#npc girl from scary monsters

[italoniponic]

[smolsix]

-blows dust off this blog-

So

Little Nightmares III, huh???

I was trying to avoid being excited about it because no solid release date and 2024 could be a few months from now or a year from now and Idk how long I can handle being so fuckin hyped for this game YEEHAW

BUT I CAN'T, I KEEP THINKING ABT THE GAME AAHAHHGAGA

so here are my thoughts, if you wanted to know

FIRST OF ALL, i am so glad that after we saw LTNM II we thought it'd be co-op but it was just an AI, that we finally get co-op! AND ONLINE TOO, i spent the first day worried it'd be shared screen same room situation since i wasn't trying to get my hopes up but then I realised I can just.. google it.. AND IT IS!!! ONLINE!! IDK WHO I AM GONNA PLAY IT W FIRST AAAAAAAA

anyways, you can definitely tell it's a new studio working on this game, the world feels mostly the same but the character designs themselves are definitely stylistically similar, but not the same. With Six especially, the MC designs were very simplistic and realistic but used colour (or for Mono, a single design quirk being the bag) to stand out against their backgrounds and against the enemies which are largely neutral colours. But these new ones feel... "over designed"? On their own they definitely aren't, but in comparison to Mono, Six, Seven, and even NPCs like the flashlight girl, they have a lot more going on (especially the little wrench kid, Idk which one is Alone and which one is Low yet btw OOP)

Despite it being a new studio and you can tell, new puzzles and environments, they're still doing their best to have the OGs vibes and whatnot to feel familiar, namely in the trailer they bring back the fuses, and the additional gameplay video there's a short scene with an environment with all the shelves you can find in LTNM 1s gnome section (the one with the cart that is affected by the Maws swaying).

But regardless, it still feels different enough my brain is still nervous about it. I also feel In A Way about Tarsier having LTNM II explode and their franchise getting the attention it deserves, only to have it stuck with Bandai and now it's going to likely explode again and they aren't involved. Idk how anyone on that team feels about it, but if it were me omg.

Also the only boss we've seen so far (i hope they add more and i def want some to be a surprise so im not gonna assume this is the only one for now) feels... out of place? it has the design qualities of a LTNM boss, but the size of it makes it more of a spectacle than a warped/corruption of an adult. All the previous bosses fit in their environment, we are the small ones and they are scaled to the world around them. This is the first time, outside monster Six who imo is a bit of an outlier anyways due to her circumstances, we're getting a boss who is this huge and doesn't even fit their own environment. I hope we get a lore reason for this in some way, because currently the boss doesn't have the same vibe as the others and it's throwing me off a bit. Don't get me wrong, it'll be terrifying, but looking at the picture as a whole they are sort of out of place for me rn. I don't hate the bitch either, I'm not gonna be like omg get rid of it or change it, but it does strike me as odd seeing it for now.

And yes the tall man is too tall for a lot of things, but he's not THAT big. He's more like yer tall guy who hits his head off doorways, which happens irl anyways LMAO

Little Nightmares primarily tries to capture the feeling of being a small child and how everything is big and scary, but a doll that huge is out of the realm of reality set up for us already. It's gone from scary corrupted animal to godzilla, if that makes sense.

OH AND THE MIRRORS ARE VERY LTNM COMICS OF THEM TEE HEE < 3

[revserrayyu]

2.2 Penacony thoughts [part 1]

**Mild spoiler warning** in place as I didn’t reach that far into the new update as of yet. Stopped right after seeing Sunday being a holy man listening to the troubles of others, so if that scene doesn’t ring any bells, then please refrain from reading further. As always, don’t spoil anything that happens afterwards, not only for myself, but for anyone else who hasn’t finished the new story yet.

First things first, I’m so pleased that we start off with Boothill. It feels like it’s been forever since he was first drip-marketed and when we heard that phone call of his with Black Swan, so finally seeing him in game is pretty nice. Still love that design in his eye too.

I’m also happy that the jade abacus was brought up again. Once we saw DHIL & Jing Yuan team up in the 2.2 livestream trailer I figured that Dan Heng was gonna call upon our beloved general with this item. At present, I don’t know if it’s actually used or if we head to the Xianzhou instead and request for help. Either way, I’m a bit surprised the general lends a hand. Of course he’s an ally and promised to help us with any troubles, but.. last time we saw him, he had just encountered Luocha and Jingliu, right? Could Jing Yuan really have left that confrontation behind so easily? Are we ever going to learn about what happened during that conversation? Who knows, but I hope we find out one day if this story doesn’t mention the matter further.

Anyways, who do you think the Elation Emanator that Boothill is? Naturally, I first thought of Sparkle solely because of her “I AM Elation!” declaration during her character trailer and her being a Masked Fool, but seeing how Boothill is having issues accessing Penacony in the first place, I doubt the two have officially met. They could’ve met elsewhere, sure, but I still doubt it’s Sparkle. Still haven’t a clue on who else it could be though but whomever it is certainly can’t hold their liquor.

Then we cut to Acheron being cornered by a bunch of npcs who are apparently all part of the “Dreammaster,” but let me just say that I love how literal Acheron can be, like correcting how many slashes she actually used. It’s also a bit scary for her to mention, as I don’t even remember a second blade either.

She’s just.. ironically funny to me. Acting all threatening but being completely serious with her grammar.

It was humorous when we switched to Robin for the first time. I didn’t manage to get a screenshot of it but how the screen even questioned it like “switching to Robin’s POV?” was hilarious. And rightfully so because this certainly isn’t our beloved idol. Sparkle, please, stop handing out bombs to everyone!

It was a short switch, but we finally jump back to where we personally left off. I know the journey Firefly is referring to might be our time hanging out together in Penacony, but somewhere deep down I imagine it could also be about our possible time with the Stellaron Hunters before the entire story even happened. I’m sure we have some sort of past with them but who knows if and when we’ll touch upon that.

Firefly goes into detail about her actions, about how she informed Silver Wolf to contact us and the plan she wanted to share with us before “Death” acted out. I guess it makes the lies and secrets a bit more bearable? All according to the script and at least she originally intended to tell us everything before the monster lashed out.

Then we get scene with her and Blade and oh my god, they both look so good?? Learning that Blade actually owns a driver’s license is comical too. Who would’ve thought our edgy man could be so reliable.

I’m so thankful for this scene as it gives us a taste about how Firefly acts around the other Stellaron Hunters. Since the rumors about her being Sam started, I couldn’t imagine how this sweet girl could’ve been one of them, but it seems she gets along just fine, even teasing Blade a bit.

Now correct me if I’m wrong but this is actually a flashback that happens right before Kafka destroys the Jepella Brotherhood during that one Myriad Celestia trailer, yeah? That’s pretty cool. Confirms that Firefly has been here the entire time and Bladie is even wearing the same suit.

I never thought of a decent acronym for what Sam could really mean, but we finally got our answer: Strategic Assault Mech. Makes me wonder if Firefly is even her true name, since that also seems to be part of the suit’s name.

Rejoice, someone other than ourselves can actually see Misha and Clockie. Would’ve never guessed that person to be Welt though. I guess he really is a child at heart. I know he gets excited whenever mechs are involved, such as the Engine of Creation, but this also reminds me of how his E6 depicts him as a child.

It’s unsettling that Misha calls “Death” something so innocent as “Sleepie.” Also claims that the monster isn’t aggressive and sometimes fetches the wrong guests to bring here.. uh huh, right. Sure. But of course Gallagher controls it! I know we learn more about him during this patch but I still don’t trust him.

So it’s clear that Misha is still a giant mystery. It’s good that us and Welt can see him, but the kid still isn’t perceived by everyone here. That one pepeshi we found alongside March thought we were talking to someone invisible and it appears Micah and Himeko can’t see Misha either.

During that flashback with the siblings as kids, I sorta feel like Sunday is also talking about Robin here. I know we’re chatting about the injured bird they found, but all the caged bird metaphors that Robin has, from her splash art and trailers, is hard to ignore.

Then we learn Gallagher is a History Fictionologist that’s in charge of this new place, which is all fine and well I suppose? Great to know who he really is but chalk it up as yet another person who lied to us. Of course I don’t believe much of anything any non-Express family says but whatever. He’s using fancy words that went over my head.

And now it’s all started to make sense in my head. Inviting different parties that have experience handling stellarons or at least have capable means of preventing a disaster. The Express and the Stellaron Hunters themselves are an obvious and reliable choices when it comes to stellarons, the IPC certainly has impressive power if Aventurine is anything to go off of, and I don’t doubt the real Galaxy Rangers are strong fighters too. I’m sire Black Swan and Sparkle have some tricks up their sleeves too, as would Ever-Flame Mansion.. if they’re alive. Also, the fact that the meme is named “Dormancy”.. Ratio stated in his note to Aventurine that “Dormancy” was the impossible in the dreamscape instead of “Death,” but I figured he just meant it as the word’s true meaning, not referring to the monster itself. That’s clever.

Sir, don’t give me hope like this by saying you’ll fight with us. Do you know how many people are wishing for you to actually be playable?? I’d love it if he was, I’d even take him as a four-star at this point (even though he clearly has five-star energy) but something tells me he isn’t. He gives me Cocolia vibes a little, like he’s certainly an important figure but I would not be shocked if he turns on us somehow and ends up as a boss of some sort either.

Aventurine’s status is truly a mystery that I definitely need to know! Is our beloved gambler okay?? Preferably alive somehow?? It hasn’t been long but I miss seeing/hearing him in the story already! But I do love that the chip he gave is when we first entered our hotel room turned out to be a transmitter. I’m not sure if it’ll reach his place in that momochromatic world he’s in, but perhaps we can use it to call upon Topaz and the rest of the IPC chilling in the hotel lobby? After Topaz noticed one of the broken Aventurine stone pieces lost its shine, I can imagine that our gambler had several spare transmitter chips to hand out to those he can depend on.

