#and if it does its the best thing to come out of the franchise besides the computer game for the second book

[mochamoth]

Hi here are some cringey ooc headcanons of Samarie because she's my favorite character.

(Ever. Like out of every franchise to exist.)

-She's autistic and has BPD.

-Her voice is very quiet and deep. She often speaks too softly to be heard unless the person is fully paying attention.

-She's picky with food because growing up she mostly ate the same food every day. That being said she is more opened to try sweet food, she likes sweet flavors.

-She's surprisingly decent at makeup, she just doesn't like wearing it (besides her lipstick). It's mostly because she's insecure about her face, plus she fears it'll draw attention.

-Very sweaty and clammy. It's her constant state of being it can't be helped unfortunately.

-She has a special interest in bugs, specifically moths.

-Despite hc she has a deep, creepy voice I think it'd be funny to make her sneezes overly loud for no reason.

-She likes reading, art, and collecting weird shit. She has a collection of (humane) taxidermy insects, bones, stuff Marina left lying around in the open, gifts from Marina (she cherishes those), and TONS of books about moths.

-This mf can't smile to save her life. They always either looked way too force or downright creepy.

-She didn't fully speak until she turned around 14 maybe 15. She knew how to speak she just didn't see a reason to do so outside of spells. She only started speaking because she planned on greeting Marina properly (never happened, she freaked out last minute and couldn't go through with the plan).

-She enjoys doing seemingly immature activities. Like making friendship bracelets or playing field games. She didn't have much of a childhood (if at all) so she's grown fond of the idea of doing all those fun, childhood related things.

-I see her and Abella being friends. This is mostly related to OC stuff I don't feel like yapping about, but basically I think Abella helps Samarie get more confident in herself.. Or at least give her the nerve to speak up (and actually say hi to people instead of oh idk following them around cough COUGH).

-She sleeps a lot. That's all.

-Rip Samarie you would've loved Monster High 😔🙏.

-I doubt this is a hc becuase pretty sure its canon, but she has an asymmetrical face. Which I love.

-She enjoys singing. It's not a hobby or passion of her's, more just something she does whenever she's painting or showering, even writing.

-Oh yeah speaking of she has a diary. She's been writing in it since she was very little and it one of the few things she managed to keep after (eventually) getting out the Ninth Circle.

-Best case scenario she gets the help she needs and slowly heals. Ik she is dying and that canonly she WILL be dead soon no matter what. This is MY out of character headcanon list, let me be cringe and stupid in peace 😔‼️

-She's a light weight. Just a feeling.

-She can be extremely paranoid alone in public places, she's either worried she'll get taken or worried people are judging and staring her down. Either way not a good time.

That's it for now, I'll make more if I come up with more and if I feel confident enough to post them 🙏

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

I’m looking forward to your thoughts on Transformers One when you get the chance to see it on your side of the pond. Speaking as a non Transformers fan, I’d say it’s one of the best films to come out of the franchise in the 21st century, and very much accessible to those who aren’t as familiar with the lore. Without going into spoilers, I definitely enjoyed the slow but inevitable tragedy of seeing Orion Pax and D-16, best friends and partners, turning into lifelong enemies, Optimus Prime and Megatron. You knew it was always going to happen, but you so wish it didn’t.

//Okay, your message is very well timed, because the film finally came out, and I got a chance to watch it.

//Now, let me make it clear that I am not a Transformers fan, at least not traditionally. I think it may primarily be because of the Bayverse movies, but I've never found those films to have much in the way of entertainment besides seeing giant robots smacking the shit out of each other.

//Which...well, at the end of the day, that's all it really needs to be for simple entertainment purposes, but the big issue is that there's far more to the Transformers than being giant robots. There are genuine stories and characters there, but the problem with the live action movies is that those stories aren't memorable or deep enough to get you to really care about the characters.

//Transformers One fixes that, and does so much more.

//The film is still relatively new, and I don't want to go too deep into it, but I am going to go into spoiler territory, so I'll put my thoughts and feelings on that film under the cut for those who have seen it/don't care about spoilers, but this is my basic review of it:

//Okay, so first things first...IGN should never be allowed to review shit again.

//A Mediocre score of 5, fucking turn it in.

//Okay, so tdlr; I thought this movie was fantastic, in case I hadn't already made that fact obvious. The basic premise alone is enough to grip me, because it's clearly a character driven movie as opposed to one that's about, as I said before, big bots slapping on each other.

//Transformers One was directed by Toy Story 4 creator, Josh Cooley, and it's the untold origin story of two Cybertronian Minors named Orion Pax and D-16, who as the movie progresses, completely change the fate of their homeland Cybertron, and go from being best friends to sworn enemies as they respectively become Optimus Prime and Megatron.

//And even without its plot, the film is excellent. The CGI animation is the greatest in any Transformers movie to date, and the voice acting by Chris Hemsworth, Brian Tyree Henry, and everyone else was outstanding.

//As I said already, I'm not a big Transformers fan, but this movie alone has the potential to change that, because this is easily the most peak piece of Transformers media I have seen in my whole life. This might sound corny, but this movie really gives you the heart of what makes Transformers cool.

//It's really easy to empathize with the struggles of what Optimus and Megatron go through in this movie, and that empathy makes you so emotionally gripped by the story in a way that a lot of modern movies, especially Transformers movies, can do to you.

//Speaking of which, the film's standout character is D-16, who eventually becomes Megatron. He is a really well-written character, and it's amazing to watch him spiral into lunacy. It's enthralling to see the hatred he displays after realizing the harsh realities of his society, and it's even more thrilling when he finally admits that he is Megatron the destroyer.

//It's like one of those stories where a child who has been tormented turns into the bully himself in order to exact revenge on those who have wronged him. It's a sympathetic, frightening, and bizarre tale.

//(Also, I know many people pointed this out after the movie, but I love the fact that as D-16 progressively gets worse and worse in the movie, his eyes progressively go from yellow to red, and I think that's really clever)

//In contrast to the Bayverse combat, which only feature sparks, machine blobs stabbing and pounding, and the sound of metal scrapping on itself, the action scenes were also incredibly colorful and well-organized. It's surprising, fast-paced, and enjoyable.

//To be honest, I don't see many negative aspects of this film. If you have the opportunity, please go see it; I believe it is still showing in UK theaters. This movie is a masterpiece of cinema, and aside from IGN's, all of the reviews have been positive, and well-earned.

-Mod

[wishiwould]

Too explain a bit about the fic if its alright. Of the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and Blade of Light and Mystery of the Emblem cast, only Marth and Elice were good guys and regulars, as well as to a much lesser, extent Jagen.

Marth had a different personality, though to be fair this was based off long running Smash headcanons.

However Elice as nothing like Marth's older, motherly andkind sister, being a spunky and immature tomboy that is much younger than Marth. An early picture revealed Callistohime designed her after a picture of Sheeda (now localized as Caeda, the name is either Persian or Gaelic) from an anime picture. She found out Elice was older, Sheeda/Caeda was Marth's love interest & didn't like it, but lightly designed Elice to look different from Sheeda.

Whilst Callistohime didn't bash Caeda/Sheeda in the fic, same for Merric Marth's best friend & Elice's love interest, they weren't included & she made negative comments about them sometimes.

Similarly Jagen went from Marth's fatherly and elderly vassal to a man not much older than Marth without a fatherly relationship.

Basically every other character with an FE name that wasn't evil was a nothing character, usually a red shirt.

And every other one of Marth's allies or friends was a villain and the only one that was important was Navarre, whom, is depicted as a pure villain.

Unlike Zelda, Fire Emblem is almost always a story about multiple characters & there's alot of important & sympathetic central characters from all sorts of kingdoms in Marth's games.

Similarly none of the Kingdoms in FE matched & outside of Altea/Aritea, were just background decor or just a place that the villains were from. Like Akaneia (Archanea in the localization) is the most important kingdom in the games, the sub-franchise is known as Akaneia & there's also a game with Akaneia in the title.

Altea is a small place even though its Marth's kingdom, you could compare it to Link coming from Kokiri forest, but Hyrule is central. Marth says at one point, Altea is nothing without the other kingdoms.

Similarly whilst the antagonist forces rule Akaneia in the second game, you could compare it to Ganon taking control of Hyrule & its military in games like "A Link to the Past". In Time Cannot Erase, only Altea was important & Akaneia only showed up in the first part as the enemy.

But people get very attached to fictional characters, which is why so many FE fans, especially of Marth's games got upset. I guess think of it like "Impa", "Malon", "Linebeck" and "Ruto" being the names of villains in a fanfiction labeled as a Zelda crossover, I suppose?

I feel besides some hearsay of the anime, I think most of the info on the fanfiction was based around Marth's trophy in Melee and to be fair there, Marth's trophies in Melee & Brawl are very badly translated. I do wonder where she got the character names or decided to use them though? And several of the characters did show up in the short lived OVA.

BTW, one of the videos critiquing the fic is still up on youtube if you want to read it? This one is focused on constructive criticism and not any attacks to be clear. Its called "Callistohime Rant"

Hey Nonnie,

I've really enjoyed the exchange we've had so far, but I have to be honest: rehashing the details of CallistoHime's fanfiction is actually a bit triggering ^^; In the literal sense--it brings me back to those times, and brings back symptoms of anxiety I haven't really experienced since then.

I do appreciate the opportunity you gave me to apologize, and to hear your apology and explanation! That was nice. And, even though it's a liiiiiiiittle close to triggering territory, I'm actually fine hearing about other FE titles and things like that--or anything else under the moon!

...Well, maybe not ANYTHING else under the moon. For full disclosure, unfortunately Zelda in general and Zelda fandom in particular does still trigger me, and it's hard for me to read fan-fiction because of my experiences with Callisto.

All this to say, whether on anonymous mode or not, I'd love to keep speaking to you! But not about Callisto's fanfiction.

[blindrapture]

I was extremely tired and rambled to a friend about Mario and Sonic as mascots.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:01 PM] also. I am marginally upset that Yoshi in Mario Wonder is playable but only as a Nabbit-style character, with no power-ups. but at the same time I am kinda happy as Nabbit is my preferred way of playing NSMBU, so I'll get to do that as Yoshi now. but. best world would have been if all characters were the same as each other and there was just an Easy Mode toggle.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:03 PM] I am always gonna be curious about trying to play through a Mario game as intended. and admittedly the fact that I am forced to play as Mario or Luigi (or a Toad) has been a significant reason why I could never commit to it. getting a choice to play as Yoshi is a big, embarrassingly substantial, incentive.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:03 PM] if I could play as Yoshi in all Mario games I'd play them a lot more, I think.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:05 PM] I think I actually secretly don't care about Mario. or Luigi. as playable characters.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:05 PM] they fall into the Sora trap for me.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:06 PM] where, like, Kingdom Hearts would probably appeal to me way more— it has, as a franchise, everything in its favor for my tastes— but for the fact that you have to play as FUCKING SORA

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:06 PM] and this isn't a "oh, it'd have been cooler if I could have played as some goofy mascot character," this is a "oh that's a shame, I don't want to play this"

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:07 PM] like Playstation Exclusivity, which is also a "oh that's a shame."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:07 PM] ("Playstation Exclusivity," to me, is exactly the same as "game didn't release")

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:08 PM] (it's a shadow-cancel. game still has marketing. still gets talked about. game was finished, by the developers, is entirely playable. you just can't play it.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:09 PM] (and this is coming from a guy who didn't have VR when Half-Life Alyx came out!!! VR exclusivity is not as much a dealbreaker to me as Playstation exclusivity!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:09 PM] (but the Playstation point is beside the point.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:10 PM] (the point is, Sora and Mario are both a really specific kind of Regular Guy character I am turned off by.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:13 PM] (they would be fine— they would be immensely hilarious and compelling— if their Regularness was played up. I mean, they are Regular Guys in a world of Cute Mascots. in Sora's case it's even more so, the whole point is Kingdom Hearts brings a charming amount of Seriousness to a world of Cute Mascots. Sora being there makes Goofy more serious, makes Donald more serious, and that makes the tone fucking surreal and Amazing.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:15 PM] (but they only went halfway. Sora still looks just slightly cartoonish. I mean he looks, frankly, fuck ugly and awkward, but I can tell he's not supposed to, he's supposed to look charming and representative, appealing to kids. if Sora looked like…. like the humans in Mario Odyssey's Metro Kingdom!!!!! then I'd be okay with it!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:15 PM] (and the same with Mario!!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:16 PM] (fans often wish the humans in the Metro Kingdom looked more cartoony. I'm the opposite!!! I sincerely wish Mario looked like them!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:18 PM] (it's a tonal thing!!! Mario's a human, a Regular Guy in a wacky world!!!! if he looks cartoony then that takes away from the fact that he's a Human!!!! he's not a Human, he's just a non-mushroom Mushroom Kingdom Fella! he fits in! which is alright if the story says that!!! but it doesn't!!! the story is, Mario is a Human!!!! but the art style and presentation says he's not!!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:19 PM] (this is the core of why "story doesn't matter in Mario" gets as much mileage as it does!!!! this is why Miyamoto can get away with it!!!! it is rooted in this fucking tonal dissonance!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:20 PM] (because it's only a dissonance for the story!!! it's otherwise professionally-executed aesthetic consistency!!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:22 PM] (but it doesn't win me over!!!! I cannot unsee it!!!! I can forgive and excuse it, there is so much about Mario games that I can love, it outweighs it!!!! but then when I have to play as Mario…… that's when it becomes a factor!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:24 PM] (and for the 3D games, I am usually looking at Mario's back, and how my brain works is really I'm "playing as" the camera. Mario's just a means to an end, I move him so I can move the camera. so I can look at everything else.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:24 PM] (but 2D games, Mario is front and center in a different way.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:24 PM] (also Mario 3D World.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:25 PM] (I can forget Mario in the sandbox 3D games. I haven't yet figured out how to forget Mario in the 2D-based games.)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:27 PM] where was I going with this one.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:29 PM] well I can stress here that I'm feeling out my own tastes. I cannot claim any of this is actually objective. not even the bit about "this is WHY story doesn't matter in Mario." I am not coming from a rigorously analytical point of view here. I can very easily be off the mark on all of this.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:40 PM] thinking about it, I may be onto something with Mario. the Sora thing is much more just my personal taste.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:44 PM] but Mario. Mario isn't average-looking enough for the Idea of him to appeal to me. the Mario movie on the other hand, that handled it well. Mario was an outcast to the humans. he was mocked, he was clearly doing his own thing. that's why he still looks goofy, for a human.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:44 PM] if the games follow the movie's approach, I can warm up even more to it.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:45 PM] that adds context. that tells me why Mario stays in the Mushroom Kingdom. it's not just "Peach is in danger and Mario has a sense of Duty," Peach being kidnapped becomes a pretext for "Mario gets to spend more time in this crazy world, and he likes being here, he feels it fits him in some way."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:47 PM] just. y'know. up until now, with just the games to work with, I've had no reason not to see it as "Mario is The Everyman. he is the Average Dude who doesn't fit in here, exploring the wacky Mushroom Kingdom, in over his head."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:47 PM] which just. that doesn't…. feel right!!! with how Mario looks!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:48 PM] (and acts!!! Mario isn't in over his head!!! he is the hero we count on!!! he is the reliable savior!!! he runs and jumps in a world that requires running and jumping!!!)

