#i wish i could yoink all of these from my screen

[fandomshmandom69]

Here’s Eddie and Frank to join the Welcome Home as funko pop series :)!

Ignore Eddie’s hat- its hates me for whatever reason and I can never get it to look right 💀

[kirindensetsu]

Twice a year I have to pull all the big plants off the apartment balcony for ~fire escape inspection~ which is the only time I rotate the pots. Color me surprised that the bamboo is finally dense enough to make a screen.

My biotope is less lovely than in its first year but it's got tadpoles + birds n' bats come to drink from it so it's Doing Something. The exciting development of the year is that the haphazard tuber division I yoinked from an abandoned field has turned into a mature ヒメガマ cattail.

I didn't prune the grapes back to one cluster this year, so they're overcropped and not ripening evenly, but the ripe ones are delicious as they come in. Contrary to their American supermarket appearance this year they are black fox cultivar "Kyoho". I wish I could grow "Zante" but I think it's too mildew-y humid for them.

[chocoenvy]

"i hate that i still care for you" part 2

part one part three

please i was listening to a song and it was such bomb inspiration for this. i just NEED this kind of angst in my life okay? It's fun. it highkey doesn't feel like a part two but it's set in the same timeline, universe, etc. so it fits it's fine

Warnings: Gore (not that hardcore or in-depth but g o r e), cult behaviors, slight platonic yandere behavior, cursing, angst

"I thought I loved you but then I saw the rain. I blinked, you were not the same."

You had caught wind of something odd happening. The sky was odd, darker than usual in the bright Mondstat. The birds worriedly fluttered around you before flying away. Young animals sought sanctuary around you. The wind had picked up speed, and the earth was worried (it was an odd thing to say but when you had described the feeling to Zhongli he seemed to understand).

You followed the wind and asked the animals where the problem was, "I'll take care of it." You comfortingly pet the young boars and foxes.

You rushed there, the worry from the passing wildlife making you nervous. You could hear the commotion from afar and you ran to find out what was happening. You arrived and found three angry archons standing over a poor soul on the ground.

"Imposter!" Zhongli rumbled, the earth shaking with him. His shout made you flinch hard. Covering your head with your hands and ducking under cover. "How dare you impersonate our god!"

"I'm not-!"

"Quiet!" Venti shouted.

That's not my windborne bard. You shivered, That's not the archon of freedom.

"You will not defame our god this way." The sky blackened with Ei's voice.

The anger, the fury in their voices sent shivers down your spine. You were frozen behind your cover, hiding from the archons like you had to do so many times before. Your breathing and heart rate rapidly picked up pace, begging you to run, but you were frozen.

They're going to kill me. They're gonna find me. They're gonna kill me. Run run run run run! Your legs were useless though, you merely gripped onto your head desperately. Wishing you would just dissapear.

"Stop-!" A voice cried desperately, a sob choking them.

This isn't about me. You whipped your head around, peaking out to see red blood staining the ground. The poor person clutching an arm they no longer had. Their eyes were wild with fear and the same color as yours.

Zhongli's spear was coated in blood.

Anger sparked in your chest, quickly catching fire and spreading to every corner of your body until you were shaking from rage.

You stood up, confidence in your godly abilites making you unafriad (how quick you could open up the character screen and yoink their five star weapons and artifacts for yourself).

"Stop!" You screamed. They froze. Their eyes almost as afraid as the poor writhing person on the ground.

You immediately ran to their side, you frankly didn't know jack shit about healing but your inventory was stock full of healing items. You opened it up and pulled out what you could, praying it would be enough.

"Shh, shh," You cooed, "It's hard but can you please eat this for me? It'll make you feel better, I promise."

They sniffled, taking a hesitant bite out of it. They didn't look in the mood to eat, in fact they looked ready to throw up, but they obeyed you anyways.

They immediately looked relieved, and their bleeding slowed down a bit.

"Can you take another bite? Please?" You pratically begged, holding it up to their lips.

They shakily did so.

"Your-"

"Shut. Up." You growled, refusing to look at them, "I'll deal with you three later."

It took all of your will to not tighten your grip on the food or the poor person, but you continued to feed them until the food was gone and they were completely healed. Sadly, you didn't think you'd be able to get them their left arm back.

"You're-" They hiccuped, "Thank-thank you." They sniffled, their breathing so erratic they could barely speak, "I'm- so-sorry-"

"No, you have nothing to apologize for." Your gaze softened, "I'm sorry I let this happen to you. Please. Breath with me okay?"

"O-okay."

You used all the techniques you knew and could think of the calm the person down, ordering the archons to go away, you'd talk to them later.

Once they were calm, they pratically passed out in your arms. You sighed in relief, they seemed okay to you at least but you needed to get them a doctor. You pursed your lips and closed your eyes, holding onto the person tight. When you opened your eyes, you were at your teapot realm, Albedo and Sucrose sitting near where you had teleported to.

"Albedo!" You called, "Sucrose!" The two perked up and looked at you, "Come here I need your help!" At the panic in your tone, the two rushed as quickly as they could to your side.

"Your grace? What's-?"

"They're hurt! Bad! They didn't do anything wrong and need help please!" You passed the person to Albedo, who cautiously carried them.

"Your grace, we don't have all the supplies here-" Albedo muttered.

"I can get us to your lab, please, we just need to make sure they're okay."

They couldn't say no to you, especially with how desperate you looked. You left the person with Albedo and Sucrose, albeit reluctently, but they were loyal. They would listen to you.

Your fists clenched.

The archons didn't.

You summoned the archons to your throne room where Khaenri'ah was being rebuilt as extra salt in the wound. You had dissmissed everyone else, so it was only the four of you.

They begged immediately. Squabbling words like fucking rats.

"What had I told you?" You gritted your teeth.

They hesitated, and you wanted to throw something.

"To not hurt someone that looked like you." They muttered.

It made your stomach squirm and heart palpitate in rage at how much they looked like children being scolded. They weren't children, they had almost murdered someone for looking like you.

You opened your mouth but then it hit you.

They weren't scared of you.

You should've been glad, you wanted to be glad.

They were supposed to be your lovely friends. Softly playing the lyre, amazing tea reccomendations, beautiful jewelery, flowers, gliding together, stories from centuries ago, calming rain, playing in the rain, trips to the sacred sakura.

They were supposed to be how the game depicted. When you were just friends with them and not a god, they were amazing. But their devotion was too powerful.

They weren't friends anymore, they were out of line worshipers.

"I had told you that if there was somebody purposefully trying to impersonate me then I would deal with it." You growled, "Does my word mean nothing to you?"

"No! Your grace it's just..." Venti protested, "We didn't want them to have any priveledge of seeing you. Of being in your presence. We wanted them to be hurt so they'd never even think of doing it again."

There was a sadistic gleam in Venti's eyes. You couldn't shake it. There was no sign of that in the game, or whenever he talked to or about anyone else.

You glared down at them, "The amount of faith the three of you have in me is disspointing and damn near insulting. I can take care of this problem without nearly murdering someone. It shouldn't even be a problem!" You threw your hands in the air, your vision colored red, "You treated me the same way! I never wanted to see that again and yet you refused to listen to me!" Tears pricked the back of your eyes threateningly, "That person now has to live with the same fear I do for something they can't change! I have the power to stop unecessary violence and yet when I tell you to do something! You refused to listen!"

You were breathing heavily, your vision and fists shaking. The three archons were on their knees, their tears dripping on the floor, and their limbs shaking from fear and shame.

No, not fear. They still don't fear me.

The anger dissipated, just a bit, replaced with indifference and dissapointment. "How many chances have I given you three? With how much you've hurt me." You muttered more to yourself, but they still heard.

They stayed silent.

You sighed, leanded back in your throne, and hummed, "Do you archons have regeneration abilities?" You smiled. It was empty and didn't reach your eyes.

[elindae-writes]

For some reason, I can't stop thinking of what would happen if Minecraft YouTuber Megatron got his hands on Orion.

Like, imagine being Orion, having just arrived onto the Nemesis while having no idea where you are and what's going on, and the first thing you are made aware of is that Megatron, your old buddy, is now apparently trying to conquer an alien planet by playing video games to an audiency that seems to exist only to make fun of him.

Megatron is live and just pauses in the middle of one of his rant, looks at where the door presumably is, and bolts away from the camera, only to return a few seconds later with a very confused and scared to death looking Orion, who is promptly forced to watch as Megatron gradually descends into madness in front of an audience of 10 thousand people, all of whom are just spamming emotes into the chat.

Orion tries to very subtly escape, and Megatron doesn't even look away from the camera, doesn't pause whatever monologue he's in the middle of, and just yoinks Orion back into the frame.

Megatron: "Humans, I have returned once again! I wish to speak about a rather pressing manner, one that concerns my oldest friend having just recently joined our ranks. I have missed him so greatly!"

And Orion is looking at him from the corner of the screen like

Megatron then insists that he and Orion do "fun" activities while livestreaming.

"Orion let's play Twister"

Orion would then awkwardly stand near the colorful dotted mat and grimace at it.

"Orion why are you not putting your pede on the blue circle."

Orion does so extremely hesitantly as if he's being forced to put his pede into a box of scraplets.

Megatron scoffs and then says "let me show you how it's done. man the spinner!"

Megatron then goes feral on Twister while Orion spins the spinner and calls out the colors as if his life depends on it (because in a way, it does). Megatron is just a pretzel on the mat by the end of this. Orion takes the opportunity to grab the camera and run away.

"observe how deftly and expertly i placed my talon upon the green circle. orion? orion are you impressed?"

Yes, Orion would flee and take the camera with him in the hopes that it would ensure Megatron could not expose his insanity to Earth anymore.

The chat just freaking loses it as the stream is abducted. It's being aired on cable news networks now.

Ratchet starts his own rival livestream.

[jade-parcels]

My thoughts on the 1.7 update

(Spoilers! And my own opinion, you are free to disagree!!)

