#and in 3D! It really gives you a sense of the city like nothing else

[c-e-mcgill]

By the way, if any of you, like me, are nerds who love maps, I highly recommend checking out the Turgot map. I won't link it or tumblr will eat this post, but you can find it just by searching Wikipedia - it's an incredibly detailed 3D map of Paris made in the 1730s, and by "incredibly detailed," I mean

incredibly

incredibly

INCREDIBLY

DETAILED!

Look, there's Notre Dame! Individual trees! Individual lampposts! Individual boats!! (Some of them even have little people in lol, though clearly not to scale)

The full scan is over 35,000 pixels wide, guys! That's over 10 feet of map!! All drawn and engraved by hand! I'm freaking out a little! What an absolutely amazing piece of history & art!

[artbyblastweave]

An aesthetic decision I really like about the Mad Max setting- focusing on Fury Road in particular here- is that the timeline and the setting deliberately defy coherence. Countless elements of our world have carried over- the guns, the vehicles, the musical instruments, the religious concepts, and nominally some of the actual people- but the world is geographically impossible, you don't see much contemporary architecture even in a ruined state, and there's no version of the timeline where this can be the same Max Rockatansky as the original films. But it is. The incongruities are deliberate. The setting is mythic, these are campfire tales told about Max, the King Arthur or the Omnipresent Jack figure of the new age. The world that was is swallowed in myth, the world that exists is borrowing some of the old world toys, and being up-front and bombastic with signifiers of the mythic and abstracted nature of the setting absolves you of the need to make the worldbuilding make sense- or rather, to make it make sense in the way you'd have to take a stab at if you had a year-by-year internal worldbuilding timeline of How Everything Went Down.

Fallout 1 is not exactly like this. It can't be, because you could kill a man with an overhead swing of the setting bible. But it's tapping into a similar impulse. People in the first game are using old world tech, but they don't really live in the old world; they live in settlements using materials scavenged from the old world, or in old world towns that were unimportant enough back then that their current identity totally overwrites whatever came before. They don't live in LA: They live in the Boneyard, which gives you a pretty good idea of how much of what we think of as "LA" would be recognizable as such if we were exploring the space in first-person perspective. When you encounter an area that has a direct, well-documented, and unambiguous connection to the old world, it's a Big Deal, and they're hard places to get to- places that the average person living their life in the wastes would die trying to access. Of particular note in this dynamic is The Brotherhood of Steel- for all their technical understanding of the knowledge they hoard, they've clearly seems to have undergone a few rounds of Canticle-style cultural telephone, mutating from Recognizably The American Military into a knightly order. Fallout 2 does this to a lesser extent- it has more settlements directly named after their pre-war counterparts- but it's also a game about a society that's starting to pull back together and form into something resembling the old world, for better or for worse. And it reproduces the trend of stuff with a direct, legible connection to the old world being inscrutable and dangerous to outsiders- specifically with the reveal that the Enclave consider themselves to be the direct continuation of the pre-war government, that they've just kept electing presidents out on that stupid little oil rig. I haven't really made up my mind on whether the timeframes of the games- 84 years followed by 164 years- actually work for the vibe they're going for, in particular it doesn't work with Arroyo- but on the whole, the vibe coheres.

You get into the 3d games, and it becomes much harder to continue to pull this off. One major tool that Fallouts 1 and 2 used to maintain that sense of abstraction was the overland travel map; you were visiting island of society in a vast sea of Nothing. You had encounter cells that consisted of burnt-out, looted shells of cities, maybe good for a camp site but not as anything else. Another important tool towards this end was the isometric camera angle. In a topdown worldspace you can scrub out a lot of environmental details that would be immediately recognizable to the player as artifacts of our present society if you were exploring the space in 1st person. The examine button can feed you vague, uncertain descriptions that convey enough detail to make the item recognizable while also conveying that there's been a level of information decay. Once you move into a 3d worldspace you lose both of these elements- the worldspace is what it is, I can walk across it in eleven minutes stripping it for loot as I go. I can read every sign on every still-standing building, and I've got eyeballs on every old-world bit-and-bobble with a handy interface description of what I'm looking at. And you hit random encounters in the 3d games at basically the same rate, in real-world time, that you did in the isometrics- but the isometrics could successfully abstract it out to represent that you were hitting something noteworthy every couple of weeks, while in the 3d games it's kinda inescapable that you keep getting jumped every single day walking back and forth up the same stretch of road. Not only is it recognizable, it's cramped.

I think that Fallout 3, to its credit, did a decent job of navigating this and trying to maintain the islands-in-a-sea-of-nothing vibe from the isometrics- most of the settlements are built slapdash in places that were obviously never intended for long-term human habitation (bomb craters, overpasses, suburbs), the landmark-heavy city proper is textually a difficult-to-navigate deathtrap, and the poison-sky green filter, memeworthy as it is, does help shore up the impression that you're inviting death by trying to move through the space. Fallout: New Vegas I think addresses this by going in the total opposite direction; It's set in an area of the country where the infrastructure was abnormally well preserved, and the pre-war culture was revived artificially, and from a thematic standpoint it's really interested in digging into the implications of those two things. The fact that the lonely-empty-decontextualized-void aesthetic isn't long for this world dovetails well with the cowboy themes. They have a fair number of future-imperfect context-collapse gags but they don't overdo it by any stretch of the imagination.

Fallout 4, from many directions, is sort of catching the worst of the heat here. The world is recognizable, aggressively so. In fairly-authentically recreating the suburban sprawl of the Northeast, Bethesda simply surrounded the inhabitants of the commonwealth with too much Boston for a sense of true distance from our world to be possible. Everyone still has the accents. They still know the names of all the old neighborhoods. They're still doing the "Park your car" bit. It's still Boston. And it's a busy Boston, too- you can't throw a rock without hitting a farming settlement that's doing well enough to attract tribute-seeking bandits. It's densely packed with points of interest, and those points of interest are packed to the brim with salvageable materials that, going off of the new crafting system, should be in enormous demand to the people who've been living in this area for 210 years. The game doesn't really advance a satisfying explanation, even an aesthetic explanation like fallout 3's poison sky, for why everything around you hasn't been stripped clean before you even came off the ice, why all these environmental storytelling tableaus are just waiting for you to find. It doesn't spend nearly enough time hammering out what the 200-year chronology of the most-livable area seen in a Fallout game looks like- Why don't you see something comparable to the NCR emerging? Something something CPG massacre (which is mentioned twice in the whole game, AFAICT.) And what's being lost here, right, is the ability to use the sands of time to smooth over rough spots in the worldbuilding, in the chronology. You can't hide behind the idea that the world you're experiencing is mythologized. It's presented as real, and it doesn't make much sense if it's real!

And to top it off- Fallout 4 probably has the highest density of characters who were actually there, by some means or another. The Vault Tec rep, Daisy, The Triggermen, Nick Valentine, Eddie Winter, the vault 118 inhabitants, Arlen Glass, Oswald, Kent Connolly, The whole of Cabot House, Captain Zao, The kid in the goddamn fridge and his goddamn parents, and uh. The big one. You. You, the player. Which is such a goddamn splinter under my skin, from a storytelling perspective. You were present in the before-times- but only nominally, only to the exact degree necessary to establish that that was the case. The ugly shit is alluded to, but not incorporated into the character's day-to-day in a way that's obvious to the player, you're there for like six minutes and it's pretty nifty if you overlook that bit at the end where everyone got nuked. Your ability to talk about the world before is always vague, vacuous, superficial. The dirty laundry you dig up on terminals around Boston never seems to meaningfully impact your character's worldview, their impressions of the then and the now. All of which combine to make this the simultaneously the most specific but also the most frustratingly vague game in the series. At its best, Fallout's love of juxtaposing the then and the now would make it a great setting for the Rip Van Winkle routine. But it requires a strong, strong understanding of what the world was like before and after, a willingness to use the protagonist to constantly grind the jagged edges of those things against each other, a protagonist with a better-defined outlook than Bethesda's open-ended-past approach allowed for- and it has to be in service of a greater point. And for Fallout 4 to do anything with any of that, the game would have to be about something instead of being something for you to do. Maddening. Maddening.

[tornioduva]

A rant about spaces in games

As a person who's not in the industry and has never been yet in a development environment, and so has mainly just seen things from a player perspective:

Many, MANY, years ago was understood that if you wanted to give the idea of a big place, a big city, a big valley, a big landscape in general, OF COURSE you wouldn't just make it 1:1 in size and just put it there, it would be a waste of resources, time, effort, all for something that's needed only to convey a sense of scale and nothing else. Instead you would put some 2d images in the distance, an elaborate skybox, maybe some 3d more detailed object and bam, you had a big scenery, though fake. if it was a city, you would just put a wagon with fruit and vegetables, or a car, in front of a road that extends and bam, you have the image of a city that extends beyond the corners of the playable map.

Now more than ever instead there is this toxic obsession with "if the player sees it, then it must be explored, or have an active gameplay purpose", and a general perceived distaste for the concept of creating illusion, while going full simulation.

Now, to clarify: this is not a condemnation of all modern games, this is mainly a thing in AAA and AA games, also i'm not blaming any developers (i don't know how a game is made, how much pressure from above you have, how this might be the only way to keep the boat afloat in terms of sales and marketing), and also i can clearly see that this is not a dead concept; the contrary even! There are a lot of modern (though indie) games that take advantage of limited visibility to convey scale, or complexity, guiding the player imagination but leaving it work by itself. The success of games like Iron lung i think speaks volume about it.

The fact is, even among AAA games i liked and had high hopes for, i can't avoid to be a little sad about how bloated they are with this mentality. The two games that sparked these thoughts are mainly elden ring and tears of the kingdom.

In TotK case, i was sad to see how little they learned from BotW, at least in this regard; instead of closing in on the freedom of the predecessor to give a different, more intense and story driven experience, they doubled down on the original formula and expanded even more. Instead of removing, or readapting, the useless empty space in hyrule, the created even more empty space somehow, and filled it with junk that bloats everything even more. I like this formula, don't get me wrong, just...more often than what i wanted to in both games i found myself on the edge of a cliff, on the backside of a mountain, in a small hole, with nothing there and nothing particularly interesting to see or get, and i thought "why am i here, why am i allowed to be here, why isn't this just background seen from a distance"

In elden ring though i think there is the perfect, more poignant example: Leyndell. The first time i was inside the walls and saw the city, i was awestruck. it was beutiful, intricate, interesting, full of peculiar places. i couldn't wait to explore it all and for once in that game i wasn't overwhelmed with "toomanythingstodotoomanyplacestogo"itis, because i wanted to see it all. i love cities, especially old and ancient ones, love exploring them, lose myself in small streets and alleys. i was genuinelly amazed by the fact that it was completely explorable, and absolutely happy for it. After i've seen it all though, it hit me: ...it's a really small city. like, it's big from a player perspective, there is a lot to do and explore. but it's a pretty small city. I live near Lucca, in Tuscany, so i have a pretty good reference to judge it on, and i think (roughly and without measures, have mercy uhuh) Leyndell and Lucca are nearly the same size, Lucca might be bigger infact uhuh. And even if it's not and Lyndell is bigger, still, after seeing it all it FEELS small. because you've seen it all. Compare Leyndell to Anor Londo instead, and tell me which one of the two FEELS like a gigantic, enormous capital, full of streets, palaces and places for people; and of Anor Londo you only explore like a handful of rooftops uhuh. This might be just a sensation of mine, but the fact the capital of the biggest game Fromsoft has made to date feels smaller than in DS1 where you were dramatically more limited in where you could go....well, that to me is a failure of environment design, at least on an artistic side, in regar to setting up the atmosphere, not in regard to gameplay.

Do i mean with this that open world are always bad, that you should always be limited in where you can go? absolutely not! i love having freedom of exploration, and i like the idea that i can go where i can see! i just wish going forward that developers with the resources to do big projects like these are given the freedom, and the guidance, to guide the players more, to build rails on which our explosive passion of playing can be directed on without letting die out on a rock in the middle of nowhere that you're standing on for no reason. A good example for this i feel is outer wilds! you're free to go where you want, but you are limited by what there actually is to explore, plus the central gimmick. also, all there is to explore is interesting and meaningful, without collectables!

Also, i'm not criticizing empty space at all even. I recently played BABDI, and that is a masterful example of empty, "meaningless" space that is there for a reason, which is the atmosphere of the game. the fact you can explore almost all of the city while there is almost nothing interesting to discover aside from few things, contributes a ton the overall atmosphere.

So, what i'm saying is: developers, go to more theatre plays; not the big budget ones, that can afford all they want, i mean the small local ones, that are able to make you fell like you are in a ballroom with a fancy chair, a stool and a lamp.

[microwavedautism]

I am going to rant about my two Hazbin Ocs because my brain wants to think about them tonight and I don't want to get my information fucked up

So. We have Captain Widow, known by her friends as Amelia. This is her casual look, she dresses like a pirate otherwise. She, unlike most other sinners her age, isn't against embracing the modern.

She was born in 1596 and died 1643. She doesn't remember her place of birth, but it was somewhere around England. She was married at 15, but ended up killing him and running away after three years of putting up with him.

She ended up in a pirate crew a few years later, and eventually took over the ship once the previous captain died.

Don't misunderstand her, she is a very sadistic woman, but she tries to pick her targets carefully. When she was on land she'd go around killing off abusive husbands and the like. Occasionally she'd bring the wife onto her crew.

Her crew was almost entirely women, sides from the two queer teenage boys she'd picked up.

She ended up drowning, turns out she wasn't too experienced at swimming with a broken leg!

In Hell, she looked pretty much the same as she did alive, but with six more eyes then she was used to, two more arms and fins for ears.

She now is an overlord who runs several fighting rings and gyms around the city. All of the souls under contract with her are sinners she personally tracked down, kidnapped and tortured them into giving their soul to her. Her contracts are things like "You give me your soul and in turn I will no longer harm you."

Those sinners are now training dummies or punching bags for her establishments! Afterall, it's not HER harming them, it's everyone else!

--

Now we have Gaspard, 'the artist'. A french painter from the 1400s. It's been quite a while, the only thing he remembers is the century, not the day he was born or the day he died, or even how! He was 37 when he died, he remembers that at least!

He looks more human than most sinners, aside from the fact he is completely greyscale. His body is like a messy 3d sketch, the lines are always changing slightly when he moves, like someones animating him but can't quite keep the lines the same.

When he was alive, not many people knew him. He made an effort to keep to himself, unless he was looking for a new muse or restocking his supplies.

He'd stay locked up in his apartment, spending hours and hours working on his latest piece. He'd done sculpting, he'd done drawing, he'd done everything. But painting was always his favourite. He enjoyed how the colours mixed, especially with the subjects he drew.

See, he would stay out, looking for people who caught his attention. When he found someone, he'd bring them to his apartment, willingly or not, and pose them. Sometimes they lived for a while whilst being posed, most of the time not.

He'd paint the most beautiful of women on their knees... with their hands up above their head and their guts spilling out.

He would paint handsome men, with nothing but their hearts remaining.

He even painted children! Though that was only once.. getting references for how skipping with intestines worked was quite difficult.

Needless to say, he was a horrific serial killer with a fucked up sense of beauty.

He continued his art in the afterlife, only this time. He had plenty of models to choose from!

It's surprisingly easy to get peoples souls, so long as you have a way to protect them from extermination!

And if that 'protection' just so happens to be eternal imprisonment in a canvas well... thats not his fault, they should've been more clear with what they meant, protection is such a loose term really.

After all, what angel is going to attack a painting?

[tokiro07]

Ostensibly Nintendo plans to make BotW/TotK the default Zelda style going forward, which while I love these games, is bad news for me because I prefer the 2D Zelda games

How many variations and alterations can they make to Hyrule in order to make reexploring it consistently fun? Sure, TotK has a vague feeling of nostalgic familiarity because it’s been over six years since I played BotW and there’s just enough changed about the terrain that there’s also a sense of unfamiliarity, but what if I’d just played BotW last month to prepare for TotK?

And how long will there be between TotK and the next one? Will the next one follow the same Link, or a new incarnation of the Hero?

I was talking to my wife about this, and she suggested that there’s nothing stopping Nintendo from revisiting Links we’ve already seen, just like they did with Wind Waker Link in Phantom Hourglass after there’d been like three new Links already. From there, I realized that there is at least one way to redo Hyrule that would be sufficiently different while also playing on one’s familiarity with it: exploring the sunken Hyrule of Wind Waker, like combining Zelda with Subnautica. I’m not sure how much mileage one could get out of that since canonically there are no Zora or other sentient creatures underwater after the Great Flood, but maybe this could be long after the events of Wind Waker and the non-Rito-fied Zora have returned to Hyrule

Alternatively, I suppose we could see a fully rebuilt and arguably industrialized Hyrule; needing to navigate populated cities rather than dilapidated ruins and slowly rebuilding towns would definitely be a new experience contextually while also showing how the kingdom has recovered, but where do you really go from there?

Lorule? The Dark World? While seeing a corrupted version of Hyrule could be neat, the post-Calamity devastation doesn’t really make for a very good contrast, not to mention the fact that Lorule was restored at the end of LBW and the Dark World was turned back into the Sacred Realm at the end of LttP. Still, if we do journey through Lorule, that’s an opportunity for Ravio to get a game, I suppose. Not that they’d ever give us that

Other than that, I think the best bet is to just go to new kingdoms entirely. Seeing the structure of the Twilight Realm as its meant to be would be much appreciated, and I certainly wouldn’t object to seeing more of New Hyrule now that the Spirit Tracks are back in order

What I’d REALLY like to see, though, are Holodrum and Labrynna. They’re much more likely to just do a straight remake of the Oracle games like Link’s Awakening, but if I got to ride Ricky and bump into my girl Maple in 3D? I’d go NUTS

But most likely they’ll create new kingdoms after they run out of ideas for Hyrule itself rather than revisiting and expanding old ideas. Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get to meet new races and villains

Either way, I’d prefer that they alternate between 2D, classic 3D and open-world Zeldas, but as it stands it looks like Zelda’s going the way of Sonic: sticking with one formula for x-number of years, jumping to a new one for the next few years until it gets stale and they find something else, and revisiting the classic style every once in a while

[kenshisthoughts]

The Main Problem with Modern pokemon.

First and foremost let me give my general relationship with Pokemon.

I started with Red and blue way back in the late 90s, Yellow, gold and silver. Then i fell off for a bit, got back in in 08 when i bought leaf green and emerald as graduation gifts to myself, Heart gold soul silver, black and white, black 2 and white two, X and Y, Sun and Moon, Ultra sun and Ultra moon, Sword, and lastly scarlet.

