#had to make sure no spoilers were in the ss

[princemonday]

realizing everyone used their own names in re:mind while watching old akb48 stuff

[bluginkgo]

Welp, ep7 didn't kill me! ... the depression post ep might- (Theories/Rambles)

Anyways! Ep7 oh boy, it was full of surprises even for me. The animation, the intense battle scenes, everything about it was AMAZING! Of course, that's just my opinion :3 (feel free to yeet it into the stratosphere)

Get ready for word diarrhea and some shaky and loose thoughts on the ending and what may happen next. Fair warning, my theories are pretty wacky, so somethings may sound way out there. XD

Spoilers duh, oh and gore warning? Kinda?

I mean... that scary *ss mother facking thing towards the end- you know what I'm talking about if you watched the ep 😅

This puzzled me a bit, but the more I thought about it, I suppose the more it makes sense (give me a hot minute, I'm slow ok 😅).

The lockers act as a storage container for the solver drones. But what about the image from ep6? It seemed like they had free reign over the office and could come and go. Even as far as a sentinel cuddling up to Nori. But that's the thing. Later we see that Nori and Yeva were the only ones that have been the MOST successful with the absolute solver experimentation. The others, were either corrupted or were unaffected.

That means, in the time that the patches were given to the drones experimented on, was the time that they were allowed to be in the office. But as the patches and experimentation progressed, they were moved down for more security.

Soooo V. What are my thoughts on her and her whereabouts? The shot of the hall with the sentinels did not make it into the ep. Sure, it is probably fairly easy for them to get that shot. Especially if they kept the rig of the hall, throw around some sentinel bodies, and make the light go out. But this lack of V is what's making me still believe she's out there. Delusional, I know. But we don't get to see her eldrich form. This is the Absolute Solver that has been chilling in the labs, and simply recreates the hologram of all the drones it was ever a part of.

If V does not return by ep8, then I will lay her to rest properly. Until then, I'm marking her as MIA. She may be out there, she may not.

Alright, so the crucifix is also recounted as "failsafe USB (606b)" or at least that's how I see it, given the crucifix is just one fancy usb.

Now, the other time we did see the 606 was in the beginning of ep5.

wdOS_606 is basically the code that kills the drone and its core. So, effectively, that crucifix works as a kill code for the absolute solver. The timeline of events probably happened like this: Nori was showing signs of the Absolute Solver progressing much faster than any other drone the teams have worked with. One time, Nori went Absolute Solver crazy, the placement of the image that is also seen in ep6 suggests that this was the first or one of the first times Nori went rogue. The teams then decided to contain her better and suspended her by the chains, all the while waiting for the failsafe USB to be completed. At least, that was the plan. "Don't all die and almost let it out again lol. We're pretty mad but mostly scared about that." subtitle backs it up.

Now this.

This entire sequence seems rather interesting. Absolute Solver, at its best, understands emotions on logical level. Its more like a math equation for it. As in: Bad things happen = changed and more subdued personalities. But with N, I suppose it found it rather interesting to watch him. Despite all of the bad experiences he may have had, he remained his happy self. The solver even went as far as quoting him.

That type of innocence, despite the horrors he has seen and committed, most likely amused the solver. So it allowed the team to retain those personalities and traits- also knowing that it could easily get rid of them if it really wanted to.

Uzi's administration rights still hold up. It seems that in this moment, the solver attempted to completely corrupt N and have him as a mindless drone that followed orders. Buuuut Uzi's admin rights denied that, saving him from becoming the solver's puppet and being what he was back on Earth during the massacre of humans.

Eating is often referred to in this episode. Seems that I was somewhat right in regards to the Absolute Solver being the core of Copper-9 now. It has grown rather large, and taken possession of the entire planet. To maintain that, it needs sustenance. Be it in form of biological and mechanical life, or the planet itself.

So J destroyed the only means of getting off the planet, and the possibility of saving themselves or the planets for the gang- of course there's still the pod that J is using, but that will not be given up without a fight.

The issue here I have is... to whom did J give her loyalty to? Couple theories:

To Tessa- J has NO idea this is not Tessa, and is following her old boss just like in the days of the manor.

To Absolute Solver- J knows this is not Tessa, but still is loyal to it.

Issue: If number 1 is correct, then why follow through the plan with destroying the pod? It seems that was the case all along when Tessa told J to "mind her ship." Furthermore confusing to me is her comment.

Tessa: Her (Cyn) last known act was siccing you lot on other human exo-planets.

N: But why?

J: That's what we're trying to figure out, bozo.

J's line can be taken both ways. As 1- J is actually trying to figure out why Cyn is acting up. As for 2- this was simply a cover up for the whole plot.

It seems here that the drones that were previously worked on simply stayed in their lockers and their corrupted form. But that was something that made me wonder. The drones were all corrupted with the Absolute Solver to some degree. They were all given patches of the solver- some had effect and others didn't. But that still means that there were a lot of drones that had their cores corrupted and look like Heart. Here's the question.

Why didn't they simply leave? Nori's corrupted core is fully sentient, despite being possessed by the solver the most. Of course, there is the possibility that whatever Nori created in the cathedral simply took those cores and dragged them into the center. Further growing itself. Ah, well I kind of answered my own question there.

So the largest number I could count was 129 on this list. Meaning, there were at least 129 drones experimented on. Seems to follow the crazy theory I had of the Absolute Solver taking control of the core. 129 minus 2 (Nori and Yeva) cores will definitely make a great impact/engrave itself into the planet in such a way and thus manifest the corridors of flesh and hands that go all to the way to Cabin Fevers camp ground.

It also seems that the Absolute Solver, instead of being injected straight into the drones, was done in patches. Now, my knowledge in computer language and science is non-existent, but it does make me wonder. Yeva has 2.1.8 patch, while Nori was still "in progress." This either implies:

Nori had a newer patch and this was the one that caused her to go so berserk they had to restrain her in the cathedral.

Nori did not have a new patch, the one that Yeva has was the latest one and Nori simply was not faring well in the transition.

Something I noticed/finally grasped on my 3rd watch through:

Who the hell is "they?" Well, my tired brain finally decided to kick in and work. "They" were the scientists. So the crucifix was something that the humans only now figured out how to make. The kill code that would put the Absolute Solver down. That was why the Solver was on Copper-9. It needed that crucifix, so it could get rid of it. "They kept cutting my feed." Most likely referred to when the hosts would become possessed by the solver. Just as seen with Nori, the second they went crazy, it was a quick shut down, thus cutting the feed for the Absolute Solver as it tried to figure out what they were doing.

So, just as many have theorized, Nori did cause the core collapse, but not in the way that I expected it. It's rather funny that instead of this being like a full Absolute Solver possession that caused this on purpose, was simply one bad event after another. And I love the show for this. Despite having the route that the Absolute Solver could have just imploded the planet on purpose and on its own (by possessing a host), it was instead a sequence of events that is similar to humans and their downfall. Nothing orchestrated, but just a compiling effect that created one huge problematic black hole.

So this page does give some insight. The Absolute Solver sent DDs to wipe out the other solver hosts. (I'll touch on this in a different post) And the DDs were either referred to as "pets" by the Absolute Solver (which is more likely, as it called Uzi a "puppet") or a term that Nori coined. "Puppet hosts with nerfed ___ the entity-ensures control" The nerfed ___ is most likely their cores/thought process. As in, Administration CYN is what nerfed their abilities to remember anything regarding their past, and used that to control the DDs.

This was something I couldn't kind of settle with. Events wise, it can be assumed this is all happening at the same time. Just as Uzi is getting through the mine shafts and picking up the lantern, Tessa is blowing up the computer and nomming on Doll, and N is being dragged through corpse walls and being saved by Heart.

It was Doll- Although, the more I looked at this thought, the less likely this became. Doll's was intact when she came to warn Uzi, and stayed there until Tessa entity ate it towards the end of the episode. We have yet to see an instance where a core entered the Absolute Solver form and returned back to the core form without taking any damage. Specifically in J's case, the solver form was blown up and only then returned to the core form. Nothing was in the mine shafts that could have possibly injured it enough to go back to the core form and sneak back into Doll's body.

Tessa...uhh whatever the fack she is- Based off of Doll's getting attacked scene, the entity seems to have a rather quick ability in switching forms. So I wouldn't put past it that the entity attacked Doll, saw that another part of the Absolute Solver was trying to chase N down, and just went along with the rest of the solver to hunt him down.

On my first watch through, I was worried that N would go crazy from breaking rule 1 of robotics: Not to injure humans. Granted, in the first watch through, everything went so fast that I barely had any time to grasp anything. After the second watch through, it becomes quite clear and apparent. The Absolute Solver took the rules of robotics out of the DDs. I mean, how else were they supposed to attack and kill the humans back on Earth. Furthermore, Tessa was not a human. So even if N did still have the rules of robotics programmed into him, they might not have set off. Why the "might not?" Because of the sentinel. Perhaps because the sentinels were created by humans, their ai is much simpler, but when that dingo bit Tessa, it had an aneurysm. It detected blood, and thus, the ai deduced that the sentinel just injured a human and decided to alt f4 itself. Would the same happen with N? I'm not quite sure. Given that the solver programmed the DDs, it could be either instance: Take the rules out completely or enhance the rules so that blood isn't what triggers the rule breaking.

This is something that made me wonder. Did the DD trio go to any other exo-planets previously? I took this scene in two ways:

This has happened before. The solver knows that N will continue to forgive the Absolute Solver because something similar has happened before. As in, the solver is out to kill a planet, it does that, but in return sacrifices any DDs that might have been there to get rid of the potential solver hosts. The backups are booted and sent to a new planet.

This is the first time this happened, but the solver has previous experiences. Just as the solver had made N forget about his time in the mansion and the bloodbath of killing humans, it can do the same thing. Kill N, and make his backup version forget this ever happened.

This one single frame made me wonder a bit too hard. The little nulls I assumed to be miniature and contained blackholes. But then when N dove under one... there was collision? A black hole, as far as I understand (which isn't very much ;w;), is something that cannot be touched. It warps time and space, so how are you supposed to be able to touch it? But I'm quite sure my tired brain is just thinking too much about simple details.

For some odd reason, I always thought that the solver wings were more flesh, and thus couldn't take too much damage. Proven wrong again! Uzi withstood N's firing and her wings came out undamaged.

