#i apologize for the spam i’m about to unleash

[thnksfrthmmrs]

[nightcolorz]

Just want to say I enjoyed Millenia Gate tremendously and can’t wait for the next update. Appreciate if I could hear your thoughts on its themes too!

omg thank u so much 😭😭😭 shakes and sobs. every time someone tells me this I ascend to heaven. U r playing a bold game asking me this bcus u r unleashing a beast rn. Ty ty for sending the ask lol even tho I said I’m always itching for some one to ask me about this I had no idea someone actually would 😭 bless u ur my favorite guy. I am going to go on a whole essay rant analysis of my own fic now praise god. I am going to give u not only my thematic thoughts but my millennia gate backstory cuz they r very tired together lol at least to me.

(for outsiders millennia gate is my tvc au about tvc characters getting cancelled for being problematic influencers. Armand makes an expose video about marius Lestat gets involved and everyone finds out he’s insane it becomes like a mystery daniel is there it’s a great time)

so millennia gate truly was initially intended to be a straight up comedy. A dark comedy inherently cuz the subject matter is so dark, but still a crack fic with little substance that I was doing for pure goofs. I literally decided to write it as a stupid inside joke with my then friend now boyfriend @the-vagabond-angel bcus we had a joke about marius making a Colleen ballinger style “apology video” where he plays the lute instead of the ukulele. We even wrote marius version lyrics it was really funny 😭 I wish I remembered what they were cuz they were top tier truly. But yeah that prompted vagabond angel to be like wow wouldn’t it be so funny if tvc characters were influencers who get cancelled, and that prompt alone caused me to start spamming paragraphs of ideas about what the tvc characters would do to get cancelled and how they would play into each other drama wise, all centered around the initial idea of marius grooming Colleen balligner none apology. Angel was like “wait have u thought of this before??” And I was like no I am literally just now coming up with this u unlocked smth within me. This was in the middle of the night so I went to sleep and then right away the next morning I woke up and wrote over 7,000 words in the day. I was literally none stop writing, with my silly jester the vagabond angel in my ear like the devil on my soldier live reacting as he followed along on our shared Google doc. I think my manic writing was what prompted this uncontrollable meaning to emerge, that I wasn’t truly aware of until I was at the end of the first chapter.

I was surprised at myself by how serious it gets 😭 bcus I earnestly intended it to be purely light hearted. I think while I was writing I, consciously or otherwise, registered that I took these characters and these topics very seriously and it would have to take some disingenuous effort to not do so in my writing. I started reflecting on the cognitive dissonance of internet drama as a culture, bcus it was rlly reflective in my writing in a way that I couldn’t ignore. I spent an entire day writing about grooming and abuse, and I barely registered that until I wrote Armand’s video, which felt like being possessed by this tragic spirit almost, and I realized huh. This is what online discourse is like. The first chapter of millennia gate ended up being really unintentionally impactful, I’ve been told, bcus it’s so funny and then u just get hit by the reality at the end like a train.I’ve always been very involved and personally affected by online drama and cancelling and all those things, I find it very entertaining and sometimes very triggering and upsetting, and I think I fully was able to conceptualize my relationship with that through writing this fic. It was meant to be funny, but it turned into sort of grotesquely funny and sort of seriously upsetting at times. There’s this constant tonal whiplash in millennia gate of the internet users engaging with the drama and the perspective of the people involved that always feels sort of cruel while I write. I am always thinking when I write the little tweets and the tumblr posts YouTube comments etc, “these people don’t care about armand, these people don’t care about Lestat, this is not real to them, this is a hypothetical scenario that they can leverage to make a point, or this is a reality show or an absurd soap opera they watch for guilty pleasure entertainment, this isn’t real to them, they don’t care.” Whether it be me writing a joke post or me writing a sensitive discourse posts, they rlly do not care.

and that’s just how the internet works really, it doesn’t make anyone who engages with discourse or drama online an unempathetic person, etc. The way influencer culture and internet culture in general works requires this distance, were we as the consumers see everything, wether it be a tiktok or a person having a mental health breakdown before our eyes, or talking about there abuse, as entertainment. Even if u aren’t making it a joke, even if u r posting about how concerned u r for Gabbie Hanna or someone or watching commentary videos analyzing the weight of the situation and making intellectual conversation about the broader cultural and societal implications of whatever moral argument is taking place through the lens of someone’s life—-it’s still entertainment. I know! I love video commentary about online drama, my most watched genre of video dead ass. It’s not anything wrong with us, our brains our hardwired. We go online to be entertained like we turn on the tv, but these are not actors being paid, these are just people without any workplace safety percussions making sure they aren’t being hurt, who are given the sort of social responsibility and weight an actor would be given, a professional. These are not professionals! 😭 and I don’t mean like Jeffery Star, someone with wealth and a career, I mean the guy on tiktok who went viral unexpectedly or that animator on YouTube who got cancelled for making vent art as a teenager. This results in this trivialization of real events, true crime told like spooky stories while the teller does her make up. A memeing of someone’s grooming, a trend of making jokes about an abuse scenario. Analyzing real ppl like they r characters in a book, dissecting motives, arguing over who is the better person. I intended there to be this rlly whiplash-y tonal shift from the end of chapter 1 to the beginning of chapter 2. We go from armand talking very graphically about his own abuse instantly to girls on tiktok arguing over whether or not it’s offensive to find armand hot. It’s almost absurdly funny 😭 these girls do not care about Armand’s abuse, they rlly don’t, even if they think they do. They don’t know him! He’s a character to them!

then with this culture u get scenarios of children who were raised on the internet growing into young adults who’s perception of how socialization and validation works is through the lens of marketing urself like a product and shaping ur own identity for entertainment. We have 10 year olds making glow up videos on tiktok, 12 year olds who barely hit puberty making sure that there fandom opinions are non problematic and the music they listen to isn’t made by assholes so that they aren’t bad people. There’s a constant prevailing set of eyes when u use the internet that it’s almost Catholic, and it’s fucked up the generation raised in this environment in such a new way that no one knows how to react to it. Things just aren’t real anymore to the internet generation. We have people filming each other and posting them online to laugh at. And even if ur not doing that specifically u still kind of have that mindset if you’re on the internet long enough, of everything I do is to be consumed or for me to consume, everyone is a celebrity and a public figure and everyone is responsible for there image.

for armand, a character who in canon is conditioned through his whole life to believe that he is meant to be used by others for a greater purpose or a god, this makes sense. Millenia gate Armand’s god is social media, he was groomed and manipulated ofc online, but then shaped into a public figure when he was too young to know if that was even what he wanted. He lived on the internet as a kid bcus it’s the only place where he had validation or love, and it’s created this way of being that centers devotion to a brand that is ur identity rather then a healthy sense of self perception. Then he finds his community of friends online who he changes his name for, rebuilds himself, rebrands, bcus that’s rlly what identity is to him, a username and a profile. To me Armand’s cult shit is almost like aesthetic trends for modern teens, the reworking of ur personality and ways of dressing and behaving for the sake of conforming to an established identity and aligning urslef with a crowd just like u. Armand is like those people who r always reworking themselves to fit a new aesthetic, just so much more overtly sad, lmao. In modern day Armand is on the road to healing by condemning his abuser etc, but the only way he knows how to do this is publicly for an audience, that’s literally how he was raised, like a performer always preforming. Lestat is this but worse, while armand resents the culture but can’t escape it bcus it’s so inherent to him, Lestat is addicted to it. His only validation and primary comfort source is having fans who love him, and preforming his own self in a way that is entertaining for people. Without that he wouldn’t know if he was even lovable at all. That’s why Lestat is always posting when he claims to be taking a break, he has no way of taking a break, he doesn’t know what he is without his social media presence. He doesn’t know if he is capable of being loved if he’s not being praised by strangers online!

