#get 2-3 story missions done. you might say that doesnt seem like a lot but it is when u have to pretty much go line by line. and sometimes

[volfoss]

if i can get thru most of act 2 (its only 5 main quests) today thatll be really good for the me community that is so scared and terrified. but also i really think i will def surpass 130 pages today w how long each mission gets story content wise. i stay brave tho ok i promise

[rookisaknight]

Raf Tanager, meet Hope County

⤘⤘⤘There’s a new Deputy in Town⬽⬽⬽

So as a side benefit of getting into this fandom again with a brand new gender and a brand new vibe: a brand new deputy. Excited to introduce you all to my boy, they were developed for a joint Deputy au with @ophiebot​ (who will do this for their Deputy Elijah Rook if so inclined). Not exactly reinventing any wheels here, but this time its about the indulgence.

FYI, Molly is still extant, but her story I think has been explored in my brainspace as much as it needs to be. 

➷The Basics

1. Give their full name, and describe them or post a picture! (Height, build, hair, eye, and skin color, etc.)

Rafael "Raf" Tanager (birth name REDACTED). 5'4", prone to chub but hardening up with the frequent exercise, solid build. Freckles on cheeks that darken as time goes on. Short hair kept red by some truly obsessive hairdye upkeep, which is harder than you might think. Hazel eyes. Burns and shrapnel scars around the eyes and mouth.

2. How old are they?

24

3. Sexuality and gender?

Bisexual, transmasc genderqueer. She/they/he but a preference for they/he when he doesnt trust the person using them.

➵Pre-Game

1. How did they end up at the Hope County Sheriff’s Department? How long have they worked there?

Raf grew up closer to Missoula, but he’s still a Montana native. They’ve been at this for around 8 months, pretty much right out of graduating college. Even they honestly aren’t sure how they ended up here, just the latest in a series of adrift jobs after graduating, taken primarily to avoid any potential financial dependence on their  family. Probably would have resigned soon were it not for. Everything.

2. Relationship with Pratt, Hudson, and Whitehorse?

Pratt: Used to hate his guts. The teasing felt too much like flirting for their comfort and he was honestly kind of a bully. Now its trickier. He's pathetic in a way that’s hard for them to be around, as awful as that is, because it hits too close to home.

Hudson: Had a massive crush on her for most of their early days that pretty much went out the window post Eden’s Gate. They still try a little too hard to impress her though.

Whitehorse: Intellectually, they resent his passivity since it means a lot of Eden’s Gate ended up falling in their lap and he’s STILL insistent that maybe they should have left it alone when they’ve all had months to realize why that was a bad idea in the first place. Emotionally, well, they’re maybe a little in need of a father figure or two.

Elijah Rook: The former Rookie. They were quietly a little intimidated by him prior to all this and that’s never fully gone away, but they’ve now been able to witness more of his dorky side that makes it a little harder to take him seriously. You try chaperoning this guy from one end of Hope County and considering him at all frightening.

3. Do they have an education?

They have a MASTERS and its never relevant to anything because its a humanities degree, specifically the classics. Part of the reason they’re a little adrift currently, there was no easy dismount out of college. Just a hell of a lot of debt.

4. Where are they from? Did they speak a different language there?

Missoula, or close enough to it. They picked up some Latin and Greek from their degree. The Latin comes in handy more often than you’d think, what with the cult stuff, but the reading material is a real bummer.

5. Is there anyone outside the valley that might have come looking for them?

They’ve never had many friends in college and high school that could outlast physical proximity and they basically ghosted their family since that was easier than coming out to them at a certain point. So no, no one they want to find them is looking.

6. Did they have a religious background of any kind?

His father is a preacher, and while there’s some baggage there they would still describe themselves as broadly religious. Or at the very least superstitious.

➷Inside Hope County

1. What was going through their head when the helicopter went down and during the subsequent chase?

The crash was honestly the easiest part. That was just panic. The chase was the hard part. The helicopter exploding ended up catching them in the face, leaving them with burns and scarring that would remain for the rest of their life. She's lucky she wasn’t blinded. Still, he was forced to stumble out of the woods in intense pain and bleeding out. Had it not been for Elijah they definitely would have been taken then and there.

2. Were they afraid of Joseph and Eden’s Gate? Angry?

Terrified. Not just because of what they’ve done but because Raf knows intuitively that he's susceptible to it. As early as their first encounter they have a hard time breaking the hold Joseph gets on their mind. Even though they’re conscious of HOW they’re being manipulated, its hard to resist it.

3. Did they trust Dutch?

At that point Raf would’ve happily taken literally anyone who seemed to know what they’re doing and wasn’t holding a gun to his head.

4. How did they feel about their team being taken by the cult, did they count them as lost, did they want them back, did they not care?

Absolutely the nightmare scenario: people’s lives depending on them and their ability to be decisive. Had it not been for Elijah they probably would’ve high tailed it out of there and tried to find someone higher up the authority chain to deal with this mess. Still, just abandoning them all didn’t sit right with him either, and by the time they’d liberated Fall’s End even he had to admit he was there by his own choice.

5. How did they take to the idea of being part of, if not leading, the resistance?

Again, Raf doesn’t really do well with people depending on them. Alone. they probably would have found it a lot more miserable, but Elijah significantly helped lighten that load for them in terms of having a direction. They’ve found out they’re accidentally pretty good at working with a variety of people and can even be inspiring without meaning to. Still, in their ideal world they would’ve been left alone, or at least remained a foot soldier.

6. Which companions did they recruit, and who did they travel with the most?

All guns for hire were recruited, but Sharky and Nick were their go-to’s, Sharky for personal reasons and Nick for air support. Grace was usually the adult supervision when Nick couldn’t make it but. To be frank Raf's aim isn’t great and it drives Grace a little nuts on prolonged missions. She’s tried teaching them but it never really seems to stick.

7. Did they have time to find romance amidst the chaos? How did they do it?

Sharky. That relationship was a bit of a cold opener  (and don’t bother, Sharky already beat you to that joke). After getting their face fucked up during the escape they’ve had a pretty healthy aversion to fire and explosives, making his recruitment a little harrowing. Still, Sharky's sweet in his way, makes them laugh and breathe a little easier when the pressure gets to them, and operates on a pretty similar brainwave. They’ve been joined at the hip since their first few months in Holland Valley. They’re both a little on the codependent side, but really, who are they to complain.

8. Feelings about Joseph?

Joseph taps into a lot of vulnerabilities inside of Raf intuitively. The absence of a strong support system, the loneliness, the fear, the directionlessness, the relationship with their own spirituality, it all provides him a unique entryway into their psyche that he is exactly the kind of person to exploit. As a result, he tends to fixate on them over Elijah, usually to their detriment. Still, that connection can sometimes go both ways, and there are things about Joseph that Raf understands which even his brothers never fully do.

9. Feelings about the other Seeds?

John: They have a unique capacity for antagonizing him. Probably because as an oldest child themselves they know exactly how to jab at the youngest child insecurities. Still, that relationship didn’t stem any deeper and he focused his energies a little more on Elijah. Still, they have him to thank for the Sloth scars on their arm, thanks for that. They’re starting to run out of unmarked skin.

Faith: Faith, meanwhile, was a little more directly focused on Raf, partly because her region was the first time they had to operate a little more on their own. For personal reasons, Elijah wasn’t particularly able to engage with the Bliss. Meaning if Burke was ever going to get saved Raf had to be the one to go in there, again and again. Faith, like Joseph, can tap a lot of that loneliness that Raf has, as well as some gender and sexuality stuff Joseph can’t touch. Suffice to say Sharky had a pretty good reason for being as overbearing as he was during those months, even though he was eventually able to do the job. As a side note, they haven’t had access to their ADHD meds for MONTHS and it doesn’t help when the cult drug is the first thing to make your head feel clear in a while.

Jacob: Jacob was utterly uninterested in Raf and the feeling was mostly mutual. He doesn’t really get him or what he’s about, just knows that the county would be better off when he was put down. Transition goals, though (don’t tell Staci they said that).

10. How did they handle having to kill animals and other humans? Had they done it before?

Animals yeah, you don’t live in Montana as long as they did without hunting occasionally. People....well. You can get used to it.

11. Which canon ending did they choose in-game, and would you have changed the ending at all?

Resist. I wouldn’t. Raf might.

➷Personal

1. Favorite weapon(s)?

They usually prefer to show up to spots early and lay traps, try to minimize the direct combat involvement. When it can’t be avoided though, their pistol isn’t ever far and neither is a hunting knife.

2. Stealth or firepower?

Stealth, one hundred percent. Sharky and Eli are here to do the firepower.

3. How did they spend their time, when not fighting peggies?

A lot of bad movies with the boyfriend and a LOT of poker, one of their more unknown talents. Resistance isn’t gonna fund itself.

4. Where did they live during the events of the game?

Wherever there was a bed they could fall into. Their little trailer they’d been living in prior to all this got absolutely decimated while they were healing up on Dutch’s island.

5. Any other facts you want to share about your Deputy!

He’s got almost supernatural luck to the point that a couple of their guns for hire have gotten superstitious about bringing him to certain events. Including fishing. The catch just always seems somehow a little better. Also he’s privately obsessed with the 1998 recording of Cats and is terrified of anyone finding out.

[nenastrology]

you should rate the arcs. share your wisdom with us. (or rank them by craziness /wtf moments)

ok i think rating them is easier than ranking them i can add craziness as a category alright alright

ok this ended up being nightmarishly long so im just putting it all under the cut for anyone who feels like reading giant blocks of text on my opinions on every single naruto arc

land of waves - classic very good i genuinely wish there could have been more arcs like it to show team 7 really bonding and growing together before sasuke ends up feeling alienated its got a really sweet touching story and naruto and sasukes relationship starts off already at a pretty high level of crazy like oh yeah right out of the gate they are trying to die for each other this can only get crazier from here i would have probably liked it more if id read the manga first because the anime murders the pacing of the fights here but overall i do really like it

chuunin exams - i love lots of chunks of it but it did really feel like a slog to get through parts of the forest of death and a lot of the more minor fights because kishimotos really just not very good at writing fights that he doesnt put his absolute most effort into i really love how the anime added to the part where sasuke gets the curse mark and how naruto is separated from him its really emotional and strong sakura actually feels like shes trying to become a character here i love her fight with ino and cutting off her hair legendary and im not a monster gaara vs rock lee still makes me scream the craziness of this arc is actually finally not riding on sasuke being crazy finally gaaras carrying the craziness hello blood drinking 12 year old i hope you get better soon 

konoha crush since i guess its a different arc - ok i actually really love all the weird political stuff kinda added in here the hints at some actually interesting village conflict i wish thats what the ninja war arc could have built from and orochimarus definitely the most comprehensible villain in the story and i love naruto vs gaara so much like thats really peak and tbh extremely satisfying to watch the shitty old bitch hokage kick the bucket like killing gaaras evil dad and hiruzen really was the best thing orochimarus done finally gaara has more help with craziness cuz narutos losing his mind too and sasukes getting some crazy seeds planted for later craziness harvest

search for tsunade - i feel like i really like this arc but when i actually read it im like hmm theres all these parts i dont like but i really love all the character stuff itachis introduction is iconic and i really do love tsunade and her fighting orochimaru was like highlight of everything its weird i dont have a lot to say but i do actually like this arc a lot in a way im like not sure why craziness is kinda low except for sasuke whos absolutely losing his entire mind which stresses me out so much and this is where i start getting extremely sad about sasuke

sasuke recovery mission - 80% of it is the absolute worst part of part 1 and 20% of it is the absolute best part of part 1 like this is really where all the warning signs of quality dropping and like kishimotos lack of skill writing fights really really starts to show like really all those fights do is kill the emotional thread running from the hospital fight, sasukes goodbye to sakura and sasuke and narutos fight which are like the best things hes ever written the craziness is turned up as high as it can get the emotional stakes and pain and love are also so high this is peak naruto if we just pretend the fights against the sound 4 never happened just skip them

kazekage rescue mission - this is where all the omens from sasuke recovery mission and the quality drop really like finally start meaning something because really this arc SHOULD be good and its like really really good in certain places like any time naruto and gaara are talking thats just love right there and all those moments really make it almost worth it except that kishimoto really took such a nose dive on understanding how to pace fights the parts that dont have gaara and naruto gazing tenderly at each other feel like pulling teeth like sasori vs sakura really should be absolute peak and its got some truly fantastic moments but it just goes on for so long i feel like im gonna die before sasori ever does that fight could have given us womens rights and the craziness is really high like naruto is just losing his mind about gaara and sakura killed a man with her bare fists