Main question for me: Why would the Absolute Solver eat the core? Specifically in drone form/possessing a host. If it was the hole that's in the cathedral, I can understand that somewhat better. But what does a solver drone gain from eating another corrupted core?

Perhaps acts as a power boost? Whatever the corrupted core can do, the powers are transfered uhh... somehow?

Simply sustenance, and a way to get rid of Heart, you're thinking too deep into this Ginkgo (more likely option) Plus, backed up by Tessa entity eating Doll's core and being unaffected. Perhaps it just remains in the body as a source of energy.

IC-0n IS THAT YOU?! XD But in all seriousness, this scene was intense. The animation, the music and sound effects, the lines, everything was executed perfectly and created the monstrosity that may or may not haunt my nightmare tonight :3

My first thought was, "OH YOU! YOU FINALLY SHOWED UP! ...... GO AWAY!" This entity... uh I'm not quite sure what to call it yet, has been teased all the way back to the poster. And I would like to bring back something I said a bit while back. "What if the double x'ed character is someone we already know... but is dead? A character that is confirmed/somewhat confirmed to be dead can return back to life, and their body forced to move by the absolute solver." (I will be delving deeper into debunking this in another post.) Welp, that does it. I had the idea, just didn't know who the fack it was. XD So we get a drone, wearing Tessa's skin.

In hindsight, there was a big fat foreshadowing that I took for granted. This thing.

The drone body is a WD, and clear as day 1001 written on the core. What does it mean? Ah well, I'm actually not too sure. Going with the 002, 048, 029, etc. numbers, I can only assume 1001 is something the Absolute Solver made and gave it that number, possibly suggesting that there is more of these monstrosities out there.

So. Another "sacrifice." Why the quotation marks? Well... the first "sacrifice" was V and I'm still calling her MIA. Ginkgo, its clearly shown Uzi is most likely not gonna make it out of this one- shhhhhhhh, there is no war in Ba Sing Se. I will call Uzi MIA as well.

She's dead. The core was charging up behind her, much like it did when Nori's null hand fell, and when IC-0n- I MEAN- Tessa? The entity, jumped in. Uzi might just be the thing that sets the next core collapse- even the planet collapse- off. What Uzi is seeing, is just something that the Absolute Solver might have conjured up as her last memories before the imminent shut down.

She isn't dead. You see, this entire shot has me puzzled (nothing new lol). Your evidence for this one Ginkgo? Two images.

These scenes might not be much, but I will try to grasp at air here. It's unclear where Heart goes to. I mean there are two routes, one of which sounds more likely. First, she's going into the core because it connects to the entirety of the mine shafts and the core. Second, she's gonna use a door off to the side to go to the mine shafts and the same place that N gets dragged through. Why am I using these as poor evidence? Well, we've had 2 characters enter dark spaces full fo solver flesh and still make it out. Ginkgo, Uzi is literally falling in that scene, there is nothing to stop her fall. Yeah I know, like I said, I'm grasping at air with this one. Buuuut, the mind scape theories sound more fun, promise! ^w^

First off, where the HELL could this possibly be?

A memory/mind scape the Absolute Solver created: This has to be Copper-9, based off of the two iconic moons to the top right. A memory, because this could be either the first core collapse, or Uzi viewing the destruction of Copper-9 from another solver entity's point of view. Mind scape as in this is where the solver drone minds go to. Every solver drone that has been consumed by the large Absolute Solver in the cathedral, had their own personalities and thoughts. To keep them all from clashing and acting out, perhaps the solver takes the hive-mind plane and creates spaces that the solver drones can warp through.

The "ascension" plane: Ginkgo, that's it, to the hospital you go chop chop. /j Anyways, why am I even bringing something like this up? Well, Uzi's mural says this.

There are two routes here: succumb to be the host of eternal entity, or ascend. Ascend to... where? And how? Here is where the more intense crack theories enter (or at least for me). This space is the hive-mind of the solver, yes, but this is where Uzi's internal battle against the Absolute Solver will happen. We all know that the last mural will be of N fighting off the Absolute Solver (most likely). But what if he had outside (inside technically?) help. While N may hold out against the solver, he may need help to finally break through and finish it off. Who would be a better candidate than Uzi? She has now, for better or worse, become part of the large amalgamation that sits in the core. Perhaps with the strongest hosts in the hive-mind: Uzi, Nori, Yeva (maybe, I'm not quite settled on her yet), and Cyn, they will all be able to stop the solver for good on Copper-9. This process is the ascension. Instead of succumbing to the Absolute Solver within the hive-mind scape, she will fight once again. This time around, coming out victorious and ascending to uhh... I'm not quite sure yet? Robo-heaven? Returning back into her corporal body? Becoming the next Absolute Solver but with less need to rule the world? (Ah, well she might still actually rule the world just for the fun of it XD) Honestly, it's far too late for me to be thinking any more. I might add on to this later on.

Is it a rather optimistic take on the ending? Perhaps, but I need a little optimism right about now. ;w;

Want more of my stupid rambles? This has 3 other parts! ;w;

[smoothriverrocksrock]

TF ONE SPOILERS! :D

I really enjoyed it!

My god the references made, had me wanting to point at the screen and go “Oh! oh! I know what that means!!” Yes, they reference The Touch, it’s vague but it’s there. But no song cameo so boooo /lh

Two end credits scenes! First one with Bumblebee (haha funny scene) and second one with the Decepticons (ooo fun cool scene)

Jazz fans Im so sorry. He keeps getting jangled in front of the camera but never explored as a character and I’m sure it’s torture for all of you

Like on one hand it’s cool you can look at any crowd and play Recognize That Guy, but on the other hand it has you craving an actual moment with them. Obviously they can’t introduce a billion different characters and have them all explain their deal, because then there wouldn’t be any time left for plot, but OUCH. JUST GIVE ME AN IRONHIDE MOMENT PLEASE ITS BEEN YEARS

Bumblebee is the obligatory comedic relief, but he was actually given serious moments! He didn’t make crazy tone changes when it was a genuinely important scene! There was a moment where everyone was contemplating Sentinal’s betrayal, and I totally expected B to do a “well THAT just happened” thing, but he didn’t! He actually expressed how he felt! And he could actually be kinda funny! Had people laughing at his jokes in the theater, so that’s nice

STARSCREAM WAS GETTING HIS AFT BEAT BY MEGATRON??? AND BASICALLY SAID “KEEP GOING I CAN TAKE IT” AND??? UHHHHH????? LIKE IT WAS FRAMED AS A “UR WEAK LMAO” TYPE OF SCENE BUT GET FREAKY WITH IT IG. WAS LITERALLY GETTING CHOKED SO HARD DURING IT HIS VOICE BOX CRACKED

(also the fight SS and Megatron has was short but really good)

Honestly all the fights were peak. Had fun each time

Soundwave and Shockwave <3333 Soundwave gets to read minds one (1) time, and never again but at least it’s established he can do that <333 Sorry Shockwave fans he was kinda a punk here, someone get that man a lab so he can *really* shine. No cassettes tho :/ can’t win them all

Edit (putting more thoughts here):

D-16 said “This is the last time I show mercy” and ohhhhh boy did he mean it. Ironic as fuck that it’s in regards to sparing Starscream tho, like good luck with that one buddy

[worth-this-and-more]

Do think sel is jealous of valec

[spoilers for legendborn and bloodmarked, read at your own caution ;)] im hella late in answering anon this is in my drafts for like days and i forgot this one was asked I'm so sorryyy and i also don't have my tablet rn so i cant ss the specific parts but nvm imma just quote them

oh absolutely haha he's hella hella jealous and I've got proofs

so the main one where sel alsolutely is jealous

Sel shakes his head. “Don’t listen to him, Briana. He’s trying to convince you he has use here. He’s made up some reason to give you information, hoping it’ll turn into a debt you owe him.” Valec’s had enough. “You getting close to the edge again, kingsmage? Jumping to the worst-case scenario first. Assuming I want to tie Bree to me beyond the bounds of this conversation. Keep her for myself?” “Don’t you?” “Well,” Valec considers, smiling with not a small amount of fang. “Yes.” A minute tilt of Sel’s chin. “Watch yourself.” Valec’s smirk blooms wide. “The difference between you and me, Kane, is that I am a transparent sort, who’s happy to say out loud all that I desire.” Brown eyes flicker to red and back. “You want the same, you just can’t come out and say it. Not really.” Sel’s answer is a stunned silence. William flushes pink, and Alice looks downright disgusted.

i would also love to point out that sel was silent but William blushed. now i am so so so sure that their talk in the car on their way to volition?? bro i wanna know what they talked about because William sure as hell knows what sel and bree have going on, he definitely does. he's gonna be the kenji here i swear.

also, the balcony scene yall asdfghjkl like who's gonna say he's not jealous he is two steps away from killing valec whenever he says shit like that lmaooo

"Merlin's thoughts were harder and sharper than my own. Vicious in their clarity." Sel grimaces. "I wonder if it is because, unlike me, he was a half-human, half-demon... just like-" "Just like Valec." The tension in Sel's jaw tells me that my guess is right. Nick looks between us. "Who's Valec?" Sel's expression sours. "A rogue cambion and demon power broker with Rootcrafter ties." Nick's brow furrows. "Is he after Bree?" "Depends on how you define 'after'," Sel drawls. "Valec isn't trying to kill me," I clarify for Nick. "So that's refreshing." Sel snorts. "Valec flirts with you enough that it might kill me." Nick's eyes widen. "A demon power broker flirts with you?" He turns to Sel. "Who does this guy think he is?" "I can handle Valec," I say, rolling my eyes. "He is half demon, and apparently the balance makes him at peace with his demon side."

also the fact that nick said nothing about selwyn's feelings about someone flirting with bree. idk if this is poly confirmation or the fact that nick's plan includes him going somewhere and leaving bree and sel together but yall this is hilarious

[hurpdurpburps]

Otherside Picnic Manga Yuri Club Special Story 11 English Translation

SPOILER WARNING: Takes place in the middle of File 12 - The Matter Of That Farm in Vol 4 of the novels.

Written by: Miyazawa Iori

Translated by: @hurpdurpburps

-

Chapter 11: Hannou, In The Car From The Station

The large van that left the station was headed for the mountains of Hannou. The car that came to pick me and Toriko up also carried Migiwa from DS lab, as well as a group that called themselves Torchlight Inc, a private military corporation.

