utterly beautiful for you, he want to have perfect dates with you, so much in his room which he also himself thinks its not normal, and tries to make anything comfortable for you, he wants to have good experiences with you, not only good experiences, but fun ones.

Buys you some things you wanted, like that jewel you found yesterday, or that beautiful anime figure you found today and felt bad for dont having the money to buy.

He also says, "LOL" and "LMAO, FR" among many varied others when playing and sometimes even when not playing, he just says, nobody can change my mind about that!

He is either more chatty/talkative or very quiet, dont have in between, only some little exceptions, but, i can promise that in either way, he still listen to everything you say, he truly do.

Pretty boy, a very shy one.

FIRST WRITING, OMGGG, IM SO EMBARASSED KLAGJSJSJSS, SORRY ITS SO CRINGEY AND ANYTHING, ITS MY FIRST WRITING HERE AJSHSJS. 😭

[icannotreadcursive]

The Super Mario Bros. Movie

2023, Dir. Aaron Hovarth

Overall Quality

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️5/5

Entertainment Value

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

Story

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

Visuals and Craft

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie good?  Depends on your expectations and what metric you're measuring by.

Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie fun?  Yes.

This movie is not trying to be Oscar bait.  This movie is a 92-minute love letter to the Mario game franchise in the form of a brightly colored romp through the Mushroom Kingdom and neighboring localities.  It's for kids.  It's for grownups who love these games without being snobs about it.  

The story isn't very deep, but it doesn't need to be.  The animation is excellent.  The acting is solid—Jack Black as Bowser is, of course, a stand out triumph, but the whole cast really does well.  Yes, even Chris Pratt.  Pratt's lack of Italian accent is appropriate for the story they've chosen to tell—here, Mario is Italian-American, hailing from Brooklyn, which works narratively—and his performance suits the tone of the film.

There are some issues with the writing, most notably surrounding Princess Peach.  While I do appreciate that they show her as an active leader of her kingdom rather than a damsel, there are a few moments that still fall into casually misogynistic writing tropes, such as when several of the male characters are bickering over whether or not Peach would date someone, her response is just a playfully exasperated “Guys!” The scene would have come across better if she'd more decisively shut that down or told them off for talking about her like a prize to be won.  Peach also has one line early in the film in which she uses the word “psycho” in a derisive and ableist way—the writers could and should have phrased the intended thought differently.  For the most part, the attempt at girl-powering Peach is pretty good, it just doesn't land in some spots.

It's not a bad movie.  It's a good time.  It's chock full of easter eggs in such a way that there are more treats for you the more Mario/Nintendo/video game history and lore you know, but without detracting from the enjoyment of those who are younger or more casually interested.  It's worth a watch.

[thatneilj]

Game of the Year 2023

Originally posted January 2024 without images.

Another year managed to fly by! In personal life I got another 9-5 for the first time in a few years. Nice to be able to know I can afford rent again, but definitely kept me away from playing as many of the games I would have liked. But hey! Got through another year without catching COVID so I must still be doing something right to stay safe and protected, right? Anyway, there were some HUGE games this year, but my favorites tended not to be those. In fact, I spent a lot of this year feeling like I was getting a bit too hung up on the negatives I saw in a lot of the games I played. Still found a lot to love in my top 5 though! So enjoy this weird list that is… not so purely video games this year.

Honorables

Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End

In the last few years I’ve been putting stuff in here that aren’t video games, but this might be the first time I tossed some anime into my honorable mentions. Frieren takes the fantasy adventure premise and decides to tell the story of the world after the wizard and her party defeated the big bad evil guy. By having the long living elf be the central character it weaves a current journey with flashbacks of the heroic adventure to create a melancholy vibe with threads of comedy, intrigue, and hope. If you like fantasy and are looking for something other than boilerplate action/adventure you NEED to see watch this show.

Metroid Prime: Remastered

I’m sure there are some people out there who are shocked to see Metroid Prime: Remastered in my honorables instead of the top of the list. Yes Metroid Prime is one of my favorite (if not THE favorite) games of all time. After replaying it with this remaster that remains true. The reason it only made it into the honorable mentions is because I this remake is overall a worse product than the original Gamecube version. Yes the graphics are sharper and the textures have more detail, but some aspects of the game are actually much worse – Thermal Visor for example gets fuzzy and seems like it tanks the framerate in ways that make it much harder to use than in the original. This game is still amazing, even on Switch, but if you can play the original (and can get over the control scheme of the original) it is the better experience.

