#having great vas wasn't good enough

[quoththecanary]

Dammit Hoyoverse, did you have to make him SWEET? I'm already dead.

[thef1diary]

Dancing In The Rain | C. Leclerc

Summary: You enjoy standing outside whenever it rains, and that is how your boyfriend finds you when he comes home.

Warnings: none, just a whole lotta fluff and cliché moments

word count: 900+

pairing: charles x fem!reader

You were a sucker for rain, so when today's forecast included quite a bit of rain, you were happily waiting for it. For many, the rainy, gloomy day would bring down their mood but it was the opposite for you. Since you moved to Monaco with your boyfriend, there weren't too many rainy days but just enough.

The lovely cocktail-blue hue of the sky was starting to turn gravel-grey in colour. Large cloud pillows were beginning to develop, covering up the sun's old-gold brightness. You watched from the large window of your home, hearing a tapping on the window which became a pitter-patter. There weren't too many people outside but those that were ran for cover and umbrellas were opened as the clouds spat out their beads of water. Puddles began plinking as the rainfall became heavier. The smile on your face grew wider as the rainfall became heavier, and you quickly placed your now empty mug of coffee in the kitchen sink before going outside.

As the rain continued on, you started dancing to imaginary music. Your home was in a slightly secluded area so you knew that there wouldn't be too many onlookers, and even if someone was watching, you didn't really care.

You were in your little bubble of enjoying the rain until the headlight of a car disrupted your peace. The lights belonged to Charles' Ferrari, the monégasque parking halfway across the driveway, the space you weren't occupying and jogging towards you. "ma chéri, what are you doing?"

He wasn't in a great mood today, as he had to cancel plans with you this morning since he was called in to attend to some media duties, of some sponsors. You were upset but it wasn't his fault, so you didn't let the disappointment show on your face as he was leaving. Though, when he left, you changed into one of his shirts which smelt like his cologne, and climbed back into bed on his side. When Charles was on his way back home, it started raining and it upset him even further, not because he didn't like the rain, but it made him miss you even more. He didn't particularly like the rain as much as you did, but sometimes he would watch you stand outside, and as much as he warned you that you would get sick, you didn't listen to him.

He wondered if you would be standing outside today when he pulled into the driveway, and saw you dancing, in your own world. He smiled slightly, putting his dimples on display, then got out of the car without even parking it properly.

You walked closer to your boyfriend, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him closer. He was also completely soaked under the rain, but didn't complain as he saw your eyes gleaming. "Bonjour, mon amour" in the past few years you've been dating Charles, you were improving your French as you considered it a romantic language. Needless to say, you were quite good but obviously not at Charles' level yet.

"tu vas être malade" [you’re going to be sick] Charles muttered, and you rolled your eyes in a playful manner, obviously expecting those words. Charles sighed since he wasn't receiving a proper response from you. "Baby-" Charles started but you put your finger on his lips. "Charles, I will be fine. Come on let's dance"

"Right now?" His eyes widened, he looked up for a moment, the rain splattering on his face harder. "Of course" you chuckled at his reaction, moving his arms lower to rest on your hips and putting a respectable dancing distance between you. Charles didn't have the same thought as he pulled you right against his body. You looked up at him to see the man smirking. The two of you swayed together and you rested your head in the crook of his neck. After a few moments, you felt vibrations coming from his body and you realized he was humming.

You made direct eye contact with your lover and you felt heat rising up your cheeks with the way he was looking at you. "What's that look for?" You questioned.

Charles didn't reply, instead he dipped his head down to your neck and placed a light kiss under your ear, a sweet spot he knew very well. His head still rested against your shoulder and you brought your hand up to play with his wet hair.

He brought his head up to face you, cradling your cheek between his palms. "Je t'aime"

"I love you more" was always your response to his verbal expression of love.

You two still swayed in each other's arms, until you thought of something you've been wanting to do. "Kiss me" you stated.

He smiled before leaning in to place a sweet kiss on your lips. He always pecked your lips first before going in for a second lustful kiss.

"You've always wanted to kiss in the rain, right?" Charles assumed from your reaction. You simply nodded, not being able to form words which wasn't too surprising as any touch from Charles left you speechless.

You went in for another kiss, spending a few more moments in the rain until it stopped.

As you two were making your way into your home, you sneezed once, and twice. You looked at him and realized he was already looking at you with a 'I told you so' expression. Nonetheless, you shared a laugh with him. He was worried about you even if it was just a normal cold, but he didn't regret those moments you shared in the rain. In fact he was looking forward to the next time it rains so he could play some actual music and you two would properly dance.

[angrykittybarbarian]

A list of things that bother me about Dragon Age: The Veilguard Part 2

I already touched on a few things that caught my attention and personally irked me about the game. After getting through some more of it naturally a few more points have come up. Though I think they are not really new aspects but more concrete examples of what I had touched on last time.

Without further ado, let's get into it.

!Spoilers below the cut!

The dialogue is repetetive and at times contradictory

Like I already discussed last time the dialogue is bad, to express it in the simplest of terms. As I progressed through the game I stumbled upon a glaring example for what I mean.

In the questline where you infiltrate a Venatori meeting there is a part where Neve in disguise and in company of Rook and another companion gets a Venatori to admit that Elgar'nan was present but not Ghilan'nain. For some inexplicable reason Neve turns around and repeats this twice as if Rook wasn't present.

I stated in my last post that the game feels the need to state the obvious. This is what I mean. It makes the dialogue feel like a rough draft that was incorporated into the game without further polish.

As of its contradictory nature two examples come to mind.

In Harding's companion quest you meet this dwarf of Kal Sharok. His dialogue is stoic, no bullshit straight to the point and passionless. Which was fine. But after several minutes of him being that way they get to stone statue Valta who speaks in these misteryous riddles and suddenly he switches to this unserious tone of "Oh that weird statue, we never know what she's saying, ain't she funny." (I'm paraphrasing here). I was confused for half a minute because of his sudden change in attitude and left wondering what his characterization is supposed to be now: serious or quirky?

Same thing with Taash's whole story. This is especially upsetting because I feel like they could have done such great work with it.

Instead it suffers so much from several inconsistencies that I felt sorry for the VA because they actually did a great acting job.

Taash has a coming out scene with their mother where they reveal they're non-binary. Ignoring the usage of modern terms in a medieval-ish setting, the conflict about their gender makes no sense.

The writing wants you to believe Shathann is not okay with her child being non-binary but she never actually expresses such a thing. Actually Shathann sort of had an inkling that Taash was no ordinary woman ("Behaves more like a man...") and she never passed any negative judgement on it. When Taash told her this she even tried to understand by categorizing their identity into qunari vocabulary she knew (remember the term aqun-athlok?).

I get how hard it is to have an overly critical mother and the feeling of not being good enough but that was not what Shathann was about in that scene and it did Taash so dirty because they looked more like an entitled teenager than someone suffering from trauma and perfectionism.

But moving on.

Some old characters are mischaracterized

It's Scout Harding. I mean Harding.

I was really excited to have her as a companion in the new installment but they sort of butchered her character that I found myself annoyed everytime she opened her mouth.

And this is because they make her sound so immature. Really think about it. DATV somehow makes Scout Harding sound younger and more childish than she was in DAI despite the fact that she is supposed to be a whole decade older in DATV than in DAI.

I don't know what direction her VA recieved while recording but everything was pronounced so slowly and extra clear that it seemed at times that Harding was either talking to a confused elderly person or a child.

She herself uses expressions not fit for her age. The most jarring moment was when she called the Blight in D'meta's Crossing 'weird' and sounded like a teenager who has stumbled upon furry art for the first time on deviantArt. This pattern pretty much continues throughout the game. And it hurts so much.

Also Morrigan. She at least still uses her even for DA setting standards antiquated vocabulary but she is too happy and cheery and friendly.

Morrigan is not a nice person to those she does not know and like personally. But to Rook she was so nice despite having met them for the first time.

The Morrigan we have come to know love/hate should have been more snarky or at least more neutral in her demeanor.

The Venatori

I don't know why they are still a thing honestly. I was under the impression they have lost all footing after the death of Corypheus. Why would they follow the Gods of the people their country systemically abuses anyway?

Bonus: Why would the Antaam for that matter, as the qunari are so notoriously arcanophobic that they leash their mages, sew their mouths shut and literally call them "dangerous thing"?

Solas' spy network and agents

What happened to them? Where are they? Shouldn't he have a small army? Why weren't they used as the gods' agents instead of the Venatori? Surely, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain would have an easier time simply controlling Fen'Harels elven army after imprisoning him in the fade.

The Chantry

It is just not present. Sure there are some Chantry buildings but there is no discussion of faith. In all previous DA games the Chantry has had a constant influence that could be felt everywhere. Faith was discussed and explored from various angles and perspectives, ranging from ultra conservative to progressive. But in Veilguard it's not there.

