#or at least hyped in such a way that I had completely different expectations for what the film would be

[culmaer]

¶

[somewhereincairparavel]

Alright. I came across someone saying that Rick "put Jason in a pedestal" and "overhyped" him by emphasizing how good looking he is and that Jason shouldn't have been so attractive looking. (Tbf tho that person made it sound like they seemed more mad bc their least favourite character was considered good looking lol) but I'll yap about the significance here anyways. Beware of a very long yapping session below.

I do understand their frustration though, because jason getting told that he looks good all the time makes it seem very shallow and unfair to the others.

And let me tell you, Jason is SUPPOSED to be gorgeous looking in everyone's eyes. He is supposed to be conventionally handsome, Rick didn't intend for his looks to be "beauty is in the eyes of the beholder " or something like Percy's (like how Piper didn't find him as impressive) Percy's is supposed to be more authentic. Percy's character isnt centred in people idolizing him, everyone can acknowledge that he's handsome looking, but it isn't in a "perfect" type of way, he's a carefree spirit and that reflects on his looks. While Jason is hardwired as this ethereal looking hero in people's eyes that not even ONE can deny that he looks good, bc ppl in Rome had set him as the "standard". Jason said this before in the lost hero, that him being a son of Jupiter, makes him feel like the support he gets is only because his dad is a very regal and intimidating figure.

That's kind of the whole point, he's supposed to look like this perfect man who can do no wrong. His "Golden noble boy" arc is literally the whole concept of his character. Why else do you think rick wrote Aphrodite approving of Jason's looks saying that he needed no improvement (which she rarely does) ?

Because Jason is supposed to be put like a statue to admire and idolize, that's ALSO why rick made sure to add that Jason looks like a Roman sculpture, bc that's like a metaphor for his inner conflicts. The guy was put like an artifact for people to ogle at in camp Jupiter ever since he was a kid of 4. That's part of the tragedy.

Annabeth said it perfectly “Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn’t completely trust the guy. He acted too perfect - always following the rules, always doing the honorable thing. He even looked too perfect. In the back of her mind, she had a nagging thought. What if this is a trick and he betrayed us?” Mark of Athena, page 6.

His mother, whom he's supposed to look like, is also a literal world wide tv actress. So you can't expect anything less either.

Also, Jason is supposed to mirror Percy. And let's be real. Rick put Percy in a VERY high pedestal looks wise, aswell, Not just Jason. And that's okay.

Rick made Hazel mistake Percy for a literal god because he was just that good looking (tbf, in a way, when I was younger, I found this to be a little bit of an exaggeration, bro was covered in mud and seaweed and was compared to a god, it was rlly funny to a 10 year old me 😭 yeah but don't mind this though, this was just a younger me jealous that I couldn't be as pretty as Percy was in mud lol) If Percy can be "hyped" up so "unrealistically" in that particular situation then so can Jason. They are both literal half gods, so unrealistic praise is very normal) and rick also made sure to emphasize that almost all the teen characters had a crush on Percy. So apparently that isn't called putting a character in a pedestal but Jason's is? They are BOTH put in pedestals, because they're both heroes.

Jason and Percy are supposed to be equals, so both of them being in the top two when it comes to looks makes SENSE. Because people are supposed to argue about who is better looking, since they're written as foils.

You cannot expect rick to make Percy look like a god and Jason look like a rat 😭 then there's no point of having them as parallels if one has the upper hand in something. Rick did a good job by conveying that they are BOTH attractive, but in different ways. That's why the Percy/Jason looks debate always have mixed answers.

Jason getting complimented by Aphrodite, the GODDESS of beauty, for his looks and her saying that he didn't have anything to "fix" in his face BC it already looks gorgeous = Percy getting compared to a gorgeous Roman god by hazel. They are both equal comparisons in slightly different tones.

[obaex]

the blind date - rafe cameron

summary: your friends set you and rafe up on a blind date, but it doesn't go quite as you'd expected.

words: 1.7k

a/n: based on this request ♡♡ the way this has me giggling and kicking my feet in the air - ahhhh!

“Alright lemme make sure I have this straight: unlimited access to your jet skis for the rest of the summer, your season tickets to the first two Panthers home games, and two cases of whatever beer I want?” Rafe confirmed, looking over to the driver’s seat at his friend Dylan who huffed in reply and rubbed a hand over his face.

“Yes, dude, that’s what we agreed on. Christ, it’s a blind date, not a death sentence. I swear to God if Maddie didn’t put me up to this, I would’ve left your ass to wallow at home alone.”

“I’m doing you a favor” Rafe replied, “It’s the least you could do.”

“I’m telling you she’s hot, you know you might actually be into her, did you even consider that?”

Rafe looked at him completely perplexed. “What makes you think I’m even looking for a girl? I do just fine as it is, thank you very much, plus you and I have very different tastes.” A pause. “Can I please see her insta?”

“We’ve been over this. No. Maddie said it would defeat the purpose of the ‘blind’ part of a blind date.”

“So fucking stupid” Rafe said as he shook his head and looked out the passenger side window.

You had gotten to the restaurant early; your best friend Maddie wanted to make sure every little thing was perfect and she was practically bubbling over with excited energy at the prospect of your blind date.

“This is going to be amazing, I just know it!!!” she said enthusiastically. “He is so your type, I will be at your wedding, babes, I swear it! Ahhh!” She had pulled you into the bathroom and was fluffing up your hair, touching up your lip gloss and tugging at your dress.

“So happy you went with this one, like yes you will thank me later, you look so damn hot.”

For all her flustered energy, you appreciated her hype and as you looked in the mirror you kinda had to agree with her. She had helped with your hair and makeup and the result was truly stunning; you had just the right amount of makeup on to make your natural beauty pop. Your dress was a little more revealing than you were used to, but it did make you feel confident and who knows, the way she talked about this guy, maybe it would all work out?

“Okay, okay, enough fussing, I’m already nervous enough. Can we please get a drink? I need a drink” you said, moving to walk out of the bathroom as she checked her own appearance in the mirror one last time before following you.

“Yes, good idea, you go loosen up, I’m going to make sure they got us that table by the window.”

You sidled up to the bar and leaned your arms on it, happy to have a moment’s reprieve from Maddie’s frenetic energy as you looked around in an attempt to distract yourself. The restaurant was really cute, coastal and modern and there was a sizable crowd between the bar and dining area. The steady thump of tropical house music played softly in the background which calmed your nerves and lifted your mood.

Within moments the bartender spotted you and made his way over. He was just about to greet you when he glanced over your shoulder. “Rafe! What’s up!” he said enthusiastically. “So sorry m’am, just one moment” he apologized as he clapped hands with the tall stranger that had walked up beside you. “What can I get you, bro?”

Rafe was smiling at the bartender and glanced at you briefly when he realized you’d been snubbed. It was a quick glance but he did a double take before he could control himself. You were… simply perfect. Your face held an expression of amusement and surprise with a clear smile that rested on perfectly glossed lips. You had an effortless air about you like you woke up every morning looking that good and then immediately every part of him wanted to know what you’d really look like in the morning… in his bed… at Tanneyhill… the sun reaching through the blinds…

What the fuck is the matter with me? he thought suddenly. And then, Fuck. Was I staring?

The bartender was looking at him expectantly with an eyebrow raised. He asked me something. Drink. A drink. What do I want to drink?

“Yeah man, I’ll have a bourbon, neat, and uh, whatever she wants” he replied, nodding his head towards you.

You smirked at him before glancing at the bartender, “Spicy margarita please, and since he’s paying, I’ll take it with Patrón.”

“Oof” Rafe said, grabbing his chest with his hand like you’d delivered a physical blow to him, “Way to take advantage.”

You laughed and tucked a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Yeah, well, I don’t believe in coincidences, and it just so happens I need some liquid courage. If a handsome stranger is offering, I’m taking top shelf.”

Rafe pursed his lips and nodded, trying to tamp down the feeling in his heart that you'd called him handsome. He glanced back towards the door to see if he could see Dylan and couldn’t find him. Good he thought, allowing himself to feel guilty for half a second until he refocused on the sight of you in front of him.

He cleared his throat. “So, uh, liquid courage?” he asked.

“I’m meeting a date here actually” you said, shaking your head, your blushed cheeks turning slightly rosier. “It’s a whole thing…” you trailed off, waving your hand dismissively.

Rafe couldn’t reason with himself why he felt so angry that you were here for someone else. Thankfully the drinks arrived which gave him a moment to process as he watched you take a deep sip of your drink.

‘What asshole doesn’t pick a girl up and take her on the date himself?’ he thought. Well, he thought he thought before he realized he’d said it out loud as you nearly choked on your drink in laughter.

You shook your head again, smiling and laughing “It’s not like that, it’s –”

“—Nah, I’m sorry, it’s not my business, I shouldn’t have said that” he interrupted, mortified that he'd let that slip.

“You’re fine” you reassured him. “It was sweet. It’s nice to know there are still decent men out there willing to keep things chivalrous.”

I would’ve picked you up he thought. On time. Walked to your front door. Flowers in hand.

His head was spinning. What the fuck is going on with me. He looked down at his drink and then drank it in one swig. When he set the glass down, he caught your look of amusement as he coughed.

“You good?” you asked, giggling.

He grimaced, “I will be” he said, holding up his empty to signal the bartender for another.

“Is my company that bad?” you joked.

His eyes darted to yours, “Quite the opposite, sweetheart” he said in a low voice that you felt from your beating heart to your fingertips to your belly and shaky knees. Shit you thought as you registered the effect this man had on you.

You blushed and met his warm gaze, realizing for the first time how deeply blue his eyes were, like sapphires. The two of you stood there, an arms-length away and it was like time stood still. You could feel your pulse in your throat, feel your body tingling like it was physically reacting to his proximity. Was he stepping closer to you or were you imagining it? His eyes left yours for only an instant to look at your lips and in that moment he had you hook line and sinker.

Suddenly, your phone buzzed on the bar in front of you and you jumped. He took an imperceptible step back, clearing his throat.

“S-sorry” you mumbled, quickly swiping open a text from Maddie: ‘Where r u?!!!!”

Shit.

“I-I’ve got to…” you waved your phone by way of excuse and nodded your head towards the tables, literally unable to string a sentence together at this point.

“Yeah, no problem” Rafe said, as casually as he could muster as you moved to leave. “Try to have a good time. And, hey” he said, capturing your attention one more time “Tell this guy he better give you a ride next time, okay? None of this high school ‘I’ll meet you there’ shit, okay?”

You laughed at your little inside joke and met his gaze one more time before turning and disappearing into the crowd.

Rafe’s next drink arrived and he slammed it back instantly before settling the tab, leaving a hefty cash tip and making his way towards the dining room.

Dylan fucking owes me he thought through gritted teeth, grimacing all the way through the crowded room, replaying your smile, the way you'd looked at him through thick eyelashes, even the way you’d smelled: like vanilla and coconut.

He was clenching and unclenching his fists as he searched the crowd, willing this godawful date to be over before it had even started. Finally he caught a glimpse of Maddie’s bright hair and Dylan’s frame at a table by the window; he moved to shift around several people when his eyes met yours, seated next to Maddie, across from an empty seat.

“Oh my god” you said, covering your mouth with your hand, stifling a fit of laughter and joy when you caught his eye.

He began to laugh too, the tension in his body immediately dissipating as he rubbed a hand over his face in an attempt to wipe away the goofy grin he felt there as he took his seat.

“What is going on, do you two know each other, what am I missing?” Maddie demanded.

“Nothing, it’s nothing, Mads” you said, giggling as your eyes danced and twinkled at Rafe.

She narrowed her eyes as they darted between the two of you. “Okaayyyyy, well YN, this is Rafe!”

“So, so nice to meet you” you said, your voice dripping with sarcasm, though you were thrilled to actually know his name.

“The pleasure is truly mine, sweetheart” he played back, a knowing smile resting on his lips that had you bursting at the seams as you two ogled each other.

Maddie and Dylan looked at you both like you were crazy as you just stared and giggled at one another before they gave up and settled back into their own conversation and you and Rafe picked up your menus.

“Tomorrow at 7:00” Rafe said just quietly enough for you to hear him as he pretended to eye the menu.

“What?” you whispered in reply.

“Be ready tomorrow at 7:00. I’m taking you out. And I’ll be picking you up this time” he said as he shot you a smirk over his menu.

taglist: @ietss, @gillybear17, @palmwinemami, @moremaybank, @one-sweet-gubler, @m-indkiller, @diary-of-jj, @crlsummer

[rumble-aint-a-rumble-without-me]

Henlo :) okay so um hcs for the gang with a reader who comes from a family thats rlly rocky, so they dont rlly experience love so when they get it its confusing for them? Like experiencing cuddles for the first time?

A/N: Thanks for requesting this! I’m super sorry for the delay, things got kind of hectic around here- hope you enjoy these!

DARRY CURTIS

Honestly? The Curtis brothers are probably the only ones here that have experience with familial affections and just affections in general?

Darry’s grown up with two parents who love him and is pretty used to the affections that come from that

When he meets you? Who doesn’t have that? Who’s never had that with their parents?

He takes it slow, he’s careful in how he holds you, not wanting to make you uncomfortable and he tells you that he loves you

Gives you all the compliments, asks you about your day and how you feel about different things, he really just does anything he can so that you know that he cares about you

Not exactly the best with his words like Ponyboy is but he knows that it’s important for you to hear that someone cares and appreciates you

SODAPOP CURTIS

Sodapop is very perceptive and already sort of knows what’s wrong when you sort of tense up when he tries to hug you or throw his arm around your shoulders 

He’s a very tactile person, he likes to be touching you, so if you’re not used to being touched or don’t exactly like being touched, I’d talk to him about

Sodapop won’t care, he doesn’t mind either way and would be happy to work towards a happy medium for the both of you

If you’re not used to being hugged and stuff? Sodapop kind of dials in his affections, being a little gentler with you

Hugs, cuddles, holding hands, he’s always going to give you the option to pull away from him

He doesn’t want to overwhelm you, he really just wants to show you that he loves you and if being held all the time doesn’t make you feel loved, that’s no problem, the two of you can work something else out!     

PONYBOY CURTIS

Ponyboy isn’t a very touchy person? At least my version of Ponyboy isn’t, so tensing up during cuddles and stuff doesn’t really register with him at first until you say something

Pony’s big thing is words if you couldn’t tell- I mean, kiddo literally wrote a whole book and gave it to a professor

So hearing you kind of talk down about yourself? Leftover habits from being told that your opinions don’t matter? That kind of sets him off

Expect tons of compliments and gentle reassurances from Ponyboy, all sweet and genuine remarks

He loves you, he loves hearing your thoughts and your parents were crazy for telling you that you didn’t matter

You do matter, and Ponyboy’s gonna make sure you know that <3

DALLAS WINSTON

My version of Dallas had a rough homelife back when he was in New York, his dad was a deadbeat, mom died when he was younger-

So for you to come from a rocky home and not be used to affection and kind words? You and Dal are kinda the same

He doesn’t entirely know how to show you that love he has for you?

