#i just feel like it's very weird in like. it's structure and title

[peonyblossom]

sometimes i remember My Two First Loves and i just. why. why is it 100 chapters long. and why is it called that when there are 3 love interests. the whole thing makes no sense

[littleeyesofpallas]

Hi,

would you make meta stuff about Mayuri's way of speaking? I mean guy speaks strange way compared to other characters and me with friend don't speak japanese and would like to know more about it.

Thank you! 💜

So, i do want to remind anyone reading my blog but please remember i'm not at all fluent in Japanese. I understand the grammar on a textbook level, and with enough dictionary resources I can poke around and sus out nuances of some word choices (particularly stuff like fictional names of people and swords and attacks and stuff, as those kinds of creative choices are very overt*), especially in irregular usage, but when it comes down to things like dialect, slangs, vernacular or phraseology, or more subtle tone indicators I'm pretty blind.

*(sorry to further clarify: when it's stuff like fantasy jargon it's stuff no one would ever actually say, and so the choices made in crafting those words or names from scratch are all reliably very deliberate. But when looking at more casual speech a lot of character voice just kind of defaults to what "sounds" right, and so the distinction between choosing one common word over another isn't always meaningful or readily apparent, both in general and to someone not fully fluent like me.)

Like if someone talks in a stilted overly technical or dry way I might be able to tell that much, but I'd totally miss more structural things like whether it makes them sound more like a mad scientist -vs- a tryhard edgelord fake intellectual -vs- a man out of time -vs- a stuffy rich person --or what the differences i'd even be looking for between all those would be-- I really can't tell outside of what i might be able to glean from things like narrative context more than the dialog itself.

With the exception of some very tropey, and thus easier to identify things like, movie-esque yakuza slang, or melodramatic historical feudal drama formal titles --and even then those are things i might more readily catch when actually spoken than when written on the page-- i'm just as lost as the next person.

That all being said, there are still a few little things i can sort of pick at without feeling totally out of my depth...

I think it's been brought up on some random post of mine before that Mayuri does notably use a "more feminine" 1st person pronoun, watashi[私] which is a pretty common pronoun, although its usage feels weird to explain in English?

Like... it is considered "gender neutral" in that there are other pronouns that are more specifically feminine or masculine and it's not one of them. But then in practice, you'd basically expect men to opt for one of the more overtly masculine pronouns, which just sort of leaves women with watashi as a default?

So it's not that it explicitly makes him sound ""feminine"" so much as it makes him sound less masculine; which suits his intellectual, non physical inclined, and at times cowardly or at least scheming demeanor. But like, it's also considered a little stuffy and sort of overly formal, or technical which is also appropriate to him.

Oh right and it's a formal pronoun as opposed to informal, but there's also a level of very formal pronouns, and it's not one of those, so that doesn't so much triangulate a position as it just leave in vaguely in the middle of the road...

Does that all make sense? it feels like super overexplaining for what is an extremely commonly used pronoun with mostly very neutral implications.

He occasionally ends sentences with a single katakana syllable rather than hiragana, indicating... not quite an "accent".. but like a sort of emphasis. Like a punctuating lilt in tone. Actually Nakao Ryuusei does this really noticeably in the anime and I don't know for sure if I heard it that way in my head and he just nailed it, or if i heard him first and it's just always colored my reading since.

A lot of the rhetorical NE[ネ] which begs confirmation, often translated into English as "...right?" (It's part of that desu ne[ですね] that you hear a lot in anime, where the desu[です] is just the verb to be, so together they tend to translate as "isn't it?")

YO[ヨ] which is again a sort of rhetorical thing that usually gets translated as something like, "...you know?"

and E?[エ?] which isn't even a word or part of speech so much as it's just like, an interrogative noise? Quite literally just "eh?"

But see this is one of those things were like... I can tell it's different from a sort of default neutral mode of speech, but I don't know what that indicates as, like, a point of characterization... Is it specifically condescending? Is it there to sound mechanical or stilted? Is it somehow old fashioned or polite/formal? I have no clue as to these sorts of specifics.

[edit]: I want to reiterate this is a rhetorical device, he's not literally asking a question and waiting for a response. If anything it's functionally the exact opposite, he's saying it to emphasize that he's stating things meant to be taken as facts, it actively closes the dialog off from further questioning.

He also says HOU[ホウ] a lot, which also isn't really a word so much as a sound, but given the pattern in speech above I feel like it's kind of inquisitive, or at least contemplative, which is (i think) how I remember Nakao delivering those lines too. Like a sort of, "Oh?" or "Huh..." or "Hmm..."

And given how close the camera gets to his face most times he says it, it gives an impression of being, not "quiet" exactly, but like you had to be close to hear it, so like, almost under his breath? Like it's clearly a noise he makes to himself, it's not like a thing or expression he's making to the other people int he scene.

FUU[フウ] or alternatively HUU, and I think once or twice FUN'/HUN'[フン] as a sort of grunt? not quite as guttural as that, but not quite a sigh? Like a "hmpf."

He also does your classic YARE YARE[ヤレヤレ] which definitely isn't unusual or unique to him but it has this kind "tut tut" or "tch"/"tsk" tone to it and tends to translated very loosely like, "oh my" or "good grief", but I think of it more like a "well, well, well..." but like kind of implicitly more exasperated than that sounds in english?

I don't know where to start trying to qualify, like... what kind of character says yare yare a lot, but it's definitely something that suits some characters more than others, and Mayuri it definitely fits.

He tends to laugh like ...KU KU...[...クク...] which is a kind of sharp snigger, sneer, or scoff. He really doesn't guffaw or cackle or have much of a more typical dramatic villain laugh, it's very understated.

Although in his fight with Pernida he does let out a full on maniacal FUHAHAHA[フハハハ] laugh for the first time in the whole series

I do love the fonts Kubo uses for a lot of Mayuri's dialog. At a certain point he starts to lean intothe same basic font as everyone else, but particualrly at the beginning he switches between a few unusual ones that are specific to Mayuri.

One's got that rough kind of pseudo handwritten quality to it. It reads to me as kind of scratchy, like a sharp pen nib on thick matte paper, with a kind of clotty ink flow that starts thick and wet but sorta tapers out too fast, leaving the lines spotty and rough.

But he also alternated with a thicker rounder font that has these subtle curls to them that I don't see other character use often.

and then he's got a second font choice that basically has all the same tones as the first one, except maybe a bit, like, louder(?) implicitly just based on context? It tends to be used in creepy action scenes where as the thinner one is more for creepy conversation?

In his very first appearance he chastises Gin, and he changes font between sentences, giving a very distinct sense that it's a change in tone. It reads to me like a low heavy hiss, almost like his voice is normally shallow or throaty, but when the font changes he suddenly drops his voice into a chestier range and speaks almost more smoothly?

Then there's just the perfectly regular fonts he uses sometimes, basically any/every other character uses these same fonts at some point or another.

and he has a neat thin wispy font that he only uses the one time when he liquefies himself. Along with the voice bubbles used, it gives a super distinct impression of his voice barely being audible.

He also one time speaks enthusiastically in an italic version of the more standard font when he arrives in Hueco Mundo.

And then in the Hell Jaw one shot he just has a completely different standard font because Kubo probably didn't keep track of what fonts he'd been using from like 8 years ago

There's also a subtly funky sort of font he uses briefly in the tbtp sidestory? I dunno what to say about this honestly. It gives me these vague 60s-70s vibes that I can't quite place? (I feel like I know i've seen it before but on what? A bowling alley sign? A little back alley cafe? a jazz album cover??)

I have no idea that the take away from that is supposed to be though.

And I guess that's it. I dunno how I thought I was gonna end this. It didn't really reveal any new facets to his character that weren't pretty apparent from the rest of his whole design and demeanor. Plus Nakao's performance in the anime basically nails all of this and i think makes it pretty apparent in tone even if you don't know much about Japanese.

[friskarm]

tentatively putting my thoughts into the tag. for context i am an anime-only watcher but i've been really, really enjoying the mage exam arc and i was definitely a little surprised to find out that this arc has a lot of people frustrated!

one of the strengths of this arc, i think, is seeing how frieren interacts with characters and personalities we've not seen her encounter before. fern and stark are both relatively placid as people; they're generally content to go along with what frieren says.

lawine and kanne are two very strong personalities that frieren initially doesn't know how to deal with at all! they have a whole thing going on and frieren's choice is to. not handle it at all. rather, she spends much of her time quietly observing the two of them until she can speak with each of them individually and figure them out, just a bit. she really struggles to get a grasp on the situation until she does that; it's lawine and kanne who are acting first within their team.

then, secondly -- frieren's plan is so. elf with a lot of time to spare. the impact of the time limit is felt so strongly by every human character on the field; everyone is in such a rush! fern's team are stoked they caught a stille so early. the team that attacks them are desperate to steal it asap. after lawine freezes the lake, the other teams are desperately trying to thaw it, for a quick solution.

frieren, though? frieren's solution takes a shitton of time and involves her essentially meditating by a pond for god knows how many hours. it's such a frieren plan; i feel like only someone with a relationship with time like frieren does would come up with it.

tldr; frieren's capacity to form relationships and understand people and her relationship with time are shown off in a really interesting way wrt the way frieren solves the stille problem.

that, and... it seems a bit silly to say this about a show with a certain character in the title but... i do not feel that frieren is exclusively about frieren. it is certainly a story about her adventures but frieren is by no means the only important character! fern is also there! and stark but hes on vacation. so let's talk about fern.

the one fight scene fern has is so unbelieveably crunchy to me bc we learn so much about the world (now) and about the world (part)/frieren's view on magic from it! the girl she fights has really impressive magic; we know that this is generally considered a time of peace, the demon lord is dead, etc. magic is not necessarily a means to an end. i wonder if this means magic has entered a sort of renaissance? a time period after a period of great upheaval, where social structure is thrown out the window and great advances are made in technology, science - and maybe magic!

the way fern uses magic is very indicative of how frieren feels about magic. fern says (that frieren said) that "this is enough to defeat mages of this era", which is so interesting to me bc yes, ofc, fern does win! with her simple magic and full auto fire. but does that automatically mean fern is a better mage? it's complicated...

you hear a lot about the different philosophies of people who use magic in these episodes, and what i'm really interested in seeing is mr war guy meet frieren, bc i think they'd be the most interesting contrast -- a warrior of the past, and a warrior of today.

specifically bc -- frieren is basically a custom-designed warrior. the way she can mask her mana is very specifically designed to be able to weaponised against demons, flamme did that to her very purposefully. the way she's trained fern is also indicative of that; fern's immense firepower and stamina being "enough to defeat mages of this era" without being flashy so to speak indicate, at least to me, that this sort of thing was common in frieren's time! but this is a type of magic very specifically made for battle against a very specific enemy.

no wonder frieren likes collecting weird spells so much... i wonder if she's had much time at all in the past to play around with magic for the sake of anything but fighting and training to fight?