Overall I am absolutely thrilled!! I can’t wait for this update, Inazuma looks SO gorgeous!! Getting to meet the new characters and see all of the new landscapes/enemies/puzzles will be so fun!!

I’m glad that the Inazuma release is in 2 parts. Not only that, but the Sacred Sakura prevents us from exploring everything at one time. This way we can take our time and not really have to worry about speed runners spoiling everything the second the islands are released!!

The areas I’m most excited about are the shrine at the Sacred Sakura cause oh my gosh it’s gorgeous!! I also can’t wait to meet the Shiba inu running the tea house, I can’t remember the name of the tea house but it looks so pretty!! Lastly, the big building in Inazuma City, the shogun’s palace? Is that what it is? Idk, it’s where Baal lives(maybe??) and it looks like it’ll be so cool to explore!

I cant complain about any part of the map yet since I haven’t seen it. Right now, I only have positive opinions on Inazuma as a region

Moving onto the characters so far:

I yoinked these images off of Google so idk the source, sorry!

Gouru: I think his design is interesting, I enjoy his color palette! He’s nice to look at. I like the fact that he’s a Geo bow user but…Im disappointment that there are so many bow characters being released at once :( They’re just so hard to use on mobile and though I’ve forced myself to suck it up for Venti and Childe, I wish we’d get more catalysts and claymores instead of archers UGH lmao

Tohma: I am SO looking forward to Tohma’s release!! He seems like a fun guy! I don’t know much about him other than the fact that he’s Ayaka’s fiancé but hey!! Apparently we’re gonna meet him sooner than I thought we would!!

Yae: I absolutely adore her design. She breaks the “Hydro = blue clothes” “Electro = purple clothes” color palette trend. While there are exceptions like Beidou and Kazuha right now, most characters share color schemes with their vision. So seeing Yae with her pretty pink hair and red clothes while wielding an electro vision just makes me happy!! I’ll definitely be pulling for her

Sara: As much as I want to like her, I just can’t. At least not yet, maybe I’ll change my mind once we get to meet her and learn about her personality! There’s just too much about her that I don’t like. First off, I think she is bland. Mihoyo low key does a not so good job of designing women. Amber, Eula and Jean all suffer from bland outfit syndrome. Sara suffers from bland hair and face syndrome. Even her outfit could have been more detailed. And in addition to that, she’s another archer. So yeah…If she’s a 4 star, I know I’ll get her at some point but if she’s a 5 star, she’ll be a banner I skip

Shogun/Baal: Oh miss electro archon….Mihoyo did you so dirty. I’m sorry, she’s the goddess of electro and she looks like any other civilian. I was expecting something more grand for our first female archon release. I was hoping she would have more detail in her clothes, maybe extra hair accessories or thigh highs that aren’t one solid color? I don’t know, I just had high expectations! Am I being too judgmental? Possibly. But looking at characters we already have or have met, she doesn’t give the ‘wow’ factor I thought she would. Will I pull for her though anyway? Of course

Kokomi: She WAS going to be Mimi I think! This is Mimi’s model in a different outfit! Names aside, she’s very pretty! I was iffy on her design when I saw the leaks but when I saw her on screen in the livestream today? I was sold on her!! However…She will be our third, you heard me THIRD hydro catalyst which is a HUUUGE bummer. Of course, we never saw her fight so her weapon could maybe change (please Mihoyo please please give her a polearm) but I doubt that will happen. So for that reason, I won’t be pulling for her. But I will admire her from afar *sigh*

Kazuha: He wasn’t included in the update since he’s…out right now but i thought I’d talk about him too. I think his character is super interesting!! But sadly I will be skipping his banner. I did one ten pull and got Keqing so I’m going to save my guaranteed for miss Yoimiya!!! I am looking forward to a Kazuha story quest for sure! I think his design is cool, I don’t have much to comment on other than….why did he get the same face as Aether…dude…

Yoimiya: My Queen. My love. I have 20 wishes saved for her already and now a guaranteed on the event banner. I am not a fan of archers but she is an exception for sure! Her design, her ult animation, her idle animation…She’s so cute and I NEED her!!! I can see it now, my built team with Yoimiya, Eula, Bennett and Keqing all together fighting samurai in Inazuma! Wowwww :’) I am biased because she’s my favorite of the confirmed characters but…We’re all allowed to be a little biased sometimes :)

Ayaka: Everyone is hyping her up!! I am not really on that train! I’m excited for her cause she’s an interesting character! Her animations look cool and her design is beautiful, I’ve thought that since the eaaaaaarly leaks!! I just personally don’t enjoy her play style enough to go wild and pull for her. Sorry!! But I am loyal to Kaeya. He’s the only cryo sword user for me 💕 that’s a joke

Sayu: Eh, I’m pretty neutral on her. I’m glad to have an Anemo claymore combo but I just don’t enjoy playing as kid characters, they’re too small!! I bet she’ll be great and I hope everyone who wants her will get her!! I just won’t be jumping for joy when I inevitable pull her from Yoimiya’s banner

One more gripe, notice how we still don’t have Dendro characters?? I am desperate for Baizhu. Where is he? :( I need him >:)

In addition to my thoughts on the characters I might have an unpopular opinion reguarding the standard banner. It’s time for an update. Here’s who I think should be on the standard banner reboot if we get one:

- Albedo (takes Keqing’s place)

- Qiqi (stays since she’s a healer)

- Kokomi (takes Mona’s place)

- Eula (takes Diluc’s place) or Ayaka(?)

- Jean (stays unless Sara is a 5 star)

And I have my reasons too. Albedo is popular and would make people pull from the standard banner. Qiqi’s gotta stay since she’s a healer and we need character model diversity in the standard lineup. Kokomi is another hydro catalyst so she can easily replace Mona I guess. Eula wasn’t that popular and could be redeemed by being on the standard banner so people can get her cons, Ayaka could also go on this banner due to her popularity? So after her banner, she can just be plopped on the standard to draw people in. And I can’t think of a replacement for Jean UNLESS Sara is a 5 star, which I doubt she will be. Sara screams ‘standard banner character’.

Finally, I’m stoked about the PlayStation thingy!! We can login on PlayStation now!! Yay!! Exclusive wings, here I come >:)

[dukeofonions]

Reaction Redux (I know it doesn’t make sense but it sounds cool)

Alright, here is my initial reaction to Putting Others First: Selfishness vs Selflessness Redux.

It’s finally here, I’ve watched it a total of two times and currently have it on in the background as I type this, and I have a lot of feelings. All of which would be too much for one post, so after I do this I’ll be making a few separate posts addressing certain points I’d like to expand on further. 

So what I’m going to do is have the video playing as I write this out, that way I don’t miss out anything I wanted to discuss. Basically it’s not gonna be a full on analysis, just a lot of random ramblings with what I hope are some insightful gems sprinkled throughout. Consider these my notes for all my future serious analysis posts. 

Good? Great. Let’s go.  (Also spoilers under the cut)

So, how did I feel as I watched the video for the first time? Well considering I got the notification for the video while I was still at work, I couldn’t get as excited as I wanted to be about it because I didn’t get off until 8pm and had to deal with one too many dunderheads so I was pretty grumpy once I got off. 

However, as soon as I got home and retreated to the safety of my isolation fortress (aka my bedroom) I was finally able to get excited as I got on my laptop and pulled up the video and let me just say I was a mess the entire time. I missed my boys!!! I knew they wouldn’t all be present, but I still missed my boys!!! And I loved seeing them again!!! 

First things first, that song at the beginning! I think it’s called Review Redux (correct me if I’m wrong) it’s such a freaking bop and I wish it was longer because I could listen to it all day. I loved the artwork and little details that went into their characters, and how each of the circles represented who was singing/talking by their colors. Fun stuff and a great way to recap everything! As well as foreshadow things to come within the episode… “If our goals aligned with his what would that say?” Roman you’re in for a rude awakening bud… 

Also, the little moment near the beginning where Patton is about to shut Thomas’ negative thinking down, but stops himself and allows Thomas to explain why he feels that way. Showing that he’s learned to ease up just a little since he learned to do so in Dealing With Intrusive Thoughts. Good for you Patton. 

Speaking of Patton, oh he is so confused. I understand where he’s coming from, and honestly everything he said are things I have been taught growing up, and this is something I’ll address in another post because I have a lot of things to say about it. But just know that I adore the development Patton has been going through and watching him grow and mature. 

Oh yes, I must mention I was pleasantly surprised to see Logan. I didn’t think he’d show up in this episode, or at the very least have a brief appearance, but I love how he took part and by far the funniest part in this episode (to me) is when he had so much to say in one little post that it popped up and hit Patton in the nose. It was one of the few moments where I laughed out loud and I rewound it a few times on my first viewing. 

Plus Thomas being more concerned about the blinds than Patton. My type of humor. And Roman actually gets to use his sword for once, good for him! 

(Funny enough as I typed this the video got to that part at the exact same time so I got a nice little laugh again) 

Which brings up my next point: Logan getting yoinked after Patton skips his dialogue. No one talks about how he does his little impression of that philosopher, am I the only one who found that utterly adorable? 

Let Logan geek out over philosophers please. He clearly loves it so much. 

Then we get to Roman believing he’s the one responsible for everything, wanting to give up the driver’s seat to Patton. And just… This exchange of dialogue:

Thomas: “Roman, I only mean well when I say…” Thomas: “That that is the stupidest thing you have ever said.” Roman: “Oh Thomas, you’re just blowing smoke.” 

I don’t know why I enjoy this so much but I do. Give me more of this. I crave it now.

And I just need to make a whole post about Patton in this video, there is so much to unpack with him alone.

Looking back and noticing that Thomas only starts listening to Logan after he’s been replaced by Deceit kinda hurts. 

Speaking of which, can we appreciate how much better Deceit has gotten at impersonating Logan? Looks like he took Roman’s advice and focused on the little things. Good for him. 