I could talk about Louis but I don’t want to spoil 😭 but to a degree every characters story follows this theme of an always performer. Even so, louis is a bit of an outlier. Louis is mentally unwell in a different way, not to give too much away. He is a performer yes, but more so in the sense that he is scared of back lash to the point of neuroticism. He obsessively needs to be perceived as a good person, or a normal person, probably the type of guy to make lists of writers you shouldn’t support bcus there books are problematic. Not because he is empathetic, or cares for social justice, but bcus he wants to be considered someone who has these traits, he wants to be respected as someone who isn’t bad. Louis didn’t grow up on the internet like most of the cast so he’s a bit of a different beast, I’m so excited to officially introduce him in chapter 6. We r going to get into rpf, it’ll be wild.

In conclusion uh, millennia gate started out as a crack fic and ended up as a pretty serious dark comedy about the inherent dissonance of online drama and the exploitation and the trauma of existing in a digital age, ppl who grow up with there validation coming from strangers, etc. remember! Do not trust anyone in this fic no one is good <3 no one is more right than the other person. I had a cameo in chapter 5 (my private Instagram account did at least) and my actual self insert doesn’t even reflect my opinions 😭

thank u sm for sending this ask I love u to bits. I’m sure I could say more but I don’t wanna disintegrate all ur brain cells lol. Millennia gate readers I love u guys sm and if ur ever anxious about me not updating in a while fear not, this shit is my passion project, I will never abandon it. I just have life to tend to unfortunately 😭 and currently have to tend to other things im writing. Read millennia gate here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/48408403/chapters/122098564 it is so good u guys.

also fun bit of rlly embarrassing trivia, I have been misspelling millennia wrong this entire time. There r two n’s. It’s not millenia. It’s too far to go back now so everyone just pretend that my misspelling is a comedic reference to the online realism misspellings in my fic and be done with it plz sobs and explodes

[lostsouldierbye]

apologies in advance for the meme spam I’m about to unleash, I wasn’t really here during the week so I’m going searching for memes people reblogged 😈

[blazewatergem]

You are a sweetheart and a lovely writer.

*holds you up* YOU BRING JOY ✨✨✨✨

*sets you down* and you will TAKE THOSE COMPLIMENTS.

There is no choice. ✨💕

🥺💕 Thankkkk youuuu! And you are the same to me!! You bring so much joy to my life I’m so glad you’re my friend ^0^

And apologies for the writing spam I am about to unleash :’D

[dathen]

TMA 165 Liveblog Dump

Jon being like "oh I used to be so bad about poetry, but I'm better now!! I don't think all poetry is bad anymore!!" Martin:  what changed? Jon:  <_<;;;; uhhhh idk I See Through You Mr. Sims I got so consumed by Hot Jon and Carousel Jon content afterwards I forgot to post this fdfhfhhf

this is 99% merry-go-round cuteness overload meltdown that resulted in my liveblog twitter being locked for posting too fast enjoy

revolutions was a MERRY GO ROUND none of our predictions guessed that

“we need to go through them...metaphorically. we need to...experience them” well that sounds alarmingly similar to the scars

jon: have you been on a merry-go-round recently? me:  JON?? LIKES MERRY-GO-ROUNDS?????? martin: no, why? me:  JON MERRY-GO-ROUDN????? jon:  I actually, ah, there's one at london zoo-- ME: *FLIPS A TABLE* JON!! LIKES!! MERRY-GO-ROUNDS!!!

*tears streaming down my face* JON CUTE JON CUTE

JON GO ON A DATE WITH ME AND WE CAN GO ON A MERRY GO ROUND oh fuck where did that come from

jon:  this merry-go-round went quite fast, actually, it was surprisingly thrilling I CAN'T HANDLE HIM I CAN'T THAT'S THE MOST OLD MAN THING TO SAY BUT IT'S SO CUTE THAT HE IS A FELLOW 30-YEAR-OLD WHO LIKES CAROUSELS YOU CANT DO THIS TO ME

SURPRISINGLY THRILLING MERRY-GO-ROUND how do you expect me to move on from that and hit play again. twitter is gonna ban me for spam

Narrator:  Twitter did, in fact, ban them for spam.

why are we here?? just to suffer??? every week Jon Cute

MARTIN SOUNDS SO ENDEARED can you imagine what a time of his life he's been having reconciling every New Jon Fact with the dour snarly boss from season 1.  picturing university student Jon getting excited about carousels.  I am going to weep I can't handle them

can this be a Thing?? Jon taking Martin on a date involving carousels and Martin realizes they're fun in tame nostalgic way when there's someone trying to hold your hand reaching between the horses instead of a mother snapping at you to hold still? they get ice cream after??

I really shouldn't get so worked up over cute date ideas when they're about to go through a haunted carousel but I have been Unleashed

[Twitter bans me for spam]

"It's not Nikola. It's, uh, an old friend" oh FUCK fucking HELL is it not!sasha???? I am TERRIFIED

oh man this dynamic of Jon getting overwhelmed with the need to record his Guidebook but there's actual active monsters prowling the area they need to avoid, that's some good tension and also I am scared

I love Martin suggesting the plan for him to do that first.  Lovely non-judgmental practical Martin   <3

Statement time.   this is some WTNV-level surrealistic horror

holy shit this is some goddamn freeform poetry. is that alliterative verse mixed in there???  I'm just sitting here like :0 :0 :0

DOES JONNY NEED TO BREATHE?? AIR?? DO YOU WANT OXYGEN????

I just realized the beginning of this ep was the reverse of them with the slaughter victims in 162.  Martin taking a look at them being like "ah yes, the monsters" and Jon correcting them "no, they're people"

ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT JON'S POETRY STATEMENT I'MGLGJFKSDHGDKGH  Martin:  Was it any good? Jon:  I don't know! You're the poetry expert, not me! HRHTHHTHRHRTHHT POETRY EXPERT...HOW FAR WE'VE COME..

Jon being like "oh I used to be so bad about poetry, but I'm better now!! I don't think all poetry is bad anymore!!" Martin:  what changed? Jon:  <_<;;;; uhhhh idk I See Through You Mr. Sims

Jon going from panicking and crying hiding from the not!them to "leave us alone, I won't warn you again"  J...JON....H  HOT

(okay panicking and crying is a different kind of Hot but we won’t go there rn)

JON LAUGHING AT THE NOT!THEM I'M GONNA PASS OUT

JON LAUGHING AT AND TAUNTING ONE OF THE MONSTERS THAT CAUSED THEM SO MUCH PAIN AND HEARTACHE STUFFS INTO MY FACE LIKE CANDY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME

THE MUSIC CHANGE at "what did you say" after she taunts him about sasha holy SHIT

A MONSTER SOUNDING FRIGHTENED OF JON A MONSTER TRYING TO APOLOGIZE TO JON AFTER EARNING HIS ANGER I dont care about Implications or Premonitions THIS IS THE DREAM (tm)

JON MAKING THE NOT!THEM FEEL THE TERROR OF EVERYONE IT HURT?????  I???? I CANNOT EVEN PROCESS HOW SEXY THAT IS THAT IS A THOUSAND TIMES MORE SATISFYING THAN JUST FRYING WITH BRAIN POWER. THAT IS -VENGEANCE- AND IT IS DELICIOUS

martin:  JON HOT JON HOT JON HOT

me and martin last week:  JON CUTE JON CUTE me and martin this week:  JON HOT JON HOT

[bigfan-fanfic]

Truce (Father!Batdad x Batman)

Requested by anonymous for “May I request Bruce x batdad!reader where he has a son from a previous relationship (around 16-17) and at first the boys and his son hate each other (pranking,insulting,basically being mean etc) and one day they realise how much it affects their dads and decide to eventually act friendly (for now🤣) hope it’s not to long and totally ok if u don’t want to write it xxxx thank u and ily” also requested by @steamboyy1

Love the idea! Thanks to both of you!

“They hate me, Dad.”

Sammy, your sixteen-year-old son, looks at you, pouting.

“They don’t hate you.” you say, although it does appear to be true that your newer sons seem to strongly dislike him.

To his credit, Sam isn’t afraid that you love him any less, only that his new brothers can’t stand him. 

At first, Sammy was completely willing to open his arms to the intimidating foursome of Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian. But, well, Damian got a little sword-happy. Now, apparently, it’s open season. Pranks, barbed insults, jokes and clique-ishness.