Now there are some gaps in there yes and A change in behavior near the end. See, I sort of noticed this in gen 6, really began to notice in gen 7, But it wasn't untill gens 8 and 9 that i fully understood something that's become a problem with Pokemon as of late.

It Isn't Getting Enough Time, And/Or Manpower To Produce Quality Games Anymore. To put it simply, Modern pokemon going 3D has caused a massive increase in the amount of time and effort the games require to produce the same kind of quality as they usually did. However to put it blunt they simply are not getting it. The cycle between generations is still only 3 years, and the number of secondary main line releases has increased between remakes and side-stories such as Legends of Arceus or the Hoenn and SInnoh remakes which also means Unova is next up.

So despite gen 6 switching to 3D it manages to salvage some things But if you look at X and Y you can so very easily find the evidence of 3 years not being enough time. Specially sense ambition did not seem to shrink to accommodate the work load of switching to 3D. So first to bring up and this will be a universal complaint you'll Hear about X and Y. There is next to no Post-game. There is the singular interesting idea of the friend-park which allows you to shiny hunt 3 pokemon of a type based on your 3DS friends list and their codes but that's it. If there is anything else it's so small as to be easily forgotten. However there is also the sheer number of Quote unquote, "Rivals" in the game. If i recall you are one of a group of 5 'friends' all traveling Kalos to fulfill some objective. There is Yourself, the hero trying to get all the badges and maybe fill the pokedex. Then there is Rival who is non-choisen gendered player character withotu their hat playing as the typical 'we both hunt badges and train pokemon' Then there is Shauna who is sort of a Traveling companion and psuedo potential love interest your gender be damned. She's actually a solid character over all generally being with you and main rival in all of the major events and even having some nice moments alone with you that imply the potential romantic interest which is fine but you could just read them as good friends. Then you have, Bowl cut Dex nerd, and Unit Dancer. These two, exist, that is about all I can say about them. It feels like if you cut both of them you'd lose nothing of substance from X and Y. Like I think they have some minor post-game rewards for you if you do stuff like fill the pokedex for Dex nerd and show pokemon moves with 'dance' in their name to Unit dancer but that's it. Both of them are insubstantial to the main plot progression and Unit Dancer almost feels like an idea borrowed from the Gen 5 games given there are several dancers in several cities across Unova, but there are like, None? In Kalos that i can think of, definitely no side-quests involving dancing outside of Unit dancer. However these are over all minor offenses when playing as X and Y are solid games, sure they had some minor bugs during early release but First 3D outting and first Pokemon where they had the luxury of patches.

Let's talk about gen 7. Over all Sun and Moon, i have nothing major to complain about, except, for the fact they patched the Grass trial, cutting all of the fun innuendo filled dialogue, i get Why, but I disagree with doing so. Over all there's nothing to complain about sun and moon, at first. Then Ultra sun and Ultra moon come along and several complaints are raised, retroactively. The Ultra version's expanded plot points, pokedex, and side and post-game content, make Sun and Moon feel like a Beta that was released as a full game. It felt like Ultra sun and moon snubbed the original sun and moon by doing something similar to Oras, where all of the better expanded content was in the next game, but where X and Y and Oras are 2 different regions and 2 different plots. Sun/Moon and Ultra Sun/moon are the same region and like, 95% the same plot with only a few key differences to fit in a couple new characters and like 2 new locations so that Necrozma and his Kyurem Ripoff forms can be the focus instead of the original version pokemon. It has the unfortinate effect of, There's No more reason to play Sun and Moon. It's plot is not different enough to warrant Sun and moon as seperate games to own, if you want to enjoy Alola just own Ultra sun or Ultra moon, maybe both if you want a game for storage like i typically did back in the day. It feels like they saw how Black 2 and White 2 worked and missed the whole 'sequel plot' system that they had going that made the versions distinct from one another.

Then we come to Gen 8. I'm going to be honest, I did not finish Sword and Shield. I got, 2 to 3 badges before the oddly paced uninteresting story just bored me and I gave up. I hated losing Mega's for Dynamax as atleast gen 7 Let you use both Z moves and Megas but both vanished in favor of this new idea that only was special for some pokemon and others just made HUUUUUUUUUUGE. yes it had some neat Characters but it would continue a trend of 'Charizard! Love Charizard!' That was stared in gen 6 with the fact it was one of only 2 pokemon with 2 megas the other being the legendary mewtwo. I also Didn't care for Team Yell to be honest.

Now Onto the most recent games. Scarlet and Violet. First off, the over all plot is great, the fact you effectively have 3 main plots that cover all 18 types with atleast 1 boss for each is great, Team Star feels like the Drama club version of team Skull and I don't hate it. Honestly the world, the story, the over all design and characters are great. The fact it suffers memory leak issues causing you to have to fully cycle off the software in order to deal with it so the game runs Mostly smooth is Horrendous. These are issues that greatly destroy the games reputation, and it feels like someone should of spent more time trying to make Violet make more sense cause there's very little reason for the plot points of Scarlet and violet to be identical at the end, as Robo paradox pokemon from the future should not be interesting to the professor or the same kind of danger as the Prehistoric Paradox pokemon.

What does all of this end up meaning? To be quite honest It seems to me like the 3 Year cycle of pokemon main generational installments is not viable anymore. It started to not be viable during the Transition to 3D, showed itself not viable in the next generation as because of all the side Products the secondary installment made the Original look like a Beta release, the 8th gen was generally poorly received and felt just, flat, and while the 9th has a lot of life in the areas the 8th gen failed, it came at the cost of the game's stability. They either need to double/triple the number of people avaliable to work on the game or they need to give these games extra years, make the cycle 5 years apart if possible, give the team time to actually work everything out. Because if Gen 10 comes out either as flat as gen 8 or as buggy as gen 9 then we could see a serious drop off in pokemon's power in the gaming sphere. I Don't think Pokemon would ever die, But older fans play new games to enjoy the rush of their youth, to see what's new what's not and see their old friends in better quality, but because of gen 8 and 9, all of my old pokemon from gens 3 and on are still on an ultra sun cart cause I'm afraid if i bring them up they might be lost to the ever lasting ether of deletion.

[teeth-and-tea]

ANIME & MANGA I HAVE BINGED IN THE LAST MONTH: May 2021

I've Been Hunting Slimes for the Past 300 Years and Now Ive Maxed Out My Level: incredibly long name aside, cute af slice of life that suffers Same Face Syndrome. I'm still happy to watch it because of how feel good and fluffy it is though, Im probably gonna forget about it in two or three years tho. 8/10.

Don't Toy With Me, Miss Nagatoro: I found out this was a webcomic first and suddenly all the HORNINESS made so much more sense. A Femdom, Degradation, Humiliation, Dacryphilia Bullies to Lovers story disguised as a high school rom-com which, I'm not going to lie, misses SKEEVY CITY by mere inches on a regular basis. However, I'm a Dom/Switch and this entire relationship sets off my dom brain center like New York City just shy of midnight. So if you're into that sort of scene, this anime is for you. If not, it's still fascinating but you're probably gonna be a little put off by how mean the Girl!Bully is to the guy MC. Unless you find out something about yourself, in which case, congrats! Stay safe, sane, consensual, and learn about the traffic light system on top of safe words, I promise you'll have a better life in general after that. Still Ongoing, currently 10/10.

Fruits Basket: IM GONNA CRY I LOVE THIS ANIME SO MUCH???? The original anime came out when I was in... I think middle school and my parents were really strict on what I watched so I never got to experience the first wave and I never bothered to watch the show ever after I moved out of the house years later. However, now that I'm much older I honestly can say this is one of my favorite anime to date, and all the characters are charming, lovable, with their own problems that I can connect to or sympathize with, and I love the MC which is always a treat tbh. Except Akito. Akito can suck a sandpaper dick. I'm only on S2 tho so no spoilers! Anime 11/10.

Monster Girl Doctor: went in thinking it was gonna be a monster girl who's a doctor with a homoerotic assistant (her name is SAPPHY okay sue me for thinking it) and ended up watching the entire dubbed harem series. Honestly, I've seen worse and this one has consistent follow-through on interesting characters and backstory enough for me to shove aside the blatant under-monstrousness of the female monsters and the harem-ness of everything else. Dubbing is honestly really good, which is a treat, and the monster designs are not the worst and the MC is tolerable. Honestly, I don't mind having watched it! The mix of cgi and the traditional animation together work pretty strangely though, and it often doesn't flow super well. 7.5/10

So I'm a Spider, So What: Dubbed version which honestly isn't that bad. Took me a bit to get into it, but after realizing that it's got a mismatched timeline a la The Witcher, it made so much more sense. Heavily done in cgi, and you can definitely tell between the 2D and 3D animations, but not the worst in the world. I went in not expecting much but it ended up being an Issekai I can stand and even enjoy. On god has a decent story... with the spider. I'd be a liar if I didnt say I skipped some of the human parts just to get back to the best part of the show. 8/10.

Somali and the Forest Spirit: I'm so fucking nostalgic for this thing it makes me want to go and hug my dad. About a human girl under threat of being eaten with a monster-dominated world. Very obvious "humans fear what they don't understand" message but instead of the humans learning tolerance it's what happens when they get annihilated first so like, kudos for the mangaka for having the guts to do that. I cried like a baby regularly. It's really good, I watched the dub and ID WATCH IT AGAIN!!! 9/10.

To Your Eternity: Oh my god. O h my g o d. Fell in love on the first episode, ngl. About if an immortal being learned how to be a person from scratch. I love it. HOWEVER. Keep a box of tissues on you at all times because you're gonna need them. I'm only on EP7 because that's all that's out right now but just know. I love it. Not for everyone but certainly for my "what do we define as human and the human condition" ass. 12/10.

Those Snow White Notes: A sports anime without any sports. About shamisen playing which is cool because I never realized how cool this instrument was??? Its neat af. OP1&2 are by Burnout Syndrom so know theyre fire. Gonna be real, its pretty alright, but not extraordinary. You can tell they were using the characters as archetypes rather than actually characters which kinda kills a lot of the emotional value you could've had, but I'm still gonna watch it. It doesn't make me cringe as hard as other sports anime tho so I consider it toptier in that regards but if you're a big sports anime fan you might be bummed out by it. Every single musical performance is INCREDIBLE tho. A solid 8/10.

Toilet Bound Hanako-kun: THE ART OMFG IT'S SO GORGEOUS. Listen, if you took coptic markers and gave them an animation budget with some manga panel direction thrown in there, that's this anime. It's beautiful. Gorgeous. I'm in love with the aesthetic every second. Story? Really good. Characters? I love the MC and his evil little twin brother asshat. Demons? Not super imaginative but I'm carrying on happy as can be anyways. Dubbing? A bit shaky at times but I found the voices charming if a little off for some of them. I'm already waiting for the second season with popcorn at the ready. 10/10.

Prison School: I watched this directly after Hanako-kun and it was like I got slapped in the face by sweaty unwashed titties and some fedora wearing schmuck's piss kink. No character is likable or redeemable. I finished it, but at what cost? 2/10 and only because a character shit his pants and I laughed.

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle: watched this right after Prison School and it was NECESSARY tbh. Its so CUTE and honestly, im not even kidding you, the fucking funniest anime I've seen in months. I watched the dub and the VAs are having the time of their lives working on this anime not just giving it their all but literally just going ham. Its great. If I read this im sure id be bored outta my mind but the VAs giving it a joyous performance make it an insta fave for me tbh. 9/10.

Sk8 the Infinity: i watched the dub with my bro and I can confirm that its a spectacular show because we both loved it and we have vastly different tastes. Incredibly SUSPENSFUL AND STRESSFUL for an anime about skateboarding but we finished it in a single sitting tbh. The last episode is not dubbed for some reason but we still loved it. Like if Free! was less obnoxious but the only fan-service here is Joe ♡ a beefcake who owns my lesbian heart. I think there's exactly one named female character tho and I legit couldn't tell you what it was if there was a gun to my head. So, over all, 9.5/10.

That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: I'm going to be entirely honest, I went in thinking it was going to be a boring isekai of no value. I was right about the Isekai part. It was honestly pretty interesting and focused on nation building like you're playing civilization rather than the usual "Get Stronger" narrative or "Get Some Pussy" narrative most isekais take which is delightfully refreshing. Granted there are flavors of that in this which means it doesn't alienate the big isekai watchers out there, but it's not the whole dish and it doesn't make me want to cringe the same way others do. You've got a slime MC just vibing and building a nation of monsters nbd. Does lose points for making the female monsters more humanoid than their male counterparts but makes them back by only doing perfunctory fan-service and nothing that makes me want to cry... except the butt sumo episode but in fairness it was all a terrible dream. Literally, the MC refuses to dream anymore after that. solid animation, decent voice acting, decent story, made me realize how HUGE this is in the Light Novel community???? There's like 18 fucking novels and that's WILD. 8.5/10.

MANGA:

Spirit Photographer Saburo Kono: a one shot special by the mangaka of The Promised Neverland! Honestly a really delicate touch of both super creepy and really touching, and I'm not gonna lie I'm bummed that this isn't a bigger project but the single chapter makes it a good taste for their style. I've been wondering if I wanna read/watch The Promised Neverland and now I think I will. 10/10

Deranged Detective Ron Kamonohashi: from the mangaka of Hitman Reborn comes this Sherlock and Watson derivative! Not even 20 chapters out yet with a sort of spotty schedule, I honestly love it even thought it's exactly as you expect. HOWEVER. Kamonohashi the "Sherlock" character uses mental pressure to kill all confirmed murderers and it's up to Toto the "Watson" character to save all those people before Kamonohashi kills them! It's just recently introduced a "Moriarty" family of crime lords (not a big spoiler don't worry it was obvious) so the tension surrounding Ron's past is amping up rn. Personally, I think the art is GORGEOUS, the characters engaging, and the story quick enough to keep my interest. Most mysteries are solved within a chapter or two so you're not stuck 20 chapters into one locked room mystery which is just peachy tbh. RN, 10/10. If this gets an anime, I anticipate a legion of fangirls who ship the two main characters along with their many friends. I've been alive too long to believe otherwise.

Don't Toy with Me, Miss Nagatoro: Yeah I read the manga after I watched the show. A slower build than the anime, but it works for the format, if theyd done the same with the show then I don't think it wouldve done as well. Honestly? Cuter tbh but just as horny. You dont start really LEARNING about your character until like, chap 65 tho and no real "drama" happens until like 75. A good chunk of the chapters are like 8pgs so its a breeze to get through. I love these slow burn idiots of the century. 9.5/10 because you can DEFINITELY tell the mangaka does hentai too.

Yugen's All-Ghouls Homeroom: one-shot by the mangaka for Food Wars, it's no wonder there's this constant perviness from the MC, a guy who can see and exorcise spirits. Takes place at an all girl's finishing school with KICK ASS monsters tbh, kinda bummed its not longer. The MC? Blatant monsterfucker who is also a CONFRIMED monsterfucker???? Idk i vibe with that single emotion. Everything else is hit or miss. 7/10 for monsters and cool concept, lost points for the MC very pointedly being okay with admitting he'd wait for the teenagers to be adults tho. Creepy af. Could live without that.

Hell's Paradise: I finished the entire 127chps in 3 days and I was really enthusiastic about it 90% of the time thinking about how deep it was and then I actually thought about it and I ended up being very neutral about the whole thing tbh. The art is fantastic tho, but DEFINITELY deserving of the M rating. Tits. Tits everywhere. But not tits to be ecchi over, no, monster hermit tits on beautiful women-ish figures. Now generally I give that a pass but a huge theme in the story is that men and women are "no better than one or the other" but like, lady tits are what you see 99% of the time. Men tits are few and far between. I call bullshit on most of the "deep" themes is what I'm saying, so it's like the mangaka was trying for those deep thoughts but missed the margin a little too far for my preference. That being said, the MC is a married man who loves his wife which automatically makes him my favorite character so like... idk so many good things, so many misses, but overall really spectacular themes and imagery. Unique but classic all at once. It's getting an anime and I have NO IDEA how much censorship they're gonna be doing but they're going to be doing SO MUCH. Oh yeah, and one guy is a plant/human hybrid who fucks a 1000 year old plant-hermit which makes him a canon monster fucker. And one canon non-binary character who I, a nonbinary, actually like. So like... gosh I've got mixed feelings. 8.5/10.

Choujin X: From Sui Ishida, mangaka to the mega hit Tokyo Ghoul comes this brand new manga!... Of one chapter, lol. Not really binge-y because it's just the one chapter out right now but I'm already keeping my eye on it. The grasp on anatomy in the art is PHENOMENAL and you can see Ishida flexing his art skill which is great. Can't give a true rating but I'm giving it a tentative 9/10 because I'm excited to see more.

Shag&Scoob: technically not a manga, its an ongoing webcomic I binged an subscribed to in one day and I just think it deserves more attention. Starts off funny with "what if Scooby Doo had a gun" and has been led to "what if all cartoons are aliens that survive and receive their powers by the humans that love them in an epic war with Martians." On god, its good. I finished the current series in a couple hours so it's a breezy read, highly recommend it. 9/10.

To Your Eternity: Yeah I watched the anime and then finished all current 143 chapters in like 3 days. GOD IM WEAK. I don't buy physical manga unless I know I want to remember the story forever and I'm already budgeting for the current books out. Yeah, this is a good series. That being said, definitely not for the faint of heart or those who suffer under common triggers like suicide, molestation, death, etc. It's all framed as bad and necessary to the story don't get me wrong, but it's there and has lasting affects on the characters. Incredible story telling by the creator of A Silent Voice. Keep tissues nearby at all times. 12/10.

[poptod]

The Ivory Haunting (Ahkmenrah x Reader)

Description: His face is engrained into your head but his name is nowhere. Where does he exist? Why are you so obsessed?

Notes: this is strangely creepy and i dont know why. its not what i meant to do but i think its cool anyway. gender neutral as fuckin always WC: 3.1k

+

There's this carving – more of a bust or sculpture – that has your mind twisted every which way. It's a stupid thing, really, but you can't get his expression out of your head, and thus it haunts your waking and sleeping hours. The style is Egyptian, you think. He's wearing a crown on his head, one that you've seen in a couple museums before, and he has an absent smile on his face. While you scroll through the endless amount of photos of ancient Egyptian statues online, you note that it's an all too common expression.

