#also what a lovely CG with his hair moving in the wind

[twiceasmanysunbeams]

you can (literally) see her in his eyes

[jjtheresidentbaby]

m not sure if you've already done this, sorry if you have, but maybe little!steve n cg!eddie but he's kinda not his cg yet- situation would be that eddie recognises regression signs either from his own or a friend's regression and steve is slipping but trying to hide it/repress it around him because he's scared of how he would react, but eddie catches on n helps/reassures him?

also maybe add steve freaking out/panicking/apologising when eddie mentions it? (totally not projecting my own regression issues onto steve-)

it's okie if you can't do this sorry!

On Edge | Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson

genre: hurt/comfort

a/n: god this got lengthy and angst. also I added in little!robin and caregiver!nancy hope you don’t mind, this more so turned into all four of them rather then just Eddie and Steve

warnings: trying to suppress regression, anxiety, referenced bad parents, mentions of the upside down, the nail filled bat

~

Steve’s trying so hard, he has to, he can’t regress right now with Robin regressed in front of him for only the third or fourth time. Nancy’s just playing so softly with her and Eddie’s cooing when Robin giggles, it’s making Steve’s heart hurt.

He’s never had that. He craves it, wants to be loved like that, in that way his parents never did. It’s brought up a lot of vent regression with Steve, always using it to cry and let himself feel upset at how badly he was treated as a child.

That’s not how it works though, Steve is an adult and a responsible one at that. What kind of responsible person goes little during a time like this? Sure the monsters are gone and Veccnas dead, that doesn’t mean things aren’t out to hurt the people Steve cares about.

There’s a risk around every corner, Steve doesn’t know what’s to come after the monsters, there’s probably some horrible way worse fate awaiting him. So instead of focusing on how much he’d love to have Nancy brush his hair off his face like she’s doing to Robin or how Eddie’s doing voices for different stuffed animals, Steve slouches himself next to the door, his bat right beside him.

His anxiety is spiked which is normal when Steve knows he needs to go small but can’t, it’s not a fun feeling. His whole body’s on high alert, not to mention how his eyes flick around the room every few seconds looking for a threat, ready to swing that nail filled bat.

Steve’s jaw clenches as he sees the trees shift through the slider leading to the backyard, it’s all the way through the dining room and kitchen but close enough that Steve watches how the leaves move quickly to the right. His finger tips graze the end of the wooden bat, taking a big breath, ready to grab hold but stops himself when the leaves settle.

It’s just wind, nothing to get worked up about. Steve’s sleep pattern being a disaster recently probably has something to do with how scrambled his brain is, he doesn’t even bother going upstairs to his room anymore, residing on the couch each night just in case the phone rings or someone comes knocking on his door.

Chewing at his lip Steve takes a moment to let his eyes settle on Robin, she’s smiling so wide, her eyes soft and big, hands gripping onto Nancy’s fingers, blissfully listening to how the brunette sings a slow lullaby in a tone Steve’s heard Nancy pull out for Holly or Mike. They’re so peaceful.

Tears quickly fill Steve’s eyes, making his head snap to the slider door again, he’s glad he does look back over as the trees are moving even faster. Now his brain may be half small but that won’t stop him from grabbing hold of that bat. Not holding it up, trying to make sure Robin and Nancy don’t notice anything, but enough that he could swing within seconds.

“Steve?” His eyes go wider than wide as he stumbles off his chair with the bat in hand, holding it between him and Eddie, not hitting Munson but making Eddie feel the need to put his hands up in defense.

“Steve, it’s okay.” Eddie’s tone is so soft, uncharacteristically caring.

“Wha- what’s wrong?” Eddie would never talk to Steve like this if there wasn’t a problem, did he miss something? Maybe there’s a monster out front that Steve hasn’t noticed or something happened to one of the ki-

“Nothing, it’s all okay. Stevie, can you put the bat down?” Right, he shuffles past Eddie to lean the bat in its appropriate spot.

“Sorry- just- on edge.” Eddie nods slowly, taking to kneeling on the floor in front of Steve once he slumps back into his chair beside the door.

“I can tell, Robins been asking you to play but you’ve been staring out the slider.” She was? Steve lets his gaze go over to Robin, waving small when the girl eagerly waves at him.

“Sorry.” He is sorry, he feels bad not being engaged in his friends when they’re at his house, he just also feels so overwhelmed with anxiety.

“Don’t apologize, it’s okay, I get it. Maybe you wanna come sit on the couch with me and Nance?” Steve’s a tad reluctant but he follows Munson to the couch, squishing between Nancy and Eddie as Robin colors sprawled across the floor.

“You guys okay?” Nancy asks in ever the concerned tone, Steve just nods as he’s always felt so safe around Nancy that if she continues to talk to him like that, he’ll be small in no time flat.

“Okay, I’m here if you need to talk.” Nancy’s hand is up against Steve’s cheek, brushing his hair behind his ear, he can’t help but nuzzle into her hand just that little bit more.

“Hey Harrington?” Steve turns to Eddie, smiling when Munson flashes him a toothy grin.

“You’re feeling small, aren’t you?” A pang of fear goes off in Steve’s chest, shuffling back into Nancy but his shoulders caught in Eddie’s gentle touch.

“It’s okay Stevie, you’re alright. You don’t have to be big all the time, you’re allowed to go small and get that comfort we all know you deserve.” Steve swallows thickly to Eddie’s words, feeling how Nancy’s hand presses flat into his back and Eddie’s squeezes slightly where it still holds his shoulder, grounding him, he notes.

“You- you’re not mad?” Both shake their heads instantly.

“How could we ever be mad at you? You’re Steve either way, our Steve.” The two curly haired brunettes assure in sync, making Steve blush when Eddie boops at his nose.

“And you can play with Robin for a bit, give us a break.” Steve giggles to Munson but shakes his head, Robins a much more rambunctious little compared to how cuddly and sleepy Steve gets.

“No? You have other plans?” Nancy only smiles when Steve takes to laying his head against her chest, throwing his legs up to drape them across Eddie’s lap, ignoring Eddie’s exaggerated ‘oof’ sound.

“We cuddling? I cuddle!” Steve has no time to prepare for Robin throwing herself on top of him, her arms and legs wrap around him like a tree frog so Steve just holds her back.

His anxiety relaxes when he sinks into the hand Nancy has in his hair and the one Eddie has rubbing circles against Steve’s calf while Robin acts as a weighted blanket of sorts. It’s okay, he’s okay, safe and small with his people around.

[cheri-translates]

What would you vote as the spiciest date for each boy?

Hi Anon~ I’ll respond with two dates per guy - one already released in EN, and one from CN.

🌶 Heavy spoilers under the cut because I included the spicy moments in detail, so don’t continue if you’re averse to that! 🌶

[Note: I compared the official English translations with the original Chinese versions and realised that the former is a little lacking... so I translated the spicy scenes so you can enjoy them as the writers intended ^o^ ]

-

🌹Victor🌹

[ EN: Dazzling Date ]

An urgent kiss clogs my unfinished words. His breath has never been closer to me than it is right now. 

His lips uncontrollably demand for more, and the fingertips clasping my hair grow tighter and tighter, like a net catching its prey. 

As though worried that I would drown in this sudden deep kiss, he leaves me a short time to breathe.

Victor: Since you’re clear-headed, remember everything about tonight.

While speaking, he hooks his index finger through his neat necktie, loosening it along with the buttons on the collar of his shirt. 

His refined muscles are unobstructed under the moonlight, and he immediately catches my distracted gaze. 

Victor: You're still in the mood to look at other things?

Looking at his chest muscles is obviously the same as looking at him. Looking at his face is also the same as looking at him. Why is he so...

Without leaving me room for sophistry, he places one hand against the side of the pool and continues the interrupted kiss.

His breath lingers in my mouth, as if wanting to take care of every inch of my sensitive skin. 

Unlike the first ravaging kiss, this kiss is like a chronic poison, making one sink deeper and deeper, unable to escape. 

He gently and domineeringly plunders the last trace of air in my chest, leaving me no choice but to reach out and grab his shoulders to get him to stop.

Yet, he just holds my waist and takes a breath, then continues that wild yet not unpleasant kiss. 

Only then do I understand the look in his eyes - a strong emotion called “possessiveness”. 

Bubbles are still gurgling in the pool, but they do not muffle the slight sound of water between our lips and teeth. Although the sound is very soft, it stimulates all of my nerves, and every cell is infected with Victor’s breath. 

🌶

The Great Victor losing control because of MC? Yes PLEASE.

The Great Victor loosening his tie? Yes PLEASE.

The Great Victor claiming his territory? Yes PLEASE.

-

[ CN: Sleepless Night Date (灯火夜无眠) ]

He leans closer, rubbing the tip of his nose with mine. Then, his warm thin lips trail slowly from my forehead downwards…

Victor’s breath encases my entire body. He plants scalding kisses on every inch of my skin, making me tremble as I hold onto his cuff.

MC: V-Vic-

He swallows the remaining syllable before I can finish.

This time, his soft lips seize mine, prying my teeth apart and diving right in.

He takes my breath away. In the midst of our breathing, what surrounds the tip of my nose is the unique taste belonging only to him…

After a long while, Victor finally ends his deep and searing kiss.

I clutch onto his arm, my chest heaving as I struggle to catch my breath.

His lips once again brush my nose and cheek gently, like a dragonfly flitting across the surface of water. He looks into my eyes.

I see myself in his pupils, red-faced and misty-eyed.

🌶

I’m weak for the transition from heated kisses to light, fluttery ones

Papergames even turned the CG into a gif because a still picture is unable to contain the spice

-

🎐 Gavin 🎐

[ EN: Blind Date ]

Before I can scream, Gavin’s warm breath brushes my face. 

Followed by his soft, scalding lips sealing mine.

MC: ...oh...

The kiss is very powerful and rough, as if trying to draw all the oxygen from my lungs. 

I feel like I'm about to suffocate. My legs become soft, and I slide downwards with my back against the wall.

Gavin holds me by my waist with one hand while pressing the back of my head with the other, deepening the kiss...

Just when I think I’m about to die, he moves his lips away slightly, his deep eyes gazing at me.

MC: ...Gavin...

Gavin: What’s wrong?

MC: [pushing Gavin shyly] ...this is a public place.

Gavin hugs me even more tightly, resting his chin on my shoulder...

MC: Gavin... let me go...

A warm breath caresses my ear. It’s a numbing feeling, as though thousands of ants are crawling into the bottom of my heart...

🌶

The tension built up over the course of the entire date was 💯

Gavin can just stand in the middle of nowhere and I’d still find it spicy

-

[ CN: Late Autumn Date (秋深之约) ]

I look towards Gavin, lightly tugging at the corner of his shirt. At the same time, I gently bite his lip, wordlessly expressing the feelings in my heart at this very moment.

As though punishing me for my mischief, his eyes narrow slightly. With a hand on my cheek, he presses my entire body onto the piano.

MC: …

I close my eyes, holding onto his solid arms. I lift my head to welcome his lips, savouring his unique breath.

The person in front of me has shed off the roughness of youth, leaving behind only the purity of youth. He often makes me forget that he once used to be unrestrained like the wind.

He has a body that is stronger than everyone else’s, a tough soul, a will that is as firm as steel, and a heart full of tenderness – it is soft beyond compare.

I cling to his waist tightly using my calves, wanting to brand every part of him into my heart.

🌶

Poetic spice. Yes.

-

🌻 Kiro 🌻

[ EN: Stardust Date ]

His hair, slightly drenched in sweat, brushes the tip of my nose. What follows is a sudden kiss.

The soft and blazing tip of his tongue launches a slightly rough attack, making me press my hands against his chest. Yet, I am unwilling to push him away. 

Just a few steps away from the stage, fans are still shouting for an encore, but I can no longer hear their restless cries.

All that descends into my ears is the rush of breaths.

Our disorderly breaths entwine, and we inhale and exhale over and over again, bringing along with it a brief sense of hypoxia. 

I feel dizzy and am unable to think of much anymore. My mouth is agape, like a stranded fish craving for more oxygen.

He takes the opportunity to fill in this gap. Starting with a restrained light peck, he observes my reaction bit by bit before gradually deepening the kiss.

Every cell in my body seems to be tinged with his scent. I can’t help but pull myself closer to him, wanting more, demanding more.

He responds passionately, a light crimson under his quivering eyelashes. Drenched with sweat, he looks handsome and cute.

-

🌶

I’d say this is the second spiciest date that has been released in EN so far (with Victor’s Dazzling date as the reigning champion). Good job Kiro.

MC demanding for more? Yes PLEASE.

-

[ CN: Variety Show Date（综艺之约) ]

The fingers on my back follow the trail of water and snake downwards. Blazing heat follows his movements, gradual yet eager, as they flow over every inch of my skin.

His breath lays siege, filling every crevice in my body, wet and lingering.

Even so, Kiro is not yet satisfied. His arms hold me even tighter, and he uses his fingertips and lips to hold me prisoner in this secret corner, and I am unable to withdraw.

Kiro: Miss Chips, you belong to me. So, I won’t let you escape this time.

His searing breath takes over mine. I am unable to tell if it’s water droplets or sweat that slowly trickles down our tightly-pressed skin.

In our misty vision, dots of starlight pass through the trees, and are scattered across the surface of the water. Suppressed gasps diffuse near our ears, and are amplified by our senses.  

The water sways continuously like a tide, gently wrapping two hearts that are about to merge into one.

And the breaths of the sea breeze render the night even more blurry.

-

🌶

I’m just going to assume they did the deed in the lake which is highly impractical but somehow v e r y sexy.

-

🦋 Lucien 🦋

[ EN: I haven’t read his EN dates... ]

[ CN: Warm Morning Date (暖晨之约) ]

The hand that had lightly lit a cluster of flames on my skin earlier finally lands on the back of my head with certainty, causing me to lift my head slightly.

This time, I cooperate and close my eyes.

An undisguised possessiveness spreads to the adjacent skin. In the midst of our entangled breaths, every suck and tender bite are his branded markings.

Soothed by each other’s temperatures, our hearts beat at the same frequency.

🌶

Not as spicy as the dates from the other guys, but I never pegged Lucien as one who leaves love bites so it was a pleasant surprise :>

-

Unfortunately Shaw doesn’t have any spicy dates... yet :’)

[ikesengoficss]

The Innocent Butterfly, with Thorns in her Wings // Lucien x Reader {MLQC}

choking is my,,,, big kink. and after seeing that karma (i think it’s karma? could be a CG) i just had to write this... though in context to the karma, what I’m writing is most likely not at all what is happening ;/ wheeze

he’s a creepy bastard and I love him! 😤

@alloveroliver

Kinktober Challenge, October 8th: Breast Worship | Pegging | Choking

Game: Mr. Love: Queen’s Choice

Rating: +18, NSFW

warning: choking, dom/sub theme, rough vaginal sex, dirty talk

please do not read if any of the sorts make you uncomfortable

Word Count: 2,186

The Innocent Butterfly, with Thorns in her Wings // Lucien x Reader

He never expected for his girlfriend, so sweet and innocent in his eyes, his darling butterfly, to have such a request of him. Even as you mustered your small request, your cheeks were a bright red and you couldn’t meet his eyes.

Asking him, in such a meek voice none-the-less, to do something so rough, so out of character for you. In bed Lucien was already somewhat rough, and definitely was the dominate one. In fact, he considered himself to be rather gentle with you in his love making. But there was no denying he certainly held back on his darker desires with you. One of which included wrapping his hand, a hand that can cover the whole of your face mind you, around your throat.

But now you stood in front of him sheepishly asking him to release those desires onto you. Your fingers twiddled with your skirt, your head bowed and you swayed back and forth on the heels of your feet. He walked towards you, one hand coming out of the pocket of his lab coat to cup your chin, tilting your head up. “Is that really want you want?” You nod but Lucien shakes his head. “Tell me.”

“It’s what I want.”

“Tell me exactly what you want. Exactly so I can get it right.”

