#but the plot was honestly my least favorite ff plot and still is

[akimojo]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE XV's aesthetics and the characters are great but so much of the story and the world building choices are just so teeth grindingly confusing at best and awful at worst.

It's been ages since I played xv and I'm so hazy on the details of it, but I remember having so much fun doing side quests and camping and seeing the characters interact, it was great!

And then I got to the endgame (which felt more like it was gonna be the middle of the game to me lmao) and watched the plot go down and I was just like?? That's it?? Spent like 35 hours fucking around and having fun thinking soon enough the plot would become more and more prevalent and next thing I know I was thrust right into the last 10 or so hours 😭 it's like someone took a meal out of my hands before I could finish it

I wouldn't say it was a bad game, I sure had a LOT of fun with it, ffxv was just VERY poorly handled and filling the blanks with so much dlc was kinda insulting lmao

[larchelle-ffxiv]

more 7.0 spoilers bc I was DRAINED after finishing msq yesterday. also a lot of headcanon stuff for my skrungly bc I have THOUGHTS AND THINGS I GOTTA WRITE

- so this expac hurt obviously, but MAN I didn't expect it to touch on grief and loss, let alone HOW it approached that. where shb and ew had similar themes going on of "regardless of the loss and sorrow we are faced with, we will learn to press on and continue", that sorta thing. dt is here like "hiya gamers are you ready to learn how to ACTUALLY LET GO OF THAT LOSS? HOW TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND PROCESS THAT GRIEF? WELL YOURE GONNA LEARN TODAY"

- everything about alexandria/LM BROKE ME. a really powerful message on how impressive and impactful technology can be, but also how quickly it can be weaponized and abused. and the shit about erasing the memories of those who die just being commonplace???? the turali people who were in the dome, found themselves losing THIRTY YEARS OF THEIR LIVES, their loved ones back in tural thinking they were dead or missing and they were RIGHT THERE, some in that time REALLY DYING/BECOMING ENDLESS? good GOD that fucked me up. not to mention EVERYTHING ABOUT SPHENE. she didn't ASK to be made into an endless, she had goddamn levin sickness and WENT TO TRY TO HELP HER PEOPLE ANYWAY, preservation forced her new self to put the people's needs and desires so much in the forefront of her priorities that she became a TERRIBLY FLAWED leader, but was so blind to her faults bc she "did everything for her people's wellbeing". she's a heartbreaking character for sure, ugh

- this expac gave us SO MUCH GOD DAMN WORLD BUILDING. WOW. ive never done every single yellow quest in an expac, but I've made it a huge goal of mine to do it here esp throughout the expac, and it's been SO WORTH IT. the further extended lore, the foreshadowing/clarification and further explanation for things, it was all terrific jfc. now I wanna go back and do yellow quests for all the expansions bc bro. this shit is just SITTING HERE??? FOR FREE????

- I've finally figured out why people (aka capital g Gamers on reddit/ff forums/twitter) don't like this expac. it's absolutely feeling like what stb has become to a lot of the player base. it features a lot of POC, has female leads, and we as the WoL aren't The Main Character. at least in stb we had more of a presence as WoL, but here one title doesn't matter anywhere near as much in comparison. also, with a lot of the dialogue/plot stuff/music (esp the songs with lyrics) , this expac is kingdom hearts coded AS FUCK. it's goofier than EW/SHB, it has more corny stuff going on, wuk lamat is LITERALLY female furry sora. they're mad that we aren't the Main Character, they're mad it isn't as edgy/horrific/depressing, they """can't relate""" bc everything is so diverse and full of hispanic culture, and they're fucking FIXATED on wuk lamat's VA being a trans woman. jfc I'm so glad I'm not on Twitter and I don't look at the ffxiv reddit, bc the shit I've heard has been pathetic and obnoxious lmao. like, try to have ACTUAL CONSTRUCTIVE THINGS to complain about.

also, I hold the unpopular opinion of HW being my least favorite experience in game. the beginning of it is SO GODDAMN SLOW AND PAINFUL, and i honestly got soooo bored of seeing the same looking white elezens/hearing about the Catholic Control and Drama. i also really dont like the dungeons or trials (minus the last msq one, still great thematically), and playing 50-60 as a scholar was NOT fun lmao. hilda, the OST, and everything relating to the DRK quest line are basically all that kept me going through that expac.

But I won't go being a goddamn asshole about it to people who like it!!! let people ENJOY things jfc lmao, also recognize that every single expac takes time to hit the Big Frickin Moments (aka level x7 most of the time), and not everything needs to involve huge amounts of massacre and horror!!! even then, did yall NOT pay attention to what happened with solution 9/living memory??? where goddamn SOULS ARE A CURRENCY???? how about the mamool ja SACRIFICING INFANTS EN MASSE in hopes of a two headed son being born, and putting all their faith in that son to get them out from the deepest depths of the jungle???? or the war between them and the x'braal???? is2g the lack of media literacy/reading comprehension amongst gamers, I'm so TIRED

RANT OVER UGH ANYWAYYYYY

- chelle is absolutely gonna find her adoptive mom satsuki in the canal town section of living memory. hands fucking down. ive had this idea for y e a r s now of them having a chance meeting in the aetherial sea as she "died" after fighting zenos in UT, but it fits SO WELL to have it take place in LM of all places. satsuki spending YEARS trying to find her lil meow meow again, hearing tales of what sounded like her girl, but how in the hell did the shy, sickly child she once cared for get strong enough to become a whole ass HERO??? and just always ending up in each place she was too long after she had left, bc she was only able to work off of hearsay ;A;

me and my partner have it where satsuki's wife and her always hoped to visit tural together, and she gave her wife notes on how she needed to help satsuki find this young miqo girl she adopted after her wife went to travel again. as luck would have it, enna was in tural waiting for satsuki to join her there (satsuki and her were doing research based on chelle's appearance and accent and essentially crossed every continent off the list over time. esp Ala mhigo bc, even tho that's where satsuki found her, enna knew she couldn't be born there based on she herself being Ala mhigan). enna becomes chelle's viper mentor and says that she knows her mother, but doesn't elaborate much until they get to know each other better.

so them finding her in LM? still running a tavern and keeping people happy with booze and food and sea shanties all sung off key? oh it's gonna DESTROY THEM, but be such an important step in getting closure/learning to face grief head on/letting her go without regrets. and they're gonna be a family and UGH I CANT WAIT TO WRITE IT

- fellow wolgrahas. fellow wolgrahas how the FUCK WE DOIN BOYS, LIKE?????? they really gave us a main story quest to help an endless find an engagement ring to propose to his beloved, AND THEN IMMEDIATELY AFTER. put us on a gondola ride with g'raha so he could have a """heartfelt conversation"""with us AGAIN???? BRO!!!!!!

chelle and him are absolutely gonna finally address their relationship again, where g'raha has been struggling to figure out whether or not to propose lol. he really wants to do something to symbolize them being together for life, but knows that she isn't the kind of person who likes just staying in one place/being tied down and isn't really about traditional. well anything lol. he's gonna stumble his way through all those thoughts before she gently cuts him off, reassuring him that she understands and appreciates how thoughtful he's been about the whole thing. reflect a bit on what they've seen and been through, both in the first and since he returned to the source, and with this couple and them talking about "living without regrets/living life to the fullest"(gotta reread the dialogue for when I write this lol). and thought stuffy fancy shindigs aren't her thing, she knows damn well that he's someone she wants to see the world and share her life with.

and SHE'S the one who gets down on one knee and asks him to elope with her/be life partners. the bitch PROPOSES HERSELF, but is too stupid to realize/still too scared of vulnerability to actually call it what it is. and he's about to burst into tears and before he can say anything the gondola knocks into the pier at the end of the ride, as chelle's kissing his hand, causing her to nearly headbutt the poor boy in the crotch and both of them panicked going "OH GODS ARE YOU OKAY, DID YOU GET HURT, SORRY". and they stare at one another before chelle awkwardly laughs going "i guess this would be a bad time to make a joke about "giving you head", huh" or something else cringe like that, to which they both start laughing, holding hands as they step back onto the pier before those laughs are joined with joy filled crying as they hold each other as tight as gd possible and jfeivoeoivoeor

I'm sure I'll have more to say and reflect on but this is already super long and I just. wow. what a goddamn incredible experience dawntrail has been.

[skygirlstars]

❤️🧡💛🏳️‍🌈 for unpopular asks game!

yayy thank you for the ask!! this was so fun. it's yappin' time

❤️: Which character do you think is the most egregiously mischaracterized by the fandom?

this is a tough one because there's so many lol. Barriss (not a villain), Han (not a player), literally SO many of the Jedi, the list goes on. but I think Luke is one of the most interesting cases because I feel he's mischaracterized in different ways by different sides of the fandom. there's the dudebros who think he's just badass, which he is, but nothing else. his most important character trait is quite literally his compassion because it drives the plot of the whole OT. he's a kind and empathetic person, not some embodiment of toxic masculinity bullshit. on the other hand, there's the poor little meow meowfication and infantilization of him from another side of the fandom. yes he's a ray of sunshine but that doesn't mean he can't be tough too!!! he's nice but he also has zero tolerance for bullshit, is headstrong and stubborn, and the furthest thing from shy. many people (myself included) headcanon him as gay or bi and that characterization of him also enforces really harmful stereotypes and narratives about queer men. so in summary, a lot of the fandom mischaracterizes him through a lens of either toxic masculinity or harmful stereotypes. not fun. that got way longer than it was supposed to be, whoops 🙃

🧡: What is a popular (serious) theory you disagree with?

in-universe: that Padmé was somehow manipulated into loving Anakin, whether by Anakin subconsciously using the Force, or by Palpatine, or whatever. nope, my girl Padmé just has horrendous taste in men (case in point: my least favorite SW character, Clovis 🤢). she saw the red flags and decided red was her favorite color. stay delusional queen. out-of-universe: DISNEY LUCASFILM IS NOT GOING TO RETCON THE SEQUELS FFS. that is the dumbest shit I've ever heard sorry not sorry. Disney admitting they made something not good??? not possible. I can't believe people still honestly believe this. the sequels are not my faves either but with the amount of money made off them anyway, a retcon is not happening

💛: What is a popular ship you just can't get behind, and why?

do we consider Reylo popular??? it's very divisive so idk if it counts. but I hate it lol, it's the yucky toxic BookTok type of enemies to lovers. bro deadass tortured her. me personally, I wouldn't let that slide. they also feel like Force cousins or something in a weird roundabout way...? we've already had one incestuous kiss in SW, don't need another. also Rey is lesbian imo. if we're not counting Reylo as popular, I quite dislike Sabezra just because I see them very much as siblings. honestly, any ship where I see the characters as siblings feels icky to me -- Anisoka, Rexsoka, Obikin, etc (although siblings vibes is not my only complaint with those examples, unlike Sabezra).

🏳️‍🌈: Which character who is commonly headcanoned as queer doesn't seem queer to you?

quite honestly I think this is the hardest one for me because I headcanon so many characters as queer HAHA. my personal philosophy for fictional characters is bi until proven otherwise lol. maybe Ben Solo/Kylo? idk how much he's HCed as queer but I think he and Hux are shipped fairly often and I just don't see it lol. that's a straight man, I'm afraid. but he's really the only one I can think of off the top of my head, though I'm sure there are more

here's the original ask game if anyone else wants to have a go or wants me to answer any others (please send me asks I love asks I love yapping)

[gingstilldidnothingwrong]

with the knee jerk reactions out of the way, i do have some more serious comments on house’s head + wilson’s heart. in themselves they’re good. i love when this show gets weird and experimental and the episodes r a net positive impact on the story for sure. i understand why they are so highly praised (but would personally place the episode where house gets shot above them; that episode remains my fav ever so far). but i think amber got fridged.

i LOVE amber’s character in every scene she’s in. i also love her character development from “cutthroat bitch” fellowship candidate to wilson’s “take care of yourself” girlfriend as a concept. but the transition was lacking. it’s hard for me to buy how serious wilson and amber’s relationship was (mattress buying plot thread aside) bc we barely see it. we are just told that it is serious bc the show (mistakenly, imo) only shows it from house’s pov. ffs we are just straight up told they’ve been dating secretly for months and sure all the right cues are there that this is a long term relationship (again, mattress buying), but you never feel it. i think there must have been some kind of production problem bc i think it was honestly impossible to get this relationship right with only four episodes between when it’s revealed amber and wilson are together and the season finale with her death. i really wonder why this season was so short. it’s disappointing bc they didn’t do this to cameron and chase’s relationship so i can only imagine what could have been….

but still with four episodes, the time could have been better spent. the entire focus is on how amber affects house and wilson’s dynamic as well as the changes to house and wilson’s individual characters. it’s classic fridging. the minute she was fired from the fellowship, amber existed solely to develop the two male characters. what does it matter that she’s changing, it’s clearly more interesting to talk about how adamant house is about people not changing! like we don’t get that shit every other episode! why did she even like change? it’s not unbelievable obviously but the arc is never given, just like implied from her being fired and with wilson now. lol. there was the whole pill thing too but idk. some of this i do feel like will be mentioned in the future but who knows.

and again i don’t even hate this story as a concept, it just needed more time, more focus on amber as a person herself, and less focus on house for once. at least give me a reason to believe the wilson and amber romance besides the fucking water mattress. it reminds me of season three a lot, specifically with the cop. that string of episodes were some of my favorite in the show, but then it all just resolves so suddenly. it’s another great idea with excellently executed episodes that falls flat on a larger level. sigh.