At this point you can't even recall where you first saw it. Could've been through the endless internet surfing or the many museums you visited in your travels, but at the end of the day you're stumped. What was his name? Where did you meet him?

It's clear as day. His alabaster skin. He looks straight at you with empty eyes, the irises having eroded many years ago in the hot sahara sun. His nose has long fallen off, leaving behind a jagged scar that drags from his brow down to his lips, where that haunting smile sits so easily. They're full, his lips – sweet, and soft, even for stone. At each end are little dips, showcasing the slight smile. His chin is a little big, but it makes way for the sharp contrast of his jawline. He has cheekbones – mostly hidden behind the crown – and his ears are a little large. The trait that draws your attention each time is his eyes. Blank. Like they had truly been staring at the world for thousands of years.

You don't get out much anymore, not since the restrictions were put in place. There are moments, especially in the dead of night, in which you want so desperately to leave your tiny apartment, but the curfew states otherwise. Policemen and government workers roam the streets and you'd rather not get into a tussle over something so small as an urge.

Still, you stare outside your window, wondering why it feels like you're suffocating. This is how you spend a lot of your time nowadays, staring at the streets. There's hardly any cars out, and the sidewalks are barren, a sight you'd seen only once before during the original quarantine. London is not a quiet city. It's quite the opposite, and to see it muted is in the least upsetting.

Your job is... easy. Considering the state of the world, you're incredibly lucky, retaining your job and keeping away from the outside. You also get a lot of free time. Usually you'd spend it in front of a television, or in a good book, but now it's in front of your computer screen. The typing marker flashes in front of you, placing behind it the clear words you've searched at least a hundred times by now.

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BUSTS

By now you know what the first images are going to be. Nefertiti, mostly – her bust is by far the most famous. Then there's of course Akhenaten with his elongated skull, followed by several advertisements for Kemetic worship.

You don't know much about Egyptian history. Or, at least you didn't use to. Now you recognize the faces, though rarely do you ever remember the names of the many forgotten dead. You're just looking for one – one name, one bust, one dead man.

He's nowhere, not in the books you buy or the articles you read. When you sign up for an online course of ancient Egyptian history, you expect to see his face in a textbook, but he's not there. Sometimes it feels like you're the only one who remembers him, which is funny – you don't even know him. Either way it's a way to occupy the time, since you have so much of it lately.

The British Museum is reopening. There's a whole thing about COVID, of course, and the only way to enter is to get tickets online. Only a handful of people are allowed inside the museum at once, and since you don't hear about it until later, you are set to wait a month and a half before you can visit. Bitterness wells up in the pit of your stomach, but like most things you set it aside. None of it really matters anyway – yes, not knowing his name feels like drowning mid-air, but it won't kill you.

From the moment you reserve a ticket to the moment you can actually use it, you dream of him every night. Sometimes it's actually him, no longer a statue, taking your hands and leading you somewhere you don't belong. His skin is warm, unlike his statue, but just as soft as you imagined. His nails are meticulously cleaned and his eyes are bright, full of a life you're desperate to understand. It doesn't make any sense. You're yearning so deeply for him, for something you've never known before, and every second away feels like pure horror in your veins.

Why do you need him this much?

You look at yourself in the mirror, fixing a strand of hair that falls in front of your eyes. You're dressed well – at least comparatively to your former few weeks of dress – and a quiet excitement thrums in your heart. Today is a day you're going to go out, and to make it better you're going to the museum. They have an Egyptian exhibit. A foolish part of yourself hopes you'll find him there, nestled in the corner of a long and fruitful hallway filled with Egyptian statues.

It's... disappointing, to say the least, to find out there's only one room for Egyptian exhibits and it's occupied by only one thing, besides broken pots and stone dolls. The main exhibit's name is Ahkmenrah, a young Pharaoh older than the Great Pyramids of Giza. All information on him can be fitted onto a four by six stone plate. While standing in his room, surrounded by hieroglyphs you've been studying hard to understand, you look him up on your phone. There's little mention of him, but the one article you do find on him has a 3D recreation of his face. He looks white and you know the article's bullshit.

While absently holding a conversation with one of the curators, you discover there's a store of Egyptian exhibits kept underneath the museum that aren't fit for showcase since the downsizing. Whatever that means, you find a sliver of hope, one that pales quickly at the realization you'll never be able to go down there. They wouldn't let some random visitor (who wasn't even an actual historian) to go see closed off exhibits.

Fischer, the director of the museum, hires you four months after you send your resume in. The second he does you set your plan into motion – there's no time to waste.

The same day he gives you the keys, you're sneaking in under the cover of night. For some reason, the lights are still on in the main museum, but fortunately that's not where you're headed. You unlock the backdoor, sneaking through the night guard's break room until you find the door to the basement. Flipping through the keys on your ring, you quickly find the right one, shoving it into the keyhole and almost wrenching the door open.

You run down the stairs. It's almost sprinting, but you can't be too loud with your shoes. There's nothing in your mind except him, his funny little smile, the somehow soft alabaster of his skin. You need to get to him. Something inside you says he's here – he's here, he's here, and there's nowhere else you can be without your whole body combusting.

You stop dead in your sprint, chest heaving as you're faced with the open boxes filled with Egyptian busts. With frantic eyes you look them over, searching desperately for one familiar face, finding none until the very last open box.

It's here.

He's here.

The broken nose, the formation of the resulting scar, you recognize every. Fucking. Inch.

Each box contains little notes on who the statues are (if known), the material, the time period, and other such relevant information. Your hands shake as you reach forward, slipping the piece of paper out of the paper stuffing.

King Ahkmenrah

Date: ca. 3,100 - 3000 B.C.

Period: Old Kingdom

Place of origin: Egypt, Cairo

Medium: Ivory

Ahkmenrah.

Sudden clarity strikes you as it never has when you recall searching his name online. He's the exhibit. He's the mummy upstairs. He's actually here.

The blood in you freezes for a moment, caught up in shock and relief. Now you know his name. A small part of you is finally able to rest with the answer, but the rest of you knows exactly what to do – go upstairs. Find the exhibit. Lay at his side. After all this time you still don't know why, but the ache of neediness in your heart is enough to leave you weak to your inner desires.

Now that your head is clear, or at least unhindered by your questions, you note a worrying amount of sound coming from upstairs. Footsteps pound on the ceiling as you climb the staircase, leaving you curious and terrified. That many people shouldn't be in one place – it's a death wish for the modern plague. You grit your teeth, fingers curling up in to fists that dig your nails deep into your palm. Is it safe to go upstairs? There's definitely people up there and you have no idea who they are. The museum could be being robbed right now and you wouldn't have a clue. It's a death wish.

Why are you still going up the stairs?

Why are you opening the door?

This shouldn't be happening. There's enough people to fill the whole first floor, ranging from the public entrance of the museum to the African exhibits in the back. Almost all of them are wearing historical outfits, in such a wide array you might've thought they'd stolen them from the exhibits, had they not looked exactly like the wax figures. The marble statue of the Roman on his horse is no longer on its' pedestal. Actually, he's talking to a woman a few feet away from you, though he is still on the horse.

You should be passed out on the stairs going by how fast your heart is beating, but instead you stand in the doorway petrified. Your eyes sit wide, scanning back and forth over the crowd, searching for something you don't know of. With all the stimulus in front of you, you don't even know what to think. The exhibits must be coming alive. Does someone watch over them?

It's then, with little clarity in your head, that your eyes land upon the night guard. She doesn't look in the least bit rattled, so you easily assume she's used to this. Her calm is so alarming to you that you blink yourself back into your body.

These are... people. Just people. They haven't been put under some curse that'll bring chaos to the world. All they're doing is partying, and though the noise level is a tad unpleasant, it's just about as rowdy as some teenagers.

When you realize you aren't in danger, you bolt from your place at the door. Twisting through the gathered crowd, you slowly make your way to the staircase, ascending with quick feet as your eyes lock onto the Egyptian hall. It's a few more feet until you turn sharp, shoes squeaking as you slide into the room. The familiar gold lighting greets you, shining off the open sarcophagus, which you skid to a halt in front of as your lungs desperately try to catch up to your legs.

Of course it's empty. Your Pharaoh – or Ahkmenrah, you suppose you should use his name now that you know it – must be downstairs, where the life of the party is. Why would he stay up in this empty room, all alone? From here you can barely even hear the music that was once pounding into your ears. Still, for a moment you stare at the bottom of the vacant coffin, caught in the awe of such a long-standing history.

"What are you doing here?"

The words catch you by surprise, and in reaction you whip around, eyes wide as the voice continues, "who are you?"

My King. Before you can even process the thought, the words roll onto your tongue, but to your immense relief you catch yourself before actually opening your mouth.

"I..." it barely comes out with how little you've physically spoken recently, "I work here."

As usual, your voice carries that quiet, calm, slightly annoyed tone that makes people wonder why you're being so difficult. It's not really something you can control, but the King doesn't seem to notice. Maybe it's worked to your advantage this time; despite your racing heart and frozen feet, you keep an even tone.

"I don't think I've seen you here before," the King says, his eyes narrowing as he steps closer. You try to back up, but you're already pressed against the sarcophagus, and his glare keeps you from running.

"I just started today," you answer honestly.

"Ah," he says, his voice softer the moment he begins to believe you. "This must be rather alarming for you, then."

You're not afraid to admit he's right.

"A tad. How do you speak english?"

"I learned it during my time at Cambridge University," he answers. He's from over 4,000 years ago, so you know he didn't attend as a student.

"You were on display there?"

"Yes," he says with a bright smile, one that catches you entirely off guard.

It practically blows you away – his demeanor changed so quickly, from a stern Pharaoh to a sweet, young man who probably bought his girlfriend flowers every Monday. For a moment you wonder why you were so caught up in him before knowing him; now that you've heard his voice, seen the way he moves, your interest increases tenfold. It's not enough to see him. You need to touch him. You need it more than anything.

"I've been looking for you," you blurt out, but the words come out so slow it sounds like you consciously chose them. You bite the inside of your cheek as you watch his smile falter.

"What do you mean?" He asks. He's standing in front of you now – if you extended your arm and took a small step closer, you'd be touching him.

"There's a sculpture of you," you say softly, swallowing the lump in your throat, "but I didn't know how to find your name."

"How'd you find me, then?" He asks, but he looks less offended. Now there's a keen look in his smile and in his eye, like he's going to enjoy this, like he knows something you don't.

"Sheer luck," you say with a shrug. It's mostly true.

"I think I know you," he says, and his smile quirks further upward.

"What?" You say, trying to back up again as he steps closer. The sarcophagus is, unsurprisingly, still behind you. "How?"

"Back when I was a King, I had a slave my brother killed," he says in the least comforting tone, "but my father had this idea."

Another step closer. You can feel the heat of his naked waist on your shaking hands.

"See, he had a magician in his employ, and he would do anything for me. Especially since I loved that slave so dearly. Truly," he leans forward a little, placing his hand on the gold case behind you and trapping you against him. His chest is practically right against yours, but what you are close enough to feel is his breath, soft on your collarbones. "And so my father retrieved the soul with a special spell and sent it into the future, to possess another at birth, and to lie in wait until I called for it."

You can't feel your – well, anything. There's a pressure on your chest, but you can't tell if that's your wildly beating heart or just his warmth skewing your senses. All you can do is stare up at him wide-eyed. He can't be telling the truth. Magic doesn't work like that, it can't work like that, that's a sick story and he's telling it like it's nothing more than normal. Possessing a newborn child. Sending souls into the future. It can't make sense. You almost feel bad for your past self – under the employ of someone so cruel as to take a soul from the afterlife for his own pleasure.

But he's standing before you. He's 4,000 years old, and he's standing in front of you, pushing you against his own coffin and trapping you there. Do you belong to him, then? Is that why you can't get him out of your head?

"When did your search begin?" He asks softly, a gentle curiosity evident in his brow.

"A – about a year ago," you say, your voice so broken and shaky you're surprised he understands it.

"Last winter?" He asks knowingly, almost sweet, like he's doting on you. Then comes the part that really makes it shine; he reaches up and pets your hair, moving in long, soft strokes.

You nod, unwilling to meet his gaze any longer. How red you must be by now.

"I called on you then. It took you a little while, but I'm glad you made it," he says, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead. "Unfortunately, I suppose you haven't retained any memories, since you didn't know my name."

"I guess not," you agree quietly. "I just have instincts."

"Instincts?"

You're reluctant to share with him the many instincts you'd had even in the short time from meeting him to now. The pure need to touch him. Past You probably had a crush on him, and even though you aren't really that person anymore, there's a need inside you to hide that fact from him. 

"I wanted to call you my King when I first saw you," you admit, your voice still quiet in hopes of him not understanding you.

"You won't have to call me that anymore. Maybe a tad around my parents, but when we're alone you may use my name."

"When we're... alone?" You question nervously, heart pounding at the thought of spending more time with him.

"You do work here, don't you?" He says with a sly grin. "I think I'll be seeing you quite a lot."

Oh.

Oh no.

Oh God.

If this is how you react just from spending five minutes with him, you can't imagine spending whole nights at his side. You'd explode. From what you don't know yet, but the pulsing rush in your heart is strong enough to worry you, and very rarely do you ever worry about yourself. The words in your head – your immediate reaction – simply won't pass. You can't bring yourself to say them, so you say what he wants to hear.

"As long as you want to."

[bbwoulfc]

ML NY Special Review

Finally finished my review on the ML NY Special and it’s going to be a long review, I won’t lie.  I will be breaking this down in two sections.  First section will be focused through the perspective as a professional (animation industry) and the second section through the perspective as a viewer and ML fan.

I won’t deny, I will be criticizing a few things and really give large opinionated thoughts; I’m sure it will piss people off, but I’m gonna be honest and I don’t give a damn.  I’ve been here since the beginning and I’m gonna go all out.  It wouldn’t be the first time I pissed people off.

Again, keep in mind these are my views/opinions as a professional and as a viewer/fan.  If you can’t handle some of the strong opinions that will come from this review, then keep moving on.  Don’t waste your time if you can’t handle certain characters or subjects being discussed in a different light.

If you wish to continue, then click the “keep reading” option.

As an animator, this is one of my favorite things to do with animated shows or movies.  I absolutely love breaking things down and giving opinions on the whys, whats, and hows.  Never do I aim to prove my opinions right.  My goal is to simply make you think and consider.  And if you don’t agree then that’s completely fine.  That’s how it works.

Now, the NY Special has definitely exceeded the quality than what I expected.  I absolutely love SAMG as a company.  I think this is by far one of the best that SAMG has produced for Miraculous as a whole.  Even better than the origin episodes. The lighting is probably the best I’ve seen in a 3D animated tv series, by far. It was stunning and gorgeous and worked well with the given mood that was set throughout the hour of the special.  I would say there are two scenes in particular that I felt were the best lit scenes. 

The first scene is definitely near the beginning when the class landed in NY and where traveling in the bus.  They stopped either at the hotel or museum and the shot was the buses in front of the large building where you have the other city buildings around it.  That shot was gorgeous; the orange hues falling on top of the buildings and gaining that purple and blue shadows was great.  It’s honestly one of my favorite complementary color schemes to use when lighting most scenes in animation.  It helps achieve a nice balance when setting mood but also to get a nice glance at the shapes of the models in the scene.  Perfection.

As for the second scene, I would have to say it was the moment Adrien left and Marinette was biking to chase after him and she fell.  That moment the scene focused on Marinette on the ground and in the rain spoke many volumes.  The color tone of the scene was perfect and captured the common traits used in many shows and films to further drive the sense of sadness and overall emotional effect; using the traditional trait of rain made the scene work and stand out during the struggles that Marinette was dealing with. 

The rain in general was outstanding on it’s own.  Liquids in animation are tough, not an easy thing to do. The way the rain was animated was probably the best rain I’ve seen in most 3D animated tv series.  I will even say it beats the rain from the origin episodes which is amazing because it shows the growth alone that SAMG has come from since the first season of the series.  

They create stunning quality work and by far are the best of the best from all the companies that ZAG uses or had used for the show.  I won’t lie, I still can’t fathom how Jeremy/ZAG could let such a company go but Jeremy isn’t the greatest with the money, so it’s not a shocker.  It definitely shows that man doesn’t know how to properly run a company and treat a show.  I honestly blame him for pretty much the entire outcome of the series and that’s my god honest opinionated truth as a professional. 

The pacing of the special I felt was good, though I do think it would have been nice to have had an extra 30 minutes to help flow areas a bit better or more, but I can understand the time constraints, especially after hearing about how Thomas stated that the special was going to be two hours originally. And I will be honest, I wouldn’t have minded that.  I think it would have been fantastic to have had a longer span episode special, but I understand a lot of the struggles that no doubt the team had endured.

Overall, some issues, but 10 out of 10 on animation and quality output.

Now the second section; viewing through the eyes as a viewer and fan.

As a fan of ML, I will not beat around the bush, I truly believe this special was disappointing plot wise.  And I don’t blame Thomas and his team for the issue.  As stated previously, my anger and frustration is more on Jeremy/ZAG for everything that has come from ML as a show and especially the result of the NY special.

My biggest issue with the special was the focal point: Adrinette.

How many damn times must I hear, “they’re meant for each other” or “aren’t they perfect together” and so forth.  I get it. You can adore Adrientte but I don’t need it shoved down my throat every five minutes.  I don’t give an ounce of care that Adrien and Marinette are endgame and that they’re “soulmates”.  The romance between those two means absolutely nothing to me.  It was cute and fun in the beginning when the series first started, but I’m tired of it.  I don’t care about the love square.  I don’t care about the “soulmate” trope when in reality anyone can be someone’s soulmate with the right care.  That was no doubt the biggest issue for me in the entire special.  

In my opinion, it would have been perfect if it wasn’t Adrinette centric.  This was the best moment to show Marinette is improving herself but it had to become fan service because god forbid it felt like they needed to please the Adrinette shippers that their ship is still valid. If we’re judging this based off the season 3 finale, I won’t lie, this special fit better as a season 2 finale or mid season 3 than the end of season 3.

I’m seriously more disappointed that the special wasn’t more on Marinette and herself as a character.  They were in New York, another strong hub for fashion.  This was a perfect opportunity to explore more of her interests as a fashion designer and maybe meeting some new people.  Who knows, maybe even Jagged Stone as an international rock star. But overall it was a lost opportunity to expand more on her for the sake of shipping.  

