#like the whole ost just perfection

[zorionbbq]

YAKUZA THEATRHYTHM RHYTHM GAME NOW!!!!!!!!

[mariyekos]

If no one's got me while hitting walls in my writing, the Berserk Golden Age Arc OST's got me.

Shoutout to the perfect ambiance created by the Berserk Golden Age Arc OST, especially Descent, for helping me get back into the flow of things for certain fics. Sometimes you just need to listen to Get In The Zone in a way that most normal music can't get you.

[victorluvsalice]

DISHONORED -06 Survival by EagleEyePT

I accidentally missed Song Saturday last week (dealing with stuff at home), so to make up for it, let's have Song Friday and Saturday this week! Starting with a very short piece from the Dishonored soundtrack that I am quite fond of! Now, I have not actually played anything from the Dishonored series, and I've only recently become familiar with said soundtrack, so what is this doing here?

Simple -- this is the theme for the chase sequence in Chapter 5 of "Start At The Beginning...Sort Of." (Well, Chapter 4 by my count, since the first chapter was a prologue, but -- you get what I mean.) As per the author's note, I ended up editing most of that particular bit to this piece of music! What happened was, I became familiar with some other bits of the Dishonored OST thanks to a "Blades In The Dark"-themed playlist I encountered on YouTube (thank you G. Menezes Fink for putting it together), and when I got to the chase sequence, I decided I'd look for some more Dishonored music to see if anything fit the tone I wanted. I then encountered this particular theme in a longer video of the entire OST together and realized it was perfect --

And then went "wait, what, it's only one minute long?!"

Cue me desperately trying to find an extended version of the theme, failing, and having to settle for making this little video loop constantly while I was writing. *shrug* It did the job! So yeah, only makes sense that I would feature it here. :)

[yuelun]

I know we're only just about to enter August, but I'm not ready for whatever they're going to do for Lantern Rite 2024.

[dramaism]

watched 1,5 seasons of the originals while i was on vacation and I've come to the conclusion:

one season of the originals >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> 8 seasons of the vampire diaries

[frenchie-fallen-angel]

"Comme toi" (Like you) by Pierre Garnier is such a KongAtom song and I won't take any critism on this

[vinylyuri]

unbelievably frustrating that despite everything about homestuck's reputation the composers still fucking wrecked it

[slitherpunk]

games i liked in 2023 (And Other)

I like games ! You know that ?! and I played a lot 2023! and I liked a lot :). They aren't in any specific order, it's just a little highlight of games that stood out to me this year. I've attempted to write a few thoughts on each so I hope take a look. I wrote playtimes for some also but that is very subjective.

-Ones that actually came out 2023-

Lunacid https://store.steampowered.com/app/1745510/Lunacid/ I think I mentioned enjoying this in 2022 but it officially released so I can say it was one of my favorite games in 2023 :3! I like to feel around this game's walls for secrets. I like the npcs that are full of hope and whimsy despite the bleakness of its world. Chill and occasionally spooky first person dungeon crawling around moody caverns and ruins varying from underground forests to vampire castles and blood lake. (Blood lake!!!! Lake of blood!!! Big creature there.) Lots of fun weapons and spells to find, I like the one that lets you turn blood into coffins.

~20 hours

Orbo's Odyssey https://feverdreamjohnny.itch.io/orbos-odyssey If you played the massively popular demo for "Peeb Adventures" by feverdreamjohnny then you know that Johnny makes some fun and funny games and this is certainly one of them. speedy and satisfying platforming! funny dracula moments! short and sweet.

~2 hours

A Walk in the Woods https://mooncaller.itch.io/a-walk-in-the-woods Quaint little GBStudio game :) Made by some friends of mine for a jam :) It's cute I like it. There's minigames where you catch bugs and birdwatch.

~30 minutes long

Undertale Yellow https://gamejolt.com/games/UndertaleYellow/136925 I've only completed the pacifist run and checked out a neutral run so far. as the title somewhat implies, this is a prequel to Undertale where you play as the fallen human who had the yellow colored soul. This Undertale fangame has a lot of charm!!! A lot of battles really feel like they could have been in the original, with quite a bit of extra flair in some circumstances.

~10 hours

vs really cool bird https://bobacupcake.itch.io/vs-really-cool-bird you know that really cool bird that rob bobacupcake made well you can fight it in undertale and it's really fun. yeah two undertale fangames. . . wat of it …

~30 minutes

Misericorde: Volume One https://xeecee.itch.io/misericorde I wont lie the main draw for me into this was cute anime nuns I sure didn't know a whole lot else about it when I dug into it. But it's (the first part of) a VN murder mystery! And I enjoyed it a whole lot. All the characters are memorable and I really enjoy how all of them have differentiating designs. The protagonist is so failgirl. She sucks so much and I love her. I'm very intrigued by the mechanics of the game's world, it clues you in near the beginning to expect something a bit supernatural/fantastical, which gives you (and later the protagonist) a curiosity about what's real and what isn't. The music is all very impressive too, with the ost reaching past 100 tracks varying through post-rock, folk, drum & bass, and others. (Remembering when the track "Scandal" played and my friends and I took a moment to be like- okay hang on this track pwns.) Big fan of its haunting locals and how the aesthetic of the game fits them well. Also the humor is a lot of fun, and I love all the moments getting to know the different characters. Very excited to see the eventual continuation of this.

~12 hours

Absolutely Perfect Specimen https://chambersoft.itch.io/absolutely-perfect-specimen It seems like a lot of people are craving toxic horror yuri lately. Here's a recommendation. It's a VN about the android maid "Pan" and the mad scientist girl who created her. Horrifying & gut wrenching & largely about having other people define you. The art and music is haunting & poignant and matches the ever increasing feeling of dread throughout. It's yuri with the chunks. Peak robotgirl horror for those who can stomach it.

~90 minutes

Wordhopper https://kokoscript.itch.io/wordhopper Very quaint word search type puzzle game for ms dos! I think its style is very slick and that's pretty impressive to see. Chill game with nice vibes and eyecandy visuals. also it was so cool to have played this and then ended up seeing the dev's booth at Vintage Computer Festival Midwest. I was like omg woah I just played this.

~bunny

Bossgame https://lilyv.itch.io/bossgame This game is yuriful as f*ck. Delightful humor and fun character dynamics! A simple-to-understand-difficult-to-master boss rush battle system that makes you satisfied to get it right, and enticing to get just a little farther if you get it wrong. There's a lot of detail and charm to this game's menus and dialogues and win screens, I remember noticing that once you beat a boss there would be some marquee text that would pass by with some prose on it. I love how it balances its silly moments with its heartfelt moments and its high octane moments. I like the character development and revelations had throughout the plot. & I like how good the protagonists are for each other :) It's very sweet. It's hype as hell. if you want some boss rush action paired well with that sweet sweet girl's love, you *will* play this game.