Stuff happens in a quick cutscene and we climb up many stairs to encounter another Nameless who has certainly seen better days. He sorta looks like that one white-haired dude on that new light cone that they showed briefly during the 2.2 livestream. And since it isn’t much of a spoiler anymore considering the official HSR yt channel already put out a video on it.. yeah, harmony hat.

Pfftt there’s something so funny to me about hearing Himeko call that fierce monster who has already “killed” several people a mere pet. Show no fear mother!

I absolutely LOVE that this man canonically can’t swear! They can switch all the words they want but I know exactly what Boothill wishes to say and it is hilarious. This quirk alone makes me want to pull for him.

My memory isn’t the greatest, but this shot made it so clear for me to remember that the Forgotten Hall mirror is a sort of Garden of Recollection thing, so having Black Swan appear from it was simply perfect.

The girlies working together once again, oh my~

After the things you personally witnessed sweetie, I’m glad you think so. Gotta love strong women!

Whose?? The only relics that come to mind are the Ashblazing Grand Duke set which I’m fairly certain isn’t what Acheron is referring to. I only thought of it due to the memes about how she killed him and turned him into said relics.

There’s another cutscenes with Acheron and that old dude we heard last patch, but I don’t remember much aside from him reminiscing about his companions once being Galaxy Rangers and more chatter about Nihility. This scene however, with Sunday looking all handsome and holy.. OH BOY. He’s gorgeous with the light shinning on him like that. I feel blessed to have witnessed such beauty.

I never thought of him to actually listen to people’s sins, but it suits him rather well. Doesn’t seem like most people recognize him doing so either? Aside from this one pepeshi of course.. either that, or everyone clearly respects Sunday too much while this person could care less on how to act around him. I was gonna make fun of the merchant for having such trivial sins, but if you’re living a life where that’s all you have to worry about, then sign me up.

The confession isn’t all fun and games though as some disbelief about the Family is brought up. Yet another reason for me not to completely trust this holy hot handsome man yet. Looking forward to continuing more later tonight.

[skekilla]

okay i was gonna wait to post this cause tadc episode 2 only came out yesterday and we didnt all watch the premiere live (i did ehl oh ehl) but i know im gonna forget if i dont so if you dont want some spoilers then just dont read this theory/prediction post <3 kisses hugs

ive held, since the pilot, that of the main three of tadc (pomni of course, and then jax and ragatha) it will not be pomni or jax who abstract, it will be ragatha. and i still stand by this!! its foreshadowed that she is going crazy under the surface and barely staying above it, and i think it would be dramatic for the nice girl whos friendly to everyone to become a scary monster. but now, since ep 2, i think i know what will become of jax

my theory/prediction is that jax is an npc that slipped into the circus and caine missed 🤪

evidence:

obviously, the idea of npcs getting in and caine losing track of whos a person and whos not is introduced in ep 2, so there is a foundation for this idea

after that foundation is built and everyone goes to kaufmo's funeral, there was a camera focus on jax as he didnt go. i assume he doesnt go to anyone's funerals, but the focus on jax at this point draws a connection between the npc thing and jax, and also separates him from the rest of the human players

when the hands grab pomni as shes falling in her nightmare, jax's hand isnt there. again, this could just be because jax isnt at the funeral, but it shows that there is something different about jax that sets him apart and makes him important. it also shows that jax will not be there when bad things happen to the others---maybe because he is found out and killed by caine, maybe because he'll run away, maybe because he'll turn on them, whatever. its not as simple as him not caring---even zooble's hand was there, and their whole thing is not caring about shit---so its important and i think plays into the idea hes really an npc just trying to not die

theres also his whole thing with keys. this is a real stretch, but in lots of video games, npcs are the holders of keys, the ones who allow entrance to objectives by giving you keys (whether by you taking them or them awarding them to you). the impossible ease with which jax can obtain keys could be part of his code as an npc; he can always get them because thats his purpose

now as a counterpoint you may say "if jax is an npc why is his model not in the area under the map that we see?" but of course his model isnt there, only the models for the candy world are

so anyway! my predictions for tadc going forward are that jax is an npc, ragatha fucking dies, and pomni never experiences joy hooraaaayyyy

[katharpy]

The animatic(?) with the Bluey audio (I think with Oli and Reilly) is killing me, I know nothing about them and I want them to be happy but it feels so sad 😭 are they ok? Is their story finished? Is there any chance for a happy reunion?

oh god ok let me. go off for a second shes kinda on my mind 24/7 rn!!!

so Oli is currently my character for a dual solo game we're nicknaming the "timeline game" my friend is running for us. it's been really fun for me so i've also maybe been turning it into a visual novel on the side?? we do a some text rp in between actual sessions and ive been transcribing both for a vn

(lore dump below this aaa)

Oli basically is a tiefling orc who was raised by her grandmother (Loralee) and was given up by her parents/shunned by her peers and was trained by her grandmother instead growing up being a normal kid and stuff. She had never had friends before. But her grandmother taught her the countries morals, which are basically being kind and patient! Which is very funny when you have a very scary resting bitch face like hers.

When she finally joined the military, wanting to become a paladin for her kingdom, she met Riley! Her first friend. (and first crush, but she hasn't realized she was in love with her yet) Riley liked flowers, so she's ended up with a habit of collecting flowers and pressing them in a book she keeps with her. Forget Me Not's were Riley's favorite.

Sadly, when she was given the chance to lead her first mission, something simple like some monster extermination mission, she failed and got Riley (and possibly others) killed. Oli blamed herself, quitting her military service.

Here's where the game comes in though! Oli is technically also an npc in my campaign. As a general. She's not supposed to quit the military, she's supposed to persevere and become a really important paladin. In our timeline game, the characters my and friend are playing are versions of these characters from timelines where they are considered "anomalies" and are snatched from those defunct timelines and are basically indentured servants for a company that's main goal is "preserving the main timeline". Each session we go on little missions and deal with anomalies which generally harken back to characters and stories we're familiar with, the first session being where i had to see a version of one of my own characters (Azalea) who had completely given up on life because of one small difference. With the idea of timelines and stuff she technically could reuinte with Riley somehow? i would not put that past my dm lol

now she's partnered with an agent to take care of her, a sweet pink haired girl named kim who has a similar past as hers that is very much a slow burn romance. Oli rn is lvl 1, so she WILL be a paladin technically! Just not of the Crown subclass like she intended. She'll be the Ancients subclass, but it will be her tiefling bloodline, which is a big thing she's pretty ashamed about after her parents disowning her at birth and stuff! so she's gonna have this character arc of getting over grief and shame and learning to make friends and fall in love and its going to be very very fun and i cant wait to make it into a game for everyone to read both Oli's AND Tithe's story!! (also she has a 20 in str at lvl 1 shes so big and strong)

OK THAT WAS A LOT THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TEDTALK!!!

[lizz-revs]

A Story Beside

This is a RPG, but rather that slaying monsters and saving NPC’s, you will be making everyday choices. Realizing along the way that those kinds of choices can have as much of an impact as slaying monsters or saving kingdoms.

Story

The main character is called Lyric. An average girl living in an average village on the mountainside. Every day is nice and blissful for her – surrounded by family and friends. The player has a vast amount of possibilities how to change her life for the worse or the better by influencing the choices that she does. While the choices do seem random and insignificant sometimes, you never know how much impact they can have on the future.

Characters

Lyric

I will only talk about Lyric because everything else seems like a spoiler to me. Lyric’s personality is heavily influenced by your choices. It’s really as simple as that. In my playthrough she was a very honest, hard-working, amazing and courageous girl, who was willing to put her life at stake to protect and save the things and the people she loved and succeeded in doing so. She was a hero. More than those heroes the game mentions. Because fighting your fate takes a lot more courage than fighting a monster.

My opinion

I was really shocked to see how unknown this game actually is. Having played “World’s Dawn” I just saw a notification in Steam that this game came out about a year ago. Long story short, I had put it on my Wishlist thinking it was another farming game and now bought it in this summer sale. Oh, how I had been wrong.

This game is like listening to a life story of a stranger and feeling more and more attached to them as you listen. Not only that – you can even influence the decisions of that stranger. It’s similar to being reincarnated into another person and making their choices for them. However, this game doesn’t really feel like a story. It feels too realistic to be a story.

There are happy things and sad things – just like in life. You learn to appreciate the small kindnesses life gives you in the darkest hour. You try your best to survive, to make meaningful choices, to make the right choices. To love and be loved. To save people in the hope that this small act of kindness can change the future for the better. Although you don’t know. You never know. Even when you’re older and look back at the things you did, you will never know, if they were the right choices. You will never know, if you could’ve done things better.

However, you will know that you did what you could. Even, if nothing seems to work at the moment and everything seems like a never-ending winter, you should always try your best to survive today, to survive tomorrow. And then slowly the darkness might fade. Slowly you might get the things back you cherished and loved.

The small things that you took for granted all these years. The friendship with your best friend maybe. The relationship with your partner, which might be sweet but lacks the fire and drama you’re used to from novels. The love from your pets. Your friends and family that surround you.

After playing this game, you might reflect on your life and see that this game is not so different from your own life. As for me, I did experience moments in my life that were actually similar to this game. Moments, where I instinctively knew that my choice had a big impact on the future of a person. Might it be friends, might it be family, might it be the love of my life. I instinctively knew that the things I’m choosing won’t be ever changeable in this timeline. And it’s a scary feeling. You sit there and wonder, whether you could’ve done things differently. How your life would have been, if you did things differently. If you had missed something, if you had neglected something. It just makes me emotional. This is the kind of game it is – it stirs something within you. Makes you understand something about yourself you chose to ignore all these years. And hopefully teaches you to cherish the things that you have and be careful with the choices you make.