You gulp. There is no way of escaping his intense gaze, but why would you want to, when that intensity was only for you. “I want… I want you to push me down on the bed, and--and to be more rough, and…I want you to be in control. I’d also…,” the way you fumbled through your words only made his grin wider, and the tent in his pants more obvious. “I would like you to choke me… please.”

“Silly girl,” he says, chest rumbling with laughter. “You can barely muster the words. What makes you think you can handle such a thing.”

You take a hold of the collar of his shirt, surprising him slightly as you suddenly yank him towards you to crash your lips against his, sloppily. He grins into the kiss and sensation of your tongue trying to find his. He opens his mouth slightly, finally allowing you that entrance for your crazed kiss, and tangles his tongue with yours in the kiss’ violent dance. You pull back with your face flushed and lips swollen; it’s such a pretty sight, he resists the urge to reach out to you. “I can handle it.”

That was the only confirmation he needed to finally let himself go on you. He wondered if you really could take it, if you were really up for the challenge. He was of course, more than willing to test those limits. “Remember that you asked me to be more rough,” he says, voice husky and seductive, his finger stroking against your cheek bone before trailing down your neck, stopping just at the lump of your throat. He pushes against it lightly, adding only slight pressure. “But you can always tell me to stop if you become uncomfortable at anytime. Don’t feel forced to do anything you don’t want to. Understood?”

He waited for your affirmation. Your lips quivered the word, “yes,” so softly, that he almost didn’t hear it. But he did, and the moment it was uttered from your lips, his hand was wrapped around your throat. The sudden grab caused your head to fling backwards slightly in surprise. He used your throat to pull you towards him, his large hand, long fingers, tightening around your neck to bring you only just on the border of being unable to breathe.

“Good,” he grins, his breath tickling yours. He presses a little kiss to your slightly parted lips, nibbling a little on your bottom one. He uses his grip on your neck to fling you onto his bed and your body bounces when it hits the mattress. It squeaks pitifully beneath you. Lucien presses his thumb to his bottom lip as he admires you sprawled on his bed; hair scattered around you, some strands covering your face, and your skirt hiked just up enough your legs to reveal the edge of your panties.

He chuckles lightly, slowly getting on top of the bed, on his knees, trapping you beneath him. You are surrounded by him. Your skin is a beautiful, floral red from where he choked you. With placing his hands besides your head, he leans down to press little, light kisses against the red skin. The gentleness of the kiss tickles, and you sigh, pleasantly. However, those gentle kisses are soon gone as he sinks his teeth into the side of your neck, breaking the skin with his bite and enlisting a squeal from you. Laughing he tells you, “I don’t think you realize the spark you’ve enlightened within me with your request… y/n.”

You pant heavily beneath him, looking up into his dark eyes through hooded lids. “I can only hope you’re prepared,” he continues, his hand finding it’s way back to your neck, fingers curling around it once more to block just a bit of your airways from collecting air. “You’re an innocent butterfly asking to have your wings tugged and torn apart. You have fallen into a trap of thorns, and there is no escaping it now, you see. Is it frightening?” He watched above you as you gulped and gasped for breath. And though the small sounds that escaped your pretty lips could be mistaken for ones of agony, pain, or fear? The lustful gaze from your eyes told him how much you were enjoying the feel of his large hand wrapped around your throat, and the strength of his grip that left you know room to wiggle free.

Lucien releases you suddenly when your eyes started to bulge, and he feels satisfied knowing quite the burn he gifted your lungs. You use the opportunity to take in big breaths. Arms that were limp at your side weekly try moving upwards to reach for him but you hold such little energy to do so. Lucien lets out a deep chuckle, his hand romancing down from your throat and to your breasts, cupping the right globe. He can feel your heart beating wild in your chest due to excitement, pleasure, and anticipation. “How do you feel?” he asks, hand pulsing as it squeezes your breast. “Take your time,” he whispers as you struggle to find your words.

“I feel… I feel numb.” He nods at your answer. His fingers deftly move to the buttons of your blouse to undo it. Even with the buttons undone, the shirt tears still as he rips it off your body. He frees your right breast from the constraints of your bra, bending down to blow on your pink, allerted nipple.

“Anything else?”

He tweaks your nipple between his forefinger and thumb whilst studying your face. Impatient waiting for your answer, he tugs it painfully resulting in an almost agonized groan at the sting of the tug, but it quickly subdues to a pleasured moan. “I feel… I feel hot. I feel really good. I want more.”

He hums, releasing your nipple. “That’s what I want to hear.” Before you can take another breath, with one hand delved in your hair, yanking your head forward, and other gripping your waist, he tosses you over onto your stomach. The force winds you slightly and taking notice, he gives you a moment before he is yanking your hips backwards against his pelvis, and with his hand clutching the back of your neck only to shove your face down into the sheets.

He doesn’t waste time in pulling your skirt and panties down, chucking them aside. He has a perfect view of your bare ass and hidden treasure between your legs. “Knock it off. Don’t be naughty and stay still,” he commands. He grabs your hips, fingers bruising your skin in his painful grip as he stops you from wiggling. “Just Relax.” Your juices trickle down your thighs, glimmering in the light that blares from above. You shiver as he runs his fingers up your legs to collect whats dripped down from you. There is no need to look back; you know he is licking his fingers clean by the slight suckling sounds.

“How cute,” he chuckles, running a finger through your folds. “You’re already so swollen and puffy, and I haven’t even shoved my cock in you yet.” You grunt as he presses two fingers inside of you, curling them just right, that it’s so perfect it’s painful. “Maybe you aren’t such an innocent butterfly after all.”

“Lucien… please.”

Oh, how he loves to hear you beg. Moving his fingers back and forth between your folds, he relishes in your moans that you try so hard to muffle by burying your head in the sheets. But no matter what you try to do, you can’t get any sounds you make past him.  “What, y/n? What do you need?”

“I need…” with the methodic way he pumps his fingers, going faster and faster, the sounds of your juices squishing ringing in your ears, forming the right words becomes impossible; “me— fuck… please, please, I…OH!” The palm of his hand comes hard across your bottom, the shock of it and sting vibrating up your body. There is no room for reaction of course, as your world spins till you are suddenly laying on your back again.

Towering over you, he makes sure you can see him slowly unzipping his pants, a smirk plastered on his face. He holds his cock out in his hand, stroking it for you to watch. It’s thick, pre-cum leaks from the tip, and you want more than anything for it to be inside of you, pulsating and reaching every deep place in your body it an reach. The moment he see’s your hand itching towards your core, he’s snapping, “Don’t you dare!” throwing himself onto you with both hands wrap around your neck this time. His hands continue to squeeze, stopping your breath short. “I think this enough foreplay, don’t you? You’re becoming naughtier and naughtier. It’s time I nip it in the bud.”

He thrusts into you. There is no slow making his way into you, careful not to hurt you and shove too deep, like he has done in the past when making love to you. No, he sheaves himself all the way in, and immediately begins to pound himself against you, his hips smacking against you and his hands tightening around your neck that you start gagging for air.

Lucien presses his thumbs into your neck a little more. He wants to feel you claw at his wrists. He wants you desperate for air and desperate to get it back. He wants to feel the pain of your nails digging into him. All while he can see the look of ecstasy on your face as your breath is literally stripped from you. When you finally do, and you draw blood too with your desperate clawing, he lets out a loud and deep moan.

It doesn’t take long for you to come around his cock. He lets go of your neck to take favor in lifting your legs and putting them over his shoulder so he can go deeper, all while you go limp as you come down for your high and take in the air you were previously deprived of.

Lucien wants his release. He wants you to milk his cock dry, so he’s not holding back as he slams himself with in you, cause the bed to move against the floorboard. As he finally reaches his peak, he tugs on your hair and empties himself inside you, grunting into your ear as he gives a final thrust so even the last drop can find its way inside of you. Though he collapses on top of you, he’s careful now not to completely crush you with his weight. He’s panting, lips just above your forehead, and he’s resting on his forearms which cage your head.

He looks down to see your eyes closed shut and your chest heaving heavily. Your neck is very red, and he can already picture the dark, purple and blue bruising that will paint your delicate skin; even if you did ask, he’s beginning to feel a pang of guilt. He quickly pulls out of you, standing up from the bed and pushing himself back into his pants. He goes to get wipes and cream from his bathroom, coming back and grinning slightly at your quivering form. You’ll be unable to move for days.

As he helps to clean you, taking extra care between your legs, and gently massaging some cream onto your neck, he praises you. He praises you for being a good girl, a sweet girl. For holding yourself well and for making him feel so good— he felt so good, he could not express it properly to you. Pride preventing him for doing so either way.

He sits down on the edge of the bed and collects you in his arms. He rubs your back, rocks you a little back and forth, hums in your ear. He holds onto you tight, afraid that if he lets go for just a second you might disappear. You’re still shaking and he laughs, pressing gentle little kisses around the crown of your head. “Are you ok, y/n?” he asks earnestly.

You look up at him and beam, it’s almost child like. “I am, Lucien. Thank you. I didn’t know if such a request would make you uncomfortable.”