The boys don’t have a problem with you, either. It’s possibly because they like you so much that they don’t want to share you. 

Especially since Sammy doesn’t really want anything to do with the night life they all have. He has no desire to become a vigilante, although he’s willing to help out from the sidelines. However, it seems his refusal rubbed the boys the wrong way, and they’ve never forgiven him.

Bruce is no help. When it doesn’t come down to vigilantism, he has little to no control over the boys.

Dick is a surprisingly petty person when he wants to be. Most of his meanness comes from passive-aggressive comments and spilling things.

Jason’s the bully, tending to shove Sam aside or insult him.

Tim’s a horrible prankster. He has the brainpower necessary for some really mean stuff, predicting Sam’s movements to put him into more punishment, like when he somehow got Sam to cover himself in honey and then put feathers on him.

Damian just constantly insults and wears Sam down.

Of course, they’re too smart to do this in front of you, or Bruce, or Alfred. But you know, because it wasn’t Sam who told you, it was Alfred, who always knows.

But it’s really been wearing on you. 

Just today, for example:

Dick “accidentally” spilled cereal and milk over Sam...twice.

Jason came running by in the garden and shoved Sam into a flowerbed, covering him with little scratches from the plants’ thorns.

Tim didn’t actually do anything, but has been chuckling darkly just to psychologically torture Sam.

And, of course, Damian’s been unleashing a new onslaught of archaic insults.

At first, Sam just took it, because he knows how happy you are with Bruce and doesn’t want to ruin it. But one day it becomes too much and he fires back.

Mostly he has to restrict his activities to when the boys are on patrol. Damian will plop into bed only to discover that there’s itching powder on it. There’ll be green hair dye in Jason’s helmet. He’ll sign Tim up for so many spam sites that his laptop will be all slow and laggy. And of course, Dick falls for the switching-the-salt-and-sugar trick every time.

Dick hears it first. You and Bruce arguing in your bedroom.

“Look, Bruce, you need to talk to them. I’m not gonna let this go on any longer.”

“Y/N, they’re not doing any harm. I’m sure Sam’s overreacting.”

Your voice goes harsh and intense. “Overreacting? Tim tarred and feathered him! He thinks they hate him!”

Bruce sighs. “Damian once stabbed Tim. They’re over it. Besides, Sam gives as good as he gets. I’ve let it slide because it hasn’t disrupted patrol yet. Don’t you think you might be showing a little bit of favoritism?”

“Favoritism?! Bruce, I love each and every one of those kids just as much as Sam. It hurts me that they treat each other like that. Maybe... maybe we’ll need to take a break.”

“A break? Y/N - I - we’ll talk about this later. I have to go on patrol.”

Dick immediately feels a wave of remorse. He didn’t know how much it affected you and Bruce.

He goes to find Sam at once. And he cringes when Sam instinctively flinches away.

“Look... Sam, I’m sorry.”

Sam’s suspicious. “Sorry?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“Because. All the stuff we do to you and you do to us... Bruce and Y/N are having trouble because of it. They’re happy together. And Y/N has been great to us. All we did for him was be mean to you. I’m... sorry.”

Sam tackles Dick in a hug.

“I know it doesn’t make up for it, but... truce, little bro?”

Sam nods as Dick hugs him back, too touched to speak.

Of course, there’s the matter of breaking it to the others.

Jason surrenders immediately once he hears that it’s jeopardizing Bruce’s relationship with you. He’s not giving you up for anything. He shakes hands with Sam and offers to take him motorcycle riding as an apology.

Tim and Damian are tougher nuts to crack. At least until Sam uses his knowledge against them.

Tim is bought with a stack of coffee beans that Sam knows are his favorite, because he flushed them down the drain once.

And Damian comes over to the light side when he spots Sam playing with Titus. And of course, anyone whom TItus adores can’t be all bad...

And a few days later, you and Bruce are surprised by five not-arguing boys holding a couple of trays full of breakfast.

You and Bruce glance at each other, trying to determine what is causing this shared hallucination

But it turns out not to be a trick.

Of course, it isn’t the end of your troubles. Not by a long shot. But from now on, at least one of the boys is on Sam’s side in each of the arguments and pranks wars, and the boys make a point of including Sam.

And to think, you were once worried Sam would get stabbed by Damian...

[mysticm3ss]

ooo since it’s winter now, how do u think zen would spend a snowy day with his s/o?? (speaking of zen, i just have to add that behind the mask was so good!! i’ve been stressed & tired with work lately so it was so comforting to read. i’m so glad there’s someone who’s still writing about zen bc he’s like, the love of my life LOL, so i’m always thrilled to see new content. the fact that u write him so ridiculously well is the cherry on top. thank u for ur writing!!!! hope ur well 💞)

aaaaaaaa thanku so much ur so sweet! i’m so glad that u liked behind the mask and that it could help! and yesss literally same i love zen so much it hurts sksksksksks

also i live in australia and snow is just a pipe dream for me lmao, the most experience i have with anything like it is when i defrost the freezer and make a snowman in the kitchen sink lol so sorry if this is inaccurate. it’s summer rn and it’s over 37 degrees celsius as i type this, so i’m 100% living vicariously through MC right here 😂😭

When you wake up, the first thing you notice is the cold.

Suppressing a shiver, you huddle beneath your blankets and roll over to see Zen still sound asleep, hair splayed across his pillow and mouth slightly open as he snores. Even in sleep, he has an arm slung over your waist.

“Zen,” you hiss, and he blinks groggily.

“Mmm?” he managed, voice thick with sleep as he slowly attempts to pry open his eyes. “Jagi? What is it?”

His words slur into each other, his chest rumbling with his raspy morning voice. 

“Cold,” you grumble simply, and Zen chuckles, arms tiredly sliding around your middle and dragging you against his chest. He spoons you to him, pressing his face into your neck. Though his body is warm, his nose is cold as he plants soft kisses along your throat.

“Well, I can’t let my princess freeze,” he mumbles sleepily, cocooning the two of you in blankets as his legs tangle with yours. You press your almost-numb feet against his calves, and the actor jerks in surprise at the sudden cold before squeezing you closer, running his hands up and down your arms to warm you.

“Mmm, jagi, you know a great way to warm up?” he murmurs, continuing to lay kisses along your hairline as his voice takes on a seductive edge.

and then he unleashes the beast

When the two of you are finished, Zen drapes a thick blanket around your shoulders and settles you on the couch as he makes you both a hot breakfast and tea.

A few hours later, the both of you decide to make the most of what little daylight the winter offers, and plan to go for a walk in the park together.

The moment you make the decision to go outside, Zen goes full mother hen on you, ensuring that you’re wrapped up in just about every article of warm clothing you own.

Even when you’re donning several shirts and layered up on sweaters, he still insists on checking up on you every few minutes.

“Babe, are you cold? Are you sure you don’t want my jacket??”

“Zen I’m wearing like thirty layers. I’m literally sweating right now.”

“Okay… but let me know if you get cold. Promise~?”

He helps you build a snowman, and insists on taking a number of selfies with you in front of it.

In fact, he takes a number of selfies with you throughout the whole day; you just look so cute in your scarf and beanie, he can’t resist!

Obviously spams the messenger with all of the pictures, resulting in annoyance from Jumin, mild jealousy and lamentation from Yoosung, appreciation from Jaehee, and fangirling from Seven, who promptly declares the two of you his OTP.

At the end of the night, Zen makes you both hot chocolate and cuddles up with you on the couch to watch a movie, warming up your cold hands in his own, and pressing gentle kisses to the cool flush of your skin.

And although the season’s chill has settled into your bones, when you fall asleep in Zen’s lap, your head cradled in the crook of his neck, your heart has never felt warmer.

thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! please leave a comment/reblog if you did! xx

(apologies for any typos, i only skimmed this before posting, also sorry for not posting for so long my brain is Messed Up(tm) rip in peace)

[perfectdisastcr]

y’all aren’t ready for the spam i’m about to unleash because @ncwperspective​ and i have a million new disney muses that i’m gonna write starters for. and i would apologize, but i’m definitely not sorry.

