#i love the icon you picked very nice choice!

[sirtadcooper]

I was the nonny that asked for the Billy Bones icons. They are beautiful. Thank you very much! <3

Hello! You are so very welcome, I'm very pleased with how they turned out. <3

[cherryredcheol]

"dove"

tldr: all the way minghao uses your nickname a/n: i really like this one

murmurs: in the early hours of the morning

“dove,” he pushed your hair back off your forehead as he tried to wake you gently. the combination of an early morning arrival at the airport and a long line at security had left you both tired when you reached the private lounge. settling into plush armchairs across from one another, neither of you said anything, happy to just relax before boarding. he didn’t notice you’d dozed off until he looked up.

“you should eat something before we board.” you’d been together long enough now that he knew you’d be very grumpy later if you didn’t eat breakfast. he also knew this flight wasn’t long enough for a meal to be served so if you didn’t eat now you wouldn’t until you were back home and by then you’d be starving and he didn’t want that. 

“come on, dove, let me see those eyes,” he felt bad for waking you when you clearly needed the rest, but he knew you’d thank him once you had food in your belly. the four hours it took to get from hong kong back to seoul could be spent behind the darkness of your eyelids but right now he was determined to get you breakfast. “they have your favorite…”

scoffs: when he can’t tell if you’re kidding

“dove.” he’s shocked. when you asked him so sweetly this morning if you could pick his outfit for the day, he didn’t think twice before telling you yes. he trusted your sense of style and knew that you knew what he liked to wear. he had total faith in you, excited to spend the day in clothes you picked specifically for him. he had an interview this afternoon and it thrilled him that he would be filmed wearing your outfit and no one would even know but you two. 

“you’ve got to be kidding me.” looking in the mirror he’s horrified. met with the sight of clashing colors, patterns, and textures, he knows he can’t go out like this. he’s not sure where it all went wrong. you have such good taste, it was one of the many things he loved about you, but came up with this? pulling his eyes away from the clothes, he met your gaze in the reflection and saw your smirk. 

he turned to you, incredulous over your prank but relieved that you hadn’t been sincere in your choices. he was worried he was going to have to hurt your feelings by changing. “i have to leave soon and you’ve wasted time on this silly trick. go pick me out a real outfit, dove.” he pointed to the closet and watched your smile widen at his teasing words as you crossed the room to pick something sincerely this time. “make me look nice!”

probes: because he thinks you’ve had too much screen time

“dove?” he knows you asked to be left alone but that doesn’t feel right when you’re so clearly stressed. he’d been at your apartment for 30 minutes and you had not looked up from your laptop the entire time. he’s pretty sure you haven’t looked up from it all day and he’s worried you might be starting to fuse to your desk chair. he came over for movie night, excited because it was his choice this week, but at this point, he’d just be glad to see your eyes. 

“have you eaten today?” he was going to be persistent about this. you needed a break and he was not going to stop until you took one for the rest of the night, with him. he knew you had a lot on your plate and there was a lot that needed to get done but running yourself into the ground wasn’t going to accomplish anything. he was standing behind you, hands rubbing gently on your shoulders, offering support but also letting you know he wasn’t going to be leaving you alone anytime soon. 

“save your work and let’s order take-out.” his tone is a little strict but he wants you to take him seriously and listen. clearly understanding this, he watches your cursor travel across the screen to the save icon and feels satisfied when you push the computer closed. he smiles when you turn in the chair and stand to greet him properly, happy that you were not becoming one with your chair. he wraps you up in his arms and presses a soft kiss to the crown of your head. “you’re going to love my movie pick tonight.”

marvels: as you walk through the door

“dove,” he’s rendered near speechless at the sight of you walking out from the bathroom. dressed in your comfy pajamas, he can’t tear his eyes away. scrubbed clean and glowy from your products, he swears you shine brighter than any star he's ever seen. suddenly the mattress he’s stretched out on feels a little too cold without you. 

“you look so beautiful,” he compliments you with so much sincerity, hoping to convey how much he means it, hoping you can feel it. you were his sense of calm in the craziness of his life. strong, steady, and always here for him, he aspired to be the same for you. seeing you so soft, lit from the back by the vanity light, he was so sure you were it for him. 

“come join me,” he pouts at you, already anticipating the comforting weight of you in his arms, too impatient to wait any longer. his pout morphs into a smile watching you scurry to the bed, flopping onto the empty side he’s saved just for you. he’ll save a side of the bed for you for the rest of his life if you’d let him. “come here, dove. give me a good night kiss.” 

teases: while trying to encourage a new career move

“dove” he sing-songs from the other side of the space, trying to grab your attention. it was late, or early depending on interpretation, and only the two of you were left in the practice room. he was fooling around with different steps and filming some challenges. you were more than content to sit and watch, never much of a dancer. 

“come dance with me,” he holds a hand out to you, palm open and facing up in an invitation. you eye him wearily, his smile a touch too manic to not be interpreted as mischievous. you heave yourself off the floor, crossing the room to him, accepting his outstretched hand. the music playing isn’t something you recognize but it’s soft and sweet and sets the mood perfectly as he draws you close to his chest, swaying gently back and forth. 

“you could be a decent dancer with a little practice. probably not as good as me though,” he whispers this, trying to preserve the serene, romantic mood that had been set. but your giggles shatter the illusion, breaking the quiet and dragging him into his own fit of laughter. the moment was ruined, but he supposed laughing with you was just as romantic as a slow dance. 

[vigilskeep]

Any guesses on the Veilguard companions?

some suggestions i think are worth placing bets on

an antivan crow (the concept art and short story presence PLUS what’s been said about each companion representing “iconic factions”, i think this is a dead certainty). natural choice for a rogue, but the concept of crow mages has been being set up in the novels for a while

again judging by concept art presence, a nevarran mortalitasi necromancer OR a nevarran possessed skeleton type as our friendly spirit companion

a grey warden, probably from the anderfels/weisshaupt itself. always has been one and there is no faction more iconic, right? i believe there’s ancient voice acting snippets suggesting it’s some guy called davrin

considering the collective way that concept art captions, absolution, and apparently three separate stories from tevinter nights were like “hey did you know the LORDS OF FORTUNE are a thing? the lords of fortune from RIVAIN”, one of these. my guess is that they thought about going felicisima armada for a rivaini companion but didn’t want to just rehash isabela’s pirate gimmick so they made something up and they’ve been trying to set it up really hard

i’ve seen people suggest scout harding is being pushed forward for the role and i guess the inquisition is an iconic faction now?

otherwise, couldn’t really say for a dwarven companion. iconic factions might include the legion of the dead, the carta... the tevinter ambassadoria is a bit more niche but would make sense for a northern companion. i could also see them simply making one of the other suggestions a dwarf, the grey warden is definitely a strong contender since it’s always been a human man and it’d be nice to mix it up

speculatively, i’d like to see a templar. you can’t deny it’s an iconic faction. either a southern templar trying to take up a new cause after everything crashed and burned or a vint templar with a completely new perspective to what we’re used to would be a lot of fun. i would actually love to play this character if it’s not a companion lmao

another obvious faction is the dalish. it’s been a while since we had one, we’ve never had a non-mage dalish companion so there’s a lot of room for a fresh approach, they’re so plot relevant right now. someone’s got to give us that good good exposition! and i am so sick of it not being the dalish themselves 😭

i would be very surprised if there’s no qunari or tal-vashoth. i don’t have many strong ideas, i would just expect it to be a rogue or a mage, since warriors are all we’ve had

all that obviously tallies up to more than seven so we have to pick and choose—and i’m sure there’s plenty of surprises i haven’t thought of—but those would be my instincts! i’ve been thinking about this for a while haha. i’d be excited for any of these, just please, please hand over the romanceable dwarf. i know you’ve got them bioware

[bearyzdiary]

Hellooo 👋 I know you’re busy with other requests but I can’t help with this idea

With hyperpink girly reader (gender neutral Ofc or your choice) though they may seem mean to others but is really nice to Simon, very affectionate to him (covering his face with pink lip gloss marks) , and protective too. Chase Simon’s bullies away with their neon pink platform heels.

I’ve been obsessing with pink x emo dynamic

Take however long you want!! Thanks for reading this and I hope you’ll have a good day/night ✊

Bubblegum

Simon x reader

This diary entry contains…established relationship | Talk of poor mental health | mentions of bullying | reader is a icon | Simon is just Simon | just the two of you being cuties | slight obsessive behavior

Simon was a loser and you were the popular icon of the college you both went to.Your style was so pretty and colorful,Mostly pink but any color would fit you.

You met Simon on your first day when you needed help finding the girls restroom to re-do your lip combo.He instantly fell in love with you.

He soon enough made a big enough of move to get closer to you and you guys ended up getting close to each other to start dating blah blah blah!

Once you guys got close enough he confessed about how he was struggling with poor mental health and was a main target for bullying.

You never liked them.You use to be a target for bullying until you kinda just snapped and told them off.You were left alone after that and ever since then you been helping people who get bullied.

You sat on his bed as he cleaned up his floor.You had came over to listen to him vent and to help him with some English because he needed an idea of what to write.

“People are so shitty sometimes Simon,but you gotta ignore them and show them you don’t care! They’re just a bunch of self projecting losers”You say while fixing your digital camera.

Simon nodded before shrugging.He didn’t have the confidence like you did.You made yourself known while he kinda just stood on the side lines and supported you.”come here”you say gently as you place your camera on Simon’s windowsill.

