#okay ngl when i first render this i thought

[katzske]

Thoughts on Earthspark Season 2 (first half)

Spoiler Free:

I must admit I’m dissatisfied.

The animation and rendering definitely looks cheaper. Sometimes it feels like frames are missing, animations not polished, scenes not fully rendered. 2d and 3d poorly blends. It’s quite noticeable unfortunately. Characters also do the TFP Megatron stare now.

That being said, time was taken to revisit old models of characters and give them a new appearance. (4 i’ve noticed) It makes sense given a lot has changed during one year time skip.

The writing often feels either like exposition dumping or naruto filler episodes. I was never at the edge of my seat even during the climax. I ended up skipping through episodes due to the lack of relevant plot information.

Something ES managed to maintain were carefully composed shots that make great still images. While that’s nice for screenshots and redraws, I also feel like it’s the only unique aspect of ES’ animation style that remained. The rest, as previously mentioned, has lost quality.

Character Details I’ve noticed and want to talk about (spoilers ahead)

half of season 2 part 1 is filler. optimus trailer episode, great america with cosmos, a pachycephalosaurus-truck fighting mushrooms, hashtag taking ten years to dispose of hard drives…. each episode did have a few minutes of either cute or important moments. but the majority is a waste of time.

I was hoping that we would learn more about the decepticons. now that they’re free, what are they up to? how are their dynamics? how did season 1 finale change their perception on things? would they try to convince the terrans THEY are the good guys? nothing like that though.

There is no satisfying character development for starscream. ES Starscream was perfect to explore a more neutral version of him, who does not do bad things out of pleasure, but due to necessity; following his desire to be free. In the show he mentions he wanted to get rid of his oppressors (in his eyes autobots and humans), but a real “bruh” moment was when he told Hashtag the only reason he opened up to her last time was to tell her “take care of yourself first”. It completely disregards the fact he came to help in the season 1 finale after reflecting on Hashtags words. It also aggravates me that the writing could have been a very easy fix. “hey i’m not being selfish by destroying this town. im doing this for the decepticons, we have lived under the control of the autobots and then of humans. this needs to stop, we deserve freedom and i will do anything it takes.”

the show managed to establish some friction between starscream and shockwave but for deception standards it was very tame. overall i think it was written okay; he purposely let the Terrans escape with the fragments, and he bailed on Starscream once he went bonkers. I hope that he gets to be a Decepticon leader in the second half; i don’t think we have seen that in any TF TV show before. i also like that his antennae and eye color give away his emotions now.

i feel like the autobots are treated even worse than the decepticons this season ngl. they merely exist; and when they do have the spotlight it’s often for comedy.

why the fuck did shockwave not wait for hashtag to just dump the hard drives and leave. if someone walked up to me yelling “give me your trashbag” as i’m trying to dispose of it i’d be weirded out too lol.

i hope the chaos terrans don’t return. aftermath imo was, plot wise, redundant. spitfire at least was interesting and had an impact.

i wish there were more interesting fights like in season 1 instead of, oh no they’re hitting the trailer with sticks, oh no we are an abomination of dinosaur and vehicle for what feels like 15mins straight. i miss seeing soundwave slay.

[luneariaa]

✧ reunion.

✰ 𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 : { ps5 } harry osborn x fem! reader.

✰ 𝐰. 𝐜. : 800+

✰ 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 : you and harry finally reunited with the others after some time apart.

✰ 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 : not much proofread + more of a test as to try writing him, harry might seem to be a lil ooc here prolly, random writing. also just pure fluff <33

✰ 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 : been having a brainrot over him ngl like 💙 -- also, i had to do several researches about the game lmao,, he needs more attention ngl

. dividers by @/cafekitsune !! 🏹

Slowly descending down the stairs, your eyes widened slightly at the mere sight ahead of you. Harry has finally returned after almost a year or so; his back is resting momentarily against the rear of his car, looking quite good as ever. Any other thoughts within you are gone in that moment, having your eyes straight at him.

Countless of thoughts have filled your mind, prompting you to remain still at your current spot as Peter and MJ rushes themselves to hug him, clearly have been missing his presence so much, and so did you. A small, yet tender smile is present on your features upon witnessing such a heartwarming sight.

Harry looks genuinely so happy like this, grinning from ear to ear. It's as if nothing bad has ever existed, even his illness. He's truly back.

When the three finally have finished with their little hugging session, the auburn-haired male finally has his gaze shifted towards you-- slowly beginning to approach your form as you did the same. He never forgets about you either; remembering those times when he got the chance to go on several little outings with you. Harry cherishes those days deeply.

"Hey." He begins with his usual charming smile etched upon his face, clearly directed toward you once he stopped just by a few inches away from your figure.

You returned his expression with a grin of your own, before responding back a "hey," before engulfing him into a tight embrace; one that is a mixture of longing and gratefulness.

He gradually wraps his arms around you as well; one of his hands gently held the back of your head, and the other around your waist with equal emotions being poured into it.

"I've missed you.." A soft murmur can be heard from him just right in your ear, "Missed you so much.."

The hug lasted longer than usual, though you didn't pay any mind to it. By this point, MJ has ushered Peter along to leave you two alone for now as you both are having your own moment.

"Have you been okay? God, I just missed you so much.." Harry keeps on repeating the last bits of his sentence, which elicited a light chuckle out of you as you're the first to slowly break away from the embrace.

Gazing up at him, your eyes possess the gentlest expression as ever as you spoke. "And I missed you so much too.. I've been okay, but it gets boring sometimes."

".. and I'm just glad that you're finally here."

You are still the same woman that he has grown fond of, ever since his high school years. You never changed much.

Without thinking twice and purely based on how much time he has lost, he leans forward a bit, and places a soft kiss on your forehead, before holding you into his arms once more. He couldn't even seem to be able to wipe off the grin from his face either.

The way he smiles, dare you say, is one of those things that you considered as precious and contagious-- easily affecting to those around him. Like how could you ever resist? You had no other choice, but to willingly return his actions without any hint of hesitation whatsoever.

"Did you cut your hair?" His sudden question interrupts your train of thoughts almost instantly, brushing several strands of hair that's been covering the half bit of your face.

The affectionate gesture alone has rendered you speechless for a while there, yet you still appear quite unfazed by it since his gentle touch itself is quite hypnotizing to be experienced on.

"Ah, you noticed," you chuckled amusingly. "I did cut it. Just a bit though."

You didn't expect that he could be this observant, but then again, it's Harry we're talking about here.

"I don't know how you did it, but you still look so absolutely stunning to me.."

He just couldn't tear his gaze away from you, and he has no intentions of doing so just yet. You get the sudden feeling that he wanted to finally try doing something rather bold soon; probably in his own way of saying thank you, or he merely wanted to prove something to you.

And you didn't have any intentions to refuse at all, as it is something that you've been longing to do since his absence as well.

Slowly, his fingertips grazes along the side of your face-- pulling your face closer to his as he begins to lean in, angled his head slightly to the side as if he's ready to seal the special, secret deal between you both.

With his eyes fluttering shut and his hand now moving up to hold the back of your head tenderly; the other around your figure, you started to show some signs of reciprocation as you did the same-- closing your eyes as you waited for his arrival toward the main destination that only you have possessed.

It's not for long anymore--

"Hey you lovebirds!" MJ's voice rang through the air with a teasing tone underlying within it, looking quite amused as ever by the whole ordeal uncovering ahead.

"It's getting cold out here!"

That's when you and Harry abruptly broke apart from one another, having this rather embarrassed expression plastered on your faces-- as if you both didn't just try to kiss each other.

@luneariaa. do not repost; reblogs are alright. all rights reserved.

[journalsouppe]

The Touchstarved DEMO by @redspringstudio! I had so much fun replaying this DEMO over and over, I truly cannot wait for the full release. The art is gorgeous, the writing is excellent, and I am surprised at how much I really loved each character, I expected to at least hate one or two of them like with My Next Life lol. I highly recommend checking out the DEMO if you're a fan of otome games or gothic stories!

The DEMO can be found here on itch.io or here on steam! All the stickers are from different Hallween stickerbooks from Michael's Art Store ^^; (ngl I think this is one of my favorite spreads, I even did do some studies of the color/rendering fhdjsf)

Writing typed below! (plus extra notes)

Rating: 9.5 (demo score - great demo) Played: Sp 2024 Port: itch.io Play full? Y YES!!!!!!

Comments:

First Route: Origin - Unnamed. RO - Leander

love you have a choice of 3 origins

GORGEOUS ART!

this game made me realize I do really enjoy otome games and not as a joke or for irony lol fjdkfal

from initial appearances I like Vere and Mhin ^^;

all the gold on the angel doctor is so gorgeous

killer music

okay I thought I wouldn't like Leander but holy shit --

LMAO NOT HIS SEX ROOM

LETS go I got the special Leander option on the first try

I need to do studies of this art oml I need my art to look like this <3

DAMN, now I'm bummed I missed the kickstarter, I would LOVE the art book

I need the stickers too esp for when I journal the full version

not only do I like the art, the writing is very good too

Vere is so pretty...