[im-the-king-of-the-ocean]

I just wanted to apologize for the Kudos spam I unleashed on you the other night. I went through and read your entire collection of Barbara/Nomura ficlets. They were so fantastic. I also really loved the Selki!Barbara fic. I love stories about Selkies.

Please don’t apologize for Kudos spamming me (like ever).  I LOVE IT!!! when people do, because that lets me know that my stories are still being read and enjoyed, even though most are oneshots that won’t get updated and will fall deeper in the archive the longer it’s been since their posting.

Especially the ones in the barbmura series, cause I loved writing them and it makes me smile rather goofily to know that someone else loves them too.

I’m glad you love the selkie!Barbara one :)  I’ve always wanted to do something with mythology like that.  I’m working on the next chapter, though I’m unsure of when it’ll be ready to go (since Salt is more mature than my other wips, it takes more out of me to write for it, but I love it all the same).

[renewablenergon-main]

I Don’t Think Colress Actually Hates Ghetsis

@icykalisartblog asked me to post another one of their analyses!

So… I might get a lot of hate for this post, but I’m really interested in Colress as a character and I’ve talked about some of these details before, so I feel like it’s worth talking about this in one place. I’ve been thinking about this a lot after USUM especially, since a lot of people were praising Colress for confronting Ghetsis in that game. Basically, this post will explain why I’m pretty sure Colress is lying when he talks about despising Ghetsis.

Colress is a Liar Colress lies often. He’s especially fond of minimizing the bad things he does and lying by omission. We can’t trust Colress when he states things because this has been shown multiple times.

In BW2, he says, "Those Crustle… Were they just lying here, out of energy, with their boulders on their backs?" on Route 4 when he uses his Colress Machine to reenergize the Crustle blocking the road. Later, he gives Nate/Rosa the device and says, "Here! This is from me! This is a prototype of my device that energizes Pokémon! It doesn't work on battling Pokémon, but you may find it useful for something! Well then, I wish you and your Pokémon a safe journey! Now that I think about it! In the Seaside Cave on Route 21, I saw something that reminded me of when we met on Route 4." In these lines, he implies that he stumbled upon the roadblocks. But we learn right after infiltrating the Plasma Frigate that Team Plasma set up the Crustle on purpose! This is Colress’s own team!

Also, note that the Colress Machine Colress gives out breaks after only one use, and that the roadblock was right by the Plasma Frigate. It’s almost certain that Colress was lying about not knowing what was up with those Crustle and set all this up to lead Nate/Rosa to the Frigate to test him/her--putting a child in danger! Later, when we find out that Colress is a member of Team Plasma, he says, “The reason I have been traveling all over Unova and battling many Pokémon Trainers is because I was testing the viability of this approach to bringing out the full strength of Pokémon. In that respect, you've done an amazing job,” another sign that he led the main character into danger just to test his/her strategy.

Even when it’s clear that Colress is part of Team Plasma, he doesn’t say anything about being the boss of it. He just says, "Welcome! I was asked by an acquaintance to help with his research.” But then later, Ghetsis says this:

So Colress was actually the boss the whole time, but never says so himself. He was minimizing his role in Team Plasma’s actions.

Earlier in the game, when the player defeats Zinzolin in Lacunosa Town, he says this:

Zinzolin is saying that Colress is the one who figured out that the DNA Splicers were held in Opelucid City. This detail combined with the fact that Colress’s room in the Plasma Frigate has all the controls to the ship indicates Colress is the one who froze Opelucid City… but he never apologizes for that or any of the other things he did in BW2 or USUM. His never mentioning this is another form of minimizing.

Also, in USUM, Colress alters the device the Ultra Recon Squad asked him to create without their knowledge:

After all of this, we can’t assume Colress always tells the truth. He often twists or hides the truth for his own purposes.

Signs Colress Doesn’t Hate Ghetsis

In USUM, the Ghetsis who’s part of Rainbow Rocket knows Colress well enough to make a call on his behavior ("Of course... The Colress of this world! But you should have no reason to meddle in my plans!”) even though this is a BW Ghetsis. This means he and Colress have known each other for years, which makes sense. Colress gives out the Genesect Drives in USUM, suggesting he had something to do with that, and Ghetsis wouldn’t have just chosen anybody to be the boss of his team. But, in BW2, Colress says, “For one thing, I detested Ghetsis from the start!" Why would Colress have such a longstanding relationship with somebody he hated from the beginning?

Maybe Colress hated Ghetsis’s methods and just stuck by him for all that time for resources… except, Colress is fine with being “merciless” as long as it brings out the full potential of pokemon. He says so back in BW2. Since he intentionally pit Nate/Rosa and Ghetsis against each other to see which of their approaches was more effective, do we really know Colress wouldn’t have told Ghetsis something like, “How fortunate that you defeated that trainer! I detested them from the beginning, but I had no choice but to test the viability of their approach,” if Ghetsis had won instead?

Colress tells Nate/Rosa at the end of BW2, "The things you and your Pokémon have seen and felt... Do they belong to you and you alone? If you would, please have another Pokémon battle with me. By facing you, I feel as if I can see what I should do from now on." In USUM, when he’s talking to himself in the Tide Song Hotel, he says, "If a Trainer trusts his or her Pokémon, even in the most extreme of situations, the Pokémon inevitably respond by unleashing their full power! Just like that Trainer I once met..." These quotes make it sound like Nate/Rosa taught him that treating pokemon with respect was the right method--it makes it sound like he learned his lesson. But in USUM, he keeps doing unethical and creepy things, like enabling Necrozma to forcefully fuse with Nebby, making them go out of control and putting them both in pain (so much for consent or “trust”). Also, if Colress hated Ghetsis and his methods, would he use the exact same moveset he did… and on Klinklang, his signature pokemon, no less?

Would Colress keep making his Metagross spam Explosion, a powerful move that hurts his pokemon, in the Battle Tree?

Would he decide to do something so similar to Ghetsis’s evil plan, hurting Nebby and Necrozma and betraying the Ultra Recon Squad in the process?

Would the designers have decided to mysteriously not show Colress’s face when he tells RR Ghetsis he despises him?

Would Colress have chosen to deal with RR Ghetsis in a way that did as little harm to him as possible?

Would Colress have creepily followed Moon/Sun and Lillie while invisible, letting them face off against dangerous adults? Also, consider that when Colress does finally reveal himself, it’s when Lillie and Moon aren’t in serious danger (they had conscious pokemon, unlike Ghetsis), and Colress chooses to play with Ghetsis by appearing and disappearing. Since Colress says he wants to study RR’s castle, it really seems more like he showed up to research everything and stopped Ghetsis because he was holding things up--not to help out at Wicke’s request. He even slips up and says, "This castle... Oh, of course! Necrozma's power to open Ultra Wormholes overflowed and resonated with intent of tremendous evil, twisting reality and causing this to appear! The vortex of power somehow...summoned the evil leaders, such as Ghetsis, from their worlds! It's all very interesting... Ah, I mean, quite a pain. I could put this power to much better use!" which is pretty disturbing considering he’s saying the power specifically drew in evil people.

Would Colress have explicitly stated that he hopes Ghetsis stays out of trouble in such a way that it’s possible he’s saying he hopes Ghetsis doesn’t get hurt himself?

Also, Colress names Ghetsis many times in quick succession here, even referring to RR as, “...the evil leaders, such as Ghetsis,” and mentioning that Ghetsis shouldn’t be taken lightly (even though he took him pretty lightly just then).

I think all of these details show that Colress’s attitude toward Ghetsis is ambiguous, and that his supposed hatred for him is probably not real. The question then becomes, “Why does he keep saying he hates him?” I think it’s because Colress misleads people to get what he wants. It’s another way of avoiding blame. Note that he always says he hates Ghetsis when the protagonists are there--it’s another form of misrepresenting things to make himself look helpful and nice.

Also, Ghetsis Definitely Doesn’t Hate Colress

It’s probably worth mentioning what Ghetsis thinks of Colress. I’ve seen some people saying he abused Colress or treated him badly, making Colress hate him, but… there isn’t any evidence for that. He gave Colress power and resources, and doesn’t appear to have restricted his freedom in any way--Colress got to travel all over Unova in BW2, and was able to easily undermine Team Plasma in the process.