tenchi bridge - oh the love its palpable here and so is the craziness like naruto going to 4 tails because orochimaru just says a few things about sasuke like wow and their whole reunion is so good the passion and weird emotional issues all coming to the surface i love yamato here hes a fun guy and i really like the new team 7 dynamics they are fun i like lots of parts of it but i cant think of anything else to say its what it says on the tin emotional sauske and naruto reunion

akatsuki suppression mission - alright full disclosure i fucking love this arc this arc is the reason i sometimes throw my brain right out of my head and start talking about how much i love shikamaru i prefer all the emotional moments in the anime a lot it felt very rushed in the manga and like that whole episode of team ten processing their grief was so good but god im so so mad that only shikamaru got to have a big important fight like ino and choji should have been helping equally and i really really hate the fight with kakuzu its just more badly paced bullshit for kakashi and naruto to get to be super op when this was supposed to be a bonding moment for team ten this is a little crazy but its team 10 crazy not team 7 crazy which means they are still pretty normal well adjusted people with brains in their heads who are just having a moment

itachi pursuit mission - sasuke killing orochimaru really was so incredibly perfect and forming taka? this arc is about gay rights uum its really short so i dont have the most thoughts but yeah sasukes like maybe at his least crazy until the end of the story like hes got a real concrete plan find gay friends and kill his brother but hes really got a big storm coming 

tale of jiraiya the gallant - i really do not like jiraiya all that much hes just boring and weird but i love the chunks of rain trio backstory we get they are really the last bit of complete villain characters we are gonna get very tragic idk the fight is like alright for this stage of naruto but it still lasts too long and pains powers still make no fucking sense and feel just too overpowered you know also zero crazy which is very disappointing all naruto arcs should have crazy

pain fight - ive got lots of conflicted feelings like the fights not very compelling at first because genuinely the pain bodies are just too strong its very weird and narutos got this big power up which is what it is i really love pain as a villain like hes literally right about everything hes saying but it has to be bizarrely undercut by just bonding awkwardly about jiraiya and yeah theres some very cool battle moments theres some good shit in there but long drawn out battles arent exactly my thing but naruto going 8 tails was still pretty fucking cool and god it was such a cop out that everyone came back to life at the end COWARD KISHIMOTO

kage summit - the one the only kage summit absolute peak craziness like sasuke trying to take down the entire world government thats absolutely iconic i love him for it so much narutos having his own melt down about sasuke sakuras decided she doesnt actually need a brain anymore and has also lost her whole fucking mind in the whirlwind of chaos like this arc feels like an anxiety attack at some points but god do i love it naruto and sasukes whole confrontation is absolutely peak ill bear the burden of your hatred and die with you?? the love the tragedy this is truly peak gay drama thats really like hes planning a lovers suicide and we are all just along for this crazy fucking ride love it

war arc - how did we go from kage summit to this like kage summit felt like it was maybe actually going somewhere but the quality drop is just like an elevator was cut and we are now all speeding to crash at rock bottom here what the fuck happened why was this written why is it literally 1/3 of all of naruto why has god abandoned us itachi and sasukes reunion was very good and needed i loved all the parts with hashirama and madara and really for one sweet moment it seemed like madara might just be a dumb sexy villain who just wrecks shit until all that spiraled down into garbage if i think about obito for too long i start to go crazy thats the real craziness of war arc is how fucking stupid it is and that is making everyone whos ever read or seen it go crazy right along with it

wiki is telling me the kaguya bit is its own arc so lets go with that - ok kaguya fight is pretty cool im into it to a certain extent her weird portal powers are fun i like that but thats really not what we are here for now are we no we are here for the conclusion to 15 years worth of crazy we are here for sasukes final massive lose his mind time and naruto to go right along with him the love and the tragedy but the hope it offers as well love was really invented by the second valley of the end fight and the anime said gay rights and made it the prettiest thing you will ever look at and also adding all the extra tender moments between them like this is it this is why you watch naruto you watch it all for this and god do we love it but wow the trying to be serious stuff about hokage really is so fucking stupid lets pretend that never happened 

wow i really just typed that all out shout out to u 2 loyal fans who read all this shit i guess it was only a matter of time before i wrote something this long and stupid see i do actually like naruto i feel like i couldnt really hit the balance of complaining or praising so idk it might sound more positive or more negative than i actually am but there are really some good parts yes i watched the whole war arc no you shouldnt

[barneslives]

Masterlist of Other People’s Fanfics

I HAVE A REALLY HUGE LIST OF FANFICS. I NEED IT ORGANIZED. THIS IS IT.

NONE OF THESE ARE MINE.

One-Shots that I plan to read sooner or later:

(Since this is getting some notes, just wanted to clarify that this list changes as I read it. I have a favorites list here, which I only add more fics. This masterlist changes pretty much everyday)

1 4am :  it’s four am and he’s left wondering if he should call the girl across the hall. (582)

2 kiss me again : (993)

3 Truth or Dare :  Seb fluffy and giggly smut where the reader is his best friend and they're doing the nasty out of curiosity and boredom (1,242 / smut)

4 The Times Sebastian Referred to You as His Wife and the One Time Where He Does It on Purpose :  Sebastian keeps calling you his wife. (1,449)

5 Greek Days : (1,540 / smut)

6 Wasted Times :  Seb smut based on Wasted Times by the Weeknd (1,600 / smut)

7 Touching In The Air : (1,923 / smut)

8 I Know That You Don’t :  Sebastian is in love with his best friend; that much is obvious. For a while now, he’s been watching Y/N give her love to someone who isn’t worth it. After being there for her when said relationship is in shambles countless times, it began to feel like a routine. A routine that Sebastian did not want to be part of anymore. (2,000)

9 Anything For My Girl :  You come down with a fever, and Bucky takes care of you. When you’re feeling better, he puts your mind at ease about your relationship and then really takes care of you. (2,200 / smut)

10 The Fabric Of A Soul :  Bucky wrestles with what state his soul might be in. (2,300)

11 Loopy Love :  Sebastian has finally come back home, but instead of finding his fiance waiting for him at the airport, he gets some bad news. (2,317)

12 Enjoying the view :  Your mission is going perfectly. Target is charming, receptive… Then you notice the balcony door is unlocked. Hmm. (2,664)

13 Facesitting : (smut)

14 Music :  Bucky doesn’t really understand ‘modern’ music. The reader is there to help. (2,818)

15 Lucky Fan : (2,900 / smut)

16 Soft :  A more sure and confident Bucky, enjoys the softness in life. (3,283)

17 Staying In :  Bucky and you had plans for the evening but neither of you really want to go (3,800 / smut)

18 Risky Business : A mission in Stockholm. A shared hotel room. And a secret. (3,898 / smut)

19 Countdown to White :  The countdown of your life. Five more days until you marry Bucky Barnes and begin the rest of your life.

20 Going Slow : (4,067 / smut)

21 Euphoria :  In which bucky discovers your stash or in which you and bucky get high as balls and fuck each other’s brains out. (4,153 / smut)

22 Stay the Night : “What did I say?”“You told me to behave.”“And what did you do?”“The exact opposite.” (4,300 / smut)

23 Colors In The Dark :  The world is without color, and that’s never bothered the Winter Soldier. The Fist of HYDRA didn’t have time for love and soulmates. At almost a century old, what are the odds that his soulmate was even still living? (4,400) 

24 Softly, Gently :  Bucky hated the dreams that haunted him every night. But they weren’t always too bad. They can sometimes lead to good things, especially if there is a someone that can help him through the aftermath. (4,560 / smut)

25 Hey, Stranger :  Bucky and you have broken up but you run into each other at Tony’s wedding (4,800)

26 A Soldier’s Sigh :  A series of memories told through Bucky’s eyes. (4,800)

27 My Dearest One :  Reader is Shuri’s best friend and meets the White Wolf one afternoon in Wakanda (4,980 / smut)

28 Give Me Love :  Prompt: Can you please write a fic where Bucky has a nightmare and reader wants to help and he fucks her but in between he look at her and stops bc he doesnt want to hurt her. (5,800 / smut)

29 Die A Virgin :  When things are not looking good on Y/N’s and Bucky’s mission, Y/N admits that she’s a virgin. Bucky, being the gentleman that he is, offers to help her out, if they make it out alive. (5,879 / smut)

30 Love Is For Children 1 | 2 :  You’re a former mercenary turned Avenger who joins the team after fighting, and defeating, each member that tried to recruit you. You’re confident in your abilities and even challenge the man formerly known as the Winter Soldier. A battle of egos ensues and it’s Bucky that fights to get your attention but you’re a professional and won’t fall easy for his charm. (8,500)

Series I am trying to keep up with

1 Do You Remember : You remember nothing from the past ten years that you spent working for Hydra - they wiped your memories only days before the organisation imploded - but after meeting Bucky Barnes for the first time in your new job at the Avengers facility you can’t seem to get rid of the feeling that you know him from a deep, dark and violent past the two of you happen to share - but what role did he play in it? (On-Going / 3)

2 First And Last Time :  A collection of one-shots describing the first and the last time the reader and Bucky did something - it’s not a coherent story. (On-Going / 3)

3 Daffodils :  When Bucky’s mental health starts to spiral out of control, and worsen beyond anything he’s experienced before he’s put on lock down in the compound for his safety and the safety of others. It’s then that he finds a familiar necklace that leads him to memories and a mysterious woman born of water who might hold the secret to his deteriorating mental health. (On-Going / 3)

4 What Have I Done :  A bad break up between Bucky and his ex leads to a new friendship with the quiet tech he never had the chance to get to know. Relationships grow, feelings are caught, and boundaries are explored. Bucky thought he found his happy ending, but old memories haunt his future. He knows what he’s doing wrong, dangerous eve, but he can’t help it. Can he fix the wrongs he’s done? (On-Going / 4)

5 Rome, 3am :  Before he was found in Bucharest, Bucky lived next door to you in Rome trying to evade remnants of Hydra. Every night at 3AM you find Bucky smoking his usual cigarettes and trying his best to flirt. However, as time goes on he becomes more careless about staying hidden. (On-Going / 4)

6 Pretend : There’s a person who won’t stop bugging me will you pretend to be my partner so that they’ll fuck off? (On-Going / 7)

7 Espresso : In which your best friend’s brother begins to set you up on dates when you mention that you haven’t been in a relationship in years, but things don’t go as expected. (On-Going / 7)

8 A Series Of Vignettes :  A series of episodes and events in the reader’s and Bucky’s relationship. Big and small, sweet or angsty, these stories lay out the moments in time they carved out for themselves in the crazy world they live in. They all take place in the same universe, but do not need to be read in any particular order. (On-Going / 10)

9 Golden Hour :  A series of moments when everything sparkles, shines and glitters, just like it’s gold. (On-Going / 10)

10 My Neighbor’s A Jerk :  Modern-Day (AU) There’s this mutual feeling between you and your neighbor, called hate. And since your first meet you both commence that feeling with a burning passion. You don’t know the reason behind his hate and you know for damn sure that he will never tell you. But what happens on the first day of your job, when you find out that you even work together? Maybe you will learn to co-operate? (On-Going / 10)

11 Shadows :  After spending a month imprisioned, you were finally rescued only to find out that you were apart of something much greater than you could ever imagine, in the worst way possible. (On-Going / 13)

12 Blue : James and Y/N take a road tip across the country to help Bucky’s recovery process. A question Y/N asks at the beginning of the trip sets Bucky searching his memories for an answer, one he finds he needs if he can move forward. (On-Going / 15)

13 The Things We’ve Done :  All you wanted was simplicity. You had moved to Washington, DC for a better start - to get away from what you were, to get away from what you were expected to be. You never thought you’d meet the Captain America in a bar just three days after moving. You never thought there would be a dangerous person in your apartment just hours after meeting him. (On-Going / 15)

14 I’m No Hero :  When Y/N is caught in the crossfire of a HYDRA raid gone wrong, the Avengers take her in until she heals. Bucky is fascinated with her, and helps her find the courage she’s had inside all along. Plus, you know, a lot of other stuff. (On-Going / 15)