Hi-Fi Rush

Hi-Fi Rush managed to marry the rhythm game experience to a 3rd-person action game more cleanly than I ever would have expected. It makes sense that the genres would fit together, so many of these games use pauses in button presses to modify combos and such. This game brings all that to the very front and center by making the entire world pulse with the music to help you find that pace of play. I am sure the writing and tone could get on some people’s nerves – hell, in another game it would probably get on mine – but the comic book aesthetic and comedic tone grew on me as the game went. The only thing that kept this off the top 5 was that the highs of some other games excited me more than anything in this game, even though the quality was consistently better in this one.

5. Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is Team Ninja’s incredibly cool first shot at stripping a lot of the soulsborne influence they had for Nioh in favor of some much more unique systems. Frankly I loved pretty much every system they came up with. The morale system creating a strength progression within each level rewarded exploration and meant that replaying levels didn’t become trivial slogs. The spirit system replacing stamina as a resource to reward good play and letting you use your special abilities instead of punishing you attacking too many times before blocking is great.

On top of how cool those systems are, the game also has what is probably my favorite boss fight of the whole year in it. The first Lu Bu fight about half way through the game is INCREDIBLE. The way he dances between his two phases to mix up your parry timing on his critical attacks feels just right, the way the magic weaknesses work really letting you feel the difference in how to push him to swap phases more quickly. And he isn’t the only great boss in the game either!

The only real problem with the game is that it feels like it needs ONE more system in there somewhere. Bringing back the stances from Nioh, or requiring different options than just parry for some of the critical attacks the way Sekiro went about it. I’m sure there are other options too, but that one little missing spice really does end up feeling lacking by the time you’re thinking about playing New Game+.

4. Street Fighter 6

Considering I’ve spent the last 18+ months avoiding playing many fighting games I am surprised to find this was one of my most played games this year. When I started wracking my brain about how that could be I realized it’s because Capcom put in that giant World Tour single player campaign. Say what you will about it being cheezy and wildly awkward to control on a fight stick, but the fact is it worked. It’s a single player campaign that has pieces in there to help teach new players about low attack and anti-airs, it brings more character to many of the playable fighters, and it does something unique in the fighting game space for single player.

Of course, that isn’t really why I come to fighting games, but considering how incredibly lacking Street Fighter V was at launch – particularly in the single player content – this game delivered. All that says nothing about the actual core competitive game behind it all with the new drive system causing a major change in how Street Fighter has historically worked. The drive gauge is EVERYTHING in this game giving you access to a bunch of defensive and offensive tools including all your powered up special moves without needing to build up the super gauge. Running out of this new resource is also how you can be stunned, locked into scarier pressure from you opponents and more.

While I didn’t spend as much time grinding ranked matches and playing against my friends this year, everything about Street Fighter 6 feels thought out. Now I just need to find the time to commit to it more! Luckily I know it will be getting a lot of support for years to come, and I look forward to finding my own drive for it again sometime in the future.

3. Bomb Rush Cyberfunk

We all know nostalgia goes a pretty long way for me and this year Bomb Rush Cyberfunk is that pick. It manages to be a true throwback, taking all the attitude and core gameplay of Jet Set Radio, and creates a true modern successor to it. They even tossed a tiny bit of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater into the mix with their silly combo system for building a boost gauge and finding ways to make you engage with it during the turf war battles as you progress through the story.

Now I am not going to gush about how nice it is that you can always access all your sprays instead of just picking 3 before a mission, how the modern camera controls improve navigation, or how getting to pick a character doesn’t lock you out of the transport style you prefer just feels good. Instead I’m just going to gush about the soundtrack. IT IS COOL AS HELL!!! Even ignoring the fact that they got Hideki Naganuma to make a few tracks for it, this game has some BANGERS. Just to torture myself a little extra I made myself pick a top 3 off the soundtrack (in no particular order); I Wanna Kno – 2 Mello, Condensed Milk – CYBERMILK, Big City Life – Kidkanevil.