Simon got up from his spot on the floor and made his way towards you.he sat next to you before staring into your eyes.You grab the sides of his stubble covered face and plant small kisses all over his face.

You had applied some cute pink lipgloss a couple of minutes earlier so you left sticky lipgloss kiss marks.You giggled at your work before grabbing your camera and snapping a quick photo of Simon.

He started down at your lap before smiling.”You’re so so so so soo handsome babe.Im kinda glad some girls don’t you like you because now I can have you all to myself!”You joke as you place a couple more kisses on his face.

Simon feels his face get red as he hides his face in his hands.Girls never were into him as much as your were.He had Sophie yeah but Sophie only saw him as a friend

You were different.unlike Sophie,you didn’t leave him but you stayed with him and comforted him.When Sophie rejected him and made up the excuse she had to go,You stayed with him the whole entire night listening to him vent.

Simon and Sophie are still I guess you could call them friends but he doesn’t talk with her anymore as much.He has you!When Simon does talk to Sophie he mostly talks about his life and how you made it much better.

People still don’t know how Simon was able to get with someone like you.You were a likeable,bubbly and a talkative person unlike Simon who was like the complete opposite,but they do say opposites attract.

You sometimes would even chase them off,it didn’t matter what type of shoes you were wearing you could run in 6 inch heels and still look flawless spewing out curses word at a bunch of losers who were picking on Simon.

Sometimes Simon would help with picking your outfits!he didn’t have much fashion sense when it came to himself but when he came to you,He knew exactly how to dress you.

“Ok Simon!I have this cute baby pink crop top or should I wear the baby blue one?”You ask while showing your boyfriend the two shirts.Simon did a quick scan off both shirts before looking at the skirt you had picked out.It was a black,pleated skirt with small rhinestones on the belt loops.

“I feel like you should wear the blue one.I think it would go good with the skirt your gonna wear”Simon said while going back to messing with his camera,

You nod as you toss the pink shirt back into the closet before smiling at Simon and thanking him for his help.Not only was he such a cutie but a big help when it came to styling you.

He was the only male you would trust picking out your outfits.Sometimes the two of you would match if you were able to convince him.it would take a couple minutes of begging but sooner or later you would make Simon have matching pink themed outfits!

Even if he found it absolutely ridiculous,As long as you were happy he was even more happy.

[halfratsalready]

The Unhinged Jack x Wanderlust Conspiracy Board Explained

A few days ago I posted this silly conspiracy board I made for a slideshow night with my friends where I talked about how Ubisoft loves to deny Jack x Wanderlust and everyone seemed to like it so here’s an in-depth (and I mean in-depth) explanation of everything on it.

We start, of course, with Si’ha Nova and the Traveler, and Wanderlust wearing his dad’s cape at the beginning of Canned Heat because it’s super cute.

And you can’t talk about this ship without the moment from Majesty that perfectly mirrors the moment from Save Your Tears because genuinely why would they do this if they didn’t want people to ship these two? (Rainbow flag added for ✨flavor✨)

I also thought it was worth mentioning that the only time we ever actually hear any of these characters speak across all 14 lore playlist maps is literally Wanderlust calling out Jack’s name.

And now it’s time for the part that I like to call Ubisoft’s crusade against a monster of their own creation (because look at those last two points and tell me they didn’t do this to themselves. You can’t.)

Now in making this I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe Ubisoft isn’t being as harsh on the ship as we’ve been thinking, because “they’re such good friends” and “best friends” with a thumbs up automatically reads as very sarcastic and joking to me, like all the memes about “historians will say they were close friends.”

Then there’s the infamous in’s and out’s New Years post, but what I hadn’t picked up on until I saw this screenshot from Twitter is that the inclusion of “normalize being evil” on the in’s list is rather suspicious and that, according to Just Dance, “this was posted by Night Swan’s army.” So I feel like that’s worth mentioning, because it casts a different light on all the other things on the lists. As in including Jack Rose in the in’s list since he’s the only one she didn’t corrupt yet and she wants to do that this year? And putting stanning Jacklust on the out’s because she’s evil and doesn’t want us to have nice things? Not too sure but hey, if someone better at analyzing things wants to look into that, I’d be down to read it.

(I also think it’s worth mentioning that “worrying about getting a Megastar” is included in the out’s list when the tweet just before that one is encouraging players to get Megastar on Zero to Hero, so some more contradictions there, but that might not mean anything, given that Night Swan’s whole thing is perfection and I feel like she would definitely be in favor of worrying over getting Megastar.)

Plus there’s the pretty popular belief that they’re just pointing out how stupid of a ship name Jacklust is, but I’m personally not at all sold on this being the reason, even if Jacklust is a stupid ship name. (I told my friends the ship name during this presentation and one of them said “Really? Wanderrose was right there.”)

Lastly, I threw Night Swan in there because of the theory that Ubisoft is denying Jack x Wanderlust because the Traveler is Jack’s father. Now, I have opinions about this theory and I hope it’s not true for obvious reasons, but I feel like if it is, it’s a serious oversight on Ubisoft’s part.

Firstly, if they’re half siblings why did they recreate the move from Save Your Tears in Majesty? Seems odd to have half siblings recreate a pretty iconic romantic duet moment.

There’s also the fact that we can clearly see that Wanderlust takes physical traits from each of his parents - his mother’s blue skin and his father’s dark hair. If the Traveler is Jack’s dad, why don’t they share any physical characteristics? At the very end of the beta for Sweet Dreams (spoiler?) we see Night Swan with green eyes, unlike the yellow eyes she has in the rest of the dances we see her in. (While this could just be an older design choice, I personally interpreted this as meaning that her eyes were green before she went evil and then they turned yellow.) In all of his character artwork, Jack’s eyes are green, which I take as meaning that this is a trait he got from his mother. So I personally feel like it only makes sense for his father to have red hair (and we’ve got plenty of options to pick from with that criteria).

But hey, that’s just a theory… I don’t need to finish that part, you’re already thinking it. Thanks for reading my insane ramblings!

[sciderman]

Sci ngl i assumed you were a cis gay dude back when i was obsessively reading your spiderpool stuff as a teenager. I’m a gay trans man and your comics always felt like a warm hug, truly my comfort doom scrolling — so it’s kinda nice to find out we’re more similar than id thought

bless you anon!! it's a pleasure having you, and i'm so, so glad my comics can be a cozy comfort for you!! kissing you so sweetly

you know, it's kind of funny, i've had an overwhelming response of people who've said they've just assumed i was male by the vibes i radiate and i'm not entirely sure what it means. i'm know you all mean it very reaffirmingly but it leaves me with a lot of questions. like, questions that i want to do further research into.

is there a masculine dialect? like how there are regional dialects? is that a thing? i kind of want to study this now. can you tell someone's gender by the way they talk like you can tell where they're from? that is so cool if it's true. how do you type like a man. what should i look for? i don't know if i've ever assumed someone's gender by the way they type. i just look at their bio and it usually says. and i kind of don't think about it when i type. i type like me. but – i think maybe i pick up the way that i talk from the media i consume (comic books) which is kind of overpoweringly male. overpoweringly populated by male characters, and written by men, y'know.

i think the way i type here on @sciderman is probably softer and more femme than the way i write on the ask-blog. on the blog when i'm answering things as Mod i kind of intentionally mimic the tone-of-voice that marvel editors use. that's an intentional choice. so - when you read what i write here it's closer to my real voice, but over on ask-spiderpool i'm putting on an act. i try to sound like a marvel editor. i call you all True Believers! it's all a persona. i think one of the things that's my strength in writing is falling into voices - i think i could be an excellent ghostwriter, if i needed to be. so very crafty at mimicry.

as a kid i always, always always would mimic the characters i liked from the movies we watched whenever i came out of the cinema. i remember doing that all the time. and it was always boys. (except frenchie from grease. she was my one female gender icon. god everyone hated me for that one. i loved doing the voice. wanted to be her so bad. wanted the pink hair. everything.)

you know,, even now The Very First thing anyone asks me when they meet me is where my accent is from, because nobody believes i'm native to london. it happened today (twice). the way i talk is a little weird. my response,, off the bat,, it's because i watched too many cartoons growing up. so,, i guess maybe i idolised too many masculine role models, and probably didn't have enough female role models. i liked the boy movies better than the girl ones. i spent more time with my dad than i did with my mom. my mom wasn't a good role model. dad says that's probably why i didn't want to be a woman. i didn't have a good role model. (sorry mom). (he's right). all kinds of variables here. i kind of want to do research into it. also i should talk to a therapist.

[skyfallscotland]

20 Questions for the Writers Tag Game!

I was tagged by @caeli0306

1. Total number of AO3 works

Nine!

2. Total AO3 word count 985,672! We're about to crack the mil, baby! And in just over a year, too 🥺💗

3. Fandoms I've written for

So many! But if we keep it to works currently posted: ACOTAR & The Empyrean series.

4. Top 5 fics by kudos

Truth & TalonFear & FlameMacchiatoFurykeep quiet (nothing comes as easy as you)

5. Do I respond to comments?

Yes, always! I love receiving them, so replying is the least I can do 💗

6. What has the angstiest ending?

...Truth & Talon, actually...

No, I'm just kidding....mostly... 👁👄👁 I'm saying Dangerous Devotion. 7. What has the happiest ending?