Like it’s not second nature to just take your hand or kiss you before he leaves, y’know what I mean?

So like, if you guys were a seesaw of uncertainty about affection, I don’t know if seesaws are just an American thing but I hope not cause you guys would seriously be missing out, the seesaw would be perfectly balanced in the middle, completely flat

Over time though, the two of you get a bit better, relaxing into each other and showing each other a little more love! It just took you a little bit of time 

JOHNNY CADE

Yeahhhhh so Johnny has a pretty rough homelife too so I have a feeling the two of you are in the same boat here

The whole not knowing how important you are, uncomfortable during physical affections, yadda yadda yadda, you guys know what I’m talking about

I think the relationship you have going with each other is good though! It’s good for both of you!  

Johnny gives those vibes that he’d definitely be the hype man for everyone else while putting himself down

So he’d shower you in all the compliments, in all the pretty words and everything you could ever ask for, paired with a few gentle kisses pressed to your cheeks

Every aspect of this relationship would be so calm and laid-back, you’d be so good for each other because you’d finally be able to show each other what real love should be <3  

TWO-BIT MATHEWS

Okay so I take back what I said about the Curtis bros, Two-Bit’s mom definitely loved him like a mother should and I can’t believe I overlooked that- 

She works two jobs for her kids and I can’t believe that I forgot how hard she works for them

He’s also very touchy? Like Sodapop, he likes to be touching you so he’s kind of taken aback when he realizes how confused you are by it

He’s like ??? and pulls away very slowly, looking at you and trying to figure out what’s going on in your head

And I swear, if you say one thing bad about yourself, no matter what it is, Two-Bit is immediately correcting you, telling you you’re perfect and that he cares in his own Two-Bit way

“Whaddaya mean you don’t care? I wanna know what you wanna do, doll. Where do you wanna go to dinner?”

STEVE RANDLE

Steve, another very touchy boy, does his best to slowly ease into physical affections with you

He’s not trying to make you uncomfortable or overwhelmed, he just really wants to hold your hand when you’re walking around the drive-in together

I suggest having a conversation with him about your less than satisfying homelife? Steve’s got his own shitty household, and I think he’d be pretty understanding 

He gets a little sad when you talk about how you think you don’t matter? It hurts him to think that you don’t think you’re important

Steve looks at you like you’re his whole world, he just can’t believe that someone could tell you that you’re not good enough

Gentle reminders that you’re enough, you’re more than enough and that he loves you are given in the form of extra dates, extra compliments and extra loving!  

TIM SHEPARD

The reason Tim is so forward with his affections and compliments is because he stops being able to function the second those nice things turn back on him-

So yeah! Both of you don’t really know what to do with gentle affection because you both had rocky homelives

But! You’re working on it, both of you, you’re slowly relaxing into each other, slowly realizing that this is what love really is and this is how it’s shown

And as for your self-worth? Tim makes sure you really know he cares about your opinions

He’ll ask what you’re doing, what you want to do and what you don’t want to do, what you like about this and what you don’t like about that

It’s not overly obvious? But his questions are definitely him trying to see what you want and trying to do whatever you want so you can the chance to be heard 

CURLY SHEPARD

Curly Shepard had a messed up childhood no matter what sort of background you headcanon him to have so I think he’d understand where you’re coming from

Hesitancy to be wrapped in a hug or to have someone hold onto your hand?

Confusion when you’re given compliments or trusted to make decisions for something?

Curly understands what you’re going through, he’s got the same thing going on himself sweetheart <3

Together though, I think the two of you would be really really good, you’d do a lot of good things for each other and sort of build each other back up

By the way, it’s hard to not feel special when you’re with Curly because he’s always calling you by little nicknames and giving you what he’s got, saying sweet things and all that good stuff <3

[melancholic-and-delusional]

Taking the BSD boys to a cat café pt.1

This can be platonic or romantic, whatever you want. I apologize in advance if there are any mistakes, but English isn't my native language.

Word Count: 1.4k

Gender Neutral Reader

Feat. Atsushi, Dazai, Chuuya, Akutagawa, Fyodor, Nikolai

Atsushi

He was rather excited to visit this cat café you've been hyping up. He loves cats, so, naturally, he would love to sit around so many of them while enjoying a nice beverage.

You both walked into the café and the smell of fresh coffee beans instantly hit your nostrils. As you looked around, you admired the cute cats you were surrounded by. You guys found a table and sat down. A waitress came over to you, took your order, and soon brought it to the table.

"How are you enjoying this experience so far?" you asked Atsushi before you took a sip of your cappuccino.

"It's quite nice actua-" a cat climbed up his lap and interrupted him. You chuckled at his surprised face. He soon relaxed. The cat seemed to get very comfortable, and Atsushi began to pet it gently.

"We've been here for about 10 minutes now, and a cat is already starting to like you. To be honest, I'm kind of jealous" you say with a soft smile on your face, "Perhaps they sense you're one of their own" you make the same dumb joke about his ability.

"I'm a tiger!"

"Same difference!"

You both laugh. You spent at least 2 hours at the café playing with the cats. It was a really fun experience that you enjoyed very much.

Dazai

He's obviously a cat person, so when you brought up the idea of visiting a cat café the next time you go out, he expected it to be quite a pleasant experience.

Dazai was sitting at a table. You, however, were at the other end of the shop playing with a bunch of kitties. His face had a bitter expression plastered all over it. The cats loved you, yet they seemed to hate him. He had already been scratched a dozen times while you were sitting on a soft carpet and petting a cat that was laying calmly on its back. Eventually, he got bored looking at you having fun without him and abandoned the coffee table.

You were sitting and petting a random cat and were completely lost in admiration for the adorable creature when suddenly a hand was placed on your shoulder.

"Don't ignore me for the cats! They can't be more important than I am!" Dazai whined and crouched down to you. You laughed at his childish antics and stopped petting the cat. You grabbed his hand and gently moved it closer to the laying animal. With a relaxed motion, you showed him how to pet the cat properly. He finally managed to befriend a cat and was overjoyed.

At the beginning of the date, he wanted you to leave as soon as possible, but now he cherished each second you spent there.

Chuuya

Chuuya's a dog person, but that doesn't stop him from having a soft spot for cats as well. When you suggested going to the local cat café he thought that it would be a normal hangout.

"When you asked me to go to a cat café with you, I didn't expect I would end up in these predicaments" Chuuya was sitting across from you at your table surrounded by half of the cats in the building. For some reason they seemed to love him. There was a cat sitting on his shoes, a cat quite literally sleeping on his lap, a third cat being pet by him and a small kitten which was toying with the chain on his hat barely keeping its balance on Chuuya's shoulder.

You were laughing and holding up your phone to take a picture while he did his best not to move much so he doesn't disturb the cats. Suddenly, the kitty on his shoulder fell down right onto the cat on his lap. A loud meowing was heard and the cat jumped from his lap onto the floor and ran away. The one laying on his feet got scared and ran the opposite way and so did the cat he was petting. Now he was holding the small kitten in his hands because it was the only one left. A genuine smile crept up on his pretty face at the small animal.

"This one is quite troublesome" he said and all you could do was lean your head into your palm and savour the moment.

After leaving the place, Chuuya couldn't help but feel a little sad he had to leave his new friend. He knew that he couldn't adopt him since he worked at the Port Mafia and he wouldn't have enough time to take proper care of the creature and also couldn't guarantee a safe environment for it, but he was determined to return soon.

Akutagawa

Akutagawa was uncertain about your suggestion. He didn't think that spending time along unpredictable creatures all around you was the best way to make use of one's time.

You both were sitting at the table sipping from your drinks. He watched you pet the cats who passed by your table and wondered what could possibly be so good about them that they made you so happy. Yes, they were cute, but beyond that he simply couldn't think of anything else.

As Akutagawa was tasting his beverage, he felt something nudge his leg. Slightly annoyed, he looked down, only to be met with the green eyes of a black slender cat cuddling his legs while gazing back at him. There was something about that stare that made his heart go weak at the adorable creature. He reached down to rub its head, and the kitty purred into his gentle touch. All of a sudden, he felt a warm feeling all over his chest. A small smile appeared on his pale face, and at that very moment, he realized why you appreciated cats so much.

The both of you spent the rest of the day playing with the cats and left the café very pleased.

Fyodor

You still remember the suspicious stare Fyodor gave you after you asked him to go to a cat café together. He did prefer cats over dogs, but hanging around a place filled to the brim with them seemed below him. Still, he agreed to entertain you since he appreciates your company and does not want to upset you.

And there you guys were, sitting on a lonely table close to the window. He had ordered white tea and didn't expect to actually like it as much as he did. He looked over to you and slightly opened his mouth to start a conversation when he noticed your attention was entirely occupied by a cat. You were smiling and playing with the cute animal while he stood with his mouth still open. He couldn't help but feel slight irritation that you'd prefer talking to a cat over him. Soon enough, though, the cat left your side, and you looked back at Fyodor.

"Why don't you try engaging with one of the cats?" you asked him, and he sighed. He glanced at a nearby cat laying on the fluffy carpet and reached his hand out to pet it. He found running his hand through the thick fur quite calming and continued to do that for a while.

"Perhpas it isn't so bad after all" he said.

"I told you you'd like it. We should go here more often. It's quite relaxing and you're always very busy and tired so it's a nice place to chill out for once."

You did end up coming there frequently when you had free time.

Nikolai

He loves any and all animals, and so when you offered him to sit at cat café he was thrilled.

As soon as you walked through the door, he immediately went up to pet all of the cats one by one. He was basically like a little kid at a candy shop. Once you sat down, he couldn't contain his excitement.

"Quiz time! How many cats will we be taking home?" he asked with enthusiasm.

"We can't adopt any right now and you know that, right? Besides, you'll most likely lose them during the first week" you reply calmly.

"Aww. A shame!" he exclaimed and stood up, "That means we have to spend as much time with them as possible." As soon as these words left his mouth, he picked up one of the cats. You watched in amusement as he played with each and every one.

You practically dragged him out of the building when it was about to close, and he ended up memorizing each cat's name.

Thank you so much for reading this, and I really hope you enjoyed it! If you find any of the characters a bit OOC, I'm really sorry. If you want, you can always send me a request to write something (my post about rules and requests is pinned)

[pippin-katz]

I understand being upset that Mary & George is about filthy sex vs. RWRB but also... As a queer person, straight people have shows like GoT which are mostly filthy hetero sex so we can have the same.

People had sex for power throughout history, that's just how it is. And George was mentioned in the RWRB novel by Henry specifically so to have Nick portray him in this show is pretty cool.

You misunderstand me.

I have absolutely no qualms about Mary & George being the show that it is. I have no problem with it being raunchy and sex-filled. I'm entirely for variety of content and genres for all groups of people.

What I was pointing out is that this show is truly getting attention. There's interviewers, articles, social media posts, etc. that are all buzzing about it. It's not just a niche group of book fans that are anxiously awaiting the adaptation. There is a lot of hype, and one of the first things everyone mentions when discussing this show is the sex.

That's all completely fine, but I can't help but feel like this excitement and anticipation would not have applied to Red, White & Royal Blue, even if it had gotten the promo it should've.

People love getting excited/flustered/teasing/curious over sex on the screen, particularly if it's dirty and/or kinky. "Sex sells" is a saying for a reason.

It hurts to finally get a movie like Red, White & Royal Blue, that is beautiful, hopeful, funny, happy, and unapologetically queer, without it being the center plot point, and know deep down that it would never get as much praise or attention as something like Mary & George would.

The painful truth is that for the general masses, gay relationships boil down to sex. It's what they think of first. It's what some of them only think about. When a ship/pairing is proposed, what's one of the very first questions asked or teased about?

"Who's the top and who's the bottom?"

It is treated as something that they are expected to share based on how casually it's asked. You would never ask that question to a heterosexual couple even though those terms can be applied to them too. It's all they want to talk about, and yet they're also oblivious and ignorant. I mean, for fuck's sake, at least 75% of the viewing population of RWRB, even those who would consider themselves dedicated allies, did not know that men could have missionary sex. All they picture when they think of gay sex is rough, back-to-chest sex where they aren't facing each other. It did not even occur to them as a possibility that men could have gentle, face-to-face sex.

Loving sex is rarely depicted between queer couples on the screen, which is what made Red, White & Royal Blue so different and important.

The film is also not centered around their sexualities. They are contributing factors to the plot, but they are not the focus the way it is in movies like Love, Simon. Taylor recently quoted Matthew with this phrase: "It is not a gay love story; it's just a love story."

Henry and Alex's relationship is depicted no differently than any heterosexual romcom couple. If you switched one of them to a woman, you could play the plot out the exact same way; all you would change would be the scrutiny based on their sexualities, which can be substituted for class differences, race, or literally anything else that the public could hold against them.

And to clarify again, there is nothing wrong with showing the other side of this. I have no problem with it whatsoever!

It is just disappointing and frustrating to see how fast and easily the media flock to a show like Mary & George because it's so "outrageous" and "sexy", while Red, White & Royal Blue has practically been brushed off only six months following its release after it dominated the worldwide charts for several weeks.

I know what people will say: "Oh, the window for promo has passed!" "Oh, they're still talking about it a bit!" "Oh, it's because of the strike!"

Yes, it was, but I cannot shake the feeling that even if it hadn't happened, Red, White & Royal Blue would have still gotten the short end of the stick compared to something like Mary & George, or The Idea Of You that's coming out later. I'm pushed more towards that mindset after RWRB lost the SAG award the other night even though it was easily the best one on that list.

RWRB is treated as inferior and has already suffered from homophobic Hollywood standards multiple times, but I almost guarantee you that M&G will receive mountains of praise and awards, despite being way more explicit than RWRB is.

That is what I have a problem with.

[gr444nde]

could i be more obvious?

(inspired by “obvious” by ariana grande)

vinnie hacker x fem!reader oneshot

warnings: none, just fluff :)

(lowercase intended)

you were good friends with vinnie, ever since he joined the hype house. you met him through some friends and you guys have been inseparable since. he was your best friend and you were his, even if you did have a tiny crush on him. still, you decided to push those feelings away in fear of him not feeling the same way.

