#or you can go the cute route where she gets saved by the villain that is immune to her powers

[isekyaaa]

Horror isekai manga called "I was Summoned as the Saintess and Everyone's Obsessed With Me" going the cliche route of the secretly evil saintess having charm powers, except this heroine is not evil, just confused as to why everyone is worshipping them, and then horrified when they realize they can't escape no matter how much they try.

What'd be even better is if the charm takes time to work, so at first people act normal, albeit super polite, and then slowly start giving way to more and more fanatical and extreme acts of devotion.

[yuikomorii]

Heya! In which of the boys route do you think Yui was broken/hurt the most?

I always wanted to know which would be the worst scenario (route) for like.. an avarage girl irl . I know most girls would not survive there😅 but just wanted to know your opinion which of those 6 doors you would never open. Or 13 if we count all the characters.

// Since it's an otome game, it goes without saying that there will be a lot of plot armor and that the love interests can't really harm the heroine seriously throughout the route, regardless of what she does, because the plot would go nowhere like that. Most characters are jerks but not really that hard to handle, since they were known for scaring Yui rather than letting her get genuinely hurt. However there were certain Diaboys who were very scary, as it felt like they had no feelings of remorse or empathy.

Laito:

Can’t say that his HDB route is the worst thing Rejet has ever written (because it’s definitely not) but it baffled me how he was so okay with Yui breaking like that to the point where she lost all her will to live and only wanted to be set free from him. I mean, she literally tried to commit and he was just there not even intending to stop her bleeding veins despite being the one who cut them?? It’s true that in the Vampire Ending she doesn’t turn out that bad but after all, this is just because it’s fiction.

Kanato:

He was easier to understand than Laito because at least you were able to know that he had a soft spot for sweets and Teddy. Nevertheless, it was a bit too much how he kept stabbing Yui with the fork and a few chapters later, I’m pretty sure he stabbed Yui with a knife in more places as well. Still, it’s surprising how she turned out worse in his route, considering the fact that in the afterstory she kills innocent people—

Kou:

I love Kou but he was a literal demon in MB. I really hated how he made his fans bully Yui JUST FOR FUN. It wasn’t even any sort of punishment, he merely wanted to make her suffer. Another thing I couldn’t stand was how he kept putting Yui’s life in danger, only to make her prove her love. I understand wanting to test someone but it would have been way better if he actually saved Yui after seeing her do something dangerous. That way it would have proved that he cared for her yet he continued to watch her get hurt for him over and over again, without feeling any empathy. He was sorta redeemed at the end but yeah, most of his route was big yikes, especially since you wouldn’t have expected a cheerful and friendly idol like him to be such a wicked person.

Carla:

I like the Tsukinami family's desire to preserve their lineage but sorry, I must say that I find it repulsive that a 17-year-old would be forced to become pregnant out of the blue with strangers. I understand that Yui was partially to blame for Carla's anger and subsequent dungeon scene but that moment grossed me out sooo bad. She lost her will to live but Carla literally jumped on a depressed girl and was on the verge of rap€ing her, if his Endzeit didn’t kick in. He gets gradually better throughout his route but this scene left a sore taste in my mouth.

Kino:

Look, Kino is a great villain and a lot of fun, but his LE route was trash. Kino killed a child, mistreated Yui, abducted both Yui and Ayato, planned to sell Ayato to the church for execution, manipulated Yui and tortured Ayato. The pain he caused them both was immense and although I appreciated Yui calling him out, it's so sad that she was brainwashed. While it's true that Kino can be quite cute when he wants to, their romance was so rushed and forced because they didn't give us any reason why Yui would fall for him other than manipulation when Ayato, who was seen to care more about her than for himself, was right there. I wish they developed Kino’s feelings better, given that he straight up blackmailed Yui to become his, otherwise Ayato would had been killed, therefore Yui had no other choice but accept the situation. That’s why his CL route is way better.

I only mentioned 5 instead of 6 but that’s mostly because no other character came closer to them in terms of bad scenario. The rest of them felt decent in their routes for a game called Diabolik Lovers, lol.

[atopearth]

Piofiore: Episodio 1926 Part 3 - Nicola Francesca Route

Well, I'm already liking the start of Nicola's route, like excuse me, that CG is beautiful. Nicola whining about finishing work and going to sleep on a bed Lili wasn't in was so cute haha, especially when he kept asking her if she'll marry him so whenever he comes home, she'll always be there to welcome him back. Lmao when Dante got a bit happy over Lili making pasticciotti and Nicola got a bit jealous and said Lili is his haha. I love that Nicola was serious about proposing to Lili and was visibly happy that she agreed even if he knew she was probably not taking it seriously. It was honestly hilarious hearing how flustered Nicola was when Lili saw how bad he's at waking up when it's someone else like Leo waking him up hahaha. It was so adorable how Nicola said he didn't want to tell Lili the Falzone family business was losing their clients because it looks lame that his work is wearing him down hahaha. It was obvious that Ernesto De Feo, the new governor, was related to Roberto, but his father huh? Guess Nicola's story can't get away from the De Feos haha. Gotta love a man that would say he'd kill whoever and whenever if it means saving you, like dang, Nicola!! It's crazy but I love it!!

I thought Dante being stuck in jail was the worst thing to happen, but seeing Gil's manor burning down and one of his guys running out with his charred arm falling off and skin peeling off?? That is terrible. I feel so bad for Gil, especially since he really cherishes everyone. I held out hope for Oliver to survive, but I guess not😭😭😭 Nicola's mother's death was pretty tough for him especially since he was so young. He knew she needed to be stopped but he didn't want or expect her to die. He wanted to protect Dante but that in turn caused his mother to die since she wanted Nicola to be the head instead of Dante, it's too cruel to try and assassinate Dante though, he was just a kid! But yeah, it's sad for him to realise that his words helped Silvio understand Nicola's mother's intentions and kill her off. I can see why Nicola wouldn't want Lili to know he's doing all that "dirty" stuff like kidnapping and threatening politicians to get Dante out of jail. She's only ever seen the good stuff about Nicola and whatever "bad" stuff he's done, he's got "good" reasons for so it's never made Lili think he was a bad person, but if she knew that he was willing to kill the politician's wife and kid if need be, would she still love him as much as she does now? It's difficult for him to show how vulnerable he can really be when he's never really allowed himself to consciously do such a thing. Teo is actually much more annoying than I thought he would be and I kinda wish we got to see Roberto's father as the "villain" of this route instead lol. Otherwise, I'm happy that Lili is stronger than I thought and supports Nicola's decisions even if he doesn't tell her everything. Even though I think the thing about their love being preordained by fate was a silly thing for drama, I do enjoy how seriously Nicola took it so that he could tell Lili with complete confidence that their love wasn't fate and that it was their choice to be together out of their own free will.

It seems like the more we go along with the story, the more likely it is that Teo is Lili's brother or something. Yang appearing was unexpectedly...random lol. On the other hand, I'm glad Nicola burnt down those ruins and freed Lili and the Falzone family from their mission of being the keepers of the grave protecting this relic that has been shackling them and Emilio for so long. I think it's about time everyone got to live their own lives. As for the CG with Nicola properly proposing to Lili? It was superrr cutee! As for the tragic ending, seeing how happy they were preparing for their wedding, I wouldn't have expected the ending to be a sad one, mainly because I really enjoyed the church scene where they rehearsed their lines, but I guess that was a death flag haha. Gil dying was terrible, but Bartolo dying?! That broke my heart. Seeing Nicola cry over Lili dying in his arms was very sad, if I had the same guts, I would do the same as Lili though. I think I would have liked the tragic ending more if it was a bit longer, since it would have been interesting to see how Nicola would choose to end his life so he could be with Lili imo, but I guess that's kinda morbid of me to say haha!

Overall, I enjoyed seeing how much Nicola loves Lili and how he tried to hide things from her so that she wouldn't hate him. In the original game, it felt like Nicola's main priority was always Dante, so seeing him cherish Lili just the same and even more was very sweet to see here. However, I have to say in terms of plot, it's definitely the weakest because it had no clear direction on what it wanted to do with the story until near the end, and even then it felt quite abrupt with how they dealt with Yang, it's like they felt they needed a physical fight and a villain so they just threw him in lol. As for Teo, I felt bad for him but he was crazy, and I think if the story bothered to explore his side of things more and give a bit more context to his thoughts and history, it would have been better. Burning the ruins was a great end to everyone's suffering but literally nothing in the middle that happened in this route was memorable or really needed for that to happen because Nicola would have done that if he could considering he's always wanted to free Dante from his responsibility. So yeah, route was definitely lacking and things weren't as spicy as they could have been so I'd say the route was quite bland even though it was cute at times, but I did still really enjoy the romance because of how much Nicola visibly showed through his actions and words that Lili was very much loved and cherished by him.

[hellomynamiseglaf]

🌰Chestnuts and Warm Milk🍂

My List of ~Favorites~ for Interactive Fiction and Visual Novels

(This is a work in progress so please bear with me)

Interactive Fiction:

The Wayhaven Chronicles (WIP Series in Development) - @seraphinitegames  (Look,,, I’m just... obsessed.. I can’t stop thinking abt it,,, and I'm..... sometimes, I read and I think I feel like I know what love is.)

Mind Blind (WIP) - @mindblindbard (I just,, UGH it’s so good. I can't even say that much because my feelings about it are so potent that everytime I see an update I try to tell myself to leave it alone to play larger portions of updates as a treat and everytime my willpower FAILS and I replay the demo like twice in a row)

Demon: Recollect ; Forsaken (WIP) - both by @bathalafiction (whew...WHEW!!! Are you kidding me?? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? Look. I was attached to Demon: Recollect. I loved it. And then I played the Forsaken WIP and now I can't get over my absolutely BOMB character design for my player persona. Also it's kind of fun being considered a jerk in the game, because it opens up a lot of different options that I usually feel bad about taking)

Shadow Society - @carawenfiction (the concept is so interesting,, I dream of more. Also Quaiel...baby...)

The Soul Stone War - @intimidatingpuffinstudios (also whew!! I really enjoyed it and the characters all picture themselves really vividly in my mind for some reason.)

Greenwarden (WIP) - @fiddles-ifs (reading this is like thick fog.. but in a good way? I don't know how to describe it without pictures but this IF smells like fog over wet grass)

Divine Intervention (WIP) - @divineinterventiongame (the concept?? UGH SO GOOD. For some reason it's always the first game I click to check for updates)

Golden (WIP) - @milaswriting (😈😈😈😈)

Blood/line (WIP) - @bloodlineoffical (simply put,,, LARRY)

Supernatural in New York ; The Bastard of Camelot (both WIPs) - @llamagirl28  (UGH Both of these are so good in their own ways but equally as exciting to see updates for. I haven't consolidated my feelings much further than "my MC for SiNY is so cute" and "Mordred is a child" but they're all generally positive.)

Ace of Spades (WIP) - @steph-writing (I keep thinking about,,, con........)

Nevermoore (WIP) - @asteristories (AHHHHH.... let me say it again for those in the back: AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH)

Son of Satan: The Mortal Coil (WIP) - @sosthemortalcoil (YES.)

Shepherds of Haven (WIP) - @shepherds-of-haven (yes. I just have to sigh because it's very good and I like saying those funny little words of power. But also outside of the game I can only picture this game as a great, grey border collie)

Attollo (WIP) - @attollo (Also a very interesting concept, whoo... I almost forgot how immersive it was untill I played the demo again and was reminded of how 'into it' I was straight off the bat. Also the seperate, short little piece on the blog with Sysba was also really good and I had a dream about it the other day)

Into the Shadows (WIP) - @wynnakang​ (whooo.... I'm sighing again, but louder. I press restart and play the demo again)

A Comedy of Manors (WIP) - @sviyaginthegreat (I kept replaying options that I hadn't chosen before because I wanted there to be more lmao)

Fallen Hero: Rebirth - @fallen-hero (I think there's a sequel coming up? I haven't stopped thinking about this storyline since I finished it omg... the.. the details are really good and I've become ridiculously attached to my tragic villain? Character... she IS the standard for my reusable IF persona, or at least one of my most prominent ones ;-D )

Samurai of Hyuga (WIP series) - (I'm pretty sure multiplechoicestudios.com is the development blog for this game, or at least what I've been checking for updates..... this is a series with four book currently out.... and I've been playing through book 4 at slower than a snail's pace in a desperate attempt to prolong my experience. I really didn't think I was going to like it as much as I did but I got a little too into it and now I'm horribly attached to all the characters)

The Porthecrawl Witness(WIP) - @porthecrawl-witness (I'm pretty sure this is a WIP?? But ugh. SCREEEEEE- it's so good. It's SO GOOD. I really want to punch Talbot in the face. And Asher, if for a different reason. And sort of Staci just to try. Quinn is just a cutie I could never hurt him like that. Ugh but they're all so good and I forgot that I was reading a WIP untill it suddenly was over..... I'mfeeling really aggressive rn as I'm writing this, so please just note that the punch comment is meant as a statement on how interesting the concept and immersiveness of the characters and story is)

Forgotten Names (WIP) - by Alexandra_Zorila on the CoG Forum (turn the volume up. AHHHHHHHHHH!!! Look, look. It's..... delicious. It's SO interesting and I obsessively have a tab open on my computer to check for updates)