15 Ready to Comply : The reader was taken as a teenager by HYDRA and turned into one of the most dangerous weapons ever created. On a routine mission to take out their remaining bases, the team stumble across the reader and Bucky finds himself face to face with a ghost from his past. (On-Going / 19)

00 Bittercoffee | Duck&cover

1 Let’s Play Pretend : Bucky agrees to be your fake boyfriend for your brother’s wedding to appease your family.  There’s only one problem - you want him to be more than just a fake boyfriend.  (Complete / 3)

2 Rescue me : A strange man had come out of nowhere and grabbed your arm. He told you to, “Play along,” as he hauled you along with him. Next thing you knew, he had opened a door and pushed you through it. Once you were inside, he had bent low and told you that he, “Wasn’t going to hurt to you, and will explain in a minute.” You had only caught a glimpse of him, but you were pretty sure you saw the light glint off a metal arm. (Complete / 3)

3 One’s Promised : Living a double life was not a choice when one was the daughter of Alexander Pierce. Y/N was the youngest agents of SHIELD and one of the most respected threats within Hydra’s empire. No matter her allegiance, she was feared by both. Y/N Pierce would’ve tried to escape it all… if it hadn’t been for The Winter Soldier. (Complete / 5)

4 Peach Scone : In where Bucky has it so bad for you, he cannot find the words to confess his feelings. After an entire year of failed attempts, plus a declaration of love for scones, he decides it’s about time the words come out of his mouth. Only Bucky knows himself and is certain it’s gonna be one hell of a challenge. (Complete / 6)

5 Mad For You : Nat hosts a costume masquerade. Bucky meets the Alice to his Hatter. Shenanigans ensue. (Complete / 6)

6 Movie Night :  Being an assistant to Tony Stark, you never felt like you fit in… that is, until Bucky invites you to an Avengers movie night in the compound. (Complete / 7)

7 Help Us : Bucky is in the process of recovery when a new Avenger causes his world to come crashing down again. (Complete / 8)

8 Fallen : The same haunting dark figure, surrounded in crisp white have plagued you since early childhood. For a while the dreams have stopped until you move to New York and they come back full force. You get a once of a life time vacation to a remote place in Russia and jump at the chance.Then you come face to face with the man of childhood nightmares. (Complete / 10)

9 Another Winter Soldier :  Y/N spends most of her life away from people. She has a secret to hide, and there are people who are looking for her. After an assassination that confuses the world, will she be able to escape from the Avengers? Or will she join them and try to clear her name? (Complete / 13)

10 Delta : Reader is a rare being in the a/b/o cycle and finds herself along side the Avengers. She manages to hide her true nature successfully until she catches the eye of a certain blue eyed super soldier. (Complete / 13)

11  The Subtle Redemption of Lance Tucker : Lance is a perfect fixture in your past. Suddenly, he’s roaring into focus as your younger sister’s National Coach. As warning signs scream around you, resistance is almost futile. But you’re an adult now. You’re stronger than the silly little kid you were before, right? Right? (Complete / 13)

12 Remedy : When a woman is found at an abandoned Hydra base, more dead than alive, Bucky takes it upon himself to help her in any and every way he can. He doesn’t have much of a choice, being the first to approach her without the intention of hurting her in a long time, she doesn’t trust anyone around but him. (Complete / 15)Z

13 Me, Her, and You :  For the last sixl: months you’ve been living in New York with your ten old year old daughter. After one failed job after another, you’ve almost given up. Then someone extends a helping hand, next thing you know you’re living in the Stark tower as a live maid. As you begin to get close to Bucky the truth about your incredibly gifted daughter comes out. Will your past come back to haunt you? (Complete / 18)sz

[chromsai]

i didnt want to answer this using the actual ask because since the full, untagged name is there, i just know that tumblr will find a way to get it into its main tag and just out of courtesy to its fans, i don’t wanna be that person.

that said, and out of courtesy to any of my followers that like it, i’ll put my actual opinion under the cut as extra precaution because, again, i dont wanna be that rude ass person.

(long rant ahead tbh)

it’s my least favorite ygo. i mean, setting vr aside for now just to be fair since it’s still not done yet, it is without a doubt my least favorite ygo because its writing is just that piss poor. 

tl;dr: it’s a fucking mess of a show, it doesn’t appeal to me, i find it to be (ironically) superficial (in terms of themes and messages), i dont like the decks, character arcs? god they’re wasted, the writing is just a bunch of asspullery nonsense, and “foreshadowing” is actually just spoon fed self-fulfilling prophecies. it’s my least favorite show and it almost made me quit yugioh altogether. but i still don’t discourage anyone from watching it. because maybe it didnt appeal to me or click with me, but maybe it would for someone else, and i’m not afraid to admit that. because people have different tastes.

its characters overall get little to no development, what little development most of them get (like shark and ........i wanna say kaito, but i dont wanna include kaito in here because i think his development was the only one that was actually decent, but idk who else to put here since... most characters didnt actually get development? as/t/ral, i guess?) is completely ruined sooner or later when the plot decides to inevitably asspull. i will admit i did like where shark’s development was going but the fucking moment he was revealed to be na//sh is when his development went completely down the fucking shitter. oh so JUST cuz some “destiny” says you’re “destined” to fight against yu//ma you just... go with what it’s telling you? you don’t even like your own destiny or some of the people you’re working with but... like... just cuz you remembered some memories of your past life you gotta finish the mission? even tho... 1) you didn’t actually want to, 2) you can just talk this all out (seriously this plot CAN be resolved with just talking things out, the card games are notably forced up this plot’s ass), 3) wtf happened to yu//ma being your friend??? you don’t wanna fight him but you will because you must, it’s your destiny?!? what kind of fucking non-explanation is that. fygdshbjkl honestly there are so many more questions that can be asked about just na/csh’s logic for fighting ALONE and i am still left dumbfounded. the amount of utter STUPID going on in this writing is incredible, honestly that i’m left without words.

ze//al’s plot & writing is NECK DEEP in allll that kind of stupid nonsensical logic, literally i could probably go on all night asking so many questions about where the fucking common sense went while writing this show. like i have so many fucking issues with ze//al II’s writing i just don’t understand how people think of it as legitimately good? it was all drama for drama’s sake with no real consequences since everything was reversed back to normal anyway??? fuck, i have less issues with ze//al’s first season and i actually liked it better. but anyway, moving on....

the aesthetic... is ... well before vr, i would say it was horrid, but at the very least ze//al gives us colors... it’s very colorful and the animation is pretty nice, ngl... but do i care? not really. not when i didnt really like almost any of the character designs... IV, Kaito, Mi//sael, and A//lito, Du//be, Rei/Vec//tor’s designs imo are nice... the rest... “what about the other arc//ights or [insert character here]”. no, if i didnt mention them by name just now, i didnt like their design. Yu//ma’s design... it’s... it’s very generic shounen protag. he is definitely, imo, the worst design of all the ygo protags, but i don’t think he’s HORRIBLE to look at. at least not most of the time, anyway. and actually you know what, i’ve never been into alien stuff but As//ral’s pretty, i’ll give him that. i guess perhaps that’s why i didnt like the aesthetic... too... alieny for me (gross, imo....... i just... absolutely hated the Ba//ians).

the little foreshadowing it gives us from the beginning through the end is spoonfed to us, and you literally gotta be foolish to not understand what it means straightaway. not only that, some of it uses retcon as a mechanism to seem like it’s foreshadowing (that fucking door from the first episode telling Yu//ma that he’ll lose his most important thing... and then at the end it turns out it was As//ral?? did Yu//ma not have anything important to him at the time he dreamt of the door??? or like... wtf is this door a prophet or smth or is it trying to make a contract, which is it??? make up your damn mind!!)... so yeah... it doesn’t actually give us any real “foreshadowing” as much as it uses self-fulfilling prophecies...

leading us to my next ironic point: this show is superficial af. as i just said, everything is literally spoon fed to you. literally all of its themes are plainly spelled out to you and laid out on the surface, you don’t really need to actually think to to get its message, and there is certainly no point in digging deep to find richer subtext... because there is none. there literally is none. and you know what? i know this is a very subjective preference; i personally love to delve deep into the symbolic and get analytical with the stories i enjoy because my brain is just naturally curious like that... but... even with a naturally curious brain... i just... no matter how much i try... this show is all bones and no meat. there is an established foundation of a message and it’s nice but it’s... way too straightforward and, as i said, spoon fed for my liking.

if you like that kind of story-telling, that’s completely fine, i get that. we’re not all here to watch YUGIOH, of all franchise, trying to give us some deep, meaningful message. hell, that’s not even the reason why i’ve enjoyed yugioh ever. i’m here for the same appeal that everyone else is here for: teens saving the world with stupid ass card games. but i just strongly prefer when a story, ANY story, shows enormous amounts of attention to detail and hints at deeper meanings in its context that i can use my brain to work around with and delve into. ze//al doesn’t give me even a hint of this. past ygos have, but ze//al doesnt even try. it’s meant for a younger audience tho, even for ygo’s usual demographic, so i get it. but... it’s because of this that i find it so lackluster.

speaking of the card games.... this show literally... has my least favorite decks. i’m not so into the OCG/TCG that i’m an expert about it so i dont wanna delve into something idfk much about, but just... that’s my taste... this show’s decks are terrible for the most part. the card effects are all too particular and disturbingly OP (one OP card after another... it always happens and it always makes the duels a drag to watch, even if they’re just one or two episodes long at the most)... plus... aesthetically... i guess they’re not all terrible, but still none of them wowed me either...

i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again... this show nearly made me give up on yugioh. my logic was “if they’re just gonna keep making ze//al after ze//al, i’m just gonna stop.” thankfully... well i think you know what happened next...

even after all that’s said and done and i’ve pretty much ranted and ripped this show a new one, I STILL DON’T WANNA DISCOURAGE ANYONE FROM WATCHING IT IF THEY REALLY WANNA TRY IT. because i know that maybe this show just wasn’t for me and it didnt click with me, but it might for someone else. i’m not here to tell you that it’s a piece of shit abomination that should never have happened and it should be whipped out of existence and you should go watch something else instead (HUR DUR GO WATCH VANGUARD INSTEAD) . i’m not here telling you what you should and shouldn’t like. if you like this show, that’s awesome. tbqh with you, i still enjoyed some of it and i’m not afraid to admit that. but overall? it was super lackluster and unimpressive, IMO. at best, i’d say it’s forgettable so for the most time i’m just like... “oh ze//al? yeah it happened i guess” and move on without a second thought and let its fans enjoy it as if its the best thing in the world even tho i personally do not see it that way at all. 

but again, i’d say watch it and make up your own opinion over it. i think that’s honestly the best course of action for any media that might even slightly interest you. don’t let people spoon feed their opinions to you. this was all MY experience of the show. go have your own.

p.s. (more of my opinion) i LOVE music and soundtracks of things. they’re always also a big factor of my enjoyment of the media i consume. the soundtrack for this show is decent at best. no track really stood out to me (like maybe one did) but for the most part... the soundtrack is just... i wouldn’t say it’s bad, it’s just... again not memorable... not my style... and my biggest gripe is that a lot of the tracks have this pseudo-grandiose feeling to it that just ultimately fall flat and don’t convey actual emotion. it mostly just seems like it’s music for music’s sake. personally, i think good soundtracks should be able to tell a story or convey an overwhelming feeling without the context of its source material being present. i... i just never got that with ze//al’s soundtrack. maybe once, as i said, but... even then i dont remember it.

on a more positive note tho... i have to admit all of the ED themes are really good (Challenge the Game was literally too good for this show, who the fuck allowed this). i’d listen to them way more often if i didnt associate them with ze//al tbh. not a huge fan of any of the OPs tho. no, not even the second OP. like it’s nice for the first few times but then, to me personally, it starts getting really grating and wangsty.

[batsintheshadows]

Athera the Companion

Inquisitor’s Name: Athera Lavellan Race / Class / Specialisation: Rogue Elf Assassin Gender Identity: Female

Varric’s Nickname for them: Antlers

Short bio: As a typical da’len hunter nearing the time she could recieve her vallaslin, Athera was taken by slavers while away from the camp with her younger brother. Her sacrifice allowed the clan to escape, but lead to a grueling ordeal before she escaped and found her way back home. Now she is a respected hunter and occasionally travels to visit the elves that live in human cities, so they may know more of their history should they be interested. She also assists with problems that the human guards tend to ignore.