~5 hours

Elly's Adventure https://bikwins.itch.io/ellys-adventure Very cute and witchy!! You are the little witch girl "Elly" on an adventure to get your toys back!! Feels like a pretty authentic gameboy type experience, it takes a lot of design cues from Kirby's adventure and the like. I am a big fan of how playful it feels.

~1 hour

Nour https://store.steampowered.com/app/1141050/Nour_Play_with_Your_Food/ This was a treat for me, but I understand that not everybody is going to get it. It's a game where you play with food(and food accessories). And that's it. It knows what it was going for. I think a lot of people were expecting something else for some reason. It's a cute little toy game and I felt satisfied with my time with it.

~food

Hi-Fi Rush https://store.steampowered.com/app/1817230/HiFi_RUSH/ Do I have to say this game is super fun? It's a big one everybody probably already knows it. This game's dopey humor made me laugh a lot and I'm not afraid to admit it.

~12 hours

WHISKEY.ST2007S https://bonicle.itch.io/whiskey-st2007nes One of the last games I played in the year because it released super last minute. Does anybody else get a rush when running a shopping cart down the parking lot? This emulates that feeling. Short game where you collect whisky stones in the whisky stone dimension because you forgot to go christmas shopping until the very last minute. it rules. It's very short you can go play it right now & get a highscore.

~5 minutes

re:curse https://devpalmer.itch.io/re-curse Discovered this one near the very end of the year also. Fun little rpg maker horror/humor game about a weird scientist lady, her butch, and an evil clown computer virus that figured out how to warp reality. I got a kick out of it. and also enjoyed digging through the game's files, which was actively encouraged by the dev, which I thought was very fun.

~90 minutes

-Didn't technically get to until 2024 but released last year-

SWOLLEN TO BURSTING UNTIL I AM DISAPPEARING ON PURPOSE https://1207.itch.io/swollen-to-bursting-until-i-am-disappearing-on-purpose People love to dunk on a lot of indie rpgs for being "quirky Earthbound inspired and about depression" or whatever. Earthbound's great. If people can nail the kind of humor and absurdity it likes to pull off while also balancing difficult topics I think that deserves a high mark. SWOLLEN TO BURSTING was fun. Bizarre and charming places to explore & distressing secrets to find. I like how it blends meander-around-the-town gameplay with Yume Nikki sort of exploration and effects. Also I'm a big fan of the music. I like how it has the lofi sound which matches the early 3d look of the game.

~6 hours

HalOPE https://starbage.itch.io/halope Another for the fans of sweet little rpg maker games that have a lot of heart. HalOPE is about an incomplete little angel wondering through worlds. Each has a theme, usually to do with an emotion or feeling, and they do well at evoking that feeling as well as its antithesis. a lot of the music is very homey and charming at moments and unnerving at others, sometimes lonely, all doing well in their corresponding chapters to further the feeling of its specified theme. There are so many delightful characters and designs in this & I found myself feeling really attached to their tiny little stories. The narrative at the core of it all hit me. If I may be vulnerable, I cried a whole lot at various moments in this game. It was really cathartic. I feel very excited for people to experience this game.

~5 hours

-Favs I finally got around to that didn't come out 2023-

An Outcry https://quinnk.itch.io/an-outcry Kind of sad it took me so long to get to this one, but glad it meant I got to play the "definitive" updated version of it. Apartment wandering RPG maker horror. Bum smokes from your neighbors and use them to save the game. I wish I could unwrap a lot more of what I like about this game than I can without spoiling too much. But if I could, I'd probably go on for too long. Let me attempt to be succinct & not giving too much away. You can tell pretty early on that An Outcry is about taking action when necessary & not turning a blind eye. What it explores about player vs protagonist agency is very fascinating to me as well, and I enjoyed learning about the inspirations for why the game's narrative works the way it does. The character Anne is such a sweetie and I love her a whole lot. This game has a very tangible feeling, this apartment complex is dirty and crumby, it smells of smoke, and there's a surrounding desperation you can feel.

~5 hours

Pigments https://punkcake.itch.io/pigments Honestly I had gotten this game in a bundle and while I was playing it I hadn't looked at the name and I just kept calling it FRUIT. On call with my friends I'd be like "hey im gonna play more FRUIT". I straight up didn't read the title screen. But it's called Pigments. You play as a fruit and you try to paint the whole floor and not get sliced by buzzsaws. Fun little arcade type game.

~fruit

Bridge, October 3rd https://lowpolis.itch.io/bridge-october-3rd Very short vignette. I like it. It's what it says it is. I'm not going to overexplain.

~like a minute

-Other Games I Want To Mention-

Pseudoregalia https://store.steampowered.com/app/2365810/Pseudoregalia/ I think a lot of people might have already known this one but I felt like it was a pretty fun 3d platformer. There were a few issues I had with it (boss fight at the beginning was frustrating, and I got lost a lot [but it looks like there's been a map patch by now, so, perhaps for some that is a fix]). I enjoyed it but sure felt weird that the only accessibility option was to give the protagonist pants. What kind of joke is that?

~5 hours

Mushroom Musume https://mortallymoonstruckgames.itch.io/mushroom-musume (Disclaimer, this game is still early access, but I saw a lot of people talking about it last year. SO I will mention here?) Haven't played much of this yet, but I have enjoyed what I played so far!! As of writing I've gone through 6 playthroughs, I feel like I've hardly scratched the surface and I've been so impressed by its depth. It's very charming, you never know what sorts of fairytale shenanigans are going to happen, and it's very cool to see how your different stats will affect things. It very much plays out like a roguelike vn. Which is not the sort of thing you may expect to make much sense but it pulls this off well. Also all the mushroom girls are very cute and I love them very much. I hope the sad goopy one who had bugs in her skin rests in peace.

~mushroom

Knuckle Sandwich https://andybrophy.itch.io/knuckle-sandwich -_- Hm. Where do I start with this one. I was pretty excited for this one since the demo and kickstarter in 2018. I felt like the demo was a hell of a hook that got me curious & horrified. As time went on, it seemed to be shaping up into something really cool. turn based combat with action commands and wario-ware-type microgames?? with a banging soundtrack?? like, count me in!! Then it released and well, the gameplay, art, music all delivered. It was very fun and engaging in those aspects. But the story… oh it just devolves into disappointing nonsensical randomness. The whole hook at the beginning seemed to be completely thrown away for the wild goose chase plot that ensues, leaving you to wonder if it was ever going to be relevant again. It felt like it had no idea what it was trying to say or do. It disappointed me that a game that has so much good in so much else about it gets brought down so much for me by this plot.

