#quality might be a little meh tho :(

[venompinks]

IRENE ౨ৎ LIKE A FLOWER MOOD FILM

[certifiedmaidenlessblog]

Okay literally nobody asked but since I am procrastinating AND restless:

My final thoughts/ranking of the Eternal mini:

(warning this is a full on yap sesh and I have next to no knowledge of music except for the very basics feel very very free to ignore)

1. Deja vu: I have feelings for this song. So gorgeous, dreamy and ethereal. Smiling so big because this song exists blah blah. Anyway the way I thought this song would be #chillvibes from the album preview snippet but then it turned out to be #nochill kajskajsj even tho there is definitely a lethargic quality to the song. I was so gagged but despite the tables turning on me I loved it immediately. Also the very random (but very well incorporated) tabla in the bridge? Slay. Initially I was mad that this wasn't the tt but with all the melodrama and orchestral arrangement, it has a similar vibe to guilty so I get it. But this song is ten fold of what guilty wanted to be (to me, that is). And I think this song remaining as a b-side to be occasionally performed instead of it being dragged through the promotional cycle and losing all the weight and impact of the song is a good choice too (the song itself is not very promotion cycle friendly either). I can't wait to see what the choreo looks like.

2. Horizon: Very kibumcore as a lot of people have also said, I think so too!! A very unexpected sound for a taemin song but he delivered sooo well. I do wish the song was longer tho. Don't know what being the second title track on this album means as of now but it's worthy of the position I'm sure.

3. Crush: Extremely shineecore! A cute and funky little number! Got me moving! The layers in the instrumentals are neat. I got exactly what was promised on the album preview. Well executed. No other notes. Other than the funky vibe there isn't really any standout element so I might get bored of it quickly tho.

Can't decide between ranks 4 and 5 so I'm calling it a tie.

4/5. Sexy in the air: I definitely should have let my brain soak this in a bit more before complaining about it cause now I literally can't stop listening to it helpppaksnakms cause Damn... This is crazy. What am I gonna do now?? Jaksjksks My first ranking for this song was literally second last (in a derogatory way) and now here we are. Also I held off from watching the mv first because I'm a very visual creature and I get easily swayed that way so I was trying to be #unbiased or whatever. I still think that the second verse is a bit meh, specially because of the English lyrics (i don't even know why I was so pissed off by the "turn me down" that was obviously supposed to be "turn me on", it wasn't even that serious ����) but I was definitely being too harsh and it's not even as bad as I made it out to be and it doesn't stick out enough to get in the way of me enjoying the rest of the song. The switch up after the beat change is soooo good I've been obsessed with that part (the horny choreo definitely helps :D).

The good things about this song being the title track are: it's produced by dem jointz (the production is interesting and immaculate), the mastering of this song is better than most tracks on this album, it is performance oriented/friendly, both halves of the song are tied together so neatly that honestly the beat change doesn't even seem that unnatural even if it's shocking, tm devoured this track in a way that only he can, tm freak lore continues!!!! but most importantly it's bold!!! and it's a statement!!! (instead of playing it safe like he did with guilty imo lol, musically i mean). My only real grievance with this song is probably the fact that it wasn't allowed to go full freak nasty the way it was originally envisioned to be because we live in a society or whatever. Tm was moaning and groaning and saying fuck in the studio only for it to be muffled and be barely audible on the track. The dem jointz trademark of an addictive repeated word/phrase being distorted because otherwise tm would be put in horny jail fr (horny gay jail even because its so crazy that they had another man moaning on the track like skdkksksjdkd). Some of the lyrics being altered hastily (like "turn me down" ksjsjsks).This song being called sexy in the air instead of sex is in the air kajskaksksks. Sad. Because if anyone can pull off something like this without being cringe, it's tm. But it's okay I get it. Also notably this song has one of the veeery few ethical uses of that infamous bed creak sample (by ethical i mean relevant to the song at hand in a way that maximizes the slay of the song).

4/5. Say Less: Very pretty, short and sweet, could have been longer. A solid closer for this album and definitely stands it's own ground despite being on the track list after Deja vu. Which is lowkey a feat of its own. The instrumentals are infact drowning out his voice a bit but I don't think it bothers me as much as I had feared. Reminds me of Truth a bit.

6. The Unknown Sea: I don't have particularly strong opinions on ballads but I do generally only listen to ballads if I'm already super into the idol. And I do like most of the other ballads from tm. However. He's singing his ass off here but the vocal processing.... specially in the chorus his voice sounds very tinny. When I first heard the song I thought it wasn't that big of a deal but now it is definitely getting in the way of me enjoying this song. Beautiful bridge tho, definitely the highlight of the song for me.

7. G.O.A.T.: This instrumental is so fucking nasty I'm obsessedddd. Unfortunately the instrumental might just be the saving grace of this song. I went into this track thinking I was not even gonna be able to listen to this but thankfully it's not thaaaaaat bad. But we definitely need to get tm off his rapping agenda. Even after listening to this a bunch of times it's not sitting that well with me. (Which is crazy because after first listen I thought his voice was more well suited to GOAT than SITA???) I do understand that this song was meant to be a bit tongue in cheek like yeah the goat bleating sounds are hilarious in a good way but tm is Not giving the hardass aura that he thought he was going for and um. that's enough for me to be like :/ which is such a shame cause even the arrangement of this song is so interesting. But yeah whatever this track needed vocally is not in tm's strengths so. I'll wait for someone to upload the instrumental tho so that I can download it and play it with the rest of the album jksjsksksjsjs

I think it's a good choice to drop an album that's just him coming out swinging after such a drastic career altering decision. There's no more room for regrets or dilly dallying and he's confident. Which is a good thing. Because it definitely makes the statement he wants to make. The album as a whole is interesting, all the tracks differ from each other but that doesn't take away from the cohesiveness of the soundscape of the album. There is a clear logic in the way the tracklisting was done, the transition from one song to the next makes sense (even if I can't explain it properly).

That being said, yes the production and the mixing is a bit lacking (along with the other downsides of a low budget) but I don't think sm has songs like this in their vault anymore so... You win some you lose some idk.

Overall I do see this as a win. Yapping over and out.

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

I might just do a few fun fact asks cause I can't combine all of the topics that are on my mind.

Here is an MCD characterization specific one - Meif'wa edition

The reason why Meif'wa are more likely to go into customer service and hospitality jobs is due to their innate instinct that taking care of someone is a sign of control. Much like how cats view grooming other cats/animals as a sign of dominance, culturally, it is the same for Meif'wa. Think a Ru'aun human man visits a brothel and believes he is on top of the world while the meif'wa lady knows that she has the better end of the deal. It would also mean that unlike most cultures, customer service is viewed highly.

I also believe that magic can be influenced multiple ways by environmental factors, genetics, and belief systems in the MCD universe, so Nana having puppet magic stems from her cultural and innate belief system. Objectively, a magic that is born for the use of control while having many hospitality uses ie her maids. Control through hospitality caused magic that allowed her to both control and be hospitable.

Also, a lot of my world building is based on the feral cat colony that lives in the alley way behind my house that we have slowly been domesticating and getting adopted.

honestly tho thats so real. I've based so much stuff off of my cat being a dumbass. mostly Zenix stuff, because i love my cat.

But i really like this actually, this is very cool. I love meif'wa lore in general, because i feel like there's so much potential. One of the downfalls of Aphverse is they don't delve enough into different cultures or anything, they just... meh

But i really love the little bit about magic. A culture of treating people well would likely be really popular, because you don't want people to grow up to develop 'killing you painfully' magic as a product of their/their parent's environment/stress. And like, in MyS era, corporations would have to have a basic level of decency for how they handle their employees, so the next gen of magic users gain magic useful for producing goods for corporations, as opposed to magic useful for killing exploitative bosses. And family-run businesses would likely be a lot more appreciated, because genetically inherited magic would boost the quality of the product.

sorry idk got capitalism on the mind i hate it.

[a-rum-of-ones-own]

I found you because of Dramione, but I’m staying for the sapphic romances. Been questioning and exploring my sexuality lately, and your F/F pairing stories are akin to a balm. The characterizations pull at my heart and sink into it. The overall themes easily carry and work with the granularities of the stories, and the beauty and skill of your words ties it all together effortlessly. Thank you for sharing your brilliance with us. I sincerely hope we get to read more of the rare pairs from you. I can’t decide whether I like Fleur/Tonks or Hermione/Lavender more and I’d love to have more of these dilemmas. Yes please and thank you again. That said, I’d love to know: what are your favorite sapphic romances or essays/ podcasts about being sapphic?

