#does anyone else do this where a very inconsequential decision is like the biggest decision ever

[marmorenshud]

should I go to ikea tomorrow, saturday, or monday

[shiratorizawatxt]

The members became the opposite gender for a day!! What are their reactions and what will they do during it?

Executive decision that they all understand that the change is controlled and they will turn back at the end of the day. Bc I feel like if they had no idea what was happening, they’d all spend the entire day panicking. As would I. And most people. I assume. 

Ushijima: Much more than some of the others, Ushijima is quite alarmed at the change in his physical body. He is usually very in tune with himself physically and now that he finds himself in a different form, it throws everything off. It isn’t even so much that he’s a girl, he’s just /not himself/ and that is unwelcome. He struggles pretty much the whole day with anything and everything, trying to move in a body that doesn’t respond the way he’s used to.

Jin: The change comes as a total shock to Jin but he quickly finds… it’s not as different as he thought it would feel. He’s very conscious though of how he walks differently as a girl. It seems inconsequential, but it bothers him more than he would like to admit. He isn’t sure what to do for the day since being a girl doesn’t seem all that different, but he goes out with his friends and is floored by guys holding doors open for him.

Semi: Frankly, the switch doesn’t feel too weird for Semi and he actually enjoys it in a lot of ways. He likes the way he looks as a girl and might even take some beauty tips back after experimenting with some distinctly feminine makeup that he doesn’t usually go for. He spends most of the day shopping since there’s also a good bit of feminine fashion that he enjoys and for once in his life, he can do his damn shopping and spend literal hours in any store looking for clothes without getting an ounce of judgment from anyone else.

Reon: Funnily enough, the biggest difference Reon finds in being a girl is that it’s easier to talk to people. Sometimes he feels a bit of hesitation when starting conversations with people he doesn’t know because he’s nervous they’ll think he’s intimidating and many people don’t like talking to strangers. As a girl, people are much more willing to be approached by him to have casual conversations. Maybe he just looks nicer as a girl, he isn’t sure, but he definitely doesn’t mind it.

Tendou: Naturally, Tendou wants to make the most of this once-in-a-lifetime chance. He finds as many people as possible to trick as he’s under such a clever disguise. He also makes a point of flirting with anyone and everyone, to measure his success rates against his usual. Of course, he won’t really be pursuing these, but it’s fun anyway. He also takes the time to enjoy some of the leisures like guys holding the door open for him and he would be lying if he said wearing a skirt was kinda comfy.

Goshiki: Starting off the day, Goshiki is super nervous that something catastrophic is going to happen. He’s convinced that it’s going to be just like all the animes Tendou shows him where a girl trips and her skirt flies up so he’s /very/ careful as he makes his way around, finding that it’s actually not that different and he can walk like normal. He also finds that being a girl comes with some more allowance to wear cool hair things and also plenty of sparkly stuff which he quickly finds makes this whole girl thing worth it.

Shirabu: Being a girl doesn’t much appeal to Shirabu, but without a choice, he just tries to contain the damage as best as he can. The one good thing he finds coming out of this is a bit of attention from guys, but he disregards that, knowing that in his normal body, they wouldn’t have much interest. He finds being a girl to be more of a hassle than anything as there’s a lot more to worry about and he barely knows how to take care of himself like this. However, he does find that people are even more shocked when he’s rude and sarcastic in a girl’s body, maybe because it’s more unexpected to hear explicit language from a girl, but he doesn’t mind the unexpected pride from kicking just as much ass as a girl.

Kawanishi: Being a girl comes with a strange set of challenges that Kawanishi would honestly rather ignore. He’s been told that as a girl, he wouldn’t be able to eat five meals worth of food in one sitting so this already doesn’t sound like the greatest deal. In addition, people are looking at him differently and he can’t tell if that’s a good thing or not but he wants out. His solution is to barricade himself in his room for most of the day anyway, not caring to find out through other people if he makes a pretty girl or not. It’s just not worth the stress.

Yamagata: After the initial shock of finding himself a girl, Yamagata’s first thought becomes his primary objective: turn as many heads as possible. He wears the most stunning clothes as possible because hey, this kind of opportunity every day. He spends the day out on the town and winds up getting quite a few new phone numbers, mostly from guys but even a few from girls. He isn’t sure he even has this much luck as a dude so hey, maybe being a girl isn’t so bad.

[annasilvester]

Why does this account exist.

Firstly—for my thoughts, so they can go somewhere 😂

Also

The tricky thing with social media

Half the time I’m like “yes yes social media is good u can connect to people from everywhere anddd”

But other half: why do we feel the need to share our lives with everyone, does privacy even exist, are we all that insecure, etc etc

But like— if I ever do have a platform of some kind, no matter how small, I don’t wanna hide behind not having social media. Whenever I’m feeling insecure like “oooh what will people think of me / my writing / whatever” I go ah it’s ok just don’t have social media, at which point I employ the “not sharing ur personal life” excuse as a facade.

I don’t know how much of a facade it is yet. I haven’t been able to separate the two.

Basically I wanna be honest and myself and not some sort of mysterious bEiNg. And I don’t wanna hide.

And I wanna get used to the fact that—if people don’t accept me, fine. At least if they have a way to get to know me they can make an educated decision in that point.

(I will probably never get to a point where it would be a big deal, I mean I’m just talking to myself atm but I’m postulating for the future 😂)

Also, short life, do what u want. Don’t let ridiculous higher morals get in ur way.

Alsoooo what was it? Um. Oh don’t say I’ve forgotten.

Oh yeah. I also don’t wanna ruin this thing that—idk— when I read a book there’s something special about knowing nothing about the author. It’s just a book. And that’s what a book is supposed to be; it’s not supposed to be the author, it’s not supposed to be your opinion of the author, or your assumptions of the motivations of the author—whenever I find something out about the author my view of the book becomes tinted, I think, as much as I try not to let that happen and try to keep the two separated.

Does everyone else have that? Do others find more joy in knowing about the life of an author? What do you do if you search for a way to connect to the author but when you do, you find yourself disappointed and disheartened after.

And then how are you supposed to cultivate/uphold a pure experience of the book?

Same goes with actors, finding things out about the actors. Sometimes it leaves me feeling pleasantly surprised, but more often than not I just feel... off.

I know that i personally need to restrain from looking things up about authors/actors/singers/writers etc. Put I don’t know if the same goes for others. Or if knowing about the author adds to the experience.

Also, I’m scared of people knowing about my flaws, imperfections, weaknesses, humanness.

Sometimes it’s the opposite—it feels like you’re being true and genuine.

But there’s something liberating about putting yourself out there for people to find out about, if they want. Because then it means that you don’t feel like you’re hiding any more—if you’re being honest, that is, which I think I am doing, and intend on continuing to do.

It’s not a big deal. Everything will be inconsequential one day.

Entropy. That makes me feel better.

Sometime—I think that maybe you just have to do what makes you happy? Is this making me happy? I don’t know.