2. Super Mario Bros. Wonder

Unapologetic joy seems to have been boiled down into a goop, and painted onto Super Mario Bros. Wonder. It’s not exactly surprising to see the vibrant colors and bright musical jaunts, but the choir of piranha flowers hitting in the second level feels like a big step beyond the goofy image of a mustached frog in a hat. The thing that made this all so surprising for me isn’t that Nintendo got wild, but that the gimmicks throughout the game never felt like the mostly cheap tricks my last foray into a Mario game did.

I cannot sit here and say every single level managed to find some unique hook with the wonder flowers, in fact they do end up repeating a lot of the effects. However, every time I found one in a level I got excited to see what they would do. Sometimes it would be a change to how to play the game, like with sudden isometric segments. Sometimes it would just be causing the world to suddenly come alive to change the platforming challenge but not my fundamental approach. And as fun as all of those effects always were, some of the biggest highlights are the badge challenge levels that often felt like a ROM hack with official polish.

Anyway, I can gush about this game being my favorite Mario experience since the N64, but the real sign of how much I liked this game comes from something else. This is one of the only 2 games all year that I spent the time getting 100% completion, and would have happily played another 2-3 worlds full of levels.

1. Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

It must have been 2017 when I said to myself, “Neil, we got to try and understand what people like so much about mech stuff.” Sure I had had fun with Pacific Rim so long ago, bounced so hard off Macross and Evengelion so long ago I just needed to try again. After six years, two and a half campaigns of the Lancer TTRPG, and a handful of mech anime both good and bad I had finally developed an appreciation at the very least. Suddenly the Armored Core 6 marketing was working on me. “But wait,” I thought to myself, “Didn’t we play a little bit of like the second one of those games at a birthday party when we were like 13 and think it sucked?”  I probably did, but back then I was a very different person, and FromSoftware was making very different games.

The game asks you to operate at almost the exact same pace as Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, even bringing in a kind of posture system, to deliver an otherwise completely unique experience. The campaign is progressed through levels that can range from expansive explorations to single encounter arenas and everything in between. And of course we can’t forget how awesome some of the set pieces and bosses throughout the game are. That first time I attacked the giant walker in chapter 1 was incredible!

The plot is delivered mostly through radio-play like conversations between faceless characters, yet it manages to make many of those characters extremely memorable. Some for showing up in many missions like Rusty, but others like Pater for small things like an impression of one of his superiors. And we can’t forget how well the theming of the game plays perfectly in the same genre space as so much other mecha media. Your chance acquisition of the moniker “Raven” and the baggage it carries about being a force of freedom and choice, all while you’ve been given no choice coming to this planet in a war machine. Even once you can start making choices every one you make, no matter how far it takes you, can never separate you from your mech or its role as a weapon. Somehow all of that isn’t why Fires of Rubicon reached my top spot this year. It was for two specific reasons.

First is how the customization works; it encourages experimentation without a cost to discourage it. I know people love to talk about how many different ways you can build a character in the souls games, but I always found swapping to a new weapon meant taking not just a hit in my personal familiarity with how my approach works, but also tends to make everything harder simply because whatever new weapon I’m experimenting with needs to be invested in to level up or it won’t be effect enough for where I’m at in the game anymore. Those upgrade materials are limited! AC6 just says that the pieces are what they are, mix and match to your hearts content and see what you think feels fun! The amount of difference you can feel in how your vehicle moves, its effective ranges for attack, and structure of combat is incredible. While every level has taken precautions to make sure any mech you build should be able to get from start to finish, the range of your mech’s abilities allow for vastly different and fun experiences getting through them.