OFNA: Birds of a Feather (WIP) - @ofna (the vibes are so grey and smoky but the fog is definitely from a party smoke machine and the room is only dark because the walls are taped with those huge sheets of black construction paper that teachers use to cover their bulletin boards with... the game definitely falls in the 'dark and mysterious' genre but something just strikes me as really funny when I play it. Anyway it's good and it's in a lot if recommended lists for a reason. Also I'm very attached to my American Goldfinch)

More Things in Heaven and Earth (WIP) - @morethingsgame (in the same way that it's fun to play Guenevere in the Guenevere game or Mordred in The Bastard of Camelot, playing Ophelia in the sort-of Hamlet story is really fun. If anyone has read the Missing collection- which I absolutely love- by Margaret Peterson Haddix, this gives me similar vibes for some reason. Anyway, I really want to give Hamlet a hug and make him a flower crown or something)

A Tale of Crowns (WIP) - @ataleofcrowns (It's kind of not even funny how much I love this game... It's hard to even describe why I like it, just that it's so well rounded in terms of the story, characters, dialogue, and relationships. It's such an interesting plotline and it's pretty immersive. Also the first time I read the demo, there was an update as I was reading and the high that sent me on has very rarely been matched. Also Dara running to save my Crown in the tunnel?? 🤚😩🤭💓 ugh. UGH!! That's good food for my fool heart)

Scout: An Apocalypse Story (WIP)- @anya-dev (I'm usually not that into apocalypse themes/plots but I really enjoyed this game, and the plot was very good and intruiging... it really pulled me in and I like my character in the story a lot. I don't know why but it tastes like chikuwa, atsuage, and this specific type of carmelized onions that my mom makes sometimes)

Nothing left to burn (WIP)- @clowdee-works (......ouch. I *knew* what was going to happen and I STILL became attached to Drew)

Smoke and Velvet - @roast-ifs (It's good. And I am VEDY much into my character design. Also the story is really interesting, and I enjoy the setting a lot somehow)

Speaker (WIP)- @speakergame (very fun to play, and each update gets me more interested in the aspects of the plot. I also really like the little descriptions of what the characters think of the player)

The Nameless (WIP)- @parkerlyn (interesting plot, I like the characters a lot, and The aesthetics of this world are so interesting. Definitely had a good time visualizing what everything looked like)

Fields of Asphodel (WIP) - @asphodelgame (I think it's really cute so far!!! I like mythology in general, and the persephone/hades dynamic is *mwah!*... I like the way the story progresses in the beginning, and I think it works well in drawing the reader into the world. I also very much enjoy petting large dogs.)

...there are so much more.. and I have followed so many blogs.........

I'm not sure why I can't find it rn but there's this one WIP game that I really like where the MC buys a manor for like dollar and moves to go live there with her best friend and shenanigans ensue as they try to settle in and fix up the estate

Harbringer (WIP) - @harbringercog (....are you KIDDING me?? I was fully planning on just enjoying the demo and keeping a mental note to update the list sometime later,,, but this game... THIS GAME really made me fold. It's very immersive and regardless of how nervous the author claims to be after releasing the demo, it's of my humble opinion that those nerves can be calmed. It's very good. I was planning on procrastinating and reading a little bit and then going back to this essay I need to write, but somehow I got pulled in and ended up reading through the whole demo and it's apparent that I honestly had no chance of getting through this without becoming invested in the plot.... just... so good.. I'm very excited to see how this will progress)

Visual Novels:

Andromeda 6 (WIP) - @andromeda-six​  (I repeat: Obsessed, I come back every few months to see an update and I fall deeper into the hole every time...)

To the Edge of the Sky (WIP,, probably) - by Ajané (??) on Steam (I think, it’s been a while)

Next on my list to check out: Perfumare by pdrrook

Does.... does The Arcana game by Nix Hydra count as VN?? If so, then yes.

Similarly, the FictIF games are all entertaining, although Last Legacy and Heir to Love and Lies are my favorites rn (and.....unfinished....)

I also don't know if this counts, because I kind of consider Otome games to be their own genre, but on the Love 365: find your story by Voltage Inc. There are a bunch of fun stories, my favorite of which are: the Shinichi Kagari route on After School Affairs and the Saejima and Keiichiro routes on Bad Boys do it Better

..To be continued...

[tainted-wine]

I didn’t apply all of these descriptions but these are the main three I had in mind while writing this. How did I attract so many fans of the crusty boi? Either way, welcome to the club!

Words: 1.5k (how the hell did that happen there’s barely any sex)

---------------------

The website didn’t explain what the “LOVER” cheat does. Probably unlocks a deleted path that didn’t make it into the official game. Or maybe he just gets a head-start on his Affection progress with you at the very beginning. Or maybe it doesn’t do shit – that could be why there’s no explanation.

Well, now that he knows how to do it, it wouldn’t hurt to test it himself. Shigaraki absently scratches at the irritated skin on his neck as he boots up the game. The directions were fairly simple and easy to remember.

1. Start a brand new file.

Ugh, he despises games that hold only one save file. It’s not like a visual novel holds up much space. What if you want different files in order to experiment with different choices? It doesn’t matter in his case anyway; he 100% completed the game months ago. With no regrets, his original game was deleted and a new one began.

> What is your name?

He might as well stick with the one he used last time.

‘SHIGGY-SENPAI’

The introduction cutscene began, the protagonist going on about the new town he just moved into. Pretty by-the-books, as far as romance openings go.

2. Finish the intro. Once you meet Y/N, go to the menu. 

After skipping through a bunch of fluffy dialogue, you finally appear in all of your cute glory. Once you’re done introducing yourself, Shigaraki brings up the main menu.

3. Type in “LOVER”

Just like that? Alright then...

Right after inputting the final letter, a sparkly ping sound straight out of a magical girl anime could be heard, and that was it. Okay...it sounds like he did it correctly.

When he returned to the game, his success was much more evident. You were staring directly at the screen - almost through the screen - with a glowing expression he’s never seen. Each and every one of your reactions have been seared into his brain after so many hours of gameplay. This was new.

“You...do you really mean that, SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

What? Voice acting? Though you did say his name pretty stiffly, as expected when a computer tries to pronounce custom text, but what the hell? Why would this be hidden as a cheat?

“But it’s so soon, and I’m not very experienced...” You blushed and shyly twiddled your fingers.

Oh.

“But I already trust you, and I want you too.”

Oh.

It’s that kind of path.

A hidden adult route. Shigaraki really likes that, even though this would’ve had a much stronger impact if it happened on his original file, the one where he was fully bonded to you. Sucks that he needs a fresh file in order to fuck you.

Shit, he’s not even prepared for this. Maybe he should go grab the lotion and a couple of tissues, assuming that this special scene will make for pretty decent fap material.

But the dialogue continued automatically. You creeped closer to the screen as you gushed about your feelings for him. “I want to make love to you forever and ever!”

You were getting really close, and with a show of impressive animation, your hand reached out to touch the fourth wall...

And the screen began to distort and ripple.

What the fuck?

“I just can’t wait to feel your amazing cock.” Your fingers began to phase through the fucking computer screenWHAT THE FUCK?!

“Take me, SHIGGY-SENPAI!”

Just like that, a full-sized bitch materialized out of the game and onto his lap, nearly toppling his gamer chair.

Even in the darkness of his room, your eyes shined brightly as they studied his pale face. “You’re even more handsome up close!”

Shigaraki was still too stunned to even respond to the rare compliment. Only when you began to pull down his pants did he finally find his voice again.

“Wha–ah–who the–hey!” He knows that he shouldn’t be afraid of a hottie touching his cock but ooooh shit she’s already stroking him.

“Ah, you’re so big!” You stared at his untouched manhood in awe, watching him become more erect after every pump of your soft hand.

“Fuck, am I?” He gasped.

“Mmhmm! And I bet you’re really tasty too!” You say before he’s suddenly engulfed with the very real warmth of a mouth.

Fuck fuck fuck he isn’t gonna last. He was ready to jerk off, not actually get his dick sucked. It feels more amazing than he ever imagined, your tongue working along his sensitive flesh, and those lips sucking at him so eagerly.

When his hand grabs the top of your head, he realizes too late that all five of his fingers are tangled in your hair.

You nearly fall over from how suddenly Shigaraki rolls back in his chair. You look shocked, confused, and...very much not a pile of dust.

“What’s wrong, SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

He looked at his hands, then at you, then at his hands again.

Then he takes hold of your face and shoves you back into his groin, because he can touch you, he can touch another fucking living thing without any worries about completely destroying it. Must be some crazy logic about you being data from a videogame or something. He doesn’t care, he’s so horny, feels so good having his cock so far down a hot tight throat, he just might burst...

Wait, he might have just done exactly that.

“Ah, shit,” he watches you pull back and swallow with the most satisfied grin.

“That was quick, SHIGGY-SENPAI!” You really need to stop saying his name like that. It’s fuckin’ weird. “I didn’t even get to feel you inside me.”

“Shut up,” the mixture of emotions he’s been experiencing ever since your ass crawled out of the screen like a girl in a cursed video is starting to piss him off. He’s so insulted and thankful that this fictional bitch gave him his first blowjob and made him nut in the span of sixty seconds. “Just give me a few minutes.” 

A few knocks on the room’s door startles both of you.

“Tomura, the Vanguard Action Squad is ready to move out.”

Shit!

“I’ll be out in a damn minute, Kurogiri.” Shigaraki moves to get out of his seat, only to be stopped by his new partner.

Your sparkly puppy eyes are so grossly cute, yet it has his dick twitching again already. “Are you leaving me already, SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

“Quit saying my name in all caps.”

“Okay, ˢʰᶦᵍᵍʸ⁻ˢᵉⁿᵖᵃᶦ.”

“Not like that. I can barely hear it.”

“How about SHIGGY-SENPAI?”

He slaps a hand over your mouth. “Just stop saying my name.”

A much harsher knock rocks the old door. “Hey, you ugly bastard,” That sounded like the Dabi asshole. “The hell are you doing in there? Jacking off to anime girls?”

Shigaraki scoffed. When’s the last time that burnt Stain fanboy got his dick sucked?

As much as he wants to join in on terrorizing the brats at U.A, he really wants to get laid today.

“Just go without me!” He yells through the walls. He nearly misses your muted squeak of joy.

“Eh?” Hearing Dabi’s annoyed muffled voice was pretty amusing. “You’re just gonna sit on your ass in your room while we do the work?”

The villain’s retort catches in his throat when you take his hand and begin to slowly lick at his fingers, all while pinning him with an innocent gaze.

“Your fingers are so pretty,” You whispered.

It’s so difficult to pay attention to the words being uttered outside of the room while his hands are being placed on your chest. BOOBS.

“Please trust Tomura. I’m sure he has faith in you all handling this mission on your own,” Kurogiri tries to explain. Shigaraki knows him well enough to know that he’s probably irritated as well, but there are titties in his hands so who gives a fuck.

Dabi releases an exasperated groan. “I knew this whole League of Villains thing was bullshit. Shouldn’t have bothered.”

Shigaraki slows his exploration of your breasts to shout, “If I make you the leader of the mission, will you shut up?”

“......Yes.”

“Well, I pronounce you leader of the Vanguard Action Squad. I’ll even give you a Nomu. Have fun.” The two of you are rushing to lift your shirt off for better access to your skin.

“Fuck yeah,” Dabi’s voice is still fairly close. The sooner he pisses off, the better. “I can probably pull this off better than you, anyway. Come on, psycho girl, we’re gonna go round up everyone else.”

Toga can be heard squealing excitedly as they both step away and finally give him his privacy back. You look absolutely lovestruck by the entire exchange.

“You gave up an important mission just for me? You really do love me!” 

He just rolled his eyes and lowered his head to take a hardened nipple into his mouth, enjoying your sounds of delight.

He can’t wait for the next time he faces those stupid heroes. He’ll be smarter, stronger, and can even tell them that he got his dick wet.

Oh, the collapse of hero society is going to be glorious.

[addictedtojmanga]

Shoujo manga recommendations - otome game isekai

So, after 10+ years reading shoujo manga, I’ve read over 1k titles, admittedly, a reasonable amount is one-shot (or at least a collection of), but nonetheless, over time I had to expand my interests.

Lately, I’ve started reading the otome game isekai genre, and decided it’d be nice to share the ones I thought were best.

Most of them are pretty much the same, but the best ones usually have a twist, so...

! Warning: You’ll most likely want to beat up 1 or 2 characters from each one, but worry not, so do I and the other characters

1. Fiancée's Observation Log of the Self-proclaimed Villainess

Crown prince Cecil was so brilliant that everything in life was easy to the point of boring him, then one day, his fiancée Bertia suddenly said "Prince Cecil, I am a villainess!" Claiming that this world is the same as that of an "otome game" from her past life and that she is playing the role of the "villainess" in it, she aims to play her part well and have their engagement annulled. With that goal in mind, she sets about causing turmoil in Cecil's daily life.

This one definitely takes the gold for me. Super sweet and pretty funny.

