#I mean ik there's a difference between liking a character and thinking they're a good person

[llycaons]

omg omg these tags

#Jiang Cheng gets the apologies he deserves #Lan Zhan is a piece of shit #yes i said it #i love jiang cheng #Jiang Cheng Loves Wei Wuxian #Jiang Cheng sacrified everything for Wei Wuxian #People finds out the truth about the Core Transfer #They also found out how Jiang Cheng lost his core in the first place.#Serious Lan sizhui and Lan wangji bashing #Wei Ying knows his one true love #Wei Ying apologizes to Jiang Cheng #Madam Yu rules

ik there are people like this who love jc and hate lwj, but lsz is also being roped into this??? WHAT DID HE DO

[anakinstwinklebunny]

Ok, Ik that this is well known by every single soul. But Scott or Sam (whatever, they're ALMOST the same characters to me) as a high school love, with reader being a normal girl and smart one, and them being the annoying popular boy who plays with everyone and is a little rude and mean. Buuuttt, they change completely with reader, they're suddenly sweet and caring, just for them, but they still rude and a little mean. Ugh. A good high school confusing love🎀

Author's note: I think it's a great start to make them fight against each other for the reader. Nonnie, you're awesome <3

Everyone knew the MONROE twins. SAM and SCOTT ruled the high school in their own maddening, cocky way—Scott, all swagger and sharp grins, the life of every party, and Sam, the quieter one, with a brooding intensity that felt both attractive and a little dangerous. They were untouchable, reigning over the school’s social hierarchy like kings, their effortless charisma drawing people in and keeping them at arm’s length. Together, they were a storm—too loud, too intense, too much.

They were mean in a way only the untouchable kids could be—quick with smirks that cut deeper than words, glances that dismissed people as if they weren’t worth the effort. But not with you. You were different.

Smart, quiet, utterly uninterested in the drama that swirled around them, you’d somehow caught their attention. Maybe it was your no-nonsense attitude, the way you rolled your eyes at Scott’s cocky charm in the middle of class or the way you’d flat-out told Sam to do his own damn homework for once. Whatever it was, you’d slipped under their skin, and suddenly, they were everywhere.

It started slowly. Sam would linger at your locker between classes, his dark eyes softening when they met yours, a quiet, almost shy smile ghosting his lips. Then there was Scott, who always seemed to find his way to your side in the library, plopping down with an exaggerated sigh, sliding his notes your way like he was doing you the world’s biggest favor.

They didn’t play their usual games with you. They didn’t dare. Sam’s sharpness softened around you; Scott’s bravado turned teasing, almost affectionate. You saw sides of them no one else did—the way Scott’s smirk faltered when you caught him staring too long, the way Sam’s hand trembled when he reached for yours.

It was confusing, maddening, and utterly impossible to untangle. Because when you were with Sam, it was like the rest of the world faded away. His voice dropped lower, softer, his fingers brushing yours in a way that made your heart stutter. But then there was Scott, who’d lean against your locker with that infuriating grin, his hand grazing your shoulder like he couldn’t help himself, like he needed to touch you.

You didn’t know what you were to them. Friends? More? You weren’t sure, and the twins weren’t exactly forthcoming. And then, one day, things got even more complicated.

Sam was waiting for you after school, leaning against your locker with his usual quiet confidence. He was all soft smiles and lowered eyes, his hoodie hanging off one shoulder like he hadn’t a care in the world.

“Hey,” he murmured, his voice low, his hand brushing yours as he handed you the books you’d dropped earlier.

Your heart fluttered at the contact, but you forced yourself to stay calm. “Hey, you waiting for someone?”

He smirked, his fingers curling around the strap of his backpack. “Just you.”

You laughed softly, shaking your head. “You don’t have to—”

“I want to,” he interrupted, his voice firm but gentle. “Let me walk you out. Make sure no one gives you a hard time.”

You raised an eyebrow. “Since when do you care about anyone giving me a hard time?”

“Since now,” he said simply, his gaze steady, unwavering.

Before you could respond, a familiar voice cut through the air.

“Am I interrupting something?”

You turned to see Scott strolling up, his usual cocky grin firmly in place, but his eyes flicked between you and Sam with this weird sharpness you didn’t miss.

Sam straightened instantly, his hand dropping from where it had almost—almost—found its way to yours. The change was subtle, yet you felt it. The softness was gone, replaced by the guarded, indifferent mask he wore with everyone else.

Scott didn’t wait for an invitation, sliding between the two of you like he belonged there, of course. He threw an arm over your shoulder, pulling you close in a way that made your breath hitch and a great question ring in your head 'what the hell?'. “Come on, we’ve got places to be,” he said, completely ignoring Sam.

You glanced between the twins, your heart pounding, not really knowing what to do. At some point you wanted to stay with Sam yet you couldn't bring yourself to just say 'no' to Scott.

Sam’s jaw tightened, his hands curling into fists at his sides, but he didn’t say anything. He just gave you one last, lingering look before turning and walking away. Just like that

"Asshole" you heard Scott's scoff

It was like that for weeks. When you were with Sam, he was soft, gentle, his touches tentative yet deliberate. But the moment Scott showed up, he’d back away, his affection vanishing as quickly as it came.

And Scott? He was a complicated mass of nature, pulling you into his orbit with teasing grins and over-the-top gestures, but there was something deeper there, something he didn’t want to admit and you, couldn't really catch the meaning of it.

The twins didn’t know about each other—not really. You weren’t sure if they didn’t notice or if they were just pretending not to, but either way, the tension was suffocating, feeling like it chokes the life out of you.

One night, you found yourself alone with Scott in the library. He was sitting too close, his hand resting on your knee like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“You’re too serious, you know that?” he teased, his fingers tapping against your skin. “Life’s too short to spend it buried in books.”

“Some of us actually care about our futures,” you shot back

Scott chuckled, leaning in closer. “You don’t have to worry about that, sweetheart. I’ll take care of you.”

Your heart stuttered at the words, but before you could respond, a shadow fell over the table.

“Am I interrupting?”

Thank God for him saving you

Sam’s voice was low, eyes narrowing as they flicked to Scott’s hand on your knee.

Scott didn’t move, didn’t even flinch. He just smirked, his grip tightening slightly. “Not at all, Sammy. Just keeping your girl company.”

You swore you saw Sam jaw clench, giving Scott this daring look as if he was about to steal something that belonged to him. And as you sat there, caught between them, you realized something: whatever this was—this game, this pull between you and the Monroe twins—it was far from over.

And you weren’t sure you’d survive it.

TAG LIST: @kingdomhate @divineani @haydensprettyprincess @skyguys-princess @catnipaddict @heartscone @haydensbbg @inneedsoffanfics @jediavengers @literally-izzy @anisluvrgirl @slutforfinnickodair @xhunnybeeex @fuckmyskywalker @gallerygourmet @deceptiive @anakinskwkler @bimbo-baggins17 @cookybananas @emotionallybruisedx @diorvalentina @sevinax @throughparisallthroughrome @aniiuv @ritosparty @ninastyless @lily-strnlo @thesassypadawan

[forbidding-souda]

Heyoooooo! Before requesting anything, may I say that your writing is truly AWESOME!! Everything fits the character so well aaa I adore it!!! Keep up the amazing work!!!