Why are we not exploring the Tevinter Chantry more? Why doesn't Emmrich discuss the nevarran Chantry, who follows the Sunburst Throne in Orlais, in regards to the Mournwatch, their necromancy practices and magic? Why was he not affected by the mage uprising that started in Kirkwall? How does he deal with faith and the Chantry? It is simply never mentioned.

By all accounts, this game avoids delving into the world like the plague.

Part 3

[dayseedrawz2]

This is gonna be a Looooooong post.

I wrote so much-

This is practically a retelling of the entire episode so...

IF YOU STILL HAVENT SEEN EPISODE 2, PLEASE WATCH IT FIRST. UNLESS YOU ARE FINE WITH SPOILERS THAT IS.

Well, now that that's outta the way...

This was a CRAAAAAAAAAAAZY EPISODE!!!

I can't express ENOUGH how much I enjoyed this!!

Here are some highlights/thoughts I had during my first watch:

The new GLITCH intro looked pretty cool!!

The dream sequence at the beginning was really good!

We kinda get to see how Pomni really felt through the first day in her dream. And her fist impression on the others...

#PoorPomni

I wasn't expecting this to take place the day right after episode 1, but it makes a whole lotta sense.

We already saw this in the trailer, but the part where Pomni glitches through that block lol

Ragatha tried to comfort Pomni even when she was abandoned by her <33 ALSO-

#RaggapomREAL🤨

I got so hyped when Caine came on screen

I am so normal about him

Caine ominously stands for a few frames before starting the explanation of the adventure... hmm...

The maple syrup thing got me thinking (forgive me if I'm incorrect, but-) Isn't Caine's VA Canadian? If so it makes sense to have Caine and Maple syrup in the same room. (That was the first thing I thought of BEFORE the episode, btw)

"Sounds like alot of [BLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP]."

"..."

"Bubble, you can't say that..."

Mmm, very good delivery 👌

Caine seemed kinda in a rush to get them out also...

"Hmm?" "No thanks, I'm trying to quit."

Oh.

Also another great line delivery

WAIT HOLD THE FUCKING PHONE-

CAINE IS THEIR GOD!?!?!?

"Look!! The princess is already friends with us, Pomni!!"

"Im not a child. You don't have to hype me up."

THE UNDER THE MAP SCENE.

MMMM ANOTHER VERY GOOD LINE-

Jax needs a life sentence for Gangle abuse >:(

Auzzie gators go brrr

"Do it, or I'll tell Ragatha about the figurine thing."

I'm sorry, WHAT-

GANGLE WHAT DID YOU DO-

(Fast forward a teensy bit)

HOLY FUCK.

Gummigoo coming across his own model...

Realizing that he never actually had a mom...

It was all just elaborate programming to give him a backstory...

ANYWAY

Fudge monster go brr

Wait-

He did what-

Aww, pomni trying to comfort Gummi was so cute...

She offered to take him back to the circus...

I'm sure he'll have a great time :)

Pomni, knowing how to break the game to get them out, was not what I was expecting.

But this whole episode is not what I expected, so here we are-

(One cool truck flying scene later...)

Blah blah blah, they end the adventure, Jax causes some chaos, and they finally take Gummigoo to his new home!

I'm sure he's gonna love it here in the c-

...

...

CAINE WHAT THE FUCK WE TRUSTED YOU-

*Sreams at my computer for 5 minutes*

*highlights this as if I wasn't screaming the entire episode*

#PoorPomni

...again

Oh wow, Zooble didn't abstract yippee :D

And then, the end scene...

HOLY FUCK, THE END SCENE...

The little funeral for Kaufmo oh my word-

And Pomni realizing that the others actually care...

They all got her back...

Daww...

I-I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING-

*The end card begins*

...

THAT'S IT!?!?

No, you can't just leave us with this!! Wh-

Aaaaaand that was my experience! :>

I... am not okay rn...

What are yall's thoughts???

[ell-vellan]

A random collection of Veilguard Thoughts after completing the game, because I need to vent some feelings. spoilers below!

Firstly: I was going to love this game regardless. I came into it with the fewest amount of spoilers possible. I do love this game. I won't argue with anyone - if we have different opinions, that's fine! I won't tolerate hate, though.

This is my messy stream of consciousness, but let's start with the good stuff!

The Good:

-Gameplay was fun! Combat was fun and inventive, for someone who plays on Storyteller mode and tries to get through combat as fast as possible so I can get back to the story, it rarely aggravated me.

-The maps/puzzles are fun. They were usually easy enough to figure out on my own without looking it up, but just complex enough I felt smart when I got it. I like that the game almost always rewards you for looking around and exploring off the beaten path a bit.

-It felt like a spiritual successor to Mass Effect 2 in the way that you have to build your team up in order to save the world. I loved that.

-The griffons coming back is one of the best things in the Dragon Age universe ever, and I love that we could decide what to do with them. (But I'm kind of concerned that there's only 12, and they're...related? I feel like that's not enough individuals to grow the species back...)

-Letting us pet and hug Assan (with different animations!) over and over was one of the best things they ever did. Also, photo mode was a great idea.

-The little hints about Those Beyond The Sea we keep getting?! Dear God, I hope we get another game and get more lore. I'm dying to know. They've teased this for so long, I really, really wanna know what's up with this part of the world.

-i loved being able to choose our body proportions.

-I'm so thankful we got to make our Inquisitor and keep the same vallaslin and voice actor. I hate the outfit they gave them and how we had no choice in it, and I would have also preferred to have a choice in their prosthetic, but I'm grateful for what we did get. The missives from them were also a nice touch, and seeing the letter from the Inquisitor's love interest was SO HEALING. Tbh, in reality, I think the Inquisitor would have been involved WAY more, especially since the crossroads would have made travel basically instant across Thedas. But I get why Rook needed to stand on their own two feet.

-Morrigan/Mythal was a great touch. It made sense logically, there was character growth, and I'm glad Mythal wasn't gone entirely, but I wish we could know what's become of Kieran.

-All the VAs are so good. the world felt lush, magical, twisted, and fun, with just the right amount of tragedy and horror balanced with hope and love. Arlathan was gorgeous and tragic and horrific and I took SO MANY photos.

-we got more Dalish and more Qunlat words!!

-THE LORE. So many questions finally answered. I kind of thought we would learn that the Black City was actually the prison Solas made for the gods, but hey, maybe next time? I also still want to know if Andraste was real and more about the origins of elves as spirits, but alas...

-i loved the inventory system. I wish we could have sold equipment we didn't need instead of just the valuables, but it's a minor quibble. It was so much easier to manage, I didn't have to waste a bunch of time going through everything to find the best items for everyone

-ARCHON DORIAN PAVUS !! He was barely in the game which made me sad, but the fact that he was there at all and so glorious was wonderful. I wonder if people new to the game know or care about the significance of him being in charge of Tevinter, though, since we didn't even really get to have a conversation with him

About Solas:

I played thru DAI on release day. My first Inquisitor romanced him. When Everything Happened(tm) I was PISSED. I wanted revenge on Solas, I wanted to hunt him down. I've thought about him for 10 years, and now I am so wistful for more of him. I want to give him a hug. Moreover I want Lavellan to hug him.

Solas was INCREDIBLE in this. I loved, loved getting to see his memories firsthand - this was more than I'd hoped for - and the banter with Rook was one of the best parts of the game. Seeing him with hair - seeing him change into Fen'harel and fight a DRAGON? him helping us in the fade by baiting Elgar'nan and getting all bloody and beat up trying to help us, thinking he was going to trick us one final time? My wildest dreams came true. He was layered, he was complex, he was incredibly heroic and sympathetic and tortured and clever and absolutely ruthless. He was at turns heartbreakingly sincere and infuriatingly traitorous.

He showed a wide range of emotion; we got to see the real Solas, not the polite pretender of Inquisition. He was the shining star of the game for me. And he was sorely lacking.

We hardly got to speak to him!! It drove me nuts that we couldn't talk to him as much as our other companions. He literally knows the most about our enemies and how to defeat them. And we know he's probably planning some trickery in his lil mind prison. Why are we not checking on Solas at every chance we get?

Learning more about and speaking with Mythal? Chef's kiss. But I so, so wish that a romanced Inquisitor, along with Mythal's release of Solas, was what prompted Solas to realize there could be more to his life than rebellion and penance. He's betrayed everyone he's ever loved, and killed his closest friends, but he didn't kill her. Mythal represents his past, she's the origin of where it all went wrong - I wanted Solas to see a Lavellan that understands and forgives, even after everything, and that universal acceptance is the thing he needs to finally let go of trying to make up for what he's done. (It's fine, I'll just write a fanfic about it, whatever)

My Complaints:

-That we only can choose 3 possible variables for worldbuilding to keep from Inquisition. I think this the biggest, most egregious and disrespectful thing they did in the game, and I'm sure it's been talked about to death, but I'll just add that I hate it. I'll live with it - I'd rather they be vague than ret-con or kill off beloved characters off-screen - but still, what's the point of all of our previous choices if we don't get to see how they shape this world?