He holds back a snort, deciding to just hide your face in his chest by tucking you underneath his chin so you cant see the devilish smirk on his face. “By now you should know, silly girl, I’d do whatever you ask for. If my darling butterfly asks with her sweet voice,” he whispers. Combing his fingers through your hair, he now stops to cup the nape of your neck, “she will be granted anything. Even if it’s for thorns in her wings.”

~~~~~

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[courage-a-word-of-justice]

HGPC 17 - 21 | Koi to Producer 2 - 6 | Appare 5 - 8 | Fugou Keiji 4 - 6

...only just realised I was missing some tags. They should be there now or soon.

HGPC 17

Why do I get the feeling the Sawaizumi family will be held hostage one day…? (Maybe I’m just being negative?)

The episode title mentions Chiyu by name, so I wonder why the translation didn’t…

Customer service! You can’t get away from it, even in COVID times…! (Impressive!)

Hmm…you can actually read part of the booking for the Smiths in the book if you know the kanji.

I thought the Smiths would speak in English, but they actually speak in fluent Japanese if the word “susume” was any indication.

Ah, Sukoyaka sweet buns! (from the other episode about the festival)

HGPC 18

Don’t burn down your house with scented candles, kids!

Also remember to use your knees when lifting heavy boxes! (<- says a charity store volunteer, who does this stuff on the regular)

These days the mascots usually have a human form. I wonder if this is implying that particular direction…? (I woke up today and was craving a certain oneshot I’d read during my scanlation days…if it is, it would fill that niche nicely.)

I wonder if the kids will recognise this Ashita no Joe parody…?

HGPC 19

“…since you were young?”

Oh! Element of Wind again!

Koi to Producer 2

This almost feels like Victor is assigning a school project to Protag-chan…it’s a bit sad, really.

It’s nice they let Protag-chan have a personality.

It’s fine if you can’t read the katakana, but Gavin’s name is Haku in Japanese, so it throws out the immersion somewhat…also, I know I shouldn’t be complaining – I’m the target audience here – but do these guys look kinda similar or what…? (partially kidding)

High school sweethearts, huh? “Childhood friends” is my favourite angle of a romantic relationship, but it gets so overused by harems it comes around to being boring…!

I-Is this Stand My Heroes…?! (LOL…?)

Can we not with 1st person cam…?

As cute and dorky as this stuff gets…how does Gavin never get found?! Does nobody ever look up in this city?!? (I thought Evolvers were meant to be a secret…?)

GPS tracker? That’s no better than large corporations using your location data…Isn’t that creepy…?

Hold on, when did she get his phone number? You would assume it was before this entire chase after the boy happened, but still…?

LOL, the English on the board.

This anime is gonna cause me some frustration, but it gives the good stuff in roughly equal measure. It seems to omit the fact you interact via phone with your bois for intimacy (in the game).

Koi to Producer 3

LOL, that’s so clearly Gavin…

By googling, you find out Uptown and Queens are in New York.

Ohmygosh! Did the creators know I love the trope where only people with superpowers can move in certain circumstances?!

Uh…his name is Kira in Japanese? Did someone read the katakana wrong?

Pictured: Depressed bishonen eating bad pudding. (…That joke sounds better in my head. I forgot what meme I was meant to be parodying there, but I had a meme in mind.)

Lemme guess…this man (I dunno if it’s one of the previous bishies with an identical face or a new one) is looking for MC-chan. *sigh* Update: Yep, just Victor again. To be honest, I don’t like anyone who calls harsh words “their sign of love” – love should be honest and upfront. That’s how it becomes heartmelting.

Koi to Producer 4

Okay, in order, it seems to be hexadecimals, Javascript (you can tell from the “const”), some kind of profiles which are apparently for human lab rats (which seem to have some kind of nonsense filler text), a DNA model and DNA bases (ACGT).

The text on the screen says something along the lines of this being an official broadcast of this man’s arrest and this man was a genetic researcher. Obviously, if I wanted to put more attention into what it meant, I would, but I won’t sweat the details this time (because it doesn’t seem to impact the plot).

The guy’s name is Minor because minor key (geddit?)…that’s my guess.

I started playing the game due to this anime, if you didn’t know, and I unlocked an expert in ch. 2. I thought he was Minor, but turns out his name is Spine (an older man).

The diary, true to form, contains details about either one case or several cases, two involving children. The bottom of the 1st page says “if it’s fake, I’ll laugh”.

Hey, I once told Crunchyroll I wanted an anime about hacking (so is this a dream come true? I reveal all in the next sentence!). Hackers don’t congregate like this…they’d be too conspicuous, even with the secret hideout!

The code in the top left appears to be…C? I think? (Note they declare “unsigned int”.)

Kiro sometimes reminds me of Masayoshi (SamFlam)…it puts a derpy smile on my face.

*blah blah blah I’m Key* - Wuh…? F*** you, Kiro!!! (There is such a thing as piling too much cool stuff on to a character, y’know – I’m guilty of it in my own writing.)

3684 isn’t a very safe password (says someone who once aspired to be in cybersecurity).

What bugs me is that Simon is a perfectly fine name…it’s just a bit boring. Kiro/Kira I get (a bit), but Lucien/Simon…? *shrugs*

Ohh! Based MAPPA! Thank you for making this adaption look great!

Koi to Producer 5

Oh, I got an SR in the game recently and it has a line like, “Only a fool stays up all night to do others’ work. Victor talks like that a lot…

The sign so obviously says “Renka”, meaning “love flower”. “Loveland” really is a step down from that…

Where’s Gavin’s guest badge…?

“Happiness Noodle Store”…?

“…the end of our first year…”

If this weren’t a Chinese work by origin (or Japanese work by translation), I’m sure Protag-chan would have gone after Gavin, despite being told the contrary.

Kanya = Minor. I’ll take a note of that.

One of the books behind Minor says “Gale Start”…hmm…

That GPS tracker is still unintentionally creepy, IMHO.

Koi to Producer 6

…oh. (dejected) Probably a beach episode or something.

What the actual heck was going on with Lucien…? It’s like he was having a tiny stroke there…

Lucien’s power is listed as “???” in the game. I thought he was an aura-reader when he said “show me your colour”, but that shield thing he did means he might just have various psychic powers…? *shrugs* We’ll find out eventually.

Running in heels is hard…

LOL, that’s so clearly recreating a CG from one of the cards.

This is the 2nd time this has gone pseudo-isekai. As much as I like to joke about it…I fully expect someone to be sent to another world at this point.

I couldn’t possibly see Victor on any kind of game show, come to think of it.

Appare 5

This guy’s middle name is “Rich”! That’s silly!

A boombox from the 19th century…makes sense, somehow.

I only just (?) realised Al has a tiny tie on his usual outfit.

Back to the beginning already…just start!

Appare 6

…I just realised Appare mouths “I got it!” in the OP.

Al Lion (sic…?)

Isn’t Sofia in that train…? Update: She might have been, she might not. Hard to tell when they don’t confirm.

This series seriously could’ve done with a dub…Even with weird hokey Hetalia accents, it would be good stuff.

These bunches of people at designated points…reminds me of the book I was reading while in Japan. The Long Walk by Stephen King (part of a compilation). It still gives me shivers down my spine when I remember it.

This “leave in the middle of the night” thing reminds me of the Amazing Race.

“Valley of Despair” is made-up, but Death Valley exists. It’s one of the hottest places on earth, hence the name.

LOL, Kosame scores himself one (1) prarie dog and two (2) Hototos.

I thought Appare was being inconsiderate at first…but he’s being considerate, in his own way.

Oh! I didn’t realise, but Saito Soma is Al.

Appare 7

“It’s not one plus one, but one times one!” – LOL.

Hybrid engine? In the 1900s? Hmm…

LOL, I think Al just did a hadouken.

This stuff’s like an animated Galaxy Brain meme! It’s amazing!

I managed to successfully predict – without watching ahead – Appare would catch himself with his traps.

Kosame with his hair down…is rare. Not exactly attractive because we have to care about the racers rather than lust after them (and the artstyle actually prevents me from doing so, because it’s deliberately quite cartoony), but it’s rare.

Appare is surprisingly childish…that’s what makes him more than a Sheldon Cooper, I think.

The spelling of the place is actually “Ely”, if Google-sensei is any indication. C’mon, subbers! You’re American (most likely)! Can’t you put in the legwork (or the Google-fu) to discover what place in Nevada this is?!

Subbers make characters say “shit” a lot in this show, hmm? (contemplative)

Now this evil guy here *points to screen*…that’s hair I like.

Appare 8

I just love this OP…don’t you?

I like how the steam/gas boat/car has Chinese numerals on its dial.

Kosame means “small rain”, so “heavy rain” is obviously to contrast that.

The Hototo joke never gets old.

I thought I just saw someone leave the saloon…

Nice hair + terrible face = bad equation.

I can almost imagine the wee-oo-wee-oo-ooooooo…wah-wah-wahhh…(You know the one sound snippet, right? The one theme from The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - or whatever movie it is – that maybe involves a tumbleweed rolling across the screen, and then a huge shootout? If you don’t know it, play a sample on this Wikipedia page!) playing in the background.

It’s convenient the prarie dog didn’t appear when Hototo (old) had his revenge spree.

I noticed there’s a bit of a mark under Kosame’s left eye…it suggests that he’s been crying (or maybe it shows tiredness from the race…?), but it’s not that noticeable.

So that’s the real Gil…and tose were his henchmen that threatened to hang everyone bar Kosame. Got it.

(notes to self) So, for charting a course with Appare Ranman!, it’s Los Angeles -> Death Valley -> Ely -> Denver -> ??? -> New York. Got it.

Fugou Keiji 4

“Daisuke-sama” isn’t “Lord Daisuke”, it would be “Sir Daisuke”, I think…but “lord” has a proper translation in Japanese.

The truck has a Shinagawa licence plate. Anime really does like Shinagawa, huh? (Based on ID: INVADED and this.)

I think it’ll be interesting to see Kambe handle this without HEUSC.

The board for Sanchome (which is equivalent to a suburb…or a county, I guess?) has posters saying stuff like “take your dog poop home” and “let’s protect the environment!” (technically, it says “let’s protect the region/area!”, but that doesn’t translate right. There’s even a flea market. Still, those posters don’t have any big hints…not that I know of so far.

I kind of forgot that dude was the gardener for Kambe’s house…er, mansion.

I noticed a poster in the kouban says haru (spring) on it. That’s probably the same one that Haru’s name is signified by, assuming that’s not in combo with another character or few.

Oh great…the sister is an overbearing one.

Ahh…he doesn’t like natto. So that’s the problem. Daisuke is childish (like Appare)…Note I don’t like natto either, but I wouldn’t run away from home (or similar) because I was fed natto.

I noticed Kambe uses shinseki (which doesn’t refer to close family). “Relative” is a correct translation of that word, I just wanted to check that word was the right one for the context.

There’s a green tea bottle by the sink…I don’t think I’d mistake that shade of green for anything else.

LOL, I didn’t think we’d actually get to see Kambe with his hair “down”, so to speak. It’s…an interesting look, for sure.

Oh my gosh! It cost him (Haru) $15!!! (LOL, cheapskate…says the cheapskate…*suddenly droops and stops laughing*) Update: Sorry about the sudden downer there. I was having what the kids these days call a “woke moment”…at least, I think that’s how they use that term.

…I’d watch that crime drama. It’s funny.

Just realised Kato has an older model of phone than Kambe does.

This episode was kinda like a Tokyo Sonata kind of thing, huh? The sensational in the middle of the not-so-sensational…”sensational” for this show, anyway.

Those kids look like the ones from Erased.

*lightbulb goes off in brain* What if the dog went to Kambe’s…?

Can Suzue actually hear HEUSC while Kambe is using it…? $2.46 though…that is cheap, in comparison to the ham.

This was the cheapest episode so far (about $550)…probably because it was an insight into Kato’s life, more than Kambe’s.

Fugou Keiji 5

The flag seems to be based on Cameroon’s (which is in Africa, not America) and the “Arita Kinen” seems to refer to Arima Kinen, meaning this episode is set around Christmas-ish. Credit goes to Kambe Zaibatsu on this show.

I-It’s a Humvee!

Polyadoll (sic)…?

The Poliador guy speaks perfect Japanese…(?)

The star! It’s a key thingy!

I thought Kamei was the 1st Division dude with the reddish hair. Turns out it was the blonde…? Update: Redhead is Hoshino.

Ummmmmm…he was reading porn…? Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh…okayyyyyyyyyyyyy…

…oh, the costs for Kambe’s tuxedo are on there. So’s the cost for repairing the bike Suzue rode.

Fugou Keiji 6

I never knew there were so many money proverbs to be used as episode titles…

What is Kambe doing with his hands…? He’s not even using the computer.

Imura seems to use a Windows 10 with Cortana on the taskbar.

HGPC 20

What’s with all the Naruto running this episode…?

HGPC 21

(no notes, sorry!)

[timelock97]

Love Without A Name

Epilogue: Worth the Wait

Word Count: 1272

Masterlist

Warnings:Just Wholesome Fluff

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Look over here ladies!" The photographer calls as I carefully grab hold of Mae's veil and lift it over my head and pose, causing Mae and Joyce to burst into laughter. We hear the camera shutter before I let go and wrap my arms around Mae, Joyce joining me as he shoots a few more shots. "Awesome! Alright ladies, you are good to go join everyone getting drinks. Mae, I am going to get a few pictures of the groom and his groomsmen then we will get pictures of just the two of you." He smiles as he walks over to where the boys are messing around under a tree further away.

I turn and see where the ceremony had happened only an hour earlier, the chairs all carried away and placed under a large tent on the right side of a large cottage by a small pond. The day was perfect, not too hot, not too cold on the early June day. Mae sighs beside me, dressed in her gorgeous, a-line wedding gown, hair pinned up with a few wispy curls framing her face. "What a perfect day for a wedding."

Mae giggles beside me, "Yeah, what a perfect day." I turn to see her looking over at the boys, her expressing the definition of heart-eyes.

Joyce wraps an arm around my waist, mine falling across her shoulders. "I'm tiiiired." She whines, causing Mae and I to burst into a fix of giggles. "I also want to go get some of those mini corn dogs."

"They will be a while so go ahead, just don't fill up on them 'cause dinner will be soon." Mae laughs, waving at her sister as she begins walking down the hill, yellow bridesmaid dress billowing in the wind as she spots her boyfriend and runs toward him.

I throw an arm around Mae's shoulders, "So, how's it feel to finally be Mrs. Mae Castro?"

"Pretty damn good." She states, causing us both to giggle. "You don't have to wait here if you don't want to-"

"Nah, its cool. Besides, I don't get to see you enough with me being in the UK."

"What do you think Tom is doing right now since you're with me?"

I shake my head, giggling. "Probably being harassed by my brothers, but Quinn and Harper are probably keeping them at bay." She hums beside me, her eyes trained on the boys who are posed looking at Anthony who has his left hand thrust out, showing off his wedding band while the boys are looking at it in astonishment. "What dorks."

"Yeah, I think it was Jack's idea," she adds looking at the best man.

It didn't take them too long for the groomsmen to finish with their photos, the group coming down the hill with bright smiles and laughing. I followed them down as Mae and Anthony start to do some more couple-y photos.

I walk under the tent, grabbing a bottle of water. I sigh as I look at the small flower arrangements on the tables and the fairy lights decorating the ceiling.

"There you are, darling." I turn and smile at Tom as he walks over to me, pulling me into his arms as he presses a quick kiss into my cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Hungry," I giggle, nuzzling his nose with mine.

"Well, they have some light refreshments inside the cottage. Why don't we go get you something?" He laces his fingers with mine, tugging me along. Oh, what a perfect day for a wedding.

After giving our speeches, God knows I cried giving mine, and eating, the room was free to dance and enjoy the night. Mae and Anthony's first dance was adorable, especially since they had just recently celebrated ten years of dating the month previous. They had done the traditional tossing of the bouquet and garter, ending up in the arms of some of Anthony's friends from college.

Tom and I mingled with my family and took the time to talk with some of Mae's and Anthony's.

As I smile and nod at some of Mae's extended family, family that were basically my own at this point from how long we had been friends, I can't help but look over at my own mingling in the crowd. My parents are gushing with Mae's, our mothers standing close together as the speak and our dads laugh while holding their drinks in their hand.

My eyes scan the crowd to find Lucas and Quinn laughing along with the best man, listening to him talk about grad school, and the girl who hadn't been able to make it to the wedding.

I walk a few more paces, placing a hand on Anthony's grandmother's shoulder as a greeting. Her hand clasping my own, before returning back to her conversation with Anthony's boisterous father. My eyes land on Mark and Harper, who are standing off to the side and are lost in their own private conversation. They looked so in love.

"So, how has work and London been treating ya? We've missed you coming by the house and hanging out with everyone. " Anthony's dad asks, pulling me away from my people watching.

I let out a soft laugh as he motions me to sit beside him. "It's been good, Tom and I have actually been looking for a house as of recent. We think we found a nice one that is out in the country a bit, but not too far from his folks. And work is always good."

He nods his head, eyes falling away from me to look into the crowd. I follow his gaze, eyes crinkling in the corners when my eyes land on Tom.

He is standing and talking with Joyce and her boyfriend Andrew. Andrew has an arm around his shoulder playfully, and from the way they are all laughing, I can tell the story may be about something I did in high school.

"I'm glad all that worked out for you, three years together and you two still seem like its the first time you have met."

"I mean, look at Anthony and Mae, they look like its the first time they fell in love every day. Its just means the universe had a plan, and there was no need for changes."

Anthony's dad lets out a small sigh before leaning toward me, a humorous smirk playing on his lips, "I do have a question though."

I laugh, "What?"

"You two looking at having kids anytime soon? I mean, new house, settling down in a more quiet area." His voice trails, and eyebrow slightly raised.

I lean toward him, "I will say that its been in the conversation, but I can't say any more than that."

He smiles and nods, "Just gotta ask, Maisie and Roy have been trying, especially since they moved into their new home." His smile grows a little bigger at the mentioning of his eldest daughter, and possibly of being a grandfather soon.