[flo-zoinks]

Bro lowkey I feel like rdr1 is sooo underrated. Maybe it's my personal opinion but I LOVE the desolation in the game and I love 1 more than 2 😭 is it weird?? Because a lot of people love 2

YES !!! I AGREE !! 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♀️

(had to look up what desolation meant) I LOVE it. John is totally alone in rdr1, then Jack later and the map and style I think perfectly encapsulates the worlds view on outlaw men in a time where they aren't wanted. I love love love at going through places like ojo del diablo wheres its nothing but a giant structure and my horse

I prefer rdr1 a lot more - personally because I think the humour / style matches me a lot more and my gosh I love the plot SO MUCH. Whilst I wish yes there were more things that followed in rdr2 like interactions, I think it contributes to the that desolation theme, especially with Jack.

The plot story of tracking down men you grew up with , across into foreign land and contributing perhaps an army worth in a foreign revolution, and all the characters you meet on the way I adore. Especially just how diverse the characters are and their little time of spotlight like Marshall Johnson or Nigel West Dickens. Getting to do such different things for them and exploring their characters (eg helping Nigel sell his tonics) had me hooked into the game for suree

The game is so underrated as u said I think because people play rdr2 first and then expect the game to be an exact sequel. NO ITS NOT !! ITS A SEPARATE GAME AND SHOULD BE PLAYED BEFORE (my first long ass post was about this I might link it). Luckilyyy with the PC release its ranked up a lot more fans, just perhaps a little too late 🙏😭.

Also the art style is gorgeous. It's a little more stylistic then rdr2, and the faces like John's puppy eyes are ADORABLE.

Rambling more but again I adore more then all things the dialogue and delivery of lines. The protagonist we come in with no information on him, and still learn very little. Theres no much character exposition, save for the old man taking him to fort worth perchance, so all we learn we learn along the way. The little clues dropped throughout the story, like John telling bonnie his background, Javier cursing out his children, Dutch speaking to John about Abigail has the players listening in and reacting to all dialogue a lot more then they would for any other game. We piece together an idea throughout the story and I love how it still manages to keep so much mystery that leaves the player so invested into finding out more, and shows John + others as such rounded unique characters.

The missions too never fail to disappoint!!!! Shooting up Blackwater, great!! Even the beginning missions just racing with Bonnie or going with the Marshall's men to Pike's basin was such an amazing and fun mission with choices throughout.

It's the one of the only media I've ever cried to, (the lion king live action was the only other😭 mufasa😭) and probably will hold that title for ever. I think I tried to cry at Arthur's, but I didnt however I was spoiled for that. I'm not sure If i wouldn't of cried if i didnt know tbf.

Uhm I'm yapping for no reason.. but in summary I AGREE WITH YOU YOURE SO RIGHT BOO❤❤

What do you think???? Thanks for talking to me 🤭

The post:

[matan4il]

Man Suang review

Spoilers! (obviously. Also, this was written after watching the movie just once, to give my opinion as "raw" as possible)

This may seem like a weird spot to start, but I feel like I really can't review this movie properly, without pointing out that it's Moulin Rouge, except set in another country AND another genre. The latter gives it a very different feel (to a great degree, due to tone as well, MS is a serious movie, while MR, even while it does want you to care, doesn't take itself too seriously), but the basic structure of the two movies is too similar, so I have to start there.

In both cases, the movie revolves around (and gets its title from) an entertainment center, which is beautiful and alluring, but also serves as a stage for some of the uglier sides of human urges. This entertainment institution houses performers of low social status, who often also must prostitute themselves to the rich and powerful people who frequent the place. And while the whoring is pretty much built in, and no one bats an eye at it, this setting also allows for some murderous intents to surface. The plot is centered around an exceptionally beautiful and talented, lowborn entertainer, who must sell their body to get by, having aspirations to get a better life through this, and the seemingly simple guy, who is a part of their social circle at this entertainment place, who has his own aspirations, and is not as lowly, which is why he doesn't have to stoop as low as prostitution, and can offer something different. Despite the connection between them, they're both trapped in plots bigger than them, set into motion before they even met, and they have to struggle to find their way amidst all this intrigue, which moves them almost like they were pawns. By the end of the movie, there will be betrayal between the two, but also repentance, and an act of choosing each other over their initial ideal, allowing them to make decisions that are "righter" than they would have, had they not met, and ones that give them more freedom than had they simply served the initial goal they were supposed to. Through that, they gain more freedom and agency. Yet despite that, they don't end the movie being together.

Now, why do I bring this comparison up? Because while MR doesn't take itself seriously, like I said, it does want the viewer to care, and it achieves this by recognizing that they can make a mess of genres, of reality vs hallucination (hello Kylie Minogue as the Green Fairy), of time periods (soundtrack and props that have nothing to do with the year 1900), be as camp and over the top as they wanna be, but if the characters and love story are compelling, we'll all still be riveted.

And that's generally true for every movie. At the end of the day, whatever the genre, we watch first and foremost because someone made us care in some way about at least one of the characters or relationships featured in the film. My fave action movie ever works so well, not because its climax scene is so full of fists (in the middle of a lake at night in total darkness, with the very real threat of the good guy being drowned by the bad one), it hits home because this fight will actually be decided by whether the cold-blooded CIA handler, who had to train the good guy, has come to care enough about him, to be able to tell the two men apart even under these circumstances, and shoot the right person (meaning, the bad guy), saving the protagonist and countless others along the way. It's this test of their (BTW, fully platonic) relationship, that makes up the film's real climax.

So, probably my biggest issue with MS is that it seems to lose sight of that too often. It's so focused on telling us this political mystery, that it forgets at the end of the day, we're here for people and how they feel about and react to each other. The heart of the movie is the relationship between Khem (played by Apo), the entertainer forced to whore himself out, and Chat, the one guy who sees him dancing, but doesn't want just Khem's body. The parts that let their relationship breathe and develop are the best in the movie, they're the ones that feel the most authentic, interesting and impactful. They're the emotional anchor of the whole thing, and even though the movie too often neglects them, and doesn't give them enough time, they just work thanks to Mile and Apo's excellent acting, and their outstanding chemistry. Truly, it's once again a testament of how well these two fit as a team, that they're able to achieve so much, when they're giving too little breathing space for the relationship that is, at the end of the day, the very heart of the film.

The cinematography is great, though I'll admit that I was not that into the colors, I usually like vivid colors, but here they were oversaturated in a way that added a certain sense of heaviness and suffocation to my viewing experience. In a sense, it fits. Man Suang is both beautiful and ugly, alluring and repulsive. Still, I think it would have been a better choice to add the unnatural oversaturation as the ugliness unfolds. First let the viewers be seduced by the beautiful imagery and colors, only then hit them with the ugliness that all of the glitter hides. But then, the movie actually hits us with the ugly bits, with prostitution and murder, in the exposition already. Which makes me think the whole movie could have benefited from a more gradual unfolding of those parts of the entertainment world we're introduced to. Still, I will say that the parts where Khem and Chat get to know each other better, in the market, flying a kite in the field and chatting while climbed up on a tree, they don't have that oversaturation, they get to enjoy more natural lighting, and it gives these scenes a lighter feeling, which does fit. They do seem less burdened in those moments than throughout most of the film. And then the issue with this goes back to... there's just not enough of these scenes, to really give this contrast its own gravitas.

There are scenes which are redundant, they should have been cut out, like when we learn how Tubtim prefers being a whore at Man Suang than outside it. Not that her short monologue isn't touching, but let's be honest, she's not an actual character. She's a plot device, this short scene is only included to set up her change of heart, when she decides to tell Khem the truth, instead of lying. But since this doesn't give her enough depth or her own agency to become a character in her own right, and since she explains her decision to Khem anyway, it's just a waste of time, and it comes at the expense of developing the more emotionally crucial parts of the movie.

And it's not like the movie doesn't know where its emotional weight is. For example, the film's emotional climax, the moment where tensions run highest, is without a doubt the confrontation between Khem and Chat, when they accuse each other of choosing themselves and being willing to sacrifice the other one to do it. It's an effective moment, but I think it would have been so much more powerful, if we got to spend more time seeing Chat and Khem becoming increasingly more important to each other.

For that matter, the real resolution in the movie isn't to the supposed mystery of who has the secret documents and how to get them. It's the resolution of what to do with them, which is where Chat and Khem had clashed. Chat needs the documents destroyed so he and his family won't be punished (possibly killed) for his father's crime. Khem needs the documents delivered to the authorities so that he and his friend won't be punished (possibly killed) for a murder they were framed for. The real resolution of the story is when Khem chooses to burn the documents, so Chat and his family will be safe, and after he leaves, Chat saves them from the flames, and has them delivered, securing Khem's life and reward.

I really liked this part, and again, it felt lighter than the rest of the movie, giving a real sense of relief (visually as well, as there's less oversaturation, and both guys change into nicer outfits, with brighter patches of color). I also enjoyed the more complex POV they offer by the end. They both didn't want the life they were born into. Khem didn't like being of a low socio-economic status, being dependent on the good will of others. Chat didn't want to be a civil servant like his dad. As the movie ends, Khem chooses to stay at Man Suang, turning down the social mobility reward Chat was able to secure for him, while Chatra accepts a position serving his country. Seemingly, they both had to accept their predestined fate. But the fact that they get to choose it now, makes a difference. They see the good they can do, and they're not deprived of humanizing agency. The delivery of this in their dialogues is also quite lovely, with Khem talking about how each type of boat is made for very specific conditions that it must sail, while Chat brings up the fact that now, there are new types of ship, which can defy expectations, and sail in any conditions. They're both right, and they complete each other in describing the place that they ended up in. And the mutual parting, as they both "entrust" something to the care of the other, does reflect their bond.

Still, all of this would have been even more poignant, if this relationship had been given more space. As is, I feel like I even have to guess to a degree why they do care about each other, and why they do end up choosing the other's best interest over their own.

It's a bit clearer with Khem. We see him being exploited for sex, because of his beauty and grace, instead of being seen and appreciated for his talent and hard work. Chat is different. He helps Khem more than once without asking for anything in return, and Chatra also compliments him on his performance. Other than him, there's only one person who seems not to want anything from Khem, his long time friend Wan, but even he ends up betraying and being willing to kill Khem, when Wan doesn't get what he wants from his friend (revenge against all Chinese people). Once more, Chat is different. Yes, he points his revolver at Khem, but he doesn't pull the trigger, he doesn't use the leverage he has in order to force Khem to do what benefits Chat. Instead, he puts down the revolver, and tries to explain himself and his attempt to save his family.

What makes Chat like Khem? I find that a bit harder to answer, though there's a clear and real interest there, which goes beyond Chat's secret mission with the documents. He saves Khem from being discovered during their first meeting, and doesn't ask for anything in return. Chat pays attention to Khem at rehearsals, to his dancing, to his tendency of getting into trouble when not backing down at the face of bullying or injustice... So we can assume Chatra likes all of that. And then he does explicitly express his interest, when he admits to Khem he wanted them to spend that time together at the market.

