#I felt like writing Daigo being cute

[akkivee]

i was going to type out a huge post about the stage since i snuck in one last full watch before it went away but tumblr killed my post as i was making it and i don’t feel like making another one lol

so new encounter thoughts: clifnotes version!!!!! it’s fitting bc that’s what this stage was anyway lol

i enjoyed myself!!!!! i wasn’t disappointed by any performances, tho since i was ride or die for akira ichiro and ayukawa jakurai, i felt those losses keenly lol. i was also surprised how much i felt like i was missing aramaki sasara watching this play lol. there were some changes to the origin stories, ofc lol, but the stage has always had superior bb takes so i really appreciate them changing ichiro’s more shallow dismissal of his bros in canon to him being scared for them after what happened with samatoki and chuuoku. it’s his biggest conflict in these battles so i appreciate them making it a primary focus

i read a tweet from a fan idk who they originally stanned but said they were considering becoming a hama lady after the stage and abso-fcking-lutely LOL uehara-san is incredible as samatoki, yuki-san can also inspire the masses with his looks and dancing and flow and tho stage rio didn’t have much presence in the play, him opening his heart to samatoki thru their battle and then teaming up with the both of them after fighting together is a great slight change to their origin story

*slams thru the wall like the kool aid man* AND THE NEW BAT HAIYUU ARE ACTUALLY MAGNIFICENT like backwards order since i have Things to say about nakanishi kuukou lol but nakatsuka-san’s hitoya is very cool!!!! his voice envokes almost the same amount of hype takeuchi-san’s voice does for me, like it’s deep and rough when he’s going and it’s sooooooo good. stage hitoya in the legends era cared for jyushi certainly, but i don’t think he flat out babied jyushi as much as he did in new encounter like my god lmao. it might be more indicative of the difference between actor’s personalities lol and i suppose hitoya did try to get kuukou to lighten up on jyushi when they first got started. also, there was this look he gave kuukou when kuukou started to goad him into being on his team that exuded cool charisma i think nakatsuka-san might be another actor too cool for hitoya LOL

i didn’t think it was possible for a jyushi to be even more baby than daigo-san’s but goddamn i think sakayori-san managed it LOL and again i do think some of that is bc of the source material they were adapting. i saw reports that new encounter jyushi was kinda spoiled by his team and i could see the undercurrents of that in the way kuukou would pat his back when getting up or the way jyushi would lean into hitoya and hitoya would actually wrap an arm around him lol. but i’m not complaining ITS CUTE. sakayori-san’s silhouette is so crazy like his build i think is exactly the way i envisioned jyushi’s so i kept vibrating out of my seat whenever he did a flourish and i got to see his figure lmao. i saw a report commenting that he needed to work on his vkei mode voice bc it was hard to differentiate and maybe???? idk i could tell the difference just fine, even if his voices don’t have as much of a gap as sakakihara-san or daigo-san’s

i want to throw up out of excitement thinking about nakanishi kuukou which is how i know he’s officially part of the kuukou brainrot LOL he’s kuukou!!!!!! he is so purely kuukou that everything i feel about kuukou is pushed onto him and i feel like i should apologise rn bc that comes with a heaping dose of objectification!!!!!! but it’s chill!!!!!!! *kicks down a wall* HES GOT MUSCLE ON HIS TINY FRAME!!!!!!!!!!!! like when he gets going going, that jacket starts slipping off and the camera caught just the right angle and lighting to show the contours on his arm muscles and i started yelling!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thick neck thick calves thick arms HES BUFF!!!!!!! BLESS NAKANISHI-SAN!!!!! and thankfully it’s not for the aesthetic like he’s athletic asf too with jump kicks backflips air somersaults and the like. he is probably the best person to have gotten the role after someone like hirono-san, whose kuukou has shaped the character so thoroughly that even in this new stage, direction choices were made to preserve the hype his kuukou envokes. if the writing on nakanishi kuukou stays the course, it’d honestly be a bonus to have that extra hype kuukou lol. and on that note

I DONT HATE STAGE KUUKOU WRITING LOL🙌🙌🙌

now it’s just an origin story so there’s plenty of time for shit to go awry but rn i’m feeling massively satisfied lol. there were some lines that were raising my hackles but frfr??? that’s just me being sensitive after all these years lol it’s fine. no nod to kuukou’s history with ichiro but tbh i don’t come to the stage for that lol but it made me think of the complaint that nagosaka’s get together story felt rushed compared to the other divisions. and they were lol but i’m not sure if that’s the stage’s fault or the source material. on bat’s side, bc they formed nagosaka alongside the og teams in the stage, ramuda’s development thru bat got axed in favour of jyushi falling for rei’s scam that brought dh together. it’s a choice that further isolates nagosaka so while within the stage narrative it makes sense (does jyushi’s character a disservice tho), it kinda annoys me thinking about the long term lol but it’s probably not going to matter in the long term either so ultimately it’s fine. i guess. maybe lol

one last nakanishi-san ramble and i’m done lol but that fanservice part really showed off his charm lol like when he rolled up on some fans arms spread wide and demanding their ears and attention!!!!!! 😫😫😫😫🙏🙏🙏🙏 and as he was heading back on stage, there was a lone bat fan along that aisle so he paused and leeeeeeeeaned back into that backtrack and flashed the bat hand sign at her and i couldn’t stop my unholy noises even if i tried he’s so cute omfg help he’s adorable like actually 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜

[eurofox]

Judgement review

Finished the Yakuza games that’s not really a Yakuza game and it was really great. I was kind of wary, a whole bunch of new characters to get used to but this is probably one of my top ranking games in the RGG universe. This is a good game to jump into even if you don’t know anything about the Yakuza series too and just want something with a good plot.

Spoilers

The Good Shit:

The story is great. They’ve really tightened their writing skills and I was hooked the whole way through. Far less wacky conspiracies (though there was some) and more focused. I unfortunately spoiled the reveal of The Mole beforehand but I don’t think I would have guessed. No stupid ‘oh no the bad guy got his gun again!’ bullshit this time around thank god, that was really tiresome. The whole ‘for the greater good’ theme was done very well and personally hit hard, alziehimers is a topic that hits home for me. It all tied in well and nothing felt like a waste of time.

Fighting is still great while being different enough from Kiryu’s to keep it fresh. I found the game easier overall, not sure if that’s Yagami being easier to use or if the game is just easier anyway.

Looks great. Same as YK2 really.

I didn’t think they’d let you beat up a load of doctors doing their rounds but they did! How gaming should be

Yagami isn’t as likeable as Kiryu but I warmed to him eventually. He’s a lot less dumb and props to him for actually disarming his opponents. He can be pretty funny at times, he’s fairly dry.

Cast is solid all round really and there was no last minute ‘big bad’ introduced like Jingu. You interact with everyone plenty so they get time to grow and shine, good and bad. Some great female characters who weren’t just damsels in distress. More morally grey characters. And a redemption arc where the guy isn’t instantly killed off? Amazing. Unheard of.

Hoshino was cute and tbh I was scared he was going to get the Rikyia treatment and end up in a dumpster with his eyes gouged out but they let my boy live. A guy who just wants to do his job and avoid the extra responsibilities, after my own heart LMAO

Some good tracks here, Murase’s boss theme and the long battle theme stand out, as well as ‘it’s showtime’

Kamurocho Go was handy.

That yakuza car heat action LMFAO

I enjoyed the investigation scenes.

The chase scenes are also done well here, I enjoyed them a lot as a change of pace

Drone parts are ok

Onomichio returns

The Bad Shit:

Tailing missions got very tedious very fast. I get it’s detective work, but it was boring. And that last one with the glove guy really got irritating when he got lost in the crowds. Took me 15 attempts as I kept losing patience as it goes on so long.

Maybe I didn’t use it right, but Crane style never felt that useful.

Mortal wounds is a bullshit concept and just made shit more annoying than it had to be.

Kaito could have had a bit more screentime, he disappers off a lot.

I get yagami isn’t a built like a tank like Kiryu, but he seems to get knocked on his arse a lot easier and takes way too long to get up.

Why is Kurowia such a powerhouse? Never really got that.

Dice and Cube hurts my eyeballs

The second Saori mission was pretty cringe inducing and the comments from Kaito and Yagami were gross. Really irritated me

Kim can get fucked. Whiny bitch. And constantly having to deal with those Keihin  gangs on his behalf was so fucking annoying, much worse than street thugs considereing they could do mortal damage.

Some shit I saw coming a mile off, like Sugihara actually being Emi’s brother.

What is with that weird gimp, he was in 6 and back here again and it’s never explained? WTF is with him.

I never quite got if it’s meant to be part of the same world as yakuza or not. The same shops and even staff appear. Sure, the Tojo clan is there, but Daigo and the rest are never mentioned nor seem interested in the crazy shit going on, even if it is a third rate family at the centre of it. Kiryu is mentioned indirectly once (maybe more, I stuck to the main story), and evidence of his shenanigans is there, like Shangri-La. Date is never mentioned, even though his police division is involved. But the timelines don’t seem to match up with what happened in 7? I’ve not played that one yet actually, so maybe it works somehow, but it did get confusing. I know they wanted to keep this separate so newcomers wouldn’t feel lost.

A great game altogether, even if you never played Yakuza. The story is the real draw of this game, really engaging with a solid cast. Nobody felt wasted, which is unfortunately often the case in other titles.

[stingslikeabee]

( DANCE ) - for our muses to dance at a ball

royalty RP memes . accepting

Recently, it felt like Melissa and Daigo never had a moment of rest when abroad visiting the Drysdells; her parents were constantly inviting them to all sort of events with friends, work colleagues or just their favorite neighbors. If they had a social function to attend – they were very adamant about having Melissa together with them, as well as her fiancé.

Their excuse was the lack of quality time together during all the other years when they were much less available due to Edgar’s duties to the army; as well as missing their oldest daughter so very much. But, if the former hostess was honest to herself, she suspected it had a bit to do with Daigo – her parents were so smitten with him; they had adopted the ex-chairman like a son and there was never a moment where they did not ask about him.

And doing anything with Melissa but without Daigo led them to feel incomplete – like a family outing missing a member. It was hilarious how they did not have the same approach to Heather’s boyfriend (and whether it was because they were not officially hitched or because Dylan failed to win old man Edgar over, the ex-hostess never knew) – but Daigo didn’t seem to mind. In fact – Melissa suspected he had grown fond of the attention and the affection that was so openly offered to him when he had starved for that sort of contact for so long when younger.

That Friday evening found them doing something entirely different – no barbecues, trips to the beach, shopping for a new motorhome or revamping their fitness room. Eleanor was friends with mostly the entire board of the local literary association, and they were keen on throwing different, thematic balls alluding to specific periods of time where important books had been written.

That week was honoring Jane Austen – and observing the dress code was mandatory. While they were out renting costumes, it amused Melissa to no end that finally – finally! – Daigo would be free to dress up as he saw fit instead of donning a suit as he usually did when the Tojo hosted Halloween parties; and yet – he ended up in a three-piece ensemble of sorts anyway. Granted, Melissa had never seen him in a high-cut coat with tails, or such a lovely high purple cut vest – and the combination with the period form-fitting breeches and boots was truly something. He looked so very dashing – even when his obviously Japanese features contrasted with such a traditional European attire.

Melissa herself decided to go for a high-waisted gown with long and simple lines, the fabric feeling soft and delightful to her fingers despite the lovely embroidery work. Her dress was of a pale lavender hue that looked pretty next to Daigo’s darker vest, and which paired nicely with her elbow length gloves, as well. The pearl necklace around her neck – now that had not been rented; her fiancé had merely walked into a jewelry shop and purchased the genuine item for her when he learned of the theme for ball, gifting it to Melissa the night before with a gentle kiss to her temple and the collective sighs of adoration and approval from the girls in her family (even Rose).

They had made somewhat of an impression when they arrived – and Melissa credited it mostly to the very foreign looks of her impressively tall soon-to-be-husband, but later she realized it had more to do with the fact that they were killing it on the dance floor – period ball or not; Daigo could dance, and so could her. It was probably one of the most surprising abilities about the ex-chairman in her opinion: no one typically looked at a yakuza and assumed they knew how to waltz well.

And yet – he did; he was obviously a level above the majority of the guests, and Melissa had always showed natural talent and grace for dancing since she was a kid. With Daigo leading, it was both easy and a delight to follow, and even if they were the center of the attention now – they hardly noticed it, too entranced by each other to care about the ball itself. It was truly Jane Austen-worthy – their dance was filled with emotion, their locked gazes full of love and mutual adoration, their whispered words and smiles the perfect picture of a blissfully happy couple.

Whatever hardships Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy had faced – they couldn’t hope to compare to the real-life struggles that Daigo Dojima and Melissa Drysdell had endured.

“May I cut in?” a voice suddenly interrupted them, and Melissa blinked to find her mother standing by their side, her smile wide and her eyes shining with excitement. Eleanor was clearly in her element – surrounded by family and friends, and overjoyed to see her loved ones having fun. Hers had always been a quieter and more subtle personality, but during certain events she truly blossomed.

“Hi there, mom. Didn’t see you arriving,” Melissa commented with an airy laugh, stepping away from her fiancé but leaving her hand over his shoulder while turning around to face her mother. She realized she could do with a drink – how long had they been dancing for?