I like the idea of people being able to talk to me, about my work (if I EVER FINISH IT///publish) and knowing my motivations, other things, also then being able to tell me about things I missed, things that could be better, mistakes I’ve made. BUT STILL BE AWARE THAT MY AIM DOESNT HAVE TO BE TO PLEASE PEOPLE (as long as it’s not hurting anyone)

But that is also really scary.

Also people will inevitably say mean things. But I will try to know (because I DO know, but in the moment it can be hard to be distant) that these are the kind of people that... well.

It can be different. People can be mislead, they can be defensive, they can be emotional, or they can just be—and I struggle to get my head around this, because I always think there are motives and other reasons— mean. ?? But why, I don’t know. I understand criticism, but not meanness. I think it always stems from something else? I don’t know! I can’t get my head around it really. Mean for the sake of being mean?

Maybe I’ve just been very sheltered in my life.

Tangent.

Anyway. Yeah.

I’ll invariably change my mind, LOADS, and often.

But I think this is for the good?

People have flaws. I do. See them. Everyone has them.

I think my biggest fear is hypocrisy. I try not to be, and i would never, for example, consciously condemn people for stuff I’ve done myself which I don’t condemn myself for (is that the right us of the word condemn?)

And if it’s accidental, I have to accept, it was accidental. I’m not afraid to apologise for my own actions.

This is a brainstorm I think. Just... here’s my brain. Have it. Take it. Judge it. Hand it back to me on a platter.

Idk.

I can vote in the next general election. That’s exciting.

Uhhhhhh

Tbh (again) I’ll probably never be in a place where any of the above actually is relevant, but as a general philosophical question it’s something that bothers me a lot, even if it’s not in the case of myself but other people.

I struggle to have opinions.

Also I’m scared of saying stuff like this for fear of seeming big-headed,,, ik other people realllly don’t care that much and they shouldn’t! Because it’s not their lives—so why do I care? (Why do I want, to quote Atwood, English lit is really gonna have to start paying rent in my head soon) idk. People don’t care nearly as much as you think they do.

[nyangibun]

GoT S07E01 Thoughts

I don’t know if this will be a regular occurrence, but for the first episode, I’m going to be laying out my thoughts about the premiere in what will probably be a lengthy post that’s half gibberish and half maybe something substantial. Undoubtedly, not eloquent. These are just thoughts and nothing more that I’ve jotted down while watching and am now about to elaborate on. 

Let’s begin with what has to be one of the most epic intros in Game of Thrones ever. No, I don’t want to hear your counter. You will not sway me on this. I don’t care, mate, because this scene was bloody awesome. The minute Filch Walder Frey’s face popped up, I knew it was Arya and I knew shit was about to go down. Now nobler humans might be like ‘Oh, Arya is going down a dark path; this is bad’ but her gathering all of the Freys in one room was poetic justice. What they did at the Red Wedding warranted retaliation and this has been a long time coming. 

It was beautiful the way it happened too – a dark sadistic glee washed over you as you watch a room full of men choke on their drinks as Arya stands there telling them they should’ve killed all the Starks, and “leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe.” 

Look, people really hated that line prior to the premiere, but in context, it was wonderful, it was justified, it was so unbelievably satisfying. Then when Arya goes, “tell them the North remembers; tell them Winter came for House Frey”, you bet I got goosebumps. Like I’ve said time and time again, ‘Winter is Coming’ is not just a warning, but it’s a battle cry for the Starks. This is their season. When the world dies, the lands become barren and the knights of Summer struggle to survive, the North prevails, and the Starks are at the helm of this changing tide. It’s their time now, and beginning it with Arya avenging the loss of her family is a truly poignant way to set the tone for the rest of the season. Yes, we’ll see Cersei and Dany duking it out, but at the end of the day, this is about the Starks. 

The next thing I jotted down was ‘zombie giants’, which is just to say that: holy shit, there are zombie giants! Seeing the sheer number of White Walkers, it makes you realise how utterly inconsequential Cersei and Dany’s fight for the Iron Throne is. There won’t be a kingdom to govern when those icy bastards get past the Wall, and believe you me, they will eventually. No matter what anyone says, that Wall is coming down probably at the end of this season. 

Seeing Dolorous Edd as Lord Commander gave me goosebumps as well. I adore him; I love him, and I swear to god if he dies, I will kick someone’s ass, so he’s probably going to die. But him meeting Bran and Meera made my heart race. They are so close to Winterfell and we’re so close to another Stark reunion. Also, hey Bran, I know the world is ending but cheer up, pal. 

Now we get to the highly talked about scene with Jon and the Northern houses. First of all, I felt so euphoric when Jon told the North that they would need every man and woman, boy and girl fighting in this battle. Even more so when Lyanna spoke up and basically told the men in the room to shut up about it. Her “I don’t need your permission to defend the North!” speech was seriously my top five favourite moments of the episode. The look of pride on Brienne’s face as well. I wonder, however, if this means Sansa might learn how to fight? I don’t see it. She’s a diplomat, a politician, but she should know some self-defence. Jon should teach her. Late at night. Alone. Some flirty teaching.... I’m getting sidetracked. 

Speaking of Jon and Sansa though, can I just say to that redditor who apparently saw the first episode: ‘Hey buddy, you were wrong! And if you interpreted that scene as Jon putting Sansa in her place then you really are a sexist creep.’ Because while yes, Sansa does argue with Jon in public and Jon does tell her his word is final, he in no way puts her in her place. And there is no moment where the other Houses laugh at her. In fact, going by the murmurs of agreement, quite a large amount of lords and ladies wanted Jon to give Umber and Karstark lands to the houses who didn’t fight for Ramsay. 

I also want to clarify something here before anti’s get all up in arms about this scene (not that I think any of them follow me or stalk my blog but if you do: hi, how are ya?). While I do agree with Jon’s decision, in the end, I also understand Sansa’s opinion on the matter. If I had gone through what she had under the ministrations of Ramsay and knew that these Houses who have sworn up and down in the past to fight for the Starks sided with him, I’d be furious. There wouldn’t be a damn thing anyone could say to me to get me to forgive their indifference and compliance in the trauma I went through. Sansa has every right to want to strip the Umbers and Karstarks of their land. I can even understand being angry with Jon for not understanding this, but here’s the thing, she wasn’t.

Immediately after this extremely public argument, it cuts to a scene of Jon and Sansa talking about it. They didn’t fight, let the emotions fester and build up resentment. No, Jon and Sansa talked it out. He told her not to undermine him in public and she told him a king needed to be questioned lest he ends up like Joffrey. Then when he asks her if she thinks he’s like Joffrey, her eyes lose that fight and there’s fondness in it, as she tells him firmly that he is the furthest man from Joffrey she had ever known. Although they’re arguing and disagreeing on important political decisions, there’s fondness and trust and respect in the way they talk to each other. 

What I find interesting is that after Jon and Sansa’s scene, they cut straight away to Jaime and Cersei. Two pair of (sort of) siblings and yet two vastly different relationships. The placement of these two scenes is no coincidence. The two relationships act as literary foils for one another. Both are fighting and arguing, but in contrast, Jaime and Cersei are clearly on very different paths from one another. There’s wariness, disbelief, and disappointment in the way Jaime looks at Cersei; and she is so consumed with her grief, anger, power, she can’t see that he is questioning her very right to be on the throne. They are shot as two opposing figures circling each other with lots of space in between them. On the other hand, Jon and Sansa were shot close together, always within inches from another, with dimmer lighting, and more physicality (ie. Sansa touching his arm to assure him and let him know she may argue but she is on his side). 