A hand cups rests itself on my shoulder causing me to raise my head and smile up at the man standing above me, "Sorry to interrupt," Tom's voice flows into my ear as he leans down to wrap his arms around my shoulders. "But I was hoping to steal my wife for a dance."

"Go ahead man! I should grab mine while I am at it," he gives Tom a bright smile before looking back at me, his eyes softened, "It was nice talking to you (Y/N)."

"You too, Mr. Castro," I muse as Tom tugs me to my feet and leading me to the dance floor. He brings me close to his chest as we sway along to the music. I let out a small sigh, moving my hand out of Tom's and wrapping my arms around his neck so I can look at him.

"What?" He chuckles, arms encircling my waist as we sway.

"Nothing, I just love you."

"I love you too, darling." He leans his forehead against mine, humming along to the music. As the song changes into something a little quicker, Tom and I stay in our relaxed position. "Are you going to tell her before she and Anthony leave?"

"I will, but not tonight. I don't want to outshine their day with our news."

"And your family?"

I lean up and press a kiss to his lips before speaking. "Tomorrow, we tell them tomorrow."

"How do you think they will react?" He smiles, a sparkle in his brown eyes.

"First grandchild slash niece or nephew?" I mutter, making the corners of his eyes crinkle as he smiles harder. "I think they will tell us they thought it would happen sooner, but still be excited."

"Then we will have to tell mine-"

"I should warn my mom that your's don't know so she doesn't spill the beans." I giggle as Tom pulls me closer.

"I agree," he chuckles before leaning into me to kiss my cheek.

I sigh, resting my head against his collar bone. As I scan the room I finally find the bride and groom again, high school sweet hearts who never had to go through the tremendous heart break, and annoyance of having to go on date after date to find the right one to stand by their side forever.

I thank my lucky stars that Tom is mine. One date too many lead me to Heart Haven, which lead me to the best thing that had ever happened to me. How would have thought I would fall in love, without even knowing his name. Was it easy? No, but something that I had to work for, that I dreamed of finally coming true, was sure as hell worth the wait.

"What are you thinking about, love?"

I pull my head away from his chest as the song slips into something more upbeat, my hand resting just above his heart. "Nothing," I smile, "What are you thinking?"

Tom chuckles, leaning his forehead against mine, "That I thank my lucky stars that I get to spend the rest of my days with you, darling."

"And we wouldn't have it any other way." The world almost fades away, the soft tapping of glass signaling the groom and the bride to kiss, but I can't seem to lift my eyes away from the man across me and he leans in and kisses me gently. You were always worth the wait, handsome.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

We are at the end! Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed. I really enjoyed writing this story so much ~CG

@revenantwriting​ | @bellagrayson-wayne​ | @jackiehollanderr​ | @snowxbarryxendgame​ | @let-me-luve-you​ | @mybitchborky​ | @linnyalou​ | @fanficscuziranout | @literallytrashhhhhh​ | @akweenbitch​ | @marveltomjunkie​ | @infinitycaprogers

[moonlightreal]

Winx Club season 8/16

In which we get a large terminology retcon and some Trix of a different color.

16 The Sparx Festival

Sparx like the starlight or have we timeslided back to 4kids when Domino was named Sparx?

We open in what must be the Winx common room.  The festival hasn’t been mentioned except in the title, we jump right in to the girls’ planning.   Aisha wants to do a gymnastic dance competition.  Musa’s ready to provide the music and Tecna the special effects.  Of course Stella thinks it should be a fashion show, and Flora’s more keen on a rare plant show.  Stella transforms her look into a lil blue dress with flowers and a very questionable hairstyle and conjures a red carpet… which is pulled out from under her by the chompy carnivorous plant Flora brought in.  Girls, you’re perfect, never change.

Bloom, though, is moping and everyone shortly realizes it and does the “you can tell us about it.”  thing.  It’s Sky, of course, he’s not answering the phone and nobody knows where he is.

Where he is, is climbing a cliff with Diaspro.  Even though they can both fly, and have a spaceship.  They’re looking for the lost medallion of Eraklyon, which changed its name between episodes.

Sky’s phone rings and he says it must be Bloom, and Diaspro does an evil grin and… throws herself backwards off the cliff, falling to her doom! O_o

Sky catches her of course, even though he was above her on the cliff and there’s a definite animation fail as Diaspro sort of kneels in midair with Sky supporting her on one arm.  Props to Rainbow that this is the first glaring mannequins-in-weird-poses I’ve seen this season!

Diaspro: oh, you saved me! <3

Sky: Be more careful next time!

Sky, she has wings. She would’a been fine.  Unless Diaspro’s no longer a fairy because Season 8 timeslide, that is a possibility but it’d be a damn dark one because that would mean Diaspro is willing to risk her life to get Sky’s attention.  I foresee a lot of this episode will probably be me microanalyzing all of Diaspro’s actions trying to put together a coherent picture of what she’s really like as a real character rather than the caricature that Rainbow is meaning to give us.  I think the final picture will be of someone who should maybe be in some kind of inpatient mental health place getting counseling instead of out alone with the object of her obsession.

They get to the top and there’s this great Indiana Jones temple with arches and waterfalls.  Sky’s phone rings again and Diaspro pops up with, “Look over there!” and when he’s still keen to check his phone, “Our mission can’t wait!”  Sky grumbles but follows her without contacting Bloom.

Back to Alfea, I swear the approach shots of the school just get better and better. We may have just had a weird mannequin moment but the settings are really quality cg.

And here’s Miss Griffin!  Still looking like herself, I think her hair is more lavender but I think the artist made her one-horn hairdo make a little more sense.  Griffin and the witch students came to perform in the festival that still hasn’;t been named, and some of the witches have conjured a friendly green slime.

Stella’s here too, she bangs into an adorable witch with Stormy’s exact hair but in pale pink.  In fact here are three witches who look just like niceified versions of the Trix!  The not-Icy has pink and blue hair and a kitty purse.  The Winx do not notice these lookalikes, but Stella does notice not-Icy’s purse.

Not-Darcy’s hair is brighter green than actual Darcy’s, it looks really good, and she and not-stormy both have kitty t-shirts.  Why kitties?  Anyway once the Winx have gone on their oblivious way Stormy says, ‘i’m gonna crush her!” revealing that these are the actual Trix.  I think it would’ve been more fun if they just randomly looked like them.  I hadn’t been spoiled with images of these undercover Trix and I love their looks.

The two groups of students gather in I guess a big classroom, it has tiered seating even though average class size at Alfea is twelve girls.  A fairy student is showing off her talent, she conjures a bubble around herself and can float in it.  The Trix can’t resist having a little fun.  First icy pops her bubble, and when she conjures it again stormy blows magic wind sending her bouncing around the hall. Undetered, bubble-fairy goes up again.  Darcy is about to prank her wen the students are summoned to the courtyard to begin their performances.

Faragonda and Griffin do this great setup, “Everything in the universe has its opposite.  Light… and shadow.  Fairies… and witches.  But the same magic spark unites us all.  The sparx!  Sparx is the energy that created the magic universe!  The sparx granted powers both to us, the fairies, and to our guests for this very special day, the witches.”

Ok, FG and Griffin, that was so awesome… except, retcon much?  Great Dragon?  Backstory of your whole universe?  Ringin’ any bells?  I mean, it would be an interesting change to have Bloom be less like maybe-an-avatar-of-the-source-of-all-magic but… I dunno.  The Great Dragon legend is so… legendy.  Solid.  I like the idea that witch magic and fairy magic are from the same source and I always assumed it was, that source being the Great Dragon.  This whole change, just to explain why Valtor needs the Trix to get the wishing star for him?

Stella: “I wouldn’t mind if the Sparx had skipped the witches.”

That wasn’t very nice, Stel.

Now it’s time for everyone to perform… but the Winx haven’t settled on what to do! Panic!  Bloom says they should pick something they like doing together and Musa suggests they like playing music together.  Bloom glows like this wasn’t a totally obvious thing.  Of course it was gonna be a concert, what else could it have possibly been?

Sorry, I snark, I’m loving this episode but I kinda want to see Aisha go off and join a gymnastics group and Stella join a fashion group and Tecna join maybe a hologram 3d art making group and Flora join a gardening group and Bloom and Musa stand there looking confused.  It’d be funny.  And I still wonder if the other girls feel pressured by Bloom and Musa into all this performing.

But then the star box appears!  The compass spins!  It has decided it’s time to chase a prime star!  The girls run off, assuming the star is in running distance I guess.  The disguised Trix follow them.

To another part of the courtyard!  The compass is pointing to the well.  didn’t they find the Sirenix book down there or something, a few seasons ago?  I kinda remember, there’s some cool stuff down a well.

The box speaks! The star is here, but there will be “tests and traps” and also, ‘You can reach your goal all alone or reach the stars joined as one.”

The Winx look down the well and there’s pillars and vaulting and all sorts of architecture down there, I guess there’s a big cave under the courtyard.  They walk down spiral steps, following the floating box, until at the bottom there is a round pool of water with light shining up from it.  A “door of light” apparently.

Cosmix up to go through the door!  Did the song get a new stanza?  Maybe I just didn’t notice it before.

They fly through the door.

Into a similar looking underground room hung with overgrown bushes and things.  A ruiny sort of place.  Flora asks a flower what they should do in this room, but the plant doesn’t want to talk to her.  The girls do some magic and the plants recede, revealing each wall of the room has a giant lock and key in it.  Six locks, six Winx, obviously.  But the flowers are snappy and won’t let them turn the keys.  The flowers have quite long stalks and Aisha gets the idea to fly around so the flowers will tangle up trying to catch them.

The Trix have reached the door of light.  They switch to their Trix selves with no transformation sequence, too bad, then Icy and Darcy start fighting over who should go through the door first.  Stormy beats them to it.

Stormy appears in a room with nine circles on the floor.  One lights up, then another, and Stormy seems to automatically know she’s playing Twister.  She has success, when a cloud slurps her up and dumps her back with her sisters.  You can’t do it alone!  

The Winx turn their six keys.  Nothing happens.  Stella realizes the keys and locks don’t match in color.  The girls carry the keys to the matching locks and another door of light appears.

Which leaves them in another cube room with round medallions on the walls and a floating cube with mystical symbols on it in the middle.  Tecna recognizes it as a die, and stella gives it a shove.  The die bangs against some walls and the symbols on the die and the walls light up, but it’s clearly not the right sequence.  Tec says all games have rules, they just have to figure them out.  Time to experiment!

Trix stand on three twister circles and another door appears.  they’re not exactly working together, Icy and Darcy keep shoving each other and stormy keeps rolling her eyes at them.

Tec figures it out, they have to match the symbols on the die to the ones on the wall. So they all together push the die to the matching wall and another door opens.

Now they’re in a room with shelves of what look like potion bottles.  A round skylight and shelves of magical implements.  This room looks like a place people might use instead of just another trick room.

Flora is delight.

Bloom seems to think the prime star is one of the objects, but there are so many.

Aisha finds an aqua ball that looks like the sphere protecting the star compass, but of course it isn’t that easy.  The ball splits into two and then into many balls that go bouncing away.  The Winx keep catching them and they keep multiplying.

The Trix find the die but can’t push it the same direction and it rolls around the room and squishes them.

Darcy figures out what to do, they have to move it together.  Her sisters are having none of this ‘together’ stuff.  Darcy uses magic and a mirror to reflect the symbol from one side of the die to the correct wall, opening the door.  Darcy is the smartest Trix.

Now our villains are also in the magic item storage room.  They go straight to finding the prime star-- wouldn’t they want to grab a bunch of magic items??  Here comes the aqua ball!  They also recognize it as the prime star and all garb it at once… and here come lots more balls!

The Winx are trying to figure out which of their balls is the real one, I guess.  They know they have to work as a team.

They do a very cool Elements of Harmony thing, each grabbing a ball and speaking words of teamwork.

Bloom: friendship

Musa: unity

Aisha: loyalty

Stella: sincerity

Tecna: collaboration

Flora: mutual understanding

They fly into the air and all the balls come back together into one ball which has a lil green star charm inside.  Bloom puts it in the star box and the girls poof away.

Meanwhile the Trix are still drowning in balls.

The girls appear back at Alfea to Miss F announcing it’s time for them to perform. Wait, what about the other performances?  I’ve seen a million Winx concerts, I wanted to see something else!

Concert!  Minor fairies dance1  the boys except for Sky are there.  Faragonda and Griffin clap along.  Even witch students seem to be enjoying themselves.

Back with sky and Diaspro, they’ve found a big door.  Diaspro says this mission is thrilling, but Sky can’t wait for it to be over and what does the map say so we can get on with it already?

Diaspro unrolls her map and it’s just emojis of her and Sky in a heart. Pffffhahahahaha!  Oh that is so weird and dumb!  Diaspro, yer off your nut, why do you even want a dude who can’t wait to be out of your company?

Ok, we didn’t get as much Diaspro analysis in this episode, but it was still a good one!  Maybe next time!

[youkaiangel]

Dragon Fire - Wizardess Heart OC Fanfic

Pairing: Felix x OC

Words: 3940

A/N: Okay the only reason I’m posting this is because I drew a CG to go with this story, and the one helps explain the other. This might be a little confusing because there is actually a bit of backstory behind this fic, but I hope I have done a somewhat decent job of explaining the necessary details in the below.

CG linked here.

***

It was dark, but pleasantly warm, and the gardens were still and quiet. For the first few months at the academy the gardens had always seemed so eerie at night, but now after three years here I truly enjoyed the calm serenity of the garden path under the moonlight. Hiro, my sweet boyfriend of over a year now, had taught class tonight, and while I loved his classes, it also meant he had a lot of work to do afterwards and I didn’t get to spend the rest of the night with him. So I wandered back to my dorm in the day class block on my own.

I listened as the nighttime breeze rustled the leaves in the towering walls of vines and hedges either side of the path. It was so calming. The night air was heavy and thick though, and I almost wished the cool breeze had come to rustle my hair and not just the leaves.

A grotesque stench came wafting towards me and I wished for that breeze even more. Some poor little animal must’ve died nearby, the smell of rotting carcass choking the air around me. I covered my mouth and nose and pushed onwards a little faster.

Another whisper of leaves made me think there was a breeze, but when I heard the crunch of a twig I knew it wasn’t the wind. Perhaps something had come from the forest to feed on the poor dead animal. I wasn’t alone in the gardens.

I picked up my pace, trying to keep my footfalls quiet. I didn’t particularly want whatever scavenger was lurking nearby to find me as well. The stench was growing stronger, perhaps it was a larger animal that had died than I originally thought.

I could see the light of the dorm block at the end of this corridor of vines and plants, but it was still a long way off. If I sprinted I could probably make it there in under a minute.

Movement up ahead made me stop in my tracks. Short human-like shapes slunk through a gap in the hedge wall up ahead. Not just one or two, though, they kept coming from both sides of the pathway. There must’ve been at least a dozen of them.

Goblins.

I turned around, hoping I could outrun the feral little beasts, but I was stopped again. There were even more behind me, stumbling towards me like nimble zombies.

‘Shit!’

I should’ve picked up on it, I knew that gross stench, and it wasn’t a dead animal. I turned around again, to try to head towards the dorms. There seemed to be fewer this way, perhaps I could make it past them?

Not likely.

Goblins were classified as magical creatures of sub-human intelligence. They always roamed in big packs, there had to be at least twenty around me. While reaching for my bag to grab my wand, I thought back to the last lesson I’d had on goblins, trying to think of a way out of this situation, but the only thing that was coming to mind was my biggest problem; they were impervious to most magical attacks.

My hand hesitated on my bag, knowing my wand would be futile anyway. The gross, mottled-green leathery skin of theirs made goblins very difficult to kill, and even some of the strongest magical attacks couldn’t pierce their hides. I wracked my brains for something else, something that could help me, some useful bit of information about the monsters as I watched their stumpy round pig-like faces drawn nearer.

They like shiny things. What if I throw an earring or my necklace to distract them? It probably won’t distract all of them for long enough.

They were only about ten feet from me now.

They can swim well. That doesn’t do anything to help me now.

The ones behind me were closer. I moved a step forward, away from the monsters, but I was only moving closer to the ones in front.

They like to fuck things.

Granted, it wasn’t something I ever learned in class, but it was something I knew very well about goblins. As they drew nearer and nearer a vivid memory swam up to the front of my mind; my mother surrounded by a pack of the gross goblins, tearing at her clothes, pulling at her arms and legs, pushing her to her knees and forcing themselves upon her. It was seven or eight years ago now, and my mother had made it out alive, but all I could do was hide and watch while my mother was defiled by the grotesque creatures, all to protect me. They were after me. And here they were again.

I chanced a glance at the crotch of one of the nearest monsters and there poking out from under the pot-belly not quite covered by the undersized soiled singlet shirt that was it’s only clothing, was a small but firm penis. I glanced around at the other few who weren’t wearing anything below their fat bellies and sure enough they were all the same.

These goblins were here to fuck.

‘Shit!’ I groaned again.