What would their companion card look like? I actually commissioned one of these! it hasnt quite been finished yet tho.

Athera aiming her bow high above her head with a victorious smile as the sun rises, a halla head with three arrows in the horns formed from the clouds behind her and a green bird perched on her shoulder, coat billowing in the wind.

More under the cut, because theres gonna be a LOT here.

Recruitment mission: Athera approaches the Inquisition in Val Royeaux, quietly and from a side street. She wears a hood to hide her face and when asked about it she says that she may be making a poor choice, and if she is it would be better to have the option to hide. Athera tells the Inquisitor that she is visiting family in the city, and has discovered that elves have been vanishing. She says she wants to see what’s going on, but has a feeling that whatever is happening is too much for one person to handle. If pressed about her identity, Athera stays vague, saying that she could get in trouble for looking into this at all, and wouldn’t want that to affect anyone she cares about.

If the Inquisitor agrees to investigate she tells them to meet her at a certain location at midnight, and not to worry about her too much. She has enough martial training to help in any fights there might be.

When you meet up with her, Athera is nervous, checking her arrows and pulling her hood down further over her face. If you ask her about it she says she hasnt ever done “anything quite like this” before.

When you enter the building, you discover a slaver ring and some captured elves. Athera strikes first, no matter what you say, and in the ensuing fight her hood comes off, revealing her vallaslin. when everything is said and done Athera very pointedly ignores the party in favour of freeing the captured elves, who are very grateful for her arrival. She asks if they will be able to get back to the alienage safely and one of them says that they can get them there, leaving Athera free to look for letters and talk to the party.

She picks up some letters and folds her arms, and asks the Inquisitor if they are going to take any sort of action now that they know a Dalish elf is meddling in the city. There is an option to tell her that if she joins The Inquisition then the Inquisitor will stay quiet. Athera is silently furious, but says she would prefer this to end without bloodshed if possible. Athera Greatly Disapproves if you pick this option. You can also ask about her lying to the group. Athera claims she never lied and points out the ways that everything she said was technically true.

Otherwise you can attempt to turn her in, which causes her to flee and become unrecruitable. or you can say that you won’t alert the guards. In the latter case, she is grateful and asks to join The Inquisition. When asked why she says:

“I’m not stupid. A big hole in the sky? Demons around every corner? This could be the end of the world. My clan can’t outrun that. You’re the only ones I’ve seen even trying to make a difference. If theres any way out of this, its with the people that arent caught up in petty squabbles. So yes, I won’t like being away from my clan for so long, but I’ll like it even less if the world dies.”

She agrees to meet the Inquisitor back in Haven, and pulls her hood back up, heading off into the night.

Where they would be in Skyhold / Haven: In Skyhold she would probably hang around in the gardens, but move to somewhere around the stables if it was converted into a chantry garden. In Haven she would be on the docks by the frozen lake.

Personal quests: 

Quest 1: After arriving in Skyhold and gaining some approval, Athera will go over what she found in the slavers letters. She says that the slavers were reporting to a merchant called Vivicus, and that she suspects that theyre related to the Venatori. Athera has followed a trail that has ended in Redcliffe, and asks the Inquisitor to go with her as backup. If the Inquisitor tries to bring Dorian, the cutscene will not trigger and Athera will suggest trying again with “company better suited to the operation. Like people that never owned slaves maybe.” Once the cutscene triggers, Athera give you what she knows about the slaver. A small and pretty easy fight with demons ensues as you enter the building, and the party makes it up the stairs to a room with a man in fine clothes sitting on a chair facing away from the group. As the group approaches, the man falls sideways when touched, revealing he is very dead and has a note stapled to his chest that simply says “your move Inquisition -V”. Athera is upset by this, and tells the Inquisitor that they need to be sure the body gets proper death rites. Back at Skyhold Athera thanks the Inquisitor for their help and apologises for dragging them into her mess. She says that itll probably last a while as well, if this guys as much of an asshole as he seems to be.

Quest 2: Occurs after either The Fade or The Winter Palace. Athera is reading a letter, and claims that its information on Vivicus. If asked about where the letter came from, Athera says she’s been tracking weird courier orders and got lucky with this one. Athera says the letter reveals that Vivicus has somehow discovered her identity and is using it against her. She doubts her clan will be targeted, but asks permission to grant them safe passage through the surrounding lands and trading rights at Skyhold. She admits that in spite of what her clan could bring in, its really just a favour to her. If the Inquisitor agrees, you get the option to open a new area on the war table, but cannot select Dorian for the mission. When you arrive, you run into an ambush of slavers who seem to be expecting you. The fight is really difficult, but you only need to defeat half the slavers to trigger a rescue by Athera’s clan. As the last of the slavers fall, Athera gets the attention of one of the hunters and gives him a big hug, introducing him as her younger brother Elgadir. Elgadir is overjoyed to see his sister again and says the clan has been worried since she stopped writing. Athera replies she has been writing weekly and getting letters back as well. After a bit of confusion, they figure out something weird is going on, and tells the other hunters to check if any of the slavers are still alive. One is, and they get to them before the throat cutters do. Elgadir says that he doesnt much like the idea of bringing a slaver back to any of the clans camps, but if this problem is gonna get solved then they’ll probably have to. one of the other hunters goes ahead to warn the clan to prepare for a captive and some guests. Elgadir gives the Inquisition members a warning that if they do anything foolish, they will pay with their lives, but if they approach in good faith, then the clan will be happy to do business with them. The party is introduced to the clan and Athera goes off to talk with her brother and the Keeper, leaving the team free to explore. There are a few quests to help the clan or act like a dick, Athera gets approval or disapproval for them even though she isnt in the active party. To advance the quest, you enter the Keeper’s aravel. Athera sits with her brother hugging her, clearly distressed. The Keeper tells the Inquisitor that they have all come to a consensus that it would be a lot easier to deal with the situation with all the facts, and asks Athera if she would be willing to tell the story herself. Athera then tells the Inquisitor that she was taken from her clan by slavers around six years ago, and though she managed to fake her death and escape, Vivicus has discovered her identity and has been intercepting her letters for a while. The letter that sent her running back to her clan was to be sent to the person that owned her, and she intercepted a similar one at Skyhold intended to sow some discord. Athera says that its probably a game to Vivicus now, and that he will go to any lengths to win. She fears for her clan, as she fears for those she has become close with outside of it. At the prompting of the other two elves, Athera also admits to being very stressed out, since the Inquisitor unknowingly hired someone from the family that used to own her. “Theres a reason I don’t get along with Dorian, I’m scared to death of him.” The Inquisitor can tell Athera to stay with her clan for safety, offer to expel Dorian from the Inquisition (Athera will reject this idea because she knows the Inquisitor wouldnt have let Dorian stay if they didnt like him or need his help.), or keep to the plan of allowing the clan safety in the lands around Skyhold. Back at Skyhold, Athera thanks the Inquisitor for listening to her, saying she feels far more at ease now that someone knows, but begs the Inquisitor not to tell anyone her secret and to make tracking down Vivicus as much of a priority as possible, otherwise she doesnt know what could happen to her.

Quest 3: Takes place after the second main quest you complete after unlocking Skyhold. Athera and Dorian are arguing as the Inquisitor approaches them, though most of the shouting seems to be coming from Athera’s side with a lot of what is obviously swearing in elvish. When pressed, Athera accuses Dorian of going through her letters, and Dorian denies the accusation. “If you would listen before you started screaming at me, you would know that this is my letter. That I was trying to give to you quietly. But if you insist on discussing this in the courtyard...” Athera snatches the letter and runs away, leaving Dorian to ask the Inquisitor to go after her, saying that Athera probably wouldn’t want to see him right around now. When the Inquisitor finds Athera she is incredibly upset, and lets them know that this letter has been opened and Dorian knows who she is now. The Inquisitor can comfort her or be awful, and after theyre done talking Dorian knocks on the door, asking to come in. Athera tells him to keep his distance, and he agrees. Trying to lighten the tension, Dorian makes a joke about how Vivicus is really an idiot if he thinks sending Dorian a letter is going to do anything, what with the whole pariah thing. No one laughs. Athera asks Dorian what he’s going to do, and Dorian suggests using the note to lure Vivicus out. “We’ve been playing cat and mouse for months. I’ll be glad to see it end.” Athera tells Dorian that she doesn’t trust him, and will only go if the Inquisitor comes too. Dorian agrees, and they begin to make a plan, through the door because Athera can’t face him yet. After this, a war table mission to smuggle a letter to Vivicus opens up, and once it is completed a mission on the storm coast opens up called “Trigger Venatori Trap”. Once there the party fights off some Venatori, and Athera slowly breaks ranks with the group, making herself an easier target and leading to Vivicus showing himself at last. The rest of the party sets up a good flanking position and a boss battle against Vivicus, who is a blood mage and ACTUALLY DOES BLOOD MAGE STUFF WHY DID THEY LEAVE THIS OUT OF DAI???, begins as Dorian makes a snappy “oh what an idiot” type remark at Vivicus. The party are victorious, and they return to Skyhold where Athera tells the Inquisitor that she has no idea what to do now, since she has no way of knowing who Vivicus sent letters to. If you did a war table mission to stop the letters, you are able to reassure her that the Inquisition has the situation under control. Athera says that she likes the Inquisition, and whatever comes she would like to stay until the end as long as her and Dorian are kept separate. Preferably on opposite sides of the castle. At this point Dorian wanders past because a little light humour won’t kill anyone and begins yammering on about their victory a little too nervously. He admits that he’s been feeling a bit nervous since finding out about Athera’s past, but has done some deep soul searching and wants to apologise for how the relationship between the two of them has been. He promises to try and do better in the future, to which Athera replies “You’d better! Your family put me through hell! The least you can do is try and make it better.” Dorian doesnt make eye contact, and promises to keep her words in mind. He also says that they don’t need to speak again if Athera needs space. Athera says that would be for the best, but she won’t complain if they end up working together since stopping the end of the world is more important than the hurt one person carries. As Dorian turns to leave, she lets him know that once corypheus is dead all bets are off, and that she’ll probably throw him out the window, but the comment doesnt have much bite to it.

How to get their approval: helping elves and mages, respecting artifacts, killing venatori, freeing slaves, and generally not being an ass.

How to get their disapproval: Cruelty to elves and elven relics, slavery in any form, chantry and templar supporting, being an ass to mages, and victim blaming anyone.

Are they romanceable? Y/N Can you have sex with them? Y/N Are they open to polyamoury? Y/N If they can be romanced and are not, will they begin a relationship / relationships with other character(s)? If so, who? Sera already gets with Dagna, so odds are Athera wouldn’t get with anyone if unromanced.

Who are they friendly with? Vivienne and Sera (after a while).

Who do they dislike? Cassandra, Dorian, and Solas.

Companion card changes: (use a text descrip. if you have no images)

Loyalty:  Athera stands in the middle of a dark forest, her bow ready to draw and a smile on her face as she moves. the trees are gnarled and twisted, something could be hiding in them. but she is armed, and the forest is her home.

Romance: (if any) The bow and arrows have been put aside, and Athera sits cross legged by a campfire. there are trees all around and Athera has a serene smile on her lips and a look of total peace in her eyes.

Side Missions: (eg: fetch / gather / kill quests) None because fuck those. Ok maybe destroying monuments to the Exalted March on the Dales. Thatd be pretty satisfying. Also a war table mission to ensure that no letters get to the Pavus family that unlocks a dialogue option at the end of Athera’s last quest.

Opinions on mages / templars / how the world is going to shit? Templars fuck shit up, mages have been friends and guides to the clan and the Templars always try to take them away and people get hurt. She would rather just leave the Templars alone entirely. And of course mages can be trusted with their own lives! Everyone else does it what makes them so bloody different?

She has more nuanced opinions on the Chantry and how it relates to the oppression of mages and elves, and how its all a bid for power, but she’ll only talk abt it with an Inquisitor she likes.

Something guaranteed to make them leave the party: defiling the graves at the elven burial site in the exalted plains, killing the golden halla, or straight up betraying her.

Special Events:

Imprisoned at Redcliffe: How is your Inquisitor holding up in Redcliffe, being slowly infected with red lyrium over the course of a year?