-The relationships felt SHALLOW. For a game that revolves around your companions, everything felt surface level. While I loved that almost every time you went to the Lighthouse, people were somewhere different and talking to each other, I HATED that Rook couldn't participate in their conversations. We only listened. I hate that we couldn't really ever initiate any long, deep conversations where we got to ask our companions strings of questions about themselves and their histories. I feel like I barely know Neve or Lucanis. I did like getting a bit more in depth with characters during their missions, but still...I feel like I barely know them, not the deep closeness I've felt with Dragon Age companions in the past. Nobody ever argues or disagrees with you, not really, just a couple times and it doesn't truly matter. I loved the companions. Their designs are so cool. I wanted to know everything about them and talk to them more. Why can't we ask Davrin about his vallaslin (it's obviously Ghilan'nain) and how he feels about it now that we are fighting her, especially if we're also an elf? And Bellara, why can't we ask about her tattoo and where her clan is and how she joined the Veil Jumpers? Why can't we ask Neve about her prosthetic? I loved the references to Inquisition in Harding's design, but since we couldn't import more than 3 things, she couldn't even talk about the Inquisition beyond the most vague things. Taash barely speaks at all. Emmrich has no life beyond the dead.

-The companions are so...one-note. Taash brings up being non-binary at every. single. quest, even though their adaari-ness and crossroads between being Qun and being Rivani was super interesting to me. (more on Taash in a minute.) Lucanis likes coffee. Davrin's personal quests mention "torlum" ad nauseum and the fact that Assan eats a lot. Bellara at least talks about other interests, but everyone else is so predictable. Even their banter doesn't seem to give them a lot of individual personality.

-the body models for female elves felt..a bit odd? My Rook always looked bow-legged. And do bras not exist in Thedas anymore? Lol

-The choice of who dies? HEART-WRENCHING. why was it between those two?! Why isn't the romance scene until AFTER this choice? Why doesn't the thing that happens with Harding and The Stone protect her (I thought it would!) and why don't we get any resolution to that if we lose her? I understand that Davrin was prepared to sacrifice himself as a Grey Warden, but making us lose Assan too...? Cruelty. That's what it is.

-I don't like that there are permanent deaths that happen regardless of our choices. That sucks. I know it's realistic, but this is a game, and I want my happily ever after for everyone, DAMN IT! The twist truly shook me, and I didn't see it coming. I didn't think I'd be caught by surprise and I was.

-The characterization of Rook is all over the place. I played an elven Rook with non-traditional vallaslin (figuring that the newer generation of Dalish Veil Jumpers might blend tradition with their new focus of exploring the Veil.) At various times, my Rook has said these things: "I didn't grow up with the Dalish." "I'm Dalish where it counts. "As a fellow Dalish--" WHICH IS IT? I'm in the most elfy faction, it's not even that I picked something unlikely for an elf with a face tattoo. I don't know what you have to do, what flags you have to trigger in the code, but the game still seems so confused about who our characters are. Pick a lane, Rook!

-While I'm on this subject: it would have been so nice to be able to know from the character creator what every kind of tattoo, body paint, and scar pattern went with what faction. And for the Dalish, which god matched to which vallaslin. It would have blown my mind in a good way if our choice of vallaslin came up in any way shape or form

-I would have loved if our race and faction actually like..mattered more. Walking around the Veil Jumper camp at the beginning and nobody talking to me except Strife and Irelin, that was so boring! Nobody recognizes you or asks how you've been. Just silence. Like everyone around you is a cardboard cutout. I expected more from Bioware.

-We got so much amazing lore in this game, and I'm really happy about it! But why did Bioware have to take the most marginalized group of people in Thedas, who were barely clinging to their own language and culture and freedom to begin with, and make everything bad that ever happened THEIR FAULT? What was the thought process there? That they used to have power but their leaders were in fact so terrible that they tore themselves apart and now live on the fringes of society? It makes it feel like the elves deserved their present fate, which is...pretty sucky. I'm glad they did not massacre the elves in this game as they have in the past, and that the elves didn't become even MORE the enemy by joining with the gods, but it really feels like the humans are only going to kill more elves in retribution for their gods almost ending the whole world. Also, related: nobody ever gives us sass about being an elf, not even in Minrathous, where elves are almost entirely slaves?!

-i know everything's changing with the lore stuff we typically know, but why did it seem that existing physically in the Fade is just no big deal anymore?

-at no point does Harding mention Varric dying? They don't have a funeral, a memorial? The Inquisitor says nothing, Morrigan says nothing? I know Solas messed with rook's mind, but even after...?

-the fact that the romance scenes don't happen until after the deaths. So it's possible for your love interest to die before that? Cruelty. Also, weird places to hook up, right after I just found out someone I thought has been alive this whole time DIED AT THE BEGINNING, and another dear friend sacrificed themselves, and we aren't sad at all during this? I understand sex after loss is perfectly normal and I understand that. But at least for the scene I saw, there was no "celebration of being alive" feel, it felt...more lustful than loving? Just an abrupt tonal shift.

-it just...ends. there's the typical little wrap up slides, but they're, again, shallow. A few lines here and there. Apparently the whole of Thedas was nearly destroyed, and not a single country went unscathed, but it's all gonna be ok! The bit of hope was nice, but...I don't feel settled at all. And it seems like we won't get DLC? which...ugh. and they fired the writers, which, again, cruel. If they make another Dragon Age, I can't see it being truly Dragon Age without them.

-i decided to make Taash's whole deal and the Qun a separate post lol

All in all - so thankful we got this game, so thankful we got what we did, I'm still processing a lot of it, and the past 3 weeks of my life I have done little else but live inside this story, but I just really need to scream into the void now!!

[neko-loogi]

Alright, I'mma give my opinion again. This time with Hazbin Hotel..

So I saw the trailer for Hazbin Hotel a few days ago and honestly, I am so disappointed. Like, you're telling me I waited years for them to release a trailer for the series, and this is all we get??

I'm not saying it wasn't enough, no, on the contrary, I think they revealed way too much. But what I mean is, I was expecting something else, because this ain't it, chief.

***

Alright so first off, we have the voices. I'mma be hella honest with y'all, this shit sounds unfinished, as in, it sounds like Viv got confused and published the behind the scenes instead of the finished product because omfg, the voices sound bad.

I genuinely don't understand the weird obsession Viv has with hiring celebrities or broadway actors into her shitty shows, it's not like she's rich enough to afford that- plus she does this often, doesn't that mean it affects the budget of the show? (I don't know much about that stuff so bear with me).

It's funny cuz, she hires these super famous celebrities to voice characters in her shows, but she doesn't need to, like, you can be a professional, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're a great VA. It almost feels like she does that because she wants to feel important, she wants to show off like "Oh look at me, I have celebrities voicing my characters! Aren't I cool?"

But anyway, going back to the voices, I have to say this, my least favorite are Alastor and Angel Dust. I just think it's absolutely ridiculous that Viv got rid of the pilot VAs just to replace them with broadway actors, only for them to make the characters sound flat and emotionless.

Like, it's funny because she makes these broadway actors imitate the voices from the pilot, however it doesn't come naturally for these actors and it shows. It almost feels like they have no idea what they're doing. It legit sounds like they're reading the script but not putting any effort into it. (Y'know how people shit on anime dubs because they don't sound good or whatever? That's exactly how I feel about this-).

The next thing I wanna talk about is the animation. Don't get me wrong from what I've seen, in some moments the animation looks alright, but other times it looks choppy as hell. I thought this show was supposed to be more 'professional' since they literally got A24 and Bento Box ent. for this. But yeah, all I can say is, the animation hasn't changed at all, the only thing that is slightly different is the art style but aside from that, the animation still sucks.

And finally, the last thing I wanted to discuss is the plot of the series. So as we all know, in the Pilot, it was established that Charlie (along with Vaggie) opened the Happy Hotel in hopes of redeeming sinners so that they can go to heaven because Hell was too overpopulated (plus the whole extermination thing). But the whole point of the plot was that she wasn't entirely sure she could actually do it or if it was even possible, and that's what made the plot more interesting back then. But here? It's absolute garbage. Not only did the trailer basically reveal way too much information already (before the series could even come out yet), but the plot was changed entirely!