I think it would have also been cool to see her and Chat Noir maybe learn some methods/training from the US heroes and get a glimpse into a world of heroism that is different in cultures and circumstances.  Which honestly made sense to me how US heroes didn’t care about identity because Ladybug and Chat Noir have magical based items that are no doubt more powerful and outside sources that I’m sure would be willing to destroy to obtain it.

Another problem I had was how I felt we were robbed without having Kagami and Luka go to New York. Or if anything, more with Luka than Kagami. I love Kagami with all my being, but I doubt her mother would let her go to New York.  But imagine Luka being there. We could have had a flipping jam session between Luka and Jess.  I felt we were cheated, it would have been amazing to see two incredible guitarists jam it out and two people who have a passion for music find a friend in each other. I would have given anything to have had that moment.

Though in general I would have enjoyed anything else if it just wasn’t Adrinette centric.  I’m positive everyone in the fandom is on the same page that they’re “soulmates” but there’s more that can be done than a damn ship that has followers that attack and annoy anyone who doesn’t ship them.  Because, god forbid, Adrien and Marinette apparently aren’t allowed to be happy with others. I swear, half the fandom (hardcore adrinette shippers) treat Adrien more as an object than the ML characters themselves. 

Nothing against the ship, but it’s just not for me and that’s okay.  I simply can’t relate to Adrien as a romantic choice of a character.  When Luka came into existence, I was in awe. I found a character I could relate too because I was as close to similarity than any other character in a show before.  And that’s something I’ve noticed with this fandom, hating characters because to them they’re nothing but boring.  

Fans need to understand that one will not understand everything in a show, especially characters.  Just because you hate a character and find them boring doesn’t mean they’re terribly written.  You as a viewer simply can’t relate to them and that’s completely fine.  There will always be some who can relate and understand while others don’t, but that shouldn’t be a reason to argue against people who love a certain character.

And I’m being serious, I enjoyed the 30 seconds of Kagami and Luka with their love interests more than the hour of Adrinette.  It’s just overall sad.  There is so much potential that could have been the special focus wise but felt it was there to show why Adrinette is “superior” when it’s really not.  They’re only one of many ships that are equally good.  It comes down to how it’s portrayed and done.

However, since I know we’re stuck with Adrinette no matter what, I’m going to end this review with this as a food for thought but again, this is a simple opinion.

There was one thing that stood out and caught myself and some of my friends in a ML server attention.  In the NY special there were strong moments that revolved around bikes.  So, out of curiosity, I searched for symbolism meanings about bikes during the server’s conversation and it might hint to what might happen or what might come in the future of the show.   

The bike symbolizes the moving circle of life. 

Seeing a bicycle is a hint that you will reach somewhere. This could either be your motivation or your future plan. Cycling refers to the different moods that a person feels. Bicycles are also related to the ups and downs of life. For instance, riding a bicycle gives you both smooth edges and rough pebbles on your journey. The smooth edges are related to the happy times of your life and the rough pebbles denote the challenges of life. 

So, if we want to use this to break down ML, this in a way, represents Lukanette and Adrinette.  Luka are the smooth edges in Marinette’s journey.  He’s the one that calms her, helps her think things through, focuses on what Marinette wants to do rather tell her what she should do.  Never once does he tell her to do this or do that, but simply asks her what it is she wants. Luka, is pretty much her guide. The happy times as Marinette where she appears happiest without the burdens and overwhelming stress of her other life.  Whereas Adrien is the rough pebbles in her journey, the challenges to properly talk with the one she views as a love interest or simply to build that perfect friendship/relationship.  Yes, they’re friends, but they’re not as strong as friends like Marinette and Alya or Adrien and Nino. Adrien is a challenge in her life and always will be until she learns to let go and mature.   

The other moment that stood out with the bike was the moment Marinette was pressured to chase after Adrien to get him to stay.  She chases after him on a bike but falls off in the end. 

Falling off the Bicycle: This indicates that you are losing your self-confidence. 

Spend time with your loved ones and take suggestions from the experienced people. Join a course on building your personality and motivation. Do things that interest you the most and this will surely help to bring back your confidence level. This indicates a frenzied lifestyle and the need to slow down. 

This here makes me believe that Luka is the “experienced people” in Marinette’s life.  Other than Kagami, Luka is the only mature one in Marinette’s life in her friend group.  He’s one of the biggest motivators in Marinette’s life as of recent.  Putting her interests at heart that have helped her build her confidence.  We know Marinette has a frenzied lifestyle with everything that she has on her shoulders as well as her passions.  And Luka is one of the very few, if not, only one in her friend group that can calm Marinette and help her slow down and simply relax.

I know Adrinette is endgame, but I won’t deny when I say if there was anything that ML could do, is that they make Adrigami and Lukanette endgame.  So many shows always pair the two main characters, always.  If there is any message that I would have loved to see come from a show like ML, it would simply be “Your first love/crush will not always be the one and that’s okay. That your first crush/love could be the greatest friendship you ever have. And the second chances in your life are just as valuable as the first and may be even better for you.”  

Fans might hate Kagami and Luka, but as far as I’m concerned from everything I’ve watched since the beginning, the only reason you’re getting your Adrinette in the end is all because of Luka.  If it weren’t for him majority of the time, y’all wouldn’t have half of your love square moments.  So, Luka is the true MVP in my book.  Because unlike many of the others, he doesn’t put pressure on Marinette and that’s what Marinette doesn’t need right now, more pressure.  

Adrien and Marinette might be endgame, but those two need people outside of their classmates because everyone is too tunnel vision.  Luka and Kagami are the only ones that will help Adrien and Marinette mature, cause those two will not be able to do it themselves.  So, if you want your Adrinette, you’re gonna have to suffer through Lukanette and Adrigami.

[kuiperblog]

DRPGs: function over form

I have an odd affection for DRPGs, or “Dungeon-crawling Role-Playing Games,” which are sometimes referred to as “Wizardly clones” in the same way that early FPS games were called “Doom Clones.”

Legend of Grimrock is an indie game that I’ve found is closest to actually emulating the feel of the original Wizardry games from an aesthetic perspective while updating them for modern graphics; most of the examples from recent history are Japanese and feature anime-style character designs, with Etrian Odyssey being perhaps the best-known (and best-selling).

I describe my affection for DRPGs as “odd,” because few other games have the ability to thoroughly captivate me for the time I’m playing, only for me to completely forget everything about them when I’m done playing them.

For example, I recently noticed that Demon Gaze 2 was on sale for 75% off in the Playstation store. I’m keen to try it out, since I enjoyed the first Demon Gaze game so much that I took the time to 100% (I earned the “platinum trophy” so that anyone on my Playstation Network friends list can see the evidence of my achievement). This is a task that reportedly takes around 50 hours. I say “reportedly” because it’s based on other people’s reports of how long it took for them to “platinum” the game; I can’t really recall from memory how much time I spent playing that game, or really anything else about it for that matter.

I cannot express how weird it is for me to not have a memory of have any specific memories of playing a video game, especially one that I spent that amount of time playing. I can still vividly remember a specific game of Dota 2 that I played over half a decade ago. I could talk for paragraphs about an indie puzzle game that I played for 2 hours in 2012. You could ask me to talk about any of the N64 games I played as a middle schooler and I could probably recall many specific memories from the time I spent with those games.

And yet, when it comes to Demon Gaze, I remember nothing. Not the characters, not the plot, not any of the specific milieus or setpieces. And, truthfully, it’s probably because caring about any of these things is never really something that the game asked of me in the first place. I earnestly tried to remember anything I could about Demon Gaze, and here is a full, comprehensive list of what I came up with:

There’s an NPC whose character trait is that she’s always sleepy. I think she lived in the basement of...something. I think your “home base” was an inn, and she lived in the inn’s basement, and you would sometimes have to talk to her to do certain things or something.

One of the levels had plants and was mostly green. Maybe multiple levels, actually. I want to assume this meant there was a hedge maze, but I’m not actually remembering a hedge maze; I’m just assuming that a dungeon-crawling game plus a green area must mean there was a hedge maze.

One of the levels involved climbing a tall tower, or maybe descending into a deep pit. There was definitely verticality involved, and the map was cylindrical.

I think the main character used swords. But maybe they didn’t. I’m pretty sure that you could dual-wield at a certain point in the game. (I think part of what made the main character so strong was the fact that they could equip an artifact that let them dual-wield?)

That is truthfully and honestly the full extent of what I remembered about the game before I started writing this post and digging up screenshots which reminded me of the main character’s heterochromia. When grabbing screenshots for this post, I found one that showed a character’s class as being “Paladin,” and my reaction was not, “Oh yeah, Paladin was totally a character class in this game,” but “Oh yeah, Paladin totally sounds like a character class that could plausibly be in this game.”

Normally, I’d have memories of specific boss battles, or setpieces, or characters, or story moments. But in place of those, I have memories of looking at Google Sheets that people had made to list all of the items that dropped from certain areas, and ranked them to let you know which items were the best. I could more vividly tell you the decor of the room I was in when I unlocked the platinum trophy than the final boss I beat (or item I obtained) to unlock it. (Being a game for a portable system like the Vita, I actually have memories of many locations and “setpieces” associated with that game; just not locations in the game.)

DRPGs are, maybe more than any genre, a game that is experienced through a layer of abstraction, and I think this is best illustrated by the Etrian Odyssey, which lives in the DS family of systems, which are notable for having two screens (as is suggested by the name “Dual Screen”). Here’s a screenshot that shows what the game displays on both screens when you’re dungeon crawling:

On the top screen, you see the environment you’re exploring in all its 3D-rendered detail. On the bottom screen, you have a map of the area you’re navigating, with the arrow in the middle indicating your current position and orientation. And for the vast, vast majority of dungeon crawling, my attention is focused solely on the bottom screen.

This is, I gather, how most people play DRPGs. Etrian Odyssey puts even more of the focus on the bottom screen by forcing you to draw the map as you walk (hence the bevy of icons and paintbrushes it offers you when filling in the grid). If you try to play by looking at the environment, you’ll quickly realize how much of the area is just copy-pasted assets that are difficult to navigate by. The map isn’t just a “guide;” the game feels less like a first-person dungeon crawler and more like game with a top-down POV where your avatar is represented by that arrow on the map. If you watch gameplay videos and only pay attention to the top screen, you’ll be blown away by how fast it seems like people are moving, but it makes a lot more sense when you realize that people are only paying attention to the map: people will see, “okay, I want to walk north 5 tiles, turn 90 degrees left, then walk west 2 tiles,” and then just input that series of actions faster than the walking animation can actually play out on screen.

I’m half convinced that the reason Etrian Odyssey took off more than any other DRPG is that, due to being on the DS, it has an entire screen dedicated to the map, whereas in a game like Demon Gaze, your screen is mostly taken up with what amounts to decorative filler while the part of your brain that’s focused on gameplay has to focus on a mini-map in the corner of the screen:

So, perhaps you can understand how it is that I played this game for 50 hours, yet have no recollection of the scene/location depicted in this screenshot. It’s because close to 100% of my focus was on the mini-map. I experienced most of this game as an abstraction.

There’s a real sense in which DRPG players (I’m talking about myself here) want everything in the game to be an abstraction. The ideal length for a combat animation is “as long as it takes for me to read how much damage the attack did, so please just advance the battle as fast as I’m pressing the X button.”

Video games are inherently abstractions of real things, like the way that adding the pyramids to my build queue in Civilization V is an abstraction of what it’s actually like to build the pyramids in ancient Egypt, or left clicking in Counter-Strike is an abstraction of what it’s like to fire a gun, but they usually try to call back to the things that they’re abstractions of. Civilization gives you an inspiring quote from some historian describing the pyramids, and Counter-Strike tries to have animations and sounds that somewhat reflect the behavior of real guns. But in DRPGs, I don’t want the combat to be the simulation of my character swinging a sword on an enemy. All I care about is watching the numbers flash on screen, and the reward isn’t “you’ve triumphed over this vile forest-dwelling enemy,” it’s “the number on your exp meter went up.”

While games like World of Warcraft eventually become like this for a lot of people (a game with a hundred buttons that is all about managing cooldowns), you at least start from a place of walking your avatar around the world and performing actions that make your wizard look as though you’re casting a spell.  But most DRPGs start from the position of “all you care about is the numbers, right?” The game is an abstraction unto itself.  It is a game that is made for people who like looking at spreadsheets (and I most definitely spent a decent chunk of time looking at spreadsheets).

Maybe that’s why they can get away with having character designs often clash with the art style of the environment and enemies, and sometimes with the art style of other party members. Several of the character portraits in the above screenshot seem like they were drawn by different people, and there are some moments that, when you look at them in a screenshot gallery, make you think that the characters just don’t belong in the world they’re inhabiting. And while the game is sometimes visually non-cohesive in a way that becomes really obvious if you pay attention, the truth is that when you’re actually playing the game, you’re not really paying attention to all that.

For another example of this, I like to turn to Stranger of Sword City, which has a really cool aesthetic that hits you from the moment you pick up the box (or look at the title screen):

The original release of the game, on Xbox 360, was remarkably consistent with this specific style. But the Playstation Vita version of the game (which was later ported to PC)  gives you an updated character creator and your options include, well, a variety of options drawn in a variety of different styles.

I just looked at the screenshots on the Steam store page for the Stranger of Sword City and, well:

Yes, that is a Prinny in the bottom left corner. Yes, Nippon Ichi did publish this game, why do you ask?

I think one of the reasons I don’t tremendously mind the aesthetic choice (or is it a lack of choice?) in a lot of DRPGs like this to randomly have anime-style characters (even when they might be dissonant with the rest of what’s on screen) that I don’t necessarily need my paladin’s look to really communicate that they’re a holy warrior or whatever; I really just want them to be eye candy that I can appreciate in the moments when I’m distracted from the numbers. But in the end, it doesn’t actually matter that much, because, well...

DRPGs feel like they are all about function over form. (The “looking at the mini-map and not the 3D environment” is a microcosm of a playstyle that’s encouraged by a design philosophy that seems to apply to nearly everything in a “good” DRPG.) This puts them in stark contrast to, say, Persona, which involves a ton of dungeon crawling, but relies heavily on the style (which includes the battle music, the stylish combat animations, and the quips that your characters make in battle) to make that part of the game interesting.

When you down all of the enemies in Persona, part of the “reward” for that comes from getting to deal a bunch of damage to all of the enemies, but a huge part of the reward also comes from the feeling of visceral pleasure that comes in the moment when Akihiko senpai says “I’ve been waiting for this!” and you smile and agree and say, “Me too, Aki. Now give me that shot that’s so iconic it became a meme template.”

I probably would not have made it through dozens of hours of crawling through Tartarus in Persona 3 if Mass Destruction weren’t such a banger of a battle theme. But I spent just as much (if not more) time dungeon crawling in Demon Gaze despite not having Lotus Juice’s rap verses soothing my ears during those battles, which I guess maybe stands as a testament to how good Demon Gaze was at making the game fun?

Ultimately, the abstraction that every RPG leveling system gets toward is “your character gets stronger.” Maybe DRPGs are better than any other genre at removing any abstractions that would serve as a barrier between you and that goal.  And the best DRPGs also give you formidable challenges that give you ample reason to want to become stronger: games like Etrian Odyssey are notorious for their difficulty. I feel the difficulty is a bit overhyped; much like my feelings on Dark Souls, Etrian Odyssey only really feels “hard” when compared with other games where the player is never put plausibly close to a failure state whereas Dark Souls and EO actually punish the player for making mistakes, and EO also has the “X-factor” of having enough variance (due to things like random crits) that you actually do want to give yourself a decent margin for error. Which is to say, EO is one of the RPGs where you actually care a lot about having a team that’s strong enough to kill a boss in 8 turns instead of 10 turns, since that’s 20% fewer chances for an unfortunate event to send you back to home base. Powering up your team in EO feels important and significant way more than it does in a lot of other JRPGs.

There is a very real sense in which the entire point of the obligatory spreadsheet companion is to aid you in your quest to become the strongest you can be by breaking the game somehow. The thing I do remember about Demon Gaze (not concretely, but in the abstract) was that there were some item/class combinations that were wildly better than the alternatives. Some might deride this as poor balance, but in my eyes, “breaking” a game in that way is really more akin to “solving” it, in the same way that one might “solve” a puzzle. I did it: I found right combination of skills and items to trivialize the game’s difficulty! Huzzah! In a “well-balanced” game where all items and classes were all carefully tuned to be equally viable, such a thing would not be possible. Thus, what others might consider “poor balance” in some DRPGs is actually an essential and core part of what compels me to spend time with those games.

I feel like these factors and more make DRPGs somewhat unique in a way that probably contributes to them reviewing poorly. For example, if you look among discussions on DRPG forums about recommended games, there seems to be universal consensus that Stranger of Sword City is a great game (with many praising it as the best DRPG they’ve ever played), but on OpenCritic, only 45% of critics recommend it, and I think all of this is perfectly encapsulated by a 6/10 review from TheSixthAxis:

Stranger of Sword City excels at one thing, and really flounders at the others. It’s a rewarding experience if you’re a fan of challenging RPGs and gameplay depth. If you’re a fan of well-written dialogue, engaging music or proper difficulty curves though…well….there are a lot of other video games out there that may suit you better.

And that’s the kind of thing that makes me want to locate a guide, crack open a spreadsheet, and start a new save file.

Anyway, the Stranger of Sword City is on sale for 80% on Steam right now. That’s $4, for a game that I paid $40 for when it first came out on Vita! I’m tempted to buy it again, just for the convenience of being able to play it on my monitor without having to dig around to locate my old Vita TV.

[iron--spider]

Okay, I just saw FFH

I’ll say right off the bat, it was a million billion times better than Endgame, despite the lack of Tony Stark. I’m already planning on seeing it again. But I do have both positive and negative feelings, which I will discuss in full spoiler openness, under the cut.

It’s very strange. I did....I would say I liked it a lot. Almost loved it. But it also makes me feel strangely empty. I guess this links with the fact that I feel very separate from an MCU that doesn’t contain a living Tony Stark. It feels very, very weird to think he’s not alive anymore. My brain still doesn’t compute it even though I know it’s a stone cold fact, and it’s like I’ve built a glass wall between myself and this new world they’re living in. I see it, but I don’t feel like it’s the same world I’ve been in love with for eleven years. And while I can say it was a very good movie, it’s hard for me to connect with it the way I previously would have.

I’m gonna do pros and cons, and start with the cons, so I can end this post on a positive note. But I do have more pros than cons! So that’s good.

