#and get the perfect examples of the animation to showcase their stuff!

[astronomical-bagel]

hello everybody I've decided this is going to be my hill today!

first off: lets introduce the studios that are included in this post.

the first studio is Titmouse studios, who worked on Vox Machina, and is the only American studio on this list. They're most known for that adult swim artsyle, like Bigmouth, but their newer stuff has them really branching out! Vox Machina is the only show of theirs that has that art style. They're also working on the new Tales of the TMNT show, and here's a video of all their animation in Across the Spiderverse!

Now. Let's talk about Studio Mir, the actual studio that I'm going to talk about. Studio Mir is a South Korean animation studio, and they are responsible for all the artstyles that you see in the first section of this post. You know how I mentioned that Titmouse doesn't usually go for the artsyle used in Vox Machina? That's because a subunit of Mir called Studio Reves worked on at least 25 episodes of Vox Machina. Titmouse outsourced a lot of animation from Studio Reves (I presume for labor cost reasons), and let them guide the artstyle for the majority of the show.

Studio Mir has worked on Voltron (2016), and My Adventures with Superman, the two other shows op mentioned. They've also worked on The Legend of Korra, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Lookism, and they're also doing Devil May Cry, which is set to release next year and looks really cool. They are the "we have anime at home" style. You know why? Because they're Korean. Of course theyre gonna have an anime-reminicent artstyle! Look at this highlight reel of their work (sadly it was made 7 years ago so it doesn't showcase their newer stuff) and tell me that this is boring.

And listen. I'm not saying you have to like the artstyle. I'm not saying you have to like Studio Mir. But seeing as all of op's examples can be traced back to them, and their style was called "the worst trend in western animation", I really just had to step in. Studio Mir doesn't deserve that. They're not anime, and they're not western animation either. They are from South Korea and really deserve to be recognized as such. (Side note, appearently the word for a Korean cartoon is called hanguk aeni, and a Korean comic is called manwha! I just thought that was interesting lol)

That being said, what is wrong with a "squeaky clean" artstyle? It doesn't always mean the studio is being safe or trying to appeal to the largest audience. Maybe their slow scenes aren't as detailed for, I don't know, budget reasons? tight deadlines? or simply because they're slow scenes and they want to devote their time and money to the fight scenes? why are we just assuming the worst here? When you use the word “safe” to describe the artstyle it comes across as calling the artstyle “sanitized” or without soul, but it’s not! It’s just Korean!

And to clarify!!!! I don't watch any of these shows!!! I don't even watch studio mir's other shows!!! I just really like animation and I recogize that Studio Mir knows what it's doing. Their poses are dynamic, their impact frames are impactful!! Op has (unintentionally (I assume)) singled them out and I feel like everyone is being unfair to them. Please, I beg of you, actually look at their work instead of just dogpiling on them, they're actually really cool and skilled and they care about what they make.

(here are some more examples of Studio Mir's work, just because they deserve to be shown off some more)

I'm feeling kinda mean atm so i'm just gonna say it

This kind of boring-ass squeaky-clean "safe" artstyle is the worst trend in western animation of the last decade and the sooner it dies out the better

[theaceofskulls]

Tithes episode 3 is honestly my favorite of the series despite having the stiffest animation and staring my least favorite of the Imperium faction in part because it is the firm reminder that people needed about this setting.

Watching the so many in the fanbase churn over it, shout that it's nonsensical and that clearly the writers messed up somehow, or gnash their teeth about how noblely characters should've acted or how it must be a plothole that the Administratum did what it did in this episode is perfect, especially since the rest of the fanbase is countering with so many recent era lore posts and classic lore example of this exact kind of plotline (as well as the real life examples of similar incidents).

I'm being vague here because I think if you need to watch one episode of this series, it's this one (sail the seas if you must, but honestly you can binge a lot of stuff on a one month for WH+ if it's available in your country).

This series already dropped a lot of subtlety for the sake of showcasing the grimdark aspect but this one I think was the most necessary, especially by using Imperial Guard, who have too many fans who think that being the underdog means being noble protectors of humanity.

As for a final review on the series, I found that it managed to work out its three episode structure the best of the Warhammer+ shows. While the first episode has a bit of an issue with getting lost in being a sequel to the Pariah Nexus series, it manages to at least wrap up everything it needs to do in its episode.

As someone that's gone through most of the animations on this subscription, this one managed to hit all the right notes and stick its landing the best.

[fraeuleintaka]

Chibi Sprite Comparison: Old vs New

This is the 55th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 26 days left until release!

Today's topic: a direct comparison between the old Pixel Art with the new HD Art Chibi Sprites!

The official Ace Attorney facebook account has posted several gifs showcasing the difference between the new and improved HD chibi sprites with the old pixelated versions and even some sketches of the process of making the new sprites.

The first few sketches are shown with Ray's (Eddie's) running animation as an example. Left is the base sketch and right are all the added details for the new graphics. The notes are in Japanese so I can't read them but even without it's easy to see how much has changed. Especially around the face and hands as well as the hair and creases in the clothes. It's amazing to see how much effort they put into these! Something I only noticed in this direct comparison is how they actually changed the scale of some stuff (e.g. the shoes are less bulky) and even some positions (e.g. the hand holding Ray's hat moved to the front while it was more on top of the hat on the old version). I think this makes it look more natural overall, with the pixel art it was more important to make the relevant stuff noticable and details didn't matter because you wouldn't see them anyway but with the HD graphics you see every little thing so everything has to fit perfectly. Amazing!

We also get to see some animations of side characters that we didn't get to see before! Here's Gumshoe's lovely police dog Missile, for example. Now he's even cuter! I love how detailed his running animation is. And the movement of the fluffy tail! So cute!

Coloured sketches are presented with Larry's walking animation as an example, probably because he swings a little from side to side while walking and that detail comes across incredibly well in the updated sprites. I love how you see a little more of his face when he moves and how the creases in his pants follow the movement as well! The colours are stronger and you can tell that Larry looks kinda bored. Interestingly, the little paint stain on his upper arm is missing in the HD version. I don't think anything in the other sprites ever disappeared with the change from pixels to HD. Maybe this isn't the final version yet? Or they thought it looks better like this?

Another new character sprite that's shown is Winston Payne's forehead tapping animation and I love it. He appears as a cameo in both first cases (no first case without a Payne), although he does have a tiny bit of plot relevance in I2-1, and tries to make himself appear a lot more important than he is. He does look pretty neat in the new HD style! I especially love the lock of hair on his forehead (looks very well groomed) and how you can see this self-assured, almost arrogant "I'm totally important!", expression on his face even with his large shiny glasses. It's so perfect!

There are also several comparisons made for sprites of some of the main characters; Miles, Gumshoe, Kay, Sebastian (Eustace) and Justine (Verity) to be precise; but they're all animations we've already seen on the website and that I've talked about before so I haven't added them. They all still look amazing of course. But seeing some animations for the side, and comparatively unimportant, characters is exciting in a different way since they usually don't get a lot of focus. Really appreciate them showing off a few of them!

[velvet-vox]

Oropo; the ideology of power behind being god: Part 2

One of the things that frustrates me the most about Wakfu (or Tot to be more specific) is his shameless, unconsidered, unprofessional misuse of pantsie writing. Now, don't get me wrong, pantsie writing isn't inherently bad, on the contrary: not only is it less taxing than a planned out story since it allows you to not waste your mental health on every single detail of your plot, but it also allows you to surprise the audience much more easily since you can just make up things on the fly; some of the greatest stories ever told (Avatar: the last airbender; Breaking Bad) are the results of on the fly decision making; but that's not to say that it's perfect, it actually has as many drawbacks as preplanned writing if not even more. (Cue FNAF)

You might have just ended a story arc or a season, and now you are tasked to follow up on your work, but haven't thought of anything ahead of time, so now you have to make stuff up or go back and look at any possible bit of potential and expand on that.

The biggest challenge here is of course, not contradicting your previous work; but let's say you don't wanna do that, let's say you get an idea that you consider so good that you can't just give it up but it requires you to do a little bit of a retcon: cue Oropo.

And although when stuff like this happens I always get so incredibly infuriated, I, for this particular fictional character, get so much more animated due the fact that the idea and the elements itself in how they were distributed are so unbelievably good that had the actual writing been more competent it would have created, in my honest opinion, the most unique and dynamic fictional antagonist of all time.

Let's go through all of the traits of Oropo in order of appearance to see what I am talking about:

Oropo isn't directly introduced from the jump at the start of his arc, instead, we're first introduced to some of the members of his brotherhood, highlighting the main difference between him and the previous foes: Oropo is a mastermind type of villain (cue Slade from Teen Titans) of the secret variety (cue Bradford Buzzard from DuckTales 2017) as we later learn that he already influenced past events in the show (we'll come back to this); already, this is one of my favourite villain archetypes and it's not even the end.

Then, Lady Echo comes to Adamai and tells him that the purpose of the Brotherhood is to protect the world. Interesting motive, but I feel like it's incredibly easy to mess up depending on how much evil you want your villain to be; for example, Emperor Belos from The Owl House works because his solution to keep the world safe is to annihilate all witches and he only kills Caleb and Luz because he views them as corrupt and unreademable due to his Christian indoctrination; Oropo... it doesn't because it was all fake.

And then, we finally get to the third season, where we get introduced to the big man himself, and his huge ass tower that he challenges the heroes to climb. Some red flags are already present in the way the previous two episodes played out, but so far, he gives off the sense that everything has already been planned out beforehand and the heroes are just mere pawns in his master plan, not even a real threat.

And now that we finally meet him, we are quickly introduced to many other interesting traits: he's a philosopher, an idealist, he has a charming voice and personality that transpires into the uncanny valley due to it feeling like a robot, his followers look at him like a saint, even Adamai has his trust while he tells him his plan to overthrow the gods.

Speaking of which, as stated previously, his plan is so unique in the grand scheme of things since he doesn't just seek power for the sake of power and to become god because, rather he wants to instaurate a sort of "republic" of the gods with his cult, he has ordered the levels of his tower in a specific way to showcase his priorities, and, before he becomes mentally unstable at the end of the season, treated his followers kindly.

And then, the final reveal, foreshadowed in the Iop level of the tower, Oropo is actually Yugo's one thousand year old copy that was sent part of a race sent back in time by their creator on accident and had to hide their existence to avoid messing up the timeline and the whole "replace the gods" was a metaphor for replacing Yugo, Oropo's personal god.

.....

SO GOOD

At this point a part 3 is warranted, but in the meantime I'll join the rest of the fandom in their dissatisfaction and keep ranting about Oropo being, in my humble opinion, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest missed potential villain of all time.

<<<<Previous part

Next part>>>>

[kjagasanpijrtu]

Thought I'd make a showcase of some of my conlangs, so I'll start with the one I'm working on rn

Or mesako! Jenojarko Ajir gi mo do heni'a'in.

[oɾ mɛsɐˈko] [jɛnojɐˈɾko ɐˈjiɾ ɡiˈ moˈ doˈ hɛniˈʔɐʔin]

Translation: "Hello! My name is Ire and this is my language."

This is Fjatli, or Sfarokchosti [sfɐ.ɾo.k͡xoˈs.ti] if you'd rather use the endonym. It's inspired mostly by the grammar of the Muscogee language but with a good few liberties taken, especially with my use of a German-esque orthography, and in its lore is spoken by an indigenous people who are known for their relationship with luck, their beautiful and intricately styled hair, and their perseverance against all odds

Much like Muscogee, Fjatli is polysynthetic. So words take multiple and often many prefixes and suffixes, so often entire sentences can be contained in just one word (which is actually a help since Fjatli doesn't have any pronouns at all)

Eraba. : Eat.

Erabata. : I eat.

Erabanita. : I am eating.

Anerabanita. : I want to be eating.

Jo'anerabanita. : I want to be eating you.

This is a weird example (and there are certainly more useful examples) but it shows how verbs work in Fjatli. Nouns, adjectives and adverbs operate similarly but aren't as complex (however this is still a WIP so I'm planning on expanding all of them.) I'll show an example of ownership and definiteness in nouns

Fjer : Friend

Cafjer : The friend

Fjerin : My friend

Fjerag : Your friend

Fjerob : Their friend

Fjerimin : Our friend

The main word order for Fjatli is generally VSO whenever other words are needed. So "the animal wants to eat a fruit" would be said in the order of "wants to eat the animal a fruit" similar to Irish, Welsh, Classical Arabic, and many Polynesian languages. Also make sure not to forget subject and object markers, similar to Japanese. Here's a full breakdown

A'aneraba ja cacoxot do t'ano.

[ɐʔɐnɛɾɐˈbɐ jɐˈ t͜͡ʃɐt͜͡soǃoˈt doˈ tʼɐnoˈ]

[It wants to eat it] [sm] [the animal] [om] [fruit].

And you can expand on this by putting indirect objects before the verb. Combine this with Fjatli's verb aspect system that can still give a detailed description of events in time without any tenses at all, and you get my absolute favorite sentence I've translated for this language: "I bleed through my instrument"

Isorogin chonsoho'inerta.

[isoˈɾoɡin xonsohoˈʔinɛɾtɐ]

[My instrument] [I have and often bleed through]

This is what I love so much about polysynthetic languages, like in just two (albeit pretty long) words this language can say something that takes English upwards of eight words to fully convey. Especially since the verb in that last sentence takes advantage of the perfect habitual aspect (where the verb has been completed and will be several times in the future) which can't be easily communicated in English

This was just an introduction to the basics of Fjatli, there's even some stuff in the greeting at the top of this post that I didn't get into so maybe if there's demand I'll make a follow-up that explains more (as a gift to anyone who notices that there's click consonants in this language). I also made a writing system for it and I'm not gonna let anyone live in peace until they've seen it because it's so cool (I say that about all the writing systems I've made)

Or menoko, fjerin!