Like I mentioned, Charlie's motives were to redeem sinners, but here she's more focused on having some kind of war with heaven/the angels. And that's the thing, now that we know that heaven is a thing in this series, plus the inclusion of Adam, it just makes the series feel so predictable, because now we know that the sinners can be redeemed, which beats the entire purpose of the show. It's like, "Hell bad, but heaven is worse" and "Good VS. Bad!!", cliche type of thing. You think a series 'made for adults' would have a more interesting plot than a kids show, but nah, we get these basic ass levels of writing. I swear a fucking five year old could come up with something better and far more creative than this nonsense-

***

So yeah, I'm honestly hella disappointed that this is what the series has turned into. I had high hopes for Hazbin Hotel (since Helluva ain't shit-), but nope, it turns out, Viv is capable of making herself look even more stupid by completely butchering her own series. Hell, I actually have Amazon Prime, but I am probably not even gonna watch this shit, I'll just wait till some dumbass on YouTube uploads the first episode or something stupid like that (so that I can watch it and critique it later). Because I know that someone definitely will.

Anyway, that's all for today, thank you for reading my dumb post- alright bye!

[iaf]

Okay, let me get some of thoughts out about season 2 before rewatching.

Nothing major for now, just a few little comments

- The animation was BEAUTIFUL. Love the colors, models, and setting for this season

- I don't say this enough but fantastic voice acting from everyone, especially Brooklynn's VA

- I didn't enjoy this season as much as s1 BUT it's still good. Great stuff is going on here, dont get me wrong, though I do think it's not on the same level as s1.

- I wasn't sure how I felt about Brooklynn's design/model at first but I did get used to it and like it now

- Character dynamics were entertaining overall. Love the groupings the kayaks provided

- I enjoyed Zanya and her mother. Nice additions imo <3

- Would have liked more time between Kenji and Darius. Or at least have the "talk" Darius was trying to go for last a little longer and not get interrupted

- Not sure how I feel about the Darius confession. On one hand it was a kinda underwhelming?? But on the other hand it was also kinda funny and I like that

- Loved Ben's anxious/panicky behavior. Body language was great and I was feeling everything he was

- Really liked that Yaz was trying to look out for the mental well being of all her friends. Which reminds me...

- KENJI WAS STRESSING ME OUT. Dude's behavior was breaking my heart. Still glad they included and (tried) to address it this season

- I like what the writers were doing with Sammy this season but I REALLY need to know what happened between her and her family. PLEEAAASSSEEEE

- Brooklynn was stellar but she too is stressing me out.

- no handler/raptor lady :(

- I LOVE YOU DINO-NERD DARIUS!!!

That's it. I'll go through a slower watch through soon and (maybe) give my thoughts on individual episodes later. Overall though, great season. I had fun and was entertained and that's all that matters.

[thatonecrookedsmile]

"There's nothing wrong with dreaming. Wishing for the impossible is just human nature. That's how I got started. Just a pencil and a dream. We all want everything without even having to lift a finger. They say you just have to believe. Belief can make you succeed. Belief can make you rich. Belief can make you powerful. Why with enough belief, you can even cheat death itself. Now that... is a beautiful, and positively silly thought." -Joey Drew.

[OPEN YOUR EYES]

-Line-

-----

I mean, at the end of the day, he wasn't so wrong about that last part.

This one also took a little longer to finish. I wonder why /s.

I usually don't like drawings where I have to create a design for a character I've never drawn before. It ends up making me force myself to come up with ideas and sometimes I end up not liking the design anyway. At least this time? That didn't happen (thank goodness).

At first, I didn't know what to do for this prompt. What I originally conceived was a more "joke" drawing with Joey and Sammy, with Sammy literally drawing the line between him and Joey with a big pencil. No big deal, right? But then the phrase "end of the line" came to mind and then… this happened. Funny. A while back I had an idea for a drawing about Joey's afterlife. The idea was much simpler, from what I remember. And compared to what we have, quite different.

"Death" is what came for Joey, and it's what comes for everyone. What he faces is nothing less than what will determine his fate. It is the very Arbiter itself - the eye that sees all - who decides where souls whose lives are over will go. The heavenly gates in the great beyond? The burning flames in the darkest pit? The void of vast nothingness? Somewhere else beyond? Reveal your soul and the Arbiter will decide. I have a certain guess as to where Joey is going, but I'll leave that up in the air.

Maybe I thought just a little bit too much about a character that I probably won't draw in a long time,but i don't mind giving a little lore even to characters that i don't see using much in the future, you know.

(Also, since I used Joey's audio log from BATIM CH3 in the beginning, did you know that Dave Rivas (Joey's current VA) did his own reading of that audio? He's going to be a guest on the Indie Horror Talk Podcast, and the video they posted teasing Dave's appearance there has him reading this same audio log, only with his Joey voice. So now we have Joey's first audio log in the series voice acted by both his first VA (David Eddings) and his current one. I thought that was cool, you know. I found this out a while back and wanted to talk about it for a sec.)

(Alt. without the text):

[diseaseriddencube]

My Hazbin Song Rankings

Sometimes I only enjoy small sections of a song, but if those sections are good enough it can still rank higher than a song with a high percentage of decent sections.

Hell’s Greatest Dad: there's parts I don't like much but the song still gets 10/10 from me. The beginning segment for Lucifer and Alastor are my absolute favorite. After that it gets a little eh? I wish that fiddle moment went on for a second longer. Alastor's second section is more like 7/10. Mimzy is...yeah

Poison: 10/10 perfectly solid, no parts I dislike, while I prefer Angel's pilot va more in general, this guy does a good job especially for the songs. The song's catchy, no interrupted or talking sections, the animation for it is also very nice.

Hell Is Forever: 7/10 I like this one, Adam's chorus is absolutely a banger. the sections in between the chorus are more like 5/10, this one's in my playlist

Stayed Gone: 4/10 for the song as a whole, but the actual singing segments get a 7/10 for me, it just bothers me that half the song is talking rather than actual singing. I like Vox's voice, and Alastor plays well in contrast. The tune is nice and catchy, and the ending is perfectly sinister. That's the tea~ (this is in my playlist, with cropped out sections)

INSIDE OF EVERY DEMON IS A RAINBOW: the better beginning song from Charlie, 6.5/10. it's fairly catchy actually but it's not my favorite by a mile

Respectless: 6/10, Carmilla's got a nice powerful voice but Velvette's sections are the part I enjoy, it's a decent song but it won't go in my playlist.

Finale: the majority of the song gets like. 3/10. don't love it. the 25 seconds from the Vs get an 11/10 why couldn't the entire song be this good 😭 Alastor's part from a song perspective is maybe 4/10, as a scene it's a 10/10, but we're ranking the music alone here.

Loser, Baby: 6/10, I like the older style, the beginning part doesn't have appeal but I like the swing of the chorus. Husk's voice in general ain't my favorite but it's alright for this genre. Angel doesn't sound great in this one. Not going in my playlist but I like it well enough.

Happy Day In Hell: solid beginning song, very disney princess. It's not quite my thing, but it's catchy enough and doesn't bore me. 6/10 it ain't bad. wouldn't go in my playlist but I like it well enough

Inside of every demon, is a lost cause: a pilot song, any Alastor song may get a biased ranking, this gets like 5.5/10 though, it never really got my attention much as a song.

Out For Love: 5/10 eh, nothing about it I particularly hate, but it's forgettable and not doing anything for me. didn't need to be a song.

You Didn’t Know: the beginning sucks so bad, stop saying Sera you're pissing me off 😩 Sera's voice ain't doing it for me. Lute's beginning is where it starts getting better. maybe because they're reprising the much better Hell Is Forever. Charlie and Emma's duet is quite badass though. 5/10

Welcome To Heaven: 3/10, catchy but forgettable. didn't need to be here.

More Than Anything: put it away please. 3/10, it's fine I'm just really bored of it, if it wasn't 3 whole minutes long maybe I'd be more okay with it

More Than Anything (Reprise): just put. it. away. please!!!!

Ready For This: 3/10 I'm just bored, nothing wrong with it. forgettable. 5/10 for that little alastor/rosie section, I love their little dance too.

It Starts With Sorry: ugh. 2/10 I wouldn't put this on my playlist at all. it's slow and sappy and uuuuggghhh this did NOT need to be a song, bad viewer experience

Whatever It Takes: 2/10 put this shit away, this didn't need to be a song, it's so boring ahhhhhhh, Carmilla doesn't even sound great in some parts of this. it just goes onnnnnn and oooooonnnn. Vaggie's singing voice bothers me because she doesn't sound like herself, I honestly though she had a separate singing va

[newestq]

banana milk (c. jiung/최지웅) — masterlist

synopsis — making banana milk with jiung at 4am.

author's note — i love jiung sm.

fluff, gn!reader, intak + soul + keeho mentioned

"vanilla or vanilla?" you ask in english, grabbing the pure vanilla extract from the cupboard. pursing your lips, you slowly poor some onto the 1/2 tsp. measurer.