~12 hours

Rhythm Doctor https://store.steampowered.com/app/774181/Rhythm_Doctor/ (Putting this one in mentions because it is early access.) I really enjoyed the act 5 release. When I first saw this game, I kind of shrugged it off, thinking "that base mechanic doesn't seem like it will last". I thought it was basically just that one ghost shooting game from Rhythm Heaven which I Hate. Well let's just say I am now seeking penitence for my previous transgressions. It's really fun. There's a lot more to it that I didn't know when I first took a look. Also, consistently amazed by people's custom levels, I had no idea that its level editor allows people to do so much in it, I look at some levels and think "This editor seems as complex as an industry standard video editor". I'm looking forward to what they're planning next, very curious how they could possibly one-up the last update.

~rhythm

El Paso Elsewhere https://strangescaffold.itch.io/el-paso-elsewhere This was really fun & funny so far but unfortunately I had been encountering an issue with a certain level where the game would crash. I reported the issue, got a response, and there has been an update since then so I think there's a possibility that it got fixed but I have not tried yet. I would like to return to this sometime but having to relearn controls midway through is always daunting to me.

~?

-Things that looked good but didn't get around to-

Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood https://store.steampowered.com/app/1340480/The_Cosmic_Wheel_Sisterhood/ Still don't know a whole lot about this. But there are witches, and I like witches.

Casette Beasts https://store.steampowered.com/app/1321440/Cassette_Beasts/ I haven't felt thrilled about Pokémon lately. I know a lot of people seemed to really enjoy this little monster-collecting-rpg. The style is appealing to me as a die-hard gen 5 fan. I started playing it but haven't set aside the dedicated time for it yet, but I'm excited to dig in more when I do.

Little Goody Two Shoes https://store.steampowered.com/app/1812370/Little_Goody_Two_Shoes/ Started watching a friend play this, and I'm certainly curious.. Some sort of horror fairytale but also there's yuri? Yum. Enjoyed the style and animation in the nightmare segments that I saw.

Venba https://store.steampowered.com/app/1491670/Venba/ I've picked this up a while ago but still haven't gotten around to it, but I'm eager to, I've heard nothing but good things.

Goodbye Volcano High https://store.steampowered.com/app/1310330/Goodbye_Volcano_High/ I think there are gay dinosaurs in a band and it's going to be the apocalypse? I have also heard nothing but good things about this.

-Things I watched friends play-

Signalis https://store.steampowered.com/app/1262350/SIGNALIS/ This was a pretty big one. You probably already know it, right? Watched a friend play this and I missed various parts but I understood a solid bit of it. hey. robotgirls are always getting put in these fucked up situations. have you noticed this? one time i got really high and cried about it. it isn't fair

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk https://store.steampowered.com/app/1353230/Bomb_Rush_Cyberfunk/ This one was also probably big enough you don't need me to sing its praises. but it looked really neat. swag.

-Various Thoughts-

Lately I've been thinking more about design and narrative. I feel like I haven't been doing as much analysis as I should be when it comes to games. I want to dissect more what games are saying and figure out meaning. Also attempt to see how the mechanics aid in that. I feel like most of my own work is pretty abstract & random. I simply make what I like. While that's fun and all, I still want to improve in a lot of ways, especially in having more of a theme or message. Figuring out how other games accomplish this is obviously a good step toward this.

If you saw games here that interest you I highly urge you to take a look, many are pretty short, and I pretty explicitly wanted to highlight some smaller titles. If you know me you know I like to uplift small games. (Save for the occasional big game, but that's rare these days) I think it's healthy for you to play and support independently developed & published works. I don't want to ramble too much this time about why that's important, but I hope that you might have found something you may enjoy here and if not then I encourage you to find small stuff that you would like. And I would like to encourage everybody to share their findings as well! Little games need our help to be seen and talked about! They don't have the budgets the big ones do for advertising, and advertising on your own is a whole ton of work. If you like something, spread the word! I'm sure the developers would very much appreciate that.

[akiraarabella]

Is it just me or the volume 9 ost is just perfect? I was saving the songs that i liked while watching this whole show and the most songs that i saved are from volume 9. Its either that or im just a sucker for this show which is also most likely but WHO CARES! I just finished the whole series in two days 😎😎😎 and after hearing the ost i wanna go back and watch it again just to pay attention more.

Also its fascinating to see how much the animation quality got better and better each season. Like in the first season they didnt bother to animate the NPCs but now! And dont even get me started on this story!

I cant believe im just finding this show and not sooner! I envy all the people who started watching this series early on and actually experienced these changes and upgrades! you guys must feel so proud! I know i am even tho im a two day old fan 😅😅😅😅 BUT THIS WAS PERFECT AAAAAAAAAAAAAA

imma probably write some stuff abt this show too like i did for tdp and i dont even know where to start!!! Theres so many places i wanna talk about!!!!

ALSO IF ANYONE HAS FUNFACTS OR ANYTHING THEY WANNA SHARE ABT THE SHOW PLS DO TELL I WANNA KNOW MORE!!

[musicfranchisetournament]

propaganda under the cut !!

obey me :

i saw there was apparently no propaganda so, ahem. miura ayme miura ayme miura ayme miura ayme miura ayme miura ayme  i love miura ayme so much you dont understand listen to coup d'etat love or drive x crazy plssss i love him so much and his music is soooo good. literally perfect casting for asmo. i never knew about him before om. actually i saw a post once that was like whar ur fav character says abt you and for asmo it was that you love miura ayme and before i was like uhh who? and now im like YESS YES I DO. hes so pretty and he cosplays asmo too its awesome. ok tbh ive barely listened to the other character songs but im sure they're good.

project sekai :

Sorry mutual but I think this vs the right fandom would be like the next 9/11 or the next wataei vs lightbrush

They both cover existing Vocaloid songs as well as commission producers to make original ones for the rhythm game. Despite being a f2p mobile rhythm game, it has a well written and touching story about twenty teens discovering their passions and growing through music. Thanks to different parallel worlds, even the Vocaloids are able to help and guide them - all having different versions depending on what group they are involved with. The characters themselves have many different facets to them that makes them hard to genuinely despise or put in one specific trope box. Not to mention the story builds itself from one event to the other, no story is 100% self contained as filler -  they all either contribute to their respective units story or characterisation/ relationship with members of other units. And since this is a music franchise tourney - the original music ost is full of absolute bangers. From upbeat pop songs to drawn out ballads to festival like tunes all the way to rock and edm. Not to mention that the lyrics and presentation (through 3D or 2D MVs) tie in with the stories of the characters as well as the cards that come with them. It is definitely a franchise that, despite only really being a rhyhtm game, you can see that there is passion behind every detail that both the original creators and the commisioned producers put into this project. Its a community driven endeavour that wouldnt have been possible without its fans - just like how the Vocaloid community has strived until this day.

banger music!! rhythm game with hatsune miku, 5 other vocaloids, and a whole buncha original characters!! they cover already existing vocaloid songs, but also commission original music from vocaloid artists for the characters to cover! tons of absolute bangers

[chenouttachen]

my end of year bl wrap-up

2024 was my first full year of watching bl and i watched 23 shows that aired this year (and played catch-up with a lot of others!). here are some of my favourites of the year across a bunch of categories (some not so serious...), so let's go!

