#look how cute and quirky and social justice she is

[ljbrary]

yoooo just had someone i was friends with block me on instagram because i posted something about the 12 murdered druze children but unfortunately they weren’t within the (((right))) borders in the middle east for basic human empathy to extend to them and therefore she cannot associate with me because i care about murdered kids regardless of their nationality

[gracebethartacc]

Hi, I just wanted to say I love yiur wish rewrite ideas so far! Your art style is so cute!

I’ve got afew questions about it.

What’s Asha’s role in the story? Is she an actual princess this time or is she Magnifico’s apprentice from the start?

I would also like to know a little more about star and Magnufico if you can❤️👍

AAAAA TYSMMMMM!!!! THIS MEANS THE WORLD TO ME 

ANYWAY messy character/story ramble and some on the spot brainstorming under the cut:

I mentioned it in my first wish post but yes she’s still wanting to be the kings apprentice/isn’t a princess (but I’d say for the ending after the king gets killed off villain style she replaces him as princess so it comes full circle n all) 

The main difference with my Asha is she has zero social skills/is shy/doormat, I liked the idea of how she was anxious before meeting with the king but youknow in mine I’m getting rid of the adorkable stuff from it. Like it emphasizes how big of a deal this is because she finally worked up the proper courage to speak with him. 

I’m not 100% sure but I like the idea she only offers to be his assistant AFTER being turned down about granting her grandfathers wish, like I think she’d always want to be a sorcerer like him but never had that wish right at the forefront youknow? Perhaps after her father died she lost hope in that or just thought it was unrealistic etc but I feel like in the movie her having both of those motivations at once kinda muddled with things and definitely paints her as being a bit selfish especially considering this movie does just a reallllly poor job at show don’t tell like we never see Asha like studying magic or wishes or looking up to the king etc but we sure are told it a lot but just?? It definitely feels very cluttered and could easily be adjusted with just emphasizing one thing over another, so in mine I’d like to think either one of two things I’ve not decided yet but either 1: she hits two birds with one stone and goes to work for magnifico for a bit and only THEN asks about her grandfather's wish or 2: my previously stated idea of asking about wish first and doing apprenticeship work in exchange 

I kinda prefer the first one a little bit just bc gives us some time with Asha and the king to interact while also giving time for another wish ceremony to happen in that time, and for her grandfather to again not get his wish chosen to kinda put a nail in the coffin. And in mine her grandpa is much more physically fitting for being 100 like man is going to die in like the next one or two years he doesn’t have very long HENCE haves emphasis on WHY Asha is so insistent on getting his wish granted bc in the movie sure she cares about him but we aren’t SHOWN WHY like no specific childhood moments or any clear close bond moments like I said just way too much tell and not enough show

not sure about her dad yet but I definitely wanna make him more prominent maybe he was magnificos apprentice or studied stars etc just something to give him more of a importance

But yeah so making her shy was a big thing in helping separate her from other Disney protags bc I honestly can’t really think of many outright anxious or people pleasing Disney princesses/Disney girl protagonists ? And because it helps with her arc of standing up for herself/seeking justice like it hits it home a lot harder as compared to “ooo quirky girl but now she’s cool!!” Like it felt very forced to me atleast in my opinion so here it feels much more natural, and helps her bounce off star more bc the goat was not it that wasn’t a character to bounce off of that was a trailer one liner generator. 

So speaking of Star!! Bc you asked about him so yeah uhh not really much to say besides I wanted to combine the cute ball of energy personality that the movie had AND the bombastic energetic shapeshifter boy from the concepts so I combined them together to get cute starboy who rather than being full of energy is more so just easily excited especially considering star has wanted to visit earth for forever 

I like the idea that maybe they never granted wishes or helped people was because Asha and her dad were the only ones who really wished on stars bc everyone else just went to the king. So Star hears her venting abt the king not helping her grandad at the tree asking for help as like a last ditch attempt and star recognizes her voice and grants her wish like ‘you wanted help? I’m here now!’ Type of deal

Ohhh another idea I actually got this from another post but someone had mentioned making the stars magic/wish granting work like the blue fairy from Pinocchio, in which they can’t directly grant wishes but instead give you the means to achieve your wish on your own (hence the bit in that art of magnificos ref sheet having the doodle of Star saying even star can’t grant wishes directly/take them, which is a huge deal bc if a cosmic being can’t do something that this regular ass guy CAN do then that’s a huuuge red flag (or… black flag ig in this case bc yk.., black magic lol))

My Star is basically just a rehash of the classic Ariel type character of ‘I’ve watched humans my whole life and it’s boring in space, I want to be human because I like them!’ But unlike Ariel he doesn’t stay human because star instantly regrets it after getting it granted because 1: magnifico manipulated star and just got god powers and 2: ‘oooohgpf this is overstimulation hell wtf wtf wtf I hate this this feels so weirddddd’

And another reason is because of the Asha foils/recognition of the self through the other plot of them two thus they get symbolism of appreciating what they already have and all :3

Magnifico I’m still brainstorming on but tldr I’m thinking he will be more manipulative than straight up evil/the full evil stuff just shows up later/it’s a slow burn 

Like starts off being a little sus but ultimately well meaning and helpful, then bleeds into manipulation territory, then once getting star magic he just lets go of all that restraint and just is full power hungry villain, ALSO killing the book possession thing bc that was stupid and instead I like the idea he uses dark magic from the start but no one knows because he lies about it’s just because he’s the most powerful sorcerer/maybe he’s the only one who actually knows magic either bc of a ban or perhaps something about his old kingdom being destroyed maybe it could be a library of Alexandria thing of he’s the only sorcerer left around in that area shrugs but lots of fun to be had with him ! slutty evil kings are an awesome trope like I really wanna play on hubris/self downfall bc that’s my favorite kind of villain of ‘you could have been different but just dug yourself such a deep hole it became your grave’ 

Sorry for the ramble oof I just decided to let alphabet spaghetti fall out of my mouth and hope it turned into comprehensible sentences ok

[am-imagines]

I see you. - Alex Morgan Imagine.

Request: “ Can I request this: Alex and r are together and the team knows and then they come out to the public in some really cute or funny way and maybe you can also incorporate some supportive reactions from the team? ”

I hope I did it justice, guys. Thank you for the patience to those that are still around. I love y’all. <3

No Beta, so you know the drill here, but I tried my best.

Sharing a room with Alex during the World Cup was somewhat rough when you were barely able to look at her without blushing. You were crushing on her since the day you met, but it was never that bad until you were on the bed next to hers.

The awkwardness that overcame you around her was odd, considering you texted practically nonstop. You became good friends like that, and there was an ease on your conversations that you’d never experienced with anyone else.

You shared so many interests, even had a similar lookout in life. You aimed for the same goals and put in equal amounts of effort to achieve them.

None of that changed the fact that Alex was stupidly handsome. Her beauty smacked you on the face whenever you looked at her and that was your downfall. It didn’t matter what you did, your cheeks would end up flushed with color and you’d stammer total nonsense that would make her chuckle. Alex would inevitably get closer to make sure you were okay, and just like that you were a gay mess.

A thing you learned quickly about Alex is that she never quit.

When you were too nervous to talk, she filled in the silence with a funny story or a new song to listen together. Free nights became movie marathons or just quiet moments where you’d work the nerves away before a match.

Halfway through the World Cup it wasn’t a rare occurrence for you to fall asleep in her bed and wake up cuddled on her side come morning.

Pointing the exact moment when your relationship became more than a friendship was near impossible. It was slow, steady and swift. One day you looked at her and realized that she was more than your friend, and when you leaned down to kiss her, she met you halfway.

This was a new side of yourself and Alex; one that you wanted to enjoy without rush or pressure. No one really knew you were into girls to start with although your crush on her wasn’t exactly subtle. Then again, everyone had to be a little starstruck by Alex Morgan when they joined the USWNT.

Once you were World Champions, you had time to explore that relationship and everything it meant to you. It was both exhilarating and terrifying with all the media swarming you, and yet no one noticed the slight changes in your demeanor.

No one really asked, and you never told.

Perhaps you just weren’t ready to come out to the rest of the world. Maybe wrapping your head around some of the details was harder than you thought. After all, you were dating Alex Morgan, for fuck’s sake!

Maybe the longing looks, the lingering touches and the secretive smiles were a few clues for the team, but if they knew or suspected something, you couldn’t tell. They were a part of your family, and in the end, they wanted you to be happy above everything else.

They would wait for you to be ready, and once things went back to normal after the victory tour, you finally were.

“How are we doing this?” Alex asked as she played with your hair. “Livestream?”

You look up at her, your head resting on her lap as you scroll through social media wondering what the fuck you’re about to do. But a second later all your attention is on her, and you find yourself breathless once again.

She’s stunning in a million different ways but you preferred this one; soft and relaxed. That was one of the perks of enjoying a quiet weekend at her place in L.A. before you went back to your respective clubs.

It seems like the National team is fond of Live Streams but it isn't how you want to come out. First because you’d become a nerve mess before actually sharing the news, and second because it isn’t original at all.

If you are about to come out to the fans and sponsors out there, you want to do so in a way they’d remember.

“I don’t think I could do it even if I tried,” you finally say.

Then it dawns on you: humor is the way you handle most of the things that would make you uncomfortable otherwise. That’s not to say you want the world to believe your relationship with Alex is a joke, but there has to be a way to come out in a funny, quirky and clever way.

“We’ll see each other in a couple of weeks, right?” You ask trying to remember the exact date when your clubs will face each other.

“Yeah,” she pauses for a second and you look up at her curiously. “Speaking of, any chance I can steal you for a night while you’re in Orlando?”

“Well, Ms. Morgan, I’m pretty sure that can be arranged,” you tell her with a coy smile. “For now, there’s some online shopping to do.”

With a kiss on her cheek and all the hesitation on the world to leave her side, you finally go to the other side of the room to retrieve your laptop. After all, you’re in a very important mission. And NWSL is the kind of merchandise you’re looking for.

For some miracle of the Gods above, you find both your jerseys in stock available for shipping within 24 hours with an extra fee. You don’t mind paying a bit more to stay on schedule, and even when you technically still have time, you like to be prepared.

It’d be nice to get your items before you and Alex go your separate ways.

You’d be lying if you say having her autograph wouldn’t be nice too.

“What’s the big idea here?” Alex asks while you finalize the purchase.

Her arms found their place around your waist and she rests her chin on your shoulder so she can see what you’re doing. Your plan is still a secret, and you want to keep it like that for a little longer.

“You’re gonna have to wait and trust me for a while.”

The smirk never leaves your face even when you can feel her little pout. It doesn’t last long, the laptop is forgotten on the coffee table and you turn on her arms to face her. A moment later you’re straddling her lap, your fingers undoing her ponytail and combing her hair until she closes her eyes.

“For now, what do you say we stop worrying about the rest of the world?”

“What should we do then?” She asks, already leaning in for a kiss.

“I think you got the right idea.”

*****

“All set?”

You scan the place one last time to make sure nothing’s missing from your bag. Nothing important since Alex has already claimed half your clothes.

Cellphone and wallet already in your pocket, and keys right on your hand, everything seems to be where it should. The rest of your things are packed and ready to go for the last flight home.

The Victory Tour ended on a good note, so now all you have to do is say goodbye to Alex.

Sharing a room with her was hard at the beginning, and you never expected that not sharing it anymore would be exponentially harder.

“Yeah,” you finally answer after patting your pockets once again. “I think-, I think I’m ready.”

“Okay.”

But just like you, Alex doesn’t really move and when she does, it’s towards you.

You’ve never seen her move as fast as she does while crossing the distance between you. But you don’t comment on it, really can’t when her arms are around you in a second and her lips are on yours.

