#I have not gotten along with Vi fans basically the entire time I’ve been in the fandom

[666silco]

This is something I’ve wanted to do since my first one, I have updated my character tierlist from s1 to s2 now that it’s finished! I always think these are fun so I just wanted to post them. As you can see my opinions on many characters changed quite a bit. Also these are in order, even for very minor characters. The “first” one is accurate to the one I made in 2022 when I first watched the show, I just remade it so the tierlists match.

[thevioletquinn]

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS // VIOLET X NOAH

Who: Violet Quinn, Noah Fynn, Unnamed Staff What: Noah tricks Violet in to actually celebrating her birthday. Where: A Bowling Place When: Friday 23rd October 2020 Mentions: N/A Trigger Warnings: N/A Word Count: TBA (Ongoing Chatzy)

(Forenote: Laura is a dumbass and forgot to save the start of the chatzy and can no longer access anything before this point. I’ll write up what basically led up to this when I get chance but the basics are that Noah asked Violet if she could pick him up which she begrudgingly did and he surprised her by booking out a bowling alley just for the two of them. At first Violet’s annoyed because she literally hates her birthday)

---

Noah had assumed that Violet wasn't a huge fan of her birthday, having guessed that was probably the reason why she had only told him about the date at the very last minute the year before. Still, Violet was one of the most important people in his life and he just couldn't let the day slip away without doing something to celebrate, even if she was looking at him like she would happily set him on fire right now. "I know that you're annoyed right now but I don't think that I'm the worst. If I was, I would have thrown you a huge surprise party", Noah pointed out, a cheeky grin on his face as he was confident that he would be able to get her to enjoy herself. After all, if she was really angry, she would have stormed out already. "Come on, the bartender has been eagerly awaiting your arrival so that he can start pouring drinks and the cook is on standby so that you can have whatever you want. We've literally got the full run of the place, it's a very private way to celebrate".

Violet remained with her arms folded for a few moments longer, really trying not to let that cheeky grin of his make her break her front. He did have a point though - if he had thrown a huge surprise party, he wouldn't have been seen again. The second he mentioned a bartender, the brunette's eyes flicked to try and find the bar. "Fine, but just so you know I'm staying for the alcohol, not for you." She told him but at the end, there was a small smile looming on her lips as she walked over to him, spinning him around to guide them both in the direction of the bar. Her hands remaining on his shoulders as they walked.

Despite her protests, he could tell that there was a tiny part of her that didn't completely hate what he had planned; yet he knew that she wasn't likely to admit that until she had a lot of alcohol in her system. "Damn, I shouldn't have gone to such an effort then. Next year, I'll just put my credit card behind the bar at Mars Bar and we'll just drink in silence", Noah teased, allowing her to guide him towards the bar. "Considering we're the only customers here tonight, I'm making a rule: we cannot order anything boring to eat or drink. The bartender is going to be bored if we just order beers all night and I bet the cook doesn't want to make some fries and then sit on his ass all night. I'm talking cocktails and literally everything on the food menu, Big Quinn".

"Technically, I didn't want any effort so..." Violet told him and only shifted to his side when they were at the bar. "Hm, okay, that's fair. You're going to make me fat but okay." She joked and started to look over the drinks menu before she noticed something. A slush machine. God, she hadn't had one of those since she was a kid. Her eyes shifted to the bartender and leaned forward slightly. "You want something not boring? I want a mixed slush and I want..." She hummed in contemplation. "... two, possibly three, shots of vodka mixed in with it." Her arms folded like she couldn't be told no and looked to Noah to see if he'd join her on that or not.

"Technically you shouldn't have befriended me, then. I'm not exactly the type of person to let a special occasion slip by without any sort of celebration", Noah pointed out. It just wasn't in his nature -- he loved a good celebration. "I think that's a physical impossibility, Vi. After all, I help you work out very vigorously on a very regular basis", he laughed. He looked at her with an impressed expression on her face when she decided what she wanted to drink; glad that she was starting to get into the spirit of things. "Bartender, can I please have a large mixed slush with three shots of vodka for my beautiful friend here; and a large blue slush with three shots of tequila for myself?"

Violet considered his point. "Fair point. Next year I'm hiding in a foreign country so you can't trick me in to celebrating, you sneaky little shit." She half-joked. There was every chance - if she remembered - that she would just take a holiday around her birthday so she had an excuse not to answer anyone. "Yeah... I might need a couple of work outs tonight in that case." The brunette tried to hide the smirk on her lips. Though a smile soon grew when he decided to join her on her order and turned to look back at the bartender. As much as she still wanted to be grumpy and mad that he'd got her here, there was a good part of her that actually really liked his idea. There was a choice of what she could do next - bowling or head to the arcade - and she weighed up these actions until she had her drink in hand. Surprisingly, Violet hadn't actually been bowling much in her life so she knew she was probably going to fail miserably at it so she figured she'd start there so she could end on beating Noah at arcade games. The girl thanked the bartender for her drink before swirling her straw in the cup to mix the liquor. "Bowling first?" She suggested to Noah.