They were surrounding me in seconds. All of them were breathing heavy, an occasional grunt or whine coming out of them. I realised too late I probably could’ve used magic to make a hole in the hedge wall beside of me, but the goblins were already three deep either side of me, blocking my path in all directions. They barely came up to my shoulders, but their size wasn’t the most intimidating thing about them. Their shiny, black, hungry eyes and sharp yellow teeth were what frightened me most.

Gangly fingers tipped with dirty talons reached out for me. ‘No!’ I swatted them away but I didn’t have enough hands to stop all of them. They grabbed the back of my uniform, the little razors on the ends of their fingers digging into the fabric, through until their knobbly knuckles were on my back. I spun, trying to swat away all of them, but there were too many. They kept grabbing at my clothes, at my jacket, and as I spun I felt it ripping.

‘Fuck! Get off me you little freaks!’

One of them came in closer. I pushed against its forehead, but not nearly hard enough. I was too afraid to even touch it. Too little too late anyway. It reached its scrawny little arms up to grab hold of the front of my torn jacket and pressed its smelly self against my leg.

‘Gross! Get off me!’

I bashed harder against its forehead, while it pressed it’s face into my chest. It seemed to whine with every strike, but it didn’t do anything to get it off me. Nothing worked. I could feel its stumpy little cock rubbing into my thigh, its claws tearing the side of my jacket, ripping through my waistcoat and shirt. I struck harder at the top of its head, but it didn’t even react. It just nuzzled it’s face into my chest and kept grinding against my leg.

The dorms weren’t far away and if I screamed maybe someone would hear me.

‘HELP!’ I screeched as loud as I could. Hopefully someone heard me.

Another goblin came in behind me, grabbing on to the sides of my skirt and pulling. I swung my elbow back to hit it in the face, and it flinched and snarled at me but didn’t let go. Its hard, round belly pressed into my ass, its scaly knees rubbing against the back of my legs, while it grunted and squirmed around, trying to press against me.

No one was coming.

More hands clawed at me, the whole swarm of goblins surrounding me. All of them were whining and groaning now. I was screwed. I cried out again at the top of my lungs, ‘HELP!!’ I could see the dorms in the distance, but no one came out.

I didn’t think the situation could really get any worse, but a small explosion behind me made me jump out of my skin, my heart thundering hard and fast. It might’ve been someone coming to the rescue though, as a couple of the goblins fell to the ground, screeching loudly.

Before I could turn to look, a hand wrapped around my arm. The grip was firm and reassuring, not the same pining clawing like the goblins’, and the hand’s owner pulled me back, out of the circle of goblins. They yanked me back hard, my feet stumbling to try to keep up with the movement. The goblin in front of me fell on its face as I was pulled away from it. My rescuer pulled me behind him and I caught a glimpse of who had saved me.

Felix.

My heart stopped.

What is he doing here? Is he following me again? Is he fucking stalking me?! Is he trying to kidnap me again?!

Memories flared up of the five hellish weeks I’d spent trapped in his little underground lair, watching him come and go and completely ignore me, of the Lilith-like monster of a succubus that dwelled inside me that he’d managed to unleash, and of all the chaos that had ensued in controlling my newfound dark side after I managed to escape. He’d shown himself three times since then and I still had no idea what the hell he wanted, either with me or his alleged plans for total world destruction.

‘Stay behind me.’

His voice was dark and firm. He held on to my arm tight with his right hand, holding his left up to the goblin hoard. He didn’t even look at me, just kept his eyes trained on the monsters stumbling forward.

The goblins were all screeching, unintelligible frustrated grunts and yelps coming from them. They looked angry now. All except one of the ones that had been knocked down climbed back up to join the ramble ambling towards Felix and I, stumbling over their fallen comrade’s body.

A ball of dark energy gathered in Felix’s hand, crackling like black lightening. It grew until it was as round as his palm, and then he released it. The dark magic was like a bomb, exploding on contact with the first row of goblins stumbling at us. Half of them were knocked down, blown a few feet back, but most of them climbed up again, only three of them staying down now.

‘Persistent monsters,’ Felix muttered.

If these beasts were difficult for even Felix to kill, I had no chance to beat them on my own. But it was out of the frying pan and into the fire. As much as I didn’t like the idea of being raped and mauled by a rabble of goblins, falling prey to Felix again wouldn’t be much better. I didn’t have much choice though.

The goblins were drawing closer again, but Felix didn’t back down. He pushed me further behind himself, releasing my arm for half a second, only to grab hold of my hand with his left.

The skin on skin contact was enough to blank out my mind. I’d been training for months to try to control the power his touch had brought out of me. I could feel her, swelling inside my chest, trying to rise up out of my throat, but I was stronger now and I pushed the psycho bitch down again. Felix’s hand on mine wasn’t making it easy though. She wanted him.

She couldn’t have him.

Did Felix even realise what his touch was doing to me? Was he doing this intentionally? Was he trying to bring her out of me? Why?

I watched another ball of black energy gather in his palm, aimed squarely at the goblins. Within seconds the ball had grown to the size of the goblin’s ugly heads, much larger than the last attack. I heard him mutter over the crackle of the dark magic, ‘begone, foul beasts,’ and he released the attack.

The dark magic bomb shot straight at the goblins. I ducked behind Felix, using him as a shield against any blow back from the attack. The shock of the explosion sent a gust of wind rushing past us, whipping his cloak back. But Felix didn’t flinch, standing firm and holding my hand tight.

My ears rang for a brief moment, but they quickly returned to normal. I chanced a peek out from behind Felix’s shoulder to see if it was safe now. Most of the goblins had been knocked down, and less than half of them were climbing back up to their feet, only a couple at the back of the pack still able to fight on. But they were still fighting on.

I could outrun them now though. If I could get free of Felix’s hand, I could run back towards the Academy and escape both the goblins and Felix. I wriggled my hand, squeezing my fingers together to try to slip from his grip. He didn’t let go. Most of the goblins were all motionless and bleeding on the cracked pathway. The rest, maybe eight of them, were coming closer, and Felix stayed focused on them. If I was going to run I had to go fast, otherwise the goblins may be able to catch me. With my free hand I pushed against his wrist, trying to slide my hand out of his.

He shot a glare over his shoulder at me. ‘Be still.’

I froze up.

He turned back to face the goblins, his grip on my hand tight. There was no way I’d be able to subtly break free. And with several angry goblins charging over their pack’s fallen bodies towards us, I didn’t like my chances alone. Felix still didn’t move, he just stood there, waiting. I slunk behind him, trying to keep my body shielded as much as possible, Felix bending his arm behind his back to keep me close.

Felix held his hand up in front of his mouth. I couldn’t quite see what he was doing. He was taking an awful long time. The goblins didn’t even look like they wanted to fuck anymore, they looked like they wanted revenge. They were coming closer and he wasn’t doing anything.

If he wasn’t going to fight, I wanted to run. I pulled on my hand again, trying to break free, but he held firm. He leant forward ever so slightly towards the goblins.

Fire consumed the pathway in front of us. The white light and intense heat were incredible. I held up my free arm to shield my eyes, but it didn’t do much. I glanced at Felix, the flame obviously coming from him. I couldn’t really see if the fire was coming from his mouth or the hand still held in front of his mouth, but the sight of the pale dragon breathing searing hot white flame out at the monsters attacking us… he was protecting me.

The flame exhausted as Felix stood up straight again. Blackened goblins bodies littered the pathway in front of us, while the last two of them were screaming off back the way they came. The plants on either side of the pathway were alight, flowers and leaves crackling and burning with golden flame.

A loud screech came out at us from my left. One goblin had escaped the blaze and darted out at us from the darkness.

Felix yanked me backwards, turning to place himself directly between the goblin and me. He kept his hold on my hand, drawing it in firmly behind his back and shielding me from the creature. He grabbed it by its scrawny neck, hoisting it up off its feet, and it screamed and kicked, one hand clawing at Felix’s arm, the other reaching for his face. A crackle of dark black magic zapped out of Felix’s hand on the goblin’s throat and it froze stiff as a board for one second, before collapsing, limp and lifeless.

Felix dropped the corpse, tossing it over towards the pile of dead bodies littering the pathway. They were all either dead or gone, and the immediate threat was over. There was another threat though burning in the vines, and the biggest threat of all still holding my hand.

I wanted to put the fires out. They were only small but they would burn up the whole garden if I didn’t stop them. I tried to pull my hand free again, but he still wouldn’t let go.

‘Let me go,’ I demanded. I shook my hand, pushing against his wrist with the other. My fingers started to slip free. ‘Let me go!’ I repeated. He did as requested, his long fingers loosening off from mine.

I went straight for my bag, pulling out my wand from the front pocket. Felix took a step back and held up his palm towards me, but before he could chant any of his obscure spells I called out, ‘Sabo Aqua.’ My spell summoned a stream of bubbles from the tip of my wand, which I aimed at the fires in the vines. I stepped around Felix to extinguish the flames on both sides of the pathway.

The plants were charred and now dripping with water, gaping holes in both sides of the wall of flowering vines. More than a dozen blackened goblin bodies were piled across the path, dark pools of blood creeping over the brick pathway, seeping into the cracks. The goblin stench was foul, obviously worse from their recent deaths. And Felix had done all this, to protect me?

I turned around to look at the dragonkin behind me. He was just standing there, watching me. Why did he watch me like that? What did he want? I needed to know.

‘What do you want?’ I held my wand tightly in my hand, but I didn’t point it directly at him. I didn’t need him to feel threatened, or have any reason to use any sort of magic on me.

He didn’t answer. He just kept watching me.

Why didn’t he answer me?!

He’d never told me anything before; what he was planning, what he was doing, what he wanted. That wasn’t about to change now. I took a cautious step backwards and said in my best warning tone, ‘just stay away from me.’ I backed up another two steps, looking down to make sure I wasn’t going to step in blood.

‘I just saved your life.’

I stopped at the sound of his voice. I looked up at him again, but he just stood there still as a statue. Had he even spoken? It didn’t look like he’d moved. Was he telepathic now? No, that was stupid. But he did save my life, and I owed him a thank you at least. I owed him a lot more to be honest. I thought for a moment, and realised as much as I should’ve called Hiro, or any of the prefects to come and arrest him, I couldn’t turn him in after saving my life. ‘Yeah, okay,’ I said, ‘thank you for that. And I’m not gonna call the authorities to have them arrest you.’ I held my wand up at him as I took another step back, just to be sure, and reminded him, ‘just please stay away from me.’

He was quiet. He didn’t try to attack me, stop me, do anything to me. He just watched me. He blinked, slowly, his long golden lashes closing on his jewel-like eyes and then raising up again to reveal the beautiful gemstone colours again.

Fuck me, why are dragonkin all so pretty?

He was beautiful, and powerful, and everything I normally found insatiably attractive. He was brave, and he just rescued me. Hell, he even got injured in the process, a trickle of blood dripping down his right hand from where the goblin had scratched him. We may have had issues in the past, but I at least should’ve been more appreciative for what he did for me tonight.

But what the hell could I say? Or do? He couldn’t even tell me what he wanted.

Her.

The realisation dawned on me, he couldn’t admit what he wanted because what he wanted was the dark side of me. Zeus was just the same, he became obsessed with her when he was helping me to learn how to control it. It only made sense that Felix was just as curious, even if he didn’t want to be.

Is it really that simply though?

I went with my assumption and quickly explained to him, ‘I’m not what you think I am, alright? I’m not that thing anymore.’

‘I can see that.’ His reply came quick and smooth, his expression remained unchanged. And it didn’t help me in the slightest.

‘So, what do you want with me?’ I asked again.

He was quiet again.

If he wasn’t after her, then what the hell was he after? ‘Do you even know?’

‘No.’

Again, his answer was quick and smooth, like he’d even practiced it, or knew it was coming, but it caught me completely off guard. Was he really admitting he didn’t know what the hell he was doing here, or why he risked his life to protect me? Why the hell would he do that? What man on the planet would ever admit to not knowing something? God I’ve been hanging around with Zeus too long.

Felix was strange, there was no denying that. But he obviously wasn’t here to hurt me right now. He would’ve done so already, or just let the goblins do the job. I lowered my wand. ‘Thank you… for your help…’ I murmured. ‘But, please leave me alone.’

I glanced down at the ground to shuffle around the goblin corpses at my feet. Felix didn’t move, and he wasn’t trying to stop me. I moved another step further away, and he didn’t come after me. I turned and ran.

I had to jump over several corpses, and I nearly stepped in blood twice. But I just ran.

Eighty feet to the dorm. I was clear of the goblin carnage, my feet pounding down the path to the dorms.

Sixty feet. I prayed to god Felix wasn’t chasing me, but I didn’t dare look back.

Forty feet. My bag was slipping off my arm. I clutched at the strap on my shoulder, the heavy thing bouncing against my hip.

Twenty feet. I hadn’t run in weeks, god I needed to get back into running again. Especially if Felix and goblins were on the prowl.

I slammed into the dorm door, muttering the stupid spell to open the door and wretched it open to throw myself inside and slam the door behind me.

I was safe. I was inside the dorm. No one had chased me. I peeked out the window beside the doorway, and I couldn’t see anything in the darkness of the gardens, not the goblin mess, not even Felix.

Was he gone? Should I tell the prefects?

No. I’d already told him I wouldn’t get him arrested. He did save my life.

Why did he do that? Why did he save me? Why was he even there? Why?

He didn’t even know why, so it was stupid for me to try to figure it out.

But he protected me. He pulled me from danger when no one else was coming. He put himself between me and the goblins. He breathed fire to stop my attackers. He held me tight behind his back to keep me from harm.

That had to mean something, right?

[acoolguyscoollife]

Chapter 1: (Non)Humble Beginnings

Cool Guy

I used to take stuff in my life way too seriously. Had one of those dramatic pasts that everyone is used to in life. But then I decided to throw all that away, grab a cool-ass moniker and just chill, so that’s pretty much where my life is now. And since you probably have gathered from the subtitle to the chapter, I’m Cool Guy. Real name doesn’t matter. Most people call me CG, so I guess that’s what you should call me too. Now I bet you’re thinking to yourself well this is a tad confusing, he knows I’m reading a book about him! And you’d be pretty much right. Well, kinda. I didn’t know as these things were happening that I’d eventually end up being in a position where writing this would make sense. So now you’re probably wondering what actually happened. What is the “cool life” this “Cool Guy” led? Well, to sum it up in a few sentences… I’d have to say that it was not much. Well, it was your average cross-dimensional, reality bending, ancient prophecy fare. With romance subplots out the ass. And if you think that’s cool, wait until we get to the time travelling lesbian couple, one from my day and one from the distant future! Best part is she may be my daughter; we’ve got no freaking idea! Life’s fun when you stop giving a shit, more people should try it. Of course, I’m getting ahead of myself slightly. I’ve already introduced myself but I should introduce the three other people who’ll be telling this story as it goes on. I should also dial back on mentioning things that from your perspective haven’t happened yet. Anyway, first off is Amy Frays. She was raised by her older brother and her slightly-less-older-but-still-older brother, the latter of which is an okay guy. Amy and I go way back, she was one of the people that knew me before my name became what it is now. She still called me CG though, since my old name also had those initials. Kinda. Sorta. It’s complicated. Anyway, moving swiftly on to my only male friend, Seth Allen. Truth be told I never actually asked about his home life because it just wasn’t the sort of thing we’d discuss. We just spoke in dated movie references and video-game lingo for a while, and it was a pretty fun time. By the time we’d gotten to the point in our friendship where we should have known about this stuff, neither of us wanted to ask because it just didn’t matter. That’s just the sort of friends we were. And finally, the weirdest of the bunch, Tabitha Williams. I only ended up meeting her because Amy introduced me, a childhood friend of hers that I’d never met. She was always busy with some kind of apprentice program where she would work under some sciencey dude. But despite all the nerd stuff she was pretty cool to hang out with. When we actually saw her. But that wasn’t often and I kinda felt as if I wasn’t as close to her as my other friends. So when this entire story started by her sending me a letter (of all things) telling me to come to this weird lab on the outskirts of the town and to bring Amy and Seth, you would understand that I was a little unsure. I mean, I didn’t even know how she found my address. But, I think I’d probably be better off switching to a different kind of narration now.

 The letter smelled faintly like parchment, and was actually sealed with wax, so even though I had no idea who it was from, I had an inkling. Tabitha was always quite eccentric with stuff, and I felt like she was going to be the one writing it. After slicing my finger slightly with the letter opener, I was able to get into the letter and open it up. Sure enough, matching the parchment and the wax seal, it was written with ink. Most likely a feather quill too, knowing her. I had to squint to actually figure out what was written, cursive not being my strong suit.

CG.

I’ve got something cool to show you. I’m at the gated-off facility by Fifth Street. Bring Amy and Seth.

Also, bring snacks.

-T. Williams