It’s soft and yet firm. The kind of kiss that makes you weak at the knees and all you can do is hold onto her shoulders. You move with her, allow her to take control of it all as you try to burn her into your memory.

You try to memorize the softness of her lips, the silkiness of her hair between your fingers and even that scent that is purely Alex. You try to take all of it in, but you only have a moment that is over far too soon.

Technology is your saving grace, and you’re not sure what you’d do otherwise. And yet there are things you can’t convey through the Internet.

“I should go,” you whisper against her lips.

“Yeah.”

It’s hard -almost impossible-, to resist Alex. So despite the pressing matter of time, you indulge in another kiss.

Just like last time, you melt into her embrace and you consider staying there forever. It’s almost as if time stopped around you. Almost. Your alarm goes off startling you out of the daze, and you can help the little jump that makes Alex chuckle.

A step back creates just enough distance to clear your mind, the action making Alex raise an eyebrow in amusement but it’s really not your fault. She has that effect on you, has been that way for a long time, and yet she still finds it amusing.

With a tap on the screen you take care of the alarm. And there you are, right where you were ten minutes ago.

Time to go.

“Right. So...here I go then.”

“And-,” Alex adds with an excited smile, “-we have a game plan for next week.”

“That we do.”

Next week you’re playing against different teams on different days which gives you the opportunity to watch each other’s match. It’s the first step on your plan. Coming out seems like a big deal, and bit by bit the pieces get in motion.

“No regrets, right?” You ask.

This is not just about you. As big as coming out can be, this is also the reveal of your relationship with the biggest face of the USWNT. Whatever backlash you can get from this, it’ll be worse for her due to her massive following.

So you have to ask her again if she’s sure about this, if she’s as ready as you are.

“Y/n,” she calls softly as she cups your face. “No regrets at all.”

“Good,” you said with a small voice, barely believing this. “That’s...that’s good.”

You’re on this together, and yet, it’s incredible.

*****

Her match is about to start when you pull out your phone to take a selfie.

The pride colors look kinda odd on you. Maybe it’s because you spent the last few months only wearing the National Team kit, or maybe it’s because you don’t wear purple that often. But well, you’re not requesting a team trade, and it was your idea, so you can’t complain.

One of your friends already helped you take one picture of the back where Alex’s name and number are perfectly visible.

You’re practically shaking, but manage to smile as you snap the picture.

It’s something simple, really. Something that shouldn’t mean too much and yet, it does.

Pulling up your social media, you add both pictures.

  |Cheering for the Pride today. #13 show me what you’ve got. ;)

The wink is cheeky; it’s a reason for people to read into it and wonder if there’s something else going on. Which is…well, totally the point.

It’s funny to see the diverse reactions to your post. Some are confused about what you mean, some jump to call a trade that simply won’t happen; at least not that you know. But the press, oh they are ready to call it a rivalry.

It doesn’t matter how many times you two were caught on camera during the world cup being friendly. It didn’t matter if you two worked like a well oiled machine on the field during every match; Victory Tour included. They wanted to push the rivalry angle; fueled by the lack of a rebuttal from either of you.

You can’t help but laugh later when you call Alex to congratulate her. She truly showed you what she got with a couple of goals and the victory for the Orlando Pride. Those have been rare for her team lately, although you can’t blame them with so many key players also going to the World Cup.

However, the rivalry angle is fun to play with and in the end it’s the one you decide to push a little more the next day when it’s you on the field while Alex watches.

You’re already done with warm-ups and head out to the locker room to change into the kit when you hear your phone pinging with a new post. As expected, you find Alex’s post already blowing up despite it has been up for a grand total of two minutes.

   |I already showed you what I’m capable of. Now it’s your turn, Y/n.

Attached it’s a picture of Alex wearing your club jersey and although the number isn’t really showing, it’s more than obvious she’s wearing yours.

A chuckle escapes your lips while you shake your head. A question running through your head as you prepare for the starting whistle.

What the fuck am I doing?

***

A week later the press is going wild with theories about you and Alex. They aren’t sure what to make of it, but everyone has been talking about it for days. The upcoming match up between your clubs has served to add fuel to the fire, but you ignore all the fuzz of it as you prepare.

Last week you obtained the victory with a last minute goal to earn the three points. And unable to resist temptation, you had to make another post about it.

   |I’d say I’m pretty good at delivering. What do you say, Morgan?

   |TBD. See you next week.

The last part was a clue that no one seemed to catch on considering you were staying at her place instead of sticking with your club in a hotel. Of course, you didn’t share that bit of information and instead let the tension grow outside of your happy bubble.

This match is the moment of culmination if everything goes the right way. But playing against Alex doesn’t mean you’re going easy on her. If anything, being on the same field always pushes you to play the best soccer and be the best player you can be out there. It doesn’t matter if you’re wearing the same colors or not.

Being lenient with her as a rival is the kind of mistake that could and would cost you a game. You just don’t underestimate Alex Morgan. And she better not do so to you or you’ll make her pay.

Adjusting the captain armband once more, you follow your team into the field and take your place just a few feet away from your girlfriend.

“Good luck, Morgan.”

“May the best team win.”

You play your hardest on that field; push to your limits and beyond, but in the end it’s a draw. Two a piece. Of course it had to be a draw. But you left everything there.

The game became physical and you tackled Alex as much as she tackled you in order to get back a lost ball. That’s part of your motto, not giving up even if it seems like a lost cause. And considering Alex decided to date you even when you couldn’t look at her four months ago, you’d say Alex doesn’t give up either.

Well that and the couple of new bruises you have after the match.

You’re a bit disappointed with the final score; you always want to win and carry that inertia into the next game. But it’s a fair result considering how close the game actually was. You two put on a show and the fans of both teams can see that.

“Y/n! Y/n! Can you give us one moment of your time?”

Looking at the person calling for you, you have to fight the smirk as you see it’s a reporter. It’s not hard to imagine they’ve been waiting for this moment since the first post you made a week ago.

“Sure.”

“What a great game you gave us today. Are you disappointed with the result?”

You can see this is not really what they want to ask, but you don’t mind playing along giving your commentary to this question and a couple of others.

“One last question, the fans and everyone really, are wondering about this new rivalry between you and Alex Morgan. What can you tell us about that?”

Bingo.

“Oh, there’s absolutely no-”

You could feel Alex lingering around, listening into this interview while being interviewed herself by another reporter for a quote after the game. But it’s only when you’re in the middle of your answer that she takes the few steps to wrap her arms around you from behind.

“We’re dating,” she announces proudly and straight to the point.

“-rivalry.” You finish your sentence before shaking your head. “Babe, I was going to say it!”

“What’s stopping you?” Alex challenges with that smirk you absolutely adore.

“You’re impossible.“

“Yeah, and…?”

“And Alex Morgan is my girlfriend,” you answer with just a little grumble as you look back at the camera. “But we’re definitely winning the next game.”

“Not on my watch,” she counters before turning your face towards her to kiss you softly.

Whatever argument you had is gone just like that. But it’s hard to keep track of your thoughts when she kisses you. Hell, it’s impossible to think straight when she’s too close to you. That’s why it took you so long to actually talk to her.

Your relationship is still so new, and yet you can’t help but feel like you’ve known her for decades. The connection between the two of you is meant to last, and you’ve never felt your heart skip a beat as it does when you look at her.

You’ve never felt your heart hammer against your chest so madly; and that’s something considering you played -and conquered-, a World Cup. You’ve never felt so in peace as you do when you look into her eyes. You’ve never felt so happy, or so whole, or so seen...or so you.

Alex has the ability to understand everything you say, but words aren’t needed for her to understand you. In a short amount of time, Alex knows you better than anyone else in the world, and as scary as that might seem, it’s also the best thing in the world.

“If you’ll excuse us now...”

Surely there are a thousand other questions the press wants to ask. However, you have no need to stay on the field as you guide Alex back to the tunnel. The fans will be all over that interview in no time, and it’s bound to appear in every social media and every news channel.

Even with the anxiety starting to creep in, the doubts nagging at the back of your mind, you don’t let go of her hand until you have to. After all, you belong to two different clubs. But your goodbye will be short lived as you’re going to her place for the night.

Still, the time apart is a bit scary when you’re about to face the backlash of many, and perhaps the support of most. After all, you’re not the first couple -or the only one-, in the USWNT, NWSL or even women’s soccer around the world.

After another gentle kiss, you part ways to reunite with your team.

You’re hesitant for a moment; taking a deep breath to steel yourself before facing them.

As soon as they see you, the room erupts in cheers and whistles of approval. Then again, your crush on Alex Morgan wasn’t exactly a secret. And after the World Cup, they could see something had changed within you.

Of all the people out there to get you, your club got your back. And after you get a chance to check your phone, you notice they ain’t the only ones.

   |Rivalry, that’s what they call it now, uh?

Megan’s post goes along with a picture of you smiling at Alex at the end of a World Cup match. It’s obvious you were smitten with each other back then, and nothing has really changed.

  |We all know how Rivalries work. One of them has to end on top. If you ask me, my money is on Y/n.

Your blush is impossible to hide when you read Ash’s words, and that’s something that you won’t ever reply to. There are things that you simply won’t share with the world.

  |Wait, hold on. Did you guys seriously not know?

Sonnett asks in her post with several pictures taken during camp. Some of them are during team bonding or well...movie nights. It wasn’t unusual for either of you to feel particularly tired and ended up falling asleep in the same bed.

But you’re surprised to see that you cuddled before you were together.

Then, there’s the evidence of you sitting next to each other whenever you could. During breakfast, on the bus, on the bench, on the plane. At some there was hand-holding added, and you wonder, truly wonder, how you called that subtle.

  |Hottest couple out there. Sorry, Krashlyn.

Bit by bit, every single player of the USWNT has shown their support, and it acts as a wave to generate more support from the fans, and it’s so overwhelming that the few people brave enough to try and drag your name on the mud are immediately silenced.

The world is still far away from being perfect, but your friends, your teammates, your family, they sure make it better.

“Ready to go?” Alex asks when you meet her outside.

“Sure, as long as I end on top tonight,” you say with a playful wink that earns you an eye roll.

“You wish.”

[grayhouse3]

SJTR is my villain origin story

So I finished Stalking Jack the Ripper.

Originally I told myself that I was going to just stick it out and read the next one (“Oh, it’s about vampires and Dracula. It’s probably more fun. You can forget all about the pain this one inflicted on you"). No. I got 12% of the way through and had to DNF. So here are my messily compiled thoughts on the book, basically expanded from the last post. Honestly, kind of feel free knowing I won’t be writing more about this series. (Also I am adding some TWs down below but don't know if I am doing them right!)

More on the exoticism, weirdness with Audrey Rose's Indian mother, and the British Empire:

In chapter 14, we read, "Dark strands of hair were piled atop my head, my eyes more mysterious somehow with the dark liner, and my lips were the bright crimson of freshly spilled blood … I thought of my mother and the saris she’d brought me to wear from Grandmama’s homeland. I felt just as stunning now as I did then, and the memory warmed me.” I am still trying to figure out why Maniscalco made Audrey Rose mixed race. Why is Audrey Rose’s grandmother from India? Literally, what did it add to the story? Was it nothing more than just a cute lil quirky fun character trait to her? I don’t think I missed any key moments where there were important conversations about race, imperialism, British occupation, etc., mostly because Audrey Rose’s father (a big fancy rich lord) is a white man and because Audrey Rose is white-passing. I can’t recall any moments in the book where she faces the realities/consequences of being a socially mobile POC WOMAN in LONDON IN THE 1880s. Honestly, if someone else can point out a passage I glossed over or explain some nuance I missed I would actually really appreciate it, because this drove me CRAZY.