I LOVE all the fun marketing lore and illustrations on the Red Spring Socials

ooo damn does Vere have a red option or did I do his route right without one

only three red choice dialogue. 4 recently for Kuras (no Vere)-- Vere has one now!!! Kuras and Vere should have them whenever the DEMO gets an update ^_^

I'm learning I'm good at making the correct decisions lol

I honestly didn't know you could die until after I finished Vere's route (2nd route I did correctly -- 1st was Leander) and was curious what submit surrender did (aka I didn't die initially but went back to see what would happen(

LMFAO NOT MHIN BLUSHING WHEN I TELL THEM OFF pfft

LMAOOO and now Mhin is scolding me

amused with who has slept with who

deathly curious on how fucked up Leander will be

Kuras's nose!!!!! <3

I love the concept designs of Sen and Elyon, I can't wait to meet them

LMFAO 'BASTARD'

ngl I love Ais's mullet

This should not have been one of my first otome games bc now my standards are so high, esp in regards to character design

I wonder if the flashing soulless in the title screen means we'll see more soulless in the full game (than just the one)

okay damn I also really like Ais, these are some really well written characters

LMAO I was not expecting this music for Kuras

oh interesting I didn't realize Mhin's red choice was during your first encounter if you're an alchemist

okay Kuras is very silly and goofy 10/10 guy

ooo good theories about Ocudeus and control on tumblr - "obedience" -- reference to someone thinking the "obedience suits you" line on Ais's character card was actually from Ocudeus not Ais

Summary:

I thought when playing more otome games it would be really hard to beat My Next Life, simply because I am a huge fan of the source material that preceded the game. But wow, with the way this game is setting up plotlines, the full version of this game could easily make it onto my top favorite games list. Otome games are all about replayability, and the way just the DEMO is so rich with content and alternating paths makes me so excited and hopeful for the full game's release. I am bummed I got onto the Touchstarved train late and missed the kickstarter, but hopefully a shop will open around release bc I'd kill for an art book. The art is just so gorgeous and I cannot wait to do some studies, especially with color and rendering. Before playing otome games, I like to look at the character profiles beforehand and predict who I'd like and dislike. And I am very delightfully surprised that any initial dislike I had of characters all but vanished because the writing and personalities of these characters were so well made. I thought I was going to hate Leander but he ended up being the character I'm most curious about. Although I would say my least favorite is Kuras simply bc I'm not a fan of romancing doctors, I am still curious about his background story and connection to the others. In other words, great character who is just not my type. I am also delightfully surprised at the "vulgarity" in this game without being overly explicit -- I have grown so tired of how sanitized a lot of games and shows have been that it's always really nice seeing indie companies play by their own rules. I am so glad I stumbled across this game!! At this point I've done every route favorably but haven't tried all the "wrong" options -- more to play whenever I think about how excited I am for the full game! I've also seen the sneak peaks of an upcoming update ^_^. Highly recommend the game!!

[lambment]

How do you have the energy to post everyday……..how do you pace your time to draw spare tips please 🤲

okay first things first! this is absolutley not a sustainable pace to go at!! just want to make that expectation very clear, that this is not normal!! lol I will run out of energy

a reason why this is happening:

Im having a shit ton of fun (what hyperfixation does to a man/so many brainworms )

I work freelance from my house (I choose my hours)

I've been reintroduced to adhd meds (lol)

everyone is being v nice to me <:

I was extremely burnt-out and barely drawing when I left my job as an animator to pursue boarding, this is like one of the only times ive had fun w art since then.

for proper tips all I can honestly give is: let go of expectations, just draw what you want to see, someone else out there will also probably want to see it too. Im ngl 80% of my comics are literally just stream of thought of what I would think is funny, and some of you are finding it 'hehe haha' too! not policing what Im drawing is rlly helping.

I normally render the ever loving shit out of things, I have let go of that expectation here, im not putting that type of pressure on myself lol, my only job is to have fun with this, therefore Im drawing way more than I normally would! give it a try yourself!

[fictionfixations]

Book 7 JP spoilers (recent-est i think)

(recently found out how to do keep reading bits.)

i. have been told what happened

you know this groovy with him crying

i know context now

and

oh my god

my. heart. ughUISHfdi rOOOOK.

(m gonna be honest rook was never my favorite and i honestly didnt know how to feel about him. [to be fair i hated sebek at one point but now im like a huge sebek fan so.] but i think when this gets onto EN and i play through it im just gonna be a huge rook fan man.)

like

okay

so i know what happens in the story

(also i love this so much this is now in my mind, rook's actual room pre-nrc [except vil's not in an RSA uniform LMFAO. actually if it was PRE-NRC i dont think either of them would have enrolled at a school yet, unless neige is older than vil, or unless RSA doesnt do the same enrollment ages or whatever like NRC)

ACTUALLY SCRATCH THAT NEIGE IS IN HIS 2ND YEAR???

??????? people notice so much oh my god..

wait....

actually do you think neige joined a school because he saw vil join one?? cause. i think he really idolizes vil. (actually kind of makes me think of cheka idolizing leona)

huh. random thought.

i mean i only know a summary of it (im fine with spoilers ngl and i dont care even if you shove like a fully translated post of the entire chapters and stuff.. i just like seeing story that i dont mind rereading)

but like man. its gonna break me when we're there for that moment. (in EN)

i

dont want to say anything in case there's an EN person here. and i mean if they're spoiling themselves all the more power to them but i also feel like its one of those things that are a LOT more impactful when you encounter it for the first time so im just. not gonna try to learn more about it and wait. (although its like. JP is in Part 8 i think, we're in Part 4??? that seems so far away sob. but also we gotta finish lilia's dream first so...)

im just. sadge. (also idk what vil's dream is but i think we end up seeing it. unless it was actually a render of him from rook's dream, which i wouldnt think is too far off. but also--)

THIS IS APPARENTLY CANON?

I SAW IT AND I THOUGHT IT WAS A JOKE BUT THEN I RAN INTO IT AGAIN??? and its like. LISTEN. he looks so goofy i cant... epel. i love you. but oh my god (i cant take you seriously im SORRY im DEAD)

also he's still in pomefiore which is cool (he accepted his cuteness! although i dont know how much of a weapon his cuteness would have now..?. you think he snaps out of it cause ppl might laugh at him [and then he beats them up] but he still gets irritated cause what the heck im not cute anymore--- [..wait. i was never cute. what am i on about.] ...i keep overusing the word cute and i know he wouldnt use it himself but i have a very small vocabulary.)

im just.

i dont know how to feel about this ??? (it feels more cursed than hatless rook. i can at least pretend he isnt hatless. but like. epel..)

also vil in rsa /neg /hj (the rsa uniform looks so bland and i like him in darker colors)

okay im gonna be honest i have a dislike against RSA. and thats honestly because im petty and hold grudges.

also i like my villain boys and i just want them to win (..yknow. i really dont think GloMas counts when the RSA boys were actually nice enough to like. ..take hits for them??? and then we were planning on leaving them like LMFAO 'not my problem')

so yeah.

actually wait if rooks dream takes place in VDC how the fuck

WHO IS NRC TRIBE????

CAUSE VIL'S IN RSA WITH NEIGE?? HELLO??? WHAT.

WE'RE NOT WINNING WHAT THE HELL

(unless our role in the dream is to drop a jawdropping performance [idfk do we have diasomnia boys minus lilia(? i honestly dont know how lilia's dream ends and if he joins us) and malleus???)

but listen. if vils the best. and neige is the best.

we're so. not winning..? (i was going to ask if it was gonna be like rook this time voting for NRC and thats how we win. but like. HELL no are we gonna have it be split 50/50 again like that)

anyway i am still very excited and so pumped and oh my god fhsuihe

i find it so funny that at the start of the post i was so crushed like 'oh my god...' cause angst and then here i am doing a complete 180

EDIT: hold on. i didnt think to think about it but now that we know what his room looks like

thats his bed. you can see the neige part. and that thing he's holding onto is like the movie poster (or i assume its a movie poster) with vil and neige

ngl i saw some people linking it up to like the hunter crying on snow white's dress

which. i never saw this movie so like (i dont even want to know what happened but also these movies are OLD. also in like sleeping beauty?? i saw the animated of once upon a dream or something like that and mans just comes up to her out of nowhere. no warning and holds her and sings and im just like brUH if you did that id fucking hit you like WHAT???)

also i just noticed his muscles goddamn.

[mystycalypso]

Can i just say how much i freaking love the work you two are doing, Holly hell this is some wild stuff as veteran of hello neighbor you two are making me proud of this small community that is running on tumblr!

Also i hope you two don't mind me asking two questions.

Firstly, If one of you two had the control over welcome to ravenBrooks show what will be some things you two will change.

Secondly, What are you're thoughts on the artstyle of the show considering that Man of Action is working on the show?

Okay to start, I know I say it every time we get asks like this but y'all are genuinely so sweet and nice and it's just really really cool to see people enjoy our stuff. Like- especially fellow old fans of the franchise. I know Kaydin also really appreciates how sweet you guys are but just idk it feels like my fandom dreams come true when people like things like our au and art for this series

As for your questions...

Personally, to start, and this is Jack being slightly particularly- idk nitpicky? But there are three things I'd want to just- fix immediately and all three of them are Nicky related.

Number one, his shirt. I'm sorry guys but I've been here since the alphas and I didn't even realize this was his Sharkotron T-shirt. It's- It's just an egg

Number two, I realized after intense studying of Nicky's- face that it looks really weird when he's front facing, but his nose is facing right. So scenes like this suddenly seem- off model for no reason? I've poorly edited the image below to fix both of these

Yes I am too lazy to edit them properly, sadly. Did make his shirt logo still one colour for ease of animation. Idk why but left facing nose Nicky just looks less weird. Just me and kaydin? Maybe.

Number three- uh... that hairline is atrocious /lh

I know he wears his goggles in the show like constantly but also- this is a 13 year old boy guys. I was 13 once and I have a very flat (minus a widows peak) hairline, but it did not stop my hair from falling all over my face, and I think it's fair to assume the same for the kid who's hair refuses to behave anyway

Just fluff him up a lil (again I'm sorry these aren't better edits lol)

You don't even have to have it show when his goggles are up because like a headband or headphones it pushes hair back, or otherwise

Although ironically while I'm explaining what I would change in the designs, I don't mind the art style at all, actually I kind of love it. Sure some things you kinda of have to get used to, like their ears being pretty low to the head, but in general I think it really fits the franchise. I know it didn't look too drastically different from the pilot, but there's so many little nuances in the designs that just make it better (especially when you look at characters like Trinity)

I've told Kaydin a dozen and a half times how I think show Nicky is the franchise's second best design for him. The first being this singular piece of art from Nicky's Diaries, like I have gone on for hours about why this rendering of him is just perfect.

Third being fan renders, followed by the book artstyle, the pilot and finally games

And while other designs I wasn't sure about when watching through the show the first time, really just lore hunting instead of caring about anyone who wasn't Trinity or Nicky ngl, when I started doing my expression analysis I realized just how nice the designs and individuality of the characters are. If you put Nicky's expressions oh Enzo or Ivan's on Trinity it wouldn't fit and that's something I don't think people would expect from a Hello Neighbor cartoon.

They also have things I can just appreciate as someone who's special interest is animation (but doesn't have the patience to animate TvT gotta love audhd) for example, just having shading even in shots where they could completely go without it. It makes it less drastic and a smoother transition when lighting gets intense. They're also now afraid to switch up camera angles and push the rigs for a more intense shot.

Also something I really appreciate

Smear frames!