Alright, one of my absolute favorite parts from this episode and where things really start to shine: Patton freaks out and turns into a giant frog because he’s so desperate to have an answer for them he flips and honestly, sounds a little crazy. Which, I don’t know why but I find it both menacing and hilarious at the same time? 

Also the fact he turns into a frog because he was talking about Frogger earlier, nice touch! (And Lilypadton that’s so cute) 

Then we get probably the single greatest character entrance in the history of character entrances. We find out that Deceit finally reveals himself and steps in to stand up to Patton and get him to see how his actions have been having a negative effect on Thomas. 

The way his voice changes from Logan’s to his own, his music kicking in, “The Lord of the Lies” oh my gosh it’s all just perfect! Also Roman’s “Reptilian Rapscallion! Reptilian Rapscallion! We’ve got a code yellow!” 

And if I may: Roman: “What have you done with Logan?!” Deceit: “Nothing at all and I resent the question.” 

WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM YOU SNEK?! 

(in all honest probably nothing but what if) 

Important to note here that Roman instantly begins defending Patton from Deceit as soon as he accuses him of misleading Thomas. This goes to show just how much Roman views him as a villain. Or in other words: Patton, good. Deceit, bad. A viewpoint he continues to hold onto until the end of the episode, which also deserves it’s entire post because we all know how much turbulence that caused within the fandom. 

And to the observant eye, you’ll notice that the cane (or staff) Deceit uses is the same one that dragged Logan off screen. 

Frog puns. That is all.

I just, I love Deceit’s dialogue throughout this scene. It’s stuff I need to hear and tell myself on a regular basis. And I’d honestly rewatch this part (along with the rest of what Deceit and Logan say later on in the video) because it’s all something I need to also teach myself. But this ain’t meant to be a personal post so I’ll just move on. 

Deceit’s walk towards the camera. I don’t know why. It’s so smooth. He’s amazing. I love him. Snek… 

I have problems don’t @ me. 

Also no one is mentioning the reference to that one “Turn based rpg” short that Thomas made with his friends and I find that sad because it’s a neat and fitting reference given the theme of this video. Also earlier on when the trolley problem is first brought up all the people on the bottom track are Thomas’ friends. Another neat little detail, though sadly, their digital selves perished. 

PETER SINGER 

Logan doesn’t seem to like Deceit much, not outright hate him or anything, but it’s more like he just tolerates him but doesn’t seek to get on good terms with him. Which is a shame because as both parts of SVS have proven, these two have the capacity to work together. Which is why I hope Logan gets a debate episode with him as well because out of all the Sides, these two have interacted the least and that needs to be remedied (especially when they’re my two favorites) 

Deceit is trying to make Roman understand, but he’s so caught up in this black and white thinking that he disregards everything Deceit says! Why? Because the last time he tried to hear Deceit out he was reprimanded. (In other words, I relate to Roman so much in this that it hits a little too close to home and I’m definitely making a separate post about this. 

Deceit: *confused* Trees? And I’m so glad I found out I’m not the only dunce who thought Deceit’s name was going to be written on his hand… 

But seriously this whole moment, with the buildup, Deceit’s reluctance to share his name, the music, I’d put it up there with Virgil’s “I was one of them” for best Sanders Sides scenes.

Also, Deceit’s name is Janus! I was a little iffy about it at first, but since I didn’t ever really have a prediction for his name, I wasn’t disappointed and the name is growing on me. 

And then, the moment of trust is immediately ruined by Roman laughing. Dude, come on. (again though, post for another time because I understand where Roman is coming from here)

In all seriousness though I just love the last bits of this episode. The emotion, the angst, it doesn’t hold back and I appreciate the team taking things a step further than normal. Usually, moments like this are followed up by a joke to play it off, but they don’t do that after Roman sinks out. They stay in the moment until it’s had time to sink in. I wish the episode had ended a little more somberly, but I think this is a good step in the right direction. Showing that there won’t always be a 100% happy conclusion to things. Sometimes you need to take time in between to figure things out. 

This line: “Do you think there’s a limit to how many times someone can say sorry before you have to admit that they’re just bad for you?” This line is so important to me within the context of the episode and outside of it. I won’t get too personal but I will say that I was raised to believe that if a person wronged me in any way, that if they said sorry, I had to forgive them. Even if they did the same thing over and over and over again. As long as they apologize, you have to forgive them and move on. And that has messed me up in so many different ways, especially when those people are family. 

Janus sums it up best with “It depends” because yes, some people make the same mistakes again and again. But there’s a difference between someone trying to change and accidentally falling back on old habits, and someone taking advantage of your “forgiveness” that they continue to do those hurtful things because they know they can get away with it and not have to change. 

Also, while it’s totally fine for people to dislike Patton, I can’t understand how anyone could watch this episode and claim that he’s still the same as he was at the beginning of SVS Part One because he has changed. He has finally realized just how much he’s been hurting Thomas, and even Roman. He sinks out at the end to apologize to him, he recognizes his faults, and he’s seeking to make amends. He wants to do the right thing here, and keep in mind that recently a lot of his views (which are also Thomas’ views) have been flipped on their heads and they both need to rethink some things. It’s part of growing up and becoming your own person. 

I need to make a whole post about the more personal things that I got from the last three episodes (excluding Asides) because there’s just so many important things these episodes teach and I feel the need to address them. 

Also everyone sleeping on the fact that Leslie Odom Jr. just casually makes an appearance and attempts to start a pilot episode for his own series “Odom Sides” which I wish him luck on. He just wants to be in the room where it happens. 

Everything Patton did was for Thomas, so he wouldn’t be left in the dark again. He promised to keep fighting but ultimately, ended up fighting himself. Am I deep yet?

“Those imperfections don’t make you any less worthy of love” can you tell how much this episode means to me yet? 

Janus’ “I’ll take care of him.” Ack, he just cares so much… My gosh… Where did this character come from and what did he do with the slimy boi? (I mean that in two different ways)

Oh, there he is. That’s my boi. 

“There are smarter ways to get people to do what you want anyway.” “There are much less barbaric, much more fun, forms of sabotage.” 

Parallels? Maybe? What the heck I love Janus whether he’s encouraging Thomas to look after his mental health or plot his schemes in the shadows. Do I trust Janus? Oh heck no, of course not. There is something suspicious going on here and I both love it and hate it. More on that in a different post though.

“You’re not stuck with an evil snake boi. You’re just stuck with a snek boi.” 

Yes Thomas, continue to overthink every little issue until it results in a mental breakdown. Hm, sounds like what someone with anxiety does… I suppose that’s why this series exists. 

Okay call me a bad person but I almost always space out during Thomas’ messages to the viewers at the end of the videos. I don’t know why but I cannot focus on them to save my life and usually end up skipping past them to get to the end card. I dunno, maybe because it takes me out of the moment? Especially during episodes where they don't’ address the audience at all and then suddenly “Oh yeah! This is a Youtube series lol” it just feels out of place in more story driven episodes like this one. 

Okay am I the only one that’s kinda creeped out by Lee and Mary Lee? I dunno they just seem, off. Like if they were characters in a horror movie they’d be that overly nice couple that turn out to be the killers. Those are the vibes they give me. Maybe it’s because I have zero people skills due to being homeschooled all my life and the only social interaction I get is with coworkers so I dunno. They still creep me out. They creep me out more than Remus. And he legit freaked me out for a bit before he stole my heart. (I suppose this means I need to make a separate post about these two because I do have some opinions about whether or not it was a good idea to actually include them at the end. When I said I had too many thoughts about this episode I meant it)

And if the end card is any indication, I’m going to assume that the Sides are invisible to everyone except Thomas. Unless they’re just “observing” and not even Thomas can see them at this point, given he shows no indication of seeing or hearing them there. Maybe they get to choose when they’re visible? Or Thomas does? I dunno, the rules of this universe have never been clearly stated and are inconsistent. 

I didn’t expect Patton to be the first to accept Janus, and I’m kinda glad I was proven wrong. It does seem fitting with Patton’s growth and I liked their little moment at the end. 

And that wraps up my commentary. I hope you found something in this mess of, things. I plan to go more in depth with my separate posts which I’m going to have fun writing, so be on the lookout for those! 

Also at the time of writing this I now have 63 followers?! Thank y’all so much! I never thought this blog would get this far and I’m so glad it did because I’m having a lot of fun with it and hope to bring out more content regularly! Again, thank you!!

[the-fox-populi-says]

Written & directed by Fangirl Quarantino

Ao3 has been very Foxphobic in that first I had to wait a whole day for an invite once I decided in the spur of a moment I should really make an account, and then telling me my username did not follow requirements (...it really did?? I swear!). So. Ao3 link might follow when that is fixed but for now, have a direct copy-paste of my latest one-shot. Summary: After an Order meeting runs late during a curfew, Shiro is stuck in Faust Mansion. Mephisto offers to poof him home, but had a few glasses and Shiro does not trust drunk magic. He also doesn't trust drunk opportunist Mephisto conveniently having no guest rooms available, and goes in search of alternative beds. Characters: Shiro, Mephisto, Belial, Ukobach Tags: #There was only one bed #which may have been by design #omg they were curfew mates #adult language #nudity #violence #banter #humour #alcohol #mature #Suggestiveness #no out-right smut #But the Thought is there #and a little #erotic aesphyxiation #never killed anyone #oh wait it did actually #Not this time though #dubious consent #or however you call relocating an unconscious naked person for your amusement but without actually feeling them up #well maybe a little #but with a towel

Enjoy~

“What do you mean, I can't go home?!” Shiro yelled at the unmoved face of the butler.

“Curfew, sir. It's past 9 pm.”

Fuck. That was right- there had been a surge in demon activity lately, and as a counter-measure, the Order had issued a strict no-going-out-after-dark policy. “Oh come on- I'm a professional! Any demon encountering me is in more danger than I am.”

“Even unarmed?” A smug, slightly lilting voice inquired behind his back. Shiro balled his fists, surpressing the urge to use them on the face that voice belonged to.