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:51 PM] …..and that also gets into my view of Sora. Sora isn't in over his head. he looks like he belongs there. yeah, he doesn't fit the art style of the Disney worlds he visits, but guess what, it's a mega-crossover, the art style changes frequently, you get used to that mismatch!!! Sora's "difference" blends in!!! because he still fundamentally looks like a cartoon!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:51 PM] contrast all this with Yoshi! or Sonic!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:52 PM] Yoshi is the ideal Mario game protagonist, because Yoshi is from the world he's in! Yoshi has an excuse to look cute and goofy!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:53 PM] Yoshi in real-world situations then looks funny! Yoshi in the realistic Mario Party games! that's funny! a wholehearted laugh! Mario in the realistic Mario Party games looks funny at first but then you start thinking about it and it's like, hey, he's supposed to be a human, this isn't supposed to look funny!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:53 PM] and Sonic!!! Sonic is just… aesthetically on-the-ball!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:55 PM] his own world is all cartoon characters and cartoon animals! he fits in! the Adventure games have realistic humans, Sonic looks out of place, but he's supposed to! and then Sonic 06 takes it to an extreme but that game's story is Actually A Fucking Masterpiece and the more you put thought into it the better that mismatch gets!!! Sonic becomes a walking metaphor! the story isn't about Sonic, it's about everyone else!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:57 PM] what about Eggman!!! let's contrast Mario with Eggman, as that's more relevant! Eggman looks strange next to realistic humans, so why does he get a pass? Eggman gets a pass because he's a well-defined villain character! he's such an extreme example of a human! he's fucking nuts and if he looks ridiculous then he comes packing heat and forces you to respect him!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:58 PM] if Mario carried a gun and acted edgy, that'd actually be better, aesthetically!!! he'd be a lot less popular a mascot, but as a character, I think he'd be seen more like Waluigi!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:59 PM] who is also Legit!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:59 PM] …………Waluigi has never carried a gun, no, and he doesn't ever act like a serious villain, no

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 4:59 PM] but Waluigi is closer to Eggman on this "ridiculousness spectrum"

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:00 PM] put Waluigi in the Metro Kingdom and the mismatch makes more sense! people will laugh at Waluigi looking so different from normal humans, but then they'll laugh harder and say "well, he's Waluigi."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:01 PM] Mario gets less of a laugh!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:02 PM] maybe what I'm trying to say here is "I find it difficult to care about Mario because I can't help but feel like Nintendo doesn't really care about Mario. Mario is just a mascot, an excuse, an enabler."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:04 PM] and that ultimately brings me back to Sonic 06 again. my theory of why the story is so fucking good. Sonic looks jarring next to Princess Elise, everyone knows that, but most people just stop there because it was a rushed game, they don't feel they should put more thought into it. I do. I mean, I don't even think Sonic Team intended for the extra thought I see in it, but that doesn't matter, because the line of thought makes the whole game better without requiring fixing the game.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:08 PM] that is. Sonic looks jarring to Princess Elise, in the same way that Mario looks jarring next to Metro Kingdom humans. because that's what it is. it isn't Mario And Peach. it's Mario And Some Metro Kingdom Woman Who Was Sheltered Her Whole Life And Mario Is The First Person To Ever Care About Her So She's Developed A Naive Infatuation With Him. imagine that scenario. Mario doesn't reciprocate, but he also doesn't not reciprocate. he doesn't do anything. he's not a deep enough character, and that's Okay, that's his Thing. he's literally just a Mascot. he would say platitudes like "You Can Do It, I Believe In You" and "If You Have Time To Worry, Then Run!" and she'd treat it all like he's Prince Charming saying completely personalized things to her.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:10 PM] imagine that. in that scenario, the point of the story isn't Mario. the point of the story is the One-Sided Infatuation. a good story would go above and beyond, go out of its way, to explore that Infatuation, not through giving us tons of examples of it, but through showing us where it comes from, what it's a side-effect of, what the consequences are of that greater Reason. Sonic 06 does exactly that.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:11 PM] Sonic 06 shows us a goddamn tragedy in Princess Elise. it brings gender into it, it brings class into it, it even brings religion into it.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:14 PM] Sonic 06 is all about a Realistic Woman who has to bear the responsibility of never crying, whose entire life shapes itself to keep her away from things that might cause that. and she FUCKING DIES. she tries to count on Sonic to save her, and he LITERALLY CAN'T, he FAILS, she DIES and Eggman dies too!!! how the FUCK do people not find this INCREDIBLE??? imagine Mario!!!! imagine it!!! imagine Mario doing that!!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:15 PM] then Sonic himself becomes a greater point about Mascots, about Fiction, about the Responsibility That Corporations Have.

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:17 PM] Sonic has a responsibility to protect Princess Elise, to let her be infatuated with him, to brush that off and just run in a field with her and let her have that moment. he looks ridiculous doing it, and he knows it won't work out because he's always gotta run off somewhere else in the end, but Sonic has a responsibility to live in the Now, to Protect people in the Now! that is the position a corporation is in when a corporation creates a Mascot!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:20 PM] and in the end, in the very end, the end of the story, the only actual way out of the nightmare Hate-God time loop is…. to make the whole story never happen! to forget it! it's like Sonic Team knew the game would be a failure, knew gamers would hate the story, so they gave us an Out! "hey. this game isn't canon. we're cutting our losses and will try something else from now on. the game just didn't work out. but in exchange, you've gotta let us have this moment Here and Now, you've gotta let Sonic 06 exist in its own little space. you've gotta let us run in a field with Sonic."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:21 PM] "because we still put a ton of work into this game, and we had ambitions with it, and it's perfectly fine for you guys to forget that, but we can't. so let us have this moment."

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:22 PM] that's!!!! that's what I get from the game!!! just from Sonic's story specifically, at that!!! Silver and Shadow each have their own themes and they're fucking brilliant too!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:22 PM] that's what I see in it!!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:23 PM] that's what Mario exists in the shadow of!!!

Jordan Dooling, [9/2/23 5:23 PM] raaaaaaaaaaghhhhhh!!!!!! I fucking rambled!!!!!!

[3dafmmodelling]

emotions of sound in video games and behaviour from players

silent hill 2 is the master of immersion in horror games with an exceptional set of white noise to go along with it this is evident right from the get go when you are walking down the forrest on your way to silent hill the white noise with abnormal things stepping around you mixed with muffled screeches of something speaking to you not only does this set the tone for the whole of the game it also feels like a descent into madness which makes sense since silent hill 2 is all about mental illness and psychology of humans

the forest walk begins at 4:10

i still remember my first time playing this game way back in the 2010s dont ask why i was playing this at a young age but i still remember everything about the atmosphere it really sets the tone and makes you wonder what are you about to enter if the forest creeps you out with its white noises and somewhat peaceful footsteps you make as you are running along fun fact about the sound design in silent hill 2 akira yamaoka the sound designer for almost every silent hill game made over a thousand footstep noise to make a unique sounding footstep why would he do this well to set a memorable sound for walking of course almost everything from silent hill 2s sound is iconic and memorable for its time and atmosphere you wont here the end of it from video game dummies speaking about this games sound design and they are right this game can also do melancholic sounds right after james meets angela back in woodside apartment the music sets a melancholic tone of sweet piano solos funny enough melancholic sounds seem to follow angela everywhere almost as if it resonates with here character alot like i said this game is about mental illness and from her interactions with james you'll see she isnt the most stable character

and there is another part that links in with how players feel with sound design which is just before meeting angela again when you enter the woodside apartment and wonder around get the room 202 key and come back you'll here a man screaming with even james commenting on it as you walk back youll see what can only be defined as terrifying as on the side a long bar pipes you see pyramid head with red aura surrounding it paired with industrial loud noise clogging your ears this is described to be what hooked most players into the game

besides from the monster encounter prior to this this game was pretty mellow until you encounter pyramid he feels intimidating despite being behind bars this encounter is so memorable to players til this day it inflicts terror unto players despite posing no actual threat is makes players question why this is happening and since the music is clogging there ears you cant actually process anything so you just stand there confused scared and reluctant to continue all these emotions from a simple spooky figure and industrial noise its a perfect set up in an already claustrophobic area

as well as being the best gaming franchise ever not opinionated this is factual the beginning and mgs1 sound design is fantastic and is the beginning of many iconic sounds but id like to say the alert sound is easily the most iconic and you absolutely have heard this before

this is the noise we hate to hear when playing especially the game on a no alert and kill run what follows for casual players or first time players when they hear this is a sudden hit of dopamine as you frantically run away from oncoming guards and gun fire as the top right fills with an alert meter 100 being they are onto you as it drops lower it will go into an caution phase which means they've lost sight of you but they are searching then when the caution phase is over your in the green as evident your top right screen goes green and ding sound goes off after your in green which sets a sigh of relief the adrenaline pumping sound of the alert status is also followed by a theme sound of noise that's basically telling you to run

this is also the sound of frustration from players as you are playing as an elite super solider / agent spy solid snake which i consider to be the best gaming protagonist you want to play the part

the last iconic sound in mgs1 that also has been a common thing in the series is the death sound it starts by hearing snake/big boss screaming presumably in agony as you hear otacon/campell/mei ling scream "snake , snake? snaaaaakeee!!" this is also route of anger as i dont want to hear otacon screaming after ive been screwed over by annoying combat from grey fox

this is very sinister in all fairness as the screams come from distress and terror and music that plays alongside it gives you the "yeah game over man" type of sound

[cryomancers-orb]

Wow. Reading all this was just like.. who is this character? What were the writers trying to achieve with him? Why does he share a name with one of the franchise's most sympathetic characters?

I would understand if he were meant to be this duplicitous figure set up to be an antagonist, but I highly doubt that's what they're going for with Scorpion. It would truly be something new, which is exactly why they would never do that. Not to mention all the people it would piss off, including Mr. Boon himself.

From his bio, from the way other characters react to him in his intros and the arcade endings featuring him, it's obvious he's meant to be in the same respect as Kuai and Hanzo were in MK11. (Which makes no sense considering they both earned that respect over many years and MK1 Scorp is just starting his fledgling clan. I don't care how good of a fighter he is, that alone doesn't grant him prestige.) And this tracks, because again, he's Scorpion and this is NRS.

But then.. why didn't they write him that way? It's not like they've never written all the traits fanon MK1 Kuai has before. Humility, integrity, a tangible code of honor... these are all things that were present as recent as MK11's Kuai Liang. Of course, that iteration has its own issues, but they are on the large easy to ignore or explain and his arcade ending pretty much makes up for them. So why? The logical answer is they didn't want to have two Sub-Zeroes, which I can understand because despite being different characters they do share many traits, so they had to make him a composite character with Hanzo in the mix. No matter how much their personalities conflict.

Except. MK1 Kuai's many character flaws don't correlate with Hanzo's beyond Mythologies. And even then it's not a total match. Arrogance? Last seen leading to his first death in Mythologies. Which I doubt is even canon anymore in the NRS timeline. NRS Hanzo Hasashi is short-tempered, and that temper tends to make him short-sighted and easy to manipulate. Besides that, NRS has stereotypically made him a sympathetic, good man. Sure, there's that thirst for vengeance, but where Hanzo's mind gets genuinely clouded by it from his trauma, MK1 Kuai seems much more... sinister(?) in comparison. Because he's not Hanzo. His revenge will be a planned out thing, not some moment of passion.

So. Are these intros the way they are because we're meant to simply look at them and think "wow, Scorpion is so cool!"? Because that's the only way I can make sense of it all. Like, whoever wrote these wasn't looking at who exactly would be saying them, or what it would convey as a whole, or how it even comes across by itself. Which is just sad. We go from three line intros to two, and they somehow make at least one of their characters more unlikable than before. That's so sad.

The weird thing in all of this, though, is that it accidentally gives us a very interesting thought (that NRS will never expand upon): While creating this timeline, Liu Kang set out to redeem as many characters as he could, and did his best to give his prior allies better lives. This meant a kinder, more honorable Lin Kuei. Ironically, this resulted in The character shaped by his traumas and pain into a genuine force for good turning into a two-faced arrogant man with his own obscure agenda.

Sub-Zero Kuai Liang believed in redemption because he had to claw his way out of the dark. MK1 Scorpion turns his nose up at everyone because he was always on the side of "good", and he's quick to write off any doubters. Even his own brother.

SZ!Kuai practiced forgiveness and worked to end the cycle of violence he was in, because he understood the value of peace after not having it his whole life. MK1 Scorp was born and raised in a time of peace, and he's only too quick to start his own cycle of violence.

SZ!Kuai never gave up on Bi-Han, and redeeming him was always his end goal. His brother was all he had. MK1 Scorp grew up with his whole family around, and the rest is history.

These are just a few parallels I dug out. I'm sure exactly 0% of it is intentional or will ever get explored.

But yeah. I resent what's been done to my favorite character and I don't think the story expansion nor the next game will fix that. Sadly, I almost think the best thing they can do with him at this point is Noob-Saibot him and put Hanzo back in his place, but that's even sadder because it'll be the third hand-me-down title he'll have. And Noob-Saibot as a character is even less him.

Kuai Liang is not "nice"

This is technically the second part of my character analysis for Kuai Liang, so be sure to check out the first part focusing on Kuai Liang's personality, goals and his relationship with his brothers and Harumi.

This part will focus on how Kuai Liang treats other characters and upon closer inspection, the image of the "sweet wholesome guy everyone adores" that the fandom crafted for him starts to crumble very quickly.

Kitana and Mileena:

Mileena: My bond with Kitana can't be broken. Scorpion: I'd once thought the same of mine with Bi-Han.

Why exactly is Kuai Liang trying to make Mileena doubt Kitana's loyalty to her? We have all seen Kitana's tower ending. She has gone out of her way to secure her sister's reign, she defends Mileena fiercely and is genuinely worried about her. It upsets her to see other members of the court conspiring against her sister. Kitana is nothing but loyal to Mileena, in a way Kuai Liang was never loyal to Bi-Han.

"I'm disappointed in my brother's decisions and therefore everyone else's siblings suck too." That's not a healthy or mature mindset. He's projecting his own family issues onto Mileena and Kitana, who actually share a wholesome bond, and tries to create distrust and dispute where there is none. And why? Out of jealousy? It's hard to tell, but this was uncalled for.

It's particularly awful because Kitana is actually trying to help fix Kuai Liang's relationship with his own brother while it seems Kuai Liang is trying to ruin hers with Mileena.

Kitana: You've broken Kuai Liang's heart. Sub-Zero: It won't be the only part of him I damage.

Kitana: I understand congratulations are in order. Scorpion: How did news of my marriage reach Outworld?

Kitana: Weapons. Soldiers. Whatever you -- Scorpion: I have all that I need to defeat Bi-Han.

She's also offering him her and Outworld's support and is really just being nice to him, yet he never once shows gratitude and even tries to plant doubts about her in her sister's mind behind her back.

Nitara:

Scorpion: If you would only feed on lower species -- Nitara: Humans are a lower species.

"Lower species"? What species exactly is Kuai Liang talking about here? What's his definition of a lower species? Tarkatans? Netherrealmers? One could assume he means animals, but then why doesn't he say so? Instead, he's using a term that's often used in f*cist language. Who or what he's referring to isn't specified either, but it's definitely a questionable choice of words regardless.

Let's be honest, the mindset that there's "lower species" that are not deserving of life, as Kuai Liang basically implies by claiming Nitara should feed on them instead, says quite a lot about the kind of person he is. No matter what he's speaking of here, I still think this is pretty fucked up from any standpoint, especially because Kuai Liang doesn't explicitly say that he's talking about animals.

This is just my opinion, but even if he were to "only" be talking about animals here, I think it's downright wrong to say any animals are a "lower species", given the fact that we very much depend on certain animals for our own survival. Even if we give Kuai Liang the benefit of the doubt, he still sounds incredibly uneducated and ignorant. To not value the life of other creatures is not a good look on him, but then again we've seen how much he values his own brother's life so the bar is quite literally in hell.

Raiden:

Scorpion: Liu Kang's revelation has shaken my faith in him. Raiden: Understandable, given what he chose to hide.

Reptile: Am I right to put faith in Liu Kang? Scorpion: He's always proven worthy of mine.

Oh, has he now?

Kuai Liang is beginning to sound two-faced. He's certainly not conflicted because he still continues to follow Liu Kang and advices others to do the same. He also doesn't openly criticize or doubt Liu Kang like Tomáš and Bi-Han do. But he himself has lost some of his faith in Liu Kang, yet he judges Bi-Han for having done the same thing? Where does any of that make sense?

Bi-Han:

Scorpion: You would shed your brother's blood? Sub-Zero: Because you choose to stand in my way.

The first blood shed was Bi-Han's, not Kuai Liang's, but because Bi-Han doesn't bear a visible scar, no one acknowledges that.

Kuai Liang is once again showing manipulative behavior here. Blaming everything on his brother and pretending he did nothing wrong. Guilt tripping Bi-Han for something he himself has done.

Kuai Liang's actions are not even the biggest problem here. You can somehow justify what he did with him being hurt/angry when he found out about the true circumstances of his father's death. It's the fact that he refuses to take any responsibility for what he did and acts completely innocent although he's anything but, that shows he's not who the fandom makes him out to be.

Even Bi-Han stands by what he does. Kuai Liang can't even own up to his actions.

Liu Kang:

Liu Kang: You allow vengeance to consume you. Scorpion: I should not punish Bi-Han for his crimes?

So, Liu Kang seems concerned with Kuai Liang's thirst for vengeance. What's even more noteworthy is that we have Kuai Liang, a mortal, speak to Liu Kang, a literal god, about punishing someone else as if he's entitled to do so? Should it not be up to Liu Kang to decide whether Bi-Han deserves forgiveness or punishment? Do we need to add a god complex to the list of Kuai Liang's flaws?

There's nothing honorable about vengeance. It's honorable to be the bigger person and to forgive.

As Chinese philosopher Confucius said:

“Love thy neighbour as thyself: Do not do to others what thou wouldst not wish be done to thyself: Forgive injuries. Forgive thy enemy, be reconciled to him, give him assistance, invoke God in his behalf.”

Kuai Liang has none of that honor he claims to value.

Tanya:

Tanya: Liu Kang says we can trust you. Kuai Liang: As long as Outworld's goals don't conflict with Earthrealm's.

Let me translate it: "No, you can't. I'll stop being a reliable ally and might betray you as soon as our interests no longer align." Which is fair enough, he doesn't owe Outworld his loyalty. It's, however, funny that that's exactly what Bi-Han did with Liu Kang/Earthrealm too, but for some reason Kuai Liang is still delusional enough to think he's a more honorable man than his brother?

Kung Lao:

Kung Lao: I bet I could be Shirai Ryu. Scorpion: First, you must learn humility.

Also Scorpion:

Ashrah: I'd do well to follow your example. Scorpion: Then start by studying my kombat.

Quan Chi: Your brother told me of all your weaknesses. Scorpion: A short conversation, sorcerer?

Kuai Liang is a hypocrite who doesn't practice what he preaches. These are just two of many dialogues in which he comes off as overly confident and boastful. He will try to force his own values and ideals onto others but will not uphold them himself. These dialogues are not even the only example of his hypocrisy, but more of that to come later.

Smoke and the Shaolin monks:

Scorpion: Was it worth it, training with the Shaolin? Smoke: Let me show you what I learned.