God I love smear frames!!! It's another one of those things that It's like- knowing how much this cost Tinybuild, they could've easily cut it down to save money. But it just wouldn't have been as nice without it.

Sure there are probably people who look at the fact that Man of Action is working on the show and are disappointed by the art style. But I say this entirely genuinely when I say I couldn't picture this show looking any other way and working as it does.

Yeah, they could've used more realistic proportions for these kids, but it works so much better when it's pushed like this when Mr. Peterson is nearly double their height. He's visibly a hulking intimidating man who could lift a middle schooler and lock them away. You fear his build which contrasts his outfit best (really feels like they took the book description of him and just pushed it, as we know he doesn't have this same stature in the games)

Plus it feels like in general, they stopped focusing on that dumb "Oh we need to hide things in every frame" which- thank God. Sure they are still hiding little details, hell I have changed a whole chunk of theory about Theodore's relationship with his son because of something I found on accident

This photo of (seemingly) 12 year old Aaron Peterson.

I'm not gonna go into it here lol because this is already long and it's supposed to be about the animation.

Are they still building mysteries and people are still crafting theories? Absolutely! Not a day goes by that I haven't been thinking about whether or not Aaron will ever be seen in the series in the present day and if he is, what he will be like mentally.

But the point is, they're focusing on crafting something GOOD over just theory fodder. Both animation and story-wise, and I can appreciate that so much.

Like- this is gonna be a really hot Jack take here so be aware.

I enjoy this franchise and it's spinoffs much more than the FNAF franchise.

Sure, Hello Neighbor one is and will always be awful. But I am 100x more likely to play Hello Neighbor 2 or Secret Neighbor than I am to play any fnaf game myself.

When I make fnaf content it is almost entirely AU based. Because the idea of getting lore super wrong since I just can't be bothered to try and figure that convoluted mess out is annoying. Why even try to solve lore if I need to read more than 10 books for a minor detail that becomes a major antagonist? We can't even get a full confirmed backstory for the main antagonist!

But with Hello Neighbor they realized that people don't want to be jumping through 50 hoops for lore. Yes we want mystery, but one we can solve without dumb contrivances and plot holes.

Do I still love FNAF? Of course. My senior quote is from William Afton ffs ("You may not recognize me at first, but I can assure you, it's still me") but one of these franchises is growing to better itself and gain more love, while the other is slowly becoming more of something I enjoy without trying to understand, and I think the Hello Neighbor animated series is- the pinnacle of this difference.

I love Welcome to Ravenbrooks. I love Hello Neighbor. I can’t wait to see what comes next from TinyBuild, and how season two will be even better than season one. (As proven by the fact that Nicky gets to yell louder in that one teaser clip alone than anyone got to in season one lol)

[vulpiximisa]

im too old for this but ok

I wasn't sure if I was going to write a whole length review of the series since I pretty much blew through it in a span of two days. Which means that I didn’t care enough for it to linger but at the same time, means that the content was good/interesting enough for me to want to consume it immediately.

Came in for seiyuu reasons, didn’t necessarily leave with anything I didn’t expect, but I got what I wanted I guess. 

First off to say I didn’t do too much research on this aside from the two seiyuu that I came in for. Saw some glimpses that it’s based off a game series, which are usually hit or misses. 

From the get go, I was pretty impressed by the quality of the art. I’m not sure if I mean animation as well, but I guess I’m just astounded by the fact that there are two tones in the shading. I can’t hate the CG monsters too much because the humans look good where they are. 

Man, I know I’m not the target audience for this show, this series, but I can’t help laughing at how chunnibyou it is. I mean, the fact that everything is taken so seriously, that wielding giant sword guns is supposed to be cool, we got a high commanding woman with a boob window and a lady jumping into battle with a giant gattling gun dressed like she has to make it to a formal party afterwards. Don’t get me started on Alisa. 

Okay I didn’t mean to jump into the male gaze fanservice part first, I wanted to start with how “killing monsters in an apocalyptic world” is such a thing that impresses 10 year olds. Lenka doesn’t help, as he feels like Eren Jaeger but everyone wants to suck his dick. (I actually haven’t watched an actual ep of AOT so I don’t actually know.) Newbie comes in claiming he wants to kill all Aragami (young war soldier analogy?), gets a weapon that is immediately “the special one”, stupid kid jumps in where he’s not authorized because he “wants to help people” and then gets shown that he really doesn’t know anything. The only other New Type is a genius cool girl who knows what she’s doing, he sees some tricks and automatically learns how to do the same. Also he gets to sit in with the commander and somehow makes better battle decisions for her even though he hasn't actually been in many battles. He’s trusted with high rank missions. He’s what every 10 year old boy wishes they were, probably. 

Okay, I don’t particularly Hate Lenka, but he hasn’t done so much for me. He is righteous and kind and cares for people but the way the series keeps making him soooo important and cool kinda sucks. I actually started liking Lenka during the whole encounter with Pita, where Alisa was rendered useless but the two stuck out for each other. Where Lenka’s God Arc breaks and he literally gets stabbed and watches more people die right in front of him. Ngl I thought the series could have made a turning point, Lenka actually dying and making way for another protagonist (Kota) djdjdmdmxmxm 

I came in for Kota and Soma for seiyuu reasons so of course that’s who I’m keeping my eyes on. Kota’s intro is soooo “the cool friend bro who gets killed in front of protag’s eyes that drives him to become stronger”. So I was kind of surprised he didn’t die 😂😂😂 I mean, Kota didn’t do so much either, we do see that he’s the plain wimpy guy that eventually tries to get stronger and even if he “grew” a little (developed a bullet), I don’t think the series gave him enough time for it to feel good. 

Soma on the other hand, got a whole episode to himself. Was A+ 👍👍👍👌👌 I liked the episode a lot and I can tell he’s a fan favorite. Ngl when Soma, Lindow and Sakuya were introduced, I thought they were a trio (and Eric but rip Eric), so I thought Soma was the same age as the latter two. I didn’t realize he was a teen like Lenka and the rest until his episode 😭 Anyway, I’m glad for Soma opening up, but I also kinda would like to see him chill with the gang more. Not possible given the time and place and the series tone. I think I would have liked a flashback or scene of Lindow and Soma because obviously he was affected by Lindow’s “death”.

So anyway, I came in hoping for Soma and Kota interactions and I got that, so I’m satisfied. 👍 Their early interactions was what I expected their relationship to be, but I’m glad they got a “conclusion” where Soma thanks Kota, even if I thought the Kota bullet scene wasnt even all that impressive. (I’d personally prefer if Kota just did a far range snipe that saved him but whatever.)

As for the other characters, we can all agree that Lindow is the Goat. He’s also had death markers on him since the beginning. I did cry for him tho. (Also me laughing because Hirata and Nakai Kazuya in the same place but not butting heads with each other.)

I don’t hate Alisa, more like I hate the idea of what guys see in her. Like her character design isn’t even bad (the hat and plaid is cute but they really could have given her an undershirt, like girl nipslips….), but I literally laughed out loud when she was shivering from the rain after getting separated and Lenka lended his cloak to her like Girl Of Course You’re Cold. I can’t tell if her character arc was concluded or not (I guess? If Lenka snapped her out of it by Being Lindow) but I’m glad Lindow had an impact on her as well that she was able to break away from the mind wash propaganda. 

I guess the story itself isn’t anything I’m really into but I like how you get the glimpses of The Three Scientists, who we recognize and it slowly unraveling as we go through the current events. I’m glad there wasn’t a stupid love triangle and that the third guy wasn’t the crazy one, and that he’s actually the “good one”. More surprising is that Paylor is allowed to be in Fenrir and Johannes didn’t like try to kill him to silence him or anything. 

Anyway, I think we all been know that Aegis isn’t actually a safe underground haven to save all of humanity. (whathaveibeenfoghtingfooorrrr) I’m not too invested that I’d pick up the games or anything to see the rest of the story. 

I like the message of passing on hope, even if the fight feels meaningless. I was hoping Lenka would give the little girl Lindow’s compass, as a You’re Next sign, if she could be like the protag of the next game or something but that never happened. 

Uhhh I have it an 8 on MAL, which is pretty high for me. I think the vibes and tone of the series is sound, the ost isn’t my jam but fits with what it’s trying to portray. Of course OldCodex fits right in for the OP. I haven’t played the games but I think this is a pretty good anime adaptation, if only just by appearance. 

[invinciblerodent]

Okay expanding on this because I can't stop THINKING about it for some reason.

I knew Astarion was a vampire. I noticed the fang marks on his neck before I would have noticed his elf-ears (they were really obvious dark marks when my computer was trying to render him in for the first time), and I knew that I wasn't gonna give him shit for it what with all the *vague noise* going on. I could tell that at some point, the bat was gonna come out of the bag, and I was fairly certain that he would ask to suck the player character's blood at some point- if not in regular gameplay, then in a romance.

But now that it happened, I can't help but.... find him weirdly SEXY now??? Like I wasn't really THAT attracted to him before, I thought he was a fun character with a fun design that I would have fun getting to know, maybe romancing sometime (probably not with this character because that'd be a strange fit, but sometime), but..... I feel like something just CLICKED in my brain? Like I did not expect that scene to be as... shall we say, EROTICALLY CHARGED, as it turned out to be. I didn't expect for the outcome to be him being visibly (and mechanically) happier, and I didn't expect him to just SAUNTER off like that.

And with the Gale magic scene happening just the next day, poor Arvid is having feelings he has never really had in his life (yes I decided that as a cleric he used to be voluntarily celibate until this whole mess- he didn't have to be but he just... was), for TWO PEOPLE NONETHELESS (so far, he's also growing quite emotionaly close with Shadowheart and he's really enjoying Karlach's company as well), and it's really messing him up good.

For the narrative, I'm still leaning towards Gale because he seems like a bit more of a romantic and that scene was adorable (plus when I chose to "focus on this moment" to picture perfect harmony I rolled a fkin nat 20, A SIGN FROM TEMPUS), and it's really sweet to imagine that in such an intimate moment of interconnectedness, the thought of a kiss would just... unintentionally slip into my boy's mind (maybe still riding the high from the feelings Astarion sparked the previous night?) and the resultant mutual embarrassment and awkwardness, but.... I'm feeling all sorts of things here. Partly also that a vampire and a cleric romance could ALSO be really weirdly cute and, ngl, pretty hot.