The same face and voice that had informed him a couple weeks earlier he was no longer allowed to bring firearms to Order meetings. Not since he'd emptied almost an entire magazine into the back of Mephisto's chair after the Osaka incident. Insufficient informants his ass. As if that mission hadn't been payback for the whoopie cushion the week before. As if a round of bullets would even kill the bastard. Wimps.

“Could neither of you have informed me sooner?! I was only sticking around because captain naggy pants over here-” he threw out his entire arm to gesture; “-insisted it would be bad form to leave with all the high-ups still here.”

“Bitte do not yell at my butler- it's not hisch fault you don't know how to use a watch.”

Shiro again considered the use of his fists, but instead opted for a look of Promise over his shoulder at the grinning demon getting up from behind the fancy desk.

“Oh relax, Shiro. I can juscht teleport you home.” “Oh nononono- There will be no. Poofing.” He switched from fists to pointing, and waved a warning finger at Mephisto's raised eyebrows.

“May I ask warum nicht?”

“Because you just had to serve prosecco at your stupid meeting and you have the poorest alcohol tolerance in the world. And a sweet tooth.” The eyebrows shot down, along with the corners of his mouth in an affronted expression.

“I had three glasses!” “Yes, and I can see you swaying from where I stand.”

Not to mention the increased use of German. Shiro folded his arms.

“Last time you looked like that and poofed me somewhere, I ended up in the middle of a rice field because you had sake on your brain.”

Mephisto made a dismissive motion with one hand. With the other he pretended not to grip the edge of the desk for balance.

“I'll juscht concentrate very hard on your apartment, it'll be fine.”

“Oh hell no- I don't wanna end up half inside my shower cabin, or inside a wall. I'm staying here. You have like five hundred rooms anyway.”

He turned around. “Yo Belial, point me to a guest room, would ya.”

No response. The butler looked even stiffer than usual, but bounced his eyes back and forth between the two men as if following a tennis match.

Shiro growled. “What?”

Finally, Belial mustered the courage to speak. “I'm afraid there are currently none available, sir.”

“...What.”

He shot a venomous look at Mephisto, who avoided his gaze and uncharacteristically fumbled with the buttons on his vest.

“I may have... clearedthelaschtonetomakeroomfurmeinecollectionofPokémoncards.”

Of course.

“So make a new one!”

Wrong move. Never order Mephisto around. The somewhat apologetic pout was gone in an instant and replaced by silken lechery.

“Oh now Shiro, you don't want me to use my magic while drunk, do you~?”

“...Seriously.”

“You know, there is another option...” The green eyes briefly slid sideways, returning to the exorcist's face to serve up a very clear and satisfied Suggestion.

Funny, how those three glasses of pink bubbly suddenly seemed to have left his system. Even funnier how there suddenly was a direct, open door from his office to his bedroom.

“...You wish.” Shiro planted his feet firmly on the ground. “Allow me to decline that offer with a resounding Fuck No.”

Mephisto rolled his eyes. “Oh please- I'll likely won't even use it tonight. There's a Voltron marathon on channel 12.”

“Ever heard of the phrase 'tying the cat to the bacon', because that's what me sleeping in your bed would be.”

“You overestimate this cat's interescht in your bacon.”

Waddayaknow. Little bubbly left in there after all. But apparently not so much that he couldn't poof himself into a shimmering baby blue chamber robe.

“Bullshit.” Shiro scoffed. “I've seen you checking out my bacon since the moment it turned legal and probably a good bit before that.”

“Very well.” The demon shrugged, and assumed a leisurely walk towards the pillow nest in front of the tv, with the obvious intent to install himself there for the rest of the night. “You're welcome to find yourself the softest spot of floor, then.”

Shiro sauntered after him, a smirk creeping up on his lips. “Actually, I have a better idea.” The moment Mephisto's satin-clad butt would have touched the pink bean bag, Shiro yoinked it from under him, causing the bony structure to make sudden, harsh contact with the marble tiles.

“Ow! What in-”

“Bed aqcuired. Goodnight.” Bean bag under one arm, Shiro marched off.

Mephisto crawled out of the surrounding pillows, rubbing his back with one hand and carrying murderous intent in his eyes.

“Give that BACK, the show's starting in 2 minutes!”

“If you're so confident about your magic, why don't you make me.”

Wrong move again, yes. But too delectable to pass up on. Shiro grinned, tossing the bean bag back and forth between his hands.

“Unless of course, you feel a bit nervous about your aim while I'm standing right in front of your precious figurine collection.”

A hesitation. Mephisto wavered. Little bubbly left in there after all. ...Dare he? He dared. Shiro stuck out his tongue.

Terrible move. The demon's eyes narrowed, and out of nowhere a yellow rubber ball with red stars flew off a shelf, bounced off the floor and hit Shiro square under the chin. He instantly dropped the bean bag to clasp both hands over his mouth with a pained groan.

“Told you there's nothing wrong with my aim.” A poof, and the bean bag was back in its rightful place: under Mephisto, who took his merry time wiggling himself into the most comfortable position.

“Stop being a crybaby and let me take you home, or enjoy the floor.”

Shiro lowered his hands and scowled at the back of Mephisto's head, and that oh so annoying flippant hand motion illustrating this fight was clearly over and he was the victor. As it should be.

When met with a display that level of self-assured superiority, one can only respond in either of two ways. Admit you lost... Or get petty.

“...Fine, swew you.” Fuck. Difficult to sound convincingly stubborn when his tongue wouldn't work.

“Thewe's bound to be a couch somewhewe. Hey Belial, help me out here, would you.” Finally. “Where's the nearest bed-like structure?”

“Belial, do absolutely not help him.” Asshole didn't even look up, just tapped at the remote.

Belial froze, looking extremely unhappy about being involved in their dispute.

“...Dude, seriously, you're a butler. Helping guests is just as much your job as pampering his childish ass.”

“...” Merely a gaze of concern at his master, and an apologetic look in Shiro's direction, pressing his lips tightly together.

Shiro growled. “Fuckin' bootlicker.”

-Some 25 minutes later-

Mephisto's bedroom doors were thrown open, and a dishevelled Shiro unsteadily leaned against the doorway.

“Back so soon?” Mephisto grinned over his shoulder, a drinking straw clasped tightly between his fangs, but his glee evaporated and he took it out when he caught a better look at the exorcist's state. “What happened?”

Shiro tottered in, bits and pieces falling out of his torn clothes, and rubbing the various cuts on his cheek with the back of his equally mangled hand.

“Wound up in kitchen. Dark. Accidentally knocked over a bowl. Side dish or sum'thin. Ukobach did not appreciate. Told him to calm down. Rain of pasta. You wouldn't believe how sharp uncooked penne can be.”

“Tragic.” The grin returned. “Try not to bleed on any fabrics if you're going to take refuge in here.”

Heartwarming. Shiro was too worn out to dig up some choice insults, but addressed Mephisto with the foulest look he could still muster.

The demon chuckled. “...Or perhaps, just let me send you home?”

Silence. There was probably no alcohol in the glittery cinema soda cup, but who was to say for sure. Also, leaving the mansion somehow felt like a greater defeat than staying in Mephisto's room. Like he hasn't just lost the battle, but was too afraid to even remain on the battlefield.

The demon kept his eyes fixated at the colourful robots on the tv screen, but his ears were perked up attentively, waiting for Shiro's response. When that failed to happen, he closed his eyes and gave another nudge-

“...Or use what might arguably be the best bed in the world~”

Bait? Definitely. But also a lifeline. Shiro bit.

“You mean that bed you do God knows what in? Yuck, no thanks.”

Dramatic sigh for effect before deigning to look him in the eye. “Have you met me? My bed is clean, I assure you.”

Shiro smirked. Such a diva. And a dweeb. “Yeah alright, you probably only ever hump anime pillows anyway.”

The corners of his mouth curled upwards. “Justify your choice however you like, Shiro-pon.”

Boxers and t-shirt wouldn't be too bacon-y for the cat, right? Not while there were still mechas on tv to distract it, at least. Shiro began peeling off his tattered clothes, until Mephisto's ears twitched at the click of his belt unbuckling and he turned sharply towards the exorcist.

“...Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?”

Shiro kicked off his pants and flipped back the blankets. “Using your goddamn bed. Happy now?”

“Absolutely not. Get out.”

What. Shiro stared at the piqued face in disbelief.

“...Are you for real? What the fuck is it now?! In the bed, not in the bed, get in, go away-”

“Oh, you're welcome to sleep in my bed.” Mephisto squinted eyes slid up and down over Shiro's post pasta-fight body and the dirty clothes on the floor in a most disapproving manner. “AFTER you take a shower.”

Shiro's shoulders dropped. “...Really now?”

“Like I said.” He decidly turned back to the screen. “I like my bed clean.”

Shiro had no doubt the demon could sense the middle finger aimed at his back, but there were no bouncing balls or other items interfering with his gesture while he strode into the bathroom and yanked a towel out of the closet.

Frankly, it was not exactly a terrible ordeal to use Mephisto's shower. If he hadn't been that tired, be might have opted to wait for the bath to fill up instead- he eyed the pool-sized structure with a mixture of envy and disgust. Filthy rich bastard.

Filthy rich bastard with a royally equipped shower cabin, though. Shiro turned the knob and waited for the water from the various shower heads to heat up, when a voice from the bedroom yelled over the sound of the streams: “You better not use my expensive shower gel!”

Shiro sighed. “Which one?! They all seem expensive!” They probably were.

“...The gold and pink bottle. Do not touch it.”

Definitely touching it, he picked it up and turned it around in his hand. “Oh lord save me, you know how much I'd like to smell like- vanilla tenderness?? ...Is that how you lure in prey?”

“I'll have you know the ladies love it.”

Shiro snickered. “Oh, I don't doubt that. On them.”

“You bet they do~” The smug retort came drifting from under the door.

Shiro shook his head.

“Are you sure they can't sue you for false advertising, cuz there is nothing vanilla nor tender about you.”