I'd heard that they were old acquaintances of Migiwa’s so I understood that they were allies, but simply sharing the same space as a group of people I'd never met before was making me nervous. Next to me, Toriko gently held my hand as I remained in my seat uneasily. While I could sense her consideration for me and was grateful for that, I wondered if it was just my imagination that Toriko’s sense of distance was different from usual.

No, Toriko's sense of distance had always been weird ever since we first met, so it was a little late to say this now, but… it was making me restless for some reason.

I was told that the people at Torchlight knew about the existence of the Otherside. DS lab called it the Ultrablue Landscape.

Another world on the other side of this one - I wonder if there are people who believe in such a thing.

Personally, I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. Even though I'd always hoped that such a world existed.

Perhaps sensing my gaze, the woman named Sasazuka or something looked at me and smiled. Feeling awkward, I looked away. She was apparently the CEO of Torchlight. Most of the other employees – or rather, operators as they seemed to be called - were men, with many of them being foreigners. She and another were the only women on the team.

"Are you alright?"

"Uh, yes."

"If you’re feeling sick or unwell, please don't hesitate to let us know at any time."

"Uh, yes…"

Just as I was wondering what she was talking about, Migiwa, who was riding shotgun, turned around and said, “My apologies for making such an unreasonable request so suddenly. something so sudden and unreasonable. We wouldn’t have bothered you if we were able to deal with this by ourselves.”

"Huh."

Toriko squeezed my hand tightly at my curt reply. I turned to the side wondering what was going on, and was met with concerned looks. Then I finally realised.

Sasazuka, Migiwa, and even Toriko were all worried about me being a victim of the kidnapping. They were most likely acting like this because they thought I was still reeling in shock from being kidnapped by Urumi Runa’s cult.

It was probably an obvious cause for concern from an objective point of view but that made me more irritated than grateful. I was way past the point of being in shock from something this minor, and all that unnecessary consideration made things rather unpleasant instead.

But I was sure they wouldn't understand if I said that.

There was nothing I could do apart from continuing to sit in silence in increasing uneasiness.

"We're almost there," Migiwa said as he looked at the screen of the car’s GPS.

The car left the paved roads and began to climb a narrow path that seemed to almost buried in greenery. The chassis of the van rocked up and down as it traveled along the unpaved mountain road, with the sound of branches scraping against the windows reverberating throughout.

I drove all unnecessary thoughts out of my mind and focused my eyes on looking out of the windshield. At the top of the mountain slope was the facility that Urumi Runa used as her base – the Farm.

TL Notes

General note: I adopted a more 'literary' prose style to match the tone of the novels. Hence, the translation in this series will be significantly more liberal than my usual analytical posts. Feel free to ask me anything. Feedback regarding translation accuracy is also welcome.

Chapter 12 of the SS came out along with vol 13 of the manga, but it'll take some time until I receive the raws, probably around late Oct or early Nov.

List of Yuri Club's Otherside Picnic Short Stories [my translations]:

1. Shinjuku, The First Meet-Up (新宿、初めての待ち合わせ)

2. Hasshaku-sama Epilogue (八尺様エピローグ)

3. Ochanomizu, The First Afterparty (お茶の水、初めての打ち上げ)

4. Ikebukuro, Cafe Meal For One (池袋、ひとりカフェ飯)

5. Naha, After The Big Job (那覇、大仕事の後)

6. Ishigaki Island, A Dazed Vacation (石垣島、呆然のリゾート)

7. Mercedes AMG, The Backseat (メルセデスAMG、後部座席)

8. Otherworldly Elevator, On The Way Back (異世界エレベーター、帰路)

9. Kozakura Mansion, Pizza Party (小桜屋敷、ピザパーティー)

10. Ikebukuro Bookstore, Meet Up (池袋の書店、待ち合わせ)

11. Hannou, In The Car From The Station (飯能、駅からの車中)

12. TBD

[fictionfixations]

masquerade malleus vignette

(spoilers for glorious masquerade)

aww

i refuse to believe lilia is oblivious enough not to notice that they dont like his cooking

..although solomon (from obey me) doesnt notice either iirc, but i mean..

..sebek. in a vignette, you literally got his help in cleaning a stain from malleus' labcoat???

...i never thought id hear azul say those words.... what?????

i dont know how it didnt hit me until now but the only reason rollo's plan in glorious masquerade failed was because he was so insistent on having malleus there and taking away all his power and shit?? like. cause. none of us had enough magic to actually overpower the fire lotuses(? i cant remember what they were called), although yuu would be able to make it through with no magic how could we even fight rollo at the end??

and at the point it reaches malleus and he could do something about it, it'd be too late?? because i REALLY doubt he has enough to reach all of those flowers and with enough to completely fry them out. and i doubt the bell would reach it by then.

silver...

is azul even human?? im like pretty sure-ish he's not human. not even half human. just entirely sea creature with a human-like body to probably be treated more normally and not hunted for sport/food through evolution shit idfk (like. idk im pretty sure its a thing where pets look so much cuter to cause us to take them in and shit.)

anyway im just imagining sebek talking azul's ear off about how great malleus is because he finally has a buddy who understands and therefore would be willing to listen to him talk for hours straight about malleus's greatness. AND APPRECIATE IT. HAUIHDSUIhd and azuls just like ………………….. floyd and jade laughing at him from a distance azul sets sebek on them like 'i think those two should come to learn about malleus's brilliance, don't you think? after all, as my colleagues, it is such a shame that they don't share my admiration for malleus, and i am unsure how to put it into words, as malleus himself is so magnificent that even words fail to describe him properly. so sebek, my fellow appreciator, would you lend me your aid in helping them grow to appreciate his brilliance?' okay i ran out of words and started repeating them because ic ant be bothered to look up for synonyms, im not THAT into it okay

ahhh so it is a fleur city song i wasnt sure. ive read in fics that it was, but it was also those fics where songs either have power, or yuu knows a bunch of disney songs that are considered 'forbidden/forgotten songs' or something like that and i cant remember which it was

actually if they put in all that work beforehand i think i get why they were so insistent on waiting for rollo to either confess or not AFTER the social ball and after they left and everything LMFAO

they suddenly changed into their school uniforms (still in diasomnia)

i honestly wouldnt know if id trust lilia that much but sure (i hope it doesnt turn to perfectionism levels tho)

first time we encounter italicized text i think. huh.

lmfao

oh my god (no but why choose idia at that point?? is it cuz his voice meshes well with them??)

ayoo its playing the make a wish (i think thats what the song is called) instrumental in the bg ive heard it way too many times not to recognize it (and sung along. its so fucking cool)

damn

my hands are actually protesting now ah geez (i took a break)

I GOT SO DISTRACTED BY DEUCE (i was re-experiencing enjoying looking at everyones costumes again) I AM AN IDIOT (its lower in opacity to show you that you're on it in the editor)

ooh

i didnt notice the insert paragraph im sorry lMFAO but id forget if i didnt SS it then

ooh some malleus riddle bonding

AH ITS A YUU JUMPSCARE

that seriously startled me like suddenly i just hear footsteps and then BOOM OPTIONS

ayooo malleus and yuu dancing

(alsoo yuu and deuce dancing :D)

WOOO

okay. now.

i feel like. im doing really good progress tackling all the vignettes (currently in EN. after that's GloMas, & Book 6 and 7. ive been avoiding it because not all of the Backgrounds exist, and GloMas has options with completely different dialogue which I can't see them all. i have three different videos of GloMas gameplay but they dont show all options...). all thats remaining is azul's tsumsitter (i have a vid of his vignette. ..i just dont like doing the tsum ones because i never know how to describe the tsum moving) vil birthday bloom (i FOUND A VIDEO finally oh my god. i love doing birthday vignettes) malleus dorm uniform (I have a vid) sebek new year (i have a vid) grim labcoat (i have a vid)

and then the rabbit costume ones which all of them have vignettes iirc and i have videos for all of them (i actually just found them as i was writing this. thank you god. they have no views tho geez. wonder if that means vil birthday bloom exists in a video but just wont appear. this is future me. ...i have been blessed with vil birthday bloom.)

[georgies-ftts]

my thoughts and opinions on this weeks episode as someone who didn’t have time to watch last weeks episode, has never watched live american telly before and has discovered a new found hatred for your adverts. Also i swear a lot.

let’s begin

(spoilers obviously don’t be a knob)

1. he cannae be captain he’s only got two stripes on his epilette why are we focusing so much on this man

2. Bobby eyeing up that gun I like that (the acting)

3. this guy is giving me uncanny valley and i don’t like it

4. hehe dongle

5. i mean fair enough… in and out just like he said

6. Hen love of my life where the hell have you been loca

7. “and you won’t be anymore either” that’s actually dead funny to me

8. husbands that saw together survive trauma together <3

9. “everyone survived” i know foreshadowing when i see it

10. there’s a lot of drunk driver hatred (as deserved) somethings gonna occurr

11. oh he’s dead… lol karma fuckhead

12. Hen, i love you but why can noone on telly give me actual realistic CPR… break them ribs girl

13. christ these american adverts are weird

14. let me tell you advertising prescription medicine isn’t actually a normal thing to do

15. I don’t know boss man am no a dr but that’s an awful lot of blood are you sure you should still be breathing????

16. “Are you happy” “Yeah, Yeah I am” i have a feeling that’s all about to change buddy

17. just me or can anyone else not see a fucking thing that’s going on this episode why’s everyone in the dark for?

18. moving on from that i love the lighting in the office scene… chefs kiss

19. EXCUSE ME SHE WAS DOING HER JOB, NEXT YOU’LL SUSPEND HER FOR CODLING THE DRUNK DRIVER AND GIVING HIM TEA AND CHEEK KISSES PISS OFFFFF

20. Why do American comm’s systems always fail whenever you actually need them

21. They were axed to pieces. I will let you off -_- this time…

22. “I didn’t shoot him” honestly… same i hope you get yer pay out boss

23. Athena please for the love of god pop a paracetamol or a codeine and chill the fuck out

24. cause it has never been hard enough for them you just had to add a bastard bomb

25. ITS BEEN 5 MINUTES WHY MORE ADVERTS

26. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ADVERTISING TO YOUR CITIZENS

27. The Rookie ad i love it carry on

28. If he wasn’t under the influence then he was just being a cunt and hen had every right to react as such thankyou very much

29. Oh my fuck what is happening - don’t tear them apart i’ll start crying

30. Bitch you’re taking on water stop being a pussy and help

31. “Don’t test me.” Queen, you rag his arse

32. “port stabilisers are gone” surely you should be tilting like a bitch right now or did i miss a frame

33. MORE FUCKING ADVERTS????

34. why’s that lizard from london?