Poor Arvid has not gotten a proper night's sleep for days now, too busy trying and failing NOT to imagine himself as the sauce in a hot manwich, and boy is that Joe SLOPPY.

(yes I noticed that there is also a plot happening, don't @ me)

I love how the game seems to want you to be surprised by the revelation that Astarion is a vampire

Oh good heavens, whatEVER could a deathly pale man with red eyes, vaguely Victorian-style, floppy clothes, a British accent, formal and affected speech, and clearly visible puncture scars that are perfectly exposed by his wide open shirt collar BE

I wish there had been a dialogue option like "oh, wait, that was supposed to be a secret?"

(also high time for a warning; the "squirrel plays bg3” tag WILL contain spoilers!!! Please filter with that in mind!!!)

[hikari-writes]

is tha, t ,,,,.,.,.,, mika icon.,,,,,,

.....yes..........

do you hate me now?

[jellicle-jemmy]

So I wrote this a little over two years ago. They are my first thoughts in watching CATS (2019)

This was written basically as soon as I got home from the theatre in 2019. I truly hope you enjoy these, as they have been gathering dust in my drafts. Now, without further ado:

These are just some of my thoughts I had while watching and my initial reaction to the film I have just watched.

Okay, first of all, me and my pals thought we were in the wrong cinema for a couple minutes because there were faaaaar too many people in the cinema

Overture:

As we all know, the music slaps and me and my pals were straight vibing as the camera panned down. 

And then the cats appeared. I legit was thinking, “wow they actually made them look like that, huh?”

I immediately identified Munk, Cass, Dem and Syllabub

SPIDER MUNK! SPIDER MUNK! DOES WHATEVER A SPIDER MUNK DOES!

fr tho why did he climb down that wall like that that’s not how cats work

Why are they surrounding her like that?? ARE THEY SUMMONING A DEMON WTF?? I’M SO DIZZY

[Victoria appears] Oh look it’s a babey

I took a forty, smashed in on the ground and yelled SCATTER

Jellicle Songs For Jellicle Cats

Laurie Davidson is babey 

This isn’t too bad. I like the way that this number is being handled so far

AAaaaaaaaand now it’s funky town WTF

The music just went rachachacha on us

Munk really be out here straight vibing throughout the whole song

I do like how he’s kind of leading the whole numberits fun to watch

As always, there’s my babey Syllabub

We need to talk about the feet. Or maybe we shouldn’t. Yeah let’s not.

What is with the clapping in the music? Who is clapping? The cats aren’t. The audience certainly isnt. ( @whatsajinglebellcat said “It’s the clap of their ass cheeks as they’re dancing”)

The choreography is mediocre at best, I really dislike Andy’s choreography, why are they like that?????

Francesca Hayward is babey

How is Syllabub able to hang from that position wtf, surely that hurts

Robbie Fairchild as Munk is both daddy and babey (i’m said it I’m not sorry)

The jellicles seem to be having fun at least which is nice

Macavity Dialogue Bit

That Moriarty reference flashing into a wanted poster for Macavity is beautiful thank you so much to whoever pitched that and implemented that

Ooooo Macavity already sounds interesting

Once again, Laurie Davidson as Misto is babey

Demeter and Cassandra, why are you such bitches? Dear lord

The Naming of Cats // Invitation to the Jellicle Ball

Ngl I actually really like this bit

Deadass seems like a cult initiation but we’ve long ago established that the Jellicle tribe is a cult anyway

Munkustrap ur doing so good sweetie

Victoria darling u are one in the babey club

As always, there is Syllabub straight vibing

Mr Strap, Munk that is a child, why are you dancing with her like that?!

Francesca is a stunning wonderful dancer but she should’ve been dancing by herself more

Mr Mistofelees you are such babey ur so cute darling, he’s doing so good

Munk why did you have to sing your bit and then restate it while talking we’re not stupid!

oh wait.

a lot of people still don’t get the plot

carry on, and maybe say it again

The Old Gumbie Cat (Coming from someone who has played Jennyanydots)

no

no no

no no no

no no nope not happening no

no way

don’t like that at all

why is she doing that

why does she sound like that

Munk ur doing so good but why

Why is she spreading eagle like that

why do the mice look like that

why do the roaches look like that

WHY DID SHE UNZIP HERSELF DEAR GOD MY EYES

NO FUNNY FAT CAT BOING BOING 

The Rum Tum Tugger

ooooo... this... is alright

actually

hold up

wait

why is this actually good

awww Jenny and Munk are so cute i’m glad they did munk and jenny’s friendship

Damn Tugger is fun

Okay, why is he reacting to Vic that way

Who cares this slaps

Jason Derulo was a good Rum Tum Tugger choice there I said it

Oh my god i actually love his voice

Syllabub = babey

dear god Jenny that comment about Tugger and being neutered isn’t very in character but I cackled

Jenny sweetie pls don’t try and breakdance

Okay the milk is fucking weird

this is weird

okay nvmind it’s good again

Tugger really be feeling himself in those riffs. and so he should

Grizabella The Glamour Cat

This is well handled

I really like how Griz sang her bit to the curious Victoria

I love that not everyone realised Griz was there right away

Of course, that is 

oooo Cass and Dem are feisty 

Deadass Cass seems like Grizabella’s child??!!!

Oh my god they look like the Jets or the Sharks are they about to start clicking????!!!!

Gang gang

Once again - syllabub, i see you and i love you

Dialogue Interlude

Griz went of with Maccy Boi huh?

Macavity you fuckin’ bitch

I barely remember what happened but that transition into Bustopher Jones really doesn’t fit

I think Bustopher and Jenny had a fight? Umm? Why?

Bustopher Jones

I had a real trouble keeping an eye on whats going on in this number

Why are all his ‘clubs’ just dumpsters? Like no. That’s-

That’s not really

No

JESUS CHRIST JENNY REALLY JUST WENT POOF HUH

THANOS SNAPPED THAT QUEEN

HOLY SHIT

I LITERALLY JUMPED OUT OF MY CHAIR

After that I was just watching my friend who played Bustopher to see his reaction to everything

Also why is he singing this entire number by himself

Maitre’D (or however the fuck that name is spelled) is married to Bustopher and no one can change my mind

Why is “the cat in spats” so funny, Macavity? Huh? I did like that Mac poked fun at his fashion sense rather than his weight tho

Also why did Bustopher fucking flyyyy??????

Aaaaaaaaand down the slide Veruca Salt style

Growltiger Interlude

Could’ve raised a lot of red flags with this number, but just establishing the character where all the kidnapped characters ended up, I liked

Also what did Growltiger actually do to Bustopher

And that gag about the rhyming of “aims” and “thames” ran a little too long ngl

But I liked the mauled ear on Growltiger - nice nod and detail

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer

These two really said “Be gay, do crimes”

I love them

I fucking love them

And this rendition

10/10 I love this whole number

They’re a little more evil than playful but I literally don’t care because they’re awesome

The jewels on Victoria? Stan

Mungojerrie is such a cute dumb bitch and I love him so much

Their accents are so cute

The house is stunning

Victoria? Babey.

Mungojerrie? Babey.

Rumpleteazer? Babey.

This number was so much fun and is probably my favourite

And their fur designs are so cute too!

I love this song. I love the version. I love everything about it.

Mistofelees X Victoria Interlude

Once again, the twins are babey

You know who else is babey? My clumsy and adorable boy Misto

Clumsy sweetie

Wow they’re going for Mistoria huh?

Why didn’t they play up Mungo and Teazer knowing Vic before the ball? Why is there just a nod to it in when Munk asks about the jewel Vic wears

Old Deuteronomy

I adore Robbie Fairchild

Why does Old Doot appear like a new rival in a video game?

The rendering was so bad in that moment

But Munk is so sweet when Doot appears

They are mother and son, and no one can change my mind

Judi Dench really can’t sing huh...

It’s so raspy and yick

Also her coat is so odd and I hate it

Deadass she looks like an albino

Song of the Jellicles

I genuinely couldn’t tell if I liked or disliked the fact that everyone sang everything

“Meow meow meow meow” Gus dear god why

Again, we’re back into the whole cult thing

Jellicle Ball

The whole cinema lost their minds laughing through this whole choreography and I hated it

But Syllabub got some dance moves

Tugger saying “With your permission” ummm??? He is Doot’s other more feral son

The choreography was good at some points but for the most part it was eh

The music is bangin’ tho

And then they all died lmao

Memory

WHY DOES GRIZ HAVE SO MUCH SNOT

that is all

PART 2 COMING SOON

[chilling-seavey]

Nothing Revealed/Everything Denied (c.s.) - Chapter Nine

A/N Totally forgot this novella existed ngl. Anyway, this chapter was sorta fun to write because I love the angst 😛 What do you think Christian should do??

“Smoothies all around.”

Michelle set the takeout tray on the table and the small group thanked her as they took a cup each and passed the rest around. The main ‘characters’ were gathered around the conference table again with the set director stood by the projector to go through the walkthrough of the set location in regard to the directions on the script. Christian was placed between Dean and Tom, sharing a small bashful smile with Michelle from across the table where she sat with the director and the other more cooperate staff.

She looked beautiful that day – at least that’s what Christian thought – and after their situation from Oscar’s birthday party a few nights before, he could hardly look at her without blushing. He felt like he was in high school again. Funny, he was more nervous about being in the same room as Michelle than he was sitting between two of Hollywood’s best actors.

The meeting started and the rendering and areal photographs of the trenches that were being built were scanned through on the large TV. It was truly impressive and Christian tried to pay attention, he really did, but he kept stealing glances at Michelle from across the table, having to force himself to look forward and focus.

How was he supposed to pay attention when all he could focus on was the memory of her lips on his and her hands on him like it was natural? Like it was supposed to happen?

Christian didn’t mean to, but he had completely zoned out for the entire meeting and he was startled back down to reality by the snap of the set designer’s briefcase closing. He sat up straighter and looked around as everyone started to pack up, awkwardly shuffling his papers together to make himself look busy. Had it been an hour already?

He managed to sneak out without anyone asking him any questions about what they just covered, thankful to avoid any further embarrassment.

“Come on, Christian.” he mumbled to himself as he got in the elevator alone, pressing the button for the parking garage. “Get your head out of the fucking clouds.”

“Wait up!”