Because everyone of us can be a hero or a villain, if we want to.

Everyone of us can change the world for the better or worse.

So, what will you choose?

[technofinch]

wait has Nico become a vampire? also please tell me everything about them I keep trying to piece things together based off ur tags

what a FANTASTIC question enj

I'm putting this under a readmore bc another of the players follows me here and they don't have this information yet, buuutttttt…..

YEAH, she absolutely got her ass turned into a vampire lmao. And there's SO MUCH symbolism and narrative themes and implications and character growth!!!!!!!

This is the fancy explanation of where we're at rn, basically she split off from the entire rest of the party in the middle of the night and tried to save a sailor who was getting attacked, but ended up getting bitten herself. When she started to turn, instead of drinking the blood of the vampire that bit her, the captain of the ship came in and fed her instead, becoming her sire. So now she belongs to the Fallenswallow bloodline (wealthy duchess who is scary nice to us and also is scary good at scrying/divining/Knowing things) instead of the Vander bloodline (guys who are Just The Worst).

Since the last session just ended with Nico on bedrest, the rest of the party doesn't know yet whether or not she'll turn, and they definitely don't know about what the Captain did :3 so it'll be fun to watch that information slip out.

Also fun fact becoming a vampire in pathfinder makes you CRAZY strong, like, at level 5 nico now has 22 strength and a +24 bonus to sense motive (insight). And sure she can't see herself in the mirror, but like, that's probably fine. Our lovely gm even said that the garlic thing doesn't apply so my beloved italian girl is spared. HOWEVER, the amount of shame and self-loathing and fear that comes along with becoming the thing she hates and needing to feed on the blood of the living? THAT'S what I'm talking about, baybee. WAIT i don't think i've ever actually said what her class is on here? she's an Inquisitor, a really cool pathfinder class that's like a combination of a paladin and a rogue. She's got a lot of fun social abilities, divine spells, and funky combat abilities :3

In terms of ~narrative themes~, the major thing nico's been dealing with is seeing vampires as people and judging them based on their actions rather than what they are - she's had a major stick up her ass and a lot of preconceived notions about what makes a monster. One of the party's favorite NPCs, Atkin, was also unwillingly turned into a vampire and nico had been starting to learn and grow through him - but he got kidnapped a bit ago so who knows when we'll actually get to see him again. (Atkin also knows how to cure vampirism, and when I mentioned this to the GM they got the most fantastically evil look on their face so im VERY excited to see where that goes as well)

Sadly people weren't able to make it to an actual session yesterday so now i have to wait until next tuesday to see how all this plays out 😭but i am constantly rotating her in my mind and i really hope this was helpful (or at the very least entertaining)! i can never remember what i have or haven't shared on here lmao

[zibiscusloon]

Finally finished all the new episodes! Therefore I’m screaming all my thoughts at you guys cause I’m a dumb mess and you guys are the only people who tolerate my gibberish!

Jailbroken

-Oh my poor sweet idiots..

-oh lord they’re trying to escape-

-Let them out of the gay baby jail box! They’ve done nothing wrong! >:(

-I will continue to argue the absurdity of Inkwell Isles justice system. Cupsy & Mugsy steal cookies: jail time. Saltbaker attempts three counts of murder: community service-

-Mugman would make the best of prison-

-Miss Cyclops my beloved 💕

-Mugsy immediately being down to get out when he saw Cuphead get upset was genuinely wholesome 💕 (the two fight a lot this season so I treasure every wholesome moment-)

-They’re happy to be grounded akajshsj lmao-

Charmed and Dangerous

-Boys you ain’t getting those cookies sweeties stop trying

-Chalice! 💛💛💛

-Of course she has a mob after her

-She continues to a master of manipulation. Good for her.

-the Goat-

-they fucking stole his car-

-Hilda!! 💕💕

-Aaaandd they crashed-

-Oh hey! The mob! :D wait that’s bad-

-“Remember when I said I was lying about the angry mob? Well, the funny thing is, I was lying about lying about the angry mob!”

-“And it’s true. Chalice is a lying grifting friend-abandoning thief who-“ well damn Mugsy go off I guess-

-Boo! 👻

A High Seas Adventure!

-This is probably one of my favorites-

-BOYS PUT THOSE SWORDS DOWN OH LORD-

-Brineybeard! :D my favorite simp!

-Y’all are sleeping on “Sweets for me Sweet”, it’s genuinely catchy-

-I strive to be that parrot, sassy lil shit-

-💕💕CALA MARIA 💕💕

-He’s so in love-

-“Cala Marrrria!! Hiiiiii!!”

-“You talk to much.” Her.. her voice 😳

-THEY BROKE HIS FUCKING LEGS-

-Yes! Slay Queen! We live a girl loving being an absolute monster!

-Same Mugsy-

-Briney is respectful and I feel everyone forgets that. Won’t call Cala anything she doesn’t wanna be called.

-Overall I was a huge Calabeard shipper back in like 2017 so this episode really made me happy-

-Mugsy’s a real pirate 💕🥹

Another Brother

-How the hell do they get into town now that I think about it- there’s a hug ass cliff there-

-Protective Mugsy-

-Ew Bowlboy-

-Boys please get along once this season-

-“Chess?!! Without helmets???!!!”

-He.. he wants to.. be.. Cuphead. Stay away from my boy you lil shit-

-Anddd goodbye Bowlboy! You creepy lil shit! (affectionate & derogatory)

Sweet Temptation

-And Cuphead knows no self restraint. Who’s really shocked.

-Mugsy how the hell is your Candy not expired. Also who the fuck eats candy like that-

-Cupsy got the boot 😔

-Hey! Sugarland!

-*gasp* BARONESS!! 💕💕

-She’s cursed? Can we get more of her lord please-

-Lmao Cupsy knows what’s up- I’m genuinely shocked he had enough common sense to know the classic lured to eat candy by some lady who wants to eat me routine-

-Gee. Wonder when these two specific rules will be broken.

-And they’re immediately broken.

-Oh lord she really is deranged-

-My lil gummy and ginger boys 🥺 oh lord don’t eat them-

-Whippet Creampup is genuinely scary what the hell-

-KETTLE NO-

The I Scream Man

-Mugsy faking sick- ..I can’t say shit I’ve done it before.

-“Errands!!” :D

-My boy wants to be a pirate so bad it’s so cute-

-Calamug shippers y’all are winning this episode with his lil crush. Not my cup of tea but good for y’all. ☺️

-Ice Cream Man- (derogatory)

-Imma be honest and say I honestly thought he was Bowlboy disguised to torment Mugman. He has Bowlboy vibes.

-MUGSY PUT THE CONE DOWN-

-Don’t throw sprinkles in my boy’s eyes!! >:v

-Aaaannnd reading ruined.

-DON’T YOU RUN MY BOY OVER- >:V

-His stupid ass hat-

-.. He spoiled the book. KILL HIM-

-Feral Mugman is best Mugman.

Piano Lesson

-Look at my baby 🥹 living his dream- oh it is a dream. Oh.

-My grandpa always sings this old song about crawdads and I may have hummed it the entirety of the episode because they kept showing up-

-Hey Ludwig! He’s an NPC guy! :)

-Bitch how is you’re limo that long-

-Moogman

-My baby is trying his best ok-

-As a former piano student. Yes Mugman. That instrument is actual hell ti get to sound right.

-Hey! Look at Cupsy! My boy doing great- 🥰 MUGMAN NO-

-“What have I told you about using my hedge trimmer’s to mutilate your brother?”

-And more unhinged Mugman-

-Ludwig! You dirty thief! >:V

-Oh lord and he’s fucking dead-

-That moment at the end was genuinely cute-

Release the Demons!

-My other favorite episode 💕

-Honestly I feel Devil on the anger issues- same dude- same-

-Henchman is trying his best-

-“And of course! He couldn’t name twinkle twinkle little star!!!!-“

-And.. they’re all dead-

-Lil baby Cuphead & Mugman- 🥺🥺🥹🥹🥹

-Their lil coats are so cute-

-💕DICE!!💕

-“And then he had this ..sweater! And it was invisible, and impenetrable, and dumb-“

-Dice Henchman friendship?-

-Hey! I like the funny lil round boy! Hope nothing bad happens to him! (I was soon to be wrong-)

-I love how the gate to Hell is just.. there. Anyone in Inkwell Isles can just go through it.

-Dice you gotta get in your work to!

-And he’s a smooth talker like always

-Have I mentioned how cute Cuphead & Mugman are this episode?

-NOOOO!! LIL ROUND BOY!! DICE WHY-

-Devil in a towel Devil in a towel Devil in

-The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?!- 👀

-annndd they want pie.

-Cuphead is (legally) free!! :D (Devil clearly doesn’t care but I’m still happy for my boy)

-Stickler you bold lil shit-

-I’ve actually been wondering if the sweater affected all demons or just the Devil. So this answers my question.

-This episode exists to ruin Devil’s day.

Dead Broke

-Chalice! 💛 my favorite spooky girl!

-ICE CREAM MAN- (double derogatory)

-This plan actually completely works on paper. Just saying.

-Sally Stageplay!! :D she’s rocking her outfit can I just say- slay Queen!

-“Do you have any idea what’s it like to be stuck in the same house as your sibling, day in and day out?” “Yep.” Felt that-

-Feel this is supposed to be a reference to how Chalice kept getting kidnapped by ghosts in the game.

-NO!! MY BABIES ICE CREAM MONEY-

Rat’s All Folks!