Can you plz do some head cannons for Korekiyo, Ibuki and Kazuichi being roommates with their S/O in a small dorm? I think it'd be a cute scenario (sorry if it's a bit much :'] )

Shinguuji Korekiyo, Ibuki Mioda, and Kazuichi Souda living with their S/O in a small dorm

just bullet points for this one because i'm a litttllleee head empty. ALSO TY FOR THE COMPLIMENT IT MEANS THE WORLD!!!!!

i am highly qualified to write this. Bruh I have lived in three different dorm buildings bc I did a swap since my first roommate was homophobic LOLZ. The second dorm I lived in was a corner room so we had a lot of room compared to the others gg but the first dorm i was in was TINY as if it wasn't 1.7k a month like dude come on.

I'm an english major and a child development major btw hmu I'm so cool and awesome. Join the discord to see me post about the funny things my english professor puts on canvas LMFAO.

I added in a bit of just college stuff.

-Mod Souda

Shinguuji Korekiyo

❤ His desk is so full of trinkets that he can hardly use it. Probably just studies in his bed.

❤ He'll gift you some and clutter your side of the room, too.

❤ Lights candles even though they're not allowed.

❤ Incense too.

❤ But he has a good sense of personal space and he keeps to himself. Even when the two of you are dating, he understands the difference between his side of the room and your side of the room.

❤ However, you can sneak into his bed :3 he wouldn't mind.

❤ Just don't sleep on his hair plz he leaves that shit sprawled out.

❤ No bc you probably have his loose hair everyone on the carpet swear to god.

❤ Anthropology major obvi.

❤ Takes academics very seriously!!!

❤ Will just walk around in long sleeves regardless of the weather.

❤ If you're the type of person to study and not go to the dining commons then he'll eat there and then bring you a to-go box.

❤ Definitely keeps sake in his mini fridge.

❤ Isn't on the snap story.

❤ Ask before you use his stuff because he's probably gonna start tweaking if he notices something out of place.

❤ He does not like showering in those dorm showers. He'll probably go to the gym or something.

❤ Probably uses a computer bag instead of a backpack.

.

Kazuichi Souda

❤ Your stuff is his stuff now.

❤ Pushes your beds together. (LMFAOOO)

❤ Mechanical engineering major perhaps. Ngl I only know two of them and idk what they be learning but it sounds about right.

❤ Never does his laundry on time. He leaves it in the dryer.

❤ He doesn't clean for the RA checks either.

❤ And he definitely doesn't care about privacy when it comes to changing. He's just gonna get naked in front of you fr.

❤ He gets doordash a lot.

❤ Will wait for you after class. Or he might have the audacity to just crash one of your lectures.

❤ Walks around the dorm in his underwear.

❤ I'd like to imagine he brought a mirror in the room so he can add the braids in his hair in private awwwww.

❤ Sharpens his teeth in the other bathroom tho gg.

❤ You can spell his cologne from your bed.

❤ Keeps his textbooks on the floor near his bed but the dorm is so small you almost trip over them.

❤ Doesn't take out the trash either.

❤ Uses the campus gym all the time.

❤ If he's not in the dorm he's either at class or hanging out in the gym.

❤ If you do yoga then you can easily convince him to do yoga with you.

❤ His fits are probably firrreeee. But I imagine he wears the same shoes every day.

.

Ibuki Mioda

❤ Will ask to keep things on your side of the room.

❤ You will be in class and then come back to her sleeping in your bed.

❤ Ibuki plz stop dying your hair in the public sink please you're staining the sink PLEASE.

❤ Doesn't even raise her hand in class she just starts talking. Which ik is normal but she like . will just start talking.

❤ Music major? Or is that too obvious. Could be pop culture too. I'm leaning more towards pop culture.

❤ Goes on long rants about like 2300 about what she did in her classes.

❤ She talks as she studies. Is she even studying? You can't tell.

❤ Study date except it's her talking the entire time with Canvas open but not looking at anything.

❤ Probably leaves her pajamas on the floor when she changes in the morning. You can just put them back on her bed for her.

❤ Like Shinguuji, she will also just have her loose hairs everywhere.

❤ She is a bit of a pervert and is like "you can change in front of me :) it's okay :) you can change in front of me :)" (pleading).

❤ Is going to use your body wash without telling you.

❤ Probably plays her music hella loud and the RA will have to knock bc of complaints LMFAO.

❤ ^ Also rents a vaccuum at 3AM and uses it.

❤ Probably gets opps bc of this ^

❤ If she wears a school uniform in Danganronpa then I'm gonna headcanon that she wears merch of the college.

[kurosagileo]

alrighty its post mortkranken thoughts time! under a cut so that spoilers are easier to avoid

(did one for obscuary here)

for a spoiler free thought first off, though, i think the time between episodes both works for and against the story. it's a good pacing so far imo, even if it's disappointing there's not much to do in the game between episode drops. there's enough time to let people analyze the most recent episode and secrets revealed, come up with guesses as to how things connect, and when that starts dying down, there's time to hypothesize about the next episode because teasers have started dropping. Game wise, there's time for people who have been playing for a while to get farther in cases so that once the episode does drop, it's easy to go through whenever you're ready. On the other hand, the time inbetween, the teasers can possibly hype a episode up a bit too much, i think that happened with obscuary and may have contributed to how the episode felt unbalanced (at least to me). High expectations mean there's a lot that could go wrong when things end up differently. I don't think they should release the episodes sooner, that would be an overload, just something i've been making note of and trying to not expect too much from a new episode so that i enjoy what comes out rather than being disappointed with what didn't

spoiler wise, i'll follow the format i had for obscuary!

jiro is winning the idgaf war and i absolutely love that for him. I think the writers did a good job of makng him the straight man to yuri's antics and thoroughly enjoyed scenes with him

yuri... is so silly i love him sm i want to kiss his cheek so that he bluescreens on the spot. i love that he seems like he's gonna be a scientist with questionable morals leaning to the evil side but then he ends up being so expressive about every little thing. he's smart but not manipulative mastermind ike if he's thinking something you Will know it

there's an interesting dynamic between the two which I'm looking forward to learning more about. Some of the few times where Jiro outwardly emotes are during interactions with Yuri. (Also with pc with the body lmao)

now for the story content, not an analysis of what things might mean but just overall storytelling

I think this did well with bringing the standard back up from the obscuary episode. for my thoughts on that, feel free to check out the other post i made. it was far more balanced with the investigation driving things, mc getting closer to the two ghouls, and the progression of mc's curse for the overarching story. the cameos from all of the other characters was exciting to see while going through, and was great for showing how different characters interact with each other. I think each of those small moments showed a lot about the characters.

for a few examples: alan's regrets for not saving naoki, highlighting how much he values being able to save people and blames himself for not doing enough even when he couldn't stop it; leo taking the documents, seeming to just do it to be antagonistic, but actually genuinely helping out both mc's investigation and alan's ass if the files went missing; ren and ritsu talking about ramen in the store, they're getting closer despite ren not liking working at his job and always complaining that ritsu is there, clearly they're starting to become friends; the three vice captains meeting and the absolute tension there

i could go on, each of those little cameos was meaningful imo, not all of them served to progress the main story, but they're important to see, to show how the ghouls are interacting with each other and how they act when mc isn't investigating their house