“Of course you didn’t, my dear. You two only had eyes for each other,” Eleanor said in a loving tone, then gently grabbed one of her daughter’s hand, but shared a look between the two of them, “Would you allow me to borrow your fiancé for a dance? I will love your father until the day he dies, but Edgar has two left feet.”

Melissa had to laugh – well, wasn’t that the truth. Edgar was good at many things – dancing just happened to not be one of them in that lifetime. She barely needed to look up to Daigo for his opinion – the way he gently squeezed her around the waist and disentangled himself from the ex-hostess told her enough. The ex-chairman liked Eleanor very much – many were the tales and myths about mothers in law (and Melissa had been terrified of hers once, too) – but not Daigo. He had genuine fondness for Eleanor and looked more than happy to indulge her.

“I promise I will take good care of Eleanor.”

“I’m sure she’s as safe as she’ll ever be,” a quick peck on her fiancé’s face sealed the deal, and she finally stepped away. “Have fun, you two – enjoy being led by a professional for a change, mom.”

“Oh, I will.”

[itsybitsylemonsqueezy]

sorry for asking again! totally up to you if you want to write more from me, but i’m absolutely in love with what you write! it’s so soft and nice and i hope it’s okay to request another two for kazumaji? 32 and 47 if you don’t mind, and again, totally up to you :) sorry and thanks again! 💕

Of course! I take repeat requests always c: Soon I will reblog better prompt lists and then we’ll really have some magic xp And you are so sweet! I am trying to provide for this fandom. Soon I will have another proper fic up as well, so hold tight c: Soon, many good things c:

32. Who remembers what the other one always orders at a restaurant?

“I’ll have the green curry and he’ll have Tom Yum with extra pepper flakes,” Kiryu explained to the waiter after barely a glance at the menu. 

Majima spluttered.

“Very good, sir.” The waiter smiled, taking the lacquered menus back and breezing off before Majima could find the words to complain. 

“The fuck was that, I hadn’t even looked yet!” 

Kiryu raised an eyebrow. “You said you had things to do tonight,” he said with a shrug. 

“The boys can play by themselves for a minute,” Majima pouted, flapping a hand, “why’d’ya order for me?”

Kiryu picked up his water glass to hide his face. “Well, it’s just...” he trailed off, muttering as he took a sip. 

Majima dipped his fingers in his water and flicked the drops at Kiryu, making him flinch. 

“Majima-”

“Tell me or this whole fucking glass is going in your lap.” He lifted the glass, sloshing it threateningly. 

Kiryu sighed and put his water back down, but focused on the table between them. “It’s just whenever we get Thai, you always order the same thing.” His eyes glanced up at Majima briefly, then back at the table. 

“I do not!” Majima folded his arms. “Just the other day we were having, what was it,” he snapped his fingers trying to remember, “that pho stuff...”

“That’s Vietnamese, not Thai,” Kiryu sighed.

“Well it was different!” Majima pouted, “It had chicken in it, this is fish!”

“Yes, I'm not...” Kiryu stopped and smiled slowly. “I like that you order the same thing every time.”

Majima blinked, looking up from his petulance. “You what?”

Kiryu kept smiling sheepishly. “I think it’s cute. You know what you like so that’s what you get. It’s consistent and reliable. Like you.” He turned a little pink as he said it.

Majima’s eye went saucer wide and he grabbed his own water, gulping quickly in a desperate attempt to hide his face. 

Kiryu chuckled a little. “Don’t drown.”

Majima reluctantly put his glass down and wiped his mouth. “Shit, Kiryu-chan, you’ve gotta warn a guy before ya say shit like that,” he muttered, still covering part of his face with his gloved hand. 

“I’m sorry,” Kiryu said, not really meaning it. 

Majima sniffed. “You can make it up ta me by buying dinner.”

“I was already buying dinner!” Kiryu protested. 

“Well you can buy me two dinners since I like this stuff so much,” he retorted.

Kiryu sighed. “I was just say-”

“How ya desperately in love with me, I know,” Majima interrupted, smirking.  

Kiryu flushed. “Bastard,” he muttered. 

“And doncha forget it!” Majima grinned.

47. Who says I love you first? How did it happen?

(Oh mannnn. So, there’s SO many options for this, we don’t even... just. So Many. But I'll pull out one that seems like a terrible choice so hopefully no one’s seen this one before xp)

They were putting Majima away. Majima was in handcuffs and they were putting him away. 

Kiryu pushed to the front of the crowd. “Majima-onii-san!” 

Majima lifted his head, until now indolent as a horse being lead to the glue factory. “Kiryu-chan?” Majima’s eye lit up when he saw him and he started straining at his chains. The police pulled hard on his shoulders, but Majima paid them no mind, dragging them with him to stand in front of Kiryu. 

“What’s going on, what’s happened?” Kiryu asked, unconsciously running his eyes over Majima looking for injury, “Who did this to you?”

“Kiryu-chan...” Majima sighed, looking at him mournfully, “It was Daigo-san.”

Kiryu started, staring wide-eyed at Majima’s face. “What? Daigo? He’d never!”

Majima nodded heavily, ignoring the sharp tug on his arm even as his body jerked with the strain. 

“No, no, there must be some mistake, he’d never do this to you.” Kiryu bit his lip, hands clenched on the safety rail. 

Majima shook his head. “That doesn’t matter now. Kiryu-chan, you’re going to have to fix this. I’m sorry,” he swallowed hard, “Truly, I’m sorry.”

Kiryu’s throat closed. “Don’t say that, you did everything you could.”

Majima just hung his head. “I tried, but... I failed you.” 

“Majima-” Kiryu felt his hand leave the railing and reach for Majima. 

The police cried out, threatening him with arrest too, roaring at the spectators to get back or face prosecution. 

Kiryu felt his fingers just brush Majima’s cheek as he lifted his head before he was finally jerked back by the addition of a third officer pulling him by the waist. 

Majima choked on something and swallowed hard; there were tears in his eye. Kiryu was half over the railing, straining to get to him. 

“I love you, Kiryu-chan,” he whispered, “You’re all I’ve got.” 

Kiryu felt the world fall silent, his heart stilled, as Majima’s tears rolled over and he was finally successfully forced into the car and driven away. Then all at once, the screaming, the jostling, the hot flush on his face, the pounding of his aching heart. With the whole world in the balance, all he could think of was that he had to tell Majima too.

[reversemoon255]

Fifth Review: Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger

Controversial take: I think this is a good series. Not the best, but certainly not bad. And there are some people who read that and question what I'm talking about because they either love the series or think it's terrible. Well, for the first half of this series' run, most of the people I talked to did not like this series, to the point that I stopped talking to people about it. Now, I didn't stop because I thought their opinions were invalid, or because I was mad, but because hearing all that criticism was negatively impacting my opinions. I'd come off episodes feeling good, listen to what other people were saying, and suddenly my opinion would lessen. Ryusoulger does have some issues, but I feel like they were ballooned out of proportion to the point that the shadow they cast prevented people from seeing some very positive things this series had to offer.

The Good: This is a very trope heavy series, with both the goods and bads that come with that. And that does make sense, as this series was supposed to be a ratings grab season to bring in new fans. I know we all enjoy when Sentai breaks its standard tropes, but you have to establish what your tropes are before you can break them. And this checks all the boxes: having Red and the sixth getting the most focus, Red getting power-ups, big robot combinations, (Dino Sentai specific) having an important character die. It doesn't stray very far from the typical formula. But that's ok. Part of the reason we like Sentai is because we like the tropes, and to criticize the series for sticking to its foundation means you have an issue with Sentai as a whole, not Ryusoulger.

The series itself was also structured to help draw in new fans, which seemed to rub some people the wrong way. Episode one was extremely bombastic, with a few decent humorous and dramatic moments, and some over the top fighting. Following that, the first half plus of the show was very episodic, with not a lot of connecting elements. This was probably done to not alienate new viewers and make it feel like they could come in at any episode without missing much. The second half of the show had more connecting plots, like Gaisorg, Pricious, and Heras, to reward people who had stuck with the show and raise the stakes moving into the final acts. While I do prefer more threads and build-up, especially early on, I can appreciate what the writers were trying to do.

And Ryusoulger had a decent cast, if a little underdeveloped because of the aforementioned Red/Six trope. I'm not a big fan of Koh. He's fine when it comes to the goofier episodes, but he was hard to take seriously. Still like him more than Daigo. Melto felt like he might make a better Red, as he was a serious character whose nature easily lead him to being the butt of a joke. His relationship with Oto was actually cute and funny. I normally don't like the "legal loli" trope, but as everyone was far older than they appeared it helped to underplay that issue for me. Asuna had a lot of good moments throughout the season (being the first Pink since TimePink to defeat an enemy general) and had a great actress, but suffers from being the only female Ranger. In my opinion it's always better to write at least two female Rangers since it forces the writers to give them distinct personalities. When you only have one, like in Asuna's case, you normally end up with "girl in a boys show." Yes, she has quirks, like a bottomless stomach and super strength, but quirks a personality does not make. Towa is probably the least developed character, but felt like he had a lot more planned for him (like how he was able to summon Haya Soul's power without a RyuSoul in the final episode). Bamba is a darling, and I love him. The episode where we meet his ex-girlfriend says it all: a tough but kind man who has become better through his interactions with the other Ryusoulgers. I also don't like Canalo that much. His personality feels very responsive to the fact that Toei seems to be trying to subtly push having kids as a good thing to help with Japan's population crisis (which is much more evident in Precure if you pay attention to the fairy designs in recent years), and the fact that said higher-ups seemed to force retconned straight relationships on possibly gay characters over the last three season (which I think is more to do with the population agenda than anything else as Chocolate Macaroons is very much a canon thing). It just feels like he was written that way as a jab from the writers at the Toei big wigs (meaning he's purposefully annoying).

The design work in this series is also excellent. While I would have liked a little more armor on the main costumes, like shoulder pads, the armor given by the RyuSouls was nice, the villain and monster designs were great (as were their personalities, I just don't want to make this longer than need be), and the Megazords had much sleeker designs that allowed for a lot more movement (which seems to be carrying over to Kiramager). I also love the designs of the Kishiryu. Giving them a fossilized look helps set them apart from the dinosaurs that have preceded them, as well as helps with the ever shifting issues of how much feathering any particular species had. They also get huge credit from me as a toy guy for the amount of interplay and non-robot combining present within them. SpinoThunder, Pteramigo, CosmoRaptor, there were a lot of Kishiryu that could combine into other dinosaurs.

Episode to episode, as that's how most of the show was, was hit or miss. I typically loved anything that heavily features Tyramigo (as he was also a great character). Thankfully nothing was as bad as Pitch Cock from Lupin. As for ongoing plots, the Gaisorg plot had a few hiccups, but lead to a good death scene, a cool looking power-up, and some lasting impact on Koh. Pricious, after s/he showed up, easily demonstrated themself as a force to be reckoned with, and the pressure s/he put on the other generals lead to some great moments from the villain cast. The Heras plot had some neat twists to it, but I wish the ending resolved with Heras admitting that she was wrong before her death (since the current generation had overcome the long-standing feud between the two RyuSoul Tribes and had shown willingness to work with the Druidons, both things she criticized them for).

The last thing I'll go into is themes, as Life and Death were two very prevalent themes that were the focus of some of the best episodes. They went full ham on the downsides of the extended life of the RyuSoul Tribe, such as the episode where we meet Bamba's 60-70 year-old ex-girlfriend or the episode where another member of the Tribe wants to commit suicide because she's outlived too many people she's loved. The episodes with Shine and ShadowRaptor were probably my favorite, particularly the parts with Ui and her mom. It felt like a better version of what they tried to do with Kotaro in Kyuranger (which was, coincidentally, my favorite episode of that season).

The Bad: I already brought up a few issues. Focusing on Koh and Canalo isn't bad, but focusing on them too much negatively impacted everyone else's development until the last 10ish episodes of the show. Bamba got a decent amount because he had a backstory, but Towa got almost none and Asuna got little outside "team's girl." Going into power-ups, that is again not inherently a bad thing, but how you use them can be. This was a big issue I had with Lupinranger, as that series focused on two teams, but one of them stopped getting power-ups half-way through the show. Power-ups can be a physical representation of a character's growth, and if only Koh is getting them that means only he is growing. Bamba, Asuna, and Melto all eventually got to use one, but Towa wasn't seen using one until the second-to-last episode.

The Kishiryu are an offshoot of this problem. Koh essentially owns every Kishiryu outside the ones everyone started with. Furthermore, the Kishiryu were designed to be modular, but that was severely underutilized. There were no interesting combinations after they gained access to Five Knights outside of the final episode. Kishiryu-Oh's ability to move his parts around for specific attacks isn't seen outside the first few episodes. There was so much more they could do that they didn't. And I understand that part of that is costume design and budget, but you shouldn't bring forth that idea of modularity if you're not going to use it.