Yet another example for Kuai Liang's arrogance. "Was it worth it?" What's that even supposed to mean? Admittedly, this might not sound as bad compared to everything else he's said but I invite you to go and listen to this specific intro and pay attention to the tone of his voice. To me, it very much sounds like, as a former Lin Kuei, he thinks there's nothing the monks can teach him and Tomáš anymore and therefore he sees training with them as a waste of time. Overall, Kuai Liang seems to hold little respect for his allies. He might not outright say it, but there's definitely a superiority complex there.

Johnny:

Scorpion: Your mansion was unduly extravagant. Johnny Cage: It came with the megastardom. Package deal.

What gives Kuai Liang the right to judge Johnny for what he does with his money that he's earned from his movies? Judging people and acting like he has the moral high ground over them in any situation is something Kuai Liang does a lot. That alone might not automatically make him a bad person, but it's tasteless and impolite nonetheless.

Johnny Cage: With your skills you'd be a hit, Kuai Liang. Scorpion: Do I look like an entertainer?

Again, if you listen to the actual intro, the distaste in his voice is obvious. He seems to not have much respect for Johnny's profession or for most of his allies' professions, really. Remember his reaction to Tomáš training with the Shaolin monks?

Rain:

Scorpion: Like a dog, you bit the hand that fed you. Rain: You've no right to judge me, Earthrealmer.

He doesn't -- because did Kuai Liang not do the same to Bi-Han? It doesn't matter that Bi-Han chose the wrong side, Kuai Liang's oath was to his grandmaster, not to Earthrealm. Bi-Han broke his oath to Earthrealm and by breaking his own oath to his brother, Kuai Liang is no better. And as I already explained in the first part of my analysis, Kuai Liang always meant to overthrow Bi-Han, even before Bi-Han abandoned his duties to defend Earthrealm. Bi-Han gave in to corruption and became a traitor, Kuai Liang was always a traitor in disguise. Kuai Liang is yet again being a hypocrite in this situation and displays double standards.

Kenshi:

Scorpion: Do not let Sento become a crutch. Kenshi: I could win this fight with or without it.

Does anyone else think this comment sounds a lot like ableism? Who is he to tell a disabled man how to handle his disability? Kenshi is a badass, he's proven that countless of times and he doesn't need Kuai Liang's advice, but Kuai Liang has a habit of acting like he knows better than others.

Bi-Han (again):

Shang Tsung: It was all too simple, pulling your brother's strings. Kuai Liang: It sickens me that he was so easily exploited.

Bi-Han fell victim to Shang Tsung's manipulation, yet here Kuai Liang is, blaming the victim. Meanwhile, Tomáš:

Smoke: I rue the day I ever met you. Quan Chi: No sense dwelling on the past, Tomáš.

Tomáš regrets ever meeting the sorcerers because he rightfully blames the people responsible for this whole mess, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, not Bi-Han. Kuai Liang is miles away from the same level of emotional maturity Tomáš has.

Scorpion: "Bi-Han's trail has led me to Sun Do." Li Mei: "I'll abide no vigilante justice, Kuai Liang."

Scorpion: If you know where he is, tell me. General Shao: As if I would spill your brother's secrets.

Scorpion: I need help to find Bi-Han. Johnny Cage: Y'know I was only a TV detective, right?

Kuai Liang is making his own family feud everyone else's problem.

SPOILERS: At the same time, when Bi-Han will crash Kuai Liang's wedding in the dlc according to leaks, Kuai Liang will "apologize" to those who attended that they got dragged into his war with Bi-Han, once again painting his brother as the villain. Could he be any more duplicitous? I think the main reason why Smoke is not mentioned in any leaks is because the writers might deliberately not want him to be there because the way Kuai Liang acts (wanting to kill Frost, leaving Bi-Han to suffer and die) would go against everything Tomáš believes in and they can't have someone make Scorpion look bad, so they decided to just have Tomáš not be there at all. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what will.

Kuai Liang:

Scorpion: I won't be consumed by vengeance. Scorpion: How can your father's death not burn you.

You know it's bad when your own alternate self starts judging you and criticizing your ways.

Geras:

Scorpion: I want to see the moment my father died. Geras: You are not ready to receive that knowledge.

I wonder why Geras denied Kuai Liang's request. Is he concerned that actually witnessing the event will make Kuai Liang lose his mind completely and he will make even more of an effort to kill Bi-Han? He surely seems to think Kuai Liang is too unstable to receive that information. But then again, Kuai Liang already wants to kill Bi-Han, he already tried to do it and he already knows what happened. When will he be ready in Geras' opinion? Once he already forgave Bi-Han (which seems like it won't happen at all)? Would that not just reignite his old hatred? Could it be that there's more to the death of Kuai Liang's father than we know? Is there something Geras is trying to hide from Kuai Liang on purpose?

Ashrah:

Ashrah: Bi-Han can be redeemed. Scorpion: I don't see how that's possible.

It sounds a lot like Kuai Liang doesn't want it to be possible. He wants to deny his brother a chance at redemption. He's also once again acting like he knows better than everyone else. It's getting to the point where he seems self-righteous and out of touch with reality.

So, tell me again, after all that, why are we calling Kuai Liang a nice guy?

To conclude this, Kuai Liang only appears "nice" in direct comparison to Bi-Han, not necessarily because he's a better person, he's just the more agreeable one of the two. Take Bi-Han out of the picture and it's plain to see Kuai Liang is really not that nice. I also don't see how Kuai Liang is the poor, traumatized victim that never did anything wrong in his life, as fans like to describe him as. Yes, he suffered as well, but victims can also become aggressors. There are plenty of situations in which that's the case for Kuai Liang. Again, this is not hate or an attempt to completely demonize him, just to show that the fandom has a wrong idea of who Kuai Liang is and what he's like.

[httplilyyy]

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐅𝐔𝐋 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒 || 𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐀 𝐂𝐀𝐑𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑

pairing: tara carpenter x reader

summary: after a violent night involving ghostface, feelings rise to the surface.

warnings: blood, descriptions of violence, knives, guns, character death, swearing, bad writing

word count: 3.5k

a/n: this is my first fic for tara and the scream franchise so i hope its up to standards and that you’ll like it :)

scream masterlist

If somebody was to tell you a year a go this is where you would be, you would’ve laughed in their faces. Yet here you were, sitting in the back of a car with your best friend, Tara, beside you, frantically looking for her inhaler.

You had known the Carpenters for your whole life, living next door to them came with pros and cons but you couldn’t have been more grateful for the friendship that had formed between you and Tara.

However, it was only as of lately, you had started to grow feelings for the younger Carpenter. Yet you decided it was best to bury those feelings, even if it hurt you in the process.

You were falling in love and you were falling fast. Whilst you were so caught up in your own thoughts you missed the way that Tara looked at you. Her inhaler was long forgotten, only the thought of you was on her mind.

Sam made Richie drive to Amber’s house to see if she had Tara’s spare inhaler and she noticed the two of you were very quiet in the back.

The both of you were pining over each other, however, the only thing stopping the two of you from telling your true feelings to each other was the fact that you were best friends. As well as a certain murderer trying to kill Tara and Sam.

You weren't actually sure when it all went wrong. How you went from getting Tara’s spare inhaler to you being chased through Stu Macher’s old house, trying to escape Ghostface.

Sprinting up the stairs, you found a room and made a beeline for it. After managing to close the door just in time you pushed a dresser in front of it, making sure that no one could get in.

You grunt as you let your back hit the wall, sliding down it until you come to a stop when you meet the floor. Your tense body goes limp as you sit there, heavy breaths falling from your lips.

Finally managing to catch your breath for only a second, when you heard grunting coming from a closet. Heart rate increasing at the possibilities, you cautiously got up from the ground and made your way towards the sound.

Hand resting on the handle, you contemplated whether you should open it or not. That little debate didn't go on for long and you swiftly opened the closet door.

To your surprise, Tara was sitting on the floor, bound and gagged, eyes wide with fear.

“Tara.” You muttered quietly, shock written on your features.

You searched your pockets for anything sharp when you felt the knife you had tucked into the belt of your jeans. Carefully, you cut through the duct tape on Tara’s wrists and she was quick to get rid of the tape around her mouth.

“W-what the hell is happening?” Tara rushed out. “And why do you have a knife?”

“Oh! I took it from the kitchen amongst others.” You smiled, but soon realised that may not have been the best thing to do.

“Why do you need more than one? If you’re going to kill me-”

“No! No, of course not.” You cut Tara off. “Not you at least.”

“What does that mean?” Tara questioned, a slight tremble was heard in her voice.

“What’d you say we kill these fuckers, huh?” You whispered, tilting your head a little.

“And how exactly is that going to work?” Tara wondered, gesturing to her broken leg.

“I have a plan, do you trust me?” You asked, holding your hand out.

‘Do you trust me?’ The question runs laps around in Tara's mind. Does she trust you? Of course she does, you're her best friend after all, but in this situation, she’s not so sure. How can she trust you after everything she has been through? How did she know if you weren't the killer?

Hesitantly, she took your hand, letting you pull her up from the ground.

“One wrong move and you're dead.” Tara mumbled, a stern look on her face.

“I wouldn't doubt it,” you smiled, “if you don't kill me then your sister probably will.”

“Okay, so how is this going to work?” Tara asked as she pointed between the two of you.

“You’re going to play the helpless victim, whilst I play Ghostface.” You smirked.

“This is how I die.” Tara said quietly, which you didn't miss, but she nodded her head, agreeing to your plan.

“I’m going to need you to be really quiet. Can you do that for me?” You questioned, placing your knife under her chin, tilting her head to look up at you.

Tara wordlessly nodded, a slight flicker of fear behind her features as she looked into your eyes.

“Good girl.”

Retracting your knife away from Tara, you frantically looked around the room for one specific thing. That of which you found in the same very closet Tara was in only moments ago.

You pulled out a Ghostface mask and costume, turning to Tara, you held up the item of clothing, the smile on your face only growing wider.

“Would you like to play a game, Tara?” You asked and what you said seemed to trigger something inside her.

“W-what did you just say?”

“Are you ready?”

“N-no y-you said-”

“I’m just messing with you.”

“I don’t- I-”

"I've got this handled, okay? Stop worrying so much”

“Yeah, okay.” Tara breathed.

“I’ve got to make it a little believable, don’t I?”

“Right,” Tara trailed off, “so what do you want me to do?”

“Follow me.” You smiled before pulling on the Ghostface mask.

“Thank God you’re okay…” You heard Richie say, a trembling Tara rested in your arms. “Because I really wanted to be the one to kill you.”

Richie stabbed Sam in her side and you had put a hand over Tara’s mouth to stop the scream that threatened to fall from her lips.

Sam stared at her boyfriend in disbelief, sinking to her knees as the second ghostface revealed themselves as Amber.

Richie leaned down next to Sam, taking the gun from her, gently, before handing it to Amber.

“I know. It’s a bummer, it's me." Richie said before he held up the Ghostface verbalizer, “But it’s really the best twist for the movie.”

“No…” Sam trailed off.

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“This isn’t... a fucking movie…”

“No. But it will be. And that’s the point, right Amber?

“Right, hon.” Amber agreed, looking around. “Third Act bloodbath, check. Killers revealed, check... Time for the big finale. Let’s get ‘em into the kitchen.”

Amber forced Sidney to her feet, pushing her with the gun as Richie carried a bleeding Sam into the kitchen. All whilst you and Tara stood watching the whole thing.

Tara was desperately trying to get out of your arms but you held a tight grip on her. At one point she nearly escaped but you pushed her into a nearby wall.

“Stop.” You said, placing a hand back over Tara's mouth. “We have to wait.”

“Fuck you.” Tara spat, pulling your hand from her face.

“I’m flattered, really, but not now, maybe later.” You teased.

“You’re a dick.” tara mumbled, punching your arm, not having any malicious intent behind it.

“I’m trying to help you.” You whisper-shouted.

“By making me watch my sister get stabbed? How is that helping me?”

“I’m your best friend! I'm always going to help you.”

Those words, although they were reassuring, felt like a knife to the heart for the both of you. Best friends. Nothing more. Never.

“Enough with this secret shit! Tell me what you are going to do!”

You were about to reply when you heard Amber shout, ‘she’s not here’ from upstairs.

“The fuck do you mean she’s not there?” Richie yelled back, turning to face Sam.

“I guess you are finally going to see what I am going to do.” You said, placing a knife in each of her pockets, one for her, the other for her sister.

You pulled Tara by the arm, dragging her into the kitchen with your own knife pressed against her neck.

“Of course she’s not up there.” You said, the Ghostface vocaliser changing the tone of your voice. “She’s right here.”

Richie turned around to face you and his eyes rose along with Sam’s, Sidney’s and Gale’s, all in complete shock that there was another Ghostface.

“A third?” Gale questioned, hand tight against her side. “You've gotta be shitting me.”

“Oh, I am going to enjoy this.” You laughed tauntingly as you pressed the knife harder onto Tara’s neck, but not enough to hurt her.

“Tara…” Sam gasped, her eyes darting between you and her sister.

“W-who are you?” Richie asked, pointing his knife towards you.

“What you can’t be.” You shrugged.

“And what’s that?”

“I guess you’ll have to find that one out, won’t you?” You said, tilting your head.

“Is this some shitty little game you’re trying to play?”

“Possibly.”

“Right, and who dies first?”

“You.”

“Amber?” Richie yelled, desperately trying to find the girl.

At that point, Amber returned and stopped in her tracks once she saw you. Confused as to how there was another Ghostface, she watched as you looked over your shoulder, slowly, as if you were teasing her.

“Hello, Amber.” You said. “What a lovely surprise. I must say I expected more.”

“I’m sorry?” Amber asked incredulously.

“Oh it's okay, you can still redeem yourself.” You chuckled.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Now, now, let's not get angsty here.” You said, pushing Tara towards her sister carefully.

“Who the fuck are you?” Richie questioned again.

“If you don’t tell us who the fuck you are we will slit your throat” Amber sneered.

“Oh, no.” You said sarcastically. “I’m sooo scared.”

“Tell us who you are!”

“Fine.” You shouted, throwing your hands up in the air. “I’m a big fan.”

“Of who? Us?” Richie asked.

“No, of course not,” you chuckled, “of Sidney and Gale, duh.”

“So why are you dressed as Ghostface?” Sidney questioned.

You turned to face the older woman, but you were actually looking at Tara. The younger Carpenter gave you a discrete nod which you returned.

“So we can kill them.” You replied, turning back to face Amber whilst Tara placed the knife you gave her in her sister's hand as well as taking the other for her.

“We?” Richie wondered out loud and before he could even think, you had tackled Amber to the ground, Sam doing the same to Richie.

Sidney, Gale and Tara watched on as the four of you rolled around on the floor, trying to kill one another. Both Sidney and Gale, helped Tara get out of the kitchen and make their way out of the house.

You were straddling Amber, using some, but not all, of your strength to push the blade of your knife between her eyes. Behind you, you could hear Sam struggling to wrestle with Richie.

Grunting, you pushed the knife down onto Amber, however, it only went through her clavicle on her right. With one final punch to the face, Amber was knocked out unconscious which left just enough time for you to get to Sam.

You watched as Richie placed the barrel of his gun to Sam’s forehead but before he could pull the trigger you tackled him to the ground. The sound of the gun went off and a searing pain was felt on your bicep.

“That actually hurt. Wow.” You said, ripping off your mask, revealing your face.

“You?!” Richie exclaimed, standing back up.

“Yes, me. Don’t seem so surprised.” You replied, holding your hand over your fresh wound as you stood up too.

“Why?”

“For shits and giggles.” You deadpanned as you slowly stalked towards Amber once again, but before you could get closer, Richie stepped in front of you. "Move."

Richie did and he circled around you, waiting for your next move. Once you took a step forward Richie attacked you from behind.

You had expected for Richie to try and hit you so you easily dodged his fist. You grabbed his arm and threw him over your shoulder trying to get him to fall to the floor but he just did a forward roll and got up again. This time you were face to face.

“Sam get out of here.” You shouted over your shoulder, receiving a punch to the gut from Richie, causing you to stumble backwards.

Sam listened to you and she scrambled to her feet, she bolted out of the kitchen and made a run for the front door.

“Saaaaaaam! Where you going? Your big scene’s coming up!” Richie yelled, forgetting about you and following the older Carpenter out of the kitchen.

“Looks like it's just you and me.” You said, standing over Amber's body, watching as she came back into consciousness.

Before Amber could get up, you shot a hand out and wrapped it around her throat. The girl desperately clawed at your forearm, trying to get you to release your grip.

You pulled her up so she was standing on her feet and threw her over the kitchen counter. But before you knew it she had gotten up, taken a knife from the counter and charged towards you.

Before you could even comprehend what was going on, another gunshot was sounded throughout the house, then a thud. As Amber's body fell you saw Tara stand behind her, gun in hand as she leaned onto the door frame.

“Tara, what the hell?” You exclaimed, rushing over to her.

“Stop!” Tara shouted, holding the gun up to your head.

“Tara-” You said, voice a little quieter than it was before, holding your hands up in surrender.

“Stop.” Tara said again, this time however her lip trembled as her voice broke.

“I have, I'm not moving until you want me to.”

“Where’s my sister?”

“She went off to find you, I presume, but other than that I don't know.”

“Come with me.” Tara said, walking off into another room but as soon as you were going to follow her, Amber came up behind you and stabbed you in the back.

You let out a low, pained yell. Hearing as Amber laughed behind you, you felt her push the knife in deeper.