Which I guess brings me to the question of... okay, so is this a love story? Their relationship is obviously vital to the story, but is it a romantic one? The movie seems to wanna leave it open to interpretation. Maybe it's my hopeless romantic streak, I do wanna see it as a love story. I think there are some hints for that. The mutual interest and liking, even at the stage when they've barely spoken to each other, the way they end up choosing each other even at the possible cost of their own life, the explicit admission from Chat that he was looking to spend time with Khem at the market even when it didn't appear to have anything to do with his secret mission, the way Chat's admission seems to not only make Khem happy, he looks shaken up, there's the kite flying scene, which is played for laughs (flying a kite is apparently Thai slang for jerking off), but still, it's a choice that the movie made, to add a layer of sexual tension there. And then there's the scene where they're trying to figure out who's the woman in red if no one was wearing red on the night they're investigating. Chat steps into the spot where the woman had been, his shirt white, and red light is projected over him. Khem stands in front of him, and they stare at each other for a moment. To me, it serves a double purpose. One is that Khem realizes Chat just handed him the solution to that part of the mystery. The other is that films often illuminate characters in red to show lust and even love. So this might also be a moment when it hits Khem that his feelings for Chat, who's been helping him, who he trusts, run deeper than he realized.

I do think Man Suang would have been braver and better if it had openly gone with the romantic interpretation. It's not just me being an incurable romantic. I also think that, much like in MR, the relationship that changes the course of the two main characters has to be a really strong one, enough for one to decide to give up his life for the other. I'm not sure that friendship quite cuts it, especially when this relationship didn't have that much time to develop (def not enough screen time, but also not enough in-story time). Was love between two men back then a simple thing to admit to? Of course not. But men did fall in love, and even acted on it. I'm not talking here full blown sex. But enough that the audience would know for sure what they feel for each other. On a local TV show, I was reminded that when the small fingers of two people, who are forbidden from any physical connect, do touch, even briefly... something that small and fleeting can still be a confession of deep love and yearning.

Another thing I wish they'd done is make more use of the unspoken tension created by one man dancing to the beat struck by another one. This was so present and delicious in the first teaser released for Mileapo's movie (before it even had a name and a script), I wish they had retained that. It's somewhat present (Khem says he danced so well, thanks to the beat Chat set for him, and then in the scene exposing Tiang, it's Chat's change in drumming that sets the stage for Khem revealing the treason through dance and song), but could have been used so much more. The play between real life and art, the connectedness or contrast between the two men when they're on the same page versus when they're not... There's so much potential for non-verbal drama, and they captured it beautifully in that teaser, so why is it almost non-existent in the film?

I also... I know that the movie is set in the 19th century, and I don't expect 21st century tolerance to be projected back onto it, but I find it hard to ignore that we have one character spew homophobic shit, Khem denying having had sex with another man, basically agreeing it's wrong, and at the same time, men exploiting other men sexually is not looked away from, it's very explicit and built into Khem's story. Each one of these things can be true in its way (there was homophobia, people did have to go with it, there was male on male exploitation alongside this homophobia), but when every explicit thing in this context is negative, while the one positive (the possible love story between Chat and Khem) remains implicit and optional at best, it feels like it unintentionally leans into the homophobic narrative. Take Brokeback Mountain for example. The environment in that movie is highly homophobic, prejudiced, rude and even violent about it. And while Jack and Ennis had a lifelong love story, they couldn't actually live it out in the open because of said homophobia. Ennis in particular would rather punch a guy, than admit Jack was the love of his life. And still, we got to see their love, we got to see that even with all of the societal hardships, it brought them warmth and comfort, and was a reason to risk a lot, even for Ennis, who was so acutely aware of the threat to their lives. I like that BBM was honest in depicting Ennis and Jack having sex, but at the end of it, even without those scenes, the love between them was enough of a counterweight, that it never felt like the movie unintentionally reinforced a negative view of what two men can have together. With MS, I feel like a homophobic casual viewer, who won't get that Chat and Khem saved each other through something that might be more than just friendship, could easily have their negative view reaffirmed.

All in all, I enjoyed MS. I loved seeing Mile and Apo acting together again, I missed that, and their chemistry is just as superb as ever. I'm not sure the movie, getting as distracted from the main relationship as it did, would have worked without their unique addition of beautiful acting and chemistry. So, I would recommend it to friends, but I guess I would also really love to see a better paced, edited and re-focused version of it. Shine, Mileapo's show that will follow in the footsteps of MS, might deliver that. I can't wait to see! ^u^

(if you're curious about any of my other Mileapo/Kinnporsche posts, you can find them here)

[ardienothesieno]

SPECULATING ABOUT THE WATCHER

Wanted to make my own analysis post, as I've seen some comments on other sites pointing out things but nothing here so far... AND I AM TOO DEEP IN THE BRAINROT TO NOT ANALYZE THIS EVEN JUST A LITTLE BIT. SO.

I would like to mention that I have not played any modded regions! So if there are certain details that I make note of in the screenshots that have explanation in their original mods, please feel free to correct me!!

STARTING OFF WITH THE TRAILER:

Rot tendrils. Rot tendrils on the ceiling... just casually... that's totally not concerning...

The blue lizard only has two toes on each foot!

The background of this first shot looks like it might be on an iterator structure? There are some support beams but other then that it's just clouds.

The spears that the scavenger is carrying are kind of weird... for one, they're white. And one of them has a large, almost pinecone-shaped tip.

Also they have a crack in their face/mask.

what the pole plant doin

The Watcher doesn't seem to have a nose? That's probably just an art style thing, but I thought I'd mention it. Also their eyes are glowing.

Even the title font has implications. whoa.

For one, more rot. The rot has now made a double appearance and that probably guarantees its significance here...

And plants... Leaves and some vines.

The way that the black screen transitions to a white one is very rot-esce to me. Rot triple appearance...

There seems to be some graffiti on the right side of the final shot? It's obstructed by the visual effects in the foreground, however.

Once again Watcher is depicted without a nose BUT THAT'S NOT IMPORTANT BECAUSE THIS SCREEN HAS IMPLICATIONS

Watcher is floating. Normally I'd mark this off as "cool title screen choice" but they're also surrounded by ECHO PARTICLES.

And the warping around the Watcher and the title? THE OUTMOST RIPPLES HAVE GOLD VEINS RUNNING THROUGH THEM. THE VOID IMPLICATIONS...

And this might be a stretch but the palette of this final image is black and gold... void colors...

OKAY THATS MOST OF THE TRAILER

ONTO THE STEAM DESCRIPTION:

Rain World: The Watcher is a DLC expansion of Rain World. Journey beyond to something, somewhere only ever glimpsed. When the world beneath your feet cracks and crumbles, will you hold on to all you once knew? Or dive into the unknown? The wilds that await will be unlike all that's come before. Unknown creatures stalk and climb and dive and hunt. New breeds rip and pluck and burrow and hide. Predator and prey redefined. And through the middle of it all, a lonely lost slugcat trying their best to outlast the ravages of a warped world.

Do... do I even have to say anything?

THE VOID IMPLICATIONS!! HOLY MOTHER OF SCUGS THE *VOID IMPLICATIONS!!!!*

"Journey beyond to something, somewhere only ever glimpsed. When the world beneath your feet cracks and crumbles, will you hold on to all you once knew? Or dive into the unknown?" YOU READ THIS AND TELL ME THIS DOESN'T HAVE VOID SEA VIBES. Journey BEYOND to something, somewhere only ever glimpsed... it feels very void-y to me. And the talk about the world beneath you crumbling-- holding on to what you once knew or diving into the unknown?? If this somehow ISN'T related to ascension I would be shocked

"And through the middle of it all, a lonely lost slugcat trying their best to outlast the ravages of a warped world." This line about the world being warped, as well... I'm thinking this DLC might either have to do with Rubicon, or have to do with the encroach of the void sea consuming the world from below.

Other then the void implications, it sounds like we'll be seeing some new creatures that could completely redefine the game. I'm excited to see where that goes.

OKAY. SCREENSHOTS. LETS GO.

I know these are from pre-existing mods, but I'm completely unfamiliar with said mods and don't know if any of this means anything. Just wild speculation, pretty much.

Gonna start with these two because they're kinda visually similar. On the left we have desert!!!! Cacti!! Cactuses!!!!! I've seen lots of people calling the image on the right snow, but that doesnt feel right to me. We saw snow in Saint and I do not remember it looking like... that. The first thing that comes to mind for me is Kingdom's Edge from Hollow Knight, and the drifts of ash that pile up there? If this is the case then it confirms several of my lore theories and I would so love that to be the case. There's also a collapsed structure in the back of the "snowy" image, which looks to me a bit like a train car?

Also I've now seen several people calling these milk... and I can't unsee it now...

I've been told by several sources that these screens are from preexisting mods! I think these are from Stormy Coast, Coral Caves, and Aether Ridge? At least that's what I've picked up from searching through other discussions. I don't have too much to comment on here! I think these rooms are cool, and I really like the fans in the Aether Ridge room!

...oh no... acid region..? I don't know why, but this room gives me Shoreline vibes. Also I do not think bubble fruit are supposed to grow that perfectly--

And finally... what I think has the possibility of either being a huge lore thing, or a complete false alarm. Well for starters it's purple

But there are no iterator cans in the background. We're above the clouds here; in every above-the-clouds show from the base game and Downpour, you can see iterators and communication towers off in the distance. There's nothing here. And I don't think this takes place near or after Saint, because there's no confirmed snow. And I think a lot of these structures would be far worse for wear if this were so far in the future that the planet has warmed again. So. Uh. That's pretty odd.

Again, these all might be from mods that I am unfamiliar with, so please correct me if I'm misinterpreting anything!!

AND THAT CONCLUDES MY ANALYSIS FOR NOW!

tl,dr-- This DLC is gonna be crazy. Also void

[valeriianz]

For the fic writer asks:

4. Obviously you did research for BitB. I'd love you to ramble about it if you like I'm sure you've got STORIES

5. Did you outline it?

7. How'd you decide it would be Hob's pov?

25-27 I'd love to know a/some favorite lines, details, and any lore you might want to share

omg TJ what wonderful questions! thank you!! this is going to get LONG!

4: Rambling about research!

do you wanna see a screen shot of my bookmarks under my "band au" folder?

man, and that's only what could fit on the screen.

there is... SO MUCH i chose to ignore for this fic. ideas that i had to drop, lines or extra details about the other band members equipment. more logistics, what Lucienne actually does, what Mervyn has to put up with as the new touring stage manager... i realized very early on that i couldn't possibly cram all this (super cool and eye opening) information into the fic and still keep reader's interest and, most importantly, to not stray away from the fact that this is a dreamling fic. whenever i felt myself getting carried away with a side character or job or even social media numbers, gossip, outside POVs, i had to reign myself in and get back on track. there will be time for exploring everything i missed in side stories after BitB is finished. i just hope i still have the energy to write it all.

once, i was so deep into research that after publishing chapter 2, i went into work and when my chef asked what "GA" meant on my prep list, i answered with full confidence, "general admission."