Athera is almost unable to speak at all after a year in Redcliffe. She talks in fragments, and when she first sees the Inquisitor she just stares at them for a long time with a blank look on her face, waiting for them to either do something or vanish. Whenever Dorian speaks she glares at him. After all, this guy from Tevinter shows up and then everything fails and the world dies? She’s been blaming him. The Inquisitor has to talk her down.

She puts all her remaining energy into the fight ahead, wordless, expressionless, and merciless. When it comes time to hold off the horde she says in the flattest voice possible “Going out. Hold them off. Do not fail. Dareth Shiral.”

At the Winter Palace: Does your Inquisitor enjoy the party, any special events with them at the Palace?

Athera spends most of the party doing things to mildly offend the Orlesian elite, talking with the elves, and quietly smashing expensive vases when no ones looking. She likes being in Halamshiral, hates what it is now, and corners more than a few nobles and gives them a “history lesson.” She will do the same to the Inquisitor if they ask, but will be less passive aggressive about it. She also complains about the outfits, saying she hates red but Josephine wanted everyone to “present a unified front” and she couldnt wriggle out of it.

She also takes joy in being announced as “Athera Lavellan, Hunter of Clan Lavellan and Emissary to the Cities.” since she’s betting he’s never had to introduce an elf before, let alone introduce one with a few titles.

When asked about it later, Athera says the only good thing at Halamshiral was Briala, with various comments depending on what happened.

In the Fade: Your Inquisitor’s reaction upon entering the Fade? Archdemon’s taunt, and Inquisitor’s response? Epitaph on their grave?

Athera does not understand any of this. She shoots arrows, mainly at wolves and terrible people. now there are demons here because its their home that theyre the ones invading and what with recent events theres pretty strong evidence that this sort of thing doesnt end well. Athera isnt mindlessly terrified, but she. wants. OUT.

Nightmare: “What’s this now? Valeria, pretending to be a wild elf? You looked much better in red.”

Athera: “Say that name one more time and I’ll rip you in half.”

OR

Nightmare: “Dont worry about Marcus hating you for leaving him. He died a month later, his thieving ways finally discovered and punished.”

Athera: “You-you’re lying! Theres no possible way for you to know that!”

Nightmare: “That you know of.”

Athera’s grave says “Losing Herself” 

Trespasser: What is your Inquisitor up to two years after Corypheus’ defeat? Any special events with them over the events of Trespasser?

Athera spent the past two years using the influence gained during her time in the Inquisition to help elves in both the cities and the wilds. she has busted up a few more slaver rings and is one of sera’s contacts. she has traded information with the Inquisition out of respect for her place in it and so leliana can send her some useful stuff back. she’s been using her clan as a safe place, and looks forward to returning every second she is away.

Other Major Events: Any other major events that happen with them over the course of the main game?

She becomes friends with Sera, who she likes for not taking things too seriously when everyone else is so grim.

She also has a Talk with a human Inquisitor romancing Sera that more or less amounts to “I know ur cool so this whole thing is probably legit, but if u ever hurt sera i’ll cut off your arm and hit u with it ok good talk kiddo love u bye!”

uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu this took a long time and a lot of thought, but i had LOADS of fun doing it! I always like working on Athera’s backstory, though nothing is quite 100% set in stone yet sooooo... dont quote me on any of this.

I was tagged by @heyscience and i am throwing this tag right back at you! Do it!

[mettic]

the previous anime season is offically Done ™ and the new season Starting ™ I wanna talk about anime so it’s time for an official Mettic Anime Winter 2018 Or Something I Cant Remember If It Started In 2017 Or Not Season opinion wrap up. It was a pretty good season!

YURU CAMP:

This season’s out of nowhere darling child, put out by a director that’s done Literally Nothing:

There really isnt super much to talk about Yuru Camp, which sounds like a negative but only anime can really get away with this kind of thing and its really Yuru Camp’s strength. It’s like an informative camping tutorial mixed with a series of really comfy setting shots held together but a loveable cast of characters. 

If I’m to pick at it I’d say that it’s somewhat lame that 1/3rd of the cast who are at the group gathering at the end are basically irrelevant until the last 2-3~ episodes, but that really feels irrelevant.

It’s kinda hard to criticize slice of lifes tbh. At heart it feels like a genre with no real worth but it’s really easy to get attached to them. If it’s got characters that arent annoying to listen to and funny jokes it’s probably good.

Bonus: it’s good at tricking you into thinking camping if fun with pretty images of a comfy atmosphere of sitting infront of a pretty view. Makes you forget that the novelty of that runs out when you remember you’re gonna be there for a few hours.  Also completely ignores the true appeal of camping, which was that the camp store had a Mortal Kombat 2 machine and that game rules.

Violet Evergarden:

The quick version of this review is that I really wanted to like this show but ultimately walked away with a whopping “it’s alright”. 

The first four episodes of this show is bad. like i almost dropped it bad. Violet is not just a completely unlikeable character, but a characters thats difficult to watch in these episodes, due to her being completely oblivious to basically everything. And I GET that that’s the point, and she develops, but holy shit it’s almost unbearable to not just shut the episode off from second hand embarrassment. You might have a thicker skin for that kind of stuff though.

The show really starts to pick up after ep 4, but it still fluctuates (though never dropping as low as ep 2). The show starts to adopt a sort of “mission of the week” kind of style which I actually enjoyed; the princess and play writer episodes stick out in particular as a really enjoyable closed off stories with some solid execution to write off some instances of shallow writing. For example, the mother and child episode is so predictable that I saw basically the whole episode coming from the minute they introduced the characters, but despite that the final few minutes of the episode was still an emotional gut punch.

The episodes that focus on the “main plot”, less interesting. While Violet develops away from a completely unbearable to watch character, shes still not really interesting. Infact i’d say that there really isnt any character I super cared about in this show, which brings down the main plot pretty hard. The anti-peace faction is a mentally I cant find myself even understanding whats their goal in trying to stir the countries back to war other than the shallow and poorly written mentality of “we can’t ever forgive them yadda yadda/WE GOTTA BE STRONG”/there world doesnt like us anymore cuz we start wars :/”, so all I really get is a plot thats poorly motivated with uninteresting characters but with some solid line delivery. It’s kinda wack.

On the list of things I can complain about that’s also something that only I care about, the world of VE is completely nonsense and feels poorly thought through. The fact that humanity can create prosthetic arms with a level of technology that borders almost space age while set in a world thats loosely based on a post WW1 era is silly enough; but jesus how is it that a majority of the world doesn’t know how to fucking write in a WW1 aesthetic setting that also just happens to have some fucking near future incredibly accurate robots arms. Please think your world building through!

While we’re at it, the prosthetic arms aspect of the show feels.... unnecessary and worthless? This also seems like a silly thing to bitch about but I do think its an actual issue;  I figured that would’ve been a big part of the show, if not the main part of the show, but its actually a complete after thought that exists in the show just to be an aesthetic choice (while also bringing down the show’s worldbuilding significantly). There’s like one scene in this show that requires violet having super robot arms, and even that could be pretty easily rewritten. If violet had regular arms the show would barely change. I kinda went into this show thinking that it’d be a dealing with coming back from war and living with missing body parts, which I thought was interesting. But I guess thats a bit too mature for anime so its a show about dealing with your lover being gone and ~learning to have emotions~ which has been done a million times. (I’m gonna admit that I dont think “this show would be better if it was something completely different :/” is great criticism, but I still wanted to get it out there)

Characters are poorly motivated and not engaging, most episodes are really predictable,  show never really seems to know what it wants to be as it flip flops between mission of the week and a hastily slapped together main plot and poorly made worldbuilding, but it has Kyoani’s patent Absurd Budget Animation (which, imo, isnt super great. The show approaches the view of every frame being gorgeous, but there isnt a lot of fun or interesting movement in the show, it’s fairly static. But shit, no cg vehicles, so thats kinda dope), some really strong scenes and emotional gut punches, and some outliner good episodes. 

It’s aiight I guess

POP TEAM EPIC:

Quick review: not really actually funny, but the show is just a spectacle to watch to figure out what bullshit they’re gonna pull next. 

I feel like PTE is definitely a show that you wanna go into with no spoilers, cuz once you pull away the surprise of “what the fuck did they just do”, the jokes are fairly flat for the most part, but I guess thats the point or whatever. For example; the famous Hellshake Yano segment really isnt funny. But the “animation” of the scene of so unique and cool that I dont care, and I’m captivated but what’s happening and how they’re making it happen.

Shit. Is pop team epic an art house show? fuck. I dont want to think about it like that. I’m just gonna keep writing and try to ignore that fact.

Anyways; I think the show is great at putting together multiple 4koma strips into one singular joke, or expanding 4koma strips into a more fully fledged joke. It’s very rarely actually funny, but its definitly fun to watch, if you get what I mean. 

I dont think Ill ever really wanna watch PTE ever again, and I don’t think it’s a ~good~ show, but I still recommend it with as little knowledge as possible just for the ride.

CARDCAPTOR SAKURA: CLEAR CARD:

This show isnt over! This bitch a two cour! Lets talk about it anyways!

In the strange trend of old classic shows getting remade  (See: Sailor Moon Crystal, the Legend of Galactic Heroes remake thats this season, Devilman Crybaby) or getting continuations after being over for like 10-20 years (Dragonball Super, that Code Geass new seasons thats down the line and I know CG isnt 10-20 years but its the first thing that came to mind piss off), with varying levels of success that often slides towards the lower of the scale, CCS:CS manages to bring the show back from its 20-15~ year “hiatus” and keeping all the charm and appeal of the original series, which is incredible really.

I’ll be real; I went into this show expecting to be disappointed. The standards I hold CCS is  outrageously high. I still hold on to the opinion that CCS is one of my favorite shows in the animation department. CCS is fucking gorgeous. I dont think any show has better coloring that CCS; it’s PEAK aesthetic. If you have the patience for monster of the week shows, you should watch CCS. It’s great.

Somehow, I went into this with the highest of expectations, and walked away happy. It’s incredible. It managed to completely keep the feeling of the original anime, and while it cant replicate the original series’ out of this world coloring (and lets be real, what can?), it makes it up with extremely fluid animations.

If I’m to make a complaint about the series I’d say that I feel like it follows the act of the original show a bit too much, with a lot of the new cards powers and even some episodes (see: the aquarium episodes) following the original show beat by beat. But shit, the new stuff Sakura gets is SUPER cool. Gravitation is the coolest power Sakura’s ever had. Plus the show is pointing torwards that idea that the new stuff is similiar to the old stuff is the intention and part of the plot, so that doesn’t even matter.

The shows movements are gorgeous. I never get sick of the transformation animation. The characters are fun. The scenarios and card fights are fun. It’s a blast. If you can stomach monster of the week style shows, and I know not everyoen can, please watch both the original series and Clear Card. I love Cardcaptor Sakura. If you dont like Cardcaptor than you can get fucked.

But believe it or not, CCS:CC isnt actually my show of the season.

MITSUBOSHI COLORS:

Honestly? I cannot think of a show thats made laugh, and I mean like actually laughing at my computer desk, as often as Colors. This show has no right being as funny as it is.

Is that a bit of a shallow reason to make it my AOTS? kinda, but to be honest I think most anime comedy is really bad. I dont think the boke/tsukkomi skit as ever been funny. Anime comedy in particular has a HORRIBLE habit of explaining the joke before it even gets to settle in, running the joke completely. Not a lot of shows even have me physically laughs.

Colors? Fucking hilarious. It gets me every episode. I’m more than willing to look past episodes with struggling animation (shoutouts to ep 4), because holy shit its so refreshing for an actually funny.

I’m not gonna pretend that I’m super experiencing in breaking down comedy to its bare elemtents, but here’s what I think; colors is really good at juxtaposition. It’ll take an set up, stare you stone faced, and just say some wild shit. It’s fucking awesome.  The characters are weird and outlandish and bounce off each other super well. There’s some of the best dry delieveries I’ve ever seen.

Colors fucking rules. I miss Colors already.

ANYWAYS this season was good. 4/5 shows I watched this season I really liked, and there’s other stuff that I’m told is really good like the Antartica show that I didnt get around to watching.  Go watch Colors.