2. My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

Most people would prefer being the protagonist of a world full of adventure, be it in a game or in another world. But, unfortunately, a certain girl is not so lucky. Regaining the memories of her past life, she realizes that she was reborn in the world of Fortune Lover—one of the games she used to play. Unfortunately, the character she was reincarnated into—Katarina Claes—is the game's main antagonist, who faces utter doom in every ending. Using her extensive knowledge of the game, she takes it upon herself to escape from the chains of this accursed destiny. However, this will not be an easy feat, especially since she needs to be cautious as to not set off death flags that may speed up the impending doom she is trying to avoid. Even so, to make a change that will affect the lives of everyone around her, she strives—not as the heroine—but as the villainess.

This one takes 2nd place! It has a different result than others, and the FL is great - everyone is, to be fair.

3. Of Course I’ll Claim Palimony

"I'll annul our engagement!" My fiancé suddenly declared?! Apparently he's in love with the recently transferred count's daughter and is planning on making me the villain in order to annul the engagement. Although I have no lingering attachments about the engagement, I do have to claim a hefty consolation fee don't I?

This is sooo good. The FL is spectacular and manages to stand out - even if just a bit - from the rest of the genre.

4. I’m a Villainous Daughter, so I’m going to keep the Last Boss

Avoid the BAD END! That's the goal of the villainess in this plot-twisting story!! She has been reborn into the world of an otome game as the villainess, Irene. Using her memories of her former life, she recognizes flags indicating she's en-route to the bad end, so she makes a plan to conquer the last boss (the evil king Claude), make him her lover, and see if she can open up a new route!

Pretty funny, and the FL is bold. Also, the ML is a bishounen.

It’s one of the few mangas from this genre that has been completely translated, and since it only has 13 chapters, it’s a good way to start out.

5. The Plain & Unnoticeable Me is No More

Elaine Lana Norris, who was born at the top of the aristocratic daughter, was declared abandoned by her second fiancé at the school's founding party. Lana, who has been made a villain daughter, is driven out of her home by a strict grandfather. But there is a secret in Lana that everyone doesn't know about?

I don’t want to give out any spoilers, however, it suffices to say that she accepts her role as the villainess.

Ok, I think these 5 are my favorite, but the ones below have been selected as well, so they’re still pretty good and worth reading.

6. The Villiainess Is Adored by the Crown Prince of the Neighboring Kingdom    

Tiararose was supposed to be disengaged and exiled from the country. “This was the Otome game I had played!” She realized on the day before the story’s ending??……. Shall I wait for the judgment? But, I did not do anything too cruel……. Thinking so, the ending continues. But, during the judgement??something that was not possible in the game happened. The neighboring crown prince courted the villainous daughter Tiararose.

ML: 10/10 FL: 8/10 (too insecure for my taste)

7. Endo and Kobayashi’s Live Commentary on the Villainess

She’s always putting on that grumpy face even though she’s not actually that upset! Oh, why can’t she just be honest with herself…!??? She is a tsundere, after all? When her embarrassment levels exceed a certain limit, she will explode into anger. However, the point that she’s suppressing under the surface is that she wouldn’t mind that sort of thing if it were in a less public place.? As Endo-kun passionately reacts to the antics of Lady Liselotte, the villainess of an otome game, Kobayashi-san provides a painstaking breakdown of her tsundere behaviour. Suddenly, one person could hear their voices; Liselotte’s fiancée, Prince Siegward. That is where this story begins.

8. I’m the Villainess, but the Capture Targets are too Abnormal  

The villainess, Mystia, remembered her past life on her 10th birthday and has unwittingly turned the characters in the otome game "Kyun Kyun Love School" into yanderes! In order to avoid becoming the love rival of the "heroine" who will lead her to her downfall, she starts making every effort to break off her engagement with her "prince-like classmate"! That’s was what supposed to happen...But, because of her kind personality, her favorability increased instead!

It’s still in its beginning stages, but seems pretty solid.    

9. Though I May Be a Villainess, I'll Show You I Can Obtain Happiness!  

A collection of one shots.

Great way to start out, it has quite a few options, so if you don’t like one, give another one a try!

10.  The Villainess, Cecilia Silvie, Doesn't Want to Die, So She Decided to Cross-dress!      

I was reincarnated into the body Cecilia Silvie, the villainess of an otome game. According to the plot, what awaits me in the normal route is either a slow, painful death or an instantaneous one... Essentially, every route leads to my demise. Then I'll change my fate! And that's why I decided to become a man. However, I made a mistake during a certain event, and the story began to head down an unexpected path...?

I haven’t seen any other like this, and if you like gender bender, this one’s for you!

11.  I’ll Become a Villainess That Will Go Down in History ― The More of a Villainess I Become, the More the Prince will Dote on Me

Alicia is the eldest daughter of the noble Williams family—a bloodline that excels in dark magic. Her jet-black hair and golden eyes command a powerful presence, but her most unique features are, without a doubt, her sharp tongue and malevolent nature. By all means, she is a villainess, but also a fictional character from an otome game!

12. I’m Not a Villainess!! Just Because I Can Control Darkness Doesn’t Mean I’m a Bad Person!

The novel The Saint Beloved by the Prince is set in the land of Lacia, where spirits control the elements, each of which is overseen by a "Spirit King." On rare occasions, these Spirit Kings may bless a single human, granting them immense magical control over their respective element. The heroine, Amelia Logan, and the villainess, Claudia Leitzya, are two sides of the same coin, blessed by the Light and Dark Spirit Kings respectively. However, while Amelia is beloved, Claudia is hated and rejected due to her dark skin, ebony locks, and aptitude for dark magic. After dying in modern-day Japan, Sakura is reborn as an infant Claudia. While difficult at first, Claudia tries to adjust to this new life, all the while accompanied by the Dark Spirit King Gerald. But even this task is far from easy; people fear her at first glance, no matter how she acts toward them. Still, Claudia is set on changing her fate from the novel, proving she is a good person and breaking free from the shackles of a "villainess."

13. Rebirth of the Villainess: The Life of Letizia after the Engagement Annulment      

For some reason, the duke's daughter, Letizia, was plotting to break her engagement with the prince. Her plan succeeded and the prince, none the wiser. But shortly after the engagement was terminated... The King collapsed! In that moment, she recalled her memories of her past life as a nurse and she fully utilised her knowledge & experience as a nurse, to save the King's life. Thinking she had achieved what she wanted, she thought she could finally relax, drinking her favourite beverage and leisurely spend her time, she instead somehow keeps getting involved in incident after incident. The slow and peaceful life is now nothing but a dream!? Lazy daughter, busy seeking freedom and laziness!

14. I Won't Become a Villainess. I'm Just a "Normal" Duke's Daughter!

A Japanese person reincarnated into an otome game chock full of death flags for the villainess, Rosalind. "I'm going to live an enjoyable life in this world!" Making full use of the game knowledge to avoid death flags, for some reason events keep happening one after another?! Contracting with spirits, helping her father (the prime minister) with his work using her modern day knowledge, taking a walk with the holy beast... and on top of all that, even starting up the heroine's event...? Will Rosalind be able to smash through every unknown death flag that comes her way...?! And will she be able to be fluffy lovey-dovey with the supporting beastkin character she liked from her previous life?!

Cute. Has beasts.

15. Milady Just Wants to Relax      

She worked herself to death in her past life, but then she was reborn in another world as the villainess Ronia! As expected, her engagement is broken and she's expelled from society, but now she takes that chance to live peacefully, and even opens a cafe with the help of her fairy comrades, which is becoming unexpectedly popular with beast-kin...?

Also cute. Also has beasts.

16. I Swear I Won’t Bother You Again!            

Violette, a proud and beautiful daughter of a duke, commits a crime out of jealousy towards her half-sister. Convicted, Violet faces her own heart with sincerity in a prison cell and regrets her sin. Then time rewinds to a turning point—to her first meeting with Maryjun one year ago. Violette makes a decision. She will not make mistakes this time. Without committing a crime and bothering anyone, she will live an ordinary, plain and inconspicuous life...! However, incidents contrary to Violette's expectations occur one after another...?!

17. I Became a Villain Daughter

On her 15th birthday, Hinase Kaede, a young girl who was working as a part-timer, perished in a traffic accident. Upon her death, a self-proclaimed “God” appeared, declaring that Kaede would be brought back to life. However, Kaede’s happiness was short-lived and her soul was thrown into Erika, the villainess of an otome game! In the original game, Erika became a saint candidate alongside the heroine, committed evil deeds over the course of the candidacy, and ultimately faced condemnation. Thus, Kaede decides that she will not get close to the main characters of the game so as to avoid the bad end, but yet——?

[marimopeace]

there's a limit on how much you can be an isekai intellectual...

a bunch of analyses have been popping up before me all day so i wanted to throw my hat into the ring. all love to ppl who are exercising their creative minds + ppl like geoff here who just talk about these things because of fan interest but i feel like there reaches a point where exploring the "types" of isekai is pointless? i've seen ppl list out the different types of villainess revenge isekai or fantasy mmorpg isekai but eh why fit them all into separate boxes like that?

i think it's easier to think of isekai as a "type" (genre) of itself with only two categories: 1) a focus on isekai (lit. another world) 2) tensei (lit. to be reborn). this allows for a variety of applications and thus tropes that ppl see so many trends of!

with isekai - in another world

you see everything from:

pure fantasy (inuyasha, digimon wait maybe not the best example but in my childhood mind i count digimon as pure fantasy, fushigi yugi)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (.hack//legend of twilight, sao ugh, log horizon, overlord (LOVE OVERLORD!)

otome game-esque worlds >>> this is where it gets complicated with "villainess routes" since i admit there are multiple villainess tropes but this is why it's nice to not think of this as a "sub-type/genre" bc it frees you from those complications! (the saint's magic power is omnipotent, the white cat's revenge as plotted from the dragon king's lap soso cute!, the savior's book cafe in another world, i'm a villainous daughter so i'm going to keep the last boss wait i can't remember if she's reborn in this one lmaooo see this is why rules make everything hard)

with tensei storylines - being reincarnated/reborn in another world as *insert character/role*

you see...

the same tropes!!

pure fantasy (a returner's magic should be special, reminiscence adonis, the lady and the beast, light and shadow, i can't think of a manga off the top of my head for this ah)

mmorpg inspired fantasy/adventure (so i'm a spider so what i stan kumoko so hard, her majesty's swarm, can't name another off the top of my head ah i hate lists shorter than two things...)

self-insert based games/novels (fiance's observation log of a self-proclaimed villainess, who made me a princess, death is the only ending for the villainess, the villainess wants to marry a commoner, honestly games vs novels are different applications but i'm not in the headspace to try to remember a bunch of both lol)

*insert line break to give random ppl a break from scrolling but tl; dr just enjoy things for what they are no need to micro analyze*

similar variations occur in both genres (if ppl want to be super technical i guess i'm arguing that isekai itself is a massive genre that has the "another world" subgenre and "reincarnation" subgenre tl; dr) so i think it's honestly a huge pain to try to separate all these trends into so many different types of stories. for me personally it's easier to not get overwhelmed by this gigantic umbrella of "isekai" that spans light novels, manhwa, manga, and mobile games by just stripping each story down into its trademark tropes (aka character archetypes, story structures) and slapping "oh this is a person going to a world that's not ours" and "this person gets reborn as blank in another world". none of this "omg this power fantasy is such a this kind of isekai moment" or "there are 14 different types of villainess revenge stories and this series fits into this" bc AH labels! limitations! circle-jerks via ppl trying to compartmentalize everything and sound smart for leaving a comment on story analysis instead of ooh-ahhing over a character's face! dividing things into light novel manga vs manga vs korean manhwa ft. female characters!

the last bit is mainly why i feel frustrated by ppl's insistence to group everything?

the video linked at the beginning of the post (honestly good video essay, i enjoyed it, i just kept thinking in my head the whole time "marimo these are tropes do not take the genre talk literally") has a baby comment thread talking about "korean isekai manhwas" as a genre featuring nothing but reincarnated villainess' and i can't.

like i cannot acknowledge that as a genre of any sort. the energy i felt reading through some of those insights takes me back to 2012 when all yt americans discovered k-pop and deemed all korean music k-pop from then on! (ppl still do this now, yes you are seen and don't talk to me pls i don't like you. k-pop is korean pop music and nothing less and nothing more. take a few seconds and try to parse apart aspects of korean culture instead of slamming everything into a monolithic label that has the letter k and a hyphen.) it feels so odd to see a bunch of young ppl on ig and tiktok acknowledge korean media that happens to be in the form of a webtoon as "oh stories all about young girls becoming villains in stories they made/played" bc it feels so reductive u.u

(positionality disclaimer that i'm praying isn't actually necessary: i am a 3rd-generation korean of japanese descent do not fite me i am exhausted irl of ppl asking for validation/verification bc massive shove off.)

breaking news! korean manhwa...is just as multifaceted as japanese manga...bc how can comics as an art-form not have multiple genres...huh such a shocker?!?! same likely applies to media in other parts of the world like chinese manhwa and french comics--not my place to explain either of those i just know those industries exist bc of wakfu and donghua shows by Tencent.

at the end of the day it's not like analyzing any kind of isekai is wrong--absolutely not!! i think it can be super fun to think about how isekai elements complicate a story (MCs trying to go back home, ppl from the og world, reincarnation plot-twists) or maybe even bash a series for including some kind of other world element when they could have just written a super fun fantasy.