"I can't believe that you would go overseas for a vacation and not invite me. I don't think I did anything to deserve such a cruel and unusual punishment from you", Noah said with a dramatic sigh. He was already mentally planning for how he could still do something to celebrate Violet's birthday next year if she was going to insist on going to such lengths to avoid said celebrations. "I think that can be arranged, although that really all depends on how tonight unfolds. I'm a pretty sore loser so I might not be in the mood later", he joked. "Good choice on the drink front, Vi", he told her once he had taken a sip of his drink, before nodding his head and leading them over to the front desk so that they could get bowling shoes. He ordered shoes for both himself and Violet; and as they were donning them, he looked at her curiously. "Have you bowled before?"

"It's not a punishment to you. I just really hate my birthday and maybe I'll hate it a little less from a foreign poolside with a constant flow of cocktails." Violet told him with a shrug. She rolled her eyes playfully at his joke. "Nice try but I'm not going to just let you win so I get sex, Fynn." She said - playing along with his joke - as she sipped from her drink. The cold feeling slipping down her throat feeling more than refreshing to her. "Thanks. I've not had one of these since I was a kid... minus the vodka obviously." The brunette swirled the straw around and followed him to the front desk to get their shoes. His question made her glance up at him briefly before continuing to tie her shoes. "Once or twice. It depended if a friend's parent was paying for everyone or not. If not, 'oh sorry, got school work to do'." Violet explained as she finished tying her shoes and drank a bit more of her slushie. "So, no, you're not allowed to laugh when I'm not good at something for once."

"I think you would enjoy it a lot more if I happened to be sitting next to you around the side of the pool", Noah was quick to counter. Violet had made the mistake of admitting her date of birth to him and it would now be very hard to stop him from celebrating entirely, although he was willing to dilute the celebrations slightly so that she wasn't too overwhelmed. "That definitely wasn't my intention, I want you to bring your A-game! I'm just warning you that I won't be feeling very sexy if I lose at literally everything tonight", he laughed. "Really? All my slushs had alcohol content, even from a young age", he teased; although he was only half-joking. He and his friends had probably started experimenting by adding alcohol in their early teenage years. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that because bowling is literally one of my favourite activities. If I had known that you had only played once or twice, I would have dragged you to the bowling alley ages ago". Without overthinking it, he leaned over and kissed her cheek; like that would help to alleviate the memory of her childhood. "I can't promise that I won't laugh but I will offer you some insider tips and tricks to help you improve".

"Maybe... I'd enjoy it more if I could push you in to the pool. Ruin that hair of yours that you probably spent way too long prepping for the pool." Violet joked. "I don't believe that for a second. Mainly because you look sexy all the time so how could you not feel sexy?" She complimented but rolled her eyes at the same time. A laugh leaving her thinking he was entirely joking about the slush thing. The brunette did make a mental note of bowling being one of his favourite activities in case she ever needed to pull him out of a bad mood. "Good luck dragging me. Mainly because I know I'm going to be absolutely terrible at this and strangely enough the idea of being worse than some kids around me sounds like hell. Luckily though, we have the whole place to ourselves." Violet explained why she probably would have tried to get out of it prior to today. She did appreciate the kiss on her cheek with a small smile on her lips. She'd gotten used to this action from Noah at this point but if anyone else tried kissing her cheek, she'd probably have backed away. "I can't promise I won't hit your arm for laughing but I definitely want the tips and tricks."

"What is your obsession with ruining my hair? What did it ever do to you?" Noah jokingly challenged. Over the last couple of months, Violet had certainly taken advantage of every opportunity to mess up his hair, despite his protests. "Even people as gorgeous as me don't feel sexy 100% of the time. Personally, I'm not really up for performing when I'm hungover or when my pride has been severely affected by repeated losses", he laughed, aware that she would ridicule him for that. "Even if you suck, I'm pretty confident that you're still going to look cute as hell whilst doing it", he assured her. "If it makes you feel any better, I can put up those bumpers and break out the ramp that they use for kids", he offered, only half-joking. "The first tip that you need to know is that kissing your very attractive bowling companion brings you good luck".