I think the investigation portion was a little rough near the end. The case wrapup wasn't as satisfying as I'd like, I think the best two episodes for that so far were vagastrom and sinostra, but the framing of it makes sense considering yuri's stigma. (specifically the part of the wrapup where we found the patient was behind things, the fight at the end was something i really enjoyed) It's something that lets yuri process everything instantaneously, so it makes sense that the answer is just given in a monologue, even if it ends up being somewhat unsatisfying. Yuri is a character who likes his monologue, and he's found everything out and is confident in his answer. I don't think that he would present the information in another way

The foreshadowing in this chapter was...... well it could've been more subtle. I kinda wish that while Jiro was leading mc through Mortkranken, there would be more attention drawn to multiple things, aside from exactly what would be relevant. I think that may have also led to the unsatisfying reveal

the very ending with the assembly was also well done, imo. it reiterates that the faculty want mc to gain the trust of the ghouls and is doing so. but it also calls into question where that request is coming from. right now, mc is very much being used by the faculty. she was pushed into the investigator role, pushed into being a student, pushed into earning their trust, threatened with a possible punishment for not being able to prove it. it serves her as well to grow close with the ghouls and be an investigator, and she clearly is, but I really don't think that's anywhere near the reason the chancellor put her in that position. we always keep the spy thing in the back of our minds while reading, while she's essentially also advertised as a spy to the ghouls

the phone call between hyde and sho was both surprising to see, but also not. Sho has a campus chat with hyde where he says that he's using hyde to get ahead any way he can. Learning that hyde is giving secret missions, it's unsurprising that Sho is one of the students he's using. I think this would be too obvious for the whole spy/traitor thing, however... there was one other campus chat that came into my mind, the one between subaru and leo. Subaru's waiting for MC for lunch, Leo approaches and sees he's got food from Sho's food truck, and comments on how Sho is really good at the friend act. Acting like he's a friend to customers to convince them to buy more. While the likely reading is Leo just lying to mess with Subaru (and honestly I wouldn't doubt that), I think it could also be that it's a true analysis of Sho.

He is good a the friend act. Sho has no problem lying to someone to appear nice. He did it to an old lady looking for a train station in the vagastrom episode. Leo told her he had no clue where it was, Sho gave her instructions and after she left, Leo asked how he knew and Sho told him oh I didn't. A lot of Sho's flaws are looked over because he's nice, when he is kinda an asshole a lot. I don't think that he's using a friend act on Subaru, but it's genuinely hard to tell. The scene at the beginning of the episode was cute, but depending on how you read it, it could be Sho playing it up for the bet with Leo.

I doubt the phone call from the end will actually be how we learn about the traitor, but I also think that Sho has a lot more resources than most to be a traitor

[stromuprisahat]

Leigh treated change and development as a testament of greed and lust in SoB trilogy. She didn't let Alina grow into her power or ditch relationships where her boundaries were not respected. Nor did she let her actually make a change from a political viewpoint. In SoC duology, neither the narrative or the characters shame Nina for addiction or dramatic, dark change of her powers. (Ik helnik is unrealistic, but let's forget that ship for a second.) Also, flaws of the relationships between characters were more acknowledged. Like, Jesper and Kaz's friendship and one-sided crush is messy and is treated as such. Jan Van Eck gets treated like the asshole he is. Colm obviously loves Jesper and vice versa, but they both majorly screwed up, realize it and apologise. (Jesper screwing up his life is a direct consequence of his father screwing up). Not to mention Kaz and Jordie, or even the way Kaz treats other Dregs (I mean minor characters like Anika, Imogen and Pim). I thought Leigh learned her lesson but then the disaster that is KoS duology happened so now I just don't know. I haven't read any of her works outside of Grishaverse, so Idk if she keeps okaying abusive relationships or what values she's pushing outside of that. Any thoughts?

I think Leigh might've taken the success of SoC as too literal instruction manual for her next books without realizing a single formula doesn't fit every story.

She tried to turn Ravkan Gang into Crows 2.0, including banter, even though they're supposed to be half a generation older leaders of a country, not teenage criminals. I won't even begin about the tragedy of errors she turned her new best girl character design into.

She also doesn't seem to be willing to admit that a good leader cannot remain morally pure or that a "good" person doesn't mean an all-loving fool. When working in the criminal underground, she allows her characters to get their Hands Dirty (See, what I did there? :D), but as someone incredibly naïve and uncomprehending matters of politics, she's trying to maintain the pedestal she decided to put her state leaders at.

The result is a frustrating, unrealistic mess.

You can take a heist story with a grain of salt, but political drama requires completely different level of believability.

[mayday-jd]

alr I lied I gotta talk about smth else quickly

• so remember when I mentioned branch's reaction to the country song when they entered lonesome flats??

yeah now let's talk about how poppy reacted

poppy hears the song then concludes that the country trolls are miserable and don't know how to have fun

and what better way to make them have fun?? force them to listen to pop music.

cough cough barb parallels COUGH

ofc that doesn't work the country trolls are appalled by their pop medley

all of them... except for hickory

I think poppy was drawn to hickory because he was the only one that seemed to along with what she had to say without any complaints basically he said what she wanted to hear so she trusted him wholeheartedly

now let's actually get into my favorite part of this movie

• I LOVE THE FUNK TROLLS HOLY FUCKING SHIT

I don't think you need a genius to figure out that these are black folks LIKE LOOK AT THEM AND LISTEN TO THE QUEEN ESSENCE

guys the vas of the royal funk family are all black. ik maybe doesn't mean anything BUT MAYBE IT DOES ALR

anyways no matter what race the funk trolls may be they still play such an important role in this movie and let me tell y'all why and how

thru their encounter with the funk trolls, our pop trolls duo (yeah biggie left) learn three important things :

- differences do matter, they're a part of our identity and it would be wrong to ignore them

- even with those differences and origins, trolls still can be multiple/different things (ex.: cooper who says that he's pop AND funk, prince d who identifies as a hip pop troll which is not on poppy's outdated ass map)

- yeah that story poppy heard from the pop trolls' perspective?? yeah no that's not how it actually happened

explained beautifully by anderson .paak's song, the pop trolls stole all the strings, used them to make their kind of music and cut out the other trolls from the music scene

in the words of prince d

"That's just the story cut out and glued by the winners"

AND YES THAT'S HISTORY FOR YA

different retellings, stories of what happened from another pov because guess which perspective you read from the history books?? the winners.

poppy hears all this and y'all idk if it's because poppy's voiced by anna kendrick but this is where all I could think about of was white saviour complex

because this girl is still all about uniting all trolls so they'll live in harmony and yes it comes from a good place but she's just not getting it and fucking hell 😭

she does get the message at the end of the movie after finally meeting barb and speaking of her....

• barb is awful and that's what makes her a great character

as we all know barb's plan is so "unite" all troll nations under the rule of hard rock which is not uniting that's just assimilation

where poppy's desire for every troll to live together in harmony all united by music, barb's comes from a sense of superiority and maybe even pity

evident by every moment she steals a string, barb comments on the other trolls' music with insults which justifies why their music isn't real music while hers is

what's funny is that barb and poppy are very similar

they both really want to prove themselves as good queens, they desire for all trolls to be united and, even if poppy won't admit it, they both see their music as superior tho that degree of superiority is very different

where the similarities end are that barb doesn't want everyone around her to say what she wants to hear, she wants ppl to be real to her, meanwhile poppy refuses to hear anyone else's voice because it's different from hers

which leads to another difference between the two, poppy learns to listen to others because

"A real queen listens." (both said by her and branch)

now let's talk about that finale shall we??