"va... nilla?" jiung's voice raises in pitch by the end of his question. he wasn't sure what you were asking.

"the pronunciation," you say, adding the extract to the blender. "do you say it with the i or the e. i say it with the e. vanella."

"i think i say it both ways." jiung pushes the chopped up banana over to you, picking up the extract for you. "why do you bring it up?"

"keeho and i were bickering about it, so i wanted to get your take on it."

jiung laughs softly, taking a piece of banana and popping it into his mouth. "keeho bickers over everything." he stands by you, leaning his back against the counter as he watches you slide the banana pieces off the cutting board and into the blender.

"true. do you have milk?"

jiung crosses his arms, squinting his eyes. "it would've been great to ask that before we started."

you giggle, tilting your head to a downward angle slightly. "i forgoooooot."

though he tries not to, jiung can't help but smile. he pushes himself off the counter and checks the fridge for milk. fortunately there's a little left.

"you're lucky intak hasn't had his ungodly hour cereal craving yet." he hands you the milk and you laugh at his remark.

"hopefully the blender doesn't wake anyone up."

"i don't even think they know we own a blender." jiung is standing by your side now, his hand placed softly at your waist.

"well there isn't enough for them, so." you shrug, closing the lid. you reach down to the buttons to start blending, but you realize it's in japanese.

"it was a gift from shota's mom," jiung says upon seeing your hesitation. "it's this one." he clicks the button for you.

the blender makes a loud sound, and you feel jiung's hand tense on your waist. turning your head to look at him, you pull your smile back and widen your eyes. he smiles, letting out a short laugh.

the blender turns off on its own, and thankfully the bananas seem blended enough to not have to sit through another two minutes of that.

jiung grabs two cups from the cupboard above you and you poor the drink into the glassware.

"homemade banana milk taste test," jiung says, and he takes a sip of the drink. you watch for his reaction as you take a small sip of yours.

he takes the cup away from his mouth and smacks his tongue as he squints his eyes, brows furrowed, in thought.

"it's lacking something."

"you didn't have condensed milk."

"that's probably it," he says, pointing a finger. "it's good though. i like it. not sure if it's something i'd make at 4:36 in the morning, though."

"okay, my bad," you purse your lips, as you put your unoccupied hand in the air in guilt.

"let's finish this and then head to bed, yeah?" you nod, and take another sip of your drink. jiung is halfway finished his.

as you take the last sip of your drink, you hear footsteps coming from up the hallway. jiung takes yours and his glass, setting them in the sink for jongseob to do tomorrow morning ( sorry not sorry, jb ) he thinks.

intak appears in the kitchen and he looks at the both of you with sleepy eyes. he's too tired to say anything.

he goes to the fridge, and you and jiung smile to each other as you sneak out of the kitchen, giggling like little kids when you hear intak groan.

"who the fuck drank all of my milk?"

[7thingsnbeings]

Full Moon episode - takes and feelings

Hello everyone.

Last post I announced that I will be making a post about Helluva Boss' new episode 'Full Moon' where I'll state my own feelings, takes and probably add some of my own theories as to what comes next afterwards. And of course that I will be spoiling the WHOLE thing. So for those who haven't seen an episode, please go watch it before reading this whole text.

CW: Spoilers ahead

... and a very looooong text

First things first, HOLY SHIT! WASN'T THAT THE BIGGEST TRIP OF EVERYTHING I HAVE SEEN AND FELT IN JUST ONE ENTIRE EPISODE?! I mean, it wasn't extremely bad as I had thought it would be, but it still left me speechless and shocked throughout some of the scenes which I'll get to later. And the ending, oh boy I can't wait to get to that.

I haven't honestly expected for Stolitz duet to come so soon in the first few minutes. I mean I was already aware of it, but still. It was great though, and kind of funny, especially Blitz's lines and the transition where they kind of censor (but also not) the...intimacy that they usually do once a month. Not to mention how both of them are kind of nervous during the duet. Dammit, they're nervous wrecks made for each other XD.

Then we have the unexpected guests of the party. Agents D.H.O.R.K.S. and CHERUBS. I have not expected them to appear this early in the show. I mean, I have heard a theory on Twitter that the CHERUBS would appear, managing to steal the grimoire and such. I honestly thought they would show up in 'Mastermind', which makes me wonder...whats going to happen there now that those characters have already appeared? Would they appear again? Next time, actually managing to open a big enough portal to Hell, creating further conflicts in the future?

CHERUBS were interesting to me. The way they redeem mortals at the beginning, spread 'goodness' but also pickpocketing them unnoticed. And the way they differentiate, especially Keenie and Cletus, who had definitely gone south when they had gotten banished from Heaven, while Collin possibly remained the same, still hanging onto his morals, questioning his peers' actions. Based on the interrogation scene, I believe that he'll be the only one to return to Heaven, while the others will likely die or serve their punishment in Hell.

I jumped when Cletus mentioned they were the 'Exorcists' sent from above, because it made me think of the Exterminators from Hazbin Hotel, since both of these shows are from the same Universe. He probably meant something else, but I digress.

And then there are the agents D.H.O.R.K.S. I knew these guys would show up later on, especially since the ending of 'Truth Seekers'. They managed to catch the main cast on video, which would explain why they got such a massive upgrade with their weaponry. The Pope army, the portal to Hell and robotic suits which if you look closely, look close similar to IMP gang, along with Loona furry costume XD. I bet Agent 1 is a furry...

Before I close a part of this ep's main villains, I just wanna point out how innocent CHERUBS are when they spend their time following Blitz in the Lust ring. They think Blitz is buying some kind of weapons to kill mortals on Earth, when in actuality he was just buying some sex stuff for tonight XD. And when they assume Ozzie's is the armoury for demons to go to. Well I mean it could be, but for something else...

It's worth mentioning the rest of the IMP gang. It's good to hear Loona's VA again, I kind of missed it. Along with M&M whom we haven't seen for two episodes.

It was also surprising, but in my take out of nowhere, for them to have a 'deus ex machina' moment with Cherubs in order to protect Blitz. I'm probably looking at this wrongly, since they live in Hell (the place you as a mortal DO NOT want to visit) and safety to them is number 1 priority, especially when Blitz had grimoire with him at that moment. The destroyed buildings and street in Lust might come to awareness to the higher ups, but probably not as much as the ones in 'Mastermind' as I theorised before.

Before I get into big meat of the plater, I cannot forgot to mention the cashiers. Like, WHAT are they supposed to be??? Are they hellborn hybrids, the Goetia, Sinners or something else? Either way, they look cool.

Also Fizz. Not much about him, I like his new outfit and how he helps Blitz with the stuff. Now, I BET that he uses that giant vibrator with Ozzie. Boys like it rough sometimes, don't they?

Finally, the moment we'll all been waiting for. The night of the full moon.

I knew that their last transaction would end painfully. And yet, it was by far the hardest to watch. Blitz's yell was marvellously done and it truly beat to the core. And so did Stolas' last line.

'You folks think you can do this EVERY time that you can just play with our feelings because we're smaller and not as important!!'

'Blitz, I think so highly of you, I didn't realise you think so low of me.'

Words cannot express how I felt when I heard those lines. It's easy to say that I was shocked, mind blown, sad, but honestly it would feel cheap as a result.

I mean...

It's obvious FROM A FAR that the only thing standing in the way between them is lack of communication and misunderstandings. There is NO ONE who can convince me that these two FUCK EACH OTHER for the sake of PLEASURE AND GOD FORSAKEN TRANSACTION.

They LOVE EACH OTHER!

But Blitz is too scared to get hurt again, it ACTUALLY happened to him and Stolas now believes that Blitz doesn't LOVE him, let alone never cared for his feelings!

I may be exaggerating, however this is how I see it now.

Based on the scenes from trailer, I believe Blitz and Stolas would begin their relationship on bad terms after FM, then Stolas would stand up for Blitz in 'Apology Tour' where seems Verosica is hosting 'Blitz Sucks' concert and Blitz, covered in stained fabric all heartbroken, looks up at Stolas and realises his true feelings for him.

That's just a theory, we'll see what an 'Apology Tour' has for us this June.

Ooof, I wrote so much here. Might be my longest post I have ever written. I probably went into whole summary of the ep I didn't focus enough on takes, critical thinking etc. I nearly have none, because I enjoyed FM at most, so I have no prejudice whatsoever. I'm also tired of writing as you can see.

So in conclusion, 'Full Moon' was worth the wait. The outcome might have been predictable, but it still hurt. It did surprise us with few things, and for now, we can only contemplate as to what's to come next for Helluva Boss story.

Thank you for reading my long ass post.

And also thanks to Vivzie and Spindle Horse crew for FINALLY giving us 'Full Moon'.