Then there's the aforementioned death scene, which, while I like it, highlights some of the issues with pushing all your plot threads to the end of the show. There were some writing hiccups involving Gaisorg and his relationship with the Druidons. In the death scene itself, it happens the episode immediately after they break the curse of the Gaisorg armor. There is no time to build up Nada's relationships, how grateful he is, how his dynamic might shake up Koh's with Melto or Bamba or Canalo; he's gone before any of that. And it's by a one-off villain. What should have happened, in my opinion, is Nada should have lived through that fight, proven his worth to the team, and then in the following episode died to Pricious. It would still be quick, but it would increased Pricious' threat level, given Nada more time with the team, and might have helped how they tried to nerf Max RyuSoul the episode after it premiered.

Overall, Ryusoulger is a popcorn series; one that is easy to pick up and watch, but isn't something that will blow your mind and you'll be talking about for years to come. It's a good show that is hampered by some sizable issues, but those issues serve as a benefit for the series as a whole and aim to keep it on the air for years to come. If we have to sit through a Ryusoulger every couple of years, I don't have a problem with that. It's not the best, but I still had fun.

[savethemanga]

What happened to Dororo and Hyakkimaru?

Sorry, but I need to rant about the anime Dororo on this side blog for a moment....excuse the unrelated  wall of text but...

What happened to Dororo and Hyakkimaru?

My only real issue with an otherwise conclusive and satisfying finale to Dororo was, well Dororo and Hyakkimaru. Up until episode 22 I felt that despite everything Dororo and Hyakkimaru cared for each other first and foremost. They were content with having just each other if it really came down to that.

But I think when things fell apart was in episode 23. When Dororo was finally back in front of Hyakkimaru after he got his arms back and Hyakkimaru didn't even acknowledge she was there. 

Did he not notice her? Maybe, but I doubt it. He noticed his mother, but why not Dororo? He didn't say anything to her. 

I take Hyakkimaru hiding his arms behind his back when his mother spoke up as him thinking that she--as being a member of the family hell-bent on stealing his body--was going to steal them away. Hyakkimaru was extremely paranoid, after all. And he ran off after Tahomaru, once again, called him a demon a “curse upon their land”. But still...why didn't Hyakkimaru acknowledge Dororo? This was the beginning of a string of very odd choices the writers made during the last two episodes to shove Dororo and Hyakkimaru's relationship to the back burner for...some reason.

Clearly the plot was moving at a breakneck pace, that's fine. But I think the need to keep the plot moving made Hyakkimaru act OOC in this moment. What could have fixed this? Something simple, really, to have everyone react more in character, in fact.

When Nui and Dororo arrived at the scene of battle after Mutsu and Hyogo died, and Hyakkimaru gets his arms back, have Tahomaru run to his mother first instead of Hyakkimaru, wondering what she's doing out of the safety of the castle, he'd be extra motivated to protect her from Hyakkimaru after his two friends just died. And while Tahomaru is questioning Nui, have Dororo run up to Hyakkimaru. Hyakkimaru hugs Dororo and is glad she's okay, but he's clearly very unstable, talking fast and touching her face (with bloody hands nonetheless) telling her he has arms now and he won't let anything else harm her. Dororo doesn't know how to react to Hyakkimaru being this way, but she's clearly sad to see him so unhinged.

Then, have Tahomaru tell Hyakkimaru that he's a demon who has no place trying to protect Dororo as a child isn't safe with him. Nui tries to tell Tahomaru that he's wrong, and Tahomaru then, like in the episode, says "You still pity that thing?".

These words cut deep for Hyakkimaru and he runs off. Him running off HERE would make a lot more sense as he's acknowledged Dororo, and his initial motivations of wanting to protect her aren't ignored. And having Tahomaru tell him he's a demon and that Dororo isn't safe with him would make Hyakkimaru feel awful enough to run off without her and probably start to really look at his own actions. 

But instead, the show just choose to have Hyakkimaru ignore Dororo being there, after all the people he just senselessly murdered trying to find her.

Okay...?  

This should've been my first hint that they were going to sideline any emotional resonance Dororo and Hyakkimaru have in the rest of the show, but since these two had been the CORE of the show for so long, I thought the writers passing up a moment between Dororo and Hyakkimaru in episode 23 meant that they were simply saving it all for the final episode 24.

BOY WAS I WRONG!

[Continued under the cut...]

In the episode 24, titled "Dororo and Hyakkimaru", Dororo and Hyakkimaru interact once. 

It is a very cute scene, don't get me wrong, but it's kind of underwhelming for the first time Hyakkimaru lays eyes on Dororo. We don't even get her from his POV. The opening credit's version of this scene was actually better than what we got in the actual show, ironically. 

And that's it, that's the last we see of them together. Hyakkimaru and Dororo apparently at least spent some time talking to each other after they escaped Daigo's castle. But we don't get to see any of this, we just hear about it from Dororo telling Biwamaru (the priest), who, at this point, got more screen time with Dororo in this episode than Hyakkimaru did. 

And then comes the biggest gripe I have. Which is how they choose to have Hyakkimaru leave Dororo without saying goodbye. How did the writers think that was a good idea based on the version of this story they've written?

For the other iterations of Dororo (the manga, the 1960's anime, the game) I can understand how Hyakkimaru would leave without saying goodbye. He's more cold-hearted and detached in those versions, and his relationship with Dororo was never as strong and emotionally attached as it was in the 2019 version. But 2019 Hyakkimaru? No, I can't buy that he wouldn't say something before leaving. So much was changed from the original manga, why did they choose to keep Hyakkimaru being such an inconsiderate jerk in the 11th hour when it's SO out of character? And it simply goes against the story they were setting up. That Dororo and Hyakkimaru need each other and want to stay together. Why change that?

Post episode 18 Dororo and Hyakkimaru needing each other and them staying together was the emotional core of every episode. Episode 19 (the comedy episode) was focused on Dororo feeling lonely and insecure at the thought of Hyakkimaru not needing her anymore, and even though Hyakkimaru was under that ghoul's control he was clearly upset at the thought of Dororo being mad at him. Just to name a few moments from that episode. 

Do I even need to say how much episode 20 especially focused on it these two needing each other and wanting to stay together? What happened to Hyakkimaru wanting to hear more of Dororo's stories? I guess he doesn't want to anymore now that he has his eyes back...

Episode 21 had Hyakkimaru telling Dororo he's fine as long as he has her, expressing his want to be like her, and when he fell in the ditch with the horse it wasn't finishing his fight with Tahomaru he was most concerned about, it was Dororo, and that desperation continued into episode 22 he went on a murderous rampage to find her. And, of course, Dororo's speech at the end of episode 23. Of needing Hyakkimaru to be by her side after she figured out what she needs to do with the money.

So, again, I ask...WHY did the writers decide at the 11th hour to go back to the original ending which actively goes AGAINST these two anime-original interpretations of the characters and their relationship?

Why put so much emphasis on these two BOTH needing each other, liking to be by each other's side, and actively doing everything they can to keep it that way, when everyone writing this knew it was going to end with Dororo being abandoned by Hyakkimaru who couldn't even say goodbye to her?

I will eternally be baffled by this choice. I can't say it ruins the entire show, but it does make the Dororo and Hyakkimaru moments post episode 18 especially hard to watch. Because after episode 18 A LOT of emphasis was intentionally put on how much Hyakkimaru cares for and cherishes his relationship with Dororo...only to have him leave her behind without so much as a goodbye and have Dororo clearly have more faith that Hyakkimaru wouldn’t do that than the writers did.

And like if the writers really REALLY had to keep this ending for some reason (Maybe Tezuka Productions told them to honor the manga by keeping the ending as close to it as possible?) Then at least give these two a good send off. Give them one last emotional goodbye scene. Have Hyakkimaru give Dororo a forehead rub, a hug, THANK HER FOR ALL SHE'S DONE FOR HIM, perhaps saying that he'll come back for her (harkening back to when he said "I came for you" in episode 18), and, you know, have Hyakkimaru speak up for himself and tell Dororo that he really just needs some time to himself to sort out his morals and priorities rather than Biwamaru telling Dororo (and the audience) what Hyakkimaru must be thinking.

Listen, I love Dororo. It's an anime I got really attached to. But the thing I was attached to the most was the wonderfully written and well-developed relationship between Dororo and Hyakkimaru which was put at the forefront of the show, especially in the second half. And to see it sidelined so hard in the last two episode was baffling and depressing for me. 

I know it's just an anime at the end of the day and my favorite episodes and moments between them are still there and always will be. And, yes, I know that it’s implied at the very ending that they meet up again years later, but still...they really did both Dororo and Hyakkimaru dirty with that out of character conclusion to their beautiful journey together.

So, my last question is this: Was the ending between these two written that way because the crew didn't have time for another scene between Dororo and Hyakkimaru? Or was it because they really thought the manga’s ending was a good way to end this anime-original version of the story?

[blundergato]

My Yakuza 5 review MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD (AND A REALLY LONG READ):

Honestly, this game is so weird in a lot of ways. It felt like the team was just throwing EVERYTHING they had idea-wise into it and funny enough, most of it worked.

First things first, this game gets plus points for making Daigo suck still. I don’t think Daigo has ever done anything in any of the Yakuza games except get owned and I love it.

The plot suffered from some pretty serious pacing issues and the plot involving the Yakuza itself was...convoluted and kind of nonsense, but not in the way these games usually are. There are so many questions I had about pieces of the plot that I don’t think there is an answer too.

Akiyama’s part, again, felt pretty superfluous. I really don’t think there was a need to play as him and his connection to Park was just whatever. I think this is especially noticeable because he doesn’t have any side stories like the rest of the characters. He’s a very likable character, but his part here felt forced.

Shinada is another weird one. He is an incredibly likable character with a good backstory. His entire portion of the game had SO much heart and the ending to his story made me tear up too. Hearing Takasugi tell Shinada “We miss you, bud” while Shinada just breaks down crying hit me some sort of way. His section was just down to earth and normal and about the relationships he built up around him.

But his part in the plot was almost pointless. I really enjoyed his part of the game a lot and the conclusion was wonderful, but seeing him team up with Akiyama, Kiryu and Saejima at the end just felt completely random. He had so little connection to any of them. His part of the plot almost felt completely disconnected from the rest of the game and while I enjoyed it, it added to the pacing issues.

Haruka’s part was a lot of fun from a gameplay standpoint. I love rhythm games, so I had a blast doing it, but I have the feeling that the game should have put way less focus on the Yakuza stuff and more on Haruka trying to achieve this dream. Her part, combined with Kiryu’s part, was the focus of this game’s emotional impact. Her speech at the end and the post credits scene had me crying. 

I do think it’s weird that Haruka wanted to be an idol and I know that it was hinted at in Yakuza 2 at least, but still. It kind of felt random. Anyways, Haruka needs to become a detective because that substory in Kiwami 2 was the best. I WANT DETECTIVE HARUKA. SAWAMURA, PRIVATE EYE.

Mirei Park got screwed over pretty hard in the game. She gets killed off screen and I honestly thought it was just a fakeout. But no, she’s dead and that’s that. Sucks too, because she was an interesting character even if I HATED her at the beginning for what she said to Kiryu.

Saejima’s part was weird too. It was like...a retread of his part in Yakuza 4. You start in prison, you break out, you go to a town and hide. The big difference is that this time you get to fight a demon bear and do some hunting. That part of the game is very weird. Saejima’s character is so fun and charismatic that he carried it through, but this was another part of the game that completely stalled the plot. NOTHING happened in it. You learn about Majima’s death very early on and just about nothing changes by the end of his part in regards to finding out anything. Anyways, Saejima has a substory where he slips and eats shit on the ice and that’s unbelievable. He honestly has some of the best substories in the game period.

What I will say is that the pacing is SO bad that when the other inmates and that warden appeared near the end to help Shinada, I completely forgot who they were because it had been SO long.

Kiryu’s part of the game was great. Seeing him suffer from so much loneliness because he was away from his kids and have this severe self loathing of himself because he truly believes that he’s a roadblock to his kid’s happiness and success...it just hit so hard. He has a substory revolving around buying gifts for his kids and it’s just so cute. Being a taxi driver as Kiryu was also really solid and I loved seeing him build new relationships with everyone at the company.

I think this game should have focused WAY more on all of that. I even like the idea that his people back in the Tojo were keeping an eye on him the whole time and planting people in his life. That would have been an intriguing path to further explore without all the...Omi Alliance/Tojo Clan war shit.

I don’t know what to say about all the war stuff between the Omi and Tojo. It was really stupid. The guy who wants to destroy the Tojo and Omi is the current Omi chairman, but he’s dying and doesn’t want a successor and also he wants his son...to have that power and his son somehow singlehandedly took over the Tojo headquarters, but also he was a Tojo plant and his sworn brother died and he was fighting in the coliseum so he could get info on who did it and seemed genuinely broken up but apparently he didn’t actually give that much of a shit?

It was some omega level ridiculousness. I don’t even understand the motivations other than “We came from nothing and achieved this power and now..I dunno f**k it I guess?” 

I said it before, but this game is incredibly ambitious. There are 5 big ass towns you get to play in and other setpieces like the prison, the hunting town, etc. There is just A LOT of stuff to do. All the sidestories are unique and fun to play. The gameplay finally hits its stride and the combat is super fun (even if Kiryu and Saejima are BEYOND broken gameplay wise). The substory writing is the strongest it’s been in terms of the old games. Yakuza 5 is bursting to the rim with content. It’s ridiculously impressive as a package and I really enjoyed my time with the game, even though it had its faults. It’s definitely way better than Yakuza 4, which is to this day the weakest entry in the series.

