#i love love love the girls designs in part 1 it makes me hate even more how the girls look in burrito

[mistninja]

Honestly i hate praising kishimoto for doing the bare minimum but looking at most big shonen authors one does have to appreciate that for all his faults writing female characters at least he didnt sexualize the young girls and even the adult women who do get sexy designs still get like. Good designs. And not nearly as much fanservice as other shonen series

[starbluekindo]

LOML (part 3)

synopsis: you and victoria are destined to meet, not to be together.

cw: victoria neuman × fem!reader, angust, traumatic past (quoted), red river (quoted), reader is a supe with necromancy, childhood love, character death, mentions of depression?, smut, nsfw…

part!1 part!2

a/n: this was longer than it should have been ;-;

english is not my first language and i don't have much experience writing, so it may contain errors.

you haven't had good experiences with your powers. being a five-year-old child and seeing all the dead people in a room and even more so talking to them, feeling them, was not a cool experience.

you spent years being haunted by the dead who seemed to haunt you every step you took, they seemed to take some kind of twisted pleasure in tormenting a child. that's what you thought for years until you discovered that most of the ghosts that haunted you just wanted the chance to tell their story, the chance to say goodbye.

and you stopped being afraid of them, after all they couldn't hurt you if you ignored them.

it wasn't an easy path to have the level of control you have today. pretending not to see the desperate child in the corner of your room begging for help or the woman in the mirror with sad eyes was painful for you and when you arrived at the red river... all those poor souls tormented you as you cried and begged them to shut up the fucking mouth.

but then you met victoria and it was like the whole world fell silent for the first time for you. she was your lighthouse, guiding you without even knowing it through the sea of ​​souls that insisted on drowning you every day. losing her was like losing yourself, but having her back gave you life.

the following months were the best you could have in your entire life.

you had victoria by your side after years of waiting. years of forced separation, finally ending in happy moments with her. you and her went to bars, restaurants, museums and every art exhibition you could find, every moment unique and special with her.

it was an understatement to say you were happy, you were radiant.

“oh come on, she’s just a teenager, baby… she’s not going to kill you” victoria said in a carefree manner as she cut some vegetables for your dinner.

“vicky, we’re talking about your daughter” you were on the verge of having a nervous breakdown. for some reason you didn’t know, meeting victoria’s daughter terrified you. “what if she hates me and decides i’m not good enough for her mother? what if I mess up? and if-”

you didn't have time to finish your self-deprecating litany, not when victoria's lips were in contact with yours again, her body pinning you against the kitchen counter. her hands held your waist, pushing you onto the cold material of the counter.

“shh… what do you say we skip dinner and I feast on you?” she bit your earlobe, her hands moving to your thighs, playing with the fabric of your shorts.

“fuck…” you sighed and leaned your forehead against hers, closing your eyes as a small smile formed on your lips “i can’t let dinner burn again, vicky”

“we can always eat out, pretty girl” her lips find the skin of your neck, kissing, biting and sucking, each action designed to draw a desperate moan from your lips. her hands move to the hem of your shirt, slowly pushing the fabric up. touching you, as if touching something fragile.

“such a beautiful girl” she whispers against your skin. fingers gripping the hem of your shirt and she pushes the fabric up, away from your body.

her tongue circles the bud of your breast before leaving a bite on the spot making you shudder, moving her lips to suck a bruise on the skin of your breast “good?” victoria's lips move to her other breast, her teeth lightly nibbling at the flesh, molding it into her mouth as she alternates between one and the other, her free hand making its way through the thin fabric of her shorts, her fingers slipping inside her panties to meet the wet heat of your sex.

the feeling of her fingers inside you, coupled with the way her mouth works on your breasts, is enough to make you squirm on the counter, your moans a sweet symphony that she is more than happy to lead.

“do you like this, love?” she purrs, her voice a seductive rasp. she removes her fingers, coated with your wetness, and brings them to her mouth, licking them clean, "so ready for me, aren't you?" you can barely speak, the sight of her being enough to make you moan again. she easily rips off her shorts in a simple and practical movement, throwing the rest of the fabric to the floor.

she pushes your panties to the side, her fingers replacing them, sliding in and out of you, her thumb rubbing your clit in a slow, sensual rhythm. her lips leave your breasts, leaving a trail of kisses down your stomach, your body trembling with each touch.

“you’re my sweet girl,” she says, her voice low and possessive, as her mouth finds your sex, her tongue parting your folds to taste you. “you always have been and you always will be”

“so fucking good” you mumble and close your eyes as you throw your head back, biting your bottom lip to keep from screaming (and getting another complaint from your property manager). one of your hands finds its way between the silky strands of victoria's hair, encouraging the brunette to go deeper and your other hand rests on the edge of the counter, squeezing tightly.

her tongue works wonders on you, taking you to heaven with each lick, her fingers filling you in the way you needed her most. you squeezed victoria's scalp, her eyes fixed on you as her moans grew louder. “please vicky” you whimper and open your eyes looking for her, pupils dilated and pleading.

victoria smiles, her eyes fixed on yours, as she takes you into her mouth, sucking and licking you with a fervor that shows she is starving for you. her fingers continue their rhythm, her pace increasing as she feels your body contracting, your moans getting louder.

she knows that look in your eyes, the way you're begging for release, and she's more than happy to oblige. her tongue flicks over your clit, her fingers pushing deep inside you, the pressure building inside you like a storm.

“come for me, pretty girl,” she orders, her voice low and commanding, “let go”

and you do. you come undone, your body shuddering, your moans turning into screams as you reach that peak. victoria sucks and licks you, milking every last drop of pleasure from you, her own body trembling with satisfaction as she witnesses your release.

she pulls away, her lips and chin wet with your essence, a smile playing on her mouth as she watches your chest rise and fall with each ragged breath.

“good girl” she runs her tongue between her lips before approaching you and engulfing you in a passionate kiss letting you taste yourself in her.

you finally had it all again

until there's nothing left

things weren't supposed to happen like this, victoria didn't plan for it to happen, but hey... no one can control everything - not even neuman.

you blamed homelander for fucking up the perfect life you were having after years of fighting, that bastard had fucked up everything.

It was already the fifth call you made to victoria that she refused and it was driving you crazy. you felt like the red river again when she left. not even the traffic was cooperating with you, leaving you unable to leave the car.

you felt scared, you felt scared as hell about everything that could happen. you hated that bitter feeling in your mouth, you hated feeling like a child again. as soon as the light changed again you finally managed to leave the place, passing all possible red lights and at the exact moment you looked at the car's rear view mirror you saw her.

the woman with the sad eyes who haunted you during your childhood.

something really bad was going to happen, you knew it, she told you that.

as soon as you entered victoria's house it was like a part of you was broken, seeing her in such an emotional state made your stomach hurt and the only thing you could do was bend down to hug her, feeling the tears of her to wet your shirt.

even the strongest of soldiers could be shot down.

“you shouldn’t be here…it’s not safe to be with me anymore” her words left you in disbelief, but no real effort was made to take you away from her.

“where else would I be but here?” ‘safely’ victoria thought and bit her tongue to respond, hiding her face in her shirt.

you waited until she was a little calmer and listened to her carefully, you saw her completely lost and with little hope - something you weren't used to seeing in the brunette.

“we can leave the country, hide somewhere safe for a while… just until things get a little better” you suggested as you stroked her scalp, keeping her in your arms to convey warmth and security to her.

“i can't do this to zoe, i can't do this to you” she murmured and closed her eyes. she had the feeling that her body was heavier than normal. “i would be putting you both in danger and i wouldn't forgive myself if something happened to you or her.”

“nothing will happen” you both knew that was a lie, deep down you both already expected the worst. lying to yourself was the best way to stay confident - and at the moment it was all you needed.

“i need you to promise me that you will take care of zoe if something really bad happens”

“vicky, nothing-”

“i need it” her voice was more serious now, her eyes were still filled with tears and she was looking at you in a way that left you no choice “please… we both know that you are the best between the two of us who can keep a promise”

"i promise”

her lips met yours in a desperate kiss, as if it were a silent goodbye between you. you reciprocated without even thinking, your hands holding her face to pull her closer, not wanting that moment to end.

“i have to go” victoria whispered as she separated her lips from yours, her forehead touching yours “i have to try to do the right thing at least one last time”

she barely lets you protest, giving you another goodbye kiss, taking longer than last time to pull away “just wait for me”

and it was with those words that you lost her again. It was as if the entire world came to a standstill when the news announced that the vice president-elect had been assassinated just hours after being revealed to the world as a super.

your pain is like a choked scream in your chest. each shared memory turns into an open wound, and absence spreads like a cold shadow, enveloping everything around it. knowing that you could, in theory, bring back your girlfriend, but at the same time being aware of the horror that would entail, is a torment that tears you apart inside.

you didn't even have access to the body.

the rage that consumes you is devastating. you not only feel the impact of the loss, but also an unrelenting rage against the world around you. everything you fought to build with victoria was brutally ripped away. your indignation against the forces that caused this separation is overwhelming, but the anger is also directed at yourself, for what she considers to be her own powerlessness. as a necromancer, the power to manipulate life and death is in your hands, but you are unable to change what matters most.

you find yourself in a months-long spiral of pain and suffering. the depression that invades you is as heavy as the darkness your power summons. at every turn, you are haunted by the vision of victoria, not as she was, but as a distorted memory that your power allows you to see, reanimating her in moments of despair. it consumes you in such a way that the line between grief and obsession begins to blur. the world loses all meaning, and you find yourself adrift, in a place where the shadows seem to constantly whisper, offering the temptation to bring victoria back, even though you know it would only be a cruel parody of what she was.

you couldn't cheat death, no matter how smart you were.

but you remember the promise you made and feel obliged to fulfill it. you finally left the house after being away from the sunlight for so long and drove to the damn place you swore you would never set foot in again, finding yourself facing your worst nightmare.

everything in that place makes you want to vomit, the same old ghosts that tormented you as a child were still there, with a smile that was almost too cruel for you. the sound of your heels hitting the wooden floor echoed through the hallway as you followed red river's new director to the wing where the children usually stayed.

and when you saw her isolated in the corner, away from the other children, it was like going back to the past again. you forced yourself to hold back the tears when you saw zoe's resemblance to victoria and she was... perfect.

you didn't say another word to the woman next to you and walked towards the girl, bending down in front of her and getting a suspicious look from zoe.

“you’re just like her…” you whispered and placed a hand on the girl’s cheek, her eyes watering to the point where a tear escaped “i’m going to take you home”

you would keep your word, you would keep zoe safe and you would hunt even in hell the person responsible who took victoria from you two.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Carpe Noctem 1

Warnings: dark elements, noncon, age gap, other dark elements. Proceed with caution. (short!reader)

Note: thank you for waiting! Please let me know what you think as it helps me a lot with ideas and I love interacting with you all.

Part of The Club AU

The condensation of the glass drips from your fingers.. You hate the feeling, slick and slightly irritating. You switch hands as you sway to the music, penned in by strangers as you try to see past them. You’re a bit awkward, off on your own, but no one seems to notice as you stand nearly a head below the rest of clubbers.

You stand on your toes but it doesn’t help. The music and the haze of voices doesn’t help your search. You yipe as you feel a tug on your arm. You turn to Sabrina and Selena, the tall blondes with cocktails as identical as they are. The twins are stunning individually, but together, they’re gobsmackingly gorgeous. And, you must admit, chaotic.

“Where did you two get off to?” You yell over the music.

“Mom!” Selena teases as she rolls her eyes.

“Someone has to keep an eye on you two.”

“We were just getting drinks, duh!” Sabrina shows her bright pink cocktail and takes a slurp through the skinny straw.

“Right,” you look at your ginger ale, the ice has already melted. Responsible and bland, just like you. Designated driver and designated mom friend. “I’m sure that’s all you were doing.”

“Well,” Selena smirks, “we did meet a guy.”

“Really?” You tilt your head sardonically, “you said this was a girls’ night. No dudes.”

“Relax, we know Johnny would have a fit, alright? It’s not like that, we’d just go up for the drinks.”

“You have drinks,” you counter, “and go up where?”

“Private room,” Sabrina says, “come on, don’t be a sourpuss! When’s the last time you went to a private room?”

You almost snarl. They know you aren’t the club sort and it’s obvious you don’t have the looks to be invited up to some playboys crow’s nest. Besides, it gives you the ick. Those men standing up there leering from the windows like some deranged lookouts.

“Are you asking me or telling me?” You rebuff.

“Come on, pleeeeaaaaassseeee,” Sabrina pouts, “we promise, we’re not going to hook up. We’re just going to flirt our way into bottle service.”

“Look, you come up and we’ll pay for the uber. Since we won’t be paying for booze, we’ll be able to afford it,” Selena winks.

“I don’t really…” you sigh. It’s two against one, as always. Even if you wanted to drink, you know you can’t. You have to keep an eye on these two. “Fine, but I mean it. No hook ups. And I don’t want to be up there all night.”

“Yessss!” Selena throws her fist up.