Don’t dismiss the sequence of these scenes. Nothing in this show is a coincidence. 

Moving on, I love Sam and I am so excited to see him again, but dear lord, that was the most disgusting series of shots ever. I felt physically ill. Please never again. But I wonder if he discovers the dragon glass at Dragonstone this early in the season, what else will he uncover in the Citadel? There’s definitely more in store for Sam’s storyline and I wonder if it might be something to do with R+L=J. People have theorised about Sam confirming it somehow. We’ll see, I guess.

Nothing really of substance to say about the Brienne, Podrick and Tormund scene, but it made me laugh out loud. Tormund is the physical embodiment of the heart eyes emoji. And his “you’re a lucky man” to Podrick when he gets knocked down by Brienne was such great comedic timing and brilliantly hilarious. 

I wish I could play this next scene on a loop. Sansa telling Littlefinger off has to be the greatest ‘screw you’ to all the people clambering for StarkBowl just because they don’t like Sansa. I love when she says to him, and I’m paraphrasing here, “you don’t have to get the last word. I’m sure it’s probably something clever” and just dismisses him like he’s nothing, which he is. It was so queenly, so regal and so cutting. It was exactly like Sansa. She may not have a sword, but her tongue is sharp enough to wound. 

The biggest surprise of the episode was seeing bloody Ed Sheeran. When we heard the singing, I said that whoever that was had a great voice, and low and behold, it’s bloody Ed. I knew there was a huge musical guest star but this totally surprised me. I love this scene though. Arya’s always been on a very rigid path for vengeance. Those who serve the Lannisters are in the wrong and there’s no grey area about it, but you can see her sitting there listening to these men caught in someone else’s war longing to be home with their fathers, wives, daughters, etc. and realise that they are victims of this war just like everyone else. I wonder how that’ll change (if it does at all) Arya’s journey towards vengeance because truth be told, I am worried about her this season. Next on her list is Cersei, but we all know Cersei will either die by the hand of Jaime or by Tyrion (probably Jaime), so where will that leave Arya? Will she give up her quest and head home to Winterfell? Or will she die trying? 

You know what? I do like the Hound. I like his redemption arc. And although I don’t believe it makes up for all the bad shit he did prior to it, I am intrigued to see where he goes from here. Also, this line is hilarious: “it’s my luck I'd end up with a band of fire lovers.” 

Now, what I’m about to say people might nitpick with me being an anti-Dany person, but honestly, I’m not. I just thought the whole Dragonstone sequence was incredibly boring. It was exciting the first thirty seconds, but it dragged on for so long. Then when she stands at the table and says, “shall we begin?” it was just so anticlimactic. It was the dullest part of the episode and I’m hoping it gets more interesting for her soon. Actually, no doubt it will be considering this is her make or break moment, but let’s be honest, that sequence was way too long. 

Anyway, I’m done. Those are my thoughts. Let me know what you guys think!

[youveneverbeenalone]

Inktober for Writers/Fictober:

Day 17- Jubilant (Darejones)

As promised, here is the second part of the vignette from yesterday (Day 16- Defiance). You’ll want to make sure and read that before reading this. I think I like how these turned out. Let me know your thoughts about it, if you’re so inclined. Halfway done now, and that’s bittersweet. But thanks for all of the support so far. Prompt list here, just in case and links to previous days at the bottom. Thank you for reading!!!!!

Day 17- Jubilant

When she wakes the next morning, she’s immediately aware of three things- regret for the way she acted the night before, terror that she’s ruined their budding relationship, and a terrible fucking headache. But she probably deserves the latter, considering.

She spends a good portion of the day moping around her apartment and half-assing some internet investigation for an open case. But by the time night is falling, she’s restless.

She hadn’t told him not to call, but she hadn’t exactly encouraged him to, either. A part of her is dreading him calling, because then she will have to apologize and try to explain herself. But a part of her is becoming increasingly anxious for her phone to start ringing, because she needs to hear his voice and know that they are okay. That they aren’t over. Because she’s suddenly very invested in not giving up on whatever it is that is developing between them.

Thirty minutes pass as she paces the length of her main room, weighing the pros and cons of reaching out to him and running contingencies in her head to try to assess how he would respond if she called first. But for how worried she is, she feels guilty more than anything else, and in the end, the guilt wins out. It seems a monumental task to face him with how terrible she acted, and so she decides she’ll let him be the one to initiate. But she has to drink another bottle’s worth of whiskey to make herself stand by that decision.

And unfortunately, she’s still waiting for him to call the whole next day… and then the next after that. But by the evening of day three, her anxiety about the fact that they haven’t talked is overpowering her anxiety about talking to him, so she caves.

She still hasn’t allowed herself to consider exactly how she feels about him and what it might mean, but she does know that she isn’t okay with the void that not having him around for the last few days has left in her chest. So in a moment of incredible personal growth (and wouldn’t her old therapist be so proud), she sets off for his apartment.

On the way over, her mind is a mess, replaying their fight and chastising herself for all of the ways she fucked up.

Initially, she was mad because he was trying to control her, and that’s maybe the biggest trigger she has- other than anything that specifically reminds her of Kilgrave. Because she is done with all of that- the feeling of being powerless and like she’s at someone else’s mercy, like she isn’t the one who runs her life. She takes pride in the fact that she makes her own decisions in all things, and she hates it when people try to restrict her ability to do so, even in the spirit of caring and concern.

But she was also upset because Matt Murdock is the world’s biggest hypocrite when it comes to the issue of personal safety, and she’s not willing to see him risk his life on anyone else’s behalf. Never again. The man almost died under a ton of rubble because of his guilt and misplaced sense of martyrdom, and she will not sit idly by as he as he places himself in another such situation. She simply can’t because she cannot bear to lose him again, especially now that they’re getting closer.

And maybe she’s unconsciously a little mad at him for that, because it makes her feel so vulnerable and raw all the time. She absolutely hates that. And it’s made worse when she is triggered in that state, which is the final piece of the puzzle from their fight several nights ago. All because of the way he said her name - her full first name - with that specific cadence that still haunts her dreams. She needs him to never say her name that way ever again, for the rest of her life.

So now, she just has to tell him all that so next time he’ll know. So he won’t try to make decisions for her or control her. So he will give up the savior complex and take his own safety more seriously. So he won’t remind her of him when he says her name. But she won’t explain about her angry her vulnerability is making her feel. At least not yet.

These thoughts carry her all the way to his door, where she hesitates long enough to take a few deep breaths before she works up the courage to knock. It’s still strange to her, the knowledge that he can sense her coming from miles (but, seriously, maybe? She’s not clear about his exact range) away. It makes things feel uneven, like she’s starting off balance before they even truly begin. And she doesn’t need any more disadvantages on that front. Especially tonight. But at the same time, isn’t that kind of the point? She’s been unbalanced enough the last few days without him around, and this is an attempt to remedy the problem. With a sigh, she forces herself to knock before she can think any harder about it or convince herself to leave.