Edit 1: fixed some glaring spelling mistakes (I wrote this at 4am and I'm not entirely sure it wasn't a fever dream)

Edit 2: finally found out how to do smol text

[crazyworldofemmamarie]

Day 27 of Rammstein's Countdown to Halloween

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974, dir. Tobe Hooper)

Plot: While visiting her grandfather's old place, Sally and her brother, along with their friends run into unimaginable horror in rural Texas.

Okay, I'm sure we we all waiting for me to do this. For me, this is the best horror film out there, like ever. I could go all day about it if I wanted to but I'll try to keep it as short as I can.

First off, I am really impressed by the horror and suspense that the film gives us. Like, yes to be fair, a maniac chasing you with a chainsaw is totally far fetched however the idea of any of this happening is quite possible. The film itself deals with a lot of themes and I feel can be taken in many different ways.

First off, the whole industrial/slaughterhouse mindset is the obvious one. The film does an excellent job showcasing the gritty reality behind the treatment of animals in those facilities and does so in way where it spins the protest for it on its head but replace what would be the lambs being sent to the slaughter with people.

I also think with the films, gritty, dark and gritty aesthetic, it can be also seen as a dark side to the 'American Dream" where we see our villain's doing anything they can do survive. The other half of it differently represents a darker side to the whole 'hippie' movement I find, where the whole idea of peace and love and get you into some dangerous situations.

An it's all speculation one whether this film was a response to industrial/slaughterhouse movement or even the Vietnam War, I like to think it was a combination of everything. This film is a complete representation of it's time and as it was stated before, it's almost like it a darker side of it.

Another thing I really enjoy about this film is how it's one of the first 'slashers' (the other being Black Christmas, being released in the same year), without Leatherface and his final girl Sally, there really wouldn't be any of those classic tropes with the evil hillbillies, killer's mask and weapon of choice, all that fun stuff. Before in those classic horror, it was always the outback bumpkins everyone would run to for safety, this time, they are the danger themselves (them being Leatherface and his family).

I also really like how ahead of it's time it was as well with certain aspects as well, again with the final girl Sally. In all fairness, most of the films that came before her, usually it's man or group that saves the woman, in this case, she is by herself and that ending is just something else. Not only that, the fact the character of Leatherface uses his masks as different personalities and there's the infamous 'Pretty Lady' mask that I'm sure most of us have seen once in a while and that's just to use a famous example and the reason why I bring that up is cause Leatherface is canonically a transvestite is just crazy to me. It was a time where I think the western film world was just opening itself up to further investigate sexuality and identity, and not only the film world, but society in general was moving into this idea of sexuality with the lgbtq+ movement and even the feminist movement which was all happening throughout the 70s. This goes back to me saying that the film really kills it representing its own decade cause the world was changing and I think a lot of people felt it wasn't necessarily for the best the feared, it was almost like the film was made to show that. A film that made all of these fears come true, no matter where you stood for how you seen the world at that time, it fund a way it flip it upside down.

Moving on, I love that most of the horror happens in the daylight, I find it is just more affective. I like how the film is not as violent as you expect it to be, and it really lets you add two plus two which is perfect. hat's actually a writing rule I've learned before too: Let the audience add up two and two, they will love you forever.

There are just so many memorable shots, lines and even scenes. It's an extremely well written film, that gets straight to the point, doesn't leave any details out and just takes whatever risk you many expect it to take. As much as production was absolute hell for the cast and crew and they all really deserve purple hearts, especially Marilyn Burns (Sally) who literally had her finger cut for one scene, jumped out a win down and took what every came her way, seriously! I highly recommend reading about how they made the movie in fact there is a really good documentary that's on YouTube and Tubi called a Family Portrait that explains everything . All of them did what they had and faced some rough circumstances thing and that's gotta say something being put through all of that and just running with it. I know a lot of them claim they felt the film might go nowhere and didn't expect it to gain it's popularity but they all must of seen something in it to keep going.

The cinematography is incredible. The scene walking up to the house, Leatherface reveal, THAT opening shot and even the landscape shots really find a good way to showcase a certain beauty behind everything. The scenes are so powerful, especially the dinner and ending (which Gunnar Hansen who was Leatherface's original actor improvised!). The sound score is so haunting and the kills are just genius.

I could talk someone's head off all day about this film, it's one of the many movies that made me want to study film in the first place. I love it and I always will and in my completely bias opinion, this is the best horror film ever.

Oh! And here is a YouTube link to the documentary if anyone is interested, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait (1998)

Texas Chainsaw Massacre: A Family Portrait | Full Slasher Horror | Horror Central - YouTube

[tuxedaaron]

I'll admit, when I made the decision to draw some pics for Green Lantern: The Animated Series, this wasn’t my choice for the first one.  But I was struck with a sudden wave of inspiration and the pencil work looked so good, I couldn't help but get to it.   Besides, at the time I was in the mood for something simple. Like with my Spectacular Spider-Man fanfic ideas, I've got too many GL:TAS fanfic ideas to ever write them by myself.  So like with SSM, I decided to draw a series of pics to showcase my main ideas in the hopes that I might draw co-writers to the cause to help me out.  This one here is one of the big ones. After absorbing and assimilating the colors of the Emotional Spectrum, Aya is resurrected as a White Lantern.  Gifted with new power and, literally, a new lease on life, she now makes it her purpose to understand it in all its forms.  As such, she spends most of her time on the Blue Lantern homeworld of Odym (pictured here).  As a planet that teems with more life than any other, it's the perfect environment for her to observe its natural cycles and absorb all the knowledge she can.  Of course, she has other reasons for making Odym her adopted home, but I won't get into that here (don't want to give TOO much away). Despite the simple nature of the pic, this whole thing was pretty much an experiment from Minute One.  I knew when I made the decision, I wanted to draw the pic DCAU style.  And having some experience with that at this point, it wasn't that tough...at least the head and the torso.  And then I got to the legs.  Now anybody who's been watching my stuff for a while knows full-well that I likes me some good shapely legs.  So to assimilate Aya's legs into my preferred method took a bit of doing.  Not that her legs aren't attractive in their own right, they're just contrary to what I'm used to drawing.  But after a couple of tries, I managed to get it done in a way that I liked. The other challenge here was the color scheme.  I knew how I wanted it to look in my head (creamy white for the armor, a light-grayish skin tone), but until I saw it, I wasn't sure if it would work.  There were a couple of things I changed on the fly.  Her lips, for example, I know I could have made darker.  But that, to me, just conjured up too many comparisons to Raven from Teen Titans.  So instead, I chose to go the other way and keep them a straight white and it still works. And that's where we come to the rainbow-colored highlights, which were, BY FAR, the biggest gamble.  But this was something I wanted to add for a couple of reasons.  One, because she was going to be pretty much bland white, I wanted SOMETHING in there for a bit of contrast.  Also, I wanted to still illustrate Aya's mechanical nature through the highlights all the colors of the Emotional Spectrum that she assimilated and now runs on.  I really didn't know how this was going to look when I started.  But when I was finished, I have to say, while it may look a TEENY bit odd, it wasn't something I disliked enough to do away with. Besides, I still think it works as an animated feature of her.  Picture all of the colors in a constant state of rotation, with certain colors becoming more predominant than others with changes in her emotional state.  For example, in a moment of shock or uncertainty, her highlights would change primarily Yellow, in order to illustrate Fear.  As such, she's almost like a living mood ring.  Talk about literally wearing your heart on your sleeve, am I right? ^_^ All-in-all, I'm quite happy with the pic and I hope everyone else is, too.  And if this pic should happen to make you curious about my fanfic ideas and possibly want to help me out so they can be written, so much the better.  One way or another, as always, I look forward to hearing what you have to say. ^_^

[valentinesweetheartspecial]

what manga is that double one? I can't find anything about it

I take it you are asking me about this :

This isn’t a manga! This is a multimedia series called Milgram . I will proceed to explain Milgram under the cut

Milgram is a story told primarily through voice dramas and songs, and is supplemented by some other stuff that mostly provides character info, like posts on the Milgram app and interrogation questions posted to Twitter. It’s written by Yamanaka Takuya and DECO*27, who writes almost all of the music in the series.

The premise of Milgram is that there are 10 prisoners, all in a jail of sorts, all being judged for their “sins”. It’s up to the jailer, Es, to judge them for their actions in 3 separate trials— the decisions that Es takes are directly influenced by us, the audience, because we get to vote for their verdicts! A main pull of Milgram is the fact that it’s entirely based on questions about morality. All of them are murderers, you’re not being asked to judge if they’re guilty or not— you’re being asked if you forgive them. Of course, that means that some of these are very morally grey and some of these aren’t even direct killings. This can get very…tricky, especially when the story gets as cliche as it does at times LMFAO

The songs can all be found here. Voice dramas can be found …anywhere….probably. Usually I just look up “(character) voice drama translation” on tumblr and I find one. You can listen to them on streaming services and on YouTube , probably. The music videos all have English subs already. Currently we are in the midst of trial 2, so we’re waiting on Amane, Mikoto and Kotoko! So you can still have fun voting time yayayayayay. U can vote Here

The guy in the art I posted—the double thing—is Mikoto Kayano, the 9th prisoner. Here’s his first trial art vs his second trial. As you can see he’s not doing too great. The art you saw is the jacket art for his second trial song, Double, which releases in October.

Mikoto is a perfect example of Milgram’s ups and downs. He has one of the best songs in the series and his first MV showcases their truly amazing ability in animation— at the same time, he is seemingly very poorly written and is a mental illness serial killer . The hope for him is minimal . I’m on this ride to see how he turns out and how they salvage this already sketchy plotline for him. Idk, there’s two trials left, maybe it’ll turn out fine …somehow …..

Anyways yeah, Milgram is a multimedia series that tries to ask deep morality questions but sometimes it feels like they’re like. Do you forgive this woman for getting an abortion. How do you feel about this child with mental illness who killed people. Thoughts. So😭. Imo it’s not all bad and definitely worth getting into if you feel like it, the music is definitely really good ..so…yeah

If you end up liking this series shoot me an ask or something! Thanks for asking I love explaining things always

[vitaliadev]

On marketing

2024.09.16, 4:36am

The easiest way nowadays to market a game:

-tiktok

-famous twitcher/youtuber review

Based on other titles I observed, animations with characters are a great way to pitch idea even without the game. When it comes to ILL for example, the snipped of both environment and gameplay sells it well.

With my idea it is a bit tricky, because it relies on mystery and intentionally "character-empty". It is a walking sim, so in a video ti would look like location exploration with zero gameplay, so it isn't even clear if it's a game at all. Which isn't bad per se, liminal games are done this way.

But anyway. In current state there is particularly nothing to use for making a video.

But, i can join it with feed of my 3d/UE general stuff, and this also would help me to promote Patreon/ Youtube, my ig (which needs overhaul/cleaning).

I don't have much worry aobut promotion, I think concentrating on realism/VR in Unreal engine is the winning combo, because even few stills I did with Metahumans look stunning. It is more aoubt making the walking sim worth experiencing first-hand. And IO concentrate on walking sim mainly to limit my scope and deliver a title asap, it is a starting point, not the whole game. But the potential expansion depends on my savings/employment/funding. I have no question I can do it, I just have no limitless time/money combo to plan as far as needed for the "ideal" scope.

For now prepare my socials and look thorugh what I already post (unrelated to project), as well as continue development until i make 1 cut scene and incorporate music etc. In January I will start serious promotion on social media.

Another thing, with review: the game relies on mystery plot twist. It is already out there in the demo, so I either need to rewrite the script or keep it as "intro". There is a potentially interesting way to make it an intro, play as a villain, pick your next wife and get multiple endings, but I do not like bluebeard and his victim choice to make it a gameplay. There can be a way to retell the story, but it will be a change in main antagonist persona, and I wanted a classic tale. Overall, too many ways I can change it. I think i need to just slow down completely and develop to perfection the current demo with zero extra layers. Yea, the hook/reveal is out and stuff, but also it is a good portfolio bit. the mix with my other project is why it all written this way, so for now I'll just forget aobut alterations and treat it as a test drive for full development cycle including publishing on steam. Maybe it will be just a small VR walking sim title, exactly the way it is plot wise, zero extras. Even fi it's short, if quality is good, my goal will be achieved (which is showcasing the production level of my studio).