Favourite Show: Pit Babe

it had to be, right? pit babe took over my brain in so many ways and i don't think a single day goes by that i don't think about it at least a little. whatever season 2 brings us, i'm so damn grateful to this show for it's incredible characters.

(runner ups: Cherry Magic TH, The Trainee, Jack & Joker)

Favourite Couple: PhayaTharn (The Sign)

there are so many contenders for this one, but i've been thinking about the sign a lot lately and just... yeah. utterly ridiculous soulmates who would move heaven and earth for each other.

(runner ups: CharlieBabe, JackJoke, SanVee, YakDee, KaranAchi, FadelStyle)

Favourite Second/Side Couple: AlanJeff (Pit Babe)

no competition. i love them so much, i'm still unwell about them and it's been a year. i hadn't written fic in years and then suddenly i'm writing 32k words about them. they're everything to me.

(runner ups: YaiSand, OyeiCher, KornTonkla (don't), QToey)

Favourite OST: Re-Move On (My Love Mix Up)

this one is a surprise, and there's a lot of competition! when it comes to k-dramas i'm all about the ballad, but it very much seems for thai bl i'm more for the fun! GeminiFourth do SUCH a good job on this one, and it makes me happy every single time i hear it.

(runner ups: Love Training (The Trainee), Speed of Love (Pit Babe), No More Dream (DFF))

Favourite Kiss: Jack and Joke (Jack & Joker)

just like everyone else, i'm sure. i've been ready to call karan/achi's first kiss as my favourite all year, closely followed by alan/jeff's but GOD yinwar really held no punches with this one. the desire, the yearning, the push and pull. it's perfect.

Favourite NC Scene: Cherry Magic TH

similarly to favourite kiss, jack & joker came out of nowhere and really gave us everything, but i cry every time i watch episode 11 of cherry magic th. it's the eye contact between karan and achi, the tiny quirk of karan's eyebrow that shows us he's asking achi if he's sure, the earnestness of it all and oh my god the music.

(runner ups: Jack & Joker, 4 Minutes, Two Worlds)

Favourite Costuming: a tie between Love Sea and Century of Love

c'mon you can't ask me to choose between stylish old man San and decadent rich boy on holiday Tongrak!!

Favourite Character: Jeff (Pit Babe)

i said i think about little else, and i mean it. he's a fascinating character with so much trauma who has so much love to give (i promise) and he's my perfect perfect boy.

(runner ups: Fadel (The Heart Killers), Achi (Cherry Magic TH), Joke (Jack & Joker), Tan (DFF))

Favourite Female Character: Sand (The Sign)

the downside of this genre is that that women are often few and far between (hello pit babe not having a single female character...). but oh my god Sand. she's beautiful, she's snarky, she's loving. she's played by yoshi rinrada. what's more to love???

(runner ups: Mudmee (MLMU), Pie (The Trainee), Pai (Cherry Magic TH)

Best Friends: ArmSandPo (Perfect 10 Liners)

i haven't had them for very long, and i've already lost them to the next chapter of the show, but these three are everything to me. they're so fucking funny, and i did not expect it. but the three of them sharing a dorm room for a whole year? that entire scene where they're trying to fake that arm is home in bed while he's out on the town? po's eternal singleness??? i adore them.

(runner ups: the We Are gang, Tongrak and Vivi (Love Sea), Plawan and JJ (TLDHLB)

Worst Friends: Everyone in DFF

i mean there's no competition. these are the worst people. they're selfish, cruel, manipulative and cowardly.

Best Brothers: Charlie and Jeff (Pit Babe)

i love them. if anyone saw my pit babe rewatch, there was at least one post about them per episode. their found family, only one who truly knows and understands dynamic just hits. they're gonna stand up for each other and do everything in their power to protect each other. they love each other, they hurt each other, they build each other up. yeah. yeah they're good.

(runner up: Yai and Tharn (The Sign)

Favourite (Temporary) Break Up: YakDee (Wandee Goodday)

was i devastated it happened? year. do i think it had to happen for the story to progress? yeah. was i devastated by the image of wandee going to reach for yak's necklace only to realise it's not there? YEAH. (you get a poster for this one b/c wandee is only on viki now and you can't screenshot)

Cringiest: Khun Dad (Sunset x Vibes)

nothing has given me the ick more than lin calling sun 'khun dad' (at least until he called him daddy in front of all their coworkers). finding this screenshot and having to watch this again was painful (sun, you could have said no!!!!!)

Most Visceral Viewing Experience: DFF

i cannot put into words the emotions that i felt watching this week to week. i was devastated, i was appalled, i was confused, i was angry. i never want to put myself (or non) through that again, but christ it'll stay with me for a long long time.

(runner up: 4 Minutes)

Best Kitchen Health Code Violations: This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans

there's a competitor now with the heart killers airing, but oab and plawan got it on in at least three different kitchens. they deserve this.

Worst Death: World One Thai (Two Worlds)

they go through all of that, only to die... by snake bite??? i remember just pausing the episode and having to sit with that for a while, because what do you mean he just got taken out at the eleventh hour by a snake bite?????

Best Villain: Tony (Pit Babe)

he's stylish, he drinks green juice, he's called 'daddy' by all, he kills kids, he deals in human trafficking, he wants to sell his favourite adopted son's hypothetical baby, he's not winning any father of the year awards, but he can win this one.

Favourite Physical Fight: Mahasamut and Tongrak's Dad (Love Sea)

once again, i wanted to pick jackjoke because every interaction they have has me frothing at the mouth. but mut beating the shit out of rak's dad? that was delicious. the idea that he'd been uncollared?? the build up of weeks of him being on his best behaviour, and when finally given freedom (however unwillingly), the first thing he does is stand up for his man? good shit.

Favourite Emotional Fight: Jack and Joke (Jack & Joker)

they're winning this one. everything that happens in that fucking hospital ruined me entirely. the intensity that yinwar bring to every scene, paired with war's ability to be the most devastating crier possible just made this. perfect (and i'm still sad about it, even now).