Thank you so, so much! My f/f stuff kind of sits close to my heart in a special way- obviously, all my writing is close to my heart, but the f/f stuff just resonates with my own life and experience a bit more. Writing straight romance is super fun because it's an opportunity to explore characters as characters, a bit more divorced from me, but the gay stuff always feels like tapping little 16-year-old Rum on the shoulder and going 'you'll be fine, you darling little idiot'. It's just always so lovely when someone likes it 😭

I'm currently working on a Luna/Ginny WIP, if you want to check out the first two chapters that are up already! No fixed schedule, but I'm promising nuns and soft angst and a Big Queer HaircutTM!

Oooooh, my favourite sapphic stuff! Let me get the recommendation bag out, lol. With the usual disclaimer that I don't know everything, have read too little, and am limited by my own experience.

First off, fanfic, because that's how we all got here. There's this one story called Skirt Full of Thorns by montparnasse that I think I first read in....2021? And I love it. I was one of those lesbians who clung to the idea of being bisexual for a long-ass time and against all reason (I was out there dating women and loving it, and dating men and feeling very 'meh' about it, and still didn't realise what that might mean until I was....21?) and this story just captures something about that idea of NOT figuring it out at 15 or 16, about the feelings that come with that. It's also political without being paternalistic, which is something I appreciate SO much in queer fiction. At least for me, queerness was never just about 'I'm into women', there is an entire worldview and way of moving through the world attached to it, a deconstruction of what it means to be female, and I always love it when stories reflect that without beating it into your head with a sledgehammer.

Then, essays! I'm currently reading The Rib Joint by Julia Koets, which is an entire essay collection, lol. I'm not fully done with it, so I can't vouch for the quality of the last bit, but what I've read so far is BEAUTIFUL. It's very haunting and has that Southern Gothic feel to it, and a very lyrical kind of prose. In other published fiction, Orlando by Virginia Woolf did something to my soul when I first read it as a pretentious little teenage twat, but it's...ya know. It's Woolf. It's not a beach read.

I'm not a podcast girlie, I'm afraid, but I AM a standup comedy girlie! If that's your vibe, PLEASE try 'Nanette' by Hannah Gadsby, and anything by Mae Martin. Also, show-wise, I really liked 'Feel Good' by Mae Martin, too.

Sorry if this is getting long, but I wish you the best of luck in your exploration process. If there's one bit of advice I would have liked to have heard back in my 'ohmyfuckinggod, seriously????'-stage, it's this: it's truly all less spectacular and important than you think, but also somehow deeper and more transformative than you'd initially assume. Kissing is kissing and dating is dating and sex is sex, and it's all just bodies in the end. At the same time, the things about queerness that go beyond the simple physicality of 'I have sex with women' go DEEP into your worldview and psyche, and those things are the ones that really shape you after a while. It's not just something you are, it is, to a certain extent, something you DO - a way of interacting with yourself and the world. My best advice really is to kinda....consider the geometry of your soul, in a way? Like, where does it jive, where can it catch onto something? And just try things. In the end, we all can only try.

[risu5waffles]

A Small Wait to SweeTEN the Taste

i know, i know. i've just been a bit overwhelmed, but here we are and here we go.

A real high quality, expansive bit of LBP2 fun here. Great environment, decent story set up (even if i don't think it ever got paid off in a later level?), some fun tweaks on the mechanics. The funny thing is, i wound up having the most difficulty navigating through the tutorial bit; after that and the level flowed pretty smoothly. Nice difficulty curve, too. There're a couple of parts that were tricky, but fair, and nothing that suddenly seemed like an impossible task. The level is quite chonky, tho'; making use of the novel (at the time) level link feature. i think it uses the extra space well, but i can see how it might be an issue if you're looking for a quick in-and-out. As an aside, but tagging players never seem to have a good idea of what actually constitutes long. Well, that's perhaps unfair; what i mean to say is they don't seem to have a consistent idea of it. i see the "long" tag show up on as many 5minute levels as i do on 30minute ones. It makes it a bit hard for me to judge if a level is going to be safe for a before-work recording.

Bundling these together (out-of-order) since they're from the same creator, and working in the same theme. Lots of level to traverse, clear, coherent theming and decoration, minor, but interesting level interactions. i wound up enjoying both of these an awful lot, even if i felt the second started to get just a bit draggy toward the end. The bloom-the-flower bits in the second are a lot more active for the player, which was cool, but not always clear in how they were supposed to be accomplished, and i feel like a lot of the deaths in that last one could be at least a little chalked up to poor communication.

We talked about this one last week and it's still pretty, but decidedly meh.

This is a real neat race that i really enjoyed a lot more once i had a better idea of the layout. Presentation on a pure visual sense is spot on as always from Mellangard and Alpi, tho' the color choices could make some bits blend together a bit. My biggest issues wiv the race, the introduction of the velociraptor-hats and the chandelier jump were apparently cleaned up right after i did this recording. If only i'd waited an extra day. It does make me wonder how to handle levels that have received updates that change their handling significantly. chronos453 did some work on Neon Dimension 3, and it plays so much more smoothly than when we archived it. i kinda want to do a spin-off playlist where i can shift the old versions, and put the updated versions in the main ones, but i don't know if it comes up often enough to justify the extra work.

This is definitely a level. No one can take that away from it.

This one's a fun little one, but i kinda felt like it might have been cheating a bit? i mean to say, i don't think the dominoes were falling purely via physics, but maybe wiv a little goosing along here and there. i don't feel like the level is worse off for it, but it is just a touch less impressive.

i swear that car was stuck. i pulled the lever the right way, and it still didn't go anywhere. The level is... well, it's certainly enthusiastic, i'll give it that. i have a fondness for these "let's throw everything from collected objects in, and see what happens" levels, provided they make the effort to be an actual level, and this one definitely does. Is it a good level? Errr... honestly i couldn't say yes. But is it a fun level? Yeah. i definitely had a good enough time wiv it. i do feel like it would benefit from playing wiv a few friends, but then you could say that about a lot of early LBP1 levels.

Oh my dogs, this fucking level. i super, super did not enjoy this one. i actually found myself wishing the checkpoints weren't infinite, so i could just say "bugger this for a game of soldiers." Everything is super-fiddly to being just this side of unfair. The spikes placed in areas that typically would be safe spots to plan you jumps were definitely a choice. And the wobbly platforms where i finally gave up? Who ever thought those were a good idea? i don't know. Maybe to HARD level players, this kind of thing is totally the shits, but i've only got so much time to spend, and i spent way too much of it here.

i'm torn on this one. It is a really nicely presented level, that makes solid use of the extra layers we have in LBP3. There's some nice gameplay, and a little poking around for secrets that i always love. It's a touch overlong feeling, but not so much as to be an issue. But it has that "big empty place" vibe that plagues a lot of LBP3 levels i find. i'm not sure precisely what gives it that, but it's there. It's like... i'm going to have to put some real thought into this. It's bothered me long enough that i should probably pick it apart. Maybe if i get my thoughts clear enough, i could do a little video on it.

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

So that's our TEN. There're some real nice ones in there, but they're snuggled up wiv some real dross too. But, that's not the worst spread we could get, i suppose.

i am so busy. i want to get a little food in me before the stream. Siren is a real interesting play so far, but it is also an awful lot. i just know we're going to spend the whole first hour just trying to keep this old fucker from being killed. i swear, he is not the quickest draw in the West. Like, serious, that rifle packs a fucking punch, but getting it up to actually use takes a whole dog's age.

[italeteller]

Ok, so you've told us what you think the best anime were last year. What are the anime you've been most disappointed by the last few years then, if you don't mind me asking?

Oooh a spicy ask, and a chance to complain about anime? Don't mind if I do!

This got long so I'm gonna put it under a readmore

First of all, gotta kill my darlings and go for Undead Unluck. Because like. The animation, the voice acting, the soundtrack, the sound effects, the little anime original things they add to filler some episodes, they're all amazing, and as someone who deeply loves the manga I am genuinely So Glad we've gotten an adaptation, even if it hasn't boosted the manga sales

But!

THAT. FUCKING. PACING! IS DRIVING ME NUTS!