(Audrey Rose and her brother also go visit a circus in town in chapter 15; of course these events existed purely for England/colonizing countries to exercise and display their power and to exoticize/exploit the communities/cultures that they came into contact with. Audrey Rose sees silks, beads, etc. that remind her of her grandmother’s saris, smells the foods of her family’s “homeland,” etc. Also in the same chapter there’s this great scene where her brother is describing their mother and father’s marriage: “Grandmama told me she’d refused him twenty times just for fun,” Nathaniel replied. “Said he squirmed like a cobra in a basket. That’s how she knew he was in love.” Uhhh … Is that supposed to be romantic?)

On the feminism stuff:

I am too *gestures vaguely* to write much more on this. Yeah, it’s heavy-handed. Yeah, it’s cringey. But at the end of the day, it’s not really that harmful, I guess. Here’s just a fun sampling of some of my favorite lines from the book:A few of my favorite bites from the book:

***“close-minded society” (chapter 21) Okay

***"Why turn a murderer of women into front-page news?” (chapter 15) Bro do you know how the media works

***"But what of her [mother’s] insistence that I could be both strong and beautiful? Surely Father had to be wrong.” (chapter 21) Yes girl you are strong and beautiful!

***"There would be no skirts or bustles to wrangle with anymore. I was through with things confining me” (chapter 22) Ugh down with corsets just another tool of the patriarchy amirite

On the violence against women, weird classism, and stuff about prostitution:

I was bound to be uncomfortable about a lot of this because I have weird feelings about true crime stuff, and this is historical fiction set around the Jack the Ripper murders. It was going to go sour somewhere.

Consistently Audrey Rose wants to be sympathetic, but is unable to connect all the parts of this situation together: she struggles to imagine the women (very real-life victims) beyond their lives of prostitution, poverty, squalor. When she does, we see something like this: "The women he murdered did matter ... They were daughters and wives and mothers and sisters” (chapter 28). Oftentimes she wishes she could continue to cut cadavers open in peace (women in science!) without having to think about how those cadavers came to be on her examination table: “I needed to get away from those women and their tragic lives before my emotions got the better of me” (chapter 25). Perhaps Maniscalco deserves more credit here, and perhaps I’m just being a bitch, because Audrey Rose is a very privileged girl and her actions and thoughts make that clear. It’s just that the conclusions she comes to in the name of feminism, justice, etc. weren’t at all satisfying to me.

Also: OH MY GOD. Oh my god. There is this one moment that is BRANDED AGAINST THE GRAY MATTER OF MY BRAIN FOREVER and I will never forget it. At one point, Audrey Rose and love interest Thomas decide the best thing they can do is go out and—yes—stalk Jack the Ripper. To do this, they know they need to “blend in” with the crowds in East End. So … like … cosplaying as poor people? Audrey Rose manages to find and wear the dress of ONE OF THE MURDER VICTIMS (long story short her medical doctor uncle was in a relationship with this woman and when she died he acquired her worldly possessions). It’s like, so fucked up, I can’t even describe my reaction when I read it. In chapter 25 we read, "The dress was a little too old, a little too ragged, a bit too big. If I were to wear this ghastly dress out, I’d look as if I belonged in the East End, begging for work to feed my addictions … It was absolutely perfect.” Oh my god. And THAT’S NOT EVEN THE WORST PART. While they’re “stalking Jack the Ripper” on this incredibly stupid mission, the two main characters just … make out in an alley. Like, okay. People are being murdered and you’re wearing a dead woman’s dress and you suspect your father of being guilty, but yeah, that kind of stuff makes us all a little horny. Super relatable. Absolutely no concept of reality or consequences or anything at all.

Another random note on class: I noticed the only time Maniscalco writes in dialects/accents, she’s writing seedy/working-class characters. Not saying this is a problem unique to Maniscalco’s writing by a longshot, but ... something to think on. (I think it’s ingrained in a lot of author’s writing habits/minds at this point.)

Weird stuff about the dad, the brother, and what justice means to Audrey Rose:

I had to add a whole new highlighting color for this stuff!

Any growth Audrey Rose might’ve shown over the course of the novel—anything about how these women mattered, and how they deserved justice as any “highborn” individual might, simply by dint of being humans—goes away when she and Thomas come to the conclusion that the Ripper murders must have been committed by Audrey Rose’s father. She realizes her moral dilemma when she contends with the harsh reality: if her father is the Ripper, can she turn him into the authorities? Audrey Rose worries how that might impact her own moral virtue: "They’d hang Father. Given who he was, they’d make it as public and brutal as possible. Just because blood might stain his hands did not mean I wanted his on mine. No matter if it was right or wrong” (chapter 24). First of all, BITCH. You have to. You have to report this kind of thing. No ifs, ands, or buts. I HAVE to imagine Maniscalco’s intended audience would feel the same? It’s? Serial murder? Second: Audrey Rose, baby, sweetie, honey. This is just a reminder that ACAB. I actually don’t know a whole lot about how the late Victorian criminal justice system functioned, but something tells me her family's public outlook would’ve been less bleak than she imagines here.

Lucky for Audrey Rose, her dad isn’t guilty in the end—but her brother sure is. He’s a mad scientist, using the brutalized bodies and souvenirs of his victims for Frankenstein-style experiments. Ultimately, he wants to reanimate the corpse of his and Audrey Rose’s long-dead mother, and he believes he can achieve this by transplanting fresh organs into ? Her dead and decomposed body? The thing is that, this moral dilemma persists for Audrey Rose—and her dad, too. He pressures her not to bring the little matter of Nathaniel’s issue—you know, his casual murder of a number of local women—to Scotland Yard: “They’ll have your brother hanged,” he said quietly. “Could you honestly watch that happen? As a family, have we not suffered enough?” (chapter 29). Nathaniel electrocutes himself to evade capture by the authorities, and Audrey Rose and her father feel relief. The book ends by confirming that "Lord Edmund covered up Nathaniel’s involvement, I didn’t ask how. One day I’d let everyone know the truth, but the pain was too raw now” (chapter 30).

((Side note: Listen. I knew Nathaniel had something sinister going on from the GET-GO (I’m not trying to be obnoxious) because he basically started some nighttime vigilante group called the Whitechapel Knights of Justice or whatever bullshit, I don’t know. All I know is that my red flags IMMEDIATELY started going off because that sounds exactly like the terrible and awful Crusader cosplay clubs from my (bad) Catholic childhood, where everyone thinks they’re a knight for Good but really they’re the bad guy.))

Overall, kind of ...

I think one of my biggest issues with this ending was … You have already stepped into a realm of fantastical revisionist history here in writing such a fictionalized version of these real-life events. (I know Maniscalco is far from the first to do it.) That means that the rules you are playing by are essentially your own—evidenced by the liberties she points out in her Author’s/Historical note (dates changed for convenience or storytelling purposes, real-life individuals changed for narrative purposes, etc.). So WHY would you not conclude this fantasy retelling of the Jack the Ripper murders by meting out some form of justice? I hear the counterargument: "Well, because we still don’t know the culprit today. This book would ring hollow if it named someone since historians, forensic scientists, etc. still don’t know who committed these crimes." My question: is that really a problem though? This is a work of fiction. Nothing in history happened the way it is written here. Is it crueler to the women who were murdered and who remain spectacles for true crime junkies and authors like this, less satisfying to readers who want some more concrete kind of closure, to not offer that up? I am asking this in earnest here, because I don’t know. Maybe it is insensitive to make up a murderer, to fill in the gaps in order to make sense of the violence that happened. But in my brain it feels almost like a responsibility at this point, since these murders served as the backdrop for the romance between Audrey Rose and Thomas, for the background to Audrey Rose’s empty feminist diatribes, and as inspiration for a book that went on far longer than it needed to. To me it kind of feels like the least an author could do, but I have no clue.

Anyways, I'm just glad I get to put this series to bed. No more.I truly lost sleep over it this weekend. Onto something better, please, for the love of god.

[ofhoneyblood]

BRYCE ATLAS WINSLOW

pronouns: HE , HIM , HIS

age: THIRTY - EIGHT

species: HUMAN

nationality: IRISH , ITALIAN , AMERICAN

sexuality: PANSEXUAL / DEMIROMANTIC

sign: AQUARIUS SUN , LIBRA MOON , VIRGO RISING

occupation: OWNER & BOUNCER @ RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS

+ traits: INVITING. FAIR. FUNNY. OPEN-MINDED. TOLERANT.

-- traits: GUARDED. DETACHED. DESPERATE. SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. 

faceclaim: MILO VENTIMIGLIA

soundscapes: HERE

aesthetic: HERE

yo yo you yo , it’s lydia ( yes , that’s my real name ) here with my noble beast bryce winslow ! i have had bryce as a muse longer than any other and it’s been literal years since i’ve written him so i’m extremely excited. this is the first time he will be milo though and i’m super hype to get things going ! i have headcanon after headcanon for him , so hit me up if you want to do something bc i am ready to do some shit !! again , i’m lydia ( or nary , nettle , snottie , etc. ) and i love a good name change , twenty five years old , pansexual demigirl ( she / her & / or they / them ) residing in the central timezone.

this is THIRTY-EIGHT year old BRYCE WINSLOW , the OWNER OF & BOUNCER AT RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS BURLESQUE AND BOOZE who uses HE / HIM pronouns. he grew up in DUBLIN , IRELAND but came to pleasance in JULY 2006 ON HAPPENSTANCE AND TO RUN AWAY FROM HIS PAST and now enjoys spending his time at FOR KEEPS AND RED HOT PUSSY LIQUORS. BRYCE is written by LYDIA.

PERSONALITY

element: air ruling planet: uranus — planet of originality body part: ankles good day: communicative , original , open-minded , fair , logical , inviting , tolerant , funny bad day: guarded , detached , self-destructive , out-of-touch , irrational , desperate , lonely favorite things: dancing , teaching , team sports , anything with a cause or mission , independent films , working out , baths , animals , preserving plant life / flowers , reading least favorite things: injustice , drama queens , feeling isolated , owing money or favors , having to choose just one thing , personal questions , gossip , cigarette smoke secret wish: to experience total freedom how to spot him: a cute smile lighting up a tired face , quirky movements , tired eyes , long legs , big hands , flannel , old beat up truck where you’ll find him: backpacking or hiking , protesting , coaching a team , revolutionizing the industry he works in , the gym , red hot pussy liquors , alone at home , working on a project , taking a walk by northwood lake keywords: friendliness , eccentricity , teamwork , humanitarianism , technology , groups , avant-garde

first thing to know about bryce winslow is that he’s a free-spirit that prizes individuality and plays well on a team. he has been known to do things his own way , moving on a path different from everyone else’s. some call him eccentric , others appreciate his cutting-edge originality and authentic style.

one of the many ways that the irishman is a paradox ? he’s highly individualistic , but also an amazing team player. he might look like the fresh-faced guy next door on the outside , but inside he marches to his own beat. naturally popular , as he’s vibrantly social and loves to be among people , telling jokes and introducing thought-provoking conversation topics.

people truly do make his world go round , and he can become friends with the most random strangers. can be a bit of an alien — a little “ out there ” in his approach to different things. not that he cares about offending anyone ! loves a good casual connection , bryce can disengage as quickly as he connects. in fact , platonic pals sometimes get better treatment than romantic partners. 

while he can be a bit unsentimental on a one-on-one level , he can be moved to tears by the plight of animals , the environment or other social justice issues. yes , this big irishman is a bohemian at heart in some ways , but he also gets the job done. as a tenacious aquarius , he can be quite hardworking when he devotes himself to a goal. 