Crumpling to your knees, you felt as if your senses had been dialled to a thousand. You could suddenly feel everything, from how fast your heart was beating to the bead of sweat falling down your temple.

“Shit.” You heard someone whisper from behind you and then you felt the knife being pulled from your back.

Falling to your hands, you looked to the side and saw Sidney and Gale fight Amber. You watched as Sidney crashed a bottle over Amber's head, the girl losing her footing and hitting the floor.

Not wasting any more time, you stumbled to your feet and looked at the women in appreciation before stumbling as quickly as you could to find Tara.

“I’m introducing a new rule…” You heard Sam mutter.

You rounded a corner and saw Tara watching from afar, stuck in her spot as Sam crawled away from Richie.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” Richie taunted, watching as Sam inched forward but not noticing her wrapping her fingers around a knife.

“Come here and I’ll tell you…”

Richie kneeled, grabbing the hair on the back of Sam’s head, wrenching her face to his.

“Well?”

“Never fuck with the daughter of a serial killer.” Sam whispered as she stabbed Richie in the face. The blade went through his cheek into his mouth before coming out the other side.

She didn’t stop there. She continued to stab his chest and stomach. Richie fell backwards, grouting blood, stunned. Sam straddled him and continued her onslaught.

“But... I can’t die... Who’s gonna be the villain in the sequel..?”

“That’s the sequel’s problem.” Sam grunted before she slit his throat.

Sam rose unsteadily, dropping the knife to her side when Sidney and Gale appeared from the kitchen.

“Be careful, they always come back-” Sidney said as Sam took the gun from her hand and emptied the entire clip onto Richie's body, the last one going straight through his skull.

A beat goes past as Sidney and Gale exchange a look.

“Okay then.” Gale uttered, in complete shock.

The silence is quickly interrupted by Amber screaming, a knife raised in her hand as she advanced on the three standing above Richie's body.

But before she could even get close, Tara had pulled the trigger of the gun she was holding, the bullet going through Amber's head as she fell to the floor for one last time.

You stood behind Tara, watching her in shock, not thinking she had it in her but soon noticed as her fake exterior broke down as she stumbled over to her older sister.

The two of them embraced in a long and much needed hug. You stepped closer, tripping over your own feet, mainly due to blood loss.

Tara sniffled, lifting her head from Sam’s chest before turning to you. Tara didn't say anything as she walked towards you. She just put her hand around the base of your neck and brought your head towards hers so she could place her lips on yours.

The sudden action had stunned you, breath catching in your throat. You did not expect her to kiss you, especially in front of her sister. But as your brain started to register what was going on, you finally kissed back, putting your hands on her waist pulling her closer.

The kiss started out slow, almost hesitant, but quickly began to build. You grinned into the kiss, tightening your hands on Tara’s waist. As the two of you were pressed against each other, Tara moved her hands and wrapped them around your shoulders.

You pulled away reluctantly, resting your forehead on Tara’s. Letting out a small chuckle, you placed one last kiss to her lips before pulling her into a hug.

“I’m so glad you’re safe.” You whispered, feeling as Tara tightened her grip around you.

“All because of you.” Tara replied, pressing a kiss to your cheek as she pulled back to look in your eyes. “Even if your plan was utterly stupid.”

“It worked though, didn’t it?” You grinned.

“Luckily.” Tara scoffed, teasingly as she rolled her eyes.

“What’d you say we finally get out of here?” You questioned.

“I would love that.” Tara smiled, leaning against your side as she turned to look at her sister.

“Let's go then.” Sam said, replicating her sister's smile, opening the door for everyone.

The sun crests over the horizon as police cars and ambulances line the street. EMT’s rushed each of you to an ambulance to get treated for your wounds.

You sat beside Tara, holding onto one of her hands as Sam held the other. An EMT stitched up the stab wound on your back having already treated the one on your bicep.

The whole time you didn’t look away from Tara, exchanging smiles every now and then. Once you were fully patched up the EMT went off somewhere leaving you with the Carpenters.

“So.. are you two a thing now then?” Sam asked, a teasing smile plastered on her face.

“Sam!” Tara groaned, leaning into you, hiding her face in the crook of your neck.

“What? You did kiss them in front of me.” Sam said, chuckling at her sister's reaction.

“That’s up to y/n.” Tara mumbled into your neck and Sam raised her eyes to you, eyebrow quirking in question.

“Well, Tara? Would you be my girlfriend?” You asked, smiling as you felt her cheeks get hotter due to your question.

“Yeah, I'd love to.” Tara replied, removing her face from your neck to answer your question before pulling you into another quick kiss.

“You better treat her right, y/n.” Sam said, her protective side coming out.

“I will.” You said, smiling down at Tara in your arms.

“Good.” Sam nodded.

“Do you want to come with us?” Tara asked, looking between you and her sister, silently asking if that was okay, getting a nod from Sam.

“Of course, I'd go anywhere with you.” You said, squeezing Tara’s hand.

“Can you take us to a different hospital this time?” Tara asked the EMT that walked up to you three.

The EMT nodded and walked to the front of the ambulance, Sam noticed Sidney and Gale sitting in the back of another ambulance and told the two of you she would be back in a second.

Whilst Sam went off to speak to Sidney and Gale, you helped Tara get onto a stretcher. Once she was lying comfortably you sat beside her, holding her hand once again.

Sam hobbled back to the ambulance where you and Tara were in a deep conversation, the two of you talking animatedly.

She smiled at the sight and climbed into the back, taking a seat beside you. The two of you quietened your conversation and started a new one with Sam.

An EMT shut the doors and started the ambulance, turning on its sirens before finally pulling away from the dreaded property of Stu Macher’s old house.

[shihalyfie]

So uh...Digimon Seekers being a web novel will be interesting.

It's an interesting format for sure. I'm guessing they're trying to find a way to keep "constant content" going in light of the loss of the anime timeslot and all that (the card game's doing well, but there's only so much it can do by itself).

Speaking of which! Let's talk about the elephant in the room, which is Digimon losing its timeslot and Ghost Game not getting a follow-up anime! In previous occasions, every time Digimon lost a timeslot and the anime went on hiatus again, that meant the franchise was in danger of dying (again), but...as of earlier this year, Digimon is now Toei's third best-selling IP internationally. So it is highly doubtful that the anime is going back on hiatus simply because things aren't doing well.

So, what's actually going on?

We're used to the idea of "Digimon should run back to back if it does well," and that's true of series that are explosively popular (which Digimon is not right now, even if it's not on the verge of dying either), but in actuality, the Fuji TV 9 AM slot is a high-demand one to the point most franchises don't get to run for three years on it consecutively. That kind of thing is rare enough that Japanese fans familiar with the timeslot have commented that Digimon has probably accomplished a lot getting to keep it for the last three years. There are only two IPs that have ever gotten to run for four consecutive years or longer on that slot: one is Dragon Ball (I think "not being as profitable as Dragon Ball" is hardly something to freak out about), and the other is Digimon itself.

That financial report I just linked says that Digimon is Toei's best internationally selling IP including overseas sales. While we've had a lot of reports recently about Digimon's financial success, they all specifically note that it means internationally and not just Japan -- and, granted, that's still important especially because Toei and Bandai have been trying to aim for more of an international market in recent years, but that's what's telling us that the video games and card games are what's carrying Digimon now, not necessarily the anime, which currently has very little influence outside Japan besides the Crunchyroll simulcast (and probably some East Asian language dubs), and I imagine that doesn't contribute very much. And the Adventure: English dub doesn't seem to be coming out anytime soon...

Like I've said, the card game is doing great, and sets have been coming out in Chinese and Korean as of late.

So while I'm no financial analyst, I'm guessing they've decided to put a hold on the kids' anime right now because it's not a very good outlet for their current best option, which is to focus more on building an international market and solid base. That doesn't mean kids' anime will never come back, and it also doesn't mean the franchise isn't already in a much better situation than it was when Frontier, Savers, Xros Wars, and Appmon ended, because the recent success of the video games and card games gives them a lot more of a foothold to do more business ventures, and maybe they can funnel that into actually getting partnerships to dub future kids' anime if they want to do that again. Moreover, it's true that in the past, the franchise would hit life support every time the anime stopped, but that's because the franchise was dependent on having a running anime for attention, which is not the case now because the card game has been doing fine independently of the anime. So I think it's pretty easy to understand that having an ongoing kids' show won't be the best option for them at the current moment, and meanwhile Digimon Seekers is coming out in multiple languages at once, so you can see what the strategy is here.

Of course, I think much of Digimon's best content is in the kids' shows, so I hope it comes back (and I'm certainly not a huge fan of the idea of the only anime we get being from that pipeline that's focusing on nostalgia stuff with Adventure branding), but that's how I see it for now.

[avhies20]

2022 has been such a great year for tv and movies for me. So to wrap it up, here are my top 5 favorite movies for this year! Long post ahead, because I want to gush about this films.

5. The Black Phone

I loved this movie because the focus was more on the victims themselves. The film humanized them. They showed that they had lives and they had so much ahead of them. Oftentimes, these kind of films glorify the killers, but this film thankfully did not do that. They did not even try to show a backstory for The Grabber that will make us sympathize for him. We were just given some hints. Doing that highlights the fact what he is, which is a child killer.

Also, the performances by the child actors were so good, especially Madeleine McGraw (Finney's determined and brave little sister) They really did such a phenomenal job. I hope they get to be in more movies.

4.The Batman

Initially, I thought this would be the best film I've watched this year but still this movie has a special place in my heart. Emo bruce wearing eye make up, played by Robert Pattinson. I can't believe that happened, but wow I am so thankful for it. In all seriousness though, this movie was marketed as an incredibly dark and violent film. It was, but I did not expect it to have such a hopeful message. That was something that I really needed at the time that I watched that film.

Another thing that made this one of my favorites is how they did Seline Kyle. They did not oversexualize her and we got to see more of her vulnerable side. Besides that, I also love the parallels between her and Bruce/Batman.

Lastly, shout out to the soundtrack. When it first came out, I replayed it over and over.

3. Nope

Jordan Peele did it again! This is such a thrilling sci-fi horror film. I'd like to appreciate the clever and gorgeous design of Jean Jacket (that's such a cool name too). There's a lot of sequences that were incredibly memorable for different reasons and it would be too long for me to talk about. But my favorite scene would probably the showdown between Jean Jacket and OJ. I think that scene showcases the main theme of this film.

Another reason why this film is a fave of mine is because it's a film where you can come up with a lot of interpretations and theories. Seeing all the Chekhov's guns paying off was so satisfying.

Before I end this part, I'd like to say that this is my first time seeing Keke Palmer's work. And wow she's such a fun to watch. She brought a really enthusiastic energy to the film that made me love it even more.

2. Glass Onion

This is my most anticipated release for December (December for me because I could not watch it during its theatre release in November) and it did not disappoint. I just want to say I want a full on movie franchise of Benoit Blanc's mystery adventures. Give me MORE. I love murder mysteries and whodunnits and this ticks everything I always wanted in a mystery story. The social commentary it does is also so on point and done in such a fun way. We get to see it come alive through a variety of crazy fun characters with an interesting ensemble of actors.

Half way through, this movie went into a direction that I did not expect. Props to Janelle Monàe for making such a convincing performance, which helped in really selling that twist. I also loved their dynamic and chaotic chemistry with Daniel Craig's Blanc. Them working as investigating partners was such a delight. Lastly, I appreciate that in the end, Blanc was more of just a "helper." It was Helen who was ultimately the "hero," it was her actions that ultimately brought Miles down.

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Finally we're here, this movie was the best for me. This movie made me laugh out loud (that d*ldo scene caught me off guard, not gonna lie), made me cry, made me sob, and made me rethink certain aspects of life. After watching this film, I just had to sit back and process everything for a while. The themes and messages from this film felt a little too close for me.

I feel like the editing needs a paragraph of appreciation here, because the editing of this film is WILD! I cannot believe how they even did this. Round of applause for the editors and I hope they got paid wonderfully for their amazing work.

Moving on to the performances, I just want to say that Stephanie Hsu is a talented actress. Go watch her audition tape too because she needs to be booked in more projects. Of course Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and all the other performers were amazing.

I hope more people get to watch this and see for themselves how much heart and thought was poured into this film.

That's all for for now. I hope 2023 would give us an equally interesting and fun set of films to enjoy. Have a great day to you all!

[avatar-news]

Avatar Studios masterpost!

Here’s absolutely everything there is to know about the big Avatar news from today’s ViacomCBS Paramount+ Streaming Event and investor day!

Summary of facts

Avatar Studios is a new studio at Nickelodeon. Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra co-creators and showrunners Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino are the co-Chief Creative Officers of Avatar Studios.

Avatar Studios will create original movies, series, and shorts set in the world of Avatar.

The first project is an animated theatrical film set to start production later this year.

One or more Avatar Studios Paramount+ Original Series will be among the 50 original shows coming to Paramount+ in its first two years.

The above image has been included in many articles and official social media posts. It’s presumably the current official logo of Avatar Studios.

That is a distilled list of the cold, hard facts from the whirlwind of news that has come out today, from many different sources. With that out of the way, the rest of this post will delve deeper into everything we’ve learned, including full-length quotes from the people involved.

Today’s event

Today, ViacomCBS (the company that owns Nickelodeon, and thus Avatar) held their “Streaming Event” and investor day. ViacomCBS is launching their big streaming service, Paramount+, on March 4th. It’s a rebrand and relaunch of their current streaming service, CBS All Access. Paramount+ is meant to be their big push to compete in the streaming wars with Disney’s Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+; WarnerMedia’s HBO Max; NBCUniversal’s Peacock; Apple’s Apple TV+; and, yes, Netflix’s Netflix by Netflix in collaboration with Netflix.

Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are already on CBS All Access in full, and they, like all the rest of the content on the service, will automatically transfer over to Paramount+. (Currently we know absolutely nothing about when or if either show will leave Netflix. They’re currently on both Netflix and CBS All Access, so it’s possible they’ll remain on both Netflix and Paramount+ for some time.)

Here’s my livetweet thread from today’s event. Below, I’ll cover the notable stuff:

The first big mention of Avatar was when it was called out by the CEO as one of the ViacomCBS properties that were big hits on other streaming services last year.

It’s notable that it was mentioned among a list of exclusively adult, live-action series.

This is totally in line with the earlier stuff where the CEO mentioned it as having potential for Paramount+ original content.

The presentation also included something along the lines of: if you helped make one of our properties popular on another streaming service, there’s a good chance originals will be coming to Paramount+.

Basically, they saw how huge Avatar was on Netflix last year, and that visibility was up to the highest levels of the company.

And of course, finally they announced the creation of Avatar Studios. This was actually a few minutes after the news went up officially online, so at that point I lost track of the stream as I covered the news. But, I do know they didn’t show/announce anything else in the event besides the news that went up online.

Official quotes/statements

Here are the official quotes about Avatar Studios sent out today:

Joint official statement from Bryke:

“It’s hard to believe it’s been 19 years since we created Avatar: The Last Airbender. But even after all that time, there are still many stories and time periods in Aang’s world that we are eager to bring to life. We are fortunate to have an ever-growing community of passionate fans that enjoys exploring the Avatarverse as much as we do. And with this new Avatar Studios venture we have an unparalleled opportunity to develop our franchise and its storytelling on a vast scale, in myriad exciting ways and mediums. We are exceedingly grateful to Brian Robbins and Ramsey Naito for their enthusiasm and respect for the Avatar property and us as its stewards. From the start, they’ve supported our ambitious plans and created a positive, proactive environment for us. We’re excited to be back at Nickelodeon where Avatar began, doing what we do best in the biggest way possible. We can’t wait to build the great teams and productions to make all of this fantasy a reality.”

via Entertainment Weekly

Bryan on his Instagram and Tumblr:

“Bryke is back at Nickelodeon in a big way. ⚡��💙⬇️💙⚡️ Mike and I are heading up a new studio dedicated to expanding the Avatarverse.”

Mike on his Instagram:

“BIG announcement! @bryankonietzko and I are returning to #Nickelodeon as co-chief creative officers of Avatar Studios to develop new animated projects in the #avatarverse and oversee the franchise. Couldn't be more excited and inspired!”

Brian Robbins:

“Avatar: The Last Airbender and Korra have grown at least ten-fold in popularity since their original hit runs on Nickelodeon, and Ramsey Naito and I are incredibly excited to have Mike and Bryan’s genius talent on board to helm a studio devoted to expanding their characters and world into new content and formats for fans everywhere. Creator-driven stories and characters have long been the hallmarks of Nickelodeon, and Avatar Studios is a way to give Mike and Bryan the resources and runway to open up their imaginations even more and dive deeper into the action and mythology of Avatar as we simultaneously expand upon that world and the world of content available on Paramount+ and Nickelodeon.”

via Deadline

Brian Robbins was referred to as the president of Nickelodeon on Entertainment Weekly, and “President, ViacomCBS Kids & Family” on Deadline. Ramsey Naito is the president of Nickelodeon Animation.

Press release

The post-event ViacomCBS press release mentioned Avatar in two places:

First, right up at the top:

“Over 50 original series to premiere on Paramount+ over next two years, including Halo, Frasier, Criminal Minds, iCarly, The Real World, Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies, shows from the Avatar, Yellowstone, Star Trek and SpongeBob SquarePants universes and more”

The wording makes it unclear if it will be multiple shows from each of the final four franchises mentioned, or if it’s plural because it’s listing multiple franchises. It’s talking about the first two years specifically, so it’s likely that in that timeframe only one Avatar show would be ready, but in general it’s basically guaranteed that there will be multiple in the coming years.