-Well damn Elder Kettle what that fly ever do to you-

-Aw they’re making him a cake (oh. It’s so he’ll do something for them. Seems about right.)

-Werner Werman!! The bastard! :D

-“We don’t know that’s how he got in.” “That’s how I got in.”

-Cheeky bastard-

-He ate the cake!! >:V damnit-

-Stop torturing my boys please-

Say Cheese

-Another fight

-AMUSEMENT PARK- MOVIES- AMUSEMENT PARK- MOVIES- AMUSEMENT PARK- MOV-

-Look at them in their dumb lil suits-

-Kettle’s dark origin story-

-OH LORD WHERE’D HE GET A FLAMETHROWER- (He just.. has that in the back of his truck??)

-Guess it’s bully Elder Kettle hours

-Mugman who’s side are you on-

-Kettle put the golf club down-

-I like that bee cop lady-

-Oh my gosh they’re still wanted-

-Shouldn’t the statue of limitation on Kettle’s charges be up?? I don’t know the statue on limitation on arson but he did that in his youth and he’s an ol grandpa now-

-Yeah! Family mugshots! :D

Lost in the Woods

-This whole episode is just the grasshopper and the ant in some way

-Don’t split up- annnddd they split.

-Cupsy just get bullied by wildlife for 14 minutes

-Lil feral Cuphead lil lil feral Cuphead lil fer-

-How the hell did he- Mugsy you should go into real estate! Look how quick you made that cabin!

-Mugsy tries to kill Cuphead this season: Part 2!

-Cuphead’s such a lil gremlin this episode-

The Devil’s Pitchfok

-My other favorite episode! (That also hurts me-)

-It’s a beautiful day in Inkwell Hell! *distant screaming*

-Devil is such a pathetic lil cat man- feel that-

-The writer is- audacious- I mean go off dude write an article dissing the fucking Devil-

-He deserves to have fun! :D burn that city down!

-Mugsy is just the type of older brother who unknowingly embarrasses you-

-Devil & Henchman getting all giddy about Devil’s work is genuinely so wholesome-

-De-Dev you forgot something- andddd he’s gone. This won’t go horribly wrong.

-And they found it- oh lord now there’s fire-

-Mugsy, sweetie, never change.

-Think they’ve just killed people with pasta

-He made Mount Mugmore! 🥹 That’s so cute- oh hi Devil.

-Mugsy & Cupsy bully Devil, part.. uh.. lost track at this point.

-“Goodbye to Cuphead.”

-NOOOOOOOOO!!

-Dude the fucking guilt on his face-

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

[koszmarnybudyn]

As always my thoughts on the new episode!!!!

Spoilers for episode 16 of dndads!!!!

*love the vulture thing (Its fun to know Normal just likes mascots a lot)

*i really love when Anthony calles Normal Normally for some reason

*i did not realize the Lark is Sparrow plottwist at all, but i relistened to that part again and it was so clear! (The voice was diffrent, Lark was less likely to fall to that stuff, saying how Sparrow was kinda stupid and a hippie etc.)

*i enjoy the Oaks raging very much (i adoread Normal yelling at Sparrow -Lark and at Taylor, he just deserves to snap sometimes ya know?)

*Link was great this episode (he is honestly my second favorite at this point) he just speaks to me

*i have to update my Sparrow/Lark designs so they actually look the same :/ but i think they will look better

*little Scary yelling at people to buy her lemonade is so good (also Matt's story was awesome)

(can you tell i am running out of words to describe what i enjoyed?)

*Taylor has reflexes of a ninja and good for him (if he was real i would despise him as a person probablly but he is fun as a charakter)

*Matt saying that we will find out if link is a serial killer cracked me up (my boy deserves a little insanity for his troubles (also it would be kinda ironic if Grant didn't want him to become a "monster" like him but he turned out to be even more brutal) i love how Link can be sassy and stuff(i just love him, he honestly doesn't get apreaciated enought in this fandom)

*fuck Risky Click thst guy sucks!

*Hermie was just chilli g and i love that for him (i think he would just be standing in the backround looking at stuff or something when the chaos is happening around him

*i hope we get an actual Sparrow -Normal confrontation, again he deserves to snap and be angry at his father

*i feel like taylor is like really guialable to magic tricks

*Link figts like women in marvel films (just with his legs), and that is very cool of him i think,

*Tablerona!!!!! We saw an npc from seoson one!!!

*the curency being memories and emotions is such an intresting concept, i'm guessing that's what we will be doing for the next few episodes.

*Scary my girl, why are you singing to someones death? I know you have that whole punk-goth-i-don't-care-about-others-feelings-thing but wtf?!?

*Taylor is still doing his protagonist shit and i kinda love it

Also my doodles for this one: (i did a lot this episode also some of these might get turned into actual pieces idk) enjoy my ugly unreadable handwriting

[dholwrites]

Okay. I have to ask. AHow would the boys act streaming horror games like Monstrum? Who would be the panicker and who would just be immune to jump scares?

Note: I don’t play horror games, I can watch people play them and that is as close as I will get.

I have a hard time imagining Hien and Haurchefant playing horror games. 

Ao3

Aymeric

Clock tower

Corpse Party

Ao Oni

You can see when he starts to internally panic and stress out; his eyes growing wide and darting around the screen as he tries to move on. He would still read and talk to his viewers in his calm and soothing voice, but his words would trail out at any odd creek or subtle movement on the screen. Aymeric would let out a long and drawn-out sigh when he gets caught and dies, but jump scares rarely get to him. At least until someone comes up and tries to stick a fake knife in his side.

Estinien

Resident Evil

Ao Oni

Outlast

Estinien is entirely immune to jump scares, neither sudden sounds nor monsters running at the screen can make him flinch. He doesn’t make comments on what is happening in the game, not even the things he sees or hears. It doesn’t mean that he isn’t scared. A keen-eyed viewer could start to pick up the small cues and tells of the panic inside his mind. Perhaps he starts to move faster or he fumbles a bit with a lock or puzzle that nearly causes a ‘Game Over’. Estinien would never stop playing when he hits a bad ending, but he becomes more and more desperate to complete the game. 

Thancred

Outlast

Evil Within

Resident Evil

Thancred is quite at home in this genre with a strong preference for survival horror. He enjoys managing his resources, learning about the enemies, and doing everything he can to accomplish his mission. What gets him is when he gets lulled into a false sense of security. His ammo is fully stocked, health packs are ready and within reach, and triple-checked. All it takes is an unsuspecting zombie to show up around a corner or grab at his feet, and he ends up fumbling to put most of his bullets into its brain. Once he finally has time to collect himself, he would pretend as if that didn’t get his heart racing. 

G’raha Tia

FNAF

Until Dawn

Angels of Death

He’s a bit jumpy whenever there is a sudden sound in the midst of pure silence or the background music slowly getting louder and louder. His ears are quite sensitive, so it’s common to see him suddenly stop mid-game to look around for noise that only he hears. It has saved his tail more than a few times, but it doesn’t help when he is so focused on the task at hand. G’raha enjoys the puzzles within the game, even if it causes him to come face first with a monster. He can become obsessed with saving and helping every NPC along his path that he ends up replaying old saves until he manages to trial and error his way through the game. 

Cid

SOMA

Doki Doki Lit Club

Prey

He loves it when horror games get creative with their story and game style, especially those that add a fresh spin onto something that has been done a million times. He has more interest in the sci-fi horror genre. Cid is delighted, albeit a little worried, when he discovers that some games require you to mess around with the game files on your computer to progress through the game. He isn’t a screamer, the gross and disturbing details of a game don’t bother him. The jumpscares will startle him and cause him to take a few minutes to take his breath before he continues on, often with him grumbling about how it has to be a glitch that it caught up to him so quickly. 

Alphinaud

Fran Bow

Spooky’s jumpscare mansion

Tattletail

Alphinaud is a huge scaredy cat with horror games and he does everything he can to avoid playing them. However, he still ends up playing them when Alisaie tricks him into trying out cutesy-named games with ambiguous designs. The young elezen panics at sudden noises, and movements would always cause him to squeak and scream, even when it’s just the sound of his character moving around. Pure silence unsettles him to the point of stalling, but having a little too much noise causes him to duck into the first shelter. It has happened often enough for Alisaie to compile an hour-long complication of him just screaming. 

Alisaie

Resident Evil

Emily wants to play

Deadspace

She has a love-hate relationship with horror games. Alisae gets angry enough to scream and yell when she gets caught and blames the game for cheating to find her hiding spot. That doesn’t stop her from booting up the last save and push forward until she makes it to the ending. Alisaie cracks up at the cliches and bad animations in bad horror games, but she will take the time after she finishes a game to give genuine praise and sound advice for the games she finds herself enjoying. She garners a lot of attention from developers and writers for her feedback as she does not hold back any punches when it comes to criticism. 

Ryne & Gaia

FNAF

Little Nightmares

These two share the channel as they usually play multiplayer games together, horror games included. For single-player games, the girls would alternate between who is controlling the main character and who sits back and watches. Ryne is a complete scaredy-cat, you can see her physically shaking in her chair and hear it in her voice as the music starts to grow more ominous. Gaia enjoys making her scream by poking her sides when the moment feels just right. Gaia herself behaves as if nothing scares her, she charges into rooms without even checking. Her actions cause her to run into even more jump scares than Ryne. The second something rushes to her face, she lets out a short scream before dropping some very unladylike words that need to be bleeped out down the road.