“do you know what you want?” you turn to vinnie as you two sit at the drive-thru line line for chick-fil-a. “uhh just a large fry and a chicken sandwhich..” you nod and turn back around to the speaker-post while muttering “basic ass..” under your breath. “what was that?” you hear vinnie say loudly in your ear. “nothing..” you give him a fake smile as if you weren’t just clowning him for his order. vinnie hands you his card, you look at it and you swear your stomach did a flip as your heart fluttered. you smile, taking the card and handing it to the cashier. this wasn’t the first time vinnie had paid for the both of yours food, but it felt different this time. taking the card back you pull up the next window and take your food. handing him his bag of food as you take yours. “what did you want to do after this?” you turn to him as you dip you nuggets into the ranch and plop it into your mouth. “trampoline park?” he answers looking a little excited at the idea. “wont that look creepy? just two adults at a kids trampoline park..” “it’s not if you don’t make it creepy.” he argues. with a heavy sigh and a long pause, you finally give in. “fine.” you start up the ignition and drive to your nearest, and best trampoline park.

you pull into the parking lot of the trampoline park, glancing at vinnie every now and then cause he really does look excited. like he’s been waiting for this moment. “you ready?” you say unbuckling your seat belt. “mhm. it’s been ages since ive visited a trampoline park. i just wanna see if it feels the same from when I was a kid.” you laugh. “no, you just want an excuse to go to a kids place without looking like a creep.” you say as you chuckle.

you two walk into the trampoline park and get settled in before playing. everywhere you looked there was birthday parties for every age. you both find yourselves at a obstacle race. “you want to?” vinnie asks you. you know you’re going to lose but you say yes anyways cause he’s your best-friend, and the course seemed really fun.

as you and vinnie are running around the trampoline park looking like little kids, you eventually get tired and decide to call it a night. you two head back to the car, your legs and feet in pain as you two are giggling and laughing about the fun time you both just had. vinnie turns to you, his voice in a serious tone. “i have something to tell you when we get into the car.” you look up at him as he speaks and you nod your head. “yeah, of course.” you answered back in a serious tone.

you two get into the car, the key hasn’t gone in the ignition yet. “what did you want to tell me?” you turn to vinnie with a smile. “i wanna be completely honest with you.” your eyebrows furrow at this. it couldn’t possibly happening. not now at least, right? “okay..” you say, expecting him to continue. “but, i don’t know if you feel the same.” you feel as if time just froze. “vinnie, what are you saying?” vinnie scoffs. “i like you. like, LIKE like you.” you smile. “really? like there’s no follow-up?” he shakes his head. “no and I’m assuming you don’t feel the same?”

maybe him being unlucky with girls made him think so negatively about this whole thing, thankfully you felt the same. except for the fact you really did think he was kidding. “oh my god, vinnie be serious. like are you joking?” he once again shakes his head, but you still couldn’t wrap your head around the fact he likes you ROMANTICALLY. “im sorry im just like-” you scoff in disbelief. “you like really have a thing for me?” vinnie nods and laughs. “could i be more obvious?”

i started this a week after my first writing and then left it alone for a month and just rushed to finish it. ALSO i wanna try and stay away from the term “y/n” i feel like it’s a little odd but i wont NOT use it, i just won’t use it a lot. oh and happy thanksgiving to those who celebrate! thanks for reading and i don’t know how to use this app but send me requests! (i promise i’ll actually do them) have an amazing day !! 💋🤍

[local-pal]

Dooming about Arcane Season 2, send help.

I’m throwing this word vomit on here. I'm sorry in advance.

So, Viktor’s been my favorite League character (for lore purposes only, I don’t reeeeeally play him much) since I can remember. And I don’t know if it’s nostalgia or fear of change speaking here but I didn’t care much for his character in Arcane. 

I don’t think lore Viktor is perfect, far from it. Though his characterization has come a long way ever since he was just a silly evil communist Russian stereotype, he’s not that developed and you can kinda tell the current lore was being held back by having to fit in the already established role he had, and the canon at the time. Like him being kind of a one-dimensional asshole even before he turned into the Machine Herald—because Jayce was also an absolute asshole and assholes only really do well with one another.  His silly goal of turning all of Runeterra into machines, or whatever the writers feel the Glorious Evolution is at the time. Blitzcrank just being shoved in there. His discussion with Jayce being only glazed over. His characterization is also really inconsistent in the games. I can’t blame League of Legends because his model and voiceover are incredibly old (ASU with Arcane, maybe?), but Legends of Runeterra’s feel like the writers didn’t really read through all of his lore and kinda stuck with the old evil communist Russian robot thing a bit. Also, his role as the one enhancing the Underground’s people has kinda been replaced by both Renata Glasc and some other cards of Legends of Runeterra. He doesn’t have much left at the moment.

So a complete retcon might not be that bad? But I’m not at all hyped for the lore being replaced with the one in Arcane. The following is all speculative—Internet-friendly itemized list coming up.

1| The Marketing

Viktor wasn’t really marketed as a main character in Arcane like how Jinx, Vi, Cait, and Jayce were. Honestly, I was surprised he was even there at all when I first watched the series. He didn’t get a skin, didn’t get merch (as far as I know), didn’t get a (now discontinued) Path of Champions story, nor an icon in the game. 

As far as I can tell from the marketing for season two, this is the case again. I don’t wanna sound like I don’t like the characters, because I loved Arcane (I watched it eleven times in the first year!), but I’m not happy with the story focusing on Jinx and Vi again. I felt like their relationship was almost established, with some more screen time in season two to fully cement the way the writers wanted it to go. Like there isn’t much to do unless they want to kill or redeem Jinx, at least from what I can see. I really hope I’m wrong and they do something more interesting with her, though I could not imagine why. 

So, does the marketing imply that the story is not gonna focus on him? I would be extremely disappointed. I think his character is the best to focus on the political themes on Arcane, but I’m not a writer.

2| The Season Is The Same Length As The First One

I don’t feel like there’s enough time in a six-hour show to tackle this as a main plot point and Viktor’s transformation into the Machine Herald; and they said this was the finale. And I honestly fully expected it to be the story of season two. 

Do I sound entitled? I feel like I might come off entitled. Maybe I do feel entitled.

Viktor’s (and by extension, Jayce’s) was always one of the most interesting stories League had for in my opinion. Not much of the Piltover and Zaun lore tackles any themes quite like his, as superficial as they might be. At least it kinda tries to say something about transhumanism and how people from oppressed groups have to try much harder than those from privileged ones (by pointing out the difference in Viktor’s and Jayce's attitude towards work, and both of their origins and perception by outsiders.) This is kinda what Arcane is trying to convey for much of its runtime as well, so it seemed like a good fit.

I highly doubt that’s gonna happen now. At most, they show the beginning of his life as the Machine Herald, but I honestly don’t think we’re getting much of what comes after—things like the work he does in the Undercity, his cult, all of the rumors, a deep look into his philosophy, Jayce’s feelings about his transformation. It seems like there’s not enough time. And I’m not even getting into my issues with his characterization in Arcane. So I guess it’s time for…

3| The Hexcore: Oh my God. Please don’t do this to me, Arcane.

They are sooooooooooo gonna make the Hexcore corrupt him and turn him insane. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am. Please let me be wrong. Please let him become radicalized (by the war?) and let all of his further development come from him and not from an entity that’s making him insane. That would make his entire character so easy to dismiss by the story. “Oh, he’s just insane now.”, “Oh, the Hexcore is putting all of its ideas on his head, this is not really him.” (Remember how it’s implied that it’s alive and it learns?)

I think I was always interested in thinking how could this philosophy (the Glorious Evolution) sprout from a somewhat normal person, albeit one under a lot of emotional distress over his banishment from Piltover. How much is it his actual ideology and how much has it been distorted by rumors or so? Because he seemed fairly reasonable in his color story. It seemed interesting to explore—something like the actual man, Viktor; and the legend, the Machine Herald. He even has a cult, come on. 

For what it’s worth, I’ve been dooming about this ever since the third act came out. I thought killing Sky was gonna be a turning point of some sort. I don’t know, I kinda deluded myself while I was watching. I was like, okay, THIS is the beginning of the Machine Herald! But I’m hazy on how act three Viktor is gonna come to similar conclusions to those of the Machine Herald himself. Which is why I’m scared they are gonna take the easy way out and make the Hexcore speak to him. This has been very exacerbated by being told that Arcane is canon now. And I’m sure they’d said they wouldn’t do that. I don’t know what I expected from Riot and how they manage the story. 

I hope I’m so wrong that I’m gonna look back at this and laugh myself to tears at how pessimistic I was being. He did look a little bit evil while confronting the council.

4| Jayce.

Contrasting what I feel about Viktor’s character, I think Jayce’s characterization in Arcane is superb. He might be my favorite character? Though they kinda took lore Viktor’s story and stole it from him. (A bit of a tangent, but if we’re lucky we get some parallelism if Viktor is ever exiled from Piltover without Jayce defending him. Kind of a “he did it for you but you won’t do it for him” kinda way, even when both had a lot to sacrifice. That would be fucking cool.)

I guess I’m worried about his willingness to use weird-ass magic to enhance people, unlike lore Jayce. Where is the Divorce Arc going to come from? Using Hextech as weapons? Are they not gonna present an opposing view of transhumanism? Everyone except Heimer seemed pretty on board, to be honest. And that might change with him getting to see other sides of the Undercity, so I don’t even know.

It kinda feels like they swapped their stories and viewpoints. In Arcane, Viktor is the one to oppose progress by wanting to destroy the Hexcore because it took a life. Though it might be just the guilt of the moment. My Viktor would never oppose progress for something as insignificant as that, come on! (/hf)

They BETTER give me toxic yaoi, too.

5| The Rest of the Lore.

So, are they gonna re-write everything? Jayce and Viktor being the ones pioneering Hextech has so many branching consequences for the lore at large. What happens with Camille? How fast is Hextech gonna develop? Noxus getting involved in the war between Piltover and the Undercity? Where does Swain fit in all of that, or is he not contemporary to these characters? They mentioned building Piltover specifically to flee the unyielding reign of mages; are they gonna elaborate on that? Are the Rune Wars going to be relevant like Heimerdinger said? 

The good thing about Arcane being self-contained used to be that nobody had to think about what they were retroactively changing. This is going to be a clusterfuck.

[shiraishi--kanade]

Disappeared for rehearsal but your anger is totally justified and honestly as a wxs fan I am so so disappointed in the ones who start hating on vbs for this and completely misinterpreting all this and callig it useless for no other reason other than spite. Grow up oh my god.

Ofc i also was excited for limited tsks5 (but moreso for the possibility for long haired rui bc samurai-ish set?) but it's not like. The end of the world. Idk i just feel like this is such childish behaviour and you, especially as a vbs oshi, deserve to be mad bc honestly. The twitter community is so tiring. Prsk twt fandom stop idolising n25 and wxs and acting like everything else is a problem and bad and not worth it challenge absolute fail!!!!

And you're def also a big reason i grew to understand and love vbs more and always talk with sense and u know a lot of things so if you were excited and this is making u mad than it must even worse so I'm so sorry. Pls be sure to take time to yourself if you need it to not interact with anyone who's acting Like That bc your enjoyment is the most important!!

I'm excited tho!! I do need to catch up on vbs stories yo understand all of this better, bc i have an idea but not like. A clear one. And this definitely is a very good motivation because !!!!! THIS IS SO BIG!!!

Oh trust me, I was excited for Tsukasa5 being limited as well (multiple reasons, aside from what you've said: while I understand the reasoning behind this set being lim, I genuinely wish it wasn't because it'll likely lock side stories and generally nice story moments from some players forever which is unfair, and I don't think shouldn't have been lim in the same way Canary event or Our Happy Ending or Saying Goodbye to My persona weren't; I'm also pissed off by, as I already said, VERY BAD TERRIBLE NO GOOD precedent for the greedy and unfair gacha this banner sets up). It's majorly messed up from Sega's part to do that with him, but it's not because they hate WxS as characters or something, it's because they know they can put a limited event, a WLE (semi-limited) and then a fan-favourite unlimited banner and still get profit from all of it, possibly more than they would if the distribution was better. It's not them hating WxS fans (if anything, VBS fans are more screwed), it's just corporate greed that we need to stop personifying.

I guess I'm just majorly disappointed, more even in the VBS fans being... Like this than the outside reaction. VBS have always been a running joke withing the fandom let's be honest, not a lot of people take them and their (very interesting) themes seriously at all (which is partially why LUtF had so much backlash for suddenly getting serious as if VBS weren't already that). Others' reaction to The Event was always something that I could predict, the amplification of it by the malicious planning is unfortunate but understandable. It's the in-fandom panic and the discovery that people who claim to be fans genuinely do not read the events, do not read the events' synopsis, the events' short summaries and then proceed to have insane takes and spread them as truth that got me upset the most I think lol.

That said my rage is amplified a lot here, mostly for laughs. I am majorly annoyed and miffed because I was expecting at least the VBS fans to be hyped and excited so we could all celebrate, but oh well. Forgot I have different definition of "a fan of a unit" than 90% of the fandom. I still know a lot of people who are on the same wavelength as me and we can get hyped together though, so like I said, it doesn't upset me too much, just makes me want to whack some people with a comically oversized hammer. I'll be just fine.

Thanks though! :D

Edit: hope you had fun at the rehearsal by the way!

[vinxwatches]

fallout (2024)

WARNING: i did not finish this. i didn't want to finish this. do not read or watch if you like happy stories. do not read or watch if you like the darkness in the fallout games. this show is dark in gruesome, permanently damaging ways. fuck this. the show may fucking nail the aesthetic of fallout, it doesn't get the vibe of fallout. fallout is set in a serious world where video game characters go through a video game plots in a world that's also often goofy. an equivalence would be if the mario movie had a serious burial of Luigi half way through and he just stayed dead. a clear sign that it doesn't get it.

trigger warning: gore, dismemberment of the living and dead. the dog dies.

as a big fan of fallout 4, even fallout 76, and a letsplay of Fnv this is very hype. and the references they are putting in straight is so cool to see. and damn, that's how you start a fallout. and now jus the references, seriously the vault hallways looks straight up lifted from fallout 4 (with high definition mods)

a vault having connections with a different vault? so that either is a process of kicking people the fuck out, or the evil experiment from vault tech... probably both. also love that they don't avoid the fucked up lore that really makes fallout fallout.

oh yea, this is how you start a fallout part 2, the personal angle. kind of bummed that she doesn't start with the classic bulky 10mm. and of course there's something about the protaganists family, because this is bethesda fallout (not derogatively, just perfect adaptation)

me, out loud: "ohhh, that's the pridwin, that's so cool" if you get me to talk out loud you did good. petty power politics? how very fallout of you. "i'm bringing him home". i'm very sorry but that's not how fallout works.

also loves that bethesda continues with inclusivity. Dane is nonbinary, played by a trans actor. it's so small, it plays no role (at least i find it HIGHLY unlikely that it will. nb people are just part of reality, and so they are now (finally) entering media.

the fucking junk jet made it in?

just "the ghoul". i wonder if we'll get more info on what ghouls are. i mean i know. i've probably heard more false things then there's true stuff about ghouls to know. but if you're new to fallout i think the vault is relatively obvious, and the brotherhood is pretty well explained. but the concept of a ghoul? practivally nothing outside of them being scary, can go "feral", and are weird. but it is only the first episode.