WE HAVE COVERED 28 AND A HALF MANGA CHAPTERS IN 14 ANIME EPISODES! THAT'S 2 MANGA CHAPTERS PER EPISODE! THAT'S "ANIME'S CURRENTLY RELEASING AND WE NEED TO FILLER THIS BITCH UP TO BURST LEST WE CATCH UP" PACING, NOT "WE HAVE LITERALLY MORE THAN 150 CHAPTERS LEFT TO COVER" PACING!

THERE'S SO MANY FLASHBACKS! WHY'S THERE SO MANY FLASHBACKS!? SHIT'S WAY TOO SLOW, WHICH MEANS SEASON 1'S LIKELY GONNA END ON CHAPTER 53 WHICH MEANS CHAPTER 132 IS LIKELY NOT GONNA COME UNTIL SEASON 3 WHICH MEANS THE MOMENT WHERE UU GOES FROM GOOD TO TOP 3 CURRENTLY AIRING SHONEN IS LIKELY TWO WHOLE ASS SEASONS AWAY!!! WHAT THE FUCK!!!

I have a theory about why they're doing the pacing so slow, but honestly at this point I wish the season had been 20 episodes like To Your Eternity instead of 24, because this pacing's unbearable

Anyways, enough complaining on a full stomach, time to shit on My Hero Academia. The manga's gone to shit, and the anime's following the story which means it's also gone to shit, but additionally the anime feels less quality than it used to be. While there are some impressive battle scenes and high-speed movement scenes every now and then, there's also some noticeable lower quality moments, characters speaking facing away from the camera so they don't have to animate their mouths, repetitive scenes with moving camerawork to disguise the lack of animation... maybe it's because BONES has been doing the mha movies at the same time as the series, but you compare stuff from seasons 2 and 3 with stuff from seasons 5 and 6 and it's a really bad difference. I used to be really hype about this series, and it breaks my heart to see how far it's fallen

Kimetsu no Yaiba's secret village arc was also pretty meh. It might be the only time the manga's better than the anime, which felt unnecessarily padded and killed a lot of the tension of the fight scenes

The second season of My Next Life as the Villainess was pretty mediocre, flanderizing characters and bouncing aimlessly around with the plot. Here's hoping the movie raises the quality back up

Beastars season 2 was. Not as good as season 1. I don't remember exactly what ticked me off, but I remember I didn't like how Haru got sidelines, and I found Legosi very annoying this time around

The second season of Reincarnated as a Slime was also pretty mediocre. The first half was full of filler which killed the pacing, and when the main character's village was raided and some important characters killed, he conveniently met an elven princess who knew the secret to unlock resurrection magic, which meant that from there on out there are no stakes. Honestly a shame, I loved the first season, tho I gotta admit it peaked at the Orc Disaster arc

Sakugan began with incredible promise and a super straightforward plot premise, and then meandered away on meaningless, boring sidequests from episode 3 onwards, wasting a perfectly good plot, setting and characters

A very similar thing happened with Giant Beasts of Ars, which looked like a great fantasy series and then just... did nothing with anything

And the same with Synduality: Noir, a really high value tie in anime to an upcoming game with a postapocalyptic setting and the most insufferably boring main duo I've ever seen in anime. I gave it like 8 episodes and it's like that shit was allergic to moving the plot or the characters forward. It dedicated a whole episode to the obligatory tsundere character working up the courage to confess, and then she didn't

Tomo-chan wa Onnanoko could've been great if it had been 24 episodes, instead of hypercondensing the whole ass series into 13. I had to stop watching because I was getting mad with all the stuff they were skipping

Cells at Work Black was a pretty good drama until literally the last moment where the main cells, whose host body has finally started improving his health, thus giving them a better work and life environment, are sucked into a blood transfussion and taken to a body that's in an even worse state. So like, fuck you and abandon all hopes of things getting better I guess

And speaking of saying "fuck you!" to your audience, we can't forget about Science Fell in Love, the romcom that decided to end it's season 2 with an attempted gang rape of one of the main girls, intercut with the main guy putting on a powerpoint presentation on why she didn't deserve it. I would like to know what the fuck the mangaka was thinking

And if we're speaking about disasters, we can't not talk about the absolute trash fire clusterfuck that was Wonder Egg Priority

WEP, for those who don't know, was a delightfully dark original series about four girls who lost someone to suicide, entering their dreams to fight monsters to save the souls of girls who killed themselves, with the promise that one day they'd find those they'd lost and bring them to life. Lots of action, lots of kickass animation, very interesting character drama and mystery both human and magical

In the last three episodes (this was a 13 episode series btw), the series added the concepts of the multiverse, multiversal travel, syntetic humans, none of which it could do justice. And then the final episode breaks off the main group. All their goals are revived, but they're girls from other universes which means they had no bonds with the main characters. One of the girls dissappears into another dimension, another gets traumatized and leaves, another is implied to be looking for excuses to kill herself, and the MC spirals into depression before ending the series with a hopeful scene of her going back into the dreamworld, which would never happen because the series ended there and then, and there were never any plans to continue. A dissappointment on all fronts the likes you had to see to believe

Another series that shat the bed during the last three episodes was Takt Op Destiny. It wasn't as dramatic because the series wasn't as good as WEP, but still. Absolute disaster of an ending

Annnnd yeah, I think that's it for the last five years. Sure have been a lot of disappointments huh

[anosci]

Media Thread

im making a list of media ive watched/played/etc this year with brief thoughts. its going to be far less featured than my music list, but still a bit long. again mirroring twitter except this time because fuck twitter.

list below the cut

～January～

1/ Princes Arete (2001) I was sold on this movie under the premise that it's similar to Kino no Tabi. and… it is. kinda. Kino and Arete would be cool pals. Every character is interesting, which seems rare(?) Only real drawback: the hostage situation kinda really sucked.

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2/ Time of EVE (2008/9) the classic tale: androids indistinguishable from humans as an allegory for racism. but unlike DBH, this is actually really good. its a story that feels like a single thread in a vast tapestry that'd be fascinating to explore, but too bad: you only have 6 eps

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3/ Spice & Wolf (2008) i remember loving this show. i don't remember understanding the economics. I took notes this time. I still struggled. (spoilers for ep3) regardless: wow this is a good show. weirdly, I saw myself in the relationship portrayals. I guess that means its realistic?

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～February～

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4/ Spice & Wolf II (2009) i feel like this kinda fell off? :( like it tried too hard to be action-packed. and that worked sometimes. but that first arc was just… :( it feels like a case of "just needs an editing pass. needs a bit more focus" i'll treasure S1 more, after all

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5/ Double Fine PsychOdyssey (2023) absurdly captivating. i say that it's a miracle that any video game gets made ever. this shows that Psychonauts 2 was several miracles in succession. it's simultaneously illusion-shattering and inspiring.

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6/ The Owl House S1 (2020) finally sat down to watch this. it's GOOD. lots of worldbuilding to chew on, and then it picked up quite nicely. im immediately pouncing on S2 and feeling glad i was late enough to be able to marathon

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～March～

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7/ The Owl House S2 (2022) stumbling down the boulderest mountain and hitting every rock on the way down. the rocks represent engagement. i am engaged. i adore this show. it is a little weird to suddenly freeze mid-tumble.

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8/ Broken Age (2014) (Dr. Mick's LP) delightful start! brilliant, even! then the big bad is revealed and…. meh. I watched Dr. Mick's playthru tho, and holy shit that's some really cool commentary.

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9/ Double Fine Adventure! (2015) its a little unfortunate that the nature of gamedev means that the ending is kinda anticlimatic but good lord what an amazing journey. i'd watch a million of these.

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10/ Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022) ok ok fine ill [finally] watch it …oh its good. like really good. its rly funny but in a way that fascinatingly beside the point? yeah I can see why some ppl didnt like this but i think its super fun

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11/ Nichijou (2011) a nice and cute slice of life thing… that occasionally breaks out some quality jokes. though only half of them landed for me. i feel like i would've gotten more out of this if I caught it at the time.

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～April～

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12/ The Owl House S3 (2023) i had a lot of reservations about the collector initially but having seen the entire arc: that came together nicely! still sad that it's The End, but like. good overall!

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13/ Penguindrum (2011) i DONT think i followed 90% of the themes and their connections. that said, i DO love the way metaphors are treated as "literal". confusing maybe, but i adore the idea of "paint what you feel not what you see" applied to storytelling.