(runner ups: OabPlawan (TLDHLB), GodDew (Monster Next Door))

[katyspersonal]

i might be misinterpreting it, but i absolutely love reading your thoughts on miquella—they’re such a breath of fresh air compared to the "miquellester" bs i keep seeing on yt or any media, especially from some of the big lore channels that were starting to sound like those dumb redditors. like, why is the fandom so hellbent on reducing his tragic, complex, and nuanced story into "miquella is the most evil evil to ever evil in the lands between. hmph, poor mohg and his uwu blood cult dynasty"? it’s exhausting. i love his character, design and that beautiful ost, but i still firmly believe that mohg never beat any allegations, lmao—in fact, this whole “he was brainwashed/mind-controlled” narrative has stripped away so much of his characterization (but that's just me lmao). seriously though, i genuinely appreciate how much you expand on miquella’s behavior and role in both the base game and the DLC. it’s so refreshing to see someone dig into his complexity instead of parroting those ridiculous “miquellester” comments or the “mohg beat the allegations” takes. i cannot watch any lore video on mohg and/or miquella anymore without those stupid comments ruining it for me. thank you for offering such thoughtful insights—i might actually enjoy his character more now.

why is the fandom so hellbent on reducing his tragic, complex, and nuanced story into "miquella is the most evil evil to ever evil in the lands between

Because they're Berserk fanboys, next question.

OK OK sorry I had to lol fsdhfdh

On a serious note, sorry for being a bit late with the reply, as in this case I didn't know what to say; you sound very passionate about the topic (not a bad thing!), and I myself had several "stages" regarding opinion on these characters!

In fact, I do not post about Miquella nearly often enough to see how I could change someone's mind on him...? But only because I do not post about anyone often enough - I am cursed with "liking all characters" and relying on my friends, followers and dashboard to help me to "focus" x) So I also wondered whether you've confused me with some other blog at first? But regardless, you have strong feelings boiling up that I can sympathise with, and I'd still rather say something :p

You say this, but before SOTE and shortly after, I actually targeted different kind of fans - the other extreme who idealised Miquella to the point of being aggressive towards anyone with the "wrong" headcanons or opinions on this character! I affectionately titled them 'Twin Cultists' or 'Needy Knight Ledas' and condemned multiple instances of toxicity they'd never stop causing fdshfdhs Them believing in Miquella's nonexistent "character assassination" was not helpful: how can anyone see his tragic fall from grace delivered the way it is, and assume that Fromsoft wanted fans to hate him? If someone's response to the character not being so perfect is hate, this is their skill issue, not writers'!

However, first weeks after SOTE I myself felt disappointment I needed to digest, and made jokes about Miquella being Griffith. And I sure joined "Mohg beat the allegation" wave of jokes at first! But in my defence, I didn't attack writers or fans that loved the direction SOTE took, and my perception of Miquella (and of Leda too!) cleared fast enough from initial "shock" into what it is now!

Currently, I don't talk about people whose love for Miquella is toxic all that often, and switched "target" towards those who neglect the narrative and downgrade him towards evil, manipulative bastard that never meant the good things he did, huh? :p Clearly I am aching for discourse at heart? A warrior should remain ever-drifting, and this applies to drifting of targets. You (probably) don't know me, but I am like this about Real Things TM too, not JUST fandomry. It is a matter of addressing the unfairness itself, but there is never only one source of it, and you lock on one at the time! In fandomry context: before it were people who had strange cult-like obsession with Miquella and his sister too... now it is people who slander the characters and tell those who read the nuance that they're "coping". And, yeah, Mohg is weaponised in this regard unfortunately!

Mohgwyn Dynasty plans with Pureblood Knights, Bloody Fingers and kidnapped people like Varre already existed before Miquella's enchantment! None of this stuff is good! Understandable, considering Mohg's trauma, and being called for by Formless Mother that appears before those heavily traumatized? Yeah. But not good! Ansbach's whole point is that he was willing to fight Miquella over "dishonor" of mind-control, not because he.. what, turned Mohgwyn agenda into some worse direction?

It appears that Miquella charmed Mohg for the purpose of being put back into that cocoon and nourished into whatever links him with Land of Shadow now! Miquella benefited from Moghwyn's bloody antics (got to enter Land of Shadow), but not created them! They were doing this stuff before and Anshbach is not happy that Mohg's own designs and wishes got skewed by a charm! Designs that had to do with bloody sacrifices before Miquella got involved!

I am not sure whether Miquella charmed Mohg before for some reason and it later dominoed into him kidnapping him, or Mohg kidnapped Miquella on his own due to needing an Empyrean and Miquella saw an opportunity and seized it! Malenia says that he "will keep his promise", so I think there was some way Miquella had her know to not go looking for him and just wait! I am sure he didn't "want to be kidnapped" from the get-go though, because if that was the plan he could've just walked into Mohgwyn and charm him from the start instead of waiting! Just, no reason to play hard to get when so much is at the stake, okay?

And if being kidnapped by Mohg was not a plan, but becoming a God and promise with Radahn to join was, but Miquella was still around during Aeonia Battle (saved Freyja).. I think maybe embedding himself into Haligtree also worked for potential travelling into Land of Shadow? As long as he sleeps so hard in his cocoon he astral-projects and disconnects from his body, he is able to do it! Whether it is beside Malenia or Mohg doesn't matter. But empty cocoon itself can't have the same energy as whole ass tree to "boost" him... so, blood it is? Mohg and Miquella are funny in a bitter way in this regard, they're like if a guy tried to shove another guy off the cliff, but that first guy grabbed that second guy's legs before slipping so now they BOTH fell sdfjfdh

_______________________

All in all, both Miquella and Mohg deserve nuance and agency for both sympathetic motivations AND bad things they did! They are both very sad characters that were doing what they could in a broken world, but I can't see the story working if either of them was "just a victim" / "just evil". It is not my bias, it is just how evidence from the actual source material IS! Everything points towards the fact that Miquella was kind and caring @ Mohg was already doing madcult before the kidnapping, but Miquella had to turn the situation he found himself in towards his favour! Mohg was controlled into giving bloody sacrifices to him rather than the Eldrich God he worshipped, not into starting his cult, whereas the reasons Mohg ended up mad like this are more than understandable!

And I feel sorry for anyone who has to distance from theories and lore videos in the fandom because it is just bland or wrong take every other time tbh. Important part of engaging with the fandom is lost because many people have black-or-white thinking towards the characters! I don't think it is very hard to hold several things in the head at once.. We as fandom remember 200 item descriptions and placements to make our headcanons, so why it is harder to remember details about characters that prove their depth and complexity? Just don't despair since there are other accounts that will provide deep analyses on the characters! Follow everyone you find and your dashboard will become nothing but substancial and thoughtful talks, you won't have to worry about stumbling into bad takes anymore! It is kind of what I did x) *voice of a guy that doesn't check the fandom tag, Reddit or Youtube anymore*

[thoughtsonkm]

" ARE YOU SURE?! "

Y'ALL-

I CANNOT fucking wait for this show. Literally inpatient at this point.