She wonders where in the apartment he was when she knocked because he’s at the door in record time. That calms her speeding pulse one degree because it’s a good sign, right? Maybe an indication that he was anxious for her to come, or that he hasn’t had the best time over the last few days, either? As he opens the door and she takes him in, her suspicions are confirmed. Because he looks rough. Like the last few days have stolen sleep and calm from him as much as they have from her. She breathes a sigh of relief at the thought as he gestures for her to come in and wordlessly leads her to the living room.

She hesitates at the couch, hands fidgeting in the pockets of her jacket, while he goes to the kitchen and retrieves a bottle of whiskey and two glass tumblers. She doesn’t sit until he returns, sitting in the chair across the coffee table from her. As he pours two glasses, she clears her throat and sits, just barely catching the tumbler he slides across the table to her. She takes a drink and bites the inside of her lip while a beat passes. She’s not one hundred percent sure where to start, so she tries for something somewhat neutral.

“So… you didn’t call.”

He hangs his head, placing his elbows on his knees. “Seems like you needed some space, so … no, I didn’t.” He raises his glass and takes a sip as a thoughtful look comes over his face. “Did you want me to?”

It’s because she’s Jessica Jones, damn good private investigator, that she catches the slightest glimpse of hope on his face and in his voice as he asks. And it makes her happier than it has any right to. But it’s something she needed, an assurance that she didn’t make a huge mistake in coming her. And it inspires her to be a little more honest with him than she might otherwise have been.

“A little. Was kind of dreading it, though. ‘Cause you know by now how I’m total shit at apologies.”

That earns her a look from him, one eyebrow sliding up, skeptical tone in his voice. “Really?”

She sighs, voice flat. “Really.” She looks down at the floor for a moment, gathering her confidence to say what she knows she needs to say. Then she takes a drink and swallows. And with the liquor, she swallows down her pride and her terror, and opens her mouth to do something she’s not typically inclined to do: she tells him the truth.

“Look, I’m sorry. I overreacted for two reasons. One, because someone was in danger because of me, and I had to take care of the situation before any harm came to her. And two, I hate it when people try to control me, even if they’re trying to help. Connect the dots about that. And then, the way you… god, it sounds stupid, but the way you said my name really set me off. Don’t call me ‘Jessica’ like that again, okay? Just call me Jess.”

He blinks at her and the relative ease with which the words escaped her mouths. But then he shakes off his shock and nods. “Okay, I can do that.”

She sets her jaw, a contemplative expression on her face. “Good.”

It’s his turn now, and he hangs his head for a moment before he speaks, voice low and quiet. “I’m sorry too. I thought about what you said, and I did some reflecting about how you must feel when I rush into something head first, without any concern for myself. And if it’s even a fraction of the anger and anxiety and frustration I felt for you, then I can see why it makes you so upset. So, I’ll try to tone it down.”

She huffs at him softly and raises her eyebrows. “Can I get that in writing, Counselor?”

The grin he gives her at that is bright- enough that she’s convinced it could light up a whole city block if only someone could engineer a way to collect and contain it. But then again, she wouldn’t want to share it even if they could. He doesn’t grin that way for just anyone, and she is proud of the effort she has put in to grant her such privileges.

“For that, you will need to contact my lawyer, Ms. Jones. I believe you’re already acquainted with Mr. Nelson, from HC&B. He should be more than happy to accommodate your request, seeing as he’ll want a copy too.” The smirk he is now wearing filters into his voice, making it light and playful, and the sound washes over her like a summer breeze.

And suddenly the guilt and shame and fear that she had been lugging around for the last three days evaporate. These weights which had previously been burdening her mind seen inconsequential when she’s here, in his orbit- feeling the warmth of his smile and hearing the lightness in his voice. And in the place of those familiar, if unwelcome emotions from before, now she finds only happiness. Pure and unadulterated. She would even go so far as to call it jubilance, the likes of which she has never known before. And it terrifies her, for the fact that this is definitely uncharted territory and she worries that she will lose her bearings or take a wrong turn and end up completely lost. But it is becoming increasingly clear to her that she doesn’t want to be without him, regardless.

Distantly, she knows what this likely means about what she feels for him, but she’s still not willing to consciously acknowledge it. For now, she can only bring herself to admit that she didn’t think that this kind of happiness was something meant for someone like her. But with each new moment spent with him, she is becoming more and more open to the idea. And it’s only a matter of time until she is able to believe that maybe she does deserve a chance at a happy ending with someone just as fucked up and snarky as she is. Thank God for Matthew Murdock.

Day 16 (part one of two) | Day 18

[graysons-lobotomy]

“The Universal Advices and The Urge to Be Kind; An Interpretation”

Understand that life is not kind and it is unfair and it is unjust and it allows anything.

Be very kind.

Seek to understand The Source, The Creator, and The Creation Mechanisms.

These are, as listed, the composers, the staff, and the notes and chords of The Natural Way.

The Natural Way is The Song of All Things.

It could also be, as listed and if preferred, the paint, pallets and brushes, the artist, and the painting.

Do your best not to confuse the song for the artist or it’s notes; likewise the painting for the painter or it’s paints and brushes.

Learn as much as you can about all things.

Be kind.

When you are unkind promptly be kind again.

Seek forgiveness.

Be as kind as you can be.

Focus on what is morally right more than what is wrong, and what is factually correct more than what is incorrect in the deeds, speech, and perceptions of yourself and others.

Do so especially when the dark seems to outweigh the light, when involved in conversation and/or cooperation with the mentally ill, mentally disabled, severely unintelligent, criminally inclined, or otherwise disturbed; and in dealing with yourself if you happen to fall into any of those categories.

Be kind.

Be honest with yourself about yourself.

Be honest with yourself and others about all things.

Be kind.

Take “there is a time and place for everything.” as an objective truth.

Do more good than bad.

Be kind.

Resist obsession.

Recognize perfect thinking and perfection of action for being arbitrary and fundamentally illusionary.

Be kind.

Be cool.

Take it easy.

Have compassion, patience, and empathy.

Be kind.

Do things that are purposeless.

Have fun.

Have a sense of humor.

Do not ever resist or look poorly upon true laughter from yourself or others.

Seek to find something funny in all horrors and tragedies however big and impactful or small and inconsequential. It makes the world a brighter place.

Laugh and laugh hard.

Be kind.

Teach children to know what is morally right and factually correct, when they are very young, and to detect and respond to wrongness and misinformation. Seek to help anyone that does not understand these things, at any age.

Be very authentic.

Act according to your understanding.

Seek to increase and improve your understanding.

Seek to improve yourself in every aspect.

Be kind.

Be a natural person.

Be imperfect.

Be incorrect.

Be humble.

If you must pretend, or if you pretend for fun, pretend on the surface.

Never pretend on the inside.

Be kind.

Do not harm others in any way except in self defense.

If you find yourself to be harming someone or something, unintentionally or with purpose, in a state of offense, stop immediately.