The second place it’s mentioned is in the “Expansive Slate of Upcoming Paramount+ Original Series” - “Kids & Family” section:

“Avatar – Nickelodeon’s new animation studio division dedicated entirely to creating content based on the wildly popular world of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. Led by the series’ original creators Mike DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, in partnership with the Nickelodeon Animation Studio, Avatar Studios will produce for Paramount+ a wide-range of Avatar-inspired content, ranging from spinoffs and theatricals to short form.”

Info from news

Across the many news sources today (sites, social media, etc.) this info has sort of coalesced:

What is Avatar Studios?

It has been referred to as a studio, a venture, a division of Nickelodeon, an animation studio division, etc. etc. etc.

As far as we know, it’s not an animation production studio and so doesn’t employ animators who draw the frames of animation themselves.

What does Avatar Studios make?

The various sources have said they’re making series, movies, and short-form stuff. The first two are pretty self-explanatory. The third, shorts, remains to be seen what it is. I could honestly see official TikTok videos or something, but that’s just my speculation. 😂

Right now it has been said that Avatar Studios will be making Avatar stuff only. Various wordings like “based on” and “Avatar-inspired” and “in the Avatarverse” have been used.

The question of live-action has arisen. Some places, including Mike’s post, specifically say animation, while Bryke’s official statement also says “myriad [...] mediums”. It’s highly likely there will be both animation and live-action at some point. Currently it’s probably animation-focused, with the first project being an animated movie.

Where will Avatar Studios content come out?

Another case where there have been various wordings used throughout the different news sources.

It has been said that Avatar Studios’ content will be made for Paramount+, Nickelodeon’s “linear” (meaning old-fashioned live TV) and digital outlets, third parties, and theaters.

Paramount+ is self-explanatory, that would be Paramount+ Originals streaming exclusively on Paramount+.

Nickelodeon complicates things a bit. I find it a little hard to believe that within a few years, new Avatar shows specifically for Nick’s TV channel will start being made. It’s possible statements to this effect are indicating the content will also end up aired on TV. ViacomCBS’s Star Trek universe’s first Nick show will be taking that route: first on Paramount+ and then later airing on TV on Nick, so I’m guessing something similar could be the case here. As for Nick’s digital side, they have episodes to watch on their website and apps, so I’m guessing that’s what that refers to-- I wouldn’t read into it too much. Nick itself is one of the sections on Paramount+, which also just makes my head spin a bit more.

Mention of third parties is also a little weird at first. ViacomCBS does double-dip a lot, so maybe Avatar Studios will also end up making shows for, like, Netflix and others, but it just seems like a weird business decision when they just announced Paramount+. One thing this could be referring to is potentially other mediums like books and games, for which it would make sense to be for other companies.

Lastly, theatrical. In their movies strategy, ViacomCBS announced that Paramount movies like the Mission: Impossible franchise will still be in theaters, but go to Paramount+ exclusively after a reduced 30-to-45-day theatrical window. (Some movies will also have the regular window, also a little confusing.) Some movies will also just be Paramount+ Originals in the first place, like the newest SpongeBob movie. Avatar Studios’ first project has been exclusively called a theatrical animated film. This seems to suggest that it will be in theaters at first, then a Paramount+ Original shortly after (probably the shortest, 30-day window if I were to guess). This is interesting because if it’s theatrical, that could suggest a big budget, especially if this is their first project they intend to make an impressive splash with. It could also potentially suggest 3D/CGI animation rather than 2D, but I personally don’t find that super likely. However, it could mean fancier 2D animation than we’re used to, and that’s saying a lot because we’re used to some pretty good animation from the Avatar franchise! The wording of “theatricals” could also just be used as a synonym for “films”, to indicate prestige, theatrical release quality and budget rather than made-for-TV or direct-to-DVD vibes.

In summary, it seems like right now, they’re covering all the bases, but if Paramount+ is as successful as they want it to be, it’s likely they would eventually (maybe quite soon) move more and more stuff into it exclusively. Currently, there’s also still a lot of uncertainty due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and so the new state of the theatrical, linear, and streaming marketplaces hasn’t really crystallized yet either. The world does seem to be moving to streaming quite hard though, so while they’re covering all the bases right now, again, it’s likely most of this stuff will end up mainly as a Paramount+ thing.

And again, I mentioned TikTok as a possible experimental place for short-form content. Maybe. Especially if they make the next Avatar after Korra modern day?! Ok, let me not get ahead of myself...

Who will work at Avatar Studios?

We only know about Bryke so far. They’re the co-Chief Creative Officers.

Brandon Hoang, who was working with Bryke on live-action ATLA at Netflix, has confirmed he’s not involved. He also left Netflix at some point; not sure if it was at the exact same time or for the same reasons as Bryke, but he’s neither here nor there, as it were.

No, I don’t have anything to tell you about Jeremy Zuckerman. :)

Given that there will be multiple shows and movies, it’s likely that lots of different people will end up working on them. Bryke’s official statement said that they will “build [...] teams and productions” at Avatar Studios, and Mike also said that they will be “oversee[ing] the franchise”. Right now, we don’t know what exact role Bryke will have. They might write/direct/showrun some stuff themselves, or they might oversee other creatives they hire for those roles, or, likely, both-- different levels of involvement for different shows and movies.

As mentioned previously, Avatar Studios (probably) isn’t an animation production studio. This means they will still hire animation production studios, like Studio Mir, to do the animation itself. I say “like” Studio Mir, because I’m not sure if Studio Mir itself is free right now. They recently officially partnered with Netflix and have plenty of things on their plate there. So, it remains to be seen who will be doing the actual animation for Avatar Studios’ projects.

Lastly, this is an awesome opportunity to have the “culturally appropriate, non-whitewashed cast” assurance Bryke originally made for live-action ATLA both on and off the screen at Avatar Studios!

Netflix and live-action ATLA

There has been no news or updates on the live-action adaptation of ATLA being developed at Netflix, which Bryke was originally showrunning but left (to do all this!) over creative differences.

No, it’s not cancelled.

I suppose this makes it a little more likely that Netflix would choose to give up on it, but right now there have been no changes. The existence of Avatar Studios almost definitely has no effect on the licensing rights Netflix obtained to make a live-action ATLA adaptation-- that stuff is usually pretty iron-clad. Again, maybe in light of all this Netflix will choose to not go through with it, but they also might want to make it even more now to compete with Paramount+ on Avatar. We don’t really know the stances of the decisionmakers at Netflix, so we’ll have to wait and see.

Personal note

Over the last few months I’ve gotten a lot of, err, rude comments and messages whenever I said there could be new stuff coming. I’m really not here to say “I told you so”, because I don’t care-- I run Avatar News for fun.

But, I hope this goes to show that I wouldn't be posting things if I didn't have good factual reason to believe them, and that very much panned out very correctly here. Sometimes it’s directly or indirectly based on stuff I can't say publicly. I always have and always will post in a trustworthy, fact- and reason-based manner.

In light of that, and for just a bit of “I told you so”, here’s a timeline of all the Avatar News posts that led up to today. Definitely had a lot of fun re-reading these just now:

August 12th, 2020: Bryke left the Netflix live-action ATLA series two months ago. It’s not the end of the world.

September 15th, 2020: ViacomCBS is relaunching their streaming service next year as Paramount+, the future home of Avatar shows and movies?

September 17th, 2020: Anonymous asked: Do you think now that the original creators left the live action remake that they will make a new avatar animated series?

November 6th, 2020: CEO says Avatar franchise has potential for new original series on Paramount+, the new streaming service launching next year to compete with Netflix, Disney+, and HBO Max

January 4th, 2021: “This also brings up another interesting point, which is that Bryke actually originally pitched this storyline to Nick as an animated movie after the show. That obviously didn’t happen, but now that Paramount+ is coming and teasing potential new Avatar content…”

January 5th, 2021: Investor day announcement

January 21st, 2021: The Fire Nation Awaits 🌺 An in-depth look at the ever-elusive islands in the era of Korra and when we will finally pay them a visit. See section: Are they saving the Fire Nation for an animated movie?

February 12th, 2021: All seven seasons of Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra are coming to Paramount+ on March 4th!

February 20th, 2021: The musical themes of Avatar: An Avatar News interview with Jeremy Zuckerman. See section: “So, another streaming service: Paramount+.”

February 24th, 2021: Avatar Studios masterpost :)

[nines82]

-- 𝑲𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒏 𝑹𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒆𝒘 -- What do you say about Kamen Rider that hasn’t already been said since the show concluded back in 1973? Well, it’s hard to pinpoint what has or hasn’t been said. Kamen Rider is a show that, while overly bloated and one of the weirdest rollercoasters of quality, is a fun and entertaining series that keeps the viewer’s attention with a good mix of drama, suspense, action, comedy, and classic superhero storylines. When Rider is at its best, it takes all of these and excels with flying colors at the execution of it. The first thirteen episodes, the Double Rider episodes, the specials, the Return of Takeshi Hongo arc all showcase the show’s various strengths. But the show’s weaknesses come in the repetition of storylines and beats that make it feel like you just read fifteen people copy off the one individual on a homework assignment. I think this weakness is displayed in the second portion of Ichimonji’s tenure as the primary Rider, as many episodes end up falling short of balancing what makes a great Kamen Rider episode and feel like just a by-the-numbers of a time-waster. And if the writing suffers, that means the cast does too. The Riders rotating cast range from being strong and very competent to baboons and damsels in distress for no real reason other than “we need to insert this very cliché trope that may or may not be our excuse to have the female characters be damsels who do nothing”.  Rider is the birth of all things right and wrong with the Rider franchise, ranging from the greatness of a story of humanity to the lowness of traditionalist views of women. If you have seen a Rider show after this, chances are the problems you have with it came here. Ultimately, what the show excels is is the reason you stay for the ride and luckily the show can be skipped around besides a two-parter here n there and you don’t have to go through all 98 episodes plus two specials. There are watch lists out there, check them out if you want a shorter yet more enriching watch. NEXT: Kamen Rider Black RX

[cherienymphe]

None Of Your Concern (Chris Evans x Reader)

WARNINGS: DUB-CON(NON-CON?), AGE GAP, CHEATING(?)

DNI IF ANY OF THIS OFFENDS YOU

➥ {page breaks done by @whimsicalrogers}

summary:  costars for a little over a year, Chris has always been protective of you in the cutthroat industry much like a father would be. However, when he learns that your boyfriend is even older than him, he realizes that his feelings might not be so familial after all

~

“Okay, so it’s sort of cool that a small chunk of the Avengers gang is reunited for this movie,” the interviewer said with a chuckle.

You all joined in, in agreement. She rested her blue eyes on you.

“I know that you were a huge fan of the franchise, Y/N. I mean, over the years there have been quite a few tweets from you about the movies, ranging from…‘Spider-Man’s on team Iron-Man so therefore I am on team Iron-Man’ to ‘Scott Lang deserves the world’,” she said, reading from her phone.

Tom got a huge kick out of that first one, and you rolled your eyes. The interviewer’s eyes flickered between you two, a small smile on her lips.

“I mean, am I wrong? Does Scott Lang not deserve the world?”

She nodded with a grin.

“No, you’re right, he definitely does! I just feel like being cast in this movie and having been on the set for a little over a year must have been something like a dream come true,” she pressed.

You thought about your answer for a moment, just like your publicist advised.

“Yeah, you could say that. It’s sort of surreal going from having been kind of a casual fan of someone to interacting with them almost every day for a year,” you honestly answered.

You didn’t know if you would ever get used to interviews, no matter how private they were. You were grateful you weren’t on Jimmy Fallon or something with a live audience watching your every move, but sitting next to Tom, Anthony, Sebastian, Chris, and Tessa in a room was almost just as bad in your eyes.

“…and you’ve gotten super close with your castmates, I’d say.”

You heard Tessa clear her throat, and when you caught her eye, she gave you a look, but you didn’t understand it.

“Yeah, definitely! I love them all and they’ve easily become some of my closest friends now,” you replied, eyes meeting the interviewer’s again.

She threw you a secretive smile.

“…but you and Tom seem to hang out together more than the rest of the cast. As thick as thieves some would say,” she pressed.

Your lips parted, caught off guard, and when you caught Tessa’s eye again, you recognized the sympathetic look she was giving you. A light bulb seemed to go off in your head as you realized what she was trying to warn you against earlier, the very thing you’d unknowingly walked into. Luckily, Tom jumped in before you did.

“Well,” he started, straightening in his seat, shoulder brushing your own. “Y/N and I are the youngest members of the main cast. We don’t really have much in common with the senior citizens to my left.”

He feigned a whisper during the last part, not so discreetly pointing to his left. It had the desired effect, and you were grateful that he was trying to draw the attention away from you.

“Um,” Tessa loudly began, straightening up in her seat just as Anthony, Chris, and Sebastian all spoke up at once.

“I think what he means to say is we don’t allow the children to eat at the adult’s table,” Anthony threw in.

“Yeah, its definitely more like we exclude them, and they have no choice but to hang out together,” Sebastian joked.

“Senior citizens,” Chris scoffed, cutting his eyes at Tom.

The interviewer laughed at the turn of events, but unfortunately, she was determined to expose whatever she thought was going on between you and Tom.

“So you two are rather close then? Being alienated and all,” she chuckled.

Tom laughed, albeit a bit uncomfortably as it became clear that she wasn’t going to give up. He nudged you, gesturing for you to take the stand, having already tried to steer her in another direction.

“Well…yes, but we’re all rather close, but yeah. I would say that Tom is kind of like my best friend,” you honestly told her.

She aw’d at that, tilting her head to the side. You cut your eyes to everyone else in the room, narrowing them as it became clear that they weren’t going to help the two of you get out of this. You just knew Anthony was enjoying this…

“Just friends then? Because you two have a lot of fans, and a lot of them seem to think there’s more to the friendship, or at least, they hope there is, and honestly? Who can blame them? You two are always spotted hanging out together, going for coffee, running to Target… You’re practically joined at the hip.”

As she came outright and said it, you both wasted no time in refuting it.

“Oh, God no,” you cried, shaking your head.

“No, no, absolutely not,” Tom laughed. “Y/N and I are simply good friends. She has much better taste than I do, hence why I have to drag her to Target. Besides, we don’t have Target back home, so whenever I’m in the states, I’m going shopping there every chance I get.”

“I don’t know, I think they answered that just a little too quickly for me,” Tessa suddenly wondered aloud.

You threw her a look of betrayal as Chris added on.

“Yeah, that…that wasn’t convincing, at all,” he said in between chuckles.

You gaped at him as Tom ran his hand through his hair.

“No, Y/N and I are just friends, and nothing more. She-she has a boyfriend, anyway,” he threw out, and you playfully hit his arm.

“Tom,” you warned.

You weren’t genuinely upset that he’d let that slip, especially since you didn’t exactly care if people knew. People knowing you had a boyfriend wasn’t the cause of your apprehension. It came from certain details about your boyfriend…

“Wait, you have a boyfriend?”

Four people said several variations of this at the same time, and you cringed. Tom at least looked a bit ashamed as the interviewer watch on in amusement.

“I didn’t say any names,” he defended, hands up.

You caught Anthony’s eye and he was looking at you like you’d just hid the world’s biggest secret. Tessa looked scandalized as well, and you didn’t dare look at Chris and Sebastian.

“Wait…wait a minute,” the interviewer said, sitting up in her own chair as she looked at you two.

There was a slow smirk forming on her lips.

“So…you have a boyfriend that nobody else seems to know about…except for Tom…”

You both froze, realizing how this looked. A few chuckles reached your ears, and you exhaled.

“Okay, I know how this looks…”

“It isn’t like that, at all,” Tom reiterated. “He’s a swell chap, no, really. He’s brilliant-.”

“You’ve met him then?”

“Well, yeah-.”

“Wait, wait, wait. So how come you’ve met this ‘boyfriend’ and none of us have?” Anthony wondered.

“Yeah, this sounds like a bit of a cover,” the interviewer added.

“Not a very convincing one,” Sebastian whispered.

“Okay, okay! I know that I’m not super talkative about it, but have we all forgotten that I have a girlfriend?”

That seemed to quiet everyone down.

“…besides, her boyfriend is like forty anyway, so its definitely not me,” he laughed, realizing too late what he’d said.

“Tom!” you cried.

Both of his hands were covering his mouth, eyes wide as all hell broke loose. You blinked several times, mouth agape in shock.

“I’m sorry, what?” Tessa yelled over the others.

“Forty?”

Sebastian, Chris, and Anthony were all talking over each other, all of their questions directed at you while you just stared at Tom who stared back, pleading. He slid his hands down, teeth bared as shame filled his features, cringing.

“I’m so, so, so sorry…”

His apology was overshadowed by Sebastian.

“Forty?” he repeated.

“Tom’s exaggerating, okay? He’s more like thirty,” you quickly said, trying to ease the tension and make light of the situation.

Tom’s eyes were wide as they met yours, and you quickly looked away.

“So, the boyfriend isn’t Tom…and he’s only thirty then?” the interviewer finally spoke up when the room was finally quiet once again.

You sighed, eyes meeting Tom’s again as he looked to see what you were going to do. You thought about what your publicist would advise. You’d been a part of stan twitter once. You knew how the internet could be. They’d dig until they found out the truth, and discovering his actual age, and identity by extension, would be pretty bad for both of you. Against your better judgement, you decided to be truthful since the cat was out of the bag, hoping it’d be enough to keep people’s curiosity at bay.