He habitually stuck his hand in the door to keep it from closing and Michelle rushed in to join him, offering a wide smile and a breathless, “Hey!”

“Hi.” Christian smiled back, his heart racing in his chest just from looking at her.

“Did you like the sets so far?”

Her grin was nothing but proud and hopeful and Christian cleared his throat nervously before nodding, “Yeah. They looked really good.”

The five seconds of them he remembered.

“I got to sketch it out for them myself, can you believe that?” Michelle sighed, shaking her head, hugging her bag to her chest through her smile. “I swear I fell asleep and this has all just been one huge dream.”

“Me too.” Christian whispered, eyeing her discreetly before taking a deep breath and focussing on the elevator numbers ticking down to the lobby.

He was waiting for her to bring up the party; how it was a mistake, how she didn’t really feel like that, how she was just another girl that didn’t like him like that. But she didn’t, simply standing next to him quietly with a calm smile on her face. It was almost worse. Was she pretending that it didn’t happen?! Christian’s mind was going a mile a minute to try and wrap his brain around it himself, the silence lingering between them.

The elevator doors dinged as they opened to the lobby and Christian went to let out a small sigh as that was her stop and she would be gone to let him stew alone. Except she turned to him first, grabbing his arm, and pulled him in for another kiss that was over before it even started and she was rushing out into the lobby, her grinning cheeks a furious pink.

Christian stumbled a moment as he stood up straight and the doors slid closed again, leaving him alone in the elevator with his love-sick mind a bit woozy.

Tyler was home when he returned and Christian headed into the backyard where he heard the music playing. His older brother was grilling in the back in shorts and a baseball cap, Kobe snoozing on the stone walkway.

“Hey.” Christian called, making the dog’s ears perk up and he rushed over to greet him with eager yaps.

“Hey. How was the meeting?” Tyler asked.

“Oh…fine.” Christian shrugged, bending down to pet the dog.

“Just fine? You were looking forward to it this morning.”

“Yeah. Just…I…” Christian laughed nervously as he stood back up and joined his brother at the grill.

“What’s with your goofy smile?” Tyler narrowed his eyes at him.

Christian bit back a smile as he picked up the fork resting on the plate beside the grill and tapped it nervously against the wood, “Nothing.”

“Nothing my ass. You look about as guilty as Kobe after he pooped on Daniel’s rug. What did you do?” Tyler pressed, flipping over the chicken he was cooking.

“So…you remember the writer, right? The one I’ve been practicing lines with and stuff?”

“And going for lunch with and visiting the C4 house with? Yes.” Tyler’s lips turned up at the corner in a small smirk.

“Yeah…well…we kinda kissed on Saturday. And today.”

“Kinda kissed?” Tyler raised an eyebrow at him. “How do you kinda kiss?”

Christian sighed deeply, slightly embarrassed, and ruffled a hand through his hair, “Okay, we kissed a lot on Saturday. And once today.”

“Did you sleep with her?”

“No! Tyler! Oh my gosh.”

“Because you can’t get involved with your co-workers.”

Tyler’s sudden serious tone made Christian’s cheeky smile falter and he dropped his gaze to the fork in his hand, tapping it once against the plate as his eyebrows furrowed.

“This is your first big gig, Chris.” Tyler continued. “And based on how you came back here from that meeting something tells me you’re spending more time with this writer than with her script.”

“No.” Christian shook his head gently. “We’ve been working together on it. She’s been helping me.”

“What was your meeting about today?”

“Trenches. Sets.”

“And?”

Christian hesitated a moment, “The script. And the sets.”

Tyler sighed, closing the lid of the grill and set the thongs on the plate, “Listen to yourself, Chris. What the hell are you doing?”

“Do you not want me to have a girlfriend or something?” Christian snapped. “Because I found a girl who actually likes me and now you’re telling me that I can’t be with her or something?”

Christian was usually the level-headed brother but under the judging stare of his eldest brother, he always felt like his buttons were being pushed.

“Christian, holy shit, bro.” Tyler laughed. “Relax. You don’t need to date the first girl that gives you the slightest bit of attention. You always do that and end up laying in bed listening to your ‘Sad Songs’ playlist on repeat when she doesn’t feel the same way. You rush things, Chris. That’s just who you are. You rush things and get yourself hurt and, as your older brother, I seriously gotta put my foot down here because a lot more than heartbreak is on the line. This is your career, Christian. Your career as an actor that you have dreamt about since you were like six. A real actor, bro. You can’t be standing here telling me about this girl down to the colour socks she was wearing today but can’t tell me a single thing about the meeting you were at.”

Christian scoffed, dropping the fork onto the plate with a clank and he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“I’m not saying this to be an asshole. This is reality. If you fuck this up, your career will be done for. You need to be putting every single ounce of concentration and passion into this movie and this character. How do you think Daniel got where he is? Spending hours and full nights practicing his music until one of us had to yell at him to shut up at 2am. And when he started touring, he only practiced harder to make it where he wanted to be; he didn’t get caught up with any relationships except for his band mates and his family. He had his priorities where he needed them to make it big.”

“Yeah, I fucking know how Daniel made his dreams come true.” Christian snapped loudly, making Kobe’s ears perk up with the sudden volume. “I know he’s the successful one and the attractive one and mom and dad’s pride and fucking joy. You don’t need to tell me!”

“Oh, come on, Chris.” Tyler sighed. “Don’t turn it into that.”

“Turn it into what? It’s the truth! If it wasn’t for him I’d still be living with mom and dad in their guest room!” Christian yelled, throwing his hand out towards the million dollar house behind him. “I’d still be driving my 2001 Honda that breaks down if you breathe too hard! I know that all my ‘fans’ are only here because of him! I fucking know, Tyler!”

Tyler stayed quiet, watching his younger brother carefully as his cheeks flushed red with anger and his chest heaved with emotional breaths.

Christian ran both hands through his hair and took a few steps back before continuing softer now, “I finally have something that I got on my own. She found me to be her actor through my college reels. This is my doing. Mine. Not Daniel’s. For once, it’s not fucking about Daniel. It’s me.”

The oldest two brothers stared at each other silently for a moment. 

Tyler nodded once, opening the grill up again, “So don’t fuck it up.”

“I won’t.” Christian mumbled, taking one last glance at him before turning towards the house.

He’d be damned if he messed up his one big break because of a haphazard half drunk kiss.

[cviperfan]

Okay so partially motivated by how many references there were in SPoP and largely bc it's been in my backlog for years and I remembered the whole thing got uploaded to youtube a while ago, I finally got around to watching Revolutionary Girl Utena for the first time so time for some hot takes

2 clarify I did see the movie about around 2000 which was my introduction to the series, and I did see like 1 episode back in anime club (over a decade ago now tbh) but for the most part I went into this with only a vague sense of the ending and offhand knowledge of a few of the weird comedy episodes so this was mostly a blind watch

Before getting into #spoilers I will say that this ended up being an easy Top 5 and that it's definitely still worth watching (fair warning for the very frequent rape and incest (and sometimes both)), especially if you've somehow also avoided most of the context of this show like me, and it really is one of the rare Nothing Else Like It kind of show (though it has roots in older shoujo like Rose of Versailles and modern stuff like Revue Starlight have picked up its lede)

Okay spoilers from here on

I really only kinda have vague memories of the more knightly take on Utena from the movie so Series!Utena having this powerful Dumb Jock Energy threw me

Like she's out here invoking the Air Bud Rule from minute one

This bit where Akio is going on about some Important Life Lesson thing and she's just fuckin

crab walking im

what a hero i love her

I have always kinda been more partial to shoujo than shounen bc the sense of like emotional urgency and the heightened exaggerated feelings are just more compelling to me narratively and what Utena does spectacularly is really drive that to fucking 11 and it permeates every aspect of the show

Like the melodrama of it all is so shameless and it's so committed to letting its visuals and music drive the mood and emotional intensity of its stakes that they kind of speak for themselves and demand to be taken on their own terms rather than having clear or rigid interpretations

Like it's kind of a situation of "yes most of what you're seeing ties into the show's bigger themes and characterization but also you can just vibe to the spectacle as well" like even when it's not on the Dueling Arena there's a theatricality underlying everything that pairs perfectly with the spirit of shoujo even as it... not necessarily contradicts it, but challenges it in some ways and also wants to coexist with it?

And I think that's the interesting thing how it wants to tackle some of these arch concepts tied into the genre while also being deeply intertwined with it.  Like it really is a Product Of Its Time in so many ways but it also feels somehow timeless and transgressive in others even now?

Like part of me would be interested to see a remake that took into account 23 years of conversation about how much perceptions of gender and sexuality have changed but at the same time would it lose some essential part of itself in that transition?  idk potentially

Also lbr a hypothetical remake wouldn't even attempt to revise anything it would just redo it thus making it pointless

So I know this has been a thing that's been brought up before but seeing it play out dang RGU and NGE really are just companion pieces to each other huh

Subverting the themes and narrative arcs of their respective genres, mysterious quiet girl who's directly the key to everything, the ritual of action setpieces rendered as Actual Ritual in the story, banger OP, comphet ruining everyone's lives

Also they really don't have much in common comparatively but I'm definitely seeing pieces of Utena in Kill la Kill too?  Particularly how Mako's arc feels like a fleshing out and expansion from the archetype divergence Wakaba got in that one ep (I can't believe klk was the utena/wakaba au fanfic)

Speaking of which damn he is a sleazy bastard and a gross predator but ngl Akio can Get It he and Ragyo are basically the same character and I guess this is just my type apparently???? oops

Like I'm recognizing how like really awful he is but also you really can't blame Utena for crushing on him he is super hot and charming

aside i lost it at the audacity of "well even tho i am a man like twice your age (AT LEAST) and took advantage of the situation and also i am clearly not the type to take no for an answer since you didn't reject me you're basically just as bad as me" bruh

The Black Rose Arc is... interesting bc like it borders on superfluous with how it resolves and yet the introduction of a "monster of the week" type power rangers element specifically built to expand on the secondary cast is a pretty inspired choice

again my primary point of introduction to the series was the movie which is basically a remix of the Student Council arc so when I got to 12 I was like wth are they gonna fill the rest of this with? WELP

What I really like about it is that usually this kind of setup-- the 'character is faced with their dark inner thoughts they shy away from and they become a short-term enemy' deal-- ends with the char in question coming to terms with this and overcoming it to become a better person

but here it's just like... they lose and then they just gotta... sit with that, forever.  Like it doesn't really change the status quo of their relationships w/ utena or the others but it does just stick around for them and now the audience knows that about them too.  like sometimes you just can't take that shit back.