As I stated before, Ghetsis knew Colress for a long time, and he wouldn’t have made just anybody the boss. Since Colress has a color name, he might have held a rank similar to the Seven Sages even though he kept himself scarce in BW. He berates Colress once he watches him betray Team Plasma: "That blasted Colress! The fool is far too committed to pure science. This is how he repays me for making him the boss of Team Plasma? How dare he put his personal intellectual curiosity before our ultimate mission of conquering Unova!" And then Ghetsis… does nothing. Normally, Ghetsis has no qualms with treating his enemies with brutality. But he just leaves Colress at the controls of the Plasma Frigate after this without punishing him whatsoever! Similarly, RR Ghetsis doesn’t try to do anything when Colress yells at him and says he despises him, though he does call Colress a “bastard” in versions of the game in other languages. So once again, he gets angry, but does nothing to hurt him. Speaking of other languages, in the Japanese version of the game, the way the dialogue is timed is a little different than the English version. So in that version, we get to see that Ghetsis actually smiles for a split-second when Colress shows up.

I really don’t think Ghetsis hates Colress at all, even though he does get mad at him. I can only theorize about this, but since Colress did locate the DNA Splicers and develop technology for Team Plasma and Ghetsis has known Colress for a long time, he probably figured working with him was worth it despite Colress being unpredictable. Ghetsis is really manipulative, so maybe Colress’s ambiguous attitude was even useful to him in some situations. In Conclusion

It’s not totally clear what Colress thinks of Ghetsis, but there’s a lot of evidence that he doesn’t truly hate him. I think the most likely possibility based on Colress’s phrasing and body language is that he respects Ghetsis, but also finds him amusing and uses him for his own ends. As for Ghetsis, he didn’t abuse Colress (just because he’s an abuser, that doesn’t mean he abused everyone he knew) and clearly doesn’t hate him, regardless of Colress’s opinion of him. I hope this was interesting to see!

[likenineyearsold]

Alright, I’m vv annoyed because my queue is not cooperating, so I apologize for the dash spam i’m about to unleash

[cutepresea]

10-10 The Sirius of Zwei Wing: Succeeded Will

And so we come to the end of the event--or so I’d say if this was the end, but this one has a bonus scene that hasn’t been put up in the English version yet. Once I get that one, I’ll make a master post with links to all the event scripts as per request.

So sorry for the spam.

If you want to blacklist these, you can use either the tag #the sirius of zwei wing for just this event, or #xdu event scripts or #xdu scripts

Reminder  that these are copied straight  from XD Unlimited itself, so any grammatical weirdness, mistranslations,  and/or mischaracterizations are  not my doing.

HIbiki Tachibana: "We're back!"

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Welcome back! I'm so glad you're all safe."

Aoi Tomosato: "I'm so relieved to see that Tsubasa-san's safe, too."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I'm sorry for all the worry I caused you."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Fujitaka, Tomosato, I'm glad you're both awake."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "I'm so sorry we couldn't help when you really needed it."

Genjuro Kazanari: "It couldn't be helped. Even I had to be woken up by Ryoko-kun."

Genjuro Kazanari: "However, it was really thanks to Ryoko-kun and Kanade that we were able to get through this."

Aoi Tomosato: "Yeah. It makes me shudder to think what could've happened if the both of them had fallen asleep."

Kanade Amo: "Nah, I didn't really do that much..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...I'm sorry for what happened."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I was kidnapped and allowed the enemy to take advantage of my phonic gain, unleashing the Eternal Lullaby."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I can never make up for this mistake."

Maria: "Goodness gracious. I don't mind you being so serious, but you don't need to shoulder EVERY burden, you know?"

Maria: "You did everything you could, given the situation. No one can take that away from you."

Hibiki Tachibana: "She's right. You managed to break out of that base to send us intel, which lead to us saving the day, right?"

Hibiki Tachibana: "Isn't that right, Ryoko-san?"

Ryoko Sakurai: "Yes. That intel Tsubasa-chan sent us ensured that we made it on time."

Ryoko Sakurai: "It's how the EU team managed to discover the Armonica. Without the intel, we would've been too late."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Let's hope this is the last time we face such a close call."

Aoi Tomosato: "A-Anyway, you and Ryoko-san did a lot this time around."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Not really. I was nothing but an errand boy."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "But all we did was fall asleep, and by the time we woke up, it was all over. It's embarrassing."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Right, then we'll have a meeting to reflect on what we can do better next time."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Oh, and by the way Hibiki-kun, your friends are worried sick about you. You should go see them."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Oh, right..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I'm sure Chris-chan and the others are worried sick."

Maria: "I'm worried about poor Shirabe and Kirika too. Let's hurry back."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yeah, you're right."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Kanade, will you come with me to see them off? There's a favor I want to ask you, too."

Kanade Amo: "What kind of favor?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "I want you to deliver this letter to the other me."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Normally, I would go apologize myself, but I can't travel to parallel worlds, after all."

Kanade Amo: "Sure. I don't mind."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Well, then. Let's get going!"

Maria: "I hope we meet again."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "I'll see you all around."

Kanade Amo: "I'll be back later."

Aoi Tomosato: "Both Tsubasa-san and Kanade-san didn't look too happy."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Seems like they have a lot of regrets for all the damage this incident caused."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Looks like it... So, how's the status report going?"

Aoi Tomosato: "Well, this is all just an estimate, but..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Just tell me what's currently known."

Aoi Tomosato: "The biggest damages were suffered via crashed aircrafts when the Eternal Lullaby activated."

Aoi Tomosato: "But since you and Ryoko-san told all nations to suspend flights beforehand, those should've been minimized."

Aoi Tomosato: "Airliners that took off pre-suspension and military aircraft on missions made up most of the causalities."

Aoi Tomosato: "Some aircraft made it out untouched thanks to their autopilot systems, but even so..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "We could only minimize the damage by so much..."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Yes. But the ground level got hit harder in some ways."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "On top of direct damage from running vehicles, there was also damage to infrastructure through fires, etc."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Large cities with dense populations dependent on such infrastructure suffered particularly hard."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "These incidents occurred over a wide range, and damages are still ongoing, so there isn't a full report yet."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "But worldwide casualties are estimated to be in the tens of thousands."

Genjuro Kazanari: "That much?!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "With the activation of the Eternal Lullaby, it can't be said that we won in the end."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Despite preventing the end of humanity, there were still far too many lives lost."

Genjuro Kazanari: "How are the media and authorities reacting to it?"

Sakuya Fujitaka: "The case is already being referred to throughout the media as the Blackout  Incident."

Aoi Tomosato: "Rumors say it was a coordinated chemical attack, but no government has made an official statement yet."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I see. So what's the civilian reaction been like?"

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Despite the damage and an attack by unknown phenomena, there've been almost no riots or public outcry."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Why's that?"

Sakuya Fujitaka: "From what I've seen on social media, it seems the song people heard in their sleep quelled their fears."

Genjuro Kazanari: "You mean... Kanade and Tsubasa's songs?"

Aoi Tomosato: "Yes. I think we heard it in our dreams too."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "But I barely remember the song or what kind of dream it even was..."

Aoi Tomosato: "I think I still remember it, but only a little."

Aoi Tomosato: "There were lots of people under a vast sky, and we were all listening to that song together..."

Aoi Tomosato: "It was a warm, gentle dream..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Their song brought everyone together for a single, fleeting moment..."

Ryoko Sakurai: "The aftereffects of that miracle linger deep in everyone's psyche, even those who can't recall the dream."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Oddly enough, Alicia and the Sirius Symphonic Orchestra's ideals might have been realized in that moment."

Ryoko Sakurai: "And it could've been so much more wonderful had it happened a different way..."

Aoi Tomosato: "What Alicia did was unmistakably wrong, but I can empathize with her desire to end war."

Sakuya Fujitaka: "But unfortunately, so long as there are people, there will be war."

Genjuro Kazanari: "It's ironic that humanity rallied as one, a night impossible task, and it's likely all thanks to her."