[jade-j17]

Makeup advertisements

Makeup companies are your best friends and worst enemies. Let me elaborate on this statement. Many makeup companies that advertise their products use people with the qualities they are looking for. Whether it is ‘perfect’ clear skin, long eyelashes, big lips, or chiseled features, it promotes their makeup and tells audiences that they can look like the models they advertise by simply buying and using their product. This may not always be the case because everyone is different, and something that works for one person may not work for the other. They also tend to photoshop their models to fit their beauty standards because makeup can only do so much. This is another example of how marketing to women consistently sets unrealistic beauty standards. What I mean by ‘they’re your ‘best friends’ is when it comes to surface stuff. They advertise their products to a certain audience. When the audience gets their hands on the products, they may be getting paid to sponsor them and make sure to uplift the ingredients, the application, the packaging, and the results. It nudges more women to gravitate towards buying whatever is being advertised. The hype around the product creates this placebo effect, making people think it’s working so well and it’s such a good product, but some of these companies use cheap ingredients and labor to create overpriced merchandise. It is all in the name and brand as well. We are conditioned to think that name-brand things will always be so good and worth the price, but you can find similar products for lower prices. An example of deceptive marketing occurred recently when a tiktoker named Mikayla Nogueira was caught faking a mascara advertisement. L’Oréal sent her mascara to promote. The company was unhappy with how it turned out, so she put on false eyelashes to promote the ‘effectiveness’ of the mascara. After this was discovered, outrage struck, and hateful comments were made towards the TikTok influencer for promoting false advertisement and dishonesty. Many companies lie about their products and exaggerate how they work to increase profit and sales. Photoshop is often used to smoothen models’ skin and create the illusion of small pores, no acne, and flawless complexions to showcase their products’ “effectiveness.” This topic also reminds me of the two-faced lip injection lip gloss experience that I once had. I tried the lip-injection lip gloss and got an entire allergic reaction. In my experience, my mouth was sore and bleeding. It felt dry, and it was cracked all over. This lasted almost two months, and I had to go on prescribed steroids and use different creams to eliminate the reaction. This is a solid example of going to dangerous extents for beauty. I used a product that affected me negatively because of how easily influenced I was to get ‘bigger lips.’ Makeup companies may even lie a bit about their ingredients or may not explicitly mention how some of their compositions contain lead in their products. Many of these brands also test on animals, which is very harmful, and many of your favorite brands may do this without your knowledge. Makeup itself may have its positive effects as well. I do not want to fully oppose any sort of makeup products or their effectiveness, but it becomes a problem when women are being fooled out of their pockets. They are being fed lies that they will, too, look like the models on the billboards. While in reality, it is just a scheme for more money and consumers. This is why it is always appreciated when makeup companies such as rare beauty and fenty beauty come out with realistic advertising. They include people of all shades and sizes to model their products, and it pays off in the end because inclusivity and honest branding prevent women from feeling insecure and not good enough. It squashes the ideology that you need to look a certain way, that you need to be bigger or smaller, or even that skin shouldn’t look like skin, when in reality, skin will never look like the smoothing filter, and that doesn’t make anyone less attractive.

[deepdreamnights]

It'd somehow take more time to paint over and correct individual frame-flaws rather than to do the whole thing from scratch? That doesn't make much sense.

I know how this is intended, but I'll answer it regardless.

Why don't I draw it myself?

The first answer is simply time. I don't think you understand the effort required to produce actual frame-by-frame animation, and the size of my team is one.

Modern animation packages can't generate the look I want. I want to make 1984-1995 action-adventure cartoons in the vein of what I grew up with. Cel shaded 3d (which would be my easiest avenue with my skillset) looks wrong and limits cast size, and attempts with vector-puppet systems fail even when used by professionals (reference the '88-2012 turtles crossover. They tried, I'm sure.)

I dunno, maybe the arthritis and pinched shoulder nerves.

As to the quality, yeah, it's rough. Few things to keep in mind:

I value style over a lack of jank. Other art-styles are way easier for the system to work with, and even in cel-animation looks it has a way easier time with human characters than anthros, and it has an even harder time with dinosaur-anthros than modern animals.

To that end, if I was using, say, the tech-soldier guy there for one of my projects, I'd be chopping out every other frame, because TV stuff from the 80s wasn't animated 'on ones' like that, certainly not for dialog scenes. Yes, everything is curated, but not everyone curates for gloss.

And what I'm doing mostly with free trials and a generator that's literally in alpha, with subject matter that's innately challenging doesn't really give an indication of where things are going to be in 3 months, much less six or twelve.

For an example, here's the same prompt, between Midjourney v2 and v6, what was out in Nov of 22 and what's out now:

The image on the right also generated in 2/3rds the time and has 16 times the pixel data.

But the person who waits for the tools to be exactly what they need never winds up making anything, because there's always a more perfect tool on the horizon.

Why bother if its going to be subpar when inspected closely?

A subpar cartoon that exists is better than a perfect one I never actually make.

Subpar is a stepping stone to par, which is a stepping stone to good.

It's about making the thing, so the thing can be enjoyed and I can tell the stories and say the things I want to through the thing. For me, art isn't a sport where you showcase your technical skill for glory. Instead, I see art is a method by which story and emotional resonance happen, and everything else is a barrier to get to that goal.

And finally-

TyrannoMax and the Warriors of the Core, 1986, Buzby-Spurlock Animation

[fumiko-matsubara]

List of Multi-talented AssClass Characters

This includes both characters who have actually showcased their many skills and characters who had shown potential to be multi talented.

¤ The teachers, assassins, and Gakuhou won't be included in the list as they are already a given.

Asano Gakushuu

I mean, do I even have to say anything? He's got the grades, the athleticism, the artistry, the reputation, and even being able to responsibly handle all of these at the same time. Rather than asking what else he can do, the better question is: What CAN'T he do??

This guy is the epitome of multi talented because it's not just him having a lot of skills, but you can really expect him to be good at each and every single one of them. Truly an ace.

Akabane Karma

This one is just half-assed lol. But let's be real, I can't even expressed how much of a genius this guy is, it's actually terrifying. Like imagine being able to remember the stuffs you've secretly studied for after two weeks of study ban, to the point that you managed to place 2nd in rankings among the entire 3rd years?? He's ridiculous.

I think it's just him being disinterested that's stopping him, because it should be obvious that he'd be the type to easily become scarily good at the skills he just picked up.

Isogai Yuuma

Being practical is his strongest suit. It probably stemmed from the fact that he's currently the one providing for his family, but I could totally see Isogai picking up plenty of skills just for the sake of making things easier. For all we know, he could've tried applying for different kinds of jobs that required certain skills before he settled on being a waiter.

Then top it all off with his good grades, being athletic, and leading the class well, yeah he's got it good.

Sugino Tomohito

One day we are going to have a whole discussion about Sugino having many hidden talents (that he's also VERY good at doing). Let's start off with baseball. It has been confirmed by Matsui himself that ever since Sugino had joined a local baseball team in town, along with perfecting his own curved ball pitching technique, it's been assessed that in the technical side of baseball, Sugino should have already surpassed Shindou in most areas.

As stated by Karasuma in the character book, Sugino literally has ZERO flaws in his assassination skills and if you look at his stats, there was not a single category that he was lacking in omg. Sugino had also shown exceptional skills in the art department, specifically in acting and drawing, as repeatedly praised by Korosensei.

Chiba Ryuunosuke

Being multi-talented isn't just about having as many skills as possible, it's also about being incredibly good at the skills you have even if they aren't that many. Chiba is a great example of this.

Sniping, maths, architecture, and spatial awareness ー those are some of the skills he was explicitly shown to have in canon and there is no denying that he is good at every single of one these. Not just good actually, but exceptional, to the point of being directly praised by actual professionals themselves.

Kayano Kaede

Being a gifted young actress, it would be no surprise that Kayano would have to have a very wide range of skills in order to be able to tackle any acting role given to her, which is what she was specifically known for.

And who passes the entrance exams of an academically renowned school on their first try at the last minute? She has it all lol.

Kataoka Megu

I think Megu is the type to find herself picking up skills and become good at them since she is a leader with a natural sense of responsibility. Especially when it's sports, because you're telling me that this ace swimmer with a record for freestyle swimming is also good at basketball, enough to both coach, lead, and carry her team all at the same time?? Damn.

Of course not forgetting the fact that she's also one with exceptional grades and is good at languages, Megu is defintely a well-rounded leader. Wish we could have seen more from her.

Hayami Rinka

As remarked by Koro-sensei, Hayami is a "jack of all trades but lacks in her own individuality and passion". Because she is said to be skilled enough in so many things, she became a reliable worker who people can depend on no matter what it is for as she can surely tackle them.

Perhaps a little bit too reliable? While there are some skills that she is obviously good at, like her sniping and dancing, I don't think people would really notice how much of an ace she is at first glance, likely because she wasn't being loud about it (as in she was lowkey).

Maehara Hiroto

Defintely the dress to impress type.

I am adding Maehara to this list because this dude came back 3 years later and suddenly he's good at b-boying!

He's good at sports, dancing, singing, he gets along with people, he dresses well, and for a carefree playboy like him, the last thing you would expect from him is his best subject being Maths, right?

I won't be surprised if plenty of these were just because he wanted to impress the girls he goes on dates with. If anything, it's likely lol. Whatever helps him I guess.

Bonus: Potentially multi-talented

Yada Touka

Being under the tutelage of Irina, it would be no surprise that Yada would end up wanting to expand her skillset as she'd find it beneficial for her in the future.

Nakamura Rio

Maybe because she's bored or just wants to be funny, but Nakamura had shown skills with... random stuffs (like diassembling gadgets or the ability to make geeky boys flustered with her dirty jokes through the school radio... 😭). As long as it can be funny, I think she can pick up anything she can use to toy with others.

Kurahashi Hinano

Drawing! It's surprising because no one can argue that she is the best at it among the girls, but it wasn't explicitly showcased AT ALL (if it weren't for that skills ranking in the manga extras, we wouldn't have known this). I wonder what else she's really good at that haven't been addressed.

Takebayashi Koutarou

I am adding that joke from the career chapter of Koro q that Takebayashi is apparently good enough at dancing to land a career for it 😂

But yes, he also ranked 4th best artist among the boys for being the "2D master". Being an anime fan does have plenty of perks... I wonder how good his singing is 🤔

[mintvender]

UTOPIA [ 7 ]

Pairing: BTS x Y/N

Synopsis: Y/N L/N, the name of the current monarch of Corea. They became the ruler after successfully ending the previous king along with the dynasty as well. In their harem, countless men are present to help balance the court’s power. However, is this truly their intentions? The palace was always a place that needs to be proceeded with caution but as time goes by, recklessness would most likely outweigh it. You found yourself unable to prosper the kingdom without being too connected to it.

HaremAu!

Warning : Suggestive Content

Word Count: 9.8k

A/n: Finally finished this chapter. This chapter marks the end of the first era where the main ensemble finally unite. However, this is also the start of something else. Tell me what you think, 🌿.

Masterlist

Humming a quiet melody, you felt the air around you stirred. Closing your eyes, you focus on the sensation of the flow around you, patiently waiting for a response. Expectedly, your question was not answered.

Nevertheless, you knew better than to give up your standing and continue to participate in this wordless battle. After all, as a member of the Crimson branch, it would hurt your pride to lose to such a miscellaneous game.

Slowly but surely, the air around you both began to constrict, seemingly trapping you in its borders. However, instead of surrendering to either of your guys’ unmoving selves, none made a move in anything close to failure and instead, waited.

Such a manipulator.

Seconds steadily merge into minutes, and before you know it, you are left with a quarter of an hour before having to head back. Looking at the entrance of the alley, it had seemed that the sun was already setting. Turning around to meet Raven’s eyes, you let out a smirk before pushing yourself off the walls.

“ If you don’t have anything to say then I guess there is no other purpose being here,” you taunted, heading towards the bustling street.

Purposely exaggerating your steps to enhance the sound of your shoes colliding with the floor, you confidently walk the opposite way, not glancing back. However, before you can bathe under the colourful lanterns, an arm slid around yours, pulling you back into the darkness.

Quick to hide your growing smirk, you let yourself be dragged back deep within the alley. Turning around, you look down at the piercing eyes, staring menacingly into your own.

“ Stop joking around,” Raven warned.

“ Answer my question then,” you insisted, “ Why have you called me?”

Even with the mask, you could tell that she was rolling her eyes at your ridiculous question. Reaching into her long sleeve, Raven took out a thin envelope and shoved it into your arms.

“ The Master wanted to give this to you.”

Looking at her knowingly, you flick the tab open, reaching in to get the paper. Pulling the paper out, you motioned her to bring the lantern closer. You both peered through the content of the letter, processing the intentions that have been conveyed. Looking into each others’ eyes, silently having a conversation.

After a while, you both synchronously nodded, agreeing on the best solution.

Standing straight up, you carefully tuck the letter into your inner sleeve. You patted the spot a few times to test its stability as you mindlessly listened to Raven’s plan.

“ You do know that it is better to do it now than later right?”

Stopping what you were doing, you clench your hands repeatedly while staring at the ground. Letting out a tired sigh, you tussled through your hair in frustration, making obvious attempts to ignore her question.

“ You kno—“

“ I know!” You growled, biting your inner cheeks. “ I… need time to adapt to this current life. After that… I will tell them.”

Without looking at her, you could already define her expression of knowingness. Even so, you ignored it, too caught up with your thoughts and forceful emotions.

Letting out a loud sigh, “ Mind joining me for a drink?”

Looking into Raven’s eyes, you could almost spot specks of whites and yellows swirling into her magnificent midnight black orbs. Despite how gorgeous they were, you knew that they held nothing more than pity and sympathy; ones that aimed at you— your decisions specifically.

Once again, you both held eye contact for however long before Raven broke it with a gentle shake of her head. She nodded, quietly accepting your invitation, stepping away from you.

Following her lead, you nodded, tightening your grasp on your own mask, in which you had taken off unconsciously during the discussion.

Fingers running through the surface, you admire each stroke that has been carved into the wood. Unlike Raven’s who was smothered in shades of black and grey, yours was painted in a variety of red and gold. In another way, it showcases the difference between your animal and hers.

Each member of the clan is subjected to form their alias based on their branch and their ones that resonate with them.

For example, your branch— the crimson branch is categorized as a physical branch, people who focus on close combat. As a result, all the members within the branch are named after predators of all kinds, except birds. Raven, who belonged to the Gold branch, specializing in long-distance attacks, are thus named after various avians. With that, the Azures are categorized to different strategic pieces and theories, while the Veridian branch are varieties of poisons, and the Titanium branch, are all the raw materials used for craftsmanship.

Bringing the mask to your face, you quickly fasten it, lifting your hair to hide the knot under it. You started heading out of the alley, Raven following right after you and into the clusters of light.

As you both walked through the noisy crowd, you glanced around at the assorted shades of lanterns that are hanged throughout the district, most in deep, bright shades of red, confirming that you were indeed in the epicentre of the red district.

The red district was a very interesting place that attracts a wide audience— for the many different reasons that are available. Some people come here to do business— both legal and illegally, while some search for companions—for the reasons you won’t go into. Anyways, in your guys’ case, it was the former. Now for whether it’s legal or illegal? You didn’t exactly know.