02

it wouldn't be fallout without skeletons in strange positions and/or environmental story telling. did they use fallout sound effects for the weird man drinking water? it may not be but that is diamond city. at least based of it. it looks so fallout that i can't even remember which of the places i've had a shootout in it reminds me of, it's too many.

not a fan of living gore. like fallout game gore is fine. shooting limbs of completely mindless things? fine. but not on a person, espcially not one that's then crudely taken care of. i'm way too terrified of something happening to me, it tends to roam in my mind anyways, even more so now that i've a reason to give a shit about my body, so the dismemberment of the living... ew, please, no more. at least it doesn't stick around too long (in which case why? just to be gross?)

"cyanide was the most humane product vault tech ever made"... accurate yet horrifying.

03

oh... so that's who the ghoul is. and that, well it'll create drama, and i'm curious how close it's to the story of nuka break. haven't seen that show in too long.

me, out loud, after wondering what that monster was "oh of course it was a gulper. wait, no, those are east coast, this was west coast." not really a plothole, monsters from one side often make their way to the other. harder for a water based creature. unless the same thing evolved twice.

oh, those eyes weren't just more human then expect. that thing was human... once.

the golden rule is severely lacking. don't do onto others as you'd have them to onto you. if i was into bondage and often horney how do you think it'd treat people if the golden rule was. a good rule is "treat others how they want to be treated" or "treat others how you can reasonably expect they want to be treated". the golden rule of the wasteland is pretty accurate though: "thou shalt get sidetracked by bullshit every goddamn time". this rule is, in fact, recursive.

of course the waterchip is broken. this is fallout after all.

04

ok, no, i'm done. no dismemberment of main characters. fuck you. even if she does get it back. i'm done.

[petchricor-creates]

Little sneak peak of Pieces of Him, the multi-chapter fic I've been working on

"So, Carolina and I have been talking," Wash started, shoving his hands into his pockets as he looked out the window. "And, we think we need to take the AIs."

Tucker scowled. "Take them? What do you mean?"

"I mean, take them," Wash said, this time with conviction. "The past iteration of them were experimented on and tortured. I don't know that I could live with myself if that happened to them again."

Tucker looked at his feet as he walked, taking the thought in. He couldn't agree more, if on a wildly different principle. The AI were all there was left of Church and he'd be damned if they got hurt.

He looked back at Wash, stopping when he wasn't there. Tucker turned to see Wash standing a few paces behind, staring out the window.

"Wash?" Tucker headed over and looked out. He scowled deeply at the amount of press lining the front lot. "Oh." He could see Dr. Grey and Kimball out front, answering questions. The press surrounded them like a pack of hungry dogs, wanting to be the first to share every scrap of information about the almighty Reds and Blues. He felt guilt well up in his chest. They shouldn't have to deal with this shit, after all they'd been through.

"Look at them," Wash muttered bitterly. "Can you imagine what would happen if we even told someone those AI existed?" He turned to Tucker. "They'd suffer."

Church never really went into detail about what The Director did to him during Project Freelancer. All that Tucker knew is that it was bad enough to completely fragment his mind. If that was anything to go off of, Tucker knew Wash was right. He couldn't let that happen to Church. Or, well, what was left of him.

"We can't let that happen," Tucker said. Wash nodded in agreement before he started walking again, Tucker moving with him. "Where would we take them?"

"Far from here, far from anywhere." 

Tucker rolled his eyes. "Thanks, Captain Cryptic." He smiled when Wash laughed a little.

"Kimball found an uninhabited moon we could go to. It's barely even an hour's jump." Tucker felt skeptical and it must have shown because Wash put his hands up. "I know you have worries, but hear me out."

"Hear you out? Wash, what about food? And medication? I know at least two people who have meds they need access to." Wash made a face.

"I know Sarge, who else?"

"None of your beeswax, it's not the point," Tucker snapped lightly. He'd be damned if he spilled important secrets. Wash put a hand up, acknowledging the statement.

"Okay, fair enough. We would get shipments from Chorus with what we need every so often."

"How do we know it won't be traced? Especially after the hero's disappear, people will go looking for us."

"They would send us with enough supplies to last us months and after the hype dies down, we'd get our shipments." 

Tucker scowled lightly. "What about variables? What if the hype lasts longer than we planned?"

"Then we'd figure it out, like we always do. Besides, we'll overcompensate, we'll take more than we think we need."

Tucker sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. This was a ridiculous plan, it could go wrong in so many different ways. Yet, Tucker knew Wash was right. They had to leave.

"Alright. Let's say we do this, how do we take them? We can't just keep them in their chips, that's cruel too." 

Wash nodded. "I know. Carolina and I discussed it, we want to implant them."

Tucker stopped dead, watching Wash walk for a moment before he realized Tucker had stopped. Wash turned to face him, clearly expecting this kind of reaction.

"Yeah, cause that went so well last time," Tucker muttered, crossing his arms. Wash had given him a good idea of what happened at Project Freelancer. It hadn't ended well for anyone. 

"Tucker," Wash said, his voice soft and calm. Somehow, that irritated him more. "This will be different. I trust you guys." Well, that was a punch to the gut in a way Tucker hadn't expected it to be.

He sighed and moved to catch up to Wash. "Alright, fine. On one condition."

"Name it."

"You and Carolina don't get one."

Wash scowled. "Why?"

"One, after all the shit you specifically went through? Hell no, you don't need an AI, Wash. Two, you guys know the most about these things, you should be there to watch and care for the rest of us while we go through it."

Wash looked down, thinking for a moment. He nodded and looked back up. "Alright, fair enough. There's enough for each of you, so that works anyway."

"Good."

[crowsandturtlesandbatsohmy]

Haikyu

okay listen I gotta get it out of my system. I’m internally freaking out over this show and it has my brain and will not let go until I externally freak out.

That said, freak out under the cut. :)

OKAY OH MY GOSH WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO WATCH THIS!??! I LOVE IT!?!?

I’m AMAZED by the handling of the characters and the subversion of expectations!! They’re all clearly defined and have their own unique personalities and there’s so many of them!! I’m gonna talk about my top five characters real quick because I love them all so much

In NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Hinata

I DID NOT EXPECT HIM TO BE SO GOSH DARN ADORABLE! LIKE WHAT!? SIR, WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT??? Absolute ray of sunshine!! Precious bean!! He’s trying his best and he’s doing it!!! Golden Retriever energy mixed with Chihuahua energy???? Especially when he gets riled up and starts picking fights. I love him. He is my son.

2. Kageyama

Oh my gosh I love him so much XD I didn’t expect him to flip and start vibing so well with the team so fast! I thought for sure he’d be stuck in his ways for a while longer, but I’m so glad that isn’t the case! Also the GIF I picked doesn’t do him justice but he’s very adorable in his own way!!

(I really do love him so so much, it’s just hard to pinpoint why which makes it really hard to caps scream about him XD)

3. Tanaka

Confession time: I fully expected to not like Tanaka at all.

Confession number two:

This is the scene that changed my mind. LOOK AT HIM!!!! LOOK AT MY FERAL BOY!!!! HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HIM???? The first time I saw this scene I had to rewatch it once or twice just to fully appreciate Tanaka XD Dude literally went “Oh? You don’t like me, huh? SYKE GUESS WHAT YOU LOVE ME NOW!! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT, HUH??!” And I just shrugged because welp. He’s right. What am I gonna do about it? Not find him completely endearing and hilarious??? I don’t think so. ALSO his big brother vibes towards Hinata are just *chefs kiss* perfection.

4. Sugawara

Listen. Listen. From the minute we met him I KNEW I liked him. Like, had him singled out as most likely to be my favorite character (not expecting to fall in love with so many of these boys). And despite the fact that he got sidelined so bad, I WAS (mostly) RIGHT AND I LOVE HIM! HE’S SO SUPPORTIVE AND SWEET!?! AND IT’S AN ABSOLUTE CRIME HE HASN’T GOTTEN TO PLAY IN A SERIOUS MATCH YET (as of Season 1 Episode 17). IT’S HIS SENIOR YEAR AND I WANT TO SEE HIM PLAY, DANG IT! >:c Reminds me of clouds :) Also has excellent big brother energy!! He’d better get some game time soon though or I’m gonna riot.

LAST BUT MOST CERTAINLY NOT LEAST:

5. Nishinoya

OKAY HE WASN’T WHAT I EXPECTED AT ALL BUT THAT’S OKAY BECAUSE HE’S 20X BETTER!! AAAAAHHHHH I LOVE HIM!!!! He’s a shortie!!! And he’s so ENERGETIC and HYPED and he LOVES HIS TEAMMATES and he’s so. Feral. But not in a “I’M BIG I’M BIG I’M BIG” kind of way and I LOVE IT. He’s small but deadly and ADORABLE! He’s just incredibly endearing all around, and WE HAVE MORE BIG BROTHER VIBES! Also his dynamic with Tanaka is just hilarious XD Tol Feral and Smol Feral.

Conclusion: I think for my top favorite it’s a tie between Hinata and Nishinoya! I love all five of the characters listed here, but those two in particular have something a little extra about them! (Me, realizing halfway through that sentence: They’re short. That’s it. It’s because they’re short.) After them it’s a three-way tie because I love the other three for such different reasons that I can’t really compare them, y’know? :)

Anyways. That was my Haikyuu ramble XD expect to see more posts about it on my side blog.

[goingdownorup]

Final thoughts on YCAO:

I’m not really expecting people to see this, but as a wrap up for any fic I write I usually like to come back and do my thoughts after the hype has kind of calmed down. This fic is on anon, but I figured I would continue my tradition even if it was just for me lmao.

Obvious spoilers for the fic if you haven’t read it!!!

I’ve seen a few people not happy with the boat boy ending, and with that, I say…good? I mean, not in a rude way, but that is exactly the emotion I wanted when finishing out their storyline. It was pretty clear imo that neither of them could get what they wanted completely. Joel and Etho wanted different things more than they wanted each other, which is why I think it hurts in the end that both of them realize that they really wanted everything. They can’t have both, and that sucks and that's how their world(s) work. Joel can have Lizzie and his world, and Etho can have Bdubs and his world, but they can’t have each other with that outcome. That’s the fact about their relationship.

I’ve seen a few people theorize that Grian could bring Lizzie and Joel back to the main world- which, yes, he could- but at least in my head, that’s not a possibility. Joel’s driving force in the fic was to get home to Lizzie, but it was also to get home. I don’t think, even with their relationship on the mend, that Etho or Joel consider each other home anymore. They’ve grown as people, in both a good and a bad way, and that’s okay! I want that pain of growing distant but the inability to because of an outlying source. Soulbounds are a bitch in this series lmao.

Speaking of soulbounds, Impulse and Bdubs, am I right? But seriously, the one part I put in Impulse’s POV was so self-indulgent but I love his character so much so I had too. As soon as my brain decided Impulse could see the strings I needed to write him. I really love the idea of ‘what could’ve been’ for Bdubs and Impulse. The two of them have already built up a perception of each other that eventually they could tear down, but would take more effort then either of them are willing to do at that point in their life. Maybe down the line they could be friends, and I like to think that with the fact that Etho and Impulse lean on each other more now that they eventually become better friends.

I won’t touch on Scar and Grian, or Ren and Marytn, since their stories are still getting written atm but Ren and Etho… my one critique with myself is not building their relationship up more. I think the impact would’ve been better if I really made the point that Etho and Ren were better friends then what I did. You live and you learn, and hopefully next fic I can keep my relationships more clear. (At least the ones I want to be clear lol)

I think the fic went over unreasonably well, people were overwhelmingly nice and it was such a good introduction to the fandom. Probably the second best if not the best reaction to a fic I’ve gotten tbh. My personal rating: 8/10 I’m proud of this fic

Link if you haven’t read it

[designernishiki]

okay hot take time with tumblr user designernishiki yet again.

i really don’t get the hype over majimako like. at all. I’ve tried to wrap my head around it but every time I just end up so confused how it’s such a popular pairing and wondering if we played the same game like?? they had no chemistry, barely even knew each other (and what they did know of each other was almost entirely built off desperate traumabonding) and people treat the pairing like it’s the most deep, romantic thing in the world despite there being like. nothing there. at least romantically speaking. it’s honest to god baffling to me.

their most iconic “romantic” image together comes from a scene where makoto wants to fucking run away from him because she wants to find lee, who she fully trusts and who’s in danger (and probably also because majima’s literally just admitted to initially planning to murder her.) and he has to hold her there so she doesn’t get herself killed by running (literally) blindly into the street or something. how on earth is that a romantic scene.

their little sort-of date consists of majima being kind and sympathetic to her, sure, maybe even displaying some surface level feelings, but she’s completely preoccupied because of the massively important issues going on at the time with the lieutenants who wronged tachibana, she’s more or less probably plotting their deaths in her head during that scene, and in the end she purposefully has him run to get takoyaki so she can flat out Leave without him stopping her. because she has other priorities and is Not In The Headspace For A Soft Sentimental Escapade to say the absolute least.

Whatever they were, they were not In Love, they didn’t have time or circumstances for that, or to get to know one another as Actual People rather than as incidental liferafts in the midst of a sea of traumatic, nightmarish events. majima attached himself to her and felt strongly about her safety and eventual return to normalcy because she reminded him of himself and wanted her to have the pleasant civilian life he couldn’t give himself. on her end? honestly I don’t think she felt that connected to him at all up until the end, namely up until when he fixed her watch. and even then “romantic” is not even close to the word id use for what she was feeling– in fact I think that waters it down, if anything. I mean like fuck she was there bringing flowers to her brother’s grave in the spot where he died in front of her i really don’t think this was about romanticism, it was about compassion and selflessness and wishing her good luck in her new, free life, while expecting nothing from her in return. he cared about her and her outcome in life deeply and this would be the case regardless of any romantic feelings for her.

Anyway I didn’t mean for this to turn into an essay and somehow I could go on for longer but I absolutely do not need to. I just. am so secure in my thoughts about this and sometimes seeing how people talk about this relationship and it’s supposed deep romanticism makes me feel like I’m losing my mind or played a completely different game or something ngl. don’t get me wrong, ship whatever you want I’m not saying it’s problematic or something it’s just. bizarre to me how popular and sensationalized it is. and a little frustrating how applying this overdramatic romantic narrative to them can so often water down a dynamic that’s way more nuanced and interesting on an individual character level.