[charlieslowartsies]

oooo ok gimme director's commentary on ghost strings :V and (optional!!) if you're up for a second one i'll throw in a ⭐ for whatever else you may wanna commentate :VVV

I rambled lol sorry.

GS was the first fic I actually planned out plot wise beyond my typical method which was--and quite often still is-- Step 1. Make title. Usually I have 2 or 3 titles that I let percolate. Step 2. Make summary. My favorite part is making summaries, I have no idea why. Step 3. Write out interesting chapter titles. Step 4. Begin writing. Have no idea where to go and what story to tell beyond 'this scene sounds fun!' 'Oh this one too!'

That's my writing process. Bare bones, not very polished, but it's my favorite way to write haha. It find I destress a lot when I just have fun writing scenes with characters. But with GS, I actually drafted stuff ahead of time and stuck to an oddly consistent schedule for writing. Actually, GS released on FFNet in November 2015, and that year I actually was trying to do NaNoWriMo! It was my first year that resulted in a story I liked enough to post, and even though I didn't make the writing goal obv, I did finish GS which is a personal success for me since I'm terrible at finishing fics. Honestly it's a miracle that the KGA is as finished as it is.

I still have my notes on Ghost Strings. It contains some unused dialogue, some quotes that eventually made it into Last Shift and Lies Within, and a list of summaries for the fics that followed...and a few fics that are yet to come ;)

Ghost Strings was written while I was playing through Oblivion and also Nancy Drew and the Haunted Carousel/Shadow at the Water's Edge. I know we also got FNAF3 and FNAF4 at the time, which set up my thinking for where I wanted the story to go with Pizza World.

GS is easily one of my favorite fics in the kga series. I don't typically like my writing, and if I do, it expires within a year or two. But GS still stands up to time for me. I remember realizing the characters better. Mike and the gang had dug into their personalities and I was able to feel like I knew how to drive the damn car without derailing or getting lost.

But looking back I also remember I was feeling bored with the gang, having written them straight for 3 fics, and I was worried readers would be bored too. 'Mike goes on another adventures, spooky, sad, funny, who cares?' I think, in the end, it was me who was the most bored. I wanted to move on to other projects but didn't know how to. Plus, it seemed like FNAF games would never end...

It was Reader response to Danny Fitzgerald that made me twist FF into something more insidious and forewarning, putting him in the spotlight and making him go through The Horrors. (FF is my least favorite fic though, sadly, for a few reasons.)

[ashitomarisu]

Delicious Party Precure (Final Thoughts)

(Bro, chill).

Now that I have gotten through another Precure season, allow me to share some opinions.

Prior to watching this, my first impression was honestly not too optimistic when it originally aired. Kirakira Precure a la Mode also had a food-related theme, albeit more on desserts than actual cuisine. Nonetheless, I had a quota and this was the most recent completed season available; it was bound to happen.

With 45 episodes, this is another short Precure season (alongside Healin' Good), although it works. The plot basically has our protagonists protecting Recipepes from being stolen by the Bundoru Gang. Exactly what are these "Recipepes"?

(Great. I'm getting Healin' Good vibes again, but without the Furi.)

Answer: These adorable food fairies that are subjected to getting kidnapped in almost every episode. They actually belong to three different groups: rice, noodle, and bread. That's where our fairy mascots come in as the protectors of these groups.

Kome-Kome is the main "marketing" mascot (and Cure Precious's partner) of this season (and ends up being the youngest of the three as the story progresses). Obviously, she doesn't talk much at first until later on when she gains power and eventually gains enough strength to lend a hand with the cures. Of course, this is a fox-like mascot, which I adore.

(Fuck, they named one after my aunt. WTF Toei?)

Then, there's Pam Pam, Cure Spicy's partner. She's my least favorite (and not because she's a pompous ass). The writers did not try hard enough to convince me that she is better than the other two; which sucks because I'm a dog and bread lover. *sad face*

(Crunchyroll, it is prounounced "men" not "mem").

Men-Men is the dragon-like mascot partner for Cure Yum-Yum. This one is quite interesting for saying "WONTON" every time Ran transforms. He's a good boi; in fact, my middle nephew is now in love with him and demands plushies. I quite like the dynamic between the two the most for having that savory connection.

Plus, Men-Men has a cool human form.

------------------------

Now, let's look at the cures:

Yui Nagomi / Cure Precious

The main protag of the four, Yui sure does love eating. Her late grandma was the reason she became so passionate for food (there is a slight backstory explaining this in a later episode). Her family owns a restaurant that houses these...maneki-nekos (I'll come back to this later). She is quite a fighter, delivering a devastating punch (500 kcal, then 1000kcal, and eventually, 2000 kcal power). I did admire her demeanor, being a wonderful leader.

Kokone Fuwa / Cure Spicy

Contrary to her partner, my feelings are the opposite for Kokone. There's something about her that immediately said "YES. THAT'S THE MISSING KICK IN THE MOUTH I'M LOOKING FOR IN A BLUE CURE". She's not Karen Minazuki levels of cool, but still freaking cool and Spicy had great defense that worked well in offense with the BREAD ROLLS.

(Give me a moment to savor the mental warmth that is bread).

WHAT MORE CAN I SAY? Kokone brought some calming traits that I enjoyed and overall class.

(How are you not related to Rin Hoshizora, FFS?!)

Ran Hanamichi / Cure Yum Yum

I've never in my life wanted a yellow cure that brought literal charisma and flaming passion (and I bet there's one before her that I forgot).

Ran oozes so much life, I don't even know if life can handle her. Her dynamic with Men-Men was one joyride down a noodle coaster and into some Lo mein paradise...or General Tso sauce.

All food pun aside, I've had my eye set on her even before watching; I swear she and Rin Hoshizora would make good "Ramen buddies".

As for Yum Yum, noodles as cutters was a clever way to go. I also like the design, even if it feels a bit awkward at times; however, it works for the idea of a traditional Chinese background. Now that I think about it, I don't even know if it was confirmed if Ran was Chinese-Japanese to begin with. (Surely, someone mentioned this in an interview).

(Student council president with diamonds on her head and yet Arisa Komiya was not considered...but I'll take another Ai.)

Amane Kasai / Cure Finale (formerly Gentlu)

OOOHHHHHHHHH. I WANT TO TALK ABOUT AMANE FOR A BIT.

During her villain arc, Gentlu had this aura of a frosted strawberry pop tart: once you warm it up, it tastes great. She was this sad frosted strawberry pop tart left sitting in a wrapper, waiting for someone to open it and put her in a toaster of love.

Once she became Cure Finale, I started having mixed questions about her drastic hair color change. She barely qualifies as a purple cure in design, despite the rest being multicolored. At this point, the rules in Precure are starting to unravel a bit with the color coding.

Unlike Precious, Spicy, and YumYum, Finale has a sweet motif; even Amane has "amai" or "ama" in her name, which means "sweet". It makes sense for someone who works in a sweets parlor.

Side note: her unofficial mascot partner is a parfait Recipepe that acts so ritzy-titzy it's hilarious; only Pam-Pam and Men-Men can understand it.

-------

As for the Bundoru Gang, I felt they were a decent bunch.

Narcistoru and Spiritoru were pretty strong; Secretoru in her civilian form was more entertaining and I wish the writers would have done more of that earlier in the show. Then, there's Godatz, who [spoiler alert prevents me from revealing a lot so this censor is all you're getting].

-----------

Moving on to some other opinions:

The OP is a literal earworm; it feels refreshing to hear a more cheerful, upbeat score.

The next to last episode had one of the most hilarious, absurd climaxes to a final boss fight I, in my opinion, ever witnessed.

The movie was surprisingly good for the most part, although Cait Sith was a hell of a movie villain with a somber backstory. When he went AWOL, I was just speechless.

(The STAPLE of Oishina Town became the deus ex machina and I couldn't keep my composure.)

----------

In the end, yes, Delicious Party Precure, despite my doubts on a food motif, actually impressed me with how it was executed. It surely was more entertaining than Tropical Rouge, but not enticing enough to leave a mark as a favorite. It has some odd moments, but, this is a season involving food and also etiquette; what were you expecting? A five-star lore to come out of it???

Anyways, this is definitely one to check out if you're passionate for food. I would even consider this to be a good starting point if you've never seen Precure at all (alongside Smile, Fresh or Maho Tsukai).

-------

With that being said, thus ends my yearly Precure season quota, even though Otona Precure 23 just started. As for the rest of the year, it has already been decided on the schedule. The Wheel has now finally been put to rest and hope to God I do not use that thing again.

Next month, look forward to me revisiting another anime title I've covered in the past. Perhaps....the most...clusterfuck of crossovers...featuring a familiar white rabbit looking son of a--

[lucaonthropy]

Finished Mencuri Raden Saleh so these are my (non-linear) thoughts. Spoilers ig

- Why is there so many car crash in this movie lmaooo like. From the first plan to the final one there's always at least one.

- The acting is not the best imo but it's good and very enjoyable.

- Now the voice acting though? That fucks. I'm officially in love with Fella and Tuktuk's voice in particular. The way they speak and all. The others are also good. I think Ucup is the weakest tho ngl.

- Gofar and Tuktuk's sibling bond is going to be the death of me. I actually cried when Gofar snapped after Tuktuk got jailed.

- I have ... thoughts ... about the decision to make Sarah the bait because it really doesn't make sense. She (in character) is portrayed as someone who can't really lie or act so I don't get why they immediately agreed on her being the bait.

- But her fighting scenes are chef's kiss ohmygod. The "Kurang ajar! Dasar katrok!(?)" scene got me cheering on my seat like damn wreck that fucker.

- Also a lot of questions about the random guy flirting with her.

- Anyway. Plot-wise it's consumable. I'm not a proper film critics so this is purely subjective but I love it. Are their plans messy af? Were their decisions questionable and have very bad consequences? Well. Yeah. But it makes sense because their backgrounds. None of them had ever done this kinda thing so the mistakes they made, while kinda annoying, make sense.

- Not a fan of Sarah and Piko being together. Not merely because I ship Hackforger but because their scenes together don't really have a ... spark? They don't connect or bond at all. It's just your usual hetero relationship that got pushed by the staff.

- Not as much Hackforger as I expected from seeing Twitter but eh. I'll take what I can get. Their bond is pretty clear and it's classic bromance to romance type of thing.

- I'm gonna reiterate that I'm in love with Fella.

- The flashbacks are getting annoying ngl.

- Ok so I've heard it's gonna be a trilogy or something so I'm not gonna say much about Ucup and Budiman's locked backstory. They are probs saving it for the next movie.

- Kinda disappointed that there's not much scene detailing the painting or the process of forgery because I'm actually interested.

- Oh! Speaking of which: I now headcanon Piko as autistic-coded or at least neurodivergent-coded because there's no way that guy is neurotypical. Just. No way.

- Whoever chose Tuktuk's actor needs a raise honestly. I'm honestly pretty ok with most of the cast because I never grade a film through that lens (I have face blindness. I couldn't care less about the cast) but oh. My. God. He radiated youngest sibling energy throughout the film and as an oldest sib I both want to punch him and kiss his forehead.

- Detective Sita is also very interesting as a character. Def wanna see her more in the future.

- Mbak Dini!!!! Goddamn I love her. Maybe it's the haircut lmao. But also her outfit when visiting the police station is muah. Love it, love her.

- Hoping Permadi and Rama will die tbh.