(it means "get ahead.")

the worst part of this entire writing process is im still learning new shit. i havent rewatched or read a lot of what i've saved because, to be very honest, i was feeling a little burnt out. it's why we're kinda full steam dreamling now. it's why ive been glossing over a lot of technical stuff and being vague about conversations amongst the crew/not including it at all. i don't prefer ignoring my research, but at the end of the day i want to still enjoy writing this fic and finish it. even if i can't be as descriptive and detailed and nuanced as i used to be.

5: Did you outline the fic?

(also asked by @hardly-an-escape!)

i wouldn't call what i have a proper "outline," it's more like a 20k word document filled to the brim with notes that i skim at least a dozen times while i'm writing a new chapter (being in my brain is literally hell). i live multichapter life very dangerously. i copy and paste lines or sections (always scattered, never together! augh!) that are meant to go together and plop them in a new document titled "band au ch.#" and then i structure the chapter around what i want to happen.

but to answer this question in the plainest of terms: yeah. i know exactly what's going to happen up until the very end. even if its all in my head and the only concrete shit that's written down are beats/plot points. i'll figure out the rest later!

7: How'd you decide it would be Hob's POV?

i actually never even considered writing it from Dream's POV. this was my first fic in the fandom (which is so nuts to think about lol) and writing in Dream's POV sounded so scary lol. i also just thought Hob's would be easier because i have worked a few backstage shows, back in my college years. i figured eh, i can make this work. and i loved exploring how weird and mysterious musicians can be, from a normie's POV. making Hob a fan first and having him worry about developing a parasocial relationship... it was fun to explore.

25: Share your favorite line

oh god, i have so many haha.

“What are you thinking about?” starting in ch.2 and onward lmao

“It’s–��� Dream laughs quietly, bitterly. “I don’t like change.” He says each word with emphasis, eyes trailing down to fixate somewhere past Hob. “And I still hold onto the things I can control, like my instruments–” his eyes swing up to regard Hob apologetically. “Or my clothes or my–” he brings a hand up and wiggles his fingers around his head. “My hair.” ch.4

"His majesty is pleased." ch.5

“You are obsessive,” he states, slow and cool and with a quiet smile cracking through his composure. “Just like me.” ch.7

“You look good.” Hob has to lean in to say so, unwilling to raise his voice amongst the roar of the fans. ch.11

“Del looks like porcelain, but she’s actually made of steel.” Desire swirls the contents of their glass before pushing their shoulders back with a deep breath. “She's tougher than all of us.” ch.11

“Everything. I want…” his fingers tighten in Hob’s hair, pulling him closer, speaking against his lips. “…Everything.” ch.14

26: Share your favorite detail

how intentionally coy Dream behaves. i love keeping him a mystery and deciding when and how much to allow his intentions to peek through has been so fun lol.

Despair is in fact covered in tattoos and piercings! i say this because i feel like sometimes i forget lmao. (but also her and Hob don't interact much so. my bad haha).

Delirium's constant explosion of color in the way she dresses <3

Hob's dedication to his job, Dream, and the people he cares about the most. i don't care if people think i'm making him too soft and good, im gonna project on that man and make him a sweet, sweet simp lmao

and ah, this doesn't matter anymore, and i kinda regret doing it but. i originally had Dream's favorite bass all black but the pickguard was white. so it actually looked like Jessamy. not gonna lie when @designtheendless drew it all black i decided i liked it better that way. and truly i do. that's when i went back to ch.1 and changed it haha. to actually see the guitar with Dream, all done up sparkling black and purple flecks... gosh it's just so him. but then i got up to the reveal that the guitar's name was Jessamy and i was like, "oh, right." lmao. no one seems to care so i'll leave it be.

27: Share a piece of lore you made up for the story

i have a lot lmao. and this post is already so long... im hoping i can get to some if not all of it in side fics in the future. but for now, here's some that's more like headcanons but:

Dream hates flying. he can full on go into panic attacks on the plane if he allows himself to get into his own head.

this was mentioned briefly in ch.4, while Dream was discussing the formation of the band, but Despair was in another band before joining Endless. she is the only character in the fic who gets to keep her English roots (lol sorry) and is the oldest in the band (30).

all of the band members ages: Dream, Desire, and Death are all 28 and Delirium is 22.

Dream can experience subdrop after going too hard during a performance.

Dream paints his own nails, it's very therapeutic.

as an exercise, i explored my own headcanons for Dream in this verse in a word doc, and one thing i will share from it that you might find interesting: If I were to ever give Dream a theological values, I would describe him as a satanist. He is a physical and pragmatic person, nonconforming, and although he is introverted, he enjoys being a part of a community (he loves his band).

also found this in my notes: How Desire and Dream got along was Death making them fight it out. Hob raises an eyebrow “like in a brawl?” He couldn't imagine Desire throwing hands. “No, in a pillow fight that escalated in hair pulling and verbal taunts.”

fic writer asks

[redacteddoesstuff]

II S2 Ep 17 Spoilers

I'll be talking about what I got right from my previous theory post and some newer ones too.

Theory 1: The contestants aren't gone forever

This didn't happen. However I do think it will. I am one of the people who think there will be an act 3. Mostly because there are a lot of loose ends and plot points that they brought up (even just in this episode).

I am now more sure then ever that this is how their going to bring the contestants back. Or at least it will be an important part.

The fact that they continue to focus on soaps phone kinda proves that to me. Why bring so much attention to something meaningless.

Theory 2 (well not really a theory, more of a question): What about bow and dough?

Bow and dough are indeed created by Mephone. Which also means that Mephone can create soul-like-substitutes. Which is wild.

Theory 3: Mephone didn't know he created the contestants.

I was right with this one! Yippee! Kinda. While he didn't remember creating them, he did assign them personalities and quirks. What Cobs really did here was make Mephone put 2 and 2 together.

What I believe happened was after Mephone escaped he was like "Time to start a reality show! Wait... I need people for that" and his subconscious was like "haha, wait a minute, we already did that" and spawned in the contestants. Seeing as he had an interview with suitcase, a season 2 contestant, we can assume that the rest of season 2 and 3 contestants were all subconsciously spawned in, then held an interview with Mephone.

The picture below is just to highlight that even the season 3 contestants where characterized by Mephone.

Also I haven't seen enough people talk about how genuinely awful and disgusting what Cobs did here. It actually makes me kinda ill.

Theory 3: Mephone is part Prime Shimmer

I was also right with this one! I am on a roll! Mephone being a Shimmer just makes sense narrative wise.

Now, onto the theories/observations I have after this episode.

I don't think Mephone knew he could freeze everyone. Besides the fact that he didn't know he created them an therefore wouldn't think that was something that he was capable of, just look at him.

He has no idea what's happening around him. He's far more focused on the season 3 folder then his surroundings.

I also don't think Mephone created the island. He may have terraformed it but I don't believe he can straight up created an entire island.

And like I said earlier, I really don't think that this is the end.

Reason 1: the loose ends/plot points

It feels weird to me if they brought up important information just for it not to be used. Like Bow's tail story/coming back from the dead, Soap's phone, and the Prime Shimmers. Not to mention all the people who would still be there, like Mepad, Bow, Dough, Bot, Baxter, and the Prime Shimmers (and maybe toilet too? But that is a huge maybe in my books). Or even The Unvitational Committee. What do they feel about everything that's happened. What are they gonna do now everyone's gone.

Reason 2: common act structures.

While this is admittedly one of the weaker points, as they're allowed to do whatever they want, I think it's important to bring up. "Act" is a very specific word choice, and most stories follow a three act structure.

Reason 3: The themes.

II has a really prominent theme through the entire show, you don't have to be what others think of you. It can be seen within most character arcs. This episode is kinda the antithesis to that theme. Even the title "Through No Choice of Your Own" highlights that.

Reason 5: Brian said that there will be 2 special guest voice actors and we haven't gotten that yet.

Reason 6: He also specifically said "multi-part." People don't tend to say multi-part for 2 episodes, optioning to say two-parter instead.

Reason 7: Adam deleted his account shortly after he made(?) it. He also died from Mephone X. However this could just be nothing more then a fun way to leave and I'm looking to far into things. I thought it was important to bring up anyway.

Reason 8: General vibes.

While II has had lots of sad moments before, they usually have some kind of happy/bittersweet/hopeful ending. This is just depressing, with little to no upside.

Look man. I'm gonna be honest. This is mostly me sipping copium. I genuinely can't fathom there being no act 3. Like, that's not even an option. This ending is so genuinely horrible (emotionally) it's unreal. I might make another post just about how awful this all is for Mephone specifically. Like, it's the worst possible outcome from him. Anyways, post is ending here. I had some more ideas but I forgot them.

[wazzappp]

Weird thought. Imagine Cryptid!Blue Beetle. Not cryptid Jaime, but cryptid Blue Beetle. Like, what if he doesn’t become a superhero, so less public exposure, but they still see this weird 6-limbed being flying around every now and then. And well, those upper limbs are very obviously alive, just from how they move, and equally obviously not human. So he becomes like, Mothman. Everyone has a story about the Beetleman, about his flat, black and blue face, about its (his? Her? Something else? Nobody has gotten close enough to, ahem, check.) wings and bug limbs. Cities outside of Palmera city think it’s a hoax made up for tourism money. “It’s literally ripoff mothman. It can’t be real,” and so on.

Jaime is unaware of this until it’s too late, because he sometimes goes out for joy-flights, or perches on buildings and structures previously too high for him to reach. This creates rumors of a cryptid.

First time he runs into someone as Blue Beetle, he’s too flustered to talk, so he just bolts off into the sky. Rumors abound.

Also. What if in suit, Jaime has clawed, two-toed feet. Like this.

Two short little claws off the front of the boot, so it has two clawed toes. (At a less severe angle than the claws in the picture, more parallel than perpendicular, like dog or cat toes.) Maybe little spikes like that on the back of his thighs as an extra touch?

YES YES TO ALL OF THIS

Jaime not having the general exposure of a superhero would be so hard on him though. At least in cannon he can say ‘Well I have a world destroying weapon in my back but at least I’m using it to be a hero!’ And gets reaffirmed in that title. But here? Noooooone of that lmfao. He’s trying his best, but from his perspective it would all just feel like some desperate attempt to not turn into a ‘bad guy’. No body wants to get their shit rocked by the justice league, ESPECIALLY not our poor little big boy.

[deuterosapiens]

And that's that for Echoes of Wisdom! A pleasant, charming game to be sure!