“Ugh, you guys,” you roll your eyes, “you make me feel like a bitch.”

“No, you’re just the responsible one,” Sabrina chuckles and turns on her heel, “come on! Before someone else takes our spot.”

“Are you sure… it’s okay that I’m with you?” You ask as you trail after them, speaking to the end of their long ponytails.

“Of course, we said we had a third. Just… play along.”

“Play along? What does that mean?”

“You don’t have to make out with anyone but like, don’t be frigid.”

“You are making me regret my decision already,” you retort.

“Come on. You can handle it. You’ve never had any issue giving a guy a swat. He gets too handsy and–” she flicks her hand above her shoulder so you can see, “give him one.”

You hold back your complaints. You know once the twins have their minds set, there’s not changing them. All you can do is act as chaperone and make sure they don’t get too messy.

You follow them to a set of spiral stairs and climb up behind them, balancing your ginger ale perilously as you refuse to look down and see the height building below you. Sabrina leads the way, striding up to a door with a golden snake on it. She knocks and peeks over her shoulder, giving a wink. 

It opens and a man appears, clean shaven with neatly parted hair, a glint in his blue eyes as he smirks at Sabrina.

“Selena?” He asks.

“I’m Sab,” she chides.

“Ah, I’ll figure it out,” he kids, “come in.”

He leaves the door open as Sabrina enters, then Selena, and you reluctantly bring up the rear. The music is muffled by the walls as you do and your ears feel ready to pop. You take a drink of your soda to hide your discomfort. 

“Twins,” another man muses. He sits on the sofa, an arm across the back. A satin shirt is unbuttoned way too low on his chest, the mustache adding to the allusion to Tom Selleck several decades ago. 

You’re used to being overshadowed by the twins. You really don’t mind given the circumstance, you have a boyfriend. You nurse the ginger ale as a third man approaches; tall, blonde, and sleek in a powder blue jacket. Probably the best looking of the trio.

“Jonathan,” he introduces himself to the twins.

“Sabrina and Selena,” the man who answered the door stretches his arms around the twins’ waists.

“And our friend,” Selena makes sure to introduce you, waving you forward.

“Ah, pardon.”

“This is Ransom,” Sabrina leans into the man between them.

The man from the couch says nothing, almost scowling as he watches Selena, her eyes on Jonathan as she accepts a polite kiss on the cheek. Yep, doesn’t feel great to be third wheel, though it saves you a lot of trouble.

The girls fall into a low conversation with Ransom and Jonathan. You hover and hesitate before sitting on the other end of the couch, staring at the bubbles rising to the top of your soda. Awkward.

“Couldn’t have found triplets,” the man grumbles as he twists a golden ring on his finger.

“Sorry to disappoint,” you snip.

He looks at you, almost surprised to find you there. His cheek twitches and he sighs, pushing himself up with the armrest. “I need a fucking drink.”

So much for pretenses. You watch him go to the small bar in the corner and you turn your attention to the windows flashing with a spectrum of lights. It’s not entirely unexpected for the night to take this turn, you were just hoping it wouldn’t.

[zluty-spendlik]

WAKFU REDESIGN AND REWRITE SERIES – PART 1

Evangelyne

Evangelyne used to be my favorite character growing up, which kind of sucks since she’s one of the flattest characters considering how much screentime she has.

Even when I was a little kid and watched this show I found it annoying how she was constantly drooled over by the guys and these days its pretty obvious she’s a very stereotypical not-like-the-other-girls girl, created solely to be Percedal’s (the literal incarnation of the expected target audience) love interest.

SHE EVEN HAS THE WHOLE „I let my hair down and now am so much prettier“ ARC HAPPEN FRICKING TWICE IN THE SPAN OF. WHAT- 5 EPISODES???

Evangelyne is a misogynistic character on so many levels, the only Eva-centric episodes we get are either ones she needs saving in (like Vampyro or the pirate one), or when she has a love arc with Percedal (the whole Rubilaxia shtick, or the tree of Life episode).

Honestly the only bearable scenes where she shows up are those where she interacts with Amalia and even those get twisted into weird sexist tropes: Evangelyne critisizing Amalia for buying too much clothes, or overall cringing at Amalia’s „too girly“ behaviour.

Even when they have a touching conversation after freeing Amalia’s father from the Tree of Life, Amalia immediatelly brings up Percedal and fails the Bechdel test.

I won’t even touch the Cleophée (or Cleome in english) trainwreck  the writers pulled in season 2 or the whole pregnant-damsel-in-distress thing she had going on in season 3- I didn’t watch season 3 and 4 mostly because I got so mad after the misogyny happening in the first episode and I didnt want to ruin my already fragile excitement over the series.

But don’t get me wrong – Even tho Wakfu has a lot of potential for growth, I still love the series dearly, and would love to give the characters justice. It is important to note that I am not a professional writer and Im mostly doing this for my own indulgence, so please feel free to throw constructive critisism towards me.

Character rewrite

We don’t know much about Evangelyne’s backstory, or rather her story before she meets Amalia – And in my head as a kid, I always assumed she was an orphaned kid basically living on the street with Cleophée, until someone (presumably Armand, since he has a long-term crush on her and Amalia hated her at first) took pity on her and took her to the palace (once I figure out Cleophées design Ill explain what happens with her).

Fast forward a couple years, Eva is officially Amalia’s bodyguard, yadayadayada.

Important thing is, that this shapes Evangelyne’s personality and self-perception –

I have divided my potential Eva Arc into 3.5 Categories:

Self-protection and perservation

Eva knows how dangerous the world can be (streets) and how serious her job is, but she’s only seventeen. She takes her job way too seriously, in the sense that she doesnt trust anybody they meet (which is especially shown when they meet the Tofu gang). She doesn’t want anyone but Amalia close and deep down, she’s scared of other people.

She is horrible at teamwork, which only frustrates her and everyone around her. She fails to see the affection Amalia has for her, because her entire self is just a bodyguard.

She doesn’t know who she is without that.

Depression

Dally’s sacrifce absolutely traumatizes Eva, both in the canon and my version. It doesnt need to be seen as romantic tho (we’ll get to that). On top of that AMALIA BRIEFLY DIES AND COMES BACK. Can you HEAR Evangelyne’s entire purpose crumbling down?

In her head, two people just died because of her.

Besides, Percedal sacrifices himself because he cares for her. Not as a „coworker“ or a teammate, but as a friend and Evangelyne cannot fathom that sort of service and relationship.

And even though she failed, her friends are there to support her.  Eva learns compassion.

Self-destruction

However, she now feels she has to „make up“ for her lack of compassion and her failings as a bodyguard. Long story short, she completely flips to the other extreme, basically throwing herself in any sort of danger to protect her friends  (hence when she hears Dally, she immediatelly goes to Rubilaxia). In the show this is less extreme but portrayed as her real and true personality: more reckless and adventureous – but i think the writers just wanted Eva to finally have something in common with Dally (which, btw, uncool), but I’d like this to be portrayed as a bad thing.

Eva fails to see that she’s hurting herself and fails to recognize herself as a person rather than basically a human shield. This arc climaxes in the Cleophée episode and Eva learns that compassion is not transactional, or something to be earned.

Her true self

Evangelyne's final form! We dont know much about Eva's hobbies other than her job and fighting skills, HOWEVER Dally mentions Eva taught him tracking at one point and tbh Evangelyne being a ranger or just studying nature fits her pretty well imo! She is also canonically artistic (as confirmed by the journal she keeps).

I take issue with Evangelyne always being seen as the “mom of the group”. Yes, she's smart and responsible and caring, but that's her job, she's an older sister, less of a mother figure and more of an equal to the others in the gang.

Design

In s1, Id like her to wear a lot of armour with chainmail directly on her skin (haha get it because trust issues), and with a mostly green colour palette, cause, Sadida kingdom yk.

In her s2 look, she throws away most of her armour and self perservation instincts and since her personality completely flips, so does her colour palette - red! The first aid kit is gone and she wears an ascot now (a torn bit from Dally's cape lol).

And finally, i made her a furry I gave her some gadget shoes from Cleophée, helping her move faster, I put some of the armour back and made her hair longer. Her colour palette now consists not only green, but also the "Yugo blue", which i plan on incorporating in everyone's final design :D

AND FINALLY, AN ART DUMP

[sweetmariihs2]

My stf controversial opinions (no one asked) don't be mad at me pls don't take me seriously

I see Cedric being more like Sofia's uncle figure than father figure (he's the crazy uncle). Their bond together is definitely sweet but I think Cedric it's not a very parental guy and Roland would find their bond a bit weird since he's Sofia's father now. While Roland takes care of Sofia, Cedric gives her sweets and takes her to crazy places with him (like the sorcerers convention). He's defo the cool uncle for her even though everyone sees him as this weird guy

I don't see the appeal in cedlock but honestly I don't mind seeing stuff about them, it's a funny dynamic (please can someone explain them to me? I'm not joking)

which is funny because I'm so in love with Lorelei, Cedric and Roland's love triangle even though it's 100% fanon and they never appear together in the show at all

I don't shipp any of the children in stf, even though I get why some shipps are famous like Sofia x Hugo or Amber x Desmond, I just can't get used to the idea somehow, I can't see the chemistry, better saying. But it's nice!!! I also see it as a fun dynamic

I can't hate Wormwood, even after betraying Cedric he can't make me mad

The same applies to Cordelia. I think her character is a bit shallow :( we should have seen more of her and her personality through other episodes. I think that us as a fandom need to reunite to give her the development she deserved.

Now please don't kill me but I don't think Ruby and Jade are annoying, they're just immature. I think this can compare to Amber being mean in the start of the show, they're bad in their own ways. The way she treated them poorly since the beginning is just as bad as Ruby and Jade misbehaving!!

I don't like 70% of the two last seasons. Even the episodes where Cedric is in are just weird to watch, they don't pass the Sofia The First vibes at all :( they're nice but they can't even compare to Once Upon A Princess and season 1.

I personally don't like the protectors characters. I tried to, and I honestly don't mind a lot about their presence in the fandom (it's not like those shipps and stuff you roll your eyes whenever you see them, like I do with c*dfia) but I just don't like their presence in the show. Those episodes where Sofia was a protector trainee don't get much of my attention and Chrysta gets on my nerves just as much as Ruby and Jade do to almost half of the fandom. Honestly to finish STF those episodes were a sacrifice to watch. I couldn't pay attention to them and I had to rewatch them more than once. Their character designs also don't look like Sofia The First characters. They're not meant to be in this show.

I hate that Sofia got torn between that new unicorn character and OUR BELOVED Minimus. GIRL, MINIMUS IS A KING. WDYM you can't choose between him and an unicorn you just met. Just by the fact that her long time friend was feeling bad vibes coming from someone she just met is just a good reason to stop and think a bit. And the worst part was that Skye was fully against Minimus and was battling with him to get Sofia's attention. Like don't piss me off you just met her and Minimus watched her grow up. That episode was torture. And in the end Sofia was all "I don't know which one to choose 🥺 I'll just choose both" EXCUSE ME?!?? YOU JUST GOT TORN BETWEEN THIS NEW CHARACTER AND F ING MINIMUS

The merch group also started to make Sofia + Skye merch with him as her new horse friend and stopped making Sofia + Minimus stuff. The whole lesson of the episode was about keeping them both as her friends and you guys just replaced him. That shit pisses me off

I understand that the last seasons are so different from the first ones because the writer, Craig Gerber, had to focus on Elena of Avalor. But honestly, if I could decide between having Elena of Avalor and letting STF last seasons poorly done, or not having EOA at all but having STF as it was always meant to be........ I would have choosen the second option 😶

[brucebocchi]

Spring 2024 anime, Pt. 1: Ongoing/returning shows and the bench

yo! i also post this on my ko-fi! this is very much a labor of love, so if you liked what i wrote consider throwing a few bucks my way! thanks!

And we are back! This one came a little later because I'm much busier now than I was three months ago, but that's a good thing. It'll be a bit longer before I cover last season's new anime, so bear with me. I'm happy to say, though, that I didn't hate anything I watched this season! So there's that.

As always, the OP is linked in the title of each show. Check them out, there were some good ones this season!

Here we go:

Continuing & returning shows:

Delicious in Dungeon, second cour

Ahh, Dungeon Meshi. At the start of my review of its debut cour, I said that Dungeon Meshi is a difficult anime for me to talk about unprompted because it’s such a complete, self-assured work that saying anything about it besides “PLEASE WATCH THIS ANIME IT’S SO FUCKING GOOD” feels like a fait accompli. After twelve more episodes and spending the better part of a weekend binging the entire manga, I’m left with little else to say besides please watch this anime (and read the manga), it’s so fucking good.

Our adventuring party has managed to slay (and cook) the red dragon and resurrect Falin from its belly, but the victory came at a cost: They have managed to not only invoke the ire of the dungeon’s ruler, the “lunatic magician” Thistle, but Marcille’s use of forbidden resurrection magic has also raised another number of hackles. Reunions aren’t all happy ones and the dungeon is getting weirder.