Now all I have left is the conclusion to Kiryu’s tale and I AM SCARED.

[fizzingwizard]

I started this on my lunch break, still gotta rewatch to be coherent but wanted to put down some bullet points of Feelings!!!

The bottom line is I did like Bokura no Mirai, because I think the Tri writers are good, BUT I think half of the issues in BoM were their hands being tied by the limited time left, and the other half simply planning way too much. Both are amateur mistakes and yet anime movies routinely make them, so I’m not as strict as I should be.

As an aside, my personal theory for this movie was that Taichi would let the two worlds merge. I thought he was going to shock everyone by choosing not to stop it, letting the worlds merge sans reboot, and that would result in humans and digimon living in harmony. It’s an unfinished theory obviously, since it supposes a different outcome of the merge than Yggdrasil believes will happen, and also because even if the world was fine after, we’d lose the future where there are two worlds and Taichi needs to be an ambassador between them. But that’s what I was expecting, something of that nature anyway, let’s say. I suppose I’m overly influenced by Tsubasa Chronicle lol.

k now for some highs and lows!!!

HIGHS

TAKERU, MAGNAANGEMON AND DEVIMON!!!! There is NOTHING like Takeru angst. omg. Not for me anyway. No other character’s trauma hit me the way Takeru still carries the burden of what happened to his partner in their very first boss battle.

People predicted Nishijima’s death but I did NOT. I thought of course he was going to be reunited with Himekawa. So this will figure in my “lows” section as well, but as for his apparent death itself, I was moved. But it’s also totally unfair and it’s more of a low than a high for Reasons. But it still deserves a mention here.

Mimi telling Meiko (and the others) to stop blaming themselves. I like Meiko, I do, but I was really annoyed with her when Hikari was feeling guilty and Meiko just had to feel guilty for that. It’s par for the course with her, and I was really defensive of her last movie - I think it was the way it felt like she was using Hikari’s distress to vent her own feelings that bothered me this time around. That being said, I certainly empathize with her and with Hikari, and I’m glad Mimi was so nice and caring about it. (Her line would have been perfectly suited to Sora - our Mimi is growing up!)

The cute moments with the Digimon - glad we still got some of those.

Yamato and Gabumon’s conversation on the balcony was UGH. So great. They’re probably my favorite partner relationship since Adventure. It was so IC and so perfect. I could cry at how sweet and sensitive and full of resilience Gabumon was. Just like his partner.

Also Yamato’s heartbreak over Taichi was sOOOO strong!! And then we they reunite he’s just like, “You’re late.” And you know what I thought of? Rini in the dub Sailor Moon movie. Hahahaha. I had actually hopped for a sweet moment between Taichi and Yamato but... well they stared at each other dramatically for a while, I guess that counts *cough*

KOUSHIROU was MAGIC. Part of me is like “fake science is fake!” but the other part is like “lol but if anyone could make fake science real it’d be Koushirou!” I love that, even when the others weren’t being forward about rejecting the reboot, and Yamato even implied that if Taichi thought it was the way to spare the most sacrifices he would do it, Koushirou was the one who emphatically said “NO!”

Hikari and everything about her. I love that she told Taichi she might not be able to forgive him. And I love that she said “thats why i’m going to fight alongside you.” And her expression during that last battle. It was the same determined look as Taichi’s. There are still a billion questions about her and Meiko as well, why what happened happened, maybe on second viewing I’ll understand more, but... I think it’s mostly “digimon lore” stuff that may never get explained.

Taichi’s phone call to Meiko at the end and the way the other kids acted. Of course I always love flustered and embarrassed Taichi. For the first time, I thought I could ship Meichi after the way Taichi called her and then did nothing but grunt and made her do all the work of carrying the conversation herself xD That boy is hopeless!

Also, Taichi in general. I’m still..... not quite sure what happened. Not quite sure what the takeaway is supposed to be. He was rescued by Nishijima after Yggdrasil’s life or death survival game, and came back to the real world... and chose to kill Meicoomon. In Kyousei, I was sad but on board because there did not appear to be any other day. I didn’t know what they’d do in Bokura no Mirai. Finales are often the age of miracles,  but on the other hand, as much as I wanted Meicoomon to reunite with Meiko, it would have been so underwhelming if everything just went back to normal with no sacrifices (oh yeah, Nishijima). So mixed feelings on how things played out. But one thing I do know is that I loved Taichi the entire time. I love that he’s not a straight up hero. He can do things that make his little sister say she’ll never forgive him. And he can be the kindest bravest person around. Right or wrong, I can’t help but like him.

LOWS

One thing - a lot of my lows result from things that went unanswered or at least I didn’t understand it last night. 

The story quite simply does not feel complete. It’s not even a feeling - it isn’t complete. What the hell was Yggdrasil’s comments about Daemon and whatever at the end. A joke? I didn’t really get the feeling. Was that dark cube some variety of dark spore? Or the one from Adventure? Also, we don’t get to find out what happened to real Gennai (or did I just miss it)? Up till now I never believed it was really him... maybe that was wishful thinking... but why tho

Taichi’s character development arc. He got a LOT. And I do love it overall, but I’m not quite sure I understand it. I suppose the simple answer is, he’s going to be an ambassador, and an ambassador needs to be able to negotiate, to see things in shades of gray, and (ok waxing poetical here but) to understand that life and death are a balance. Idk. I’m a Star Trek fan, “the needs of the one outweigh the needs of the many” usually results in intergalactic shenanigans to steal whales from a different time. And who doesn’t love that?

Part of me just needed more... Idk, closure I suppose? about Meiko and Meicoomon after everything they went through. I wanted Meiko to be a bigger character in the finale movie. I’m surprised by that since I wasn’t warm to her in the beginning, but it feels wrong that in the end, all she got was a sweet farewell. It was very sweet! And heartbreaking! And I’m not exactly angry that Meicoomon was lost, but after 5 movies leading up to it, it just felt... i dunno, it lacked the sense of relief I was looking for. (However, I sometimes feel these things differently on rewatch. This is a scene I’ll be looking out for.)

The 02 gang’s been missing... like the said in Saikai. OK fine. Why didn’t the kids ever try to contact them beyond that one visit to Ken’s house?? Why weren’t they concerned that none of them were like “Hello, we heard digimon are raising hell, can we help?” That is the question folks. Tri definitely did NOT need more characters to juggle, but heck, “they’re all camping in a remote island with no electricity!” would have been a better excuse for why no one notices they’re not around.

Daigo’s death. Like I said, it was a hero’s death, and for that it was awesome. But a lot of the reasons why it was awesome were inferences. Like, Taichi was just like “whoa?” when nishijima was like “oh yeah maki’s disappeared she lost her mind searching for her dead partner.” This should have been way bigger news. I don’t see why they wouldn’t be intensely curious about their predecessors - yeah big world shaking battle is gonig on so I get it not being on the back burner, but it was totally just shoehorned in. No thank you! Daigo deserved better.

MAKI DIDN’T EVEN APPEAR. I had been so worried about her but I thought the worst that would happen would be she’d do something to redeem herself and die! But nope! She’s not there AT ALL. And Daigo’s DEAD! Honestly it wouldn’t be SO bad if we could be sure this wasn’t the end... because it just feels like there’s so much story left to tell, including theirs. The Original Chosen in Tri are more like a summary of “a fanfic I’d like to write someday.” Better to just not have included them. Found some different way to cause the reboot. They were treated worse in the end than the 02 kids, frankly.

one last quibble... Essentially no Taishiro. :( :( :( I mean just platonic moments. Just one would have been good! Oh well.

i’m totally leaving things out but that’s all I’ve got for the moment. rewatch imminent

[classicliteraturehoe]

BREAKERZ “X” Discussion/Rant

Honestly I just really want to talk about this album to somebody and since none of my friends care about this band neither do most of you, I’mma just post it here anyways.

First of all, I want to say that I’ve been looking forward to this album for roughly two years, aka since the release of their last album, ZERO. Especially after they kicked off their Tenth Anniversary Concert Series. The moment I realized that each band they challenged would have a part on the album, I began anticipating X more and more. Essentially, I love this band with all my heart and I always look forward to their new music. And this album in particular has really caught my attention. Every song is very well crafted and they all sound spectacular. I’m going to go More in depth about how I feel about all the songs later.

I don’t know if it was Daigo who thought of this or another band member or a third party, but Kudos to the double meaning, triple meaning and consistency of puns with the title of the album and songs. If you don’t get it, let’s go over them:

The Title of the Album : X

-X as in the Roman Numeral 10 for this being he Tenth Anniversary of BRRAKERZ as a band as well as having ten songs on the album.

-X as in Cross, because every song is a collaboration with another Japanese musician or group. So BREAKERZ x SKY-HI, for example.

The Song Titles (excluding GOD and She is Devil)

GREAT (pronounced in Japanese as GU-REI-ITU” Ambitious, featuring GLAY (pronounced GU-REI)

RODEO Drive featuring GRANRODEO

Black SKY featuring SKY-HI

GOLDEN Night featuring GOLDEN Bomber

Koi no SUPER EXPRESS featuring 超特急 (which translates as SUPER EXPRESS)

TRIANGLE featuring TRIGNAL

Never Ending STORY featuring My First STORY

Hirari MAI chiru hana no youni featuring MAI Kuraki

Now, these are likely obvious to most of you, but I just find all of these cute play-on words commendable. They certainly put a lot of thought into this album and it shows.

Not only did a lot of thought go into the titles, but to the music as well. Each song was thoroughly enjoyable and beautiful for their own reasons and I adore each one.

GREAT AMBITIOUS was a great (pun intended) way to open up the album. The upbeat rock combined with the violins playing in the higher register felt to me very reminiscent of Ikusen no Meikyuu de, as well as Climber x (ha!!!) Climber. And from just the title I began thinking about WE GO, and I can imagine they both have similar themes. The song is very catchy even without really knowing the meaning of the lyrics. Overall, it’s a fun piece.

RODEO DRIVE. I don’t know if it’s just me, or does this song feel a whole lot like RUN AND RUN from ZERO? Yes, RUN AND RUN was specially written because Daigo was doing the 24 Hour run thing on television, which was huge for him especially since that was the day he proposed to Keiko Kitagawa, but this song is just as upbeat and I can only imagine going on long jogs at sunset when I listen to it.

BLACK SKY. This one is in the running to be my favorite on the album along with two others. The guitar riffs kind of remind me of Daydreamer from the ZERO album. But the addition of SKY-HI’s rapping gives this song a whole different feeling. I’m not even sure how to describe it. The touch of electronic music seems out of place in this song. On the other hand, I absolutely adore the chorus. The pace and the progression of the notes just sounds so beautiful to me.

ゴールデンナイト〜黄金色に抱きしめて〜. Listen up I’m literally obsessed with this freaking song. There are so many musical elements and little nuances that I just UGH love so much, and it just. feels like a BREAKERZ song. But it also doesn’t. And it’s amazing. It’s as if BREAKERZ took 女々しくて (Golden Bomber’s most famous song) and then made a BREAKERZ song. Because it sounds like Memeshikute, but it also doesn’t.

恋のスーパーエクスプレス. I like this one, but it’s not my favorite on the album. And believe me, it’s a nice song. Very j-pop-y, and when you collaborate with a jpop group that’s the kind of sound you tend to get. It’s a cute song, and in a few senses it reminds me Smile 100% and Arigatou Beautiful Day. You know, very pop-rock, sweet. You just really feel like smiling while you listen to it. A nice contrast to songs like She is Devil, Golden Night, And GOD.

Triangle. I enjoy the beginning of this one more so than the rest of it. The instrumental introduction is very pleasing. The clarinet I found especially pretty. It’s quite clever that it’s called Triangle and the rhythm is in 3. I can’t decide if it sounds more like a carnival song or a french drinking ballad. Really it’s a combination of both. Trignal narrating adds a nice touch. Also a sweet song.

NEVER ENDING STORY. I love this song a lot. It feels like BREAKERZ is going back to their roots a bit. I hear a lot of influence from many of their songs from GO and FIGHTERZ. Very fast paced. It feels a lot like DAIGO’s Mugen no Rebirth and other songs which were anime openings. And at the end of the chorus, it sounds like Daigo is referencing the melody from Maria, back in his DAIGO STARDUST days.

She is Devil. The only non-collaboration song on the album. And gosh, when I listened to it the first time, the first thing I thought of was Miss Mystery. She is Devil is written as if it’s the sequel song to Miss Mystery, and boy it brings back memories of classic BREAKERZ, back when I first discovered their music, and I felt like crying. I particularly enjoyed this song because it’s the only one on the album that is exclusively BREAKERZ. I mean, of course it’s great that they had all these collaborators, but it is an album celebrating ten years together as a band, and it wouldn’t be right if they didn’t write a song for them and only them.