[docilepillow]

2024 February Media Post Thingy : Featuring Movies Also

I've never really liked doing editing " do-overs". i think if this was like a normal year with no leaping ( As of starting this post a couple of minutes ago ( 4:51 PM ) , i only just learned that this year was a leap year? Just goes to show how little i pay attention..! But yea, on topic, on topic, i don't look back to edit these kind of thought pieces after i write them, it'd feel odd to do so, ,and january's post was a mile and a half to write , so, after finishing the Big Thing for this year, i'm starting the writing on this on the 28th so i dont have to finish it all in one sitting this time. I'm not sure when i'll drop or pick up on it, and its not like, done Live with the month, so the actual timeline of things won't be completely perfectly accurate, but anyways : the things covered here are in rough sequencial order, mostly focused around New Media i've tried this month, with an added blurb about anything ive revisited this year at the very end. I'll try to add a blurb about everything, but no guarentees. Also, i said i'd have more screenshots to share, but i forgot again. A significant number of games here were also on 3ds which i have no good way to get screenshots for. planning is hard This month was heavily characterized by the absolutely wonderful time i had for my birthday and the days surrounding it, because wow, am i in love with my boyfriend! after many, many months spent long distance, i'm extremely glad to say that the first few days of this month were absolutely heavenly, and i do absolutely "get" all the lovey dovey emotional stuff that surrounds it. While he was over, we got to watch a whole bunch of different movies and such, and most of the video game focus was directed towards one big game, being God Of War Ragnarok, which is an absolute behemoth of a triple a game and also one aattached to the very sentimental god of war that i've also shared with him in the past ( they're some of his favorite games of all time, and he's especially knowledge on Norse stuff, so it's cute to listen to him ramble about it whenever actual mythology stuff comes up. Its absolutely adorable the way his voice lights up..! ) So, you'd expect the first piece of media i got through this month would be God of War Ragnarok, after all the time i've spent hyping it up already, while it's still fresh in my mind as of typing, And i'm on a massive, sentimental tangent on it, But...! TRUMP VS ILLUMINATI < Least Romantic Movie I've Personally Made Out With Someone Over >

theres not all that much to say on this movie as the title'd show, actually, and, obviously, the movie's a complete joke, through and through ( the titular protagonist isn't even the real deal, he's just a clone of the guy who lives on mars for whatever reason as the last human alive (?) ); and it's so ameturishly put together that i'm almost certain the entire scripting process of it was put together by looking at the title of the movie and quipping in a discord call brainstorming for a couple of hours, but it's absolutely great for virgining couples beccause you'll want to watch the movie for a bit, a bit that's been going on for i want to say little over three quarters of a year, but then, when you actually get to watching, it, you'lll both decide unilaterally to make out sloppy style instead of watching the movie, wow!

by the way, most of the movie is just weird little stock models talking at each other for what i rememeber being 50 or so minutes. i dont tihnk this is a good movie buut i thought itd be funny to bring up because in a shirtless daze after watching it i had the mortifying realization that this shitty movie was gonna be on the top of my media diary if i chose to go through with it . so here it is ! ! ! CATS & DOGS < tulpa movie >

idk what to blurb about this movie i think its entertainment value comes from the varied" WHAT DOES THIS IMPLYYY " moments in the movie and how like

excessively silly it is im not sure if it was this movie in particular but i have a very specific anecdote of this movie as a child before my parents divorce where i was actually Forced to watch it for some reason with my dad and with an anecdote like that the only thing i can think to say about it is that i think i actually enjoyed it more then Wonka theres some puppetry with the cat villain in this movie thats actually pretty endearing actually. its a decently entertaining spy movie. DOCTOR STRANGE

not having a title for this one isnt like reverence or anything i still watched this with my boyfriend in our little place and it was very enjoyable, and, in particualr, this was actually the first movie i watched of this list that i actually wanted to seek out to watch, actually! i've never been an mcu guy ( And, if you expect my movie reviews to professionalize, with like, research on the actors anything, you're dead wrong, i think , also. i think when it comes to assosiating characters with their actors or whatever celebrity or director or whatever, i just. .dont do that. i can see why normal people do but i dont have that built into me. so if i refer to a character it'll be for their character. ) i think this is a good movie i think this is a neat movie i think this a very pretty movie and i like mister stranges arch alot and i think it was really well characterized and enjoyable and id watch this movie again sometime maybe. im not a live action head but i think this movie just looks cool and is well presented in general. i think as an asshole mister strange is very watchable which is unusal for me cus i wince whenever characters do a thing thats like regrettable like noooo dont do that like an autistic weirdo but that wasnt really a problem with me for this movie i think its cool how this prick gets grounded by the fantastical shit in the movie and i think his little mini arch over the movie really stands out as a good character piece. thats all i have to say about it as someone who doesnt super hero movie this movie movies really good and stands on its own. i think its cool. i think this is a very enjoyable movie. i think people should watch it if theyre on the fence on it beingg mcu bc i dont think its like thoose other movies at all. im repeating myself. w/e Alot of early febuaary is characterized by movies bc i want to make it clear that the main game i played in that arch of time was God of War, and there were very much Not Media things that were more pressing for my time. lol VIDEO GAMES!!!! VIDEOVERSE < Most Heartwarming Eboy Game >

the docism i picked for this game sounds demeaning but thhis game is absolutely worth i think everyones time and if theres a game from febuary i'd make as a general reccomendation to my friends, it'd be this one, i think! it's an absolutely heartwarming narrative about an early 2000s era internet community that's being shut down, and its very resonant to at least Me, as a wii u / 3ds era fan

though it kinda melds that kinda stuff with a more early internet aestetic , which i think the combo works Really Well in terms of like vibe alone. the game is very naked with how it presents an early internet community and id describe it as being like hypnospace outlaw but without you the player being in the seat of like an internet moderator. Like you can moderate in the game a little bit but it's much less of a focus compared to the being in a game community with your friend aspect

this games a very well executed narrative about this emmet guy ( in the image above this one, he's on the far left of the screen ) and playing it as the first non GOW game of the week was definitely a choice i made that made me kinda sappy and clingy ( since its very much about the internet anxiety of losing a bunch of friends you care about due to dumb internet social media crap, which feels pretty well timed with this whole tumblr drama going on. also, as someone in a long distance relationship, the romance thing in this game also is pretty relatable in parts )

idk! its a very short game. i played it on deck and it was a very short but sweet pair of game sessions. i think if u like what you see here i reccomend giving it a shot if you're looking for a visual novel . ithink it is cute. if you like cute things this game is for Cute PRINCESS REMEDY IN A WORLD OF HURT < cute em' up where nobody has to die ! >

i actually falsely appraised this as gameboy color style when its supposed to be dos evokative. i knew i was missing something.

this is a free top down shmup game from steam about a cute healer girl! the game has really cute writing and is about an hour long. i think the writing makes it worth giving a try if you have an afternoon! the final boss is litearlly a guy with Every Disease that also has a refrence to ff6, so me being charmed by this game was kind of a given. Oops! I think more people should look at this game! it's worth it !

also, since everyone in the world of hurt has some kind of injury for you to remedy, some of the ones that get picked out are pretty amusing, also. its usually structured around " heres the problem with me " dialogue and " thank goodness im better " dialogue. this game is also for the gays because u can marry whoever you want after the credits. Yay! SUPER MONKEY BALL 3D < worst game icon ive ever seen for a video game award >

the games just kind of mediocre and the only reason i downloaded it is bc it was on 3ds and i just want to point out the games icon is Just a low resolution picture of ai ais face on a white bg. i think thats funny but the games so easy that thats pretty much the only novelty you'll extract of it if youre a monkey ball fan. oops .

something like this ive spent longer trying to find this games home menu icon then thinking about the game after playing it sorry i dodnt think this game is worth that just kind of sad

MEGAMAN XTREME

no reverence for this either pretty much all the games thatre gonna be talked about thatre on 3ds were just me looking through hshop slightly interested in something to do while waiting for my bf to wake up for more gow

all i can really say is that this game is a gameboy demake of the x games thats just slightly worse and going in with that expectation is correct but also its just Really annoying sometimes is very much a game where the levels are short and easy and the boss fights are kind of choppily designed and difficult and i think finishing this game was kind of more of an act of stubbornness then anything. theres this one boss second to last from sigma thats just killing this boss that spams 4 nearly undodgable spammy fast projectiles while you're on two tiny platforms over death spikes and i think that kind of speaks for how much id reccomend this ( not at all ) i think this is the angriest ive been at a game in a bit actually remembering it . i think i said a funny misnomer about it but i dont remember. something about this contributing to why mega man fucking died or something. im realizing i didnt actually consume alot of good media this month took a break writing this on leap day and umm FIRE EMBLEM WARRIORS ( The 3ds version ) < POPCORN VIDEO GAME >

as someone whose never played a dynasty warriors type game this was actually a little less boring then i was expecting it ? you'd assume picking the switch or wii u version would be more ideal, but, as someone whose favorite console is the 3ds , and considering it'd take less time to download to my system, i ended up picking this version. it actually runs pretty well and my only real complaint is that the character i wanted to play as is thuroughly stuck into the post game ( Celica from FE echoes ).

functionally this is kind of just a game that exists to be a stim device while you're in like a voice call or something but at that its pretty good from what ive played. used minerva for most of it and it wasnt too hard but not especially annoying either. its okay. i never got to unlock celica though ( bummed out ) and its not bad at all for somemthing i pretty much only played to pass the time between when my BF was awake to watch me play god of war, which it succeeded at. ive played every FE naturally available on the 3ds. TOM AND JERRY WILL WONKA & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY

huh what happened howd this happen

guh MARIO MAKER 3DS

game i actually owned legitimately that i forgot i did. technically since the games are going down in a month from now this is my way on reminicing on Maker in general , but i mostly just reflected back on itt as a cute wii u memory and that cute packet that comes boxed with the game. the 100 or so challenge levels in this are neat but not Especially special. kind of existed to pad out the games i've tried and finished this year so far to an even 15. its not bad or anything, it did remind me of a few interactions i didnt know about before. maybe sometime before maker 2 goes down ill finish making that super world i started on when the game was new... putting all my thoughts togetherrrrr GOD OF WAR RAGNAROK

Igod of war ragnarok is pretty cool. for context, im pretty sure the first game of the i wanna say ps4 " duo " of norse GOW games are the two video games that both started me on my ps4 journey recently and got me and my boyfriend together? which i think is very sweet its also very unexpected cus other then being a soft mythology nut i dont see how id get into these kinds of games naturally, considering i'm less genre savvy when it comes to i guess " modern-style " story focused 3d adventures. Considering i'm a nintendo head, these could count as some of the only super duper gamerhead games i've ever played? though i don't know if it means anything when i say that . i think this game definitely needs the groundwork of the first gow to stand up, but, thats not a bad thing, its a very well thought out start to end NARRATIVE, and its a really good one at that. lots of well thought out character interactions and setpieces,a friend of mine described it as a universal ride-style game , and , in terms of linearity, it kind of IS that, but in like the most postive way i can think of in terms of the kinds of games i play , this is probably the drop-dead most prettiest game i've ever looked at from start to finish ( When it comes to detail and realism, i mean. .i think its very pretty to just look at the environments n stuff ) god of war ragnarok is pretty cool. for context, im pretty sure the first game of the i wanna say ps4 " duo " of norse GOW games are the two video games that both started me on my ps4 journey recently and got me and my boyfriend together? which i think is very sweet its also very unexpected cus other then being a soft mythology nut i dont see how id get into these kinds of games naturally, considering i'm less genre savvy when it comes to i guess " modern-style " story focused 3d adventures. Considering i'm a nintendo head, these could count as some of the only super duper gamerhead games i've ever played? though i don't know if it means anything when i say that . i think this game definitely needs the groundwork of the first gow to stand up, but, thats not a bad thing, its a very well thought out start to end NARRATIVE, and its a really good one at that. lots of well thought out character interactions and setpieces,a friend of mine described it as a universal ride-style game , and , in terms of linearity, it kind of IS that, but in like the most postive way i can think of in terms of the kinds of games i play , this is probably the drop-dead most prettiest game i've ever looked at from start to finish ( When it comes to detail and realism, i mean. .i think its very pretty to just look at the environments n stuff ) ( I have screenshots of the game on my ps4, but as i'm a day late to uploading this in the first place, i'm too lazy to both fetch them with my capture card and upload them to an image sharing site, so here's a picture of Jalla, a cute cow critter you get to ride in the game thaat made me very happy . )

I've heard of games that take up entire segments of people's lives for months , and while i've played lots of " longer " games, gow despite being shorter then something like SMT 4 is definitely one of the first games i've played thats been defined like that to me. i dont wanna say too much on the plot because i think these games are worth playing back to back on their own merits, though for me the experience definitely was raised above by , you know, sharing it with the love of my life, haha. its very cute to listen to someone visibly light up when talking about a game and its definitely my boyfriends infectiousness for the game that motivated me to keep coming back to it and dig for all the little details, even if i play 3d games like this like a game's journalist.... but yea god of war is really good i dont want to spoil anything on it but even if you haavent played the past games but have a ps4 and an appreciation for storytelling, i'd definitely reccomend it. Surprisingly cozy, heartfelt story on parenting and war and lingering regret n junk. also i like mimir alot hes silly and brok theres alot of characters in this i like alot

if you know you know TERMINATOR 2

oh yea i watched terminator 2 also very gripping very cool top moms in media for sure i can see why this is a classic movie it abosluely rocks and i was technically present for the voice call where they watched the first movie but i wasnt paying attention to it at all whoops thats technically the last of the new media i did but i also tried out a pokemon X nuzlocke and i replayed king of cards which was really fun and i remembered how much i liked madam meeber

the nuzlocke was a disaster but i actually did do it so winner

im sure there was other stuff too but im tired of typing and i forgot CLICKING SEND!!!!!

[icharchivist]

Please answer this venting some more about ff7remake

^ you and me rn

aww <33 such a cute meme to illustrate it hi <333

Before i dive into it, a few disclaimers

-I've been fan of the franchise for over 15 years and there's definitely an aspect i'd say of having sat with the previous games for so long that there is a chance there will be bias against anything new. I try to be as objective as i can but as it's a game that means a lot to me, I doubt i would fully manage to be so

-Rumors of a Remake has been brought up ever since the release of Crisis Core because of how the mid-credit scene was adapting the beginning of the OG, and also because of test footage for a possible Remake then. And then when the Remake was announced in 2015 it really took fans by storm and we had to wait 5 more years before seeing the first part, which means a lot of hype and expectations have been built around this Remake which probably also colored the way fans will approach it.

-In the end i'm just one random fan with my own opinion and therefore this will be colored with my own feelings, and i think if people feel any other way about what i say, their own interpretation also matter, so it's a nonexhaustive aspect of all of it

-It's going to get long. In fact this whole ask is over 10.5k long. I'm so sorry.