[teaveetamer]

Shipping and liking in fiction don't really need to be consistent imo, like you can like black chocoloate and dislike white chocolate even if they are both chocolate but that doesn't makes you an hypocrite so liking a character that does something and not another character that does the same thing or as a similar personaily falls into taste, the only moment where i would disagree would be if they tried to justify it by draggin down the other people who ike what they dislike

My blog archive can attest to this, but I've always hated the "you wouldn't hate so-and-so if they were a man!" or "but you like this character who did something I think is the same!" arguments.

If the character were a man, then they wouldn't have been written with misogynistic dev bias in the first place, AKA they would be a completely different character, or at least handled in a completely different way.

Just because you can draw some surface parallels between characters doesn't mean they're the exact same. Even if they do the exact same thing that doesn't mean they're treated the same, which factors into how much I like or dislike them.

Like we'll just take the example of Arvis for a second. Surface level he and CF!Edelgard do a lot of similar things. They:

Conquer a continent

Ostensibly for the good of the people

Through extremely dubious means (killing or trying to kill the MC, stealing sovereign territory that they are explicitly not in charge of by force, etc.)

Which would realistically have serious and far reaching negative consequences for the people conquered (death of able-bodied men to work the fields, trampling of crops, requisitioning food from the poor and hungry, civilian deaths as tends to happen in war, etc.)

While allying with a shady evil cult who want to bring about the destruction of humanity

They attain their goals

And the narrative implies that everything went well in the immediate aftermath and everyone was kind of chill about it despite point 4 above.

And I don't like Arvis, but I don't dislike him as much as Edelgard either, and that's because of what happens next in Arvis's story:

Arvis realizes he was never as in-control as he thought, and in fact he was completely played by an organization far more powerful and intelligent and dangerous than he realized

He has a significant fall from grace, basically becoming a puppet for the evil cult

Everything he worked toward is in the gutter and things actually become significantly worse for the people living in his empire. Not only that, he has to witness his family ripped apart and used as pawns in the game he was unwittingly, hopelessly outmatched in from the start

He has a come to Jesus moment and realizes just how badly he was outplayed and how much worse he made literally everything for literally everyone with his actions

And then he spends his last moments helping the MC try and defeat the evil he unleashed. While it's not necessarily a redemption or even sufficient atonement, there is at least the understanding that Arvis understands just how responsible he is for everything that's happened, and that he needs to do everything he can to try and fix it

Meanwhile Edelgard's story in CF is:

She gets everything she wants no matter how brutal or vile her methods are or how much pain she causes to the people around her

And then the game ends with absolutely no acknowledgement of that or consequences for those actions

Like... Yeah. I don't like either of them, but why would I feel the need to criticize Arvis for the bad shit he's done? When Arvis did bad shit the plot made him fuck his sister and turned his son into a literal demon god who hunts children for sport. Not only is the game fully aware of the bad shit he's done and takes every opportunity to point out how shitty he is, Arvis is fully aware of the bad shit he's done and takes the opportunity to atone for how shitty he was once he realizes this.

The frustrating thing about Edelgard isn't that she does bad shit. It's that the game never wants to engage with that bad shit beyond surface level "woe is me" pity speeches. Not only that, but it takes every opportunity to try and make you pity her, the person inflicting all of this suffering, instead of empathizing with the people she is inflicting suffering on. Like? Can you just imagine if FE4 stopped dead in its tracks and Seliph looked at the camera and said "Gee I know Arvis killed my dad and fucked my mom and brought the apocalypse on us and all, but actually I think he's kind of dope and I wish we could have walked hand in hand together uwu"? Holy fuck I would clown on FE4 so hard for that shit.

And I'd like to say I'd feel that way about a male character in the same situation, but honestly? I can't think of any. And that's because I feel like female characters are either the most evil, vile creatures to ever exist or they're handled with kid gloves and the narrative is terrified to criticize them in any way. It feels like writers are less afraid to write flawed-but-not-irredeemably-so male characters, who can have their flaws not only front and center but also a core part of their narrative.

And if I wanted to go deep into it and draw parallels to real life... look at how often we're expected to give men (most often cishet white men) the benefit of the doubt in society, and how often women are not afforded that privilege. E.g. if a man yells then he's just having a bad day, but if a woman yells she's a bitch and a horrible person. Fiction reflects our society's attitudes in real life. So men get to be nuanced and flawed and women get to be either an Angel or a Bitch, and a lot of writers have no idea how to write anything in between those two points because they actually believe that's all women can be.

[fandoomrants]

for the send me a character can you do diego hargreeves!! sorry ik its third hargreeves in a row >_<

Hey, no problem and sorry it took me a bit but I was busy.

Here we go:

1. My opinion about them.

It took me a while to get to actually like Diego. I mean, I saw him at first and thought he's cool but then to actually start liking him... I think it was around his scenes with Grace. They were so heart-warming. Idk what's this thing where I love children-parent dynamics, I have good relationship with my parents, lol.

I think from all of them, he has the biggest "hero complex", and desire to prove himself since he's "Number 2". It's mostly shown in season 1, where he and Luther kind of fight for the leadership, and I think it's something that translated from his childhood, to his adult life, as we see him constantly trying to do some big heroic act (especially s2). He can sometimes get a tiny bit annoying even, but it's fun and it's just another way to express his own childhood trauma, I guess.

But yeah, altogether, I like him. Especially in later episodes/seasons, where his character got more development. (Here's maybe a good moment to say I like almost all of them.)

2. Who do I ship them with.

I love him and Lila! She's yet another character it took me some time to start liking, but I absolutely adore them as a couple, and their dynamic. They're both so unwell but they somewhat compliment each other. They can't "fix" each other but they don't make the other worse, and I feel like just the presence of the other one, makes them more considerate and responsible. I can't wait what's it going to be like when they have (a real, this time!) child.

However, I also liked him and Eudora's dynamic and I was eager to learn more about them. I was so shocked when she died. I would have loved it if we got to learn more about them and their history, they were so different but there was something there. Kinda the exact opposite of Diego/Lila but that's what actually made them so intriguing.

3. Platonic relationships.

Already mentioned but I ADORE him and Grace, and their interactions. There is just something so soft about how he calls her "mom", and I feel like he truly sees her as his actual mom. And he can be vulnerable around her, the way he isn't around others. I feel like he can put aside his desire to prove himself when she is there. It broke my heart how he had to be the one to "end" her life in s1, but at the same time, it felt much more important that it was him. Because he fully understood the meaning of it, and he did it with... Some weird affection. I think, had it been anyone else, it wouldn't have had the same impact. And then, the way he started stuttering the moment he saw the real Grace in s2, and she was nothing like the one he knew, yet he still called her "mom"! Ah... My heart!

I love his dynamic with Klaus. I feel like, maybe the two of them were keeping in touch, at least slightly more than the rest of them, before season 1. They have a true sibling dynamic, and it's odd how they both give "younger sibling vibe", yet Diego is somewhat protective when it comes to Klaus, however non-verbal it might be.

And I want to see more about his dynamic with Victor! I feel like they were once close but then things changed and they had a really rocky relationship. And Victor and Luther cleared some things between them but I want to see Diego and Victor actually bond as well!