35. WHY ARE YOU ADVERTISING DEMENTIA MEDICATION THAT IS LITERALLY ADVERTISED ALSO AS A DEATH PILL WHAT DO YOU MEAN COMA AND DEATH THATS NOT HELPING

36. “i didn’t save him either” he quite literally refused your help despite being detained

37. didn’t get that SS Menow reference… try the Mayflower next time

38. “Saving the ship” “course she is” GIVE THEM ONE MOMENT OF PEACE PLEASE I AM BEGGING YOU

39. okay good they are tilting like a bitch i will shut my mouth

40. NO STOP TILTING LIKE A BITCH I DONT CARE ABOUT REALISM I TAKE IT BACK NO

41. HOW MANY MORE ADVERTS DO YOU NEED

42. i don’t know but all your meds just seem to be doing the opposite of.. you know… keeping you alive.

43. woah therapy flash back get me one of those

44. you forgot to mention imminent death in your therapy session Mr Sir

45. “We did what we had to do” YOU’RE ALLOWED TO LIVE TOO.

46. “I couldn’t save my first family and I can’t save you either” and what if that was my last straw Robert Nash

47. ABC you can tone down the writing now i’m fucking sobbing

48. FUCK YOU AUSTRALIAN MAN I WAS CRYING MY EYES OUT

49. glad the us also have those Haribo ads

50. first time in my almost 20 years of life where i’ve seen an ADVERT for ANTIDEPRESSANTS that also actively make you MORE DEPRESSED

51. Hen i knew you were slaying you’ve never not slayed <3

52. no need for it was there mr boss man? no didn’t think so

53. You have no jurisdiction past the Gulf of Mexico??? ummmm??? distressed cruise ship full of your citizens???? idk??? do something????

54. oh. welp. no surviving that one, have fun with poseidon my loves

55. i don’t know about you but once i’ve been capsized like that in anything bigger than a kayak im giving up…

[embyrinitalics]

Don't get me wrong. Tears of the Kingdom is a fantastic game. I'm still having so much fun with it. It delivered on so many fronts. It has my favorite final boss in the series. And the new mechanics really do make BotW feel like a tech demo.

But.

My Big Complaint is: TotK should not have been a sequel to BotW.

(spoilers below the cut!)

I understand why they did it, and think it was inevitable. Getting to reuse the assets and maps saved so much time. And BotW was such a huge success that they couldn't not give it a sequel.

But seriously, what the heck?

TotK's storytelling basically ignored or erased everything that happened in BotW. What happened to the Sheikah tech that was literally everywhere? The Divine Beasts that had been plaguing the four regions for a century? Zelda's incorporeal battle with evil incarnate for 100 years and the inevitable trauma she and Link must have after everything that's happened to them? Nah we don't talk about that. Half the NPCs don't even know who Link is despite having plenty of canonical interactions.

And I'm like, ok, I get it, sure. We are so 100% into this new plot we don't have time to explain away the old stuff and I'll just have to deal with it. All right, sure! BotW had very cool and well crafted lore, I'm sure TotK will too! I can't wait for this airtight new story!

Except 🤨

Who are the Zonai actually? Why did they come to Hyrule and from where? Why do we only meet two of them? If Rauru and Sonia are the first of the Royal Family, is she part of the goddess' bloodline (a direct descendant of SS Zelda)? Did she die childless? If they had a child, was it distinctly half Zonai? SO MANY GANONDORF QUESTIONS I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHERE TO START??!?! What's the deal with the secret stones anyway? Who made them? Why do they cause draconification? Is that what happened to Dinraal, Farosh, and Naydra? The Sheikah Shrines were trials left behind by devoted monks who underwent self mummification to train the Hero, but what's the deal with the Zonai ones again? And if they're supposed to be for Link too, when did Rauru have time to build them? And like the Depths?! Make zero sense??!

I could go on and on. As much fun as this game is and as cinematic as a lot of it was, the whole thing is riddled with holes and would've been SO MUCH BETTER if they just made it its own pocket universe like they did with Termina. Trying to have it make sense in the world BotW already established is impossible, and honestly just sort of like. Disrespectfully shoves BotW's dead body off a cliff and hopes no one finds the remains.

So, yeah! Great game! Beefy cutscenes! Fantastic ending! Awesome mechanics! But really really disappointing BotW erasure.

(I also feel like it suffered from trying to follow the same open world formula? Lots of people found the Tears in the wrong order and felt like they spoiled the story for themselves. And the way you were going around doing "search for Zelda" sidequests when you knew where she was but couldn't tell anyone seemed like an oversight. And I wouldn't have minded some more traditional dungeons, like what the Fire and Lightning temples had going on, but just, like. More.)

[dreamweaversfavsandthoughs]

Rick and Morty S7 Ep. 3: Air Force Wong

(We’ve come a long way since Pickle Rick)

Spoiler Alert. Can’t say I didn’t warn you.

My Favs

Unity!

Really wasn’t expecting to ever see them again so it was a pleasant surprise! Bringing back Unity could have crossed the line into being too fan service-y but I think they were incorporated into the ongoing story of the Rick/Rick Prime saga nicely.

“Don’t be a Space Mormon!”:

But immediately being apologetic about making fun of the SS agent’s religion.

“I volunteer to do acid to prove I’m not a cop!”:

Me too. Me too

President’s cellphone wallpaper:

Rick and the President posing with a recently caught Nessie cracked me up more than it should have.

“Call in a chopper. I’m being cockblocked!”

Rick almost died trying to defeat Rick Prime?!:

I need the details! I NEED THEM!

Summer and Rick’s interaction:

We haven’t gotten a lot of Summer this season so it’s nice to see her trying to reach out to her grandfather. Summer is probably the second smartest member of the Smith/Sanchez and made the connection pretty quickly that Unity was back and that Rick would be deep in his feels. I love seeing Summer’s empathetic side but it was also sad to see Rick shut her out in the guise of creating “boundaries.” He still has a long way to go.

The President becoming a hive mind in order to achieve an 100% approval rating:

Honestly, a politician enslaving the minds of his constituents in order to get unanimous approval is something that would happen in real life if they could. Absolutely realistic.

*traumatic flashback of the last 7-8 years*

David Miscavage voicemail:

Unless you are familiar with the history of Scientology, you’re probably not going to get that joke. That was written for nerds like me. (Real talk though, I believe Scientology is a dangerous cult. The actress, Leah Remini has done some great work exposing this cult for what it is and some of their abusive practices.)

My Not Favs

Has anyone seen Morty? He’s gone missing and we’re so worried about him:

I have it on good authority that he’s going to be more prominent in the season going forward. Hope my sources are correct…

Mr. Stabby:

The bit didn’t really do it for me.

The romantic arc between the President and Dr. Wong:

Fortunately it was ditched as quickly as it started.

My Thoughts:

A couple of things come to mind:

First, I want to discuss my biggest problem with Auto Erotic Assimilation as an episode. The episode ends with a pretty moving scene of Rick attempting suicide after Unity breaks up with him. Iconic scene no doubt, but a scene I felt had poor justification. The reasoning being is that the only thing we ever really learn during that episode is that Rick and Unity like to fuck…a lot. And abuse substance…a lot. Frankly, the relationship struck me as being awfully shallow. This most recent episode, however, added some much needed substance that was previously lacking. We find out that Rick has confided in them about Rick Prime and possibly Diane and Beth. They were around for the disastrous aftermath of his previous attempt to hunt Rick Prime and when they find out Rick is going to attempt to go after him again goes to extreme lengths to get Rick’s attention and dissuade him from going through with it.

Now, I don’t really want to see Unity and Rick get back together and I do see this episode as a sort of resolution to this relationship. Two people may not be able to make a romantic relationship work but sometimes that can pave the way to something better. Maybe a friendship can form from this that is much more meaningful than a romance, when they’re ready. They both still care about each other that’s for sure, but Rick still has some work.

Secondly, I’ve seen some conversation that Dr. Wong was in the wrong to side with Unity and tell Rick he was squarely in the wrong. Rewatching the episode, in the scene before Dr. Wong and Rick confront Unity the two of them discuss how they are going to convince Unity to take over the President’s hivemind in order to restore everyone. In this discussion they say,

Rick: “So you need to convince [Unity] I’m worth it.”

Dr. Wong: “You aren’t”.

Rick: “So lie”.

A possible interpretation is that Dr. Wong took his advice and said what she thought would be necessary to bring order back to earth which meant placing the blame on Rick. It’s a thought. I don’t know if if clears anything up but that’s kinda how I see it.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. It wasn’t nearly the fun romp we had with the second episode, but I appreciate a fresh insight into Rick and Unity’s relationship and I like to see Rick gradually warming up to therapy to the point that he values his relationship with Dr. Wong. She’s one of the few people not intimidated by him or afraid to call him out on his BS. Sometimes, finding a therapist that really clicks with you can be a monumental task so Rick got pretty lucky finding the perfect therapist on the first try.

[neerons]

I need to know if you can enlighten me as to what direction Kei's story is going, why does he need to stop making excuses and obstacles? He already admitted that he loves her, why do he keep putting up barriers? I hope to finally see a development in Kei because the MC always brings him back and gives him strength but in my opinion he just runs (I have nothing against Kei, I love his character and I understand his past) but in his new story eden's love seriously gave me a headache to become a priest and definitively renounce everything they have experienced together and their love for God because he himself has said that he doesn't believe what do you think about this? there is hope??

Hey there ❤️

[TW: Mentions of cannibalism, sexual abuse, and psychological trauma]

I'm not sure if you have read the Eden's Love story as a whole or if you only relied on my recent screenshots. If it's the latter, just know that I'm not done posting ss and that other spoilers will be posted soon.

Admittedly, Kei's story is more complicated to understand and it can be hard to remember everything, so I'll try to explain the problem both he and MC were facing in their relationship, and why they decided it was better to "break up" while still being very much in love.

[A little disclaimer before I begin: I realize as I'm writing that explaining Kei's story is hard. I try my best to articulate my thoughts as best as I can, but it can be difficult to understand if you haven't read the stories yourself. Just keep in mind that, all throughout Kei's stories, he and MC have always been in love, it's simply that they don't understand their feelings for the other right away due to their particular circumstances.]