ひらり舞い散る花のように. THIS. SONG. IS . GORGEOUS! I was in love with it after only hearing the teaser of it that BREAKERZ posted to YouTube. It’s quite possibly my favorite song BREAKERZ has ever written. Daigo is known for his recognizable voice, so full of emotion in every syllable, and this is a perfect example of the extraordinary power his voice has in carrying melodies, in ballads especially. I notice that while their ballads are never their most popular, they’re always my favorites. The acoustic guitar, the strings! The harmonies, the percussion. They all come together and create this beautiful work of art. If you listen to no other song on this album, make this the one you listen to.

GOD. The first time I read about DAIGO writing GOD and performing it at the BREAKERZ vs. VAMPS concert, I burst out laughing, and saying “aw Daigo, you Hyde super fan.” Only someone dangerously devoted to their idol would write and perform a song in their honor about how they worship them. But listening to the emotion in his voice as I finally got a first listen to GOD, I understand precisely why he wrote it, and I understand the sentiment. This song is written for Hyde, but it says exactly what many of us feel for the artists and creators and public figures that we look up to.

This album revived my love of the band. In the two years between albums, so much happened. I experienced the worst depressive episodes of my life, my anxiety worsened, and I was hating life for a long time. Of course, good things happened as well, I rediscovered my love of musical theater, worked on a lot of shows, became a better musician. Daigo got married, started becoming more popular than ever. So much happened. Along the way, I listened to them less and less. But after this album came out, I feel like I remember the way I felt when I first discovered BREAKERZ, and I remembered what it felt like to really love a band. I’m so thankful for this band and for Daigo and Akihide and Shinpei. And I’m so thankful that they’ve been together as long as they have been. Ten years is a milestone, and while was only on board for four years, I harbor a deep appreciation for the band as much as any other fan, even those who were with them from the beginning.

[rengokantai]

RANDOM FACTS ABOUT THE MUN!!

Repost, don’t reblog! Tag 7 muns you would like to get to know better when you’re done!

Name: n/a Nickname: Xavier, Shigure, Noct, Paperbag Faceclaim: n/a Pronouns: he/them Height: 5��8″ (172 cm) Birthday: n/a Aesthetic: music Last song you listened to;  The Tower (Nier: Automata)

Favourite muse(s) you’ve written:

Old muses: Numerous Megaman OCs, Dr. Weil (Megaman Zero), Megaman X (Megaman X, Megaman Zero), iX/Return X (Rockman X: Mega Mission), Ike (Fire Emblem), Soren (Fire Emblem), F!Morgan/F!Marc (Fire Emblem), Colress/Achroma (Pokemon), Steven Stone/ Daigo Tsuwabuki (Pokemon) Current muses: Lamont Blackwell (Kantai Collection Admiral OC), JD DDG-177 Atago (Kantai Collection Kanmusu OC), Water Demon Destroyer Lilith (Kantai Collection Abyssal OC), Numerous Kantai Collection Canon muses.

What inspired you to take on your current muse (that you are posting this on):

Curiosity. Initially, I had seen posts about KanColle on my dash repeatedly in the past and while I found the designs cute I never took that much of an interest in it initially, then I managed to win the lotto to get into the game, and then it went down hill from there.

Eventually I began imagining different scenarios in my head and felt an urge to start writing in the KanColle verse, I had originally started off as an Atago blog when I first started rping in the fandom, then eventually I decided to make an admiral oc since there was a distinct lack of them around, but rather than go for the cookie cutter mold of making him a vanilla god or some bullshit I decided to focus solely on his character growth while making him horribly oblivious to one’s advances since he was devoted to the job rather than trying to find romance.

As time went on I started playing around with other muses and took a liking to quite a few of the ones I did play as, expanding on traits that are often overlooked on.

What are your favorite aspects of your current muse:

That depends on what muse you ask me about, but I’ll go with my admiral oc for now, some of my favorite aspects that have come about as a result of rping as him are that while he is rather oblivious to certain things, he is aware of others feelings regarding him, which lead to some interesting if not outright hilarious situations.

Another trait of his that is amusing is how he generally expects to have one or two ships break the doors to his office down when he is trying to work.

What’s your biggest inspiration when it comes to writing:

Music, music by far. Seasonal events usually get me back into the fandom as well, but one thing that got me really inspired is when the creators introduce canon content which allows me to further explore other ideas I sometimes keep to myself.

Favorite types of threads:

Slice of life threads are my bread and butter, angst and hurt are also good as well, I’m also slowly expanding into other threads as well as I try and grow more comfortable with new ideas.

The biggest struggle in regards to your current muse:

One of the bigger struggles I face is getting an idea to come out right, yes I know I am allowed to make mistakes with certain muses, but being something of a perfectionist really holds me back from time to time, but I am trying to change that aspect about myself so I can really enjoy writing more.

Tagged by: @fidelitasadmiralandcvl Tagging: @noviceadmiral, @hmshood51, @kakokaini, @mechanicaldaughter

[triangulumlights]

My thoughts on Symbiosis (probably part 1 of who knows)

OKAY. None of this rambling will probably make sense, but these are my notes and feelings about Symbiosis.

The Plot

• Kind of a mess, tbqh. That said, I did enjoy the official bringing in of all(?) the sides in the conflict, leading to a pretty excellent four-way battle between the Chosen, Meico-whatever-mon, Homeostasis, and Yggdrasil. Very nice, with lots of motivations and conflicts.

• I loved how the final battle was handled, which I’ll go into more in the characters segment of my rambling.

• Omegamon slicing open the rift so the team could follow the battle into the Digital World? HELL YEAH.

• The merged Digimon created by Ophanimon and Meicoo-whatever was creepy as all hell omg.

• The return of the Dark Ocean!!! And in a very nicely done way, imo.

• The movie felt super slow, even if it had some great moments and the incredibly active last part balanced it out a bit. Still, I think the pacing was a problem.

• That all said, this movie had a very epic feel to it, especially toward the end.

Character Moments

• I was actually a little annoyed with how imbalanced the character focus was; normally Digimon is better about this, even when an episode or movie is focused on particular characters. This movie was especially Meiko, Taichi, and Yamato heavy, with a dash of Hikari. The rest of the group, with the exception of a scene here and there, did very little. But okay, character by character:

Taichi

• Wow, he’s really grown up, hasn’t he? Very nice handling of how he’s come through his conflicts, both in previous seasons and in Tri, and matured a lot. There were a few moments that stood out to me in particular: early on when the police are after them and he reminds Koushirou to use his computer to hide the Digimon while everyone else (including Koushirou) are kind of frozen in uncertainty, in Daigo’s office when he explains how he wants to handle the situation with care, and in the final scenes where he reads the underlying emotions of everyone (and particularly Meiko) in order to choose the right call to make.

• There are more scenes that were great with him (like his and Meiko’s conversation at the school) but those three in particular illustrated what makes him a strong leader imo.

Yamato

• STOP WHISPERING

• But no really he was great this movie. His conflict with Taichi over how to handle Meicoomon felt very natural this time, and the way he listened when Taichi explained how he wants to handle things in Daigo’s office was a nice moment. Other people have already pointed out the great, very subtle moment of Yamato refusing when Takeru offers him the phone while calling their parents, and of course, the last scene where he puts on the goggles and takes over (temporarily, for sure, but still) as leader and tells the team to stand up. He’s also grown up a lot, and even if he’s still temperamental it’s not without reason; he just feels very strongly, and he’s both better at expressing himself and less closed off from the others.

• There was also a nice moment between him and Koushirou, when Koushirou broke up the fight between him and Taichi, and Yamato basically seems to just trust Koushirou’s judgement; the bond between those two is very understated but very strong.

Sora

• I wish I could say a lot about her this movie but I can’t, since her plots seemed mostly wrapped up in Meiko. However, the advice she gives about not isolating yourself is very good and very meaningful coming from her, and the moment where she pulls Mimi towards her while they’re talking to their parents is really lovely.

• Sora’s just quietly being awesome in the background this movie, but that doesn’t make her less awesome in general.

Koushirou

• He figures out a few useful things throughout this movie, but mostly I noticed just how quiet he was; he’s always pretty quiet compared to most of the others, but he barely spoke this movie it felt like. However, he did have a few great moments, especially the one where he broke up the fight between Taichi and Yamato; I mentioned it briefly in Yamato’s segment, but this really displayed the dynamic between these three imo. Koushirou not only fearlessly got in the middle of the fight and physically pushed them apart, but he raised his voice too, and specifically talked to Yamato; he was backing up Taichi (as usual) but in a very interesting way. It wasn’t just “Taichi’s right” but rather “You should understand already” and there’s a huge underlying meaning there; Koushirou both understands what Taichi’s trying to do and why, and he knows that Yamato does too but just hasn’t accepted it. Not only that, but he’s trusting that Yamato will understand all of this from him, and Yamato both does and takes it as enough reason to back down. Maybe I’m reading too much into it, but I think it shows a real understanding of his friends that Koushirou didn’t always have; he’s been attuned to Taichi’s emotions and motives since 01 but not often anyone else’s, but now he can not only read his friends but communicate with them in subtle ways.

• He was the only one of the team awake when Meicoomon attacked (other than Daigo) so even though it’s actually like 2005 in universe I still think we should start #letkoushirousleep2k17

• More seriously, this both came up in Kokuhaku and in this movie, but I like that it’s being consistently established that Koushirou is also very sensitive to the Digital World, much like Hikari but probably in a different way. It’s a neat thing to me.

Mimi

• Like Sora, not much Mimi and that makes me sad because Mimi is glorious. Also the scenes that I would mention specifically for her are exactly the same ones as Sora’s, so although I wish I could say more, that’s about it.

Jyou

• THIS IS GOING ON MY PERMANENT RECORD

• Unfortunately, Jyou was also mostly a non-entity this episode. However he did speak for the audience about how much trouble Meicoomon is, so there’s that?

Takeru

• Stop dropping the ground out from under this poor child omg

• Another character who I wish I could say more about, but he didn’t do a lot this episode. That said, he was sitting next to Koushirou in most shots, so I like to think the two of them were gossiping quietly while other stuff was going on.

Hikari

• BABY. DARLING. I’M SURE YOUR BROTHER IS FINE. 8(

• Telling off Homeostasis was really awesome; it’s been a complain for awhile that things just sort of happen to Hikari without her having any agency, so seeing her basically tell Homeostasis to fuck off and get out was incredibly awesome.

• Her sensing of the Digital World’s intentions toward the Chosen was really neat and not overdone; she was very sure about the feeling she was getting but it wasn’t overly dramatic or anything. It felt very natural for her to be able to understand it.

• I still have no idea what actually happened with her and her crest glowing and the Digital World code creeping up on her and all that, but it was surprisingly well done. I’m actually really interested in her plot even if I’m not usually a big Hikari fan, and I wish she’d had more moments in this movie considering it was supposed to kind of be focused on her.

Meiko

• I want to like you, Meiko, but I just keep ending up not. :c At first I was fine with the guilt and responsibility thing, because a lot of the kids have had similar storylines, but I think that’s driving me crazy about hers is that she doesn’t seem to be trying to fix anything (or didn’t, anyway, until the very end of the movie.) It might also have been that it just went on too long and was repeated too many times from a writing standpoint, but it started to just seem like Meiko liked the attention.

• She was, however, very cute in the ghost story scene.

• She also gets major props for making the hard call at the end to try to defeat Meicoomon. I just dunno, I didn’t feel as much about her decision to do it as I did about Taichi’s decision to go along with it, maybe because it felt like he understand the situation at a deeper level than she actually did? Since she’d already given up on Meicoomon in Kokuhaku, it didn’t have same impact here, and instead kind of felt like she was just like eh, time to throw in the towel again. But I don’t know, maybe things will come together in the end for her and her plots.

Maki

• I didn’t really like her much until Loss, but at this point omg I feel so bad for her. That she’s just lost it so badly over what happened to her partner, and then the reboot failing to let them truly reunite, is just heartbreaking.

• It makes sense for her to end up at the Dark Ocean, and if she really did die there from despair it’ll be a really sad but almost fitting way for her to go out. It’s just so sad, weh.

• But I do have to ask: WHERE IS SHE GETTING ALL THESE DIFFERENT GUNS FROM?

Daigo

• Again, he’s a character that really grew on me just recently, and he and Maki wondering what the point of them being chosen if this is what happens to them is really tragic.

• That he sensed what happened to Maki was interesting, and if she really did die then I’d think it’s likely he did too the attempt to save Taichi. If so, that’s still an incredibly important thing he did, especially if it turns out he’s directly the cause of Taichi surviving. But then again, I’ll be happy if he lives as well, although I’d hope Maki does too in that case.

• Not exactly Daigo-specific, but where are the others in his and Maki’s Chosen group? Are they the last two for some reason? Do the others just not contact them? Why are they so alone?

Final Thoughts

• These are surely not going to be final but final for this post, anyway.

• This is probably my least favorite of the movies so far, but mostly because of the weak pacing and problems with some of the characters being basically non-entities.

• That said, there are several strong character moments, and the scary stories scene was cute af.

• I also really enjoyed the brief scenes with Taichi and Hikari’s mother, and how she handles her children and their friends being in danger by trying to be productive for when they come home. It’s a nice reminder of how hard this must be on the kids’ parents, just having to sit back and watch.

• Surely Taichi is alive, and I want at least SOME hugs when he returns damnit.