- Mas Gito the MVP!!! I always have a soft spot for a loyal butler-esque character like Alfred and Gito soooo yeah.

- Also. I thought I'm gonna finish this movie with shipping Fistjack buuut Fellafullo/Gofella got me in a clutch. Love the back and forth they have going.

- Now for some of my favorite moments:

1. When Gofar and Tuktuk's father scolded them for ruining a car and said "Is it not enough that you two have different mothers and you still bring trouble back!" (paraphrased) and Tuktuk replied "Well but you're the dad."

2. Every fight scene with Sarah.

3. The continued saga of Gofar snacking on Fullo after Fella started bringing them to their hq.

4. Gofar breaking down after Tuktuk got caught.

5. Every Hackforger hug.

6. "Fella already bought the company."

7. The chase scene in the first plan.

8. Whenever Ucup laid out the most unhinged plan. Especially the one that got inspired by uhhh idk PUBG? FF?

9. Every scene of Fella being a pro gambler. Like, red flag but also you go Queen.

10. Piko vs Budiman. Nuff said.

[tana-draws]

@dogboysammerlotte

Now, everyone is entitled to their own opinions. However, the fact you reblogged this under a “who hates Angel” poll, means that you are, likely, villainizing these characters SPECIFICALLY for hating Angel(if it’s due to other reasons, such as like, actual flaws of theirs, then it’s just irrelvent,) who, having searched for “Angel,” on your account, I can tell you have a strong love of. More proof I have of this was this tag thing:

Now, admittedly, I have not finished the show yet, but as of where I am in the later seasons he has left for England so there you have an actual reason ig. But it’s mentioned here that you hate him for being mean to angel, you’re babygirl who’s never done anything wrong in his life (/s), instead of, I dunno, ANY ACTUAL FLAWS HE HAS AS A PERSON? Now I can at least somewhat understand this for Xander, since his hatred of angel is directly tied up with his character flaws (jealousy and possessiveness of Buffy,) but ffs Giles character flaws have NOTHING to do with him disliking angel.

in season one/early season two, Giles is fine with angel. As far as I remember, he is never mean to angel. His issues with Angel ONLY come after the plot of s2 happens, Angel turning evil and fucking with everyone, murdering Jenny, and torturing Giles for information on acathla. Regardless of the argument over soul metaphysics and whether angel is actually at fault, that is still going to majorly fuck with someone.

also there is only really one example of him being mean to angel, in amends. Yes Giles was somewhat snarky, and he did have a crossbow (although that could be argued to be less intentional cruelty and more a combination of a trauma response and a safety measure) BUT HE STILL LET ANGEL INTO HIS HOME ATER ALL THE SHIT THAT HAPPENED LAST SEASON. If anything, I’d say that ANGEL is the one in the wrong in that scene by a LONG shot. Giles was his first choice for someone to talk to about his issues. Now, I misremembered the thing as him needing help with supernatural stuff, which, uncomfortable, but Giles IS the research guy. But the reason he came wasn’t “I’m worried about mystical consequences of this” it was “I’m having a guilt complex and I want to know why I’m back cause of an existential crisis please help :(“ I honestly don’t care if it wasn’t ’technically angel’ he still probably knew (unless he’s an idiot) that Giles was probably kind of fucked up mentally from everything (as shown by the fact that he didn’t feel comfortable letting Angel into his place unless he was armed,) and, even if he eventually had to go to Giles, could have tried anything else. AND AT THE END OF THE EPISODE HE AGREES TO HELP ANGEL!!!

now, xander

admittedly s1 and early s2 Xander’s cruelty towards angel IS an extension of his preexisting flaws. But in s3, even though jealousy probably plays a role, he does have valid points for not liking angel after everything that went down in s2. Harder to defend Xander since it’s hard to tell where jealousy ends and common sense begins, but one major point in his favor?

HE ALSO OFFERS TO HELP AT THE END OF AMENDS, AND ALSO ACKNOLEDGES THAT HE WAS KINDA A DICK

again, both of these characters are heavily flawed, and although Giles is one of, if not my top favorite/s (I have never understood how plurals work in a “one of if not” scenario lol,) I understand disliking him due to like, actual flaws he has as a person. However, it’s, in my opinion, in poor taste, to villainize him to having a normal response to trauma whilst the person you’re mad at him for being “too cruel” to has a triple digit kill count (again, depends on your opinion on the soul/no soul divide)

sorry if I seemed really fired up, I promise it’s not personal, I am currently sick and any variation of “x was too mean to angel in s3 :(“ is my absolute least favorite Buffy take ever.

(ignoring ATS and the last season and a half of Buffy because I’m halfway through s6 and haven’t seen Angel yet)

Which One Of These Characters Do You Think Hates Angel The Most?

note: I know from one of those “previously on” things in s4 that Faith was in ATS. Maybe her relationship with Angel mended on ATS, if so please don’t tell me since I haven’t seen it yet. I am basing this on their relationship in s3, in which she was down to kill him in Revelations despite not knowing who he was, and in which she also shot him with a poisoned arrow. Seems pretty not friendly.

Please reblog for a larger sample size (if you want to.)

[bahamutgames]

BIG RPG PLAYTHROUGH PROJECT AFTERTHOUGHTS: THE SEQUELS

Hello! I've talked about it before but it's been a little bit so I'll go ahead and update everyone: I'm trying to play through the full main series of a few RPGs! Named Final Fantasy, Pokemon, Dragon Quest, and Tales of. I plan on playing each entry alongside eachother (all the first games together, all the sequels together, ect ect) so I don't get burnt out on one specific series. And although I am probably going to be changing how I go about this ALREADY, I did recently finish going through the sequels. So lets talk about 'em so I can finally draw my new Pokemon team!

Game: Final Fantasy 2 (December 17, 1988)

Console: Playstation 1

Starting us out is Final Fantasy 2! The sequel to Final Fantasy 1! I've heard from MANY people that this is the worst FF in the series. And even though I've only played 5 main titles so far... I agree! This is without a doubt the worst one I've played so far!

This game does do a lot of cool stuff that actually becomes series staples. And I'm VERY shocked they were introduced so early in. Named characters over self inserts, multiple teammates you get over the course of the story, a more character driven plot. Chocobos. And I respect it for doing a lot of that. But ultimately the game just really drops the ball with a lot of this. None of the named characters are that interesting imo, all the teammates you get throughout the story eventually die and I don't think you ever have multiple at a time to swap between so they don't matter. And the plot in general was kinda boring I honestly don't remember most of it? Also, yeah, the gimmick of this one where every action raises different stats sounds cool but it really is not that fun and ultimately makes the game a slog. And in the end none of that matters cause you just kill the final boss with 2 blood swords in a couple hits anyway! AND BAHAMUT'S NOT EVEN IN THIS ONE!! BOOOOOOOO!!!

It does still have some good stuff in it, I think it looks fine. It actually had some pretty cool cutscenes. Again, Chocobos are in it. There's some nice music in it (although I don't remember a lot of it). Overall most of the positives just kinda get drowned out by the negatives and how boring the game is. I hate to be so brutal to it because it is an old FF game, but I find that to be less of an excuse when in my opinion FF1 was so solid! Even without named characters and new teammates it managed to keep my interest and make me really care about the world. And ultimately this one just didn't do that. Full disclosure, I did start cheating pretty early into this one cause it was just not clicking, I basically made myself invincible for most fights. Although I ran into a glitch where I couldn't do this for boss fights. So, it's a shame. But I think it'll have to go at the bottom of the tier list.

I really doubt there's any other games in the series I'm gonna dislike as much as this one. I don't know anything about FF3 but I expect it to be a little bit more fun!

-----

Game: Pokemon Crystal (December 14, 2000)

Console: Gameboy Color

Next up is Pokemon Crystal! The sequel to Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow! Without a doubt, this was the best of the sequels I ended up playing. A LOT of people tell me Johto are some of the best games in the series, and I actually personally believe the remakes Heartgold / Soulsilver are objectively the best Pokemon games ever made. But ultimately my opinions on the original Crystal are a little mixed, at least when placed next to Red.

So for starters. This game is SO charming. It makes SO many improvements over the original. From small gameplay tweaks like making the bag not suck down to having some of my favorite looking sprites ever? The actual battle sprites in this game are so nuts and I absolutely ADORE how they look! The music is great and relaxing, I think Johto is a super cute region and I actually like that it's a little less modern in its technology, it's a region much more in tune with its past and the game overall leans into the mystical side of the world more than Kanto did. Which focuses a little bit more on the technology side (you can see it a lot in its legendaries, GS has two Pokemon from folklore and myth while RB has a manmade monster as the big boss). I also really love that it takes place a few years after RBY. It's cute and it actually has some interesting early into the series weirdness in its world still. Particularly an interesting note, if I understood correctly. Is that the new Pokemon are NOT native to Johto and instead are new species that have just randomly shown up in the span of 3 years. Interesting stuff that absolutely is not still the way the world works today lol. But outside of that it's neat to see Team Rocket build back up, see what Oak and Bill are doing now ect ect. I also like a lot of the gyms and of course the new Pokemon are GREAT, I really still think Johto doesn't have a single bad Pokemon in its lineup. They're all adorable.

And with all that praise, you may be shocked to hear me say... I don't know if I liked this one as much as Red and Blue? Obviously it's like, objectively better. Better sprites, gameplay, it has a Day and Night cycle for crying out loud! But I think it drops the ball in a few ways. For one, I don't think Team Rocket is interesting this time, they're cool, but ultimately kinda boring. I don't think the Rival has as interesting a progression in his character as Blue did (although him stealing is starter is actually really cool lol). I found a lot of the missions not related to the main quest to be less interesting than progressively tearing down Team Rocket. And I also just thought the build up to the elite 4 was a little less cool although to be fair I don't think that one's their fault once the concept is introduced you can't really keep it the same mysterious allure twice.

HOWEVER, while I think a lot of these issues are only issues because RBY was surprisingly fun and solid in my opinion. There is one issue that I think reigns over all the others. And it's the Pokemon distribution in this game. Obviously, there's gonna be some Kanto pokemon to pad out the region, I get that. But ultimately there's WAY too many Kanto Pokemon in this game! You run into so few new Pokemon during the course of the game and THIS is what killed it for me! I didn't run into a Spinirak, the early game bug type, until like the 3rd or 4th gym badge iirc. And most of the new Pokemon are locked in Kanto, which comes at the second half of the game! I was running into tons of fully evolved Kanto Pokemon JUST so I wouldn't run into ANY new Johto Pokemon, it was nuts. When I play these games, I really wanna see the new creatures that are made. Not all the ones that came before. And I think this game particularly messed that up. I wanted Magcargo SO bad but you don't run into Slugma until a bit through Kanto, and by that point I already had a team that defeated the Elite 4! I'm not gonna train a level 3 Slugma at that point! Very frustrating. I think all, if not most Kanto Pokemon should've been locked to Kanto itself so the Johto Pokemon could shine. I barely ran into most of the Johto Pokedex and again, this is what killed the game for me.

So, ultimately, even though Crystal is superior to Red in almost every way. Personally right now, I just don't know if I found it as exciting to play. I don't know what to expect from the series going forward, but I've heard from tons of different people that one of the next 3 regions is their favorite of all time! And Hoenn was the region I grew up with! So I'm certainly excited to see if the excitement of discovering a brand new world can be recaptured going forward!

-----

Game: Dragon Quest 2 (January 26, 1987)

Console: SNES

Third up, Dragon Quest 2! The sequel to Dragon Quest 1! Another one that, sad to say, I was not super into. I think similar to FF2 it was a little boring, especially when compared to the charm of the first one. Although, again, I respect it for bringing in additional teammates and a ever so slightly character driven story. I also liked that it really takes place in the future of the first game. With everyone being a descendant of that protagonist and even meeting the descendant of the villain and getting help from him (he should have joined your team though).

But again, it was just VERY boring. The story didn't grip me very much which again, neither did DQ1 but I still enjoyed DQ1 more. And I would argue the first was more focused. This one really felt like I didn't know WHY I was visiting any of these places. In DQ1 everything is contributing to getting Erdrick's equipment, but in DQ2 I honestly don't know how most of the stuff we do contributes to killing Hargon. If that makes any sense. And there was SO much just running around doing nothing this time. Like, so many locations on the map you cannot walk directly to, you have to go through crazy backroads to reach them. And you run back and forth between so many locations. Maybe it was like this in DQ1 as well but if that's the case, it was SO much worse in this one I swear.