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～May～

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14/ From the New World (2012) this has a mess of an opening (several) episode(s), but it eventually found its footing and became quite a cool action adventure… thriller i guess? i do take some issues with bits and pieces but it was a good watch overall.

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15/ GinGitune (2013) fluff. the lightest, fluffiest of fluff. melts in water. there are several elements that couldve been mined for drama and intrigue but they were all treated as background elements. (this isn't a bad thing, but it's not what you might expect.)

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～June～

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16/ Space Dandy (2014) dropped after ep4, but on good terms i guess? fun animation, funky vibes, sometimes even funny! anime johny bravo…or I think i saw a Dirty Pair comparison, which feels right. but im not meshing with the silly wacky high nrg antics rn. maybe another time.

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～July～

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17/ Death Parade (2015) rly misleading intro (i was ready to drop lol) rly rly promising setup by ep4 RLY good development and mildly biffed ending, but hard to fault considering its a 12ep. i love the aesthetics, worldbuilding, characters. overall i really really liked this!!!

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18/ One Punch Man S1 (2015) i forgot how fun this show is! and the great worldbuilding! i dont plan to move to the second season again tho. i thought about grabbing the manga instead but good lord it's way longer than i thought. oh well.

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19/ Flying Witch (2016) slicest of life with a la croix touch of supernatural. the normal slices didn't do much for me 90% of the time. but the supernatural slices? choice. (…mostly.) tbh i just want an entire season of that cafe.

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～August～

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20/ Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto (2016) i was skeptical, but this actually worked rly well. for moment. a short, beautiful moment. most of the potential here was stifled by trying to add high school drama/plot. the comedy tho, at its best, had a vibe i havent felt since hayate

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～September～

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21/ Saiki Kusuo no Psi Nan (2016) it is VERY EASY for a comedy show to slide from "absurdity = funny" to "this is just annoying". somehow, this never crossed that line, which was weirdly refreshing? not always a winner, but overall a good mix of laughs and superpower exploration.

21b/ edit to add: oh this was right after Sakamoto! Man. The two feel kind of kindred but Saiki is leagues better at staying fresh.

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22/ Viewfinder (2023) short but very sweet mind-bender puzzler thing. the story had a cool foundation but fumbled in execution imo. but the gameplay? top notch. felt great through and through. never too difficult. beautiful idea and beautiful execution.

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23/ Flip Flappers (2016) uncertain about the show at first, and then, after watching… im still uncertain. i did enjoy it, but I also felt outside the audience ig? a case where I can imagine a version of this show that knocks my socks off, but as-is it's just a fun ride

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24/ Fionna & Cake (2023) my expectations were very low and they were VASTLY exceeded! think this show is at its strongest when exploring characters w short stories, which was most of this. the ending felt slightly fumbled…i think it couldve rocked me but instead it was just :).

---

～October～

---

25/ Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye (2021) i already played and loved this game, but happened upon About Oliver's playthrough and fell in love again. truly that is The Most outer wilds playthrough. good lord.

---

26/ The Amazing Digital Circus (2023) interesting and filled with style… but not for me. i'd list complaints but basically all of them are strengths and favorites for someone else. yknow?

---

～November～

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27/ Little Witch Academia TV (2017) as the credits roll, i find myself with two thoughts: croix was done dirty and wow this is SPECTACLE. aptly magical. oh also! it was quite fun to follow along with contemporary discussion

---

～December～

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28/ Scott Pilgrim Takes Off (2023) oh it's like. really good. i dont remember the movie so i cant compare but this stands well on its own and i love the character exploration, even if i dont like some of the uhh… what would you call that? scifi jokes? (spoiler territory soz)

---

29/ Land of the Lustrous (2017) FLOORED by how much I loved this. qualms about the CG turned into admiration, the shading drawing me into the world. worries about annoying characters melted away to find admirable layers. THE USE OF SYMBOLISM kept me SO well fed. and the pacing!

29b/ cont: my only complaint that isn't a nitpick: i hate how it left so, so, so many threads loose. i faceplanted my dashboard during the decelerating pace between the first 10 eps and the final 2. i get that it's from an ongoing manga but that still felt maximum bummer.

---

30/

[smokeybrandreviews]

Long Long Time

With the ending of The Last of Us this past weekend, I was left with thoughts. The ride was one of the best I’ve been on but, for some reason, i was left wanting. The game is one of the best I have ever played but, more than that, something felt off. I enjoyed my time in this incredibly rich take on that bleak ass world but, before I actually commented on it, I took some time to actually think on my overall experience. These are the primary realizations I had after letting that entire series sit with me for a few days after that explosive conclusion.

Bella Ramsey was good as her Ellie but she's not THE Ellie. Game Ellie hits completely different. There is this softness to her that Show Ellie lacks. While I will always prefer Ashley Johnson in the role, Bella really did make the character her own.

Pedro's Pascal is daddy. There were certain choices made with Adaption Joel that I don't necessarily agree with but, overall, I think they did The character justice. Obviously, I prefer the game version because I am a Gamer before anything but Pascal really delivered.

As an adaption, The Last of Us was exceptional. They capture the feel and tone of the source material perfectly, while simultaneously adjusting an hours long game narrative for television consumption. They had to basically distill thirty or so hours of game play down into something a non-Gamer would find captivating and they, for sure, did that.

Episode three, goddamn! This was the high point of the show and it wasn't even about Joel and Ellie. I'm sure you know about why this episode stands above the rest so there's no need to go into detail but, suffice it to say, Nick f*ckin' Offerman!

Some of the other changes were blergh. Ellie baby exposure was kind of meh. Like, that's how vaccines work. You just found a way to vaccinate people against the shrooms. Do that to other pregernants. You're willing to murder a teenager, what's a few mothers-to-be? That changes kind of makes everything these characters go through, inconsequential, bordering meaningless.

Hive mind subplot just disappeared. Sh*t was cool for an episode but then just never revisited. Why? Do you know how much more terrifying that world is now??

Gorgeous and expensive and you see every penny onscreen.

Should have had more infected. Seriously, for all the loot onscreen, there was a criminal lack of actual infected action. I know that stuff doesn't translate from game to screen well but goddamn, man. Three set pieces the whole show?? Three?

But them flashbacks, tho. Goddamn! Seriously, that cold open for episode one was chilling and the little expose for episode two? That, on it's own, could be a solid Emmy admission for Best Short. It was that good.

Speaking of original content,, I hear they might expand upon this little world they created for season two instead of jumping straight into the narrative of the sequel game. I'm not a fan of the Part II story so expanding might be dope. Like, there should have been a game in between those two showing the deterioration of Ellie and Joel's relationship and I kind of hope the show actually gives that lost content to us.

That said, most of the original content was the worst part of this show. Not the flashback stuff, that was inspired, but the additions and tweaks. Don't misunderstand me, as far as television is concerned, it's top tier. I just worry for when the writers go off-script so to speak.

I don't want the quality of this show to fall off a cliff like with Game of Thrones and, if that bit with Kathleen is anything to go off of, I might be right in my apprehension.

Sh*t was too short. We didn't get to spend time enough with Ellie and Joel. More to the point, Joel and Ellie didn't get to spend that much time together. Watching that beautifully shot and cut rampage Joel goes on during the season finale rang a bit hollow because, not two episodes earlier, Joel was still acting like a dick. Now, he's massacring an entire hospital to "save" Ellie? Really?

The game is still much, much, better. Go play that. Seriously, if you’ve never played the game, but enjoy the show, go play that sh*t right now.

[smokeybrand]

Long Long Time

With the ending of The Last of Us this past weekend, I was left with thoughts. The ride was one of the best I’ve been on but, for some reason, i was left wanting. The game is one of the best I have ever played but, more than that, something felt off. I enjoyed my time in this incredibly rich take on that bleak ass world but, before I actually commented on it, I took some time to actually think on my overall experience. These are the primary realizations I had after letting that entire series sit with me for a few days after that explosive conclusion.

Bella Ramsey was good as her Ellie but she's not THE Ellie. Game Ellie hits completely different. There is this softness to her that Show Ellie lacks. While I will always prefer Ashley Johnson in the role, Bella really did make the character her own.

Pedro's Pascal is daddy. There were certain choices made with Adaption Joel that I don't necessarily agree with but, overall, I think they did The character justice. Obviously, I prefer the game version because I am a Gamer before anything but Pascal really delivered.