Fury, I think.

8. Have I received hate?

Not recently/in the Empyrean fandom (unless you count people telling me they're disappointed with my choices, lol, shoutout to that one girl who was sad Remi wasn't a virgin!) but I have before for sure.

9. Do I write smut? And what kind?

Sure. What kind like...kinks? Praise kink? Cockwarming? What do you mean what kind? 😭 The hot kind 💗

10. Do I write crossovers?

I have before, but I don't have any currently published.

11. Have I ever had a fic stolen?

Multiple times, lol. she's an icon, she's a legend, and she is the moment.

Honestly though, please don't do this. It's not a nice feeling. It doesn't help you, either, or anyone else. Wouldn't you rather contribute something new to the fandom you're in? 12. Have I ever had a fic translated?

Yes! Some of my older Tolkien works were translated into Russian and I've had offers for Remi's Version, but I prefer that translations stay on AO3 (with very limited exceptions) which I suppose limits some people.

13. Have I ever co-written a fic?

I mean, most of my ideas are bounced off @justallihere and we throw dialogue/ideas back and forth so we'll give her... 12% of the credit for my next work. But no, I've never properly co-written anything. I feel like it would be weird, right? Unless you're writing a POV each?

14. What is my all time favorite ship?

Xaden Riorson/Remi Sorrengail 😌

15. A WIP I'll never finish?

I really hope to finish the things I've started so far. I have a few on the go, but the brain does what it wants. Tattoo-artist Xaden is sitting right on the edge there. I have 10k words of a scribe Violet AU that I might never pick up again, so let's say that.

16. Writing strengths?

Feelings, apparently. Lots of people tell me I make them cry, lmao.

17. Writing weaknesses?

Battles, action, fight scenes. I hate them. I hate them so much I'll write in storylines that change the canon universe so I can skip them completely. Ick.

18. Do I like foreign language dialogue?

I just write, for example, 'he said in Tyrrish' after the dialogue, I like that sort of thing, I think it's indicative enough without doing all italics and strange indicators like people used to back in the day, lol.

19. First fandom I wrote for?

Lord of the Rings. Very short lived. Was told it was "the worst fic I've ever read in my life" and that was that. I was maybe thirteen at the time 😌

20. Favorite fic I've written?

I cannot and will not pick a favourite child, but I will say Fury is very close to me. It got me back into writing and it came at a time in my life where I was really struggling and finding who I wanted to be and really changing my life. Without Tessa, there wouldn't be Remi 💗

I feel like everyone I know has already been tagged by someone, so I'll just open it to the floor for anyone who wants to participate 🤷‍♀️

[gamercats-fight]

Morgana from Person 5 vs Krampy from Cattails: Wildwood Story. Vote for your fav!!

Need help picking? Check down here!

Morgana - P-Studio - 2016 - Anthropomorphic tuxedo cat:

-If we’re including his abilities in Mementos/Palaces then he has a clear advantage of being able to use his persona to cast spells as well as fight. He also uses a curved sword and a slingshot. If hurt he also has healing spells. His appearance in this form is mascot-esque, but don’t let his big head fool you—he’s quite agile. Having a persona at all grants the wielder extreme abilities. Fast enough to dodge lightning, take incredible damage and even able to fight against gods. This strength is only granted in places they can summon their persona, i.e. not the real world.

Even in his cat form while in the real world, he is extremely dexterous: able to pick locks. He’s also taken a kick from a guy and having a metal briefcase land directly on his head following a bit of a fall. Not altogether impressive but still something for a cat to endure. He’s also smarter than the average cat, giving him a nice advantage.

He does eventually become human in Persona 5 Royal, but is just a cat at the end of the original game.

-He can turn into a car and run over any competition. He’s a master thief and fought god once. Also he has a slingshot.

-1: THIS CAT IS A HEALER! He gets the best healing spell in the entire game and when I got it on him, I don't think he ever left my party

2: THIS CAT CARES ABOUT YOUR HEALTH AND WELL BEING! It's become a meme at this point, but Mona wants you to go to sleep >:(

(P5 Spoilers Beyond this Point)

3: THIS CAT IS THE COLLECTIVE HOPE OF HUMMANITY! It's explained late game, but Morgana was created through the last scraps of humanities hope against the false god that the party eventually fights

4: THIS CAT EXPOSED A MURDERER! Its not important but the scene IS funny so I feel obligated to mention it.

THIS CAT IS YOUR BUDDY AND I LOVE HIM AND WILL DEFEND HIM WITH MY DYING BREATH!!!!

-Everyone hates him for the stupid “go to sleep” mechanic + some of his issues with another character but he’s such a good boy i love him so much. he’s always with you, helping you out and supporting you! plus he’s so little brother coded oh my god. baby. baby boy. spoilers for p5: also he’s literally the manifestation of hope like guys. hope is a cat. hope is stored in the cat.

Krampy - Falcon Development - 2023 - Gray tabby medicine cat

-He's so autism

-Cattails is like Stardew Valley for warrior cat fans, and Krampy is a fan favorite for several good reasons. He's a kind of eccentric medieval doctor who also has trouble relating to other cats because of his weird experiments and love of leeches, but that passion also makes him very charming as a character. He's got a tendency to ramble and tell long stories and is just really wholesome all around. Also he wears a plague doctor mask which is just a really cool design choice.

-The iconic doctor of the Mystic Colony. Who doesn't want a medicine cat with a plague mask?? And they are a real character too. Some of their best quotes:

"“Actually, I don't believe we've been introduced. I am Krampy the doctor, and don't worry! I am not a bird. Although when I had that concussion, I did think I was... ... What was I saying again?"

“Greetings young kitten. Do you mind if I put leeches on your tail? It's for science. And, I think it would be funny. Or I could do it to myself... But then what will I do tomorrow?"

“I think you should wear a beaky mask, it will protect you in this world. I wish not to see my friends hurt. Although that is bad for business... bit of a double-edged sword. Don’t get hurt too often!”

“You have the worst-smelling miasma I have ever smelled! I can smell you from miles away! Why don't you roll in some garbage? - It can only improve your odor, and you end up where you belong!"

[alexissara]

My Dream Pokémon Game: Pokémon Contest Legends

Despite the fact that since Ultra Sun and Moon I think Pokémon has mostly been on a decline serving up fairly poor games, especially in the main line entries, Pokémon still has a special place in my heart. So I wanted to talk about what spin off game I would love to see happen in the series.

An element really hyped up in the anime is Pokémon Contests giving full ass contest arcs, this would trickle into the manga as well and in my imagination Contests were a big deal in the world. For me they were always this nice element where you weren't having animals beat each other up but preforming with an animal and that felt very different and very sweet. So this game revolves around Pokemon Contests expanding them into a full fledged game rather than a side event.

Customization

This is the name of the game, this game is all about showing off and feeling like you really are connecting with your favorite Pokémon. Taking the cute mini games of the series and elevating them to not a half ass side show but a fleshed out part of the Pokémon world. Having a full roster of lovely outfits for you and your Pokémon to share. Dressing up Pokémon and yourself was such a massive feature of contests in the Pokémon anime and is a long time requested feature of many fans which has only happened a few times. Cosplay Pikachu was given a limited set of outfits, ash hat pikachus exist to give Pikachu a little accessory, and Partner Pikachu and Eevee were both given several outfits in Let's Go. So I think it's about time the dress up was elevated both for trainers and Pokémon.

Your Pokémon and you preform together in contests showing off your style and kicking butt at bringing the elements of contests together as you aim to be the Contest Master. The Pokémon outfits could work with compatibility frames and work on body type molds so some outfits are for some types of bodies like serpentine bodies, quadruped, humanoid, etc.

Clothing should be totally ungender locked your performers and performers get fucky with gender some times. A lot of human outfits can be meant to match with Pokémon but also should have some fun costumes, references to older trainers in the series, and some modern Harajuku deals to really sell the fashionable customization elements.

Customization could be bolstered like in Animal Crossing by allowing people to upload patterns and designs and really allowing a player's agency to go above and beyond for these contests to create truly dazzling and unexpected performances.

Pokémon Roster

The game mixes things up breaking away from your normal choice of starters by instead leading you chose from one of three Mythical Pokémon who were amazed by your performance getting to chose between Victini, Manaphy, and Celebi as your starting contest Pokémon. Instead equally fun would be a mystery Dungeon esc personality quiz that results in you getting suggested one Pokémon that fits your personality but the ability to instead chose any you like after from a selection of Pokémon. You could even go with just picking between Eevee and Pikachu the series two mascots given Let's Go gave them several adorable outfits already and they are extremally iconic starters most people wouldn't mind not even evolving.

I think ideally this game could work with the existing models from Pokémon Unite along with creating new models of similar qualities since the game already has lots of outfits to dress up your mons in but obviously the 59 final evos with 54ish [not totally sure] Pokémon from the evo lines making a total of 103 Pokémon already model in the style. Double that to like 200 and bam that's a respectable roster for a Pokémon game. If you were getting frisky you could go with 300 even. Add some contest staples from the anime and games like Altaria, Milotic and Seviper and you got a classic roster that is sure to hit generations of people in the nostalgia bones.

Pokémon Catching

Catching Pokémon would work similarly to Legends Arceus with it being quick and easy to throw balls at Pokémon and mostly being a human vs mon kinda vibe but with the ability to send out your Pokémon to help support you in catching Pokémon. The battle mechanics are not the focus and instead the contest abilities simply help you put pressure on Pokémon. You'd have dex like in the legends game with tasks to complete that progress and give you rewards.