Be kind.

Do what is right.

Be proud of what you have accomplished if it is good.

Do not be proud of being born different than others in any way; for so is everyone born different from all others in many ways.

Do not be proud of your bad deeds.

Do not compare yourself to others.

Always seek to be better today than you were yesterday.

Be kind.

Be honest and responsible for your mistakes and bad deeds, to yourself and others.

Be creative and allow for the possibility that your mistakes will have a positive affect.

See the creativity in destruction and the destruction in creativity.

Do not feel guilty, ashamed, or embarrassed.

Be a better person at anytime.

Be kind.

Work smart. Be efficient.

Also work very hard, until you think you cannot work any harder, and then work harder still.

Relax thoroughly and do it often.

Be kind.

Think critically, even in your dreams.

Listen.

Listen to others.

Listen to your body.

Listen to your conscience.

Listen to The Song of All Things.

Listen to things that you don’t want to hear.

Feel that same list.

Feel things.

Feel things you don’t want to feel.

Be kind.

Raise your tolerance the three pains: Physical, Mental, and Spiritual pain.

Never intentionally damage the organs and senses that allow you to experience and perceive these pains in any way.

Do things that hurt.

Don’t hurt yourself.

Never harm yourself in a way that you cannot heal yourself from.

You cannot escape.

You can free yourself and you may find release and you may be released.

Seek this and enjoy it.

Be kind.

Be realistic.

Overcome phobias.

Meditate on your biggest and realest fears. Realize that they are very possible.

Same is true for your wildest and most wholesome of desires.

Be kind.

Always be ready for anything. Be ready and prepared to experience great amounts of suffering.

Be ready for your life to change for the better.

Be kind.

Realize that you can imagine anything.

Be ready to die at any moment.

Be kind.

Resist wrongful death, needless harm, and chaos with every bit of strength that you have.

Be kind.

Do not be overly rigid, systematic, or orderly.

Practice and train every day.

Be kind.

Never stop analyzing the reality of the situation you are in.

Explore perspectives.

Change your mind as often as necessary.

Experience poverty.

Be abundant and prosperous.

Be angry, dysphoric, confused, and viscerally afraid.

Be content, euphoric, understanding, and confident.

Pay attention to the mind and how it influences the body and vis versa.

Be kind.

Hold that which fills your soul to be sacred.

Do not allow yourself to be filled falsely with materials or badness.

Be willing to sacrifice all other things at any time.

Be kind.

Never expect notice.

Good and bad things,

big and small, occur without warning.

Always be cognizant of warnings that do exist they are of great use.

Be kind.

Try doing new things regularly.

Focus more on what you are good at.

Take time to do nothing.

Attempt to stop thinking.

Be kind.

Have friends when you are young and when you are old.

Choose them wisely.

Be kind to them.

Understand and Know that there are many things that are not and cannot be known or understood.

Understand and Know that there are things that are known and understood.

Understand and Know that there are many thing not yet known or understood, and that some unknowns can and will be known and understood at some point.

Never assume about which of these three categories it is that things fall into.

Wait and see.

Be kind.

Visualize what you are going to do and make it good.

Do not hesitate.

Be kind.

Ask many questions.

Expect few answers.

Educate yourself.

Be kind.

Accept help.

Accept love.

Depend on no one.

In emotion, task, or finance.

Your responsibility to dependent people is to help them be independent.

Likewise when you are dependent understand that responsibility is the same, towards you, for those around you.

Be kind.

Know that, ultimately, you will not succeed.

Know that you will not be finished.

Know that you will make progress.

Realize that you affect your environment and others on a constant basis by existing.

Make an effort to leave things better than you found them.

Be kind.

Take care of animals.

Be friends with animals.

Never pass by a living creature in need of help if you are able to help.

Be kind to all living things.

Be aware of dangers and act cautiously.

Be reasonable.

Be kind.

Compromise with others.

Compromise with yourself when you feel torn.

You cannot compromise with The Source, The Creator, The Creation Mechanisms, or The Natural way.

Be true and you may be shown favor.

To be deceitful is to condemn yourself.

Be kind.

Take risks.

Be in control of your mind and actions.

Give control of your spirit to The Song and

Discard the illusion that you control anything else.

Be spontaneous.

Also be very skeptical of your impulses and evaluate probable outcomes. Make good decisions.

Be kind.

Seek to learn from others.

Practice and train regularly.

Discipline yourself and accept discipline from teachers.

Be kind.

Forgive.

Forgive harder for those who are more unforgivable.

Don’t stay where you are unwanted.

Do not assume that you are wanted or unwanted, wait to be told.

Don’t abandon people.

Don’t rush in.

Always assume people mean at least to some degree the things that they say.

Allow people to change their opinions, conclusions, and behaviors.

Don’t hang around with people that mistreat you repeatedly.

Don’t be mellow dramatic or over sensitive.

Be kind.

Don’t force anything.

Be gentle by default.

Increase exertion of power gradually and stop when appropriate.

Do not break things.

Fix things that are broken.

Be kind.

Understand that being positive is always and absolutely better than being negative.

Treat your body, mind, and, soul with great care.

Push your personal limits to become strong.

Be alone sometimes.

Drink as much water as you can.

Sleep, eat, and exercise as regularly and as naturally as you possibly can.

Attempt to be truly well and to maintain wellness.

Seek to help others become well.

Seek to understand that which may enter the body. Foods, medicines, poisons, venoms, intoxicants, all physical objects, sound, light, gases, electricity, and all waves and particles.

Never give or take too much or too little.

Be helpful.

Be kind to yourself.

Seek to understand invisible forces:

The Song, Love, Fear, Hate, Anger, History, and Death.

Seek to understand religious structures, social hierarchies, governments, laws, rules, bylaws, and all sorts of authority.

Do not go about important things in life as if you are playing a game. When you do this you will ultimately lose.

Never be unreasonably aggressive.

Never be passive-aggressive.

Be assertive.

Defend yourself when necessary.

Be quick and effective.

Change what you can.

Know what you cannot and accept it.

Have faith and have hope and act like it.

If you have no faith and no hope, get some before you do anything else.

Be kind some more.

Be present at all times even when looking towards the future or into the past.

Know what you are doing.

Be happy as much as you can.

Love wastefully.

In all other regards be non-wasteful.

Trust others.

Do not trust anyone blindly.

Be kind.

Know when you have very few options and when you have reached the end. Always choose to stay alive as long as the action required to ensure your chance of survival will not unreasonably endanger the lives of others.

Be ready to die at any moment.

Be calm.

Be kind forever.

-Mr. Hassle

[blademaster-banryu]

FE Fates character analysis: Camilla's lost potential + defending what’s still good

So in light of the recent character rankings in the Fire Emblem Heroes poll, I’ve seen a lot of backlash in response to Tharja and Camilla being so high in the runnings. (This is why I made my post announcing my support/defense of them, incidentally.) And yes, it most likely IS for the fanservice factor-- however, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are bad characters who are UNDESERVING of their popularity. 