-I'm going to spoil major aspect of the compilation, or at least won't try to dance around spoiler if i have to mention them.

-I am not touching the Yuffie DLC because i havent played it yet, and that contrary to the Remake it's not an "adaptation" of plotpoints from the OG and should be an original story and i'll judge it as such.

-It is just about Part 1 of the Remake, if i mention Rebirth i'll be vague.

Under the cut!

The Remake is based on the very first few hours of the original game, which is a very tight narrative to start with. If we follow the canon OG, it means they would have to stretch things out and pad in addition to have a proper game runtime.

As such the Remake isn't a straight adaptation of the beginning of the OG, but also will fill in with some original material. Call backs to the other game, supplementary lore, or fully new materials, as well as reworking previous scenes.

But it also includes a completely unique storyline that ends up taking center stage, and said storyline is a sequel to Advent Children. This one story therefore comes with its own problems.

Therefore there are different angles on which to judge the remake, both as an adaptation and a continuation of the franchise.

But frankly i'm allergic to the continuation aspect so bad that i can only see how it doesn't work, instead of how well the game is delivering on this scenario.

I should also mention that i started watching a cutscene movie of the remake in 2020 but stopped after the Wall Market scene because i wanted to play for myself but also was bummed by the way the plot was taking. then i started playing the game in 2021 when it released on computer and i dropped it right before Wall Market because i was seriously getting bummed out by the developments it took, and it made me disconnect with the saga for years just because i was bitter. So that also colors my vision of it that it managed to make me uninterested about a saga that's so close to my heart. I've only decided to give the game a shot again because i ended up rewatching the movie recently and was so emotional i wanted to see through with the remake.

Let's go:

First, the Good.

-The Fighting Gameplay is fantastic. It's a good middle ground between the fast paced action game and the timed turn by turn from the original. It preserves a lot of what made the fights memorable while modernizing it fantastically. In term of pure fighting gameplay, the game is a treat to play.

-Adding to it the equipments menu is a massive upgrade and you have no idea how grateful i am to be able to access each of the characters' set up and switch their materias from one chara to the next without needing them in my party. The scars of the OG are too real. Also very happy that everyone level up at the same rate even if they're not in your party for a while. The OG doesn't give exp to characters who aren't in your party when you play and if you don't switch out regularly, once the game forces you to play specific character, you run the risk of being massively underleveled. So happy the remake doesn't do that.

-The Enemies fights are fantastically adapted. In the OG because of the turn by turn format, the attacks weren't as distinctive from one another as they could be. Being able to really see how each enemies move and work was a pure treat.

-The environment design. The places are either faithfully reecreated or updated in a way that makes them very vivid and interesting. My only grip was with how bright the undercity looks on the regular, but the way to adapt it by having the brightness pushed as much as it does when the Sector 7 plate fall still made for a horrifying perspective, and i do think there's values on the aspect of putting the player in the same mentality as the people in the undercity thinking it's not so bad after all.

-Also adding in, character designs and updates have been really great and faithful to the compilation and it's a treat

-Also big mention to the new English cast that, i think, are almost all perfect replacement. Except Zack, which i think is a terrible replacement, but one miss out of all the wins is honestly not stopping it from being a plus

-Additional scenes of each characters that don't have them talking about the whole Whispers thing are usually pretty good. Barret especially gets to win a lot in personality by constantly seeing how he reacts to things. The OG didn't have as many character centric moments and it rarely shows us the intra-dynamic of the group outside of Cloud (rarely, but not never), and the remake was allowed to really allowed to bring it up a notch in a way that really makes you feel on how those characters care about one another.

-Fleshing out NPCs especially linked to the Sector 7's incident were good moves. Jessie, Biggs and Wedge taking more room in the game developping them especially with the full chapter dedicated to them was great and really allowed you to feel for the devastation of what would happen to them.

-Most of the New NPC are really cool and interesting and i'm very glad we got Andrea for instance. Linked to that, getting rid of the homophobic elements of the Honey Bee Inn to replace it with Andrea in particular genuinely healed me a little inside i think. Also i really like Roche.

-Every Turks scene are incredible as far as they're concerned. I really like the dive into their point of view and the way to prepare for their late game shift. Genuinely no complains there.

-Added quests in Sector 7 and Sector 5 to get to know both sectors. I genuinely think it's a good way to really develop an attachement to those places and the way they matter to our protagonists.

-The whole storyarc added to the Sewer and the Train Graveyard was genuinely great and served to really show how Tifa and Aerith grew closer, and ways to explore some specific character angst for both of them, and i really liked it.

-I was surprised at first but i do like replacing the climbing of the wall to reach the upper city with climbing the ruins of Sector 7 instead. It's another case of taking away a section with unique gaming mechanisms, yeah, but i also think it hits much harder and help you really sit on the devastation that occured in a way the OG couldn't show us. I think it was genuinely a good change.

-The adaptation of the infiltration by the stairs was also incredible.

-Seeing Shinra constantly trying to restart a war with Wutai and using the terrorists for this really drive home the propaganda that was in the work at Shinra and it's really neat to see.

The On-The-Fence.

-The Deep Ground stuff. Genuinely liked the first time it's quickly mentioned by the NPC, and actually connecting it to the researches around Jenova during the lab portion was interesting, but i think they kinda overplayed their hand a little.

-Everything about the lore of Avalanche outside of Barret and his crew. Having a main cell sometimes helping or not, and the Mayor being part of it, are choices i can't really say where i land on about. I found the Mayor reinterpretation fine but it came at the cost of all the gameplay that got changed because of his inclusion for example.

-The Reinterpretation of Wall Market. On one hand i do like the more flashy approach to the Market and really feeling how Corneo's fingerprints are basically everywhere. On the other i find it unsettling how "Glam" the whole approach to enter Corneo's house was. There's a huge difference between getting the help from the little folks who are ready to help you as you make your plan yourself, and having just to impress 3 of the authority of the whole town.

-The Return to Sector 7 plotline is very difficult adaptation wise for me because i think it shouldn't be there, but it's the one section of the game that really gives Barret time to shine and i really like what they do with him, and i do think it makes sense for him to want to come back and hope for the best. Barret carries this section because everything else makes it jarring.

-The Sunlamp sections to reactor 5. Way too long and overstuffed but it helps really setting up just how wasteful and hypocrite Shinra's energy use is.

-The removal of ambiguity about the action of Avalanche especially. This one is difficult to explain. Since we rarely leave Cloud's POV we don't really see if Shinra, say, provoke a bigger explosion to the Mako Reactor and then pin it on us, or if our actions genuinely hurt people. The Remake is constantly reassuring you that the worst of our actions are only because Shinra are making them worse on purpose. The OG doesn't really give you this reassuring. I'm... miffled about it because i think losing this nuance is particularly a problem for the set up of the Barret/Reeve conflict in late game, because there's never a moment Barret can just brush off they didn't do anything wrong. The question is more, are you willing to sit with the consequences of those actions, of the people who may die as you try to achieve the greater good? Which is also exactly in parallel to Reeve who, after seeing Sector 7, will be the one to kidnap Marlene to pressure Barret because, just like him, he's doing an "specific sacrifice" to stop harm from happening. But the remake constantly absolves Avalanche from any of that by making it clear it's Shinra's propaganda. And i do think it's making this plotline an injustice.... while also recognizing that perhaps it's necessary to spell out considering how otherwise people would easily side over Shinra, especially in a world post 9/11. And meanwhile this whole discussion between Barret and Reeve late in the OG might not happen at all because in Rebirth, Reeve doesn't kidnap Marlene. We're in a situation where the two men who considered maybe one sacrifice for the greater good, aren't even doing sacrifice anymore because they're too morally good for it. It cheapens their plotlines, but at the same time i don't know if i'd trust audience going into this conflict anyway. So it's difficult. It feels like the conflict was simplified and dumbed down, and i'm torn between "well it's necessary because audience needs to understand their pov" and " 'gratz on the loss of nuance everyday".

-The Further inclusion of Project G and S in the storyline when Hojo talks about it. I'm really on the fence so it's not easy to say, but i found it really jarring when Hojo mentioned them. Since the Remake itself doesn't bring much more answer as to how those Projects are implemented in the story, my memories of CC made it seem very weird. A friend told me about how it's used in Rebirth and it may be a good point but... wait and see.

-Related to that, the Mako degenerecency addition. Or more like. We knew Mako Poisoning was a thing, we knew of Project G and S Degenerecency, and it's not a stretch to think Mako will destroy its host on the long run -- but it's never been outright said in the OG nor addressed outside of CC, and i'm on the fence about how i feel about it. It seems to have a bigger part in Rebirth so i'll genuinely hold my judgement until i see what they do with it i think.

The "That could easily have been better."

-Back to Wall Market, the big de-queerification of the plotline despite the Honey Bee Inn section. The 1997 portion wasn't great sensitivity wise, but there was this clear element of how Aerith and Cloud agreed together on the crossdressing and worked their ass off specifically to cross dress Cloud together. In doing so you meet also Jules, who's a drag queen and will challenge you to a squat off in exchange of one of his wig, and you inspire the dressmaker by helping him discover he could try making dresses for other purpose than cis-women. The dressmaker find solace in the queer approach to his work. In the remake you have no mention of Jules being a drag queen even if he looks more gnc, the dressmaker just needs a reminder that girls dancing is hot to be inspired again, and Cloud crossdressing is imposed on him at the very last minute without him having prepared nor agreed with it. Andrea replacing all of the homophobic elements of the Honey Bee Inn, mainly the fact that the male hosts from it are making move on Cloud that makes him uncomfortable even if it helps for the crossdressing, and that in itself is great because Andrea ends up the mouthpiece of queer positivity replacing the most hiffy queer part of the original game. But it came at the expense of de-queering literally every single other plotlines of this part and robbing Cloud of his agency in his own crossdressing. Meanwhile to replace the quests in which Cloud is actively looking into crossdressing himself with quests in which Cloud has to prove he's the Manly Man. It's so jarring to me.

-Cloud's mental breakdowns. Hear me out. I'm a huge fan of Cloud's mental breakdown in the OG that starts pretty early. On one hand, i like some of the way they implanted more mental breakdown. The one Cloud has while Biggs talk about him being attached to his sword? amazing bit, for exemple. On the other, they really struggle with showing them in a way that's like... genuinely interesting. A lot of the early mental breakdowns in the OG usually black out the screen, pause the music, and then you only have white words showing up on the screen. The Remake cannot help but being flashy with them in a way i find particularly tacky. Re: "Back Then, i only got scrapped knees", when he falls from Mako Reactor 5. In the OG it's a reminder of when Tifa was the one who fell that day and Cloud tried to help her, fell with her, only got scrapped knees while she was in a coma, and then he was shuned out by the rest of the village because he was believed to have caused the incident, and Cloud developped his first survival guilt out of this one. When he falls in that scene, it is because Tifa was the one endangering herself to try to save him, and it flashed him back to it. In the Remake you get to see a model of him adult in a white landscape trying to talk to him, until Sephiroth hijack the whole situation and makes it about him. The whole tension is ruined like that. Likewise, when Cloud remembers Sephiroth calling himself an ancient, same "black screen, white text, no music", instead being interpreted with a weird flashback on a white background before Sephiroth hijack the scene to spell out that Cloud's fear of "being unable to save anyone" is seriously starting to eat him alive. Or how, in the whole new Deep Ground section, Cloud flashes back to when he was prisoner in a tube, and you see it clearly again. Yes it's realistic for Cloud to break down, no he doesn't break down seeing tubes in the OG, but showing flashes of him being in one is so vulgar for the audience. And meanwhile we completely lost one of the most terrifying mental breakdown Cloud has in an optional scene in the Honey Bee In where a copy of himself jumps on him to strangle him for the way he is denying the reality that's happening to him. like man. It sucks.

-Special mention to how i'm sad they removed Aerith scamming people with her flower business. Because it was always funny to me and sad not to see in the remake. At least the remake is a major step up from every single appearance of Aerith after the OG that tends to make her too pure and sweet (and i include Crisis Core in it) while in the OG she can be a menace, and the remake did manage to make her more of a menace than not, so it's nice-- but i want her to scam people. god forbid a girl does anything.

-Cloud and Choices. So i discuss about it often but in the OG during the whole first part of the game, you're often the one having to determinate how Cloud replies to some things. Said things will somewhat shape the scenario, most importantly: who are you going to go on a date with between Aerith, Tifa, Yuffie and Barret. On a metatextual level, those choices are also clearly supposed to indicate the different personas Cloud pulls off around people, in order to really have it hit home the moment he regains his memories and you can't control his words anymore.

The OG could more easily do it because the game isn't voiced, so it's easier to prepare, and the Remake couldn't do as many of those and honestly, that's fine.... the problem is how they replaced it.

Example: the Special Affection Scene with either Aerith, Tifa and Barret. The requirements for either of them is how many quests you did with Tifa on Sector 7, how many quests you did with Aerith in sector 5, who you decide to wake up first when the two of them fall in the Sewer, and if you tie or if you have less than 3 points with them you get the Barret cutscene.

... those aren't real choices to influence the cutscene imo. Except maybe the "who you wake up", just "doing sidequests or not" isn't indicative at all of who you'd have an affectionate scene with. and Barret instead is only there if you fail with them.

now, in the OG, the Barret scene does happen only if you failed with the other girls, but he actually had options giving him point too, like calling him Cloud's boyfriend when Corneo flirts with Cloud, or giving the flower to Marlene.

The Remake doesn't give you any of that. There's a fake choice in the first scene with Aerith where she gives you her flower and then you have no choice but to give it to Tifa, where in the OG you could give it to Marlene there. ok whatever.

but those are fake choices.

Likewise for the dresses: they're determined by how many quests you did, not about your actions, not about what you decide to collect, it's literally just filling a check list. and most aggravating, no matter if you do good or bad during this scene, Cloud will be picked as Corneo's lover no matter what, because he distincts himself by calling Corneo's pathetic. In the OG, if you don't crossdress Cloud in the perfect outfit, one of the girls get picked instead.

And it feels so.... anti-game in a sense? why do you remove anything that had the player interreact with the story in some way? or more like, if it was to be replaced why give conditions this lackluster?

this is maybe a nippick and all and it could be dealt with, but considering the thematic linked to Cloud and choices and persona this feels like such a lackluster way to replace it.