This could bring in a classic element, shiny hunting, and more to broaden the games audience and still allow for the really personal feeling of teams in Pokémon games.

That said I could see a method of catching Pokémon that is instead Pokémon basically willingly joining up with you after wild performances but perhaps a system like that and a system like Legends Arecus both could co exist.

Pokémon Raising

Pokémon can progress through capturing Pokémon, entering contesting, clearing dex challenges, and pokefood. Like in legends arecus and go releasing Pokémon can provide you with food to feed your Pokémon to raise their contest stats taking a bit of the old Pokeblock system but adding a new twist to it. In addition other Pokefood could be bought in shops and stuff and sharing a meal with your Pokemon can raise their stats and your relationship together up.

I think taking the existing bounding mechanics and shifting them to work outside of a battle oriented context will be less annoying for the hard core end of players who feel it is breaking their immersion in a Pokémon battle since in a contest feelings, bounds, and relationship all make perfect sense.

Narrative

Narratively I would love for the game to have more social elements and be less focused on saving the world although it could still be a factor, it be silly fun to stop the world from ending by everyone putting on the best Pokémon contest ever. I do think the stakes of just aiming to be the best Contest Master are good enough though letting the player kind of pace their own side goals.

It wouldn't hurt for a Pokémon game to have dating sim elements but if they wanted to skew the game younger then like ya know that could be cut but this is my dream game so fuck it, it has to have dating sim elements and you only be gay in it, my dream game, no straights allowed Pokémon.

Closing Thoughts

There are plenty of areas I could have went into more detail on but this is already fairly long and it was just really like a little idea I wanted to spill out of my mouth after months of thinking about it. Let me know what you think and what you would like to see in a game like this.

Also if you liked this sharing it and liking it let me know maybe I should make more shit like this and even more then that going over to my Patreon and Ko-fi really let me know I should keep doing something. I am easily bought but even more then those two things recommending me for work is always fantastic, I always appreciate being reached out to rather then having to apply from ground zero.

[ugh-yoongi]

if you could style each of bangtan what kind of style would you put them in and which fashion house do you think fit them

oh, what a fun question!

note: please take this with a grain of salt, bc i don't really know shit about fashion, really. so this is just a bit of fun, and definitely something i'd love to hear others' opinions on!

namjoon — i love namjoon in more traditionally-feminine clothes. the juxtaposition of his size (tall, thick thighs, etc.) with the skirts/flowy pants and tops just... really works for me.

so, for namjoon: moschino. for better or worse, they're always doing something different, and i think they could actually do something really inspired and cool with namjoon's vibe. even though i get the vision, bottega is just... so boring to me.

seokjin — hard to choose here, when he canonically looks good in everything. but me, personally? i love him when they style him edgier. perhaps it's because he's my bias, but he's just so soft and •ᴗ• so looks like this really work for me, bc it's not really what you'd expect him to wear??:

so, for seokjin: alexander mcqueen. one of my favorite designers for my favorite boy. there's structure, but it's still visually stimulating. edgy but not so much that it'd distract from the person wearing the clothes.

yoongi — i'm getting lazy with the pictures here, but i actually really like yoongi's deal with valentino. there's a nice balance of soft and bold which really works for him and fits with his vibe. however, i think we can (and should) make yoongi weirder.

so, for yoongi: ichiro suzuki. very, very weird (affectionate) clothes, and i think he'd be super into it. also highly inspired by art, so maybe yoongi and namjoon will be sharing clothes.

hobi — already a fashion icon. doesn't need any input at all from me, but i'm a mission to make bts as weird as possible, so we're going full send with this choice. hobi can truly pull off anything, and someone with that kind of power should embrace it.

so, for hobi: moncler. there's a little bit of everything here. there are more traditional options, and then there's weird as fuck, and i think he'd have a lot of fun working with that kind of scope.

jimin — another one that doesn't need my help, but alas, here i am to offer it anyway. gender seems to be a bit of a spot for jimin, so i'm hesitant to push him too far in either direction. something right in the middle would be my pick, because he can already pull off anything, might as well have fun with it.

so, for jimin: peter do. there's just... layers to this for me. it looks soft but it isn't really, and that's what jimin embodies to me. anyone can wear these clothes.

taehyung — i just get less useful the further we go down the age order, huh? he's got an aries moon, so taehyung's going to do what he wants, and he needs fashion that's going to reflect that. something stubborn, fiery, cool. something you can wear to a jazz show but also a gay club in paris, you know?

so, for taehyung: walter von beirendock. my weirdest pick yet, but this is fashion anarchy, imo. this is designing whatever the fuck you want. this is self-indulgent. this is complete disregard for the rules, and to me, that's taehyung 1000%, and i need to see him in these neon yellow pants.

jungkook — alright, last entry. what i love about jungkook is that he's grown up so publicly and had to do all that awkward "figuring out who you are" shit on the biggest stage in the world. that shit sucks, so he's really brave and cool for doing it, and he says endlessly that all of his members are reflected in him, so that just means he gets the weirdest choices of all.

so, for jungkook: because he's brave and cool, loewe. most people would probably not want to wear a grass jacket with grass shoes, but jungkook is brave and a little rebellious, so i bet he would. and he'd look damn good in it, too.

[elizabeth-mitchells]

on one hand, thank you for gia posting i love that movie. on the other hand, how dare you gia post i’m sad now (/lh) (hoping you a speedy recovery after watching the movie bc it is Rough)

oh thank YOU for messaging me about it because i am Not ready to shut up about that movie!!!

so maybe it's just the immediate effect of having watched the movie for the first time and eventually i'll get over it.... but at the moment???? god it fully altered my brain chemistry. there's a whole before and after split in my life now. again maybe i'll change my mind later but last night i stayed up (crying a lot and) reading reviews and watching edits and listen... i literally put it on my top 10 of movies with lesbians. i wasn't this affected since i watched bound but bound ended well. and this one ended me.

like. is the movie perfect? probably not. did i understand the editing choices? not really. but right now it is perfect TO ME. and listen. angelina jolie is beyond perfect in the movie, but that comes as a surprise to no one because that's literally angelina jolie. but i can't even begin to tell you what elizabeth mitchell in this movie did to me... i loved her when i watched her in first kill but if i remember correctly that was evil vampire milf vibes. but here???? she was so tal and so so pretty and so kind and so smiley and perfect and it fully took my back to my gay awakening and first crushes and !!! i feel literally so weak right now!!!

they were so perfect together!! their chemistry was pure gold!! which unfortuantely also means that in the bad moments they broke my heart like no one else!!! when they're being cute in the kitchen? when linda asks her to choose between the drugs and her and gia reaches for the drugs while they're still hugging? their very last scene together?????? worst thing i have ever experienced

and oh my god their iconic lines keep replying in my head. I'll stay if Linda stays and she very much stayed!!!! Behold the florist that hsgjdfhghf omg She was like a puppy, love me love me love me... and i did. i did. right away. hello?? do you want me to be insane??? and i swear that every five minutes i can hear in my head YOU WERE THE ONE. THE ONLY ONE. AND YOU WERE AMAZING..... 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

now i'm just trying to decide if i should spend all day rewatching just their scenes... if i should rewatch the whole movie every day for a week until it stops hurting so much... if i should pick self care and just never watch this again and watch a few nice and fun movies that will heal me... if i watch other sad lesbian movies to keep the momentum going... if i should just never watch movies again <3 accepting advise to recover from this <3

[sieglinde-freud]

Can I get you started on the derailment of Duncan and Courtney?

what is this, a total drama vent blog now? but yeah you can :) under cut

i think the derailment of courtney is like five thousand times more annoying than duncan but that might j be bc i dont really like duncan (hes fine in island, kinda boring in action (didnt deserve his win idgaf that shouldve been harold there. yes im still mad lindsay went home instead of him in rock n rule), and the entirety of that mid section of world tour just revolving around him and the stupid love triangle drama is SO annoying. and then he makes final five FOR WHAT??? FOR WHAT???? im sick of his ass. what was i talking about. right) but either way theyre both two very major characters so its just really sad to see them both fall victim to horrible characterization? cuz you start in island right and in general island is a lot more grounded than the other seasons and leans more into the fact that theyre all 2000’s teenage stereotypes so in island theyre just the good ol cliche good girl/bad boy couple its iconic, its cute, WAY more entertaining than gwent (but they get a pass cuz gwen was basically the main character of that season. u go girl. go get that bag AND that boring wet dog man) and its just nice. courtney shows signs of being controlling but for the most part duncan’s attitude gets courtney to loosen up a bit and have fun and courtney made duncan a better person.