insert marimo's brief ramble that hey you can get sick of truck-kun's hitting disillusioned guys who happen to be super duper smart or girls who happen to be master chefs/craftsmen but transporting a fully-grown being into a fantasy setting is the ultimate cheat code for making mundane modern technology seem cool and overpowered, and being reincarnated as a fully grown person in a world with a pre-made story/game set-up completely bypasses the need for an author to slowly flesh out world-building in a natural progression so isekai is actually a really smart writing tool it's just that there are some series where the author didn't use it well at all and it's cheesy or clearly isekai was misused as a vehicle for character/story development and it was pointless *DEEP BREATH OUT*

in this essay i will argue...lol i am such a culture studies major!! if i were an english major i would be talking all about writing but here i am having a side-tangent about world-building via someone being reborn wow i love this for me (don't get me started on when an author has someone reincarnate as a baby and the story is mostly them having warm fluffy moments with their family--typically father figures--and getting lots of powers i could and would and probably will rant about east asian toxicity)

but anyway am i crazy????? like yes for being passionate about the technical use of a word like genre (i am a scorpio rising let me be fussy pls) but i don't think it's a lot to ask for ppl to not unironically see "villainess revenge isekai" as the definition of korean manhwa.

idk as someone who resonates with why japanese isekai is so popular domestically + why a lot of korean manhwa feat. the same tropes (it's not for great reasons lads it's actually depressing tbh) i'm just starting to feel kind of pained by the generalization and need to separate "cute japanese girl in an otome game"/"japanese boy finds a harem in another world" from "korean girl dies and comes back as a villainess" bc they are just! applications to the same story device!!

recommendations for any who makes it this far down below <3

// also gladly recommend any of the examples i've listed in the above rant as i've read/watched all of them and adore them v much! //

save me princess

super refreshing fantasy manhwa ft. a princess and her ex-boyfriend having to save the world!

the beginning after the end

an AMERICAN web novel turned into a comic (but see it being not korean/japanese doesn't really matter when you just consider isekai as a genre...isn't it nice to not overthink it?) ft. a super-powerful wizard king reincarnated into another world and starting from scratch--gives mushoku tensei vibes but huge twists!

the reason why raeliana ended up at the duke's mansion

love love LOVE this story--read the title and you'll learn how this girl reincarnated as the character raeliana in a book gets married to a duke!

trash of the count's family

such a good novel!! a guy gets reborn as a lazy oaf and he takes the hero of the story under his wing...plot twists come up later on!

this time i will definitely be happy!

v good and refreshing for a shorter series! she's been reborn 3 times and remembers every time the hero's stabbed her in the back, and now she just wants to break up with him!

silver diamond

older manga but v good adventure w intrigue! a boy who loves plants get sucked into a desert world with demonic lizards and a mysterious bodyguard by his side. shonen-ai not BL but wonderful vibes nonetheless + great side characters!

the princess imprints a traitor

adore everything in this from the world (not in that way this society makes me so angry) to the machinations at play and the dynamic between the fl and ml

[owlf45]

quick! if you made a monster/animal au with bnha what would it be about and why yes i am asking this for very obvious reasons

If it’s something simple, I’d do a Pokémon mystery dungeon esque style monster au with friendships and just friends being friends and adventuring. The institutions (UA, the Commission, etc) might be similar but I probably wouldn’t have them be exactly what canon functions them to be

Another idea I had was to make my current WIP Quaternary structure into a monster AU. It’s Yaoyorozu centered based on the idea that she could technically make viruses since they’re non-living, and how her parents trying to commercialize her ability as a child forces her to run away, only getting the attention of pretty much every other group who wants her quirk (for medical purposes or otherwise). It’s heavy vigilante-esque momo & quirkless Izuku friendship (pre UA—she saves him from the sludge villain). I kind of wanted to make Momo a monster. Not sure if it’ll be Bc or some whumpy experimentation from Chisaki trying to utilize her quirk or if I want to go more extreme/fantasy route and have the viruses shes forced to create (some manmade) spiral out of control and totally warp Yaoyorozu, who hosts the almagamation of virus in her body,,

I’m also immensely enjoying the OFA-users-and-afo come-back-as-animals-that-keep-ending-up-on-Izuku’s-front-porch ideas and that might be a cute small animal au.

If it’s something more hardcore, I’d probably set up greater worldbuilding shit. Many different lands and fights between mystical creatures (Probably gonna see some Wings of Fire influence in there if I ever tried to pull something off). Or a wandering MC hopping between or within worlds. (Maybe like a sort of “guardian angel” Izuku, but he’s not an angel and he’s a monster? And he can slip through shadows and does his best to watch over and protect the human versions of monsters he’s met with once upon a time as a favor—idk. And the canon characters are all fucking freaked out of their mind cuz they see shit under their bed and it’s Izuku but he’s not actually trying to hurt anyone??? And throughout the story you start to learn how Izuku met the Other versions of the characters before watching over the humans.) Kind of like in BR where Izuku meets different versions of the same people (some of which who will be monstrous or inhuman like), I’d probably do a similar concept except Izuku (or whatever MC) and all the characters would def have to be a monster as well. Wasted potential otherwise.

Uhhh fuck what’s more centered in the actual BNHA universe tho,, think canon think canon,, I don’t think I could do a monster quirk by itself, it’s fun to read but I don’t have the patience… there’s always nomu characters which is fun. Tho if I want to focus on only one character being a monster/animal and everyone else human,,, probably some kind of quirk curse thingy that forces a character to become monstrous and dealing with those ramifications. Or like, I love the AUs of spirits bonding with people to cause quirks, and I’d just love to see AFO or Shigaraki be reverted to a hella scary spirit that eats away at everything and is so very detrimental to even himself,

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 308 Spoiler Thoughts: Beat His Ass, Young Midoriya!

Chapter leaks are out!  Full chapter hasn’t been revealed yet (and take what I say with a grain of salt until the official translations come out), but I think I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on.  Nothing super heavy, but it’s an action-packed chapter that shows us how much of a badass Deku has become since he left UA and went all vigilante on us.  So, let’s do this:

Before we get into the chapter, I need to mention our mangaka, Kohei Horikoshi-sensei’s comment this week.  He’s basically apologizing for taking a break last week, calling himself a “small-fry”, and promising to pick himself up.  Horikoshi deserved a break last week and he is by no means a “small-fry” for creating one of the best and most popular pieces of fiction in the last few years.  I hope that he knows that and that he shouldn’t blame himself for taking a break.  

So, the chapter picks up right where we left off!  Deku and Muscular’s battle begins and Muscular recognizes Deku’s voice.  He says that he’s been waiting for this moment as everyone else he’s faced have been weaklings compared to Deku.  As far as we know, Deku has been the only one to even beat Muscular by himself.  It took over 100% of his strength to do so, but Deku did manage to kick Muscular’s ass.  It makes sense why he’d want a rematch.

I need to take a moment here to talk about how awesome Deku looks in his Vigilante costume (as I’ve decided to call it).  The tattered clothing really works for him and the dark sclera around his eye adds to the effect.   Again, I love that he’s finally putting the bunny hood and metal mask to use.  I mean, he used them before, but not as a real part of his daily costume.  He looks almost like a completely different person with them on.  I’d be scared of Deku tbh.  

As the fight continues, he gives the injured Yo Shindo to his GF, Tatami.  Tatami can’t see Deku’s costume because of the smoke surrounding him, but she does kind of recognize his voice from somewhere.  I do wonder if Tatami’s going to put the pieces together and find out that the vigilante is Izuku Midoriya.  And I wonder if she’s going to get the word about his actions spreading and if that will reach our UA kids.  Or the news stations will, that might happen too.  

Speaking of smoke, DEKU UNLOCKED THE 6TH OFA USER’S QUIRK!  The 6th user is the Tobio Kageyama-looking dude with the long collar (He’s cute btw 😳!) and his name is “En” which translated to smoke.  His Quirk is Smokescreen which explains the smoke surrounding Deku at the end of the last chapter.  Deku is using the Quirk too much, so he needs to calm down a bit and use each Quirk individually.  There’s actually quite a bit that Deku could use with a Quirk like Smoakscreen: He could hide himself for a sneak attack, he could use it as a distraction, use it if he needs to retreat, etc.  My mind immediately went to Pokémon (because of course it did) and how Team Rocket would constantly use moves like Smoakscreen and Haze to either distract Ash and Co. to confuse them or use a sneak attack, or run away from the protagonist.  It’s another support-type Quirk, but it’s a damn good one if used right. 

Edit: There’s a panel that shows the scale of how much Smokescreen Deku used and it’s A LOT.  Like, the smoke is covering several streets and it goes to the top of some buildings.  It’s hard for really anyone to see anything.  Deku’s really trying to keep himself in the shadows, I suppose.

To use all his Quirks well, En suggests that Deku think of each Quirk like a support tool.  So, Float is a jetpack, Black Whip is a long string of rope, Danger Sense is a radio, and Smoakscreen is a flare or some kind of smoke grenade (I don’t know the specific name).  This is a really good way of thinking for Deku since he’s been using object-focused metaphors for OFA before.  Remember the “Egg in The Microwave” and the “Turntable in The Microwave”?  Similar to that!

Edit: Fan-scans are out.  It seem like Deku is actively talking to En here as if he’s a little voice in his head guiding him on what to do.  My guess is that after his coma talk with the OFA Holders, Deku can now talk to the vestiges consciously.  He doesn’t need to enter a dream-like state to interact with him; it’s just a thing he can do willingly.

So, Deku uses each Quirk individually and finally ties Muscular down with Black Whip.  I can’t describe it, but it’s so cool to see Deku in action here absolutely folding Muscular.  He really has improved since their last fight. There’s one panel that has a close up of Deku’s masked face and he looks so damn cool!  I’m so tempted to color it when the official translations come out.

Deku is asking Muscular where AFO and Shigaraki are, but Muscular doesn’t know.  He also asks why Muscular is doing what he’s doing, but Muscular just responds that there is only blood and battle in his heart and  he doesn’t want to live a life where he regrets not fulfilling that (his name is revealed to be Gouto Imasuji btw.  Don’t know the translation behind that, but I assume it has to do with his Quirk and his violent personality).  So, this confirms that Deku is actively looking for Shigaraki and AFO.  He’s not just saving people left and right, but he is actively looking for the big bad on his own.  I can’t see that ending well without help unfortunately.  Deku’s also trying to reason with Muscular to see if there’s a different path for him similar to his fight with Gentle and LaBrava.  He’s really going for the “Save People’s Hearts” route and I can understand why.  That’s Deku’s character at its core.  It’s why he wants to try to save Shigaraki despite everything.  If there is a different path for a villain, then Deku will try to lead them to it.  Unfortunately, villains like Muscular don’t always have that path.  

Edit: Actually, you know what, how in the world did Deku know Muscular’s real name?  Did he see it on the news somewhere?  Did he do some research and manage to look it up?  Does he have someone to give him intel?  I mean, unless Muscular’s name was broadcast out there, his real name is some very specific information Deku got a hold of.  

Finally, as he remembers Shigaraki and Kota (the small boy Deku saved back in the Forest Training Camp), Deku runs towards Muscular with full speed and finishes him with one powerful punch!  Deku speeds past Muscular as we finally see his face again under the mask (Badass Deku🥵)!  One Punch Man has left the chat, my dudes.  For real, though, if Muscular really is defeated, it’s amazing how flawlessly Deku beat him.  Deku used every Quirk well and efficiently to dodge Muscular's attacks and pin him down so he could get a clean hit in.  Everything was calculated and executed perfectly.  This is not the Deku we knew back in the Training Camp Arc.    

Edit: Ok, it was explained that Shindo’s Vibration actually did effect Muscular’s Quirk.  Then tendons in his muscles were pulled and were starting to unravel.  That’s what made an opening for Deku to get a good hit in.  I think it would’ve been hard for Deku to knock Muscular out with one punch if that opening wouldn’t have been made.  So, Shindo wasn’t entirely useless.  

And that’s it from what I can gather!  Damn good action-packed chapter! A+ art and writing from Horikoshi once again!  This man just keeps bringing us 🔥.  I’m so glad to see Deku fight like the badass he’s meant to be.  I wish it didn’t have to take a war and several near-death experiences to get here, but Shonen gotta Shonen.  He knocked the lights out of Muscular, I almost feel sorry for him.  He got his ass kicked by the same kid twice in less than a year.  You should’ve stayed in Tartarus, my dude.  Really, all prisoners should’ve stayed in Tartarus.  If Deku can defeat Muscular, then none of them stand a chance against him now.  I can only assume Deku’s going to go after everyone who was associated with the LOV to find Shigaraki and AFO at this point.  Thankfully, we don’t have a break next week.  Will En teach Deku how to play volleyball?!?  I’m kidding!  I do want to know what our UA kids are doing, especially Bakugo, Shoto, and Uraraka.  This would be a good time to transition to them.  Like, they can see Muscular’s capture on the local news, put the pieces together, and go after Deku.  Or we could just keep focusing on Deku’s vigilante adventures, that works too!  