Genjuro Kazanari: "We must try to make her dream a reality somehow. No matter how difficult a path it may be."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Genjuro-kun..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Ridding the world of war and saving everyone is pretty much a pipe dream."

Genjuro Kazanari: "But... even if that's impossible, we can still save the people within our reach."

Genjuro Kazanari: "And we can always accept them with open arms."

Ryoko Sakurai: "Still, you can bet those girls will try to save everyone regardless."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Yeah... But there's nothing wrong with that."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Now then, things are going to get much busier around here!"

Genjuro Kazanari: "There's a lot of cleanup and rebuilding to be done. We have to do anything and everything that we can!"

Aoi & Sakuya: "Yes, sir!"

Hibiki Tachibana: "We're back!"

Sakuya Fujitaka: "Welcome back! I'm so glad you're all safe."

Aoi Tomosato: "I'm so relieved to see that Tsubasa-san's safe, too."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Wow! The both of you said the exact same thing as the other yous from the other side!"

Aoi Tomosato: "Wait, really?"

Maria: "Yeah. It was totally identical, word for word."

Elfnein: "That is because on either side, they are intrinsically the same people."

Genjuro Kazanari: "I'm glad you all made it back in one piece."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Huh? Where're Chris-chan and the others..."

Genjuro Kazanari: "They're in the training room. I contacted them, so they should be back soon."

Genjuro Kazanari: "And speak of the devil..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Welcome back!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "You're not hurt, are you?"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "No, I'm okay now. Sorry for worrying you."

Kirika Akatsuki: "We were so, so worried about you!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "But I'm so glad you're safe..."

Chris Yukine: "See? I told you there was nothing to be worried about."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Huh? You say that, but your eyes are all puffy and red..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "Wait, were you crying tears of happiness, Chris-chan?"

Chris Yukine: "Y-You dumbass! Of course not!"

Chris Yukine: "I-I just didn't get enough sleep, that's all."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Y-Yeah... You couldn't sleep because you were too worried, right?'

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Kiri-chan, she told us to keep that a secret too..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Sh-Shirabe!"

Kirika Akatsuki: "Saying too implies that Chris-Senpai couldn't sleep AND that she was crying!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Kiri-chan, no! Say anything more and she'll..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "...Oooh we've really done it now!"

Chris Yukine: "...G-Guys..."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Eek! Save us from Senpai!"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Tsubasa-san!"

Chris Yukine: "You little pipsqueaks are gonna regret that!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Hehe, you should just forgive them. Think of it as a favor to me."

Chris Yukine: "Guh.. If you insist, Senpai..."

Hibiki Tachibana: "I like how familiar this all is."

Maria: "Yeah. It really feels like we're back home."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yukine, I'm sorry I made you worry so much."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "But also... Thank you for protecting our home while we were gone."

Chris Yukine: "Wh-What? It's not like I could be upset... Not when you get like that, anyway..."

Kanade Amo: "I'm the one who needs to apologize to everyone here."

Kanade Amo: "I put your precious friends in danger in order to help save my world."

Kirika Akatsuki: "Please! That's water under the bridge."

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Yeah. Besides, you've had to save us many times before, Kanade-san."

Chris Yukine: "Yeah, that kinda sums it up."

Kanade Amo: "...Thank you."

Kanade Amo: "Oh yeah! Old man, I was told by the old man from my world to give you this."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Huh? What is it?"

Kanade Amo: "It's a letter of apology."

Genjuro Kazanari: "Haha! It's not everyday I get given an apology by myself."

Genjuro Kazanari: "And if my guess is correct..."

Kanade Amo: "What?"

Genjuro Kazanari: "No, it's nothing. In any case, I have no need for apologies or thanks."

Genjuro Kazanari: "As long as you're all back home and safe, there's no greater thanks that that."

Kirika Akatsuki: "So, Maria, what happened on the other side?"

Shirabe Tsukuyomi: "Yeah, I want to know."

Maria: "Sure. Just be warned that this is going to be a long one."

Kanade Amo: "......"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Kanade, are you all right?"

Kanade Amo: "Huh? Oh, sure."

Kanade Amo: "...I've just been thinking."

Kanade Amo: "When you got kidnapped, there wouldn't have been so much damage if I was stronger..."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "...Perhaps."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "But however cold it may seem to say, you can't undo the past no matter how much you regret it."

Kanade Amo: "...You're being harsher than usual."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Well, it's because I've also been thinking the same thing about myself..."

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa, it's not your fault that your phonic gain was taken advantage of!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yeah, you're right."

Kanade Amo: "But in my case--"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Kanade, don't forget that many lives were saved all because you never gave up and kept on fighting."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "When the Armonica put everyone to sleep, you alone stood up and fought on against the odds."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "We're here right now, and it's all thanks to you, Kanade."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "And don'tyou ever, ever forget it."

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa..."

Kanade Amo: "Thank you. You're right. Now's not the time to be having regrets."

Kanade Amo: "We succeeded the wishes of Alicia and her orchestra."

Kanade Amo: "So now we have to strive to create a future where everyone can smile."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Where everyone can smile... That's a tall order to fill."

Kanade Amo: "Sure, but we can do it!"

Kanade Amo: "Though I don't know how much I can do by myself."

Tsubasa Kazanari: "You're not alone, Kanade. I'm here with you."

Kanade Amo: "Tsubasa..."

Kanade Amo: "Haha, that's reassuring to hear. With you by my side, I can do anything!"

Tsubasa Kazanari: "Yeah. Let's do this, Kanade. With us two wings together--"

Kanade Amo: "As Zwei Wing--"

Kanade & Tsubasa: "We can fly wherever we want!"

[askredrage]

Open up your EYE (Thoughts on MLP Movie)

Has the show gotten one of those characters that doesn't know what a sense of humor is and fights back with combat?  Or am I thinking of a lot of reformed characters from other media? Spoilers down below.  Haven't seen the movie?  Well the DVD/Blu-Ray aren't far behind.