I, as always, am sending kudos and look forward for their newer work in future. <3

[nodulemodule]

Camp Camp S5E1 opinions (spoilers)

I just watched the new episode of Camp Camp and nobody cares but here's what I have to say, first:

(this is your disclaimer to please watch the new episode LEGALLY and in a way that supports the creators. Even if that means blocking spoilers for a bit so you can watch it for free when it's available. It's a small team, and they deserve all the support they can get because making cartoons is hard!)

All this is my opinion, if you disagree, let me know! I genuinely want to discuss it. If you agree with me, then feel free to vent along with me and we can be excited or dissapointed together. The show qualifies as art and is open to criticism. Also WARNING: SPOILERS FOR THE NEW SEASON PREMIERE OF CAMP CAMP!

Ok with all that garbage out of the way, here's what I have to say:

Likes:

• Max’s new voice is pretty good. I got used to it pretty quick. Props to the VA!

• Dolph’s new design is cute. I totally understand why they changed it and the redesign is good.

• DAVID WITH GUN. DAVID WITH GUN.

•I think the idea of the whole camp hating the trio is funny and I kind of wish they made it real even though it went against the point of the episode kind of.

• The part where the trio is shaming Preston and they all move in sync was the one part that made me laugh. I love when they're all being goofy together.

• I liked the idea with the circle in the dirt at first because I thought it was just Max’s way of illustrating a point and I thought it was cute how he included his friends. Started as a nice moment

• Nurf lovingly flipping them off was funny.

• my gwenvid heart was soaring. They were very cute and I wish we got a more overt gwenvid moment as a send-off. Like, it doesn't have to be made canon and can stay subtle but something for the fans would have been nice.

• Gwen’s new voice did a good job. Slightly different vibe to her but it wasn't bad at all. I liked it. It was an interesting change and I didn't mind at all.

• The scene with Max and David’s hike was beautiful and the best part of the episode by far. They're both so in character, they are well-written and their dynamic is so sweet, and the message rings true. It was a nice moment and something I think Max needed to hear.

• “somebody. Fucking. Has to.” GUYS WHEN I TELL YOU I FJGKRNGKRHDNR WHAT A CALLBACK. I wish they made David’s reaction a little longer and made it more of a moment because I nearly missed it at first but once I heard it I got so excited. Really, Max’s whole pep talk in that moment is very good.

• The camera is such a thoughtful and fitting gift for Max because he's struggling with letting go of camp, and the fact he uses it himself too makes it all the more sweet.

• My lil Makki heart jumped when Max came back and Nikki shouts his name. It was sweet, the excitement and joy in her voice. I forgot it was meant to be a joke at first honestly it was so sincere.

• the animation was great! I loved the facial animations, especially on David and Nikki. Idk why those two had such good expressions but I'm not complaining.

• the trio. They're such besties. I'm love them.

• Honestly the fight cloud with Nikki and Neil was fun idk why I liked watching them wrastle. Children fighting is amusing.

• I'm glad Gwen finally got recognized for her talent. It’s a running theme throughout the show that Gwen is more talented and capable than she lets on and this was a fine way to end it. Good for her.

• Whe- WUH- THE ENDING. WHERE ARE THEY GONNA GO FROM HERE? I AM EXCITED AND INTRIGUED

Dislikes:

• opening narration was unnecessary

• wish they introduced Dolph’s new look more organically. It deserves to be it’s own moment.

• why can't Nikki write? She's 9 not 4. She was never stupid.

• plot is all over the place. It's like two or three episodes smashed into one and there's not enough extra time for any of them. It lacks focus. If it were up to me I would have cut out the first half with the social media app and the trio trying to get people to like them. It felt like filler.

• it's just not very funny. There was maybe one joke that made me laugh. And not even hard. Camp Camp is usually pretty funny to me so I don't get what happened. The comedy is all so slow despite the plot being so crammed so I wonder if the delivery was faster if we would have more time for plot. Anyway, they just lacked any sort of setup or punchline. Just nothing jokes.

• Why does Max go along with trying not to be bossy? He clearly didn't care before and the way it's written it isn't implied he's doing it for his friends. It's like he suddenly did care about being liked out of nowhere. I think it would have been funny and made more sense if maybe Nikki or Neil made him play along, like Nikki bit him until he stopped.

• the circle thing. It was a cute idea at first because I thought Max was just making some kind of metaphor, and I thought that it was cute. I wish they kept it like that and just made it a sweet moment of Max expressing his devotion to his friends in his own way but instead they stay in the circle and are just unfunny for a few minutes and then Nikki says they ran away?? Like first of all why are you running away and also no, you didn't run away because you're still at camp. WHY ARE THEY IN THE CIRCLE IT DOES NOTHING FOR THE PLOT AND MAKES NO SENSE?

• I HATED THE CLOSE-UP OF NIKKI’S NOSE SO MUCH IT WAS SO UNFUNNY WHY IS SHE MADE TO BE SO UNLIKABLE FOR THAT ONE BIT JUST SO MAX CAN LOOK AT HER IN DISGUST IT WAS SO BAD

• Is it just me or do they keep playing sad music like... A lot? It just keeps popping up every other scene and at some point it just became funny to me. It's so badly paced out lol

• I mentioned Max’s pep talk was good and it was but also I wish that it was in a better written context. Like, I think it would have been a better end to the cliff scene instead of a way to motivate David to... fight a robot cause... He thinks he can't... Because reasons? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense and I think that it's supposed to connect but it really doesn't.

• Too much Preston. Never liked Preston never will. Why did he talk so much.

• the running gag of everyone being like “oooookay” when the trio assumes they hate them is just... So unfunny omg

• This episode suffers from season 4 syndrome, which was a characteristic of season 4 that I heavily disliked where they sacrifice the outrageous personalities of the characters to have them sit around and discuss life lessons that aren't even that profound to begin with. It's boring, unnatural, and uncharacteristic. At least make it funny. I don't want to see them sit on the ground and calmly discuss basic friendship lessons like I KNOW THAT NOW PLEASE DO SOMETHING INTERESTING.

• I wish David and Max got a better goodbye. I kind of liked David’s line of “That's good enough for me.” but I wish they expanded on it. Maybe have Max struggle to be sincere and make it more obvious that he's trying to act tough and David still sees through it. So he's like “I get that's you're struggling to be sincere so ill take what I can get because I appreciate the effort.”

Overall, it was kind of a mixed bag. It had some very VERY good moments and a lot of good ideas, but I think it was messy and didn't use it's time well, as well as not taking advantage of a lot of potential jokes. I understand that they likely had limitations but they tried to tackle too much with one episode. If I were to change anything I would cut the first half and work on giving the characters a more clear and smooth arc from beginning to end. Pick a focus and stick to it! Still, I'm excited to see where this will go!

[c3rnunnos]

Watched Transformers One yesterday with some friends. Had a really good time. Thoughts under the cut WITH SPOILERS. There are a ton of those in here. Please don't click the read more if you haven't watched the movie. I will not be held responsible if you click and then get mad.

Initial thoughts and some disclaimers

First of all, I watched it in Italian cause that's what I speak and that's the only language that was available in the cinema, and I have something to say about the voices. Elita's voice was pretty much perfect for her, a good match for the original, and the va was a big part of why I ended up liking her a lot. Bee's voice was very high and pitchy, but it made sense with how he moved and interacted with the world, and honestly I also tend to go really high pitched when talking about something enthusiastically so it was nice. Orion's voice was pretty good, not as deep as I was expecting it to be, but it fit rather well with the rest of the voice cast. D-16's voice... It was alright. It fit rather well in the first part of the movie, but when we got to the violent revolution part, ah... There wasn't enough of a shift to make me think "ah, yes, this is Megatron". He sounded like a guy being mad he was stuck in traffic. Though, there were certain scenes where the VA gave a brilliant performance.

Second thing, I watched it with a couple of friends, one of which only knows Transformers from my unhinged rants and one who came along to watch a movie he had no knowledge of high, and it was a fantastic experience. Friend A gave me some comments after the movie about Sentinel that I couldn't help but agree with, and Friend B locked in when watching the Iacon infrastructure and mining environments (as he is quite good at planning infrastructures, and was going insane over how weird it was). Bringing both of them with me was great, especially for certain specific scenes I'll get into later. I watched the movie while also watching for their reactions, and it was a very good time to see people I loved have fun like me - but as my attention was a bit split, I might be misremembering stuff.

Actual thoughts on the movie itself

Alright, so.

The entire thing with a working class that had their t-cogs removed was insanely interesting in my opinion. The fact that the propaganda and grueling work hours kept the masses low and entertained while bots with cogs enjoyed their races and lives was interesting. It felt like a facet of Functionism came through with that - and while the bots who could transform were (I believe) free to do whatever, the cogless were stuck working as part of a production machine for Sentinel. I loved seeing how the panem et circense wasn't enough for all of them - how Orion yet thirsted for knowledge and for a life he could live away from the mines.