and then action happens and then courtney is like. rightfully mad she got screwed out of the season after harold gets her kicked off and no one gaf but its like. you can see where this could go and it doesnt look great. not much happens for duncan except he gets more insufferable bc they didnt give him any friends this season? unlike when he geoff and dj to bounce off of now he just picks fights with harold and the other gaffers which IS funny but. basically action is where the red flags start being put up. their relationship is. fine. like i liked it at the time but knowing where it heads is upsetting. anyways

then u get to world tour and theyre close to their island dynamic again (with the exception of gwen being there…) but then duncan quits first episode which i think was actually a great choice bc of how courtney finally gets to stand on her own as a character without him (i actually really like duncney. but her character was always tied to him in some way yk?) and make her own friends and it was looking great! until i see london and everything goes to shit. dude comes back, cheats on courtney, and then everyone on that god forsaken plane gets involved. first of all, ISLAND DUNCAN WOULD NEVER??? no fucking way. not even action duncan. dude was HOOKED on her crazy ass. AND FOR GWEN?!?! who has never been the same since island but thats a different thing. but they had literally zero romantic chemistry. all they have in common is that theyre both alt kids. NOT EVEN THE SAME KIND OF ALTERNATIVE! just alt. ugh. and then courtney gets sent into a spiral which, is a valid reaction to getting cheated on i do not blame her. and w/ someone you thought was ur friend like i GET IT. and i am on her side. but then her character goes back to ONLY EVER BEING ABOUT DUNCAN except this time its how much she hates him and her character just. pauses! she doesnt go anywhere else from i see london until shes eliminated inn… what was it. chinese fakeout? like shes just a hater who makes zero meaningful relationships aside from getting played by alejandro and shes just. like its just. its not good. and to know that any of this only happened bc the producers forced a duncney break up. girl sit DOWNNN

and then all stars just tramples them even more. since when has duncan ever gave a shit what people think of him? jojo siwa acting ass with this “im a bad boy!1!!!!” act island duncan would never. and then courtney. ohh courtney. she got flushed down a toilet force feeding herself ice cream with bird shit on it. all i gotta say (but also. nerfed bc she literally has an iron stomach in chinese fake out. whatever)

i still love them though. well, i love courtney. duncans alright but still neither of them deserved any of that

[choicesficwriterscreations]

CFWC Writer of the Month: the-pale-goddess

Each month CFWC highlights one of our talented fanfic writers, and this month’s writer of the month is @the-pale-goddess! We hope you will enjoy learning more about her and her work below! The writer is selected at random. More info can be found on the navigation page.

Quick Links:

Tumblr Blog: the-pale-goddess Blog Masterlist

1- When did you start playing Choices? What was the first book you played? 

I downloaded Choices in an extremely terrifying moment of my life in late 2019. I was seeing the ads everywhere and thought that this game might serve as a fairly decent distraction. Well, I wasn’t wrong skfjksjfk 

I’m not sure which one was actually the first, but it was either the default TRR or Save The Date promoted at that time. 

2- When and why did you join Choices fandom?

My obsession with Open Heart and Ethan Ramsey tied nicely with the release of the second book in 2020. The lockdown allowed me to explore this fictional world further, so I started looking for more content. I found the legendary Denise, aka @justanotherrookie, while lurking on IG. That’s when my long-forgotten Tumblr account came to my mind, and I logged in with the intention of scrolling through the tags to satisfy my EJR thirst.

3- How did you pick your blog name? 

Oh, dear…It’s very silly! My skin is extremely pale and I have always been obsessed with music; hence the combo. 

Fun fact: this account is quite old (though still not as old as my tumbroke card; I had like three other accounts before this one), and I was slightly embarrassed to enter a new fandom with my dusty aesthetic blog signed by some ominous name, but decided to go with the flow. Then the-pale-goddess has become my brand, and it was too late for any changes–anyone who has changed their URL knows how problematic blogging is afterward.

4- Pull up the first post in your archive, and tell us about it!  

My first fandom post was inspired by the frustrating ending of the softball chapter AND the first hiatus announcement…It didn’t age well. As we all know, Ethan & MC didn’t ‘talk about it.’ What’s more, we had to survive a long OH drought before PB decided to resume the second book. 

Three years later, the very same shitpost is still the most popular Choices post on my silly little blog lol

5- How long have you been writing fanfiction?

3 years, fanfiction is my pandemic baby! Though I’ve been writing since I was a kid, it was mostly poetry and never in English. But as time passed, I got more occupied with my teenage life and eventually lost motivation to write. That old passion resurfaced several years later, at the beginning of the pandemic. Apart from the obvious need for distraction from the COVID situation, I was frustrated that my English skills were getting rusty, so I decided to dive in. 

6- What is your favorite Choices book, and what is your favorite Choices book to write about?

No surprise here: Open Heart (the first book) and Open Heart 😂 I never tried writing about any other Choices book. 

7- Share the first fanfic you wrote with us. Do you still like it, or would you change it if you were writing it today?

Miami Heat aka my smutty Miami AU. The concept is brilliant, but the execution…Yikes! I often think of rewriting the entire thing because the writing is amateur at best and my inner perfectionist cringes whenever I think of this mini-series.  

8- What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

It all depends on my mood, so here’s a list of my favorites!

9- Do you have a fic that you didn’t expect to be well received, but it was? What about one you expected to be but found could use a little more love?

Cabin Fever - apparently this 69 plotless smut is iconic for some reason? I don’t really get the hype. It has an insane amount of kudos on ao3, my other fics can’t compare lol 

Burnt - Book 1 mutual pining E&T classic and one of my absolute favorites (we’re talking top 3); it could definitely use a little more love!

10- If you could write only angst, fluff, or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why? 

I’ll shock you all and say that I wish I could write fluff for the rest of my life kjgkdgjkdf But since I suck at it, I’d love to be stuck with angst and a dash of smut. 

It’s probably a sad thing to admit, but I feel the most comfortable while writing angst. The realism of pain and the emotions that follow are simply very familiar, and it’s easy for me to conjure up a creative image to match the idea. Besides, there’s so much to explore in the angsty realm: all the flavor, nuance, layers, and symbolism. The possibilities are endless!

Smut doesn’t need an explanation, does it? I live on the thirst street 🤡

11- Do you ever recognize yourself in any of your MCs or in your writing?

I do. That’s probably why Open Heart got me sucked right in–OH MC felt very real and relatable, I couldn’t help but see bits of myself in her. Though we share many traits and experiences, Tiffany definitely isn’t an extension of me. I poured my heart and soul into this woman, but she has become her own person and I try to avoid self-projecting into her character unless there’s a clear purpose. 

12- What element of writing do you struggle with most?

Recently, I have been struggling with writing in general lol The internet is ruthless!

My biggest issue is that self-loathing perfectionist who doesn’t let me enjoy the process, nothing seems to be good enough for her, and that attitude dims my motivation and hinders creativity.

On a more technical note, I absolutely suck at describing basic movement. I could churn out a long essay on a character’s internal struggle explaining the most complex emotions or a 4K elaborate smut, but when it comes to finding the right words to portray the simplest action, like walking down the stairs or setting the scene for an early morning conversation at the hospital, I feel lost kdhdkhdkdb 

13- Do you have any neglected work you really want to finish?

Pretty much all of my WIPs are neglected 🤡 But here are the most important projects I’m hoping to finish at some point in the not-too-distant future: 

Home With You AU

Past, Present, Future

My Way Home Is Through You

14- If someone you know in real life (who isn’t involved in fandoms) asked to read your work, would you let them? If yes, what would you recommend they read first? 

Since fanfic is based on an existing work of fiction, and the core plotlines and characters should be well-known to the readers, I guess it could be a tedious and confusing read for someone who isn’t involved in the fandom. But then I have received comments from people unfamiliar with OH who have stumbled upon my fics and gave them a chance, so maybe I’m wrong lol 

I like to think that I would be okay with sharing my works with someone I know and trust in real life, but let’s be honest: my crippling anxiety would stop me ksjfkjssd However, if I were to pick a fic rec, I’d choose Heaven Upside Down AU because it doesn’t need an extensive OH knowledge. Plus, I’m very proud of this series.

15 - Are there any writers (published authors and/or fanfic writers) who influenced your writing? 

While I try to keep my writing style unique and simply mine, there are three lovely ladies who had a huge impact on my writing journey:

@writinghereandthere (aka an actual genius and my writing role model) was the direct source of inspiration behind my fanfic revelation. I fell in love with Ethan and Mariana, Ana’s beautiful prose, her wit, unparalleled talent, and fantastic characterization. Her writing changed the trajectory of my life. Though she left the fandom long ago, her masterlist is a must-read for everyone, trust me! (Ana, if you’re reading this: I miss you more than words can convey. Sorry for the spam I leave in your inbox every now and then skgjksgjk Hope to hear about your original work soon ❤️)

@starrystarrytrouble & @terrm9 - these two literary geniuses have inspired me to follow my own writing path and develop a distinctive style. Their masterpieces offer poetic, raw emotions, encouraging me to allow myself more creative freedom. I’m in constant awe of their unmatched talent and come back to their works whenever I want to feel things ❤️

16- Which one of your stories would you most like to see as a movie/series? 

Can I have all of them, please? 

I would pay all my money to watch a TV series based on my canon OH plotline…I’m not kidding, I even made a bunch of Netflix edits because I need it in my life. On the other hand, my precious AUs would look amazing on the big screen! The most scrumptious one still hasn’t left my head though, so you have to trust me–the cinematic potential is truly there kdgjkdgjk 17- Do you write original fiction? 

I have a few ideas, but they’re so complex I’m stuck on the outlining phase. Mayhaps one day?

18 -  What other hobbies do you have?

I’m a certified music freak and a cinephile. I practice destroying male egos on a daily basis. I love photography, niche sports, playing with my dog, lifting people’s moods, random unhinged facts, and ignoring reality, and I have just entered my skincare expert era. 

19 - What’s your favorite emoji? 