Utena's relationship to queerness, having heard about it tangentially for years but seeing it play out now is also interesting bc while in the grand scheme it doesn't feel necessarily any more ahead of its time than something like Cardcaptor Sakura there is a casualness to it that's distinct

Like for the most part it's either kind of the tangential fluff that even then was part of shoujo as a standard but then there's also stuff like the Akio/Touga or Touga/Saionji hinting or Kozue's casual pass at Anthy in addition to the maintext Juri/Shiori push-pull and ofc the subtext-but-maintext Utena/Anthy threads

I wanna take a moment to talk about Juri bc of how kind of in the spirit of the show itself it plays things both with and against the grain with her

Like she's a Tragic Lesbian which is nothing new but usually this character type (and Distinctively Lesbian characters in general) in anime/manga tend to be portrayed as being very predatory, invasive and either played for laughs or to repulse the audience, so the degree of empathy RGU shows her in 97 is rare to see even now.  

Like there is a "safeness" to her bc of how unattainable Shiori is (though their arc ends in a decidedly ambiguious way), but it doesn't really feel like she's getting the short end of the stick over the more straight-leaning characters bc arguably all of the relationships here are defined by an aspect of chasing the unattainable, echoing Utena's own quixotic search for her Prince, and her choosing to remain closeted feels realistic *especially because* of the surrounding context of how heteronormative the world she exists in is.  Like the character is aware of that and is navigating it in a way that feels honest

Speaking of which it's interesting how the reveal of Juri's pining for Shiori in Ep 7 echoes the bigger reveal of Utena/Anthy bc of how it plays up this heterocentric love triangle or at least it seems to be but then the cards are on the table and no that's really not what it is at all, and it feels significant that after spending most of the series naively oblivious to Juri’s feelings and what she wants out of a relationship with Shiori that Utena finally Gets It in Ep 37

Is it a coincidence Juri actually gets to be the one to point it out? No

Speaking of triangles big ups to the Ruka/Juri/Shiori one honestly bc of how hard it commits to the unknown third result of a LT where absolutely no one comes out happy and it actually works even with the handicap of Ruka basically coming out of nowhere just for these two episodes

Like all three of them want the one person who's absolutely never gonna love them back and that's just rough buddy and isn't that kinda the show in a nutshell

So the thing that struck me about Utena/Anthy and how it plays out is how subtle it really is.  And that does make sense bc while f/f teasing/subtext again was part of shoujo before it's quite a different thing for the heroine to ultimately reject her 2 male love interests and choose a life with her female best friend, esp in nineteen ninety seven

Like I think you can argue that Ep 12 feels like The Moment where What Their Relationship Is, Definitely shifts and that possibility is suddenly there, and then it doesn't come back in a big way until the ending but there are tiny glimpses throughout where you can see that working in the background if you’re really paying attention

Small things like Anthy's flashes of unspoken jealousy, Utena fretting over her even when she's in bed with Akio, and part of that is coming from going in with a knowledge of what the endgame is and keeping an eye out for it.  I can hardly imagine being a viewer during the og broadcast and then ep 34 comes and suddenly the intent is made clear and our understanding of the inciting incident gets all flipped turned upside down

And to a modern viewer I can get coming into this for the first time and being frustrated at just how close to the chest it gets played, but that's also kind of the only way it gets to happen at that point in time?  But I think it ultimately is effective and vital to their individual arcs and dovetails nicely with the themes of the show

Like I remember hearing that original manga creator Chiho Saito was pretty against their paired ending, but with a lot of convincing from Ikuhara ultimately came around to it, and it's hard to imagine the anime's ending working any other way and being nearly as impactful

And there is something really beautiful about the bucking against the established idea of yuri relationships being a childish concept that gets left behind in order to 'grow up' actually becoming the impetus of their own journeys into adulthood and eventually back to each other, and it’s hard not to feel a little disappointed that for this Bold Step and declaration for the future that RGU takes that while yuri is more common than ever it largely continues to exist within the realm of schoolgirls and something to be left behind in adolescence like for RGU’s faults and shortcomings it saw this world of possibility in moving forward, while the genre largely elected to stand still

And it really speaks to either the timelessness of the show or how much the queer experience has remained constant that even with a tragic ending, that hope, or rather the promise of their reunion, feels bold and defiant and genuinely uplifting even now

Like the moment where just before they reach out to each other one final time, and their voices as children speak out to each other, as if finally fulfilling a promise they barely remember, I really did just start ugly crying

Lastly some assorted closing thoughts--

-Touga?  Punk.  Guy really takes advantage of Utena's whole prince thing to manipulate her, ends up losing to her in the rematch and then fucks off to mope for like AN ENTIRE SEASON then pops back up "oh yea im in love with her literally nothing else about my behavior has changed tho" like lmao you tried i guess

-Also i know Touga's design is p stock standard bishounen ojou-sama type but god this is all i can think about when I see him

- Green Touga Saionji is a bitch-ass motherfucker but like he at least tried more than anyone else so uh that's something I guess?????

Like the guy clearly has some unresolved feelings about Touga so i'm inclined to be sympathetic bc wow poor choice my dude but also... bitch-ass motherfucker

-Nanami really went through this thing for me where it's like... she's a brat and a shitty person but it's also hard to really dislike her bc she does get what she deserves most of the time and also she gets kinkshamed more than most of the cast despite none of them really having a high ground over her lol

-Miki did nothing wrong (aside from like the implied incest but that's also like... half the relationships in this show uh)

sidenote I can completely see the notable excess of Incest Subtext/Maintext being intended as like... A Thing to comment on how common it is within shoujo and also tying in to like the bigger themes of Growing Up bc the idea that you’re chasing after your own damn siblings betrays some freudian inability to mature or whatever but tbqh it doesn’t always feel like the show knows the line between commenting on this and indulging in it and RGU is very indulgent by its own nature so I really can’t blame people put off by the show as a whole bc this is an area where RGU is largely indistinguishable from its genre peers

-Juri really did nothing wrong tho also props for having the best duels

-FUCK SHIORI THO for eel 

so obviously i have not seen the show up to now but I've been in yuri circles for a long time so I knew about Juri/Shiori and my perception of it had always been "oh it's one of those kinda messy with complicated feelings" kinda ships where the drama is a big part of the appeal and that's true but like

the actual nature of it I did not realize up to now and OH SHIORI'S REALLY THAT BITCH HUH

So not only does she date that one anonymous guy specifically to spite Juri unaware she doesn't actually like him BUT THEN WHEN THEY GET REUNITED SHE'S JUST LIKE LOL IT DIDNT MATTER BUT HEY WE COOL RIGHT *AND THEN* when she finds out about Juri's feelings she's like HELL YEA I CAN HANG THIS OVER HER HEAD FOREVER FUCK HER

***AND THEN*** when she gets some karma after Ruka dumps her ass she airs her dirty laundry out in front of EVERYBODY like Juri hasn't been dealing with this shit like an absolute champ the whole time like?????

Like ok i get that there's the sad longing drama there and usually that's my jam and the show itself seems to end on kind of an ambiguous note and the follow-up manga from this year seems to leave it as kind of a "maybe" but I'm sorry get Juri a better GF 2020 she deserves better

I saw some Juri/Wakaba going through the tumblr tag for the show and honestly that's some big brain shit I'm here for it

Also now knowing exactly how this dynamic operates it really makes that Jasper/Lapis reference pic one of the SU crew drew of them read very.... interestingly???????? (tho Lapis' design reads a lot closer to Kozue and that's probably a closer personality analogue too)

-I love that thing in ep 37 where the whole SC is just very casually like hey utena if the whole revolutionizing the world thing with anthy doesn't work out uhhh call me im free haha just kidding unless...? lmao

-I'm pretty uninclined to try to pin precise sexuality HCs to characters for series this old where the ambiguity is part of how its danced around like partly coming from my own experience I'm inclined to read Utena as bi but that really is just coming from me?

But on the other hand literally every time a guy is like "i love you utena come be happy with me and we can love each other forever" she's like "k" after having left them on read for a day and disconnects from them entirely so lesbian going through comphet is a pretty valid read i think lol

-Lastly I think it’s pretty interesting but validly frustrating how fast and loose the show’s relationship with dream logic and non-traditional storytelling really is like when the shadow girls show up I was like “oh this is a greek chorus thing and it’s meant to reflect on the themes of the episode” (or uh in the case of exactly Ep 29 to break from tradition and explicitly tell us what a characters deal is lmao) but then no actually turns out they’re actually real characters who exist within the show too fuck you

ANYWAY I really did love this show and felt like I got a lot out of it despite it being pretty infamously hard to decipher but the ways it's inscrutable appeal to me specifically so very happy with this I'm gonna be thinking about it for a while

[bunny-banana]

I'd love to hear a director's commentary on La leggenda di Niccolo please :D Have a star as well ⭐

HA! Okay well, I’ll talk about the sections that I actually wrote so here it comes:

Chap 1

Engulfed in the never ending masses of water, he reckoned one should feel intimidated. No ground under his feet, only limited amounts of air to his disposal, and the uncertainty of what lies within the darker corners of the ocean should normally frighten you. And yet, he never felt more at peace than when he was floating so freely in the sea, almost as if gravity and the world outside didn’t exist

the fucking IRONY of me writing this while being deadly afraid of deep water. its honestly like “yeah,,,,, lemme list all the things i personally hate about deep sea…. and lets add ‘well, but theres something good too about that for sure,,,i guess,,,, ”

But what was more important for me was this contrast to what Ermal dreams about, his lowkey fantasy - and where he is irl, the icy south pole. I’m rather fond of opposing things/contrasts. 

The soldier breathed heavily in and out, but there was no time to rest as the next blaze of fire was aimed at him.He countered and evaded but his opponent was more forceful, his flames harsher, faster until the soldier’s back hit the cold railing. He was caught, and when his opponent mercilessly stroke once more, he knew he had to save himself by escaping into the cold water.The man remaining on the top deck smirked. Ah yes, he’d almost assume those new soldiers were just too easy to take on even if only for practice reasons, but it pleased him more to say that he still got it.

i really hope this introduction just tells you everything you need to know about Renga’s character.