Second is because after I beat the game – three times for all the endings – I went back to it I went back to replay a bunch of missions because there were some weapons I hadn’t earned enough money for to have everything possible unlocked. Once I completed that I went back again, just to make more mechs. Rough facsimiles of the mechs my friends and I had built in our tabletop games, and then modified further still to keep the flavors but fit the builds better into the way AC6 plays. Then, for the first time in any FromSoftware game, I took the plunge into the online PvP systems. All of these games have some kind of multiplayer aspect, but I almost never engage with them at all. Entire questlines about invading enemies in Elden Ring went entirely ignored by me because that just isn’t what I come to these games for. But here I made some mechs specifically to mess around with finding ways to land the Chainsaw in 3v3, or a quick flamethrower build to dance around an opponent while making it so hard for them to see the laser drones shredding their health bars away.

Fire of Rubicon got its hooks in me so badly I have seriously debated figuring out how to revisit older Armored Core games. I was so into this game I convinced myself to sit through a pretty fucking bad anime this fall season simply because mechs were a part of it. This game is number 1 this year by a landslide.

[mediaevalmusereads]

Dark Desires. By Eve Silver. 2005 (revised 2011).

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Genre: historical romance

Series: Dark Gothic #1

Summary: Betrayed by those she trusted, penniless and alone, Darcie Finch is forced to accept a position that no one else dares, as assistant to dangerously attractive Dr. Damien Cole. Ignoring the whispered warnings and rumours that he's a man to fear, she takes her position at his eerie estate, where she quickly discovers that nothing is at it seems, least of all her handsome and brooding employer. As Darcie struggles with her fierce attraction to Damien, she must also deal with the blood, the disappearances ... and the murders.

With her options dwindling and time running out, Darcie must rely on her instincts as she confronts the man she falling in love with. Is he an innocent and misunderstood man ... or a remorseless killer who prowls the East End streets?

***Full review below.***

CONTENT WARNINGS: animal death, nonconsentual touch, blood, gore, disembodied organs, anatomical dissection, implied physical abuse, sexual slavery, implied underage prostitution, abortion, suicide

OVERVIEW: This is the next book on my Halloween Historical Romance Read-along 2024. I was intrigued by the promise of a Gothic storyline and an eerie anatomist, but as I hadn't read anything by this author before, it was also a gamble. Overall, I appreciated the indulgence of the creepy, Gothic elements, but the story and the romance left a lot to be desired. On top of that, I wasn't exactly enthused by the heroine, so as a whole, I can only award this book 2.5 stars.

WRITING: Silver's prose is about what you might expect of the romance genre. That's not a bad thing, but it does mean that there's some reliance on telling and the sentences are quick and easy to get through. There's something to be said about writing for an audience, and generally, I think Silver accomplishes that.

PLOT: The non-romance plot of this book follows Darcie Finch, an impoverished artist who finds herself working for the mysterious anatomist, Dr. Damien Cole. Darcie is hired first as a maid and then as an assistant, but after witnessing a series of strange night visitors and hearing about gruesome murders in Whitechapel, she begins to wonder if her employer is actually a fearsome murderer.

The best parts of this plot, in my opinion, were towards the beginning when there were strange goings-on but Darcie was still quite distanced from Damien. It made sense that she would be wary, and I liked that she had to grapple with tolerating Damien's behaviors or facing life on the streets.

As the plot continued, however, I was less and less intrigued by the mystery. Darcie flips back and forth, wondering if Damien is a killer, and her mood seems to relate to how horny she is. I'll day more about the romance below, but for the murder mystery elements, I thought they got weaker the longer the book went on. By the time the climax happens, I felt like most of the interesting stuff could have been built up on page, bit Darcie was too busy being fanciful and lasting after her employer.

CHARACTERS: Darcie, our heroine, was a little frustrating. While there is something to be said about her ability to do things even when she's scared, I also don't think she exhibited many other admirable qualities. Because she's always nervous or scared, she comes across somewhat passive and timid; the moment she doesn't, she gets more interesting, and I would have liked to see her have some kind of fire in her, maybe a desperation to survive. We're also told a few times that she's smart, but she's so wishy-washy on her suspicions and seems to let wild imagination get in the way of gathering evidence and applying logic, it just feels like she was having wild reactions to things in order to drive suspense.

Damien, our hero, is mysterious enough to be interesting. At the beginning, he's equal parts broody and eccentric, and I enjoyed the process of trying to uncover what was going on with him.