[jippy-kandi]

Digimon Adventure tri. - Chapter 4: Loss | Thoughts

So . . . I thought it was pretty good? I did read a few spoilers and people seemed to think it was really, really bad. So maybe because I expected it to be so bad that when it wasn’t that bad, I thought it was pretty good? If I were to rank the films so far, from best to worst . . .

3 (Confession), 4 (Loss), 2 (Determination), 1 (Reunion).

I liked the opening. I didn’t particularly care for it (because my interest in Maki and Daigo is about -7), but I liked it.

Yokomon being a complete bitch to Sora because she accidentally stepped on her once . . . All the digimon were right to be cautious of the kids at first, but Yokomon acted like Sora was some axe murderer in hiding waiting to get her alone. It was just really weird and frankly felt forced (and lazy writing, just to give Sora conflict). Sora is the one who prepared all the food and made all the digimon happy . . . logically, you would think then, that out of all the digimon partners, hers would warm to her more quickly just for providing food. The other kids didn’t do anything, and yet the other digimon were more trusting of their partners. Logic fail. (And Sora tried so hard to get Yokomon to like her . . . seriously, Yokomon was written as a brick wall. So forced. I didn’t buy it.)

Tokomon warming to Takeru almost instantly was cute.

Tri. tries so hard to force the audience to like Meiko by Mimi and Sora’s sheer affection for the girl . . . and it just doesn’t work. I think Toei regrets making “Meiko”, because her merchandise really doesn’t sell. (I also think Toei initially wanted Meiko to be a “crush” for Taichi, but her underwhelming “popularity” has made them rethink that idea . . ..)

OMG I cannot get enough of the Takaishida brothers. That scene where Takeru is still hitting on his older bro is one of my favourites. XD I like this running joke. Give me more, tri.. :)

OK. The Taiorato scenes. The first scene I mostly liked. I had issues with some aspects of it (Yamato should’ve known what to do . . .), but I thought it was a good scene. It showed the dynamics between the three rather well. What I liked most (other than it being a rather intimate moment between the three), was that it was clear that Yamato was more in-tune and “aware” of Sora than Taichi was, who was completely clueless (as he always has been). It was the second Taiorato scene after that though that I really had issues with (man, Yamato’s characterisation really went down the drain, lol). But more on that in another post, ‘cause it’s very Sorato-y -- though it has to be said that you don’t have to be a Sorato shipper to have a problem with that scene . . . you just have to be able to recognise when Yamato's characterisation is “off”. Because it was.

Yamato asking if they should ask Takeru for help regarding Sora? In what world would a 17-year-old think a 14-year-old would understand a girl his age better? I generally really like tri. Takeru, but there’s a point when someone becomes too-good-to-be-true (and is almost always used as the picture of “perfection”). Takeru’s not a “perfect” person who can make any situation better, and is somehow supposed to have skills to be in-tune with girls’ emotions (that scene prior where Takeru says Meiko is a “normal” girl and accidentally offends Mimi and Hikari comes to mind). They need to tone it down a bit with the whole “Takeru is perfect” thing.

But . . . Yamato and Taichi were incredibly obtuse when it came to Sora’s problem, though. Like, incredibly. As in, forced writing. I also didn’t buy it. It would’ve been one thing if they just didn’t know how to handle Sora’s problem (although I would argue that Yamato should really be better at this than he was depicted in the film . . .), but the fact that they seemed totally clueless as to what was bothering her? I’m sorry, but when all the digimon are completely fine and then you have GIANT BITCH PIYOMON flying around, it defies logic (again) to have them be that obtuse. Weak writing is weak writing. I wish Sora had been given better material.

The scene between Daigo and Maki where he asks her if he could be her new partner . . . was so incredibly cheesy and made me laugh. It didn’t seem to fit in “Digimon”. Tri. turned into a love story between Daigo and Maki for a minute and . . . lol. It totally didn’t fit into what Digimon is. Odd scene.

I did like the reveal (albeit unoriginal) of Daigo and Maki being two of the original Chosen Children. It made them infinitely more interesting (which, because they weren’t interesting to begin with . . . just makes them OK characters now).

How incredibly odd was it for Piyomon to meet Meiko and warm up to her so quickly (A GIRL SHE JUST MET), and still be a total bitch to Sora (A GIRL WHO FED HER AND WAS NOTHING BUT KIND TO HER)??? Sora’s conflict is the core storyline of this film, and its foundation is just so weak. I know I keep repeating myself, but seriously. Some “good” came out of it (what it forces Sora to go through in the film), but it would’ve been so much better if the writers had actually attempted to come up with a logical reason for Piyomon to be a massive cunt to Sora for no particular reason (that is, a reason that isn’t forced as fuck).

Awww, Gabumon and the whole “Yamato-kun” thing was pretty cute. And Taichi’s jealously of not being called “Taichi-kun”, haha. :)

This film had so many parallel moments and homages to the first season. I quite liked the nostalgic throwbacks.

I really loved Yamato’s line, “I expect too much of [Taichi]”. So true. Taito feels, ON.

Meicoomon’s reunion with Meiko was pretty . . . weird. It just felt random (or just badly executed). And it was a bit funny with all her swipes at the air surrounding Meiko’s head (which is not the desired reaction, lol).

LMAO at Sora throwing rocks at “Gennai”. Also he used Meicoomon to boob-punch her . . . I know I shouldn’t find this funny, but I do. XD Funny in a am-I-really-seeing-this-over-the-top-shit-in-a-Digimon-series-way!?

Continuing with the inappropriateness . . . I also found it funny when he licked her. It just totally took me “out” of the whole film, like a jump-the-shark moment. “This . . . is Digimon?!” It was so weird and totally didn’t fit in with what you should expect to see in a Digimon series. I think the tri. writers were trying to be “risque” but instead it just made me think tri. really needed a better writing staff who knew how to keep to a tone. XD; (Also, Sora’s complete lack of reaction to the lick made it even weirder. Girl, some man who wasn’t Yamato just LICKED YOUR FACE. Please react to it to show that it was shocking/uncomfortable/disgusting for you. Again, tri. writers being incompetent, because Sora really should have given some reaction to it. A simple sound of disgust would’ve worked, to at least acknowledge that it was STRANGE. Sora took that lick almost like she gets licked every day by strangers -- and is pretty content to be licked. Her non-reaction was weirder than the lick itself.)

The scene was also getting to look pretty rape-y with him being on top of her for so long . . . and sorry-not-sorry, but get that shit out of Digimon. That shit stays in fanfiction for a reason. STOP BEING A FANFIC, TRI..

Sora pushes “Gennai” off her and he just goes down? Lol. How weak is this dude. Also, it was just weird to see “Gennai” act like a creepy dude. Again, it really didn’t fit what Digimon is.

LMAO at when Plotmon “puppy howls” at “Gennai” and everyone just runs. XD Was it supposed to be funny? XD THAT was their getaway??? XD (But Plotmon is cute as fuck. I want one. :3)

So after Sora tries to protect Piyomon . . . Piyomon decides to remove the giant stick up her arse and recognise how kind Sora has been ALL ALONG. Wow. Random, abrupt resolution there. WHAT IS THIS WEAK WRITING. Piyomon’s entire attitude changes in a blink of an eye. If you don’t have an issue with this, your standards are way too low when it comes to good writing and storytelling. Don’t get me wrong, I love how Sora got to shine and everything, but I wish the writers had backed it up with actual good writing. It really isn’t hard to get Piyomon to be weary of Sora without being an outright, illogical bitch.

OMG, the moment Jou charges at “Gennai”? HOW FUCKING GLORIOUS. It both shocked me and made me love Jou a lot, hahaha. GO HERO JOU!

Yamato can throw Gabumon into the air in water . . . DO YOU EVEN LIFT, BRO!? Apparently, he does. XD

Also, a tri. film where Taichi is in-character and I actually love him? Here, have bonus points, “Loss”. I loved all of Taichi’s interactions with Yamato in this film. Go Taito, go. But . . . that whole part where Taichi and Yamato were underwater and trying to go up for air? It made me laugh so hard. Partly because of the poor animation, but also just because . . . the entire thing was hilarious hahaha. It shouldn’t be, because they could’ve drowned, but . . . XD

Um . . . Machinedramon throwing Sora around – and especially AGAINST A CLIFF – really should have killed her. WTF. Yamato, you’re gonna end up with a woman who cannot die. Be prepared, son.

Sora literally clings to life because she wants to make meatballs for Piyomon again . . . LOL. Phoenixmon was born from a mutual love of meatballs. (OK, I’m just taking the piss. :P)

Why would Phoenixmon let Sora fall off of her without trying to swoop down to catch her? Weird. Also, Jou catching Sora was awesome, but again, totally defies logic that Sora didn’t crush his bones completely upon impact and killed both of them. :P And wouldn’t it have been awesome if Yamato and Taichi had joined them sooner so that Yamato could’ve caught Sora in his arms instead? *cough* (Jou was totally amazing in this film though. THE UNSUNG HERO.)

Patamon’s evolution to his Mega form was too random and easy, like they just wanted to get it over and done with and just stuck it in at the last minute. I personally don’t care that it was too easy, but it was. :P

The film’s ending made me interested in where the plot goes . . . and that’s a good thing!

Overall . . . I thought the film was pretty good, despite its weaknesses. If I seemed too critical for a film that I rank the second best so far in the tri. series, it’s because I really hate giant leaps in logic and poor writing. My criticism of this film basically boils down to the Sora/Piyomon conflict being entirely forced, and for having a few moments that really didn’t fit into Digimon at all.

The strength of this film though is its “action” and pacing, which makes it better than the first and second film. The first film was dull, even with good character interactions – its pacing was too slow. And the second film, though enjoyable, really was just filler. And I did like Sora’s character journey in this fourth film -- I just wish it had been for a better reason than Piyomon being a you-know-what. But Sora was amazing throughout this film and I love her. :P

Can the fifth and sixth film top this? I really hope so. I want to be able to look back on the entire series and think that it was good. That would be great, tri.. Do your best, please. ;)

[eurofox]

Yakuza Kiwami Review

This was way shorter than 0 and it kind of caught me off guard but it is a remake of a nearly 20 year old PS2 game so I’ll cut it some slack. Also the writing was nowhere near as good as 0 but they’ve added some cutscenes to expand upon the story which helps as lot. Anyway spoilers :

The good shit:

It all looks very nice I must say. Outside of NPC’s in the street who are very PS3

Still has the style switching which I prefer for the strategy. Rush seems a bit more useful this time.

Like I said, the new cutscenes help expand on Nishki’s development, which is really needed.

Kiryu has some cute interactions with Haruka

Introduction of one of the best characters, Date. And his helicopter. And his shitty babysitting

I didn’t mind having money separate from experience this time

No Mr.Shakedown

I enjoyed the Majima everywhere system, it was funny and occasionally panic inducing when I was injured and could hear him coming. I imagine it’d be a nightmare if you were a completionist which I ain’t

Final Boss with Nishiki is great

Again, another fantastic soundtrack

Someone matched the old english dialogue with the new cutscenes and it’s funny as fuck

Little references here and there to 0

It’s very similar to 0 gameplay wise so what’s good there is mostly still good here.

The Bad shit:

Feels short, but I get why. Like a big DLC download really.

Haruka’s voice cuts through my head like a knife

The majima in the actual story clashes with the majima everywhere system’s personality. Can make it a bit confusing.

Substories here a more boring, lots of scams.

Most of the boss fights in this game are fucking awful, I’m sorry. The mid fight healing can get tae fuck. Shimano’s first fight is tedious as shit and takes forever if you haven’t unlocked much moves yet. The gun guy is also bullshit. Jingu is the second worst boss fight in the entire series, WTF where they thinking. I’m just glad I got him on the first try. 

Substories that are actually important to the plot are easily missed. Daigo’s mum and the fake Mizuki wouldn’t trigger for me so I just watched them online. Bizarre choice.

I do not care for the florist. And I care even less about his stupid son who doesn’t add anything to the story. Purgatory as a whole sucks imo.

Reina deserved better.

Cool tracks being wasted in one off situations. why did ‘Intelligence for Violence’ get used on six random mooks you finish off in a minute. Should of been a boss theme

Having to slowly unlock legend style. Couldn’t be arsed.

Fucking guns knocking you flat on your hole again.

Shitty car chase section 

No disco

If it wasn’t for 0, the story would feel very weak. I get it was made without anything else in mind, but even with the added cutscenes it’s not great. Why:

Yumi got no development in 0 for some reason and barely gets any here either. She’s kiryu’s great ‘love’ but I did not sense that at all. He had to be basically be told to get her the ring for her birthday and they barely interact. She’s gone for most of the game and then appears, gives a speech about real happiness and then dies. 

Kiryu finds Haruka in a pub he was recently in full of murdered civilians and there’s no follow up on that? Next time I went the pub was back to normal? WTF?

Jingu appearing near the end with little build up and is comically evil with his stupid villain laugh. He was apparently loving but then went super evil because of ‘power’ and despite being married to the prime minister’s daughter is doing all this bullshit. I see they tried to tie him into future games but yeah this felt like bullshit.