Next (current?) season I’m checking out  Megalo Box, Hinatmatsuri, Golden Kamuy and still watching Cardcaptor. please look forward to it

[chelseascharacters]

Raine

1. How do they present themselves to others?

Often rambunctious and loud-- 8/10 chance that shes drunk. Quick to anger, she's not afraid to pick a fight if someone gives her a dirty look.

2. Do they like animals?

She's okay with them, but wont gush over how cute the animals are. If there's a stray, she'll take them in and care for them until they're better

3. How do they dress?

Dark, skin tight clothes. Shes often used as a spy or a rogue in missions.

4. How many languages do they know?

One: English

5. How big is their family?

Her family was killed when she was younger.

6. What is their purpose in the story?

I want to say that Raine was fully human when she was born. She was born into a family of cultists, and was sacrificed to a demon when she was born. Instead of being eaten, the demon possessed Raine and killed the cultists, including her family.

When Raine was taken in, she was covered in blood and hazy memory of what happened. Her purpose in this story is to overcome the demon inside of her and come face to face to what shes done as a child.

7. Do they know how to fight?

Yes, but it's more of a one and done situation. Has high speed and damage, but weak defense and mediocre stamina. If the opponent isnt defeated within a certain time, she uses the remainder of her power to run away using Shadow Sprint.

8. What is their back story?

Raine didnt know she was in a cult until after she was rescued. All her life, she was taught certain rituals that seemed out of the ordinary to normal people.

For example, being shunned as punishment by the whole community, including her parents, for the "bad things" that she's done-- which sometimes Raine doesnt know what those things were, constantly doubting herself for what she could have done. She couldn't trust her own instincts.

Or having prophecies of the demons 3 nights a week to hear the demon's whispers, or a very strict schedule where everyone is active at every hour of the day.

9. Why is their name, their name?

Raine might have been a close association to the demon.

10. Do they have any nick names?

Rakshisai

11. Do they have a romantic interest?

Badda?? Atticus??

12. How do they cope with struggles?

Alcohol, sex, and high risk missions

13. Do they have anyone they can lean on?

Emotionally, her fuck buddies and her trusty whiskey bottle

14. How do they react to someone dying?

15. Can you name 5 personality traits they have?

16. How did they become a character?

17. Do they get along with others?

18. What flaws do they have?

19. How do they influence the story?

20. What do they look like?

21. What are their hobbies?

22. What are their ticks?

23. Do they like children?

24. How do they react to being around wild animals?

25. If they were given the task to prank someone, who would it be, what would they do, and would the prank work?

26. Do they have any survival skills?

27. Are they more book smart or street smart?

28. How do they get out of a difficult situation?

29. Do they use their body, mind, personality or force to get what they want?

30. What music do they enjoy?

31. How do they overcome obstacles?

32. When faced with a difficult decision do they get stronger or break?

33. Do they have any special powers?

34. How do they change throughout the story?

35. Do they have any friends? If so, are they close knit?

36. How is their family life?

37. Are they likable?

38. Are they the hero, or anti-hero?

39. Do they make questionable choices?

40. How do they become who they are?

41. How was their childhood?

42. Are they close with anyone who is going to screw them over?

43.How do they adapt to different situations? Do they adapt at all?

44. How do they speak? Examples - Are they soft spoken, hot heated, vulgar

45. Are they opposed to violence?

46. When is their birthday?

47. Are they quick to judge?

48. Do they have anything they are trying to hide from others?

49. Do they act different around different people?

50.Do they enjoy the arts?

51. Do they like science?

52. Are they more emotional or logical?

53. How do they deal with their emotions?

54. How do they cope with sadness?

55. What is something they care about?

56. Would they die for anyone/anything?

57. What do they do when they are happy?

58. How would they come across to other characters? Examples- messy, lazy, childish, caring ect

59. Do they have a phrase they use over and over?

60. In a crowed room are they in the corners, sides, or in the middle?

61. Are they comfortable being in a crowed room?

62. How do they relax?

63. Have they ever harmed anyone and regretted it? Verbally or physically?

64. Do they like to dance?

65. How do they get around their environment? Examples - horses, bike, vehicle

66. What is their pet peeve(s)?

67. Do they have a disability?

68. How do they react to getting flowers?

69. Would they ever wear a flower crown?

70. Do they like themselves?

71. Who do they dislike?

72. What is their motto?

73. Do they have any markings on their body?

74. Have they ever been abused?

75. What is their biggest fear?

76. What are their goals?

77. How do they go about achieving their goals?

78. Do they have a fight or flight response?

79. Is there someone in their life that they care about more than themselves?

80. How would they fair in zombie apocalypse?

81. Do they have any tattoos? If so, are they significant?

82. Are they good at mental math?

83. Do they get along with others?

84 Are they lazy?

85. Are they self motivated?

86. How do they cope with anger?

87. Have they ever been in a situation where they were helpless?

88. Are they organized or messy?

89. Can they remember a lot of information at once?

90. What is their occupation?

91. Do other characters respect your OC, if so, is it out of fear? Or do they respect your OC because they like them?

92. If they were given minutes to live, what would they do? Who would they want to see and say?

93. How do they deal with stress?

94. Do they have a more submissive or dominate personality type?

95. Do they have a pet?

96. Do they have a stash of weapons?

97. Where do they live? Who do they live with?

98. How do they calm themselves down?

99. Are they co-dependent?

100. Are they a day, or night person?

[doodlingleluke]

so the lovely @samby-chan tagged me in this naruto challenge thing and I figured I might as well do it because this is kind of? sorta? a naruto blog?

Name your Favourite Female Character(s):  temari + the konoha girls basically Male Character(s): gee I wonder who that might be... Team: sand fam Sensei: Kakashi and Iruka..I like the concept of kurenai but they never really gave us more than that. Hokage: I liked tsunade tbh. Kage: the mizukage lady who can literally spit lava and acid. Village: sand fam’s sand clan Akatsuki: konan and kisame (plus kakuzu and hidan I guess but I like the more as a team than as individual characters) Jutsu:  everything konan does basically Episode/Chapters: the very start of the whole gaara gets kidnapped arc if only because those are the only chapters of the manga I actually own.  Fight Scene: the hidan & kakuzu fight + all the sasuke retrieval arc fights. Fanfiction: that one author on fanfiction.net who wrote really good kank fics...the one I remember the most was about rasa having sent kank on secret s-ranked missions because he refused to assassinate gaara... I still think about it from time to time.  Story Arc: the chunin exam and sasuke retrieval arc will always be classic, tho I do remember really liking the pain’s assault arc because it felt like the first big victory in naruto’s story arc.  Filler: I’ve only seen the fillers where the sand sibs appear + the one where they dedicated an entire episode to making fun of gai’s small dick. OTP (explain why): I feel like I give the wrong impression here but I’m honestly not really a shipper. like I guess I could call shikatema my otp if only because they’re the couple I’m the most ok with.  NOTP (be nice):  the only ones I can think of is the kind of shit that pretty much no one wants to see (oronaru and such....) Crackship(s): gaara x funk BROTP: after the last anime episodes? kank and lee tbh, tho I’m always here for all the konoha girls (+temari) just being one big girl gang (hey kishi doesnt care about them so they gotta care for each other) OT3: nah Crossover Ship: nah Do you have any headcanons: you can’t just ask me that and expect me to sum up 7 years worth of headcanons in one paragraph. 

Are you happy with the ending? What would you have done differently? sort of? I feel like what we did see wasn’t exactly bad, but there were a lot of other things they could have focused on that would have been way more interesting. personally I would have preferred it ending with naruto becoming hokage, entering his office and immediately realizing that he can’t do the job cause he never learned how to use a computer. 

How do you feel about the new generation? eh, other than the great injustice that is sakura’s entire life I don’t have anything against it, but there isn’t really anything about it that I like enough to bother paying attention. 

Say something about your favourite character. Good and bad: like 90% of the text posts on this blog are already me talking about kankuro so I’ll keep it short: I like that he somehow manages to be weird and different in a cast full of characters who can spit fire and summon giant slugs. everytime he’s appeared we’ve learned something new about him and tho its always unexpected it never seems too ooc. 

What would a child between your OTP look like? I’m not into shipping.

Say something genuinely nice about your NoTP. I’m not into shipping. 

Say something negative about your OTP.  I’m not into shipping.

Is there any way you could be convinced to ship your NoTP? I’m not into shipping.

What makes you mad about the series? even though naruto will always have a special place in my heart its far from flawless. there’s some pretty bad writing and inconsistencies that can be...pretty annoying. I guess my main beef with naruto is the treatment of the female characters. I’m happy that naruto isn’t as fanservice-y as a lot of anime can be, but that doesn’t change the fact that few of the female characters have more than 2-3 personality traits. what bugs me the most tho is kishimoto’s utter inability to involve the female characters in the plot and actually make them seem powerful and useful. yes he tried to push that angle with sakura towards the end of the war, but it kinda fell flat because there was almost no build up and in the end the pay off was that she....still seemed weaker than naruto. speaking of the war, I spent the last 100 chapters or so watching tenten hang around and waiting for her to be useful only to get...what? she stole some weapons after the fighting was over? thats it? yes those are only two examples, but honestly I can think of very few fights with a female shinobi that didn’t end with a) the female shinobi losing/being absolutely useless b) the female shinobi getting help or her victory being downplayed c) her straight up dying. also I guess the gender ratio in the naruto world is like 70-30 because apparently there are so few girls around that they’re limited to only one girl per team. 

If you could see anything happen in the series, what would it be? way more sand siblings, obviously. tho specifically I’d like for them to have more positive interactions with temari, kishi is really fond of the bossy girl trope. 

What would you say to Kishimoto if given the chance? why.

[mattgambler]

My mixed feelings on Pathway

After playing the game for 4 hours I got bored and stopped playing. I talk about what I liked about the game and what I consider it’s biggest problems.