Supporting characters were pretty good. I liked the friendship that Darcie formed with Mary, a fellow maid, and I loved how Daecie was determined to reconnect with her sister, Abigail. Other characters were present without distracting too much from the plot, so that was nice.

ROMANCE: To be honest, I wasn't the biggest fan of the romance between Darcie and Damien. The first thing that bothered me was the power imbalance: Damien is Darcy's employer and has the power to render her destitute, so I was hoping the book would do something to offset that economic power dynamic and put them on more equal footing in some other way. Unfortunately, Darcie wasn't one to make snarky comments or challenge Damien in any real way. She's vaguely kind to him, but even with kindness, I didn't feel like they were equals and Darcie had to depend on Damien economically and emotionally.

Furthermore, I could not understand why Damien fell in love with Darcie. Even he seems not to know; multiple times in the book, he remarks upon how "something" keeps drawing him to her. Sometimes, Silver tries to make it seem like Darcie's bravery and kindness are inspiring, but there's nothing on the page that sets Darcie apart from other people (and no, I wasn't convinced that she was singularly brave for being willing to make diagrams of human organs). By the end, the relationship felt fairly lop-sided, with Darcie being utterly obsessed with Damien and Damien exhibiting a "softer" affection that somehow turns to love.

Perhaps I am being overly harsh. After all, the two do share some emotional intimacy and trust each other with their secret pasts. But even so, I felt like nothing interesting was done with those pasts. Darcie did very little out of the ordinary to convince Damien that he was loved and was a good man; Damien did very little to help Darcie be brave on her own (she does it herself, which is great, but then seems to go right back to relying on Damien - so maybe she could have learned instead not to be so independent?).

TL;DR: Dark Desires starts out intriguing but quickly shows that it is not interested in developing a coherent mystery or believable romance. By the end, I felt there was still a power imbalance between the main couple, and little work was done to convince me that they were actually in love.

[blacksgarden]

how hare you doing luv? I hope your doing good and life is working well for ya. I have wanted to know about your writing for some time and would you be open to show me some of it? You can just send me a massage if you don't want everyone to see it.

Anyways here's a flower 'couse you are one and you make everyone smile.💐😁

Can you see the Bee in the flower?

Love you❤️💐❤️

Hello, lovely!!! I've missed you so much! I've been doing quite well, thank you for asking 😁 How have you been? Any new paintings? Or pieces of writing? I've been reading some of your works and honestly luv, you're English has been improving a lot. Be proud of that, because I certainly am. Learning a language is not easy, yet you make it look so easy. Been missing Tumblr so I'll be be more online 👀

I've already posted a little snippet a while ago of my writing. It's here if you'd like to check it out. Although... I have woken one morning with a really good idea for a plot and I could write it out post that.

You make me blush with your compliments, luv. 🙈 Also, I LOVE that flower and yes I can see the little bee! What flower is that? It's really pretty but I've never seen it before. Prolly because it's too hot where I live. Your camera quality is top tier, I'm almost jealous! Don't worry, I don't mean that in a bad way.

I saw your comment on my birthday post and since you wanted to know all about it, I've decided to tell you all about it on here.

Thank you for the wish!! My birthday is on the 11th of June and I didn't really tell anyone because I didn't want to seem attention seeking, in a way... I don't know, I was overthinking and now you missed my birthday 😭 I'm sorry, luv. At least now, we both know each other's birthdays and won't miss. If I remember correctly you share the same birthday as James Potter, correct? Was it the 27th of March?

You're so sweet that you wanted to bake me a cake and and sing me a song even if I'm not there physically 💛 On the day itself, it was quite a chill day. Just a nice dinner with family. It was a weekday so people were busy which was fair. The next day we went to a little farm that I went as a child to, so it was sort of hilarious to compare the pictures taken then and now. The time that has passed was crazy I tell you. I could share some of the pictures I took of the animals there, if you'd like. Though I must warn you that my camera is not as clear as yours is 😭

Then on the 27th we celebrated it properly with my friends and it was so fun! It had been quite a while seen I last saw them and we were all very happy to meet up again. We played pool, had a nice dinner then went out for a little walk before deciding to rent two golf carts to drive around the area. Overall it was a really fun night, and an even more memorable birthday.