"It annoys you and you're adorable when you're annoyed." Violet answered honestly with a smirk on her lips. "Nah, the hangover one I get. The losses? I don't know, I think that would spur me on to do an even better job." The brunette responded with her view on that matter. She exhaled a laugh at him calling her cute while losing and ended up shrugging. "Okay, I'm not going to suck enough to use a ramp but the bumpers... I might need the bumpers or else I'm going to get gutterball every time." Violet considered the offer seriously before flicking her eyes back to him when he was giving her his first 'pro-tip'. A smile grew with a roll of her eyes and leaned in to give him a way more passionate kiss than he was probably expecting and only pulling back a couple of seconds later. "I need all the luck I can get."

"I'm always adorable, Quinn", Noah insisted. "That's because I'm clearly the sore loser in this relationship. It's not surprising that you'd be able to push through to redeem yourself whilst I'm still sulking in the corner", he laughed. "Bumpers it is". He quickly passed that information to the attendant that was working tonight so that they could set up the bumpers for Violet. He had been expecting Violet to just roll her eyes and dismiss the comment but instead, she rolled her eyes and quickly pulled him into a passionate kiss. He easily kissed her back, grinning at her when she pulled away. "Are you feeling lucky now? Are you ready for your first bowl of the night, birthday girl?"

"I can't argue with that." Violet agreed. "You know I won't be able to stand for you sulking in a corner. I'd probably have to kiss you until you stop pouting." She threatened like it was an actual threat. The girl appreciated how Noah wouldn't judge her for using bumpers. He never had judged her which is something she adored about Noah. Their connection was unconditional from both parties. "Very lucky." Violet told him, smiling brightly up to him. The brunette gave him a look when he called her the birthday girl but settled in to it. "I'm ready." She agreed and took his hand to guide them over to the lane set up for them. Violet initially went to the bowling ball rack to find a ball she could easily carry and use to bowl with.

"If you even tried to argue, I would know that you were lying", Noah was quick to retort. "... I suppose that might be a successful way to stop me from sulking but I don't that it would nurse my ego enough to make me put out", he joked before laughing at his own comment. "If you manage to get a spare or a strike, we'll know that my kisses basically have magic powers", he told her as the two made their way over to the lane. Whilst Violet was selecting her bowling ball, he programmed their names into the system (Fynn and Quinn) before selecting a ball of his own. "Alright, game on. Do you want me to go first so you can try and mimic my impressive moves?"

"I can't argue it but I can say that I'm more adorable." Violet teased back. "I never said you had to put out. I just don't like seeing you sulk or be grumpy. Last time you were grumpy, we had a threesome to get you out of it." She reminded him with a grin. "Oh, Oh! So what you're saying is: if I actually do good, you get all the credit for it?" The brunette questioned with a joking scoff for effect. The names didn't surprise her. They probably called each other by their last names more than their first names at this point. "You're going to be insufferable if I let you go first..." Violet pointed out but a small moment of hesitation later, she took a seat and looked to him. "Well, your name's first. You might as well go first." The girl was very good at pretending like she was good at everything but there was still a side of her that didn't want to show herself up and maybe - as he suggested - if she watched him go first, she might get an idea for the best way for her to play this

"I hate to break it to you but you're absolutely delusional. No one is more adorable than me", Noah retorted. Although Violet was one of the most adorable people that he had met in his life, he refused to admit that to her; knowing that she would never let him live it down. "I wasn't grumpy, I was sad because I had just been dumped... again. That being said, that threesome was a damn good way to cheer me up. You basically became the best wing woman I've ever had that night", he said with a grin, having very fond memories of that night. "I obviously expect 50% of the credit", he laughed, acting like it was a pretty fair request on his part. "Smart choice", he told her before walking up to the lane and taking his first bowl; loudly exclaiming when he knocked down all the pins bar two.

"I'm delusional? You're the one that thinks you're more adorable than a drunk me." Violet argued with a grin. Although she didn't always appreciate her drunken self, there were definitely times that she could be 'adorable'. "I don't see what the difference is. Sad. Grumpy." Her hands motioned like a weighing scale that was balancing out. "Either way, I at least know a trick to get you out of that mood and in to another mood now." The brunette responded with a smirk on her lips. Her eyes rolled at him taking the credit. "You're making me want to do bad just so you have to take credit for me being terrible at this." She retorted, mostly to cover that she might actually be bad at this and can then act like it was all on purpose. Violet took note of how Noah bowled so she could try to mimic it when it was her go. "Aw and here I was expecting you to get a strike on the first try, oh pro-ly one." The girl teased.