Pathway is beautiful, and if I were to make games myself I would want them to look like this. Pixelart is not for everybody and doesnt fit every game equally well, but personally I am happy that games with this kind of aesthetic are still being made and they usually get me at least curious instantly. You control a diverse cast of adventurers in a setting that perhaps isn’t new, but which still feels refreshing as it isnt nearly as oversaturated as your everyday Fantasy / Sci-Fi / Postapocalyptic / WW2 scenario. But Matt, technically speaking this is World War 2 as well, arent you fighting nazis? And zombies arent exactly the most original opponents either... True perhaps, but it still feels more like an Indiana Jones setting than anything else and I can appreciate that as an attempt to do something different. With that being said, it is not the setting or the graphics that quickly had me lose interest, but rather a couple of specific design decisions. 1) Roguelite Progression? I love good roguelites and I can sink weeks into them once they have me hooked, dying my way from unlock to unlock while I develop my skills until Im finally ready to face the final boss for the first time, every run feeling different because of different characters, different upgrades, etc.  Replayability and difficulty are king here and when I looked at all the playable characters that I could unlock I got excited and was reminded of what it felt like when I played Dungeon of the Endless for the first time. Pathway, however, chooses a somewhat untypical format for it’s actual missions (or adventures, as they are called). Each one of them has a wincondition that seems easily achieveable, and unlocks a completely different mission once it is done, which is only connected to the one before via story and nothing else. You can switch characters inbetween, you cannot build up a reserve of ammo or fuel, and if you fail adventure 3, you simply retry that one instead of the earlier ones. On top of that characters gain experience and become stronger, but after they die progress is not lost, similar to leveling up gods in Thea - The Awakening. Characters are different from each other, but also rather restricted in what they can and cannot do, with most characters only being able to wield one type of weapon and having perks that for the most part are only relevant in specific textbased events. For example you may find a sick camel and if you have a character with medical skills you can choose to try and heal it. Otherwise, keep moving, nothing to do here. 2) Interesting choices? Levelups are similarly uninspired. Yes, your heroes have a skilltree, but almost all of the possible choices are bland stat increases, so you may have the choice between slightly more movement, slightly more accuracy or a slightly higher critchance. Endurance is the worst example of this, as it only increases the time that a character can survive unconscious after they have been downed. That, combined with a levelcap of 5 per character and the fact that your heroes remain leveled up for all future runs as well, turns character progression into something that is not only rather boring, but also eventually completely removed from your games altogether. Personally I fail to see the appeal of this method and I would have probably enjoyed the game just as much (if not more) if levelups were completely absent from the game. The few skills that are not stat increases are usually unlocking a different weapon or armor type, so your character might be able to now wear light OR medium armor instead of only light armor. Usable abilities do not exist apart from that, they are exclusively tied to what weapons and armor you have equipped and there is one ability per weapon. A shotgun can fire at all enemies in a cone, a sniper rifle allows a person to go into coneshaped overwatch. Light armor lets you sprint, medium armor allows you to duck so you are harder to hit and heavy armor allows you to hunker down so you take only 50% of the damage you otherwise would have taken. It is all very basic and for people that have played the XCOM games, Battlebrothers, or really any game with a skilltree, there isn’t much to see here. What makes this even worse is that you can find weapons, but often you can’t use them eitherway because the vast majority of characters are shackled to only their one preferred weapon and armor type so they will always have the same weapons, therefore weaponbound abilities and because of the levelup system even stats. All of this denies meaningful choice (apart from what team of characters to send in together) and shackles replayability completely needlessly. 3)Enemy variety and combat The first adventure features nazi dogs, nazi troopers and nazi shocktroopers. I believe the final fight of the map has a first medic. Troopers and shocktroopers use rifles, the dog bites, the medic can heal and uses a pistol. Enemy numbers vary between 3 and 5 in all fights. On its own that doesnt sound so bad yet, and later adventures introduce new enemies, most notably zombies but also nazi snipers, officers, medics, I stopped playing there but there’s probably more later, right? So what am I complaining about? This is a rough guess, but I would say in order to beat the first adventure you have to go through about 7-10 battles. Each one of them uses the same three enemies. Some might not have shocktroopers, some might not have dogs, but it will always be 3-5 enemies either in a procedurally generated ruin, or a procedurally generated desert base, or maybe a desert bunker if or desert oasis. Hell, even writing this is boring. The biggest culprit here is probably not even enemy variety, but the fixed numbers. Battles happen quite regularly and they all feel pretty much the same. Sometimes it’s an ambush and you have to deploy your heroes in the center of the map, other times its not and you deploy on one side, but at the end of the day these fights all feel the same and I found myself hoping everytime I would move my people that I would find nothing again, instead of another fight. This, combined with all the other things I mentioned before basically results in a gameplay experience that is always the same. Your characters are the same (but hey, at least there are many different ones to choose from, I count that as a big Plus), your enemies are the same, the maps are the same and the abilities your characters as well as the enemies can use are always the same. A shame really. The Saving Grace However I want to note that it is not all bad. While combat itself gets repetitive rather quickly, the overworldmap and resource management in general are pretty great. One run you might run out of ammo very quickly, on another you might trigger a trap or 2 early and struggle with healing supplies and in the next you wont have enough jeep fuel. (Im kidding you never have enough jeep fuel) This, together with the fact that characters do not only use up bullets as a ressource, but also do not heal inbetween fights, gives the game a sense of lasting attrition that you need to fight against, which felt a lot deeper and had me more engaged than for example running out of fuel in FTL in comparison. One of the things that I was worried about most in combat was not the battle itself, but how I could get by without using too many bullets. How many enemies could I shank or knock out instead? At the end of the day there wasnt enough to keep me busy however. Games like The Binding of Isaac or Enter the Gungeon have me excited about what weapon I will unlock next or how different the next run will play out. What bosses will I have to fight this run? If Pathway has bosses, then I stopped playing before encountering teh first one, I was deep into adventure 2, on its 3rd map to be specific. The game seemingly doesnt want you to have too many options, doesnt give you a sufficient amount of skills to choose or other choices to make and basically falls flat when it comes to replayability. A shame, because music and graphics are beautiful and the overworld map hints at what potential there was. If I ever run into Pathway 2 I will try it, but in the first 5 minutes of the game I will look at the skilltrees and keep an eye out for abilities like “allows character to use shotguns” and hope that I dont find anything.

[hello-thefatlosshabit-blr]

One of the most potent strategies for reaching a goal is to identify the obstacles ahead of time and to develop a plan to address each before they are encountered. We want to be optimistic, but we don’t want to be a naive optimist. The naive optimist ignores the obstacles in their way and believes that they will not confront any challenges while striving to accomplish their goal. The realistic optimist believes in their ability to accomplish their goal despite the obstacles in their way. They acknowledge and prepare for the obstacles which makes them much more likely to achieve their goal. We want to have faith in our ability to overcome obstacles, not naively believe we won’t encounter them.

Research shows that predicting how and when you might be tempted to break a resolution increases the chances that you will keep it.[i]When you are working on developing a daily discipline, ask yourself: “When am I most likely to be tempted to give in? What situation is most likely to get me sidetracked? What excuses will I give myself to procrastinate?” Once you have such a scenario mapped out in your mind, imagine yourself in that situation, what it will feel like, and what you might be thinking?  If we are struggling to form a habit, it shouldn’t be difficult to imagine what situations will cause us to slip off our path, because these situations must have occurred for us to be struggling with forming the habit now.If you enjoyed this article, please LIKE and SHARE. 

Why is imagining the situations that will cause us to fail such a useful tool for overcoming our willpower challenges? It’s because once we have identified them, we can anticipate them and develop a plan to either avoid the situation or mitigate the temptation. When you have a definite strategy in mind, imagine yourself doing it. Envision what it will feel like to succeed. The more you mentally rehearse your plan, the more likely you are to execute it successfully when the temptation confronts you.

While planning missions in the military, two things were drilled into us. The first was to keep our plans as simple as possible by avoiding unnecessary complexity. We were taught the acronym KISS, “Keep it simple, stupid.” Simple plans are easier to execute. Complexity is the enemy of execution. The second was to rehearse, rehearse, and rehearse. The simpler your plan is, and the more you rehearse it, the better you will execute your plan. Execution is critical. Plans do not produce results unless you execute them.

Gabriele Oettingen a clinical psychologist and author of Rethinking Positive Thinking: Inside the New Science of Motivation, found that regardless of the goal, weight loss, obtaining a high-paying job after college, finding your soul mate, or recovering from hip replacement surgery, being a realistic optimist dramatically increases your odds of success. Realistic optimist recognizes the pitfalls that lay in front of them and develop a plan to address them. They don’t overestimate their ability to overcome challenges through willpower alone. They shape their environment and create if-then plans to shape their behavior. Realistic optimists have meals ready to eat in their freezer, they submit more job applications, they exercise more courage to meet potential romantic partners, and they create daily routines around rehabilitation exercises.[ii]

We must believe in ourselves, but one of the worst things we can do is underestimate the challenges we must overcome or overestimate our finite and fickle abilities to overcome them. Presuming that our willpower will always be adequate to the challenge of overcoming every temptation is folly. We need to recognize the challenges before we encounter them and develop a plan, based on proven strategies, to overcome those challenges. We should seek the advice of people that have done it.

Everyone struggles with procrastination, laziness, and overcoming distractions to make progress toward their goals. The bigger the goal, the more likely we are to be intimidated by it. The more likely we’ll be to procrastinate. When a reporter asked Earnest Hemmingway how he set about writing a novel, he replied, “First you defrost the refrigerator.” While I am no Hemmingway, the task of writing a book can seem overwhelming. To prevent the enormity of the task overwhelming me, I focus on writing the next paragraph or outlining the next chapter. A beautiful book about the joys, struggles, and rewards of writing is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. She describes writing as a gritty endeavor that requires courage to overcome procrastination born out of perfectionism to produce that “shitty first draft.” She says, “Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist’s true friend.”

Her book’s title reminds me to focus on taking that next small step to produce that shitty first draft. I remember the story of Anne Lamott’s brother for which the book is titled. She recounts the story in her book: “Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he’d had three months to write, which was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” Her father’s simple advice is something we can all use as a tool to stop procrastinating and take one small step, and then another.

It is a common mistake to think that our weaknesses are unique to us. They aren’t. Many of us wrongly believe that our weakness of willpower reveals a profound flaw in our character. It doesn’t. Frailties and imperfections are common. It is part of what it means to be human. They are so common that we marvel at and celebrate those that can overcome them. Weakness is a part of the human condition. We need to understand our limitations and develop effective strategies for coping with them. We all struggle with willpower, but most of us never seek a better understanding of it. The better we understand our human frailties, the better we can manage them to overcome our willpower challenges.

The only way to beat procrastination is to overcome the mental obstacles to starting. Marla Cilley, the creator of the 5-Minute Room Rescue, found an ingenious way to help us overcome procrastination. She suggests you commit to five minutes of work. For example, tell yourself, “All I am asking for is a five-minute commitment, after that we can stop.” Of course, after starting it is much easier to keep going. This same tactic can be applied to performing a workout when you just are not feeling it. Tell yourself, “let’s get changed, grab a cup of coffee, and warm-up for five minutes, and if we still are not feeling it, we can quit.” Once you get started, it is unlikely you won’t be able to finish the workout.

We have one brain but two minds. One mind is motivated by base instincts and strong emotions, the other is logic driven and focused on our long-term goals. Emotions are powerful. Overcoming them through sheer force of will is very taxing and can deplete our willpower reserves quickly, leaving us more vulnerable to the next temptation. Shrinking the commitment, by asking for only 5-minutes of work is a very effective strategy for overcoming our feelings. The more consistently we can overcome our emotions to do what is in line with our long-term goals the more successful we will be.

Consistency is the key to making progress. John Maxwell’s Power of Five provides a great example of the power of small persistent actions. He asks what would happen if you had a large tree on your property and you committed to taking five swings at it each day? The answer is always the same; the tree will eventually fall. It doesn’t matter how large the tree is. He has written over 70 successful books using the Power of Five. We are often intimidated by the large trees in our life, but if we just committed toward doing a little each day, instead of being overwhelmed by them we would achieve incredible results.

When it comes to writing, I subscribe to Steven King’s philosophy, “Don’t wait for the muse. As I’ve said, he’s a hardheaded guy who’s not susceptible to much creative fluttering. This isn’t the Ouija board or the spirit-world we’re talking about here, but just another job like laying pipe or driving long-haul trucks. Your job is to make sure the muse knows where you’re going to be every day from nine ’til noon or seven ’til three. If he does know, I assure you that sooner or later he’ll start showing up.” I keep showing up. The worst thing we could do is judge ourselves too harshly and believe our weakness of willpower reveals a unique flaw in our character instead of what it is, ordinary human frailty.

The three most important things to understand about willpower is: (1) we need to get adequate sleep each night to begin the day with the maximum amount of willpower (2) our willpower depletes as our day progresses, and (3) the more self-control we are forced to exercise, the faster the rate of depletion. Stress and fatigue are the enemies of willpower. If you wake-up each morning tired, you’re already starting the day at a willpower disadvantage. Most people need at least 7.5 to 8.5 hours of sleep each day. Since our willpower is greatest at the beginning of each day, that would be the best time to schedule the tasks that require the most willpower. You’ll also find you have a lot fewer interruptions in the morning. The last strategy and perhaps the most important is to avoid taxing our willpower unnecessarily. We want to shape our environment to promote positive habits and discourage negative ones.

I have made writing a daily a habit, so it doesn’t require much willpower anymore. It is just a part of my day. Most times I can block out distractions and my ideas flow. Sometimes I cannot, but I keep showing up, determined and excited to make whatever little bit of progress I can make each day with the time that I can set aside. I write in the early morning hours because the rest of my day is filled with personal and professional commitments. I know that if I keep plugging away, I will eventually complete this book and the other books I have already outlined. The key to finishing is to develop the habit of starting again each day. I don’t rely on willpower to write each day; I rely on my morning schedule. I don’t struggle with the decision. I look at the clock, and when it says 4:30 AM, my mind says it is time to write. Routines reap results because they don’t rely on willpower, that fickle friend that is never there for you when you need him. Disciplined habits are our best friends. “A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules.” Anthony Trollope

The more we rely on willpower as our strategy for success, the less likely we are to achieve our goals. The problem with willpower is that it depletes as the day progresses and leaves us naked to temptation. It is more useful to shape our environment to reduce temptations and distractions than to rely on willpower and grit. When we overestimate our willpower, we unnecessarily expose ourselves to people, situations, and environments that will tempt us to break our resolutions. “Research shows that people who think they have the most willpower are actually the most likely to lose control when tempted. For example, smokers who are the most optimistic about their ability to resist temptation are the most likely to relapse four months later, and overoptimistic dieters are the least likely to lose weight. Why? They fail to predict when, where, and why they will give in. They expose themselves to more temptation,” Kelly McGonigal.