This line break represents where I wanted to add so much more and just kept falling short. This continues to be an exceptional adaptation of an exceptional manga. For all the silly gags, for all the goofy potshots everyone takes at each other, Dungeon Meshi is a series with a beating heart worn permanently on its sleeve. The group dynamic remains superb, and no less so for the standoffish half-girl-half-cat Izutsumi joining the gang (my joy at seeing her added to the OP was indescribable). The ways in which everything interconnects make up only a fraction of this series’ unmatched worldbuilding; much hay has been made about how Ryoko Kui designed the dungeon as a living, breathing ecosystem, but there’s so much more of that within the human element as well, and the latter aspect looks to only improve when the show returns for the next season.

Dungeon Meshi is, without question, the best anime of 2024 so far, and I will be impressed if anything manages to overtake it in this year’s latter half. The manga became one of my favorites in record time, and I have little doubt that by the end of the second (and almost certainly final) season, one of my favorite anime of all time will indeed be Dungeon Meshi. Ahh, Dungeon Meshi.

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!, season 3

When I reviewed last year’s Megumin-centric spinoff, I mentioned that I’m not quite as high on KonoSuba as other anime fans. I always thought it was a perfectly serviceable comedy isekai, nothing too special, but mostly worth the watch. Even after the letdown that was An Explosion on this Wonderful World! last year, I was still looking forward to the long-overdue third season. And pretty much as expected, what we got was fine. Just fine.

That said, I was instantly delighted to see Megumin once again surrounded by Kazuma, Aqua, and Darkness. And as is frequently the case when those four are together, shit goes south fast. Kazuma, hoping to heal the mental wounds he incurred in the Legend of Crimson film, gets his groove back when he’s invited to regale the adorable Princess Iris with tales of his exploits. As a noble herself, Darkness is mortified throughout this ordeal, scrambling to ensure that Kazuma doesn’t get beheaded for being a loudmouthed freak, and also that Aqua and Megumin don’t accidentally burn the palace down in their revelry. 

KonoSuba gets a lot of comparisons to It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, in that both are ensemble comedies in which the entire main group consists of awful people who don’t entirely like or trust one another. It’s a fair enough comparison, but what makes the group dynamic work for both shows is that the moral center is never a fixed point; the “voice of reason” among either group changes along with the situation to ensure the comedy stays fresh. And the fact that Lalatina Dustiness goddamn Ford has to be the voice of reason for the majority of this season should mortify you.

Darkness losing her mind aside, I didn’t really care for this arc. There was some interesting worldbuilding happening toward the middle of the season, but Kazuma acting way too eager about having a tiny, prepubescent girl calling him “onii-chan” just made my skin crawl, and I’m otherwise pretty much immune to the bog-standard “hey, laugh at this man because he’s a pervert” anime trope at this point. Fortunately, it only lasted for half the season, but unfortunately, it still felt an episode or two too long. The second half of the season followed Darkness’ forced betrothal to a gross noble from an earlier episode, and that arc also felt an episode or two too long.

Season 3 felt like KonoSuba both at its best and worst. The character dynamics are as rich as ever, even as Aqua and Megumin largely fell to the margins in favor of the larger stories. The smaller moments with the main four just bumming around their mansion are always just as entertaining as their larger exploits. The narrative seems to want to continue pushing Kazuma and Megumin together, nurturing the seeds planted in the movie, but later episodes also make a pretty good case for Kazuma and Darkness getting together; for better and for worse, those two absolutely match one another’s freak. Some of the gags this season were pretty darn good as well: This anime’s facials are already the stuff of legend, and we got some bangers here too (see above). For as loud as it often got, there were a few gags that centered on prolonged, uncomfortable silences like a late episode of Evangelion. And for as bored as I started to grow with the last arc, the punchline at the very end of the season almost made the whole thing worth it.

On the other hand, this show somehow got noisier. Some of Explosion’s funnier moments last year came from Megumin’s shrieking outbursts, so Studio Drive (taking over the main series from Deen) seemed to think that everyone needed to yell all the time now. It felt jarring; like watching season 4 of SpongeBob for the first time. I’m also not impressed by the fact that this series still seems to think sexual assault is just the funniest when it happens to men. It was a serious lowlight of the Legend of Crimson movie, and it just seemed to double down this time for a completely unnecessary segment in which Kazuma helps Dust get back at a creep, only for it to backfire on Dust and only on Dust. That shit sucks!

At the same time, it’s still KonoSuba, so ESH. If you made it this far, you’re pretty much along for the ride until it breaks down, so you take the good with the bad. Neither particularly outweighs the other, nor are they enough to push me towards declaring this show as either essential or unwatchable. It’s KonoSuba, and KonoSuba is fine.

Laid-Back Camp, season 3

The reigning champion of Cute Girls Doing Cute Things anime returns to the present day after the 10-years-later film, and it’s in fighting shape. Though the third season of Yuru Camp (another anime I refuse to call by its official English title) is in the hands of a new studio, it’s still full to bursting with all the gorgeous countryside scenery, tantalizing food porn, and whimsical music you’ve come to expect by now.

This is one that was on my backlog for the better part of a couple years, so I figured there was no better time to catch up than to time it with a new season hitting the air. Through two seasons and an original movie, Yuru Camp was peak slice-of-life: Low on conflict, heavy on cuteness, and brimming with personality. It does what it says on the tin; it’s a show about high school girls going camping, and by God are you getting high school girls going camping. And in the meantime, you, the viewer, get to learn the ins and outs of camping while discovering all these real-life, lovely spots along the Japanese countryside with Mt. Fuji always in view, and maybe help boost the local tourism economies once you go outside and touch grass.

The previous two seasons largely followed the girls’ exploits at school and out in the open as individuals and smaller groups before building to a big destination trip with all five of them, but season 3 takes a more, uh, laid-back approach. The first half follows Rin’s bike trip along with Nadeshiko’s hometown bestie, Ayano, until they meet up with Nadeshiko after her own solo excursion. We also get a quick peek at a heavily-fictionalized retelling of Chiaki, Aoi, and Ena’s outing with Toba-sensei, as well as a cherry blossom viewing trip with Nadeshiko and her sister, before the girls all come together once more for a nighttime hanami outing. It’s more of the same, and that’s exactly what you’re here for.

That said, the character work is the glue that holds Yuru Camp together, and it’s as wonderful as ever. Rin and Nadeshiko’s friendship remains a delight, and Hazel covered it better and more succinctly than I ever could in the Yuru Camp segment in her phenomenal video on countryside scenery in anime. Watching Rin bond with Ayano one-on-one on their own trip was a real highlight; they’d hit it off quickly in the first season, and it was lovely seeing Ayano working at Rin’s go-to bike shop in the movie, so I was overjoyed to see more of these two. More than anything, though, seeing a habitual loner like Rin connect so naturally with another person (and one who isn’t Nadeshiko, no less) just warms my cold, dead heart. The looser plotting also gives us the time and space to take in how the girls individually spend their downtime. Nadeshiko’s quickly becoming as much of an expert solo traveler as Rin, and her youthful enthusiasm about everything remains as endearing as ever. We even get to watch her becoming a train nerd in real time! 

At the same time, the communal aspect of camping is a huge part of what makes this show click. Part of that, of course, has been watching Rin’s social circle expanding, but also in seeing how readily campers observe and aid one another. Nobody is “the best” at camping (except maybe Rin’s granddad), so none of the campers in this show have any reservations about going out of their way to help one another. Even an expert solo camper like Rin was a greenhorn at one point, so she’s always happy to give and receive help. The various campers the girls run into along their journeys are always ready with local information about good spots to eat, relax, and take in a good view as well. Even camping on your own, you’re never truly alone.

In that same vein, Yuru Camp is as educational as ever. Along the girls’ travels, we learn plenty about the myriad suspension bridges over the Oi River drainage basin, the various types of passenger trains connecting the countryside, torii gates along the mountains, and clever ways to build a camping menu around local crops. Yes, Yuru Camp is as much food porn as it is nature porn, and the dishes are sumptuous. On that note, my favorite thing I learned this season came from Nadeshiko’s drooling outbursts during the other OutClub girls’ camp retelling: It turns out that there’s an equivalent Japanese colloquialism to what we call food porn, specifically in the act of taunting people about delicious food they can’t have right now, and that is “meshitero,” or “food terrorism.” That is just terrific.

Yuru Camp is in the hands of a new studio for its third season, and the difference is mostly negligible. This is a show that trades largely in vibes, and the vibes remain impeccable. Almost everything still looks and sounds great, but season 3 leans a little more heavily on CG for moving bikes and cars, and they do look markedly worse. Not immersion-shattering, but definitely distracting. The scenery largely looks less hand-painted in favor of a more photorealistic style, which does make me wonder about the actual level of artistry put into it, but that could just be me splitting hairs. Otherwise, it still looks like Yuru Camp, which is all you can ask for.

This show still rules though. I don’t often get intense in my praise of slice-of-life anime, and the ones that get me acting like that are the ones that go to wild lengths for the sake of a joke, like Nichijou and Kaguya-sama. I don’t know what it is about a show as lowkey as Yuru Camp that has me wanting to scream from the rooftops that “THIS FUCKING SHOW WHIPS ASS,” but I’m not questioning it. Maybe it’s cuteness aggression.

Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation, season 2, part 2

And we’re back with more of the best-made anime that I can’t recommend in good faith to just about anyone.

The latter half of season 2 surrounds Rudeus’ aims for a quiet domestic life, settling down with Sylphiette and at the request of his father, Paul, taking his little sisters Aisha and Norn into their home (along with a very welcome reunion with their escort). Aisha takes after her mother, Lilia, and is eager to please and help around the house, but Norn’s last memory of Rudeus is of his violent reunion with their father. Norn idolizes Paul, so she doesn’t trust Rudeus and refuses to open up to him. While Aisha is content with working around the house, Norn wants to keep her distance, so she decides to enroll and board at the magic academy.

Norn’s apprehension towards Rudy and the mental anguish it causes her becomes an isolating factor in her daily life, leading Rudeus to believe that she’s being bullied, much as he was in his previous life. Rudy’s attempts at sticking up for his sister fall flat and lead him to realize he’s been projecting on her this entire time rather than actually reaching out to her. It’s these moments of learning and unlearning that nearly make all of this worth it; this was easily one of the best episodes of Mushoku Tensei’s second season, and frankly one of the best episodes of anime I watched all season. Another episode near the end also earned that distinction, but it got weird afterwards. Even in its lower moments, this season traded very well in the themes of family, growth, and loss, and those aren’t always tidy subjects to handle.

Because this is Mushoku Tensei, the cozy home life can’t last forever. Paul’s attempts at saving his wife have continued to fall short, so he calls on Rudeus and Elinalise to come and help rescue Zenith. Rudeus is conflicted; though he finally has the opportunity to save his mother and face his father as a man, Sylphie is now pregnant and he doesn’t want to abandon his wife and future child. As often happens at times like this, Rudy gets some face time with the Man-God who has been seemingly invested in his journey, and for once Rudy flouts his advice to venture out. Many reunions are had, including one that had been teased all season, and a lot of things go south from there. I was spoiled on some of what would happen in later parts of the series, so it didn’t come as a massive shock to me, but it still got weird, it wasn’t really addressed all that well, and people were rightfully put off by it.

On that note, I’ve given up on the idea of this series being about Rudeus improving as a person, because he’s done just about as much “improving” as he’s going to by now. As I’ve said before, he’s not quite the drooling pervert he used to be (he was actually doing great for more than half of this cour before a succubus attack briefly got the better of him), but his moral compass, even in his best moments, still seems to be poorly calibrated. I do see a side of him now that genuinely cares for others and actively wants to help, but it doesn’t erase his questionable acts, nor do I get any sense that he deserves to get the things he wants. I particularly don’t care for what’s already looking like a formula wherein sex seems to be his cosmic reward whenever he hits a low point or achieves something great. For a series that genuinely has such excellent worldbuilding and storytelling, that part feels cheap enough to undermine everything else.

But hey, a rapist died, so it’s not all bad.

I’m not sure I’d necessarily put Mushoki Tensei on the level of Frieren or Dungeon Meshi, certainly not thematically, but with all three off the air this upcoming Summer season, it’s been a minute since we’ve had a season of anime without one of those three lovingly-made fantasy series on the air. It feels like anime has a massive fantasy void now, and I desperately hope I’m proven wrong soon.

Urusei Yatsura (2022), season 2, second cour

The final run of the remade Urusei Yatsura ended on a strong note with an honest-to-God story arc! Lum and Ataru’s tempestuous situationship is put into stark relief with the fate of the world in the balance, except not really; Lum just wants him to think that because she’s fed up with his shit and that’s just how she operates.