Along the way, you randomly chose a cozy-looking winery in the depth of the district, one that wasn’t filled with too many lustful people.

This particular winery was unlike many others. Instead of drenching in the odour of alcohol, the winery quickly filled your senses with a delicate and flowery scent. Curiosity hitting you like a brick wall, you glanced around to try and find where the scent was coming from.

“ Welcome, precious guests,” a velvety voice greeted.

Perking your head up at the voice, your head naturally followed the direction. Immediately after looking up, you were faced with a figure adorned in pieces of red. Unexpectedly, the voice owner’s face was beyond any noble ladies in the capital, with a sharp yet captivating gaze, and perfect proportions. To say the least, she was flawless.

Seeing your guys’ silence, the lady let out a smile.

“ Please, follow me,” she said, leading you into a quiet corner, invisible to most people.

You nodded in gratitude, taking a seat on one of the wooden chairs.

“ What would you like?”

Looking contemplated, Raven asked, “ What do you specialize in?”

Eyes sparkling in excitement at Raven’s word, the lady clasped her hand together before clearing her throat, “ Finally! The Silvering Winery specializes in mixed drinks.”

Raising your eyebrow, curious of the reason for her being so excited, you asked, “ Don’t people come here for that since it’s your specialty?”

Reacting to your question, the lady huffed out a sigh, her eyebrows crunching up in frustration. “ Of course not! All we have coming are old, drunken men who know nothing more than jugs of those tasteless alcohol! With our location, even if so hidden, people still manage to find it. No one ever asks for mixed drinks… until now at least.”

You smiled, taking interest in her talk, “ Any recommendations you have?”

Tapping her chin carefully, the lady took her time to think as she scanned over the both of you. “ Mhmm, how about this? I’ll create drinks based on what I get from each of you.”

Raven hummed in agreement while you nodded in interest,“ Please… Mmm...Is there perhaps a name we could possibly address you?”

Plushed lips curling up to a smile, she answered, “ Please call me… Lisa.”

“ Sounds foreign.”

Lisa nodded, “ I’m from the west.”

Smiling at her words, you introduced, “ Please call me Phoenix.”

“ Raven.”

“ Then we’ll be in your care, Lisa.”

Turning around, Lisa headed off to what seemed to be the kitchen, “ Don’t worry, I never disappoint my customers.”

You waited for the retrieving figure to enter the kitchen before setting your eyes back to the decor of the place. The whole venue was covered in wood, planks attached to the floor while chunkier pieces are used to form tables. Smaller pieces of wood are spotted splattered across the walls and the tops of the very many seats. On your guys’ table, a tray sat there, holding a plate of sweets accompanied by two wooden cups, filled to the brim with scorching hot herbal tea.

Reaching over to grab yours, Raven following right after, you both enjoyed the taste of the herbs in silence. Letting the bitter taste coat your skin, you hummed in satisfaction as the warmth spread through your body, seeping into your core.

Unlike your usual mask where it covers your entire face, this one only covered half of it, thus making it much more convenient to use during these situations.

“ It’s been a while since we’ve had a normal conversation.”

Humming in interest, Raven continued to sip her tea.

“ How have you been?”

“ ...I’ve been good. Just the usual stuff, nothing new.”

Nodding in acknowledgement, you reach over to grab a piece of sweet.

“ How have you been?”

Biting into the dessert, you munch on it while thinking over the question. “ It’s been hectic. This year has been a little … overwhelming.”

By the perked-up eyebrows, you could tell that she was interested in your wording but seeing how she had no intentions of mentioning it, you also dismissed the minor detail.

“ The Master had given you such a significant mission, it’s no wonder it would be so tiring.”

Tightening your lip to form a small smile, you nodded in agreement, your head bouncing with the force. “ In the beginning, I often wondered why the Master has assigned me to be leading this mission when there are clearly more suitable people than me.”

“ Who?”

Looking down to your own cup, you stared into the reflection of yourself painted on the layer of liquid. “ … For starters, you.”

Chuckling at your response, Raven eyed your slightly sunken form. “ Me? I have no interest in this type of mission. In fact, I’m quite glad that you were assigned to it. This way, at least, I have some reassurance that the mission is more likely to succeed.”

Refusing to look at her, you smiled in acknowledgement, the happiness unable to reach your eyes.

Seeing your sullen state, Raven reached out her hand to grasp yours, comfortably stroking over your knuckles.

“ You will do fine. In fact, you’ve done so much more than what that bastard has ever achieved in his entire life.”

Wincing at Raven’s profanity, you cracked out a smile.

“ You’re lucky he’s dead, if not…” you spaced out, slicing your finger across your neck to continue your sentence.

Raven smiled at your joke. “ You’re part of the Crimson branch, Y/n, a predator that stands out among the rest,” Raven reminded you, “ I know that this is weighing a great deal of pressure on you but know that we are always here to assist you.”

“ ...You’re really bittersweet, Raven.”

Blinking calmly at your comment, Raven replied, “ Of course.”

Feeling the conversation fade away, you both followed the flow, quietly minding each other’s interest.

“ What’s with the atmosphere here?” Lisa announced, entering the scene, carrying the beverages on a tray. “ Now, now. Don’t be too sullen. Let me cheer you up with these drinks,” she proudly proclaimed.

Looking at the drinks that she had placed in front of you, your eyes glimmered in interest. Picking the cup up, you brought it closer to you, inspecting the contents within the cup.

“ What is this?” You asked, sniffing the aroma that was escaping.

Resting her arms on her hips, she explained, “ With Raven’s, I decided to go with a simple drink. A combination of our winery’s signature wine and rice wine have been added to highlight a clean yet edgy taste. Swan Knife”

Raven nodded, lips curling up in satisfaction. Picking up her cup, she slowly bring it to her lips, taking small gulps to savor the taste. “ Swan Knife? Mhmm, it fits.”

“ Of course.”

“ What about mine?”

Clapping her hand in excitement, Lisa giddily answered, “ Yours was a combination of the winery’s freshest batch and an old brandy imported from the west. I topped the drink off with a little citrusy tang to highlight the harmony of the senses. Overall, you will experience the sharp, bitter, and tangy sensation in one mouthful. Bittersweet Kiss.”

Taking in a deep breath, you mentally cringed at the name while Raven openly smirked at the coincidence. “ Sounds like a roller coaster,” you hummed, taking your gulp.

Closing your eyes, you let the taste of the alcohol cover every crevice of your mouth, confirming what Lisa said to be true.

“ Interesting,” you said, “ Definitely worth your praise.”

Preening at your praise, she happily thanked you.

Using the tea to cleanse your palate, you repeatedly go back and force between the two beverages.

“ Why don’t you join us, Lisa?” Raven offered.

Shaking her head, she gave out a sad expression, “ I’m afraid that won’t be possible. My other customers are waiting.”

Taking a quick look around, you couldn’t spot any other customer except for yourself and Raven. However, as if on cue, the door was slammed open, revealing a bunch of drunken men, toppling over each other to try and enter the space.

“ LISA! Give me the usual!”

Rolling her eyes at the male, she quickly covered it with a smile, bowing in greeting at you before heading over to the other customers.

“ She seemed like an interesting fellow,” you noted before going back to your drink.

“... Has the Master been demanding?”

Stopping yourself at the question, you bite your lip in confliction. “ In some aspects, yes, he is. But I still don’t understand what we are getting out from these missions.”

Raven swirl her drink in a circular motion. “ The Master is planning something big.”

You snorted, “ Of course he is. He wouldn't assign me this mission for some petty excuses. You...you know something right?”

Confirming your theory at her refusal to look you in the eye, you nodded in understanding. “ You don’t need to tell me. I understand.”

“ No, it’s not because I don’t want to tell you but it’s … complicated. But what I can definitely guarantee you is that the Master is planning something that you will never expect.”

Staring at her features, you slowly studied the face that you’ve known for years. Suddenly, you came up with a surprise connection, one you didn’t expect to come nor become real.

“ If I look at you now, you hold some resemblance with someone I know,” you nonchalantly commented.

Stiffening at your sudden observation, Raven fidget with the cup in her hand as you stared her down, trying to identify who it was.

“ Who?” She meekly asked.

“... H— No i think I’ve mistaken you with someone else,” you covered up.

There’s no way that this is a coincidence. I’m just overthinking it.

Subtly shutting her eyes at your response, it was obvious that Raven didn’t wholeheartedly believe your words but ignored it either way.

“ I heard that you started adopting consorts, and changed the initial plan.”

“ … I did unconsciously recruit a few more consorts aside from Taehyung, and did manage to alter some part of the plan. However, I promised that it’s nothing major. The plan is progressing relatively smoothly.”

Chuckling at yoru panicked voice, she assured you, “ It’s fine. There’s no need to panic, I was just asking… Are they good people?”

Unconsciously smiling at the thought, you hesitantly nodded. “ They’re interesting people. Certainly unique in their own little ways.”

“ You know that you attract many people to your ways, right?”

Snorting at her response, you cheekily grinned. “ Good or bad, I wonder.”

Raven looked at you knowingly, before smugly looking at the decor around you, not wanting to give out a verbal response. Raising your eyebrows at her antiques, you also took your stride in looking around.

On instinct, you looked over at the opened doors to be met with a background of the dark sky, illuminated by lanterns. Hastily standing up, you bided Raven goodbye, “ Looks like it’s my time to go now. When you have the time, make sure to stop at my place.”

Going to the door, you almost couldn’t catch Raven’s greetings. Feeling a small smile adorned your face, you quickly exited the winery and back into the streets.

Looking at your previous spot, Raven mindlessly sipped her drink.

“ They’re certainly an interesting one, aren’t they?” Lisa pipped in.

Raven smiled, “ Definitely.”

☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️

Once again in the crowds of the festival, you hurriedly dodge through the drunkens, careful to not hit the vulnerables. Smiling every so often to showcase your politeness, your feet quickly carried you to the opposite end and eventually to a left turn.

Letting out a deep sigh, you were thankful for getting out of the mess in one piece. Just being in the place gets you to have flashbacks about previous experiences.

You slowed down your pace, making sure to not look any stranger than what already meets the eyes. . Unlike the previous district who was filled with energy, this place is quite tranquil considering it is a more major district of the capital.

Eyes constantly scanning the area, you felt yourself stopped at a particular parlour. Approaching the stall, you took your time admiring the items that were put on for sale.

Grazing over the various accessories, you smiled at how detailed the carvings are. Feeling your finger twitch at a certain ornament, you brought it closer for inspection. Hooking the look around your finger, you twirl it around to test its stability.

Not bad.

“ Owner, are there any other colors or designs for this?”

Clasping her hand in excitement, the owner hurriedly displayed the other designs available.

Eyes sparkling in interest, you inspect ones that caught your sight but couldn’t decide on which one to buy. Seeing your uncertainty, the owner said, “ If you don’t mind me asking but who is it you plan on giving it to?”

Looking up to look at her eyes that had started to droop from old age, you politely smiled. “ I am planning to buy it for a… a friend.”

Raising her eyebrows at your reply, the owner took a moment to look over at the collection, “ Is there anything in particular that stands out about them?”

“ … sunshine.”

Looking back and forth between you and the collection before she boldly handed you an ornament. Graciously accepting the ornament, you take a second to inspect the item.

“ This norigae* is sewn from one of the most popular materials this year. Even though the threads are sewn together, similar to a rope, it is very soft yet also extremely steady. The customer had said that your friend holds similarity to the sun so I thought that the golden color would suit them.”

Nodding at her observance, you happily accepted her advice. “ Thank you. I will take this one.”

Returning the ornament back to her, you looked down again at the accessories before spotting a few that had caught your eyes.

“ Owner, please also pack these up for me,” you said, pointing at a few items, “ Here is the money. Keep the change.”

Bowing at her in gratitude, you accepted the wooden box containing your goods before heading to the tea house. On the way, you once again tuck the box in your sleeves in case of any ill intentions roaming around.

Resuming your previous pace, you continue to scavenge around the district while on your way back to the tea house. Amidst the way, you noticed an inconsistent pattern of people that were accumulating in front of a store nearby, coincidentally blocking your path.

I must be aligned with crowds today, you sighed.

After standing in the same spot for a few moments, you begrudgingly put on a brave face and courageously walk toward the crowd, hoping to not be pulled to pieces.

Taking a deep breath at a particular hard jab, you desperately sucked in the warm, moist air around you, trying to not groan too loudly. Tightening your stomach in an attempt to make yourself seem smaller, you try your best to push through the crowd of people.

Hissing at a young lady that had bumped into you, stepping on your toe in the process, you suddenly found yourself stuck in the center, with no available escape route.

Sighing at your unfortunate situation, regretting your decision, you were suddenly aware of the admiring gazes that wee being pulled. Looking around in curiosity, you wondered why everyone was looking so intrigued … until you heard the strings of the gayageum* being plucked.

Ears on alert at the melody that was being played, you turned your head in the direction, your feet unconsciously headed towards the music until you were just behind a few other bypassers.

Once you had registered what was happening, your eyes widened in surprise at the main highlight of the performance.

Hoseok.

There he was, your Noble Consort, was at the center, seemingly carrying all the major parts of the piece, giving no care to the crowd that had surrounded him. Eyes closed, Hoseok let himself go and simply followed the flow of the music, in a complete trance where the only thing that existed was himself and the melody.

Robes fluttering along with his movement, Hoseok continue to move with th music, seemingly becoming one with the melody.

Speechless at the scene that is happening in front of you, you stared at his dancing figure in complete silence, completely forgetting where you are, too focus on Hoseok, himself. It also seemed that you were too involved in the performance that you, also gave no care to your surroundings.

Eyes staring at Hoseok, at his every movement— twirls, turns, and jumps, you engulfed yourself to enjoy the performance, deciding to put away your questions for later.