Which, I enjoyed how D-16 was the one that acted as a buffer for Orion's bullshit (and I say this lovingly, I adored Orion in the movie), and how he was so... Complacent in the abuse he was undergoing. He loved Sentinel as a symbol, he was glad for his job, he didn't want to see that a society that treats people as objects to discard maybe wasn't good. He had a place to sleep, he had fuel, and he had Orion, and that was enough. Maybe that's why his speech hit different, when he got to the breaking point.

Thoughts on Orion later cause they tie into different stuff.

Elita was also very real - someone who desperately is trying to claw her way out of a horrible situation through hard work and discipline, who doesn't want to take any chances lest she falls down back into the pit she crawled out of. I liked how she was decisive and how she used her knowledge of train routes to do 9/11 on Sentinel's office. Go girl. Also I am weak for two wheelers and she was so fucking cool when she fought and transformed.

B-127. Ohhh Bee. He is my favorite ever, I have three figures of him plus the lego Bumblebee, and I love him dearly. I didn't know what to think of him when I saw the trailer, but then I saw the state he had been living in and yea, the isolation would drive someone insane to that point. I liked how he was ride or die for people he had just met. He was so lonely and needed to talk so much after forever spent in unknown levels. His excitement over being able to transform and simply help was amazing. He has knife hands! Good for him! A bit insane but good for him!

Also, as mentioned before, since I watched it in a different language everything had to be adapted, including the important speeches and the jokes. Unfortunately, there was no cool "DECEPTICONS RISE UP", and there was no cool "TRANSFORM AND ROLL OUT", but there was Bee exclaiming "Nice! I get to be a government employee!" which was fantastic to hear in Italian, especially with the view we tend to have of government employees. Overall, the jokes had to be rewritten or adapted carefully, but they still made me chortle more than a few times. A few even got my friends, which was great.

Now... Speaking a bit of the plot and environments... For they are tied by the narration.

The environments were... Insane??? Holy fucking shit? Cybertron was teeming with life, it was shifting and alive and colorful. The colors were bright and saturated, felt like a fever dream. The surface was a wide expanse of possibilities, the auroras were delicate dashes of color in the sunset, the rock surfaces transformed like Primus himself was quietly stirring. Cybertron is techno-organic in the way that you would define a rusted over and overgrown metal building techno-organic, and I would bet good money that the organic components of the surface were brought in by the Quintesson occupation.

Which, the Quintessons. Disgusting critters. Insects with hard carapaces, laser guns, and enough of a population to be a swarm. Their ships are the definition of megalophobia. Their relentless search for cybernetic lifeforms to shatter and take was terrifying. The moment they first appeared, the genre shifted to survival horror. And then, we learn why they're still here, through Alpha Trion's powers.

Sentinel. Sentinel Sentinel Sentinel. He's horrible. I need him carnally. He was a fake through and through, and yet he compelled me. Its difficult to find villains that are villains cause they suck nowadays, they always have to have a sad backstory. Sentinel was simply... Ambitious. Ambitious to the point of it being detrimental to himself, in the long run, and whole he created an incredible ruse and fooled an entire society for millenia, that ambition still got him killed in the end. Seeing the scene of his betrayal in the cave with Alpha Trion was amazing - watching him beg for more time with the Quintessons, hating them despite knowing he has dug his own grave was compelling. Seeing him crawl away from Megatron at the end was incredible. Seeing him die changed my brain chemistry (and look! His frame greyed out in the end! What a detail!). (Also, nice callback to Jazz's death in Transfomers 2007.)

And, D-16. Megatron. It was quite a tonal shift, to watch him rave about wanting to kill Sentinel to Orion, Elita and Bee in the cave. There was no music, only a droning sound. You could feel the rage in his words. You could see that he would go through with it, even if he had to destroy himself in the process. His shift from a cowering kissass to a mech with nothing to lose but his chains was a delight spiral into villainy. He took to the Elite Guard's way of the strong like a fish to water. He got a taste of power, and then he let himself be drowned in it - despite the efforts Orion put in trying to stay with him, trying to help.

And here we also go with the Orion thoughts. Orion himself was a favorite. He went from a bit annoying but fun and capable, someone who wanted desperately to be able to live a life that was more than the mines, that wanted his friends to be considered more than meets the eye, to someone who was almost desperately trying to keep D-16 together as everything they had worked towards spiraled out of control. The way he got more quiet (somber) and desperate as the movie went on was very, very good. Yes, he was big and bright and bold. Yes, he went back to the mines to get the help of his friends. Yes, he didn't want Dee to kill Sentinel because he didn't want him to fall to that level. Yes, I think Sentinel should've died too, but... Orion was trying to expose the mech. Public opinion would've scalped him anyways, after the stunt they managed to pull. And Megatron committed a crime a passion under the guise of revolution. He strayed from the path of revolution the moment he shot through Orion. Gosh.

When Megatron shot Orion, my god. I was jittery with excitement. My friends were horrified and stuck staring at the screen. And then, "I'm not saving you anymore", and letting him go, and just. Gosh. The betrayal was expected. It still hurt.

The fall into the center of Cybertron, the way that Megatron ended up killing Sentinel, the Matrix choosing and rebuilding Optimus, Megatron rallying the people to destroy. Optimus' return. Their fight. The banishment. This was such a bad breakup for them. God.

A couple of things I wish would've been different

I wish the runtime for the later part of the movie was longer. I would've loved for the Elite Guard (the soon to be Decepticons, really) to have had more of a role in the movie. I love Shockwave dearly, and Soundwave was quite cool, but I wish they had a more relevant part in D-16's fall towards being Megatron.

Starscream, gosh. Always trying to rule, isn't he? Bet he didn't expect a miner to be able to beat his ass. Bet he didn't expect to have his vocalizer crushed into malfunctioning. And yet, I wish he had a more relevant role. I wish we got to know the disgraced members of the Elite Guard.

I wish we got to know the miners, the Autobots, the poor unknowing slaves that Orion wanted more for. I wish Jazz got to stab someone. I am weak to murder psy op fiend Jazz.

Jazz was cute! He was really cute. I liked how he flicked his wings at the end. He was... also voiced by a youtuber I used to watch when I was 13 and that immediately made me want to commit a crime! Like I love that guy but that was NOT the voice to give the Jazzmech. They whitewashed my mans (joke)

Also, severe lack of every Autobot and Decepticon outside of group shots. But that's ok cause this is a movie that doesn't reach 2 hours and not a full series. But gosh what I wouldn't give for a full animated series in this setting.

And that's a wrap!

I've spat all my thoughts on here. Might add more later. My brain is fused. I hope I didn't make many grammar mistakes and typos. Have a good day.

[jjs-brainrot]

Finished Girls Band Cry now that it's on crunchyroll. I don't think episodes 12 and 13 were necessarily needed since 11 was such a major payoff, it might have even benefited from the series being spit into two cours. The conflict with DiamondDust and the struggle of maintaining an audience as a growing artist would have offered very interesting developments with the band. Rupa, Tomo, and Subaru could've been the focus of this second half of the series as they don't receive enough solo focus in my opinion. Tomo's family and her relationship with Rupa also mirror NinaMomo in a similar way that would offer some good moments of conflict/development in their dynamic as friends and bandmates. I personally think all the women kiss each other because they have heavy polycule energy, but I genuinely think the chemistry that they share is better than most other band animes I have seen, I would even put it above Kessoku Band.

All in all, I think Girls Band Cry is every bit as good as people have said and TogeToge's music is definitely top tier music from a band anime. I don't know how possible a s2 is but a manga adaptation would be very nice. Lastly I think the drama I was told about Nina and Momoka is so incredibly ridiculous now that I have watched the series. The entirety of the series hinges on Nina's love for Momoka and her music. I think they should have made out on stage.

Ooh, nice!

Yeah, episode 11 definitely feels like it's more of a finale with "Emptiness and Catharsis" feeling like it's meant to be send off song. Episodes 12 and 13 were still pretty good but they definitely felt like they were the start and end of a new arc instead of the end to the season.

A second cour would have been great but even a lot of adaptations don't get more then a single cour these days. It being an untested original 3DCG anime with a cast of non-established VAs/musicians definitely wasn't going to get more then a single cour as they were basically sending it out on a wing and prayer and hoping it would be get by on its quality (it did thankfully).

They've basically said they're planning on making more stuff related to Girls Band Cry. So far that's just been the mobile game announcement and more TogeToge songs but I'd say the chances for a second season or manga are fairly high now.

Yeah, people getting angry over MomoNina is some of the most vapid pearl clutching over nothing I've seen in a while.