And then there's Luther. I just laugh at them interacting, most of the time. Especially in s1, they were ridiculous. I feel like they both become a bit childish around each other, no matter how serious the situation is, because that's something from their childhood.

4. Unpopular opinion

I think that his powers are actually pretty cool! Like, I love knives! I know in the comics he has different powers, but I'm fan of the show, and I find this one better. Also, it was never explicitly stated what his powers are, and I believed it's controlling metals, but I checked, and it says it's "controlling flying objects", in any case, it's so badass! I know that this, compared to some of the other things the rest can do, isn't classified as that much of a superpower, but I still like it, and maybe if I could have any of their powers, it would be this one!

5. HC I love.

I'm pretty sure it's not a HC at this point but I like thinking that Diego really wants his family happy and together, just like that (kinda ridiculous) hallucination in s3 showed. I think this is also connected to him and how he truly sees Grace as a mother, and how he looks after Klaus and drives him around, etc. Even for the short while when he thought Stan is his child, he wanted to be a good father. He's really trying to be a tough guy but is actually a softie that wants a real family.

6. HC I hate.

Anything suggesting he has something for Grace, duh. I can close my eyes for the adopted siblings having sth for each other, but not that. Not with their dynamic.

[ro-botany]

Bonus Content & Bloopers for the fake marlear screencaps

(I love behind the scenes stuff ok can you really blame me)

Ripping animations to help with some basic expression work was..... it was an adventure.

The first image above is an attempt to blend Marth's "surprise" and "smile" faces together but I uh...... Hit the wrong setting in the dropdown. I nearly died from laughing too hard pff.

The Alears there are what happens when you import the characters face rigs with different settings (still screaming at myself for that one) and then try to use a facial expression from one of them on the other one of them. That was supposed to be an :0 face.

The FEH players among you may have recognized the setting of that piece as the scenery for S supports in FEH! Figured if I'm setting the scene in Askr anyway I may as well go for the cheekiest spot. :P

While it probably would've looked great if I'd modelled all that out, after the effort that went into getting the character models looking good I really just did Not have it in me to do that, so this scenery is... A complete and utter lie made of layered image planes.

This was part of why I opted to crank the depth of field so much in the final piece. Helps hide that everything aside from the guys themselves are crusty PNGs. :P It does a half-decent job of looking like a 3D scene even in motion though, so long as you don't rotate the camera TOO far.

I REALLY liked how these close shots of Marth and Alear for the first pose turned out, but in the end I didn't think they fit with the other two poses. There was a timeline where I modified the expressions a bit and made fake dialogue boxes where they're talking about how surprised and happy they are they can actually touch each other in Askr, but I didn't feel confident enough to write in their voices for that.. So in the final shots that story just gets to be implied in their poses and expressions instead.

For the hug shot, I feel it is important to reveal that Alear's head is clipping halfway into Marth's shoulder and armour there. It's fine though. Animate for the camera, professionals always say! If it isn't gonna be viewed from every angle it doesn't have to look good from every angle. :P

Engage renders their characters' eyelashes and eyebrows ABOVE their hair, no matter what, in order to help the readability of facial expressions. I wanted to stay true to that look, so I had to render their eyebrows and eyelashes separately and then combine them in post. Enjoy eyelash-free Marth and Alear. :P

You can also see some areas there where I had to manually fix some shading and outlines in post, too. Blender has a bug with rigging right now that was affecting the face shading in odd ways, so I painted over that; and the inverse hull method I've been using for most of the outlines is very much imperfect and needed touching up in some areas, lips especially.

Since these character rigs were.......... We'll say not intended for use in Blender, they were fairly tedious to get posed right. No rotation or location constraints. These were joint-only rigs with no connections between bones so you couldn't use the auto-IK feature to, say move the whole arm at once. (Which made hand posing the WORST THING EVER AAAA EVERY FINGER JOINT MOVES INDIVIDUALLY why did i pick TWO poses where hands were a critical component)

Part of my process ended up being doing rough sketches of what the final shots were going to be first, so I could keep in my head what sort of poses and expressions and camera angles I was going for. And by rough I mean ROUGH. I kept laughing looking at these little egg head guys for reference as I worked.

Engage's models also come with some "extraneous" bones; "piv" bones that I can't figure out what they do, spots where weapons and shields can snap to, "vol" bones for changing the thickness of specific body parts as defined in the big XML file of character proportions buried in the game. Unfortunately these bones overlap the actual posing joints in many cases, so until you get fed up enough to find and hide them all, you'll try to move the character around and end up doing shit like this by accident

(Me too Marth, idk what the hell his skeleton is doing either)

And as you may have noticed - no particle effects in these behind the scenes shots so far! That's because I both A) couldn't for the life of me figure out how to do that smoke effect, and B) couldn't render a particle system with anywhere NEAR the number of objects I would need to get a similar look to the game. So, I drew those in post! Shoutouts to the random sparkle and smoke brushes in my collection, you're the real ones.

[aspiringsophrosyne]

Episode 10: The Kill Box

You ready for a fight? We got ringside seats, soda and popcorn. Just make sure you've got your splash guard ready to go.

The Good.

When the illusion over Whitestone is disturbed and ripples...that's a beautiful visual effect. This show's at its peak when it portrays magic so well it inspires wonder. Exandria is a gorgeous world; it's so gratifying when it's done justice.

Earlier, I said it was a good move to split the party because it serves the intervening episodes well. But that choice gives us something fun here, too. In the original, everyone was waiting in the wings to see if Grog would win or need to call for backup. Because the rest of the group needs to get to Restruun to help, and because the gnomes are spotted and threatened, the stakes get raised considerably. Half of Vox Machina is in dire straights and the calvary isn't guaranteed to arrive in time.

Note: in the game, Matt described the spike as going through Grog's shoulder. That's till bad, mind you. Much worse in real life than tv and movies would suggest, but I can't stand seeing it go through the gut. You could conceivably miss organs in the shoulder at least. Here? Not so much.

It always a pleasure to see Pike be bad ass. According to the episode commentary they actually slowed down her face bashing because otherwise it would've been a little much. Even then it's still sufficiently brutal.

Always good to hear Ike. And Liam was right. Grog's absolutely gut-wrenching (no pun intended) vulnerability sells this scene. Grog's usually a sillier character, but Travis is just as capable of making a character hilarious as he is playing them so that they break your heart.

And of course, the iconic as always call to rage. Even more hype here than usual.

I will never complain about this show's fight scenes. You can feel the difference between Grog fighting Kevdak before he rages and after. Likewise, the difference between fighting Kevdak before he swells up with the magic of the Knuckles and after. The hits' power and the weight of the impacts as Grog is slammed around the arena makes you flinch like it was you getting hammered to the stones so hard they crack.

The choice to have the rest of the crew come in, with no fan fair, in a corner of the screen where you could easily miss them...mwah! Beautiful. It feels organic, and it makes you feel excited for noticing it.

But once the fanfair starts....their silhouettes on the roof, the closeups, Grog's call to arms.....AH! I knew we were getting something special for this episode. The fight is sufficiently gruesome on both sides, and everyone gets to show off.

The episode would not have been complete without the Willingham Poke Ball drop. It was a particularly clever move by Laura in the game and seeing it play out was just magic. The rise and payoff of the music, that shot of bisected Kevdak when the smoke clears....there's no word but epic to describe it.

Keyleth is adorable, and the Raven Queen is a cockblock.