Even as disjointed as this run has been prior to the final arc, there were still some gems this season. The time-travel segment where the gang tries to undo Mendo’s fear of the dark was a certified banger, Asuka’s violent androphobia is as funny as ever, and the introduction of Nagisa as a means of further muddying Ryunosuke’s whole gender situation was the most quintessentially Rumiko Takahashi shit I’ve ever seen. It’s the character comedy that makes Urusei Yatsura what it is just as much as the central will-they-won’t-they, and it was just as potent as always before the series hurtled towards its finale.

The four-episode arc to close out the all-stars run, similarly to the final arc of the manga and the final movie of the original anime run, centers on a blowup between our romantic leads over a colossal misunderstanding (sasuga Takahashi-sensei) involving a unilaterally-fated marriage between Lum and the prince of a dark planet, Rupa. Though Ataru and fellow dark-planeter Karula (basically Rupa’s own equivalent Lum) foil the wedding, a carbon copy of Lum created to ensure a proper exchange of vows tells Ataru that she’s over him. Ataru’s feelings are genuinely hurt, and he tells the real Lum that they’re through, and he returns to Earth with Karula, accidentally spreading spores of the dark planet’s enormous mushrooms.

Said mushrooms rapidly grow enormous when exposed to sunlight, so Earth is already in certain danger. Lum sees an opportunity to manipulate convince Ataru to finally get serious, so she sets familiar stakes: She’ll enlist Rupa’s help in destroying the mushrooms, but only if Ataru can beat her in a ten-day game of tag by grabbing her horns, just like when they first met. More importantly, though, she’ll let it all go if he can just say out loud that he loves her. And you know damn well by now that these two are both as stubborn as they come.

As I’ve said before, this is a shorter run, so we may not have the benefit of the entirety of Urusei Yatsura up to this point to be properly salivating for the finale, but I’ll be damned if it didn’t still hit like a freight train. The emotional climax was still meaty and satisfying in ways that made all of this worth it. Half of the joke of this series is that Ataru’s never going to get serious about Lum in a way that matters, but every time the mask slips is a well-earned shot to the heart. The ending is no different, and it made the shorter run still feel worthwhile.

And with that, that’s a wrap on a modern (if truncated) retelling of a legendary comedy manga. I’ll be forever grateful to this iteration of Urusei Yatsura for finally pushing me into getting into Rumiko Takahashi’s classic works, and I’m beyond excited that there’s also a Ranma ½ remake on the way. If David Production takes that one on as well, it’ll be in great hands.

Anime I Watched Two Episodes of and Will Probably Get Back to Later

I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince So I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability

I mean, you read the title.

This is less an isekai and more of a lateral reincarnation story; magic already very much exists in this fantasy kingdom, but this is about a guy who is very obsessed with magic but sucked at it suddenly gaining a wealth of talent and the opportunity to go absolutely sicko mode.

Lloyd’s existing knowledge of magic serves him well, and he becomes a virtuoso at a young age. He manages to subjugate a demon lurking in the palace’s library and turn him into an adorable familiar (and having the demon go from being voiced by Akio Otsuka to Fairouz Ai was a brilliant move) and just terrorize the poor little shit with his experiments and travails. The kid could basically do a Hollow Purple by the second episode. He’s kind of psychotic, and I love that for him.

This is definitely a comedy, but the comedy is kind of all over the place early on. Prince Lloyd is surrounded by beautiful young ladies-in-waiting who, uh, seem way too into him, and that kinda sucks. Lloyd himself is drawn and animated a little too lovingly for a child as well. It’s definitely uncomfortable in parts early on, but I’ve heard it lightens up on that and gets crazier in the parts that matter, so I’ll be coming back.

And it started with a menacing monologue from Takehito Koyasu himself, so of course my interest was piqued from the jump.

Oblivion Battery

It’s weird, I love both anime and sports, but sports anime was just something I never sought out too much until I picked up Blue Box recently (also please read Blue Box, it whips ass and the anime is gonna be incredible). Oblivion Battery’s debut coincided with the start of the American baseball season, so it seemed like a great time to hop in.

I can’t say I was too intrigued by the premise, though. The intentionally generically-named Taro Yamada quit baseball after middle school after getting utterly rinsed by the high-powered battery of pitcher Haruka Kiyomine and catcher Kei Kaname, so he enrolls in a high school without a baseball club, only to find that his classmates are… Haruka and Kei. Kei, as it turns out, took a bad hit to the head and has completely forgotten all about baseball, and now spends all of his time trying to be a comedy boke for unwilling participants. Taro and Haruka would like Kei to learn about baseball again, so they start up a new club, alongside other classmates who also quit baseball because of the titular battery.

Fine premise, but eh. The hook wasn’t enough of a hook for me, and even MAPPA handling the animation didn’t keep my attention for long. I’ll probably get back to it eventually, but I ended up watching plenty of other anime this season that felt like higher priorities.

Also, I’m pretty sure Oblivion Battery’s manga introduced a character named Aoi Todo before Jujutsu Kaisen did. I still prefer the latter.

YATAGARASU: The Raven Does Not Choose its Master

See, this one I probably should’ve picked up sooner, because it seems like it’s very much my jam, and I’ve seen plenty of praise for it. It’s a dense one, though, and I’d rather not cram it just to turn around and review it a few days later.

I won’t even go into the details because even two episodes in, there are darn near too many of them. This is a massive ensemble cast in and around a succession battle in a fictionalized, imperial Japan-esque kingdom created and ruled by yokai. We’ve got a battle of brides-to-be vying for the hand of an embattled prince, a cunning but resentful empress overseeing the proceedings, a possible spy or two, and a rambunctious little shit who looks like he got plucked out of Avatar: The Last Airbender getting roped into working in the palace. It’s a lot of moving parts, but I’m curious to see how they tie together.

Two episodes in and this show looks good, but probably not as great as it could. I know I’m spoiled on The Apothecary Diaries, but something like this already feels like it deserves better than some of the stiff character animation I saw early on. I’ll reserve my judgments for now.

YATAGARASU is continuing into the summer season, so I’ll take my time catching up on it. This one feels like it deserves to be sipped slowly, not chugged, and I’ll have my tasting notes in due time.

[cochart]

Here’s my Hogwarts Legacy OC.

And here are some impressions of the game. I like it fine by the way.

Here are HL friends in Persona style btw.

I bought this game on sale recently and so far have been enjoying it. It’s a fun enough game even though I was never obsessed with Harry Potter except when I was like seven.

Here are some of my thoughts, some good and some a bit critical I guess.

1. Good but not memorable

Maybe because I was never obsessed with Harry Potter series the way some people are, I found the game decent but not memorable (e.g. Zelda or Persona level). It’s decent; in other words, it’s a bit bland. I don’t have any particular complaint about the game mechanics, but I don’t have anything particularly nice to say either. The exploration is fun enough. The battle can be a bit repetitive but overall okay. Collecting trinkets and doing puzzles can be amusing. But none of this all comes together to leave a strong impression. I think it’s a decent RPG for weekend fun though, especially if you’re a Harry Potter fan. That it’s not too memorable also means that it’s average a.k.a. you likely won’t have to ragequit this game. The gameplay is pretty easy, so it would be perfect for casual gamers who don’t want no Dark Souls taking over their weekend.

2. Character design matters

In an RPG, having a good character design matters. This is partly due to the fact that I don’t really enjoy the “realistic” rendering that so many western games employ, but I found the overall character design less than charming. Customizing my own character feels so much less fun when it’s hard to find a charming build. I’m sorry, but why does every option for my character make her look like she’s thirty-five? I feel like a damn PhD candidate in Hogwarts already without my character looking like she’s thirty-five years old. By the way, I also considered making a male character, but the male characters look equally old and not that charming. I think it’s partly the hair. Almost every hair option makes your character look thirty-five.

The NPCs don’t fare much better either. Yeah, they’re nice and I find Natty pretty cute. But that’s about it. They all have their stories and stuff, but something is just lacking.

It’s not like I want anime character design either. A style like Arcane would have been awesome.

3. I feel like a Mary Sue

I’d say being a Mary Sue might be better than being an emotional support character for dev’s Mary Sue, but it still feels weird to me. Maybe it’s because I’ve been playing too much Atlus games recently and in their games, everyone’s out to kill you. I’m not used to characters fawning over me. There are many moments including when you’re taking a class that you’re blatantly praised for your abilities. The Ravenclaw boy gushing about how you must be a part hippogryph during your flying lesson is one of them.

Everything about the plot makes you a Mary Sue as well. You’re this mysterious new kid with ancient magic powers who excel at everything. I know it’s somewhat necessary in an RPG, but this game makes you feel like you’re playing some “Modern Girl in Hogwarts” game. I don’t hate it that much, but it still feels weird.

4. Missed opportunities

I’ve played old EA Harry Potter games and loved them, but I don’t know if it was a good idea to make an original Hogwarts game a solo exploration game. To me, one of the charms of HP series is the focus on the friendship and the adventures of the trio. In HL, you’re alone most of the time. I know a lot of modern players don’t deal well with turn-based games, but I think an original Hogwarts game that is turn-based where you can build your party of Hogwarts students would have been quite fun.

I also feel like there are a lot of missed opportunities with the school life content. Cramming in classes and having afterschool adventures would have made it feel more like life and Hogwarts where you’re not a graduate student.

Here, so you can get stressed thinking about crammed scheduling!

For an open exploration game, I’d rather have preferred something like Fantastic Beasts where you’re an adult. The game taking place in 19th century London would have been awesome. You’d be a recently graduated wizard who’s working both in wizard and muggle world solving some crime or something. This could have also made a better opportunity for the stealth element in the game as you can try to be discreet around the muggles.

[strayflowersstarsandlove]

Preoccupied (hwanghyunjin)

The best thing about having two best friends in love was that you were so extremely happy for them you genuinely wanted them to last forever. The worst thing about having two best friends in love was that they made you feel soooo single like soooo single you also wanted to pull out your hair one by one.

The last relationship you had ended up so bad it had made you retreat even more into your own head. Being quite the introverted, quiet person you were didn't help at all,too. It wasn't even about being the stereotypical shy bookworm who hated parties and would rather spend their existence sipping tea by the fire. It was more about genuinely not having the social battery to endure loud crowds and big social events as often as you could have.

Being around people, being around close friends especially, was absolutely fine, it made you feel good, even. You just needed your alone time to recharge. And yeah... Most of the time that alone time did include reading 4 books in a week and downing gallons of warm tea.

Now problem was that you and said best friend #1 had been invited to a birthday party of a friend of a friend over the weekend and you would have declined, being just overall tired from your exam week and uni and your part time job but Lexi had been giving you a headache with the amount of "please please please don't make me go alone Changbin will be stuck at work at least until 1am please please come with me please please I love you pleaaaaase" and so on and so forth.

Here's another thing about having two best friends in love: they were inseparable. So loved up and clingy they hated being separate, but they were also so thankful for you had played cupid and matched them up, which, in turn, as a gesture of gratitude, often lead to them making you third wheeling a number of their dates. This one time you had the chance to go a party with just Lexi, and as much as you weren't too keen on going, in the end you gave in, just for the sake of your friendship with her.

So there you were, mulling around with your half full soda drink, trying to make small talk while your perfect social butterfly of your best friend drank her beer and chatted up a storm with anyone and everyone there. A familiar pop song comes on through the speaker and you bob your head to it, mindlessly trying to keep the rhythm as you take another sip from your cup, a girl with scraggly blonde hair extensions looks at your sad red solo cup and holds up the tequila bottle, quietly offering you a shot, but you politely decline, being the designated driver for the night. Not that you minded, you weren't much of a drinker anyway, you just hated the way she frowned and made a beeline to another group of people that were clearly already drunk out of their asses, not even an hour and half into the party.

You follow Lexi around like a little lost puppy for a little while, mentally counting how many more beers and tequila shots and whatever other brightly colored drink she inhales, and as she inevitably starts to laugh more boisterously and wobble on her feet, you keep a close watch over her, offering her bits of food and silent support should she feel sick from all the alcohol.

You're about to tear a piece of pizza in two for her as she lifts her giggly, intoxicated self from a chair near the snacks table when she accidently trips on her own feet and almost fall to the ground. You have barely any time to react, you extend your arms out for her when "careful!" a tall,longish dark haired boy you didn't notice earlier swiftly catches her in his arms, steading her in place as he holds her hand briefly, then slowly guiding her back on the chair.

"Are you okay?", he asks softly, deep brown eyes squinting in concern as he frowns, "Hyunjin?? Oh my God what are you doing here!!?", Lexi completely ignores his question and instead throws herself at him, pulling him into such a tight hug his eyes pop out, you giggle to yourself and mouth a silent "sorry" in his direction, he acknowledges you with a brief nod of his head and smiles at you over her shoulder. It's a sweet, shy smile, you're immediately drawn to it. "So?? Are you gonna answer? What are you doing here at Skylar's party?". Oh right. Skylar. The birthday girl you were supposed to greet at some point since she was actually hosting this party in her own guest house.