Um...so that was the movie I had almost missed out on, huh?  Well it was.........something... Ok, so I'm afraid this "review" is going to be EXTREMELY difficult to judge because the night before I actually watched Disney/Pixar's Coco first (by the way, 10/10, would DVD/Blu-Ray again).  And sitting down to watch this movie second was probably a huge mistake as this movie left me with a rather sour taste in my mouth.  Perhaps if I waited to see Coco later, then I wouldn't feel this...negative.  I'm the kind of person that goes to the movies a ton so I'm pretty much judging this movie along with all the other movies I've gone to see in the past several years. So let's get an obvious good thing out of the way first; the movie's return to 2-D or 2.5-D animation.  Never in a long time since Princess and the Frog in 2009 have I been glad to see the return of hand-drawn styled animation.  It's actually quite interesting when you learn that the movie characters were actually made 3-D FIRST before becoming 2-D characters in a 3-D world.  Speaking of which, a major chunk of the pony characters don't feel like repeatedly used poses like in the TV show.  They've been given a similar design to the show but more expressive and created with greater, fluid movement in a few areas.  So of course Pinkie Pie would be the one to mostly get the spotlight in this area.  I think people were worried about the 3-D landscaping dampening the style, but I'll let it slide as they did create the landscapes beautifully.  Plus 3-D environments have worked for 2-D movies in the past.  Talk to a good chunk of Disney Renaissance movies like Beauty and the Beast's Ballroom. An interesting way to segue into this next part.  Whereas the Disney Movies were mostly the movie first and merchandise later, Hasbro's the company that will make a product first then get their animators to make an episode or movie around it.  Also I am aware that Hasbro has one hell of a leash on these animators.  They've probably had a ton of amazing ideas for a My Little Pony movie to appeal to all audiences instead of the targeted one.  But what I was given to view not fell into my low expectations...it went even LOWER!  Perhaps being exposed to Coco first had ruined my enjoyment for this as there was much needed room for improvement. See if I can sequence this a bit.  Let's start with the story.  Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship has created a massive party in an unusually-styled Canterlot that's looking a bit spacious than the busting city I'm usually seeing in the show.  Through some comedic introductions, a song and a series of show-related cameos we are given the things that the outside audience needs to know.  Things get shaken up when Tempest Shadow, an broken-horned unicorn visitor representing for the Storm King, arrives with an army to take over the entire kingdom in order to siphon the magic out of the four princesses.  Now it's up to Twilight and her five friends (not six, Starlight Glimmer got shoved out of the spotlight) to find aid outside Equestria and take back their home capital. Interestingly enough, the one hour and forty-four run time actually felt kind of long when normally I'm sitting for two to three hour-long movies...but then it quickly sped through the story in a poor pace to show off their new toys/playsets and have money left in their budgets.  I'm probably not the first to say this movie was poorly paced, am I?  From memory, I think the longest we've stuck with a setting outside Canterlot was probably the desert city of Klugetown.  You could probably argue that perhaps it was Hippogriffia/Seaquestria but events there kinda made me WANT to make it go faster.  Get to that part in a second. Songs?  As a 90's kid, you know that most of the songs are either set aside or forgotten (like the ones in this film) for the most important one:  The Villain Song.  And Tempest Shadow's Open Up Your Eyes (currently having its instrumental being spammed repeatedly during this typing) is indeed worthy of the title "Villain Song".  The setting, the lighting, the flashback made by a different team (according to the credits), I loved it all.  I'd say it reminds me of Unleash the Magic from Friendship Games but I rank this song much higher. Honorary note for Sia's Rainbow.  I'm being told by some reviews that the song felt a bit too somber for a finale but I don't know, this felt like a calm, perfect way to wrap up the movie with.  I haven't a clue what the problem with it was. Finally, how about the characters.  We've got your familiar TV show cast along with a ton of celebrity voices, including Sia as Songbird Serenade at the beginning and end of the movie who is literally modeled after one of her actual outfits.  I chuckled when I dug up her photo, I don't know how she manages to see through that hair.  Other noteworthy celebrities that got a good chunk of screen time were Kristin Chenoweth as Princess Skystar, Liev Schriber as the Storm King, Zoe Saldana as Captain Celaeno, Michael Peña as Grubber the Hedgehog and Taye Diggs as Capper the anthropomorphic cat.  Most have been given the appropriate amount of screen time while others (STORM KING, MAIN ANTAGONIST OF THE FREAKING MOVIE), were held off until the end.  Oh yeah, that one Parrot Pirate with the squawking and demolitions.  Loved that guy. Sadly, the weakest of the group was the Storm King himself and not just because he was saved for the climax.  Previous TV show antagonists have ranged from either self-motivated tyrants to strategic conquerors for their own kind.  This knucklehead is literally announced as "evil" from Grubber and there just wasn't much from him to label him as an awesome villain.  Even his own funny moments couldn't save him.  And this is coming from a guy who isn't very fond of Starlight Glimmer yet she's still WAY more interesting than this cloud yeti.  Oh well, maybe next time don't model your villain to be a lazy, wacky monkey. On the other side of the spectrum, however, is Emily Blunt as Tempest Shadow, the true antagonist of the movie, picking up all the work for the Storm King to restore her cracked horn.  Compared to "her boss" this character has her own goals and motivations, sort of like a bounty hunter or mercenary. Kudos there as those areas would reach up into the top three MLP:FIM villains on my list.  Sadly, as the movie is indeed called "Friendship is Magic", she's (OMG) reformed much like many of the other unicorns in this show (Anyone seeing a trend here?).  Regardless, when she was a villain, this was a skilled and probably self-trained fighter trying to regain her happiness through any means necessary, even serving a clown.  Even gave me a chuckle when she lost her cool in Canterlot in front of Grubber before realizing and calming down. The Mane Six and Spike are mixed in their performances and what they're given to do.  I'll have to rate them all from best to worst...you're not gonna love who's on the bottom. Pinkie Pie stuck out the most with previously mentioned animations and tons of interactions with the girls and the strangers they came across.  Side-note:  She is mean with a barge of cupcakes; had they been red-frosting, that fight scene might have been banned.  We even get a serious moment with her and Twilight where--getting ahead of myself.  Getting there soon, promise. Rainbow Dash, despite causing some extra trouble, gives the "awesome" the movie needs including getting the Parrot Pirates off their rears to face off against their former employers...that doesn't last long. Rarity's charm and generosity got Capper the cat to not only change Tempest's army's course but gather the other characters for a full on pledged climax fight. Fluttershy has hardly anything except the funniest moment in the entire film regarding opening up with a Storm King soldier.  Honestly want to know what became of those guys now. Spike, you trustworthy pal and weapon.  The TV show might have given you terrible episodes but who would have thought you'd become a necessary Pyro tool?  TF2 Workshop!  Make a mod!  NOW! Applejack...sold apple juice and roped a few people and rocks.  That's uh....that's about it. ....you all hate me now for this:  Twilight Sparkle ends up on the bottom heavily and deserves it all from actions, character writing and poor pace.  Our beloved Princess of Friendship is still the nerdy and orderly princess aimed at saving her home kingdom enough to act grumpy, annoyed and careless in her actions.  Said carelessness led to attempted robbery and created the biggest and most painful moment of the movie:  When Twilight angrily lashes out at Pinkie by saying she'd be better off without friends like them.  Not only was this stupidly painful, but it was the necessary tool for the whole "We're not friends anymore but then we get back together later" bit.  And said apology was being shoved in a climax to be ignored for comedic effect.  Now if perhaps both Twilight and Tempest were together during the end of the battle for apologies, that would not only be forgivable but an excellent moment for the movie.  But no...more like the Princess of Pace-dumping. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhh....I know, I know, this is a movie targeted towards children, but so was Coco.  It would really help if some of that Disney magic could save the MLP Movie from its Hasbro chains.  I know if the team wasn't being held back, they could have gotten away with much, much more to save the film from me giving it a 4/10. Well, this is the West Coast Psycho, and in the words of Max G, "I hope ya hated it."

[lucianhuntress]

FFXV Characters playing World of Warcraft Part 1/3 Headcanons

I know I was supposed to start posting my writings next week, buuuuut.... World of Warcraft is a dear game to me even though I don’t play it anymore, still this was a blast to write! This will be posted in three parts, first one containing the chocobros! And it couldn’t have been possible without @glaive-eve‘s help! Gotta love our story brainstorming :3 Also this is my first-ever-published writing. I’m slightly nervous.

Second Part Third Part

Hopefully you enjoy <3

Noctis Lucis Caelum Havoc | Demon Hunter

Noctis enjoys double jumping, gliding and dashing.

Oh and he will dash. A lot.

He is eager about getting the best loot possible for his demon hunter. He might even be slightly aggressive over loot, shouting: “You don’t need that!”

He has min-maxed stats and his gear is perfectly enchanted and gemmed.

Noctis wants to be the loot master and probably whispers about it to Ignis at the start of every raid.

He still hasn’t made any progress towards being the loot master.

He won’t be the first in his guild to get a legendary item. Nor the second, nor the third.

Noctis will be acting salty towards those who get legendaries before him.

He still sits at the top of the damage meter — Despite the lack of legendaries.

He won’t move out of boss mechanics, unless it’s a sure oneshot. He is just tunnel visioning the damage and there is no arguing about it. He won’t take orders if they include moving around.

Because he needs to be on the top of those DPS meters. He won’t accept the second or the third place. It has to be the first.

And he will literally drain all the heals and cooldowns.

If the group he is in keeps wiping at same boss over and over again, he is ready to ragequit.

But he won’t.

Noctis really wants to unleash the hatred of ten thousand years. Illidan is so proud of him.

His favourite spot to go AFK is the Stormwind Keep, if he is playing on the Alliance and Grommash Hold, if playing on the Horde.

Makes him feel like a boss.

His fishing skill is maxed out.

And he has all sorts of cool fishing hats.

He won’t be sharing any of the fish he has caught though, and Ignis has to literally bribe him to share some of them with the guild.

Sometimes he pet battles against Prompto, if he is ultimately bored.

His in game title is Salty.

He will be playing a male night elf or a male blood elf, depending on the faction he is playing at the moment. 

Prompto Argentum Beast Master | Hunter

Prompto chose his class just for the pets.

Cute pets.