Sera gets murdered offscreen and it’s implied Nishiki did it and it’s left at that. Disappointing after his role in 0

Shimano and Kazama built up as masterminds in 0 but don’t seem to be all that in this game. Shimano is reckless as hell and kazama just dumps exposition and then dies. 

Kiryu is very calm about the fact his father figure killed his parents. This is never followed up on in the series BTW. 

Nishiki doesn’t appear enough and didn’t have to die that dumbass death. The bomb was already going off you tool.

A lot of people said this would feel like a downgrade, as 0 is considered one of the best games in the series and I agree with that. But it does help this game overall if you’ve played 0 first storywise. The game was always going to be limited but they've really put the effort in for a new audience. It’s still really fun.

[kitto-toberu-sa]

Tri Spoilers

I feel the new trailer has kinda spoiled some of the films best moments since they take some of the tension out of it... On the cast talk, they didn’t say much of interest, since we hadn’t seen the movie, so anything interesting would have been a spoiler...

Cast Talk Sora’s va had invited other cast members to her concert and they came, so she felt like they were family. They twirled around in the uniforms and said they thought the movie was interesting. Next broadcast is those two + Mimi, with Takeru as the MC, because he’s cheerful and able to chat. He called himself ponkotsu (useless, terrible etc) and said he found it difficult, so Sora should do it, but she said she was ponkotsu too. Mimi’s va is the ‘you can do it’ senpai, so the announcer said the three of them probably balance each other out lol

Warning: I was working on three hours of sleep and did have a teeny tiny bit of alcohol before the movie (I get tipsy easily :/) so I may or may not have missed something. 

Shipping moments - honestly whenever someone asks me about a ship moment I never know if they’re talking friend or romance. Because in all honesty, character A can look at B and half of tumblr will say it’s code for them dating. So when y’all say ‘moments’ I never know what you’re thinking because half of you exaggerate nothingness into canon. So when I’m asked about moments, I talk about times when characters interacted. I hope that clears things up.

Also please slow down on the shipping asks. I deleted over 10 messages. Patience is appreciated. So is not being rude. I’m happy to talk about literally any ship, but don’t spam me and demand answers. You make your ship and the fandom look bad. (Also why are y’all on anon I don’t bite lmao)

We start off with a flashback, done in an old timey style (like old movie cinema noises, flickering visuals etc. I thought it was rad like it made me so happy I love it) HIMEKAWA AND DAIGO ARE DIGIDESTINED. (HE’S A GOGGLEHEAD I LOVE HIM) So we see their final story and that’s hella cool but I can’t read kanji and some of it was written in kanji so :/

Looks like she was possessed like Hikari? Glowing eyes and shit, mentions of light, hope, Yggdrasil and homeostasis. (Apparently they were the original chosen which seems kinda blegh to me but w/e)

So they both know they’re chosen and Maki works her butt of to try and get them back (looks like she may have made reboot in order to reach her partner?). At one point Daigo tries to get her to STOP (even though she just wants to see her partner??? Bakumon/Tapirmon)

“I’ll be your new partner”

I fucking squealed HOW CUTE

But also what a dumb confession you nerd. This looked to be high school or uni btw. She was favourable to that. It seems they dated for a time but he forgot everything? (Which explains why she’s so bitter 24/7)

In any case, the kids are stuck in the D World with no way to contact anyone (Gennai isn’t answering) or to get home. They eat. Koushirou goes on a lecture about Oolong because Mochimon said it was nice. Mochimon is looking for a polite way to say ‘I honestly don’t care’ since Koushirou is rambling about it while everyone is doing their own thing. Sora made food for everyone. Everyone’s bonding but Piyomon is being an unreasonable bitch. I can understand her being scared, confused etc, but she’s full on aggressive the whole movie, and it literally makes no sense. It’s distracting, not like the first Piyomon we knew and it doesn’t advance the plot or characters.

Ah, there’s also a few scenes where they’re trying to bond with their Digimon. Hikari’s whistle smells like her so they bond pretty quick and it’s pretty cute. Tsunomon is hiding even though yamato is standing ages away just looking over his shoulder. Lots of ‘DON'T EAT ME PLZ’ which is cute and Mochimon is adorable.

Koushirou is busy so Mimi tries to feed him!!!! He goes bright red and puts his laptop in front of his face, saying he can feed himself. I’m screaming everyone loved it they’re SO CUTE. Sora made some weird shit with jelly beans and whipped cream. Koromon is the only one who likes it. Everyone else thinks its fucked up. I wouldn’t eat it.

Everyone Digivolves because of food? Palmon has a cute scene where she’s all like ‘Am I cute~?’ and Mimi is like YAAAAS YOU ARE! YOU’RE THE DIGIWORLDS NEXT TOP MODEL (okay not a direct quote but shush) which is super cute since Mimi wasn’t impressed with having an ‘ugly’ digimon originally so it really shows her development and growth.

Meikuumon appears, runs away and then disappears through a portal. Meikuumon is very odd, going from crying to being incredibly angry the whole time. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. Meiko gets to the Digital World after her Digivice changes.

Sora is upset because Piyomon is being a bitch so Taito try to comfort her. They sit on either side of her, so it’d be an excellent opportunity for them to both show interest in her. Or for Yamato to go ‘dude, my girlfriend/love interest, back off’. But no. Apparently neither of them know more than ‘Sora’s upset’ and have no idea what’s really wrong or how to help, so they’re using each other as back up to try and make her happy.

How many years have they known each other now? They should have some type of guess at how to help her inidivdually. It makes me wonder if the epilogue is tri canon because this could have set Sorato up perfectly, but if you didn’t know the epilogue, you honestly never would know. Everyone would assume it’s Koumi that’s the official pair.

Agumon floats by on a log? So Tai goes to help and Sora walks off. Tai says the same line Piyomon said about taking care of herself and she’s all like ‘don’t say what Piyomon said!!!’ as if Tai knew about it??? The whole scene is funny, but it’s filler and just goes ‘boys and girls are SO different they CAN’T understand each other?!???!’. It’s basically Taito speaking in unison and going ‘girls are troublesome’.

Considering they don’t know how to comfort her and they’re constantly together, I wouldn’t say it’s a win for anyone but Taiorato fans, and due to the bad writing, I don’t think you can call it a win.

At some point they’re discussing Meiko and Hikari’s like ‘ehhh Takeru, don’t you have a crush on her?’ and he’s like ‘don’t worry, my number one person is...’

-looks at Yamato-

‘Isn’t that great, oniichan?’ (Taichi)

Tsuntsun Yama makes his appearance again. I LOVE IT.

Everyone (Meiko not included) is deciding what to do and Jyou is old reliable Jyou again. Takeru mentions how he’s like Jou of the past and Mimi wonders if he’s responsible now because he has a girlfriend to look after. Jyou can tell by her tone she doesn’t believe he has a girlfriend. I live for these jokes tbh.

Everyone gets separated when the big bad attacks. The scene of Jyou/Pata/Pal is adorable, since we see Palmon and then it pans up to Jyou. It looked so dramatic but then it’s Jyou and two weak/girly looking Digimon against a stormy sky and everyone just burst out laughing. 

Tai and Gabu are together. Tai’s shouting for everyone. Gabu joins in.

“YAMato... kun”

He’s too embarassed because they aren’t close enough and stuff to just say ‘Yamato’. Tai is a bit miffed that Gabumon won’t use honorifics on him lmao Gabu’s the cutest little muffin and everyone loved it. It happens again later when he and Yamato are reunited and Yamato is like ???  why honourifics??? and Taichi’s still pissed he doesn’t have honorifics lolololol

Anyone Tai and Hikari meet up and Tai’s like ‘well all their memories are gone it sucks’ and Hikari’s like ‘I don’t know. This way, Plotmon doesn’t remember all the bad things that happened to her. I think it’s okay this way.’ AND DAMN THAT HIT ME. Abuse isn’t something you just magically get over. It’s a lifelong fight. Honestly it was really simple and wasn’t elaborated on, but it seriously touched me. It says a lot about Hikari and her relationship with Tailmon to me.

Palmon draws Mimi on some rocks. Koushirou and Yamato are together and Koushirou just shows photos of everyone having fun which is cute, but do we really need all this bonding stuff? Tri has been really well character driven, but it rebooted to 0 character for the Digimon so I just feel like it’s a bad decision and I’m worried about the time it ate up, since it leaves less time for plot.

Piyomon and Sora are in the desert, Piyomon tries to ditch, they find Meiko. They go recoop and Piyomon doesn’t want to talk to Sora but she happily does whatever Meiko says? Which considering how little she trusts Sora, why would she trust some random human she just met? It’s honestly so cringey and Sora and Meiko were uncomfortable with it, and it made no sense. Sora deserved better.

Ken appears to Sora and Meiko. He shows himself to be Gennai. But apparently is NOT Gennai, but is on the Digimon’s side. Whatever the fuck that means.

Also, he licked Sora’s face while pinning her down and felt all over her to steal her Digivice. It made me hella uncomfortable. It wasn’t necessary, the cast is already freaked out by him, he’s stronger and smarter than them, so it did nothing except make the audience uncomfortable. Sora didn’t make much of a reaction either, so it was weird and unnecessary and not what Digimon is about. 

Maki finds her partner but obviously it doesn’t remember her. She seems really shocked? Like what the fuck? She probably knew this would happen, or the amount of time it’s been could have changed things. Instead of being understanding or sad, she goes berserk and grabs it and shakes it? Girl needs to chill (honestly made me uncomfortable, like imagine shaking a small child? ew)

(Meanwhile, Huckmon fills Daigo in in Maki’s office and just info drops really. Daigo has some nice hacking skills tho. Mostly cuz he knows Maki too well lol)

By the end of the movie everyone except Tailmon is at their final form iirc. That was pretty rad, except I’m pretty sure Takeru’s digivice said MagnaAngemon instead of Holy? Also, Butterfly was playing instead of Brave heart for some of the evolution and that’s weird and wrong. (I love it but it isn’t the evolution song :/)

The end battle is everyone going ‘oh shit Sora/Meiko are in trouble lets get Gennai away from them’ and for some reason they’re on a boat? Okay then. Taito run off with Hikari and encounter Seadramon. Hikari is left to float by herself while the other two drown. They're ultra gay because Taichi can’t swim enough so starts drowning (even though he should theoretically be more athletic than Yamato? Or at least equal) so Yama comes back and swims around him to save him? But they both drown and the AguGabu’s friendship saves them and they Digivolve. As you do. They monologue and shit, but, as much as it’s my OTP and Yama is bae of baes, it didn’t fit the tone, the situation or anything. It wasn’t important. Generic friendship stuff.

Nobody really brings Sora back to her normal self, but Piyomon comes to her senses after Sora tries to save her and is repeatedly smashed into a mountain. Meiko does try to comfort Sora before they’re all attacked and is all like ‘Digimon are our partners’ and using the words Sora used to comfort her (this is right before Meikuumon attacks her too lmao so Meiko tries to help Meikuumon and then they’re all attacked by gennai).

So the others come up with a plan to distract Gennai from SoraMei (which backfrires because Sora runs off to help everyone and he can teleport? So he’s like lol thanks for leaving Meiko wide open nice).

JYOU FULL ON TACKLES GENNAI IT’S BRILLIANT AND COMES OUT OF NOWHERE FUCK DIGIMON I’M USING MY FISTS WHAT A BRAVE GOOD BOY

Piyomon gets captured, Sora tries to save her and is smashed up against a wall of ice numerous times. Piyomon digivolves, mostly everyone else does and a giant Tentomon appears?!? Because Koushirou used a hologram, nice. There was no reason for Palmon and Gomamon to be on the sidelines. Nice fight tho. Takari scene were ice is crashing and Takeru is looking out for her, but that’s what he’d do for anyone, and I’m honestly sick of her needing to be saved (happened like, three times this movie? Yuck no thanks)

Anyway Gennai plot drops and I don’t really get it but it looks like he was using Maki to make reboot so Digimon who were sealed away could be reborn and Meiko is needed for some reason (maybe due to Meikuumon’s virus?). Yggdrasil seems to be the big bad. Gennai is trying to get Meikuumon to do something but it won’t so he strangles Meiko until she passes out (I honestly don’t believe she’s dead) and Meikuumon evolves.

The end.

---

My thoughts:

Weakest movie so far. Many scenes were enjoyable but since the Digimon are memoryless, it didn’t add to development, character or plot wise. Enjoyable scenes were also dragged out too long, leaving little room for plot. Plot came out of nowhere and was unexplained (where the fuck are the 02 kids) and Sora honestly just cried a lot. This should have been her and Meiko’s movie, because Taito didn’t do much plotwise and Sora’s arc was written too weakly to carry the movie. At the end of the movie everyone kinda paused, going, ? oh, that’s it? It didn’t feel like a complete movie

Felt a little like filler. I enjoyed it, but I’m very worried about the pacing the last two movies need to fit everything in.

Especially if the epilogue is canon. They’re either glossing over everything (ie Sorato) or … I don’t know. Like, to show a relationship, all they need is Sorato standing next to each other, Yamato attempting to comfort her alone and like, one or two lines a movie where they show concern for each other on more than friends level. But Koumi + Jyou/Mystery Woman get more than that, so it’s worrying to see how it will end out.