"That's not delusion, Quinn. That's a keen sense of self-awareness", Noah retorted, adamant that he was right. That wasn't to say that Violet wasn't also adorable, he was just in the mood to brag about his own achievements. "Do you really not know the difference between sad and grumpy? If so, I'm a little worried about you. That's something that they teach in primary school", he teased. "Something tells me that you're going to keep storing tricks in your mind until you have a full arsenal of strategies that you can use when I'm in those moods". Thankfully, said moods didn't actually happen that often; otherwise Violet would likely find him too draining and exhausting to spend time with. "We both know that my ego won't allow me to take responsibility for that", he laughed. "Easy there, tiger. You get two bowls per goal -- watch me get a spare with my second bowl", he told her. He focused intensely before taking his second bowl, cheering when he achieved just that.

"That's not to say that you aren't adorable... just that I'm more adorable. That's where the delusion is. Maybe we should just agree to disagree?" Violet teased. "Noah, you know I'm not good with emotions at all. Grumpy and sad fall under the same umbrella when it comes to me." She gave him a look as she said this. He knew that emotions weren't her strong suit so he shouldn't be all that surprised that she can't overly tell the difference. "I already have plenty of tricks on how to get you out of those moods. Sex is high on that list. Boosting your ego being another. Sometimes that means both." The brunette considered aloud. "No but I can still blame you and your kiss for making me bad at bowling." Violet countered with a big grin on her face. "But a spare isn't a strike. I'm still so disappointed in you." She exaggerated before laughing as he got the spare he claimed he was going to get. Hopping up from her seat to take her turn, she wandered over to him, stepping close. "You're such a show off, you know that?" The girl told him before giving him a quick peck that she would claim was for good luck if she was questioned before she bowled her ball. She attempted to do as she watched Noah do but somehow still managed to slip the ball out of her hand too early and watched it slowly make it's way down the alley at snail pace. "Erm..." Violet blinked as it knocked down two pins.

"I will agree to disagree on this occasion, purely because it's your birthday and I don't want us to spend the whole night arguing about who is more adorable", Noah conceded. "Do I need to make you a feelings chart to help you distinguish between basic emotions?" he teased, knowing that the comment would elicit some sort of reaction from her. "What would you do if sex or boosting my ego doesn't work?" he asked curiously, wondering what other tricks she had up her sleeve. He was always a little surprised when he remembered how well Violet knew him, mainly because she always made it clear that emotional connections weren't her strong suit. "I think the blame for your lack of bowling skills rests firmly on your lack of experience, not my kiss", he laughed. "Don't you worry, I'll get three strikes before the night is over", he said confidently. He just laughed when she called him a show off and kissed him quickly before stepping up to take her first shot, finding it very sweet that she had stopped protesting about the birthday celebrations and seemed to be enjoying herself. "Okay, silver lining here - it's very impressive that you still knocked down two pins when you didn't actually bowl properly. That was clearly a slip up", he pointed out, trying to bolster her confidence. He quickly made his way over to her and stood behind her, gently taking her arm so that he could properly demonstrate the movement she needed to make. "Try it like that", he encouraged.

"Ah, ah. No using the b-word." Violet reminded him. Her eyes rolled at his teasing. "Don't you dare make me a feelings chart. I don't want to offend you when I throw it away." She told him - though she probably wouldn't do this. The brunette paused for a minute to think. Usually those two options were enough to work. "Alcohol and weed is always a good back up. If all else fails, I might give in and play with your hair - not in a mess it up kinda way - because when you were ill you said it was comforting." The brunette recalled. "... Or I'd just mess it up so you'd focus on that instead of whatever got you down." She joked. He definitely wasn't wrong when he told her that her failure would be through lack of experience but it didn't stop her sticking her tongue out at him. "Yeah yeah, I'll believe it when I see it." The girl waved off his confidence. Violet quietly watched him come over to her and move behind her. She followed his guided motion and nodded slowly after. "Okay. I can give it a try." Violet got her ball back from the rack and copied the movement he showed her, this time the ball goes much smoother and knocking down a few more pins.

"You're acting like I just called you a bitch", Noah laughed. "Would you really throw away something that I worked hard on? What if I made you a deal? You have to display the feelings chart but in return, you can choose something that I have to display on my bedroom wall", he offered. "Those are good strategies, actually. I didn't realise that you paid so much attention to me". Honestly, he was kind of flattered that Violet cared about him enough to commit such strategies to memory, just in case she needed to use them in future. "You'll be eating your words before the night is over", he said confidently. He watched carefully as Violet bowled again, clearly trying her best to implement the technique he had demonstrated. He cheered when she knocked down a few pins, pulling her into a hug and kissing the top of her head. "That was much better! You'll be a pro before the night is over".