The gifts I received were extremely thoughtful and lovely. My mum got me a bouquet of flowers, my dad paid for the dinner, and my friends got me a variety of things that were very considerate. Got a whale plushie, a little small 3d resin frame I'm supposed to paint myself, an adorable flask, a Harry Potter music box (I still play with it for fun once in a while, it just makes me feel so giddy!), a bracelet with a crocheted bouquet of flowers... Though my favourite part was to read the little cards and letters I got because it just means a lot to me. To see their writing and how they genuinely care about me, especially my girls. Just love them so much.

That's all from my side. I'll be sending you an ask in return to check up on you 😆 Thank you for your asks as always because I just love replying to them. I just love talking to you in general because you're such a wonderful person who manages to lighten people's day. 💛

[keets-writing-corner]

Here's the youtube version for those that prefer it

and here's the one with added vocals cuz why make this perfect piece even better

gawd as someone whose taste in music is 90% soundtracks from movies, videogames and shows, Million Knives stands out as one of my alltime favorites, and this is coming from a list of several hundred songs that I've listened to. Let me tell you this song is TOP TIER

If there is a song I would tell people to listen to to get them hooked onto the trigun OST, it's this one. It's gorgeous. It's sweeping, it's powerful, it's uplifting, it's tragic, it's hopeful, it's desperate it's everything. It makes use of both traditional orchestra and electronic sounds, but they blend so perfectly together you never would've been able to tell. It knows how to use contrast perfectly, going from soft to powerful, from loud to quiet and introspective, and it always feels like it's meant to be there, it flows beautifully, it's not jarring

Thematically in the show it has a lot of weight to it as well. It's played when the titular big bad himself Million Knives shows up and starts wreaking absolute bloody carnage, but as much as his own arrogance would like to claim it as his own, especially since it's usually played with him there, it's not actually his theme. It's the PLANT theme. Something he doesn't wholely represent by himself. His brother is a plant just like him, and of course there's all of their sisters as well. While the theme usually plays with him around, it doesn't ONLY play when he's around. And thus the theme is also symbolic of the main conflict between him and Vash

It's the desperate conflict, the tearing apart of bonds and loyalty of two brothers who love each other and just wants the other to be a part of their life, but ultimately their polar opposite views on humanity's relationship with plants and themselves drives them apart until there is no salvaging that relationship. This song is them desperately trying to ignore this conflict while also every time being thrust headfirst into it and it's unavoidable

ugh I could write a whole 50 page analysis on the entirety of the Trigun Stampede OST and it starts with this piece. Millions Knives is THE piece that ties a lot of things together. Granted I haven't listened to many other new anime osts this year, but as someone who's a major soundtrack nerd and enthusist, I'm pretty good at judging the overall quality of an OST and this song is defacto easily on my top 5 recommendations to people. It is a gorgeous 1000/10 piece

The Trigun Stampede score is a masterpiece of musical storytelling and wasn’t even nominated for Best Score at the Anime Awards, let alone the winner. Tatsuya Kato was ROBBED.

How can anyone listen to “Millions Knives” and think that track ALONE isn’t even nomination worthy?

[hotpocketcasserole]

X Files Season 2

Alright, my husband and I are pretty solidly into season 3 by now and I've just been tired and haven't felt up to writing my thoughts about season 2.

I'm still very tired but I'm going to give it a shot before I forget about 90% of season 2. I can tell you that the success of the first season is very apparent in the production value. The special effects, the make up, even the quality of the film seemed to improve drastically between seasons. I also feel like the writers felt like they could get away with a bit more now. It feels a lot edgier, there's a bit more gore than before, despite being restrained by the boundaries of what's allowed on television.

I feel like there are a lot more memorable episodes this season as well. The first time I watched this season I remember being very surprised at some of the plot points and revelations, particularly about Mulder's sister. Not surprised by them but rather how early they appeared in the lifetime of the show. I thought for sure that we wouldn't see Samantha Mulder until much later in the series but as it turns out (Spoiler: she wasn't really his sister, she was an alien/human hybrid clone).

Again, I don't have time to talk about every episode but I do want to talk about a few notable ones for me. Most of the episodes in this season were exceptionally good.