As of now, Kei and MC should soon go back to being together once MC realizes Kei has actually not become a priest, which will enable them to go back together.

➡ The reason for their break up was due to their lack of physical intimacy, provoked by Kei's own lack of desire after remembering traumatic memories who made Kei distance himself from physical touch again.

As MC realized that Kei probably didn't love her that way anymore, she imagined that he thought of her as a friend now, like with Josh, Yuzuru and Theo.

She thought that, by keeping their relationship as a couple, she was forcing Kei to keep being tied to her when he didn't have romantic feelings left for her.

So she asked to break up while still being in love with him to free him from this relationship (She hid her own feelings to not make him feel guilty of sacrificing herself).

Now, as we already know, the reason Kei felt confused about his feelings for her is because he had more than just a difficult past.

He was an orphan getting sexually abused, beaten up, malnourished, and then he was adopted and under the protection of the Romleys, but that didn't stop Caleb, an acquaintance of the Romleys', to traumatize him behind the scenes as well.

Caleb, who has a twisted version of love, is a cannibal who eats everyone Chad, the man he loves (aka Kei's grandfather), loves.

This led to Kei witnessing Caleb eat Libre, Chad's horse, that Kei loved dearly, while he was visiting France with Caleb.

Kei then forgot these memories as a protection mechanism, but he grew up thinking that every adult speaking about what "love" is is disgusting. To him, love was disgusting.

This is also why he was unable to desire physical intimacy with women and wouldn't have skin to skin contact with them, until MC.

➡ His disgust for love and physical desire led Kei to using domination, and then faith to control his desires later on.

Despite reading people like a book, his tragic past full of obsessed weirdos made Kei unable to understand his own emotions very well.

After being with MC, he is not capable of showing her the extent of his feelings, and they find it hard to have a "normal" relationship due to that.

(Deep down, they both know they love and care for each other, but the weight of the past and their enemies make it difficult for them to be together in a normal romantic relationship.)

➡ Because of his own inner struggles clashing with their relationship, and the remembrance of his trauma, Kei is scared of tainting MC with his "impurity" and ruining her life.

He doesn't want to be selfish and thinks she should be with someone who gives her the love and intimacy she "deserves", because he is not capable of normal love like her due to his past, and he wouldn't have sex with her anymore after remembering Caleb (especially after learning that the choker he gave MC had a listening device planted by Caleb all this time, so Caleb had heard them make love on that night when Kei and MC finally did it "normally").

On the other hand, MC is scared of Kei dying because of her love. Kei has risked a lot of times his life to be free from his past to be with MC. She doesn’t want him to risk everything for her, because she loves him and wants him to be happy with his friends.

➡ They both become self-sacrificial for the other without realizing.

At the end of Eden's Love Volume 1, Kei has realized he doesn’t need faith the same way Josh, his childhood friend, does.

Before being officially baptised, he realizes it’s not God who has saved him, and who can save him, it’s MC. He tells Josh he cannot be baptised.

Ultimately, MC is the reason why he even was able to step into a church again. She’s his one and only salvation, not God, and he cannot see a future without her.

He decided to not become a priest, because doing so would mean ruling out of your life romance and sexual intimacy.

Kei realized he actually is capable of normal love as he desires MC and would only sin and disrespect Josh’s religion and faith if he became a priest.

On her own side of things, MC realizes after their break up as well that she did truly fall in love with Kei, like she had hoped she would ever since Kei declared he would make his life about getting her to fall for him.

In the end, their break up was very much needed as it was the only way they could realize just how in love they both are.

Kei, who had so much trouble understanding love, could not tell the difference between his feelings for Yuzu, Theo, Josh and MC. It's only after their break up that he understood how special she is to him compared to them, and how much he desires her physically as well.

And MC, who thought that as long as Kei is happy with his friends, told herself she'd be able to live without his love. However, she started desiring him more and more as well, and it only made her understand she had fallen hard for him and couldn't live without wanting him.

They both knew they would keep loving the other, but decided that for the other sake's, they'll put their feelings to sleep. But their feelings were too strong.

(Damn, isn't that MS so beautiful?)

Meeting the MC is what naturally taught Kei what true love actually is, and he started changing for the better along the stories. But as his trauma came back in bits and pieces, he started feeling confused.

It's after their break up, after having a neutral relationship and not being able to touch each other anymore, that they realized just how much they desired each other.

So of course, there is hope! Kei didn't tell MC he didn't actually become a priest, so once she knows, they'll probably be together once again (it's an otome game after all).

Thank you for the ask, and I hope you understood it a bit better. I never know if I explain it well considering how difficult the story is, but I hope I did a good job

Have a lovely day ❤

[glatisant-questing]

Heisuke's Short Story from the Manyo no Shou Limited Edition Booklet

Since Manyo no Shou stories can be read either before or after playing the game, I will not add spoiler warnings.

Heisuke's a sweetheart in this story:)

This SS was written by 長野 和泉

“Todo-kun, sorry, but can you go and get Yukimura-kun for me?”

 I was asked by Gen-san when I passed by the kitchen. 

“Chizuru? Sure, but what do you need her for?” 

“I was thinking of buying some sweets for the guests, because I couldn’t find any in the kitchen. I want to consult with Yukimura as to what to buy.” 

“I-I’ll have you know, I didn’t eat them!” 

I knew that Shinpachi had secretly eaten those sweets, so I answered in a panic, and Gen-san looked at me in amazement.

“…No one said you did, Todo-kun. Anyway, that’s the situation, so please help me call Yukimura-kun here.” 

“Okay, got it!” 

“Hey Chizuru, are you there? Gen-san has something to ask you.”

 I stood in front of Chizuru’s room and called out to her from this side of the shoji. 

But there was no reply. 

(Maybe she went out somewhere? Or maybe she’s cleaning or doing laundry…)

Although I was thinking about leaving, I called out once again just in case.

 “Hey, are you there? If you are, please answer me.” 

 Finally, the door opened. 

“Sorry, Heisuke-kun! I didn’t notice you.” 

“N-no, it’s fine, but…” 

I noticed that Chizuru, who poked her head out of the room to answer me, looked somewhat sleepy.

“…Were you sleeping?” 

Then she lowered her face in embarrassment. 

“I was up late last night, so I just… I thought it would be okay if I dozed off a little.” 

“Haha. You’re surprisingly careless sometimes, aren’t you?” 

I said what I honestly thought, but Chizuru shrank back even more. 

“…I’m sorry.” 

“No, I didn’t mean to make fun of you or anything… It’s just that, I thought you have always been pretty reliable, so when I see you being careless like this, it’s… it’s…” 

(It’s cute.)

I almost blurted out, but stopped myself in mid-sentence. 

“When you see me being careless… what?” 

Chizuru asked, not quite understanding my meaning, and urged me to continue. 

I answered, looking away from her a little.

 “It’s… it’s kind of reassuring, or relaxing, you know.” 

Then Chizuru pursed her lips a little, looking even more unconvinced. 

“…That sounds hard to take as a compliment…” 

“I’m not saying it in a bad way, you know (╥ω╥)”  

“I know, but…” 

She still didn’t seem convinced, a disgruntled expression on her face. 

(Even this slightly sulky side of her is cute, but there is no way I could say that out loud.)

(If it were Harada-san, he would just say what’s on his mind without worrying about such things, right?) 

Chizuru seemed to have regained her composure, and asked me, “By the way, Heisuke-kun, did you have something to tell me?”

At those words, I realized that I had completely forgotten to tell her the reason why I came here. 

“Oh, right! Actually—” 

I told her that Gen-san had asked me to call her. 

“So, he said he wanted to hear your opinion… Is that okay?” 

“Okay? What do you mean?” 

“I saw you were napping just now, so I thought you might be tired.” 

Then Chizuru answered with a wry smile. 

“I’m fine. I just took a nap because my errand ended sooner than I expected.” 

“Really?” 

Chizuru tends to overwork, so I can’t help but worry about her… 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for worrying about me, Heisuke-kun.” 

Seeing Chizuru say that bravely, I felt that it would be worse to keep her here for too long. 

“I see. But don’t push yourself too hard, okay? If you’re tired, you need to tell everybody honestly that you need rest. Otherwise, no one will notice.”

Then Chizuru smiled lightly at me and answered. 

“I’m fine. Even though I’m busy, I’m not as busy as the other soldiers. Besides-”

As she was about to say something, Chizuru stared at me intently. 

When our eyes met like this, I felt uneasy. 

But Chizuru seemed unaware of my inner feelings… 

“If I am tired, Heisuke-kun, you’ll be the one to notice it, right?” 

She said that with a lovely smile. 

“Wh…!” 

At that moment, my heart beat as if it was punched hard, and I couldn’t look at Chizuru’s face properly. 

Of course, Chizuru must have done it unconsciously, and she probably didn’t notice at all how flustered I was by her words. 

But I couldn’t act calm, and I turned my face away involuntarily. 

“I…today I just happened to notice that you are tired, but I surely can’t always pay attention! So, don’t… don’t push yourself too hard! If you have trouble telling Hijikata-san or Gen-san that you need a break, I can tell them for you!”

I blurted out those words to hide my embarrassment, and Chizuru listened to me with a smile. And then… 

“Thank you, Heisuke-kun. If you say so, I’m counting on you.” 

She said so, and it was hard to tell whether she already knew my feelings or not.

“I need to go and find Inuoe-san, is that right? Is he at the kitchen? I’ll be back soon.” 

“O-Okay, see you then.” 

After Chizuru left and the sound of her footsteps could no longer be heard… 

(Ah… damn it! I should have said something different. It sounded like I was criticizing Chizuru! Why do I always do this!) 

I scratched my head and struggled with my sense of unease. 

As I was doing that, I heard light footsteps coming my way, and Chizuru, who was supposed to have left, came back. 

“Ch-Chizuru?! What’s wrong?”

 I asked her in a panic, and she quietly approached me and stopped in front of me. Then, she brought her face closer with her blushing cheeks… 

“Heisuke-kun… my sleepy face must have looked terrible, so please forget about it…” 

With that, she turned around and left again. 

As I watched her going away… 

(There’s no way I can forget about that.) 

I thought to myself.

