#and at the end of it their main complaint (spoiler free) was that the Will Ferrell character should have been played by an “actual singer”

[thelordofshrimp]

having so much self-control right now (did not start a fight over someone else's garbage take)

[velteris]

I’ve seen a fair amount of posts complaining about this arc in Frieren and… we are all entitled to our own opinions etc which is why I will be launching into a Defense of Frieren’s Exam Arc :) Keeping it manga spoiler free since it seems like most of these complaints are from anime-only viewers.

For me the main draw of this arc is the world building. We’ve spent all this time with Frieren and Fern as our main perspectives on magic. Because it’s Frieren, the magics we’ve been hearing about have mostly been a little silly and sweet. But now we’re finding out that 1) “mage” is largely still a combat designation, and 2) Frieren and Fern are actually incredibly jack-of-all-trades when it comes to their magic repertoire. The “magic is visualisation” part is starting to be really leant into and we’re seeing more humans as well who seem to specialise in one magic (steel flowers, rocks, clones, ice and water…) It’s cool!! It’s objectively cool! I love being able to see this range that we wouldn’t have had otherwise! Also it’s fucking fantastic to see how much of a BEAST Fern really is when compared to other human mages. And she doesn’t even seem that aware of it.

Coupled with that is being able to see different people’s philosophies toward magic. I think a lot of viewers are kind of down about the sudden huge influx of side characters who they don’t really care about. But these philosophies—Land’s maximum wait-and-watch, Wirbel and Ubel’s vastly different approaches to killing—keep expanding the world and highlighting Frieren and Fern’s own perspectives. It’s soooo good seeing them react to situations not of their own making and people not of their own kind.

We get to see human society that isn’t a village in the middle of nowhere! We get to see Frieren being forced to socialise! We get to see Fern away from her emotional support elf! We get to see how society has changed since the demon king was defeated! I love that Himmel and co ushered in an era of peace, which it is, and yet the world is still full of conflicts. Truly the story continues after the hero is finished.

To address a few specific complaints I’ve seen brought up:

Frieren isn’t about all these nonstop shounen fights.

Agreed! Which is why it’s cool as hell that Frieren’s main badass shounen strategy is “sit very still for 10 hours”. That aside? There actually hasn’t been much actual fighting. You could probably count up the minutes in which actual spells are being cast and it’ll be something like 2 minutes max in the latest ep20. And that’s because it’s not about who beats who, it’s about the philosophies, the worldbuilding, the ways of thinking about magic. This is not a power-measuring contest, much as Genau would like to make it. And the random lucky draw-ness of the Stilles only plays further into that. It is possible to pass this exam without coming into conflict with others, and certainly without battles to the death. It hasn’t ever been about the shounen fights.

The good part of the show was about the delicate melancholy and that’s totally missing here.

I agree that it’s one of the strong points. But the thing with the melancholy is that it only works when juxtaposed against other moments. A story that’s composed of a bunch of unlinked wistful slice-of-life episodes will eventually fall apart because it has no momentum, no driving force. And ten years to Ende is too long to go without at least some conflict. Also, again, ten-hour bird meditation session?

Anyway, there’s melancholy, but how sad it would be if there was nothing but introspection and wistfulness. Frieren is bringing the memories of Himmel forward with her into the future. That means she has to be moving forward, forging new relationships with unrelated people, going into situations that she hasn’t been in before. A Frieren stuck in the past would be against the themes of the show, of remembering and yet moving on.

Why should I care about them spending ages trying to catch a bird?

You don’t like Stille? 🐤 fweet?

Actually I care lots about this funky thing. Indestructible and goes supersonic fast. That’s fucking hilarious. Bird that simply cannot be contained. Genau is a dick for setting up this kind of exam when, Your Honour, my client Stille does not deserve to be imprisoned.

Too many irrelevant side characters who it’s hard to care about, and they’re gonna be thrown away at the end anyway.

Again, it’s the worldbuilding. And also, mild spoilers for stuff that won’t be covered in the anime, but at least one of these side characters does come back and we get more delicious main character development as a result. Though frankly many of these characters are deeply compelling and interesting to me so I don’t rly get this complaint. Give me more Lawine.

Where’s Himmel? What do these exams have to do with the hero party? Frieren is good because of the links to the past.

Frieren is good because of the links to the past, which affect how Frieren responds to the present. The whole point of Frieren is that Frieren’s life continues. And through her new experiences, she comes to understand and reconnect to the emotions she didn’t realise she felt about her past. I don’t care what Himmel would think of the mage exams, I care what Frieren thinks of them now. And the answer is that she doesn’t really give a damn but she’s in here anyway because Fern strongarmed her into it, and then she was forced to adopt two more kids along the way, and all of that is something she never would have done if she was still hermiting in the Central Lands. Somehow we are still getting Himmel flashbacks anyway? So? He’s still haunting the narrative guys. Just because Frieren isn’t saying “that’s what Hero Himmel would do” out loud in these circumstances doesn’t mean his ghost isn’t here.

Even so, Frieren clearly recognises the name Serie. Do not fear. There is going to be more about links to the past.

I miss Stark.

Fair enough. It’s okay, he’s just on vacation rn. Having an appy juice.

It’s taking too long. The arc is too slow.

It’s only been three episodes… I’ve seen people going “it’s already been three episodes!” but what? Really? Is that considered an excessive amount of time now?? Given the amount of story covered I think it’s quite reasonable? There’s still 8 episodes to go in which we cover the remaining exam stages. Have some patience like Frieren. The payoffs are being set up; they’ll resolve before the end of the mage exam arc. In the meantime, let’s enjoy theorising about the soft magic system and hollering for full auto Fern.

[alleiradayne]

I haven't said much personally about Veilguard besides sharing my Rook and a few other silly things, but I do have a couple thoughts now that I'm so very far into my playthrough (halfway at about 50 hours).

I know the music hasn't hit like some hoped it would. I agree that it is not as good as Inquisition. That's still my favorite OST of the series. I understand BioWare wanted a new composer for the next game because each game has had a different composer. But given how very connected Inquisition and Veilguard are, I disagree with that premise and thought they should have stuck with Morris, and not only for that reason. He's a fucking musical genius.

All that said, I do enjoy Zimmer's and Balfe's work on this OST. It's not bad. I was shittalking the main theme for weeks after it came out but when you mash it up with the actual opening of the game, it fits. And I like all the softer versions of it, the less complicated takes with less instrumentation. And there are other tracks that call back to Inquisition. No, I'm not referring to the cameos where Morris's actual tracks were used. I'm talking about Zimmer/Balfe's new content where they threaded callbacks to Inquisition. Once I finish the game, I'm going to do a much deeper analysis of the Veilguard OST, but for now, I'm enjoying it as I play the game (I don't want to listen to the OST before I finish the game itself).

A couple other thoughts in shorter form:

The combat is fun. Compared to previous games, it's dynamic enough that, while there are patterns, you still have to be on your toes. Yes there's the rock, paper, scissors of get rid of armor, get rid of barrier, then spam left click/spells. But you know what, compared to the previous games, I'm enjoying that. It's a nice change of pace. I'm also playing a Mourn Watch Death Mage, so there's some nice flavor there.

Skin texture sucks. It's too smooth. It gives everyone a cartoonist look. I hate it.

Hair is fucking gorgeous. I just wish there were more styles I liked.

The story and quests are fantastic.

I find the dialogue to be a fun balance between seriousness, camp, and exposition.

Now on to my biggest fucking complaint about the game so far and given what I've read (without spoiling anything), I'm ultimately going to be disappointed in the long-run by the romances. My mage committed to Emmrich and I love him. He's wonderful. Read on for some spoilery-ish facets of his romance.

SPOILERS

He's an artist. Both with his magic and his words. He's sophisticated and overly romantic in such a respectful way. Rook's interest in him takes him by surprise because I believe canonically there's an age gap (that I headcanon away), but it's adorable. Plus, graveyard dates. He's very Gomez Addams but without all the public displays of affection (which I also headcanon away because fuck that noise).

END SPOILERS

My last point in the spoilers section about Emmrich's romance is my biggest complaint of the game. There's very little actual romance! And it's because you can't roll up to your companions at any given time and open a dialogue with them. There's no open conversation option. You only get to talk to them if they have a time-sensitive marker or a quest marker on their icon on the map. No free smooches on the ramparts!

And the romance moments we do get are so few and far between in a game that is absolutely massive, not in terms of map size this time, but in terms of content. There is so much good content (as opposed to the shit side quests of collecting 10 bear asses in the Hinterlands of Inquisition). The side quests all feel directly tied to the area's story so they all feel worth doing. We're never doing dumb shit like drawing constellations in the sky or finding shards through tranquil mage skulls (don't ever forget that they used the skulls of mages forced into tranquility specifically for this purpose).

Now I'm not through the whole game yet, but I'm hearing and seeing that there's next to no nudity. Given that on top of the lack of open convos and sparse romantic content, I'm bummed. I still love Emmrich, and I know I'll enjoy the others when I do get to them (because I plan on it). But damn. I was hoping for Desk Scene (iykyk) levels of spice outta this crew.

That's it. Halfway through the game and this is how I feel so far. I'm thoroughly enjoying the game and will continue to binge it. I have Rooks planned for the rest of the companions, too. Femme elf rogue crow to romance Davrin, femme qunari warrior lords of fortune to romance Harding, femme human shadow dragon rogue to romance Neve, femme elf warrior veil jumper to romance Bellara, masc elf mage grey warden to romance Lucanis.

I'd like to see your thoughts!

[weirdozjunkary]

OKAY SO! I literally JUST got back from watching the FNAF movie and HOLY FUCK DID I ENJOY IT! I have SO MUCH to talk about from it oh my god! I would give it a solid 8 or 9/10. Not prefect but I enjoyed it so much.

Non spoiler right below and full spoilers under the cut.

Spoiler free- I absolutely adored the movie! The entire cast did a splendid job! I couldn’t be happier with everything that I saw on the screen! For what it is it was astounding! So much love to the fans and everyone that had worked on FNAF in the past. My only complaints was the pacing and dialogue as the pacing was a bit jumpy and the dialogue felt awkward at times, as well I know that the whole lore of FNAF itself would limit a fair bit of an audience. But other than that I loved it so much. From the animatronics to the actors to the cinematography, all of it was beautiful and I truly hope that Scott makes at least one more, but if not I’m still happy what we got.

Full spoilers- I adored everyone who was on screen, from mike to Abby to Vanessa, the animatronics and William, all of them were a delight to watch. The movie truly felt like it was one of Scott’s works, from the serious stuff to the jokes, it was brilliant. A lot of my favourite jokes were with Abby and Mike not taking any shit.

What I found interesting was how they made Vanessa the daughter of William Afton, wether adopted or by blood. I think she could have been more of a use than she did, as she mostly just warned Mike until the very end where she did one thing and then got stabbed. But other than that I think she had a good amount of screen time.

Mike and Abby were great from the start, I do wish we got more backstory from Mike though, like to show more how he’s troubled rather than just keep repeating that his brother got kidnapped. But Abby was really good from the start. I did like how she saw the ghosts kids before Mike got the job rather than right after from what you usually see in movies with ghosts.

The animatronics were stunning onscreen. They looked so good! The perfect balance between creepy and cute. They all had great moments showing both how they are just both kids stuck in children’s entertainment animatronics, and also animatronics needing to kill people for Afton.

Speaking of which, my BIGEST complaint about afton was that he wasn’t in the movie enough. He had a total of I think ten minuets of screen time, and that’s only five from the beginning and five at the end. But still, he was exceptionally off putting every time he was onscreen. Mathew did an excellent job at that.

The fucking matpat cameo though. Oh my god that was fucking hilarious. Him just being a waiter in a diner was the best fucking way they could’ve put him in without just being that crazy guyTM. And the fact he literally says “that’s just a theory” my god. ALSO THERE WAS FETCH! THE MOST FAMOUS FUCKING FNAF ROUMOR EVER!

The ending was great, and the perfect sendoff. The kids finally realizing that Afton was the guy who killed them. And the fact that they made the spring locks of his suit go off. And then watching the kids drag him away from the main floor was bone chilling. And at the very end seeing the kid in the golden Freddy suit stare at Afton as he’s bleeding out, always inches from death but he’s not letting him die, then shut the door as Afton quietly reaches his hand out to him, that was my favourite moment of the entire movie. And of course there was the famous line “I always come back.”

[indianariesolive]

My Unpopular(ish) opinions/takes on Legacy of the Gods series by Rina Kent

Contains spoilers ⚠️

Starting off strong, let me just get this off my chest, I really dislike God of Malice. This is mainly due to the insufferable MCs; Killian & Glyndon.

First of all, I found Killian really difficult to empathize with. Sure, what his dad said about regretting having him sucks but that's no excuse to be an a$$hole. I'm sure that if a mid/ugly guy with no money & prestige did the same things he'd done when first meeting Glyndon (iykyk) they'd be mercilessly ripped apart by the fandom. Also that one line in his POV when he said that the main reason why he chose to be a med student was because that gave him a free pass to poke & prod into people's innards & watch them squirm in agony 🤢

Coming to the 2nd part, Glyndon. As a protagonist she was such a blank slate. Killian at least had personality! (A bad one but he had one nonetheless). Same can't be said about Glyndon with her wimpiness coupled with an absurd inferiority complex (despite being talented & surrounded by a powerful & loving family & friends) as well as her lack of a deep connection with her friend group. On a more serious note, I despise the absolute double standards with which she views Killian & her brother Landon. Both are clinically diagnosed psychopaths but she has none of the grace & understanding for her own brother but readily excuses her boyfriend's behavior even though both of them are the same person, different font. 🙄

Moving on to the 2nd book, God of Pain is one of my favorites in the series but not without its fair share of drawbacks. Even though Annika appeared to be a manic pixie dream girl at the beginning she grew on me as chapter by chapter, her POVs revealed her to be more complex & headstrong, contrasting the whimsical image she's perceived as (both by her love interest, the MMC Creighton as well as the other characters like her friends & family). She's a sweet, soft girl with a dormant badass side that can get dangerous when provoked & that's precisely what Creighton had to learn through the hard way.