“No, he’s definitely 43,” you quietly admitted.

Once again, all hell broke loose.

As soon as the interview was over, you were the first one out of the room, Tom right behind you. You could hear your name being called, and Tom pushed you along.

“Go, go, go,” he urged.

You had just made it to your dressing room when a muscular arm slid between the door and the frame as you attempted to close it.

“Anthony, not now!”

“No, no, now.”

He pushed the door open, and you denied him entrance, two familiar faces behind him. Neither him, Sebastian, or Chris looked pleased with you, and you just knew that they weren’t going to let this go…not without a fight. Tessa passed by, and you sent her a pleading look.

She heaved a sigh, slowing down before reaching out to pull them all back.

“C’mon guys. Leave the poor girl alone,” she said.

“We just want to talk,” Sebastian said.

It was a lie.

“I’m not discussing this with you,” you told them, eyes meeting Chris’. “Any of you.”

You tried to ignore his frown as you closed and locked the door. With a sigh, you dug through your purse for your phone. You texted Alex, your boyfriend, warning him of what might make it into the article. You weren’t actually upset about the turn of events, you just hated the aftermath that would ensue.

You blamed the interviewer most of all. You knew that Tom was just trying to clear the air and make it known that there wasn’t anything going on between you two. You knew how flustered he could get sometimes when he started rambling, and you also texted him to let him know that everything was fine, and you weren’t mad.

Your main concern was the trio down the hall. Tessa felt like an older sister at times, and while you wish that it had been on your terms, you weren’t opposed to talking to her about this. You knew the conversation was going to happen eventually. Anthony, Sebastian, and Chris on the other hand were a completely different matter.

You stuck your head out, glancing around before leaving the room.

Your friendship with Seb was way more casual than with the other two. You cracked jokes and hung out with all of them often, but half the time it felt like Chris and Anthony were scolding you and telling you what you could or couldn’t do. Sebastian didn’t care, and you liked that. Hence why you didn’t verbally oppose when he suddenly came out of nowhere, easily falling into stride with you.

He didn’t say anything for a while, but you knew it was coming. You bit your lip, glancing at him out of the corner of your eye, noticing that he was doing the same. He abruptly stopped, and so did you.

“Forty-three?”

You avoided his piercing gaze, adjusting your bag on your shoulder as he faced you.

“Seb…please…”

“I mean, I’m not judging, I promise,” he said, hands raised.

“Except, you are though,” you sighed, looking at him. “You’re judging, just a little bit.”

His arms fell at his sides.

“Okay, so I’m judging just a little bit, but can you blame me? The guy’s older than Anthony,” he scoffed.

You chuckled.

“Yeah, he is, but I don’t care,” you told him.

“Clearly. I’m just saying, he’s old enough to be your father,” he said.

“Well, it’s a good thing he’s not, because then that would be weird,” you threw at him, rolling your eyes.

He heaved a heavy sigh, and somehow, you got the feeling that he’d drawn the short straw on who was going to come and talk sense into you. You briefly glanced down the hall, brows furrowed. He placed his hands on your shoulders, and you hated how he was looking at you. Like you were a child doing something bad. Your jaw clenched.

“I know you’re an adult…”

You let out a humorless chuckle.

“Do you know who you sound like, right now?”

He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling.

“At the risk of sounding like Chris…”

“You sound like Chris, that’s who you sound like.”

“…this industry can be…ruthless,” he continued.

“Don’t I know it?” you sarcastically replied.

“…and you’re still so fresh and new and there are plenty of people just looking to take advantage of someone like you and your talent and potential…”

“My boyfriend isn’t one of them, okay? He has plenty of talent on his own,” you informed him.

Sebastian tilted his head to the side, eyes narrowing.

“What his name, anyway?”

“I don’t think that’s any of your business,” you slowly sang.

“Well…what does he do?”

“Again, none of your business.”

“How did you meet? How long have you been seeing him? Something, anything! Anything at all?”

You pursed your lips before releasing a soft sigh.

“We’ve been seeing each other for about 7 months now,” you admitted.

His eyes almost bugged out of his head, lips parting.

“7 months?”

You pulled away from him, the day finally getting to you.

“Look, Seb, I have to go. I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you guys, but to be honest, this was the main reason why, so…”

You paused, facing him again.

“Please, tell Chris and Anthony not to worry, okay? I know they’re freaking the fuck out and probably sent you on their behalf. I’ll see you guys tomorrow,” you called over your shoulder as you exited the building.

When you got home, there was a slew of text messages awaiting you. Most were from Anthony, and you answered all of them as best as you could. He was just worried, and you definitely understood that, but he was freaking out more than your own mother had when you told her about Alex.

“It just…took me by surprise,” was the first thing he said when he picked up the phone.

“I know, I know,” you sighed, browsing your fridge for something to eat. “I was always going to tell you guys if it ever got more serious.”

“More serious?” he scoffed. “Seb said you guys have been dating for 7 months.”

You rolled your eyes.

“We clearly have different definitions of a serious relationship,” you mumbled.

“It’s just concerning, alright? If my kid was dating someone 20 years older than them, I’d be rightfully concerned,” he defended. “Especially considering I’ve never met this man and don’t know anything about him.”

“Look at the word you just used: kid. That is something I am not,” you said, slamming your fridge shut. “…and there’s no need to meet him.”

“I disagree.”

“That’s fine,” you tersely replied.

You heard him exhale on the other end, a tense silence falling between you two. You were being a little harsh, you knew that, especially considering Anthony always treated you like family, but you needed to make him, all of them, understand that you were an adult who could make her own decisions. They had no say in this.

“…you heard from Chris?” he eventually asked.

“No, actually, and that’s a little worrisome, I’m not going to lie,” you honestly added, running your eyes over your wine collection.

“Yeah, well, he’s not happy,” Anthony told you.

“If he’s going to pout about this like my personal dating choices offended him or something, then he can suck my ass.”

A laugh met you from the other end, a genuine laugh, and you cracked a smile.

“He’ll come around. You know how much you mean to him,” he finally said after he calmed down.

You did know. Chris was one of the first people to talk to you on set, trying to make you feel more comfortable. It was your first big movie, your first time starring with household names, with people that had way more experience than you. He got you to laugh on your first day and even dragged you over to meet everyone else. He’d taken you under his wing…

Your heart clenched as you thought about how he must feel. It was your business, sure, but you couldn’t pretend like you didn’t feel guilty. You felt even worse once you thought about the fact that you’d told Tom and not him, but Tom didn’t judge you. Tom didn’t treat you like some kid who didn’t know any better half the time.

“I’ll text him,” you told Anthony. “See if I can get him to accept my white flag…”

“You do that. See you tomorrow, kiddo.”

You texted Chris as soon as you hung up, and as the night wore on, your worry grew. You found yourself periodically checking your phone for any type of response, but you got nothing. Alex called though and talked with you until you fell asleep. He was overseas, filming in his home country at the moment, but he called you every day.

He wasn’t bothered at all by what might be in the article, only making sure that you were okay.

“Yeah…I’m okay,” you quietly replied.

“Are you sure? You don’t sound it,” he quietly replied, deep voice gruff.

You frowned before turning to look at your clock.

“Isn’t it like…3 in the morning over there?”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he lightly said, ignoring your own.

You sighed.

“I’m fine, really. It’s just…there was a reason I didn’t want to tell everyone, and some people are proving me right…”

“They’ll come around,” he assured.

“You know Seb isn’t the type to care too much, but even he was more judgmental than I expected. Anthony is slowly coming around, but Chris… He’s not answering any of my texts.”

He was quiet for a while before finally responding.

“Maybe that’s for the best.”

You frowned again, sitting up in bed.

“What do you mean?”

“He is a bit…overprotective of you, isn’t he? I know he just gets concerned, but sometimes he acts like he’s your father and…he’s not. He shouldn’t have any say in what you do,” he elaborated.

You rubbed your eyes.

“I know what you’re saying is true because I’ve thought it myself, but for some reason it sounds harsh coming from your lips,” you groaned.

He chuckled.

“I don’t mean for it to, I promise. I just mean that maybe this will force him to lighten up a bit and realize that there are boundaries and lines he shouldn’t cross…”

You blinked.

“Huh. You might be onto something,” you admitted. “I know he thinks I’m such a child sometimes. Maybe this will make him wake up.”

You didn’t stay on the phone for much longer, and your heart sank when you hung up only to see no new notifications. Was Chris ignoring you? With a huff, you plugged your phone up and settled into bed.

You sipped on the coffee Tom had gotten you on the way here, leaning against the wall as you watched Chris and Anthony talk to the interviewer. This one preferred to talk to a few of you at a time, and considering the disaster that happened a week ago, you quite liked that.

That pushy girl had indeed included the bit about your love life in the article. Fortunately, it was tastefully done, only mentioning it in passing, but she had included that the rest of the cast, sans Tom, had been none the wiser. You hadn’t checked to see what people were saying about it. It wasn’t their opinions that mattered to you.

Chris hadn’t talked to you since, ignoring every one of your messages. Eventually, you gave up, deciding that he’d talk to you whenever he was ready. At first you were angry once you realized what he was doing, but eventually you became more understanding. He was probably more hurt than anything that you hadn’t trusted him enough to tell him.

You perked up when you heard the mention of your name.

“So, word on the street is that Y/N does indeed have a beau and it’s not Tom Holland…” he started.

Chris and Anthony chuckled, but you could tell it was forced.

“Yeah, man, I don’t think anyone was more shocked about that one than their fans,” he laughed. “…but we all know they’re just good friends. It was a nice running joke for a while though.”

Chris didn’t say anything, and the interviewer continued.

“Speaking of shocked, is it true that the rest of you guys were completely in the dark about it? I read that the ball was actually dropped during the interview. I mean, how awkward that must’ve been…”

Chris exhaled.

“Yeah…it was definitely something. It made my day though.”

Your jaw ticked as you realized that he was putting on a front.

“…and is it true that he’s 43? I mean, I’ll definitely ask Y/N this later on-.”

“Then it’d probably be best if she answered that,” Anthony interrupted, and you mentally thanked him.

“Well…the secret’s out, right?” Chris laughed, and you frowned. “Yeah, she says he’s 43.”

Your frown deepened.

“That’d be like dating one of you guys, I’d imagine, but at least it’ll be easy for him to get on well with you guys. You all are rather close with Y/N, so that must be of some importance to her,” the interviewer replied.

“I don’t know about that one considering we found out with the rest of the world,” Chris joked, but you saw right through it. “I suppose it’s a good thing we didn’t know though because…”

He suddenly trailed off, letting out a low ‘whew’. He shook his head.

“No. I never would have allowed it.”

Your jaw dropped, staring at him like he’d grown a second head as the words registered within your mind. You didn’t even hear the rest of what was said as you backed up. You almost bumped into Tessa, and she steadied you.

“Woah,” she said. “You okay?”

“No, actually,” you slowly replied, turning to face her. “I’m not.”

You found that it was true. Your stomach churned and you felt like you were going to vomit any moment. The audacity of him!

“I…I have to go,” you told her.

You let your publicist know that you were feeling ill, and you waved bye to Tom on the way out, his brows furrowed in confusion as he hesitantly waved back. You fought tears the entire way to your apartment, shaking your head in disbelief. Never mind the fact that Chris has said that, but the fact that he’d confidently said it in front of other people.

“Never would have allowed it?” you mumbled to yourself.

You were gripping the wheel so hard you were sure it would break. As you furiously got out of your car, you thought to yourself that you didn’t even care if he texted you back or not. You weren’t in the mood to even look at his face, let alone talk to him.

After you showered and poured yourself a glass of wine, you curled up on your couch, staring at the tv…but not watching it. Chris’ words kept replaying, and you wondered how he could even fix his mouth to say such a thing. He wasn’t your father! There wasn’t a damn thing in the world he could forbid you to do.

And before you knew it, you had downed two more glasses and that was exactly what you were texting him. You were certain your thumbs would crack the screen with how furiously you were typing. When you were done, you turned your phone off, slamming it on the table as you returned your gaze to the tv.

It was hours later when you heard a knock on your door. You briefly wondered who it was, but you had suspicions that it was probably Tom. You’d left in such a hurry, and your phone was off, so he was probably coming to check on you. With a buzz coursing through your veins, you pulled the door open, only for your face to drop when your eyes connected with blue ones…not brown.

He didn’t exactly look thrilled to see you either, and you were certain that your face was no different. You pursed your lips, going through a pros and cons checklist of letting him in before scoffing. You swung the door open wider before turning your back on him. You heard him close it, his feet following yours into the kitchen.

You didn’t spare him a glance as you poured yourself another glass, taking up residence on the other side of the small island. Eventually, when he didn’t say anything, you looked up at him, a frown on your face.

“Are you actually going to say something? Or just stand there and stare at me?”

Chris heaved a sigh, resting one hand on the counter while the other found a home on his hip. He stared you down, jaw ticking beneath his beard.

“You’re upset with me…”

“I wonder what makes you think that?” you mumbled into your glass.

“…but I’m upset with you too.”

“Yeah, well, at least my anger is valid,” you spat.

“…and mine isn’t?” he threw back.

You huffed, glancing away from him.

“If you’re upset that I didn’t tell you, then I’m sorry. I mean that. I don’t want you to think I don’t trust you or anything, but you have to understand why I didn’t say anything. Look at how you’re reacting,” you said, gesturing to him.

His nostrils flared.

“What does a man like that have in common with someone like you anyway?”

You jutted out your hip, resting your hand on it as you stared him down.

“Someone could easily ask you the same thing. What, I can be friends with you, Anthony, and Sebastian despite the age difference, but I can’t date someone who’s the same age as you?”

“It’s a bit different. We are your friends, we look out for you, we are not trying to…”

He swallowed his words, seeming like he couldn’t even bear to say it. You smirked at him.

“So I can choose my friends, but I can’t choose who I fuck?”

He glared at you.

“I mean…that is what you’re saying, right?”

“You can choose someone who’s acceptable…”

“…and who are you to say he’s not acceptable?” you demanded, offended on Alex’s behalf. “You don’t even know him.”

He made himself at home, taking a seat as he stared at you, hands folded on the counter.

“So tell me about him then…”

You heaved a long sigh, leaning against the sink as you crossed your arms over your chest.

“He’s…sweet,” you started, pressing your hands to your eyes. “Oh my God, he’s so sweet, Chris. You’d get along great with him. He’s funny, he loves dogs, and he has the biggest and kindest family you’ll ever meet. He’s filming overseas, right now-.”

“So he’s an actor,” Chris interrupted, sounding displeased.

“Yes. He calls me every night…,” you trailed off, suddenly uncomfortable.

“You told Anthony that it wasn’t serious…”

You looked down.

“I really like him, okay? That’s why I don’t care what you guys think. I’m not breaking up with him just because you don’t approve,” you said, eyes meeting his again. “You’re not my father, and you can’t tell me what to do.”

“No, I’m not your father, and I’m sure as hell glad for that, but someone definitely needs to be…”

“Screw you, Chris,” you murmured.

He glared at you, and you fought back tears, surprised at how much this was hurting your feelings.

“I don’t understand why you’re so mad about this! Why are you treating me like I can’t make my own decisions?”

“Because I think you’re making bad ones,” he answered, rising and heading towards the door.

You balled your hands into fists as he made his way out.

You spun away from Tessa, a thin layer of sweat clinging to your skin. Today was the last day of filming, and the crew members were hosting a party. You’d almost let Chris’ sour attitude ruin it for you, but Tessa convinced you to come.

She’d arrived at your apartment early in the morning, fed up with your sulking. You told her about your argument with Chris, and she listened while you ranted about his behavior. You talked with her about Alex too, eager to tell her everything. Talking to Tom about him was nice and all, but it was different with Tessa.

She comprehended why you had never said anything about your relationship, far more understanding than Chris or even Anthony had been. She made you feel a lot better about the whole situation and assured you that Chris would get over it. He hadn’t spoken to you the entire time you’d been here, so you didn’t know about that.

It pained you to think that your friendship with him could end just like that over something so insignificant as to who you were dating, something that didn’t affect his life in the slightest. You stumbled away from Tessa, realizing that you’d had more to drink than you thought. You touched her arm.

“Hey, I’m gonna head inside. Try to rest my nerves for a bit…”

“Okay,” she said. “Hurry back when you feel better.”

“K.”

You trudged your way inside of the huge house, heading straight for the kitchen. You filled a glass with water from the sink, emptying it in no time. You were ready to go for another when movement from your left caught your eye.

You looked over your shoulder, pausing when your gaze connected with that of Chris’. He didn’t look like he was having fun, and your shoulders sagged.

“Can we talk for a minute?”

You eyed him, almost sadly, before swallowing. You nodded, forgetting the glass of water and opting to follow him instead. You stumbled a few times, alcohol coursing through your system, but thankfully Chris didn’t notice.

You followed him into a guest bedroom, sitting on the edge of the bed as he turned on the light. He was dressed plainly in jeans and a dark tee, a darker cardigan hugging his arms and shoulders. He rested his hands on his hips in that Captain America way you often teased him about, and you fought a smile.

“I’m sorry,” he eventually breathed.

You blinked at him, the alcohol making it hard to process what he said.

“You’re…sorry?”

Your voice was small and unsure, and his face crumbled as he moved to sit beside you.