Except you hadn't seen her at all so far. "Changbin invited me? He said he couldn't make it last minute but I was already on my way here", Hyunjin politely replies as Lexi finally lets go of him and he fixes his shirt, "my baby! I'm so sad he's still working, my poor poor baby!", Lexy whines and frowns only for then immediately snapping out of it as if she caught on fire suddenly, she dramatically gestures for you to come closer and firmly grabs your hand:"I almost forgot!! This is my best friend in the whole universe, y/n. Y/n this is Hyunjin, Changbinnies best friend in the whole universe, besides you, obviously".

The three of you burst into laughs and Hyunjin slightly bows to you as he smiles again in that timid way, his eyes kind and inviting and dang: he is gorgeous. You catch yourself staring at him in awe, "nice to meet you", you mumble, unable to stop similing.

"Great, my job here is done. I'm gonna find Skylar now. And a restroom. Who know beer made you want to pee this bad", Lexy exclaims, suddenly springing up to her still unsteady feet,  both of you and Hyunjin scramble to help her  when she almost trips again, this time quickly regaining balance and giggling like a maniac before she sashays away.

"I-I'm sorry, she's usually more composed than that. I think she's drinking away her sadness over Changbin not being here", you offer as you awkwardly play with the bracelet on your left wrist, Hyunjin shakes his head as if to signal that it is no big deal and fills up his cup with the Coke zero in front of him, "it's okay, I know he's very much in love with her too, he'd probably be crying in his drink if the roles were switched", he teases and you giggle, "cheers to hopefully not having to babysit her all night long", you prod then, lifting your cup to him, and this time he giggles and it's adorable. High pitched and bright and sincere. Absolutely adorable.

You manage to make small talk, actually pleasant small talk, and find out he's a pretty good listener, he asks you tons of questions and waits patiently for you to reply, and he really looks at you, his gaze intent and present, he talks softly and giggles and is just generally very nice and pleasant to talk to.

You're in the middle of explaining how you ended up switching courses over at uni when you chose philosophy over psychology when he notices the bracelet you still continue to play with as a way to cope with the awkwardness and nervousness overall, "is that a lava bead bracelet?", he asks, eyes wide and curios as he delicately touches your wrist, "oh, yeah. Changbin got it for me, he said it was the only one in this turquoise and black color scheme so it caught his eyes. And turquoise is my favourite color so... That was very nice if him".

You smile as you reminisce and Hyunjin lights up at the mention of your favorite color,"I have an oil paint tub at home that looks exactly like that. It's so bright and gorgeous I use it so sparingly cause I want to it to last for as long as possible", he explains all enthusiastically and you can't help but find his excitement contagious. Especially cause you're an art major: "you paint?", you ask quietly and he nods, pulling out his phone to show you some of his work, and it's incredible. He paints flowers and faces and people and landscapes and he does it beautifully. With so much color and intensity.

He starts elaborating over the inspiration behind some of his pieces but as the music grows louder and the people get drunker it's a little harder for you to hear him properly, even as you lean more over to his side with him being much much taller than you you have to strain your hearing to be able to catch onto anything that he's saying.

And he definitely notices your contorted face because he stops and giggles, he places his cup down on the table and bends down so close to your ear you can actually smell his shampoo, "is it okay if we go somewhere quieter?",  you beam at him and nod, relieved. You two make your way over to the other side of the house and are just about to step outside when you remember you haven't seen Lexy in a bit and it troubles you a little. "Uhm.. I think I might need to check on Lexy first. You haven't seen her have you?", you aks worriedly, Hyunjin nods understandingly and gestures for you to lead the way, "I'll help you look".

Together you scour through the entire first floor to no avail and then decide to head upstairs where you cautiously knock on a few doors, afraid that someone's in there, probably getting pregnant, high or infected with God knows what. After a few more unfruitful rounds you try and call her: she picks up on the third ring, sounding drunk but not completely wasted, "hellooooo!!! I'm just hanging out with a few nice girls from our chemsirtry class... Or was that physics? I don't know", "oh.. Okay sure... I was just about to step outside for some fresh air, I'll just be in the backyard if you need me, okay?".

She chuckles and sighs heavily on the other side of the line and it's like you can just picture her as she rolls her eyes, "no need to baby me, I'll be fine. Is Hyunjin still there with you?", she asks loudly, loud enough for the young man to hear it directly and giggle, "still here!", he half shouts into the phone and it takes everything in you not to just burst into hysterics, "good! Take care of her. Be safe! Love you!" she shouts back and with that she hangs up, leaving you two giggling and blushing.

Once you're outside in the cool late August air, you sit on a lovely swinging chair overlooking the vast backyard that leads on a little fence separating the property from just an immense stretch of corn fields. You both stop to admire it for a second, and Hyunjin even snaps a few pics, struggling to set the night lighting fixture correctly but succeeding in the end.

You resume your conversation right back up from where it was interrupted and it flows so naturally. When you tell him you're an art major Hyunjin's eyes literally sparkle, he bombards you with questions about everything that you've learned so far, which leads to a topic change about the books you're reading in preparation for your future exams and the ones you're trying to squeeze in as a personal hobby.

You find out he reads too, that he loves poetry and music and he too is more of an introvert, usually, but still enjoys social settings every once in a while. "I can't believe we have so much in common, where have you been my whole life?", he asks rethorically, grinning as you blush profusely but try to play it off, "hahaha hiding in plain sight? I guess. Sorry if I kept rambling, by the way. I'm usually not even much of a talker but it's rare to find someone who enjoys the same things as me. There's this quite from a movie...", you trail off, stifling an embarrassed laugh as you shake your head.

You bite down your lip in silence, playing with your bracelet again but Hyunjin scoots closer to you on the swing chair and prods you on," it's silly... but it's like... - I learned what is obvious to a child. That life is simply a collection of little lives, each lived one day at a time. That each day should be spent finding beauty in flowers and poetry and talking to animals tha-", "-that a day spent with dreaming and sunsets and refreshing breezes cannot be bettered", he finishes for you, smiling so warmly at the recognition of the quote from The Notebook.

Your jaw drops as you stare at him wide eyed and he chuckles, "I've seen that movie recently, it's become one of my favorites", he admits and you almost jump in your seat in excitement, "it is one of my favorite movies too!", you blurt out and for some odd, inexplicable reason you hold out your palm as if to ask him to high five you AND HE DOES, even though you're cringing at your own self. You're literally grimacing and going over the scene in your head over and over when you realise Hyunjin hasn't let go of your hand. He hit it slightly and then intertwined your fingers together.

You sit motionless, your heart rising up in your throat as he gently holds your hand on top of his knee and for the life of you, you can't stop staring at your interlocked fingers. You can't stop thinking about how spontaneous and cute it was of him, and how nice it feels, how his hand is big but slender, his fingers smooth and tapered. You smile to yourself like an idiot and if he notices, he doesn't say anything, he smiles himself as quietness momentarily fills the air. It's not a tense silence by any means, it's just peaceful and calm. The complete opposite of your insides right now. How on earth is this real life? How can someone so stunningly beautifully and kind and sensitive and artistic can even be sitting next to you right now?

A little gust of chilly air blows at you and you shiver slightly, inadvertently making you jerk the hand that Hyunjin's holding, he frowns and tilts his head to the side, "are you cold?", he murmurs sweetly, you shrug and try not to show how you're actually unsure whether you shivered because of the wind or the very man holding your hand right now, "just a little tiny bit, but I'll be okay", you reassure him, smiling toothlessly.

He frowns and scoots even closer to you, he switches the hand that's holding yours with his other one and nonchalantly rests an arm around your back as he draws you closer to his side, rubbing gentle circles on your shoulder cap too, "I'm sorry I don't have any jacket to lend you right now", he mutters. Your hearts swells up as you look up at him, your eyes definitely looking like those cartoon inspired pink love hearts that bulge out of their sockets, even more so when he simply smiles tenderly at you.

"You are-you are too kind. But I promise I'm just being dramatic. I have very low blood pressure, I can get cold even with 100°degrees outside. I'm not a summer person at all", you joke (even though you actually do get cold quite easily and you still sleep with your pijama on in the dead of the summer, but Hyunjin doesn't need to know that). The brunette chuckles and squeezes your hand once, as if to reassure you, or quietly blot down the sweat forming there, as much as you're feeling  genuinely a little cold you're also aware you're nervously sweating.

"I prefer cooler seasons too, fall is my favourite. With all the pretty leaves changing colors and that gloomy feel to the air. Spring is pretty too, but like early spring, when it's still a little cold from the winter and the skies are clear and the air is crisp and the flowers are still slowly blossoming", Hyunjin says softly, his eyes gazing towards the fields in front of you. Listening to him speak like that, his voice airy and soothing, makes your insides feel like jelly, the way he's definitely attuned to nature and the smaller, tinier details each season offers, the way he clearly appreciates simple yet beautiful things makes you shudder in delight.

"Oof you must be so cold, goodness, come here", Hyunjin humpfs, he spreads out his legs and invites you to sit in between them... Well he basically drags you over to him until you cover your face in shame and gingerly do as you're told. You bite your lip down and sqqueeze your eyes shut as your feel your face abalze when your back finally rests against his chest: it feels so nice you want to scream.

Hyunjin laces his arms around your waist, respectfully placing his hands just above your navel, he interlaced his own hands together, careful not too touch you innapropriately even when he squeezes his thighs back against yours, making sure your skirt isn't riding up. You're screaming internally as you feel his warm, steady breath fanning your neck, his scent faintly sweet and clean, kind of floral, "you smell good...", you mumble, immediately looking down at your hands, sitting awkwardly in your lap as you're too scared he's gonna feel just how shaky and cold and sweaty they are if you try and rest them on top of his. Even though you're desperate for it. You'd love to just snuggle up to him.

It occurs to you that this has never happened before: never in your life you've felt this close to someone so fast. Nobody ever so blatantly want to just talking to you to fully holding you in such a shirt amount of time, and the thing is: he did that so carefully. So sweetly.Hyunjin chuckles and breathes out softly, "thank you. I'm not wearing any cologne, actually", he admits rather shyly, "must be just your skin then", you reply on impulse, mentally slapping your head, luckily enough for you he just laughs and shrugs, the movement reverberating through your spine, "you'd be surprised how many times people say that to me. Changbin said I smell like a human car freshener", he blurts out and you both laugh at that.

You relax into him now, using your prolonged giggles as an excuse, you dare fully adjusting yourself into him, laying your head on his shoulder, even placing your hands on top of his, your fingertips just barely tapping his skin as you blush all the way, breathing a little erratically. He seems welcoming though, even though you can't clearly see his face you can't tell he is smiling behind you as his heads leans a little closer to yours, "you smell good too, your hair smells like vanilla", he comments once you're fully settled into him, and you thank him with just a whisper.

Comfortable silence falls between you two again, and again it's that sort of quietness that's enjoyable and serene. You look up at the sky a little awestruck as the tiny silvery dots twinkle in the black of the night, you sigh as quietly as you possibly can as a deep sense of calmness and contentness washes over you, your heart might still be thudding in your chest but you feel oddly calm.

You move your head slightly as you try to follow the trajectory of a passing plane, unconsciously digging the back of your head into his shoulder blade and gasp at the contact, "oh shoot, sorry, I'm so sorry", you quickly apologise, fully turning in your seat to face him, your eyes briefly looking down to his extremely soft looking, juicy lips and then back up into his gentle orbs, Hyunjin just laughs and tilts his own head back slightly, "that was absolutely okay, you are so cute", he reassures you, he even kisses your cheek for further good measure.

Just as predicted, his lips feel incredibly plump and soft and plushy. And you shiver. Of course you do. You just can't not do it. Your body just reacts however it pleases. "You're shivering again! wait...", Hyunjin gently gazes into your eyes and cups your chin, a bemused expression on his face as he licks the corner of his mouth, "I'm making you shiver?!", he exclaims half surprised half smirking and even though you're sure you're turning purple in the face you try to deny his very right guess, "noo... I'm-I mean I'm-I'm  actually - ", you stutter,unable to continue your sentence as all of your senses go into overdrive from the intense embrassment.

He pats your head softly as he grins at you and goes in to kiss your temple, and then the top of your eyebrow, his arms cradling your trembling limbs, "you are shaking, y/n", he whispers against your cheek, and you want to say something you desperately want to but your throat seems to be completely closed on itself, "you know... I'm usually not this bold but... are you going to completely burst out of your skin if I kiss you right now?".

You get the same brain freeze you as you usually get when you eat your ice popsicle too quickly and you feel icicles taking over your jaw and the insides of your nose and your forehead. All you can do is hold Hyunjin's very intense stare and tilt your head to the side, "there's - there's only one way to find out", you reply, your voice barely above a whisper.

He goes in for your lips, kissing you slowly and delicately, even when he slips his tongue past your lips he does so in such a gentle way you melt into from the inside out. "Hey Hyunjin-ah OH SHIT".

You abruptly tear away from each other, starled from the sudden gasps as you turn around and find Channgbin staring at you both with the most shocked yet satisfied look on his face.You fall silent and look at each other awkwardly as all of your internal organs feel like they're going to explode any minute now, "so I uh - didn't mean to interrupt you guys?", Channgbin smirks and scratches his chin, "I was just gonna say hi and aks you if you happen to know where Lexy is but it looks like you two were... preoccupied".