Slowly, one song after another ended yet Hoseok still kept dancing while you kept your eyes glued on him. No matter how many times you were pushed around, or the constant change in neighbours, you still remained in your spot only snapping out of your daze at a particular hard push.

Eyes glaring at the intruding figure, you shake your head to clear up your mind. Noticing at the slow change in melody indicating that the song was about to end, you looked at Hoseok one last time before turning around and returning to your tracks, this time making sure to not go off it.

At least I know I’m not the only one who’s late.

As you calmly walk through the street, the scene that had unfolded in front of your eyes kept coming back. Hoseok’s smooth yet sharp moves, soft yet powerful gestures, and how he managed to control the air around him made you more curious about him.

Who exactly are you?

Silently entering the tea house, you were too deep into your thought that you had even dismissed the greetings of the servants and instead just followed their lead to your previous spot.

“ Give me a serving of the sweets to go,” you mindless order.

Leaning back against the chair, you glanced down the window, searching for Hoseok’s incoming figure. However, you soon find out that he wasn’t going to come anytime soon. Even after receiving your sweets, Hoseok still did not come.

Placing the money down on the table, you grabbed the sweets and left the establishment and instead settled for the outside stairs to wait for him. Feeling your skin itch in agitation, you feel your anxiety increase as the minute goes by.

Where is he?

Feeling your mood getting increasingly worse, you accidentally growled at a man that accidentally touched you. Apologizing was a hazy memory when you were in this current state yet you still find yourself waiting, somehow not finding the need to go and find him yourself. However, in all of foolishness, Hoseok is bound to get at least a few of your lectures.

Finally, after the moon was halfway on its route, a familiar figure finally appeared. Letting out a breath that you didn’t know existed, you ruffled your hair in both relief and frustration; both emotions aiming at him.

“ Where have you been?”

Flinching at your cold tone, Hoseok couldn’t bring himself to look at you. Instead, he opted to look down at the floor, in shame.

“ Did you realize what time it is?” You asked, “ When did we agree to meet?”

Once again, you were met with absolute silence. At this time, most of the stores and parlours had closed with only a few lanterns available to illuminate the street.

However, unlike the calm and tranquil the cool night should bring you, you felt a wave of frustration engulf you. In the back of your mind, you thanked your abilities to heal the wounds in time. Because without it, the wound would have already reopened with how hard you were clenching your arm.

Aside from your blazing eyes and your tense grasp on your sword, Hoseok couldn’t find any other evidence of your anger. However, even without any evidence, he knew that you were letting out anything but positive energy.

“ Whatever, we’ll talk about this at a later date,” you said, drawing a shaky sigh before presenting your arm, “ Let’s go.”

Looking at your arm, Hoseok hesitantly holds onto it before letting himself be dragged by you.

The silence presented during your guys’ walk was what Hoseok had expected when he accepted your invitation. However, he also understood the reason for why such a tense sensation was presented and was not naturally there.

As you approached the palace gates, you let go of Hoseok’s hand, reaching into your sleeve to take out your hopae*. When the guard spotted your tag, he immediately opened the gate, letting you both in. Before going in, you reached over to Hoseok to entangle your hand with his, not saying anything at his surprised expression. Thankfully, Hoseok also followed the flow and didn’t comment on your actions.

During the way to the Noble Consort’s courtyard, an eunuch had run over, offering to help guide you but was answered by a denial. Instead, you took the lantern from his hands and dismissed him.

Once you both were finally in front of Hoseok’s courtyard, you finally let go of his hand. Hoseok, who was about to bow to you, stopped when he saw you reach into your sleeve, seemingly looking for something.

Unlatching the rope that had secured the box, you quickly took out the norigae that you previously brought. Throwing it over to Hoseok’s direction, you turned around and began to walk to your courtyard, not looking at his reaction.

“ A souvenir from me. If it’s not to your fancy, throw it away.”

Hastily catching the item that you had disposed into his hands, he confusingly looked at it before realizing what it was. Grazing over the norigae fondly, Hoseok carefully untangled the knots. Grasping the ornament tightly, he felt his lips turn upward at your gestures. Bringing it close to his chest, he looked at your disappearing figure, attentively.

☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️

Within the next month of the announcement, news of the arrival of the new consorts began to enter the palace, and eventually, reaching the court. The ministers and officials were overjoyed at the news, happy that they were still sending over the candidates despite your announcement.

Unlike others who were happy about the consorts’ arrival, Taehyung was still soured over the news, as well as your choice.

Despite Taehyung’s obvious disapproval, it was customary for you to at least spend a night with each consort in the first week, especially if they were from a different country.

On your first night of the three, you met your first choice from the piles of possible candidates.

Sato Chungho, was a righteous man who had an outstanding record and an ambition in politics. He was so intrigued by it that you had spent the entire night talking about the subject.

“ Politics, you say?” You asked curiously as you propped your chin on your hand.

Chungho enthusiastically nodded, eyes trained on your every movement. “ Yes, your majesty.”

You hummed, “ Why are you suddenly bringing this up?”

Looking down at his hands, Chungho fidgets with the fabric of his attire. “ I had heard that your majesty is well versed in this field. Since I have met you, I … I knew that love would never be able to blossom between the two of u—”

“ Why would you say that?” You interrupted, eyes peering down at him in interest.

“ You might not know this, your majesty but you have been a very popular topic in Shihoma. Previously, we all had known about how terrible the Corea’s monarch was but since your arrival, everyone couldn’t help but be intrigued by how you managed to take him down. More importantly, the way you handled this Consort Selection both showcases your dominance and how you’re not afraid to flaunt it. Many would have to think twice about doing this, especially for a country that has yet to establish a good reputation.”

“ Then wouldn’t my actions be considered to be reckless. If you think about it, won’t it be easy for other countries to fight ours since it’s so vulnerable right now?”

Chungho shakes his head, “ It would be unlikely because most people know that most of the soldiers had gone to your side before and during the rebellion. You didn’t lose that many soldiers so attacking you is not a minor matter.”

Raising your eyebrows at his answer, you nodded your head. “ Then what would you like?”

“ I would like…” Chungho gulped, “ to learn more about politics under you.”

A potential.

Cracking a smile at his uncertainty, you stand up from your seat. Waving your hands to signal him to come over, you invited, “ Come. Play a game of go with me.”

With that, Chungho giddily accepted your invitation and both of you found yourself spending the entire night indulged in all the games you had available.

On the second night, things turned out to be more interesting with the second consort.

“ Chin-Hae means the truth and a vast ocean, correct?” You had asked.

“ Yes, your majesty.”

“ And you’re a son of a merchant?”

“ Yes, your majesty.”

Scanning at him from top to the bottom, and bottom to top, you couldn’t decipher the unsettled feeling that is blooming within your chest. You have been caught up in many situations where there is a sense of familiarity despite being strangers. And this is one of those situations.

“ You look familiar.”

“ I am afraid that we have never meet until today,” he said, “ However, you might have find my demeanour similar to some of the envoys that are currently residing in the palace.”

“ … you’re from Xin May yet you behave like the Ecenyths, you must have travelled quite a bit.”

“ As a merchant’s child, I have started travelling since I could even remember. However, I did spent a reasonable amount of time in Ecenyth.”

You hummed in acknowledgement. “ Tell me the stories of the land you have visited.”

“ Where would you like to hear first, your majesty?”

“ … Xin May,” you decided, “ Tell me the culture, people, myths, legends. Anything of interest to your home country.”

Chin-Hae smiled, “ Yes, your majesty.”

As a result, you spent the entire night listening to the various stories from Chin-Hae; from the land’s culture to personal experiences and connection, Chin-Hae had told it in such an interesting manner that it captivated you every step of the way. He truly is a merchant.

I wonder if Seokjin is also good at storytelling.

On the third and final night, you were beyond exhausted with being deprived of sleep for two days straight and the constant piles that were presented on your desk. Thus, you didn’t have as much energy as usual and hoped that today will be like the other two.

Turns out, the third time was really the charm since it was completely different from the rest.

Entering your bedroom, you wanted nothing more than to fall onto the bed and travel to dreamland. Feet dragging your slouched body to the familiarity of your bed, you were suddenly hit with the realization of the slight change in the room’s placement.

Sobering up at the thought of an intrusion, you glared at every change in your normally simple chamber, feeling the irritation in you double. Aside from the difference in decor, the usual scent of lavender that would caress your skin was replaced with an overpowering scent of perfume. Feeling a headache reappearing, you sluggishly walked towards your bed only to be met with a big clump covered by a thin, transparent fabric.

The person must have noticed your speechless demeanour when they let out soft, high-pitched giggles. Normally, you would have define the noise as angelic but with your non-sobered state, fondness was not on top of the list.

Harshly grabbing the fabric, you forcefully tugged it off the figure and threw it to the floor. Looking into the bright yet hazy black orbs, you find yourself not knowing what to do.

“ Greetings to your majesty.”

Squinting your eyes in an attempt to find familiarity in the person in front to you but unable to do so, you find yourself speechless of what to say nor do. Suddenly, you realized that he was the one who you have chosen randomly, a person that you didn’t even bother knowing the name of.

Turning the other way, guiltily, you refused to look into the person’s eye, ashamed as what you did that day. However, the person seated on your bed took your action as an attempt to distance yourself away from him. As a result, he sneakily reach out his hand to touch your clenched ones.

Shivering at the chilling skin that had enveloped into your warmer ones, you looked at him, waiting to see what he would do.

As if knowing what you were hinting, the person took the opportunity to pull you to him, successfully setting you seated next to him.

Taking a deep breath, you could define the different fragrances that he was using.

Rose, with a light note of chamomile, citrus, lavender? No, what is it?    

Confused at what you were smelling, you didn’t notice the roaming hands that were venturing your body until it travelled to your thigh. In a moment of panic, you pushed him away from you, shocking him in the process.

“ You… what’s your name?”

Yet to recover from the sudden shove, the male hastily replied, “ P-park Jimin, your majesty.”

Awkwardly nodding at his answer, you make sure to raise your hands, signalling that you meant no harm. “ I apologize, Jimin-ssi. There was so much work that I seemed to forget your name,” you said, shuffling away.

You knew that lying was bad in this situation but you also knew that saying that he was chosen in a matter of luck was worse. In other terms, he was lucky to be picked and wasn’t picked based on his capabilities unlike the other two.

There’s no way that I’ll tell him that.

Once again, using the opening of you drifting off, Jimin approached you, hands delicately running up your legs, eyes glimmering with mischief and flirtatiousness.

Speechless at what he was doing, you could only stare as he continued to venture across the span of your skin. Gently prying his hands off you, you push Jimin away. This time, on alert for any of his upcoming initiatives.

“ So tell me about yourself,” you said, brushing off what had just happened.

Staring at you confusingly, Jimin’s finger twitches in agitation. “ Why are you doing this?”

“ What do you mean?” You asked, scrunching up your nose.

“ Why are you asking these questions when you already know the answer?” He asked, eyes hiding behind his bangs.

“ I apologize, it seems that I have offended you. These past few days have been so busy that I haven't had the time to go over your profile yet.”

“ You didn’t even have the time to look into me?” He murmured, eyes locked on the velvet sheets.

You waved your hand in a hurry, protesting. “ Of course not. I sincerely apologize. I truly didn’t have the time to do so.”

Part of it was true while the other wasn’t being told. Yes, you have been extremely busy that you didn’t have any spare time and would go to sleep straight away after you return to your courtyard. However, you also did pick Jimin randomly, thus not having the fresh opportunity to look at his portrait.

You were really regretting your decisions of following the ministers’ miscellaneous plans.

Picking his head up, you propped them on top of your hand, directly looking into his own. Seeing his stunned expression because of your initiatives was something unexpectedly amusing; plushed lips puckered out to form a pout, a crimson shade that is spreading along the span of his cheeks, and eyes widen in such a manner that you almost couldn’t stop yourself from cooing about his cuteness.

Regretting at not seeing his painted portrait, you wonder if the artist managed to capture his beauty.

Smiling gently at your gestures, Jimin blinks continuously to try and seduce you.

Smirking at his antiques, you followed whatever he was luring you into before trapping him under your body. Arms placed on either side of him, Jimin bravely looked at you, eyebrows raised in a suggestive manner.

Lowering yourself until you were barely above him, you whispered into his ear, “ What do you think you’re doing.”

Feeling an unfamiliar sensation blooming within his core, Jimin unhurriedly replied, “ Whatever your majesty wants to do, I will follow.”

Smirking at his response, you continue to tease him by grazing your finger lightly across his skin, similar to what he had done to you. Seeing him squirm at the feeling was definitely a sight to see; amidst your teasing, you could even see a slight change in demeanour for a moment before it was covered by the previous thin layer of lust.

How interesting.

“ Oh really?”

Shivering at the moisture of your breath, Jimin couldn’t help but anticipate what was about to happen. However, his fantasize was cut short when he was no longer pinned down, the previous pressure dissipating into the air.

Pulling away from Jimin, you turned around, starting to take off your robe. “ You may stay here if you wish. We can talk about whatever but nothing related to what we just did.”

“ … So you just wanted to tease me?”

Clenching your fist at his question, you shakily replied, “ I apologize. I… I wanted to find out something.”

Jimin bit his lip, eyes glaring at your back. “ And that gives you the need to tease me? You may be my master, your majesty. But I am still a human who has feelings.”

“ … I apologize.”

“ Apologies, apologies,” Jimin huffed out, “ If you don’t want me here then I will leave.”

Standing up, Jimin takes the fabric, previously thrown to the floor and wrapped it around himself. Walking past you, Jimin didn’t look at you and instead focused on the door. Pushing the doors open, Jimin was about to leave but was suddenly pulled back.

Gasping at the pulling force, Jimin staggered backwards into your chest. “ I did say that I would let you leave but I didn’t agree to you leaving while in such a foul mood.”