"You might as well have. You don't want to remind me how you tricked me here, Fynn." She told him, giving him a look but turning it in to a smile after. Violet hummed in contemplation on whether she actually would throw it out but his proposal intrigued her. "Even if I say it has to be one of your own nudes and you'd have to explain to hook ups why you have a picture of your own nude on your wall?" The brunette asked entirely straight faced so he couldn't read if she would actually go that far or not. Maybe a few months back she would just to keep her 'evil' streak alive but nowadays probably not. When Noah pointed out that he didn't realise she paid that much attention to him, she shrugged in initial response. "Yeah, well... you pay me attention all the time so I can return the favour by paying a little attention to you." The girl acting like it really wasn't a big deal. Her eyes rolled at his confidence but a smile pressed on her lips. A squeak of an eep left her as he suddenly cheered and wrapped his arms around her. "If I don't get a strike by the end of the night, I'm blaming my tutor." She teased, leaning up to kiss his lips since he kissed the top of her head.

[salarta]

For the fun of it, I’m going to post about all the cases I can remember where I stopped buying stuff from a company involved in creative works because of various things they did. Also, my history with them and current state. I could write very long posts on each of these, but my intent is to try to keep it short and straightforward.

Square-Enix

I grew up with Final Fantasy from Squaresoft. It was my lifelong fandom.

Problems arose with Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years, and Chrono Trigger DS. All of these games either were ideas for new franchises forced where they didn’t belong, or half-assed projects meant to bilk money out of people. The final straw was 3rd Birthday, one of the most insulting works I’ve ever seen. It bent over backwards to ruin perception of Aya, treated her like a sex object, and the producer and scriptwriter lied profusely about things like how the clothes ripping away mechanic was for “realism.”

Current status: Starting 2010, I’ve refused to buy anything Squeenix until a new game starring Aya Brea would be made that treats Aya right and makes 3rd Birthday noncanon. Squeenix’s philosophy is to hide its mistakes instead of fixing them, so I expect I’ll never buy and engage in anything from Squeenix again.

Ubisoft

I didn’t have much history with Ubisoft. I had been starting to get some interest in Assassin’s Creed after an online pal introduced me to the franchise. I greatly enjoyed AC3.

Then, Ubisoft decided to be dicks to Patrice Desilets. A lot could be said about this, but the cliffnotes is this. Desilets was making 1666 with THQ. Ubisoft bought THQ. When Desilets left/was fired (can’t remember which), the rights to 1666 were to go back to him if it got canceled. So, Ubisoft put the game on “indefinite hold” instead of canceling it - ensuring the rights wouldn’t go back to Desilets while never actually doing anything with it. I stopped buying anything Ubisoft until Desilets got the rights back.

Current status: The rights finally went back to Desilets after a few years. I immediately bought four games: Far Cry 3, Far Cry 4, Far Cry Primal, and Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. This year, I bought Far Cry 5, and I currently have Assassin’s Creed Odyssey next to play after I’m done with Soul Calibur VI.

Soul Calibur

I’ve been playing Soul Calibur games since SCII. I’ve enjoyed them a great deal. My favorite character in the franchise is Setsuka.

Soul Calibur V is where I had big complaints. The excuse of a time jump to change the roster conveniently meant most of the female roster “needed” to be changed while most of the male roster got to remain. Including the removal of Sophitia and Taki. To Taki’s exclusion, the director claimed she was “too old” to be a ninja, yet he saw no problem with Mitsurugi, Siegfried, or Raphael returning. I played Lost Swords, but I determined that I wouldn’t play another Soul Calibur entry until Sophitia and Taki were brought back.

Current status: Soul Calibur VI just recently came out, and it brought back Sophitia and Taki, and gave them some of the respect they should’ve gotten during SCV. As such, I own this game. I’m playing it right now. 

Resident Evil

Like most people, I started with Resident Evil 2. I was never a huge fan, but I followed along with main entries up to and including Resident Evil 5.

Then Resident Evil 6 happened. A supposed “anniversary” title, it excluded Jill and Claire completely, while putting Chris and Leon on a pedestal. Other projects began to make it abundantly clear that the current team fanwanks over Chris and Leon while refusing to acknowledge the value of Jill and Claire. I can say so, so much on this, but I’ll refrain for brevity sake. I determined that after RE6, I would only buy something if it starred Jill or Claire, until they got to be the stars of a main numbered entry again.

Current status: Capcom still hasn’t done it, so this rule is still in effect. Notably, I’m skipping the Resident Evil 2 “remake” because it’s become abundantly clear that the team is treating it like a Leon fanwank with Claire included rather than an actual remake.