As an adaption, The Last of Us was exceptional. They capture the feel and tone of the source material perfectly, while simultaneously adjusting an hours long game narrative for television consumption. They had to basically distill thirty or so hours of game play down into something a non-Gamer would find captivating and they, for sure, did that.

Episode three, goddamn! This was the high point of the show and it wasn't even about Joel and Ellie. I'm sure you know about why this episode stands above the rest so there's no need to go into detail but, suffice it to say, Nick f*ckin' Offerman!

Some of the other changes were blergh. Ellie baby exposure was kind of meh. Like, that's how vaccines work. You just found a way to vaccinate people against the shrooms. Do that to other pregernants. You're willing to murder a teenager, what's a few mothers-to-be? That changes kind of makes everything these characters go through, inconsequential, bordering meaningless.

Hive mind subplot just disappeared. Sh*t was cool for an episode but then just never revisited. Why? Do you know how much more terrifying that world is now??

Gorgeous and expensive and you see every penny onscreen.

Should have had more infected. Seriously, for all the loot onscreen, there was a criminal lack of actual infected action. I know that stuff doesn't translate from game to screen well but goddamn, man. Three set pieces the whole show?? Three?

But them flashbacks, tho. Goddamn! Seriously, that cold open for episode one was chilling and the little expose for episode two? That, on it's own, could be a solid Emmy admission for Best Short. It was that good.

Speaking of original content,, I hear they might expand upon this little world they created for season two instead of jumping straight into the narrative of the sequel game. I'm not a fan of the Part II story so expanding might be dope. Like, there should have been a game in between those two showing the deterioration of Ellie and Joel's relationship and I kind of hope the show actually gives that lost content to us.

That said, most of the original content was the worst part of this show. Not the flashback stuff, that was inspired, but the additions and tweaks. Don't misunderstand me, as far as television is concerned, it's top tier. I just worry for when the writers go off-script so to speak.

I don't want the quality of this show to fall off a cliff like with Game of Thrones and, if that bit with Kathleen is anything to go off of, I might be right in my apprehension.

Sh*t was too short. We didn't get to spend time enough with Ellie and Joel. More to the point, Joel and Ellie didn't get to spend that much time together. Watching that beautifully shot and cut rampage Joel goes on during the season finale rang a bit hollow because, not two episodes earlier, Joel was still acting like a dick. Now, he's massacring an entire hospital to "save" Ellie? Really?

The game is still much, much, better. Go play that. Seriously, if you’ve never played the game, but enjoy the show, go play that sh*t right now.

[xnchxntmxnt]

Yuuji with a bookish and more introverted bf or crush? sounds like a fun and cute dynamic. bf gets hijm to be more serious when needed and Yuuji helps him relax/goof off and have fun.

Fandom: Haikyuu!!

Character: Terushima Yuuji

Warnings: wholesome. im also brain dead so its not great or proofread

Notes: woohoo a request!! thank you <3 i enjoyed writing this

male reader!

Reblogs > likes

Taglist form

If there’s one thing teru needs

It’s someone polar opposite of him

Bc if it was someone with the same energy i think the world would burn /j

There cannot be two

So, introverted boyfriend? Great

You’re the best person to go to when he’s having a bleh day because you can let him talk forever, and just spend some time with him. Just the two of you. He loves it, honestly

Quality time with him is HUGE bc he’s. He’s not really the jealous type, but he does like having you to himself

So on meh days he likes to lay his head in your lap and play with your fingers and talk about nothing

He’s very good at talking about nothing

Can and will talk about nonsense for as long as possible

On good days, though?

Expect him to be insanely hype (like usual)

He loves running up behind you and hugging you in the hallway before running off w a grin

He somehow talks more but this time its about practice or this test he had or a book he has to read for class or—

He just gets this grin when he talks about something he’s passionate about

He catches you staring a lot

And to this he has one of two reactions

His smile just grows and he winks at you and continues on

OR he’ll pause whatever story he’s telling and start teasing you

“Oh? Whatcha lookin at?” “just you” “like what ya see?”

Tries SO HARD to fluster you but honestly cannot take what he dishes out

So if you flirt back he dies internally

Like soul has left his body

Its cute

He’s very chatty and VERY touchy

Expect him to be walking to lunch with you with his hand in yours, or his arm around your shoulder/waist

Loves linking pinkies

Can and will randomly lean over and kiss you at any given time

He just likes seeing your shocked face when you pull away and just mumble “what was that for”

And likes when you smile when he says “just because i love you”

And he also likes your laugh when his teammates start shoving him around or make fake gagging noises or tell you to get a room

Theyre very supportive by the way <3

Team loves you 100%

They might like you than yuuji tbh (not really tho but they do like you)

Especially the 1st years they all look up to you

Let’s just say homophobic comments are not tolerated bc there’s a whole team of 15-17 year old feral teenagers ready to defend you at any given moment

Pspsps i also think you guys are the reason some of the first years were comfortable to come out to the team <333

There are some times you’ve gotta reel the guy in

Honestly he’s a jokester, yknow

He’s always pranking someone and has a very hard time being serious about anything

Which drives misaki nuts

And there are many times you hang out at practice and she loves having you there bc one glare from you that screams “no kisses for the rest of the day” has yuuji calming the hell down

However he knows how to get you to loosen up a little

Loves bringing you to parties w the team

Theyre not big parties so its not too loud or too many people

But its a lot of board games and everyone hanging out and vibing

And he likes beginning you because it’s the team and his family and he likes that you’re party of this family they made somehow

But also because he likes it when you step outside your comfort zone a little for him

Not too much to make you insanely uncomfortable

But just enough that you’re doing something new for him

Makes him feel special <3

guys find yourself a yuuji. Love this guy

taglist:

@mysterystarz @y-infen @kodzukoi @duckymcdoorknob @animated-moon

[goodnightsocialitemp3]

palaye royale fever dream listening thoughts:

overall i think it's a decent enough album? although imo it's a little inconsistent in quality between some songs, i know broken and lifeless stars aren't quite my genre but lyrically i feel like they're also not quite as strong. paranoid is also more meh compared to other songs here although i still kinda like it

standout tracks on the album for me are easily fever dream, oblivion, king of the damned and off with the head. the latter two really pack a punch one after the other but i like that they weren't singles, they hit even harder this way. i especially liked king of the damned, it sounds a little more like the boom boom room sides and i appreciated that. off with his head is also fun

favorite song for me though is still fever dream itself, i love the drama and grandiose sound it has

i loved the transitions from the intro to eternal life and off with his head to the outro, my jaw dropped both times

listening in order kind of felt jarring lol just because songs like no love in la and punching bag came out as singles so long ago that hearing them with the context of other songs felt strange. that might be a me thing tho

however both of those songs still slap although they were the earliest released from fever dream too

i might not be right on this but i would probably call this palaye's most pop punk album and maybe just straight up pop. fascinating to trace their genre evolution across their discography so far!

looking forward to the music videos or whatever video accompaniment palaye is releasing as well, everything they've teased about oblivion looks gorgeous and i want to see the full thing

[with-the-same-tattoos]

WAIT WAIT are you still doing the character thing, and can I cheat and ask for another one? Because ☆GRIMA☆

please friendo Kani, I am begging you to ramble more about the weirdly beautiful, creepy, hopeless romantic, perpetually wet dog-lookin' emo man

GRIMA WORMTONGUE

general opinion: fall in a hole and die | don’t like them | eh | they’re fine I guess | like them! | love them | actual love of my life

hotness level: get away from me | meh | neutral | theoretically hot but not my type | pretty hot | gorgeous! | 10/10 would bang

best quality: he is so. Essence. He's like that twilight meme abour an effervescent snail. Like he is also the person who would send that text, right after coming back from doing some major scheming. He is so personality shaped. He is also incredibly hot. He's one of the characters that I'd just rly wanna make happy & feel good like Thomas Hewitt.

worst quality: he IS essentially an angry incely dude and I assume that comes w a lot of thought patterns & attitudes that I don't really understand & see as bad :( also he canonically just likes a pretty person so im not his type </3

ship them with: ME.

brotp them with: GOLLUM. DO THEY EVER MEET? IDK THEY SHOULD HANG OUT THEYD BE KINDA FUNNY.

needs to stay away from: Eowyn 😭😭 mr shes not into u!!!

misc. thoughts: i am obsessed w him. He is so pretty. I love his little nose tilts, I love his long arching cupids bow, I love his long thoughtful forehead, I love how intense his eyes are, I love how he looks cold like a snake I lo-ve him. I just wanna brush my fingers thru his hair kinda tightly and make him look me in the eyes and beg him 2 lower his standards so I can try to show him the love he Might not DESERVE but which I Personally want him 2 feel. He is a poet and secretly kinda good at ut but he got bullied for it as a kid and now he's kinda embarrassed of it. It's quite sappy tho

SEND ME A CHARACTER

[blackberry-gingham]

The love language concept sounds interesting! I’d say George’s love language/the way he shows love is physical touch, Paul’s is receiving gifts, Ringo’s is positive affirmation mixed with quality time, and tbh I’m not to sure for John. maybe acts or service or quality time for him?