Ronald Amundsen

The 1909 race to the South Pole illustrates the necessity to identify the challenges ahead of you, learn from the success of those who have gone before you, and not to rely too heavily on grit and determination to push through whatever obstacles you encounter. Two teams took-up the challenge of being the first to reach the South Pole. One group was led by British Naval Officer Robert Scott and the other lead by Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.

Amundsen gave his people the best possible equipment, and paced their journey to ensured he gave his men plenty of time to rest along the route. Scott’s team was ill-equipped. Inadequate clothes lead to frostbite, and poor goggles lead to snow blindness. Amundsen used dogs to haul their provisions, while Scott used untried motorized sleds which quickly failed, forcing his men to carry their provisions on sleds.

At the South Pole: Wilson (left), Scott, Oates (standing); Bowers and Evans (sitting)

Scott pushed on and ultimately made it to the South Pole, albeit one month behind Amundsen’s team. Tragically, no one on Scott’s team would survive the journey back, while Amundsen’s team returned with no severe maladies. There are many reasons for the radically different outcomes, but ultimately it was Scott’s overconfidence in the grit and resilience of his team that caused him to underestimate the difficulty of their journey. His dying words illustrate this point. “Had we lived, I should have had a tale to tell of the hardihood, endurance, and courage of my companions which would have stirred the heart of every Englishman. These rough notes and our dead bodies must tell the tale.”[iii]

I don’t want to diminish their courageous act of perseverance, but merely wish to point out that it could have been avoided. Scott could have given his team a better chance of success if he had better identify the challenges and better understood the limits of human endurance. This program offers tools to make your journey more manageable, but certainly not effortless. You will have to demonstrate some grit and willpower, but much less than if you didn’t use the proper strategies. The mistake I want us to avoid making is relying too heavily on willpower.

A plan that relies too heavily on willpower is doomed to failure. We are foolish to subject ourselves to temptation needlessly. Willpower is a fickle thing that often leaves us during our time of greatest need. As Shakespeare put it, “we are devils to ourselves, when we will tempt the frailty of our powers.”[iv] We shouldn’t tempt fate by relying on willpower when an effective strategy could reduce or eliminate the need for willpower. The proven strategies contained in this program will give you the greatest odds of success. Why make your journey any more difficult than it needs to be? The best use of our willpower is the implementation of strategies to reduce our need to exercise it.

The distance between our goals and where we are is the journey before us. When we choose to spend time with people that exhibit negative attitudes and behaviors, we are deciding to put rocks in our backpack. If we are trying to eat healthier but choose to stock our pantry with junk food, we are choosing to make our journey harder. We are consciously choosing to put pebbles in our shoes. Many people say they don’t want to deprive their kids, of what exactly I don’t know, a lifetime of sugar addiction? I believe desserts should be an occasional treat, not a daily indulgence.

These rocks and pebbles won’t produce an immediate failure, but they will make failure inevitable. The extra weight will slow your progress, and the pebbles will grind away at your resolve with each step you take; until you eventually give up. When your willpower finally gives out, you’ll blame it for your lack of success, instead of your decision to expose yourself to the temptations unnecessarily. You are going to need grit and willpower, just like Amundsen’s team surely did to successfully navigate the South Pole, but they combined it with the right tools and strategies.

Save your limited willpower for the temptations you cannot avoid, instead of putting more in your path. You are going to be tempted at the office to eat the donuts, cookies, and birthday cakes on a regular basis. Our supply of willpower can vary significantly from day to day depending on how stressful our day has been. This is especially true as the day wears on, and our ability to exert willpower is depleted to almost nothing. If we get adequate sleep each night, we begin the day with a willpower reservoir that is fully restored like your cellphone battery. The more we use it throughout the day, the quicker it depletes. Ever notice that most of our bad habits occur late at night?

That is because our willpower has evaporated and all we are left with is our desire to seek instant gratification and relief from our stressful day. Shaping your environment by eliminating the temptations you will encounter in the evening is the most effective strategy you can adopt. The next most effective technique is establishing an evening ritual that supports your goals. Habits conserve our willpower because they don’t require our conscious mind to decide what to do. The decision is made automatic through repetition. Our primitive mind encounters the cue and executes the routine automatically.

Change agents often find that what appears to be a people problem is a situation problem. Instead of taking on the difficult task of changing our behavior through willpower, we can often tweak our environment and make change happen painlessly. Instead of relying on workers following proper procedures, safety engineers install guards and controls to prevent workers from taking shortcuts that put themselves at risk. They do this because they know that it is easier to tweak the environment; rather than to force 100% compliance with proper procedure as workers become overconfident and complacent.

I hope you’ll decide to become an optimistic realist. I hope I have convinced you that we cannot ignore the challenges in front of us or imagine a future in which they won’t exist. We must develop a plan that relies less on willpower and more on structuring our environment to make good habits easier and bad habits more difficult. Our environment profoundly influences our behavior, so it is only logical that we would want to shape it to promote good habits and discourage bad ones.

A realistic optimist anticipates the challenges that are outside their control so they can develop and rehearse a simple plan to address them. If you are struggling to exercise five days a week consistently, I want you to first ask yourself “why am I NOT going to train five days this week?” Then I want you to develop a plan that will allow you to overcome the excuses. Optimism is an excellent source of motivation, but naïve optimism is a recipe for failure that ends in bitter disappointment. I want you to believe in yourself, but I want that believe to be based on the world as it is, and not based on the world as you would wish it to be. I want you to be a realistic optimist.

Best wishes and best health!

[i] Kelly McGonigal, The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It, Avery; Reprint edition (December 31, 2013)

[ii] Heidi Grant, Be an Optimist Without Being a Fool, Harvard Business Review, MAY 02, 2011

[iii] John C. Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, HarperCollins Leadership; Revised & Updated edition (September 16, 2007)

[iv] William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida Translation, Act 4, Scene 4

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We want to be optimistic, but we don’t want to be a naive optimist. The naive optimist ignores the obstacles in their way and believes that they will not confront any challenges while striving to accomplish their goal. One of the most potent strategies for reaching a goal is to identify the obstacles ahead of time and to develop a plan to address each before they are encountered…

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Shitty samus returns review

i feel obligated to talk about how there hasnt been a new metroid game in 6 years, partly because its sad and i wanted more metroid, but mostly because every review ive seen started like this. 6 years is like 4 zeldas, 6 marios, 2 pokemons and 2 failed attempts at college. Yes technically metroid prime : chibi space marines + soccer came out in that time but if you couldnt tell by the (totally accurate title) that shit doesnt count. the world needed samus genociding aliens and promising strip teases if you do it fast enough. why not just do that by remaking the second worst metroid game(return of samus) with all the fixins of super, fusion, and zero mission. so yeah they did that something something transition story After defeating space pirates, destroying mother brain and the metroids in the first game, samus is on the galactic federations speed dial for anytime they fuck something up. This time, they find the metroid homeworld of SR388 and decide to go there without samus. 5 minutes later everyone is dead and they want samus to kill everything left on the planet. yay genocide. the story is basicly a setup to show off and kill a bunch of new metroid evolutions. its a pretty straightfoward story for a pretty straightfoward metroid game. they even got some beautiful artwork to show off these plot points as well as some chozo backstory. its some good shit. gameplay samus returns has built apon the tried and true formula of runing around, shooting aliens, and collecting shit that makes it easier to run around and shoot aliens. expect lots of caverns, hidden power ups bombable walls etc. if youve played a 2d metriod game super or after you have a pretty good idea what youre getting into. that being said there is enough new stuff here too to keep shit interesting. you have all the standard beams, missiles and bombs as well as the screw attack, morphball, spiderball, and grapple beam. the only thing missing is the shinespark, the lack of which makes back tracking a bit more tedious. most of the weapons function exactly the same althought the ice beam doesnt stack on the other beams which is kind of annoying / the grapple beam and powerbombs can pull off some new tricks. tbh im a spoiled brat and i wont be happy with the grapple beam until it has the same versatility as smash bros. as for new shit, you got a melee counter to deflect rush down enemies and set up for a quick kill or just push away critters that get to close. you have the 360 aim which makes it way easier to shoot down enemies at the cost of being locked into a standstill or jumping in place. and you got the aeion abilities that all deplete from a meter you can increase buy collecting upgrades. these abilities let you slow down time, shoot rapid fire, have a lightning armor that negates damage as well as increase the range of your mellee counter, and the scan pulse which can fill out chunks of your map and help find secrets. These new abilities are all really well implemented into the game, especially the 360 aim and the counter, i found myself using those very consistantly. they arent withought faults, the button used for the 360 takes up any space that could be used for a free running diagonal aim, something that is incredibly usefull but still doable by holding diagonal on the controll stick. the melee counter doesnt do any damage by itself which is kind of dissapointing to my fantasy of samus punching her foes to death. regardless the mechanic is still really fun even if i wish it was more damaging and could be used while running. the aeion abilities are great even if i only really used the rapid fire and slowmo when i was required. im too paranoid about running out of meter to ever use them outside of necesity or experimenting on how to kill a boss the fastest way possible. youll have plenty of time to experiment because you fight each form of metroid anywhere between 1 and 12 times. the metroids are fun, the melee counter quick time events and fighting the them in different arenas help keep shit interesting but at the end of the day youre still fighting some of these guys 10+ times. the 3 non metroid bosses are fun too, except maybe diggernaught, beating him was a little too criptic/trial and error -y. id say the bosses in this game are overall significantly harder than most of the other 2d games and im split on how to feel about it. on the one hand i like a challenge but on the other im an unstopable intergalctic genociding bounty hunter so i dont want to die 3 times on a digger robot FUCK YOU DIGGERNAUGHT. but yeah anyway i think the map is a little 2 linear for my taste. its set up in isolated levels with very little intersecting paths and almost no backtracking. for me it makes it feel less like a complete world and more like a series of stages seperated by elevators. it's a left over design from the original game that isnt exactly my cup of tea but also doesnt ruin the experience by any means. at least there are teleporters to make end game collecting easier. presentation i dont like the graphics in this game. all the edges are blocky but not really in a stylized way and the screan always seems blurry like there is to much light coming from the environment for the camera to get a crisp view. even the artwork has this overly lense flare thing going on. to be clear, the graphics in no way inhibit the gameplay. i think they get in way of the atmosphere of the game. for me id say about 50 percent of the metroid experience comes from the imursion and atmosphere that the games have. shit like big ass slugs, krysal caverns, waterfall and statues in the background go a long way to help in this department for SR but it feels like for every area there is with a great background or soundtrack there is another area with little to no soundtrack and the only background is blue or brown rocks. thats not to say this hasnt been the case in other metroid games but many of those had you spend more time running through each respective area. for me this familiarity with each area made each game feel like its own world. i remember traveling through talon IV swampy service because it was interesting, i did it a lot, and the music was great. i remember pendara drifts and norfair and kraid for all the same reasons, the seamed like part of a world. samus returns is a big circle of sometimes pretty caves and ruins connected by elevators . combine that with the less than stellar graphics (id take sprites any day) and you have a rather underwelming planet, at least on the whole. it probably doesnt help that i spent most of my time looking at the touch screen map instead of the actual game. i guess i could always just pause the game and and plan out my route on the map like i used to but meh. something i will praise about the presentation are the added cutscenes and semi quick time events. if you counter a certain bosses youll get a cutscene where you mash the missile button and beat the shit out of the bosses in spectacular ways. you fling some around by their tails, ride using there horns and all sorts of other crazy shit. these all give make samus seem as baddass as ever and really show off how strong she is. it might just be my favorite new feature in the game. i only recall 2 new/ remixed songs from metroid 2, the rest are recycled from other famous metroid games. whats there is great but id always love more. conclusion gameplay wise this might be the most refined and excessable entry in the series, at least in terms of being user friendly. controls are tight, responsive, customizable and the touch screen makes flippin through shit a breaze. the touch screen map combine with the aeion map pulse make exploring easier than ever(i haved mixed feeling but i also dont have to use it so whatever). the bosses are challenging and rarely unfair. the overall presentation is passable but not stellar. the map is pretty linear which could turn off some but does streamline the experience. overall i really enjoyed this game for what it was, as much as i harped on about things that i think have been done better in other entries in the series. i guess for a rating uh, i think i like it better than fusion but not as much as zero mission or super. lemme know if you guys want more ramblings in the future