“You’re right. I can’t tell you who you can or can’t date. I shouldn’t have said what I said in that interview,” he admitted.

You let out a soft chuckle.

“No…you shouldn’t have. I was so…embarrassed when you said that Chris,” you said, looking at him.

“I know,” he whispered. “I don’t want to make you feel that way. I thought I was upset because you hid it from me, but…”

You eyed him, waiting for him to continue. His gaze met yours.

“I don’t have any rights to your dating life, but…I want to,” he slowly replied.

You frowned at him, and he continued.

“I care about you…”

“I know. I care about you too,” you told him in the quiet room.

“I’m attracted to you, Y/N,” he confessed, making your eyes widen. “I always have been.”

Your lips parted, surprise and confusion filling you.

“I told myself from the beginning that my feelings were innocent, that I was just looking out for you. I convinced myself that my anger at your relationship came from a place of concern…but that isn’t true.”

“Chris…”

“Somewhere down the line, in the back of my mind, I had accepted that anything between us would be inappropriate. That you’d be repulsed…and then, come to find out, your boyfriend is even older than me.”

He chuckled, finding some warped humor in it all.

“I felt cheated. I felt like that could be me…like that should be me…”

You didn’t know what to say. You’d have to be blind to deny that Chris was handsome. He was one of the most sought-after men in America, but your feelings had been fleeting…shallow. You thought Anthony and Sebastian and Tom were handsome too, but in an appreciative sort of way. That was how you saw Chris too.

“I’m…with Alex. You know that…”

He took your hands, scooting closer.

“…but could that have been me? Tell me the truth,” he pleaded.

“I…I don’t know-.”

“I think you do. I think you thought like I thought and pushed any desires out of your mind.”

Your mind was fuzzy, too much alcohol in your system to fully process this conversation. You moved to stand, but he held you in place.

“Chris, I think I should go…”

You trailed off when his lips met yours, and you jerked back, eyes wide.

“I have a boyfriend, you know that…”

“You haven’t answered my question,” he told you.

“I…I don’t know! But it doesn’t matter because I am with someone!”

“…and that someone could have been me.”

“But it’s not, so-.”

He kissed you again, wrapping his arms around you. You reached in between your bodies, pressing the palms of your hands against his chest. He moved back, but he brought you with him. He rolled you over until you were beneath him, and you made a noise of protest deep in your throat.

“Chris,” you mumbled into his lips, pushing against him again.

He was smooth in reaching under your dress to take hold of your underwear, pulling them down your legs with ease. You opened your mouth to protest again, but all that came out was a gasp when his hand slid between your thighs.

You shook in his arms as he played between your legs, fingers ghosting over you and prodding you until he was able to slide them into your soaking lips. A choked moan climbed out of your throat, and he hummed as his lips trailed down your chin, peppering kisses along your neck.

Your body felt light, limbs numb as you heard him fooling around with his pants, the sound of his zipper deafening in the quiet room. You knew what was about to happen. Your brain was screaming at you, but you couldn’t move. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol or shock, but you were powerless to stop him.

You reached out to place your hands on his when he parted your legs, and you didn’t know if it was to pull his hands away…or not. You caught a glimpse of him as he settled between your legs, stomach sinking as you blinked at the sight of him…bare…for you.

“Chris,” you mumbled, unsure of what you were going to say.

It didn’t matter, anyway. His lips were covering yours as he pressed the head of his cock against your folds, prodding and prolonging the inevitable. You thought about Alex, and that sobered you up a bit, but it was too late.

You threw your head back against the mattress, nails digging into Chris’ hands as he thrust inside of you. The noise that escaped him was orgasmic, the deep sound causing you to clench around his length. He hissed at that before completely leaning over you, forearms pressed into the mattress beside your head as he started to move.

Shallow breaths left your lips as he pumped into you, the squelching sound of his retreat and entry reaching your ears. Your eyes were unfocused, hands coming up to rest on his sides as you started to moan. He joined you, bending his head to kiss you again and again.

There were odd brief moments at the start of filming where you idly wondered what it would be like to kiss Chris. You never imagined that you’d find out for sure. Then when you and Alex happened, you’d left those girlish and embarrassing fantasies behind. His lips were soft and sweet with the taste of whatever drink he’d had, and he moved them over yours with so much expertise it made your head spin.

“That feel good?” he breathlessly wondered, jerking his hips into yours.

You gave a shaky nod.

“U-uh-huh,” you gasped, clenching around him.

“God, you’re so beautiful… You know that?” he mumbled, kissing you again.

Your toes flexed, stomach clenching as well.

“I thought about you all last night,” he quietly professed. “I thought about your lips and these fucking thighs and how it’d feel to be in between them…”

“Chris,” you whined.

“You’re so tight,” he hissed in your ear. “Tighter than I’d imagined you’d be.”

One of your hands traveled to his back, bunching up his shirt and sweater.

“Chris,” you gasped, breath hitching. “Chris, I think…”

Your words died on your tongue as you moaned, wrapping your legs around him, pulling him closer. He groaned against your skin, lifting his head to look into your eyes.

“You gonna come for me?”

You gave a jerky nod, tightening your grip on him. He hissed when you clenched around him again, blue eyes boring into your own.

“Yeah? You’re fucking choking my cock. A greedy little thing,” he murmured, never taking his eyes off of yours. “Come on, baby. Show me what I do to you…”

You shook in his arms as your climax rushed over you, legs trembling and eyes rolling as you clenched around him again and again. He wasn’t done, fucking you through it until you were an incoherent mess beneath him.

You never did rejoin Tessa on the dance floor.

~

tags: @harryspet​ @coconutqueen21​ @readermia​ @nickyl316h​

[obsessedwvampbois]

𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐋 ����𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐬

Oh boy so this is gonna make people really mad. I have listened to a total of 52 songs from the Diabolik Lovers franchise (that I could find) and ranked them for the hell of it. For this ranking I will be including all character songs, openings (both anime and game) along with the remixes. I will not be counting solo versions of songs (eg. Gin no bara), soundtrack bgm or the endings themes.

My ranking is based on these things:

how well does the song fit the character/s or game, both in lyrics and aesthetic

the overall production and performance of the song

is the song a bop? would I willingly listen to it again?

Couple of disclaimers: I do not speak Japanese so I will be crediting the translations of each song as I go through them along with any think pieces / essays that I come across. If there is any song I missed, please let me know and I’ll slot it into the rankings, its hard to find one source that has all the songs recorded. Finally, just a reminder because I know I'm gonna make someone mad, this is my list! If you don't like it make your own or ignore mine, I'm only one person and my opinion is not final!

With that in mind, my rankings are below the cut

*Least Best*

These are the songs I will probably never listen to again. I have a few gripes with them that I'll talk about in my explanation.

52. 誓いのカンパネラ (Chikai no Campanella)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is just super underwhelming overall. The guitar is my favourite thing about the song but that's it. There is so much build up for a boring chorus. The lyrics don't have much for me either.

51. 血戦のDies irae (Kessen no Dies irae)

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

On the opposite end, this song is so overwhelming. There are so many elements to follow and its hard to keep up. This is the first time I'll bring it up but the volume of the voices is so quiet compared to the backing track, its frustrating. The lyrics is what brings it up a notch as it talks about the day of wrath (dies irae) as the day the founders take over. I was also low key hoping to hear some version of the dies irae song hidden in the background but I couldn't hear any.

50. S.O.S-ΑtoΩ-

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

This song just feels so forgettable, I just feel like there isn't much to comment on. There are some interesting lyrics sprinkled out like comparing literal self mutilation to abstinence. Also the actual delivery of 'S ah O ah S ah', I can't take it seriously.

49. Dystopia

Kino

~translation~

This had an interesting start because I hadn't heard anything similar for DL but then after a few lines the tone change was just a nope for me. Again, Kino's voice is super quiet and the constant barrage of all these instruments that don't really gel together its confusing. Overall, it didn't leave much of an impression and I couldn't really visualised DL in the song.

48. 吸愛ラビリンス (Kyūai Labyrinth)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

Praise for the saxophone! Props to that because it shines here and is really the only memorable thing besides that final line of the chorus. The song does give the vibe of the Vandead Carnival with its more playful energy though. The lyrics feel really typical, like there are so many times I read lyrics about drinking blood before I get bored.

47. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD -Remix ver.-

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation w/ original ver.~

I don't think I really need to hear EDM/dubstep and Diabolik Lovers again thanks. It feels super dated and the vocoded singing is a little much for my taste. Good source material and the stripped back vocals at some points is quite nice.

46. 愛しきPain (Itoshiki Pein)

Subaru

~translation~

First off please never let me see Subaru near a fedora again thanks. Overall I felt bored with this song, like its nice, but that it. There are similar sounding songs that just hit home similar themes a lot stronger later on. The best part of this song is the spoken word but it feels weird for Subaru to be singing such a slow song.

45. Luv Apple Juice

Ruki & Azusa

~translation~

Yes, I am counting Ruki's spoken word, its my list. Lyrics are a must read with references to Adam, Eve and Eden throughout. Again, the voices are super quiet and with how fast paced the instrumentals are its annoying. The tempo also backfires because these are two of the more 'chill' characters. The last complaint is that the speed of Ruki's speaking compared to Azusa's singing just isn't right.

44. DIE IS CAST

Kou & Yuma

~translation~

This has to be my least favourite opening to a song, the staccato is just really grating to me. The way I'd describe the chorus is loud, the same note over and over again isn't appealing. The lyrics are an interesting read but nothing feels super important. The highlight of the song is the pre-chorus, thanks production!

43. カレイドナイト (Kaleido Night)

Kanato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is just generic, like overall. The sound, the lyrics, the production. There just wasn't must for me to listen to without zoning out.

*Average*

These songs don't leave too much of a lasting impression on me, but I still enjoy them.

42. 苺の罪 (Ichigo no Tsumi) (strawberry sin)

Reiji

~translation~

First of the generic rock songs! I couldn't really find much in the lyrics of note I think the actual performance of the song is my favourite element here.

41. 真夜中の饗宴( MIDNIGHT PLEASURE) -Remix ver.

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation w/ original~

One the best part of the original is that opening section with the steps, it creates some nice anticipation for the coming song. The chorus this time round feels a little low energy after the hype of the pre-chorus. After watching the actual opening with the remix, I kind of wish they had the voice over, the song is so chill the last chorus could have it to make it feel more grandiose.

40. ZERO

Subaru

~translation~

Second generic rock song, this time it actually suits Subaru's brand! The lyrics do have some hints to Subaru as a character which is better. My sustaining thought is that this sounds like an off brand Arcadia.

39. Bloody★Mayim★Mayim

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

This has to have one of the strongest hooks for DL. For how many people sing in the song, it's easy to keep track of and the chemistry between them all is in sync. The main issue is that it feels like its missing some element to make it shine, the lyrics aren't in-depth too which brings it down another peg. The bridge/interlude is the best part though as I can visualise some mini story within the song here.

38. ADDICTED (2) PHANTOM

Ayato

~translation~

This song would be so much higher if I felt like it was more memorable cuz the lyrics here really shine. My interpretation is that this is Ayato questioning where his love stops and his sadistic nature to satiate his desires begin, can he separate the two? He both loves and despises the idea of draining his s/o dry. Another gripe with the song is that its not quite Ayato's aesthetic sonically.

37. Kindan no 666 (Three Six)

Kou & Azusa

~translation~

What puts this song so low is the majority of the instrumental, it takes a backseat here when I feel there could be more added. Props to percussion, drums are great though. After watching the MB opening so many times its hard to not see DL. Lyrics match with this one line here describing Kou in a nutshell:

"Sin spread from mouth to mouth, saying 'I’ll be gentle' pulls the trigger on a casual disaster!"

36. Iolite (アイオライト )

Shu

~translation~

I don't know why the producers associate electro-pop with Shu, I can't really see it much. I think they should have gone full glitch-pop instead considering how the song does a deep dive into his mind and thought process. Again, I think the voice is also quiet here but the instrumentals have some great moments, especially the strings.

35. 常夜KNOW UNDERSKIN

Sakamaki

~translation~

Well this gives Sakamaki vibes, nice guitar! Again, I like how it isn't overwhelming despite the amount of people involved. Lyrics aren't super impactful but super catchy.

34. 冷たい血 (Tsumetai Chi)

Ruki

~translation~

You have to read the lyrics while reading this, please! Its surprisingly wholesome and emotional overall. Again, there is the issue of the voice being way to quiet as the instrumentals swallow him whole after the second clock tick. The delivery is really well timed and production does a great job adding elements that works with the lyrics. There is a subtle echo to the voice that feels super enchanting as he comes to terms with the fact that he has fallen in love. Biggest drawback obviously is that this is just spoken word.

33. KISS♥MARK

Shu

~translation~

This song delves into the more perverse side of Shu, but we haven't really reached the level of Laito (we'll get there). The phone feels a little out of character but it suits that narrative. The straight cut out of music for the intermission was a bit abrasive but the transition back to music makes me forget about that with how slick it is. At least its better than a generic rock song.

32. カモフラージュ (Camouflage)

Shu & Laito

~translation~

What a great match up for subject matter, my interpretation is a denial and inability to accept oneself, ultimately using a mask to hide. So please look up the lyrics for some gems. However, after the 'against the blood' nothing really hit that same point sonically, furthermore its not the most aesthetically fitting for the two characters.

*Great*

These songs I actively enjoy, think about and do listen to occasionally and would recommend you check it out too.

31. >REDRUM<-

Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This song is full of anagrams in the lyrics, I mean look at the song title. Its super catchy and is hard to forget about. The bridge is the weakest part of this song but it is made up by the distortion of vocals after the final chorus.

30. Fanatic of Night

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

Well time to party, talk about a bop and a half! Its just so fun, even though its to exactly DL to me, but that's Lunatic Parade for you. Shout out to the guitarist and percussion once again.

29. Bad Howling

Shu, Ayato & Kou

~translation~

This is super catchy, its nice to hear Kou in the opening song this time round, it spices things up. Theres some really nice elements played with the vocals as they sing over one another that is really well balanced. The biggest peg down is that I don't get super DL vibes and the lyrics aren't the deepest.

28. I.M.I.T.A.T.I.O.N. G.A.M.E

Kino

~translation~

Overall this song is a little generic and doesn't sound like DL but! There is a lot to love here too. Starting off with the performance, I really like the vibrato in his voice and the decent of notes at the end of the chorus is just, yes. It a nice hook and the lyrics are pretty good too. My only other complaint is that the drums mask some smaller elements in the background of the song which would have been nice to hear more in the forefront.

27. 極限(UNLIMITED) BLOOD

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This is where the rankings get pretty hard cuz I wish this was higher but oh well. the dramatic shift from the opening piano to the song is so abrupt but it gets you pumped. The intermission does a good job of changing things up without cutting tension. The lyrics themselves seem to be from the view of the Adam project during more blood and the unquenchable thirst they get in the story.

26. アルカディア (Arcadia)

Ayato

~translation~

Immediately I get Ayato vibes from this song and the rapping does help too with a nice flow that isn't too jarring from the rest of the song. These lyrics are basically Addicted2Phantom on steroids, I can't see anyone else other than Ayato in them.

25. Kekkyoku Night

Ayato

~translation~

Don't know why but the guitar melody just seems like I had heard it before but I can't put my finger on it. The bass is super slick here and I really enjoy it. The vocal distortion at the start of the verse sets a scene for him to hunt down this person and its a narrative choice. The main issue is that I wish there was a little more pizzaz to the chorus.

24. Kaikan DEATH-TRUCTION

Kanato

~translation~

Spoilers but I have placed both a Kanato's songs pretty high up so this was a little bit of a let down after the other two. The main issues here is that I don't really get too much of Kanato in the song and the yelling before the chorus is a little much. This, to me, is a self reflection from Kanato which is a good switch up from his last two songs. Overall, the song is abrasive in a good way that isn't overwhelming and the 8-bit section is my fave.

23. 血濡れた密会 (BLOODY SABBATH)

Laito

~translation~

Oh boy, look these lyrics up for a good time. This song is about his hook up with a women with the song getting progressively darker as it goes on. Nice psycho reference but I don't know if it does much in the end. Really catchy hook and the escalation of the final chorus is just so good. Also I'm just going to leave this line from the song here:

“You wend all out with the rodeo girl play? So then, let’s grind!!!”

22. 幻日理論-Parhelion Logic

Ayato

~translation~

This song is meant to be kind of an open letter to Cordelia and my word these lyrics are haunting. It fits the vibe of Haunted Dark Bridal so well, super strong overall. I just wish there was a stronger performance vocally.

21. 暴言シンドローム (Seiron Syndrome)

Yuma

~translation~

Yuma, to me has some pretty good observation skills and its really highlighted here. The first line just hits the nail on the head in terms of how rough he is both in and out of the bedroom. This song is the best of the 'generic rock' with production being really smooth despite the high energy, it matches him really well. First line:

The pain of your sprained neck won’t subside

20. 蠱惑のParade (Kowaku no Parade)

Reiji & Kanato

~translation~

We got another catchy banger here! This song just screams 'the two of us are here to hunt you down and we won't stop till we get a taste.' I mean this song is super pleasing aesthetically and great lyrics to boot!

19. KILLYOU,AGAIN

Azusa

~translation~

The strings are an immediate attention grabber and its hold it throughout the whole song. Super catchy, and these lyrics are Azusa, especially this chorus. Id be interested to hear what people think about the second verse in particular cuz there's a lot to read into:

"In a worn out state of mind, no matter how many nights we question it... We’ve idealised too much."