CONS:

- I know the MCU is not known for its nuance or it’s emotional content, but I would have liked a lot more personal details about Tony from Peter. We know they were close. A few lines would have done it.  - Brad. We didn’t need a love triangle, and he added nothing to the plot. - What EDITH stands for. I think I’m the only person who thinks that’s out of character. It feels like what people believe Tony is, that facade he puts on, but it’s not who he actually is. Maybe we can take it as he’s making fun of what people think of him? I don’t know, but it felt off to me. - The timing of the MJ/Peter romance. There will be more about them in the pros section, but the timing still feels wrong. I don’t know why this sudden romance needed to be the focus of this movie. I understand that he was distancing himself from his grief, but the grief felt.......barely present. It was good, when it was there, but it wasn’t there enough. I wish we had gotten more friendship between MJ and Peter, or at least a rundown of what they’d been through in the year we missed? And am I getting that right? Did a year pass? Is that what they were telling us in the beginning bit? - Going off that, I wish we had seen Peter deal with losing five years like....at all. Even a little bit, lol. He was essentially dead. That would have been an amazing focus, along with dealing with losing Tony and his want for a normal life/girlfriend. Why can’t they balance this shit? - I wanted more about the world and what was going on, obviously. But I knew we weren’t gonna get that.  - Peter shouldn’t have walked right by that one gorgeous Iron Man mural with the candles. He didn’t even spare it a glance and that was weird to me. - I really wish we had been able to see Peter’s actual face during the horrifying Iron Man illusion. I love the Spidey suits but I really wanted to see his face. - Take off your clothes scene was very uncomfortable lol, and it was even worse because PETER was uncomfortable.

PROS - Tom. Tom Tom TOM! He was just......incredible. He does so much with what he’s given, he brings everything to the next level and he’s our best Spider-Man. I can’t even say enough about him. I love his face, I love his inflections, I love how he moves, I love his expressions, I love every single thing about him. He has wonderful timing. He’s the best. - Happy. He was so great. He added to every scene he was in. I loved his interactions with Peter’s friends, especially when they were hiding with the crown jewels lol. I loved him handing it to “Nick” in the end, saying Peter would call him :) - MJ. She got so much more to do in this and it really makes me wish we had seen more of her in the first movie.  - Going off that, MJ and Peter. Despite the terrible timing of their romance, it was surprisingly cute. I really liked how MJ was softer and changed when she was alone with Peter. They felt genuine and I wasn’t expecting it and I really enjoyed it. They were sweet together. I will say I preferred when they were physically together as opposed to Peter talking to Ned/Mysterio about her. - Ned. Amazing, as always. So funny, so sweet, the best friend. I loved his and Peter’s hug. - Betty and Ned. Really funny kind of critique of teenage romance, lol. - Jake G. I wasn’t really feeling him, but then....THE TURN. He was incredible. One of his best performances, for real. - And going off that....he was so insane. So, so insane. All the music cues helped too. I don’t think Tony’s legacy or character is tarnished AT ALL because this dude was so, so cuckoo bonkers. He was ordering hits on kids and nonchalantly talking about casualties and he was just a LUNATIC. I’m not worried about Tony. And anyone who uses Beck as their source for their Tony hate? Doesn’t look good, fam. He had his crazy eyes on from the bar scene forward. Insane person. He was willing to kill all his pals. He was the worst, lol. - Annnnddd in relation to that, MJ giving Brad the business in the end and specifically using the phrase about how “Peter isn’t here to tell his side” or whatever it was. I think that totally was meant to go along with all the Tony/Beck stuff. It felt purposeful. - I liked the ‘I Will Always Love You’ tribute - The Tony murals in every damn city? They were gorgeous. I hope they release images of those because I wanna see them lol. He was so loved. - I’m glad they had May talk about ‘blipping’ back into her apartment and someone else was living there. They actually addressed something! - Peter having a panic attack at the beginning when Tony was mentioned? Really good. Really sad. - I like that Tony trusted Peter enough to give him the glasses. It shows just how much he trusted him. And this is nothing like project insight, because Tony isn’t Pierce. He has good intentions. It is for protection. People need to chill, lol. Peter was acting like a bit of a moron on the bus, but I believe by he end he has a handle on it and will be much, much better about it. Him jumping out of the bus and destroying the drone was cool. - Bar scene was really good. I know Peter saw Tony in Beck when he put on the glasses :( And his self doubt is so painful. Tony had such trust in him and Peter just can’t believe it. HURTS. - The illusion scene had such magnificent visuals. I want to see it again in 3D, but it was awesome. I said earlier I wanted to see Tom’s face, but he did a great job with all his body movements. He’s just so great, lol. - Iron Man zombie shook me, made me jump, got me upset. As did Mysterio’s taunting in that moment. What an asshole. - I liked the “stakes” in terms of how Peter got so, so messed up in this movie. Poor thing. He was still limping in the scene at the airport! Seeing him get hit by the train was so hard. - The plane scene was my favorite part of the whole movie, from the tulip field to the suit getting built. I loved the hug, Happy trying to be soft and dealing with Peter’s outburst. Peter crying, their talk, “i miss him so much”, Tony never, ever second guessing Peter. THE ONE THING. That hurts so bad lol. And Happy watching Peter make the suit, fondly, seeing Tony in him. It makes me cry thinking about it. Peter carries Tony with him always, because he’s part of him, he’s in his heart, he was his protege and even if he doesn’t believe it, Tony believed in him. He knew he was the best of them. GODDAMN THEM. I love seeing Peter and Happy interact as they did here because they really remind me of Happy and Tony. Peter’s Tony’s kid. There’s no denying it at this point. - MJ and her mace. Chef’s kiss. - The whole final battle was fucking amazing. Some of the best shit in the MCU. I loved seeing Peter get to be a BADASS, get to show his smarts and his strength and use that Spidey sense. He was amazing. - Stopping Beck from shooting him? Incredible. One of my favorite Marvel shots. I loved Peter angry and standing up for himself here. So good.  - The kisses were pretty cute. The holding hands was definitely cute. Swinging was very cute, as was how excited Peter was about it. - I really like Happy and May and I hope it goes somewhere. C’mon May! - I’m of two minds on the reveal. It pisses me off that fucker did this. He was obviously planning it and now he’s painted a target on a 16 year old’s back, and once again, anyone who tries to use him as a source is a SOCIOPATH. I feel so bad for Peter, and it makes me really sad because this would be an amazing thing for Tony to be involved with. Peter definitely needs Tony right now, and I hope SOMEONE reliable helps him. I know Happy will, but he needs a powered person too. PLEASE. I worry about where they’ll take this. It could be cool, possibly seeing him on the run, but if they have any ideas about killing May or any of his friends because of this, I’ll kill them. - Skrulls thing was funny and it also explains why Fury felt so off. SLJ did an amazing job with that, lol.

In conclusion, I really loved a lot of what they presented to me. Mostly because Tom is truly spectacular. But a world without Tony Stark will always have a certain amount of emptiness to it, and I won’t be following any other Marvel films save for Spider-Man. I’ll follow Spider-Man because I love Peter/Tom. But it’s always gonna be really painful knowing Tony is gone and they’ll never give us the amount of emotional content that we deserve when it comes to him.

But I will recommend FFH. I give it an 8/10, and I think I’ll enjoy it even more on a second viewing. For being in ‘the bad timeline’, this was a good film. 

[0poole]

Some Retrospective Thoughts on Gen 7

Galar’s making me go nuts. You already know. Let’s look back on Alola because why not. I feel like I have stuff to say about it. Also, I just watched the last episode of the Alolan Anime, so there’s that.

Whenever I first think back to Gen 7, I think “Eh, it was alright. Nothing special, I guess.” The Pokemon were decent, apart from being almost universally slow, apart from like 3 speed demons, the starters weren’t much, the story was alright, the location was alright, etc. etc. 

Then, I ACTUALLY think back, and I realize… I have no idea why I was thinking that. This generation was actually amazing.

First of all, they finally put the motif of the Sun and Moon into game types. It’s definitely a breath of fresh air after they tried to use the fucking dimensions in 3D space for titles in Gen 6 (Loved that gen too, but seriously “Life” and “Death” would both be more fitting and not as strange. Maybe they don’t want “Death” as a title tho). Really fits in with how naturally themed everything is too, which is obviously for the best, since this is the most “natural” game to date. Even though we technically already had an America-based region in Unova, Hawai’i is so unique in its own right it definitely fits for a region. I’m usually the type who doesn’t like super overt themes in things, and kind of just wants a very generalized experience, but it’s probably for the good of everyone that they don’t actually follow through with that idea. 

Probably the biggest thing to come out of this generation is the new habit of them posting short little videos on Youtube revealing new Pokemon/features/etc. Obviously they were super trigger happy with them then, but now it seems they’ve taken a step back a little. I do love this idea, though, because it actually hypes me up more than anything else ever could. I remember before, even though I was kinda-sorta trying to follow the updates on Gens 4-6, I never really felt like I could, and even though I was going to get the games no matter what, now I realize I really want to know what I’m getting into. 

I remember exactly where I was for some of the major announcements. For the starters, I was in my high school geometry class, where I watched and re-watched that video dozens of times just so I could keep looking at them. I started off on Rowlet’s side of course, but once I realized he was getting all the attention and ol Popplio was getting basically none, I changed my allegiance and stayed there to this day. Ignoring the fact that I don’t really like any of the final evolutions enough to actually use them in game, I LOVE Popplio himself. It’s seriously a shame that he didn’t become some clown seal like everyone was speculating. Unlike how it seems, I really, really like “normal” clown characters (as in, not “horror” clowns), so he could’ve easily become one of my favorites in that case. Decidueye is definitely my favorite of the final forms, and Incineroar I think is still underrated. Sure, whatever, he’s bipedal, and it’s weirder than it otherwise would be, but for some reason I love how his mouth was an actual modeled mouth and not just an image slapped on there like most Pokemon. It really made him more expressive than the average Pokemon. Plus, the animation for Darkest Lariat is really cool, with his hands flashing against a flat back background for a second before actually doing the move. Even better, it’s great meme potential when hacked onto other Pokemon, like Wailord.

I don’t remember if Solgaleo and Lunala were introduced in that first trailer too, but either way I love both of them. I was a bit more drawn to Solgaleo at first, but Lunala has since grown to be one of my favorite legendaries of all. The starry wings, golden rims, and white skeleton-y body are such a great combo. And yeah, sure, Solgaleo would’ve been more fitting as a fire type or whatever, but since stars form the heavy metals that make it onto planets it’s fine. I won’t accept that Lunala should’ve been a dark type, though. The Moon is a major embodiment of light in the night sky, so if anything it shouldn’t be related to darkness. As for Necrozma, I love his base form a lot. It’s such a strange look, especially how the back of his head is transparent. It’s the perfect “evil prism” pokemon. I really just wish Ultra Necrozma had more detail to him, though. He looks so flat for such a major figure in the games… At least he had a good battle and an even BETTER theme song, hot damn

Guess that’s a good transition to talk about the music, and I guess tangentially about Team Skull, since they were probably the best possible departure from the usual “Evil Team” formula. Them just being random hooligans causing trouble instead of a formal organization trying for world domination is a good change of pace, as pretty much everyone agrees… It wouldn’t have been so great if they didn’t at least try to incorporate rap/trap music into their themes. They’re probably the most music-oriented Team canonically speaking, so they’d have to have a great theme. Also, the idea that they feel left behind by the traditions of the Trials really makes sense, since something so important in their culture would definitely make someone feel left out if they couldn’t get through it. 

Other themes for the more calm situations, like Hau’oli City’s night theme, are also extremely good. I didn’t even realize how much I loved that track until I heard Insaneintherain’s cover of it. It almost sounds like something out of Steven Universe, for how pleasant it is (apart from the piano). Lillie’s theme still gives me the warm fuzzies every time I hear it, too. I don’t think a single game before this has ever done the credits so well, too. Apart from the fun artwork, the last shot of Lillie and the game’s legendary actually just kills me every time. She’s such an adorable, pure soul, it’s crazy to think that when she was first revealed, we thought she was the secret supervillain of the game, just because she looked kinda peeved in her official art. We weren’t far off, though, with the Aether Foundation and all. I love both the calm theme of the Paradise itself AND their evil battle theme. Even though one is obviously an evil theme, it does feel like it came from the same source. Same goes for Lusamine’s theme. I really love the Aether Foundation as a whole too, where we can now have “Good” Foundation archetypes to counter the Evil Team archetype. Plus, their designs all involve white with gold accents, which is basically my brand. I tried to design my own Aether outfit the instant I saw them, since I love their look so much. 

As for battle themes, I love how jazzy Galdion’s battle theme ended up. It made him so much more interesting than just a generic edgelord. The Elite Four’s battle theme might actually be the scariest theme to date for some reason, and yet all I can picture when listening to it is Acerola bobbing joyfully back and forth… Basically the same way, the Tapu battle theme is also pretty crazy, with tribal chants in the back of it. The Tapus are probably the coolest group of legendaries in the game, considering how unique they are, with their oddly wooden shells that represent animals. It really makes them feel like spirits brought about by the people of Alola themselves, instead of just some being that came out of nowhere. Probably the one theme that is the most nostalgic (yes, I know it was only 3 years ago, you can still feel nostalgia damnit) for me is the Kahuna battle theme. It was probably just some random comment on Youtube, but somewhere someone said that it was the perfect theme because it starts off intimidating, but quickly switches into a super fun melody, because ultimately, the Island Challenge is for fun. I just love that. I’m always looking for “Fun” stuff in pretty much everything, so I like a theme that represents that. Also, it’s just super catchy, and even expanded upon in Pokemon Masters. Let it be known that Hapu is the best Kahuna by the way. She cute. Also, watching her become the Kahuna is the best world building you could possibly muster up for this kind of setting. 

Of course, I’m intentionally leaving out a certain group…

You know what I think of when I think of Hawai’i? Pearly white sand beaches… Palm trees… Fruity drinks… oh, and let’s not forget fucking interdimensional aliens. 

The Ultra Beasts are the exact type of thing I’d want to insert into the Pokemon world, and that’s why I love them. They’re so weird in the best ways possible. When they were introduced in a trailer, I had the same reaction as I did with Type: Null. They put him up on the screen for a bit and was like “Haha here’s ‘Type: Null,’ okay next” like EXCUSE ME? YOU CAN’T JUST SHOW ME A POKEMON CALLED “Type: Null” AND NOT EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON. Of course, that’s kind of what the games were for, but it was seriously a shock to the system to see Pokemon with code names instead of actual names. You also can’t convince me that Pheromosa wasn’t designed after Lusamine, and to a lesser extent that Xurkitree wasn’t designed after Guzma. I think it’s canon that Lusamine styled Lillie after Nihilego in her crazed state, but the uncanny likeness between those other two is pretty darn notable. I think from the first batch, Celesteela was my favorite of them all, being like a rusted copper rocket ship or something, who can even smack you with her two giant rockets. Also, Pokemon directly based on folktales are always welcome, no matter what. Meanwhile, with the Ultra games being the first sequels to introduce brand-new Pokemon, Blacephalon easily took top spot. I did say I liked clowns, didn’t I? Plus, the biggest evidence that he’s best boi is that in the anime when he appeared, he didn’t even try to attack anything. He just wanted to show off (specifically, believe it or not, by moonwalking… Whoever’s idea that was needs a raise). I also love detachable heads, which is a great idea to mix with clowns, and I guess also fireworks in this case… I just love him. I really hope that there will be future instances of Ultra Beasts, since it’s apparently super easy to just make them however the hell you want them, and since you’re not limited to a region’s natural environment. Lord knows whoever designed Buzzwole didn’t have any limitations. Exploring his, and really all of their worlds in USUM was extremely fun. It’s a damn shame Blacephalon and Stakataka (again, what a name) didn’t get the same privilege. 

As for the Pokemon as a whole, like I mentioned, off the top of my head I don’t feel super crazy about many of them, even though that’s a total lie. Shiinotic appealed to my inner mushroom-character-lover so much that I basically designed a character that looked identical to him. He’s easily the best mushroom Pokemon to date, where he looks pretty cute while also being just slightly creepy enough, with those souless eyes. The concept for Araquanid is amazing, where he’s a reverse Diving Bell spider. I might’ve designed him a bit differently, but he still looks super cool. The ideas behind Oranguru and Passimian are also cool, since we haven’t delved much into intelligent ape Pokemon enough. Wishiwashi is another great concept, and probably the best fish Pokemon in my opinion because of it. Lurantis and Minior are total cuties, the latter being one of those Pokemon that isn’t always in the forefront of my mind, but the instant it is it reclaims its place as one of my all-time favorites. Golisopod and Kommo-o are two of the coolest Pokemon designs to me, the latter being my all-time favorite Pseudo-Legendary. Vikavolt looks awesome, despite being deceptively slow. Dhelmise looks weird until you realize it’s actually insanely large (like, Wailord large). Mudsdale is just an all-around good-looking horse. Oricorio also looks really cool, especially in her fiery form. Tsareena is, well… Tsareena… That’s not even including the adorable Magearna and Marshadow, who are in generational limbo… Also, I think Mimikyu might be the overall best addition to the franchise ever. No Pika-clone could ever compare. 

I mean, specifically as far as a single Pokemon goes, Mimikyu is definitely the best addition to the franchise. Meanwhile, as far as concepts go, the absolutely HUGE idea of Regional Variants is the best addition. Again, I remember where I was when I heard the announcement: it was some sort of weird fantasy house, with a ton of cool details in it to make it look like a setting in some movie or something. It was awesome there, even if we were staying for only a night or so I think. Either way, the concept of different Pokemon adapting to different conditions in the region is the most perfect way to bring attention back to older Pokemon, and I’m so glad they seem to want to keep the idea for all future generations too. It’s especially fitting for Alola, since it’s a super remote island. I love how goofy Alolan Exeggutor is, especially because everyone else seems to love his goofiness too. Same sort of goes for Dugtrio, since his hair is actually based on a real thing… Marowak becoming a spiritual fire dancer is definitely the best possible iteration for him. My favorite might be the colorful Alolan Muk, though, even if Alolan Vulpix is infinitely cuter and better than fiery Vulpix in every way. I cannot be convinced otherwise.

Also, she’s a perfect fit for Lillie, so I guess I’ll use that as my transition into talking about the characters/anime. I’m just gonna be real with you. I’m not going to hold back. Alola has some of the cutest girls in the entire franchise. But first of all, let’s divert that train and instead lust after a man who is easily the hottest professor in the games yet, Kukui. What self-respecting researcher wouldn’t wear his professor-mandated lab coat without any undershirt? He needs his bulging abs as target practice for his Pokemon’s moves, people. He needs to let them breathe. Also, I was kind of enamoured with Sycamore before him, but you can’t deny the tinted skin gets to you a little. Burnet’s a lucky gal, let’s just say.