Getting to the gist of my main problem, I really hated the way everyone treated Annika after the you-know-what. I mean, what else was she supposed to do, watch her beloved brother get murdered by the love of her life? Everyone cut her off 'cause 'she hurt Cray-Cray who's like our brother'. Well, SHE HAD TO DO THAT TO SAVE HER OWN BROTHER, YOU ABSOLUTE DUMBASSES!!!! Y'all brains weren't braining here. Also, that scene near the end where there's this huge confrontation Creighton has with Adrian Volkov & Annika with her quick thinking just snatches a guard's gun, negotiates & diffuses the situation without bloodshed was just chef's kiss. 😌

Also, everyone gushes over Lia & Yan's friendship but Yan's bond with Annika, how he plays the role of the fun uncle while Adrian glares & has to rein them in as the level-headed dad. 🥺

That brings me to this sidenote: Glyndon could take a page out of Annika's book & learn a lesson: How to Love Your Brother & Stand Up for Yourself.

Regarding Jeremy & Cecily, I don't have any major complaints. I like how Cecily put Jeremy in his place & made him grovel for disrespecting her with his trust issues. Putting his mommy issues aside, Jeremy was overall a good character for a dark romance. He's got the hot biker thing going.

Moving on to Landon & Mia. I have nothing against Mia per se. She's pretty cool. I only hated how the author ruined her bond with her twin Maya. Also, I'm kind of ashamed to say that I wasn't the biggest fan of Landon at first but then going through his POVs made me realize that I'd been bought into the anti-Lan propaganda by Glyndon. He actually cares for his siblings, unlike Killian. He just has an unconventional way of showing it. Plus there wasn't a huge power-gap/imbalance between him & Mia so that's another point in his favour.

Last but not the least, God of Fury featuring Nikolai & Brandon has got to be among my top favorites. I only dislike the unnecessary mud-slinging with the irrelevant ex Clara. Everything else was perfection. I never expected Nikolai to be such an adorable & funny character. Also something I find really funny was that both in this book as well as in her POV, Glyndon claimed to be the one closest to Brandon. The way she described her dynamic with her brothers was, "Bran & I are a team against Lan." And not only did Brandon shut her down in a gentle yet firm tone, also her dense arse never noticed anything wrong with Brandon like!?!?! Landon was the one who'd picked on Brandon's tendency to hide & repress his emotions & stuff, and he was the one who'd tried to help Brandon open up, even if his attempt was unsuccessful. So much for her being the one on the same team lol.

[aotopmha]

I have finished Dawntrail!

I will have a spoiler-free post (this one) and a spoiler-y post (probably one of my following ones) of my very general thoughts.

If there's a wish to avoid even this kind of post, then the warning is here.

For spoiler-free impressions, I will say that I did notice a bigger inconsistency in terms of the voice work.

The final boss had straight-up flat delivery that didn't exist in most cutscenes for ALL voice actors.

Everyone is also mostly fine when talking normally, but when yelling or stronger feelings are needed, especially the newest actors feel strangely off.

Wuk sounded absolutely fine and consistent in 6.55, but there were points where she just sounded really flat in the actual expansion.

I'm also in the camp that the credits theme sounded off. The chorus was fine (and the same track was completely fine when used in a couple of other cutscenes), but the main vocalist sounded really off. It took me out of what was otherwise a very solid final stretch of story. And the singer has done some great stuff before!

It's all really odd and I didn't think I would have these complaints ever again after A Realm Reborn because the voice work since then has ranged from good to amazing.

I'm really curious about what's going on behind the scenes.

FF14's vocal tracks have been weak at points to me, but not once have I felt a vocalist sounded absolutely awful.

Otherwise this expansion is up there in terms of the soundtrack, might be my favourite so far. Incredibly strong all the way through aside from the vocalist in this single track.

The graphics update has done wonders to endear me to the world and this will be the first expansion I will absolutely max out the FATEs for perhaps even just this reason alone. It's a miracle how much more strongly you can sell a world with better lighting and just a little bit more object density.

The content itself is also absolutely fantastic - if the story really bores you, I at least recommend skipping through it to do the dungeons and trials and maybe go back for the story via New Game+. The encounter design is refreshing, from a whole bunch of new mechanics to more interesting fodder enemy usage.

The class changes, while feeling relatively minor have felt like really good smoothing out of awkward elements.

I especially feel this with Dragoon, and as much as I miss Plunge, Dark Knight's new ability animations alone go a long way to add to that smoother feel, as well.

i also adore Viper, which I think is my favourite melee out of the ones I've played. Simple, but speedy and satisfying to play.

I will absolutely still remain a DRK main in a general sense, though.

Will be running dungeons to get everyone along all of the game.

Finally, I think the story came together really nicely by the end, with some interesting threads left behind.

It is much more simple than Shadowbringers and Endwalker, but I think it was still effective. As I've said in previous posts, it's just really thematically strong and followed that strength right to the end, even if I have varied opinions on all of the characters.

In terms of immediate impressions, content-wise (dungeons and trials in particular), as far as base expansions go, I'd place it above ARR, Heavensward and probably Endwalker (Endwalker's solo duties rocked and narrative and gameplay integration is still unmatched, but the encounter design itself isn't as distinct).

Story-wise I'd probably place it above A Realm Reborn and Stormblood because it has a similar spirit of exploration with much better pacing within its individual areas. Every time I felt the story started dragging in its own ecosystem, it moved on and the answers by the end were satisfying and made sense while ARR and StB actually didn't have that many mysteries to even think about, so had much less impetus to at least seek those out.

It had no Labyrinthos, Ruby Sea, Moogle quest or Mt. Gulg setup. But it wasn't as complex in terms of character writing as Endwalker, Shadowbringers and to some extent even Heavensward and Stormblood.

Though, as said, this is only speaking in terms of the base expansions, the only comparison I can make. Because the patch content did amazing narrative things for both Heavensward and Stormblood in particular in my eyes.

(I actually have no idea what to expect from the Dawntrail patches. Which is, once more, both super exciting and scary because the threads left behind are pretty much a complete mystery.)

So in a general sense, I'm an early Dawntrail defender. I enjoyed it a lot. It truly felt special as my very first on-content expansion, too.

Now on to the optional dungeons!

(Have heard some great impressons on them!)

[nikibogwater]

Niki Blethers: Echoes of Wisdom gameplay (spoiler free)

I've only been posting about EoW's story/characters/aesthetic so far. I think it's time to gush about the gameplay itself for a while. Honestly, I would've done this sooner, but I've had the hardest time finding the words to describe just how GOOD this game feels when you're playing it. Like the title says, there's no spoilers in here, just discussion of raw gameplay, but I've gone ahead and put most of it under the cut to avoid clogging everyone's dashes.

First thing I noticed right off the bat is the movement and controls. I don't know what voodoo witchcraft the devs used to make this, but just moving around in the world feels so silky smooth. Which is excellent, because it turns out a surprising chunk of the gameplay involves rudimentary platforming.

You can jump in this game. Just, right off the bat, no items required, that's a thing you can do. And it's not like Link's little hops in Breath of the Wild either. These are proper jumps.

Outside of combat (which I'll get to in a minute), you mainly use the Echoes to explore. Building bridges, getting up on high ledges--stuff like that. There's no weird collision or confusing perspective that makes placing Echoes difficult. When you move, you move in the way you actually WANT to, and when you interact with an object, it goes the way you'd expect. I know this shouldn't surprise me--this is Nintendo after all--but janky platforming is one of my pet peeves when it comes to gaming, so I deeply appreciate how polished EoW's is.

EoW draws a lot of inspiration from Breath of the Wild when it comes to puzzle-solving. Once again, there are multiple different solutions to any given challenge, and progress isn't locked behind acquiring specific pieces of equipment. But unlike BotW, EoW doesn't give you all the puzzle-solving mechanics you will ever need at the start of the game. Instead, it merely provides you with the means to acquire those abilities for yourself.

Once you've made it through the tutorial section, you will only have a handful of basic object Echoes, plus a couple of weak monsters to help you fight. At this point, the world opens up for you, and you can go just about anywhere you want (though the story can only be progressed by completing Main Quest objectives, which are a bit more linear than they were in BotW). There's a real incentive to explore Hyrule here, because discovering new objects and creatures is the only way to expand your arsenal of Echoes.

Case in point, I've mostly just been focusing on the main quest storyline, and haven't spent as much time exploring all the different areas. As a result, I ended up finding myself encountering a puzzle in the main quest that I wasn't able to solve with my current collection of Echoes. I had to leave and go find new ones. If that sounds like a tedious backtracking nightmare to you, don't worry. This game is very generous with Waypoints that you can warp to at any time and from anywhere. Getting back to where I was after I'd found the Echo I needed took roughly 30 seconds.

Now, while I love the Echoes as a gameplay mechanic, they are also the source of my one and only complaint with this game: namely, the inventory system. Throughout the game, you will inevitably collect dozens, if not more than a hundred individual Echoes to choose from, and finding the specific one you want quickly becomes a chore after a few hours of gameplay. I've said this in another post, but Nintendo really needs to figure out a way to give us a customizable quick-select function--some way to equip just a handful of Echoes to a scroll wheel so that you don't have to bring up the pause menu to avoid cycling through your entire collection of Echoes. Coincidentally, this was also my biggest complaint for Tears of the Kingdom. I guess someone over at Nintendo just really enjoys scrolling through long lists of items. Anyways, it's not a huge issue, it's just one of those annoying things that feels like it should've been ironed out at some point during beta testing.

While EoW feels very comfortably Zelda-ish in all other aspects, the combat is radically different from what series fans are used to. I think that more than anything is going to be what makes or breaks this game for people.

Outside of Swordfighter Mode (which I will also get to in a minute), Zelda cannot do any direct damage to enemies by herself. If a monster gets close enough to hit you, you don't have any immediate defense or counter-attacks. This means that every encounter with an enemy has to be approached from a small distance. You have to think about how you're going to defeat enemies before you actually fight them, otherwise you will get overwhelmed.

While you are given plenty of objects to hurl at your foes, a lot of the combat will be fought by your own monster Echoes. There's a large variety of creatures to collect Echoes of, and they all have different abilities and fighting styles, which means certain monsters will fare better against one kind than another. But the game doesn't tell you about any of those advantageous monster match-ups. You have to figure those out for yourself.

Creature Echoes can be directed to attack anything you're currently Z-targeting, or they can be let loose to attack according to the whims of their AI. Echoes can also be directly moved around with the Bind ability, which is handy for repositioning any monsters who might've gotten stuck on some terrain or what have you.

You have a limited amount of energy to spend on Echoes, which means you can only have so many out at once. That energy is immediately replenished once an Echo is defeated or recalled, which allows for some pretty hectic swapping strategies that are a lot of fun to pull off. Individual Echoes have their own energy costs, based on how strong they are. So you can't just sic 3 copies of the same mini-boss on every Moblin who is unfortunate enough to cross you.

The best way I can sum it up is that the combat is like a turn-based strategy game set in real time. And as someone who has played an ungodly number of hours of Fire Emblem, I really enjoy it. I downright revel in strategically summoning minions to fight for me (my favorite attack is spawning in a bunch of crows like a malevolent little witch). However, if you're someone who prefers the more direct style of fighting from past Zelda games, this might end up being a deal-breaker for you.

Swordfighter Form is your other major weapon in combat. For a limited amount of time, Zelda can assume Link's abilities and weapons, allowing her to attack enemies directly and do a lot of damage in a short amount of time. But since this ability has limited duration, and the energy guage has to be manually refilled by collecting a specific item, it cannot be your go-to default way of handling every fight. Swordfighter Form can be upgraded as you progress through the game, allowing you to extend its duration and increase its moveset and damage output. But it's always going to be something that you use sparingly, mostly just to get yourself out of overwhelming combat scenarios.

So yeah, I think that just about covers the major gameplay mechanics. In conclusion, Echoes of Wisdom is not only its super cute aesthetic, banger soundtrack, and engaging story. Ignoring all of the more superficial stuff, at its core, this is a really good game, that feels really good to experience. If you've enjoyed any of the past 2D Zelda titles, or even just want to see what all the fuss is about, I genuinely cannot recommend this game enough. Regardless of its differences in presentation, Echoes of Wisdom was made with the same level of care and craftsmanship as any of the other entries in the Zelda series, and I've adored every moment of it so far.

[carnelianwings]

Went and saw Gundam Seed Freedom in theatre last night, I have so many thoughts about it (as you'd expect for a long time fan - I've been waiting for this movie ever since they announced it), there will be spoilers behind the cut, but the spoiler free highlights:

This movie is everything I ever wanted out of a Gundam Seed movie - the characters, the mecha, the OST, the cast, everything. It is as much a continuation of Cosmic Era as it is a celebration of Cosmic Era at its best, there's so much love put into this movie I can genuinely say I enjoyed every minute of it from the beginning to the end. My one and only nitpick is that they recasted Cagalli, but Mori Nanako does a fantastic job, so much so I don't have anything negative to say about her performance. (More on this behind the cut below, as I will delve into spoilers.)

Story pacing was actually really good here, in that there's no true retread/recap of both Seed and Seed Destiny. The movie assumes you've seen both, and while you could arguably get away with a cliff's notes version of Seed Destiny (even I know how much of a Base Breaker it is from watching it as it aired in Japan), if you sat through it you're rewarded between the shout outs and extra emotional impact from some of the scenes. There's a few brief clips of flashbacks to the prior series, but to me they feel like they're providing context (as you don't get to hear the characters' inner thoughts the same way you would out of a manga or a novel of the same story).