🥰 + ✨ + 💀 

These three emojis perfectly encapsulate who I am as a person, I think: full of love and magic, but also dead inside ksjgksjgks 

20: BONUS - tell us anything you’d like (if you want to)

I’d like to thank our lovely admins for giving me this exciting opportunity to ramble about my tiny corner on this hellsite and showcase my word vomit. My heart is full of gratitude! I may not be as active as I used to be, and real life doesn’t allow me to change that, but our fandom will always have a special place in my heart, and I feel very lucky to be a part of this community. Thank you for still putting up with me and supporting my fictional world ❤️❤️❤️

[casliveblog]

Custom Toonami Block Week 195 Rundown

The Witch from Mercury: The gang’s all here and it’s the final roundup before the attack on the Death Star. There’s this kinda funny scene where the Space UN tests trying to fight outside the Wifi Net Quiet Zero has and their shield is impervious to energy and takes control of any guided missiles they throw, like I know bullets are illegal in space because it’s basically zero gravity pollution and that gets messy real fast but you might wanna try it just this once. Anyway Miorine’s in full blanket burrito mode and Guel challenges Suletta to an Utena duel and I’m not entirely sure why he’s doing this. Like I don’t wanna say he throws the duel because that would be kind of an insult to Suletta and all she’s done but the reason he gives is kind of that silly pride shit he’s supposed to have outgrown. So like I think he is trying but knows she’ll win regardless and free Miorine from the idea of being married to the strongest person chosen for her so she can meet with the person she already chose dressed in the champion’s regalia she deserves. The two finally meet and have a very nice conversation that kinda converges their character arcs, Suletta has to act even if it’s hopeless because she can’t live with doing nothing, and Miorine has to overcome her fear of making mistakes that get people killed by letting Suletta risk her life and taking decisive action on her own. The part I really like about the next bit is they plan to send Chuchu’s suit in without wifi enabled so Quiet Zero can’t do shit to it like sending an old landline computer in to infilitrate a wifi network and they compare it to driving while blindfolded which is EXACTLY what Chuchu did in her intro, like that’s some beautiful foreshadowing, I kinda love how on the nose it is. Suletta clears the test of not fucking dying when they strap her into the Monster Energy Drink Gundam and Miorine closes a deal with Shadiq so they can have all their character arc cameos ready for the Hopes & Dreams Save the World final battle. Lauda picked the absolute worst time to fight it out with Guel about killing their dead in giant unpainted mobile suits and Suletta charges in determined to communicate with Eri and Prospera, good shit.

Ranma ½: A lot of this first episode really plays around with the dramatic irony of the premise which is kind of a double-edged sword since if most people know anything about Ranma as a series it’s the premise. Trans Icon Ranma Saotome was cursed to turn into a girl whenever he’s dipped in water and turns back into a boy when dipped in hot water, with his dad doing the same but he becomes some sort of Kung Fu Panda, what a ridiculous idea. I like how tongue in cheek the cursed springs are like they’re literally just a hundred different premises for various anime about cursed people and Ranma just happened to get the only one that gives him massive tits. Anyway now the main story kicks in where Ranma and Genma are returning from China, having for some reason picked NOW for the time his genderfluid son has to engage in an arranged power marriage instead of figuring out the whole ‘am I okay with sometimes having tits or do I wanna get the curse broken’ deal. There’s three choices but realistically the only one Ranma has any chemistry with and the only one with any interest in running a dojo is comedically overpowered Akane. They go through a whole thing of showing how Ranma’s ridiculously faster than her but they don’t touch on if he’s actually stronger since she seems to just kinda have the kind of sociopathic superstrength that makes beating the shit out of someone with a random background object funny, like she’s Shizuo Heiwajima without the invulnerability. Problem being Akane has some massive misandry issues and sees Ranma as a man first and feels lied to about him introducing himself as a woman (I feel like there’s some trans subtext there, I don’t generally like pushing that on things where people almost certainly weren’t thinking like that at the time but it is worth noting that it does kinda line up nicely) meanwhile Ranma has some complicated feelings about it given he really did want to be friends with Akane and bonded with her over fighting but feels his gender got in the way in the end. Some complex emotional stuff right off the bat and I am kinda here for it even if these people seem to take a crazy amount of baths since we have to do the ‘they walk in on each other naked’ bit like three times in the same night. But yeah, interesting start, I know a lot of this is gonna be slapstick and fanservice but I am kinda interested in how the gender issues and the psychological stuff is handled given their relationship has hit such a roadblock right away and both feel betrayed by the other. I remember a lot of the Inuyasha filler kinda defaulted to “Kagome’s right because she’s mad and the mad person is always right” but if I recall the canon stuff was a bit more nuanced and of course the ‘women are always right’ tropes is kind of challenged when Ranma is also sometimes a woman so we’ll see how that goes.  

Castlevania: We’re like three episodes from the end so it seems to be a weird time to be building up a new villain in Varney and especially in Ratko but a good chunk of the episode is just them shouting their philosophies at each other. Now that Hector and Isaac’s plots are wrapped up there’s an odd tacked-on feeling to the more episodic plot of resurrecting Dracula. Still, Alucard’s starting to regrow some of his humanity now that survivors have started staying at the castle and it’s clear he’s not willing to even begin processing all the fucked up shit his dad did and what he had to do to stop him but needing to actually store people in the castle is kind of forcing his hand a bit. Meanwhile Germain’s setting up Hector’s portal magic in weirdly conspicuous spots around paintings and eventually plants the end point on the spot where Dracula died so yeah that’s gonna be a mess. Last but not least Trevor and Sypha finally make it down to the court of miracles and find the royalty is fucking dead and this girl that’s been taxing everyone is just crazy and… yeah that was kind of obvious from the start, they kinda play with how insane she is but honestly she’s just kinda the worst, it’s just kind of a ‘Cool story, still despotism’ situation but before anybody can worry about getting the citizens any actual help Ratko barges in with his demon dogs to presumably look for the incredibly powerful broken magical thing Trevor’s been muttering in the corner about for the past ten minutes.

Dandadan: Momo is a very un-average girl that no one understands and gets into a fierce dork-off with local nerd Ken after her boyfriend dumped her and the two resolve to call the other one’s supernatural beliefs stupid, with Ken believing in aliens and Momo believing in ghosts, welp turns out they’re both right and we have a Gintama style anachronism soup right here. Momo reveals her adoptive grandmother is a Monogatari-style ghost asskicker whose general weirdness alienated her from Momo even though she loves her. Meanwhile Ken’s just a fucking lonely-ass dude who wanted alien friends since he was also literally alienated and the two aren’t so different. Ken ends up getting cursed by an old lady ghost that steals his dick and gives him superpowers while Momo gets captured by Pixie Aliens that want to sexually assault her because this is still an anime and we gotta have someone in their underwear in the first episode. Points for subversion though as it turns out Ken’s ghost powers are kinda berserker and useless while Momo gets esper powers from the alien drugs unlocking her latent chi and is able to basically turn into Tatsumaki from One Punch Man and blow up the whole fucking spaceship. So yeah, good opening, aliens are defeated but they still have to deal with Ken’s curse and stop him from going crazy while they sort out his whole deal. Really neat start, reminds me of when I watched the first episode of Jujutsu Kaisen and they’re laying the emotional groundwork while not cleaning up the initial encounter right away, it’s always a vibe to see those initial few grounded episodes before things start getting really crazy.

Delicious in Dungeon: The group has finally become level 4 friends and unlocked Senshi’s tragic backstory. Turns out when Senshi was a kid his group got trapped in the dungeon looking for gold and ended up running out of food and getting picked off by a Griffin. All of that would be enough to traumatize Senshi but what’s worse is his leader fet him some of the supposed griffin meat right after getting into a heated argument with their last surviving member so Senshi’s not sure if he really ate a Griffin or he ended up being a cannibal and really enjoying it. Once he was left alone he made friends with the orcs and grew up in the dungeon, finding that even though he could physically leave it, too much had happened for him to ever be able to mentally leave it. So now the group make a fun cooking adventure out of the question “Is Senshi a cannibal?” and there’s some shenanigans but short answer is no he’s not, the dwarves were just bad at monster classification and they ate a Hippogriff instead and as convenience has it, the griffin they killed was actually a transformed hippogriff (good because having another pinned sidequest would kinda wreck the pacing). Now that all that’s wrapped up, the party’s also transformed by the mushrooms that got the Hippogriffin and all swap races, shenanignas ensue. It’s pretty funny watching everyone weigh the pros and cons of their new race but given it’s not what they’ve trained to specialize in all their lives, it’s a major disadvantage for most of them. Now they’ve reached the Skyrim Steampunk Dwarven ruins and before they end up having to fight any steampunk golems they camp out and have some dumplings and try to figure out a way to change back.