He even takes S.E.L.F.I.E.s with his pets.

Prompto has his S.E.L.F.I.E. -camera bound on his keyboard.

He is the definition of a hunter, which means he spends a lot of time being dead and waiting for resurrection.

Why walk, when you can get a resurrection?

And he dies often.

Maybe because he barrage pulled the whole room?

Barrage is his thing and it’ll take a lot of persuasion skills to get him change out of it.

He is almost as greedy about loot as Noctis, but he doesn’t really care about the secondary stats.

If it has agility on it and a bigger item level than his previous one, he wants it.

Everything is hunter loot.

It annoys the shit out of Noctis, when he is trying to tell Prompto what he should be equipping.

His profession is engineering and he likes crafting all those mechanical squirrels for his own, personal amusement.

He also greatly enjoys pet battles!

And his pet battle team is well trained.

He even beats Noctis in the pet battles.

When he is playing World of Warcraft, he is barely ever AFK. Prompto will keep on jumping around the town, while waiting for something to happen.

And maybe spam the guild chat for company.

He is eagerly asking people to join him on battlegrounds, looking for raids and dungeons, when he is bored.

The guild chat will fall silent instantly.

Not that he is a bad player. He knows how to do damage.

He can be quite heavy company from time to time.

Prompto was once given a special task —  Fit for a hunter. He needed to soak some damage during a boss fight.

Never again.

He likes leveling up alts, but gets tired with them easily and his character selection is full of low level characters he won’t touch again.

Maybe because someone camped him while he was leveling up.

Prompto changes his character’s hairstyle at least once a day.

His title would be the Zookeeper or the Field Photographer.

And his character would be a female. Night elf, if Alliance and blood elf, if Horde.

Gladiolus Amicitia Arms | Warrior

Gladio has an off spec for tanking, incase one tank is missing from the raid.

Tanking isn’t his favorite job to do, but he’ll do it without complaints and handles the role well.

He is usually charging right into the battle, when the pull timer is somewhere between one and zero.

Whirlwind is his thing.

He is slightly annoyed at the fact that he doesn’t really get healed.

Somehow he still survives and is usually the last man standing, if the encounter ends up being a wipefest.

And he’ll make sure everyone knows that he survived, again.

He’ll definitely twit Noctis or Prompto, if either of them died earlier during the fight.

“Noct will pay everyone’s repairs!”

Because Gladio does actually handle the game mechanics.

He’ll cheer everyone up with his motivational speeches.

“We can do this! Just 10% more!”

Occasionally he does arena, but he isn’t as passionate about it as Ardyn though they team up from time to time to get some honor points.

Gladio also loves the Brawler’s Guild.

He spends his free time there.

Or practicing his rotation on dummies while waiting for queue to pop.

Iris really hates it, when he smashes his keyboard while doing his warrior rotation. She can hear it all the way to her room.

It must be a warrior thing.

Inscription is his character’s profession and he eagerly volunteers to mill all the herbs in the guild bank for free.

He also loves crafting those Steamy Romance Novels.

He will often transmog his characters in silly non matching outfits, but he also has transmog sets if he needs to get more serious about it.

Badass warrior tiers sets look cool.

Battlelord is a cool title for him.

Gladio will be playing male dwarf, if on the Alliance side and male tauren, if on the Horde side.

Because dwarves are badass.

Ignis Scientia Subtlety | Rogue

At first, he wasn’t interested in gaming, but Noctis had him change his opinion of World of Warcraft.

He actually started playing, he began reading all the possible tips and guides online.

Now he knows everything.

Ignis could do his rotation in his sleep and he still practices it.

He was voted to be the Guild Master, when Noctis, Prompto and Gladio decided to form a guild of their own.

He secretly enjoys being the Guild Master.

He also became the raid leader due to his knowledge of raids and tactics. He knows exactly what classes to use in a boss fight and will instruct anyone if needed.

Ignis has to reassure Noctis and others that the key to beating a boss isn’t a DPS race.

He is often so immersed in his raid leading role, that he has his Cheat Death on cooldown constantly.

And he is also dead quite often.

If he happens to be the cause of a raid wipe, he’ll literally send an apology letter to everyone participating in the raid.

He is the loot master despite Noctis’s protests. He is also naturally a member of the loot council as his knowledge is invaluable.

But Ignis will gladly pass the loot for Noctis if he’s whining that he hasn’t gotten any loot again.

Ignis can often be found standing in the Auction House with a campfire placed next to him.

He knows his business and makes sure that the guild bank has enough money.

He has cooking skill maxed out.

And he is always looking out for new recipes!

Will desperately beg Noctis to share some of the fish he has caught.

He will be the one crafting all the buff foods and feasts for the raids.

Ignis loves to earn all the raid and dungeon achievements. He’ll make sure there is an event in the calendar for the guild to attempt the most hardcore ones.

So he does have all sorts of fancy titles and mounts from those achievements.

But he still uses the title he worked the hardest for: The Insane.

He also has the Loremaster, because he needed to know everything.

His characters would be a male worgen, if on the Alliance side and a male troll, if on the Horde side.

[thisdiscontentedwinter]

1/4* Delirious Scott/Posey stan and creepy belgian troll liliaeth on Scott Mccall being fuckboy trash in canon - "Actually it’s Stiles who’s trash. Lydia kissed Scott, because she didn’t give a fuck about Stiles who’d been obsessed with her, despite her not giving a damn about him...

2/4* Scott was in love with Allison, his first true love. He never ignored Stiles over her (the notion that he did is fanon), Stiles is just a possessive asshole who gets pissy whenever Scott cares about someone other than him.

¾* “Stiles dumped Malia, abandoned her, mistreated her, and never apologized to her. Stiles also betrayed Scott in s5a and never even once apologized for said betrayal. Something I will NEVER forgive Stiles for”…

4/4* “Just saying as someone who actually did watch all of the show. SCOTT IS SUNSHINE. Stiles is GARBAGE. Those are the facts of life.” - Liliaeth is the very same pos who has been stalking/harassing anyone who doesn’t worship her own favs Scott Mccall & Tyler Posey for years now and used to spam Derek/Stiles works with hateful comments. Oh, by the way? Liliaeth & so-called SJW Nyxelestia are buddies

I always laugh when I see the I WILL NEVER FORGIVE STILES FOR THIS! 

Dude, it’s a fictional character. Get some fucking perspective. 

And I think this is why there’s this huge disconnect with the Scott stans and their ridiculous Scott McCall Defence Squad or Scott McCall Circle Jerk or whatever it’s called. 

Obviously Stiles is my favourite character, but I’m totally able to admit he’s a fuck up at times. Try and get them to admit Scott is too though, and holy god, you’ve UNLEASHED THE KRAKEN! 

“THOSE ARE THE FACTS OF LIFE.” 

Nah, that’s your interpretation of a character in a dumb show about werewolves. 

It amuses me to imagine how these people are going to totally fail to cope when this show is over. 

[obstinaterixatrix]

hey so. like. not to intrude or jump into a conversation midway but i saw your posts and talking about That Fic and it took me a moment to realize which one but when I did just. Thank God. Thank Fuckin God. It's so bad. everything is bad. and until you I've not seen any stuff critical of it and it's just. Thank you. It is bad on so many levels and it's so hard when so many people seem blind to it????

also (sorry for ranting/spam i just want to talk about how bad that fic is a little more please feel free to ignore this). the whole “forgive shitty family with shitty views because they’re family!!” is Bad. and presenting a character who is frustrated and angry with their family’s active hateful and prejudice against an important part of their identity as being unreasonable and having the narration and all other characters ‘call them out’ on it is fuckin Awful and gross.

ahahaha oh man you don’t have to apologize, I’m always here to Unleash The Salt, vent away my dude. honestly, everyone I personally know who tried reading the fic heckin hated it. removed from reality in a way that just seems….. off…….. I mentioned how it felt “performative” but that really just sums up the entire fic imo. it just didn’t feel like the writer had nearly enough personal experience with like……. ANYTHING they were writing about, and they…. they sure did write about a lot. just a REALLY HUGE VIBE of ‘not their place’ tbh