I don't know what more to say, I just found this one very boring, and while I was also not super into DQ1 when I first played it, it's really grown on me as a simple charming little game. But I don't think this one will grow on me the same way. Again, full disclosure, I cheated to make myself invincible by the time I reached the final dungeon. Which sucks but by the time I got there I was just so drained.

So I think that currently. This is my least favorite of the bunch. But, on the plus side I don't think any of them will be worse than this one? I know 3/4/5 are HIGHLY regarded, and they're personally the ones I'm most excited to play! So I'm looking forward to starting 3 whenever I get around to it!

-----

And that's it! Now, I know what you're thinking. Where's Tales of Destiny! And I hate to say it, I didn't play through it. And here's where things for my big replay project are gonna change. I STARTED it. But I noticed it with the first games and now especially with the second games. I have a lot of energy for 4 RPGs at the start, but by the time I reach Dragon Quest and Tales Of, I really lose my steam. And I'm ultimately just enjoying them less. So I think going forward, I'm mainly just gonna play Final Fantasy and Pokemon. Now, I will still play DQ and TO but just, not with the same intensity, and maybe not always in order. Though I will TRY to go in order. And who knows, maybe I'll lose the oomph to keep playing FF and PKMN back to back as well. But for now, I'll mainly be moving forward with those two. I know it doesn't REALLY matter and ultimately I'll play these games how I feel works best. But I just thought I'd bring it up if anyone was curious about how I'll be approaching some of their favorite games.

Anyway, that's it for me!! I'll keep y'all posted on how my playthroughs go going forward! Thanks for reading all this mess lol, have a good day!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 322: IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME

Previously on BnHA: Endeavor was all, “Kirishima please take Hagakure and Aoyama and put them away somewhere out of sight until we’re finally ready for the U.A. Traitor Plot.” Shouto was all “HEY DEKU DID IT EVER OCCUR TO YOU THAT MAYBE YOU WANDERING THE STREETS LOOKING LIKE A GOTH PRAYING MANTIS IS EXACTLY WHAT AFO WANTS.” Deku was all “I’M SORRY I CAN’T HEAR YOU OVER THE SOUND OF MY CRUSHING MARTYR COMPLEX AND ACCUMULATED TRAUMA.” Mineta was all “HEY DEKU YOU SWEET THANG, IF I COULD REARRANGE THE ALPHABET I’D PUT ‘U’ AND ‘I’ TOGETHER, ANYWAYS HMU 💖”, or at least that’s what fandom apparently thought he said. Everyone was all “WELL SINCE WE’RE BACK HERE IN KAMINO WE SHOULD DO THE THING” and did the whole “launching someone into the air to save someone by dramatically grabbing their hand” thing that everybody fucking loves to do in Kamino so damn much. Iida was all “[bombards me and Deku with feels].” Deku was all, “ू(ʚ̴̶̷́ .̠ ʚ̴̶̷̥̀ ू).” I was all, “(;*△*;).” Horikoshi was all, “my work here is done.”

Today on BnHA: 

oh my god.

so I finally went back to look at what I wrote up for 321 last week, and it’s a hot fucking mess lol, and I really don’t want to deal with that right now, so we’re just gonna skip it and go back sometime in the next few days or something because I really want to read the new chapter and I have no self control. I’M SORRY IIDA

oh my god he’s breaking out the narration word bubbles oh my god. shit is about to get epic isn’t it

has there ever been a chapter that opened with these that WASN’T epic? serious question. anyways all aboard the Feels Express I guess

YEP

I saved a bunch of other crying kaomojis when I was looking for ones to use in the “previously on” summary, and right now it’s looking like that was a good fucking decision you guys. if I’m going to be an emotional wreck I might as well do it in style ʕ ಡ ﹏ ಡ ʔ

AND BY THE WAY!!

SHOULD I JUST THANK HORIKOSHI NOW AND SAVE MYSELF SOME TIME LATER. THE MAN ALWAYS FUCKING DELIVERS WHAT ELSE CAN I FUCKING SAY GODDAMN. IS IT TOO EARLY TO DECLARE THIS MY NEW FAVORITE CHAPTER? I SHOULD PROBABLY READ FURTHER THAN ONE PAGE BUT I’VE JUST GOT A FEELING

(ETA: it’s like. maybe my second favorite lol. A HUG WOULD HAVE PUT IT IN FIRST, I’M JUST SAYING.)

anyway so Ochako is releasing Iida, which is actually hilarious, because idk if you all know this but Iida can’t fucking fly you guys

like, I assume Ochako released him because she already knew that Kirishima was in place to catch him, but I really love this split-second of panic on Iida’s part where he’s all “HMM, IS OCHAKO TRYING TO KILL ME, ACTUALLY”

LOL THERE’S A THOOM AND EVERYTHING

that’s some plus fucking ultra on Ochako’s part right there. “IF THEY DIE THEY DIE” goddamn girl did you leave your chill in the same locker as Momo or what

now poor Kiri is all “DAMMIT DEKU ARE YOU PASSED OUT OR WHAT, I DIDN’T GET TO TELL YOU MY THING GODDAMMIT”

oh my gosh he is curled up so small you guys oh my fucking lord

RESIDUAL “LOST CHILD” FEELS FROM LAST WEEK COMING IN FOR A LANDING!! PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR SEATBACKS AND TRAY TABLES ARE IN THEIR UPRIGHT POSITIONS OMG ( ˚͈͈͈͈̥̆ ₍₎ ˚͈͈͈͈̥̆ )

LMAO IIDA IS TRYING TO CONFIRM THAT OCHAKO PLANNED FOR KIRISHIMA TO CATCH HIM, AND KIRISHIMA IS ALL “NOPE I’M JUST HERE BY CHANCE BRO”

Ochako is the U.A. Traitor confirmed. Hagakure I am so sorry I doubted you. Ochako get over here. so are you Toga now or what

anyway so now everyone is running over before Iida can react to this casual announcement of his attempted murder. and now Mina is taking her turn, and Horikoshi is all “HEY BTW IS MINA CRYING ON THE LIST OF THINGS THAT MAKE YOU CRY?” and of fucking course it is, you bastard. I’m not made of stone

( ɵ̥̥ ˑ̫ ɵ̥̥)

SLDKFJLSDKJ:LKWEJ

IS THIS THE PART WHERE I JUST START SCREAMING INCOHERENTLY FOR THE REST OF THE CHAPTER LOL. SURE FEELS LIKE WE ARE GETTING TO THAT TIME

OH MY GOD KACCHAN AHHHHH

I CAN’T OMG LOL I ALREADY GLANCED AT THE NEXT COUPLE OF PANELS, AND HE’S STARTING A WHOLEASS MONOLOGUE ABOUT ALL OF HIS DEKU FEELS AND OH MY GOD

“HERE YOU GO MAKESTE, A WHOLE CHAPTER OF ALL YOUR FAVORITE META TOPICS JUST THE WAY YOU LIKE THEM” THANK YOU HORIKOSHI YOU’RE A BRO (っ˘̩╭╮˘̩)っ

SLKASODIFALWKFLKJ

THEY’RE JUST DEKU AND KACCHAN. holy shit you guys. because oh my god, but it’s like when Deku was talking to the Vestiges about saving Tomura, and he turned into his little child self because his heart and intentions were so pure?? and it’s like that again, except that we’re seeing them as their child selves because that’s who they are to each other?? like, not that they actually see each other as children, but just, they can see past all of the stuff on the outside and see each other to their cores, to who they are inside, and when they look at each other they each simply see the other boy that they’ve known their whole entire life. idk?? does that make sense??? DOES ANY OF THIS EVEN MAKE SENSE I DON’T KNOW WHAT WORDS ARE ANYMORE I’M JUST SWIMMING IN FEELS OKAY. I’M TRYING HERE

they’re just boys, is what I’m trying to say, I guess. just Deku and Kacchan. all the walls are down, all the gaps are bridged, and all it is is the one boy reaching out and connecting with the other, and just,,, (꒦ິ⌓꒦ີ)

OH MY GOD [GRABBING YOUR SHOULDERS AND POINTING WORDLESSLY] !!!1LK1

DO YOU ALL KNOW WHAT THIS IS YOU GUYS

HOW PERFECTLY FUCKING RAD. WELL LET ME JUST ENJOY THESE LAST FEW SECONDS BEFORE MY LIFE IS FOREVER CHANGED, I GUESS

OH

MY

GOD

CAN HE EVEN SAY THAT??? IS THAT EVEN LEGAL??? IS HE EVEN FUCKING ALLOWED TO SAY THAT. WHAT IS HAPPENING

OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!! OH MY GOD!!!!!!

─=≡Σ((( つ ◕o◕ )つ

GET IN HERE, EVERYONE!!

Y’ALL HE REALLY DID IT. “BAKUGOU IS SUCH AN ASSHOLE HE HASN’T EVEN APOLOGIZED” WELL GUESS FUCKING WHAT. GUESS FUCKING WHAT, YOU GUYS!! LET’S FUCKING GOOOOO ((((／￣∇￣)／＼(￣∇￣＼)))) AHHHHHHHHHH

OHHHHHHHH

HEH. I’M ALREADY DEAD, HORIKOSHI, YOU BASTARD. DO YOUR WORST. GO ON

YOU CAN ALWAYS COUNT ON “US”, HE SAYS. ALONG WITH A BUNCH OF OTHER STUFF OMG. KACCHAN, YOU STUDIED!! YOU UNDERSTAND!! PREACH!!

OH NO!!

OH WAIT!!!!

LOL I GOT SCARED THERE FOR A SECOND BUT ANYWAY! EVERYONE GET IN HERE!!! GROUP HUG!!! OR WAIT, NO, WHAT ABOUT -- [GRABS YOUR COLLAR URGENTLY] YOU DON’T THINK -- COULD THEY POSSIBLY -- !!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

ARE YOU GONNA HUG!??!?!?!?! I AM NOT OKAY!!!!!!! !!!hgk

REACTION PANELS LOL EVERYONE ELSE IS ON THE EDGE OF THEIR SEATS TOO WE’RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER

LOL OCHAKO

I KNOW THAT IN REALITY THIS FACE IS JUST BECAUSE SHE’S CONCERNED ABOUT DEKU’S FRAGILE STATE RN, BUT I KEEP THINKING ABOUT THE WAY SHE JUST DROPPED IIDA COLD THOUGH, AND I CAN’T HELP BUT FEAR FOR KACCHAN’S SAFETY LMAO. THAT FEELING WHEN THE CLASS PERV AND THE CLASS BULLY BOTH BEAT YOU TO THE LOVE CONFESSION. KACCHAN WATCH YOUR SIX

OKAY BUT LOOK, IT’S NOT THAT I DON’T LOVE ALL OF THE OTHER KIDS, OKAY, BUT CAN WE PLEASE!??!?! HELLO?!?!? MOMO, JUST -- COULD YOU JUST FOR A MINUTE --

NOOOOOOOOOOO

“DON’T LOOK AT ME LIKE THAT, I HAVE TO SAVE SOMETHING FOR THE FINALE” HORIKOSHI YOU BETTER WATCH OUT, I’M COMING FOR YOU WITH A TWO BY FOUR!! NOT THAT I’M UNGRATEFUL!! BUT JESUS CHRIST, YOU CAN’T JUST DO THAT, AND THEN ALMOST DO THAT, AND THEN NOT!! OMG I HATE YOU

sure let’s cut to Thirteen then, yay. I mean I’m glad they’re alive lol, don’t get me wrong

(ETA: I think that might have sounded a bit sarcastic so I just want to clarify that I really am happy Thirteen is alive and on the job again lol.)

it’s just that if your name doesn’t begin with Baku or Deku I honestly am not interested for just these next five minutes okay lol. like I’m just gonna be completely honest. I am too invested lol, please, they were having a moment, JUST LET ME HAVE THIS PLEASE

OH DAMN U.A. GOT SWOLE AF

THIS SCHOOL HAS BEEN JUICING WTF. I THOUGHT YOU WERE TARTARUS LOL

I’m literally not even reading the speech bubbles though omg I’m so sorry. I really hope there is not a quiz, I promise I will come back to it later scroll scroll scroll

okay so they brought him back to U.A. and he’s all tired and out of it yes

oh goody Hagakure knows all about the security system

(ETA: is it just me or is Horikoshi really laying it on thick with the hints about these two guys lately? I’m on to you sir.)