a competitive ( and lesser-known ) type a streak can emerge when he really wants something. nothing turns him on like progress , especially in the name of his grander ideals ! playing hard to get REALLY works on him lol

philanthropic and objective , bryce is in a lot of ways innovative and avant-garde. from experimental electronic music to community-oriented living , there’s nothing that this man hasn’t or won’t explore. as someone who loves being a part of a good group or team , bringing people together is also one of his specialties. 

intense bryce energy is cutting-edge , “ out there ” and even a little strange at times. a total nerd for all things futuristic , science fiction and wacky inventions. no topic is too cutting-edge with this irishman: extraterrestrials , stem cells , cloning , robots taking over the earth…yup , bryce will go there. 

while he likes to influence rebellion and detaching from reality ( c’mon bryce , back to earth ! ) , he likes to help others see possibilities they wouldn’t otherwise. the essence of his true energy is: community-oriented , original , open-minded , fair , logical , humanitarian , connecting , and inviting. 

the negative expression of bryce’s energy can be: guarded , detached , destructive , out-of-touch , irrational , and desperate.  reluctant to express emotions — the irishman prefers rational reasoning and cool-headed logic to the messy tapestry of the human feelings. 

one of his favorite authors is ayn rand , founder of the objectivist movement , and that’s pretty much all you need to know. objectivism has been a major influence on the libertarian movement , which has a real bryce flavor. it’s an organized system that also preserves individual freedom and limits government intervention. it’s very “ fringe ” and mainstream all at once , a fascinating paradox and something that really intrigues him.

playful gusts and a social butterfly whirlwind combines into a gale force of humanitarianism for all. bryce is a visionary , dreaming up quirky utopias and alternative realities that can shake up the status quo.  emotional detachment , unpredictable energy and rebellion are major factors in the irishman’s personality. not going to lie , he can be “ type a “ and totally quirky all at the same time ??

a stabilizer — the one who sets up a solid goal or foundation then starts building. bryce can take the enthusiastic idea that someone else sparks and craft it into something real. he picks up the ball when another passes it , running the distance to the goal. 

the trustworthy type who likes “ to-do ” lists and fancy titles. if a friend says , “ let’s go on vacation ! ” he’s already calling the travel agency , booking the tickets and hotel , and sending everyone a list of what to pack.

true believer in friendship and teamwork , so bryce tends to be more focused on a group than an individual. freedom is important to him , which is why he likes to keep things light on an interpersonal level. that way , he won’t feel bad about running off to the opposite corner of the world at a moment’s notice. 

at times , this nomadic strategy backfires , leaving him lonely and disconnected. in truth , the irishman is uncomfortable with too much intimacy. this free spirit belongs to the world and feels off-balance giving his considerable energy to just one person. 

while bryce’s friends get first-class treatment , family and lovers see a different side of him: moody , brooding , anxious and neurotic. he may pick one ( and only one ) person to open up to , getting attached to the point of obsession. 

learning to accept and express his emotions would help him avoid the massive freak outs and anger flashes that come from pretending everything’s cool when it isn’t. bryce appreciates a quirky or eccentric twist , enjoying colorful characters and people with counter cultural personalities.

BIOGRAPHY

bryce atlas winslow was born into a very straight lace , play by the rules , catholic family.  his father , matteo winslow , was an italian military man and his mother , deirdre winslow , was a cold irish homemaker. matteo was every bit the ‘ man of the family ’  and bryce grew up only answering to his father. deirdre would only every answer a question with ‘ ask yer da ’ or  ‘ dija’ ask yer da ? ’

she was a mostly spineless , god fearing woman that was afraid of her own shadow and that’s what made her such a good puppet for matteo. bryce’s father was a stern , angry man that only grew angrier when drunk , no one dared put even a single toe out of line with him around. 

( TW: implied child abuse ) with bryce being the first born and only son he was expected to be perfect , from a very young age he felt the pressures of that. it was like walking on eggshells , always afraid of making a mistake or displeasing his father. he did not have the fun , happy-go-lucky innocence a child should expect of their early years ; instead for bryce winslow there was not much more than discipline , hard work , and punishment.

for the most part , bryce succeeded at being the perfect son his father expected him to be — a robot more than an actual living boy. nothing more than a machine , a machine being bred for war. 

it wasn’t until the beginning of his secondary school , when puberty and hormones began blossoming , that things became precarious. voice cracks , uneven patches of hair…. oh , and a sudden sexual desire for the same sex. 

( TW: suicide ment. ) now , the winslows were catholic - extremely devout catholics - and bryce grew very self-loathing and afraid in this confusing time. he contemplated suicide , all because ‘ homosexuality was wrong ‘ and ‘ you go straight to hell ‘ if you engage in anything associated with it. it didn’t matter how good of a son you were , because ‘ man shall not lie with man. ‘  he kept it hidden for years , he also managed not to act on it until well into the last year of secondary school. 

despite bryce’s fears and shame , when he was sixteen he fell in love for the first time. first loves can be explosive , dangerous even and this one was nothing short of just that. the boy kept his forbidden love a secret from everyone , his family and father above all others.

all good things must come to an end though or so they say , for the boys it came far sooner than later. matteo , bryce’s father , happened upon a note from the boy bryce was seeing , cian , and in said note was all sorts of information including a meeting spot. as you can imagine , matteo flew from the house in a drunken rage in search of his “ sinner “ of a son only to catch him red-handed. 

( TW: assault , child abuse ) bryce managed to save cian from his father’s wrath , taking the brunt of the attack. cian watched as bryce was beaten , begging and screaming for the man to stop , that he was killing him. the drunken bigot was turning on the younger boy when bryce told him to leave and never come back , so that is what he did. 

( TW: implied abuse ) to this day , he has never laid eyes on his young lover and that was probably for the best. after his father had tired himself out and satisfied his rage , he left his son there in the dirt and the beaten boy didn’t bother moving. 

( TW: suicidal thoughts , conversion therapy ment. ) will to live depleted , too tired to go on , pain too much to endure — he just slept there until the next morning. he was awoken with a kick of dirt in the face , his father telling him that he was being sent to a ‘’ special ’’ facility where they would get rid of his ‘’ ailment. ’’ 

( TW: conversion therapy / facility ) time melded in the facility , but he estimated nearly a year of his life was wasted away in there. resistant and defiant for most of his time there , it wasn’t until his father visited him , the one and only time . that things changed. 

( TW: suicide ment. , homophobia ) his father brought news that his mother had killed herself but this was a vicious lie , a last ditch effort to get bryce to change his ways and boy , did it work ! hardly a month later , the young man was discharged from the facility only to find his mother was indeed very much alive.

matteo up and moved his entire family to england after bryce got out of the facility. his father gave him nonsense about wanting to get away from the bad memories , starting over new , and ‘ lead not into temptation ‘ by sending him back to school with ‘ sinners ’ and ‘ sodomites. ‘ 

so , bryce finished out the remainder of his schooling in england and went straight into the forces as per his father’s wishes. sadly for him , he would never become what he so longed to be. he had just finished boot camp and life had just started to seem somewhat normal - if you can call anything the winslow’s had normal - when he lost it all.

( TW: eye injury ) the young man was honorably discharged after an accident that left him legally blind in one eye , when he returned home after his short stent in the defense forces there was no longer a place in the family for him. his father quite literally disowned him all for something he had no control over , a mere accident , but there was nothing more disappointing to matteo than a son that was ‘ kicked out ‘ of the forces.

( TW: gang ment. , human trafficking ) fast forward a year , bryce had found himself in a gang. this part of his background is the most unresolved seeing as it’s not part of his original backstory. long story short , he was involved with the gang until he was twenty three but it all became too much for him after his boss tried to involve him in human trafficking. 

( TW: gang ment. , suicide , death ) when you join a gang you don’t usually do it thinking someday you might one day retire or quit said gang , but then as you get older you realize you’re not as tough as you thought. bryce was twenty-three when his mother finally really did ‘ commit suicide ‘ , the first time his father spoke to him since he returned home from the forces was only to blame him for her death. 

( TW: death ment. , implied murder ) honestly , it was just the straw that broke the camels back. bryce wasn’t allowed at the funeral or anywhere near it , he’s almost certain his mother’s death wasn’t by her own hand or an accident but he’ll never truly know. after he was certain she was in the ground , bryce fled to america in the hopes of outrunning the gang and getting lost in the melting pot. 

once in the land of opportunity , he got his hands on the cheapest ride he could find first and just started driving. it was well after his twenty-fourth birthday , right smack in the middle of a hot ass summer in ‘06 ,  that he found himself in pleasance of all places. he never had any intention at all to grow roots there , it simply happened.  

other than that , the man busies himself with drying and preserving flowers , taking baths , working out , and playing with his dog.  he parades around like this big , tough hard ass when in reality he’s quite the domestic goofball type.

ETC.

has a dog ,  it’s a beagle named shiloh literally 

a big hobby of his is preserving flowers in his spare time , he keeps a small book of pressed flowers and plant life on him a lot of the time in the chance he comes across something he wants to preserve

can play guitar and doesn’t have a bad singing voice either

legally blind in one eye , but doesn’t wear his glasses often

has a younger sister that he does keep in contact with , but not very well ( WC ? )

a guilty pleasure of his is taking baths ; he enjoys adding bath salts , flowers , and other so-called ‘ feminine ‘ products like bath bombs , etc. to them and honestly takes one nearly every day

he was born and raised mostly in dublin , ireland and has a thick accent that only gets thicker when intoxicated or angry. he does use a lot of uncommon terminology to american’s ( yes , i own the feckin’ book of everything irish. . . it’s that serious ) but i’ll lyk in the tags what it means unless i forget

@phqextras​

[wellthatwasaletdown]

I’m tired of

1. Stevie Nicks tongue bathing Harry every chance she gets.

2. Rolling Stone reporting on him every time he so much as farts.

3. Him talking about being high when he’s singing.

I’m going to

1. Cancel Stevie Nicks

2. Cancel Rolling Stone

3. Wear makeup badly and inexplicably declare that I’m defying gender norms for no reason whatsoever. I wear makeup normally like many women, but this time I’ll wear it so it enhances my under eye bags and i look like I’m on day 3 of my drug detox.

I’m willing to go all in.

All my life I’ve had two eyebrows, it’s time to unite them, I think.

4. Learn body language while I self isolate - I keep getting the finger for not using my turn signals. That has to mean something.

5. I’m going to start face masking and exfoliating now that I know this is how i can earn my social justice warrior street creds.

Finally, I’ll know what’s it like to be praised for doing nothing.

*****

My point is that Harry is ridiculous and he needs to give the “cute” and “quirky” act a rest because the only thing that becomes more evident every time he opens his mouth (or by proxy, his mouthpieces - Steve, RS), is what a fake he is.

Whatever shine he has left is exponentially dimming.

This plague only magnifies his glaring lack of personality and originality.

***

[otomesruinedmylife]

Comparable characters and routes in otomes to Mystic Messenger

Apologies, as this is going to be a VERY LONG POST AND CONTAINS SPOILERS!!!!!

So you liked Mystic Messenger but have no idea where to go as far as future otomes. That’s okay! Cheritz did a great job with mysme and if you enjoyed it, you’ll no doubt find someone else in an otome you probably enjoy as well, even if it doesn’t have exactly the same mechanics as mysme. For people new to the otome scene, I highly recommend Cheritz previous games if mysme was your intro to otomes, especially Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ since a lot of the characters are similar counterparts to characters you know.

For this post I’ll be using characters from:

Amnesia: Memories (PC, mobile, PS vita in Japan)

Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~ (PS vita, PS4)

Collar x Malice (PS vita)

Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~ (PC)

Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ (PC)

Norn9: Var Commons (PS vita) 

Ozmafia! (PC)

while trying to spoil the least amount of the actual story as possible (aside from the yanderes/yangires). 