[poxivix]

RULES FOR THIS ACCOUNT!!

(IMPORTANT, Especially to those who are wondering what my account is about or what I do)

Just wanted to put up some rules for this account INCASE you are at the wrong page. Some rules may relate to content that I HAVENT posted YET, but even so I still will put them up.

1] - No ages under 13 or 15. Due to this, my content may be either slightly suggestive, venty (I may vent/rant sometimes in the future, but they're not full on), body horror possibly, gorey and violent. Or! I tend to cuss/swear a lot aswell. Ofc, those who still wanna see me post can stay, but PLEASE, if you're uncomfortable with any of those topics, I suggest you unfollow, or if it makes you comfortable, block me so that you won't come across my posts again.

2] - Do NOT repost my videos/art without crediting me, ESPECIALLY if your intentions are stealing my work that IVE created. AND DO NOT TRACE, STEAL, ANY TYPE OF SHIT LIKE THAT! I love you all that appreciate my art, tysm, just plz don't go around stealing my stuff. This includes my ocs, possibly designs?? (if u think they're good enough lol), art dumps, and animations.

3] - I'd appreciate it if this account was drama free; arguing, harassment, spamming, racism, threats and homophobic topics. I don't wanna see any sort of such on my posts, asking box, or so on. One thing I also wanna say is that opinions are OBVIOUSLY welcome here, and I respect everyone for even having one. But PLEASE!! If your opinions have intentions on hurting others and possibly me, then I'd rather drench myself in oil and light my body on fire rather than seeing it. Respectfully, just please avoid PURPOSELY annoying ANYONE on this account, take your dramas away from me I'm not your therapist. AND PEOPLE!! On a side not, respect others opinions please, not everyone has to agree with you :(

4] - Please just let me do what I wanna do. This rule is probably the only rule I ATLEAST want you to follow: leave me be. Do not ask me to change my art style, do not tell me what I should and should not post, do not hate me for drawing things you don't feel appealed to, I do what keeps me sane. Suggestions such as improvement? I might not be comfortable with it, but no hate at all to those who just wanna give constructive criticism in a good way. I appreciate it a lot, but maybe my sensitive lil ahh won't be able to take it since yeah, I love how I draw cuz it's my own artstyle (Inspired by others ofc)

Feedback on my art is okay, but please base it around my hyperfixations. What I mean by that is if I just so happen to mischaracterize a specific character or something like that, you can inform me otherwise. But please be respectful about it instead of going like " [INSERT CHARACTER] DOESNT DO THAT!" or "Girl have you not watched the series/show or smt 💀", I'm not aware of my own actions sometimes 😞

5] - Don't ask me to be your friend when you've just so happened to cross my account. I've been a bit too nice in the past and just accepted random strangers friend requests w/o even getting to know them. But even so, those people turned out to be amazing. Please just don't ask me to be your friend either because I'm your idol or you just assume/ think im a cool person. Getting to know each other is WAY better so please, I'd appreciate it a lot🙏

And even if I still dont wanna be your friend, dont take it the wrong way please. It's either because I still don't feel comfortable, I don't feel like it, or I just don't want to in general. Please be respectful, thank you.

6] - I'm talking too much but please bare with me. NO PROSHIPS/PEDOS/FETISHISM PLZ!!

I dont think I even need to explain this even further, apart from DO NOT get ANY of my oc's/characters, or even ME, involved with your proshipping shit. OR EVEN BETTER, DO NOT DO ANY OF THE ABOVE AT ALL WHEN YOURE AROUND ME!! It's concerning, I'm uncomfortable with it, and I do not wish to be a part of any shit like that.

7] - Requests? They are accepted here! But please base the requests around my hyperfixations, they're the only motivation I got. And on my ocs? Definitely will do cuz yeah.

I dont take requests that involve drawing your ocs on command, drawing fandoms I'm not even in, and fetish art cuz why tf...

Call me a pussy for this but breaking any of these rules on this blog will get you an instant block, or maybe just a warning BEFORE I block you.

THATS ALL FORNOW!!

I might add some more rules depending on my experience here on Tumblr. These rules go for the same on my tiktok: lx_v_, and youtube: EL_EX_VEE

Thanks for wasting a bit of your time just to read this important note. It means a lot to me, more than you think it does. I'm currently physically, and possibly mentally, drained and exhausted from life. I'm holding on still, and I know for a fact I'm trying. Your love and support is something, you probably don't know about, that effects my perspective on everything, and that I shouldn't just give up yet. I just wanted to add this because I feel as if I'm not showing my appreciation enough. So overall love yous all, hope for the best in all of us, and just thank you in general 💙

[karuuhnia]

I've been a Pokémon fan since the very beginning and recently a friend asked me who my favourite character was. I couldn't answer with just one character. So instead I gave her my top 3 favourites from each generation - and then turned it into this. lol

A little bit more info under the cut if you're interested.

_______

Please do not alter, repost/reupload or redistribute my artwork anywhere! (Reblogging is perfectly fine, of course.)

Gen 1:

Blue: The original rival, you loved to hate him. :D

Erika: I loved her design as a kid, even though I had no idea what a kimono was back then lol

Bill: No idea tbh lol. I like his hair and that he's a nerd, I guess? Honestly, Gen 1 did not have that many memorable and fleshed out characters, so I kinda struggled here.

Gen 2:

Lance: Honestly, he was my fave in Gen 1 already. I love his strength, his design, his virtuousness, his bravery, his code of honour, his everything. To me he's like a knight in shiny armour from old fairytales. lol I could spend a whole day describing all the things I love about him, but I don't wanna bore you.

Eusine: Probably a weird pick for many because he is kinda obnoxious in the game lol I've always had a soft spot for him though and I really wanted him to get Suicune in the end, after he'd changed.

Morty: I love his design and colours and that he's Eusine's bff and voice of reason.

Gen 3:

Steven: He is classy, wears a really awesome suit, has very cool Pokémon and is still a huge nerd. I love it!

Archie: (I see you, @chipsncookies) Big hunk with a big smile and a cool outfit. Beard. Not a bad guy, actually. Learns that he was wrong and does everything to make things right again. Frienemies with Maxie.

Maxie: Scrawny beanpole with a silly (but very cozy looking) outfit. Secretly a dork. Not a bad guy either. Learns from his mistakes and wants to make them right again. Frienemies with Archie.

Gen 4:

Riley: I was a huge fan of Sir Aaron in the movie and Riley is just as awesome. I love his hat too. His personality is also similar to Lance's, so that's a huge plus.

Cynthia: I really, really like her. She is so cool and strong and her theme is amazing. Just like Charizard she's become too popular and that gets a bit tiresome sometimes.

Looker: Okay, I admit, it took me a while to get used to Looker. But now I like his quirky, funny Inspector Gadget shenanigans. What changed my mind was the aftergame of XY. ;__;

Gen 5:

Ingo & Emmet: I couldn't do it. I couldn't choose who of them I like more. So they share the first place.They're a duo anyway. And absolutely inseparable. R-Right?

Elesa: I like her mainly because of the fanon that she's bffs with the subway twins. But she's also not the bitchy supermodel that I first thought she was. She's actually kind and supportive.

Alder: Funny grandpa with awful hair, but a big heart and a great theme song.

Gen 6:

Lysandre: His design always gave me Ganondorf-vibes. That's pretty much it. His goal is stupid.

Emma: Her storyline in the post-game was by far the best thing in XY. And her theme is so beautiful!

Sycamore: I still wish he had actually turned out to be evil. I still like him.

Gen 7:

Kukui: What is not to love about him? He's a hunk, he loves his wife, he takes in Lillie, he punches Pokémon with his bare hands.

Lillie: Sweet little girl who deserves all the love from her friends and her adoptive parents instead of all the shit her psycho bio mother put her through.

Burnet: She's sweet and smart and kind and I wish she had a much bigger role in the game. Her anime part was great though <3

Gen 8:

Piers, Sonia and Raihan: Honestly... These are pretty much the only characters that I remember lol Gen 8 was very underwhelming for me.

Gen 9:

Arven: Just a poor neglected boy who wants to save his sick dog. In contrast to his shitty parents he's got a big heart, is caring, nurturing and supportive.

Clavell: The twist about this character was that there was no twist. He is just a very kind grandpa who genuinely cares for the well-being of his students. I also LOVE his battle theme.

Hassel: This game really is full of wholesome boomers. Hassel's got a huge heart for art and his students and Pokémon. He's also not afraid of showing his emotions.

[baby-alien11]

Avatar Set Visit (Y/N Ulrich Universe)

taglist (open): @volturi-girl-imagines @dessxoxsworld @camiesully @ethanlandryluver @nowitsmissing @aliciacat20 @gabbylovesreading @nikfigueiredo @itsaaliyah2

The day has finally arrived, even though you hated spoilers and suffered everytime you watched any of the movies, you were going to the Avatar set to visit it and experience how they filmed

The day before going to the set, you made blueberry cookies to share with everyone and spent the night at the Champion household because the day at the set started earlier, which meant waking up early and being there at first hour in the morning

And to being on point with the ocasion you choose to wear one of the sweatshirts they sent you last december, black leggings and white Nike Air Force 1, and your things in your tote bag

The first thing that Jack had to do arriving on set was getting on the motion capture suit and putting the dots on his face, not before you left the container with tthe cookies at the cattering table

"You look so cute with the dots on your face", you smiled seeing how they were styling his hair for the cap that was part of the suit, "I'll kiss your face but I don't want to ruin the last hour of work"

"And I'll apreciate you for that", the make up artist joked causing laughs from both of you

Just about Jack was about to say something, someone knocked on the door of the trailer before opening it, revealing one of the on-set assistants

"Good morning everyone", she greeted, "Jack, you still have half an hour to be on set, but Jim asked if Y/N can go to the set to see it before filming"

"Yeah, sure", you nodded

Standing up from the couch you were sitting with Anna and saying a momentarium goodbye to both of them, before following the on-set assistant through the location and entering the set that was prepared for the filming

"This is amazing", you murmured

"Y/N, hi", James aproached you

"Hi, Jim", you greeted with a side hug, "Thank you for having me here"

"It's the least after we broke your mental stability with the first two movies", James joked, "Come on, let me show you the space"

While everyone arrives, James took you on a little tour around the set, showing how the motion capture was done, the team of special effects, how the team worked inside the tank, the utilery and costumes, and of course the giant tank that occupaied almost the entire space

"I think this is the best filming set I've been", you said sitting in the bridge above the tank

"And since we know you hate spoilers, we got this for you", James said giving you blue headphones with small atokirinas, "Sound cancelling headphones, so that way you can see what we're doing but won't know the context"

"Are you serious? Thank you so much", you thanked putting them on and seeing how James was speaking but you couldn't hear, "This works, I don't know what you're saying!"

For a bit more of time, you stayed seated on the bridge just watching everything, at first not noticing that one of the photographers took a photo of you, and when you noticed it, you smiled to the camera

Once everyone started to arrive, you went down to the main floor so the crew can start arranging the cameras and other equipment

"This whole thing is amazing", you sighed standing next to Jack, "I mean, seeing it in photos and videos is one thing, but being there is the next level"

"How about the tank?", Jack asked

"It's incredible, but still grosses me out"

Knowing what you were reffering, Jack laughed hugging you by the shoulders, at what you circled his waist being careful of the suit

"So, you don't want to take a dip in there?", Jack joked

"Hell no", you laughed

"Do you like the sound cancelling headphones?", Jack questioned seeing them around your neck

"They're perfect, I love the atokirinas in them"

"I was the one that chose the design, actually"

"You know me so well"

"I know"

Just they called everyone to film, you and Jack shared a small kiss before he went with the rest of the cast, while you sat in a director chair in front of some screens, at the same time you put on the headphones

During the whole filming, you were mesmerized by the effort everyone was doing and the acting even though there wasn't a lot in front, also because of the bond all of they shared, of course you saw it at the premieres, but watching them acting together was another thing

During one of the recesses of filming, a person from the media aproached to you with an idea for a Tik Tok, at what you accepted because the idea was funny, starting the video on the trailers zone

"My boyfriend is on Avatar, of course I'm wearing the merch they gifted me"

Then it was at the entrace of the set

"My boyfriend is on Avatar, of course I cry everytime I watch any of the movies"

Later it was next to the cattering table, with Jack, Bailey and Trinity eating the cookies you made on the back

"My boyfriend is on Avatar, of course I made blueberry cookies for everyone"

Next it was next to the costumes

"My boyfriend is on Avatar, of course Spider is not my favorite character"

"Gorgeous...", Jack said behind the camera with a sad tone

"Babe, we talked about this"

After that, it was sitting in the director chairs putting your headphones

"My boyfriend is on Avatar, of course they gave me sound cancelling headphones because I hate spoilers"

And the final spot was sitting in the bridge above the tank

"My boyfriend is on Avatar, of course the tank grosses me out"