100% they should have made out sloppy-style on stage.

TogeToge's music is easily some of the best from any band anime and I highly recommend checking out the rest of their songs as they've released a fair amount of bangers that didn't make it into the anime (Bleeding Hearts is a personal favorite of mine)

[thatmexisaurusrex]

For the Sambucky romance ask: 💕

SamBucky Romance Asks

Ooh, "💕 Who Fell First"! Great option, Leslie 😆 It was so good, I accidentally 😂 wrote enough to post on AO3, so it's on there too 😂 I hope you enjoy this little fic! 🥰

Link to AO3 version!

Plum Jam

Sam hadn't meant to bump into the man when he was at the grocery store.

Honestly, Sam's entire day had been a bit of a mess.

Sam had talked to Steve about Riley earlier that day. And it wasn't that Sam didn't like thinking about Riley. Sam loved to remember the ridiculous dad jokes Riley loved to tell; he loved how Riley would find a way to tangle himself in Sam's personal space whenever he had the opportunity; Sam loved how Riley's arm always rested on his chest when they slept like a comforting weight.

But thinking back to that moment.

Back to the fall.

Sam always forgot how much pain that dredged up in him. How it could feel as if that guilt and heartbreak were fresh again, like a reopened wound.

Sam had asked to go home early when he realized how unfocused he was at the VA after that. He had gone home and realized he had no food, and without really thinking about how he could have just ordered in, decided to go to the grocery store.

And now, Sam was bumping into random strangers.

"Sorry," said Sam, frazzled as he noticed and picked up the plum jam on the ground that had thankfully not broken during the fall, "I'm all over the place. Here."

Sam extended the plum jam to the man.

The man wore mostly leather, with a baseball cap on greasy, long hair that needed a brush and a mask Sam assumed had to be heavy duty - maybe the man had a cold?

The man didn't look down at the jam.

No.

He stared at Sam with piercing blue eyes that pinned Sam where he stood. He stared at Sam as if Sam were the first person he had seen after a long coma. He started at Sam as if Sam had just moved mountains, had just performed a miracle.

He stared at Sam like Sam was the hottest man he'd ever seen in his life.

Sam's face heated at that thought, because, no, not everyone Sam bumped into at the grocery store thought Sam was hot. Sam wasn't going to feed into that idea.

"I'll... put it back on the shelf," said Sam, about to place the jam back before the man's hand instantly reached for the jam.

His hand wrapped around both Sam's fingers and the jam.

"Bucky!" blurted the man, still holding the jar of jam with Sam.

It felt like they were holding hands.

Sam couldn't find it in himself to let go.

"My name is Bucky," said the man as if he was only certain of that fact at this very moment.

Sam couldn't help but answer back, "I'm Sam."

Bucky didn't look down at the jam. He kept looking into Sam's eyes. Sam couldn't keep holding onto the jam with this man, could he?

"You like plums?" asked Sam, which sounded awkward when he was saying it.

"Do I - " Bucky started before turning his gaze to the jar, "... I guess I do."

Weird way to answer that.

"My Ma, when she was very young, used to go to this one stand in Constanța that had these fresh plums," continued Bucky, his voice soft, "She would look everywhere for plums that reminded her of home. When she found some we could afford, she would scrounge up whatever supplies we had at home and try to make găluște cu prune - plum dumplings. She could never make them as well as her bunica, but I always loved them."

Sam couldn't see the smile, but he could feel it. This man reminded of home and family by something so small.

"We had this pecan tree in the back of our house - we still do, my sister owns our family home now," Sam explained, "And my mama would have us help her pick pecans and make pralines. It was usually during a Saturday afternoon and our entire house would smell like pralines for days. She talked about how her own mama had taught her, and her mama's daddy had taught her. And when I miss her, sometimes I'll buy a thing of pecans and try to make pralines."

"You're beautiful," Bucky said, stumbling before correcting himself, "That's beautiful. That's."

Sam really needed to stop basically holding hands with this man.

Bucky was wearing these gloves, these fingerless gloves. Sam wasn't sure if he had ever seen fingerless leather gloves before, but here they were, on this man.

There was a distinct contrast between the gloves and Bucky's fingers.

The gloves were smooth; a soft, thick black leather that felt almost comforting.

Bucky's fingers were calloused to hell and back. They rubbed on Sam like a strangely addictive sandpaper. They radiated heat; they were almost scorching to the touch without the leather. But it was a nice heat; the type you nestled in after a long, tiring day at work.

Sam wanted to crawl into that heat and close his eyes.

Fuck.

Why was Sam still holding onto this jar?

"I'm not even sure why I'm in this aisle," Sam confessed, "I meant to just get myself a roast chicken."

Which sounded sad. It was a little sad. But hey, a man can live alone and eat pre-cooked chicken if he wanted to.

"They roast the chicken for you?" asked Bucky, as if he had never been to a grocery store in his life.

"Yeah. They do," said Sam, still holding the jam with Bucky, "I usually shred it up, put it on some rice with some veggies I cook with the rice. Shishito peppers and onions and garlic. Pretty simple easy meal."

"Sounds delicious," said Bucky, still gazing into Sam's eyes as if they were the only things for miles.

"It can be," said Sam as he finally, finally, let go of the jam, "I should probably get that chicken for it. Hope you like the plum jam."

"Yeah," said Bucky as he straightened his back and cleared his throat, "Yeah. Thank you for the jam."

Sam walked away from Bucky. He could still feel Bucky's gaze on him as he left the aisle.

[kit-williams]

Night Out

Female Lead: A necromundian named Smoothie Universe/AU: Warhammer 40k/Yandere Space Marine Canon Status: I dont have any Yandere Custodes so not canon yet?

Note: This one was HARD because I don't exactly have any Yandere Custodes made. I'm still figuring out how to portray the Custodes and how much from Fanon/funny vas (like DreadAnon/My Golden Buddy/TTS) I'm going to be incorporating. (But this is less about how it is and more of what I'm trying to do)

She missed Necromunda that much was obvious as some glammed up tall boy told her she was going to be the cause for some great triumph. Yeah Smoothie heard that one before of some drugged out man getting higher then the spire. That was some really good shit she smoked too!

She crawled up the vent as she was going up and away from the area that made her nose bleed. She lived in a hive long enough to know if something was making you bleed you were most likely already dying but hey a little bit of radiation here and there wasn't going to kill her any faster. Though she was confused as she fulfilled what she needed to do... she had a kid... gross little thing with a grosser man but whatever if the Throne man said her kid was going to become important then she'd do it.

The glam man had asked her a funny question. Why she wasn't so torn up... a kid should be something that brings good memories about a good time. Everything in the lower hives was about survival and well having a kid was no easy choice like those upper hivers getting to have kids like its no one's business. She wasn't torn up because she didn't really care about the guy she had the kid with.

Maybe she shouldn't have answered and just fucked off then she wouldn't have been dragged to Terra. She grinned as she knew he was probably trying to find her, serves him right for putting trackers into her.

Smoothie crawls up the vent before kicking the gilded piece of metal open and breathing in the relatively clean air this high up. "God my tits are freezing." She mutters as she pulls herself up and stretches as she sits down on one of the golden gargoyles and waits for. "There you are big guy took ya long enough to find me."

She feels his massive hand grab the back of her jacket just like he did back in the hive. A man doesn't grab a lady like that for no reason... hell the rations he got for her always tasted better and she'll admit she was getting pampered here with some fancy golden collar. She smacked his hand, "Fuckin sit down feather brain." She says in reference to his plume.

"Smoothie." His voice rumbled with some slight annoyance.

"Just fuckin sit with me and enjoy the night out." She says lighting up some scum lho as she looks out at the golden sea. "Its pretty aint it..."

She feels him wrap her in his purple cloak as she is plucked from the gargoyle and into his lap. "Why did you need to come all the way out here."

"When we were coming in the first time I saw this... first time I saw anything from so high up." She says and her eyes sparkle with the same glow that she held when they were above terra at night when she was arriving. "I'm so use to being under everything seeing all the wires and the ugly underbelly and all the shit they try to hide but this... " She lets the blue green smoke roll out of her mouth. "It's pretty... and not so gaudy like everything else here. Who the fuck even decorated it's so much gawkin gold." She says with a chuckle as his massive arm wraps around her.

"Thank you for giving me a reason to... have a... night out." He says with a sigh as his stuffy demeanor melts a little as he holds her tightly and Smoothie just chuckles.

"Of course big guy I mean least this sewer rat you brought home can do for you." She kisses his faceplate grinning as she leaves a neon green kiss mark on the gold.

Fluffuary Taglist: @bispecsual @the-californicationist @egrets-not-regrets @libraryshadow @bleedingichorhearts @liar-anubiass-blog