Okay, now that we’ve established that my pants don’t discriminate, we have to talk about Wicke. So now that that’s covered, can I just say I love Mina? I’d say she deserves more attention, but she was the only Alolan to make it into Lets Go for some reason, so I guess she’s well off? First of all, I love hippie-esque girls (idealized hippies, at least), so that’s a major plus… I mean, I should probably stop using the word “cute” altogether because it applies to every girl in the game, but yeah. Lana’s highly deserved spotlight in the anime made me love her too, where she was a perfect combination of extroverted while still more soft-spoken. I don’t know if that kind of characters’ an anime trope, but lord knows it’s not in western media, so I love how unique her personality is. Her interacting with Mallow and Lillie in cute, girly ways felt so wholesome. If the anime’s anything, it’s wholesome. 

One sec, though. I have to mention that I really like Hau. He’s obviously the one pinned as “Boo, he’s not a giga-asshole! That means he’s bad!” because I guess the fandom’s hive mind has collectively agreed that the only good rivals are assholes now. Like I said before, this stuff’s more about fun now. Hau’s a fun friend to fight, to the point where you beat him as the Champion you kinda feel bad for knocking him down so much. You feel bad because you like him, you know. Also, I forgot to mention this earlier but even though he isn’t entirely difficult himself, the trials in these games are actually both a difficult and interesting challenge. A 2v1 where you’re at the disadvantage is a great boss battle idea, especially with the strategies set out by a Pokemon’s different abilities and moves. Probably the best was Totem Lurantis, who of course summoned a Sunny Day-based Castform to activate her Chlorophyll and buff her Solar Blade, while adding a diverse fire type into play. It was really difficult, to be honest. Those who say it wasn’t either got lucky or have insane standards that cannot be met because they’re Pokemon Veterans who know every little thing about everything. I’m pretty much in that camp, and I still had to actually plan during the fight. Same goes for Totem Araquanid in USUM. I literally had to poison (not toxic, base poison) stall that guy because I couldn’t do anything to him otherwise. He was pretty much one-shotting everything I sent out, anyway, so I had to stall however I could. You can’t argue that that means it was “easy” because I knew how to beat him. It’s only “easy” if you can just send out pretty much whatever and do whatever and still win. Then there’s the Rainbow Rocket episode in USUM, which is just crazy… There’s not much to say that isn’t obvious there. It was fun seeing the villains that were victorious in a different dimension.

Anyways, for the anime, I also have a similar stance. It really seemed like the only people who started off hating it were anime nerds who had no concept of an in-between frame. I will say that it was a step down from XY/XYZ though, but those seasons’ quality was unusually high. Compared to the animation quality of every other season, it was so much better. First of all, I really don’t even like “anime style” that much, so a slightly more western style was very welcome. Like pretty much every show ever, the animation quality is seriously high where it counts, so there’s not much to be said about that, but I’d say the overall animation quality is a step up in general. The more simplified style only really looked weird in Ash because we’re so used to his more pointy style. Every other character looked totally fine, in my opinion. 

As for the story, I will say I would’ve wanted the scope of the plot to be much larger, like how with the other seasons Ash was going on an adventure, whereas here it was very contained, and centered around the Pokemon School. But, still, like I mentioned, I did enjoy the casual wholesomeness of it all. Not only do I just like mindless fun, but it made the crazy shit feel even crazier. The episode where Faba was trying to catch Nebby is a perfect example. It begins with a nice fun game of all the Pokemon and people jumping rope and having a good time, with some slapstick humor with Faba failing to capture Nebby. Then he does, and shit goes down. First of all, he’s torturing the little thing. Then, ASH (not his Pokemon, Ash himself) tackles Faba. Tell me, what other season had humans fighting other humans? I honestly can’t think of a single time when fighting was done with fists and not Pokemon (although surely I’m forgetting something, there’s gotta be at least one other example, right?) Then, Lillie re-experiences her past trauma of almost being abducted by Nihilego, except now her mom gets abducted in her place… Like, what happened? It was so cute a second ago. That’s always the selling point for any cartoon, for me. Stay casual for a decent amount, then break it with some uncharacteristically high tension. The same goes for the segment where Ash goes into Guzzlord’s post apocalyptic dimension. As for mega-feels, It’s great that they made Litten/Torracat an actual character instead of just some random Pokemon, with Stoutland and whatnot. The episode where they go into Tapu Fini’s mist and Mallow meets her mother, and Torracat meets Stoutland just destroyed me. It was strategically remedied by Lillie and Gladion not seeing their father, suggesting he’s still alive. There were some really great episodes in the season, for sure.

So, yeah… Alola was a good time. Don’t deny it. Galar’s gonna be great too. No game’s ever going to be perfect, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun.

[mobius-prime]

160. Sonic the Hedgehog #92

I have something important to cover before we dive in. You see the bit on the cover that says this issue contains a pre-adaption of Sonic Shuffle? Yeah, we're ignoring that entirely. Unlike the Sonic Adventure adaption, in which the writers took the storyline of the game as a whole and adapted the entire thing to fit within the universe of the comics, this issue only covers the beginning of the game, which is itself non-canon to the rest of the series. This is actually a precursor to a recurring segment in the later comics called "In another time, in another place," which are all mini-adaptions of the beginnings of the various 3D Sonic games that, as the subtitle suggests, don't take place in the same universe as the main comics. As expected, we won't be covering those either, since I'm purely focusing on canon stories in these analyses. Almost every 3D Sonic game got one of these over the years, from main-series games like Unleashed/World Adventure and Generations, to side games such as Riders and Rush. The big exception is Sonic Adventure 2, which is a bit of a special case, but we'll cover that once we actually get to it.

Anyway, if you're really curious, here's a bare-bones synopsis of the Shuffle pre-adaption - Sonic dreams about a train, a fairy being called Lumina talk to him and tells him that her world called Maginaryworld is in danger, and he and Tails, Knuckles, and Amy get teleported there to fight the villain Void. Pretty similar to the plot of the actual game, which like the criminally-underrated Sonic Battle, not many people seem to actually know about even though it has quite an interesting storyline if you ask me. But enough of this rambling - after a quick break from the (actually interesting) action last issue, it's time to find out what was in those crash-landed spaceships!

The Wrath of Khan

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Michael Higgins Colors: Frank Gagliardo 

It's time to address the plight of our poor friend Ken Khan. We already know the guy has a temper, and it would be absurd to think that after the destruction of his village several issues ago, that he would be willing to just let it all go. Well, it turns out that he's spent the past fifteen days walking on foot from his home in Not-Asia all the way to Robotropolis. I sense vengeance in the air…

Within Robotropolis, Eggman dances around bizarrely, still angry that the sword was stolen from him but happy to continue to use Sonic's ignorance of that fact to his advantage. Sonic, meanwhile, finds himself on an outcropping of rock overlooking the two spacecraft that just landed next to the city, and is astonished to find a crowd of Overlanders exiting them.

The frightened girl runs to her grandma, who is also clearly scared of the "wild animal" approaching them. Suddenly, several combots approach the party, and Sonic quickly leaps to the defense of the Overlanders, bringing the older woman back to the group after smashing the bots. Meanwhile, in Knothole, Geoffrey is stomping around trying to figure out who stole the Sword of Acorns, and when Rotor innocently mentions that he heard Sonic talking about the sword not too long ago, Mina coughs loudly, instantly bringing herself under the scrutiny of the Secret Service commander who doesn't buy her attempts to cover up for Sonic. Back in Robotropolis, Eggman is viewing the scene outside his city through his monitors, showing a surprising amount of affection for his own species considering that original Robotnik didn't seem to give a crap who he was screwing over as long as some screwing was taking place. Uh, don't take that phrase the wrong way.

Oh boy, remember Colin the racist asshole? He's ba-ack! Who knows yet why he and a bunch of other Overlanders were up in space, but it probably had something to do with the end of the Great War, I'd imagine. Outside, Sonic tries to explain to the frightened Overlanders that he's trying to protect them, but as Colin angrily voices his racist, racist doubt, Eggman beams in a hologram of his face, reassuring him that Sonic is in fact lying and the robots were there to protect them from the furry menace of the native Mobians. Sonic tries to argue, but Ken, finally arriving at his destination, chooses that exact moment to throw his staff like a spear through Eggman's holographic head, which of course Eggman only seizes on as "proof" that the anthropomorphized animal denizens of the planet are trying to kill them all. As he ushers his kinsmen into his city, an unnecessarily hostile interrogation begins to take place in a building within Knothole.

Oo-hoo, lookie what we have here! Yes, that's right, with Geoffrey having left his inappropriate crush on Sally behind some time ago, the writers are once again looking for someone to set him up with. Hershey is part of his squad, of an appropriate age for him, and their colors even match! It's like a match made in Mobian heaven!

Back outside Robotropolis, Sonic tries to get Ken to calm down as he continues to rage about his village being razed to the ground, telling him that he's not accomplishing anything and all he's doing is scaring the Overlanders. Eggman sends in some shadow-bots to escort the group into his city while Sonic and Ken begin to fight each other, arguing fiercely over the right course of action. We then get a weirdly out of place page where Tails just basically says hi to Rotor now that he's back, which really just seems like a filler page where they had nothing else to put. And then, we hop back over to Princess Sally, catching up with her mother in a field in the village.

You'd be forgiven for not noticing if you haven't paid a ton of attention to the art of the comic, but we've got a tracer on our hands! If you look, the first four panels of this page are nearly identical in layout and style to the ones from StH#89 when Sally and Elias were talking on the dock, just with Queen Alicia drawn in place of Elias. Michael Higgins is a first-time penciller for the comic here, and his art for the rest of the issue is of noticeably low quality, with a lot of off-model proportions and awkward facial expressions, so I guess he thought it would be easier to just trace Fry's work and pass it off as his own. But we noticed, Michael. We noticed.

Anyway, as Sonic and Ken continue to duke it out, Eggman's robots guide the Overlanders into his city. Sonic tries to stop them, but…

And in case a pop-culturally-relevant reference to Pokémon wasn't enough for ya, the issue ends with Karl apparently having realized that Ken's last name presents the perfect opportunity for a perhaps-less-relevant-to-the-interests-of-kids-in-the-early-2000s reference to Star Trek:

Complete with a hilariously off-model Sonic to boot. Go Michael!

[plaguedparadox]

Oooo what about if the 11th Doctor met Darkiplier? And it leads to Dark becoming a companion while he and 11 try to stop Actor (does that mean Actor is like the Master? 🤔)

Ah, this was so interesting to try and do! It’s been a while since I’ve written for the Doctor so this might be out of character, or fit in with a different Doctor. Oh well, at least I tried, eh?

Silence coated the area like a thick blanket, it was practically deafening to the man who never seemed to shut up. But, he had to be quiet this time, as he wandered the empty streets, so he didn’t disrupt people’s sleep. A gentle sigh left his lips as he fiddled with his bow tie, trying to work out exactly why the TARDIS stopped in this lonely city, it wasn’t as if she needed refuelling - that’s what Cardiff was for. The Doctor hated being alone with his thoughts, they always came back to those he lost and those he failed, those who left willingly and those who he sent away and he hated it. The last of his kind and he couldn’t keep a single person by his side for longer than a couple of years it seemed, like a child who keeps killing their pet hamster but perhaps that was an unfair comparison as hamsters never left the child to go back to their original homes or died trying to protect the child even if the child would be fine - different but fine - and, well, a child wouldn’t hold onto the memories of passing friends like the lonely Time Lord did. He clung onto those memories even if a new companion was by his side. It was silly really but he was very old and nothing, not even time, could change his naturally kind nature. He adored humans, so he’d protect them with everything he had, even if they kept leaving him. The Doctor was sure most people would have given up but he saw no point in such a thing, without a companion he would still be doing the same things, he’d just be doing it all his way and often, he found, that probably wasn’t the best way. He was a social creature that spent far too long away from being social and that fried his brain a lot, that’s why he loved having a companion to clear the blurred lines that he saw and he just loved having someone to talk to, even if it was just to show off how smart he was.

After a few hours of stumbling around the city, and a few coffees from cafe’s that didn’t want to close just yet, he made his way back to his beloved TARDIS. It was the only companion that had yet to leave him. And considering they had stolen each other, he was sure they weren’t going to separate any time soon.

Icy chills ran down his spine the moment he noticed the doors to the TARDIS were wide open, the interior was barely lit so she didn’t grab much attention but he knew that wouldn’t stop someone from walking in and possibly damaging her. Caution was thrown to the wind as he practically ran in, sonic screwdriver out to light the way as he checked around the console. The Doctor winced as a strange static sound began to consume his hearing, both of his hearts thumped loudly against his chest as he made his way across the room, as he walked nearer and nearer to the source. He swore he could hear someone talking, a one sided conversation until he could faintly hear the TARDIS seemingly responding to the person. The Time Lord leaned against one of the many walls, trying to stay out of sight while he focused on eavesdropping, something he wasn’t entirely proud of but he was an overly curious person and said curiosity often got the better of him.  “I… No, my sister is very much asleep. … I appreciate the concern but the pain doesn’t last long and I’m usually too focused on my goal to care. … I’m not sure what you can call me, I’m hardly who I used to be. My friend still calls me by my old name but it often feels false, like it’s a lie. I suppose you can call me Dark. … Oh, it’s a joke name, a portion of my name meshed together with the person who took my original body. It’s meant to mock him as well. It’s not the cleverest of names but it works. … Thank you, you’re wonderful company. I’ll go speak to him then. … No, no. I’ll be fine. I’m much stronger than the man I used to be. Thank you, again.” It sounded like a male, voice doubled over and echoing as if it had been layered a few times. The Doctor’s curiosity wasn’t satiated, however, as he now wanted to know what the person was even going on about. The idea of stealing a body freaked him out. “Are you okay, Doctor?” A high pitched scream left the alien as his body practically leapt into the air, his hearts hammering against his ribs and his lungs working overtime as he recoiled away from the stranger. The Doctor quickly scolded the TARDIS under his breath, telling her not to give his location or name away to a total stranger even if she liked them.

“Well, I’m not now. Good to know that I can still be shocked about something!” Sarcasm dripped from the heavily breathing alien as one of his hands gripped his chest where one of his hearts were, the one that matched the position of the human heart not the other one. His green eyes scanned over the man who, even for a human, did look a bit odd but the Doctor had seen worse. The grey skin wasn’t the most concerning thing but the 3D effect that surrounded him was as the Doctor couldn’t find an explanation for it. Calm now, the Doctor spun the sonic device in his hands before waving it up and down in front of the man that called himself Dark, the results were certainly odd as the device gave off three human readings instead of one. “That’s odd… Very odd. Extremely odd. Incredibly odd…” Another scan and the mad man began muttering to himself once again. “Three signatures. Three. Three human signatures in one body, why?” The Doctor asked out loud causing Dark to open his mouth but the grey man didn’t have a chance to respond before the Doctor began speaking once again. “Three… Definitely human signatures. That’s impossible. Well, very few things are impossible. It could be three consciousnesses in one body… That makes little sense as it speaks just like a single person… Surgery? No, the sonic would have picked that up, plus the readings are overlaid.” He turned away from the person who had peaked his curiosity, his hands being flung around almost as if they were trying to catch his speeding thoughts that never seemed to stop spewing out of his mouth. Not that Dark questioned it, he spoke with his hands a lot and grew up with an eccentric best friend. What he was questioning though, was why the man was even bothering to try and work him out. Dark was fine with the TARDIS asking, he was sure she’d work it out somehow anyway plus it wasn’t as if she could tell everyone while the chatterbox in front of him could and he certainly didn’t want a certain someone figuring out what he looked like or what he went by, Dark wanted to blend in with the other egos for the most part until it was time to strike.

The grey skinned man sighed as he watched the rather energetic man in front of him keep talking, he tried to speak up but every time the Doctor seemed like he was going to stop talking, he just ended up talking more. Annoyance twitched Dark’s eyebrow as he watched the Doctor’s hands fly about some more as he muttered to himself about checking to see if the screwdriver was broken because there was no explanation as to why Dark had three readings, the amount of times he repeated that was already lost on the ex-mayor.  “Oh, for the love of… I’m in someone else’s body!” Dark exclaimed, his short fuse finally burnt out, catching the Doctor’s attention. He watched as the alien spun around, still swinging his arms around. “My sister and I…” He hesitated, he didn’t want to think of it let alone say it but he needed the Doctor to shut up about it. There was a chance he could help, the TARDIS said, being as clever as he was. “Her husband killed us, stole my body… forced my hand so I had no choice in taking my friend’s body so I could go after him!” Dark began to pace around, his hands gripping his arms tightly as he hugged himself. “I need to stop him hurting more people, I need my body back…” His layered voice quietened down to a whisper as he muttered about how much he wanted his friend back, and as much as he wanted that he knew he’d have to give them their body back and he couldn’t do that until the actor he once called his brother in law was dealt with. “Damn lich…” Dark’s eyes fluttered as he tried to fight back the tears that threatened to fall.

The Doctor stood there, shocked and mouth opening and closing like a fish as the other man explained that his fractured, twisted soul and the remnants of his sister’s soul were trapped in an old university friend’s body and that’s why there were three signatures. Two broken souls stuffed into a frame that they didn’t fit. Dark could feel his guard fall slightly as echos of himself broke away to scream out in agony and rage for just a moment before they fell back into him. The Doctor was stunned to say the least, always being so used to prove that anything supernatural was actually the cause of aliens but not one thing came into his mind that could explain it as something other than the supernatural. He felt both of his hearts clench as he watched the look on Dark’s face, the heartbreak and betrayal was evident. “What’s your name?” Dark looked at him for a moment before muttering his real name. “Damien, huh? Well, Damien… I want to help you. Let’s get your body back, and hopefully you can give your friend their body back afterwards. What do you say?” The Doctor spoke so surely as he raised his hand for Dark to take, it gave the ex-mayor hope as he watched the alien’s green eyes swirl with determination. A nod bobbed Dark’s head as he took the Doctor’s hand firmly, determination now filling his once brown eyes. “Geronimo.” Barely moments after saying that word, the TARDIS allowed herself to light up, the familiar whirring flooding the beautiful machine could only signify one thing, she was on the move.

The Doctor wasn’t lonely, for now.