Now before we do this we have to analyze why you liked the character(s) you did. To do this, bringing up some terminology you might have seen or see later that's used in the community to describe tropes/archetypes characters fit under.

The shota is the cute one, the little one. The one you want to protecc at all costs. Shotas come in many flavors (tsundere, yandere, or just plain sweet) but are always the token mini-moe of the game. Yoosung fits this to a tee. If you liked Yoosung, you may enjoy:

Yeon-ho from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ He’s honestly the spiritual predecessor of Yoosung. 

Jieun from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~ More of a kuudere version of this trope, another example of Cheritz heavily leaning on this trope.

Scarlet from Ozmafia! A bit of an inversion of the trope as he’s more than capable of taking care of himself. I’d file him under kuudere shota.

Jiyeon from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~ Initially upon meeting. His route gives you a better idea of where he should fall in this list, but I won’t spoil it.

Senri Ichinose from Norn9: Var commons. This boy needs all the love in the world, he’s had it rough aka. You fucked up a perfectly good esper, you gave him anxiety.

Soh from Ozmafia! initially upon meeting. His route gives you a better idea of where he should fall in this list, but I won’t spoil it.

Nameless from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ though you might find him more of a Saeran predecessor. 

The casanova or Bishonen... you know this type. They’re all about telling you how much they want to protect you and sometimes have an overinflated idea of their self-worth (though usually this is hiding insecurities you find out in their own routes). Mostly a harmless bunch who are surprisingly wholesome once you get past their innuendoes. If you liked Zen, you’ll probably enjoy:

Yuri from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ again a spiritual predecessor from Cheritz. Yuri is flirtatious and rather lewd but might actually be the most harmless of the Nameless bunch.

Ikki from Amnesia: Memories. Like Zen, this dude has his own fanclub. Need I say more?

Itsuki Kagami from Norn9: Var Commons. And how.

Impey Barbicane from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~Though not completely like Zen, he shares similarities enough. Also similar hairstyle lol.

Mineo Enomoto from Collar x Malice. Probably the biggest stretch here, but he leans heavily on the “all men are animals trope” while being both too old looking to be a shota and usually the butt monkey of the cast.

Megane are technically defined by their glasses, but many share the same no-nonsense attitude and often adroit behaviors, though more due to not being good at socializing than anything else. Like shotas, meganes come in many flavors (most often tsundere or kuudere though). This is usually a male-oriented term, but I find this trope to be the closest to Jaehee. Also because of the lack of female love interests in otomes, this group will be primarily male. If you enjoyed Jahee’s route, you might like:

Kent from Amnesia: Memories. Neither dangerous or as kinkiy as he may look, Kent is just a wholesome megane who doesn’t understand how to human and just really loves math. A good boy and a breath of fresh air from the wild ride that is Amnesia: Memories. 

Axel from Ozmafia! Basically the Kent of this game. He’s just a good guy who deserves all the love and sweets in the world. I’d say he’s less of a tsundere due to not being able to emotion, though he has moments.

Pashet from Ozmafia! Finally a female LI! Pashet has striking similarities to Jaehee actually, though not a megane. You might think neko-chan, but she’s actually super competent and kicks ass frequently for her famiglia Boots.

Victor from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~ A good boy, a wholesome boy. I wouldn’t call him a shota, though he’s the closest to a romanceable one in this game. You might also like him if you liked Yoosung.

Lance from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ Though not a megane and more of a tsundere, he shows some of the emotional adroitness meganes tend to have, as well as being super competent.

Jihae from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~ Again, not a megane, but has the politeness and adroitness of a megane as well as showing similar aspects of Jaehee’s personality.

Now here’s where the tropes begin to break down when we look at (arguably) more complex nature of the tropes that make up the stories and personalities of  Jumin, Seven, V and Saeran. There will definitely be spoilers from here on out because we have to talk about what happens in their routes and how we see their character progression from our initial idea of them to after their routes. **Extra note: I can’t really find someone quite like V, though there is a special section for tragic backstory further down in this post.

You should already know what a tsundere is, baka! ~ Though no one initially quite fits this bill as classic tsundere in Mystic Messenger, you definitely see it later from Seven. Traditional tsunderes doth protest too much they don’t like the heroine, and usually call you and others ‘baka” (idiot) while hiding behind a chilly exterior. At some point they usually push you away in their route, often because underneath the insults is a cutie who might have already been broken in the past.

Kuuderes are the cool ones. Like tsundere, they use a frosty exterior to hide a deliciously squishy inner romantic but are less vocal about everyone else being idiots or don’t freeze people out because of intelligence/maturity level. Jumin has traits of being a gap moe kuudere. I’d definitely call him this if I was trying to not spoil the yandere parts of his route for someone. I'm lumping these together, but if you liked Seven because he pushed you away and then got over it (tsundere) or Jumin’s frosty initial demeanor (kuudere), you will probably like:

Shin from Amnesia: Memories. A classic, upfront tsundere. Get ready for the baka.

Takeru Sasazuka from Collar x Malice. Another classic, upfront tsundere. Many much baka.

Jiwoo from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~ Another classic, upfront tsundere. Baka but now in Korean.

Van Helsing from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~ Ah our megane tsundere combo. Van is a little bit of a combination of tropes, but ultimately I’d file him under very mature kuudere/tsundere. Also, call him master in a non-kinky context, he likes it.

Lance from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ Kind of an off-type tsundere/kuudere. He’s called the ice prince for a reason.

Caesar from Ozmafia! Classic tsundere. Also immediately apparent he’s a bit ax-crazy for Fuka.

Akito Shukuri from Norn 9: Var commons. Another classic tsundere. All your baka needs.

Kyrie from Ozmafia! is an atypical tsundere but shares traits of one. He definitely thinks you and everyone else are idiots, but doesn’t so much push you away as wonder why you even like him in the first place.

Normally a term used for girls, a genki boy is full of energy to an almost hyperactive degree. If the people around a genki boy are exhausted, astonished, or even creeped out by their chronic outbursts of vitality, then they probably fit the criteria. Often genki boys are in touch with their feminine side, not hetero and/or found cross-dressing either for fun or plot reasons. If you liked Seven because of his initial spunky defender of justice attitude but didn’t like that he went tsundere on you, you will probably enjoy:

Red from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ A non-tsundere version of Seven and just all around wholesome boy who actually thinks he’s a hero. Also brought to you by Cheritz.

Heishi Otomaru from Norn9: Var commons. Just for the love of god, don’t break the cutie. 

Impey Barbicane from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~ sometimes is also this, though he also shares traits with bishonen/casanovas.

Lupin from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~ Another defender of justice and all around good boy. More mature. Calls himself a gentleman thief and will sweep you off your feet 10/10 times.

Kei Okazaki from Collar x Malice. Also more mature version and less energetic, but shares traits with when you meet Seven initially. He’s quirky and he protecc. He likes weird snacks too.

Dark and troubled past is a pretty obvious trope. Stepford smilers are obsessed with projecting an image of wholesome happiness in order to either be accepted by peers or left alone. The crafted facades of stepford smilers hide a deeply flawed person, usually breaking under the strain of keeping up their deception. They almost always have a Dark and Troubled past, though not everyone with a dark and troubled past ends up being a stepford smiler. If you liked Seven or V because of their tragic backstories and stepford smiling, you might like:

Saint-Germain from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~ Oof, and how. The tragedy cranked up to 11 for this guy. I’d recommend playing his route last of the four because it contains the most spoilers aside from Lupin. And bring the tissues while you’re at it.

Kageyuki Shiraishi from Collar x Malice. Another cranked up to 11, similar to Saint-Germain, just different details. I’d recommend playing his route last of the four because it contains the most spoilers aside from Yanagi’s. And keep those tissues handy while you’re at it.

Actually everyone in Collar x Malice to a degree, it’s just that much worse with Shiraishi.

Ukyo from Amnesia: Memories. Arguably the most tragic of all the characters on this list, Ukyo is without a doubt a tear-jerking finale to the game. Not to be confused with Ura Ukyo also having the classic slasher smile.

All of the dolls in Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ have emotional baggage, but both Yeon-ho and Tei have more due to being secondhand, as well as Nameless, but Tei might be the most since he’s also clearly experiencing reset theory.

Both Robin Hood and Hamlin from Ozmafia! are pretty tragic. You find out why on their routes.

It's never hinted during his route or others, but Kyrie from Ozmafia! is probably the most tragic of all, you just don’t find out why until fully completing the game. Also, you are a monster if you end up preferring Kyrie’s normal end.

Senri Ichinose from Norn9: Var commons fits this, though lacking the stepford smiling. You get to find out in his route how they broke the cutie.

Jisoo from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~ has a pretty sad story, but Jihae’s is equally if not more tragic.

If your fav is the guy with the best lines in the game, you probably like the deadpan snarker and might want to look at the tsundere options, as they usually have the most cutting wit and tongues. But if you liked Vanderwood’s cameos or Jumin for his lack of tsundere, you might enjoy:

Kyrie from Ozmafia! And how. The crowned king of deadpan snarking on this list.

Tei from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ It’s mostly Yuri on the receiving end of his snark, though others do find themselves victim at times. And yet he’s still called Prince Sunshine...

OKAY BIG HUGE MAJOR SPOILERS AND TRIGGERS HERE!!!! IF YOU DONT WANT SPOILERS OR TRIGGERS HERES A SIMPLIFIED LIST: Non-spoiler list if you liked Jumin’s route (YMMV):

Tei from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~.

Toma from Amnesia: Memories.

Kageyuki Shiraishi from Collar x Malice.

Non-spoiler list if you liked Ray’s route (YMMV) because of break the cutie and/or dating the enemy tropes:

Yeon-ho from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~

Ukyo from Amnesia: Memories.

 Nameless from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ 

Caesar and Hamlin from Ozmafia!

Natsuhiko Azuma from Norn 9: Var commons.

Kakeru Yuiga from Norn9: Var commons. 

NOW ONWARD TO THE YANDERES!!! YOU’VE BEEN WARNED :)

Yanderes are people who will kill for the one they “love” and are obsessed with, going even so far as to stalking, drugging, trapping, raping or even killing the MC so no one else can have them. People tend to either love them or hate them, as they are usually the more complex characters of the games, but it can be hard to see the good aspects of them when they’re busy well... doing yandere things like locking you up, drugging your drinks for your own good or trying to kill your friends because of their obsession with you.

Yangires are often mistakenly lumped in with yanderes and to add ot the confusion, some yanderes can seem more yangire or even vice-versa if they were already a bit ax-crazy to begin with. The main defining feature is that yangires lack the love aspect behind their killing to be a real yandere. These characters are ax-crazy and ready to snap at a moment's notice (or already have) and start killing the cast. Up until his route, Saeran would have been considered a yangire, though now with his route that’s obviously changed.

I’ve divided these into two catagories: minor yanderes (one bad end or situation) or major yanderes (a pervasive running theme in their route,  particularly violent ones and/or yangire-like ones, sadists, etc). I will also list the minor yanderes bad ends so anyone who wishes to avoid them can! Stay safe and don’t get triggered!!!

Minor Yanderes:

You (to Yeon-ho in Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~). You can become the yandere in his Bad end 1: Unforgiven doll.

Ikki in Amnesia: Memories. Bad end 2: “I’ll get rid of those who hurt you.” Situational. Ikki shows his yandere really only once in this end, shadowed eyes and all.

Yuri in Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ Bad end 2: Triangle. I’d still argue this is more Tei’s fault than Yuri being an actual yandere.

Heishi Otomaru from Norn 9: Var Commons. Bad end only. Situational yandere. Oof, and here I thought he was just a good boy.