That last isn't the good thing. But it does make for a nice set up for what comes next.

The Bad. (Or at least, not so great.)

The only thing I could've possibly wanted out of the fight that I didn't get was a bigger sense of danger. The stream version felt incredibly tense throughout, as it was essentially a timed mission. The goal was to kill Kevdak (no mean feat) before the rest of the Herd killed them.

I get that this was basically a chance for everyone to get to be badass and go buck wild. And I support that. But getting just a little bit closer to that stream level of tension would've been nice.

This is why I think Percy's "This isn't going well!" falls flat, as from what we could see it was going pretty damn well up to that point. And even after it just wasn't a curb stomp in Vox Machina's favor. A better line might've been "The tide's starting to turn!" Or, if they really wanted to be cheeky: "They're getting a Second Wind!"

I'm also a little sad we didn't get a variation on Scanlan's Hold Person from the stream. Even though I appreciated the little nod to it via Vex's bramble shot, that move lacked the accidental ironic significance of the original. Grog got kicked out of the herd by his uncle for protecting a gnome. Only for a gnome to be instrumental in said uncle's defeat. It was so good!

Nitpicks:

What was Kaylie doing there at the start of the fight? Afterwards she just disappears. If you wanted to show that she was keeping an eye on Scanlan, it would've made more sense to have a shot of her watching from a distance. That way it isn't weird that she isn't in the fight after she said she wasn't letting Scanlan out of her sight.

~*~

After the fight in the tavern with Vex and Keyleth catching up: DUDE!! Talk. To. Each. Other. Give me my banter and character relationship development!

~*~

There isn't a full version of "When the Bald Man Cries" on the soundtrack. Release the full version, you cowards!!

~*~

Kaylie's speech to Scanlan could've been rearranged a bit so it served as a smoother transition into her revelation.

Instead of this:

Kaylie: I'm actually not too different from yourself. I grew up in Kymal, but I moved around a lot. Scanlan: Ooh. Kaylie: My mum gave up all her savings for my education. Scanlan: Uh, oh, oh, yeah? Moms are the best. Kaylie: Mine certainly was. You know, Dr. Dranzel spun many a tale about you, Scanlan Shorhalt. Scanlan: Yeah, I mean, that's not surprising. That guy seemed like a bit of a fanboy. Kaylie: But most of his stories I'd already heard... from my mother.

We could do this:

Kaylie: I'm actually not too different from yourself. I grew up in Kymal, but I moved around a lot. Scanlan: Ooh. Kaylie: Even more so when I joined up with Dr. Dranzel's troupe. You know, he spun many a tale about you, Scanlan Shorthalt. Scanlan: Yeah, I mean, that's not surprising. That guy seemed like a bit of a fanboy. Kaylie: But most of his stories I'd already heard... from my mother. My mum, who gave up all her savings for my education. So that I could play and travel the way I do. Scanlan: Uh, oh, oh, yeah? Moms are the best. Kaylie: Mine certainly was.

Not perfect, but I think it flows better.

Down to the last two, folks. Then the fun really begins.

[surplus-of-sarcasm]

ive tried to write women so many times but have failed to the point theres barely any female characters in my stories. and im very aware this is a flaw in my writing because i dont hang around women often and the only long term contact with a female i have is with my family members i dont know how to write female characters on a personal level because i can never relate to them. this sucks ass but correct me if im wrong i think its better to not write female characters at all than write a shitty possibly offensive one even if i dont realize it

Hi.

Okay, here's my take on what you're saying. I know for a fact that the most difficult things to write are things/situations/environments we know so little about. And it's even harder to get it right when it's a more sensitive thing, if yk what I mean. A huge perspective shift like this is definitely a challenge because men and women are quite different.

Here's the thing. I'm not trying to pressure you into writing them, but I'm telling you that even if you have problems with them now, doesn't mean you have to give up on writing them completely. If not writing them at all is your final decision, then that's still okay, still your call in the end, but if you do want to write them, it's very possible.

I know I write both male and female characters, but the first time I ever officially wrote smth that wasn't for school, it was with a female protag because ultimately, I see the world from the eyes of a woman. When I decided to write a male character for a more serious project, I realised I needed to research it. And lemme tell you that again, not every piece of advice in a writing help article is always applicable. It's largely based on the author's own personal experiences. They're more like tips than rules you must adhere to.

Please note that I've spent considerable time around men I'm close to in my family, I had male classmates and currently have a friend who's a guy, so that definitely helps. And it's completely understandable that you haven't spent enough time around women to grasp more about them Ig. My male characters are not exactly copy-paste of these men/boys either, but some of their traits and mannerisms may be connected.

And you not relating to them is completely okay. I'm not very likely to relate to parts of my male character's life that come with him being a man, but what I can relate to is what makes him human. There is definitely an overlap in several traits between men and women. For example, the way I would feel angry abt smth would be different from how a guy Ik would feel angry about the same thing. The key is simply to avoid bad cliches.

Again, I'm not trying to get you to write them if you really don't want to. Forcing yourself to write smth you don't want to definitely won't help, and won't create good pieces of writing. But just in case you wish to in the future, you can practice and research and test it out, and fun fact, part of it involves a little bit of winging it. I've done this for like genres/ideas I haven't tried before, and surprisingly it actually works. But, tbf, it's a lot more difficult when the issue at hand is the opposite gender.

And answering your last question, while it doesn't mean you must give up completely and you will never be able to do it, I can agree that no representation is better than a poorly represented character. Though, there is a chance you might be too harsh on yourself, since Idk exactly what any female characters you've written are like.

And about my reblog on that post abt writing women, Ig it was more aimed at people who've never tried or misrepresent women by applying a crap ton of harmful stereotypes to them. You seem to have made a genuine effort, so that's a pretty good thing.

Sorry for the long post, and thank you for the ask.

[kakujis]

that's true and that is the first time i've ever seen that in an otome game. i want to replay it again but when my memory become more fuzzy about the demo. it seem like the origins route make a specific change on one character then. tbh, it's a bit hard to imagine leander route with a horror twist esp if you get a bad ending.

do you mean their tumblr blog (?) if that's the case, there is more beind leander than meet the eye. any theories about him? i agreed, mhin's hair is something else and he's the only character with a beauty mark. that's true, leander seem to be prince charming irl.

ah yh, you would need some determination to deal with vere and you can't be short fuse otherwise he would win too many times lol. but i do wonder if his background will be a bit like beauty and the beast where he got cursed forever (he might had been a human before) for doing something awful.

her eyes are the perfect finishing touch! there's a saying that the eyes are windows to the soul and that perfectly describe sen. i feel like the studio paid extra attention to vere and ais introduction CG too. is vere your no.2 then?

i've agreed that ais is the buffest among them lol. honestly, from that scene, there is a little bit of a sign that ais might be able to turn into a yandere and i can def see that happening in his bad end.

well, ais can relate to the most to the mc because he is cursed and leander is the only one that can touch her so there's a big chance that might be either one of them. the only thing with leander, his one might be too much of a happy ending which would not fit the themes of the game so i feel like ais would be the winner.

leander is def the one that show the most emotions, his blushing and shy sprites lol. well, elyon seem to be rich in the game so he might be very selective and def condescending and i def feel like he will be one of those the rules are different depending on the person that he meet and i hate that shitty behaviour ;-;

that's cool! thanks, i might make some last minute add-on towards the end of the campaign. i also think it depends your merchandise contents too? like the standees would def need to be pack more securely so shipping likely to cost more and def where you live.

i checked the kickstarter page again and they added more goals between the animated opening and elyon being unlocked. it's the studio first game so it look like they want to add as much as they can to gain a fanbase for other potential future games.

i'm sorry but what's a dakimura? there was a tier where the pledger would be able to test run the game and give feedback to the developers but it's already sold out (must been one?) and it was at least 1k or more.