“How would you know?”

...Walked straight into that one.

“...Care to find out~?”

“Eat my ass.”

“Maybe after you washed it.”

Shiro didn't know it was possible to choke on your own tongue while standing. Thank God or whomever that the demon couldn't see how red his face was- though judging by the giggling noises, the shower wasn't enough to drown out his coughing fit.

“Really, you are so wonderfully talented at putting your own foot in your mouth, Shiro~”

“Keep it up and I'll put my foot in your mouth!” He scowled, stepping into the shower while Mephisto burst out in a full-blown laughing fit, fuck knows why. Shiro shrugged it off. This was probably one of those better-off-not-knowing times.

Ah, such a wonderful story~ Heroism, friendship, impossible odds, fantastic machinery... The show had ended and Mephisto zapped away from the commercial break to search for something more interesting. Hm, not much, this late. He shook his cup, the decorative re-useable plastic ice cubes rattling about. All out of drinks. Snacks too. Maybe switch to other entertainment. Come to think of it...

He turned towards the bathroom door. He could hear the water still going. How long had he been in there by now? Five episodes? Seven?

“...As much as I appreciate cleanliness, don't you think you're overdoing it just a scooch?”

No response.

“Don't go telling me you dropped the soap and need help finding it.”

Still nothing. No change in sound whatsoever. Not even one of Deliberately Ignoring You. Odd.

Mephisto rose from his pillow nest and knocked on the bathroom door.

“...Shiro?”

Nothing but the running water. And a strange, light ...grating sound? He opened the door.

“I'd suggest you make yourself decent, but given how much water you're using as well as your general behaviour today that is word obviously not in your dic-”

Oh. Oh dear.

Semi-sitting on the floor of the shower cabin, slouched into a corner, was one sleeping exorcist. Mildy snoring.

Mephisto cocked his head. Strangely adorable, but also annoying. He briefly studied the naked, scratched-up figure. Not a bad look, not at all~ But too easy.

He sighed, and peeled one of his sleeves back to turn off the water. Honestly, rude. He should ask Belial to take care of it. On the other hand... being this troublesome warranted some payback. Payback that would take some effort, but be so much more satisfying than just turning on the cold water right now. Especially since Shiro was known to have a habit of getting violent when woken up suddenly. He didn't fancy risking a cold shower as well. Plus, the mere idea of the face Shiro would make when- He snickered. Yes, a much a more rewarding idea. He snapped his fingers.

“Hmmnnggh...” Shiro rolled over, the filtered light making him vaguely aware that it was morning. He hadn't slept this well in ages, and wasn't planning on letting it end just yet. He pulled the sheets along with him. Comfy. His bed wasn't usually this comfy. Smelled different, too. Did he use a new a laundry detergent? Nope, nope- do not get tricked into thinking just yet. That would wake him. Back to sleep. Savour it.

He pulled the sheets a little more, intent on going full burrito mode. Hm. A little stuck. He groaned at the incooperative blanket, and gave a better yank.

“Don't hog all the covers, please.”

A more effective waking method than a needle in his butt. Shiro shrieked -much to his embarassment- and bolted out of bed. A bed, he now realized, was indeed not of his usual comfort level. In several ways. His embarassment rose even higher when he met the incredibly satisfied eyes of the creature inhabiting the bed. Mephisto's face was about sixty percent teeth as he soaked up the image of the severely shocked man, who was still coming to terms with the fact that no, this was not still part of a nightmare, he was, in fact, awake.

And naked.

Upon that realization, Shiro's brain short-cirquited so completely he did not even attempt to cover himself up. Instead, he just froze, blinking fervently as if hoping the next time he opened his eyes, the lecherous monster, half-dressed in an untied silk gown and lying there as if posing for his portrait as a Roman emperor, would somehow have disappeared.

It took a couple minutes -or hours, by Shiro's reckoning- for the demon to get his fill of this view and bestow the smallest amount of mercy upon him.

“As much as I'd love to hang up a story about tequila, I'm afraid you just fell asleep in the shower. So I dried you off and placed you in here.”

Shiro rebooted.

“You... dried me off??”

“Wouldn't want my best exorcist to catch a cold- or soak my sheets.”

Lanes reopened, the backed-up thought traffic in Shiro's head now started honking impatiently to gain first access to his mouth.

“And you- I- but- it didn't- occur to you- that you could have just WOKEN ME UP?!”

“Frankly I hoped you would wake while I was toweling you off, hovering six feet off the floor... But as usual, you were disappointing.”

Mephisto managed to shrug leaning on one elbow, resting his jaw in his hand. He did not quite manage to look genuinely disappointed.

“You really should work on your comedic timing.”

Shiro's face was bright red, but no longer with embarassment. He was seething, fists and jaw clenched, his white bed hair sticking up as steam rising from his forehead.

“I. am not. your entertainment.”

Mephisto grinned. “Aww, no need to throw in the towel just yet~” His eyes glanced down. “You've got such potential, Shiro...”

WHACK. Instead of a towel, Shiro chose to throw in a pillow. And his full weight and strength to press it over Mephisto's face.

-Epilogue-

Oof. Goodness. Mephisto remained lying down, running a system check on his body. Everything was still there and working, it seemed, but he really should not have let Shiro have his little revenge for quite so long. He had to admit he underestimated the man's strength and how long it would take for his body to pass out from lack of oxygen. Too sidetracked by certain pleasant side-effects, perhaps. He should be more careful about that- Shiro probably hadn't noticed, or he might have indeed woken up with certain parts missing. Or at least damaged. Something still seemed wrong, though. Cold. He sat upright on the mattress. But not in his bed. Or bed chamber.

He blinked. Then shivered. As one tends to do when one wakes up soaking wet, outside. Because someone had dragged the entire mattress, demon included, out to the balcony. In the rain.

“...Oh REAL mature, Shiro!”

He teleported indoors, into a warm, fluffy bath gown, and stared at his expensive mattress through the glass doors of his bedroom. Blasted exorcist. Still...

He summoned his phone, flipped it open, and smiled at his new background picture. Dozens of carefully arranged plushies, and in the middle-

“...Best toy I ever had.”

~The end~

AUTHOR'S NOTES

Curfew: Not at all Corona-inspired~ But isolation makes no sense from an exorcism point of view. However, most demons in canon prefer the dark, so when there's an increase in numbers/reported attacks, a curfew is a logical counter-measure to protect the population. And since exorcists aren't supposed to work alone (*casts stern look at Shiro*), only teams on mission would have permission to walk around at night.

Poor alcohol tolerance & increased German: I strongly headcanon Mephisto's host body is in fact that of the original Faust, and it reverting back to its mother tongue when its language cortex is compromised somehow. I also strongly headcanon all strong demons having an insanely fast metabolism, going by the way Mephisto & Amaimon are always snacking yet skeletal, and this got in fact sort of confirmed by the recent manga chapter where Shiro complains about it in regards to baby Rin. So Mephisto gets drunk easily, but it also wears off rather quickly, unless he keeps drinking.

Don't drink and do magic/ rice fields: For more information, read The End of the Beginning by Superior Dimwit, arc 2: Inferno, chapter 39.

Tying the cat to the bacon: this is a literal translation of a Dutch expression. I cannot justify how exactly Shiro got to know about it, but I sure as fuck can justify its use here. It just fits too well.

Yellow rubber ball with red stars: Also known as a Dragon Ball, of course.

Ukobach: I know he hasn't shown up in the manga (yet), but this is one of those very rare times (maybe the only time) where I think the anime changed something for the better, and there is a good chance Kato is the one who told them the name in the first place, since it's an actual known demon. Either way, Mephisto should totally have some mad monkey five-star chef, in my opinion.

The thing about feet you're better off (not) knowing: Words can have interesting double meanings in other languages. For more information, read chapter 17 of Between the End and the Beginning, once more by Superior Dimwit. Technically, you could argue that the majority of mankind has a foot fetish.

Dropping the soap: I trust everyone to know this one. If not, google it at your own risk.

Violent awakenings: Based on Shiro punching little Shura in the face when she kissed his forehead while he was napping.

Pleasant side-effects of lack of oxygen can include popping a boner and light-headed euphoria. Especially when there's a naked exorcist on top of you. Shiro was right: false advertising indeed.

Plushies & pictures: Y'all remember Rin waking up in Mephisto's bed after going full demon mode in the manga? Although he may have sent his butler to pick up the kid and had the common decency to not him in there naked as he did with Shiro in this fic, there were a number of plushies surrounding Rin when he woke up. All facing up and some placed on top of him. Meaning that they didn't accidentally rolled their way there as he tossed and turned in his sleep- someone definitely placed them there. Cute for now, blackmail for later. Always handy.

[fatebreaking-a]

GET TO KNOW THE BLOGGER.

Can be used for RP and non-RP blogs to get to know a bit about the person behind the screen!

1. FIRST NAME:  No.

2. STRANGE FACT ABOUT YOURSELF: Never broken a bone, uh... I dunno, I’m super simple and unexciting.

3. TOP THREE PHYSICAL THINGS YOU FIND ATTRACTIVE ON A PERSON:  It’s all in the voice for me. I’ve noticed that I usually grow to like things about people, person to person. A nice smile is also a big plus? But ultimately if I don’t like your voice... that’s a deal breaker.

4. A FOOD YOU COULD EAT FOREVER AND NOT GET BORED OF:  Garbanzo beans.

5. A FOOD YOU HATE: Eggplants, mushrooms, anything too tart that hurts my teeth.

6. GUILTY PLEASURE:  this blog? imagining hugging my muses? idk.

7. WHAT DO YOU SLEEP IN:  ...whatever shirt I wore that day and usually pajama bottoms. I have one with penguins on it and one with holiday cacti.

8. SERIOUS RELATIONSHIPS OR FLINGS:  I used to be super serious about serious relationships, but... Well, I’m kind of over all of it. Nothing is better. That said, I also kind of crush on everyone I meet a little bit, but that’s a separate issue.

9. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN THE PAST AND CHANGE ONE THING ABOUT YOUR LIFE, WOULD YOU AND WHAT WOULD IT BE: I’d just give myself some advice: Ease up. You don’t need to be ‘good’ all the time or ‘perfect’. The rest... I can’t change the rest. There’s a lot of things that could have made things better, but they would involve changing what others did and that’s no good. I can only do better from here on out. I wish I’d learn to hold my tongue a bit more, I guess, and maybe be a little less trusting instead of getting emotionally screwed over.

10. ARE YOU AN AFFECTIONATE PERSON: Extremely if I like you and otherwise not at all. I’m really bad at grand gestures or presents or sending flowers or those kinds of things and really good at little things like bringing someone water or getting them a blanket or checking in on them and so on. Lately I don’t really feel as affectionate but... it’s something that builds up with comfort, I guess. I’m pretty open about telling people that I love them platonically, though I guess I also do that less nowadays too. Oh and I like calling people dear / hun, but only recently realized that oops that might be harassment. Well crap.

Uh...I guess I’m a lot less affectionate than I used to be.

11. A MOVIE YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER AGAIN: I find it really hard to watch anything twice nowadays, but I used to watch Lion King & Mulan a bunch.

12. FAVORITE BOOK: -

13. YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO KEEP ANY ANIMAL AS A PET, WHAT DO YOU CHOOSE: Penguins are cool. I’m not an animal person though.

14. TOP FIVE FICTIONAL SHIPS [IF YOU ARE AN RP BLOG, YOU CAN USE YOUR OWN SHIPS AS WELL]: Let me just push my rarepairs forward I guess? That’s about the long and short of it. I feel like as both an Ori and Sona blog, my ships seem uncommon for my muses. I’m pretty easy to talk into a ship though, but I guess TryndxAshe still does it for me. I feel like I don’t like a lot of ships that people do like, but to each their own, you know? I’ve no business bashing on someone else’s Sona ship much like other people have no business calling Sona the village bicycle. I’m still angry about that. Still. I don’t even remember who said it in the RP community but honestly fuck that guy.

15. PIE OR CAKE:  Pie, cake if there’s less frosting.

16. FAVORITE SCENT:  Whatever the shampoo smell is, it’s nice. Fluffy.

17. CELEBRITY CRUSH:  bros it’s Paul Rudd this is like the only celebrity I’ve ever gone ‘oh... oh damn.’ for. Otherwise, nah - never really got into that celeb crush culture.

18. IF YOU COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE, WHERE WOULD YOU GO:  - 

19. INTROVERT OR EXTROVERT:  Introvert.

20. DO YOU SCARE EASILY:  Extremely.

21. IPHONE OR ANDROID:  why not both

22. DO YOU PLAY ANY VIDEO GAMES: Yuppers, when I have a little time after work. I stream though so if I’m gaming it’s usually during stream time.

23. DREAM JOB:  idk, everything I want to do is too cuthroat/competitive. I used to want to make games / do voice acting and now I’m working my way through learning illustration / story narration.

24. WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH A MILLION DOLLARS: Pay off my parent’s mortgage, save most of it, retirement fund, and then go back to being extra boring but this time with a security blanket.

25. FICTIONAL CHARACTER YOU HATE:  I do not like Sy/las. That’s who springs to mind though I’m sure I can look at other characters and go ‘eeeeh’. I’ve also grown to like many characters I once didn’t so.

26. FANDOM THAT YOU WERE ONCE A PART OF BUT AREN’T ANY LONGER: Uuuuuuuuh... Log Horizon? I’ve always kind of been a big believer that you shouldn’t have to know anything except the ‘basic premise’ to RP in a fandom, so I’ve kind of drifted through whatever.

Tagged by: yoinked from @voracites​.  Tagging: You.

[storm-driver]

For the ask meme: number 8 and 9! And for 8 specifically, top 5 FFXIV characters (bc I can only think of 1 but I know there's more lol) 💖💖💖

gonna put the top 5 FFXIV characters last because a few in there are spoilers for the new expansion

as for a tattoo i might want? i dunno, i’ve never been big on them because i myself don’t exactly like them. but there is one particular tattoo i have wanted since i learned about them

this is the legacy tattoo for FFXIV. It’s a marking that appears on in-game characters that played during 1.x. And while I myself didn’t get the legacy sub (I did have an account back then, I just never played afterwards), I wish I had. And maybe a tattoo would make up for it?

As for the favourite characters, below the cut for sake of Shadowbringers spoilers!

1) Thancred

This boy has been through so damn much in this entire stay in the FFXIV story. His story starting when he took in Minfilia and watched over her as she grew up, working himself ragged to make up for the absence of his leader, and then persevering through his aetherical handicap through the rest of the story. Getting yoinked for Shadowbringers and being forced to adapt yet again to the new world. And then moving past the death of someone practically family to him, and finding a new life to nurture and care for?? Holy shit??? What a guy!!

2) Ardbert

I COULD GO ON ABOUT HIM OH MY GOD

Ardbert was that one character everyone had questions about since Heavensward because he was introduced!!! And then immediately left the screen until SHADOWBRINGERS CAME AROUND AND OH MY GO

The crap he went through, doing everything right? And STILL failing? And his endless grief of having to watch his world crumble into madness completely alone? Unable to even take his own life to end his torment? god the angst

But his unending care for anyone he found to consider a friend. The lengths he’d go to just to be there for someone else. HIS FINAL ACT AT THE END OF SHADOWBRINGERS??? heavens take me

3) G’raha Tia/Crystal Exarch

this is story telling done right.

G’raha Tia was a side character, A FUCKING SIDE CHARACTER, DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A VOICE ACTOR, for the Crystal Tower storyline! AND HE LOOKED UP TO THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT SO MUCH, SAYING THAT THEY WOULD BE THE STAR TO CHART HIS COURSE IN THE FUTURE.

and when he woke up?? and found out the world had turned to hell??? HE TRAVELED ACROSS FUCKING TIME AND SPACE TO UNDO EVERYTHING. AND MOST ESPECIALLY, HE WAS GOING TO LET HIMSELF DIE FOR THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT.

his identity being hinted at so heavily through the teasers and the game itself, only to have it be revealed in such a tear-jerking way. his animations when he realizes you remembered his name and the music and voice actING WAS SO FUCKING GO-

and just... the way he gets overwhelmed when you use his old name. he believed no one remembered that name anymore. AND THEN YOU COME ALONG AND

i could go on, but morti would do a better job so-

4) Nael van Darnus

the white raven herself.

“Nael” was always a character I was super interested in since he became a prominent part of 1.x’s Sixth Astral Era story. Ever since he was introduced, he was the one that seemed like a God. All the Garleans are powerful and menacing, but the sheer destruction Nael was willing to forgo to achieve his goals are downright terrifying. 

Not only did he have one of THE BEST SONGS EVER during his final boss fight, he had it in one of the COOLEST arenas ever. and all this amazing story telling behind Nael is further revealed in the ultimanias for FFXIV.

The real Nael van Darnus has been long dead and rather his sister, Euela Darnus, picking up the lance that Nael’s fiance killed herself with, took Nael’s blood-stained armor from his corpse, and went under his name to further pursue his dreams of upholding the Empire. 

And as “he” obsessed over bringing Dalamud down, he slowly fell to the influence of the dragon sealed inside the damn moon. And just.... that’s such a tragic tale, but a good one, too.

5) Alphinaud+Alisaie 

I’m not sure what it is about these twins, but I can’t pick between them. From Alphinaud’s stead-fast determination to right the wrongs of the world, and Alisaie’s stubborn will and courage pressing her into matters that a child certainly shouldn’t be in, they’re both just a charm to watch interact with the world. Not to mention, the two who have gotten quite a lot of character development since their first appearances as “privileged” children to Scions fighting the safety of the worlds. 

[rainbowserenity]

On Friday, I got to go to the KH pop-up experience at Disney Springs!!! It was basically just a big room of merch and the demos and stuff, but I got to sit by a giant mural of the cover art so day made A++++ I also got pics of like EVERYTHING there, which is under the cut if you wanna see :D I got to play both demos (there was one for Olympus and one for Toy Story) and have a bunch of thoughts, but I’ll put that towards the bottom in case anybody’s avoiding minor spoilers (although I think these are the same demos they’ve been showing at a bunch of conventions so this might be ~common knowledge~ IDK I’M JUST TRYING TO BE CAREFUL)

I saw the sign pretty much immediately and was like LEMME IN OMG ALKSJF;LIWJE;FLIWJEF

THEY TEASE YOU WITH THE MURAL LIKE HEY LOOK AT ME IT’S AWESOME

I know everybody’s already seen it but YEAH JUST LOOK AT IT

I ran in there and took a bunch of selfies next to Aqua and the cast members were looking at me like I was crazy :(

BUT WHO CARES :D

and here’s the Destiny Trio looking fabulous as usual~*~

they also had these renders covering a wall, so naturally....

had to struggled to take a pic with Reekers~*~*~ (seriously, the cast members were staring at me like I was the only person to take selfies against the banners.....although judging from how many people wandered into the place asking, “What is this? A video game? Is it free?????” maybe they see it less often than I want to think lmao)

This area led to the demo area!!!

those screens played the trailers on a constant loop (and Dearly Beloved was playing in the background ;; it was a little hard to hear cause of the noise but STILL, THE FEEEEEEEEEEEELS)

better look at these signs~ I think it’s kinda funny that Sora/Donald/Goofy were only included on the posters if they had new looks lmao

Took this for @tensai-shoujo ;D They had an Olympus poster next to it, you could only see them when you were walking towards the demo area

HELL YEEEEEEAHHHHH

I like that they had those banners/murals/whatever up everywhere, as opposed to just setting up a bunch of screens lol IDK IT JUST MADE IT FEEL MORE SPECIAL

I just really liked that Sora art~*~

another view.......kinda wished I could’ve yoinked one of those banners lmao

BUT LIKE I SAID I played both demos and before I get into my thoughts on them, I shall show off the merch and stuff :D

WAIT FIRST THE KEYBLADES WHICH WERE LIKE....AS LIFE-SIZED AS THEY COULD BE I GUESS ALSKDJF;LIWEFJ I had to physically restrain myself from completely freaking out (y’know, besides the usual)

I feel like I should know what the second one is...?????? I though it was Starseeker at first glance, but it’s not so idr if it’s a new one......obviously the last one is the Toy Story one lol

They had a kiosk under here where you could preorder the game, but I was mostly just all THIS ART IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND SOON WE WILL SEE IT ON OUR SCREENS AS WE PLAY TT__________TT

and now for the merch!

the top shelf was the deluxe edition of the ACTUAL GAME, and even looking at the real case and stuff, it still doesn’t even seem real......like we’ve been waiting for 12 years, is ANY OF THIS FOR REAL OR NOT??? I kinda wanted those figures on the bottom and hey, there’s that one keyblade!!!

in case you can’t read the signs, the top shelf is a preorder bonus from ordering it from the kiosk....I kinda liked that lanyard lolol. the bottom shelf is bunch of awesome standees I vaguely recall seeing in the Squenix store (I’m not really up on all the merch lol I avoid looking at it too often cause it makes me WAAAANT it and I am poor, so I just don’t want to torture myself)

ngl I kinda want this......REEKERS MY LOVE.............