DC Comics

Of the two “big” superhero entities, DC is the one I grew up with. It was mostly Batman growing up, because that’s what DC was focusing on the most. But I still loved Superman a lot. I never really got to watch any of the cartoons. Never seemed to catch them. It was mostly about films. I came to greatly enjoy Harley Quinn as I got older, to the point where I read her first (in my mind only) solo series.

The first DC “reboot” of the 2010s is where things changed. I had huge problems with how they changed Harley Quinn. The design threw away her entire harlequin theme, and all the fun it meant, to make her basically look like a clown girl Joker knockoff. I dropped everything DC at that point with plan to only engage in stuff that included actual Harley Quinn until she came back.

Current status: In rare cases where I find out actual Harley Quinn is involved in something, I check it out. I watched the Batman and Harley Quinn animated movie (which sucked) in theaters, for example. The only exception I’ve made so far was the Wonder Woman film, to support female-led superhero films. I do see that there’s going to be an animated series with Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy. If that’s the start of bringing back actual Harley, I may be returning to DC soon.

Nintendo

I also grew up with Nintendo. They were the main video game provider. There’s not a lot to say in this regard.

Other M was where problems started. I actually bought, played and beat the game, and I can tell you it’s an insulting wreck. But it’s Nintendo’s behavior afterward that turned me against them. They basically blacklisted Metroid and Samus except for cases where they “had” to use her. They treated her and Metroid like a minor franchise, ignoring its anniversary, cause they didn’t want to admit they made a mistake and fix it. And there’s also Federation Force which is a whole other ball of bullshit. Nintendo’s antics there led me to refuse to buy anything Nintendo until they decided to make up for what they were doing to Metroid and Samus and treat them right.

Current status: Nintendo put out a new Metroid game and plan to release Prime 4 too. I wish I could say that’s the end of the story, but it isn’t. I’m pretty pissed still that they threw Alison Rapp under the bus for a bunch of vile assholes, and fueled more harassment in the industry. I don’t know when I’ll get Nintendo stuff again. I’m still not fucking over this.

ArenaNet

I bought and played Guild Wars when it came out. I played and enjoyed it. There isn’t a whole lot to say on this.

If you’ve watched video game news this year, you know Mike O’Brien fired Jessica Price and Peter Fries for bullshit reasons. In doing so, he fueled tons of assholes hellbent on harassing good people and forcing them out of the industry. My reaction is that I’m never touching another ArenaNet thing until Mike O’Brien is out. Because he should be forced out. He doesn’t deserve his position.

Current status: Nothing’s changed, so I’m waiting for Mike O’Brien to be gone. I don’t anticipate this being any kind of burden on me.

Disney/Star Wars/Marvel

Oooookay, this is a big ball of stuff right here. It’s gonna be hard to keep this short.

Obviously I grew up on a lot of Disney stuff, like just about anyone in the United States. Star Wars, I got into during the 90s when the original trilogy was getting released. Marvel, I saw stuff here and there but didn’t truly give a damn until 2009 when I discovered Polaris.

When Disney bought up Star Wars, they shut down Lucasarts very abruptly, with no plans whatsoever to prep the studio’s employees for its end. I found (and still find) that absolutely fucking atrocious. So, I refuse to touch Star Wars video games. I actually don’t have any criteria for engaging in Star Wars content again. Maybe that criteria will come back some day. Maybe I’ll never touch another Star Wars game. This happened in 2013, by the way.

Then Marvel. After the forced retcon on Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver’s parentage, I vowed to never buy or engage in anything from Marvel except content that’s either X-Men related or tied to Polaris, until the twins were Magneto’s kids again. Only exception I made was the Black Panther movie, to support minority-led films.

Now, I’m about to drop everything Disney - including X-Men content, Star Wars, ABC programs and anything else - because of their treatment of Polaris this past year. To treat Polaris like her only value exists in being a supporting character for the stories of men, then throw her into limbo while putting those men on a pedestal, fucking infuriates me. Disney does not deserve money or support, so I won’t give it to them. This will only change for me if Polaris gets a solo, mini or oneshot comic, or leads a team book again.

Current status: No plans to ever play a Star Wars game again. Everything’s on track for me to refuse to touch Disney content after this year, possibly for the rest of my life. Only exception I plan to make is Episode IX, just to wrap up the sequel trilogy I’ve been watching.

In conclusion, I have a lot of companies that I refuse to play, watch, read anything they offer. Sometimes, like with Soul Calibur and Ubisoft, things change for the better and I come back to it. But most of the time, it’s like Squeenix or Disney. A company treats franchises or people like shit, they do nothing to fix their mistakes, I continue to not give them money or support because they don’t deserve it.