[softjeon]

Cinnamon and fairy dust | Final

• Pairing: elf!Jungkook x Taehyung • Genre: Fluff (with a little bit of angst) | elf!AU ( → Gifset Trailer) • Words: 5,6k | Co-Writer: Cat @cassiavioletblue​ • Disclaimer: mentioning of violence / smut

↳  There are no things such as fairy tales, magical reindeers that could fly, fairies and Christmas elves - at least Taehyung believed so. But everything was about to change, when Jungkook offered him shelter from a snowstorm and a sweet, hot cocoa, wondering about the boy who hated Christmas so much. Nothing that a bit of fairy dust couldn’t fix, right?

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It almost felt like Yoongi was back to zero with Jungkook. He was staying every night with the younger, to make sure he was okay. That he wasn’t going crazy, because of the pain and that someone was there to hold him each time it would get too much. Jungkook was working all day, then crying at night until he fell asleep in Yoongi’s arms.

The fairy was soothing over Jungkook’s hair softly, just like he was used to it by now. He was the one protecting him. And he had failed, thinking that Taehyung was different maybe. It made no sense to him. Absolutely no fucking sense. It hadn’t seemed like Tae had been playing with the younger. He had always been so careful, so gentle. There were a few other fairies flying around, who were bringing Jungkook some fairy dust. Their eyes worried, when they saw how sad Jungkook was and how much energy it cost him to hold himself up. One was flying right over to them, sitting itself onto the elf’s shoulder. She was cocking her little head and looking upwards to Jungkook’s face. “Why are you so sad, Jungkook?” 

The elf sighed deeply, trying to put on a smile. “You wouldn’t understand, little one. Or... maybe you would but... I really don't want to talk about this right now.” He shrugged his shoulder apologetically, almost making her tumble off in the process. “Sorry.” His smile turned sheepish but more real. Still his eyes remained sad. he couldn't remember the last time that he had been actually happy.

“Why wouldn’t I understand, Jungkookie?” She asked, walking up his shoulder, when the younger sat up a little and held out his palm for her to sit on. It was nicer to talk like this. “Is it because Taehyung hadn’t been around the past weeks? We miss you two. You haven’t been visiting us for so long…,” She pursed her lips a little, seeing the hurt in Jungkook’s eyes, “Is he gone?” Looking at Yoongi, who was looking stiff as a board, when she had said the human’s name, she turned back to Jungkook. “He will come back, right? He loves you and he promised to bring sweets from the city!” She said with a hopeful smile and hid a giggle behind her hand, “I like the human.”

“Yeah, I like him too.” Jungkook tried not to ruin her mood. “I don’t know when he will come back. Or if he will do that at all. He doesn’t like this town and I’m sure he will be happy in the city. So, there’s nothing really that he would need to come back for. Humans aren’t like us, little one. They don’t love eternally. He might fall in love with someone else the next day or the next week and then he will have forgotten about me. I know how they are, I... I knew before. But still... I fell for him.” He sighed deeply. “I’m a silly person, am I not? For knowing my chances and then doing it anyway. Just because of hope. Sometimes I think the stories are true. That the last thing in pandora’s box, the worst and most cruel evil ... was hope. Because it makes you do stupid things like follow your heart even though you should know better.”

She shook her head in disbelief, looking at Jungkook closely, “What makes you think that he left you? That he will fall in love with someone else? Did he say that?” The fairy took her long hair to the side, letting her little fingers rake through it, while she was looking at the elf with big eyes, “I only saw love in his eyes, Jungkook. So why would he leave you and tell us that he wants to come back…you know when he was building our new home with us…he told us how he wanted to make one for you, too. He’s not just any human, Jungkook.” She got up and put her hands on her waist, “You aren’t happy here, too right? You had only accepted it here because it was safe.”

“Because it was safe and because you found homes here! I won’t ever leave you behind! You’re my family. I would miss you way too much to ever be happy without you. And the city isn’t a place for you. Neither is it for me. I need greens and flowers and plants to be healthy and happy too. So, no matter where we are together Tae and I, one of us would always be unhappy. That’s not how it should be right? And of course, I don’t trust him to come back. If he had planned to come back then he would have told me sooner that he was leaving, don’t you think? If he cared about my heart, he wouldn’t have broken it so easily.”

“But this isn’t about us but about you!” The fairy said, crossing her arms in front of her chest, “If he cared…would he have baked all night for you? When he’s actually a terrible baker? Never told anyone your secret? Made sure you were safe at all times? Bring you to bed when your exhaustion took over? Made sure we had a new home, while you could still do your job,” She sighed, “He made one mistake of not telling you right away and you blame that he doesn’t love you because of that? That seems pretty unfair to me, Jungkookie. Maybe Tae was scared, too? Tell me that he didn’t give you anything that made sure you would know that he would come back. When he left…what exactly did he say, hm?”

Jungkook shook his head harshly, almost shaking the fairy right off of him. “Just stop it! I don’t want to remember! Yoongi told me he would leave, and he did. I should have listened to Yoongi before. I can’t turn back time but I’m going to listen to him now. That’s the least I can do.”

The fairy looked at Yoongi accusingly, turning towards him, while she was biting her lip anxiously. “But even you said Tae was different,” She was talking to Yoongi quietly, before looking at Jungkook again. Flying over to the elf, she caressed Jungkook’s cheek.

“I am sorry, Jungkookie…but I won’t let you die because of a broken heart and if you’re not doing anything, then I will!” She said with determinacy and flew away from Jungkook a little, “Because I don’t think Tae would have left you like this.”

Yoongi huffed indignantly. “Well, that was before I knew that the human had sex with him.” The comment was hushed and bitter and he hoped that Jungkook hadn’t heard.

His heart ached for Kookie every time he thought of it of how casually Taehyung must have sent the elf into damnation. Humans didn’t care. They didn’t know a thing about values and loyalty and trust. They were selfish little creatures, thinking that the universe revolves around them because they were the ‘evolved’ race who could built 3D Printers and their own robotic devices. But in the end, they were still animalistic creatures, driven by instinct and want and their deepest desires that stemmed from rudimentary patterns that their cell matter had learned to react to thousands of years ago.

But that wasn’t the way Taehyung was, at least that’s what the fairy thought. This couldn’t be it. She was flying up a little, staring accusingly at Yoongi before her gaze went soft when she was looking back at Jungkook again. If Jungkook wouldn’t do anything, then she would. She had heard of elves dying of a broken heart before, she couldn’t let that happen to him. Looking around, she was worrying her bottom lip, trying to find anything that could help her to make this right. To make Jungkook see that going after what his heart longed for would be the right choice. Then she found it. Tae’s little box. The one he had prepared and gifted to him before Christmas. A sudden beeping sound made her fly right up to it. “I knew it!” She said, lifted the heavy lid and looked at the drawings and what seemed to be a mobile phone. With a little kick of her foot, she send the box flying down the cupboard and right onto the floor, making the drawings fly everywhere and the phone tumble right in front of Jungkook.

“Hey!” Jungkook jumped to his feet when there were papers and stuff flying everywhere “What was that for? Don’t be stupid now, throwing a tantrum won’t really make me believe you any more than...” He stopped when he saw what exactly the fairy had thrown off the shelf and his face contorted into a painful expression. “Why... why would you do that? Stop messing with me, please, I’m struggling enough...” Another uncomfortably high signal of the phone made Jungkook clasp his palm over his ears. “What’s this?”

The fairy didn’t care about what Jungkook said right now, instead she was flying to push one end of the accumulator into a socket, before she pushed the thin end into the phone. Flying up, she landed with one foot on the little symbol that would start up the phone again and keep it from making these uncomfortable noises. “This…is what Tae gave you right? How you can keep in contact with him? That’s what he told you, right?” She said a little out of breath and added quietly, “I knew he wouldn’t leave you like this.” It didn’t take long until it lit up and was vibrating repeatedly to show all the unanswered calls and messages. Typing away with her little feet, she started the last message on Jungkook’s answering machine and suddenly Taehyung’s voice was echoing through the room, sounding broken and tired.

“Hey…ehm…okay, I guess I get it…you don’t want to talk to me anymore,” Taehyung’s voice said, “I’m probably pathetic for still calling you, even though I know you’re ignoring my messages and my calls. I just…I found a new apartment. It’s a bit outside of the city. It’s quite nice. Yeah…I still work at the art gallery though and it’s crazy how many people come by. You’re probably working a lot, too.” There’s was an awkward silence and you could hear Taehyung taking a deep breath, “Why aren’t you answering me, Jungkook? Did I do something wrong? Please…I miss you,” Then the message broke off and the little fairy clasped her hands over her mouth, looking at Jungkook with wide eyes.

Jungkook froze when he heard Taehyung's voice. He wanted to shut his eyes and shield his ears from it but at the same time he ached for every word that Tae spoke. his soft voice, the images it evoked. How could you dread and love something at the same time? He didn’t really get what Taehyung was talking about - just that he had found himself an apartment. But why was he telling him that? Of course, he would find an apartment sooner or later. Did he want Jungkook to be happy for him now? Was he supposed to say, ‘Congrats for getting a home so far away from me?”

The fairy looked at Jungkook and then back at the phone. With another push of her feet, she opened the tons of short messages and pictures Taehyung had send Jungkook, each of them getting more desperate the longer the elf hadn’t been answering Tae, before she turned the device towards the elf. “Look,” She said quietly, “Do you still think he wanted to leave you?”

...

Taehyung finally stepped out of the museum, looking up at the dark, grey sky, while he brought his jacket a little closer around his body. He breathed out a sigh. Another dreadfully long day was finally over. He was bone weary from the long day, but the brisk, cold night air invigorated him for the walk home. Unless the weather was terrible, Taehyung always walked to the bus station after work, finding the quiet time a way to unwind from the day’s events. Or the one’s from the past weeks.

Jungkook still hadn’t answered any of his calls or messages and Taehyung had given up on it. Biting his lip, he turned to cross the street, his head hanging low. It was obvious that Jungkook didn’t want anything to do with him anymore, but no matter what Taehyung tried, he couldn’t figure out a reason why. Didn’t he love him enough? Was it all a game in the end? He wasn’t even sure if it would be useful if he tried to visit Jungkook. Maybe try and talk to him in person? It couldn’t all been a lie, right? Raking his hand through his hair, Taehyung breathed in the cold air. He rolled his shoulders back, looking up at the night sky, when he waited for the bus to arrive. Tae had to sell his car for the new apartment. It was way bigger and apartments so close by the forest and still being close enough to the city were always quite expensive. After a fifty minute drive, he stepped out of the vehicle again and walked ahead. Was he really that dumb to buy an apartment, risking his own safety and insurance to risk being with the one he loved? That apparently didn’t want anything to do with him? Taehyung chuckled low, when a sudden smell of cinnamon filled his nostril pleasurably. Only seconds after he whined quietly. He loved the smell. Oh, how much he did.

Looking up at the sign of the bakery, he furrowed his brows, taking a step aside when some people came out of the shop. He hadn’t seen this bakery around. It must have been new. The smell so inviting that he couldn’t help but step in. Maybe he could find something that at least soothed the pain in his heart a little bit. Even if the memories it evoked only made it worse in the end.

Taehyung stepped inside, letting the warmth soak into his body and the smell embrace him. He smiled faintly. Everything about this screamed Jungkook. Keeping his head low, he walked up to the counter to look at the few things that were still there, since it was getting late and the shop would probably close soon. There were still a few people around and Taehyung waited patiently, looking outside the window, while he was somewhere else with his thoughts. Only when he heard the voice of the baker, asking him what Taehyung wanted, he pointed at some cinnamon buns. “Two of these, plea-,” His voice suddenly broke off, when not only he registered the voice as something familiar but also the pair of eyes that were staring right back at him. Jungkook’s name was barely a whisper on Taehyung’s lips.

Jungkook was nervous. Working in a bakery together with so many people was totally different from being on his own all the time. It had its benefits but also some downsides. Like that he was supposed to wear some kind of white cap to cover his hair but it would have uncovered his ears, so he had been in a really awful situation - luckily it was nothing a little fairy magic couldn’t fix. Suddenly the owner was way more open to his suggestion of not wearing a cap and instead just taking care of it himself. He had been a little nervous how his colleagues would react to him being the only exception but when they noticed that he was uncomfortable talking about it and that he wasn't a rebellious person in general they let it slide. All in all, it was better than Jungkook had feared.

It had been surprisingly easy to get a job in the city. Jungkook had thought that he would be completely overwhelmed with having to come up with a backstory and maybe fake some papers and he was hating the thought of having to lie so much just to get work - but one of the bakers, the one he was working for now had just asked him why he would give up his own bakery to work for someone else.

“For love,” Jungkook had answered, honest and a little bit sad because he started to miss the trees already. The baker however had smiled knowingly and then asked if he had time for a little practical test.

Jungkook had nodded and then made what the other had asked, told him his favorite muffin recipe, create something of flaky pastry and then watch over the last baking sheet full of cake pops and cookies that was still in the oven. When Jungkook was done the man asked him to come back tomorrow morning - to start working. Jungkook had been immensely happy - until he remembered that he would be sleeping on a bench in the park tonight again. But he wanted to surprise Tae. Only when he had a job and could take care of himself only then would he ask him if he could maybe stay with him in his apartment. The truth was he was also a little worried how Tae would react to hear that he hadn’t answered his calls because he’s had the phone on silent, hadn’t known how to handle it and had been too ashamed to phone him when the little fairy had made him notice all the unanswered messages and calls.

Apparently, life wanted to give him a nudge in the right direction though because before he had even finished his first week there he was, standing in front of him as if it was the most natural thing for him to do, going into bakeries and staring longingly at their sweets. With his heart pounding and with a smile so big it almost hurt his cheeks he asked him if he could help him with anything.

Taehyung stumbled back a step, so he could look at Jungkook more thoroughly. Then he shook his head, blinking his eyes a few times to see if his mind wasn’t starting to play tricks on him. “Jungkook?” He asked carefully. Taehyung couldn’t feel his hands shaking, his heart beating into overdrive. “What…what are you,” He choked up the words, feeling utterly confused and stunned, “doing here?”

Taehyung looked at him as if he had seen a ghost and Jungkook started to get fidgety from nerves, so he started wiping the countertop. “I’m... mostly I’m making dough and pastry, but I also prepare bread and rolls,” He answered to buy himself a little time. Of course, he knew that Tae hadn’t meant what specifically he made in the bakery but rather how he got here. In his head it had sounded perfectly okay but now that he was about to say it ‘I followed you into the city because you own my heart and I love you and I miss you way too much to stay away from you’ sounded horribly cheesy.

“No, yes, I mean…I see that,” Taehyung said looking at Jungkook with furrowed brows. “But…what are you doing here…,” He bit his lip hard, casting his eyes down before he spoke again, “Why didn’t you…answer me? Don’t play with me, please.” The last words were barely a whisper, his heart aching badly. Taehyung had longed for Jungkook for so long now and only got ignored. He wasn’t sure what had happened or why he was here now and if Jungkook was playing some games with him. Tae had given up so much and Jungkook would have never known. Quickly Taehyung wiped away a tear that fell onto his cheek, before he gathered himself again, coughing a little awkwardly.

His detailed and very thorough explanation that he had prepared that would not make him look like a total doofus that had no idea about technic was cut drastically short when he saw that Tae was hurting. He didn’t want to be the cause of that for one second longer.

“I didn’t know that I had to unmute the phone you gave me so I thought you weren’t calling and instead of looking at it nonetheless just to be sure I was pouting and ignoring it because... because I thought you wouldn’t come back for me,” He spluttered, a little too fast and a little too loud and a little too nervous for it to come off as casual.

“But I told you…many times that I will,” Taehyung said and shook his head, “What did I do to make you feel like I didn’t love you?” He stared at the younger, his chest heaving heavily with every breath he took. “I said I would come back…why didn’t you believe me?”

“Because... you left me in the first place. And it hurt so much that I got scared,” He answered truthfully. His colleagues started noticing that he was talking to the same “customer” without selling anything, so he grabbed a bag and pretended to get it ready for whatever Tae wanted to buy.

“But it’s not like I had much of a choice, Jungkook,” Taehyung sighed, “But that didn’t mean that I would have wanted to leave you. I wanted to stay with you nonetheless.” Looking down at his feet, Taehyung shrugged his shoulders, speaking quietly, “I wanted to take you with me. I bought a new apartment…it’s like a studio one, with a big conservatory and…I even build little houses.” Taehyung couldn’t hide the sadness and pain, still not understanding why Jungkook was here in the first place. He took the bag with the cinnamon buns from Jungkook and paid him. “I wanted it to be perfect for you,” Taehyung said quietly, before the next customer was already pushing him aside and he stumbled a little.

To him it was the act that counted and no matter what Tae would have preferred or wanted or liked to do he had still left. “But I am here now,” He answered him, sad about the fact that Tae let his hurt pride keep him from moving forward. He wasn't going anywhere though. He was working her now and when Tae was ready then he could come back, and they could talk.

“Yeah,” Taehyung looked at Jungkook with a faint smile, “You are…I’m happy that you are.” He finally said and gulped down the heavy lump that made it so hard for him to speak. He had missed Jungkook so much. It took all off his strength not to jump over the counter and kiss the elf, but Taehyung was still taken back. “I really am,” He nodded, not sure if he should get going or stay. He was just so confused about everything right now, “So, what now?“ Taehyung looked at the younger with hopeful eyes.

Jungkook gave the customer a smile, trying not to show that his attention was way more on Tae than on business right now. He was too immersed in trying to balance both his job and his heart to be shy, so he quickly asked Tae to meet him after work before the next customer in line could tell him what he wanted to get.

“Meet me after work, ok? I’ll get off at 8 pm so if you want you can pick me up? And we can talk? About us? Or the apartment? Or...” He got interrupted by the next customer who hurriedly ordered some pastries and cake roll and Jungkook quickly apologized for talking before giving Tae an apologetic look and giving him a silent nod and goodbye.

Taehyung nodded, getting out of the store with a stumble. He didn’t make it very far though, while he just walked around the block a little and then sat down on a bench that was right across of the bakery, waiting, while he anxiously bit his lip. His mind going crazy with all the possibilities, what it could mean for them, if Jungkook still loved him just like he still loved the other. Nervously, he took a bite from the cinnamon bun he had bought and sighed from the delicious taste. It was heaven, just like he remembered every baked good from Jungkook, only these were missing some fairy dust.