Urianger

Call of Cthulhu

Amnesia

Silent Hill

SOMA

Urianger has a habit of forgetting that he is actually playing a horror game.; the elezen would immerse himself in the numerous books and notes. Any in-game lore captivates him, especially if the story is something that you would have to piece together to figure out what is happening. He would follow a plot to the end even if it’s nothing more than a side story that players aren’t meant to pay a lot of attention to. Because of his tunnel vision to find the answer, Urianger easily gets caught by bosses and monsters that lurk around the corner. A sudden grab or attack can induce a paralyzing effect on him, leaving him staring at the death animation and end screen with wide eyes for long moments.

Sidurgu & Rielle

Fatal Frame

Mad Father

At Dead of Night

The Xaela looks as if he lives and breathes horror; from the dark clothes and decor to his interest in music. It is a surprise to find out that he is secretly a scaredy-cat, who struggles to even attempt to progress the story out of fear. Rielle has to egg him into playing horror games, even ones that most people don’t even consider scary. Sid would take a few steps, stop, and force his character to face a wall so he doesn’t catch a glimpse of something that would haunt his nightmares. Only to let out a high hiss when an arm phases through the wall to grab him. Rielle has gotten so used to it that she barely moves when the screen flashes red and Sid gets a shot of pure adrenaline to get away from the monitor as fast as he can.

[krickis]

Hey, I know basically nothing about Deltarune. Do you think I would still enjoy Tension Points? The premise looks interesting.

You probably could enjoy it pretty well without knowing anything about Deltarune tbh, it doesn't utilize the more fantastical elements of the game, being a more grounded tale of the characters (which like, you've read my work so that's probably not surprising lol)

If you decide to read it, here's a quick summary of important events: there's three main characters I utilize from the game, Kris, Susie, and Noelle. The latter two are the main characters of Tension Points, while Kris is the main character of Deltarune. Kris is canonically nonbinary and is nonverbal (they can speak but do so rarely and we as the player never actually see their dialogue). They're also something of a gremlin child, a prankster who most of the town thinks it's super weird. Kris is the only human we've seen in a world filled with friendly monsters, but it's known there are other humans in the world somewhere. They're the adopted child of Toriel and Asgore, who are divorced, and they have an older brother named Asriel in college.

Susie at the start of the game is a bully, who gets stuck in a group project with Kris. A series of events sees the two of them entering the Dark World, a fantastical world where they go on an adventure together. Over the course of the adventure, Susie meets Lancer, the self described bad guy who is trying to stop them. He's really just a kid though, and winds up looking up to Susie because of how mean and scary she is. The two of them become very good friends, and through that friendship Susie eventually becomes friends with Kris and Ralsei (another character from the Dark World that joins your party). Back in the regular world, Susie starts acting nicer to Kris, and refers to them as her friend. Not much is known about her home life but it's implied she's poor. She's the purple lizard girl in the picture.

Noelle meanwhile is just an NPC, one of their classmates. She has a crush on Susie (very canon, not reading between the lines there), whom she's very different from. She's very smart, and a little socially awkward (but like, just a little, she's friends with like everyone in class). She's also on the cross country team, and her dad is in the hospital with some unknown illness. It's implied that she has trouble with her mom, whom she lives alone with whole her dad stays full time in hospital care. Her dad is named Rudy, and her mom isn't named in canon though I went with a common fanon name of Carol for her. She's the reindeer girl in the picture.

Aside from the characters, virtually none of the plot from the game matters because this is a slice of life character piece. Although if you are interested in Deltarune, chapter one takes about three hours to play and it's free (chapter two, also free, takes much longer but isn't part of the Tension Points Canon since I'd already written the much of the fic by the time it came out).

[aahsokaatano]

King I would love that essay about Changing Channels

Fjdjshjdhdjd thanks for reading my tags Jesse you're the real VIP here.

Okay SO "Changing Channels" is the 8th episode of the 5th season of Supernatural. I give this information bc it's important in looking at the context of the episode - now I've complained a LOT about how SPN is terrible at giving us canonical timeframes within the episodes (y'all i was SHOCKED to discover the first season is supposed to cover a little over a year's worth of time, I thought it was like... 4 or 5 months) so I can't say for sure how long before and after the other episodes happen in-universe around "Changing Channels" BUT

The episode before is "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" where Dean and Bobby bet years of their lives in a game of poker with a witch. The episode after is "The Real Ghostbusters" where Sam and Dean end up at a fan convention for the in-universe Supernatural novels.

Why am I pointing this out? Because it's important, please, no audience participation, this is like a Brian David Gilbert panel.

[under a cut bc this got...... STUPID long. Who knew I still had this many opinions about SPN in 2020?]

Okay first of all I wanna talk about the cinnamon topography of this episode - I love the way the first 5 seasons are shot because you really feel the americana gothic horror aesthetic they were going for (I have a whole ‘nother rant about the first 5 seasons vs the last 10 but thats for another time). Everything is a little washed out and grey-toned, the camera angles generally serve to make Sam and Dean appear even taller than they actually are (larger than life - again, another post for another time), and there’s honestly a LOT of shots from the ‘monster’s’ perspective, which is really neat! I’ve said it before (on another blog - YES i have a dedicated spn rant blog, don’t @ me hdjfhfjfh) but the episode that really got me hooked on spn back in the day was the second one, about the w*ndigo. Yes, it’s a racist, culturally appropriating shitstorm, but the way its SHOT is fantastic. I’m honestly not a horror fan, but that episode could have easily relied on jumpscares and they DIDN’T and it was scary as all fucking hell and just - fuck okay getting off topic. 

In “Changing Channels” we get that distinctive grey-washed tone in the beginning and the very end of the episode, but the middle? When they’re in TV Land? Everything is bright. Almost comically so, I mean - okay look at these two shots of Sam (apologies about the crappy phone pics, netflix won't let me screenshot)

This one is from the start of the episode, in the "real" police station

And this is from a little later in the "TV" hospital

Ignoring that my phone is washing him out a lot in both pics, you can still see the warmer tones in the hospital shot as compared to the cold greyness in the police station one

Okay, now look at this picture

Dean inside the Impala, and those warm tones are back. Why? Because even though Sam and Dean believe that they’re back in the “real” world, they aren’t - so instead of the grey-washed shots that we’re used to, its the bright and warm shots that we see in “TV Land”! So the viewers pick up, even if its just subconsciously, that the boys aren’t out of the woods yet - everything is still too bright to be the in-universe reality we’ve come to expect from SPN by season 5

Which is also why i love this shift so much

These shots are literally SECONDS apart. The first is in "TV Land" and the second is in the "real" world. I have some red strip lights behind my bed, which are reflecting off my laptop screen - notice how much brighter they seem in the second picture? That’s because literally all of the warm colors have been drained out of the shot. As soon as Gabriel snaps them all back into “reality,” things get so much colder.

Okay, so the second thing I want to talk about is some of the very pointed dialogue choices within the “shows” the Winchesters take part in. Not between Sam and Dan and Gabriel, but from the, for lack of a better term, NPCs within the shows.

In the hospital, Dr. Piccolo tells Sam that he is “the finest cerebrovascular neurosurgeon I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your table; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.” Standard cheesy soap opera dialogue - but lemme just swap some words here and - 

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So that girl died on your hunt; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault. Sometimes people just die.”

Or even - 

“You are the finest hunter I have ever met - and I have met plenty! So Jessica and Mary died above you; it wasn’t your fault. It wasn’t anybody’s fault [but Azazel’s]. Sometimes people just die.”

Keeping in mind that the NPCs are basically Gabriel’s mouthpieces, its easy to see why so many people ship Sabriel. I’d actually love to see a fic that explores them talking about this moment in particular later on and the kind of gentle forgiveness that Gabriel can give Sam... getting off topic again.

In an abrupt about-face, the herpes commercial (much meme’d within the fandom) is straight up Gabriel shaming Sam. Because if you replace “genital herpes” with “demon blood” it’s.... dark. And very intentional.

So that’s what I did! (I combined all spoken lines to make the message easier to read, rather than splitting them up across 3 speakers as in the episode)

“I’ve drank demon blood. I tried to be responsible... did I try. But now, after being forcibly detoxed, I fight my addiction every day to reduce the chances of passing back into that toxic mindset. Ask your loved ones about a demon blood intervention today. [...] I am doing all I can to slightly lessen the chance of drinking demon blood again. And that’s a good thing.”

Like... the subtext throughout this episode sure is. Something.

Okay this is getting ridiculously long so I wanna wrap up by talking about The Best Scene In The Whole Goddamn Show

I’m talking, of course, about Gabriel’s Confession

“Max,” you might be saying, “there are so many better scenes out there, even within the first five seasons!” and to that i say, again, no audience participation, please. Also, you’re WRONG and here’s why!

Gabriel’s confession hits every goddamn emotional chord that the fandom begged for on this show - fear, rage, grief, pain, guilt, and even, yes, absolution. 

Okay, here’s the scene again for those of you who don’t think about it at least once a week like me

Now this video is missing some of the conversation, but most of it is there, enough for you to see what I’m talking about. Gabriel up to this point has been, essentially, a nameless antagonist - this is the third episode he appeared in, and before this, we didn’t even know he was going by Loki. He was just referred to as ‘The Trickster’. But here, not only do we get a name (a real name at that), but we also get a glimpse of his backstory and a hell of a lot of character development in less than 5 minutes. I mean, Sam didn’t get this much character development throughout the entirety of season 1! There’s a good reason Gabriel has been a fan-favorite for a very long time, and I think a big part of it is this particular scene.

Because here, we get to see Gabriel being vulnerable. And we even see Dean show a little vulnerability, as he can empathize being the third party to explosive arguments between the two people who mean everything to him.