Best Episodes: S2 E5 / E6 / E8 - Duane Barry / Ascension / One Breath

An absolute knockout trilogy of episodes. The saga of Duane Barry and Scully's abduction is not just one of the best stories in the series but a watershed moment for the show. While season one had some defining plot points, Scully's kidnapping feels like it really shaped the show and affected everything to come.

Great Episodes:

S2 E13 - Irresistible An incredible episode. It dealt with a lot of really heavy topics I won't get into but the moment at the end where Mulder and Scully hug after she finally breaks and shows her own vulnerability. Pfaster is such a terrifying villain as well.

S2 E3 - Blood A classic episode. Though it feels like the idea of rogue technology and conspiracies of the public being drugged with mind altering substances are themes that pop up sort of frequently. Not complaining too much since those are often really good episodes.

S2 S22 - F. Emasculata An episode that almost feels less like the X Files and more like a suspense contagion movie. One of those race-against-time episodes that keep you engaged all the way to the end. It was also particularly graphic with pulsating boils and some rather stomach churning moments.

S2 S20 - Humbug A rather lighthearted and silly episode despite the looming murders that grip a town of side show performers.

S2 E16 / E17 - Colony / End Game A good two parter that expands on the alien/human hybrid and clone mythos and introduces one of the most intimidating villains of the show, the alien bounty hunter.

Bad Episodes:

S2 E11 - Excelsis Dei An interesting but disturbing episode. I don't want to go too much into the rather triggering matters but I like the idea of an episode about astral projecting and if I remember correctly, there are other episodes about that but done a little better.

S2 E18 - Fearful Symmetry Not the worst episode but not very memorable. I'd completely forgotten about it until it came on and I was like, 'Oh yeah, this is the one about the zoo animals that turn invisible.'

S2 E12 - Aubrey Just kind of a dull episode. Terry O'Quinn from lost is in this episode and is really good! It's just a shame that the episode overall was nap inducing.

The Worst Episode: S2 E7 - 3 A boring, moody mess. I do think an episode solely about Mulder or Scully is a great idea but it doesn't work here. I do think they're both great working together but the melancholy that looms over the whole episode, and the fact that it's trying hard to be some kind of erotic vampire thriller, just turns it into a brooding, mumbling mess.

Overall a great season!

[yuudamari]

I'm curious about your thoughts on the anime adaptation of the hidden inventory arc , you said in one of your reblogs you "it sucked " i couldn't realy see what was bad about it ... maybe bc i was really focused on the animation instead of general quality.

Anyway thoughts?

Thank you so much for the compliment <3 means a lot!!

As for jjk s2...How do i put it. I guess to me it was just a pretty bad adaptation. You see, jjk as a whole has terrible pacing issues, but i feel like in season 1, with a little bit of padding they were able to fix it. Even in the movie, they addeda lot of padding for it to make sense and the pacing to feel a bit more natural, so i guess i was expecting that they would do the same for this season. To me, Hidden inventory is the best arc of all jjk. Not only for what it tells but in general i just feel like its the One thing of all jjk that gege was clear on. Like it's the one thing they had fully written. So it was very well done, even with the pacing issues specially through the end. I was very excited to see it animated!

And the first ep was great really, so it brought my hopes up. Animation was great, the padding and extra scenes they added in the first ep made me believe they were going to do that for the rest of the season then they...didn't? I feel like it was all strangely directed.Episode 2 and was decent. Nothing to write home about but nothing terrible. Episode 3 and 4...I find myself not liking stretching out the fights, specially the first fight against toji. The point of it, to me, was how fast it is. How little Satoru could do and how quickly he goes down. But also, it could be that i just do not like toji, and seeing him take up so much screen time specially when the lasst episode felt so rushed well. I hate that.