The letter was confusing, to say the least. I didn’t even know Fifth Street was a place, it sounded made up until I checked it on the map app. I also wasn’t sure why she didn’t contact Seth herself, because I felt like the two of them were pretty close. I know one time they both got shitfaced and sung the entirety of Love Is An Open Door from Frozen. I also know that afterwards Seth ended up falling out of a window, spraining his ankle and swearing off booze. And then promptly started drinking again a week later. The part about snacks made sense though, as thin as Tabitha was she ate a surprising amount of sugary foods, reminding me of a character from an anime I watched a while back. A quick group text (that I included Tabitha in as a passive-aggressive show of how easier it could have been than sending me a letter) later, I was walking with Seth and Amy to the lab. Well, no one actually called it a lab but it was kind of obvious what it was. A building a sciencey person works in is unofficially a lab even if you think otherwise, it’s just how the world works. When we arrived, the first noticeable thing was how high the gates were and yet how flimsy the material was. A simple chainlink fence that could easily be cut through, with a gate in it that had a lot more of a sturdy look. Stepping up to it, a voice popped out of an intercom with a technical thing on it that I wouldn’t be able to fathom the purpose of at all.

“Put your face to the scanner.” The voice said, quickly recognisable as Tabitha’s. I put my face to the technical thing I could only assume was the scanner, however not taking off the sunglasses I always wore. Amy and Seth attempted to put their faces next to mine, but before it could get awkward and slightly homoerotic, the gate clicked and opened up, allowing us to move into the facility’s borders. The outside of the building was mostly grey, nothing noteworthy on the outside, but the actual span of the building was surprisingly large. Concrete paths were adorned with grass, just enough to grow flowers but it was evident no one had been attending to them for a while, as they were overgrown and an eyesore. As our footsteps rhythmically echoed around the quiet outdoor area, I tried to come up with some lyrics to go along with the percussive beat we were making. Tap-Tap-Tap, Tap-Tap-Tap, each of us putting one foot down almost immediately after the other, leaving a gap in-between as we moved our other foot around. Before the words that would have been the next chart-topper came to me, Amy threw my out of my thoughts by choosing this time to ask the question that had been on everyone’s minds and should have really been asked sooner.

“Where in the hell are we?” Glancing over at her, she was craning her neck to look everywhere as we continued down the path. We still had a good ways to walk, so Seth and I had plenty of time to respond and answer her question thoroughly and to the best of our knowledge.

“Don’t know.” Seth said, mirroring what I was going to say. All we really knew is that this is where Tabitha spent a lot of her time, probably too much time. None of us had seen her in person for about eight months. A cold wind blew across the path, a stereotypical sign of worrying thoughts as we made our way forward. Pulling my jacket tighter against my body, I was thankful to see we had finally reached the alcove that bore a door into this building. As if I couldn’t feel slightly creeped out enough, the doors opened by themselves as we got close to them. Stepping inside, we were greeted by a stark white corridor, surfaces cold to the touch and bearing numerous doors that led off into other rooms.

“Just go straight ahead and make a turn down the green corridor.” Said the voice of Tabitha from above, making me think for a second that God had finally decided to award my coolness by giving me guidance.

“Turn down for what.” Amy muttered under her breath, then giggled at her own dumb joke. I considered rolling my eyes but I knew she wouldn’t be able to see it anyway because of the glasses so why bother.

 The room we ended up in was large, which was saying something considering that I’d seen so many large things since entering the lab that large stuff just seemed normal. A computer was across an entire wall, with various technical parts that I couldn’t make heads or tails of, a recurring theme since I had walked in here. Stood in front of the machine itself was Tabitha, in an outfit very different to what I was used to. Her long, brown hair, instead of being tied up in a bun like normal, was splayed across her shoulders and down her back, significantly longer than it had been the last time I had seen her. Her glasses were held together by tape, and her lab coat- a new addition to her style since I had seen her last- was torn, with burn marks and holes in it. Comparing that to my own leather jacket/jeans combo, or Amy’s light tank-top and pants, or Seth’s v-neck and cargo pants, it was both out of place and very haphazardly thrown together.

“Uh…” was all I could say, unsure of anything else to say.

“You look…” Amy continued, as speechless at her look as I was.

“Awesome!” Seth finished, quite contrary to what I was thinking, which was closer to explosion victim. He practically pounced on her and the two tightly hugged, making me feel both relief that I wasn’t the target of this over-affection and also slightly disappointed because the hug looked quite nice to be honest. As if sensing my thoughts, Amy nudged herself over slightly closer to me and jokingly offered a hug. I only wish I could have seen her face as I accepted the hug, quickly pulling away before the other two saw us because that would have been embarrassing to explain. I’m a man, damn it. I don’t do hugs. “Where have you been, anyway?” Seth asked, having pulled out of the hug with her.

“I’ve been… oh my god, so busy. So… god damn… busy.” Tabitha responded, spacing her words out for emphasis. “I have so much stuff to tell you guys but like… it’s all so complicated.” She waved her hands around to prove this, which did nothing but make me question her sanity. Seeing that no one was really acknowledging her, she pushed a button on the computer, which quickly whirred to life, flashing BIOS that I barely had time to read before opening a black screen that awaited commands. A hand beckoned us over, before she turned around and stooped over the keyboard, her fingers quickly turning into a blur as she wrote line after line of code, making me regret not paying attention when my teacher had tried to teach me C# all those years ago when I was in CompSci. A few presses of the enter key brought up GUI after GUI, as she tapped more stuff into it that I didn’t understand. Eventually the flurry of typing stopped and she stood upright, turning back around to face us. “Okay, let’s start with the basics. I haven’t had human contact in about… well, eight months, since you saw me last I guess. My mentor… well, I’ll get to that later.” Tabitha expositioned, as if she knew that one day I was going to start writing my memoirs. Or as if she knew that none of us had any idea what the hell was going on. “Since then I’ve been working on something huge, something that, if put into the right hands, will revolutionise the world. If it goes into the wrong hands… well, it’s just going to be used for random shit just for fun. However, even though you three are quite obviously the wrong hands, I need your help to do this.” Tabitha pressed a key, and a machine whirred to life, producing several person-sized tables out of the ground with VR helmet-like things built into them. “I have created a machine, that, if a person is connected to it properly, can create simulated worlds that could mirror our own in terms of scale and interactivity.” She said, puffing her chest outwards pridefully. I glanced to the other two, who were taking in this revelation just as I was. This big of a revelation, such a large scope, deserved only one response.

“Bullshit.”

[landsoflightanddark]

Final Last Guardian Blog Post Thoughts

I had more thoughts than usual about the final TLG interview post on Gendesign’s website, so I decided to write a full post on it instead of a small one with bullet points  The interview itself is here (several months later I now see that this link was...not to the blog post.  Whoops, here’s the blog post), but since I didn’t make a post for the last part of it (here), I’m actually going to start by talking about the main interesting thing that came out of that.

So, as it turns out, the genDesign team actually wanted to update Trico’s AI after the game’s release in response to the “play logs” of everyone playing.  This is a big deal, considering that Trico’s AI was the main complaint about the game.  There are several parts of the game that could use an update specifically along the lines of what they say here - making Trico more agreeable.  The one that really comes to mind for me is the diving section, where in the second part I feel like Trico’s AI is genuinely broken.  It’s very sad to hear that they planned this and weren’t able to implement it.  Imagine all those players out there who had big problems with one or two parts of the game, having those problems removed.  And going by what I’ve seen on Twitch streams - which I detail in this post - that’s a LOT of people.

So, the latest and last post.  The most interesting thing here is the stuff about the Boy’s design, which I’m sure was something those of us who were following these posts were waiting for them to talk about.  Specifically relating to the fact that the character was originally conceived as a girl.  You may have seen my prematurely made, and promptly deleted, posts on this a couple days ago, but now I’ve read the actual post.  So, Ueda starts by elaborating on his reasons for not making the character female.  And, you know, much love to the guy, but his reasons are just as bad as they previously were.  This time he goes into the same argument Ubisoft used years ago with Assassin’s Creed Unity, where it’s apparently harder to model a girl character than a boy character because you have to animate hair and skirts.

There’s kind of a lot of talk about “extra costs” and difficulty of design in these posts, actually.  It’s weird.  Ueda and co. seem to make a lot of effort to convince everyone that these games are kind of just something they do at their jobs - they talk about how gameplay comes first and story second multiple times in these as well.  But actually playing the games, everything’s integrated so well that you wouldn’t know.  But it does make me wonder, what would the games be like if the devs didn’t worry about the budget or time constraints?

Anyway, Ueda also makes a more general version of the “people would look up the skirt” argument, by saying that people would “see her as a sexual object.”  Which is a weird way to state it because instead of “people would look up the character’s skirt for giggles”, which is probably the reason most people would have done that sort of thing.  it turns into some thing about pedophilia.  Not that it matters, because both arguments ignore the fact that you could just have the character wear pants even if she’s a girl.  Or you could change the hair so it doesn’t require as much animation.

But then, they post a screenshot of...what looks like a girl version of the Boy, with curly hair and pants!  They did it, they actually tried to make a better version of the model before settling on the boy for some other reason we don’t know!  Except...Apparently not.  According to the caption, these screenshots are from a time when the character was “a boy with wavy hair”.  This really confused me when I saw it.   I was very sure that character model was of a girl.  I shared gendesign’s tweet of the post link with that screenshot on the blog, excitedly saying we finally got a look at the girl character model.  But the post itself says it’s not.

Now, I don’t want to come off as weird, or as a conspiracy theorist, but I think there might be a bit more here than there seems.  Some people believe the caption fully.  Some people (well, one on reddit that I saw) believe very much that it’s a girl, and that the caption is wrong.  I think there is some evidence to that.  For one, most Japanese expressions lack pronouns.  There have been situations where fans of a thing were unsure if a character was male or female before the creator confirmed it.  I’m not entirely sure if that applies to the situation, because in the English translation, they’re not using a pronoun, they’re using a noun, just saying it’s a boy.

Aside from that is the pose.  I think it goes without saying that it’s a feminine pose, one the boy never takes in the main game.  The back is arched a bit, the leg is up, the character model is looking at the camera.

The third thing is that we’ve never seen this version of the boy, or at least I don’t THINK we have.  Someone on twitter posted a screenshot of the model used in the “Project Trico” trailer, insinuating it was the same one, but I think it’s different.  The hair in the Project Trico model looks like a bunch flat textures moving in the wind, while the blog post model’s looks larger and curly, almost like an afro.  I zoomed in on it as much as I could and I don’t see how I could be seeing it wrong.  Other than that, the pants are shorter and the undershirt is yellow instead of white in the blog post model.

So, they’re definitely different models, but is the one in the blog post a girl?  Well, we don’t know, and just like with Trico (though I often call it “he” out of habit), I won’t assume.  I also think the face looks smoother, and find it interesting how I don’t think you could describe the hair in the blog post model as “wavy”, but you could definitely describe the hair of the Project Trico model that way.

But that’s all I can say about it.  There’s more about the blog post to discuss.  They talk about the bridge collapse section, and how they lead players through it, which, in the case of that part, mostly seems to work, though I’ve seen people take time to figure out how to get over to the scaffolding, not realizing you can just jump over to Trico.  Really, one of the easier sections in the game.

They mention how their goal in the start of The Last Guardian was to reduce the technological challenges, which is an odd thing to say considering they needed to design a large and realistic AI-controlled animal and have it able to interact with the entire game world.

Then, they share a screenshot of a possible GUI the game could have had.  In it, there’s a wheel of symbols at the top of the screen that the player could probably cycle through.  There are only three symbols.  One is for the mirror (it says “kagami” under it), and the others are actually kind of hard to decipher,  There’s one that looks like some kind of crosshair that I’d guess would be for targeting something for Trico to interact with (didn’t they say that they thought about letting you do that in first person at some point, or am I imagining that?), and the other one for...Maybe just normal movement and interaction.

To close the post, they do something I didn’t expect, and talk about the teaser image they showed in January!  Ueda plays it very coy, describing it as “one picture from our process of trial and error”.  Gendesign is trying something new with the early days of this title, creating actual models and possibly gameplay in the game engine, instead of doing a CG concept video.  It seems like maybe they’re making multiple similar concepts and will decide which one they want to go forward with, though I’m guessing the girl and the creature from the teaser image will be in the next game no matter what.

With this information, it seems like we definitely shouldn’t have expected anything at E3, but I do think it’s possible to get something at TGS or PSX later this year.

And that’s pretty much it.  They talk about how they’re hiring at gendesign and what kind of people they want, though I doubt much of that is relevant to any of us.  This post ended up being pretty long, so thanks for reading and as always, if you have a response please reply or reblog.  I’m glad I was able to write this much about TLG again, it’s been awhile.

[aprillikesthings]

the return of: rewatch

Back to the Kindergarten! I’ve been looking forward to this. :D :D :D

Do you think I’m gonna rewatch this as often as I do the other Amedot-heavy episodes?? Probably. God, even when I was a baby in this fandom I remember realizing I’d watched Too Far at least six times when I’d watched the rest only once or twice. ANYWAY, here we go!

(LOL THIS TOOK ME OVER AN HOUR BECAUSE I KEPT GOING BACK TO REWATCH STUFF and I typed SO FUCKING MUCH STUFF)

Why does Steven even set an alarm? He doesn’t go to school? Whatever.

The three things he has to do in the kitchen sink now..... like, I reallllly don’t think he actually poops in the sink, that’s just....too much. (I think he does that at the car wash’s bathroom.) I mean we see him brush his teeth and wash his face and hair and I guess the assumption is that he pees in there? Maybe it’s meant to imply taking a bath, brushing teeth, and peeing? I DON’T KNOW. WHAT THREE THINGS IS IT. (”Just go in the ocean, bro! Pssht. Like a fish.”)

The whole “Peridot’s still sad???” implies it’s been more than one night? Thought Amethyst is not known for being patient with people getting over something. Like that time she cared the shit out Steven in Catch and Release: “I'm back to kidnap you! What, it's been long enough that we can joke about it, right?” “It’s only been like an hour!”

I love that she listens to country music. Several people have suggested it’s of the ‘my wife left me and she took the truck’ variety.

I’m side-eying myself slightly for having watched those goofy videos of the VA’s in the studio last December so many times that I recognize one of Shelby’s lines of mumbling. Actually on re-watching I have context for a lot of the random stuff we overhear during those videos. 

God, Peridot’s face. I’m so glad they went for over-the-top here.

The way Amethyst mentions the other amethysts suggests she’s talked about the whole thing with both Steven and Peridot. “Now that I’ve met the neighbors” aaaah my heart!!!

Do think Amethyst forbids her from bringing her music because it’s depressing or because Amethyst dislikes country music? (I think it’s both.)

From now on I’m calling trains “clackity ships.” (Not really, but that’s funny.)

Their whole conversation about the famethyst is the best thing, especially the way it ends with “that’s pretty amazing, ‘dot!” and Peridot blushing. I’m going to rewatch it before moving on. Okay I’m going to rewatch it twice. (Okay, three times. Dang.)

I’m never over the fact that injectors look like bacteriophages (viruses that only attack bacteria). 

It’s really interesting to me that Peridot and Amethyst’s views on kindergartens have literally changed places. (I made a separate post about that.)

This bomb has some gorgeous animation. Amethyst’s expression while Peridot talks about Kindergartens, the wind in her hair--it’s fantastic. 

The line about “well, all the well-made amethysts are gone” I genuinely can’t tell if it was Peridot’s attempt at making a joke or if she’s just forgetting, in her grief, to not be mean???

“I’ve been hanging around this place for 5,000 years” okay but not full time??? I still wanna know how long she was alone there before the CG’s found her. “For a while, I guess, until I met your mom and the others” AAUGH TELL US. I know I’ve whined about how much I want an Amethyst flashback episode but COME OOOONNNNN. 

Knowing that that flower was actually a corrupted gem.....do you think them touching it tickled. 

NGL, the first time I watched this, the moment they decided to plant stuff there, I was like “there’s no fucking sunlight this is gonna be a horrible disaster.” I mean, if a place on earth is capable of sustaining any life you have to actually work at preventing it. I saw Mt. St. Helens the first time only about fifteen years after it had erupted and places that had been completely burned and covered in boiling mud and ash were already covered in small plants and shrubs and things. Even deserts and tundras have active, delicate ecosystems. 

IIRC the tractor was in the barn when she moved in, but where did she get gas for it and seeds and stuff? Do you think Peridot and Lapis had an allowance from Greg? Did they sell Morps?? Can you imagine Lapis and Peridot at a gas station? At a farm supply store? (There’s a hilarious fic in there somewhere.)