There's good and bad to be had, but it's certainly an unusual game. I'll definitely be going back over it to collect those Echoes I'm missing, which luckily for me, is a scant ten, per the post-game break down. One of which, humorously enough, is the damn carrot Echo used to summon your horse. I did not actually bother to do the Horse Ranch quest until just after my fifth (or sixth, depending on how you're counting) dungeon. Just going to drop a break here though, because I want to talk a bit more freely about this game.

So, there are a couple of Echoes I've discovered fairly trivialize most combat encounters. The Wolfos echo, any of the Darknut series echoes (the Level 3 variant I actually used basically as a blender throughout the entire last act, in the Still Ancient Ruins), and the Chompfin echo for water.

This game does a fair job of combining the "play it your way" mentality of the recent Wild era titles with the more strict flow of classic dungeons' puzzles. While you have considerably more options in this game, they will typically amount to being a variation on the same sorts of themes. Use fire to light torches- whether that comes from a Brazier, a Torch Slug or an Ignizol is entirely up to you, for example.

Let's talk about the key feature that honestly probably amounts to one of the biggest draws of the charming little game: DUNGEONS (and their BOSSES).

Let's see, there's three main dungeons, followed by Hyrule Castle, then three more dungeons (plus the endgame). Which means we follow the Ocarina of Time dungeon structure, which actually means we follow the A Link to the Past dungeon structure, which is appropriate, all things considered.

Each dungeon requires the traversal of a short Still World segment, which will bring Pokémon Platinum fans immense joy, before pissing them off at the memory of the Distortion World's absence in BDSP, and Legends-Arceus. These segments are mostly platforming with little significant puzzle-solving. They are the reason the Old Bed echo appears at the front of my Most Used list. But the weird eldritch, distorted scenery is quite nice to appreciate. It really does a fine job of setting up the game's final boss too.

I'm a bit torn on if I have a favorite dungeon. I definitely have a least favorite, in the form of the Lanayru Temple. Oh sweet Demise, these ice puzzles pissed me off. I did, however, find that dungeon's boss (SCORCHILL) to be quite fun, so we've got serious points awarded. Eldin Temple is weirdly small, and kind of hallway-y, if you get my drift, but it has Volvagia which I absolutely refuse to complain about. Hated the Mogryph fight, though I expect that's because I made it significantly harder than it should have been. The Faron Temple is interesting in that it really tries to hide its linearity: the theme is Jungle Temple and it honestly captures that feeling pretty damn well: the miniboss is also immensely fun, at least in how it is presented to you, though it's not particularly challenging: Gohma is, well, Gohma, so I don't think we're winning any Boss points with it. Vocavor is a boss with an interesting design, but underwater fish bosses have never won any awards and they aren't starting to now (it did bring to mind a Bowser Junior fight in Mario Wonder, so there's that).

Huh.

Oh, right, Ganon. Eh, this is literally the exact same fight as in Link's Awakening and, if I remember correctly, A Link to the Past. Somehow, however, and I cannot for the like of me figure out how, Grezzo has completely thrown off the timing of this fight: for some reason, and I'm admitting this solely for opacity, the Dead Man's Volley sections are timed, and I literally cannot find a better word for it, wrong. Luckily, they are technically optional if you have the right Echo (which you will, as it's given to you in this very dungeon), but it brought me death and therefore annoyed me.

This game follows up with our recent (if you call Skyward Sword recent) trend of having a massive horde battle precede the final boss. Well, sort of a horde- Zelda's Echo casts Echoes of her own that should be a challenging horde, but alas! The Hylian Blender renders this fight significantly easier than any other.

I will have to look this up, bit did anyone on the dev team have any involvement with Kirby Star Allies? Everything related to Null reminds me of Void Termina, and I am struggling to believe this is simply a coincidence.

Speaking of Null, let's talk about Null!

This thing is one hundred and fifteen percent definitely my favorite thing this game presents us with. Null is an entity from the void, imprisoned within the world itself by the Goddesses of the Triforce (sorry, Prime Energy- this bothered ne immensely), imprisoned to prevent it from devouring all life that might appear within the void. A classic primordial horror, if I do say so, and if there's one thing I'm a sucker for, it's primordial entities who are world-bent on the annihilation of existence itself. When you see this thing's lair, Earthbound had better jump so far forward in your mind you are given extradimensional whiplash.

If I were a timeline fanatic, I imagine Null would screw it up so damn much.

So, where do I stand here. Where where where.

The ideas behind this game are quite odd, to say the least, and their execution is a bit short. I feel like if this map were larger, and if there were more Echoes and quests, I would have more thoughts on how it plays. I just finished the damn thing and I'm not quite sure how I feel about the actual experience of playing it, which is absurd, really.

This one does feel like a love letter to the franchise's highs and lows, a bite-sized sandbox just screaming "We love Zelda!"

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 7

Propaganda:

Ash -

"he just has those vibes ya know?"

Charce -

"Has a very hard time understanding the emotions of others along with his own emotions. Others claim that he acts in a very strange way before it's confirmed that most of the things others thought were weird of him were either because it had to do with biology, his special interest, or it was him acting like how he thinks normal people act when he doesn't understand the way neurotypical people act in the slightest."

Setsuna -

"recent scientific developments find that autism might just be stored in the hair."

Nicol -

"A constantly expressionless boy who does not show his feelings, Nicol is quiet and tends to be distrustful. He is fiercely protective of his sister, and though his pretty face makes him popular, he resents that it means that those outside of his friend circle only see him for his looks."

Galo -

"HIS SPECIAL INTEREST LITERALLY HELPED HIM SAVE THE EARTH FROM EXPLODING!!! HE STOPPED MID FIGHT ON TOP OF A BURNING HIGH RISE BUILDING TO SHOW A TRIO OF ARSONISTS A PROJECTOR POWER POINT PRESENTATION OF EDO PERIOD FIREFIGHTING!!!! HE COULDN'T PILOT THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF A GIANT ROBOT BECAUSE IT DIDN'T LOOK COOL AND HE COULDN'T JIVE WITH IT! AND ON TOP OF EVERYTHING HIS REACTIONS AND MANNERISMS TO FRUSTRATING SITUATIONS (ANGRILY SHAKING HIS HAIR WITH HIS HANDS AND RUNNING OFF IN A SITUATION THAT UPSET HIM IN A MANNER AKIN TO SENSORY OVERLOAD, COMBINED WITH HIM ESCAPING TO A QUIET AND COLD PLACE WITH LITTLE TO NO OUTSIDE STIMULUS TO CHILL OUT) PLUS HIS INCREDIBLY BLUNT WAY OF THINKING AND ODD MANNER IN SOCIAL SITUATIONS!!!!! THIS IS PEAK AUTISM! THE AUTISTIC ANIME BOY WITH A BURNING SOUL!"

Yuuji -

"The entire manga is about the mc moving to a new school and getting helped out by Yugami and then being like 'hey who is that guy' and all her classmates are like 'oh that's Yugami. He sucks.' And then she's like 'oh how sad everyone's bullying this guy :( I bet he's actually rlly nice since he helped me out' and then she tries to interact with him and. No actually he just sucks. The title is a reference to the fact that. He flat out refuses to make friends. People try a lot and he just rejects them. He's the ace of the baseball team but everyone hates his guts, INCLUDING his battery partner, who is just. Totally exasperated all the time. Anyways Yugami has a special interest in rakugou and will just. Recite rakugou. He does it in order to calm himself down during baseball games and everyone's like 'what.' He also jumps interests quite a bit? But every time he gets OBSESSED. There was a period where he was obsessed with building furniture. He cannot read social cues and he does not care. Like at all. He really likes structure! He makes a list every day of all the things he has to do and then checks them off. They have a school festival and he goes to every single exhibit. Just to check them off his list. Not even an actual visit. He pops in and immediately leaves. Someone will talk about some relationship issue and he's like 'just like in [rakugou].'"

Yasutora -

"People think he’s intimidating, but he’s one of the kindest characters in the show! He comes across as having a fairly flat affect with few expressions, and he’s often misinterpreted as being scary by others who don’t know him. He used to be aggressive, but chose to never fight unless protecting someone due to his abuelo’s influence, and I think he’s a low empathy flat affect icon!"

Taiyou -

"He befriends the main character through the power of autism (being completely unaware of the social cues telling him to avoid her and being extremely straightforward when complimenting her). He’s able to inadvertently twist any conversation by misinterpreting what people say, often taking things literally. The idea that someone doesn’t like this girl just Does Not Compute in his head. He’s astoundingly hyperempathetic, just the idea that he may have hurt someone made him burst into tears; and yet he seems to have difficulty reading other people’s emotions. And he has no sense of personal space at all. He’s a sweetheart and he makes up for every shitty “neurotypical person proves how nice they are by befriending the autistic person” trope."

Kai -

"I don’t think I can explain this in a convincing manner, but trust me it makes sense. For an (ex)assassin he is so bad a lying, he brings up details no one was talking about and ends up getting himself into trouble because of it. This is a massive spoiler, but I do think it’s really important to the point; during the first main game the cast are discussing the kitchen incident and whether or not Kai actually threatened Nao, causing her to attack Sou. During which they ask the question why? Why would Kai want Nao to do that, what would he get out of it? They eventually come to the conclusion that it’s because he was trying to steal the computer that Sou had found, and this immediately dooms Kai to his unfortunate fate. But the only reason they are able to get there is because Kai himself says ‘to steal something perhaps?’ when being questioned why he’d have it out for Sou. At that point it’s not even being bad a lying, there was no attempt to lie there he just said what happens in front of everyone and doomed himself. I love him but he’s not always the wisest. There’s something about even the main character thinking openly that he’s a bit weird. One of his first lines after being introduced is him worrying about the laundry he left hanging outside. They’ve been kidnapped and put in a death game and he’s worried about laundry. There something relatable about his limited facial expressions. His face doesn’t really change much unless he’s showing really big emotions, which makes him come across as really aloof and mysterious. The classic ’are you okay? you look sad’ face. Kai also won the most autistic Yttd character - excluding Gin- poll, so there’s that."

Albedo -

"Poor boy does NOT know how to be social with people and spends most of his time drawing stuff on a freezing mountain so he can avoid any kind of social interaction. Also he eats spiders and it's funny."

[busyxfangirling]

The second season is honestly becoming increasingly harder to watch because what are they trying to do?

The show is titled Loki but he feels like a side character is his own show, I know many MANY things are happening but literally Loki is not the central figure driving the story.

My expectations were low but I did not know Disney could do this much worse!!!!

What the FUCK was episode 3 with the Miss Minutes thing and weird little Ravonna/Victor attempt???

Marvel is just getting worse and worse with what they're putting out, I want the character or even narrative driven stories back where people were well fleshed out, had consistency and their actions made sense to who there were!!! This feels like just trying to sell shock value because you know you have a base of consumers who will stay to see what happens to their favourite character.

They are absolutely ignoring all the material they have available to them to work with! This Loki has only experienced things till the Avengers movie, there is so much character deep dive they could do! What is the point of giving them their own show and then not talking about them at all??