-Weird timing with some of Cloud's flashbacks? It bothered me but it might be nippicky. But we regularly see Cloud flashes back to when Tifa was a kid, which i believe he shouldn't (reason in a further down section). The only one that is important is the promise under the stars one, but they moved it to be triggered on Cloud when he's out with Jessie and the gang, while in the OG this scene is triggered after Tifa tries to remind Cloud of it, and it's because they have a conversation about it that we get to relive it with Cloud. I think it's a problem because it makes Cloud the one who initiates remembering those instead of Tifa, which is a problem to commit to the gaslight storyline with Sephiroth, when Sephiroth will manage to convince Cloud he never existed by cornering Tifa into saying she doesn't remember Cloud in one of his biggest memories. Because as long as the only flashback is one prompted by Tifa, you can argue that it's Tifa who plants the idea in Cloud's mind and therefore maybe Sephiroth is right. But the more Cloud remembers things unprompted to himself, the more you'd question Sephiroth's manipulation since "well no it doesn't make any sense if Cloud remembers things like that on his own."

-Reeve was great but showing Cait Sith early was a mistake and i think this set up is going to influence Rebirth in a bad way

The Bad

-The Padding. That's the core of all the problems of the game is that they wanted desperately to extend the runtime and therefore would use any excuses to make you waste time. Some exploration can be great, but eventually you'll really feel it when scenes start to seriously stretch out

-The Removal of puzzles and exploration in order to constantly guide you from one battle to the next and one cutscene to the next, and eventually very long mini game. It's probably hard to explain but it became very jarring to me. The OG kinda have you doing things yourself, and everything i can think of were replaced by very vulgar "quests to cross" type. Like Cloud's dress in Wall Market depends on how many quests you've done which are unrelated to how Andrea sees Cloud, while in the OG you have to find each pieces of the perfect dress on your own, make individual decisions for each of the piece and hoping it works in the end.

The Integrality of the Shinra's exploration puzzle were replaced as well to instead focus on cutscenes with exposition. The archives are supposed to be a puzzle game to get a password from the mayor to get to the next level. In the remake, the Mayor gives you an extended cutscene to say he's on your side and gives you a key to move forward and he tells you to talk to another Avalanche helper. You're supposed to overhear people talk about "last time i was in the bathroom i swear i could hear voices" to figure out you can infiltrate the vents to eardrops on the meeting. The Remake just downright tells you to go to the vent, but only after you proved you can fight. And even there rather than telling you to look for something, there's always clear quest markers to guide you, you dont need to think. After a while the game just gives up with adapting the others floor, including the elaborate puzzle where you have to sneak into a vent maze to get into locked rooms.

Instead they give an extended Lab Dungeon that doesn't exist in the main game, that is very weird from Hojo at this point, and for the "puzzle" it is, the characters are always telling you what to do and it's mostly finding ways to open door in very easy way to get to more fights. There's no intentions of genuinely having you work out how to play. Meanwhile instead the mini games take too long and are often just new mechanisms for one scene and then you move out. I like the mini games, but the balance has been very jarring to me. That said this is colored by the fact i'm playing the pc-port with keyboard+mouse and the port itself hasn't been well optimized for the mini games making them a lot more frustrating than they would be on controller.

I think it's wild also that for a game desperate to pad its runtimes, it refuses to let you just get lost into a puzzle to, yknow, lose time.

-The Fear of Committing to the Fucked Up aspect of the game. The major problem i have with that is that the remake specifically set up how those elements could become even more Fucked Up, and then genuinely refusing to follow through with them. No one you know survive Sector 7's fall of the plate. Jessie, Biggs, Wedge, they all die miserably at the pillar, and everyone you've met at Sector 7 don't seem to survive. The Remake develops all of this in a way that it will make it devastating to experience... and then they pull back at the last minute. Actually everyone you met and who mattered are fine.

Sephiroth's massacre of the Shinra's Lab Floor that covered everything with trails of blood are replaced by the fact Jenova is in a remove area only Hojo accesses to, and so the trail is just Jenova's purple goop and Sephiroth probably didn't murder anyone (other than the president) this time. Lol. Lmao even. Adding to prev point, the discovery of Jenova having been taken away was totally anticlimactic compared to the way the OG delivers on it, because of the muted music, lack of build off, and refusal to show the death that surrounds her tube.

Present Shinra gets an extended scene to shame Barret and then when Sephiroth stabs him, he only leaks black mist, compared to the team going to the President Office to see he has been impaled. The Hell House, that haunts you in the Collapsed Sector, is now a thrilling action piece of a show. Cloud's most fucked up breakdown (seen above) is removed.

Hojo's plans to force Aerith to breed with Nanaki to experiment on their offsprings that would live for a long period of time thanks to the length of Nanaki's species' lifespan, is replaced instead with Hojo talking about breeding her with human experiments who are degenerating because of the Jenova cells, because it's not about the lifespan anymore but just having many experiments in case Aerith dies. Still fucked up and all, and it can work out fine, but it's still the remake getting cold feet about the bestiality aspect, and therefore Nanaki's introduction has to be different from when he just happened to be in the same cage as Aerith. It just constantly pulls back from going all in when it can afford it. the Train Graveyard is the only place they really are allowed to show fear, but even there it's more creepy than the majorly unsettling set pieces.

And i heard it happened in Rebirth too, where the whole haunted section with monsters being people who were experimented on to an horrifying degree and you are the ones who have to put those living people down, be replaced by a full VR experience.

Like, i think pulling away from one of them wouldn't be so bad - i'm like, also willing to hear the bestiality replacement point for example, but when it's a pattern like this it starts just to cheapen every scenes that have a punch into it.

-speaking of i hated the speech President Shinra gives Barret and the whole "you only care about clearing your name, not about making things better for Midgar". in the OG there IS an aspect of Barret's desire to save the planet being a selfish wish for revenge. He cares for the planet yes, but this revenge is what he holds on to to cope with the guilt of having believed in Shinra once. Still his desire to save the planet is real, and he does actually want to dismantle Shinra no matter what. This aspect of his character is what creates a conflict with Reeve later on, and it's where the conflict shines well because we have two morally ambiguous characters having to come to term with why they want to make the world better and what are they actually willing to sacrifice for this. This Discussion with Reeve later on doesn't really pick a side (even though later in the game Reeve will do everything to help the gang and fully switches side), but it's two sympathetic characters who are trying to make the world a better place who come to a clash because of the different motivation and willingness to commit.

Having Barret run in about clearing Avalanche name, which i don't recall him being that dedicated about doing in the OG (if only because the propaganda was less pointed to because of what will be my next point), is the thing that allows the President to have a gotcha and point out that Barret had no long term plan to help people and he was a scam, and that the president might be a bad person but at least he thinks about it.

I really hate it because if it's about outlining that Barret is more in for revenge than for ecology, it's giving President Shinra, a one dimensional villain, the benefit of having the upper hand on Barret. And Barret is left speechless because he lets this guilt settles in, rather than how he fights for his own POV against Reeve later.

It's like they're trying to prepare the Barret/Reeve conflict but the way they went at it was leaning too hard on letting the President have his moment, while also framing Barret as much more selfish as even his dreams of revenge from the OG let him be.

and at the same time it's weird in the remake because the remake goes hard on how much Barret is into Planetology, much more than the OG, so the guy has done his researches and has invested a lot more into ecology for it to just be a selfish barging.

And like i mentioned, this whole scene doesn't exist in the OG because we have an earlier confrontation to the President when we get arrested and Barret is mostly still mad at him for having killed his friends, not for how they're being framed, and the president is so one dimensional villain he barely invest himself in this conversation, and the next thing we see, the president is dead. They made the President more cunning in the Remake which i don't /mind/ (it helps setting up the kind of person Rufus is without having to expose that Rufus will bring a real shift to Shinra's policies, by having his father already show you what Rufus may have been raised into thinking, which means that Rufus' appearance can only be about vibes and threats without needing to expose who he is, especially this late into the remake), but by allowing him to be alive in this situation it ended up being a terrible look on Barret on something that isn't an issue in the OG.

-The whole arc between Sector 7's fall and running to Shinra to save Aerith. This one is a doozy. Everything they had added up to this point had at least a good reason to be there for the timing of all things. Like the Jessie chapter happened at night on a point in the OG where nothing happens between two big plot point, it fits organically, it's nice.

But this one really had me annoyed because i think the previous arc extended even more on why Tifa and Barret would jump right away into wanting to rescue Aerith like in the OG, but instead this is the moment the two of them pull back from going to help Aerith so instead they can focus on totally new plotlines.

On paper i don't mind the idea of them going to Sector 7 in the hope to find people who survived it, because i do think they would need this closure. In the OG there's no secret passage under the doors of the sector though, so they don't have any means to get back to the Sector. I get it in term of characters' motivation, but it also somehow manage to put the tight plot into a halt.

Now it takes them a few days to think about saving Aerith, because first we need to be reassured everyone who matters in Sector 7 is fine, saving Wedge, discovering more Deep Grounds, having Cloud has new "i shouldn't be there" flashbacks, and then doing all sort of missions for people in the aftermath of the fall of the plate, until having to help Leslie on a whole sidequest for him to tell us how to climb the wall. All of which are interesting ideas on paper but i think ends up padding the time so badly it ends up frustrating and removing completely the urgency of "Aerith was taken as a lab rat because she tried so save a stranger".

And this arc births the problem i was mentioning in my prev point that therefore the trio remains in the slums for at least two days of hearing Shinra's propaganda and the way they frame Avalanche in the way that cause Barret to be so upset it's the thing he challenges the President about, while in the OG he's still mourning first, the anger is due to the loss and grief, not on how his friends are remembered.

Actually i think that sums up a lot of the problem with the Remake when it comes to the thematic of grief, which in the OG is about how you have to accept this grief as a part of yourself because else you're going to lose yourself to its stages (and Barret therefore is kind of more this representation of the anger side of grief, compared to Cloud being stuck on denial) , and instead changing it more on "how you are remembered", either by denying the death from happening at all, or having Barret just wanting that the way his friends are remembered in death to be honorable.

-The Hojo Lab Arc. Boy is this one ways too long. Clearly wanting to compensate for the Shinra's floor that has been removed by giving this sort of exploration episode in the unsettling Jenova/Deep Ground's lab. On one hand, the atmosphere for this is chilling (at first) and it does make sense to move Jenova in a more secret floor room.

But the gameplay ended up being lackluster, just going from one obvious step to the other with the characters repeating to you want to do, only so you can get into fights, and i can think of like ONE moment that was genuinely scary, but the rest was really just.... the most padding things could get.

I also think it lampshade Hojo as a villain too much this early into the game. Also while i'm at it i hate that Hojo remembers Cloud in this timeline now. I think Hojo's disinterest for failed experiments meaning he wouldn't even consider Cloud noteworthy is an interesting way to build tension, and i hate that Hojo is aware of things and now is just maniacally playing his cards for now just for fun to see what Sephiroth will do next. Hojo is a very interesting antagonist, and while i do think he would love to commit unethical experiments with however he meets, this whole sequence was too much. Also the fact he mostly "tests" the gang by having them fight advanced weapons and like a couple monsters that happened to escape, it kinda takes away from the mad scientific vibe when he's just trying his new toys, rather than actively trying to do something more interesting and fucked up. They frame it as him wanting data on Cloud knowing he's been experimented on, but again, i don't like that he knows that, but also i think those tests weren't exactly interestings for this exact data either. and meanwhile showing him actively letting Sephiroth get away remove any type of possible tension about where Hojo stands in this whole company.

but yeah the Labs could have been a great concept but it took the most boring way to execute it and instead it just felt like dragging.

The Terrible

-No respect for the mysteries of the saga. Everything that the OG built a mystery around is spoiled in the Remake, or teased in flashforward. This is so aggravating to me.

Like, it feels to me that the devs were so convinced the game will be played by people who played the OG, or who would play the OG for themselves, that they did not bother with keeping any of them out. Sephiroth keeps popping off being more ominous than he should be. The mention of Zack gives Cloud a mental breakdown so much so they mute Aerith to really point out that something weird is going on with Cloud and Aerith's ex, compared to how in the OG Aerith just don't originally mention him and when the name Zack is finally uttered, Cloud is too far in denial to connect anything at this point.

Cait Sith coming on the scene of Sector 7, while not linking him to Reeve yet (but i heard Rebirth jumped into doing so right away), therefore setting up that Cait Sith has at least an emotional reason to be joining the crew, therefore setting up the plotline once you have everyone in your party about how there's a mole in your group into making sure the players have suspicions about Cait Sith to start with.

Zack appearing in the ending of the game, showing he's close to Cloud, showing he has Cloud's sword, totally exposing the existence of this character while he is a mystery the whole game.

Hojo telling Cloud he was never in Soldier, Cloud getting recognized in Shinra HQ by people who therefore confirm he once existed, Cloud flashbacks about being experimented on....

All new stuff that instead of working as foreshadowing end up lampshading things that should have been more quiet mysteries, element to explore later on.

There's also so many "spelling the lore out in the remake way earlier than in the OG" like having a whole Shinra propaganda room about them looking for The Ancients' secret while if i recall correctly, this was a secret endeavor only revealed further into the game.

And then the flash forward, especially in the last part of the game but not only. Cloud having a flash forward to the plate falling. To Aerith's dying. Literally showing the intro of Advent Children as the future they're trying to avoid to tease Meteor, Aerith's death, Cloud fighting Sephiroth.... and Nanaki running in a world post-civilization centuries later? this one is the most bewildering one to me because this specific scene should mean nothing to the characters about what the future has in store for them, but they played it up because it only matters if YOU know the saga. God this part was annoying to me.

I feel like the game is expecting so much that the player has played the OG that they're just begging them to tune in for part 2 because things might be different this time since we have NEW mysteries to worry about now! Will the horrors happen? teee hee who knows!

and for new players, it's confusing, but it also ends on "we're not following the OG anyway" so you kinda just have to stick with part 2 when it comes out instead.

i find it so aggravating and it takes me out of the story every single time. It's like none of the mysteries matter to be treated seriously for someone who might discover the saga.

But it therefore also comes at the price of completely ruining some characters' motivation.

Speaking of.

-Sephiroth.

Now to start with something positive, this Sephiroth is supposed to come from the Advent Children timeline, and on that regard, he's beautifully characterized. Yes, Sephiroth in Advent Children would be saying those things. Yes, he would try new ways to torment Cloud, yes he would play his cards differently, yes he would be hyper homoerotic and want Cloud by his side more than ever. All of that tracks very well with his character by Advent Children time.

.... glad to see new audience will never know how Sephiroth was before that then???