Jungkook pushed himself to his limits to be extra quick with cleaning up and preparing everything for the next day so that he could get out absolutely punctual and on time. He didn’t want to leave Tae waiting and risk that the other would maybe leave because he thought Jungkook wouldn’t be coming. But his worries were unfounded because he saw Tae sitting on a bench from afar and he didn’t look like he was about to go.

Deep in his thoughts, Taehyung giggled to himself, thinking about the fairies and wondering how they were doing, he didn’t realize it when Jungkook was standing in front of him. He jumped up, feeling awfully nervous and pointed towards the bench. With a nervous stutter he said, “You…we can just…we can sit here maybe?” He cringed at himself, rubbing his neck awkwardly, before Taehyung looked at Jungkook sheepishly.

Jungkook did as he was told, sitting shyly besides the human and swaying his legs back and forth to get rid of the tension in his body. He kept his eyes firmly downwards, not really sure what he should say and afraid of what Tae might tell him. So, none of them said anything for a while until the silence stretched uncomfortably.

Taehyung broke the silence first, “For how long have you been here, now?” He turned a little to the younger, his arm comfortably resting on the bench, seemingly relaxed when everything inside of him screamed.

“About a week I think. It was a bit hasty with coming here and applying for a job and trying to make sure that ...” He broke off, not wanting to mention Yoongi or how he had need to find a place with some greens for the fairy. Yoongi needed nature like Jungkook needed air. Or Tae.

“A week? Why didn’t you say something before?” Taehyung asked with wide eyes, not believing that he had been missing the younger so much and that he was so close the whole time. “Where do you live at the moment, Jungkookie? Do you have a safe place to be?” He asked right away. Tae needed to know Jungkook was safe, where he couldn’t possibly be exposed. The risk of working in a bakery with other people was a lot already. Tae didn’t want to even think about it. “And Yoongi is he with you? Are you guys somewhere safe?”

“Because I didn’t want to force you to let me stay with you and care for me. I wanted to find a job and provide for myself so that you wouldn’t take me back because you felt obliged to but because you want to.” It was the same reason he still hadn’t told Tae about him owning his heart. Besides the fact that it would probably feel strange to a non-fae-creature to grasp the concept. It was the literal realization of that ‘till death do us part” promise that humans gave during their wedding ceremony. “Yes, Yoongi’s with me. Not right now but in the city. Yeah, we’re safe.” Or safe-ish. They might sleep on a park bench, but they weren’t in immediate danger.

Taehyung chuckled low. Of course, he wanted to. Jungkook had been the one thing on his mind. The only reason he had given up so much already, so that the elf could stay with him. He looked at Jungkook with a faint smile.

“I always wanted to,” Taehyung almost whispered, gazing back at the elf with a soft expression. His heart beating loudly. He reached out his hand for Jungkook to take, before Taehyung stood up, “Let me show you something, please. Do you trust me?”

Jungkook nodded quickly, willing to take every kind of risk if it meant he had a chance at mending their relationship. He held onto Tae’s hand tightly, maybe a bit too tightly, but he didn’t want to let go or give Tae’s hand a chance to slip out of his grip by accident. He would take what he could get of intimacy.

Taehyung was leading the way, trying to hide how nervous he was looking back at Jungkook with a smile only to be focused on the street again. They were walking a little until they finally came by a house that looked like an old warehouse that was transformed into an apartment complex, right outside of the city. Around the complex you could see a beautiful lawn, studded with shrubs and adorned with flower-beds of different sizes and shapes, while if you walked around it you could even see a little pond with a weeping willow shading it which would be looking even more beautiful in the spring time but now that it was still winter, it all looked a bit bare. But you couldn’t see that, yet from the front. Taehyung opened the door, not letting go of Jungkook’s hand once and lead him upstairs to his apartment. Turning the key in the lock, Taehyung turned to Jungkook once more. “This…it was supposed to be for you,” Taehyung said, his voice almost not audible, “And the little ones.” He swung the door open and stepped inside, letting Jungkook in.

Taehyung’s apartment was a wide-open loft. One side of it was styled with only natural colored furniture, the kitchen open, while a little spiral staircase lead upstairs to the bedroom. The other side was looking like a conservatory, filled with the choicest plants and flowers, giving out a view over the back garden of the apartment complex. He had worked weeks on it, trying to make it as perfect as he could for Jungkook and the fairies.

Jungkook looked around with wide eyes and an open mouth, following Tae on autopilot as he was so immersed in the beauty that was Tae’s apartment. He wondered if Tae knew that the fairies loved willows (because you could play hide and seek between the branches, tie the flexible branches into beautiful braids and also make fairy nests out of them easily) or if it was a coincidence.

Taehyung was hanging his jacket on the wardrobe, before he got over to Jungkook. It took him awhile to find his voice again. “I…I sold my car and took a bit from my saving account…and thought that, we could…that,” Taehyung sighed deeply, before he quickly pointed at the little teapot in one corner of the conservatory. “I even got Yoongi a bigger one this time, so if he…wants to stay inside he can always come, look…” Tae pointed at the little window in one corner, “The guy who made this looked at me a little strangely when I asked him do to a little window in a window, so the fairies can sneak in and out whenever they want to and just unlock the little hook there.” Tae got right next to Jungkook to push him along a little with his hand on his back, as the younger seemed pretty much frozen. He pointed outside the glass window, “It’s not the biggest garden, but there are a lot of greens and stuff and you see that? I build a few houses, so that… I don’t know…every fairy is welcome. I don’t even know if they would have wanted to come but…maybe they want to see it as a summer house or something and visit us then, you know?” Taehyung was talking fast, feeling super anxious and nervous about what Jungkook would think of this all.

Taehyung had put so much thought in it. There was no way he was making this up on the spot. And Yoongi would absolutely love the teapot, Jungkook could almost see his eyes light up and how he would curl up inside like a content cat, demanding to be left alone so he could take a nap in it and test how perfect it is. Without realizing he teared up, so touched by Taehyung's way of taking care of him and his family. Only when the salty drops rolled down his cheek did he notice, wiping them away as quickly and unobtrusively as possible, hiding them as well as his blush before Tae could see.

“Is…is it too much?” Taehyung asked worriedly, noticing the silence and little soft sobs coming from the younger. “I just…” Taking a deep breath, Tae couldn’t stop but blurt out everything he felt for the younger. “I love you, okay? I don’t know what you did to me…but if it would be for you I’d even listen to only ‘Last Christmas’ for the rest of my life. I promised you something safe and I said I would come back to you,” He made Jungkook turn towards him, hooking a finger under his chin, “I never wanted to leave you, because somehow in a weird way…I belong to you and you…belong to me, right? So, if you want to stay…and if…” He choked a bit on his own words, “If I am still someone you want to be with, then please…stay with me. I’ll keep you safe, I promise.”

Jungkook didn’t have the words to tell Taehyung yes but he surely knew how else to show him that it wasn’t too much, that it was absolutely perfect, that this was what he wanted and that for Jungkook it wasn’t something he needed to think over. He knew that this was it, this was what people were searching for when they tried to fill the void within them. Taehyung filled his in just the right places. So, he wrapped his arms around Tae’s neck, right in the older’s personal space and kissed him with as much passion as he had within his aching heart.

A/N: Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you liked our little christmas story :)) We already have so many new stories prepared. We can’t wait to show it to you soon! Thank you guys for reading and loving the cute fairies as much as we did!

Subscribed: @jeonsdear @lissachan504 @taesangels @it-is-dana @bngtnsnyndn-ily @taeofcups @p-ixelite  @jungkpop @dajosaf @bluekyuprincess ↳ If you want to be tagged in new updates you can now sign up in my subscription list for being tagged in my works here

[eggoreviews]

20 Dream Games for the Playstation Classic!

The PS1 Classic came out last year. Everyone got excited for a minute, but then we found out it was missing almost everything! Here’s my personal list of the 20 games I reckon should’ve been included. I’ll stick to one per franchise to keep it fair, but I might have to break that rule once. Hope you enjoy/agree!

Note: This is just my opinion. There might be some ones you don’t agree with, and I might have cut some ones from the original lineup you liked. Sorry in advance lol

Before I kick off the list, thought I’d briefly list off the games I cut from the Classic’s actual lineup:

Battle Arena Toshinden

Cool Boarders 2

Destruction Derby

Intelligent Qube

Jumping Flash

Mr. Driller

Oddworld: Abe’s Oddysee

Resident Evil (you’ll see why)

Ridge Racer Type 4

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

Syphon Filter

Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six

Twisted Metal

Wild Arms

Aight, let’s go.

1. Final Fantasy VII

The quintessential PS1 JRPG, of course FF7 had to stick around from the original lineup. Like it or loathe it, FF7 defined its console and is still highly regarded as one of the best JRPGs of all time. Playstation wouldn’t really be Playstation without this game. This was the game that pushed Final Fantasy into 3D, and firmly into the hearts and minds of players everywhere. There’s little else to say, other than that you kind of already know how iconic this one is.

2. Grand Theft Auto

The humble beginnings of a now mammoth franchise, the first entry in the now legendary GTA series was a top down weird thing that let you explore three separate cities in whatever cars you can find. While this doesn’t hold up especially well today admittedly, GTA was an important milestone, not just for its series but for its console generation and has certainly earned its iconic status to belong on the PS Classic. This one was a good choice.

3. Metal Gear Solid

Another obvious choice, MGS is where Metal Gear really became Metal Gear. Brilliantly cheesy voice acting, awesome stealth gameplay, suitably weird story and the birth of the now iconic codex screen, MGS is like the archetypal cold war film wrapped in a supremely fun package on the PS1. If this wasn’t here, there is no PS Classic and that’s just the tea.

4. Revelations: Persona

This was one I wasn’t expecting an appearance from on the PS Classic, but I’m glad it did. In my head, the beginnings of this extremely weird spin-off JRPG series is an essential piece of kit on a classic compilation. Everyone hoping to experience the best of what PS1 had to offer should probably try this one out and while it certainly isn’t for everyone, it’s certainly unforgettable and deserves its place among the rest of this lot. But hey, maybe I’m biased because I’m obsessed with Persona 5.

5. Rayman

The first in the franchise that spawned my favourite 2D platformer of all time, Rayman made his glorious start on the PS1. While some may argue that the second entry in this colourful, creative platformer series deserves the spot, I’m with Sony in giving the spot to the first instead. Despite the cringey, cliche villain name they went for, this game was innovative for its time and had its own unique art style that still holds up remarkably well today. This limbless boy has earned his place.

6. Tekken 3

The final game from the original 20 I’m carrying over into my list, my thoughts are that this compilation was in need of a traditional fighting game and Tekken 3 perfectly fits the bill. This acts as one of the most iconic fighters on the PS1, and is pretty much superior in every way to the previous two entries, bringing with it more characters, more moves to pull off and a better, smoother combat system in general. This is the perfect fighter for fans of retro and takes its place rather nicely on the classic console.

7. Oddworld: Abe’s Exoddus

Here’s the reason why I cut Abe’s Oddysee, to replace it with what is arguably its vastly superior sequel! Oddysee is still good, but for newcomers to this extremely odd platformer, the larger variety of power-ups and potential strategies is a much better pick for those unfamiliar with the franchise. To put it simply, Exoddus just holds up better today than its predecessor. Get ready for what is kind of nightmare fuel though, as the slightly unsettling imagery and character designs are bound to make you feel a little uneasy as you traverse dystopian, industrial environments as a weird amphibian thing.

8. Resident Evil 2

And, predictably, here’s why I cut the first RE, because there was no way I was leaving this franchise off my list. It was a tough one, but the second just won out. In my mind, RE2 just improved upon the first one in so many ways. While the first was a horrifying, strategic blast through an infested mansion that became one of the PS1′s defining games, RE2 took what the first one did well and built on it immeasurably. More developed characters, a fleshed out story, more unique environments to explore. Even though the map got exponentially bigger, that feeling of claustrophobia never went away and it was awesome the level of horror they could achieve with 90s graphics. As a legendary horror game, RE2′s the one I would go with.

9. Bishi Bashi Special

I know what you’re probably thinking, ‘this arsehole cut Ridge Racer but they’re making room for Uncle Bean?’ Well, hear me out. A lot of you may not have heard of Bishi Bashi Special. It’s a little known Japanese party game that is the maddest thing you will ever play. And in a classic compilation filled with iconic RPGs and the like, I felt that injecting a little chaotic madness into the mix was never gonna be a bad thing. There’s nothing on the PS1 that even comes close to the level of chaotic fun this gives you and shows the pure variety of the console’s back catalog. I’m very firm on this game’s place. Fight me about it.

10. Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver

A hack-and-slash game with fully rendered 3D open environments, starring a kickarse silent vampire with glowy eyes. It’s a real wonder they didn’t put this on the starting lineup. For real though, Soul Reaver was ahead of its time in a lot of ways, really testing the PS1 to the limit with its graphics and control scheme. An awesome tech demo for the time that still holds up well today, but is also a solid game in general. Very worthy of this list.

11. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night

As pretty much any PS fan will tell you, this game kind of has to be here. And everyone won’t shut up about it for good reason. While Castlevania made its start on Nintendo systems with the original trilogy, it really made its mark on the industry when Symphony of the Night dropped onto the PS1 in 1997. It took what made the other games so great and built on it all, providing a sprawling platforming epic filled with collectible power-ups, hidden places to explore and a story that, at the time, defined the franchise. Many would argue that the series still hasn’t topped this entry, and as such is an essential addition that is sorely missing from the real thing.

12. Tomb Raider II

Tomb Raider is, well, iconic. I’ve used that word a lot but it’s true. Lara Croft and the franchise she belongs to are iconic, especially to the Playstation. And like Castlevania, the lack of any Tomb Raider on the Classic is almost criminal. This title encompassed everything that makes the original Tomb Raider trilogy so great, interesting puzzles and areas that require a lot of strategic thought to traverse, a decent selection of weapons and vehicles and a sense of genuine fun and adventure that runs through the whole thing. Tomb Raider is cool, and it doesn’t need much introduction. And for me, this was the most glaring omission of them all.

13. Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

While we’re on the subject of glaring omissions, here’s what was basically the PS1′s answer to Mario and Sonic, Crash Bandicoot. In particular, I’ve chosen Crash 2 because I feel it’s the best experience for new players. Crash 1, while it’s the original, is full of a load of fuckery that may put newcomers off altogether if they can’t master the jolty controls and the slightly unfair life system. Not a bad game, just not great for those new to the franchise. Crash 2 just sort of lends itself better to the classic, challenging but not too much 2D platforming the series is known for. Well-designed, aesthetically pleasing levels, consistently fun mechanics and even a story you can sort of follow. This was Crash at his best, and it needed to be here.

14. Spyro 3: Year of the Dragon

Yet another PS Classic omission that made people sad, Spyro acted as the lesser known, but still suitably iconic second mascot for the PS1. Unlike his orange counterpart, Spyro’s levels felt much less linear and were more of an explorative collectathon rather than a straight platformer. And of the original trilogy, it’s pretty safe to say that number 3 consolidated everything the first two nailed and made it as perfect as it could be. Year of the Dragon defined the series at the time, and it needed to be onboard as much as Crash.

15. Crash Team Racing

Look at me go, I’ve finally broken my franchise rule. But in this one instance, considering how wildly different the 2 Crash games are, I think we can let it slide. CTR was never really meant to happen, it was mostly just a side project for the guys at Naughty Dog to do while they still had the rights. And the result was an awesome, fast-paced and crazy experience to rival Mario Kart. Unlike Nintendo’s equivalent at the time, CTR had much heavier, clunkier feels to the karts you drove, which really made you feel like you were driving this hunk of metal. You had power-ups that kept everything interesting, shortcuts to learn and even a full-on Diddy Kong Racing style adventure mode. Guess we’ll just have to wait for the remaster to relive this one.

16. MediEvil

I’ll be honest, this was the one I was most disappointed to have missing from the Classic. I absolutely adore this game. I love the story, the concept of Sir Dan as a character, the combat and the lovely gothic areas you encounter from a mausoleum to ghost pirate ship. But most of all, the cheeky, totally stupid British humour running through the whole thing, particularly through the game’s archetypal villain Zarok, makes the whole game as funny as it is epic, with a suitably rousing soundtrack following you on your journey to prove you’re not the zero everyone thinks you are. Classic game, desperately needed a place on the lineup.

17. Gran Turismo 2

I’m going to preface this by saying that I don’t care much for realistic racing games, I don’t derive a lot of joy out of them and they aren’t really my cup of tea. But in my efforts to keep this lineup as diverse as possible, I thought I’d include the game that really pushed the PS1′s graphical capabilities to its limits and almost created a game that surpassed its console generation in its looks. There’s a whole wealth of content here; a whole bunch of cars to unlock and a beefy career mode to keep you busy for a fair while. And this game differs from other racing games on the system by rewarding strategic thought and encouraging players to think through every action they take on the race track, which for me makes this the most immersive racer on the system.

18. PaRappa the Rapper

Okay, I know. I really did just put this here. But come on, PaRappa ended up in PS All Stars, so he’s gotta mean something to someone, right? It doesn’t matter how you slice it, this paper dog properly revolutionised rhythm games at the time, creating a fun and responsive, if a little short, experience that was certainly unique for the time. This is another that would definitely fall under the weird category, but it’s a bit of Playstation that doesn’t get mentioned nearly enough and it’s worth a spot on pure fun factor alone.

19. Ape Escape

As one of the first games to rely entirely on the Dualshock analog sticks, Ape Escape is another that falls into the ‘must mean something to someone’ category, as Ape Escape also ended up with a character in PS All Stars. This one is a fairly simple foray, but it was met with a lot of love from fans, as you play as a tiny, chibi version of the dude from Yu Gi Oh (tell me I’m wrong) and round up a bunch of escaped apes in varying platforming levels with a cool selection of gadgets. It’s here because it’s here, let it be.

20. Silent Hill

Silent Hill is pretty much as iconic as horror games get, and yet I somehow managed to forget about it until I got the 20th and final game on my list. It was claustrophobic, gory, full of metaphors you really don’t want to dig into and, most of all, it was terrifying. The constant fog, while it was mostly implemented to account for lack of draw distance, worked in the game’s favour and became a staple in the series. For the PS1 era, this game and the series it belongs to properly nailed the scare factor and left everyone who went near it feeling at least a bit uneasy. Saying this belongs here is an understatement.

Cool, there’s my list. My probably quite badly justified list clouded by pure fan-ness. But anyway, hope you agreed with some of my picks and let me know what games you would’ve liked to see on the otherwise questionable PS Classic lineup below. Thank for reading !