I seem to be firmly in the minority in thinking this, but Tharja is one of my favorite characters in Awakening and I will defend her and everything she stands for with my dying breath. I honestly think pretty much everything about her personality and writing is solid, and if you don’t like her, that’s totally fine! (If you’re gonna call her a bad character though you can just fite me, come at me scrublord I’m ripped). 

Camilla, however, is honestly a little harder to defend-- but I’d still like to try. So in the interest of objectivity and fairness, I’d like to take a proper look at where she falls short as a character, and what’s still good about her.

Wanna start with her design first; overall, it’s pretty typical femme fatale attire, the outfit pretty obviously-pandering, but I think it’s got some good things going for it; she herself is very pretty, and most of the armor pieces are aesthetically interesting. The battle panties are the biggest offender of unnecessary sexualization here IMO, exposed thighs/booties are sort of a recurring issue with mounted females in the 3DS Fire Emblems and TBH it’s just bad character design, bad for immersion and bad the characters’ dignity. You could also make a case for her exposed cleavage and heels being too unrealistic as well for similar reasons of practicality, but they’re quite not as problematic IMO. Honestly I can see both arguments, and I know there are even some female FE fans who like Camilla’s design the way it is, and who appreciate that she’s a sexy character who’s also powerful, and a really cool/unique type of unit for the series as well. I think it’s fair to say that there are some good appeal factors to her even despite the fanservicey outfit. 

Now there’s a fine line between being sexual and being sexualized, and while I think being sexual is perfectly fine as an aspect of her character, it’s clear that the decision was made to cross that line pretty hard with Camilla in Fates. Camilla’s appearances in cutscenes are rife with boob/butt shots, her behavior and much of her writing panders directly to male players... And to an extent, you know what? I get it. Sex sells. It’s a marketing tactic and it works. BUT... Having Camilla be the eye-catching sex icon does NOT have to come at the expense of her character-- Tharja is a successful example of this, I believe-- but  unfortunately I think that’s exactly what happened with Cam. 

I don’t have much to say on Camilla’s character and personality, since the Ghast Station’s video on Camilla did a great job of analyzing her and I don’t have much to add to that. At the end, Ghast concludes that his opinion is that he doesn’t like Camilla and that she’s a bad character-- and honestly, I can’t fault him for this opinion or the reasoning behind it. Most of Camilla’s writing has to do with doting over Corrin, and while this too is a keystone of her character, far too much time is given over to this and not nearly enough to fleshing out Camilla herself. So in light of that, I want to talk about what they COULD have done with her to make her more than she was and live up to her full potential.

So here’s what we DO get about Camilla: she’s protective, she’s bloodthirsty, she has attachment issues, and possibly the biggest bomb that informs her character/behavior the most: her involvement in the ‘concubine wars’ among Garon’s many lovers using their children to get a leg up on and even kill one another (there’s a great fan-made series of cutscenes about this that does a lot to make up for the insubstantial in-game writing). To me, Camilla has the potential to be one of the darkest and most tragic characters in the Fire Emblem series, but she’s never allowed to live up to that potential due to being sidelined as sex appeal and just an overall, largely inconsequential character (and it’s hard to see this as anything but sexist preference given over to the male characters, since Hinoka largely suffers from the same fate, minus the oversexualization). 

So what would I want to see from Camilla? Honestly, I want to see her being MORE violent and bloodthirsty-- I want the threats she makes to actually mean something, to be backed up by her actions. (Again with the fanmade content, there’s a great AU for this being thought of by @exaltedgrimleal and @lightningbuglane ) She threatens to break Selena’s legs for trying to leave her, to lock up Laslow for torture if he betrays her, and of course to disembowel anyone who threatens Corrin... But never do we get any payoff for these threats during cutscenes. Why not have moments where someone tries to hurt Corrin, and she disregards his/her pleas to spare them, show us that Camilla is not to be trifled with? Maybe instead of Leo, SHE could have been the one to kill Zola after he proved problematic in Conquest, that’s well within her established character to do (but nooo can’t have THAT, a woman can’t be the one to take initiative in the plot that’d be compromising her status as fanservice icon, wouldn't it lol). Even her sexualization isn’t used to further her character; with how she dresses, wouldn’t you expect that she would use her looks to manipulate people who are otherwise inconsequential to her to get something that she wants, or even better, for the benefit of her family and her kingdom? (But nope that would be empowering her sexuality wouldn’t it lol. Women have to be passive, right Japan?) Camilla is a great unit on the gameplay side of things, and having her be so inconsequential in the plot furthers the already-distracting dichotomy between plot and gameplay in Fates.

Speaking of, her class is another area where a lot of character-building (as well as worldbuilding) potential is lost IMO. Malig Knights are supposed to be sorcerous wyvern riders with undead mounts, right? That's SO unique, it’s one of the coolest new classes to be introduced in ANY Fire Emblem game! In her class alone, there's the potential to explore 1) how a wyvern rider becomes a malig knight (do they have to resurrect a wyvern? KILL their own even? think of the psychological impact that ALONE could have and how it could further inform her both the loving and dark/controlling aspects of her character), 2) Camilla's relationship with her wyvern (doesn't even have to be touched on that much, maybe in 1-2 supports), 3) her mix of proficiencies between combat, magic, animal-handling, how she trained, etc.... She, as the sole playable character unit who starts as a Malig Knight, stood to add SO much to the world of Fates, on top of her own character, purely by virtue of her class. But her wyvern/class are literally NEVER acknowledged throughout the course of the game (a flaw that extends to all of the Nohr royals, actually), and instead the focus is put on her male-pandering aspects (or rather, lack of care to make her anything else). Characters’ classes informing their character and behavior is a frequently-used writing tool in the FE series that goes utterly unused and wasted a lot in Fates, but more so with Camilla than any other character, debatably. 

So I think that about wraps it up here. Now make no mistake, despite all my complaints, I really like Camilla... but I can’t overlook her flaws-- writing flaws more so than character flaws (the latter is what makes characters interesting, after all)-- and will never hesitate to point out or criticize all the lost potential she  had to be a truly grim and/or tragic character in Fates' plot (making her be depressed and pass rule to Leo in Birthright is about the bare minimum of what they could have done with that). 

Still, I think the discourse we're even able to have over this proves that there WAS something more to Camilla than just the fanservice... Even if it wasn't much. 

So if you dislike Camilla because of how little there is to her-- or even for what she was intended to be-- that’s fine. If she had been written successfully or the way I wanted, I expect she’d be an even MORE polarizing character than she is now, haha. (Just keep in mind that a character isn’t necessarily bad just because they’re sexualized, folks, I know that’s why a lot of people hate on her lol) 

Thanks for reading and I hope I’ve given Camilla fans and haters alike some food for thought!

[brokenbase]

Horizon: Zero Dawn - BROKEN BASE REVIEWS

That's right - we were lucky enough to score an advanced copy of Horizon: Zero Dawn from Sony! So, what did Steve think about one of the first big console exclusives of the year? Well, go ahead and watch the video! Or, if you wanted to read the review, you’re in luck - the full script is just below the cut!