I mean... okay, it will never see the light of day, but I wrote a little bit of a Reverse ‘Verse fic (because I’m a sucker for Reverse ‘Verse) and this was the scene I started with. Not s1e1, not even the resurrection in s4e1, but this scene. Because this scene, more than any other, is critical to the way not only Gabriel’s (first) arc plays out, but also to how Sam and Dean conduct themselves for the rest of the season (and maybe a bit beyond, it’s been a hot minute since I watched s6 and later). Dean is angry but determined, he has a point to make, he is going to save Sammy and if he can’t do that, then he’s going to damn well die trying. But Sam... it’s after this episode that we start really seeing how bone-achingly tired Sam is. It’s after this conversation - where one of the other archangels, one of the few beings who can truly understand how powerful Michael and Lucifer are - says that there’s no other way around this that Sam seems to start inching towards giving in. Saying yes.

Sure, in the actual episode, he seems outraged by the idea, practically scoffs at it - “you want us to say yes to those sons of bitches?” - but it’s after this where Sam really seems run down.

I mean, look at the episodes before and after (HAH you thought I forgot about that first point I made at the very beginning of this post! I did, briefly, but I’ve circled back to it, thanks for being understanding). In “The Curious Case of Dean Winchester,” Sam behaves much as he did since the start of s4, which is to say, ‘annoying little know-it-all brother tossed into the middle of the apocalypse and just trying his best’ and it works well for the mad scramble for any scrap of information that’s happening in s4/early s5.

But in “The Real Ghostbusters” it’s different. This is another funny meta episode - except, while Sam and Dean are technically aware of the joke, they aren’t as amused by it as the audience is. And it’s not because of the ghosts. It’s because they’re just... done. Especially Sam. Dean has that nice little moment with the cosplayers at the end of the episode, but Sam... threatens to shoot Chuck. Sam ‘goes darkside’ more often than pretty much any other character in the show, but that moment is different. It’s a flat promise, not a threat. He’s not being an asshole, like he is after losing his soul. He’s just... done. And it’s obvious to see.

Gabriel’s confession is the turning point for Sam in s5, and it informs a lot of his behavior through the rest of s5, and possibly beyond! Like I said, I haven’t watched past s5 in a very long time, so I don’t feel confident enough to analyze that specific sort of character line, but I feel confident in saying that hearing one of the most powerful beings in the universe basically say “it doesn’t matter what you do - your destiny is unavoidable” and then he’s proven right (Sam says yes to Lucifer, and Dean eventually does say yes to Michael down the line!)... like, that’s really gotta fuck up your world view that was built on free will and throwing off the shackles of fate. Sam managed to avoid his ‘destiny’ in s2... but then it turns out that that wasn’t ever his destiny. Lucifer was his destiny.

Talk about an obscured view of the inner self.

[g3n3515]

Of Witchers and Children

As I really like to snoop in on the conversations the NPCs have in The Witcher, I realised a good part of the NPCs that are nice to you (without you doing something like a contract to win their favor) are kids. Even then, they just run up to you and ask you a question, which even if some of them are not really positive (Like “do Witchers really eat little kids with their stew” or something like that), it’s a step forward from their adult counterpart, who want you out their sight as quickly as possible.

To mention as well, me realising the statement above made me grow a soft spot for the kid NPCs. As in, they’re the only NPCs I purposefully don’t knock over, and if I have a chance to help one I drop everything and go do whatever it is they need (It almost got me killed once lmao).

So, inspired by all of that, I have a few thoughts where Witchers must have realized this diffrence in treatment and made an unwritten rule to be nice to kids as much as possible. Witchers who don’t are considered assholes and untrustworthy. and just them being more open to interacting with kids because of it would be so cute! 

Going back to the kid who asks you if you eat children, some Witcher would just say: “No, I don’t eat children. I only eat mean adults who are not nice to them.”

The children NPCs also compliment your medallion a bunch, and I would expect Witchers would take kindly to that. I assume their medallion to be a prized possession of theirs, so maybe they would mutter a little thank you (You have no idea how much I wish I could do that in-game) with a small smile. To add, wouldn’t it be so cute if the big “scary” Witcher would kneel on the ground to be on the same level as the kid and ask, “You wanna see it?”. The Witcher would show off his medallion and say “Yes it’s a (insert animal of his school). My school likes them. When I’m near monsters and magic, it hums.” And little things like that. (also, a joust like “wow it’s humming right now! Are you magic??” with a theatrical gasp would make itself in the conversation somewhere.)

When you go to a school in Novigrad, one of the little girl NPC exclaim she would be a witcheress when she grows up as they are playing in the courtyard. a little boy makes fun of her because “girls can’t be witchers”.

Now being a Witcher is probably not all fun and the road to become one really isn’t, by any extent. So Witchers themselves would not approve of someone else aspiring to be one, I would assume. Nevertheless, I do not think someone like Geralt, who raised Ciri, would take happily to some little girl being made fun of and told she cannot do something just because she is a girl, especially when it’s his own trade. So, he goes to see the kids and he tells the girl; “You can’t be a witcheress. If you’re a girl in my trade, you’re a _Witcher _and that’s that,” matter-of-factly. Then, maybe he would tell the girl some plant facts (for example, “did you know Witchers use little flowers, like Celandine and Honeysuckle in their potions?” and would tell her some things about the flowers).

Something else for thought; A Witcher would sit on a bench and pull his bestiary from his bag and immediately, the kids playing in the puddles down the street flock to him and ask what he’s reading. The witcher tells them “this is my book about monsters.” To which the kids nod, ask for him to read some to them. They’re given a toned-down lecture about some common monster, alongside how to properly run away from them (with promises they do not try to seek them out or attempt to fight them). To mention, this kind of interaction is really beneficial for the kids. I’d think maybe some Witchers made it a tradition to sit out in the open with their bestiary whenever they arrive at a village, in hopes some kids would flock to them and a short lecture could be given to help keep them safe. (They never just ask. I’d assume parents wouldn’t be keen on being asked if the big scary witcher could tell the kids about monsters, of all things. I’m certain they would get the wrong idea, as in, witcher’s trying to snatch a kid to make more Witchers.)

And last of my running thought, some kid meets Aiden and Lambert while they travel and tells lambert he has eyes like a kitty cat. To which Lambert corrects the kid saying he is a wolf. So he has eyes like a wolf. Aiden is the kitty cat here. Aiden just nods along as if the difference really is that important.

[only-by-the-stars]

the annotated Tome of the Wild

Part five: Babes in the Wood!

- A half-moon the color of yellowed pages hung high in the sky above the figures on the ground OH LOOK IT’S THAT SAME DAMN MOON AGAIN. DESPITE THAT DAYS HAVE GONE BY AND IT DEFINITELY WOULDN’T LOOK THE SAME AT THIS POINT.

- “Idiot child. Perhaps I should've done something to make you more intelligent, instead of just transforming your body.” And here we have confirmation that it was Koume that changed her into this.

- Of course, the centerpiece of this scene is the reveal of what Midna’s been up to this whole time. In the show, the situation for Beatrice is similar: she thought that Adelaide just wanted a couple of kids to do household chores, and was fine with just turning them over to her in exchange for the item she needed to break her and her family’s curse. Until, of course, she grew to like them and have second thoughts, as Midna does here. Which of course lines up with how Midna initially thought to just use Link in TP to help herself and her people, until his actions and Zelda’s made her reconsider her disdain for the people of the world of light. Here it’s her bond with Aryll and Link that makes her hesitate to hand them over: she really likes Aryll, and after a rough start with Link they’re now getting along, and she feels a lot of sympathy for his situation with Mipha. She doesn’t want to keep them from getting home even for a little while, and when she finds out about Koume’s true intentions she draws the line, as her moral code won’t let her hurt others for her own sake and she knows Zelda wouldn’t want her to hurt anyone on her behalf either. This conflict and growth are exactly why I had an easy time casting Midna in this role, and I loved being able to write her and develop the dynamics she has with Link and Aryll.

- “Only the voice of the shadow that lurks in the woods, the king of darkness that rules the night, concerns me...” King of Darkness is one of Ganon’s titles in the series.

- “There is only his way.” A line that will be echoed by the Beast himself much later.

- “Aryll, I know!” Link froze as soon as the words were out of his mouth. We’re at the point where Link is snapping at his beloved baby sister, showing just how stressed out he is right now. He was able to relax more when Midna was around, but now her betrayal is driving him further along that path to despair I’ve been mentioning. He immediately apologizes, to his credit, but he’s still starting to crack.

- “You are in grave peril, and your fate, your very lives depend on if you heed my words or not! The Beast stalks you, seeking your fall into his grasp... but you must not allow him to capture you, you must not give in to despair!” He’s not wrong! Listen to him!

- The shadow laughed, a long, low sound that seemed to ooze up from the deepest depths of the earth where eldritch creatures slumbered, forgotten by time and the gods alike. Calamity Ganon emerges from deep beneath Hyrule Castle.

- “You forget, do you not, that your daughter's safety depends upon keeping me happy?” The first hint of the deception that the Beast is working on Rhoam.

- Aryll is now calling her frog Alfonzo, after the engineer in Spirit Tracks.

- AND THEN THERE’S NAYRU AND KOTAKE. This was one of the most FUN things I got to play with. The episode this portion is an adaptation of is probably my favorite in the show, and I had an utter blast toying with expectations here just as the show did. Maybe even more! The show leads you to believe that the character Kotake replaces is the sinister and evil one, preying on the hapless young girl that Nayru is replacing, only to yank the rug out from under you and reveal that the girl is possessed and trying to eat the brothers.

now, Nayru is from Oracle of Ages. You meet her at the beginning, whereupon she quickly becomes possessed by the evil sorceress Veran. Kotake, meanwhile, is present as a villain in OOT and a linked Oracle game, and as a friendly shopkeeper in Majora’s Mask. We just saw the villainous version of her sister at the beginning of this chapter. So... is she evil too? If you’ve never seen the show, have played OOT and MM but not the Oracle games, you probably got taken in just like a first time viewer of the show is. Only to find out too late, as does Link, that Nayru is the people-eating one, and not Kotake, who is indeed her MM self and not evil.