The animation just looked so good on the big screen, even the CGI used for the Gundams (like they've been doing in the newer Gundam series) looked fantastic. So smooth, no stock footage, you can tell where they made obvious homage shots to the original, but they're clearly redone for the movie. It was a feast for the eyes, in more ways than one.

The OST is fantastic, the way Sahashi wove the various melodies from songs past and present were a delight to the ears. I particularly love how he kept using various melody lines from Shizuka na Yoru ni as a way to musically reflect Lacus's journey and arc through the movie - just a line or two of the main melody, sometimes shifted into minor key, sometimes intertwined with another character's theme (usually whoever she's interacting with at that moment). There's also some glorious reprisals from both Seed and Seed Destiny, all rearranged to give it a grander, more spectacular sound to match the on-screen spectacle. Definitely one of Sahashi's best works, and I'm really happy they brought him back for it. Also, if at all possible - don't listen to the OST before seeing the movie. It will spoil key moments for the final battle, especially if you know which themes are used where.

Now, onto spoiler territory.

First and foremost, I really feel like Seed Freedom manages to redeem Seed Destiny as a whole. My biggest complaint in Seed Destiny is and always has been that Shinn's redemption happens in 5 minutes in an epilogue that was added on in an extended cut - I loved the idea and potential of Shinn as something of a Villain Protagonist early on, and even as we watched him spiral further and further into his grief and anger throughout Seed Destiny, the fact we never got to see what redemption and atonement meant for him was something of a sore point. One of the things I love is a good redemption arc, where the character learns from mistakes they made and improves themselves as a person, as an individual, and we finally get to see that here in Seed Freedom.

Shinn finally gets to do what he really wanted to when he enrolled into the academy, and under Kira's command he shines. For a character that was so heavily defined by his grief and anger for 50 episodes, he's done a 180 here, putting in the work and effort to turn his life around - we get more scenes of him smiling and eagerly working to help Kira as part of the team in COMPASS than angrily scowling or yelling at someone. He's finally found someone he can look up to and work towards being; it's clear he looks up to Kira as something of a role model, both as a goal and commanding officer, and has been rewarded accordingly as the pilot of the Immortal Justice. He's a lot calmer now, long gone are his days fighting for glory on the battlefield, he puts a priority on COMPASS's main mission of intervention and protecting civilians (so much so he'll voluntarily use Immortal Justice's shield to protect them over keeping it to defend himself). But it's not to say his past is completely forgotten or even retconned away - he gets called the Freedom Killer multiple times here (largely as a way to get at Kira too) and while Shinn never denies having been that person, his reaction shows he treats it as Old Shame, something he did but is no longer proud of.

And the true pay off to his arc comes in the end, when he gets reunited with the Destiny thanks to Cagalli upgrading it to the Spec II in the final stretch of the movie. He greets it like someone would greet an old friend, proudly and triumphantly launching this time to the fanfare of Seed Destiny's next episode preview bgm - it's hands down Shinn at his most heroic, and it's a moment he's earned. He's finally become the person he wanted to be at the beginning of Seed Destiny, before he let his grief and anger cloud his mind, before he was manipulated by Durandal. And in the end, his journey through the darkness that was his time under Durandal's command become his strength, granting him a spectacular flawless victory over the Black Knights achieved through his own skills - Stella protects him from the Black Knights' Mind Control, and his instinctual berserker Seed Mode keeps them from reading his mind to predict his moves. It's after all the trials and pain he went through that he comes out at his absolute best, and the Seed Freedom version of Shinn is hands down the best version of him.

Character development aside, it's genuinely heartwarming to see a character that was so narrowly defined by his grief and anger to be the one who brings a lot of the light and levity in what's otherwise a fairly heavy movie. Seeing him as a Big Eater during the ball at Foundation, his entire reunion with Lunamaria after she thought he'd been KIA'ed in the joint operation on the Blue Cosmos base, him getting hit by both Kira and Athrun during their brawl (with neither of them noticing ^^;;) - he's come so far since his Seed Destiny days he's (and I can't believe I'm actually saying this) one of the major highlights of the movie. And then there's his smile at the end when Kira finally relies on him and his cheerful response.

And of course, I can't talk about Shinn without mentioning Lunamaria - they've both come a long way from their days at the ZAFT military academy (if you go off the prequel novel Moonlight Valkyrie) and even from their time on board the Minerva. You can tell there's genuine love and affection between them, mutually supporting each other both on and off the battlefield, between them sharing a room onboard the Millennium and the energy transfer moment between the Impulse and Destiny. There's even a clear moment of redemption for Lunamaria's shooting skills when she shoots down a tactical nuke in her Gelgoog. And while she's definitely not one of the main focus characters in the movie, she still gets her moment of triumph, launching in the Impulse once more after Shinn's Destiny. Even though she's relegated to the Designated Chick Fight, it's a moment of personal triumph for her - she's grown as a person since her academy days, her time on the Minerva and with Shinn and Rey has changed her, and she's a better person for it. Even her time pursuing Athrun (even though he doesn't return her affection at all) comes back as a Meaningful Echo in how she ultimately deals with Agnes. Instead of choosing to kill Agnes in her GYAN, Lunamaria does something of a "pay it forward", disabling the GYAN and returning to pick her up from the moon after the fighting is over. Like Shinn, it's clear Lunamaria's in a better place than she was during the finale of Seed Destiny, and she also gets to join in on some of the lighter moments of the movie next to Shinn.

Onto Kira (because I'm saving my favorites for last), who is most definitely the main focus of the movie, along with Lacus and his relationship with her. Is his story arc a rehash of Seed? In many ways yes, and in so many ways, no. On a surface level, sure - we once again have Kira trying to shoulder the entire burden of the team on himself, of trying to do everything without relying on anyone else, of pushing himself to his limits, and as icing on the retread cake, we're even treated to a CV Kuwashima Houko girl (Agnes) trying to get his attention and affections. And that's about where it ends, because Agnes' motivations are vastly different from Flay's, Kira's circumstances this time around are entirely different from when he was in Seed - this is more about Kira realizing he really doesn't have to shoulder everything by himself, that even if Lacus is a non-combatant, she's there to walk next to him side by side, that Lacus's love for him is completely different from Flay's (initial) love for him. For Kira, it's The Power of Love while also echoing Seed's earlier themes of how easy it is to fall into old habits and make the same mistakes again. It's about Kira finally breaking past his remaining trauma with his relationship with Flay - he finally realizes that Lacus wants to be with him for him, that she never expected him to hand her everything she wanted on a silver platter, that she's willing and ready to work and walk with him to their final goal and destination, wherever that may take them. His relationship with Lacus was never a transactional one like it was with Flay - even if Flay genuinely grew to love Kira in the end, her true feelings for him never managed to reach him before she dies. And in the end, once he realizes what he has with Lacus, once he gets a chance to talk to her and clear the air, he's rewarded with a shiny new upgrade to the Strike Freedom, Lacus voluntarily joining him in the battlefield, and of course, that ending on the beach.

As for the whole "Is Kira Yamato a failure because he was a failed Accord or just Orphee insisting that he is superior to even Coordinators as an Accord" debate, ultimately it doesn't matter (at least in terms of Kira's arc - on a meta level, yes I absolutely want to know lol). He's got the one thing Orphee will never have (Lacus's love) and with that behind him he can overcome anything.

Honestly, if this is where we end Kira's story, where he gets to go off into the sunset with Lacus, to live quietly in the middle of nowhere (or even return to Marshall Islands to stay with Reverend Malchio) where he doesn't have to fight anymore, where he can just spend his days with Lacus until there's some world-ending reason to step back into the cockpit, I'm good with that. Kira never wanted to be a mobile suit pilot to begin with, he only ever did it to defend the people he cares about, and if this is where we part ways with him, because in learning to rely on other people, he also realizes he can hand things off to Cagalli, Athrun, and Shinn (and by extension, Lunamaria), I'm good with that. (I'll get to Cagalli and Athrun after Lacus, I want to save my favorites for last lol)

Lacus always came off as a little too perfect, a little too good with her words, and with a Seed Mode that ... didn't activate like your traditional Seed Mode (for one thing, she never gets the Seed burst animation on screen when she goes into it; she almost always monologues her way in). And I have to say it was satisfying to see that crack some more this time around, where her decisions are a bit more questionable, where she's finally having to deal with some of the consequences of her actions (and by extension Kira's as he answers to her and only her within COMPASS). But ultimately in the end, she's still the same Lacus as ever - Silk Hiding (nerves of) Steel, steadfast in her love and support for Kira, something that nothing can change, not even meeting her genetically destined partner in Orphee. And yes, while even she gets in on the action this time, quite literally delivering the Proud Defender to Strike Freedom to upgrade it into the Mighty Strike Freedom, I don't really have much to say about her.

I will say this though (because it gets very indirectly touched on by Athrun) - if Lacus hadn't fallen in love with Kira, and had continued with her engagement to Athrun as set up by their parents, would she have gone with Orphee? Would that alone have changed events enough so that Athrun might've been conveniently KIA'ed so Orphee would've been able to sweep in?

Now, onto my personal favorites (and complete show stealers this time around): Athrun and Cagalli.

Where do I even begin? Athrun being a Big Damn Hero for Kira not once, but twice? Cagalli taking over Lacus's role for being Crazy Prepared, Bearer of (Gundam) Gifts this time around?? The complete insanity that is the Z'Gok hiding the Infinite Justice Type II??? The (remote) Battle Couple fight????

Cagalli's just pure Crazy Prepared this time. She's learned from the painful lessons of the past 4 years, ensuring there's a plan in place to get her people to safety, immediately issuing evacuation orders for the civilians to avoid direct orbital laser bombardment from Requiem. She's made peace with the fact that sometimes, you really do just need to hop into a Gundam to get shit done, so she's seen to it that the Gundams for the top COMPASS pilots are available should they ever need it. She's the one who came up with COMPASS in the first place, providing some much-needed legitimacy for what Kira and Lacus want to do. She's also very clearly been training with Athrun for mobile suit training - where she once Could Not Keep Up, she's able to seamlessly pilot the Infinite Justice Mark II remotely, a less advanced unit than Shura's Shi-ve.A, without Shura ever realizing it was someone else piloting it. She's back as the Goddess of Victory, now older and wiser and all the better for it.

For all that she hardly showed up on screen, her presence was felt everywhere, most especially whenever Athrun's on screen. Really, I wouldn't even be surprised if the next time we see Orb get threatened by Orbital (Laser) Bombardment, she tells her people to get inside to safety before turning on a shield to protect the cities and then taking the field again.

And as for Athrun - it makes sense he didn't join COMPASS, even though the fact he has a custom COMPASS pilot suit and the Immortal Justice was clearly designed with him in mind. He's found his place in Orb, staying by Cagalli's side as her personal knight. He's even got his own custom suit with the Z'Gok-hiding-the-Infinite-Justice-Mark-II - he's got everything he could ask for while still being able to do his part to maintain peace. And in a double redemption moment - Athrun's the first one to throw the punch this time when Kira starts wallowing in his self doubt and lets his insecurities get the better of him, repaying the favor Kira did back in Seed Destiny when he, well, Saviour'ed the Saviour. Athrun's the one to remind Kira that as a close friend of Lacus's that her actions this time don't sound like the Lacus that he knows, and this time (unlike when he did something similar with Shinn) it works and gets Kira back on track. Poor Shinn - he thinks Athrun's about to do the same thing to Kira that Athrun did to him during his time on the Minerva, but while Shinn's not entirely wrong, he's also misreading the room a bit, not realizing this is a "They're really good friends, and sometimes they just gotta throw some punches to work shit out" moment.

Because in overcoming everything that happened in Seed Destiny, Athrun and Cagalli have finally grown into the people they both want to be. They've found their way, fighting for what they both believe in. Their time apart in Seed Destiny forced them both grow as individuals, so that when we get to see them working together again it's in perfect sync. In so many ways, Athrun and Cagalli (and not Kira and Lacus) are the ideal the Cosmic Era wants to push - two people working together side by side, regardless of genetics, as partners and equals. The dream of Coordinators and Naturals, living and working side by side in harmony - that's them. And ultimately, it is what they do that brings the heroes victory and lets everyone fly off into the (metaphorical) sunset together. They played the long gambit - creating COMPASS (giving Shinn and Lunamaria a means to atone for the things they did, giving Lacus and Kira a legitimate way to stop skirmishes), upgrading the Gundams, being there for their friends and allies when they needed it (Athrun literally knocking sense back into Kira, Cagalli coming in with the equipment upgrades) - all while keeping their priorities in order (first the civilians, then reequipping allies, and then finally going into combat together to take down Shura), and it all pays off in the end.

Really, is it any wonder, then, when Shura tries to read Athrun's mind in the final battle he's just thinking of hot (naked) Cagalli?

[j3scax]

My Spoiler Free Review of the Fallout Show:

Biggest, sloppiest, awesomest recommend of my life, solid 9/10.

The show’s tone was absolutely perfect, nailing the feel, tone, attitude and comedy of the fallout games, as well as understanding the atmosphere needed to give the impression of a post-apocalyptic world. One complaint I have with a lot of post-apocalyptic shows is that it doesn’t feel like the world has been fucked over, but in Fallout it really gives the impression that 200 years have passed of not a single bit of true human development on the surface of the planet.

The show’s writing can be a bit iffy in some places such as certain plot points earlier on and some lines, but in all honesty it’s all around a completely solid: plot, story and script, while also not being afraid to add to the Fallout universe and lore. The characters are interesting, intriguing and genuinely enjoyable save for one, but even then he’s still written well and an enjoyable character, despite being weaker than the other main characters.