HAI NONNIE sorry im a cpl days late!! i wanted to answer on my computer!! also same! but i do like the mystery behind leander, they're all mysterious, but he seems like he's almost too good to be true you know? also yes their tumblr blog!!! i check it every so often and even have the character pages saved to reference from time to time!!!

as for vere, maybe! but i do remember the game hinting that both ais and vere came from the fog when it took over? at least that's what mhin implies! what i'm curious about is how he got to be chained by the senobium!! aaa ik this stuff will probs b answered in the full game release im just soo impatient. vere isn't my number 2 hehe, it's mhin! but based off my original ranking i was and still am suuper attracted to vere, he's soo pretty ugh. <333 i have tons of headcanons and stuffs i wanna post about touchstarved i just need to find the time to do it LOL. wbu? who do u like? (mb if u've already told me i hav such bad memory eeep!)

YES TOTES AGREE ON SEN! i genuinely love her chara design sm im salivating whenever i see her ehhehe. i really want another fem!LI but i'm happy we at least got sen! YANDERE AIS YANDERE AIS YANDERE AIS IM GONNA PASS TF OUT JKASFKJNDSFKLNSDKLFJSD <333 UR SO RIGHT OMFG... yew know, leander also gives me BIG yan vibes ngl. like i could totes see it with him as well!! especially with his whole "hates being ignored" bit.

ngl i really wanna see more of kuras, i'm kinda struggling to grasp his character. but i do need to play the other origins as well sooo. oh n before i furget, mhin uses they/them pronouns ^^

i too hate that type of behavior so i hope elyon isn't like that. but if he is i'll hope it's at least written well. there's some tropes i dislike but are written so well i can't get mad! also oo lemme know what u choose!! tbh i'm talking myself out of getting anymore merch HAHAHA even tho i really want it. did u see we're getting sen & elyon physical merch too?? UGHH SO EXCITING!!!

also a dakimura is basically a body pillow cover! i'm only posting this to flex the one i got cus i love this chara, but this is mine! also isaw!!! god id love to pledge that much money but daaang to anyone who can!

[pelleas-at-castle-nox]

That's something that struck me about this interaction and just, the unique relationship between Ike and Soren (assisted by the pfp of Greil calling that guy to mind). My first thought was "well, two but the other guy is dead" but that's not actually true and I'd never really thought about it. While Soren did serve Greil willingly, even before his death Soren really was only there because of Ike who he viewed as his personal savior. Which like, I don't really have time to unpack the beautiful love inherent to one queer person pulling another out of a literal nightmare life, but like the fact that Soren isn't saved by Greil or any adult but another young boy just like him, who is the only person who ever truly saw him for what he was at his lowest makes his borderline comical devotion make perfect sense. Like, I have my problems with the legacy wankery in engage and the fact this is DLC, but like it's really validating that such an unusual character was put front and center.

This is a bit of a tangent, but in terms of archetypes and the actual like, language of mechanics fire emblem uses, there's only one other prominent figure I can think of who fits most of the same mechanical and details with, and that's Lilina. Both are characters with like lord level significance, but aren't given any sort of unique class and are just regular mages. Story wise, they're pretty completely different, but the biggest thing they have in common is a heavy shipping angle with the main lord,that is even reinforced in the respective sequel (Soren's paired ending with Ike and the tower secret scene, and Hector's dream at the end of blazing blade that implies Roy and Lilina are destined to marry) and like, seeing as fire emblem as a series loves using archetypes to tell and reinforce stories, I honestly feel like that's not just me reading into it too much and is on some level intentional.

But yeah basically, the fact that Soren is literally the only member of the Greil mercenaries who supports Ike on his own merits as soon as Ike loses his father is such a beautiful and unspoken part of their relationship. I was going to be like well except Mist but even Mist only has as close a connection to Ike as she does because of familial ties, which is the same for everybody else. They only trust Ike because they trusted Greil, and because they see his shadow in him, even Titania. It's no wonder Ike quickly develops a complex regarding his father when everyone in his life only trust him because of the good word of his father, except for Soren who's a little too traumatized and in a medieval fantasy setting to articulate to Ike directly that his devotion to Ike is not built on a foundation of devotion to Greil. In that sense his relationship with Shinon is actually incredibly important to the building of Ike's confidence as he literally acts like an inverse Soren from this perspective. While everybody else intertwined their memories of Greil into their support of Ike, only Shinon and Soren (and to an extent Gatrie but I really got the impression he was only following Shinon) Divorce their conceptions of Ike from his father. Maybe Shinon hated Ike because he was gay? Homophobic Shinon has been engraved as a head canon now actually, I mean he's definitely homophobic it's just a question of if he was able to actively be homophobic towards Ike, but i digress.

I think there is a statement to be made there, about how love can be so much harder to see than hate, even when it's being displayed over and over again day after day. In a more meta textual and sardonic reading, the fact that it's 2023 and this love must still be tiptoed around, not stated outright and left as sub text is on full display with Soren's inclusion in engage. In a more romantic reading, it's the developers acknowledging the single best romance in the entire series by saying "in a game where every single one of these emblems in their own game are characters with unique lord classes, the quietly devoted strategist is the one we're adding." That one does get undercut by the inclusion of "big titty sister who has a generic class also got added in the same patch" but the homophobic forces that weave this dark world work in mysterious ways.

Anyways tl;dr, Soren always loved Ike as his savior and his first and only friend, and his loyalty was never to Greil but to the man he loved his whole life.

Soren please

[childofaura]

hey I love reading through your art critiques! what are your thoughts on Fujisaka Kimihiko?

I'm glad you guys enjoy these! I know I get a little harsh sometimes on my criticisms depending on the artists, but I'm grateful everyone seems to respect my opinions on some of these artists!

Fujisaka Kimihiko is one I haven't been able to cover yet, but I get to now! They're the artist for Jakob, Christmas Zephiel, Fallen Ike, Nemesis, pre-timeskip Dimitri, and Brave F!Byleth. I've always been fond of their artwork for Jakob because it's such a drastically different style from his Fates portrait, and I love the dramatic lighting for Jakob's crit:

I love how the eyes reflect that bright purple light of the critical attack as well:

Something I really think makes Kimihiko's artwork so unique and distinguishable from other artists is the texture they utilize for linework and for enhancing shading. I think the tool it looks like is... a grease pencil, right? I guess what I mean to say is this: In a similar vein to Yamada Akihiro, Fujisaka Kimihiko's artwork has a quality as if it's hand-drawn, as opposed to the digital artwork quality we see from other artists. You can see it best in Nemesis' art:

And it's absolutely perfect for a character like Nemesis. And while we're at it, let's talk about the posework, flow, and expressions. Look at how they utilize Nemesis' braids, chains, and clothing to fill in all the negative space. The same is done with Fallen Ike:

Sturdy poses for both, and Ike's cape billows out behind him. Both him and Nemesis have very stern expressions too.