Me @ Deku:

[blackcatanna]

Some stuff that stood out to me in Souma's route (spoilers, duh):

When Kazama acts all offended at the end at the mere suggestion that he would kidnap Chizuru. Like, he's so determined to go through with his disgusting plan in Saito's route that, if things go badly, Amagiri literally mercy-kills Chizuru because it's the only way to stop Kazama turning her into his baby factory. And then at the end of Souma's route, he finally shows up again after being absent for the whole game and is all like, "Chill out, man! It's totally cool! We're just here to give this chick a ride in case she wants to skip town before she is murdered but, like, it's totally her decision!" and then they leave without hurting anyone. I get that some of the villains are characterised differently on different routes for narrative reasons but Kazama seems so uninterested on Souma's route. It makes me wonder why they don't just have her ingest the ochimizu when it's literally in her mouth and use that as an excuse for his disinterest.

The bit where everyone, including the government officials starts roasting the shit out of Souma and Yukimura is perfection (or should I say puuuurrfection, nya?)!

Iba creeping closer and closer to Souma while threatening him was beautiful. And then when he immediately starts propositioning Chizuru upon learning that she and Souma have not kissed. I love Iba. I wish he got to interact more with the Shinsengumi during his route but he's "barred from interfering with human affairs" due to his use of The Demon Arm of Horniness.

Chizuru getting Itou drunk so that the Shinsengumi could stab the shit out of him was pretty brutal. Ngl, I kind of like Itou and Miki (and even Takeda when The Demon Arm of Horniness isn't making him rapey).

Souma and Nomura being outraged when Miki dares to suggest that Chizuru is a girl is pretty funny. And I guess we're supposed to be horrified and outraged by this but he is, you know, right... And Nagakura already suggested stripping her for pervy reasons (as opposed to being a nosey ass bitch reasons) and we're supposed to like him. I kind of wish that this was followed up in Edo Blossoms because Souma frequently refers to Chizuru as being female but I guess Miki is too suicidally depressed to care any more about unearthing her secrets. Hey, maybe he just wanted to get to know her better (in an incredibly off-putting way)!

I cried when Hijikata died. I need to play his route. Then I can hopefully save him and we can go live with Saito in the snow (since he historically survived the war) and make snow bunnies together!

Ngl, I was pretty bored for a lot of this route. I spent a lot of time hoping that Miki or Itou or Hijikata would show up and be interesting (sorry Souma: you are a cute puppy but maybe a bit too much puppy) I found the ending really good, though.

Souma punches a lot of walls and, to be honest, that does not endear me to him. Control your rage, boy!

I feel like Miki has a lot in common with the Shinsengumi members like Saito who essentially live to follow Hiji-mama like the adorable ducklings they are and I want someone to scoop Miki up, give him a hug and help him find a new purpose in life (I want a Miki route where you fully just turn your back on the war to help him realise his true potential as a fashion designer and then he kills Kazama by telling him that grey is not his colour (Itou would be so proud :') )).

Chizuru fully does not care about her creepy father or demon heritage this whole time. I'm pretty sure you could remove her from this story and it would be almost exactly the same. Souma even drinks the ochimizu because Miki makes him, not because he's protecting Chizuru or anything like that. She may as well not be there most of the time. I'm sure there are lots of exceptions but that's the impression I got.

[bnhaven]

Dad Snipe AU (because I can)

Okay, listen. Just...just give me a second to explain myself, okay? Great, thanks. 

So I love parental All Might stories, and stories where Aizawa becomes a dadzawa for his problem child (which leads to Present Mic also becoming a paternal figure for Izuku, which is a blessed idea), and all of those. But you know what I love even more?

If all of that happens, but Izuku’s dad is actually Snipe. Yes, Snipe. 

Let me explain the story in my head, because it’s a doozy.

-So, to start, let me explain how I got the idea. It’s simple, really- canon hasn’t given me a reason not to get the idea. I mean, we’ve yet to find out Snipe’s real name, so it’s fair game to call him Hisashi Midoriya until Horikoshi himself rips this idea out of my cold, hopefully not dead hands. 

-We also never see his face, and the dreadlocks could either 1. Be a wig or 2. Just be his hair, but the blue-ish shade is what caused the darker coloration for Izuku’s hair. Who knows anymore, the world these heroes live in is a really weird one.

-Now, Snipe may not breathe fire, but shhh. Maybe Inko was lying to the doctor or something, because if she said, “My husband can control the trajectory of any and all of the bullets he shoots”, well, that could’ve given away the identity of her husband! Maybe the Midoriya family doesn’t want to broadcast who Hisashi is.

-Also, having a father with such a Quirk could explain why Izuku is Quirkless (or, in this case, potentially ‘Quirkless’). It’s not like Inko would just let little Izuku play with a gun to see if he could shoot as well as his dad, or anything! So boom, the little joint test is enough, brush it aside, Dad!Snipe explanation over.

Got it? Great! Now, onto the bullshit story idea I came up with, or as I like to call it:

How Snipe Accidentally Ghosted his Family for a Decade, because He is Too Goddamn Dumb Sometimes.

Buckle up folks, and hold your horses a little tighter, because we’re going for a ride.

-So Snipe goes to Texas when Izuku is just a small boy, just barely a toddler. He’s really serious about his whole cowboy aesthetic, and pulls an All Might by working abroad for what he plans to be a few years, but might become five or six if he finds a good agency to work with in the meanwhile.

-Lo and behold, he does!! Nice, nice, Snipe relays the message to his dear wife Inko, lets her know that he’ll be gone for a while- but it’s okay, he plans to call her every chance he gets, make sure she’s doing well with their little boy, and life will be good.

-Things, uh...don’t go as planned.

-Snipe blames it all on a snake. A goddamn snake that decided to hide in his goddamn boot. There was a snake in his boot, what was he expected to do?

Probably not throwing his phone at the thing, breaking it, but uh...Snipe panicked. A lot.

-No problem, right? He’s a Pro Hero, he makes plenty of money, he can just get a new phone, plug in his old number, and all of that stuff. Easy as can be.

-Haha...no. 

-Because Snipe is a fool. A fool who can’t remember any of his passwords for his phone, or the answers to any backup questions. 

-He’s a great hero, he’s excellent at marksmanship...but the man just can’t remember these things to save his life.

-He can’t even remember his wife’s phone number to call her about it (and beg for the passwords because he just can not manage to recall them)

-Snipe is just glad that Inko is the one who set up his bank accounts so he’d automatically send money to their shared account, or else he’d feel awful.

-Figuring that the best thing to do in this situation is to just keep on truckin’ along, Snipe continues working at the Texas agency until it’s time for him to head back home.

But the fun doesn’t stop here, because…

-By the time Snipe yeehaws his way back to Japan, that man realizes that he can’t even recall what his address was. 

-He ends up working at Yuuei, because he was aimlessly wandering around, trying to find Musutafu.

-By the time Nedzu finds him, he’s so embarrassed that he just...can’t bring himself to admit that he forgot literally everything he needed to get back to his house.

-The conversation for the job starts a little like this…

Nedzu: Why were you wandering around Yuuei for over forty minutes?

Snipe, unwilling to admit that he couldn’t remember if he had to go east or west to reach his house: I saw a little doggie. Very cute.

Nedzu: That was probably me, but I digress.

(For the record, Snipe had to go south to start his route home…)

-Some good news: After working at Yuuei for a few years, he finally sees his boy again!!

-Some bad news: it's the USJ attack

-Snipe bursts into the USJ, sees that green haired silhouette and just knows it is his boy, even if it’s been somewhere around a decade since he saw his little sprout and his boy is now stronger and taller.

Snipe, seeing Shigaraki about to hit his child: Villain, you just yeed your last haw 

Snipe: shoots Shigaraki in the hand.

-After USJ, we have more fun, with some lovely dialogue I came up with like:

Snipe, sitting with Aizawa: So, hypothetically of course, if I was to say something like, I don’t know… ‘You’re in charge of my long lost child, who I couldn’t get in contact with ‘cause I couldn’t remember mah wife’s phone number’...how would you recommend starting the conversation with him?

Aizawa, mummified, tired, and already realizing that this child is the problem childTM: I need a drink.

Snipe, a fool: Are...are ya sure I should start off with that?

-Despite this totally hypothetical conversation, it isn’t until finals that Snipe brings it up. 

-Nedzu pits Snipe against Izuku and Todoroki, and it’s beautiful.

-Snipe pulls an ‘I am your father’ moment like in Star Wars, both Izuku and Todoroki promptly flip their shit.

Snipe: Izuku, I am your father.

Izuku: I thought you were dead!

Todoroki: I thought you were All Might’s child!

-Needless to say, the fight ends quickly, because Izuku goes a little feral. 

Izuku, pinning Snipe to the ground: What excuse do you have for ghosting mom for years, huh?

Snipe, sobbing: I forgot my phone number!

-Izuku drags Snipe back to the house once finals are over. 

-Inko...isn’t even surprised when she hears what happened.

-She just sighs and goes, “Do I need to tattoo my number onto you, Hisashi?”

-Snipe wonders if it’s worth the potential security risk, he doesn’t want her getting tracked down and hurt after all.

-There’s a long conversation about microchipping Snipe, so if he disappears again, Izuku can just hunt him down and drag him back home again.

-And voila! Snipe is reunited with his family, the dad fluff can commence.

Snipe: I’mma give him a gun.

Inko, tired: At least he’ll be hurting others instead of himself for once.

-1-A is horrified.

Their precious green bean, wielding a gun?!?!?!?

-It’s made worse when he’s a natural at it, just going feral and having fun with his dad.

-Finally, because I promised more parental figures along with actual, biological Snipe, please consider:

-All Might getting upset because Snipe is stealing ‘his boy’.

Aizawa, trying to be reasonable: All Might, Midoriya is literally Snipe’s child.

All Might, petulantly: But...but he’s my boy.

-For extra humor, make Aizawa also feel like the problem child is his problem child for extra parental jealousy.

-Need more chaos??? Yamada thought he and Aizawa were adopting Izuku for some reason.

Don’t ask how Yamada came to this conclusion, but he is heartbroken when he finds out his almost completed adoption forms were for nothing.

Yamada, sadly: I thought Inko was his older sister...and he didn’t even have a dad!

-Just...Izuku having a dumbass dad and the other potential dads being put off by the realization that Snipe, Snipe, gets actual Dad Rights but somehow lost contact for like...10 entire years.

-Okay rant over, bye.

[askmerriauthor]

Jedi: Fallen Order thoughts 2/?

Discussion on "Star Wars - Jedi: Fallen Order". First post here, spoilers and lengthy rambling after the jump.

Honestly, I love this box art so much purely for the facts that 1) I made sure to remove that poncho the instant I could because the game's cloth dynamic rendering had it flailing about wildly as if it were trying to attack the universe through sheer defiance of physics in every cutscene. And 2) see that alien dude on the left with a pistol? In-game, he's an utter coward who never once participates in anything remotely resembling violence and sure as hell never wields a gun. It just reminds me of how Kirby is always given angry eyebrows in the US because marketing people are fucking stupid and think players won't be drawn to the game with an abjectly cute mascot.

So! The story.

As mentioned in my previous post, "Fallen Order" basically wants to tell a Found Family tale about a ragtag group of remnants who leave behind their previous lives and forge a new future together. We have our main character Cal Kestis; a former Padawan who survived Order 66 and has been in hiding for a handful of years. Cere Junda; a former Jedi who's cut herself off from The Force, Greez Dritus; a gambling addict pilot with a troubled past he's trying to leave behind, and BD-1; an annoyingly named but utterly lovable Droid who is far and away the best character in the entire damn game. There's also Nightsister Merrin; the presumably last survivor of the Nightsisters and potentially Cal's love interest, but she basically only shows up in the last 10 minutes of the game and doesn't get a lot of screentime despite being presented as a major part of the cast.

The game takes place a handful of years after the purge of the Jedi in Order 66, where both Cal and Cere's core character thrust is tied into. Cal was a child who survived only due to his master sacrificing his life to save him and has been wracked with guilt and PTSD ever since. Cere, on the other hand, unintentionally abandoned her own Padawan and other younglings, directly leading to their death, corruption by the Dark Side, and almost falling to the Dark Side herself. The bulk of the narrative throughout the game is dealing with the relationship these two have with one another, coming to terms with their own trauma, and moving forward from there. Meanwhile, the overall plot itself focuses around finding a Holocron that has a map and list of Force-sensitive children throughout the galaxy, which the gang can use to rebuild the Jedi Order while also keeping it - and thus the children - out of The Empire's hands. The whole series of events culminates in a big showdown between Cere's former Padawan whom she abandoned and became corrupted into an Inquisitor, Cal contending with his own guilt, and the decision on whether or not the gang has the right to interfere with the Force-sensitive children's lives and potentially put them in danger if another purge were to occur.

On paper, it's a solid enough story. The actual execution leaves something to be desired.

Something I absolutely hate in games (which has become frustratingly abundant in recent years) is the illusion of choice. If a player is presented with choosing A, B, or C, that decision should matter. Which path is taken should have impact, consequence, and change the course of the story. If all three routes converge back together at the same outcome regardless of what you picked, then your choice never mattered at all. "Fallen Order' suffers from this. There are fairly sporadic points in the game where you're given the option to choose how Cal will reply to a given conversation, or whether or not to take a certain action, but it doesn't matter at all. The conversation's outcome nor the overall story isn't affected by your choice (or even if you bother to have the conversation at all), and the any time you try to do something other than what the game wants you to do, it'll just reset itself endlessly until you cooperate. You have no choice in the matter, but the game makes it appear as if you do to emulate your involvement.