Sakuya Nijou from Norn 9: Var Commons. There’s a minor unavoidable yandere moment in his route but he’s mostly just obsessed with Mikoto as some kind of savior for him. The obsession is apparent, but he’s a relatively non-dangerous version and barely deserves to be on this list.

Major Yanderes & Yangires:

Tei from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~. Jesus Christ, this guy so much. He’s probably the biggest yandere I’ve ever seen played to the trope and makes Jumin Han look like a vanilla amateur version. Completely wonderful wholesome exterior with darkness lurking below that only Yuri seems to notice. This guy gate crashes all the other LI’s in Nameless besides Lance’s bad endings at least once and makes them worse. Major trigger warning: Most of the bad ends involving him contain violence due to him. Honestly, so many a detailed list is silly, but the worst probably being the implied non-consensual sex in his Bad end 3: My owner.

Toma from Amnesia: Memories. Toma is probably the male yandere trope holder as most people know about the cage, which he did years before Jumin Han. A classic yandere, he’s obsessed with the MC so much he completely overlooks that she likes him. Expect all the classic yandere elements: childhood friend, drugging, caging, violence and rape-y comments but he just really loves you, okay??? Major trigger warning: A few of the bad ends in Amnesia: memories involving him contain violence due to him, especially his route and the unavoidable violence in Shin’s route. He stretches over into other people’s routes via bad ends a few times too, but the worst probably being the implied non-consensual sex in his Bad end 2: “We’ll be together forever.”

Yeon-ho from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~  is a good example of when a shota gets obsessed. He’s upgraded from minor yandere because he’s pretty goddamn obviously obsessed with you and while seemingly not particularly violent, he shows he is capable of it in Bad end 2: Competitor. To be fair to Yeon-ho though, you really need to watch out for Tei more.

Saint-Germain from Code: Realize ~guardian of rebirth~. Unfortunately, you can’t avoid the yandere in his route, though I’d mostly consider him a situational yandere depending on how you look at it since he’s following orders. However, he does make a few offhand comments in other routes that firmly put him in the major yandere category regardless.

Jisoo from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~. Classic yandere in his bad end. Shows yandere traits throughout his route, though maybe less extreme than most on this list. 

Kageyuki Shiraishi from Collar x Malice. Again more situational than anything else and technically a yangire stepford smiler in other routes. Once this aloof boy likes you he’s pretty stuck on you for reasons that make sense. You can’t avoid the yandere in his route (it’s both good and bad ends) but it’s waaaaaay less creepy in the good one. Also his later bad ends are BAD. Hell, his good end is bad. Dear god, please just give this poor guy a break already.

Robin Hood from Ozmafia! Is a low-key example of this, but not for Fuka. I’ll let you figure out why. Major trigger warning: It’s debatable his route contains non-consensual sex.

Nameless from Nameless ~the one thing you must recall~ Think precursor to Saeran. Got it? Okay now play his route again to find out why.

The Wizard from Dandelion ~wishes brought to you~. Though not a playable character, it's obvious once you play through at least one route of Dandelion he’s obsessed with Heejung. It all comes to a tragic culmination in the final end of Dandelion you get from finishing all routes in the game.

Ukyo from Amnesia: Memories. Ax-crazy Ura Ukyo unfortunately puts Ukyo’s route firmly in the yangire category rather than yandere, as Ukyo himself is pretty wholesome. He kind of reminds me of V, honestly. And not just because of the photography thing. He gets a bad rap from anyone who doesn’t properly finish the game because of his ura side, but boy the explanation for why he kills you over and over again is one of the saddest routes I’ve ever played.  Major trigger warning: Most of the bad ends in the entire game not involving Toma being yandere involve Ura Ukyo pretty much flat out killing you. Honestly, so many a detailed list is silly, since there’s multiple for each guys route iirc.

Ron Muraboshi from Norn 9: Var commons. Jesus lord have mercy I was not expecting this one. For all of his nonchalant attitude about everything, Ron might be the worst offender on this list. Not presented as a classic yandere as I am firmly convinced no one in the game or playing it actually likes Ron, his route devolves into some extremely problematic shit with yandere elements. His route is a relationship is based on obsession, abuse, and Stockholm Syndrome and even I felt icky after playing it, but his alternate bad ending (purple) is the worst IMO on this list because it's arguable he still sees you as disposable, while at least real yanderes cherish their object of affection. Also that 9 year age gap between him and Nanami… yikes.

Anyway, that's my list and character analysis of the otomes I’ve played so far! Hope you enjoyed it and feel free to leave me any asks or comments.

Also if you’d like to know who my personal favorites are, they are: Jumin Han, Seven, Ukyo, Tei, Saint-Germain, Kyrie and Kageyuki Shiraishi. And after reading this I bet you now know why. Just don’t make me pick favorites among my husbandos, they might kill me if they find out ;) 

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Warning: SPOILERS for Afterlife of the Party.

Here’s a full guide to Netflix’s Afterlife of the Party soundtrack, which delivers a short list of poppy, upbeat party songs by American pop and R&B singer Spencer Sutherland and one score track by composer Jessica Rose Weiss. Starring actress Victoria Justice of Nickelodeon fame (VICTORiOUS) as Cassie, a fun-loving, albeit irresponsible social butterfly, Afterlife of the Party follows Cassie into a purgatory-like afterlife after a freak accident kills her, where she’s offered the opportunity to right all her unresolved wrongs on Earth, thus earning passage to the “Above” (heaven) or, if she fails, to the “Below” (hell).

Matching the Afterlife of the Party‘s comedic “death-but-fun“ premise is a 5-track EP soundtrack that errs more on the side of fun than death. Put another way, while Cassie is stuck in the In-Between, a limbo state between heaven and hell, the album has both feet firmly planted in heaven. In fact, the album is exclusively upbeat and danceable, featuring four original songs performed by Sutherland, who stars in the movie as the famous fictional singer Koop whom Cassie idolizes; one of which includes a duet with Sutherland and Justice. Though Cassie’s fangirl obsession with Koop is repeatedly made obvious throughout the film, what’s understated about their budding connection is how, despite the chasm separating life and death, their separate journeys seem to have always pointed towards each other, with a charming twist ending that sees the two entering a “pearly gates” of sorts hand-in-hand.

Related: The Kissing Booth 3 Soundtrack Guide: Every Song

For his feature film debut, Sutherland’s character has more of ambient presence in the movie, whereas the real-life pop singer Sutherland plays a more central role to the Afterlife of the Party soundtrack. Pop music fans may know Sutherland as a contestant on the UK version of The X-Factor in 2017, performing Marvin Gaye’s sultry “Let’s Get It On” for his audition and James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go” in a group performance. Sutherland has also released multiple singles starting with “Heartstrings” in 2013 up to “Freaking Out” in 2019, before landing both an acting and singing role in Afterlife of the Party.

At the helm of the Afterlife of the Party soundtrack, Sutherland is the movie’s musical heart and soul. On the topic of entering the movie industry through the channel of music, Sutherland expressed in an exclusive interview with Alexisjoyvipaccess his eagerness to take on more acting roles: “I’ve found such a passion in acting now from this, and I would love to do a lot more in acting, but also a lot more in musical acting, because it was very cool to tie the two together. It was amazing.“

Whether or not that means we’ll see Sutherland in more musical acting roles in the future remains to be seen. Nonetheless, his performance in Afterlife of the Party is key to the “party” aspect of the story, and it seems likely that Netflix will continue along this pop musical trajectory with its future titles. With that in mind, here is a breakdown of each song on the movie’s soundtrack, as well as an additional song heard in the movie.

“Blush” by Spencer Sutherland – Played multiple times throughout the story, Sutherland’s “Blush” (or, rather, Koop’s “Blush” from the character’s perspective) is arguably the main theme song of the movie. Introduced by a radio DJ voiceover as “the number one song of the day” at the movie’s opening when Cassie is considering various outfits in front of her mirror, “Blush” is soon after described by Cassie and her best friend Lisa (Midori Francis) as “their song” when it’s heard playing at a dance club. This is significant when later, after Cassie dies, Cassie fulfills her role as Lisa’s spectral wing-woman  by trespassing into Max’s (Timothy Renouf) apartment, Lisa’s hunky neighbor, to sabotage his record-player into accidentally playing “Blush” during a chance encounter between Max and Lisa, who is wearing a “KOOP” shirt at the time. Max takes advantage of this “coincidence” to ask Lisa on a date to see the music video set of a Koop song.

“Drive” by Spencer Sutherland – While hanging out in Lisa’s apartment, Lisa initiates an “impromptu dance party” with her deceased friend Cassie after commanding Google to “play ‘Drive’ by Koop.” It’s revealed during this exchange that Lisa introduced Cassie to Koop’s “greatness,” further suggesting of the importance of Koop’s music to their bond.

Related: Every Song In Cinderella 2021

“One Look” by Spencer Sutherland – The music video Max refers to when asking Lisa on a date, Sutherland performs “One Look” in the flesh (as Koop) while standing in front of a blue convertible with a surrounding team of backup dancers. Taking advantage of her ghostly transparency, Cassie transports herself onto the music video set, much to the awe of Lisa, and she starts dancing in front of Koop, who seems vaguely and nonchalantly aware of her presence. During the song, Cassie approaches Koop for a kiss before she’s abruptly snapped back to the In-Between headquarters, where she’s chastised by her quirky guardian angel Val (Robyn Scott) for neglecting her purgatorial responsibilities.

“Home” by Spencer Sutherland & Victoria Justice – Breaking up the Sutherland monopoly on the Afterlife of the Party soundtrack is a duet track with both Sutherland and Justice, heard during the story’s end after a recently deceased Koop and Cassie meet in an elevator ascending to the Above (heaven). As the two walk hand-in-hand towards Above’s idyllic, flowery mountain range, the song starts as the end credits roll, signifying that Cassie and Koop are finally “home.”

“Score Suite” by Jessica Rose Weiss – The one non-Sutherland song on the movie’s soundtrack, “Score Suite” is the only listed track on the list attributed to the composer of the film. While somewhat more somber in parts, at least in relation to Sutherland’s dance tracks, “Score Suite” is predominated by a majestically whimsical tone familiar to many rom-com scores.

“I Only Have Eyes For You” by The Flamingos – Not listed on the official Afterlife of the Party soundtrack, “I Only Have Eyes For You” by The Flamingos plays from the record-player in Max’s apartment, presumably as intended by Max this time, to set a romantic mood for him and Lisa, as they cheers to “regret” over wine, confess their feelings for one another, and kiss.