How much sooner the war could have been won had it not been for the Poles!

While actually reflecting on the universe, i realised, it must be incredibly difficult for firebenders on the poles. like, I just assume they really, really arent fit for the cold which would make invading incredibly difficult for them. also lol, renga hates it at the poles obviously.

  Shaking so hard that kids ran towards their mothers and the watchtower fell over and when the fog cleared up, Ermal felt his stomach drop. ”No.”

Nothing, absolutely, nothing in that universe is more frightening than seeing the Fire Nation military pull up to your doorstep.  

Also, lmao, love to imagine Rinald quietly going “oh nooo my watchtower D:” 

Ermal pushed himself through the crowd until he was right in front of everyone, until he was the last barrier between the Fire Nation soldiers and the village.

Ermal has Strong Opinions™ about the Fire Nation, with reasons of course, and seeing them here is the absolute nightmare to him.

  “You mean the Avatar that disappeared off the face of the Earth? The one that nobody has ever seen and that was probably never even reborn? That Avatar?”And if his cockiness gave off a certain invitation to smash his face in, then this was perhaps a little bit Ermal’s fault.

to quote the Smiths: Bigmouth Strikes Again!

“B-but he’s- he’s so young? I swear to the Fire Lord, if this is yet another trick then-”

Chap 2

Niccolò had always been in awe of the Fire Nation’s advanced industrial sector. The machinery that originated from the Nation had always had cutting edge quality which no one in the world could quite imitate nor match. This ship however was beyond anything Niccolò had ever seen. This ship was fully steam-driven with the powerful motors roaring under his feet. And those weren’t the only novelties.Steel processed so professionally that it makes impenetrable walls and doors which opened and closed only through quite sophisticated lock mechanisms. It all looked so modern, it all looked so futuristic.

so the idea was, since Nic had missed an entire century, the ship looked super modern to him. while its a canon fact that the FN is quite advanced with machinery, the ship itself is just to an up-to-date standard. But to Niccolo personally it seemed futuristic.  i like the idea of him being amazed at things he has never seen in his life just to find out they’re pretty common in the current timeline. 

There was not much time left, Niccolò had to think quickly. Extremely convenient how his nose started tickling right in that moment.The powerful sneeze that followed had two consequences: One, the guard in front of him was catapulted straight into the metal door of the cell, rendering him unconscious.Two, Niccolò and the guard behind him were also forcefully pushed back to the other end of the corridor, crashing into the hard wall.Well, at least the guard did. The young airbender was spared that fate, by that nice pillow the guard turned out to be, so he quickly got onto his feet and ran as fast as he could with his hands tied behind his back.

so yeah ngl, this was just copied from the OG ep

Now that his hands were freed, he opened the first door that presented itself to him, but in front of him, he simply saw the quarters of General Renga who stared at his now roaming prisoner in shock. Okay, time to turn around, it seems.

listen, i just love the thought of overconfident General Renga being so shellshocked to see his prisoner escaping that he just gapes at him. And ofc Nic slamming the door shut immediately jsfkld

“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Niccolò cursed as he evaded a burst of fire that was aimed at him before taking the next corner “Where’s the exit?! Where’s the goddamn exi- AH!! A DOOR!!” He pulled it open to reveal a startled guy sitting there just minding his own business. An unexpected sight, with an even more unexpected odor following. “Oh? uhm- Sorry man! Just- just take your time! Also, perhaps light a candle when you’re done. Bye!” The young Avatar swiftly apologised as he closed the door of what was most definitely not an exit.

Fav OC so far!  That simple FN dude was just trying to take a dump in peace but who would have known that all hell would break lose and the goddamn Avatar of all people would walk into him smh.  Also, I really enjoyed the thought of while this is all hectic and dangerous, Nic still being human enough to go like “oh, my bad! sorry dude!” at this random soldier. Who knows, maybe we should bring that one back some time later. And i kinda wanted the whole escape to be funny, since its Nic’s POV, and it just wouldnt suit his carefree spirit to make this super serious (yet). 

“I’ll give you that, hiding for so long was sort of impressive.” Niccolò heard Renga’s voice behind him as the General had caught up with him. 

almost wrote “century” there but then remembered  nah omg he can’t know yet 

A piece of ice may or may not have also hit Renga straight into the face but nobody would complain about that anyway. 

yeah i just love the thought of this super dramatic scene of Nic entering the Avatar State and then theres a chunk of ice knocking Renga unconscious lmao get fucked, dude 

“Nic!” Ermal ran towards the slowly decreasing water pillar to catch the unconscious airbender in the last second, dropping to his knees in the process. That was beyond anything anybody of that age should normally be capable of. That was beyond what any waterbender could ever be capable of. And yet, lying in his arms, Niccolò looked so exhausted, so weak. Just like any other kid. Not a trace from the sheer force that was unleashed moments earlier.

I think this was really the moment Ermal started feeling real responsibility over Niccolo. Just seeing him do all these crazy things and yet being reminded that this huge burden of being the Avatar is literally thrusted upon a simple kid.  Also, this is the first time he called him “Nic”

Various noises and sounds buzzed through the air that afternoon: The loud shoveling of snow from the bow, the quieter crackling emerging from the hands of the firebenders who were melting their frozen compatriots, the fast steps rushing left and right over the ship. All these different sounds were heard, but none of them were chattering. Nobody dared to chat. Not after this disastrous defeat. What a disgrace that had been, General Renga thought grinding his teeth.

Everybody on this goddman ship is just scared shitless that Renga will roast them if they so much like whisper. they know he moody, they know he’ll blame them for the avatar’s escape. so lets all just work and repair shit and keep quite. 

When he found consciousness again, he was left with not only one horrendous purple bruise on his face, but also with a half destroyed ship. 

jdsfksajfklf OK SO YEAH, my first intention was “lmao let a piece of ice hit him” but then i realised “oh wait he’d have a bruise afterwards”  and then “LMAOOOO he’d be like Zuko, how perfect is that”   ok so granted, unlike our dear fire prince, Renga’s bruise is only temporary, but i really hoped someone would pick up the connection to Zuko

Whatever had happened to the Avatar earlier, it left a colossal mark on the ship, and secretly, on Renga personally too. He might have gotten fooled once, but he wouldn’t get fooled again.

basically, he feels personally insulted about being beaten by a kid. what a loser lmao

“Martino!”

“Y-yes, General?” stuttered the lanky assistant with the askew glasses, clenching his hands around his writing board. One would think you’d get used to Renga’s harsh tone over time, but that was simply not the case..

rip martino but renga absolutely needed a poor anxious assistant whom he could terrorise

“We need the best of the best to defeat him. And I just know the right choice for that job…”

heeeeheeee ….. no comment ..for now.  but im curious to what you guys think about that 

Thank you so much! this was a lot of fun to do ! :)

[rainbowserenity]

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

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

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

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

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

BUT WHO CARES :D

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

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

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

This area led to the demo area!!!

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

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

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

HELL YEEEEEEAHHHHH

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

I just really liked that Sora art~*~

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

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

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

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

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

and now for the merch!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

IS IT THE 29TH YET AHHHHHHHHHHHH

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

[ryouverua]

Panic! At the Killing Game

Starting off with a bang, I see.

PEW PEW PEW

also, holy shit K1-b0 that escalated quickly

Have we, uh, just not noticed the fact that K1-b0 flying around the school like the most violent firefly in existence?

“Look! It’s the DRV3 budget!!!”

NO SERIOUSLY WHAT PROPORTION OF THE BUDGET WENT TO THIS I NEED TO KNOW -

How powerful are his lasers and why did it take you this long to use them?! I thought you weren’t stronger than a senior citizen!!!

SCI-FI GENRE HIMIKO, YOU’VE TALKED ABOUT THIS BEFORE.

Has he fired anywhere near you guys or is he at least firing everywhere besides that general area?

They were doing this out in the grassy area near the gazebo, right? So he can see them and is avoiding them? Maybe?? .... I hope?!

 DO YOU HAVE BAZOOKAS IN THOSE ARMS TOO OR SOMETHING HOW POWERFUL IS THAT DAMN LASER ARM OF YOURS

I can’t decide whether Kokichi would be excited or terrified if he was here to see this.

here he comes, here comes speedracer

Red eyes take warning!!! Though, erm, I feel like K1-b0 might win the fight between you two if it came down to it - just saying. 8′D Unless you’re willing to fight to protect again....?

Some artist had the time of their life rendering K1-b0. Also has Shuichi always been this tall??? Or is - wait, Maki is only 5′4? K1-b0 is 5′3?! WHY IS EVERYONE LEFT ASIDE FROM TSUMUGI AND SHUICHI SO SMALL

I MEAN. OKAY. But could you give us a bit of a heads-up first?! We’re still flesh-and-blood people who could easily get hurt from th - wait why are you aiming that laser at me -

WAIT SERIOUSLY IT WAS ALL IN THERE?! JUST LAYING AROUND?! JUST FUCKING... THERE?!

I cannot believe Miu didn’t try to sneak some mods in while she was doing maintenance and upgrading the other parts of you. Though now that I think about it, maybe... she did do the upgrades? And K1-b0 knew about them, but just never used them before this before his antenna or ahoge or w/e got knocked off? look at me blatantly ignoring him saying he got this from his lab lmao

Oh??? Really??? Did you??? I COULDN’T TELL.

MY GOD IT WAS OUR FAULT ALL ALONG. THE RAMPANT ROBOPHOBIA. WE FINALLY PUSHED HIM OVER THE EDGE.

Oh holy fuck, okay, there it is.

“Is this because I took so long to do your FTEs? Because I never got your underwear in time? Because I’ll be more than happy to finish it now! Hell, give me your underwear right now and just skip the formalities entirely!”

“You did Korekiyo’s FTEs before mine, Shuichi! You completed his before mine!”

Are the concepts of ‘no murder’ and ‘explosions’ not mutually exclusive, K1-b0?!

“AND IN THIS FRIENDSHIP SPEECH LACED WITH ENOUGH MENTIONS OF ‘HOPE’ TO QUALIFY IT FOR THE DANGANRONPA ENDGAME, I WILL -”

“So therefore, mass suicide. You’re welcome.”