(The end)

[only-in-december]

I just rewatched the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds episode "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow". And oh by golly do I have a ton of headcanons and ideas regarding what happened in the Other-Jim's timeline, as well as how that affects La'an when she gets back to her own timeline. And since you obviously want to know about all of my thoughts on this, I will share them.🙂

This is gonna be a long one, lads and lasses. So buckle your seatbelts.

Also, Spoilers for season 2 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds below the cut.

All ideas I'm about to talk about stem from the fact that I am convinced that the first thing to convince Jim to help La'an get her timeline back, was the fact that in her timeline, Sam was still alive. He would risk his entire universe, just to know that his brother was still there. (Just to be 100% clear, I do have eyes and can see that he and La'an developed feelings for each other. Obviously. I'm just talking about before that happened. The look on his face when she said that she knew Sam. Getting his brother back was a first priority, I think.)

There are two main ideas that I have. I'll start with the first one I came up with:

George Samuel Kirk, and James Tiberius Kirk were both born on the SS Iowa. Three years apart.

Growing up during an intergalactic war wasn't easy, and at some point, they made a pact to keep each other safe. No matter what.

Sam learned at a young age how to do whatever it took to keep himself and his brother safe. Even if that meant killing someone.

Sam joined the fight first. He was a soldier and a protecter. And that's what Jim thinks of first when he thinks of his brother.

Sam dies in some sort of suicide mission in order to save the Enterprise. To save his brother.

When La'an and Jim first meet, it's been a minimum of five years since that day. Maybe more.

At some point, Jim asks La'an about what his brother is like in her timeline, which leads to them comparing and contrasting about Sam Kirk, and learning that the two were very VERY different.

The Sam that Jim knew would never shave his face because "The Romulans aren't going to leave us alone for a minute because we need a shave." And he barely if ever would even trim the hair on his face. (La'an laughs at the thought of her timeline's Sam with a shaggy beard.)

Jim's Sam knew how to shoot to kill. He would run first into the fight, just to make sure that everyone made it out alive. And La'an almost wishes she could've met that Sam.

When Jim mentions that he always thought of his brother as a peacemaker and a pacifist that never had the chance to learn what peace was, La'an is glad to be able to tell him that in her timeline, Sam isn't a fighter. He doesn't know how to aim to kill, and would rather run than fight. And Jim smiles at hearing that.

When they think that maybe Jim can come to La'an's timeline, he stops to himself and thinks about seeing Sam again.

It wouldn't be his Sam.

It wouldn't be the same Sam that taught him how to play chess so that he wouldn't hear the sounds of war outside the window.

It wouldn't be the same Sam that would smack him on the back of the head when he ran into a firefight, only to do the same thing almost immediately after.

It wouldn't be the same Sam who wished for a time where he didn't have to fight to keep them safe.

It wouldn't be the same Sam that he watched die.

But for all their differences, the two Sams were very much alike.

Both enjoyed studying biological sciences. (That was one thing that made Jim's Sam so deadly.)

Both Sams had the same Kirk stubbornness, which meant they would never back down.

They both had an annoying habit of saying the wrong things at the worst possible times.

Most importantly, both Sams loved their "idiot" younger brothers.

La'an found all of the differences amusing, and I think she probably wondered just how different the Jim in her own timeline was, from the man that was sitting next to her. The man that she was starting to fall for.

And when things went wrong, his last words were, "Tell Sam I said 'hi'." Even at the end, he thought about his brother.

And La'an went home, alone.

She was told that she wasn't allowed to discuss what happened with anybody. Ever.

She probably avoided Sam for a while. Because even though she never met the Other Sam, she didn't have to.

Sam and Jim look just enough alike for it to be painful. They have the same look in their eyes. Even though Sam's are dark and Jim's are hazel, the light in them is the same.

They also talk in the same way. La'an didn't know that until she got back, but Sam and Jim both use their hands in the same way when they talk. And the way that they shrug with one shoulder, the way they move their mouths when they're thinking. The little things add up.

So La'an just avoids Sam like the plague.

Until eventually, when she's had time to properly process everything that happened. (Sometime post "Subspace Rhapsody" I think would be best.)

She finally catches Sam alone in a turbolift.

She doesn't look at him, and he thinks that he must have done something wrong.

And she just says three words. "Jim says 'hi'."

She fulfills her friend's dying wish. And then she doesn't say anything else, and just gets off as soon as the doors open back up.

Sam knows that something else is going on for two reasons:

One, he just spoke to Jim less than five minutes before.

And two, his Big Brother Instincts were blaring red alert. She was a little sister that needed help.

I don't know if he acted on the Big Brother Instincts or not, but that can be left open to interpretation.

The other concept that I have, follows the same as the first one for the first few bullet points, with one major big change: Other Timeline Sam was closer in additude to Main Timeline Sam.

Instead of being a fighter, Sam was always the one that would hide from the fight. This is partly what prompted Jim to be the one to fight in the war.

Despite his own self-proclaimed cowardice, Sam worked hard to try and protect his brother. Which is what led to his untimely demise.

Instead of dying in a suicide mission to protect the Enterprise, it was something more like a Romulan got on board and was trying to get to Jim

So Sam did what any big brother would in that moment. He kept his baby brother safe.

Claiming to be Jim (or something. Details aren't specific right now.) Sam ends up dying. He managed to kill the intruder too.

Jim doesn't get to his brother in time. By the time he gets there, Sam's dead. And that moment shapes him.

It's still around five years after that, that La'an and Jim meet.

They still end up comparing Sams, but this time, they're surprised by how much alike the two are.

The biggest difference that the two can find is that Jim's Sam was clean shaven.

Jim this time is more hopeful about seeing his brother again. He's sure that there are tons of differences between the two that they don't know about. (La'an and Sam aren't exactly close.)

But what matters to him is that the two Sams are similar enough.

When Jim dies, this time, La'an avoids Sam even harder. She can't bear to look at the man that Other Timeline Jim wanted to see so badly.

The similarities between the brothers are too much. It makes her angry, just as much as it makes her sad. So she avoids Sam.

She walks out of the room as soon as he walks in.

She doesn't even look at the turbolift if she can hear him talking.

Sam's starting to think that he's done something to make her mad at him. It's not like they ever talked much before, but now? Something definitely happened.

In this version of events, she avoids talking to Sam for way longer than she did in the other one. Even after she sorta comes to terms with everything that happened.

It takes some sort of outside intervention to get them talking. (Idk what though. An away mission or something like that maybe? It's not like anyone is shoving them in a room together or anything like that. Aside from the two of them, I don't think anyone else really notices or cares all that much.)

When she does finally say her three words to him, it's a little more angry. They got into a fight because Sam made a comment that his brother doesn't care that much about him. (Don't ask me why that would even come up. It just does. Go with it.)

She yells at him, telling him what Jim's last words were.

She doesn't want to even look at him. Because looking at the Sam that Other Timeline Jim would have been so excited to see hurts, especially when that same Sam is claiming that his brother wouldn't care if anything happens to him.

Maybe it all spills out. Well, not all of it. But some of the big parts. The part where a different version of Sam's brother died in her arms.

The part where the last thing he said was to tell Sam he said hi.

The part where Other Timeline Jim missed his big brother so much that he was willing to destroy the entire life that he knew just to see him again.

By the end of that, she's sobbing. And so is he, really.

Sam apologizes for saying what he did. He didn't know how it would hurt her. (He still doesn't quite believe everything she said. But he really didn't mean to upset her.)

La'an doesn't respond to him, and just walks away.

She doesn't avoid him as much after that.

[bluginkgo]

Just what in the fack did I watch... I'm gonna go watch it again just for funsies and to cry again (Rambles/Thoughts)

This post will mostly contain random rambles and thoughts I had while watching and rewatching the episode. And a lot of this is just going to be me ranting about scenes (the rants will most likely make you wanna go "Ginkgo, that's common sense we can see it smh." XD Just roll with it. Oh and NUzi scenes

Spoilers, duh and lots of words. Oh and gore warning? Kinda?

I mean... that scary *ss mother facking thing towards the end- you know what I'm talking about if you watched the ep 😅

First thing I found interesting, is how the Solver behaves in this scene. It's mere shadows, not even fully manifested. Further proves that the Solver transcends simple time and space, and is on a different plane of existence- a 4th dimension if you will.

The humans did, in fact, learn how to control the Solver. The pentagram like projections act as gravity enforcers and lights that subdue the solver for a period of time. Buuuut it seems that it's not full proof. It seems that this occurance is fairly common, seeing as the workers nearby were not very concerned that an eldrich being was about to break loose.

Alright another slow moment here. But I had to google wtf "MacGuffin" meant (English isn't my first language, so take it easy on me ;w;). And taking this straight from the google search "an object or device in a movie or a book that serves merely as a trigger for the plot." So most likely, the Absolute Solver is referring to the fact that Mitchell the intern set things in motion simply because he was mistaken for the real Dr. Chambers... Classic- CLASSIC human mistake XD

So... Heart/Nori. Something interesting is going on with her. I believe Nori WAS injured by the DDs and had to be finished off by Khan. I'll touch on Khan a bit later. But, just as seen with Eldrich J... I'm not sure why I've never thought of this before! It makes sense for Nori's corrupted core: Heart, to still function properly. Meaning, she could have snuck away when she was killed and returned to the cathedral to search for the crucifix. Uzi gets most of her style from Nori 🥹. Seems like Uzi got her mom's style and Khan's engineering abilities.

I had it all wrong- and I am ALL FOR IT! N wasn't afraid of something he saw ahead. He was upset with what they left BEHIND! V! And THIS ENTIRE SCENE

You cannot believe how surprised I was. This scene was so much better than I could have imagined it. Yes, it was painful to watch, but sweet robo-god this was executed SO DAM WELL TwT It was delicious angst. And Tessa was not in fact drawing her sword on Uzi, but instead protecting her... kinda... with an ulterior motive of course.

The gut wrenching betrayal right there. The animation team did a wonderful job at animating the betrayal and how it manifested in Uzi. Disbelief and then anger.

Not to mention her stumble. I hyper fixated on that stumble a bit too much on my first 2 watches. (Yes, I've rewatched the episode 8 times now, hush I love it XD). Her stumble shows weakness. And in that moment, she wishes to be anything BUT weak. The suspicion of betrayal is settling in, and she needs to be able to fight back. But her body is giving out. The events are taking a toll on her. And makes me appreciate the animation detail that much more.