It isn’t perfect though! And I really don’t expect it to. The CGI can be a bit, euhhh in some places, but it isn’t immersion breaking in my opinion. I am slightly disappointed certain things from the Fallout universe didn’t see representation within the show, but to be honest I think it’s really forgivable as every other aspect brought in from Fallout is done perfectly. The world itself is done perfectly, with all environments again given a feel that actually looks like and feels like the environments of the game in person. The Vault, Wasteland and other Settlements are done absolutely perfectly, and genuinely look like how I’d picture them in my head. Genuinely one of the best adapted universes to digital screens.

As for the people saying the show is only there to just decanonise the non-Bethesda Fallout games - a sentiment that has been shot down by the creative leads of the Fallout Franchise themselves - the show definitely does not do this. And it’s clear that the next season of the show will definitely focus on non-Bethesda projects, and people do need to remember this is a Bethesda show, as well as the Bethesda games - unfortunately - being more well known than non-Bethesda Fallout projects, save for New Vegas. But even then, things are pulled from non-Bethesda projects, and considering the ending, there isn’t anything to worry about in terms of decanonisation. I personally, as a long time fan of most Fallout games (I’m still iffy on 76), see this show as a beautiful love letter to the game series that I’ve enjoyed since I was 7. I grew up on the original Fallout and Fallout 2, as well as played the hell out of New Vegas, and think that these games didn’t get as much love as they should have in Fallout 3 and 4, but this tv show really makes me think that Bethesda is showing that they care about these games too, and I have faith that they will be shown in future seasons as perfectly as they have in this season.

Honestly, if you love Fallout, please watch it! If you know nothing about Fallout? Watch it anyway! Some references and such may not be as impactful to you, but I feel it has a story and plot that can be enjoyed by anyone.

Oh yeah and all the characters are hot.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey, may I ask what you thought of how they dealt with Rollo in the end? I heard that he doesn't really get punished and I'm confused about why that is since he posed such a threat to all of Twst Wndrlnd

I’ve actually received several similar asks about this matter, so I’d like to analyze the ending here. (This is coming out a few months after the event because I kept going back to add thoughts and revise large parts of this post.)

I’ll look at some of the common points brought up as to why some felt that the conclusion was not satisfying, then give my thoughts on them and discuss Rollo’s fate in detail.

***Spoilers ahead!!***

Mmm, I feel like I’ve seen similar complaints (about how the main conflict was resolved) floating around in the fandom. I’ve seen a number of fans express upset with this conclusion, most often citing that “Rollo got off too easy” and “his punishment should have been worse”. Some people have even stated they wanted Rollo arrested and/or extreme physical violence to be enacted on him (Malleus killing Rollo and/or the NRC boys beating him up badly).

Firstly, this is nothing new for how TWST typically deals with resolutions of massive conflicts and characters with deep trauma. Every single one of the OB boys also got let off relatively scot-free despite also putting others in grave danger. From a meta perspective, this makes sense. TWST has always been and always will be a game that asks us to empathize with villains, to show us that behind every evil, there is a chance to be good--and by offering them the chance to repent and to reflect, they can rehabilitate on their own terms.

I feel that a lot of this demand for “more” in Rollo’s case stems from a fundamental difference between him and the OB boys (who are also largely forgiven and let off with a slap on the wrist for their actions). This, of course, is that Rollo’s plans were far greater in scale and had immediate consequences on a larger population than any OB would. By all metrics, Rollo has done “worse”, and thus should warrant a “worse” punishment than being forced to play in a Magift tournament or being forced to perform onstage after taking substantial damage (ie as were the cases for Leona, Vil, etc.) in the eyes of some fans.

While I do agree that what Rollo did was deplorable and that he got off lightly compared to the gravity of his crimes, I don’t think that he deserves “more” of a punishment, and certainly not anything close to physical harm. Like... realistically, what would inflicting physical harm onto Rollo do for anyone? Catharsis? That’s but a temporary emotional release for the ones inflicting the pain, and it ultimately doesn’t do anything meaningful. That’s just an “easy” solution that doesn’t actually solve the core problem. If Rollo is kicked while he’s down, won’t that just make him double down on his ideals? And if he gets slain, that’s just an “easy” way out so the NRC students don’t actually have to deal with others of dubious morals existing in their world. Their group includes several people who were shown mercy at their worst moments (Riddle, Jamil, Azul, Idia), and to refuse Rollo the same would make them massive hypocrites.

Violence aside, there’s also significant disappointment that Rollo’s actions are being kept a secret, so that the public cannot hold him accountable for what he has done. The very minimum some fans wanted was for the City of Flowers locals and/or NBC students to become aware of Rollo’s true nature, and thus turn on him for it. This is very similar to Vil’s OB in episode 5, when he comes close to revealing his unsightly self to the public and risks tarnishing his public image. Again, I feel that Rollo isn’t extended the same courtesy because of the scale of his ambitions, but also because he doesn’t automatically express remorse for what he did (whereas Vil apologizes so many times over). What we need to keep in mind is that characters are different from one another, so what is seen as awful and world-ending is not the same for one character as it is to another. In my opinion, THIS is what makes the conclusion to Glorious Masquerade so fitting.

I want to point out here that in choosing to not expose Rollo or to beat up/kill him, it doesn’t mean the NRC boys entirely forgive him or that they aren’t holding him accountable for his actions. They call Rollo out several times throughout the climax and falling action, telling him how deplorable he is and how he’s endangering so many lives in the process of pursuing his “justice”. How they ultimately choose to deal with him is an extension of that, but it doesn’t involve needless violence.

Rollo’s punishment is a personalized hell in HIS eyes, even if we, the audience, don’t see it that way and call for “more” justice. Just because his punishment isn’t immediately tangible or isn’t recognized by a large population doesn’t make it any less of one, and this shouldn’t be underestimated. To “punish” does not necessarily mean its easy to see, it just means that it is substantially punishing to the one receiving it. That alone is enough, and it is something that is acknowledged by both the NRC boys and Rollo himself.

After Rollo is defeated, he knows that he will inevitably receive the consequences for what he has done. He tells the NRC boys to punish him, take him to the authorities, to basically do whatever they see fit to him, and he will accept it without resistance. Rollo expects ruthlessness, that he will not be granted any sort of forgiveness. Why is that? Because Rollo is ruthless with himself, and he expects the world and the other people in it to act no differently towards him. It’s not that Rollo has automatically realized the error of his ways, but that he is, as his mob students describe him, “hard on others and hard on himself”. Rollo has ultimately failed to accomplish his goal, and he believes he must be punished for this failure.

But, much to Rollo’s surprise, that isn’t what he gets. Malleus and co. lead him down the bell tower, and when they run into NBC’s vice president and student council aide, they show that they were worried for him. Rollo tries to explain to what happened to them. However, Malleus cuts him off and claims that they don’t know how the crimson flowers even started growing and overtaking the school and the city to begin with. Idia and Azul chime in, giving vague details like that Rollo was already up the bell tower before they were, and they allow the NBC mob students to make their own assumptions about what happened. Because the mob students revere Rollo so much, they come to the conclusion that he was a selfless hero and worked with the NRC students to save the day, then praise him for his heroism and emphasize just how proud they are of him. They even say Rollo is like the Just Judge of legend, someone that we know Rollo admires.

And the twisted thing about all of this is that the NRC boys just purposefully never bother correcting them. At this point, neither can Rollo. The mobs have piled on so much praise, have expressed so much concern for their president's safety, so how would they feel to have all of that hope and happiness come crashing down on them? What would happen if those feelings turned into betrayal and hurt? It is these types of questions that speaks to the true gravity of Rollo's "punishment".

He at first accuses the NRC boys of hiding the truth because they pity him, and he's insulted by the perceived pity. However, as Azul explains, it is not pity. Malleus and the others will allow Rollo to confess to his sins or pretend like nothing happened. In fact, it is the perfect punishment for someone like Rollo, someone who is so hard on themselves and cannot come to terms with the truth of his own insecurities. Rollo doesn't seem to realize it right away, so he instead grows cocky and says it's basically the same as him being absolved. On the contrary, as Malleus points out, while lying to himself will make it easier for him to deceive others, Rollo cannot lie to the Bell of Salvation--a precious magical artifact which Rollo has been tending to for some time now, the one thing that watches over everything in the City of Flowers, and the object used by Rollo to sow cataclysm.

It is the bell's eyes which bring Rollo to his senses and makes him realize how insidious the NRC boys truly are. In leaving him to his own devices, knowing that the Bell knows the truth while others continue to praise him for what are ultimately lies will plague him with never-ending guilt and remorse. Even if Rollo doesn't automatically acknowledge those feelings, there will still always be an unconscious part of him that does--must like how there's a part of him that seeks salvation for others as an unspoken excuse to seek salvation for himself. He calls others monsters, but does not look in the mirror and see himself for the monster that he is. The problem with Rollo is that he deflects and blames others rather than accepting his share of the responsibility for tragedies, and so forcing him into a situation where he is forced to confront his role in committing great evil or live every day with that burden, is his own living hell. Rollo says it himself: the "villains" of NRC are well-versed in "tormenting" people.

Living on with the weight of his sins is literally a fate WORSE than death for Rollo specifically. He is someone who has had a history of internalizing guilt already (as is evident in his motivations and backstory), so this is where it will hurt him most. Rollo has to go around every day with full awareness of what he did, and knowing that if it were to ever get out, he’d likely be seen completely differently by his peers, maybe even become a social pariah. And that’s the point. In realizing that others will judge him differently when they know of his “true” self, Rollo has the chance to see his own rights as “wrong”. He is being left with himself and his festering thoughts, with his sin–something he can never, EVER be rid of. Every day, he will pass by the statue of the Just Judge, an admirable role model for justice, a figure whom others believe you live up to, knowing he has buried his own sins that the Judge would have wished eradicated. Every day, those intense feelings of guilt, shame, and regret will be with him, eating away at him, and Rollo will suffer immensely as a result. “There is nothing that would torment Flamme more than this, correct?” Malleus says. Rollo himself also acknowledges that this would make him suffer; both parties are confessing that this is the best course of recompense for Rollo.

This is a slightly different scenario than other serious situations kept hidden from the public, such as Jamil and Vil's Overblots. In those cases, their OBs were not kept secret in order to punish them, but rather to shield their families and/or the public from the knowledge that they had lost themselves. Unlike Jamil and Vil, Rollo ISN'T worried about how his actions may impact others, and he isn't remorseful or apologetic, because he still refuses to see he is wrong and refuses to change. When faced with this stubbornness, the NRC students have chosen to make him "look in a mirror" first. That is a process that will bring him great pain in the actual setting of the world and its story--but at the same time, it does a favor for the fans by offering Rollo a chance at redemption, much like the OB boys have.

From another angle, this is also the oddly kind thing to do in regards to those in Rollo’s life. No one has to suffer with the knowledge that their “golden boy” has committed a grave sin well, except that one gargoyle. They can keep living on in blissful ignorance... and thus put further strain on Rollo mentally, who will face his punishment ALONE, just as he did when lashing out at all magicians. This is something that Idia points out: that Rollo is allowed to be upset, that he is allowed to rampage, but that he shouldn’t hurt others or get them involved with his own rage. And now, like he did with his crimson flower plot, Rollo is alone in the aftermath.

In another way, this fate is a cool parallel because of Rollo being twisted from Frollo. If you watch the opening to the Hunchback of Notre Dame movie, Frollo comes close to killing baby Quasimodo because he is so repulsed by his deformed appearance. However, as another character points out to Frollo in that scene, he can never “hide from the eyes of Notre Dame”. This prompts Frollo to take notice of all of the statues surrounding him, their stone eyes staring and silently judging him. It is this that ultimately makes Frollo change his mind about killing Quasimodo, instead choosing to raise him as his own son and bellringer. In Rollo’s case, this is also true. In the NRC boys granting him his freedom and keeping his actions a secret, Rollo will never be able to escape “the eyes of Notre Dame”/the Bell of Salvation. Every person’s wide-eyed, innocent stare or respectful reverence cast upon Rollo will make him recognize he’s living a lie, and it will only intensify his guilt… and guilt, as we’ve already seen with how Rollo coped with the loss of his brother, can eat a man from the inside out.

“What [he] wants to save is not his brother or the world... but himself,” Idia states atop the bell tower--and by refusing this “salvation” to Rollo, who believed so desperately that he is not the villain of this story, he will never be liberated. And if he doesn’t believe with all his heart that everyone else are the villains and he is the hero, “he wouldn’t be able to live with himself”, as Azul puts it. It’s eternal damnation for Rollo—at the hands of his own inner demons. 

Later on in the event, we get little hints that maybe Rollo is starting to accept some responsibility for the chaos he has caused (albeit in very small ways), or at least he's conflicted about it. For example, he insists on preparing the venue for the masquerade all by himself, which the NRC boys debate if he's doing to atone or to save face and avoid asking the mages he despises for assistance. No matter the reasoning, the task must be difficult to complete by one person, especially considering Rollo's injuries. Would he allow himself to use magic for such a task?? If he doesn't permit himself this luxury, then it makes the preparations even harder--and yet he somehow still managed to pull it off. This subtly says a lot about how hard he works, but also speaks to his pride and stubbornness.

Rollo gives a speech to those in attendance at the masquerade to address the strange happenings of the night. This is something which Sebek calls out as audacious, as Rollo was the cause of those events to begin with. To this, Azul commends Rollo for his mental fortitude, pointing out that even though Rollo must be extremely conflicted inside, he is hiding the truth of the matter to the public very well. I imagine that these conflicted feelings only ramp up when the NRC boys, whom Rollo has perceived as villains the entirety of the event, present him with a gift that he calls wonderful: performing the Gentle Bell Ringer's song, and singing of hope for the future, something relatable and encouraging in the aftermath of a great disaster. He tries to insult it, calls it a waste of time--but in the end, he goes quiet, moved by the song in spite of himself.