Honestly, how many people have attempted to kill everyone now in their own way? Kirumi may have killed to escape, but she pushed forward and attempted to cause a riot which was actively trying to get them all killed in her place. Kokichi and Gonta had their trial in 4 and now, fresh off of Maki killing everyone in his effort to take Kokichi down, we’ve got K1-b0. 5/16 people took direct actions to take the entire class out! 5/16! And I mean, that’s outside of the mastermind, so could very well be 6/16!

THIS ENTIRE CLASS NEEDS - WELL, NEEDED - SERIOUS THERAPY

“Yup. Bye.”

- pew -

Ooh, and it looks like the usual arguments aren’t working - like the classic ‘the classmates died so we need to live for their sake’ line.

OKAY K1-B0 CAN YOU DEFINE DESPAIR FOR ME OR IS THIS SOME KIND OF KOMAEDA 2.0 AWAKENING RIGHT NOW

the game tried to pretend Rantaro Kokichi was the Komaeda expy but it was me, K1-b0, the whole time!

“Also I got a new hairdo, but that of course is an entirely different subject. Btw do you like it? I know it was hard to see when I was shooting indiscriminately earlier.”

CAN SOMEONE FIGURE OUT WHERE THAT PIECE OF HAIR WENT ASAP

AGAIN CAN YOU PLEASE DEFINE WHAT ‘DESPAIR’ MEANS TO YOU?!

Anyway Shuichi still has Kaito’s wind in his sails because he is not willing to back down on this. Are you watching, Kaito? 8′)

LMAO YOU, UH, REALLY ARE GETTING HEAVILY INSPIRED BY KAITO, HUH.

Not that we’re going to name anyone in particu -

Shuichi.

Simulation??? Still survivors on earth??? Watching simulated personalities interact with each other as a trial run for the real thing???

.... I know the setting is practically solidified as sci-fi sorry Himiko but man there’s a part of me that wishes I could extrapolate the supernatural theme from Chapter 3 to the overall mystery of the game and apply it to a theory here. 8′D sorry that’s my own taste shining through

“IF YOU CAN USE THE ‘D’ WORD AS A WEAPON, I CAN USE THE ‘H’ WORD AS MINE!”

So that’s what we’re going to do this chapter? That’s good at least - I don’t think we can afford to let our numbers dwindle any more at this point. 8′D

OH HE’S THINKING ABOUT IT

Well, K1-b0 was one of the people who respected Shuichi’s title the most during most of the game outside of Kaede, Kokichi and Kaito. It does make sense for this argument to work better than the other ones.

Yeah, we’d have a difficult time progressing if you didn’t let us -

.... uh. What.

WHELP. HE’S HERE.

ARE WE ABOUT TO HAVE A FUCKING THROWDOWN RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW -

well shit he’s not exactly wrong

DAMN K1-B0, DAMN!!!

Do the others just not notice that huge chunk of hair missing??? I mean I guess no one commented on Shuichi’s lack-of-hat hair so maybe it’s not as noticeable in the game as it is to me outside of it. >>

“I AM LITERALLY GOING TO EXACT MY REVENGE ON EVERY PERSON WHO HAS EVEN LOOKED AT ME IN A MILDLY ROBOPHOBIC WAY!”

This is so brazen that I couldn’t bring myself to delete the cap but I FEEL VIOLATED ALL THE SAME

K1-b0 are you seriously going to go 1 v 5 against them?! .... I say that despite the fact that he was literally blowing up the school five minutes ago with giant-ass lasers and rocket-boosted flight. Hm. What are those on the exisals, machine guns? I guess depending on how sturdy the rest of his body is (CONSIDERING HIS HAIR GOT KNOCKED OFF BY FLYING DEBRIS) he might be okay. ... Or maybe he’ll just have to not get hit. Yeah, he’ll probably rely on agility then, huh.

There, at least now Sweetcheeks is showing extra concern for K1-b0. 8′D

K1-B0 YOU BETTER NOT FUCKING DIE WE LITERALLY HAVE ONLY 5 PEOPLE LEFT AND A TRIAL STILL TO GO

nice marvel reference

NGL I really like the pictures and the 3D rendering of K1-b0. Some anime-style games can have some issues translating the art style to 3d rendering but they really did a good job.

...............

thank god komaeda never had a gun.

........ Oh wait he totally did in that final dead room, didn’t he?

...............

thank god komaeda never had a giant laser gun

PEW! PEW PEW PEW!

SO HOW EXACTLY ARE WE GOING TO INVESTIGATE WITH K1-B0 LITERALLY DESTROYING THE EVIDENCE AROUND US -

Oh okay we’re just not going to. GG everyone!

[theskoomacat]

Ngfl I miss Crimea to death. My parents used to send me there with grandma every summer when i was a kid and I remember the latest trips with endless tenderness, but after the annexion everything sucks and mom says she’ll disown me if go there and i believe her. (i’ll still sneak in someday if I ever have the money and an opportunity.)

Me waxing a little poetic, #animal death mention and lots of screenshots hidden under the cut

My best memories are about two places and a handful of years. I might have talked about it already but anyway. One year I went with a school group organized by my school’s history teacher (not the one who taught our class, but a more clownish one) to a Scythian archeological dig site in Crimea (pic 1, green circle). (i’m going to use mostly yandex maps screens bc google has worse photos.) Funnily, it turned out to be right next to where I’ve been vacationing with grandma a week prior.

Pic 2 - aerial view of the dig site. The green area is where they’ve dug out a lil Scythian settlement and then built sandstone huts in the leftover pit, the red arrow points to the museum where they put some of the dug out stuff and the light blue area ~is where they were digging out a keep when I was there.

It was fantastic bc it was basically my first getaway from parents - there were still adults around but it wasn’t the same, I felt free and rolled up high my tight black jeans bc I thought it was cool and no one could stop me. It was kind of hilarious that I had expected that we’d be allowed to do Real Archeological Stuff (tm) but instead we, whose parents paid for this trip, were forced to go and dig up coarse turf every day instead (it was hot but ngl i loved shoveling away anyway). Only once we’ve managed to get to the WW2 layer and found some empty shells before the digging spot was taken from us, meanwhile I’ve stolen a vertebra with an artificial hole that after a trip to the museum turned out to be a weight for a loom (although totally out of its age layer so apparently not dateable and not valuable).

So we lived in a hole, I routinely had to carry out large spiders out of our hut, we went to historical tours around Crimea and had to suffer through boring films the history teacher made us watch - although after one we went out and the night skies were clearer than ever and me and some other kids laid down on some benches and talked while dozens of shooting stars burned above us, it was absolutely magical.

Pic 3 - red arrow is how far we had to walk to the beach (very hot, pretty unpleasant 1 km), green - me and grandma have lived not far in that direction. The beach and the water there kinda sucked but the teacher couldn’t stop us from frolicking in high waves and there was also a magical occurrence when suddenly the entire beach was overtaken by a myriad of ladybugs! They were everywhere for like 5 minutes and then fled off. I saved some of them that got stuck in the water.

Next year I also went to the same camp, I’m not sure which of the things I’ve mentioned happened the first or the second time around but I can surely say that Each year we had to go to Chersonesus (pic 4, left; behold, Greek Rocks) and it was a Horrible. Hot. Hell. rendered useless by the fact that I’ve been to it a year before with my parents.

BUT! After it each time we went to the Balaklava bay (pic 4, right; yes, that Balaklava) and swam in its crystal clear blue water. The only reason I agreed to go to Chersonesus for the 3d time.

~

So around this time (a year later? or the same year i went to the camp for the 2d time?) we vacationed in a pretty nearby place with grandma. I was sure it was Very close to the dig site until I did this “research” but it was not that close - pic 1, red circle. Same shoreline but kilometers to the south. We stayed in one sanatorium one year and then in a neighbouring one next year.

Pic 5 - we resided around here. Many Many other sanatoriums and hotels around and a village to the north.

There are only two things I remember about this place. Idk how but grandma let me walk anywhere I wanted alone (well, didn’t manage to stop me, I just didn’t tell her where I really went but she always could reach me on my phone) but I’ve explored the entire neughbouring area (where I could physically go, in many places you need a paper that you live in that sanatorium to access its territory) and in one park in the dark found a quite big hedgehog. I couldn’t interact with it as it’s just kinda curled up but it was cute nonetheless.

The other thing was Big. I walked along the shore every day while grandma was sleeping after the midday meal. Not that far at first but further and further every day, right along the edge of the sea. I started doing this during year 1 and was absolutely ecstatic to learn that we were going to the same place next year and I could continue Forrest Gumping.

So initially I went south (pic 6, red arrow). After the sanatoriums end it’s just you, kinda sharp rocks under your feet (I told myself this was free hours-long massage, idk if it really did me any good but I am used to almost any terrain now), a high sand cliff on your left, the sea on your right and a handful of nudists. Check out this pic (7) of how visible the spots where you can climb/go down the cliff are. I did that only once bc that cliff sucked a lot but it let me steal some grain from the field, it was very tasty.

So I could be mistaken but I think I’ve managed to reach the red ? (pic 6) once during year 2 in all my travels here - ~5,5 kilometers away from home (11 with the way back). The coastline looks pretty straight from above but from the perspective of the home point and even the midway point it looked like a sharp arc in this direction so every day I had to tell myself that I would never reach its end and look around that corner with the time I had and that that was okay.

Also at some point during year 2 I started going north, too, along the village (pic 6, green arrow). Those were heavily populated areas ofc, but it was still pleasant despite the drunks. Some shore parts were inaccessible so I had to turn to the village and I’ve definitely reached the green ! (pic 6). There was magic moment #??? - I was standing in the middle of some dry wild field and suddenly everything got covered by a dense fog cloud. I couldn’t see around me, I could barely see the sky. It passed pretty fast but it was still awesome.

I can’t pinpoint how far I’ve gone this way - I remember reaching some kind of a dam/water lock-looking inaccessible area with a big gate but I can’t recognize it on the map and that makes me think I might have met it somewhere else. I also remember meeting people along the way mourning over a little dolphin that got stuck and died in the rocks next to a pier during a storm, but I also am not sure this memory belongs to this place. In any case, I surely didn’t go farther than this coastline nub 2 kms away from home.

I treasure these memories a lot, moreover that with the kind of life you have during such grandma vacations it’s ususally the only thing worth remembering aside from the sea and the warmth of the sun. Thanks for reading.