THAT’S WONDERFUL NEWS. GLAD THIS CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE IS SAFE IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE THAT WE TRUST

ffs Deku

WHAT WILL IT EVEN TAKE TO CONVINCE YOU THEN?? SWEET JESUS

-- holy shit, what??!

they know?? how did they find out??! holy shit???

I’m about to cancel the whole of Japan lmao. fucking try me dudes

-- THE PRINCIPAL!?

NEZU GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!! WHAT THE FUCK

“a ticking time bomb” tell you what, this man is just asking to be punched in the face. literally begging for it omg

(ETA: I have been advised that I misread this part; Rat Principal told everyone how safe U.A. was, but he’s not the one who ratted out Deku; that was “the rumors”, apparently. which, if I had to guess, were probably started by AFO.)

oh I see, so it’s to be Feels, Part II then

he looks so sad and tired and lonely and she goes right for the hand, god bless. though if Kacchan’s not gonna hug him, you’d think someone would at least. or is it because he still smells bad. hmm

AND THE CHAPTER’S ENDING ON HER LOL WELL OKAY THEN

I MEAN IT’S GREAT AND ALL, I LOVE OCHAKO REALLY I DO, BUT WE WERE PROMISED GREAT EXPLOSION MURDER GODS, WHAT GIVES SOB. I WAS ALL READY TO BREAK OUT INTO SONG AND EVERYTHING. SURE, HE DID THE APOLOGY, BUT WHERE IS THE FOLLOW-UP GODDAMMIT

(ETA: just to clarify the reason for my rambling here, I was really waiting for the hero name reveal and the presumed deeper meaning behind it lol. but I guess that is a conversation still to come! and we still need Deku’s response to the apology too for that matter. lots to look forward to still.)

WELL WHATEVER, SO THAT IS THE END OF THE CHAPTER! SHOUT OUT TO MY BOY RAT “LET ME JUST TELL EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD ABOUT DEKU’S SUPER SECRET IDENTITY, I GUESS THAT’S ALL RIGHT NOW, NOTHING BAD COULD POSSIBLY COME OF THIS” PRINCIPAL. listen here you little shit

anyway but if you’ll excuse me... IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME. IF I COULD FIND A WAY. I’D TAKE BACK THOSE WORDS THAT HAVE HURT YOU, AND YOU’D STAY. I DON’T KNOW WHY I DID THE THINGS I DID. I DON’T KNOW WHY I SAID THE THINGS I SAID. PRIDE’S LIKE A KNIFE, IT CAN CUT DEEP INSIDE. WORDS ARE LIKE WEAPONS, THEY WOUND SOMETIMES. BUM~ BUM~ BUM~, I DIDN’T REALLY MEAN TO HURT YOU. BUM~ BUM~ BUM~, I DIDN’T WANNA SEE YOU GO. I KNOW I MADE YOU CRY, BUT BABAY, IF I COULD TUUUUURN BACK TIIIIIIIIIIIME...

[miasmaghoul]

OOOOH, love this!! Thank you for the tag, Blue! <3

Tagging @forlorn-crows, @askingforthesun, @endopyre and @belle--ofthebrawl :3

Also under the cut for Long! I've also included any pairings I enjoyed, just for funsies.

Kingdom Hearts - Creative Enjoyer

My very first active fandom experience was with Kingdom Hearts. Started on deviantart (hiss) and eventually moved to y!gallery where I wrote my first fics! Axel is still a comfort character for me (i sleep with a plushie of him every night), and no matter how incomprehensible the plot (lmao) gets it will always hold a special place in my heart. Pairings were numerous - Sora/Riku, Axel/Roxas, Seifer/Hayner, Saïx/Xemnas, Xaldin/Demyx, Lexaeus/Zexion and Vexen/Marluxia. God I hope at least one person unfamiliar with this series sees these names.

FFVII - Creative Enjoyer

It's not my favorite of the FF games I've played, but it's still real good. I played this after I played KH2 for the first time, and I'd had the Big Moment spoiled for me so it probably didn't hit as hard. I DID unironically love Advent Children though, and the few fics I wrote for this fandom were almost all set during/immediately after the movie. Pairings were Zack/Cloud, Reno/Cloud, Reno/Rude and honestly I could be sold on Reno/anyone.

FFX - Passive Enjoyer

Now THIS is my favorite FF game. First one I played, first one I 100% completed, the whole deal. I didn't know fandom really existed at this time, I didn't grow up with a computer in the house (poor) and how else would I have known? I did get into the fandom years later though, but I never ended up creating for it. Definitely read some fic though! I didn't really have an OTP for this game though, just a massive crush on Lulu lmao

FFXII - Creative Enjoyer

One of the gayer FF games, and grossly underappreciated if you ask me. I know they changed up the battle system and it was weird and over-involved but god the characters are some of my faves. This was a small fandom even back in the day, I only wrote a single fic for it, but there was some good shit! Pairings were Vaan/Balthier and just the entire concept of Fran tbh.

FFXV - Passive Enjoyer

The GAYEST FF game, I couldn't NOT fall in love with it. Sweet goofy road-tripping boy band my beloved. Couldn't tell you a damn thing about the actual story if I tried, but UGH THOSE BOYS. Prompto my bb liu 5ever. Pairings were every iteration of the foursome that you can imagine, but especially Noctis/Prompto and Gladio/Ignus.

Mass Effect - Creative Enjoyer (Technically)

One of my FAVORITE series, almost entirely for the characters. The story of the main games is...fine, but it's all the wacky aliens that I adore. I was very late to this fandom, some might say too late (two years ago), but it has some really fuckin excellent stuff. Technically I did write for it, but it's just a couple WIPs that'll never be shared. Pairings are Shep/Garrus, Shep/Thane, and the three of them together lmao.

Naruto - Passive Enjoyer

Kakashi my beloved first husband. I was a late arriver to anime, and catching Naruto on Cartoon Network was my intro. Never finished it, which I've heard is probably for the best, and honestly it's probably good that I wasn't super active in it because holy FUCK was that fandom toxic. Still found some great art and fic tho! Pairings were Kakashi/Sasuke and Genma/Raidou.

Bleach - Creative Enjoyer

The one anime fandom I really Got Into, and the only one I wrote for. Another one where I never finished it, but I really enjoyed it while I was there lmao. I made friends with a couple of really cool people there too! Pairings were Ichigo/Uryuu and Ikkaku/Yumichika.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Passive Enjoyer

Ah, my true first fandom. The first piece of media that I cared enough about to seek out fanworks, because I just couldn't get enough of it. I rewatch my favorite bits every now and then, and honestly the camp of it only improves with age. 90s fashion really was something. My pairing of choice was Buffy/Spike.

Supernatural - Passive Enjoyer

Sigh. S i g h. Pleased to say this was a passive experience - I was around in the days of the mishapocalypse and even then I missed out on a lot of the drama. Another one I abandoned before I finished it, but that seems to have been for the best lmao. I didn't delve too deep into fanworks, but I was a Dean/Cas enjoyer once upon a time.

Doctor Who - Passive Enjoyer

I fell in hard while Eleven was the Doctor, but I never really liked him so I didn't settle in very well. I read a few fics, but I mostly kept to myself. I fell off when Twelve took over and Ten will always be my Doctor. Ten/Rose 4 lyfe.

Marvel - Passive Enjoyer

The Avengers fandom was the last one I was in before I left tumblr the first time around. It was a brief interest, the shortest of anything on the list before this, but my love for Hawkeye and Loki was intense lmao.

Ghost - Creative Enjoyer

And here we are! This is by FAT the most active I've ever been in a fandom, and I couldn't be more grateful for the experience. I'm so eager to keep writing ghouls, once my current massive stressors calm down some lmao. ♡

𝕱𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖒 𝖙𝖆𝖌 𝖌𝖆𝖒𝖊 ✨

I saw this little fandom game thingie on another site and I really liked it, so I decided to bring it over here to tumblr while my apple pen charges. I’m also going to change up the rules. I’m going to list the fandoms I’ve been in, and classify them by:

Passive enjoyer = simply enjoyed it and the fan content made for it OR Creative enjoyer = actively made art, fanfic, cosplay, etc etc etc.

I’m going to tag people here but no pressure if you don’t want to do it! @miasmaghoul @lonelymentality @copiasjuicebox @iamthecomet @thediktatortot Also if you see it and want to do it, feel free.

Game under the cut since mine will be long<3

Harry Potter - creative enjoyer - My very first. This shit was a family affair in my house. I went to watch parties, themed parties. I cosplayed shittily, wrote shitty fanfic, and my walls were plastered floor to ceiling in teen magazine posters. Went to the Exhibition. Every second movie would come out in July so I would pretend it was like a birthday gift to me.

Twilight - creative enjoyer - Jfc. Don’t get me started. I still have my Edward action figure whose now missing both hands. Used to write self insert fanfic on quizzilla.com. RIP you beast of a website

The Walking Dead - passive enjoyer - This was also a family affair. Every sunday we would all gather round our shitty TV for the newest episode. I was more of a liveblogger than anything else. My dad has a bit to this day that ‘Hershel isn’t dead. He’ll be back.’ Yeah, sure dad.

Legend of Zelda - creative enjoyer - For most of my childhood I was passive, only really doodling Twilight Princess stuff sometimes. Then BOTW came out and it all changed.

Lord of the Rings - passive enjoyer - I look at Legolas and Aragorn. That’s enough for me. I don’t need creative works because I just need to look at them.

Marvel (Spider-man and Loki mostly) - creative enjoyer - I’ve been drawing these guys since birth, for better or for worse. MCU can suck my nuts but so can Loki franchise /sex DC (Batman) - creative enjoyer - Batman the Animated series did something bad to me. Now I draw Joker sometimes. Watch out, stay safe out there

Sherlock and Doctor Who - passive enjoyer - I’m putting these two together since I never really made fan art or anything, but I did attend watch parties for both on several occasions.

Supernatural - creative enjoyer - Sighs. Sighs even harder. Somewhere out there, deep in the depths of fanfic.net there’s miles of really really really bad fanfic. Somewhere…. Final Fantasy VII - creative enjoyer - Sighs far more dreamily. My favvvvv my ultimate fav. Sephiroth is my fictional other and LOMF. Many, many arts of him throughout every sketchbook I own. Also some fanfics IIRC.

TF2 - creative enjoyer - I used to draw Medic and Pyro kissing<3

Homestuck - creative enjoyer - War flashbacks. Not only was I a semi-well known fanartist, I was also a semi-well known cosplayer in my city. I was a ‘friendleader’ in my cities Homestuck fangroup and attended events, dances, etc etc etc. I was on a cosplay gif blog here on Tumblr. I ran the second most popular groupchat on MSPARP.com before it was MXRP.com. I had beef with mods. Most of my relationships at that time were forged in the fires of LOHAC. I still see my art of Dave in MCR black parade uniform around sometimes. Dramatical Murder - creative enjoyer - To no ones surprise. Yeah. I like the yaoi dissociation game. Dream Daddy - creative enjoyer - SHOUTOUT DREAM DADDY!!!!!!!!!!!!! Evil priest Joseph lovers rise UP. Didn’t do much, but there’s some art floating around out there.

Voltron: LD - passive enjoyer - Thank GOD I never made anything for this. However, I was active in the kin community so thats a huge L. I also ate uppppp stuff about it and sheith still fucks.

Overwatch - creative enjoyer - Sometimes you’re a Genji main and the world is so so hard for you. That’s how I used to live my life, then I got better.