I have never looked forward to August this much in my entire life!

Interesting choice with streaming it on Disney+ when they would've made as much money on weverse. It's probably some contract thing that started with the docuseries last year OR just another way to reach a broader audience for jm+jk

8 episodes means it'd done by 19th September. Wonder what they've planned for October.. (except Hobis return ofc)

ALSO they're probably gonna talk about the idea and reasoning behind the buddy program right?? NOT READY ( just a little heartfelt talk while relaxing in that hot spring in Sapporo ✨)

Not Disney+KR describing the whole thing as "hot chemistry and heartwarming moments"

like c'mon now 💀👀

Oh this is SO gonna have a little jikook song OST to go with it. I NEED IT, I DEMAND IT.

It's gonna be the perfect mischievous mixture of ISP x BV. I can already picture all of their shenanigans and all the "bro-coded" situations 😂

Listen I'm manifesting behind the scenes videos, commentary videos, OST and merch. Seems pretty realistic to me 🤡

[kars-stan-3000]

About me:

Hello, you can call me Joni - I was born in 2005 and I am a writer, drawer, cosplayer and general content creator.

My pronouns are she/they/he/it - feel free to use whatever for me, I do not mind at all. I am a genderfluid lesbian, taken and I love my girlfriend. My account is a safe space, intended to support and welcome anyone and create a safe community.

I vow to do that for you all.

Anyway, so let's get into who I am.

My interests:

Jojo's bizzare adventure 🗣 (main, if you can't tell)

My favourite jojo characters are here (in a tier list, relatively in order too)

I am the real-life embodiment of Jonathan and Giorno - call me a real-life JoJo with the way I capture the Joestar genes.

I love making tier lists. I have loads of them.

Creating (art, stories, cosplays)

I like to create - it's my biggest passion, which will definitely be on my blogs. I draw and write mostly jojo fan-material, so that's a heads up.

I'm planning on getting into cosplay, I have a list and everything I need to buy planned out just don't have the finance to YET but I will start, soon, probably going to post about my cosplans next.

Music

I quite literally listen to anything, I love music - having studied it at school I just appreciate music as a whole. I love goth music (thanks to my girlfriend for supplying me with a fantastic playlist), I love anything alternative, I adore the jojo ost - I think the creativity behind them is magnificent, I listen to some classical music, jazz, pop - literally anything.

I think music is the window to the soul, it's the easiest way to communicate for me, I use music to not only cope BUT I also use music to express emotions that I usually can't express. Music is addicting, I truly appreciate the creativity that musicians have.

My princess (my girlfriend)

I love my girlfriend, she's the greatest, prettiest most stunning goddess on earth and there's nothing you can do to hope to compare to her (sorry), she's so perfect, my darling girl needs to know how gorgeous she is to me. #needthat

Me and my wife, gonna wife her up one day, she's literally stunning (ps, she's Abbacchio, I'm Bucciarati)

Jojos 🗣‼️

Top five (if you didn't see the tier list above):

Secco - my SON, I LOVE MY SON - my son is amazing, if you don't like Secco you can FUCK OFF

Giorno - literally me. Trauma, personality, everything is the same as myself I relate HEAVILY to Giorno, my beautiful Giorno

Jonathan - literally me, I love Jonathan, he's so sweet

Jotaro - my HUSBAND, oh my God I LOVE Jotaro, he is amazing, well written, complex just perfect (bonus, I LOVE Star Platinum)

Dio - I love Dio, they are complicated, well written, layered, they look amazing #needthat, my KING, I adore Dio, one of the best villains I've read so far - my genderfluid, bisexual pretty vampire

Haven't finished it yet, so I don't have a favourite part at the moment - however, I just love it as a whole, it's all amazing

My top ten Stands:

Star Platinum

The World

Cream

Metallica

Baby Face

Oasis

Heaven's Door

The Greatful Dead

Golden Experience

White Album

My favourite groups in jojos:

The Pillar Men (including Santana): I LOVE the Pillar Men, they are amazing, I adore them - I would have them all as my top favourites BUT they're not because there are characters I like more, I just love the Pillar Men for different reasons. I love their lore, their dynamic, their everything is just. Yes. Perfect. Beautiful

La Squadra: UNDERRATED in all hell, I love La Squadra, all the characters are funny, their designs are cool, I love their Stands, their lore, the reason behind why they are doing everything they do in part 5 is just amazing - their storyline is beautifully tragic

Any group in jojos that contains Jotaro: must I explain? I will anyway, I love Jotaro and the groups he's a part of all have beautifully intricate dynamics and I find the way they're all written to be fascinating

Bucci gang: I love Bucciarati's group, their dynamic is the best by far - I love their found family vibe and heavily lean into that in all my fandom creations

Dio's followers (minus the REALLY SHITTY ONES (you all know)): solely because I think it's absurd about the Stands and people they chose like what???

My art:

I usually study Araki's art style, I love developing my own skill whilst studying his creations because his style literally blew life into my own creativity - if it wasn't for jojo I fear I wouldn't be able to create anymore, my burnout was BAD, terrible even, until I was introduced to jojos thanks to my girlfriend.

I can't wait to share my art and I hope when I improve enough to be able to do commissions, I can't YET but I will be doing commissions when I feel ready to.

I draw anything sfw and nsfw (just because I can, I think it's funny) - although my favourite things to draw are jojo characters or jojo ocs, I know I know you're probably tired of jojos but I am NOT.

Jojos saved my creativity.

Interactions, moots and important stuff:

I am usually friendly to anyone, as I said this is a safe space, unless you are the following (aka my dni):

General dni, (r*cist, p*do, anti-lgbt etc)

Pro-ship (please fuck off)

Infantalising, stereotyping, demonising and sexualising mental health issues, disorders, disabilities (mental and physical) and any other issues - get the fuck off my page you sad little shits

THOSE art critics who "fix" other art non-consensually

People who sexualise alternative people - again, fuck off

I highly encourage the following to interact though:

Jojo fans

Artists, writers, cosplayers

Goths

Lgbtqia+

If you want to be a mutual, then feel free to dm me to talk bout it! I have a few images below that summarise my interests, I am always ALWAYS willing to talk to people.