I honestly don’t care if they rehash the epilogue. I like it as it is, but unless they did something majorly off like pair Meiko with Yamato I’d probably be happy with it (I only wouldn’t accept this as it comes out of nowhere). I don’t think there’s really been tonnes of Takari hints (some, yes) but I wouldn’t mind betting that Koumi has good chances of being canon, though Mimi doesn’t always seem to realise Koushirou likes her, so maybe not. But if any couple was going to be canon that wasn’t originally canon, that’s where I’d put money. 

[iamcrimelord]

To all of my friends in the collective and the circle.

The following post that you are about to read is one that I have struggled with for almost a year now to write as it deals with something that happened to me that was traumatic, humiliating, and in many ways needlessly cruel. I have thought many times over what I want to say and how I wish to say it. I’ve written draft after draft of how I wanted to word my feelings as I know that sometimes what I mean to say and what is actually heard can at times be two very different things. Initially I wanted to lash out against those that had hurt me and that had put me through the pain that I have suffered this year. But thankfully with loving guidance and comfort from my very dear friends who have been a pillar of strength for me through this year. I realize now that they have healed me from what could have been a self destructive course. I will forever thank them and love them for what they have done for me. The purpose then, of me writing this post now is not to get vengeance against those whom I hated or who I felt wronged me rather I simply wish to state my side of a story that was spread out among the ranks of the tumblr group, @weareadventurers and state what I was not allowed to say before nor was I in a state of mind to be able to say, for at the time that all of this happened I was mentally and emotionally panicked and did not know where to go or who to turn to and thus i committed several serious errors that only made my situation worse. Though my time with the group ended in a very ugly manner. I wish to undo that damage done to my reputation while expressing that I have nothing but good will and well wishes for the groups future. I wish to state for the record what happened, why it happened, and where it has left me now. To any who may have their own grudge or hatred towards this group, I ask that you do not use this post as ammunition for your own conflicts against them. The group as I knew it then was and I would certainly hope still is, filled with good people and that what transpired was due to miscommunication, lack of communication, and so forth. 

To take a moment to explain my time with the collective, I joined them near the start of my time at college. They had a spot open for someone to become the pyromancer and druid and so I volunteered my services to @wearepaladin and since no one else wanted the position, I got it by default. It was a very rewarding experience and I was able to post stories and write content to an audience size I had never had a chance to entertain to before. Where things began to go wrong was very simply put, I did not consider what type of people were in my audience. During the bulk of my time in college I worked as a customer service rep at a call center to help pay for tuition, rent, and so forth and so I was under a rather large amount of stress made worse by the fact that it was a customer service job at a call center and for anyone who has ever worked in such a job, you know that at the end of a long night shift doing that you are not always going to be in the best of moods. And so I used my writing to tell tales of Daigo Belfir, a pyromancer who started out as a drunken fire starter intended to be a joke character and turned him into what many called an Edge Lord, a title that frankly I rather enjoy if one can believe it. The stories I began to write of him were a way to channel my frustration with many of the rude and cruel folks that I had to deal with at my job but the one thing in particular that I would write about from time to time is how he would hunt down and kill sex traffickers. Which at the time was something I thought many people would appreciate. Turns out I was wrong as one member of the group was willing to point out. It did bring some concerns to the paladin but he saw no fault in what I wrote and gave me a pass on it the first time, but told me that the blogs of the collective were simply meant to be reposts, and not story or rp blogs, he also advised not including sex traffickers in my stories anymore. To be honest, I became very annoyed with the instructions to just stick to doing reposts as I felt the true strength of the group was that we were a band of adventurers and our characters were what people were into, not a simple endless stream of reblogged pictures especially for someone whose characters whole thing was fire. After a while, you can only reblog things being burned for so long before it gets redundant and that was when I made my next big mistake. I started to thumb my nose at the Paladin’s rules and post story blogs anyway because that was what people were into and the thought of setting up a new blog and rebuilding a follower base was too much for me I thought. What I could not have known was that my stories were starting to upset many people in the collective but what has puzzled me for a long time is that no one ever really talked to me about it save for the friends that I mentioned before and so I figured I was just in my own little corner posting things while everyone else did the big stuff. Which frankly, I was fine with as I enjoyed being able to write what I wanted without needing to coordinate with others, though I love to RP and would often make posts inviting those within and without the collective to join in on. And so this went on until one day @weareknight told me not to ressurect my character Daigo who had died and come back from the dead again. (This was something my character Daigo did a lot and it annoyed the other members who disliked how frequently I did it, though again I wonder why as hardly any of them ever talked to me.) I tried to laugh off the frankly rude demand that I follow his order for my own character and tried to simply make a joke of it. It backfired greatly and he then posted this long tangent as to how I was apparently a pervert who wrote nothing but erotic fantasies of rape and violence and that I needed to grow up. This reaction surprised me greatly as I had mentioned above, If I ever wrote about such issues in my blog in my stories, it was of Daigo killing such evil people because rape is a horrible, horrible thing and those that exploit others in such a manner must and should be punished as I hope many of you will agree. And so not wanting to dignify his immature outburst I said nothing else, and went about my business. Shortly thereafter I got a message from @wearepaladin telling me that I was no longer part of the group. Had it been left at that, things would have turned out differently. I figured that due to my thumbing my nose at his rules and the outburst of the knight was the reason for it, but not asking any questions I told him that I would go quietly but that the hate mail that was starting to be sent to me frequently by the other members at that time had to stop and as their leader if I got any more I would hold him responsible for it because after all, he is their leader. I also said that I was keeping the name wearepyromancer. He said that was fine and I left, figuring that was the end of that. How wrong I was.  The Next day my inbox was flooding with hate mail. The paladin had made a massive post telling me I had been kicked out of the group because of a few different things but the main one was that a post I had made was being made out to be one of non consent and sexual harrasment. I was at once greatly alarmed by that claim and began to frantically try to find out what had happened to make the paladin say something like that as I had always been of the clear stance that I opposed such things. It turns out that a post that me and another friend in the group had done for valentines day the year before was the cause. To explain, there were those who had shipped my character Daigo with her character, and so we thought as a fun valentines day post we would have it set up to where our characters would fight, and then Daigo would surprise her with a kiss. We both agreed it would be cute and fun and be a fun treat to give our readers who we thought wanted to see such a thing. Alas nothing happened and so we went about our way thinking that our plan to excite the fans failed. The truly tragic thing is that the picture was at first, a surprise gift for my friend who loved it and then I proposed we do the post, she agreed and we went about doing it as I explained above. If I recall correctly someone had asked my friend about the pic but she said she did not remember asking for it because as you may have guessed by now, she did not, for as I mentioned, it was a valentines day surprise I commissioned for her. But to my knowledge they did not ask her any other questions nor have they spoken to her again since all of this has happened. fast forward one year and suddenly that same post that me and my friend made was now the supposed “Damning evidence” that I deserved to be kicked out of the group and that I was this, awful monster that needed to be avoided at all cost and that I was evil, and that the paladin was so sorry that he had let someone like me into the group and that no one should attempt to speak to me further and ignore me completely. The irony of it all is that I was planning on leaving anyway, though I was dragging my feat because frankly, the prestige of being a part of @weareadventurers was rather addicting but I was glad to be kicked out because it meant that leaving finally happened and that I would be free of the paladins restrictive rules on content posting. Yet another mistake on my part.  And so the hate mail came, and people left and right called me a deviant and a monster. One person even told me to kill myself. I would have fought more on the blog but at the time I was applying for a new job because I was unemployed and recently had to leave college because I could no longer do a full time job and go to school at the same time and I did not want an account that was getting so much hate mail and accusations about me attached to my person and I was afraid that a background check would bring that up. And I was not about to let my chances of getting a job be put at risk because of an untruth. Now I want to take a brief moment to point out I used the word, Untruth, and not lie. The paladin as I can only assume was working off of information that he had been given by others. My friend to whom I made the post with informed me that the hatred against me by some members in the group was so heated that it looked like they were looking for any reason they could to get rid of me. After all, you have to demonize before you can ostracize otherwise you risk being a “bad person.” And so they presented the paladin with the info, who then did what he felt was the right thing to do. Though it would have been nice if he had told me before he made that post why I was being kicked out. To be fair though, I assumed I already knew and thus did not ask. Again...I made many mistakes. 

And so with a heavy heart, I had to deactivate the account with many telling me good riddance. As I deleted the blog I had to reload my page several times. It was like being forced to execute a family member but the gun kept jamming. But it was finally deleted and I found myself tottally, and utterly alone. With many of my friends in the group blocking me and refusing to speak to me. For the paladin did not say to stop the hate mail as I had asked, but told them to avoid me all together. Thankfully another friend grew suspicious of that order and spoke with me anyway. And so over the course of the year, my friend helped me recover from the lowest point I had ever been in my life.  The first thing that happened after I shut down my blog was track down my friend to whom I had made the “evil” post with to make sure she was all right. I did not know what she had been going through and I was terrified that something similar had happened to her, after all, once an angry mob is formed the thirst for blood fades slowly. Thanks to my other friend I found her, and told her everything was going to be all right. She had been terrified that I was going to be furious with her but I assured her that I was not. Why would I have been? She is one of my best friends and she did nothing wrong and I assured her that she was still and still is to this day one of my best friends, even if these days we dont get the chance to talk like we used to. 

The following months consisted of help and guidance from my other friend. He was able to talk me down from trying to outright sue the paladin and to try to think rationally while still letting me vent about the hurt I was going through. He even went so far as to speak to the paladin on my behalf, asking him to take down the post he had made about me. Alas, the paladin did not. He said that he did regret what had happened but decided to keep the post up as a reminder to him not to do to another what he had done to me. As you can imagine, I took that response very, very poorly. I saw it simply as the reaction of a man who after being shown he made a mistake, was willing to let me continue to live in exile and fear so long as it ensured his own reputation was intact. But again to be fair, he may have been genuine about that and simply did not realize how I might have felt about that, after all we have not spoken since the day he told me I was out. It is a fault that I have as well in my own manner of thinking and to continue the fairness, I had made a lot of mistakes, such as thumbing my nose at the rules of the group I was a part of and that he ran. It comes as no surprise that he would be unwilling to take down the post after how I had disrespected his authority, for yes indeed my friends, he did have the authority to do that. But back then, I did not have the clearer vision that I do now, and so for months I writhed in unending rage and hatred against the man. Hate for the loss of my blog, hate for the damage he had done to my reputation, hate for the fear I have lived in every day since then that someone may take it all a step further and do something truly heinous to either my reputation or even my physical person all because the paladin had made that post. The thing that was truly scary about all this is just how much influence the paladin has over others, in fact I would imagine that he may not fully realize just how much people hang on his word and so in making that post it gave, in the minds of many, the right to attack me and harass me because suddenly I was this, obvious monster that had no right to mercy because the paladin had clearly marked me out as a monster, even though I no longer believe that was his intent and again I stress, he was working with what information he had at the time. 

This brings us to now. I have since then moved on from the hate I once felt for him and the collective group @weareadventurers. But the fear of what further damage this post may do to me in the future has haunted me for months. I live in terror that should I ever gain even a small part of the popularity I had before someone is going to come and bring up this story and use it to attack me because in this age we live in, cancel culture is as wide spread as it is addictive. Ironically the same sense of moral rightness that I often wrote about in Daigo became the very thing that led to my own demise with the group. But even so I still remember my time with them fondly and despite what the paladin said many of my friends in the group have begun to talk to me again. I would invite any who once did so back in those happier days to reach out to me on this blog again if you wish. All of what transpired was simply one massive misunderstanding and ultimately no one person is guilty of anything save for only being human. 

I would now like to dedicate this last section to the collective member @we-are-scarlet-corsair and to apologize for something I did during all of this. As I mentioned before the Knight of the group had come up to me and told me not to revive my old character Daigo again for the umpteenth time which led me to provoke him with what I thought were joking comments to him. To explain, I had brought him back because I had seen posts from the paladin that she had been getting hate mail and harrasment because her character was “evil” and did not belong in the group. In a move that I thought would be charitable, and an excuse to bring back Daigo because of how much I love my character, I brought him back and thought I would go ahead and give the trolls someone else to harass besides scarlet corsair who had done nothing to deserve such hate.Between the time that the paladin made the post and my discovery about what he had done, I thought people were sending me hate mail about bringing back Daigo and that they had misunderstood what he had done in regards to the sex traffickers in my stories and explained that I was only trying to help scarlet corsair. That like everything else I had ever said or written was taken by many as the claim that I was somehow blaming her for my supposed bad behavior. And I see now how that would be the understanding of those who were then very angry with me. Regardless though of what my intentions were, I did not mean to sound that way. If you are reading this Corsair please accept my apology. I did not mean to make you feel attacked, or responsible, or anything like that. I hope that what I did has not caused you further distress or harm and that you have found as much joy as I once did in the collective. It may have its flaws but it is truly a good group to be a part of.  Thank you so much for reading this post if you have made it this far. I hope that I have explained myself clearly and that any ill will that I know many feel towards me may be softened by what I have said. I wish you all both within and without the collective the best for the future, and that you continue to have grand adventures. May we meet again someday as friends once more.  ~The Pyromancer