Now, against your chest, you and Jimin were at the same height, none towering over the other but within your presence, Jimin found himself cowering under your watchful eyes.

“ W-what do you want now?”

“ I want to apologize to you,” you said, “ What do you want me to do?”

Turning around to look into your eyes, Jimin undoubtedly could sense your genuinity. Still trapped in your embrace, Jimin took his time to think and weigh the possible outcomes.  

“ You would do whatever I say?”

“ If it’s reasonable, yes. I would do anything.”

Taking into consideration of your words, Jimin giddily thought up of various options. “ Then… give me jewelry as compensation.”

“ Jewelry? What do you want specifically?”

“ Anything that shows your favour in me. Things that would make people envy my position by your side.”

You nodded, agreeing with his terms. “ I will have something prepared for you by tomorrow and sent to your courtyard. For now…”

Looking over at your drawers, eyes sparkling up at the idea. Unlatching your arms around Jimin, you walked up to your drawers. Pulling a small drawer, you gingerly searched around before pulling a certain item out.

Returning to where you previously were, you gestured for him to turn around. You carefully placed the accessories against his skin, encasing the knot to secure the necklace in place. “ Keep this as a promise that I will fulfill my role.”

Grasping the pendant, Jimin looked over the design in awe before cracking a smile.

Seeing his smile, you commented, “ I see that you ar—“

“ Acceptable,” Jimin arrogantly said.

“ I’m glad,” you said, walking towards the table, pouring yourself a cup of tea, “ Let’s have a proper conversation now, shall we?”

Rolling his eyes at your comment, Jimin clenched the fabric wrapped around him before heading towards the table, taking a seat opposite of you.

“ Now, what can I know about you, Jimin-ssi.”

“ You don’t need to be that formal. Please call me Jimin.”

You smiled, “ Gladly.”

☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️

“ Now tell me about the Scavenge Disaster.”

Hastily going through the notes that he had memorized yesterday, Jungkook clumsily replied, “ The Scavenged Disaster was a breakout of droughts in the southern regions forcing many to go get refuge in other places?”

“ Continue.”

“ Mhmm.. the Sca—”

“ Say it with more confidence,” Taehyung interrupted.

Shooting him a glare, you scrunched up your eyebrows in frustration. Opening your mouth, you were about to say something when Taehyung continued to interrupt you.

“ How can you not remember the basics?” He degraded once he saw the hesitation that still lingered in Jungkook’s eyes.

Eyes widening at his words, you shouted, “ Royal Consort! Be careful with your words!”

Rolling his eyes at your word, Taehyung leaned back against his seat and focused on Jungkook, waving his hand for him to continue.

Shaking your head, you roughly slumped down into your seat, ignoring the stare that Jungkook was giving you.

Swallowing all the tension down, Jungkook went back to what he has been doing, now, even more agitated.

From the start of today’s lesson, the intensity of the air in the room was at an abnormal level. You all have noticed the change but no one put in the effort to address it.

“ When did this occur?”

“ Ten years before the previous dynasty ended.”

“ How old were you then?”

“ I was… ten at that time.”

“ I heard that you were constantly out of the palace,” you said, “ Must have been hard for you.” Nonchalantly looking down at the papers on the table, you didn’t caught Taehyung’s soured gaze.

“ Ten? You’re barely an adult now. Must have been a little brat,” Taehyung commented.

Sighing, you tiredly looked over at him, “ Brat? Look at you right now. You’re the brattiest yet.”

Taehyung scowled at your comment, “ Whatever. What has this lesson turned into? A personal bonding time for the two of you? Forget it, we’re done for today. I’m not in the mood for it.”

“ Jungkook you may go,” you dismissed him, letting out an exhausted sigh, and rubbed your tensed eyebrows. Seeing Taehyung also standing up, you were quick to confront him, “ You, dear Royal Consort, is staying until I tell you otherwise.”

Turning around, Taehyung looked at you with raised eyebrows, challenging you. “ You can’t control me.”

“ As long as I have the crown, there is nothing I can’t get my hands onto, including you.”

Huffing at your comment, Taehyung slumped down into his seat, not looking at you.

“ Why are you like this?” You asked, frustrated.

“ Why are you asking me? Ask yourself!” He yelled out, disbelief clearly adorned on his face.

“ What did I do?”

“ You took in three other consorts!”

“ I was forced to!”

“ You’re the owner of this land, no one can control you.” He said, using your comment as payback.

You chewed on your cheek at your words getting backfired. “ It's a minor problem, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“ Minor problem? Sure it is. So incredibly small that it caused chaos in the imperial court, agitating all the ministers.”

“ If you’re worried about them interrupting ou—”

“ I don’t care about the plan. What if they fancy you!” He retorted, pouting at his own words.

Eyebrows raised at Taehyung’s tantrum, you unconsciously lean back to enjoy the show.

“ You’re worried that they will gain power if they have my favour?”

“ That too,” Taehyung muttered.

“ Don’t worry. Chung-ho and Chin-Hae aren’t in the mindset of settling down,” you reassured, “ Chung-ho is too busy with his interest in politics while Chin-Hae will be travelling.”

During your guys’ little talk, you had personally promised to give Chin-Hae the privilege to exit the palace at will in return for little souvenirs that he will bring back. This may sound immature but you have plans for those items.

“ You guys are on first-name-basis now? Whatever, whatever, whatever... Then what about the third one?” He asked.

You tilted your head confusingly, not able to hear what he just said. “ What did you say?”

Taehyung looked at you, eyes piercing into your own. “ I asked about the third one. Jimin was it?”

“ Jimin?” You pulled out, chewing on your head as you remember what had happened on your guys’ first meeting. “ I don’t know.”

Taehyung pouted, “ Then there is still a possibility!”

“ If you don’t trust my words then go see for yourself.”

At your words, Taehyung turned around and walked out. “ I will.”

I will see for myself what you all have.

☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️

A week later, Taehyung upholds his promise by arranging an informal afternoon tea meetup with the rest of the harem. He definitely needed to see how these consorts are faring.

Seated in the middle of the round table where every person that comes and goes is in his vision field, Taehyung patiently waited for all the guests to arrive.

Slowly, the Blue Pearl garden started to get crowded by people, surrounding the table situated under the gazebo.

On his left, seated the Imperial Consort, the only consort that he, the Royal Consort has to show some face to.

It is best said that the relationship between the Imperial Consort and himself is not the best but it’s also not the worst.

We just don’t align, is what he would like to say.

Maybe in another situation, he and the Imperial Consort can find a common ground but in a harem, he is barely able to keep it under his control without the interference of another party. As a result, if’s they can’t be acquaintances then being neutrals would do.

Naturally, the farther they are to the host, the inferior their status is, meaning that when those new consorts arrive, they will be on the opposite side of him. More specifically, facing him directly on this round table.

On his right, there sat the eldest Noble Consort, who was all too busy with looking at the surrounding to spare him no mind.

I must agree to what Y/N had said. Childlike yet witty.

Perking up at another incoming group, Taehyung smiled in greeting. “ Ah, Consort Sato, welcome. Take a seat next to Noble Consort Jung.”

Bowing down in greetings, Chungho smiled at Taehyung’s words. “ Greetings to the Royal Consort, Imperial Consort Min, and Noble Consort Jung,” he said before heading towards the seat next to Hoseok’s

At least this kid knows manners.

Taehyung smiled in satisfaction, “ Good. I like you.”

“ I’m honoured to be in your favour.”

“ The Consort Yang has arrived!” The eunuch outside announced.

Turning his attention towards the entrance, Taehyung gently nodded in greetings, already not liking the person with a tacky smile.

Unlike Chungho, who was dressed in the imperial hanbok, expected of a concubine’s status; and behaved in a way much like so. Chin-Hae, instead wore the clothes of his homeland, and put on a disgustingly confident smile.

Normally, Taehyung would have overlooked this as he is also interested in ways one can express themselves through fashion but when that person is his rival, he simply can’t overlook it.

Like understanding what he was trying to convey, a maid by his side stood up. “ Consort Wang sure is unique.”

Instead of being offended, Chin-Hae beamed at her words.

Seeing his expression, Taehyung also smiled in amusement. “ Take a seat, Consort Yang.”

Interesting.

“ I heard that Xin May is a really energetic country.”

“ The epicenter for festivals and entertainment,” Taehyung piped in, casually.

“ It really is. I would say that I am forced to attend at least a dozen festivals every year. And that doesn’t even account to the ones specific to each region.”

Eyes widening in surprise, Hoseok leaned forward in curiosity. “ That must really be eventful.”

“ Sounds like you were busy.”

“ I really wasn’t. Besides, I would trade time for the smallest chance of getting to attend. Unfortunately, my father is trying to train me to inherit the business. Days fill with work and politics is too much for me to cope, however...” Chin-Hae denied, sighing at the thought of the constant work piles.

Blinking at his words, Hoseok commented, “ Right, I heard that Consort Sato is interested in politics from your majesty. Is it true?”

Looking up from his hands, Consort Sato bashfully nodded. “ I have been interested in politics since childhood but was never allowed to have any information on it.”

“ You enjoy politics? Such a unique hobby.”

Taehyung opened his mouth, preparing to say something when he was suddenly interrupted with an announcement.

“ Consort Park has arrived!”

Raising his eyebrows at the incoming figure, Taehyung propped his head on top of his hand.

Now, this is a sight to see.

Compared to the rest, Jimin’s attire was overly done. From the expensive materials that were used, to the intricate designs that were sew onto the fabric, one could definitely tell that he was born noble.

With every step, the bells of his bracelet could be heard jingling as Jimin draws closer to the gazebo. Putting on a confident smile, Jimin did a slight bow in greetings, hands clasped over his chest.

“ Consort Park certainly is prepared,” Chin-Hae commented, astonished at his attire.

“ I thank the Consort Yang for the compliment.”

Taehyung bitterly smiled at the act, feeling his slowly adrenaline rise.

“ Please take a seat, Consort Park. The sun is already in its third quarter and the event has yet to start. Without any further interrupti—”

“ Apologies, apologies, Royal Consort. I had to do some work and forgot the time. I didn’t miss out on anything major, did I?” A booming voice exclaimed, racing from the entrance to where they were.

Taehyung scowled at the familiar voice, eyes glaring at the rushed figure.

“ Merchant of the South,” Hoseok greeted.

Like who Hoseok had said, the steps of Seokjin grew closer to the gazebo, face brightened up at the sight in front of him. Stopping meters away from the entrance, Seokjin bent down to a bow in greeting. “ Greetings to the Consorts.”

“ I was not aware that you were invited.”

“ Apologies, I immediately rushed over the moment I heard that you were holding tea time.”

You knew that you were not invited and yet…, Taehyung rolled mentally rolled his eyes before looking to the side, silently motioning for the arrangements to be done.

Nodding at his signal, the person focused on the preparations, no longer caring at the stares he was receiving.

“ Seems like you knew that you were not invited,” Yoongi straightforwardly pointed out, “ Why are you here then?”

Motioning the maid to go get another chair, Hoseok added, “ Are you here to greet the new consorts?”

“ Partially. I was getting curious at the uprising of the new trio and wanted to go see for myself.”

Unlike others, Jimin reacted at the comment by clenching his jaded fist. Staring like I’m an animal, how daring.

Looking around, Jimin noticed how no one was fazed by Seokjin’s words, secretly stunned at how nonchalantly all of them are until his eyes met with Yoongi’s. Flusteredly looking away, Jimin made a move to smooth out his attire, fidgeting with the fabric along the way.

“ Apologies, only those who have been given permission to attend can do so,” Taehyung's eyes narrowed Seokjin’s figure, “ Besides, I believe the envoy has much better things to attend to than some measly tea event.”

The merchant shook his head in disapproval, “ Attending this event is also part of my duties. The emperor has specifically ordered me to visit the consorts frequently to build a better relationship with them… Also, it had seemed that I was not the only one that came without being invited.” After that, Seokjin’s eyes automatically set its attention on the person behind the table of herbs.

The host smiled, grabbing his wooden fan on the table before flicking it open, gently oscillating it, “ Hmm?... Ah, care to answer that by yourself?”

Setting down the equipment, Namjoon unhurriedly waited for all the boiled water to drain from the pot before gently placing it on the tray. Motioning the maids to bring it, Namjoon made his way to the centre table, smiling all the way. Stopping a couple of steps behind Taehyung, Namjoon clasped his left hand over his right and bowed, “ I apologize for not greeting you, Consorts… Envoy of Ecenyth. Thanks to the Royal Consort, I have the honour of concocting all the drinks that will be served.”

Scanning up and down, Jimin observed Namjoon’s manners, picking up the Royal Consort’s obvious favour towards him. So he is on his side, or maybe… Jimin smiled at the thought which skillfully got hidden by a tea cup placed in front of him.

“ Concocting? Sounds like this will have many benefits.”

“ Of course, Noble Consort Jung. It wouldn’t be right of me to not prepare a nutritious drink,” Namjoon explained.

Hoseok only smiled but made no attempt to reach out for the cup. “ Please sit down, envoy. Why not have a cup of tea while you are here?” He offered once he realized Seokjin was still standing.

Smiling gratefully, Seokjin quietly slipped on to the seat that was just delivered.

Scanning around, Taehyung noted how not a single person had consumed the tea. “ Why aren’t you tasting it? This variety is quite fragrant and won’t be as nutritious if taken cold,” Taehyung commented, letting out a teasing smile, “ Perhaps you all are afraid that it is poisoned?”

Feeling the people around him tensed at his blunt words, Taehyung picked up his own cup before taking a sip from it, flipping it over to show he had finished it. “ See? Now, drink up.”