Mwahaha, you've fallen into my trap! The truth is I wanted to do this topic more or less for myself, but felt bad bc I still have a few requests left to do. So thank you for sending in a "request" for me so that I can do one out of order real quick >:3

Lol but really tho, thank you for humoring me and these are good! I could honestly see all of these, but for John I'd say acts of service with you, bc the "To Do" stuff just sounds like his character tbh, but maybe also I feel like there's some physical touch too???

Ik I've heard that John kind of actually didn't like being touched, but I mean... If you look at literally any picture of him with Yoko, he's always at least holding her hand, if not just totally draped all over her lol, so I'm assuming for an S/O it's totally different!

But anyway, here's some headcannons real quick and then back to requests. Thanks everyone!

---

George

Honestly? I feel like George would just not be able to keep his hands off you

Like, not necissarily in a sexual way (although that too, if you're in the mood lol), it's just that he loves to let you and everyone else know you're his

He's not all too shy about it either lol

I mean obviously he saves the more lovey dovey stuff for private places, but in public he still has a lot to offer

Everytime he sees you he kisses you either on the cheek, forehead, or mouth and then pulls you in for a hug

Always

Then the rest of the time, as long as he doesn't have to be working, he likes to hold your hand and play with your hair

And if he's feeling a little risqué, he likes to let you sit on his lap and cuddle against him

In private tho...

Oh, he is all over you!!!

You are his sanctuary and safe haven away from the public eye and the daily grind that comes with being a Beatle

I've seen quite a few quotes from geo lamenting the fact that he and the others had literally no private life thanks to their stardom

So yeah, believe me when I say he could live a thousand years and still never feel like he could repay you for giving him the rest and love he needs

He'd be like a long, giant cat. Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, if he has an opportunity to snuggle up to you, he takes it

And if he's not exhausted, and if you let him !! he likes to just touch and kiss your body and face

Having that closeness and intimacy is so important to him, he wants to let you know how deeply he loves you

All of you

And of course, the best way you can return his love language back to him is by returning the intimacy he does for you!

When in Rome, after all

Honestly, just by accepting his offers when he initiates a request to hold your hand or hug or cuddle, he already appreciates that!

But if you initiate any of those things, he's definitely feeling the love!!

Although, one thing you like to do a bit different is giving massages

Of course George would certainly give you one if you asked!

But since he's usually tired, either mentally or physically, from always being on the go, you like to do him a favor lol

And he loves it

Seriously, you've never seen a man more blissed out then George gets over something as simple as a back or scalp massage

Assuming he doesn't fall asleep under the spell of your skillful fingers, he repays you with kisses or cuddles after :)

John

Ok idk if I'm like projecting, or reaching, or SOMETHING along those lines, but I feel like of all the boys, John is probably the one most looking for a true partner, as in like his other half

Paul is very close behind with his relationship with Linda, but for John it always came off as a need for him, more then like a want or nice thing to have

So anyway, all this to say that as far as acts of service goes, I think he gets a lot of security out of receiving this!

Like, whenever John's feeling particularly stressed or overwhelmed having you there to approach the issues with an objective mindset is a HUGE relief

Really, like I cannot stress this enough

Phrases like, "What can I do to take some pressure off for you?"

Or, "Well what if we just focus on x for now, and then we can take care of y and z tomorrow?"

All give him such a powerful sense of relief

And of course, the way that you, you know, actually follow up on your word, makes him fall even deeper in love with you then he thought possible

Now on the other hand, is physical touch

While this is a part of his love language cocktail, John likes to express this one a bit more then he likes to receive it

You see, unlike George, John is a little more reserved with his PDA

He will kiss you and hold your hand of course! But unfortunately his anxiety is a thing, so as much as he hates it, he has to reserve his physical affection for more private settings

But when you two are alone, he's like puddy in your hands!

He likes to just hold you a lot

It doesn't matter if you're preoccupied with something else, like a book or the telly, he just wants to have physical contact with you

And if you can do any of those things cuddled up on his lap or against his chest, even better!

But also, John definitely loves to get that energy back

He likes it when you give him cute little kisses and pet his head

I think he'd also like it if you rubbed his temples or the bridge of his nose/third eye lol

Wearing glasses all day can get uncomfortable you know!!

I think if you can establish that trust and physical closeness, that's when you'd also get a return on his acts of service

Really, if you've bonded this deeply with John he'd do literally anything for you

Whatever you need, whatever you want, if he can do it he will and if he can't he'll find a way to do it anyway!

He'd be loyal to a fault and love you forever after

Paul

Please tell me why I could see Paul being your sugar daddy on the low 😭😭

Really, like he just likes to spoil you!

Honestly if someone showed me proof that the real actual, 78 year old, 2021 Paul McCartney uses stacks of hundred dollar bills as tinder for his fireplace, I literally wouldn't even blink

Like even back in the day, he's got that Beatles' money baby !!! and he.... Kinda doesn't care for it, actually

I personally don't think any of the boys come across as like money hungry or something like that, but I could see Paul especially figuring that he might as well use all this dumb money to buy you things you like!

It may feel overwhelming to be on the receiving end of so many random, but expensive gifts tbh

You might even tell him to stop or that he doesn't have to do all that!!

I think he'd be able to understand that overwhelming you with nice things kinda has the opposite effect of what he's intending, but....

He just gets a little carried away sometimes lol

I mean growing up he didn't have all that much, and even now, like obviously nice things are nice, but meh

What he really wants to do is make sure you're enjoying the high life too!

I could see him doing more of writing you songs and music instead so that he can still fulfil his desire to give, should you feel uncomfortable with the fancy gifts

But yeah, if you're uncomfortable he totally would get that and dial back the materialism, but if you don't mind, then he doesn't either!!

Now you might be wondering how you, a delightfully average person, could impress Paul McCartney with a gift giving love language...

I mean, what do you give the man who has everything?

Well I'd tell you this... It's simple!

You could bring him literally anything that you find meaningful and be like "This made me think of you!" or "I just thought you'd like this!" and he'll love it!

He would definitely run up some organized collections of the little things you've given him

He has some dedicated display boxes for all the random, shiny rocks and pebbles you've found

A little filing drawer of all the notes you've ever wrote him

And if you like art or photography, he'd decorate his personal spaces with your work!

Of course he'd appreciate traditional gifts too tho

Like a watch or bass strings or a new tie ect ect

But the thing for you to not get caught up on is the price!

That doesn't matter to him :)

He likes your gifts bc they came from you!

Ringo

Ok, positive affirmation is definitely a big thing for Ringo

He gets roasted a lot by the boys and even the media, and all in good fun I suppose, but after a while enough is enough you know?

Not to mention, he just feels a bit... Lesser then?? Compared to the others and their musical talent

So the poor guy really needs a break!

Literally, even just little one word sentences of encouragement mean sooo much to him

"I'm so proud of you Ritchie!"

"That sounded wonderful!"

"You've done a great job today at the studio, good work!"

Stuff like that makes him melt

Of course he also appreciates the more conventional things like "I love you" and when you call him handsome!

And as for the spending quality time, that comes easily!

Ringo looooves to take you out on dates!

Now yes, there's your typical movie date, dinner, dancing, all that

But his favorite things to do is go on little adventures!

He takes you to the park, the beach, out to explore thrift and consignment stores, and anywhere else you want to check out!

However, not everyone wants to run around outside 24/7

So in the house, he likes doing things that you two can do together!

Painting is a big one, seeing as it's his other hobby, but it could honestly be anything, like puzzles, board games, or just watching TV!

I'm trying to think of how he'd return the words words of affirmation side of his love language, but I think it would be a little harder for him to do then expressing quality time tbh

You just make him so darn shy!