NEVER MIND I WANT THIS MORE LOL I’ve been wanting the Aqua play arts for so long, why do they have to be so expensive now?!? at least I got to see it in person lmao I SHALL TREASURE THE MEMORY FOREVER~

the KH3 Sora play arts~ THERE’S THAT KEYBLADE AGAIN WTF it must be a new one???

I had no idea there was a Roxas play arts??? or is this even released yet??? like I said, I’m not really up on merch news lol I guess his head must be interchangeable since you can have his hood on and pretend he’s super angsty about missing Axel and stuff

I’ve always thought these were kinda cute in a stupid way lmao

and I’ll unceremoniously end the images with lovely keychains and jewelry :D

Those are all the pics! now I’ll babble about the demos and my experience with the battle system, so stop here if you don’t want to know for whatever reason~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Like I said earlier, I got to play both demos! It was slow enough in there that I just moseyed back in through the line and I could feel the silent eyes of the cast members judging me 8))))))

I played the Toy Story one first cause duh, and I think it dumps you into the beginning of the world since poor Sora was all WTF WHY DO WE LOOK LIKE THIS??? And I started laughing when the “I’m Sora/Donald/Goofy” line came when they were introducing themselves, cause some things never change ;P

it took me a minute to get used to the buttons (especially since you obviously couldn’t customize anything but the camera directions) and I kept accidentally using Shotlock and stuff LOL. BUUUUUT it was really fun once I got a sense of what I was doing! it was very smooth and fast and fun~

to me, battling feels like a combination of KH2, Birth by Sleep, and Dream Drop Distance. the coolest thing was that you could do a command (like Thundaga), and a reaction command would pop up. If you kept doing it, you could chain them together into one big ol’ massive attack - in my case, it was summoning the Mad Tea Cups!!! I GOT TO KILL HEARTLESS WITH A DISNEY RIDE LOL

what was also really fun was that you can switch Keyblades mid-battle!!! I had no idea what they all did, but I’m sure in the actual game they have different abilities like they do in most of the games. now you don’t have to choose just one mwhahaha~

towards the end of the Toy Story demo, you had to fight against an evil toy and got to drive around a robot and shoot lasers! PEW PEW PEW

one thing I really liked was how SMOOTH the animation was. idk if I just read a lot into it, but Sora’s always felt kinda.....clunky when he runs? maybe it’s his big feet lmao but in this demo, he felt MUUUUCH easier to handle. talking to other characters didn’t bring you into another screen, either, you just turned them and talked in real time. IT’S PRETTY GREAT

The Olympus demo felt shorter, probably because it was mostly a boss battle, but the coolest thing is that YOU CAN RUN UP WALLS HOLY CRAAAAAAP!!! I think they’ve showed this in trailers so I shouldn’t have been so surprised, but it was awesome :D

they had different magic options, and this time I managed to SUMMON A GIANT TRAIN HELL YEEEEEAHHHH~ I also managed to get some kind of Goofy limit and he destroyed a bunch of Heartless instantly, so that’s why Goofy rules okay

since I had a little more of grasp on the buttons and stuff, defeating the Titan was sorta easy 8D;; I’m sure they gave you stronger magic/abilities/Keyblades in these demos so it’ll probably be more difficult in the actual game - however, they didn’t really have any tutorial in the demo. They basically had a screen telling you how to run up walls and that was it.....and yet, the reaction commands and new battle system were easy to grasp (especially if you’re a seasoned player lol). I mean, yeah, a lot of it was just mashing the triangle button, but there’s also a certain finesse to chaining them together so that’ll be fun to discover~

The demos made me EVEN MORE HYPED FOR THE GAME THAN EVER!!!!!!! and even though we don’t have too long to wait, IT’S STILL GONNA TAKE FOREVER ALKSDJF;LWIEJF;LWIEJFWE I CAN’T WAIT TO PLAY IT AND I FEEL LIKE WE’RE ALL GONNA LOVE IT!!!!!!!

IS IT THE 29TH YET AHHHHHHHHHHHH

....if you made it this far down, thanks for reading 8D I feel like I’m back in 2007 making a LiveJournal post, with what all the images and captions and babbling lmao

[avoid-avoidance]

Just another fun note compilation post!

(@president-alpine)

(Gosh I wish I had the option to set the font color to something darker... On my screen, Tumblr's default text font options are juuuust on the side of too light to read comfortably.)

avoid-avoidance: the poor Autobots tried to give those ‘Cons the most neutral, civiliany community service project they could think of, but alas the appetite for Drama cannot be suppressed. all the oversight and inspection visits in the world cannot prevent this cultural conservation project from inevitably morphing into a villainous lair.

a-a: the Autobots were pretty proud of themselves at first, for selling the Decepticons on the whole concept with the premise of “Knowledge Is Power”… but all too soon the ‘Cons got hold of the reins and chaos ensued.

a-a: a few of the Autobot parole officers/social workers have pretty much given up on reasserting the illusion of control, and are entertaining themselves by testing how many disguised elements of human culture they can convince the ‘Cons to integrate into their new super-awesome clubhouse without the ‘Cons catching on.

a-a: So far they’re too busy enjoying themselves to be suspicious about all the innovative ‘suggestions’. The visual design elements for the underground portion of the library that were just straight-up yoinked from cartoon depictions of the BatCave went over very well.. and pretty much every ‘Con for miles around absolutely lost their MINDS with delight over the hybrid paintball/laser-tag arena.

president-alpine: You can try to take the Decepticons out of drama, but you can't make them stop.

Also villainous lair aesthetics, the Decepticons have an amazing eye for that

p-a: Autobots: "There is no way for them to screw this up."

Decepticons: "Bold of you to assume we won't create a laser beam powered by knowledge."

a-a: To put it another way, you can lead a Decepticon to civilian life but you can’t make them stop dreaming of superweapons and Giant Purple Griffins lmao

p-a: THEY PUT THE GIANT PURPLE GRIFFINS INSIDE OF THE LIBRARY!

Decepticons: "This is a good idea!"

Autobots: "Why can't you be normal?!"

a-a: I mean, that *also* kind of makes sense, even. Human institutions have like, statues of lions and things outside of them sometimes, right? And how much better would it be if the installations could also be cuddled with by contented library patrons as they read? And ALSO defend the contents of the collection when needed, witth extreme prejudice? There’s no downside!

a-a: (Unless Starscream succeeds in his lobbying for that flamethrower upgrade. Then there is one very major and flammable downside.)

a-a: If my local library had a big fluffy animatronic griffin that I could cuddle while reading, you can bet I’d visit in-person more often.

p-a: Oh my god you’re right, the griffins would be so loved by everyone and great attack animals.

The Decepticons spoil the hell out of these guys and they’re so gentle to the patrons. Meanwhile anyone who tries to attack will be met with not only warriors but their pets who can fly and have sharp claws.

The Autobots have probably given up on convincing them to get rid of the griffins.

p-a: STARSCREAM AND SHOCKWAVE LOBBY FOR DEATH LASERS

p-a: And agree, I would visit them nearly every day

a-a: For some of the more poorly-socialized Decepticon librarians, furtive snuggle sessions with the GPGs are the closest they get to effective therapy or healthy coping mechanisms

p-a: This is the best thing ever, a library run by warriors with a giant bat cave underneath with an arena and free therapy with giant purple griffons

p-a: Their funding is going to go through the roof

a-a: Since Cybertron’s native fauna is also robotic, it would be hiLARious if by some weird quirk of programming, Cybertronians like humans *also* experience psychological benefits from petting something friendly and fuzzy that purrs at them. And if it weren’t for the GPGs, they might never have figured that out.

p-a: OMG YES, this benefits the psychology division of Cybertron. They see how happy and therapeutic being around the griffons.

Cue more funding thanks to this new information

a-a: Some of the Decepticon librarians’ Autobot supporters manage to secure a solid schedule of budget increases earmarked for the griffins, by carefully implying but not saying outright that the griffins will be programmed to contain the Decepticon library if they get it into their heads to stage a revolt.

a-a: Naturally, there’s no such programming. The griffins have just enough cat in them that trying to deliberately make them into a disciplined fighting force is bound to backfire in some hilarious manner. The griffins do assist with maintaining the peace, but only in the same sense that giving human prisoners their own pet cats to care for improves safety and discipline issues.

p-a: Imagine like after getting this job as a librarian the Decepticons are way too happy to even consider it.