^ Kira Yoshikage, drawn by yours truly (I love this, it's an old character study) ^

Alt accounts and my wife:

Check out this account, this is my darling: @miistafucker

Here are all my alts (can not figure out how to mention them so take the links) -

Giorno - the-real-giorno

This is my ART BLOG ✨️

I upload my art here, mostly, love that for me - anyway, yeah so this is full of my art process, sketches and my journey and all that - because I adore art and want to share that

Dio - king-dio

This is my COSPLAY BLOG 🗣‼️

This is where I post my cosplay journey, talk about it etc, follow this is you wanna keep up with that

Santana - sleepy-santana

This is my jojo content that is NOT art or fanfic based

This is where I post any other jojo content, usually theories, memes, thoughts and feelings etc

Joni - joni-joestar

This is my REAL BLOG 💯

This is where I post rants; things that bother me, my girlfriend, my personal thoughts and feelings - kind of like a personal, general blog

Melone - melone-the-freakazoid

This is my WRITERS BLOG 😈

This is where I post fanfiction (specifically jojo fanfiction), I love Melone so based this one off of Melone because it makes me laugh, if you like fanfiction follow along here to have a regular flow of fan made material

Rohan - i-am-rohan-kishibe

This is my OFFICIAL PORTFOLIO BLOG 😱✨️💯🗣🗣‼️‼️

This is where I post any art that I believe is to my standards as part of an official portfolio for future commissions, this will be updated slowly (given I'm still improving), but it will be updated rest assured

The Giorno blog will always contain the speed-draws/speed-paints of the art I create, though

Pillar Men - number-1-kars-fan

This is my PILLAR MEN ACCOUNT 🎉

I literally post ONLY Piller Men content on here, I love them a lot and could talk about them 24/7 365. They're so cherished by me they have their whole separate blog (sorry Jotaro)

"But Joni, what content can I expect on here if all your stuff is on there?"

I hear you, and let me tell you - whilst there isn't much else that one could put here, I have SOMETHING

This is going to be my information centre where I put super duper important updates - and potentially my reblog account, where I reblog content from my fyp that I like OR from my alts (if they're from my alts I'll literally say "reblogged from [alt name], check it out!"

Anyway, aside from that, I can't think of anything else. Don't feel shy, feel free to comment, like, interact - I can not WAIT to start posting content.

Also: ANYTHING I REPOST IS NOT MINE UNLESS SPECIFICALLY STATED TO BE MINE - IN WHICH IT WILL BE VERY OBVIOUS THAT IT'S MINE thank you

You can find me on TikTok under the same name and on Instagram as "kars-stan-30000" as opposed to 3000

Anyway, here are some photos for more about me stuff:

[candy8448]

Previous post

Oooooh man im watching the end:

Part 1 feels so sad, raven trying to do all the things for her friends on their last day is honestly so so so sad

This projection thing is sick

Them making her the bunker behind her back because she probably would have opposed to it

Beast boy quickly giving her the penny is the most sweetest things ever im actually gonna cry, and every time they did a close up on it

It makes me so sad that she doesnt even try to fight back despite if she goes the end is innevitable. I guess she just wanted to get it over with so her friends dont need to spend any moore time of their ladt moments fighting for her :((((

Raerae my babyyyyyy

"Stay safe" 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Her absolutely obliterating Slade with words is so amazing i cant even-

The raven leading them all together, their hands in the middle, the hope 😭

Im so happy with this little call back to season 1's "switched" where raven and star switched bodues and learned how to use their powers, its so good and im glad star remembered that because she would

Her giving them a bit of her power is so sick and them all saying "azarath metrion zinthos" is so so sick

Can i say the ost for this show as a whole in EVERY episode is absolutely sick and sounds so good i would listen to it on its own, but they also know how to dial it down and turn off the music for so much inpact its crazy, they did it with some apprentice arc scenes and haunted and such and it works so well to hear the atmosphere and suspense is perfect, i also like the ost that plays when the "dark versions" of star, cy and BB appear, its so minimal and impactful (i also like the konochrome no shading look they have) them talking is also pretty creepy

BB going inside trigon's ear and turning into a whale is so smart and also the "wet willie" he said he would give trigon XD

I knew slade teams up with them in this episode but it still feels weird! Also rob volunteered tovfind rae but honestly i think that BB has the closest bond with her and the little things he does through the series, and the penny he gave her, i dont ship them really at all but i feel like he has the closer bond and whole robin is my favorite and the leader, it would have made more sense for BB to go, and more emotionally impactful

Also dont say robin cant stay cuz he would easily beat the shadow titans but they could have done that and nobody would really care too much, they were defeated before by that robot that tried to beat cy in "only human" so shadows of themselves could definetly still proviide a problem with robin there, and it would have made no difference to how that scene could have went

Slade has a point, uf he gets a thing he wants and the end of the world is gonna happen anyway, he might as well take the deal.

Also i thought this whole time that "what he had lost" was gonna be his son or something cuz i didnt have any clue what it could be and drew on the tiny bit of deathstroke comic lore i knew but i was still skeptical, i was NOT expecting the skeleton tho, that seriously shocked me.

Him saying "The fringe benifits were quite enjoyable" and then panning on this scene is just:

Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew no no no no no no no no no no no no

Knowing what that episode implied and then this line is just ewwwwwwwwwww 😭

Slade and robin being mirrors while fighting litterally on the same wavelength and same split second is more of a testament to how alike they are 0.0

"Im here to save you too" robin saying about slade is 0.0 D: as well

AHA I KNEW THEY HAD TO FIGHT EACH OTHER'S SHADOW TO DEFEAT THEM!!!

BB's saying that terra was right to dump him is just vile

Still think that BB going after raven would have felt more impactful, like sure, robin and raven have been in each other's minds or something and i feel like them being the main two in "birthmark" makes so much sense, but for this, i feel like it makes more sense for BB to go, he's spent the entire show getting to understand raven more deeply than any other character, and he has littlerally been inside her mind. I dont ship them at all but their strong platonic bond would have been perfect for this

Baby rae sounds so weird her voice like that lol

SO. SMALL.

The big white projection raven is so sick lookin. You go girl!!

BB what do you mean raven giving hugs is weird? She litterally gave you a hug at the end of "spellbound"!

Maaann i love them so much.

Something i love about this show is that the titans' friendships is strong and genuine, they care deeply for eachother, truly want to connect to eachother, make sure each ither is okay, they believe wachother instantly when something us wrong and dint disregard eachother's feelings, nobody is ever the butt of the joke and nobody is made to feel bad on purpose by the others, even if they are all completely different from one another, and if it happens then they do their best to make the sincerest of apologies. Them being mad at each other is always coming from a place of frustration from wanting to hang out and enjoy each other's company but just not understanding how

Many kids shows make friends kinda hate eachother, always get on their bad sides, cant seem to stand each other, and always have one of the others as the butt of jokes (even teen titans go does this! D:) so i really love this show for that

"We'll be ready for him" is what cyborg said at the end of "haunted" which i guess goes to show the hope and trust they have in themselves and eachother

Again i would say BB would have worked a lot better for this last scene with raven instead of robin, since BB while being a bit childish, is still really emotionally intellegent! (I mean look at all his interactions with raven and terra!) And this little speach about raven having the most hope does sound like something beast boy would say more than robin (yes he is the leader, but it sounds more right in BB's voice), like, i can imagine vividly what it would be like with bb in robin's place and it makes so much more sense. I honestly wanna draw a version of the same events but with bb instead but thats so hard to do and would take forever sooo :/ thats only a maybe few pannels kinda thing MAYBE

This is a sick arc, the music again was so cool,

I think my favorite part was part 1 tbh, before any of the world taking over takes place

Next post

[year2000electronics]

And of course Super Paper Mario and 4. Convince me to give this game another try perhaps :]

4. …why you should choose to check out the world of this story and choose three gifs that should underline my point.