I'll come to the queer things later cause boy do I have a list for that, but first of all, Loki is not a new character in any capacity??? He has been loved and is arguably the biggest fan favourite since his introduction, the amount of theories about him and what people would like to see is very well known!! Right in front of them is his still unclear feelings in his adoption, about being a Jotun, loosing his family and the complicated relationships with them. I can see they are acknowledging his God of Mischief status a little bit but!! Trickster!! Let us see him be a wild card properly!! Not in the sense of betraying his new TVA family - that's what it is and you can fight me on that- but being chaotic!! Yes, using his magic like with Brad!! SHOW ME HE IS A GOD!!!

The worst thing is how lost everyone feels, like I'm not talking about the whole free will conundrum everyone is going through, that is spectacular! Unfortunately it is not coming across, we literally don't get to hear any of the characters talk about what they think of it. There was the key lime pie moment but no follow up to what that is for Loki? It's just one crisis after another, maybe rehash some of what has already happened, bring back the seriousness of this!! The entire multiverse is at stake but we'll make it look like whimsical wishy-washy stuff??!??!!!

Don't get me wrong, I am LOVING the time travel aspect of it, where it looks like Loki/Mobius are on cute dates. But then make it real, the fucking queerbaiting is ridiculous. The throw-away comment in season one about looking being bi was just that and nothing else. And I'm not saying this cause aww they look cute together! But also cause the development of their relationship has been as such!! They have been very dependent on each other and that's not being addressed at all.

I know there are multiple posts about a possible betrayal and my fear is that they're going to try to use that to basically change everything about the characters again, a lot of OOC based on the fact that oh yeah they're going through an existential crises so it makes sense.

Sylkie made barely any sense to me even apart from the whole selfcest issue- they just imposed a the structure of what a straight relationship should be where there was barely any chemistry. S1 E3 had them as really good chaotic siblings/twins and then adding the romantic tones to that really ruined it. Trying to bring it back, possibly, is just weird cause so far they want very different things. These people just don't align together, stop forcing them to? The fact that they refuse to even talk about that kiss shows that they are keeping it open and not just acknowledging that "hey, we don't want the same things in life and I'm happy for you, you matter a lot to me but a romantic relationship is not happening. Also cause you know, we're the same person, lol."

Sylvie as a character is also very confusing rn, there is honestly no need for her to keep coming back in this way??? I'm going to reserve further opinions because half the season is left but I dont expect anything to really get better.

[miloscat]

[Review] Sonic Free Riders (Xbox 360)

They made hoverboards fun and exciting, then the fans made it actually playable.

After Zero Gravity, Sonic Team were apparently not done with the Riders series. Not done using it for motion control experiments, that is. The next and final instalment was a launch title for Microsoft's ill-fated Kinect motion sensor accessory. This camera apparatus could track a player's full body and so you needed a large, empty area to play your games in, which has never been practical for me. So I considered this game essentially lost media as far as I was concerned, until I recently learned about a mod that reworked the game for traditional controllers that I could use on an emulator. The updated version of this patch was buggy but the original release worked a treat and I was finally able to experience this title.

Compared to previous entries, the plot is very low-stakes. Eggman is hosting another racing tournament in disguise, shenanigans ensue. The cutscenes are merely static character portraits, the dialogue nothing but banter and posturing with the framing device of Omochao reporting on the racing for a TV broadcast. But the strength this has over prior Riders games is including a broader range of the cast, with Teams Rose and Dark being involved and playable in their own story modes in addition to the usual Heroes and Babylon stories. Well, Team Dark is missing Omega and substitutes a random eggbot who is more than it appears in perhaps the only notable story development. And Team Rose is Amy, Cream, and... Vector... so Team Sonic Racing wasn't the first to randomly force him in to fill out another team, or to have a weird addition to Team Rose.

As for the racing, from what I could tell from the tutorial, there's a lot of actions you need to be able to do. It seemed complex and the pace of gameplay quite fast for something you control just with various body motions to an unresponsive IR sensor grid. In other words, compared to Zero Gravity it didn't feel as compromised by the control scheme, and translated reasonably well to a controller, so it's a shame they never officially offered that as an option. The game reviewed terribly at the time on the basis of its controls, but with a pad in hand I had a fun time. Sure it was easy most of the way through, but by the very last stages it did even offer a decent challenge.

There's no drifting, but a heavy turn assist helps with cornering. There's a boost function that drains your air meter, as well as a "lean forward (tilt control stick up) to go faster" mechanic. Stunts are done in Zero Gravity style, by jumping at the right time off a ramp, although you can spin to do a better trick (not supported in the original mod release). Arm flailing is a factor, where you can lean to grab rings that are just off the course, throw items that skew a little more Mario Kart in their effects while still being unique, rub steam or splatter off your screen, or grab poles to swing around and take shortcuts. As a power character you can punch to destroy obstacles, and flight characters have to have arms outstretched to remain airborne when necessary. It sounds exhausting but all these functions are mapped pretty well to a controller in the mod, and I got to grips with them quickly. And while it may sound overloaded with gimmicks, I thought it was a better balance than the previous games of keeping up your pace while doing them, or being ignorable entirely.

It may sound like I'm being contrary but this quickly became my favourite of the Riders games. Because it expects you to be flolloping around, it's so much more forgiving and I found I wasn't constantly struggling against the game and its demands. It integrates a mission-like structure into the campaign so most of the time you're doing various objectives and single-lap runs of the courses in story mode, which moves things along at a quick pace. It also looks gorgeous, the environments varied and ultra-colourful, helped of course by being in HD for the first time. The tracks have fun setpieces like toboggan or minecart sections, jumping onto rooftops, or surfing while being pulled by a dolphin.

Free Riders kind of fulfilled the promise of what I wanted the series to be, for the first time. Fast-paced and bombastic, not overly punishing or bland. It's such a shame that that lively energy had to be locked behind an impractical peripheral gimmick. The assets were all there for a potential conversion or fourth instalment that takes the strengths but makes it play like a normal video game that people can actually play... but alas. As is often the case in the Sonic series, it was up to the fans to fix what Sega had broken, and I'm very thankful to Rei-SanTH for doing so in this case (please fix not being able to turn right on v1.1!).

[fraeuleintaka]

AAIC Gameplay Video (PS5)

This is the 57th post in the Ace Attorney Investigations Collection Countdown: 24 days left until release!

Today's topic: some Gameplay footage from the PS5 version of the collection!

I talked about some of the gameplay we could see from the Switch video but there's also one for PS5 showing other scenes and aspects of the game that I'm going to talk about in this post. (Before you're confused about some of the screenshots, I took them from the Switch video but they also appear in the PS5 video and I wanted to make both posts about the same length so I included them here.)

Going back to the title selection screen for a minute, when you start the game or a case for the first time the artwork isn't unlocked yet which makes sense to avoid potential spoilers and also functions as a sort of reward for finishing the case (the DS versions did this as well). Instead you get this fancy little screen with just the episode title. I love the gold framing that carries through the entire menu design and the outline of the Prosecutor's Badge behind the episode title, it looks gorgeous!

With that we also get the new name for the first case of Investigations 2: Turnabout Trigger (Turnabout Target in the fan translation). I really like Target as a name and Trigger is pretty similar and just as snappy, it's a good choice imo. It even wonderfully foreshadows its relevance for the rest of the game, as this is the case that "triggers" the whole chain of events following it. In that sense the name is particularly meaningful and I love that.

Apparently, before you start the game for the first time you get asked directly to pick the art style that you want to use, it's not set to one of the two by default which is kinda nice. You can always change it during playing, of course. It's also useful to see an example animation directly in the menu so you know exactly what each of the two styles looks like. Very accommodating. The loading screen is great as well, the little burgundy-coloured knight piece fits perfectly! Simple and pretty!

The PS5 video shows some more of the menu structure and options screen. It's about as gorgeous as I expected it to be! The black chess pattern for the save files, the large Prosecutor's Badge outline for the options menu, the gold framing for everything... Love it! There's an Autosave file which is neat when you forget to save and several different save slots available. The options include pretty much all that you could ask for, even adjusting the Text Window Transparency or turning Text Skip on/off altogether. It's so weird to see because I'm still used to playing Ace Attorney games with no such options at all 😄 But it's definitely good to have! You can even change the Automatic Play Speed for the automatic modes. Interestingly, there's a warning that says that you won't be able to get some accolades when using Story Mode. Since you basically get the answers given to you, you don't really "achieve" anything regarding the solutions when playing so it definitely makes sense to disable that. Otherwise you could just skip through the hard parts and still get all the same achievements as the others which would make them feel cheap. But it's definitely something to keep in mind when wanting to use Story Mode to only get through one specific question you don't know the answer to without having to present every piece of evidence randomly; maybe that will already prevent you from getting some/all accolades.

Seeing the chibi sprite animations in continuous action in the gameplay highlights even more how well they work in the interactions and how amazing they look! Just Miles' visibly shocked face when stumbling upon the body in I1-1 followed by him dropping his suitcase without really noticing adds so much to that scene! And his epic side-eye to the intruder threatening him with a gun - even more badass!

It's hard to see on screenshots but the animations are wonderfully fluid and it just looks amazing. They even have some mouth movements for the longer animations when characters are talking. I also don't recall the crowd being this animated during I2-1 in the DS versions. Here, they regularly turn their heads to different directions and some even twitch a little at their spot just like you'd do when being impatient. Or maybe they also did back then and it was just more difficult to see with the pixel graphics... Anyway it looks great and makes the whole scene feel even livelier and more genuine!

I also love how funny Nicole (Tabby Lloyd) looks waving her arms around and trying to get Miles' attention. Waving frantically, standing on her tiptoes, her eager smile when holding the microphone towards him. Everything just comes across even better with all the added details! I genuinely can't express how much I love these new chibi sprites and animations. These two are already my favourite games in the series but with this the experience is gonna be incredible on a whole different level! Can't wait to play through them again myself!

On language, "Ruffles" is a fun nickname for Miles and it's completely in-character for Nicole to call him that! I think she didn't use any kind of nickname in the fan translation but I like this addition, it makes their interactions a little more unique. I don't recall if Lotta has a nickname for him, maybe she adopts this one from her mentee? Would be fun!

Somewhat sadly, I have to report that they changed Miles' iconic "I won't rest until I've inspected every suspicious-looking nook and cranny" line for the 2nd game. In I2 it seems he says "I must scour the scene and inspect anything that catches my attention" whenever you get a close-up view of an area to investigate. It will be missed but that seems to support the interpretation that Miles isn't as obsessed with nooks and crannies as some people might've painted him as 😉

[major spoilers for Investigations 2 in the last section]

As per my last post, I'm not going to do an extensive line-by-line comparison between the two translations but I do want to compare one line directly because it's one of my favourites in I2 and I remember the fan translated version by heart. It's this one here from Huang's (Wang's) speech just before he's shot at.