Like,

Megatron: “I never had so much fun before and I have these snuggly guys to help out. So I’m good.”

a-a: At some point, Carly hears about this new area of study in Cybertronian psychology, and strongarms Bee and Spike into volunteering for some testing. It turns out that human company actually also benefits Cybertronians in a similar way to humans benefitting from pets.

p-a: Now it’s time to add humans to the Decepticons library! Who would befriend them honestly ?

a-a: The science team says that the psych metrics assessed from Bumblebee, as compared to control groups of other Autobots who don’t hang out with humans, are so shockingly drastically above baseline that the conclusion is obvious

a-a: It’s like that thing where elephants’ brains think humans are cute in the same way as human brains think puppies and kittens are cute. Humans are Cybertronian-nip with legs.

p-a: OMG TRUE.

Psych: “Oh, so mechs with humans are significantly happier mentally and emotionally than those who don’t.”

The Decepticons run a library together

Okay silly idea, imagine after the war is ended and such. The Autobots decide to give the Decepticons the simple task of running a library together to redeem themselves (like parole)

A place to keep an eye on them and no way for them to screw this up

BUT EVERY WEEK SOMETHING CRAZY HAPPENS

Like, they're tasked to renovate the library and there is a whole list to keep them on track, but here is how it goes down

Megatron: "We've been tasked to renovate the library."

Starscream: "Seems easy enough."

Soundwave: "List: Requires a nice quiet reading area."

Megatron: "How about a cave under the library?"

Soundwave: "List: Does not say it."

Starscream: "Does it tell us not to?"

Soundwave: "No."

Megatron: "PERFECT"

And thus, that's how the Autobots find out the Decepticons built a giant cave under the library. Complete with a moat, reading areas, and big enough to fit combiners

The Autobots are less than thrilled

Like

Prowl: "Why is there a giant cave under the library?!"

Starscream: "It didn't say we couldn't build it.

Prowl: "WHAT."

Then the Autobots realize the Decepticons are SCARILY good at their jobs as librarians.

Late on a book? Soundwave is tracking the mech down as they ready their assault on getting the book back.

Too loud? Lugnut shall give a thorough explanation why you shouldn't be IN HIS GLORIOUS LEADER'S LIBRARY WITH HIS FISTS

Can't reach a book? The Decepticons will throw you

And yet despite everything, the library is the most popular spot to visit (As well as sending the Autobots into a panic in what insanity the Decepticon run library will bring)

[terryblount]

Mortal Kombat 11- Review

For every niche game genre, there is a popular, more mass-appeal entry in its genre. Like Pokémon to JRPGs and Destiny to MMOs, so is Mortal Kombat 11 to fighting games.

The Mortal Kombat series is what I like to call a dudebro fighting game. It’s got a low barrier for entry, and it’s easy to cheer during the game’s gory sequences. While that may sound negative, it really isn’t: any game that can get more people to enjoy fighting games should be celebrated.

With Mortal Kombat 11, however, we have the case of a game that’s almost confused as to what it wants to be. It’s a good fighting game, and the addition of fine-tuning characters to your playstyle certainly helps add a personal stake to games.

However, the game’s own insistence that customizing is important while also making it damn-near impossible to customize your character without dropping obscene hours into the game leads to an ultimately confusing experience.

The characters all seem to have unique start dialogue with each other, which is a pretty nice touch

Presentation

Mortal Kombat 11 is very much a Triple-A game. As far as the objective quality of the game’s presentation goes, everything looks great. The models are all intricately detailed, the backdrops interesting and its gore made abundant.

However, in its attempts to also be a Live Service, it takes many bites out of its own enjoyability as a fighting game. Silly “Dragon Challenges” cause constant pop-ups at the bottom of the screen telling you to do things like land five crouching kicks every few seconds, as well as constant score notifications on the left. Points tallies at the end of rounds, even in local splitscreen make hitting rematch take that much longer.

Due to the game’s focus on customizing things, the game loses out on a lot of basic appeal most fighting games have. Some characters’ win screens are flat-out boring, because they have several others to choose from but only if they can unlock it by spending time in other game modes.

While this may seem like a nitpick, remember: Mortal Kombat is a game all about its flash. No one does fatalities because they tell a deep and touching story, they do them because they shock and awe. So for MK11 to be anything less than that right out the box would be a serious blemish on the game’s track record.

When this fighting game is a fighting game, it’s a damn good fighting game.

  Gameplay

As a fighting game, Mortal Kombat 11 is great. Combos in this game are generally quite short, and the new feature of a separate offense and defense meter that recharge over time is really interesting. Rather than have supers, the game has certain special moves that you can enhance at the cost of one meter, dealing more damage.

However, a huge gripe I have with this game is its insistence on wasting the player’s time. In the actual fight, many animations are so focused on showing off how bloody and shocking it is that the animations feel pointlessly self-indulgent.

A good comparison to make would be 2016’s Doom, where the gory finishers were designed specifically not to interrupt the flow of combat. This game does that, but in a polar opposite kind of way. Kotal Kahn, for example, has a move that ends with him sawing through the opponent. However, the game bothers to painstakingly show him thrusting the blade in and out of the opponent for what in fighting game time feels like the pre-production phase of Anthem.

There’s also the problem with unlocking materials for your character. Many of them have specific modes you need to beat to unlock them, primarily the “Towers of Time”, which is an arcade ladder with “Konsumables” that add abilities. The problem with this is the game actively punishes you for not using Konsumables, giving you a lower score, and the only way to get more is by opening lootboxes. The opponents, meanwhile, always have the best Konsumables, making some fights nigh unwinnable as they cover half the stage in passively damaging lasers and knock you out of combos with invincible assists. Considering how much the game wants you to customize your fighters, it’s pretty obvious how much they’d want you to play this mode.

If you’re playing this game with local vs, make sure you have a separate profile with its own account for player 2. P2 cannot use any of your gear/loadouts for your character, so without forewarning prepare to feel very scummy if whoever’s playing P2 is stuck with the default loadouts while you have your customized character.

I used to have a problem with the customizable special moves in this game, but given more time I quite like them. The ability to remove certain moves that I wasn’t using with better moves or upgrades for unremovable core moves actually does help personalize the experience, and even AI games feel a little better as a result.

I could recommend this game to people just starting to get into fighting games just for its great tutorials and resources.

 Kontent Content:

Mortal Kombat 11 feels like some sort of weird reverse-logic justification for paid content in a sixty-dollar game. The game has plenty of unlockables, as well as features like Skip Challenge tokens for arcade ladders, none of which can be bought with real money.

The problem is that the game is very much designed for you to have these features, despite them all being completely random drops. If anything it feels like the game wanted to make them paid, had them built around that, then yoinked the paid option out of the game just so someone could write an article wishing they could pay to skip some of the utter nonsense this game pulls.

The game has plenty of modes, such as Story, Klassik Towers (Normal Arcade), Towers of Time (We talked about this earlier) and the Krypt. The story and basic Arcade ladders are relatively inoffensive in their offerings, and pretty much what you’d come to expect from a Mortal Kombat.

So mk11 has a "Minigame" That's just opening lootboxes with in-Game gold #PS4sharehttps://t.co/p7YhOFYlO1 pic.twitter.com/Bv4yknhv9X

— Wamirul @ [PULL MY DEVIL TRIGGER] (@Wamirul) April 25, 2019

The Krypt is the most offensive part of Mortal Kombat 11. It’s a pretend-adventure game in which you explore a huge area to spend your gold opening lootboxes.

Remember when I said Mortal Kombat feels like it constantly wastes your time? It’s never more blatant than with The Krypt, where it almost makes you wish for a generic lootbox screen. So much chaff is thrown into the lootboxes that it might actually be impossible to get anything you want. Things like concept art, crafting materials and konsumables are thrown into the pool too, making any attempt at making your character look cool turn into a wasted half-hour of getting an overworked artist’s hard work that they were underpaid for.

One thing from recent entries that I love in MK11 is its move list. All the moves, combos and even fatalities are easily accessible in the menu, with their frame data laid bare for all to see. Aside from letting more advanced players know how to plan their combos, this also opens the door to more casual players learning about the more in-depth aspects of fighting games, and I think that’s great.

Some of these end screens are a lot cooler than others, but most of them are almost blatant in how they’re meant to show off your customizable gear (in this case, Scorpion’s kunai and face mask are painfully in-view)

  Personal Enjoyment:

As said before, Mortal Kombat 11, at its core, is fun. The most fun I’ve had with this game has been just having people over and doing some best-of-threes and learning the characters. In a field test, the flashy animations and cool character designs have even won over my non-fighting-game siblings to get them to try it out.

The action-figure-esque design of the characters, the ridiculous gore of the Fatal Blow moves, they’re all fun. It’s a great party game to have, since even non-players can’t help but cheer when something ridiculous happens.

This end screen serves no purpose other than showing off Noob Saibot’s fanny pack.

Konklusion Conclusion

As said before, Mortal Kombat 11 is a great fighting game. It’s fun, relatively accessible and for most people, just flashy enough to get a crowd excited.

Yet the moment I leave local versus mode, I cannot think of anything else I enjoy in this game. Its obsession with being a live service ruins everything else in this game, especially when loading screens are enhanced by the need to connect to servers constantly. Not getting to simply buy the cool outfits for my wraith-ninja using any of the game’s multitude of currencies as I drown in konsumables and concept art really take a hit to this game’s fun, which is a shame because in the heat of a match, it’s great.

While some may argue it is commendable that they didn’t simply lock all the gear behind a paywall, I can’t say this is much better. I used to think that Dead or Alive’s progression system was mean with its costume shards, but at least I was guaranteed costumes for the characters I played. And even then, I unlocked everything in 3 days of casual play.

If I could, I’d give the actual Kombat vs the rest of the game separate scores. It’s a genuinely good fighting game buried under a pile of time-wasting chaff. It’s certainly a good party game, but I wouldn’t advise any kind of serious play with it.

Review copy provided by the publisher

Mortal Kombat 11- Review published first on https://touchgen.tumblr.com/