- Nayru laughed too, a pleasant sound reminiscent of harp strings being played. Nayru gives Link the Harp of Ages in OOA.

- Aryll has switched the frog’s name to Dr. Calip, after the NPC in BOTW who gives you the Cursed Statue shrine quest.

- “It is thanks to you that I shall finally be free to roam the outside world, after all.” DANGER DANGER, the evil spirit wants to roam free and EAT MORE PEOPLE.

- Aryll spots the danger, but mistakes it for her desire to see Link end up with Mipha and no one else. Which we all agree with, of course, but it’s not the real reason she’s uncomfortable. Link, meanwhile, is oblivious to it, at least partially because he’s sinking deeper into despair and contemplating just letting Mipha go out of his intensifying self-hatred over what he’s done to her.

- Nayru's eager whisper broke into his thoughts. He glanced up and saw her eyes gleaming with a sort of hunger as she gazed across the room at him. DANGER DANGER, SHE WANTS TO DEVOUR YOU. Again, I choose my descriptive words very deliberately.

- Eerie purple light glowed around Nayru as she hovered in the air, and her face had been twisted into something that resembled a ReDead mask. Veran’s spirit form is indeed purple, and nobody who’s ever played OOT, MM, or WW can forget the ReDeads. my favorite monster I want them back dammit

- “Link?” Aryll pressed herself against his side and clutched at his arm. “There are a lot of skeletons in here...” Remember how Aryll was so excited about digging up a single skeleton back in Ikana? Not so fun anymore.

- In the show, the whole sequence of trying to avoid being eaten was creepy, but a bit more comedic too. I leaned fully into the horror that it truly would be here, not just because I wanted to write something scary, but also because I needed something that would traumatize Link enough to push him into the breakdown he has in the woods afterwards, setting the climax of the story in motion. His feelings of failure mirror what I headcanon he must’ve been going through just before he fell in Blatchery Plain as well, the despair he would’ve felt over being unable to prevent the fall of the kingdom, the deaths of his friends (especially Mipha, who he’s grieving the most), and knowing that he’s at his limit and about to die before he can get Zelda to safety. Which is another way that the appearance of that painting in the last chapter ties in.

- Aryll’s dream sequence! OH BOY. In the show, this is an entire episode, done in the style of 1930s animation, with musical numbers and everything. That doesn’t quite translate to prose, though, so I had to change and abridge it. More interestingly, though, there’s subtle hints in the show that the dream is not real, and is intended to lure Greg, the younger brother, into the clutches of the Beast. I decided to run with that. One of the hints in the show is that the gates you see seem to be made of ivory; in Greek myth, dreams pass through one of two gates, either horn or ivory. True dreams come through the gates of horn, while false ones pass through the gates of ivory. So naturally Aryll walks through gates of ivory to reach the tower.

The tower itself is the one located in the Cloud Tops in Minish Cap. Which, here, is ruled by Princess Hilda from Link Between Worlds, who has Aryll save her kingdom from the evil Yuga. This is all a HUGE hint that this is false, a trap. Because in ALBW, Hilda was conspiring with Yuga in a desperate bid to save Lorule. And who took over Yuga’s body as part of that plan? Ganon. BAM.

- And now the frog is being called Ezlo, after the talking cap in Minish Cap.

- Link is now so deeply in despair that the dekuwood is starting to grow around him, which is what motivates Aryll to make her deal with the Beast that brings everything to its eventual conclusion.

- A dark shape emerged from the curtain of snow; it was a small, plump man with a beard that covered the entire lower half of his face, rowing a rickety little boat. His eyebrows went up as he took in the sight of Midna lifting the unconscious Link into the air with her prehensile hair. “That is one strange fish you've caught there, missy...” This is the fisherman from Link’s Awakening.

- What Midna sees in the distance is the Great Deku Tree, but I wasn’t about to reveal that just yet.

and that does it for part five!

[shima-draws]

Different anon but I would LOVE an SAO recap if you don't mind!

Oh HELL YEAH

Alright kiddies buckle up it’s ~RECAP TIME~

Season 1: Sword Art Online/Aincrad Arc

Kirito and 10,000 other players are trapped inside SAO, a game made by Kayaba Akihiko, and are ordered to clear all 100 floors of Aincrad. There’s one catch: if they die in the game, they die in real life. Kirito meets Asuna, Klein, Agil, Silica, and Liz (#Mainsquad). Over the two years of being trapped in the game, Kirito solves some murders, rescues a lot of people, loses a lot of people (RIP Sachi you will be missed) beats up some floor bosses, goes head to head with a murder guild called Laughing Coffin, falls in love with and gets married to Asuna, buys a house, and adopts an AI daughter named Yui. Wow this kid is busy. On the 75th floor Kirito realizes that Heathcliff, the Commander of Asuna's guild, is actually Kayaba Akihiko. Kayaba offers him the option to duel, and if he wins, he will end the game early and allow everybody to log out. Kirito fights Kayaba and, after Asuna intercepts a fatal blow and dies in his arms, is able to defeat him. The game is cleared, and everyone is able to log out!! Kirito and Asuna meet up one last time as Aincrad collapses below them.

Season 1: ALfheim Online/Fairy Dance Arc

Fast forward to several months later. Kirito is on the road to recovery! Except Asuna is still asleep, and nobody can figure out why. Kirito visits the hospital only to discover that Asuna is getting married off to a nasty pedo named Sugou, who controls Rect, a company that runs VRMMORPGs. The wedding is in a week. Kirito panics and is cheered up by his younger sister Suguha. Agil sends Kirito some sketchy screenshots of what appears to be Asuna, inside of a game called ALfheim Online, which is, surprise surprise, run by Rect. Kirito dives into ALO and begins a new adventure! He teams up with Leafa (who is actually Suguha) and the two of them race towards the World Tree, where Asuna is supposedly being kept. We find out that it's Sugou who has trapped Asuna within ALO (because he pretty much runs the game. Asswipe) and is trying to manipulate her into marrying him (ew). Some minor stuff happens with the leaders of some of the fairy races but that's not too important. Eventually the truth comes out and Kirito and Leafa realize who the other is in real life and it's kind of a mess but then they make up and it's...fine? After that, Kirito makes it to the top of the World Tree with the help of all of his new fairy friends. He valiantly rescues Asuna (after some difficulty but then Kayaba's ghost shows up and gives him God Powers) and beats up Sugou who is a disgusting rapist! Kirito logs Asuna out and reunites with her in the real world. After that he distributes a special gift Kayaba had given to him called "The Seed", basically a tutorial kit to create your own VRMMORPGs. The gang logs into ALO to find out that Aincrad has been brought back as part of The Seed's release and get hyped to clear all 100 floors this time.

Season 2: Gun Gale Online/Phantom Bullet Arc

We're introduced to a new game called GGO, which is a lot darker and grungy than SAO/ALO. The star of this season is a girl named Sinon, who is a pro sniper in GGO but has an intense fear of guns in real life because of an incident years ago where she shot a robber and killed him out of self defense (poor, sweet child). She has a close friend named Shinkawa who cares about her a lot who she leans on for support. Scary shit is happening in GGO because famous players are getting shot in game by a guy named Death Gun, which apparently kills them in real life, a repeat of SAO. Kirito is brought in to investigate! He meets Sinon in-game and they sign up for a big tournament to decide who is the most top class gunner. Kirito makes a name for himself by using a laser sword in a game meant for guns (typical protag behavior), and is spooked by Death Gun because it turns out he's a formal Laughing Coffin member from SAO. During the tournament, Sinon is revealed to be one of Death Gun's next targets, so she and Kirito team up and form a bond! Eventually Kirito manages to defeat Death Gun, and he and Sinon win the tournament together (by setting off a present grenade so they die at the same time LMAO). Sinon logs out and meets up with Shinkawa, who reveals that he is one of the people running the Death Gun persona, and tries to kill her by drugging her. Kirito bursts into her apartment at the last second and rescues her. Several days later Kirito helps Sinon come to terms with her trauma, allowing her to finally heal and move on from it.

Season 2: Calibur Arc

Kirito catches word of a new quest in ALO that will allow players to chase after the legendary weapon, Excalibur. Kirito throws together a party (Asuna, Liz, Silica, Sinon, Klein, and Leafa) and aboard a giant elephant jellyfish that Leafa befriended before. The party is greeted by Urd, an NPC and the Lady of the Lake, and she asks them to retrieve Excalibur from the bottom of a frozen lake dungeon. Kirito's like hell yeah we will and so they set off for the dungeon! There they face a pair of really difficult bosses, but are able to defeat them due to the power of friendship and also stabbing them until they die. Deeper into the dungeon they run into a trapped NPC named Freyja, who Klein immediately gets heart eyes for, and although he's repeatedly informed that letting her join their party is a trap (by literally everyone in the group, go figure), decides against his better judgement that he's going to follow his samurai avatar's honor and rescue the fair maiden. Freyja actually gives them some crazy stat boosts so it was #worthit. At the bottom of the dungeon they run into the boss, Thrym, and when Kirito finds the legendary hammer Mjolnir, Freyja takes it and transforms into the god Thor (which crushes Klein beyond repair). Thrym is defeated! At the bottom of the dungeon, Kirito pulls out Excalibur, causing the dungeon to collapse, and is then rescued by Leafa's monster friend. Urd returns and gifts Kirito with Excalibur as his reward for defeating Thrym.