This whole flower planting montage is the best, even knowing what comes after. They’re so cute I can’t fucking stand it. And Amethyst and Peridot both do the “tongue out when making effort” thing (which I do, too; sometimes) and This Kills The Woman

Where did Amethyst get the flamingo tho 

Hhhhh the way Amethyst looks at Peridot and says “oh yeah?” to keep her talking I know this is my OTP and I have my shipping goggles on but YOU GUYS. Peridot’s doing her little “I’m explaining a thing” body language and tone of voice, and Amethyst thinks it’s adorable, and you’ll never take that away from me. 

They still took the fucking train. Do you think the conductors on that route talk about them. (True story: I used to know people (okay lbh white cis dudes) who did train-jumping. It’s illegal and people who work for train companies are not very nice when they catch you, but if you manage to hop on a freight train and not get caught it’s certainly a cheap way to travel long distances--as long as you don’t mind living outside with no source of water or place to use the bathroom other than what you bring with you, especially since nobody leaves those car doors open anymore because of train jumpers, so you’re stuck jumping onto those platform cars with no walls or roof. I think I’d rather just pay to be on a passenger train, but you do you.)

Hydrangeas change color depending on the acidity of the soil they’re in. Sometimes they’re purple and sometimes they’re pink and sometimes they’re a super pale green. I have no idea if the crewniverse was trying for some kind of symbolism or just thought it would be fun to make Amethyst say “hydrangea.”

Ugggh even knowing how heart-breaking it was to see the dead flowers it’s still hard to watch. Poor Peridot. I wonder if it was just lack of sunlight or if the soil itself is toxic--I wouldn’t be surprised. 

Peridot’s tantrum might be melodramatic but I can understand it. I think being actively angry and venting her worst feelings is still probably better for her than being flopped over in the bathtub. “We might as well just throw it in the garbage and toss ourselves in after, because it’s all just hopeless trash!” Like. Big mood, okay

The genuine regret she feels in that tiny short moment after stepping on the “flower,” though. I wanna hug her. 

THE ARM TONGUE GRABBING HER AHHHH ahaha insert a vore joke here

Smoky’s little star wink is so great. 

“I need to go to the bathroom” LOLOL (yes I know she means “so I can mope alone” but c’mon)

I just noticed the guitar music while looking at the sunflowers is an instrumental of Don’t Cost Nothing. Also plenty of other people have already talked about Peridot’s little speech here and their convo after as a metaphor for her friendship with Lapis etc. so I won’t bother. I will point out that after Steven jokes about her green thumb (does she even get the joke tho) when Peridot yells “I know that!” she has the fangy teeth. Nice. (Wait, did she have that during her tantrum in the Kindergarten? I forget.)

And then the snuggle afterwards. Yesssss.

[snow-okki]

Polor Night Rant

Because my way of showing love to Messiah is to pick clean each one of its bones until there is not even a speck of dust left to pick. And also because I've finally watched it (yes I'm that late into the party).

Disclaimer: I'm not a movie critic. Tis a rant.

Also spoiler if you haven't watched it, but really if you still haven't watched it till now, you live under more rocks than I do.

Also warning: it’s long.

I should have never expected much from Messiah movie the moment I saw them still using that obviously fake explosion in the trailer.

First, the directing. IT SUCKS. Even more than in previous movies.

I get it, they're not filming everything in chronological order. But that's not what it's supposed to feel like! The transition is supposed to be smooth, the continuity is supposed to hold.

Biggest offender is the scene where Kuroko chased after Mamoru. Mamoru was walking while staring onto a piece of paper when suddenly Kuroko appeared behind him. Mamoru broke into a sprint, and then scene cuts to Mamoru being blocked by a no-named sakura cadet, and then cut to Kuroko already standing behind Mamoru fancily twirling and pointing his lil knife at Mamoru's throat.

Unless Kuroko teleported, which there are better ways to imply that Kuroko can move faster than the wind, it feels like the editor forgot to add a clip and just be like "Eh, the fans can just assume that Kuroko teleported, no biggie."

But it is a biggie. It takes the immersion out of the movie. It's like a speeding car suddenly break into a halt. Ain't fun yo.

And about continuity, this is a small but the easiest to point out example. On the scene where Guen was confronting Misu with the data from the flash disc he had acquired from his lil bro, Misu was chilling on the sofa with a paper in hand. Cut to scene where Misu brought the paper closer for him to read. The next scene is zoomed out, and we have Misu, still chilling on the sofa, with his hand and the paper he had just read a second ago dangling loosely from the sofa head.

This is not Harry Potter Movie 2001 where they can get away with forgetting which side of the forehead Harry's scar is supposed to be on. This is 2017.

(And let's not start on the biggest continuity error that is Misu's past)

Secondly, music. Previously for Akatsuki I praised it for the variety and frequency of background music being used. The movie, however….is dead silent 90% of the time.

"It's an information heavy movie, lots of talking so music won't be appropriate." Fine.

You're lucky if the talking scene is accompanied by some keyboard mashing sound. Enjoy dead silence as two old men talk to each other~

And when the movie does use background music…it feels very out of place. At least some of them.

I have a bone to pick with that 'holier than thou' music for the Kuroko serves Ichijima tea scene, and the music for Misu dying scene.

The former, it's veeeryyyy out of place. The church may be fancy, and it might be Ichijima's tea time (with Japanese traditional glass), but the entire situation is not. If the creator's trying to achieve cognitive dissonance, congrats, they did it.

As for the latter, it's…well, it's not a good background music. It works for the trailer, but as background, I feel that it's too strong. It's as if the music's competing with Misu-Amane in 'who can make the audience cry harder' competition. Amane wins btw.

Thirdly, GEN 3.

My god I wish this movie doesn't exist for Gen 3. All this movie does is putting each Gen 3 kids into a stereotype. And it sort of developed Mayo's character but NOT KOGURE AND YUGI.

Yugi constantly spouting catchphrases like "Who should I defeat?" is unnatural, with the one in the public bath scene being the worst example. He's a sportsman, sure, but athletes don't go around to everyone saying "Hey you, wanna judo me?" or something like that. Gangsters do that. (Plot twist le gasp)

Kogure…is…uh……a talking machine? Besides being a butt monkey which I highly approve, all he did was spouting information super rapidly. (Now I find it hilarious if he's related to Ichijima since Ichijima always takes his sweet time in delivering his lines XD). But other than that, he’s as bland as the wall.

Mayo is one of the highlights of this movie, his character providing the much-needed break from all the seriousness, and he gets his character development too! We have "Call me Mayo-sama, Mayo-tan is also fine!", him being the first to figure out Mamoru-Kaito relationship, and all his scenes with his mysterious leaf. This is good.

IF ONLY THEY DO THE SAME TO THE REST OF GEN 3

Fourth, and probably the most subjective point to argue, is acting.

Some butai actors are not meant to act in a movie. That, or the directing sucks so bad this gap shows.

What happens is that butai actors tend to exaggerate their movements which looks very unnatural in movie (OKKI), or they can't deliver information heavy scenes without looking like they're reading a script (Shinchan, also Okki). The blu-billions minions stick out like a sore thumb, hair wise and acting wise.

Yes I find Misu's dying scene hammy. Amane pulled it off nicely, but not Misu.

They probably could benefit from better directing, as in less 'all in one take' scenes. But alas, budget.

Fifth, the making.

If we talk about butai backstage, I think Tenimyu is the first to make butai backstage such a huge thing that it gets its own DVD now. And I still find it (Tenimyu 1st) to be the most enjoyable backstage to date, for a reason: it's a bunch of actors naturally having fun.

Messiah is so not a good series to have this 'fun' backstage.

The movie is shot under very short time constrain so there's not much time to chill, let alone bond. Actors repeatedly mention how Messiah's lines are heavy, which again means there's not much time to chill. With the story being very serious, acting blunders can't be passed as a joke, and the actors who have immersed themselves in this serious universe can't afford to joke around at the expense of their actings. And for this title in particular, the actors' relationship are not solid yet with half of them being new casts, so some 'bonding' moments feels forced (Okki and Shinchan has zero chemistry).

In other words, they're really better off making some kind of documentary or interview, something that showcases the depth of Messiah series or their characters, instead of trying to make a friendship/fun type of backstage.

Ok I've ranted enough about all the stuff I have issues with. Let's end this in a good note!

The good things!

1. The writing. All the callbacks to previous installments. The little things the characters get to do to show their personality (partially thanks to their actors as well). But not the plot. I find it too cheesy of an ending.

2. Kogure being a butt monkey. Eiri's the closest thing we have to a butt monkey in the entire history of Messiah. I'm glad some comedy is coming back. Especially that lil scene where Kogure complained to Yugi about the water splashes going into his eyes. That's adorable. *fangirl continues*

3. The making. Forgot to mention this but I find that some things are better not shown in the making. Like the shooting of Misu getting washed away by torrent of CG water. Watching that breaks my suspension of disbelief. I can't rewatch it and cry the same way I rewatch Mamoru-Kaito's scene in Shibi and cry.

But other things, like Okki totally not nailing his lines, Shinchan getting 'Messiah baptism' by also screwing up his lines, Ichijima somehow nailing all his long-ass lines with no miss, Misu accidentally hitting Guen for real, Ryoki chugging what looks like a milk but is probably not, Sugie not nailing his lines after splashing Shinchan in the public bath scene, Ichijima's wtf muscles…Many good stuff XD

Aaaand that's about it. Overall I'm not that into this movie. This feels like a spin-off, that is the main series can just continue from Akatsuki and there won't be any issue besides having to justify Misu and Amane's disappearance. None of the non Misu-Amane plot here are important or something that can't be justified by Akatsuki. Okay maybe besides Mayo's character development and the whole cult deal, which can also be explained off handedly in Yuukyuu in less than 5 mins. Sure I enjoy the fanservicy moments, but that's it, fan service. They'll be completely gone by the release of the next installment.

I really wish they've ended it with Misu and Amane settling down forgoing their goal for 'world equality', something like 'you're more important than my ideals'. That'll be poignant, and very Messiah like, and saves them the budget for that cheap-ass CG water torrent.

[tokupedia]

Kamen Rider 45th Anniversary File: Wizard

2012:

The Metal Heroes Series celebrates its 30th anniversary with a mini-revival in the form of a film crossover with Gokaiger and a Gavan movie! Kenji Ohba returns as the legendary Retsu Ichijouji and a new Gavan appears: Gavan Type-G! Gavan also gets a crossover tie-in with Go-Busters to promote the Gavan movie! The Metal Heroes Space Sherrifs also crossover with the Kamen Riders and Super Sentai in Super Hero Taisen Z in 2013.

IT’S MORPHIN TIME! Power Rangers terms seep into Super Sentai with Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters, a series that tried to do some new things including a two front battle with the villains both on the ground and in a separate MegaZord.

The Symphogear Series debuts with its first season, showcasing superhero Magical Girls of a musical nature. Aoi Yuki (aka MADOKA!) , who would later be in Kamen Rider, is the main hero Hibiki Tachibana! (Ha! Tachibana!)

The Zetman anime debuts, featuring a hero called Alphas who is inspired by an tokusatsu-styled anime show.

Smile Smile Smile~ Smile PreCure! debuts and airs on the Sunday kids block with Go-Busters and Wizard. It features everybody’s favorite tokusatsu fangirl and the fandom’s unofficial mascot Cure Peace! Cure Peace’s voice actress would later go on to voice Sailor Mercury in Sailor Moon Crystal!

Ultraman Saga debuts in theaters featuring some members of AKB48 and a new fusion Ultra: Saga. A fusion of Zero, Cosmos and Dyna.

The first Super Hero Taisen film is released, in celebration of 10 years of Super Hero Time.

Takeru Satoh, aka Ryotaro Nogami from Kamen Rider Den-O steps into an awesome role as Kenshin Himura in the live-action Rurouni Kenshin movie! This is a great film, that it is- gozaru!

Cyborg 009 is revived in the film continuation 009: Re Cyborg. One perk of this film was minor changes to the 00 Cyborgs such as 003 seemingly gaining technopathic abilities and 005 trading in his stereotypical tribal marks and mohawk for a full head of hair and his markings being red “veins” that glow when he turns on his super strength. Both of these aspects would carry over to yet another incarnation.

During the time of Wizard, Japan was in pretty bad shape. It had been hit by a nasty earthquake and tsunami and Fukushima was now the location of the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl and became a ghost town. 

So after the tragedy, when it came time to choose the theme of the next series, Tsuyoshi Kida decided on one: Hope and overcoming despair. And given how the previous Rider was a mechanical marvel of science, the staff decided to go full opposite and have a Rider who was pure fantasy based by having a wizard as the hero. 

Kamen Rider Wizard saw a few changes, the transition from the use of Panasonic Varicams to Arri Alexa HD cameras for the cinematography, more CGI use including a few of Wizard’s forms that were fully CG. This series is also the last fall series to be premiered in September, as the staff decided to push for an October scheduling to extend the show and plug more merchandise. (In this case, the Legend Rider Wizard Rings) It also continued a trend from OOO that fans either love or hate: a “singing” Rider belt that plays a catchy tune with each form change.

But the biggest one that resonated with fans was a positive and progressive milestone, for the first time in the franchise’s history, an openly gay actor would be working on the series. Kaba-chan is also now retroactively the first transgender actor in Kamen Rider, as she transitioned from being a man to a woman after the series ended. Its certainly more progressive than western superhero movies were on that front until recently. (Ex.”Have you ever tried..not being a Mutant?”) .

Naturally, the LGBTQ community of the fandom were happy about the hiring as were activists who knew of Kamen Rider and this bit of news was featured in various articles on the web and drew praise on some forums. *Kuuga thumbs up*

We also see a more western inspired series in terms of mythology. Wizard’s dragon is European style in motif rather than Asian, the monsters are named after beings from myths and stories and have traits of those creatures in some cases. The myth of the Philosopher’s Stone is also referenced, which has an FMA bent to how it is made.

This also marked the first televised debut of a (sorta) original Female Heisei Kamen Rider...that actually lives! Granted, she does get taken out of play sometimes, but at least she survived! Though future installments of the franchise unfortunately would not be as kind (*fingers crossed for Poppy to live*).

We see how skillfully detailed some of the costumes Blend Master and PLEX would make, as the designs of the Wizard suits are fantastic. Wizard himself is very photogenic for a Kamen Rider, with a gemstone/wizard motif mixing primary colors with black and silver and a flashy leather duster coat. The gem on his face combined with the silver trim make out the “face” of the Rider and the wrists and ankles break up the black on the arms with gemstone wrist cuffs and anklets.

Sejii Takaiwa really gets a workout this season, as the Wizard costume is light enough for him to do flips, twirls and acrobatics and pull off some impressive moves and he even dual wields swords and does double gun kata this season. (He even shoots the guns Gangsta style again like he did in Den-O)

Having a magic motif, Wizard gained powers that no other Kamen Rider had ever used before as spells. Also, there are donuts, lots and lots of donuts. This is very important to know.

This series is brought to you by the magic of Plain Sugar.

There seems to be some love outside Japan for Kamen Rider Wizard in media, as a member of the Marvel Comics art team drew one of Wizard’s magic circles in a comic!

But now let’s show the Ringed Mage of Hope. Its Showtime Da!

WIZARD! PLEASE!

RIDER RIDER RIDER!

(Mr. Soma, ringed mage extraordinaire circa 2012)

Real Name: Haruto Soma

Haruto was traumatized as a young boy when his parents got in a car accident and he was the sole survivor. Before his parents died in the hospital, he was told by his mom and dad to never give up hope and be strong. 

He tired his best to live up to that and got a shot at being a pro-soccer player, but left the profession when his friend Kazuya got hurt because of him and because what happened next the following day.

Later the next day on March of 2012, he was an unwilling participant in a mystic sacrificial ritual called the Sabbath during a solar eclipse. In a moment reminiscent of Go Nagai’s Devilman, Haruto feels a demonic force emerging and nearly destroys him but his hope and determination to live drive the creature, known as a Phantom, back into his body. Most of the people around him though were not so lucky as they died immediately from their despair overwhelming them and spawned Phantoms of their own. 

This re-ignited Haruto’s survivor’s guilt and out of nowhere comes a white wizard who congratulates him on surviving after saving him from a Phantom, carrying a girl named Koyomi.  The white wizard offers him a contra-er, I mean belt and the power to save people from the Phantoms and asks to care for the girl in his stead.

Six months later, the Tokyo Police are investigating a crime and happen upon monsters in a warehouse. One of the officers, Rinko Daimon is saved by Haruto who transforms and drives them off. (Daimon...DIAMOND! I just got that. Oh, the terrible puns.)  The Phantoms were targeting Rinko as she is a Gate, a human with latent magic potential that can create another Phantom if they fall into despair. Haruto defends her again from the Phantoms and destroys Rinko’s Phantom by going into her Underworld to keep it from getting out. But as a side effect, she cannot utilize magic and is now an ordinary human.

Later, Haruto saves another Gate called Shunpei who is overeager to become Haruto’s apprentice as he has wanted to learn magic ever since he was a child. He ends up joining the group and Rinko takes an interest in Haruto’s activities using her connections with the police and communications with Section Zero of Japan’s National Security Agency.

Haruto goes around helping Gates find their hope again and in one holiday episode we learn how Santa Claus operates in the Kamen Rider Universe. (It is implied by the fact he can enter Underworlds that Santa is a wizard!)

Haruto faces some hardships as he further battles the Phantoms, but presses onward as the Final Hope of Magic and humanity, Kamen Rider Wizard!

Powers:

Agility, skill in kicking style combat and acrobatics (The kicking fighting style due to strong leg muscles from his soccer training).

Quite a lot of them actually via spells cast from the Wizard Rings:

Super Strength (Varies: Capable of becoming a buff Hulk-sized Wizard with the Excite Ring to holding a HUGE MEGAZORD SIZED AXE in Infinity form).

Skilled Marksmanship and Swordsmanship including dual wielding. Gun armed with silver bullets that can bend their trajectory to hit the target. Given the bullets are silver, yes, he can potentially kill werewolves as a bonus. Weapon can gain elemental augmentation to enhance attacks.

Strom creation: capable of creating gusts, hurricanes, thunder storms and blizzards. Capable of using wind energy to hover or propel himself in the air. Can generate massive bolts of lightning to shock his targets extra crispy. Freezing ability.

Creating localized seismic events and mystical terrakinesis (able to hurl boulders at targets, create sand or stone traps to hold enemies in), gravity distortions. Subterranean drilling.

Disguise generation or wardrobe changing.

Shield generation, varies in strength depending on what elemental form Wizard is in and how much mana he has left.

Size manipulation: Able to shrink in size to about half an inch or smaller. (A first in Kamen Rider, as J just shrunk back to normal size.) Capable of enlarging his arms to knock back waves of enemies or make his blade Zanbato sized.

Knockout spell

Light generation to blind foes or use as a way to navigate dark areas.

Create chains to bind enemies or use as a safety net.

Temporary cloning of both himself and his gear.

Elastic limbs

Creates holes for enemies to fall into/alter the environment (Ex. have water from a tank pour onto a monster) or for a quick getaway.

Noxious stink fumes.

Enter mirrors like Ryuki does

Time travel, maximum effect seen is 5 years into the past. Exact limit unknown. 

Teleportation

Summoning familiars to aid him.

Astral projection of his Rider form to defend his own Underworld

Portal creation, mostly utilized to grab things Haruto has left behind (like his donuts) or for handy storage of his gear in a pocket dimension to call upon when needed.

Rider Finisher spells

Flame and Water Generation

Water gel form like Black RX Biorider form.

Wings, Claws, Tail and fire breathing dragon head via merging with WizarDragon.

Can create Christmas joy by restoring gifts (temporary power given by Santa)

Summon other Kamen Riders to his location immediately in an emergency.

Weaknesses:

Despite the awesome power he wields, Haruto’s spells are governed by mana. Based on early episodes, the mana of this series operates under a kind of Equivalent Exchange methodology. Use a spell, it drains the body’s energy to create the mana to cast it. The stronger the spell or the more spells are used, the more energy the caster burns unless they “level up” thier magic by training their bodies and gaining more power from the Phantom inside them or external mystical devices enhancing the magic. 

As such, Haruto needs to eat high calorie foods or high sugar foods such as donuts to keep his metabolic rate stable enough to avoid going into shock or simply passing out. Resting does help too, so Haruto is a heavy sleeper when his mana runs dry. Mana can also be siphoned away from Haruto if a spell is used or some apparatus capable of such is present. If his mana gets low, his spells are not as effective and weaken and eventually the Wizard Driver will stop working

If Haruto’s spirit is broken and he falls into despair, he risks his Phantom getting out and that would result in him dying and the WizarDragon wearing his flesh as a suit to blend in until his next meal. (Though that danger is no longer 100% present as the two have made a mutual agreement and respect one another after the birth of Infinity form).

If his Underworld is entered by a Phantom or other mystical being, his powers could be destroyed if Dragon dies. This would render him Muggle and thus able to be killed as he would have no magic to defend himself.

The Wizard Driver can be jammed by sticky substances or prevented from being used by binding Wizard’s hands away from the Hand Author buckle of the belt.

The Wizard Rings are sometimes fickle, as some of them have spells that can be only cast when the target of the spell is wearing them (ex. Sleep Ring). The Rings are also somewhat fragile, as a Rider Punch can break them if Wizard isn’t careful. This puts a disadvantage to Wizard as he can only use grappling, spells and palm strikes in close combat and must compensate by using his weapons and legs. (Though the Dragon forms make up for that as Land Dragon and Infinity Dragon use claw attacks.)

Haruto was shown in the Wizard finale special as unable to defend himself against the super speed of the Worms, meaning speedier enemies or Riders such as Kabuto can possibly outmatch him.

Last is a more psychological one, Haruto has an acute case of survivor’s guilt that does affect him, but in a mostly positive constructive way. However, he does have weaker moments where his failure to help someone can weigh heavily on him (Ex. Koyomi), even distancing himself from his old life before becoming a Kamen Rider.

Gear:

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/WizarDriver

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard_Rings

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard_Ring_Holder

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/PlaMonsters

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/WizarSwordGun

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Machinewinger

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Wizard_Ring_Box

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Drago_Timer

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Magic_Stones - Not really part of the gear, but an essential for crafting new Rings to cast new spells.

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/WizarDragon

Signature Finishers:

Kick Strike: Wizard’s Rider Kick, comes in various elemental forms but mostly the same as wizard does some flashy acrobatics or jumps to execute the kick after charging power from the magic circle under his feet. A variation called the Strike End utilizes WizarDragon transforming into a giant flaming clawed boot and Wizard kicking it to smash his foes with the force of a meteor.

Slash Strike: Standard Rider Slash. Variants involve using elemental power, enlarging the blade with the Big Ring or cloning the WizarSwordGun for a double slash. The Dragon forms enhance the power of these attacks.

Shooting Strike: Standard Rider Shooting attack. Can be augmented with elemental power and can be used in a double shooting attack if Wizard could pull off scanning both WizarSwordGuns. The Dragon forms enhance the power of these attacks.

Dragon Breath: Flame Dragon’s finisher, a Rider Shooting attack. Wizard Flame Dragon scans the Special Ring and WizarDragon’s head on his chest comes alive and the Rider flies up and rains a massive burst of flaming dragon breath upon his foes.

Dragon Sonic: My personal favorite of the Dragon finishers. Wizard uses his wings and super speed as Hurricane Dragon to creates a powerful gust of hurricane wind around the enemy, lifting them into the air, he then scans the Thunder Ring and repeatedly zaps lightning bolts at the target then fries the Phantom with one huge skyscraper sized lightning bolt.

Dragon Smash: Wizard Water Dragon freezes his target with the Blizzard Ring, then skates to it with an ice magic charged Dragon Tail and uses the tail as a sword to slice the enemy in half.

Dragon Ripper: Using gravity manipulation via the Gravity Ring, Wizard Land Dragon pins down his foe and then slashes them with the Dragon claws.

Dragon Claw: Double Rider Slash with the Dragon Claws.

Strike Dragon: Wizard combines the elemental powers of his Dragon Forms into one shot as the magic of fire, water, earth and wind hit the target and then Wizard flies at super speed and kicks the enemy so hard they go FLYING INTO THE SUN. The downside is using it and All Dragon form depletes Haruto’s power really fast so the attack must connect or else he will be defenseless.

Dragon Shining: Wizard Infinity Form charges a massive amount of mana into the AxCalibur, which makes the axe grow to gigantic size. Wizard then goes into a leaping swing to cleave the target.

Shining Plasma Strike: Wizard Infinity Form hits the Hand Author repeatedly and then throws the AxCalibur and uses his magic to manipulate its movement to repeatedly strike the target. Its movements in this attack are almost similar to Den-O’s Extreme Slash.

Infinity End: Wizard’s ultimate Rider Kick. Using the power of Infinity Dragon form’s wings to propel the kick, the skull of WizarDragon appears on Wizard’s right foot and “bites” the target before it hits. There is also a spinning kick variation and an enhanced version when he goes to Infinity Gold Dragon form.

Finale DA!

Enemies:

Sou Fueki

http://kamenrider.wikia.com/wiki/Sou_Fueki

Aka The White Wizard aka Wiseman aka Kamen Rider Wiseman 

A former physics professor who was desperate to save his little girl after she got sick, but his daughter died and he refused to accept it. He then turned away from his scientific profession and became obsessed with the occult and experimenting with it. He seems like a benevolent benefactor to Haruto as the anonymous white wizard, but he has much more sinister motives in mind for Japan and their magic users. He also pulls the strings of the Phantoms posing as their leader, all the while he does not care about them and simply wishes to restart his own plans.

As seen in his re-apperance in a Kamen Rider Ghost spin-off, he is a father who loved his kid a little too much and refuses to let her go and move on, as he proclaimed the whole world could be sacrificed of human life just so he can have her alive again. Ghost, being a hero who values life, was disgusted by Fueki and gave him a proper beatdown with the help of Wizard’s power in the form of an Eyecon.

Phantoms:

Phantoms are demonic beings that reside inside humans called Gates, individuals who possess the potential to use magic. The Phantoms goal is to try to create more of their race by repeating the process that created them; putting a Gate at thier absolute lowest by taking away thier hope and leaving them in soul-crushing despair and depression. 

This will cause the unborn Phantom to emerge from the Gate’s Underworld and kill them, with the Phantom then replacing their host’s control over their bodies, wearing them as flesh suits to hide among people until they need to change into monster form. However, if a Gate overcomes their despair and gains hope, the Phantom will be sealed back in and the Gate will have the power to use magic as a mage or wizard. Otherwise destroying it and the Gate’s magic potential is the only way to keep it from coming out. Some like Wizard’s WizarDragon are more benign after they are sealed again, though in Haruto’s case it was because he proved to his Phantom that Hope is more powerful than Despair.

While Phantoms have a clear goal, some have personality quirks that make them either uninterested in the mission or do things in a manner that go against what they were assigned to do. (Including the really dangerous ones like Legion)

Aside from Wiseman, there are three generals:

Medusa

Phoenix

Gremlin

To ensure they stay on task, the Phantoms are given Ghoul grunts to dispose of interference or aid in the endeavor. (Fear and intimidation also help as motivators for them to work) 

Phantoms are mostly extinct thanks to Wizard, but he remains vigilant as Gates are still out there. In times like these where it seems Hope is in short supply, he must prepare for any Phantom that comes. (or an evil Pac-Man)

[yoosungshoodie]

1-40

1: How long have you been playing Slbp?

Since December of 2016, I think? Maybe late November? I remember playing it during a family trip and I was really put off due to everything looking so confusing at first.

2: What made you decide to download it?

People on Tumblr that I followed began playing about it and posting about it, so I was curious to see what the hype was all about. I had also been winded from a very, very dramatic breakup from a turbulent relationship, so I needed something to help myself get my head out of that space and move on.

3: Who’s route did you play first?

Of course… Oda Nobunaga. I don’t know if it’s because he was the first option that popped up when you get to choose or if he just looked all fiery and red, but I was into it. He turned out to easily be one of my favorites.

4: Favorite route?

God… I don’t know if I can decide between Kojuro or Nobunaga, even if I can’t remember either of their routes super well. I know everyone already talks about this, but I really liked MC in Kojuro’s route and I liked how confusing Kojuro could be at times, as well as endearing. I haven’t played all the routes so maybe this will change, but Kojuro and his whole “precious girl” and the whole plot seemed really interesting.

5: Least favorite route?

I’m not sure if I have one yet, and again I haven’t played all of them yet, but all I know is that Shingen’s route didn’t particularly leave much of an impression on me, but I really did enjoy his divine ending and it moved me a lot. His route itself however, just didn’t seem to leave much of a mark on me.

6: Favorite lord?

For overall, Kojuro. He’s steadfast and charming and everything I know I’d want for myself if that kind of person really existed. He’s my dreamboat boy, and I like his messy room and his Bontenmaru obsession. I think his relationship with the MC is the most evolved out of them all, and is really cute and mature and understanding. Also, jealous Kojuro makes me want to kiss his face all over.

7: Least favorite lord?

I can’t… I don’t have one… I love them all…

8: Favorite female character?

Umeko. I’d go gay for her. I haven’t played Saizo’s route yet but his sister? Sheeeeesh. She is so fine.

9: Favorite retainer?

Toramatsu Toramatsu Toramatsu Toramatsu. He is my small boyfriend and he looks so cute… I need his route. He just seems so right for MC and I mean it may not be the most dramatic route, but it would sure be a damn cute one. Plus, the way his eyes light up in battle makes me giggle. He’s so cute, who could say no to that brown hair and brown eyes?!

10: Favorite side character? 

I didn’t want to say Toramatsu because I already said Toramatsu, but Toramatsu. Let me be with my boyfriend.

11: Best villain?

Nobunaga in Shingen’s route. I’ve seen previews of Ieyasu as a villain as well but I really like Nobunaga as a villain because I’ve seen it myself. He’s a powerful one and he’s ruthless, and I love me some villains. He’s driven, and even Shingen notes that he acts as if he needs to take the world on his shoulders. He’s a villain with purpose, not just a cardboard cutout villain who’s got no real purpose. Nobunaga in Shingen’s route makes me so damn happy, especially when he says that line about him being the only one who can achieve unification. He’s got a reason for being the villain and he knows it, and Shingen’s death wasn’t just because Nobunaga was dicking around and decided to play with the Tiger for the shits and giggles. 

12: Worst Villain?

I can’t remember any specific villains but I hate villains who don’t have a real purpose or a shitty one that isn’t really worth all the trouble for. This reminds me of a Gillian Flynn (a favorite author of mine) quote that’s about female villains when she was talking about her novel Sharp Objects (a favorite book of mine), but I think this applies to villains in general as well.

“I particularly mourn the lack of female villains — good, potent female villains. Not ill-tempered women who scheme about landing good men and better shoes (as if we had nothing more interesting to war over), not chilly WASP mothers (emotionally distant isn’t necessarily evil), not soapy vixens (merely bitchy doesn’t qualify either). I’m talking violent, wicked women. Scary women. Don’t tell me you don’t know some.”

Actually, writing this now, I’m really thinking of Masamune’s mother in his route. She kind of bugged me, mostly because Voltage could have emphasized anything that would drive her: her loyalty to her own clan, maybe focus more so on Date Terumune’s death, her brother. Instead, they chose to make the main point of her villainess (not a word, I know) none other than the fact that she hates Masamune for having heterochromatic eyes. That, is the basis of her hatred and then Date Terumune’s death is the cherry on top. Like, really? I would’ve really wished they’d focus more on that than the preconceived notion of “Yes, she hates her son mainly because he has a blue eye.” Not the worst villain but Voltage just has poor portrayal of her.

13: Do you play the event stories?

Yes. So much. And I go for the courtier’s prize so that means drawing blood.

14: If so, who’s event story do you read the most often?

Kojuro’s and Nobunaga’s are always first if it’s available.

15: Do you buy any of the epilogues?

Only of my favorites, and if I deem them to be worth it. I have mostly Nobunaga’s.

16: How many pearls do you have as of now?

Haha, I have six. I’m crying. I spent most of it on the epilogues.

17: Did you ever buy any pearls?

Answered here.

18: Do you ever participate in any of the Battle Events?

Yes!

19: If so, do you usually pick East or West?

Whoever has my bias… Or if I could choose, the losing side. I want that warrior’s grace pearl.

20: How many routes have you completed?

Nobunaga, Masamune, Kojuro, Shingen… so four. I think. After Ieyasu’s, five.

21: Do you usually choose the Divine or the Noble ending?

Divine because I stress over picking the right answers. 

22: Have you ever replayed a character’s route just to get both endings? 

Not yet. I want to for Kojuro and Nobunaga.

23: Do you play the game every single day or do you play once in awhile?

Every single day. I check on average about every 3-4 hours.

24: Is there any character that you want a route for?

TORAMATSU. LET ME BE WITH MY BOYFRIEND @VOLTAGE.

Sorry. You had my riled up a little.

25: Any character you don’t want a route for, but everybody else does?

I don’t know a lick about Nobuyuki. But everyone wants his route. 

26: Do you ever fall for another character when you’re playing a route? 

…. T O R A M A T S U.

27: Do you like or hate the MC? 

Not really fond of her. I know Voltage has to make her as plain as sketch paper for the sake of ~relatability~ but I’ve never been super fond of really innocent protagonists unless they learn something in the end too. Her being a cook is cool though, I stress bake so.

28: Favorite pair?(Example: Nobunaga and Mitsuhide, Saizo and Yukimura)

me, with a boom mic: THE DATE COUSINS.

29: Did any scene make you laugh out loud?

Answered here!

30: Favorite interaction between two characters?

Answered here!

31: Funniest character? 

Answered here!

32: Did any scene make you cry?

I don’t cry. I don’t think I remember one exactly, but Shingen’s divine end epilogue left me teary eyed.

33: Character with the most tragic backstory?

I spoiled myself with Mitsunari’s backstory and he takes the cake. Sorry, bud.

34: Character that you relate to the most?

Answered here! 

35: Favorite CG?

Any CG with Kojuro’s sweet face in it.

36: Favorite event so far?

That one smutty one that was going on when I first joined and never participated in because I was too busy being confused with the interface.

37: Do you like when the events contain sexual scenes or no?

I like them, even though I have the sexual experience of a brick.

38: Favorite ship?(Romantic/Platonic)

Me and Kojuro. Saizo and Yukimura are adorable from what I’ve seen in their ES.

39: Which character would you be best friends with?

I’d work really well with Nobunaga just because we’re both petulant brats who complain over everything and will fight everyone at all times. He looks like a down af motherfucker who’s fun to be around. My hair used to be red too!

40: Which character would you ship yourself with?

Kojuro, my best-case-scenario if-my-life-was-a-fairytale go to guy. What a good man. I want him for Christmas.