Episode 5...well it was just a whole mess. You would never guess 2 years have passed since Riko's death because well, they just don't tell you at all do they. It's scene after scene with no time to let you digest Suguru's feelings, or anyone's feelings at all! Haibara's death is almosst unimportant to the anime, Nanami saying that Satoru should do everything for them is a thrownaway sentence for it. Even Suguru finding the kids...the kids are barely even on screen. I truly feel like there was no emotion or feeling to any of it all. And you reach the climax, the confrontation between Satoru and Suguru and it was also weirdly directed. The cuts,the animation, there was no..heart to it. At least to me. I feel liek the voice acting wasn't even fitting to it, strangely. I don't know it all felt incredibly lackluster, like they just wanted to get it over with so they could go to shibuya's all action scenes. It's upsetting ssspecially when they did emotion and feeling so well in the jjk0 movie

And for the animation...well it was terribly influenced by the big hit that chainsaw man was, and I take issue with that. Animating More frames doesn't make it good. There was no...attention to detail i guess you could say. Or to omuch to it? attention to detail that was unnecessarily given attention to. Does that make sense. Like you're trying to make up for something, like every shot has to be aethetically pleasing but you're not worrying over if the animation or the shot or the direction is helping the story.

Sorry i went for so long alsksdsh but those are my overall feelings! Of course it's all personal, and no one has to agree with me. Maybe I just had a lot of expectations?

[ashitomarisu]

I'm Standing on a Million Lives (Final Thoughts)

Remind me again what the hell was supposed to be the main plot?

Listen. I thought it would take longer to do this post but after watching the last three episodes, my mind has been made up: COVID AFFECTED THE SERIES PRODUCTION SO FAR UP ITS ASS THE WRITING AND DIRECTION AWKWARDLY STRUGGLED TO STAY ON TRACK.

This conclusion came to be after a few things:

The concept sounded interesting but the Game Master felt vague in almost every episode

Adding in new characters out of nowhere without much context or expansive backstory/lore

obvious production hell under a pandemic and such

the last few episodes of the second season just...IDK what the hell happened but it seems rushed or certain key plot points were axed at the last minute due to time restraint

Now, let me take a moment to address something else. Despite the music being actually pretty good, I feel like incorporating music talents from a label like Lantis was a risky/dick move.

How so? Sure, the staff thought it would be nice to give Kinchan an opportunity to have her songs be used for anime OP/ED since her solo artist debut was in the fall of 2020. However, I REALLY REALLY don't think the music fits well to this series. (Heck, Liyuu could have been better off with her music in another anime tbh).

Anti world may sound fitting lyrically and arrangement-wise but the quality of the song is TOO GOOD to be in an anime with questionable writing and direction. Same goes for Subversive, which I LOVE to pieces; the ending sequence...I just don't get why they hyped such a character when she is barely in the anime.

For once, I actually want to question Anime News Network about the rating for this because both seasons had pretty decent to high ranks for it.

-------

Although, if there's one idea that had me begging for its own anime spinoff, YOU BETTER BELIEVE I'D LIKE TO SEE MAJIHA SISTERS.

YOU WENT AND MADE AN HOMAGE TO PRECURE IN EPISODE 11 AND LITERALLY GONE FULL THROTTLE WITH THE IDEA ONLY TO NOT MENTION IT AGAIN THROUGHOUT THE EPISODE.

What a tease, but such an opportunity if they gave a damn. It's too bad the cast in the first season didn't return for S2.

(Unfortunately, this may never happen since A) supposedly, the second season did so poorly to not garner another season and B) Game Master teased the "Majiha Purple Murder Case" in a preview during the end of one of the episodes.)

(BTW, the ISML fandom apparently hates Yuka but she was the only character (other than Glenda or even the Majiha Sisters) to pique my interest, which obviously tells you something)).

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Overall, this suffered the same ordeal as Healin Good Precure with the direction and writing being heavily affected due to the crisis; had this been delayed to late 2021 or last year, MAYBE the quality could have improved? To recommend it would be a bold faced lie, but if you're REALLY curious, read the manga first before tackling the anime adaptation. (I made that mistake...btw).

Not even the four Aqours seiyuus could save this...

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With that, thank you for being patient. My job hasn't been so damn kind lately and not an opportunity has come yet to leave this hellhole of a skeleton crew. The WHEEL OF WATCHES really decided to pull such a trap on me, but this also means better choices are ahead. What will this contraption choose for me in April?? Stay tuned in three weeks to find out. Until then, here's hoping you don't end up being summoned by its star crotch to become a farmer.