It all culminates in Malleus--the embodiment of magic that Rollo despises--asking to share a dance with him, the one that sought his destruction. During their dance, Rollo swears that he has not given up yet, and that he will never see eye-to-eye with mages. He's still deeply ingrained in his own mindset--but as we've seen with how he reacted to the song and how the NRC boys disagree with how Rollo must be feeling in the moment, the seeds of conflict have been strewn in him. It will take some time before they take root and blossom, but the fact is that his punishment (and, subsequently, his change) has only just scarcely begun.

So ends the Glorious Masquerade, with Rollo sentenced to a fitting end. ***Note: One part of Rollo's punishment that isn't mentioned in a lot of discussions is that Trein has stated he will be in contact with the school board and keeping a close eye on Rollo; this detail is only supplemental to everything else, much like how the dorm members of the OB boys try to offer better social support after the OB incidents, but I thought I should also bring this up.***

[mdhwrites]

SpyxFamily Code White Spoiler Free Review: A Perfectly Balanced Cake

Spoiler free: This film is damn near perfect. If you wanted a showcase for pitching someone on the show, I don't know how much better you could really do. Every character gets tons of chances to shine for their usefulness in comedy, personality and action and in a way that I'd argue beats either of the action arcs of the show so far in giving everyone something to actually do. This even extends to the side characters though. No one gets a lot of time but everyone is utilized super well, leaning on their best elements and never their worst. Like I almost could not have asked for a better use of Yuri for this movie than what we got, that is how well the side characters are used.

If I had any actual complaints with the film, it's that once the action starts, it does struggle to get past a big issue I feel action movies have: Keeping up the emotional stakes and development during the action. This isn't to say there isn't characterization, there is SO MUCH CHARACTERIZATION during the second half still but that it ends up feeling more emotionally simple than the first half of the movie. That also however means that it's never getting in the way or forcing someone to be our true main character which is part of what allows all three members of the family to rock it as hard as they do in the second half.

And as for the new, original villains, I could see someone complaining that they feel one note or too pure evil but it's actually keeping in line with the show as a whole. The show knows that anyone who is actively trying to start a war threw away their humanity in order to get there. As such, the movie takes that mentality and goes "Yep, and so let's lean into just how fun we can make these villains," and I think they hit that mark dead on. Also, giving them more characterization and nuance would have again potentially disrupted the balance of time for the family. I remember plenty of Naruto movies and specials that spent so long on the new characters that there wasn't actually a point to all of Team 7 being there. It could have just been Naruto for how much the others do. That isn't the case here.

All of this makes for an incredibly sweet experience that is exactly what you'd want out of a SpyxFamily while having enough surprise fillings to make it so it's more than you might hope for. Truly, a slice of cake that will leave you Meremere

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[pink-strawberry-kissess]

my separate ways analysis  (spoilers for gameplay, story/plot, characters, aeon)

for my re4r post, click here (it was written without the knowledge of SW so my opinions there may not be the same as here.

gameplay

as many of us anticipated, the separate ways campaign ended up having a lot of the "cut content" from the main campaign

similarly to the original SW, the campaign is a lot shorter than the main one however it does have a few added scenes and similar style of gameplay where Ada runs faster or is faster than Leon and you're also able to travel throughout the map faster with the help of her hookshot

because of the changes between the main campaign and SW, the laser scene, which was given to Ada- which always made more sense stylistically and for her story as well

overall her chapters did seem a bit short, but I think it's this is due to the capacity of the game in general because you're going through the same locations as Leon but you're able to go through it faster so it only makes sense that you go through the areas faster

I do think that there should've been additional time spent in each location but I'm not exactly sure how they could've implemented this (but also with the new locations as a lot of ada's missions were easier than leon's)

ADA'S SOUNDTRACK FUCKING SLAPS SO FUCKING HARD

also WHY WERE ADA'S DEATH SCENES SO MUCH MORE INTENSE THAN LEON'S

ada's campaign is objectively way more fun than leon's

story/plot

what one the main changes from the original campaign and the remake one is the addition of Ada's infection

it made sense to me when we were first presented it in the trailer, however I feel like there was a lot of missed opportunities with her infection

because she ends up just throwing up the plaga after she defeats the "mother" one, all tension essentially is gone afterwards. Because this is so early in the campaign it feels like her infection doesn't really matter, and I guess it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things, as we know that she's going to get out of it at some point- but because it happened so early it just feels like there's no tension with this further along in the game

one of my main complaints is that in the main campaign, because we are viewing the mission through Leon's eyes, I think we were free to speculate that he is hallucinating at points during the game.

(this was a way to have potentially added the choking scene if he were hallucinating the entire thing and we wouldn't have seen it from his POV but we would have seen it from ada's.)

And because separate ways was always meant to be a mirror, an alternate side of the game- it would only make sense to have additional scenes that we wouldn't have seen in separate ways

I feel as though even though we did get additional scenes that are from Ada's perspective- they weren't really enough to supplement the amount of scenes that actually cut from in the original separate ways

especially because a lot of the main changes such as ada saving Leon from krauser which was changed to luis saving leon, instead

I still hold the opinion that a lot of scenes that were originally ada's in the original game and were given to luis- and I see a lot of arguments that "this isn't the case" but I find it funny that most of the arguments that I hear from people saying that luis didn't take Ada scenes- are funnily enough from luis stan's

(so i find this opinion to be fairly biased. there were absolutely scenes in original re4 and SW that are strictly ada's that were just given to luis instead. you can not argue away from this, this is just objectively true)

Circling back to Ada's infection, because it was gotten rid of so early on in the game. It removes any sort of tension for any sort of follow up with Ashley and Leon's infection.

many people, myself included along with several of the actors for re4r, have pointed out that in the main campaign when Ashley is miraculously able to lift Leon up onto the chair and cure his plagas- that it is not questioned and it is simply accepted as truth-

one of the potential pivotal changes could've actually have been because of ada's new infection in the remake, she would have to get her plagas removed as well at some point. but because her plagas was different and she was able to get rid of hers earlier it removes this potential scenario to happen

many fans were speculating that because of her infection, she would have to meet up with Ashley and Leon afterwards, and help Ashley to actually put Leon onto the chair so that they could both rid their infections at the same time, and this would've also actually potentially added a aeon scene as well (which would've fit into the narrative without feeling forced) which would really help with the story as well and keep in the infection for longer as well as providing more tension for her health as well

Because the SW remake was changed in some aspects but kept the same in other aspects in ways, (as in it didn't really seem like they were pivotal to the story) it felt as though we were missing more scenes that kept us on our toes. A lot of the things that were changed were rectified fairly quickly and because of this, a lot of the scenes that followed the original beat by beat, felt too predictable and felt like the same

I was left wanting more because all of the changes that were made were fixed too quickly or they weren't really that pivotal and everything that could've changed things weren't added

that being said, i do love the contact lense update as the glasses were a bit much for today's standards, and i could suspend my belief enough for a high tech contact lense in 2004 lol

characters

Ada

although I think a lot of the "criticism" for ada's changes in the remake are in bad faith, I feel like a lot of the changes makes sense with the potential route that they want to go with ada

i've always held the opinion that remake ada was meant to show a fatal flaw and then to have her have her redemption arc as soon as possible. ada was never meant to be evil, she was never meant to be a villain, however people were unable to disconnect her with this idea.

because of the remake highlighting so many aspects of her having a heart and "changing," it really goes to show how much effort they've put into characterizing her.

we have to remember that up until 2011 even, all we really had were these hyper sexualized flirty iterations of ada where she is really just as femme fatale with little regard for the people around her, but people who have seen and played re6 and have actually spent more time with her character has seen her grow.

arguably re6, has always been her redemption arc, but because this happens so late in the series, it's hard as an audience (particularly people who don't pay attention) to really see her be this multi-faceted character.

sure, we have original SW where she essentially spends the entire campaign saving leon's ass, but it lacked a lot of her characterization beyond her desire to keep leon safe and a few quips here and there about the villagers and her interactions with wesker and krauser.

and because i don't want to talk about her voice too too much, i do LOVE ada's voice in SW. it's clear that a few of her lines were fixed in a sense, the audio changes are small but there, but a lot of her lines are adorable and really add to her being more than just a femme fatale.

the colder aspect of her makes sense with her narrative opening, that she had made peace with what she was doing. but that she still questions everything

additionally i do think that her infection was a way to make the audience sympathize with her and make her seem weaker and more human as she's particularly overpowered in og SW imo

Leon

we had very few additional scenes with leon and i was hoping for more but wasn't expecting it, it just would've been nice

the two ish scenes we got with his face were nice lol

Wesker

the changes with wesker being near or on the island were fairly interesting, it makes us question why he was there or if he was just so concerned about it ada's "incompetence" on her mission. the banter between her and wesker about leon was interesting and furthers the ideas that they had much more history that we know of.

I saw a lot of criticisms between the scene where ada passes out and wesker saves her and brings her to the bedroom. And the discourse seems to be somehow shaming ada for "flirting" with wesker despite the fact that I never interpreted as genuine flirting.

It's clear at this point in her campaign wesker has commented several times on ada's incompetent and insubordinate nature and that because she is in a position of being "dismissed " or "taken off the case" or just plainly, "gotten rid of," she resorts to "flirting" as a way to keep herself in a position of power. she knows that wesker finds her unuseful at this time, and sees no real issue with doing this as a means to keep herself safe in sense.

she doesn't fear him, but she is wary of him. but she'll still go against his demands several times.

i thought it was interesting that we could've seen potential repercussions for her ada's. wesker being told about the explosions not all going off and the ability to take down her helicopter, but he decides to let her go anyways.

the "think that gun's gonna be enough?" "interesting..." MADE ME PURRRR HELP

Because we finally have more lines with wesker, I feel like I can appropriately gauge my opinion on his voice now. I thought that I was on the opposite side of things where I held an unpopular opinion of liking wesker's new voice... but it appears a lot of people actually enjoys his new voice far more than the original. i have already stated before that i've never been a fan of the comical voices from before, and obviously due to the controversy with wesker's original VA, it makes sense that he was recast. and it would've felt a bit gross for the new VA to emulate the same kind of voice IMO

Krauser

because of the changes in the remake, it made sense that ada and krauser barely interact, (mostly due to the removal of ada saving leon scene and was changed to luis) so it didn't make sense for ada and krauser to talk. i don't think that i hate this change (the removal of them talking) but it does make this relationship odd because it removes a lot of tension between the two and also makes it so that krauser's vendetta against leon a bit odd

it felt more interconnected in the OG, whereas in the remake it really did feel like multiple stories happening at the same time where they don't connect

Luis

since seeing more of SW and more of Luis (unfortunately) I've started to hold the opinion and I believe that I actually had this prior to SW, I feel the luis' redemption arc and backstory is severely lacking any actualization.

And I think this may actually be because of the additional scenes of luis, that it has been detrimental for his overall story

the more I was forced to see more luis the more I felt like his moral standing and his desire to help Leon and Ashley and Ada, it felt like it was lacking any motivation. His desire to "do the good thing," because it "makes him feel better," has never been enough, and WILL never be enough (for me and some audiences who like to gauge WHY characters do things)

we get the verbal confirmation on why luis is doing these things, but it doesn't align with his actual desire to do the good thing in the end. his redemption arc (to me) seems pointless, and i guess that adds to the pointlessness of his character arc and his unfulfilled desired to really right the wrongs he had already done.

his dying act could serve as his last chance to really do the right thing, but it feels undeserved.

(regarding his connection to nemesis and re3r) sure his bloodshed is "secondhand," but it doesn't excuse what he had already done. i just felt as thought even though we got this expansion of his character and it helped the story of re4r and SW-

his characterization was used a plot device RATHER THAN ACTUAL GOOD STORYTELLING. every time we need something- it's luis. every time there's a problem, it's luis. every time there has to be something ELSE happening, it's luis

he was a plot device MORE than an actual character (and i don't think to praise him for his characterization in this way is THAT GREAT OF A THING TO DO)

AND THAT'S FINE. we were never meant to see more of him in the long term. luis was always meant to die and in the remake, he was at least fleshed out more

but i still feel like it was at the detriment to ada's expansion. a lot of her story was "given to luis" and a lot of her scenes were ALSO given to luis, and you CAN NOT OBJECTIVELY deny this as fact. the fact that these scenes were ORIGINALLY ADA'S in the og and then were luis' in the remake, is an UNDENIABLE FACT THAT THEY GAVE THOSE SCENES TO HIM.

we got more luis, we should've NEVER HAD MORE. this is STILL ada's story. and so much additional luis for the sake of plot felt like a disservice to Ada AND Luis.