Sighing at Taehyung’s words, Yoongi deadpanned at how appetizing and easy it was to step into his trap. How annoying, he thought, glancing at Namjoon before staring into his own. Yoongi gracefully lifted the cup to his nasal, taking in a whiff of its scent. Placing the porcelain edge against his lips, Yoongi carefully took a sip. “ Not poisoned.”

Making eye contact with Hoseok, Yoongi subtly nodded, confirming what he previously said was true. Relying on his words, Hoseok also took a sip and smiled at the pleasant taste. “ Such a smooth taste.”

Taehyung smiled, at least we work considerably well together.

“ I’m glad that this tea has satisfied you.”

“ Move on to the next course,” Taehyung ordered, “ I hope you all haven’t ate anything today.”

At his command, the surrounding servants were put to work. Skilfully replacing the dishes placed on the tables with new ones, one can see the obvious change in style.

“ The decorations have changed,” Chin-Hae commented, looking at the sight in front of him in amazement.

Giggling at his comment, Taehyung nodded. “ Of course. Now that we are waiting on the next course, allow me to explain today's concept,” taehyung started, picking up the previous course’s cup, “ With each change in course, a new course will be bestowed based on a designated season. The previous was spring, this time will be summer, eventually becoming autumn and winter.”

Eyes sparkling at Taehyung’s voice, Jimin couldn’t help but clasp an exaggerated gesture over his petite face in awe. “ Such consideration the Royal Consort has put in.”

Taehyung nodded his head in gratitude, continuing to swing his fan back and forth.

“ Unlike spring, summer is considerably heavier so the Royal Consort has highlighted the use of fruits?” Hoseok asked.

“ Correct. Do you know the reason why?”

“ Because summer has the largest spectrum in terms of fruits.”

Snorting at his words, Taehyung said, “ Of course, envoy. However, aside from the taste, there is another factor to why I have put it here.”

“ Why?” Chungho asked, curious.

“ It’s because fresh fruits symbolises vitality, youth, abundance… and fertility,” Taehyung smiled. “Either way, isn’t it the perfect description of the Nurturing Solstice?”

Blushing at the Royal Consort’s indications, Jimin couldn't help but wonder what his life will now be like.

☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️ ☁️

“ They were talking about the Nurturing Solstice?” You asked, “ Taehyung must have had a fun time.”

Compared to the past, the current Nurturing solstice is quite watered down. Previously, the Nurturing Solstice did not only mark the start of a new harvest season but also the start of something more humanly— something more mature.

“ Yes, the new consorts were blushing at the Royal Consort’s openness.”

“ Let him have his fun. Cooping up in the palace isn’t good for anyone,” you said, “ Right, make sure to keep an eye on the new consorts, especially Chin-Hae.”

Clenching his hands, Chin-Hwa clumsily bowed at you tonal command, “ yes, your majesty.”

Glancing at his posture from your spot, you observed how uncomposed he became. Sighing, you leaned against the window frame, gazing out of the window. “ The sky is darkening.”

“ Yes, you majesty. It is estimated that the storm will go on for at least three days.”

You hummed at his reply, “ As expected… an abrupt change is about to occur.”

Tilting his head at your sudden comment, Chin-Hwa shot you a confused glance.

Dismissing his stare, you continue to stare at the sky.

It’s just that I don’t know how though.

~MintVender ( 19/05/21 )

Definitions:

Norigae - a traditional korean accessory that is usually hung at the waist at a person. It acts as a fashion item as well as a good-luck charm to bring youth and wealth to the person.

Gayageum -  a Korean board zieuter, with 12 silk strings, and 12 movable bridges. Made from paulownia wood, he zither is about 160cm(62 inches) long and 30cm(12 inches) wide.

Hopae - an identification tag that carries the bearer’s name, place of birth, status, residence during the Joseon dynasty.

[adhdashketchum]

GO ON!! I LOOOVE THE ALOLA SERIES , PLEASE TELL ME HOW GREAT THE SHOW WAS PLEASE PLEASE!!!

HYPERFIXATION MODE ACTIVATE

okay okay there’s actually quite a lot?? and this is gonna be really disjointed so sorry in advance, i’ll add a read more jic

imo, the animation style is rly good and super cute!! lots of people are upset about it because it “makes ash look younger” but its bc??? he is young???? he is Ten people. but yeah the aimation is really pretty and i love the style

this is more of a personal thing but BEACH NATURE YESYESYES i looooove the beach and the ocean and nature and all that so alola is the perfect region for me! i think thats part of why i like it so much

ash’s characterization!!!!!! this series really emphasizes his best/my fav traits!! here’s a short list of some of them:

energetic personality; empathy; cheerfulness; kindness; stubborn; playful; helpful; battle smarts/intelligence

some examples of the above include his willingness to help lillie and gladion, his volunteering to help kiawe on his farm and how happy he was to do it, how he helped care for litten and adopted it, among other things

i love how much emphasis they put on the fact that ash is incredibly smart esp with battles, and how creative he is! they really did a good job of showing his adhd traits and its great!

his alola team! rowlet my beloved <3, how he raised nebby/solgaleo and their bond, and POIPOLE AHHHHHHHH the episode where poipole left gets me crying every time

there are some episodes/scenes that are just amazing

mallow meets her mother in tapu fini’s mist is a scene that gets me every time. the closure she gets, and the gratitude for each other they share, i cry. the fact that mallow got a shaymin, the GRATITUDE pokemon, afterwards..... the symbolism

stoutland’s death and the symbolism of the tree losing its leaves makes me violently cry

the damn minior episode. not only is the animation fucking gorgeus, but the way poipole tries to follow its friend, its confused talk with ash before he just gently hugs it, the implications of ash’s relatively calm reaction because he’s had pokemon die in front of him before uggghhh that episode

treasure island episode my fucking beloved. the showcasing of ash’s core character trait (to travel and constantly be on the move, making new friends and seeing new things) and the scene between him and pikachu. my heart

poipole’s goodbye. “i like, like, love you too!” AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

the eps with brock and misty, and specifically the episode where everyone loses to them and then ash waltzes in and beats misty using the most complicated ash-like strategy ever. also love how ash is super focused and pumped up that ep because even tho he loves alola he misses gym battles and it shows really well (hyperfixation!!)

lots of ash’s battles, including

the first one against team skull where he shows off without meaning to and kicks ass

his fight with hapu. king shit

all the fights where he shows off how strong and smart he is and everyone else is like oh shit

ALOLA LEAGUE AND KUKUI BATTLE MY BELOVEDS <3333

(that being said, the way he stands there in shock at first because he won, and then the way he falls backwards after beating tapu koko and the smile and pikachu getting his hat and them just resting. just them. because they did it. ugh it gets me)

the mcfucking FINAL EPISODE. just the whole thing

yeah uhhhh thats it i think? lmao thats a lot i know and i’m probs forgetting stuff but yeah :)

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About the Climax of "Reunion" from Amphibia

Salutations, random people on the internet who are already scrolling right past this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

So, Season Three of Amphibia is coming pretty soon. And I am...excited, but not as much as most people.

If you've seen my reviews, you'll know that while I do like Amphibia, I wouldn't go so far as to say it grabbed me as well as a series like The Owl House. With a show like that, it took me until Episode Five before I realized The Owl House was something special that was worth remembering. For Amphibia? It took me until the Season One finale before I had a similar reaction. But, to be fair, that's because this series is really good at making an ending. "Reunion," for example, takes a lot of the small things the first season has been building up, taking plots from episodes I considered filler and tying it all together in a pretty satisfying ending. I know people are still reeling over the epicness of "True Colors," and all for a good reason, but I want to start the new season on the right foot by discussing a moment that made me consider giving the series a chance.

But it also contains spoilers, so if you haven't seen Amphibia yet, now might be a good time to check it out. It may not have grabbed me and might not even grab you, but trust me when I say that it's worth it just to get to that final scene.

Now, let's review, shall we?

Grime Explaining Flipwart and Bogjump: One thing I will always defend about this series is its humor. More often than not, it succeeds in getting a chuckle out of me with perfect timing and solid comedic delivery. And stuff like this? Where Grime takes a break from his evilness to explain how two board games work to two teenagers? Only to then give up and stick with a simple answer? Yeah, I'm sorry, but that's funny to me. A good thing, too, given how this show relies more on humor than anything else. It may have an overarching plot and its fair share of grim moments (I give you Marcy's maybe death), but Amphibia knows when to keep things light amongst the darkness, which I always appreciate.

Anne Pleading with Sasha: Here, the scene showcases Anne's own personal struggle with Sasha. We know Sasha's a bad friend, primarily because we have eyes. But Anne still needs convincing. Because while she speaks up, she still doesn't assert herself. Anne doesn't yell at Sasha or tell her she's going too far. Instead, she just begs and pleads, hoping to seek the bit of humanity of this girl that Anne sees as a friend. Only for Grime to cut things short in demanding Hop Pop.

Anne Grabbing a Sword to Defend Hop Pop: This, on the other hand, was a defining moment for Anne. She spent so much time with the Plantars, risking life and limb for their own personal health and safety in multiple episodes before this one. So in desperation and due to being backed into a corner, she yanks out one of the guards' swords and orders people to back up, including her "best friend." This moment is when Anne is right on the edge of standing up against Sasha, ready to do all she can to help a person, er, frog that treats her right.

Sasha Talking Anne Down: But she isn't fully ready to fight back yet. Sasha sees the panic and desperation and uses that to her advantage and takes control. She speaks calmly, attracting Anne with talks of going home and pointing out the ridiculousness of standing up for Hop Pop. And my blood boils with how easily she does it. It was like a light switch, turning off her intensity just so Sasha appears to be empathetic. Even though she isn't. You can tell just how cold hearted she can be with the way she says the line "End of discussion." Does the way she say that really sound like a person who has Anne's best interests at heart. I wouldn't think so.

Sprig’s Reaction to Anne Lowering the Sword: And neither does Sprig. I mean, look at Sprig's expressions when he sees Anne lower the sword:

First, there's shock and empathy in seeing Anne crumble to Sasha's will. And unlike the fake empathy Sasha offered, you can see that it's real.

Almost as real as the look of pure disgust he gives Sasha afterward. Personally, I can't blame him. Sprig cares deeply for Anne, as the two of them have the most real friendship out of everyone else in the main cast, one built on mutual trust, respect, and willingness to have the other's best interests at heart.

Sprig Standing Up for Anne: This only proves my point. By slingshotting mud (was that mud?) into Sasha's face and praising how incredible Anne is, Sprig proved he really is the true friend that Sasha can only wish to be. And it's just the boost Anne needed to snap out of her stupor and do, in her words, "something that [she] should have done a long time ago."

Anne Standing Up to Sasha: If standing up for Hop Pop was a defining moment for Anne, defending Sprig from Sasha was a moment Anne could never go back on. It was one thing to fight for her found family against soldiers she's never met before. It's something else to do that against Sasha, Anne's best friend, who she pleaded with earlier and was so close to falling into submission for. But not anymore. At this moment, Anne decided to think for herself and do what needed to be done. Rather than let a bully tell her what to do instead.

Grime’s Words of Warning for Sasha: Grime’s little warning is similar to how a commander gives tips to a fellow commander in leading the troops. Because that's what Sasha really seems like. Not a friend, but someone who takes charge and orders what Anne and Marcy should do rather than listen to the opinions of the group. You see it more in "Battle of the Bands," and that's why I think she follows his advice to "stamp this out." Especially with how he finishes his warning: "Fail, and nothing will ever be the same."

There are two things to take away from that.

The fact that Grime was right. Sasha failed, and nothing was the same because of it. Anne now stood up to her and won't take her orders anymore. The thing is, that would have happened if Anne failed or not. Sasha winning may have stamped Anne's spirit a bit, but it still shows a dark side to her that wouldn't have been forgotten for long.

The fact that Sasha vocally admits that she won't let things change. It proves how twisted her mindset on friendship is that Sasha would willingly partake in a sword fight with her "best friend" because she refuses to have Anne standing up for herself. She likes being in charge and refuses to lose her power no matter what needs to be done to keep it.

If Anne defending Sprig is a moment where she crosses the line for the better, Sasha listening to Grime is a moment where she crosses the line for the worst.

“Anne, you don’t have to do this”: I love how Hop Pop tries to talk Anne out of the challenge. It's his life that's on the line, but he cares just as deeply for Anne as she does for him, that letting her duel Sasha, her supposed "best friend," is a choice he doesn't want her to make.

“Yes, I do.”: But Anne isn't about that. She now knows the type of person Sasha is, and letting her get away with more control is something no one should allow. And Anne won't. Not anymore.

The Fight: The fight isn't all that special compared to other action animation, and even to a certain fight scene we see in "True Colors." But as is, it is still pretty tense. I mean, for f**k's sake, it's two thirteen-year-olds fighting each other with swords! It's a miracle that only Sasha got a small scar at the end of it. Plus, while not the show's highest standard yet, there is a lot of effort and attention put into this battle. Anne is a lot more inexperienced and frantic with her attacks, where Sasha shows she was trained well in her time with the toads and is rotten given that she cheated by blinding Anne to force a victory. In a way, it illustrates the desperation the two of them have for winning, making Sasha's actions, in particular, easier to root for Anne.

Anne Wins: So when Anne is victorious, it's all the more satisfying. Primarily thanks to the look on Sasha's face. Look at it:

That is the definition of shock and anger, mostly shock. Sure, Sasha might be ticked that she lost, but it's Anne's words that I think really hit a specific soft spot: "You're not going to push me around anymore." That's probably the first time that Anne called Sasha out on her awful behavior. Saying that she's standing up to her huts, but pointing out how Sasha basically controlled Anne and how that's something she won't allow anymore, could be an eye-opening moment that Sasha needed.

Grime Goes Against the Deal: Ok, full disclosure, while this post is meant to shine a light on how great a scene is, there is one complaint I've got to get out of the way. You see, Grime going against his deal to let Hop Pop go free if Anne wins was way too predictable. Because why the f**k would he?!