NOTE: i will be forgoing the GIF part and using pictures instead because every single GIF search result has been clogged up with mouth-breathers on the internet who have been arguing over whether SPM is good or bad and have been doing it in GIF form for years. don't believe me? search "super paper mario" on discord's gif search. you'll see it. you always see it.

oh jesus. see the thing about liking super paper mario is that there's a lot of SPM fans out there who really like the game but can't really connect a very important dot as to Why they like the game. (HINT: THEY PLAYED IT WHEN THEY WERE YOUNG AND ARE NOSTALGIC FOR IT SO THE FLAWS IT HAS IS WAY LESS FOR THEM, AND BY PROXY, ME.) IM self aware. i will never be able to hate the game, but i am incredibly aware that the gameplay can be fairly lacking sometimes. if the story doesnt already grip you, it probably wont ever be worth it to go through the gameplay. thats my bit. thats my piece.

(but then youll have people who see how SPM defenders dont like to critique it when it deserves to be critiqued and start going after stuff like "oh the story isnt even that good"? MAN WHY DID YOU BRING THE STORY INTO THIS.)

but i digress. the life of a paper mario fan is a long and hard one.

POINT THE FIRST. MARIO'S "EXPERIMENTAL" ERA.

you can argue that ttyd also fits this bill, and i think it does, but this is about SPM so im focusing on that. if the mario series has never really Gripped you or you havent really been a lifelong fan, i always think the gamecube-wii era of mario has been one of its more interesting moments. the switch renaissance has allowed a breath of creativity to come back into mario, and mario's allowed to be Weird again, but gamecube-wii mario is weird in a really SCUFFED way and i love it. the gamecube's flagship mario game was a LUIGI game where he cant even jump. super paper mario came out before mario galaxy or NSMBwii. that was our mario rep on the wii for a while. mario games get a little crazy, a little weird here. and so what you get is a more melancholic story about the end of all worlds, and exploring what it really means to be a hero, and the closest many games will get to acknowledging that the mario characters can have emotions that arent Perfect. its just such a fascinating era for such a perfectly-marketable franchise and i adore it. it's a testament to what mario can Be, for me. Mario Is Weird. say it with me now!

POINT THE SECOND. GOODBYE TO A WORLD.

i just really like the theme of All Worlds Coming To An End. usually in these sort of things, it's "save the world so the world doesnt end!" but in this game, it really feels like "the world is ending and you have to fight even to have a chance to succeed". it colours the tone of the game in such a fantastic way. many songs in the OST have a ticking clock in them. the inescapable void is even in the hub world. it's like the majora's mask of paper mario. many people talk this up but the fact that in chapter 6, you're beholden to the traditions of a silly king who REFUSES to believe the world is ending even when HIS ENTIRE SKY IS PURPLE, and youre trying so hard to beat this 100-man duel faster and faster, only for the world to end and then youre forced to go back into the chapter and see this GRAVEYARD. it makes it so much more tangible. THIS is what will happen if you fail. and this overhanging melancholy paints the themes of love so much stronger. it's not just a love story, it's a love story in adversity. love conquers all, but what is the "all" in question? well, this. bleakness. sometimes the bleakness is part of the love. sometimes you make a sacrifice in the name of love, and nobody likes it, but you know it must be. the whole game is actually a love story between bleck and tippi and it just grips me so. it's such a multi-faceted depiction of love and loss that it feels so much more real to me, that love isn't always the Magical Solution. love is a sword, a shield, a prayer, a wish, a curse, a blessing, an order, an act of cowardice, an act of bravery, a sacrifice.

(you see what i mean? i can literally only be talking like this because i grew up with this stupid ass game)

POINT THE THIRD. FUCK ALL THAT THOUGH LET'S TALK ABOUT THE BLECK MINIONS.

so, the whole kind of crux of this game is that it's a love story between bleck, the main antagonist, and tippi, your companion, right. if you can't flesh both of them out you're in a bad way. obviously for tippi, she's hanging around you all the time, and you get to hear her journey play out throughout the entire game. BUT WHAT OF BLECK? HE'S HIDING IN HIS CASTLE! how are we supposed to know more about him and learn his story if he is IN HIS CASTLE? well that's why after every chapter, there's this interlude where we CHECK UP ON THE BAD GUYS.

i blame this game entirely for my love of villains. this gang of baddies has so much quirks and personality that i find it hard NOT to love them. they're not just gormless minions of the count- each shows their own personality in their relationship with him. mimi has a puppy-love crush on him, o'chunks has a sort of warrior's bond with him, nastasia pledges herself to him and almost uses the minions she controls as a conduit for her dedication to him, dimentio is like a cat in a bird store, and mr l clearly isnt supposed to be here but i dont think he knows that. the minions bicker amongst themselves but clearly have a bond of cameraderie because it all feels like teasing of people who've known each other for a long time.

you fight each minion at least twice, and even though the lackluster gameplay kinda comes in full force again, you get to see so much PERSONALITY in these guys. mimi is super-bratty but seems to know most people would see her as a monster so leans into it, dimentio is playful and jovial while also having his own motives, o'chunks is bold and brash but asks you to finish him off the second time he fails, mr. l is cocky to a fault and reeks of insecurity. i just love having these guys we can always check up on. it's like lord crump but MOOOOORE.

and through a combo of you inferring things about these people and some of the Deeper Lore (flopside bar stories), you kinda come to learn that these minions were kinda manipulated by bleck when they were at their lowest. mimi is a failed creation of SOMETHING. o'chunks' men all died because there was a traitor in his midst. nastasia was saved from a cage by bleck. and the more you learn about bleck the more you see that he is a man grieving the woman he loved, apathetically trying to end all worlds so the pain would end. he lies to the minion, he says he aims to make perfect new worlds, and they believe him, and they love him, because he saved them.

this sort of birth of a relationship through bleck's pain and manipulation comes through by the end, as the love the minions have for bleck is a KEY part of the final act. and idk it's a bunch of deeply-hurting misfits binding together and accidentally finding love in a world they found loveless. i think thats really cool. i think THEYRE really cool. such an awesome cast of villains.

but yknow. again. this is my childhood game. the special feeling i have for it can't really just be put into words. it's my diamond in the rough and nothing can really change that. it's Home.