Next: F9 Soundtrack Guide: Every Song Explained

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Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 Persona 4 Remains An All-Time Great RPG 10 Years Later; A Celebration Of Its Legacy - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6760 It may not have been known at the time, but in July 2008, Japan received what would be remembered as one of the greatest role-playing games of all time. Over the course of a decade, Persona 4 has become more than just an incredibly fun RPG with a refined battle system and quirky characters, though. A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games. Our love for Persona 4 has kept it alive for so long with several fighting games, two anime adaptations, an adorable (and difficult) spin-off RPG, and even a rhythm game. And after 10 years, we're still seeing our good friends from Inaba in a new light.For the uninitiated, Persona 4's foundation closely resembles that of its predecessor, Persona 3. You're a transfer student new to a school surrounded by unusual circumstances; supernatural phenomena that endanger your new hometown is the crux to the overarching mystery. On a typical day, you go to class, do extracurricular activities, and try to grow closer to those around town and at school. Better yourself through hobbies or take on a part-time job, it's up to you how to pass the time. In particular, Persona 4 takes you to a fictional rural town of Inaba where the biggest thing to happen before your arrival was the opening of a Junes department store (think Super Walmart, but with an infectious jingle). Even your little cousin Nanako is utterly convinced that every day's great at your Junes, and begs you and her dad to take her there like it's the greatest place on earth.Sure sounds like all fun and games until you and your new friends become the centerpiece for a dark murder mystery and an absolutely perplexing world that lives behind TV screens. At first, it's not quite clear why outlandish versions of certain townsfolk inexplicably pop up on TV sets and go missing on rainy midnights. The one way to get to the bottom of this, to actually jump into a TV screen to enter the shadow world where the other half of Persona 4 comes into play.Aha! Is this our chance? It's time for an All-Out Attack!While dungeon crawling and sneaking up on shadows through randomly generated floors make up the exploration, an intricate turn-based combat system is where you'll find excellence in gameplay. Most enemies have elemental weaknesses which factor into how you construct your party and devise a tactical approach. Sounds par for the course in an RPG, but the unique press-turn system that Shin Megami Tensei is known for shines brighter than it had previously by giving you full control to pull off flashy, effective attacks. Receiving a bonus attack after targeting a weakness before enemies get a turn is endlessly satisfying, especially as dungeons become inhabited by trickier, stronger shadows.A story about Japanese high school students confronting their worst fears, fighting for what's right, and becoming the best of friends spawned a lasting legacy that has empowered the people who played it and continually inspired new games.However, nothing in battle matches the joy of seeing your crew team up for the most adorable, yet devastating All-Out Attacks, a franchise staple. Everyone in the party piles on heavy damage that usually puts an end to the fight, and you sense their ferocity in character portraits that pop up just before everyone jumps in. A cloud of dust erupts as they whale on enemies, sometimes popping out of the chaos only to jump back in for another hit, and all you need to do is watch as they take care of business. If you're lucky, someone will offer a follow-up attack turn-free; and it should be taken as fact that nothing is as absurdly cute as Chie's galactic punt where she literally kicks an enemy into outer space (her kung fu DVDs really paid off). Even in battle, everyone's distinct personality isn't lost or put off to the side, which highlights Persona 4’s greatest accomplishment: its commitment to a relentless charm embodied by this cast of misfits.So effortlessly does Persona 4 merge the two pillars of a social simulation and traditional RPG; nothing feels disconnected, how days are spent matters. These two realities feed into each other, and Igor--the series-long, omniscient owner of the ethereal Velvet Room--alludes to this up front: true strength is born from the bonds you form. The power of friendship is a prevalent trope in similar stories, but to have that power manifest as a tangible benefit in combat gives us further reason to invest in relationships. I call back to how Rise came in clutch to buff the party or cast healing during tough boss fights, or when Yukiko dealt the final blow casting Agidyne using her final-form persona with the last bit of SP: moments like these solidify the feeling that my companions really do have my back in times of need.Gas up your scooter 'cause we're going on a road trip!From the mother who wishes for acceptance from her stepson to your basketball teammate who finds it impossible to live up to his adopted family's legacy, these vignettes serve to tell very human stories. We help Nanako open up to her dad about his lack of presence and break through Uncle Dojima's hard-boiled temperament to reveal an empathetic father who constantly struggles with his wife's death and his job as a detective. In the end, a heartwarming father-daughter scene results in a newfound commitment to family. Other social links struck a more personal nerve.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone.When Yosuke overlooks Inaba, the town he once hated, and realizes that what makes him happy is the people he's surrounded by rather than big city glamour, I felt that. Even though Kanji maintains the tough guy attitude, he eventually embraces his sewing skills and love for cute plushies--as he began to handcraft toys for kids around town, I sensed a big, cathartic middle finger to societal expectations for masculinity. Naoto's strive for justice, as the genius detective, makes a firm statement against workplace gender discrimination. Life as an idol sure sounds great, until Rise decides she needs to walk away from stardom for her own sanity. As endearing as Chie's and Yukiko's friendship, their dynamic evolved and reached new heights after confronting their shadow-selves, leading to more open and honest relationship.This cast harbors the painful secrets that so many teenagers and young adults repress, and it carries the perceptions and labels society puts upon them. These are the burdens everyone bears throughout Persona 4, but burdens that no one has to bear alone. The TV world and Midnight Channel work not just as metaphors for the fear of what you think everyone sees in you, but to illustrate the sense of imprisonment and helplessness that's born from it. And by navigating the maze-like dungeons and crushing enemies, the crew breaks through obstacles to finally support each other in overcoming their monumental insecurities. Many of the game's pieces sound silly on paper, but they all come together to inspire you before you know it.When spread across 100+ hours of play-time, spanning an in-game calendar year, you're given room to breathe and let events, big and small, sink in. Moments of levity work alongside the more heartfelt revelations, which creates an ingenious balancing act. To its benefit, the game never takes itself too serious. Persona 4's greatness lies in its execution and presentation; story, gameplay, visual style, and its soundtrack all complement each other to elevate beyond the sum of its parts.Persona 4 wouldn't be the same game without the masterful composition of series composer Shoji Meguro. A collection of J-pop, J-rock, and catchy instrumentals make for incredible tracks on their own, but the right song at the right time elevates the emotional impact. As soon as I hear the brass horns start up for the track that plays during social links, I can't help but smile and sense the fun being had between characters. The boss battle theme of "I'll Face Myself" instills a feeling of danger, but also the determination to defeat your worst enemies. And the emblematic battle theme "Reach Out To The Truth" is such an uplifting song that brings back all my memories of this game. Sometimes I look outside my own house and "Heartbeat, Heartbreak" pops into my head on cloudy days and "Your Affection" when the sun shines. Music isn't relegated to just the background, and it cannot be overstated how evocative its soundtrack has been throughout the years.For all Persona 4's inspirational moments and pushes for social progressivism, we can't turn a blind eye to where it gets things wrong; to truly love something is to also recognize its flaws. By no means is it perfect when it comes to the portrayal of certain social groups and character conduct. Teddie himself exhibits unscrupulous behavior that can easily be interpreted as harassment, and it's never really confronted. Despite the personally uplifting story of Kanji, his sexual ambiguity is occasionally used as a punchline, and his shadow self can be seen as too over-the-top. Certain insensitive decisions can be made in relation to Naoto's struggle with gender identity; the interpretation of her character continues to be a point of contention to this day. And as time has gone on, the less amusing the cross-dressing pageant scene has become. To its credit, a Japanese game from 2008 was willing to explore subjects often seen as taboo; it misses the mark in critical moments, but there's value in its earnest effort. Regardless, some jokes weren't necessary to be humorous and it would've been much better without them.Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing.The sheer number of games that spawned afterward speaks to the love we've shared for this game. A PS Vita exclusive remaster, Persona 4 Golden, launched in 2012 as the definitive version; it refines core mechanics and includes a slew of meaningful additions. Along with new songs that perfectly fit the original soundtrack, Chie's new voice actress (Erin Fitzgerald) brought a whole new life into an already-beloved character and truly captured the spirit of Persona 4's best girl. A whole extra dungeon, an important new character, additional social link events, and new tag-team attacks round out Golden as the definitive version.An anime adaptation premiered in 2011, and another based on the remastered game released in 2014. Although it's difficult to capture an RPG in a condensed format, the anime offered a new way to experience the journey. Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth brought along our buddies from Persona 3 into the mix in a wonderfully executed dungeon crawler RPG on 3DS--it bursts with charm as chibi versions of these two beloved casts band together to fight evil and have a good time. I'd also say Q features the best introductory theme and video in all the franchise. If the fan service wasn't already good enough, Persona 4: Dancing All Night leveraged the beautiful soundtrack for a delightful (and admittedly ridiculous) rhythm game--hearing my favorite songs remastered and remixed is a real treat.BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle brings back our friends at Yasogami High to meet the casts of BlazBlue, Under Night, and RWBY.Persona lends itself so well to fighting games that Arc System Works took up creating a 2D fighter in Persona 4 Arena, which remained true to both the developer's fighting game philosophy and the spirit of the source material. Persona 4 Arena Ultimax built on that foundation even further. And just this year, ArcSys circled back on Persona 4 by crossing worlds with BlazBlue, Under Night In-Birth, and RWBY in BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle. Each of these fighters introduced new characters and storylines, and were included in the fighting game community's biggest stages. Rarely, if ever, does a single entry in a larger franchise spin off in so many different directions, but thankfully, it's helped keep our Persona 4 love alive all these years later.After becoming personally invested in their journey that started it all and pouring all that time into seeing them grow, it was genuinely hard to say goodbye as the credits rolled and the ending theme "Never More" began to play. In the decade since the original game, we were fortunate to see the charming group of knuckleheads time and time again in so many different games. It's almost silly to think that a group of fictional Japanese high school students could empower us to be better, but Persona 4 has given me, and countless others, boundless joy and also an opportunity for self-reflection. Yes, I played an incredible RPG, but what I saw was a group of best friends pulling for each other to become stronger people and make the world a better place. Despite all its absurdity, Persona 4 is grounded with thoughts and feelings that so accurately resemble our own; it's a human experience, one that many games aim for, but rarely come close to capturing. Source link

[bizarre-bloodline]

Since Yuseph is a wild card, who are his social links? What’s the central conflict of each one? Any notable moments in any of them?

An interesting question about Yuseph! God bless!

So I don’t think the whole social link aspect part of his life as a wild card is completely restricted to the Future Generation verse. There’s potential for him to form all kinds of relationships with people from the Ace Attorney series, the SMT and the Persona games. 

Given his circumstances and age, it’s essentially a long list of close acquiantences and family we’re pondering on… Just to make it easier on us, I’ll try to bring up at least one or two social links from certain verses here and describe them!

BLOODSTAINED BUBBLE (1988) -

Shadi Enigmar (Hanged Man)–

This one has a lot of family drama to it. We have Shadi who’s trying to move on from his heartbreak of seeing Thalassa hook up with Jove Justice, and we have 17 year old Yuseph feeling incredibly suffocated in his new position as the manager of the Grand Borscht.

Cue the older man getting an order from Magnifi to recruit Yuseph into the Gramarye troupe to replace Thalassa and Yuseph being a very angry-driven teenager who doesn’t really have a fond opinion of the men (Valant, Magnifi, Shadi, Roger Retinz and Shadi himself) of his magician family and you get a very… Messy combination.

There’s a lot of turmoil at first. You have Yuseph being constantly aggressive and mean towards Shadi (If Trucy was somehow alive at this point, she’d scold him so hard for this), and you have Shadi being confused yet constantly pushy about their interactions. He finds Yuseph to be interesting and rather familiar for some reason, and it motivates him to constantly approach him no matter here they are or what’s happening. Yuseph’s not really appreciative over this kind of attitude, and it gets to the point where he literally slams the poor guy into a nearby wall and essentially yells at him to leave him alone.

Throughout time, they get closer though. There’s a moment featuring Shadi helping a bloodied Yuseph after a violent encounter with one of Nero Mandrake’s minions. He cleans him up, take him to to a bar and the two have an emotional conversation. They’re venting to each other about things, getting open about stuff – unintentionally acting like a family of some sort for the very first time. There’s an odd joke from Shadi about what he’d do if Yuseph was his future son. The irony in that.

Sakuya Mikotoba (Hierophant)–

The grandson of Susato Mikotoba and Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV. He’s the first mentor figure Yuseph’s had in his life ever since the deaths of his mother and father. There isn’t a lot of conflict in their relationship as much as there is sympathy and empathy over their similarities and connected family history. 

Something about the story relating to his search for his missing mother tugs at Yuseph’s heart, and he can’t help but bear great respect for the personal philosophies ( “Ways of the Wrights,” as he jokingly calls it ) Sakuya has.

One notable moment in their social link is Sakuya’s death scene, where he utters his last words to Yuseph in spirit form and mentions just how fun it’s been to spend the last few days in a venture with the magician. 