THAT ALL BEING SAID I STILL LIKE LUIS. I THINK HIS ADDITION WAS GOOD, I JUST WISH THAT ADA HAD MORE. I THINK THEM ARE COOL AS FRIENDS. still see luis as the gay friend sjkbfsjkf

Ashley

i thought it was weird that ashley had weird npc behaviour for the ashley ada interaction

also ashley had weird 90s yaoi hands and i couldn't unsee it

enemies

WHY WERE THE ENEMIES SO MUCH FUCKING SCARIER WITH ADA

aeon

a lot of people were complaining that the aeon moments weren't as pivotal in this campaign, and while I do agree to some extent, I don't think that they were necessarily required for this remake

this may seem contradictory because of what i had said prior (luis taking ada's scenes) but because of the route that they went, i feel as though the scene where (potentially) ada saves leon from krauser couldn't have been written any other way. because of how they wrote luis to be with leon nearly constantly, it would've been difficult to change this scene.

because ada is much more in the shadows in this remake, we still have some scenes, like the boat and reunion scene. but the eagerness of ada saving leon was seen more as an afterthought than a outright desire like in og

i don't think these are wrong decisions per say but they do allow us to see a progression of ada obviously still caring for leon afterwards as the plot gives us these scenes of convenience. (like ada ringing the bell because she was supposed to meet luis there as opposed to her directly going to the bell to ring it. she still does it, noticing that leon is struggling. which i think is enough tbh)

the changes of the original boat scene having additional dialogue helped to change things, particularly in conjunction with ada's monologue that she did change, just maybe not in the overt ways that leon had expected.

i still feel as though although we lacked a few aeon scenes, it made sense with what we had.

allegedly nick apostolides opted out of saying the "she's like a part of me i can't let go," because he felt as though this line belonged to the previous VA, but i can not confirm this as fact.

i never expected nick to say this line as it didn't appear to fit narratively, however the the "true ending" of SW really showed more wesker than more of aeon which was disappointing but not surprising.

the fact that re4r had an ending with ada, and sw had an ending with just wesker felt blegh.

one of the biggest complaints i kept getting was that re4r retconned aeon. which is just kind of a weird thing because why would capcom retcon a relationship in the second date? we have to remember that re4 has always been their second meeting. they still have damnation, re6 and potentially even more aeon that we haven't see like off screen re5.

one of the biggest things that they criticized was that leon and ada, "fell in love immediately," and they wanted to rectify that with a more realistic interpretation of the ship. this makes sense to me, and although it's a lot more angst filled, we still have to remember this is early as fuck in their relationship.

additionally, i still think that when ada gives leon the rocket launcher at the end, he has a sudden realization that ada had been helping him all along, that she was the one that gave him the one in raccoon city. that the keychain for the jetski was always her making sure that he could get out as well. because TO BE FAIR. he HAD LITTLE WAYS OF ESCAPE. he lost track of hunnigan and his potential route off the island. realistically, leon was FUCKED and he had no way off the island. even if ada didn't give him the key, he was STILL KINDA FUCKED because of the bombs because of wesker.

once the things fall into place, he realizes things along the boat ride, and i think that's also for us as an audience to speculate. older audiences knows that leon and ada see each other again. i want them to see each other again to bridge the gaps.

things to note

SW being made by the same team that did re3r is a bit funny since re3r was a pretty big disappointment to a lot of fans

similarly a lot of people were mad at the $10 price tag for SW despite the fact that this is a additional campaign and was longer than re3r and funner.

OG SW was always free, which is why a lot of people were mad, but like- get fucked dude. if you want to be mad at that, you also have to be mad at the microtransactions in the main campaign then.

SW was still well done, i just have a few things that i thought were lacking.

wesker absolutely had ada's DNA (from the bed scene, i think he also injected her with an inhibitor (of sorts like luis had) but also took something from her, and i think it would tie nicely into a re6r if he and simmons had contact prior to re5.

we still never got to see what was in bob bear kennedy (is that the name? lol)

gameplay 9/10

story/plot 7/10

characters 7/10

aeon 7/10

overall 30/40

i might have additional things to say but that's all i got for now lol

thanks for reading my garbage

and again

“take it however you like it.”

[crowdusk]

re: the bonney thing in chapter 1118 [spoiler], most of the outrage i saw was from powerscaling shonen-brained bro weirdos so i don’t rly care (though it did piss me off lol). plus most of their complaints became redundant after this week’s chapter anyway.

but come on. i wasn’t necessarily expecting the exact thing that happened but i wasn’t *that* surprised either like. the whole egghead arc has been about kuma and bonney’s stories and character development as main characters aside from the strawhats. the whole arc is about developing the idea of nika, of this fictional deity, of devotion and of belief in freedom, joy, the sun. kuma lived his life that way, and also gave his life for his daughter to be able to live free, in the sun (quite literally). to be able to be the kid she deserves to be. to never go through what he and her mother did. he passed on nika’s story to her for that reason.

anyways. people can have their thoughts and feelings about it and that’s fine ofc!! (weird sexist cynical bro takes aside). one criticism i’ve seen is wanting more character development from bonney and i don’t disagree, i would love that too, but i also wonder if it’s not also because she’s literally. a kid. like, she’s not going to have law levels of complexity because she hasn’t lived as long and isn’t quite going to have the same kind of thoughts, processing etc!! and so maybe her arc in egghead feels a little less full than some other characters in other arcs. although, i do agree that it could have been more like momo’s in wano. for me that’s just a function of a) wano arc being longgggg while egghead seems like it’s meant to be a lot shorter and b) their very different roles and functions, with momo having to take on the role of a leader and needing to grow into it through the arc and his family history, vs. bonney’s role being more to become free by reconnecting to her childlike imagination, wonder, and joy.

of course she’s an adultified child (literally) and knows how to behave like an adult, sort of, but she’s not an adult. and so i think that’s maybe where there’s still so much to come from her character, but personally i think it’s in the sense of her being actually able to be a kid. like still being incredibly powerful (she can use haki!!!) and smart and fighting, but also not being alone, and having people who care for her and look after her too. being able to present as her actual age. discovering who she is and growing up at a normal pace. not having to fend completely for herself anymore. i’m curious to see where she goes/who she ends up with after egghead — feels like she needs people strong enough to take care of her and also people who believe in liberation and that nika way of being. maybe the giants, or the RA would make sense.

[intangiblyyours]

7th Time Loop: The Villainess Enjoys a Carefree Life Married to Her Worst Enemy!

Alright guys, light novel/manga recommendation time! I don’t do this often (or at all really) but when I do, it’s because I’m very passionate about it. 😤

WARNING: Not spoiler free. Using images from both the light novel and manga.

There’s been a trend of “villainous” anime/manga being released recently, and while I love them and they all have their personal charms, this one takes the cake for me.

Our main lead is Rishe, who returns to the moment her fiancé breaks their engagement each time she dies, and she has been inevitably dying at the age of 20 in every iteration. She retains her memories and skills, with the exception of her strength and stamina. Our story is set in her 7th cycle.

Rishe is determined to make the most of her life each time with the goal of prolonging her life if possible. As she searches for the quickest exit after her break up, she runs into our male lead, Arnold Hein. Who happens to also be her killer in her 6th life as a knight.

And you know what he does? He proposes to her (for reasons).

Rishe knows fully well that the smallest actions can change the course of her life drastically, so she ends up accepting knowing that she’ll never open up this path again. In every cycle, her death has been related to the war Arnold Hein wages in five years. Perhaps as his fiancée/wife this time, she’ll be able to prevent the war and live beyond 20 years of age.

Cue one of the cutest love story ever. I am a sucker for “cold” characters having a soft spot for the love of their life, and this is no exception. Plus, you add Rishe with a skill level of 999 facing off with the most formidable man in the world, trying to out play her soon-to-be-husband, and he let’s her. He let’s her scheme her schemes with the condition that she keeps herself safe. And he is smitten.

Our two leads are so likable and the premise, despite having several tropes involved, has a good bit of originality in it. I like having my fair share of female/male leads having heaps of flaws, but these two do not (for good reasons), which could be seen as a con but not for me in this scenario. Rishe is a very headstrong character that is determined to live her life the way she wants to, and Arnold supports her through and through. Their mutual respect and intrinsic trust in each other is what makes their dynamic so wonderful.

Also:

And:

These two having me swooning. Plus, the art for both the light novel and manga is gorgeous. I’ve heard they might be doing an anime adaptation??? Can’t wait. 10/10 recommend!!!

(Okay, my one complaint is I’m unsure if Touka Amekawa is still writing this? Says there are 4 volumes but the 4th was released in November 2021 in Japan and it’s listed as ongoing. Does anyone know anything about this?)

[where-theres-smoak-2]

S+B Season 2 Trailer Thoughts

I just watched the shadow and bone season 2 trailer and I have some thoughts about it, a bit of speculation and theories too. I am going to be talking about spoilers from the books in these speculations so beware if you don’t want any spoilers. But anyway I figured the best way to start this was by starting from the beginning of the trailer. 

The Opening Scene

 The opening shot of the trailer showing Alina watching the fold rush towards the village she is standing in and the darkling stepping out of the fold. 

At first I thought maybe this was Alina seeing the darkling’s return through their connection but then I remembered that we’ve technically already seen the moment the darkling returns and exits the fold in season 1 and he is not wearing the same clothing in this scene. However I do still think this has some connection to the darklina bond. My theory is that Alina is going to have recurring nightmares about what happened to Novokribirsk and in those nightmares she is going to see the darkling return over and over. I think this is going to cause her to become really paranoid that Aleksander is still alive which is where the bond comes in because I think Alina can sense Aleksander through that bond they have but as of yet doesn’t understand it so these dreams or rather nightmares she is having of Novokribirsk are being invaded by the bond version of Aleksander who I think is trying to reform a connection with her and communicate with her. I could see a situation though where Alina feels like she’s losing it a bit and that everyone around her doesn’t believe her when she tells them she thinks the darkling has returned. If it is that she is having nightmares about the events at the end of season 1 then I think that could be interesting as one of my main complaints about the book was that it seemed like these traumatic events that were happening to Alina didn’t have much of an effect on her and I don’t think hers, or anyone else’s, mental health was really properly explored in the books. So if they are going to give some attention to that in season 2 then I think that is a good thing. 

Alina’s Powers

Something that did catch my attention in the trailer was the difference in Alina’s powers. In season one they were a more golden colour but occasionally would turn a pure white colour in those bigger more powerful moments like when she was protecting the stag or when she breaks free from the darkling’s control in the fold. In the trailer we see one moment when she is with Nikolai where her powers are that golden colour: 

But the rest of the time her powers have this blue tone to them almost more like lightning than sunlight. My theory is that her powers take on this change when she gets the second amplifier. There is this shot of Alina using her powers on a boat which I think could be the scene where she gets the sea whip amplifier and uses her powers for the first time with it:

As her powers burst out from her in pulses you can see those golden wisps that are very reminiscent of her season 1 powers but there is also this blue electric like light. After that we only see her using this more electric blue light like when she is practising the cut or fighting against Aleksander. I think they’ve done this so the audience has that visual representation that her powers have changed and grown stronger with the new amplifier but I do think its interesting that they have gone for a much colder colour maybe its a sign that Alina is being drawn more to her darker/ colder side?  I did get the sense that Alina is feeling very angry in this trailer and I think it could be interesting if they decide to explore her more darker impulses. Either way I do think this scene looks pretty damn epic and I can’t wait to see it. 

Genya and Baghra 

So I can not be the only book reader that side eyed when both Baghra and Genya appeared in the trailer unharmed and looking perfectly healthy. It was one of the first things that caught my attention. With genya when I saw this scene with her and david:

My first reaction was to squeal like a shipper, I feel like this is going to be a great emotional scene between them both. But then I noticed that, and big spoiler for non book readers incoming, she has no scars. But then I figured well maybe they’ve changed things from the books and she reunites with david briefly before getting her scars as there is this scene that shows genya backing away looking terrified from a Nichevo’ya:

Which could be the scene where she gets her scars, its the first thing that popped into my head when I saw this moment in the trailer. But then I saw another image that got me scratching my head again. This one is a still that was released and not in the trailer:

I’m 100% sure this scene is where Genya confronts the Queen and King from book 3 which results in Nikolai banishing his parents. Unless all of the scars are on the other side of her face then it doesn’t look like she is scarred and this scene in the books takes place way after she is scarred, so whilst I could kind of see them changing things so that Genya and David reunite sooner I don’t think they would have changed the timeline to this extent where they are at the events of the third book and she still hasn’t got them. Which makes me wonder if they just removed that plot point altogether? 

There is also a couple of shots of Baghra and like genya she doesn’t seem to be injured in anyway, again book spoilers, but when Alina sees Baghra again in book 2 she learns that Aleksander has blinded her as punishment for helping Alina escape. Alina is horrified by this because she realises that not even his own mother is spared his wrath. It makes Alina see him as even more of a monster. Yet from the shots in the trailer it looks like Baghra has 20/20 vision. So I can see this being one of two scenarios. Either they decided to cut those plot points out, whether that was because they didn’t have time for them or because they want the audience to still have some sympathy for the darkling and thought those two plots would make that impossible for the audience to do is up for debate. I do think they tried to make Aleksander more sympathetic in season 1 than he was in the books so I could see them doing that in season 2 as well. Personally I am kind of hoping that they have cut them out because I personally felt these actions didn’t make much sense in the books. Particularly when it comes to genya because he made it clear that Alina was not to be harmed yet when Genya didn’t shoot her leading to Alina getting away the Darkling punishes her by letting the Nichevo’ya feed on her. Which doesn’t make sense given the don’t harm order. Whilst punishing Baghra makes a little more sense it still seemed like an overly brutal reaction from Aleksander towards his own mother, maybe I am alone in this but I did feel like it was a case of making him evil just because ya know he’s evil. Both these actions gave very 2d villain with no depth vibes.  

However there is another possibility and that is simply that the scenes have been edited for the trailer so as not to give away spoilers to non book readers. I’ve known of other shows and films where they have edited scenes in the trailer to hide certain plot points, an example could be Marvel’s Eternals (mild spoilers for eternals) in the trailer we see this shot:

But the actual footage in the movie was this (sorry about the crappy image quality). 

As you can see they deliberately edited out the clouded, blanked out look to her eyes to hid a particular plot point and its possible they have done this here with the shadow and bone trailer too. 

Darklina Tether Bond Scenes

So one thing I am really excited for being a darklina fan is seeing their tether bond scenes. We got a glimpse of one of the scenes in the teaser trailer we got and it looks like we have another in this trailer and once again there were a few things that caught my attention. The first was that they were in the war room and wearing the same clothes that they were in episode 5 which oh the flashbacks. But what I am curious about is what this model on the table is supposed to show?