This scene N is definitely angry. He's trying his best to keep it together and Tessa's pressure to injure and kill Uzi is not helping. So for him to be talking to Uzi, while glaring at Tessa is just him driving the point home. He is NOT going to hurt Uzi, no matter what they might find down in the labs.

But a poor choice of words that was. It gives Uzi a glimpse of what was actually happening and what has been bothering N. The trust vaporizes, and with it, any attempts with communication.

And what I believe, gives a nod back to ep2. As N steps in to try to help Uzi up, she retreats. Same happens in this episode. And the kicker? "Falling... for you" song starts lightly playing in the background.

This is far too comical after he says he deserves to have his limbs cut off. The whiplash I got from that is ridiculous... in a sad and funny way.

What an amazing shot. But it does paint a picture of what the DDs have done. Perhaps the blood also acted as cooling agents, and this is why the trend continued with robots- except this time around as oil. And this is what the Administration CYN most likely blocked out. Not only the manor time, but also the bloodbath that followed as Earth collapsed.

THE DOG MADE IT IN AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

It's interesting on how the solver manifests in the drones. It seems that Uzi's wings and tail, do not make the solver go insane, and she can continue to use it. However, later in the episode the same wings and tail go berserk. So it seems that once the transformation has set in- like with Uzi- it becomes part of the drone rather something that is manifested by the Absolute Solver's control.

SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE XD Part 2A that Khan refers to is on the bottom left corner, the green core that Uzi got a hold of back in pilot episode- also titled as "I think this is a robot liver or something lol."

Plan B: Uzi could have had a normal gun if railgun didn't work. Bottom right corner

Top left corner under Uzi's railgun title: "30 min recharge time. That'll be fine." Famous last words ever XD

Top right corner: "Other things it can do: Not judge me, force prom dance, I can say I had friends but fricken murdered them with sci fi weaponry."

I love how sassy he is here XD His character development and arc is something that I will never forget. He has definitely come a great ways. Khan also seems adamant about his wife being completely dead. Which proves that he didn't know a single thing about the Absolute Solver and what it can do. He could only reference Nori's insane drawings and deduce that the planet was going to eat them all soon.

Idk if this is just my tired brain, but this comment felt like a joke to me. (Remember, I don't know anything about computers and the language ;w;) But the physical patch to save herself... as in, the same patches that are sent out for games/programs to fix bugs? That's the joke I got out of that one 😅

This entire sequence was something out of my nightmares XD The heel tapping that KEPT GETTING QUICKER definitely had me reeling back from the screen XD

The Nori and Yeva scene was so wholesome 🥹. I loved the way the animators showed their interaction. Despite the hellish events, they were still close.

My only issue with this image is, on what is Doll moving? Not like the floor. The core is gone from her body, what the heck is still driving her forward? Perhaps just on the sheer will to warn Uzi to "fight back." And I suppose I can see how she could still move without her main core. Almost acting like chickens do, when you cut their heads off. One was able to live for 18 months after the head was cut. So I suppose I can get behind the idea that Doll's final wish was to warn Uzi, at the very least, and thus forced the body to move until it did so.

But then, Tessa shows up. Which makes me wonder if she was the one that simply lead Doll's body to come to Uzi. How? Uhhh... Absolute Solver! Let's just go with that sweat face. The con in that theory is a simple: why? Why bother leading Doll to Uzi? To spook her? To give a false reason to attack Uzi? Given that N was still very much behind them all, I don't see why the Absolute Solver would try to make up some odd reason to attack Uzi. It could just simply... go ahead. There was no one there to fool, and could incapacitate Uzi easily. Buuuut I could also be looking too deep into this, as per usual.

Hey guess what.

I found the answer. XD Just as I'm typing this up, a frame popped up.

Yup, the core was still inside and thus running Doll and thus Doll could move, ok carry on. XD

Emotions spike the Absolute Solver, something that I love seeing and appears to be less headcanon and more canon at this point for me. Through the entire episode, the Solver keeps glitching out and forcing Uzi to lose control because in this situation, she's very stressed. A betrayal, a misunderstanding, learning about the past, everything becomes too much. This makes keeping the solver at bay that much harder.

He did NOT give her any chance. Yes or no, Tessa. That suddenness surprised me- in a good way. This shows how much N has grown. He's willing to stand up for his beliefs that much better. If he suspects something, he now acts on it, and does not wait for the other side to perhaps change his mind.

This scene. This scene shall live in my head rent free for a long while... Actually, the entire episode is gonna live rent free for a while. XD Not to mention the "Falling... for you" song plays in the background yet again. Ugh, pulling on heart strings there ;w;

They had us all fooled XD The hand lights were on just to trick us, and in fact were meant to be off this entire time! Oh you sneaky sneaky people. >w<

ALL OF THESE SCENES, they're all so cruel but SO GOOD TwT So cruel in context of how tortured N must be to fight Uzi, but so good in context that this fight sequence and animation is executed SO WELL. All of Nori's slaps were so personal XD Mama Nori educating NUzi

When I saw this scene, I couldn't help but think of ep3 and their dance. This entire episode is so bittersweet ;w;

She's still there TwT And she sees this entire fight. Of what she has become and done to N and omg I'm crying again. Moving on.

OMG YOU SILLY GOOBER BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH XD I love Nori/Heart's reaction, but the Absolute Solver also gets me laughing a bit too hard. "WHAT." That's so simple yet so effective. "What. Why. You are a DD I sent to kill the hosts, why are you hanging out."

The entire scene with NUzi screaming. Just. YES. What better way of gettin rid of stress than screaming! ^_^

Oh you sneaky, sneaky people. Well, all I can say, you got me. You got me good. This is something I didn't think of, but should have. It's simple to get these shots with certain rigs missing. And it was done seamlessly. Well done, well done. I begrudgingly applaud you. XD

HE'S PATTING HER HEAD AAAAHHHHH *proceeds to ascend to another realm*

They did not... omg they did XD Ah, yes, welcome a new horror oh and by the way here- :3 a cute face

Omg they look so cool- KHAN WTF XD

LOL J THE PRIOR HAZARD WARNING AHAHAHAHAHA

The way she shook his hand trying to snap him back to himself and wake up 😭. And the entire sequence following this... I'm just now slowly starting to process it, oh and great I'm sobbing again. Alright, moving on.

Well, I have some thoughts in this. This is personal thoughts, thus this is where you are more than free to yeet this section into the void that Uzi was dragged into... sorry that was a bad joke- anyways. "Die mad." I feel like this is her way of telling N to not give up. To go out there and FIGHT. But if he can't win, then to die like she is. To die in a way that he will be proud of and to go batsh*t crazy. Because by now, Uzi must know that all of their chances of survival are slim. So you might as well go out with a bang and "die mad."

Something I noticed and was further solidified when @bloodywolfwings also mentioned it. Uzi looks at peace here and very accepting of death. And I say, yes, she very much is. I think this was a way of her asking N for forgiveness. For getting mad at him in the beginning of the episode, for failing to be useful/protecting N, and for fighting against him- despite being possessed. And perhaps even, as an incredibly insane and radical thought, for loving him. This entire episode has put the characters and us through the wringer, and that "sacrifice" was just the cherry on top.

Something I have seen already mentioned once at very least (by @/rebecca-babe) and something that also put me on edge was the ending credits... or the lack of. Of course, all the credits roll, but it's not the usual type. Instead of an upbeat music that is either "Uzi the drone killer" or a theme that was seen in the episode... its SILENCE. Being a musician myself, I love how much love has been put into Murder Drones. The sound effects and the main music are always top-notch. But that ending unsettled me the most. The lack of all noise is something that is terrifying and unsettling in that ending. Almost like all the music and sound left with the "sacrifice" of the main character, Uzi. The entire episode was filled with sounds, silence only being present when something incredibly WRONG was happening - like at the beginning when intern Mitchell re-entered the cathedral. And as much as I love how well executed this entire scene was, I hated it. Because that scene does the job that it was set out to do. Put you on edge, and make you feel like all hope is lost. That this is it. This is the end.

This is the end of my rambles and thoughts that I had while watching ep7. I may have more later on as I keep rewatching this episode for the rest of the week ;w;

Want to hear more of my stupid rambles? This has 3 other parts!

[objectshowopinions]

ii s3e14 came out so here’s my opinion . heavy spoilers btw

it was actually pretty fucking good. a new favorite episode, in all honesty. I might be a bit biased though because my two faves had decent screen time.

it had its problems, sure! I think the tonal switch of SS was kinda disappointing, and just didn’t feel right? then again he could just be in denial. And the Nickloon dynamic felt confusing and weird and off.

for the whole ‘springy’ thing, it felt out of place. at first. But I had to look past it because it was actually really fun? It was a nice metaphor for so much in the show, and I’m a sucker for that shit. gimme metaphors baby I’ll eat em up

the whole past coming to haunt the characters was disturbing in such a wonderful way. the robot fakes were scary - it was delightful. Watching characters confront their past? Ow.

Now, here’s the main thing I enjoyed - Cabby and Bot. I think they were written fairly well, both in themselves and how they interacted.

Now, I’m a shameless Cabby enjoyer, I admit. I like her a lot for the memory issues, as established in e12. I have them too, and how it was handled in that scene was gorgeous. I had hoped (but didn’t expect) the issues to be elaborated on. But they were!! It was so exciting.

And Bot? They didn’t know. Bot was self conscious, and tried to trick Cabby into writing down false information. They didn’t want to be labeled! They didn’t want to be written down! And that’s totally valid.

So the whole “I’ll only tell you if you don’t write it down” thing. That was gorgeous. Cabby respected Bot in that way. Which was wonderful! and then “what if I forget?” / “I’ll tell you again.” Do you understand what that means? Do you understand the emotion behind that? Do you get it do you hear me?? THATS THE MOST IMPACTFUL THING EVER. AUUH

And then. And then. Bot asked Cabby about her parents. It’s weird cause I don’t think anyone is confirmed to have parents, but that simple question almost does? And then Cabby’s response. “I don’t know if it’s a memory thing, but -“ It shows how you never quite know if you can trust yourself with memory issues. Augh do you HEAR ME!!! GUYS MAKE FAMILY OCS FOR THEM NOW PLS!!!

other than that, though? Kinda mid. Glad that nickloon talked but they didn’t do well and that was kinda,,, ew,,, ss and yinyang also ew,,, but it wasn’t like, awful. Mid but not horrible.