A lot of people think this is a huge burden. It’s not. The truth is that in our world, there’s a looooooooooooooot of creative content out there. If I wanted to, I could spend the rest of my life reading all the fanfiction written just today. I’m watching 5 TV shows right now that aren’t tied to Disney, more than I watched during the 2000s. I’ve recently played Far Cry 5, Fist of the North Star: Lost Paradise, Soul Calibur VI, and I’ll soon by playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey.

I don’t need these companies to find entertainment. In some cases, I can even make my own. I can create things that these companies refuse to make. These companies need me more than I need them, because they need money to stay in business, and my money plays a role in that.

That’s my long post.

[recentanimenews]

Bookshelf Briefs 12/5/17

Son of Cornucopia of Briefs!

Akashic Records of Bastard Magica Instructor, Vol. 2 | By Hitsuji Tarou, Tsunemi Aosa and Kurone Mishima | Seven Seas – Last time I said Glenn was too irritating, this time the opposite may be the case. Part of that is due to the fact that this is mostly just a big battle, as Rumia has been kidnapped and Sistine and Glenn have to rescue her. This involves a pile of fights, some of which are more exciting than others. The final fight is an anticlimax, partly as the villain is dull and gives up very easily, and partly as Rumia, in order to contrast with Sistine, is also quite dull. The best part was Glenn pushing Sistine out of the building, frankly. This is an OK series if you like magical high schools, but there’s honestly better ones out there. – Sean Gaffney

Anonymous Noise, Vol. 5 | By Ryoko Fukuyama | Viz Media – As I’ve said before, the quality of this series is dependent on the amount of music depicted in it, and this volume has a LOT of music, making it easily the best volume to date. Nino can be good at playing and singing, or she can blow everyone away with her voice and emotions, but she cannot, seemingly, do both at the same time. The result is a concert that looms towards trainwreck the entire time but never quite gets there, riding entirely on the skill of the band and Nino’s desperate cries of the heart. The art here is stunning, and remains the best reason to read it. The romance, honestly, is the weak link, and you’d really like it to resolve itself but know that it won’t. Get this for the band. – Sean Gaffney

Everyone’s Getting Married, Vol. 7 | By Izumi Miyazono | VIZ Media – The more things change, the more they stay the same. Ryu has been offered a promotion to the Washington, DC branch of his news organization, and, with encouragement from Asuka, decides to accept. They attempt to make the most of the months they have left, including a few fun dates and an outing in which Ryu introduces Asuka to his brother. He even proposes, sort of. “In spirit,” he says. But still, once he’s gone, we get essentially the same stuff as before. Vague glimpses at Asuka’s job, her brother showing up to poke his nose into her business, and, most significantly, yet more of Kamiya and his persistent angling for Asuka’s affections. It’s not bad, but it’s a dynamic that I’m pretty tired of. Still, it’s a quick, light read, so I’ll probably keep following it. – Michelle Smith

Frau Faust, Vol. 2| By Kore Yamazaki | Kodansha Comics – I must admit, I was very disappointed at the big plot twist of Frau Faust‘s second volume. I really liked the badass adult heroine, so seeing her, though the bargain she has with her demon, have her body stripped away so she looks younger and cuter strikes me as not the best bargain I’ve ever had. That said, her personality remains the same, and it wouldn’t matter if she was young or old, nothing was going to be able to stop Marion getting himself into trouble, as he possesses a thirst for knowledge second only to her own. And most of the horror in this book is given over to a creepy church with an evil priest and nun, always popular with readers. Despite the age regression, I’m still enjoying Frau Faust. – Sean Gaffney

The Full-Time Wife Escapist, Vol. 6 | By Tsunami Umino | Kodansha Comics – I expected to be happy and relieved when these two awkward failboats finally got it together, confessed they liked each other, and had their first time. And I was. The good news is that it does not in any way detract from the fact that they are still two really awkward massive failboats, even as they deepen their relationship. Because they still can’t think of it as a relationship—in particular, Mikuri is panicking at the fact that being his real wife means giving up on the income she’s been getting. Which you could argue is meant to be a comment on the sheer amount of unpaid work the average wife goes through, but I think is more meant to show that Mikuri has serious compartmentalization issues. I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

Idol Dreams, Vol. 4 | By Arina Tanemura | Viz Media – Idol Dreams has always been “problematic but readable,” and both qualities amp up in this fourth volume, as Chikage deals with her decision to date Ru as a 15-year-old. She thinks of things as an adult, so can’t really understand a teenage boy’s drives and desires, which almost leads to tragedy, and does lead to her doing something very cruel in order to “fix” things. The other problem is Chikage’s complete and total lack of self-worth. This is, after all, a woman who tried to kill herself near the start of the series. It’s so bad that she even gets “confidence” lessons from the other girls in the office. Tanemura is always readable, but I still can’t see this ending in any way other than everyone being very, very unhappy. – Sean Gaffney