What with all your good looks and kindness, he just feels a little overwhelmed

Have you ever seen a work of art, or architecture, or even a landscape so breathtaking that you don't really know where to start when describing it to someone?

Yeah, it's like that

He definitely wants to try tho!

I think he'd stick to simple things like complimenting your outfits and praising your work or personal projects you show him!

He's worried that that comes across as just common decency tho, so he says "I love you" a lot and tries to make up for his bad way with words with quality time

[cyrillean]

today, in "things literally no one asked for": all of sasara's verses in every song and drama track, ranked from worst to best

disclaimer that if you know enough about rap to be able to actually discuss and compare this sort of thing, uh, i have to warn you i don't so you might take psychic damage from reading this. but I TRIED

(also, this does not include the stage plays songs, sorry about that. it also does not include the curry thing, because i refuse to acknowledge it, thank you.)

ALSO OBVIOUSLY THIS IS JUST MY OPINION and if you disagree id love to hear why. this is just for fun and because the funnyman lives rent free in my head

14. sasara's verse with rosho in Aikata: deep sigh... im holding myself back from ranting for 10 paragraphs about this, but i genuinely think this showcases all their flaws as partners. it's not atrocious or anything, it's just. their styles cancel out in a way that reflects all their fears come true. it's cute tho

13. Survival of the Illest: Maybe I just didn't like the live performance, so I won't be able to rank it for sure until we get the official version of this and the BAT ones, but given Dotsuhon live performances tend to be even better than the studio versions, I'm inclined to say I straight up don't like his verse here lol?

12. Wara Osaka: ......yeah this is just thoroughly meh to me. Gives me the same vibes as his verse with Rosho in Aikata. Just not interesting. At least the song itself is really fun for something to vibe with without demanding that much attention.

11. Summit of Divisions (the bit from the leaders section in the trailer): Literally the most forgettable verse in this part of the song. Not bad, just thoroughly unremarkable both in the context of Sasara's verses and in the fact that all the other leaders have STELLAR verses here. Structure wise it makes sense going into Kuko's final verse, which probably only hits AS hard BECAUSE sasara's bit passes right by you, but still.

10. his parts in N☆PS: This song is fantastic, but Sasara is really just here as the glue to tie things together- the real standouts in this one are Rei and Rosho. Still, special shotout to him counting down in a speech.

9. sasara's solo verse in Aikata: perfectly standard sasara rap. this is like the baseline of what should be expected from this clown imo. the lyrics are kinda toothless but the way he delivers it doesn't disappoint

8. Joy for Struggle: It's only just a bit above The Sasara Standard Of Quality. Real good, real fun, takes advantage of the fantastic instrumentals of the song, and his confidence carries him a long way- but let's be honest, Ichiro sort of wiped the floor with him on this one

7. His first verse in Summit of Divisions: Judged solely as rap his bit here is nothing special, but in the context of the song itself, it's one of the most fun parts, he really leans into the vibe of the song by giving a little breather that's still genuinely fun and keeps the energy going into Rosho's verse.

6. Helter Skelter: much like everything else about sasara in helter skelter, his verse here is INTERESTING... he drops a lot of his usual flair and instead delivers a very, hm, i don't know enough about rap to describe it; it's very technically impressive compared to his usual stuff? I wouldn't be surprised if this is a peek at what he sounded like in Ikebukuro. If he'd carried this energy into Joy for Struggle it would have at least been a more interesting fight

5. Division Battle Anthem +: ...I think Sasara may well be the ONLY person who perfomed BETTER in Rap Battle than in Battle Anthem. I still prefer his verse here, but it's very style over sustance. That in no way means it's bad tho because absolutely NO ONE has a bad or even mediocre verse in this song, and I appreciate his kanto-ben joke its cute

4. Division Rap Battle +: I don't actually like his verse here much, but relistening I have to admit it's actually very, hmm... it's sasara going all out with style, he does SO much in just 20 seconds. In Tragic Transistor he calls himself a southpaw rapper, and I don't know enough about rap to know if he's bullshitting or not, but this verse makes it hard to argue with him.

3. Tragic Transistor: He does not shut up for a single SECOND in this entire song, and lets none of that time go to waste. The song itself barely changes at all, and the choruses are relatively speaking very short, so he carries the whole entire three minutes by himself without it EVER getting boring. He manages to rap for a whole song about himself, without actually SAYING anything meaningful about himself, and yet STILL asserting dominance WHILE being a clown. this song is a joy to rap

2. Aikata(s): Unironically fantastic, which goes for rosho's parts as well. in many shonen Fights Between Allies (tm), i feel like even if they SAY they're not holding back, they end up being like "oh it doesnt matter who wins, what matters is that we're enjoying the battle and giving it our all" etc. well this is NOT the case here, they are HONEST TO GOD BOTH FIGHTING TO WIN, and sasara genuinely throws out some lines i wouldn't have thought he'd say to rosho. just a great battle imo

Tragic Comedy #1. Osaka Dreamin Night: talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before, COME ON EVERY PART OF HIS VERSE HERE IS ICONIC. HAI DOMO DOTSUITARE HOMPO DESU. TAMUKETARO KA HIGANBANA. IM A TRAGIC COMEDY NUMBER 1. THE BIT WHERE HE PUNS AROUND HIS NAME FOR LIKE FOUR FULL LINES. this is such an addictive verse to rap it's just so fun and bouncy with just a dash of threathening. HONA NEEEE

[rhywhitefang]

Blank Rune + Inner Shadow characters ranked by how much you can trust them to babysit your children

Mary Poppins is seething in envy:

- Avery; Hugger of children and literal angel. There’s no better option. No, you cannot change my mind. Your children will come back, happy, safe, and goth. They will form an unbreakable bond devils bargain of friendship

- Jademis: Smart, responsible, and nice. What better qualities for someone to take care of your kids? Not only is she capable, she actually cares about doing her job AND she will probably help your kids with their math homework also.

- Coal: Obviously an amazing choice. Not only does he have common sense and makes responsible choices, they are also fun! I can also see Coal really liking kids which makes him great for this.

- Caravel: On her own? God tier, no question. She takes her job incredibly seriously, gets attached to the kids immediately, and will defend them with her life. She will give them great food but also be responsible and also the kids will love her. Her taste in men is not her fault!

- Kester: He is literally a dad. The only reason why he’s ranked lowest in this tier is for slight overprotective tendencies, but you know what? That’s also a good thing. He would also LOVE tormenting your little ones with his dad jokes :)

- Idokras: This is a really protective person who is really enthusiastic and will do anything to keep them safe. Fun, but also strict enough to discipline them without being too harsh. The kids will have a great time!

Great tier:

- Acorn: Nice, smart, and full of great advice. Has kind of a hands-off approach which is why he’s not in the first tier, but overall a very solid choice.

- Fatima: Why is Fatima so low, you ask? She is across both stories the character with the most solid moral compass.She is responsible. She cares about their safety and wants them to be not traumatised. Perfect! But on her own, she is a bit awkward and “no fun” around kids. However!! If Oxyll joins her the pair of them instantly move up to God tier. 

- Astrid: Astrid is amazing! I don’t even have anything negative to say that put her down, she’s all around great! No complaints! Just not so extraordinary as to put her any higher, but if you chose her as your babysitter, your kids will have fun and learn some wilderness skills.

- Soleya: Probably already makes mad cash babysitting. Smart, responsible, snarky. Shame she’s not the biggest fan of children.

- Sora: Sora is a literal angel. An actual disney princess. A precious flower who is soft and nice and will take good care of your children. She can be a bit of a pushover though!

- Rhy: Canonically a great babysitter. Fun, good with children, and just all around a charmer. Maybe not the great role model, but I’ll doubt you’ll have any complaints about him. 

Decent enough:

- Oxyll: Also dad energy, but lesser efficiency than Kester. He’s more oblivious, and way less of a grip on the kids. He’s fine, but definitely not the best. Again, though, if you combine his powers with Fatima, they become god tier together. 

- Skipio: Decent enough, responsible, and will do his damnest to keep your little ruffians out of trouble. He’s gonna be strict with them, too - which is also his downside. Your kids won’t want them back.

- Tave: He’s doing his best! He’s trying! Who knows, maybe he can work himself up the tier list. For now he’s getting an E for effort. 

- Kain: A good boy! He’ll try to look out for them, but also, he’s very stupid, so emphasis on “try”

- Pan: I don’t think he’s really a “kids” kinda guy, and probably won’t know what to do with them. Still, he’ll try his best to keep them alive. 