I absolutely hate this in games. If a game presents you with choices, then your choices should have consequences. Your input should matter. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a linear, plot-driven game where the player has no direct input on the narrative. If anything, that gives the story even greater opportunities to shine because it allows the writers and directors to be in full control of the presentation, characterization, and story.

At the risk of sounding like a cranky old man, this is very much a "back in my day!" sort of situation where older games wouldn't shy away from simply locking a player out of content if they chose a certain path. If you pick A, you don't get to see what happens down B or C. If you want to join the Jets, you don't get to join the Sharks. If you want to see what lies down those other routes, then replay the game and make different decisions. Sometimes it was a specific design choice, other times it was a way to handle hardware/programming restrictions. But there's a big notion these days in particular where there's a desire to make sure the player sees all the game's content up front. I anecdotally chalk it up to an increase in non-gamers entering into video game development at management level and making design decisions they're not qualified for, but that's just my own take. Like, I understand the thought process behind it. "We have all this content, so we want to make it a selling point and ensure the player gets to see all of it! If they play our game and miss a bunch of stuff, they might bitch at us and cause reviews". I get it, I do. But it's also bullshit because it directly harms the final product. If a game is good, players will replay it ad nauseum for ages beyond release. So they're going to see all the content one way or another. When the "we have to let the player access all content up front" mind set is in effect, it means the player's choices ultimately don't matter and the resulting abundance of content is quantity rather than quality.

In the case of "Fallen Order", your choices don't matter one bit and it's not even out of a case of accessing content. For some reason the developers put in this vestigial, pointless façade of a dialogue tree and choice system when the game frankly would've been far stronger if it had just been left out entirely. Developers have to invest one way or another. Either make it a fully narrative-driven game and tell a solid story, or make it a player-driven game and put in the effort to make the player's choices matter. Especially in a Star Wars game, as RPGs in this franchise have historically have Light/Dark Side choices, character deaths, and alternate endings based on your decisions. A big part of "Fallen Order"'s story is characters contending with the risk of falling to the Dark Side because of their trauma, but the game itself never actually gives the player any chance to explore that at all. It's a huge missed opportunity either way.

I think that's where a lot of the story's trouble comes from in the end. It's a lot of build up on a good idea that fizzles out and goes nowhere. Cal spends the entire game getting to a point where he's ready to move on, and then the game ends. Cere comes to terms with her past mistakes and tries to redeem her fallen Padawan, only for said fallen Padawan to be killed abruptly and completely cut off that entire story thread. Greez's past coming back to haunt him is shoe-horned in randomly and never goes anywhere. Merrin doesn't have enough time on screen to matter. There are three major villains throughout the game who are just cast aside casually and with no lingering impact for ever having been there. The biggest final boss, who has been the core antagonist and a major point of emotional conflict for the entire game, is discarded with no resolution because this is a Star Wars game and we just can't have one that doesn't feature Darth Vader sweeping in to steal the spotlight.

It's just... ugh. There's potential here. There's obvious, glowing moments of potential where things could've been developed into something really impressive if they were just given the opportunity. It feels like a huge waste and the end result is just a "meh" game that doesn't go anywhere, doesn't contribute to the setting, and could very easily be dismissed entirely from the franchise with absolutely no impact.

[ae0nx]

FRUITS BASKET S3 EPISODE 8 RECAP AKA THE KYORU CHRONICLES PART 2 (plus a quick recap of eps 3-7)

aaaaaaAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!! I gotta get it out of me otherwise I won't be able to concentrate on work and I will be scrolling through the tag till the day I die. Everything from episode 3 of Season 3 literally hit me like an avalanche - literally cos I marathoned 3-7 over the weekend which I wouldn't advise unless you want an accelerated heartbeat - and I'm starting to realise... maybe I just wasn't ready for season 3. Despite asking for it, haha. Not gonna put as many screencaps for this one cos tumblr editing bay be trippin and I just don't have time nor emotional energy to be fighting with the picture uploads, sorry lol

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Episodes 3 - 7

I spoke before about how (despite my feelings about the characters) the English dub VAs for Akito and Shigure pair up really well audibly. And I think I feel the same way about both Yuki and Machi's English VAs! They both have the same soft spoken yet scratchy element to their voices almost like they are holding slightly back. Although, I'd argue that Yuki has been losing the element of slightly holding back as the anime has gone on which I wonder if the same would be included for Machi's performance?

I really like the presentation of Machi's trauma through her family's expectations to be perfect and how physical it is? How Yuki kind of encourages her to let it out in a healthy way? (Btw the whole chalk breaking scene in the meeting was SO FUCKING SMOOTH. YUKI IS A NERD BUT HE IS SO EFFORTLESSLY COOL A LOT OF THE TIME)

The age gap between Isuzu and Haru for sure isn't the worst age gap in this anime/manga but it's still a bit... hmm...

Episode 4:

In all seriousness, I know Akito deserves some sympathy but it doesn't change the fact that I still see her as a villain. Hurt people hurt people but it doesn't mean they should get away with it, I was honestly pleased Haru got that big confrontation with Akito to tell her WHAT'S WHAT but it was also somewhat... merciful?

Hiro's growth has been so beautiful to see, him realising there are bigger things than him from the event with Rin to his relationship with Kisa to then the birth of his little sister.

Kureno choosing to get his hands a little dirtier and paying the ultimate price for it (as far as we know so far in the anime lol) was great, he is the moon side of Tohru's sunshine.

Shigure... I still don't really get him and Akito's relationship. It's clear he's waiting for Akito to grow the fuck up but at the same time he's not creating an environment for her to grow and develop. He's decided to go with the 'tough love' route which I'm still deciding whether I like it or not tbh. Sometimes it feels necessary, at other times it feels shitty. I respect that he knows he's a scumbag and I don't deny that there are people out there who take revelry in the fact that they are awful but at the same time, him remaining unchanging despite everything feels... unrealistic. But considering throughout this story he doesn't seem affected by trauma, it's understandable, I guess?

Also... that scene where Shigure ponders about whether he should've been with Tohru is THE creepiest creeper shit he's EVER done in this series. No. 🙅🏾‍♀️

Momiji is best bunny boi regardless of how tall and 'manly' he becomes. 🐰His scene with Akito was so authentically him and he really did that shit. We love him. <3

I love the way that the curse breaking should (on surface) be a happy event considering all the trauma the zodiac went through because of it but it's presented mostly as loss as well as happiness. It's the realness of getting out of a bad relationship

Shigure basically laying it out to Tohru how Kyo means nothing in a very taunting way was an excellently painful scene and I choose violence. It was heartbreaking seeing how worthless they all saw Kyo compared to how Tohru saw him but... by this point I was just living in the pain so 🤷🏾‍♀️

The story visually showing how Isuzu is more willing to be soft after her whole ordeal through her fashion choices (e.g. the pastels, the cardigans) was really nice. And Haru being happy about Isuzu making friends with Tohru was cute!

It was nice we saw that Kazuma was still wary about whether Tohru loved Kyo for the right reasons, you'd assume after everything Kazuma would love Tohru as a match for Kyo but he's so emotionally intelligent and also just a protective Dad! Yay, good parenting!

Tohru's confession to loving Kyo was amazing however I still adore Kyo's confession a little bit more. Just a bit. Lol. However, if you add the moment later in episode 8 it trumps it completely. Ethereal goddess.

Kyo and Tohru's grandfather having a scene together was great and nice

Now that I think about it, I wish there was more a visual link in the story between Tohru adapting her speech to imitate her Dad and Momiji adopting his Mum's German accent. Albeit for slightly different reasons, it just adds to the unique connection Tohru and Momiji have. In short, I'm seeing this ship with my third eye now. I get it lol

I don't wanna screencap the scene where Kyo is haunted by both his deceased mother and deceased Kyoko and potentially deceased Tohru because it's the stuff of nightmares. But, it was a wonderfully done scene. You definitely understand fully and clearly why Kyo buried all of that trauma under his hatred for Yuki (I CAN'T WAIT FOR EPISODE 9, YOU GUISE!)

If Akito is a villain, Ren is the final boss. Although, with her type of villainy... I feel like I can kind of enjoy a bit more. She reminds me of a Greek God in the ways she master manipulates people and her desperation for control and power (I just read 'Mythos' by Stephen Fry, it's a great read lol)

It lowkey feels like every female character who's comfortable in expressing their sexuality in this story is punished in some way for it... this is an incomplete thought

Shigure as a child feeling like they should all be pitied is so... mature... I feel like I need more of an explanation for why Shigure is the way he is

Akito's ego death with Kureno? Amazing. I loved that she was at least aware enough to realise how Kureno had been coddling her all this time but again... doesn't excuse her crimes

But anyways...

EPISODE 8

Honestly? I really don't have much to say about this episode besides 3-5 points I wanna get out of my head. It's not a bad thing at all, it's just that there's still a lot left to play out from this 'arc' and this season in general that I wanna complete my thoughts on.

But I'll start with this:

Lol, isn't it funny?! Isn't it heart-wrenchingly funny how the relationship between Kyo and Tohru has kinda reverted back to how they were at the start of the series? The coldness of Kyo at the beginning of this episode (and throughout) was a bit of a gut punch considering all the light and fluffy moments that we've gotten between the two since the True Form arc.

Talking about the True Form arc, I feel like this episode is somewhat a repeat of the same emotions, same trials of the True Form arc. Kyo still 'runs away like he always has' but this time we get him being the most honest and confrontational with his own emotions and trauma than he ever has been during the course of this whole story. While trusting someone (Tohru specifically) for the first time with the whole truth of his story! He always seems to move one step forward and then three steps backwards and while it's a tad bit frustrating, it feels very... real. I'll probably complete my feelings how this arc reflects the True Form arc when we finish this section of the story in future episode(s).

Considering the fact that 80% of this episode is Jerry Jewell monologuing as Kyo and I never got bored really just sells his performance. Kyo was being incredibly cold this episode and yet the range of emotions through his performance made it feel understandable enough for you to empathise with it.

BrattyKid!Kyo to lighten the mood 😹I still wish he and Hiro had more of a relationship, I feel like they could have taught each other a lot. Well... mostly Kyo teaching Hiro tbh

Kyo rejecting Kyoka for her honesty and kindness and then later rejecting Tohru? Oh... kid...

Wow, I felt so good about that whole episode of Kid!Yuki helping Kid!Tohru get home and then it's slightly soured knowing KID!KYO was running about the streets alllll night into the morning?!?! I really did feel Kyo's frustration at not getting that win to actually do something right. And the irony of that being linked to him being unable to save Kyoka from the oncoming car?

Honestly, I don't know what my feelings are on Kyo being unable to save Kyoka. I don't even know what my feelings are on Tohru pretty much pushing that aside in favour of her feelings for Kyo. It's... complicated and I've been mulling it over in my head for the last 10+ years hahah However, if I was in Tohru's position I think I'd eventually come to a point where it feels like it's too late to really do anything about how bad I'd feel about it. Kyo's intentions weren't horrid, if anything he was just being a scared kid and he's allowed to be that. I just wish Tohru had a bit more time to evaluate it but considering she knew her mother well and assumes that wouldn't have been the full scope of what she had said, I don't have much of a problem with it in general

Lol, I love when Tohru gets a 'FUCK YOU, I LOVE YOU' moment with Kyo. 😂Another reflected scene from the True Form arc... only thing is that this time... it doesn't quite work. 😕

(Again, I love how all of these reflections are resolved in later occurences in response to the duality but I'll get to it next week when it shows hopefully)

Laura Bailey only had a few sentences in this episode but she killed it as always. Comparing her performance in 2001 to now is just... growth!

Ok, so Yuki automatically gets Best Boi in this episode for meddling and chasing after KYO of all people. Showing how he's personally done with hating Kyo. Realising Kyo is pretty much the only person who'll make his mother happy. I think he also lowkey wants to understand Kyo? But, we'll get to that next week.

....Oh yeah, Akito is there.

--------------------------------------------------------------

In total, I liked this episode even though it has me anxious for the next one. We finally get the full picture of why Kyo is the way he is! Ahhhh - a weight off all our chests, I'm sure. I kinda don't like that they put the ending theme at the end of these episodes - the joyfulness doesn't really match up with the intense theme? But, that's just a minor gripe. And hey, maybe they just want the audience to know... it's all gonna be okay :)

See you next week!!!

[where-theres-smoak-2]

My Season 2 Wishlist

Now that I’ve read Siege and Storm I have some scenes that I am looking forward to seeing in the show. Seeing as season 1 was mainly taken from the first book I am going to say that season 2 will likely mostly be taken from Siege and Storm. So these are the scenes and things that I am most looking forward to seeing in the show/ really hope are going to be in the show, along with some that I am not looking forward to seeing quite as much, they aren’t in any particular order of preference. Spoiler alert for book 2, obvs. Also as a darklina shipper alot of these are centred around that ship so if that's not your thing maybe skip this post, alot of it is me gushing about how much darklina we might be able to get. 