Horizon: Zero Dawn, the latest game from Killzone developer Guerrilla Games, is already under a lot of pressure. Not only is it one of the first big releases of 2017, but it’s the one of the biggest guns in the PlayStation 4′s exclusive line-up for the year. A new IP, a new heroine, a new engine - even after a fantastic debut and some serious hype, Horizon: Zero Dawn still has a lot left to prove.

There’s a lot to cover when it comes to Horizon. Not only is the game massive in scope, but Guerrilla Games have pulled from a number of other gaming franchises to create one of the most eclectic sandboxes in recent memory. While there’s nothing wrong with pulling inspiration from other, successful franchises, that doesn’t necessarily guarantee success.

Thankfully, Horizon: Zero Dawn manages to blend its different ideas into a cohesive - and more importantly, fun - open-world action game.

Players take on the role of Aloy, a young woman surviving the harsh wild of a post-apocalyptic Earth. Giant robotic animals roam the planet, leaving humankind to fight for its very survival. As one might expect, it doesn’t take long for Aloy to get swept up in a worldwide conspiracy, forcing her to leave home in search of answers.

To put it bluntly, the first few hours of the story are rough. Aloy is enjoyable enough, but the story of an outcast trying to fit into society is downright generic. It’s far too easy to predict exactly what will happen, and it’s not nearly interesting enough to create any sort of emotional attachment.

Once the intro is out of the way, Horizon’s story does get better. The game’s world and the people in it manage to create a setting that’s both far-flung and believably grounded - given that this is a world where giant robot dinosaurs roam the wilderness, that’s saying something. It definitely helps that many of the player’s actions actually make an impact: Seeing decisions and questlines come full circle as the game progresses is a great touch, and does a lot to make Horizon’s side quests feel like more than inconsequential errands.

But it’s the story of the machines and their origins that’s the true star of the show. Horizon’s A.I.-centric plot may be a new take on an established concept, but a number of genuinely surprising twists and a distinct identity keep it from feeling stale. Sadly, the pacing is extremely lopsided: the story becomes an unrelenting deluge of information during its second half, and it can be overwhelming at times.

What’s worse is that Aloy’s personal story doesn’t hold up nearly as well. Her storyline takes a backseat for far too long, and the main villain doesn’t have enough of a presence throughout the game to feel like a real threat. By the time the credits roll, the whole revenge plot feels like more of a sidenote than anything.

As a whole, characterization is flawed: Aloy herself is enjoyable, and some of the side characters are great, but nearly everyone else is either forgettable or entirely unlikable. For whatever reason, Aloy’s closest ally is an absolute prick throughout the entire game, while the central villains are basically nonexistent. It’s completely backwards, and choices like these derail the story on more than one occasion.

Simply put, the narrative of Horizon: Zero Dawn is all over the place: some parts of the story are fantastic, while others drag the experience down. Personal tastes will be a factor in your enjoyment of the story, but once it gets going, the good usually outweighs the bad.

Anyone who’s played an open-world game from the past ten years will know exactly what to expect from Horizon: Zero Dawn. The entirety of the game’s single-player story takes place in a massive seamless map filled to the brim with NPCs, quests and hidden collectibles. Players complete story missions to advance the plot, and side quests to earn optional rewards. Scaling specific machines will reveal large portions of the map, and fast-travel points open up as players explore the world.

At first glance, it might seem like Horizon’s strict adherence to the standard open-world formula wouldn’t leave much room for new ideas...and while that’s true in some respects, it’s also selling the game short. The overall structure may be familiar, but the gameplay itself is an entirely different beast.

With a focus on stealth, ancient weaponry and RPG mechanics, one would be forgiven for assuming that playing through Horizon: Zero Dawn is a slow, methodical experience. In reality, that’s only half-true.

Players will spend the majority of their time playing Horizon doing one of two things: engaging enemy combatants head-on, or sneaking around them. Combat and movement are fast and loose while simultaneously rewarding those who play with precision. It’s possible to let off a slew of arrows quickly, but it’s far more satisfying to pick off enemies one at a time with carefully-placed shots.

Human enemies, for the most part, don’t provide much resistance. Their sheer numbers can be a threat, and more powerful variants are introduced as the game goes on, but they don’t hold a candle to the robotic enemies that players will face.

Without the ability to take out a target with a single shot, combat against the machines becomes far more tactical. Weapon choice, enemy layouts, terrain, available ammo, healing items - everything has to be taken into consideration before taking the first shot. Actual combat is a chess game of positioning, targeting weakpoints and isolating weaker enemies, and it’s a blast from beginning to end. Fights against multiple machines can be a bit too chaotic for their own good, and certain enemy types are overpowered, but these issues are minor in the grand scheme of things.

Of course, combat is more complicated than just bows and arrows. Aloy’s arsenal does a fine job of both encouraging experimentation and allowing players to find a specific style that works for them. Different ammo types and elemental status effects offer even more variety, though the upgrade system isn’t quite as successful. Purchasing or crafting better gear is definitely helpful, but grinding for the specific parts required to do so relies entirely on random chance. Get ready to hunt a lot of rabbits.

Skills points and leveling up are the final piece of the combat puzzle, and it’s exactly what you would expect. More experience means more skills, such as slowing down time while aiming or more powerful melee attacks. It’s another way that players can customize their play style, but it’s nothing new, either.

The rest of the gameplay is fun, if not entirely noteworthy. Puzzles and platforming are basically automatic, and don’t provide any real sense of challenge. Collectibles are fun to find, but the rewards for finding them aren’t anything special. Dialogue trees are an interesting addition, but there are only a few instances where Aloy’s response actually changes anything.

It’s a shame that the smaller aspects of Horizon’s gameplay aren’t as polished as the core mechanics, but it’s clear that Guerrilla Games focused on what matters. Combat feels great, and sneaking through an enemy encampment is extremely satisfying. It would have been nice if everything were as engaging as the combat, but Horizon nails its core gameplay so well that these small missteps are easy to forgive.

From the moment that players press Start, one thing is obvious: Horizon: Zero Dawn is absolutely gorgeous. Nearly everything about the game’s presentation is phenomenal, from the environments to the character models to the sound design to the insane level of detail.

Watching as Aloy or any one of the massive machines move through the environment is a sight to behold, and the sheer number of different animations is staggering. Lighting is another highlight, with the use of color and shadow standing head-and-shoulders above most other games in the industry. Horizon is a game that revels in creating atmosphere.

What pulls everything together is the game’s unparalleled sense of scale. True, there are plenty of games with massive open worlds, but few truly take advantage of their sandboxes. Horizon, on the other hand, is constantly using the scope of its world to amazing effect. It’s huge, in every sense of the word, and it’ll make your jaw drop more than once.

Granted, the presentation isn’t perfect. Facial animation is noticeably limited, and characters don’t really emote. Some of the voice work (typically whenever children are involved) also falls short, and a few minor technical issues pop up from time to time. That being said, a few infrequent hang-ups aren’t nearly enough to derail one of the best-looking games of this generation. Horizon: Zero Dawn is both an artistic and technical marvel, and proof that there’s still plenty of room to grow in the current generation of consoles.

Horizon: Zero Dawn isn’t a perfect game. The story is unfocused, the intro drags on for far too long, and the pacing is ridiculously unbalanced.