- Agnes: Honestly, considering the fact that she’s like, what? 14? This is hella impressive. A responsible girl! I’m very proud of her!

- June: Your kids will love her! She’ll let them ride on her motorcycle, stay up past 2 am, and let them eat as many cookies as they want!

Meh Tier

- Lyn Amara: Completely uninterested in your brats. I guess if you paid her, she’d pay attention though. 

- Ash: Can be bribed into doing a good job, and depending on the kid might also grow attached enough to do it out of their own volution, but they might also not bother.

- Blake: He just wants to sit in his barrel, bro.

- Anianno: His honor demands him that he protects him from threats and he’ll definitely run head first at any large animal that tries to attack them. 

- Tilly: Stimulate your childrens creativity! Teach them valuable life lessons! Repeat after me: Murder is okay :)

- Laure: I mean, she *might* sacrifice them to her death cult but I feel like she’d be responsible about it, yaknow?

- Wren: That’s a bit too much responsibility for our anxious little bean. They will try their best though!

You Might as well have left them alone

- Allen: This is the same as leaving them alone.

- Swift: Will probably get distracted & overhwlemed. 

- Copper: Anxious chihuaha. Will cry. 

- Jakob: Oh boy... probably not the greatest idea. I mean, he’ll try his best, but I can’t see this going too well. Maybe they can write sad poetry together?

- Finn: He does nothing for them and might accidentally... drop them.

- Elvin: He’s a baby but at least not actively completely irresponsible, and has some physical capabilities? He’s really dumb tho.

- Phillip: He will ditch them half way through the night to go fight and/or make out with his boyfriend

- Prion: Too busy staring at himself in the mirror.

- Lexa: Herself a baby and also has no concept of fear or danger. Don’t.

- Kyra: Might steal their arms... but eh, too small. 

- Barnacle: Looking at his intentions and general vibe, it’s great! He is a soft cuddly sweetheart, who I can totally see liking children. He’s also a mess and a disaster and a huge pushover. Also, what do kids eat again? Here have some uhhhhhh...... leaves from outside?

Just.... Bad:

- Delta: Do you want your kids babysat by a cat?

- Liam: I mean... look at the job he did with June. He kept her alive and fed, I guess. So, congrats on achieving the bare minimum, but he’s definitely not getting any awards here. And theres you know, him being an evil shithead.

- Midas: As irresponsible as they get and also kind of a shithead. There’s a chance he might use your child as a football. 

- Mikash: He is baby, dont give him this kind of responsibility!

- Arna + Firmin: The irresponsible children squad. Why would you let them babysit your irresponsible children??

- Dareios: Canonical child hater and overall horrible person. The only reason he’s not in the shit tier is that if you payed him, your children will survive. He will treat them horribly though.

KEEP THEM AWAY FROM THE BABIES

- Artemisia: Well she might kill the kids, but unlike the rest of the people in this tier, here your kids might have a chance of survival ‘cause Misi is not that interested in them and might ignore them and do something else instead.

- Rubin: trash garbage man who will misuse your kids as “squires” for his fucked up murder tournaments

- “Ethan”: Almost the absolutel worst option. He is a terrible influence. We remind the reader that when Caravel asked him to get something to eat for the kids, he brought chips and alcohol. Awful role model, and thats not even getting into the fact that he literally murdered the two children in his care. Might not even keep your kids alive if you pay him!

- Esca: No :(

[sanstropfremir]

oh my god i am SO in love with lord of the dance. however i never think about michael flatley first when i think about it because in my mind gillian norris is the most important and iconic person in that show.

i used to have it on a dvd when i was little, i must have watched it like two times a week and never got bored of it. it was the original 1996 dublin stage, the only version i enjoy to its maximum capacity. fun fact, they came to bucharest in 2014, and i wanted to go, but ultimately didn't. and thank god for that. i found clips on youtube after that and everything was worse: the music, the outfits, the acting.

fortunately there are clips on youtube of the 1996 dublin stage too, as well as the whole show. i still sometimes watch them. and after much consideration, i have come to the conclusion that fiery nights, warriors and gypsy (however unfortunate the name) are my favorite numbers, in that respective order.

fiery nights wouldn't be what it is without the soundtrack, that fucking saxophone. i saw somebody say that that is what sex sounds like. i have heard the same thing said about ateez's desire outro. these things are so unrelated right now but i honestly can hear it and feel it for both and it makes so much sense to describe them that way. gillian norris is so mesmerizing, so captivating, like i am fucking seduced through the screen. and when she starts dancing with the guy who plays don dorcha and gives him that smile you can only see a brief second in shitty 360p quality? i am positively passed out. after they leave the stage the rest of the performance is kinda meh because the other girls don't give me any passion, much less the guys. they're lucky the choreography is so tight tho.

warriors is a fucking experience from start to finish. the "oh shit it's going down" vibe right from the beginning, the intensity of the dance, the speed, the accuracy, the synchronization, the piercing looks of don dorcha - i am both horny and intimidated. today's warriors number doesn't even come close to sparking up the same kind of heavy feeling the original did. it's so... cartoonish.

and finally, gypsy, which was my og favorite. i really wonder how i did not turn out bisexual, because gillian norris definitely made me question some things. i was always impressed with her elegance and power of seduction, my dream was to be sexy like her but also to jump as high as her for my birdies. sadly i never did learn irish dance. also i really wanted her hair.

special shoutout goes to breakout tho. i don't even know if i love the first half of it or the second more. bernadette flynn as the leader all the other girls follow, girlboss moment. her unspoken duel with gillian, exchanging those fucking murderous looks, i was SO there for it!!! again, watching today's version, it's like watching a bad disney channel series. there's no seriousness to it, no commitment, it's like putting on a puppet show for kids, which this musical is so not.

ugh, i'm probably gonna go and watch some scenes again. thank you for letting me rant in your inbox!! i've only really shared my interest and love for this show with my parents, who only like it a moderate amount (not because they think it's bad but because it's just not something they're passionate about) and my ex, who couldn't care less about dance and acting and who wasn't really interested in it.

if it's okay, let me ask, how did you get interested in stage performances, dance, theatre, all that jazz? for me, it was because i did cheerleading and dance for 5 years when i was little (then i quit because i thought i had it hard in school in 5th grade). i regret not continuing with it so much. and i daresay i was pretty good at it too. oh well, at least the passion for dance remained. it's the main part i got into kpop!!

it's no problem at all!! like i said, this is my virtual pub please come talk about about random things while i serve you a pint!! i love reading about other people's passions, this was lovely!

i only think of michael flatley because he's top billed and also one of the producers so his name is always on it, and also i haven't actually seen the whole show since probably 2005 because it didn't much strike a nerve with me as a kid. i think it was probably because i watched waaaaaayyyy too much cirque. i won't say very much on it but i will say that adolphe saxe knew what he was doing when he unleashed the saxophone on the world and we are still dealing with the repercussions (i say this lovingly as a saxophone player). i'm also a horrible person and i cannot watch any fiddle + flute based musical and not think of the the lord of the rings musical, because i love the lord of the rings musical.

well i got into theatre kind of unintentionally because i thought it might be fun to try doing stage crew for the musical when i started high school and then a year later i was the stage manager. my tragic flaw is that i need to be in a position of knowledge and authority at all times, but i’m slowly getting over it. i liked it so much that i decided at like 14 that it was going to be my career and here i am over a decade later. but i also watched a lot of perfomance and art programming as a child because my parents were weird hippies, so lots of cirque du soleil, a lot of classical ballet, and also shows like toy castle (do not click on this is you are in any way afraid of clowns or frogs) which is mildly horrifying in the way all children's content is mildly horrifying in hindsight but as a child in 2000 i ate that shit with a spoon. i also dated a contemp/ballet dancer in high school and then had a very weird and ethically dubious affair with another ballet dancer in undergrad. it's a long story. it helps that i'm truly obsessed with performance and art in pretty much all its forms and i'm one of those awful people that draws in art galleries and watches shows that i know are going to be bad so i can analyze them and avoid making the same mistakes in the future. kpop was a thing that just happened as a byproduct of being friends with lot of first gen asian immigrants as a kid. i've been around and aware since 2008 but i didn't get that deep into actually following releases until first lockdown because i just didn't have the time. but i'm glad i did, because it's been a really nice hobby!