I recognise the black structure as being the model of the fold from the war room but it looks like it is now surrounding some kind of model of a building. So is this like the Darkling's war plans or is this suppose to represent Novokribirsk and showing where the fold is currently? 

Another thing I thought was interesting is that it shows as a shot of the darkling’s hand where the stag amplifier used to be:

It looks like there are wisps of the sun summoner powers coming out of the wound on his hand. When I first watched this scene I thought it was the same scene as the tether bond scene but when re-watching it (because obviously I couldn’t just watch the trailer once) I realised that when it pans out the darkling is wearing different clothes and his face is scarred so they are either two separate scenes or the, what is the writers said they called it the mind palace I think, shifts and we see the darkling with the scars. Either way you can see that the darkling actually looks somewhat frightened at what is happening:

I think this is when Aleksander finds out that he and Alina are still linked and that some of her power still exists within him. I think at first this will frighten him somewhat but as time goes on he’ll begin to use it and learn to control it.

I also didn’t miss the fact that in that first pic of his hand in the background you can see he was looking at a poster depicting him and Alina standing together. I am assuming this was some kind of propaganda that was made before the events of the fold. I do wonder if it is him looking at this poster and thinking about Alina and what could have been, how he planned for them to rule together, to change the world together that triggers Alina’s powers to manifest in him for the first time. 

The Palace Attack and The Chapel 

So one of my favourite scenes in the 2nd book was the darkling’s attack on the Palace and the resulting chapel scene between Alina and Aleksander.  I think we get some shots from those scenes too. Namely I think this shot of Nichevo’ya crashing through a glass dome ceiling and attacking people at a dinner is the attack on the Palace:

There are also images of a Nichevo’ya in front of a stained glass window depicting the sun summoner which I think is from the chapel scene:

I also think this shot is from the same scene and it looks like the crows will be part of those scenes:

I actually think this bottom shot will be where Alina tells everyone to leave her and run and Mal is arguing with her trying to convince her to come too. If I am right then this is a scene that I am really looking forward too because it is a great moment in the book and I think it will be visually epic too. I definitely think the whole attack scene will be action packed and have you on the edge of your seat. I was a little worried that they might cut the scene so seeing these images has given me a bit of hope back.  

But it does lead me to some more confusion and questions as if you’ve read the book you know that after the chapel scene Alina’s hair turns white yet there are scenes that seem like they happen post chapel scene but where Alina still has dark hair so it looks like maybe they cut that too or like with Genya and Baghra it could be editing to hide the plot point?  

The Destruction of The Fold

So we have had some interviews that have caused me a bit of confusion as to where exactly they are going with the plot in season 2 because we have had some say that they are moving away from the books but they have also said that they have adapted some things from both book 2 and 3. It looks like the destruction of the fold might be one of them, possibly. We have this shot of Alina and Aleksander going at each other with their powers and it does kind of look like they might be in the fold:

So I think this might be the final showdown in the fold from book 3 that results in the destruction of the fold, lord please let it play out differently from the books though and Alina doesn’t lose her powers because I will be so mad I hated that plot point with a fiery passion. But interestingly there is also this scene of Zoya and Inej which is what first made me think hey wait are they getting rid of the fold in this season:

To me it looks like they are standing next to the ruins where the fold was created but clearly the fold is gone and all that remains is a desert wasteland. However what is interesting is the presence of the Nichevo’ya. So I am wondering one of two things, is this them fading away or are they going to do a cop out where you think Aleksander is dead but then these Nichevo’ya appear as like the cliff-hanger or something and you are left wondering if he really is gone or whether someone else is controlling the Nichevo’ya. 

Alina’s Agency and Possible Dark Side

This one is a small one but a couple of lines I noticed from Alina raised some interesting possibilities to me. One was where she is talking about how she needs all three amplifiers. Its a simple line but what I found interesting was it seems like Alina is taking a more active role in searching for the amplifiers for herself. In the books one of my criticisms was that Alina very much seemed to be dragged through the plot by other characters rather than making any decisions or plans for herself. It was something I found really frustrating. One example was that Alina doesn’t make the decision to go after the stag herself it is Mal who says they need to do this, what I liked about season 1 of the show was that they changed this so that Alina is the one who comes up with the plan and tells Mal they have to go find the stag before Aleksander finds it first. This gave Alina alot more of her own agency and it looks like that will continue in season 2. 

But another line that had me raising my eyebrows a bit and really did intrigue me was when Alina tells, I am assuming Aleksander though I can’t be sure, ‘I’ll destroy the only thing you have left’. Now I don’t know if Alina said this in the book, if she did I don’t recall it, but I couldn’t help but notice how similar this line is to one that the darkling said in the book ‘I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but mine.’ Maybe its just me but these two lines just seem so similar to me. They have that same idea of taking something precious away from another and leaving them with nothing. It does make me wonder if the writers put this line in deliberately to draw that comparison between darklina. Is this another hint that maybe Alina is being drawn to a darker path because if that is the case honestly I’d be down for it, I’ve always said it could be interesting to explore those darker impulses that are half hinted at in the books but never really committed to. Of course I could just be looking too deeply into the line. 

Wardrobe Change 

I couldn’t do a post on my thoughts and speculation on the trailer without talking about the new costumes. I couldn’t help but notice some interesting changes to some of the characters outfits. Lets start with something I noticed about the grisha. We have this pretty cool looking shot of Aleksander with his grisha: 

I couldn’t help but notice that his grisha are now dressed in different outfits. The colours of their Keftas are much darker but they’ve also got this interesting aesthetic to them where they look like they’ve been stained with shadow. It gives quite gothic vibes and it is an interesting change. Which got me thinking why they changed the grisha’s keftas was it just to show how much darker Aleksander has become? But I think the real reason is a much more practical one. I mentioned above that we see scenes of Zoya with Inej well I noticed that Zoya is still wearing the old style of Kefta that we saw in season 1:

There is also this shot of who I think is nadia and another grisha running away from flames and again they seem to be dressed in that old grisha style:

The previous shot shows an inferni throwing flames and they are dressed in the new grisha style:

So I think the show’s team gave the darkling’s grisha new uniforms so that when Alina’s grisha and the darkling’s grisha get into conflicts the viewer can clearly see which grisha is on which side, which makes alot of sense from a practical point as you don’t want your audience distracted from action scenes because they are trying to figure out who’s on which side, now we can all go well those guys are wearing gothic couture so they must be the darkling’s guys. Still I kind of love the change, the new costumes are fun to look at. 

Alina also gets an interesting costume change as we see her dressed in a more militant look. In the books when she chooses new kefta she goes for a gold kefta if I remember rightly but they seem to have ditched that idea and gone for a different look and its kind of intriguing: 

It kept wondering what it was reminding me of and then it finally hit me:

It’s a more decorative version of her first army uniform from season 1. It is an interesting choice to put her in a first army uniform and honestly I am not sure how I feel about it. On one hand it is an interesting way of showing the difference between Alina and Aleks. Alina has that connection to the first army as she grew up as an Otkazat'sya serving in the first army so it is a interesting call back to her roots. Whereas Aleks grew up as grisha and has a strong connection to the second army as he is it’s founder so it makes sense that we see him in the Kefta look. However one of my biggest issues with Alina’s character was I never felt like she cared enough about the grisha so, I don’t know it feels a bit off, seeing her dressed in the uniform of the first army who I’ve always seen as the soldiers of the king who oppressed and used the grisha. I mean I could 100% be looking too deeply into it and I’m sure it wasn’t their intention but I just don’t know if it was a good idea to have someone who is claiming to be fighting for the betterment of grisha to be dressed in the uniform of their oppressors. But like I said that could be just me. It does look like a cool outfit and it does make her look like a general or badass military leader I think I just wish it looked more like a Kefta seeing as Alina is grisha and is suppose to be their chosen one or whatever. It’s an interesting choice for sure but I think I am going to have to see the context of why she chose it as opposed to a kefta before I decide on how I feel about the choice. Context matters after all. 

Finally I want to touch real quick on the changes to the darkling’s kefta. I’m not going to talk in too much detail about it as I already talked about it in another post but I do like how they have added the gold to his kefta. I do wonder if Aleks did this to mock alina a little, like as a reminder that they are still connected and little piece of her power still resides in him. Or it could just be that he is that much of a simp that he has to wear her colour too in an attempt to convince her and the world that they are meant to rule together. Or maybe he just find’s it comforting to wear her colour like putting on your ex’s jumper when you miss them lol. Either way I do like the look of the new kefta. 

Little Moments. 

So just some final little thoughts I had throughout the trailer that weren’t deep enough to go into, the crows look as badass as ever and I can’t wait to see what shenanigans they get up to this season. Speaking of badass Tolya and Tamar also look really cool and I am excited to get to know their characters in the show as well as Wylan and Nikolai. I haven’t read the Six of Crows books so I don’t know much about Wylan but it looks like Jesper just got his demolitions expert from that shot of him blowing something up in the trailer. I am again really interested to get to know his character more. I loved Nikolai’s line about ‘adventure, danger, now you’re speaking my language.’ I do think Nikolai is going to be one of those characters that relieves the tension and we’ll get some good comic lines from him. I also think the flying boats look really cool. From the quick glimpse of it I think the sea whip also looks great but I don’t want to think about its fate, I don’t think I am going to enjoy that scene at all. 

Concerns 

Ok so I will say that I am slightly more excited about the season after this trailer than I was after the teaser. However I would be lying if I said I didn’t have some concerns about this season. I have seen rumours that the season is bad but I don’t tend to put much stock in rumours I much prefer to watch it myself and then decide whether I agree that it was bad or not and I will still definitely be watching the season the moment it drops on Netflix. However my main concern is around this blending of both books into one season. I feel like they have got way way too much to fit in. Both books have some pretty big moments in them and I feel like if there are too many big moments in the show its going to feel too cluttered and rushed. Then there is whatever is going to be going on with the crows and I am just a tad bit concerned they’ve made a mistake here and bit off more than they can chew. I think I am mostly worried that they are trying to rush through the events of the grisha books to get to the six of crows plotline and don’t get me wrong I love the crows but as I mentioned before I haven’t read the six of crows books so whilst I do enjoy them they aren’t the main reason I watch the show, I am much more interested in the grisha story and darklina and the darkling as a character. That’s just my preference though I am sure there are people out there who prefer the crows and would like them to get to that plotline faster. I just really don’t want them to make a bad season because they have rushed through it and added too many elements to it and then that resulting in the show getting cancelled. I am still going to try and reserve my judgement though until I’ve seen the season for all I know it could be absolutely amazing and I could be blown away. 

Anyway think I have rambled on enough, what did everyone else think of the trailer? Are you excited for the new season? 

[lunas-otome-blog]

Luna's Review: Jack Jeanne

Official Summary:

Kisa is about to give up her dream of becoming an actor when she is given the opportunity to enroll at the prestigious all boys Univeil Drama School that she has always admired and dreamed of attending. She is granted admission with two rigid conditions: be chosen as the lead in the final performance and hide her identity as a girl!

Competition at the school is fierce and the rivalry is real! Will Kisa be able to forge powerful bonds with her all-male classmates while competing against them?

Will she be cast as the lead in the final performance at the end of the year all while keeping her secret?

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Luna's Thoughts (Spoiler Free)

I don't particularly like rhythm games or stat building games — I'm more of a straightforward visual novel kinda girl. But I chose to play Jack Jeanne because I read a glowing recommendation on another game blog.

I admit, I struggled with this game at the beginning. The impetus for the protagonist joining an all-boys school was, in my opinion, too fast, poorly explained and lazily written, and I feared the whole game would feel that way.

But I was pleasantly surprised as the plot unfolded. Subtly charming, Jack Jeanne is a rare otoge that doesn't feel the need for epic events or contrived details. The straightforward plot follows the protagonist through a full school year during which she become confident in her skills as an actor, charms her fellow classmates and works toward her ultimate goal of catching up to her brother.

Once I got used to a few things, I found myself enjoying this game immensely. The character development is slow, natural and gorgeous. Every main character gets at least one satisfying arc, including the protagonist. The cast is complex and enjoyable — even the side characters are pretty well fleshed out. And I cannot believe how many side characters get full sprites, cgs and sometimes even character arcs themselves. Fitting to a game about theater, Jack Jeanne features a true ensemble cast.

This is a pretty unusual otoge, as the majority of the plot is common route, with some special scenes mixed in depending on who your affection is highest with. You don't get into a "route" until pretty close to the end of the game. When you do, though, the final performance is highly customized based on your love interest character.

The first time I heard the songs in this game, I didn't think much of them. During my second playthrough, I caught myself humming a few. After the third time, I downloaded the whole playlist onto my phone lol. Some of them are absolute BANGERS. I didn't particularly enjoy the rhythm games, but I acknowledge that's just a personal preference. The game does not penalize you for playing on super easy mode — thank god — so that's what I did most of the time. Even hard mode is pretty easy for the most part.

The game arcs are broken up into sections depending on what play/musical is being performed. Jack Jeanne does a great job of showing you rehearsal scenes without completely giving away everything about the story, so you still get to enjoy the play yourself during the performance. And every sprite gets a new, gorgeous costume for EVERY play. It made me genuinely excited to get to that portion of the game each time.

I do want to talk about the art in this game. The cgs are lovely, but tend to feel ethereal as they are painterly and many lack backgrounds, creating the illusion that the characters are floating in space. I liked them but they are a different art style than the sprites, which felt inconsistent. Add to that a rather adorable cel-shade chibi style, which is used for the stat-building scenes, and you have three completely different art styles used for this game. I'd have preferred some consistency.