Kiss Me at the Stroke of Midnight, Vol. 2 | By Rin Mikimoto | Kodansha Comics – Despite still having issues deciding how much of a comedy it’s supposed to be, this is a better volume than the first. Our heroes have gotten together, though of course given Kaede’s idol status it’s a big secret—if found out, Hinana could be in big trouble. I liked the added depth we got from Hinana here—she does initially have confidence in her relationship with Kaede, but is still a teenage girl, so lies can persuade her. She also reveals that she’s adopted, which means she feels the need to excel in school, and being around Kaede all the time is not helping, especially when he keeps trying to distract her. (The sniffing scene was a highlight). I’m having sufficient fun to continue. – Sean Gaffney

Ooku: The Inner Chambers, Vol. 13 | By Fumi Yoshinaga | VIZ Media – As ever with Ooku, time moves on, and when I first started reading this volume, I missed the beloved group of characters involved with eradicating the redface pox. Soon, though, I realized that Iesada, the first female shogun in over sixty years, is awesome, and that Takiyama, her new senior chamberlain, is likewise awesome. Moreover, her female senior councilor (becoming more of a rarity as the male population recovers) Abe Masahiro is seriously awesome. Now they (especially Takiyama and Masahiro) are as beloved to me as the other group! The moral of the story is: never doubt Yoshinaga. She even knows how to give a reader goosebumps via a dramatic reappearance of a symbolic kimono design! I’m so happy there are at least two more volumes of this. – Michelle Smith

A Polar Bear in Love, Vol. 1 | By Koromo | Yen Press – This is a cute and seemingly heartwarming manga, but its relationship between predator and prey makes me a bit uncomfortable. I think the manga artist is aware of this—we get constant reassurance from the polar bear that he does not, in fact, want to eat the seal but has fallen in love with him instead. And the fact that they’re both male is also not overlooked. There’s a lot more going on here than you’d expect in a series that’s meant to run on “ooooh, adorable animals!” Still, there’s no denying that the seal is terrified the entire time and unable to really escape for a while, and the fact that he’s slowly starting to fall for the polar bear does not really quiet my misgivings. Warily recommended. – Sean Gaffney

Requiem of the Rose King, Vol. 7 | By Aya Kanno | Viz Media – Say what you will about Kanno, she really knows how to drag out the canon scenes to serve her own interests. And serve them very well, as this is another volume of Rose King that you absolutely can’t put down once you start reading it. Margaret’s downfall will be very familiar to readers of the Henry VI plays, but that doesn’t make it less tragic. As for Richard and Henry, Richard seems to be descending closer and closer to madness, and he doesn’t even need Joan of Arc’s ghost this time around—his mother fills in nicely. Add to this Anne being ABSOLUTELY BADASS, and you have another volume of what may be the best Shojo Beat series out there that isn’t Shojo Beat. You need to be reading this. – Sean Gaffney

Sword Art Online: abec Artworks | By abec | Yen Press – It’s always nice to see a series do well enough to justify licensing the artbook, and I’ve always liked abec’s work. We get some gorgeous art here, of course, along with some insight into the process (such as Kirito being added to the cover of book seven by editorial fiat). There’s also a short story at the end by Reki Kawahara, which involves an artist who’s trying to figure out a way to paint in Aincrad, whose game nature does not make it easy on artists requiring a large canvas. There are also lots of pieces unseen by North American fans, as we get art for promos and magazines. Basically, anyone who is a fan of Sword Art Online should be getting this. It’s also out digitally, but that may not do it justice—go for the bigger print book. – Sean Gaffney

Tokyo Tarareba Girls, Vol. 9 | By Akiko Higashimura | Kodansha Comics (digital only for the moment) – I was equal parts anticipating and dreading this final volume of Tokyo Tarareba Girls, because I wanted a happy ending for Rinko and Key and Mr. Hayasaka, which was going to be impossible. That said, I’m quite satisfied with how things turned out. I won’t give away any plot details, but I loved how Rinko both changed and did not change, in that instead of saying “what if” and regretting the state of things, she’s now determined to say “because” and be grateful for events and people who have helped her grow as a person. She’s now more honest with herself and with others, and yet she’s still the Rinko who periodically gets sloppy drunk with her friends. This is a really strong conclusion that even made me a little sniffly! – Michelle Smith

By: Michelle Smith