But, when you look at the bigger picture, it’s easy to see just how good Horizon really is. The game may draw its mechanics from a number of different series, but everything comes together so well that it’s hard not to be impressed. It’s also a technical marvel, with an unparalleled attention to detail and infinitely impressive scale. The game may stick to some open-world traditions a bit too strictly, but at the end of the day, Horizon is still one of the most polished games in recent memory.

If Horizon: Zero Dawn is just the first piece of Sony’s exclusive line-up in 2017, then PlayStation 4 owners have a lot to look forward to.

[100wordanime]

Overview:

The Black King has stolen half of the chain chronicle (which apparently documents everything that happens in the world) and now he’s using it to engulf the world in darkness. The heroes have already tried to defeat him and failed, but have they given up hope? I reviewed Chain Chronicle week to week so if you want thoughts on the individual episodes click here.

Review:

Before getting into this there’s a couple of things I’m going to make clear. I am a major old-school fantasy fan. I have read pretty much every sword and sorcery style fantasy book I could get my hands on growing up and read out entire fantasy sections of school and public libraries. My appetite for these kinds of stories is voracious and I’m not too picky about quality as long as it isn’t boring. Therefore, when I say that this story is lacking in originality but still really fun, you should probably understand that it really only applies if you are equally fixated on good vs evil, hack and slash with swords, with some magical explosions and the occasional dragon thrown in.

When this came out in Winter I was really happy because it has been a long time since we’ve gotten an anime that is so unapologetically classic fantasy. It wasn’t trying to give us a subversive hero, add in unnecessary self-aware comedy, give the villains complex backgrounds and having people make morally grey decisions. There is nothing wrong with any of those things, but they aren’t classic fantasy and while they can make for stories that feel a bit different, I still just like my fantasy pretty straight forward. There’s something comforting about the familiarity of light vs darkness and the good guys will be down but not out for three quarters of the story before they rally for the final conflict. So I’m not going to spend much time discussing the plot but rather the characters and the execution.

The issues that emerge from these sorts of stories though usually concern lazy writing. Because the story is so familiar and the characters are such well-worn archetypes, writers end up taking short cuts and you kind of feel like you are reading a plot synopsis or a description of a movie rather than being immersed in a story. The other issue that comes along is that the writers themselves are aware that everything they are writing is derivative and so they don’t give anything the extra attention or oomph it needs to make it stand out.

So does Chain Chronicle have these issues?

Yes and no.

The villains do suffer incredibly from poor writing and limited screen time. They are either mindless summoned puppets who can get cut down in droves and just respawn (so zero care factor from the audience) or they are so beyond cliché in their dialogue it is impossible to take them even vaguely seriously as a threat. Plus, there’s the lingering question of even if they succeed in dying the world black, what then? Is there some sort of grand plan beyond make everything black?

Realistically this is my biggest complaint of this series as a whole is the lack of real motive or care put into these villains (that and what is with that female villain’s armour). Also, we see not one but two of the ‘heroes’ of the story get turned into demons through their own inner doubts and losing to their inner darkness.

Yuri, as the main hero, has a whole group of friends continuously rallying behind him and trying to bring him back. His character and back story get quite a lot of exploration to understand why he gave in to the darkness and to really hammer the point that anyone can fall. Also giving the whole love, bonds, and friendship theme a boost in the final episode.

Burkhardt on the other hand turns evil and mostly people spend the rest of the series shouting at him and then the Princess cuts him down declaring that she would take on responsibility for him. Um, Princess, wouldn’t it be better to believe in him and try to get him back like Yuri’s group are doing for him? Aren’t you kind of writing off your own subordinate fairly cheaply? And why is Yuri so much better? Then again, Burkhardt’s character is portrayed as a proud narcissist before he turns, we get no back story, and no development. And it turns out he has no friends so clearly he doesn’t fit with the theme of bonds and friendship and so must get unceremoniously crushed.

It’s fairly contradictory the way these two characters are treated and while I get that we probably don’t have time to explore the back story of every character, why introduce Burkhardt at all and why have him go evil if you aren’t doing anything with that. Or even if they tried to turn him back and his inner self resisted and continued to give in to darkness forcing them to kill him it would have made more sense because it would have shown the moral choice of being evil despite having someone reach out for you.

So yeah, the villains were not great.

In terms of all of the other characters, the biggest issue is the sheer number of them. This story wants to be an epic. It really does with the scale of the threat and the number of alliances and people caught up in the battle. But with 12 episodes instead of grandiose and epic what we end up with is a shallow view of a much deeper world and we don’t really have time to deal with the ins and outs of most the characters.

That said, some of them were really fun. By the half-way point I kind of loved Aram. He was such a cliché character getting picked up by the heroes in a random village and then apparently being excellent at fighting before he learns about hope and bonds and ends up all but being the main hero of the story. Plus, he picked up Furball who was adorable, and then transformed into a dragon (needed a new name, seriously who calls a dragon Furball). Aram was awesome and yes he gave in to the shout your ideals loudly at anyone who disagrees philosophy that so many young, male anime protagonists fall into but due to the sheer number of other characters the effect of this was somewhat diluted making that aspect of his personality tolerable.

The other character I really enjoyed and wished we’d learnt more about was Shuza. He was such an antagonistic character throughout most of the series and I really wish the show had spent a bit more time on him so that we could really appreciate the moral ambiguity he really represented. Everything else in the story was incredibly divided into darkness and light but he managed to be technically on the side of light but had some pretty dark views and really the ending gives us no clue about what now. In my own head I’m seeing him take his army and sweeping across the continent taking advantage of the fact that all the other armies have been significantly weakened. But we don’t actually know what he is doing other than still leading the army because pretty much no time is devoted to him after the battle.

There were other characters that I either liked or didn’t but essentially if you can think of a character who usually appears in these kinds of stories, they are likely to show up somewhere along the way, even if only for a little bit and even if their actions seem pretty inconsequential.

There also some really cool settings and locations, though at times you’ll get sick of them being on yet another road. Also, don’t pay too much attention to travel time. Apparently armies can fast travel (not really but realistically they must have for all of those armies from all of those different locations to be able to arrive in that location at that time). Time and distance mean very little in this story and you kind of just have to go with it.

All and all, as I said at the start I had a lot of fun watching this. There’s definitely issues and at times common sense has to be dismissed just to get through a certain plot point, and I really wish that they’d either trimmed down the scale of the conflict or given this another 12 episodes to actually flesh out the world in a way that made it feel a bit more real, but entertaining nonetheless. I’d really only recommend this to major fantasy fans who are wanting something just to casually watch where they don’t have to think too much and they aren’t wanting anything unexpected. Otherwise, there’s probably better stories out there to spend your time on.

Still, fun.

Are you a fan of 100WordAnime.blog?

If you like this site and you like what I do, please consider becoming a patron.

Thanks,

Karandi James.

Chain Chronicle – The Light of Haecceitas Series Review Overview: The Black King has stolen half of the chain chronicle (which apparently documents everything that happens in the world) and now he's using it to engulf the world in darkness.