I also wish Kisa had a sprite on screen, because we don't get to see what she looks like except in cgs. It's a bummer because she's so cute~

Other than that, all my other complaints have to do with the format of the game. Due to the nature of it being a stat builder, the pacing of the relationship pursuit feels off. You get these really lovely occasional heartwarming scenes with the character you're pursuing when they're triggered, but then they're not acknowledged in the next scene. It interrupts the flow of the plot. But if you're used to stat builders, this will probably not be a problem for you.

Gripes aside, Jack Jeanne is a thoughtful, delicate and delightful look into a group of students doing their best to advance their skills and follow their dreams. I highly recommend checking it out.

Here are a few spoiler-free tips of things I wish I knew before I started the game that will help you through it if you decide to play:

As this game is SUPER LONG and mostly common route, you'll be doing a lot of skipping after your first playthrough. Unfortunately, as there are lots of scenes that are gently customized based on your love interest, you can't just leave it skipping for long intervals. I recommend finding something else to do while you're skipping and just keep an eye on the game so you can breeze through the common portion.

You don't have to start at the beginning every time. For the first two performances, try to maintain equal affection and stat levels for each romanceable character before summer break, and then save. You can use this as a flexible save file and pursue your character of choice from here.

When you're ready to aim for a route, only take lessons in that character's stat until you get to level 30. It will take almost the entire rest of the game. Only see that character during days off until you max out affection. If your character isn't available during days off, go to Mona Star School and raise their stat. You need to get to level 30 to unlock a special post-game scene for each character.

"Weekend with Ion" is just a way to get extra rhythm game practice and you don't have to do it.

If you're playing the game right (IE not failing the stats or rhythm games), there aren't any "bad" choices; just choices that give you affection points for certain characters. When you get onto a specific route, choices are just flavor. Feel free to pick different things each time and see what happens.

Please find below my thoughts on the protagonist and each romanceable character in the order I pursued them. Don't read sections marked with spoilers if you want to avoid them!

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(Spoilers) Kisa Tachibana (protagonist)

Kisa Tachibana is one of the best otoge protagonists I've ever played. I have a lot to say on her, so I'll get the bad out of the way first.

I was a little disappointed with Kisa's writing at the beginning. We know she looks up to her brother Tsuki and wants to be an actor like him, but she's given up on even going to high school because she needs to support her family. But the opportunity for her to attend Univeil comes up so quickly that her struggle and longing are not really fleshed out.

We also don't get an explanation on why her brother was allowed to go to a (seemingly expensive) drama school, nor why he isn't using his success to send money back to the family. In fact, the game just casually mentions Tsuki has vanished without a trace, and nobody seems that concerned about it. Kisa is sad but doesn't seem to question where he is or what he's doing, and nobody asks her about it, even after figuring out she's related to him. And no, this is never addressed, even at the end of the game.

Anyway, onto the good.

Kisa is an amazing otoge protagonist. She goes through not just one, but many character arcs, learning from and responding to her classmates (and even other classes) and becoming not just a better actor but also a better friend and teammate. Unlike a lot of otome game protags, Kisa doesn't get a lot of down time to reconcile her thoughts. Instead, you're left to largely understand her thinking and feelings through dialogue, making her feel less like the game's protagonist and more like a regular character. I didn't like this at first but I came to appreciate it as the game went on.

Every character teaches Kisa something about herself and something about acting. She learns how to feel comfortable in the spotlight, but she also learns it's just as important to prop up other actors. And she gets to go through different arcs depending on her romance choice.

She also has to learn how to perform as a Jack (male character) and struggles with this in a way that felt natural. She even ends up overcorrecting and finds it hard to go back to playing a woman.

My absolute favorite arc of hers is when she decides she has to embrace her femininity in order to make a show a success. This, to me, is the culmination of the whole game, as Kisa decides to risk being discovered in order to help her classmates shine. Of course, if you play all the routes, you realize she actually isn't doing a great job of hiding her gender at all lol. But fortunately she's endeared herself to her classmates so much that they don't mind.

Overall, 10/10 otoge protagonist.

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(Spoilers) Kai Mutsumi

I chose to play Kai's route first, because tbh I thought his sprite was ugly and I wanted to get it out of the way lol. I did warm up to it eventually. And I regret playing his route first because Kai is an utter cutie patootie and I fell hard for him.

He tells you really early on that he only sees himself as a way to highlight the Al Jeanne (female lead). So his character arc is about him acknowledging that he also wants the spotlight, and Kisa helps him by highlighting him.

Though Kai is usually quiet, contemplative and reserved, once he and Kisa have acknowledged their feelings for one another, he starts getting jealous, both of Fumi (as a rival) and of Tsuki-nii (as Kisa's inspiration.) It's heartbreaking but really satisfying to learn that Kai feels emotions just as intensely as everyone else but didn't know where to direct them. I love him so much!

Kai also gives you one of the only laugh-out-loud moments of the game during the common route. I won't spoil it but it involves a certain weasel in the forest.

Kai's is one of the more intense routes, so I would perhaps save it for a bit later if you're wanting to get the lighter stuff out of the way first.

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(Spoilers) Suzu Orimaki

Suzu is the genki character of the game, and the senpais make fun of his dancing at the beginning, so I thought the running gag would be that he sucks. But I was pleasantly surprised. Suzu is shown to be committed, a good actor and surprisingly quick with memorizing his lines, though he does make some stupid mistakes throughout. I adored him as the Sleepless King.

Suzu's route is the one I would call the most generic as far as otoges go. A lot of his route is him struggling with his feelings for Kisa. He starts to like her before he's sure she's a girl, and once he knows for sure, he has a really hard time hiding his feelings. To his credit, he also discovers Kisa is a girl on his own, showing he's smarter than we're led to believe.

If you wanted something more nuanced, maybe Suzu's not the character for you, but I really enjoyed it. The more a character struggles with their feelings, the better, imho lol. The cutest scene is after Kisa gives him sweets for valentines day, and he just can't handle how happy is is. You can't help but love Suzu!

You do actually get a lot of character growth as far as acting goes in Suzu's route — just not with Suzu himself. It's Kamiya — one of the side characters, who fanboys over the amazing Tanakamigi, one of Kisa's rivals in a different class — who gets to experience his own arc this time. While it doesn't feel totally resolved in the end, it was nice to see the game highlight some other characters as a result of the decisions Kisa has made.

I also really loved Mare-chan's little arc, as he learns to appreciate standing on stage with his brother. Actually, all the first years are highlighted in this route, which was fun.

Unlike Kai's route, Suzu doesn't confess to Kisa until the very end of his route — but it's very sweet when he does. Overall, Suzu's route felt like a very normal otoge route, but not in a bad way. He's very kind and protective of Kisa. It's hard not to like him.

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(Spoilers) Soshiro Yonaga

Sou shows obvious signs of being into Kisa, even during the common route, so I figured I'd get a nice little bit of angst in his route. I normally play the childhood friend route closer to the end, but while I really enjoyed Sou's role and growth in the common route, he was such a little jealous bitch in Suzu's route (lol) that I decided to play him next. He pissed me off so much haha. I thought it would be over when he punches Suzu after Suzu discovers Kisa is a girl — something like a send-off to his rival, knowing he can't compete. But he proceeds to be whiny and annoying throughout all the rest of Suzu's route, and this made me want to get his route out of the way.

Sou on his own route is a lot better. He actually impressed me with how straightforward he is. He's the first character (that I played) who confirms he is properly dating Kisa on his route, and his confession was really brave, direct and passionate. It's sad to think that he loves Kisa in every route but won't tell her. He even followed Tsuki to Univeil just to see her again T_T

I was very excited to see we'd be getting some Momonashi context in this route, because he's easily the most mysterious character in the game. You never really understand his motivations, and he always hides his thoughts with a smile. It excited me that he was chosen to be Amber's Al Jeanne this time around, and he is every bit as dark and horrifying as I wanted.

This is also the first route (I played) in which Kisa does not get the lead role by default. I nearly had a heart attack and thought I failed the route because it was so different from Kai's and Suzu's routes. Rest assured, this is what's supposed to happen and it all works out ok. Mitsuki's subtle understanding of the things going on around him is also critical in this route.

But back to Sou. He actually goes through a few different arcs in his own route. While I thought it ultimately ended up ok, I would have liked to see the version of Sou infected with Momonshi's darkness for a little longer. He's only there for a little bit before Suzu's anger snaps him out of it. The back-and-forth of Sou's route felt a little disjointed, and in some places too similar to his plot during the common route.

But ultimately I was very proud of him when he pumps up the crowd during the final performance. Sou comes a long way and his route ends with the promise that there's more to come. Good for you, Sou-chan!

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(Spoilers) Mitsuki Shirota

Mitsuki is the standoffish character, so he's the only romanceable character who is outwardly rude to you at the beginning of the game. I sometimes have trouble with this sort of character, so I was a little worried about him. But I didn't need to be — ultimately, he became one of my favorites.

Mitsuki is the most observant character in the game. He notices subtle changes and tells Neji to back off when he's putting too much pressure on people. And he's the first to tell Kisa he'll accept her no matter what. Mitsuki is so important to making this game work.

He knows he's good at singing, but when he's put in a starring role, he crumbles under the pressure. Obviously Kisa helps him stand up again, but it was really gratifying to know his aggression comes from a place of fear.

While learning to enjoy the spotlight is part of his common route arc, doing a Mitsuki playthrough really adds to this, as you learn how much Kisa's secrecy is weighing on him. He knows something's up right away, and as he comes to trust and admire Kisa, he begins feeling sad that she doesn't trust him enough to unload on him. There's a particularly poignant scene where he undresses in front of her — something we know he's afraid to do for anyone else. Mitsuki's cutscenes really emphasize his words to Kisa on stage as Rukiora and Chikachina, roles that parallel their own experiences.

I will say that, like Mitsuki himself, his route is very subtle as he quietly influences those around him. You don't get a lot of Amber students in this one, as his focus is more on the second years of Rhodonite and Onyx. He quietly fires them up, and it's so sweet to see how the second years, previously in the shadow of Tsuki Tachibana, become determined to do their best because of Mitsuki.

My only gripe for this route was that we didn't get any more Mitsuki background. His mother appears in a really intense cutscene toward the beginning of the game, so you know he's got family stuff going on, but we never really get any more elaboration on that.

Anyway, I love this boyee so much and I just want to give him a hug.

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(Spoilers) Sarafumi Takashina

Honestly, I shipped Fumi with Kai more than with Kisa. They had such a nice and supportive relationship.

Fumi is calm, confident and pretty. He tells Kisa he likes her early in the game. He's a mysterious character under a lot of pressure, but you wouldn't know it unless you participate in his cutscenes. If you pay attention, you'll notice he gives nearly everyone nicknames.

Fumi's main game arc involves him growing complacent with the theater because nobody can match him. It's up to Kisa (with help from Sou) to fire him up again.

I tend to have trouble with flirty characters, but Fumi is so confident and kind that I liked him quite a bit. Because he's so aware of his own skills, I was wondering what his next arc would be in his route. I was pleasantly surprised to find that it's Kisa who gets to experience the most growth in Fumi's route as she struggles with the pressure of working alongside Quartz's star.

While perhaps not as dramatic as some of the other routes, Fumi and Kisa work together to understand each other, both on stage and off, and do their best to become suitable partners for one another. Fumi is also grooming Kisa to be the next star of Quartz, so there's a bittersweet dynamic of passing the baton here, too.

There weren't any dramatic twists and turns, but Fumi's route felt natural and gentle. It was a good conclusion for these two. He's also the only character other than Sou who confirms he's dating Kisa by the end of the route, which I appreciated.

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(Spoilers) Neji Kokuto

Neji is the least serious character in the game acting-wise. He's silly and jokes around, and never gives himself a huge role in any of his own plays. But he's ultimately the one pulling the strings, and he seems to have an extremely good grasp on every character's strengths and weaknesses. He's also the only character who doesn't get his own arc in the common route.

However, I was disappointed with some of his cutscenes during the common route. While I appreciate that he deals with the deep trauma of losing his father with humor and spontaneity, I thought it was an oversimplification for him to say he's afraid of women. The resulting scenes don't feel serious enough and it didn't feel natural that Kisa would fall for him.

If he were simply afraid of falling in love, which is what ultimately led his father (allegedly) to losing his creative flow, I could understand that a bit more. But to have him attend an all-boy's school just because he feels like all women are a risk seemed like a strange move for a game that has been really inclusive about gender so far. It felt very off-putting for Neji, who often puts himself into a female role, to fear women.

But once he realizes Kisa is a girl — once he realizes he knew it all along and was trying to block it from his mind — the tone becomes very dark and sad. My heart was pounding as I felt the weeks go by with no script for the final performance. It was thrilling simply because I didn't know what to expect. It's so different from the other routes.

But I wish Neji was able to express his emotions a bit more. In the end, even as he was contemplating throwing himself into the sea, he wasn't able to be completely serious. I would have appreciated a scene where his walls fully break down, in which he's able to fully embrace Kisa as a woman and appreciate the weight of his own feelings.

I also never felt like Crowley, the character Neji plays in the final performance, was suited to be a main character. He never opens up or shows any weakness. He's just a silly guy and didn't feel like the lead at any point.

I did like how Neji ultimately decides to move forward, even being unable to write. But of course, at the end, Neji is suddenly able to write again. I knew it was coming, but it was a rather convenient ending.

Ultimately, I felt Neji's route was the least successful. I wish he got more growth in his own route. I did love him proposing to Kisa at the end though. It felt very in keeping with his character.

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(Spoilers) Kisa Route

This is the route you get if you choose not to spend Christmas Eve with anyone, and it's the closest this game gets to a true ending.

Boy, does it deliver. It ties in all the themes from the game into a really strong ending, where every character feels valuable and Kisa gets to lead Quartz to a strong finish. We also finally get an explanation for the title of the game, as Kisa takes on a special role — neither male nor female, just the protagonist who everyone falls in love with.

A fantastic final route for a fantastic game!