Season 2: Mother's Rosario Arc

Asuna is told rumors about a player in ALO named Zekken, who is so extremely powerful that they have a perfect winning streak, and has even defeated Kirito in a duel. Zekken apparently duels players every day with the promise of gifting them a phenomenal 11-hit sword skill if they can win. Asuna decides to try her chances, and although she loses, Zekken, revealed to be a young girl named Yuuki, decides Asuna is perfect to help her out on her mission. This is to defeat a floor boss with just her guild, the Sleeping Knights, in order to get all of their party's names on the Monument of Swordsmen. After several tries the guild manages to beat the floor boss all on their own. Yuuki accidentally calls Asuna "sis" and panics, logging out and not coming back. Asuna finds out that Yuuki is actually a patient at a hospital and is terminally ill--which is why she was so desperate to defeat the guild boss as a sort of last hurrah and to have her name engraved somewhere in history. Yuuki's been in a full dive machine called the Medicuboid which lets her play games virtually and helps block out her pain. Asuna gets inspired and with Kirito's help, is able to set up a probe that Yuuki can look through in order to see what school life is like in the real world. Several months pass, and the Sleeping Knights spend as much time together as they can. Finally Yuuki's health begins to decline and she logs into ALO one last time to say goodbye and to give Asuna her 11-hit sword skill, Mother's Rosario. Hundreds of other ALO players all join Yuuki to give her a proper send off and pay their respects. As Yuuki dies in Asuna's arms (it's so FUCKING SAD I cry every time I watch this scene), she tells Asuna how grateful she is to have been able to meet her and spend the past few months with her and the guild. After Yuuki's funeral, Asuna and Kirito find out that the Medicuboid she was using was created by Kayaba Akihiko, surprise!! And this leads right into season 3.

So there you go, your recap of both seasons!! Hopefully it was short enough lol I cut out a lot of less important stuff so ;)

[cavesalamander]

My brief thoughts on this season of anime!

Just a quick review of the ones I’d recommend and/or keep watching. I managed to find all of the below on Funimation or Crunchyroll or Youtube!

Horymia: (Yes) This is looking to be a very funny romcom slice of life style anime, and seems to be a fairly good one! Had me laughing a lot. The Main couple are a nerdy quiet boy who’s actually dumb as a sack of bricks using his disheveled appearance to hide his tattoos and piercings, and a popular pretty girl who’s actually a total homebody. Their friends seem to have a lot of potential to be fleshed out as the series progresses and I look forward to seeing how it goes!

So I’m a Spider, So What?: (Yes) Whooo another isekai (excited)! This time a girl and her entire class!? Get isekai’d in a massive explosion. The main character reincarnates as a trash monster in a dungeon and must fight her way up the food chain just to survive. Meanwhile her friends who have mostly reincarnated as Cool Humans or the occasional elf or baby dragon, have mostly found each other, and want to figure out what happened/why and if they’re all okay. It’s genuinely pretty funny, though leans a little too hard sometimes on the gamey aspects of this new world. I think it may get darker as it goes along too.

Mushoku Tensei: (No) Whooo another isekai (derogatory). 34 yo old man gets reincarnated and uses his worldly experience to Learn Magic Fast and creep on his mom and prepubescent tutor. If you can stomach that stuff, it actually has a fair amount of potential? It did set itself up to touch on some interesting stuff down the road, but I’m kind of Over the horny toddler/young boy trope and it kinda just seems like the protagonist is Just Awesome At Everything but not in a remotely charming way.

Cells at Work Code Black: (Yes) If you liked Cells at Work, this is that but dingier, and is able to tackle some darker themes - like what stress, smoking, drinking, and probably eventually STDs can do to your body.

Kemono Jihen: (Yes) I don’t wanna explain TOO much about the plot of this one because it looks to be a mystery series, and the first episode sets it up the characters very very well. A man from the city is called to a rural town where animals are being mysteriously killed and found rotting. He’s tasked with finding and killing the perpetrator, assumed to be a monster of some kind. It does the horror very well, and even in the first episode manages some twistyness.

The Hidden Dungeon Only I Can Enter: (No) Even for a blatant fan service anime this one is just......... stupid. It might have a scrap of joy to it if the protagonist were anything other than a boring sycophant. His harem just all seems to be random girls who’s singular personality traits are to be in love with him in various stereotypical ways, that he just uses to min max his Cool Stats. But like, it’s not even self aware enough to make that into an interesting premise.

Sk8: (Yes) It’s a racing anime that seems super stylish and fun and very well animated. The protagonists have some cool chemistry already, and it really leans into the Underground Illegal Racing part of the fun - all the various characters who battle in death defying races through this abandoned mine, all have seemingly ordinary day jobs. Definitely worth a shot if that sounds up your alley.

Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies moved to a starter town?: (Probably) Okay so the premise is just there in the title and is actually pretty fun. Think: a random NPC who is considered pretty weak where the monsters are lv 50 moving somewhere where the monsters are scary at lv 5, shenanigans ensue. The MC boy is hilariously oblivious to the fact that anyone with a shred of sense can see he’s insanely over leveled to the area, and just trying to be nice and polite to everyone ^u^. The tentative nature of my recommendation is that it is kind of leaning harder on the Girls are Obsessed With Him train than is ideal. How much it depends on that as opposed to utilizing the premise to its fullest extent will have an enormous bearing on how fun the show is to watch going forward.

Ex-Arm: (Absolutely not but yes) It’s a fucking train wreck.

Heavens Design Team: (Yes) God decided to outsource creating animals to a team of angels, and works as a client giving weird ass requests for the angels to fill. Hilarity ensues, and it is peak edutainment to boot. It’s so much fun learning weird shit about animals, or trying to guess the animal these seemingly random train of failed attempts leads to.

Dr. Ramune -Mysterious Disease Specialist-: (No) It has a promising premise and some good moments. The main characters are solving these weird “diseases” that people get by finding the actual emotional cause and using magic of some kind to monkey paw it into a resolution. This could be really fun and interesting, but something about the execution just... falls flat? Like maybe it picks up as the season goes on but for now it’s not rly worth it.

Vlad Love: (Yes) I was going through the list of anime this season and was like wtf is this and literally just now watched episode 1. It’s about a girl with a blood donation kink and her vampire girlfriend. Literally. It’s rly funny and over the top ridiculous but like, gay vampires.

Back Arrow: (No) It’s like... fine. It’s about these two warring kingdoms surrounded by a wall with a mountain range between. They worship the wall as god, and occasionally get gifts from beyond it, in the form of mech suits they use to fight each other in. One day a boy shows up from beyond the wall in one of those suits and no memories of anything and he wants to get back. Which... could be promising I guess? But something about the show just didn’t grab my attention.

Skate-Leading Stars: (No) It’s like Yuri on ice if it was less gay and less well written I guess...? The first episode set up the Drama competently enough, but I just... couldn’t give a shit.

Project Scard: (No) For some reason part of Tokyo has been turned into a post apocalyptic hellscape where people just murder each other. They also have super powered tattoos and use them to fight each other. Animation is very similar to Handshakers - which is an Aesthetic that may not appeal to some. The first episode didn’t rly do much for me but I could see it going somewhere if it tries.

Wave!!: (No) Might have been a tentative yes if I hadn’t gone on and watched the second episode. First ep went hard with the queerbaiting cause they want to be the new Free! but with surfing, but Ep 2 just forgot all about that entirely. Dialogue is mostly boring and there’s like 3 sets, which becomes painfully obvious very quickly by ep 2.

Idoly Pride: (No) Literally looks like they ripped off the waifus of a bunch of other more popular anime and made an idol anime with the most basic ass idol plot. Nothing exceptional here.

Gekidol: (undecided) It’s an idol anime... set after a mysterious apocalyptic event? It’s mostly so far seemed intriguing as hell but not my jam. Mysterious craters destroyed parts of Japan, and its rebuilding and the MCs wanna bring light to the world. Maybe aliens exist? Idk! I’m intrigued.

I*Chu: (No) Another idol anime but this time it’s cute boys! Idk maybe this is a decent idol anime but it rly didn’t grab me and idol stuff isn’t usually my jam. I couldn’t tell anything exceptionally unique about this one from just the first episode.

WIXOSS Diva: (No, but) I don’t normally watch spin-offs of series but I didn’t realize until halfway into this that it was one cause Crunchyroll didn’t attach it to the core line. It’s like... magical girl battle idols in VR! Which honestly if you’re a fan of that it might actually be worth checking out.(edited)

Idolls!: (No) Another idol anime! But this one uses mocap 3d models. Phoned in plot line delivered by a weird tiki statue that tells the girls what to do. Seems extraordinarily low budget, and more just a way to sell music. The whole episode happened in a single set and  was basically just... girls want to make it big as idols... oh no... gotta book a stage! Yay they got one! Now must get an audience! Like... ok

Hortensia Saga: (No but) Sword and sorcery fantasy setting that’s mostly sword, main character is a princess masquerading as a male knight alongside the son of her dead parents’s also dead bodyguard. The first episode is very lore heavy and felt kinda like the prologue to a video game. So it ended up feeling a little expository and trope laden, but it has potential. Seems a bit Game of Thronesy? Wasn’t like... bad or anything, so if it’s your thing you might enjoy it.

Otherside Picnic: (Yes) I think it’s gay first of all, two girls going exploring / treasure hunting / monster hunting in a bizarre mirror world to their own. Girls are cute, it’s very interesting premise and writing seems solid.

Wonder Egg Priority: (Yes) It deals with some HEAVY themes? But it’s... a bit of a psychological horror but in a way that feels very like it’s dealing with some of the real life issues. The main character girl comes across as neurodivergent, and it’s just... idk man the first episode was good and left me wanting more.