1) The Nichevo'ya 

So we got a little glimpse of them at the end of the first scene but I am really looking forward to seeing more of them and also of seeing them in large numbers, as an actual army. 

2) Nikolai, The Twins and The Hummingbird 

I am super excited to see all these new characters, Nikolai and Tolya and Tamar and how they interact with the rest of our characters. But I am also really excited to see the Hummingbird because lets be real who doesn’t love a flying ship in a fantasy show.

3) The Sea Whip

This is one where I am both really looking forward to seeing it but also dreading it. I am looking forward to seeing it because I think its going to look so beautiful and majestic, they did such a good job on the stag and I think they’ll do a good job with the Sea Whip too. But then I don’t want to see it because its going to look beautiful and then its going to die and I honestly don’t know if I can handle that. But I am also curious to see how they are going to handle the amplifier. In the book its a fetter (bracelet) but then in the book the collar is more like a necklace, in the show it was a monstrosity that was embedded in her skin. So are they going to have the scales embedded in her skin? Maybe where you can just see the surface of them on her skin or will they do what they did with the collar where you can see it in her skin to start with but then she absorbs it into her body so you can’t see it anymore and they don’t have to bother with a prosthetic for long? Maybe they’ll just create new lore and say because this time she killed it herself and its being used in a different way, as oppose to someone else killing it and controlling the wearer, then they can just have it as a bracelet and there’s no need to actually fuse it into her skin? 

4) David’s Mirrors. 

I really thought the idea David had to make those big mirrors so that Alina could use the cut to kill even more nichevo’ya at it time was interesting. The mirrors would kind of amplify her power and in the books it is quite the light show. I have very good reasons for wanting to see this, first is it means more screen time for David. Secondly, whilst working on the mirrors there’s a really cute scene where David asks about Genya. I really hope they put this in because not only does it build the relationship between Alina and David it also shows that David does return Genya’s feelings. Thirdly, and in the words of Aleksander himself, it once again proves the many uses of a durast. More in the books than the show there is this attitude towards the fabrikators that they are the most useless out of all the grisha. As a champion of the underdog, I naturally love to see them proving them all wrong. Also there’s you know the fact that they’ll probably be some cool special effects and who doesn’t love some sparkly sunshine sfx. 

5) Ben Barnes’ Darkling. 

So the darkling has already done some pretty dark things in the show but in the second book he goes even darker, which seeing as he is the anti-hero I am expecting them to have him do more dark things in season 2. However I really want them to let Ben Barnes to continue to bring that element of humanity to the character and that complexity that he did in the first season. I can take him doing horrific things (I can’t but lets pretend I can, I can close my eyes for those bits right?). But I also want to see scenes where he is desperately trying to explain himself to Alina with tears in his eyes just like episode 7. I also want them to keep driving home the fact that he is doing this for his people because I feel like his motivations in the books sometimes got lost and at times he seemed like he was doing these terrible things without any motivation and just because he’s the villain. By all means take me to the dark side, just lead me there with understandable motives and a teary eyed ben barnes. 

I also really want to see some more of his backstory, maybe even the events of Demon in the Wood. The darklina in me would also like Alina to discover some of his backstory and also the true story of how the fold was created but I don’t know if that’ll happen. 

6) Alina’s Darkside.

Speaking of going to the darkside, in the book we do see Alina getting tempted by her darker side and she also begins to hunger for more power, especially after she has the second amplifier. She does a few darker things in the book like nearly killing Sergei, threatening Baghra and she even considers forcing the sea whip fetter onto Tolya so that she can control his power. I do hope they keep some of these darker actions, also it might seem dark, defo morally grey, but I would like her to be put into a difficult position where she has to like sacrifice people in order to either win a battle or save a vulnerable group of people. Kind of like when (warning 100 and GOT spoilers) Clarke from the 100 kills the Mountain Men to save her people or like when Robb Stark sacrifices 2000 of his men to win a battle against the Lannisters in Game of thrones. I just want her to understand the sacrifices of war and how as a general you have to make hard decisions. I feel like she doesn’t really have to face this reality in the book. I mean she is plagued by how she left the skiff behind in the fold at the end of book one, but seeing as I don’t understand why she did that in the first place and obviously they took that out of the show, I think they need some other similar situation where its a case of like, you can save these innocent civilians but you’ll have to sacrifice your own soldiers to do it. Or if you wanted to go even darker than that, a situation where she has to make the decision to save her own soldiers (because she can’t afford to lose too many of them) but she knows if she pulls them back then civilians will die. As difficult as it would be to watch I do think it would push her character development forward and really make her understand that war is no game. I am being really mean here but I also want to see her lose some battles maybe against Fjerda or Shu Han. I would also like her to show more interest in these border wars where Grisha are being killed as oppose to just the Fold and the Darkling but I am not holding my breath on that one. Basically I want to see her struggle and to then overcome it and grow into a confident and experienced general. I do feel like if she is struggling to keep the balance between fighting the Fjerdans, the Shu Han and the Darkling whilst also looking for the last amplifier and playing the political game at court with Nikolai, then it would not only contribute to her character development and teach her valuable skills but also give her some inkling of how much pressure Aleksander was under as well and maybe help her understand a little why he did what he did. 

Also and I really care about this one, please continue to let her have her own agency. Let her make her own decisions and come up with her own ideas and plans as oppose to having other characters telling her what to do. That was one change they made from the books in season 1 that I was really happy with, that she does have alot more agency. 

7) Darklina Bond.  

One of the more interesting things to me in Siege and Storm was this psychic (well kind of) bond between Alina and Aleksander. I also thought that element of Alina not really knowing what it was and thinking maybe she was losing her mind was interesting, but I’ll also be interested to see the bond from the Darkling’s pov. Like did he also at first think he was losing his mind or did he recognise what it was right away? What was his reaction the first time he felt her call to him? I do think there is alot of potential with the bond to have some soft darklina moments and I hope they develop it a bit more in the show. Like just having little moments, maybe a shot of the two of them just laying on his bed together, or him sitting quietly just watching her as she reads. I think the bond should work well in the show because whilst in the books we get told she sees him everywhere its hard to kind of picture it. Whereas I think in the show they can put him in the background of scenes. So like if she’s in a meeting it can just show him standing somewhere in the room and maybe he keeps making comments and she is just trying to ignore him but sometimes her eyes slip over to him. I feel like there is potential for some comedic moments too if they decide to go that route by having Alina answer him but obviously with no one else in the room being able to see him they think she is talking to them. Or by having someone catching her essentially talking to herself and her having to find a way to explain it away. I just really want them to do this bond justice. I also would love it if they used the bond for darklina to actually have meaningful conversations with each other. Maybe he even gives her some advice general to general? I would also like to see him give her some comfort, like she has a really bad day and so she unknowingly calls him to her and seeing that she is upset he gives her comfort. I also want them to touch on how she misses him when he doesn’t show up. Like they could have her search for him in the places he usually shows up like his room or the library and maybe she calls out his name hoping he’ll answer. I think this would show that she does want him to show up like it states in the book that they only go to each other when they both want to see the other. And more importantly than anything they have to keep the line when she asks why he doesn’t leave her alone and he replies ‘then I’d be alone too.’  

8) The Attack on The Palaces

I feel like this is going to look epic on screen. Again it comes down to just really wanting to see fancy special effects. Also as I said at the beginning I really do want to see an army of nichevo’ya and I feel like we aren’t going to see them in huge numbers until the finale or maybe as a last shot of episode 7. Like I could see a scenario where Nikolai’s birthday celebration happens in episode 7 and then the last scene is Vasily’s announcement and Nikolai figuring out that the Darkling is coming, then the bells sound and it pans up out of the grande palace and over the horizon you just see thousands of nichevo’ya closing in on the Palaces. Then they’ll probably have the finale be focused solely on this battle that happens. I really do hope they make it as epic as possible with lots of badass moments for all of our favourite characters. What I am not looking forward to is seeing any of the characters I love die, and well I love pretty much every character in the show so I feel like its going to be an emotional episode for me. 

9) The Chapel Scene 

Ok this is a must have. I need to see this please, again because epicness you know. I also think this is a pivotal moment for Alina’s character where she realises that the bond between her and the Darkling means she can control his powers like he controlled hers. She uses this to try and overload both herself and the darkling. This scene has alot of complexity to it because its in this moment that she understands that her and the darkling are alike, she recognises that she has some darkness inside her, she lets go of all the fear and guilt she has felt about that darkness and then she uses it. She kind of decides to tie their fates together. But like I said I think it’ll be a very complex scene because on the one hand I do think Alina (particularly in the show) does have feelings for him and in this moment she understands that they’ve got this fated connection between them, I suppose you could call, it in the book there’s this quote which I think explains it well, this is when she chooses to stay with the Darkling whilst her friends escape and Mal says you can’t choose him:

 ‘”There isn’t any choice to make. This is what was meant to be.” It was true. I felt it in the collar, in the weight of the fetter. For the first time in weeks, I felt strong.

Another quote that shows this sense of fate she is feeling is: 

“We are alike,” he said, “as no one else is, as no one else will ever be.” The truth of it rang through me. Like calls to like.

So in this moment she is feeling very connected to the Darkling and she is really embracing who she has become. Then on the other hand there's the reality that in this moment she is trying to kill them both believing it will save the world which has this kind of tragic sadness to it. Like I said she does this by taking control of his powers and trying to overuse the merzost. Also I don’t know about anyone else but I did think there was something kind of gratifying about seeing her take control of his power like he did to her, giving him a taste of his own medicine so to speak. I think it keeps that balance between them of yes he might have power over her but she has power over him too. She really is the only one who can match him. 

I also really want to see how they are going to show the merzost and what they’ll do with her hair turning white due to it. I do think this will be a very intense scene similar to when Alina takes back her power in episode 8 of season 1. I also suspect they’ll be really mean and maybe end the whole season with the chapel coming down and us wondering if anybody inside survived.    

10) The Crows 

I am looking forward to seeing what they do with the characters from six of crows. I haven’t read the duology yet as I am still working on the last grisha trilogy book so I have no idea what they are going to do with that storyline. I have seen the name Wylan floating about but I have no idea who that is just that he seems like a character alot of people want to see. So naturally that has made me really want to see him and find out what he’s all about. Also I am including Nina and Matthias in this section along with the Crows because I suspect that Nina is going to be joining the Crows and that they will be trying to get Matthias out of prison as well as dealing with Pekka Rollins and Dreesen. I am also assuming that Nina, Matthias and Wylan are the three others out of the six of crows right? I mean those three characters joining the team will make it six, so logic.

The other character I really want to see is Milo our  friendly neighbourhood goat and honorary Crow mascot. Like I don’t care how he gets written in I just want this goat to show up in random places and contribute to the plot in small ways like he did with the bullet helping Mal escape. Basically I want him to be like the jail dog in Pirates of the Caribbean that just randomly shows up without any explanation. 

11) More Mal Development 

So the show did a good job in season one of making Mal a bit more relatable and more of a sympathetic character than he is in the books. I definitely got nice guy/ loyal friend vibes from him. You know he’s that guy most people can get along with. However I do think that out of all of the characters Mal’s was the least developed. I feel like I don’t really know much about him outside of his relationship with Alina, you know. I know that he is loyal and dedicated to her, I know that he cares deeply for her. But the only thing I really know about Mal himself outside of how he feels about Alina is that he is a skilled tracker which is a little disappointing as I would like to know more about him. They did touch on some other elements that could be interesting to explore more, like how as a child he was the boy who always runs from a fight, and it seemed like Alina was very much his protector when they were children. Then when he becomes an adult he is seen as a fighter and as someone who isn’t afraid of anything. I would like to know what his journey was to get him from one to the other. They never really develop this side of his character past episode 1 because after Alina is discovered to be the sun summoner his whole character arc becomes about her. In Siege and Storm Mal does struggle a bit with feeling useless and during the flashbacks to child Mal in the show there did seem to be this feel that Mal was considered useless by the others at the orphanage, like when Ana Kuya (the housekeeper) would say you can’t hide forever, or when the boy talked about Mal’s scrap with dinner would mean he couldn’t be tested. I just got this sense that others around him at the orphanage made him feel useless and like he was a coward who hid and ran away from things. I think it could be interesting if they tie this into his story arc in season 2. 

I would also like to see some conflict between Mal and Alina. I don’t really feel like we got any in season 1, I mean they did both believe the other was ignoring their letters but it is resolved very quickly once they reunited. But I also want it to be interesting conflict as oppose to conflict just for the sake of conflict. Like I could see what the Darkling said to Mal about Alina being immortal coming into play because in the book he actually said it to Alina the part about being eternal and how there is no one else like them and never will be. So to me its interesting that they had the Darkling say it to Mal. I do think this is going to mess with Mal’s head a bit. Also it is unclear if in the show Alina knows that she is immortal, I don’t think she does. So it could be interesting if Mal is acting distance and struggling with this knowledge he knows and Alina is confused because she doesn’t know and so doesn’t understand why he’s acting this way, then  eventually he blurts it out in an argument and now Alina has to confront this fact that she’ll have to watch Mal grow old and die whilst she won’t. 

 Also I think they could combine this with Mal seeing a difference in Alina and seeing that she isn’t the same person she was before becoming the sun summoner. Also Mal himself isn’t the same after suffering the trauma of losing his friends in Fjerda. I think combined together with his feelings of uselessness it could create an interesting tension between them as they are basically trying to get to know each other again. 