I mean, does this seriously look like the face of a man you can trust? This scene may excel at everything else, but this one predictable moment is just a little off to forgive.

The Tower Blowing Up: This predictable moment, however, is done flawlessly. Because there's a difference between a twist and a payoff. Where a twist is meant to shock the audience, a payoff has to, well, pay off a setup brought up earlier in the story. And Wally's boom-shrooms going off at just the right time, transitioning to the most iconic moment of the series? Yeah, that's a payoff done right.

(Also, Wally cursing his one eye is hilarious)

“Lean On Me”: By the way, NOT joking when I say what follows is the most iconic moment of the series. All of which is aided by the inclusion of "Lean On Me" by Bill Withers. I'm not a music theory major and have no idea if the song itself is actually mildly appropriate to the scene, much like how "All Star" and "I Need a Hero" work perfectly for Shrek and Shrek 2, respectively. With that said, "Lean On Me" really does add an extra Umph! power to what follows. And as Matt Braley, series creator, describes, it is the coolest thing, but it will never happen again.

(Apparently, the song was too expensive).

Anne Goes to Save Sasha: Believe it or not, I actually do love this decision. Sasha may be a bad friend...Actually, no. Sasha is definitely a bad friend, but that doesn't mean Anne wants her to die. Not after all the good times that they had with each other. Anne might refuse to let Sasha push her around, but she's not ready to cut Sasha out of her life. Not yet.

Anne Holds Onto Sasha, the Plantars Hold Onto Anne: ...I mean...just f**king that! Through this moment, we get a perfect idea of how Anne's relationships work.

To put it simply, the Plantars raise Anne up and keep her safe, where Sasha just weighs her down and risks her safety. And the saddest part is that Sasha knows this.

“Anne. Maybe you’re better off without me…”: Some say that this could be Sasha trying to get in one last manipulation, using her own sacrifice to stick to Anne for choosing talking frogs over her. While I could see that perspective as a possibility, I personally take this moment as Sasha finally realizing the damage she causes for Anne and admits her faults. Sure, Sasha might have backpedaled in later episodes. What with refusing to change and even directing her anger towards Anne instead of towards herself. But that's because she had time to process these events and unfairly aim her negative feelings at Anne for wanting something better. So it doesn't seem implausible to me that Sasha admitting that Anne's better off without her is something she believed deep down and, for just a moment, allowed herself to accept this heavy truth. I won't deny the possibility that she's still trying to manipulate Anne, but to me, with the tone and expression Sasha has with her admission, you can't fake that. And you can't fake what she does next.

Sasha Lets Go: This...shocked me right down to my core.

I knew Grime would go back on his word, and I assumed the boom-shrooms would pay off somehow. But Sasha, willingly and unhesitantly, letting go of Anne's grip and falling to an expected demise? I...I couldn't have ever predicted that. Not with what we've seen from her before. When I hear how people see this as one last manipulation tactic, I just can't see it. Yes, there are monsters on this planet who would go this far, but I don't think Sasha is one of them. Later episodes like "Battle of the Bands" (despite a rough start) show signs of a person who could be better, and the Season Three trailer hints that she might actually learn from her mistakes. So her letting go, with no way of knowing her survival, could be the first sign that Sasha would one day make that first step. She might not be able to become Anne’s friend again, thanks to burning that bridge in "True Colors," but she'll at least try to become a better person. She just needs to do one good thing in her life first.

Plus, whenever I see this image:

I’m reminded why I could never say that I didn’t like this show.

Grime Saving Sasha: A lesser viewer would say this cheapens Sasha's sacrifice, but not to me. She had no way of knowing Grime would save her, so to her, so this is still a bid decision to go through with, even if she couldn't have gone all the way. In no way does it take away from the sacrifice, just as much as it doesn't strike a chord deep in Anne's heart.

Anne Breaks Down: Because what else would she do?

It's true, Sasha isn't a good friend, and Anne would likely be better off without her. But that's not what Anne's thinking at this moment.

She's thinking about the good fun she had with her best friend.

She was thinking about the person she could lean on.

And she was thinking about how she almost lost this person forever.

So when it all comes crashing down on Anne at once, there's nothing left to do but cry. It is such a real moment that proves one thing: There was effort put into this finale.

IN CONCLUSION

Would I say Amphibia draws me in as much as The Owl House does? No. But it still has my respect. A finale like this proves how hard the writers try to give a good experience. Even if a Schmuck like me thinks that all the pieces don't come together, they still do all they can to make a beloved series.

Season Three is on the way, and while I'm not as hyped as others, I still can't wait to see how it ends. Because if "Reunion" taught me anything, this series really nails an ending.

(And if you want me to do a scene breakdown of the finale in "True Colors," I'll tell you now: I won't...alright, maybe I'll do something for the mid-season premiere. But no promises!)

[o-w-quinlan]

Digimon Adventure: (2020) Final Thoughts

Considering I stopped reviewing this series episode by episode months ago, they’re more positive thoughts than you’d expect, though still not all that positive.

To summarize, this is an entertaining series with plenty of individual good aspects and great episodes that nevertheless leaves me cold as a whole. Much as I enjoyed following it week to week, I can’t say I recommend this series to anyone but hardcore Digimon fans, or hardcore fans of the wider “monster” genre.

Action

It felt appropriate to start with this, considering a focus on action was what the initial interviews promised, and they delivered in spades. It wasn’t perfect or too consistent, there were several times when the Digimon not evolving when they could just broke any tension the fights had, but this series had some of the best fights in any Digimon anime. Anything in the first 3 episodes, Greymon/MetalGreymon vs MetalTyranomon, SkullKnightmon vs Greymon and Garurumon, Mugendramon vs DoneDevimon, Mugendramon vs WarGreymon, Millenniumon vs the dragons, Omegamon vs Abbadomon Core… all of them among the best things the franchise has to offer in terms of action scenes, which after so many series where fights were solved by having a protagonist Digimon evolve and one-shotting the enemy, comes as a breath of fresh air (to be fair, this series also had a lot of that, but it had actual great fights to compensate).

Worldbuilding

Another thing promised in interviews was the use of Digimon from all over the franchise, and not only did they deliver, but they also included plenty of references to the “null canon” to enrich the experience for the most hardcore fans. The series made sure to constantly emphasize the savage nature of the Digital World, bringing back the Tamers worldbuilding of Digimon consuming weaker Digimon in hopes of achieving evolution. Along the way we saw a lot of allies fighting back against this status-quo, from things as overt as Leomon organizing a resistance or Petaldramon protecting weaker Digimon from the all-consuming Entmon, to less dramatic stuff like weak Digimon settling down to live together, or the mere presence of a restaurant where everyone can rest for a while of the hardships of their world.

The biggest flaw here was in how the series handled its antagonists. With very few exceptions, every single enemy Digimon in the series lacked dialog, whereas nearly every single ally Digimon could speak normally, and this disparity cheapened the whole thing, because instead of coming across as “this mentality is normal for this world”, it came across as just your normal “everyone lived together in harmony until the villains attacked”, which is very much not what the series was telling us.

Characterization

That brings us to the next point: the lack of personality for most villains. I joked elsewhere that Minotaurmon from episode 19 was the most compelling villain of the series, and that’s not completely a joke. Almost every single villain of the week was flat, plenty of the “main” villains were lacking in dialog (Algomon in the first few episodes, Nidhoggmon, Millenniumon) or turned mindless halfway through (Devimon, DarkKnightmon). Negamon/Abbadomon in the final episodes managed to benefit from this by being the embodiment of an “instinct”, but in general this meant a mook-of-the-week like Minotaurmon managed to be a highlight among the villains simply by having dialog and non-trivial desires.

But what of the protagonists? The popular opinion is that everyone is far blander than they were in the original series, and I agree. But rather than comparing it with the first series, let’s look at what it had to offer to us. Where in other Digimon series, the backstories and issues of the protagonists and their reactions to what’s going on around them make for most of the drama, in this series the drama comes from the villains trying to destroy everything, and for the most part that means the protagonists only need to be distinct and charming on their own, no necessity to create conflict between them. There is an overall character arc for all of them, though: accepting and interiorizing their new duties towards the world they had ended up stranded on, getting to know and love the Digital World. Was this well done? Not really.

Taichi and Takeru, for example, were so much the embodiment of the stock shonen hero that accepting their place in this new world didn’t really reveal anything about them we hadn’t already seen from their first few appearances.

Jou got stuck as an unfunny punchline 90% of the time, to the point of damaging his few “serious” moments in some of his focus episodes. His development of becoming assertive was compelling in theory, but it got muddled with so many unfunny and uncomfortable hotsprings jokes that the impact was lost.

Hikari started as an even more blatant plot-device “mysterious character” than she was in the original series, before unconvincingly changing to cheerful little girl afterwards (the whiplash between her in episode 33 and her in episode 34 was something else), and only really managing to settle into a compelling character in her last focus episode (58, defending the Digitamas from the Bakemon and SkullBaluchimon, which to be fair is a great episode and probably the best showcase for Hikari as a character in any product or continuity).

Koushiro was mostly fine, although we all remember the several times the series seemed to promise it might do something with him (his uneasiness when his family was mentioned, or that line about having to “face the darkness of his past” in the HerakleKabuterimon episode) that ended up being nothing.

Mimi is the fan-favorite, being charming in nearly all her appearances and having some of the best focus episodes, and it’s mostly deserved. If there’s anything I criticize from her, it’s that her focus episodes don’t really add up to anything.

Yamato was fine, started out as a stock shonen rival before becoming the single most chill “lone wolf” in any Digimon series, probably because of what I said before of the conflict between the protagonists no longer being the source of drama. He gets a slow development of caring only for his brother to starting to care for other Digimon for the sake of Sora and Gabumon to caring about the Digital World just as much as everyone else.

Sora was made fun of by a certain section of the fandom for having the worst focus episodes early on, and I agreed, but having finished the series I can’t get rid of the impression that her focus episodes, while perhaps not that good on their own, when taken as a whole explore her character the best of any other. Yeah, this mostly means exploring her compassion (these are not very multi-dimensional characters), but they deepen and deepen both her impact on the Digimon she saves and how she is impacted in turn by them, moving her away from saving others through her combat prowess to saving others by empathizing with the grief of another caring soul, and by the end I honestly ended up considering her my favorite character (despite none of her episodes making it to my list of favorites).

As for the Digimon… it’s following in the footsteps of other Digimon Adventure products by not really having much of interest for the Digimon themselves except for Tailmon.

Overall, for the most part the main characters were decent, but besides Mimi and ultimately also Sora, I don’t think they’re very memorable. All of them start out promising, but never really improved from that promising start (again, except for Sora).

Pacing

And now we get to the biggest problem of the series: Pacing. I’ve seen it stated elsewhere that this series was more episodic than most (any?) other Digimon series before it, and part of the backlash it got was from not being as serialized as fans expected it to be. This isn’t exactly true. From episode 16 (Eyesmon) to episode 24 (DoneDevimon), this series was as serialized as any other Digimon series has ever been, with nonstop escalation that demanded you keep watching it week after week. Then, from 25 to 35 (Angewomon) or 36 (BlitzGreymon), it pulled slightly back from that never-ending escalation, but was still pretty serialized. It was only afterwards that it became heavily episodic, and by that point it wasn’t expectations set up by previous series that hurt it in the eyes of the fandom, it was expectations set by this series itself in its first half.

Not that the episodes themselves were bad. Honestly, I found myself significantly more entertained by the episodic later half of the series than the serialized first half. Maybe it was because they didn’t feel the need to convince me they were the most exciting, tense thing I had ever seen when they were clearly not (hello, Mamemon episode), or maybe it was that there were more than just endless fights to them, but I normally ended up those episodes entertained and satisfied, whereas with a lot of episodes from Eyesmon to BlitzGreymon, I mostly just felt frustrated after watching them. I agree with the criticism that, when seen as a whole, breaking momentum so hard for so long after months of never-ending escalation wasn’t the right choice, but when seen week after week, I can’t see this change of approach as that bad of a thing.

Conclusion

I think that sums up the series for me. On a weekly basis, it’s pretty entertaining. It’s when seen as a whole that the problems really become clear. There’s been some speculation in the past few weeks of how much the current situation in the world might have impacted the series, but ultimately, I have to judge what actually happened, and I can’t help the impression that this series ultimately left me with nothing of substance after it was all said and done. Like, I enjoyed this more than, say, Appli Monsters, but Appli Monsters have things that stick with you after it’s over. Not so much here, unless you’re a hardcore fan that loves the Omegamon lore this added (which I am, btw; love that Omegamon lore). I don’t think I can recommend this series to anyone who isn’t a hardcore Digimon fan, or at least a hardcore fan of the wider “monster” genre.

One thing I’m grateful to this series for, though, it’s the commercial boost it has given the rest of the franchise. I’m not going to credit it for all the successes it currently has, after all the Card Game would have fell off by now if it wasn’t genuinely well-done and the Vital Bracelet happened because of years of the virtual pet division progressively building up its audience after it had nearly died off, but it’s undeniable they wouldn’t have sold as well without this anime advertising the franchise week after week. Next week, we’ll have the first episode of Digimon Ghost Game, the first time since 2001 that we have a Digimon series being immediately succeeded by another. If that isn’t a sign of how well the franchise is doing right now, I don’t know what is.

Favorite Episodes: 1 (Tokyo Digital Crisis), 6 (The Targeted Kingdom), 12 (Lilimon Blooms), 20 (The Seventh One Awakens), 32 (Soaring Hope), 42 (King of Inventors, Gerbemon), 49 (The God of Evil Descends, Millenniummon), 56 (The Gold Wolf of the Crescent Moon), 58 (Hikari, New Life)