Final Fantasy XV - creative enjoyer - Second LOMF. My old art blog is stocked full of chocobro content, mostly fanart of the boys and meme redraws. Also used to cosplay Noctis CONSTANTLY! Here’s an old tiktok

The Band Ghost and Sleep Token - creative enjoyer - (((((((: Hi guys

[hanjo-love]

Hai! How you doing lately? Fellow Hange-stan here. I want to know what you think of the writing on Hange’s character arc post time-skip. [P.S. hopefully it’s alright with you if we can continue to discuss about it after you answer if you decide to, that is]. :))

Hello lovely anonie ❤️ I'm so sorry for the late reply, but life has been quite a rollercoaster lately haha

Well tbh, I know this sounds pathetic af after almost two weeks have already passed, but I'm still trying to cope with the last chapter and the ending overall. I'm in the process of gathering my thoughts, deciding if I like it or not. And lemme tell you, it's quite exhausting haha

Every Hange-stan is very much appreciated and welcome here ❤️ looking forward to be exchanging my thoughts with you, ngl it's weird but it also makes me happy that someone's interested in my opinion haha ❤️

Okay so let's start talking but Hanjo ❤️ but beware, a long ass wannabe meta is ahead of y'all haha

Honestly, another thing I've had troubles with accepting and making my mind around was the fact that I didn't like how Yams treated Hanjo in the story overall and mostly past TS. I gotta tag lovely Sav @tundrainafrica cause she described it perfectly in one of her amazing metas and I'm constantly thinking about that so I'm gonna try quoting her now haha :"If the characters are Yams' children, we gotta accept the fact that Hange has always been his least favorite child. But the more Yams ignored her, the more we loved her. In fact, Hange was never a character who even needed a lot of panels or pushing and forcing for us to like her. Hange didn't even need Yams! She was always navigating the narrative by herself and that's why we love her." (Sorry Sav for not quoting you properly 😅❤️)

So what I'm trying to say is: did Yams purposly ignore Hanjo throughout the story? Unfortunately YES. Has this affected her character? Not at all. But it did affect the readers'/viewers' opinion about her, for sure.

It honestly makes me really sad when people hate on Hange and reduce her character to a "bad commander". Like guys... Are we reading the same manga? You don't need to be a Hange stan to realize how much Yams rushed and skipped everything past Marley arc. We know shit about what happened in those 4 years of TS. Just because Yams didn't show us anything, doesn't mean nothing happened in those 4 years. I'm not gonna start talking about how her job as a commander was very, VERY different than Erwin's, but there was something that caught my attention after watching the anime:

I never believed Yams when he tried to show us how Hange was a "bad commander" for not having a plan B to all the mess that was going on. No matter how much Yams tried to prove it (mainly because he wanted us to notice her insecurities and her being overwhelmed by this position and Erwin's legacy), I never bought it. Because we know Hanjo ffs! We know how smart and quick-witted she is and how she is the perfect candidate to take over Erwin's legacy of being the SC's Danchou.

The anime reassured my thoughts, cause if I remember it properly, in that scene we heard Hange's thoughts and at the end of her monologue she said "but what if..." before Eren threw a tantrum again lol

The next scene only added fuel to my fire, cause we've all been speculating about this and the last two chapters actually proved it:

We've been speculating about why Eren was getting his titans marks in this particular scene (dude, Yams made us look like clowns with our theories lmao which btw have less plot holes than the entire last arc of the manga, just saying). Moreover we've seen Eren getting his titan marks again while manipulating his friends' memories in ch138&139. So my conclusion is, Hange DID indeed have a plan B, but Eren decided to wipe that option out of her head in order to achieve his goals. Otherwise this particular scene makes no sense at all, but it was important enough to keep it in the anime.

In conclusion: I did absolutely NOT like how Yams handled Hange's character post TS. She didn't get enough "screen time" and whenever she got some panels, she was mainly shown as an insecure and overwhelmed commander (obviously not in all of her panels, thank God), which she absolutely was NOT. I also felt like most of the times she seemed to be (for Yams at least) just a placeholder between Erwin and Armin. And here comes my biased and petty ass: Hanjo was Yams' best written character. Period. She had so much depth and and potential, but Yams dropped her like a hot potato because he was overwhelmed by her and not able to deal with her character. That's it. That's the harsh truth y'all.

Anywayzzz, that's it for today's Ted talk lol thanks for the ask dear anonie. Have a lovely day ❤️

[azureflight]

My entire friend group have uninstalled WoW and started FF14

It still feels surreal we are doing this. Now, it is perfectly possible that we will be back to WoW within the month, talking about how disappointing the “weeb game” was, but, this stills feels like a seminal moment.

I have been a Warcraft fan since I was a literal kid trying (and failing :P) to play Tides of Darkness on my aunt’s desktop. I spent so many hours and so much of my allowance playing Reign of Chaos in internet cafes. 

When WOTLK trailer dropped, we had hijacked the computer lab and projected it to the auditorium for all to see. 

I have been part of real life, unironic Horde vs Alliance infighting in college gaming clubs. I remember us all wearing Horde/Alliance merch, enthusiastically and rather foolishly, but completely seriously, arguing about lore, about who did what wrong and who was “more at fault”.

I own, almost every single Warcraft book, comic, guide ever published. I own hard copies, I own digital copies. I have watched and read and listened to every single piece of lore ever produced about this setting.

I have kept my sub up and played through all of the content draught, the infamous SoO, the practically less than 2 patch worth expac that was WoD.

I have allowed my sub to lapse for the first time during BFA. 

I was so hyped for Shadowlands back when it was announced, and was annoyed when they changed the release date, causing me to waste my vacation time that I had taken for it. But a mere month of the expac in and I was already bored of it. And now, 9.1 is out and I am done. I barely played this patch and I have not only cancelled my sub, but went and removed the game from my PC.

Maybe this is a stupid overreaction and in the next patch, at the worst the next expac, I will be right back at the fur shop like the old fox I am. However, I know it feels different.

Throughout the years, I had many a thing that frustrated me about this game. Made me rage even. But I hadn’t quit then. No. The feeling that has been creeping up on me, isn’t rage. It is disinterest. I just, don’t care anymore. 

Most of my friends over the years have switched to the Horde and this has been a sore spot for me. I stuck with Alliance, having some alts to play with them, and they had some Alliance alts to play with me, but... It wasn’t the same, it wasn’t enough. Several online friends, I had already lost contact with.

And now we are all gathering in FF14! I had the discord chat of my life! So many people I hadn’t talked to in years, on top of my actual real life friends whom I hang out with, are all jumping into this new journey.

My best friend’s progression guild is looking to make a full guild transfer, currently all of them except one have characters and a guild in FF, trying to convince the last guy to make the switch.

And then there is the lore. That’s why I fell in love with this setting in the first place. I loved this story, the cheese, the heroism, the over the topness, all of it. It was never “high art”, but it was unique in its own way, it had heart and it had characters and stories that I got invested in. Deeply so. I hadn’t start playing WoW because I was a connoisseur of MMORPG genre and “calculated it to be the best among its contemporaries”. I dived head first in Vanilla because it was Warcraft.

And now, I honestly cannot bring myself to care about this story, or its characters, other than a passing resentment. This was not the case, less than a year ago. I had bought the bloody Shadows Rising novel, I had read it and I liked it.

Now I am just, over it. This sense was rising, this sense of feeling less and less care for it, as expac after expac went in wildly nonsensical directions. But I had things that I had liked well enough to keep at it and have hope, hope for a good enough story that would keep me engaged. But I lost it. Something broke in 9.1.

I guess I realized, or rather I perceive, that the actual writers of this story do not care about it and none of it matters. There is no story. There is no plot, no continuity. Just an endless stream of “cool” shots in cinematics that ultimately don’t matter because, it has no basis and it has no relevance. It exists because someone wanted to make this cool scene, without caring what came before it, or what will come after it. Each scene exist, not to progress a cohesive story, but simply because someone wanted it to exist. And the next “cool” piece will flagrantly retcon the last one, ignoring or outright invalidating the stakes and hooks that had been set up in the previous one. 

This is no longer a story of people, who were dramatic and weird and fantastical, but ultimately people. No. This is now a check list of what someone wanted to do in WoW setting and all the characters are empty puppets and all the plots matter only as much as they matter in any given single cinematic or questline. There is no pay off, and there is no logic. Characters aren’t allowed to live and react. Things only happen because the author said so, and the characters just bend and transform to do their bidding. And they feel no reason to explain nor establish as to why a character acts the way they do, let alone trying to make it believable or internally justified.

The gameplay aspect is the least important to me, the exact opposite of the majority. But I am sick and tired being punished with powerlessness for what I like story wise or aesthetically. I am sick and tired needing to read through guides upon guides, copying meta builds, just to have my class be remotely playable.

And most importantly, I am sick and tired of a game that will put me through genocide, deny me justice and vengeance under the guise of need for cooperation and then deny me playing with my friends across factions.

Now I get to play with all of my friends without jumping over the hoops or giving up on what I love. Because there are no stupid factions in FF14. And I can play multiple classes without hating myself.

I had several favorite characters in this game. They are still, mostly, alive. But do I care about them anymore? Jaina, Anduin, Sylvanas, Turalyon, Tyrande, Genn... No. I don’t care and it doesn’t even hurt anymore, it just feels like I had wasted my time and money. It feels exactly like how I felt during season 8 of GoT. An empty feeling of waste, so I leave.

Will I care about the characters or the story in FF14? I don’t know. I don’t think I will stick around if I don’t. But will I go back to WoW? A piece of me wants to hope for a superb turn around, but... Honestly? I don’t see it happening. And anything less than an epic turn around that fixes all of this, the lore, the classes, the playerbase division? I won’t bother anymore.

So off to the greener pastures! Maybe I will come crawling back within the blink of an eye, eating this post, repenting for ever having left. Maybe... I just don’t think so.

[paragonrobits]

A friend asked me to give a stab at a Tierlist Maker for Video Games Not Yet In the Video Game Hall of Fame Tier List Maker, so here's my list for it!

This is based primarily on what I considered to be overall value to gaming history as a whole, with games with greater influence or impact ranking higher than those that had less impact on those to follow, or on culture. All the entries are those that have been nominated to the Hall of Fame, but not actually inducted as of this post's writing. Games that I personally like are generally rated higher, though mostly because I'm more familiar with them and thus can judge their impact from a personal POV.

(Tier List explainations, below!)

SHOULD BE IN ALREADY

Final Fantasy: I mean seriously. How is this one not already in yet?? It is not, as my research suggests, the first true RPG; that likely goes to games like Ultima. It is certainly an incredibly influential one; FF is a name closely associated with JRPGs in general, and its diverse class system is one of the strongest things to do with it, as noted by challenges like beating the game with a party of Black Belts. FF is THE name of RPGs in general and I'm startled it hasn't made it in, though I suppose that's owing to more notable entries (Hard as that is to imagine). It doesn't hurt that the majority of my favorite FF titles are those most similar to this one, such as FF6 and FF9, in terms of approaching the general world setting and class systems. Most significantly is that this game popularized RPGs and made them accessible, in ways that previous games such as Dragon Warrior/Dragon Quest did not; the field of gaming would be VERY different without it; RPGs became VERY popular, to the extent of RPG elements being almost universal among other games in the modern day. (I am also pleased and amused to see 8-Bit Theater mentioned on the actual Wikipedia page. Now THAT'S notability!)

Sid Meir's Civilization: HEY NOW HALL OF FAME JUDGES, DON'T YOU BE MOCKING CIV, ALRIGHT. CIV IS FUCKING AWESOME. Okay, jokes aside, I'm genuinely astonished as the Civ series is considered the first true main game of the 4x series, and it shows; the entire genre centers around expansion, resource usage and diplomacying or conquering your enemies, and considering the impact of this game and its sheer popularity, to the extent of the meme of the game getting people to play for Just One More Turn, I'm a bit disappointed that it's not already in the hall of fame. I also note that I am personally more familiar with the spin off Alpha Centauri, a sci fi variant, which is still one of my all time favorite games.

Half-Life: Given this game's popularity, to the point of its release alone consigning the likes of Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines to cult classic status and its engine spawning a whole THING with GMod and the usage of physics mechanics in FPS games, one thing of note is its use of scripted sequences; at the time, an unknown in most games of the time. There may be something to be said for how the entire game is spent as Gordon Freeman, behind his eyes, possibly engendering a lack of separation between self and character that would be later emphasized in games like Bioshock. It's influence on games cannot be denied, with publications using it as a bookend between eras of gaming. One consistent element of what seems to make this game so distinctive is its approach to storytelling, without simply imitating film techniques which don't always work well with gameplay.

Candy Crush: This is an example of something I don't personally play myself, or even like very much, but I'd be remiss to dismiss it out of hand. There's no denial that phone games are one of, if not THE biggest market of games in the here in now; if now in scale, certainly in quantity. You might call it the TF2 Hat Economy theory; people aren't spending BIG bucks, but they are spending a LOT of little bucks all the time. It proves that highly accessible games that are generally free to play, with optional purchases, are a legitimate means of game business, and this certainly revolutionized how games were seen by the money-makers.