"Same", Trinity exclaimed off-camera

[swellsha]

I saw ur Prime Defenders villain au and I’m so curious about it, it seems so interesting and fun and I wanna know everything!!! Where is it different from the what if? How did the ghostkicks & polypd happen? Tell me everything :)! Also love ur design for Kota I love his long hair 👀!

ahh tysm for asking!! SO theres a lot different, i suppose i should go character by character

(tw for some pretty dark themes)

to start with will. (in this au uses they/them) they are pretty similar to the oneshot except i made up backstory stuff because i can!! part of it is that they cant feel any pain and never have been able to, so theyve always been fascinated by the power pain has over people and what it can make them do, especially given they dont really know what it feels like. their backstory is similar to normal william wisp except theyre more power hungry and start to use their abilities to take the power from the creatures they and the unwitness protection program find. theyre ... not exactly chill w that and the group breaks up. will starts to withdraw themself more and more and listen to the voices in their head telling them they should totally just kill everyone and eventually theyre like "wow yeah i should kill everyone!!" so one day during church they use their powers we saw in the one shot which lets them make everyone have an insatiatble bloodlust and basically cause a slaughter and they run off. given they didnt exactly hide it very well theyre arrested when they arrive at rockfall and taken to the supermax

tldr: wills obsession with pain and power goes A Tad Bit Too Far and they end up in jail.

as for kota (she/her in this au) she has always been a bit feral. ill try and make this explanation shorter but basically every adult that shouldve taken care of her died and she took that as a sign that she just wasnt good enough for them, that they didnt want her. she went into the care system and saw kids who had powers always being chosen over her. she even begged ms g (who she later came to sort of blame for her parents death) to take her in and train her but ms g didnt take her seriously becuase she was only a kid with no powers and rejected her. in a kind way, but it still stung. due to this kota began to grow to hate superheroes and just the world in general, viewing herself as an outcast to the world. being about 8 years old she decided the logical thing to do is run away to the woods to be raised by wolves. however instead of wolves shes found by grandma cole (who is more evil in this au) and trains under her and master cole. being an edgy kid she calls him master kill which is where her name comes from. they treat her terribly but tell her that she needs them and they love her and noone will treat her better. when shes 18 grandma cole falls seriously ill and while kota is out getting firewood she dies. except not from the illness...(oo mystery mystery intrigue intrigue) kota runs to the nearby rockfall city and totally pushes that girl off that building on purpose. however when theyre found ppl still assume kota was trying to save her and she undergoes the same surgery. however the surgeon is also evil because everyone must be and also puts a whole demon in her as well as the heart. anyway she wakes up kills everyone leaves gets arrested and taken to Rockfall supermax.

(i said id make this one shorter but wow it really wasnt huh)

as for virion, (any prns in this au) hes the closest to canon. he alsp falls thru the portal and gets ppl in her head exvept this time doesn't just kill a theif but also a bunch of cops too and is taken to the supermax! wow that one was short and sweet

ashe (she/her) hates how powerless her upbringing has made her. she resents the world from afar and the only time shes entertained is when awful shit happens. the only time she has ever felt in control of her own life is when the trickster took her over and totally killed her mum! ironic because she wasnt even the 1 in control there lol. she loves the power the trickster gives her and begins to study it more and more. im sure that wont go badly.

when theyre in the supermax (ashe is the only one not there) they all become a sort of gang and meet tide, and they work together to escape. this is where ghostkicks starts except kota is too thick to realize she has some sort of feelings for them and william is scared of the potential feelings and pushes them down. kota basically becomes williams guard dog lol. kota doesnt like virion cuz she feels hes taking will away from her. after they escape they start to work under the lambert brothers (who are also all evil here) and also with ashe. they call themselves the "prime offenders" lol. they burn down the base of the prime defenders (who in this au is doug, cantrip and le frog) to try and capture wavelength

as for ghostknife, their dynamic is similar to in canon except william is somehow more weird about it. idk how better to explain it

pizzarat (virion and kota) is one sided (at first, anyway) because virions falls for kota after she beats him in physical combat which i feel is a very virion thing to do. kota continues to dislike them but xey keep trying to show how devoted they are to her and eventually kota starts to trust her more

WOW thats a lot huh!! i apologize for how damn much that was and i haveny even talked about the prime defenders or their siblings, xavier and alan, the lambert brothers or what wavelengths and tides whole deal is here

thanks so much for asking!!

[carrionhearted]

i need to watch more horror movies so please drop your favourites 🙏🙏

GLADLY!!!! These are in no particular order, or category… just a list of horror (& adjacent) films that feel special to me. Some of these are genuine works of art, and others are just campy fun. Some of them are flaming garbage. Have fun figuring out which are which!

- House of 1000 Corpses (& sequels: The Devil’s Rejects, Three from hell) (Ho1000C is just a blast, campy and vibrant and fun— while the sequels are a lot more grounded and gritty in tone. The characters really make this franchise. Rob Zombie is great at writing hate-lovable bastards.)

- Eraserhead (a fever-dream-nightmare perfectly translated into film. Surrealist imagery that will permanently etch itself into your grey matter. I hope you like long shots and ambient droning sounds! I love films you have to decode in order to understand.)

- Donnie Darko (more ‘psychological thriller’ than ‘horror’, but god I love this film. If you like unreliable narrators and themes of unreality, blurred lines between the supernatural and psychosis… watch Donnie Darko.)

- I Saw The TV Glow (made me ugly cry until I threw up and gave me a headache so bad I couldn’t sleep afterwards. VERY effective psychological horror if you struggle with identity and dissociation/ dpdr. Like, dangerously effective.)

- Pearl (standout fav of this trilogy, though X and MaXXXine are also great. I am in love with Pearl as a character. Insane writing, insane acting, and it’s shot so well… ooghsgdh I love this film…)

- The Lighthouse (Damn ye! Let Neptune strike ye dead Winslow! HAAARK! Hark Triton, hark! Bellow, bid our father the Sea King rise from the depths full foul in his fury! Black waves teeming with salt foam to smother this young mouth with pungent slime, to choke ye, engorging your organs til' ye turn blue and bloated with bilge and brine and can scream no more - only when he, crowned in cockle shells with slitherin' tentacle tail and steaming beard take up his fell be-finned arm, his coral-tine trident screeches banshee-like in the tempest and plunges right through yer gullet, bursting ye - a bulging bladder no more, but a blasted bloody film now and nothing for the harpies and the souls of dead sailors to peck and claw and feed upon only to be lapped up and swallowed by the infinite waters of the Dread Emperor himself - forgotten to any man, to any time, forgotten to any god or devil, forgotten even to the sea, for any stuff for part of Winslow, even any scantling of your soul is Winslow no more, but is now itself the sea!)

-Carrie (the original is, of course, the best… but the 2013 iteration is also surprisingly good. She is so normal girl don’t worry about it)

- Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (SPECIFICALLY 2, but watch the first one also) (Bill Moseley as Chop Top… Oingo Boingo on the soundtrack… sexual tension with the chainsaw… the dinner scene… Leatherface <3… it has it all…)

- Society (Do not go into this expecting a good solid film. Go into it expecting to have a very confusing, VERY FUN time. One million bonus points for The Shunting.)

- Sleepaway Camp (another campy cult classic. The most wtf acting, wtf dialogue, wtf line delivery, WTF AMOUNT OF MEN IN BOOTY SHORTS, wtf kills and wtf ending. Also diversity win!)

- Slither (now that’s what I can body horror! This film is outrageous it’s insane it’s… goopy… lots of slugs. Great mix of horror and comedy imo)

- Ready Or Not (a “death game” premise with an almost cartoonish quality? The characters are all… all such characters, they did great fleshing out a large-ish cast. They did a great job in general. Also funny. Also WICKED set design.)

- Hereditary (a predictable answer, but I think it earns the praise. It’s uniquely effective at being… horrifying, as a horror film. The sense of dread in this film is something special.)

- Silence of the Lambs (another obligatory mention. It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose again.)

- Terrifier, 1 2 and 3! (obligatory Terrifier franchise mention. Art the Clown is just a silly little guy. God forbid a clown have hobbies.)

[skullsgrowontrees]

ARCANE SEASON 2 SPOILERS!!

.

I have a lot to say.

1) Oh my gosh, I did NOT expect Sky to hahnt the narrative like this. I'm so happy they're using her for this, I was getting bored of people saying she was a wasted character when it was obvious they were setting up something. I also wanna add (which is a little bit of a tangent but wtv) that this, to me does not confirm that Viktor had a romantic interest for Sky necessarily, but to me it shows that he did CARE about her a lot. I was getting a little upset at discussions saying that Viktor simply never cared for Sky and she only mattered when she died, since it made Viktor realize his effects on other people. She had way more of an impact on him than this (obviously, they've known each other since childhood). I don't believe he ever saw her romantically tho. Probably just go a lot more attached upon reading the confession she had written for him. Nevertheless, I am sooooo enjoying this sort of messiah persona their giving him (it lines up well with what we know of him in the games).

2) A part of me is a little sad that a Mel wasn't the one who died. Not because I hate her character, in fact, I find her to be very interesting (The stuff with her mom is ALWAYS so visceral to me???). I just think that it would have had a lot more of an impact on Jayce and probably given her mom more of a reason to be here. It also would have given the start of the season more emotional weight. Sure, I'm sad that Caitlin's mom died and I'm happy this is being used as a drive for her, but it just didn't hit me as hard as it could have. I have some thoughts on it is all.

3) Does anybody else find it kind of jarring how many musical moments there are? It's not that I dislike them or anything, but I liked that there were less of them in the first season so it felt fresh and unique to the scenes when there were. In the first episodes, I can already count like a good 3-4 of them. Just thought it was a strange decision.

4) Gosh, I am loving some of the new character's and their designs. I hope we see more of them. They look really good. In general, the show is just as, if not MORE aesthetically pleasing than in season 1. Everybody and everything just looks really nice and I'm happy that's something that wasn't slept on.

5) I really like the Sevika/Jinx alliance! OH, THAT AND THE LITTLE KID! I love the idea of putting Jinx in a sort of protector role after having every older figure in her life promise to keep her safe just to fail at it. At first, I thought it might not fit her, but I think it's a good decision.

6) Jayce and Viktor breakup part 2... Omfg, these two. THE HUG SCENE. IT'S SO... INTIMATE. The way Viktor was caressing Jayce's back, it's like the other was precious. I felt like I was interrupting something like HELLO??? "It was affection that held us together."

...IT WAS AFFECTION THAT HELD US TOGETHER. SAY FUCKING SIKE RN. I DID NOT WAIT THIS LONG FOR YOU TOO TO TENDERLY EMBRACE AGAIN JUST FOR YOU TO THROW THIS SHIT AT ME. OML. They make me sick. They make me ILL.

7) Vi is having the police effect rn (The oppressed becomes the oppressor). It was to be expected since yk, the games, but like I hate seeing it in real time. I hate seeing how little fights for it not to happen.

8) The Vi x Caitlyn stuff is real cute, but I'd be lying if I said I found the Caitlyn stuff to be very interesting at the start... I'm sorry, but we have so many things to deal with rn, how are we spending this much time over the poor girl's dead mother. It was just uninteresting to me, but it was a vehicle for the fun stuff to start, so I can't really be mad.

9) Seeing how the underground functions now that Silko is dead has been a lingering question of mine for a while and I'm happy that it was answered!

10) I was so worried the second intro wouldn't be as good and was even kinda wondering if they would just go for the same one, but I LOVE the vibes and tones set for the second! It doesn't beat the first, since that's almost an impossible task, but it's a fun treat and I am also not skipping that one when I watch an episode from now on.

11) And of course, the most important thing; EKKO LOOKS SO FUCKING FINE UGHHHHH HE FINALLY GETS MORE SCREEN TIMEEEEE!!!

LORD, HAVE MERCY.

Oh, and the Heimerdinger stuff with him is also cool ig.

[geeky92]

My rankings for every season in the Sailor Moon franchise

It’s been well over a month since Sailor Moon Cosmos dropped on Netflix, and the hype still hasn’t worn off me just yet. Sailor Moon is actually a very special franchise to me because it was one of the very first anime I watched as a kid, and now, having just watched Cosmos this year, I decided to rank all seasons from both the 90s anime and Crystal together on one list, from worst to best (or from least favorite to most favorite, since this is all my own subjective opinion). And yes, this will include Eternal and Cosmos, since they’re part of the Crystal canon.

10. Sailor Moon Crystal - Season 1 (2014):

Starting at the very bottom of my list is a choice that might come off as controversial to some, but even if you love every single season of Crystal, I’m sure most of us can agree that Crystal’s first season was pretty rough in terms of quality. Aside from the wonky animation and the uncanny valley designs of the girls, the thing that bothers me the most about this season is how utterly ignored the Inner Senshi are in favor of the “Miracle Romance”. I don’t hate the UsaMamo ship as a whole, but they really didn’t need to sacrifice the characters of all the Inner Senshi (and their little bonding moments with Usagi in the manga) in order to make the main romance look good! The most egregious examples of this are:

And don’t even get me started on that horrible “romantic subplot” between the Inner Senshi and the Shitennou that wasn’t even in the manga! If you want to read more about how awful that was, crystalquality made a great post about it right here. Anyway, Season 1 of Crystal was a massive disappointment for me. So if you really want a darker, more mature version of the Dark Kingdom arc, I suggest you stick with the manga version.

9. Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars (1996):

Now, as someone who grew up during the 90s and early 2000s, I enjoyed watching every season of the original Sailor Moon anime on TV…or at least, every season that was available to watch in the States. Fast forward to some time around 2018-2019, where I watched the subbed version of the whole Stars season on the Viz Media streaming site, and…needless to say, I was very disappointed by it. Granted, it did have some good things like the soundtrack, a few good moments between Usagi and Rei, and some very cute HaruMichi moments. However, for me, this is a season where the bad elements outweigh the good.

The story moves at a snail’s pace (despite being the shortest season of the 90s anime), the Sailor Animamates are annoying and WAY too incompetent at their job, Galaxia hardly does anything until the last 7 episodes, Chibi-Chibi is completely useless, and the Sailor Starlights take too much focus away from other important characters (including Princess Kakyuu, who was also utterly useless here)!

Not only that, but the Inner Senshi all act completely out of character for most of this season, including poor Ami.

Alright, who are you and what’ve you done to the real Ami Mizuno?

And speaking of the Inner Senshi, Minako is at her absolute worst in Sailor Stars!

And that’s only one example. Seriously though, if I were to list any more of Minako’s worst moments in Stars, we’d be here all day.

8. Sailor Moon SuperS (1995):

I have somewhat of a love/hate relationship with this season. Let’s start with the positives. The fantasy circus motif easily makes this one of the more aesthetically pleasing arcs in the series; the Amazon Trio start off really unlikable, yet in their last stretch of episodes, you can’t help but root for them. The Amazoness Quartet are also very likable and endearing, and I really appreciate what the 90s anime writers were trying to do with Nehelenia in this version (don’t really feel like going into full detail, but @ultraericthered made a great post about it right here).

On the other hand, this is the point in the 90s anime where Chibiusa stops being interesting and doesn’t even grow as a Sailor Senshi (despite the fact that this season is supposed to be the big turning point in her character arc)! It’s also the season where all 5 of the main Senshi get terribly nerfed by a magical talking horse. Speaking of which, why is Chibiusa’s relationship with Helios so shady in this version? I mean, at the start of the season, he reveals himself (in Pegasus form) to Chibs and Usagi to give them their new power-ups. Yet, right after that, he decides to spend a good middle chunk of the season hiding away in Chibiusa’s room, where he has Chibiusa keep their whole relationship a secret from the other Senshi; and my question is WHY?! It makes no sense, and makes Helios come across as a creep! I swear, he was so much better in the manga!

7. Sailor Moon Crystal - Season 2 (2015):

To clarify, I am not a Crystal hater. Yes, I do think the 1st season’s bad, but that doesn’t mean I think “all” of Crystal is bad. For instance, Season 2 gives us some of those classic goofy anime expressions that we were sorely missing from Season 1. Plus, each of the Inner Senshi get to have their own character-focused episode (before 3 of them end up getting abducted by the Black Moon Clan). Plus, it gives Sailor Pluto some much needed spotlight after being so underutilized in the 90s anime. And while the Black Moon Clan in this version are nowhere near as interesting as they were in Sailor Moon R, they’re still very threatening and work well as villains.

However, the reason I have this season so low at #7 is, sadly, because of Usagi. You see, since Crystal was made to follow the manga more closely, that unfortunately means we have to see Usagi behave like this throughout the first half of the arc:

Now, I know Usagi had some resentment towards Chibiusa in Sailor Moon R as well, but that was only because Chibiusa in that version was a little menace. Plus, the jealousy Usagi had over Mamoru in that version came from the fact that Mamo just broke up with her (because of a terrifying vision he had from King Endymion), and she was worried she did something wrong. Crystal’s version just makes Usagi come across as possessive and unlikable, which is probably why Black Moon is my least favorite arc in the manga as well.

6. Sailor Moon Classic (1992):

It pains me to place this one as low as #6, because I really do love this season a lot. The Shitennou actually have distinct personalities, Usagi’s friendship with Naru is a lot more prominent here than in any other incarnation of Sailor Moon, and I think the enemies-to-lovers dynamic between Usagi and Mamo is actually very endearing and makes their romance feel way less rushed as a result. However, with this being a weekly anime series from the 90s, there’s still a few pacing issues to be found. I didn’t mind the whole Rainbow Crystals mini-arc, nor did I mind that we had to wait till episodes 8 and 10 for Mercury and Mars to show up. Unfortunately, things get a bit more tedious when we have to wait out another 15 episodes for Jupiter to show up (the wait for Venus didn’t bother me much though, since her debut episode came hot off the heels of the Rainbow Crystals arc). The Evil Endymion arc also dragged on a lot longer than I would’ve liked. Still, this is easily one of the better adaptations of the Dark Kingdom arc, and will always hold a very special nostalgic place in my heart.

5. Sailor Moon R (1993):

I’ve already explained in great detail back in a different post on why this season is so criminally underrated to me. So, instead of repeating myself here, you can just read that to see why.

4. Sailor Moon Crystal - Season 3 (2016):

WOAH! Talk about a major upgrade! Not only does the animation here look a hundred times better than it did in the first 2 seasons of Crystal, but the character designs look way more appealing and feel like a nice middle ground between the classic 90s style and Naoko’s artstyle from the manga. Plus, we finally get to see Usagi and the Inner Senshi interact like real friends this time around! We also get to see the Inner Senshi contribute more to the fights, unlike the first 2 seasons of Crystal, where they constantly got their asses handed to them and needed Usagi to bail them out. Even the romance between Usagi and Mamoru is way more charming and less nauseating this time.

Also, gotta give this season props for making the Witches 5 feel more like a genuine threat, because in the 90s anime (with the exception of Eudial) they all felt like weaker and less memorable versions of the Specter Sisters from Sailor Moon R.

That being said, this season isn’t perfect. While most of the transformation sequences look amazing in the 3rd season of Crystal, Usagi’s just looks a bit too rubbery for my taste. Also, hot take, but I personally did NOT care for Haruka and Michiru in this version. In Crystal, they feel more like walking exposition dumps rather than actual characters. Meanwhile in the 90s anime, we got to know more about their civilian lives, how they first met, and they had personalities that didn’t exclusively revolve around Usagi. Also, for the only canonical lesbian couple in the entire series, it’s kinda gross how Crystal made Haruka and Michiru seem like mere plot devices to strengthen the relationship between the main hetero couple (then again, this was a problem in the manga’s Infinity arc as well, so I can’t really fault Crystal for that).

Aside from those issues, this was a very solid adaptation of Naoko’s Infinity arc, and its higher quality really helped set the stage for the final 2 Crystal adaptations later down the line.

3. Sailor Moon S (1994):

Now, I will admit that Season 3 of Crystal is better than S in terms of plotting and pacing, but the emotions…God, the emotions! They just hit so much harder in S than they do in Crystal!

And that Outer Senshi theme music by Takanori Arisawa is the absolute Chef’s Kiss of Sailor Moon music, bar none!

Plus, I actually like that Hotaru/Saturn got to be the one to save Earth this time. True, it would’ve been much better if we actually got to see the final battle between Saturn and Pharaoh-90, but I still think it’s a great season nonetheless.

2. Sailor Moon Cosmos (2023):

Man, talk about a grand finale! These two movies were just about everything Sailor Stars should’ve been. The Starlights are so much more likable and don’t feel like a plot tumor this time, the Sailor Animamates are given less screen time but are far more competent at their job, Chibi-Chibi is much more proactive and isn’t just there to be sickeningly cute, Galaxia’s more of an active threat throughout the story, and Princess Kakyuu is finally given the respect she deserves! Not only that, but Chibi Moon gets to have a role in the climax too (something that was also sorely missing from Sailor Stars).

Some may find it jarring to see all the other Senshi get killed off so abruptly in this version, but I didn’t mind it, because it gave Usagi the motivation she needed to go off into space with Princess Kakyuu and the Starlights to stop Galaxia.

Bottom line: These movies were terrific and a perfect way to cap off the Crystal series!

Sailor Moon Eternal (2021):

While the 90s anime version of the Dream arc may have been disappointing for many fans, these two movies completely rectify that problem by giving us what is, in my opinion, the BEST possible version of that arc! The Amazon Trio aren’t quite as memorable here as they were in SuperS, but to be fair, they’re not supposed to be “major” villains in this version, just basic obstacles for the Inner Senshi to face when they unlock their new powers. Speaking of which, the way the Inner Senshi get their new powers is SO much more satisfying here than how they got them in SuperS (especially Mako and Minako, who I thought were done very dirty in the latter)! There’s no nerfing the Senshi for contrived reasons. All the girls get an equal amount of time to shine in Eternal, including the Outer Senshi, which the SuperS season was sorely missing, but I digress.

Another thing I really appreciate about Eternal, was how it handled Helios and Queen Nehelenia. Helios is actually a lot more helpful this time, and not some cryptic emo boy that’s constantly keeping secrets for very contrived reasons. Plus, his romance with Chibiusa is a lot less creepy and a lot more wholesome in Eternal. Nehelenia, while already an entertaining villain in the 90s anime, is even more interesting here, because her past with Queen Serenity adds more emotional stakes to the conflict between her and the royal family of the White Moon.

Anyway, that was my personal ranking of each Sailor Moon “season”. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know what you think in the notes, if you want to.

[pruneunfair]

"my feelings on" part 6: Actually I was the real one and why deviating too far from the og novel can sully a good story.

I think next to who made me a princess and death is the only ending for a villainess, this one is one of the most recognizable manhwas/webnovels. I haven't been able to read the full novel since the only translated site I could find had limited chapters but in short, what i did read felt like a separate story from the manhwa because whoever wrote the manhwa basically said "screw the original plot, I want fanservice." Which is why I consider it on the fanfiction side given how severe the changes were. Like if this was a Netflix original of a hardcopy book or something it would've been flamed for its lack of coherencey.

The plot centers around Keira Parvis and her desire to avoid death and get revenge on her half sister Cosette for making her life a living hell in the previous timeline. Sounds solid and good we love a revenge story. So you'd think this would be a tough but overall satisfying goal because Cosette was a world destorying level threat and therfore should be a formidable opponent right?

Well..

I think that they forgot that Cosette is actually a demon wearing a dead girls body because she is such a joke for a villian. Always getting her ass handed to her in near nonsensical ways. There are times when some changes eventually make sense such as Ludwig for some reason not trusting her as much as he did previously and then it being revealed he also regressed after Cosette began a demon/human war. But everything else just falls apart immediately. Everyone hates her except for 1 maid who gets deported and implied to be lashed, and Keira can easily trick her into falling into her traps. It's not fun anymore to see Keira and Cosette fight cause you know it's gonna end quickly with Keira being the victor.

They think this makes Keira more progressive because she can hit strong and be beloved but here's the thing: Keira was already progressive to begin with but they still managed to mess that up.

In the original source material: Keira had no love interests, Joseph was a friend who had great respect for her and Erez was a platonic relationship. In the manhwa, there's a goddamn love triangle.

Objectively I don't mind either ships since they aren't really problematic but it made no sense to make such a drastic change. Especially to a FL in a historical story that never had the need for romance to begin with.

what really got annoying was the fact that family members were pushed to the side for more filler arcs of Keira and her love triangle. Her little brother Zeke played a much larger role than he does in the manhwa and the best way to describe him in the adaptation is the type of character designed for selling marketable plushes if you know what I mean.

There were a few things I did personally like but plot wise, it wouldn't make sense. For example another change in the manhwa is that Cosette is still alive wheras in the novel she's dead. As much as I love Cosette and want to see a normal sister relationship with her and Keira it causes the title to be defunct. It's called "actually I was the real one" because the entire point was that Keira was the only living daughter of Ludwig and Cosette (who is actually a demon named Ragibach) is the fake one. So Cosette still being alive means that she is also the real one and the title no longer makes sense.

While this all stands, the manhwa itself is okay if you don't mind the inaccuracies or if you never read the webnovel. The magic system stays consistent which is nice and the characters while one note are for the most part enjoyable to follow.

Conclusion: the manhwa adaptation of Actually I was the real one is a prime example of the unnecessary meddling of an already perfectly fine story. The goal is to make girlboss empowerment stories except when that does happen in a reasonable way, the adaptations still add in love interests and even alter the characters personalities to varying levels to fulfill a fantasy which would be normal if you were just making a fanfic to post on Ao3 or wattpad, but when it's supposed to be an adaptation.. it feels straight up disrespectful.

Sorry this one's a little shorter, I really didn't have that much to discuss other then the inaccuracies since the plot alone is okay.