12) That Innuendo.

All my fellow darklinas probably know what line I am talking about here. But obviously its the ‘I’ll be certain you hear it when I make her scream’ one. I just really really want them to keep this scene in because I just know Jessie, Ben and Archie will kill it. The part that I am not looking forward to seeing is the part where he threatens to cut her face. Though I don’t know if he really would torture her as one, the show darkling is very different from the book darkling in that he has alot more humanity and two, it has been confirmed by the director of ep 5 and 6 as well as the actors that Aleksander really does care about Alina, the collar was one thing but full on torture I don’t know if it would make sense for him to cross that line. In the book the Darkling does say that its a threat and it accomplished what it needed. But then when Alina asks if that means he wouldn’t have cut her his answer doesn’t make it clear as to whether he would or not. So it is possible the show will make it clear that its an empty threat to the audience, maybe, if they are going to try and keep the darkling as being more anti-hero, and human than all out villain. 

But going back to the scene I do want to see. I can just picture it now, Alina stumbling and Aleksander reaching out to quickly catch her and pulling her against him. Then their eyes meet and they forget that everyone else is there and just stare deeply into each others eyes, probably both thinking back to their kiss in the war room, it would be a nice little touch if they have flashes of memories, like their kisses and their moment in episode 4 where she wraps them both in her light, all the longing stares they had, this would be the perfect moment to reinsert that deleted horse riding scene into the show. Then they show a close up of his hand as he slides it across her back to pull her closer. Then there’s a shot of Mal who looks suitably upset and who tries to break free of his guards and tells him to leave her alone, which breaks the spell between Alina and Aleksander and Alina realising how close she is to Aleksander pulls away guiltily. Which is when Aleksander asks ‘perhaps that’s not what you fear’ to Mal. There is one little thing I would change from the book though and that it when he delivers the line ‘when I make her scream’ instead of Alina being halfway down the hatch to belowdecks, have her still up on top deck with them and have it so Aleksander is talking to Mal but looking at her when he says it. 

I mean the chemistry between Jessie and Ben would be amazing and I think Archie would play the scene perfectly too, showing Mal’s conflicting emotions of anger and protectiveness, but also his insecurity and fear. I just really really need this scene to be in season 2, please let me have it.           

Anyway I don’t know how much of this will make it into season 2 as with my experience tv show adaptions tend to abandon most of the books plot after season 1 but these are a few things I wouldn’t mind seeing in the show. 

[bloodsuckingprince-anthony]

I have to say, I really enjoying Laws of Attraction. I really do. This book makes it up for PB to give up on heavy potential books like Distant Shores and Foreign Affairs. (The tragedy they did to those books even tho I still like them. Side Note: Slow Burn is a great book too) It feels like whoever the team is behind this book actually took their time to stay on course with the plot, characters have well placed personalities...it's just outstanding so far. This is a prime example of how Open Heart should had been. (Not to talk about that messy book.)

I even love all the characters.

The MC: There have been some incompetent MC's that makes me want to choke them, but this one I like.

Gabe Ricci: Sorry but not actually sorry Ethan and Sam stans but Gabe to me is a perfect written boss. He is much more chill. He recognizes MC's work ethnics unlike Ethan who belittles the MC, keep their relationship a secret, and doesn't appreciate the MC until the third book when the MC had to save his ass from a huge lawsuit. And Sam who would risk everything and destroy his/her home for the nanny. Like, I love the slow burn with him and MC. Like he knows he want MC but he want to focus on the case and I can respect that. Especially, if he's your route, It looks like MC is the one who perusing Gabe and when Gabe is fighting to not cross that taboo line, MC goes to have these random hookups. The angst and drama is keeping me interested. And I know it is working because I see people in the fandom PISSED that Gabe isn't dicking them down yet. Lol. I love it.

Ashlinn: What a sweet angel. She is perfect wifey material. I love how she started as a quiet nervous person and by each chapter, she grows into a much more confident woman. That chapter with the actors and she placed Beau in his lane, I lived. If she was my type, I would romanced her with my MC. Maybe in my next run of the book.

Beau: Ok I knew Beau would be that fuckboy character just because he has family ties to the firm. Typical frat boy. I knew we would hate him, especially after he took credit from MC's hard work, but again the character development of him to be more serious just make me like him. He earned extra points for taking the heat for MC and the rest of the team in today's chapter. I would loved if he was an LI option.

Martin: I know he supposed to be the villain and be this "I'm better than you" jackass but I can't be mad at him. Again the character development. He's trying to stay snarky but he's slowly warming up to the team. It's cute that he thinks he's MC's rival, but we all know. But real tip, the man needs to be laid. MC would help.

Gigi: Sis! Queen! Ride or die! I. LOVE. THIS. WOMAN! Just her everything is just god tier. I know she mentioned a girlfriend in the beginning of the book, but what would it been if our wlw sisters get to romance her? The dynamic between them would be powerful. (I wish my MC could romance her. I'll put a ring on that finger fast.)

Sadie: Boss ass bitch. I like her. I seen people upset that she yelled at the team in the chapter, even tho it is the team's fault to give Marcus information before them. Honestly, they could had waited to tell Marcus after they notify Gabe and Sadie. I've even seen folks on here saying "She does nothing for the case but judge" that's the point. She literally put trust in the case in Gabe and the team's hands and Gabe keep her up to date about it. So she has all the right. Plus, she the type to like it when people go for what they want. I saw comments about when Mac requested a room by the lake at her home. Sadie expressed the expression "Closed mouths don't get feed" and I kinda respect her for that.

Marcus: Yeah I dig this character because I can relate to him. As a black man myself, I get why he don't be too comfortable with lawyers. In RL, it is so hard for black people to trust the justice system. There would be so much evidence that proves that you're innocent but the police would do the bare minimum or none at all policing because they made up their minds that you did it. Then there would be slimy lawyers that tells you to plea guilty because you can't win. So I can understand why Marcus acting this way. Yes, he should believe in this team more, but I understand where he is coming from. (Sorry that I put real issues in this lol) Now to the juicy topic. I knew Marcus wanted MC since that walk they did in a couple of chapters before. And yes it is so unprofessional and unethical for a lawyer to sleep with their clients. But, did I spend the night with him regardless? Yes. Yes I did. To be fair, Marcus asked MC for comfort and relief. MC never showed any interest in Marcus or perused him. He ASKED out of trust. So to me this part got me actually thinking. Should my MC give in to him so he can keep the trust in MC or MC turn him down and he would change his perspective of MC later down the road. Either or I feel like consequences is going to happen and as I am an angst trash, I went and gave Marcus the night of his life. If it's not your cup of tea (Again shout out to the wonderful wlw ladies out there) totally understandable. But I like Marcus. If he becomes a potential LI which it looks like then Gabe has some serious competition because I might switch up.

The Hookups: I enjoy them. I like Lisa (The Robin sprite I think is her name in this book. I can't remember. How awkward it is to be playing The Nanny Affair while playing this book because of Robin/Lisa) And Tyler. Yes my MC did do that mlm threesome with Tyler and the PI (who name I also forgot). Yes MC gave the PI that good dick while Tyler watched. I feel robbed slightly that my MC didn't dick down Teddy after we made out with him in the club but the threesome made up for it. These hookups wouldn't happen if Gabe and Ashlinn isn't giving us this wonderful slow burn romance. But I enjoyed it.

Overall, I really like this book. I say this book is A tier. It has it moments like the group trust trip..that was weird but still. A tier. Close but not S tier like Blades. (That book is *chef kiss* Closer we are to the what will be insanity that is Blades 2 and I can not wait!) I hope this is the same team that is doing Crimes of Passion. (The acronym of Crimes of Passion is CoP...I see what they did there.) That book screams LoA's spin off. But still I'm really enjoying LOA. I just hope this not going to be a standalone book. It said it is a series at the beginning of the book, but PB been shady about that lately. Let it stay as a series. Hopefully it is a series.

[golden-redhead]

My experience with spop was this - I knew nothing beforehand. saw how the Internet exploded over their kiss and thought "cute LGBTQ couple endgame? I'm in." started binging and I just kept waiting for them to grow closer but all I got was more abusive behavior? Then I finished s5 and just couldn't believe that that was it? That's how they ended up together? That's what got the Internet celebrating? I think knowing the endgame and how people raved over it made the experience worse for me tbh.

Oof, I honestly can’t imagine watching the show knowing how it ends, excited about getting some wlw rep we crave so much and then... that. I think some of the shows issues must get glaringly obvious if you actually watch it all as opposed to those of us who had to wait months before a new batch of episodes and had time to hype themselves out and just enjoyed the contents of s5 in this slight disconnect from the previous seasons. I am not entirely opposed against catradora (although I do not like it and do not ship it, I just dislike this kind of dynamic, it’s very clearly not my thing even if you completely erase the element of abuse and ignore the fact that they don’t hold the same beliefs or values like, at all), but the dedication with which the show did everything to avoid addressing all the shit that they should have addressed in order for the ending and Catra’s redemption to work is just... astounding, really. 

Like, imagine going SO OUT OF YOUR WAY and still not getting it right. 

For one, Catra never apologizes, not really, because I can hardly count her saying “I’m sorry for everything” as an apology. One of the rules of sincere apologies is that you actually acknowledge what you did wrong, apologizing for unspecified ‘everything’ is lazy and disrespectful and makes it look like some way to just take it off the list and be done with that part of Catra’s redemption. 

Two, talking with other fans really made me wonder how the supposed target audience, so kids aged 7 and older, perceive that ending, because I have an impression that they might have a hard time wrapping their head around it. I’ve heard that some kids are actually scared of Catra? And, honestly, I can see that, yeah. Not to mention just the message that all your abuser needs is for you to prioritize them and stay... Yeah. Um, nope. 

Three, my biggest issue as someone who genuinely loved the shows and the characters, my biggest complain is how everything had to be tossed aside in order to make catradora happen. Everything. Quite literally.

Scorpia getting over Catra, getting friends and appreciation she deserved? Accepting her role of a princess? Forming meaningful and healthy friendships and finding her place in the world? Fuck it, let’s chip her for like, half the season and ignore her conflict with Catra entirely. THE FUCKING DISRESPECT OF THAT.

Adora and Glimmer’s argument? You know, the driving force and main conflict of the entire 4th season? Yeah, yeah, let’s have Adora dismiss Glimmer’s apologies and never address that ever again, shall we?

Angella? Pff, who? Never heard of her!

Micah interacting with Glimmer for like, all of 2 minutes. 95% of that time fighting her while chipped by the bad guy. Um... okay. So much for the reunion with a daughter you didn’t see since she was, um, 5 at most?

Glimmer’s powers? The ones she’s been mastering and being insecure about episode one? Which were a huge part of why she even trusted Shadow Weaver in the first place? Yeah, they’re useless 3/4 of the season and then given to Melog. You know, that new character who is ridiculously overpowered and is basically Catra’s glorified moral support cat, despite being a sentient, intelligent being, the sole survivor of its planet. Of-fucking-course.

Oh, speaking of Shadow Weaver! The fucking HYPOCRISY of having a full season of Glimmer and Adora arguing over Glimmer choosing to work with her only to... Have Adora work with her. The entire season. And never mentioning it again. SURE. BECAUSE THAT MAKES SENSE.

(btw, I love how the show framed their conflict as something where Adora is basically 100% in the right... but when you think about it, Glimmer actually made much more solid points that actually turned to be true. the more you know!)

Mermista lost her entire kingdom because of Catra? Yeah, better let’s get her chipped too, before she has a chance to question why they’re working with the kitty lady who was about to murder them only 2 minutes ago. 

Adora spent 4 seasons trying to learn more about her past? Let’s drop it. Just because. Don’t question it, folks. Seriously, don’t.

Adora was about to die? Well, now she doesn’t! Why? Uh, um, what do you mean why, don’t you know that magical gay kisses fix everything? Smh. 

I just... This is bad writing, okay? 

And it feels like such an insult, because up until the last season I think the writing was really solid, the themes of abuse were handled very well, with respect and realistically, Adora’s conflicted feelings about She-ra, her destiny and her choice in all of this were interesting and believable, Glimmer was a great female character allowed to be (and do) things that female characters aren’t usually allowed to be, the supporting cast was strong and loveable and Prime... God, the way Horde Prime was set up as this intimidating, scary, bigger than the universe villain was genius. Hell, even at the beginning of s5 I had chills every time he was on screen. I was so excited about him, but every episode he was getting worse and worse until he became so meh I felt like crying.

And don’t even get me started on Catra saying that she saved Glimmer for Adora. This? This is when I knew there’s no saving this season. This was a slap to the face and the clearest sign that it was never about properly redeeming Catra at all, just getting her what she wanted.

And it’s a shame, too, because in a lot of ways Catra is a very interesting and compelling character who, despite what it looks like, in a lot of ways got the short end of the stick, because instead of telling a realistic, mature story about personal growth, they chose what was basically a instant forgiveness route and never showed Catra actually dealing with both what she’s gone through and what she’s done. Which is a shame and a huge disservice to Catra’s character.

So... yeah. Sorry about that rant, you are so valid, Anon, and I’m sorry.