Fan Translation: "The Hammer of Justice shall be brought down upon all evil!"

Official Translation: "We shall crush the wicked with the righteous hammer of justice!"

Content-wise the two lines are pretty equal, "righteous" doesn't really add anything that isn't conveyed with "of justice". The official version sounds a bit more impressive and fancy whereas "all evil" and the passive voice from the fan translation makes it easier to apply the line in a completely different context. That's the reason I love this line so much: On the surface, Huang is talking about putting a stop to the criminal activities doing harm to his country but since he says this right before the shot of the fake assassin rings out, the moment a certain someone's revenge scheme kicks off, you can also see it as him announcing his and his cronies' own downfall as they are the evil (or wicked) the hammer of justice is brought down upon (or crushing).

I adore this double meaning as it's so wonderfully ironic and poetic in a way and I hoped that the official translation would keep the line similar enough so that it still applies. And it does! Yay!

[yuseirra]

Thanks for keeping quiet about the spoilers if you've been aware of them~ it (being spoiled)had been happening for me over and over for the past month and it had been getting painful, I'd have blocked people who sent that to me at this rate. I was able to.. see it for myself in peace this time hehe

I've seen the full...spoilers (like the whole ch 162)

here's my raw thoughts on that.

I'm honestly not amused... not so surprised either though...

I do hope there's something more to this because there are things that I feel are SO left unexplored, there's a lot I don't like, but if this is all there is to it, it could be, I guess.

I still think.. Fatal is Kamiki's song. That song's vibes IS TRULY what he does feel about Ai, but in a pretty obsessive way I guess... it's not what Aqua would hold towards Ai (or others, like Ruby), that much is made clear in this chapter I feel? and?? Mephisto too?? That HAS to be his song? because it's about wanting to reach out to someone and wanting to meet that person who's already deceased, rather than drifting further apart by sacrificing for their sake. Ruby is alive, and Aqua's in this for her sake, right? And if Kamiki wants to do something about Ai, it should be about him trying to "feel her" or "get closer to her". Aqua and Kamiki's doing the opposite thing here and I feel what Kamiki's doing matches that song more.

at least, that's how I feel about it.

The rest is in the read more:

(I jotted this down as soon as I saw the chapter, in another language~)

I saw spoilers, and seriously???

How do you even "help" someone like this…

I don’t really understand this kind of thought structure or logic…

Wouldn't it be better without the movie arc? If so, I wouldn’t have been so confused either…

If it’s any comfort, I was right about Aqua’s emotions—Aqua really does live for Ruby. I wrote that in an analysis I made earlier(JUST A SINGLE DAY AGO)

(I wrote: Back to the title topic—It’s really obvious that Fatal is Kamiki’s song because,

Though Ai is someone very special and important to Aqua, I think at this point, Ruby is even more precious to him. Aqua still has people around him who are alive, and he has to live for them. Living for the dead is exhausting and hard. There’s so much for him to look forward to (which is, in a way, the essence of what Kamiki says to Aqua in chapter 161). Aqua has Ruby. Ruby is incredibly important to him. He also has Kana and Akane. He’s not at the point where he lives solely for Ai, nor should he be.

Kamiki doesn’t have people like that. Ai is his only reason. To die, to live- whatever he's doing, I feel he's in it for what he THINKS is for her sake.)

I got this part EXACTLY right, didn't I?

For Aqua, Ruby is definitely the most precious person. It’s true that the balance of his life has shifted from Ai to Ruby…

But this is kind of funny… even though it’s a pretty common trope!! I seriously already drew a scene just like this??? The context is different, but still.

In this comic!

What the heck? LOL, so now I feel weird.

THOSE ARE HANDS. IT'S SKETCHY, BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I WAS GOING FOR WHEN I DREW HIM BEING DRAGGED AWAY

I was honestly surprised. I drew this back in September 21st? LOL.

Right now, the story feels a bit disconnected,

Because it makes me feel like Ai’s video or her request… wasn’t really necessary.

If the twins’ reincarnation was really just for Ruby, then Ai was just… there to play the role of the mother? To carry Aqua and Ruby as a vessel..?;

Did it really need to be Ai’s child?

Also, does that mean Aqua’s mission was just to die in Ruby’s place?;;?

It could’ve been phrased like 'Take down Kamiki who's grown evil.' It seems like he’s really deteriorated. How does someone end up like that…

Doesn’t Kamiki need some sort of exorcism at this point? The way he talks, it’s like he’s possessed by an evil spirit.

If in this chapter, there was a scene where he says he wants to see or feel Ai and then manipulates people and kills them, I would’ve accepted it immediately, like, 'Yeah, this guy has to die here.' But there’s still nothing about what happened with Yura or if he killed anyone… there’s no clear image. It's about him saying he can’t die yet, and it’s still just about him wanting to see Ai forever. (And that phrase—doesn’t it overlap with the song IDOL, TV VER, where someone in the chorus goes:

(You're my savior)

(My true savior)

(My saving grace)

(I'm with you forever)

(By your side, forever)?

He's the guy who talks about forever when it comes to Ai, I guess?

The glitch effect and the white star turning into a black star… It really looks like he’s the black star. Or maybe a corrupted white star.

So, what’s he been doing all this time?

If he’s this wicked, why don’t they show us any evidence to back it up? Even as background material, wouldn’t that make sense? It feels like it’s not just laziness in drawing… we should be shown what he’s been up to during this time.

I guess it’s true he tried to kill Ruby oh my god…what kind of guy did Ai date.. I can't believe it. If he dies here, he won’t be able to go to the same place as Ai, but he should at least get smacked by her in hell for what he’s done. What was that even supposed to be…

The story is hard to understand because, when he looked at Ruby and his eyes lit up, why was it a white star? Does killing Ruby mean he can see Ai forever?

Honestly… I still don’t really understand the whole 'shine forever' thing, so it doesn’t emotionally resonate with me.

It feels like this isn’t everything.

Is he really just split between two personalities? What is this guy’s deal? If he’s broken this badly, when did it start? Did he deteriorate right after they broke up and then turn into this person obsessed with Ai being the most important thing in the world?

Aqua won’t die.

If Ai’s will has even the slightest meaning, Kamiki shouldn’t end here, either.

If he’s truly irredeemable, then sure, it makes sense for him to die now. But if the songs are some kind of foreshadowing in ANY way, something might have driven him to become this twisted.

I just don’t see the point of turning him into a completely senseless madman…;;

He really seems to have fallen, but shouldn’t there be more to him having become this way than just having been dumped? Being dumped can turn a "noble" soul into this mess? I don't think so.

I feel like something's gotten him to become this way but who knows? If the author wants to explore it, they will, if they want to wrap it up like this, they would..

well, for Kamiki fans, I bet this will be the LOWEST point he'll ever be (or maybe that we find more dead bodies he hid on the news and go 'wow.. so he DID that' and it'd get even worse) so on the bright side, there's only something..you'll feel you can look forward to. Ai's wish is our only hope, why IS that thrown in there? They didn't have to make her say that, so I'm still bothered because i feel that arc somehow.. is a buildup that's led us to recognize saving him is what Ai's wanted.

It's not too long ago since that was addressed, so would they really make it go to waste, I wonder. Because if this guy isn't helped, it's not just about Kamiki as a character but; it's about leaving what Ai wanted as a lost cause.

That guy has seriously gone nuts though, I'm kind of worried not for the manga's sake but for his... what made him like that?? Is it really only him that's brought that upon himself because, I feel he used to be a really kind soul? Or did I just misinterpret him all along? He doesn't seem sane now... I wonder if I'll be able to pity him or not, it'll really depend - whether if he's what he's chosen to be or was possessed/against his will that he became like this.

is it hiatus next week? I hope not, right?

I guess I can.. just sit down and watch whatever they throw at me now. The art was pretty good! I don't like the chapter! but I also feel like regardless of where the story heads (may this chapter be all there is to it or having more twists to it later), this chapter WAS something that was planned. That's why I'm not that surprised.

[summerwritesfics]

🗺️We’re Far From Anything That Feels Like Home

Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang, Onesided Quan Chi/Kuai Liang Length: 2545 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Alien AU, Royal AU, Alien!Kuai Liang, Prince!Kuai Liang, Alien!Bi-Han, Prince!Bi-Han, Alien!Quan Chi, Personal Assistant!Hanzo Hasashi, First Meetings, Arranged Marriage, Potentially Forced Marriage (idk Kuai’s pretty reluctant to go through with it), Marriage as part of a deal, Arguing AU-Gust 2024 Day 31: Two Of The Above (Secretly Alien + Princes & Princesses)

AU-Gust 2024 Masterlist

Notes: Aaaa last day! I don’t know how I got through but I did! TT0TT Last prompt was to combine two of the previous prompts and I just got this idea of Kuai & Bi-Han as secret alien princes and ran with it lol. Title is from Frozen by Celldweller

Kuai stared out of the limo window, casually fanning himself as he watched the world go by. Earth was a strange little planet, and much warmer than Artika was. Though given Artika was an ice planet it wasn’t too hard to be warmer.

“Remember, let me do the talking,” Bi-Han ordered, and Kuai looked away from the window to observe his brother. “These humans are a tricky bunch.”

“I am confused about what we are hoping to achieve here, brother,” Kuai admitted, returning to look through the window. His attention was caught by a lady and her pet dog, running down the street to try and catch a bus. Public transport was a novelty to Kuai Liang, and at some point while he was on this planet, he would convince Bi-Han to let him ride at least one train. “If we are not supposed to be noticed on this planet, then surely selling our planet's goods will arouse suspicion?”

“Let me deal with that, Kuai Liang,” Bi-Han huffed and Kuai could only frown. Why did everyone always treat him like he was incapable of even the most basic task? What is the point of me even being here? “All you need to do is sit down and flutter your eyelashes, and win this man over.”

“So, what? You want me to seduce him?” Kuai sarcastically replied. If that was all Bi-Han thought Kuai Liang was good at, it was extremely insulting. Sure, Kuai Liang had a way with people, but that didn’t mean it was his only skill.

“You know that’s not what I mean,” Bi-Han growled and Kuai found himself rolling his eyes. He sometimes forgot how weird Bi-Han could be regarding Kuai Liang and potential suitors. “Be friendly, but not that friendly.”

“Uh huh.” It wasn’t worth fighting over. Kuai had learnt a long time ago there was no point in doing so. Bi-Han’s will tended to be absolute.

“We’re here, your majesties,” Tomas called back to them from the driver's seat.

“Thank you, Tomas,” Bi-Han replied, reaching over for the door handle. “We shouldn’t be too long.”

“Good luck, Prince Kuai,” Tomas shouted once Bi-Han was out of the limo.

“Thank you, I’m going to need it,” Kuai muttered, hearing Tomas chuckling behind him. He shook his head, slipping out into the street.