Gleipnir: Shuuichi is an average kid that no one understands (Hey, had to play that straight once this week) and he’s actively burying his talents in some Yoshikage Kira-esque attempt to be seen as normal, except instead of cutting off hands and summoning punching ghosts he turns into a dog mascot that’s basically a shitty clumsy version of Inuyasha without the sword. He gets an enhanced sense of smell and is seemingly very sensitive to the scent of death when he stops a young girl from killing herself via arson and the Shinji Ikari factor kicks in and he wants to take her panties off because this is still an anime and we WILL have someone in their underwear in the first episode. So I expected Clair to be the key to the inevitable impending death game that involves transforming mascot characters but no, turns out she’s just a suicidal girl and a jerk that blackmails Shuuichi (I mean to be fair he did sexually assault her so they’re both kinda jerks, idk who I’m supposed to be rooting for but Clair’s the more outwardly scummy out the gate) but they do end up getting attacked by another transforming assassin and will surely unravel said inevitable death game soon enough. Side note but my GOD this anime is horny, like obviously that’s not something I particularly mind given I just finished Konosuba and Ranma and Dandadan are on the block but this one’s different there’s a lot of underwear and panties and bras and shit for no real reason and it just feels like it’s just there to be voyeuristic and wish-fulfillment as opposed to adding flavor or character or even comedy, like ngl Clair’s hot don’t get me wrong but the fanservice here is so wild and blatant something kinda rubs me the wrong way since we’ve essentially got more panties than plot in the first episode.

Revolutionary Girl Utena: We pick up right where we left off last time with Saiyonji being exepelled and going presumably on his own Chazz Princeton rich boy humbling arc like Guel. This whole episode we see how two-faced Touga can be as he promises to care for Saiyonji’s safe passage and immediately burns his diary and how he pretends to not know what’s going on despite having an Aizen-like plan for this whole thing. Turns out he’s the next up to fight Utena but he still hasn’t healed, luckily there’s another Skywalker to come fight the pink-haired anime girl. Nanami’s pissed at Utena for getting Touga injured and Utena just kinda takes it since she’s feeling a little guilty too. Her whole demeanor towards Touga is softer and more awkward for a lot of the episode and she feels like if she can just thank him she can get it off her chest. At Touga’s birthday party they try to talk but Nanami steps in to shove them away and we get intermittent flashbacks of her giving Touga a kitten for his birthday when they were little which thanks to the cosmic parallel factor of the Utena world is what Anthy got him this year. They really do some work to make Nanami seem like a genuine threat again and that’s a hard sell given we’ve had several straight episodes of her failing Team Rocket style and getting trampled by elephants. Still the flashbacks reveal she fucking killed the original cat since he liked it too much despite her earnest hardwork in giving it to him being the reason he liked it in the first place, like that crosses the line between comedically crazy girl to genuine nutcase. Either way this all proceeds according to Touga’s plan and he crowns Nanami as the next duelist and she and Utena will fight. The actual duel’s kind hilariously quick but Nanami’s not here to marry Anthy she just wants to straight up kill Utena and comes out for blood. Eventually they get her restrained and Touga gets the info he needs to fight Utena next, also Nanami kinda looks better with her hair down, damn.

[memorydragon]

Since I've now played through the remake eight times now (this is normal) I felt like I should say a few words on Trials of Mana, or Seiken Densetsu 3/Secret of Mana 2 as we called it back in the day.

First of all, let me say SD3 is one of my top two games of all time (the other being Tales of Phantasia). I have played this game an unholy number of times in my youth. I've had the Trials of Mana remake for a while now, tbh, but have held off on playing it because I didn't want Remake Disappointment. But coming off of three games in a row that ended on a downer (I'm looking at you, Kiseki) and a really rough semester, I finally decided to give it a go.

On the whole, I have to agree with the review that I read before diving in. Which is to say, it's a very faithful adaptation. It has everything that made the original fun and enjoyable. I do kinda wish they'd actually put a bit more effort into additional content (because there is so much they could have done and it would have been amazing), but overall very satisfying to play through.

I will say I am delighted that my fave was turned into a bisexual icon. He and Angela are both very bisexually color coded and my headcanon is that they are bi besties who wingman for each other and chat under the sacred bi tree about mutual crushes. ("He's hot." "He's not the smartest around." "Yeah, but you have to admit those muscles." "You're bringing me around to himbos." vs "Do you ever just look at Riese and think damn." "All the damned time. She could have her wicked way with me any day." "She's Riese, she's too kind for wicked." "I know. T_T" ) Like, if I could find the way to transfer photos from the ps4 without massive amounts of headache and digging, there's one screen cap for when I got an achievement of them in their dark classes still matching and it was like, yes, good.

Hawkeye is still my absolute fave, especially since they animated him with dancer warmups and very bisexually. He has soulful sad eyes. He hits fast. His beaming smile at friends is sweet. He's a treasure hunting thief. He was most definitely sleeping with Eagle He's out for revenge but ends up pitying Belladonna.

And honestly, let me just say that Fairy just kind of going 'oh, well. I don't have much choice, the MC is the only character around' as the way of picking the chosen of Mana still tickles me. Like, not even giving them a choice about things, just there's only one person here and now you're the chosen one.

I do like the voices, both english and japanese. Charlotte is still.... unfortunately translated, but the fact that their actor pool is all from New England is hysterical. Like, the Wiki says Angela has a valley girl accent and I'm over here like, um... I can see how you think that, but she's very definitely still a New Englander. No one says 'on' like that in California, I should know. That's where they put me in speech class.

Overall the game is easier, not just because they give all sorts of tips that I would have loved to know the first time I played. (The first time I played was... well. This is a game that very much needed the manual it no doubt came with, but I was emulating an english translation that didn't come with the manual. And I still persisted in playing.) The two main differences is that now the game lets you powerlevel your way through things and full screen class skills can be avoided. The former was Weird, because I played the original an unholy number of times and had every level and seed acquiring down to an art, and suddenly I'm several levels above where I should be, but it's keeping the skill points for later. That took a lot of adjusting to, but I managed, and now am usually past 38 even before I get to the first mana stone. XD Kinda makes me miss using the second class changes, but oh well. Full screen skills being avoidable is part of a 3d environment, which is honestly nice. It does make beastmen/swordsman and other monsters much, much easier though. It's no longer Kill Immediately and aggressively before they use their tech and shred your party.

The trap door monster in Laurant is much more of a bitch though. Fuck that thing, 3d made it so much worse.

The post game content is a bit monotonous, but not terrible. What I wish they'd done more with is the personal quests and at least a bit more interaction between certain party arrangements. Mainly along the shared quest lines. The all girl/all boy party was a fun touch, but I'd I wish they'd even done a bit more with that. Just more interaction with the characters, since that's half the charm of the game was who is and who isn't in your party. Writing didn't seem to be the remake crew's strong point though. Honestly, being faithful to the original is probably way more than enough. It's just wishful that we could have gotten a little bit more than just a little bit extra.

The new techs and new game plus does make replaying through faster, which is sometimes great when you just want to play with combinations. They also let you reset your class with specific items, which is a fantastic addition. I don't use it much, but being reminded why Riese's light/light class had the worst summon, it was nice to be able to switch her around. I also like that you can change the outfits regardless of class, which is great when Angela's dark/dark class was honestly clashing terribly on top of being a bikini armor. Now when I want to use Ancient, I just switch to her more reasonable outfits.

Kevin and Duran getting boob armor for their dark ultimate class was amazing though. Hawkeye not having revealing outfits also gives way to lots of gender headcanons. I also now have a lot of polycule headcanons, because they absolutely are. Except Charlotte. She can cuddle, but she needs to grow mentally 50 years. Then she can be the hot half elf who hits up her silver foxes/cougars, but she does not act her age in the slightest and looks about ten so she's waiting until she does some growing.

Being able to fight the black rabite on all paths rather than only available for Duran/Angela main is great too. I mean, it's still traumatic in a deeply unhinged way, but again, the game is easier in the remake. That includes superboss. Though I did not appreciate being asked twice each time I go to fight it if I'm sure I want to fight it. Like, fuck you game. I've already got the psychological trauma of the original.

(It does make me miss my irc heyday, when I had my bot named BlackRabite and would occasionally switch over just to make it bounce.)

Rabites are still the Most Monster of all time. I love them. Even when they're murdering me or I'm murdering them. You can't actually kill the black rabite. It just bounces away when it's done messing with you.

Anyway, I've played through most of the classes now, though I think I'm still missing one of each for Riese/Duran/Charlotte. I actually did a no healer run this time, which was interesting. Way easier in this version, especially with certain shared techs, but it's nice to not have to plan a party on needing a healer. I'd probably have all the classes by now if I didn't like, use Hawkeye for everything, but hey. He's a fave. I did a Hawkeye-less run, of course, but still. He's going to be in my party the majority of the time, because I love my bisexual thief. (They made his ultimate class change item the Loyal sphere, which also hits mine and Riese's Loyality kink, just as she hits his kindness kink and yeah, I've got a lot of headcanons about Riese accepting her bisexual thief boyfriend and outside game canon incest is just going to happen. Sorry, square, you made that final scene of Eagle saying the memories they had together were his most precious treasure after you've made a prequel game I didn't play that made Hawkeye Flamekhan's grandson. I found this out through wikipedia (and will absolutely be checking out how to emulate gba now, because Hawkeye's mom sounds Badass) and only after you made me ship it, so now it's just Flamekhan who gets ulcers when he finds out with Jessica as a supportive sister-in-law because only he knows he disowned his badass daughter. He only has himself to blame, while Ignorance is gonna stay blissful. And while Jessica and Hawkeye are distancing themselves from the old man because they think he's being homophobic, Jessica takes over Nevarl. As she should. Queen of Thieves we all deserve.

(Falcon in the thereafter may have had a few ulcers herself, but then decided, fuck it. Her father was the one who said he didn't have a daughter first, so she doesn't have a father. She's got a cute son-in-law now instead of step brother and will have a cute amazon princess daughter-in-law soon, so her son is obviously doing well.)