It’s a particular memory Yuseph hasn’t let go of, and he’s long since kept himself in mind of his passing to remain forever motivated to protect the ones he considers to be the dearest in his life…

Sons of Vengeance (1997) -

Thalassa Gramarye (Strength)–

The biological grandmother of Yuseph Narukami. He encounters her at some point whilst he’s trying to give chase after Noah Kashima and simultanously remain in hiding from his goons. 

Her main jist is trying to move on from her first husband’s death and take care of Trucy (who’s pretty much a toddler at this point). It’s all overwhelming for her, especially since she’s just entered into a new marriage with Shadi.

Something about Yuseph draws her to him (him being her grandson), and she pretty much gets declared as her caretaker around that period. She allows her residence to be used as his hideout. He’s keen on trying to keep himself distanced from her, she’s a bit too stubborn to accept such a thing. 

Her kind, selfless and calm attitude reminds him heavily of his own mother (like daughter like mother, eh?), and it’s one of the reasons why he becomes reluctantly accepting over her company as time goes on. Basically, it’s a very heartwarming, personal bond revolving around a grandmother being unaware that she’s helping her own future grandson…

Demon’s Tears (1999) -

Kazuma Aoyama (Chariot)–

Son of Kazuya Aoyama and Maya Fey, and technically Yuseph’s biological uncle. This one’s a bit of fun. You know about the relationship between Kazuma Kiryu and Goro Majima from Yakuza Kiwami? Well, it’s something like that. Lots of eccentric antics from Yuseph, all of it being overwhelming for the poor male spirit medium. He’s like an annoying little brother to him, you could say.

Kazuma’s one of those people where Yuseph can feel comfortable about completely letting himself go. Whenever he’s around, he becomes just as colorful and quirky as his mother, and the same goes vice versa for Kazuma and his similarities to his mother.

Yuseph’s main jist in the Demon’s Tears verse is to constantly confront Kazuma in fights to make sure he regains his strength after becoming completely weakened from years of spirit channeling training. He’s essentially what Dante and Raidou were to the Demi-fiend, but a more less… Murderous variation of them.

Kazuma’s dragged into a lot of crazy scenes and events set up by Yuseph, incredibly representive of his immense creativity as an illusionist and a performer. One of the things that particularly makes Yuseph incredibly attached to him is how he similar he is to his father, not just in looks but in personality as well. 

Their general friendliness, their ways of helping strangers without wishing for anything back, their kind and selfless attitudes… If it weren’t for the fact the ghost whisperer bore some particularly mutinous tendencies when it came to his personality, he’d call him the spitting image of his own dad.

Future Generation (2003) -

Trucy Wright (Magician)–

Hooohooo, this one’s adorable. His own mother, during her early childhood days. If there’s one thing Phoenix Wright can’t replace about Shadi Enigmar in terms of being a father figure, it’s his full dedication to and knowledge of magic. This is where Yuseph comes in, and decides to fill that little empty part of her youthful life.

There’s something very awkward about bonding with the mother he once adored and looked up to so much, only to realize she’s essentially a pre-teenager by this point of time. He’s quick to get over such a prospect though, and learns to enjoy her company whenever she’s around. Given his Gramarye bloodline and his attachment to magic as a whole, he incidentally becomes her mentor throughout the period of their social link. Something about Yuseph, very easily and not surprisingly, draws her to him and she grows to cherish him as a fellow master in illusionism.

The catch in Yuseph’s lessons to her as a fellow magician is that he doesn’t teach her anything he’s learned from his great-grandfather’s book, and only shows her tricks his dad had conjured up in his sparetime and taught to his son whenever he was free from his duties. This leads to a notable moment of Trucy asking her future son about just who had mentored him in his past, and he’s quick to leave a vague answer about them being a person who’ll become very prominent and special in her own future.

There are also other moments of her asking if she can call Yuseph her ‘’daddy,’’ and picking him as an answer for how she’d want her future kid to be like (he’s really cool and he knows magic! that kinda stuff). He’s quick to chuckle at the latter, and give an immediate and stern ‘’no’’ to the former.

Tokyo (2011) -

Apollo Justice (Justice)–

I’m not very clever about the arcana choice here, aren’t I.

Poor Apollo Justice is dealing with some government-held cases relating to demonic activity and all that other frightening, supernatural jazz, and here comes a weird, mysterious old man trying to aid him in the most orthodox ways you can ever think of. 

Since Trucy is in Inaba reuniting with his father, Yuseph’s the one filling her spot in next to Polly – as his assistant along with Naoki, and as the quirky magician who’s always there to make fun of him. Except this time, it’s an old homeless dude who likes to surround himself with cats all day.

Their relationship is superficially similar to the one with Kazuma, excluding all the constant brawling. Yuseph’s fond of scaring his uncle up with his antics and making him into the butt of a joke every now and then. He cares for the man though, and there are notable moments of him trying to reassure him to stay strong as he endures the grotesque sights of murders caused by demons and angels.

One important moment essentially involves Yuseph trying to warn Apollo about what the future may hold for him and his “family,” and that he should keep his spirits up for the sake of all the people he cares for. 

He’s keen on leaving extremely vague hints to him about his true identity every now and then, and the smile on his face indicates that he’s pretty proud over who his uncle is.

Bloodline Revolution (2012) -

Yu Narukami (Fool)–

Here’s where things get awfully… Heartbreaking. He finally gets to meet his father, and it’s around the time where he plays the role of a chaotic ruler who wishes to bring anarchy and misery upon the world, all for the sake of bringing an evil god out of his hide. It’s a social link formed between two wild cards, two fools – the parent, and his son. 

Nothing really screams ‘’fun’’ or ‘’cute’’ about this particular bond. They’re constantly running into each other, and Yuseph’s keen on trying to break him down physically so he doesn’t get involved too much in current matters. It’s his way of trying to prevent his father from getting into danger, as he continues to keep up a sinister mask that represents malicy. 

Yu’s openly critical towards Yuseph and expresses complete disdain over his actions. Something about the air around Yuseph frightens Yu deeply, and he’s started to feel so tempted about giving chase after him to the point he’s become somewhat unhealthily obsessed with his presence.

One particular notable moment is their last talk before their final battle in this very verse. It’s a father mentioning how he sees his beloved in his son, how he plans to take all responsibility for the actions of that very son and force him to atone for his sin. It’s a scene of a son urging his father to do exactly what he wants, and defeat him to make such plans come true.

All this happens right before the two confront each other for the final time… And the father gets sent into a long-lasting coma by his child in tears.

Phew, that took a long while to write! I hope this gave you some sort of outlook into Yuseph’s social links here! Share your thoughts if you’ve got any, and lemme hear any suggestions/ideas you have in mind in terms of our wild card inheritor here!

[stalepotato-blog]

if anybody is actually taking time out of their day to read this stupid blog, let me save you some time.

just stop.     close the tab.    and go on youtube or something.

no but for real tho. just stop and turn around. 

there is nothing interesting on here for you to see. im just writing to myself cause im a loser and im trying to keep a journal of my thoughts on a day to day basis...at least i hope.

my friend told me to start the journal cause she said that it would help me deal with my life and just vent. also i feel like i can sort my feelings out better when i talk about myself.....soooooo yeah. i guess lets start with my past.

im currently 18 years old, im just not going to put my name on here cause what the heck is the point its to myself. but anyway im 18 years old. im korean. i was born in korea but my family and i moved to the states before i was even 1 so i consider myself pretty american....then again i hate the sound of american so i like to call myself korean even though i hate korean culture...you’ll see why later. i grew up in a pretty conservative household..i think? just think of any stereotypical asian household and that would be my own household. its was the usual...no girls, no drugs, no alcohol. i also went to church pretty often and considered myself pretty devout, so i didnt care too much about that stuff anyway.......except for girls. i was horny.

i spent most of my life growing up in southern california about 30 minutes from LA. it was pretty chill. i lived in the suburbs of a pretty safe neighborhood, the cops were so bored all he time that dealing with a car crash probably got them off. i went to elementary school, middle school, and high school all within a 5 mile radius of my house. which was convenient but there was nothing to do besides go to school...and go eat. which i did a lot. which is why im fat. oh. i forgot to describe my appearance. im a guy. 5′ 4′’. chubs. really small eyes. black hair. used to think i had broad shoulders but then one of my friends told me that im playing myself. so i stopped thinking that. 

damn i have hiccups, 

anyway where was I? oh yeah school. uhhhhhh school was alright. was a little rough at first..little kids can be mean lol but i go over it very quickly. i used middle school to try to change myself completely. i stopped crying. i lost some weight. i liked to play basketball and run so i did that a lot with my best friend. oh yeah my best friend. uhhh i met my first really close friend in elementary school. i was tired of kids making fun of me in elementary so put that anger out onto other people... aka my best friend. i bullied him and made fun of his buzz lightyear sweater he liked to wear by pretending that i was buzz lightyear in class. yeah i was a dick i know, but i was in like 5th grade, chill. he is basically everything physically that i am not. he was real lean. athletic and strong but it didnt show too much cause he was thin. oh and he was really tall. think he was like 5′ 8′’ by the end of elementary. he got back at me by making fun of my weight and height, so i consider us pretty even. i dont remember if we ever apologized to each other exactly but we probably did. we’re good now. although we still make fun of each other. its funny. 13 years later, we’re still friends.

at around around the same time i met m other best friend, ahhhh, not sure so much about best anymore but shes close to me and i care about her. i met her in elementary school, but we didnt really talk then, later i found out that she was actually sexist in elementary school and she didnt hang around guys cause well. she hated them? i forget the reason why, she just disliked them. but in middle school she walked every day home with me and my best bud. our houses were pretty close to each other so we it was nice to walk together. at first she avoided us too, but then she started hanging with us two and that was the first time she really talked to guys and had fun so she stuck around. but thats not the only thing. i dont know how to describe her, but she really isnt your normal type of girl. she very quirky. reallllllly short like 4′ 6′’ or something like that, she had really long hair, which i thought was cute..until she chopped it off like halfway through middle school. but at the end of the day. this girl was weird. for example. my and me best bud first noticed that she also walked home a few days into the semester, but when we saw her, she was stealing one of those flowers next to like plaza signs to make them look better? you know what im talking about? my bud and i were walking up to her and she was staring at the flower and she tried to take only one flower but ended up uprooting the whole damn thing. by this time my friend and i had caught up to her and we were just staring at her without saying a word. then this girl breaks the silence by looking at my bud an saying ‘hey. cut this bottle for me yeah?’ then she flashed us a smile and proceeded to pull a 2 liter bottle out of her backpack along with a pair of kitchen scissors out of her backpack....lets just stop there. what. the. heck? i mean like am i weird for thinking thats weird? that pretty weird....anyway she hands off the bottle to my friend and the scissors. and he just looks at me and says okay and cut the bottle in half. she placed the plant into the bottle and then started walking with us. and from tha point on she just kept walking home with us. now as usual, since we were all teens, with the whole puberty and emotions thing going on and also of the opposite gender we eventually liked each other... but in more like of a weird third wheel...ahhh... i dont even want to call it third wheel. it felt like a bicycle or like a motorcycle with one of those side car thingys........... ..... .... its complicated. in case you were wondering i was the extra part.. the extra wheel so to speak. but thatttttttttttttttttttt is a story for another time. maybe my next post. i feel like this post was a bit long but its my first one so what the hell. guesss this is the end..buhbai.

oh and on a side note. what i said earlier on the whole because we of the opposite gender so we started liking each other thing. dont give me any crap about how thats inconsiderate towards gay people and all that. i dont have anything against gay people, but im just trying to describe my own experience of my past without adding politically correct crap and all that social justice comments. i can live without others judging me on my own blog. 

then again. who the hell is going to actually read this.