And don't get me started on the crit expressions. Kimihiko knows what we like: SHARP TEETH:

I honestly couldn't think of a better artist to draw these two.

Now, I do have some criticisms with their artwork... or rather with one of their characters in general: Brave F!Byleth. This is just a personal thought of mine, but I don't think Kimihiko enjoys drawing women as much as they enjoy drawing men.

Because let's look at all the positive qualities I pointed out that we saw in the other characters, and then observe them in F!Byleth's portraits:

First observation right off the bat: No colored pencil/grease pencil texture! Not for the lines, not for the shading, not for anything! It's just uncharacteristically bland-looking standard digital! What happened?!

And then look at the posework. It's very boring, stiff, and rooted. She's just... standing. In both her neutral and her attack portrait. Ike's portrait at least shows he's walking forward, and Nemesis is standing in an at-ease pose like "I'm powerful as fuck and I don't need to be on my guard". I'm very critical of posework for both mage and archer units because a good artist should be able to make a mage/archer unit look dynamic in some way, shape, or form (I will always praise Luthier's artist, MaCo, for utilizing his robes and giving his hands a very dramatic pose). And unlike Nemesis and Ike's portraits, not even Byleth's skirt bustle really changes between portraits. Additionally, her facial expressions are very bland; I GET it, we're talking about Byleth, plank of wood extraordinaire, but even Teita, M!Byleth's artist, gives Byleth stronger expressions.

I don't know what happened with this one, whether they don't like drawing women as much, or whether they specifically don't like drawing F!Byleth. But so much of this one absolutely does not match up to the quality we've seen from their previous work.

All in all though, if we consider F!Byleth as just a random fluke and ignore her, Fujisaka Kimihiko's artwork is a very powerful 9.9999999/10. I really do hope we see a return to their previous style with future characters, because I love the textures in their work.

[thegreaterlink]

Star Trek TNG - S2E20 “The Emissary”

Not to be confused with "Emissary," Deep Space Nine's pilot episode.

I'll get to DS9 eventually, I promise.

THE PREMISE

The Enterprise receives an urgent message from Starfleet Command ordering them to a set of coordinates with no stated reason. While en route, they're contacted by Admiral Gromek, who informs that they are set to rendezvous with a Federation emissary who will brief them on their mission. She refuses to disclose any more details, only that Starfleet considers the mission a top security matter. The Enterprise intercepts a probe carrying the emissary, a half-human half-Klingon woman called K'Ehleyr (pronounced ky-lar). It is immediately clear that she and Worf know each other, and he's not pleased to see her.

K'Ehleyr informs the crew that Starfleet has detected a Klingon battlecruiser called the IKS T'Ong, which was launched over 70 years prior when the Federation and the Klingons were still at war. The ship's crew are about to awaken from suspended animation and will most likely attack the nearest Federation outpost. Over Worf's objections, Picard orders him to work with K'Ehleyr to come up with an alternative to simply killing the Klingons.

MY REVIEW

K'Ehleyr. I already know that constantly typing that out will be a pain.

Speaking of K'Ehleyr, she's played by Suzie Plakson, with a slightly dialled back Klingon design and a more versatile performance which is a good method of conveying her half-humanity.

It quickly becomes clear that she and Worf were ex-lovers, and their vehement (but entertaining) arguments mean that they're barely able to concentrate on their tasks.

This isn't the first time a main cast member has encountered someone with whom they have romantic history, but fortunately this pairing (and this episode) is a lot more compelling.

K'Ehleyr and Worf have a fun dynamic, with their previous failed relationship creating interesting tension between them throughout the episode.

However, it's worth noting that Suzie Plakson had previously played the Vulcan Dr Selar in "The Schizoid Man" and was supposed to reprise that role in this episode before her character was replaced with K'Ehleyr. I like K'Ehleyr and she and Worf play off each other well, but I feel the story could've been even more interesting if the ex-lovers had come from two different cultures.

Also, if we can employ a little bit of maths here, in "The Icarus Factor" we found out that it has been ten years since Worf reached the Age of Ascension at 15, meaning that Worf is no older than 25, which I call bullshit on because Michael Dorn was in his mid-thirties at the time. Anyway, if these slightly janky maths are to be believed, Worf and K'Ehleyr were in their late teens when they broke up. So if you think of their dynamic in terms of two college exes having a fight, it becomes even more fun to watch.

After one particularly vicious argument, Troi suggests that K'Ehleyr use the holodeck to vent her frustrations. She chooses Worf's training program (previously seen in "Where Silence Has Lease") and Worf joins her in fighting off some aliens which wouldn't look out of place in an episode of He-Man. Stimulated by the battle, they fuck, and Worf starts the Klingon vow of marriage, but K'Ehleyr refuses to capitulate to Klingon tradition and storms out.

Unfortunately, we now need to return to the episode's main threat. The IKS T'Ong is unique among the Klingons we've seen so far due to being from another era, with the crew still convinced that they're at war with the Federation. The ship's obsolete nature is also touched upon when the more advanced Enterprise-D is able to detect it through its cloaking device, and they give chase.

K'Ehleyr asks Picard to let the Klingons die with dignity in battle (which feels slightly out of character for her, at least in my opinion), but Worf has other ideas. The T'Ong opens hailing frequencies with the Enterprise... and is met with Worf and K'Ehleyr in traditional Klingon uniforms, posing as the ship's captain and First Officer.

They tell the other Klingons that the war is over, and that they will destroy the T'Ong if they don't stand down, which they do. The plan is an ingenious non-violent alternative, and shows just how effective Worf and K'Ehleyr can be when they put their differences aside and put their ridged heads together.

With the conflict resolved, K'Ehleyr goes to transport to the T'Ong to begin acclimating the other Klingons to the 24th century. Worf comes along to see her off, and K'Ehleyr admits to Worf that she had been tempted to accept his vow of marriage, but it wasn't the right time. She expresses hope that their paths will cross again. Even though such a thing is unlikely in a more episodic series like this, I'd welcome it.

7/10 - There's some missed potential here and there, but otherwise a welcome step up in quality.

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[owen-not-carvour]

yknow what i love. the differences between curt and owen,,, that really aren’t that different at all.

here’s what i mean:

owen sings the reprise of the coldest goodbye,,, While curt sings a reprise (of sorts) of spies are forever.

i just like that,, and i feel like each of those fit their characters pretty well. curt sings saf because he Is a spy and he doesn't really question what he’s working for or his beliefs like owen did after (and i feel like even Before as well) he fell in 1957.. spies are forever is more about things going 'well' in a way,, the lyrics aren't as sad as the coldest goodbye,, and ofc paired with what’s going on on stage, everything is going pretty good for them there,, and i think it’s safe to say that curt is the more optimistic of the two of them while owen is more negative (with good reason) and because of this, the coldest goodbye reprise fits owen really well too because it's like the lyrics of saf, but turned and twisted to be negative and sad., and that's basically what happened to owen when he fell. he got betrayed and his beliefs changed (or his suspicions were just proven right). this isn't super detailed but i just,, really like it yknow. and i feel like it makes sense.

also ik that the coldest goodbye is Basically a reprise of spies are forever in itself,, but they're still different enough to where i feel it still makes sense and makes a difference.. and ofc that also plays into it as mentioned.

but yeah there’s This.. and that’s not even getting to how spies are forever and one step ahead are Literally the same song too.

i love the music in spies so much.