Super Smash Bros Melee: I loved this game as a kid, but truth be told i have a bit of a love-hate relationship; i REALLY dislike the competitive community that has fixated hard on this game, so any thoughts on it will have a slight element of pause beforehand. Even so, I can't forget the thrilled delight I felt watching the trailer for this game in supermarkets for the first time as a kid. at a time when getting any new games at all was a HUGE deal in my family. So, there is a lot of feeling behind this one! Ultimately, I have to concede that while i have complicated feelings about this game, its worth noting that the vast majority of things that made Smash iconic, and influenced the competitive scene AND the games inspired by Smash AND shaped the course of the series going forwards, largely owe themselves to Melee in particular. 64 was far more slow paced, while Melee began the trend towards much more fast paced action (and while I doubt it's SPECIFIC to melee as a whole, it may have been a trend for the genre from then). Melee is STILL widely played, especially on the competitive scene, and this sort of longevity always bears evidence of notability.

Goldeneye 007: I have to admit that despite being a kid in the 90s, despite someone who put most of their time into gaming, and despite being someone whose favorite system at the time was the Nintendo 64, I mostly missed out on the trend of history by honestly not being that much into this game. I have to say that I DID play it, however; I just never managed to get past the first level or so. I have strong memories of triyng and failing to sneak around a snowy lair of some description; it wouldn't be until the mid-2000s, playing Deus Ex Human Revolution, that I got the hang of stealth. All the same, personal indifference really doesn't matter much because HOLY SHIT THIS GAME HAS SOME STAYING POWER. IT HAS INFLUENCE, FRIENDORITOS. Perhaps chiefly, at the time it was made, consoles were not considered viable platforms for first person shooters; Goldeneye revised that notion, and created a whole revolution in multiplayer and shooter games. We would later see the ultimate consequence of this in games like Halo, which further revolutionized the whole genre. Ironically, the stealth attributes I was so bad at were part of what made the game so unique! It's one of those games that may not have aged well, by modern standards, but its import to gaming as a whole goes a long, long way.

Guitar Hero: I expect this one might be a bit hard to justify, but on its own, this game is INCREDIBLY innovative, though its not entirely the first of its kind, having mechanics based on earlier games. The very first entry has a respectable library of 30 songs, which is impressive considered at the time it was made, its not likely people expected it to get as far as it did; bear in mind that the massive libraries of later games were the result of years of this game series being a massive steamroller of a franchise! At the time, this one was an unknown. It has an interesting history as being a successor of sorts to an arcade exclusive, and inspiring a genre of imitators and spiritual successors on its own; of great note is the sheer impact this game had. With so many of those successors, the increased value of liscened soundtracks, and the way the game's concept became so influential, its astounding this one isn't already on the hall of fame. (It's also very fun, but fun alone doesn't make for memorability, sad to say.)

DESERVES IT AT SOME POINT

Myst - an iconic and incredibly atmospheric puzzle game, I'm genuinely surprised that I haven't heard talk about this one in some respect; it bears note as a rare game with absolutely no conflict whatsoever. I actually rank this one on par with the 7th Guest in terms of atmospheric games, though their tones could not be more different. So why do I think this game deserves it at some point? It was an incredibly immersive and beautiful game, lacking in genuine danger or threat, encouraging the player to explore and tackle the puzzles of the game. This sort of open-ended lack of peril makes it an interesting precursor towards certain flavors of sandbox games around now. It's worth noting that it was a tremendous achievement, given technical limitations of things such as the CD-Rom it was stored on, maintaining a consistent experience, as well as tying narrative reasons into those very constraints. It has been compared to an art film; if so, it certainly is the sort that invited imitators and proved to be a great technical achievement.

Portal: PORTAL! What can I honestly say that hasn't already been said by other people? The amazing integration of a physics engine into innovative puzzle solving, combined with a slow burn sort of minimalist plot reveal concerning the AI proving itself to be a kind of reverse HAL 9000? This game got a HUGE number of memes back in the day, and I expect anyone reading this can probably reference a few. The cake thing, certainly, and its relevance to matters of deception. There is much discussion over the game's utility in academic circles, which is certainly quite notable, and for my part, I'm interested by the point that at first the game gives you a lot of hints towards what you're supposed to do, gradually making it less obvious for the player you're on your own entirely, using your experience with the game to get past the puzzles from there, and its excellent game design. Ultimately though, I place this below Half Life in hall of fame urgency, because while I probably like this one more, it doesn't have the same impact on other games, per say. (That's a lot of awards for it, though. Wowza.)

Resident Evil: Is it fair to call this one the major survival horror game of its era? No, because it's apparently the FIRST, or at least the first to be called such. It's certainly up there with shaping the genre as a whole, both its immediate predecessors and modern games. The flavor of a survival horror can even be judged about whether its close to Resident Evil's style of defending yourself with limited resources vs controlled helplessness. It's also worth pointing out that I quite like the restricted, cramped setting of the mansion, rather than an expansive city; Biohazard was a real return to form, even if its something I mostly watched through funny lets plays because OH NO ITS TOO SCARY I CANT WATCH.

Asteroids: It's called the first major hit of the golden age of the arcade. I'm forced to say... yeah, it absolutely deserves it. The actual implementation and hardware of the game makes for interesting reading, and so its innovative nature ought to be noted: it lacked a soundchip at all, making use of handmade circuits wired to the board. It's reception was great, beating out Space Invaders and needing larger boxes just to hold all the money people spent on it. It also invented the notion of tracking initials on the top ten score, which has implications for arcade challenges.

Ms. Pac Man: This one consistently ranks HIGH in gaming records of its time, though there is admittedly some confusion to whether it or Donkey Kong was a better seller. Interestingly it appears to shape most of the gameplay mechanics people remember most for Pac-Man, such as the improved AI of the ghosts. It's more highly regarded than the original game, and on a personal note, I remember being a kid and seeing this arcade machine at ALL the laundry places my family usually wound up going to.

Frogger: It's placing on this list is not solely because CUTE FROG. The accessibility and wide appeal of the game bears a great deal of consideration, the flexibility of its formula, and just how many dang times it's been ported in one form or another. (And also, cute frog.) It also gets points for the creator being inspired for the game when he saw a frog trying to cross a road, hampered by the vehicles in the way, and he got out of his car and carried the frog across the street. The game is also evident of broad appeal, and some money-makers resisting it, goes back a long way; it was apparently dismissed as a kid's game by some, which just goes to show that some problems are older than quite a lot of gamers alive today.

Uncharted 2: this is one of those games where I cannot honestly say I have personal experience to draw from. Of the playstation's big games, I remember the Jak and Daxter series; I remember Kingdom Hearts, and I remember Ratchet and Clank, and I remember Infamous, but the Uncharted series remains

something of a 'I don't go here?' obscurity in my personal playbook. It does look memorable and charming from what I've seen, and one consistent element I've seen in comments about it is the cinematic nature of the game; it feels very much like a fun heist movie, based on what I have seen of it, and the notable thing is how the game FEELS cinematic.. in a literal way. As in, it combined elements of cinematography with game design, and that's no mean feat: what works for movies are unlikely to translate well to the interactive side, and it shows how that can be done for other games. The extensive praise does the game a LOT of credit!

WORTH NOMINATION AT LEAST

Angry Birds: As noted before, I'm not the biggest fan of most phone games, given that i prefer a more passive experience than most provide. As such, Angry Birds isn't something I've played as of this writing, but I have to appreciate the straightforward and simple gameplay; it reminds me a bit of the Burrito Bison game series, which I HAVE played, and I'm going to go out on a limb and assume it's because Angry Birds is probably the innovation that coined that particular style of gameplay. It's an example of what made phone games profitable and worth the time of developers to work at them; its easy for casual players to get into, and there's a fun sort of impact involved. Given the popularity of phone games, this one has a LOT of influence in getting that rolling, similar to candy crush, if not as much.

FIFA International Soccer: Simulation games are a tricky business; it can be really difficult to get them right, and this game provides an example of it being done in a way that a lot of people REALLY loved, set up an entire game series, and revived the 3DO system after a very bad year. Of note, apparently it was commented that it was more of a simulator than a console game, and this is rather funny considering how simulator is its own genre nowadays! Such do things change. It seems to have been a revolutionary game and simulation; setting the shape for modern sport games of its type, and tending more towards realism (accounting for acceptable breaks in reality) than was typical of the time. This one's position is thus picked for its impact as a whole; while it may not necessarily be a household name now, the series continues on, and is popular enough that even after 20 years, it's still been going.

Elite: I nominate this game in this position for being a startlingly early entry into what we would now consider open-ended games, even with an element of exploration and trading; if one stretches definitions a bit, a precursor towards gameplay of the like scene in 4X players who strive to avoid conflict, if possible. Its technical breakthroughs are some very interesting reading and make for good game history; a vast and complex game (not just by the standards of the era, either), and opening the door for persistent world games such as World of Warcraft.

Wii Sports: A significant game, and much as how other titles mentioned above were famed for gateway entries into gaming for an unfamiliar audience, or those that would want o play on a more casual basis. It seems notable to me for being most suited as a family game, or a more casual experience of multiplayer than usually associated with games like this; this has greatly influenced Nintendo's design philosophy, and one can see elements of this all the way through the Wii U onwards. It's essentially a fliparound from Mario Party; less competitiveness, but definitely meant as a group thing. Controversy is evident, because like with Mario Party, injuries did result from it.

Call of Duty: I place this one here because, while it DOES hold a very significant role in gaming history, with countless imitators, spiritual successors, being a game-changer in ways that its modern reputation might surprise you with, ultimately it is less so than other games such as Goldeneye, Halo or Half-Life. It's development in AI pathfinding and tactics is incredibly noteworthy from a mechanical perpsective, and the sheer level of awards it won is notable. In the end this game's popularity and continuing influence means that it shouldn't be overlooked.

Metroid: You can't spell 'Metroidvania' without this game! A relatively open ended exploration-based game with further options opening as new tools were found give it an interesting vibe, and the oppressive atmosphere distinctive to the game says great things about its sound and level designs. It wasn't the first open world game, or explorer, or even the first to open new aereas based on equipment, but it had ALL of these elements in a very memorable package. (Samus Aran as a female protagonist is something I'm a bit reluctant to give it credit for, as her identity was obfuscated for most of the game, and only revealed in a fanservicey way in a secret ending. All the same, credit where it is due, I suppose!) It's music seems to endure as a mood setter, too!

Pole Position: Perhaps not the FIRST racing game, but still considered one of the most important from the golden age of gaming, and the one to codify many of the firm rules of the game series. It's three dimensional gameplay is incredibly innovative for its time, and having played it and games like it in the past, I'm struck by how smooth the whole thing feels. No wonder it was popular! It is notable for having been designed specifically as a 3d Experience, meant to execute techniques like real drivers might attempt, which makes it a different sort of beast in that it tried to do more realistic actions; in some ways, a precursor to modern trends of realism in many games, for ill or best. Ultimately I think this one is worth a nomination because of its influence towards racing games (a popular and long lived genre, to say the least) as a whole.

OUTSIDE CHANCE

Nurburgring 1: On the one hand, I feel a bit guilty putting this one so low; it is recognized as likely being the earliest racing game in history, and given that I just finished noting Pole Position's influence, it feels a bit mean to rate this one as relatively insignificant all the same. However, in terms of notability, I never even heard of this one, and it was tricky finding information about it. Accordingly, that may say something about its influence, though this position DOES make it noteworthy as the first of its kind, albeit with Pole Position refining and introducing elements that shaped the genre.

Dance Dance Revolution: It feels a bit strange, putting this one fairly low. This thing was a MONSTER back in the day; entire arcades were built around the dancing control peripherals it required, rhythm based games or mechanics specifically invoked it by name, and it was an absolute cultural touchstone for years and years. So, why place it low? Partly, its because I can't just shove EVERYTHING into the 'deserves a nomination' folder; I do think it's fairly reasonable for this one to at some point get a nomination in the future, though ultimately there's games more noteworthy on the whole. It's specific rhythm qualities continue outside of its genre, and are quite influential to gaming as a whole, though unfortunately the series seems to have lost something in notability over time; popularity is a factor, but so is the impact on other games.

NBA 2K and NBA Jam: I put these two together because they touch on similar touchstones for me, and they really did popularize basketball games back in the day. Jam in particular seems to be invoking the Big Head mode that were a big thing in games at the time, at least going from the screenshot. They were very popular and highly beloved games back in the day, though I don't know if they have much influence on later games. I note that interestingly, they take opposite approaches; 2k focuses on AI and realistic experiences, while Jam was deliberately less realistic and more actiony in its over the top gameplay.