BUT BUT BUT. MePhone. We didn’t see him much but like, he was there. I think it was a great missed opportunity that they didn’t mention C/bs, (the corn guy sorry I can’t say his names it’s a. thing) it felt very deliberately mentioning it. How ‘you enjoy your past’! Like WHAT ARE YOU SAYING YOU JEEBWEZER. did he make himself forget again?? hello?? But the ceo was also mentioned recently in like e10 I think like WHATS THE SITCH THERE…

but. But. Springy very clearly was referencing them being robots. Even if it was mostly about Bot, it was also definitely a jab at MePhone. And we can see how MePhone is effected. When Bot was eliminated, he was genuinely sad, and even asked for them to be his cohost. He cares for them. (He might even think of them as something similar to MePad?) He was very clearly impacted too, because he said something like “our best contestant was eliminated” LIKE. LIKE. THE ROBOTS IN THIS SERIES ARE INSANE!!!

and floory straight up eating springy was hilarious. N/A appearing was also a delight.

all in all: my faves got screen time and were written well so I liked the ep, but the sad part is everything else was kinda bad

thanks for coming to my Ted talk 👍

[ganonfan1995]

totk spoilers

just thoughts on totk thus far

I keep seeing ppl say they've done away with the triforce in totk...but like....im 99% sure that's what the secret stones are supposed to be.

The triforce itself is comprised of the combined power of the royal 3.

But they also seem to work 1:1 like the triforce did in like LTTP.

Also there's 8 pieces which calls back to LoZ 2.

I'm not done the game yet, but totk seems to rehashing a LOT of older lore mixed with more recent lore. Notably, this game feels like its primarily touching on the first 3 games, plus OOT, with some of the better ideas from SS.

You see implications of who the gods truly are (apparently colonizing aliens who descended upon the land to mine its resources...which was something implied in SS quite blatantly???)

But it also adds context to the original 3 goddesses, implying that they had been ancient Zonai who posed as gods to the original inhabitants of Hyrule. Later becoming dragons and mythologized after thousands of years. (also me pogging that the light dragons stoney spines are the same colours as the goddess plumes!?!?!?? idk what that means but cool?????????)

I also don't know if they touch on this later, but it really seems like the Sheikah, esp the ancient Sheikah, were Hylians who specifically followed in the footsteps of the Zonai. I think this makes sense, and ties them to previous games where they were a tribe/clan/family of ninja who were closest to the gods. And since Zonai fancy themselves gods (or at least the ancient Hylians did, I don't think they were tbh) , this kind of clarifies that relationship/connection. Maybe they have a specific tie to Mineru, which would reiterate their bond to the royal family. But that might be over complicating things, since at least in botw they're just like, straight up ninja. But who knows, maybe not??

Also the young dumb idiot energy that Rauru brings is great. Big fan of young fucko who thinks he can be a good king but inherently fucks up because that's impossible, girl ur a monarch, is super interesting. wanna take him by the ears and look him dead in the eyes like, buddy you legit should not have taken those fucking stones out and just lived a quiet life in the woods...but then we'd be without a game. 🙄

I'm still collecting the slabs, the small snippets you get of both he and Sonia's relationship and characters are so fun. Sonia is also great, wish we got a bit more of her tho.

I'm really enjoying Ganondorf, he's a bit understated, but it's been interesting to see him younger than we ever have, right before the unification wars, head full of poetry and ambition. Why he green tho???????

Also really interesting how they've loosened the whole "hylia" stuff in favor for just "goddess"

Very much loving that Link is no longer a knight, but a swordsman who travels around helping people out. Total folklore/fairytale vibes, 10/10!! Also I feel like I'm connecting to him much more in this game, I really could never get behind the devout knight energy. He's a folk hero, he's here for the love of the game, and so am I!

Also mfw "Link...interesting...I look forward to meeting him." my man's been pining to meet ME for thousands of years, confirmed. I read homestuck, I know a black-rom relationship when I see one. (swooning)

[gamergirlshelby]

Alright I just finished Chapter 1 of Rejuvenation 13.5 and I have many thoughts I want to ramble about.

I want to note that I have done 100% playthrough of version 13.0 a few months after it had initially released, so although my memory is a bit rusty, I will be talking a bit about some of the changes between the versions (i want to note that they're all positive imo)

Also should note that be wary of spoilers for new content for 13.5 as well as spoilers for story stuff since I want to talk about how good the writing in this game is. I've taken a lot of screenshots and will be adding them when i think they fit in my little rambles and stuff.

Without further ado my ramblings are under the read more!

To start things off I wanna just gloss over the beginning scene with Maria and the prologue on the SS Oceana. From what I can remember nothing really changed between those two sections but honestly I think they are as close to perfect if not as perfect as they can be. They give just the right amount of information to set up some of the first main mysteries and plot threads, and I think they do amazingly at setting the tone for the game.

Next I want to talk about how East Gearen has changed, having made some small adjustments to the city to help make traveling through it all the more easier. I'm happy that the changes were minimal enough that walking through the city I still knew where everything was, so everything felt familiar but it had been different enough where seeing everything game me the same sort of wonder and comfort that it had in my first playthroughs.

I think the biggest changes being to the designs for the Gearen lab and the Gearen Help Center (I haven't made it to Sheridan yet so I'm not sure if all of the help centers have been changed to be the same sort of layout, or if they all have a unique sort of look to them). The only change I'm not the biggest fan of is the starters all being lined up in rows as shown above. It definitely makes choosing the starter easier since they're all in one space, but having them all in their own little enclosures had this quaint sort of feeling to it. Still I do think that it was a good change overall, it just doesn't pander to me specifically.

Next change that I want to point out is the ability to take on quests right when you see the npc and not needing to go to the help center. Overall I think everything about quests has been changed to be much easier and more streamlined. The little quest notification does a lot in making finding the details for quests and even just finding quests a lot easier. Overall I'm a big fan.

I also adore the additions of finding some relevant story npcs out in the world outside of big story events and areas. It just adds so much to the world and helps make the world feel more alive, like its really worth saving. Whether its just small dialogue that doesn't impact anything, a conversation that can build up on your relationships with characters, or even having a quick battle, I love these small changes.

Next on the list is the completely new content, with the most notable being Mr. Luck's tent. I'm gonna be honest I am a big fan of him, I love this character archetype of just these mischievous tricksters (probably a more common term for this trope but. y'know the sort of characters I'm probably thinking of) Honestly the whole quest introducing Prism Pokemon was very fun! Melia also explains them later on during the Goldenwood Forest section with the fight with the Prism Nidorino, but I think being able to learn about it early through the quest is fun. Also I am just a huge fan of the contracts and items you can trade in. I'm gonna save a bit though for some of the more expensive items though, at least for now. If I can find a way to grind for the Black Prisms easily I'll probably grind for that ??? contract, but I have no idea what it could be (also 999 is a lot,,,).

Next up I want to talk about the update to Venam's gym! It definitely feels a lot more her than the last one, but I do think there was a bit of charm to the idea that she didn't really get a say in what her gym was like, to the point she made a gym grave yard to help preserve those old gyms. The factory is still there and I'm gonna be honest I kinda just walked there first when it was time to challenge Venam and I was very confused-- Not complaining just a silly thing I thought I'd mention.

Next I want to talk about the Zygarde quest. I think introducing it during the main story instead of pushing it to the side in the help center was a smart move, but I did not realize who Ayuda was at first when I saw him in Venam's gym. I'm gonna be honest though, I don't see myself going out of my way to work on completing the Zygarde quest this playthrough, mostly just cause I'm not the biggest Zygarde fan, but also its just very tedious to look for all of them.

Next I wanna talk about the Goldenwood Forest Section and I just. Wow I think how it was reworked was phenomenal. First I absolutely ADORE how instead of having it be a cutscene you can help out everyone in Goldenwood made the trip feel a lot more impactful. I adored that original cutscene but honestly I think having a few quick quests to help everyone in the area made what was once gonna be one of the best days ever into the worst day ever feel a lot more... real if that makes sense, telling a story through gameplay and not just cutscenes, something Rejuvenation never had a problem with, but I'm glad they made the change here.

Also the fishing quest. Oh my goodness the fishing quest. The mechanical Lairon encounter hinting towards the future mechanical Pokemon you have to fight later on even more intense cause like. This rusty old one can give you trouble if you're not prepared for it, and and the fully functional mechanical Pokemon found later on in the game can be pretty rough, especially since there are so many of them in some sections like in the pearl route of chapter 15. That said there was something really funny to me about the idea of this fisherman having the hardest time trying to get a Magikarp haha.

Next I love the information Melia gives about the mural, how she talks about how the squares couldn't be buildings, since the Garufans hadn't been very technologically advanced. Honestly there being so many differing interpretations for the Garufans and how they handled things is so cool to me, cause I feel like its just like how people who research ancient civilizations are in real life, especially when there isn't a lot of information available. This might be partly because I have this stuff on my mind because I am taking a World Civilizations class rn for my college classes. Karen talking about in the Missing Starly quest that the Garufa were a nomadic tribe that harvested the powers from Pokemon's souls to be able to cast magic. Then in the Hidden Library quest we learn that they hated Pokemon, seeing them as vile pests. Even the idea that their technology was undeveloped is something that gets disproved later on in the story. I just find it fascinating that nobody can seem to agree on what the Garufa were like. I may be pulling at straws here though I just think its cool.

Next is the whole redesign for the Silent Grove. First I think the name itself is new but tbh I may just be forgetting and I don't feel like looking up an old playthrough to check (tbh thats just me being lazy tho). I personally was a big fan of the grove being a small secluded area, but I think the big castle builds on the lore that was first established in the Goomy Kingdom quest, that being what the world was like all the way back before the calamity decades ago, and showing that there where even more castles. Also it just makes more sense that this would lead to the secret Garufa settlement that we explore in the Pearl Route for Chapter 15. Also I love the new statue design being based on the Ranger sprite for Arceus.

Lastly I just wanted to say I think the battle with Zetta being changed to take place in a crater instead of the lake front just makes sense. It didn't make sense to me that the park had been closed off for so long after the Rift Gyrados was dealt with. I know it's because the Gyrados wasn't completely gotten rid of, but before it was just overgrown, but still manageable. This level of damage I could see needing to have a full quest line repairing.

Anyways that's it for my thoughts on Chapter 1 and the Prologue for version 13.5 of Rejuvenation. Hope you enjoyed my rambles and thank you again for reading all of them :D