Sephiroth has one of the greatest villain built up in video games because of how slow burn his appearance is. First you hear about him in a flashback in good light, then you hear his name in a second flashback but this time in horror. Then Cloud collapse with a memory of Sephiroth, and then when they go to rescue Aerith they get to escape because the floor they were on has been massacred by Sephiroth, Jenova is gone, and the president has been found impaled on Sephiroth's sword. Cloud and Tifa react in horror as people who know Sephiroth, and then you have to escape, and once outside of Midgar, they will start discussing "what's up with Sephiroth actually"

and then once you're at Kalm, Cloud will give you an extended flashback of the Nibelheim incident with Sephiroth as a playable unit and you see he's mad strong. You try to pass through the cavern guarded by a Midgar Zolom which will be your first terrifying boss experience because of how hard it is to beat, only to pass this by stealth to see Sephiroth just empaled one before you. AND THEN you go to Junon where Sephiroth is rumored to have been and once on the boat going to the Costa Del Sol, you will run into him. Cloud will challenge him, and Sephiroth will barely recognize him, and then let them fight a bodypart of Jenova. And it's only from this point on that Sephiroth will seriously start to pay attention to the crew and will slowly but surely try to manipulate Cloud, developping an obsession toward him.

the Remake ends when you leave Midgar. So Sephiroth shouldn't have appeared. And clearly the Remake was scared that not showing the fan favorite will cause problem, so they justified a way to have Sephiroth into the story early by having him be late-development Sephiroth.

which just means that if you haven't played the OG, you're getting a wrong impression of Sephiroth and the way he specifically approached Cloud. As well as completely missing out on the slow built of his capabilities.

But if you have played the OG you therefore get to really notice how he hijacks scene and therefore change them into things they're not. I hate his appearance in Cloud and Aerith's first meeting, completely changing the mood of this scene to make it all about him. I hate that everytime Cloud has a mental breakdown, Sephiroth appears to take advantage of him.

AC!Sephiroth would! but this is a horrible way to build him for a first time audience, and it's so vulgar in the way it spells things out for him.

And you know he's going to play his cards differently because of how he lost the previous time; For example in the Rebirth trailers they did the whole marketting around Sephiorth wanting Cloud to doubt Tifa, saying about how she shouldn't be alive and will manipulate Cloud. It's a direct response to the fact that neglecting to take into account Tifa is what caused Sephiroth downfall because she was the only person who knew Cloud so intimately that she was able to guide him through his memories, thanks to how much Cloud trusted her. Sephiroth, therefore, logically, need to make sure Tifa is not going to get in the way this time.

.... and that's swell and it makes sense but we're getting a whole other story aren't we?

The remake was adverticized as a remake and instead a huge chunk of it hinges on the fact you know the saga and because of Sephiroth and the characters knowing Fate is oncoming, it's actually a sequel.

And it's deeply frustrating to play because aside from Sephiroth and Aerith, no one knows what the previous timeline was. (coming back on Aerith in a bit). All of the cast suddenly is working to change a fate they do not even know about because Sephiroth and Aerith want to challenge this fate.

As a player it removes you from fully connect with the story because the characters don't even know what they're fighting for!! They don't have the context of what the bad things are going to be!

And like okay you either like it or you don't, but personally i hate it a lot.

-Desamorcing any emotional scene by the new mysteries.

The remake wants you to be invested in the new mysteries around Sephiroth and the Whispers so bad that scenes get to be completely hijacked by those characters ruining the tension any scene is supposed to build in.

Cloud and Aerith first meeting is supposed to be a quiet scene as he runs into her after the Reactor exploded. You can also completely ignore her and she'll move on, but otherwise it's a really quiet and simple scene. The Remake builds a whole Cloud hallucinate Sephiroth scene out of it, has Aerith tormented by the Whispers, she approaches Cloud to thank him, and Sephiroth will appear to threaten Cloud about how he intends to let fate repeat, implying the threat of killing her. The whole sweet scene starting of to establish a dynamic between those two? had the focus changed on Sephiroth instead to be ominous.

Fighting Reno in the church is a good addition and all, but Cloud trying to murder him only so the Whispers can come and take him away so the whole "escaping the Church" bit is all about the Whispers? You had a good tension over two characters physically interreacting and you had to ruin it.

And the worst for me was really the whole Sector 7 incident, constantly seeing the whispers just to stop us from getting to the pillar, seeing the whispers everytime one of the Avalanche Three is having a big moment just so you can then see them as they make sure they die. Scenes that should be about Cloud and Tifa realizing they are losing people they're caring about, Cloud starting to have his whole "i can't save anyone" panic settles in, and it ends up being distracted by the Whispers doing their things and making it look like the only reason those characters die is because it's meant to be, not because yknow, they got killed?

Oh and Hojo recognizing Cloud and the Specters taking him away was so damn bad too.

It's like. Any scene that are trying to build a tension, perhaps even a good one!! suddenly gets ruined by the whole "let's keep things on track" antagonist. Scenes that would have emotionally hit hard instead becomes confusing because of a whole new plotline that only works on a meta textual level. Embarrassing as hell.

-Zack. Why would you do that. Why would you show Zack why would you create a whole alternative timeline.

oh, well, i know why. Zack is too popular not to and you gotta include him. But the fact Zack is a neat character because of how much you can feel his absence when you know why it is there, the way they just dangled him in front of our face is so insulting, especially as being the scene right before our heroes go to defeat fate. It's something that only matter to hardcore fans, who would also be fans because of how Zack haunts the narrative, and so now instead we get an alternative timeline story that would be all swell and game in fanfictions, but is bond to be confusing for non-fans, and just really antithetical to what made Zack so beloved to start with.

Every Zack fan i've talked with after the remake did that had the same reaction of being both happy he lived, and then "but what the fuck are they doing with that". It's a mystery, a zinger for the next game, to try to keep you invested

... but it feels cowardly, as well as the Sephiroth stuff feel cowardly. It feels like the game had no confidence in it doing well without fan favorites, and therefore included them in the game no matter what, even if it defies why they are fan favorite to start with.

-The Fate plotline. I've been rambling over this one a lot at this point so i don't know what much to say. I hate that the Remake is a story about defying fate. About how things are not written in stone and all of that. I feel like the game is basically in denial of the original game if only to lure the player into this state of denial. And it could work to mirror how Cloud will go through his journey, considering the OG is a lot about grief and Cloud is specifically about the harmful aspect of denial, but i think this is imposing ways too much metatextual commentary over the actual text to the point you're denaturing what the story was about.

At the end of the game, everyone have to accept together to change fate, a fate they know nothing about, a fate they just imagine could be bad. the PLAYER knows what they're talking about, but them, themselves, do not. At this point the characters don't really react out of their own arc and motivation, but on about trying to change an abstract idea they have no idea about.

Except for Aerith who knows about stuff in the future and is so determined to not let it be set in stone, Sephiroth who is implied to come from the AC timeline and wants to do things differently, and Nanaki who understands the Whispers and knows vaguely what to expect.

In a bitter way it puts any hardcore fan who expected to replay the plot of the OG in the position of the bad guy for implying that changes are wrong, actually, regardless of why fans would think this way.

To me, it's antithetical to the plot of the OG. Final fantasy manages to do stories about fate, FF15 is a great story about not being able to defy fate, Crisis Core COULD have been a story about fate due to its ending but it decided not to be, but the OG was not about fate in any way and pushing this as the core theme feels alien to the story.

The characters barely know what it's about aside from out of context flash forward and are supposed to make their stand to correct this.

Meanwhile the story also goes into so many loops to try to make you curious about the Whispers, or the way they fix the timeline, like when they save Barret's life, but everything is artificially contrived for my taste and every single scenes with the Whispers made me wish i had never been hype about this whole project to start with.

-Aerith and Nanaki becoming dev's mouthpieces at the expense of their own character arc. There are many scenes when those two will suddenly stop in their track just to do exposition dump about fate and destiny.

Nanaki is noteworthy because legit 80% of his dialogues are about Fate and Destiny, and his introduction to the squad literally had to rely on Aerith showing him a glimpse of the other timeline so he knows they're supposed to be friend, which is infuriating to think about. Because Nanaki developping a natural friendship with the gang is too much to imagine i guess. For a story about defying fate they sure make sure you know Nanaki only is talking with you because Fate told him so.

Meanwhile for Aerith it's so.... So much to me because at some point it's like her being a character stops and suddenly she ends up discussing exactly how there's a fate in front of them that will be scary to change. She wants to change it because of her own fate into it, but also fear changing it and all of that...

Which plagues Aerith with worries she didn't have at first, which means that for a bit, Aerith stops being her own character on her way to her character arc because she needs to look straight at the audience to explain them the themes of the story in case they didn't catch it up. It is so sloppy to me and i hate the idea of turning Aerith's gradual arc of reconnecting with her heritage and realizing she's the only one who can change something, into one where she's already wise and having it all figured out.

I saw someone comment on how Rebirth feels like a 5D Chess game between Sephiroth and Aerith both trying to change fate in their favor, but while i love their natural antagonistic dynamic, it genuinely bugs me how their independant actions are taking a cosmic weight right from the start of the remake. The more Sephiroth pulls in one direction the more Aerith is pulling on the other, and this natural nemesis relation where Aerith is constantly trying to one up Sephiroth and the other way around took a much bigger dimension now that Sephiroth comes from the Future and Aerith is aware of Fate.

-"Tee Hee Maybe They Won't Die :3c"

It's the frustrating aftereffect of destroying the keeper of fate, is that now the game is showing you a timeline in which Zack is alive, and is trying to act like "maybe Aerith won't die this time". Which feels cruel to me because either they go through with it and keep them both alive and we removed all the stakes from this story or why the game has a lot to say about grief, or they go through with it and they specifically manifactured a way to raise our hopes up for the sake of wanting to see them again.

Aerith and Zack are easily my favorite characters with Cloud, i've read countless of Fix It fanfic, AU where they come back, i know this denial, this desire they'll be okay.

and i know i don't want it from the main game because their death matters too much for what the story is trying to tell.

Zack needs to die for Cloud to even become who he becomes. Without his death, Sephiroth won't be able to manipulate Cloud properly. It's the reveal that Cloud has usurped Zack's life that will lead Cloud to the pure mental collapse that will have him give Meteor to Sephiroth and Sephiroth would trigger the apocalypse. Grieving Zack is a major element to explain the lowest of lows in Cloud's life.

The alternative timeline therefore lose those stakes, and may instead try to prove that Zack has to die else bad things will happen. After all, Cloud doesn't wake up in this timeline, so clearly Zack being alive means his own timeline may get unlucky as it goes.

Meanwhile Aerith's death is necessary for the powerstruggle between Sephiroth and Aerith, with the fact that by killing her, Sephiroth actually made her more powerful.

Sephiroth decides to kill Aerith because her power as the last of the Ancients and the Holy Materia are the only things that can reach out to the power of the Planet to counter everything Sephiroth wants to do. The moment he realizes She is the Menace, he will use Cloud to try to kill her, and when Cloud breaks the mind control, Sephiroth kills her himself. That way he ultimately have two birds one stone by both getting rid of Aerith and being able to break Cloud's mind and make him his and therefore getting Meteor.

But since Aerith was deep into a ritual and when she died she returned to the Lifestream, she managed to keep doing what she was doing from the otherside, more powerful than ever, and it's why the ending is as it is, with Aerith unleashing the lifestream as a way to shield the world from the fall of Meteor.

Aerith's death is essential to how to stop Sephiroth, on the aspect of, by killing her, Sephiroth dug his own grave.

But now what? Either they're keeping her alive and the 3rd part of the game will go in a complete different direction, or they'll kill her still after having raised people hope that she may survive.

-So the saga is setting itself at ending on a totally different note as the OG, at some point it will have to stop trying to adapt the OG at all because it completely went off rail... Or things will go back on rail and we've been played all along.

So yeah it's either the remake will follow through with the major plot beats and will therefore betrays its own new themes because turns out you can't win without following fate after all, or it will go completely off the rail and it will just Not Be The Plot Of The Original Game.

I'm sure we can try to see it as a sequel, i'm sure some people may be able to, but the more i get reminded of how close it is to the OG the more the things that go off rail just feel out of place, because it clashes with the themes of the OG.

I can't enjoy the fully new "sequel stuff" because it's always coupled with a reminder of the OG i love and this sequel just seems wrong there.

-It feels unfinished. And despite all of this, the game doesn't feel finished. You may add as many stories you want to give meat for the game to keep going, but ultimately you just barely introduced the concept and the characters since you legit only adapted the prologue, you left mysteries opened that are not being answered to keep people on a hook, but you end the game basically feeling you just started this trip. After a 60h+ long experience at least, you are left on a cliffhanger telling you to tune in next time.

This was always going to be the risk by cutting the game in part and even more so when the part one decided to only be about Midgar. I mentioned how i think the remake could narratively have tried to push to Junon since it would have ended with a battle with Sephiroth like they wanted.

but by finishing the Prologue, seems just seem rushed, nothing is finished, and there's a lot of plots that open at the end of the game. Like Rufus, for example, who is one of the major antagonist of the game, who can only come last minute. And because he comes in this late to the game, you can't actually have him explain what he's going to do as the antagonist. So he's just there for the vibes and it feel slike a weird addition that is just a cliffhanger for what's to come.

-"If you want to play the plot of the OG you just need to replay the OG or Ever Crisis"

Then you shouldn't have called the game a remake.

^ this is something a dev said btw and it still annoys me to this day. then you should have been transparent about it not being a remake. And saying that if people want to replay the OG they should play Ever Crisis, which is a GACHA live service game that will inevitably be unplugged one day because Square Enix doesn't have a good track record with taking care of their gacha (starting by what happened to the First Soldier, which was closed after one year of service), genuinely made me annoyed.

All in all, in the end, i'll take their word for this because it sure means i have no reason to be interested in the remake. So i will replay the OG instead.

And then they weep when Rebirth do less sales than the Remake. Lol. Lmao even.

But also just this mentality saddens me. Many people won't try the OG because it looks and feels old. It's a great game, but when the rest of the saga has only HD elements, it's difficult to get into or recommend. That's why people wanted a remake. Just being dismissive about it seems sad to me.

DEEP SIGHS.

CONCLUSION.

I didn't come to the remake wanting to hate it. In fact at first i really tried to rationalize everything it was building itself for.

But i powered through the remake more and more irritated and the irritating part took over all of the way i could interreact with the remake.

And the game isn't even that bad. It still genuinely feels like you return to the characters you know and love. I spent more hours having fun than i've had not having fun.

but the problem is that the good things are in the details and in the small interractions here and there, and that the flaws are the Major Plot Elements that you genuinely can't ignore.

And i'm torn, because i love those characters and want to see more, and the gameplay is so fun!

But by the time of the Ending of the Remake, i was just genuinely tired. Like the whole ending portion of the Remake broke me a little because no matter how in character Sephiroth is compared to his AC self, no matter how fun and camp the scenes are in isolation: this is still such a shitty choice to make about the thing that was called a remake.

I'm sure i've forgotten things despite how long this ask is. but yeah. That should be a good run down of my problems with the game.

..... sorry if you expected anything shorter. Turns out it just ended up being a good opportunity to sort out my thoughts and well. well....

Anyway hope you had a good read if you read all of it, and take care o7