I did warn you I have thought A Lot about this. XD

The one thing I kinda wish didn't carry over is the total play time, because I do really not need to know how many hours I spend on this game. But well, no one else needs to know. XD I also kind of wish the final class was more of a combination like it promised than just a few extra stats, but hey.

Anyway, in terms of a remake, I do highly recommend it. I enjoyed it greatly, and it's very New England english cast, which most people may or may not necessarily realize that all of them are from there, but those were the vowels of my people. Also, I'm more forgiving of Charlotte's manner of speaking now, because she's hilariously also strongly from New England.

Listen, when you're put in speech classes and told your accent is terrible as a child, it's only natural to turn to Spite. That's just how it is. XD

On a final note, they animated the merchants in the most unhinged manner possible, and I adore it. It's absolute madness. They went there and it's glorious.

[rukbat3]

Babylon 5 Rewatch - Chrysalis

This is a post I originally wrote several years ago for Mark Oshiro’s Mark Watches blog. I don’t really plan to edit them before posting, so there may be some references that don’t make sense. If you see words that look like gibberish, they are actually rot13, which was our way of discussing spoilers. There are plugins you can install to decode the text (Cryptext is the one I use), or you can copy/paste to rot13.com, or just ignore it.

“Nothing’s the same anymore.”

Truer words have rarely been spoken. Naq Fvapynve qbrfa'g rira xabj gur unys bs vg! This is one of my favorite season finales ever, along with The West Wing season 1 and Veronica Mars season 1. (Hmm, I’m sensing a theme.) However, the first time I watched the show, I didn’t even get to see it! This was one of the episodes we managed to fail to record! Whoops! (We also missed the next one.) As you may imagine, I was quite confused when I picked back up with episode 202! Still, when I finally managed to see this episode, I loved it, even though I sort of already knew what happened in it. But this also means that this is one of my most anticipated Mark episodes, so I can finally see what it’s like to watch the episode unspoiled!

Even though I think this episode is pretty much perfect, it does contain a couple of annoying tropes which are there solely to move the plot in the direction JMS wanted it to go. The first is at the very beginning of the episode, when Garibaldi’s informant plays the pronoun game with his dying words, “They’re going to kill him.” Thanks for nothing, dying informant guy! Maybe try to be more specific when you know you may have limited time to convey your crucial information? (This does lead to a nice, subtle moment a few scenes later when Sinclair asks Garibaldi who “they’re” going to kill, and Garibaldi responds, “That’s what I’m gonna find out,” and then the scene cuts to a news report showing the image of Earthforce One, but it’s still an annoying bit of contrivance.)

The other is, of course, later in the episode after Garibaldi has indeed found out who they’re going to kill, and instead of telling Sinclair immediately, he makes the baffling choice that this is news he has to share in person. On top of the fact that Garibaldi should know better than to tempt fate like this—even if he thinks no one knows what he has discovered, anything could happen to him on route and the intelligence would be lost again—I don’t understand what he thinks the danger is in sharing the news over the link. Even if they are overheard, where is the downside in more people being informed faster? So yeah, this makes me sigh a bit.

However, those minor quibbles fade when we get to the scene which is the real meat of this subplot—after Garibaldi has been shot and has managed to gasp out to Sinclair the words which Petrov should have said from the beginning: “They’re going to kill the President,” Sinclair desperately tries to get the message to someone—anyone—who can prevent the oncoming tragedy. Even though I have seen this episode numerous times, and knew what the outcome would be even the first time I saw it, this scene in C&C has me on the edge of my seat and breathing hard every single time! And when we actually see Earthforce One exploding, I cry. Every time. I view this shot as being one of the most iconic images of the whole series.

But the episode doesn’t end there, and we move into something perhaps even more depressing, in a subtler way, than the assassination itself. We learn that Sinclair’s report, when he is finally able to make it, isn’t believed. The explosion is being written off as an accident, and Sinclair is essentially told not to make waves. We don’t know yet whether this is a deliberate cover-up or just willful ignorance on the part of the Senator giving Sinclair his orders, but either way, it seems that nothing will be done to search for the perpetrators any further. And Garibaldi’s aide has managed to cut off any leads Sinclair might be able to follow on B5 itself.

[whole series] Gubfr bs hf jub unir frra gur frevrf orsber pna gryy gung vaqrrq, gur pbire-hc vf nyernql va shyy fjvat. Pynex unf boivbhfyl cynaarq jryy sbe guvf zbzrag naq unf uvf fhccbegref nyernql va cynpr.

[same] Naq gurer'f nabgure terng, fhogyr zbzrag va gur arjf oebnqpnfg ng gur raq, jurer jr urne gung Cerfvqrag Pynex, va uvf vanhtheny nqqerff, fnvq gung gurl arrq gb urny, naq gung ur jbhyq "ortva ol sbphfvat zber ba gur arrqf bs bhe bja crbcyr." Vg'f n yvar gung fbhaqf gbgnyyl vaabphbhf ng svefg tynapr, whfg n cbyvgvpny cyngvghqr, ohg vg raqf hc orpbzvat gur whfgvsvpngvba ng gur urneg bs fb znal bs gur rivy guvatf gung uvf nqzvavfgengvba raqf hc qbvat bire gur arkg frireny lrnef.

One last little thing about this subplot: [season 2] V ernyyl yvxr gung gur yhexre thl jvgu gur zrzbenoyr snpr fubjf hc ntnva, naq gheaf bhg gb or n gryrcngu uvqvat sebz gur Cfv Pbecf. Vg'f yvxr n yvggyr Rnfgre rtt!

Moving on to what Londo and G’Kar are up to in this episode, tensions between the Narn and the Centauri are ramping up, and the moral complexities of the situation are increasingly on display. The Narn, who were once enslaved by the Centauri, should be the sympathetic parties in this conflict, but their imperialistic behavior, and G’Kar’s belligerent gloating, makes it very hard to like them—but that still doesn’t mean they deserve what happens to them at the end of the episode. Whereas you can see Londo being backed into a corner by G’Kar’s bullying and his dissatisfaction with his government’s refusal to act, but still. Even though he doesn’t personally give the order to destroy that Narn outpost, he should know that there are consequences to making a deal with the devil. And there have been too many warning signs for him not to realize that is exactly what he is doing.

After Londo finds out exactly what he has set into motion, nygubhtu rira ur qbrfa'g ernyvmr gur shyy fpbcr bs vg ng guvf cbvag, he is appalled. “You killed 10,000 Narns!” he almost shouts, so that Morden has to shush him. And in that moment, he really is horrified. But Morden’s response, “I didn’t think you cared,” sets him back on his heels. You can see the conflict play out on his face. Of course he cares! This isn’t what he intended at all! But why should he care? They’re Narns, after all, and he hates Narns. Everyone will see this as a great Centauri victory, and that is what Londo wanted all along. He has a moment here where he could go either way, and he is still conflicted as Morden leaves—but he doesn’t condemn Morden’s tactics entirely, and he doesn’t reject the possibility of future help either. V guvax vg vf guvf zbzrag, naq abg gur bar rneyvre jura ur svefg nfxf sbe Zbeqra'f uryc, gung ernyyl qrsvarf Ybaqb'f shgher cngu.

Side note: Londo’s meetings with Mr. Morden take place in the hydroponics garden that runs through the center line of the station. How much do I love this worldbuilding detail? I love it a lot.

Secondary side note: Londo and Vir trying to puzzle out what Earth expression Londo is thinking of: funniest part of the episode, Y/Y?

And then there’s Delenn. What’s going on with her?!? She’s been planning something for a while—we first saw her starting to work on that geometrical structure thing in “Signs and Portents,” and Alisa Beldon in “Legacies” read the word “chrysalis” in her mind. And the other Grey Council member gave her the triluminary in “Babylon Squared,” although it was unclear if he knew why she wanted it. But until now, we had no idea these things all went together, and we certainly didn’t know that the one in the chrysalis would be Delenn! So it seems that she must be changing into something, but what? Does she even know? Lennier seems worried. Should we be? Tune in next week to find out! ;)

Finally, Catherine Sakai is back! I always love seeing her; I really think the actress brings something special to the role. [whole series] Vg'f ernyyl gbb onq gung guvf vf gur ynfg gvzr jr trg gb frr ure, nygubhtu pbafvqrevat gung vs WZF unq orra noyr gb ubyq gb uvf bevtvany cyna, fur jnf nobhg gb trg xvyyrq ba n fheirl zvffvba gb M'un'qhz, vg'f cebonoyl sbe gur orfg, naq V pna whfg nqq vg gb zl yvfg bs Ernfbaf gb Or Tengrshy sbe O5 Cybg Punatrf. Ng yrnfg guvf jnl fur trgf gb yvir ba va gur obbxf! (Naq fcrnxvat bs gur obbxf, jr ernyyl arrq gb trg Znex gb ernq Gb Qernz va gur Pvgl bs Fbeebjf bapr ur'f ernpurq n cbvag jura vg'f abg fcbvyrel.)

Favorite scene: Sinclair delivering the Most Romantic Proposal ever. :-P LOL, he’s so awkward, I love it. And you can see the exact moment Catherine catches on and then waits for him to finish stumbling through his speech with the most adorable smirk on her face! We haven’t seen much of the two of them together, but I love them so much. <3