Ahead of him, there was a large skyscraper. Human resourcefulness always surprised him. They could make such impressive structures with very little technology. He slowly followed Bi-Han inside the building, breathing a sigh of relief when he was immediately hit with the building’s air conditioning. Probably his favourite invention of humanity, if only because it helped cool him down immensely.

“Ah, Mr. Song,” a voice called out to them, and Kuai looked around in time to see a man in a red suit walking towards them. He was tall, bald, and had red tattoos over his head. Kuai Liang swore he’d seen the markings before, but he couldn’t put his finger on where. “I’m Quan Chi, it’s nice to finally meet you at last.”

“Likewise,” Bi-Han replied, holding out his hand so Quan Chi could shake it. “This is my younger brother, Kuai Liang.”

“Lovely to meet you,” Quan Chi claimed, reaching out for Kuai Liang’s hand too.

“Ah, you too,” Kuai awkwardly replied, holding his hand out. He was surprised when instead of shaking, Quan Chi brought Kuai’s hand up to his mouth and kissed the knuckle. Kuai made a short squeak, pulling his hand back and looking toward Bi-Han. Big brother looked less than impressed by the move, but to Kuai’s surprise didn’t say anything.

“If you’d both like to follow me, we have a lot to discuss,” Quan Chi continued, voice light like he was oblivious to Bi-Han’s anger, but the smirk told Kuai he knew exactly what he’d done.

As Quan Chi turned his back to them, Bi-Han shot Kuai Liang a look. Without speaking, he knew that Bi-Han was debating killing the guy. Kuai just shook his head, before going to follow Quan Chi, Bi-Han striding beside him.

The three of them ended up in an elevator, Quan Chi clicking the buttons for the floor they needed. Kuai Liang took the chance to get a better look at those tattoos. The more he looked at them… He swore these were symbols from Netherrealm. How would a human know of symbols from a planet they didn’t know existed?

Unless… Quan Chi wasn’t a human.

Kuai Liang couldn’t ask if the man was a human and asking if he was an alien would look strange. If Bi-Han knew, he hadn’t mentioned it, and given their situation, Kuai couldn’t ask him either. He bit his tongue, keeping his suspicion to himself, even as the elevator doors slid open and he followed Quan Chi out and across to an office.

“Please, take a seat,” Quan Chi offered as he gestured to two chairs in front of a desk. Kuai and Bi-Han did so, as Quan Chi walked around to take the seat on the other side. “Now, your sample product was very interesting. I’ve never seen anything on Earth like it, I just had to learn more about it.”

Wait. On Earth?

Bi-Han seemed to miss that as he countered with “yes, our scientists have been working on the materials for a while now.”

“Would these be your human scientists or the one’s back on Artika?”

I knew it. Kuai glanced over to Bi-Han, who looked surprised by the question. So it seemed he hadn’t known beforehand that Quan Chi was also not from Earth.

“Relax, your majesties,” Quan Chi said in a reassuring tone, holding his hand out flat. “I’m not exactly from Earth myself, I’m not about to reveal what you both are.”

“Then what do you want?” Bi-Han demanded, slamming a hand down on the desk. “Because you went out of your way to get my attention. You have it. So, why did you want it so badly?”

“I wish to propose an alliance on behalf of Lord Shinnok of Netherrealm,” Quan Chi explained, holding his hands together in front of him. So, Kuai was right again then, he was from Netherrealm. “It seems both our planets are interested in Earth, so, why not combine our forces?”

“What exactly do you propose?” Bi-Han questioned, glancing at Kuai Liang. He wasn’t happy about this, but didn’t seem completely opposed to the idea.

“Well, I am genuinely interested in the wares you are selling here, particularly your steel. It had properties that I have genuinely never seen before.” Quan Chi smiled, as he tilted his head. “Netherrealm has some interesting wares, weapons that could bring entire armies to their knees. You share yours with us, and we’ll share ours.”

“Interesting. I would want to see these wares first,” Bi-han explained, crossing his arms over his chest. “And what exactly would prevent you from betraying us the second you get your hands on what you want?”

“Well, it is tradition on Netherrealm, that large deals are accompanied by an arranged marriage as a symbol of unity.” Was that true? Kuai Liang hadn’t done any research into this aspect of Netherrealm culture. He would have to look into it. From the corner of his eye, he could see Bi-Han shift uncomfortably, clearly expecting to be the subject of the arrangement. “As the leading force in the deals, I would be the one put forth on our end. And as for yours…” Quan Chi’s eyes landed on Kuai Liang, and suddenly he got a sinking feeling on where this was going. “Well, I believe your youngest Prince is available, is he not?”

“Absolutely not,” Kuai blurted out, feeling his entire face going hot. He opened his fan, trying to cool himself down and ignore the somewhat amused look on Quan Chi’s face. “I refuse to go through with such absurdity.”

“Kuai Liang,” Bi-Han softly warned beside him and Kuai couldn’t stop his head from snapping around, eyes wide with shock. Bi-Han, his beloved big brother, the man who had chased away every single suitor who had ever come before Kuai, was agreeing with this?

“You cannot seriously expect me to go along with this, Bi-Han?” Kuai exclaimed. He’d chased off far more trustworthy individuals than Quan Chi before now. Men Kuai Liang was actually interested in.

“It is just a suggestion,” Bi-Han said as if this was no big deal.

Kuai Liang scoffed, “and would it be just a suggestion if it were your hand he was asking for?”

Bi-Han’s eyes narrowed, and it was clear that was in part where this was coming from.

“That is irrelevant. He asked for you, not me.” In all their years, Kuai Liang had never felt more hurt and betrayed. That Bi-Han would sacrifice Kuai Liang in order to avoid an uncomfortable situation. “Besides, this will not be either of our choices. It will be Fathers.”

“Like hell it won’t be my choice,” Kuai shouted as he stood up and dramatically stormed over to the door. “There is nothing you or Father can say to make me go through with this. I. Refuse.”

He opened the door, slamming it behind him as he stepped outside. He stomped over to the wall opposite, throwing himself against it and letting out a frustrated growl. Hit his fists against the wall, he tried desperately to suppress his rage. This felt silly, like he was a child having a tantrum, but did he not have the right to be angry about this? Did his autonomy mean that little? Would Father reallyagree to just handing over his son in the name of an alliance?

“Um. Are you okay?”

Kuai spun around to where the voice came from. There was a man standing not too far off, holding a coffee cup and looking at Kuai with a very concerned expression on his face.

“Oh. Um. Yes. Sorry, just… A little frustrated about something,” Kuai explained with a sheepish smile, glancing back towards the door to Quan Chi’s office. Bi-Han hadn’t come after him yet, so he could only imagine they were continuing to discuss the details of the deal.

“Something Quan Chi did?” The man questioned with an eyebrow raised. Kuai nodded and the man laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me. He is a very frustrating individual to deal with.”

And Bi-Han wants me to marry him. Yikes.

“Do you work for him then?” Kuai asked, pushing himself away from the wall to approach the man.

“I’m his personal assistant, Hanzo Hasashi.” Hanzo held out a hand to shake Kuai’s hand. To Kuai’s relief he did a normal shake, and not the weird knuckle kissing Quan Chi did earlier.

In hindsight, his desire to marry me should have been obvious.

“Song Kuai Liang, second in command of Lin Kuei Industries,” Kuai introduced himself with a smile.

“Ah. Yes, he did mention having a meeting with yourself and your brother today.” Hanzo looked towards the door and grimaced. “I do hope he didn’t say anything to offend you.”

“Not offend, just…” Kuai sighed, he didn’t exactly know how to explain. From what he could tell, Hanzo was a human, and probably didn’t know of places like Artika or Netherrealm. Kuai knew arranged marriages did happen on Earth, but they tended to be within certain cultures. “I do not agree too much with the terms of his proposed agreement.”

“Somehow that does not surprise me,” Hanzo sighed, running a hand through his hair and taking a sip of his coffee. “I may work for him, but sometimes I do wonder how the hell he does any business with the way he acts.” Hanzo shook his head. “You’d think he was an alien sometimes, with zero knowledge of human culture.”

Kuai really hoped his laugh wasn’t as nervous sounding to Hanzo as it was to him. Curious, that Hanzo should come to the correct conclusion without even knowing it.

“You might be onto something there,” Kuai tried to joke, hoping it would cover his own weird behaviour at the suggestion. “He definitely didn’t seem to understand why I’d be upset at the suggestion of marriage.”

Hanzo spluttered, spitting his coffee back into his cup. He continued to cough for a couple of seconds, slamming his fist against his chest.

“You’re kidding me?” Hanzo got out between laboured breaths. “He actually suggested that?” Kuai nodded, watching in sympathy as Hanzo rubbed his chest. “No wonder you were so angry. I hope you’re not actually considering going through with it.”

“Oh, believe me I do not want to,” Kuai claimed, shooting a glare towards the door. He still couldn’t believe this. “But apparently, it might not be my choice, it might be my Father’s.”

When he turned back, Hanzo was wincing and he muttered “I have never been more glad to not be from a rich family as I am right now.”

Kuai laughed at that. “It does have its downsides.”

Before they could talk more, the door opened, and Bi-Han stepped out of the office. His eyes darted between Kuai Liang and Hanzo, before narrowing in Hanzo’s direction.

“What is going on here?” Bi-Han hissed, looking like he was about to punch Hanzo in the face. Oh, so now he wanted to be the overprotective big brother, huh?

“He’s Quan Chi’s personal assistant,” Kuai Liang explained, clenching his fists. “We were just talking.”

Bi-Han rolled his eyes, coming over and grabbing Kuai by the arm. ��We’re leaving, we need to discuss everything with Father.”

Kuai huffed, but looked towards Hanzo and offered him a smile. “It was nice to meet you.”

“Likewise.” Hanzo briefly looked towards Bi-Han, before he added “I hope we see each other again sometime.”

“I’d like that.”

Before Kuai could say anything more, he felt his arm being roughly yanked and then he was being dragged towards the elevator. Bi-Han basically threw him inside, before getting in himself and punching in the buttons. As the door slid closed, Kuai got one last look at Hanzo, standing with an eyebrow raised and his teeth bared. Soon though, he was cut off and the elevator started to go down.

When the doors reopened, there was no time to react before Bi-Han was grabbing him once more and guiding him out of the building. He was bundled into the back of the limo, and the next thing he knew, Bi-Han was sitting opposite him, a scowl all over his face. Kuai just held his head up in defiance.

“Hello your majesties, did the meeting go well?” Tomas cheerfully called from the front, completely oblivious to the tension between the two brothers.

Kuai stared Bi-Han down, as his brother did the same. Neither spoke for a long time. Tomas coughed awkwardly, finally gathering that it ended badly. He just started the engine, and began to drive off.

“I am not marrying him,” Kuai Liang finally announced, hands clenching the seat he was sitting on.

“We will see what father says,” Bi-Han snidely replied.

Kuai just gave an angry growl, before turning away to look out of the window.

If his Father decided to accept the deal, there was no way in hell Kuai Liang was going to make things easy for anyone involved.