Nokia Snake: This one really impresses me for the sheer number of releases, in various forms, it's had! Interestingly, there seems to be little consensus on the name of this game; most just call it Snake or something on that theme. I went with Nokia Snake because... mostly, it sounds funny, and that's how its done on the list. This one is fairly low, but I Have to give it credit for having hundreds of releases!

Farmville: My mom liked Facebook games, a lot. And I am certain this one was one of her main ones! I rate it fairly low, and no doubt her spirit is yelling imprecations at me across the void of time, space, and abandoned socks; all the same, this one is ranked low because of the sheer number of displeasure aimed this one's way. (And to be fair, she complained about it. A LOT.) It is thus notable for unusually negative reasons; an example of exploitation, pressuring players to pester their friends to play it in an equivalent to electronic chain mail, and microtranscations.

Tron: I'm inclined to give any game that takes place in a computer land and uses programming or mechanical terminology a free pass! Interestingly, this has some association with the Snake game, as they have similar gameplay and Snake games are sometimes called Light Cylce games, after this one. It has an interesting history; the graphical system was chosen largely because it was believed it was more likely to be achieved before the deadline.

NO BUSINESS IN THE HALL OF FAME

Mattel Football: I do feel a little mean putting anything in this category; firstly because I don't want to make actual fans of something sad, and secondly because I believe you can probably find notability anywhere you look, if you are inclined. And here is the chief difficulty with this one: I could not find any real information in this one. It has no Wikipedia page, a google search only led to undescriptive links of SALES for the game, but not any information on the game itself. Notability is my main resource for sorting these entries, and honestly? If google has nothing on you, that's a pretty poor sign. Sorry, Mattel Football, but you look like a poor man's Game And Watch. You're no Portal, Myst or Pole Position.

[katsidhe]

15.19 Final Thoughts

I was all set for disappointment after 15.18, but this was… good, actually! Not perfect by any means, but the beats it hit and the points it made were by and large ones I’d been waiting for all season. Where it wasn’t touching (and it was touching!), it was absurd enough for me to enjoy it heartily anyway. I wish that this episode had been split into, like, three, so that it could have spent the time it needed on wallowing.

I love the empty earth. Love it to absolute PIECES. Because it fits so, so well, right? The claustrophobia of the Winchesters’ lives writ grotesquely large. They’re the most important people in the universe, of COURSE they are, because Chuck feels like it, and of course they can’t die, of course they’re doomed to wander eternally—ughh I love it. It’s the natural, absurd, and absurdist conclusion to where this story has always been heading. I am so glad that they went there.

Sam’s heartbreaking guilt—his knowledge that his defiance in 15.17 was what led to this empty universe. Oh, Sam. Again sublimating his loss and his agony into personal responsibility. And the worst part is that he’s right. I love the tragicomedy of Sam and Dean’s offer to play along for Chuck, and that he refuses, preferring to watch them walk the earth alone. Honestly? if it had cut to black right there? I would be mightily pleased.

ok but SAM!!! if there was a winner of 15.19 (and therefore a winner of SPN in general? sure feels that way to me), it’s Sam. Sam defied Death and defied God (and in 15.17 defied Dean). Sam saved Jack, who was the key to everything. Sam got the assist on Lucifer. Sam tricked Michael. Just, GAHH, what a great episode for him.

I about lost my goddamn mind when Lucifer showed up, because I had lost any inkling of hope that he’d turn up again. Kinda figured that plot thread had been irrevocably dropped. I’m sorry for losing my faith, Show! I should have believed that you’d eventually give me a taste of what I wanted!

I predict this opinion is going to be a little unpopular, but I was so happy to see him. I don’t care that he was too quippy, I don’t care that he was gone in like six minutes, I don’t care that his and Michael’s fight was, again, anticlimactic (though at least there weren’t wires, t god). Here’s the thing. I don’t NEED my fictional suffering to be like, artisanal, and thoughtfully designed. I’ll buy that shit at Costco, in ten gallon drums. I’ll chug it straight from the bottle like trauma ketchup. I’ll watch Lucifer resurrected a thousand times, if it means I get to watch Sam’s FACE while they’re in the same room. PRAISE.

The corollary: the ABSOLUTELY AMAZING CONCEPT of the last five people in the entire world being Michael, Lucifer, Sam, Dean, and Jack, all stuck awkwardly in the Bunker. Omfg. This SENT me so hard I had to take a walk, I was laughing too much. What a ripe premise. What an ugly premise. I need fic, immediately, stat, stat means now.

Relatedly, I love the mental image of Sam unobtrusively going offscreen and getting the archangel blade and handing it to Michael and quietly hissing, “uh PLEASE ffs kill your goddamn brother.” Pfffffffffffffffff.

Deeply disappointed that Jack didn’t get a chance to say anything to Lucifer. Yet another thing that needs further treatment.

I’d figured Lucifer was telling the truth when he told them he was joining Team Kill Chuck. However, Lucifer’s willingness to be on board with Chuck’s plan makes, just, a ton of sense. He’s always had less to lose than Michael, when it comes to accepting his father’s olive branch, since he fell so far so long ago, while Michael is still teetering on that precipice. And Chuck’s just extended, basically, a massive apology to him by erasing all the people and places and stories that he favored over his children. Of COURSE Lucifer wants to be alone with his dad, the only chosen one left, in a universe that is finally pristine. Of course he wants to rub his new favor in Michael’s face. I just wish we’d seen and heard more of this. His resurrection wasn’t pointless at all, but it was underdeveloped.

Michael’s inability to separate himself from his father’s will at the bitter end is a tragic and somber end. Jake Abel brought his A-game again. I wish very deeply that we’d been able to see more of him this season: he is one of the few surviving people with genuine investment in Chuck as a person, and he had a deep, deep betrayal to unpack.

Chuck and his enemies: Billie was always too straightforward in her goals and motivations to be truly interesting as an enemy to Chuck; she is less a character, and more an avatar, a force of nature. She opposed him the way a river opposes stone. The Emptity is nearly disinterested in the whole mess—it just wanted to be left alone. The really interesting sources of conflict for Chuck were always going to come from his family: Amara, and the archangels. And I’m glad we got some of that conflict now, even if it was too little too late.

Both of his children were unable to separate themselves from craving his approval. It’s a dire, tragic condemnation of this immortal cosmic family. And it says something about the microcosm of the Winchesters, of them as the model for the stories Chuck enjoys, the stories he inhabits. Supernatural is a story about being trapped. 

Sam somehow tricking both Michael and God? Sam, your BRAIN, it’s simply too big! but real talk how did he manage this? Does he still have the protection from Chuck’s sight via his now-erased God hole? I’m gonna go with yes, and in fact I’m gonna go a step further and pretend he still had that bullet wound this entire season, and that it healed when Jack took Chuck’s power, because now it makes even less sense than ever that the writers chose to erase that tantalizing physical connection. There, in my head, I’ve now fixed it.

Jack. Oh, Jack, what was the show ever going to do with you? The only thing it could, I think. I love that Dean, with absolutely no sense of irony, demanded Jack return with Sam and Dean to where he ~belongs, accusing him tacitly of selfishness, as if not three days ago he’d been egging him on to suicide. For Jack’s own sake, I am glad he is away from the Winchesters, and I hope he spends several decades talking to Amara and like, manifesting as a tree or something, to get some badly needed emotional balance and sense of scale. There is still so much wrong with putting this much power and responsibility in the hands of a browbeaten three-year-old. But, yes, my heart does swell at the thought of Sam’s imperfect love fostering the new God.

The image of Sam and Dean, broken bones, bloodied faces, laughing in the face of God like they’re insane is a pretty damn good one.

Also, Dean denying himself as the “ultimate killer”? Hahahaha so much to unpack there

My least favorite part was, predictably, the saccharine speech about #freewill, complete with the goddamn table carvings. I will certainly cop to really enjoying the montage, tho (but can anyone explain to me why it was like, almost-but-not-quite in chronological order? ).

I’m probably going to have more to say about all of this. Please talk to me about this episode. I’ll forgive 15.18, and hell, I’ll proactively forgive 15.20. Together with 15.17, 15.19 paints a more pleasing, more damning, and more fruitful conclusion for SPN than I ever dreamed I’d get.

[aquariusshadow]

Live!Blogging Legacies s4x1

Well, howdy. It's been some time hasn't it?

Lets dive back into another legacies live!blog~~ (i missed doing these ngl)

lessssss gooooo

--

ok usually i dont care for recaps but good lord i needed this

mali!landon mali!landon mali!landon

oh god where is cleo

i keep thinking about the memory box thing????

MALI!LANDON MALI!LANDON MALI!LANDON

hello clarice ffs hahaha

you can tell aria is having a great time

the acting is so on point

i love it

............is it bad that im loving mali!landon's dynamaic with hope in this scene? they just feed off each other so well

mg is mali!landon

god

get with the program honey

mg i love you

omg

everyones calling her out with her landon-obsession

hope....honey...sweetie

i get it

i really do

i don't judge

but landon has been your blind spot

ooooooooo i get it

mali!landon i kinda hope youre smart enough to realize you just witnessed part of "the plan" (unless im just an idiot)

ok finsie impress me

what

are we still doing lizzie/ethan

why

.....at least it isnt mizzie i guess........

idfk

plot time

.......that vocal fry tho.....

i think mali!landon is my new favorite character

(oh thank god im not an idiot i knew that was part of the plan)

yall i hope you dont underestimate mali!landon

yaaaaaaay some hope and mg bonding!!

hope if youre sorry you need to show it

listen to mg

stick to the plan and find cleo

for the record i genuinely believe that hope believes shes sorry

but i also think she doesnt fully understand the gravity of her actions when it comes to landon

and that has to do with the underlying trauma issues she has yet to properly work through

WHAT

ARE WE GETTING

KALEB/SALVATORE SCHOOL INVITE TYPE OF BACKSTORY?!

awwww finch

thats so cute

she's trying

thats adorable

you know i kinda wish we would see this backstory in a flashback opposed to just kaleb and alaric talking about it

its that show dont tell thing that would fit perfectly here

oh god poor cleo

this is gonna suck when hope and co find her and bring her out of this

she looks so happy now :/

my heart hurts

.......are we getting that flashback?

well, this is an interesting way to show this story element

thats such a good answer finch

her character is definitely continuing to grow on me

oh

25th bday

yea about that

mali!landon did you have to ruin this cute hopexcleo moment

ok so my complaint earlier....i retract most of it cuz this is an interesting approach with kaleb's story

landon??? real!landon??? hmmm

ok i honestly have no idea if thats real!landon or not

ok so since mali!Landon is with hope then i think it's safe to assume real!landon is with alaric and kaleb

"I keep saying, that bitch is everywhere." Kaleb Hawkins 2021 lmao

yaaaaaay character growth for hope!!

hmmmmm kaleb sir

honestly

i cant fault him for lying

i mean that's gonna be an issue later obviously

but given landon's request

kinda don't blame kaleb for lying

awwwwwwwwwwww

i love this hopxmg bonding!!!!

i can't wait to see more of them in future episodes

mg best boi

"a little hope goes a long way" <3

hmmmmm i'm not sure how i feel about the whole "truth does more harm until youre ready to hear it"

like yes there is truth in that statement

but honestly? it hurts a lot more to be lied to

plus...what if you're never truly ready? then the lie just keeps going and going and going until it eventually comes out and just hurts so much worse than if you heard the truth from the start

as i said i dont blame kaleb for lying to hope

but im not sure how i feel about the narrative tied to it

hizzie talking about what kind of love lizzie wants

...........

NO

HOPE

NO

and that no is for encouraging lizzie to talk to mg, then ethan

the writers better impress me with lizzie/ethan cuz i dont think thats going away anytime soon

rip my poor methan heart

.............

"do you mind staying until i fall asleep" lizzie to hope

.........yall is it gay to ask your new girl()friend to stay with you until you fall asleep and she stays even after you fall asleep?

cleo bby i love you

shes so strong

--

Maaaaaan it was nice to live!blog an episode again! This was...really promising, I think??? We got some Hope and MG friendship bonding which was beautiful. Hope's "Landon-obsession" is finally being painted as a recognized flaw she needs to overcome to do what's right. We got some Kaleb backstory! I hope we see more of his past (especially in a stronger flashback style).

Mali!Landon...hi hello yes you are very attractive help.

Hizzie nation how are we feeling with that last scene? (yes i'm slowly becoming a Hizzie shipper)

Honestly I think season 4 has the potential to be good! This episode did a good job setting up the tone and if the writers just stay consistent then I think s4 can be one of their better seasons!