18. SQueeze…

Subaru

~translation~

Okay before anything else, the squeeze at the start is goofy, I can't take it seriously. Anyway, I can't help but tap my foot to this song. Third times the charm, finally hitting Subaru's aesthetic to a T. The voice is a little quiet on the track but what takes over just sounds so good. The contrast of the bell and the guitar is just, yes thank you. The pre-chorus is a nice mix up to the status quo and these lyrics are great too.

17. 愛の檻 (Ai no Ori)

Ayato & Laito

~translation~

The opening is a nice tone setter for a haunting head bopper. These voices work together so well, just like how the sirens work with the strings. The singular violin during the bridge is great, praise to anyone who can do that my god. The string motif climaxes at the final chorus and it creates an awesome song!

16. 月蝕(Eclipse)

Kou, Yuma & Azusa

~translation~

Well we have a nice build up ballad here. The opening is a little out of place but I forget about it as it builds to this final chorus with the tempo getting faster and faster. The stripped back production also ends up aiding the song in the end with its punches and message. Speaking of which; I get the idea this is about watching some either currently or in retrospective how their personality changes after turning into a vampire; a loss of innocence. How fitting for the Mukami's.

“Despising the sunlight that filters through the blinds is only inevitable, I suppose”

*Faves*

This is what I think the best of the best is. It reflects the themes, ideas and characters of Diabolik Lovers in the best way possible. When people ask me what music from the franchise to listen to, I point to these songs.

15. Count off

Kino

~translation~

There is so much to talk about here, this is a mix of singing and spoken piece and it works so well for me. The delivery over this contagious beat I can't help but get hints of a k-pop vibe here. The movement to singing then vocoded voice are interesting and fun. The bridge switch up too is great, my only wish is that the choir hand a little more presence in the final chorus cuz its fun the first times round, it would be a nice call back.

14. A Certain Prophet's Fate [とある預言者の、運命 Toaru Yogensha no Unmei]

Reiji

~translation~

I can visualise a Nutella Kookie moodboard with this opening alone. To me, this is Reiji explain his views on women with allusions to Faust too, not the Ikemen version relax. there are some cool allusions to his mother in the lyrics too. The bass is so cool to listen out for and the guitar nodding to the chorus at the end is a nice way to end. I was just hoping for a little continuation to the opening like Reiji finding this person escaping on horseback.

13. CHAOS☆PARTY

Laito

~translation~

Aaaaaand another innuendo song from Laito, what a surprise! The jazzy, circus-pop vibes are super fun and catchy, I love it. It's like an upgraded version of Bloody Sabbath to me. The distortion on the guitar is also great to listen out for.

"Don’t decide where’s the critical point, grind as you feel it,

Till the moon oh, mockingly"

12. Mr.ButterflyMask

Reiji

~translation~

The opening may be cliche but it works so well, this is such a deep dive into Reiji's psyche; his mother, inferiority complex and village burning to name a few. The actual song is easy to remember which makes it even better here, the descending notes at the end of the chorus is a highlight.

"Burnt black, that awful land mark"

11. 真夜中の饗宴 (MIDNIGHT PLEASURE)

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

The song to start it all, thank god it's such a highlight. I get so hyped from hearing the opening footsteps; mirroring the prologue with You stepping into the mansion for the first time. I feel so nostalgic for this and I'm hyped to play the game every time I hear this. The spoken section is the high point in terms of the HDB aesthetic but these lyrics maaaannn:

"With a scream that shatters the moon itself I’ll give you this extraordinary pain called “love”!"

10. Guilty×Guilty!!!

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

I'm gonna get crucified for putting this above midnight pleasure but my list and this is my fave game op. The only peg down is the lyrics but it makes up so much for the actual sound variation. The unnerving energy from this scifi-y noise, it screams danger with the Tsunami arrival. The variation between the two verses in robs what places it high and the bridge is excellent to boot.

9. Farewell Song

Shu

~translation~

If I had to make one song recommendation outside of DL with this list it is this song here. The lyrics and melody match up the same way and both are strong in their own right. Onto the song, these lyrics really shine wrangling with ideas and the thought process of depression; something that hits close to home for me. With the inclusion of the destructive nature vampires its truely impactful. The sound of the song aids these lyrics too while all sounding like Shu.

Without pause, the drops of a drizzle had begun to weep...

...Comforting the screams of the things you’ve touched"

8. Mr.SADISTIC NIGHT

Shu, Ayato & Subaru

~translation~

This is my favourite opening of all the games and anime and it is the most on theme with the DL franchise, not just the one game. The guitar rifts at the start are just sooooo iconic. The actual line "Mr Sadistic Night" is delivered so well too. I mean the song speaks for itself. I will make the observation though that this song is the epitome of kids unknowingly singing a song with dirty lyrics.

"If I’m so aroused by the snare of your enticing blood

Tonight, as I thrust deep into you, a lust for death awakens from within you!"

7. 悪魔的（Devil's）Spire!!!!

Kou

~translation~

This song is just Kou at his best, I can imagine him singing this at a concert as a debut single. It has all the elements of a catchy pop song with some sinister elements that just reflects his personality. Production has my praise here too. The song seems to be a friends with benefits situation Kou has as he recounts the tale. Also, more innuendos:

"In the deep red velvet sheets, Do you want to taste my forbidden syrup?"

6. Operation X

Tsukinami Brothers

~translation~

Haven't seen these guys in a while! You can tell production had fun adding all these medical sounds in the back like the sirens and heart monitor. The song itself is super catchy too, that bass just hits you at the core! The lyrics look like the Tsukinami's observation of You as she has become entangled with all these vampires and the situation just seems to spiral even more out of control.

"The risk spreads further the deeper you get involved...

...The more you give up, the more that guy mocks you"

5. GRATEFUL★DEAD★MARCH

Kanato

~translation~

Production had fun again, you can tell. It's more upbeat there is still a sinister vibe here. The constant switch ups within the song all flow so well. I feel genuine despair listening to this chorus, like Kanato is mocking or toying with me before going in for the kill. My only complaint is that the slowing down at the end is a bit of a mood killer.

4. 切断★舞踏会 (KIRISAKI CARNIVAL)

Kanato

~translation~

In terms of character aesthetic, this is sheer perfection. There is a narrative within this song that you need to look at the lyrics for the best experience. The sound effects act as a good way to heighten the story as they match the lyrics. One moment to note it both the chorus and pre-chorus as they act as the extreme ends on Kanato's personality and it creates a great dichotomy when placed together.

3. Q.E.D.

laito

~translation~

My favourite solo song, and the one I constantly visit the most. Laito is a complex character and this song does a self reflection in the best way possible.I would also recommend reading this great analysis by everything laito because I can't do a proper analysis justice. For the song itself, the piano is a great mood setter as it acts as if we are approaching Laito as he plays the piano about to go into one of his many monologues to himself. The intercut from the piano to the guitar is abrupt but it works so well as if there are crack in his facade showing through. The change back to the piano is great too and isn't distracting in any way. I also think this is such an emotional performance, like I can feel the sadness and despair along with almost a self deprecating humour to the delivery. Top notch stuff

2. 罠-If You’re Diablo- (Wana -If You’re Diablo-)

Mukami Brothers

~translation~

I want mention first off that the spoken word from Ruki is such an aid here, the pace is slower, more haunting and despair-inducing in tone. The speaking adds a nice break to the vocals. The chorus in particular packs such a punch its kind of nice to lie on the ground and just let the song envelop you. The lyrics give the impression that there is a mutually destructive relationship here with the Mukami's mentioning of betrayal yet they suck the blood of this person. There is also a feeling of hopelessness that the Mukami's know they can never achieve their goal of becoming Adam.

"I'd been resigned to become Adam since who-knows-when...

I continue to hate this fate, my prayers in zero"

1. Gin no Bara

Sakamaki Brothers

~translation~

And we're finally at the end! This song encapsulates everything that Diabolik Lovers is. Vocally, it's really catchy with such a somber vibe, because that's what DL is. It's a dark series but you can see that darkness with each backstory, the actions these characters take and just the overall hopelessness in this one song. The Sakamaki's all singing together packs such a punch too. There are so many gems in these lyrics, to literally acknowledging the pain and suffering their mothers' caused and coming to terms with the actions they have committed as they fall in love.

"The proof remains on your neck while you sleep quietly Even if an eternal curse awaits me beyond those overflowing tears

I now hold this love and pain in my chest"

*SHOUTOUTS*

I want to give a huge shout out to the following people. They have helped immensely with translation and just overall accessibility to the songs because they would be 1000 times more harder to find without them.

Silvermoon249 (Live Journal)

Asyqin98 Creator (YouTube)

S I s o v o l i (Youtube)

DIABOLIK LOVERS (YouTube)

Dialovers otaka (Tumblr)

Starlight voices (Tumblr)

Cannonette (Tumblr) @canonette

The Precious Sugar Chan (Tumblr)

One final note, I would recommend listening to these with headphones because the audio sometimes does that thing where it jumps from ear to ear and it creates the best effect to be more involved in the atmosphere.

[milfzatannaz]

Bruce is too fucked up to settle into a normal relationship and whoever wants to be with have to put up with all his bullshit and accept that Gotham and its dead parents will come frist before anything else. They would also to adhere to Bruce's ''moral code'' (Batman kills for the record)

Barbara Gordon...the less talk about it the better

Wonder Woman works best with her own supporting cast and love interest, namely Steve Trevor, and crossovers between franchises never work, especially with the Bat-Office/Bat Service. Last thing Dian needs is to be with Batman or Superman in a romantic way, she has Trevor anything.

Zatanna: Besides Dini, does anyone really care? She pairs better with Constantine, not to mention Zee needs a mate who has an anus open. Zatanna works best with Vertigo characters and she has John (and Constantine eats pussy), her childhood friend Bruce's story is also too sweet/bitter for anything to come out of her.

Constantine: Fucking Batman is out of the question. Zatanna is the love of John's life.

Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy work best with the strange arrangement they have with each other or the Joker a love triangle between the two and the Joker.

Bekka suffers as a character when paired with Batman and makes Orion look like an idiot. It's a big disrespect to the New Gods, similar to Big Barda and Superman making a porno movie bechind Mister Miracle's back.

Black Canary works best with a fiery, toxic pairing with Green Arrow. They're too much fun together for someone to mess up.

Give Batman a dog or something and let him die alone and miserable. Is what so it works best. Batman is a tragic character and must a tragic end.

I’m agreeing with you wholeheartedly but open anus???? What?

[helluva-hurricanes-blog]

I seriously don’t understand why people don’t like sword and shield.

Like okay, I was one of those people who didn’t like it initially for the whole dynamax thing. I remember watching the trailer and being like “omg this is so stupid, first it’s mega evolution, then z moves, now THIS?!” And Yanno what? I still am not too big on it, but damn, it’s such a small thing. You don’t NEED to do it to win. And the raids are OPTIONAL.

Also, the exp candy. I also complained about this when I first heard of it. It’s super overpowered. Personally, I don’t think we should’ve been allowed to earn them until AFTER the game was completed, but that’s just me. End game tho, it’s GREAT. I love not having to grind all the freaking time to raise new Pokémon. And sure, sometimes it is LESS fun, but sometimes I get really pissed off from constantly dying. And you don’t have you use them all the time anyway, so 🤷 getting your shinies to level up is so much more easy

And about that, they’ve made it more easy. So what? That’s been a thing for years. I mean, in the older games, poison types could get POISONED for gods sake. And poison hurt your Pokémon OUSIDE of battle! But they took that away and made it easier. They made the exp share actually DO something! I played Platinum and it NEVER helped me. I basically just farmed the old fashioned way cuz it was less annoying. Fly makes the game easier too. Or what about roller skates? Bikes? Imagine someone being like I don’t like the bikes in game cuz they make the game go by SO MUCH quicker. That just sounds dumb!

And besides, I’ve realized why it’s so much different from other games.

It’s more story based

It’s less about the gameplay and more about the struggles. It’s trying to humanize its characters and make them more lovable, with wants and flaws and insecurities! Hop is literally one of the best rivals in the whole franchise because he feels so HUMAN. He gets discouraged and sad, angry, WAY too serious, and hates himself for being awful. And bede? Hes an asshole, but he does change a bit for the better. He Mellows out A LOT. And he has depth, and a BACKSTORY. And even the “bad guy” wasn’t actually evil. He was just a sweet guy with good intentions, but he did bad things. Unlike in X and Y with Lysandar, who was supposed to be a twist villain or something. Rose WAS a twist, but a good one. Tbh, I thought Oleana was the villian. Lysandar was a bad twist villian cuz he looked stereotypically evil and even resembled team Flare. It’s was kind of obvs with him

Now the game isn’t perfect, but all of you Gen Oners out there are hating on it for no good reason. Y’all need to give up that 151 is where it should have stopped, mewtwo is the best legendary, and that all new games SUCK. Cuz THEY DONT. You guys suck. Y’all just need to be more accepting.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk, it’s 3:45 am for me and I can’t sleep 🫠

[animatedminds]

Star Wars: Visions - Episode 2: Tatooine Rhapsody

Continuing with my set on Star Wars: Visions (all the episodes had to come out in one day, didn’t they?), we’ll move on to the next one. My feelings about this one are difficult to convey without spoilers, so SPOILERS. Anywho: Episode 2: Tatooine Rhapsody Developed By: Studio Colorido Directed By: Taku Kimura This is an interesting one, because it’s about music. Music in the Star Wars universe has always been something that we know existed, kind of, but which never got much specific focus. Characters lay low in seedy bars with jazz or ska music playing in the background. Mob bosses hire musicians to play for their lavish castles and spaceships. That sort of thing. It’s always just been for setting. Not this one. This one is about the musicians. A ragtag band of hopefuls who want to be the best band in the galaxy, but run into trouble with Boba Fett and Jabba the Hutt, who are after one of their members for unknown reasons. They can’t win, but maybe they can play their way out... It also brings a new music type to the Star Wars video output: we’ve gotten jazz, funk, ska, etc before, but the focus of this one is a pop/rock mix that’s pretty reminiscent if one has heard more than a few anime theme songs in their day. But back to the plot: if you’ve ever watched a slice of life anime about teenagers in a specific subculture facing fantastical odds - skateboarding, tabletop gaming, art, etc and so on, there’s ones for lots of concepts - the general tone and characterization of this one should feel familiar. There’s a brash but goodhearted kid who is very attached to his found family of musicians, and who goes all out to save one of them from mortal peril on their path to being the best. Besides the one in trouble, the other members of the band aren’t too distinctive: there’s a droid, and then an odd alien design unlike any I’ve seen in the franchise before, consisting of three oni-like aliens conjoined into a single body. They each have a close attachment to one another, but beyond the oni-trio alien having head with a different emotion, they do kind of blend together. Things get somber when we get the backstory: that brash kid is an ex-padawan, found when he was very young by a runaway gangster after Order 66. That gangster wanted to leave behind his criminal life to be what he always wanted to be: free, and a musician. The young Padawan joined him, was practically raised by him, and years later the two are inseparable... except now  But here’s where it gets interesting, and the reason I felt the need to reveal that in the review: if this were a main Star Wars series production, it would almost certainly end with the kid realizing his destiny and becoming a hero through the galaxy, the others part of his team. But that doesn’t happen. Instead, the short commits to its chosen genre and runs with it all the way: the kid finds a way out of the situation without fighting, and instead saves his friend by pushing forward on their quest to be the best: seeing as Jabba could do worse than profit off of an up and coming popular band...

It’s different, and throws off a few Star Wars conventions in favor of certain genre ones, but that commitment is exactly what makes it a fun and almost innocent, in a way that gives it a lot of charm. Sometimes, your destiny is to be what you want to be. It’s a bit customary in anthologies like this one to start with your big, hype first foray, and then go into lighter slice of lifes for a while before whammying the audience with the hammer blows, and this one definitely does its job with its lighter leanings.

As a musical short, there’s a song in this one - and it rocks. It’s excellent in both Japanese and English, though it’s - for obvious reasons - clearly written with more Japanese vocals in mind, the dub sometimes having to throw in “yeahs” and extra syllables to keep up. Lastly, as with the first review, and all of the subsequent ones, I’m also going to be looking at canon potential. These shorts are explicitly non-canon, but there’s always a chance that with enough support certain characters or ideas might catch the studio’s attention, leading to them pursuing them later on. It’s not entirely likely, but it’s enough of a possibility that I’m also looking at each episode on terms of how well they fit into the Star Wars universe... just in case. And in the case of Tatooine Rhapsody... I actually have no idea. As I mention above, this short explores an area of the universe that’s almost completely unplumbed. I do think it does fit into the universe fairly well continuity-wise - it does strain credulity a bit that Boba would encounter an ex-Jedi, even a kid, and do nothing about it, plus the one bizarre alien design above - but it’s a generally decent fit. But with both the studio and the fanbase being as highly fixated as they are on only wanting BIG, WORLDSHAKING EVENTS for major Star Wars media, I’m not sure how much Disney would want a series about a bunch of musicians making their way in the universe with their song while throwing off their old obligations, nor how fair the fanbase would be to it. In the end, with that in mind I’d tentatively give this one only Okay Chances of canonization, but only if people really pulled for seeing these protagonists again. Otherwise, probably not. But personally, I would love it.